AN: Here is the second chapter. Hope you like it. I own nothing but the mistakes. For the purpose of this story, no one knows Chris is half witch/ half whitelighter. Bianca hasn't happened yet.
The soft light of orbs filled the conservatory. Piper tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Leo to re-form. The bitter pain hit her as it always did, swift and brutal, when she was faced with Leo, her personal reminder that love was unattainable for the Halliwell women; that love was doomed for her.
Leo appeared, swathed in brilliant blue, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his blond hair falling softly onto his forehead, and Piper had to clench her fists at her sides so as not to reach out and touch him. He was holding Wyatt, propped on one hip, and Wyatt was gurgling happily, content with his increasingly rare daddy time. Piper bit down on her lip hard enough to taste her own blood, the metallic taste sitting on the tip of her tongue, heavy with regret and longing.
"Blessed be."
God, how she wanted to tell him to take his blessed be and cram it up his ass, but airing her frustrations wouldn't help her to achieve the primary objective. Which was to find out who Chris Perry was and what the hell he wanted with her beautiful baby boy; for that she needed him alive and well. Taming her infamous temper, Piper pointed at a still unconscious Chris lying on the couch. "Heal now, bless later."
Leo shifted his gaze to follow the graceful arc of Piper's arm. His serene gaze widened slightly as he took in the unnaturally still whitelighter. As he moved over to Chris, Leo turned to address Piper. "What has he gotten himself into now?" Leo couldn't quite place his finger on the reason why he inherently mistrusted the shaggy haired Angel, but he did, and the knowledge burned a cold fire in his gut.
It was Phoebe who answered his question. "A demon got into the house. He wanted Chris and he used us as bait." Alarmed now, Leo turned to give the girls a closer inspection, eyes carefully discerning between injured and not. Satisfied the only casualty appeared to be Chris, he once again turned back to the fallen whitelighter.
"We're fine," Piper said shortly answering Leo's unspoken question.
"Some of us are fine," retorted Paige, jerking her head in the direction of the couch, her red hair bouncing with the quick stilted movement.
Phoebe was sitting, perched on the arm of the sofa, one hand resting lightly against the sweaty brown locks as Chris slumbered on unaware. She always was too trusting, Leo thought regarding Phoebe, much in the way Piper was impatient and Paige sarcastic. He sighed inwardly even as he placed his hand against Chris's shoulder. The golden glow reached out, the soft healing light, encompassing Chris's whole body. Leo placed his other hand against the worn fabric of Chris's shirt feeling the bony shoulder through the material. What happened he wondered, it was taking more energy to heal him than Leo had expected.
Piper watched as Leo healed Chris. It never failed to amaze her how beautiful her husband looked when he was using his gifts to heal and to save. It was why even though every atom in her body cried out in furious pain; she couldn't begrudge him his calling, not when he was capable of giving so much.
At least during her better moments. The other times, well… Piper was tempted to call Leo to the manor just so she could have the pleasure of blowing him up. Piper tried to quiet her inner turmoil. "Why is it taking so long?" She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, narrowly missing Wyatt as he played on the floor with his toys, blissfully unaware to the tension coursing through the adults around him.
"I don't know," answered Leo frowning slightly as he narrowed his gaze in utter focus and concentration. "It's as if he ran out of magical energy, much the way you can run a battery down." Leo lifted his hands and turned to face the sisters. "I've done what I can for him, now he needs to sleep it off, rebuild his magical stores. Rest will be the only way to accomplish this. Only, it's strange…"
"What," broke in Paige, her eyes already gleaming with the presentation of a puzzle.
"Well, his energy is like no other whitelighter energy I've seen, even that as strong as an elder."
"He's been here for months, Leo," fumed Piper outraged. "Are you telling me he's more powerful than an elder and you're just now picking up on it?"
"Yeah," broke in Paige, stalking over to join her sister in staring down the sleeping Angel. "You've healed him before right? What gives Leo?" Phoebe just continued to stroke Chris's hair while looking down at him thoughtfully.
Leo paced, gesturing with his hands as he talked. The longer he found himself on Earth, with the sisters, the easier it was to shed the serenity of his newly acquired position. He barely even noticed his own agitated gait as he tried to rationalize the quandary that was Chris Perry. "The only logical explanation is he has been lying to us all this time. He has been blocking all of us, keeping the full extent of his power a secret. It would take someone pretty powerful to shield like that."
"Why would someone do that?" Piper's voice broke as she looked at Wyatt sitting on the floor running his cars around and making vroom vroom noises all to himself. "What kind of agenda would require infiltrating our home and lying to us?"
"Let's put him in a crystal cage." This from Paige.
"Just take him away, Leo. Get him away from our son."
"Wait!" Phoebe's voice was like a breath of fresh air, calming and soothing, a neutral balm to counteract the hostility waiting to bubble and brew. "Don't you guys remember, he saved us? He pulled us out of a crystal cage. He took on tons of demons, demons that wanted to eat him like he was a delicacy. And obviously at great personal risk to himself," Phoebe nodded at Chris. "I don't think he's the bad guy here."
"Well excuse me if I don't fall into line behind your judgment. You didn't think Cole was a bad guy either. He made you Queen of the Underworld, Phoebe!" Piper's words sunk into Phoebe like the well-aimed darts that they were, and she sucked in her breath on an almost muffled gasp.
"I'm sorry," Piper muttered. "I am Pheebs, but…"
"We need the truth," finished Paige. "It's long overdue."
"I think, you better tell me exactly what happened here, before he wakes up. Then when he does, we'll know what questions to ask." Leo didn't like feeling out of the loop. He wanted answers.
"We told you," began Piper struggling to be calm and orderly when all she wanted was action and find answers now! "It was just a normal day until this green gross serpent demon shimmered in."
"Yeah, and he got pretty touchy feely with his knife too." Paige smirked but it was strained at the edges and just a bit sharp.
"He wanted Chris," said Phoebe. Her posture was ridged, her expression grim.
"He wanted me to call Chris," put in Piper. "He said if I called him Chris would come and then he would let us go." She looked down, shame momentarily crossing her features. "All he wanted was Chris."
"But Chris came and fought them. He saved us," repeated Phoebe still determined to champion the unconscious pale form residing on their couch.
"But how," continued Paige. "He fought them, yeah. But not with any whitelighter powers I've ever seen. He used telekinesis and had major fighting skills."
"And that power at the end… I don't even know what it was but it took out every single demon here." Piper bit her lip scanning the walls. "It even cleaned the walls, floors, and all the dead demon goo. It was just gone."
"Like a Molly Maid on black magic speed," mumbled Paige. She gave a startled yelp when Phoebe kicked her, disapprovingly.
"He saved us," Phoebe repeated just in case her two stubborn sisters hadn't heard her the first thirteen times.
"Okay," said Leo, "but you can't deny Chris Perry used powers far greater than he should possess. And although he used them to help you this time, if he is as powerful as you say, what will stop him from hurting you next time?"
"Which is why we need to know the truth," seethed Piper, clenching her clammy fisted hands. I will not blow things up, I will not blow things up, I will not…"
"Crystals" Paige called the crystals and put them in a circle around Chris.
"What are you doing?" questioned Phoebe indignantly.
"We need to find out the truth. Chris Perry is a being of supreme power, in our home, with an unknown agenda. I'm just taking the necessary precautions to keep us safe while we question him."
"Please Phoebe," implored Piper taking her hand in her own. "Help me keep us safe, help me protect Wyatt."
"Yeah, Pheebs. It's just until we know the truth." Paige gripped Phoebe's other hand in her own. The Halliwell sisters stood united, bound by ties both familial and magical in strength. Phoebe could feel her resolve crumbling, disintegrating underneath the force of Piper's twisted combination of love and fear
"Okay. But just until he proves you guys wrong about his motivations. Then we let him out and say thank you for saving our lives. Agreed?"
"Agreed," affirmed the sisters.
"Agreed," echoed Leo after Piper's elbow landed amidst his soft robs, making contact with his stomach.
"So now we just need him to wake up," bemoaned Paige.
And so they waited while Christopher Halliwell, drained, in pain, out of time and unloved slept the dreamless empty sleep of the truly depleated.
AN II: Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for all of your kind reviews for the previous chapter. I really want to improve my writing so any other reviews for this chapter are always appreciated it!