CHARMED

"Consequences"

by J. B. Tilton

email: aramath@isot.com

Rating: G

Disclaimer: "Charmed" and all related characters and events are the

property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically

created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of

copyright is intended.

* * *

(Authors note: This story takes place between season 6 episodes "Sword And

The City" and "Little Monsters".)

* * *

Chris orbs into the manor and finds that things have changed drastically.

Prue, Andy, and Cole are alive, the girls don't have their powers, and Leo is

nowhere to be found. And what's more, none of them knows who Chris is.

* * *

ONE

Chris orbed into the living room of the manor. As he finished his orbed,

he nearly collapsed on the floor, barely keeping himself from falling by

grabbing the edge of the sofa. It was a sensation he had never experienced

before. Halfway through the orb he had suddenly become dizzy and disoriented.

Within a few seconds his head began to clear.

He looked around expecting a demon attack. But the manor was strangely

quiet. No demons were about. In fact, the manor looked perfectly normal. He

thought for a moment about the dizziness he had experienced. Maybe it was some

side affect from moving backward in time. He had half expected to have some

repercussions from it. The spell that had sent him back was supposed to have

kept his powers intact and so far they had seemed unaffected.

But this was not his time. He finally decided that spending so much time

in the past had finally caught up with him. He didn't feel any different so it

probably wasn't anything to be concerned with. Still, he'd have to take it easy

for a couple of days just to be on the safe side.

No one else seemed to be home. That made sense. Piper was probably out

with Wyatt somewhere. Paige was probably off somewhere studying the Craft or at

one of her temp jobs. And Phoebe would most likely be at work. He looked

around the living room and noticed Wyatt's playpen strangely absent. Piper

hadn't say anything about moving it. But after the last few demon attacks she

might have decided to move it upstairs to keep Wyatt closer to her.

He thought about the last few attacks. They hadn't netted him any

significant information. He still had no clue as to why Wyatt had turned evil

in the future. Time was beginning to run out. He had to find out what had

happened so he could change it. But the girls were so obstinate. He knew they

were but he wasn't prepared for just how stubborn they could actually be.

Chris went into the kitchen to fix himself something to eat. He might be

a White Lighter but he still had to eat. And with things relatively quiet right

now, he could take some time to relax. Something he rarely got the chance to do

lately. As soon as the girls got home they could set out looking for the next

demon on Chris' list. Maybe that would be the one he was looking for.

As he fixed himself a sandwich, something nagged at him. He couldn't put

his finger on it. He looked around the kitchen but nothing seemed out of place.

It looked exactly as it always had. Still, there was something not quite right.

If he could only figure out what it was.

He reached into the refrigerator to get a bottle of water and noticed

something odd. Some of the components that Piper used in her potions weren't in

their usual place. That was decidedly odd. Those components were highly

perishable. If she didn't keep them refrigerated, they would go bad very

quickly. She'd have to get some more and in an emergency they might not have

the time to get what they needed.

Now why would Piper remove the components from the refrigerator? She was

always adamant about keeping enough ingredients on hand to create a potion on a

moment's notice. It wasn't like her to simply discard any of them. And he was

pretty sure that neither Paige nor Phoebe would have either. Although, as a

rule, Piper made the potions in the family, any of the girls could make one.

And they all knew how important having the right ingredients was.

Eating his sandwich, Chris walked back into the living room. Something

still nagged at him. Like the name of a person that was right on the tip of

your tongue but you just couldn't pull it out. He knew that whatever it was

should be evident. But looking around the living room nothing seemed out of

place.

He looked at the clock in the hallway. It was nearly three-thirty in the

afternoon. Strange that none of the girls should be home yet. When Piper did

go to the club it was usually early in the morning or later at night. When she

could take Wyatt with her. And Paige didn't have a full-time job so she spent a

great deal of time around the manor. He wondered where the girls were.

Chris wondered through the house finally ending up in the kitchen again.

Maybe one of them was outside in the backyard. They did occasionally go into

the backyard. The rose bush back there should be in full bloom now. Maybe one

of them was out there picking some flowers for the house.

He found the backyard as deserted as the manor. He was becoming

concerned. Why would none of them be home? Leo would be off on Elder business

so it wasn't so odd for him not to be around. Plus, since he and Piper had

split, he tried to honor her wish that he stay away. So that she could sort her

life out.

"Okay, Chris, stay calm," he said to himself. "There's no reason to think

any of them are in any danger. There are no signs of demonic activity and if

any of them were in danger, they'd call for you."

He decided to go back into the house and call one of them. They all had

cell phones. He decided against orbing to them because he could never really be

sure if they were alone. Yes, a phone call was probably the best course of

action right now.

He returned to the back porch and started to open the door. Except the

door wouldn't budge. It appeared to be locked. But that wasn't possible. He

hadn't locked it and it didn't lock automatically. You had to use a key. Then

he noticed movement in the entryway. It was hard to tell exactly who it was but

it was definitely one of the girls.

"Piper," he called out, pounding on the door, "Paige, is that you? Can

you open the back door? I seemed to have locked myself out."

He could have just orbed into the house. But he had learned that orbing

in unannounced could have an unsettling affect on the girls. Besides, he knew

he didn't need to use his magic unnecessarily. They'd hear the pounding and

open the door for him. After a few moments of him pounding, someone came into

the kitchen. It was Piper. She walked up to the door and Chris heard the key

turn in the lock. As the door open, Chris looked at Piper.

"Thanks," said Chris. "Somehow the door got locked and I was locked out."

"That's because I locked it," said Piper.

"Oh, that explains it," said Chris. "Are the others home yet?"

"No, not yet," said Piper. "Why? Is there something you need?"

"Piper," said Chris, smiling, "you know there's always something going on.

We need to be prepared for an attack at any moment. Wyatt could be in serious

danger if we aren't."

"Wyatt?" questioned Piper. "I'm sorry, are you selling something?

Whatever it is, we're really not interested. I really should be getting ready

for work. So, if you don't mind."

"Piper, are you okay?" asked Chris. "You're acting awfully strange."

"Well, you seem to know my name, so tell me something," said Piper.

"What?" asked Chris, getting a very strange feeling in the pit of his

stomach.

"Just who are you?" asked Piper. "And what are you doing in my backyard?"

Chris stared at Piper and realized she genuinely had no idea who he was.