A/N: Writer's block…sorry!

Thanks go to: Starry Sky 44, chattypandagurl, icantthinkofafnick, Charmed Ravenclaw, connor, and Zeria. You guys were the only reason between me stubbornly continuing and giving up entirely in helpless frustration.


The End of All Things

Chapter 6

The Bay area…

"I personally oversaw the distribution of the identification cards for us. I've already instructed the border patrols about the new procedures. I hope you held up your end of the deal and made sure those freaks know they have to present their cards for entry to the city."

The woman rubbed her temples wearily, "You don't have to shout, Jeremiah."

The ruddy-faced man regarded the woman in front of him with a sneer, "If you can't take the heat…"

Barely controlling her urge to plant her fist in Jeremiah's smug face, Sheridan replied evenly, "You may be deaf, but I certainly am not. Look, you've made your point. I'll be sure to take it up with Chris the next time I see him."

Snorting, Jeremiah placed his hands on Sheridan's desk, leaning forward until his nose practically touched hers. "You'd better. If those freaks aren't carrying their identification cards the next time they show up…"

Shoving her chair back abruptly, Jenny didn't back off, not the least intimidated by this bully. "I said you've made your point. Just make sure everyone's been issued theirs. I don't want anyone making mistakes because we didn't supply our own people with their own cards." She frowned, "I don't think I saw anything on the new border procedures. Did that come across my desk?"

Folding his arms, Jeremiah shrugged sardonically, "You said not to bother you with the small stuff. I took care of it."

A knock on the door momentarily diverted her attention. "Elise! Come on in. I've been expecting you." Returning her attention to Jeremiah, Jenny nodded curtly, trying to conceal her dislike of the arrogant little man. "Fine. Thank you." Giving him a rather pointed stare, "Is that all?"

"Yeah," Jeremiah drawled, "that's all." Pivoting, the older man sauntered towards the doorway, rudely brushing by Elise and throwing over his shoulder at Jenny, "Don't bother getting up. I know my way out."

Recovering her balance, Elise rolled her eyes at the man's behaviour before meeting Jenny's eyes, "Is he always this pleasant?"

Jenny sighed, sitting back down in her chair and waving Elise to take the one across from her. They were currently sitting in the old city hall, one of the few buildings substantially completed by the reconstruction efforts. Already there were clerks running around the place, administrators vying for an audience and community leaders like Jeremiah sticking a thorn in her side. "Regardless of whether or not he's pleasant, the fact of the matter is he has a strong following in the community. He does represent a lot of voices."

Elise chuckled, "Office politics. That's what you get for being mayor."

"I never thought I'd be mayor of anything, let alone mayor of the new San Francisco," Jenny replied rather ruefully.

Elise smiled slightly, "If it makes you feel better, I think you're doing a wonderful job so far."

Jenny returned the grin, "It does. Thanks."

"Aren't we the mutual appreciation society?" Raising her eyebrow, Elise decided to get straight to the point, "Look, you're busy. I'm busy. You mind telling me why you wanted to see me?"

Leaning back in her chair, Jenny craned her neck to peer beyond Elise towards the doorway, "You mind shutting the door?"

Blinking in surprise, Elise hesitated only for a moment before manoeuvring out of her chair to shut the door. Returning to her seat, Elise stared at Jenny with an expectant look on her face, "Now you've really got my curiosity up."

"I want this to be unofficial. Off the record," Jenny pointedly looked at the former news editor. "I need someone I can trust, someone who'll be discreet…"

Elise sighed, "I guess that someone is me. All right, what's going on?"

Jenny hesitated, speaking thoughtfully, her words measured, "There's a rumour going around that someone is associating with demons."

"What?" Elise's mouth dropped open in complete surprise.

"Shhhh!" Jenny held her finger to her lips. "Elise!"

"Sorry," Elise muttered under her breath. "But you have to admit, you sort of just dropped that into my lap."

"Well, imagine how I felt when I heard that," Jenny grimaced.

Elise frowned, "You realize that whoever this is, it could mean big trouble."

"I know," Jenny tapped her pencil against her notebook slowly. "I need to know if the rumours are true, Elise. The very fact that if this is indeed being done, it can only mean bad things."

"Who else knows?"

Jenny ticked off her fingers, "Me. My source. You. That's it. And I don't want anyone else to know. Our only hope of catching who's behind this is to make sure they don't think we're onto them."

"I'm going to need some help on this," Elise warned, thinking of her former team of reporters. "I'm going to have to tell a couple of people."

Jenny nodded, "I trust you. You tell who you need to. But make sure they understand that they need to keep it to themselves. The last thing we want is to tip off the guilty party."

"All right," Elise sighed, wondering when the world had become so complicated. "Anything else?"

Jenny shook her head, "That's plenty, don't you think?"

Elise snorted, "No kidding." A pause, and then, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course,"

"ID cards. Was that really necessary?" Elise aimed a sceptical look at her friend.

"Not you too," Jenny groaned. "Look, it was the fastest way to calm a potentially hysterical population. Now everyone has cards that say they're human and Chris is making sure his group has cards that say they're witches or magical beings. The only time anyone is going to need to use them is when they're coming into the city. It's a formality, that's all."

Elise's right eyebrow rose, "You don't think it's a little paranoid checking every single person entering the city walls for their heritage? It's not like the demons are going to allow us to subject them to searches."

"I know, but…" Jenny started to explain.

Get back, freaks!

Both Jenny and Elise leapt out of their seats at the loud yell. Running to the window, they watched in open-mouthed amazement as a mass of people ran by, screaming and yelling. Looking at each other in astonishment, Jenny was the first one to come to her senses, spinning on her heel and whipping out the door, with Elise right behind her.

What the –?
Back at the Resistance's headquarters...

"What!" Four voices chorused in varying degrees of disbelief.

"It's the cost of time travelling. It physically impacts your body. Did you think there weren't any consequences to time travel?" Chris pointed out, his tone clipped. "It eventually screws up your body chemistry and kills you."

Four pairs of eyes ping-ponged between Chris, Lilah and Les, searching for confirmation.

"But we've made plenty of trips!" Phoebe protested. "There was that time we travelled to our future and that time we went back to the 70s…and then we visited you…"

"The number of trips is just one of the factors," Chris explained tiredly. "What really screws up the body is how long your body remains in a timeline it's not supposed to be in." He smiled crookedly as his family stared at him in horror. "Which I think I've got all of you beaten on, hands down."

"And…and you knew this…when you came back a year before you were born to save Wyatt?" Piper whispered.

"Sort of," Chris shrugged nonchalantly, "It may have come up when I was researching for the spell to take me back to the past."

"Then you…knew? You knew…that you'd get sick?" Phoebe shook her head slowly, trying to comprehend.

"I was hoping that it wouldn't take the whole year to find out who turned Wyatt, but I figured I'd err on the safe side and make sure I gave myself enough time. It was a risk I was willing to take," Chris replied, his tone deliberately cavalier.

"So…how do we fix it? How do we cure you?" Leo asked anxiously.

Chris finally looked up, meeting the concerned gazes of his family. "We don't."

"I don't understand," Paige asked, looking at her sisters who returned her questioning look with one of their own.

Lilah spoke up, her voice gentle, "There is no cure. Medical treatment is only to relieve suffering."

Chris shrugged, "At least, that's what I'm told."

Lilah placed a hand on Chris' shoulder.

Stunned silence.

"Hey," the corner of Chris' mouth quirked upwards. "It's not that bad. You wouldn't believe how much sympathy I can milk this for."

"How…how can you…how can you even joke about something like this?" Piper sputtered, tears welling in her eyes, spilling over to silently stream down her face. "How?"

"I'm not dead…yet," Chris pointed out logically, his weary eyes meeting his mother's. "I've learned the hard way – I'll take whatever laughs I can get whenever I can. They come few and far between as it is."

"That is so not funny, Chris!" Piper told her son in her best no nonsense 'mom' voice. "It's NOT funny!"

Seeing the uncomfortable look on Chris' face, Les decided to shift the attention away temporarily from his friend. Clearing his throat to catch the Charmed Ones' attention, Les said gently, "I think everyone needs to take a breather. This was…I know you weren't expecting this."

"You…" Piper turned on Les, her eyes bright with tears and outrage. "You knew! And you didn't say anything!"

Seeing the mother's fear for her cub in Piper's eyes, Les knew she was looking for an outlet for all her emotions. He nodded slightly, unapologetic, "It wasn't my place."

Ready to tear a strip off of Les for insensitivity, Piper opened her mouth. Behind her she could vaguely hear Leo murmuring to her to wait, but she didn't care. She felt utterly useless – her son was dying and there was nothing she could do. If it had been a demon, she would vanquished it. If it had been an injury, she would have nursed him back to health. If it had been anything, anything but this…

She felt all her frustration build inside her until she knew she had to scream.

"Message from San Fran!"

Interrupting Piper before she could explode, a whitelighter orbed in unannounced. Collapsing to the floor, he gasped, "It's the valkyries! They're attacking the humans!"

Les' mouth dropped open, "What?"

Ignoring Les, Lilah rushed to the side of her fellow whitelighter, pushing him onto his back. An arrow, buried in his shoulder, told her clearly what exactly was the matter with him. "Les, pull the arrow out of him, now!" she barked, unsure whether it was a darklighter arrow or not.

However, Les was preoccupied as reports began to pour in. Clutching his head, Les began to shake his head in disbelief, "All hell's breaking loose!"

"Phoebe – help Lilah. Les, you're with me," Chris ordered, orbing the two away before anyone could say a word.

"Wait!" Piper cried out futilely, as her son and his friend disappeared. Not knowing what was going on, and frankly, not giving a damn, all Piper knew was she needed answers. And Chris was the only one who could give them to her. Whirling on her husband she grabbed his hand, commanding, "Follow them!"

Without a word, Leo whisked Piper away after their errant son, Paige dropped to her knees next to Lilah, helping her to hold the injured whitelighter down. Shooting her sister a concerned glance, Paige asked "You ready?"

Phoebe nodded, wrapping her fingers around the arrow.

"On three, then," Paige instructed. "One…two…three!"

Gritting her teeth, Phoebe pulled, yanking the arrow free of the whitelighter. Immediately Lilah laid her hands over the open wound, the golden glow swiftly passing over the injury. Meanwhile, Phoebe proceeded to wrap the arrow in a nearby towel, carefully disposing the poisonous weapon into the nearby trash receptacle.

Exchanging a worried look with her sister, Paige demanded answers from Lilah, "What did he mean, the valkyries are attacking the humans? I thought they were on our side, for Christ's sakes!"

Groaning, the now recovered whitelighter sat up and exchanged a bleak look with Lilah, saying grimly, "Not anymore."


The commotion was deafening.

"What the hell is going on?" Jenny yelled at the first person she encountered at the fringe of the quickly increasing crowd. The individual shrugged, mouthing something that Jenny couldn't make out over the noise and pointed. The crowd had moved forward, outside the safety of the city walls, and ignoring the little voice in the back of her head, Jenny began to push and shove her way towards what she hoped was the front of the crowd. Jostling her way to the front, the crowd was intent on whatever lay in front, ignoring her attempts to elbow forward. Finally spotting a gap in the crowd, Jenny surged forward and found herself standing side by side with Jeremiah.

"Jeremiah!" Jenny said sharply. "What the hell is going on?"

Barely sparing a glance at the former inspector, Jeremiah jerked his chin forward. Quickly turning in the direction he indicated, Jenny gasped. An old man was cowering on the ground, his hands covering his head, blood dripping down the side of face. Dropping to her knees, Jenny reached out to the injured elderly man, "Sir! Are you okay?"

The old man sobbed, shaking his head pitifully, "I didn't do nothing wrong. I swears! I don't knows why they hurt me!"

Yelling over her shoulder for medical attention, Jenny clasped the poor man's hands in her own, "Who? Who wants to hurt you?"

"Ahem," Jeremiah broke in, none too gently. "I think he means them."

Following Jeremiah's accusing finger, Jenny's eyes widened at the sight that greeted her. Less than 50 metres away, three angry looking valkyries were glaring at her. Jeremiah answered Jenny, correctly interpreting her unspoken question, "The old man must have been wandering outside the city walls. The border guards heard his screams and managed to get him away from those women before they could kill him. One of the border guards was smart enough to run back inside for reinforcements, so here we are."

Straightening, Jenny looked pointedly at the three valkyries, "What is the meaning of this?"

"He has committed a crime against us," one of the valkyries answered, "He must be punished."

"This man is under my protection," Jenny said bravely, drawing her confidence from the gathering crowd of her people behind her. "He is innocent until proven guilty. Why don't you tell me exactly what you're accusing him of?"

"You think we are afraid of you?" the warrior woman sneered.

Before Jenny could respond, Jeremiah stepped forward menacingly, "We're not the ones outnumbered here."

The valkyries smiled in trimuph, "Neither are we."

Oh shit…
"Duck!"

Hearing Les' shout, Chris narrowly missed being impaled by an arrow. He blinked in astonishment, not sure if he could believe what he was seeing. He had orbed to just outside the perimeter of new San Fran's city walls, which was as close as the no-orbing spell was going to let him. On his left, coming over the hill, the valkyries were out in full body armour, their spears and swords raised over their heads threateningly. Moving forward rapidly to confront the warrior women, the mortals from the nearby settlement had left the city walls, carrying pitchforks, torches and cross bows, resembling an angry mob from the 1800s.

"STOP!"

Turning to face the young man who had bellowed, both sides paused. Positioned to one side, Chris had manoeuvred himself to stand exactly in the middle between the two angry groups. Les cautiously moved himself behind Chris, covering his back. At that moment Leo and Piper orbed in. Rapidly gauging the state of affairs, Leo quickly stepped behind Les, pulling Piper with him, clamping his hand over her mouth to prevent her from saying anything that could tip the scales into violence. He whispered at the telepath, "Les?"

:Don't say anything. Don't move, don't speak, don't even breath unless you have to.: Les' mind voice echoed clearly in Leo's mind, and from the tone, Leo knew Piper was hearing the same thing. :One wrong move and it could set off either side, something we REALLY don't want.:

:What the hell is going on? Leo asked in his head, knowing Les would be 'listening'.

:I don't know. Looks like we're about to find out.:

"What the hell is going on here?" Chris demanded. He struggled to maintain his composure, but his illness was making him dizzy. He knew he looked sickly, but Chris knew he had to put on a front of strength, lest either side believed he wouldn't be able to contain the situation and decide to capitalize on his weakness. Recognizing Kate's second in command, he hissed at the valkyrie, "Freyna?"

"They killed Kate!" she pointed her finger in accusation. "These…humans! They stole her amulet and killed her!"

"That's a lie!" A voice from the other side shouted.

"Pigs!" A valkyrie retorted.

The crowd bristled at the insult.

Realizing the precarious balancing act he was about to tightrope walk, Chris directed a sharp look at the valkyries. "Enough. Control your people or I'll control them for you." Behind him, Chris could feel Les tense, indicating he knew Chris was bluffing. Let's hope they don't, Chris thought grimly.

The valkyrie hesitated, her eyes running up and down Chris, as if trying to gauge the seriousness of his threat. He met her gaze unflinching; his face displayed no emotion as he waited, not knowing whether his gamble would pay off. He held his body stiff, his shoulders back, his head tall, trying to convey a symbol of strength. There was nothing he could do about the faint splotches covering his neck or the slight yellowish tinge to his skin, but he hoped the late hour of the day would conceal the signs of his weakened condition. After what seemed a significant passage of time, Freyna nodded curtly at Chris in acknowledgement, ordering, "Stand down. For now." More grumbling could be heard as the valkyries reluctantly lowered their weapons. Turning back to face Chris, Freyna said, "We tracked them here. They killed Kate. We will have justice."

Knowing he would need to stall for time until he could think of a way out of the situation they were in, Chris acknowledged the valkyrie's concession. His eyes seeking out for the leader of the other side, his gaze alit on a conveniently familiar face, "Sheridan. You have anything to say?"

"We didn't kill anyone. And certainly not a valkyrie. Do you think we're stupid?" Jenny Sheridan bit out each word. If she was afraid, she certainly didn't give any sign as such. "They're the ones with all the magic, not us."

"Filthy lying humans!" One of the valkyries rushed forward, her sword swinging over her head.

Gasping in horror, Sheridan automatically threw her hands up to protect herself even while acknowledging in her head the futility of the gesture. Before either side could move, the valkyrie was picked up and slammed back against her kin to their great surprise.

All eyes turned to Chris, whose arm dropped back down against his side, his chest inflating and deflating as he breathed heavily. Sweat was beading on his forehead, "I won't warn you again, Freyna."

:What happens if the valkyries won't listen? Leo heard Piper's voice echo in his head as Les kept the three of them somehow telepathically connected.

A pause. :They'll listen to Chris. They respect him.:

As the valkyries gathered around their fallen sister to help her up, Freyna's eyes never left Chris'. She gestured at her sisters, "Do NOT move unless I give the order."

"Where is the body?" Chris demanded.

Freyna shook her head, "She told me that she had a meeting. But she never came back. That was three days ago. So we began a search for her. And it led us here."

"How do you know it was these mortals who are responsible for killing Kate if there isn't even a body?" Chris' tone was deadly quiet.

Freyna pointed at a man cowering in fear on the other side who was clearly trying to disappear into the crowd. She spat in disgust in face of such cowardice, "He wears our sister's amulet."

:And what about the humans? Sheridan certainly isn't on our side in our time.: Leo questioned, holding his breath.

:She may not like Chris, but she respects him. He's respected by both sides. If either side will listen at all, it'll be Chris they listen to, and no one else.:

Slowly, Chris swivelled to face the man. In his fifties, Chris could see the individual was mentally challenged. Sympathetic of the man's condition, nonetheless, Chris did not display any emotion outwardly, knowing how closely the valkyries were watching him. Now would not be the time to be accused of prejudice. Prompting softly, "How did you come by the amulet?"

Casting nervous looks around him, the man babbled, "I found it, I did! In the streets. What's mine is mine. Finders keepers!" Clutching his hands around the gemstone, the man's eyes were wild as he insisted, "I won't let you have it! I won't let you have it!"

"No valkyrie would abandon her amulet! How else do you explain his coming by our sister's necklace?" Freyna scoffed in disbelief.

"You calling him a liar?" Sheridan sneered, ready to defend her fellow human. "Look at him! He's got a mental illness. How could someone like him take on one of your high and mighty valkyries? Or are you just stupid?"

Freyna turned her cold stare on Sheridan, "I don't like you."

Sheridan's eyes narrowed, "News flash. I don't care."

"Sheridan! Enough," Chris growled. "Freyna, take your sisters home," Chris ordered, knowing the situation was sitting on a potential powder keg. "Now."

She looked at him in disbelief, "We will have justice!"

Turning his hardened gaze on the valkyrie, Chris said evenly, "And you will. I promise you, I will find out what happened to Kate. But I will not let you persecute someone prematurely just because you're out for blood."

"And if it found the human is responsible?" Freyna demanded.

"If the human is responsible, we will deal with it in accordance with our laws," Chris replied, his low voice carrying clearly across to both groups.

"Unacceptable," Freyna retorted. "If the human is found responsible, he will be dealt with by our laws."

Knowing valkyrie laws meant certain death if the man had indeed killed their sister, Chris tried to appeal to Freyna's soft side, playing on his friendship with the valkyries, "She was my sister too."

At Chris' soft tone, Freyna nodded slowly, hearing the truth in Chris' voice, "You have always been our brother in arms."

"Then trust me to handle this. To bring the guilty party of this crime to justice and to bear a punishment acceptable to you and yours," Chris bargained. Staring into his eyes, Chris could see his plea was working.

"Just a minute here…," Sheridan spoke up, her voice still filled with anger. "I'm not sure we agree with that."

Sheridan's voice served to break the spell of Chris' plea and the valkyrie snapped to attention. Her anger returning, Freyna narrowed her eyes at the human woman before saying sharply to Chris, "You have five days to find out who killed our sister and bring them to justice. Five days." Turning on her heel, she gestured for her brethren to follow her.

Chris sighed, knowing it was the best compromise he would get from the valkyries.

"And then what?" Sheridan pushed her way forward to stand next to Chris, yelling after the retreating backs of the valkyries. "What happens after five days?"

"Does that woman ever learn when to shut up?" Piper murmured to Leo, leaning into him.

Without turning around to face Sheridan, Freyna paused. Her voice carried clearly in the still air, "If Chris fails in his task, rest assured, we will be back to mete out justice."

And with that, they left.


With the valkyries gone, Chris reassessed the situation quickly. The crowd behind him was murmuring, their pointed glances in Leo and Piper's direction making Chris distinctly uncomfortable. Shooting glances at his parents, "Go back to HQ. Now."

Opening her mouth to argue, Piper snapped her mouth shut at Chris' look. Clasping Leo's hand, she nodded reluctantly, "Don't be long. We still have things to discuss."

As Leo's blue orbs signalled their departure, Chris returned his attention to the task at hand which wasn't hard, given Jenny Sheridan was on the war path and he was currently standing in the middle of it.

"Who gave you the right to make promises on our behalf?" Sheridan demanded angrily of Chris. "Who even asked you here? You think you can just butt your nose into everything? You're not the leader here. We are," indicating the humans who were gathered around her.

Seeing the fear for her fellow citizens, Chris reigned in his annoyance, patiently explaining, "And if I hadn't shown up? You guys likely would be locked in a battle with the valkyries right now. Is that what you want?"

Jenny Sheridan checked her temper. Knowing Chris as she did, she knew he had a valid point. "I guess we'll never know, will we?" Jenny said, a little ungraciously, still grappling with her irritation over how Chris had swept in and took over the situation. "I'm not happy about this. At all. There is no way we're handing that poor man over to the valkyries. No matter what you find."

Running his hand through his hair in frustration, Chris sighed, "Can we cross that bridge when we get there?"

"There's no where to get, Chris," Jenny pointed out. "I've told you, we won't hand over one of our own. End of story."

Chris nodded wearily, "We'll make sure the valkyries understand that. You have my word. But we need to find out what happened to Kate."

Measuring Chris' words, Jenny finally nodded. "All right. I'm trusting you here, Chris."

Chris nodded, acknowledging the generous gesture, "I know. Thank you." As he turned to leave, he motioned to Les, pausing as Jenny threw out one final question.

"Chris – wait," Jenny jogged forward, leaning in towards the whitelighter and his friend, her voice low so it wouldn't carry across to the crowd behind her. "How did you know we needed your help?"

Chris shrugged, before orbing out, "Whitelighter. Apparently he was in the neighbourhood. He got injured too. Arrow in the shoulder."

"See? I told you. Can't trust the buggers…they have spies among us."

Jenny jumped as a voice in her ear whispered. Whipping her head around, Jenny glared at Jeremiah who had clearly followed her to listen in on the private conversation, "You don't know what you're talking about."

Crossing his arms to look at her sceptically, "Then why are you so worried?"


Back at headquarters…

At the tinkling of orbs, Paige jerked her head up to the sight of Leo and Piper orbing in. "Hey. Where's Chris?"

"He's coming," Leo said reassuringly. Looking at Lilah, "What about your friend? Is he okay?"

Lilah nodded, "He's fine. I patched him up and sent him off."

Phoebe nodded, "Ben was by earlier to retrieve the arrow. He's going to test it to see if it's a darklighter arrow or not."

Piper's eyebrow rose, "Very C.S.I."

Lilah grinned, "We try." Turning serious, "Chris have things under control?"

Leo nodded, "I think so. I mean, it certainly seemed so. We wouldn't have left otherwise."

Lilah nodded sagely, "That's good."

Trading glances with her husband, Piper decided now was the opportunity to voice her concerns while they had Lilah alone, "I was…I mean, we were just wondering…"

"Yes?" Lilah prompted.

"I'm not sure I've had time to process everything," Piper confessed. Her lower lip quivered, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around Chris' condition. Maybe you could…help us understand?"

Leo inhaled deeply, releasing a shaky breath. "I don't think I can get used to the idea that my son is slowly dying."

"He mentioned…he said you've been helping him," Piper stumbled over the words, trying to articulate her fears into a coherent thought. As Lilah looked at Piper questioningly, Piper swallowed worries, "With the pain. Is there? I mean...is there pain? A lot?"

Lilah looked uncomfortable, "I don't…I'm not sure we should be talking about this."

"You're his doctor, for all intents and purposes, right?" Piper pointed out, her voice pleading. At Lilah's hesitant nod, Piper continued, "And I'm his mother. Of course we should be talking about this."

"I think…it should really come from Chris," Lilah hedged.

"You know he won't tell me the truth. Please, Lilah. I'm begging you. I…we need to know what our son is dealing with," Piper's voice broke under all the emotion.

Drawing in a slow breath, Lilah studied the concerned faces of Chris' parents. Oh, she knew Piper was right – Chris would admit nothing, not wanting to appear weak. He had suffered silently for weeks before he had finally approached herself for pain medication. It had driven her crazy – he had rather suffer than ask for her help and show his vulnerability. He had rather pretend he was perfectly fine than to reveal failing health. In fact, he would rather ignore his illness and impending death by keeping busy than admit his need for simple human comfort. Weighing all of this in her head, Lilah acknowledged the truth of Piper's statement, "He's very sick."

Gripping on to Leo's hand like a life line, Piper whispered, "I know." In the background, she could feel her sisters move to stand behind her in support.

"My healing can only alleviate the pain for a little while. Better than the pain medication but not as long lasting," Lilah sagged against the nearby wall, her head tilting back as she closed her eyes as the knowledge of Chris' condition weighed heavily on her. "It's why we've been administering him a combination of both." Her eyes still closed, she paused, gathering herself, knowing his family needed her to continue. "His body is literally breaking down. His organs will eventually shut down one by one. It will hurt like hell."

Lilah's eyes opened to meet Piper's, "And then he'll die."

To be continued…