***Sorry for the hiatus! It's finals time and I'm having to redirect my
attentions to school ;-). This chapter is just kind of a filler while I
plot out how I want to kill Batterak and Gideon. It may be a little
cheesy, but I hope you like it anyway. ~abs
Cole was sitting in the chair across from Chloe watching her sleep floating above the sofa. He smiled to himself, "I never knew I'd have a daughter, or that I would love her after only knowing her for a few days. Thank you for that chance," he got up and put his hand on her shoulder. He was carried into Chloe's dream. He saw a five-year old Chloe, eight-year old Chris, and numerous other children confined in a small cage. The children were crying, screaming, and an occasional few had passed out from exhaustion. Batterak was standing over his cauldron watching something—when suddenly another child appeared behind him, screaming upon seeing him. He grabbed the child and placed him in the cage with the others. When he did, he glowed and was suddenly capable of shooting lightning bolts from the palms of his hands. "Excellent," he laughed. Cole then saw himself shimmer in behind Batterak and throw a massive energy ball at his back. Batterak fell to the ground in pain, but was still able to get to his feet and attempt to fight back. He grabbed a crying Chloe from the cage with the other children and held an athame to her neck. "Go ahead, Balthazar, attack me. See what happens to your daughter." He then heard Chloe cry, "DADDY!" as the vision changed and Cole was in the cage and all the children were being orbed out of the underworld and Cole was left behind, semiconscious, in the cage.
Chloe rolled over and opened her eyes looking into her father's wet gaze, "Hey dad. It's good to see you."
"Hey baby, it's good to see you," he smiled and kissed her hand.
"You going to kill Batterak for me?" she squeezed his hand.
"I'm going to try," he pulled Chloe up into a hug. He helped Chloe stand and supported her as the two walked to the kitchen, "I saw your dream."
"I know," she leaned her head against him.
"Is that what really happened?" Cole returned leaning his head against Chloe.
"As much as I remember. It's a recurring nightmare of mine. Sorry to pull you into it," Chloe apologized.
"No, don't apologize. I'm glad you did. Gives me one more reason to kill him," Cole hugged Chloe as they joined Leo, Chris, and Piper in the kitchen.
Cole helped Chloe to sit in a chair at the kitchen table as Piper handed her a plate of scrambled eggs, "Chris wanted some, so I thought I would make you some as well," she smiled.
"Thanks," Chloe started laughing.
"What? What's so funny?" Piper asked as she fixed Leo an egg sunny side up.
Chris's eyes widened, "Now that's funny," he chuckled. Suddenly a rush of footsteps was heard barreling down the stairs as Phoebe ran into the kitchen half-dressed with her hair still dripping wet from the shower. Her eyes went immediately to Chloe who blushed. "Good morning, Phoebe," Chris emphasized the word good.
"That is just like a man to brag," Phoebe scolded Cole.
"Mother!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Phoebe, what are you talking about?" Piper scrutinized her sister.
Cole blushed and took a bite of his cereal, "I didn't say anything."
Phoebe began to look between Chris and Chloe who were both doing their best to avoid her eye contact. "You two! I'm taking those rings away," then pointing directly at Chloe, "and I'm binding your powers. Don't read your father!" she stormed back upstairs to finish getting ready for work.
Leo and Piper exchanged curious glances, "Do we want to know?" Leo smirked at Cole, Chloe and Chris sitting at the table. Cole got up from the table and took his cereal to the conservatory.
"You know, that makes you look awfully guilty, Cole?" Piper kidded. Chris, Chloe, Piper and Leo all began to laugh.
Sigmund was sitting in Gideon's office at the Magic School waiting on Gideon when he orbed in and began to pace, "She saw my face, Sigmund. She knows I'm involved."
"Well, sir, maybe she won't put the two together. Maybe she'll think that you were there trying to bargain for her release," Sigmund recommended.
"Sigmund, why would I do that? You remember last week when there was someone in this office invisible. It had to be Chloe and Chris. I get a very uncomfortable feeling from them," Gideon scoffed.
Sigmund played with his wand in his hands, "I just thought that would be a good excuse as to why you might be in the cave, sir," he harshly mumbled, "I didn't think it was such an outrageous idea."
Gideon looked at him for a moment thinking. Then spoke, "You're right, that might be a good excuse. I am an elder; the other elders could have told me the girl was missing." Sigmund swiftly looked more hopeful. "That's what I'll say, then. I'll tell Leo that I was down there trying to negotiate her return and ask if the sisters have been successful at getting her back," he smiled wickedly, "and I'll make sure they vanquish Batterak before he can turn them on to me."
"Mom went to work. She said if she missed any more work Elise might do something drastic," Chloe levitated by the table of potion ingredients in the attic that Paige had set up, "So I'm here to help you... and Chris is, too. He said he would be at my beck and call as long as I'm here," she grinned.
"That could be useful," Paige winked.
"I know! I plan on taking full advantage of the situation," Chloe beamed then turned serious, "Paige, I never thanked you."
"You don't have to," Paige shook her head, "You're family. And besides, you were an innocent, it's my job," she rubbed Chloe's back.
"Still, you put yourself in serious danger for me, and I appreciate it," Chloe was still floating.
"Is there a reason you're levitating?" Paige asked as she went back to the potions cabinet to grab some vials.
"My leg still feels a little unsteady and I'm weak. So why stand when I can float?" she took a sip of the glass of water she had had brought upstairs with her, "Did you know my parents had sex last night?"
Paige dropped the potion vials she was carrying with her to the table, "Piper's not going to like that."
"She already knows, I was more concerned with how you would respond," Chloe wrinkled her face.
"I was talking about the potion vials," Paige grabbed a few more from the cabinet, "but while we are on the subject, how do you know? Doesn't sound like something either of them would tell you," Paige narrowed her gaze at her niece who shied away. "You read one of them, didn't you?" Paige accused. Chloe nodded. "Well, that should teach you to stop."
Chloe smirked and rolled her eyes, "You didn't answer me. And I don't mean how do you feel about them having sex because, yeah, that's not a happy thought. Because they only have sex once as far as I'm concerned and that was to conceive me," Chloe joked, "I mean, how do you feel about them getting back together? Or, just about Cole being back in general?"
Paige had been waiting for someone to ask her that question. She didn't know what to say. Honestly, she was still very skeptical of Cole. He had done so much to hurt her and her family before—including trying to rewrite history so that Phoebe and Piper never met Paige. Now she was sitting with his and Phoebe's daughter—who wanted to know how she felt. "I don't know what to say, Chloe. I don't trust him. It's going to take a lot for me to start trusting him again," Paige disclosed but seeing the dejected look on Chloe's face added, "But I'm going to try to trust him. For you and for Phoebe. He can't be that bad if at some point in the future he contributes to making you," she attempted to elicit a smile from Chloe.
"Very true," Chloe smiled, "Do we need Chris?"
"Always," Paige began adding ingredients to the pot.
"Chris!" Chloe hollered, "He should be here any second," she added a few ingredients herself as Chris orbed in behind them.
"You rang," he rubbed his ears in jest.
"No, I yelled," Chloe played with him, "We're making a Batterak- vanquishing potion, come join the fun!"
"That was on the top of my 'to-do' list," Chris opened the cooler he had brought upstairs with him.
Chloe leaned in close to Paige and whispered, "What you might not be aware of is that he really does have that at the top of a literal 'to-do' list." Paige grinned.
"I heard that," Chris glanced sideways at Chloe who smiled innocently back at him. Chris pulled the fire poker that Paige had brought back with her out of the cooler. The tip still had the Batterak flesh frozen to it. "Thought you might need this," Chris handed to poker to Paige.
"Gracias," she took the poker and carefully removed the flesh from the tip.
Chloe grimaced, "Sometimes our job is very disgusting," she stuck out her tongue.
"Disgusting is reading your dad's mind and finding out he had sex with your mom. Comfort sex, no less," Chris punched Chloe in the shoulder.
Chloe grabbed her shoulder, "Hey, injured."
"My dad healed you," Chris retorted.
Chloe laughed, "Right."
Chris and Paige shook their heads at her and smiled. Then Chris leaned into Chloe's ear, "Remember that Phoebe will pick up on some of your visions."
"Yes, sir," Chloe mocked him with a wink before Chris hit her in the arm again. Paige was doodling on a piece of paper, which she claimed to be working on a spell. Chloe watched her write, "Why don't you just call him? He's still a witch. We could use the extra person."
"Did your powers progress?" Paige dropped her pencil in shock. Chloe looked at her puzzled.
Chris leaned over the top of Paige's shoulder and laughed, "Yeah, her powers to read. You've got 'Richard' written all over your paper," he went back to peeling garlic.
"Oh," Paige realized, "Right, I might have to do that," Paige paused, "So, Miss Chloe, we know that Chris has a future fiancé, but what about you? Do you have a special someone to go home to?"
Chloe had been mashing the garlic with the mortar and pestle and proceeded to blush at Paige's question. "Yeah, if things have changed, are you and what's his face still together?" Chris probed.
"She can't stop blushing," Paige giggled.
"Who's blushing?" Phoebe joined the threesome.
"You're suddenly bashful daughter," Paige pointed, "We asked her if she had a special someone in the future and she started blushing."
"Oh yeah?" Phoebe smiled and then noticed, "Hey, you're levitating, I didn't know you could levitate."
Chloe turned around and motioned for a chair to come under her so that she wouldn't have to stand before floating down into it. "I can levitate," she finally answered.
"Can you answer the question?" Chris became protective of his cousin.
"You are pushy, you know that?" Phoebe turned to him, he nodded in concession.
"I do have a boyfriend," Chloe confessed, "His name is Trey. He is the son of a wood nymph and a male witch. And quite attractive I might add—tall, white hair, brilliant blue eyes."
Paige pondered, "I was a wood nymph once. They're pretty cool."
"My baby isn't even conceived yet and she already has a boyfriend," Phoebe gushed.
"Gag me," Chris rolled his eyes, "I can't believe you still end up together."
Chloe threw a piece of garlic at him, "Destiny my dear boy, you can't fool it. You're living proof of that," she added with a wink.
Phoebe looked between to two of them, "What's wrong with him? I don't know if I want you dating a boy that my sweet nephew here disapproves of," she said cautiously. Chris gave Chloe a triumphant nod.
"It's not that," she stared at Chris, "Chris is jealous. Trey always did better than him in school." Chris put down what he was doing and sassily walked over to the book. Chloe stood up to follow him and wobbled on her unsteady legs, but Paige caught her. "Thanks," she limped over to Chris, "I don't know if you know this, but he saved you once."
"I know. At least from the future I know, I realize that he saved me," Chris acknowledged.
Off Paige's and Phoebe's confused expressions, "We had a kind of underground railroad going on," Chloe reflected, "to move all the practitioners of good magic to a safer place."
Chris picked up the story, "Wyatt terrorized anything magical that stands in his way. So we set out to relocate people to the enchanted forest. Problem was, we were tracked down and attacked by a hell of a lot of demons. Trey saved me."
"Maybe you should like him?" Phoebe suggested, "He might have done better than you in school, but you're charmed. He can't beat that."
"At least he's not evil. People in this family seem to have a tendency to date evil things," Paige stated matter-of-factly. Chris and Phoebe shot her a wicked glance, "Truth hurts, people. I've been there, too," she added the last ingredient to the potion with a bang, "All done."
"Now we need Batterak," Chris looked to Chloe who squeezed her eyes closed remembering what he had done to her.
"I'm going to find Leo," she shimmered out.
"Bless her heart," Paige watched her go.
"She's been through a lot. Chris, do you mind following her?" Phoebe requested.
Chris closed his eyes and his ring glowed, "Not a problem," he disappeared in a flash of white light.
"That was different," Phoebe commented, "How'd he do that?" Paige pointed to her ring finger and Phoebe nodded in understanding.
"This is a new place," Chris walked up to Chloe who was sitting on the ground in the cemetery looking at an old, weathered headstone.
"Not really, we come here all the time," she turned to smile at him.
"Not in daylight," Chris brushed her with his foot before sitting next to her. He looked around and took in all the sights. They were in an older section of the cemetery. There was what appeared to be hundreds of identical tombstones, all small and rounded on top in neatly placed rows. Chris looked behind him and noticed the United States flag and California flag hanging in the distance at the gate to the cemetery. "Where exactly are we?" he turned to read the headstone they had been sitting in front of and read, "Leo Wyatt, First Lieutenant United States Army, Medic, 1924- 1945," Chris paused, "When you said you were going to find Leo, I didn't think you meant his grave."
"He was here, he had to leave. He was called topside for something," Chloe laid the flower that was in her lap across the top of the tombstone. "Is it weird? To look at your dad's tombstone?"
Chris had never been there before. He had spent his whole life holding a grudge against Leo for abandoning his family, he had never thought that Leo himself had been taken from his family. "He died when he was twenty-one. Chloe, that was eighty years ago... eighty years before I was born my dad died. That is a little weird, yes."
"Yeah, your birthday's in a week. Have you told your mom?"
"No," Chris kept his eyes fixed on the tombstone, "It would stress her out more than she needs to be." Chris ran his finger along the letters of Leo's name, "Can you do something for me?"
"I can try," Chloe watched him, "Depends on what it is?"
Chris pressed his lips together contemplating whether he really wanted to follow through with his plan, "Will you get a vision from this tombstone? What happened to Leo? How did he die?"
Chloe leaned back against her arms, "Whoa," she exhaled, "you know he died in the war in Japan."
Chris nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know the story. Can you give me the vision, too?"
Chloe sat up and sighed. She placed her left hand on the tombstone and her right hand on Chris's shoulder, "Ready? We don't have to do this," Chloe gave Chris the opportunity to back out.
"I am, do it," Chris shut his eyes.
"Here we go," Chloe closed her eyes and concentrated. She and Chris were pulled to a beach in Japan in 1945. There were dead bodies strewn across the beach, explosions were ringing in their ears, and bullets were racing by them. They're attention was drawn to a young, blond, twenty-one year old medic who was racing the field and dragging his live comrades back to safety, the injured ones to the medical tent, and closing the eyes of the dead. Chris and Chloe watched as Leo sprinted back to the tent to work on two of his friends with whom he enlisted. He left the tent to get some more injured soldiers when a bomb flew over his head and killed all the people left in the tent. Leo fell to his knees in anguish—he had just left his friends alive with minor injuries, and now they were dead and he was still alive. He turned and crawled towards the nearest fallen soldier to help him. As he was helping the soldier up, a Japanese soldier fired on them, Leo let the injured American soldier fall back to the ground and took the bullet himself—and he lifelessly fell to the ground.
Chloe broke her connection with the tombstone but kept her hand on Chris's shoulder. Tears filled Chloe's eyes. She looked to Chris—who was somberly staring at the tombstone. "I had no idea," he sighed and orbed out letting Chloe's hand fall to the ground.
Chloe sat still. In addition to relaying to Chris the vision of Leo's death, she had felt Chris's own pain and confusion. "Leo, if you can hear me," she leaned closer to the tombstone, "He does love you. He really does. Whatever you've been doing lately, it's touching him. He just doesn't know what to do with it now. Please, please remember this and be there for him once he's born. He needs you," she placed her head on the headstone before shimmering out.
Cole was sitting in the chair across from Chloe watching her sleep floating above the sofa. He smiled to himself, "I never knew I'd have a daughter, or that I would love her after only knowing her for a few days. Thank you for that chance," he got up and put his hand on her shoulder. He was carried into Chloe's dream. He saw a five-year old Chloe, eight-year old Chris, and numerous other children confined in a small cage. The children were crying, screaming, and an occasional few had passed out from exhaustion. Batterak was standing over his cauldron watching something—when suddenly another child appeared behind him, screaming upon seeing him. He grabbed the child and placed him in the cage with the others. When he did, he glowed and was suddenly capable of shooting lightning bolts from the palms of his hands. "Excellent," he laughed. Cole then saw himself shimmer in behind Batterak and throw a massive energy ball at his back. Batterak fell to the ground in pain, but was still able to get to his feet and attempt to fight back. He grabbed a crying Chloe from the cage with the other children and held an athame to her neck. "Go ahead, Balthazar, attack me. See what happens to your daughter." He then heard Chloe cry, "DADDY!" as the vision changed and Cole was in the cage and all the children were being orbed out of the underworld and Cole was left behind, semiconscious, in the cage.
Chloe rolled over and opened her eyes looking into her father's wet gaze, "Hey dad. It's good to see you."
"Hey baby, it's good to see you," he smiled and kissed her hand.
"You going to kill Batterak for me?" she squeezed his hand.
"I'm going to try," he pulled Chloe up into a hug. He helped Chloe stand and supported her as the two walked to the kitchen, "I saw your dream."
"I know," she leaned her head against him.
"Is that what really happened?" Cole returned leaning his head against Chloe.
"As much as I remember. It's a recurring nightmare of mine. Sorry to pull you into it," Chloe apologized.
"No, don't apologize. I'm glad you did. Gives me one more reason to kill him," Cole hugged Chloe as they joined Leo, Chris, and Piper in the kitchen.
Cole helped Chloe to sit in a chair at the kitchen table as Piper handed her a plate of scrambled eggs, "Chris wanted some, so I thought I would make you some as well," she smiled.
"Thanks," Chloe started laughing.
"What? What's so funny?" Piper asked as she fixed Leo an egg sunny side up.
Chris's eyes widened, "Now that's funny," he chuckled. Suddenly a rush of footsteps was heard barreling down the stairs as Phoebe ran into the kitchen half-dressed with her hair still dripping wet from the shower. Her eyes went immediately to Chloe who blushed. "Good morning, Phoebe," Chris emphasized the word good.
"That is just like a man to brag," Phoebe scolded Cole.
"Mother!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Phoebe, what are you talking about?" Piper scrutinized her sister.
Cole blushed and took a bite of his cereal, "I didn't say anything."
Phoebe began to look between Chris and Chloe who were both doing their best to avoid her eye contact. "You two! I'm taking those rings away," then pointing directly at Chloe, "and I'm binding your powers. Don't read your father!" she stormed back upstairs to finish getting ready for work.
Leo and Piper exchanged curious glances, "Do we want to know?" Leo smirked at Cole, Chloe and Chris sitting at the table. Cole got up from the table and took his cereal to the conservatory.
"You know, that makes you look awfully guilty, Cole?" Piper kidded. Chris, Chloe, Piper and Leo all began to laugh.
Sigmund was sitting in Gideon's office at the Magic School waiting on Gideon when he orbed in and began to pace, "She saw my face, Sigmund. She knows I'm involved."
"Well, sir, maybe she won't put the two together. Maybe she'll think that you were there trying to bargain for her release," Sigmund recommended.
"Sigmund, why would I do that? You remember last week when there was someone in this office invisible. It had to be Chloe and Chris. I get a very uncomfortable feeling from them," Gideon scoffed.
Sigmund played with his wand in his hands, "I just thought that would be a good excuse as to why you might be in the cave, sir," he harshly mumbled, "I didn't think it was such an outrageous idea."
Gideon looked at him for a moment thinking. Then spoke, "You're right, that might be a good excuse. I am an elder; the other elders could have told me the girl was missing." Sigmund swiftly looked more hopeful. "That's what I'll say, then. I'll tell Leo that I was down there trying to negotiate her return and ask if the sisters have been successful at getting her back," he smiled wickedly, "and I'll make sure they vanquish Batterak before he can turn them on to me."
"Mom went to work. She said if she missed any more work Elise might do something drastic," Chloe levitated by the table of potion ingredients in the attic that Paige had set up, "So I'm here to help you... and Chris is, too. He said he would be at my beck and call as long as I'm here," she grinned.
"That could be useful," Paige winked.
"I know! I plan on taking full advantage of the situation," Chloe beamed then turned serious, "Paige, I never thanked you."
"You don't have to," Paige shook her head, "You're family. And besides, you were an innocent, it's my job," she rubbed Chloe's back.
"Still, you put yourself in serious danger for me, and I appreciate it," Chloe was still floating.
"Is there a reason you're levitating?" Paige asked as she went back to the potions cabinet to grab some vials.
"My leg still feels a little unsteady and I'm weak. So why stand when I can float?" she took a sip of the glass of water she had had brought upstairs with her, "Did you know my parents had sex last night?"
Paige dropped the potion vials she was carrying with her to the table, "Piper's not going to like that."
"She already knows, I was more concerned with how you would respond," Chloe wrinkled her face.
"I was talking about the potion vials," Paige grabbed a few more from the cabinet, "but while we are on the subject, how do you know? Doesn't sound like something either of them would tell you," Paige narrowed her gaze at her niece who shied away. "You read one of them, didn't you?" Paige accused. Chloe nodded. "Well, that should teach you to stop."
Chloe smirked and rolled her eyes, "You didn't answer me. And I don't mean how do you feel about them having sex because, yeah, that's not a happy thought. Because they only have sex once as far as I'm concerned and that was to conceive me," Chloe joked, "I mean, how do you feel about them getting back together? Or, just about Cole being back in general?"
Paige had been waiting for someone to ask her that question. She didn't know what to say. Honestly, she was still very skeptical of Cole. He had done so much to hurt her and her family before—including trying to rewrite history so that Phoebe and Piper never met Paige. Now she was sitting with his and Phoebe's daughter—who wanted to know how she felt. "I don't know what to say, Chloe. I don't trust him. It's going to take a lot for me to start trusting him again," Paige disclosed but seeing the dejected look on Chloe's face added, "But I'm going to try to trust him. For you and for Phoebe. He can't be that bad if at some point in the future he contributes to making you," she attempted to elicit a smile from Chloe.
"Very true," Chloe smiled, "Do we need Chris?"
"Always," Paige began adding ingredients to the pot.
"Chris!" Chloe hollered, "He should be here any second," she added a few ingredients herself as Chris orbed in behind them.
"You rang," he rubbed his ears in jest.
"No, I yelled," Chloe played with him, "We're making a Batterak- vanquishing potion, come join the fun!"
"That was on the top of my 'to-do' list," Chris opened the cooler he had brought upstairs with him.
Chloe leaned in close to Paige and whispered, "What you might not be aware of is that he really does have that at the top of a literal 'to-do' list." Paige grinned.
"I heard that," Chris glanced sideways at Chloe who smiled innocently back at him. Chris pulled the fire poker that Paige had brought back with her out of the cooler. The tip still had the Batterak flesh frozen to it. "Thought you might need this," Chris handed to poker to Paige.
"Gracias," she took the poker and carefully removed the flesh from the tip.
Chloe grimaced, "Sometimes our job is very disgusting," she stuck out her tongue.
"Disgusting is reading your dad's mind and finding out he had sex with your mom. Comfort sex, no less," Chris punched Chloe in the shoulder.
Chloe grabbed her shoulder, "Hey, injured."
"My dad healed you," Chris retorted.
Chloe laughed, "Right."
Chris and Paige shook their heads at her and smiled. Then Chris leaned into Chloe's ear, "Remember that Phoebe will pick up on some of your visions."
"Yes, sir," Chloe mocked him with a wink before Chris hit her in the arm again. Paige was doodling on a piece of paper, which she claimed to be working on a spell. Chloe watched her write, "Why don't you just call him? He's still a witch. We could use the extra person."
"Did your powers progress?" Paige dropped her pencil in shock. Chloe looked at her puzzled.
Chris leaned over the top of Paige's shoulder and laughed, "Yeah, her powers to read. You've got 'Richard' written all over your paper," he went back to peeling garlic.
"Oh," Paige realized, "Right, I might have to do that," Paige paused, "So, Miss Chloe, we know that Chris has a future fiancé, but what about you? Do you have a special someone to go home to?"
Chloe had been mashing the garlic with the mortar and pestle and proceeded to blush at Paige's question. "Yeah, if things have changed, are you and what's his face still together?" Chris probed.
"She can't stop blushing," Paige giggled.
"Who's blushing?" Phoebe joined the threesome.
"You're suddenly bashful daughter," Paige pointed, "We asked her if she had a special someone in the future and she started blushing."
"Oh yeah?" Phoebe smiled and then noticed, "Hey, you're levitating, I didn't know you could levitate."
Chloe turned around and motioned for a chair to come under her so that she wouldn't have to stand before floating down into it. "I can levitate," she finally answered.
"Can you answer the question?" Chris became protective of his cousin.
"You are pushy, you know that?" Phoebe turned to him, he nodded in concession.
"I do have a boyfriend," Chloe confessed, "His name is Trey. He is the son of a wood nymph and a male witch. And quite attractive I might add—tall, white hair, brilliant blue eyes."
Paige pondered, "I was a wood nymph once. They're pretty cool."
"My baby isn't even conceived yet and she already has a boyfriend," Phoebe gushed.
"Gag me," Chris rolled his eyes, "I can't believe you still end up together."
Chloe threw a piece of garlic at him, "Destiny my dear boy, you can't fool it. You're living proof of that," she added with a wink.
Phoebe looked between to two of them, "What's wrong with him? I don't know if I want you dating a boy that my sweet nephew here disapproves of," she said cautiously. Chris gave Chloe a triumphant nod.
"It's not that," she stared at Chris, "Chris is jealous. Trey always did better than him in school." Chris put down what he was doing and sassily walked over to the book. Chloe stood up to follow him and wobbled on her unsteady legs, but Paige caught her. "Thanks," she limped over to Chris, "I don't know if you know this, but he saved you once."
"I know. At least from the future I know, I realize that he saved me," Chris acknowledged.
Off Paige's and Phoebe's confused expressions, "We had a kind of underground railroad going on," Chloe reflected, "to move all the practitioners of good magic to a safer place."
Chris picked up the story, "Wyatt terrorized anything magical that stands in his way. So we set out to relocate people to the enchanted forest. Problem was, we were tracked down and attacked by a hell of a lot of demons. Trey saved me."
"Maybe you should like him?" Phoebe suggested, "He might have done better than you in school, but you're charmed. He can't beat that."
"At least he's not evil. People in this family seem to have a tendency to date evil things," Paige stated matter-of-factly. Chris and Phoebe shot her a wicked glance, "Truth hurts, people. I've been there, too," she added the last ingredient to the potion with a bang, "All done."
"Now we need Batterak," Chris looked to Chloe who squeezed her eyes closed remembering what he had done to her.
"I'm going to find Leo," she shimmered out.
"Bless her heart," Paige watched her go.
"She's been through a lot. Chris, do you mind following her?" Phoebe requested.
Chris closed his eyes and his ring glowed, "Not a problem," he disappeared in a flash of white light.
"That was different," Phoebe commented, "How'd he do that?" Paige pointed to her ring finger and Phoebe nodded in understanding.
"This is a new place," Chris walked up to Chloe who was sitting on the ground in the cemetery looking at an old, weathered headstone.
"Not really, we come here all the time," she turned to smile at him.
"Not in daylight," Chris brushed her with his foot before sitting next to her. He looked around and took in all the sights. They were in an older section of the cemetery. There was what appeared to be hundreds of identical tombstones, all small and rounded on top in neatly placed rows. Chris looked behind him and noticed the United States flag and California flag hanging in the distance at the gate to the cemetery. "Where exactly are we?" he turned to read the headstone they had been sitting in front of and read, "Leo Wyatt, First Lieutenant United States Army, Medic, 1924- 1945," Chris paused, "When you said you were going to find Leo, I didn't think you meant his grave."
"He was here, he had to leave. He was called topside for something," Chloe laid the flower that was in her lap across the top of the tombstone. "Is it weird? To look at your dad's tombstone?"
Chris had never been there before. He had spent his whole life holding a grudge against Leo for abandoning his family, he had never thought that Leo himself had been taken from his family. "He died when he was twenty-one. Chloe, that was eighty years ago... eighty years before I was born my dad died. That is a little weird, yes."
"Yeah, your birthday's in a week. Have you told your mom?"
"No," Chris kept his eyes fixed on the tombstone, "It would stress her out more than she needs to be." Chris ran his finger along the letters of Leo's name, "Can you do something for me?"
"I can try," Chloe watched him, "Depends on what it is?"
Chris pressed his lips together contemplating whether he really wanted to follow through with his plan, "Will you get a vision from this tombstone? What happened to Leo? How did he die?"
Chloe leaned back against her arms, "Whoa," she exhaled, "you know he died in the war in Japan."
Chris nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know the story. Can you give me the vision, too?"
Chloe sat up and sighed. She placed her left hand on the tombstone and her right hand on Chris's shoulder, "Ready? We don't have to do this," Chloe gave Chris the opportunity to back out.
"I am, do it," Chris shut his eyes.
"Here we go," Chloe closed her eyes and concentrated. She and Chris were pulled to a beach in Japan in 1945. There were dead bodies strewn across the beach, explosions were ringing in their ears, and bullets were racing by them. They're attention was drawn to a young, blond, twenty-one year old medic who was racing the field and dragging his live comrades back to safety, the injured ones to the medical tent, and closing the eyes of the dead. Chris and Chloe watched as Leo sprinted back to the tent to work on two of his friends with whom he enlisted. He left the tent to get some more injured soldiers when a bomb flew over his head and killed all the people left in the tent. Leo fell to his knees in anguish—he had just left his friends alive with minor injuries, and now they were dead and he was still alive. He turned and crawled towards the nearest fallen soldier to help him. As he was helping the soldier up, a Japanese soldier fired on them, Leo let the injured American soldier fall back to the ground and took the bullet himself—and he lifelessly fell to the ground.
Chloe broke her connection with the tombstone but kept her hand on Chris's shoulder. Tears filled Chloe's eyes. She looked to Chris—who was somberly staring at the tombstone. "I had no idea," he sighed and orbed out letting Chloe's hand fall to the ground.
Chloe sat still. In addition to relaying to Chris the vision of Leo's death, she had felt Chris's own pain and confusion. "Leo, if you can hear me," she leaned closer to the tombstone, "He does love you. He really does. Whatever you've been doing lately, it's touching him. He just doesn't know what to do with it now. Please, please remember this and be there for him once he's born. He needs you," she placed her head on the headstone before shimmering out.