FALSE MEMORIES

My first posted story here. Also my first Charmed Fanfic, although I have written fanfiction for other shows.

Disclaimer: The characters in Charmed do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.

Summary: Loved the Piper/Leo/Chris family dynamic in Season 6 so that's when this story is based. Set after Chris-Crossed and Prince Charming. Nobody knows who Chris is yet, but they're about to find out, courtesy of an unexpected visitor from the future…

Notes: Sorry for the slow updating of this story. It's for a combination of reasons: 1) My muse is working overtime on my other fic at the moment, and 2) I have a few plot points to work out. I know how it's going to end - I could write the final few chapters now. It's just how I get from here to that point that I haven't fully worked out yet.

Anyway, enough with my rambling, on with the show. This chapter is kind of filler but it's necessary to set up the rest of the story. It's mainly just Leo and Leo as well- hope it doesn't get too confusing!

Thanks to all those who reviewed - replies to specific questions at the end.

Last time… (Because it's been such a long time!)

Future Leo pulled a small bottle out of his shirt pocket and handed it to his counterpart. Present Leo turned it over in his hands before asking, '"What is it?"

"A memory-restoring potion; similar to the one that I gave to Chris when I first got here."

"I don't understand," Present Leo said, puzzled. "What would I want with a memory-restoring potion?"

Future Leo didn't reply, but he didn't need to because the meaning of his request suddenly dawned on his past self.

"You want to give me your memories of the other future," he realised.

"Yes," Future Leo confirmed.

"Why?"

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Future Leo drew in a deep breath and began to explain…

Chapter 16

"I suppose I never really thought through the consequences of my coming here," he said with a heavy sigh. "My presence in this time hasn't really affected my sons' future in anyway. All it's done is relieve some of my emotional pain."

"That's not true," Present Leo contradicted his other self's assessment. "We wouldn't know the truth about Chris if it wasn't for you - and Piper and I would still be separated."

Future Leo shook his head. "You would have found out about Chris sooner or later. He was never going to be able to keep that secret forever. He loves his family too much. He slipped up because I was in danger, but any one of you would've produced the same effect."

"As for Piper – the two of you would've found your way back to each other in time. I know myself and I know my wife – we've had our difficulties over the years, but somehow we always come out of the other end of them together."

Future Leo paused for a brief moment before he resumed vocalising his internal musings. "No, my reasons for coming back here were entirely selfish. When I found a way round Wyatt's spell, I had to use it. I'd already lost one son and I couldn't bear the thought of the other thinking ill of me – Chris was all I had left in the world, you see. My decision has eased my heartache, yes, but what has it really given to my son?"

"He knows that his father always loved and cared for him for a start," Present Leo replied.

"And now I'm going to abandon him. Oh, I know you're still going to be here. I don't deny the importance of that, but Chris was right about one thing - you can't really know what it was like in our future; he will have to carry that burden alone."

Future Leo stopped and looked out over the San Francisco skyline, his blue-green eyes filled with unreadable emotions.

"Sometimes I think it might have been better if he went on thinking I was a bad father to him," he said quietly. "That way when he returned to the new future, there would be nothing that he'd really miss from the first one – his mother would still be alive, his brother would be his brother again, and his father would be a vast improvement on the previous version."

"But he'd be believing in a lie."

"And would that be so bad if it eased his suffering?"

"It wouldn't really though, would it? You said it yourself - this Chris will live on in parallel with his future self. I could be Super Dad, but it still wouldn't take away the hurt of his other father being apparently indifferent to him. If you ask me, him knowing that you truly loved him is better than him believing that you didn't."

Future Leo nodded. "Maybe you're right. I still feel responsible though – I couldn't protect him from all that happened and now he has to deal with the consequences without me. I guess I just want to leave a part of myself behind, so that he doesn't have to do that."

"By giving me your memories."

"Yes," Future Leo confirmed, turning to look at his past self. "So what do you think?"

Present Leo shifted uncomfortably, torn in two. It seemed like a straightforward decision, only somehow it wasn't.

"What's the problem?" Future Leo asked, sensing his other self's unease.

"It's kind of selfish really," Present Leo admitted candidly.

"What is?"

"I want to help Chris, of course I do, he's my son. Only…," Leo broke off, not sure how to articulate what he was feeling.

He tried again, this time from a different starting point. "It's hard, you know – watching him with you. I have another son – only he's not a helpless babe, he's a fully-grown – extremely neurotic – adult, and he already has a father, one who he obviously loves. The need to bond with him, to be a proper part of his life is still there within me though. It's just…"

"My presence is stopping you from getting close to him," Future Leo finished.

Present Leo nodded. "I want him to accept me for me, not because I've become you. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, funnily enough it does - although it is kind of crazy. I mean, technically we're the same person, and yet you're jealous of me for what I already have with our son, and I'm jealous of you because you get to witness what Chris – and Wyatt – make of the rest of their lives."

"I guess I didn't think of that," Present Leo said with wistful sigh.

"I'm not asking you to become me anyway," Future Leo continued. "For a start, I don't plan on giving you all my memories, it's way too risky. Some things should remain under wraps. I was going to limit it to the Chris related stuff, although you will get some other family bits and pieces to put that into proper context."

"Can you really do that? Limit what memories you give me, I mean."

Future Leo nodded. "Wyatt only altered Chris's memories of me, no one else. This is a similar thing in reverse. I'll be giving you the memories, not removing them."

"I suppose."

"Just because you take on my memories doesn't mean that you'll stop being you. You've not lived my life – really, truly experienced it, I mean – and this won't change that. At the end of the day, it'll still be you who is there to support Chris in the future - you'll just be armed with a little extra knowledge to help you understand him better, that's all."

Present Leo nodded. "When you put it that way, I can't see how I can object."

His future self was more hesitant however. "Maybe you should think about it for a while longer," he suggested. "I'm not leaving until tomorrow night, so you have until the morning to make up your mind. What I'm asking is no walk in the park, you understand. The future is not very pleasant and many of those memories are extremely painful."

Leo's expression turned grave as his counterpart continued to spell out what he would be taking on if he agreed to his request.

"What's more, I'm asking you to accept them all in one go. Chris had enough trouble dealing with his bad memories being swapped for better ones, never mind this. It's not something that should be taken lightly. Only you can know if you can handle it or not. You'll be no use to either of our sons if you come apart at the seams. That's why the decision has to be yours and yours alone."

Leo sighed as his future self fell silent. "Nothing is ever simple in this family, is it?"

"I guess if we wanted a simple existence, we probably shouldn't have fallen in love with a Charmed One," Future Leo answered with a wry smile.

"Probably not," Present Leo agreed. "Was it worth it though?" he asked his other self, after a beat

"Totally," Future Leo replied without hesitation. "Despite everything, the good still far outweighs the bad. My marriage was happy, I have two incredible sons – yes, one of them has seriously gone off the rails but it's not his fault. The evil he was deliberately infected with has gradually taken over everything that he used to be. I only have to look at his younger brother to see what he could have become though. Together they would have changed the world for the better, I'm certain of it."

"Hopefully they still can."

"Hopefully," Future Leo softly concurred. "Well – I guess we should be getting back. I have less than twenty-four hours left, and I want to spend some quality time with my son while I still have the chance."

Present Leo nodded. "Be prepared for twenty questions from the girls," he warned. "You can't just mysteriously summon me away and not explain why."

Future Leo laughed as he stood up and prepared to orb back to the Manor. "No? Just watch me. You have a lot to learn, buddy."

Together, they orbed into the attic, only to find it empty. "Downstairs," they said in unison as they simultaneously sensed for their family and quickly discovered their whereabouts.

They found the girls, and Chris, seated round the dining table with mugs of Piper's homemade hot chocolate in front of them. A wide-awake Wyatt sat in his brother's lap, happily treating the table top as a drum as he banged on the smooth wood with the flats of his tiny hands.

"Dada!" he said brightly, spotting the two Leos before any of the others noticed their presence. The little boy didn't seem at all phased by the fact that his father suddenly existed in duplicate. Surprisingly, he appeared to be treating the whole thing as a normal, everyday occurrence.

"So, what's with all the clock and dagger stuff?" Phoebe asked, as soon as Present Leo had slid into the chair beside Piper and his future counterpart had sat down next to their sons.

"Told you," Leo said to his other self across the table.

"Just a little Elder to Elder chat is all," Future Leo calmly told the three inquisitive sisters. "It's nothing you need concern yourself with."

"Aka - butt out cus we ain't gonna tell you," Paige quipped in response to his infuriatingly uninformative answer.

Future Leo grinned at his sister-in-law. "Well done, you're catching on quick," he replied sardonically, before reaching out to tickle little Wyatt under the chin.

The small boy erupted into a stream of delighted giggles and bounced up and down on Chris's knee, causing his brother to laugh out loud. "You've so gotta let me have some film of this," he said. "It's perfect bribery material. All I've got to do is get my other self to threaten to show it to Sarah in fourteen years time, and we can have anything we want."

Taking a wriggling Wyatt from his younger brother's arms, Future Leo smiled, glad that Chris was already thinking in terms of a better future, despite the gravity of situation still facing them.

"Who's Sarah?" Piper asked.

"Wyatt's first girlfriend," Future Leo replied, smoothing his hand over his little boy's blond curls as he settled the baby comfortably in his lap. "He was completely besotted with her."

"Tell me about it," Chris said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "Talk about pathetic with a capital 'P'."

"Let me guess," Piper said, recalling her own reaction to Prue's first boyfriend. "You ribbed him about it at every available opportunity?"

"Of course, what else are little brothers for?" Chris replied with a wide grin.

His mother smiled, glad to be sharing some happier memories of her eldest son for once.

"'Iss," Wyatt suddenly piped up, pointing his tiny finger at his brother.

"Yeah, that's right sweetie, that's Chris," Piper crooned to her little son. "Aren't you a clever boy?

"And who's this, hey?" she added, tapping him lightly on the tummy with her fingertip.

"Wat," Future Leo replied with a chuckle.

"Huh?"

"It's what Chris used to call him when he was tiny," the Elder explained. "He couldn't quite get his mouth around 'Wyatt,' so our eldest became 'Wat' for a few years."

"Wat and Iss," Paige said with teasing sidelong glance at her nephew. "It's got a certain ring to it, don't you think? Maybe you should think about changing their names."

"I always thought ''Age and Ee-be' were far more entertaining actually," Future Leo cut in, making the sisters laugh.

"Okay, can we change the subject please?" Chris said plaintively.

"Why?" Paige exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Telling embarrassing childhood stories is the best fun!"

"You could at least spread the ritual humiliation around a bit," her nephew grumbled.

"He's got a point there," Phoebe said to her sister, resting her chin in her cupped hands. "So - did I ever tell you about the time when Piper…"

Future Leo sat back as his sister-in-law regaled a somewhat embellished tale of one of his wife's more embarrassing childhood exploits much to Chris's amusement and Piper's chagrin. The eldest Charmed One immediately countered with an outlandish story about Phoebe, and the rest of the evening passed in a feast of family togetherness, a happenstance that Leo was extremely grateful for.

He was acutely aware of his rapidly approaching departure, and knew that tonight could have very easily descended into a long-drawn out, maudlin goodbye, something he wished to avoid at all costs. There were things that he and Chris needed to say to each other, but dwelling on their impending separation wouldn't do either of them any good.

This impromptu family reminiscing session was therefore a welcome distraction from the more painful emotions occupying his mind. He would face the realities of bidding a final farewell to his son, and the rest of his family, in the morning.

Piper and Leo's bedroom, two am…

Leo stood at the window, gazing up into the moonlit night sky with unseeing eyes. His future self's words were reverberating around inside his head, keeping him awake.

Only you can know if you can handle it or not. You'll be no use to either of our sons if you come apart at the seams.

Leo looked back at Piper, who was sleeping peacefully in their bed. The truth was, he didn't know whether he could handle it. His beloved son an evil tyrant and his precious wife dead and gone, murdered in front of her children in cold blood. To hear the story was bad enough, but actually knowing it for real was something else entirely. It was easily his worst nightmare, a nightmare his other self – and their sons – had lived through.

Which is what it all came down to in the end - Chris would never forget. The other future was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life and Leo simply couldn't allow him to go through that alone. When push came to shove, he would endure anything for his sons' sake, so his decision was pretty much cut and dried. The prospect still twisted his insides into painful knots however.

"Leo, are you okay?" Piper's soft, sleep-slurred voice came from behind him.

Leo turned away from the window to face her. "Yeah – I'm fine. I've just got a few things on my mind, that's all."

"To do with what your future self wanted to speak to you about?" Piper asked, looking up at him with enquiring eyes.

Leo smiled, realising the 'Elder-to-Elder chat' subterfuge hadn't fooled his wife in the slightest. "Yes," he replied, knowing there was no point lying about it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Leo shook his head. "No, I think it's decision I have to make on my own."

"Okay, just as long as you're sure."

"I am."

"Come back to bed, honey," Piper gently urged, turning back the covers and patting the mattress beside her. "I'm sure everything will be clearer in the morning."

Leo rejoined her in their bed and she snuggled up to him, resting her cheek on his chest and filling his nostrils with the sweet smell of her hair. He sighed and kissed the top of her head, tugging her closer to him.

"Go back to sleep," he murmured softly into her hair, closing his eyes as his breathing evened out.

Ten minutes later, they were dead to the world, wrapped tightly in each other's arms as they slept soundly through the rest of the night.

Wyatt's nursery, four am…

With a heavy sigh, Future Leo finally gave up on sleep. Throwing back the covers, he got up from the sofa and walked across the room on silent feet. Chris was fast asleep, lying curled up on his side, with his face resting on his upturned palm and his other arm draped across his middle.

Leo stood quietly for a few moments, memorising his son's features for future reference. It scared him to think that he might actually forget what Chris looked like as time went by. The only thing that had kept him going over the past few years was breaking Wyatt's spell and regaining his younger son's affections. Now that he achieved that goal, he was being forced to walk away for good. He just hoped that the timeline shifted, and he ceased to exist, before the loss of his family became too much for him to bear.

Tiptoeing towards the door, he slipped out of the bedroom and onto the first floor landing, taking care not to wake Chris as he did so. Slowly making his way downstairs, he went into the kitchen and searched in the various drawers for a pad of paper, some envelopes and a pen. Once he'd located the items he wanted, he sat down and scrawled a different name across the front of six individual envelopes. He ripped the top sheet of paper from the pad, bent his head over the table, and began to write.

By six o'clock, he had finished each letter, sealed them in their retrospective envelopes, and tucked them away in a drawer for safekeeping. As he finished clearing away his writing utensils, he heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up just in time to see his other self entering the kitchen, still dressed in his pyjamas.

They gazed at each other in silence for a few moments before Present Leo finally spoke.

"Okay, I'll do it," he said calmly, although his eyes were filled with dread. "Give me the potion."

To be continued…

Re: Nubilina Sorry, but Chris will be lacking in romance in this. The story is more about family relationships, especially father/son ones. Things are about to reach crisis point on the saving Wyatt front as well, so he doesn't really have much time for anything beyond that. Read my other story 'Unrequited' if you want to see Chris getting a little lurve – LOL!

Re: Phoebe Turner, Phoebe-x15, Martina G and IcantthinkofaFnick Yeah, you're all right with your guesses about Future Leo's motives. Hopefully you've already read this chapter and found that out!