So sorry this comes up so later. I wasn't really me the last days. I forgot to send the new chapters to Ann (thank you for checking them out) and when I finally noticed, a week later, I messed up by sending a email without a message and without an attachement but then finally I got it. But to my excuse, this is a quite long chapters with flashbacks. I know some people out there like the flashbacks a lot, although honestly, they are difficult for me to write sometimes. But that's none of your concern. Just enjoy this chapter. And for those guys who are privileged to have a bank holiday tomorrow - like me - have a great day off. To everyone else have a great day whatever you are doing.

Oh and for those who read my other story, I promise there will be an update within the next days. Sometimes life just gets in the way.

Chapter 21

A young brunette woman in tight demin-blue jeans sat down on the bar stool next to Chris and ordered a whiskey. She placed it in front of the brunette Halliwell and took a sip from her own pink cocktail.

"Are you here alone?" she asked.

"Obviously," Chris nodded, picking up the glass. "Thanks."

"You're welcomed. I'm Candice."

"Chris," he replied, shaking her hand. "Are you here alone, too?"

"Yes. I was here with my friend but she left earlier, not having any fun. I like this place though."

"It's my mom's."

"Really? I come quite often. I haven't noticed you though."

"I guess, you were looking at someone else then."

She smiled. "Do you dance?"

"No."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you do then?"

"Drink," Chris replied as he emptied the glass.

"You know what I was just thinking? As my friend already left, I have to go home all alone. I hope the streets are safe."

"The streets are never safe. You should take a taxi."

"Yes, I should. Hopefully I don't get a creepy driver."

"There is also the option that someone accompanies you. Someone you can trust, that's it."

She bent forward and whispered. "Can I trust you?"

"I'm nice."

"I guess so. How about another drink?"

Chris shrugged. "Sure."

"I have a great bottle of red wine from New Zealand in my fridge."

Candice rested her hand on Chris' knee and told the taxi driver where to stop.

"Hey, aren't you this guy from the magazine?" the driver suddenly asked after watching Chris a while through the rearview window.

Chris frowned. "No. You must mistake me."

"No, no. I'm sure." When the traffic light turned red, the driver grabbed a magazine out of the glove box. "Here, page 23." He handed Chris the magazine and he flipped it open. "See, that's you, right?"

Chris stared at the double page. There was article about Kat and some photos of her with Chris and Josh. But what Chris really wondered about was the picture with only him and Josh in. It seemed like it was only a few days old.

"Are you popular?" Candice asked.

Chris shook his head. "No. That's my wife." He pointed on a photo.

"Your wife?" the brunette woman asked.

"She's dead."

Candice covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry."

The taxi came to a stop. "12.50."

Chris gave the driver the money.

"Are you still coming inside?" Candice asked.

Chris nodded. "Can I keep that?" he asked the driver.

"Sure. Goodnight."

Candice climbed up the stairs to the second floor and opened the door to the apartment 2B, letting him in. She offered him a seat on the sofa while she went to the kitchen to get the bottle of wine and some glasses.

Chris looked at the magazine once again. The article said something about the show Kat had hosted. It was canceled after no other host had been as accepted by the viewers. It was nothing new to Chris to see her in a magazine or newspaper, but it gave almost no photos with the two of them or of Josh. Chris was really wondering when the picture had been taken. He could see that he and Josh had been on some playground but he couldn't say where exactly. Someone had to have followed him around to take the photo. Kat had always cared that neither he nor Josh were stalked by reporters, even though she liked to be in the public eye.

"Are you okay?" Candice asked and handed him a glass wine which he emptied in with one gulp.

Chris closed the magazine. "Yes, sure."

"If you say so." She sat down on the coffee table opposite Chris. "Okay, now do you dance?" she softly spoke.

Kat entered the bedroom in a black negligee. She held out his hands and smiled at Chris. But as she didn't get any reply she frowned. "Chris? Are you asleep?"

"No. Two hours of sleep every night are more than enough," he replied without opening his eyes. He felt someone standing over him.

"You really should open your eyes," Kat purred and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, the doctors say it would take about six weeks until you can have sex again after giving birth."

"So?"

"So, Josh is two months old."

Chris finally opened his eyes. "Yes, and after two months abstinence you choose this night to end it. I had a demon hunt with Wyatt earlier and Josh will wake up in about two hours."

"Well, then how about we just stay awake until then?"

Chris finally opened his eyes and looked at her closely. "You look great." It seemed like that was the most sentence Chris spoke to her but it was true, she was the most beautiful woman Chris had ever met. Even two months after giving birth she looked like she had before, maybe even better as she had this glow in her eyes.

Kat smirked. "Thank you. That was the intention." She laid down next to him. "You should leave Wyatt to handle his stuff alone. You have more important things to do. You have been wearing yourself out for months now. That can't be good."

Chris shrugged. "I can't let Wyatt handle every demon alone and I have to work. I can't help it."

Kat sighed. "Okay, I understand." She lay her hand on Chris' chest and kissed him. "But then you should at least take some time for yourself. To relax. And let me help you."

The 18 year old grinned. "Okay. Sure."

Kat straddled him. "It's good that we at least sometimes of the same opinion."

Candice stopped kissing the young man and watched him. "Are you sure you are okay? You seem far away."

Chris shook his head. "I'm right here. Where else should I be?"

Leo painted the shoring of Josh's new swing in a bright green. He had finally persuaded Chris that a boy needed a swing and since the Manor's garden was large enough, and Wyatt and Chris had one too, there hadn't been too many arguments against it. Especially when Josh had learned about his grandfather's idea and did nothing else but bug his dad, asking when his swing would finally be ready. In the end, Chris gave his father permission to show his technical talent and build the second swing in his life. At least this time he had an idea how to do that. The swing he had built for his sons had crashed in the middle of the night when no one was using it, though Leo was pretty sure that one or even both of his sons had orbed outside after bedtime to go on it. He couldn't proof it and in the end he was the one building a new one. Josh, unlike Chris and Wyatt in their days, wanted to help his grandfather. He was more in the way than helping but Leo would never tell him. You can't learn early enough. When Josh would be a father, Leo would be too old to build a fort swing and Chris' talent in such things was not that promising. At least painting the wooden balks was a good job for the little boy to help with. Josh's white shirt had a lot of green on it quite quickly. Luckily, Chris had insisted that he wore the already ripped shirt that was even a bit too small while he was outside with Leo.

"When can I go on the swings?" Josh asked and tried to sweep a strand of hair out of his eyes, getting green paint across his face and some in his hair as well.

"When the paint has dried," Leo answered.

"And when will that be?"

"By tomorrow, I guess."

"Why not today?" Josh asked.

"Because…" Yes, why? "Because it takes the paint that long to dry."

"But why?"

"Well, because that's so with paint."

"Why didn't you buy paint that doesn't take that long. We have watercolors in the kindergarten. They dry really fast. In a minute or so."

"Yes, but watercolor doesn't paint the wood. We needed oil paint."

Josh wrinkled his nose. "What kind of oil is in there?"

"I don't know," Leo admitted.

Josh didn't seem too surprised that his grandfather couldn't give him an answer. "I will ask daddy when he is back. When will he be back anyway?"

Leo sighed. "I don't know."

"Where did he go to?"

"To see a doctor," Leo replied. Seeing that it took Chris some time to get back from the therapist Phoebe had brought him to, Leo was confident that his son this time really stayed at the doctor's.

"Is daddy sick?"

"No. He's just having a check up."

Josh nodded. "I have to go to the doctor for check ups too. I always get candy afterwards. Do you think they will prick daddy with a needle. I don't like it when the doctor pricks me."

"No, I'm sure this doctor won't do that."

"You were a doctor too, weren't you, grandpa? Why can't you give daddy his check up."

"Because Chris needed a special doctor." Leo finally remembered why children were exhausting. The endless questions!

"Am I bothering you?" Josh asked his grandfather.

"What? No! What make you think so?"

"When I'm bothering daddy too much he makes the same face and then he sends me off to do something alone."

Leo smirked. "No, you are not bothering me."

That was good and Leo had the pleasure to answer tons of other questions about every plant in the garden and every bird or car that they saw while working on the swing. Just when Leo started to explain why they had no pool in the garden, Josh dropped his brush and ran towards his father, who came over the grass, leaving Leo to finish his sentence without a listener.

Before Josh could reach for his father, Chris held him back. "What happened to you?"

"We're painting the swing. Look! It's green."

"I can see that. And so are you. Don't touch me with those hands. I will put you in the washing machine first."

Josh put his hands behind his back. "Did the doctor prick you with a needle?"

"No. I got no candy either."

Josh's eyes grew wide. He had never been to the doctor without getting a candy afterwards. "Didn't you behave?"

Chris shook his head smiling and put a hand on his son's head just to feel the green paint in his dark hairs.

"We are done!" Leo said smiling. "What do you say? The exact copy of your old swing," he told his son.

"Yes, apart from the fact that we had actually two swings and that they had been blue and there was a roof. Apart from that it's an exact copy."

Leo took a look at the draft he had drawn the last time he had to build a swing. "Oh, now I know what this is. You guys had a roof. I remember Piper said Wyatt always lost his cap and it was too hot where the swing stood."

"Well, it stood over there." Chris pointed to a place in the garden where the sun shone on.

Leo folded the draft and took the empty buckets. "How was your appointment?"

"Good. Dr. Bedingfield said I don't have to go again."

"Really? After one session?"

"Yes. He said it was no use in it anyway, as long as I don't collaborate and I can only collaborate when I accept that I have issues. So, I shall go back when I'm ready to admit that I have problems at all."

Leo frowned but his son seemed to enjoy the end of his second session.

"Excuse me?" a female voice called from the sidewalk in front of the Manor. "Chris?"

The 22 year old eyed her.

"You forgot your mobile at my place yesterday."

Chris approached her. "How do you know where I live?"

"I asked the directory assistance," Candice replied and handed him the phone. "I saved my number," she said smiling.

"Why?"

"So, you can call me."

"Yes, sure."

Her smile vanished and she looked away a second. "You could have told me that this was a one night thing, before I invited you in, couldn't you?"

Chris shrugged. "I haven't thought that you saw it any other way. You should have told me before I went home with you. I would have denied."

She narrowed her eyes and turned around angrily, not without letting him now what she thought of him.

Leo went past his son into the garage giving him a disapproving glare. "You should run after Josh before the whole Manor is imprinted with little green hands."

It was already after midnight when Leo finally shut the TV off. If it reads 'the long night of classical movies' in the TV magazine, it really kept to what it promised. The ex-Elder really enjoyed watching movies that had come out when he was still young. After watching the same thing for almost 100 years, it was good to see that old stuff again. He stretched his tired muscles and decided to get a drink before he finally joined his wife who had gone to bed two movies ago.

There was still a light on in the kitchen and someone had his head stuck in the fridge. Leo knew exactly who it was and sighed.

Chris took a step back, closing the fridge when he heard his father. "What? I'm just getting some of the lasagna from dinner."

Leo shook his head. "Did I say something?"

"Do you want some?"

"No, your mom doesn't want me to eat something this late."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "When mom is saying that…"

"Just a bite."

Chris placed the casserole in the microwave and watched it turning.

Leo flipped through the magazine laying on the table. "You came home late yesterday."

"No, I came home early today."

"And this girl…"

"Is none of your concern."

Leo stopped at the page showing a large photo of his deceased daughter-in-law. "Hey, there is a picture of Kat."

"No shit."

"Since when are you allowed to talk to me like that?"

The microwave beeped and Chris took out the dish and placed it on the table. Leo got two forks and sat down, as well.

"Since I'm saying the same sentence to my son, probably?" Chris took the magazine away from Leo.

"What does the article say?" Leo asked now that he couldn't read it himself anymore.

"Just how everybody misses San Francisco's most favored host and that her show will be canceled now that every episode that was done in advance had been showed and Derek is too much of a loser to go on without her. And that some reporter was spying on me."

"What makes you think so?"

Chris showed him the photo. "I remember that day. It wasn't that long ago."

"Well, I guess you are kind of used to seeing your picture in the local press."

"Actually, no. Kat never wanted them to print photos of me and Josh. She always said, what's private doesn't belong on the breakfast table of half the city."

Leo nodded. "That's really noble." Chris snorted but only ate some more lasagna. "Are you really sure that she had an affair with this guy?" The father pointed on the other picture with Kat and Derek in it.

"Yes."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because she told me."

"Oh, right. So, did you have one on your own?"

"No. Various."

"And you are still sticking to that?"

"What are you referring to?"

"The girl who came up to you this afternoon." Leo could see that he maybe had gone too far. After all, it really was none of his business. "I just don't want you to be unhappy. You are not married anymore. You can get in another relationship actually."

"I forgo."

Leo shrugged. "It's your decision. I only say that…"

"I am wrong. I know." There was a short silence but before Leo could end it with some more of his opinion, Chris said: "You shouldn't have wasted your time to build that swing, you know. Who knows how long me and Josh are staying with you anyway."

"But whenever he'll come to visit his grandparents, he can go on the swing. And maybe there will be more grandchildren coming by."

Chris laughed. "Yes, I guess, Rachel wants to have a whole football team."

"I was thinking about you, actually."

"Me? I don't think so. Are you done?"

Leo nodded and Chris put the leftovers back into the fridge. "Are you saying you won't have any children anymore?"

Chris thought a second. "Well, yes, that's what I'm saying."

"But that's ridiculous. You just hit the age when you even think about building up a family."

Chris shook his head. "That's the last thing on my mind. I'm sorry."

"For now," Leo winked. "You can't give up on love. Your mom once tried that when Wyatt was a baby. But even she had to learn that love is a huge part of everybody's life. And you know that she can be quite stubborn."

"Dad, I really don't care about love at the moment. And leave the love talk to Uncle Coop."

Chris orbed into the apartment. He knew Kat didn't like him orbing in and out but it was easier. Especially tonight when he was dead tired. He checked on his 1 year old son who was fast asleep, the stuffed dog next to him.

The 20 year old left the room quietly. He went into the kitchen and took a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Kat had again cut some announces out of the newspaper and pinned them on the fridge. She was searching for a new apartment. In a few weeks she's begin her new job. She'd earn more money and wanted to move out. Chris had only agreed to avoid another fight. He just couldn't accept that she was more successful than him. If anything had worked out the way he had wanted, he'd now be in college studying medicine. But then there wouldn't be Kat or Josh. And for Kat things had worked out as planned and she deserved this chance. Maybe the show would become successful and she'd be hired from a nationwide station. Or worldwide. Chris didn't know what he'd do then, though.

He changed the bottle of water for a bottle of beer. He left the kitchen to stand in the living room.

Kat sat on the sofa watching a movie. There were two wine glasses and some grapes on the coffee table as well as another DVD.

She wore a comfortable jogging suit and hd her hair in a ponytail. She looked up. "Oh you are home. Finally."

"I know. The demon took us longer than expected."

"You could have called."

"I was in the underworld vanquishing demons. That's not the right situation to make phone calls."

She sighed. "I thought we could watch some movies, drink some wine. Just a calm night."

"I didn't know you had something planned."

"It was not planned. I wanted to surprise you."

"And how should I have known that?"

"Just forget it."

Chris sat down on the armchair. He stared at the TV for a moment. "I'm sorry. Really," he finally said.

Kat shrugged. "I know that you rather go out than spending quiet nights with me. And the baby."

"Don't play dirty. I go out with Wyatt maybe once a month. Apart from that all we are doing is fighting demons. That's not a boy's night out."

"Oh, stop that. I called Wyatt the last time, you guys were out. He was home already, whereas you arrived here three hours later. Where were you then? And more important, who were you with?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "What's all this about? I don't ask you who you go out with either."

"Because I hardly go out. Don't you trust me?"

"Do you trust me?" Chris snarled.

"I have no reason to," she emphasized.

The brunette male ran a hand through his hair. "So, that's what you call a quiet night," he muttered.

"You already ruined that." She sounded sad.

"I'm sorry I came home so late. Really, I am."

He saw her playing around with a wrapper from the candy she loved so much.

"Why are you acting like that?" Chris asked.

"Like what?"

"Like a jealous housewife."

Kat looked him straight in the eyes. "I don't know. Maybe because I thought you'd care at least a bit about me," she took a deep breath before saying. "Considering, I really love you for God only knows what reason."

Chris took a sip from his beer. He stood up. "I'll grab a shower." He walked over to her. "Maybe we can watch that other movie together then."

Kat nodded. "That would be nice."

"That depends on the movie."

"It's a really nice thriller. I already watched the corny love story on my own."

Chris wrinkled his nose and looked so much like his son in that moment that his 22 year old wife had to grin.

"And you said I was too late. I'd say I'm right on time." He kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room again.

And over again. Please leave me your thoughts on this. Don't forget it. Oh and I think I have to warn you. I've thought about the story where it will go and stuff and I think that this will be my longest story ever. I guess I will come to 50 chapters. I know that's a lot but I really don't want to make two stories out of it as everything just fits perfectly. Hope you don't mind.