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Chapter One: The Lie Of Love

Leo swore, shaking the pain from the cut on his hand. He slid himself out from under the sink. "Need help with that?" his eldest son asked him, picking up and apple off the counter. Wyatt polished it on his shirt, and munched down on it, hopping up to perch on the edge of the counter. He smiled down at his father. Leo sighed, "No thanks." He looked behind him and saw that the clogged sink had been fixed.

With all the worries they'd had about him growing up, Wyatt had grown up the same way he'd been as a child. He was sweet, and charming, and very careful about how to use his powers. Leo's smiling eyes hinted a change as he thought of his other son. He knew Chris had been troubled when he had come back from the future… but this was a different place than that. They had all agreed not to tell him about that. They didn't want him to worry. Leo didn't know what else he could do to help the kid.

Wyatt hopped off the counter. "I've got a class in ten… don't you have that Personal Gain class about now?" Leo nodded. "I was just working on this so that Piper wouldn't have to." Wyatt smiled. "Convenient that the only door to magic school is in our house." Leo laughed, completely agreeing. Since the accident, Wyatt had been helping him and Paige out at the school. Since other events, precautions had led to everyone having to enter the house of the Charmed Ones to gain access to the school. While the witches' powers weren't anywhere near as powerful as they were in their prime, their reputation, and the constant presence of evil fighters, kept the demons at bay.

Leo walked from the home and into the school that was now being called Halliwell High. It wasn't really just a high school, more like a school for all magic doers from the age they developed their powers, until they had complete control over their powers. The students started calling it Halliwell High after it became clear that most of the people running the school were Halliwells. His thoughts turned to the one Halliwell who had yet to offer the school his help… Chris.


Chris stood at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, teetering on the edge. He came here to think. He remembered his father did it a lot as an elder. The wind was cold, and blew hard. He closed his eyes, letting go of all the pain the memories held. He wasn't supposed to remember the way things had been. This wasn't supposed to happen this way. It wasn't fair that he woke up everyday wondering if this would be the day the dream ended, when he'd wake up to the darkness without a mother, without a father, without anyone. A tear slid out from beneath his clamped eyes. Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he took that last step, and felt the wind beneath him, carrying him home to stay. But he'd already died once, and he wasn't in a hurry to relive the experience. At least he'd accomplished what he'd set out to achieve. The world was good again.

Another tear escaped him. The arrival of good didn't save Bianca, though. She had died before he'd had the chance to find her, to save her. There were some things that he couldn't afford to forget, or he would have found a way out before now. He knew that his purpose wasn't done yet. A shimmer of orbs glowed behind him. He didn't face the elder. He wouldn't let them see him this way, in any way other than the strong, sarcastic person he thought he needed to be. The elder waited for him to say something. Realizing that he wasn't planning on it, she opened her mouth to speak. "We need you to take a new charge."

Chris wiped his face with his sleeve and faced Natasha. He crossed his arms. Even in the human world, she would have been old. "Is there anything that you need to tell me about this one? 'Cause I don't need another case like the last one. If she's going to try to kill me, I'd prefer to know now." His eyes bored holes into hers. Natasha laughed. She was one of the few elders that would deal with Chris anymore, and the only person who knew that he still knew everything. She was like the grandmother he never had… on his father's side, at least. Penny may have been dead, but that didn't ever keep her away from her family for long.

Natasha opened her arms in a peace offering. "No, she won't try to kill you. I promise. But she will be a challenge." Chris stiffened. It figured. "She is an unusual case. She's four years old and she's just coming into her powers." Chris let out a breath. "What's so unusual about that?" Natasha raised her eyebrow. He knew how she hated being interrupted. Chris snapped his mouth closed. "Neither her mother or her father are witches. It can be found in some cases, yes, but not in a child as powerful as this. Our concern is that one of her parents may have suppressed their powers accidentally. We're afraid that you'll have to find out how she got her powers. If one of her parents does possess the powers, it is crucial that we find a way to protect them both until they learn to control them." Chris heard her, but his eyes watched the bay. "Listen to me, Chris." His bright green eyes returned to the aged woman. "Chris, depending on how things turn out with this, they may be very important in the future. The Elders have sensed a new evil. It has been too long since the world has been faced with this kind of intrusion. We are all afraid of what could happen. The Power of Three is broken, Chris. I know that you know that, inside." He did know it. He'd known it since the day it happened, they all did. It was an unspoken truth. He also knew what it meant. "What do you want me to do about it?" Her ancient violet eyes pierced through him. "Save them. We need the Charmed Ones, Chris. Even the Twice Blessed Ones can't handle this alone. We think this girl may hold the key." Chris nodded. "What's her name?" Natasha smiled warmly at him.


Rudy Taylor rubbed her eyes. She'd finally gotten Kerri to fall asleep. It had been a long day, and she felt like she would fall over. She stumbled into her bedroom, removing her shoes and stumbling out of her jeans. She pulled her tee over her head and collapsed into bed. She wouldn't think about what would happen when her husband came home. She refused to think about it. As long as she didn't think about it, she'd be safe.

Rudy shuddered. She'd thought David would have been a good husband. A guy willing to marry his pregnant fifteen-year-old girlfriend wasn't something she thought would end up like this. She shouldn't be cowering in bed, pretending to sleep, refusing to scream because her daughter was just down the hall. Her small hands clenched into fists at the thought of her greatest fear. One day, she was afraid she'd come home to find the small bruised body of her child. Or that one day the little girl with the same dark hair and eyes as her mother would be taken away from her.

David could do it too. He only needed a reason. Rudy refused to give him that reason. So she stayed, and she didn't fight him. But the second he turned his anger towards Kerri, she'd be gone. With that, she knew she'd be able to take her away and keep her away. But until it was something other than just a frazzled young mother from a bad background's claims, she could only sit there, and let it happen. Yet again she cried herself until there were no tears left, and ignored the pain her frail frame was in. Yet again when he came home, she pretended to be asleep. Yet again, when he stroked her black hair from her face, she had to force herself not to cringe. Yet again, she let the lie continue as he fell into his place next to her. And yet again, she waited for the day to start, so she could start ignoring the lie she'd become.