It was the first time he'd ever come out to anyone in his family before. He'd known or rather suspected since he was maybe six or so. But he ignored those feelings and then it was too late to tell anyone in his family, they were either dead, imprisoned, evil or a running a resistance. After a few moments of silence, Victor dared to take a peek at his cousin. Chris' facial expression was guarded. But at least it wasn't outright disgust.

"Please say something." He uttered unable to handle the silence any longer. He crossed his arms over his beating chest and clenched his fingers around his biceps, digging his nails into his t-shirt.

Chris opened his mouth and then shut it. His next words were not exactly what Victor was expecting, "you married my stepbrother? Your step cousin?"

"Step. As in we had no blood relation." Victor clarified unable to keep the slight snort out of his tone. He wasn't sure if the snort was from happiness that Chris wasn't voicing opposition or from his lack of sleep. "We uh," Victor scratched at the back of his head, "we went underground together." He could feel his cheeks growing redder, "and got er together."

"Wow," Chris said his eyes wide and unblinking. Victor wasn't a telepath but he could see that his cousin was now grazing over the memories looking for any sort of sign. Derek and Aunt Piper married when he was fourteen. Matt was thirteen and the most surly best man Victor had ever seen. They moved into the manor shortly afterward. Matt was distant and quiet and shy but Victor understood him in a way that Chris, Wyatt or their parents couldn't. He was half-manticore and Victor was half demon. Others (namely the Elders) were fearful they were going to be influenced by their evil genes inherited from parents they'd never met. "You guys did spend so much time together. Wow."

"Yeah we did."

"What happened?"

Victor shuffled, "Our daughter. Matthew joined Wyatt whole-heartedly and I didn't. He blames me."

"I'm sorry." Chris said, "Should we scry for him?"

"Let me handle it. If I know Matt," Victor felt himself blushing again, "and I do. He won't attack for a while. He'll be licking his wounds and plotting."

"That's comforting." Chris retorted. "But I guess with your half demon part in tact you should be able to handle yourself fine." And then his face scrunched up in a weird way, with his eyebrows knitting together.

"What?" Victor prompted.

"I was uh just imaging a manticore and Balthazar." he gestured crudely with his hands.

"Chris!"

"Okay. I'm sorry. This is all new to me." Chris replied softly he sauntered off to his desk where he methodically took out each piece of the research he'd been so carefully working on. "Vic, by the way, I don't think anyone in our family would have any issue with you being-

"Gay?" The word came out as soft as a barely audible whisper. The label had haunted him for most of his life. Chris gave him a knowing expression. "Chris please don't say anything to my mom." He felt like he was fourteen again. Sitting in his bedroom in the manor after his first kiss with a girl. He knew he should've felt elated but he felt weird.

The house was dark when Phoebe's cab pulled up in front of the curb. She fished out the necessary cash and tried her very best to tip toe into the manor unnoticed. Phoebe was hoping to avoid either of her sisters. The first floor was quiet. The only thing stirring was the dependable grandfather clock. She'd mastered climbing the stairs without making a noise when she was a teen. She was nearly to her room, but she could not help but stop to peek into the nursery.

"Hi," Piper greeted from where she sat in the rocking chair. Wyatt was laying against her right arm and Victor on her left. Their little legs were intertwined on her lap. In both boys' mouths were matching blue pacifiers.

"Hi," Phoebe said back crossing the threshold and gently prying Victor from her sister's arms. Her toddler stirred but only for a moment. She laid soft kisses to his curls and rested him upon her hip.

"Phoebe-

"I don't want to talk about tonight Piper," Phoebe said, "between being momentarily beheaded and everything else."

"I wasn't going to ask. I was going to apologize," Piper replied with softness to her tone. "For what I said about Victor. I was hurt but it was no excuse to take it out on my godson and on you. He's a good boy." Her voice broke on the word good.

Phoebe had forgiven her sister days ago. It'd been her time spent at her father's that let her conclude that. She couldn't exactly imagine what Piper was going through. Her pregnancy and the end of her relationship with Cole was something she could never find the words to explain to another person. She spent months not feeling like herself. Piper and Paige were patient. They gave to her time alone and brought her food in bed. But still their sympathetic glares did not seem to garner enough understanding of what it was like to have turned evil (briefly), to have a husband betray you and to be pregnant with his child. Piper on the other hand had the father of her child be promoted to Elder courtesy of her second son. And was told her son was going to turn evil and torment and kill. It was an emotional turmoil Phoebe wouldn't wish upon anyone. And in that moment she wanted nothing more than to tell Piper that her second son was here, that was he was good. That he was selfless.

"And Wyatt will be good too. Piper I promise we'll save him." Phoebe uttered.

Piper smiled though her eyes were still watery, "Pheebs, I can't-can't help but to think maybe it's my fault."

"Your fault?"

"That he turned out to be evil. I mean he has an Angel for a father and me-

"A kick ass witch? Piper c'mon that's ridiculous. You shower him with nothing but love. And I love him. Paige loves him. Victor loves him. His br." Phoebe cut off. Piper blinked up at her expectedly.

"His father loves him." Phoebe mended. "Piper we will save him."

"What if he's because he comes from a broken family?" Piper uttered aghast with such guilt and shame.

"Piper, we come from a broken family. And aside from a few insistences we're the Charmed ones. We will save him."

Paige appeared at the doorway then. She was wearily rubbing at her eyes and had braced herself for meditating between her warring sisters but found that they were in the midst of some sort of emotional break through. She couldn't help but smile though she was exhausted. Piper stood then. She laid Wyatt back into his crib and took that time to wipe away at her eyes.

Victor had waited until he was assured that Chris was asleep before daring to sneak away from the club. The damn witch lighter refused to go to bed. He was too absorbed in his conception charts. He only climbed into bed as it was nearing sunrise. Once he was in the alleyway he thought of the underworld. Of the first cave he had inhabited when he came across Matthew injured. The obstinate half-manticore kept insisting he was fine though his breath was labored and short. All of the signs of a busted up rib. Victor could remember the excitement he felt swell up inside of him as he helped Matt slip out of his shirt. The excitement rapidly evaporated as he caught sight of the myriad of bruises, ranging in color from yellow to green to purple that lined his torso. He had to fight the urge to gingerly run the tips of his fingers across the bruises but the rational part of his brain halted him. Matt would surely not appreciate it. He felt his own breath become hitched every time the half-manticore winced as he bandaged them. It was then just as he was almost finished tying off the bandage that Matthew had kissed him. The brush of his lips was so brisk and tentative that Victor thought he imagined it until he caught the desperation in those grey green eyes. And that was when he leaned back in to chastely return the kiss.

His revere was broken by the sound of footsteps behind him. He jerked around to see the ghoulish appearance of a manticore. The side of his lover he had only ever seen in such desperation of feelings.

"That's not you." Victor said.

The only response he got at first was hissing and the flicking of the signature long tongue. It was feral. It wasn't Matthew. Not at all, what has Wyatt done to you? Have you forgotten how much you loathed that part of yourself?

The manticore rushed towards him then. And he could've flamed away but he didn't. He let himself be slammed against the harsh sediment of the cave. The uneven edges of the rock dug into odd places in his back through the sweater he was wearing. His feet were hoisted off the ground. Matt chose that moment to fade back into his human-self. His dark hair was shaggier than Victor had ever seen. Long curls covered his eyes and there was pallor to his skin.

"How could you?" the words that came tumbling out of his mouth were ones that Victor had heard before. "Our daughter. Does she mean nothing to you?!" The arm that was hoisting him up pushed further in. His lack of air didn't hurt nearly as much as the words did.

"You and Grace are my world." Tears blurred his vision then. He could feel each individual drop dribble down his cheeks.

"She's dead." Matthew spat. "She died in my arms. And you're here playing family turning against the one man who could save her!"

Grace had been comatose when he left. A slither of the girl she once was. Victor was so unnerved when he gripped her hand for the last time. It was as if she turned into a bird. Her skin was stretched over bones just like the skin stretched over her gaunt cheeks. He kissed the brow of her head whispering her lullaby as he tried to absolve abandoning her and her Papa. The first punch numbed him. Victor felt himself slide against the rock wall. He didn't feel the rest of the punches.

"You fucking coward!" Matthew screamed as he lifted Victor up by the collar of his sweatshirt "How dare you? Leave me alone to watch her die. I heard her last breath. I felt her body go cold. Do you know what that's like? Do you Victor?"

"HEY!" Chris yelled as he telekinetically shoved his stepbrother away from his cousin. Matthew turned to him looking enraged. Chris had never quite seen a man looking so broken. But instead of retaliating he shimmered away. Victor was a crumbled ball against the rocks. His face pummeled to a bloody mess. Both of his eyes were already swollen shut. Blood oozed from the gash on his forehead. But what was more alarming was his lack of response to Chris shaking him and screaming.

Of the three Halliwell cousins, Chris was the shortest and thinnest. Victor was in no means large but he had a muscular build like his parents and he was dead weight and it was hard to manage him and all of his gangly limbs at the same time. With great difficulty and quite a number of swear words Piper Halliwell wouldn't approve of, Chris had managed to swing Victor's left arm over his neck and he was now upright. But his head was rolling like he was an infant.

They disappeared in a flurry of orbs and re-appeared in the backroom of P3 where Victor slumped onto the sofa. Chris leaned over him, pressing two fingers to his cousin's neck. Once he was assured there was a pulse, he began to call out for the one person he liked least to call.

Leo Wyatt had been meditating when the frantic calls came. He returned once more to the back room of P3 wearily. "What is…" he began when he noticed that Chris didn't looked harmed at all. His eyes scanned the room and found Ben who looked as if he had been in a terrible fight. He raced to the edge of the sofa and began to heal away. Once his face was cleared, Chris edged over and he lifted his brother's body up revealing a bunch of abrasions lining the back. It looked as if he'd been dragged against concrete. When the last of those deep marks turned to pale healed skin, the boy still didn't wake.

"Is he alright?"

"Why don't you tell me Chris? I healed his wounds. But what was he doing before? Did someone steal his body again?"

"No. He was in- a kind of private fight."

"If it was of the emotional sort that could be why he isn't waking up."

"Makes sense then. Thanks Leo." The surly whitelighter shuffled to the desk where he picked up a discarded compass and began to draw lines. "you can go now. I can watch him."

"Hmmm." Leo said but he didn't return to the heavens. Instead he returned to the manor, specifically to the nursery where Wyatt slept. The boy was a wild kicker in his slept and the quilt that Leo's Nana had made lay in a humbled heap at his feet. Leo gingerly untangled it from the little feet and tucked the fabric around his son. When all of his son's limbs were encased safely inside, he laid a kiss to the boy's blonde head and brushed away some of the locks.

His son looked just as he did when he was a baby. There was nothing of his mother in his face. Shame. Piper was beautiful and as much as she loved Wyatt that still must be hard, Leo mused as he meandered around the nursery pausing before the picture of him, Wyatt and Piper in happier times. Piper entered then, carrying a basket of laundry. She was adorned only in the white robe. Her hair was tied up messily and there were dark circles underneath her eyes.

"Leo?" she asked. "Was he crying?" Her weary expression was replaced by one of pure concern.

"No. No. Piper I have something I have to tell you," Leo said, "a couple of things actually." He divulged about his session spent healing Ben Perry once again and then he told her of the council regarding Chris' behavior.

Piper's dark eyes regarded him cautiously. He thought for certain she'd concur with his decision. Chris had done more harm then good as a whitelighter. She instead picked up the laundry basket and rested it upon her hip, "Leo. Ben isn't a whitelighter. You can't recycle a non-whitelighter. Are we just going to banish him back to the future where Wyatt's….," she trailed off knowing that Leo knew what she meant. "and aside from that, Phoebe trusts them now. She's asked me to trust her and I'm going to trust her. I made a huge mistake and I owe her that."

"I'm sorry to dump this all on you Daddy," Phoebe uttered as she passed the length of his office. It was his lunch break. His lunch, a pathetic looking almond salad was untouched. Victor Bennett couldn't fathom eating as his mind was reeling. "But I had to tell somebody. And I can't tell Piper because well he doesn't want her to know. Which is ridiculous I know."

"Uhm. Let me get this straight." Victor said as he rose from his seat. He thought his wife being a witch would be the shock of his life. "Wyatt is going to turn evil. And his little yet to born brother traveled back in time as Chris Perry. And your son, Victor is here too."

"A huh. My son dad. He's good." Phoebe whispered awestruck. Tears blurred her vision and she turned away from him. "He's so handsome too Daddy. He's tall," she gestured with her hands, "and Chris is too. Those boys must've gotten their height from you. And his hair it's darker and a little less curlier. His eyes are so blue just-just like his father's."

In spite of his confusion, Victor liked to hear the elation in his daughter's voice. He may not understand their Wiccan ways but he was still their father and every father just wanted their child to be happy.

"I'd love to meet him. Meet them." Victor said.

"Of course you can meet them. But maybe after Piper knows too? I should tell her right?"

"Well." Victor said, "I guess that depends. You say he's Leo's? And they're not together?" His daughter nodded in affirmation. "Well er…," it was not a topic he liked to think about in regards to his daughters, "how many years apart are he and Wyatt?"

Phoebe paused. Victor was older than Wyatt by two weeks. And she'd heard him protest that he was twenty-four when the bartender tried to deny him a drink. Wyatt must be twenty-three too. Chris said he was twenty-two.

"Maybe a year and half?" Phoebe guessed. And then she realized why her father was asking. "Shit. I'm going to kill him."