Disclaimer: Charmed and its characters are not mine.
Author's Note: Hi everyone!
I'd kind of abandoned this story, but recently I went back to read it and found my muse again... hehe.
Anyway, I've decided to work on it again. The storyline will be mainly foucused on the Wyatt and Chris, with my character Polly serving as a sort of guide.
This chapter we don't really see Chris/Wyatt action, but it's coming up in the next one.
I hope you like it.
"Hey thanks for coming," Piper said gratefully as she opened the door for Shelia.
The woman smiled, "No problem, he is my favorite god-child you know," she said grinning.
Piper smiled slightly, the knot in her stomach giving another twist...
...he kills her...
"You okay Piper?" Shelia asks softly, as she reached for Wyatt, "Usually that's your signal to say he's your only god-child."
Piper blinked a little, "Yeah, yeah..." she whisperd as Wyatt eagerly reached out to Shelia.
Shelia pressed a few kisses to his brow and temple, before saying with a concerned look on her face, "What's wrong Piper?"
Piper shook herself, "Nothing, nothing's wrong, really."
Just then Paige and Phoebe staggered down the stairs, "We have a problem," Phoebe said as they reached the landing.
Both were a little pale and obviously shook up about something.
Shelia stared at them a moment before nodding acceptingly, "That's my cue to go," she said wryly, "Don't worry about the little guy here; I'll keep him overnight if you need it."
Piper nodded absentmindedly, murmuring her thanks as she handed a bag to Shelia.
Closing the door she faced her sisters, "What is it?"
"He's gone," Paige spit out.
"What? Who?"
"Wyatt."
"What about Chris and Polly?"
"They're upstairs, looking through the book."
Piper shook her head, "That doesn't make sense. He came here for them, why would he leave without them?"
"He threw a vial of something and smoke filled the room, and he was gone when it cleared," Phoebe explained.
Piper swallowed hard, "I need to sit," she said suddenly, walking over to the living and dropping down on the sofa.
"Why didn't I see it?" she asked a moment later.
"He waited till you'd left the room," Paige answered.
Piper nodded, "Do you feel any different? Have you tried to orb? Tried sensing something?"
Paige orbed away then back, Phoebe focused on Piper and felt the shock and disbelief and fear and amazement and love that were swirling through the woman's head. She pulled back quickly.
"I can sense." She said softly.
"And I can orb." Paige added.
"So maybe the potion was just smoke." Piper offered.
Her sisters looked at each other, than Phoebe said softly, "I don't think so. He apologized before he threw it."
"He what?" Piper asked, frowning.
"Right after you left, he said he was sorry and that he'd hoped he wouldn't have to do this." Phoebe answered, her voice still soft.
"Let's go up to the kids…" Piper said after a moment. It was a lot to take in, a lot to deal with, but they had to… she had to. She had to deal with the fact that her son would grow up to become a tyrant, and she could deal with it.
But she sure as hell didn't have to accept it.
Quietly they all moved upstairs.
When they got upstairs, they found a worried Chris kneeling over a very pale Polly. She was laying back in one of the armchairs, her eyes closed.
"What happened!" Phoebe exclaimed rushing over to them.
Chris looked up, "She doesn't feel good," he said, sounding very young all of a sudden.
He stepped back and allowed the sisters to examine Polly.
"What is it sweetheart?" Phoebe asked gently, her hand smoothing Polly's hair.
The girl's eyes fluttered open, "Everything is spinning…"
"She's burning up," Phoebe said softly to her sisters, her eyes wide as she felt her daughter forehead.
"You don't think…" Paige began but cut herself off.
She didn't have to finish the thought, what had happened here was pretty obvious.
"Wyatt." Phoebe stated bleakly.
"But if… if the potion was to make people sick," Piper began hesitantly, "…wouldn't it have worked on everyone in the room?"
"Not if it was specifically brewed for Polly," Chris answered grimly. He was pacing now, the green of his eyes dark.
"But how-"
"Blood," he answered before Phoebe she could finish posing her question; looking at his cousin he asked, "Would he be have access to any?"
Polly swallowed hard, "Yeah," she whispered, fighting to keep her eyes opened, "My clothes… from the attack…"
"What attack?" Phoebe asked alarmed. She was sitting on the arm of the chair now, her hand gently stroking her daughter's hair.
Polly shrugged weakly, "From earlier," she stated.
"Why would he do this?" Paige asked clearly distraught.
"Because he's an asshole…" Chris said with true conviction, as his pacing picked up speed.
To the sister's astonishment Polly chuckled a little, before saying softly, "I told him he was earlier today…"
"A brilliant asshole, though, I'll give him that…" Chris continued in all seriousness.
The sister's remained silent, it was Polly who spoke, "You can't give in to him Chris… we can't let him win…"
"Dammit Polly, he already has!" The boy growled, whirling away from them and running a frustrated hand through his hair.
"Why don't one of you fill us in, since there's obviously something going on we don't know about…" Piper requested.
"He knows I won't go with him… that nothing he says can make me… he knows that I'll never give up, I'll never give up trying to stop him—not for anything…" Chris said fiercely, still not facing the sisters.
When he turned to face them though, the fierceness wasn't evident in his face, only defeat.
"But for Polly…" Piper whispered.
He nodded solemnly.
"You can't Chris!" Polly cried, tears stinging her eyes, "I didn't come here for that… I wanted to help… not ruin everything…" the girl tried to sit up, but ended up gasping for breath as the entire world seemed to lurch around.
"Oh god…" Phoebe whispered, easing her daughter back down, "What do we do? We have to do something…"
"Maybe Leo can heal her…" Piper stated.
"But you didn't want Leo know about your preg-" Paige began.
"This is more important," Piper interrupted.
"Don't bother," Chris said wearily, "Wyatt's potions are strong… he's twice-blessed remember…"
It wasn't a question though; his gaze was focused on Polly.
"Please Chris," she whispered, "there has to be another way… find it… please…" her eyes slid shut on that word.
Chris didn't respond to her plea.
"You told us he wouldn't hurt you," Phoebe stated, her tone almost accusing.
"I said only in extremely extreme situations… this qualifies…" Polly said, her eyes still closed.
Chris sighed suddenly and in one smooth motion reached down and scooped his little cousin into his arms.
"Oooooh how gallant of you," Polly murmured faintly as she tried to open her eyes; she decided not to though, since the spinning world was making her nauseous.
Chris said nothing, just carried her down the stairs.
The sisters followed silently.
He took her to the room Phoebe had prepared for her, and laid her very gently onto the bed.
"Thanks Chris," she whispered, as he backed away.
Still the boy remained silent.
"Chris?" Paige asked, concerned, "Are feeling sick too? You're so quiet…"
A snort from Polly brought all their gazes to her, "No he's not sick… he's working out his plan… I'm not going back Christopher, so work you're plan around that…" she hissed at him, the gentle tone she'd used to thank him a moment earlier gone.
"Like hell you're not!" He hissed back, "You'll do whatever the hell I say Paula; whatever the hell it takes to get you better!"
"NOT THAT!" she cried, her eyes flying open as she half sat up in the bed.
"YOU'LL DO ANYTHING I SAY! BECAUSE I'M NOT LOSING YOU TOO!"
The roar seemed to echo in the room and Chris quickly turned away from them all.
Polly dropped back down on the bed, her outburst leaving her completely exhausted.
"He won't actually… hurt her… will he?" Piper asked tentatively after a moment of silence.
Chris still wasn't facing them, "If by hurt you mean kill—I don't know," he stated quietly, "I really don't know."
His tone told them that was what he was really scared of—the not knowing.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Phoebe said, "What's his next move?"
A bitter chuckle escaped from Chris as he turned to face them, "Obviously you're not paying attention…"
"Don't be snotty with them," Polly said, her words almost imperceptible now, as though she were falling asleep, "They don't understand… not really…"
"The move is ours," Chris told the sisters after a moment, "He's made his."
"But what does he expect you to do? I mean, you have to know what he's thinking." Paige insisted.
Chris shrugged, "I stopped trying to guess his thoughts awhile ago… Polly's better at it?"
His gaze fell to the girl lying on the bed, so did everyone else's.
"Polly?" he asked softly, when the girl made no move to speak.
"She's asleep," Phoebe told them a moment later as she felt the girls' temple, "And she's on fire…"
"He can't be serious about this," Chris growled suddenly, once again turning away from them.
The sisters remained silent.
He whirled on them suddenly; his expression remote and cold and they knew without a doubt that they were now facing the leader of the Resistance movement.
"Take care of her. I'll be back later."
"Chris wait-"
But Piper's call went unheeded as the boy orbed out without another word.
"DAMMIT CHRIS! YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT!" Piper screamed, looking up at the ceiling.
"YOU GET BACK HERE, MISTER!" Paige cried.
"Ugh!" Piper continued stamping her foot, "Who does he think he is! He can't just leave like that! We don't know what's going on, what to do! And Wyatt's evil for christsake! What if he gets hurt! DAMMIT CHRIS!"
Polly stirred at Piper last screech and Phoebe sent her sister a sharp glare, "Stop yelling," she said.
Piper groaned, "Sorry… I just… what are we supposed to do? Just sit here?"
"Actually—yeah, you should sit," Paige said pointedly.
"We're going to do what he said," Phoebe stated, "We're going to take care of her…"
"I know you're listening."
He spoke the words softly, almost gently. The wind brushed his face, but that wasn't unusual on the bridge.
It was their spot.
All three of them.
Piper's Men.
That's what Leo had said when the three had come up here together. That this would be their secret spot… for when the world got to be too much for Piper's Men.
He remembered how he and Wyatt had laughed and used the spot to hide from their mother when they were in trouble…
"I'll find the antidote, Wyatt. And if I can't find it, I'll make one. This stunt of yours will accomplish nothing; nothing but put you in danger of losing the very last person who loves you."
"We'll see…"
The voice was so soft it seemed carried by the wind, but Chris knew it wasn't… the words weren't in the wind… they were in his head. Wyatt was making use of their brotherly bond… and Chris hated him for it.
Hated him for using something so sacred as a tool in their war against each other. It was a war. And Chris couldn't afford to lose…
"I won't let you win."
He'd just needed to state the words out loud, somewhere where his brother would hear them; needed to make them real, to make them a promise.
Wyatt wouldn't win.
With that said Chris orbed away—intent on finding out what potion his brother had used and how to counteract it.
Silently Wyatt watched.
He too was on the bridge, but cloaked… he'd known Chris would come. It didn't bode well with him—having to poison Polly.
Especially today, when the girl had already been through so much; but he didn't have time to waste in the past and his family members weren't cooperating.
If they'd only cooperate things like this wouldn't be necessary. If they'd only stop fighting him, he'd care for them. But they wouldn't, and so they'd forced his hand…
Somewhere inside though, a part of him rejected this logic; somewhere inside a voice told him that there was no justification, that no matter what—he was supposed to take care of them… never to hurt them.
Somewhere inside he hurt at the idea that he'd done something to Polly; that he'd made his baby cousin sick…
But that part of him was ignored; it had been ignored for so long that he hardly heard it… it came to him as whispers, as stirrings of something learned – believed – long ago.
Ideals so deeply embedded he could not rid himself of them…
Even though he'd tried.
As the years had passed it had become easier to ignore the whispers; to shove them away and let his logic reign.
Suddenly though, the whispers were stronger, louder, and sounding too familiar...
…that is not how I raised you…
Yes, the whispers were sounding much too familiar.
"How are you feeling baby?" Phoebe asked a heavy-lidded Polly a few hours later.
"Like I went up against Wyatt's demon staff while being drugged …" she stated.
"Has that ever happened?" Phoebe asked, panicked.
Polly chuckled a little, "No, well… not until recently." She corrected herself. She was lying in bed with flanked on the right by her mother, the left Piper and at the foot of the bed by Paige. It was hard to concentrate on what they were saying, but she was trying.
She didn't want to fall asleep—not when she'd been awoken by convulsions a few minutes earlier.
A seizure, Piper had said, her brow furrowed and had insisted she was going to call Leo.
Paige had reminded her that Chris had told them not too.
"Did he say when he'd be back?" she asked now.
Piper shook her head, "No, just later…"
Polly nodded closing her eyes, "He always does that…" she murmured.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Paige exclaimed a moment later, "I mean Wyatt did this… he poisoned her…"
"It's like a bad dream," Piper murmured, "I knew he was evil… I believed Chris, but I just… I didn't think he'd hurt family…"
They were silent a moment, all contemplating Piper's words. How true they were. They'd all believed Chris, but they was nothing like being faced with the reality of an evil Wyatt.
"I'm going up to check the book," Paige said a few moments later, "There has to be something in there to help."
Piper nodded, "I'll go make her some soup, she should eat when she wakes up…"
Phoebe nodded, telling them she'd call if any thing happened.
Three hours later, Polly hadn't woken up, Chris had yet to return, Paige had looked through the book four times, and Piper had made a four course meal.
"This is ridiculous," Piper burst out suddenly. They were in the bedroom again—watching Polly sleep. She seemed to be growing paler and paler, her breathing more and more erratic.
"The book had nothing on this sort of thing," Paige commented.
"There has to be somet-" Phoebe began, but cut herself off when the sound off orbing filled the room.
A moment later Chris stood at there, a black case in his hand and a grim expression on his face.
"Thank god your back," Piper said, "We don't know what to do here…"
He wasn't listening to her though, he was walking over to Polly. Setting the case down on the side of the bed, he kneeled in front of her.
Phoebe watched from the other side, silently her sisters stood behind her.
"Polly-girl, I need you to wake up for me," he whispered tenderly, patting her cheeks lightly.
It took a few pats, but the girl's hazel eyes flickered open a moment later. She blinked, trying to bring the figure into focus, when she did she offered her cousin a faint smile, "Come to save the day…" she murmured.
He gave her a tight smile in return, "I need your blood." He said without preamble.
She gave a weak chuckle and simultaneously outstretched her arm, "… still working on bedside manner, huh…"
Chris said nothing, only reached over and opened up the black case—to reveal syringes and vials.
"You're going to what!" Piper cried.
"Can you do that!" Phoebe cried, "Shouldn't a doct-"
"I've done it before," Chris told her as he set up the equipment.
"He was going to be a doctor…" Polly murmured, "…before Wyatt…" she didn't finish— she didn't have to.
Silently, and in quiet fascination, the sisters watched Chris gently and expertly draw blood from his little cousin.
"Okay, Chris I think that's enough," Phoebe stated a moment later as the vial filled.
His green eyes never left Polly's arm, he didn't even acknowledge her. A moment later he was finished.
"Okay, Polly-girl, that's it." He paused as he set the vials back into the case and gently bent her arm to stop the blood flow. "Here, I want you to take these…" he said, handing two small pills and a bottle of water.
"What are they?" she asked, trying to sit up.
"They should bring your fever down…" he told her, helping her. Quietly she swallowed the medicine, then let Chris help her back into a lying position.
"You can go back to sleep," he told her gently.
Polly nodded, settling herself against the pillows. After a moment she blinked at him, obviously trying to keep the sleep at bay, "How bad is this?" the question was whispered weakly and Chris looked right into her face to respond.
"Piece of cake," he told trying to smile again.
A soft chuckle escaped her, "Liar," she murmured as she drifted into slumber.
Chris waited until he was sure she was asleep, before leaning back and releasing a weary sigh.
"Okay, what's going on?" Phoebe demanded.
"And where did you learn to do that?" Piper asked.
"Hmmmm, if you ask me, we should be asking where he got that stuff..." Paige muttered.
"I uhhhhhh borrowed it from a clinic," Chris replied as he started getting up, "Every high official of the Resistance knows First Aid... plus before... uhhhh... Wyatt made his official outbreak into the world I was an EMT."
The sisters took that in, "What do you need the blood for?" Phoebe asked.
"To see what exactly he did to her; he used her blood to make the potion, so I need her blood to undo it." Chris responded.
"But how are you gonna analyze it?" Paige asked, "Don't you need equipment for that... the kind you can't steal?"
"Yeah, I'm using a glamour spe-" he cut himself off, and made a huffing noise,
"I have this under control for the moment." And with that he prepared to leave.
"Hey!" Piper called, "Don't you dare leave! What are we supposed to do, huh! Just sit here!"
"Yeah, Chris, tell us how to help," Phoebe said quietly, "Please..."
"I already looked in the book and-"
"The book wouldn't have anything on this," he told them, "The book is good. This potion is evil..."
"The Grimoire..." Piper said softly, the light dawning.
He nodded, "Yeah, there really is nothing you can do... just keep Polly safe."
"How much trouble are we really in, Chris?" Piper asked him, her dark eyes filled with worry. Chris took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. His family needed him to reassure them. He could see that—they needed him to tell them everything would be okay.
They needed a whitelighter. And he would be that for them, he had to. All his life they comforted him, told him it would be okay—reassured him that he could do it.
He would do it for them now... even though his heart was pounding and his mouth was dry... even though he had no clue what was going to happen.
He did for them what he did for Polly-- looked right at them and lied.
"It'll be fine. Her blood'll make this a cinch-- I'll figure out what he used and make a counteracting potion... no biggee..."
They eyed him suspiciously for a moment; but they seemed to take him at face value. Paige sighed, Phoebe and Piper nodded slowly.
"Liar," Polly whispered from the bed again.
"I thought you'd gone to sleep," he said walking over to her.
She shook her head, "Can't really sleep..."
"You look terrible," Chris told her, looking down at her.
"Such a charmer..." she whispered at him.
"I made you some soup, honey, do you wanna try it?" Piper asked softly.
"Yeah, you should try and eat," Phoebe added.
"Yeah, she'll try it," Chris answered for her.
"Come down to eye level so I can glare at you," Polly said, a flash of temper making an appearance.
Chris ruffled her hair a little, "I gotta go, be good..."
"Be safe," she whispered back.
He didn't comment, but walked over to Phoebe, took her hand in his and poured pills in her hand, "Two every four hours." He told her, then just orbed out.
The sisters watched him leave, then sighed in unison, realizing there really was nothing they could do… except as he'd said—keep Polly safe.
"I'll go get that soup," Piper murmured.
"You sit, Piper, I'll get it," Paige told her.
Piper arched an eyebrow causing Paige to chuckle a little, "Even I can pour something…" she said wryly.
Phoebe too smiled a little as their younger sister headed for the door, quietly she set the pills down on the nightstand. Piper settled herself on the bed, her gaze on her young niece.
"What can we do to make you feel better?" She asked.
Polly smiled a little, "I feel better just having you all here," her gaze shifted to Phoebe, "It's been a long time…"
Phoebe swallowed hard, reaching out and smoothing the girl's hair, "I don't exactly… I mean I don't really know what to do. I'm not like Piper, I don't have any kids yet… I don't know what-"
Polly's soft chuckle stopped her, "You're doing fine… just fine," she reassured her future mother.
Phoebe smiled, "Good… tell me if I screw up…"
That elicited another soft laugh from her daughter. They watched as the girl's eyes slid shut completely.
"You asleep, Polly?" Piper asked.
"Polly?" Phoebe whispered. No response, the two women sighed at gaze at the girl tenderly.
A moment later Paige walked in carrying the tray with soup, "I didn't even spill," she proclaimed proudly.
"Shhhhhhhh," Phoebe said, "…she's asleep…"
Paige face dropped, "After I poured…?"
Her sisters shrugged, "Just set it up over there…" Piper said, "And come over here—I've been thinking…"
She waited until Paige had set the tray down and sat on the bed before continuing, "What if we summon Wyatt?"
"Chris told us to stay out of it," Paige reminded them.
"Can we do that? Summon Wyatt?" Phoebe asked.
"I can't think why not? And once we get him here we demand an explanation… a cure…"
"Christ told us to stay out of it," Paige repeated.
"I guess that could work," Phoebe said softly, "He did seem fond of Polly… at first… sort of," she sighed, "Truth is I couldn't get a reading off of him—as an empath or an aunt… he seemed so cold… but…"
"Exactly, but, there was something about his reactions… his words; I'm glad you sensed it too," Piper said, "So if we could-"
"PEOPLE." Paige cut in firmly, drawing their attention to her, "Chris. Said. To. Stay. Out. Of. It." She repeated slowly.
"Chris isn't here," Phoebe pointed out.
"And we can't just do nothing, Paige," Piper added.
"If we do something we could just screw things up. I mean no offense Piper, but Wyatt seems kinda unpredictable to me."
"Yeah, I know, but he came for them didn't he…? That has to mean something…"
"Yeah, but is it a good something?" Paige asked.
Phoebe's gaze turned thoughtful suddenly, "You know, I think it might be—good that is. I got this vibe from all of them… right after Wyatt … uhhhhh… you know…"
"-beat the shit out of Chris-" Paige offered helpfully.
Phoebe nodded, shooting Piper a careful glance, "Yeah… it was tension, but it was almost… I don't know— familiar tension."
"Which means that Wyatt makes a habit of beating Chris to a pulp," Piper said tiredly, "… that's not good…"
"No, no, that's not it… more like… when Polly asked Chris to let Wyatt heal him… it was like a…" Phoebe closed her eyes trying to pick out what she'd felt at that moment. It was hard, there had been so many emotions rolling around inside her from everyone—including her own…
But at that moment, when they were all on the ground—with Wyatt's hand healing Chris and Polly with one hand on each brother…
"A truce," she whispered, opening her eyes, "It was a moment of truce… it was tense but a truce nonetheless."
Piper shrugged, "Well he did stop his attack for a nanosecond to heal Chris."
Phoebe shook her head, "No, no, it went deeper than that… it was like for that one instant… they were what they'd been…"
Piper and Paige remained silent, after a moment Phoebe spoke again, "I think there's a lot more going on here then we can see."
"I think summoning Wyatt here before Chris gets back is a bad idea," Paige insisted.
"I think summoning Wyatt here when Chris is here is a bad idea," Piper countered, "They can't seem to get along."
"I wonder if they were always like that?" Phoebe wondered aloud, "Always fighting…"
"Not always, but a lot of the time," Polly stated quietly, making all the sisters jump.
"You're awake!" Phoebe exclaimed gently.
Polly smile a little, "Chris's pills must be taking effect," she murmured, than added, "Chris and Wyatt were usually content in their sibling rivalry. They fought, but not viciously… not until Wyatt… turned. Even then Wy never… he didn't actually hurt Chris… but I guess, we've just pushed too far," she said quietly, "He's upset."
The sisters frowned a little, then Piper asked, "What does he have to be upset about?" she asked, "He's the one going around attacking people."
"He's angry at us for defying him. The way he sees it, what he does to others should in no way affect us. He loves us, in his way… this whole situation…" she shrugged a little, "… it probably makes him feel a little betrayed."
They all processed that information for a moment.
"It sounds as if you understand him…" Paige commented.
"I wish I didn't; I wish I was like Chris and could see just the one perspective—because it is the only one that matters…" the girl responded softly, than sighed, "… but I can't. It's my curse, you know...?" she said simply.
"Curse? What is?" Piper asked.
"Are you sure you don't want to eat?" Phoebe asked, motioning towards the tray, "Paige brought up the soup right before you fell asleep…?"
"I'm not hungry," she told them softly.
"How do you feel?" Paige asked a moment later.
Polly sighed, "Tired, but not sleepy—if that makes any sense."
The sisters smiled gently at her; Phoebe reached out and felt her forehead, "You're fever's down."
"That's good," Piper said softly, than after a pause, "So what's this about a curse?"
Polly sighed softly—sadly, and her gaze fell to her hands, "My first memory sets the tone for my whole life…" she told them softly, "I can't be more than two – I'm in the conservatory, there are toys spread out everywhere. And I have Wyatt on one side and Chris on the other, and each one has a hold on one of my arms. And they're pulling me… back and forth… from one to other, each screaming at the top their lungs… she's mine, let go; she's playing with me; no with me; she's mine; no, no she's mine; no; mine; mine; mine; mine; no mine. And I'm crying at the top of my lungs for them to let go, to just let me go… and they're pulling and screaming. And Mom runs in and says something then scoops me up… and I'm crying and Aunt Pip runs in asks… "What is it? What happened?" and Mom looks at her and she says almost amused, "It's your sons, they're trying to tear my daughter in half…"" Polly looked up at them then, as she continued, "That's my curse, to be the one thing they can't share."
"Oh jeez," Phoebe whispered, than frowned, "I was amused."
Polly shrugged, "Well yeah, you thought it was cute that they loved me so much… it's not like you would ever have imagined… this."
"Good point," Phoebe remarked dryly.
Polly sighed, "It was always that way, even after the others came… it stayed the same, it still is. If I'm with Chris than I know that somewhere inside Wyatt is upset, that he thinks I like Chris more, that I love him more, that I've chosen one over the other, and the vice versa is true too. But when the three of us are together," a smile touched her lips, "When we're together though, everything is perfect. We have fun and we laugh… we're unbeatable when we're together." The smile faded slowly, "At least we used to be… before…"
"And now Wyatt has taken this sibling jealously thing to epic proportions." Piper stated glumly.
Polly shrugged and they all noticed the glimmer of tears that she fought to blink back, "Somewhere along the line… for Wyatt at least… it stopped being about who I loved me more and started being about power. About who had the power to posses me… Lee thinks that I've become the physical representation for this power struggle there involved in."
"How could something so… unhealthy… develop right in front of us and none of us be aware of it?" Phoebe asked.
"It just happened…" Polly answered softly, "It wasn't unhealthy when we were kids, it was barely noticeable. And there are younger kids too… we all had our issues… undercurrents are normal in large families…" she told them seriously, then smirked a little, "Aunt Paige would joke that our generation was a couple of three's inverted…"
"Which means…?" the current Paige asked curiously.
"Wyatt, Chris, and I are the first group of three and Lee, Mattie, and Cia are the second group." She told them simply, then her eyes widened.
She groaned and closed her eyes, "shi- uh…I mean…uhhh… ooops, how 'bout pretend you didn't hear that, kay…"
"Oh, no I don't think so…" Phoebe said excitedly, "Let's hear about the second group of three?"
"Why would I say they're inverted?" Paige asked, frowning.
"In the first group you have two boys and one girl, in the second-"
"Two girls and a boy," Paige finished rolling her eyes, "Duh… dumb question."
Polly gave her a wane smile, before looking over at her mother, "I can't… I'm sorry. I shouldn't even have mentioned their names… you know enough about the future as it is."
"But you want to change the future…"
"Not all of it…" she whispered.
"A surgical strike." Piper said softly.
They all looked to her and she shrugged, "It's what Chris said…"
"That's right…" Paige said the same understanding wonder in her voice, "A surgical strike to save Wyatt…"
"Wyatt doesn't think he needs to be saved," Phoebe stated firmly, "That was easy to read off him, even if I wasn't an empath. He's frustrated…"
"Yeah," Polly said, but her voice was losing strength and they could see it was getting harder for her to stay awake, "… it's why he's suddenly gotten so truly deadly with Chris."
"Do you think… that Wyatt would actually…?"
The girl shrugged before Piper could finish, "I don't know… I really don't." Abruptly tears filled her eyes, "I don't know what he's thinking at all…"
"Oh sweetie," Phoebe cried alarmed and rushing to put an arm around the girl.
But the girl rebuffed her gesture and wiped angrily at her face with the back of her hand, "I'm fine… I get weepy when I'm sick, which is ridiculous, because I hate crying. And I have nothing to cry about… tears aren't going to fix this. Wyatt has a plan… and Chris has a counteracting plan that he doesn't think he's going to share, and I'm furious at both of them for being such monumental jackasses… I'm angry… but I'm not going to cry."
The fierceness in her voice silenced their words of comfort. This girl didn't want comfort, they watched her take a shuddering breath, and when she spoke they marveled at how controlled her voice sounded.
"The thing about Wyatt is that he doesn't think things through completely," she told them, "Which isn't always bad, it just makes his plans a little unpredictable. While Chris thinks everything through, which isn't bad at all, except that it takes longer to implement the plan and he runs himself into the ground working out details… but Wyatt's way he ends up inadvertently causing a disaster or something..."
"They're better together," Piper said softly.
She nodded, "Yeah," she her voice gentled again, "They work better as a unit… and they know it; they know our magic is stronger together. It's why Wyatt wants Chris to join him, so they can rule together."
"Chris won't though," Paige stated nervously, "He said it."
"He said for Polly he would." Phoebe countered.
"No! Don't even think that!" the girl hissed, jumping upright. Her eyes wide, almost frightened, "I won't let Chris throw away everything he's done—not for me." She took another deep breath, her fatigue more noticeable now, "We just have to wait Wyatt out… he won't really kill me… he values family."
Even as she said the words, the sisters got the impression that she was trying to convince herself as much them.
"So he got at least that from us," Paige murmured, not willing to voice her fears, not when this young girl was so valiantly holding onto hers.
"A lot of good it did him," Piper muttered, somewhat angrily, "He's going around hurting his family… how important could they be to him?"
"Important enough that he doesn't just kill us," Polly responded weakly, "He could you know…" she finished faintly.
"Get some sleep, baby," Phoebe whispered, stroking her hair. Polly nodded slowly, allowing Phoebe and Paige to ease her further into the bed.
"Yeah, we'll work something out…" Piper told her gently, "We always do…"
But as the sisters watched the girl succumb to slumber they felt acutely the bleakness of their situation. The relationship between these three was so complex, so delicate, so volatile that they couldn't help but be fearful. It seemed that no matter what course of action they followed, no matter what solution they found… things just wouldn't work out.
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