Disclaimer: See First Chapter.

Author's Note: Hi! This is a just a quick chapter. I know everyone's impatient to see Phoebe and her girls... but relax, it's coming...

I hope you like.

"You okay, Chris?" Leo finally asked. They'd driven to Mattie's school in complete silence except for Becky's gurgles. She'd been trying to garner the attention of the Uncle who'd very attentively watched her the last time she'd been in the car seat-- for this ride though, the Uncle had been lost in thought.

Leo had wanted to give his son some time to process everything he'd just seen; time to recover; time to replace the other Wyatt with this one...

But time wasn't on their side. Today was a busy day. And Mattie was waiting to be picked up. They were parked in the school parking lot now, and Leo waited patiently for Chris to answer him.

Chris blinked a little...

Was he okay...?

It was over.

He was free.

He drew in a shuddering breath, "Yeah, Dad, I am... I'm okay..."

Leo released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and grinned, "Good. But just so you know... you did a horrendous job, and I meant truly horrendous job of keeping suspicions down in there."

Chris grinned sheepishly as he got out of the car, "Yeah, I know..."

"No really," Leo continued, as he got out and then opened the back door to take Becky out, "You might as well've tattooed it on your head that something was up..."

"I couldn't think... I just... " Chris shrugged, "…seeing him there, looking so normal… and expecting me to behave completely normal… it just, froze me up…", suddenly though, he shot his father a rather shy, hesitant grin, "I guess it all turned out real good, huh...?"

Leo straightened with Becky in his arms, and let his smile turn tender, "Yeah, buddy... it turned out real good..."

Chris gave a shaky laugh, "He says I'm a shitty liar..."

"You are." Leo's grin was conspiratorial, "I made sure of it."

A burst of laughter escaped Chris, Leo grinned over at him; and Chris had to pause a moment to identify what it was he was feeling...

... happy...

Complete, uninhibited happiness...

"Come on, Chris... Mattie's waiting, and we have a lot to do today..."

"We do?"

"Yep, you don't think party's set themselves up do you?"

Chris grinned, "But I'm the birthday boy. I don't have to help, do I?"

Leo rolled his eyes, "Funny how you can perfect that line in either timeline..."

Chris nodded and reached at his arms, "Come here, Becky," he said and laughed again when the girl launched herself into his arms—completely confident that he'd catch her, and as she snuggled into him, he knew without a doubt— that he would... always.

"You rank right up there, with Ooogie, you know," Leo told him as they entered the school. It was between classes and the hallways were silent.

"The giraffe?"

"He's her most favorite thing in the world... you and Wyatt tie for second place..." he said grinning, "He hates it, but it's so cute... if you put her in between the two of you and you both call her, she'll stand there looking like a lost puppy... then of course she chooses me."

"Of course..." Chris agreed, "... what is that, Dad... third best..."

Leo shrugged, "Hey, I'll take what I can get..."

Chris shook his head wryly and looked around the empty halls, they were approaching the office... he could tell— the atmosphere was getting more oppressive.

"Mattie's uh... what? Twelve? Thirteen?" he asked, bouncing Becky a little.

"Thirteen..." Leo answered, "… it's a rough age under the best of circumstances," he added as they approached the office door.

"He's been fighting a lot?" Chris asked, remembering his mother's words.

Leo nodded, "Yeah…"

Chris smirked, "My Mattie was pretty good at hand-to-hand," he commented.

Leo pushed the door open, "So's this one…" he offered grimly. A moment later they were facing the receptionist, "Hi Esther…"

The woman, in her forty's, smiled up at him, "Hi there Leo," she said kindly.

"I'm here for Mattie…" Leo stated.

She nodded, her face suddenly grave, "He gave another boy a bloody nose and a black eye…" she said standing, "Mr. Woods is losing his patience…"

"I know, but it's been hard…" Leo tried.

The woman nodded again and motioned for them to follow her, "I know… his mother has already discussed the circumstances with us; everyone is trying to cut him some slack, but he's not making it easy…" She said as she opened yet another door for them.

Mattie shot to his feet when his Uncle and cousin came into view, but didn't say anything. The eyes he fastened on his Uncle were defiant.

Leo sighed, "Let's go, kid…" the words were weary and Mattie shuffled past them without a word. Chris watched him go.

"Thanks, Esther… we'll see if we can get him under control this week…"

The woman nodded and sent Chris and Becky a smile.

Moments later, Chris and Leo were exiting the building. Mattie stood next to the car; hands in his pockets, head down.

"I thought they were gonna call Mom," he muttered when they neared.

"They did, but they couldn't reach her. Piper got the call."

The boy winced, "Is she mad?"

"What do think?" Leo asked, carefully avoiding the question.

Mattie shrugged in answer, and then threw Chris a mutinous glance, "What're you doin here?"

Chris eyed the boy up and down; taking note of the changes. The Mattie he remembered had never gotten the chance to be unruly — he'd been a causality of war at too young an age. But Chris could see that little boy somewhere in this rebellious teenager, underneath the baggy dark clothes and hateful expression.

The dark defiant eyes, the spiky dark hair, the angry set to his mouth… Chris could easily picture them melting away to reveal the bright eyed kid who'd followed him around begging to be allowed in on the whatever game he and Wyatt had been playing…

He shrugged, much the same way Mattie had just done, and answered his little cousin the same way he'd answered Wyatt— with sort'a the truth, "Jus wanted to see what the heck you've turned into…"

Mattie bristled, "So I'm not perfect like you and the golden boy, sue me…" he hissed.

"Just get in the car, Mattie," Leo ordered, before Chris could respond, then he shot his younger son a heated glare.

"Don't bait him," he hissed to his son as Mattie got in.

Chris sent his father an innocent look, "I was just answering his question…"

Leo rolled his eyes. He leaned in and buckled Becky into her car seat. Chris paused on his way to the passenger door, he could see through the window as Mattie made faces at Becky and tickled her tummy; as soon as Leo got behind the wheel though, the boy went stoic.

"Chris come on!" Leo called.

Chris nodded and slid into the car… content that he'd seen that tiny glimpse of his Mattie.

"You got an explanation ready?" Leo asked Mattie, as they drove.

The boy glared at his Uncle, "The kid got in my face…"

"You can't fight every kid that looks at you cross-eyed Mattie," Leo said calmly.

Mattie rolled his eyes and huffed, "I barely touched him."

"You gave him a bloody nose." Leo reminded.

"I could've done worse." Mattie muttered.

"That's a great attitude."

"Well it's true. I don't know what the point of training is if I can't use it." He growled.

Leo took a deep breath, but Chris saw the way his hands tightened on the wheel, "The training is for demons… not eighth graders."

"Whatever."

And with that the thirteen-year-old shifted and stared out the window.

"We're supposed to be nice to him," Chris reminded his father, quietly.

Leo sent him a glare, "I am being nice." He growled.

And Chris hid a smile. A few minutes later they pulled into the Halliwell driveway. Mattie barely waited for the car to stop, before bolting for the front door.

Leo sighed, but one look at his giggling granddaughter and he was all smiles, "Come on, Becky, we're gonna see Nana…" he cooed, lifting her out of the car seat.

"How come she only cried the first time we put her in the car seat…?" Chris asked as he followed his father up the stairs, "And do you always walk around town like that? Doesn't any one wonder why you don't age? And why-"

"Whoa!" Leo cried, pausing on his way up to the front door, "Why the burst of questions…"

Chris shrugged, "I was just thinking…"

Leo smiled, "I told you she didn't hate the car seat; once she understood she wasn't going to be taken out, she relaxed. And there's a glamour spell cast over me… to you I look the way I always have, to the mortal world I look just about Piper's age…"

Chris blinked a little then grinned, "That's genius…! Who came up with that?"

"Your mother, of course," Leo stated, returning his son's smile and making a move to head back up the stairs.

Chris grabbed his arm, "Wait… I just… you and Mom are okay, right…?" the look in his eyes said that he expected the answer to be yes. And it would be very easy for Leo to give in and simply state the answer his son wanted to hear… in twelve hours— even less now, he thought— Chris wouldn't know differently…

… but his son—this son—deserved nothing but the complete truth.

"We're okay, Chris, but not in the way you think…" he answered gently.

The boy's eyes clouded, "What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped, his arm dropping.

"Let's go inside and talk about-"

"No, Dad, let's talk now…"

Becky made a whimper noise as she sensed the sudden tension in the air. Leo released a ragged sigh, "Your mother knows I love her, that I'll always be there for her whenever she needs me; and I know the same is true about her feelings for me… but we aren't married…"

"What?"

"I'm still an Elder, Chris…"

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