Charmed Fic: Made Weak by Time and Fate: Chapter One

[jesterladyfic]

Title: Made Weak by Time and Fate
By Jesterlady
Pairing: Leo/Piper, Paige/Richard
Rating: PG-13
Summary: When Leo is made an Elder he makes the choice to stay on Earth with Piper and together they have to face the pressures that creates on their marriage, their family, and their lives as protectors of the innocent.
This is an AU of S6. Personally, I felt that it was a stupid plot device and very OOC when they had Leo made an Elder and he left Piper. I think they still could have created an interesting and dynamic version of S6 without breaking apart their marriage. This is what I have attempted to do here.
Because of that there are a few things I want to say about the story. This very closely follows the canon S6 so I assume everyone is familiar with it. I focused mainly on the episodes that drove the plot so there are a lot of filler episodes here that you are free to assume happened as they did in canon except where they directly contradict the changes I've made. An exception to that would be Valhalley of the Dolls, I have pretty much cut those episodes out because the changes I made pretty much make them redundant.
Because I wrote this for the Het Big Bang, it focuses mainly on Piper and Leo and their relationship/family unit. Phoebe and Paige are very involved, but their characters arcs are much smaller and not as detailed. Concerning them there are two things to note. One is that I've written Jason out of the story. You can pretty much assume things happened exactly as they did in the show or not as you like. I don't have anything against him, but I didn't really like him, and I felt like his part of the show was pretty bland. Two is that I have kept the Paige/Richard relationship because while I love Henry, this story is about S6 and I didn't feel like their relationship was given a chance to develop at all and I do not like plots that quantify magic with addiction.
Written for the het_bigbang 2013 challenge.
Many thanks to my beta exmanhater and to my artist sexycazzy whose amazing work should be given accolades here
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. A lot of dialogue is from the show. The title is from Alfred Lord Tennyson.


Chapter One

Timing was everything. If there’s one thing he’d actually learned it was that. He’d have to make sure that he arrived just in time to stop the worst from happening, but still let awful things happen. That was his job and he hated his fate for letting it fall to him.

The big house was quiet for once. There was a distinct lack of babies crying or demons smashing things. Piper was content despite the sticky heat clinging to her skin. She drank ice tea, bantered with her sisters, and looked forward to her afternoon with her family.

Still, Paige’s behavior was a little worrisome. Her dreams and desire to figure out what was going on probably meant Piper's break from life as a witch was about to be over.

After Paige left the room Phoebe looked at Piper questioningly.

“Should we be worried?”

“I don't think so. But I just wish she'd stop looking for trouble, cause with our luck, she's gonna find it,” Piper replied.

Piper tried not to let it worry her as she got ready, but Paige’s words kept running through the back of her mind. She knew she was letting her natural anxiety start to ramp up without reason but she figured it wouldn’t be natural otherwise, right? Her therapist had been trying to work with her on that, to work on just letting things be. Too bad her therapist wasn’t aware of the forces of darkness that continually smashed her living room into pieces. Maybe she would get a little bit more concern then.

Piper shook her head. She was being ridiculous. Everything was fine. True, there would always be another demon attack, but so long as the demons were few and far between and didn’t fall in love with her sister while they were at it, Piper was going to handle it. She could handle anything so long as her family was okay.

She met Leo and Wyatt at the park and, as they settled in for a long afternoon, Piper started to lose the feeling of worry that had begun to invade her previous good mood. She watched Darryl interact with his son as Leo put his arms around her and she let the happiness in.

“Let me guess. First time the baby slept all night, huh?” asked Sheila, bringing more burgers to Darryl for the barbeque.

“How'd you know?” Piper asked.

Darryl laughed the laugh of all knowing parenthood.

“First few months after my kid was born were rough, you know. No sleep, no time for each other.”

“Sounds familiar,” Leo said and Piper could practically see him adding in all the other bits of stress like demons attacking and Whitelighter duties into the mix.

“Yeah, but right about three, four months, things started to level off. Get really good again,” Sheila said, kneeling down to Wyatt’s stroller.

“Till he hits two,” Darryl said, getting a swat from Sheila for his pains.

“Oh, don't scare them.”

Piper laughed and relaxed again into her husband’s arms. It was going to be a good afternoon, she decided.

Leo started and looked into the distance. Piper knew that look - she hated that look. It meant he was going to say those four magic words.

“I have to go.”

Yup, there they were and there went her whole afternoon. She knew she was being unreasonable - it wasn’t like witches and Whitelighters got days off - but she’d been counting on this time today.

“But we just got here.”

“I know, baby, but it's the Elders. I'm sorry, but it sounds urgent.”

Piper swallowed back an angry retort and pulled on all their counseling to make her reply.

“Okay, well, then I need to express to you that this is going to make me feel a little abandoned.”

“All right, well, I understand. I acknowledge your feelings and I want to let you know that I love you, even though I have to go.”

Even all of Darryl’s and Sheila’s reassurances that the tools of counseling worked didn’t make Piper feel any better. Especially when Leo just sat next to her looking like a puppy being denied a walk outside.

“Fine, go.” She caught herself. “I mean, thank you for considering my feelings and I love you and I will see you later at home.”

All of her anxiety was coming back full force and she wanted to throw a tantrum. But, sometimes it felt like all she’d done for the last five years was throw tantrums about the abnormal aspects of her life. Maybe if she saved her energy she wouldn’t be so upset all the time. Shaking her head at her own personality, Piper gave in to the idea of an afternoon alone. She’d accepted her life as a witch - at least, most of the time; she’d just have to deal with the fact that her husband had a job too. And his was directly related to hers and he probably got called so often because he was the Charmed Ones’ Whitelighter. So, there was that.

Yeah, still didn’t make her feel any better.

***

It hurt. He hadn’t really thought it would hurt. His hand burned where she’d touched him. Somehow this was different than all the other spells, all the other magic. And it was more important. He smirked. The fate of the world and all that.

Leo was having a rather busy day. He’d been to the mall and the park and the Elders and back home only to find Paige and Phoebe freaking out about an excursion to the Arctic to investigate the rather unnatural earthquakes they'd been having. That, coupled with the news of the missing Whitelighter, made his natural instincts really start to go haywire. But he forced himself to calm down when Piper asked him to.

The last thing she ever wanted to do was put their lives on hold for possible Charmed Ones stuff. Sometimes that meant they didn’t get to things in time, but other times it meant that they didn’t rush into traps. He just hoped this was one of the latter times. Maybe it wasn’t wise, but he allowed himself to put aside what he would do as a Whitelighter and listen as a husband would. Still, he was glad when they decided it would be a good idea to warn the Elders about letting Whitelighters orb.

But when he got back Up There everything was very different than it had been before. And he had only just left.

Feelings about Leo among the Elders generally fell into two different camps: those who resented him and his position of privilege and the fact that he’d fallen in love with a mortal, and those who thought he was doing a good job with what he had and brought a new way of thinking into the stodginess of tradition.

It made things rather difficult for him. He was a pretty patient guy - he had to be in his line of work and with his family - but it still hurt that half of what had always been his family disapproved of him. It also didn’t help when he was trying to get or give information about life and death situations. Luckily, today Cecil was there. Cecil was always sensible and always reasonable and had known Leo his entire Whitelighter existence.

“You think she foresaw these earthquakes?” he asked, when Leo told them about Paige’s dreams.

“Yes.”

“That's not her power,” Roland said scornfully.

“It's not a power; it's more of an instinct.”

“An instinct? That's what you're basing this on?”

Let them rail on him all they wanted, but Leo didn’t put up with people who doubted the Charmed Ones.

“Well, it hasn't let her down so far, has it? Look, excuse me, but I've just learned to rely on her instincts. All of their instincts.”

Cecil defused the situation and they agreed to Leo’s suggestion of grounding the Whitelighters.

Something in his tone caused Leo to pause.

“You're worried, aren't you?”

Cecil smiled and Leo felt better.

“You know me better than that. At the end of the day, even we can't change what's meant to be. Just remember, no matter what happens, you must always follow your instincts too.”

Leo let that sink in because sometimes it felt like the Elders were too indolent, not taking action when they could do things. At others it felt like all that they did do was underappreciated. Perhaps it was a reflection on Leo’s own position in life. He was a powerful being and a force for good, but he was restricted. He was there to advise the girls, but in the end they made the decisions and they didn’t always listen to him. He’d learned to respect that and sometimes he’d been wrong, anyway. Perhaps it was just a give and take situation like most of life. Nobody was always right. Still, he wondered if Cecil knew something Leo didn’t. Maybe Leo was meant to take a more active role in this situation than he normally did.

Either way, he’d better hurry back. He was going to be late for his counseling session with Piper and her reaction was not something he was looking forward to.

“I was starting to get worried about you,” she said.

“I know, I know. I came as fast as I could.”

“Well, what happened? What took so long?”

“I don't know. They don't know. But we can talk about it later. Right now our first priority is us.”

“That's a good answer cause I don't think there's enough tools in the box to handle being stood up at the shrink.” He smiled at her and took her hand. And then…they called. “No way. Are you kidding me?” she said, obviously reading the signs on his face.

“It sounds important,” he said apologetically.

Leo had been human once, but he’d never really been married before. This was his first time dealing with things like this. He knew it had been really hard for Piper to accept that they needed help with such a mundane thing as their marriage in the first place. It was like she thought that since they’d made it through the ridiculous supernatural barriers put up against them that the normal life married couple bit should be easy.

Personally he thought it was the hardest part. Right now he tried to use the tools and acknowledge her pain but she’d gone beyond that.

“I'm just scared,” she said.

“I told you it was safe orbing up there.”

“No, not about that. I'm just…scared that every time something good happens, every time I actually think we can have a normal life together, something goes wrong.”

His face softened and he ignored the jangling.

“Look, I can’t change who we are,” he said. “I wish I could sometimes. But right now both of us have work to do. Something is going on and we have to stop it. But that doesn’t mean that you’re not the most important thing in the world to me.”

“It’s what’s out of the world that bothers me,” she said.

They called, an urgent distress call, making his head hurt.

“Piper, I have to go,” he said.

“I know. And I know that it's not your fault. It's just the way that it is.”

He hated how unhappy she sounded.

“I love you.”

It would have to be enough for now.

***

He was good. He’d give himself that. He might have been stunted in some areas, but nobody could ever say he didn’t have an impeccable sense of timing. Now was where the fun began. God help him if he slipped up.

Piper walked into the attic and stopped in horror. Was that? Yup, her baby sister had completely turned into stone. And some random guy was in their attic, giving her information like he belonged there.

“Who are you?” Piper asked, not really in the mood for shenanigans.

“That's Chris. He's from the future,” Phoebe supplied helpfully.

“Yeah, but just like twenty years or so,” he said, like that was somehow supposed to be better.

"Uh huh," said Piper, processing madly.

Whoever he was, he was a bit hostile. As if somehow orbing in gave him the right to interfere with their lives. Just like every other goody two-shoes who’d tried to run her destiny. Still, what he said next stopped her in her tracks.

“Look, where I come from, history shows Paige didn't get turned into stone on this day...she died. And with her death the power of three died too, allowing Titans to rule and create a world you don't wanna see, trust me. I'm here to alter history. To help you save the future.”

“Who sent you?” asked Phoebe.

“I can't answer that.”

“Why not?” asked Phoebe.

“Because anything I tell you could risk changing the future in ways we don't want.”

Oh great, a bunch of future Elders telling her what to do. Just perfect. Like she didn’t have enough problems with the present group. Still, if another Whitelighter was missing then…

“Leo! Leo!” Piper called.

There was something very satisfactory about knowing her husband literally couldn’t miss her calls. Leo orbed in with more bad news.

"So there's another Whitelighter missing-" he began and then stopped when he noticed Chris. "Who's this?"

Piper watched with interest the way Chris looked at Leo and almost visibly recoiled like a cat with all its fur standing up at the sight of a dog.

"Chris is from the future," said Phoebe. "He sort of saved me."

While they went through explanations again, Piper tried to keep her head from exploding. All she'd wanted was a nice, normal afternoon.

But now there were two Whitelighters missing and Mystery Future Chris was acting uppity and, oh joy, there were a bunch of magical creatures running around her house expecting her to magically save them. The original Titans had apparently been woken up and were wreaking havoc on the world, including turning Piper's sister into stone, an elf decided to hire herself as a nanny, and they’d left Future Boy alone with the Book of Shadows. It was just one of those days.

And guess what Chris was doing, fingering the Book with greedy fingers, that’s what.

“What are you doing?” Piper asked.

“What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to find a way to free stone-cold Paige over here,” Chris replied.

“Step away.”

“Please,” he said, but he obliged and stepped away, “like I haven't looked in this before. Obviously you don't trust me, but I touched the book, right? And the book thinks I'm good. Shouldn't you?”

“Well, maybe you found a way around that,” she pointed out.

It had been done before.

“Piper, come on, I'm just trying to help.”

Was it just her or did he hesitate before he said her name? What was with this guy and why was he making all her senses fire up with worry, suspicion, concern? There was something…well, she couldn’t think about that now. She could and she would, but right now she needed to find a way to save Paige, save the Whitelighters, and get back to her life.

Except Chris said the one thing that aroused the fear that Piper always had whenever Leo left the house. And she hated that she had to send him out now, but no matter how much she sometimes hated them, she’d never let anything happen to the Elders. She wouldn’t be one of the good guys otherwise.

She sent Leo away to warn the Elders and then she settled in to wait. She hated that bit. It made her feel like she should install some kind of Whiteligher Widow’s Walk where she could pace while she waited for him. Of course, the trouble was, usually while he was gone she was trying to keep demons from smashing her face. Either way she hated it.

And he kept her waiting. He was gone for a long time - longer than she’d ever known him to keep them waiting. Time was a bit more wonky Up There but Leo tended to keep that in perspective when he went since he knew how much she worried. And he had to know how much she’d be worried now.

Of course, there was someone in her attic who probably knew what was going on.

“All right, what's going on? Leo is not responding to any of my calls and it's been over five hours,” asked Piper.

“I really don't know,” Chris said, shrugging.

“Well, I really think you do.”

“Look, you're the one who wanted him to go up there in the first place, not me.” Piper just looked at him. He caved. “All right, fine, maybe I do know. And if I'm right, he's gonna need some serious alone time.”

Why was he acting like a petulant teenager trying to avoid telling his mom where he’d been last night? She didn’t have time for that.

“You know what? Cut it out with the cryptic crap. You need to go Up There and bring him back now. No more games.”

“Okay, fine, I'll go. But if I were you two, I'd focus on freeing Paige because you're gonna need her. Soon.”

“Isn’t he the most helpful little pain in the ass?” Piper said, then clenched her fingers. “I swear, if he does not come back with Leo, I'm gonna blow that ass back to the future, orbs and all.”

Piper went back downstairs because Phoebe was going into mediator mode and suddenly Piper really missed doing that and being the middle sister. It had been so much easier than being the oldest.

“How did you do it, Prue?” she whispered and sat down next to Wyatt.

At least he looked peaceful.

***

He was doing it for their own good. Wasn’t he? Of course he was. He’d known this would be hard. So he just needed to keep going. And he needed to stop reacting to everyone. His personal feelings didn’t matter. He had a job to do and everything depended on it. He schooled his features into a mask but that didn’t stop the strange mix of pity and satisfaction that filled him. He wanted them to hurt like he’d hurt, but…at the same time, he’d give anything to keep them from ever feeling the pain they were in. And the worst was yet to come.

Leo looked up when he felt the presence of another Whitelighter. He’d been sitting there, numb, in the midst of the carnage of the remains of the Elders, for what felt like days. Sometimes he could dimly feel Piper’s voice on the edge of his consciousness, but he hadn’t really paid attention. He was locked in a fog of pain and nothing penetrated it. He felt like being selfish because this…this was like death.

Still, he looked up when Chris said his name. Chris from the future. Chris who refused to talk about anything. Chris who had let this happen.

“Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let this happen!” Leo wasn’t normally violent but he pushed Chris against the wall and yelled at him and ignored the flicker of surprise on the other man’s face. “Why!”

“Because this had to happen. It had to happen so you could do what has to be done.”

“What are you talking about? They're all dead. Gone.”

“No, not all of them. Some of the Elders escaped back to earth but it won't be long before the Titans hunt them down too. But you can still stop them. You can still defeat the Titans.”

“How?”

“I think you know how,” said Chris.

“It's too dangerous. The Elders forbid it.”

“True,” Chris said, a devious glint in his eye. “But then again, the Elders aren't around to stop you now, are they?” Leo turned away, not wanting to think about it. But Chris kept pushing. Why, why was this so important to him? “That's right, Leo. This is what it's all about. This is why they had to die so you could do something they'd never do. To save a future for your family, for your son.”

Why did it have to be his decision? Why was Chris so definite on that? Why did he point out Leo’s family in particular?

“This is crazy,” Leo said.

“Maybe, but it's our only chance. Like it or not, you've been put in this situation for a reason, Leo. We both have.”

“Says you,” Leo said, his face hardening. “This is all coming from you. I don’t know you; I don’t know your motives. How do I know you're not trying to manipulate the situation for your own future? Just the way you've manipulated everything else.”

“You don't. But what choice do you really have? There's certainly no future unless you do something.”

There was a flaw in the plan, whether Chris saw it or not. Leo simply wasn’t that powerful.

“I don't know. Even if I were to believe you, even if I were willing, I couldn't. I'm no Elder.”

Leo didn’t like the hard smile that Chris suddenly wore.

“Well, you better start acting like one.”

Leo wasn’t happy about it, but the beginnings of a plan were already forming in his mind. Years of being a Whitelighter for the most active witches on the planet had honed his responses, awakened his instincts, and perfected his strategies. And he knew exactly what should be done, even if he didn’t want to be the one to do it.

But he went about doing it anyway and he smiled while he made his choices because he could feel they were the right ones. He idly found himself wondering what he would have chosen for Prue had she been alive. Concentrating his power on the Charmed Ones, he was relieved to see that with the help of the magical community, Piper and Phoebe had managed to free Paige from her stone bindings. Now he had the tools he needed for the job ahead.

Leo was busy for a good long while and he almost forgot that they’d be down there, worrying.

Till Piper called. Again.

“No,” Chris said.

“But she needs me,” Leo said.

“Not as much as the rest of us do.” Again Chris smiled that strange, almost ironic, smile. “You need to stay here, even afterwards, to coordinate.”

“All right. Then you should go otherwise the girls won't understand.”

“Good luck,” said Chris and orbed away.

Leo prepared for the end of everything as he’d known it. He didn’t know exactly what would happen once he started, but he did know that once he started he wouldn’t be able to stop. Everything was riding on his actions. He just hoped Piper would be able to forgive him.

***

He was surprised at how easy it was to manipulate everyone. Wasn’t that the very thing he’d always railed against? Playing with people’s lives? Well, he’d learned from the best. He knew what was best. These people had no idea. And it was too late to back out now. Besides, this is where it got interesting.

Piper had never really been a big fan of mythology. She certainly wasn’t eager to become a goddess herself with all that hedonism and selfishness and lack of…decency. Now here she was dressed in a toga. She was going to kill Leo and Chris once this was over.

Especially since she seemed to be the only one with any sense at the moment. Everyone else, meaning her normally relatively sane sisters, was running around trying to pick up men or destroy them and that smug future kid just threw everything back on her.

“Your role is to provide balance. That's why you feel so grounded and in control.”

“Wow, Chris, that was actually pretty good. You almost sounded like a Whitelighter. Too bad I already have one. And if he would like me to do something, he can come down and tell me himself.” Piper tilted her head toward the roof. “Do you hear that?”

“You want Leo, hmm? Then vanquish the Titans. If you can't do that, you're gonna find out what a world of darkness feels like. My world.”

She didn’t know why but she believed Chris. She believed the conviction in his voice that his world was a dark one and she didn’t want to see it. But she still hadn’t forgiven him for bringing all this upon them and for manipulating the situation as he saw fit. She didn’t take too well to that in general.

Still, it seemed the situation was manipulating her whether she liked it or not. She was the only one with any common sense left and so she had to stop Paige from forming an army of demons and Phoebe from making every last man on Earth her own personal love slave.

And apparently save Elders out roaming around in the open and then get deposited with them like rats into an underground cavern of some kind.

“It's a safe house. Set up by Leo to protect the Elders,” said the Elder they’d saved.

She’d met him before but she really couldn’t be bothered to remember his name at the moment.

“Well, it doesn't look so safe to me. I can see unprotected points of entry all over the place,” said the new goddess of war, otherwise known as Paige.

“Don't worry, the Titans can't sense our location. We're hidden from them by a web of fairy magic. Another of Leo's ideas.”

“Leo did all this?” Piper said in surprise.

He wasn’t really the ‘take initiative’ type.

“I was surprised myself. I'm afraid I was one of the Elders who always sold Leo short. What with him marrying a witch and all. No offense.”

“Offense taken,” Piper said sweetly.

There would always be offense between her and the Elders. Until the day she finally croaked.

“I will never make that mistake again. Without Leo we'd all be dead. He's out there now tracking Elders as we speak, moving them here. We owe Leo everything,” said the Elder.

“I guess so.”

It was a new perspective. Maybe lately Piper had been thinking too much of Leo as just her husband, someone fulfilling her needs as a husband and father. She kept forgetting about all the times he’d saved their lives or knew just the right bit of information, or had the idea that fixed everything.

But she was still pissed off that he wasn’t listening to her right now.

“I'm tired of getting all this information second hand. I would like to hear it from Leo. I need to talk to my husband. I-I appreciate him becoming a magical folk hero for the masses and all, I really do, but enough is enough. Leo!” She literally stamped her foot. “Remember me? Your wife!” A faint jangling sound came from above her. She narrowed her eyes. “Don't you jingle me. I need more than a jingle here, mister. You will get down here right now!”

Nothing. Leo was just gone. That wasn’t like him and Piper suddenly felt very afraid. Her sisters were nuts and her husband was gone, the world was in the balance, and the only person even making a lick of sense was some punk kid from the future.

Grounded and in control? No. She had no control. And she hated that.

When they got back to the house the girls moped on the couch and practiced simulations that always ended in death so Piper went to check on Wyatt.

He really looked like his dad. She knew she was heading into serious self-pity, but she hadn’t had to go without Leo’s guidance in a situation like this for a long time. And she missed him, his steady presence, his warm touch, his comforting voice. She was turning into a mess. She brushed Wyatt’s hair out of his face.

“I know you miss him. I miss him too.”

Of course then Chris had to walk in and start going on about needing help, about the girls falling apart. Though still acting arrogant as hell.

“I thought you needed me,” she said.

“I did. I mean, I do. I need you cause they need you. Actually, they need Leo. Look, will you please just go deal with them?”

Why did he have to act like she existed to solve his problems for him?

“What's the matter, Chris? The all-knowing running out of answers?”

“Yes, yes, I am. If that will motivate you, yes. I'm losing control because I'm watching history repeat itself and nobody's willing to do a thing about it.”

“I feel your frustration.”

She was through having a fit at this point. Right now, she was too calm, too rational. And it made her furious inside.

“Piper, if it helps, I get it, okay? I do, really. You need Leo. Your sisters need Leo. But if you can't stop-"

She interrupted him, ignoring that mocking tone he always used when talking about Leo for some reason.

“You forgot the baby. The baby needs his father too.”

He stopped for a second and she saw pain on his face before he covered it up again.

“Fine. But if you can't stop missing your husband long enough to see the bigger picture-"

“There is no bigger picture than my family.”

If ever a statement summed her up, that was it.

“Well, then pay attention because in the world I grew up in families hardly existed. I never had a chance to know mine.”

She might have lots of hearth and home instincts right now but she wasn’t going to put up with his manipulations any longer.

“Not my fault.”

“Not yet,” Chris said.

“Is that what this is about? You blame us for what happened to you?”

“I just want you to get it right this time.”

He sounded ragged on the last sentence, like a little boy who’d been beaten too many times. But she still couldn’t summon enough compassion to care. She needed Leo and she told Chris so.

***

It was the simplest thing in the world and yet everything was falling apart. He couldn’t stop making mistakes. He couldn’t stop caring. He couldn’t stop revealing too much of himself. Now here he was, putting himself in danger, all for sentiment and emotion - things he couldn’t afford anymore, even if they plagued his every step. He couldn’t help feeling put out; why here, why now, why this family? Why not him? He was important, here and now, not the most important perhaps, but important enough that until his task was done, he needed to keep himself safe. Well, everything had an element of risk to it. Why not spend his time risking his life for people who had never been there for him?

Leo was in danger and he was afraid. He alone didn’t have the power to face the Titans and they were right in front of him. They wouldn’t be put off by his tricks for much longer.

Then Chris surprised him, popping up and making himself the target. Leo swore he’d remember that before orbing home into his bedroom where his wife was.

“You're home.” Piper got off the bed and hugged him so tightly it was hard to breathe. “You heard my calls, right?”

“Of course I did, honey. But I had to make sure the Elders were safe and then I was cornered by the Titans.”

“I'm just thankful you're okay. My mind was just racing.”

“I know. I felt it.”

He didn’t know how well she knew it though they’d certainly talked about it, but he felt everything. All the time. It was the mark of a Whitelighter’s bond to their charge, but it had only deepened and strengthened with her since their marriage.

It was what made it practically impossible for him to ignore her and agony while he’d been ignoring her the past day apart from orbing her and the others to safety earlier.

“Where are your sisters?”

“Well, they can wait a minute while we spend some time alone and then you need to hold your son.”

“Spoken like a true earth goddess,” he said, pride in her swelling.

“What are you talking about?”

“You need to channel your hearth and home instincts to fight the Titans.”

“Leo, I was speaking from the heart not the hearth. Hi, I'm your wife, remember?”

“I do, but Chris can only throw off the Titans for so long. We need to be ready with a battle plan. Now, let's find your sisters.”

They went to find the other girls and it really didn’t help when the elf started bowing to him. He didn’t mind Piper’s incredulity; he just minded the questions and possibilities that could arise.

Once they got back downstairs he found Phoebe and Paige discouraged. This really was where he did come into play normally. But his suspicions about the future made him realize he needed to make them see their own strength. It was never about him. It was always about them. The way it should be.

“We can't beat them. They're too strong for us,” said Paige.

“See how much this family needs you?” Piper asked pointedly.

It wasn’t about the family. It was about the Charmed Ones. It was about who they were as people and as witches. Piper couldn’t make that distinction because of who she was, especially with the powers he’d given her, but he had to make that distinction. It was his job.

“No, I don't. You can do this without me. And it's not because you have the power of gods or the power of three. It's because you are the greatest force of good that I know and that's why I chose you.”

He let Paige work out the solution. A good teacher never just gave the answer. Because the problem solving was just as important as the problem solved.

“We have to declare ourselves gods,” Paige said, realization coming into her face.

“Chris told us not to do that,” objected Piper.

“Well, Chris is wrong. He doesn't know you like I do.”

“But, Leo, the ancient Greeks lost their humanity,” Phoebe said.

“You're not the ancient Greeks, you're the Charmed Ones. I didn't give you anything you can't handle. Phoebe, you lost yourself to the darkest love that ever existed and you came back. Of course you can handle being the goddess of love.”

He watched her absorb that and accept it. Like she always did, the most flexible and giving of all the sisters.

“I never thought of it that way,” she said slowly.

“Paige, you're the goddess of war because you've been consumed with gaining power but you've never let the power consume you.” She had been very focused on power and growth, but she always knew when to stop. That was what impressed him about Paige. He turned to his wife. “Piper, is it any wonder I made you the goddess of earth? You are everything that is good and beautiful in this world. The mother of my son.”

She stopped looking worried for just a moment. He treasured those moments. They didn’t happen often, usually lying in his arms in their bed.

“You really have that much faith in us?” Piper asked.

“Do you really even need to ask that? It's like I've always said, your power comes from your emotions and right now you need to dig deeper than you ever have before. Whatever motivates you. Your heart, your soul, your darkest fears. Whatever it takes, you need to find that and channel it into power. Power not to capture the Titans, but to destroy them forever.”

And then it happened - it was the glow, the awareness, the transformation. Something he’d feared, yet accepted as a possibility. Everything became just a little bit clearer in that moment. He could see the fear on their faces, the awareness of something different, but it was lost in the feeling of the change. He was…he was different now.

He went upstairs and he looked in the mirror. He looked the same, but he felt so different. Everything had changed. There was a pull inside of him, a feeling that he didn’t belong. He was supposed to be somewhere else; he had a bigger picture to worry about.

But he was in his son’s room and he picked Wyatt up and inhaled the baby scent and everything changed again just a little bit.

Leo knew what was required of him, but he also knew what he’d chosen. And he’d never back down from that.

“I'll never leave you, I promise,” he whispered to Wyatt.

***

This was almost fun actually. It was a chance to put all his training and experience to use. They were good. But they lacked the ingenuity of the evil behind the mind that had made it necessary for him to come here. It was almost hard to stop. But the sight that he beheld when he got back made his chest tighten. He’d done it. He’d accomplished his goal. Now…now it would begin all over again. The hurt, the pain, the abandonment. All for the world. Was it worth it? Only time would tell.

“What's happening to my husband?” Piper asked sharply as soon as Chris orbed into the bedroom.

“Something amazing,” Chris said, a little too sarcastically for Piper’s taste.

“You know what? Cut the crap. You knew the Elders were gonna die. You coached Leo up there. You knew all of this was gonna happen.” She was determined to have a scapegoat and she was going to get one, whether he had saved Paige’s life or not. “Whatever it is you think you're doing, you need to make it stop.”

“Piper, it chose Leo. What he did Up There for all of us was nothing short of a miracle. Now he's receiving the ultimate reward. A chance to become...”

“Don't you dare say it,” she warned.

“The world needs sources of good to watch over it. Do you know a source of pure goodness better than Leo?”

“You don’t know anything about him!” Piper yelled. “Why does everybody think they know my husband better than I do? That they know what’s best for our family? It’s something Leo and I decide, not anybody else!”

“Believe me, I get it, I really do,” Chris said and Piper hated how Leo just stood there in the background looking like some kind of peace guru. “But like it or not I gave Leo a chance. It was his choice to take it and it wasn’t something anyone could have fully predicted.”

“Leo is not... He's not an Elder, okay? Because the Elders hate us and our family and have always stood in our way. How could he be one of them? Okay,” she turned to Leo, “just tell him you're not an Elder.”

“I don't know that I can,” Leo said quietly.

That was the last straw.

When Chris tried to get her to go join Phoebe and Paige everything changed in Piper’s mind. Crystal clarity tinged her vision and she felt a rage beyond anything she’d ever felt as a pure human. Oh, she’d come close, she’d been way too close when Prue died, but this rage had the power to do something inherent in it.

She knocked Chris away and she almost didn’t care if he would be all right or not.

“He'll be okay,” Leo said, checking on him. “You did it, Piper. You found your power. Now control it, don't let it control you.”

She was way too angry with him to dignify that with a response so she went downstairs where the Titans were terrorizing her sisters, her family, and she opened a hole underneath them. She sent them to the center of the Earth, to their Tartarus, she supposed, yet she couldn’t care less. They had done this, come into her life and ruined everything. She had more power than their puny minds could contend with. She was the goddess of this earth and she would do anything to protect it and to protect the family she had left.

It was frustratingly simple. They fell so easily after so much build up and heartache. Now they were gone and her world was completely altered.

“You did it, Piper. Now it’s time to give the power back,” Leo said gently from beside her.

She didn’t want to. This power was the only thing stopping her from falling apart. It glued her insides together with possibility and denial. So long as she held onto it he couldn’t leave her, couldn’t leave them.

Piper watched Paige and Phoebe go back to their mortal selves and she both pitied and envied them.

“Piper, Piper, you need to let it go. It’s not your master. You gave the power the direction it needed. Now do it again.”

Leo’s words made no sense to her. Neither did Phoebe’s or Paige’s.

Then they said one word. Wyatt.

The power melted away and Piper wanted to cry at the loss but someone stuck Wyatt in her arms and she held onto him like he was the only thing in her life instead. And perhaps he was. Now that Leo was…taking her hand.

She looked up at him.

“Do you have so little faith in me, Piper?” he asked gently.

“But…but.”

“They’re calling me,” he said.

Her face hardened.

“Don’t ask me to let go. I don’t know how,” Piper said, feeling very lost.

Leo took Wyatt out of her arms and handed him to Phoebe.

“Let’s go,” he said, and orbed her Up There with him.

***

That was different. Or at least, he thinks it was. It’s not like there had been survivors to tell him the exact details. All he knows is that there wasn’t a choice before. Now there was. He’d done that. He’d made a choice available. Just what kind of choice would be made, though - that he didn’t know.

It broke Leo’s heart to see Piper so afraid, although he could see why she would be. Their future didn’t look very bright, especially if one looked to their past.

But she had never looked so beautiful to him and that told him all he needed to know about what he was going to do next.

“Leo, it’s about time, we-” the Elder broke off when they saw Leo wasn’t alone. “What’s this?”

“This is my wife,” Leo said.

“Elders don’t have wives.”

“This one does.”

“But it’s just not possible.”

“Make it possible.”

They looked at each other like he’d suggested they dance around naked.

“Leo,” said one of the older Elders, “we know you have attachments, but when you ascended they should have dropped from you.”

“Then you don’t know Piper like I do,” Leo said.

“Hell yeah, they don’t,” Piper said and he was only surprised she’d kept quiet as long as she had. “This is my husband, who just saved all of your asses, so that I could save everyone else’s. Why isn’t that ever enough for you people?”

“Being a Charmed One does not give you license to forget the responsibilities-” someone started to say, but Leo spoke up again.

“I’m sorry, maybe you didn’t hear her. She just saved the world. She has every license. But like it or not, I am an Elder and I am married. I’m sorry there’s no precedent for this, but I can’t help that. You can either figure out how to take it from me, or you can live with it.”

“But we can’t-”

“There’s no way-”

“Nobody left knows-”

“We are too few-”

“Insolence and-”

Piper put her fingers in her lips and blew a shrill whistle.

“Deliberation is all well and good, but one at a time,” she said.

Roland stepped forward.

“We no longer have the number of Elders we need to watch over this world. We need you, Leo.”

“You also need the Charmed Ones,” Leo said.

“And there just aren’t any Charmed Ones without Leo,” Piper said. “That’s not a threat, it’s a fact.”

He’d have to talk to her about that later. They couldn’t depend too much on him.

“Very well,” said another Elder. “But there are many details to work out. I suppose you’ll deign to join us?”

Leo turned to Piper.

“I’ll send you home and join you later, okay? I’ll let you know everything.”

“I’m worried,” she said.

“I know. But nothing they can say will ever change the way I feel about you. They didn’t think our love could last but they were wrong. Our love blessed us in ways they couldn’t understand. Every choice I have, I choose you. I always have.”

“I know,” she said, wiping away tears. “But I’m a worrier.”

“One of the things I love about you,” he said, kissing her softly. “I promise I’ll be home.”

“I’ll be waiting,” she said.

He wrapped his arms around her and orbed her home.

Then there were meetings and deliberations and councils and moots and questions and demands and bickering and he wanted to tear his hair out.

Eventually everything came down to two points: they needed Elders, and he needed to stay on Earth. So he was stationed on Earth.

Which left the question of what to do with Chris and the Charmed Ones.

Leo orbed back down to Earth, heading for Chris first. He was sitting on the manor's front steps as if he was waiting for Leo.

“So, the Elders decide what to do with me yet?”

“Well, you've been the subject of heated discussion. One thing we agreed upon is you can't return to the future.”

“That sounds like an Elder decision to me. Always thinking they know best. But I figured as much since the timeline's changed. So what did they decide?”

“The Elders voted to make you the Charmed Ones' new Whitelighter. And with that attitude, you’re bound to fit right in.”

“They did?”

He didn’t seem surprised and that worried Leo. Chris was so much an unknown factor.

“As a reward for helping to defeat the Titans but then, somehow, I figured you knew that.” Leo paused then began again. “You know, I can't stop thinking about what Piper said and wondering myself if this wasn't part of your plan all along.” Chris shrugged. “Take good care of them, Chris. Don't forget, I'll still be here. I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

“Empty words,” Chris muttered and Leo filed the words away in his memory for later.

“Let’s go tell them the good news,” Leo said.

“You’re in charge,” Chris said sardonically and gestured toward the door.

Leo walked inside and only a glance back over his shoulder made him catch the quick flick of the wrist that closed the door telekinetically.

This was uncharted territory. He hadn’t really counted on this. The last thing he needed was somebody looking over his shoulder. This was too hard, too close. And as much anger as he felt, there was too much healthy respect mixed in with it. His first impulse was to lash out and get rid of the threat, but maybe, maybe this would work in his favor. Or at least everyone