Try, Try Again Chapter 17 of 29
A/N: This chapter has some pure unadulterated fluff. I am not apologizing for it; just letting you know it is there I never liked how Piper just gave up on her marriage. I always felt it was out of character, so I threw in a little reference to their vows. There will also be a bit of questioning on how Piper could leave her boys, a move that would be totally out of character. This points out that fact and how she really thought she was doing the right thing. Enough of me, on with the story…
Chapter 17
The Diaries
Piper and Leo sat on the couch each one had a diary in their hands. Piper had opted to take the diary from Chris’s time. She had to understand why she left her babies. She just couldn’t comprehend how her future self thought that leaving her two sons would do anything but harm. The diary started out the day she came back from the future with the other diary. Piper giggled at the way the whitelighter Chris was forced to say who he was. It was definitely like her to do something like that. She didn’t think she would ever take kindly to liars.
Piper paused at the part where her future self decided not to tell Leo about his son. She never mentioned Chris to her husband at all. How could she do that to Leo or Chris? She looked over at her husband and tears filled her eyes. What had happened that was so bad she felt hiding the truth about their second child would be a better plan than telling him.
Leo felt the gaze from Piper, “What?” he asked softly.
Piper raised her hand and carded her fingers through Leo’s hair saying, “I don’t know how I ever let you go.”
Leo smiled at her and took her hand into his and said, “You will never have to know. I am never going to leave you. You, Wyatt,” he paused and then said, “And Chris are my life. I cannot live without you. I will not live without any of you. Whatever their choices were, they won’t be ours.” He held her hand tightly and raised it to his heart. “I promised to love you for forever, Piper. I cannot imagine what would have made us lose sight of that. But I am telling you, right now, that is not going to be our future.”
Piper leaned forward allowing the tears to fall freely as she kissed Leo. She put her arms around him and held him tight. She whispered to him, “I was born to love you and I always will.” They both leaned away from the embrace and looked each other in the eye.
Leo raised his hand to her cheek and said, “We are in this together. I won’t let anyone, not even you, push me away.”
Piper leaned into his hand and said, “You better not. Don’t even let me try. I love you and you are right, we will figure this out the way we always have, as a family.” The two smiled at each other for a long moment before the opening of the front door startled them out of their own little world.
Phoebe entered the living room and began talking, “Oh, hey you two. I didn’t expect to see you guys.” She didn’t stop as she removed her coat, “You wouldn’t believe what a waste of time that date was, apparently there was some kind of emergency…” Phoebe paused her tirade. Something was going on and now that she was paying attention it was obvious that it was important. “Piper…” She began when the sound of orbs filled the room.
Paige appeared at the foot of the stairs and looked at Phoebe and then turned to look at Leo and Piper. Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and she asked, “Okay, what am I missing here?”
Piper was the first to speak, “This is important, why don’t you both come over here and sit down. Leo and I have some very interesting news.”
Phoebe and Paige exchanged glances and then did as their sister had asked of them. Once everyone was seated it was Piper again that began, “So, do you remember that whitelighter from the future?”
Paige shot a glance to Phoebe, wondering where this was going. Not getting a response Paige said, “Yeah, he saved Evangeline.”
Phoebe asked, “Does this have something to do with the letter he gave you; because if you trust him then I trust him.”
Paige stared at her siblings in turn. She hadn’t heard of any letter, “Wait, what letter?”
Piper wasn’t ready to share the note with Paige. She didn’t want to hurt her baby sister’s feelings with the way she was able to convince herself that it was really her. Piper said, “The whitelighter, Chris, gave Leo and I each a letter from me written in the future.”
Paige wasn’t ready to buy the information but if Piper was sure then she was going to trust her big sister. “Okay…” Paige said trailing off as to encourage Piper to continue.
Piper didn’t disappoint. “There is more,” Piper said as she looked to Leo. “First, I know this is true, I am as sure of it as I am of anything.” She paused again and looked to Leo.
Leo took her hand in his, drew in a deep breath and said, “That whitelighter from the future…” he paused. Then he looked each sister in the eye so they knew he was serious and said, “Is our son, mine and Pipers. Wyatt’s little brother.”
The tension in the room could be cut with a knife before Phoebe started to bounce, “Really? We have another nephew?” She hopped to her feet and lunged at Piper dragging her into a hug. Pipers arms readily went around her sister and a big smile crossed her features. Piper was afraid they wouldn’t be supportive, she should have known better.
Paige was a little more reserved but her eyes were twinkling when she asked, “Are you sure? I mean, are you certain it isn’t some kind of trick?” They had seen so much, she didn’t want to get pulled into a trap.
Piper looked her in the eye and said, “I am positive and you will be too. There is so much more, but we really need to wait until Chris is up to tell us everything. He understands this so much better than we do and really it is a lot to take in. I just wanted you two to know about him being our son.” Piper paused and looked at Leo before saying, “He wasn’t going to tell us. Apparently this has all happened before and if we don’t fix it, it will happen again.” She had tears in her eyes as she finished the sentence.
Leo squeezed her hand and said, “We’ll fix it this time.” He looked around the room at his sisters-in-law and said, “We really should wait to hear it from Chris.”
Leo was interrupted by crying coming through the baby monitor. Piper gave her husband an understanding smile as she stood to go to get Wyatt. They had placed a baby monitor in the room just in case Wyatt woke up they could get to him quickly. Before Piper could take a step towards the stairs they heard another voice on the monitor.
“Hey, Wy, did you wake up?” came the soft voice of their newfound son, Chris. They heard the rustling of sheets and assumed that Chris was picking the little boy up.
Piper stared at her family, unsure of what to do. Should she go and get Wyatt? As she stood they heard more, “It’s ok buddy, you’re fine. Mommy’s downstairs. Why don’t we just sit here and talk for a few minutes and then we can go back to sleep, huh?”
Piper sat back down on the sofa and stared at the monitor. She knew she should turn it off and not eavesdrop on her children but she just wasn’t able to make herself. Her sisters and husband sat with baited breath themselves waiting for more information from their newest visitor. They weren’t disappointed.
“So I guess I get to return the favor now. It only makes sense that since you were the one to raise me that the least I could do is come to comfort you.” They heard the soft swaying of the rocking chair swishing back and forth.
Piper turned to look at her family, what did the boy mean Wyatt raised him? She had read that she left them with her dad! Her sisters and Leo seemed to share her concern as they all stared back at the monitor.
Chris was upstairs with Wyatt. Chris had sensed his distress before the toddler cried out. Now he was sitting in the rocking chair just talking to the one year old like it was the most natural thing in the world. It had been a long time since he could really talk to someone; actually he never discussed this with anyone. He petted the little boy’s hair as he continued, “I don’t know how exactly this all happened. In a little over a year from now I am going to be born. It’s hard to believe that you were ever this young; for as long as I can remember you have always been more of a dad then a big brother.”
Chris paused and looked up towards the door. He had no intention upon explaining to his parents the way he was raised. It seems they were still busy downstairs. He thought he would spend a few more minutes with his big brother. “I guess if Mom and Leo had stayed together then we would have had a normal sibling relationship. I wonder what that would have been like? Maybe we will find out, maybe this time when we fix everything so you and mini me will get a real family.” He glanced up towards the door again. He wasn’t sure why he kept checking. He could sense that his family was downstairs. He just had the feeling that he was being listened to. He kissed Wyatt on the head and took the now sleeping toddler back to his bed. He whispered, “Goodnight Big Brother.” And he slipped back into his room and laid back down.
Downstairs the family was just sitting staring at each other. Piper pushed her emotions to the side for the moment. She needed to really think over what had just been said. She looked to each sister and then to her husband before saying, “And on that note, I think we should all go get some sleep. We need to hear the rest of this story.” She looked up towards the stairs before saying quietly, “But I really don’t think he ever meant for us to know that part. Let’s follow his lead tomorrow. Maybe all of this will make more sense once we get some rest.”
The group began to disperse, all of them thinking along the same lines. What had happened in this future and how were they going to stop it. Paige pulled Piper back and gave her a quick hug saying, “Congratulations, Mommy.” They both giggled as they headed towards the stairs.
Piper and Leo detoured from path that would take them to their own room and walked to where Chris was. Piper slowly opened the door and walked into the room. She leaned down and kissed her son on the forehead. When she stepped back she watched as Leo pulled the covers up higher on to Chris’s shoulders before laying his hand there just for a second longer. The two looked at each other for a moment before leaving the room.
Chris smiled as he felt the light kiss and strong hand on his shoulder. Maybe this was going to work out after all. He snuggled back down into his covers feeling really glad his mom in the future had spilled his little secret. She was right. It was going to be easier with them knowing he was their son.
CHARMED - CHARMED - CHARMED
Piper checked on the sleeping Wyatt and covered him up again. She quietly walked over, shut the door, then went to the baby monitor and turned that off too. She got into bed with Leo and stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning on her side, propped her head on her hand and looked at Leo.
Leo was already waiting for her. He was still upset about what he heard. He thought he would bring up the little fact he caught before she could start with what was bothering her. “Did you notice he called you Mom but called me Leo?”
Piper paused and quickly rewound the conversation in her head. She hadn’t caught that. She wasn’t surprised that Leo did though. It had to be hard on him. He was such a great dad with Wyatt and now to find out he just leaves his children. Well, one he never even knew about. All she could say was, “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
Leo took his wife’s free hand and said, “No. None of this is about blame anymore. They did it, not us. We aren’t going to make those mistakes.”
Piper gave his hand a squeeze and said, “You’re right. I need to stop thinking about it like that. It’s just…”
Leo gave her and understanding gaze, “I know… It’s just hard.”
Piper pushed herself up higher and said, “But did you hear him? He said Wyatt was the one that raised him.”
Leo copied the movement and tried to fight the shame at hearing that Wyatt was a better dad than he was as he said, “Yeah.”
She was sitting upright now as she thought out loud, “Think about it though. How could a kid that was less than three years older raise his sibling?”
Leo thought for a moment and said, “Maybe there are more years between them?”
She shook her head saying, “No, he said in a little more than a year. Besides, we know he gets conceived on Wyatt’s second birthday.” She broke off and blushed a little.
Leo reached up and brushed her cheek. This was such an odd conversation. Who would have thought they would ever meet their unborn child after he had already grown up. He looked down with shame again. After he grew up without you, that is.
He was still thinking when Piper said, “But really think about it. How did that happen? I know that Prue tried to boss me and Phoebe around but it didn’t work. I know I told her on more than one occasion that she wasn’t my mother and that I didn’t have to listen to her.”
“Yeah,” Leo said, “But Grams was there.”
Piper continued, undeterred, “But you see, so was Dad, my dad was there with them. I was thinking, for him to listen to Wyatt as a father figure, Wyatt must have always been a father figure. That must be the reason; he must have been acting as a dad his entire life. I bet when they were little that the family thought it was cute. Somewhere it went from cute to very paternal. But why…”
Leo looked up at her suddenly as the thought struck him, “How did big Chris die?” He had a feeling he was on to something here. “The big Chris when this Chris was about to be born.”
Piper got up and retrieved the most recent diary and flipped to that part. It didn’t go into great detail but, “Well, it says that I went into labor and Wyatt orbed to Chris. Gideon killed Chris… Oh God, Leo, Wyatt watched that.”
Leo’s stomach turned at the thought of his friend and mentor being able to kill a child, his child. His thoughts immediately went to Wyatt as Piper cried out her last sentence. “And he wasn’t able to save him. Piper, I think that Wyatt has been trying to protect Chris since before Chris was even born. The other diary said that Wyatt didn’t think he was evil, just that he wanted power, power to protect his family. I think Wyatt has been acting out his planned protection much earlier than anyone else saw.”
Piper was following him and said, “Somewhere back when all this started, Wyatt wasn’t able to protect someone he loved. This trigger was just the last straw. It never needed to be me that died. It just had to be something to show Wyatt that he couldn’t protect his family.” Piper blinked away some tears. She gave up her boys in the future for nothing. How could she be so wrong? She could tell by the diary that future Piper felt it was the only way. That Piper honestly thought that if she left, she could change Wyatt’s fate. How could she have been so arrogant; thinking that the world revolved around her? She really hated herself at that moment. She was broken from her thoughts when Leo added his.
“I think you are right. I think this time we need to make sure that we prove to Wyatt that we can protect this family. It isn’t his job, at least not yet.” Leo smiled with that.
Piper smiled back. Leo was right, now they had to decide, as a family, what course of action to take. She mentally shook her head again, that was the problem with future Piper. Piper voiced her feelings, “I think I see why Piper left. I get that she thought it was the only way. The thing I don’t understand is why she felt it was necessary to do everything on her own.”
Leo took the diary that Piper had brought over and flipped to the front. He read and skimmed a bit before saying, “I think I know why.”
Piper looked at him questioningly.
Leo smiled, “Do you remember when you were pregnant with Wyatt and your powers were all over the place?”
Piper chuckled, “Yeah, that little terror was expressing his powers even in the womb.” She paused in thought and then said, “Remember when he switched us and you were pregnant for a little bit of time.” They both laughed at the memory.
Leo then said, “This is what I was talking about. With Wyatt being so powerful you felt his magic. Now seeing Chris and reading a bit about his personality.” He paused as he thought about the diary he read. “Did you know,” he began, “That in that first diary they never even knew who Chris was.” He paused as he tried to force out the painful words, “He died trying to save Wyatt and they never knew he was their son.”
Piper looked angry; she hadn’t read that diary, “What do you mean they never found out? They named the baby Chris! Why would they do that?”
Leo looked down with unshed tears in his eyes, “To honor the whitelighter. They named the baby Christopher Perry Halliwell. It wasn’t until later that they even realized that he was growing up to become that same whitelighter from the future. How stupid could they be? Who else would come across time to save a dictator instead of just getting rid of him?” He sadly shook his head, “Of course he was family.”
Piper had tears in her own eyes. How long would they have treated Chris as an outsider if they hadn’t been told? Piper blinked back the tears again, “We will change that! He won’t be Christopher Perry anymore.” A tear leaked down her face, “He won’t be Christopher Perry ever again.”
Leo took her hand and squeezed it before saying, “That is what I am saying. That baby WAS Christopher Perry. Even in the womb that Piper felt the strength of his character, his single minded determination to save the world by saving his big brother. He was so determined that he had to do this all on his own that he died without us by his side.” Leo felt even stronger about what he said as he said the next words, “I am betting that that Piper felt the same way. She acted as if she was the only one that could make a difference. We both know you would do anything for Wyatt. Now we know that it means loving him enough to leave. And that you feel that same love for Chris.”
Piper was shaking her head, “But she was wrong! Besides, even if you are right, she left them after he was born.”
Leo only smiled sadly, “You had already made up your mind. Your innate stubbornness had already kicked in.”
Piper processed what he was saying. He was right; once she made up her mind it was pretty hard to convince her otherwise. She drew in a deep breath and laid back down on the bed. Leo followed suit and they were both laying on their sides facing the other again.
Piper said quietly, “Well, not this time.”
Leo smiled and leaned forward chastely kissing her on the lips before saying, “No, not this time.”
Piper rolled over and Leo spooned up behind her, holding her in a loving embrace before they both fell to sleep.
TBC
Chapter 18
A/N: This story is revolving around some key elements. One of those is how overprotective Wyatt is towards Chris. Although big Wyatt might not remember why, he still knows he has to do everything within his power to protect the people he loves or he will watch them die. Quite a burden for a little boy…
Chapter 17
The Diaries
Piper and Leo sat on the couch each one had a diary in their hands. Piper had opted to take the diary from Chris’s time. She had to understand why she left her babies. She just couldn’t comprehend how her future self thought that leaving her two sons would do anything but harm. The diary started out the day she came back from the future with the other diary. Piper giggled at the way the whitelighter Chris was forced to say who he was. It was definitely like her to do something like that. She didn’t think she would ever take kindly to liars.
Piper paused at the part where her future self decided not to tell Leo about his son. She never mentioned Chris to her husband at all. How could she do that to Leo or Chris? She looked over at her husband and tears filled her eyes. What had happened that was so bad she felt hiding the truth about their second child would be a better plan than telling him.
Leo felt the gaze from Piper, “What?” he asked softly.
Piper raised her hand and carded her fingers through Leo’s hair saying, “I don’t know how I ever let you go.”
Leo smiled at her and took her hand into his and said, “You will never have to know. I am never going to leave you. You, Wyatt,” he paused and then said, “And Chris are my life. I cannot live without you. I will not live without any of you. Whatever their choices were, they won’t be ours.” He held her hand tightly and raised it to his heart. “I promised to love you for forever, Piper. I cannot imagine what would have made us lose sight of that. But I am telling you, right now, that is not going to be our future.”
Piper leaned forward allowing the tears to fall freely as she kissed Leo. She put her arms around him and held him tight. She whispered to him, “I was born to love you and I always will.” They both leaned away from the embrace and looked each other in the eye.
Leo raised his hand to her cheek and said, “We are in this together. I won’t let anyone, not even you, push me away.”
Piper leaned into his hand and said, “You better not. Don’t even let me try. I love you and you are right, we will figure this out the way we always have, as a family.” The two smiled at each other for a long moment before the opening of the front door startled them out of their own little world.
Phoebe entered the living room and began talking, “Oh, hey you two. I didn’t expect to see you guys.” She didn’t stop as she removed her coat, “You wouldn’t believe what a waste of time that date was, apparently there was some kind of emergency…” Phoebe paused her tirade. Something was going on and now that she was paying attention it was obvious that it was important. “Piper…” She began when the sound of orbs filled the room.
Paige appeared at the foot of the stairs and looked at Phoebe and then turned to look at Leo and Piper. Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and she asked, “Okay, what am I missing here?”
Piper was the first to speak, “This is important, why don’t you both come over here and sit down. Leo and I have some very interesting news.”
Phoebe and Paige exchanged glances and then did as their sister had asked of them. Once everyone was seated it was Piper again that began, “So, do you remember that whitelighter from the future?”
Paige shot a glance to Phoebe, wondering where this was going. Not getting a response Paige said, “Yeah, he saved Evangeline.”
Phoebe asked, “Does this have something to do with the letter he gave you; because if you trust him then I trust him.”
Paige stared at her siblings in turn. She hadn’t heard of any letter, “Wait, what letter?”
Piper wasn’t ready to share the note with Paige. She didn’t want to hurt her baby sister’s feelings with the way she was able to convince herself that it was really her. Piper said, “The whitelighter, Chris, gave Leo and I each a letter from me written in the future.”
Paige wasn’t ready to buy the information but if Piper was sure then she was going to trust her big sister. “Okay…” Paige said trailing off as to encourage Piper to continue.
Piper didn’t disappoint. “There is more,” Piper said as she looked to Leo. “First, I know this is true, I am as sure of it as I am of anything.” She paused again and looked to Leo.
Leo took her hand in his, drew in a deep breath and said, “That whitelighter from the future…” he paused. Then he looked each sister in the eye so they knew he was serious and said, “Is our son, mine and Pipers. Wyatt’s little brother.”
The tension in the room could be cut with a knife before Phoebe started to bounce, “Really? We have another nephew?” She hopped to her feet and lunged at Piper dragging her into a hug. Pipers arms readily went around her sister and a big smile crossed her features. Piper was afraid they wouldn’t be supportive, she should have known better.
Paige was a little more reserved but her eyes were twinkling when she asked, “Are you sure? I mean, are you certain it isn’t some kind of trick?” They had seen so much, she didn’t want to get pulled into a trap.
Piper looked her in the eye and said, “I am positive and you will be too. There is so much more, but we really need to wait until Chris is up to tell us everything. He understands this so much better than we do and really it is a lot to take in. I just wanted you two to know about him being our son.” Piper paused and looked at Leo before saying, “He wasn’t going to tell us. Apparently this has all happened before and if we don’t fix it, it will happen again.” She had tears in her eyes as she finished the sentence.
Leo squeezed her hand and said, “We’ll fix it this time.” He looked around the room at his sisters-in-law and said, “We really should wait to hear it from Chris.”
Leo was interrupted by crying coming through the baby monitor. Piper gave her husband an understanding smile as she stood to go to get Wyatt. They had placed a baby monitor in the room just in case Wyatt woke up they could get to him quickly. Before Piper could take a step towards the stairs they heard another voice on the monitor.
“Hey, Wy, did you wake up?” came the soft voice of their newfound son, Chris. They heard the rustling of sheets and assumed that Chris was picking the little boy up.
Piper stared at her family, unsure of what to do. Should she go and get Wyatt? As she stood they heard more, “It’s ok buddy, you’re fine. Mommy’s downstairs. Why don’t we just sit here and talk for a few minutes and then we can go back to sleep, huh?”
Piper sat back down on the sofa and stared at the monitor. She knew she should turn it off and not eavesdrop on her children but she just wasn’t able to make herself. Her sisters and husband sat with baited breath themselves waiting for more information from their newest visitor. They weren’t disappointed.
“So I guess I get to return the favor now. It only makes sense that since you were the one to raise me that the least I could do is come to comfort you.” They heard the soft swaying of the rocking chair swishing back and forth.
Piper turned to look at her family, what did the boy mean Wyatt raised him? She had read that she left them with her dad! Her sisters and Leo seemed to share her concern as they all stared back at the monitor.
Chris was upstairs with Wyatt. Chris had sensed his distress before the toddler cried out. Now he was sitting in the rocking chair just talking to the one year old like it was the most natural thing in the world. It had been a long time since he could really talk to someone; actually he never discussed this with anyone. He petted the little boy’s hair as he continued, “I don’t know how exactly this all happened. In a little over a year from now I am going to be born. It’s hard to believe that you were ever this young; for as long as I can remember you have always been more of a dad then a big brother.”
Chris paused and looked up towards the door. He had no intention upon explaining to his parents the way he was raised. It seems they were still busy downstairs. He thought he would spend a few more minutes with his big brother. “I guess if Mom and Leo had stayed together then we would have had a normal sibling relationship. I wonder what that would have been like? Maybe we will find out, maybe this time when we fix everything so you and mini me will get a real family.” He glanced up towards the door again. He wasn’t sure why he kept checking. He could sense that his family was downstairs. He just had the feeling that he was being listened to. He kissed Wyatt on the head and took the now sleeping toddler back to his bed. He whispered, “Goodnight Big Brother.” And he slipped back into his room and laid back down.
Downstairs the family was just sitting staring at each other. Piper pushed her emotions to the side for the moment. She needed to really think over what had just been said. She looked to each sister and then to her husband before saying, “And on that note, I think we should all go get some sleep. We need to hear the rest of this story.” She looked up towards the stairs before saying quietly, “But I really don’t think he ever meant for us to know that part. Let’s follow his lead tomorrow. Maybe all of this will make more sense once we get some rest.”
The group began to disperse, all of them thinking along the same lines. What had happened in this future and how were they going to stop it. Paige pulled Piper back and gave her a quick hug saying, “Congratulations, Mommy.” They both giggled as they headed towards the stairs.
Piper and Leo detoured from path that would take them to their own room and walked to where Chris was. Piper slowly opened the door and walked into the room. She leaned down and kissed her son on the forehead. When she stepped back she watched as Leo pulled the covers up higher on to Chris’s shoulders before laying his hand there just for a second longer. The two looked at each other for a moment before leaving the room.
Chris smiled as he felt the light kiss and strong hand on his shoulder. Maybe this was going to work out after all. He snuggled back down into his covers feeling really glad his mom in the future had spilled his little secret. She was right. It was going to be easier with them knowing he was their son.
CHARMED - CHARMED - CHARMED
Piper checked on the sleeping Wyatt and covered him up again. She quietly walked over, shut the door, then went to the baby monitor and turned that off too. She got into bed with Leo and stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning on her side, propped her head on her hand and looked at Leo.
Leo was already waiting for her. He was still upset about what he heard. He thought he would bring up the little fact he caught before she could start with what was bothering her. “Did you notice he called you Mom but called me Leo?”
Piper paused and quickly rewound the conversation in her head. She hadn’t caught that. She wasn’t surprised that Leo did though. It had to be hard on him. He was such a great dad with Wyatt and now to find out he just leaves his children. Well, one he never even knew about. All she could say was, “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
Leo took his wife’s free hand and said, “No. None of this is about blame anymore. They did it, not us. We aren’t going to make those mistakes.”
Piper gave his hand a squeeze and said, “You’re right. I need to stop thinking about it like that. It’s just…”
Leo gave her and understanding gaze, “I know… It’s just hard.”
Piper pushed herself up higher and said, “But did you hear him? He said Wyatt was the one that raised him.”
Leo copied the movement and tried to fight the shame at hearing that Wyatt was a better dad than he was as he said, “Yeah.”
She was sitting upright now as she thought out loud, “Think about it though. How could a kid that was less than three years older raise his sibling?”
Leo thought for a moment and said, “Maybe there are more years between them?”
She shook her head saying, “No, he said in a little more than a year. Besides, we know he gets conceived on Wyatt’s second birthday.” She broke off and blushed a little.
Leo reached up and brushed her cheek. This was such an odd conversation. Who would have thought they would ever meet their unborn child after he had already grown up. He looked down with shame again. After he grew up without you, that is.
He was still thinking when Piper said, “But really think about it. How did that happen? I know that Prue tried to boss me and Phoebe around but it didn’t work. I know I told her on more than one occasion that she wasn’t my mother and that I didn’t have to listen to her.”
“Yeah,” Leo said, “But Grams was there.”
Piper continued, undeterred, “But you see, so was Dad, my dad was there with them. I was thinking, for him to listen to Wyatt as a father figure, Wyatt must have always been a father figure. That must be the reason; he must have been acting as a dad his entire life. I bet when they were little that the family thought it was cute. Somewhere it went from cute to very paternal. But why…”
Leo looked up at her suddenly as the thought struck him, “How did big Chris die?” He had a feeling he was on to something here. “The big Chris when this Chris was about to be born.”
Piper got up and retrieved the most recent diary and flipped to that part. It didn’t go into great detail but, “Well, it says that I went into labor and Wyatt orbed to Chris. Gideon killed Chris… Oh God, Leo, Wyatt watched that.”
Leo’s stomach turned at the thought of his friend and mentor being able to kill a child, his child. His thoughts immediately went to Wyatt as Piper cried out her last sentence. “And he wasn’t able to save him. Piper, I think that Wyatt has been trying to protect Chris since before Chris was even born. The other diary said that Wyatt didn’t think he was evil, just that he wanted power, power to protect his family. I think Wyatt has been acting out his planned protection much earlier than anyone else saw.”
Piper was following him and said, “Somewhere back when all this started, Wyatt wasn’t able to protect someone he loved. This trigger was just the last straw. It never needed to be me that died. It just had to be something to show Wyatt that he couldn’t protect his family.” Piper blinked away some tears. She gave up her boys in the future for nothing. How could she be so wrong? She could tell by the diary that future Piper felt it was the only way. That Piper honestly thought that if she left, she could change Wyatt’s fate. How could she have been so arrogant; thinking that the world revolved around her? She really hated herself at that moment. She was broken from her thoughts when Leo added his.
“I think you are right. I think this time we need to make sure that we prove to Wyatt that we can protect this family. It isn’t his job, at least not yet.” Leo smiled with that.
Piper smiled back. Leo was right, now they had to decide, as a family, what course of action to take. She mentally shook her head again, that was the problem with future Piper. Piper voiced her feelings, “I think I see why Piper left. I get that she thought it was the only way. The thing I don’t understand is why she felt it was necessary to do everything on her own.”
Leo took the diary that Piper had brought over and flipped to the front. He read and skimmed a bit before saying, “I think I know why.”
Piper looked at him questioningly.
Leo smiled, “Do you remember when you were pregnant with Wyatt and your powers were all over the place?”
Piper chuckled, “Yeah, that little terror was expressing his powers even in the womb.” She paused in thought and then said, “Remember when he switched us and you were pregnant for a little bit of time.” They both laughed at the memory.
Leo then said, “This is what I was talking about. With Wyatt being so powerful you felt his magic. Now seeing Chris and reading a bit about his personality.” He paused as he thought about the diary he read. “Did you know,” he began, “That in that first diary they never even knew who Chris was.” He paused as he tried to force out the painful words, “He died trying to save Wyatt and they never knew he was their son.”
Piper looked angry; she hadn’t read that diary, “What do you mean they never found out? They named the baby Chris! Why would they do that?”
Leo looked down with unshed tears in his eyes, “To honor the whitelighter. They named the baby Christopher Perry Halliwell. It wasn’t until later that they even realized that he was growing up to become that same whitelighter from the future. How stupid could they be? Who else would come across time to save a dictator instead of just getting rid of him?” He sadly shook his head, “Of course he was family.”
Piper had tears in her own eyes. How long would they have treated Chris as an outsider if they hadn’t been told? Piper blinked back the tears again, “We will change that! He won’t be Christopher Perry anymore.” A tear leaked down her face, “He won’t be Christopher Perry ever again.”
Leo took her hand and squeezed it before saying, “That is what I am saying. That baby WAS Christopher Perry. Even in the womb that Piper felt the strength of his character, his single minded determination to save the world by saving his big brother. He was so determined that he had to do this all on his own that he died without us by his side.” Leo felt even stronger about what he said as he said the next words, “I am betting that that Piper felt the same way. She acted as if she was the only one that could make a difference. We both know you would do anything for Wyatt. Now we know that it means loving him enough to leave. And that you feel that same love for Chris.”
Piper was shaking her head, “But she was wrong! Besides, even if you are right, she left them after he was born.”
Leo only smiled sadly, “You had already made up your mind. Your innate stubbornness had already kicked in.”
Piper processed what he was saying. He was right; once she made up her mind it was pretty hard to convince her otherwise. She drew in a deep breath and laid back down on the bed. Leo followed suit and they were both laying on their sides facing the other again.
Piper said quietly, “Well, not this time.”
Leo smiled and leaned forward chastely kissing her on the lips before saying, “No, not this time.”
Piper rolled over and Leo spooned up behind her, holding her in a loving embrace before they both fell to sleep.
TBC
Chapter 18
A/N: This story is revolving around some key elements. One of those is how overprotective Wyatt is towards Chris. Although big Wyatt might not remember why, he still knows he has to do everything within his power to protect the people he loves or he will watch them die. Quite a burden for a little boy…