FALSE MEMORIES

My first posted story at eek. Also my first Charmed Fanfic, although I have written fanfiction for other shows.

Disclaimer: The characters in Charmed do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.

Summary: Loved the Piper/Leo/Chris family dynamic in Season 6 so that's when this story is based. Set after Chris-Crossed and Prince Charming. Nobody knows who Chris is yet, but they're about to find out, courtesy of an unexpected visitor from the future…

Chapter One

Chris Perry sat on the dilapidated sofa in the attic, only half-listening as three generations of Halliwell women debated – or rather argued about - how best to deal with the demon currently targeting young female witches on the streets of San Francisco. Penny and Patty Halliwell were on a brief sojourn to the Land of the Living, but were unfortunately turning out to be rather a hindrance during the current crisis.

Piper had summoned her mother and grandmother earlier that morning, for reasons that she hadn't shared with anyone else, not even her sisters. Chris privately suspected that his recent disclosure about her eldest son being evil in the future had a lot to do with it though, and he felt guilty about causing her such distress.

He hadn't meant to let it slip about Wyatt, but he was partly relieved that it was now out in the open. Constantly having to watch what he said was mentally exhausting and the strain was starting to take its toll on the young witch-whitelighter. At least with the truth about Wyatt out, he had one less thing to conceal from his Charges, even if the biggest skeleton in his closet – his true identity – was still a closely guarded secret.

It was weird and lonely for Chris, being surrounded by his family and yet a stranger in their midst. Their suspicion of him hurt, even if he did understand the reasons behind their distrust. When, only last week, his Mom had told him that she didn't want to see him anymore, he had thought his fragile heart would shatter into a million pieces. He'd had to orb out, unable to hold back the waterfall of tears that overflowed as a result of her unwitting rejection.

Thankfully, that bump in the road had been mostly smoothed over after Leo persuaded the girls to give him another chance. They were more guarded with him now however, a happenstance that caused him a great deal of emotional pain. He needed them on side if he was to prevent Wyatt from turning evil, but he wasn't sure how to regain their trust. For now, he was just biding his time, staying in the background as much as possible, and only helping out when asked.

His eyes wandered over to Leo, who was leaning against the antique armoire on the far side of the room. The Elder stood watching the by-play between the girls and their slightly overbearing relatives with an amused smile hovering on the corner of his lips.

This past version of his father confused Chris; his behaviour just didn't tally with the cold and unfeeling man that he'd known growing up. Leo never made a secret of the fact that he mistrusted this interloper from the future, but he'd given him the benefit of the doubt on any number of occasions. Second chances were something that Chris had never received from his father before, and he didn't know what to make of Leo's unfamiliar attitude towards him.

"Chris!"

Chris jolted out of his reverie at the sound of his name, and looked enquiringly over at Paige. "Huh?"

"Can you go get the Burdock root from the kitchen please?"

"Yeah sure," he amiably agreed, getting to his feet.

He was about to orb out when the ground suddenly shook beneath him, halting him in his tracks. Seven pairs of eyes instantly swung to the panelled wall where a blue triquetra was slowly opening up. As the light from the portal grew steadily brighter, they were forced to cover their eyes. All of a sudden, the glowing triquetra vanished, leaving a familiar figure standing before them.

At first, there was a stunned silence, and then Piper sprang into action. "Okay, so which one of you is the shape-shifter?" she demanded, looking between the two identical versions of her ex-husband, her hands poised to blow one of them up.

"Neither," Chris swiftly interjected, reaching out a warning hand towards her. Although it would have been funny to see his father scattered into thousands of orb particles, his cover was in danger of being blown, so he wisely decided to forgo the pleasure.

"That's the Leo from my time," he said, putting heavy emphasis on the name. "He's from the future."

Future Leo's expression only changed slightly as he absently registered what Chris was trying to tell him. Thwarting his son's plans wasn't why he had travelled to the past, he had come on a mission and nothing was going to distract him from his goal. Therefore, with that aim in mind, he twisted the cap off the small bottle that he held in his hands, and strode over to Chris, offering the glass container to him.

"Drink," he commanded.

"Why?" the young man asked petulantly, eyeing the bottle with suspicion.

"Chris please!" Leo's voice was anguished, despite the hint of irritation that lay just below the surface.

Shocked by this uncharacteristic display of emotion from his father, Chris automatically took the potion from his outstretched hand. He looked warily at the orange liquid in the bottle, then back up at Leo, a question in his green eyes.

"Drink," the Elder repeated, nodding his head in encouragement.

Stunned into submission, Chris set the bottle to his lips, tipped back his head and drank…

Okay, that's it for now. Let me know if you like it and if you want me to continue?