Thank you all for reading and enjoying the previous chapter. I really appreciated the reviews. Remember that this is your second last chance to review as the story will end after the next update.

Thanks to piperspeanut.

Chapter 53

Piper started to get stuff out of the fridge as soon as they arrived in the kitchen. Phoebe, Wyatt and Chris said down at the kitchen table.

It took Paige only a few minutes to be back with Leo who didn't know about his deceased wife's presence so far.

He only had eyes for his two sons. He was relieved to see them both happy and healthy. He had to admit that he had never felt so worried and scared before. Whenever Piper and her sisters had a big fight he somehow knew that they'd survive but because it was his own children things were different.

"I was so worried," he admitted. "I really thought I'd loose you like I lost – Piper?" the ex-Elder's jaw dropped recognizing her behind the kitchen counter. "How…why"

"Don't be so shocked, dad," Chris said. "It's not like it is unusual for dead people to appear in our kitchen."

Leo shook his head. He went to his wife enjoying the familiar feeling of holder her in his arms, "I miss you so much."

"I know," she replied. "I miss all of you." She looked in her husband's eyes, but when she felt tears welling up in her eyes she looked away. "And you two," she addressed her sisters pointing at them with the knife she held in her hand. "Didn't we have a deal? You promised to look after my boys."

"We do."

"You do? You call that looking after? Then why is one of them always almost dying?"

"Chris?" Paige asked. "Because it's part of his personality"

Piper glared at her.

"I think I should...maybe get Victor for this reunion, what- do you think? Yes, that's a good idea," Paige stood up. She knew the look on her oldest sister's face. It was a good sign to leave.

"I'll come with you, Paige," Phoebe agreed. She thought the family wanted a moment alone.

"How are you boys getting along?" the oldest Charmed One asked once her sisters where gone.

"Good," Wyatt and Leo said simultaneously.

"Those two had a massive fight," Chris told his mom. "And I had nothing to do with it."

"Really, what about" Piper raised her eyebrows.

Leo and Wyatt gave Chris a look to not say anything else, but Piper was determined to find out everything and usually she succeeded.

She went over to her son, bending down. "Tell me, peanut."

"I'd rather not. See, you'll leave in a bit but I have to stay here with the two of them... unprotected."

Piper smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Wyatt?"

The blonde sighed. "I was angry at dad, that's all."

"Why?"

The three men obviously were uncomfortable.

Leo finally spoke up. "The boys are afraid of telling you that I've found a…" he hesitated. "A girlfriend"

"A girlfriend"

"Yes, Piper you know I wouldn't have looked at her twice if you were still with us."

"I know, I know. Don't worry; I wouldn't expect you to stay alone forever. It's natural, I had to learn that." She touched her husband's arm. "I totally understand."

Leo couldn't help but feel relieved. To have Piper's blessing meant a lot to him, but he could swear that he also saw something else in her eyes.

"Peanut, isn't this the time of the year that young people attend a prom?"

"Oh yes, I…"

"Do you have some photos? I'd love to see you wearing some fancy clothes and the girl you went with. Why don't you go and get them?"

"Oh mom, right now?"

"Yes, go and get them. Wyatt will help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Now, please."

Wyatt pulled his brother up by his shirt. "Come on."

"But why" Chris had no choice but go with his brother.

"Mom wants to talk to dad. Alone, you fool," Wyatt explained once they were in the hallway.

"Oh, yes, I understand," Chris replied. "So, no need for me to get any photos."

"No, get them." Wyatt rolled his eyes.

"Leo, I'm not angry at you for finding a new love," they heard their mother say.

"What are we doing?" Chris asked.

"I don't know what you are doing but I'm eavesdropping."

"You always tell me to not eavesdrop. Why are you allowed to?"

"Shut up and go if you don't want to."

Chris shook his head. "I want to." He sat down on the step next to his brother. "I feel like a kid again."

"You are a kid."

Chris glared at him. "A much younger kid," he pouted.

"Be quiet, now," Wyatt told him.

"Don't tell me you aren't angry," Leo said. He leant against the counter watching his deceased wife cutting some vegetables. He had done this so often: standing there in the kitchen, watching Piper prepare, a meal. Still, the last time had been an eternity ago and therefore the pose seemed unusual and uncomfortable. The ex-Elder moved away and sat down on a bar stool standing at the counter.

"Piper, I know you better than that, do you expect me to stay alone forever? You are dead. Can you even imagine how hard it had been over the last years, but now...I feel stronger through her love. You'd like her."

Piper stopped cutting a tomato. "Leo, as I said, I really understand. I want you to be happy, but what is even more important to me is that our sons are happy."

"Our sons are not babies anymore. They have their own lives. They are adults."

"Barely, and honestly not enough to be without a parent"

"I'm there for them, always."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Oh, so that's why you and Wyatt had that big fight."

Leo sighed. "It was one thing I forgot. I admit I was a bit love sick but we are fine again. Chris didn't feel the same, by the way."

"Chris is still a kid. I'm sure he had a lot of other things in his mind lately and didn't care about what was on yours." She took a deep breath.

"You don't know how right you are," Leo replied. "He remembers the other timeline, the one with an evil Wyatt, and also his trip to the past."

The oldest Charmed One looked at her husband in shock. "What?"

"Don't worry its okay. There's nothing we can do about it and he is dealing with everything pretty well."

"But Leo, that's all the more reason for you to be there for them." Piper remembered the many times she had been rude to her son in the past. Of course only as long as she didn't know he was her son.


"Is it a bad time?" Chris asked leaning against the door frame casually when his heart was in fact pounding heavily in his chest.

Piper turned around with a really shocked expression.

Paige and Phoebe both sat on the coffee table waiting for her sister to say something but when she didn't, Phoebe said. "Piper, say something!"

"Say something? What am I supposed to say? I…" the oldest Charmed One broke up to start a stuttered speech again. "You just threw all that information at me. How am I supposed to react, and why did you tell me now, anyway?"

"Because now you are pregnant," Paige replied. Piper glared at her. "Actually, I only learned about all that a few days ago. Phoebe is the one keeping it a secret."

Phoebe shook her head. "No, no. I insist it was Chris who kept it secret. He said, it'll mess up the future."

"Then why are you telling me now? Doesn't it still mess up the future?" Piper asked.

Paige considered it but was unsure. "With Phoebe knowing it was a pretty sure thing that we all would know sooner or later."

Phoebe gave her sister a light shove. "Stop pushing it on me." Paige shrugged.

"How did Phoebe know, anyway?" Piper asked still confronting her sisters.

"I saw it in my own vision and I busted him."

"I busted him, too," Paige said. "Well, he had to tell me after I called him a pervert and other stuff."

"And no one told me?"

"We are telling you now."

"I'm sorry," Chris suddenly said getting the three women's attention. "I shouldn't have told any of you. It was a mistake I should have stuck to the plan."

"Your plan hadn't been the best after all," Paige said.

If Holly could hear that, Chris sighed.

"I have to wrap my mind around all this," Piper told them. "Excuse me."

"Pi…" Phoebe jumped up but her older sister only shook her head and left the room in a hurry. "-per. Well, I think that went not too bad."

Paige stared at her in disbelieve.

"What? I mean it must be hard to learn you have a son that is twenty two and here when he hasn't even been born. For me it was hard enough to learn that I had another nephew."

"Oh, when you see it from that point…" Paige smiled her nephew. "Piper will be fine. She just has to accept that she's pregnant – with you."

Phoebe nodded.

"I guess there is nothing she can do about that. I need to go." Chris doubted it'd be so easy with his mother.

"Go? Where are you going?"

"I'm here to save Wyatt remember? Now, that I made sure I'd exist, I have to go back to work." He orbed out but not in the attic or the underworld or even magic school or anywhere else where he could find information about Wyatt's turning.

He orbed into the Golden Gate Park sitting down on the stone bench feeling more...lonely than he ever had since he was in the past.

Chris sighed. They always just left the Book of Shadows on its stand in the attic. This time he found it in the kitchen on the counter next to wine glasses and dirty dishes. Typical!

Chris grabbed the book when suddenly the light was turned on and Piper stood there in her night gown and fluffy slippers the baby monitor in one hand.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

He hadn't even tried. "I have stuff to do, so…"

"So, you don't plan on sleeping, I see."

The young man shrugged. "You"

"Well, I have been sleeping but Wyatt woke me up. I thought I'd get a cup of tea but…what would you say if I made us hot chocolate. I'm sure we even have some marshmallows left." She got the milk out of the fridge.

"Actually, I have stuff to do."

"Do it tomorrow."

Chris sighed. Don't get emotional, don't get attached.

"Please," Piper said. She took the book away from him. "Sit, what will your mom say if you come back to the future looking all skinny and exhausted?" she smirked.

Don't say anything; it'll mess with the future. "She'd probably come find you and kick some ass."

Piper laughed. "That sounds just like her." She poured milk in a pot and added some dark chocolate as well as a spoon full of brown sugar and some chilli powder; she stirred until the chocolate was melted.


Chris sat at the kitchen table waiting.

She didn't say anything, only filled two cups and added marshmallows. Piper carried them to the table before she sat down. Piper asked "Are you hungry? I could fix you something."

"No, I'm fine. Anyway, I'm sure you are tired and want to go back to bed."

"It's okay," Piper watched him which made Chris nervous.

He took a sip regretting it at once. This tasted so much like home it hurt, and still Piper looked at him intensely.

"What?" Chris finally asked.

"I just can't help but wonder how the hell I couldn't notice."

"Notice what?"

"That you are my son, or at least family. Who would risk his life to protect Wyatt apart from family?"

Chris shrugged. "It's okay; I didn't want you to notice. That was the whole idea."

"Is that the reason why you kept your distance? Never got close, never talked to us except when it was about a demon. Is that the reason why you lied to us about Wyatt?"

"You wouldn't have believed me if I had told you I was your son from the future and want to stop Wyatt from turning evil. You'd have vanquished me on the spot."

"Probably," Piper admitted. "But I had believed you about Wyatt. I maybe had tried to tell myself it wasn't true but I did believe you." Chris frowned at her. "Because it is my greatest fear, no one is safe from turning evil; it's in all of us and with his powers." Piper trailed off. "But with you here we can prevent it, right?"

"Hopefully"

"We only have to work together like; it should have been from the beginning. You shouldn't have carried the burden all by yourself."

"I only wanted to protect you."

"You don't have to protect me from the big bad world. Believe me I know it...I'm your mother, it's my job to protect you."

"I know." Chris hoped his cup would soon be empty, so he could go. He had always enjoyed talking to his mom but not here, not now, when he knew he had to leave again soon.

"Tell me about you and the world you grew up in."

"I can't. Future consequences, you know." Moreover, it'd hurts to think of all the people he had to leave behind. It'd hurt her to hear about the place her sweet baby boy would create.

Piper nodded. "Of course, why have you been avoiding me...also because of future consequences?"

"You needed time to think and I have a lot of work to do," Chris said. "And it's creepy to know, I'm in there." He pointed at her belly that only showed a little bump yet.

"I'm sure," she smiled. "But you work too much."

"I'm not on a vacation. Soon, you won't be able to go on vanquishes and Phoebe and Paige have no fire power. Who knows how powerful the demon is, we have to stop."

"Even if I can't go on vanquishes I can help and they can vanquish demons without me. We'll all help you, you are not alone."

Piper touched his hand but Chris pulled it away using it to hold his cup.

"I'm sorry, Chris, for how we treated you. Especially, me...I never thought about what you had to bear. I shouldn't have said a lot of things."

"I expected it. Well, not everything." I didn't expect it to hurt, so bad- he thought.

"It's not okay. You had good intentions and we treated you like an unknown person. I never saw how sad and lonely you are."

"I'm not," Chris disagreed. "It's not your fault. I did some stupid things, too, to make you mistrust me."

"You mean the lying, the tricking, and the secrets; the way you covered every emotion with a mask?"

Chris shrugged. "That's what I meant."

"I forgive you, if you forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive. I was just some random whitelighter."

"Yes, but now you are my son."

"But that doesn't change the things I did. That doesn't make me more likeable. It changes nothing."

"It changes everything."

"No, Piper." Chris pushed the cup away. "You still don't know anything about me and you won't. All I'm here for is to stop Wyatt from turning evil which I'm not even close to doing. Your job is to vanquish the demons and not play happy family.

Piper looked at him shocked.

"I forgive you if it makes you feel better and hopefully, we can work together better. I need to go, thanks for the drink."

Leo crossed his arms over his chest. "And I am there for them. I don't need you to come here after all these years telling me what I'm dong wrong," Leo told her angrily. Piper held his gaze. "You have no idea how hard it had been for me. I was all alone from one minute to the other and had to raise two teenaged boys on my own. You have no idea what was going on here."

"Do you think I wanted to leave? Believe me I'd do anything; I'd give anything, I'd be anything that I'm asked to...just to be back with you, but I can't. It wasn't my fault, as much as it hurts. It was destiny."

"And now you came back telling me what I'm doing wrong," Leo said defeated.

Piper shook her head. "I'm not. All I can do is leave again with the trust that you can handle the responsibility that you are alone with. I can't help you anymore. It's like you said I don't know what's going on but I don't have too. I trust you to do the right things. Believe me, Leo, I will find out if anything happens to my boys because of you and that's the day you wished you had been the one dying." She smiled despite her words. "But I'm sure; we'll never be in that situation, especially after what you've been told by Wyatt."

"Yes. It's good he's around telling me the stuff you usually would."

The two boys sitting outside on the stairs waited a bit but nothing was said anymore. And after a short while Piper called for them.

Something was cooking in the oven and their parents sat at the kitchen table.

"So, do you have those photos?" Piper asked her youngest.

"Huh? Oh." Chris had forgotten to get them.

Wyatt shook his head.

"Get them now, please," Piper said inviting Wyatt to sit down already. "Did you eavesdrop on us?"

"No," Wyatt quickly assured. "We aren't that childish."

When Chris came back he almost bumped into his Aunt Paige who just orbed back with Phoebe and Victor.

"Did you have trouble finding him?" Wyatt asked. It had taken the aunts an unusual long time.

"No, we wanted to give you some time alone," Phoebe replied.

"Moreover, they know how much I hate it to be confronted with people from the past or the future or deceased," Victor said. With a disbelieving but happy look at Piper. "They also know those moments are the only ones when I'm actually happy to be related to witches."


The possibility for a witch to meet deceased friends and family was bitter sweet.

Of course it was a big advantage, they had over a mortal who never had a chance to talk to the person they lost ever again.

It also meant saying goodbye more then once. It was so easy to feel like it had never been different until the time to leave came.

For Piper Halliwell it was a situation she hadn't thought of when her son had called her back. All she had cared for was to see and help her children and say a few important things to her husband and sisters. She longed to be with them so badly. She was divested that she wasn't able to support her family. Never before had anything hurt her so bad and Piper had gone through a lot during her life.

Now looking in her boys' eyes trying to find some last words to make it less painful for them while her own heart was breaking was worse than anything else.

The last few hours had been a mixture of sharing memories and stories of what she had missed.

It was a lot.

So much had happened in the last three years since her death. Her kids became men. They earned their own money and were independent.

Her husband had learned how to be a single father and found love again. This hurt enormously but she wouldn't tell Leo, it wasn't fair. He deserved all the best and Piper knew he'd never looked at another woman if she was still around.

Her sisters had their own families and worries. Piper knew she should be happy that they all moved on but she also felt sadness and jealous for not having the same.

"Who decides when you have to leave?" Chris asked suddenly.

Piper stood close to the circle of candles, she tried to smile and touched his cheek.

"I'll leave before it gets to hard to say goodbye."

"Too late," the seventeen year old muttered.

His mother pulled him in an embrace. Piper smiled to herself, her baby had grown so much. The last time they had hugged he didn't have to bend down so much.

"You listen to your dad and brother. Don't make me worry, okay? Be good and I promise you'll find your way even if it doesn't look like it now. And if you ever feel like you can't go on, you talk to someone. Don't bottle it up; we all know what happens then." She took a step backwards. "Be safe."

"Haven't you said that before, and then we didn't see each other again?" Chris said vaguely remembering how he had said goodbye to his family when he had to go back to the future.

"That's all in the past, peanut." She addressed Wyatt who stood near the podium – the Book of Shadows was still opened at the page of Excalibur. "Are you too grown up to give your mother a hug or what?"

He shook his head, smiling. "Of course not"

"Take care of your brother," she whispered in his ear, then saying a little louder: "But don't ever forget about yourself, got it?"

Wyatt nodded. "I won't, thanks for helping me tonight. I didn't know what to do."

"Anytime, I'm always there for you." Piper shoved him lightly, so both boys stood outside the line of candles. "Don't give your dad a hard time. He really is doing his best."

"That's his best?" Chris asked pretending to be shocked.

Piper smirked. "You two be happy...look out for each other, will you? I love you." She took a step backwards; her body became transparent and a swirl of golden lights engulfed her; then she was gone.

Wyatt and Chris stared at the spot a moment.

Wyatt sighed. "I guess...I should make an entry in the book about this whole thing."

Chris nodded, he looked around the attic. "What am I doing?" He asked. He had no school to attend, no urgent demon issues; nothing.

Wyatt laughed. "Seems like I could have let you die, all you'll be doing is sitting on your butt, anyway."

Chris glared at him but before he could answer their attention was drawn to something happening outside on the street. They both looked out of the window. A really crappy car stopped in front of the Manor with more noise then a train.

"Oh, that's Matt," Chris said. Suddenly a thought hit him. "Oh no, tonight was Sue's farewell party."

"I thought she'd be back in a week or so," Wyatt said.

Chris was already hurrying out of the attic. "But only to get her stuff," he called over his shoulder.

His three friends entered the house the same moment Chris appeared in the hallway.

Victor had let them in, not sure what to tell the three teenagers.

Sue spotted her friend and brushed past Victor.

"Halliwell," she said pointing at Chris with her index finger. "Give me one good reason why you bailed on me on my farewell party before I kill you."

Amy and Matt followed her a bit ashamed at the sight of all the people sitting in the living room, but they were also angry. They had waited for Chris to show up at the China Garden for almost two hours before hey had decided to meet him at home.

Chris had at least the decency to blush. "I'm really sorry but I have a lot of good reasons."

"Good. Come on, tell me," the blonde girl ordered.

"The truth, well, the truth is…" he trailed off.

Wyatt also joined them in the living room curious about what was going on.

"Okay, see, the truth is, me and Wyatt had to stop two demons that wanted to rule the world. They attacked students in magic school and we had to fight them. This lead to me almost dying and Wyatt had to summon our mom to save me and then she stayed a bit and yeah, that's it."

Sue crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Magic school" Matt asked frowning.

"That's what caught your attention?" Amy said shaking her head, Matt shrugged.

"Seriously Chris, I don't know how you can make up stories like this," Sue told him. "You should become and author instead of an artist, but I guess I have to forgive you. I don't want to part angry. So, what do you say about a drink with us?"

Chris nodded. "Sure, I'd love too. Let's go, and we'll take my car. Matt's sounds, like it has lung cancer."

"Hey!" Matt exclaimed. "Something is wrong with the exhaust."

Amy shook her head following her two male friends.

Sue moved in closer to Wyatt. "Well, I guess I won't see you again until the Christmas holidays. I wish you luck, Wyatt."

"So do I, I hope you have a good time in New York."

"I'm sure I will, maybe not at first but in a while." She winked at him. "But I'll be back."

"Is that a threat?" the twenty-year old grinned.

"A promise"

"Mortals," Paige said snidely when the three friends were gone.

I will have the end up in a day or two. I hope you enjoyed it. I decided that even though it was written like Piper remembered the events in the past I keep it from Chris' point of you to indicate he remembered it as well at some point. I hope that's alright for you.