Family Portrait
Summary: AU. Piper and Leo are fighting constantly and it just keeps getting worse and worse...how much can the boys handle?
Rating: T
Author: brilliantbrunette494
Note 1: Please review!
The song is by Pink, it's Family Portrait. I just heard it today and for some reason thought of this. (:
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Momma please stop cryin, I can't stand the sound
Your pain is painful and its tearin' me down
I hear glasses breakin as I sit up in my bed
I told dad you didn't mean those nasty things you
said
You fight about money, bout me and my brother
And this I come home to, this is my shelter
It ain't easy growin up in World War III
Never knowin what love could be, you'll see
I don't want love to destroy me like it has done
my family
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't
leave
Daddy please stop yellin, I can't stand the sound
Make mama stop cryin, cuz I need you around
My mama she loves you, no matter what she says
its true
I know that she hurts you, but remember I love
you, too
I ran away today, ran from the noise, ran away
Don't wanna go back to that place, but don't have
no choice, no way
It ain't easy growin up in World War III
Never knowin what love could be, well I've seen
I don't want love to destroy me like it did my
family
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't
leave
In our family portrait, we look pretty happy
Let's play pretend, let's act like it comes
naturally
I don't wanna have to split the holidays
I don't want two addresses
I don't want a step-brother anyways
And I don't want my mom to have to change her
last name
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
We look pretty normal, let's go back to that
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
Let's play pretend, act like it goes naturally
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
We look pretty normal, let's go back to that
(I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do
anything)
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
Let's play pretend act and like it comes so
naturally
(I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't
leave)
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
We look pretty normal, let's go back to that
(I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't
leave)
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Turn around please
Remember that the night you left you took my
shining star?
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Don't leave us here alone
Mom will be nicer
I'll be so much better, I'll tell my brother
Oh, I won't spill the milk at dinner
I'll be so much better, I'll do everything right
I'll be your little girl forever
I'll go to sleep at night
9-year-old Wyatt Halliwell was woken up to someone shaking him. His first instinct was to push the person away and try to go back into slumber land. However, his eyes opened when he heard a little whimper. He saw his baby brother on his butt on the ground, with tears rolling down his cheeks.
That's when Wyatt heard it. His parents were yelling at each other once more and he could tell it was pretty bad and they must have woken Chris up.
"Come 'ere Chris." Wyatt said to his 4-year-old brother and Chris climbed into his bed and snuggled into Wyatt, who wrapped his arms around his baby brother, kissing his forehead.
Their parents fight almost everyday. Over money, the boys, magic...everything and Wyatt is sick and tired of it. He's the one raising Chris, he's the one taking care of his family, making sure they stay together. It isn't easy.
Chris lays with him almost every night and Wyatt doesn't mind, he just hates the reason why he lays with him. Why he has nightmares. Wyatt held his brother closer when he heard a glass shatter and Chris whimpered, burying his face in Wyatt's chest as he tried not to cry.
Wyatt wishes his aunts still lived in the manor, but they live with their own families in their own homes and have their own lives, but his parents are civilized when they're around. They don't fight, they don't argue, they actually get along...then Paige and Phoebe leave and it's war again.
"Wy...I'm scared." Chris whispered
"Me too Chris, me too," Wyatt whispered back, trying to get his brother to go to sleep. "Go to sleep."
"I can't." Chris whimpered and Wyatt rested his head on Chris's, covering his ear with his cheek so his other was against Wyatt's pillow so he wouldn't hear anything as Wyatt tenderly rubbed his brother's back.
Wyatt winced when he heard another loud crash of something glass breaking, it sounded pretty big and then the door slammed shut. He moved his head back onto his pillow and noticed Chris was already asleep so he gave a sigh of relief.
He closed his eyes quickly when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and his door opened quietly a moment later and he knew his mother was in the doorway, watching them.
She always does that, after they have a major blowout she comes up to Wyatt's room and watches them sleep for almost 5 minutes, then she goes to bed and doesn't mention it the next morning. Never does because it never happened.
He patiently waited until his mother shut the door and then he waited a couple of minutes before slipping out of bed and he walked downstairs and grabbed the broom and dustpan and started to clean up the glass.
"Go back to bed Wyatt, I'll do it." A soft voice said and Wyatt turned his head and saw his mother standing in the doorway with tear stained cheeks and red rimmed eyes.
"It's fine mom, I can do it." Wyatt said quietly.
"Honey, you need to go to sleep, it's almost midnight," Piper started. "I'm so sorry baby."
"I know mom." Wyatt said and Piper walked up to him and took the broom and dustpan from him.
"Go to bed." Piper repeated and Wyatt slowly nodded and left the room before he peaked in the room and saw his mother lean against a bottom cabinet and start crying.
Wyatt bit his lip as he glanced at the stairs, he knew Chris would wake up eventually when he realized Wyatt was gone, but he can't leave his mom like that.
He walked back in the kitchen and sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her and Piper held him tightly as she sobbed and Wyatt let her.
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Wyatt was close to drifting off at school since he was up almost all night long, as soon as he got back into his own bed after helping his mom to her own bed Chris started to have a nightmare, so he stayed up and comforted him until he finally fell asleep and by then it was almost 4 a.m.
Wyatt closed his eyes for not even a few seconds when he heard the class go silent and he knew that the teacher was watching him but he honestly couldn't care. When he gets home has to try and find his dad and he could do with at least 20 minutes of extra sleep.
"Wyatt!" the teacher snapped and Wyatt drowsily raised his head, his eyes half lidded and he looked dead, which is not a good thing for a young boy. He rubbed his eyes and tried to pay attention. "Are you okay Wyatt?"
"I'm fine." Wyatt mumbled
"See me after class." Ms. Owen said and Wyatt just nodded and zoned off as she started talking again.
Soon the bell rang and Wyatt gathered his things and walked up to Ms. Owen's desk.
"Wyatt, are you sure you're okay?" she asked
"Yea, I'm fine, just a little tired." He shrugged
"Wyatt...is anything going on at home? You've been sleeping almost everyday for the last week, not doing your homework..." she trailed off
"I'm really fine, just...I need to go, I have to walk my brother home." Wyatt said
"Okay." She said and Wyatt quickly scurried out of his classroom and headed for the preschool wing. He walked to his brothers room and saw him sitting at a table with all his things.
"Chris, come on." Wyatt said and Chris put on his book bag and walked up to Wyatt and grabbed his hand tightly and they left the school and started the long walk home. It takes quite a while to walk home, almost an hour and a half if not longer.
Their mom is probably at Charmed or P3 and who knows where their dad is, but they're never picked up from school. Their cousins come to the same school and Wyatt knows they're picked up every single day from school since Phoebe and Paige are great moms.
"Wy...how come daddy wasn't home this morning?" Chris asked looking up at his older brother, who just shrugged.
"He already left for work." Wyatt said and Chris frowned a little.
"Did his charge call him?" Chris asked curiously.
"Yea Chris." Wyatt lied, his brother may know about the fighting but that's as much as he knows and Wyatt prays that's all he'll ever know.
Then a car pulled over behind them and Wyatt sped up his pace before he heard a familiar call of, "Wyatt!"
He stopped and turned his head and saw his aunt Phoebe. She got out of her car and jogged over to them.
"Why are you 2 walking? It's not safe." She said
"Oh, dad's with a charge and mom's really busy." Wyatt lied easily.
"Okay, well come on, I'll give you a ride." She said, she wasn't offering Wyatt knew, she was telling. He just nodded and walked to the car and got in the front seat and Chris climbed in the back with Phoebe's daughters, Patty, Pandora and Melinda.
"You can come home with us then Wyatt, I don't want you guys home all alone." Phoebe said
"It's fine aunt Phoebe, we'll be okay." Wyatt said
"No Wyatt, you're only 9 years old you can't be home alone." Phoebe said firmly and Wyatt sighed softly and nodded, knowing he wouldn't win.
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Wyatt, Piper and Chris were eating supper in silence. Leo still wasn't back, which was really starting to make Wyatt nervous. His dad is always back by this time and he knows since he's not whenever he does decide to come home they're going to fight again, only this time about Leo staying out so long.
Wyatt took a bite of his chicken when Leo walked in the back door and Chris smiled and ran to hug him and Leo gave him a hug with a smile. Then he ruffled Wyatt's curly blonde locks before sitting down and he got some food and once more it was silent.
"Anything interesting happen at school Wyatt?" Leo asked
"Uh no, nothing." Wyatt shrugged
"What about you buddy?" Leo asked Chris.
"Ryan's mommy brought in cupcakes." Chris beamed with a huge smile on his face, completely forgetting about last night...just like normal. Wyatt stayed silent during supper, listening to his younger brother blabber on and on to Leo as Piper would make a couple comments and Wyatt couldn't help but feel...like a real family for once.
He should have known it wouldn't last long though.