If anyone was wondering, I've decided the Bad Future is 2025. Melinda, PJ, Kat and Tamora are 18, Henry Jr. is 17 and Matt is the Manticore Baby all grown up.

Mel was impressed. Aunt Paige was hiding her pain at having to attack her daughter incredibly well. She would have to ask her to teach her that for when she fought Wyatt. Of course, that assumed that they both survived this attack.

"Please." Tamora begged, surprising Mel. "Let me speak." Her brown eyes were full of sincerity for once.

Tamora stared at her mother, sister and brother, longingly, for a moment, before she met Mel's eyes.

Melinda realised with a start that, with Chris gone, and Matt being part-demon, she was the one her cousins looked to for leadership. Leo was no ones's favourite, and Paige usually stayed in the bases, healing their wounded and trying to teach magic so that Wyatt wouldn't win at wiping out good magic.

"Let Pearl and Peyton go." Mel answered. The coldness of her voice surprised her. Maybe she wouldn't need lessons from Paige. "Then we'll talk."

Even without empathy powers, Mel could sense the surprise from everyone in the room when Tamora removed her hands from the twins. The twins didn't wait to run away from their cousin to hide behind Paige.

"Now?" Tamora asked. A little of her usual scorn seeping through.

"What do you want, Tam?" Kat snapped. She did need lessons from Paige when it came to hiding emotions, Mel mused. Kat had only stood, shocked when Tamora arrived. But she had found her voice now.

"It's Wyatt." Tamora began. "He – he's sent Ryake back to the past. He – Ryake – he says that he's gotten Chris. He says that…" Tamora stopped for a moment. "He says that Chris is going to die."

Mel froze. Ryake was Wyatt's top torturer, and Chris was his favourite victim.

"How?" Mel heard someone gasp, she wasn't sure whether it was her or someone else.

"Poison." Tamora answered, looking away. "Atropine poison."

Mel bit her lip. Death by atropine poison was not a good death. If it was true, Chris would die screaming in agony after experiencing a long, long period of pain and suffering. It was forbidden, even in the underworld. Mel had no idea where Wyatt had gotten it.

"Why should we believe you?" Henry asked, his voice hard.

Tamora shook her head, tearfully. "I didn't want anyone to die." She hissed.

"That's never stopped you before." Matthew shrugged, carelessly. Tamora had been the one to hand his father over to Wyatt. She had done nothing when Derek had been used as a bargaining chip for Matthew to join Wyatt, and hand over Chris. She had done nothing when Wyatt had had his father torn to pieces in front of him.

Tamora flinched and her tear-filled eyes met Mathew's. "I never wanted that, Matt. I only ever wanted the family to be safe. I'm sorry." She apologised, begging for his forgiveness.

Matt looked away from her and Tamora turned to Melinda instead.

"Mel, Bianca was pregnant. Wyatt killed his own family. He's gone mad since Chris rejected him."

Melinda ignored the ache in her chest at the mention of her former future sister-in-law. She hadn't known Bianca was pregnant, she doubted Chris had either. "Is Wyatt's sanity news to you?" She snapped. Oh, Bianca, she grieved internally.

"What do you want us to do, Tamora?" Leo asked, his voice was somehow weary and hateful at the same time.

Maybe he hated how far their family had fallen apart as much as Mel did. Maybe learning that his son had killed his grandchild had finally convinced Leo that Wyatt was not worth saving at all.

Too little, too late, Old Man.

Leo bit his lip, staring down at Chris's writhing body.

After being orbed upstairs, Chris had started whimpering and begging. Leo wasn't sure which was worse, the laboured breathing or the quiet calls for his mother, father and, sometimes, even Wyatt.

He didn't want to believe that Wyatt would ever do something like this but he didn't believe that Chris was faking the level of fear whenever he cried out for Wyatt.

Leo pressed a hand to Chris's forehead to check his fever again. It didn't matter what his temperature was. Leo knew it was too high. He wasn't sure what else to do.

Leo knew it might be beneficial to take off Chris's sweat soaked clothes, but he didn't have anything to give him to where. It was would be easy to orb to P3 and grab something for Chris, but he was reluctant to leave him for any length of time.

"Your clothes are still in the dresser." Piper said, seemingly reading his mind. She stopped in the doorway and stared at Leo and Chris.

Leo wondered what she was looking at. He didn't think Chris had gotten any worse since he had orbed him upstairs. He went to pull out some of the pyjamas trying to avoid thinking about Chris's condition deteriorating. He had expected it to hurt to be reminded of when he and Piper had been together but the something about the situation had overshadowed it. Maybe it was himself and Piper working together. Maybe it was their shared position of trying to care for someone who was, basically, a rebellious child.

Piper sat Wyatt in the centre of the bed, at Chris's left side. Wyatt whimpered at Chris, sensing his discomfort. His tiny hands grasped Chris's shaking one.

"Wy…" Chris whimpered.

"Chri…" Wyatt squeaked in response. He moved a hand up to Chris's face. "Chriiisss." He mumbled.

Piper smiled sadly at her little boy. "Good job, Wyatt." She said, sorrowfully.

The cynical part of her hoped that Wyatt wasn't close enough to Chris that, if he died, he would miss him.

Leo gently nudged Piper out of the way at Chris's side. He slipped his hands under Chris's shoulders and heaved Chris up. Leo slid behind Chris, propping him up against his chest. Without Leo saying anything, Piper moved to Chris's lower half and began pulling off his shoes and socks. Working quickly, they were able to get Chris into new, clean clothes.

It was lucky Chris was unconscious, Leo thought. He was sure that the witch lighter would hate to been seen so weak and vulnerable.

"How old do you think Chris is?" Leo wondered suddenly. He pressed a hand against Chris's chest. He had seen the new bruises from demon hunting covering him. But he had also seen very old scars covering his back and shoulders. Chris seemed cynical enough to have survived through a war, but he didn't seem old enough.

"He's not born yet." Piper said, looking up at Leo. "He won't be until the end of next year."

"But when did he come from?" Leo asked.

Piper shrugged. "He said something about 2020 before. It must be after that." She took Chris's limp hand in hers. "He can't be old enough to drink."

"I've seen him drink before." Leo replied. He laughed. "I've actually seen him drunk before. And not from much."

Chris moaned. "Dad?" He called, weakly.

Leo sighed and brought his hand up to brush the hair away from Chris's forehead. "He's been calling for his parents for a while. Who do you think they are?"

"No idea." Piper answered. "He hasn't told me anything about them."

"I know he thinks his parents aren't proud of him. I know he doesn't get on with his father, he doesn't talk about his mom. I think… I think Wyatt might have…" Leo trailed off.

"No." Piper whispered. She turned to look at her little baby boy, sitting on the bed next to them, chatting at Chris and rubbing his hair like she did for Wyatt. She couldn't believe that he would ever grow up to kill somebody. "I hope his parents are proud of him." She said instead. She couldn't imagine trying to help save the man who had killed her mother. "I would be, if he was my son."

For those wondering 'Atropine' poison is the name of a poison I found from the Doctor Who website. Sorry about how little Chris is in this chapter.