Back to the Past

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: Paternal Help

Pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear, Jaina pulled the blanket over her son, sleeping soundly on the cot. It was so amazing, even though she and Chris had done it, that her children would come all this way just to help them save their uncle. Even though Matt had every single one of her features, she could see underneath him the strength that she so loved about his father. And the compassion of helping others.

"We gotta get out of here," she grumbled, hitching up her skirt as she sank down onto the ground, looking around her. She leaned her head against the metal bars as another guard came around the corner.

Glancing at him, Jaina only met his eyes definitely. "Shouldn't you be getting back to your master?" she demanded curtly. "It's kind of obvious that we're both still here."

The demon said nothing but gave a quick glance around at their surroundings, as though making sure nobody was watching them. Without a word, he slid a slim package through the bars before leaving the room.

Curious but wary, Jaina got to her feet and walked over, peering at the package. She used her telekinesis to float it up, making sure it didn't explode or anything. When she was sure it was safe, Jaina slid the wrapping off and inside found two pieces of bread.

"What's that?" Matt mumbled.

Looking around at her son, she saw him sitting up on the cot, looking blearily at her. "Food," she answered, satisfied that it wasn't poisoned. She wasn't Phoebe, who could probably sense if it was, but she did have some foresight abilities. Enough to know that it was just normal bread and nothing out of the ordinary.

She handed a piece to Matt, who wolfed it down, and bit tenderly into her own meal. It wasn't a good idea not to eat anything, especially when she was pregnant and this was probably going to have to last them for awhile. Especially if Wyatt had his way.

As she took her last bite, Jaina glanced down at the paper that the bread had been hidden inside and blinked. On the inside was a lock pick, carefully hidden so that nobody would find it. She nearly had missed it. If she hadn't been looking for something out of the ordinary, she would have missed it.

Withdrawing the pick, Jaina carefully hid it in the inside pocket of her wedding dress. She had argued with Paige about putting the pocket in it, but the youngest sister had pointed out that you never knew when you were going to need a hiding place for something. Now she was glad that Paige had suggested it.

But now she wondered why the demon would put that in there, not to mention the bread. She must've asked the question out loud because Matt picked up the wrapping, his eyes fixed upon it. "Mom, look," he whispered, turning his wide blue eyes onto hers.

Taking the paper, Jaina looked towards the inside of the package, where there was a familiar and hastily written message. J—HIDE THIS LOCK PICK IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE JUST YET. AT MIDNIGHT, THE GUARD WILL BE CHANGED AND WYATT WILL BE LEAVING FOR THE MANOR. I WILL BE STANDING BY IN CASE THERE'S ANY TROUBLE. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU TO DO IS GETTING BACK TO THE HALLIWELLS. WHEN YOU DO, STAY THERE! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T COME BACK FOR ANYTHING! WILLIAM.

Her gaze stared down at the paper before looking up where the demon had disappeared. "Dad," she breathed.

--

Chris slammed the Book shut with enough force to send it flying across the room. "There's nothing in there that is going to help us with this!" he snapped, stalking across the room. Fear for Jaina and Matt's safety was engulfing him, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Honey, we're going to figure this out, but could you not take it out on the Book?" Piper said gently as she bent over and picked the Book of Shadows off of the floor, replacing it on the podium.

"Mom's fine, anyway," Perry said reasonably. "She has to be, anyway. If she wasn't, then I'd know. Trust me."

"How exactly would you know?" Jared asked interestedly, looking at his older brother with some amusement.

Perry rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me? Do the math, Jare, and then try and figure it out on your own. Jeez, I've changed my mind; Matt's my favourite brother after all."

"You're mean," Jared complained. "Just tell me why—" Suddenly, realisation dawned on his face and his mouth fell open. "You mean—"

"Uh-huh."

"And she—"

"Uh-huh."

"So you would—"

"Mm-hmm."

"Wow, I can hardly keep up with you two," Paige said sarcastically. "You guys want to fill the rest of us present people about what you guys are talking about?"

"Not really," Perry said, frowning at his great-aunt. "That's Mom's business."

"Besides," Jared said reasonably, "you'll figure it out in a couple of months, anyway." His vivid blue eyes twinkled as Perry glared at him in a be quiet manner.

"But—

"CAN WE FOCUS ON SAVING JAINA HERE, PEOPLE?!?!?!" Chris shouted at the top of his lungs, making everybody in the room jump. Piper lost her balance and Chris caught her before she fell. "Sorry, Mom," he muttered as she straightened, frowning at him.

"You might need a little bit of help on that front," a familiar voice spoke up from behind them.

Whirling around to see who had spoken, Chris stared in shock at the redheaded man standing behind him, watching the family with the exact same blue eyes as his fiancée and future sons.

"William?" he asked in disbelief.

"Nice to see you again, Christopher," William said with a nod to him, "but right now we have bigger things to worry about. We need to get a move on fast, because unless we get my daughter out of the Underworld and away from your brother, then there isn't going to much of a future to save."

--

Author's Note: Sorry for the slow update and the short chapter. I'm not really sure how to go forward with this. I know how I want to end it, it's just getting there that's the problem. Please, if anybody has any suggests, tell me in a review! I always welcome the help and suggestions! Thanks!

Lady Dawson