Chapter Two
Bryce blinked. "Excuse me?" he said, his voice came out in a hoarse gasp. Piper turned to her husband, who was still standing transfixed on Paige's new charge.
"Who is Max?" she prodded.
"Max…that's my dad's name," Bryce offered.
"I'm going to give Wyatt a bath," Leo muttered, beginning to take his older son by the hand.
"Hold it, mister!" Piper spat, her hands jerking and Leo froze.
Bryce tensed where he sat. He was confused, how did this man know his father's name. More importantly, what had Piper just done to him? Paige saw the shock on the young man's face and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It's ok. She does this a lot," Paige whispered with a smirk.
"What did she do?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"Froze him," she answered. Piper moved her hands slightly and Leo regained use of his mouth.
"Piper, unfreeze me," he ordered.
"Oh no. Not yet. Not until you answer me," Piper spat back. Next to her, Wyatt was giggling at the state his father was in.
"Paige, can you please clean him up?" she commanded of her younger sibling. With an eye roll, Paige ushered Wyatt upstairs, taking Chris with her. It left Piper, Bryce and a partially frozen Leo. No one spoke. Finally, growing unnerved in the silence, Bryce cleared his throat.
"Do you know my dad?" he asked of Leo. If he'd been able to, Leo would have squirmed.
"What the hell is going on with you?" Piper demanded, starting to pace.
"Can you please unfreeze me," he begged. It would be easier. With a sigh she waved her hand at him and he could move. He took several deep breaths, partly to prepare himself and partly to make sure all of him was functioning.
"Happy? Now answer the kid's question," Piper snapped angrily. She could tell Leo was keeping something really big from her.
"I…" Leo began.
"Yes. I knew your dad," Leo answered, his heart beating just a little faster than usual.
"How…how is he doing?" Leo asked, taking a tentative step towards Bryce.
"Ok, I guess. It's Dad," Bryce replied with a shrug.
"Was he one of your charges?" Piper's voice interrupted them.
"Charges?" Bryce asked.
"I was a whitelighter…like Paige" Leo muttered quickly.
"And he wasn't exactly a charge of mine," he added, averting his gaze.
The trio fell into silence once more. Leo had thought it would be a good idea to tell Bryce. But now, he was sorely regretting it. He knew how Piper would react and he no longer could orb out of her reach. He felt his palms starting to grow moist with sweat. He chanced a look up and caught Piper's heated and expectant gaze. She was going to be pissed.
"Then how did you know him?" Piper growled. This was getting on her nerves.
"Max…God…he's my son," Leo answered, having to wipe tears from his eyes.
"Did you just say that this boy's father is your son?" Piper asked, doing everything within her power to stay calm and not blow her husband up on the spot. Leo nodded.
"How?" Bryce gasped.
"You never told me you had a son, Leo!" Piper bellowed, ignoring Bryce's question.
"I'm sorry. Look Piper…" he began.
"No. You had a child with another woman," she accused.
"Madeline and I were married," Leo murmured.
"And did it just slip your mind to tell me!" she howled, her hands clenching, aching to send power shooting at him.
"Piper, she and I weren't married after the war," he protested.
"My Dad said that my grandfather died in World War Two," Bryce informed them, his eyes wide in fear.
"I did," Leo answered, his tone heated.
"Our marriage was dissolved as soon as my death certificate was signed, Piper," Leo continued.
"You lied to me," Piper hissed, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Piper, I…" he trailed off as she stormed out of the room and up the stairs.
"Piper!" he shouted after her but it was in vain.
"So, are you a ghost or something?" Bryce's voice asked from behind Leo. He turned to face his grandson.
"No. I was a whitelighter, a guardian angel. But the Elders, they…forced me to choose where I wanted to be with my family or them," Leo explained.
"I chose my family and became mortal," he concluded.
"But you did really die," Bryce pressed.
"Yes. I did really die," he answered.
"So if you were like a guardian angel, then why didn't you come be with us?"
"I couldn't. The Elders wouldn't allow it," Leo muttered, placing a hand on his grandson's shoulder.
"These Elder guys sound like real jackasses," the twenty-year-old chuckled.
"That's how we feel about them too," Leo agreed.
"So is…your grandmother still alive?" the former whitelighter questioned.
"Yes. She's in an assisted living home. She's eighty-seven," he told his grandfather.
"Does…your Dad know about your magic?"
"No…Piper asked me the same thing. He'd totally flip out. He'd probably disown me or something," Bryce spat angrily.
Upstairs, Paige found Piper pacing in the attic. She was fuming and Paige was careful not to get in her way.
"What's up?" Paige offered softly.
"He had another wife…another son," she hissed, her fists unclenching, destroying a bookshelf.
"Leo?" Paige asked and by the look on her sister's face, she knew the answer.
"Don't move…I'll be right back," Paige order and disappeared, only to reappear moments later with Phoebe.
"Why's she so pissed?" she asked Paige.
"Leo apparently had another family," Paige filled her in.
"He lied to me," Piper sobbed.
"Oh sweetie, I'm sure he would have told you," Phoebe consoled.
"He said their marriage was dissolved after he died but…how do I know…he hasn't bee with her all this time?" Piper whimpered.
"Piper, it's Leo we're talking about here. He loves you and Wyatt and Chris. I'm sure he had a good reason not to tell you," Phoebe answered.
"He dove off a bridge to be with you," Paige added.
"Thanks for reminding me," Piper sniffed irritably at her baby sister.
"Maybe you should talk to him. Get the whole story," Phoebe suggested.
"I'd rather blow him up," the eldest of the three grumbled.
"Well you can't. Now come on, you're going down there and talking about this," Phoebe snapped, grabbing her sister by the arm and all but dragging her downstairs. They found Bryce and Leo talking.
"Phoebe, when did you get here?" Leo asked.
"Emergency orb," she said, causing Leo to smile.
"So who is this?" she asked, indicating Bryce.
"My charge," Paige answered hastily.
"Grandson," Leo admitted, facing his wife.
"Can we talk now or are you going to try and blow me up?" he asked, real hurt resounding in his question. She merely nodded, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Did you really expect me to not have a family?" he asked, locking his gaze onto hers.
"I don't know. I guess I was being selfish, thinking I had you all to myself," she muttered through a loud sniff.
"Just because I was married before doesn't mean I love you any less," he continued, taking a step towards her.
"Piper, I vowed on our wedding day to love you and stay with you forever and I'm damn well going to honor that vow," he whispered, pulling his whimpering spouse to him.
"But why didn't you tell me," she questioned.
"I didn't know how the Elders would react. They wouldn't even let me say goodbye to them…to tell them that they could be at peace," he answered, rubbing her back.
"I thought we agreed not to talk about them," Piper commented, half crying half laughing.
"Bryce," Leo addressed his grandson for the first time in a while.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you could get your Dad to come over? I think we all deserve a little bonding time," Leo informed the young man.
"Ok…just…no magic," he muttered and went in search of the phone.
"I love you," Leo breathed against Piper's flushed cheek.
"Get a room," Paige chuckled, leaning on the banister.
"He looks like you, you know," Phoebe commented once Bryce was out of ear shot.
Before Leo could respond a flurry of orbs appeared, revealing Chris, on the verge of tears. He had a large bump on his forehead and his older brother was nowhere to be seen.
"Wyatt! Come down here!" Leo shouted. The three-year-old materialized at the foot of the stairs.
"What did you do to your brother?" his father asked sternly.
"Nothing," Wyatt answered, looking innocent.
"Then how did he get this bump on his head?" Piper interjected.
"I don't know," the child replied with a small shrug.
"Chris can't orb. So why did you orb him down here?" Leo pressed.
"I didn't. Chris did."
"Wyatt. Do I have to put you in time out?" Piper threatened. His eyes went widened he shook his head.
"I sorry Mommy," he said, jumping the last step and clutching onto her leg.
"Say you're sorry to y our brother," Leo ordered. Wyatt bent down and hugged Chris around the middle. Before speaking he placed his hand over Chris' forehead and the bump disappeared.
"Sorry Chris," he muttered. Chris had stopped crying and was now trying to use his older brother to stand up. Just then, Bryce reappeared.
"He's on his way," he informed them.
"So who are these guys?" he asked, bending down to tickle Chris.
"Your…uncles," Paige answered, having to stifle a laugh.
"That's so weird," Bryce muttered but didn't act too bothered by it.
"Can I hold him?" he asked Leo. His grandfather nodded. Just as Bryce picked up Chris, the child disappeared. He reappeared behind Wyatt.
"Wyatt? What's wrong buddy?" Leo asked, squatting to his son's eye level.
"My brother," he answered defensively.
"I know he is bud. But Bryce is family. He just wants to say hi to Chris," Leo tried to convince the three-year-old.
"No!" Wyatt yelled, his shield forming around he and his baby brother.
"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell put your shield down right now!" Piper bellowed. The force field disappeared almost instantly.
"Piper, relax," Leo coaxed, picking up Chris and handing him once more to Bryce. The twenty-year-old sat down on the couch and just stared at Chris. It felt like he was staring at a baby picture of himself.
"Guess we really are related little guy," he murmured, bouncing the child on his knees.
Wyatt watched dutifully, just in case his little brother needed rescuing from this stranger. Just as everything seemed to settle down, the sound of braking tires sounded outside. A car door opened and shut and footsteps were heard coming up the steps of the front porch. Several seconds of silence passed before there was a concussive knock on the front door.