Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: I know, I know, very long time since I updated this story. I'd like to say that the holidays are to blame but well that wouldn't be completely true. Instead I'll say that it struck me just how I wanted to end this story so instead I've been writing several chapters ahead so I wouldn't forget what I've come up with. So now the beginning of this fic is done and most of the end. Now I just need to fill in the middle. Yes, I know, my writing style is just downright crazy but at least I have been writing.
I should also mention that in my version of this story Leo and Piper were able to pull their marriage back together after the time that Leo spent in Valhalla, so there was no divorce. He's just not around as much as he'd like because of his Elder duties and at times their marriage is still a little rocky but they are still together.
Chapter 6 Always Alone
Leo had not felt like returning to the Manor immediately after his talk with Chris. There was just too much on his mind that he knew he'd need to figure out, so instead he found his way to the one place where he found it easiest to think.
To many, the Golden Gate Bridge was just another tourist attraction, or a busy, noisy thoroughfare that took them from one place to another. But not to Leo. No, the bridge was a place of peace and solitude. Or at least the top most reaches of the bridge were. A place where he could sit and think and listen to the city around him if he so wished. But not this day. He needed the bridge to seclude himself from the rest of the world as he tried to figure out the one person in his world that confused him most.
Until that very day he had for the most part considered Chris as the enemy. He had taken Leo's place as the sister's Whitelighter, and had even managed to win Wyatt over with intriguing stories about time travel. Stories that Leo were sure could not be all that true, considering Chris' future consequences motto. In many ways Leo felt like Chris was trying to take away the most precious things in the world to him. He had never admitted that to Piper or the sisters. How could he? Wouldn't that admission make him sound like an immature child? No, that was something he had kept hidden from them all as best he could.
And then there was always his little unscheduled trip to Valhalla. Even though the sisters had tried to convince him on numerous occasions that Chris was not responsible for that happening, Leo to this day had remained unconvinced. It was just too suspicious that Chris had been the last person to see him before he was taken. Chris himself denied the fact completely but still… and then there was also the Valkyries pendant. Had Chris killed to get it and if he had what did that say about him?
So didn't Leo have all the reasons in the world not to trust Chris? But then again there were reasons to trust him also. How many demon hunts had he led the sisters on since arriving in their time? And for that matter how many had he secretly went on by himself when the sisters had been too busy or just plain uncooperative? And there was always his quest to save Wyatt. On many occasions Leo had gone even so far as to accuse Chris of scheming against them to hurt Wyatt himself. But hadn't Chris had every opportunity in the world to harm Wyatt if he wished to do so? But instead he had been nothing but friendly to him. Not to mention the fact that without Chris' intervention they might have never found their second son. Was Leo just being too overprotective? Were his fears and suspicions unfounded?
It seemed to him as if his trust for Chris was balancing on a set of old-fashioned scales. There was so much on each side of the scales that Leo mostly remained up in the air when it came to Chris and trust issues. The things he had seen that day though were severely tipping the skills in the direction of trust though. Leo was beginning to realize that Chris truly was willing to do anything to protect Wyatt, and he had never asked for anything in return for doing so either. He never really even asked them to trust him. It was almost as if he knew that they wouldn't, no matter how hard he tried. But then again if he'd been in this timeline and done it several times before he would know whether or not they trusted him wouldn't he? Apparently he had been living through them mistrusting him for quite some time now. Enough time to make him give up on them ever doing so.
Leo sighed deeply looking at the dark sky around him as he realized that he had been away from the Manor for far too long. The sisters would be getting very anxious by then, so after making a very surprising decision about the situation he orbed home to have a talk with them.
"Well it's about time," Piper said from the seat she had taken at the kitchen table. Both Paige and Phoebe were also there and they both had curious looks upon their faces.
"Sorry, I had a lot to think about after I saw Chris," Leo apologized giving Piper a kiss on the cheek and a half-hearted smile. "I'd like to say goodnight to the boys first before we start this discussion."
Piper was about to burst at the seems when he said that but she couldn't deny him the right to see his sons and besides she had promised her new son that Leo would be back to see him soon so she nodded and watched as he orbed upstairs to their room.
"That's strange," Phoebe said with a quizzical look on her face.
"What is?" Paige asked.
Phoebe looked for a moment as if she was in a daze and then she shook her head to bring herself out of the thoughts in her mind. "It's just that before Leo left he was so angry. I was slightly afraid of what would happen when he did find Chris."
"That's understandable. I still remember the fight they had after Leo got back from Valhalla," Paige commented. She also remembered the look on Chris' face when she found him cleaning the mess up afterwards. He had acted as if he was the only one to blame and refused to let them help him. That was the first time that she had felt anything besides for annoyance at their young Whitelighter. Somehow she had felt pity towards him remembering the rough treatment that Leo had doled out. She had hoped that situations like that were in the past by now though.
Phoebe wasn't done speaking though and she knew here next words were going to be surprising. "He's not angry anymore. It's as if he's come to terms with his anger and let it go."
Piper looked at her sister sharply and then glanced towards the ceiling knowing her husband was right above them tucking his sons into bed, and wondered what exactly had happened to change his emotions so much in just a few hours. "Maybe, Chris came clean with him."
"Now that would make sense. Maybe we should head up to the attic. Be ready with the Book, once Leo tells us what he's learned from Chris," Paige suggested.
"But hasn't Chris been through the Book hundreds of times already?" Phoebe asked not sure at all that what she was feeling from Leo had anything to do with the search for the demon.
"Well maybe it will just take a fresh set of eyes. Maybe Chris has missed something," Piper said standing and heading out of the room with Paige following in her wake. Phoebe reluctantly followed but the more she sensed her brother-in-law's feelings the less she felt like they would soon be learning any of Chris' secrets.
"Dad, you did come," Wyatt called happily throwing the blankets on his bed back and jumping into his father's arms wrapping his arms around his father's shoulders and squeezing as tightly as he could.
The younger boy, who was lying on his own new bed that they had gotten him the day before just sat up, not quite yet brave enough to initiate any type of affection as Wyatt was.
Leo wrapped his arms around his son tightly and sat on his second son's bed. "Yes I did. I only wish I could have come sooner. I really enjoyed playing with the two of you this morning."
Wyatt squeezed his father even tighter and the smaller boy looked up at the display with a look of longing in his eyes. Wyatt's father wasn't there very often but when he was Wyatt always received the best hugs and the look of happiness on both of their faces was something that the youngster really wanted to be able to feel himself. But still… when he felt that way he always felt as if he was intruding on them and that asking for that kind of affection from any of them was being ungrateful for all of the wonderful things they had already done for him. So instead he looked away almost in embarrassment but Leo had caught that look in his eyes and wasn't about to just let him sink into the woodwork around them. He shifted Wyatt to one knee and reached out a hand grasping the younger boys own, which was resting limply in his lap. The boy looked up and Leo gave him a large smile and tugged gently on the hand.
A matching look of happiness sprung to the boys face as he slowly crawled onto Leo's lap and wrapped his own arms loosely around the man's chest almost hesitantly, trying to do like he had seen Wyatt do on several occasions. Leo wrapped his free arm around the young boy and looked down at him with that same look of adoration that he always gave Wyatt and the boy became lost in those brilliant blue eyes and the deep voice that was so soothing every time he heard it. "So, did you two have fun playing with Mommy today?"
They both knew that the younger boy wouldn't answer so Wyatt took it upon himself to answer for him. "Ah, Mom was pretty good but she is a girl. It's more fun playing racecars with you, Dad."
Leo had to chuckle at that, and the nod of agreement on the young one's face. "I think I'll keep that information to myself," he said in a conspiratorial manner. He of course would mention it to Piper, just because he knew how much she'd enjoy hearing herself being referred to as a girl but the children didn't have to know that. "If nothing else comes up I'll try to stay here with you two tomorrow, okay?" he suggested and was pleased to see the smiles on both boys faces brighten and to hear Wyatt whoop with glee.
"Okay, now. It's your bedtime," he said shifting the younger boy back to his bed and then helping Wyatt into his own. He tucked his oldest son in giving him a kiss on the forehead, which Wyatt promptly wiped off, as any self-respecting eight year old would do. Leo had to shake his head at the action. When had his son gotten too old to receive kisses from his father he wondered? But he didn't say anything as he ruffled his son's hair and then moved on to his other son.
The boy had sunk as far under the blankets as he could and Leo sat next to him on the edge of the bed. He could see the look of trepidation that had crossed the boy's brow and thought he might know what was causing it. "You know sometimes I have nightmares too." The boy looked at him with a look of wonder. He had never thought about the adults having nightmares.
"I know a lot of people that do, as a matter of fact." With that Leo couldn't help the vision of Chris' face, lined in fear while gripped in the nightmare, springing to his mind, but he pushed that thought away for a moment as he concentrated on his son. "You know sometimes you can control your thoughts during a nightmare and in my mind I always shut my eyes real tight and think about the people I care about. I don't think about anything except their smiling faces. And usually by the time I open my eyes again the nightmare is gone. Do you think you can do that?"
The boy seemed to be thinking about that for a moment and then he nodded his head slowly looking up to Leo and he took one tiny hand and pointed to his own head and then at Leo with a questioning look upon his face. Leo sat dumbfounded for a moment until he realized what the child was meaning. "You want to think about me when you have a nightmare?" he asked hopefully as his heart swelled at the thought that the boy would pick him to be his protector against the nightmares he suffered.
The boy hadn't been sure if he should ask that or not. He really felt so much safer when Leo was around but still… Leo was Wyatt's father, not his. Would that be an intrusion on their relationship he wondered? But he really did want this man to care for him and treat him like a son so he nodded holding his breath waiting the answer.
"I'd really like that, kiddo. And you remember, if you ever need me I'll be here for you too. If you can't call for me, Wyatt will, okay?" Leo assured him reaching down and brushing the boy's overly long hair from his eyes and back off his forehead.
When the boy's smile returned and he nodded happily Leo bent down and kissed his forehead just as he had Wyatt's but he noticed that the boy did not wipe the kiss away and as he stood to leave the thought that he was truly forging a link with his newest son brought such joy to his heart that he felt as if it would burst.
Once Leo had left the room Wyatt turned to the boy and called out. "It really does work, you know? I think about Dad and Mom every time I have a nightmare and even the times that the nightmares don't go away I always feel not so bad afterwards, because it's sort of like they were there with me all along."
The boy had rolled on his side too facing Wyatt, and as he listened to the older boy's words he realized that Wyatt didn't have any trouble sharing his Mommy and Daddy, something that he had worried about since the day he arrived. Then a thought came to his mind and he pointed again to his own head and then over to Wyatt.
Wyatt could see the action by the light that was cast by the one nightlight in the room and nodded immediately. "Sure, you can think of me too. I just wish you could talk. Then you could call out to me if you needed me. I'd be there in a second. I promise."
The boy hadn't even hoped to hear that anyone would protect him no matter what. But the thought bought even more happiness to him as he truly realized that he was exactly where he wanted to be most. Never in his life had he felt like he belonged anywhere until that very moment and it was a very good feeling.
Leo sensing that the sisters had moved to the attic made his way up the steps slowly. In some ways he dreaded the conversation he was about to have, but still knew it was necessary.
As he stepped through the attic door he was greeted by three expectant faces, which even farther increased the pressure on him to speak of all he had learned.
He walked slowly to the podium that held the Book of Shadows and rested a hand on each side of the stand looking down towards the pages, not daring to look at the three women who were impatiently waiting for him to speak.
It was Piper who finally broke the silence. "Well?" she questioned.
Leo looked up at the sharply spoken word and swallowed a little harder than usual as he tried to decide where to begin. He thought about telling them about the nightmare he had witnessed Chris having, but then he decided that that was way too personal an event for him to divulge without Chris' consent first. Then he thought about telling them about the demon hunts Chris went on by himself. But somehow Leo felt that even talking about those would upset their Whitelighter. So Leo said the only thing that came to mind. "I really haven't learned anything new about what gets to Wyatt, but I think we should trust Chris with this a little more."
In the silence that enveloped the room you could have heard a pin drop. Leo looked to each of the sisters' faces to gauge their reactions. Phoebe's reaction didn't surprise him whatsoever. She wore a look of both relief and happiness, and he could just barely see tears twinkling in the corners of her eyes.
Paige's look wasn't all that surprising either, as her face held a slight bit of relief but even more confusion, and maybe even a small amount of suspicion.
Piper's reaction was the one that surprised him though. He had expected disappointment and possibly frustration but the look she wore was closer to rage. "Have you lost your mind, or is spending all that time 'up there' just fooling with your sense of reality? We can't afford to just trust Chris with this. Not when our son's life is what's at stake here."
Her face was livid with barely suppressed rage, but Leo knew he couldn't just back down. "I know what's at stake here, Piper, and I love our son just as much as you do. I just think that all the negativity we've been handing Chris is more of a hindrance than a help. None of us have really been too cooperative when it comes to the requests he's made. All of which have been efforts to save Wyatt." Leo spoke quietly in as rational a voice as he could muster in the face of Piper's fury.
"You have to admit he's right," Phoebe butted in not giving Piper the chance to argue the point.
Piper was just about to do just that when her sister's words caught her off guard. She loved Leo with all her heart and respected his opinions most of the time. But knowing Phoebe her entire life gave her opinion even more merit than her husband's sometimes did. She stared at her sister for a long time wondering just what had brought about such a change of opinion in both of them. Then she looked at Paige and waited on her opinion, thinking just maybe one of them would still hold reservations on the subject.
Paige's mouth quirked in a wry smile and she half shrugged. "The guy is trying awful hard to fix things," she pointed out.
Piper threw her hands up in frustration and started to leave the room. She wanted to go check on her sons again and she really needed to get away from them where she could think about all they had said. But just as she was about to step through the door blue and white orbs formed a few feet behind her and she spun around to see the object of there discussion appear so close that she could almost touch him.
Chris was slightly surprised to see them all in the attic. It wasn't exactly the easiest task in the world to get all three Charmed Ones in the same room at once in this time period, as they all had lives of their own to lead. But to get all three of them and Leo together at once just didn't seem to ever happen. And if it did at least one of them were leaving. But none of them seemed to be going anywhere. Well Piper was close to the door, but it was night and nothing special was going on at P3, so she had no reason to leave her home at the moment.
So what were they all doing there, he wondered. He glanced at Leo and was thankful that he had remembered to clean up before he made his appearance. He was still slightly shaken and a little more than embarrassed that Leo had been there for one of his nightmares. But it just couldn't be helped. What was with Elders and being nosey anyway?
No one in the room had made a sound as of yet and Chris hadn't moved from the spot he had appeared in either, but he knew something would have to give eventually. "Okay, I'm assuming that since you are all here, and the conversation died the moment I appeared, that you must have been talking about me. Do I want to know what the latest accusations are?" He knew his words sounded snippy and that was partly brought on by his rather inadequate sleep patterns, but also partially by all of the events that had been crowding his head proving to him just how unwanted his presence was.
Leo scowled slightly. Chris' bad attitude wasn't helping the case that Leo was trying to present to the sisters in Chris' favor. "No accusations, Chris. Just trying to come to an agreement here."
Chris was slightly surprised by the calm tone of Leo's voice. After he had tossed him across the room at P3 and then ordered him to leave he had expected the Elder to be furious with him. "Agreement?" he finally asked with more than a little suspicion in his mind.
Piper answered that one though, still slightly miffed that her family had overrode her when it came to the subject. "Yes, these three have come to the agreement that we should stop trying to find out what you are hiding and support your efforts to help Wyatt."
Chris noticed the icy glare she gave the rest of her family and the strained sound to her voice, not to mention the fact that she hadn't included herself in the statement. "But you don't agree."
Leo interrupted knowing that Piper would probably say something that she might later come to regret. "Chris, Piper's still just very frightened for our son. Once she has time to think everything through…"
"Shut up, Leo," both Chris and Piper interrupted his speech though with identical words, surprising everyone present.
Chris and Piper stared at each other both slightly shocked at what had happened but Chris was the first to speak up. "She has the right to her opinions about me, even if I don't like them," he said in a tone that just barely hid how much the thought hurt him deep down inside.
Piper was slightly surprised by the fact that Chris hadn't exploded in anger by now. Usually when they confronted him about anything at all he became defensive, but that just didn't seem to be happening this time. "Give me something to change my opinion then, Chris," she offered with a look of utter disappointment in her eyes, knowing that it would take a miracle to do just that.
Never once in all the time he had spent with her as a child had Chris once disappointed his mother. He had strived above all else to make her happy that they had taken him in and had always exceeded in doing so, until now. He wanted nothing more than not to see the distrust in her eyes. Not to see the disappointment and the hate that he saw there now. That look was slowly but surely tearing his heart apart inside but there was nothing he could do or say to change it now. He had chosen his path to save Wyatt and there was no going back now. He couldn't bear to look her in the eyes anymore though so he diverted them looking instead to the floor. "I wish I could, but there's nothing I can say."
"Nothing you can say, or nothing you will say?" she asked in a quiet tone that still held accusation but knowing that he wouldn't answer her, she didn't bother sticking around to hear the answer. So resolutely she turned and headed out the attic door and down the stairs toward her sons' bedroom.
Chris was glad that she hadn't stuck around for an answer, seeing as at the moment he wasn't even sure he would be able to speak. He watched her walk away and felt the sting of tears behind his eyes as he desperately tried to hold them back. He didn't want them to see him being affected like that and was relieved when Paige and Phoebe excused themselves, needing to go home and be with their own families. So as they said their goodbyes to Leo he crossed the room to stand next to the window staring out at the dark world outside of the Manor, not really seeing anything except for the picture in his head of the look on her face.
Paige gave him a sympathetic glance as she orbed out and Phoebe crossed over behind him laying one hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "It will all work out. It just takes Piper longer to trust than the rest of us," she whispered encouragingly. He didn't dare to turn his face to look at her, knowing what she'd see in his eyes so he just nodded and waited for her to turn and leave the room.
He had expected Leo to leave too but was surprised to sense his presence standing just a few feet behind him. "She's right, Chris."
For a moment Chris' heart skipped a beat thinking that Leo was agreeing with Piper, something he had expected all along anyway but when Leo continued he could tell that it wasn't his wife he was agreeing with. "Piper will come around once she realizes how much you are willing to do for Wyatt. She's just in that defensive mother bear frame of mind right now."
Chris didn't answer that statement for a few minutes as he worked it though his mind. True, Piper was being overly defensive and she had every right to be. Her child was at risk and she was being told that she couldn't have all the information she needed to protect him as much as she'd like. "It doesn't matter, Leo. I didn't come here to win any popularity contests anyway. I just want to save Wyatt and go back to my own time, where hopefully everyone's lives will be better for it."
"What happens to Wyatt really has that much affect on everyone in your time?" Leo couldn't help but ask the question. He knew his son had a very important destiny but still he was surprised that it affected so much in the future.
Chris sighed heavily knowing that he was yet again about to divulge more from the future than he usually liked to, but still if it helped his cause… "More than you can ever imagine, Leo. What happens to Wyatt in this time affects the entire magical and non-magical communities alike. We have to stop the chaos that has been unleashed in my time, no matter what it costs."
That last sentence he uttered did more to frighten Leo than anything Chris had said since arriving in their time. It sounded so final and so desperate and made Leo wonder just how far Chris really would go to change things. "Just remember, Chris. You're not alone in this. We are here to help you."
Chris wanted to believe his words. He wanted to cling to them and accept the olive branch that Leo was holding out to him but knew that he couldn't. Years of shared dislike between the two had made it almost impossible to consider anything more from the man. "I'm always alone," he whispered instead and orbed away not bothering to explain the statement.
Leo sighed in frustration as he tried in vain to sense where Chris had gone but unsurprisingly came up empty. He called out though hoping that the Whitelighter would hear his words anyway. "It doesn't have to be this way, Chris."
A/N: Well that's the end of that chapter. Next chapter I'm hoping will be up soon and will concentrate alot on Chris and Piper. I can't exactly leave her being a total bitch to him, now can I?