A/N: Hi everyone! I have to humbly beg everyone's apologies, as it was pointed out that while I noted in my author's notes, I didn't mention in the summary that I like to borrow the spoilers posted for season 7 and integrate some of the threads into my story. Sooooo...you'll notice that I've updated the summary to include this...I am sooooo sorry if I ruined the season premiere for any of you. This was definitely my bad, and I hope that you can forgive me :-(

Stony Angel: Hmmmm, hope this chapter answers some of your questions...

Drewfuller4eva and Ilovedrew88: Yay! They saved Chris! Or did they? Bwahahaha (evil laugh)

rhia: your welcome!

Sailorwind: thank you for your thoughtful questions and comments. After I read them, I realized that I completely missed those aspects. So...it took me a little longer to write this chapter because I ended up re-writing it based on your insightfulness. So please...keep them coming!

Jackie: It's funny. Chris has been my favourite character in season 6, and inspired me to start this fan fic. And then I write a whole chappie without him! How's that for showing fan adoration?

StoryDiva: Thank you! I'm glad you thought the story is true to Chris' character, as it's been hard to write him as I think he would have been if he was still on the series. I agree, he's way too cute to waste away down there...

Melissa-p: I'm trying to update ASAP. Really I am. Unfortunately, carpel tunnel syndrome keeps getting in the way.

Chapter 8

"What?!?"

Chris winced, as the yell came from several directions, reverberating throughout the cave.

"Explain yourself. Now, mister!" Piper glared at her son. She had had enough of this self-martyr business!

"Uh, I don't know if you guys haven't noticed," Chris' voice was biting with sarcasm, "But I don't...well, I think I'm a spirit or ghost or...or something."

Dumbfounded, the Halliwell family looked amongst each other. They had totally forgotten that Chris was a ghost now. After all, he was dead, wasn't he?

"But you don't look like a spirit..." Phoebe sputtered. "I mean, you feel solid and everything."

Paige scratched her head in confusion, "I think...I think he might be real in this plane. You know? Kind of like that time we summoned Larry...remember? He was all translucent and stuff at the Manor, but in the underworld, he was as solid as you and me."

Chris nodded vigorously, "Not that I'm an expert or anything, but what if I go back to the Manor with you guys and what if me being in the same place with mini-me messes me, I mean, the baby, up? I just don't want to take any unnecessary chances."

"What can we do?" Piper asked, open to any suggestions. "We can't just stay here. And no, you cannot stay here either." Giving Chris a stern look, he snapped his mouth closed.

"I think we should go back to the Manor and figure all this out," Leslie eyed their surroundings nervously. "Maybe the Book of Shadows could help."

"Yeah, they could look under the spell 'to make a real boy'," Chris grumbled, sarcastically.

Leo's eyes brightened, "You know, Chris, that isn't a bad idea. After all, you are real in this plane. Maybe we just need to figure out someway to anchor you to the mortal plane."

"Can we even do that? I mean, bring him back to life? Isn't that against the laws of nature? And what about his body?" Phoebe wondered.

"Well, I mean Chris is a special case." Paige began to nod slowly, the wheels slowly turning in her mind, as she spoke excitedly, "I think I need to do some more research, but Leo might be onto something. Chris' body disappeared because his timeline ceased to exist, right? So...technically, Chris doesn't have a body right now, which we could argue means he's not dead, because you need a body to be dead, get it? Maybe we can 'anchor' him to the mortal plane again, and make him corporeal."

"And then what? What happens if, and that's a BIG if, we make him 'corporeal'? What happens then?" Piper asked, worriedly.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there, okay?" Paige tried to instill some confidence in her sister. "One magical crisis at a time."

"Hello! You guys are talking about me like I'm not even here! I think I agree with Phoebe...I'm not so sure I buy Paige's argument." Chris looked at Piper, his eyes begging her to understand. "This is my decision, mom. And I'm not convinced that I shouldn't be dead."

Piper's eyes flashed with anger. "You do not get to make this decision, young man. I am STILL your mother, and you will listen to me! Given your recent track record of decision-making, I will make all decisions concerning you as of right now. And right now, we're going to go back to the Manor to figure things out."

"I'm sorry, mom but I am not going to anywhere near mini-me. If I'm going anywhere, it's back to the future." Chris stated adamantly.

Phoebe snorted.

Paige rolled her eyes, "Do I really want to know?"

Phoebe whispered to Paige, behind her hand, hoping that Piper wouldn't hear her, or would chose to ignore her, "Back to the future? You know, like the movie? Get it?"

Paige rolled her eyes again.

"One, you, I mean baby you, is at Magic School, and not the Manor. Two, Phoebe and I have traveled outside our time before and encountered our past or future selves, and nothing happened." Piper's tone brooked no argument as she ignored the byplay between her sisters, her attention completely focused on Chris. "Look, nothing is going to get solved here. I agree with Leslie, we should go back to the Manor and regroup."

"Well, uhm, if you don't count that little us got our powers, because only one of us at the same time could have them," Phoebe volunteered helpfully, before turning to Paige, "Did that make any sense at all?"

"Scarily enough, it did." Paige replied, shaking her head.

"Piper's right, Chris." Leo nodded solemnly at his son, again ignoring the other two sisters. "I think you'll be okay at the Manor. Besides Piper and I would never put the baby, er, you, in harm's way. Either of you." Leo quickly amended.

"And what about the Elders? If I leave, they'll force you to stay," Chris shook his head, wearily, at his father. "I can't let that happen. Wyatt needs you."

Piper traded glances with Leo, before she spoke. "Actually, the Elders don't know about this. And I definitely am not going to be the one to tell them. Chris, remember the crystals we used to hide your presence from the Scabber demons in the attic? They're still there, and I think if we orb directly back into the attic, it should still keep you 'hidden'. Just until we can figure out what to do."

Chris opened his mouth to disagree, when Leslie cut him off, "Look, I think we've established that you can't harm the baby, so let's get the hell out of here, okay? I'm with Paige, this place gives me the willies."

Phoebe chuckled.

Piper stared at her sister, "And just what is so funny?"

"He said let's get the hell out of here. Get it? Hell?" Phoebe quickly swallowed her chuckles, at Piper's icy stare. "Errr, never mind."

"What is with you today?" Exasperated at her sister, Paige rolled her eyes yet again. Pointing her finger at Leo, she commanded, "You take Chris and Piper. I'll orb Leslie and Ms Chuckles here."

"Ahem, I don't mean to interrupt and all," Leslie cleared his throat, capturing everyone's attention, "But what are we going to do about that?"

Following the direction of Leslie's gaze, Piper realized that the demon she had frozen earlier was still stuck. Gesturing with her hands, she blew the demon up. Turning back to the others, Piper's eyebrow arched, "Everybody happy now? Great. Okay, Paige, you take Phoebe and Leslie, and we'll meet you back at the attic."

And as the group disappeared in a swirl of orbs, Chris' voice could be heard.

"Les, why is everyone calling you Leslie?"

"Because that's my name," Leslie grumbled, his eyes avoiding contact with Chris'. They were all back in the attic, when Chris repeated his question upon materializing.

"Er, why doesn't Chris know your name?" Phoebe questioned. "I thought you said you had met him in the future."

"Because I was introduced to him as Les," Leslie explained, his tone filled with exasperation, as he pointed his finger at Chris, who was, now in the mortal realm, visibly transparent. "Look, can we focus on the issue here? Which is how to do we get him corporeal?"

"Him would like to sit down for a minute, while we figure things out," Chris limped his way to a chair; ghost or not, he was exhausted. "And what if I'm not suppose to be real anymore? Maybe I'm fated to move on to the afterlife, or something."

"Okay, please don't refer to yourself in third party. It's confusing enough with you, baby-you, and future-friend over there," Paige tossed her head in Leslie's direction. "And I thought you didn't believe in fate! We are going to solve this, Chris!" Paige snapped at her nephew. Realizing everyone was staring at her, shocked by her outburst, Paige muttered, "I'm going to make a pot of coffee. This is just wrong." And she quickly disappeared in a swirl of orbs from the attic before anyone could say anything.

Piper's eyebrows raised, "And what just made her so grumpy?"

"Who knows? I'll go down and talk to her," Phoebe opened the door to the attic and headed down to the kitchen.

"Okay – maybe you and I should go to Magic School and see what we can find out. And while we're at it, I think we should go check on the kids, Leo. And then we'll get everyone together and find a way to make Chris real." Piper looked at her husband, who nodded in agreement. "Sweetie," Piper addressed her adult son, "We'll be right back. Don't move from this spot!"

"Yes ma'am." Chris sighed, as first Piper, and then Leo, came forward to brush a kiss against his forehead, before orbing out. Left alone in the attic with just Leslie for company, Chris glared at him, "Is there something in the air? Just what is so funny?"

Leslie shrugged. "You. I'm seeing a whole different side to you when you're interacting with your family. No one ever questions you or lectures you back home. It's kind of amusing to watch everyone fuss over you here. It's nice to know the infallible Chris Halliwell, leader of the Resistance, is just as human as the rest of us."

"Thanks," Chris glared, sourly, at his friend. "All right. We're alone now. Could you please tell me what you're doing here? And what's this about Darryl sending you back to protect mini-me?"

"Damn!" Paige swore, as the scalding coffee she was pouring splattered onto her hand. Placing the kettle back onto the stove, she finagled the kitchen taps with one hand and stuck the injured hand under a torrent of cold water. Giving the kettle the evil eye, Paige cursed again.

"What did the poor kettle ever do to you?" Phoebe's right eyebrow arched in question at her sister, as she entered the kitchen.

"It burned me," Paige glared at her sister. "Hence, my hand under cold water."

"No need to be grumpy, just asking," Phoebe studied her sister from beneath her lashes. "You want to talk about what went on up there just now?"

"I am NOT grumpy. Okay, fine, maybe a little. You would be too if you just poured hot coffee on your hand." Paige retorted, deftly ignoring her sister's probing.

"Come on, Paige. I know something is bothering you," Phoebe raised her hand to stop her sister from speaking, clearly anticipating Paige's next question. "That was a sister thing, not an empath thing, I swear!"

Paige kept her focus on her injured hand, as she reluctantly turned off the water, and patted her hand dry with a tea towel. "They want me to take over running Magic School."

Stunned, Phoebe was speechless for a moment, before gathering her scattered wits. "That's great! That's so you! Wait – why aren't you happy about this?" Her voice was almost accusatory.

"I am happy!" Paige protested, half-heartedly. "I mean, I'm happy that the school is going to stay open. It should. I really do believe that it will help the next generation of witches. It's just..."

"What is it honey?"

Paige shook her head. "I don't know. I'm just not sure that I can do a good job."

"Paige, you're going to do a great job." Phoebe said, confidently.

"Really?"

"Of course you will! You love magic! Piper just wants a normal life, I've just kind of accepted it, but you've always embraced your powers. I can't think of anyone who would be better for the job than you. Besides, you were saying you missed working, right? Well, this is right up your alley! It's fate!" Phoebe enthused.

"Damn it, it's not fate Phoebe!" Paige stormed.

Confused by her sister's abrupt 180 degrees turn in mood, Phoebe questioned, "Okay, what was that?"

"I'm sorry," Paige apologized for her outburst, sighing. "It's just...lately, everyone keeps saying things happen for a reason. That it's 'fate'."

"Well, Paige, that's because we need to believe in our destinies." Phoebe said slowly.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

Paige turned away from her sister, her attention focused on something outside through the kitchen window, as she said softly, "All this 'it's your destiny, it must be fate' crap."

"Okay, not following the logic here." Phoebe came around the kitchen island to stand next to her sister, following her gaze through the window.

"When Grams said that Chris was in Hell 'for a reason', something just snapped inside me. I mean, I hate it that everyone's explanation for every time something goes wrong, or someone gets hurt, they're answer is that 'there's a reason.' That 'it's fate.' It just...it makes me mad. I'm angry that they sent Chris to Hell. I'm angry that they mess with our lives, and yet, we do so much for them." Paige sighed. "But most of all, I'm afraid that my anger is going to show up if I do teach at the school."

Phoebe digested Paige's words, searching for the right thing to say to comfort her sister.

"How can I teach these kids about magic and destiny, when I'm not even sure I believe in it anymore?" All of Paige's doubts resurfaced, as she turned to look at her sister in the eyes. Paige had always been the sister who believed in magic, in destiny and in fate. And now she was questioning all her beliefs, her values, feeling as if her foundations were crumbling around her.

"How can you doubt that it isn't fate? I mean, look at all the good things that fate has brought us." Phoebe tried to reassure Paige, shaken by the self-doubt evident in Paige's eyes.

"Because I'm finally realizing all the bad things fate and destiny brings as well. Look at Prue's death, and then Chris'. How can that be right?"

"It's not our place to question destiny, Paige. Just accept it as fate."

"If I accept it as fate, then I'm helpless. I'm helpless to change anything. I have to believe that we can still change things, for the better." Paige shook her head. "I almost have to agree with what Chris said."

"Sorry, what did Chris say?" Phoebe threw Paige a puzzled look. "Did I miss a conversation somewhere?"

"In his letter. To Leo. Remember?" At Phoebe's negative response, Paige rolled her eyes. "He said he didn't believe in destiny, he believed that there was 'No fate.' That we can change our destinies."

Phoebe closed her eyes, unable to comprehend the consequences if that were true. That Prue's death could have prevented? That she could have saved Cole? She wasn't ready to accept the idea yet. "And what if you're wrong? What if we have to trust in our destinies?"

"I don't know." Paige smiled weakly, "And that's the problem."

It took the better part of an hour to fill in Chris with what had been happening in the future. His throat parched, Leslie longed for a drink of water, but knew better than to leave Chris after giving him a snapshot of the future.

"I don't understand," Chris said softly, his head slowly shaking back and forth. "Leo stopped Gideon. It should have worked. The timeline should have changed. I don't understand."

Leslie remained silent as he waited for Chris to accept his words.

"Are you sure? When exactly did you leave from our time? Are you sure you didn't leave while the timeline was changing or something?" Chris asked for the second time.

Leslie gave him the same answer, "I'm sure, Chris. I left exactly one month after you and Bianca left for the Manor. Darryl and I had talked about it. He's sure that if you had changed the timeline, it would have happened instantaneously, and we wouldn't have even noticed. And maybe you did change the timeline. Just not Wyatt."

Covering his face with his hands, Chris rubbed his face tiredly. "I can't believe it. I mean, we vanquished every single demon on the list. Leo saved Wyatt from Gideon. We had to have changed the future. We had to."

Leslie grimaced. "I don't know what else to say, Chris. All I can tell you is that I wouldn't have come if things weren't so bad. Darryl knew what you were trying to do, and respected that. But when things didn't change, Darryl started getting worried. And then our spies told us that Wyatt's been quietly building up his forces. They outnumber us three to two. That's when Darryl decided to send me here, to get you."

The thought suddenly occurred to Chris, "And how did you get here? I thought I tore the spell out of the Book."

"You did," Leslie reassured him, "Darryl got a couple of the spell casters to come up with a potion. Actually, we weren't really sure it was going to work."

"You mean you jumped into a portal, and you weren't even sure it would work?" Chris' voice began to rise with anger. "Why would you do a fool thing like that, Les? How could you risk your life like that?"

"Because we needed you!" Leslie shouted back. "That should tell you just how bad the situation is, Chris! Look, I'm sorry you didn't save your brother, and things didn't work out here, but we're running out of time!" Leslie took a deep breath, before he continued, as Chris looked stunned, "I agree with Paige. We need to make you real again and get back to our timeline before there isn't anything to go back to!"

Chris' shoulders slumped forward, in defeat. "I just...I was so sure it was going to work, Les. I never would have left, if I didn't think I could change everything, I swear."

Leslie gently placed his hand on Chris' right shoulder, "I know. We all know. But the fact of the matter is, we tried it your way, Chris. It didn't work. Let's just focus on getting you real again, and then back home."

Chris shook Leslie's hand off his shoulder, and headed determinedly to the Book of Shadows. He began to flip through it frantically. "I must have missed something."

"What are you looking for, Chris?" Leslie asked, cautiously. "Shouldn't we wait for the sisters on this? After all, I'm pretty sure we'll need the power of three to make you corporeal."

Chris focused on the pages in front of him, his fingers skimming down the pages, searching, "I'm looking for the demon that turned Wyatt. I'm sure it's got to be in here."

"Chris!" Leslie yelled, and reaching over, slammed the Book of Shadows closed in frustration, narrowly missing Chris' fingers. "Stop it! It's over! You did your best! You did everything anyone could ever ask. Face it! Maybe it's Wyatt's destiny to be evil!"

Chris' head jerked up, his eyes blazing with such anger, that Leslie physically took a step back from Chris, alarmed. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that. It's not destiny. It's not fate." Chris hissed. "There is no fate!"

Knowing he was at an impasse, and not wanting to antagonize Chris any further, Leslie decided it was time for a strategic retreat. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I think I'm going to get myself a glass of water, okay?"

Chris relaxed slightly, acknowledging the silent truce. It had been a long day, and he really didn't want to be arguing with Leslie. "I'm sorry, too. I think I'm just a bit...frustrated...you know, with being stuck like I am." Chris waved his hand at himself to indicate his ghostly form. "I guess I'm just afraid of being stuck here, like this."

Leslie nodded, wanting a truce as well. "I'm really parched. I'm going to go get a drink of water in the kitchen, okay?" At Chris's nod, Leslie moved towards the door, preparing to head down the stairs, "And Chris? It's good to see you."

Chris smiled faintly, as Leslie left the attic. "It's good to see you too."

Raising their eyes to the ceiling, Phoebe and Paige were jolted out of their conservation from the raised voices coming from above.

Phoebe looked at Paige, "What do you think they're arguing about?"

Paige shrugged, "Only one way to find out."

About to grab Phoebe's hand and orb them both to the attic, Paige paused, as the yelling ceased. Patiently, the sisters waited to hear if there would be any further disturbances coming from the attic, and when the Manor remained silent, the girls shrugged, and continued their conversation.

"Look Paige. The only advice I can give you is 'trust your instincts.' They've never let you down before, right? So go with it, and just feel your way for now." Phoebe smiled weakly at her sister. "I think that's all any of us can do, for now."

Before Paige could respond, Leslie entered the kitchen, "Oh – sorry. Am I interrupting? I just wanted to get a drink of water." Leslie began to back out of the room, not wanting to interrupt the private moment between the two sisters.

"No, no." Paige smiled, beckoning the telepath to enter, "We were just finished here. I'm going to orb up to the attic and see if I can find anything in the Book of Shadows that can help us with Chris. Phoebe, why don't you show our guest where the glasses are?" Paige orbed out of the kitchen before Phoebe could open her mouth, winking mischievously at her older sister.

Phoebe sighed at her sister's good, but misguided, intentions. Turning her face to Leslie, she offered, "Do you want something to eat too?"

Leslie grinned. "Only if it won't be too much trouble. I can't remember the last time I had something to eat."

Grabbing a can from the cupboard, she thrust the can and pointed at the can opener on the kitchen counter. "Here, you open that, while I get you a glass of water." She reached into the cabinet on her left to pull down a bowl and glass, filled the glass with water and then placed both in front of Leslie. Reaching into a nearby drawer, she grabbed a spoon and plunked it into the bowl.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to reheat that yourself, if you want to eat it." Phoebe sighed, as she indicated the can with her hand. "I can't even make toast without burning it."

Leslie poured the thick, gloopy tomato mess from the can into the bowl. He then picked up the spoon, and began to spoon the mixture into his mouth, still cold. He shrugged, "Tastes fine like it is. What is it?" Picking up the can in his free hand, he studied the blue label, reading, "Spaghetti-o's?"

"Don't tell me they don't have spaghetti-o's in the future?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.

Leslie keep his eyes on the bowl in front of him, "Food is...different. Everything is...different, in the future."

Sensing a delicate nerve, Phoebe waited for Leslie to explain further. When no explanation appeared to be forthcoming, Phoebe decided to change the subject to a safer topic. "That reminds me. How'd you get Elise to hire you? It's not like you have references or anything."

"I, uh, used my powers to 'suggest' that I came highly recommended and that she should hire me on the spot," Leslie admitted, sheepishly.

"Doesn't that reek of personal gain?" Phoebe accused him.

"Personal gain? Are you crazy? No way! Like I actually want to write an advice column! Trust me, I'm totally safe from the personal gain problem on that one," Leslie rolled his eyes.

"Hmmm...," Phoebe eyed him, suspiciously. Opening her mouth to ask another question, she stopped, as the sound of orbing alerted her to the presence of her sister and Leo. "We'll finish this talk later."

Leo and Piper materialized in the kitchen, surprised to see both Phoebe and Leslie sitting at the kitchen table. "Where's Paige?" Piper asked, failing to spot her baby sister after scanning the room.

"Well, hello to you too." Phoebe smiled, taking the bite out of her comment. "She's at the Book of Shadows, looking for ways to help Chris." Phoebe, anticipating Piper's next question, added, "And yes, I talked to her. So don't worry. Did you find anything at Magic School?"

Leo placed a couple of books that he had been holding under his arm onto the kitchen table, as Piper moved to the refrigerator to fix herself something to eat. She had been starving at Magic School, and had insisted Leo orb them back to the kitchen first, so she could grab something to eat, before continuing their research in the attic.

"We think we may be onto something," Leo indicated the two heavy tomes on the table. "The problem is, Chris is a unique case. Nothing like this has ever happened before, or if it did, it hasn't been documented."

"Anyways, we think there's something in these books that could help us turn Chris corporeal at least. Once we get our little neurotic back, than we can work on what to do from there." Piper mumbled, her mouth full of apple.

"I vote we make him stay here," Phoebe volunteered, as Leslie glared at her. "What?"

"He can't stay here Phoebe. It's not meant to be," Leslie went back to shoveling the pasta back into his mouth.

"What do you mean, Leslie?" Leo asked, as he took a seat next to his wife at the table. "Why couldn't Chris stay here with us? If just for a little while, at least." Piper reached for Leo's hand and gave it a little squeeze. She understood what he meant. They had just rescued their adult son, and both parents felt a need to keep him close, if just for a little while longer.

"You once asked me if in the future, your sons are good. Chris isn't a good man in the future, Leo." Leslie paused, for emphasis. "He's a great one."

"What does that have to do with keeping him here?" Phoebe asked, puzzled, as Leo and Piper absorbed Leslie's words in shock.

"You look at him and you see your son, your nephew, a 22 year old neurotic kid trying to save his family. Am I right?" Waiting for the nods from the three, Leslie tried to hint to them just how special their son was, without giving away too much of the future. "I see a kid who grew up carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, who accepted the burden of responsibility as his duty with nary a complaint. I see a kid who wants to do what's right, what's best for everyone. I see someone who always puts everyone else's needs in front of his own. I see a leader."

"And right now, the future needs that leader."

To be continued....