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Chapter 3: Leo's Memories

Later that night, Leo couldn't sleep, remembering what happened the day Piper died.

O.O Memory O.O

Leo smiled and laughed as Piper told him what had just happened at P3 that afternoon.

About how when Phoebe had just showed up, they had just mopped the floor, and she came running down the stairs and slipped, sliding into a bartender who was currently carrying a few of the big plastic bottles of soda to the bar. The bartender fell, the bottles flying into the air, opened, then spilt all over Phoebe, who was still laying down on the ground.

They walked into the room, then stopped smiling when they saw the way Chris was looking out the window. Like he was alert. And scared. Then he ran past them and out of the house.

Piper and Leo looked at each other before running out after him.

Then he saw the van. And he realized that seeing Chris being sucked into the van, screaming, was the scariest thing he ever had to live through. Because he didn't know if Chris was going to come back. He didn't know if that was the last time he was ever going to see his son.

After they crawled out of the van, just Leo, Chris, and Caleb, he held Chris close, never wanting to come that close to losing him again.

Paige and Phoebe ran up to them, Wyatt following. Wyatt had been previously told about the Ice Cream Van while Chris and Michael were out shopping for school clothes with Piper.

"Are you guys okay?" Phoebe asked, looking around. "Where's Piper?"

"The Nothing took her," Caleb said, looking upset. "It almost took the little one."

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Phoebe asked, taking him from Leo and holding him close.

Chris nodded. "It was about to take me, so I held onto the tree. But then my hands were starting to slip. The next thing I knew, Mom and Dad grabbed me. The Nothing was strong, and I didn't know if they were going to be able to keep their grips on me. But Mom told me that they weren't going to let go. And they didn't. So The Nothing gave up and left. It almost got me. But Mom and Dad wouldn't let it."

Phoebe held onto Chris tighter, but Wyatt took him from her. "If you ever go near that van again, I swear I'm going to kill you myself."

Chris let go of Wyatt and held onto Leo for dear life.

Leo had tears in his eyes, but he held them back, holding Chris tightly. He knelt next to him and held him close. "Oh god, Chris, you scared me. I don't ever want to come that close to losing you again."

"I'm sorry, Dad. I -"

"No, Chris," Leo said, looking his son in the eyes. "It's okay. You didn't know."

"Thank you for not letting go," Chris said, getting teary eyed.

"I'll never let go, Chris. I promise. Never," Leo said, holding Chris close once again.

O.O End Memory O.O

Leo looked over at Piper and gently pushed some hair behind her ear as she slept peacefully beside him. He got up and walked down the stairs slowly. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. He walked over to the table and sat down, slowly drinking his water. He looked across the table to see Chris sitting there, his head in his hands.

"Couldn't sleep, either?" Chris asked, telekinetically turning on the light.

Leo shook his head. "No. I couldn't. I was remembering too many things."

"From the day Mom died?" Chris asked, looking up at him.

Leo nodded. "Yeah. From that day." He sighed and looked down at the table. Then he looked back up at Chris and told him what he had remembered. What he had felt. Then he went on with the story.

O.O Memory O.O

For the past month after Piper had died, the house was silent. No one talked to one another. They were all hurting. They were all missing Piper. And they all wanted to be alone because of it. Except for Chris. Chris had remembered seeing The Nothing suck up his mother into no existence. And since that day, he had always stayed close to Leo. He wanted to make sure that the same thing didn't happen to his father.

Chris looked up from his homework while sitting at his desk as Leo walked in Chris's room.

"Hey, buddy," Leo said, sitting down on Chris's bed. "How are you?"

Chris sighed and put down his pencil, turning around in his chair so he could face his father. "The same."

"Chris, I don't want you to be the same," Leo said as Chris sat next to him on the bed. "Because over this past month, you've been avoiding everyone else and you've kept yourself locked up in your room whenever you weren't with me. I understand that you're hurting, Chris. I really do. So am I. So is everyone else. But you have to get on with your life."

Chris was staring at the floor, tears threatening to spill. He looked up at Leo. "I don't want to. Because that means that I'll have to let go of Mom. And I'm not willing to do that," he said as a tear fell. "It's my fault that she's dead, and you expect me to just forget that?!"

Leo looked Chris in the eyes. "It's not your fault, Chris. It's no one's fault. You saw someone in danger and you wanted to help them, thinking that they were an innocent. You didn't know about the van. Because no one told you, and we're very sorry for that. But it's not your fault. Your mother was just trying to save you."

"But it's my fault that she was in that van in the first place!" Chris yelled, jumping off the bed. "I shouldn't have tried to handle it by myself! I should've called you, or Mom, or one of the aunts! And I should've listened to you when you guys were calling for me and telling me to stay away from the van!"

Leo got up and grabbed Chris by his arms, looking into his eyes. "Chris, listen to me -"

"Dad -"

"It's not your fault. So stop saying that. It's not. It's no one's fault, Chris. So stop beating yourself up over it. Okay?" Leo said, cutting Chris off. "Yes, I am upset that your mother's gone, but I'm so happy that I didn't lose you that day. Alright? You and your brothers are the most important thing to me in the world. You three were more important to me than your mother was. And if I had to pick between you or your mother staying alive, I would pick you, Chris. Because I don't want to lose you. Okay? You got it?"

Chris looked down at the floor, then back up at Leo. He nodded.

"Good," Leo said, pulling Chris towards him and holding him close.

O.O End Memory O.O

Chris looked down at the table, Leo forcing him to remember all the pain that he went through those few months after Piper's death.

Leo got up and sat down next to Chris. He put his hand on Chris's shoulder and squeezed it sympathetically.

Chris looked up at him. "It wasn't my fault?"

"No, Chris. It wasn't your fault," Leo said, shaking his head and smiling slightly.

"What happened after that?" Chris asked, looking interested.

Leo smiled wider. "Well, you didn't want to lose me like you lost your mother, so you still always hung around me. And you got out of your room a lot more after that day. It made me so happy. And we got closer. We weren't like father and son anymore. We were more like friends. And I liked it. I liked it a lot. Your brothers weren't jealous. We were all like buddies. And Wyatt and Michael were as close you and I were. Even when your mother came back, we would still hang out. We would still talk."

Chris smiled at his father. "That must've meant a lot to you. Figuring on the way I treated you after you found out about me being your son."

"Well, I think that I deserved to be treated that way after the way I treated you when you first became the girls' whitelighter," Leo said, smiling slightly.

"Well, you didn't know that I was your son. I knew who you were, but I still treated you that way. Besides, I did a lot of really bad, stupid things. And I don't blame you for not trusting me," Chris said, smiling a bit back. He sighed. "Anyway, what happened the day that Mom came back?"

Leo sighed and smiled, going on.

O.O Memory O.O

It had been three months since Piper's death, and Leo and Chris had gotten really close. They were playing Life in Chris's room when she came back.

"Chris, you're married and already have three kids," Leo joked, sighing. "You make me feel old."

Chris smiled and laughed alone with Leo.

Then someone cleared their throat from the doorway. The two looked up to see Piper smiling down at them.

"Mom," Chris gasped, standing up and hugging her tightly.

"Piper?" Leo asked, standing up. "How?"

"Well, obviously the Elders haven't been keeping you informed," Piper said, holding Chris close.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, walking over to her slowly.

"And I guess that's why they wanted me to tell you the news," Piper said, kissing Chris's head. "Oh, I'm so glad that your father got you out of there safely."

"What news?" Leo asked, standing in front of his wife and son.

"You're not this family's only whitelighter anymore," Piper said, smiling at her husband.

"You mean . . ?" Leo asked, smiling. Piper nodded. Leo smiled even wider and hugged her tightly.

"Can't . . . Breathe . . ." Chris gasped from between his parents.

Piper and Leo laughed slightly, letting go of each other. When Chris had moved, Leo pulled Piper close and kissed her deeply.

"Ew . . ." Chris said, wrinkling his nose in disgust, sitting down on the floor next to the game board.

Piper and Leo chuckled as they looked over at their son.

"Well, I've already seen everyone else. I've actually been here for about two hours already. But Paige, Richard, Phoebe and Jason decided to take me out, and not let me come back for an hour. And I spent the other hour with our other sons and our three nieces," she said as Leo let her go. "So I'm free to hang out with you two." She smiled in confusion and looked from the game board to Leo. "You hate Life."

"Well, Chris got me to like it," Leo said, smiling down at his son.

"How long ago did you guys start?" Piper asked, looking hopeful.

"We can always start a new game," Chris suggested, looking up at his parents.

"That'd be fun," Piper said, sitting down on the floor with Leo as Chris cleared the board.

O.O End Memory O.O

Chris smiled. "Life?"

Leo chuckled. "Life. Yeah. It became the family game."

Chris shook his head and rolled his eyes. He checked his watch and got up.

"What?" Leo asked, looking confused.

"It's six in the morning. We stayed up all night," Chris said, turning the coffee pot on and sitting back down next to Leo.

"Wow. Like old times. Except for then it was during school and your mother would always get really mad at me," Leo said, frowning. Then he smiled again.

"You know, Dad, you smile too much," Chris noted, looking serious.

Piper walked in. "You two stayed up all night, didn't you?"

"Guilty," the two said in unison.

Piper smiled and sat down across from the two. "What were you guys talking about?"

Chris and Leo looked at each other then back at Piper.

"The good times," Chris said, smiling.

"You remember everything?" Piper asked, raising her eyebrows in hope.

"No. Barely anything. But I'll take what I got," Chris said as Leo put an arm around his shoulders.

"You know, I like you this way. My old, neurotic whitelighter mixed in with my young, neurotic son. It works," Piper said, causing the three of them to chuckle.

Chris stopped chuckling. "I'm not that neurotic, am I?"

Piper got up and patted Chris on the shoulder as she passed him, leaving the kitchen.

"Am I?" Chris asked, turning to Leo.

Leo just got up, ruffled Chris's hair, and left after his wife.

"Wait! Am I?!" Chris yelled, running after them.

O.O.O.O.O

Chapter 3! I hope you guys liked it! But now it's time to finally update the other stories! Review, please! Ciao!

Hannah