A/N: Gahhh….well didn't get a lot of reviews for the last chapter….Thank you Barb! Thank you Brookestar ;) !! So….this is chapter 17. Hope you like it…..
A Given Chance- Chapter 17
"SAM!" Alex shouted as he quickly got up from the ground. He had seen his wounded sister collapse to the ground and he also saw that she was bleeding badly. He almost slipped and fell on his way to her, but he regained his balance and slid on his knees next to her. "Sam…..come on sis…..talk to me……" he whispered, as he shook her to try to wake her up. But her eyes stayed shut and she remained silent. "DAD!" he shrieked in worry.
Leo ran over to them, his hands ready for the heal. When he got there, he kneeled over Sam and gently put his hands over Sam's neck. His hands started to glow and Sam's slit was starting to close. Her blood was coming back from the floor to her body. He laid his hands over her right wrist. After Leo completed his healing, Sam's massive cuts were gone and her bruises disappeared. She looked almost angelic. Piper ran over to her and kneeled over her. "Is she going to be ok?" she asked.
Leo nodded and Alex and Piper smiled. Piper tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Sam. Honey……It's time to go home." She said. Sam opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurry at first but it cleared up in a matter of seconds. There, she saw her mother, her father and her brother, all together. This was a sight she didn't want to let go. She smiled and sat up to hug Piper and Leo. "Thank you…….thank you……" she whispered in their ears. Piper pulled her aside.
"Thank you for what? We should be the ones thanking you……you saved most of our lives…..this is really an adventure we're never going to forget……." She said, grinning.
Forget. The word played over in Sam's mind as the four got up from the ground. Forget. They were going to remember this after they went back in time. She put her hand to her back pocket, checking if that same pouch of memory dust was still there. To her surprise, it hadn't of fallen out. If they remembered, then……she could live a happy life. Screw destiny…… They could live with her longer. She could have her parents with her everyday of her life……..Forget. Forget. Forget. Forget.
"Forget ME??" Alex screamed in her ear. His arms were spread out for a hug. She snapped out of her little thinking state. She put on a fakish smile and embraced him tightly. "You scared me there Alex……you always have to scare me you son of a bitch……" she said jokingly as she playfully nudged his shoulder with her fist. He wouldn't stop grinning.
"This was definitely a blessing……..A blessing……." He whispered, nodding his head. Sam looked at him weirdly. "What do you mean?" she said, still smiling a little.
"Sam….don't you see? This is really a big chance for us. Don't you get it? The Elders sent us back in time……and if we succeeded, guess what the prize is? We get to keep our parents……they're going to have to remember this. And you did tell them how they would die!!! God Sam!!!! We're gonna get them back!!! We're gonna get them back!!!" he screamed as he embraced her one more time. Sam's face fell. She was unsure of his assumption.
"Yeah……back…..we're gonna…..get them……back." She whispered.
CJ hugged his parents. "I'm….so……sorry." he said, over and over again. Cole kept rolling his eyes every time he said it.
"CJ…….It wasn't your fault. I told you this……a million times already!!!!!" he said to him, grinning. Phoebe glanced at Cole. He had never seen him so happy. She smiled at how this time with CJ seemed to change Cole a lot. "Yeah…….I mean come on. You were hypnotized by a powerful warlock. Even I can't resist that." She said playfully. All three of them laughed.
"I'm just sorry…..I was a handful and stuff. We probably would have beat the warlock quicker…..if it weren't for my help and stuff……." He said, ashamed of what he had done. Cole put his hand on CJ's shoulder. "Son…..you could never be a handful. Never. Not while I'm around……." He said. CJ's heart leapt at the word "son." Never in his life had he been called that before. CJ looked up at his two parents and nothing else could make him feel so good.
Rachel and Paige were sitting down against the walls. Rachel rubbed her wrist. "Thank God we got those stupid bindings off……I was getting really uncomfortable." She said with a small laugh.
"Yup…..I know!" Paige said in reply. The two sat there appreciating their freedom. "That was fun…..no?" Paige said, turning her head to Rachel. Rachel looked at her in a weird way. "How? We were almost killed by a big, powerful warlock from hell…..and we were stuck in those idiotic bindings for hours….and hours….and hours-"
"I got to know my daughter a little better." Paige said, cutting Rachel's complaints off. There was a small silence between them. "You ok Rach?" Paige asked her. Rachel nodded. "I just…..I'm not used to anyone calling me "their" daughter….." she whispered. Paige grinned and put her arm over her. "I'm here now Rach……I'm here now." She whispered in her ear. Rachel grinned tight, and tasted the silent, salty tears that were running down her cheek.
While Alex was with Piper and Leo, CJ snuck over Sam. "Sam……" he said as they hugged.
"CJ! You're….not hypnotized anymore!!" she said sarcastically, letting go of him. CJ laughed. "Yeah…..and I'm proud of it……" he said. There was silence between them for a while until CJ spoke again.
"Too bad I didn't see that great fight of yours with the warlock."
"Yeah….good….cause you would have been so jealous and you would have been dead scared of me by now……"
"Oh please! Just because you beat one little warlock by yourself in sword combat, doesn't meant anything between you and me!!!"
"You know I can beat your ass…you know it!!!!" she said, laughing and grinning.
"We'll see about that when we get home!" he said. Sam's face suddenly fell again and she started to turn pale. "Yeah…….home……."
'Forget.'
****
Sam sat on the couch, holding the pouch of memory dust in her hand. She opened the bag and looked at it inside. The white dust seemed to glow as she smoothed it out in her fingers. She glanced to the kitchen. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, Cole, Rachel, Alex and CJ were in the kitchen, practically celebrating their victory. Sam just sat on the couch, staring at the pouch. Suddenly, she noticed a light in front of her.
She looked up, to see her father forming in front of her. "Dad……." She muttered as she watched him. Leo was fully formed now, but still transparent. Sam lifted one eyebrow. She looked at transparent Leo, and then she turned toward the kitchen where she could hear his voice clearly. "But……."
Leo went over to her, and put a finger on her lips. "That in there is my past self. I'm the present. The dead one." He whispered, making sure no one could hear him. Sam nodded and she lowered her voice as well. "Why are you here?"
"You know why. You've finished the task……it's almost your time to go."
"Will they remember?"
"Yes….." Leo paused and glanced at her pouch. "But…..Samantha….." Sam's heart leapt as her father said her whole name.
"Baby…..you know what you have to do." He said sternly, looking straight into her eyes. Sam looked at the pouch in her hand. "But why?"
"You know why hon……"
"Our destiny would become ruined……The things that we have done…..the things that we are going to do will be changed. And it will affect……other's lives….if not only ours." She said. Leo nodded and smiled. "You were always the smart one….." he whispered.
Sam broke into tears. "I don't want to let you go……I don't….I don't……I don't want to forget all of you…..I want you with me….." she cried. Leo laid his transparent hand on Sam's shoulder. Surprisingly, Sam felt it. She took her face out of her hands and glanced at his hand. "See? Just because you can't entirely see it……doesn't mean it's not there and it doesn't mean you can't feel it." He said. Sam understood.
"What about Alex? And CJ and Rachel? What if they don't want to let go either? What if they don't understand?" she asked.
"Well then, you're just going to have to tell them straight. You're the oldest right? You know what to do……." He said. He slowly started to disappear when Sam stopped him. "Wait."
"Yes?"
"Will we remember?" she asked. Leo paused.
"If you choose to…..then…..you will." He said, before he finally disappeared into thin air. Sam gave a deep breath, stared at the pouch one last time, then stood up. What she saw behind her startled her. The past Leo was leaning against the wall, smiling and staring at Sam "Dad?"
Leo seemed to always read her mind. "I saw…." He said, nodding his head. Sam stayed silent for bit, biting her bottom lip. She glanced at the pouch again and then to Leo. Leo smiled.
"If you're short on dust…..I have some extra if you need it." He smirked. Sam smiled and they both walked to the kitchen, with Leo's arm around her shoulder.
****
CJ, Rachel, Alex and Sam stood in the sunroom. Sam had pulled them back for a meeting. "You guys….." she muttered. All three looked at her weirdly. They wanted to know what they had been pulled back for. Sam held up the pouch of memory dust slowly. CJ recognized it, but the other two had no clue what it was.
"What's that?" Alex and Rachel asked, their voices synchronized. CJ kept staring at the pouch and then to Sam. "You brought it?"
"I found it in my pocket during one of our battles….." she said. Alex and Rachel were still clueless but CJ seemed to be reading Sam's mind. "And you're gonna use it….." he said with a big sigh.
"You know we have to…..you do…..we do……" she said. CJ nodded and seemed to take it all in. "Now?" he asked. Sam nodded and then CJ paused before he nodded in agreement.
"What the heck is it???" Rachel asked. Alex kept staring at the pouch, wondering what was inside. Sam took a deep breath. "You guys…..this is dad's old pouch of memory dust." She said sternly. Rachel's face fell and she realized what they were supposed to do. Alex was still clueless.
"Why would we need memory d-" he suddenly realized what they were going to do and he shook his head. "No….way…..no….NO!" he screamed at the three.
"ALEX! We have to….our destinies will be changed. The future of us, the future of our innocents. Our destiny has already been decided. We can't change ANYTHING." She screamed at him. But Alex kept on denying.
"Sam? You of all people should be disagreeing about this. Screw our destiny. Our futures would be better! Our innocents would be better!!! We can still change it and you KNOW it! You don't have to do this!! We don't have to do this!!" he said back. CJ interrupted.
"Alex…..we have to let go….sometime. We have to let go. Sam's right. Our whole future would be changed…..it's already decided. It's not our thing to change." He said, putting his hand on his shoulder. Alex pulled away. "No….I'm not going to let you! All the time….I've dreamed of living a normal life….I've dreamed of having a normal family!! And you want to take it away??? No!!! We deserve this….for all the crap that we did…we DESERVE THIS!!!!" he screamed back.
"Alex?? Don't you see!!! We'll never have a normal life!! That's how it's supposed to be……We don't do all the stuff we do for a reward. It's our jobs! Our destinies! Would you rather have our parents back living normal lives and have all those innocents dying out there by demons and warlocks and other kinds of evil!!!! We protect them. And you are acting freakishly selfish over this….I know you know it in your heart that we have to do this….Just freaking listen to it Alex….Listen to it…..We have to do this…..it wouldn't be right to keep our parents for ourselves…..they have to die for that innocent……they have to leave us." Sam said, with some tears running down her cheeks.
Alex kept on shaking his head in denial. He turned to Rachel. "Well, what do you think???" he asked angrily. Rachel nodded her head. "Alex…..why are you making this so hard….." she whispered. Alex rolled his eyes. "Now you're taking their side huh?? God…."
Sam took another deep breath and walked up to him. "Alex…..you have to accept it….whether you like it or not. Forgive me for doing this." She said. Alex looked at her weirdly. Sam pulled her arm back, made a fist out of her fingers and buried it into his face. Alex was knocked out by the strong punch. CJ ran behind him to catch him. He carried Alex on his shoulder. Sam rubbed her knuckles.
"That was absolutely…..the worse thing I have ever done." She said. CJ laughed. Rachel kept smiling. But as their eyes fell on the entrance to the kitchen, their smiles disappeared. "Do we say goodbye? I kind of promised I would….." CJ muttered.
Sam shook her head. "Good-byes make it harder for us to move on CJ. And you know our motto. Promises-"
"Are pain." Rachel finished. Sam turned around and smiled at Rachel. 'She was always the smart one.' She thought, imitating her father's words. She nodded to them, and they walked over to the kitchen. Rachel, CJ, and the unconscious Alex, stood by the door and were watching as Sam walked over to the table. Everyone was sitting at the table. Leo smiled as she walked in. Piper looked up.
"Hey hon….." she said, smiling. Then she saw Alex in CJ's arms, unconscious. "What happened to Alex?" she asked. Leo saw that Sam was having a hard time doing this. Leo sat down next to Piper. "Piper…..Sam has something to tell us all." He said. Piper nodded. "What is it?" she asked. Paige, Phoebe, and Cole looked up anxious of her news.
"We have to say goodbye." She said as she put a large amount of memory dust on her hand and blew it to all 5 of them. All of them seemed affected by the dust. They stood still waiting for their orders.
"You will….go to sleep…..and dream well. You will….." she started to break down into tears. "You….will……forget all about the past couple days. You will forget all about us….you will forget that we ever fought a warlock…..and you will go on with your lives….forgetting about us and how we ever happened." She said through her tears. She walked out of the kitchen and her two other cousins followed her.
"Come on, we have a few minutes before they snap out of their trance and go up to bed to sleep." She said, wiping her tears on the sleeve of her shirt. They ran to the parlor, but suddenly got stopped by a sudden light. All of a sudden, Leo appeared in front of them. He smiled. "You did the right thing…." He said nodding.
Sam, CJ and Rachel smiled. CJ shifted his arm since Alex was way heavy. "It's time to go home…" Leo said. The three nodded and they stood in a circle. They were about to go, when Leo stopped. "Wait……one question before we leave." He said.
"What is it?" CJ asked.
"Do you want to remember?" he asked. CJ, Rachel and Sam looked at each other. "I mean….you may not want to…..seeing that it might cause you a lot of pain in the future……." Leo added. There was a small pause between them and they all seemed to be reading each other's minds when Rachel said: "Yes…..of course."
The three nodded their heads in agreement and Leo smiled. "Of course." He said, before they all disappeared into shining bright lights.
****
As soon as he saw the four leave, Cole stood up from his act. 'I guess no one taught them that memory dust doesn't work on demons……" he thought, as he quietly walked to where they were to see what would happen. He followed them, until they reached the parlor, then he stood and leaned against the wall. He saw a ghost of Leo with them, and he saw them all stand in a circle.
They were about to disappear. "Goodbye son…." He whispered as he watched them disappear into bright lights. But then he noticed that Leo saw him and was grinning at him. He lifted an eyebrow, and turned around, just in case he was looking at someone else, but it turned out that he was indeed looking at him.
Cole waved a friendly hello to Leo. Leo smiled and nodded his head. Cole then could hear Leo's voice in his head. It was like a whisper in his ears.
'You know what you want to do…..and nothing's stopping you…….so do it.' He heard Leo whisper. He glanced weirdly but then realized what he meant. He took one last look at CJ before they all disappeared into shining bright lights.
To be continued…..stay tuned for chapter 18 of "A Given Chance."
A/N: This isn't the end folks……well……hope you like this chapter….and hope you read and review? I'm probably going to finish this around tomorrow…..next….stay tuned for the next five short chapters on what happens after their exciting adventure in the past.