Should've Lied

Leo and Piper had a good marriage, one that wasn't filled with lies.

Never once has Leo lied to Piper.

It was a good thing though, it made the marriage better.

Sure, they both kept secrets from each other, but Leo never lied to her.

There had never been a reason to lie to her.

And there never would be…

They had been together for almost six years. The same amount of years she had been a Charmed One and a witch, along with her sisters.

They had two beautiful boys together, and Leo couldn't be happier…well he wished he could be.

He couldn't help but wonder…maybe…just maybe…

He should've lied.

The day Piper had returned from the hospital, having had recently gone through a C-section giving birth to their second son. She was still recovering, and although they had told her to stay at the hospital, she had demanded to go home.

Reluctantly the doctors had agreed, not wanting to face her wrath. His wife was scarier than any demon he had ever met before.

On the way back, with their youngest son in her warm arms, she hummed him a soft lullaby to get him to relax, pausing every now and then to tell him lovingly that they were heading home. The baby, when she spoke to him, stared into her eyes, as if he understood every word she said. It was clear, by both their reactions to the other; they were both clinging to whatever the other did or said.

Once they were back at the Halliwell Manor, their home, Piper's two sisters came out to greet them with their oldest in Phoebe's arms. While Phoebe greeted Leo and Piper happily, she couldn't bring herself to truly acknowledge the baby in her sister's arms. Paige on the other hand, ignored Leo and went straight for Piper and her baby.

Paige cooed and stroked the baby's cheeks, causing a smile to appear. Piper and Paige shared a smile, Paige's broken but loving while Piper's held adoration and love.

As they moved inside, Piper started to look around. Her eyes turned sad and questioning, her grip on the baby tightening slightly.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Phoebe questioned, still holding the oldest son, Wyatt.

Piper turned to her sisters and Leo, "Where's Chris?"

At the name, the three froze. How did they explain this?

Piper shook her head, "Probably off chasing demons again." She rolled her eyes affectionately, a slight smile on her lips. "Chris!" She called out, expecting the sound of jingles and blue and white orbs to fill the room before she even finished the name. To her shock, nothing happened. "Chris!" She tried again.

Panic and fear started to take over. Swiftly she looked at the other three, "Something's wrong!" Her breath started to speed up as she pulled the baby closer, "We have to find him! Leo!" She snapped, "Sense him!" The baby whimpered, as Wyatt flinched from his mother's loud voice.

Turning down to the baby she gently rocked him back and forth, "It's okay baby! Mommy's sorry for being so loud." Her breathing returned to normal, only slightly though.

"Um Piper…" Leo started, only to be cut off.

"I'm going to put my little man down for a nap, in the mean time you guys need to find Chris!" She turned away from her family, Chris being the only one on her mind at the moment.

The two younger sisters and Leo shared a look. They needed to tell her…now.

Leo took Wyatt from Phoebe's arms and they all walked up to the nursery, dread filling their every step.

Inside the nursery Piper was watching her youngest son, a look of pure love and adoration on her face. It was so weird, yet wonderful to see the baby version of her hero.

Leo placed Wyatt down in his bed, "Piper…"

Piper 'hmmed?', not wanting to turn her attention from her baby.

"We need to talk." Leo told her, the sisters standing right beside him.

Piper finally turned her attention to her sisters and husband. Her eyebrows frowned along with her lips, "You're supposed to be looking for Big Chris."

Leo reached out and grabbed her hand, "We need to talk!"

Piper blinked in surprise before nodding and letting her husband lead her to their bedroom, with her sisters following quietly behind. Once inside, Leo made her sit on the bed while he stood in front of her. Paige quickly moved over to her side, though she didn't sit on the bed, grabbing her hand in support. Phoebe stayed beside Leo, hoping to give him support as well.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here! First I come home and Chris isn't here! Then when I call, he doesn't respond! Next you guys are acting very strange and you won't help me look for Chris!" Piper was fed up with the secrets. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

Leo swallowed the lump in his throat, Phoebe's eyes turned downcast while Paige chocked back a quite sob.

"Piper…honey…" Leo started, "Chris isn't here anymore."

"Oh…" Piper stated, her eyes turned sad. She shrugged, trying to pretend it didn't hurt. "Well…I guess it was time."

The other three stared at her in shock and disbelief; they couldn't believe she had just said that.

Piper looked up at him, a small sad smile on her lips. "So he made it back safely in the end huh?" She chuckled, "I bet older me is thrilled our little boy is back home. Safe and sound." She smiled at the last part.

Understanding hit Paige, Phoebe and Leo. She didn't understand…she had no clue…

"Piper…" Leo chocked out, making her look up at him. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, his hands shaking as he kept a good amount of distance from the bed.

"Leo?" She turned to look at Phoebe to see her covering her mouth with hand, tears sliding down her cheeks. Hoping to get an answer, she turned to look at Paige. Paige's lips were trembling as tears poured from her eyes.

"Honey, Chris didn't go back to the future." Phoebe whispered out, her eyes full of sympathy.

Piper stared at Phoebe for a second before she chuckled, though it was chocked out. "What do you mean he didn't go back? Where else could he have gone? There is no other possibility for him. He returned to the future!" Piper clutched the covers as she started to get louder. "He went home!"

"Piper…" She looked up to see her baby sister looking at her with tear filled eyes. Paige shook her head slowly, like she had when she had informed Phoebe.

Piper shook her head, her lips trembling. Her eyes were instantly full of tears, a scream at the tip of her tongue. She could feel her body start to give out on her; she could feel her soul starting to die.

"Honey it's gonna be o—" Leo tried to calm her down, only to be blown up. Re-appearing a second later, shock covered his and the two sister's faces. Paige quickly moved away from her, as things around Piper had started to blow up.

Piper clutched her head, pulling her hair, as she rocked back and forth. She couldn't handle this. Not this. She would rather lose Prue a thousand times than deal with this. She looked up at her husband, anger welling up inside her. "Why! Why didn't you protect him!" She screamed, raged at him.

"Piper! I tried!" Leo tried to get her to understand. "He told me to go after Gideon and he would watch Wyatt. Gideon knew Piper…he knew." He looked at her sadly, but there was a hint of pride in his eyes. "He died protecting his brother. Chris saved Wyatt, Piper."

Piper eyes froze her mind racing. Throwing her hands up, she blew her husband up again. Quickly she raced out of the door, practically blowing the nursery door open to get inside. As soon as she was inside, she threw herself over to her second born.

Leo and her sisters were right behind her, watching her questionably, cautiously.

Wyatt looked up and noticed his mother, who was now clutching the baby. He frowned, "Momma..." She hadn't reacted to him at all today.

Piper's eyes turned cold as she looked down at the blonde boy.

"He died protecting his brother. Chris saved Wyatt, Piper."

"It's your entire fault." She told him as she clutched her son closer to her.

It was wrong. It wasn't right for her to say that.

But it was true.

He was the reason her brave son had died, the reason he had to even come back to the past in the first place.

Now that the baby was safe in her arms, unable to be harmed by anyone, including Wyatt and Leo, she slowly made her way back to her bedroom. Lying on the bed, she placed the baby beside her and watched as he slipped back into sleep.

While Phoebe took Wyatt downstairs to play and Paige went to get Chris's things from his room, Leo stood in front of the threshold of his and his wife's bedroom.

He didn't see a fighter…didn't see the woman he had fallen in love with.

No he saw a broken woman who had lost everything she held dear.

Looking back on it now…maybe…

Maybe he should've lied…