Coming home—chapter 7

Tentatively, Phoebe knocks on Piper's door, "Can I come in?" She gets no response, so she enters to find Piper pacing the floor. Trying to lighten the mood, "You know, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up"

Piper stops, momentarily glaring at Phoebe, then continues her pacing.

Seeing that her attempt didn't work, she presses on with the real reason for her visit, "You want to tell me what happened back there?"

Piper continues her pacing while shaking her head, "No."

Annoyed at Piper's evasiveness, she folds her arms in front of her defensively, "Ok. Well let me rephrase that—What the hell was THAT all about! What happened to the demon, and why are you down here wearing grooves into the floor instead of being upstairs searching the Book of Shadows to figure out who just IMPALED your SON!"

Angry at the accusation, Piper turned on her and fired back, "BECAUSE I KNOW WHO DID IT!" Sounding exhausted, "And it wasn't a demon". She motioned for Phoebe to shut the door.

Seeing Piper loose some of her strength, she put her arms around her older sister and guided her to the bed to sit down. She nodded at Piper silently urging her to continue.

Piper: "It was Wyatt—from the future"

Phoebe: Looking horrified, "Wyatt did this?" Piper nodded in affirmation, so she continued, "But why?"

Piper: "I don't really know. I mean he said that by doing that, Chris would be linked to the stone like Excalibur is—and that he would have to go to Wyatt whenever he called him."

Phoebe: "Ok. I guess that sort of makes sense—in a really sick and twisted way. But what doesn't make sense; is why Chris doesn't remember, and why YOU went all nuts back there with him?"

Piper: Sighing, "I don't know why he doesn't remember. But I think it has to do with why I "went all nuts with him" She paused, "Wyatt poisoned him." Her eyes watering again, "I think he's dying"

Phoebe: "Oh—Honey" hugging her tighter, "We'll find a cure"

Shaking her head, "I don't think so. Not here--Wyatt has to give him the antidote in the future. He made sure of that!" Piper jumped up from the bed and folded her arms in front of the window. Quietly, she spoke "He wants to take him back"

Phoebe: Shaking her head in disbelief, "No—Piper! You can't seriously be considering this! After what he did to him tonight, you can't trust him enough to send Chris back with him."

Piper: Spinning to face her again, "Don't you think I know that! What am I gonna do? I can't just let him die—I promised him I'd protect him..."

Phoebe stands up and takes her hands, "Piper—we'll FIND another way. He is not...going...to...die. And he is not going back either!" Phoebe wraps her arms around her for comfort.

As Piper is embraced by her sibling, her thoughts are clouded with doubt. 'I just don't know if I can take that chance.'

Golden Gate Bridge.....

Leo is staring at the water below with his hands in his pockets. Waves of sadness washed over him as he pondered tonight's events, 'She sure didn't waste anytime. I can't believe she's pregnant! How could she do this—what ever happened to that love for me that she claimed she never lost.' As Leo thought about the situation, he hears someone orbing in behind him. Assuming it was Chris, he angrily spun on his heels prepared for confrontation. Weary of this stranger, "Who are you?"

Wyatt adopted an innocent expression, "You don't recognize me? Everyone always said that I looked just like you..."

Leo: Surprised, "Wyatt?"

Wyatt: "Yeah, Dad. It's me. It's really great to see you again."

To Leo, it didn't seem that Wyatt was the evil that Chris claimed to be running from. Sounding a bit unsure, "Chris told us that..."

Interrupting him, "Wait—let me guess: That I was evil. That I had turned?"

Leo: Stammering, "Yeah."

Wyatt: Feigning innocence, "Come on, Dad. You know me better than that! I came back here to stop Chris from destroying the future. That's why he came back, but he took the spell to get here. I tried before to stop him. I sent his fiancée back to talk some sense into him and bring him back—to strip him of his powers so he wouldn't be a threat to anyone anymore, But..."

Leo: "But we screwed that up. We gave him his powers back and allowed him to escape..."

Wyatt smiled tenderly and put his hand on his father's shoulders, "Don't beat yourself up about it, Dad. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known."

Leo: Pursing his lips, "Who is he?"

Wyatt seemed taken aback by his question, "I'm sorry Dad. If you don't already know, I can't tell you. It might screw up the future in even worse ways."

Leo: "You sound exactly like someone else I THOUGHT I knew." Almost as an afterthought, "What happened tonight?"

Wyatt shaking his head sadly, "When I came to take him back, he tried to kill me. I didn't have a choice—I had to use Excalibur....And...do that...", he begins to cry "to strip him of his powers. It was the only way"

Leo saw how difficult it was for Wyatt and put his arms around him.

Wyatt: "I think he'll be ok—GOOD again once I get him back to the future without his powers. That is, IF I can get us back..."

Leo: "What do you mean?"

Wyatt: "Only Chris has the spell to get back. He's never going to give it to me willingly", sounding hopeful.

Leo: "He can be good again?" He felt sympathy for the young whitelighter who had apparently had something go so wrong in his young life, that he had turned. But at the same time, he was a bit relieved that he could stop Chris from disrupting their lives. And now that Piper was pregnant, he couldn't leave her like that to raise two children alone. Once he sent Chris back, he would have to take over the responsibility to be a father to both children. 'Somewhere down the line in the future, he'll thank me for this.' Outloud he said, "What can I do to help?"

Wyatt merely grinned angelically.

TBC...........

AN: I know, I know, I know---Cliffhangers, Argh!!! But I really do have to go to work, so I'll update again really soon—just afterwards. :)

Reviews? Anyone? How am I doing?

Coming home-Chapter 8 AN: I think it may be time to mention the disclaimer again—I don't own charmed or any of the characters. Sigh :( But, I'll do my best with em'.

I really can't stress this enough---Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!!! for all of the wonderful reviews. They really get me moving into the next chapters. :)

Chris just rolled his eyes as Paige walked out. He placed his hands on the stone and tried to orb the stone away. Nothing happened. 'Ok. That's never happened before. Here we go again.' He tried again unsuccessfully. 'Man, I must have been really sick. I'd better get Aunt Paige to get it out of here.' "Paige...."

Anxiously, Paige orbs back in, "What's the matter Chris? Are you feeling OK?"

Chris: "Yeah, I guess I feel alright. But I must have been really drained, because I can't orb this thing out of here", pointing at the stone.

Paige: "Here let me try."

He looks up at her sardonically, "and don't call for it like you usually do—it may be too heavy to catch in the palm of your hand."

Paige: She walks over to him and playfully smacks him upside his head, "Smartass..."

Chris: Grinning, "I learned it from you"

Paige puts her hand on the stone, glancing up at him before speaking, "Are you sure you want me to get rid of it?" He arched his eyebrow as if to silently say, 'what do you think'. She gets his message and grins wickedly, "OK."

She orbs it out—right from under him. Of course there's nothing there to cushion his fall, so he drops to floor. "Ouch" Rubbing his behind muttering, "you really have to be careful what you wish for in this house."

Hearing the thud, Piper and Phoebe raced into his room in a panic. Piper seemed very annoyed, while Phoebe on the other hand saw the humor in the situation. Seeing him on the floor nursing his latest "wound", she couldn't resist ribbing him, "Paige got rid of it for you, huh?" She was grinning all the while extending her hand to help him up.

As Phoebe helped him up, he doubled over in pain. All traces of humor vanishing, Piper and Phoebe raced to support him on either side and lead him to the rocking chair.

Piper: Looking on worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Chris: "I don't know. I just suddenly got a really bad pain in my stomach." Looking up at her nervously, "I thought that Leo healed me?"

Piper "he did as much as he could."

Chris: Shaking his head, "Yeah right. He probably just healed me enough so that I wouldn't blow our cover and have to go to the hospital. He's probably still pretty pissed..."

Piper: Looks to Phoebe, then back at Chris confused, "What do you mean? Why would Leo be mad at you?"

Chris: Looking down at his feet, "I don't know."

Piper doesn't believe him. She looks to Phoebe, who also thinks that he is not telling the truth. She crosses her arms in front her with a stern look, "Chris..."

Defiantly, he crosses his arms and arrogantly replies, "Piper..."

Piper: "Don't you "Piper" me. What did you do?"

Chris: "Nothing."

Piper: Raising her voice, "CHRISTOPHER PERRY HALLIWELL, You had better answer me right now mister..."

He looked up at her as that got his attention. He always knew when she was really pissed: she would call him by his FULL name. Giving in, he looked down at his feet sheepishly answering, "I uh, kind of..." he begins to trail off,

Piper: "spit it out"

Chris: "flung him across the room at P3."

Phoebe and Piper both shouted at the same time, "YOU WHAT!"

Chris shouted back defensively, "Well he was asking for it!"

Piper: "Explain!"

Chris: "I'd rather not. Let's just say that he's not too happy about me moving in here."

Phoebe tried to scold him, "Chris, that's no excuse..."

Piper now understanding why he came home upset last night, defended her son's actions, "he probably was asking for it. You know how Leo can get sometimes."

Chris looked up at his mom, glad that she was on his side.

Piper: still sounding hopeful, "Maybe he didn't heal him completely if he was angry with him. I mean, that would explain why he is still kind of weak, right?"

Phoebe jumped at this idea, "ABSOLUTELY! Now we just have to drag Leo's butt back here to finish what he started!"

Piper and Phoebe both called at the same time, "LEO!"

Golden Gate Bridge.....

Leo: "They're calling me. We should go."

Wyatt: "No, you go ahead. I don't want Chris to know you're helping me. Besides, Mom was REAL angry with me when I left. She didn't really understand why I did what I did."

Leo: "Well then, we'll just tell her...."

Wyatt: Jumps in quickly, "NO!! She won't understand, not after tonight. I had been hoping to take him back quietly, so there wold be no misunderstandings. Look, you're going to have to be real—subtle with her. Convince her that sending him back is for the best...You may even have to move back in; you know, keep an eye on him."

Leo: Breathing out deeply, "We'll see what happens. I think her "interests" lie elsewhere at the moment. So where will you be? How can I find you?"

Wyatt: "just come back here when you find something—I'll know when you're here."

Leo: "How?"

Wyatt: shyly, "Oh, it's just one of my powers. I guess it's a combination of Aunt Phoebe's empathy with your Whitelighter senses. If I can get a clear picture of you, I can find you anywhere."

Leo: understanding, "That's how you got back here tonight, isn't it? You "sensed" Chris and it brought you to him?"

Wyatt: "Bingo! But that's also why I can't get back. Chris is HERE. So this is going to be a one way trip unless I can get the spell to return home....."

Leo: "Don't worry, Son. We'll get it. And we'll fix this. Now, I'd better go. She's calling me again." With that, he orbed off to the manor leaving a smiling Wyatt alone on the bridge.

Manor......

"LEO!!! Where ARE you?"

Chris: "Mom, don't bother—I'm fine. Or at least, I will be."

Piper looks down at him in the chair, "Let me be the judge of that, OK?"

Leo orbs in, "What's the matter?" Glancing down at Chris suspiciously, he quickly catches himself and replaces the look with one of concern.

Piper: "You didn't finish healing him, Leo"

Leo: Defensively, "Yes, I did."

Piper: "Oh really!" She grabbed his hand and dragged it to Chris' forehead, "If you healed him PROPERLY, do you think that he would still be running a fever?" Chris was annoyed that Leo had his hand on him and smacked both of their hands away from him. "He doesn't even have any of his powers—he can't orb"

Chris: "HELLO! I'm still in the room. Stop talking about me like I'm not here!"

Piper: Points to Chris, "You—hush." Points to Leo, "You—heal!"

Despite Leo's continued protests that he had done it right the first time, he tried again. His face showed a look of surprise when it didn't heal any further this time.

Piper: Slapping her hands against her thighs, "Come on, Leo—you're not trying hard enough!"

Leo: Stops what he's doing and turns to her, "Piper. I'm serious. It's NOT working."

Piper grabs his arms and pulls him out of the room, "I need to talk to you."

Chris tries to object, "Piper, forget it."

She ignores him now and drags Leo to her bedroom.

Piper: Slamming the door, "Look, I know you're annoyed with him—but you have to focus OK?"

Leo: "Piper..."

Piper: "No Leo..."

Chris' room.....

Chris looked to Phoebe, "you think she's gonna tell him?"

Phoebe: "I don't know." Conspiratorially, "Let's go find out". She helps him up and they tiptoed down the hall to Piper's room. Quietly turning the doorknob to peek in, they listened to the heated argument inside.

Leo: Throwing his hands up in frustration, "I WAS trying, Piper. Like I said before, I don't know why it didn't work!!"

Piper: "He told me that the two of you got into a fight last night."

Leo: "Yeah, well did he also tell you that he threw me across the room just because I asked him a question?"

Piper: Putting her hands on her hips, "Well, with the way you've been treating him since he got here, I'd say you probably had it coming."

Leo: Raising his voice, "Well I've had good reason! Look how much trouble he has brought into this house in the short time he's been here—tonight for instance. And look at the situation he's put you in now!"

Piper: Narrowing her eyes, "Just what's that supposed to mean?"

Leo: Pointing to her stomach, "As if raising one magical child wasn't enough, now he's put you in the situation of having to raise two! This is just typical "Chris" behavior—irresponsible!"

Piper fired back, "If you want to talk about "IRRESPONSIBLE", then look in the MIRROR!!! Is that what you said to him last night?" Furious with him at this point and getting no answer, she pressed on, "You know what Leo—Now I KNOW you had it coming! I don't want to talk to you right now—because if we continue this conversation, SOMEONE'S gonna get blown up!" She flicked both her wrists at him, intending to freeze him. Instead of being frozen, he went flying backwards out of the open window. She covered her mouth with her hand, "OH!"

In shock, Piper ran to the window where Leo was just orbing himself down to safety. She called down to him, "Are you ok?" He just stared up at her in disbelief. "I'll take that as a yes. GOODNIGHT!" She slammed the window shut and closed the curtains, ending their "discussion" for now. As Piper turned around, she noticed Chris and Phoebe peeking in the door trying to control their laughter.

Phoebe: "PIPER!"

Piper: Crosses her arms defensively, "WHAT!"

Phoebe: Still laughing, "Piper, you tossed your husband out the window. Do you KNOW how many people I would LOVE to give that advice to in my column, "Dear Phoebe—My husband just did something incredibly stupid and pissed me off—What should I do....Dear Reader...Flick em' out the window!"

Piper: "EX-husband, Phoebe. And I didn't do it on purpose. I actually meant to freeze him. But he DID deserve it! Did you hear what he said to me?"

Phoebe: "yes, and I totally agree. I guess you're getting some new powers, huh?"

Chris spoke up for the first time, "Actually, they're mine. Well, not "mine" right now being as I have no powers; but baby mine."

Phoebe: Understanding, "Oh...Yeah, that's right. When you were pregnant with Wyatt, he could heal you."

Paige orbs back in and senses that something just happened, "What'd I miss?"

Everyone chorused in, "A Lot!"

TBC......

Coming home: Chapter 9

A few weeks later....

Piper is looking in on Chris while he sleeps fitfully. Phoebe walks up and wraps her arm around her. Closing his door and guiding her back out into the hall, "How's he doing?"

Piper: Sighs, "after last night, I'm not so sure. This latest seizure was a really bad one; the worst so far. He was in so much pain, and there was nothing I could do for him. I can't even get the fever down a little bit."

Phoebe: "You know he stopped eating."

Piper: "I know. He can't keep anything besides water down. And he's getting so thin." Sounding hopeful, "how's Paige coming along with the potion?"

Phoebe: Shaking her head, "I'm sorry honey, but she can't seem to find anything to counteract the poison, especially since she doesn't know what's in it."

Piper: "I summoned Grahms this morning."

Phoebe: "What did she say?"

Piper: "Nothing we haven't already tried. I don't know what else to do..."

Phoebe: "Maybe we should talk to Chris and let him know what happened."

Piper: "NO! Absolutely not! If he doesn't already remember, I don't want him to know what Wyatt did to him. It's bad enough as it is; I don't want to put him through any more pain."

Phoebe started to object but Piper silenced her with sharp words, "Phoebe, NO! He doesn't remember, and as long as I can help it—it's going to stay that way. Are we clear?"

Phoebe: In a clipped tone, "Crystal."

----------

Later that evening, Piper sat down to dinner with her sisters and Wyatt in his highchair. Everyone picked at their food in silence as a dismal atmosphere settled over the table. Piper stared absently at Chris's empty chair. Out loud to no one in particular, she spoke quitely, "He's not getting any better. In fact, he's getting worse. What am I gonna do? I can't go through this again—Not after Prue." Paige and Phoebe pushed their plate's aside and went to envelop Piper in a hug. Even baby Wyatt seemed to sense that he was needed, and orbed into her lap.

Chris' room....

As Piper walked past Chris' bedroom, she noticed him awake and staring at the ceiling. "Chris?" She bent down to feel his forehead, "You're still running a fever. How are you feeling?"

Chris: "Not so great. What's wrong with me? I still don't have my powers back yet, so I can tell you with absolute certainty that this is NOT the flu"

Piper sat down on his bed and leaned up against the wall. "I know. We've been working on ways to make you better." Smiling, "so you can get back out there and chase down some demons." Getting a smile out of him, she continued, "Have you ever been sick before?"

Chris shrugs, "I've had colds and things like that, but there was one time when I was eighteen that I was real sick." Seeing the question in her eyes, he elaborated, "Wyatt came home one day and I was passed out on the living room floor. It turned out that I has just gotten some sort of bug that had been going around." Laughing at the memory, "But he thought that one of his bodyguards had finally lost it and knocked some sense into me."

Piper: Interested, "What happened?"

Chris: "he went ballistic. When I came to—well let's just say that there were a whole new set of bodyguards in the house that night."

Piper: "You were living there? With Wyatt?"

Chris: "Yeah. I lived there up until the day I left to come back here."

Piper: "Ohhhh. I get it, "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?"

Chris: "Kind of. I know he didn't really trust me himself, but he also didn't trust a lot of his guards. They thought I couldn't be turned and wanted to kill me—but most of them were all too afraid of Wyatt to try anything."

Piper: "most..of..them?

Chris: "there were a few who tried. If I didn't kill them first, Wyatt certainly did."

Piper: "so, you weren't really afraid of him?"

Chris: "No, not for myself. No matter how mad I made him, he never did anything physically to hurt me. If I pissed him off, he would just make the people I cared about suffer. Eventually, I just stayed out of his way and stopped bringing any friends home." After he told her what happened with Danny and the others, she hugged him in silence for a while.

Piper: "I don't mean to pry or anything, but how did you meet Bianca under those circumstances."

Chris: "Well actually, Wyatt introduced us. You know she was a Phoenix right?"

Piper: "Yes."

Chris: "Well, she WORKED for him. She was his main assassin that hunted down witches who wouldn't join him. Wyatt wasn't supposed to be home for a few days, so I was sitting up in my room going through an old spell book to find something to set things right....." He begins to tell Piper the story of how he and Bianca came to be.

The future....

Chris was sitting in his room perusing the book when Bianca shimmered in. He jumped and tried to hide it, but he was too late to keep her from seeing.

Bianca: "What are you doing?"

Chris tried to play it off, "Nothing. What do you want?"

Bianca: deciding to ignore what she saw for now, "Wyatt told me to report my last assignment to you in his absence."

Chris: "Why? I don't have anything to do with his "business." Why are you bothering me?"

Bianca: Rolling her eyes, "Because Wyatt also told me to take you on my next assignment." She grabbed his arm and shimmered him to an alley.

Appearing behind a dumpster, she immediately put her finger to his lips to silence him.

Further down the alley, they heard a baby crying. He started to go to it, but she extended her arm to block his movement. An athame formed in her other hand while they crept silently toward the crying...

Huddled in the corner, a woman sat with her infant and a small child. When the woman looked up and saw them, she pushed her children behind her and stood up. "I will not join HIM."

Bianca: addressing the woman, "Carmen. I'm giving you ONE last chance to change your mind. It's not just about you this time. You're children will die right along with you."

Carmen: "I would rather have them die with me, then live like you and that evil."

Bianca: "Fine. Have it your way." She raised the athame and threw it towards Carmen.

Chris: "NO!" He flicked his wrist and diverted the knife. She shimmered over and retrieved it before turning back to them. Chris was now standing in front of Carmen and her children, "I won't let you do this..."

Bianca: "you would die for them? Complete strangers?"

Chris: "Maybe. Maybe not. But I WILL do what's right." He held his head up and stood ridged, prepared to fight to the death if necessary.

Bianca: "His guards were right to want to kill you. You'll never be turned." Bianca had long since tired of the senseless killing she performed for her latest "boss". Lowering the athame, Bianca thought about the young man in front her. 'He could be a useful ally.' Addressing the woman again, "give me your necklace."

Carmen: Suspiciously, "Why"

Bianca: "Because he'll want proof that you're dead."

Carmen removed the necklace she was wearing and handed it to Chris. He tossed it to Bianca, who placed it around her own neck.

Bianca: "Get out of here, Carmen. Permanently. If you come back here—No one will show you any mercy, least of all me."

Carmen nodded and gathered her children to disappear around the corner.

Chris smiled a knowing grin at Bianca. Annoyed with his attitude, she quickly brought the knife to his neck. "If you say ONE...WORD...of this to anyone, I will KILL you."

He didn't even flinch at her threat, "Why would I do that?" He carefully pushed the athame from his neck and lowered her hand to her side. Seeing that she didn't object, he extended his elbow to her in a gentlemanly gesture, "Shall we?"

His last thought before she took his arm and shimmered them out, 'I think I've just found myself an ally'...........

Piper smiled at the blissful expression on his face when talked about Bianca.

Chris: "After that day, we played that charade over and over again. And Wyatt was never the wiser. Eventually, we started spending more and more time together—even when he wasn't sending her on an "assignment". He thought that she was influencing me, but it was actually the other way around."

Piper: "So why did he let you have a relationship with her?"

Chris: "Because I never let him know. Somehow, he found out after I came back here—when he thought I betrayed him."

Piper: Getting at the real reason for her visit, "Do you think that after all of this, that he would still try to kill you."

Chris: unsure, "I don't think so?"

TBC..........

AN: Thank you all again for the reviews ;) fyi: Chapter 10 is coming very soon—I just have to make a few edits to it.

Coming Home—Chapter 10

Piper's room....

Leo orbs in with his hands up, "Whoa! I come in peace—don't blow me up."

Piper: still angry with him, "What do you want?"

Leo: looks down at the floor, "I just wanted to apologize for what happened the last time I was here. I shouldn't have said what I did, it was out of line."

Piper: "That's right, you shouldn't have and you WERE out of line."

Leo: "I am sorry, Piper. I know I have absolutely NO right to tell you how you should live your life—especially now that I'm not a part of it..."

Piper tries to interrupt, "Leo..."

Leo: Softly, "No, Piper. Let me finish. Please?" Nodding her head in acquiescence, he continued, "What you do—and who you do it with, is really none of my business. It's just so hard for me to see you with someone else—because I am still SO much in love with you that it hurts! I left to become a full time Elder because I thought it was for the best, but I didn't want to leave you and Wyatt. And I guess in way, I kind of thought that,...that what we shared in the ghostly plane meant that there was hope for us in the future."

Piper: Still not deciding on whether she should reveal Chris' secret, she did decide to ease his mind a bit. She took his hand and placed it across her belly, "Chris is not the father of my baby."

Leo: still disappointed and STILL not understanding, "Half fireman, huh?"

Piper let out a small laugh, "Are you sure you're an Elder? Because, I mean, aren't they supposed to come with some sort of—ENLIGHTENMENT?"

Understanding finally dawns in Leo's eyes. He's suddenly speechless. Piper laughs again, "Yes Leo. The baby I'm carrying is yours. It only takes one night."

Leo stares in awe at her stomach as he feels the baby kick. Grinning, he moves his head closer to her stomach and whispers quietly, "Hello Melinda, it's daddy." He looks back up at Piper with a confused expression when he sees her laughing heartily, "What?"

Piper: "I'm not so sure the baby will like being called 'Melinda'".

Leo: "To old fashioned? Ok. We'll think of something else." His gleeful expression becoming serious, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Piper: suddenly becoming serious as well, "Because it was hard enough for you to leave a wife and one child. Do you honestly think that you could leave a wife and TWO children? Especially, one you've never even met? If you felt that becoming an Elder was what you needed to do, than I wasn't going to make it any harder for you."

Leo: "Piper. You should have told me. And you're right, I wouldn't have left. I know I've made a lot of mistakes, but I want to be here for you and BOTH of our children. I'm not going to leave you alone..."

Piper: "but I'm not alone, Leo. I have Phoebe, and Paige, and Wyatt, and..." trailing off, her eyes water up. "And Chris—but not for much longer." Disheartened, "He's dying, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. He's getting worse and I have tried everything I can think of: The Power of Three, every spell in the Book, every potion in the Book, making up new ones for the Book. I even tried talking with Grahms. There's only one thing I can think of that might work, and I don't know if I can go through with it?"

Leo: "What's that?"

Piper turns to him sadly, "I have to send him back. Wyatt said he could heal him the future, But...."

Leo: "But what Piper? He's dying, and he's not going to get better until he gets home. This will be for the best..."

Piper: "But I'm afraid of what may happen to him when he gets there. I talked to him about his past with Wyatt. He said that he's never hurt him before—and I'd like to believe that he'd never hurt him again, but how can I be sure after what happened that night?"

Leo: defending Wyatt's actions, "Piper. You said it yourself; he's never hurt him before. There must have been a reason—a deeper meaning for what happened the night he came back." Seeing that she was still not convinced, he pressed on, "Ok, let me ask you this—did he look like he enjoyed it?"

Piper: Shaking her head, "No. Not really. He seemed angrier with me than he did with Chris. When I, "disowned" him, he actually looked hurt. And at first, he DID try to convince him to go back. But of course, Chris refused. Before Excalibur, Wyatt said he "didn't want to have to do it this way".

Leo: "There. You see, Piper. Maybe he's not as evil as Chris says he is. Chris' perceptions of "evil" could be a bit different from ours. I mean he WAS the one who wanted to vanquish a BABY simply because he was playing in Wyatt's playpen."

Piper now defending her other son's actions, "Well, technically the BABY was a DEMON. Besides, you didn't see Wyatt from the future. The callous way he threw Phoebe out of the window, he could have killed her! The coldness in eyes—was really frightening." Looking wistfully over to Wyatt playing with his blocks in the playpen, "I can't see how those beautiful, innocent eyes could become so cold". Turning back to Leo, "Maybe we can come up with a way to send him back for a short time, then bring him back after Wyatt heals him?"

Leo: Not quite relishing the idea of Chris coming back, but no longer feeling threatened by him, Leo agreed. "Ok. Maybe we can work something out. But first we have to get the spell from him. I have an idea, but it will require the Power of Three. Do you think you can convince Phoebe and Paige?"

Piper: "Yeah.

Shortly thereafter....

Piper, Paige, Phoebe, and Leo are all conversing upstairs in the attic.

Phoebe: still shaking her head, "I don't know about this guys. I think this is a really bad idea."

Piper: "Phoebe, what other options do we have? He's running out of time and we have tried everything under the sun. Besides, if we stick to the plan, we can get him back. Phoebe please...."

Phoebe: Reluctantly, "This has got to be your decision, but first think about the consequences..."

Paige: "Yeah. I mean, what if Wyatt decides that he doesn't need him anymore and kills him the moment he steps through the portal?"

Leo: sounding sure, "He won't." Seeing the questions forming in their eyes, he elaborated. "I spoke to him. He just want's to take him back where he belongs."

Piper: "What! You didn't tell us that."

Leo: Defensively crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Well, there seems to be a lot of that going around, isn't there."

Before they could be distracted with another argument, Phoebe spoke up sadly, "He's never gonna forgive us."

Piper: turning back to Phoebe, "When I know he's ok, I'll worry about that later. Right now, I'm more concerned with saving his life." Looking to everyone now, "Alright, so are we agreed on this?" Waiting for a nod from all before continuing, "then let's get to work on that spell"

Paige adds as an afterthought, "How will we get him to come?"

Leo: "I know a way."

TBC..............

Coming Home Chapter 11

Attic--Several hours later....

Piper is nervously pacing the floor biting her thumbnail. Paige tries to calm her by placing her hand gently on her shoulder. Still fidgeting, Paige pulls her over into the corner to talk.

Glancing around to make sure Leo was still on the other side of the room, Piper whisper's to her, "What kind of mother am I?"

Paige: Smiles at her, "The kind who will go through hell or high water to protect the life of her child. If it makes you feel any better, I can't think of another way out of this right now either. We'll get him back-- safely. And then we'll work on getting him to forgive us."

Phoebe calls to them, "Are we ready?" The room is eerily silent as everyone awaits Piper's nod.

Paige: "I'll go get him."

She returns moments later helping Chris into the chair by the desk. Seeing everyone fidgeting and avoiding eye contact made him nervous. He asked suspiciously, "What's going on?"

The sisters gathered around him and answered his question with a chant, "To the Power of Three; he will let us see; release his burden; to speak out loud; and chime to us—his rhyme of time."

Without thought or control, he recited the spell that exhisted only in his memory, "Hear these words, hear the rhyme, heed the hope within my mind, send me back to where I'll find, what I wish in place and time." Stunned at the words that just flowed from his mouth, he watched as Paige was now furiously writing them down. He jumped up from the chair. "What the hell did you just do?"

Piper: her eyes pooling, "I'm sorry Chris." She turns and signals to Leo to orb out.

Seconds later, two figures emerge in a swirl of blue lights.

----

Wyatt: addresses Piper, "Did you get it?"

Piper hands him the paper that Paige has just written on, "Yes." She avoids looking at Chris. Wyatt takes the paper and scribbles a few changes on it. He walks over to draw the Triquetra on the wall of the attic.

Leo: Genuinely concerned, "think of this as an "intervention", Chris. We're just trying to help."

Chris' eyes shift back and forth between everyone in the room, finally landing on Piper. "how could you do this? To me? WHY!" His eyes quickly bouncing to everyone else in the room, "All of you! How could you do this?" Glaring at Leo, "I would expect this from you!" Angrily darting back to Piper, "but not from you, of all people!"

Wyatt has just finished reciting the spell and the symbol on the wall glows brightly before opening the portal. He stalks back over to Chris and grabs him by the arm, "STOP whining and let's go."

All of the strength that drained from Chris in the past few days of his "illness" seemed to return in an instant. Shrugging out of Wyatt's grasp, he turned and threw a punch landing squarely on Wyatt's jaw—knocking him backwards.

Seeing that things were quickly getting out of hand, Leo crept up behind Chris and pinned his arms to his sides. Chris elbowed Leo in the ribs, watching with a sense of satisfaction when he dropped to the floor winded. Turning to look out for Wyatt, he saw Leo out of the corner of his eye mere seconds before he was tackled to the ground.

Phoebe and Paige couldn't stand by and watch the melee any longer and moved to intervene.

Wyatt saw them start to move and waived his arm in front of them. His blue force shield appeared in front of the sisters, cutting them off from the others.

Throwing another punch, Chris continued to fight the person pinning him to the floor, "Get off of me!"

Piper: "Leo! Stop, you're gonna hurt him", throwing her hands up, she channeled infant Chris's powers and threw him off.

Piper went over to Chris and tried to help him up. She hugged him close, even as he tried to push her away. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered—"It's only temporary. We'll get you back, I promise."

Wyatt walked back over to the portal before turning to them angrily, "Would you stop coddling him, Mother! He's not a child anymore!"

Piper fired back, "He's MY Child!...."

Chris: Looking at her in disbelief, "Am I? Because the mother I knew would NEVER have betrayed me like this. First he turned my fiancée; and now—my OWN family against me!"

Piper: Quietly so that Wyatt couldn't hear her, "Chris, Please—you have to listen to me..."

Chris: Disgustedly, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

Wyatt said calmly, "let him go. We're leaving, Christopher."

Leo stood up as his eyes darted between Piper and Chris during the whole conversation. His jaw dropped when he heard Piper refer to him as her child.

As if he felt eyes burning into the back of his head, Chris turned and glared at Leo.

Breath refusing to leave his body, Leo saw it. For the first time—he actually saw his own eyes staring back at him. 'O...h. He has my eyes—He has Piper's features, but he has MY EYES!'

Falling to his knees, "What have I done?"

Wyatt looked at Chris across the room before extending his hand in his direction. "Christopher—Come. Now."

Chris didn't understand why he felt a strong pulling in his mind. Nor did he understand why his legs moved of their own accord to stand next to Wyatt. 'I guess it makes sense. If my own family can betray me, then why can't my body.' He watched with disinterest as Wyatt grabbed his forearm and prepared himself for return.

Piper stretched out her arm, "Wyatt..."

Narrowing his eyes, Wyatt turned back to her, "He would already be dead if I wanted him that way. I said I would heal him and I will."

Chris looked back over his shoulder one last time. A lone tear rolled down his cheek as his legs unwillingly carried him into the future with Wyatt.

-----

Future....

Travelling through time seemed to wreak havoc on Chris' already weakened body. As he emerged from the portal wrapping his arms around himself, he fell to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. Barely focussing, he looked accusatorily at Wyatt who kneeled down next to him, "You did this!" Chris tried his best to lunge for him, but failed as another wave of blinding agony washed over him. He fell to the floor writhing in pain, trying desperately to pull much needed oxygen into his lungs. Chris' vision grew darker as he started to convulse violently.

He never felt Wyatt pull him into his lap as consciousness slowly ebbed from his body.

Watching his brother slip away, Wyatt looked around the room and shouted angrily, "WHERE'S SIZHEN?"

Immediately, a cloaked figure materialized in front of him and bowed. "Here, Master."

Wyatt: "DO IT NOW!"

As Wyatt fought to restrain him, Sizhen bent down and injected a reddish- colored liquid into Chris' neck. His body relaxed almost instantaneously before slipping into unconsciousness.

Wyatt laid him on the floor and stood up. Addressing his guard, "I'm going to my room. Wake me when it's time for his next dose." He turned to exit the room when he was called back.

Sizhen: "What should I do with him for now, Master?"

Wyatt: Looking over at Chris, "Take him to the lower level." Then he added with disdain, "Put him in with Her."

Sizhen merely bowed and waited for Wyatt to leave before taking action. Cursing under his breath, he bent down and picked Chris up in a fireman's carry before shimmering downstairs.

Though he could have shimmered directly into the cell, Sizhen instead decided to display his charge to all the resistance members he passed in the cells—as if to show them that their last hope had failed.

One by one, a host of formerly strong and powerful creatures left the cowering of the shadows and swarmed against the bars. With all eyes locking with Sizhen's in despair, his footsteps were all that could be heard echoing on the cold-hard concrete as he passed.

As Sizhen reached his destination, he shimmered through bars; eyes searching the shadows for Her. He wrinkled his nose at the putrid smell inside before he noticed a slight movement in the corner. "I've got a present for you. Complements of Master Wyatt." With that, he lifted Chris over his head and threw his limp form in her direction, not particularly caring where or how he landed. He waited for a moment to see how she would react before leaving. When she didn't move, he turned on his heels and shimmered out.

She crawled out of the shadows to see who had been placed with her. Tentatively, she reached out her hand to turn him over and get a look at his face. She gasped when she recognized it. "Chris?"

TBC.......

I love reviews. I feed off of them. Keep em' comin, Please!!!!

Coming Home-Chapter 12 AN: Thank you...Thank you...Thank you...The reviews, Oh! I'm just so ecstatic. And don't worry, more questions should be answered with this chapter---or is that more questions posed? Anyway, on with the story.

Past....

No sooner had the portal closed; the force shield had dropped and released Paige and Phoebe.

Leo was resting on his knees, tears streaming down his face. Overcome with grief, he was still staring at the wall where the portal had been while murmuring repeatedly, "what have I done."

At seeing his reaction, Piper walked over to Leo. She kneeled down and put her arms around him. She called his name gently to break him out of it, "Leo."

Phoebe and Paige walked over to them.

Phoebe: addressing Leo, "How long should we wait?" She waived her hand in front of his eyes. Getting no response, she threw her hands up in frustration and addressed Piper instead, "Will you get him to snap out of it! He knows more about this time travel thing and how long it'll take before we can go after Chris." At Piper's nod, "We're going to go over to Sheila's and get Wyatt. We'll be downstairs when you need us."

Paige turns to Phoebe as they walk out before shutting the door, "You were saying something about knee pads?"

Phoebe: "not now Paige...."

Piper now clearly frustrated with not being able to get his attention, "Leo, you're gonna have to have your breakdown standing up because I am VERY pregnant right now and CAN NOT be crawling around like this." She stood up and pulled his arm, forcing him to stand as well.

This seemed to break him out of his trance a bit. He turned to her with shoulder's sagging, "how could I have not seen it?"

She led him over to the bench to sit down before answering, "Leo, none of us saw it. If Phoebe hadn't had that premonition, WE probably still wouldn't know either."

Leo jumped up and paced the floor. "But I should have seen SOMETHING! How many times have I looked into his eyes---MY...EYES...PIPER---and been too angry with him to see what's been right in front of my face all along...."

Piper: "Leo..."

Still ranting, "and all of this time---he's been telling us the truth." Through clenched teeth, "And I sent him back with that conniving little bastard..."

Piper: "No arguments there. But we ALL sent him back, Leo. And we did it to cure him."

Leo: Sounding defeated, "That look in his eyes; No wonder he hates me. If I was this kind of father to him in the future, he has every right to. He has every right to hate me now. What am I gonna do?"

Piper: On her feet now and sounding every bit the determined leader, "I'll tell you what you're gonna do-----You're gonna STOP with the guilt trip; You're gonna HELP us get our son back; and then you're gonna WORK on fixing your relationship with him. Got it?"

Leo: "Yeah."

Piper: walks up to him and links her arm around his, "Now orb me downstairs. We've got work to do."

Future....

She shook him to wake him up, "Chris! You have to wake up before he comes down here! Chris..."

Moaning and beginning to come to, he mutters. "Leave me alone, I said I'd take out the trash later..."

She shook him harder this time, "CHRISTOPHER! WAKE UP." Frustrated, she decided to try another method, 'This always annoys him enough to wake up', "Chrissy..."

Opening his bleary eyes, he can't quite focus in on the features, but he can see the feminine figure and flowing hair. "Bianca?"

"No. But she IS here. I've seen her. It's me, Chris."

Now clearly focussing, his eyes widen in shock when he sees her. "Lynny?"

Nodding her head, "Yeah. Welcome home."

Chris sat up quickly and hugged her tightly. Kissing the top of her head, "I saw him kill you. I SAW you die!" She mumbled a reply into his chest. He released her and held her at arms length, "What?"

Lynny: smiling, "I said I can't breath."

Chris: grinning sheepishly, "Sorry." Hugging her again, "What happened?"

Lynny: "He healed me. Right after you orbed out. I don't remember much else, except that I woke up down here—and have been ever since"

Chris looked around for the first time since waking, "This must be the "lower level". I've never been down here before."

Lynny: "Well you're not gonna want to be down here now."

Before he could question her response, Wyatt orbs in and leans against the wall crossing his arms, "Isn't this a quaint little reunion."

Chris: Angrily, "What the hell do you want?"

Wyatt: Nonchalantly, "Nothing really. I just came to see how my two favorite people in the world were doing?"

Chris: Confidently, he replied "favorite huh? Is that why you healed her. You just couldn't bring yourself to kill your baby sister. Just like you couldn't kill me."

He pushes himself off the wall and walks over to Chris. Quitely, "Don't be so sure. Besides, Melinda's not my sister."

Chris arches his eyebrows and utters sarcastically, "did you happen to grow up in the same house that I did?"

Wyatt: Laughing, "Yessss. But apparently....I was the only one paying attention." Enjoying the confused expressions on both of their faces, he replied cryptically, "Piper Haliwell only bore two children. Two MALE children."

Chris shaking his head in disbelief, "No. That's impossible. Besides the fact that all THREE of us grew up together and called Piper "mom", I read the Corellian Prophesy. It talked about THREE children born of the middle charmed one. And that's...MOM. And that's...US."

Wyatt sighed intending to provoke him further, "This is why I told you to stay in school, Christopher. You don't read very well."

Chris started for Wyatt, but Lynny put her hand on his arm restraining him.

Grinning at the reaction from Chris, he held both of his hands out in front of him and closed his eyes. An old, fragile looking scroll appeared in his empty hands. He carefully unrolled it and scanned for the section he was looking for. Letting out a deep breath, he smiled at both of them and began to read aloud, "Ah, here it is---.....And from the middle childs, there shall spring forth a triad most powerful—Two blessed males, and one blessed female." He handed them the scroll and pointed to the section he had just read. Smiling, and seeing that they still didn't understand, he questioned them, "Did you think that they made "typo's" in ancient times? The scroll says "childs". Plural."

Melinda and Chris seem to come to the same conclusion simultaneously. They look to one another before answering Wyatt.

Chris: "Prudence, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige--...and from the middle childs. Piper and Phoebe. Phoebe is...."

Lynny finished his sentence, "My mother." She looks distraught at finding out the truth of her parentage. Chris tries to comfort her by putting his arm around her.

Wyatt: Still enjoying the moment, "You've never wondered why she couldn't orb with us?"

Chris: looking down at her, "You'll always be my sister."

A very satisfied look on his face, Wyatt address both of them, "Mom put a spell on both of you to wipe your memories after Aunt Phoebe died."

Chris: "Why would she let YOU keep your memories?"

Wyatt: Happily gloats, "Because if anything ever happened to mom and dad, SOMEONE had to be able to break her little heart---I mean, tell her the truth." He glares at her with disdain, "the little whelp couldn't handle not having her "mommy" around anymore, so OUR mother decided to take her place."

Chris: Catching Wyatt's attitude, he smirked, "Are you jealous of her?" Wyatt's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, so he continued to goad him, "You are, aren't you? Are you jealous of me too? We both had her attention; her love; and ALL you had was LEO?"

Wyatt roared in anger and waived his arm to send Chris flying into the wall. He had the wind knocked out of him, but he still let out a half- cough, half-laugh to provoke him further.

Fire in his eyes, he advanced on Chris, but Lynny blocked his path with her palms to his chest. Towering over her, he looked down into her eyes silently pleading with him. He calmed down a bit before shoving her down to the floor. He stalked over to Chris and pulled him up by the front of his shirt. Slamming him against the wall, he withdrew the needle in his pocket and jabbed it into his neck, emptying it's contents. He tossed him into the corner before walking back over to Lynny attempting to stand.

She tried to back away, but he was too quick and grabbed her by the waist. He withdrew another syringe and emptied it's contents into her neck as well. Letting her fall to the floor, he orbed out.

Chris and Lynny both touched their necks at the injection sites. He asked her nervously, "What was that?"

Shaking her head, "I don't know..."

TBC........

AN: O...K, what do ya think? Reviews? Anybody? Keeps me going..... ;)