Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of its characters except the ones I make up. I do not seek to make profit out of this story.

The Last Straw

Leo Wyatt was a broken man. As the last surviving elder, it was his moral responsibility to help the dwindling magical community and encourage them to fight another day. But instead he found himself sitting on top of the golden gate bridge, silently weeping. Where did he go wrong? About six years ago his beloved wife had died in a well-executed demon attack on the manor. With that one event, his whole world had come crashing down. Was that it? If he had answered his younger son's pleading and orbed to the manor immediately, would it have made any difference? Probably not, it would have simply delayed the inevitable. Because Piper's death was not the trigger, it was the last straw added before the back of the proverbial camel broke.

Love is strength, he believed. This was not to be contested. It seemed logical enough. His love for his wife, Piper, had proved it. Twenty-five years ago, the relationship between a witch and her white-lighter was unheard of. When the truth about his and Piper's relationship had first come out, it had caused an unprecedented uproar in the magical community. But their love survived it. Eventually even the uptight elders had to give in and allow them to marry. Even after they were married, the difficulties were far from over. Leo was well aware that the relationship between the charmed ones and the elders was tenuous at best. Their mutual tolerance was strictly based on need. The charmed ones needed elders for occasional guidance while the elders needed the sisters to do their dirty work. Of course, the elders needed the sisters more than the sisters needed them. If he had fallen in love with an ordinary witch instead of a charmed one, the elders wouldn't have thought twice before recycling Leo and possibly binding the witch's powers. So as long as he could maintain a balance between his duties towards the elders and his responsibilities towards his wife, everything would be fine.

First time this delicate balance was truly shaken when his son Wyatt was born. His responsibilities as a father outweighed any duty towards the powers that be. Being a prophesized child, Leo was always proud of Wyatt. His very existence gave the charmed ones more importance in the magical community. The charmed ones were now far too important and the elders knew it. They responded by making Leo an elder. It was a feeble attempt to restore their lost control over the most powerful witches of all time. This made a severe impact on Leo's married life but the elders couldn't care less. Because of this he never truly had a relationship with his younger son but he still managed to be there for his wife and the eldest son. Between his duty as an elder and his responsibilities as a father to his two boys, Leo had to make a difficult choice. And he made the wrong one. That was probably his first mistake. Instead of thinking like a father, he thought like an elder. Wyatt, the twice-blessed child, is the future of the magical community, he thought. He needed more attention. Although his wife had been angry with him for neglecting his younger boy, Leo knew she loved him regardless. Circumstances forced them to live apart but he didn't consider his relationship with Piper to be a failure.

Love is strength, he believed. This was not to be contested. It seemed logical enough. His love for his son, Wyatt, had proved it. Had it really? Looking at the events of past few years, Leo was beginning to have doubts. Wyatt had always been a powerful witch. He has had powers since before he was born. He was the future of magical community, King Arthur of the modern day. The whole underworld had been after him since before he was born. There had been countless attacks on the manor just to kill, kidnap or corrupt his firstborn. That one time before Chris was born, they almost succeeded. Gideon, his mentor had somehow managed to get him back within a few days. God bless his soul. Wyatt seemed undefeatable, incorruptible. And why would he not be? He was the firstborn son of a powerful charmed one and an angel.

Was that the reason he had failed to see the signs? In retrospect, Leo could see that there were signs. Even as children, his younger son had always seemed to be more loving and caring. Wyatt had always been distant and… indifferent. Leo had never missed any of the important events in Wyatt's life. His birthdays; he was there. All of the important football matches; he was there. Whenever he was sick; Leo was there sitting by his bedside. Despite all his efforts, Wyatt never truly showed any affection towards him or anyone for that matter. He was closer to his younger brother than anyone else but that was about it. It shouldn't have been a surprise when Chris was the first one to notice the changes in Wyatt's behavior. He had tried to warn Leo but the omniscient elder had brushed it off as mere jealousy or sibling rivalry. That could have been his second biggest mistake. It certainly was one of his greatest mistakes.

If love is strength, then why did his unconditional love for his eldest son not give him strength to fight the evil that was corrupting him? The ones with absolute power corrupt absolutely, is that it? Or by playing favorites among his sons, did he plant the seed of superiority in Wyatt's mind? Was he merely a failure as a father or did he unwittingly play an instrumental role in the world's destruction? Leo quickly abandoned this line of thought. He knew he couldn't handle the answer, one way or another.

Love is strength, he believed. This was not to be contested. It seemed logical enough. His love for his son, Chris… Who was he kidding? Leo loved his youngest son, he knew it, but he certainly failed to show it. Chris's arrival in this world was… a surprise. That was the politically correct term. In hindsight, Leo realized he had always, although unwittingly, treated his youngest as an unplanned mistake. Whenever Leo visited the family, no doubt it had something to do with Wyatt or the sisters, Chris did everything in his power to please his daddy. Sometimes it was a new finger-painting he had made, sometimes it was a new joke he had heard in the school, sometimes it was a perfect score he had gotten on a quiz, sometimes, he remembered, it was as simple as a hug. The only thing he ever got from his father in return was a halfhearted smile and a pat on the head. Slowly, as he grew up, he learned a few hard facts of his life. He was not as powerful as his brother, he was not as important as his brother, his father cared more about his brother than he cared about him. Sure, he knew both his parents loved him, on different levels, but his father had a funny way of showing it. His mother did everything in her power to make him feel loved and needed. No wonder Chris grew closer to his mother. Leo always felt that both his sons as teenagers were rather cold towards him. The difference he didn't understand was that Wyatt's apathy towards him was innate while that of Chris was a learned response. It was a defense mechanism to protect his heart from disappointment.

After his mother's death and his brother's fall, Chris had shown a great strength of character. For past half decade or so, he had been doing everything Leo as an elder should have done. He was leading a resistance against his brother's tyranny. He was providing refuge for those, magical and mortals alike, who were being persecuted by Wyatt. And now, Leo had heard, he was planning to go back in time and try to save his brother. For the first time, Leo had truly understood the importance of his youngest son. For the first time, he was truly able to see the innate strength, not physical or magical but emotional strength, the young resistance leader showed. Sadly Leo had played no part in molding this great leader.

A familiar jingle of orbs pulled Leo out of his thoughts. He was surprised to sense his youngest son standing behind him on the bridge. Leo wanted to hug his son, tell him how proud of him he was, tell him that he could always come to his father in his time of need, beg for forgiveness for the way he treated him. But he found himself unable to see his son in the eye. Over the past decade, Leo's behavior towards his son had created a huge rift between father and son. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Chris was the first one to speak.

"You may have heard about my plans to go back in time. I'm here just to tell you about it myself. Don't worry; I'm not here to ask for your help. I have learned not to expect anything from you…" Chris said. To Leo, That sentence felt like a dagger being driven in his heart.

"Chris… Please, don't say that. I know I haven't been there for you while you grew up but I want to make up for that. I know I failed miserably as a father but I've always loved you. You know that, don't you?" Leo said in a broken voice. He pulled out an amulet with a triquetra carved on it from his golden robes and offered it to Chris.

"I had it enchanted a few months ago for you. I never got a chance to give it to you before. It'll protect you from evil. Please, take it", Leo pleaded.

"Why? Why now?" Chris asked without making any move to accept the gift from his father. Leo wiped the tears flowing down his cheeks.

"I want to make amends. I want you to know how sorry I am before you leave for the past…" Leo said.

"Just in case, things don't go as planned and I don't make it back," Chris stated, Leo's eyes widened in horror.

"Don't say that. You're going to be all right. I promise. It's just that… My past self is not likely to be very friendly and trusting towards you and I don't want you to hate me because of that," Leo said.

"The damage you have done is not that easy to repair. In all honesty, I cannot assure you that I will be completely civil towards your past self. But I can assure you that anything your past self throws at me, is not going to change the way I feel about you," Chris said in a cold voice but the tears gathering in his eyes threatened to betray his emotions.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Leo asked, still holding the amulet, hoping Chris would accept it. Chris broke the eye contact and looked away.

"I never hated you, dad," he said at last, "I'm mad at you for all the neglect. Over the years I learned to be indifferent. But I could never bring myself to hate you. That said; I couldn't bring myself to love you either. And if you think this one gesture is going to change that, you are sadly mistaken," Chris couldn't keep the bitterness out of the last sentence. Leo approached his son and forced the amulet in his hands.

"I'm not delusional. I know this is not going to fix our relationship. I'm simply hoping that this is a first step in the right direction," Leo said, his voice choking. Chris looked at the amulet in his hands with mixed emotions and without another word, he orbed away.

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