Disclaimer: Please see first Chapter.
Author's Note: Hi! I'm so happy some of you are liking this story! Like I said before I'm enjoying writing it.
I'm trying to not give too much away right away...
Thank you so much for reading!
"It's about time! The eggs are getting cold!" Piper cried when the walked in.
The men filed in without comment.
"I hope you had a nice manly discussion." She continued, then pinned Leo down with her gaze, "If this is going to affect the party planning commission I want to know what he told you."
"It isn't." Leo stated as he reached out and snatched a chip from one of the bowls Piper had set out.
"Because he has it under control…" Piper stated skeptically.
"Something like that." Leo responded; watching, amused, as Chris dug into the sandwich Piper set in front of him.
He paused suddenly, holding half the sandwich in mid-air, and looked over at the girl, "Sorry…" he muttered uncomfortably, "…'bout before…"
Cia eyed him warily, but after a moment she grinned, "I want the first picture tonight."
Since Chris had no idea what that meant, he nodded, happy that he'd put this first tiny problem behind him. He continued eating without further comment.
"Are you going tell me what's up?" he heard his mom ask his dad.
"Nothing Chris and I can't handle."
He stuffed a few chips into his mouth as his mom released a sigh, "Fine, whatever. I have enough to do with the party." She turned to Chris, "Since you're here, make yourself useful and go get Becky."
Chris opened his mouth to ask who the hell Becky was, but luckily for him his little cousin interrupted. Leo gave him an I'll-tell-you-later look.
"Oh can I go too!" Cia cried.
"No, you need to get back to Magic School, young lady."
"Aw, Aunt Pip, please, I can help."
"I know you can baby, but Magic School is important. And you'll be out just in time for all the fun."
"But it always runs over…" the girl complained.
"We aren't getting together till eight tonight, you should be finished by then."
The girl remained silent.
"The more time you spend here, the more time you'll have to spend there." Piper reminded her.
Chris nearly choked, she startled him so much when she leaped out of the chair.
"Sorry…" she said sheepishly, as he coughed. Piper handed him a glass of water and looked highly amused.
"Leo take her back, will ya…"
The man's eyes widened and Chris's head shot up, alarmed at the thought of being on his own again.
"Cia's a big girl, she can make it on her own…" Leo said carefully.
"Yeah, Aunt Pip… it's not like I have to cross a street or something," the girl said, and sighed as she headed for the door.
"I better be allowed in on vanquishes soon or I'm gonna stop this stupid training…"
Piper watched her head out, then shook her head ruefully as she picked up the plate the girl had left behind, "I don't know when it was that vanquishing demons became cool in this family."
"When Wyatt and Chris made that rite of initiation speech to get Polly allowed in on them." Leo answered her grinning, "Face it; your boys are the ringleader..."
"Ugh! Don't remind me…" then her gaze turned suspicious, "Is there a reason you didn't want to accompany your niece to Magic School."
Leo managed a careless shrug, and Chris wondered how many lies his father had told over the years to cover the fact that he remembered meeting his son before he was even conceived, "We need to start loosening the reigns on her a little."
"Do we?" Piper asked, stopping all movements and staring at him with one arched eyebrow.
"Well, yeah… she's gonna be eleven soon… and… well… we still treat her like..."
"-like a kid." Piper finished for him when he trailed off.
She threw her hands up in the air, and turned to put the plate in the sink, "Well, jee, what were we thinking… are you sure she's gonna be eleven! An entire eleven years on this earth… well of course we need to start loosening the reigns, I'll talk to Phoebe about it immediately."
Chris chuckled, Leo rolled his eyes.
"Oh Chris!" Piper cried a moment later, "Don't forget Becky's giraffe, like you did last time, kay… the kid throws a fit if it's not around when she has to take a nap."
"A nap?" Chris parroted before he could stop himself.
He had a cousin that was still taking naps?
The phone rang and Piper rushed out of the kitchen to answer it. Chris turned to his father, a chip in his hand "A nap? How old is that kid… and which of the sisters decided it would be fun to have kids in their middle age?"
Leo's grin could have illuminated a room, "Becky isn't your cousin… she's your niece."
The chip fell from his fingers, "What!"
"Yep, you're an uncle. She's nineteen months old and gorgeous, of course-"
"Niece! As in… as in Wyatt's kid?"
Leo laughed.
Chris bolted up from his chair, "I'm an Uncle!" he cried, his eyes wide.
Leo's laughter faded a little and he looked quickly to the kitchen, "Keep it down, Piper won't buy for an instant that you forgot about your niece… you dote on her…"
"Dote? I dote… I don't even know what that means?" Chris continued, and began pacing, "Wyatt's a father! How the hell is Wyatt a father! Who in their right mind would have Wyatt's kid? The poor child will probably grow up to-"
"Chris." Leo interrupted very firmly, stepping into his son's pacing path.
When he was sure he had Chris's attention he continued, "This Wyatt, the one from this world, is a wonderful father… and dote means to pay or lavish excessive attention on someone or something."
Chris swallowed hard, and nodded running a hand over his face, "Yeah, yeah, sure… you're right… I bet this Wyatt is a great Dad… I just… I can't get my Wyatt out of my head… and my Wyatt would have made a horrendous dad…"
Leo nodded, "I understand… but maybe we should replace that old Wyatt with this new one as soon as possible."
Chris bestowed a pointed look on his father, "Ya think?" He asked his words dripping sarcasm.
Leo laughed and turned away, "We'll go get Becky, then stop by the station using her as pretext… 'kay."
Chris stared at his father blankly, and Leo looked sheepish for a moment.
"Wyatt's an inspector for the San Francisco PD." He informed his youngest son and watched Chris's eyes widen. The boy spun around again and ran a hand through his hair.
When he turned to face Leo again, there was something akin to awe in his eyes, "Is this for real?" he asked hoarsely, "My brother upholds the law…"
Leo's heart went out to the boy, and his words were infinitely gentle, "Yeah Chris, and he's good at it… but more to the point… he's good."
Chris nodded, swallowing hard, "I really need to see Wyatt, Dad… I just need to see."
Leo nodded understanding, "Okay, let's go…"
"Go where?" Piper asked walking back into the kitchen.
"Uh, I'm going with Chris to get Becky." Leo told her.
Piper nodded, not seeing anything odd in that. Leo always went out of his way to see his granddaughter.
"That was Mattie's school… they tried to reach Paige and couldn't—naturally."
"What happened?" Leo asked. Paige was notorious for leaving her cell phone in her office at Magic School and then running around the place handling problems.
"Another fight…" Piper said wearily, "In gym class. I don't know what we're going to do with that boy… he's not handling his father's absence well at all…"
Leo nodded agreeing, "I'll have a talk with him later, before the party."
"Nope, you can talk to him now… when you pick him up. He's suspended for a week." Piper said calmly.
"What!" Leo cried, "He's suspended!" Then his gaze narrowed, "Why do you look so calm about this?" he asked suspiciously.
Piper laughed, a sound full of devious amusement, "The poor kids gonna go from hot water to the frying pan… what do you think Paige is gonna do when she finds out? Let him stay home and sleep…? Nope… he's goin to Magic School for a week… and who's word is law at Magic School?" she asked happily.
Leo too suddenly grinned, "His mothers'." He responded.
Piper laughed again, "Yep. So be extra nice to him on the way home…"
Leo nodded, "You got it. Come Chris, let's go…"
Chris nodded, and started to follow his father, but he paused just before heading out, "Hey, Mom… thanks for lunch…" he said.
Piper eyed him oddly a moment, before nodding, "Your welcome, baby." She responded gently, letting it go. Whatever was up with her son, his father seemed to have a grip on it… so she didn't have to worry.
If there was one thing Leo could be counted on… it was to be there for his sons—especially his baby boy.
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