Do You Really Want to Know?

(Now that the story is finished, I have combined the chapters. This is Chapter 6-10)

Chapter 6

By: teallover

Summary: Chris has a deeper reason why he hates Leo so much, and why he wants to save his brother so badly. Phoebe is determined to help him through his issues and find out what it is. WARNING--Rated "R" for violence and the mention of rape.

AN: I probably should have posted chapter 5 & 6 together, since they were already written & probably would have made more sense--but I just wasn't finished spell checking yet.

Calen--And oh my goodness no, Chris didn't do that! They were making jokes at their expense. Don't worry, neither of the Halliwell men are wusses. In the future, Chris just doesn't have any powers for a while, and Wyatt-couldn't have always been that cocky. He had to start somewhere. You know, work his way up the ladder ;) And yes, I've thought about Excalibur--but…you'll just have to see for yourself:)

And by the way, some swear words here.

'-----'

Tem'al eventually settled down and stopped laughing, soon followed by the rest of his demons. He ordered them to back off of Wyatt. He said with a hint of amusement, "Fine. Since you have shown you can control him, you may do alright with my army. I'll give you a chance. I'll have a few things for you to take care of in the morning--see how well you do. Your lucky, Wyatt. I don't give this kind of opportunity lightly, or to just anyone."

Wyatt grinned, "I suppose that it also has nothing do with the fact that Excalibur can be only be wielded by me?"

Tem'al's amusement faded as he turned to leave, "Perhaps…" He signaled for the others as one by one, they shimmered out.

As soon as they were gone, Wyatt reached for Chris to help him up.

Chris slapped his hand away as they anger he had built up over the past several months had finally reached a boiling point. "Don't touch me. I can't believe you did all of this for A JOB? You put me through hell and back for a FUCKING job?"

Wyatt: "No, not just for a job. First of all, Tem'al is poised to be the next Source. You would have known that if you hadn't just started randomly killing his followers. He took notice, and decided to kill you. I saved your life---"

Chris pointed to himself in disbelief, "YOU saved MY life? Because I could have sworn it was just the other way around. You NEEDED me. If I hadn't decided to play along with your little charade, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You would be too busy being dead right now!"

Wyatt: "Well why are we having this conversation? You haven't talked for months. And now you can't SHUT UP?"

Chris narrowed his eyes, "Well now I have a lot to say. How could you do this? You could have taken them! And if you had given my powers back--WE could have taken them!"

Wyatt yelled back and couldn't seem to control the words that unconsciously slipped from his mouth, "BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ALL OF MY ACTIVE POWERS ANYMORE!"

Chris was taken back in surprise, "How is that possible?"

Wyatt: "I don't know. Most of them-they just don't work anymore. Maybe the Elder's…"

Chris understood and grinned arrogantly, "Is that because they just won't give them to a demon? Have they been stripping your powers when then realized you had turned against EVERYTHING our family ever believed in? EVERYTHING our mother fought and died for?"

Wyatt pleaded with him to understand, "I'm not! There is just more to the simple black and white of good and evil. Don't you get it? This battle has been raging on for millennia. And neither side has been able to win or even get the upper hand. It's all pointless! The only way to win is to go above both sides. And to do that--you need followers. People, demons, witches, whatever--on your side. I have to build an army to do that. And right now, Tem'al is the best way to get it!"

Chris glared at him in disbelief, "Oh, I get it. You're trying to take his place? Become the next Source?"

Wyatt huffed in frustration, "NO! I have no interest in being the Source. I have no interest in taking one side or the other when neither will ever win. Don't you see? This is what I was born for--to bring an end to it all--under ONE rule. That's why all of magic stopped the day I was born. It was a sign--that I am supposed to be the one to unite all of magic--good and evil."

Chris shook his head again in disbelief, "This isn't you, Wyatt. You never used to think like that. When did you start believing in all of this crap?"

Wyatt: "I've always thought like this, Chris. As far back as I can remember. Every demon I saw come into our home and try to kill our family--always loosing a fruitless battle. Until the Power of Three was broken, then the other side lost. And I'm not going to fight during my entire existence just to end up on the loosing team. I'm simply not going to be on one or the other."

Chris: "Wyatt, you can't not pick a side. There's always going to be good and evil fighting against each other."

Wyatt: "We'll see about that…"

'------'

Phoebe was astounded by what she had seen. "Wow. I had no idea he was so…"

Chris filled in the blank for her, "Delusional? Yeah. Neither did I."

Phoebe cautiously broached another topic, "So…You didn't fast forward or anything like that, did you?"

Chris: "No. Nothing else happened. I think he just really enjoyed messing with my head. It's just…I've never felt so out of control in my whole life as I did that day. I mean even before…you know, at least then--I had an excuse. I couldn't move. But this time, I just gave in. "

Phoebe: "But you did it to ensure your survival. There's nothing wrong with that. We all do things we'd rather not do for just that very reason. Did I ever tell you about the time when Cole and I were in the Underworld?"

Chris laughed, "Which time?"

Phoebe: "Oh, ha ha. Funny. I mean the time that your mother actually died?"

Chris became serious again, "How is that possible if Wyatt and I were born?"

Phoebe said wistfully, "It was when your Aunt Prue died. Piper had been killed while we were down in the Underworld, and Leo had come down to come find us, so he couldn't heal her--"

Chris rolled his eyes scornfully, "What, he couldn't be bothered to come and heal his own wife? What a surprise--now there's a new one."

Phoebe ignored his outburst, "My point is, in order to save her--the Source gave us a choice. I could give up everything I had ever known and stay down there in the Underworld, or come back here and let her stay dead. It was a difficult choice, but I chose to stay there to save her life. I did what I had to do."

Chris was intrigued, "Then how did you get out?"

Phoebe flipped her wrist forward, "Oh, that's a whole 'nother story. But like me, you did what you had to do in order to survive in an unknown situation. And if the way you laid into Wyatt the second they left was any indication, you were anything but out of control." She suddenly had another thought, "Why do you think he didn't use Excalibur that day?"

Chris already knew the answer and didn't have to think about it, "He hadn't exactly mastered it yet. In fact, he hadn't even known about its existence until he was nineteen. Leo made sure of that; said it was mom's wish for him to have a normal childhood."

Phoebe nodded in understanding. She remembered the discussion that Piper had with all of them after the Mordaunt incident; she hadn't wanted him to know until adulthood. "So did Wyatt ever get all of his powers back?"

Chris thought about how much he should reveal to her. He decided on a simple answer, "Yes." To himself, he thought 'as soon as he killed all of the Elders'

TBC…..

Do You Really Want to Know?

Chapter 7

By: teallover

AN: Someone else asked in a review, and I did respond personally. But for everyone else who read and got the gist of what I was saying in Ch. 5, --Just a recap--there is NO INCEST involved in any of my stories-cause that's just, well ewwww. The demons made a joke to embarrass chris & wyatt more than they already were. So, now that I've cleared that up….

'-----'

Phoebe's eyes shot up, "What?"

Chris: "What?"

Phoebe: "When I asked you about his powers, you projected something, really strong-then you blocked me out. What are you hiding?"

Chris: "Future consequences, remember?"

Phoebe: "Don't give me that. You've shown me this much, and you've already sworn me to secrecy. So I really don't think that's a factor anymore."

Chris nodded, "Ok. I see your point. The next day, Wyatt killed the Elders. That's when he got his powers back."

Phoebe was confused, "But I thought the Titans killed the Elders?"

Chris: "No, they killed the original Elders. After that, Leo and a few other Whitelighters in the area went on a search to find other Whitelighters across the world, and a lot of them were in hiding. It took a few years, but when I was about six, Leo and a lot of the others he found banded together to become Elders. So it wasn't actually my idea to make him an Elder when I came back. I just sped things up a bit."

Phoebe: "But Leo was an Elder. Why was he spared?"

Chris grinned sardonically, "He had the unfortunate pleasure of being preoccupied with me at the time." At her questioning glance, he added, "Too hard to explain. Just see for yourself…" as they were taken into another memory…

'-----'

After a long and exhausting day of planning with Tem'al for his assignment, Wyatt returned home only to be met by his brother drawing him into yet another lengthy argument. When he started to envision his fingers moving of their own accord to encircle his neck--he thought he had better walk away before he did something he may regret later. He stormed off to his own bedroom and slammed the door, silencing his brother and their "conversation".

An hour later, Chris found himself wanting to leave the apartment for the first time in months. He crept through the hallway and peered into his brother's room, breathing a sigh of relief to find him asleep. He knew he couldn't orb, or Wyatt would definitely sense him and force him to return. He crept back through the house and straight out of the front door.

Wandering through the streets late at night, Chris eventually found himself in a park in an unfamiliar town. He thought about everything that he had been through in the past several months, and sat down in despair. He had to get away from his brother's lunacy, so in a last ditch effort, he called for the one person in his life that could never remember being able to count on. "DAD! Please? I need your help. Please don't ignore me this time. I need you…" His head spun around hopefully, seeing a flash of light behind him. He rested his head in his hands seeing that it was only the headlights from a passing car. "Why do you never come when I call?"

"I'm here now, son."

Chris' head shot up in surprise, "DAD! I need your help…"

Leo looked down at his youngest son compassionately, "How are you, Chris?"

Chris: "I'm ok. But I won't be if you don't help me."

Leo looked concerned, "What do you mean?"

Chris pleaded with him, "You have to take me back up there with you. I can't stay here. There's no where here on earth I can hide from him."

Leo: "Chris, Wyatt will protect you. He won't let that bastard come near you again."

Chris laughed maniacally, "Wyatt is the bastard I'm talking about. Don't you get it, Dad? Wyatt has changed, turned. He even bound my powers so I couldn't fight back."

Leo sighed, "Chris, if Wyatt found it necessary to bind your powers, it was because he didn't want you getting into any more situations like that. He loves you, and he just want's to keep you safe. That's all we both want for you. For you to be safe and happy…"

Chris: "Safe! The only way I'll be safe is if he can't sense me. And he can't sense me if I'm up there with you. Every time I orb, he'll find me and bring me back. And if I step out of line in front of his little cult--he'll hand me over to them again. So I'm most definitely not safe! And sure as hell not happy!"

Leo tried to be patient with his son but grew angrier with each accusation, "Chris. Why do you persist with these fabrications! Now I know you're hurting right now, but making up these terrible lies and alienating Wyatt is not going to make you feel any better!"

Chris: "WHY DON'T YOU EVER BELIEVE ME! I'm telling you the truth! Wyatt is trying to take over the world! He's under some misguided delusion that he's supposed to unite all of magic--good and evil."

Leo stood up infuriated, "CHRIS! Just STOP IT! Right now! I will not listen to anymore of this. Now I know that Wyatt has some issues with me and the way I've parented you both, and I think it's obvious now that you do too. But that doesn't mean--"

Chris stood up flailing his arms wildly, "Why would I lie about any of this, Dad! I have no reason to, unless it was true. Just please--Just take me with you. And I'll show you."

Leo shook his head sadly, "Chris, you know you're not allowed up there. I wish I could, but I can't take you with me. But Wyatt will be here with you. And he'll help you get through this, if you just let him." He reached out to put his arms around his youngest.

Chris shook him off, "NO! You're not LISTENING to me! Wyatt was the one who put me through this in the first place. And he was perfectly willing to do it again yesterday! Did you know they came back? Threatened us both? And he knew they were coming--"

Leo: "Chris--"

Chris: "Don't you pay attention anymore! If you had, you would know what's been going on down here. Don't you even bother to watch over us like you promised Mom? Or do you just not care?"

Leo reached for him, "Of course I care…"

Chris brushed him away and started walking off, "Forget it. You know, Wyatt was right. He IS the closest thing I've ever had to a father. And I can't even trust him. So I guess I just don't have any family left."

Leo: "Chris, don't go, please?"

Chris: "By the way, LEO--If the next time you come to see me I happen to be dead by Wyatt's hands; Don't say I didn't tell you so."

Leo remained in stunned silence as he watched his son walk off hurriedly. Exhausted, he dropped down on the bench and thought about how badly their conversation went. And for Chris to go to such lengths to get his attention, it was obvious to him that the boy needed some guidance before it was too late. 'Maybe he does need to be up there with me.' "That's it! I'm going to talk to the others. They have to let him come." His mind made up, he orbed up there to plead his son's case.

When Leo arrived, he stood in open-mouthed shock. The entire place was smoldering in ruins. The smell of singed flesh permeated the air.

In the short time that he had been arguing with his son, they were all gone-- not a single Elder or Whitelighter left alive. With one exception, of course. Leo Wyatt was now officially the last of his kind.

'-------'

Chris: "After the fight with Leo, I just kept wandering around until the sun came up. Then I finally realized that I didn't have anywhere else to go. The Manor wasn't really my home anymore. And I couldn't remember how I got to the park, so I orbed in place a couple of times. And sure enough, Wyatt found me a few minutes later. We actually walked back to the apartment. He used telekinesis to close the door. And that's when I knew. The only way he could have gotten them back is if the Elder's were dead. He just laughed at the look on my face."

Phoebe: "Why did he want to eliminate the Elders?"

Chris: "I actually think that was the job that he gave him, but Wyatt was only too happy to accommodate since he wanted his powers back."

Phoebe: "Who, Leo?"

Chris shook his head in frustration, "No. Him. You know who I mean."

Phoebe nodded. She was starting to understand much of his behavior. The guarded, secretive, and self-relying nature that seemed inherent in his personality wasn't due to future consequences as he often stated. It was merely his way of coping with what happened. If no one was allowed to get close to you--then no one could hurt you.

The very fact that he couldn't even mention the demon by name, told her that he had never really dealt with the issues, only suppressed them. But then again, if Leo turned his back, and Wyatt was responsible, then there must have been no one in his life that could help him through it. She was now more determined then ever to make things right for him.

TBC…..

Do You Really Want to Know?

Chapter 8

By: teallover

'-----'

The following day, Phoebe stayed home again while Chris went on his usual hunt.

Leo orbed in to the attic. "Phoebe, I talked to the others. I had to go through a lot of different sources to get the information."

Phoebe: "Well? What did you find out?"

Leo: "He's an upper level demon and he already has an extensive group of followers, both low and mid level demons. If you're looking to vanquish him you're going to need the Power of Three."

Phoebe cursed under her breath. How was she supposed to get Piper and Paige to vanquish him if she couldn't tell them why she wanted him vanquished.

Leo seemed to sense her agitation and dilemma, "Why don't we just tell them?"

Phoebe responded a little too quickly and roused his suspicions, "No! I mean, I'll figure something out. Just don't say anything to any of them."

Leo nodded reluctantly, "How's Chris?"

Phoebe looked up as she tried to gauge her nephew's mental state. "He's--ok. But he'll be doing even better as soon as I can figure out a way to vanquish Tem'al." She suddenly had a thought, "Leo--I have an idea. And don't say no until you hear me out…." She spun around excitedly as she began to explain her idea.

-------

Leo shook his head in doubt, "I don't know Phoebe. That's pretty extreme. I don't see why you don't just---"

Phoebe interrupted him irritably, "Because I can't Leo! I made a promise that I intend to keep. And I can't elaborate on that. All I can tell you, is that it's for Chris. And it will go a long way toward resolving those issues he has with you. Just trust me on this, ok?"

Leo was excited at the prospect of resolving things with Chris, so he readily agreed. "Ok. Look, they're calling me, so I have to go right now. But call me before you do anything."

Phoebe nodded absently, intent on rewriting the spells for her idea.

-----

Piper sat in the rocking chair in the conservatory, as it seemed to calm the somersaults the baby like to do all day. She patted her belly and began whispering softly to him, "I wish you would just talk to me."

Chris walked up behind her quietly, "Mom, he's still breathing fluid, so that may take a while"

Piper: "Chris, you startled me. Where did you come from?"

He gave her a cheeky grin and pointed to her stomach.

Piper rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Yes. Thank you. In case I didn't already know why my stomach is the size of a basketball. You are such a smartass, you know that? Did you get that from Paige?"

Chris: "No, I got that from you, "Ms.-my-stomach's-the-size-of-a-basketball."

Piper: "Uh huh. So hey, I wanted to ask you--"

Chris sucked his teeth, "No. I already told you. I can't tell you what happens in the future"

Piper: "I wasn't going to ask you that again. I would just like to know what's going on between you and your father?"

Chris said angrily, "He's not my father."

Piper looked worried, "But you said---"

Chris: "I know what I said. Yes, biologically, he contributed to my existence, but he's only ever been Wyatt's father, not mine."

Piper tried to reason with him, "Chris, he hasn't done anything yet."

Chris: "Give him time, and he'll be sure to screw things up."

Piper: "Why won't you at least give him a chance?"

Chris folded his arms and stood in front of her defiantly, "Because he's never given me one."

Piper stood up to face her son as he turned his head and tried to tune her out. She grabbed his chin to make him look at her, "Chris? Honey--Whatever is bothering you, you can talk to me. You know that right?"

Chris stared into his mothers tear-filled eyes and immediately regretted speaking so harshly to her. In a softer voice, "Look, mom. I'm sorry. There is really nothing to talk about. And even if there was--it has nothing to do with you. You were a terrific mom; the best even. The only person in my life that I could ever really count on."

Piper wrapped him in her arms tightly, "Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. You know I'll do my best to always be there for you. Because you're my son, and I love you. You know that, right?"

Chris smiled sadly, knowing that her best just wasn't good enough. She would still die and leave him alone. But he didn't dare tell her that. He didn't want to risk hurting her. "Yeah mom. I know you will. I love you too." He pulled out of her warm embrace and orbed out in search of something to take his mind off of his depressing thoughts. 'Hmm. A good vanquish ought do it."

-----

Later that night, Chris met up with Phoebe at P-3 again for the third night in a row.

Phoebe: "Chris, just before you saw Leo the night the Elder's were killed--what were you and Wyatt fighting about? It was different then all of the other memories. It was muted somehow--like I couldn't get a clear signal on what was being said."

Chris: "That's probably because I don't remember. I don't even remember what the fight was about--Nor any of the numerous others. And in the scheme of things, I don't think it even really mattered. I picked a fight with him--because--well, just because it felt so good! And the best part--was that I could get to Wyatt."

Phoebe smiled, "What do you mean, get to him"

Chris: "Well, I still had to pretend when any of the other's came around. But when it was just me and Wyatt--I could get to him. I could push--every single button that he ever possessed. I could irritate him to no end. Make him mad as hell everytime I opened my mouth. Challenging him at every opportunity when we were alone."

Phoebe asked worriedly, "But, weren't you afraid that you might push him too far?"

Chris: "Nope. I came to see that he wouldn't even raise his hand to me as long as I didn't do the same. But he would turn red with fury; stomp around the apartment; slam doors; toss furniture and other appliances across the room; even scream in frustration." He grinned proudly, "And I did all of that to him. Me. Little ole' Christopher Halliwell--reduced the Great Wyatt Halliwell, rising star of the Underworld--to a petulant-bratty kid. I don't even think he even realized what I was doing to him. Or why…"

Phoebe: "I don't see how he couldn't. You seem to have that effect on people, in particular, Leo."

Chris: "Yeah, well. He never understood either. No one does."

Phoebe: "I wouldn't exactly say that. I do understand why you feel the need to challenge people or get the upper hand. And I'm not saying that it's a bad thing…"

Chris suddenly got defensive, "Then what are you saying?"

Phoebe: "Just that I understand why you do it. It gives you control back into a situation where you've felt you didn't have any, because--well because you couldn't have stopped what happened to you."

Chris stared at the grooves in the floor as he slowly absorbed her words. He had never really given any thought to why he always felt the need to challenge and provoke others when he felt he was loosing control of a situation. He searched his mind and tried to recall when he had started that particular behavior. He just kept reverting back to the night he fought with Wyatt after the Elder's were killed. His eyes widened in realization--there were none before that. He wasn't always like this. "I didn't use to be like that. I guess Wyatt gave me a whole new look on life."

Phoebe took his hand and caressed it gently, "It doesn't always have to be like that. Isn't that why you came back? To change things?"

Chris: "Yes, it does, Phoebe. I don't think you understand. The way I am--What you see is what you get. There's nothing you can do to erase what I've become or the reason's that underlie it. If I succeed--one of two things will happen. I will either disappear because the timeline I come from ceases to exist. Or I will go back to the new wonderful future with everything you see in front of you--bag and baggage." Sounding extremely depressed, he continued, "Because I'm out of my timeline, when and if I get there--everyone will have changed. Except for me. I'll still remember--everything." He reached up telekinetically and turned off the light to signal the end of their exhausting conversation, "Good night Phoebe."

TBC…..

Do You Really Want to Know?

Chapter 9

#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#

Sometime during the night, Phoebe was startled awake by a sudden shift on the bed. Her eyes adjusted to the dark as they sought out the thrashing figure in front of her. When he began mumbling something incoherent, she leaned in closer, hoping to make some bit of sense of his words. Her heart sank in realization that he was apparently trapped in some ghastly nightmare of his time in Valhalla. She shook him gently and called his name in the hopes of saving him from further reliving the event repeatedly in his sleep.

Unfortunately, her touch sent him spiraling further into his nightmare. Chris bolted upright, eyes frantically scanning the room. He didn't seem to recognize his surroundings even as she leaned in to calm him. He flicked his wrists quickly and sent her crashing out of the bed and nearly halfway across the room.

A bit dazed, she picked herself up and moaned softly. "Chris, it's me, Phoebe. I'm not gonna' hurt you."

Chris seemed fully awake now and realized what he had done. His hands flew up to his mouth in shock, "Ohhhh. Oh Phoebe--I am so sorry. I didn't mean to. Please forgive me. I didn't--"

Phoebe held her head and tried to smile through the pain, which ended up looking like more of a grimace. "It's ok, Chris. I'm fine. Don't worry about it, I've got a hard head. And I don't break that easily. Besides, if you recall--just six short months ago, I fell off of the roof of a building, so I think I can handle falling off of a bed."

Chris: "But you didn't fall of the bed, I pushed you. And I'm so sorry, Phoebe. I never meant to hurt you. I knew this was a bad idea…"

Phoebe: "No, it's not a bad idea. A few bumps in the road are to be expected. Give yourself time. It's only been a few days."

Chris shook his head adamantly, "No. We can't do this anymore. You'll just end up getting hurt. Just let me do what I came here to do and I'll deal with this on my own, OK? I'm sorry."

Phoebe: "No--not OK. Listen to me Chris. Don't run away from this now, or you'll never be ok. You need to find closure on all of these issues or that's not going to happen."

Chris jumped up and paced the floor angrily, "There are no ISSUES Phoebe!"

Phoebe: "Oh really. Is that why I just landed on my ass! Chris--you said it yourself. When you change things--you'll go back to the future exactly as you are now. Do you really want to carry all of this with you?"

Chris ignored her question, "I also said that I could disappear. And if that happens, then none of this makes a damn bit of difference anyway."

Phoebe tried to hide the surprise on her face, "Is that what you were hoping for?"

Chris sat back down on the bed, "NO! I don't know. Maybe."

Phoebe moved to sit next to him, "I know you don't want that. You wouldn't have tried so hard to make sure you had been conceived if you really wanted that."

Chris: "I needed to come back and fix things. I had to warn you guys. If I wasn't born, I couldn't do that. And the world would be destroyed because of me."

Phoebe: "Then why did you ask Bianca to marry you if that was the only reason?"

Chris: "Well maybe it wasn't at first. But she's dead now, so it doesn't really matter."

Phoebe: "But she won't be once you change things. Wouldn't you like to go back with a fresh start? "

Chris turned to her, "I guess that would be cool. But with everything that's happened, that's just not possible."

Phoebe thought carefully about her next words. She didn't want to alert him to her plan and quite possible scare him off. "What if Tem'al was dead?"

Chris gave her a distant but satisfied smile, "He's already dead. Well, not right now. But he will be. Probably about a year after he started working from him, Wyatt killed him when he took over his army. Not a quick death either I heard. I just wish I could have been there to see it."

Phoebe's heart leapt at his admission. She knew she was doing the right thing now. "Uh, what about your father?"

Chris: ""What about Leo?"

Phoebe: "Did you ever get the chance to talk to him again after that night in the park?"

Chris glared at her through narrowed eyes, "No. And it's no big loss either. I never needed him. Except maybe to be born. And I don't need him now."

Phoebe: "Chris, I hear what you're saying. But that's not what I'm feeling from you. Maybe if you just talked to him? The Leo of this time?"

Chris: "NO WAY! I'm not telling him about any of this. None of them, Phoebe! And don't even think about saying anything to them. I can't save Wyatt and the future if any of them know."

Phoebe: "I won't say anything. But would it be so bad if the rest of your family knew too? You--did--nothing--wrong. They would understand. And they would help. If they knew what the future was like, they would be more concerned with trying to fix it. They would work night and day; do anything to spare you from going through any of that again."

Chris paused for a few moments to think about it before answering. "No Phoebe. I've made my decision. I'll deal with it ok." He rose from the bed, "Now get some sleep."

Phoebe grabbed his arm, "Wait, where are you going?"

Chris: "I'm going to get a head start on tomorrow."

Phoebe looked at the clock on the wall and shook her head. "It's 3 am, Chris. What could you possible accomplish right now that can't wait until morning?"

Chris: "I can't sleep right now anyway. I may as well do something useful."

Phoebe: "You are doing something useful. You're talking through it. But I also think you need to get some sleep." She patted the bed and held up the sheets, "Now come on. You'll think clearer with a little bit of sleep under your belt. You need this right now." She yawned as she watched his conflicting emotions cycle across his face, "…And so do I. Please?"

Nodding reluctantly, he climbed back into bed. Both Halliwell's slept peacefully for the night.

TBC…..

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and for the wonderful encouragement.

Do You Really Want to Know?

Chapter 10

AN: I "borrowed" 2 spells from the show & modified them slightly for my purpose (cause I suck at ryhming). Oh, and there's a couple of curses here, but nothing you won't hear on the subway :)

'-----'

The next day, Phoebe reached for the phone in the kitchen. "Hi, Elise? Did you get the column I sent? Great. Yeah, I'll be here again today. Thanks, I'll e-mail it as soon as I get it done this afternoon. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

After hanging up the phone, Phoebe blew out a nervous breath. 'Today's the day.'

Upstairs in the attic, Phoebe paced the floor anxiously after calling her brother-in-law. She grumbled to herself, "Where is he?" She yelled again out of frustration, "LEO!"

Leo orbed in surrounded by blue lights and golden robes, "Blessed be, Phoebe."

Phoebe nodded impatiently, "Yeah, Yeah. I need you to do what we talked about now."

Leo frowned, "Are you sure about this? They can help you know."

Phoebe: "Yes, I'm sure about this. And they will be helping; in their own way. Now are you sure you can keep Paige from orbing back here?"

Leo smiled proudly, "Of course. I'm an Elder. She's only half-whitelighter. I can make it so they're stuck with me until you call again."

Phoebe: "Good. And don't worry, I'll handle Piper later and Paige will understand." She stared at him for a moment before she realized that he was waiting for the final go ahead. She clapped her hands together, "Chop Chop. Get Going!"

He orbed downstairs immediately and surprised Piper.

Piper: "Leo. What are you doing here?"

Leo: "Family matter. I need you and Wyatt to come with me for a little bit."

Piper cocked her head to the side curiously, "Come with you where? And why for that matter? And more importantly, what about Chris? If it's a family matter, shouldn't he be involved?"

Leo: "I'll explain everything when we get there." As Piper started to protest again, he touched her arm and spirited her away.

After retrieving Wyatt and Paige, he deposited all three "Up There" to wait with the other Elders before returning to the attic.

Phoebe: "All set?"

Leo: "Yeah. Piper was pretty angry when I dropped her off without an explanation."

Phoebe: "I'm sorry about that Leo, but it can't be helped. I need them out of the way for a little while."

Leo: "Let me help you Phoebe."

Phoebe: "Thanks, Leo. But, I've got it covered. And you are helping me. And you can help me even more if you go back up there with Paige, Piper, and Wyatt until I call you. Just tell them I'll explain as much as I can later."

Leo: "Piper's not going to accept that."

Phoebe giggled a bit, "I know she won't. That's why I would recommend that you either hide from her when you get back, or sprinkle some sleeping dust on her."

Leo touched her arm in a show of support, "Good luck. Call if you need help or if things get out of hand. Because your sisters will kill me if anything happens to you."

Phoebe smiled and hugged him, "Don't worry, Leo. Everything is going to be just fine. Maybe even better than fine by the time this is all over."

Phoebe:
"Here these words.
Hear my cry
and heed the hope within my mind...
Sprits from the other side
forward in place and time,
Come to me, I summon thee
Cross now this even greater divide"

Phoebe bent over and lit the candles just before reciting the modified spell. Moments later, two swirls of light coalesced in the center of the circle of candles. There stood two of her sisters, looking as radiant as ever in death as they were in life.

Phoebe welcomed them with open arms as they stepped out of the circle to become corporeal. "Paige, Piper. It's good to see you guys."

Paige laughed as she stepped up to embrace her only living sister, "It's good to see you too, Phoebe. But isn't this a little "against the rules"? Bringing back spirits across time?"

Phoebe: "Rules? Since when have we Halliwell's ever followed any rules?"

Paige nodded, "True."

Phoebe: "Do you have any idea why I summoned you here?"

Paige and Piper glanced at each other in confusion. "Nope." "Not exactly."

Phoebe: "Ok. I want to vanquish a demon that requires the Power of Three, but I CANNOT under any circumstances let Paige and Piper of this time know what I'm doing. And I figured that since you are already dead, you would know why I'm doing this, therefore I wouldn't have to say anything and--"

Paige held out her hands with a stop gesture, "Phoebe, you're babbling. Ok. So who is this demon, why is he so important, and why can't you tell your present sisters?"

Phoebe: "His name is Tem'al. Have you ever heard of him?" Pausing for a brief moment, "Ok. From the murderous looks you both just gave me, I take it you do know him? Good, because that will make my job that much easier. Do I need to explain my reasonings?"

Paige stared down at the floor and whispered faintly, "…no…" Her head shot up with a sudden thought, "But how do you know? From the way you look, I'm guessing that we're somewhere around 2004? And if that's true, Piper would still be pregnant with--uh. You do know who I'm talking about right? Cause if you don't, I don't want to give anything away."

Phoebe: "Yes. We're talking about Chris. Piper and Leo's second son, yours and my nephew."

Paige: "How do you know him? A premonition?"

Phoebe: "No. He showed me."

Paige looked confused, "What? From the womb?"

Phoebe: "No. He's here. And I cast a spell a few days ago to allow me to see why he was so upset."

Paige's hand flew up against her heart as it skipped a beat, "Our Chris? He's here? Oh thank goodness. We had no idea what happened to him over the past year. We knew he wasn't dead because he wasn't with us, but we were scared to death--literally, that Wyatt had done something to him."

Piper had been quite up until this point as she stepped further away from the circle. "Don't you mean something else?" She continued over to the window and wrapped her arms around herself protectively as she turned to Phoebe, "…then you saw? You saw what those bastards did to my baby boy?"

Phoebe couldn't speak through the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. She nodded and swiped at the tears that unwillingly fell from her lashes. Forcing her lips to move, she finally spoke. "He only showed me parts of it. But I--I saw enough."

Paige squeezed her eyes shut and tried to blink away the tears that fell freely from her own eyes. She walked over to her eldest sister and wrapped her arms around her comfortingly as Piper cried into her shoulder. She reached up and stroked that back of Pipers hair as she allowed her sister to grieve for hers son's suffering.

Phoebe stood back timidly watching the scene before her and didn't want to intrude. It was obvious to her that this was a familiar routine from the way that Paige knew to comfort her sister. She knew when she decided to do this, that it was going to be difficult, but she had no idea just how difficult until today. So immersed was she in her thoughts, that she didn't hear Paige speak again.

Paige: "You would be the lucky one of all of us, Phoebe." At Phoebe's stunned look, she elaborated. "You only saw glimpses of a memory. But we were there. Through everything. We've been with him ever since we died. And when they--Well we stayed with him in the hopes that he could somehow feel our presence enough to give him the strength to survive it. That's all we could do…"

Piper looked up angrily through her tears, "I'm his mother! And I couldn't help him. I couldn't stop what they did to him. After everything that we did for this world, in the end, what FUCKING GOOD did it do us to be Charmed when I couldn't even help my own son!"

Phoebe: "Piper, I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what that's like for you. And I know you couldn't help him then, but you can help him now. I want to vanquish Tem'al and all of his twisted little friends before they ever get the chance to lay a finger on that boy's head. Will you help me?"

Piper and Paige glanced at each other with a deadly determination before nodding in affirmation.

Piper: "Did you even need to ask?"

Phoebe smiled sinisterly with her hands on her hips. "I already made the vanquishing potion. I wasn't sure if spirits still had any active powers when they become corporeal."

Paige: "Only one way to find out." She held out her hand, "Potion bottle!" When nothing happened, she cursed under her breath.

Phoebe: "Lets not throw in the towel yet. I'm sure we can make up a spell or something to borrow my Piper and Paige's powers."

Paige: "No, they'll be sitting ducks without any protection."

Phoebe: "Oh, they're sitting alright." She pointed to the ceiling, "Up there with Leo. None too happy about it either as I hear. But they're safe. Better still, they can't get into any trouble or find out what's going on down here without any powers."

Paige: "Hmm. Phoebes--plotting against your own sisters? Were you always this devious or have I just been out of the loop for too long?"

Phoebe just grinned innocently back at her baby sister.

#-₭#-₭#-₭#-₭#-₭#-₭#-₭#-₭#-₦lt;/p>

Phoebe was lighting an incense candle just after Piper and Paige recited a spell to temporarily commandeer their present selves powers.

Paige: "…don't feel any different. Piper?"

Piper: "Me neither. But like you said, only one way to find out." She turned and flicked her wrists at one of the tables. Nodding appreciatively when it exploded into tiny shards, she looked at Paige expectantly.

Paige: "Potion bottle!" She nearly rocked on her heels with excitement as the bottle materialized in her open palm. "Alright! We've got our powers. We've got the vanquishing potion. And we've got a Power of Three spell just in case. Looks like we're in business."

Phoebe: "Yeah. Only I think we need one more thing--and you're probably not going to like it, but I think it will help…"

Piper narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "What?"

Phoebe took a deep breath before mumbling, "Uh--Chris."

Piper nearly screamed her response, "WHAT! Are you telling me that you want my son to go down there and see him again? Do you have ANY idea how hard it was for him to face him the second time?"

Phoebe jumped in quickly, "Piper, just hear me out. I just think that if he is there to either be a part of it, or just witness the vanquishing, he'll feel a lot better. Especially seeing that justice was done."

Piper glared at her, "How dare you! You take a couple of Psychology classes down at the community college--which you didn't even finish by the way--and all of sudden, you're Dr. Sigmund Freud and know what's best for MY CHILD!?"

Phoebe's eyes flashed with fury at her oldest sister, "Well then maybe you've been out of the loop WAY TOO LONG, Piper. Because you can't see past your own hurt and anger to realize that he needs to be a part of this. He even told me himself that Tem'al is dead in his time, but he wished he could have seen him die."

Piper slapped her thigh angrily, "NO! I will not allow him to suffer any more than he already has."

Paige's eyes darted from one sister to the other at the angry words flying through the air. The atmosphere crackling with tension, she knew she had better intervene before things went too far. "Hey--there's no need for insults here. We need to calm down, or we're going to fail before we even begin."

Phoebe shook her head at her oldest sister's stubborn resolve, "You hate Tem'al for what he did to your son and you want to kill him! I get that! I feel it too, but what about what your son feels? What he wants? He wasn't given a choice back then. Give him one now, Piper."

Piper's anger seemed to dissipate. She pleaded with her sister exhaustedly, "You weren't there, Phoebe. You don't understand how hard it was for him to be in the same room with him--how terrified he was. It nearly broke him. How can I put him through that again?"

Paige: "Piper, I'm sorry. But I have to agree with Phoebe. I think he needs this closure. Along with a few other issues. In fact, since no one else has brought it up yet--after we vanquish Tem'al, I say we bring Leo here and kick his high-and-mighty Elder ass around a bit too."

Piper and Phoebe both chuckled at the thought of Paige laying into Leo.

Piper looked at Phoebe shyly, "I'm sorry honey. I didn't mean to lash out at you."

Phoebe reached out and gave her hand a squeeze, "I'm sorry too sweetie. I love you, you know that?"

Piper: "Yeah. Same here."

Paige: "And I love you both. So now that we've gotten all of that out of our systems, what have you decided Piper? You spent all those months pregnant with Chris and all those hours in labor with him, so I think it should be your call."

Piper bit her lip in consternation while she debated the question. Thinking about it only seemed to upset her again. She wiped the fresh tears from her face as her sisters both wrapped their arms around her for comfort.

Piper: "I guess you're right. We should let Chris decide."

"Decide what?"

So wrapped up in their own grief, none of the sisters heard Chris orb in. They all turned and stared at him at being caught unaware.

On the opposite side of the room, Chris folded his arms and eyed the three sisters suspiciously. "What's going on?"

Only the oldest sister was able to move. Piper reached out for her son and couldn't control the tears in her eyes at seeing him, being in the same room--close enough to touch him, for the first time in nearly a decade. She rushed forward to meet him but stopped abruptly when he took a few cautious steps backward.

Chris scrutinzed the dry tear tracks on all of their faces. The red, puffy, and swollen eyes. The guilty and sympathetic looks on their faces--and he knew at once. They knew. They knew what happened. Shaking his head in disbelief, he reached up and ran his hands through his hair as the anger built inside of him. "No. No. No. Nonono--DAMN IT PHOEBE! YOU SWORE TO ME!!! HOW COULD YOU! I TRUSTED YOU!"

Piper reached again for his hand and tried to calm him but he snatched his hand away.

Chris backed away from her, "DON'T TOUCH ME! JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE! ALL OF YOU!"

Phoebe: "Chris, you don't understand--please, listen to me? They're--"

Chris interrupted, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say! It'll just be more lies again! You know what--I came back to save our family. Prevent everything that's happened; even stop you from going crazy! But you know what? I don't give a damn anymore. You can stay there and rot for all I care!"

Piper tried to reach yet again for son, but he orbed out too quickly. She turned hysterically to her sisters. "We have to find him! Explain things. Paige can you orb--please tell me you can orb?"

Paige closed her eyes in concentration. A moment later, she frowned. "No! I don't know why, maybe I could only get the wiccan powers from her. Or maybe I'm just out of practice. But Damn it--I can't orb! I think we need Leo." She started to call for him, but Phoebe clasped her hand over her mouth.

Phoebe: "No, not the Leo of this time. You saw how Chris reacted when he thought you knew. He probably didn't even notice that you're not the Piper and Paige of this time. If my Leo comes down here now, he simply won't accept leaving again without finding out what is going on. What we need is your Leo. Come on, we were going to do it anyway--it'll just be sooner now."

Piper: "Ok--fine. Let's summon that good for nothing, no good, son of a…"

TBC…..

AN: Wow, this whole story is a bit longer than I had anticipated, but it will be coming to a conclusion very soon. School starts up again soon and I hope to have it finished before then.

And as always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and for the wonderful encouragement.