UNWANTED – PART 7

Piper was pacing back and forth in the kitchen. She was bouncing a fussy Wyatt on her hip while trying to rein in her emotions. She was still fuming after the ridiculous things Chris had just told her and Leo. Who did he think he was, accusing her child of doing horrible things in the future? Did he really think Piper would believe that her sweet little boy was supposed to turn dark side and kill innocents? Chris was lucky he'd walked away when he had, or Piper would have blown his ass halfway back to the future for spewing such malicious lies.

"Shh, it's okay, baby. Everything is fine." Piper tried to console her son and bounced him some more. For some reason, he had started to become upset when Piper had yelled at Chris. Usually, Wyatt wasn't easily startled or scared – not even when facing a real-life dragon. That much was certain. Piper assumed Wyatt was only fussy now because he didn't like to see his mother so upset.

Piper gritted her teeth when her thoughts returned to Chris. She was really disappointed in this new development with their whitelighter since she'd actually begun to take a liking to the guy and genuinely enjoyed his company. Phoebe and Paige were often out doing their own business and, since Leo was no longer a permanent part of the household, Piper spent a lot of time alone with Wyatt. However, Chris often orbed in to check something in the Book or to discuss a demon-related theory or wanted Piper's opinion on the best use of a certain spell or potion. Every so often, it was to complain about the 'lack of responsibility' Chris thought her sisters sometimes showed. Piper hadn't told anyone about this, but Chris reminded her a lot of Prue on many aspects. He was smart, hard-working, and showed great leadership. He was head-strong and had a snarky sense of humor that Piper secretly appreciated. Yes, Chris also annoyed the hell out of her with his non-stop hunt for demons, that he sometimes meddled in her business (like her dating life) and the fact that he was so tightlipped about the future. But she did believe he had way more good qualities than bad.

The question that had kept returning to Piper, however, was whether Chris' intentions were truly good. Was he there to protect Wyatt from evil like he said he was, or did he have a totally different agenda? Piper had noticed that, despite the things Chris seemingly did to protect Wyatt, the future boy always appeared to keep his distance to her son. If she tried to get Chris to hold Wyatt for a second, Chris immediately backed away and came up with an excuse not to do it. He never tried to get Wyatt's attention, never tried to make him smile or laugh like most people did in the presence of the toddler. Sometimes, when Chris didn't know she was watching, Piper caught him staring at Wyatt with a pensive or puzzled expression on his face – like Wyatt was a riddle Chris was trying to solve.

Piper sighed heavily. She felt like she was already mourning the loss of another ally whom her treacherous little heart had started to warm up to – despite her intentions not to. Piper didn't easily trust. Not anymore, at least. When you lived in a world where everyone you met could be a bad guy in disguise, who tried to harm you or your family, you learned how to be precautious. Cole was a perfect example of just that. Piper hadn't allowed herself to really trust anyone outside of her family since Cole had betrayed them all. So how could she fully trust Chris when she knew so little about him? How could she trust him after the things he'd just said about Wyatt?

Piper knew she'd been ruthless to their whitelighter when she's thrown him out of the manor. It was a bad habit of hers to lose her temper – especially when Wyatt was involved - and she wondered if Chris had deserved the benefit of the doubt from her instead of being showed the door. Hadn't he just spent the entire day doing everything he could to protect Wyatt from the Manticore baby? Even though Wyatt could protect himself, and the baby had turned out to be completely harmless, Chris had been the only one to take the threat seriously. But was Chris protecting Wyatt for the right reasons or was it all just a part of a bigger plan?

Piper pinched the bridge of her nose. All these questions were making her head spin.

What puzzled her most about the situation, was Leo's reaction to the things Chris had told them. While Piper's initial reaction had been anger, Leo's had been obvious shock. He hadn't even questioned Chris' story. He'd basically just thrusted Wyatt into Piper's arms and rushed after Chris as soon as the whitelighter had left the kitchen. And not in an aggressive way either. It was more like Leo had wanted to comfort the guy or something.

Did Leo believe Chris was telling the truth?

Piper stopped pacing and looked down at her toddler with a sudden feeling of uncertainty. Could it be true? Would her son grow up to terrorize people with his powers? Kill, even? Wyatt blinked up at her with his big blue eyes, looking exactly like the innocent baby he was supposed to be. Piper shook her head in denial and kissed Wyatt's forehead. She refused to believe he would do anything but good with his powers – especially with her and Leo by his side as moral compasses. So, what was Chris playing at?

Piper lifted her head at the sound of footsteps. When Leo reentered the kitchen, Piper tried to read the look on his face. Leo still looked a little shaken, but the hint of sadness Piper detected on his face made her frown. What had happened between him and Chris to warrant such an expression?

"Did he leave?" Piper asked her former husband as Leo dropped back down on the chair he'd vacated earlier.

"He did." Leo confirmed with a heavy sigh. He leaned forward a bit, resting his elbows on his thighs. He wasn't looking at her. He was just staring down at an old stain on the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Piper was sure he didn't really see it. He seemed to be deeply lost in thought.

"Good." Piper then said, holding her head high. She felt a little pang of guilt but quickly shoved it away. She wouldn't allow Chris to get to her.

Piper picked up a chocolate chip cookie from the half-full cookie jar on the kitchen counter, handed it to Wyatt and lovingly brushed a hand through his soft blonde hair. Wyatt had finally calmed down, and Piper figured the cookie would keep him occupied while she finished her conversation with Leo.

"Hopefully, he stays away." She added as an afterthought.

"How can you even say that?" Leo's head snapped up and he looked at her with furrowed brows. Piper was surprised to see the disappointment on his face.

"Excuse me?" Piper huffed indignantly.

"Piper, I've seen you treat demons with more kindness than you showed Chris today." Leo continued. "Do you really think he deserved to be kicked out of the manor like that? And for telling the truth?"

"Oh, so you suddenly believe him now?" Piper scowled and shifted Wyatt to her other hip. She was aware that Leo had a point with the way she'd treated Chris, but she chose to ignore that.

"I do." Leo replied, with a certainty in his words that made her anger flare once more.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Piper hissed. She covered one of Wyatt's ears with the hand not holding him. "You seriously believe Wyatt will grow up to become the world's greatest evil?"

"I don't want to believe it any more than you do, Piper." Leo glanced at their son who was busy devouring his cookie. "But Chris has no reason to lie to us about this."

"Chris? Oh, you mean the future boy, we don't really know anything about, who suddenly shows up out of the blue and whom you, up until recently, didn't trust at all? The one you've been going on and on about might have been the one who sent you to Valhalla? That Chris?"

Leo winced at the words. He looked down at his hands and let his thumb glide slowly over his knuckles. Piper knew she was being unfair to him. Before today, she'd been trying her best to convince Leo to give Chris some slack – to give the whitelighter the benefit of the doubt. She'd actually been pleased to see the two of them act a little more civilized towards each other these past weeks. Right now, though, she was too mad to care about any of it.

"Look, whatever Chris has done, he's done it for a reason." Leo eventually said. "I know it doesn't make much sense right now but -"

"Like hell it doesn't!" Piper interrupted. "I don't know how the two of you have suddenly become best buddies – and I really don't care. But I don't trust him right now, Leo. Not after what he just told us. How can we be sure Chris isn't playing us, just so he can get to Wyatt?"

"If Chris really wanted to hurt Wyatt, don't you think he would have done it by now?" Leo asked. There was a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Hurt him or steal his powers, who knows? For all we know, Chris could be a scheming little son of a -"

"Piper." Leo cut her off before she could finish the sentence. He sighed and washed a hand down his face, looking extremely tired suddenly.

Piper felt tired too. Exhausted, even. It had been such a long day and this whole mess with Chris didn't help the slightest. Besides, Piper always hated fighting with Leo. It happened more often now than it ever had. Ever since Leo had become an Elder, the two of them had slipped further and further away from each other. Sometimes, it felt like the only thing they had in common these days was Wyatt.

They were quiet for a few moments. Piper looked at her yawning son and then at the time. It was way past Wyatt's bedtime, so she should put him down for the night before he got overtired.

"This really wasn't what I wanted Chris to tell you." Leo suddenly mumbled. Curiosity now piqued; Piper immediately forgot about Wyatt's bedtime and instead focused on Leo once more.

"So, what was?" She asked.

"Chris is…" Leo started. He closed his mouth, opened it again as if to say something, but then shook his head with a sigh. "I can't tell you."

"What? Are you kidding me right now? Why can't you tell me?" Piper asked. Leo was seriously beginning to piss her off.

"Because I promised Chris I wouldn't. And I really owe it to him to keep that promise." Leo said in a soft voice, which just confused Piper even more.

"I don't know why you keep defending him, Leo." Piper said with a shake of her head. "But protecting our family has always been the most important thing. When did that change for you?"

Leo clenched his jaw, clearly unhappy with the things Piper had just said. The look he sent her, as he rose from his chair, was anything but loving, and Piper suddenly desperately longed for the days where he looked at her like she was his entire world.

"I am protecting my family, Piper." Leo emphasized. "And btw, next time you see Chris, I think you should take a really good look at him. Then tell me if you still think he deserved to be kicked out."

Leo didn't break eye contact with her as he orbed out, leaving Piper alone in the kitchen with a half-asleep Wyatt in her arms. Frowning, she stared at the spot where Leo had just been and wondered what on earth those words had even meant.

"I still think you made the right choice, Piper." Phoebe said. "As long as we don't know if we can trust Chris, I don't think he should be anywhere near Wyatt."

Piper slowly nodded at Phoebe's words, although she was still trying to decide if it'd been the right decision to throw Chris out after all. Piper was sitting on one of the basket chairs in the sunroom, with her legs crossed and her arms folded in front of her chest. She'd filled in her sisters on the situation with Chris and the things he'd said about Wyatt, and the topic had been an ongoing discussion between them for days.

"But think about it. Couldn't this be the exact reason why he hasn't told us anything about the future? Because we wouldn't believe him if he tried?" Paige speculated, pursing her lips in thought.

"I just have a really hard time believing our nephew will turn evil and take over the world. I mean, look at that cute little face." Phoebe gestured towards Wyatt who was sitting on a blanket on the floor, playing with his toys.

"It's not all cut and dried, Phoebe. You know better than anyone what it's like to be manipulated by evil." Paige said – then seemed to regret her words when Phoebe's face fell. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's okay. It's the truth after all." Phoebe shrugged. "But Wyatt's not me. And right now, I have bigger faith in him than I have in Chris telling us the truth."

"Have you sensed anything from him?" Piper chimed in.

"From Chris? No, I can never sense anything from him."

"Hey, here's a crazy idea. We could also, you know, call him, and talk to him about all of this." Paige suggested - with an attitude that couldn't make anyone doubt what she thought was the right solution.

"No, I still don't wanna do that." Piper said. It wasn't the first time Paige had suggested it either.

"Why not?" Her youngest sister asked, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "We could even cast a truth spell or something, make sure he can't lie to us."

"Ugh, truth spell." Phoebe commented with a grimace. "Can't recommend it."

"I just don't feel like seeing him right now." Piper said, ignoring both Phoebe's comment and the way Paige snorted in frustration to her answer.

To be honest, Piper didn't know how she would react upon seeing Chris again. Half the time, she still wanted to blow him up for what he'd said about her son… but a part of her also felt like apologizing to Chris for not even giving him a chance to explain.

Piper wasn't sure what to think of her last encounter with Leo either - or the words he'd left her with. Leo had gone completely radio-silent since their argument in the kitchen, and Piper still wondered what had happened between him and Chris for the Elder to suddenly become so defensive of their young whitelighter.

Piper wrung her hands in agitation. She didn't know what she would do if it turned out Chris really was telling the truth about Wyatt.

"So, are we just going to ignore all the good things he's done since he got here?" Paige asked, interrupting Piper's train of thought.

"Paige, I like Chris too and I hope we were right to trust him this far." Phoebe said, then glanced at Piper. "But as I see it, we have a problem no matter what. Either we have to stop Chris… or we have to help him stop Wyatt."

"Stop him from turning evil." Paige quickly corrected as Piper glared at Phoebe.

"Yes, stop him from turning evil of course." Phoebe confirmed and held up her hands in defense. "But as long as we don't know if we can trust Chris, I still don't think he should be close to Wyatt."

"Which is exactly why I'm saying we should just call -" Paige started, then shrieked in surprise when a creature suddenly shimmered in behind her. It grabbed her and threw her across the room.

"Hey!" Piper yelled and jumped up from her chair. She quickly eyed Wyatt, who'd fortunately already put up his forcefield, before she used her blasting powers on the intruder.

Piper realized, with a sinking heart, that her powers wouldn't be very useful this time as her blast bounced off the creature's skin with minimum effect. It left a little scorch mark and a flash of smoke behind, but otherwise the creature remained unharmed.

The beast, who was wearing brown leather clothes, looked more snake-like than human. It had a reptile skin texture in a greenish color, yellow eyes with a thin vertical pupil and, as it smiled menacingly at her, Piper saw the sharp pointed teeth in its mouth. Her stomach revolted in disgust when the creature flicked its forked tongue at her, and she reciprocated by trying to blow it up again. She attempted to freeze it too, but the snake-demon tore itself free without much struggle.

"That's not gonna work on me, witch!" It hissed in a deep voice.

"Nah-ah! You don't get to touch him!" Piper sneered as the snake-demon took a step in Wyatt's direction. She placed herself in between the creature and her son and tried to blow up the snake-demon once more - although with the same result as her first two tries.

The creature lifted its hand and some sort of spike ejected from its palm and flew towards Piper's chest. She barely managed to freeze it in time but felt grateful for the fact that she had been able to freeze it at all. That meant the snake-demon wasn't completely immune to her powers.

"Hi-ya!" Phoebe screamed as she levitated next to the snake-demon and kicked it in the side of its ugly head.

The creature growled angrily as it was knocked to the ground, but it quickly got up and sent a spike flying at Phoebe. Piper immediately froze it before it could hit her sister.

"Spike!" Paige, who was back on her feet, yelled. The frozen spike dissolved in orbs and Paige swung it at the snake-demon. The spike impaled itself in the creature's chest, which made it growl in agony, before it finally exploded in some sort of green dust.

"Phew." Phoebe said as she slowly floated down to the floor again. "That was close!"

"At least it could be killed by its own spike." Paige remarked and brushed some green dust off her shirt.

"And Wyatt's safe." Piper said with a relieved breath. She was about to pick up her son, when several more snake-demons shimmered in and immediately started attacking.

Chris had been holed up in the backroom of P3 for days.

He hadn't tried to contact any of his family members, and no one had reached out to him either. Not even Leo - which was what disappointed him the most, since Leo was the only one who knew who Chris really was, and why being kicked out of the manor by Piper was so upsetting to him. But when had Leo ever been there for Chris when he really needed him? And why did it still hurt so damn much to feel abandoned by his dad – even after all this time?

Despite feeling let down by his parents, Chris hadn't stopped looking for a way to save his big brother. He'd spent hours upon hours scribbling down new theories or possible threats to Wyatt. He was still studying different kinds of demons and creatures, where to find them and how to vanquish them – even though he didn't know how he was supposed to get the Charmed Ones to help him at this point. He didn't even have access to the Book anymore. But perhaps it was time to take matters into his own hands; go on a little vanquishing-spree in the underworld, eliminate the threats himself. It wasn't ideal though. Without backup, and without anyone knowing where he went, there was a big chance Chris would end up getting himself killed. No one would even know it had happened. Maybe they wouldn't care either.

Chris eyed the door. He kept expecting one of the sisters to show up to tell him to pack his stuff and get the hell out of the club. He didn't know where to go if they did, although he'd been thinking about paying his grandpa Victor a visit.

Who am I kidding? He'll probably throw me out too, Chris thought bitterly.

Even though he and his grandpa had been very close in the future, they had no relationship in this time. Chris seriously doubted the man would believe him, if Chris told him he was his time-traveling grandson from the future who, by the way, hadn't even been conceived yet!

Chris rubbed his tired eyes. He pushed his notebook away with a sigh and leaned back in the desk chair he was sitting on. He considered taking a nap on the couch, which had also worked as his bed ever since he got there, but instead blinked up at the ceiling. Chris' thoughts circled back to his absent father. He tried to ignore the way his chest constricted painfully as he thought about the small progress they'd made until Leo had suddenly broken his promise. Chris was mad at himself for believing this time would be different from the countless times his dad had let him down in the future. He'd hoped the younger version of Leo would be wiser and a better listener than his older self was. Chris had allowed himself to believe as much after the talks they'd had, and since Leo had seemed to be trying his best to fix things with Chris. Now though, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Would Leo even come if he called?

Chris shook his head and mumbled a few choice words under his breath. He'd promised himself, when he'd traveled to the past, to stay focused on his mission to save Wyatt. He wasn't supposed to let anyone get close to him or even let them know who he was. It would only complicate things. But somehow, Leo had managed to break down a few of Chris' defenses, and now Chris wasn't sure what he wanted anymore.

His stomach suddenly rumbled loudly and effectively distracted Chris from his thoughts. He rubbed his belly absentmindedly while he scanned the room for something edible. Chris wasn't surprised not to find anything since he'd already emptied out the last of his sparse food reserves yesterday. Or was it the day before? Chris had lost track of it. He wondered what his mother would think if she knew her youngest boy wasn't getting proper meals.

Chris instantly regretted thinking about his mom as the image of Piper's cold expression, when she'd thrown him out of the manor, flashed before his eyes. Chris blew out a shaky breath and clenched his eyes shut. He missed his mom so much. Not the Piper from this time but the older version of her who had loved him higher than life.

Chris had only been fourteen when she'd died, and he'd never forgiven himself for not being able to save her. His healing powers were supposed to be triggered by love, but they had never kicked in. Not even when his mom had been bleeding to death right in front of him and Chris had been the only one who stood a chance to heal her in time. That Chris had been hurt too and had barely survived either, didn't matter to him. He'd still failed to heal her, and he and Wyatt had lost their mother because of it.

Chris had been traumatized and inconsolable for months after his mom's death. It'd been so bad that not even Wyatt, who'd still been a loving and caring brother at the time, had been able to get through to him. Leo had tried too for a while, but what could he even begin to say to the son he'd never really bothered to get to know?

Chris couldn't remember much from those months after her death, but he knew that Wyatt was the only reason he hadn't just withered away.

Chris wasn't sure if it was his mom's death or his own breakdown that set off Wyatt's obsession for power. Maybe it was a combination of both. Or maybe Wyatt had just waited for an excuse to release his wrath on anyone he believed had wronged him. All Chris knew for sure was that his big brother had never been the same after that. As soon as Chris was capable of simply existing again without his brother's aid, Wyatt had taken off to conquer the world and Chris had moved in with his grandpa. The rest was history.

Chris tore himself out of his miserable thoughts. Now was not the time to get lost in bad memories. He still had a big brother to save. Chris certainly wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Wyatt, and now it was his turn to save his brother – even if it meant saving Wyatt from himself.

Chris left the desk and decided to fetch a bottle of water from one of the coolers in the club. It wasn't food but it would have to do for now. He carefully opened the door and peeked outside. When he was convinced that he was all alone, Chris walked into the empty club, reached behind the bar, and grabbed a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap of the bottle, took a generous sip, and sighed contently as the cold liquid settled in his stomach. Chris turned around, intending to return to the backroom, when someone suddenly orbed in right in front of him. Chris dropped his water bottle in surprise and stared open-mouthed down at the toddler who'd just appeared before him.

"Wyatt?" He breathed out. The toddler was sitting on the floor, looking a little scared as he blinked up at Chris.

Chris carefully crouched in front of his brother and looked at Wyatt with surprise. Of all the people he could've chosen to orb to, Wyatt had picked Chris. And the kid hadn't even put up his forcefield, which he usually did when Chris was near him. What was Wyatt doing here though? Did Piper and Leo know where he was? Had something happened?

"What's going on, buddy?" Chris asked in a kind voice.

"Mama." Wyatt said and looked up at Chris with quivering lips.

"Mom? Is she okay?" Chris asked, his heart beating rapidly as fear kicked in. When Wyatt, of course, only blinked up at him with wet eyes in response, Chris wrapped his arms around the boy and lifted him up. It was the first time he'd ever held his little big brother and, though it should feel awkward, Chris' heart instantly melted when the toddler buried his face into Chris' neck.

"Take me to her, Wyatt. Please." Chris requested, softly.

Blue and white orbs immediately swirled around the two of them as Wyatt orbed them both away from the club.

To Be Concluded...