Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. The real world in the shape of school kept intruding… plus I new stories keep demanding attention.
Anywho, I hope you all enjoy.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
There was no time to react to the horrors they'd just seen.
Chris was sick, really sick.
He was practically unconscious; Piper and Phoebe were supporting nearly all his weight.
"LEO!" Piper screamed as they all staggered to the living room.
He appeared almost instantly.
Piper blinked a little, "That may be the fastest you've ever-"
"What happened?" he asked, his eyes glued to Chris.
"See if you can heal him a little," Phoebe said as she and Piper lowered him to the sofa.
"He's burning up," Paige added, smoothing back his hair.
Leo nodded, kneeling down next to his son. Chris's eyes were completely closed, his breathing erratic and his jaw clenched.
Leo held his hands over the boy. As before the glow didn't appear, he focused more as he had done earlier. It took longer, was a lot harder to do, and didn't work nearly as well as they all hoped; but Chris's fever went down to a manageable level and his breathing returned to normal.
Leo sat back in front of the sofa when he was finished, he was sweating and his breathing a little labored.
"He's getting worse, I don't know what's in his blood, but it's strong, a helluva lot stronger than dark-lighter poison. We need to get it out of him quick."
"Chris please, if you know what it is, just tell us." Piper pleaded, her voice tinged with panic.
He shook his head, trying to sit up, "I just need a minute and then I'll take care of it." It was a lie, and he knew it. His vision blurred a little as he sat up.
They were all silent.
Piper was about to burst into tears, he was so stubborn and so sick and she didn't know how to fix it.
Paige eyed him warily not knowing whether to take the gentle or the harsh approach, wondering whether either would be any good.
Phoebe couldn't get the images she'd seen out of her head. Her daughter…. that strong, beautiful, brave, fiery girl was her daughter… and Wyatt killed her…
Intervention came from an unlikely source.
"The only thing you'll be taking care of Chris, is informing us what the hell it is we're looking for so we can find it and destroy it." Leo said firmly.
Chris glared at his father, "Do not-"
"No, Chris, those are my words to you. Do not blame me for something that has not happened; something that will not happen. What you can do, is tell me what I'm up against so you can save me the time and energy I'll spend trying to figure it out, which I will do. Because I have no intention of watching my son die before he's even born."
Everyone was silent, Leo hadn't moved from his position on the floor, he was still eye level with Chris, and the eyes he fastened on his son were unwavering.
Chris started shaking his head, but stopped, assaulted by a wave of dizziness.
"Trust me Chris." The words were said softly, and seemed to suck the air out of the room.
Chris turned wide, unbelieving eyes to his father, "How can you sit there, after what you saw and ask that?"
"I'm not that person yet and I swear to you Chris, I won't be. I won't be the man who misses his children's birthdays and soccer games, the recitals and the PTA meetings. I will never become the man who ignores his son's cries because he's in a meeting. I swear it Chris. I won't." The words were soft, but the underlying note of steel in them was obvious.
He leaned forward, his gaze meeting that of his sons', his words a plea, "And I know that somewhere inside, you need to trust me; probably as much as I need you to." He paused a moment, gathering his thoughts, "I promise Chris, I'll deliver, if you trust me - I'll deliver."
Chris said nothing; just stared at his father.
"It was baseball." He said softly after a moment.
Leo blinked.
"I played baseball." He repeated, then sighed and looked away; after a moment he lowered his head into his hands.
He looked so miserable, so forlorn… Piper made a move to go to him. Leo held out his hand, motioning her to stay back, she glared at him, he communicated the same message to her that he'd communicated to his son – trust me.
Piper sighed, moving back, it was easier for her, she understood that it hadn't happened yet. She'd seen it… but she hadn't lived it.
Chris's head lifted slowly, he stared straight ahead, "It's Wyatt." He said softly, hoarsely.
"Wyatt?" Leo asked.
Chris nodded, "He sent another assassin. It is Darklighter poison… it's just… altered. He's the only one who has the antidote; and the only way I'll get it is if I go back."
"Oh god," Piper said, her world tipping. This was just too much.
The sisters all descended on the sofa, not able to remain upright anymore.
"This is just…"
"We can't…"
"How are we going to…"
They all trailed off, not knowing how to articulate the feelings of horror; of inadequacy they were all feeling.
"Is it true?" Phoebe asked suddenly, her eyes fastened on Chris, "Is it true we never make a difference? Is it true that we never change anything? We do all this for nothing? Live for nothing?"
There was a bitter twist to Chris's lips when he answered, "You're making the same mistake I did Phoebe. The mistake I made for years, the one that cost your daughter her life: listening to Wyatt."
The instinct to deny it, to say that it hadn't been his fault, was strong. It rose up to Phoebe's lips immediately, he cut her off.
"Don't, Phoebe, don't deny it."
"What are you talking about?" Leo interrupted.
"We took another trip into Chris's memories." Piper answered him.
"Oh."
"It was bad," Paige said, softly.
"We can fix it." Leo said steadily, "First things first though, what do we do about this?"
No one said anything.
"Hello! Did you hear what I just said?" He asked the girls; Chris had laid his head back, his eyes closed.
They nodded.
"We don't know Leo…"
"I mean…"
"There's nothing…"
They just sat there and Leo's temper hit the roof. "It hasn't happened yet!" he roared at them. They all jumped a little, startled at the sudden intensity in his voice. .
"Whatever it was, whatever you saw, it hasn't happened! We can stop it. We can change things! But first we need to help Chris!"
It might have been the words, but more likely it was the tone, that got the girls moving. A tone filled with so much raw determination it made goosebumps appear on their arms.
They seemed to shake themselves and Piper nodded slowly, getting up. "Only Wyatt has the antidote."
"So let's go get it." Paige said jumping up, all gun-ho.
Piper shook her head firmly, "We are not going to the future. Chris is sick and we can't leave him alone and we aren't going without the power of three or without Leo because the only one could heal us."
"But…"
"It's too risky." Piper insisted.
"She's right," Phoebe said, "We can't go to the future, but maybe we can bring the future to us."
Paige turned to her, "You mean Wyatt?"
She nodded, "Why not? We summon things all the time… we even summoned my powers."
"That didn't exactly work." Piper reminded them.
Phoebe glared at her, "It kinda worked and this would definitely work. We'll summon him and trap him with the crystals."
Piper thought on it a moment.
"I guess it could work." She paused, "We'll summon Wyatt."
Chris shot up on the couch, his eyes wide and terror filled, "What?"
"Whoa, whoa, relax sweetie," Piper cooed, walking over and sitting on the edge of the sofa, her hands smoothing his hair gently, "We thought you were asleep."
He swallowed hard, "I kinda was, but I heard- tell me you didn't do that…"
"What? Summon Wyatt?"
He nodded.
"No not yet, but-"
His eyes slid shut in relief, "Thank god."
"Honey we were going to trap him with the crystals." Piper comforted.
"Yeah we wouldn't have just released the psycho murderer on the streets on San Francisco," Paige added, then glanced from Piper to Leo, "No offence."
Leo frowned at her, but said nothing. Piper didn't take her gaze off of Chris.
Chris shook his head, flinching a little, "Wyatt he… you don't want to mess with Wyatt. You also don't want to bring Wyatt anywhere near you."
"But you said that he was the only one with the antidote and we need to get it…"
"You won't get it from him, even if you bring him here. The only thing you'll do by bringing him here is make it easier for him to kill me."
That froze everyone.
"Kill you?"
"Of course, not only have I completely disobeyed him, but I've gone a hundred times further than Leah ever did. I organized a resistance against him."
They said nothing, "So we're agreed? No summoning of Wyatt?" he asked.
They nodded, but said nothing.
"Would it be possible for me to get some Tylenol or something since you're all just sitting there doing nothing?" he asked after a few minutes.
All three girls flew to the kitchen.
"Thanks…" he called after them, smiling a little before laying his head back and closing his eyes again.
"Maybe I should try and heal you some more."
Leo's voice had Chris shooting up again.
"Jeez, I forgot you were there." He said running a hand over his face, "There's no point," he said answering Leo's question, "It's specifically brewed to resist whitelighter intervention. Probably it's only been working, 'cause you're an Elder."
Leo said nothing for a moment, then, "So baseball huh?"
Chris scowled, "Don't push it, I trusted you, but I'm not ready for a heart to heart."
The girls reentered the room before Leo could respond.
Piper held a glass of water and Tylenol in her hand. Phoebe had a gleam in her eye.
"I have an idea," she said as Piper sat down next to her son.
Chris groaned, as he accepted the pills and water from his mother, "Uh-oh," he said, but the fire in him was fading and they could all see it.
He lay back down, "What is it?"
"What if we use the poison to find the antidote?"
He eyed her, "Not following…"
"Well when you know what you're fighting it's easier to fight."
"Yeah, but how are we supposed to get the poison?" Paige asked, as she walked back in holding a tray with a bowl of soup and crackers on it.
"Nu-uh…" Chris said eyeing the tray, "I'm not eating anything you made, even if I am already dieing."
Everyone froze. Phoebe started, jumping back a little; Paige's mouth dropped open, and the tray almost slipped from her grasp; and Piper gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
"What?" Chris asked, "It's a joke."
"It's not funny." Leo said softly.
"It's so not funny." Piper added, her eyes suspiciously moist.
Chris looked from one face to the other, than shrugged, "I thought it was pretty funny."
Paige cleared her throat, pushing the thought of her nephew dieing away from her mind, "Ummm, well I didn't make this… Campbell's did, and I stood right by the stove while I heated it so it's not even scorched."
"Thanks, but I don't think… I'm not very hungry."
Piper stood, taking the tray from Paige, "Just try a little, than you can take a nap while we figure out how to get that poison."
"How about from the Darklighter?" Paige said, plopping down next to Phoebe.
"How are we going to find him? Huh?" Phoebe asked, "It's not like we can just go around the underworld asking if anybody's seen a Darklighter from the future."
"It's not a Darklighter," Chris said softly, munching on a cracker under Piper's watchful eye, "It's an assassin with Darklighter poison… and he didn't come in through here, so he must have a portal somewhere else."
Everyone was silent, contemplating this.
Chris ate three crackers and two spoonfuls of soup.
"No more," he said to his mother, heaving a sigh of exhaustion. Piper nodded, taking the tray.
"Here give me." Paige stood and walked it over to the kitchen.
When she re-entered the living room, Chris was leaning back on the sofa again, Piper gently smoothing his hair.
"So what are we gonna do? How are we gonna find this guy?" She asked.
Everyone was silent.
"I'll find'm." Leo said standing.
They frowned at him.
"Leo, its Darklighter poiso-" Piper said, her voice almost reproachful.
"I will find him." He said, cutting her off, his voice hard as steel, before he orbing out.
Everyone was silent.
"O-kaaaay… that was kinda…" Phoebe started but trailed off.
"… kinda aggressive for our resident pacifist." Paige finished for her.
"He always gets protective when it's about-" Piper cut herself off glancing down quickly at Chris. She found him sound asleep though, "When it's about his son." She finished softly.
They all sat in silence, watching the sleeping boy.
"Maybe we should figure out a way to reverse the spell." Paige interrupted, "I don't think these little trips are a good idea."
Phoebe shook her head vigorously, "No, actually I'm glad it happened. It's given me an even firmer reason to not drink that potion. Leo's right, we're going to fix this… those things aren't going to happen."
Paige smirked, her eyes twinkling.
"What?" Piper asked.
"I poured the potions down the drain while I heated the soup."
They stared at her, then Piper laughed softly, "He's going to be pissed."
Paige shrugged, "It was an accident. Accidents happen you know. Nobody's perfect, we're all human and it's a common human trait to mess up. I was so busy heating the soup and so worrie-"
"Save it for future-consequences-boy," Phoebe interrupted.
Paige stopped, "Just getting some practice."
Piper smiled a little before looking back down at Chris. Her eyes trailing the rise and fall of his chest.
Phoebe spoke softly after a few moments, "It's eating away at him."
No one said anything. Not much you could say to that. It was true, they could see it.
Suddenly Piper buried her face in her hands, a small sob escaping her, Paige reached over to comfort her, but the older sister shook her head, "I'm going to be horrible mother." She sobbed.
"Piper honey…" Phoebe began.
"God Phoebe! It's not just that I raise a tyrant or even a murderer it's that…" a sob caught in her throat, "… he killed his own… his blood and that he's willing to do it again. That he'll kill his own brother if he gets the chance."
"Oh honey…" Paige tried this time.
She shook her head, wiping at the stray tears, "I mean, I'm not okay with him being a dictator, but at least if he… he showed some affection for his family… I could… I don't know… I wouldn't feel so… so much like Norman Bates' mother…" she finished mournfully, before burying her face in her hands.
"We're not going to let it happen." Paige said softly.
Piper lifted her head, aggravation and fear clear on her face, "Didn't you hear him, Paige, you die… I die… Phoebe dies, there isn't going to be anyone around to stop him."
"We'll figure something out…" Phoebe said firmly, "We have to."
They watched Chris sleep for a little while longer before Phoebe stood, saying she wanted a bubble bath. They knew what she wanted was time alone.
Paige stood also, informing Piper that she was ordering a pizza. The afternoon slid idly by.
Phoebe wandered down stairs in search of pizza a few hours later, her eyes a little swollen and gaze rather subdued, but neither sister commented.
The general area of conglomeration was the living room. Where they could sit and talk in hushed tones as they watched Chris sleep. He wasn't getting any better, but to their relief he wasn't getting any worse either.
Phoebe made sure to stay on the other side of the room – so she wouldn't be tempted to smooth his hair or something and they all made sure to ask no questions about him.
When the conversation lulled, Paige sighed in aggravation, "It's not like it's going to do any good anyway."
She received two confused glances.
"Spells like this only go away once they've run their course. You know it, I know it, he knows it. Phoebe not touching him and us asking no question is only prolonging it. And who knows maybe that was it. Maybe it's over now. Maybe that was all we had to see."
Piper frowned a little, "Its just I don't know if that would apply in this case. Usually in that type of spell, it's the Elders that want us to see something. We cast this spell in direct contradiction to what the Elders ordered."
"Not the Elders, the council." Phoebe corrected.
"You think that makes a difference?"
"I'm not sure."
"I'm not sure I want to see anything more." Piper added.
Paige smirked sadly, "Couldn't really get much worse than that could it?"
"If it could I don't want to see it." Phoebe added.
"Smartest thing I've heard you say yet." A weak voice said from the sofa.
They all shifted to see Chris trying to sit up.
"Stay," his mother told him, laying a restraining hand on him.
He smirked at her, "Woof."
"Smartass." Paige hissed, a smile on her face.
"How do you feel?" Piper asked.
He sighed, "Okay I guess." But it was obvious he didn't. Obvious that he just didn't want to worry them more.
They were all silent again.
All thinking about there last trip into Chris's memories.
It was Phoebe who broke the silence, with an aggravated sigh, "Okay, it's not like we all didn't see it or aren't thinking about it." She said in general than focused on Chris, "We aren't going to let that happen. We aren't drinking those potions and when Leo finds the assassin, we're gong to get the poison from it and somehow create an antidote, than we're going to cure you and then you're going tell us all the information you have on what turns Wyatt and we're going to save him."
"Phoebe-"
"No Chris, you aren't going to argue with that course of action, because we're the adults and we've decided on this. We've decided that we aren't going to stand back and watch our family disintegrate, we aren't going to let the next generation self-destruct. So you're going to shut-up, lay back like your mother says and let us take care of it and you, because both are our responsibility."
He stared at her silently, and for a moment they thought he was going to argue, they thought he was going to be his usual stubborn self and make everything harder; but he didn't.
Instead he laid back as she'd suggested and to their astonishment, he pouted, and actual bottom lip stuck out pout, "Okay, jeez," he said, his tone petulant, "… you don't have to yell at me."
It was such a… a nephew thing to say…
"I didn't yell," Phoebe defended, the stiffness leaving her posture, a smile lurking at the corner of her mouth.
His eyes slid shut, but he answered anyway, his voice soft and they knew that for a moment he was forgetting about future consequences, "That's the closest you ever come to yelling at me." He murmured, his words a little slurred, the emphasis on the "me" almost smug.
"What's that supposed mean?" Phoebe asked.
He just smiled his eyes still closed, "So what exactly is the plan?" he asked instead.
"Leo's going to find the assassin." Paige answered him.
"Please tell me we've got a back-up plan…" Chris asked, his voice dripping skepticism.
They scowled at him, but as his eyes were closed, it did very little good.
"We don't need one. Leo said he'd find him so he will." Piper defended loyally.
"Forgive me for not having the utmost confidence in what Leo says," Chris replied caustically. No one said anything and after a moment he lifted his head and stared at them, grimacing a little, "Okay, I know that was…" he trailed off.
"Uncalled for," Piper supplied.
"Kinda mean," Phoebe added.
"Really bratty," Paige said.
"Whatever…. the point is, I'd like to know that my life isn't just in the hands of… Leo." He said it was obvious that he'd worked to keep the cynicism from his tone. It didn't really work.
Piper sighed, "Don't worry Chris, everything's going to be fine. You trust us to fix this and get some sleep, okay. You need to rest… are you hungry? Do you want me to fix you something?
He started to shake his head, than stopped, "No thanks. I might feel better if I could sit up, though." He said meekly, but his eyes were glaring at her.
Piper laughed a little, "Fine go ahead," she said softly.
"Where's Wyatt?" he asked, as he gingerly sat up.
"He's been at Magic School for a few days, there's a magical baby party or something. We pick him up tomorrow."
"Maybe you shouldn't let him spend so much time there." Chris said softly.
But there was a message in that soft tone, they were all suddenly more alert.
"Why not?" Piper asked.
He shrugged as carelessly as he could, but they all knew that there was nothing careless in what he was about to say – he was about to issue a warning.
"He learns a lot there. Things that maybe he would be better off not knowing…"
They were all silent.
"Things that maybe the world would better off him not knowing…" Paige clarified.
Chris said nothing, he didn't have to, the message had been delivered and received.
"You could just tell us Chris." Phoebe said softly, "You could make it easier on yourself and us… just tell us what to do, what to avoid."
He sighed, and it was such a tired sound that instantly Phoebe wished she'd kept her mouth shut. The gaze he lifted to her was as weary as his voice had sounded, and for the first time ever, he answered with sincerity.
"I wish I could. You have no idea how much I wish I could, Phoebe. It's just… I'm scared, terrified actually. I…" he looked down, "… I could make things worse." He stopped there.
"How Chris? How could things possibly worse?" Paige asked.
He looked up at her, tears glistening in his eyes, "The world went to hell in a hand-basket the day mom died. But… before that… before she died… life wasn't so bad..." he shook his head, dropping his gaze once again, "… yeah it hurt when Aunt Paige and than Aunt Phoebes died… but we got through it…" he chuckled a little, but still didn't look up, "Me and Wyatt made a spell to summon them corporally and gave it to mom for her first birthday after Aunt Paige died… and we'd summon her and then later Aunt Phoebes too… for special occasion, for no occasions… sometimes we'd come home from school the three of them would be having tea in the kitchen…" he sighed and looked up at them, "So it wasn't so bad… and I… I'm scared that I could make it worse. I could make those not-so-bad years shorter or maybe even erase them completely."
He was quiet after that, working hard to control the memories that were suddenly determined to make him cry.
It was Piper who broke the suddenly oppressive quiet, "Well… gee… not much you can say to that, huh?" She said in a wry voice.
Chris's head shot up.
Piper reached over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "You are absolutely wonderful." She added sweetly.
He frowned at her, than looked at his aunts, they too were perplexed.
"Did I miss something?" He asked his mother warily.
She shook her head, a smile touching her lips, "Only your own wonderful-ness."
Paige frowned slightly, "That's not a word."
"Maybe not, but it works," Piper replied. Than looked at Chris again.
"Listen to me baby, you have a right to be scared. Messing with timelines is dangerous, but you're here already and you've messed with it quite a bit… and in the end…" she cocked her head to one side, "In the end nothing wagered, nothing gained…"
"I second that," Phoebe said, "You have to take the risk…"
He glared at them, "That's easy for you to say, you don't have people counting on you fix the goddamned world."
"Whoa there, easy on the bitterness… we're only trying to help." Paige said.
He sighed again, and opened his mouth to speak. A loud crash and a thumping noise accompanied by the sound of orbing from upstairs cut him off.
The girls jumped to their feet.
A few moments later they all heard the tell-tale sounds of the cage being activated.
"Guess Leo's back…" Piper said softly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PLEASE REIVEW!