A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I will respond to them individually in the next chapter, as I wanted to get this chapter up ASAP. Arm and wrist hurts...too much typing with bad posture, I guess. Okay, finally, a scene where all major characters finally interact! Some plot holes that you could drive a truck through, so I'll ask you to suspend your disbelief for just a bit.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Chris looked in bewilderment, staring at the athame in Bianca's hand. "I don't understand."

"Look around you, Chris. The future is lost. Everything and everyone you've ever known, cared about, are gone. The Resistance has been wiped off the face of the earth, and good magic has been eliminated." Bianca's steady gaze held his. "There's nothing here for you, Chris."

He pulled his gaze away from Bianca's, searching the eyes of everyone in front of him. Bianca, Darryl, his friends...they were his family in the future. Could he bear to be alone in this world, likely living hand to mouth, where demons ruled the earth?

And in that moment, he felt himself give up.

He wanted it to end. All the pain, the despair... the guilt.

Shaking, his hand hesitantly reached towards Bianca's. Her gaze never left his, and he could feel the comfort and warmth in her eyes as she held out the athame to him. He felt his fingers brush the hilt of the dagger, and glanced down at their hands. Hers, semi-transparent; his, solid and pulsing with life.

He clenched his hand into a fist and looked up, "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing, Chris?" Bianca's voice rose in confusion.

"I'm sorry. I can't. I can't give up the fight. Even if it's just me. I don't know how I'm going to keep going in this world, but I've made my choices. I deserve this. I deserve to be here, and suffer the consequences from my actions." Chris stepped back, as he addressed all the ghosts in front of him, with a pointed look at the athame, still in Bianca's hand. "Don't you see? If I did that, it would be the easy way. Being here, living this. This is...this is where I belong."

"Are you crazy?"

"Mom?!?" Chris turned towards the doorway. His family from the past was staring at him, aghast. "What are you doing here?"

Ignoring his question, Piper continued, "Chris, you don't deserve this. You never did. Honey, you did the best you could." Coming forward, she grasped her son's hands in hers. "And besides, none of this is even real."

At Chris' startled glance, Leo stepped up next to Piper, and explained softly, "Chris, this...this place isn't real. It's all in your mind. We've come to take you home, son."

Over his parents' shoulders, Chris could see his aunts nod frantically in agreement. "I don't...I don't understand. None of this is real? But this is the future, my future...it all seems so real..."

Bianca moved to Chris' side, "Don't listen to them, Chris. It's a trap. You think this isn't real just because demons rule the earth, and the Resistance is gone? Come on, Chris! If this was in your mind, wouldn't we all be alive? Wouldn't you have created a world where you had changed the future? Isn't that what you always wanted?"

"Shut up!" Piper glared at Bianca, then turned her attention back to her son, "Chris, look at me. Look at me! This isn't real! She isn't real. But I'm real, and Leo is. We're here to take you home." Tears filled Piper's eyes as she willed Chris to believe in her. "This place...you don't belong here."

"I know how this must sound, but...it feels real, Mom. It feels...like I should be here," Chris said softly.

As Bianca moved to assert herself again, Phoebe and Paige stepped up next to Piper and Leo. Flashing the vanquishing potions, Paige warned, "We may not be able to vanquish you, but I'm pretty sure these still pack a wallop."

Bianca took a step back, watching silently with the rest of the ghosts as Chris struggled to understand. Phoebe shot a glance at Paige, asking her "Okay, but if she and them are all figments of Chris' mind, I don't think these potions would work on them."

"Shhhh!" Paige hushed Phoebe, crossly. "She doesn't know that."

"Don't you mean him?" Phoebe pointed at Chris.

"Phoebe!" As Piper and Paige rounded on her, before the conversation could go off track any more.

Ignoring the sisters, Leo focused on his son. "Chris, what's the last thing you remember?" Leo prompted, trying to draw Chris' attention away from the bickering sisters.

"I remember...I remember being stabbed...by Gideon..." Chris looked to Leo for confirmation. At Leo's slow nod, Chris searched his memories, "And the next thing I remember, I was here, back in my own timeline."

"But this isn't your timeline, Chris. We stopped Gideon. This...this place isn't real. It's a product of your imagination. Your worst nightmare come true." Leo explained gently.

"But why would I imagine this? I don't understand," Chris' voice rang with disbelief. "Bianca's right. I never wanted this...this is what I've been working to change."

Piper traded a glance with Leo, wondering how much they should explain. "This isn't about what you wanted, Chris. It's about suffering. Your suffering. You...you're in Hell, right now. The Elders, they...I stopped Gideon. The Elders wanted to...punish me. You wouldn't let them. You took my place, Chris...told them you would take my punishment. And now...you're trapped in your own private Hell." Leo touched his son's arm in comfort. "You don't belong here."

Chris let go of Piper's hands, and stepped away from his parents, "So you're telling me, that I traded places with Leo, got sent to Hell, and all this," Chris waved his hands to indicate the area around him, "is my brain imagining what would be my worst nightmare come true?"

"It's true, Chris." Paige reassured her nephew, correctly perceiving the skeptical look he gave them.

"Don't listen to them, Chris." Again, Bianca spoke to him. "Life isn't safe and happiness 24/7. It's this. It's this place. They're trying to trick you, to take you away from here, from us, from me. You do belong here. You know you do."

"Okay, that's it, Chris' brain or not, I'm kicking her sorry ass." Phoebe began to storm over, barely brought up short by Paige's restraining hand on her arm.

"Maybe this is all just my imagination. But she's right, you know." Chris looked at his parents, "I do belong here. With my friends... I deserve this. I deserve to suffer. I sacrificed so many when I decided to leave my time, friends who trusted me to lead them, protect them. You were right about the amulet. I sacrificed Leysa. I killed her." He looked away from his parents, in shame. "I can't go back. I have to make amends."

Piper opened her mouth in protest, but Chris quickly cut her off, "You don't understand, Mom. You can't even fathom what I've done. You couldn't even begin to understand." He trailed off, unable to look his mother in the eye.

"No, she doesn't. But I do. I understand what you're feeling, Chris. What you're thinking." Leo smiled, sadly, as Chris' gaze jerked up to meet his. "Because I killed Gideon."

Reaching out to his son, Leo thought of his own recent desire for revenge, driven by self-guilt.

"This place...this place was created by your mind because you wanted to punish yourself." Leo searched for the words to make his son understand. "Yes, you killed Leysa. Yes, you feel guilty. It's just a feeling, an emotion. You're allowed that, Chris. You don't have to be perfect."

"It's just...when I...with Leysa, I knew I was right, then. I told myself it was for the greater good. Just like Gideon justified his actions," Chris said, bitterly. "I don't...I don't have that any more. I just...I just don't know what's right any more."

Leo nodded. "I told myself the same thing. That by killing Gideon, I was doing what had to be done for the greater good, to once again bring balance to the universe. That it had to be done. But afterwards, when I had time to think about what I had done...what I had committed..."

Father and son stared into each other's eyes, both tormented with guilt and self-recrimination.

"It's not the same," Chris whispered. "What you did, you did in anger. What I did...what I did was nothing short of cold blooded murder."

"Yes, what I did was in anger. But how I did it?" Leo looked down, unable to meet his son's eyes. "I...I should have done it quickly...cleanly. Instead, I...I almost...I almost didn't want it to end. I wanted him to suffer. Like I suffered, when I realized I had failed you." Leo raised his eyes to meet Chris'. "At least you didn't take any pleasure in it. I...I wanted him to feel pain, to feel a little bit of what I was feeling when I lost you," Leo closed his eyes. "And that is even worst than what you did." Leo whispered, ashamed.

Chris stared at his father, feeling responsible for the burden of guilt that had haunted Leo because of his death. "Dad...you did what you had to do..."

Leo shook his head, "Listen to me, Chris. You're looking into your heart right now, and you think you are the greatest of monsters. I know you're certain that things can never be the same again. You're sickened by your actions, disgusted even." Leo paused, choosing his words carefully, "That's a good thing; it means you're a sane, honourable human being...And that's not always easy. Chris...let it go and learn from it or it will eat you up inside. Believe me."

Piper spoke softly, to both of them, "You both need to let it go. What was done was done. I'm not saying that what either of you did was right. But you both have let your guilt consume you to the point where nothing else matters. Leo, I haven't seen you for almost two months, you've been so intent on hunting down Barbas. And Chris, your guilt keeps you trapped here, away from the outside world where you're needed, and loved. So many people are counting on you both; love you both. You both have to forgive yourselves." Piper grasped each of their hands in her own. "Please. You have to let go."

"And if I can't?" Chris asked, softly, his eyes sad. "If I can't forgive myself? If I can't let go of my guilt?"

"Then you really will have let us down. Because we're counting on you, sweetie. Your father is counting on you. He needs to forgive himself, and he can't do that until he saves you. So let him save you. Please. Let it go, Chris." Piper pleaded with her son, clasping his hands tightly in her own, bringing them up to her heart.

And he let go.

One by one, the ghosts began to disappear, leaving the girls staring at Leo and Chris.

"Well, that was kind of anti-climatic," Paige commented, abet with a touch of sarcasm.

"Paige!" Phoebe admonished her sister, and she bounded forward like a newborn puppy to hug her nephew, practically knocking him over with her enthusiasm. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you."

Before Chris could get a word out, Paige came forward, however, a bit more sedately, and threw her arms around her nephew as well. "I'm glad you're okay."

Throwing his parents a pleading look, Piper correctly interpreted Chris' silent plea for help and moved forward to disengage her sisters from her son. "Okay, enough. I think you're suffocating the poor kid." Wiping tears of happiness from her face, she pushed her sisters out of the way, to gentle brush his hair from his eyes. "I've missed you, my baby boy." Piper said softly.

"I've missed you too, Mom." Chris replied, just as softly. "And just for the record, thanks for the get out of jail free card." Chris nodded his thanks to his family, as Leo squeezed his shoulder in comfort.

"Well, technically, we're not out of the woods yet," Paige put in. "We're still trapped in your mind, and we need to get out of here. We're got a spell to break the mind link, but how is Chris going to leave this place?"

Chris smiled. "I think it's merely a matter of me wanting to leave," Turning to his mother, "You guys should go. I'll see you in a moment."

"Are you sure?" Piper questioned, concerned. What if it didn't work and Chris remained in his catatonic state?

"Mom, I'm sure." Chris reassured her, "Besides, you can always do another mind link spell if it doesn't work and I'm still stuck here, right?"

"Piper, he's right. We need to be there when he wakes up..." Paige piped up. "Okay, let's do this." She stretched her arms out to her sisters, who each took one, and Leo took Piper's hand in his.

Life from life and mind from mind
Our spirits now will disentwine
We part our souls and journey home
To let our thoughts be on their own

"I hope they're okay in there." Leslie muttered, worriedly. "They've just got to find a way to reach him. They just have to."

Leslie stared at the sisters and Leo who were in front of him, still holding hands, their expressions blank, their eyes closed. Pacing back and forth, Leslie sighed in frustration, running his hands through his hair as he tried to be patient. He had never been very good at waiting, especially when he knew he was running out of time. Every moment wasted here could cost the future, could cost us.

Leslie tried to remind himself that all good things happened to those who waited; he glanced at the Halliwell family again, but they showed no signs of awakening yet. What could be taking them so long? Just go in there and say hello and get him back out here, damn it!

The shadows on the cave flickered, and he jumped. Searching with his eyes, Leslie stood stock still, listening with all his senses. When he didn't detect any sight, sounds, smells or thoughts, he relaxed just a bit, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

Every second in this plane could mean danger, and Leslie wasn't all that sure he would be able to handle everything that could come their way. Power called to power, and he was sure there were demons that could feel the presence of the Charmed Ones in this plane.

Breathing deeply, Leslie focused on clearing his mind and calming himself. Part of his impatience stemmed from fatigue. When he had told Phoebe that he kept himself shielded from the intrusion of other people's thoughts, as well as intruding theirs, he had not mentioned that it took effort. As he had grown into his powers, so had his range of picking up thoughts. He was used to the fatigue experienced from his shielding; after all, he had to keep himself shielded all the time or he would go crazy from the intrusion of thoughts. However, that was when he hadn't gone without sleep for...I wonder how long it's been?, he mused. Screws with my sense of time. Damn time travel. I never understood it.

Studying the Halliwell family from beneath his eyelashes, he gaze passed over Leo, Piper and Paige before it lingered on Phoebe. He remembered when Chris had given him the photo of his family for safekeeping; Leslie had stared at that photo for hours and had pulled it out to study every time he had had a moment of privacy, which were few and far between in his timeline. There was something about that photo that had drawn him, something in Phoebe's eyes that had spoken to him. He was still embarrassed by his reaction to her back at the manor; like some starry eyed teenager who was meeting his first pin up. Snorting at his fancifulness, Leslie turned his attention to the youngest Halliwell, Chris.

It's all so damned unfair, he thought. I know life isn't fair, but...Life seemed doubly unfair for Chris. Leslie studied the young man who played such a pivotal role in Leslie's time. He remembered when Darryl had first introduced him to Chris. He had scoffed at the sight of the skinny kid, who looked, on first sight, barely old enough to drink, let alone stand against the most powerful being in the world. Leslie had dismissed Chris with a single glance, and the only reason Leslie hadn't laughed out loud was out of respect for his friend. Darryl was the reason Leslie had joined the Resistance; they had been partners before...he trusted him with his life. This kid? With the slouching shoulders, quiet personality and soft voice? Leslie didn't think he could find his way out of a paper bag, let alone lead thousands of people against Wyatt and his army of demons.

But then Leslie had gotten to know Chris. Being one of the few telepaths, especially one with his range, made Leslie invaluable to the cause. Darryl had asked him, no, assigned him, to work with Chris, and in the weeks that followed, he came to understand how this shy, gawky kid had became leader of the Resistance.

He was kind, loyal, incredibly intelligent and truly cared for people. As part of Leslie's assignment, he had followed Chris everywhere, and Leslie had been amazed at the number of people whose names Chris knew. No easy feat when there were several thousand people living in the base. No matter how small the issue, or how young the person, Chris made time for those who needed him most. He realized that Chris tried, every day, to put others first, and himself last. Leslie came to understand the burden of responsibility that Chris bravely bore, never complaining, never wavering.

Darryl might run the day-to-day operations, but ultimately, the Resistance looked to its young leader for guidance. Chris' familiarity with his brother helped them exploit Wyatt's weaknesses and Chris' knowledge of spells from being the son of a Charmed One made his input invaluable. From sun up to sun down, Chris was on the go; his input was required on everything from strategy meetings to scouting forays to covert operations. But more than that, he was respected, and looked up to by every member of the Resistance. Chris did not take this duty lightly. Long after Leslie had retired for the night, Chris would still be in the command room, planning, plotting, preparing, into the wee hours of the morning.

But most of all, Leslie had realized that people followed Chris because they trusted him. They trusted him to take care of them, to protect them and to save them. A heavy burden, indeed. Not a burden that Leslie knew many could carry and guessing Chris was at least ten years his junior, certainly not a burden a kid barely out of high school ever should.

But Chris did. Every day.

Way too deep thinking for someone who hasn't had their coffee yet, he thought, ruefully. Sighing again, Leslie continued his pacing, his hands clasped tightly behind his back.

It seemed like forever came and went before the sisters and Leo began to glow, indicating their return.

All four came awake at once, gasping for breath like they were drowning for air.

"What happened? Did you guys reach Chris? Why isn't he awake?" Leslie asked, anxiously.

"Whoa there partner," Phoebe stumbled, exhausted and dizzy from their little mind trip.

Leslie jumped forward to steady her, his gaze worried, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Just peachy." Paige rolled her eyes, noticing that nobody came to her rescue. "And yes, we did reach Chris...Why isn't he awake yet?"

Leo and Piper looked at each other nervously, as Leo sought to reassure his wife, "Chris said if he didn't come out of it on his own, we could use the mind link spell again...just give him a minute, Piper."

"I'm not waiting. I'm going back in---"Piper broke off, as suddenly, Chris' eyes shot open as he jerked out of his catatonic state.

Looking down, he saw the cause of his breathing troubles, and before his family could react, Chris gripped the hilt of the sword, and pulled. He steeled himself, his teeth gnashing the side of his mouth in pain as he pulled it completely free. The sword clattered to the floor next to him, as Chris slid slowly down the wall he had been pinned against. His parents moved forward, as Paige kicked the sword away, catching him by his arms to help him slide down into a sitting position. Leo's hands were already glowing as he moved them to heal Chris, when he stopped.

There was nothing to heal.

"What--?" Piper voiced her confusion to Leo, as she quickly ran her hands over Chris' side, assuring herself that there was no injury to her son.

Before Leo could put his thoughts into words, he turned at the sound of his name on Paige's lips. "What is it, Paige?"

Wordlessly, Paige pointed at the sword she had kicked away, and the group watched as it faded away. "I know I've been saying this a lot...but what the hell just happened?"

Chris groaned. "Who cares? I'm just glad it's not in me anymore." Gritting his teeth, Chris' struggled to his feet with the support of his parents on each of his side. As he looked up, his gaze landed on Leslie, finally noticing the other man standing next to Phoebe, protectively. "What the ---? Les? What are you doing here?!?"

"You two know each other?" Phoebe gaped, as she stared at Leslie, and then her nephew and then back at Leslie.

"I told you. I'm a friend of Darryl's. He's, ah, introduced me to Chris before, or is it later?" Leslie tried to explain.

"Enough with the time travel speak," Paige rolled her eyes. "Could someone just please tell me what is going on?"

"He says that Darryl sent him back. To protect us." Phoebe explained, her eyes never leaving Leslie's. "He told us he's a telepath."

"Uh, yeah, that's right," Chris struggled to stand on his own, so as not to lean on his parents, his hand looking for purchase on the wall to support him. And could you please tell me what you're REALLY doing here? Chris directed his thought at Leslie.

Slightly wincing at the forceful tone of Chris' thought, Leslie lowered his shields to read Chris' question and directed his response back to him. Darryl sent me back to protect baby you and to tell you that we need you back in the future. Wyatt's armies are coming and Darryl doesn't know how long the Resistance can last.

"Hello! We're not stupid!" Piper stamped her foot, frustratedly, as everyone turned to her in surprise. "I can tell you're...telepathing...or whatever you call it!" She glared at her son, who shrugged sheepishly.

"We call it mind speaking..." Leslie offered, quickly trailing off, as Piper directed her annoyance at him. "Uh, sorry?" I'll bring you up to speed later, when we're alone. I promise.

Chris nodded, imperceptibly.

"Well, whatever you call it, I agree with Piper. It's rude." Phoebe stated.

"Look, I don't mean to interrupt this fascinating discussion, but could we please get out of here? This place gives me the willies." Paige prodded, none too gently.

"She's right. Leo can you orb us all back to the manor?" Piper wondered, "I mean, we had to use a spell to get here."

"You used a spell because I couldn't sense Chris. But I can certainly orb us all back, so we can continue our discussion there." Leo confirmed.

"Wait!" Chris shouted, or tried to, still weak from his experiences. He struggled to make himself heard, "I'm not going back to the manor with you. I can't."

"What?!?"

To be continued....