Disclaimer: not mine

A/N: Hope you guys like the story as it's coming along...I'm really excited about this story, and it's unfortunatly taken over my interest in finishing others, like Trick, although I'll try really hard to get back on track with it, since I'm so close. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, and I hope everyone has a great holiday:)

Chris awoke two mornings later early and stretched himself out with a yawn. His bedmate groaned and nuzzled closer, seeking the warmth of his chest half hidden by the bed sheets. He looked down at her and she looked up toward his face with a smile.

"Morning." She whispered.

"Morning Babe." He slid his hand down her back to the small of it, pulling her closer.

"Oh, you want to make it a good morning..." She replied flirtatiously and inched close to his face, kissing him. This made him pull her closer, more intensely, until he rolled over so he was staring down at her, kissing her. Their hands explored the others body intimately until they moved together as one. He looked down at her, smiling as he came close to finishing and they did together. He slid next to her, taking her in his arms.

"Nothing could ruin this with you," He whispered to her, nuzzling her with his nose. He ducked his head to kiss her.

"Chris, I---" The door opened without a knock and Piper stood there, her eyes wide at the scene she had just interrupted. Both in the bed gaped at her as Bianca scrambled to cover more of herself, and Piper quickly closed the door, standing outside of it in the hall, her eyes squeezed shut.

Chris sighed to himself. "Except for maybe that." He sighed, pushing himself out of the bed as he bent for his clothes.

"Wow. That is like, a girls worst nightmare. For her boyfriend's mother..."

"Sh! She might hear you." He shushed her. She rolled her eyes, scooting over and grabbing his hand.

"Come back and relax. I guarantee you she's probably already back in their room, mortified by walking in on a young couple. And she doesn't know who you are, so don't worry about it."

"I know who I am." He replied, though he settled on the bed. "It's just weird."

"Yeah, well, the past two days have been kind of weird. I guess you really needed the night we had last night."

He smiled as he remembered how they had retired to their room early. "Yeah, I did. I do feel much better."

He thought about the day before; he had avoided the sisters almost all day, and when he did see them, barely spoke. His mother's accusation still cut him enough that he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder and had wanted to concentrate on what he had to accomplish to get them home. Piper had avoided him as well, pretty much staying in her room while Paige had pulled him to the side.

"It's not that she doesn't like you..." She began and he shook his head.

"No, it's that, and she doesn't trust me." He replied. "And that's fine. I don't need her to like me, I don't even need you to totally trust me on everything, except for the fact that the best thing for you all is to get home without Wyatt getting a hold of you. That's the best thing."

He had stormed off and that had been that. He had avoided the three the rest of the day and when they had finally reached a conclusion and Parker had delivered the plan for the next afternoon's actions, Piper didn't seem to care in the least that Chris wasn't present to give it.

"It's probably better this way," He began, licking his lips. "That she's acting like this towards me. It makes it easier for me to distinguish them at least."

Bianca bit her lip. It was a ploy, a front he would put up to prevent anyone from seeing how he really felt. While he may have been telling some truths, there was a part of him hurting from the resentment Piper showed him. But Bianca just nodded, cuddling close with him. "I agree. It'll just make it easier when they have to leave today."

"Exactly." He began to get up from the bed, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Okay, so how about I make us a late breakfast? Eggs, French toast, OJ?" He waggled his eyebrows and she laughed.

"Sounds delicious hon." She watched him grab a shirt and throw it on just before he left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving her to sigh and fall back against the pillows. She would be so relieved when this was all over.

-----

Later, after breakfast was finished and enjoyed, Bianca had playfully pushed Chris away from the sink, declaring that since he had cooked and cleaned up from that, that she would at least clean up what they used eating. He retired to his office, pulling out charts and spells they could use later that afternoon. He was so deep in his work that when a knock came, he didn't even raise his head, and just told the guest to enter.

Piper opened the door and closed it and he looked up upon her entrance, and with a roll of his eyes, looked back down. "Oh. So you've learned to knock now."

Her face blushed a great red. "I...I'm sorry about that earlier. I mean, I'm so used to it being my club..." She began to explain. He waved her away, not wanting to revisit the uncomfortable encounter from the morning any more than she did.

"It's fine. Was there anything else you wanted?"

"Yes, actually." He looked up and she moved closer to the desk, sitting on a couch next to it. "Look, I wanted to apologize, for the way I've acted towards you the past couple days. I understand you're only doing your job, I get that. But you have to understand that he's my baby, Chris---" Her eyes filled with tears suddenly and she stopped to regain herself. "He's...4 months old right now, and he's wonderful and you're telling me that all of this around me is because he's an evil overlord and it's a little hard to get---"

"Which is why we're sending you back so soon. I would hate to ruin that reality for you more than you'd hate to have it ruined." He looked at her truthfully. "I know he's wonderful and innocent for you now, but something happens between that and now, and we're trying to find out what it is, so maybe one of us can travel back and prevent it. But we don't have time to wait and figure that out for you. We need to get you back now."

"I get that," She replied hurriedly. "But what I wanted to say, what I wanted to get across to you, was that without seeing anything but the few things we saw when we got here, I don't know if I can really believe you."

He looked at her, shocked. He had expected her apology to be full of humility and here it was, still denying that anything was wrong. He held his temper. "The Golden Gate Bridge is in the bay of San Francisco." He replied simply.

"I saw that, but how do I know that's his fault?"

Chris wanted to freak out. He wanted to jump out of his seat and bang his hands and yell. But he didn't. He bit his tongue and sighed. "So what is it exactly you want?"

"Well knowing this future exists, my sisters and I have decided it's not enough to wonder; I need to know, for us. Only one, so it doesn't mess too much with the future. But just enough. To know. One of us needs to see it."

"Out of the question."

"If you don't take me, I'll go myself." She replied simply. "And I will find a way out of here. It is my club, after all."

He just stared at her; his mother was a tenacious figure to deal with, he knew, but this proposal was ridiculous.

"You said you'd leave me on his doorstep, if at the end of this I still wasn't sure. So you either do that, or you show me valid, real things. We're not leaving until we know, Chris."

"Fine. It's your torture fest though." He spat, pushing his chair back. "I'll take you on a tour of the hell this city is now; and only you."

"Thank you." She maintained her composure the entire time, mostly because she knew she had the upper hand. Something also told her whatever she wanted, Chris would eventually bend to it, happy or not. She rose. "It's like 11:30 now. Did you want to go at noon?"

"That's fine." He didn't look at her anymore, so angry he could barely move. "Just come back then, I'll be ready. We have to be back by 3 though, so we can prepare for your trip home."

"Parker said we don't have to be at the manor until 4:45 though." She replied curiously. "And really, is there so much?"

"There is year's worth of havoc your son has wrecked upon this city Piper. But don't worry, we'll get to that." He replied sharply, scowling at her. "Now if you could go."

She stayed silent as she rose, but felt as if she should say something before she exited. "I'm sorry I'm making you help someone you seem to hate so much." She said softly before heading for the door. As she reached it, he called her name.

"Piper," He replied after a few moments of silence since her words. She turned to him before opening the door. "Piper, I could never, ever hate you. I may be extremely frustrated with you, I may be angry, but take my word for it. I could never hate you." He replied softly, staring at his desk. She merely nodded.

"I'll take your word for it then." She paused. "I'll be back later."

"I'll see you then."

And with nothing else said, she exited his office, her sisters waiting eagerly behind the other side of the door. She smiled only half way, feeling as if she had only partly won something.

"He said okay. He's going to take me at noon."

-----

A few hours later, the two sat on a hillside above what Piper always knew as the rest of Golden Gate Park. He had taken her to a few different sites of the park to illustrate how abandoned and decrepit it now appeared. She stared in a quiet stupor, shock and sadness overtaking her more by the moment.

They now looked down upon a small area known to most as secluded and even romantic. It was greatly different than Piper knew; the great foliage that had forever surrounded the park was dead, and whatever was growing was obviously very young. Statues and marble benches were falling apart, some half rubble, and the image of the broke bridge hung in the background. She licked her lips.

"What happened here?"

"This is when I knew he was gone. That he wasn't...that whatever was wrong, that it was too late." He said softly. "It was 3 years ago; he ordered all those of magical origin here, to this field. We didn't know why and when they got here, hundreds upon hundreds of witches and sorcerers and everything else..." He stopped. "No one saw it coming."

"Saw what coming?" She asked. He finally looked at her.

"The attack. It came from everywhere around us, and it just...they just picked people off. We started saving as many as we could, orbing people out and whatever, but there were so many that just...we couldn't save." He swallowed hard. "The rest of us fought. There were casualties on both sides. My cousins; Parker's family." He shook his head. "Everyone lost a lot."

She paused for a long time, looking at the charred earth and destruction, and decided she wouldn't argue with him. She decided to take his word for it, because somewhere deep inside of her, she knew that it was true, as much as she didn't want to. "So why do you fight still?"

He looked at her curiously. "I don't understand what you're asking. Why wouldn't I fight for freedom?"

"Why do you fight to save Wyatt? I mean, that is what you've said you fight for, but you just said that you knew he was gone." She was trying to possible trap him in a lie. He nodded.

"Oh I get it." He said, understand her question. He had to bite his tongue from telling the truth, for he wanted to shout, he's my brother! He couldn't though; that could make this hugely awkward.

"There has to be something in him still; there's something deep in there, that he can be brought back. Or it can be avoided. I know it; there is some compassion there. I mean, I'm a prime example of it." The confusion that appeared on her face was an indication he had to explain further. "Wyatt and I were best friends. And he won't, for anything, kill me. He's gotten me alone with him, and he could, he really could, but he won't, and none of us really understand why. The only explanation is, despite everything we believe, he can still be saved. I'll never give up on him."

"You love him, don't you?" She asked softly, not looking at him. There was an implication in her question and he quickly snapped his head up, staring at her dauntingly.

"If you're trying to imply a relationship other than deep friendship, I would just like to remind you of the scene you so rudely walked in on earlier this morning, Piper." Although he was severely affronted and embarrassed, he couldn't keep a note of amusement from his voice. "But I do love him...as a friend. Like a brother."

There it is, he thought. So close, a revelation that she could take but would only see if she truly opened her eyes. She shook her head.

"I suppose I should be so thankful that he has such good friends, then." She replied softly. "Thank you for that Chris."

"So I guess that means you believe me now?"

"How can I not, when faced with such evidence?" She shrugged. "I do have a question though...what about his father? Surely Leo could help with this. What part has he played while this has all happened? I asked Parker about it yesterday, but he said I'd have to talk to you about him."

"He would say that," He muttered, his face taking on a sour look at the mention of his father. "Leo Wyatt isn't really a part of this at all. He doesn't seem to care that his son is crazy, and ruler of all evil."

"I find that doubtful."

"Whether you find it doubtful or not, it's true." He snapped back. When she flinched, he softened. "I'm sorry...Leo and I don't have a great relationship and haven't spoken in years, because he's just so unwilling to do anything---" He halted his rant. "Whatever. Leo is just not a part of this. He refuses to take part in anything that may go against his precious first born."

"Why do you sound like you carry such a vendetta against him? Why would you have any sort of relationship with him?"

"That's none of your business." He replied simply.

"He's my husband, and a very important part of our son and mine's lives, so yes, it is my business."

He turned suddenly at her, getting within inches of her face, his passion taking over. "He didn't seem to care so much about you when he let you die."

She paled at that, as if he had slapped her and he again, immediately regretted it. "I'm...I'm sorry. Let me just take you back to the club..." He held out his hand, but she pulled away, backing up a few steps. As she blinked tears away, her voice grew harsh and unforgiving. She was tired of this stranger yelling at her, mocking her with information she was not privy to.

"So why do you care so damn much about this? Why are you so angry, so hateful?"

His shoulders sagged at her accusation of truth, and it was almost as if he was realizing it were true. He had been treating her like an enemy, like a nuisance he was trying to get rid of.

"You're presence is frustrating, because there is so much I want to say to you all sometimes. I want to tell you how you died and how Wyatt may or may not have been turned, but I can't because it goes against all magical law and I'm taking it out on you. And I'm sorry."

"So why can't you just tell us? We can help, we can be apart of this."

"As much as I would like for this to not be, for you all to be alive, and well, and Wyatt not...not insane---" He sighed with a shake of his head. "We're sure there's something else behind it, for one. And another; you know how important it is. You, of all people, went back to the 1970's and saw your mother and could've warned her about the lake monster, but didn't because you knew better."

"You certainly seem to know a lot about us and this whole...thing." She lowered her guard and walked toward him, allowing him to take her hand and orb them back to his backroom office at the club. As he moved to leave, he stopped and turned.

"I don't know how else you want me to explain my reasons for the secrecy. I'm just not like Wyatt; I don't try and turn fate where it should go. If after all this, in your future, you still die," his voice hitched, but he continued. "And Wyatt still goes nutso, then that's how it truly was meant to be. It is not our place to change fate. Maybe that's what Wyatt needs to learn above all." He shrugged. "Are you coming? We only have about a half hour before we have to get to the manor, and I want to make sure everyone is prepared."

"Yeah...yeah, just gimme a minute."

He nodded, leaving her alone. She walked into the bathroom, staring into the mirror as she ran the water, splashing it on her face. The brief tour had been enough to shake her up, to reveal that Chris was more than likely telling the truth and that the world in the future would be run by an evil tyrant who just happened to be her son. She stared at herself wryly before sighing and turning to head to the main room of the club, where so many people waited, preparing to risk themselves to get her and her sisters home safely.

Minutes later, the sisters sat tightly together, a holographic layout of the Manor floating in the middle of the circle of chairs formed by 6 others. Chris stood next to the layout, and a girl unfamiliar to the women stood on the other side of it. Bianca sat behind them and offered a reassuring smile as an identical confused look settled on all the sisters faces.

"Okay, so let's start." Chris replied with a sigh. "This is the layout of the Manor, even though I'm sure we all know it pretty well."

"I'm Prudence Cooper, but you can all call me Prue." The unfamiliar girl introduced herself with a smile. "No relation, by the way. My mother just loved the Beatles." She replied as she saw their expressions change at the mention of her name.

"And I'm Cary Mitchell." A young man rose from his chair, extending a hand as a girl followed behind him.

"And I'm his sister, Callie Mitchell." She smiled, doing the same as her brother. Parker sat next to Prue and Chris seemed to wait exasperatedly as the introductions were made. When they had settled, he cleared his throat.

"Okay, now that we all know each other," He eyed his constituents annoyingly. "Let's get to business."

"I'm going to take care of the shield that surrounds the house," Callie began. "I'm pretty versed in spell writing, and have been doing it all my life. Considering Wyatt's level, it takes a lot of work, but I think we'll be able to override it until he realizes it's down."

"After that," Prue took over. "We've come up with a glamour spell we'll all use to enter the house unrecognized. We'll be accompanying the last tour, which we're sure may be a little surreal for all of you, but it's the only way to get in without really drawing attention to ourselves."

"The end of the tour concludes in the attic, all but one of us is going to sneak into the basement, hopefully unnoticed." Chris took over, walking around the layout before closing it in mid-air. "When we know the tour is over and the tourists have exited, one of us will orb everyone to the attic, where hopefully, the one person who made their way there with the group will have begun to prepare everything. The triquetra drawing and the book has to be summoned from Wyatt's office."

"The book only reacts to those it trusts." Phoebe stated. He shrugged.

"Like I've said before, best friends with Wyatt, spent lots of time in the Manor. The book and I are old friends."

"Anyway," Cary interrupted, prepared to finish the tail-end of the explanation. "After that's happened, we'll have very little time to get you out. The book's disappearance will be detected immediately, and Wyatt will no doubt know why. We'll get the spell and send you back ASAP and deal with the fall out afterwards." He sighed. "Any questions?"

"Uh, yeah." Piper replied, her face scrunched in confusion. "Why drop the magical shield around the house if we're just gonna walk in?"

"Precaution." Callie replied simply. "Oh, and the fact that after you've gone and we've closed the portal, we have to get out of there before Wyatt shows up and the safest way to do that is orbing."

"Ah." She nodded. "Okay, well, this plan sounds amazing. Like clock work. But, and no offense, really, but in our experience, things like this don't exactly always work out perfectly."

"So what if something goes wrong, is what you're asking?" Prue replied with a small smile. Piper nodded. "Well, we know there's a chance, but we're thinking that's gonna happen after Wyatt comes. If we can get you all out of there before that happens, and up to that point it seems pretty easy, that's all we need."

"And the clansmen?" Phoebe asked.

"We'll take care of them similarly like you all did." Chris replied simply. "We all have active powers. I control telekinetics, the twins both have similar offensive abilities, not to mention the power to orb, and Prue...well. Show em."

A glass behind them on the bar exploded for a moment, then all the shards froze in mid-air. The crash alarmed them and they spun to watch as she manipulated the pieces to form a rather delicate sculpture of simple flower, before letting them fall to the bar top in pieces once more. She grinned.

"Show off." Parker grumbled. She pushed him playfully and he scowled back at her.

"Molecular manipulation, very nice." Paige said with a nod.

"You don't seem to be too worried about the after part, about yourselves." Piper prodded on. "I mean, you said your biggest concern is getting us out."

"As long as you all remain safe, especially with the knowledge of this fractured world, you remain our greatest hope for a better future." Callie replied. "Besides, if you don't get back safe, as unimaginable as it is, this future could be even worse."

"Yeah, well, I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd like to see some more precaution made for you all." Paige replied. "We'd hate to wonder if you all made it out after risking everything to help us."

"We can do it," Cary replied with a small smile. "We were taught by some very crafty people. The very best. But thanks, for your concern." It was a genuine thank you, one that made all the sisters smile back and want to ask more, but Chris changed the subject once more.

"We're set to leave here in half an hour. I assume you may want to discuss things amongst yourselves, so let's meet back in about 20 minutes and we'll get going."

The sisters nodded and rose, forgetting all they wanted to pry about. They wanted to ask Piper what she had visited and learned of, and that trumped any information they may have hoped to nose out of the remaining members of the resistance. As their door closed to their room, tears filled the eyes of Callie and Prue, who bit their lips to keep them at bay.

"That was so hard." Callie whispered, leaning into her brothers' shoulder, He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close affectionately.

"I know."

"But they can't know." Prue responded resolutely. "They might try and stay if they do."

Chris looked at all of them, studying Prue the most. She was the youngest of his cousins, yet just as clever as the rest. Parker, her brother, was just as sharp, but emotional due to his empathy and psychic abilities, and had a tendency to let his passions override his judgment from time to time. Callie and Cary, the twins of the group, relied on the other to balance out their hectic part in all of this.

It was rough, seeing their mothers again after such a long time, but together, the 5 of them would deal with it and adapt. He had almost forgotten that Bianca was even present until she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his midsection and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"You okay?" She asked yet again, for what seemed like the thousandth time since his mother and aunts had arrived. He nodded, eyeing his cousins and then the door where the matriarch's now resided.

"I will be." He said, with a nod, turning his attention back to his cousins and caught their's, before speaking strong and reassuringly. "We all will be."