Chapter Three
No one moved to answer the door. There was an air of nervousness crackling about the occupants of the room So, Wyatt, being the curious three-year-old, rushed to the door and pulled it open. He stared up at the visitor, his finger in his mouth.
"Wyatt sweetie," Piper called, moving into view. She too took in their new guest and had to grip the doorframe to keep from falling down.
The resemblance was uncanny. Phoebe and Paige appeared in view as well, causing their nephew to look up and do the one thing he shouldn't have done. His force field appeared around the four of them. Max's mouth dropped open at the sight. Before any words could issue from his vocal chords, he had collapsed to the floor of the porch.
"That isn't good," Paige remarked.
"You think?" Piper snapped.
"Let's get him inside before he wakes up," Phoebe ordered and together the three of them managed to get Max inside. Wyatt had yet to drop his shield and was clutching to Piper's leg, making it difficult for the trio to carry their visitor.
"Wyatt you need to let go of Mommy," Leo urged, extending his hand to the three-year-old. Reluctantly Wyatt lowered his shield and took his father's hand. Bryce stood up as he watched the sisters lay his father on the couch.
"What happened?" he asked with concern.
"Wyatt put up his shield and your Dad fainted," Piper answered, looking sympathetic.
"Why did you do that?" Bryce shot angrily at Wyatt.
"Hey, relax. He's three," Leo shot back. Bryce might be his grandson but it didn't give him the right to mess with Wyatt.
"He could have hurt my Dad," Bryce protested.
"Well he didn't. He was protecting his mother and aunts," Leo countered, growing frustrated.
"So what, the rest of the family doesn't matter?"
"He just met you! You saw how he reacted when you picked up Chris. He doesn't trust people very easily," Leo growled, taking a few steps towards the young man.
"And with good reason," he muttered under his breath.
"Leo! Back off!" Piper shouted, grabbing her husband by the shoulders.
"You're Dad is going to be fine," she told Bryce gently over her shoulder, steering Leo out of the room and into the kitchen.
"What the hell just happened in there? Two minutes ago you were getting along great and now you're taking his head off," she accused in a whisper.
"I don't think this is the time to be calling me out, Piper. Don't forget half an hour ago you were ripping my head off over him," Leo countered.
"Leo…" she trailed off.
"I'm just protecting my son," Leo assured her.
"I know you are," she murmured, hugging him. Suddenly the sound of feet interrupted their moment. The couple looked down to see Wyatt, looking very upset.
"What's wrong baby?" Piper asked, picking him up. He quickly buried his face in her shoulder.
"Come on, tell Mommy what's wrong," she coaxed.
"Wyatt!" Phoebe came into the room.
"What happened?" Leo and Piper asked simultaneously.
"Bryce's Dad," Phoebe began.
"Max," Leo interrupted.
"Ok…Max hit his head when he fainted and Wyatt was trying to heal him and Bryce kind of flipped out," she finished. Leo looked livid. This little family reunion was not turning out well. Without a word, Leo stormed out of the kitchen.
"Leo!" Piper called after him. Together, Phoebe and Piper rushed after him. To their horror, they found Leo pinning Bryce against a wall.
"He was trying to heal him!" Leo was shouting angrily.
"How the hell was I supposed to know that?" his grandson spat back. Leo took a step back, his fist about to connect with Bryce's face when Pipers hands shot out, freezing her husband for the second time that day.
"Thank you," Bryce gasped as he wiggled out of his grandfather's way.
"Not so fast," Piper said, catching him by the sleeve.
"He is right you know. Wyatt's only three and he was trying to help," she said, her tone as even as she could make it.
Bryce didn't know what to say. Just then, Leo unfroze and his fist slammed into the wall. His face tightened in pain as he nursed a broken finger. He whirled around to face his grandson.
"Don't make me freeze you again," Piper threatened. Wordlessly, Paige appeared next to her brother-in-law and healed him.
"Look, Bryce. You're Dad hit his head pretty hard. Would you let me heal him?" Paige offered.
"Yeah, sure," he mumbled, distancing himself from his irate grandparent.
She moved over to the couch and placed her hands over Max's head. A healing glow flowed from her hands and the rather large bump was gone. She backed up and her spot was replaced by Leo.
"Max," he breathed. As if on cue Max's eyes fluttered open. He stared up at Leo with a matching gaze.
"What the hell is…" Max mumbled, disoriented. He sat up and the room began to spin before him. Leo sat down next to him.
"Dad?" Max queried, breathless.
"Yeah…it's me," Leo answered, pulling his son into a fierce hug.
"How…you're dead," Max gasped, pulling out of his father's grasp.
"I promise I'll explain everything. Right now, I think Bryce has something he needs to tell you," Leo answered.
"No, I don't," Bryce hissed through clenched teeth. There was a tugging on his pant leg. He looked down to see Chris trying to climb up his leg. He bent down to pick Chris up but the child disappeared in a swirl of orbs. Leo caught Max's facial expression.
"I suppose I better explain some things," he muttered.
"Yes, you'd better," Max ordered, sounding more like the parent.
"Could we have a little privacy?" he asked of the sisters.
"Sure," Phoebe answered, ushering Paige out and dragging Piper.
"Wyatt, can you go with Mommy and take Chris with you?" Leo commanded of his three-year-old son.
"Ok Daddy," Wyatt answered, half dragging Chris along with him.
"Daddy?" Max repeated.
"I'll get to that. Why don't I start at the beginning," Leo said.
"After I died, the Elders, a sort of higher being, made me a whitelighter, a kind of guardian angel. It was a reward for the good deeds I'd done in my life," Leo began.
"Why didn't you just come back?" Ma interrupted.
"I couldn't. The Elders felt it best that I move on. I know it wasn't fair to you or your Mom," he answered.
"Pretty much, the story doesn't get interesting until eight years ago when I met Piper and her sisters. I was assigned to be their whitelighter," Leo continued.
"Five years ago, Piper and I got married. The Elders weren't happy about that either but they haven't stopped us," he added triumphantly.
"Why…did these Elder people not want you to marry her?" Max questioned.
"She's a witch," he muttered.
"Ok…you really expect me to believe all of this witch and Elder crap?" max shot.
"You better believe it. You're son is a Wiccan, same as Piper and her sisters," Leo countered.
"Is this true, Bryce?" Max addressed his son.
"Yeah…look, it's not a big deal. It's not illegal or anything," Bryce defended himself.
"How long has this been going on?"
"A few months. It's not like I could just ignore it. It's just who I am," he answered, feeling oddly like he was coming out of the closet.
"I raised you right. Why did this happen?" Max murmured to himself.
"It's not a bad thing, Max. He's fighting for the Greater Good," Leo defended his grandson.
"Yeah. What he said," Bryce echoed.
"How about you explain who those little boys are?" Max muttered, changing the subject.
"They're your younger brothers; Wyatt and Chris," Leo answered.
"Well it appears they don't like me," Max chuckled.
"Wyatt doesn't like me either, Dad," Bryce offered.
"He's had a rough couple of months. Someone we trusted tried to kidnap and kill him. So he's learned to not trust people he doesn't know. Can you really blame him for wanting to protect his little brother?" Leo explained.
"I guess not," Bryce muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"So…your son does m-magic too?" Max asked, stumbling over the word.
"Yes. He's…special. He has a lot of power," Leo replied, laughing a little.
"God, Dad you haven't changed," Max whispered..
"Dying and becoming a whitelighter will do that for you," Leo joked.
"How's your Mother?" he asked.
"She's ok. She used to talk about you all the time after the war," Max answered, looking nostalgic.
"She still does. Every time we visit her at the home," Bryce added.
"I'd like to see her," Leo breathed.
"Why don't we go see her then," Piper's voice came from the doorway.
"Piper…an hour ago you were ready to blow me up over Madeline. And now you want to go see her?" Leo asked, confused.
"Well if she married you, she had to have something going for her," Piper said with a shrug.
"Thanks, hon. That's so reassuring," he snickered.
"Daddy," Wyatt called, running into the room and climbing into his father's lap.
"Wyatt…there is somebody I want you to meet," Leo whispered.
"This is Max. He's your brother," he introduced the three-year-old. Max tentatively extended his hand out for Wyatt to shake.
"It's nice to meet you Wyatt," Max said. Wyatt eyed the man's hand nervously. He looked up at Leo who gave him a reassuring nod and the child took his brother's hand.
"Hi," he said.
"So, are we going to visit?" Piper questioned, taking Chris from Paige's hands.
"Where are we going?" Paige asked.
"To visit Madeline," Leo answered, beaming. Maybe this reunion wouldn't be so bad after all. She gave Piper a confused look.
"His first wife," she whispered.
"I can fit five people in my car," Max announced, standing up.
"Uh, son, how about we take a little different approach," Leo suggested.
"What are you suggesting?"
"You've got to get used to magic. Might as well start now," Leo said, pulling his son and grandson towards Paige.
"I don't know if I can orb this many people, Leo," she said.
"Wyatt, hold Aunt Paige's hand ok and help her orb," Leo instructed. The group of eight disappeared in a large swirl of orbs, being deposited in a clump of trees across from the assisted living facility. Max led the group across the street and into the lobby.
"Janice. It's good to see you," he greeted the receptionist.
"Max. Hi. Is Madeline expecting you?" she asked.
"No, but there's some people I want her to meet," Max explained.
"Let me see if she's up to some visitors," Janice answered. She disappeared around a corner and returned five minutes later.
"She's in the common room. Follow me," she announced and led the group down the hall and into the large room. There were a few people watching TV or napping in chairs. Madeline Wyatt was seated at a table, engrossed in a book.
"Mom," Max called, catching his mother's attention. She looked up from the page she was reading, her mouth hanging open.