Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Sorry it took so long for this update. I had some family matters to take care of and think they are working out now, so hopefully I won't have to be away so much in the future. But to make up for it, I have written a very large chapter. Well large by my standards at least. And as a warning this chapter has a rather high gross factor at one point. So ye be warned!
Chapter 5 Exhaustion and Changing Opinions
Piper stood in the doorway of the sunroom staring at a sight that made her smile brighter than she had for the past few days. The day that Chris had warned them that they only had a few weeks to save their son had come and gone along with three more on top of it and it had left her with a lot to think about. They wanted so desperately to find a way to keep their son safe but both she and Leo had figured out that the only way they could do that was to convince Chris to confide in them. But Chris was nowhere to be found it seemed. He did not answer their calls and Leo just couldn't seem to sense him no matter how hard he tried. If it wasn't for the argument that they had had with him Piper would have seen this as something to be concerned over, but knowing how angry their Whitelighter had been when he left she was sure that he would show up eventually when the anger had worn off. She just hoped that it wouldn't be too late to do something about what might happen to her son.
She sighed realizing that all they could do was wait, but still in the mean time the entire family was taking the time to get to know their newest member and keeping a close eye on Wyatt in case Chris' prediction was off time wise. Even Leo had found some time away from his Elder duties to spend with the two boys. That was exactly what was causing Piper to smile so brightly as she watched her husband acting just like a large child as he sat on the sunroom floor with one boy on each side of him as they played with a giant racecar set. Leo had just been sufficiently beaten for the third time in a row but was taking the defeat graciously as the two boys shared happy conspiratorial looks across his lap. Piper was positive that Leo had let the boys win and she loved him even more for it.
Phoebe had just walked up beside her and stood watching them also. She could feel the joy wafting from her sister, not to mention the happiness shared by the male members of her family even though the scene seemed to have a shadow cast over it because of the worry that could be felt in the adults. "We'll figure it out, you know. We always do."
Piper sighed and then turned to her sister admitting her deepest fear. "I wish I could be as sure as you are. It all just seems to be going too fast. I kept working under the assumption that we had more time."
Phoebe had to agree and she knew that she had to admit one other thing. "I know. I wish we'd have taken Chris' warnings more seriously before now too."
Piper's face tightened at the name of their annoying Whitelighter. It was becoming really hard for her not to place the blame for their current situation on him. "How could we? It isn't as if he's been exactly trustworthy since arriving here. We've had to take every statement he's made with a grain of salt until now."
Phoebe looked away and seemed to be staring out into space as she thought about her sister's statement. No matter what proof they had to the contrary she was having a hard time seeing Chris in the same way that the others did. Sure he was dishonest and he did just about everything he could to drive them all nuts. But she just had a feeling about him that made her want to keep giving him more chances to prove that he wasn't really like that. He had done several things since arriving in the past that could be considered to be very good but did those things make up for the half-truths that they were sure he was trying to feed them on many occasions? "I don't know, Piper. I'm not sure that he doesn't have reasons for the things he's said and done."
"Well whatever his reasoning for keeping us in the dark over what happens to Wyatt is, I'm not buying it. We deserve to know." Piper couldn't understand why Phoebe was so ready to defend someone who was keeping them from the truth and might possibly fail at saving Wyatt because of it.
Phoebe knew she wasn't going to get through to her sister on the subject. When it came to her son like most parents the blinders came up and the defensive stance was set. She'd do anything to defend Wyatt and now the new child also and if that included taking on their Whitelighter, then so be it. And normally Phoebe would have been right there beside her sister and maybe even slightly more vocal about it too, but in this case she just had a gut feeling that they needed to trust Chris, something none of them were very readily willing to do.
Leo had caught pieces of the conversation and decided to join the sisters. He had excused himself and left the two boys happily playing the game. "Hey, Phoebe, everything all right?" he asked once he had made his way to the doorway where they stood.
"Yes fine, Coop is watching the baby," she answered referring to the first daughter that she had waited for so expectantly. It had only been a few months since she'd given birth and she was finding it harder and harder to drag herself away from her precious angel, but she also knew that she couldn't abandon her sister in her time of need so she had asked her Cupid husband to watch over their firstborn while she spent some time at the Manor trying to help them figure out what to do to keep Wyatt safe. They expected Paige to be arriving sometime soon too. She and Henry both lived very busy lives apart from each other, with her Whitelighter duties and his parolees, but they always managed to find time for themselves somehow, but like Phoebe, Paige was more than willing to chip in when the family needed her.
"We were just discussing what to do about Chris," Piper explained her voice taking on an annoyed tone.
Leo snorted at those words and glanced back at his children playing in the other room. "If only dealing with him was as easy as it is to deal with the little guy over there."
It was still hard to believe that he now had two sons to care for. But the more time he spent with them the more he felt like it was so right for both of them to be there. Though the young boy said nothing at all Leo often found himself watching him and seeing his emotions play through his eyes as he tried to figure something new out. The first time he had watched him play with Wyatt's toys had been a real eye opener. It was as if he didn't know what to do with them. Wyatt had finally had to show him how to play, but the smaller boy had soon realized what to do and was playing right along side him. And to look at Wyatt you would think that he had found the one thing in the world that he was missing. Having a younger sibling to watch over, teach and share his life with had seemed to bring a new sense of purpose to the youngster. One that Leo could see was very good for his son.
"Maybe Chris is just staying away so you two can have more time to spend with the kids. It's not unlike him to disappear for days on end," Phoebe suggested still wishing she could somehow diffuse the anger her family seemed to be dwelling on.
Piper and Leo each gave her looks of disdain as they considered and discarded the suggestion. "He's just staying away because he knows we'll somehow find out what he's hiding, and believe me if I can find him, I will find out." Leo had decided that he wasn't gonna let anyone or anything stand in the way of him protecting his son and if Chris had to get hurt in the process, well so be it.
Phoebe just shook her head at the comment and the feelings she felt floating off of her brother-in-law. "Leo, please try to talk to him first when you find him. I don't want to see such a large rift come between you two because of this. We really need to work together to save Wyatt."
Leo had to admit that Phoebe's suggestion made sense but still when had it ever been easy to work with Chris on anything? "I'll try, okay. Speaking of trying, I think I'll orb up to the bridge and see if I can sense him from up there."
With that he leaned in and gave Piper a kiss and then orbed away in a shower of blue and white lights, which caught the younger boys attention. Piper noticed this and saw how the boy's smile turned into a frown. She moved forward and kneeled next to him but he didn't act as if he noticed her as he stared at the spot where Leo had just been standing as his teeth worried his bottom lip.
"Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked him placing one hand below his chin and drawing his face up so his eyes met hers.
His mouth quirked slightly and he shrugged as he pointed to where Leo had just stood. "Daddy had to go talk to Chris. You remember Chris, right?"
The small boy nodded and heaved a small sigh and Piper realized what the problem was. "Don't worry, hon. He'll be back real soon. Wyatt and I will play with you until then okay?" Piper was very pleased to see how the boy was developing a strong liking to Leo. It was something that she wasn't sure would happen after his first day with them but they seemed to both be warming up to each other nicely.
He seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment and then nodded after forming an opinion in his own mind then he went back to playing with the toy racecars. In the few days that he had been in the Manor he had learned about all kinds of wondrous things and was enjoying almost every moment of it. No one yelled at him. No one tried to hurt him. He was always warm and dry and had never once gone hungry. Then there was the family, Wyatt and his parents and the aunts. They all acted as if they really wanted him there. A couple of times the aunts and Piper had even tried to hold him tightly in their arms. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it at first. He had never seen anything like it between the demons and their children below. But after his initial shock at being touched at all, he realized that it made him feel good inside when they held him close and whispered kind words in his ear. He felt warm and protected. He himself hadn't tried to initiate any contact with them but whenever one of them would try to, what did they call it, "hug" him, yes that was what they said, well he certainly didn't try to pull away instead he reveled in the feeling and wondered at how much he could enjoy such a small act of affection.
Leo had stood on the Golden Gate Bridge for several hours using every sense he possessed to try to find the Whitelighter in question. He couldn't understand how Chris managed to block him. Whitelighters were not supposed to be able to block Elders. It was supposed to be impossible, but somehow Chris was able to do so. Then again a lot about Chris just didn't make sense to Leo. Sure he was from the future and of course the magical community could have advanced to the point where Whitelighters could mask themselves from the Elders but why would they want to? That fact along with Chris' attitude and some of the things he said and did bothered Leo more than he would even admit to Piper. He just didn't feel as if he could trust him, no matter what.
He had begun to consider giving up on it for the day when he suddenly sensed the Whitelighter and to his surprise he seemed very near. So he followed the sense trail and found himself orbing into the backroom at P3.
The room was dark as pitch and Leo's orbs had only just slightly illuminated the room allowing him to barely see Chris' form laying face down on the beat up sofa that was pushed against the wall. "What the hell," Leo hissed just above a whisper. After days of not being able to find him, he had expected him to show up at the Manor or in the Underworld looking for demons. But to find him sound asleep in the middle of the day made Leo wonder just what Chris was really up to. For someone who claimed to be only concerned with saving Wyatt, sleeping the day away just didn't look too good on his part. Leo was about to flip the light switch on and chastise Chris when he suddenly heard a noise coming from his general area.
"Mmmm…. No!" he heard the strained voice low and choked with fear.
A silent invisible figure kneeled beside the couch next to Chris' head and he looked up at the disturbance that the Elder had caused. Barbas considered leaving but knew he could not be seen and besides Chris was already locked into another nightmare and he hated to waste all that delicious fear he was so engrossed in.
Leo stepped closer as his eyes began to adjust to the dim light coming from under the door that only just barely illuminated the sleeping form. Something about the sound of Chris' voice told him that he was very much asleep but not at all sleeping peacefully. He kneeled next to the couch not even realizing that he was but inches from the Demon of Fear. He could see Chris' lips moving, as he seemed to be talking almost silently in his sleep. He knew it was a horrible invasion of privacy but something drew his head closer to Chris so he could try to catch those whispered words.
"I won't… No I can't…. Please, no!" he whimpered just loud enough for Leo to hear.
"Please, no… I don't want to," the small boy cried as he was forced back into the chamber by the Karas demon. But he had no choice in the matter. He had to do as he was told or risk an even worse beating than he had received the last time he had complained about this duty.
"It's about time, boy," a strong male voice growled behind him. "I've got six of them to prepare today."
The boy turned to the Necromancer and tried not to let his eyes wonder to the bodies on the concrete slabs. It was easier to bear if he tried to pretend that they weren't there. He knew that pleading with the demon was not a possibility. So he moved forward letting his eyes drop to the floor of the chamber, waiting to be instructed.
"Here boy, take these to that one in the corner and make sure you get them in right this time," the Necromancer said holding out two slightly imperfect round objects with small vine-like protuberances hanging from them, to the boy.
He reached out a trembling hand and the objects fell into it. He had to hold back the urge to throw up at the squishy feeling of them. But he managed as he carefully carried them to the corpse in the corner. He then had to manage to hold onto them as he crawled onto the concrete slab. But there was the problem. He just wasn't tall enough to do it without dropping them and down they went. A gasp escaped his lips as the items plopped to the floor making a squishy noise as they split open and gushed a foul smelling liquid to the floor.
The Necromancer heard the gasp and spun seeing what the boy had done and was on top of him immediately. "What have you done?" he screamed grabbing the youngster by the hair as he tried to scamper across the body and behind the stone slab. The boy whimpered in fear as the demon pulled him upright and then shoved him down near the corpses face. "What do you see, witch brat?"
The boy trembled and real tears started to leak from his eyes uncontrollably as he stared at the eyeless sockets of the corpse that were only mere inches from his face as the smell of rotting flesh assaulted him. The Necromancer had not managed to find this body with his eyes still intact and knew that the dead had more of an effect on their loved ones if those among the living could see the hatred and accusations of blame in their eyes. "I said, what do you see boy?" he asked again shaking the small child hard.
"No eyes," he answered in a small strained whisper.
"Exactly," the demon growled in his ear. "Maybe I should just use your eyes instead," he suggested his voice filled with malice.
"Please, no!" the boy cried. "I'm sorry… I won't do…it again…Please!" the words came out between sobs.
The Necromancer knew he couldn't fulfill the threat. He was allowed to mistreat the boy but if Barbas discovered him to be disfigured in any way it would be more than hell in the underworld for him, but still he thrived on mentally torturing the small boy and found it most enjoyable to do so. With that he flung the boy across the room and watched as he hit the cavern wall and slid down it to the floor. "Get out of my sight, rodent. Next time you mess up like that and I'll take more than your eyes."
The boy cried helplessly as he pulled himself to his knees and crawled from the room. His back hurt too much to try to stand and all he wanted to do was find a dark corner to hide in.
Leo had watched Chris as his whimpers became sobs and not knowing what else to do the Elder had started shaking him, trying to rouse him. "Chris, common. You're having a nightmare." But he did not rouse at the action.
'What the hell is happening?' Leo wondered as he shook Chris even harder but while locked in the demon's spell he could not be roused.
Leo switched on the lamp next to the couch thinking that maybe the light would rouse the sleeping Whitelighter and was shocked to see the condition he was in. His clothes had splotches of demon goo staining at least fifty percent of them and his skin and hair seemed to be caked in dirt. The only part of him that wasn't completely filthy was his face, which had splotches of clean skin where sweat had trickled down leaving clean trails in the dirt and grime. By the looks of it Chris had probably collapsed the moment he orbed in and now was too completely exhausted to even pull himself from the nightmare he was suffering through. His exhaustion was probably also the reason his defenses dropped enough for Leo to be able to sense him. "What have you been doing, Chris?" he whispered in shock. "How did this happen?"
"Please, no!" Chris said still gripped in the nightmare, "I'm sorry... I won't do... it again... I promise!" This was accompanied by several strained whimpers.
The fearful noises and pleas to stop were beginning to frighten the Elder and he knew he had to wake him soon for his own sanity. So he reached out turning Chris over so he faced up and sat him up. He was surprised to see that the manhandling hadn't even so much as registered on his face. He had never seen anyone exhausted this thoroughly before. He reached out tapping Chris' face a few times getting a little harder with each tap. He really didn't want to slap him but feared he'd have to. "Chris, common wake up. You're beginning to scare me now." Still no response. But then an idea occurred to him. He leaned Chris against the back of the couch and orbed into the restroom finding what he needed and then orbed quickly back. Chris had slouched to the side slightly and Leo kneeled in front of him again and started wiping the dirt and grime from his face with a wet washcloth, hoping the refreshing feel of cool water against his skin would rouse him.
Babas had been watching the entire scene and decided it was about time to let Chris free. He knew this would be an interesting show to say the least. So with just a small flick of his hand Chris was free of the spell and the feel of someone touching his face startled him enough for his eyes to fly open and his hand immediately flew out knocking Leo away from him. If Leo hadn't been so shocked by the action he would have thought to question the strength that was behind the blow, an almost inhuman amount of strenth that was bolstered by Chris' telekinetic powers.
But as it was Leo didn't think to question it as he landed hard against the door and slid to the floor leaning against it. "Whoa, Chris. It's just me," he called seeing how Chris' still seemed completely dazed. He could also see the petrified look in his eyes and the way his hand trembled as it wavered in front of him. He wondered if maybe the young Whitelighter was still lost in the nightmare.
Chris' hand sank to his lap and he stared at Leo but Leo could see that he really wasn't there. The look in his eyes was likened to that of an animal that was just about to die and no longer saw the world around them.
Leo stood slowly and walked towards Chris with his hands out slightly at the sides in a non-threatening manner. "Chris, I can see you are in shock here a bit. I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise. I'm just going to come over there by you." With that Leo finished the slow walk across the room and again kneeled in front of Chris. He didn't want to try to sit beside him. He knew that the action might be seen as threatening towards the frightened youth.
He did notice though that sweat had once again broken out on Chris' brow and was threatening to run into his eyes along with the dirt that it was carrying. "Chris, I'm just going to wipe some of this dirt and sweat off your face," he said cautiously in the most soothing manner he could possible muster as he reached up with the washcloth that he had somehow managed to keep and tenderly started wiping his brow.
Chris didn't pull away but he did actually look at Leo and the look he gave him was enough to melt the hardest of hearts. His eyes pleaded with him to take the fear away. He could see it just as clearly as he could see his own hand in front of his face. He had no idea what enveloped the young man's dreams but whatever it was had to have been more horrendous than he could have imagined. "Do you want to talk?" he asked hesitantly. Chris had never once wanted to talk to him about anything but it was worth a try at least.
Chris' eyes blinked a couple of times as they for the first time really registered his environment. He could feel Leo gently wiping his forehead and face with a cold cloth and had to admit that the feeling felt very good after such a horrible vision. He truly wanted to sink into the feeling and for a change let someone care for him. But then his mind started to bring forth the more pertinent points of his life and he realized just how wrong it was for this man, who truly did hate him, to be showing any concern at all for him. He suddenly pulled his face away from the touch and scowled darkly. "What are you doing here?" he asked bitterly.
Leo let his hand drop and sighed at the biting tone. For a moment there he thought things might go more pleasantly this day. "I was looking for you but when I got here you were having some sort of nightmare. What happened to you, Chris? Where have you been?" he asked motioning to the condition he was in.
Chris looked down at his clothes and pulled one hand up seeing the grime and demon goop it was covered in. He seemed almost surprised to see it but then the last few day's events came back to his mind and he remembered the endless demon hunt he had taken on after leaving the Manor the other day. He wasn't exactly sure how many days he had been in the underworld or even how many demons he had vanquished either. He just remembered the urge to destroy the creatures that he blamed for his life being like it was.
He knew he could blame his family. They were not completely innocent in the pain he felt but then again if he blamed them he would have to blame himself also. Because wasn't he driving them to their actions? He had to admit he was. But no, it was just easier to blame the demons and take out his anger and frustration on them. It was one of them that was going to turn his brother evil. And that was something he knew he would never allow.
But hadn't Leo asked him something? Oh yes, where was he and what had happened to him? "I was below," he answered knowing it was not enough information but it was all he felt like saying.
"Chris, I know demon guts when I see them. Can you explain to me why a Whitelighter would be covered in demon guts?" There were rules and even though Leo had been known to break a few himself he wasn't about to just let Chris do so unchecked. He had a responsibility as an Elder to keep him in line.
"That happens when you throw vanquishing potions at them," Chris answered looking away his eyes still holding a slightly dreamlike quality. He felt so strange as if his mind was in a fog and he couldn't get out of it.
"Chris, you are not allowed to vanquish demons unless they threaten your charges and that is even frowned upon. You know that." Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Chris had just admitted to breaking the Whitelighter's most sacred rule.
Chris looked back to him as his mind snapped back to where he was. "Well considering the fact that Wyatt is Piper's son I'd say that counts him as my charge and if it takes me vanquishing every demon in the underworld to stop what happens to him then so be it."
Leo couldn't believe the amount of conviction he heard in Chris' voice. He had never heard him speak so emotionally about anything before. "Chris, please. I'm begging you. Tell me what happens to my son."
Chris could hear the amount of heartache that was in Leo's voice and for just a moment he wanted to tell him. He wanted to do as he said, just as he always had as a child. But he hardened himself again, knowing he couldn't think of this man as anything more than an Elder. "I can't," he finally spit out angrily. "I just can't."
Leo stood with that and started pacing around the room. He stopped and faced Chris when he had made three circuits. "You can't or you won't."
Chris let his head fall to the back of the couch as his eyes closed. "God, do you think I'd take all this on by myself if I didn't have to."
Leo heard the amount of fatigue that was evident in those words. Chris truly was completely worn. It was so easy to see now that he was looking for it. Now that his face was clean he could see the dark circles ringing his eyes and the way his brow was furrowed in stress. He could also see how his entire body sagged into the couch and very much doubted that Chris could even raise his arm if he wanted to. "No, I guess you wouldn't." But didn't that tell Chris that he needed help? It should. "Chris, look at you. You are so exhausted you can barely hold your eyes open. You look like hell and I don't even think you could orb right now if you wanted to. You need a rest. Let me take on this burden. You can't bear it alone any more."
Chris' head shot up. He always hated being told what he could and could not do. And Leo had said the wrong words. All he could think was that the man was faking his concern to get the information he wanted to save his precious son. "I'll do what I have to," he ground out angrily between gritted teeth. "Now get out."
Leo's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected so much hostility from someone he was attempting to help. "Chris, you need to listen to reason."
"No, you need to accept what I said and let me do what needs done," he shouted angrily. "Now get the hell out of here and let me rest."
Leo could see the stubborn resolve in the young Whitelighter's eyes and knew he would never get an answer from him like this and somehow after everything he'd seen in the past twenty minutes or so it had managed to change his mind about forcing the information from Chris. He could tell that there was something horrible happening inside Chris' mind and whatever it was had to be taking a large toll on him already without Leo adding to the problem. No, he'd have to find another way. Wyatt was his number one priority but to knowingly hurt someone who was desperately trying to save his son and at the expense of their own health and sanity to boot, well that was just not something he could do to him. "Okay, Chris, but please don't stay away so long. Even if you aren't willing to tell us the truth, you still need us to help you or you'd have never revealed yourself to us in the beginning. Trust us enough to help you, okay?"
Chris eyed Leo suspiciously but nodded waiting for him to orb out before he let himself lose control again. The nightmare had been the worst yet and then to wake with Leo trying to help him had shaken him to the very core. These nightmares were becoming a real nuisance. And not sleeping at all just wasn't an option. He'd attempted it and it hadn't worked. Once he had finally passed out the nightmare just seemed to take a stronger hold on him and his lack of sleep just made it harder to get out of it. He felt his body slump once again to the side until he had slid back to the soft comfort of the couch. He dreaded the nightmare returning but a very numb part of his mind just didn't care as it demanded the rest he had been denying himself.
But even that numb part of his mind was unable to stop the trembling of his body as fear once again swept him and he squeezed his eyes shut to hold in the tears that threatened to fall.
A/N: Okay how many of my readers are looking at me and saying, "You gross, sick, evil, sadistic, woman. What is wrong with you?" Well my hand is up on that one. And for everyone's knowledge I know very little about human biology and seriously have never seen an eyeball out of someone's head other than in movies. So don't sue me if my description was off.