Five years went by. Lin grew into a sweet, beautiful little girl, with her mother's silky hair and her father's blue eyes. She absolutely adored her big brother, Wyatt, who'd become extremely bright and very protective of his mother and sister. Piper did her best to immerse herself in her friends and her children, but she never did stop thinking about Leo.

Then one day he showed up.

Piper was at home, relaxing while Wyatt and Lin were outside playing with Darvy's kids under Nana's watchful eye. She was in the kitchen making herself lunch when suddenly, she sensed someone behind her. Even after she heard his voice, she couldn't quite believe it was really him.

"Piper," began Leo softly.

A few tears slid softly down her cheek as she whispered, "If I turn around, do you promise you'll still be there?"

"I promise," he said. She turned around. The sad, hurt expression on her face broke his heart. He went to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away.

"Don't," she said, her voice shaking. "If you're going to leave again, then just don't."

He embraced her tightly, trying to ignore the way she stiffened defensively. "I'm not leaving, not ever again. God, Piper, I love you so much. And Wyatt... I couldn't stay away. I am so sorry that I ever left."

"Then what the hell took you so long?" she demanded.

"I couldn't find you," he replied. "After you bound Wyatt's powers, and severed the bond with your sisters, I couldn't track you anymore. I've spent the last few years looking for you. I missed you so much."

Piper shook her head, leaning against the counter behind her. She couldn't let him hurt her again.

Leo knew exactly what she was thinking. He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "You know how much I love you. You've always known. I'm never going to stop loving you. If you can't trust me, then at least trust that."

She could tell from his face that he meant every word, and that the last five years had been killing him as much as they had been killing her. She nodded, and then leaned into him, sobbing. He put his arms around her, kidding her and assuring her that everything would be okay.

They were interrupted by five small children running in. Piper pulled away, drying her eyes with the back of her hand. Nana followed the kids in, took one look at Leo, and guessed from Piper's expression who he was.

"Kids, let's go back outside and play for a little while longer," she suggested nervously.

"Wait, Nana," Piper said. "Please, just take Ash, Bren, and Claire."

Nana nodded, and led them back out the door. Wyatt stared at Leo suspiciously, while Lin looked at him with mere curiousity. Finally, she started toward him.

"No, Lin," Wyatt said, stopping her.

"Wyatt..." Lin whined. Strangers were a rarity in that town, and she wanted to meet the one that had just shown up in her kitchen.

"Prudence Melinda," Wyatt warned. He was the only person who ever used his sister's full name. He pulled her toward him protectively. "Stay by me. Don't go near him, he's making Mommy sad."

Piper shook her head, forcing a smile. "I'm not sad, baby. And you don't have to be afraid of him."

Leo looked at the red-headed six-year-old with eyes resembling Leo's own and a precocious attitude that was all Piper, and then looked back at his wife. "This is... him?"

Piper nodded. "Yes, Leo. That's Wyatt. Our son. And he's standing right next to our daughter."

Again, Leo looked back at the kids, and then at Piper, trying to comprehend what she'd just said. Finally, it registered that somehow he was the father of this little girl. He knelt down in front of her and her brother. "You want to know who I am?" he asked. They both nodded eagerly. "I'm your daddy."

Wyatt and Lin both looked past him, to their mother. Piper nodded slowly.

"Daddy!" Lin shouted, throwing her arms around him.

Wyatt was a lot more wary. "If you're our daddy, then how come I've never seen you?"

Leo frowned, the pain of the past five years stinging at him again. "You have seen me, Wyatt," he replied. "You don't remember, but I was there when you were a baby." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out an old, worn blue baby blanket. On the blanket was the symbol of the triquetra. "This used to be your favourite blanket."

Wyatt reached out and took it, studying it curiously. He thought there was something famliar about it.

While Wyatt was looking at the blanket, Leo turned to Lin. "And what's your name, sweetie?"

"Prudence Melinda Halliwell," the little girl answered, with the perfect exactness of a small child. "But everybody calls me Lin."

Leo turned back to look at Piper. "You used the name we picked out?"

"Yeah, well, I wanted to give her a name that meant something," Piper explained. "Calling her after Prue was just so hard, so I decided to use her middle name. Just like the little girl we saw when..." She paused, not wanting to bring up anything about her former life.

Leo got up, and put an arm around her. "How... when did you get pregnant? Why didn't I know?"

"I didn't even know, not until I came here. I mean, I should have realised it," Piper admitted, "I thought it was just stress, what with everything that was going on, and you being up in Elderland, and everything else."

"Mommy, where's Elderland?" Wyatt asked.

"No where, baby," Piper replied automatically.

"Are there rides there, like at the amusement park?" Lin wanted to know.

Leo smiled. "No, sweetheart. 'Elderland' is what your Mommy calls the place where I used to work."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Used to?"

He nodded. "I told you I wasn't leaving again. I resigned as an Elder as soon as I heard that you'd left. But by then I couldn't track you, because you bound yours and Wyatt's powers."

"Well, you've found us," Piper said slowly. "Now what?"

"Now, I don't want to lose you again," he replied. "I want to stay. If you'll take me back."

Piper wanted nothing more than to say yes, but something was holding her back. "Lin, Wyatt, go play upstairs for a minute," she commanded.

The kids ran off, and Leo looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know," she said, her voice strained. "Leo, I love you and that hasn't changed. I'm just not sure if I can trust you."

Leo's face fell. "I can't say I blame you," he responded. "Leaving you like that, leaving Wyatt, and not even knowing about Lin... That the worst thing I possibly could have done, and I did it. But Piper, I want to make things right."

He caressed her hair, and she started to cry. "You can't. You can't get back all those things you missed, like when Lin was born, or when Wyatt started walking, or... or the first time the kids asked me where their daddy was. You've missed out on their entire lives up to now, and there's no way you can ever get that back."

"I know," he said, holding her. "I know. I can't change the past. But will you at least let me be a part of their future?"

Piper was silent, deep in thought. After a few long minutes, she sighed. "Okay. You can stay. But on one condition. Once, you told me you'd clip your wings for me. I didn't want you to then, and I don't want you to now. Not for me. But our children are a completely different matter. I don't want them exposed to magic, ever. I don't want to see them get hurt the same way I have. They are the reason that I gave up magic, and they're the reason I want you to. I know that it's a lot to ask, but for the sake of our children, I'm asking. Promise me that you'll clip your wings, and that our children will never do magic."

Leo's throat tightened. She was right, it was a lot to ask. A hell of a lot. But if that was what he needed to do in order to regain her trust and get her back, he wouldn't hesitate. "I'll do it," he said.

Piper knew at once that he was sincere. This was enough to restore her faith in him, and so she did what she'd wanted to do every night for five years. She threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

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A/N: I was going to end it here, but I decided to keep going for just a little bit longer. Stay tuned for chapter 7.

A/N2: This fic hit the 50+ review mark after last chapter. Thanks for all the feedback. :D