Author's note: Posting a double update in honour of the new year (and also to say sorry for leaving it so long between chapters). Unfortunately, I'm in the homestretch of writing my thesis and I need to be focussing my energy on that and not this story. This story will be finished eventually (I'm even restraining myself from posting any other fics I'm working on until it's done) but I'm not going to try to give any timeframe for when the next update will be, because honestly, it's unlikely to be true and also makes me feel way too guilty when I miss it.

This one was a tough one, and also made me realise how many of the reveals are focussing on Leo being the one to find out/Leo and Chris's relationship. I'm hoping to shift a bit more to Piper (and also Phoebe and Paige) after the next chapter, because I feel like I'm neglecting them a little. Hopefully you enjoy it. This one is more complete than the last one, because I know there were mixed feelings about the open ending (again, sorry!). It also feels kind of different to what I've written before (partly a reflection of where the relationships are, but also because of the circumstances of the reveal), but feel free to let me know if these feel like they're getting repetitive!

My Three Witches (in which Leo's change of heart comes too late)

I can't wait for this day to be over. Chris thought as he made his way up to Piper's bedroom.

It had been a spectacularly terrible day, in every sense of the word. Nothing had gone right. His overconfidence in his dealing with Gith had almost gotten himself, Wyatt, and the sisters all killed. And while he hoped they had learned their lesson and would be more willing to listen to him in the future, a part of Chris worried that all he had done was given everyone one more reason to distrust him.

Not that any of it would matter if Leo went ahead with this hearing. It would undoubtedly end with Chris's soul being recycled, although whether that was even possible with him only being half-whitelighter, he wasn't sure. There was a very real possibility that if the other Elders decided to recycle him he would be forced to reveal one of his secrets. It may be the only chance that he'd survive the night.

Maybe they should've just let me die in that cave, Chris thought grimly as he stopped outside Piper's door.

In all honesty, Chris didn't particularly care all that much about his own life. But if he died before completing his mission, the future, and everyone he loved, would be doomed. And that was simply something he couldn't do. Which, unfortunately, meant that if it came down to it, he would have to reveal the truth about his identity.

Only as a last resort though, Chris reminded himself as he raised his arm and knocked twice on the door.

"Hey," he said, stepping into the bedroom.

He tried to look as meek as possible. A last ditch attempt to drum up some sympathy in Leo and get him to call this whole thing off.

Stranger things had happened, after all.

"Hey," Piper nodded at him, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Thanks," Chris folded his arms across his chest and turned to Leo, "So, it's almost time for my hearing with the Elders. I thought I'd give you the pleasure of taking me in personally."

He searched Leo's eyes for any sign that the Elder may have changed his mind.

"How considerate," Leo sighed, "I'm sorry, Chris."

Chris blinked, startled. He hadn't been expecting an apology. The fact that he didn't even know what it was for made it all the more unsettling.

"I appreciate you saving my family today. But as much as I wish it wasn't, it's too late to stop the hearing," Leo continued.

Chris's heart sank. He swallowed hard, trying to sound calm as he said, "Yeah, of course. I get it."

Piper flashed him a sympathetic look. Panic washed over Chris as he realised this might be the last time he saw her.

"I- I swear I wasn't lying when I said there's something after Wyatt. Protect him. Please. And- be careful."

They weren't the words he wanted to say. There was a small, scared part of him that wanted to throw his arms around her, hug her tight, and tell her how much he loved her. How much he'd missed her. But she wasn't the Piper those words were really for. And he had no way of knowing if this Piper would even believe him.

So he left his farewell at that, hoping that his warnings about the evil after Wyatt would be heeded. Because at the end of the day, this was all about Wyatt. It always had been.

Like most other things in Chris Halliwell's life. And, ironically enough, in Chris Perry's life, too.

Leo placed a hand on his shoulder and they orbed. Chris grimaced as they reformed. He never felt exactly right after being orbed by someone else. He looked around, noting the distinct whiteness that he'd come to associate with Up There, though this wasn't a part of the heavens he'd ever seen before. Not that he had that much experience there. No, until his trip to 2003, that was a privilege that had only ever been extended to his Twice Blessed brother. And since travelling to the past, well, it hadn't exactly been a place Chris had liked to hang out in. In fact, he tended to avoid it as much as possible, given his cover as a whitelighter.

Like most of Up There, they had appeared in a cloudy, but open, white space that seemed to go on forever. Three white chairs sat in a row, and a few feet in front of them was a blue-white hexagon. Chris's eyes widened.

The Circle of Truth.

He knew it was something used by the Tribunal in their hearings, but he'd never heard of the Elders using it. Admittedly, whitelighter hearings were pretty rare so it was possible that this was just standard procedure, though there was a small part of Chris that wondered if maybe Leo had wrangled it just for him.

Figures. That's gonna be hard to get around. Which was probably exactly why the Elders were using it. Leo had no doubt warned them about how good Chris was at talking his way out of sticky situations like this one (although not too good, because he'd somehow still ended up on trial). He'd been so angry and determined when he'd confronted Chris earlier that day, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that he'd pull out all the stops to bring the rogue whitelighter to justice.

Chimes sounded as three Elders orbed into the room. Odin, Sandra, and Gideon. Chris recognised them all, though he'd had little to do with them since arriving in the past (and not much more than that in his own time). Sandra and Gideon, he knew, were both sympathetic to his parents and had fought for them to marry. Whether that would endear them to Leo's version of events, Chris was unsure.

Odin, on the other hand, was less of a wildcard. He was, from everything Chris had heard, the Elder equivalent of a grumpy old man. He was one of the harsher Elders, and Chris fully expected him to vote in favour of his recycling on principle, regardless of whatever evidence was presented.

Chris watched at the three Elders took their seats. He stood a bit straighter, but remained silent. If he was going to find any way out of this, he needed as much information as he could get, and that meant letting the Elders do the talking for the moment.

"Blessed be," Leo said, by way of greeting.

"Blessed be, Leo, Chris," Sandra replied.

"If only we could be here under better circumstances," Gideon added grimly.

Odin wasted no time with formalities.

"Christopher Perry. You stand accused of murdering a Valkyrie," he said flatly, "Leo, your evidence?"

Leo flashed Chris a look that was at least a little bit apologetic, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Valkyrie pendant he had shown Chris earlier.

"A Valkyrie pendant," he said, handing it to the other Elders, "By all accounts, it belonged to a Valkyrie who was murdered around the time the Charmed Ones rescued me from Valhalla."

Chris fought to keep a straight face as he looked at the pendant. Murdering Leysa was one of the worst things he had ever done, in this time or his own. It still haunted him.

Unfortunately for Chris, it was at that moment that the Circle of Truth flared to life, apparently having caught his train of thought. He paled as the moments leading up to Leysa's death played out for all to see. Though he wanted to look away, he couldn't. Not that it would have done any good. This was a moment he had replayed over and over. He could see it almost as clearly in his own mind as he could in the Circle.

"I'm truly sorry," he heard himself say.

And then, to his dismay, he watched himself clench his fist and crush Leysa's heart telekinetically. He heard the gasps of the Elders in the room, realising too late that the memory had given away more than just his involvement in the Valkyrie's death.

Shit.

He'd been prepared to reveal that particular secret if he absolutely had to, as a last resort to save his own skin, but having it ripped from him so early into the hearing had been completely unexpected. Chris looked at Odin, Sandra, and Gideon in a panic, as the memory finished and the Circle of Truth's projection disappeared. He didn't dare look at Leo, for fear of what he might see, or might not see. Would Leo put the pieces together? At that moment, Chris didn't know whether he was more scared that he would, or that the man who would one day be his father would be too clueless to see what was right in front of him.

"So it was you. You sent Leo to Valhalla," Sandra's disappointed tone broke the silence that had fallen in the room, "And then you killed that Valkyrie to cover your tracks."

Crap. So much had happened already, Chris hadn't even thought about the fact that the memory confirmed his guilt twice over. He hung his head as he waited for the other Elders to voice their reactions.

"Whitelighters don't kill," Odin said sternly, "And even if they did, they certainly wouldn't be able to kill in that way. You're not a full whitelighter, are you? You're another one of those- those half-breeds!"

He spat the word, as if it were dirty. Chris gritted his teeth, but remained silent. He didn't want to give anything more away than he already had.

His silence infuriated Odin further.

"Answer me!" he demanded.

Chris looked back up at the Elders and sighed, "You're right. I'm not a full whitelighter."

"What are you really?" Sandra asked, placing a hand on Odin's arm in an attempt to calm him.

Chris swallowed, his eyes flickering to the Circle of Truth for a second. It appeared to be dormant, but he knew that at any minute, it could drag a memory from him and share more of his secrets. He needed to try to control the narrative, in the hope that whatever memory the Circle grabbed next would be less revealing.

"Part-witch," he answered softly, defeatedly.

It appeared that was what the Elders had expected, because none of them looked surprised at his answer. Which made sense, given that the only half-whitelighters in the history of existence were also half-witch. Not to mention the power he'd used in the memory the Circle had shown was a witch power.

Chris stood tensely, waiting for the inevitable lecture about deceiving the Elders for so many months.

That just meant he was all the more surprised when Gideon asked him, "So, which Charmed One do you belong to?"

Chris fought to keep his face blank. He only just resisted the urge to gulp at the knowing glint in Gideon's eyes.

"None of them," he said as evenly as he could, not daring to even glance at Leo, who still stood silently beside him.

It was a gamble to lie while standing so close to the Circle of Truth. He breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't flare to life again and share another memory he'd rather keep to himself.

Gideon pursed his lips, "I'm disappointed, Chris. You must think us fools."

"What're you getting at, Gideon?" Odin snapped.

From the confused look on his and Sandra's faces, they obviously hadn't put it together. Gideon had though. That much Chris knew.

"Come now, Odin. Surely you can see it too," Gideon replied calmly, "Chris isn't from that far in the future. Now, if he's as young as he appears, that must mean he's only a baby in this time. If he's even been born yet, which I doubt. And I only know of one family in this time that has ever produced half-whitelighters. Something that's unlikely to change in the short time between now and young Chris's birth."

Oh for fuck's sake. A wave of despair flooded over Chris. Gideon put all that together from half-witch? How the fuck did he put that together so quickly from half-witch?

Chris looked down at the floor, wishing it would swallow him whole. Or at least, that the clouds would become incorporeal, as mortals believed they were, and he could fall through them. Either would be preferable to being in this fucking room with these fucking people at this particular moment in time.

"So, Chris, which Charmed One do you belong to?" Gideon asked again in that same calm, jovial tone he always had.

Before Chris could answer, the Circle of Truth flared to life again. Chris watched anxiously, wondering which memory it planned to pull from him this time.

A twelve year old Chris walked through a doorway on the staircase in Halliwell manor, a bright smile on his face. A piece of paper was gripped tightly in his hand as he let his backpack slide off his shoulder onto the floor and ran down the stairs.

"Mom?" he called, looking around as he walked through the hallway and living room and entered the kitchen.

Empty.

"Dad?" Chris tried, his voice louder this time, "Dad?"

He waited for a moment, but no one came. His smile faded, and he placed the piece of paper on the bench. Dejectedly, he walked back to the hallway, and held a hand out, which, moments later, his backpack floated into. With a sigh, Chris made his way back to the living room table, sat down and pulled out some homework.

"Chris?"

An older boy stepped into the dining room sometime later, pulling Chris's attention from his homework.

"Hey, Wy."

"Is Mom home?" Wyatt asked.

Chris shook his head, "Just us."

"What are you doing homework for then?"

"What else am I gonna do?" Chris asked with a shrug.

"Anything! Ooh," Wyatt's blue eyes twinkled mischievously with the beginnings of an idea, "Why don't we get our bikes and orb to that sick skate park we saw that time we were in LA?"

"You wanna orb to LA?" Chris raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"You don't? Geez, what's the matter with you?" Wyatt asked, half-jokingly.

Chris looked back down at his homework.

"Okay, there really is something wrong. What is it?"

"It's stupid," Chris replied, his cheeks burning red. His eyes stayed glued to his notebook.

"Tell me," Wyatt insisted, sitting down beside him.

"I won the potion making competition. I was the only one who could brew a working sleeping potion and the antidote."

"That's great!" Wyatt's beam dropped as he took in Chris's dejected expression, "Why are you so upset?"

"When I told Mom about it this morning, she said she'd be waiting here when I got home to hear how I went. But I guess she forgot."

"I'm sure she didn't forget. Something just probably came up at the club. Or maybe there was a demon," Wyatt suggested, "Did you try calling Dad?"

Chris shot him a disbelieving look, "Yeah, because that works so well." He paused, then added, "I tried, but I guess he's busy. As usual."

Wyatt frowned and wrapped an arm around the younger boy, "Well, I'm here, little brother! So, why don't you tell me all about it? Better yet, do you think it would work on Mom? That could seriously come in handy in a couple of years."

The two boys burst into laughter.

The memory finished, and the projection faded again.

Of all the fucking memories. Chris wasn't even sure why the Circle had chosen to play that memory. Of every moment in his life it could've picked, it wasn't a particularly strong one. The only thing it had going for it was how little it actually revealed about the future. Unfortunately for Chris though, while it revealed little about the dystopia he was trying so damn hard to change, it answered all of the other questions he'd been trying to avoid.

He stood, rigid, still staring at where the projection had been. There was no denying it this time. Thanks to the Circle of Truth, they all now knew who he really was.

"Well, that answers that question," Gideon leant back in his chair, clapping his hands together.

"Yeah, okay so now you know. What are you gonna to do me?" Chris asked, looking up at the three Elders wearily, very deliberately not looking at Leo for fear of what his future father's reaction might be.

Odin, Sandra and Gideon exchanged looks.

"This is… an unprecedented situation," Sandra said slowly, "We certainly cannot recycle you, nor can we clip your wings. Both would likely kill you."

Chris pursed his lips together. He'd figured as much.

"Such a transgression though, cannot go unpunished," Odin said darkly.

Chris swallowed. If they couldn't recycle him or clip his wings, what else was there? The other Elders exchanged glances. This was uncharted waters for them as well, and Chris could tell they felt as uncertain as he did.

"Wait!" Leo cried, before any of the other Elders could suggest a punishment, "If he's not a full whitelighter, he doesn't really fall under our authority."

"That is true," Sandra agreed, though she still looked uncertain.

"He posed as a whitelighter, endangered the Charmed Ones, sent an Elder to Valhalla, and killed a Valkyrie!" Odin pointed out.

"What would you have us do, Odin?" Sandra asked, "What other punishment can we give?"

Odin's face reddened, though Gideon spoke before he could say anything, "We can strip him of his status as the Charmed Ones' whitelighter and rescind his privileges here in the heavens."

Chris kept a neutral expression on his face. As far as punishments went, it was a pretty light one. Technically, as a half-whitelighter, he shouldn't have been given any charges, least of all such important charges as the Charmed Ones. And he didn't really need the position now that the Circle of Truth had outed his identity to Leo. It would only be a matter of time before the Elder spilled to the sisters, and regardless of how much they disliked him, Chris didn't believe they'd cut him off completely once they knew he was family. Or would be family.

At least he hoped not.

And as far as losing his "privileges" Up There, well, he couldn't say that felt, at all, like a punishment. If he wasn't so panicked about what the Circle of Truth had revealed (and who it had been revealed to), he probably would've felt relieved about getting off so lightly. The Elders weren't known for their mercy. He was lucky that the panel chosen for his trial included Sandra and Gideon, rather than other zealots like Odin.

But he was feeling panicked at the revelation of the secrets he'd kept so closely guarded since arriving in the past. And because he was so caught up in his own internal turmoil, Chris tuned out the rest of the Elders' conversation. He was sure they probably had more words for him, warnings, vague threats even, but he couldn't find it in himself to care all that much. He was far more worried about the consequences of his actions with his family than with the freaking Elders.

Suddenly, or at least suddenly to Chris, the other Elders exited the room, leaving him alone with the man who would someday soon be his father. Chris eyed the door desperately, which unfortunately for him stood behind Leo. Every single one of his instincts was telling him to run, orb, flee, anything to get the hell out of there. And yet, he was stuck in a room he couldn't orb out of, with his only exit blocked by the last man in the entire universe, past or present, who he'd wanna be stuck with.

Just my luck.

"Chris," Leo spoke suddenly, startling Chris from his thoughts, "I-"

"I- I know what you're going to say!" Chris said suddenly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning his gaze to the floor.

"You do?" Leo asked. Chris could hear the surprise in the older man's tone.

Chris shrugged, still not meeting Leo's eyes, "It's nothing I haven't said to myself."

"What are you talking about?" Leo sounded confused now.

Chris couldn't help it. He looked up at Leo in frustration and confusion.

"I killed a Valkyrie. Or weren't you watching the Circle of Truth?"

Leo swallowed hard, "Well, yes, but-"

"You were right before, you know," Chris cut him off callously, "It wasn't for any noble reason. I went out and hunted a Valkyrie for her magic. Murdered her using my magic. So go on, tell me how happy you are that I'm your son. Tell me, Dad, how proud you are of how I've turned out! How excited you are for the family reunion."

Leo stared at Chris with wide, surprised eyes. When he made no attempt to speak, Chris chuckled bitterly.

"That's what I thought."

"Chris," Leo whispered, so softly it was barely audible to the whitelighter-witch's ears.

Chris swallowed hard, his eyes dropping back to the ground as he steeled himself for the onslaught of anger and disappointment that was sure to come from his father.

"I'm sorry."

Wait, what? Chris blinked in surprise, his mouth falling open. He found himself looking at Leo again, searching the Elder's face for any hint of the emotions he'd expected to see.

He found none. What the fuck is happening?

"I- you- what?" he stammered.

"I'm sorry," Leo repeated, "I'm so sorry that this is what you've come to expect from me."

"I- I- huh?"

Internally, Chris berated himself for being so shocked he couldn't even string a fucking sentence together. Get it together Halliwell. You're already a disappointment, you don't need to be a fucking idiot too.

"I'm not a good father to you in the future, am I?" Leo asked.

If Chris were a better person, maybe he'd have lied. But he wasn't, and the petty part of him that seemed to flare up so easily around Leo urged him to snap, "What gave you that impression?" in that bitter, mocking voice he'd used so often with his own version of his father.

Only he never got the chance. Because, of course, of fucking course, the Circle of Truth took his split second pause as an opportunity to flare up again.

A seven year old Chris, scrunched tightly into a ball in a dark space. Only a sliver of light could be seen in front of him, peeking through a horizontal crack in the door.

Suddenly, the light cracking through the darkness turned blue. Seconds later, Chris orbed, reappearing in the kitchen of the Halliwell Manor.

"Daddy!" he cried gleefully, launching himself at Leo, who stood dressed in his Elders robes, talking to Piper.

"Hey buddy!" Leo smiled, lifting Chris up and wrapping his arms around the boy.

"I didn't know you were coming today, Dad!" Chris grinned, wrapping his arms tightly around his father, "Did Mom tell you I moved up a level in potions at school? I'm in the same class as Wyatt now! Which I think is so cool, but I don't think he likes it very much."

Leo chuckled at the thoughtful expression on Chris's face, "No, I don't expect he does kiddo."

"Yeah, he gets real annoyed whenever we have class. But maybe that's just 'cuz he doesn't like potions that much," Chris replied, "Anyway, Dad, can I show you-"

"Hey, Chris, buddy," Leo interrupted his son, his smile giving way to a more serious expression, "I'm really sorry, but I'm actually here to talk to your Mom about Charmed stuff. Any chance we can catch up when I come see you guys next weekend?"

Chris's face fell. It was easy to see the disappointment the small boy felt, though he only let it show for a moment before he schooled his features into an accepting smile.

"Sure, Dad, no problem," he said, his arms falling from Leo's neck to sit by his side.

Leo put Chris back on the ground and ruffled his hair slightly.

"Thanks buddy," he said, returning to his conversation with Piper.

Chris made his way out of the kitchen, stopping in the doorway to look over his shoulder at his father forlornly. Leo didn't notice, completely captivated in whatever it was he was saying to his ex-wife. Chris let out a little sigh and stepped out into the hallway. He was halfway up the stairs when he ran into Wyatt, who couldn't have been any more than eight or nine years old.

"Found you!" Wyatt crowed.

"Dad's here," Chris said flatly, "He's talking to Mom in the kitchen."

Wyatt grinned, "Awesome!"

He stepped around Chris and began heading down the stairs.

"You coming?" he asked his little brother over his shoulder.

Chris shook his head, "Nah, I told Mom I'd tidy up the attic."

Wyatt shrugged and continued walking down the stairs.

It wasn't a particularly special memory. While it certainly wouldn't make Leo's top ten best moments as a father, it certainly wouldn't make his worst either. It wasn't a missed birthday or achievement (and god, were there so many achievements because it took Chris far longer than he cared to admit to realise that no matter what he achieved it would never be enough to make him a priority his pathetic excuse for a father).

But it was a pretty common occurrence. And actually, that kinda made it worse.

The scene changed suddenly. Chris watched grimly, anxiety coursing through him as he wondered what the Circle planned to show this time.

Nine year old Chris sat next to a ten year old Wyatt. Both boys looked dishevelled. Opposite them sat Gideon. He did not look pleased, but made no effort to speak with either of them.

Blue orbs filled the Headmaster's Office, reforming into the shape of Leo.

"Gideon," Leo said, his tone warm but resigned, "What did they do?"

"Leo, I'm so sorry to have to call you in," Gideon spoke warmly as well, "But with Piper out of town, I thought it best to speak with you, rather than one of the boys' aunts."

"I appreciate that," Leo replied, "What happened?"

Gideon launched into an explanation of how the two boys had snuck out of their respective classes and cast a spell to reanimate the school's entire stock of dead toads. A spell that had drawn on the power of the Halliwell line and so was damn near irreversible until Gideon had figured it out and forced the boys to reverse the magic.

The toads themselves wouldn't have been so bad, but they'd also managed to turn some of the books in each of the classrooms into crickets, and so between the noise from both sets of creatures (as well as the screams from some of the younger students who were quite terrified of the critters that had seemingly flooded their school) and the toads trying to catch and eat all the crickets, it had been absolute chaos for hours. Much to both Halliwell boys' amusement.

Leo, however, was not nearly as amused as his sons. In fact, his face was downright stony by the time Gideon finished his explanation. He very deliberately did not look at either boy.

"I am so sorry about all of this Gideon," he said, "Rest assured, Piper and I take this sort of thing very seriously and we'll make sure they've both learned their lesson."

"Oh, Leo, at the end of the day, it was merely a harmless prank. No real harm done, beyond an afternoon's worth of classes missed and a few detentions for the troublemakers. Honestly, I think it shows what powerful, talented witches they'll both be in the future. But I can't have the other students getting ideas. This is still a place of learning," Gideon replied.

"Of course. We'll take care of it," Leo promised, shaking Gideon's hand briefly before he turned to face Wyatt and Chris, "Let's go boys."

Both boys rose from their chairs silently, pulling their backpacks on their shoulders. Leo placed a hand on each of their shoulders, all but herding them out of the office and down the hallway of Magic School. They walked in tense, uncomfortable silence until they got to the enchanted door that would take them home. Leo lifted his hand from Chris's shoulder to turn the handle and push the door open, revealing the Halliwell Manor stairwell on the other side.

"Go on," he said tersely, gesturing for his sons to walk through the doorway.

Wyatt and Chris exchanged wary glances. They made their way through the door and down the stairs of the Manor as if they were going off to battle, rather than returning home with all the dramatics only two children in trouble with their parents could muster.

Leo waited until they had all entered the sitting room to speak. It was then that Chris realised that his father's hand had remained on Wyatt's shoulder the entire time.

"Sit," he instructed.

Both boys reacted immediately, sitting down on the sofa with their bags still on their backs. They looked up at Leo nervously. Neither had seen him this angry in a long time.

"I don't think I need to tell you how disappointed I am in you both," Leo began, folding his arms across his chest, "Nor do I need to remind you about personal gain consequences. This is not how your magic is supposed to be used. And it's certainly not the type of thing you invoke the entire Halliwell line for! What were you thinking?"

"It was my fault, Dad," Chris admitted tearfully, "My idea."

Leo raised a brow in surprise, "Is that true, Wyatt?"

Wyatt looked between his father and brother for a moment, before nodding, "Yeah, Dad. It was Chris's idea. I just went along with it."

"Oh, you just went along with it. Didn't think to talk your little brother out of doing something stupid? You know better than this, Wyatt!" Leo cried, "What were you thinking?"

"I dunno," Wyatt shrugged.

"Come on, don't give me that," Leo sighed, perching himself on the coffee table in front of the boys and looking into Wyatt's eyes, "What's going on with you buddy? Because the kid I know would never do something like this."

Wyatt shrugged again.

"Is it because I've been gone a lot lately? Was all of this just to get my attention?" Leo asked, his tone softer and more gentle, "I know this whole thing is really hard on you. On both of you. But Wyatt, your Mom and I trust you to be better than this. To look out for your little brother and make sure both of you are doing the right thing. Was this the right thing?"

Wyatt shook his head. Leo sighed again.

Through it all, Chris watched the exchange between his father and brother with growing dismay. Leo barely looked at the younger boy, though he directed his lecture about responsibility and knowing better and doing the right thing at both of his sons. At some point, he tuned it out, only coming back to the conversation by the sound of his name being called.

"Huh?" Chris asked.

"Can you give us a minute, Chris?" Leo asked, "I'll come up and talk to you after I'm finished with your brother."

Chris looked between Wyatt and Leo again. He nodded dejectedly.

"Thanks buddy," Leo flashed Chris a brief smile before turning his attention back to his eldest.

Chris walked out of the room with drooped shoulders. He paused in the doorway, looking back at Leo, who had since moved into the spot Chris had been occupying and had an arm wrapped around Wyatt's shoulders. A single tear fell down Chris's cheek as he turned and left the room.

The memory faded and, mercifully for Chris, the Circle of Truth did not choose to play another. Chris could feel Leo's eyes on him, but his gaze remained fixed on where the projection had been.

He remembered that day. Remembered the prank he'd dreamt up and spent two days convincing Wyatt to pull. Remembered being hauled into Gideon's office once the staff worked out who'd been behind the chaos. Remembered the strange mix of fear and excitement when his father had orbed down to deal with Wyatt and Chris, and the disappointment when Leo had blamed almost the entire thing on Wyatt. Leo had never come to speak to Chris about it. He'd just sat downstairs with Wyatt, alternating between lecturing him about the prank and apologising for not being around as much.

Two days later, when Piper had returned from her business trip, she'd gone straight to Chris and demanded to know what he'd been thinking. Unlike her ex-husband, Piper had known straight away that the prank had not only been Chris's idea, but that he'd been the one to come up with the spells and the oh-so-brilliant idea to call upon the entire Halliwell line. Wyatt's only crime had been going along with his too-smart-for-his-own-good-little-brother's plan. Piper had been so furious with Chris, yelling at him, lecturing him, even taking away his Gameboy for a week. She'd done all the things Chris had thought Leo would do. All the things he'd wanted his father to do when he first decided to pull the prank.

All the things he'd never done for Chris but always seemed to have the time to do for Wyatt.

"Chris, I-"

"Don't," Chris snapped, closing his eyes as he tried to push down the hurt that had flared up at the reminder of the old memory, "You're not who I need to hear it from."

He opened his eyes again, looking at Leo who looked surprisingly devastated from the memories the Circle of Truth had shown. Huh.

"I guess I can understand why you expected me to be disappointed in you," Leo said softly.

"Are you saying you're not?"

The words were challenging, but there was a tiny spark of hope welling in Chris's chest. He desperately tried to extinguish it, lest he be left disappointed.

"Of course not," Leo replied, "God, Chris, I'm proud."

"You're proud?" Chris repeated disbelievingly, "I killed a Valkyrie and you're proud? A few hours ago you saw it as proof I should be clipped of my wings. Now all of a sudden, you're proud? What's changed? Other than finding out I carry half your genes?"

"It's not like that Chris," Leo sighed.

"No, seriously? I get a free pass because I'm your kid. That's- that's- that's hypocritical!" Chris cried.

"Am I happy you killed a Valkyrie? Of course I'm not. But I know you didn't want to do that. I could see it on your face. I see it on your face now. You hate yourself for what you did. But you did it anyway. To save your brother. That's why you came back, right?"

"So you believe me now?"

"I have some pretty compelling proof."

"So, we're good then? You're not gonna keep following me around, trying to find evidence of some nefarious plot? Just like that?" Chris asked, feeling unsettled by the sudden change in dynamic.

"Just like that," Leo replied.

"Oh."

Neither man seemed to know what to say next. They fell into awkward silence. Again, Chris lamented his inability to orb out of the room or exit without having to push past Leo.

"Are we though?" Leo asked finally. He clarified when Chris looked at him in confusion, "Good, I mean?"

"No," Chris snorted instantly, tinges of guilt filling him at the dismayed expression on Leo's face. It was infuriating for the younger man. Even if this version of Leo hadn't yet become the crappy father Chris knew, he'd still been an asshole from the moment Chris had landed in 2003.

And yet, Chris found himself saying, "I- I just mean- there's a lot of history between me and my father. And I know none of it was actually you, at least not yet, but you literally look exactly like him. Like exactly like him. I mean, obviously, because you are him, or you will be. Fuck, time travel makes everything so complicated. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, we're not good and I don't know if we ever will be. But that's okay, because I didn't come back to fix us. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanna hear, or if it makes me an ass, but I- I'm here for Wyatt. To save Wyatt. Everything else is secondary to that."

Leo swallowed hard, "I can understand that. And I can respect your reasons for being here. I hope you can respect that I'm not gonna stop trying to fix things."

Chris wanted to beg Leo to leave it alone. Wanted to tell him there was nothing he could do to fix their relationship. But there was a tiny voice in his head, that sounded suspiciously like he had as a teenager, that was screaming at him, Maybe this time he means it. Maybe this time you'll really have a dad.

He hated the hope the words instilled in him. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to squash it. Not completely.

"Whatever, Leo. Far be it from me to stop you watering a dead tree."

That didn't mean he had to encourage Leo's efforts. And he didn't feel bad about the disappointed look Leo shot him.

Not one little bit.

If Chris had thought his confrontation with Leo was bad, this was gonna be worse. He didn't even know how Leo had managed to convince him that they should tell the sisters who he really was a) together and b) right that very minute. And yet, here he was, standing beside Leo in the foyer of the Manor, with a sense of dread sitting heavy as a rock in the pit of his stomach.

The only thing keeping him there was the promise from Leo that he wouldn't tell the sisters what Chris had done to Leysa. Chris knew that they were at least suspicious of how he got the Valkyrie's pendant to sneak them into Valhalla, and they probably had some idea of the reason he'd been hauled in front of the Elders and put on trial. But knowing all of that was different to knowing that he'd used their family's magic to seek out and kill a Valkyrie.

He really couldn't bear any of the Charmed Ones, particularly Piper, knowing how far he'd gone, how far he was prepared to go for Wyatt.

Sometimes it scared even himself.

"Chris," the sound of Phoebe calling him pulled him out of his thoughts, "Does this mean you're a free man?"

"Something like that," he replied flatly, swallowing hard at the sight of his future mother and aunts standing in front of him, "Uh, can we sit?"

"That sounds ominous," Paige commented, "Is this a sun room conversation or a dining room conversation?"

Chris shrugged. He knew Paige was trying to gauge how serious whatever he needed to tell them was, but honestly "I'm actually your future kid/nephew" was the kind of unprecedented conversation that defied all other seriousness gauging techniques. They could probably have this conversation on the moon and it would still feel inappropriate and weird.

Somehow, he found himself in the dining room, taking a seat opposite Piper. He wasn't sure who had suggested the dining room, but they were all there, Phoebe beside Piper and Paige between Piper and Chris, at the head of the table. Leo had taken the seat beside Chris, scooting it closer and putting his arm on the table, as close as he could to his newfound son without touching him, as if he thought Chris might try to orb away suddenly and he was prepared to stop him.

Or maybe he wants to offer you support and just doesn't know how. That same tiny voice from before whispered in the back of Chris's mind.

"Okay, Chris, what's this about?" Piper asked.

He didn't even know where to start. He'd been holding onto his secrets for so long, he didn't know how to begin sharing them.

So, he decided to start with the part that was the easiest to share.

"I'm not your whitelighter anymore," he all but blurted out.

All three of the Charmed Ones reacted in much the same way. They gaped at Chris in shock. If he hadn't been so nervous, Chris probably would've found the situation comical.

"What?" Paige was the one to break the stunned silence and ask what everyone was probably thinking, "Why not?"

Chris took a deep breath before answering. It did little to calm his nerves.

"Because I'm not a full whitelighter," he admitted sheepishly.

"What?!" all three sisters cried in unison.

Chris winced as their voices overlapped into a symphony of disgruntlement, all directed at him.

"- lied to us! We trusted you and you lied to us."

"No wonder you couldn't heal! Do you have any idea how dangerous-"

"- understand why all the lies, Chris. We're pretty accepting of half-whitelighters around here."

Chris fixed his gaze on a spot on the table. In the future, there would be a nick there, from where Wyatt had been caught using an athame to scry for evil when he shouldn't have been. The athame had landed point down, leaving behind a mark. It was weird to see the table he'd eaten at every night until he was fourteen without it.

"Stop."

Leo's voice broke through the noise. Immediately, as they tended to do when their precious Leo spoke, the sisters stopped and looked at him. Chris kept his eyes down, unwilling to see the anger and distrust in his future family's eyes.

"I don't understand, Leo. You've been saying from the beginning that we can't trust Chris. Here's the proof, and you're just sitting there," Piper pointed out.

"I'm surprised you even brought him back here to tell us. I'd have thought you'd have had him through the first portal back to the future," Phoebe added.

"Well, it's really not as simple as just conjuring a portal and sending him through. Time travel's more complicated than that. But, that's not the point. No one is sending Chris back to his own time," Leo said calmly.

"Not that I think he should be sent back, but why not? Piper's right, Leo, this is what you've been gunning for the whole time Chris has been here. What happened Up There to change your mind?" Paige asked.

Chris's chest tightened. He could feel Leo's eyes on him, could feel the sisters turning their own gazes toward him. He slunk lower in his chair, silently wishing he could turn into a puddle and melt away.

But, alas, there was nothing he could do to escape. So, without looking at anyone, he sighed and said, "He found out I'm his son. His and Piper's."

It was so silent, Chris was sure he could hear a pin drop. Or he could've if his heart was beating so hard and fast. It felt as though it had jumped from his chest into his ears. For a moment his senses where consumed with it. It was all he could hear, all he could feel, all he could see.

And then a hand was clasping his shoulder. Chris startled, looking over at Leo who was giving his best encouraging smile.

It did little to soothe Chris's fears.

"That… actually makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it," Paige commented.

"Yeah, I can't believe we didn't think of that sooner," Phoebe added.

Chris looked at the sisters, sending what he hoped was a look of gratitude to them both. They smiled back at him warmly, looking more like the aunts of his memories than they had since he arrived in the past. It was both a welcome reminder of who they would be to him in the future and a painful reminder of what he had lost long before he started time travelling.

Piper, on the other hand, could not have looked less like the Mom of his memories, which was actually a good thing as far as Chris was concerned. She sat, gaping at him, shell shocked.

Both Phoebe and Paige must've picked up on the vibe in the room, because despite the hundreds of questions they probably had, they quickly excused themselves from the conversation. Chris heard them leave the room, but barely acknowledged their sudden departure, still focussed on Piper. Piper who was still just staring at him, saying nothing.

Chris stared back, searching her eyes for any clue of what she may be thinking. He'd always been pretty good at reading his Mom, but this Piper was so different from who she'd one day become and that complicated things.

Say something, he wanted to plead, but didn't for fear of what she might say if he did.

"Piper?" Leo finally broke the silence tentatively.

Surprisingly to both the men, Piper began to laugh, almost manically. Chris flinched at the sound, but still he said nothing.

Does she think it's a joke? Does she think I'm lying? He wondered.

"Piper," Leo said again, concern evident in his tone and the way his hand tightened around Chris's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Piper said, still laughing. She wiped her eyes where tears had begun to leak, "I'm sorry, it's just been such a long day and I really don't know how you're supposed to react when your whitelighter from the future tells you he's actually your son."

Her laughter stopped abruptly, almost as if she was suddenly processing what she was saying.

"Our son," she said softly, pressing a hand to her heart, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It was easier this way," Chris replied.

"Easier?" Piper repeated, "Easier for us to find out months after you got here, after we've spent so much time making your life harder."

"You haven't made my life harder," Chris answered automatically, though after the words left his mouth, he wondered if that were actually true.

The look on Piper's face told him she didn't believe it.

"Honestly, you weren't meant to find out at all. But it came out in the trial and I knew if I wasn't your whitelighter any more, I needed a reason to stick around, be close to Wyatt and the Book."

Piper's face fell.

"Is that the only reason you told us?" she asked, her voice cracking sorrowfully.

Chris's chest constricted at the heartbroken expression on his future mother's face. He hated hurting any version of her.

"I'm sorry," he said, though he was unsure what exactly he was apologising for. For hurting her. For lying to them all. For killing Leysa and all the other shady things he'd done since arriving in the past, and leading up to his journey through time.

He really was sorry for all of it.

"It doesn't matter," Leo insisted, "It doesn't matter what you'd planned or why you changed your mind. We know now. And I, for one, can't pretend I don't know."

"I wish you would."

The words were spoken softly, a near silent admission that Piper and Leo could barely hear. But they were there and they were as painful for the two parents to hear as they were for their son (their son!) to say them.

Chris continued with a sigh, "I just- like I said, it was just easier for you not to know."

"Being a parent isn't supposed to be easy, Chris," Piper said gently.

"I meant for me."

He could hear the silent, Oh, from them both.

"Why?" Piper asked, "Were we really that bad as parents?"

God. Chris swallowed hard.

"No. You- it's nothing to do with how you were as parents," he replied, trying to ignore the tears he could feel welling in his eyes.

"Then why?" Piper asked.

Chris looked into her eyes. Eyes that were as teary as his own, and were staring back at him, desperately, pleading for answers. He had so rarely been able to deny his mother anything when she was alive. But what she wanted now, he was not in a position to give. His heart hurt.

"I can't," he said, "I can't. I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

Even if he could tell Piper of her ultimate fate in his future and how thoroughly it had broken him and the rest of their family, he couldn't bring him to think of that dreadful day, much less speak of it.

She looked disappointed at his response. He wanted to reassure her, to tell her that he would answer every question she had if he could, but it wasn't true.

So he said nothing.

Later, lying on his couch in the back room of P3, Chris realised he couldn't say how long they sat like that, silently, wrapped in their own thoughts. He couldn't even remember how they'd actually broken the silence. All he knew was that they had agreed to take it one day at a time. It was the only solution really.

Physically and emotionally exhausted from the day (god had it really only been that morning that Gith had attacked Piper?), Chris had excused himself, intending to go back to P3 and get some much needed sleep. Piper had tried to convince Chris to stay in the Manor, but he had been quite insistent about returning to P3, to the space he'd claimed as his own.

He'd been so exhausted, he'd expected to basically pass out the moment he laid down on the couch. Only, the opposite had happened, and he found himself wide awake and too keyed up to sleep.

They know. They know. They know. The words repeated in his mind over and over again, like a song on repeat.

It was a problem with no solution. Logically, he knew that there was nothing to be done except take one day at a time, as they had agreed.

Emotionally though, Chris felt a growing sense of dread. This would only make his mission more difficult.

Not to mention, they still don't know why you're really here.

He knew it would hurt Piper to tell her what had really happened to Wyatt. Just like he knew it would hurt her to know he hid it from her. He was really in a no-win situation.

They don't need to know, he told himself. They wouldn't believe you even if you told them.

Though a part of Chris wondered if maybe they would believe him, now that they knew who he was. That part of Chris was screaming inside of him, begging him to unburden himself and share this final secret with his family. Fear gripped him at the thought of it.

They can never know.