The Unknown Destiny

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-nine: Past and Future Family

Nathan peered around the corner as he snuck downstairs to the third class area. So far, so good, there was nobody there to spot him. He wasn't sure how he got himself into this mess, but all he knew was that he wanted to get himself out of it as soon as he could.

Don't worry, Susan and Lucas will come with a plan, a voice inside his mind told him reassuringly.

Scowling, Nathan rubbed his forehead. "I don't need them to rescue me," he grumbled. "I can rescue myself just fine."

Yes, you've been doing a great job so far. If you had just let them help you with the demon, then you wouldn't be stuck here in 1912, now would you, Mr. Know-It-All?

Before Nathan could continue arguing with himself—which, now that Nathan thought about it, had to mean he was going crazy—a voice spoke up from behind him. "Hey, what do we have here?"

Turning around, Nathan saw a man around his age standing against the stairwell, peering at him closely. "Blimey," he said cheerfully, looking back up the stairwell and talking to someone that was out of Nathan's eyesight. "Hey, come take a look at this, sis. Looks like the first class come down here to have a laugh at us, Liz."

Something about him seemed familiar, Nathan thought. But he was pretty sure that he had never seen him before in his life; how could he have, anyway? The guy would have to have been almost a hundred in his own time, if he had even lived through the tragedy that was about to occur in the next couple of days. But Nathan could swear that something about him seemed vaguely familiar.

"What are you doing down here with the slaves of third class, Halliwell?" the guy asked, cocking his head at Nathan.

It took a minute for Nathan to realise what the guy had called him. "What did you call me?"

"Sorry, Mr. Halliwell, isn't it?" the guy laughed. "Wasn't too long ago that you and your wife up there were down here with the rest of us. And now take a look at you, Jon. Dressed up in your finest and having fine wine with the rest of the first class beauties."

Nathan shook his head. "Look, I think that you've made a mistake, sir," he said, trying to bluff his way through. "My name's not Jon Halliwell. You must be mistaken me for someone else."

"Hey, Elizabeth!" the guy said, looking up the stairwell to the person that he talked to before. "Come take a look at this guy, huh? Tell me that I'm wrong and this isn't our old friend Halliwell."

A young woman appeared beside the guy and Nathan was momentarily stunned for a moment as her features were thrown into light. Even though her hair was shades lighter than his sister's was, the young woman was the spitting image of Susan. Same eyes, same mouth, same nose, same chin. Even the way that her hair curled was the exact way that his sister's did.

The guy had called this young woman 'Elizabeth.' Susan's mom's name had been Elizabeth. Could it be coincidence? Nathan wondered. His sister's mom had died during World War I, so there was a definite possibility that this young woman was indeed the woman who had mothered his older sister and had been his father and uncle's Whitelighter.

"Hate to say it, big brother, but you're wrong," Elizabeth told him with a grin. "Looks a bit like Jon, but it's not him. Probably a relative of his or something. You related to Jonathan Halliwell?" she asked him now, looking inquiringly at Nathan.

The name suddenly sparked something in Nathan's memory. His great-great-great grandfather's name had been Jonathan. He had returned with his wife and newborn daughter to the States after conducting some business in Europe. And he had come aboard the Titanic.

"You know," he said in answer to Elizabeth's question, "I think that's a definite possibility." Elizabeth chuckled. "But, you know, I do need to find him. Do you think you could help me?"

Elizabeth surveyed him, then grinned. "That I could," she agreed, looking at her brother. "Tell Dad where I'm going, won't you?"

"Lizzie, you're not allowed up on first class!" he protested. His sister ignored him and tugged on Nathan's arm, pulling him up the stairwell and onto the deck.

If there was anybody that could help him from this time and place, it was definitely one of the ancestors of the Warren line.

--

"Do you think they're all right?" Brooke asked, sitting down on one of the couches as she looked at the two Whitelighters.

"Should be," Shawn muttered, but he didn't look any more convinced that the telepath did. "Look, I'm gonna go check with the Elders, all right? See if they don't know anything about this Valtarian demon that might be more helpful."

Haley nodded and he orbed out, leaving her with Brooke. "If they don't make it back, I swear, I'm going to turn away from the pacifist path and hunt the demon down that did this."

Brooke chuckled slightly, feeling the baby do a back flip in her stomach and she placed her hand over her slightly swollen belly. "Haley?" she asked. "Do you think that everything's going to turn out okay? Shawn's really an optimistic, but what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know, Brooke," Haley admitted. "Shawn's been doing this a lot longer than I have; I got to say, he probably knows what he's talking about. Besides that, Susan, Lucas, and Nathan are the Charmed Ones, prophesised a long time ago. Demons have feared their coming for generations and witches and Whitelighters have hoped for it."

"So you're saying that nothing is going to be able to stop them?" Brooke asked.

"I'm saying that they're prophesised for a reason. They've got powers that no other witch has, the Power of Three. We just have to believe that they'll be all right."

Brooke sighed and nodded as the doorbell rang downstairs. She glanced down at her watch. "It's after midnight, who could that be?" she wondered as she got up off the couch, heading downstairs to answer it, Haley at her heels.

She unchained the door and opened it, revealing a teenager standing against the wall, waiting for her to open it. He was tall and lanky with brown hair that was styled the same way that Keith's was. His eyes were brown, too, filled with warmth and strength. Somehow, though she couldn't say how, she felt as though she knew him.

"Hi, can I help you?" Brooke asked, staring at the teenager. It was late enough as it was; what was he doing here?

"No, I'm here to help you," the boy replied, straightening up. Before Brooke could ask what he meant by that, the boy walked past her, heading into the foyer.

"Who are you?" Haley demanded, frowning at the boy. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"Where's Lucas, Susan, and Nathan?" the boy replied, ignoring their questions. He was looking around the room, as though he were expecting the siblings to appear out of nowhere.

"That is none of your business!" Brooke barked angrily. "Now you tell us who you are and what you want."

The boy laughed, shaking his head in exasperation. "I don't have time for this. Please tell me that they didn't go after Nathan already," he added on a more serious note.

Haley and Brooke stared at him; he was staring back at them, waiting for their answer. "How—how do you know about that?" Haley said at long last. "Who are you?"

"Look, I don't have time to sit and chat, okay? They've left already, haven't they? Cast the spell to summon themselves to Nathan?" he asked, looking worried.

Brooke slowly gave a short nod and the boy let out a swear, shaking his head at the ceiling. "Oh, thank you so much! You couldn't have sent me ten minutes earlier, could you?" he demanded and Brooke had to suppress a smile. "This is fantastic; really, really fantastic!"

"Look, kid, I have about enough of this," Haley said, still looking at him in aggravation. The newcomer looked at her. "Now either tell us who you are and how you know about all of this or you're gonna have some major problems on your hands."

"Jeez, Haley!" the boy said, holding up his hands as a sign of peace. "Look, don't bite my head off, I'm just trying to help, okay? I know all of this because I am . . . from the future."

Brooke's mouth fell open in surprise at that statement. "You're from the future?" she demanded incredulously. Now she studied him, frowning, the feeling of familiarity once again flaring up inside of her. He really did look familiar . . .

"Yeah," the boy agreed with a solemn nod. "I came here because I know that the demon that attacked tonight, the one that sent Nathan through the portal, was hired by another demon. Actually, two demons. And they're trying to get the siblings out of the way so that they can get to you and your unborn child. And trust me, they'll succeed. Lucas, Nathan, and Susan managed to rescue you and the baby, but not before they tapped into the baby's powers and managed to resurrect Dan."

"What?" Haley demanded, looking astounded. "They have already vanquished Dan, how can there be an escape route? Fallen witches are not supposed to come back from the dead."

"Okay, not that I don't appreciate your coming here and trying to help me and my baby and stop his biological grandfather from coming back from the dead, but what's the catch?" Brooke said at last. She stared at the boy. "How come you're really doing this? And who are you? What's your name?"

The boy hesitated, then sighed, giving in. "All right," he said, looking at Brooke directly in the eyes. "I'm doing this because it directly affects me. My name's Keith. Keith Scott the Second."

Brooke felt her knees give way and the boy—Keith—had to grab her and steady her, pushing her into a chair. But she didn't care. "Your—your name's Keith Scott?" she croaked.

He nodded, grinning for the first time. And she realised that it was Lucas's smile. "Yeah, Mom, I'm your son," he said, gesturing towards her slightly swollen belly.