Leo orbed in right behind Chris. He couldn't see his son's face.
"Chris?" called Leo over the wind.
Chris jumped and nearly fell off the bridge. He turned to look at his father as if he were crazy.
"Dad, you nearly scared me to death!" he cried.
"Sorry... Are you okay?" asked Leo.
Chris sighed and looked up at the sky.
"If okay is a new way of describing what a person feels when they know they just screwed up the future then yes, I'm okay."
"Chris, I don't see why anything bad could possibly come out of us knowing about you. I mean, everything that you told me, now I can change that!"
"But at what expense? People aren't supposed to time travel, and if they do, they're certainly not supposed to use it to change anything to their advantage! When I came here, all that I was supposed to do was save Wyatt. I was supposed to come here, gain the sister's trust while sending you to the Valhalley so that I can put my plan into action; tell the sisters I'm here to save Wyatt from a demon; find the demon, vanquish it and go back to a much better future! But then you came back and then there was that whole deal with Bianca... and then I had to tell you about Wyatt turning evil... and now you know that I'm your son and I don't even know what kind of future I'm going to go back to." said Chris in one breath.
"First of all, the thing you said about not being supposed to change the future, that's not true. Didn't you study you mother and aunts' history? A couple of years ago, the elders sent them to the future, where they saw that magic was exposed and Phoebe ended up being killed. They got a chance to change that, and they did!"
"At the expense of Melinda, the daughter you were supposed to have." added Chris.
"If she wasn't born, then it just wasn't meant to be." countered Leo. "Besides, now we have Wyatt and you."
"Who said that was a change for the better?" asked Chris desperately.
"Because Wyatt and you are the best thing that's ever happened to me!" cried Leo.
"No we're not! Can't you see, Leo, Wyatt's going to grow up and HURT people, and I'm going to HELP HIM!" cried Chris, finally letting out the secret that's been burdening him ever since he came back to the past.
"What do you mean?" asked Leo quickly.
"Nothing... nothing, forget I ever said anything." said Chris quietly, orbing away.
Leo stared at the spot where Chris was moments ago and came to a conclusion, orbing after his son.
o.o
Piper was feeding Wyatt and stirring something on the stove at the same time. "You're going to have a cousin! A good cousin who'll do anything for you, Wyatt!" she gurgled.
Piper was feeling immense relief. She was always worried that Wyatt will grow up all alone and with no friends, thinking he's a freak because of magic. She thought maybe that's what could've turned him. But now that she knew that a good man like Chris was Wyatt's cousin, the future no longer seemed to hold nothing but the darkness that Chris described. A chill went down her spine at the thought of Chris being family. It was just so right, it made so much sense. It was as if all of her questions about the stranger that came here and dropped one bombshell after the other on them about the future were answered in one simple statement: "Chris is Paige's son."
Piper checked her watch worriedly. Why wasn't Phoebe up yet? It was nearly noon. Leo must be Up There, she thought sadly. She really missed having him around the house. Every morning she'd wake up to find herself alone in the bed, looking sadly at the spot where Leo should've been. Every time Wyatt cried and woke her up, she'd think for a split second 'Leo's got it.' And then she'd remember that he left. He became an elder. Gosh, how she hated the elders. They were always there to make her life miserable, take him away whenever they were happy.
She sighed unhappily and turned towards her son. "Well, at least I have you, Wyatt." she said, enveloping him in a hug.
o.o
Chris lied on his bed in Piper's office, his face buried in the pillow. He tried to block out the memories, the flashbacks he was having of all the times he'd killed because of Wyatt. He wished he hadn't let himself be influenced that much... The truth was, he hadn't just come back to save Wyatt; he came to save himself too. Because in the future, the reason Chris never told his parents or aunts about Wyatt's power hunt was because he was on Wyatt's side, right there with him. Chris gripped his head and groaned. Images of the faces of every person he'd killed flashed in his mind, ending with the night he killed the Valkyrie Leysa. He shut his eyes in pain and anger at what he had to do, all for Wyatt, all because of Wyatt. Chris started pounding at the wall in anger, screaming: "I hate you Wyatt! I hate you!" He didn't notice that Leo had orbed in and was now trying to stop Chris without getting punched in the process.
Leo finally got his hands on Chris' arms and lowered them forcefully. Chris, blinded by his fury, turned on Leo instead and shoved his away, sending him crashing to the floor. Leo's cry of pain as his head made contact with the floor finally snapped Chris out of his rage blackout. He looked at Leo in surprise and jumped to help him to his feet.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, I'm sorry!"
Leo's head landed on a beer bottle when he fell to the floor and he was now bleeding.
"It's okay, don't worry about it." muttered Leo, clutching his head.
"Dad, you're bleeding!" cried Chris.
"I know, just get me to the manor, Piper will know what to do." said Leo through the pain.
Chris nodded frantically and orbed them to the kitchen, where Piper was now setting up the table for breakfast, or lunch, since it was already noon. She turned around in surprise when she heard them orb in and took in the image that greeted her: Chris was holding Leo around the waist to help him stand, and Leo was clutching the back of his head, his hand covered in blood.
"Oh my god, Leo, what happened?" she asked in panic, running towards them and helping Leo onto a chair.
"It doesn't matter, just get me a bandage."
Piper nodded frantically and ran to the bathroom.
"Dad, I'm really sorry..." said Chris, looking at Leo, tormented.
"It's okay, you didn't mean to..."
Piper rushed back into the room, carrying a bandage and a disinfectant.
"Here..." she mumbled, cleaning Leo's wound and pulling out a shard of glass, causing Leo to hiss in pain.
"How did this happen?" she asked again, now wrapping the bandage around Leo's head.
"Uh... I slipped and hit a beer bottle." lied Leo.
Chris looked at him gratefully.
Piper immediately knew that Leo was lying to her. She decided not to pressure him and pretended to nod in understanding, conveying her attention to the bandaging of his gash.
When she finished, Leo sighed in relief and leaned back against Piper, resting his head on her stomach comfortably. Piper raised her eyebrows while Chris, oblivious, went over to the fridge and took out a beer bottle. Leo's eyes shot open in realization and he moved his head away quickly, coughing uncomfortably and getting up very quickly.
"Well, I'd better, uh, get back Up There to get someone to heal me." he said, gesturing to the ceiling.
"You can do that? Well then why didn't you do that in the first place instead of wasting my Band-Aids?" complained Piper.
"I forgot." He said honestly. And it was true; he was too preoccupied with Chris to think about the other Elders.
Chris gulped down almost the entire content of the beer bottle and left the room while Leo orbed out.
"Where are you going?" asked Piper, turning to him.
"To check the book. I think I have a new theory on who turns Wyatt." lied Chris, already bounding up the stairs.
"Hmm... Well, looks like it's just me and you again, Wyatt." said Piper, turning back to her baby.
o.o
Meanwhile, Paige was playing with her hair in front of the mirror while Phoebe typed on her laptop, busy writing this week's column.
"Where are Leo and Chris?" whined Paige for the hundredth time in the last 20 minutes.
"Paige, it's only been half an hour, what's the hurry anyway? Don't you have something better to do than mess around with your hair?"
"I know, it's just, how long does it take a father to talk to his son anyway? Blah... I'm still pretty much in shock I guess. I'm not a morning person, and to top that off I hardly slept last night and spent the last hour discovering that Chris is my nephew, that my sister is probably going to die in the near future and that that very sister thinks that her son is my son. Now tell me Phoebe, wouldn't that make you grumpy as well?" finished Paige, throwing her hairbrush down on the table.
"Ugh, I can't believe we missed all the signs! I mean, he always acted like he knew us from the very beginning. I always thought it was probably because he was one of the innocents we save and he wanted to return the favor or something. Or I don't even know what I thought! Remember when he told us that in all his life he hadn't seen us bail in like that or something after the three stupid blondes happened and all? And there were so many other clues, I mean, I can't believe I didn't feel it from him, what kind of an empath am I?" ranted Phoebe.
"We all missed the signs, including his parents, so don't kill yourself over it. Speaking of his parents, where is LEO?" asked Paige, yelling out the last word.
A newly healed Leo orbed in at the same time as Chris opened the door to Phoebe's room, causing the resulting image to look as if they orbed in together, thus helping them avoid questions on Phoebe and Paige's part.
"Finally, where've you two been?" exclaimed Paige.
They both ignored the question, Chris settling on the edge of Phoebe's bed, causing it to tilt over and Phoebe's laptop which was already near the rim of the double bed to slide and fall to the floor.
"I'm sorry!" he cried, jumping to his feet.
"Ahhh, my laptop, I didn't save my column!" cried Phoebe, picking it up.
Chris rubbed his face. "I'm sorry Phoebe, I don't know what's wrong with me today... first dad, now you... I'll just go away before anyone else gets hurt." he said, orbing out.
"That is one neurotic whitelighter." said Paige.
"What did he mean, first dad, now me? What happened with you two anyway?" Phoebe asked Leo, but the latter was already orbing away after Chris.
"It's the pattern of the day, isn't it?" asked Paige, returning to her mirror to try on some of Phoebe's make up. The middle sister finally looked at the laptop.
"Damn it, I lost my column." she said, exasperated.
o.o
A/N: Ahhh, we're getting near the end! Am I doing a good job of building up tension? You guys tell me! Thanks for all the great reviews, I love you all! I'm really, really sorry, but I won't be updating until Friday, because as I said, I have exams! Lots and lots of exams. Please give me your feedback on this chapter!
"Chris?" called Leo over the wind.
Chris jumped and nearly fell off the bridge. He turned to look at his father as if he were crazy.
"Dad, you nearly scared me to death!" he cried.
"Sorry... Are you okay?" asked Leo.
Chris sighed and looked up at the sky.
"If okay is a new way of describing what a person feels when they know they just screwed up the future then yes, I'm okay."
"Chris, I don't see why anything bad could possibly come out of us knowing about you. I mean, everything that you told me, now I can change that!"
"But at what expense? People aren't supposed to time travel, and if they do, they're certainly not supposed to use it to change anything to their advantage! When I came here, all that I was supposed to do was save Wyatt. I was supposed to come here, gain the sister's trust while sending you to the Valhalley so that I can put my plan into action; tell the sisters I'm here to save Wyatt from a demon; find the demon, vanquish it and go back to a much better future! But then you came back and then there was that whole deal with Bianca... and then I had to tell you about Wyatt turning evil... and now you know that I'm your son and I don't even know what kind of future I'm going to go back to." said Chris in one breath.
"First of all, the thing you said about not being supposed to change the future, that's not true. Didn't you study you mother and aunts' history? A couple of years ago, the elders sent them to the future, where they saw that magic was exposed and Phoebe ended up being killed. They got a chance to change that, and they did!"
"At the expense of Melinda, the daughter you were supposed to have." added Chris.
"If she wasn't born, then it just wasn't meant to be." countered Leo. "Besides, now we have Wyatt and you."
"Who said that was a change for the better?" asked Chris desperately.
"Because Wyatt and you are the best thing that's ever happened to me!" cried Leo.
"No we're not! Can't you see, Leo, Wyatt's going to grow up and HURT people, and I'm going to HELP HIM!" cried Chris, finally letting out the secret that's been burdening him ever since he came back to the past.
"What do you mean?" asked Leo quickly.
"Nothing... nothing, forget I ever said anything." said Chris quietly, orbing away.
Leo stared at the spot where Chris was moments ago and came to a conclusion, orbing after his son.
o.o
Piper was feeding Wyatt and stirring something on the stove at the same time. "You're going to have a cousin! A good cousin who'll do anything for you, Wyatt!" she gurgled.
Piper was feeling immense relief. She was always worried that Wyatt will grow up all alone and with no friends, thinking he's a freak because of magic. She thought maybe that's what could've turned him. But now that she knew that a good man like Chris was Wyatt's cousin, the future no longer seemed to hold nothing but the darkness that Chris described. A chill went down her spine at the thought of Chris being family. It was just so right, it made so much sense. It was as if all of her questions about the stranger that came here and dropped one bombshell after the other on them about the future were answered in one simple statement: "Chris is Paige's son."
Piper checked her watch worriedly. Why wasn't Phoebe up yet? It was nearly noon. Leo must be Up There, she thought sadly. She really missed having him around the house. Every morning she'd wake up to find herself alone in the bed, looking sadly at the spot where Leo should've been. Every time Wyatt cried and woke her up, she'd think for a split second 'Leo's got it.' And then she'd remember that he left. He became an elder. Gosh, how she hated the elders. They were always there to make her life miserable, take him away whenever they were happy.
She sighed unhappily and turned towards her son. "Well, at least I have you, Wyatt." she said, enveloping him in a hug.
o.o
Chris lied on his bed in Piper's office, his face buried in the pillow. He tried to block out the memories, the flashbacks he was having of all the times he'd killed because of Wyatt. He wished he hadn't let himself be influenced that much... The truth was, he hadn't just come back to save Wyatt; he came to save himself too. Because in the future, the reason Chris never told his parents or aunts about Wyatt's power hunt was because he was on Wyatt's side, right there with him. Chris gripped his head and groaned. Images of the faces of every person he'd killed flashed in his mind, ending with the night he killed the Valkyrie Leysa. He shut his eyes in pain and anger at what he had to do, all for Wyatt, all because of Wyatt. Chris started pounding at the wall in anger, screaming: "I hate you Wyatt! I hate you!" He didn't notice that Leo had orbed in and was now trying to stop Chris without getting punched in the process.
Leo finally got his hands on Chris' arms and lowered them forcefully. Chris, blinded by his fury, turned on Leo instead and shoved his away, sending him crashing to the floor. Leo's cry of pain as his head made contact with the floor finally snapped Chris out of his rage blackout. He looked at Leo in surprise and jumped to help him to his feet.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, I'm sorry!"
Leo's head landed on a beer bottle when he fell to the floor and he was now bleeding.
"It's okay, don't worry about it." muttered Leo, clutching his head.
"Dad, you're bleeding!" cried Chris.
"I know, just get me to the manor, Piper will know what to do." said Leo through the pain.
Chris nodded frantically and orbed them to the kitchen, where Piper was now setting up the table for breakfast, or lunch, since it was already noon. She turned around in surprise when she heard them orb in and took in the image that greeted her: Chris was holding Leo around the waist to help him stand, and Leo was clutching the back of his head, his hand covered in blood.
"Oh my god, Leo, what happened?" she asked in panic, running towards them and helping Leo onto a chair.
"It doesn't matter, just get me a bandage."
Piper nodded frantically and ran to the bathroom.
"Dad, I'm really sorry..." said Chris, looking at Leo, tormented.
"It's okay, you didn't mean to..."
Piper rushed back into the room, carrying a bandage and a disinfectant.
"Here..." she mumbled, cleaning Leo's wound and pulling out a shard of glass, causing Leo to hiss in pain.
"How did this happen?" she asked again, now wrapping the bandage around Leo's head.
"Uh... I slipped and hit a beer bottle." lied Leo.
Chris looked at him gratefully.
Piper immediately knew that Leo was lying to her. She decided not to pressure him and pretended to nod in understanding, conveying her attention to the bandaging of his gash.
When she finished, Leo sighed in relief and leaned back against Piper, resting his head on her stomach comfortably. Piper raised her eyebrows while Chris, oblivious, went over to the fridge and took out a beer bottle. Leo's eyes shot open in realization and he moved his head away quickly, coughing uncomfortably and getting up very quickly.
"Well, I'd better, uh, get back Up There to get someone to heal me." he said, gesturing to the ceiling.
"You can do that? Well then why didn't you do that in the first place instead of wasting my Band-Aids?" complained Piper.
"I forgot." He said honestly. And it was true; he was too preoccupied with Chris to think about the other Elders.
Chris gulped down almost the entire content of the beer bottle and left the room while Leo orbed out.
"Where are you going?" asked Piper, turning to him.
"To check the book. I think I have a new theory on who turns Wyatt." lied Chris, already bounding up the stairs.
"Hmm... Well, looks like it's just me and you again, Wyatt." said Piper, turning back to her baby.
o.o
Meanwhile, Paige was playing with her hair in front of the mirror while Phoebe typed on her laptop, busy writing this week's column.
"Where are Leo and Chris?" whined Paige for the hundredth time in the last 20 minutes.
"Paige, it's only been half an hour, what's the hurry anyway? Don't you have something better to do than mess around with your hair?"
"I know, it's just, how long does it take a father to talk to his son anyway? Blah... I'm still pretty much in shock I guess. I'm not a morning person, and to top that off I hardly slept last night and spent the last hour discovering that Chris is my nephew, that my sister is probably going to die in the near future and that that very sister thinks that her son is my son. Now tell me Phoebe, wouldn't that make you grumpy as well?" finished Paige, throwing her hairbrush down on the table.
"Ugh, I can't believe we missed all the signs! I mean, he always acted like he knew us from the very beginning. I always thought it was probably because he was one of the innocents we save and he wanted to return the favor or something. Or I don't even know what I thought! Remember when he told us that in all his life he hadn't seen us bail in like that or something after the three stupid blondes happened and all? And there were so many other clues, I mean, I can't believe I didn't feel it from him, what kind of an empath am I?" ranted Phoebe.
"We all missed the signs, including his parents, so don't kill yourself over it. Speaking of his parents, where is LEO?" asked Paige, yelling out the last word.
A newly healed Leo orbed in at the same time as Chris opened the door to Phoebe's room, causing the resulting image to look as if they orbed in together, thus helping them avoid questions on Phoebe and Paige's part.
"Finally, where've you two been?" exclaimed Paige.
They both ignored the question, Chris settling on the edge of Phoebe's bed, causing it to tilt over and Phoebe's laptop which was already near the rim of the double bed to slide and fall to the floor.
"I'm sorry!" he cried, jumping to his feet.
"Ahhh, my laptop, I didn't save my column!" cried Phoebe, picking it up.
Chris rubbed his face. "I'm sorry Phoebe, I don't know what's wrong with me today... first dad, now you... I'll just go away before anyone else gets hurt." he said, orbing out.
"That is one neurotic whitelighter." said Paige.
"What did he mean, first dad, now me? What happened with you two anyway?" Phoebe asked Leo, but the latter was already orbing away after Chris.
"It's the pattern of the day, isn't it?" asked Paige, returning to her mirror to try on some of Phoebe's make up. The middle sister finally looked at the laptop.
"Damn it, I lost my column." she said, exasperated.
o.o
A/N: Ahhh, we're getting near the end! Am I doing a good job of building up tension? You guys tell me! Thanks for all the great reviews, I love you all! I'm really, really sorry, but I won't be updating until Friday, because as I said, I have exams! Lots and lots of exams. Please give me your feedback on this chapter!