Chapter Two: I Dream of Phoebe
"Hey, Aunt Phoebe."
Phoebe jumped, surprised, and looked up to see Chris standing in the doorway of her office.
"Hey, stranger," she greeted, hugging him as he came over. "Where have you been the past few days?"
"Running calculations," he said.
"Calculations for what?" Phoebe asked, shutting the door softly.
"My conception date," Chris admitted. Running a hand through his already messy hair, he added, "I've got three weeks."
"Cutting it kind of close, aren't you?" Phoebe quipped. Seeing the hurt look in his eyes, she relented.
"Don't worry," she said. "We'll figure out a way to get your parents together in time."
"I was thinking of a love potion," Chris said, eagerly. Phoebe shook her head.
"We're not going to magically drug your parents to get them to sleep together," she said sternly. "Not unless there are no other options."
"So, what do you suggest?" Chris asked.
"I don't know, yet," Phoebe admitted. "What I do know is that Elise will have my head on a platter if I don't get today's column in before the deadline."
Picking the top envelope off the pile of unanswered mail, she waved it for emphasis, then her body seized as she was overcome by a premonition.
A woman cowered, her mouth open in a silent scream, as a demon hurled a fireball directly at her. Then, she went up in flames as the fireball hit her.
Phoebe gripped the edge of her desk, Chris steadying her from the other side, as she recovered from the vision.
"What did you see?" he asked, worriedly.
"I really wish everyone would find a new way to ask me that," Phoebe joked, weakly. Sobering, she added, "There's a woman about to be killed by a demon."
"Probably the letter writer," Chris said, taking the envelope from her and looking at the return address. "Jinni GeNie."
"Where is she?" Phoebe asked.
"Cairo, Egypt, at an archeologist's dig site," Chris said. "Since when do Egyptian archeologists write to a San Francisco advice columnist?"
"It's certainly a first," Phoebe said, taking the letter and reading it quickly, to see if she could discern anything about the woman's situation.
"That's not my point," Chris insisted. "What if this is a trap?"
"What if it isn't and there's really a woman in danger?" Phoebe countered. Grabbing his arm, she added, "Start orbing."
Chris sighed, but orbed anyway. They arrived at the dig site and looked around, cautiously.
"Jinni?" Phoebe called. "Jinni, we're here to help you."
"Oh, thank you!" a young woman exclaimed, darting toward them from her hiding place behind a rock heap. "You must save me!"
"Save you from what?" Phoebe asked, puzzled. "There's no one here."
"I think you spoke too soon," Chris muttered from behind her. "Look who just joined the party."
Phoebe turned and saw a demon hulking in the entrance to the cave.
"Who are you?" Phoebe demanded, moving to stand in front of Jinni, protectively.
"I am Bosk," the demon said imperiously. "And that's my genie."
"Not for long," Chris retorted, sending Bosk flying with a wave of his hand. Bosk retaliated by throwing energy at Chris, who recoiled in pain as he was struck in the shoulder.
"My bottle!" Jinni screeched, seeing something fall from Bosk's grasp. "Don't let him get my bottle!"
Chris swept the bottle over to them with another gesture and Phoebe picked it up, before Chris orbed them all away from danger, back to the Manor.
"You're a genie!" Phoebe exclaimed, furiously, turning on Jinni as soon as they rematerialized. "How could you lie to me like that?"
"I did not lie," Jinni protested.
"You said you were an archeologist," Phoebe accused, helping Chris over to the couch. He rubbed his shoulder, gingerly.
"Leo!" Phoebe yelled. He orbed in and went to heal Chris as soon as he saw what was wrong.
"I only said that I was at an archeology dig site," Jinni informed her. "You made an assumption."
"I only did it so you would help me," she continued, pouting slightly. "I was telling the truth about being with an abusive man. Bosk was not a kind master."
"Yeah, well, glad to help," Phoebe muttered, resentment coloring her tone.
"And I'm sure you will be a much kinder master," Jinni finished, a triumphant smile on her face.
"What?" Phoebe yelped. "I'm not your master."
"You hold my bottle," Jinni said. "That makes you my master."
Phoebe exchanged an incredulous look with Leo and Chris before returning her gaze to Jinni.
"Your wish is my command," Jinni said, brightly.
"Oh, crap," Phoebe muttered.
"Why don't I go get Piper and Paige?" Chris suggested. "I get the feeling we're going to need them."
"That's a good idea," Phoebe told him, but Leo stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"And after that, you can report to the Elder's Council," he told him. "We've been discussing the possibility of sending you back to the future."
"What?" Chris exclaimed, as Phoebe gasped in shock.
"You said you couldn't do that, because of the Titans," she reminded him.
"As it turns out, Chris was lying about the Titans all along," Leo said, harshly. "Paige never died in the Titan's attack. She lived and the Titans were defeated by you three, just like he claimed he helped make happen."
"Chris, is this true?" Phoebe asked, concern written on her face as she faced her nephew.
"Would you have believed me if I just told you right out that I came back to save Wyatt from turning evil?" he asked, rhetorically, rather than answering the question.
"That still doesn't excuse what you did," Leo said. "You'll face the Council, tonight."
"I really wish you would get over whatever issues you've got against Chris," Phoebe muttered darkly, angered at how Leo was treating his own son.
Then, her eyes widened and she clapped her hand to her mouth as she realized that she'd said the forbidden word. Jinni smiled brightly, nodded once, and her unconscious wish was granted.
"Leo, are you okay?" Chris asked, cautiously.
"Of course I am!" Leo exclaimed. "And, hey, don't worry about the other Elders. I'll talk to them, see if we can't reach a compromise to keep you here."
"Yeah," Chris said, slowly. "I guess I should go get Piper, now."
"Tell her to hurry," Phoebe said, a desperate look on her face.
Chris nodded and orbed away, leaving the three alone.
"I'm having a really good time, Greg," Piper cooed, snuggling closer to him on his couch.
"Well, I'm glad you're having such a good time," Greg replied. "In fact, that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" Piper queried, raising an eyebrow.
"I was wondering if you wanted to make this permanent," Greg said. Piper looked at him, puzzled.
"Make what permanent?" she asked.
"I was wondering if you and Wyatt wanted to move in with me," Greg said, his voice becoming more confident by the moment. "After all, we've been going out for a couple of months, now, and you know how fond I am of Wyatt."
"Yes, but," Piper protested, but Greg eagerly overrode her.
"And," he continued, enthusiastically, "we could use this as a gauge to measure if we want to take our relationship to the next step."
"You mean marriage," Piper said, feeling faint. "Greg, I'm-"
Someone knocking on the door cut her off, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Greg got up to answer it, but returned a moment later, his expression inscrutable.
"It's for you," he said, all the earlier enthusiasm gone from his voice.
Puzzled, Piper went to the door and saw Chris leaning against the door frame.
"Chris, what are you doing here?" she asked, stepping into the hallway and shutting the door softly behind her.
"We need you at home," he said.
"Right now?" she asked. "But I'm right in the middle of a date."
"Phoebe found a genie and has already made one wish," Chris informed her, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes as she mentioned her date.
"A genie," Piper said, flatly. "Unbelievable. Only my sisters…"
She trailed off and stared at a spot on the far wall for a moment before continuing.
"Give me a minute," she said. "I can't just leave Greg hanging."
"Oh no," Chris said sarcastically, as she went back into the apartment. "We wouldn't want that."
"Greg," Piper said apologetically, as she walked back into the apartment. "I'm really sorry, but there's a problem at home that I have to take care of."
"What about what we talked about?" Greg asked.
"I'm going to need some time to think about that," Piper told him. "It's just-it's just so sudden, Greg," she told him, seeing the hurt in his eyes.
"I understand," Greg said, looking over her shoulder. Then, a sheepish look came over his face and he faced her again.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm being childish. I'll see you later."
"Bye," Piper said, leaning in to receive his kiss.
Turning, she walked out the door, where Chris was waiting. Without a word, he orbed them both home. They orbed into the living room to find Phoebe and Leo arguing with a scantily clad woman.
"See how much this family needs you?" Chris asked.
Piper shot him a suspicious look, wondering exactly what he knew about her and Greg.
"What's going on?" she asked finally, going to where Phoebe and Leo were.
"I am not your master!" Phoebe snapped, ignoring Piper's question.
"You hold my bottle," the genie said, brightly. "Plus, you already made a wish."
"She did?" Leo asked, confused.
"Forget about it," Phoebe said, flushing guiltily. "Look, why can't you just go back in your bottle and leave us alone?"
"Because you still have two more wishes," the genie explained.
"Would someone care to make introductions?" Piper asked.
"This is Jinni," Phoebe said sourly. "She's a genie."
"That's what Chris said," Piper remarked. "What I want to know is why you brought a genie home."
"Because we didn't know she was a genie until after we went to rescue her," Phoebe fumed.
"A genie?" Paige asked, joining the group. "Someone care to bring me up to speed?"
"You and me, both," Piper said. Pinning her younger sister with a glare, she commanded, "Spill it."
"Jinni sent me a letter, asking for my help, which I got a premonition off of," Phoebe explained. "Chris and I went to help her, and we brought her here."
"Phoebe saved me from Bosk, my evil master," Jinni explained, helpfully.
"Well, get rid of her," Piper said.
"I've tried!" Phoebe cried, exasperated. "She just won't leave." Turning to Jinni, she added, "No offense."
"None taken," the genie said cheerfully.
"So, what are you going to do?" Paige asked.
"What else?" Phoebe asked, sighing.
"Book of Shadows," her sisters chorused, turning as one to go to the attic.
Paige's forward momentum, however, was stopped when her sweater and jeans transforming into a long, black evening gown. To Phoebe's surprise, she looked more annoyed than anything else.
"Did you do that?" she asked Jinni, accusingly.
"No," Jinni said. "It's lovely, though. Who conjured it?"
"Richard," Paige huffed out, angrily. "He thinks he can prove that he can control his magic by giving me elaborate gifts."
"I thought Richard was afraid of using his magic, afraid of losing control," Piper said.
"He was, at first," Paige said. "It's just been lately, the past couple of days, that he thinks he's invincible."
"Maybe he really can control his magic," Phoebe suggested.
"I hope so," Paige sighed. "I just can't help thinking about what happened the last time he used magic, the reason he said he stopped using it in the first place."
"Maybe you should go talk to him," Piper said.
"What about Jinni?" Paige asked, nodding at the genie. "Or what if Bosk comes back?"
"If we need you, we'll call," Phoebe assured her, making shooing motions with her hands. "Right now, it sounds like you've got your own magical mess to clean up."
"Okay," Paige said, somewhat reluctantly. "But you call me if you need me for anything."
"We got it, Mom," Piper teased. "Now, go."
As she was walking out the door, a pair of earrings appeared on her ears. She huffed in irritation, grabbed her car keys, and stormed out to her car.
"Attic," Piper said, hiding a smile behind her hand.
"Genies, genies," Phoebe muttered, flipping through the pages. Then, her frantic flipping stilled as she came to a particular page.
"Find anything on genies?" Piper asked from the couch where she was rocking Wyatt.
"No, but I found Bosk," Phoebe replied. "Turns out he's an upper level demon."
"And?" Piper asked, prompting her to continue.
"And nothing," Phoebe said. "That's all the Book says about him."
"So, we're no further than before," Chris commented.
"Basically," Phoebe informed him, returning to her scrutiny of the Book. Jinni looked over her shoulder and spoke up whenever they passed the page of one of her former masters.
"Sounds like you really got around," Piper commented.
"I am a very popular genie," Jinni said, proudly. "I'm very good at what I do."
"And you'll continue to do it in my service," a new voice said, arrogantly. They whirled around to see Bosk and several demons standing by the window.
"Get Wyatt out of here," Piper said urgently, passing her son to Leo.
He hurried out of the attic as Piper flung her hands out at Bosk. The demon rocked slightly as the energy of her magic hit him, but was otherwise unaffected. He laughed and dangled an amulet tauntingly at them.
"I'm protected from witches' magic," he informed them. "I knew I would need the protection for when I faced you next. Now, give me my genie."
"What do we do now?" Chris hissed, glancing at Piper and Phoebe. Jinni looked at them, panic in her eyes.
"Jinni, I wish you free!" Phoebe exclaimed, unable to think of anything else.
The genie was surrounded by a glowing pink mist, which soon dissipated to reveal Jinni standing there, a cocky look on her face.
Turning to Bosk, she asked, "Who's the master now?"
Forming a fireball in the palm of her hand, she launched it at Bosk, vanquishing him as Piper and Chris gaped in astonishment. She moved to grab the bottle from the floor, but Chris summoned it to him, and held it protectively. Jinni looked furious, but quickly recovered.
"Thanks," she sneered, turning to them. "You'll never know just what you've done."
With a wave of her hand, she disappeared in a swirl of sand.
"What just happened?" Piper yelped. "And where's Phoebe?"
"In here," a thin voice called, from inside the bottle Chris held. Piper peered into the opening and saw Phoebe inside.
"Get out of there," she said sternly.
"I can't," Phoebe said miserably. "Not until my master orders me."
"Well, who's that?" Piper asked.
"Chris," Phoebe replied.
"Richard?" Paige asked, her voice echoing slightly in the mansion. "Richard, where are you?"
"In here," Richard called. Paige followed the sound of his voice until she found him in the kitchen, mixing something in a pot.
"What's that?" Paige asked.
"It's a potion," Richard replied, without looking up at her.
"Should you really be using magic?" Paige asked, neutrally.
"Why not?" Richard asked. "By the way, how do you like your presents?"
"They're lovely, but the conjuring has got to stop," Paige told him.
"What are you talking about?" Richard asked, finally turning to face her, confusion on his face.
"I could have been in public, surrounded by mortals, when you conjured these," Paige said, allowing her anger to show through. "You could have exposed magic."
"So, mortals would have found out about magic," Richard said carelessly. "I don't see the harm in that."
"Richard, Piper nearly lost her son the last time magic was exposed!" Paige cried. "The time before that, Prue was killed."
"I thought you said Shax killed Prue," Richard said.
"Magic was exposed and Piper was fatally shot, so Phoebe made a deal with the Source to turn back time and erase the exposure," Paige explained, quietly. "Prue was killed after time reset itself."
She paused, visibly shaken, and continued after collecting herself.
"I will not let you put my sisters through that hell again," she said softly.
"It was just a dress!" Richard protested.
"And, with Wyatt, it was just a dragon," she replied.
"Would you give up your magic?" Richard asked.
"In case you haven't noticed," Paige said, "I drove here. I didn't orb. I haven't used magic in your presence since we started seeing each other."
"I can't give up fighting demons because that would destroy the Power of Three," she continued. "But if keeping you means giving up magic the rest of the time, then that's what I would do."
"I can't ask you to do that," Richard said.
"You just did," Paige told him. Just then, her phone rang, and she answered it, listening to the person on the other end for a moment.
"I've got to go," she said. "My sisters need me at home."
Turning, she walked out the door, Richard watching her as she went.
"Wait," Piper said, holding up a hand to forestall any comments. "Why is Chris your master?"
"Because he picked up my bottle," Phoebe explained.
"Only so that Jinni didn't get it!" Chris protested.
"You still picked it up," Phoebe told him, clearly miserable. "I guess this is how this thing works."
Wandering over to the full-length mirror, she eyed herself critically.
"Why am I always the one going blonde?" she complained.
"You know, I remember when you actually liked having blonde hair," Piper spoke up.
"That is not the point," Phoebe griped.
"People!" Chris yelled. Seeing that he had their attention, he quieted.
"Can we focus on how to free Phoebe?" he asked. "Obviously, we can't wish her free, or one of us is going to wind up a genie."
"You mean, you'll end up as a genie," Piper reminded him. "You are Phoebe's master, after all."
"Don't remind me," Chris muttered.
"What I want to know is," Phoebe muttered. "Why did wishing Jinni free turn me into a genie? That's not what happened three years ago."
"Well," Leo said, reentering the attic and picking up bottle from where Chris had placed it on the table, "according to this inscription, Jinni was an upper level demon who was threatening Bosk. He cursed her to become a genie, and cursed the bottle so that anyone who freed her would share her fate."
"What inscription?" Piper asked, peering at the bottle.
"This one," Leo said, pointing to a series of characters.
"That's in Arabic," Chris said dryly, peering over their shoulders. "None of us read Arabic."
"Well," Piper said, grabbing some items from the magical supplies trunk. "I'm going down to the kitchen to charge these crystals, to use as a cage, and I'm going to call Paige. We're going to need her help."
"Have fun," Phoebe said, distractedly, still eying herself in the mirror.
"What are you doing?" Chris asked, looking curiously at Leo.
"I'm writing you a letter," Leo said, from where he was sitting down at the table. "To try and apologize for my earlier behavior."
"That's not necessary," Chris said, flushing with embarrassment. "Trust me, I don't need a letter."
"Well, I made a mistake, so it's only right that I make amends," Leo said, crumpling one piece of paper and starting on another.
"Letters aren't going to mean a lot to me," Chris said. "I got too many when I was growing up."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Leo asked, concern written on his face.
"My dad wasn't really around when I was a kid, and he thought a bunch of letters was going to make up for it," Chris said. "Needless to say, it didn't."
"I'm sorry," Leo said, sincerely. "But this will be different, I promise. I just need to get the wording right."
"I wish you would just stop that!" Chris exploded, as Leo turned back to his letter writing.
Unable to stop herself, Phoebe nodded, granting his wish. Leo immediately dropped his pencil and walked toward the attic door.
"I'm going to go help Piper," he said.
Phoebe watched him go, and then rounded on her nephew.
"Did you mean to do that?" she demanded.
"No!" Chris said, defensively, holding his hands up in a warding gesture.
"I believe you," Phoebe said, studying him for a moment. "Let's go downstairs and help Piper and Leo."
Downstairs, they found them both in the living room, with Piper busily writing something.
"What's that?" Phoebe asked.
"I'm writing a vanquishing spell to use on Jinni," Piper informed her.
"The wording's wrong," Phoebe said airily, reading what her sister had written. "Jinni's an upper level demon, remember."
"I know," Piper said, tightly.
"And you should include something to compensate for all the time she spent as a genie," Phoebe continued, oblivious to Piper's annoyance.
"Chris?" Piper called. When he poked his head out of the kitchen, she continued. "Can you do something with Phoebe?"
"Gladly," Chris said, gesturing for Phoebe to join him. She walked into the kitchen, grumpily, and glared at him.
"I'm not at your beck and call, you know," she grumbled.
"I've been thinking," Chris said, ignoring her. "I think I found the perfect way to get my parents together so that I can be conceived."
"What?" Phoebe asked, confused, before realization slowly dawned.
"Oh, no," she said, angrily. "I am not making your parents have sex. That's sneaky, and wrong, and I won't do it."
"I'm sorry, Phoebe," Chris said. "But I'm running out of time, and I'm desperate. I don't have another choice."
"I will not-" Phoebe began, heatedly.
"I wish for Piper and Leo to sleep together," Chris said loudly, overriding her protests.
Phoebe glared, but nodded, granting his wish. A heartbeat passed, and two loud thumps could be heard from the living room. Chris glared suspiciously at Phoebe, and ran into the living room. Piper and Leo were lying in the middle of the room, fast asleep.
"What did you do?" Chris demanded.
"You wanted them to sleep together," Phoebe said innocently. "Well, they're sleeping together."
"That is not what I meant, and you know it," Chris told her. "Now, do as I told you."
"No," Phoebe said flatly, spinning on her heel and stalking back into the kitchen. "I will not use magic to make your parents have sex."
Chris glared at her back before turning to Piper and Leo. Concentrating, he telekinetically lifted them from the floor and moved them to the couch. He covered them with a blanket before following his aunt into the kitchen.
"If I don't do something, I'm not going to get conceived," he protested. "Is that what you want?"
"Of course not," Phoebe said, "but you said that you have three weeks. I'm sure we'll find another way."
"What if we don't?" Chris asked, softly.
Phoebe was about to reply when the front door slammed.
"Okay, what happened to Piper and Leo?" Paige asked, walking into the kitchen.
"You're back from Richard's awfully early," Chris remarked.
"That's not answering my question," Paige told him. "Why are Piper and Leo asleep on the living room couch? Especially with everything that we have going on right now?"
Joining them, Phoebe shot Chris a venomous look.
"He wished for Piper and Leo to sleep together," she said icily, clearly in a snit. "Like I was really going to grant that."
Wordlessly, Chris pulled the top off of Phoebe's bottle and watched impassively as she was sucked inside in a cloud of mist. Then, he turned to face Paige, who had an unreadable expression on her face.
"Are you going to yell at me, too?" he asked quietly.
"About that?" Paige asked, gesturing to the bottle where Phoebe was imprisoned. "No, because I've wanted to do something like that for years, now."
"No," Chris said, "I meant, are you going to yell at me for what I did to Piper and Leo?"
"No," Paige said, shaking her head for emphasis. "I've known you long enough to know that you don't do things without having a good reason for doing them. Even something like this. So, I'm just going to ask for an explanation."
"I'm not sure you'd believe it," Chris hedged hesitantly.
"A year ago, you couldn't have convinced me that Piper and Leo's child was going to grow up to be the future of all evil, yet I believe it now," Paige told him. "So, I promise that even if I don't believe what you're saying right away, I'll at least spend a lot of time considering its validity."
"Thank you," Chris said. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he continued.
"I'm not just some random witch-Whitelighter from the future," he said. "Piper and Leo are my parents and Wyatt is my older brother. I wished for Piper and Leo to sleep together because if they don't have sex, I won't be conceived. I'll cease to exist."
"Oh my God," Paige gasped, shocked by what she'd just heard. "Is this what you've been hiding from us?"
Chris nodded, clearly miserable. "I've got three weeks," he said wearily. "If Mom and Dad don't screw by Wyatt's first birthday, then I'm screwed."
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Paige asked him gently. "Phoebe and I-"
Breaking off, she studied the bottle that Chris clutched nervously with a sweaty hand.
"I could have helped you," she amended.
"I kinda forgot," Chris admitted, looking down at the floor. "Besides, I wouldn't have known what to say."
"You could have said, 'Hi, Aunt Paige. Guess who?'" Paige teased him. Chris laughed quietly.
"So, three weeks," Paige mused. At Chris' nod, she continued.
"Okay, we'll figure out a way to un-genie Phoebe, and put the former genie back into her bottle. Then, I will help you hook up your parents. Even if I have to dose them with a love potion to do it."
"Thanks, Aunt Paige," Chris said.
"You know," Paige continued, "I'm surprised that no one ever noticed it before, what with how much you look like Piper."
"Yeah, people are always saying that I look just like Mom," Chris said, as he and Paige began working on a potion to contain Jinni long enough to put her back in her bottle.
"You've got Leo's eyes, though," Paige remarked.
"I don't want to talk about that," Chris said.
"Right," Paige said. "I forgot that you hate Leo. Why is that, by the way?"
"I shouldn't-" Chris began, but Paige cut him off abruptly.
"What happened to being honest, huh?" she asked. "Besides, if you tell me what happened, maybe I can smack some sense into your father's thick head for what he's going to do in the future."
"He was never there," Chris said softly, staring morosely at the countertop. "Neither of them were, really."
"He and Mom were always so busy with Wyatt, that they never had time for me. It was always Wyatt this and Wyatt that. Wyatt was twice blessed, and Wyatt could heal, and Wyatt was going to inherit Excalibur and do all these great magical things. Most of the time, I felt like an afterthought."
Pausing, Chris swiped at the tears rapidly pooling in his eyes.
"They could never really find the time to go to one of my swim meets or plays," he continued, his voice choking slightly with emotion, "but they'd drop everything in a heartbeat to go to one of Wyatt's football games."
"Oh, Chris," Paige said, tears of her own welling up. "I am so sorry, angel."
"It wasn't all bad, though," he continued, smiling at Paige's beloved nickname for him.
"You were at every one of my events, no matter what. Sometimes, it seemed as though you were my real mom. You certainly acted more like one than my mom ever did."
"Well, I'm sure I loved, or will love, having a surrogate son." Paige told him.
"I certainly liked having a surrogate mom," Chris told her. "Actually, when I was younger, I used to wish that you were my real mom, because I never had to fight Wyatt for your attention."
Paige hugged him briefly, before stepping back and looking at her nephew. "I would be honored to be your mom," she told him. "But, I am going to get your parents to change their ways if it kills me."
"It might," Chris mused. "They're both pretty stubborn."
Deep in the recesses of her bottle, Phoebe could hear Chris and Paige's muffled voices.
'What are they talking about?' she wondered. 'I hope they're not talking about me.'
Unable to make out any specific words, Phoebe sat back and listened to the drone of their voices, dozing off as she did so. Then she was snapped awake as she clearly heard the word wish, said by Chris. Unable to stop herself, Phoebe gestured, granting his wish.
'I hope whatever it was, it was worth it,' she thought, 'because that was his last wish. I only hope he didn't use it carelessly.'
Time seemed to stop as Chris' wish was granted. Both he and Paige glowed brightly for a few seconds, before the glow receded into their bodies.
"What were we just talking about?" Paige asked, shaking her head slightly to clear away the muggy feeling.
"How to get my parents together, I think," Chris said slowly. "And apparently the containment potion for Jinni."
"Any idea what step we were on with the potion?" Paige asked, "Because we'll have to start over from scratch if we can't remember that one."
"I think you were about to add the burdock root," Chris told her, pointing to the cutting board covered in small slices.
"Right," Paige said, adding the root. "You going to let Phoebe out of the bottle any time soon?"
"Now that the kitchen is finally quiet?" Chris asked, a teasing grin lighting up his face.
"While I'm inclined to agree with you, you can't just leave her in there forever," Paige told him.
"I'll take her out right before we need to put Jinni back in her bottle," he said. "Besides, she's safer in there for the time being."
"Yeah, that's it," Paige said chuckling.
"You don't agree?" Chris asked innocently.
Paige was about to answer when there was a knock at the front door.
"I'll get that," Chris volunteered. Opening the door, he found Richard standing on the front step.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Is Paige here?" Richard asked, peering around Chris' shoulder. "We parted on bad terms, earlier, and I wanted to apologize."
"She's in the kitchen," Chris said, standing aside so Richard could enter. "What did you two fight about, anyway?"
"Magic," Richard said. "What else?" Stopping in the kitchen doorway, he smiled hesitantly. "Hi."
"Richard," Paige said, looking up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Can we talk?" he asked, rather than answering.
"I can finish the potion," Chris offered, catching Paige's glance at the simmering pot on the stovetop. "You two should go work things out."
"Let's talk in here," Paige said, leading the way to the conservatory. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Us," Richard said. "I don't want to lose what we have, Paige."
"Neither do I," Paige protested. "But you said yourself that the last time you used magic, you lost control. I don't think I could watch you go down that path, particularly not after seeing everything Phoebe went through when Cole was evil."
"Paige, I would never hurt you," Richard said quietly.
"I know you wouldn't," she replied, just as softly. "Not intentionally, anyway. But what happens if the past repeats itself and you become a danger to me or my family?"
Richard was about to reply when a crash sounded from the other room.
"Chris?" Paige called, already running into the living room, Richard following behind.
"I'm okay," Chris said, coming in from the kitchen. "I didn't do it."
"I did," a new voice said. All three looked up to see Jinni standing over Piper and Leo, a fireball in her hand.
"If you don't want me to kill them, you'll do exactly as I say," Jinni told them.
"What do you want?" Paige asked, eyeing the fireball warily. She wanted to try orbing it, but she wasn't sure that she could summon it before Jinni killed Piper and Leo.
"I want the genie," Jinni said. "Bring me the bottle."
Chris made as though to go into the kitchen, but Jinni stopped him with a raised finger.
"Ah, ah," she scolded. "Do you really think I'd let you leave, and have the opportunity to get a vanquishing potion? You," she said, focusing on Paige. "Summon the bottle."
"Bottle," Paige said clearly, holding out her hand. Phoebe's bottle formed in her hand and she gripped the neck to keep from dropping it.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Now he," Jinni said, nodding at Chris, "will use his powers to give me the bottle. No tricks, now," she warned.
"No tricks," Chris agreed, reluctantly.
Extending his hand, he waved and the bottle floated from Paige's hand through the air to Jinni. But halfway there, the bottle shimmered out of existence and into the palm of Richard's hand. As Paige and Chris gaped at him in panic, he dematerialized, disappearing into thin air.
"What happened?" Jinni demanded, furious.
Taking advantage of the demon's distraction, Paige focused on the contents of the magical supplies trunk up in the attic.
"Crystals, circle!" she snapped, gesturing in Jinni's direction. The crystal cage formed around Jinni, and the demon threw the fireball, only to have it rebound in her face.
"That should hold her for a little while at least," Paige muttered. Turning to Chris, she asked, "Can you watch her while I go get Phoebe back?"
"Yeah," Chris said, looking worriedly at the couch where Piper and Leo lay.
"Hey," Paige said softly, touching his shoulder. "They're okay. She didn't hurt them."
"I know," Chris sighed. "Be careful with Richard, okay? He's dangerous right now."
"I will be," Paige promised, orbing out. Chris sighed again and settled down on the armchair, keeping an eye on both the demon and the sleeping couple on the couch.
Inside her bottle, Phoebe ran from side to side, hoping to tip the bottle over and free herself. Unfortunately, the bottle did little more than rock on the surface it was resting on. Phoebe's efforts became more frantic as she recalled the panic and fear in Chris and Paige's voices.
'I can't believe I'm stuck in here when my family needs me,' she thought angrily.
Redoubling her efforts, she picked up speed and finally the bottle fell over, releasing Phoebe in a swirl of mist. Shaking her head to clear her vision, the first person Phoebe saw was Richard.
"Richard," she said, surprised. "What are we doing here? For that matter, where are we?"
"We're in my home," Richard replied. "In my family's vault."
"Why didn't you let me out?" Phoebe asked, still confused.
"I didn't let you out because I wasn't ready for you, yet," Richard said, leafing distractedly through a stack of papers. "Damn it, where's that book?"
"Book?" Phoebe perked, nervously. "What book?"
"A book of wishes," Richard explained. "I know how tricky you genies are, and I don't want to mess anything up."
"First of all, I'm not a genie, I'm a witch," Phoebe fumed. "And second, what do you mean, mess anything up? Mess what up?"
"My wish," Richard said simply. "There it is."
Easing a thin, battered book out of a stack of papers, he began leafing through the pages, clearly looking for something. Phoebe could do nothing except watch nervously and wait. After a few moments, Richard snapped the book shut and grinned.
"Got it," he said triumphantly. "I wish-"
"Richard!"
Startled, Richard broke off mid-sentence to see Paige storming toward him, a look of pure fury on her face.
"Paige," he began, but one look at Paige's expression stopped him cold.
"What the hell where you thinking?" she yelled. "You could have gotten Piper and Leo killed back there!"
"I just wanted to prove to you that I could stay in control of my magic," Richard protested.
"Well, this was sort of the wrong way to go about it, don't you think?" Paige snapped. Focusing on Phoebe for the first time, she asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Phoebe replied. "What's this about Piper and Leo almost being killed?"
"One thing at a time," Paige sighed. "Richard-"
"I can control my magic," Richard protested. "I'll prove it to you."
"No," Paige snapped, losing the tenuous grip she had on her temper. "No spells and no wishes. No magic."
"This is good, I promise," Richard told her earnestly.
"Richard, you're not listening," Paige said, reaching to take the book out of his hands.
"No!" Richard yelled. He instinctively flung his hand at Paige and sent her flying across the room, to crash against the far wall.
"Paige!" Phoebe cried, running to her sister's side.
"Ow," Paige muttered, easing herself up off the floor with Phoebe's help.
"Are you okay?" Richard asked, hovering nervously nearby.
"I'm fine, except for the ringing in my ears," Paige replied. "And the room is going around in circles."
"I am so sorry," Richard said. "Let me make it up to you."
Before Paige could stop him, he turned to Phoebe and said, "Phoebe, I wish you free."
Phoebe gasped in shock as the genie's magic left her body, only to enter Richard's. He was obscured by the glow of the magic for a moment, and when he was unveiled, he was wearing a charcoal gray tunic and pants.
"What just happened?" he asked, looking at himself nervously.
"You're a genie," Paige snapped. "And it's something that could have been prevented if you'd only listened to us."
"Wishing Phoebe free turned me into a genie?" Richard asked, still puzzled.
"Yeah," Paige gritted, still in pain. "Now, do you see what I was talking about, your desire for magic controlling you?"
Checking his watch for the third time in the last five minutes, Chris heaved a sigh of exasperation. Paige had only just left to find Phoebe and Richard, yet it seemed like forever.
'Of course,' he reflected, 'it could have something to do with the fact that my only company is a demon, my unconscious parents, and my baby older brother.'
Before his pity party could go any further, however, the doorbell rang. Opening the door, Chris was greeted by the one person he wanted least to see.
"Greg," he said grimly.
"I have a break between my shifts," the fireman explained. "Is Piper here?"
"Nope," Chris said, going to shut the door. "Sorry, she's out."
"Why don't I believe you?" Greg asked, suspiciously, pushing his way through the doorway.
"Come right in, why don't you?" Chris muttered sarcastically, shutting the door.
"Where's Piper?" Greg demanded.
"In the living room," Chris said, following Greg as he stormed into the room, stopping dead at what he saw.
"Guess she wasn't as involved in your relationship as you thought," Chris remarked idly, as Greg took in Piper sleeping with Leo.
A telekinetic gesture from Chris dropped Piper's head onto Leo's chest and wrapped Leo's arm around Piper's shoulders.
"You should go now," Chris said, leading the way back to the door. "Do you want me to have Piper call you?"
"No, that's okay," Greg said, distractedly. "In fact, don't mention that I stopped by at all."
"Can do," Chris said, slamming the door in his face.
A satisfied smirk on his face, he walked back to the living room and was greeted by the sight on Jinni, free of the crystal cage and once again threatening his parents. A quick look at the crystal cage revealed how Jinni had gotten free, as the tattered remains of the flying carpet lay on the floor.
"Don't hurt them," he said automatically, feeling himself go cold inside at the sight of his parents in danger once again.
"Take me to the genie," Jinni commanded.
"Fine," Chris said. "Just don't hurt them."
Walking cautiously over to Jinni, he grabbed her arm and orbed them both to the Montana mansion. When they landed, Jinni immediately shook her arm out of his grip and shuddered.
"That's such a disgusting way to travel," she griped.
"Chris, what's going on?" Paige asked, from behind them. Chris turned to see her, along with a normal-looking Phoebe.
"I didn't have a choice," Chris said, the look in his eyes pleading with her to understand. "She was going to kill Mom and Dad."
"I still am," Jinni said, surprising them. To everyone's horror, she now held the genie's bottle in her hand.
"How did she get the bottle?" Phoebe hissed, panicked.
"I don't know, but she's not going to have it for very much longer," Paige said, determination lighting up her features.
Thrusting out her hand, she called "Bottle!"
At the same time, Jinni said, "Genie, I wish the Charmed Ones dead!"
Chris watched in horror as Paige and Phoebe's bodies fell lifelessly to the floor, their spirits floating toward the ceiling. Simultaneously, the bottle orbed out of Jinni's hand and landed on the floor next to Paige's body.
Chris lunged for the bottle, but Jinni beat him to it. Grinning cruelly, she held the bottle aloft as she shimmered out.
"Enjoy what little is left of your life," she said mockingly as she disappeared.
It was then that Chris felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.
In the Manor, Piper and Leo were dead to the world when Piper really did die. She looked around in confusion as her spirit began to float off to the afterlife.
"What's going on?" she wondered. Then, she looked down and gasped in shock.
"Oh no," she breathed.
"Leo!" she called, frightened now. "Leo, wake up! I need you!"
Murmuring quietly in his sleep, Leo's hand dropped over Piper's heart and glowed softly as he healed her. Piper's spirit dropped back into her body and she dropped back into a dreamless sleep.
"We stopped moving on," Phoebe commented, looking around. "We must be ghosts."
"Brilliant observation, Sherlock," Paige said sarcastically.
"You don't have to be mean about it," Phoebe pouted.
"Well, I tend to get testy when I die," Paige said. "And, you know, this all your fault for answering that damn letter in the first place, so just deal with it."
Turning to Chris, who was standing up slowly, she asked, "Not that I was in any hurry to die, mind you, but why aren't we moving on?"
"Well, I could feel Mom dying," Chris said slowly, pondering his answer, "and then the feeling stopped. Maybe, since she didn't die, and the wish was for all the Charmed Ones to die, you were saved as well."
"Did you understand that?" Phoebe asked Paige.
"We don't die until Piper does," Paige summarized shortly. "Now, how do you propose we stop Jinni? Assuming, of course, that we can even find her."
"She's probably resurrecting Sanbar," Phoebe said. "It's what she said Bosk would do, anyway."
"Any idea where Sanbar is?" Paige asked.
"Probably in the same place that we first found Jinni," Chris mused. "At that dig site in Egypt."
"Okay, so you can orb, but how are we supposed to get there?" Phoebe asked, gesturing at herself and Paige.
"You're ghosts," Chris explained. "Just concentrate and haunt her."
"And then one of us can possess her and force her to reverse the wishes and go back into the bottle," Paige said, catching on.
Focusing, she disappeared quickly, with Phoebe following a heartbeat behind.
"Hey!" Chris yelled. "Wait for me!"
Orbing to the dig site, he arrived in time to hear Jinni declare, "I wish for the lost city of Sanbar!"
"Oh, shit," Paige said from beside him, echoing his feelings. Hearing them, Jinni turned, smiling in triumph.
"Kill them," she ordered her demons, who advanced menacingly.
"Where's Phoebe?" Chris asked, backing up slowly. He tried using his powers, but Jinni seemed to have somehow shielded her demons from good magic.
"Just wait," Paige assured him. Chris shot her a dubious look as the demons kept coming, the ones in the lead readying fireballs.
"Any time now, Pheebs," Paige called, now also looking nervous. In response, the lead demons flamed out, screaming, as Jinni launched fireballs into their backs.
"Sorry it took so long," Phoebe said, disposing of the rest of the demons with Jinni's powers. "She's stubborn; wouldn't let me take control of her body."
"Hurry, before you lose control," Chris said urgently, handing her the bottle.
Phoebe nodded and said clearly, "Richard, I wish you free!"
Jumping out of Jinni's body as the genie's magic overtook it once again, she watched as Jinni was sucked into the bottle and Richard was dumped out on the sand.
"Hi, honey," Paige said, wryly, smiling at him.
"Sorry about that," Richard muttered, having the decency to look sheepish. Grabbing the bottle where it had fallen, he ordered, "Genie, I wish the Charmed Ones alive again!"
Jinni nodded resentfully, granting the wish, and Paige and Phoebe's spirits were whisked back to their fallen bodies. Richard heaved a sigh of relief and passed the bottle to Chris, who came up beside him.
"Take this," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "I don't want anything to do with magic ever again."
"Sure," Chris replied. "But do you think you could do something about that, first?" he asked, nodding in the direction of Sanbar.
Richard nodded and reluctantly took the bottle back from him.
In the Montana mansion, Paige sat on the edge of the couch waiting for Richard. A few seconds later, he emerged from the kitchen, holding a small vial.
"What is that?" she asked, nodding at the vial.
"It was a power stripping potion," Richard said. Removing the stopper, he held the bottle upside down. "I'm officially powerless."
"You've stripped your powers?" Paige asked.
"It wasn't a hard decision to make, not when I realized that keeping my powers meant hurting those I cared about," he said. "Especially you. It's also why I decided that we should split up."
"What?" Paige gasped, feeling the pain of his words in the core of her being.
"Paige, I'm a danger to you and your family," Richard explained. "I proved that tonight when I almost got Piper and Leo killed."
"That was an accident," Paige said softly. "And you just said that you don't have powers anymore."
"That doesn't matter," Richard said. "I can't take the chance of ever hurting you, Paige. I care about you too much."
"There has to be some way to work through this," Paige pleaded, tears filling her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Richard said. "This is best for everyone; trust me." Pausing, he looked away as he collected himself, then focused on Paige.
"You should go now," he said firmly.
Paige nodded wordlessly, afraid to say anything for fear of what she might do. Walking to the door, she made it out to her car without breaking down. Then, once she was safely inside, she dropped her head into her hands and gave into the grief that was tearing at her heart.
"Arabic sleeping spell?" Piper asked, disbelief lacing her voice.
"Yeah," Phoebe lied, trying to keep a straight face. "Jinni put you under a sleeping spell and we figured you'd both be safer here, away from any danger."
"Except for Jinni threatening our lives twice," Piper observed dryly.
"Well, that was unexpected," Phoebe admitted.
"The first time, maybe," Leo muttered. Piper elbowed him sharply.
"What I don't get is why Jinni's wish failed," Chris interjected.
"I thought we agreed that it was because Piper didn't die," Phoebe reminded him.
"Yeah, but why didn't she?" Chris asked.
"Well, while I was asleep I dreamed that I was floating and I called out to you," Piper said, looking at Leo. "And then you healed me."
"Apparently it wasn't a dream," Phoebe remarked. "Maybe that's a sign that the two of you are meant to be together."
"Maybe," Piper mused, looking at Leo speculatively. "Do you want to come upstairs with me to say goodnight to Wyatt?"
"Of course I do," Leo replied, walking with her toward the staircase.
Chris watched them go, a look of longing etched on his face.
"What about me?" he whispered, dejectedly.
"Don't worry," Phoebe said fondly, surprising him. "I think we've proved that there's hope for you yet."