One More Time - Chapter 3

by shjohnso.

Summary: Future Chris risked his life to save his brother from a fate worse than death—evil. But did it work? Or will he have to do it all over again? This is my take on the events that followed his birth.

Rated PG

Disclaimer—I don't own charmed, or any of the characters from the show, so don't sue me because I get no money from this.

Brushing her hand over his gently, Piper suggested, "Leo, why don't you go over and get the boys from Sheila, then we'll work out a plan to fix this."

Chris held up is his palm, "Wait, you still didn't tell me why you think Dad is human again?"

"The other Elders stripped his powers when he killed Gideon." Paige answered simply.

Chris spun around quickly to face Leo, "You killed him? Why?"

Leo stared at the wall with a hardened glared before he replied, "Because he killed my son. And I would gladly do it again."

Chris looked a little stunned, but smiled hesitantly, "Thanks Dad."

Piper grumbled at her husband, "You could have left something for me." Turning to Chris, "They wouldn't let me use the time spell to have my shot at Gideon."

Phoebe saw that her eldest sister was getting angry, as this was still a sore spot for her. "Easy, Piper. Think happy thoughts. And the happiest one of all is that now--you've got him back!"

Piper gave her smile that didn't really touch her eyes.

Phoebe clapped her hands together to ease the tension hovering in the air, "Ok. Back to Leo's power--or lack thereof. The Elders made him human again, Chris. He can't orb. He can't heal (and they refuse to give us another whitelighter who can by the way). And he can't hear us when we call." Pulling out her cell phone, "Unless of course we call him on this neat little invention."

Chris shook his head, "No, that's not possible. When I went back to the future, I clearly remember Dad orbing and healing. And besides, he couldn't have taught me how to heal if he hadn't been a Whitelighter."

"Do you think it's possible for him to get them back?"

"I don't think Dad can loose them. Sure, he can get demoted from an Elder back to a Whitelighter; but loose them altogether--I don't think so. I mean, it's in his DNA."

Piper huffed in frustration, "You're not making any sense."

Chris turned to Leo, "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but when you become a full Whitelighter, you have to die and be brought back as one. Right?"

Leo nodded, but was still obviously confused where his son was going, "Yeah."

"Well, in order to do that, they have to add, whatever it is that makes a Whitelighter, to the DNA…" He looked around waiting for everyone to catch on to what he was saying.

Paige snickered to Phoebe, "Hmm. I think I know where he got the name "Perry" from. He thinks he's Perry Mason…"

Chris just rolled his eyes as the three sisters shared a laugh at his expense.

Leo snapped his fingers as it dawned on him what his son was saying, "But he's right! I can't believe we didn't think of it before…"

Piper cocked her head to the side and tapped her foot, "Uh, We?"

Leo let out a small laugh to avoid agitating her further, "Uh, I mean, ME. "I" should have thought of it before. But he's right. And once you alter the DNA, it can't go back to what it once was! That's how he and Paige are half-whitelighter! It's in their DNA!"

Paige's eyes widened as she too caught on, "so it's still in Leo, right? They must have just bound his powers somehow!"

Phoebe's wheels started spinning with the thought, "Then perhaps the Power of Three can unbind them." She looked to her sisters for agreement.

Paige shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Leo pointed upwards, "Even if it works, They're still not going to let me back up there."

Paige slapped his back, "That's ok. You can just be a rebel like the rest of us Halliwells."

Leo grinned, "I think I can live with that."

Piper nodded, hoping to cement the idea in his head. "Well that's good. Because as hectic as our lives are, my children need both of their parents to give them some stability."

Leo walked over and took both of her hands. He gazed into her eyes and pronounced sincerely, "I know that now, Piper. I love you and our children so much. These last few months of being together--as a family, have meant so much to me. And I couldn't bear to be apart from it ever again." He took his thumb and wiped a tear from her cheek before he leaned in and kissed her passionately.

Chris turned away and pinched the bridge of his nose, while Paige turned and pretended to study her fingernails. Phoebe on the other hand, stared at the couple and scrunched her face up excitedly, "Awwwe. Look at the little love birds…."

Paige grabbed the reluctant Empath and turned her to face the opposite wall.

Several long moments later, Chris looked back again and elbowed Paige as he whispered, "They're still at it…"

Paige turned around to face them as she cleared her throat several times. "Eh em. EH EM. Ok. I get it, you don't do subtle. GET A ROOM, YOU TWO!"

Piper and Leo broke off looking very embarrassed and flushed.

Leo shifted a bit uncomfortably, "Uh, Piper--Why don't you go and get the boys?"

His comment sparked a bit of curiosity in her. "Why? What are you going to do?"

Leo let out a whistle and walked past them toward the door, "I'm going to go take a shower."

Chris chuckled, "Yeah, a cold one, I bet."

Paige feigned a cough to cover up her laugh when Piper glared at him.

"Paige, Phoebe--work on that spell to get Leo's powers back. Chris, why don't you come with me to get the boys? I'm sure Sheila will love seeing her godson again." Then she added to as payback for laughing at them, "Without having to change his messy diaper."

Chris threw his palm up to cover his face.

Satisfied that Chris was sufficiently embarrassed, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the door, "Come on, you."

Walking up to the house, Piper pushed Chris aside. "Wait here in the bushes until I say it's ok. Darryl said he dropped the charges after, you know, but I don't want him to change his mind. I'm pretty sure it's safe since he's supposed to be out of town on some convention. But just wait for my signal, ok?" Chris nodded as she rang the doorbell. "Hi…How are my two little angels?"

Sheila gave her a hug, "Hi yourself. Oh, they're fine. Only you're oldest "angel" hasn't quite been an angel lately."

"What do you mean? Where is he?"

"He's upstairs "watching" Chris. Come in, I'll explain. Don't worry, Darryl's in Chicago for a seminar this week--so he won't be grunting around the house while we talk this time."

"Ok, but before I do--I was wondering. How do you feel about your new little godson?"

Sheila looked perplexed, "What do you mean? I adore the little guy…"

Piper tried to feel out her mood without an outright explanation. "Well, how would you feel if he--I don't know--suddenly started talking or something?"

Sheila laughed heartily. "Then I'd say he's a very smart little boy since he's only 7 months old."

"But, you wouldn't have a problem with it? Or mention it to Darryl?"

Sheila tilted her head suspiciously, "With your family? No. Come to think of it--it wouldn't be too odd either. Now come in here."

Satisfied with her answers, Piper hesitated before entering. "Ok. Mind if I bring a friend?"

Sheila smiled and looked past Piper to see who she was referring to, "Sure. Where are they?"

Chris popped his head up from the bushes, "Right here, Aunt Sheila."

Sheila's eyes widened as she bounded down the steps and enveloped him in a hug. She turned quickly and grabbed both of their hands to lead them into the house. "I can't believe that you are that sweet little baby upstairs in the playpen."

Chris took mock offence, "Why is that?"

Sheila teased, "Because you're so mischievous."

Chris grinned, "So is he. You just don't know it yet."

Sheila seemed to remember something, "But Darryl told me that you…"

Chris knew that she was referring to his death, "Yeah. I did. But apparently, some of us Halliwell's don't stay that way."

Piper immediately headed for the kitchen. "How about I make some tea. I know where everything is. We've got a lot to talk about...

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Piper was pouring more tea for Sheila, who looked more than a little bit disturbed at their narrative. "So nothing changed?"

Chris sat up on the kitchen counter and shook his head sadly, "Not really. Except, I did learn how to heal this time around."

Sheila pointed her finger and scolded him, "Hey! Get off of there! We have chairs for that, you know!"

Chris almost tripped jumping down. He grabbed one of the chairs and grinned sheepishly as Sheila continued to watch him like a hawk.

Piper smirked, "Wow! She sure told you, didn't she?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time. I can't even count how many times Aunt Sheila fussed at me for that or something along those lines."

Sheila cocked her head to the side, "Was I always your Godmother?"

"Yep," Chris answered proudly. "In both timelines, as a matter of fact. And Darryl has always been my Godfather. I know he wanted to arrest me--but he'll get over it. He always does."

Piper shifted the topic again. "So, back to Wyatt. What did you mean earlier?"

Sheila leaned in conspiratorially, "Well, for one thing, he's been acting strange all day. And just about every other time I have both him and the baby, for that matter."

Chris' eyes widened nervously, "Strange how?"

"He won't go near the baby. He just stands on the opposite side of the room and glares at him--I mean you."

"Just say the baby. It's confusing enough as it is. You can just call me Chris."

"You don't think he would hurt him do you?"

"Oh no, no. I don't get that feeling at all from him, or else I wouldn't have left Robbie watching them by himself. He just does little "not so nice" things to baby Chris."

"I'm his mother, and I've never seen him do anything. Like what?"

"Like when Leo brought him over, and I am sorry Chris--but the baby had a messy diaper and I had to change it. But as soon as I got him cleaned up in a fresh one, Wyatt orbed him right back into his dirty diaper. And let me tell you that even though only seven months old, he has a set of lungs on him…."

Piper nodded, "Umm hmm. I know about that scream. The first time I heard it myself, I thought Phoebe had turned back into a Banshee."

"And overall, he just seems to be more irritable. He won't let me hug him, or pick him up, or anything else that he used to like me doing. I sat down to fix him lunch, and he wouldn't touch it. He just glared at it like he thought it was poison or something. And I fixed his favorite, so I know that wasn't it."

Piper sounded hopeful, "Maybe he was just in a bad mood?"

Chris scoffed, "Yeah--one that lasts for the next 23 years."

"But you won't believe what happened next. I left him alone for a bit to see if he was just uncomfortable eating with me here, and he orbed the food into the trash. Then he climbed down, orbed over to the cabinet, and started eating the peanut but straight from the jar. I just left him to eat it since he seemed to be hungry and he wouldn't touch anything I gave him."

Piper scrunched up her face in mock anger, "Then he's probably a mess right now."

Sheila shook her head in astonishment, "No. When I came back--true, he was covered from head to toe in peanut butter. But when I went to pick him up & told him that he was going to have to get a bath--he orbed himself into the shower and shut the door. He came back out clean, though."

Chris sighed, "You see? It's starting already. He doesn't trust anyone to take care of him anymore. And that's because of me."

Sheila patted his back, "It's not your fault, Chris. We'll just have to find a way to gain his trust back. And then maybe he won't give up."

He was just about to respond when they all heard a blood curdling scream from upstairs. His face drained of all color as he whispered, "…Wyatt…"

Piper shared the reaction, "…Chris…"

Sheila looked terror stricken, "…Robbie…"

In a panic, he grabbed both of their hands and orbed them to the upper level, unsure of what they'd find.

TBC...