Family First
It was Friday night so P3 was packed and Maroon 5 was performing. Chris and Prudence were in the office.
"We should go before someone comes in here and sees you and gets all suspicious." Chris said.
"But I want to see Maroon 5! You know they were my favorite band when I was a kid. Let's just go out, we'll blend in." Prudence said.
"We won't blend in. You're with me and you look like a Halliwell."
"You look like a Halliwell too but they didn't assume that you were one. Come on, the future sucks and I have to go back soon. Just let me enjoy being here for like five minutes and let me just get one glimpse of mom. Life is tough for us right now, can't we just have fun for a while?" Prudence took Chris' hand and headed out to the crowd. She happily sung along to "She Will Be Loved" and played around with Chris. She was determined for them both to have a good time. That was just who she was, the sweetest person ever, always wanted to find the good in people and situations and tried her best to always have a good time but she was tough when she had to be.
"Who is Chris with?" Piper asked her sisters. Neither of them knew of course so Piper let it go but Phoebe and Melinda were still interested so they went over to them.
"Hey Chris! Who's your friend?" Phoebe asked.
"Girlfriend?" Melinda asked jokingly. She knew it wasn't likely he'd have a girlfriend since this wasn't his time unless the girl was from the future too.
"Nooo!" Chris and Prudence exclaimed in unison. Phoebe and Melinda looked at them curiously because they reacted as if they were related or something. Then a thought crossed Phoebe's mind. She examined by the girl's face then looked at Chris.
"... This wouldn't be your sister, would it?"
"No." Chris denied.
"What's your name?" Phoebe asked the girl.
Chris replied, "Destiny," and Prudence replied, "Mackenzie," at the same time.
"Someone's lying. This is your sister, isn't it?" Phoebe asked again. Chris was on lie overload. He couldn't come up with anymore. Chris and Prudence just stood there with a blank stare. "It is! Oh my gosh!" Phoebe hugged her.
"Um, what is going on? Pretty sure I missed something." Melinda said.
Phoebe led them into the office.
"We should just tell her." Phoebe said.
"No." Chris refused.
"It'll be fine as long as Piper doesn't know." Phoebe said.
"Fine." Chris gave in.
"Chris is Piper and Leo's unborn son so this is DeDe." Phoebe told Melinda.
"So much for keeping who you are a secret but I guess it'll be easier for you now." Prudence said.
"Oh my gosh! This is amazing. " Melinda exclaimed then hugged them.
"What are you doing here, De?" Phoebe asked.
"I came to check on Chris and fill him in on the little that's changed since he's been gone."
"Is the future better?" Melinda asked.
"A little. Humans aren't consumed by war and anger since Ares never succeeded in his plan but demons are still living out in the open instead of the underworld thanks to Wyatt being their leader but that will change and I'm sure a lot more changes will follow once you all stop Wyatt from being kidnapped." Prudence explained.
"You two should head back out before Piper starts looking for you." Chris said to Phoebe and Melinda then the two left the office.
"What's the point in continuing to call mom by her name if they know who you are?"
"Because I can't afford to get attached. I have a mission to accomplish. I don't know of saving Wyatt will save her. I don't need the mom emotions right now. I need to focus."
"It's your family. You're already attached but I understand you not wanting to cloud your judgement with emotions. Could you just introduce me to her? She doesn't have to know who I really am. Just tell her I'm a witch you saved and I just wanted to meet The Charmed Ones. Everyone in the magical community knows The Charmed Ones."
"You couldn't come up with that lie when we were talking to Phoebe and Mel."
"We were already caught in a lie by then." Prudence joked.
Chris agreed then took her over to Piper with the same story.
"It was nice meeting you. Perhaps we'll meet again someday." Prudence said after the chance to chat with Piper a little.
"Nice meeting you too." Piper smiled. Chris and Prudence went back into the office then orbed to the attic.
"She's so beautiful. I haven't seen her in eight years. It's so surreal seeing her so young. She was never really at peace again after Wyatt was taken. She was good to us but she spent so much time trying to find Wyatt. Once dad was killed we were the only joy she had left. Chris, if you save Wyatt, you will save mom, I'm sure of it. Dad is alive now, I just never see him because he's an elder and it kind of pisses me off with all that is going on. Not to add to your stress but fix that if you can. I love you bro." Prudence hugged him.
"I love you too Denny. Be safe."
Prudence said the spell to create the portal so that she could go back to the future.
"See you soon, Chrissy." Prudence walked through the portal.
-v-
Weeks later...
The sisters were in the attic working on a plan to stop the Triad while Wyatt and DeDe played in the playpen just a couple feet away.
"Do you think this will work?" Phoebe asked.
"It has to. I can't let Wyatt be taken by demons, not see him until he's grown up and by then it'll be too late because he'll be the leader of evil." Piper replied.
"Melinda." A woman's voice called. Melinda looked up.
"... Mom? Why- Why can I see your spirit? Tell me this is like an outer body experience or something." Melinda said.
"What's going on?" Piper asked. They felt Beth's presence but she didn't reveal herself to them. They can only see spirits that allow them to see them. Melinda sees them all.
"My mom. I see her spirit." Melinda cried.
"It's ok honey. I'm gone but I had to say goodbye to you first." Beth said.
"No! We were just beginning to get close."
"I know. I love you. You know better than anyone that it's alright. We'll see each other again. You have your sisters, Andrea and Jim to help you through this."
"I love you."
Beth touched Melinda's cheek one last time before she saw the light.
"Mom! I see your grandmother." Beth smiled then walked into the light.
Melinda wept as Piper and Phoebe held her. She spent the rest of the week planning Beth's funeral and cleaning out her house. She apparently died from a bad fall down the stairs. Piper, Phoebe, Andrea, Jim and Chris as well helped her through it all. Most people only have to lose two parents at the most and that's painful enough but to Melinda, it was like she lost four. She didn't really know Pattie and she had never met Sam but she still felt the lost. However, since she spoke to the dead on regular bases, she had a peace about the whole thing.
Weeks later...
The sisters and Chris were gathered together in the living room.
"Now we know what we have to do to save Wyatt and the whitelighters. The only thing left to do is execute the plan. I know where the darklighters part of the underworld is. If you hit them with this new potion, you'll knock most of them out. Then there won't be enough of them to execute their plan to wipe out the whitelighters. When they do that, it makes it easier for evil to come out from hiding in the underworld." Chris said.
Melinda drank a potion that they created to temporarily make her immune to the raft of darklighters. While Wyatt and DeDe were at Victor's the sisters' caught the darklighters off guard in the underworld and instantly hit them with the potion they came up with and a new spell to vanquish them. They didn't go without a fight but The Charmed Ones won this war then went back to the manor.
"You did it, you weakened the collection of darklighters. They don't have enough collective power to take out the whitelighters and elders now." Chris said.
White lights appeared in front of them and quickly revealed the one and only, very much missed...
"Leo." Piper said surprised, as they all were because they hadn't seen him in months.
"What are you doing here?" Chris asked.
"We just got word of what you all did to the darklighters. Don't know exactly why you all attacked them but this is something no one has come close to doing in history. How'd you do it?"
"We created a new potion and spell powerful enough to damn near wipe them out." Phoebe said.
"Why? There must have been something to prompt you all to do that." Leo asked.
"In my future, they wiped you all out which would make it easier for evil to come out from the underworld over the years. We had to take them out before they became strong enough to make their way up there... So it's a lot safer down here since Ares was defeated and now we've pretty much taken out the darklighters, you can come back home, you and Piper can get back together." Chris said. Phoebe elbowed him in the arm, he wasn't subtle at all. Piper and Leo were caught off guard with the statement. Piper was also annoyed with Chris since he knew she was dating Dan at this point.
"It's not that simple. I'm an elder. I can't live on earth." Leo said.
"Why? Because it's a rule? This family doesn't follow rules, we- you make rules." Chris said and Melinda elbowed him in the side this time. "Don't you miss your family?"
"Chris! It can't happen. Let it go. We have." Piper said.
"Seriously? Well, your kids won't let it go if their dad isn't around and their parents aren't together." Chris said.
"Speaking from experience Christopher?" Phoebe asked to make Chris reconsider his line of questioning. Piper and Leo of course found it strange that she used his full first name and that he was so concerned about their relationship.
"No... I'm just looking out for Wyatt and De."
"Thanks Chris but we got it." Piper said.
The doorbell rung.
"I'll get it." Chris said.
"There are a couple things I have to talk to you about in regards to the twins and us." Piper said to Leo.
"Look who was at the door!" Chris exclaimed.
"Baby!" Piper exclaimed as Dan walked over to her.
Leo was already shocked to see Dan but even more shocked to hear her call him...
"Baby?" Leo questioned.
"You didn't tell him?" Dan asked.
"We haven't spoken in a while... Dan and I are back together." Piper said.
"Sorry to just drop by but I have a job not too far from here so I wanted to drop off your clothes to you." Dan said. That broke Leo's heart more than it already had.
"We went shopping and I forgot my bags in his car." Piper explained. "Thanks Dan. I'll walk you out." Piper walked Dan to the door and Chris walked over to Leo.
"Are you just going to let him take your wife like that?" Chris instigated.
"She deserves to move on and be happy." Leo said with a pitiful face.
"This is not the Leo I know. The Leo I know would fight for his one and only true love." Chris said.
"You don't really know me..." Leo said. Chris started to respond.
"Chris!" Phoebe and Melinda called.
"Let's go." Phoebe said.
"Nice seeing you, Leo. We missed you." Melinda said before the three left the room and Piper came back.
"I'm sorry you had to find out that way." Piper said.
"You had to talk to me about something?" Leo changed the subject.
"Neither of what I have to tell you is easy... I think we should get a divorce. We can't be together, we should just let go."
Leo didn't really know what to say. He didn't want a divorce but it was true they couldn't be together.
"... I guess that's logical. What else?" Leo replied.
"A big part of the reason why Chris is here is because in the future the Triad kidnapped Wyatt, we didn't find him and he grew up to pretty much terrorize the world so we've figured out a way to stop them and that's our next mission." Piper explained.
Phoebe, Melinda and Chris were in Phoebe's room.
"I have to get them back together. I just heard divorce come up!" Chris said.
"Yeah but your questioning them wasn't going to help. You were just going to help them figure out who you are which might jeopardize you ever being born all together." Phoebe said.
"Speaking of that, I did the math and if they don't sleep together soon, it won't happen for me."
"What's the plan?" Melinda asked.
"I could get a Cupid to help them." Chris said.
"You don't need a Cupid. They already love each other." Phoebe said.
"A genie?" Chris suggested.
"They're tricky and dangerous." Phoebe said.
"A spell? A potion?" Chris suggested.
"Do you really want to be conceived because of magic?" Melinda asked.
"I don't care as long as I don't cease to exist. Besides, I owe it to them because my being here broke them up in the first place. They weren't supposed to break up. Death was supposed to do them part so I'm going to get them back together and hopefully this time when death do them part, they'll be old and grey."
"But Leo doesn't age." Melinda pointed out.
"You know his being an elder/whitelighter really gets in the way sometimes. I'll be downstairs." Chris said.
"Try not to bombard your parents with questions." Phoebe said.
Chris went back downstairs and just watched Piper and Leo from afar. They had orbed over to Victor's to get the twins so the four of them were spending time together and they hadn't done that in a long time at this point. Chris smiled at the sight of his family before he were born but he was uneasy at the fact that his parents were on the brink of divorce.
The twins began to cry.
"They need to be changed." Piper said and Chris ran into the room.
"I'll change them for you." Chris volunteered.
"I'll do it." Leo said.
"Let me. I insist." Chris replied.
"Why are you all of a sudden so concerned and involved with things other than the witchy stuff?" Piper asked. She found it strange that he was suddenly taking more interest in their personal lives. Up until now he made it a point not to get involved.
"I guess since my secrets are all pretty much out in the open, it's a little easier to be open. Let me help." Chris picked up the twins. "We'll be right back." Chris walked out with the twins.
"What's up with him?" Leo asked.
"I don't know, he doesn't really talk to me much but Mel and Phoebe seem to have formed a tight bond with future boy." Piper replied.
Chris was holding the twins from outside the living room.
"Listen, we're going to hang out today because I am going to get our mom and dad back together." Chris said then waved his hand. Piper and Leo disappeared. "Now let's get you two changed."
Chris took the twins upstairs to Phoebe's room, he changed Wyatt and Phoebe changed DeDe. Chris heard Piper call for him but he ignored it. About a minute later...
"Piper's calling for me. Did she leave or something?" Melinda asked.
"Don't go to her." Chris said.
"Why not?" Melinda inquired.
"I sort of sent Piper and Leo to a deserted island."
"Why would you do that?" Phoebe asked, annoyed.
"You said not to use magic to make them get back together. I didn't. I used magic to send them away so that they can get back together on their own." Chris explained.
"Chris!" Melinda exclaimed.
"Well, you're definitely a Halliwell. Not only do you have the look but you're stubborn, hard headed and persistent... What if something goes wrong?" Phoebe asked.
"They'll be fine. Besides, I sense when something is wrong with them. De and I have always been able to do that, just like when something happens to mom, dad knows. He can feel it." Chris explained.
"Leo will just orb them off the island." Phoebe said.
"I made it so that he can't. This will only last twenty-four hours."
"You think that's enough time?" Melinda asked.
Chris looked down at his hand which was now see-through. "I think I only have twenty-four hours."
"Oh no." Phoebe and Melinda said.
"Twenty-four hours alone on a beautiful deserted island will get anyone in the mood, right? I mean... It worked in The Blue Lagoon."
-v-
"What the hell happened? How did we get here? Chris and Melinda won't answer my calls and you can't orb." Piper wondered aloud.
"I don't know what's going on. Demon?" Leo questioned.
"Why would a demon send us here?"
"It's a deserted island. It can't be that bad."
"Phoebe and Mel will find us, I'm sure of it."
"What do we do until then?"
"Enjoy it? We could be stuck in a worst place... We haven't seen each other in months now we're stuck together."
"If I had to choose anyone to be stranded with on a deserted island, I'd choose you." Piper couldn't hold back a smile to Leo's statement. "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, I am actually."
"I'll catch some fish and get some fruit. At least we won't be hungry while we wait."
-v-
Phoebe, Melinda, Chris and the twins were now in the living room when the doorbell rung.
"I hope that's not Dan again because Piper sure isn't here." Phoebe said then went to answer the door.
"He can kick rocks." Chris mumbled.
"You are so cute how protective you are over your mommy and your parents' relationship." Melinda said.
"There's someone I want to introduce you all to." Phoebe walked in with an older man with silver hair. "This is... Sam. Melinda, this is your father."
"My... father? I thought you said he was... dead." Melinda stood.
"I was for about a minute then they made me a whitelighter again. I've been a wreck every since. I was looking forward to spending eternity with your mother. I've been refusing to be a whitelighter but the elders came to me and said I could meet you. That's the first light I've seen since I saw your mother." Sam explained.
"Wow. Why now? They found out about me three years ago."
"They didn't say. They just said, they thought it'd be good for both of us. You're so beautiful. You look so much like your mother and sisters but you have my mother's smile. I would love to talk and get to know you."
"I'd like that. You know, my mother, the one that raised me, she passed away a month ago and my father, the other one left when I was a little girl. I'm glad I have a chance to get to know you now." Sam and Melinda hugged.
"Aww!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't introduce you to Piper's children. Wyatt, Prudence and Chris."
"This grown man is Piper's son?" Sam asked, confused.
"Oh he's from the future." Phoebe said.
"Phoebe, it's supposed to be a secret that I'm Piper's son." Chris said.
"I'm not good at secrets!" Phoebe stated.
"You've been keeping the secret all this time." Chris said.
"And you have no idea how hard that is." Phoebe said.
"While my sister and nephew go back and forth, we'll be in the backyard." Melinda said.
-v-
Meanwhile, on the deserted island, Piper and Leo had just finished eating their fish and fruit.
"You know, Chris was so adamant about us getting back together. You don't think he sent us here, do you?" Leo asked.
"Ya think?" Piper asked.
"Nah." Piper and Leo said in unison.
"Why didn't Chris tell me about the Triad being after Wyatt?" Leo asked.
"He knew the darklighters were going to attack you every chance they got and he didn't want to risk you coming down and getting hurt." Piper explained.
"I hate that I can't be there..."
"You got to do what you got to do... I wonder, when we went to the future-"
"The future where we were divorced?"
"Yeah. I wonder if Wyatt actually did exist but was kidnapped in that reality too. I guess I'll never know but I'm pretty sure we'll succeed when we take out the Triad." They looked out at the sunset. "It's beautiful."
They found themselves sitting close. Sitting close together, alone on a deserted island watching the sunset was quite a romantic scene. The moment led to a kiss.
"We probably shouldn't do this." Piper said.
"You're right..." Leo replied. "You ever regret us?"
"What? Of course not."
"Not even after all this, after all we've been through, after the future warning you that we wouldn't last?"
"We fought to be together. You made me happier than I've ever been. We got two wonderful children out of it. I don't regret it at all. Do you?"
"No. I've seen us together in many of my lifetimes. I couldn't wait for the day I could be with you again. This time was different because I was your whitelighter and there were rules but I've always loved you. I couldn't regret being with you in any lifetime."
They kissed again and one thing led to another...
-v-
Chris was completely transparent at this point but he suddenly went back to normal.
"I'm alive!" Chris exclaimed.
"I guess your plan worked. I'm glad it did." Phoebe said then hugged him.
The next day...
"Melinda, could you go get Piper and Leo?" Chris asked.
"You mean mom and dad?" Melinda replied with a smile.
"Yeah..."
"Why don't you go get them?"
"If I go, they might figure out that I put them there. If you go, they'll just think you're saving them."
"Alright, my precious nephew." Melinda pinched his cheek.
"You and Phoebe have been babying me every since you found out who I am."
"Aww, you know you enjoy the attention. I'll be right back with your parents." Melinda orbed out then Chris smiled. He complained but the truth was, he really did enjoy the attention. He orbed out because he didn't want to be there when Piper and Leo got back.
A few minutes later, Melinda, Piper and Leo orbed into the living room then Phoebe walked in.
"You're back!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"I'm going to say goodbye to the babies." Leo orbed upstairs to the nursery.
"Goodbye? Where's he going?" Melinda asked.
"Back to the heavens." Piper replied.
"What? I thought you two were back together." Phoebe said.
"What would give you that idea?" Piper asked.
"You had sex." Phoebe blurted then remembered she wasn't supposed to know that.
"Phoebe!" Melinda exclaimed.
"It slipped." Phoebe responded regretfully.
Piper had to pause for the statement was very unexpected.
"... How did you..."
"Chris wouldn't be here if nothing happened between you and Leo." Phoebe said.
"Huh?" Piper was confused.
"Maybe you should sit down." Phoebe said. The three of them had a seat, Phoebe and Melinda sat across from Piper. "Chris is your son."
Piper was stunned.
"Chris is my... son?"
"Yeah and he almost jeopardized his chance of being born my coming back. You and Leo weren't supposed to break up. He figured if you two got stuck together, you two might have to get back together and he would still have a chance to live."
"So Chris WAS the one that put us on the island... This explains so much. That's why he was so concerned when I gave up on love. He acted like a son when he found out about Dan and he was so adamant about me and Leo getting back together... He looks like me. He sort of even acts like me."
"Yeah, he's kind of neurotic like you were at his age." Phoebe said.
"True... I can't believe this... Where's Chris now?"
"He was here before I left." Melinda said.
"I haven't seen him in a while." Phoebe said. "Are you going to tell Leo?"
"It was hard enough for him to leave two children, it'll be even harder for him to leave three. I'm not telling him... If Dan and I weren't over already, we're definitely over now. I have to break his heart a second time. All I wanted was to move on but I guess any man who isn't Leo will always be second best."
A month later...
They hadn't seen Chris. It seemed like he was avoiding them for whatever reason but he couldn't avoid them anymore. It was time to go after the Triad.
Chris orbed into the attic where Phoebe and Melinda were.
"Where have you been?" Phoebe asked.
"I told you, it's hard for me to be here. It's even harder now that Piper knows who I am."
"Why? Is there something you're not telling us?" Melinda asked.
"...She died when I was fourteen. I don't know if that will change or not. I don't know if I'll have a mother in the future or not. I don't know if any of you will be there or maybe you all will be. What if I fix the future and lose you all anyway? I don't want to get close and lose her all over again. Mel, you were all De and I had left, what if I lose you too?"
"Every moment counts." Piper said as she walked into the attic. She overheard a lot of what he said. "You don't know what you're going back to when you go back to the future. We may all be alive and well. Who knows? But every moment we have is a moment to cherish." Piper hugged him. "I love you."
"I love you too mom... I'm sort of out of the loop. Are you and dad back together?" Chris asked.
"Sorry, we're not."
"Darn! Ok, there's one last thing I came here to do and that's to save Wyatt. Let's take out the Triad, once and for all."
I thought about having Sam actually be dead but I didn't like that they didn't expand on Paige and Sam's relationship on the show.
After the next chapter we'll be in "season 7" and hardly anything from the show is going to happen so stay tuned. Hope you all enjoyed and continue to.