"Cole's mom"?! Phoebe asked slamming the book. "My ex-husband's mother, my ex-husband who made me the queen of the underworld's mother—and you didn't think to lead with that"?
"I thought we weren't supposed to be giving out future information," Wyatt said as he entered the room.
"I had a good reason" Chris informed his brother. "When there is a very good reason that could potentially save our lives—and everyone else's you fully have my permission to mention whatever the hell you want".
"And what exactly is that reason"?
"Chris has a theory," Piper told her eldest son.
"What if a demon followed us back"? Chris asked him.
Wyatt nodded. "It makes sense, that's why we couldn't return—the same thing happened with Lady Hershey".
"Godiva".
"Eh, whatever chocolate your eating," Wyatt said brushing it off. "But, what does this have to do with Elizabeth"?
"Elizabeth"? Billie asked arching an eyebrow.
"Please, god don't tell me—" Phoebe said shaking her head.
Wyatt shook his head. "I'm married, she was my partner at work" he explained.
"You're married"? Piper asked.
"You just said yesterday that you know Bee"?
"Bee"? Phoebe asked lifting her head. "As in Bianca? You're married to Bianca"?
"We have been married for three years, how did they not know that"? Wyatt asked Chris. "They knew her".
Phoebe and Piper both looked at Chris, and both saw just a hint of pain in his eyes—but he carried on. He shook his head "you two just worked together" he told him. "We don't really have time for this, Wyatt worked with Zorthraz, he knows the most about her".
Chris was cut off by the shining of bright lights, followed by the appearance of his aunt, his grandfather, and two young versions of him and his brother.
"We need to get them somewhere as safe as possible" Piper said. "Leo, too".
"Magic School"? Billie asked. "Chris and I vanquished the last of the demons".
"That you know of," Phoebe told her. "Magic school is enormous, not to mention Zankou broke the barrier that was protecting the school, demons and warlocks and whatever else can go in at any second".
"I can take care of that" Wyatt said.
"Which the demons that might be there or the barrier"? Billie asked.
"Both," Wyatt said with a smile. "I can put up an invisible Force Field that even the elders couldn't—with the help of my baby brother, and when we do it will either vanquish any demons inside or kick them out".
"That easy"? Piper asked.
"You should see some of my other tricks".
Chris rolled his eyes. "You're so cocky".
"How long will it take"? Paige asked.
"Twenty minutes—tops," Chris told her.
"Go now, and hurry back. I will pack the boys a bag" Piper said, then tilted her head. "I will pack you two a bag? Little you's".
"And just like that all your schooling went out the window," Paige said with a small smile.
"Just go—hurry," Piper told her two boys.
Chris and Wyatt orbed out, and their mother flew into action down the stairs.
"Mind telling me what is going on"? Victor asked, holding baby Chris sturdy on his hip, as he followed his daughter into the nursery.
"You have to get somewhere—safe" Piper told him. "If Chris is right, and I suspect that he is an incredibly powerful demon will be coming after the boys, probably the most powerful demon we have ever come across. I probably should have asked, but the boys have been with you—they need you".
"Of course—they won't be safe anywhere else"?
"Not according to Chris," Piper told him. "This is what we did when Gideon was after Wyatt, but this time no one will be there except the boys, you, and Leo. I'm sure the place needs some cleaning up, but while we search for this demon we can't be worried about the boy's safety".
Victor sat baby Chris down in the middle of the floor and he watched his daughter continue to stuff toys, diapers, clothes, and everything else she could get her hands on into bags. He watched, with sympathy.
"Piper—piper stop," Victor said taking her hands. "It's going to be okay".
Piper's head dropped and for a minute Victor became worried that she had become possessed or something but after a brief moment, he heard her sob. She sat down on the bed with her head in her hands—crying, nearly uncontrollably.
"I swear it's like the universe is against us," Piper said. "Since I gave birth to Wyatt it has been one thing after another, I can never just live in peace with my family. I just want to wake up, make breakfast, and have a nice peaceful day with my husband and my boys. I either have to take Wyatt and live somewhere else or send Leo away or all three—".
"Why don't you go with us"? Victor asked.
"Because I need to find who is after my family".
"It's going to be okay," Victor said sitting down next to her. "There will be a day when the only chaos you have to face is making it to Wyatt's soccer game in time or Chris failing history or finding a girl in their room—I promise".
"Can you really promise that"?
Victor nodded. "It's a parent's job to tell their kids what they want to hear, even if it might be a lie".
Piper looked up at her dad, and despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but chuckle, just slightly.
Victor wrapped his arms around his daughter, and for a minute she felt safe—in her father's arms, for a second her worries disappeared.
"For what it's worth—I do understand what you're going through, how you feel," Victor told her. "All I wanted was my family, all I wanted was to keep you safe—but I'm mortal. I couldn't. But, if I could—I would fight like hell to protect my family, and kill anyone that I even assumed was a threat in that".
Piper smiled "now after all this time—you get it"? She asked with a hint of laughter. "And just so you know—after everything, everything you missed, everyone you hurt—taking care of my boys for the past few months, you made up for it. All of it".
Paige handed Wyatt, who sat at the table in the attic, a packet of crayons, and watched as he began to color—very unevenly. She smiled, before walking over to Phoebe who stood eyes glued inside the book of shadows—Paige didn't need to guess what page.
"We need potions," Phoebe said before her sister had a chance to speak. "We need a lot of potions, there is literally no vanquishing spell—".
"There is no need in panicking, Chris and Wyatt have vanquished her, they will tell us," Paige said. "If she is even a threat".
"I knew that Cole had a mother, who was a demon—but it never once occurred to me to ask about her," Phoebe said. "In the time I was with him you would think it would come up—at least once. Sure, Cole, I will marry you and stand by you as you rule the underworld, want to get me pregnant with a half-demon spawn—literally, oh, by the way, is your mom coming to the coronation"?
Paige jumped as Phoebe slammed the book shut, and she watched as her sister walked over to the window—looking out into the street.
"We have faced worse" Paige reminded her.
"Have we"? Phoebe asked without turning around. "The way Chris made her sound—she took down Wyatt, it makes sense when he is three and a half, but in the future, he is full-grown and extremely powerful. I have seen him use his powers—and if she has future information on her vanquish—it's just like Cole, she will be able to protect herself against it".
"What's going on"? They heard and looked to see Piper walking in behind them.
"A meltdown, apparently" Paige half-whispered.
"Okay" Piper said, nodding. "Chris is asleep—but Paige I was wondering if you could take dad back to his condo to get a few things to take with him".
Paige asked. "You just had me rush to go get them. Do you think it's safe"?
"That's why I'm asking you to take him," Piper told her. "You're still a charmed one, right? You can handle taking my father to his home to pack somethings without anything happening to him, right"?
Paige bit down on her bottom lip but nodded before slowly walking away.
Piper stood in the same place for longer than she thought she would, she watched her little sister look out the window—for whatever reason.
"Do you ever go back"? Piper asked as she sat down on the couch. "And think what could have been—if you had got home a week later when it wasn't storming? Or if we had found that old ouija board? Do you ever wonder what could have happened—if we hadn't found out we were the Charmed ones"?
Phoebe turned around and looked at her sister. "I never would have met Cole".
"Pure might still be here".
"Andy, Andy wouldn't have died".
Phoebe sat down next to Piper on the couch—running her sweaty palms against the rough fabric of her jeans.
"You know," Piper said shaking her head. "Billie and Christy—that was meant to be it, our final battle. But, we haven't even had the chance to sleep it off and here we are back at it again—I feel stupid for actually believing that I would get to leave this normal life with my husband and my kids, and not have to hunt demons instead of watching my boys learn to walk or learn the ABC's or even the hard parts of parenting like potty training or teething or when Chris loses his favorite stuffed animal and Wyatt doesn't want anyone else to tie his shoe. I feel like it's never going to end".
"I know what you mean," Phoebe said. "It's been years, and somehow Cole keeps jumping up like a pop-up book from hell—quite literally. If it wasn't for him I might have found someone already, and have two or three different kids by now. I was so devastated over everything, Jason Dean".
"Jason"? Piper asked. "I haven't heard that name in a while".
"No, but up until he found out I was a witch we had a good thing—I mean sure we had problems, most of which disappeared when I moved to Hong Kong with him, I think I could have had something with him if I hadn't been a witch," Phoebe said. "I could have settled down and had kids and—".
Piper looked over at Phoebe who trailed off "and what"? She asked.
"I wouldn't have met Coop," Phoebe said.
"I wouldn't have met Leo," Piper said. "Which means no Chris or Wyatt".
"We probably never would have found out about Paige," Phoebe said.
"All the innocents that would have been lost otherwise"? Piper asked.
Phoebe nodded. "The good definitely out ways the bad, it's just—".
"I'm exhausted," Piper told her. "After all these years, I'm exhausted. We deserve to argue over what time to have Sunday brunch, not how to get the demon goo out of the carpet—I really believed it was over".
"So, let's look at the bright side—Leo is back, Billie is alive—and good, the boys will be safe along with Leo and dad".
"And we still have a demon to vanquish," Piper said. "So, let's get to it".
Paige paced back and forth outside of Victor's bedroom, anxiously twisting her wedding band. She glanced into her mother's ex-husband's bedroom once again and seen he was doing the same as before, packing all of his belongings into a suitcase.
Nearly.
If there was ever a doubt, which there wasn't, that he might have been her father—the organization Victor had was a DNA test all on its own.
Paige jumped slightly at the sound of her phone ringing from inside her pocket, she quickly pulled it out and flipped it open—
"Hello"? Paige asked.
"Hey, babe," Henry said on the end, Paige could hear his shaky breathe and the sound of a busy street in the background.
"I thought you were at P3 with Leo"? Paige asked, immediately. "Or the manor—I saw Leo at the manor".
Paige wanted to kick herself for not being able to keep up with her husband, but regardless it had been a long day.
"Leo left P3 a few hours ago," Henry told her. "And I had to sign a few forms for work, I'm leaving now".
"Oh".
"So, I was thinking, dinner"? Henry said. "I got us reservations at that French restaurant on Polk Street, I had to pull a few strings but I thought we should celebrate. It's a little high-end dining for us, but you nearly died—actually you did die, so I want to take you out. Then I thought we could go see a movie, your pick".
Paige rested her head against the door frame of Victor's bedroom, and she felt a small tear stroll down her cheek. "That sounds great—".
"The reservations are at—".
"I can't Henry" Paige interrupted him. "This morning things weren't so bad, but they have taken a pretty drastic turn. So, I can't".
"What do you mean"?
"It's Chris and Wyatt, the babies, not the grown adults, we think someone is after the babies" Paige said running her hand across her cheek brushing her tears away. "We are trying to get them somewhere safe, we haven't even discussed what we are going to do yet—just one step at a time".
For a second Henry went silent if Paige didn't hear the chaos on the other end she would have guessed he hung up, but she knew that he didn't.
"Kids"? He asked after a minute. "They are after kids, innocent little kids? It was hard enough to swallow when they are after you but those boys are—what do you need"?
Paige felt taken back for a second by his reaction, as it wasn't the one she had expected from her husband. "You're not disappointed"? Paige asked.
"Are you kidding"? Henry asked. "Of course I am, I wanted to take you out but family comes first, especially those boys. So, anything you need and I'm on it".
"I actually need a few ingredients for some potions from China Town" Paige told him.
"Then that's where I'm going," Henry told her. "Are you okay"?
Paige paused, she wasn't even sure there was an answer to that. "No, but I will be, I guess. It just never ends, it's never-ending. I love being a witch, I love my family—but sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had never gone to Prue's funeral that day. I think how much easier my life would have been. Safer. I have this great family, but my life was normal before I met them. I was once a mortal, just a regular mortal who went to work, got yelled at by my pain in the ass boss, and went home to this small apartment where I could barely cover the rent, eat cereal out of a box, and never worried about demons killing my nephews".
"But, that's the point," Henry said. "Right? To have someone to fight for, to fight with—whose to say we would have ever met if you hadn't become a witch. We met because you are one".
"I guess that's true, you're right," Paige said. "I just thought that after all this it would be over, and we haven't had long enough to recover after that, now here we are back at it again. How can we even begin to think about starting a family if we can't protect our kids from demons dropping in at school during recess"?
"There will always be time to start a family, right now—".
"Henry, I'm pregnant" Paige cut him off, her voice cracking just slightly. "We are starting a family".
Paige waited, and she waited, for Henry to say something, anything. But, he didn't.
"Henry"?
"I just—a baby"? Henry asked.
Paige nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I am eight or nine weeks, with everything going on I didn't even catch it until now—I took a test this morning. I was going to wait until Wyatt and Chris were home safe, and there were no more threats to tell you—but it doesn't seem that either of those is happening soon. I just want this baby to be safe, I'm not Phoebe. I haven't sat down and dreamed of being a mom since I got my first period, but now that I am going to be—it scares me—".
"Paige".
Paige quit talking at the sound of her husband's voice, though she wasn't sure why.
"We are having a baby," Henry said, and his wife could hear the smile—the enthusiasm in his voice. "We will figure out the rest, in time".
Paige nodded. "I am the fun sister" she moaned. "It's always Phoebe and Piper who are complaining about being a witch not me—I don't know what's wrong with me".
"It's called being a parent," Henry told her. "For the first time you have to think about someone besides yourself, and that's scary. But, we will figure it out".
Henry was right, although you would never hear Paige say that out loud, it was true. She had never known fear like this, she laid her hand across her flat stomach and clutched it for dear life.
Unfortunately, she couldn't share her husband's enthusiasm, neither she nor Henry lived a safe day-to-day life.
All Paige knew was she had to keep this baby safe, and that is where the fear came from, and it shook her deep in her core. Every battle, every fireball, every spell—she couldn't even guarantee her own safety through the day, but she was supposed to promise to keep this baby safe inside her, for months?
That's what a mother was supposed to do.
"Oh, my god" Paige said as she hung the phone up. "I'm going to be a mother".
"Oh," Phoebe said—semi shocked when she walked into the kitchen to find Coop, dusting, which shocked her more than his presence. "I—well, I didn't know you were here".
Coop nodded. "I didn't want to bother you," he told her. "So I started—".
"Cleaning"? Phoebe asked with a hint of a smile.
Coop nodded. "Yeah," he said, realizing how weird it might have been—but if she thought it was, Phoebe didn't show it. "I fully stocked all your potion ingredients I saw was missing in your sister's extremely organized system—did you know she has everything labeled, I have never seen anything like it".
"My dead ex-husband is haunting us from the grave and you want to talk about my sisters OCD for the dead toads"?
Coop chuckled as Phoebe slid into the stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, noticing the color was a lot brighter than it had been in years.
"He isn't haunting you—it's his mother," Coop told her. "Belthazor is dead, he isn't coming back".
Phoebe nodded, although she wondered. She prayed that that was true. It had to be, she couldn't even begin to wrap her head around the thought of having to deal with Cole again, she didn't think she could, at least emotionally.
"What was your mom like"? Phoebe asked looking up at Coop who had begun cleaning once again.
Coop froze, looking over at his future wife. "I beg your pardon"?
"I mean Cupid's—you were mortal once, right"?
Coop nodded, slowly. "I was, but that was a very long time ago".
"I never asked Cole, I knew his mother's name and that she killed his father, but past that I didn't ask anything about his family. And look where that got me—".
"Oka-ay" Coop said realizing where the sudden outburst came from, as he sat down in the stool next to Phoebe taking her small hand in both of his relatively large ones. "First of all my parents were both mortals, you will not find them in the book of shadows, second of all—I'm a pacifist, but most importantly, I am not Cole Turner".
Phoebe smiled placing her hand on the side of his face "you sure aren't—no one would be as understanding as you are Coop, Coop—what is your full name. I don't even know your name, Coop—it's a playoff of Cupid, right"?
Coop shook his head. "Coppersmith—that was my last name when I became a Cupid," he told her. "It's short for that".
Phoebe smiled, slightly. "So, what was your first name"?
"We have all the time in the world to discuss this, but right now—I don't think it is," Coop told her. "So, instead tell me what I can do to help you, to help your family—I want to help, I should help—I need to help".
Phoebe turned away, briefly, because for a second she wondered if she should, or could ask him for anything. But, she just put him through the price is right over questions of his family.
"There actually is," Phoebe told him. "Dad and Leo are taking the boys to magic school, Chris and Wyatt are putting the barrier back up but Zankou broke it once before and if something were to happen, Wyatt is the only one who can orb transport, it shouldn't be on a three and a half-year-old to rush his family to safety".
"You want me to go"? Coop asked.
"If you don't mind".
"I don't," Coop said smiling. "Anything you need, I'm here—I'm always here".
Coop pressed his lips to the back of her hand and watched as she smiled.
"Food" they both heard a loud booming voice. "If you're hungry come and get it".
Coop and Phoebe glanced at each other but both jumped to their feet and left the kitchen to find Henry sitting a large pile of pizza boxes on the dining room table.
"What—what's this"? Phoebe heard Paige ask as she and Piper came down the stairs.
"I don't remember the last time I saw anyone here eat, I know there is a lot going on but you all have to eat," Henry told her. "I also brought beer".
"I'll take one of those" Wyatt said as he and Chris orbed in.
Chris shook his head as Henry handed Wyatt a beer. "Magic School is ready," he told his family. "So, whenever you're ready".
Piper nodded and looked down at the table where little Wyatt was eating a piece of Pizza his father had sat out for him, and little Chris was smacking his laughing as he sat in his grandfather's lap.
"Okay—lets, let them eat first," Piper said, choking back her tears. "I'll get the boys some juice".
Chris stood in the corner for a second, he watched his family eat, drink, and at the very least pretend to be merry. But, eventually, he found himself outside, looking up into the stars, at the moon—he found it soothing in the midst of the chaos.
As much as loved being in this time, he just wanted to go home—he wanted to sleep in his bed, hell—he just wanted to sleep. But, he knew as long as he was here, that wouldn't happen.
It took a lot to scare Chris, he had been through a lot, but he was scared. No, not for himself, he had already done this. He had already changed the future, he fixed it, he fixed everything—and now it was at risk again.
There was nothing he could do but stand and look into the stars, praying to any God that would listen.
"So whose Bianca"? Chris heard and turned to see Billie standing with two beers in her hand.
"Aren't you underaged"? Chris asked, arching an eyebrow.
Billie nodded. "But, technically so are you," she said looking at baby Chris running through the house with a toy in his hand.
"I have got to get out of here" Chris moaned as he sat down on the outdoor furniture.
Billie laughed, reaching out the extra beer. "Here, but if you have to change your own diaper, I know where Piper keeps the good stuff".
"Yeah, so do I," Chris said as Billie sat next to him. "She Magic proofed it before Wyatt and I were in high school, but she didn't teenage proof it. I can get into it with my eyes shut".
"So, you were the rebel"? Billie asked. "I can see that, and let me guess—football"?
"And wrestling," Chris told her smiling.
"Captain of both"?
"Of course," he said shrugging as she continued to tease him.
Billie smiled looking over at the adult version of Chris, it was strange to see him with an expression that indicated happiness. She had only known him a short while, or the older version, but he was serious any other time—or sarcastic, he had that down pretty well.
"So, you never answered me—whose Bianca"? Billie asked, again.
And just like that, the smile he was wearing fell off his face.
"My—that's my brother's wife," he told her, and he was telling the truth.
"No, I got that—but from the look, Piper gave you earlier when he said that, I feel like there might be more to the story," Billie said. "And I'm really interested in the story".
"Yeah"? He asked. "Well, it's a boring story".
"I just vanquished my sister, I could use some boring in my life".
Chris looked at her, before nodding. She played that card, and it worked—like a charm.
"When I came to the past, the first time—I was engaged," Chris told Billie. "Her name was Bianca, she was sexy, funny, and a total badass—I loved her, so much. In the future that I wanted to change so badly Wyatt killed her, now they have china patterns together".
"Oh, my god" Billie said.
"That's why coming to the past is so tricky you never know what you're going to change, Wyatt was never evil so I never crossed paths with her until my brother brought her home—of course, I didn't know until my little incident that merged both my past's, I woke up and my dead fiancé was kissing him".
"And you never told him"?
Chris shook his head. "I don't even know how to bring that up in conversation, by the way, Wyatt while you were evil I screwed your wife—a lot".
"Yeah, if you ever do tell him I wouldn't lead with that" Billie said. "That has to be hard, though".
"He isn't the ruler of all evil and she isn't dead, so I'm happy," Chris said. "At least that's what I tell myself, it's easier—since you're so full of questions can I ask you one"?
"Yeah".
"How are you sitting here right now"? Chris asked. "You just said it yourself, your sister just died—how are you okay"?
Billie looked over at Chris, the question itself nearly took her breath away, in fact, it did. "I don't—I don't know," she told him honestly. "I found my sister after all these years, then my parents died, and now my sister is dead—I'm all alone, and I'm worried that if I let that sink in, really sink in I won't be able to come back out".
Chris listened to her when she talked, more than he had ever listened to anyone in his entire life. He knew pain, and he knew grief, so, therefore, he knew no words were ever going to be enough—nothing he could do would change anything.
"I'm here," Chris told her. "You don't have no one".
"You will eventually have to return to your time".
"Yeah, but my family doesn't—they will be here, you aren't alone, Billie".
Traveling through cave after cave, tunnel after tunnel—vanquish after vanquishing to find what he was looking for he found it—or rather he found her.
Zorthraz.
Elizabeth Turner.
There she stood, in all her glory, in her human form—so not to upset the child he assumed.
It wasn't every day you saw a toddler walking around the underworld, but right now there was one.
"Who in the hell are you"?
He heard and looked up to see Elizabeth picking the child up in her arms—glaring at him, with that look, the one he knew all too well. The same one she has before she ends whoever is in front of her, so he had to jump on for what he came for before he became dust.
"I know this is going to be hard to believe but I'm from the future," he told her with his hands up. "I came to warn you—save you, you were vanquished".
"What in the hell are you talking about"?
"By the charmed family".
"That's absurd—I would never go after the charmed ones," she told him.
"Only their children—right"? He cut her off. "That was the plan, right? Let them live and go after their kids—right"?
Elizabeth looked across from her at the strange man, but he wasn't a strange man, he wasn't a stranger at all.
"Who are you"? She asked.
"I'm him," he told her gesturing to the child in her arms. "I'm your son, I had to come back to warn you".
A/N: thank you for the positive feedback on this story, it means a lot!
I did receive a review, and a private message about Cole, he will not be making any appearance in the story, of course unless it's a flashback of some sort.
This chapter was really just a filler, A really long filler, I know how difficult it would be to have two sets of Chris & Wyatt in every chapter, so I took them away somewhere safe. I also needed a full chapter to express the Charmed ones feelings, once again questioning their Wiccan duties.
You will still see Coop/Leo/ & possibly a Victor, but in case they are missing through a chapter you know where they are.
A little teaser? Chris and Wyatt might not be the only children from the future you get to read about! I'm still seeing if I can work that in & it make sense!
Thanks again for reading!