Author's Note: This chapter starts out two days before Piper's birthday and continues on through part of "Prince Charmed". I will be skipping around through the episode and putting chunks of dialogue from it in, so if you haven't seen it, it may be a bit confusing. The rest of the episode and beyond will be in the next Chapter. And yes, I know that Phoebe actually did go to live with Jason but in my story she didn't so live with it. :) Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Sorry it took so long to update.
Disclaimer: I own nothing….well I do own a few things *riffles through purse and pulls out a piece of gum and two pennies* but none of the Charmed Characters except my own creations being: Priscilla, Brennan, Petra, Pandora, Philip, Phaedra, Edward Parker, Jonathan, Patience, Philomena, Lainie, Sera, Alec, and Shawn. Most of the characters will probably be in the sequel instead of this installment. Please don't steal them. They like it here with me. :)
Chapter Five
When everyone arrived upstairs they found Wyatt crying with a demon growling in frustration as he pounded at his shield.
Piper flicker her hands and blew him up, "Get away from my son!"
She hurried over and picked him up. "Such a good boy."
He gurgled happily when he saw his parents and held out his hands to his father. Leo smiled and took him from Piper when she offered. "Hey there. You knew just what to do, didn't you buddy?"
Phoebe smiled and looked between Piper and Leo. Something had changed slightly. For the better. But there were still many bridges to mend.
"Do you mind if I take him to the park for a while?" Leo asked.
Piper shook her head, "No, go right ahead. Do you mind if I come along?"
"Of course not." Leo took her hand and they orbed away.
Paige glanced at Chris and Priscilla. Now that the danger was over they were standing off to one side as if not wanting to intrude.
Phoebe noticed where she was looking and frowned. "Risa? I think we need to take you shopping for your own clothes. What do you say?"
Priscilla brightened, "Sure!" It would give them a chance to talk.
Paige and Chris watched them leave and turned each other.
"So…..I'll just go."
And they both orbed away.
***
It wasn't until late afternoon that Phoebe and Priscilla returned to the manor. Leo had gone back up, still not feeling comfortable being in the house for too long. It wasn't his home any more.
Piper was in the kitchen making dinner and Paige had gone back home to Richard.
Piper looked up when she heard them come in, "Hey! Did you buy the whole store or something?"
Both of them were bogged down with at least ten bags.
Phoebe grinned, "Pretty close actually."
Piper rolled her eyes, "Well, moneybags, why don't you two super-shoppers go put those away and help me with dinner?"
"Sure." "No problem."
They traipsed up the stairs and began trying to put everything away in the closet.
Priscilla gazed at everything, "Did we really buy that many shoes?"
"Yup!"
"Mom?"
"Ya baby?"
"Thanks."
Phoebe turned to her in confusion, "For what?"
"Just for everything."
Phoebe hugged her. "No problem."
They finished folding and hanging everything and were about to head downstairs when Phoebe stopped.
"I almost forgot…Piper's birthday is in two days. Do you want to help me plan a surprise party for her?"
"Ya, I'd love to."
"Great."
"Ummm…Mom?"
"Ya?"
"Is Dad in Hong Kong?"
"Ya, he is. Why?"
"Do….do you think I could see him?"
"Of course honey, but what do we tell him?"
At just that moment, blue orbs swirled about and began to form. Priscilla's eyes went slightly wide and she backed up a few steps. Chris appeared and noticed the expression on her face.
"Hey, you ok?"
She nodded her head and swallowed, "Ya, I just….I knew it couldn't be him but still."
Chris kicked himself mentally. "I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry."
She grinned crookedly at him, "So what's new?"
Phoebe snorted and smiled. "Prissy just asked if she could go see her father in Hong Kong."
Both were shocked when Chris actually agreed, "It's not a bad idea. Give you a chance to get away for a while. Phoebe, you can just tell him that you have a friend who is visiting Hong Kong and you want him to show her around. He should buy it."
"What do we tell Aunt Piper and Aunt Paige though? It will make them wonder…"
"Tell them the truth. Just say that you are going so visit your father. I'll take you myself so we don't have to worry about Paige."
"Are you sure?"
"Ya, I'll orb you over tomorrow."
An annoyed voice could be heard from downstairs, "I thought you were going to help me?"
They all rolled their eyes at each other and headed down.
Before they reached the bottom of the stairs Chris reached out and took Priscilla's elbow, pulling her aside. "You have to promise me you'll be careful and if you need me you'll call."
She mock scowled, "I can take care of myself you know."
He rolled his eyes, "Don't I know it…But really, just be careful ok?"
She smiled slightly, "I will. And plus, like you said, all I have to do is call if I need you."
He nodded and they walked into the kitchen.
Phoebe was pulling a dish out of the oven as Piper stirred something on the stove.
She glanced over her shoulder at them, "Can you guys set the table?"
Chris and Priscilla smiled at each other at the familiar sentence. They gathering the plates and silverware and began setting the table.
***
The next morning Chris knocked at Priscilla's door, "Risa! You ready?"
"Ya, just a sec." Came her muffled reply.
The door opened to reveal her in a white silk shirt and black pants, toting a large suitcase.
Chris stared, causing her to shift uneasily.
"What?"
"Sorry, it's just….I haven't seen you wear white in a long time."
"Ya, I figured it was about time I started again."
Chris reached over to take her suitcase and grunted, "Jeez, what have you got in here? A circus elephant?"
Priscilla rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, "Just orb taxi-boy."
***
Piper put Wyatt down and gazed at a picture of Leo, Wyatt and herself. She remembered the day that picture was taken. They had all been so happy. Before everything changed.
She had gotten used to life without him and accepted it until two nights ago when she had a taste of having him back and it made her soul ache with the loss of him. The only way she could bury it was to cover it with the love she felt for her son. The only man in her life now was going to be Wyatt.
***
Chris returned from dropping off Priscilla to find Piper flipping through the Book of Shadows.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for the demon that attacked Wyatt this morning."
"What?? How am I supposed to protect Wyatt if you don't tell me when a demon attacks until hours later?"
"Because Chris, I am taking care of it."
"That's fine but what happens if this demon was the one, the one who is after Wyatt. The reason why I came back."
"Well, then you're in luck, because I blew him up. Not to mention, how many demons have you said that about so far?"
"Piper, I've just got Wyatt's best interest in mid."
"So do I." She slammed the book closed and walks over to the laundry sitting on her bed. "Demon's not in here."
"Well, what's it look like?"
"Tall, robed, with a metal rod thingy."
Chris rolled his eyes, "Really? Well that narrows it down."
"If another one shows up, I'll be here.
"That's just my point Piper. What if you're not here? What happens if you're on a date with the fireman or whoever else you're seeing this week?"
"Look Chris, I don't want to go into it but I'm not going to be out on a date with the fireman, or anybody else for that matter, anytime soon so that I can focus more on Wyatt."
Chris looked at her in surprise. A bit of his relief and confusion shining through, "What?"
"Did I stutter?"
"Piper! You can't give up on love. Ever."
"Why not?"
"Because, you just can't. It's not natural."
Piper shot him a funny look and continued folding.
"Look all I'm saying is, is you don't have to make that type of sacrifice to protect Wyatt. That's why I'm here.
"Well you weren't here earlier, were you?"
Chris sighed in frustration and followed Piper out the door as she spoke over her shoulder.
"Look, the only thing that matters right now is what's best for Wyatt."
"This is not what's best for Wyatt Piper.
"How do you know?" Piper asked defensively.
"Because I've seen the future and this isn't supposed to happen.
"So what is supposed to happen?"
"Come on, you know I can't answer that."
"Well, since you're sent from the future to change it, maybe this is one of those things that needs to be changed."
Chris shook his head in complete denial, "No, its not. Believe me, it's not." This was definitely something that he didn't want changed. If it did, he wouldn't exist.
Piper shushed him harshly and nodded towards Wyatt's crib. She noticed a yellow package sitting on the table and walked over to it in curiosity. "Who left this?"
"Look, if you're so concerned about protecting Wyatt, there's other ways to go about it ya know."
"Like what?" Piper asked, distracted by the present.
"Like letting Leo take him up there for a while, or…." He moved closer to Wyatt's crib but froze when his shield went up immediately, causing Chris to glance at Piper quickly but she wasn't paying attention. "You could always bind his powers." He backed up and the shield went down.
"Leo left me a birthday present….How sweet." Piper mused, a little confused.
A little irritated that she was ignoring him, Chris walked over, "What d'ya think about what I said?"
"About what?"
"About binding Wyatt's powers."
"No way."
"Why not? Nobody would ever be after him and you'd have your life back."
"But that would be selfish of me, wouldn't it. To put my needs before his destiny."
Chris thought of Wyatt's destiny as it had turned out. Not such a good thing to prioritize.
"I'm not being a martyr Chris, really I'm not. I just get it now. I'm the mother of a very special child, that if I do my job right, he's going to grow up to do very special things."
Chris fought the urge to snort as he thought, 'ya, real special.'
"What could be more important than that?" Piper asked as she gazed down at Wyatt lovingly.
Chris just looked at her. It wasn't until she said goodnight to Wyatt and left the room that he answered into the dark.
"How about your other son."