The First Son

Part 1: Powerless

-With the future all mixed up after Prue's death, Piper and Leo's first child happens to be a boy, who is born powerless. This doesn't bother him until his little sister is born with the power to freeze time. Can Piper and Leo help their son find his wings?

"Piper, this is hardly the time to be worrying about something like that! What would it matter if he had powers or not? We'll love him just the same." Leo laid the tiny bundle he carried into his wife's waiting arms, careful not to jar the IV that was inserted into her hand. The newborn inside scrunched up his face, as if he was about to cry, then relaxed in his mother's gentle grip.

"But what if he is powerless, Leo? It'll be okay for a while, but what if we have other children? Children with powers? That would be so unfair to him." Piper listened to her son breathing against her chest and she watched as he wrapped an elfin hand around her finger. His grasp was strong for being only a day old. He still smelled new, his downy hair sticking out in all directions.

"We'll get to that bridge when we cross it. Besides, I thought you'd want our children to have a normal life. That's what we've been waiting for for the past three years, isn't it? A chance to bring our child into a safe world? If our son doesn't have any powers, then-"

"Then it'll make him vulnerable if a demon attacks," Piper cut him off sharply, waking the boy sleeping in her arms. He wailed loudly, and she tried to rock him, but her position on the hard hospital bed made it difficult. Leo appraised them both as Piper grunted in frustration.

"A little help here, Leo, if you wouldn't mind." Piper looked into her son's deep brown eyes and saw her own face for a moment. She saw Leo in his hair and high cheeks, her mother and Phoebe in his nose, her father and Prue in his chin... Prue. She would have loved to see this. See that her little sister had finally found the happiness she had always wanted. Tears began welling up in Piper's eyes as Leo took the baby from her and started bobbing around the room.

He was quiet for a few minutes, just reveling in the glory of being a father, then he spoke softly. "We still haven't picked out a name yet. What should we name our son, Piper?" He said the words proudly. 'Our son'. Piper felt fulfilled at the statement and thought about it briefly, then sat upright on the bed.

"What was your father's name?" she asked, hoping to get a few ideas.

Leo stopped bobbing and shook his head gravely. "We are not naming my son Bartholomew." Piper let out a muffled laugh and he glared at her evilly. "What about your father? Victor is a good name."

Pier hesitated. "I don't know, Leo. I don't want to judge him yet, after he's been gone for twenty years and then suddenly comes back to make up for lost time. It would be like rewarding him for never being there."

"But it also might give him a reason to stick around. You'll have a father again. I'll show him that whitelighters aren't so bad, and this little guy," he nodded at the squirming infant. "will make him never want to leave." Leo kissed him on the top of his head lightly and he began to wail. "I think he's hungry, Mommy."

Piper took the child back and trembled slightly as she had her first attempt at breast-feeding. Leo stood close by in case she needed him, but she was determined to do it on her own. When he finally began to drink, Piper gritted her teeth. "God, he's a barracuda. I don't think I'll be able to do this for eight more months, Leo. Do you want to try?"

Leo laughed heartily and waved his hands in the air. "Sorry, sweetie, but that's a little out of my job description. I can, however, do diaper changes, and 3 A.M feedings - with a bottle of course -, and-"

Piper threw a spit up rag at him. "Enough! I get it." She continued laughing as the babe drank deeply of her milk, until he was full and tired. She burped him gently, and then handed him to Leo to lay in the small plastic crib by her bed.

"How about Rueben?" Leo asked after a few seconds of silent reflection. "I've been looking up some names in the baby books you got at the shower, and Rueben means 'behold, a son'."

Piper looked at him inquisitively. "That was two months ago. You remembered that from back then? And when we supposed to be having a girl?"

"Well," Leo paused. "Well, actually, I cheated. I looked it up right after he was born, while you were asleep. You can imagine the shock I was in. I have a boy, not a girl. I guess that's a good thing. There are too many girls running around the manor. Now I can have someone to watch football with and play catch with, and build model airplanes with…"

"What is with you and making lists today?" Piper teased, poking him gently. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips once, then gazed at her lovingly. He kissed her again, tracing her jaw line with each one. "Leo!"

They were rudely interrupted by a sudden rap at the door, which swung open with a quiet squeak. Two slim figures entered, carrying flowers, junk food, and an extremely large stuffed bear that was suspended between the two of them.

"Let me see my nephew! I want to see him now!" Phoebe Halliwell's voice echoed through the room and shook the windows as she dropped her half of the bear and jogged over to the crib. "Oh, here's my little nameless nephew-kins. How's the baby-waby? Ah-boo-boo. Yes, that's a good boy." The baby remained motionless in the cradle.

"Hey Phoebe, nice to see you. Who the stranger with the bear?" Piper pointed at the other woman at the door, who was struggling to hold onto the animal and the large bag of Doritos in her hands.

"Oh! Paige, I'm so sorry!" Phoebe ran back to her younger sister and took the bear from her. Paige rolled her eyes and gave Leo a hug as she passed him on her way over to Piper.

"Piper, he's beautiful! But weren't you supposed to have a girl first? You said that in the future you had a daughter." Paige sat down on the edge of the bed took Piper's hand. Phoebe pulled a chair around the other side and sat down with her head on Piper's shoulder.

"Well, there were a lot of things we saw in the future that won't be happening now. I just hope that Rueben can handle being part of a Wiccan family, if he doesn't have any powers."

Paige squinted at her. "Rueben?"

"That was my idea, actually," Leo said, raising his index finger in the air to get their attention. They glanced at him briefly then turned back to their bed-ridden sister.

"What do you mean, 'if he doesn't have any powers?" Phoebe asked, her eyes narrowed. "He has to have powers. He's the son of a Charmed One."

"That's exactly why he may not have powers. Because he's the son of a Charmed One. Sure, men can be witches, but I don't think they are born with the power. And if he isn't born with it, he'll never be strong enough to defend himself against a demon." Piper reached out to stroke Rueben's small hand. Would he have a power? Could he? She looked up at her sisters, who had nothing but admiration in their eyes. She smiled at them, and then acknowledged Leo, who was waiting patiently in the corner. "Is there any way we can find out now, whether he has powers or not? Can't They help us?"

Leo shrugged. " I can ask. Do you want me to take him with me? If nothing more they can give a blessing. That ought to be nice." His wife nodded and Leo delicately lifted the sleeping baby up into his arms. "I'll be back soon." He disappeared in a flash of blue light, leaving Piper alone to gush with her sisters.

"Honey, I always knew you'd have the cutest little baby in the whole, wide, world." Phoebe continued to speak baby talk, even though the baby was no longer in the room.

"He is great, isn't he?" Piper shifted uncomfortably, her body still aching from the pain of childbirth. Eighteen hours of childbirth, to be exact. The contractions had come early in the day, while she was at P3. Not wanting to disturb the customers who had already begun to flock towards the bar, she had quietly entered her office and screamed for Leo, who came a second later. Paige was at work, and Phoebe was off at an interview, so they were both unreachable. It hadn't taken them long to figure out Leo's cryptic message on their answering machine at home, though. 'Paige, Phoebe, whenever you get this, Piper and I are at the hospital, meet us there when you can. No hurry. This might take a while…'

"Why'd you name him Rueben? That's a kind of obscure name, isn't it?" Paige furrowed her brows in deep thought.

"I don't know. It just fits. Leo found it just after the baby was born. It means 'behold, a son'. I guess it works, considering we all thought it was going to be a girl… It's a good thing we didn't decorate in pink. Otherwise we'd be in a lot of trouble." Piper groaned as a wave of pain swept through her lower region. Phoebe jumped and Paige proceeded in calling a nurse from the bedside.

"Help! Someone!"

Piper clapped her hand over her youngest sister's mouth. "Don't. I'm just a little sore, that's all. You have no idea how much pain labor is until you've done it yourself." She readjusted in against the pillows so her back was lower on the bed.

"Oh, poor baby." Phoebe kissed the top of her head. "I can't even begin to imagine. When I get pregnant the first thing I'm going to do is plan a cesarean. I don't have a very high threshold for pain." She got up and retrieved the Doritos from the table where Paige had thrown them, and placed the open bag on Piper's stomach where all three could reach. The conversation drifted from Rueben to pregnancy to food, and finally to Prue.

"I just wish I could've met her," Paige sighed, swallowing the last crumbs of the chips. "I know I would have loved her, from all that you guys tell me… And she would have loved seeing this even more. It kinda makes me wish that I wasn't here, you know? Then you'd still have Prue, you're lives wouldn't be as screwed up as they are now, and everyone would be happy."

"But then we would never have met you," Phoebe put in. "And this is where you belong. With your family. We'll always miss Prue, but we have you to help us get through it. Maybe one day you'll get to meet her, face to face. Maybe that'll help you see that you were meant to be with us."

Piper listened intently, nodding and squeezing Paige's cheese covered hand. "Maybe even sooner than you think. If we-" She was interrupted by a flash of blue light as Leo orbed back into the room, his face no longer gleaming with the joyous smile of parenthood. Rueben squirmed in his arms, but made no noise as Leo handed him back to Piper. She looked at her son, then her sisters, and finally to her husband. "Well? What happened?"

Leo lowered his head in anguish. "I'm sorry, Piper. He was tested, but they couldn't find even a trace of magic."