Leo stepped into Wyatt's bedroom. He picked his son up and hugged him.
"What's up, buddy?"
He rocked his son quietly and sang to him, trailing off when he saw Chris at the door. "Hey, Chris. " Leo said uneasily. Ever since finding out about Chris being his son, Chris has been avoiding him. He still hadn't told Leo why he hated him so much. It hurt Leo to know that he could've done something so wrong in the future to hurt his son in such a way.
'It doesn't matter. The future hasn't happened yet, you can fix it.' He thought.
Chris looked like he was ready to talk. He sat down in front of Leo, avoiding his gaze. It hurt Chris to see his father after all these years. He hated him, he was mad at him... But he knew he was being unfair. This Leo was different than his dad. Before everything happened, Chris still remembered what a great father he was to him in his early childhood. He had been trying to avoid talking to him in the last week, but now he knew the time had come. He had a chance to change the future for the better, and he was going to do it.
But in the back of his mind, Chris knew that as much as he hated his life in the future up until now, he was completely terrified of changing something for the worse. He still felt attached to his life, and as much as he didn't like it, past experienced made him who he was and he didn't want to know how much he would change just by making Wyatt good again. What if he would change himself so much that he would disappear to be replaced by a completely different person? "Chris, we need to talk..." Leo finally said.
Chris sighed.
"Look- I know... I know I haven't been fair to you, because basically you haven't done anything wrong yet. It's just... Look- I want to change the future for the better. And as selfish as it is of me, I hate your future self so much that I just can't pretend to like you now. It was easy before Phoebe busted me, because I was acting with all of you really. But now..."
"Look, Chris, just tell me! What did I do to make you hate me so much? Play favorites with you and Wyatt? Miss a school play? Tell me, Chris, because I can't fix it unless I know what I have to fix! I know you don't want to change who you are by changing the future, but being a good father is the most important thing for me, more than being an Elder, even more than being a good husband!" yelled Leo.
Chris shook his head wildly "What miss a school play? Ha! If only... you, sitting there... if only you knew! I can't stand you! Would you think of anyone but yourself for once? I- " He stopped his tirade as Wyatt started crying.
"Shhhh, it's ok! It's ok Wyatt! It's ok! Shhhh!" Leo rocked his son gently.
Chris looked at him wistfully. How could someone change so much? What happened? Where'd this Leo go? He sighed...
"Look, I'm sorry... I'll tell you, but I'm not responsible for... for anything, ok?"
"Just tell me, Chris! I need to know!" Leo said.
He looked so sad and helpless; Chris knew he had no choice. He took a deep breath. "Fine. Ok... where do I start..."
*Flashback*
We hear the door opening and Piper saying "Hi honey!" Then, a brown haired 5 year old runs into his father's arms.
"Dad, dad!"
"Hey buddy! He said, holding Chris up and swinging him around. How was your day?"
"He got caught trying to hide his broccoli under the table! But he learned his lesson! Didn't you, Chris?" said Piper.
"Yes, mommy..." said the child, looking down.
Leo gave his son a swift kiss on the cheek and followed Piper into the kitchen.
"Where's Wyatt?"
"Oh, I dropped him off at Ron's house after school. Don't worry! She said as she saw the words forming in his mouth. "He's seven already and he knows what to do if a demon attacks. Besides, we've talked about this before. I want him to have a childhood as normal as possible. The demons don't attack often at all anymore and besides, Chris and he won't stop having a go at each other in the last week. It's probably this phase all brothers go through..."
*End of flashback*
"That was how life was until- the event... said Chris. You weren't an Elder, just a whitelighter, and you'd take care of other charges during the day. Now I can't tell you everything that was going on because if you know what your future is, then what's life all about..."
"By the event do you mean when- Leo stopped here to swallow- when your mother died?" He'd found out about that recently and promised himself that he would do ANYTHING it took to change that fact. Piper wasn't going to die before she was 120 years old, not if Leo could help it!
"Yeah..." Chris answered. "Anyway, after the event... that's when I discovered that Wyatt turned evil. Maybe he turned evil before that and hid it, but I think mom's death is what the turning point was for him. He still had you, but you weren't the same anymore. You became an alcoholic. You didn't push forward for Wyatt and me. You practically killed yourself..."
At this point, Leo wasn't sure he wanted to know about any of this anymore. He looked at Wyatt and felt a pang of guilt. He felt so horrible. How could what Chris was saying be true? It seemed so absurd, that he wouldn't push forward for his sons! They were the most important things to him, after all!
"Anyway, that doesn't matter. After I busted Wyatt, I tried to tell you. But you went crazy. You yelled at me and you said I was only trying to ruin your life, that I was jealous of Wyatt being- being more powerful than me. The worst part is... you were sober at the time."
Leo felt his throat hitch. But Chris kept on talking...
"And then, well, Wyatt hated you at that point. He was blaming you for what happened to mom. One day, he used his powers against you, for the first time. That's when you knew that I was right, that Wyatt had turned evil. You were so in denial, dad!"
Leo started at hearing Chris finally addressing him as dad. But now it hurt to hear it, and he wanted out... he would make it up to Chris. He will NEVER let himself become the person he was in Chris' past and in his future.
Chris looked at Leo, pain etched all over his face. It was so hard to recount it all, for the first time since he'd told Bianca!
"And then, after that, you completely broke down. You sent me off to live with Grandpa... And dedicated all of your time to trying to save Wyatt. Eventually, you completely stopped visiting me, and you stopped shaving and you went crazy..."
"Wait a minute! Leo interrupted. Where were Phoebe and Paige during all that while?"
Chris sighed...
"I CAN'T tell you. Sorry dad, I just can't... But, that's not all! After two years, you gave up on Wyatt. You came to visit me for the first time in two months. And you told me that I had to join Wyatt. You told me that at least that way he won't try to hurt me, and take me away from you as well. You told me that no one could save him and that I must never leave him. And then... then... Chris swallowed here and it looked as if he was trying to hold back tears. Then, you hugged me and you told me that you were finally going to see mom again. And that you were going to look over me. And... oh, I should probably mention that after Wyatt turned evil, the Elders clipped your wings and made you mortal again..."
Leo knew what was coming next. He refused to believe it. He wasn't that kind of person! Not even if Piper died and his son became evil, not even if it was the last thing he could do to save the world, not for any reason would he do something like that to his son!
Chris could tell what his dad was thinking. "That's right... you killed yourself. You killed yourself, dad! Do you get what I'm saying? Huh, dad? YOU KILLED YOURSELF!" yelled Chris.
Wyatt started crying again, but this time, instead of calming his son down, Leo let his own tears fall.
Chris got up, a cold look in his eyes.
"Wait, Chris! I'll make it up to you! That doesn't sound like me! That's NOT me! It can't be! I won't let it happen! I... I was probably under a spell!" Leo yelled desperately, wiping his tears angrily.
"UNDER A SPELL? I WISH! You left me. You cared about me that much! After mom died, I wasn't important, and after Wyatt left you, you completely abandoned me!"
And with that, Chris left the room, leaving a crying Leo and Wyatt in his wake.
"What's up, buddy?"
He rocked his son quietly and sang to him, trailing off when he saw Chris at the door. "Hey, Chris. " Leo said uneasily. Ever since finding out about Chris being his son, Chris has been avoiding him. He still hadn't told Leo why he hated him so much. It hurt Leo to know that he could've done something so wrong in the future to hurt his son in such a way.
'It doesn't matter. The future hasn't happened yet, you can fix it.' He thought.
Chris looked like he was ready to talk. He sat down in front of Leo, avoiding his gaze. It hurt Chris to see his father after all these years. He hated him, he was mad at him... But he knew he was being unfair. This Leo was different than his dad. Before everything happened, Chris still remembered what a great father he was to him in his early childhood. He had been trying to avoid talking to him in the last week, but now he knew the time had come. He had a chance to change the future for the better, and he was going to do it.
But in the back of his mind, Chris knew that as much as he hated his life in the future up until now, he was completely terrified of changing something for the worse. He still felt attached to his life, and as much as he didn't like it, past experienced made him who he was and he didn't want to know how much he would change just by making Wyatt good again. What if he would change himself so much that he would disappear to be replaced by a completely different person? "Chris, we need to talk..." Leo finally said.
Chris sighed.
"Look- I know... I know I haven't been fair to you, because basically you haven't done anything wrong yet. It's just... Look- I want to change the future for the better. And as selfish as it is of me, I hate your future self so much that I just can't pretend to like you now. It was easy before Phoebe busted me, because I was acting with all of you really. But now..."
"Look, Chris, just tell me! What did I do to make you hate me so much? Play favorites with you and Wyatt? Miss a school play? Tell me, Chris, because I can't fix it unless I know what I have to fix! I know you don't want to change who you are by changing the future, but being a good father is the most important thing for me, more than being an Elder, even more than being a good husband!" yelled Leo.
Chris shook his head wildly "What miss a school play? Ha! If only... you, sitting there... if only you knew! I can't stand you! Would you think of anyone but yourself for once? I- " He stopped his tirade as Wyatt started crying.
"Shhhh, it's ok! It's ok Wyatt! It's ok! Shhhh!" Leo rocked his son gently.
Chris looked at him wistfully. How could someone change so much? What happened? Where'd this Leo go? He sighed...
"Look, I'm sorry... I'll tell you, but I'm not responsible for... for anything, ok?"
"Just tell me, Chris! I need to know!" Leo said.
He looked so sad and helpless; Chris knew he had no choice. He took a deep breath. "Fine. Ok... where do I start..."
*Flashback*
We hear the door opening and Piper saying "Hi honey!" Then, a brown haired 5 year old runs into his father's arms.
"Dad, dad!"
"Hey buddy! He said, holding Chris up and swinging him around. How was your day?"
"He got caught trying to hide his broccoli under the table! But he learned his lesson! Didn't you, Chris?" said Piper.
"Yes, mommy..." said the child, looking down.
Leo gave his son a swift kiss on the cheek and followed Piper into the kitchen.
"Where's Wyatt?"
"Oh, I dropped him off at Ron's house after school. Don't worry! She said as she saw the words forming in his mouth. "He's seven already and he knows what to do if a demon attacks. Besides, we've talked about this before. I want him to have a childhood as normal as possible. The demons don't attack often at all anymore and besides, Chris and he won't stop having a go at each other in the last week. It's probably this phase all brothers go through..."
*End of flashback*
"That was how life was until- the event... said Chris. You weren't an Elder, just a whitelighter, and you'd take care of other charges during the day. Now I can't tell you everything that was going on because if you know what your future is, then what's life all about..."
"By the event do you mean when- Leo stopped here to swallow- when your mother died?" He'd found out about that recently and promised himself that he would do ANYTHING it took to change that fact. Piper wasn't going to die before she was 120 years old, not if Leo could help it!
"Yeah..." Chris answered. "Anyway, after the event... that's when I discovered that Wyatt turned evil. Maybe he turned evil before that and hid it, but I think mom's death is what the turning point was for him. He still had you, but you weren't the same anymore. You became an alcoholic. You didn't push forward for Wyatt and me. You practically killed yourself..."
At this point, Leo wasn't sure he wanted to know about any of this anymore. He looked at Wyatt and felt a pang of guilt. He felt so horrible. How could what Chris was saying be true? It seemed so absurd, that he wouldn't push forward for his sons! They were the most important things to him, after all!
"Anyway, that doesn't matter. After I busted Wyatt, I tried to tell you. But you went crazy. You yelled at me and you said I was only trying to ruin your life, that I was jealous of Wyatt being- being more powerful than me. The worst part is... you were sober at the time."
Leo felt his throat hitch. But Chris kept on talking...
"And then, well, Wyatt hated you at that point. He was blaming you for what happened to mom. One day, he used his powers against you, for the first time. That's when you knew that I was right, that Wyatt had turned evil. You were so in denial, dad!"
Leo started at hearing Chris finally addressing him as dad. But now it hurt to hear it, and he wanted out... he would make it up to Chris. He will NEVER let himself become the person he was in Chris' past and in his future.
Chris looked at Leo, pain etched all over his face. It was so hard to recount it all, for the first time since he'd told Bianca!
"And then, after that, you completely broke down. You sent me off to live with Grandpa... And dedicated all of your time to trying to save Wyatt. Eventually, you completely stopped visiting me, and you stopped shaving and you went crazy..."
"Wait a minute! Leo interrupted. Where were Phoebe and Paige during all that while?"
Chris sighed...
"I CAN'T tell you. Sorry dad, I just can't... But, that's not all! After two years, you gave up on Wyatt. You came to visit me for the first time in two months. And you told me that I had to join Wyatt. You told me that at least that way he won't try to hurt me, and take me away from you as well. You told me that no one could save him and that I must never leave him. And then... then... Chris swallowed here and it looked as if he was trying to hold back tears. Then, you hugged me and you told me that you were finally going to see mom again. And that you were going to look over me. And... oh, I should probably mention that after Wyatt turned evil, the Elders clipped your wings and made you mortal again..."
Leo knew what was coming next. He refused to believe it. He wasn't that kind of person! Not even if Piper died and his son became evil, not even if it was the last thing he could do to save the world, not for any reason would he do something like that to his son!
Chris could tell what his dad was thinking. "That's right... you killed yourself. You killed yourself, dad! Do you get what I'm saying? Huh, dad? YOU KILLED YOURSELF!" yelled Chris.
Wyatt started crying again, but this time, instead of calming his son down, Leo let his own tears fall.
Chris got up, a cold look in his eyes.
"Wait, Chris! I'll make it up to you! That doesn't sound like me! That's NOT me! It can't be! I won't let it happen! I... I was probably under a spell!" Leo yelled desperately, wiping his tears angrily.
"UNDER A SPELL? I WISH! You left me. You cared about me that much! After mom died, I wasn't important, and after Wyatt left you, you completely abandoned me!"
And with that, Chris left the room, leaving a crying Leo and Wyatt in his wake.