"Someone's hiding something from me."


Neurotic


Disclaimer: Charmed does not belong to me.

Summary: His name is not Chris Perry. It's Christopher. Christopher Halliwell.

Note: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I sort of fell asleep and only just woke up. Don't ask how that happened: I don't even know! Also - nearly 1000 reviews? You guys absolutely make my day, you know that? Thank you for your support.


Chapter the Forty-second

"Spell"



"Chris?"

Suddenly Piper's eyes were wide open and filled with a tangible fear as she looked down at him. Chris was no longer shaking, but he'd curled up into a ball on the carpet, his face pressed awkwardly into his arm.

"Nnnnggh?"

"He's okay," Paul said quickly. "That's Chris for - owwwwww, but I'm okay."

"'s'not," Chris mumbled, rolling over onto his back and letting his arms flop out as he stared up at the ceiling.

"All right, you're not okay," Paul said evenly, as if he was joking, but real worry shone in his eyes.

"It was a kicker for sure," Chris managed to say, pushing himself into a half-sitting position, and leaning against one of the chairs when his tired body protested. "But I was going to get hurt anyway."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked, concerned.

"Anything that happens to my past self happens to me," Chris said, but he might as well have just said "duh" for the tone he was using. "So it made sense to..." He gestured awkwardly. "Y'know."

"Yeah," Piper said, a little awkwardly. "We might have to have a little talk about how you did that. That was..." She searched for a word. "Really strange."

"Thanks," Chris deadpanned, pushing himself up, but he was so weak he only just about managed to push himself onto the chair. He pulled a face. "Okay, we're in a crapload of trouble."

"Language, mister," Piper said, almost automatically. Chris rolled his eyes.

"We are," Chris continued as if she hadn't interrupted, in a low and deadly earnest tone. "A whole crapload. Wyatt's missing. I'm guessing Wyatt took him, which means he's safe."

"Wyatt-" Piper made a gurgling sound in the back of her throat, and she went pale. "I- I completely forgot about him! Again! What kind of a sucky, worthless mother am I? Huh? Wh-"

"You're a great mom," Chris and Paul managed to chime at the same time, and they exchanged a sheepish look and Chris smirked a little; it was obviously some kind of future catchphrase for the pair.

"Yeah, this whole mom thing," Paige said, sliding across the room and sitting in one of the chairs, gesturing for Dan and Paul to come in and sit down too.

Chris winced visibly. "I'm sorry. I couldn't say anything. Future consequences."

"But you obviously did end up saying something," Paige accused him softly.

"Wyatt killed my mom," Chris said. "In front of us." His face clouded over but he didn't look away. Paige inhaled fast, awkwardly.

"Pippa..." Her tone was hushed. "I'd kind of forgotten she was even here..."

"I wish I had that luxury." Chris' face was tight, and then he shook himself a little. "Anyway, we don't have time for retrospective thinking. We have to- we have six days."

Piper looked at him wanly. "Until you're born, right?" A thought occured to her. "Uh, do you know how long I was in labor with you?"

Chris squinted at her a little. "Uh... a day? So we only have five days. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. And Phoebe- we don't have Phoebe, she'll still be out of phase with the world and- and- We still don't know who's going to turn Wyatt, well who won't turn Wyatt if we have any say in the matter, and- oh- Ohhh- So we have to find Phoebe, Wyatt, Wyatt and who turns Wyatt, and- GNUUUUUUUURRRRGGGGHHHFFFFFFFFFF!"

The rest of Chris' words were muffled by Paul moving over and clamping his hand firmly over Chris' mouth.

"GNURRRRFGGGH?"

"He's panicking," Paul informed them redundantly. "He babbles when he's panicking."

"Ghurrrrrthanks for that, Paul." Chris folded his arms and glared at Paul as his brother grinned at him.

"You're welcome."

"You're so frustrating, you know that?"

"And you can't even kill me," Paul said, a touch smugly, "'cuz I'm already dead."

"Two words: Darklighter."

"That's one word."

"Whatever."

"Waiiiit: he's already dead?" Paige blinked. "I really did miss a lot." She twisted a look to Dan. "Are you sure we came back to the right reality?"

Dan, looking very much like he'd just decided to accept everything being flung at him regardless of how strange it was, shrugged. "How'm I supposed to know?"

"Right, no, right. Strategy. Need a strategy. Obviously the Map is really redundant," Chris said, and it sounded as if he was thinking outloud. "We need to concentrate on getting Phoebe back first. We need the Power of Threee. I reckon that if older Wyatt has his younger self, he'll be safe: Wyatt wouldn't hurt his younger self, 'cuz if he did he'd automatically hurt himself. Unless whoever makes him evil has him, which makes sense, 'cuz in our time Wyatt went missing for a couple of months, so maybe-" Apparently this was all the babbling Chris had left in him, for he looked up after a moment's silence, his eyes hard. "Paul, get me the Maps, some paper and a pen, will you?"

"Why me?"

"Paul!"

"Oh, all right." Sighing, Paul got to his feet and returned a moment later with a piece of paper and a pencil, and the two rolled-up pieces of paper. "Will this do?"

"Yep." Chris unrolled the Maps right there and then onto the floor, and started scribbling things down on the small piece of paper. He was so absorbed in his work, that he didn't seem to notice the others staring at him intently, until the pencil made a squeaking noise on the paper. "Guys, could you please stop staring? It's making me nervous."

"I'll go make some food," Paige said, realising how hungry she was.

"I'll help," Dan said quickly, rising with her, one hand unconsciously on her elbow. Piper saw it and raised an eyebrow, and looked slightly amused. She sniggered. He turned to look at her fully, and his pause made Paige turn too. Indecision briefly flickered across Paige's face as she suddenly realised the enormity of what had happened: she'd slept with one of Piper's ex boyfriends.

Piper decided to let Paige wriggle uncomfortably for a moment.

"We know about you two," Piper said, with a silly grin. "The book catalogued everything you did."

Paige flushed, muttered something under her breath which involved the words "perverted" and "hormonal" and "sister", and with a very sheepish look walked off into the kitchen.

"You know the speech, don't you?" Piper said, looking up at Dan with an easy smile.

"Wha-"

"Hurt my sister and I'll blow your ass up?"

"I've never actually had that speech," Dan said, then, almost awkwardly, "You're not mad? Or... awkward?"

"What happened between us... well, apart from the whole danger every day thing, I'm happy. I've got one great-albeit-missing baby, a polite almost-baby, and two of my sons loved me so much they came back to save the family at great risk to themselves," Piper said. "I think I may have even discovered the definition of deliriously happy."

Dan smiled. "Nice use of alliteration," he complimented, before nodding and moving off to the kitchen.

"Ah, so you saw the book then," Paul said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah, before everything went weird..." Piper blushed a little. "You think after everything's done we should cast a tiny memory spell to forget it?"

"Good plan." Paul twisted to look at Chris, and peered over at the frantic scribbling Chris was doing. "Hey, you want me to call Grandpa, and get him to bring Cole over?"

"Yeah," Chris said, almost distractedly.

"Do you know where the cordless is?" Paul asked Piper.

"Uh, the kitchen or conservatory, possibly," Piper said. Paul nodded again and left the room, his head bowed down low.

"So you're going to tell me about-" Piper started. Chris looked up at her through his hair, and nodded once. He gestured with one hand and a silence barrier crackled into life around them.

He looked away from her for a good long while, his hand stilled, paused halfway through writing a word on the paper. "No one ever knew I could do it," he said, after that silence. He still didn't look at her. "You know when you watch TV or read a book, and you get so caught up that sometimes you run around and pretend to be one of the characters?"

"Yeah," Piper said, wondering where this was leading.

"I was a huge fan of... a certain show... A remake of an old quiz show. And... what I said... was a staple phrase of the show." Chris' ambiguity was now a little painful to Piper rather than confusing. That he felt the need to hide so much was awful... "You can imagine my surprise when I said it for the first time and it actually worked."

"Maybe it's just because you view magic in a different way to everyone else," Piper offered. "When you're younger, you view the world differently."

"Yeah, 'cuz you're shorter." Chris grinned, and Piper grinned back.

"So... let me get this straight... Wyatt doesn't know you can do this?"

"No one ever knew," Chris admitted. "If Wyatt knew, he would have killed me- no question."

Piper shivered.

"I won't tell anyone," she promised, fervour in her voice. "Uh, do you think mini-you will get the same... gift?"

Chris shrugged. "No idea." His face was grey. "Guess we'll find out next week."


When Paul walked into the kitchen, Paige and Dan were already getting food from the fride and making an array of sandwiches. He watched them move together for a moment, and something inside him saddened at their graceful co-ordination. I miss you so much, and you never even knew how badly I missed you. Wasn't allowed to let you know how much I knew, how much I needed you... I understood why you couldn't acknowledge me as your own in public, but maybe once in private wouldn't have been too much to ask for, right?

He shook those thoughts away angrily, and walked like liquid over the floor to grab the phone. Paige smiled at him almost warily as he picked it up. This must have been what Chris felt when he came back to the past; everyone we know and love mistrusting us! But Chris has always had this, and at least I was always loved, even if not by my real mom...

He dialled the number, and watch Dan and Paige interract with a burgeoning jealousy he didn't know what to do with. He'd wanted to tell people his secret in the past, when Piper admitted it to him in hushed and strained tones, but never to this extent.

You're mine, can't they see? You're my mom. You always were and I loved you the most, I always did!

Feeling his face heat up, Paul fumbled with the handset in his hand, and shakily hit the number for his grandpa's, but not my blood grandpa, and was abruptly amused that Victor had the same telephone number in the future, too.

"Uh... hi... it's me... Paul!... Yeah. Look, can you get Cole and bring him over to the mansion a.s.a.p. I know you're working today, but..." Paul jumped in surprise when Cole's voice came onto the phone. "Cole? It's me. I need you and grandpa over here as quickly as possible... Oh, yeah, um, Victor's my grandpa... Long story... It just there's one thing you need to know: Phoebe's alive... I'll come fetch you, if you want... Sure."

Paul hit the disconnect, and emptied his mind, getting ready to orb, when he felt a small slither of cold creep down his spine. Something's wrong!

Paige and Dan whirled around at that thought, and Paul realised he'd yelled it out loud, but it was too late. A dark figure shimmered into the kitchen. Paul couldn't even shout, couldn't move, couldn't do anything.

The Darklighter lifted up his crossbow, smirked, and fired.


T-11