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Konban wa
I can’t sleep, and I just heard the sweetest song ever. I don’t know how many people would like the tune – country type, but I’m not too picky ‘bout that sort of thing. It’s the lyrics that got me; they’re so touching! And… the song was absolutely perfect for Chris! Whoever knows me knows I can’t pass up an opportunity like this. Now remember, this is my first songfic; so please try to be nice. And if you really can’t be nice at all (which constitutes as a flame), I’ll let you know right now I don’t get offended with flames. However, if you flame me, that automatically gives me permission to make fun of you. I can and will use the flame to laugh at you – and I will do it publicly on fanfiction. I don’t make a habit of being rude like that, but once someone’s already flaming – eh, I kind of don’t mind in that scenario. Just letting you know, you’ve been warned.
Here’s the URL for the song – check it out if you haven’t already heard it before. Just delete the spaces, and you’re good: video. google. com/ videoplay?docid(equal sign)2778001341589611229 -- Now, my suggestion is that you listen to the song while you read the fic, but that’s just me. When it says "(equal sign)", write the actual equal sign, not the words "equal sign". And don't put in the parenthesis. I just can't write an equal sign on fanfiction; it doesn't let it work, unfortunately (rolls eyes).
“Love you, Daddy,” the child mumbled into his father’s shirt.
“Love you, too, Chris,” Leo murmured in reply. He forcibly broke Chris’s hands apart and pulled out of the hug ruefully. Blue eyes locked on green ones, and Leo forced a smile, one even a child of Chris’s young age could accuse as being false.
Chris’s gaze fell, and he bit his lip. “You isn’t comin’ back, is you?” he asked quietly, tears filling up in his eyes despite his promise to daddy that he wouldn’t cry. Big boys don’t cry, he repeated to himself until he was able to control his desire to sob his heart out. Daddy always left again, even when he promised “this last time is for good.”
Chris had thought “for good” meant forever, but apparently it meant “for the Greater Good” because he always ended up leaving again. Like now. The boy dreaded the day Leo would leave and forget to come back.
“Of course I am,” Leo replied firmly. “Look at me, Chris.” Chris obeyed, bringing his tear-filled gaze up to stare into his father’s deep, sea-blue eyes. Seeing Leo’s face was too painful with the knowledge that he would soon be gone for another who-knew-how-long, so he dropped his eyes to the floor again, blinking furiously. Calmly, Leo placed two fingers beneath Chris’s chin, lifting his head again.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Chris whispered tearfully.
“Don’t be,” Leo sighed. Tenderly, he kissed Chris’s forehead, whispered another quick, “I love you, son,” and vanished in a pillar of bright, white orbs.
Chris bit his lip until he felt the metallic taste of blood trickle into his mouth and then chose to let his tears spill onto his cheeks. Piper, who had been standing nearby silently watching the exchange, rushed over to her baby and pulled him towards her. He buried his face in her shirt and sobbed openly, crying words incomprehensibly.
“Why does he always have to go?” Chris hiccupped at last once he had calmed down somewhat. Piper shook her head helplessly. How could she possibly explain to her naïve son such a difficult concept in such simple words, a concept she herself still had trouble understanding at times? Shouldn’t it be simple enough; if Leo loved his family, shouldn’t it be easy for him to choose them over being an Elder?
Daddy hugs his little man
says, son, I’ve got to go
and he pulls out of the drive and disappears
as they walk back in the house
the young boy asks his mama
where does Daddy go when he leaves here?
“He has to protect the world, honey,” Piper sighed at long last. “He can’t very well do that when he’s at home playing with us, can he? He goes up to Heaven to look after everyone. I know you miss him, but he spends as much time with you and Wyatt as he can.”
Chris nodded, though he couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
“He protects the people from all the big bad demons that come after them every day. It’s those demons that keep him so busy.” She smiled gently at her son and kissed his cheek. “Go on, go to your room and play, Chris. I’ll call you down for dinner, all right?”
He nodded and rushed off to his room, mulling over his mother’s words. A plan slowly formulated in his mind, and he scrambled up the stairs to shut his bedroom door. He had practicing to do if this would work.
Hands curling into tight fists, Chris swung his arm around and sunk it deep into his mattress. A pair of little, emerald eyes lit up with delight; and a smile slowly spread across Chris’s mini features. This will definitely work, he thought eagerly and let another punch rip through his body.
Then, he straightened his back and scrambled up onto his bed as quickly as his legs would carry him. He stood erect and tall, reminding himself of that Superman movie he had watched with Wyatt last week. Superman was a hero, and Chris would have to be, too, if he was to receive what he always wanted.
Superman didn’t have no Daddy neither, he thought miserably to himself. A’course, he didn’t have no Mommy neither. I gotst a mommy, though… Wish I had a daddy, too, though. That’d be fun to have him home for just a little while.
“If I’m good,” he said aloud as a reminder. Then, he launched himself off his bed, throwing a kick at an invisible attacker and landing hard on his bottom. “Ouch,” he grumbled sorely, rubbing his behind as he clambered to his feet. He tried again, squirming onto the bed and hurling himself off of it. It took him four tries to land on his feet, and when he did he proudly threw his chest out in front of him, hoping Daddy was watching from up in Heaven.
If he had time to check up on me while he’s in Heaven, Chris reminded himself, angry at his apparent foolishness; he would have time to orb down here and see me, too.
“Orbing!” he said in sudden revelation. “That’s it!” He hopped off the bed halfway up to climbing back onto it and closed his eyes in concentration. To vanquish demons, of course, one couldn’t practice only hand-to-hand combat and combat moves. Chris had to become an expert in the use of his powers as well.
Wiggling his fingers, he squeezed his eyes shut and… went nowhere.
“Come on, come on, come on, comeonecomeoncomeoncomeon —”
Suddenly a spark of pale blue orbs shot up from the floor around his feet and swirled around him. He gasped in surprise and soon vanished from view. Almost half a second later, however, his power failed him; and he rematerialized, tumbling to the floor beside his bed.
Dusting himself off, he almost screamed with delight, remembering only just in time that he didn’t want to alert his mother to his plans. At least not yet – not until he was ready for her to know.
He jumped into the air, hoping to gain momentum somehow as he again attempted to summon orbs. He came crashing to the floor painfully and groaned, trying to push away the throbbing in his arm.
Piper’s voice came wafting up the stairs. “Chris! What are you doing up there?”
“Nothing!” Chris called back innocently, jumping to his feet as if afraid she might burst into his room and see him in a mangled heap and wonder what he had done.
Not believing Chris’s blameless tone for a second, she replied, “Don’t jump around in there!” He blushed and screamed down an apology before promising himself to be quieter. He couldn’t have her finding out what he was doing and perhaps stopping him from doing it. That wouldn’t do for him at all.
He forced himself to orb over and over until he could call up his powers on command. When he was sure he’d be able to orb himself out of trouble on a moment’s notice, he moved on to his next power: telekinesis.
He twiddled his fingers together, and the curtains rustled. He blinked forcefully, and a picture frame zoomed off of the dresser and towards his head. Surprised, he ducked; and the picture of him and Wyatt as babies shot past his ear. He swallowed the urge to yelp, knowing that would most definitely attract Piper’s undesired attention. Besides, it was an unwritten rule in the Halliwell manor that one did not scream unless a demon attacked. Although Chris was most definitely one for breaking the rules – he was a Halliwell in that respect – he wasn’t particularly fond of crossing Piper when he could avoid it.
He worked tirelessly, pushing his body further and further as he motioned to one object after another. When he waved his arm at the light switch, his pillow smacked him in the back of his head. Waving his hand to set the pillow make in its rightful position, he found his teddy bear floating calmly toward him from the box in the closet.
“No, no, no,” Chris cried in frustration. “You go back to where you belong!” The stuffed animal paused in the middle of its flight and – ever so slowly – turned around, bobbing up and down in the air as it returned to the box in the closet. Chris let out a sigh of relief, wiped away sweat that ran in rivulets into his eyes, and again stared at the pillow.
Hands on hips, he glared at the inanimate object and demanded of it, “You’re going to go back onto the bed. Now.” When he pointed at it angrily the way Piper always did to him when he took a cookie without asking, it gave on shuddering leap and hopped back onto his bed, snuggly in place. A small smile graced Chris’s lips. He turned around but paused for a moment and, remember his manners, said, “Thank you.”
Relentlessly, he moved from one object to another, pulling it out of its place and ordering it back, making it twirl around in midair and do little jigs around the room. He continued like this until everything he owned had been moved at least once. Then, he flopped down on his bed and twitched his fingers. His pillow wriggled towards him like an excited puppy, squirming beneath his head.
“Thanks,” he gasped a second time, his throat dry and cracked from his workout. He thought about which of his other powers he could practice next but realized there was no way for him to try any of them now. His telepathy couldn’t be practiced without someone else with him, and he didn’t dare tell his mother what he was up to and run the risk of her forbidding it. His sensing powers were weak, and he didn’t really know how to activate the power.
The one power he was capable of using was too dangerous in his mind for someone as weak as he was. He didn’t know why the Elders had given him such a risky power. Electricity and curious, little boys didn’t mix too well. Chris had found that out the hard way when he decided to practice that particular power in the bathtub last year. It had taken the tireless work of Leo and Wyatt’s combined healing powers to bring him back from the brink of death. Chris didn’t intend to repeat such an experience any time soon.
“It’s now or never,” he whispered fearfully to himself. Shaking his head to clear it, he sat up and carefully slipped off his bed. Crossing his fingers, he murmured a soft prayer and hoped that maybe his daddy would be the angel to find it and bring it to God personally. Leo might be willing to put in a good word for his son to God.
mama tells her little man
your daddy’s got a job
and when he goes to work they pay him for his time
well the young boy gets to thinking
and he heads up to his bedroom
and comes running back with a quarter and four dimes
He slunk out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him and then realized it might be better to prove to Mommy how well he could handle his magic. Otherwise, she might not believe him when he told her what he planned to do. He didn’t want her to think he was a baby or anything.
Breathing deeply to calm his nerves, he closed his eyes and thought hard about the pretty shirt Mommy was wearing that was covered in purple and pink hearts. A picture of the kitchen popped into his head, and he could clearly see the counter – spotless as usual. The fridge was open, and Piper rummaged through it to find a food to use for dinner.
It occurred to Chris that this was how to sense for people. He smiled and then commanded his body to go to the place in his mind. His head buzzed, and everything felt a bit fuzzy, like a headache that wouldn’t come just yet. His nose itched profusely, and he sneezed before he could stop himself. The prickly feeling lingered long after the echoes of the sneeze had vanished from the air.
Hearing a small, “Atchoo!” Piper turned around to find her son appeared in a stream of white-blue orbs.
“Chris, you know you can’t do magic in the —” She froze mid sentence, eyes widening in shock and disbelief. “Oh my god! Chris!” she exclaimed suddenly, and he jumped, startled. Fearfully gazing up at her, he was astounded to find pride glimmering in the recesses of her eyes. “Did you just orb downstairs all by yourself?” she wondered.
“Mm-hm,” he replied proudly, grinning shyly. “And look what else.” He scratched the side of his face with one hand, and the refrigerator door slowly closed itself. Piper watched in astonishment as Chris caused the door to open again. The jug of milk gently floated out, rocking back and forth but never falling. Chris had perfected his telekinesis; it used to be wild and unpredictable. He could never be sure he would be able to bring to him the object he desired or the cat from two doors down. He was powerful but untrained in the use of such magical strength. Now it seemed as if he had taught himself what the Charmed Ones had been attempting to show him all along: control.
Piper knelt in front of Chris and smiled at him as she heard the milk land on the counter behind her with a muffled thump. Placing her hands on his shoulders so that he was looking directly at her, she asked, “How did you do all this? Why?”
Scuffing his foot against the floor in embarrassment, Chris mumbled, “I just practiced it up ‘n my room is all. A’cause now we could go vanquish demons, right?” He looked up at Piper eagerly, a silent plea shining in his bright eyes.
“What? Demons?” She felt her heart beat a little faster. Wyatt still didn’t ask to go on demon hunts with his mother and aunts; he had no interest in the subject. Piper had hoped that Chris would be the same, not wanting to expose him to such dangers until much later on in life. Her younger son had never shown interest in demons before; why the sudden change? “Why do you want to fight demons?”
Glowing, innocent eyes stared up at her as Chris responded, “You said Daddy’s gotta save people from the big bad demons, and that’s how come he could never be ‘round and play with me ‘n Wyatt.” He bit his lip slightly, wondering if he really wanted to tell Mommy the truth. Finally, unable to keep his contemplations bottled up any longer, he spoke again. “If we get rid of more demons, that’s not so much he’s gotta kill,” the child reasoned. “Then he could come home.”
“Oh, honey,” Piper sighed tearfully, drawing her son into a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry about this.”
Chris refused to accept apologies; Mommy had done nothing wrong and possessed no reason to say sorry in the first place. Instead, he pulled away and excitedly asked, “D’you think five demons is enough to kill ‘fore Daddy can come home? I think it’s enough, but I could do six if he wants.”
His tone was hopeful, and it positively broke Piper’s heart to listen to him speak this way, as if Chris were somehow able to change the outcome of his life – as if he were the reason Leo wasn’t home enough for his sons.
and says mama how much time will this buy me
is it enough to take me fishing or throw a football in the street
if I’m a little short then how much more does daddy need
to spend some time with me
“Chris…”
“I know Daddy’s got lots of people to save,” Chris sighed, as if he had known what her reaction would be. Absently, he sank down onto a chair at the table, head propped on his fists as he watched Piper stare at him, heartbroken. “I know he gotst a important job.”
His gaze shifted, staring absently into space as he spoke in a hushed tone. “It’s just… aren’t there other angels up in Heaven? Is Daddy the only angel up there in the clouds?”
“No, of course not,” Piper murmured, wondering where this conversation would lead her. She sat down beside Chris and brushed the bangs out of his eyes, kissing the top of his head as he continued speaking.
“Then how come… how come he always gotst t’be in Heaven workin’? Why doesn’t he ever get a lunch break or… or nap time… or vacation. I get vacation from school, and you get vacation at work sometimes, too.” He pointed at her to emphasize her point, and she felt as if his stare were accusing, though it was anything but. “But Daddy never gets no vacation. It’s not fair,” pouted the five-year-old.
“I know,” Piper sighed, not wanting her son to know that ‘life’s not fair.’ She couldn’t bring herself to tell him those words, words that would forever be ingrained in his mind. She couldn’t do it; she couldn’t shatter his fragile heart into hundreds upon thousands of tiny shards.
Suddenly, Chris’s eyes lit up. “But,” he said, “If we kill all the bad guys, he can come back home for vacation, can’t he?” Nibbling on his bottom lip, he reasoned, “I know he’s gotta lots of important stuff to do, but maybe… maybe I could get eight bad guys even. Would that be enough, d’you think?”
“Oh, Chris,” Piper whispered. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, I’ll do better, you’ll see,” Chris insisted gravely, bouncing his head up and down as if agreeing with himself. His eyes were dark and serious as he spoke, pensive. “I’ll remember everything in the whole entire Book of Shadows.”
“Chris…” This time Piper’s tone was warning him.
“I won’t do nothin’ bad, I promise,” he quickly said. “I won’t even say no spells out loud and won’t do no magic neither.”
“Not tonight, Chris,” she said, hoping that – by tomorrow – he would forget all about this whole event. She knew him better than that, though, and knew it to be a false hope. “Dinner will be ready just as soon as you set the table. It’ll be just the two of us tonight, I think.” She smiled affectionately at him.
“Wy’s staying at Cory’s house for supper?” he wondered.
I wonder why he says supper, Piper mused. Both my sisters and I all say ‘dinner.’ Then, suddenly, she remembered that Leo never said ‘dinner.’ She shook her head as Chris scrambled across the room to get the silverware and two plates.
the young boy tells his mama
now I know daddy’s busy
cause most times when he gets home it’s dark outside
but tell him I’ve got me some pennies
saved up from the tooth fairy
and I keep ‘em in my piggy bank and I believe there’s thirty-five
The next morning, Chris slipped out of bed bright and early – he rose to greet the sun, watching it cast its pink rays down on all of San Francisco. Purple, blue, and magenta hues painted the sky and bled together like an artist’s masterpiece – beautiful, vibrant, and alive. Chris saw all of this from the attic window, where he was perched with the famed Book of Shadows balanced in his lap. He had his legs curled up into a pretzel as his eyes scanned the passages, memorizing page after page after page about demons, warlocks, fairies, and other critters of the magical kingdom. If he were to help Daddy kill the bad guys, he supposed he ought to know what the good guys looked like as well – so that he wouldn’t accidentally hurt one of them in the process.
A little over two hours later, Piper awoke with a start, confusion written all over her face. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for her two boys, who always made sure to wake her every morning. Sometimes she dreaded the mornings; Wyatt and Chris apparently found it amusing to climb all over her as if she were a jungle gym until she stumbled out of bed to begin her day.
It took her a couple of minutes to remember that Wyatt had a sleepover the night before. And Chris, she wondered; where is he? Trepidation building in the pit of her stomach, she silently glided out of her bedroom and down the hall to Chris’s. Peaking inside, she immediately realized that Chris wasn’t asleep. His bed was made – a surprise to Piper, who usually had to force her children to keep their rooms neat.
“Chris!” she called frantically, moving towards the attic in case he didn’t answer. She would have to check the Book for whatever demon might have taken him. Frenzied, she wracked her brain, trying to remember if any demon had sworn vengeance for something or another; but while she panicked she could think of nothing.
Chris shuffled up the stairs with a yawn and smiled at her, his hair tousled, his pajamas wrinkled. “Yeah?” he asked.
Breathing an audible sigh of relief, she questioned, “What were you doing downstairs?”
“Just makin’ breakfast,” he admitted. “I gotst hungry.”
“Why didn’t you come to wake me, then?” she wondered with a frown. “You always wake me when you’re ready to eat.” She cupped his hand in hers and guided him towards his room to get him dressed.
“I know,” he replied, allowing her to pull his shirt over his head. “I was busy and forgot to wake you. Sorry.” He blushed, abashed.
Piper laughed, unsure of what was more amusing: the fact that Chris said he was “busy” or the fact that he was apologizing for not waking her almost at the crack of dawn. She decided her laughter was for both and easily settled the issue that way.
“Busy?” she echoed. “With what?”
“I was ‘membering the Book of Shadows like I told you,” he replied casually. He wriggled out of his pajama bottoms and obediently stepped into the pair of pants his mother held out for him.
Piper froze, eyes narrowing as she watched Chris get dressed. God, he was really serious, wasn’t he? Poor, poor boy…
“Listen, listen.” Piper glanced down to where Chris was urgently tugging at her shirt and forced a smile over the lump growing in her throat. “I know it; I know it. Listen to this.” He cleared his throat and flashed her a studious look before quoting, “‘Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night. The oldest of Gods are invoked here; the great work of magic is sought. In this night and in this hour, I call upon the ancient power; bring your powers to we sisters three. We want the power, give us the…’”
He stopped suddenly, and Piper’s eyebrows rose. She had a hard time believing that he randomly forgot the last word of the spell, especially since he knew the rest flawlessly. “Why’d you stop?” she asked.
“You said I couldn’t cast any spells,” Chris replied, “so I stopped just ‘fore the end so nothing happens.”
A chuckle bubbled up from Piper’s throat and she murmured, “My little man is so smart!” He grinned bashfully at her from beneath layers of dark bangs.
“D’you think Daddy could come home now?” he questioned innocently.
The smile instantly faded from Piper’s face.
and mama how much time will that buy me
is it enough to take me camping in a tent down by the creek
if I’m a little short then how much more does daddy need
to spend some time with me
Reluctantly, Chris trudged upstairs to his bedroom. Mommy told him he should go play in his room when all he wanted was Daddy. He thought about returning to the attic to memorize more pages of the Book of Shadows, thinking perhaps that was why Daddy still hadn’t returned. However, Piper had expressly forbid doing any such activity.
Instead, he shut his bedroom door as quietly as he could and slunk towards his closet. He had a secret of which not a single soul knew – not even Wyatt, who seemed to figure out all of Chris’s secrets. He had a way of forcing them out of the young five-year-old without Chris realizing what was going on.
This one, however, Chris kept as a carefully guarded secret; and Wyatt had not yet found out about it. Chris hoped to keep it that way, not wanting to be the object of Wyatt’s ridicule for yet another reason.
Carefully, he slid a small, wooden box out from beneath a pile of folded blankets. The blankets were used for guests when they came over, which was why it was the perfect hiding spot for his box. Few guests ever entered the manor, and they certainly never spent the night. Piper never found reason to use the blankets collecting dust at the bottom of Chris’s closet, and she therefore never found out about his special secret.
The box swung open with a ‘click’ as Chris flicked his wrist at it. Gingerly, he lifted a stack of pictures into his hands and placed it in his lap, smiling as he caught sight of the top one. It was a picture he had “borrowed” from the photo album labeled, “2005.” The picture was professionally done, one of himself, Wyatt, Piper, and Leo. Leo stood behind a supremely uncomfortable Wyatt, whose fingers tugged at his collar as if it were too tight. Piper sat beside her ‘little man’, holding her other son, whose vibrant smile lit up the entire photograph.
“Hi, Daddy,” Chris whispered, gently tracing the outline of Leo’s face with a slender finger. He flipped through the photos until he came to one about a year after the first one. This one came from a picture frame that once hung on the wall of the manor before the glass frame shattered from one too many fireballs. He had salvaged the picture, hiding it in his box without anyone ever realizing.
The next picture he paused to see was one from two years ago, Wyatt’s fifth birthday. Leo stood beside a grinning Wyatt, his three-year-old son on his shoulders with a grin wider than his brother’s. This had always been Chris’s favorite picture, the single one that proved Leo didn’t love Wyatt more. He loved his sons both the same, and this photograph proved it.
I wonder how long Daddy will be allowed to visit us before his bosses call him back to Heaven again, he contemplated gravely. Even if we kill lots and lots of demons, they’ll prob’ly have more baby demons quickly.
“How long does it take anyway?” he questioned aloud, his voice echoing in the nearly silent room. “Maybe they’ll let him come for more than just one day.”
Chris’s mind spun at the prospect of spending time with his daddy for a couple of weeks instead of a couple of hours or days. They could go to the park and play tag with Wyatt and Mommy. Or, if Wyatt didn’t come (and Chris would have no complaints there), they could go to the pizza store and play tick tack toe all day until the food got there. The pizza store always took forever to bring the food.
Then, they could go home and watch a movie; Chris would even let Leo pick whichever one he wanted. That way he wouldn’t get bored of some silly cartoon and orb back the Heaven again. Chris wouldn’t mind much about watching a grown-up movie, even if he didn’t understand it. He probably wouldn’t pay much attention to it anyway because the important part was that Daddy would be there to enjoy it with him.
And if it’s only one day, he thought with a hint of regret, that’s okay. I promise I won’t complain even one teensy, weensy, little bit.
mama how much time will this buy me
is it enough for just an afternoon a day or a whole week
if I’m a little short then how much more does daddy need
to spend some time with me
Piper shook her head, furiously brushing away tears as fast as they cascaded down her cheeks. She hated watching her son’s crestfallen expression fall into place as she informed him Leo might be a while. Chris had a father that was always busy and desired nothing more than to spend a bit of bonding time with said parent. If only Leo knew how much Chris hurt inside, perhaps he wouldn’t be so quick to always orb back Up There.
“Leo,” she whispered softly, half expecting him to ignore her. After all, how many times had he done so already only to return hours later with excuses?
To her immense astonishment a tornado of orbs collected in front of her, solidifying into her husband. His eyes filled with concern and worry as he asked, “Piper, what is it; what’s wrong?”
He must have heard the desperation in her voice when she called his name, the despair that filled her to the brim and threatened to spill. “Chris…” she murmured miserably. “He needs his father.”
“What are you talking about?” Leo wondered. “Is he all right; where is he?” The Elder’s eyes scanned the room, searching for his son and expecting to find him bloody and bruised. The room was empty save for a tearful witch and a very bewildered Elder.
Piper thought about telling Leo the entire truth – how Chris perfected his powers and memorized more of the Book of Shadows than all the Charmed Ones combined just to see his daddy. She opened her mouth to tell him that Chris wasn’t even close to all right – at least not emotionally.
Then, she thought, If I tell him there aren’t physical wounds, he’ll orb back Up There.
So, even though she wanted to hurt Leo as much as the father had hurt their son, she whispered, “He’s upstairs.” She refused to give him more information so that he was forced to hurry up the stairs to find out for himself if anything was truly wrong. His robes swished behind him, reminding Piper that Leo had a duty to the world, that it wasn’t his fault, that he was more than just father.
Family should come first, she thought angrily as she rushed to follow him upstairs.
When she arrived, Leo was already in Chris’s room. Instantly, he could tell that Chris was in no physical pain; and Piper waited with bated breath for him to orb away, angry with her for calling him down for no reason. Chris hadn’t noticed his father yet, and Piper didn’t want him to if it meant seeing him orb out of the room. She hoped Leo would have the decency to at least leave the room so that Chris wouldn’t notice his parting orbs.
She remained rooted to the spot as Leo cleared his throat; Chris’s head jerked up in surprise, and he quickly stuffed a pile of photographs into a wooden box and shoved it beneath his bed, turning a becoming shade of ruby. Smiling, Leo knelt beside his son and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Chris hugged him back, confused, and wondered, “How come you’re back so soon, Daddy?”
Leo pulled away just long enough to look the boy in the eye and replied, “I came by to visit you, buddy.”
A smile blossomed on Piper’s face as she watched Chris’s face break out into an ecstatic smile. Incidentally, she had never seen a more beautiful picture than this one right here.
mama takes her little man
sets him on her lap
and starts dialing up some numbers on the phone
she says daddy come home early
you don’t have to chase that dollar
cause your little man has got one here at home