Chapter Two
Salt in Open Wounds
AN: I've seen others do it, so I'll take a minute to introduce the children of the next generation. We know Wyatt and Chris. And I'm going to write Melinda as their little sister. For the purpose of this story she is indeed the little girl Piper saw in Morality Bites, Piper just had her a few years later than expected. Piper and Leo have a lot of insecurities about their children and have fears of losing them. I addressed a little the fears regarding Wyatt and Chris a little in the first chapter and that will unravel as the story does. As far as Melinda, well watch the conversation Piper has with Paige in Womb Raider I believe it is. She saw a daughter in the future, loved her then thought she'd lost her and was relieved when she finally was born. Get it? Got it. Good.
The children of Phoebe and Coop are somewhat over indulged and as a result a little bratty. Phoebe fans beware, she is bashed in this fic. Once she got those hideous bangs, well I didn't like her any more. And I vomited as much as Demian at TWOP at the line about the Elders feeling that they owed Phoebe after everything she'd sacrificed over the years. What did she sacrifice? Her youth? She ran around New York City for six months after grams died, then got to finish College while sponging off her sisters, including for a short time her younger sister. Did she sacrifice her career? Nope! She had a great job fall into her lap because her sisters were busy saving an innocent. Just a couple episodes earlier Paige turned down a promotion she'd worked really hard for because of personal gain issues. I mean when she cast the spell she had no selfish intentions whatsoever, heck she thought she was about to die and she was trying to help a woman get her child back. Suddenly Phoebe gets a job with an assistant and her own office because she stumbles across a woman ready to quit and that isn't personal gain? Basically Phoebe never worked or fought for anything she has. Her condo? After she lectured the crap out of Piper and Leo for wanting to move out in Pre-witched and nagged Paige to move into the manor, she suddenly moves out with Cole and goes to a party when Leo is being attacked by ghosts? Then she goes and buys a Condo right after Piper loses Leo and is suddenly a single mom with two small children and they have a so-called Ultimate battle that they may not survive looming? Ugh! And don't get me started on the so-called love Phoebe sacrificed. She never did take even partial responsibility for what happened to Cole. She stopped him from giving up the powers, which he only absorbed in the first place because he was saving her. She sacrificed love and lost relationships because of her own actions, which she never took responsibility for. And she only agreed to marry Coop when she learned there would be no obstacles. Epic love my arse!! They don't compare to Piper and Leo or even Paige and Henry. Anyway, their lame-ass kids are Priscilla-7, Laura-5, and Grace-1.
Paige and Henry, a couple I like (I wish they'd put Henry instead of Billie in the opening credits of season eight because he really was a great character who didn't get enough story). There are the twins Elizabeth and Annie who are seven and Henry Jr who is five and hero worships Wyatt and Chris.
"Mel?" said Annie as she came into the room. Seven-year-old Melinda Halliwell curled into a ball under the bed hoping her cousin wouldn't find her. "I know you're under there," said Annie lifting the blankets and peaking under at her cousin.
"I just wanna go home," said Melinda. "I hate it here."
"Priscilla's a poopy head," said Annie as she crawled next to Melinda.
"Yeah like her parents," said Mel. Both girls giggled. Melinda and her brothers considered Paige and Henry to be their cool Aunt and Uncle. Phoebe was constantly asking her sisters to watch her children because she was busy with work, appearances and book signings. She almost never babysat for Piper and Paige, which, truth be told was something the children didn't mind. Phoebe insisted on girls' night at her house when she had her three nieces over. Mel was hiding under the bed that night because Priscilla felt it necessary to remind her that she was Patty Halliwell's only grand child who wasn't part angel and therefore not as special as the rest. Annie and Lizzie didn't like the fact that Priscilla constantly reminded them that they didn't have as much money as the others.
"What are you two doing under here?" demanded Priscilla as she lifted the covers and peaked under the bed. "You're ruining Mommy's girl's night!"
"We were having an A-B conversation, Priss," said Annie repeating a saying she'd heard Wyatt use several times. "So C your way out!"
"You can't tell me what to do," said Priscilla. "This is my house."
Annie and Mel crawled out from under the bed to face Priscilla. "Just because this is your house doesn't make you the boss of us!"
"Oh yeah?" said Priscilla. She suddenly levitated and kicked her two cousins to the floor. Annie felt a wave of anger take over her.
"Lamp!" she called and orbed Priscilla's princess lamp so that it shattered against her (Priscilla's) chest and knocked her to the floor. Priscilla picked up her alarm clock and threw it at Melinda and Annie. Melinda froze it in mid air.
"Mommy!" Priscilla screamed. Phoebe came rushing into the room. She noticed the shattered lamp and the clock frozen in mid air. "Mel and Annie used their powers on me!" Priscilla sobbed.
"You did it first!" said Annie angrily.
"Did not!" Priscilla lied. "You're always teasing me about how your powers are better than mine!"
"Liar!" said Mel.
"Hey!" said Phoebe. "Don't you ever call her a liar!"
"She is a liar," said Mel. "We've never teased her about she powers. She teases me because I'm not part angel and she teases Lizzie and Annie because their parents don't make a butt-load of money."
"Don't believe them, Mommy!" said Priscilla. "They're just jealous."
"We'd never be jealous of a stupid spoiled brat like you!" screamed Annie.
"Alright, that's it!" said Phoebe. She pulled her two nieces into a standing positions and spanked them each once. "You two, go to your corners. I don't want to hear a word out of you.!"
Melinda and Annie both glared at Phoebe and headed out of the room. Mel suddenly turned and said: "I hate you Aunt Phoebe! And your stupid house and your stupid family! I never want to come to one of these stupid girls nights again!"
Phoebe was stunned she opened her mouth say something, then closed it. She raised her finger and pointed. "GO!" she shouted.
"I never want to come to this stupid place again either!" added Annie.
"Look," said Phoebe. "Just go cool off. We'll talk about this later."
"Won't be anything to talk about," muttered Melinda.
"Annie? Mel?" said Lizzie as she came into the hallway.
"They're in a time out," said Phoebe. "You can't talk to them right now."
"Why?" asked Lizzie.
"That's not your concern," said Phoebe sternly.
"Annie's my sister," Lizzie retorted.
"Don't mouth off to me in my own house," said Phoebe.
"I was just asking a question," said Lizzie.
"Do you want a time out with your sister and cousin?"
"Yeah, maybe I do," said Lizzie. "It would be better than being stuck out here with you!" With that Lizzie followed Annie and Mel down the hall to their respective corners.
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"The plan is working, Barbas," said Gartor.
"Yes," said Barbas. "Phoebe has always made attacking the Charmed Ones just a bit easier. When Paige and Piper find out she hit their children, I imagine they won't be too happy."
"And the Twice Blessed Child?"
"He's not taking the revelation to well. I think we need to show his little brother a few things about what his other self went through as well as some of the things that happened in the first couple years of his life. We just need to awaken his subconscious and let him see what Piper and Leo don't want him to see."
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"I've never understood why you two never want to bother Phoebe?" said Prue as she stood outside Wyatt's door with Piper and Paige. "It's not like the things she has to do are more important than what you two have to do."
"Maybe we were looking for an excuse to summon our big sister," said Paige as she hugged Prue.
"That's really sweet," said Prue. "Look I know Phoebe acts all put out and all when you two need her help, but she needs to learn to be there for you two as much as you've always been there for her."
"I just can't believe I need a freaking Power Of Three spell to get my son out of his room!" said Piper.
"Unfortunately," said Prue. "Two sisters, plus a ghost of one does not constitute the Charmed Ones, so like it or not you need to call Phoebe."
"I know," Piper groaned. She headed into her bedroom to pick up the phone. Leo was sitting on the bed playing a card game with Chris who looked miserable. "Hey Peanut," she said as she sat down next to him and rubbed his back with her right hand. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, mommy."
"He's worried about Wyatt," said Leo. Piper pulled Chris into a tight hug.
"Your aunts and I will have him out soon enough," said Piper. "Then we'll talk about this.
"Okay," said Chris. Piper kissed Chris on the forehead, leaned over and kissed Leo, and grabbed the phone. She pushed Phoebe's number on the speed dial and headed back to the hallway.
"Wyatt's going to be fine because of you, you know," said Leo. "You saved everyone when you came back."
"Okay," said Chris is a voice barely above a whisper as he pulled his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs. He stared ahead at a blank spot on the wall.
"Chris?" said Leo as he put his hand on his younger son's shoulder.
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"Coop, can you watch the kids for awhile?" asked Phoebe as she hung up the phone.
"Yeah, sure," said Coop. "What's going on?"
"Oh, Wyatt's magically sealed himself in his room and we need a Power of Three spell to get him out. Honestly, Piper and Leo really need to control their kids." She said as she kissed her husband on the forehead and headed for the front door. Melinda, Lizzie, and Annie silently scoffed in the next room. All of them knew that Wyatt was normally a very well behaved kid. At his worst he goofed off a little, but was never cruel like Priscilla.
Annie orbed a pen and paper to her self, wrote something on a couple pieces of paper and orbed them to her sister and her cousin. Melinda opened the paper and read the note. Why don't we orb to my place. Daddy won't mind. Melinda liked the idea. She scribbled back: Let's go when the coast is clear.
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Chris began breathing very rapidly and rocking back and forth. The look on his face suggested that he was terrified of something. "Chris, look me," Leo pleaded as he stood in front of his son grabbing his shoulders. Chris gave no sign of noticing his father. Barbas stood next to him in astral form, smirking.
"Piper! Come quick, something's wrong with Chris!"
Piper ran into the room. "What is it?" she asked frantically.
"I don't know, he's be catatonic. I've been trying to get his attention and it's like he doesn't even realize I'm here." as he ran his hands through his hair anxiously.
"Chris," said Piper in what she hoped was a soothing voice. Chris continued to rock. Tears began streaming down his face. "It's Mommy. C'mon Peanut, talk to me what's wrong?" Piper caresses Chris's cheek and felt herself being gripped with fear. "Oh God! This isn't happening, this is NOT happening. Chris, whatever it is, you have to fight it."
"Piper?"
"Leo, something's after our boys. First Wyatt locks himself in his room, now Chris is in some freaky trance. Chris? CHRIS!"
Chris finally blinked. He looked up at Piper gasped and quickly backed out of her grasp until he was up against the headboard. He stared in horror at his mother.
"Chris, sweetie, it's okay," Piper said as she reached for him.
"Don't touch me!" Chris growled. Piper froze, stunned at the way her little boy spoke.
"Chris, what happened?" asked Leo as he took a step toward Chris. Chris simultaneously threw his arms to shield himself and backed away from his father. He lost his balance and fell off the bed hitting his head on the nightstand. Piper and Leo ran to his side. Chris curled up into a fetal position as his parents approached.
"No! No! No!" said Chris.
"Chris, you're bleeding!" said Piper. "Paige, com quick, Chris needs healing!"
Paige ran into the room. "What happened?" she asked as she bent down and healed Chris's head.
"I don't know, he was in a trance and was suddenly scared of us when he finally came out of it," said Piper.
Chris sat up and scrambled behind Paige so she stood as a shield between him and his parents. "Chris, what's the matter? We're not going to hurt you, we love you," said Piper.
"THEN WHY DID YOU TELL ME YOU NEVER WANTED TO SEE HIM AGAIN?" Chris shouted.
"Wha-what?" Piper stuttered. He couldn't have possibly have seen that. There had been things that had happened before Piper had found out that Chris was her son, which Piper had spent countless moments wishing she could take back. Leo had been through the same thing. They had taken solace in the idea that their baby would never experience the pain his future self had.
"AND WHY WERE YOU GOING TO RECYCLE MY SOUL AND SAY I WASN'T FAMILY? WHY?" Chris screamed.
"Chris, listen to me," Leo pleaded. "Someone's messing with your head."
"You two have been messing with my head my whole life!" said Chris. He quickly orbed out.
"Paige, can you sense him?" she asked. Paige tried to sense for Chris.
"He's blocking me."
Piper ran to Wyatt's room pushing past Prue and Phoebe on the way. She banged on the door. "Wyatt, please come out. We need your help. Chris is missing!"
Wyatt opened the door, looking as though he'd been crying. "What happened?"
"I think a demon was playing mind games with him and if that's the case, he's in a lot of danger," said Piper.
Wyatt closed his eyes to sense for his brother. He could sense him but was having trouble looking for him.
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Chris materialized in Paige and Henry's living room. Henry sat on the couch with Henry Jr. watching National Treasure. "Chris?" said Henry. He noticed the tear tracks on his nephew's face. "Are you alright?"
"Chris!" said Henry Jr. excitedly as he jumped off the couch and ran to his cousin's side. He gave Chris a quick hug, took his hand and pulled him toward the couch. "C'mon and watch the movie with us, this is the best part!"
On the screen Ben Gates and Riley Poole were concocting and elaborate and hilarious scheme to steal the Declaration of Independence. "I don't want to be any trouble," said Chris.
"You're never any trouble," said Henry. "We love having you here."
"Okay," said Chris as he sat down on the couch.
"Do your Mom and Dad know you're here?"
"No."
"I'd better call them and let them know you're alright," said Henry as he reached for the phone.
"No, please don't," said Chris. Henry looked at him in surprise.
"Why not? They'd want to know you're safe."
"I just don't want them to know where I am, okay?"
"Chris, they're your parents--"
"If you call them, I'll just orb somewhere else--"
"Alright, I won't call them," said Henry. He put down the phone feeling as though he was between a rock and a hard place.
"Thanks Uncle Henry," said Chris as he watched Ben Gates toasting the 'men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right…' when Melinda, Annie and Lizzie Orbed in.
"Hey, I thought you three were at your Aunt Phoebe's," said Henry.
"We hate it there," said Lizzie.
"Yeah, Priscilla's a bossy brat. She was teasing Mel about not being part Angel and Aunt Phoebe spanked us and made us sit in corners because Priscilla said we were being mean," said Annie.
"She spanked you?" asked Henry incredulously. Paige and Piper were going to blow a gasket. Both of them were opposed to spanking their own kids let alone their sister's kids.
"What did Priscilla say to you?" Chris asked his sister.
"Nothing, it doesn't matter," Melinda replied using the exact words Chris himself always used to hide the fact that something was really bothering him.
"You're a much better witch than Priscilla will ever be," said Chris. "Don't listen to anything she says.
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"The cracks are there, Barbas," said Gartor.
"Yes," said Barbas. "Fear is getting ready to tear the Halliwells apart. Then they will be vulnerable enough for me to exact my revenge…at last."
AN: Okay, I was originally going to write a bunch of season six flashbacks with what Chris saw…but I realize I've read so many of those I've grown quite an aversion to them. Basically he saw When Piper blasted him across the room in Oh My Goddess, the two fights with Leo in Valhalley of the Dolls, his argument with Phoebe at the beginning of I Dream of Phoebe, and some Piper Leo interaction the LoSH. Use you Imagination.
