"Mel!" Chris shook his sister's shoulders. Mel gave a gasp and sat straight up in bed. There were tears in her eyes. "Are you okay?" She put one hand to her heart. She was silent for a few minutes while her breathing went back to normal.
"I'm okay." She said after, closing her eyes for a second. Chris watched her for a moment.
"I think we should tell Mom and Dad about this." Just like every other time he'd suggested this, Mel shook her head violently.
"No. We can't tell them." Chris and Mel had this argument almost every time she had one of her nightmares.
"But maybe they would be able to help." He said, frowning at his sister. The tears fell from Mel's eyes as she bowed her head, her long dark hair falling into her eyes.
"I can't tell them, Chris. I can't." Chris sat back and crossed his arms.
"Fine. Then you have to tell me. What was this one about?" Mel looked up at him, hesitating. She never liked telling him, and rarely went into detail. They had been very young when she had first started having them, though, and she had told him without really thinking about it. He and Ruby were the only one's who knew.
"Was it about Dad?" He pressed when she didn't say anything. Mel chewed her lip, and looked down.
"Yes." Chris tilted his head so he could meet her eyes.
"It was bad?" He guessed from the look in her eyes. She nodded.
"I saw him trying to kill Mom and Aunt Paige." She whispered finally. Chris stared at her, shocked for a moment, before he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It was just a nightmare, Mel." Her head snapped up, and she glared at him.
"It's not just a nightmare, Chris. I've had enough premonitions to know what they feel like. This is like that, only of the past and not the future." Chris
"I think we should tell them," Chris repeated after a moment. "At least Dad. He'd be able to explain."
"No." Mel said again. She leaned forward. "We can't tell him, Chris. Promise you won't tell him." Chris sighed again.
"Alright. I won't tell. I promise."
...
"Piper." She turned and frowned.
"Leo, hi. What are you doing here?" She paused. "I mean, you haven't really been around much lately..." He nodded.
"I know. I really was only worried about you guys, but when you found out that Chris really was trustworthy, I thought it'd be best if I stayed away. It's...easier that way." She nodded.
"Then why are you here now? Something wrong?" He hesitated for a moment.
"The other elders sent me here, Piper." She tensed at this and her eyes narrowed.
"Leo, look, I know you're an elder now, but to be honest you're the only elder I'm going to be letting into my house. You're the only one that I trust anymore."
"I know. That's...why they sent me." Piper nodded, crossing her arms.
"So, what? They're using you now too?" Leo shook his head, stepping closer to her.
"No, Piper. They're not using me. They are worried...specifically about what Paige told them. I mean the one from the future."
"Oh, you mean the one who had watched her children die, that one? So, are they even concerned about the fact that Phoebe could die in the next six months or are they just concerned with a vague theory they have of what a threat Cole might be?" Leo sighed.
"Look, I know that you don't trust them or like them much anymore-"
"And why would that be, Leo?" She interrupted him, her voice sharp. "Could it be because they tried to kill Cole?"
"They thought they were doing the right thing." Piper shook her head, anger rising.
"Oh, don't you even give me that crap. I notice that it didn't take much convincing on her part before they were lining up to execute Cole." She glared at him for a moment. "This isn't about the future, is it? This is about the past. This is about Cole's past."
"Piper, I know you're angry, but don't take it out on me. I wasn't there, remember?"
"You weren't, and you didn't know about it, did you?"
"Of course I didn't." He said, looking slightly hurt that she could think that.
"I'm sorry." She sighed, feeling a little guilty. "It's just...I don't trust them, Leo. I can't, not after what they tried to do."
"I know. Paige must have known I wouldn't go along, so did they. They left me out of the loop. I may not like Cole much and we may not be together anymore, but I would never hurt you like that."
"I know." She felt some of her anger fade. "So, why did they send you down here? This is about Cole, isn't it?"
"Sort of. They are concerned about what Paige told them, but they are also concerned about something else." Piper frowned.
"What else?" Leo hesitated.
"I know you're pregnant, Piper." Piper nodded, a little uncomfortable suddenly. She was talking to a man she had been planning on having children with not even two years ago. Then she frowned.
"Wait, they're worried about my kids?" Leo nodded.
"You know that the charmed line will go on through your children, don't you? The power of three will be reborn through the first born of the charmed ones. From what you have learned from the future, from what Paige told them, and from...something else, they think the new power of three will be reborn in yours and Cole's children and Paige's eldest child."
"Something else?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know the prophesies about the charmed ones, Piper, and I'm sure that your aware of how powerful your children will be."
"Okay, what exactly are they worried about?" Leo hesitated again, and looked down. "Leo..."
"I'm just...trying to figure out a way to tell you this without getting blown up." He didn't smile. Piper crossed her arms, and some of her anger came back.
"They think that my babies will turn, don't they?" Piper shook her head. "Do they think Chris is evil?"
"They are concerned...about the real reason that Chris came back from the future." He said carefully. Piper shook her head, some of her anger coming back.
"Thank you for coming down here, for warning me about this, but I could care less about their concerns."
"Piper-" She held up a hand.
"No. You know, I never liked the elders. After all the crap they put us through while we were together, I haven't been too fond of them. This is worse. They lost the right to dictate anything in our lives when they tried to kill Cole. They should have come to me. Paige is my sister. She was suffering, on the brink. Instead of coming to me and my sisters like they should have, they kept it from us and used it to try and kill Cole."
"I don't think they were trying to hurt you, Piper." She scoffed.
"I don't care why they did it, Leo." She tilted her head. "They think that history will repeat itself? That's what Cole thought. He thinks that the elders don't like him because they think that I'll turn the way Phoebe did."
"That is a concern of theirs." Leo admitted. "Piper, you have to see that it's well founded, after what happened to Cole and Phoebe's marriage."
"That's not going to..." She trailed off, and glared at him when what he'd said hit home. "They know, don't they? They know that Cole asked me to marry him. How do they know that? I haven't even told Phoebe and Paige yet."
"You know as well as I do that they have ways of finding this kind of stuff out."
"Ways like watching us?"
"I don't think that they would do that, Piper." Her glare did not let up, though.
"After everything they've done in the past, I wouldn't put anything past them. Leo, I've loved you, and I know that you are a good guy. From here on out, you are the only elder that I ever want to see again. You go back and you tell the rest of them to stay out of my life, to stay away from Cole, and to stay the hell out of my children's lives." Leo sighed and nodded sadly.
"Alright, but Piper, I really don't think they're intentions were to hurt you." She said nothing to that. She'd already made her feelings clear. "Bye, Piper." He said before orbing out.
Sighing herself, Piper sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands, worried now more than ever. Despite what she had said, her warnings, she knew that the elders would not let this issue lie. She was worried about what they would do if they did seriously view Cole as a threat.
...
The living room was a disaster. Chris and Ruby had been gone out for only an hour.
"Oh, my God." Ruby said, her hand flying to her mouth when she saw the destruction. She grabbed a hold of Chris' arm. That's when he heard the sobbing, and saw his mother.
Piper was lying in the center of the room, the coffee table shattered around her. Chris stood numb for several seconds before he ran over and knelt beside her.
"Mom?" Ruby ran over as well, kneeling on the other side of her. She put a hand over the wound on Piper's chest, but looked up, meeting Chris' eyes after a moment and shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
Feeling a little numb, Chris reached out and touched his mom's hair. He looked over to the source of the sobbing and saw his sister. Mel was sitting, pressed up against the wall. Her eyes were fixated on Piper.
"Piper?" They heard Cole's voice in the hallway. "I heard-" He cut off abruptly and Chris and Ruby both looked to the doorway where he had stopped. He stood frozen for a moment before walking over. Ruby scrambled over to Mel as he fell to his knees beside Piper.
Chris watched his father lean over her. He watched as the truth hit him, he watched as Cole broke down, he watched as he hugged his mother's body. Chris stared at his dad, and realized that it was the first time that he'd ever seen his dad really cry. That thought finally broke him.
...
"Chris." Piper stopped short in surprise when she entered the attic. It wasn't exactly an unusual sight, in fact Piper sometimes wondered if Chris had the book memorized with all the time he spent looking through it. This time, however, Chris was not at the book. He was standing by the window, staring out.
"Piper." He said, turning his gaze briefly on her. Piper stepped closer to him hesitantly, definitely surprised when he didn't immediately orb out.
"Are you alright?" She asked quietly. Chris turned fully to her after a moment of silence, and crossed his arms, looking uncomfortable.
"Piper...can I ask you something?"
"Of course." She said after another moment of shock that he was actually talking to her and in a civil voice as well. "You can ask me anything." Chris hesitated. He looked down for a moment, his bangs falling into his eyes, before he met her gaze again.
"Why did you...What were your reasons, at the time, I mean..." He shook his head. "Why did you forgive him?" Piper frowned at him.
"Him? You mean Cole?" Chris nodded. She studied his expression. "You know about his past?"
"I...found some things out. You guys filled in some of the blanks when I pressed you."
"What exactly did we fill in?" Chris reached for the book, to the page he had opened earlier and turned the stand to face her.
"Like him." Chris tapped the picture of Belthazor and met Piper's gaze again. "And the Source."
"You don't trust him?" Piper asked finally. Chris shook his head with a smile.
"Of course I trust him, Piper. I loved my father, he was a great man, but I never saw this side of him. You did. I was wondering what made you, and your sisters, forgive him."
"Well, to be honest, I think at this point Paige really more tolerates him. She is coming around though, the more time he's here. They just really bicker like brother and sister lately. Phoebe...she loved him at one time. She still loved him when he came back last year. I think she couldn't forgive him because she still loved him. But once she let him go, once she moved on..."
"And you?"
"He made me realize something important," she smiled softly. "He made me realize that he wasn't that guy anymore." She gestured to the picture of Belthazor. "That he hadn't been for a while. I couldn't help but to fall for him." Chris nodded, and looked away from her.
"I was just...wondering." He orbed out before she could say anything else. Piper sighed and sat down on the couch. Well, at least he'd talked to her, even if he was still distant.
...
"Mel's sleeping." Ruby said, walking into the room and sitting down next to Chris.
"She's having the nightmares again." Chris said quietly. Ruby nodded.
"We need to tell Cole." Chris shook his head.
"She doesn't want us to tell him."
"Look, Chris. I agreed to keep this quiet when we were younger because of what the dreams were...and then what happened to Piper...what Cole went through after that..."
"She stopped having them."
"That may be true, but Chris," she shook her head, "she's having them again now, and her fiancé was just killed..."
"Everybody has a right to their secrets."
"Not when those secrets can hurt them." Ruby countered. "I watched her tonight, Chris, and I think we have a bigger problem."
"What's that?"
"I don't think she's dreaming about Cole anymore."
...
"Cole asked you to marry him." Phoebe repeated.
"Yep." Piper said. Phoebe and Paige exchanged a glance before both of them hugged Piper.
"Well, it isn't all that surprising. You are pregnant, after all."
"So, you guys are okay with this?" Paige shrugged.
"If we're okay with you carrying the demons baby, why wouldn't we be okay with you marrying him?"
"Good." Piper said, ignoring the way Paige had said it. Phoebe frowned at her.
"You going to tell us what's bothering you?"
"What are you talking about?" Piper started away, towards the kitchen. "Everything's great, everything's wonderful."
"Piper." Phoebe grabbed her sister's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "What's the matter?"
"I'm just...worried." Phoebe smiled.
"Well, I'd be worried if you weren't." When Piper only glared at her, she sighed. "What are you worried about?"
"I'm worried about the real reason that Chris came back."
...
"Hey, Leo." Chris said without looking up. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. I heard what happened." For a moment, the words brought back the crushing, overwhelming pain. With effort, Chris pushed it back down, forced himself to be numb.
"I'm sorry, Chris." Leo said, sitting down on the bridge next to him. "How...How are you? How are Paige and Cole?"
"They're great." Chris said, his voice empty. "Paige had a breakdown and is currently blaming Dad for everything. Dad's not fighting her on it, either. You know, he cried when Mom died. He doesn't cry now, he's just..." He looked over at Leo. "I did that to him."
"This wasn't your fault."
"No?" For a moment, it overwhelmed him again. The pain and the horrifying guilt of what he'd done.
"You didn't mean to. You were trying to protect them." Leo said softly. Chris didn't bother to reply. It didn't matter. The fact that he hadn't meant to didn't matter.
"I'm going to fix it." He said softly after a moment. "I'm going to fix everything."
"What are you talking about?" Again, Chris didn't answer. He orbed out instead, heading to where he'd said he'd meet Bianca. All that mattered now was the mission. He'd never be able to forgive himself for what he'd done, even if he did change it, but maybe he could save them.
...
"Chris." Cole sat down next to him at P3. The club was empty at the moment.
"What are you doing here?" Chris asked. He hadn't really talked to Piper or Cole lately. The conversation with Piper hadn't really helped either. His nightmare was back, the one of what he'd done. He'd been having it for a while now, and talking with Piper hadn't helped.
"I came to see how you were doing." Cole said.
"Piper's worried?" Chris guessed, looking over at Cole. He nodded.
"Yes, she is." Chris stood up.
"Tell her I'm fine." Cole turned in his chair.
"I would if I believed that." He stood up finally. "Look, I know you don't want to talk to her. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it's because something..." he hesitated for a moment. "Something happens to her in the future." Chris closed his eyes briefly.
"It's not just that." He said softly. Cole stepped closer to him.
"Then what is it, Chris? Whatever it is has got you running away from her, from your mother, and I gotta tell you, kid, you look like you haven't slept in weeks." He paused again, hesitating in asking the next question, afraid of the answer that he could get. "This has something to do with your sister?" Chris visibly flinched and refused to meet Cole's eyes.
"I don't want her to hate me. I don't want you to hate me." Cole shook his head.
"Why would I hate you? Whatever it is, I wouldn't hate you, and neither would Piper."
"She will. She'll hate me. You'll both hate me when you find out what I did." Cole put his hands on Chris' shoulder but Chris still avoided his gaze.
"Chris, tell me what happened."
"I killed her." Chris' voice was soft, and he finally met Cole's eyes. "I killed my sister."
...
This chapter took forever to get out, and that was after I uploaded it. Sorry about the dots, but the line on the document doesn't seem to want to work right now.