The Nine that Live…

"Boys?" Piper called to the six young men as they trudged up the Main Hall stairway. "I'm lovin' that you guys are attached at the hip and all, but does it really take all six of you to carry Rory up the stairs? I mean, you look like pallbearers without a casket." she said.

"Uh…" Steve mumbled, scrambling for an excuse. "Rory has very sensitive armpits, so we have to carry him like this."

"He's heavy too." Jared agreed, "Solid as a rock."

"Yeah," added Dylan, "when people said Richard Simmons was a miracle worker, they weren't kidding."

Steve included: "Factor in the 'Buns of Steel' and you've got yourself one heavy fella."

Piper didn't waste an ounce of energy disagreeing, but rather decided to question the son most likely to break under pressure. "Lee," she called. "has Rory ever done a single aerobic workout in his entire life?"

"Um…"

No more than two seconds passed.

"Thank's, that's all I needed."

"Sorry." Lee muttered to his brothers, a little embarrassed.

"But," Steve kept on, "Even so, his buns really are made of steel. If you don't believe me, just… Ow!" he groaned, as Dylan whacked the back of his head. "Dude?"

"Steve," threatened Dylan, "for the love of Papa Smurf, if you 'dude' me one more time…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Steve interjected. "Them there's fightin' words!"

"Nice Dylan." Chris moaned. "Just had to play the 'smurf card' didn't ya?"

"You know they give him nightmares." said Wyatt.

"Still? Are you kidding me?" Dylan said. "Why would a 21 year-old demon slayer have nightmares about…"

"Don't!" Jared interrupted. "Don't… say it!"

"I dunno!" Steve finally answered. "How am I supposed to sleep with thoughts of 99 little blue freaks of nature singing and dancing and frolicking in my head? It's just not natural!"

"It's okay Steve," said Wyatt, staring smugly at Dylan. "You can just bunk with Dylan tonight."

"What?" said Dylan. "Now wait a minute…"

"You guys," Lee politely interjected, "Do you think you two could duke out your Saturday morning entertainment issues after we've gotten Rory upstairs? He really is getting kinda heavy."

"Thank you!" sighed Chris.

Piper, Leo, and Paige all watched the traveling caravan as they stopped, started, and stopped again on their comically slow journey up the stairs. It seemed they couldn't take two collective steps without some new issue or other coming up.

The mix of conflicting emotions stirring inside Piper as she looked on were all at once confusing, frustrating, and exhausting. She'd had the pleasure of meeting six of her nine sons, and both she, Leo, and Paige had already fallen head-over-heels in love with each of them. She even found herself excited to meet the other three, a stark turnaround from her panicky reaction earlier that very day.

Then, there was that little setback of witnessing her 3rd child die and come back to life on the Dining Room table no more than half an hour ago, not to mention the fact that said son was carrying a curse strong enough to bring down three people. What does this mean for Rory? she wondered. She also wondered if, when he awoke, would he be some gloomy soul that frowned at all hours of the day. Not that anyone could blame him.

Though Leo and Paige were well aware of the heaviness of the day's events, they were still pleasantly distracted by the relief that Rory's life had been spared. They were also unaware of Chris' letter, which meant they had no idea how severe the aforementioned curse truly was, where it came from (not to mention 'when'), or why it came to be. For now, the proud father and amused aunt were content to stand back and be entertained.

Paige discreetly asked Leo, "How long do you think they'd keep going if no one ever stopped them?

"Well," Leo answered, "if it's anything like this afternoon, we should probably put on some coffee 'cause we're gonna be here for awhile. And that's with two of them absent and one of them unconscious. Why?" he asked. "Ya think we're in over our heads?"

"You guys," Piper called up, "Don't forget, we've got a Golden Girls makeup marathon tomorrow. Same 'Bat Time', same 'Bat Channel'. Got it?"

"Got it Mom!" said Wyatt, staring at Jared with a taunting smile.

"Thanks, mom." Jared said, being the good sport that he was, knowing full well that he was being teased by his mother.

One thing you might have noticed about the Halliwell boys: they never miss the opportunity to tease one another.

"Thank you for being a friend…" Steve sang, starting off the Golden Girls theme song.

Followed by Dylan: "Travel down the road and back again…"

Then Lee: "Your heart is true. You're a pal and a confidant…"

And finally, all six of boys, even Chris, sang along as they marched their blissfully unconscious brother onward and upward to the bedroom. "Dah, dah, dah… And if you threw a party…"

Piper put two fingers between her teeth and let out a loud, shrill whistle, halting both sound and movement, just before the young men had disappeared from sight. "Wyatt? Chris?"

"Yeah Mom?" they answered hesitantly. Both brothers knew in their gut that the moment they had been dreading was fast approaching.

"How's about you two Mother Gooses waddle on into the Parlor, make yourselves really, reeeeeeeally comfortable, and get ready to tell me every single tale you know, 'kay?"

Neither Chris nor Wyatt uttered a sound, and both seemed stuck in their places.

"Oh now, come on!" Piper cheered, grossly overplaying maternal excitement.

Steve whispered cautiously into Wyatt's ear. "Why is Mom acting like Donna Reed on crack?"

"Because it's a trap." Wyatt whispered in response.

"You two go and get cozy," Piper continued, "and I'll go make us some cocoa. I've just discovered a new ingredient that sends it straight over the top." And with that, she disappeared out of the room.

"Well," said Dylan, "Don't wanna keep you two."

"Y'all have fun." added Steve, patting Chris enthusiastically on the back. "You know where to find us."

"Save us some cocoa!" said Lee, as he, Dylan, Jared, and Steve continued to haul Rory up the stairs.

Eventually Chris and Wyatt, the only remaining stair-dwellers, managed to force themselves down the steps and into the Parlor. The heaviness of the coming moment seemed to seep into the Manor, all but erasing any sense of relief that accompanied Rory's revival. Leo and Paige, both aware of the growing direness, kept the conversation as optimistic as they deemed appropriate under the circumstances. The topics would darken soon enough on their own.

Paige knew that Leo had been dying to ask about any potential father-son issues in the future: abandonment, coldness, favoritism, etc. To both Piper and herself, it was obvious that whatever issues may have existed between Leo and Chris in the past, they were now no more than memory, and even though Chris had kept the memories of his original life, it was surprisingly easy to let the darker version go. "Like waking up after a 22 year-long nightmare."

"You know," Paige said, "I never even knew it was possible for brothers to be so close. Most boys are raised to be so closed and standoffish. Not you guys though, huh?"

Chris smiled slightly and gazed at the ground, knowing that his aunt was fishing for compliments on Leo's behalf. "Yeah." he sighed.

Paige tried again: "It uh… must be all that good parenting."

"I suppose." Chris said casually, pretending to yawn.

"Chris," Paige said finally. "You realize you're torturing you're father, right?"

"Relax, Dad." Wyatt grinned. "You're 'Soccer Dad' and 'PTA Mom' all rolled into one."

"Really?" Leo asked proudly.

Chris smiled at his father. "Yeah" he answered. "Really."

"In that case, I take full credit." Leo joked.

"Full credit?" returned Paige. "That's the last lifeline I'm throwing you for awhile."

"What?" said Leo, feigning innocence, "What better role model for nine young men? Eleven if you count the twins."

Before Chris had time to defend his rightful place as his sons' male role model, Piper entered the room carrying a tray with five mugs of hot chocolate. "Oh, and I guess I just stood there like a wax statue the entire time?" she griped.

"Not just any wax statue, Dear." Leo answered, playfully punishing his wife for eavesdropping. "The prettiest wax statue the world's ever seen."

"Uh huh." said Piper snidely. "Would you like some salt for your foot while you're chewing on it?"

"Piper," Paige intervened, "you're kinda wrecking Leo's moment here."

"So reschedule it!" Piper resounded, setting the tray down on the coffee table.

"Oh good!" Wyatt boyishly exclaimed as he picked up his mug. "Marshmallows."

"Yep," said Piper. "marshmallows, cinnamon… truth serum…"

"Mom, relax." Chris said. "You did plenty."

"Uh huh."

"Mom, seriously."

"Do you guys hear that?" Piper asked.

"Hear what?" asked Leo.

"The sound of a subject changing."

"But Mom…"

"Wyatt, Sweets, Toots," Piper interrupted. "If you'd like to continue walking erect, I strrrrongly suggest that you drop it."

"Fine," Wyatt relented. "Consider it dropped."

The cocoa gave everyone the opportunity to sit in partial silence before diving into the heavier topics. Everyone, for the most part, did more than enough communicating with eye contact alone, particularly Chris and Wyatt. When they thought no one looking, Piper saw glances of what appeared to be sympathy pass from one brother to the next.

"So…" Piper said, sitting between Paige and Leo on the sofa. "Let's start with the curse, since that's apparently why Rory was trying to drown himself."

Wyatt sighed as his gaze sank heavily to the floor. A subtle look of guilt hung on his face. "He wasn't trying to drown himself." he said sadly. "He was rescuing Dad."

Chris watched Wyatt from the corner of his eye, having anticipated his brother's somber response.

"What happened?" asked Leo, grave concern on his face. "Where were we? How did he know?"

"As far as where we were, I don't know." said Wyatt. "But we were miles underwater in some sort of… prison. I don't know who's behind it, but whoever it is, they're trapping whitelighters in these crystal cages."

"But how could someone make a crystal cage under miles of water?" Piper asked.

"They're not like the four point energy cages, they're hollow cells made out of some sort of blackened quartz. I could orb into them, but I couldn't get out again. My guess is that Rory blasted the cell and orbed you back home with whatever energy he had left."

"But not himself?" asked Leo.

"It probably took all he had to get you here." Wyatt said. "I wouldn't have been able to do both, shatter the cell and orb us back. I was lucky to have some help."

"Rory's that powerful?" asked Paige.

"Though our powers aren't the same, Rory and I are pretty evenly matched." Wyatt said. "But for very different reasons." It seemed as though a sudden sadness consumed him, though there was no obvious cause as to why.

"But why couldn't I remember?" Leo asked.

Recognizing the look of defeat on Wyatt's face, Chris tried to answer for his older brother. "Rory probably erased your memories."

"But why?"

"So you couldn't go back and save him." Wyatt lament. "You wouldn't even know he needed saving."

"I don't understand," said Piper. "Is Rory trying to die?"

"No, Rory would never… take…" Chris was suddenly distracted by a look of fright, running coldly across Wyatt's face as he looked down at his hands in disgust. "Wyatt?"

Continuing to glare loathingly at his hands, Wyatt chanted: "The nine that live with one to mourn, of witch and wingless angel born."

"Was Wyatt just possessed by Dr. Seuss?" Paige asked.

"Wyatt?" Leo said nervously. "Son, is everything okay?"

Wyatt continued as though no one but himself were in the room. "Of earth, of sea, of wind, of sun; all would fall to save but one."

"Okay, so not Dr. Seuss then. Edgar Allan Poe maybe?"

"Shhhh!" snapped Piper. "Wyatt? Honey, can you hear me?"

"For past to change and future mend; as time has told, and tells again."

"It's the Prophecy." said Chris mournfully.

"For need of that which must be done; by the many, not the one."

"Wyatt, snap out of it!" Chris shouted.

Wyatt sprang back into focus with an irritated look on his face. He looked sheepishly at his parents. "Chris tells the story of the curse better than I do." he said, getting up to leave.

"Wyatt," Chris began, hearing the shame in his brother's voice. "You don't have…"

"Chris, I'm fine… Really, I'm okay." he said. "Thanks for the cocoa, Mom. I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me."

Piper judged Chris' hesitance to be a good sign that she shouldn't interfere.

"I'll let you guys know if Rory wakes up." Wyatt said, sounding a bit more like himself. And with that, he trotted up the stairs.

"I never would've expected that from Wyatt." Paige remarked.

"The curse is a touchy subject with him." Chris said, letting out a deep sigh and sitting back in his chair.

Chris spent the next couple of minutes telling Leo and Paige the same story he'd told his mother earlier that afternoon, showing them the letter and explaining each bit as they read along. He continued along, answering questions and clarifying what he could until all Piper, Leo, and Paige were all on the same… well… page.

"But, how did Rory inherit the curse?" asked Leo.

"He didn't." Chris answered sadly. "As soon as he found out about it, Rory went straight to the Elders. He asked permission to travel to the future and cast a spell to bring the curse into himself, so that he could carry it and I wouldn't have to."

"And they let him?" said Piper. "Just like that?"

"Not at first, but Rory convinced them that it made more sense for one person to carry it instead of three, that it would serve the greater good. Finally they agreed."

"So then," said Leo, "Why's it such a touchy subject for Wyatt."

"Because the Elders chose Rory over Wyatt."

"I don't understand." said Piper.

"When Wyatt found out what Rory was planning to do, he also went to the Elders to try and convince them that he should carry the curse instead. Wyatt begged them but they refused, and when he asked them why, they couldn't give him a straight answer."

Leo was almost afraid to ask, "Do you know why?"

Chris sat in silence for a long moment. Several times it seemed like he was about to speak, but nothing came.

When it became clear that Chris wasn't going to continue, Leo reached out to his son. "Chris, we're your family." he said. "You can't come all this way and expect us not to help."

"Sweetheart," Piper said gently, "What is it that you're so afraid to tell us?"

Leo stood up and walked slowly over to kneel before Chris, placing his assuring hand on his son's trembling knee.

"Promise me something first." Chris pleaded, his eyes beginning to moisten.

"Anything." Leo answered softly.

"It's about that line: 'The nine that live with one to mourn…"

Two tears burned down Chris' cheeks as he gravely looked up into his father's sympathetic eyes.

"Wyatt can't ever know…"