Of All the People
Chapter 16
By teal-lover
Summary: Wyatt reflects on the events after Chris Crossed and decides to do something about it.
Rating: PG-13, T. Please be warned that this chapter may not be suitable for all audiences due to content, which is not graphic—but definitely implies a lot. Though to be fair, it's nothing you won't see on the show.Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, just borrowing, promise to give them back when done, don't get any money for this.
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Piper picked out one of his comfortable lounge sets out of the top drawer and brought them into the bathroom, setting the folded items down on the sink. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him reach out blindly from inside the curtain, fumbling around for a towel to dry off with. With his eyes closed, he couldn't seem to grasp it, so she nudged it a little closer until he grabbed it. The practically see-through curtain barely covered anyone inside and she cursed herself for ever buying it.
Voyeur! She chastised herself. I shouldn't be seeing this! She added with a slight amount of guilt, though she didn't avert her eyes that raked over his muscular form hungrily. He wrapped the wet towel around his waist and pulled the curtain back.
When he caught her staring, she blushed furiously and tried to back out of the room, but he grabbed her arm to prevent her flight.
"I'm sorry," she declared in embarrassment.
Leo smiled gracefully, elated that she still seemed to feel something for him. "Don't be. We're married, Piper."
"Divorced," she replied indignantly.
"Well, we shouldn't be. At least, we weren't the first time around since Chris was obviously born." The angel had yet to let go of her hand as he looked at her earnestly. "Since we found out about Chris, I've been doing a lot of thinking."
Piper's heart fluttered hopefully as her eyes met his. Maybe it wasn't too late for them after all. "Ab..about?" she tried to ask confidently, but it came out as more of hesitant stutter.
"You. Me. US. The decision I've made, and what's really important. And that's my family. You, Piper. I don't want to be an Elder anymore if it means loosing you in the process." He stepped out of the shower, his left hand moved to cup her face tenderly, while the other strayed to her waistline, drawing her in closer.
She didn't object when he leaned down and captured her lips with his own.
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Wyatt shimmered into the manor, feeling somewhat remorseful for the potion he carried in his hands, but he shrugged it off with the knowledge of all that could go wrong without it. Until death, do us part…he thought sadly. The only way to break the spell once it was performed was if one party died. Otherwise, they would continue as love-sick teenagers for the rest of their lives, unable to function with any sense of normalcy.
There was no way that could be allowed. His toddler self and his younger sibling would need the full strength protection of the Charmed Ones for as long as they could provide it. And though it pained him somewhat, he had decided rather quickly that his mainly absentee father would be the one to break the spell.
Once he had ensured his brother's survival, he would strike the Elder down quickly with his fabled sword. It was the least he could do for the man who gave him life by not letting him suffer from the effects of a darklighter poison. Of course, he hadn't mentioned this particular aspect of the plan to his brother. Somehow, he didn't see the younger man agreeing to that.
Wyatt glanced at the contents in his hand again. The love potion that he had just obtained in the Underworld was of the strongest brew, potent in every aspect. A recipient would be unable to resist its immediate effects with even the strongest will. As powerful as they each were, a Charmed Witch and an Elder didn't stand a chance against it.
He grimaced with barely controlled rage, knowing from experience how effective it could be. During the beginning of his reign, he very narrowly escaped the witch who thought to use it against him in order to rule by his side as queen. If his brother had known about that incident, he would have laughed and teased that it had been the other way around. And that may not have been very far from the truth. Which is precisely the reason he had never told him.
The spell induced fog that the potion had cast over him had truly made Wyatt believe that she cared for him, and that he couldn't live without her. He was quite willing to do anything for her. Ultimately, she had driven him mad with desire, and if it weren't for his second-in-command's quick thinking to vanquish her, he would have been very eager to consummate their new relationship, sealing both his fate and hers.
When he finally came to his senses, he had all of the potion's ingredients banned on penalty of death.
Luckily, they were still in existence in this time.
Dismissing those thoughts, he sensed for his parents, finding them downstairs in their old bedroom. Perhaps getting some rest after their exhaustive search?
As he neared the room, he raised his hand and prepared to shimmer in and throw the potion, waking them in the process. When he leaned his head near the door, he stopped abruptly by what he heard.
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Inside…
Locked in a passionate embrace, the Elder orbed them back into the bedroom. As he leaned in nibbling on her neck, she fell against him, enjoying the feel of his skin now flushed with warmth. She tilted her head, allowing him better access and murmured breathlessly as he kissed the sensitive area, "I thought you said we needed to rest?"
He paused only long enough to smile mischievously and answer, "Actually, what I said was that we needed a break. I never said anything about rest."
Piper giggled softly, lost in the moment as she removed the towel…
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Outside…
Wyatt couldn't suppress the grin that formed on his lips. On the one hand, hearing his parents at their rather enthusiastic activities was a bit disturbing. But on the other, it solved his problems without him having to interfere and nudge them in the right direction. And as desperate as his brother was right now, he somehow doubted that the boy would ever get over the idea of existing out of anything other than true love.
He tossed the love potion up in the air in careless dismissal. It was clear that such extraordinary measures would not be needed in this case. His parents had always found their way into each other's arms in times of extreme comfort and need. And from the tidbits he had gathered from his Aunts, that was how Chris had been born the first time around. It appeared that now was no different.
He turned with a soft chortle, momentarily startled to find his Aunt glaring at him in her fighting stance.
"Where the hell is Chris?" she hissed at him.
He quickly shimmered out, appearing again behind her and covered her mouth with his hand. "Be quiet!" he ordered in a hushed tone. "I'm not going to hurt you." He rolled his eyes when she continued to struggle against him and tried to make a sound. Realizing that he couldn't quiet her that way, he shimmered her out of the hallway and into Paige's room, who jumped up startled. He grabbed her hand as well and shimmered them both downstairs and released two very angry witches.
Before they had a chance to speak, he informed them bluntly, "Do not call for mom or dad right now. They're busy. Making a baby."
"Chris?" Phoebe whispered in surprise. At his slight nod, "Then today is the day?"
"Yessss," he drawled with barely controlled patience. His Aunt always did have a knack for stating the obvious. It annoyed him when he was a teenager. And now that he was heir to Excalibur, ruler of the world, it still annoyed him.
Paige's eyebrows shot up in suspicion, "How do we know you haven't hurt them?"
Tilting his head slightly, he offered her a sly grin. "You don't. But you're welcome to go and listen for yourselves. But if they're in there screaming, it has nothing to do with me."
His somewhat playful expression soon turned deadly serious as he stepped closer to the women. "Prove it to yourselves that I have not hurt them, but I warn you—do not interfere. Chris' life depends on it." His blue eyes hardened menacingly with his focus on the empath, "Because if you do, I will forget everything you have ever done for me. Clear?"
Phoebe suddenly found herself speechless as her gaze locked on her nephew. Even if it weren't for the stony expression or the overbearing presence, she could still read him. But what both shocked and even frightened her a bit, was that there was not a hint of hesitancy or untruth to his words. How could that sweet little angel have fallen so far? she wondered absently.
Paige nudged her and answered shortly, "Crystal."
Phoebe averted her eyes and shied away from the powerful gaze. Staring into them any longer would probably set her empathic abilities on overload again. "Paige, would you go and check please? Quietly?"
She nodded and orbed away, leaving the two alone.
Phoebe shifted uncomfortably as Wyatt stared at her coldly. "You enjoy making people fear you, don't you?"
He sighed dramatically, the amusement in his voice mocking her question, "Am I that transparent?"
She shook her head disgustedly, "What happened to you?"
"Life," he answered simply.
"Well now that's fairly vague. How old are you now, about 25?" She crossed her arms and curled her lips up smugly, "Cause that gives us about 24 whole years to work on that attitude of yours."
He countered in the same tone, "Since when has a Halliwell with your obsolete world views ever lived that long?"
She ignored the inkling of curiosity that surged as he had just given away future information, opting instead to continue badgering him, "You want to be more specific and tell me? Save us the legwork? Because we will figure it out and stop it from happening, you know that, right?"
He shrugged with disinterest. "You can try. If I didn't tell Chris, what makes you think I'd ever tell you?"
"Then you do love your brother?"
"Would I be here if I didn't?" he gritted out.
"Then tell me where he is. What have you done with him?"
He waived his hand dismissively, "It's none of your concern."
She threw her hands to her hips defiantly, "Well, I'm making it my concern. I swear, Wyatt—if you've hurt him—"
"You're threats mean nothing to me." The blonde shrugged and turned his back to her carelessly, demonstrating his point with his lack of concern.
Phoebe scoffed angrily, silently wishing for Piper's power to blow him up right now. She stomped in front, waiving her finger at him, "Don't you walk away from me. We're going to find him, with or without your help."
"Then perhaps you should try looking in 2027? Honestly, did you think I would allow him to remain here making a nuisance out of himself and jeopardize all that I have worked for? I sent him back to the future where he belongs, where he will remain. I've only stayed long enough to ensure that he'll be there when I get back."
He handed her the vial that he carried with cheerful warning before shimmering away, "It looks like we won't be needing this. Don't spill any on yourself."
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Mausoleum…Day 6…August 26, 2003Chris was pacing frantically when his brother shimmered back in. He practically tackled him when he set eyes on the older man. "Do you know how long you've been gone?"
Wyatt glanced at his watch absently, "Not even an hour. I told you that I would be back before anything happened, and here I am."
Chris' eyes darted back to his stomach, still transparent, but now growing outward to encompass the rest of his torso. He looked up nervously, "Are you going to do the spell?"
The blonde remarked flippantly while he headed for his seat in the corner, "No." It wasn't necessary any more.
His mouth fell open. "Well did you tell them—that they had to—you know?"
"No." Technically he had only told Phoebe and Paige.
Chris was beginning to panic. "Well what about a love potion? Did you make one of those?"
Wyatt tilted his head up while he pretended to ponder the question. Rubbing the rough stubble of his beard, he thought about how he had actually forced the demons to make it for him. So technically, he had hadn't. And making his brother sweat was just a little payback after all of the trouble he had caused him this past year. His voice raised in pitch as he shook his head, "No."
The brunette screamed in disbelief, "DAMN IT! What happened? Did you do ANYTHING, or should I start making out my will?"
"No. I didn't have to," the older man said cryptically. At Chris's confused expression, he hinted, "Have you ever seen an angel put the moves on a witch? I wouldn't worry. You should be fine very soon." Wyatt looked on smugly as Chris began to solidify right before his very eyes. "Sooner than I thought, apparently. Now, I think we have a few things to discuss…"
TBC…
AN: Sorry guys if you thought this was going to go any other way, but I just couldn't force Chris to be a test tube baby:) And I'm really not inventive enough to come up with a different way to get Chris back into the picture. And I toned down P&L. A lot :(
Now if this story was only rated 'R'. sigh
Not real bad, huh? As I mentioned in the last one, I haven't quite written anything like this before, so let me know what you think.
Thank you all so much for the reviews.