Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, I just like it.

Author's Note. I'm very Scatter-Brained at the moment, I have a lot of what I call gap-fics in my head and I'm working on them bit by bit.

Summary: This takes place between The Courtship of Wyatt's Father and Hyde School Reunion. Chris wants to open up to his mother and aunts but has to live with the issue of Future Consequences. Phoebe wants to find the father of the child she saw in her vision quest, but has lost sight of what love is all about. Piper wants Leo back in her life, but he's an Elder now and she fears being selfish. Paige wants to find her Raison D'etre, but can't leave her family in their time of need.

Chapter One
"Victor Bennet," Piper heard her father's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Dad, how's it going?" asked Piper.

"Good, we're funding the restoration of an older town in West Virginia. There's a lot of history here. It's a great investment. They want me to oversee it."

"Wow, that sounds great...So you're going to be there a while?"

"At least a couple months, this place needs a lot of work---are you alright, honey?"

"I'm fine, Dad. It's just a little cold."

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me if anything's bothering you."

"I know. Listen; just let me know when you're back in town. We'll have lunch. You should see Wyatt. He's getting so big."

"Sounds good. I meant what I said, Piper, if there's ever anything you need to talk about, I'm here for you."

"I know that, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, honey."

Piper hung up the phone. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked down at her stomach. It had been four months since she'd last seen Leo. She knew that if she called his name, he'd be there in a heartbeat. She just couldn't bring herself to do that to him.

"Why didn't you tell you father about Chris?" asked Paige, breaking Piper out of her reverie. She sat next to Piper on the bed.

"He's in the middle of a huge business deal, I don't want to bother him."

"I realize that I've only known Victor for a couple years, but he just doesn't strike me as the type who would mind his daughter needing to talk to him. From what I can tell, you're a lot more important to him than any business deal. Correct me if I'm wrong here."

"I can't just tell my father something this huge and complicated over the phone," said Piper.

"So why don't you tell him you need to talk to him face to face? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to take a few days off and come out here."

"I just don't want to bother him with my-well abnormal problems. He has a lot to deal with right now."

"Hmmph," said Paige. Now I know where Chris gets it from."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper demanded.

"He never wants to 'bother' anyone with his problems either. What both of you need to realize is that family members are there for each other. Asking for help or talking to someone does not equate bothering them."

"I agree," Piper sighed. "So why has Chris always felt he can't talk to us about anything? Why didn't he just tell me he was my son? Why couldn't he say that the reason he couldn't heal was because he was only half Whitelighter? Why couldn't he just say that he was protecting why from turning..."

Paige pulled her sister into a hug. "He had to get our trust before he could tell us about Wyatt. I mean c'mon, you probably would have blown him up if that had been the first thing out of his mouth. An if he'd told you who he was, it would have given you and Leo a massive case of performance anxiety."

Piper snorted into Paige's shoulder at the last comment. "Sorry," she said. Paige grabbed a tissue and laughed as she wiped her sweater. "I just know that Chris is going through a difficult time right now and he won't open up to me. He refuses everything I try to give. He won't even move into the manor!"

Paige sighed and stared at her feet.

"You know something," said Piper. It was a statement more than a question. Paige lifted her eyes to meet her sister's.

"Well, it's more like I understand something. Chris doesn't feel like he has the right to move into the manor or accept family related help."

Why would he feel that way? I mean he grew up in this house, he's my son for God's sake!"

"Piper, he didn't grow up in this time. He had to pretend he was someone else for several months. Although he hasn't outright said it, I know what he's going through. I went through the same thing. It took me almost two years to feel like I belonged here. It's not anyone's fault," said Paige as Piper suddenly looked like she was feeling very guilty about Paige's early days as a witch. "It's just the way things were. I didn't grow up here with the rest of you, I was three years behind you and Phoebe in the craft, and you were mourning Prue. I just hadn't been through everything with you, so I didn't understand a lot of things."

"I'm sorry about all that, Paige. We really did push a lot of rules on you. How did you come to feel like you belonged here?"

"I just went though a lot of things with my sisters," said Paige with a smile.

"Chris keeps disappearing every time I try to talk to him. He so damn stubborn. How are we supposed to help him feel like he really is part of this family when he's always so help bent on talking about anything not directly related to keeping demons away from Wyatt?"

"You're just going to have to be more stubborn than he is," Paige answered matter-of-factly.

Four Months Earlier
The words 'You've been given a second chance, don't waist it' echoed in Chris's head. He had no intention of waiting his second chance. He was determined to use it to give his brother and the entire world that same second chance. That meant getting right back to work on finding whatever evil had turned Wyatt. Chris knew that if only he could stop that his brother would be good and thus do a lot of good for others. He orbed to the Manor to talk to the sisters and Leo about the next demons.

Chris reflected on the relationship he'd developed with his father over the past few months. Sure things had started out rough. What with him sending Leo to Valhalla and Leo beating the crap out of him, nearly killing him with a sword and threatening to have his soul recycled over it. Chris let himself laugh at that thought. After nearly ceasing to exist, things just seemed funny. Despite all that, Leo had been able to set aside his distrust. He had been determined to help Chris when Bianca had been sent by Wyatt to forcefully take Chris back to the future. He had also been the only person to continue trusting him after the order had kidnapped Wyatt. For the first time in a long time, Chris allowed himself to have hope for a relationship with his father. Heck, it was the first time in years he'd consciously admitted that he wanted a relationship with Leo.

Chris sensed that his mother and aunts were at the Manor in Piper's room. He decided to orb into the hallway and knock, as per the unspoken rules. The Charmed One's looked like they were talking about something very important.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

Chris felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as his mother turned and stared at him as though she'd never seen him before. Phoebe and Paige smiled at him encouragingly. Oh God, they told her, Chris thought. He suddenly had the desire to orb the hell out of there.

"Sorry, I'll come back later!"

"Chris, wait!" said Piper running over to him and grabbing his arm before he could Orb away. "It's okay, we were just talking about you." She led him over to a chair and sat him down. The was an awkward silence. Chris nervously fidgeted with a button on his shirt as all eyes were one him.

"That color really brings out your eyes," said Piper beginning to smile warmly at her newly discovered son. Chris hadn't seen his mother look at him that way in years, not since right before her death. He felt a mixture of relief and sadness wash over him. Piper knew the truth and she wasn't rejecting him.

"Um, where's Leo?" he asked hopefully. Piper stopped smiling.

"He went Up There to join the other Elders."

"What!?" asked Chris, trying to hide the outrage in his voice. "He just left you? Left Wyatt?"

"He had to go. As long as he was on earth, he was putting the other elders as risk, us too. He couldn't keep doing that.

"I have to get to work on the next demon," said Chris quickly standing up.

"Chris, what's wrong?" asked Piper.

"Nothing," Chris lied as he started backing toward the door. "I just have to find out who's after Wyatt."

"Can the next demon wait till after lunch?" asked Piper. "We've obviously got a lot to talk about."

"We've already lost a lot of time with--," Chris was about to say 'trying to get me conceived, but stopped himself. "--well headless horsemen, genies and darklighters. I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Alright," said Piper. "Let's compromise. You hit the book of shadows while I get lunch ready. I'm not taking no for an answer, young man."

"Yeah, sure," said Chris. "See you in a bit."

He orbed to the Golden Gate Bridge, fell to his knees, buried his face in his hands, and started sobbing. He had really screwed things up. Leo may not have been the world's greatest father to him, but at least he'd always been there for Piper and Wyatt. Chris kicked himself. He just had to go and make things worse for his family. Somehow he had to keep himself from changing anything else for the worse.