Chapter 10

Eight years in the future…

The pounding bass shook her headboard making it impossible for her to sleep. What in the world was I thinking? She wondered, groaning. Why – why did I agree to live with Wyatt and Chris above P3?

Admittedly, in the beginning, living above a nightclub that your cousins owned sounded pretty cool for the nineteen-year-old Prudence. The four-bedroom loft was on the second floor of the warehouse P3 operated out of. For years, it had been ignored and used as storage. However, when Victor had run the business for Piper during her pregnancy with Melinda, he got the idea to renovate the space into an apartment and create some more revenue for the club. When Wyatt and Chris had started college they decided they wanted to move out on their own. But Piper wouldn't let them move into the dorms – for obvious reasons. Halfway into the school year, the people renting the apartment had to break their lease and the boys convinced Piper to let them rent the place in exchange for labor at P3.

When Prudence started studying at the local university, Wyatt and Chris asked her if she would like to move out of the room she had shared with Veve for ten years and move in with them. Though she loved her little cousin, Prudence craved her own room, the space to paint and a little freedom from her mother and Aunt Paige – who loved to try and matchmake her with the younger professors at Magic School.

Now, however, living above one of the hottest nightspots in town was not helping her get the rest Prudence needed before her art history mid-term. The test made up 30 of her grade and she needed a high score, as her attendance was definitely not going to help her get an 'A' and keep her scholarship. She had way too many "family-emergencies" for her professor's liking this semester. Plus, tomorrow night was her big date with Miller – a very cute sophomore who she had met in the film lab. Dark circles under her eyes would not a good impression make.

Chris? Prudence telepathed to her cousin who was downstairs behind the bar.

What's up Denny? What are you still doing awake, huh? I thought you were going to head to bed early tonight so you could get up early and review your test notes. Chris answered back a few seconds later.

Yeah, that was the original plan. I've been trying to get to sleep for the past 2 hours. There's just too much noise – sounds like Wyatt's spinning tonight.

Yeah – he kicked the band off the stage and took control of the entertainment. Don't know why he hired them to begin with.

Think you could give me a lift to the Manor?

I can't leave…Cameron just got sick and I told him to go home. How about a soundproofing spell?

I don't care as long as I get some sleep. I need sleep Chris!

Sure thing Denny. Night.

Night.

Ten minutes later Prudence was falling asleep to the blissful sounds of nothing.

In the end, there had been little struggle. He had grown too powerful. Not even the strongest or the cleverest could stand against him. They had tried though – they had tried to form an army. They had tried to march against him. But the hundreds had lost to him. They had lost to his lust for vengeance. He had destroyed most of them. Those remaining had scattered to the far reaches of the Underworld in fear.

He was weary. Tired of the quest he had forced upon himself. There was no way to eradicate the world of every evil – but he would try. But why? He had forgotten why he fought. Why his fists were curled in tight rage. Why hate had blackened his soul. Why his heart still burned for vengeance.

His mind had been corrupted by the few minutes he had fused his magic with Excalibur. His memories stolen by the years of killing. He had regressed to knowing only of survival – the most basic instinct known to all – evil or good. He was living a nightmare. His brain pulsed with the echoes of screams and desperate cries. They tried to break him.

He slumped to the ground and sat on a large outcropping of rock overlooking more rock and more devastation. The remains of the demon army – if there were any to be found – were scattered throughout the cavern.

In the dim, reddish glow his features were masked; but the sadness that stooped his shoulders was evident. In the rare moments he rested he tried to remember what had come before this. What had his life been like before the endless days of vanquishing? He tried to remember the vibrant rainbow that colored the world above. The man appraised his surroundings. He had roamed this realm of rock and evil for years, it was all he knew, the only home he remembered.

When the loneliness threatened to overwhelm him, he would reach into his pocket and pull out a cameo necklace. It was dirty; and the gold, once luminescent, was now tarnished. It didn't matter. Once there had been a picture inside of it. He tried to remember what the picture had been of, but the memory, like the picture, had been lost. There was only the faint whisper of a scent – some type of flower, perhaps – and a pair of cinnamon colored eyes.

The eyes haunted his every thought and action. They had watched him throughout the years, following, observing – judging. They watched his skin become pallid from lack of sun. They watched his cheeks sink and the light fade from his eyes. They watched his eyes release dry tears. They watched him vanquish demon after demon. Whose cinnamon eyes watched his every sin? Did they belong to a woman? Had she been his love once upon a time? Had the two of them shared love?

Love. The man turned the word over in his mind. He had known love once – he was sure of it. But all he knew now was desire. He was breathless for the caress of warm skin. He panted at the thought of soft lips grazing his cracked and bruised lips.

He sighed. He had done all he could here. The evil that resided in this rocky realm had retreated. Fear had pushed it into the shadows. Fear of him. But there was much evil in the world yet. He could feel it and hear it as it moved through the mortals above him. He had done all he could here. It was time to move on. It was time to move above.

He took one last look – at the rock, the dirt, and the remains of the vanquished. He took one last breath and then disappeared.

"Come on Melinda! You're going to be late for school!" Piper Halliwell was standing at the base of the stairs in the middle of the foyer waiting for her seven-year-old daughter to get her butt in gear.

Her brown-haired, green-eyed daughter appeared in sparkling blue orbs next to her. Classes at Magic School began at 8:10 a.m. sharp. It was 7:45 and she was still in her pajamas, mouth wide with a yawn.

"Why are you not dressed for school Melinda Ann Halliwell! Don't you know that school starts in less than a half-an-hour!"

"I'm not feeling good Mommy," Melinda replied sleepily.

Piper frowned and reached out to feel her daughter's forehead, it was warm. "Open your mouth for me," Piper said and Melinda readily obeyed, familiar with the steps her mother took to check for sickness. Piper looked down the girl's throat, but there was no redness. "Does your tummy hurt?" Melinda nodded. "Are you achy?" Piper asked. Melinda nodded again.

She was not surprised; the flu had been running rampant through the halls of Magic School for the past few weeks. Paige had already been ill three times; Piper had been waiting for Melinda to come down with bug as well. "It looks like you're not going to school today," Piper said as she took her daughter's hand and led Melinda back upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her older cousin Veve.

The room had been repainted by Wyatt and Will only last year. Piper remembered the name on the paint sample being "warm sunlight." It was a buttery, bright yellow that was appropriate for both the thirteen-year-old and the seven-year-old who made the room their residence. Veve's half of the room was decorated in a very romantic style. Her bed was an old wrought iron daybed they had found in the attic. Will, with the help of Chris, had gotten it out of storage and within two weeks all traces of rust were gone and it had a fresh coat of white paint. The bed linens were all different shades of pink. And Veve had her dad hang pictures of her favorite romantic heroines above her bed – Isolde, Elaine and her namesake, Guinevere. The castle shaped lamp from Veve's childhood was on her bedside table. The shelves above her desk were filled with books of fairy tales and legends.

The other half of the bedroom was not quite so…dreamy. Melinda had regular-sized twin bed with a dark stained wooden frame. Because Melinda liked bolder colors, Piper had gotten her navy blue and orange bed linens. On her nightstand sat a single picture of her father. Though she had never met him, her brothers and mother had told her all about her daddy and she knew he loved and missed her.

Until recently, the floor on Melinda's side had been covered with stuffed animals. She loved all animals and was convinced she was going to be a vet for all creatures – magical and non-magical – when she grew up. After much begging on Piper's part, Wyatt and Chris had devoted an afternoon to hanging a canopy above Melinda's bed out of netting that would house Melinda's incredible collection. The canopy project had been a success and now Melinda looked up at all of her stuffed animals every night as she drifted off to sleep.

Piper tucked her little one under her covers and smiled, "You're going to be just fine little Doll – Mommy's going to take care of you today, okay?" Doll was the nickname Melinda had been given the day she was born by her older brother Wyatt. The 16-year-old had remarked while watching her nap, she looked like a doll. The nickname had stuck. "I'm going to go downstairs and write a quick note to your teacher, but I promise I'll be back soon, okay?"

Melinda again nodded and snuggled closer to the stuffed moose Chris had won her at the street fair last week. By the time Piper had opened the bedroom door to leave, Melinda was already back in the land of dreams.

Wyatt was sitting at the kitchen table helping himself to a second donut from the large platter of breakfast pastries as he stuffed one into his mouth – whole. Upon entering the kitchen, Piper swatted his hand from the donut. "Where are your manners?"

Chris, who was busy pouring himself a very large mug of coffee, snorted. "I'm convinced that summer he supposedly spent at Magic camp with his friends he was really staying with a pack of wolves. You should see his room." Piper's youngest son said dryly.

Wyatt glared playfully at his brother while reaching for the donut Piper had slapped his hand away from a moment earlier. "Don't mess with me before the coffee kicks in, Squirt." He said, while proceeding to take a huge gulp of the liquid caffeine.

Squirt was a nickname from their childhood. Wyatt had always been the taller of the two. At 24, Piper's oldest son stood at 6'5". The two boys were the exact opposite of each other in appearance. For the umpteenth time in their lives, Piper marveled once more how the two men who looked and acted so little alike could possibly be related, much less brothers. Wyatt was built like his father with thick, broad shoulders – they kind a girl could really lean on when she needed to. As a teen he had worn his blond hair long, but shortly before graduating from college he had shaved his head on a dare. Now he wore it short, buzzed close to the scalp. His green eyes were sharp and bright, and like Leo's had been, they were always warm and kind. Sometimes it was he was the only one to appreciate the pranks Perry pulled.

Despite Piper's cooking and a healthy appetite, Chris's 5'11" frame was lean. Lanky would be the best way to describe Piper and Leo's youngest son. He looked exactly like his alter ego from the future had. His brown hair was shaggy and unkempt and his green eyes, though warm with compassion, always had a slight sadness in them. His reserved and quiet nature preferred evenings with his family or reading. It certainly didn't suit running a nightclub.

Right after college, Chris and Wyatt bought P3 from their mother for two dollars and dinner at her favorite restaurant. The two split everything equally. Wyatt handled the bands and promotions, Chris took care of the staff and the books.

"How was the band last night?" Piper asked as she rummaged through the obligatory junk drawer every kitchen had for a pen and paper.

Chris moved to the table, helping himself to the grapes and cantaloupe on the kitchen counter before sitting down.

"Not bad," Wyatt said, mouth half full of donut. "But they weren't great either. I couldn't figure it out – their audition was really good. Halfway through their first set our crowd was about to leave, so I pulled 'em off the stage, told 'em to get college degrees and give up. I ended up deejaying the rest of the night."

Piper turned and cocked one eyebrow in Wyatt's direction. "What was the band?"

"Idiot Savants." Chris answered since Wyatt had just stuffed another donut into his mouth.

"Where are they coming up with these names?" Piper asked, joining the boys at the kitchen table. "Have you been to sleep yet? Do you want me to make you an omelet or something?"

Wyatt just nodded, still chewing the donut.

Chris ticked off answers to Piper's questions with his fingers. "One, not a clue. But I do think my brother was an idiot for hiring them in the first place. Ow!" Chris exclaimed as Wyatt kicked him under the table. The two gave each other dirty looks as Chris continued. "Two, didn't get a lot of sleep, maybe 3 hours? We were short a waitress last night and Cameron got sick and had to leave early so we finished cleaning the place about 3:30 this morning. And three, yes, an omelet would be great. Could I get one with the works?"

Piper smiled, "Sure honey – I just have to get this note written before Veve takes off for school."

Wyatt's brow furrowed, "What's the note for?"

Piper sighed, "Melinda has the flu that Paige had last week – and the week before that – and two weeks before that I think." Piper responded.

Wyatt started to rise out of his chair with the intention of healing Melinda. After all, he was the older brother. It was his job to protect his younger siblings; and after 24 years on the job, he liked to think he was pretty good at it.

Piper stopped Wyatt halfway out of his seat with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Sit back down young man. If you keep healing Melinda, she'll never build up a tolerance to any germs and she'll have to live in a bubble or something when she's older."

"You always gotta go show off and heal everything – even the paper cuts!" Chris said with a touch of sarcasm.

"Ease up dude – you weren't complaining when you broke your arm when we were kids." Wyatt retorted. "You don't want Melly to suffer anymore than I do. You're just jealous that I can heal and you can't."

"Here we go again." Chris said dryly. "Contrary to popular belief Wy, I do not envy you because of your 'twice-blessed' status."

Piper interrupted before her sons could take their bickering to the next level. "Enough. Please guys. You're going to give me a migraine."

Veve bounced into the kitchen, her long black ringlets bouncing after her in the ponytail they had been coaxed into. "Morning!" She said brightly. She went over to the refrigerator and pulled the carafe of orange juice out before shutting the door with her hip.

"Good Morning Veve," Piper replied, amazed at the girl's natural perkiness in the morning. Must have been something she inherited from her dad, Piper thought. God knows Paige doesn't even have a vocabulary until she's downed about 3 cups of coffee. "All set for school?" she asked.

Veve turned to face her aunt, glass of OJ in hand. "Yup."

"Books?" Piper questioned.

"In my bag." Veve responded, gesturing to the messenger bag that was slung across her body.

"Homework?" Chris and Wyatt's heads began to follow the conversation like they would a tennis match.

"Finished." She replied while returning the juice carafe to the refrigerator.

"Lunch?"

"Mom's treating me to lunch today at school," Veve replied.

"Note for Melinda's teacher?"

"Huh?" Veve was finally tripped up. Aunt Piper gave her the third degree every morning. At first it was kinda irritating, but now it was routine for them – and, Veve grudgingly admitted, kinda fun.

"Melinda's sick. She has that stomach flu that's been going around. You were in the bathroom getting ready when she woke up."

"Oh – tell Melly I hope she's feeling better," Veve said as she took the note Piper was handing her. "And let her know when I get home tonight, we'll finish our book from yesterday."

"What are you guys reading?" Wyatt asked with one eyebrow raised. He knew his cousin – it was going to include at least one damsel in distress.

"The Twelve Dancing Princesses," Veve replied, "It's my favorite and Melly's been reading it to me." She then turned to Piper, "Where's Perry?"

"Already at school serving that morning detention Paige had to give him yesterday," Piper replied.

"What did he do this time, Mom?" Chris asked.

"He was caught impersonating Paige," Piper replied. "Apparently, he glamoured into his mother, entered the faculty lounge and then proceeded to fire all of the teachers in the room. He didn't count on walking into Paige as he left the lounge. Poor Mrs. McDonagal – she fell apart completely, almost had a heart attack right there in the middle of her pea soup. Paige gave him four weeks of morning and evening detention. He also has to write apology letters to each of the teachers he tricked."

Wyatt burst out laughing. Chris, seeing the Piper's disapproval of Wyatt's reaction, tried to stifle his laughs but failed miserably. Veve rolled her eyes and wondered, for the hundredth time that week alone, how she was related to her idiot brother.

Piper checked the clock above the stove. "Veve, you better get going. Homeroom is in ten – would you two hyenas knock it off!" She interrupted herself to reprimand her sons. Wyatt was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his cheeks. Chris had given himself the hiccups. At their mother's demand, they attempted to stifle their laughter by taking big gulps of air.

"Have a good day Aunt Piper. Bye Chris! Bye Wyatt!" Veve called out as she took her aunt's advice and orbed off to Magic school.

Piper turned and looked at her sons, red-faced and sore from laughing so hard – they were still chuckling. She shook her head at the both of them as she began to get ingredients for omelets out of the refrigerator. "What am I going to do with the two of you!"

The street was filled with the noise of mortals. Music heavy with bass and lyrics he didn't understand blared from rusted cars that should have been sent to the junkyard years ago. Garbage overflowed trashcans and spilled onto the sidewalk. A wind came up and threw a discarded coffee cup into the middle of the street. It was run over.

Car exhaust, trash and the smells of food cooking from the diner across the street assaulted his nostrils. No one noticed his unkempt appearance and torn, dirty clothing. No one cared. He passed a man slumped against a building with a sign, "Evil is here!" His clothes were worn and dirty too. No one gave him a second thought. No one cared about him either.

The poor man's sign was right. Evil was there. Leo could feel it, it was all around him. Sensing, he locked onto the strongest source of evil. It was a young man, no more than twenty years old.

Leo followed him as he walked up six blocks to a playground. There were no children there. Children hadn't played on the swings or slide in this park for a long time. Instead, the playground was filled with young men and women with no other place to go and no hope to ever leave their neighborhood.

No one noticed the unkempt man with torn clothing. He was invisible. He followed the boy through the playground and into an alley off the side of the park. All sounds of the street and the crowd in the playground were muffled. The young man stood next to a dumpster, almost halfway down the side street. Leo's shadow on the ground made him turn around, fingertips brushing the switchblade in his back pocket.

"Whatchu doin' here?" The boy asked, his voice rough and ready.

Leo said nothing.

"You come to buy?" The boy asked.

Leo nodded.

"Whatchu want then?"

Leo shrugged, taking a step or two closer to the young man.

"Coke? Smack? PCP?"

Leo narrowed his eyes and shrugged again.

"Look – you stupid? You already up on somethin'? Whatchu want? I don't got all day." The young man demanded, pulling off his sunglasses in frustration.

Leo said nothing, but lifted his left hand. A white beam shot out from Leo's palm into the young man's chest. It burned a hole straight through his heart.

Leo approached the corpse calmly and searched the coat and pant pockets. He even slipped off the young man's shoes. It took him only a few seconds to locate the goods the young man had been selling. Leo placed all of the packets it into a pile on the ground and concentrated, his left hand held out. Moments later, the powders disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He turned and strode out of the alleyway, cutting across the playground like before. At the intersection, he turned left and sensed another demon. There was blood on this one's hands. It was disguised as a middle-aged man. He appeared painfully out of place in this neighborhood with his three-piece suit. His well-polished leather loafers clicked against the pavement as he put as more and more distance between himself and the apartment and the dead young woman he had just left.

Leo narrowed his eyes and followed the suit.

"I'm coming! I'm coming" Prudence shouted. She was running late for her date with Miller – the cute sophomore from portrait photography. "Crap!" She exclaimed under her breath. At the moment, Prudence had two different shoes on and was trying to decide if she should wear the strappy gold sandals or the dark purple stilettos while trying desperately to hook the medium-sized hoops in her ears.

Chris poked his head into Prudence's room, "You want me to get the door for you Denny? Whoa – lookin' good tonight 'cuz. Although, I would really recommend wearing with shoes that matched."

She was wearing a white tank top that sported spaghetti straps and cut just above her belly button showing off about an inch of well-toned midriff. Over that, she had layered a gauzy sheer chiffon top in a very pale lilac. Dark-washed bootcut jeans accentuated her long legs. Prudence was almost as tall as Chris, with heels, she was. She had inherited her height, hair color and trust fund from her father. The large brown eyes, love of art, special powers and the knack to rhyme came from her mom's side.

Prudence whipped around from her floor length mirror and shot Chris her best "I-hate-you-so-please-shut-up-glare."

Chris put both hands up, "Okay, okay – I'll be quiet. And I'll get the door."

Prudence turned back round to her mirror – the strappy sandals had her vote. She kicked off the stiletto and pulled on her other sandal. Once fully dressed, Prudence grabbed her lip-gloss, wallet, cell phone and new, incredibly small digital camera from her dresser and threw them into her clutch.

Miller had very pleasantly surprised Prudence by treating her to a picnic lunch in Ghiradelli square. Afterwards, they shared an ice cream sundae from Ghiradelli's shop and watched the sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge. So far, Miller had scored 2 points in Prudence's book for originality and 2 points for letting her pick the toppings on the sundae.

Now the two were cozied up in one of the VIP booths that surrounded the dance floor of P3 – it didn't matter than neither of them were 21, being tight with the owners had helped them get around that small detail.

Opposite them, Wyatt and his petite girlfriend Evyln were cozied up together. Chris had insisted that they hire a deejay, someone to sub when Wyatt wanted to take a night off. They were testing the new guy tonight – and he was spinning pretty good.

"Hey guys," Chris said as he set drinks down in front of the four of them. "I'd like you two," Chris motioned to Prudence and Miller. "To try the new non-alcoholic cocktail we're thinking about adding to the menu. It's call the Cran-Raz and completely on the house. Wyatt, for you and Evlyn I've got the grown-up version."

Prudence had long been a guinea pig for her brother's non-alcoholic creations and took a sip without asking, knowing if Chris was serving it had already been perfected. And it was – perfect that is.

Miller wasn't as sure, "What's in it?" He asked over the music.

Chris hadn't decided yet whether or not he liked Denny's latest interest. She was like a younger sister to him, and he was incredibly protective of her. Earlier, when the guy had picked Denny up, he seemed nice enough; and had readily volunteered to Chris all of the information he asked. If Denny ever found out Chris played 20 questions with all of her dates, she'd probably never speak to him again. "There's cranberry juice, fresh raspberries, a twist of lime and club soda in there. The grown-up version uses vodka instead of the club soda."

"Fantastic Chris!" Evlyn exclaimed over the noise, "Can I get another?"

Wyatt pushed his glass to Evlyn, "You can have mine, it's too fruity for me." he said, standing up and giving his brother a slight punch on the shoulder. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get myself a beer from the bar. Anyone else?"

Miller took a sip and gave Chris a thumbs up. Job done, Chris gave half-salute and moved onto a table a few feet away that was flagging him down.

Prudence leaned over and spoke into Miller's ear so he would hear her above the music, "Do you want to dance?"

He wasn't that great at it, but for Prudence, why not? "Sure!" Miller accepted and grabbed Prudence's hand and the two of them moved out onto the crowded dance floor.

The dance club was throbbing with music. Hewas standing across the street from it. He could sense no demons near, but nevertheless, he had been pulled to this place. It seemed familiar to him somehow – he knew that the name "P3" should mean something to him, but the answer was skirting the edges of his consciousness. He needed to move closer.

There was an alley off to the right and he entered it. The side street circled the building and stopped in the back. There was a chain link fence that stopped him from going any further. There was a small loading dock, a dumpster, recycling bins and a staircase leading to a balcony and the second floor. It was empty but for him and the trash.

He heard the back door begin to creak open and ducked behind one of the recycle bins.

A tall young man with short hair stepped out into the alleyway, with trash bags in each hand. Leo couldn't make out his features in the shadow, but there was something familiar about this man's movements.

This is the last time I go get myself a drink on a night off, Wyatt thought. He had gone up to the bar with the intention of getting himself a beer. In a matter of minutes he had poured several drinks, run to the backroom for more liquor and was now taking out the trash. As he lifted the lid of the dumpster, something jingled in the back of his mind. He felt a presence, a very familiar presence nearby. He dropped the bags and looked around, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Hey! Wy!" The back door opened again and a shorter man stepped out directly below the light. The man had shaggy brown hair and piercing green eyes. Leo watched as the man who had first came out turned around. "Evlyn's wondering where the hell her date went – why are you taking the trash out on your night off?"

Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, instantly forgetting about the twinge in the back of his mind. "Dunno. Somehow I volunteered myself for the job."

"Come on Mr. Twice-Blessed, let's get back to the party."

Wyatt made his way to the door, "Right behind ya, Squirt."

The door closed and the two men returned to the club, leaving Leo in his hiding spot. Images, memories flashed before him of the brown-haired young-man.

They were on top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Can we talk?" Leo gently prodded.

"There's nothing to talk about." Chris replied with finality in his voice.

"I think there is. Quite a bit actually." Leo said calmly.

"It doesn't matter." Chris said, shaking his head.

"It does to me, Chris. You're my son. I think I deserve to know what I did that's so bad." Leo pushed, hoping to knock down at least one or two bricks in the wall Chris had built between them.

Chris turned and narrowed his eyes at Leo. The anger of a lifetime's worth of pain shaking his voice. "You were never there for me. you were there for everybody else. For Mum, Wyatt, half the world. But you were never there for me. you didn't have the time."

The words stung Leo, and cut a wound into his heart. His own son believed Leo did not love him – did not want him. He found his voice, "So maybe you came back from the future not just to save Wyatt. Maybe you came back to save us too."

Chris looked at his father coldly, "I doubt it." And orbed away.

They were in Piper's bedroom.

"You have to find Wyatt." Chris said, trying to catch his breath.

"We're going to find him together," Leo replied as he tried to heal the wound Gideon had inflicted.

"It won't work. You've already tried. Gideon's magic did this to me. He's the only one who can stop it." Chris said, pushing Leo's hands away. "Just…go. Saving Wyatt saves the future. You know that."

"I'm not going to choose between you and Wyatt, Chris. I can't." Leo said, the tears forming in his eyes.

"You don't have to, Dad. Find Gideon and you save us both."

He was in one of the receiving rooms at the hospital.

Leo gazed at the little man in his arms – Piper and I created you, he thought. The small newborn gurgled gently and grabbed his father's finger with his tiny fist, letting him know he loved him and needed him too.

As he blinked back his tears, Leo made a promise. I'm so sorry Chris – I don't understand why you were taken away from us. I'll make sure that no one ever harms you or our family ever again. I swear to you Chris…

Leo and Chris were standing in Golden Gate Park, both of them flying kites. Chris was about eleven. Leo remembered their kites dancing in the blue sky. Chris attempted a few show-off moves. The wind died down eventually, and the two of them realized they were hungry. The walked a few blocks to their favorite hot dog stand. They each ordered two hot dogs and a shake; strawberry for Chris, vanilla for Leo.

Father and son sat side by side on a picnic table gazing out into the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Hey, Dad?" Chris asked after taking a sip of his shake to wash down the first of his dogs.

"What Chris?" Leo replied, looking down at his son.

"Are you ever going to leave us again?" The young boy looked up expectantly at his father, he was scared to know the truth but terrified not to ask the question. He wanted to know – he needed to know.

Leo sighed. They had never told Chris and Wyatt why Leo had been gone or where he went. It would have prompted too many questions. Questions Leo and Piper didn't want or know how to answer. "I don't know what the future holds Chris," Leo finally answered. "But I can tell you that you are one of the three most important people in my life. You're my son. And where ever you are, I'll be there as well."

The young boy thought about the answer he had gotten for a moment. He nodded, that was okay.

The two continued to eat their hot dogs in peace. Several minutes later, Chris slurped the last of his shake through his straw. Both got up to leave, Leo holding both of the kites.

"Race you home?" Chris asked his father, grinning mischievously as they rounded the corner to an empty alleyway.

Leo breathed heavily, dizzy by the onslaught of memories that had flooded his senses. He struggled, but managed to get to his feet. His thoughts flickered back to the promise he had made to Chris as a newborn. Was this why he had been in the Underworld? If he had a son, did this mean he had a family? A wife? He ran. Out of the alley, away from the life he had forgotten.
Sorry this took me so long to post - I've been agonizing over this chapter for the past week! I hope you guys enjoy it! Just click that little purple button and let me know what you think! I'm hoping to have the next Chapter posted this weekend. - Toodles! M.