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

[jesterladyfic]

Chapter Seven

He did not have time for this - these pointless rituals and the marking of days that were nothing but sad, anyway. Besides the only part he was interested in was the gift they were cooking up in the attic. But even that didn’t matter if they didn’t take this threat seriously.

Piper was lonely. In a way, she was glad because it gave her time to focus on her destiny.

That’s right; Piper Halliwell, excited about destiny. Hard for her to believe, too, but it had finally hit home to her. She was Wyatt’s mother and husbands, sisters, demons, normal lives - none of that mattered in comparison. Having the house to herself, even with Chris hovering around all the time, was a bit peaceful when she didn’t have to worry about Phoebe and Paige’s problems or get irritated when Leo wasn’t home. The two of them had formed a truce but the air between them was still thick with tension whenever he orbed home and he mostly hung around Wyatt’s new room letting her work at the club or somewhere in the house. She had a feeling no amount of counseling was going to fix this problem.

Piper would worry about that later.

She missed the girls desperately, of course, but she was happy for them. Phoebe didn’t seem to be enjoying Hong Kong culture as much as she’d thought she would, but the job was only a temporary one, getting a new office up and running, and then she’d be back home.

Paige, on the other hand, was flowering under the independence and romance brought to her by living with Richard and it made Piper glad to see her littlest sister actually getting to live a bit normally. Of course, living with another witch wasn’t exactly what Piper had had in mind, but she wasn’t exactly one to talk.

They’d had a little mini reunion the week before when they’d gone back to the past and confronted a slime demon so Piper wasn’t feeling the loss as much as she had been. Plus, they were planning a surprise birthday party for her so she could look forward to that.

In the meantime she vanquished a demon in Wyatt’s room, scanning him or something, and felt content that she was doing her job.

If only Chris would see it that way.

“How am I supposed to protect Wyatt if you don't tell me when a demon attacks until hours later?” he said.

“Because, Chris, I'm taking care of it,” Piper said, heading up to the attic to look in the Book.

“That's fine, but what happens if this demon was the one? The one who was after Wyatt? The reason I came back?”

“Well, then you're in luck because I blew him up. Not to mention, how many demons have you said that about so far?” she asked, going through the Book.

“Not the point,” he argued. “Piper, I've just got Wyatt's best interests in mind.”

“So do I.” She flipped the Book closed. “Demon's not in here.”

“Well, what did it look like?”

“Tall, robed, with a metal rod thingy.”

“Really? Well, that narrows it down.”

His sarcasm was puzzlingly familiar.

“If another one shows up I'll be here,” she said calmly.

“That's just my point, Piper, what if you're not here? What happens if you’re out with Leo or at the club?”

“Look, Chris, I don't want to go into it, but I'm not gonna be out on a date with anybody, anytime soon. That way I can focus more on Wyatt.”

“What?” Chris said and his face was filled with dawning horror.

Over dramatic, that’s what his problem was.

“Did I stutter?”

“What happened? Are you and Leo…?”

“None of your business,” Piper said. “It’s just not likely we’ll be around each other that much for the rest of our lives.”

“Piper, you can't give up on love. Ever,” he said earnestly.

She wanted to laugh.

“Why not?”

He looked stumped.

“Because you just…can't, that's why. It's not natural.” He regrouped. “Look, all I'm saying is you don't have to make that type of sacrifice to protect Wyatt. That's why I'm here.”

“Well, you weren't here earlier, were you?” Piper turned to leave and go check on Wyatt while Chris followed her. “Look, the only thing that matters right now is what's best for Wyatt.”

“This is not what's best for Wyatt, Piper.”

“How do you know?”

Piper was a bit irritated at how Chris always seemed to know what was best for her son.

“Because I've seen the future and this isn't supposed to happen.”

“So what is supposed to happen?”

“Come on, you know I can't answer that.”

“Well, since you're sent from the future to change it, maybe this is one of the things that needs to be changed.”

“Trust me, it’s not,” Chris muttered, following her into Wyatt’s room. “Look, if you're so concerned about protecting Wyatt, there's other ways to go about doing it, you know.”

“Like what?”

“Like letting Leo take him Up There for a while. Or…” he paused, “you could always bind his powers.”

“No way.”

“Why not? Nobody would ever be after him and you'd have your life back.”

“But that would be selfish of me, wouldn't it? Putting my needs before his destiny?” She turned to look at Chris and sighed. He was so very young. “I'm not being a martyr, Chris, I'm not. I just get it now. I'm the mother of a very special child, and if I do my job right, he’s gonna grow up to do very special things. What could possibly be more important than that?”

“There are things, Piper,” Chris said after staring at her for a moment. “Things that are just as important. You don’t get it now, I know. But there are more people than just Wyatt who need you. And…just don’t forget that. And don’t give up on love.”

She stared at him incredulously.

There he went again being so mysterious, seeming mature beyond his years, but always so sad, so fraught with loss. She just didn’t understand him.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” she said. “But, Chris, I’m not going to take the choice away from Wyatt. Grams bound my powers when I was small and, while I appreciated the chance for a normal life, I also missed it that much more when it was taken from me. Somehow I doubt Wyatt will ever be normal.”

“You’ve got that right,” Chris said. “I don’t agree with you, but I can’t begrudge your reasons.”

“How magnanimous of you,” she said.

“Doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying,” he replied.

“Fair enough,” she said.

***

This sounded like exactly the kind of thing he was trying to prevent. These demons weren’t just trying to kill, they wanted to corrupt. Desperate times call for desperate measures. There was only one person who could probably get through to her. And one person who needed to or there were a whole bunch of other issues he would have to contend with.

Leo was almost glad to get the call from Chris to come down. He’d been Up There for so long he was starting to forget what his family looked like. He’d been afraid to face Piper lately so to have a legitimate excuse was nice. The birthday gift he’d spent more time on than he should have had been a gesture, but one he’d been too much of a coward to give personally and he’d been considering just leaving it in the nursery for her to find.

“Uh, finally, I've been calling you for hours, man. Where have you been?” asked Chris.

“What's up?” Leo asked patiently.

“What's up? Your son was attacked yesterday.”

“What? Why didn’t Piper call me?”

“Maybe because you’ve been Mr. Up There recently,” Chris said hotly. “Not exactly available. Don't worry, Wyatt's fine, Piper vanquished the demon.”

“Who was he?” Leo asked, purposefully ignoring the accusations because whatever was going on was between him and Piper, not anyone else.

“That's the problem, he's not in the book,” Chris said.

“Well, we have to figure out who he is in case there's another attempt.”

“On that point I have a radical suggestion, a way of protecting Wyatt from any and all future attempts.”

“I'm listening,” Leo said.

“We get the sisters to bind Wyatt's powers.”

Leo shook his head immediately. That wasn’t even an option. No son of his would ever have his destiny taken away from him.

“No way.”

“Come on, Leo, binding Wyatt's powers solves all our problems, believe me.”

Leo got the sense Chris sincerely believed what he was saying. That didn’t make it right.

“No. Wyatt wasn't brought into this world to be bound, I can't condone that.” Leo paused because of the sincerity he felt coming from Chris. “Unless there's something you're not telling me.” Chris shifted uncomfortably but didn’t say anything. Leo sighed. “See, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth. But since you’re keeping mum, what we need to do is figure out who's after Wyatt.”

“Okay. How?”

“Right here. Above the din of the city.” Leo gestured to the bridge. “It's why I come up here.” Leo moved into stance and closed his eyes, feeling Chris copy his movements. “Just close your eyes; rely on your inner senses. Listen to the wind.”

It took awhile but it was the most calm Leo had ever felt from Chris. Gradually he relaxed and reached out, letting go of some of the defenses he normally kept up. Underneath them Leo could feel a deep sense of loss and grief, a huge weight of responsibility, and seething anger directed both inward and outward. It saddened Leo to be aware of it. No one should ever feel that way. Leo inwardly resolved to help him more. If Chris would let him.

It wasn’t long before they found their answer and orbed back down to the manor.

The minute he orbed in Leo felt an indescribable sense of peace and well being flood through him. Suddenly he didn’t really know what he’d been worrying about. Sure, he was worried about Wyatt, but he couldn’t remember why he hadn’t been on Earth in awhile. There was nothing that would ever keep him from Piper. Especially not on her birthday.

“Where's Piper?” he asked eagerly.

“Uh, she's upstairs. Why?” asked Phoebe nervously.

“Because we know who attacked Wyatt and we think they're gonna attack again,” said Chris.

“Who?”

“A demonic cult called the Order. They used to be the most powerful force in the magical world until their leader was vanquished.”

“And guess what,” Chris said, picking up a rattle. “They think he's been reincarnated.”

“Wyatt?” said Paige with a knowing air.

“He's young enough to be turned evil,” Leo said, not really paying attention, anxious to go upstairs and see Piper. “Where is Wyatt? Is he with Piper?”

“Yeah, why don’t you go upstairs?” Phoebe said. “We’ll take care of this Order thing.”

Leo nodded eagerly.

“Cool, thanks.”

He went upstairs, ignoring the weird looks Chris was giving him. He heard an exclamation coming from Chris as he walked down the hall but he didn’t stop.

Piper was standing in their room, fussing with her hair in the mirror. She turned and smiled at him.

“There you are! What took you so long?” she said, moving into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her deeply. “I was helping Chris id the demon after Wyatt.”

“Good job,” she said, kissing him back. “We don’t want anything to happen to him.”

“No, of course not,” Leo said between kisses.

“What’s happening?” she asked, breathless.

“They’ll take care of it,” he said, inching his hand up her shirt.

She pulled away, laughing.

“Oh, that you get to do later, I promise, but I want a birthday party first.”

“Sounds good,” he said, loving how happy she looked.

It didn’t really work out the way they wanted. A demon impersonating Darryl made another attempt on Wyatt, which put a bit of a damper on the festivities, but Leo was confident they could fix it.

Chris said he wanted to check something in the attic and Piper took care of Wyatt while Leo went to Darryl’s to see if the man was okay. Thankfully, he was. When Leo got back to the house though he found Chris and the girls arguing so he went up to his room and found Piper.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, slipping an arm around her.

“I’m worried about Wyatt,” she said, even though he didn’t sense too much anxiety coming from her.

“Me too.”

“What should we do?”

“Protect him any way we can.”

“What if the only way to protect him is to bind his powers?”

He hesitated. He still wasn’t a fan of the idea, but for some reason the strong opposition of it he'd felt before wasn’t there anymore.

“I don’t really like the idea.”

“I don’t either,” she said.

“But I’m willing to do…”

“Anything,” Piper supplied.

“It could just be temporary,” he said. “While he’s young.”

“That’s true,” she said. “After all, it didn’t last with us.”

“No, your destiny was too powerful,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“It brought me to you,” she said.

“I’m glad it did,” he said.

“Let’s go tell them,” she said.

“All right,” he said and picked Wyatt up, carrying him down the stairs to where the girls and Chris were arguing.

“Hey,” Piper said. “We've been talking and I think we need to try what Chris suggested.”

“Which is?” asked Phoebe.

“Binding Wyatt's powers.”

There was general outrage from the sisters, but it didn’t bother Leo as much as it would have normally.

“I mean,” Piper said, sitting down, “if you think about it, it makes sense.”

“You can't be serious,” Paige said.

“This doesn't sound like you, Piper,” said Phoebe.

“Doesn't it?” put in Leo. “Piper wants to protect Wyatt. She wants a normal life. This way she can have both.”

“Hey, that was my argument,” Chris said, looking inordinately pleased with himself.

“Yes, it was,” Leo said.

“It’s a bad one,” said Phoebe. “A very, very bad one. One that's been discussed and discarded already.”

“Yeah, but that was before a demonic cult started targeting him,” said Piper.

“I mean, this could be...” started Chris.

“What?” said Paige. “The big, bad, evil thing that's coming after him? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we got it.”

“I think we made a mistake with your present,” Phoebe said nervously.

“Present?” asked Leo.

“You guys made the present, didn’t you?” Chris said ponderingly.

“Piper, I don't understand. Yesterday you were willing to give up everything for Wyatt's future. Why this now?” Phoebe said hurriedly.

“Well, you should know. You're the one that, um, showed me what I really wanted and really need.”

“She's got us there,” Paige said.

“Yeah, well, it doesn't matter because it's gonna take the power of three to bind someone as powerful as Wyatt and I'm not gonna support it,” said Phoebe.

“Neither am I,” said Paige.

“Well, then we have a problem because I am,” Piper said. “And so is Leo. Wyatt is our son. It’s our decision, not yours.”

“I agree,” said Leo firmly.

“All right, why don't we all just take a deep breath, okay?” said Chris, stepping in. “We can talk about it later, after dinner.”

“Since when are you party happy?” Paige asked suspiciously.

“Since you guys aren’t going to get anywhere by arguing,” Chris said.

Which made sense to Leo. Finally, Chris was starting to get it. He even looked happier.

***

He had to do it. He knew they would be angry, he knew it probably wasn’t even right, but he had to. All of his efforts were useless, it appeared, and nothing he said made it through. He winced as he did it and mumbled a quick prayer it wouldn’t backfire on him. It probably would.

Piper felt much better after Piper and Phoebe gave her their present. The present of self-enlightenment, they said. Which she’d been really annoyed about when they told her about it, but after they’d sprayed her with her new perfume she’d felt fine. Better than fine actually. Suddenly everything didn’t hurt quite so much; she wasn’t feeling betrayed and abandoned or so worried about Wyatt. But she still knew what she wanted. And no matter how hurt she’d been, she wanted Leo in her life. She wanted a normal life. She wanted their family to be safe. But she didn’t want to worry all the time.

It all seemed to melt into one contradiction but she didn’t mind it. Not when Leo came home, not when the demon came after Wyatt again, not when it dawned on her she might have to bind his powers after all, not when Darryl and Sheila and Richard came over, and not while they ate.

Chris didn’t eat. He’d gone upstairs again after suggesting they stop fighting and then he’d come back downstairs and paced while they all ate.

At first Phoebe and Paige had been tense but after Chris had come back downstairs, they relaxed and started enjoying themselves.

It was a good spread; Piper had to admit they’d done a good job. It was really nice to see Darryl and Sheila and have Leo home. Even Richard didn’t seem as standoffish as he normally was. Paige’s new good mood seemed to bring out humor and conversation from him.

Towards dessert Chris finally stopped being neurotic and brought up the subject of binding Wyatt’s powers.

“So, what does everyone think after eating?” he asked.

Piper looked at Leo.

“Well, Leo and I still want to do it. He’s our son and that’s what we think we need to do to protect him.”

“They are his parents,” Phoebe said. “They do have the right to make the decisions.”

“And it doesn’t have to be permanent,” Paige agreed.

“It would mean a lot less orbing home for you guys,” Chris said.

“That’s not the point,” Phoebe said, but she looked a little relieved at the thought.

“I could spend more time with Richard,” Paige said thoughtfully.

Richard looked at her askance and opened his mouth, but then closed it again at the glare Chris sent him.

“That would be good for you,” Piper said, never minding that Paige spent most of her time with him now.

“Then it’s agreed?” Chris asked.

Leo nodded.

“Yes, we’ll do it.”

“Did we miss something?” Sheila asked, looking confused.

“Ignore them,” Piper said. “Well, ignore us. We just had a little argument about how to protect Wyatt and my sisters weren’t listening to reason.”

“Excuse you,” Paige said, flicking a cherry at Piper.

It missed and hit Phoebe.

“Hey!” she squealed and threw a bit of her salad.

Paige retaliated with her cake and bits of it splattered onto Piper.

After that it was all out war between the three sisters and Piper laughed as she threw food. It reminded her that she also wanted fun in her life.

Chris sighed and threw his hands up while Darryl and Sheila ducked out of the house and Wyatt stared in wonder at his crazy relatives. It made Piper laugh again.

Richard just got out of the way and watched them and Piper idly wondered if he had known what he was getting into with this family.

“I’m taking Wyatt upstairs,” Leo said and grabbed him.

Piper kept fighting and barely noticed it when Leo came back and joined in the fight.

Chris squawked when he got a bunch of cake in his face.

“Will you all grow up please?” he asked loudly.

“Lighten up, Chris,” Leo said, rubbing frosting into his hair.

Chris growled and pulled away.

“You do not get to do that,” he said.

“Sorry,” Leo said, looking hurt.

“I think you guys need to concentrate on the demon,” Richard said quietly, but Piper still heard him. “I mean, you’re all acting a little-”

Just then a loud wail sounded from upstairs and everyone stopped, all frivolity gone.

Suddenly everything was very clear to Piper and she felt none of the confidence she’d been feeling all day. All she knew was that Wyatt was in danger.

She ran upstairs the others behind her. Leo orbed. Piper got to the attic just in time to see Leo go flying from where Wyatt’s shield had actually repelled him. She didn’t understand.

Three robed demons were standing inside the shield and one picked him up. Wyatt did nothing to stop him.

“At long last,” said the demon.

Then they all vanished.

With her son.

Because she’d been throwing cake around like a four year old.

Because her sisters had given her a stupid present.

Because Leo hadn’t been around.

Causing her to want to…bind Wyatt’s powers.

Piper looked to her sisters and Leo and saw them reach the same conclusion she had. They all turned and stared at Chris. Even Richard.

“What are you doing?” Chris asked nervously.

“The spell wore off,” Phoebe said.

“Right after they took my son,” Piper said harshly.

“You don't seriously believe this is my fault, do you?”

“Oh, right, so it's just a big coincidence that suddenly we all wanted to bind Wyatt's powers?” asked Paige.

“This is crazy,” said Chris then turned to Leo in what must be some desperation. “Leo, tell them.”

“Tell them what? I'm wondering the same thing myself,” said Leo.

“Okay, so what if I did? I was only trying to protect Wyatt.”

“By tricking us?” Piper demanded to know.

“I had to. None of you would do the right thing.”

“In your opinion,” said Paige.

“Well, it just so happens mine is the right one,” said Chris.

“Why?” asked Phoebe.

“Because the only reason I came here was to keep Wyatt from turning evil,” Chris said softly.

“Turning evil?” Leo asked.

“Wait, don't you mean stopping evil from hurting him?” said Paige in confusion.

Chris shook his head and appeared to collect his thoughts.

“Look, everything I said to you was true, but I didn’t tell you everything. And you already knew that. But this part I didn’t tell you because I didn't think you'd help me if you knew the truth. In fact I knew you wouldn't.” Chris sucked in a breath. “The evil from the future I came back to stop isn't a demon. It's Wyatt.”

Piper’s immediate reaction was disbelief.

“You're lying.”

“No, I'm not. He's gonna grow up and terrorize people with his powers, take over.” His voice went low. “Kill even.”

Piper shook her head even as Leo spoke.

“Why should we believe you after all the lies?”

“Because you have to.”

“No, Chris, we don't, actually,” said Piper, all compassion for his grief vanished with her own.

“Fine, then don't. Either way, we need to save Wyatt now and I'm the one who knows how to do it.”

Piper barely heard Phoebe ask how she was so worried and angry.

“The Order,” Chris replied. “They used their powers to turn him, to reverse his morality. See, he thinks bad is good now, and good is bad. That's why his shield repelled you.”

“So?” asked Leo.

“So Wyatt has always brought his shield up around me. He thinks I'm a threat.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” said Paige.

“I never noticed that,” Leo said, turning to Piper. “Did you?”

“No,” Piper said, turning back to Chris. “Big deal, so Wyatt knew you were dangerous before. Now I know it too and that’s what you should be worried about.”

“Listen to me; they reversed his sense of morality. That means his shield will protect him from you but not from me. Please, I'm the only one who can save him. Let me help.”

Piper did listen. He sounded sincere. But then, he always had before. Everything he did had some type of ulterior motive. She’d overlooked it before because of his seeming pain or because he’d saved Wyatt or because he was in trouble or because Leo had been especially annoying that week but she couldn’t overlook it now and she was ashamed she’d overlooked it as long as she had.

“Chris, we don't need your help,” she said coldly. “I will get my son back, and when I do, I don't wanna see you anymore. You can go back to the future or the other side of the world, but just don’t be here.”

He looked like she’d stabbed him. She didn’t care.

“I'm sorry,” he said and orbed away.

Piper turned to the others.

“What should we do?”

“Leo, any idea of how to kill these guys?” Phoebe asked.

“Just like any other demon,” Richard said, almost apologetically, as if not wanting to step on Leo’s toes. “Their power comes from their numbers. You wouldn’t need potions or spells, just your powers.”

“Thanks, Richard,” Paige said.

Leo nodded.

“He’s right. But with Wyatt helping them…I don’t know how you can get close.”

“We have to try,” Piper said.

“I agree,” he said.

“Can you sense Wyatt?” she asked.

“Yes, he’s in the Underworld,” Leo said after closing his eyes for a minute. “My senses are still in tune to his.”

“Then let’s go,” Paige said.

She orbed them to Leo’s specifications and Piper was alarmed to see how many demons there were. Wyatt was in the middle with the same demon who had taken him before.

Piper blew several demons up while Paige and Phoebe attacked others. Piper went for Wyatt but he threw his shield up and knocked her down.

Piper wanted to yell with frustration especially when the demon sneered at her.

“He protects me now, not you.”

The demon formed a fireball and poised to throw it at her and she prepared to blast it but before she could Chris orbed into the shield and jumped on the demon.

The demon fell to the ground consumed by his own fire. A metal object fell out of the shield as he died.

Piper stared openmouthed at Chris as the other demons shimmered out or were vanquished by her sisters.

“Pick up the scepter and point it at Wyatt,” Chris said. Piper hesitated but picked it up. She truly didn’t know why she was listening to him. “Trust me.”

Her sisters came up beside her and Piper pointed the scepter at Wyatt. A shimmer appeared over Wyatt’s shield and then it vanished. Chris picked him up and handed him to Piper.

“He didn’t raise his shield back up for you,” she said.

“Looks like he trusts me now at least,” Chris said and orbed away before she could say anything.

She held Wyatt closer and let Paige orb her away too.

***

His confidence was slipping away. It seemed like everything he did was a failure. Especially since she had… Well, he wasn’t going to think about that. But he did need to think. Funny how the one place he could think of to go was associated with the one person he never wanted to think about.

After Leo assured himself that Wyatt was okay he felt all his former embarrassment about how he’d been avoiding Piper and how they’d acted while under the influence of the spell.

Still, he remembered what it was like to feel what he wanted and to act on it. It had been very freeing.

So he sucked it up and he went to their room where she was getting ready for bed.

“Hi,” she said. “Are you staying?”

“I have a few things to do,” he said, “but then I’ll be back. Is that okay?”

She half-smiled.

“Well, not much I can do about it.”

“Piper,” he said.

She held up her hand.

“I know, that came out wrong,” she said. “I just meant that I hope you hurry back. It is my birthday, after all.”

“Speaking of,” he said, bringing out his hands from behind his back, “I was hoping you’d like this.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” she said, taking it from him and sitting on their bed to open it. It took her a moment and he watched her, waiting with baited breath. “Leo,” she said wonderingly, when she pulled it out. “How did you?”

It was her mother’s charm bracelet, the one that Prue had lost. Leo had spent a long time looking for it.

“I have my ways,” he said. “I just- I wanted to get you something you’d really treasure. I feel bad about leaving you so much and we weren’t really speaking and I got this before, but I especially wanted to give it to you after the spell the girls did and I felt what you wanted.”

“Leo, you’re practically babbling,” she said.

“I just…feel bad.”

“Well, I feel bad too. I think it’s just a bad stage in our marriage.”

“We can get through it, right?”

She wore a thoughtful look.

“I certainly hope so.”

He tapped the card in her hand. Always, it read.

“I mean that.”

“I know,” she said and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Now go do your stuff and come back.”

“I will,” he said.

He thought about Chris and smiled slightly when he realized where Chris was. He orbed to the bridge.

“Good place to think, isn't it?” he asked lightly.

“What do you want?” Chris asked sharply.

“Just to talk. You know, Chris, trust is a precious commodity. Once you lose it, it's pretty hard to get it back.”

“You’d know, wouldn’t you?” Chris said.

“Don't be a smart ass; it doesn't help your cause.”

“Pretty much screwed that up, don't you think?”

Chris sounded defeated.

“I don't know,” Leo said, shrugging.

It was weird to think it, but, somehow, after everything, Leo didn’t want to give up on Chris just yet.

“What, you're saying you still trust me?” Chris asked incredulously.

“It's not my trust that matters, it's the sisters.’ ”

“I agree.” Chris appeared to struggle with his next words but finally spit them out. “So what do I do?”

“Just be straight with them, that's all. Don't manipulate them. Even if it is for the right reason.” Leo paused. “And for what it's worth, yes, I do trust you.”

Chris laughed for a full minute.

“I don’t believe it. You’re the one who trusts me. You.”

“It’s not too unbelievable,” Leo said. “After all, you saved my son from turning evil, didn't you?”

“For now.”

Leo felt a chill go down his spine at the thought. But maybe that’s why Leo trusted Chris, because he’d seen young witches become warlocks too often. And Wyatt was the most powerful young witch the world had probably ever seen. There’s no telling what he could do if he turned evil. Such a future would explain Chris and his mania for stopping it from happening.

Leo arranged with Chris to work some more with him on his healing and then told him not to stay up there too long and got a sarcastic eye roll in return and left for the house, slipping into bed beside Piper. She was asleep, but moved toward him, gravitating toward his body heat. Leo slept for a while, but then he woke up because he felt needed.

Piper was still lying beside him, but she was crying.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he whispered, slipping his arm around her.

She grabbed his arm and hung on as if her life depended on it.

"I-I can't believe we almost did that. I feel so guilty."

"About what?" Leo asked.

Piper turned to face him and even in the dark light he could see how upset she looked.

"Leo, I almost bound Wyatt's powers! I almost took that from him."

"You were under a spell," he soothed.

"A spell that let me see what I really want! And it's what you want too; you were under the same spell. Both of us somehow think life would be better without powers for our son. And we almost did that to him."

"The important thing is we didn't," he said, because he didn't really know what else to say.

It was true, there would be some measure of relief, but the just anger he'd felt when coming out of the spell made him feel better, knowing he would never give in to that desire otherwise.

Apparently Piper didn't feel the same way.

"That's not the point," she said, swallowing another sob.

"Tell me what is," he said, beginning to run his fingers through her hair.

Gradually she quieted down a little and began to speak in a small voice, it grew as she spoke and it almost seemed as if she was talking to herself.

"You remember when we went to the future. Me, and Prue, and Phoebe. You sent us there. And…we had the most beautiful little girl. I wish you could have really seen her, not just my memories of her. And I remember being so glad that she was the part of the future I could keep Everything else, our marriage falling apart, the witch trials, especially Phoebe being burned, I wanted to change that. But I loved her. I didn't know her and I loved her. When Wyatt was born I loved him too and I still do, but I mourned for Melinda, my lost little girl. Something we did or did not do made her disappear forever and I miss her. It seems silly, but I do. Most of the time I don't think about it, but tonight reminded me of that moment in the future when I was going to bind her powers to save her from the witch hunters. I stood there, watching her, and I couldn't do it. I couldn't take the choice from her like that. You stood behind me and you knew how I felt then. You always know how I feel. Tonight…" she trailed off.

Leo leaned down and kissed her forehead and then her temple.

"Tonight was a reminder that Melinda was lost and that what you felt was a sacrilege to do to your child was something you almost did again."

She nodded and he swallowed hard.

It was true he didn't remember Melinda as she did. But he knew Piper's thoughts and memories and feelings of her visit to the future and they made his heart hurt as they always did and he mourned the loss of the daughter he'd never known.

"I will do my best," he whispered, "to make sure Wyatt grows up with both parents, safe and loved, and that you don't have to make that choice ever again."

"You can't promise," she said.

"No, but I can try," he replied.

"Please," she said softly, and her voice still echoed into the quietness of their bedroom and mingled with the sound of Wyatt's soft breathing on the monitor.

Irony of all ironies. Here he was in the most desperate situation of his life and now he had help from that direction. It felt…good. He’d have to watch that.