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"Ah, come on Piper, let's just get Wyatt's tracker, and leave Paige to it, alright?" Phoebe said, wanting something productive to be done. She took Piper's hand and they both walked out. Phoebe wanted to talk to her anyhow.

Chapter 10: Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking

"Aunt Paige? Are you alone?" Chris faded in and startled Paige out of her thoughts.

"Chris?! What're you doing here?" She exclaimed, then quickly covered her mouth. She desperately hoped she hadn't been heard.

Chris sighed and sat down on the couch, looking miserable.

He looked up at Paige, "How are you doing? Are you saving them yet?"

Paige nodded, "We have the plan. We're just on the follow through now. Piper and Phoebe are getting Wyatt's tracker, and Leo...is somewhere." Then, she had a sudden thought, and smiled slowly making Chris very suspicious of what she wanted to say or ask next.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you remember what your favorite stuffed animal was...when you were younger?" Paige asked. She had a feeling she was just about to hit gold. Of course he would know...

"What...you mean, Grimly? What's that got to do with anything?"

She pressed further, though, "What did it look like?"

Chris realized what she was getting at and said, "So wait...you think your Chris might have the same favorite? How can you be so sure?"

She just repeated, ignoring his doubtful comment, "What did it look like, Chris?"

He just sighed and answered, "It was a black dog. Looked like one of those Newfoundland rescue dogs. I loved it. But then someone ate it."

Paige raised her eyebrows, disbelieving this odd remark, "Ate it?"

Chris's eyes twinkled, but he answered elusively, "Oh, no one you would know. It's not important."

Paige really did not see that as true, but she let it go, and instead asked Chris, "Can you help with this spell I'm doing. I could really use some input on it."

Chris shrugged, stood up and went over to where Paige was. A piece of paper was on the desk while a pencil was in her hand being tapped consistently on the old desk.

"What's the spell for?" Chris asked, looking at the paper seeing many eraser marks instead of many words.

"I need to come up with two. But the second one the others will help me on. This one involves trying to insure that the trackers go down with the Crone."

"What's eating you? I know you. If something hadn't been bothering you, you would have been coming up with a lot of good spell ideas by now..."

Paige mildly glared at him for making such an announcement, but then looking back at the largely blank paper, she had to admit that he was right. Something was bothering her and she may have let it pass while she was intently working out the basis of the plan before, but now, especially with Chris here...her mind began to wander to her daughter.

"Chris?" She sighed, and just let it out, "You know the Melinda in your past? What was she like?"

Chris put his hands over his face and did not dare look at her. He had thought he had made the point clear before. He slowly put his hands back down, and answered in a whisper.

"Aunt Paige, Melinda didn't live long at all in my time. I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" After looking back at Paige, he had a feeling that question just was a cover for what she really wanted to know, but was too anxious and uncertain enough to ask.

"Chris...did you see her?" Paige wondered, treading the subject lightly.

Chris didn't say anything immediately; he just looked at her sadly.

"Don't ask me that. It won't help."

"Please Chris...tell me...did you see her?"

Chris was silent. He didn't answer, he couldn't.

"Chris? Why can't you tell me?"

"Because, if I tell you, it'll be a privilege most people don't get when they lose a loved one. It's just not fair."

Paige folded her arms and stared right at Chris, "What is not fair is not knowing if my daughter is okay!"

"She's dead! Just deal with it. Move on. Everyone else has to. For all it's worth, she is okay. She wouldn't be anything else..."

Paige was about to say something; but was interrupted by two voices laughing outside in the hallway. Phoebe and Piper were coming back.

Chris immediately made himself invisible and watched with interest from his spot on the couch.

"...and remember when Wyatt was little and was jealous of Chris?"

"Oh yeah, he kept writing all over Chris's room: Baby bad...and I had to always clean it up." Phoebe replied, chuckling at the memory.

"Aw, poor Aunt Phoebe...But you liked doing it anyway? Being an aunt...it isn't all that it's cracked up to be." Piper said putting her arm around Phoebe's shoulders, smiling at the memory.

"Piper, you know I would do what it takes to help raise those two little sons of yours...you need all the help you can get...no offense of course."

"None taken," Piper answered as she opened the attic door.

"What took you guys so long?" Paige asked.

Phoebe and Piper smiled as Piper just handed her a stuffed black cat with the oddest purple eyes and answered, "Just reminiscing, you know, sorry..."

Paige waved off the apology and began to carefully look at the stuffed animal and then went over to the Book of Shadows to find a spell.

Phoebe went over to Paige and asked, "What about that spell you wanted to show me?"

Paige answered her in a disheartened manner, "I couldn't really get around to finishing it. Maybe you could do it for me? You're really good at it anyway."

Phoebe gave a genuine smile and with a "Thanks Paige," went off to see what she could do with the spell.

Paige called to Piper who was sitting on the couch. Chris was on the other end of it and he quickly tried to put as much distance between his mother and him. He didn't want to be revealed to his mother when he wasn't even ready yet to do so.

Piper stood up and asked what was up. Paige wondered what Wyatt called the stuffed cat. She apparently didn't know the name he had for it.

Piper gave Paige an incredulous look and replied with a, "You don't know the name? Your own nephew, Paige, that's not good..."

Paige grinned sheepishly at her, for the moment, just grateful that Piper wasn't angry at her as she was before.

"It's Noxie anyway, short for Equinox, in case you need the proper name for it."

"Oh no, the less formal the name the better. It'll insure a better connection link. Now I just have to animate it...can't find the spell though."

As soon as she said that the book started flipping of its own accord. Paige had a good feeling who was behind it.

Chris smiled knowing it wasn't him who had done it. As usual, his great- grandmother was giving the sisters aid when they needed it.

Before Chris could react, Piper had made her way back to the couch and almost sat on him. Chris, even though he knew his mother wouldn't see him, cringed knowing that any sort of contact would alert the Grim Reaper. In short, he was screwed if he didn't leave soon.

Too late.

TBC