Author's Note: I wrote this earlier in the week, but I wanted to hold onto this chapter for a few days.
So the story is probably going to end in about 5 or so chapters, maybe more, but not much more.
I love everyone for reading this story and for reviewing.
In case you've forgotten, I've got links to pictures of all the Halliwell children in my profile.
My favorite stories list also has a good selection of Chris stories, if you're looking for one :)
Emma woke up, feeling refreshed. She hated to admit it, but she had had nightmares about Wyatt turning evil.
She knew that it had been the arrow, but still, something inside her was bugging her.
'If I can see him, then I'll know he isn't evil.' She thought to herself.
She took a shower and got dressed. She didn't bother to do her hair, instead she pulled it back into a ponytail.
'Well, I'm doing good on time. I don't have to leave for school for another ten minutes.'
Emma smiled slightly, "Wyatt!" she called out. She waited a minute and nothing happened.
She frowned, "Wyatt!" She yelled. A minute later, she got a jingle in response, "Don't you jingle me, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell!" she shouted.
Nothing happened and Emma gave up. She left her room, grabbing a piece of a toast in the process.
"Feeling better, Em?" Alana asked her sister-in-law.
"Lots better," Emma answered, stifling a yawn, "Is Wy still asleep?"
"Actually," Alana said, looking as if she had remembered something, "I haven't seen him... It's weird, because he doesn't have work until this afternoon."
"Morning girls," Piper said, looking wide awake, she noticed the expressions on their face, "What's wrong?"
"Mom, where's Wyatt?" Emma asked her mother.
"He should be on the couch." Piper answered, she set up her coffee pot.
Emma peered in the living room, "No one is there." Emma called.
"Chris!" Alana called impatiently.
"Time to go already?" Chris asked her, looking ready for the day.
"Where is my husband?" Alana asked impatiently, "You were watching him last night."
Chris sighed, "He left."
"Left when?" Piper asked, suddenly upset.
"Early this morning, he said he was going away." Chris answered, trying to look away from his mother and his best friend.
"Going away, where?" Emma asked.
"I don't know." Chris admitted.
"Will he be back before his shift?" Alana asked Chris.
"I don't think so, Lana," Chris said, sounding uncomfortable, "He said he was going away for a while."
"He can't just leave!" Alana shouted desperately, "I'm six months pregnant and we already have a two year old son, I need him."
Piper hugged Alana, trying to comfort her daughter-in-law, "We'll bring him back."
Wyatt sipped his coffee. He didn't know why he was so tired; he had slept from five in the afternoon until three in the morning.
Wyatt smiled slightly, he hadn't been to a coffee shop since his college days. Back then he would stop at a coffee shop
and down a few cups so that he could stay up late and study.
After he graduated from medical school, he severely cut down on his intake of coffee. He learnt all the negative side-effects
and choose to drink it sparingly.
Alana had always laughed at his chastising speeches when he would catch her sipping some, she would tell him "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands."
The only time she didn't drink coffee was during her pregnancies.
Wyatt didn't know why he was still in the coffee shop, 'it's not like I have anywhere else to go.'
A young girl in her twenties smiled at him, he smiled back, taking another sip of his coffee.
She looked at his hand, then glared at him. She picked up her purse and left.
'That was weird.' Wyatt thought to himself. He looked at his hand, trying to figure out what he had done to offend her.
All he saw were his fingers... and his wedding ring.
He laughed to himself, 'I've been married so long that I've forgotten what flirting looks like.'
Michael did not look happy. He had been in bed since the day before.
The consequences of being frozen in solid ice for over an hour.
Phoebe was huddled over her son. She put another blanket over him, "How are you feeling, sweetie?"
Michael sniffled, "Stupid Carter. He shouldn't be using his powers if he doesn't know how to control them."
Phoebe smiled for a moment, "You shouldn't talk badly about your cousin. He had good intentions."
"If he had just asked you guys, I wouldn't be freezing to death." Michael complained, holding the blanket closer to himself.
"Oh, I know." Phoebe brought her son closer to herself, she kissed his forehead, "But at least Emma and Wyatt are okay."
"Yeah." Michael managed a smile, "But Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. I could have taken care of myself."
"You're always going to be my little boy." Phoebe said affectionately, she kissed Michael's forehead, "Call me if you need anything, alright?"
"Alright." Michael agreed, closing his eyes.
"You are going to stay here, do you understand me, young man?" Paige asked her son.
"Mom, you can trust me. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Carter tried to look apologetic, but came off looking more irritated than anything else.
"I can trust you? Really?" Paige questioned, looking angry, "You tricked your sister into using her power so that you could go out and prove that you're not weak."
"I didn't trick her," Carter countered, now annoyed, "I asked her to do me a favor."
"And she did it! What are you going to do next? Manipulate your sister into stealing my car keys so that you can go for a joy ride?"
"I would never do anything to hurt Nikki!" Carter shouted, he transitioned from annoyed to angry.
"You took her and Katie to the Under World, where you knew it wasn't safe." Paige snapped angrily, "What if she had been shot by the arrow instead of you?"
"She was," Carter mumbled, "But I got in front of it before anything could happen."
"Yeah? And what if the spell hadn't worked? What if Nikki couldn't get you home, and instead, you died? Could you live knowing your sister witnessed your death?" Paige asked finally.
Carter swallowed in an attempt to stop himself from crying, "I'm sorry." He croaked out, "I was just trying to save Emma and Wyatt. No one was doing anything and I knew we were the only one with the power to stop Wyatt."
Paige sighed, "I know you love your sister and I know you love your cousins, but Carter, you're a kid. You need to leave this up to the adults."
"I want to go into training sooner then," Carter said finally, "Wait for Nikki and Katie, but in a few years I want to go into training. Wyatt was vanquishing demons by twelve, Chris and Emma by thirteen."
"You are in no place to demand anything, young man." Paige said finally, "But, I'll think about it."
Carter nodded.
"And if you leave this house, I will send your father after you." Paige threatened.
Carter looked hurt at the remark, "I'm not a criminal, jeez, Mom." He orbed to his mom, locking the door.
He sighed as he laid on his bed, blasting some music to distract himself.
"Normally, I'm all for Carter being grounded, but you're being kind of hard on him..." Penny said to her mother.
"Luckily, Penelope. I'm the mother, not you." Paige sniped.
"Mom, he was trying to save Emma and Wyatt. If they hadn't gotten there in time, she would have died." Penny tried to reason with her mother.
"We would have found a way to save her." Paige corrected her daughter.
"Really?" Penny asked, now a little irritated, "Because from what I heard from Chris, no one was doing anything remotely proactive at all."
"Don't make me ground you too, young lady." Paige threatened.
"Ground me for what? For telling you the truth? Fine, Ground me. I don't care." Penny shot finally.
"I'm disappointed in you, Penelope. You're usually better behaved than this." Paige remarked.
"You're a social worker, Mom!" Penny yelled, "You know how horrible the things you said to Carter were and you kept going."
"Go to your room," Paige snapped coolly, "You can come down when you've grown up a little."
"Well, if that's how you're approaching the situation, then maybe you should go to your room until you grow up. Don't worry, I'll be back here before you, Mom." Penny said in an icy tone, she disappeared in orbs.
"Whatcha doing?" Rachel asked with a smile, when she faded into Chad's room. Chad was sitting down, using a computer, typing something.
"Hey Rach," Chad said with a smile, "I haven't seen you since this morning. I missed you."
Rachel peered over his shoulder with a smile, "What are you writing?"
"I'm writing an apology letter." He joked lightly.
"To who?" Rachel questioned.
"To our entire class?" He offered, "It started as my valedictorian speech, but now it feels more like an apology."
"You have nothing to apologize for." Rachel said, looking worried for her boyfriend.
"Rach, you've always been popular. When I was a little kid, I wasn't popular. I was awkward and nerdy, and sometimes people picked on me." Chad looked guilty,
"So I know how horrible what I've done to these people are."
"But you helped them grow into their power." Rachel stammered back.
"Maybe, but I still don't like the method. Initially, I found it quite pleasurable. It was almost like getting back at those who hurt me..." Chad looked downcast,
"But I was creating more problems, instead of encouraging others to find their power through the right means."
"Kay," Rachel smiled, she sat on Chad's bed behind him, "You know I didn't date you because you were a bully, right?"
Chad laughed, "God, I hope not. That would have been one twisted relationship."
"I like having you as my boyfriend because you're funny and you're incredibly smart," She smiled, then added softly, "And you don't look down on me for not being as bright as others."
"Rachel, everyone is smart in their own way," Chad said, gently, "So you're not textbook smart? Who cares? Your magical precision is admirable. It makes me jealous that you are so naturally talented with your powers."
"But, what about college?" Rachel asked, looking downcast.
"I'll only be forty minutes away. I can always shimmer to you and you can always fade over to me. You're welcome anytime." Chad smiled, leaning in for a kiss.
Rachel kissed him back, "And you'll help me?"
"Of course." Chad offered her warmly. Rachel still looked upset, "What's wrong?"
"I wish everyone had gotten to know the real you," Rachel whispered, "Because you're such a sweet person."
"Well, the best I can do is to hope they accept my apology." Chad offered, he too was upset that he made such a nasty name at school.
"You cannot expect me to get her that." Jacob said, arching a brow at Kaylee's suggestion for his sister's graduation gift.
"It's perfect, you know she'll like it." Kaylee argued.
"Nope," Jacob disagreed, "I don't know anything."
"Well, I'm her best friend and I know she'll love it," Kaylee said, then arched a brow, "And you should know she'll love it, you're her twin brother."
"It's three hundred dollars." Jacob grumbled, "You should be grateful that I'm taking you to prom."
Kaylee glared at Jacob, "I didn't want to go with a stranger so close to graduation."
Jacob smiled slightly, "I was kidding, Kayles. I'm glad you want to go to prom with me. Honestly, I don't think I could handle a random chick latching herself onto me so close to graduation."
"You are so smooth, Jacob." Kaylee teased, "Now get the stereo. You know she wants it and you know she's probably going to get you something as good."
"Fine," Jacob caved, "My wallet doesn't like this, though."
"Oh please. You're the son of Phoebe Halliwell. I'm sure you can afford it." Kaylee joked.
Jacob always felt uncomfortable having so much money, while Kaylee lived in a small apartment in Oakland with her single mother. Her mother didn't have much money
and at times he wanted to give his best friend the world, but he knew if he offered her money that she would hate him. Kaylee didn't care that Jacob was rich, or that he was the son of a Charmed one.
She liked him for him and made it apparent that she would never want to have the responsibility he had as the son of a Charmed One.
He knew that Kaylee had moved to Oakland, when she was six. She had come from Northern Pennsylvania.
At ten, her father gave up on the family and moved somewhere else in California. Kaylee rarely talked about her father,
mostly because it destroyed the optimism she was known for.
"After we buy this monstrosity, we're getting dinner." Jacob declared.
"Fine," Kaylee agreed, "We'll get dinner, you glutton."
"We're going to that new restaurant. Chad and Rachel said it was good." Jacob informed her after they exited the store.
Kaylee frowned for a moment, "I'm paying, by the way." He added.
"Why?" Kaylee asked him.
"Pretend it's a date." Jacob said dismissively.
"Jacob, you're my best friend. I love you to death, but I do not want to date you." Kaylee had said, afraid of the awkwardness.
Jacob was surprised that the sentence hurt his feelings; He didn't know he liked Kaylee, "I said to pretend, can you do that?" He teased.
Kaylee looked at him, curiously, but then agreed, "Yeah, I can pretend."
"Hey Kayles... You know you can call me anytime and I'll be there in a heartbeat." Jacob told her.
"Yeah," Kaylee smiled, "You're a good friend, Jacob."
It didn't really matter where they were. Each Halliwell was changing their mind about someone.
It could be go either way, really. Some relationships were getting closer... some were falling apart.