Disclaimer: Why can't you people just leave me alone?

Ch. 19:

Meredith woke up the next morning to find Chris gone. She quickly grabbed her shoes and melted into the shadows, stepping out in the kitchen to find Piper working on lunch.

"And where have you been?" she asked Meredith. "It's after noon."

"I was with Chris." Meredith replied, sitting down at the table. "When I woke up, he was gone."

"Meredith…" Piper sighed.

"It wasn't like that." Meredith defend herself. "I just stayed with him. He shouldn't have to go through this by himself. I came back so he wouldn't have to. I'm not going to stay away when he's in pain."

"Is he going to be alright?" Piper asked, sitting down next to her.

"Eventually." Meredith replied. "He loved her, but she choose to do what was right. There was nothing he could've done to save her. He's blameless."

Piper looked at her for a moment before reaching over and taking Meredith's hand.

"You're blameless too." She told the young woman.

"Yeah." Meredith agreed without conviction.

"If I've learned anything in all these years of fighting evil, it's that we can't hold ourselves responsible for what evil does." Piper told her. "It's not your fault that Bianca died, just like it's not your fault your husband killed your daughter."

Meredith hesitated before nodding. She took a deep breath and sat up straighter.

"Right." She said. "So, have you seen him?"

"No." Piper replied. "You're the first one I've seen. Paige and Phoebe are up in their rooms, packing, but you could go ask them."

"You're really going to go through with this?" Meredith asked her. "They're really going to move out?"

"We need to try." Piper told her.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, there is a point in time where you all live separately." Meredith told her. "I can't tell you under what conditions, just that it didn't happen this earlier before. But you'll still have Chris and me, so you won't be doing this alone."

Piper smiled and squeezed her hand before getting back up to deal with lunch.

"So are you going to ask if they've seen him?" she asked Meredith.

"Nah." Meredith replied. "I'll just find him. I just hope he's on Earth or in the underworld. When he goes to Elder-land, I can never find him."

"How can you find him if he's on Earth?" Piper asked.

"You can come watch if you want." Meredith said, getting up.

Piper followed her through the conservatory and out into the garden. Meredith rolled up her jeans and sat down on the ground.

"The perks of being an Elemental." Meredith told her. "As long as I know what I'm looking for, and as long as you're at least touching something that's touching the Earth, I can find you. Chris's signature is something I'm very familiar with, so it's usually pretty easy to find him."

"So it's like the sensing ability that the Whitelighters have." Piper said.

"Kind of, but I'm not limited to my charges." Meredith replied, closing her eyes. "Also I have to be touching the Earth directly to channel the power."

She was silent for a moment before sighing.

"Did you find him?" Piper asked.

"Yeah." Meredith said, brushing her legs off as she stood up.

"Well?" Piper asked. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah." Meredith said, walking back inside. "He's just saying goodbye."

Before Piper could say anything, Meredith was gone into the shadows.

Chris stood in front of the angel statue in the arboretum. He looked down at the ring in his hand before closing his fist around it.

"I'm sorry, Bianca." He whispered.

He turned around and saw Meredith leaning on a tree a ways away.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to her.

"Making sure you're okay." She replied. "Here."

She held out her hand and he saw that she was holding a chain.

"I'm fine." He told her. "What's this?"

"I'm sure and it's a chain." Meredith scoffed. "I thought you could use it to carry the ring. So it won't get lost." She sobered. "You know, you'll get another chance. All we have to do is save Wyatt."

"I'm not so sure." Chris said, walking past her.

She turned and caught up to him, walking by his side.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Just something Bianca said." He replied.

"What did Bianca say?" Meredith asked.

"Do you think you and Wyatt will wind up together if we fix the time line?" Chris asked, changing the subject.

"No." Meredith replied, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Chris asked.

"Because I don't think a Wyatt who isn't obsessed with power would be interested in me." She replied. "I mean, he may have acted like he loved me, but a few months of marriage cured me of that notion. He wanted an heir, and I was just the most powerful witch he could find."

"What do you mean marriage 'cured' you of that notion?" Chris asked, stopping her.

"What do you think it means?" she sighed. "You know what he was like in the latter days, when he finally stopped hiding. Do you really think he treated me any better? Especially when he thought he had gotten his precious heir."

"Did he hurt you?" Chris asked softly.

"It didn't matter." Meredith told him, looking down. "As long as he focused on me, I didn't care what he did. As long as Jenny was safe, nothing mattered."

"I'm sorry." Chris said, making her look at him.

"It doesn't matter." She said, taking a deep breath and smiling. "The point is, no, I don't think Wyatt and I will ever actually wind up together. Not if he stays sane."

Chris nodded, smiling.

"So, the sisters are planning a goodbye celebration tonight." Meredith said. "Are you going to come?"

"I don't think so." Chris replied. "I'm gonna just stay in tonight."

"Alright." Meredith said reluctantly. "Well I'm gonna be working the bar tonight, so if you feel like it, come see me."

"Why are you working the bar?" Chris asked.

"Because Piper needs the help." She replied. "And because we grew up in that club, so I can most definitely tend bar with no problem."

"Ah." Chris replied.

"Dork." Meredith said, laughing. "Anyway, I gotta get run if I'm going to be ready for my shift."

"Alright." Chris replied. "See you later."

"See you later." Meredith replied, smiling.

She melted into the shadows and a second later, Chris orbed away.

"We all good?" Meredith asked as she set drinks in front of the sisters.

"Perfect." Phoebe said, taking a sip.

"How long have you been doing this?" Piper asked.

"Oh…since I was fifteen?" Meredith replied.

"What about the fact that you were a minor?" Piper demanded.

"It was free labor, so we took the view that what the authorities didn't know, didn't hurt them." Meredith said, shrugging.

She broke down laughing at Piper's horrified look.

"I'm just kidding." She said through her laughter. "I watched them mix the drinks growing up. That's how I know how to do it."

"See, that's just mean." Piper told her.

"Hey."

The girls looked over to see Chris standing there.

"Hey!" Meredith said happily. "I thought you were going to stay in tonight."

"I was." Chris said, walking up to the bar. "But then I remembered that I owed you a birthday dance. So, if Piper can spare you for a song, I thought you might dance with me."

Meredith glanced at Piper, who sighed.

"Go." She said.

"Thank you." Meredith said, leaning over the bar to kiss her cheek. "I'll be back in a little while."

"Yeah, yeah." Piper said.

The sisters watched as Chris took Meredith's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. Meredith laughed as he spun and a smile lit Chris's face.

Piper turned back to her sisters, smiling.

"They're gonna be alright." She said.

A/N: Just a little interlude. Let me know what you think.

Abbey