Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed.

A/n: Probably the obvious choice for Dec. 7th. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far. I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story.

Tales of December

a story by Ryeloza

Leo: December 7, 1941

Leo crept into the basement as quietly as he could on the rickety, wooden stairs. His father sat on a stool at his workbench, fiddling with a clock he was making for Leo's mother for Christmas. For a moment, Leo stood on the bottom step and watched his father; he seemed smaller, hunched over the workbench. "Pop?" said Leo tentatively.

Across the room, his father straightened up and cleared his throat.

Leo took the response as invitation to join his father, so he crossed the room and sat on another of the stools. Purposely, Leo thought, his father kept his face turned slightly away to hide his eyes. "They're not finished on the radio, are they?"

"No," said Leo. "But I didn't see you leave. Why are you down here?" Most of the day, he and his family had been huddled around the radio listening to the reports about what had happened at Pearl Harbor. It wasn't until his mother had brought in some cold sandwiches that Leo had noticed that his father had left the room at some point.

"I needed to get away." Finally, his father turned and faced him; Leo was surprised to see how tired he looked. His eyes, particularly, seemed weary and sad. Unexpectedly, he stood and wrapped his arms around Leo, hugging him tightly. Once his surprise wore off, Leo returned the hug, somewhat worriedly. His father had always been a reserved man, and since Leo had become a teenager, there hadn't been many hugs between them.

"You're a good kid," his father said when he pulled away. He kept a hand on Leo's shoulder and patted him. "I know you're going to do what you have to do. What you need to do. I just wish things could've been different for you."

Leo gave a sad smile. "You think we will declare war then." His father began to nod before Leo even finished the sentence. As stoically as he could, Leo nodded back. Tomorrow at school, Nathan would probably be just itching for the action, but Leo couldn't imagine sharing his excitement. Now, he mostly felt nervous, reserved and intensely proud. After the war, would he be as his father was?

"I'll be okay," Leo said, feeling some urge to reassure his father. His father clapped his back one more time and sat back down, returning to his clock. Taking this as a dismissal, Leo turned to go back upstairs. It wasn't until he was five steps up that he heard his father return the comfort.

"You'll be okay."