Summary: What if Leo hadn't responded to Piper's call to heal Chris soon enough during 'Fantasies of the Flesh' only to find out too late the young Whitelighter's secret?

Authors note: I thought of this story when I caught the rerun after work one day. I hope you enjoy and I will soon post the next chapters to my other Charmed stories.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own even the smallest sliver of Charmed. Oh darn for me.

Chapter 14

"Once in every lifetime"

Melinda Halliwell opened one of her heavy eyes. Her pillow was suddenly moving. Lifting her head she struggled to see her brother in the darkness. Aside from his fidgeting, Chris was sweating and his breathing had quickened.

He was dreaming, and from the look on his face, the dream was less than pleasant. Mel sat up further, against her protesting body's will. She'd have thought death would cure you of stiff muscles, even tiredness altogether. She'd obviously thought wrong. Grabbing Chris by his shoulders, Mel gave her brother a few light shakes.

"Chris, wake up." She encouraged quietly.

Her only response was a mumbled name. "Wyatt…"

"Guess again." She whispered as she shook him once more.

"No." Chris moaned, his head turning back and forth as if he was struggling. "Please, don't."

Mel reached up to caress his face, trying to bring him back to wakefulness, when she was suddenly flying backwards and into a bookcase on the far wall. It took her a moment to realize what had happened.

Chris had pushed his body and mind to the limit. In his dreams he was using his powers and that was leaking over into the waking world, hence his telekinesis hurtling her across the attic. He was losing control over his magic. She had to find a way to ease his mind, and give him a little peace, so he could rest.

Cursing under her breath, Mel pulled herself to her feet and cautiously moved back over to her brother's increasingly agitated form. Sitting on the edge of the daybed, the young woman didn't notice she was no longer alone with her brother. Piper and Leo had heard the crash from the attic and had quickly made their way upstairs.

"Chris!" Mel called to him. "Wake up!"

"Wyatt…" he moaned. "Stop…"

Mel shook him hard before jumping away with cat-like reflexes as he tried to send her flying away again.

"You've always been stubborn." She grumbled as she reached up to run her hand through his damp hair, letting her healing glow attempt to sooth his night terror. "I just wish I could take all of your pain away."

"Mel…" he turned his cheek into her hand and after a moment his body became still while his breathing evened out.

"I'm right here, Chris."

"How did you do that?" Mel jumped at the sound of her mother-to-be's voice. Not knowing how long her future parents had been standing there, she was immediately thankful that Chris' dream speech had not given away more than they already knew. "Stop his nightmare, I mean."

"I guess I just have the right touch." Mel yawned. She was in no mood to get into a verbal battle with Piper.

"Why can't you be straight forward with me?" Piper demanded quietly so not to startle Chris.

"Future…"

"I don't know why I even ask." Piper threw up her hands, and turned to leave, all the while grumbling about future people and their obsession with consequences. Leo only lifted a curious eyebrow to the young woman before deciding to follow Piper back downstairs.

Mel sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes following them out the door. It was amusing to see her parents together, alive and well. It was also unnerving. Originally Leo had become an elder shortly before Chris was conceived and was rarely around for his children or his wife. Mel had few memories of her father from when she was young, and hoped that maybe the next time around it would be different.

She pulled her legs up to sit Indian style and dropped her head into her hands. How was she ever going to keep this secret from those that had once known her the best? She was hiding behind her sarcasm and determination to save both of her siblings. Mel could only hope Wyatt never discovered she was a whitelighter and back in time. If he knew both of his younger siblings had joined together in the past, he would be incredibly irritated. The last thing they needed was for Wyatt to be hot on their heals. They had destroyed any mercy Wyatt had. Mel knew the next time her brothers met, it would be a fight to the death.

Only one would walk away.

Chris was reliving his short venture back to the future. He watched himself being tossed around the room, gazed into Bianca's eyes as Wyatt taunted him with the Phoenix's betrayal, and once again held his dying sister. It felt real, and he felt the draw to just give up.

Could he even save Wyatt?

Who was he kidding?

Just as Chris was losing himself in the hopelessness his haunted memories were causing, he heard Mel's voice softly calling to him. Followed by her call was a soft flash and he was no longer paralyzed by his vivid nightmare, but blinking in bright sunlight, surrounded by laughing families enjoying a hot summer day at the beach.

"Chris!" he turned sharply at the sound of his mother's call from the edge of the water. This smiling woman wasn't Piper from the past; this was his Mom, in all her glory, her shoulder length hair billowing behind her as she beckoned her middle child to the water. This dream was his memory of their last outing to the beach. She would die during the following fall. "Come play in the water with us!"

Chris watched as his thirteen-year-old self ran from where he had been throwing a football back and forth with his father. His father? He couldn't remember an outing at the beach with his father, let alone playing catch. This felt like a memory, in fact he knew it to be one, but Leo Wyatt hadn't been there on this day in his life. He had been to busy.

Chris shaded his eyes with his hand and watched as his younger self reached Piper. Behind her Wyatt and Melinda were goofing around in the crashing waves, laughing and joking.

"Come on, Chris!" Wyatt shouted from the water, Mel on his tan shoulders, their blue eyes dancing with laughter. "The waves are wild!"

While his dream self ran out to join his laughing siblings, Chris just shook his head. Never in his life could Chris ever remember Wyatt smiling like that. It just wasn't who his brother was or ever had been. The Wyatt he grew up with would not have even come to the beach and if he had he wouldn't have enjoyed it.

Chris sat on the sand near the ocean's edge and looked on as his family enjoyed the cooling waves. He could hear his own laughter mixed with that of his family. He watched as Wyatt and his dream self taught Melinda to ride the waves back toward shore, only to race back out into the crashing surf. He noticed how the two brothers kept their younger sister within arms length between them, reaching out to steady her when larger swells threatened to topple her smaller form. His parent's were standing together, happily watching their children from knee depth and holding hands.

Chris could only smile. This was how the future was supposed to be. Wyatt was meant to be this smiling older brother, not a deranged murderer. This had to be a vision of a changed future, if only he could figure out how to make it come about.

With a sigh Chris leaned back and rested his head on his arm. He closed his eyes and was lulled to sleep by the rhythmic pounding surf and the sun's golden warmth on his skin.

Chris opened his eyes. He was lying on the day bed in the corner and sunlight was streaming through the stained glass window over his head. He saw Mel sitting with her back to him, her head in her hands with her curtain of think golden hair blocking her face from the world.

When Chris sat up and moved next to her, she lifted her head but didn't look toward him, only stared solemnly across the attic. He sat next to her in silence for a long time, before she turned to smile softly at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better, thanks to you." He responded lightly. "What was that?"

"A dream." She said looking down again. "Of what could be."

"If we save Wyatt." Chris finished.

"We will save him, Chris." Mel stood up and turned to him. "So why don't we start with The Order?"

"Wait." Chris reached out and grabbed her hand, halting her movements toward the potions table. "We need to talk and definitely not here."

In one swift movement he stood and orbed them to the same beach he had visited during his dream. The waves weren't as strong as they had been that day, but the water sparkled in the early morning light. They were alone and could now speak freely. At any moment one of the sisters or Leo could have entered the attic so it was not the ideal place for them to really talk.

This deserted beach was.

Chris sat in the soft sand, tugging Mel down next to him. When she was settled and looking out over the brilliant blue water, Chris sighed. She turned, staring at him expectantly as if she knew he desperately needed answers.

"Why did you come back?" he decided to start there.

"To help save Wyatt."

"Mel, I'm stressed out not stupid." He said raising an eyebrow. "You never wanted to come back here. Why the sudden change?"

"Dad said you needed my help." She sighed, turning her head away. "He said you were losing yourself."

"So he made you a whitelighter?"

"No, I had already made that choice."

"Why?"

"Saving Wyatt seems like a foolish dream. How can they put it on one person's shoulders and expect them to succeed and make it back alive and sane? Wyatt is my brother as well as yours, so it only seemed fitting that I continued the fight with you. Dad only did as I asked."

"And that dream?" He pressed.

"A premonition I had shortly after you left the first time. I wanted to share it with you the night I came back but there wasn't enough time." She whispered. "When you were stuck in that nightmare it was the only thing I could think of to calm you."

"Thanks." He smiled at her.

"My turn." She declared. "Auntie Paige say's you've been tapping into some serious power. You haven't used those since before high school. Why now?"

"I need to save him." Chris said seriously. "And Mom and the Aunts aren't too helpful. First, they only wanted to go about their normal lives and after they found out about me they only want to feed, hug, and love me!"

"So instead of going to them for help in a vanquish, you went it alone, falling back on your offensive powers?"

"Telekinesis and orbs can only get me so far." He said defensively. "Speaking of powers, you lost yours when you became a whitelighter, right?

Mel smirked at Chris, then laughed when his eyes widened in surprise. "I helps to have a father in a high place."

"You're spoiled."

"No, I'm not." Mel said playfully punching him in the shoulder. "He knew I was most likely going to need my active powers. There is always the chance Wyatt will find out I have followed you, and he is sure to come a knocking if he does. I'd hate to be left with nothing but the pacifist side of my genetics.

"Good point."

"I know that saving Wyatt is our number one priority," Mel said looking into his eyes. "But the obsession in the basement scares me."

"I guess I went a little over the edge." He sighed, looking out over the water. "I just wanted to finish here and go back to a good future. Save all the innocents that died by Wyatt's hand. I wanted to save you."

"You wanted a life were you could be with Bianca, too."

"She's not who I thought she was, Mel." Chris felt Mel take his hand and looked into her eyes. "She never loved me."

"Yes she did." Chris only shook his head at Mel's words. She hadn't been looking right into the Phoenix's eyes when Wyatt had spoke of her betrayal.

"She didn't deny Wyatt, when he said she never loved me."

"She thought it best not to anger him further." Mel said quickly. "She was only trying to keep you safe. Bianca never meant to hurt you, Chris. She loves you as much as you love her. Her destiny is torn. Her heritage pulls her in one direction, her love for you another."

"How do you know all this?" Chris asked abruptly.

"I paid her a visit before coming back here."

"So she could run to Wyatt and betray me again?"

"No," Mel snapped. "To give her hope. It's a cruel world and we all need someone. I might not have always trusted her but I do know she loves you. She tried to warn me when she found out his plans to destroy the Resistance. There wasn't enough time, before he attacked though. She pleaded with me to run, that when he found me, it would result in my death. He had discovered I was leading the rebellion, and planned to kill me in the process of punishing you. I didn't listen and stayed to fight. She begged me to orb away when Wyatt found headquarters, that you wouldn't be able to handle my death on top of all the others. While her and I were never the best of friends, I know her well enough to say she does indeed love you."

"Thanks Mel." Chris whispered as he brushed a stray tear away with the back of his hand.

"What are sisters for," she asked as she pulled him into a tight hug. "If not for keeping our brothers in line?"

"Let's not get carried away." He smirked.

"Ready to kick some demon ass, brother of mine?" Mel asked as she held out a hand to pull him up after her.

"Always."

A/N: Please review! I'd love to hear what you thought as always. It might be a little longer that usual before I can get around to updating but we'll have to see. Much love

-Jules