Chapter 3: The Third Point
Leo orbed them into the kitchen where they could hear Dan and Piper conversing in the living room. Chris snuck a glance at Leo. He knew him better as a pacifist than as a jealous ex-husband. In a way, that was cause for concern.
Chris had debated the wisdom of mentioning Dan to him. He hadn't planned it, but he couldn't pass up an opportunity to set off Leo's blood pressure. Ideally, he would have liked to get Dan out with little to no violence, but Leo radiated with as much rage as he had on the bridge. At the same time, Leo being pro-active solved so many problems. Barring his own feelings about his father, Chris recognized the bond his parents had shared. His mother had never divorced his father despite threatening to do so. And, according to his mother in the future, Leo hadn't done anything rash except for the occasional poorly concealed remark while she had dated Dan.
All in all, if that were any indication, things would work out. Right?
He followed Leo, who charged in like a provoked bull, into the living room. Piper and Dan sat on the couch, their backs turned to them. Too immersed in their discussion, they didn't notice Leo come up behind them.
"We didn't meet Paige until a couple of years ago. You can imagine Phoebe's reaction when she found out she wasn't the baby of the family anymore," Piper chuckled.
"I'd like to meet her sometime," said Dan.
"You might. She misses Wyatt too much to stay away long."
"I'm glad that things worked out for you guys. Still, I wish I hadn't moved away when I did."
"Really, Dan, don't worry about it."
Dan placed his hand on top of Piper's. "At least I can be here for you now," he said.
"That won't be necessary," said Leo loudly.
Piper whipped around and gaped. Dan followed suit, his expression an exaggerated version of hers. For his part, Chris clasped his hands behind his back and maintained his distance.
"Leo, what are you doing here?" said Dan, stiffly polite. "Aren't you and Piper divorced?"
Piper regained her composure and eyed Leo and Chris darkly. "We are," she asserted.
"I heard you were in town. I figured I'd come by to say hello," answered Leo. "That's not a problem, is it?"
"Nope. Hello to you too." Dan got up from the couch and walked around it to face Leo properly. Piper stood up as well.
"Yeah. So, uh…" Now that he was there, Leo didn't know what to do. Piper's scowl crushed down on him hard enough to feel solid, and he swallowed. He had to speak out. He wasn't about to act the fool in front of Dan Gordon.
"How's life?" A soon as he uttered the question, Leo cringed. Chris covered his eyes, wondering how Leo could stare down evil on a regular basis, yet flounder in front of someone as harmless, magically speaking, as Dan.
Dan put his hands on his hips. "It depends on what you're referring to."
"He's referring to how nice it is that you're here," Piper cut in.
A twisted smile played on Leo's lips. "That wasn't what I was going to say." The smile slid off his face. What was he doing? He had no right to interfere with Piper's life. Her meeting with Dan was none of his business. "You know what? Forget it. I'll just go."
"Already? And here I thought we were getting along," said Dan.
Leo nodded. "I agree, but you and Piper are clearly enjoying yourselves. I'd hate to ruin that for you." Chris looked up in panic. That wasn't a mindset Leo was supposed to have.
"You're going to let him win?" Chris burst out.
"Stay out of this, Chris," said Leo. "This isn't a competition."
"You're giving up on Piper just like that?" Dan said incredulously. "I hate to imagine what the past four years have been like for her. You always run off when it's convenient for you."
"What are you implying? Piper, what have you been telling him?"
Piper bristled. "Nothing about us."
"She didn't have to tell me anything," Dan shot back. "It was obvious from the way she would talk about anybody but you."
"Dan, you're blowing this all out of proportion," Piper insisted.
"Could we keep it down, please?" interjected Chris, but no one listened to him. Heart pounding, Chris took a tentative step towards the group. He didn't like the shade of red Dan and Leo's faces were turning.
Leo advanced on Dan, fists clenched. "You have no right to judge. If you knew half the facts, you wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions."
"I think I know enough."
"Let me guess," Leo taunted. "You think Piper deserves you more. As if you'd be better!"
What resembled a mini-explosion erupted in the room. Chris jerked, Piper bellowed something incomprehensible and Leo lay sprawled on the floor as Dan rubbed the sore spot on his knuckles. Leo dazedly touched the bruise on his jaw. When his fingers brushed against the swelling, the rage raced back into his eyes. With a grunt, he leaped to his feet and returned Dan the favour by punching him in the face.
Chris watched the fight in horrified fascination, his expectations about Leo handling the situation with class flying out the window.
"Hey! Hey!" shouted Piper, rushing in to get between them, but leaped back when Dan shoved Leo into the coffee table. Leo picked himself up, seized Dan by the arms and tossed him into the wall with a deafening crunch. The family photos on the wall shuddered.
"Stop it!" Piper screeched, but she might as well have yelled at two battering rams.
Wanting to fix the mess he helped create, Chris dove in and grabbed Leo around the middle to drag him off of Dan. He hauled him away a few inches, but Leo, too drunk on the fight to notice his actions, elbowed Chris in the stomach and ran forward for more. Chris slammed into the floor, gasping, arms wrapped around his middle. He felt like a hole had been punched into his gut, but he forced himself to stand regardless.
"I said stop!" Piper flung out her hands, and Dan and Leo froze as rigid as statues. Each man had an arm drawn back in mid-punch. "Ugh, I can't believe those two!"
"Nice one, Piper," Chris remarked, impressed that she'd caught them before either one could hit the other.
Piper glared at him. "I'll deal with you in a minute. As for them, I don't know. The second I unfreeze them, they'll go at it again."
Chris motioned at Leo with two fingers. At this gesture, Leo slid backwards in his frozen position until he was several metres away from Dan. "There, problem solved," said Chris.
Piper flicked her hands to resume the scene. With nothing in front of them any longer, the two men swung wildly at thin air. Leo stumbled and caught himself in time, but Dan wasn't so lucky, the force of his missed punch causing him to land flat on his face.
"You two stay where you are! There better not be blood on the floor when I come back. And you!" Piper snarled, pointing at Chris. "Come with me."
Chris dragged his feet along the floor as he followed her into the sunroom. He didn't need premonitions to guess Piper's next move. He bit down on his lip and waited for the blow to fall.
Piper's entire body shook with rage. Was it too much to ask for one day free of screw-ups? Missing her date with Greg, her reunion with Dan wrecked by the guys' need to brawl rather than compromise like normal human beings… Magic was bad enough without regular problems being thrown into the mix. Would it never end? Leo's entrance was too well timed to be a coincidence, and she had a sneaking suspicion as to who was responsible.
"You are unbelievable! You brought Leo here on purpose, didn't you?"
She examined Chris' face for any signs of guilt. Nothing happened. Chris didn't so much as blink. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Like hell you don't!" snapped Piper. "Cut the crap and tell the truth for once. You're delusional if you think messing in my affairs is going to get me to trust you. You knew sticking Leo and Dan in the same room would be a disaster."
Piper's eyebrows furrowed. Something was illogical about that. For that to happen, Chris had to have known one small fact in order to foresee such an outcome.
"How did you know Dan was my ex?"
A dozen lies sprang up in Chris' mind, the simplest being that he had put two and two together when Dan first showed up. Given her tendency to dispute anything he said these days, however, it sounded inadequate.
He dished out the easiest excuse. "I can't tell you. Future consequences."
"Enough of the future consequences already," Piper grumbled.
"If you knew I was going to say that, why did you ask?"
"Stop being a smart ass and give me a straight answer."
"Look, don't pin this on me. Leo's the one who dragged me along for the ride," Chris defended himself.
"You call that a straight answer?"
"I told you, future consequen—"
"Okay, that's it!" Piper exploded. "I've had enough of your games. Tricking us into binding Wyatt's powers was low, but this? This is seriously…" Unable to spit out a term that described the depth of his crime, she tried another tact. "I'm through with you destroying our lives."
"What?" Chris staggered, his stoic demeanour finally shattered. Something odd—hurt and shock?—flashed through his eyes.
She noted his reaction, pleased that the enormity of his actions was dawning on him. It was about time someone put him in his place.
"Congratulations, you've succeeded so far. I hope you're happy."
Chris' reply came out soft and fragile. "You think destroying your lives is the reason I came back here?"
"Seems that way from where I'm standing," she said.
She waited for him drop the act, to rave about how his mission overrode everything, including people. It never happened. No lie to cover his tracks. No witty comeback. Chris simply gazed at her, his eyes clouding over. Piper tilted her head to the side and felt her resolve to stay furious at him waver somewhat. The last time he'd shown some form of emotion, she'd been too preoccupied with saving Wyatt from the Order to appreciate it.
"I'm sorry," Chris whispered. "For everything."