Hi guys, sorry for the long wait and happy New Year! Wanted to post this a bit sooner but waited for my beta. However she's busy at the moment, so this one I will have to post without her help, sorry.

Chapter thirty: What's the plan?

Lara's manor, hallway

"You God damn son of a …" Jerek was about to body slam the pesky witchlighter into the ground and beat the living shit out of him when the sharp voice of his mistress cut through the haze of blind fury that controlled his actions.

"Jerek! You will stop this behavior this instant!" Only getting started, she whirled around to her boyfriend. "And you! What did you think you were doing?"

Chris look darkened and he wrapped an arm protectively around the kid's shoulders. "I thought I was protecting OUR nephew from getting killed by YOUR apparently gone crazy minion!"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Lara's heated glance wandered from him to Alex who glared back at her. "YOU! To the living room! Now!"

Before his nephew could come up with an angry retard that would probably get him even more in trouble, Chris quickly beamed the two of them to the living room.

Lara followed with Jerek trudging after her like a kicked puppy.

"Ok," she seethed once she got there. "I'm trying to be civil, so you better start talking this instant! What was going on there? Who were these people? Where did they take your brother? And what in the devil's name did you do to my house and my staff?"

If she had thought that Alex would be intimidated by her rage, she was plain wrong.

"I won't tell you God damn bitch a bloody thing!"

Chris gaped shocked at his nephew. "Alex!"

"She's a fucking murderer! She has sent head hunters after my mother! She has gotten her killed! Her fucking pet has killed Nicky's dad! I'll kill her!"

The next thing she knew, she had to jump out of the way to avoid a blaze of fire coming toward her.

"How dare you?" She was about to use her own powers to teach the brat the lesson of his life time when Chris interfered. "No!"

He quickly grabbed Alex from behind and pinned his arms, restraining him effectively. "Let me go!" The boy tried his best to break free and Chris held on for dear life, knowing how dangerous a physical quarrel with Lara would be for his nephew. He half turned him away from her, putting himself in the line of fire.

"Chris, get out of the way!"

Her boyfriend looked pleadingly at her. "Lara please! He's just child. Alex, stop it!" He screamed desperately, tightening his hold on the kid.

After a few more struggles, Alex went still in his arms, probably having tired himself out. In his mind, Chris said a quick prayer to whoever was listening.

Loosening his grip however turned out to be a bad idea, as Alex suddenly broke free, kicked Lara hard in the shin and ran out of the room.

Aghast, Chris made his way over to a swearing Lara, who looked ready to commit murder. "Baby, are you ok? Does it hurt much?"

"No, damn it. That brat is strong!" Grudgingly she let Chris pick her up and carry her over to the couch. After she was seated, he tenderly put her leg onto his lap, looking at the damage. The shin was going to bruise for sure. Quickly making up his mind he let the soft golden glow spread from his hand, healing her. "That better?," he purred.

"Very." She smiled at him, her voice not holding the slightest trace of anger.

He knew better, though. "We have to go easy on the kid."

"No Chris! He won't get away with that! I won't let anyone disrespect me like this!," Lara seethed.

She intended to go after him, but was held back by Chris forcefully. "He's just upset." As Lara opened her mouth for an angry retort he added: "Of course you're right. His behavior isn't tolerable. But let me talk to him. I don't want this to get physical. I hate to see either of you getting hurt."

Seeing Lara starting to falter Chris continued to press. "Please. I know him. Alex has a terrible temper, just like my brother. I don't want him to accidentally hurt you seriously. You're too precious to me my love." He kissed her long and deeply. "Please." He gave her his best puppy expression and let his lower lip tremble slightly. That did it! Lara was still furious with that ungrateful sprog, but it was hard to deny Chris anything when he was pleading with her like this. "Fine.," she caved. "Go talk to him." At least this way she got a chance to calm down somewhat. Being generous and forgiving would surely find Chris approval. At the same time, she would get the opportunity to check on Wyatt once more. The man she had seen couldn't be him, he just couldn't.

"Thank you." Chris smiled a breathtaking smile and kissed her once more. "I love you so much!" Another kiss. Damn it, being this seductive should have been declared illegal.

"You can repay me tonight.," she added as an afterthought. For a second she saw something flickering in his eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone.

"Alright, I'll go and try to get rid of the mess our precious little angels left us in. Jerek!" The queen then turned towards her minion.

"Yes, my lady?," Jerek asked trying to reign in his jealousy and anger as he solemnly gazed at Lara completely ignoring Chris.

"I'll go and take care of the press; let them know that one of the twins has been kidnapped by a bunch of dangerous criminals." Chris wisely kept his mouth shut. "I want you to first take care of the destruction and then go search for the traitors who took my nephew. Kill them and bring him back to me."

He went to his knees. "Yes, my lady."

"Oh, and Jerek?"

He glanced up again. "Yes?"

The next moment, a shock wave hit him full force and sent him crashing into the wall for the millionth time this evening. "You fail again you're dead, you got me?" She stared darkly at him daring him to contradict her. "Yes, my lady, I understand."

That being settled, she went away without a second glance.

Gritting his teeth he waited until she was out of earshot and got up again only to be slammed against the wall by a furious Chris. "Killing Jesse wasn't a part of the plan, Jerek!," the witch seethed.

The demon said nothing, just stared at him. Taking a deep breath, Chris let the matter go for now focusing on the more important things at hand. "Anyway, things are getting tense fast. We got to act soon. I'll go and get Alex ready. You on the other hand…" He pulled a small vial from his pocket and handed it over to Jerek. "…will take care of this chaos and then get the drinks ready. Put the love potion in one of them and push the spiked glass into my left hand when I call you."

The redhead eyed the potion in his hand suspiciously. "You're positive it will work?"

Chris flashed him a malicious smile. "Absolutely!"

Lara's manor, the twins room

"Alex?" Chris knocked gently on the door but stepped back when heard Alex throwing something against the inner side of the door. "GO AWAY!" The dark haired witch rubbed his aching temples. This was going to get ugly.

"Please buddy, let me come in." He waited a few seconds. When Alex didn't throw something else he carefully opened the door and slipped into the room.

There his nephew was, sitting on one of the beds with a pillow on his lap, which he pressed with a crushing force to his chest.

Chris thanked every power there was for not making him an empath; the pain radiating off his nephew would have otherwise hit him with the force of a wrecking ball.

He took a step towards him. Alex head shot up. His penetrating gaze seemed to pierce right through Chris. "If looks could kill…" Well, in Wyatt's case, they actually could. The dark haired witch wondered for a moment whether the kid had inherited that power from his father, too. The degree of damage from the fight earlier was still fresh on his mind.

He brought his hands upward in a reassuring gesture, trying not to aggravate his already upset nephew.

"I'm not going to do anything to you." He slowly made his way over to the other bed and sat down. "Look…"

"If so much as try to defend her I swear to every God there is I'm going to rip your throat out!"

"No Wyatt!" 15-year-old Chris screamed at his brother, desperately trying to stop him from torturing the half dead hybrid demon girl for further information. "Please don't do this!"

"Chris, I swear to every God there is, if you don't shut up this instant I'm going to rip your throat out!"

He flinched at the memory. God, Alex looked so much like his father in that moment, so much…

Swallowing hard, he tried again. "Alex..."

"No! She's a fucking bitch that murdered my mom. Both my moms. Got my father trapped in this bloody labyrinth, too, I bet. Kidnapped Nicky and me and now she's going to kill the rest of our families. Nicky's dad is already dead; Wyatt said that Benji and your younger self will soon be dead, too. She will send more head hunters to also kill Nicky's mom and Wyatt. She's going to destroy our whole family and you will just stand by and watch because of that freaking love spell she put you under!" Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks as he said this.

Chris heart constricted painfully at seeing the display of the kid's anguish.

It was time to lift his secret and put the boy out of his misery. "I'm not under a love spell." He deadpanned.

Alex wouldn't even meet his eyes. "Of course you are. You just don't realize it. But what you feel? That so called love? It isn't real. It's nothing but a lie."

"Yeah, you're right." Chris agreed. "It is a lie. It's my lie."

Alex looked at him confused. He went over to him, pulled him in his arms. Wiping away the tears on his cheeks, Chris started to explain.

Flashback

The demon panted like crazy. Inwardly, he cursed Jerek for ordering them to go after the mortal. "Easy as pie" He had said. "Yeah right," the demon thought. It sure as hell hadn't been easy. It had been suicide. Jerek apparently forgot to mention that the mortal was protected by Christopher. Fucking. Halliwell. Himself.

He spat blood on the carpet. Shit. The witch sure knew how to inflict as much pain as possible.

Chris crouched down calmly in front of him.

"You know, we can do this all night long." He once more pressed the hot poker on his thigh. The demon hollered in pain. Chris sighed. "Why won't you just tell me what I want to know?"

The demon hefted his blood shot eyes on him. "If I tell you, Lara's going to kill me."

"No.," Chris deadpanned. "You will day anyway. The question is..." he lifted the hot poker again. "How much pain can you bear before you die?" And with that he pressed the poker on his groin. "AAAAAHHHHH! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!"

Eyeing him expectantly he removed the poker.

The little scum whimpered pathetically.

"Well?"

"Hello Jerek." Chris said cheerfully, startling the red head, causing him to drop the ingredients list for the potion.

Chris snatched the sheet from the ground and quickly scanned it.

„You!," the demon roared, sending an energy ball in his direction.

The witchlighter didn't even bother to raise his hand. He halted the deadly weapon in midair by a mere glimpse."What's the matter Jerek? Doesn't Lara want me alive anymore?"

Jerek's face darkened.

Chris grinned slightly. "Guess that's a no then."

"One day she will be tired of your rejection.," the demon sneered. "And when that day comes I will be the first to end you." he added in his thoughts.

Chris threw a quick glance at the list in his hands. "I guess she already is. Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to send you collecting ingredients for a love potion, right?" He waved the sheet in Jerek's direction. "Or is it YOU who's tired of rejection and has decided to take matters in his own hands?"

The red head was shaking with rage. "Why you little…" He lunged at Chris, who simply orbed out of the way and his nose kissed the floor board.

"Now, is that a way to treat a future ally?," Chris chided, looking at him like he was a dog that misbehaved.

"What?"

The witch smirked. "You heard right my salty friend, today is your lucky day! If you do as I say, I'll make all your dreams come true."

"You're lying!"

"Not at the moment." Chris strolled casually over to him. "I know you Jerek, I've seen the way you look at her.," he purred. "You want her and it kills you that your desire is unrequited." He dared laying a hand on the demon's shoulder. "But now you have the chance to bend things the way you like them. I'll help you with the potion. Once she takes it, she won't be able to resist you. She will give you everything you want. You will rule the magical community at her side. They will all bow to you." He used the words he had heard from his older brother so often in the first years after his taking over.

Jerek had to admit it sounded very tempting. "What's in it for you?"

Chris looked earnestly at him. "My nephews. You brought them to her. Once she realizes they won't bend to her will, she will have them killed for sure, just like their parents.," he spat, bile rising in his throat at the memory of that night. He swallowed it down. "Bring me into the manor, help me get them back. I'll make a fake love potion. When she "tricks" me to drink it, I'll pretend to be under her spell. When the right moment comes, I'll slip her the real love potion. Then everything has to happen quickly. You will step into her line of sight so she will fall for you, meanwhile I'll get the twins and take them with me. We'll be out of your life and you can do everything you want."

"That sounds very alluring."

"So, we have a deal then?"

Jerek looked suspiciously at him. "How do I know you won't betray me?"

Chris smiled dangerously. "Because both of us have too much to lose to screw this up."

"Do you have it?"

Chris pulled a small vial from his pocket and held it out for Jerek to see. "Of course." The demon made a grab for it, but Chris held it quickly out of his range. "Not so fast. You will get it as soon as my nephews are safe."

Jerek glared mockingly at him. "What? Don't you trust me?"

Chris didn't even blink when he answered. "Not as far as I can throw you."

"It's going to be so weird... seeing the two of them together again.," Chris murmured as he and Lara quietly made their way into the twins' bedroom.

They both stopped short in their tracks when they discovered their nephews sleeping huddled together on one of the beds.

Against her will, Lara felt something warm in her chest. 'Damn it, must be the maternal instinct kicking in.,' she swore in her thoughts.

However, playing her role as "Auntie Lara", she cooed: "Look at them. Aren't they just adorable?"

Chris who had meanwhile taken in the room felt his heart nearly jumping out his chest when he spotted the items on the couch table. If Lara turned around right now and saw that the kids would be in huge trouble!

Which seemed to be exactly what she was planning to do as her upper body twisted slowly in his (and the table's) direction. He had to stop her!

Without thinking, he put his arms around her waist and hugged her from behind, shielding the sight of the table with his body and turning her back to the twins.

Lara was about to turn to Chris when she suddenly felt his strong arms wrap around her hugging her to him. It felt pretty good. Well, if he was in a cuddly mood, who was she to say no?

Turning in his arms, she pressed herself against his muscular chest and nuzzled his neck lovingly. "You know," she purred. "The couch is pretty cozy."

"No!," Chris nearly shrieked. "We can't do this in front of the kids.", he added in a calmer voice.

Lara frowned. "They are asleep."

"Yes... but they could wake up!"

The queen chuckled softly. "I think we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." With that, she started to pull him to the couch, her back temporarily facing the table. But that would change as soon as they sat down!

Panicked, Chris used his strength to pull her back against his chest and crashed his lips passionately against hers. Lara was mildly surprised, but didn't resist. Chris used one of his arms to press her against the full length of his body, while he directed the items on the table telekinetically behind the couch with his other.

The kiss intensified. 'Ok,' Chris thought. 'Better stop now before she gets any ideas. Question is how?'

He let his eyes travel around the room and finally came to a rest at his nephews. 'Sorry kids, time to wake up now.'

Carefully, he gestured one of the pillows to hit Alex in the face behind Lara's back.

A gasp told him he had succeeded. Quickly, he broke the kiss and turned to face his nephews. Lara followed suit. Together they watched the twins share a brief moment of comfort before Lara cooed: "Aww, how cute."

end flashback

Alex gaped at his uncle. "So, that was all a show? Why didn't you tell us? We were worried sick! We thought we had lost you for good!"

"I'm sorry.", though he didn't sound sorry at all. "But I couldn't. You had to believe it or otherwise Lara would have gotten suspicious." Chris stood up. "Look, I know you're angry at me right now, but this will have to wait. Time is running out. I can't keep this act up much longer and I need to get you to safety and then search for my brother."

"You're looking for dad?"

"Yes, and I need you to tell me the spell you and Nicky used to get into his dreams."

"What are you up to?"

"Nicky told Wyatt that you've seen him stuck in some kind of Labyrinth?"

"Yeah." Alex admitted. "It was horrible." He quickly filled his uncle in about what he had experienced. When he finished Chris gently stroked his cheek once. "Don't worry. I will get him out of there."

"How?"

"Right-hand-rule." Seeing Alex raised eye brows he added. "If you get stuck in a Labyrinth, you always go along the wall with your right hand. That way you will always get out."

"But before I can help him, I have to get you out of here first."

Alex stood up. "Ok, what's the plan?"