Disclaimer: "Charmed" and all related characters and events are the

Property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

Camera shoots Manor exterior and pulls into the upstairs Manor hallway. You see Piper's bedroom door ajar… Camera pans down from the headboard… a body is in the bed. It is assumed it is that of Piper or Leo's.

The alarm rings loudly and an arm reaches up and knocks it over. It continues to ring!

"You have to be kidding me."

A loud pounding is erupting outside the door.

"Get your ass up! If you miss that delivery mom is going to kill you. She has a band booked for tonight." Chris swung the door open and stood at the foot of the bed.

Wyatt sat straight up and ran his hands through his hair. "Is the notion of privacy completely lost on you? Dude, get out. I'm obviously up. You keep forgetting that I'm the oldest. I don't need a babysitter."

"And yet mom left me in charge of the club. Funny, huh?"

"I am so sick of hearing about you being left in charge. You ever stop to think it's because she thought I'd be too busy shouldering the majority of the Wiccan duties around here?"

"Wow, it always comes down to that. Not cool! Just get up!"

Chris walks toward the door and just as he's about to walk out Wyatt gets up and crosses to the bathroom proclaiming, "What don't I do for this family?"

All that's heard is two doors slamming.

Hallway of Manor… Chris sees orbs coming down in front of his bedroom (formerly Phoebe's bedroom) door. It's Leo.

"Dad, tell mom to stop worrying. She's never going to enjoy her time in France if she keeps obsessing about us, the house, and the club and sending you here to check.

"Easy, I haven't seen you in over a week and that's my good-morning? What's going on? You seem a little on edge."

That really didn't come as a surprise to Leo. Chris being on edge was almost always a given. He was the most diligent, focused and determined of his sons, even if not the most powerful. He was also the most sensitive. His emotions always ran high and deep and were always right on the surface. He seemed to get that from his aunt Phoebe.

"Not out here." They walked into Chris' room and he shut the door. "I know we talked about my not holding a grudge but sometimes I want to knock that smug arrogant smirk off his face."

"What? Chris, what's going on?"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. It's the future we all wanted."

"Well, I don't know what has you in this state, but I'm guessing it has something to do with your brother."

"He has no idea what I went through. What we all went through to protect him. What we went through to keep him safe and more importantly good. I lost a year and a half of my life and I get to keep all of the mixed memories. And he… well he just gets to be the wonder boy."

"Son, we all have the memories. It's just that for you it seems like yesterday. And I do get it. But is going full throttle on him every time he acts like the "big" brother, that he is, the way to deal with it all? It isn't going to…."

"Don't you say it!"

"Serve the greater good."

Chris turned around and swung his arm out at the pillows on his bed and sent several flying across the room. He went to aim again at a picture on the wall when Leo grabbed his arm. "Don't Leo… this isn't something that just goes away. I deal with it the best way I know how."

"Well, you might want to deal with it a little more quietly unless you want to scare Bianca to death. Or worse we could draw your brother's attention in here and you can explain your little melt down."

Chris walks over to the bed and sits visibly shaken. His eyes are full even though tears never fall. He takes several noticeable deep breaths and stands back up.

"Son, sit. You never just let the feelings wash over you. This is why you blow up so easily. You can't keep stuffing it down. It is destined to show up and believe me the timing will be bad."

Chris puts his hand to his temple for a trademark head rub. "I'll clean this up. Bianca will have a fit if she finds this room like this. She is determined to keep things just as mom would until she gets back."

"I think Piper will be much happier to find you just as you were when she gets back, not the pillows."

Picking up pillows and running his hands through is own bed tossed hair Chris stops and takes the room and his father in for a moment. There was a time that he would never have believed that being close to Leo was even a possibility. Now he was his closest confidant. He never wanted to worry Piper or Bianca and frankly Wyatt wouldn't understand or worse still would think he had gone completely around the bend with all the past/future talk.

Solemnly he whispered, for what seemed the hundredth time, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You don't need to apologize for an honest emotion in this family. What you do need to do is get a handle on those emotions because they affect your powers. And you're going to need to work this out because you and your brother are going to need each other to make this work….to make all of this work."

"What? Living together? Dad Wyatt and I have lived together for almost 23 years and frankly this is as good as it gets."

Leo looked Chris in the eye and walked past him to look out the far window. When he turned back around all he mumbled was, "this isn't about your living arrangements."

"No, no, not another threat, not another battle, it's too soon. Can't they ever find somebody else?" Chris shouted up to the ceiling in general frustration. All of it directed to the almighty Elders. It seemed to be the story of his life. And it had been the story of his parent's life long before him. They called and the Charmed Ones answered. He could only imagine what they had in mind this time. Leo got very still and quiet for a moment clearly sensing a charge.

"I have to go, but I'll be back later. Make sure your brother is around." With that Leo began to orb out. Chris had no idea where he was heading, but he knew when he got back the news wouldn't be good.

"Don't leave it like this. Damn it Leo!"

Opening credit bridge

Scene reopens in the kitchen. A raven haired woman stands in front of the open refrigerator trying to decide which meal option would cause the least mess. She was not a cook and didn't want to risk destroying anything valuable in Piper Halliwell's kitchen.

Wyatt came bounding in way too high on energy and life. This was a man in a constant good mood. He was the king of the silver lining. He always saw one.

"Hey Binks."

Slamming the fridge door, "you do that just to drive me crazy and push his buttons. Don't you?"

"Oh, he's upstairs in the shower. And I don't need that to push his buttons. It's not even 10 am and I've already pushed them plenty. And for the record I call you that, because I think it's adorable like you and so does he by the way. He's just pissed that I started calling you it first."

"I thought you had a delivery first thing, speaking of 10 o'clock. Your dry toast is to go!"

"Nice. Do you think "mother" would approve?"

"If it kept her club open beyond tomorrow night she would. Seriously get going."

Wyatt headed for the coffee pot crowding Bianca's space in the narrow path between the counter and the fridge.

"I'll pass on the dry toast and just grab some coffee to go." Glancing over his shoulder he added, "Just because you're the only woman in this house doesn't make you woman of the house."

Just then Chris enters the kitchen with bare feet, wet hair and jeans and a t-shirt on. He immediately heads for the coffee pot without any direct eye contact with his brother.

All the space in the Manor's full size kitchen and this next generation of Charmed Ones plus one huddle in a 3 x 5 area around the refrigerator and countertop.

"Like I was saying I'm gonna take this to go." Wyatt squeezes pass and heads toward the key rack. "Later bro."

"Seriously, you're driving." Chris seemed shocked since Wyatt opted to orb most places unless busted and guilted into doing otherwise by his parents or well meaning aunts. Chris was more his mother's child and had a great respect for the rules about personal gain. He held to the no witchcraft for ordinary task pretty well.

"I have a date later and I can't exactly orb to pick her up."

"Cancel it. The date I mean. Dad's coming back…."

"Coming back. When was he here?"

"This morning. You were in the shower. That's not important. He has something to tell us or show us regarding some job we're supposed to handle together. I'm, once again, to assure your presence after the deliveries are handled. So, no date. Sorry."

"Fine! Guess I won't need these then," Wyatt tossed the keys in the air and orbed out without another word. Chris reached out and caught the keys and Bianca reached out and caught him or the back of his shirt at least.

"Baby, don't let him get to you it's why he does it, all of it. You know Wyatt isn't going to do anything against this family he just tortures you with his indifference and obstinate behavior because you let him know it galls you."

Chris turns around and focuses all his energies on kissing Bianca while tossing the keys on the counter.

"How about for the next hour we let him "torture" someone else and we can fill the time in our own special way." With that you see two forms orb out of the kitchen.

Scene cross fades to P3. The club is empty and quiet. Barstools are stacked all around the bar and only a few signs of last nights partygoers are seen.

Wyatt was a fan of P3 in the sense that it made him look great with women, but as far as any other involvement or commitment to his family's main source of income… well, he just didn't have any. And he never understood why Chris acted like it was his personal mission, among many, to make sure it ran smoothly and was a great success. He'd been doing that and working here since before he was able to order his own beer.

At nearly 25 years old Wyatt Matthew Halliwell had taken only two things seriously… women and witchcraft. And when he was able to combine the two he was most happy and most often in trouble. His ideas on the rules regarding personal gain were lacks to say the least. He didn't really think anyone in the family expected better especially his parents. Chris was the serious one. Chris was the responsible one. Chris was the "Elder" even though Wyatt was the eldest. Piper had gotten pregnant with Chris during the brief time that Leo was an Elder and the "blessing" and special gifts had been passed directly to their second son. Chris and the family wasn't made aware of that fact or the differences it would mean until his 16th birthday. Chris' Elder abilities started to manifest and he became privy to the sacred "up-there". But of course Chris didn't enjoy that either. In Wyatt's esteemed opinion Chris didn't enjoy enough of anything.

Grabbing a bar stool off the bar Wyatt sat down and started going through the mail he'd grabbed on the way inside. Bills, junk and advertisements, none of which offered Wyatt an ounce of pleasure. Besides even if he found something he wanted or thought would be just great for the club Chris would say no on principal. With that thought he tossed the mail behind the bar knocking down a small pyramid of shot glasses. He walked behind the bar to pick them up when he heard his name being called.

"I'm down here, literally. Behind the bar, if you're here with the delivery, just leave it in the back room and I'll sign."

"Well, the back room isn't what I had in mind for our date, but I guess it'll do." Just then this uninvited guest dropped a tiny black tank top on Wyatt's head.

"Kayla, what are you doing here?" Wyatt stood and held the top in his hands while he continued his exchange with the very beautiful, half dressed red-head. "And put this on. I'm expecting a liquor delivery in a few minutes. And even though I don't know the guy you half naked seems like a hell of a greeting."

"Its better then the one I got from you. Oh, that's right I didn't get one from you! Why didn't you answer this morning? I have a class and a lab right after. I had no idea if we were still on for tonight or not. You know how prone you are to standing me up."

"Girl, come on now. It's too early for this." Wyatt came from around the bar to give his on again off again girlfriend of the past year his full attention.

"I'm just glad Bianca answered when I called the house and told me, and she was none too thrilled to do it, you were here."

Leaning in to kiss her Wyatt hoped to silence the rest of Kayla's onslaught. Because he knew that if what Chris said was right and Leo had something for them to do a date was definitely not going to happen tonight. Just as they were coming up for air the delivery man came down the stairs. Wyatt signed the paperwork and showed him where to leave the cases and cases his mother had ordered. He managed to side step Kayla and her questions/accusations for the moment too and got her off to her 11am class. Kayla was pre-med and had her sights set on the coroner's office. As a Halliwell Wyatt had seen his fair share of death and its aftermath and could never figure out Kayla's desire to be around that everyday for the rest of her life, willingly.

Break

Chris sat at the dinning room table surrounded by books and staring intently at the screen on his laptop. His research paper wasn't really going anywhere, but it still had to be done and with a modicum of proficiency. Leo hadn't come back nor had he tried to make contact and Chris was starting to drive Bianca crazy stressing over it, so instead he focused on Dr. Marshe's comparative literature paper. Not exactly sure why he even bothered with the class or college at all Chris was, in this moment, happy about the distraction.

"How's it coming baby?" Bianca stood in the doorway between the dinning room and kitchen holding, what Chris hoped was a fresh cup of coffee.

Just then Wyatt orbed into the foyer. "This better be good. I just gave up an afternoon with Kayla for this soon to be disclosed emergency. So, what's the deal little brother? What demonic ass do I have to go kick now?"

"Leo, it is seriously time you got back here with an explanation." Chris didn't usually make demands of his father or scream orders, but if he had to deal with Wyatt's outrageous behavior he at least wanted to know the reason why.

"Dad!"

Orbs lit up the dinning room as Leo appeared.