I'll admit I'm a little unsure about this chapter, what with introducing Leo properly and all, but I gave it my best shot, and I hope it lives up to any expectations.
By far, this was the most challenging simply because I'm so not good at writing Leo.
Just in case: Wyatt = Baby Wyatt.
Disclaimer: To put it simply, I do not own these characters by a long shot.
Hand unconsciously on her stomach, the strangled sound of his name tumbling from his ex-wife's lips is enough for this latest shocker to hit home for Leo.
A baby.
They were having a baby…
"Piper," Leo breathes, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "Oh my God!" Instinctively, he embraces her, searing happiness bursting from his chest as he pulls back just as quickly, and exclaims, "I'm gonna be a father again! Piper, this is amazing…" Then, without delay, "How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me?"
Flabbergasted, Piper can only verbalize unintelligibly, "Uh….I…um…er…don't…um…"
In her mind, she's thinking, thank God. He must've only overhead that last part. He still has no idea...
Grasping her elbows, Leo pleads, "Piper, please. I know I wasn't supposed to find out this way and I have no idea what's happening here or when you were planning to say something. If ever. And, believe me, I know this must be as surprising to you as it is for me. But I'm…" He takes a deep breath, a tender half-smile softening his face. "…I'm so happy, Piper. And, I promise you," he utters, lowering his voice just for the two of them, "No, I swear to you, that I will do anything for that child. Elder or not, I will be here for you and for Wyatt. And for this… miracle. Even if it means I have to quit."
"No!" Piper suddenly declares, snapping out of her daze, "No, Leo, you don't have to-"
"But I what if I do, Piper?" he interrupts earnestly, his voice taking on a fraught edge. "It's just a job. These last few days with Wyatt, I realised… I should never have left." He turns away, pacing. "I didn't want to have to face it - face what I'd done, how rash I'd been - but this… It's just the wake up call I needed." He exhales forcefully, scowling to himself. "I can't expect you to raise one kid on your own, never mind two! It's too much. And with all your duties as a Charmed One, you have enough on your plate. Besides, with another baby on the way, this family could use the extra protection. I need to be here."
"Leo, I can't expect you to walk away from this. It's not just a job to you. It never has been," Piper says frantically, tears filling her eyes. "You're helping the world, Leo. It's all you've ever wanted. To help people. As best you know how."
"Yes, but family comes first, Piper."
"We've been over this," she says harshly in frustration, clutching her hair, "If you throw this opportunity away, you will always regret it. And you will hate me for it. You need purpose, Leo. Without it, I just don't know what you'd do with yourself. It would drive you insane, knowing that there are so many people out there suffering and you can't do a damn thing! That you had your chance to change something! To make a real difference! And you wasted it. Every time you see someone in pain, it will destroy a little piece of you until eventually, there is nothing left. I can't let that happen!"
"That's not true! There are other options out there, Piper. I could just go back to being a whitelighter. And if not, I'm sure I'll find something. How do you think anyone else manages? I don't necessarily need to be an Elder to help people. There are other ways."
"Not for you, Leo. Nothing else could possibly be as fulfilling as having your say in making all those worldly decisions!"
"I can't be a part-time father, Piper," Leo explodes. "I won't!"
"Both of you just calm down!" (G) Wyatt suddenly shouts out, having had enough of their bullshit, and all heads snap round to see him breathing roughly, glaring at his parents with a trace of bitterness in his bright blue eyes that look suspiciously similar to his evil doppelganger's. ""I think before you get into any of that, you should probably explain what is going on. You know, before they return."
"Oh... right," Piper mutters, and to her credit, she appears shamefaced as she acknowledges the presence of her eldest son, witnessing fighting that is usually best done in private.
"Explain what?" Leo asks in bewilderment. "And who are they?"
Stiffening, he eyes the fuming man before him with an appraising twist of the mouth.
"Better yet," he says slowly, "Who are you?"
So, as you can probably guess, they fill a hopelessly confused Leo in. Omitting, of course, a few minor details.
The biggest being… that Chris is, well... his son.
It's not that Piper doesn't want to tell Leo… It's just that, when trying not to overwhelm the Elder with all this jaw-dropping information, it's kind of hard to broach such a delicate subject. It's no secret that Chris and Leo have never been the best of friends, and it's a lot to take in - a hell of a lot to follow - and God, he only just found out about the pregnancy itself…
In short, Piper is being admittedly cowardly.
She just can't do it.
And she'll use any excuse not to have to.
"Okay…" Leo blinks. "So you're telling me, that this guy, right here, is a grown-up Wyatt from the future, but that there is another, evil dictator version of Wyatt who hired a demon - also from the future - to transform Chris into a child, and then used a replica of a toy that he used to have when he was younger to mentally regress him, too? And that there is another Chris who came here accidentally with this Wyatt? Seriously?"
He looks on the verge of hysterics.
"Uh, yeah… That's the brief summary, at any rate," Paige replies dryly.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to respond to that…" he says numbly.
"You know what?" Piper butts in eagerly. "You really don't have to. Just… don't say anything." With a slight tinge of desperation, she adds, "Please."
"I just…" He stares dully at (G) Wyatt, dumbfounded. "You're my son…"
(G) Wyatt nods matter-of-factly, before saying bluntly, "Yup. Your now one-year old son in his early twenties." He turns to the sisters. "Can we move on? There are other things we should cover. This was fun in the beginning, but it's getting a little tedious now."
"I thought you were supposed to be the perfect, all-loving, compassionate one?" Paige mumbles, raising a doubtful brow.
"No matter what timeline, Good or Evil, you can't change the fact that I have zero patience," he replies with a laugh.
"Oh, but how I wish I could," Chris says, chuckling as he strides into the room.
(G) Wyatt rolls his eyes.
"As if you're any better!" he scoffs.
"Yeah, but haven't you heard?" Chris shrugs smugly, holding back a grin. "I'm neurotic, remember? So what can you expect? You, on the other hand, are the Twice-blessed, son of Excalibur. You shouldn't have an attitude problem. You're supposed to be above all that shit, with all the tolerance and patience of a saint."
"Oh, don't give me that Twice-Blessed crap!"
"Why not?" he asks innocently. "That is what you are, isn't it?"
"You know I hate it when you try to use the fact that I was prophesied against me! You are just as-"
"Chris!" Piper interrupts, shooting the two brothers the universal look for, shut the hell up before I make you! "Where are the other two?"
"Oh, um, Chris kind of, um, accidentally dropped Rainbow Brian in the duck pond when we were at the park, and then he cried when it started to sink and it became obvious his beloved friend wasn't going to resurface on his own."
He rolls his eyes at the naivety of his younger self.
"Then he demanded that Wyatt go into the water to save Rainbow Brian from drowning. There were mortals everywhere and Chris had already made such a big scene and had garnered quite a few admirers beforehand, so we couldn't use magic. Also, there's the whole personal gain thing." Chris laughs. "In the end, Wyatt had to slog through all this muck and then dive under the water to get him. It was hilarious. You just had to be there."
He smiles, and the sisters are shocked by how warm and light-hearted a smile it is.
"It's unbelievable how much influence mini-me has over him. Anyway, it serves him right. They're downstairs now getting cleaned up. Last I heard, Wyatt was going to conjure some new clothes."
"Wait, why are Chris' clothes dirty?" Piper asks disapprovingly.
"He's a child, Piper," other Chris responds simply as though that alone explains everything.
"Chris..." Leo says then, looking at him from head to toe. "Remind me, which Chris are you?"
Blinking, Chris stumbles back before saying in disbelief, "Leo? When did Leo get here?"
"A while ago," (G) Wyatt answers casually. "We told him everything."
"Everything?!"
(G) Wyatt grimaces. "Mostly everything," he amends.
Chris nods in understanding, then faces his father. "Um, well this is strange. Conflicting emotions here. I… I don't know if I like you much."
Leo laughs. "You must be the other Chris. Lived both lives, am I right?"
"Uh, yeah," Chris replies slowly. "We have a lot of history. See, I have my memories of you. An older, kinda different you. Then I've got the other Chris' original memories of you from whenever he was growing up. A completely different you from the one I know. And then… I have the memories of you from the time other Chris met you in the past. Some of which hasn't even happened yet and probably never will."
"You're right," Leo says, trying to swallow it all with obvious difficulty. "That's a lot of history."
"Mhm. Plus, anything I remember about you is kind of… hard to sort through." He makes a face. "Sorry, if that's hard to understand. It's just how I describe it. I mean… make sense of, I guess. There's just so much. And it's all so… contradictory. I'm still struggling with it, so… bear with me, okay?"
Taking a deep breath, Leo nods. "Alright. I'll try."
"Good." He smiles, but it's a little crooked with the effort, and his expression is noticeably strained. "I don't know how exactly you left things with other Chris last time you saw him, since I'm not sure which precise instance it was. Were things… civilized?"
"Not exactly," Leo says apologetically. "We just about tolerated each other."
"Of course," Chris remarks glumly. "You recently left to join the Elders then, I suppose?"
"Uh huh…" he responds warily.
Chris' eyes flash with awareness. "That explains it then."
"Why? What does that mean?"
Face completely blank, wiped of all thought or emotion, he says, "What does what mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me. That look you just got. What did it mean?"
Chris smirks wryly. "Trust me, Leo. You don't wanna know."
"I think I do."
"Not likely."
"No, I'm serious, Chris. If something happened that I can change-"
"I can't deal with this right now, Leo!" he tells him, visibly agitated. "Just give it a rest!"
"I can't! What if this is something do with-"
"With what, Leo?" Chris asks, irritated. "Your family? Well, sorry, man. But I'm not going there."
"Why not?" Leo questions, temper flaring in aggravation. "Does something happen? Tell me, Chris! I need to know if something happens to my son while I'm off being an Elder!"
"Dad, stop," (G) Wyatt suddenly pleads, face paling. "If Chris says he can't handle this right now…"
Startled at being called Dad, Leo freezes, and (G) Wyatt sighs, relaxing.
But the damage has already been done, and the relief is short-lived.
As if on cue, Chris' whole expression changes, much more open, readable, and definitely trusting as he looks at (G) Wyatt with these wide, innocent eyes, and says in this hurt, timid kind of voice, near tears, "Wy Wy… make him stop shouting at me."
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