Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry it's taken so very long. Here's your belated Christmas present. Maybe by New Year's I'll have the final chapter up. And then the epilogue, which is already half written. I'm thinking of writing a sequel set in Camelot, what do you guys think? You'll probably know better after reading the epilogue. Thank you for your awesome support! This is the first story I've ever had even approach 100, let alone break it!
Without further delay…
"I thought Elders were supposed to be able to control their White Lighters!" Piper fumed to her former husband.
"Because they did such a good job controlling me?!" Leo retorted sarcastically. "We can tell them what to do, but we can't make them do it."
"Unless you decide to make them Elders, and then you have complete control..." Piper shook her head and turned away from Leo, throwing her hands in the air. A nearby potted plant exploded.
All five sets of eyes swung to the destroyed pot.
"Gosh, Mom... What'd the plant ever do to you?" Chris piped in.
Pausing a moment to pass a hurt look between Leo and her younger son, Piper stormed up the stairs.
Now everyone turned to glare at Chris. "What?! What did I say?"
There was no response.
"The Mom thing?" he tried again.
"Chris, go back Up. I'll talk to you later."
"But Dad!"
"Now."
"What about Jordan and Wyatt?"
"We'll just have to see what happens..."
Just then, orbs swirled into the Manor again.
"He knows," the newcomer said, throwing back the hood of his white robes. "He's drawn the sword. Everything is happening ahead of schedule."
"So what does this mean?" Phoebe cast into the conversation.
"He's altered the future we've all seen. No one knows what's going to happen," the stranger said.
"What does this mean for him?" Paige asked, leaning the conversation towards the fate of her nephew and not the rest of the world.
"No one knows!" the stranger cried, sounding a bit over-stressed.
"Calm down, Elias," Chris sighed in exasperation.
"What does this mean for them? And where are they?" Phoebe hit the heart of the matter.
As if to answer her latter question, Wyatt and Jordan orbed back in, hand in hand. In Wyatt's other hand was Excalibur.
"Whoa! It is just as cool as it looks in the books," Chris cried. His aunts and father silenced him with three equally icy stares.
"Jordan…" Leo began to lecture, obviously more comfortable reprimanding the White Lighter than his eldest son.
"Dad, no," Wyatt interrupted. "You said yourself that she knows me better than anyone else. I think she, of all people, is the one who could know when I was ready for this knowledge. I understand why Mom never told me about Camelot, and Jordan explained all of the consequences of drawing the sword. This is my destiny, and I'm ready to accept it."
No one said anything for a few moments, the shocking turn of events settling into their minds.
"What now?" was finally asked.
Everyone turned to the stairs, where the question came from. Piper was leaning on the railing, eyes on her eldest son. She had lost her little boy, she could see that in the way he stood, the two most important parts of his life now held in his hands. She met his blue eyes and saw the hard determination and the mature compassion. Only eight hours ago she had stood with him in that very living room, snapping pictures, embarrassing him, and sharing playful laughs. He'd left her as a boy and come back a man.
Elias, the White Lighter, cleared his throat. "Well, now he's the King of Camelot… a kingdom that does not yet exist. I don't believe, however, that demons should be a problem once word of the sword is spread. The Elders will want to speak with him."
"Not yet," Jordan interjected. "We're all exhausted now; we can deal with the Elders and all that business in the morning."
"Great idea, Jay," Chris grinned, "No offense, but you look like hell."
"Thanks, hon," she rolled her eyes, leaning over to ruffle his hair. It was true, though, the night's events had taken their toll on her. Her green eyes were rimmed in red and shadowed by dark circles. Her dark hair, once immaculately curled in ringlets now fell a bit limp and in every direction.
He beamed under her care and smoothed his hair back down when she was done.
"He's kinda right, Jordan," Wyatt agreed gently, squeezing her hand.
"So now you boys are double-teaming me?" she smiled between the brothers. "I'll get some rest if you two do. And if a certain someone in gold agrees to let Chris stay on Earth for a bit to get to know his family. As should have been done a while ago." Her gaze first leveled reproachfully on Leo and then turned to Piper. She nodded gently at the older woman, looking for her approval.
"We have an extra bed he's welcome to," Piper offered.
Her sisters smiled.
"It's settled then," Phoebe jumped in before Leo could refuse, taking Chris by the shoulders and shuttling him upstairs. "I'm sure Wyatt has a change of clothes for you and we've got an extra toothbrush stashed somewhere."
They paused on the stairs when they got to Piper, mother and son locking blue and brown eyes. Tears threatened her composure and she pulled him into a quick hug.
"I've missed you so much," she whispered into his shoulder.
"You, too, Mom," Chris replied, throat thick with emotion as well.
"We'll talk in the morning, okay?" Piper asked, pulling back.
"I'd like that. 'Night, Mom." He let go of her and called over. "'Night, Dad, bro." He paused to grin wider. "Jordan."
"Get some sleep, you little imp," she chuckled at his outrageous, nonsensical flirtation.
"You should take your own advice," Wyatt told her, letting go of her hand and resting his hand on the small of her back. "Mom, Jordan can have my room. I'll take the couch in the attic."
"Wy…" Jordan tried to protest. "I've slept on that couch before… I don't mind."
"Nope. You're the one who had an arrow lodged in her, remember? You get the bed, I get the couch." He kissed her cheek tenderly. "Go get some rest, please."
She met his eyes and sighed. "Fine. I want to go with you in the morning to talk to the Elders."
"I wasn't planning to go without you," he assured her, gently pushing her towards the stairs. "Sweet dreams."
"You're going to bed now, too, right?" she questioned before acquiescing.
"In a minute."
"Okay, 'night." She leaned in to give him a quick kiss.
"I'll help you get settled, Jordan," Paige offered. "I'm sure Wyatt's sheets are just disgusting; I'll get some fresh ones from the closet."
The two retraced Phoebe's and Chris's steps to the second floor.
"Elias, why don't you go tell the Elders about the plans?" Leo half-suggested, half-ordered.
"Yes, sir. Good night, Your Highness," the White Lighter bowed in Wyatt's direction.
A bit uncomfortable, Wyatt nodded slightly in his direction. Elias orbed out.
Now Leo was still standing behind the couch, Piper was still perched on the stairs, and Wyatt stood between them. He sighed and switched Excalibur to his other hand. Looking back and forth between his mother and father, he took a deep breath and began:
"Like Jordan said, it's been a rough night. Mom, you should definitely get some sleep." His voice was especially gentle as he addressed his mother.
"Your mother and I have some stuff to discuss, Wyatt."
"We all do. No one is up to it right now."
"I think we'll manage, sweetie," Piper assured him. "Run up to bed; the extra blankets are in the linen closet."
Wyatt looked to his mother as if to ask "Are you sure?" but nodded slowly when he saw she was stubbornly set on having this conversation that night.
"One question… What am I supposed to do with this while I sleep?" He lifted Excalibur as he referenced it.
"Just keep it near you. Eventually you'll just know what do with it and when. You knew when you were barely a year old, so it'll come back," Leo answered.
Wyatt nodded and started up the stairs, pausing to kiss his mother's cheek. "'Night, Mom. Love you."
"I love you, too, Wyatt," Piper promised, giving his arm a gentle squeeze.
"After I talk to the Elders in the morning, I think you, Chris, and I should have lunch."
"I like that idea."
Wyatt smiled gently and ran the rest of the way up the stairs.
Once he was gone, Leo spoke up. "The rest of the Elders aren't going to be too happy about this whole affair."
"I don't think you guys have the kind of power to be unhappy about it anymore, Leo. Now you're going to have to listen to your son. I've done my research about the Arthurian legend; Wyatt is basically all-powerful in the world of good magic and all-feared in the world of evil."
Leo winced at the harshness in her words, but couldn't keep the rebellious thoughts of how beautiful she still was from invading his mind.
"Things are certainly going to change," was the only lame answer he could offer. He had missed her so much and he hated bringing this much hurt and anger to her with his return. She still stirred something so deep inside of him and so basic to his life, but he was fairly sure he had already lost her forever.
"You've always said that. I want Chris to stay here from now on."
"Piper, that wasn't in the agreement."
"I never liked the agreement!" she cried, almost shaking with her anger. "He's my son, Leo! I've lived every day without him for fourteen years; I don't want to live another." She couldn't bear that thought and shuddered at it.
"He's my son, too! And I've spent just as long without Wyatt, and now he hates me! I told Chris everything about you, let him watch over you, make sure you were okay. You barely told Wyatt anything about me. He thinks I abandoned him!"
"You did, Leo! You abandoned us," she accused, willing herself not to cry. No matter how much she still needed him in her life, she would not, could not let him shirk responsibility in this matter.
"It's not like I wanted to, Piper! I did everything I could to stay with you, but I didn't have a choice in the matter."
"There's always a choice. Free will, remember?" She managed a smile thick with sarcasm at that.
"I'm an Elder, Piper."
"You're the father of those two boys, Leo. If you didn't owe anything to me, if that meant nothing to you, then what about them? Didn't they deserve to grow up together, with two parents?"
You could never mean nothing to me, he thought, but instead answered, "Yes. Just like you deserved to grow up with your mother and father. But sometimes circumstances change things."
"People change things. You changed things."
"They changed things!" he pointed to the sky. He hadn't gotten this emotional, this angry in years, not even when Chris pulled his numerous pranks.
"We were in love, Leo! We had a family! You should've done everything you could to fight for that. I was more than willing."
"We spent so many years fighting…" Leo sighed, defeated. He leaned against the couch. "I didn't know how I could fight Them for our family and still keep our family together."
Piper scrubbed hands over her face. "I'm going to bed." She turned to go upstairs.
"I never stopped loving you, Piper," he called as she started the climb.
She paused and looked him straight in the eyes. He could see her internal struggle, and perhaps, somewhere deep inside, her love for him. "After all the nights I've cried for you, I'm not sure if that makes all of this better or worse. It's not a matter of loving anymore, Leo. It hasn't been for a while. It's about what we're all willing to do for love. And I have a feeling you are going to be learning a few things from your son in the next few days about how to do whatever it takes for love." She took a deep breath. "Goodnight, Leo."
Piper sank slowly to the ground as she shut herself in her room, her back sliding down the cold door as she pulled her legs up to her chest.
I'm getting too old for all of this, she inwardly sighed, head resting on knees. The whole situation was painfully familiar: the forbidden love, the costly secret, and the circumstances of revelation. All she could think of as Wyatt had laid Jordan on the couch was her own love all of those years ago, as he lay dying on the couch her son now slept on. It was that event that revealed to her the extent of her love. She was sure it had been a similar experience for Wyatt.
Jordan and Wyatt, though, from now on, were going to have a completely different set of difficulties to overcome. Their love, she was sure, was no longer going to be forbidden. Wyatt would make the Elders see his way about that. No, they wouldn't have to fight for the right to be together. They would only have to fight to stay together. They were going to have to build a new world together, and, hopefully, finish high school.
She did, however, worry for her younger son. God, how she'd missed him. She'd recognized him immediately, had sat in shock as he'd healed Jordan. He was beautiful, her baby boy. Her mind flashed back to the dreams she'd had when the boys were young, when they were all together. She had then, in her false security, allowed herself to dream about what their lives would be like at this point. She'd imagined serving breakfast to the three starving men in her life instead of just to one. She'd imagined mediating fights about video games, privacy, and phone time and she'd imagined spending quiet Sunday mornings with just the four of them, watching a movie (probably an action movie, considering she would have been hopelessly outvoted on a chick flick) or talking to the boys about their upcoming weeks. Back then, she had allowed herself to believe she would fall asleep every night in her husband's arms, only to wake up beside him and send the boys off to school, worrying over whether or not they would successfully navigate the scary world out there to return safely to her at the end of the day.
None of that had happened.
She was happy with Wyatt, but Chris had always been missing. And Leo.
She hated admitting it to herself, but she still loved him, still needed him. But as she'd said earlier, that wasn't what it was about anymore. From the beginning, she was always willing to do whatever it took to keep them together. This time, she would not count on her husband wanting to fight as hard as she did. This time, she was keeping both of her boys with her for as long as possible. If Leo wanted to be a part of their lives, that was his decision.
Next time… the next morning and final conversations…