UNWANTED – PART 4

As soon as they went through the time portal and reappeared in the back alley from where they'd originally departed, Chris immediately orbed away. He ignored Leo's call of his name as he rematerialized in the backroom of P3, where he could clearly hear the music and noise from the club. Chris quickly grabbed some clean clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. He dumped the clothes on top of the closed toilet lid, then grabbed on to the sink with both hands and leaned heavily against it. He looked up at the reflected image of his face in the mirror – a little taken back by how pale and disheveled he looked – and sighed heavily.

Chris had told Leo something he shouldn't have done. He knew he had. Chris couldn't recall his exact words as he'd been pretty out of it after getting shot. But judging from the look on Leo's face and the gentleness in which his dad had treated him after Chris had been healed, Chris knew he'd revealed something important. Did Leo know who he really was now? Had he been that stupid?

Chris shook his head at his own carelessness. He'd already made a mistake back in the cell when he'd orbed the keys away from the guards. He hadn't even thought about it at the time - even though he'd been so careful up until then to not show anyone that he had powers beyond the usual whitelighter ones. But in his family, telekinetic orbing was a normal thing as both his Aunt Paige, Wyatt and himself had the ability to do it, so Chris guessed it was pure luck he hadn't accidentally revealed that power anytime sooner.

"Chris."

Chris closed his eyes for a second as he once again ignored the call of his name. It was Leo again, but Chris wasn't ready to face the man. Not yet. Maybe never.

He stepped away from the sink and began to shed his dirty clothes. He grimaced when he pulled the shirt over his head as his chest still felt a bit sore. Dropping the shirt on the floor, Chris looked down at his naked chest and carefully rubbed the spot where the bullet had pierced his flesh.

He hadn't been thinking straight when he'd pushed Leo away and had taken the bullet that was meant for his father. Leo was an Elder – he couldn't be killed by something as simple as a bullet. Chris, however, could be killed by a lot of things – including bullets. He'd known that when he'd pushed Leo out of harm's way, and yet he'd still done it.

In all his life, Leo had never been much of a father to him. It wasn't from lack of intention if all the apology letters Chris had received over the years were anything to go by. But Leo had been a fulltime Elder when Chris grew up, who'd for the most part only orbed in when the Charmed Ones were in desperate need of his help. As the twice-blessed, Wyatt had required a fair deal of guidance from Leo as well – although Wyatt had still chosen to go down the wrong path in the end. When it had finally been Chris' turn to be acknowledged by his dad, the other Elders always required his father's attention. The interactions he'd had with Leo as a child had often been a quick hug, a kiss on the top of his head and a "Be a good boy, Chris. I love you." It was just enough to give Chris the idea of being wanted and loved by his father, but far from enough to actually make him believe it. Chris had cried himself to sleep countless times – sometimes with his mom's arms around him, sometimes buried into Wyatt's chest – because his dad had once again made him feel like the least important person on the planet.

Chris was so mad at Leo for never being there for him that he tried to convince himself that he hated his dad. It was just easier that way because it made it hurt less. But deep-down, he knew it wasn't true. No matter how absent a father Leo had been in his life, Chris loved the man fiercely. He couldn't help it. That he loved so much had always been Chris' biggest weakness (in his corrupted brother's eyes) and his greatest strength (his mom believed). Chris' love for his family was greater than life, and he never hesitated to do everything in his power to protect them and keep them safe. That was the whole reason he'd traveled to the past in the first place. Chris was there to save his big brother, and it didn't matter if he had to give up his own life to do it. To Chris, his life had never really mattered much anyway. He knew that Wyatt, even the evil version of him, would smack his head for thinking so little about himself. It was difficult not to think like that though when he'd yearned his whole life to feel the same amount of love he had for his dad, reciprocated by the man.

Chris blew out a shaky breath and angrily blinked back tears. He dropped the rest of his clothes, stepped into the shower, and turned on the water. Chris closed his eyes as the warm water swept over his hair and body, soothing his aching limps. He was tired. So damn tired. Having spent so many hours with Leo had been very emotionally draining for Chris. He didn't think he'd ever spent that much time alone with his dad in his entire life. When they'd been stuck together in the past, Chris had constantly had to make sure that he didn't reveal anything about himself to Leo – or take his repressed anger out on the man who hadn't even conceived him yet. Chris' nose wrinkled in disgust by the thought of his parents… together like that. But who knew if he'd ever be conceived now. Breaking up his parents had not been the greatest plan Chris had ever had. When he'd done it, he'd believed it was necessary to get rid of Leo so Chris could become the sisters' new whitelighter. But if he had to be honest, part of the reason he'd split up his parents and had shipped Leo off to Valhalla had also been to punish his dad for his future mistakes. As unfair as it may have been.

He would never forget the way Leo had reacted when he'd returned from Valhalla. Chris had been beyond shocked when Leo had attacked him and punched him in the face. The dad he knew was a pacifist through and through. Leo had been an absent father for sure, but he'd never been mean or abusive in any way - he'd never laid a hand on his kids. To be fair, Leo hadn't known that Chris was his future son. Still, the attack had left Chris more rattled and upset than he cared to admit.

Chris turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and quickly dried himself off before wrapping the towel around his hips. He then wiped at the foggy mirror with his hand until his face became visible in it again.

Chris took in his appearance with a grimace. He'd always been small and lean as a kid - then lanky when his growth spurt had finally set in somewhere in his teens (way later than Wyatt's had). His big brother had always been bigger and more muscled than Chris would ever be. Staring at his own body in the mirror now, Chris could clearly see how thin he'd gotten if the defined ribs and the way his hipbones stuck out were anything to go by. Chris shook his head and looked away from his reflection. His family would be so mad at him if they knew how much he'd neglected himself these past months. But they were all gone anyway… everyone except Wyatt. And sure, in this time his parents and aunts still existed but no one really cared about him. They didn't even like him.

"Chris? Chris, we need to talk."

Leo's voice filled his head again. Seriously, did the man never give up? There was a reason why Chris was ignoring him! He considered putting his dad on mute but decided that he should keep the line open in case the sisters were in trouble. Speaking of the sisters, Chris really needed to check up on them and the little version of his big brother. Someone could have gotten to Wyatt while he and Leo had been stuck in the past.

"I hope not." Chris muttered to himself, and quickly got dressed.

Chris reached out and sensed his mother's presence nearby, which meant that she was probably in the crowd of P3 somewhere. Wanting to check up on her and his aunts, Chris opened the door to the club… and nearly collided with Leo. His dad, who was looking just as surprised to see Chris as Chris was to see him, had raised his fist mid-air as if he'd been about to knock on the door.

"Leo!" Chris greeted with false cheerfulness, as Leo slowly let his raised hand drop back down. "Almost didn't see you there."

"Chris." Leo said with a serious expression on his face. Chris noticed that Leo was wearing different clothes too, which probably meant he'd also been home to change. Chris wondered for a second if Piper still kept all of Leo's clothes in her closet or if his dad had been rummaging through boxes in the attic to find something to wear. "I've been calling for you. Can we talk?"

"Um, sure." Chris said and let his eyes drift past Leo to search the crowd. He spotted Piper and Phoebe at the bar. "Let's go hear what the sisters have been up to while we've been away."

"Wait, I didn't mean –" Leo started but Chris was already bee-lining for the bar. The place was packed with people since a band called Steadman was playing on stage. Chris heard his dad curse behind him as he tried to catch up with him – which he did right before they reached the bar.

"Chris…" Leo began when Phoebe spoke up.

"Hey, look who it is! Where have you two been?" She asked.

"Long story." Leo said.

"We just got a little lost, that's all, and took some time to find our way back." Chris quickly said and shot Leo a pointed look. No reason to reveal anything to the sisters. Especially not if Leo was on to him now.

"So, uh. What'd we miss?" Leo asked, changing the subject to Chris' big relief.

Phoebe laughed at the question. Based on that reaction, Chris guessed they'd missed out on a lot - which hopefully didn't have anything to do with Wyatt. He½ hadn't come all this way just to fail his mission now, and in such a stupid way.

"You lay into them. I have a date." Piper said.

A date? Ouch.

Chris side-eyed his dad and noticed the discouraged look on Leo's face. Chris felt a pang of guilt, knowing that he was the reason why his parents weren't together at this moment – the reason why his mom was going on a date that wasn't with his dad.

"A date, really?" Phoebe asked. "Does he know about Wyatt?"

"No, and he's not gonna any time soon. At least not until after the honeymoon."

Double ouch.

"Whoa, what'd we really miss?" Leo asked when Piper had left.

"You know what? It's a long story." Phoebe said. Then she walked away too without any explanation, leaving the two of them alone at the bar. Leo still looked rather dejected, so Chris tried to think of a way to make his dad feel better.

"Come on." Chris said and gave Leo a reassuring pat on his arm. "I'll buy you a drink."

"Whitelighters don't have any money." Leo said. Chris barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes at the words, while he sat down next to his dad by the bar.

"It was a gesture." Chris announced. He was already regretting trying to cheer his dad up. Leo sure knew how to piss him off.

"Two cold ones, Billy." Leo said to the bartender.

"You got it, Leo." Billy, the bartender, replied.

"It's on me." His dad told him with a half-smile.

Chris was about to say something sarcastic about Elders and money but regretted it. He closed his mouth and looked away instead, feeling rather awkward. Now that they were alone, the elephant in the room was hard to ignore. Chris felt a bit nervous about the talk Leo so desperately wanted to have with him and thought about running off.

"Come to think of it… you're only half whitelighter." Leo suddenly said.

Chris swallowed hard. He could feel Leo's intense stare out of the corner of his eye.

"Half witch." Leo continued when Chris didn't say anything. "Like Wyatt."

Chris clenched his jaw, fearing what Leo would say next. Billy came over with the beers, and Leo thanked the man before sliding one of them closer to Chris.

"Thanks." Chris muttered, grabbed the beer, and took a tentative sip of it.

He'd had beers before, obviously, even though he was barely above the legal drinking age. In the future he came from though, laws didn't really matter. But this beer tasted differently. Better somehow. Chris couldn't be sure whether it was because the beer was of a better quality than the ones he'd had before, or if it was because it was the first beer his dad had ever bought for him.

"About what you said to me earlier, after getting shot…" Leo started when Chris cut him off.

"You shouldn't take any of that seriously." Chris said and tried to smile smugly. "I was dying and needed healing. I had to say something to save myself. Sorry if you fell for that."

"So, you were lying?" Leo asked, one eyebrow lifted in a skeptical way.

"Of course, I was!" Chris exclaimed. "That's what I do. I can't be trusted. You know that."

Leo was quiet for a few moments, calmly studying Chris' face. Chris fidgeted nervously under Leo's scrutinizing look.

"See, I don't think that's true. I think you slipped up and accidentally revealed who you truly are, Chris." Leo finally said.

Chris' heart sank as he realized where this was going. He looked away and stared down at the beer in his hand instead, fiddling a bit with the label of it. He then felt a touch on his shoulder and turned his head to see that Leo had put his hand on it. He was looking at Chris with a soft expression on his face.

"I don't know why I didn't see it before. Maybe I just wasn't looking closely enough. You look so much like your mother." Leo smiled at him. "Christopher, like my father… You're Wyatt's little brother, aren't you? You're my son."

Chris clenched his eyes shut and blew out a shaky breath. When he opened them back up, Leo's face had become blurry, and Chris realized it was because tears clouded his vision.

"Chris…"

"Don't." Chris shook his head, his voice shaking. "Please just, don't."

"Why didn't you tell us who you are?" Leo continued and gave Chris' shoulder what he assumed was supposed to be a comforting squeeze. "Chris, you could have saved yourself so much time and energy. If I'd known from the beginning that you were my son -"

"What - you wouldn't have treated me like scum then?" Chris asked with bitterness in his voice. Leo winced at the words and had the decency to look ashamed. "This changes nothing, okay? I'm still the same annoying whitelighter from the future who no one can stand the sight of."

"That's not true, Chris. Like I told you back in that cell, my only issue with you was that I didn't know if I could trust you. Knowing that you are my son," Chris grimaced at the words, "literally changes everything." Leo stated.

Chris shook his head and continued to fight against the impending tears. His chest felt tight with emotion, and this bar suddenly felt way too small, way too public. He needed to get out of there. He needed to get some air and clear his mind.

"Thanks for the beer." He muttered before leaving his seat and heading for the nearest exit.

"Chris, wait!" Leo exclaimed.

Chris ignored him as he zigzagged through the dancing and laughing people. A couple of them vocalized their annoyance as he squeezed past, but Chris couldn't care less. His only goal was to get out of there. He'd almost reached the stairs to the exit when he felt someone grab his shoulder and spin him around.

"Chris." Leo said. "Listen…"

"Just leave me alone." Chris snapped and was about to turn back around again when Leo stopped him once more.

Whatever Leo was saying, Chris couldn't hear it as anger suddenly bubbled up inside of him. In his entire life, his dad was never there for him when Chris needed him to be. And now that all Chris wanted was to be left alone, Leo kept following him. Why did the man never listen to him? Why did he always have to ignore anything Chris ever wanted or needed? The anger got the best of him and before he could even comprehend what he was doing, Chris lashed out on his dad.

"I said leave me alone!" He shouted and pushed Leo so hard in the chest with both hands that his dad tumbled backwards and straight into a couple of girls who then started screaming.

Chris barely noticed that the people around them quickly scattered away and stared wide-eyed at him. Chris was breathing fast, as if he'd just been running a couple of blocks, while he looked at Leo's sad and concerned expression through watery eyes. He'd expected to see anger or contempt on Leo's face and suddenly felt very confused by the lack of it. Before Chris could try to decipher what that meant, a pair of strong hands grabbed his arm from behind. Chris reacted out of pure instinct and accidentally knocked his elbow up and into what turned out to be the nose of a security guard. A second later, Chris was face down on the floor with his arms locked behind his back by two big security guards. Chris struggled a bit against their hold, but his efforts were to no avail. He'd apparently also bumped his head on the way down if the throbbing in his forehead was anything to go by.

"Hey! Stop hurting him! Let him go!" Chris suddenly heard his dad shout. He managed to lift his head a tiny bit and saw a glimpse of Leo's fuming face before his head was pushed back down again.

"Stay out of this, Leo." One of the guards responded. "It's club policy. No fighting."

"I know that, Larry. And Chris has got legs to walk on when he leaves. Now get off him or I swear I'll get you both fired."

"You wouldn't." The other security guard said with a mixture of surprise and wariness.

"Try me." Leo responded in a hard voice. Chris could barely recognize his dad in the hard tone he used. Sure, he'd used it on Chris on multiple occasions these past months, but he had never heard Leo threaten anyone this way while defending him. He'd relied on his mom, brother, and aunts for that since Leo had never really been around much in Chris' time to do it – and Chris hadn't even been sure the Elder had it in him.

No one said anything for a few moments, and Chris wondered what was going on. Then he felt the grip on his arms loosen and the pressure on his back disappear. As soon as he was free, Chris quickly got back on his feet while he avoided eye-contact with anyone – especially Leo. With burning cheeks, he walked up the stairs - and orbed away the moment he was out of sight.

To Be Continued…