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Ch. 45:

Phoebe used an eye dropper to suction up some of the darklighter's blood before heading back to the sitting room.

"Is that enough to scry with?" Paige asked.

"Only one way to find out." Phoebe replied.

"At least he waited till after the party to attack." Piper said.

"Very considerate of him." Meredith agreed sarcastically.

She was standing against the wall, watching as Chris paced in front of her. There was a rumble from under the house and they all looked at her as she closed her eyes tightly.

"Sorry." She muttered.

A second later, Hania appeared and stalked into the next room to lay down in a huff.

"You know what I don't understand is, why would the darklighter attack at all?" Chris asked, refocusing. "I mean, with all of us here at the same time, it's suicide."

"All the more reason to find him and stop him before he tries again." Piper said.

Leo glanced down at Wyatt sitting in his lap.

"I don't think he was after a whitelighter." He said. "I think he was after me. Or Wyatt."

"Well, then why don't you take Piper up there, and take Wyatt, too?" Paige suggested.

"Yeah, I'll go with you." Piper agreed.

"But you're not allowed." Leo pointed out.

Piper sighed.

"All right, so then we'll go to the Magic School." She suggested. "You'll be safe there. You can't be hurt, right?"

"That's great." Paige said brightly. "One big happy family."

"You change him and grab Little Mer, and I'll pack them." Piper told Leo.

She got to her feet and headed out.

"Come on." Leo said to Wyatt as they followed his mother out.

"Think now's a good time to tell 'em?" Chris asked.

"No!" Paige replied as Meredith sighed. "The sooner we take care of the darklighter, the sooner we make you."

"I'm gonna start scrying." Phoebe said, walking out as Paige got to her feet.

"And I will go start the love potion." She said.

"Wait." Chris said, stopping her. "I thought you were against making a love potion."

"Not if it's gonna save one of my two favorite nephews." She said, smiling at him with a wink.

She walked out of the room, leaving Chris and Meredith alone.

"C'mere." Meredith said, holding her hand out to him.

Chris took her hand and let her pull him into her arms.

"It's going to be alright." She said softly.

"Uh huh." Chris replied skeptically. "That's why we had the mini earthquake, right?"

"Shut up." She said, glaring at him.

She looked down as she linked her fingers with his.

"I'm trying to be brave." She whispered. "I'm trying to be who you need me to be right now, but I'm scared, Christopher. What if I lose you? What if losing you…changes me?"

"What do you mean?" Chris asked softly.

"I'm scared of who I would've grown up to be if I hadn't had you in my life." She continued just as softly. "If my only influence had been Wyatt. I'm afraid of who he would've molded me into. A true queen."

"Everything will be fine." He told her, pulling her into a hug. "Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe will keep us safe, just like always and then we'll look back and laugh soon."

"You? Laugh?" Meredith said, raising her eyebrow.

"Shut up." He shot back.

She burrowed into his arms and laid her head against his chest.

"I love you, Chris." She whispered.

"I love you too, Mer." He replied.

Behind them, the grandfather clock chimed 3 o'clock.

Meredith stepped into the shadows in San Francisco and stepped out in New York, outside her family manor. She walked up the steps to the front door.

"Can I help you?"

She turned to find a woman standing on the road, looking up at her.

"I'm just checking on the house." Meredith told her.

"Did you know the St. James's?" The woman asked.

"My parents were friends of theirs." Meredith replied. "I was going to be in town, so they asked me to check up on it for little Meredith."

This seem to pacify the woman and she backed down.

"Such a sad thing." She told her. "That poor young couple, dying that way."

"What way?" Meredith asked, curious as to what the public story was. "My parents have never really told me what happened."

"It was horrible." The woman said. "A crazy man broke in at night and slaughtered them, but for some reason, he left little Meredith alive. I always wondered what happened to that little girl. I hope she's having a good life. That's she's taken care of, and loved."

"Some friends of the family took her." Meredith told her. "She seems very happy, and she is very much loved."

"That's good." The woman said, nodding. "Well, you have a good look around and make sure everything's fine."

"I will." Meredith said. "It was nice meeting you…?"

"Allison Cooper." The other woman said. "And you are?"

"Cassandra." Meredith said quickly, giving her middle name. "Cassandra Perry."

"Well, have a nice day, Cassandra." Allison said, before walking off.

Meredith took a deep breath and opened the door, allowing the wards to wash over her and accept her before entering.

Everything was the same as it had been when she and the Halliwells had been here to rescue her younger self.

She quickly made her way up the stairs to her family's potion room and started going through the supplies and readymade potions. Most of what was there had gone bad, but she was happy to find that the object of her search was still good.

She made her way back outside and locked the house back up before stepping into the shadows in New York and stepping out in San Francisco.

Chris sat behind his desk at P3, pouring over various astrological charts, maps, and tables, trying to calculate, and then re-calculate his conception date.

"What are you still doing here?"

Chris jumped to his feet and looked towards the door to find the janitor, Clarence, looking in on him.

"Thought you'd be out and about by now." The janitor continued.

"Clarence, hey." Chris said awkwardly as he quickly shuffled his papers around to hide them. "I didn't hear you come up."

"Do you mind?" Clarence asked, motioning to the trash can inside the room.

"Uh, please, go ahead." Chris replied.

Clarence stepped inside and started clearing up.

"Beautiful day outside, isn't it?" he said, smiling.

"Is it?" Chris responded. "I haven't really noticed. I've been too busy…rechecking something."

"The whole world seems to be too busy nowadays. Nobody's got time to just…enjoy the day anymore."

"Well, it doesn't get any better in the future either." Chris said.

He suddenly realized what he said and scrambled to cover.

"I mean…I'd imagine." He said, lamely.

"Future don't mean squat to me." Clarence told him. "I'm too old to worry about it. Shouldn't to you, either. You too young."

Chris chuckled.

"Well, unfortunately, I'm kind of obsessed with it." He said, sitting down with a sigh.

Chris rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"You all right?" Clarence asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Chris replied. "Yeah, I just – I just probably need to eat."

"Chris!" Meredith called as she walked up and spotted the janitor. "Oh, hey, Clarence!"

"Hello, Miss Meredith." He said, smiling. "How are you this beautiful day?"

"Is it beautiful?" she asked. "I haven't had time to notice."

"Now, aren't the two of you a pair." Clarence said, shaking his head. "What you two need to do is get out of this hole, get some sun. Live a little."

"Believe me, I'm trying." Chris said ironically.

"Do that." Clarence ordered with a nod.

Clarence finished up cleaning and turn and walked away, leaving the two time travelers alone. Meredith turned and looked at Chris and frowned.

"Are you alright?" she asked, moving over to him.

"Clarence asked the same thing." Chris said, threading his fingers through hers.

"Well, you look…odd." She said, studying him.

"I feel odd." He replied softly.

Meredith kneeled in front of him as he opened and closed his fist, looking at it strangely.

"Here." She said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the vial she had taken from her house. "I went to New York and got this. It's a back up, back up plan."

Chris turned it over in his hand, studying it.

"Is this a love potion?" he asked.

"A little old, but it should work." She confirmed. "I went and got it just encase we can't get your parents together and Paige can't finish hers in time. I don't expect either of those things to happen, but I figure it can't hurt to be prepared."

"No it can't." he agreed, closing the vial in his fist. "Thank you."

"Any time you need to trick your parents into sleeping together so you can be conceived, I'm your girl." She told him, smirking up at him.

Chris took her face between his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You're always my girl." He whispered.

Meredith smiled at him softly and got up, wrapping her arms around his neck as he got back to work.

The potion pot exploded, wafting white smoke in front of Paige, who sighed. Phoebe looked up from the couch where she was scrying for the Darklighter.

"I thought you were making a love potion." She said.

"I am." Paige replied, shrugging.

"Then why did it blow up?" Phoebe asked.

"Maybe I'm trying too hard." Paige said.

"Or maybe it just wasn't meant to be." Her sister muttered.

"Phoebe!" Paige exclaimed.

"Come on, you weren't thinking the exact same thing?" Phoebe protested.

"No." Paige insisited. "Okay, fine. But for like, a second. The point is, Chris is meant to be."

"But not if he and Meredith changed too much by coming here, you know, messed up his own timeline." Phoebe said.

"We're talking about his very existence." Paige protested.

"Paige, I know, but there's only so much we can do, especially now, with the darklighter out there." Phoebe told her with a sigh. "I just think that we have to face the reality that Chris' destiny might have been just to come here and warn us about Wyatt, and that's all."

Paige didn't reply, and both sisters were distracted by a small noise. They both turned to see Chris leaning against the door way as Meredith moved around him and into the attic.

"Hey." Paige said.

Neither Chris, nor Meredith, said anything.

"Oh, my god, Chris, I'm so sorry." Phoebe told him.

"No, that's okay." He said softly. "I've actually been wondering the same thing."

Meredith made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded vaguely like a growl.

"You have?" Paige asked, confused.

"Yeah." Chris replied, straightening and stepping into the attic. "I have the strangest feeling, like…I don't know. It's really hard to explain, but it feels like I'm – I'm floating? Like I'm not really here, you know?"

"That doesn't sound good." Phoebe said.

"He's not the only one." Meredith told her sadly, not looking at Chris.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

"I feel different." She told him. "More angry, volatile. And then there's this."

She laid her hand against the mirror and ice spread across the glass.

"My powers are shifting." She told them. "From fire to ice."

"You didn't tell me." Chris said.

"You didn't tell me, either." She said.

"Well, you have to fight it." Paige told them. "Both of you. We still have time."

"Not much." Chris said.

There was a sound and Phoebe started as the scrying crystal began jingling and shaking.

"I've never seen it do that before." Paige commented.

"Maybe that means there's more than one?" Phoebe suggested.

The two sisters shared a startled look.

"I'll go get Piper." Phoebe said, jumping up and rushing out of the attic.

"I'll go, too." Chris said, moving to follow.

"No, you stay here, okay?" Paige said. "Finish the potion. When we come back, your parents will be in the mood."

Paige walked out, leaving the two time travelers behind.

"Come on." Meredith said. "We'll work on the potion so we don't have to use mine."

"Okay." He agreed, letting her pull him to the potion table.

The SUV drove up the busy street and came to a stop near an alley. The sisters and Leo got out of the car, looking around.

"You sure this is the place?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, down that alley." Phoebe replied.

"Thank god we didn't orb in." Paige said as they headed for the alley.

"Well, we couldn't." Leo told her. "They would've known we were coming."

"Well, maybe they know already." Piper said.

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked, turning to look at her sister.

"I mean, since when do Darklighters hang out in broad daylight like this?" Piper pointed out. "It could be a trap. Maybe you should stay here."

"No, I'm the bait, remember?" Leo replied. "Besides, if it is a trap, you might need me to help you orb back."

"Well, I got Phoebe." Paige said. "You get Piper out of here for Chr – for Wyatt's sake."

Phoebe grabbed the potion bottles from Paige and they headed into the alley.

"Let's just do this." Phoebe muttered.

Piper turned and looked at Leo for a moment before following her sisters. They walked into the alley, keeping a sharp eye out.

"I don't see anything." Paige said.

On the rooftop above, a Darkligter orbed in and aimed his crossbow. Piper spotted him and quickly blew him up, but a second Darklighter took his place in a second.

"Uh, you take Piper." Phoebe said.

Paige took Phoebe's hand and orbed her out of te alley and onto the rooftop where the second Darklighter was taking aim. The two sisters threw their potion vials at two Darklighters, vanquishing them.

"Phoebe, watch out!" Leo called, spotting a Darklighter behind his ex-sister-in-law.

The Darklighter swung and hit Phoebe across the face, forcing her over the side of the building and onto the trash can below.

The Darklighter orbed off the rooftop and Paige ran to the edge of the building as Piper and Leo ran to Phoebe.

Meanwhile, the Darklighter from the manor orbed in behind Leo and Piper.

"Behind you!" Paige yelled.

The Darklighter raised his crossbow and took aim as Leo and Piper turned. Piper quickly blasted the Darklighter and he exploded with more force than normal. The explosion quickly engulfed Piper and Leo, before collapsing in on itself, vanishing completely, leaving nothing behind.

"Piper!" Paige yelled.

She quickly orbed to the alley and ran to Phoebe, who was struggling to sit up.

"Phoebe!" she called, helping her. "Oh my god, you're bleeding."

"Yeah." Phoebe agreed. "Maybe we should get me to the hospital."

"Yeah." Paige agreed. "I got you."

Phoebe wrapped her arm around Paige's shoulders and they hobbled out of the alley and to the car. They quickly got in and peeled off, narrowly avoiding traffic and pedestrians alike.

A/N: Oh my god, it's been forever, hasn't it? I'm so sorry. Basically, my life has gone a little insane and all of my stories have gone on an impromptu hiatus.

I'm going to try to work on them more, but I'm not promising anything.

I do have a question for you guys: Would it hurt the story if I left out the Piper/Leo scenes? Or do you guys know it well enough that I can focus on Chris/Meredith?

Let me know in reviews or PMs.

Abbey