Charmed Fic: Made Weak by Time and Fate: Chapter Twelve B

[jesterladyfic]

Chapter Twelve B

Great, he was going to die in a parallel evil world due to symmetric violence. He hadn’t accomplished anything he’d wanted to and he would never get home. Sometimes life just sucked.

Piper lay in her bed and concentrated on not feeling pain. If she didn’t feel pain she wasn’t in labor and if she wasn’t in labor she didn’t have to worry about screwing everything up.

Phoebe sat beside her, holding her hand. At least Phoebe was there. Wyatt was in his crib beside the bed as well, so Piper wasn’t totally alone.

Phoebe and Paige had gone looking for the evil Chris and Leo and caught them orbing into the manor. They were trapped in the attic with crystals and before Piper had started feeling quite so dizzy they’d all said the spell again to open the portal and send Paige through to go get their Chris and Leo.

Phoebe had insisted on staying and even though Piper was really worried about her husband and son she was really glad someone was with her.

Mrs. Winterbourne was bustling in and out getting things and while Piper appreciated her kindness, she kind of wished the other woman would just go away.

A pain Piper couldn’t ignore gripped her body and she felt the slippery wetness that heralded the beginning.

“My water just broke,” she gritted out.

Phoebe’s face screwed up in worry.

“That’s not good. We need to get you to the hospital. Or do you need to stay here? I mean, with Wyatt’s birth…”

“I think we’ve already established Wyatt’s birth was an anomaly,” said Piper, relaxing slightly. “Besides, even if Chris was planning on making a showy appearance, older Chris has his powers right now.”

“Right,” Phoebe said. “So hospital it is. Mrs. Winterbourne, if our family comes back can you let them know we went to the hospital?”

“Sure, dear,” said the woman, hurrying out.

Phoebe got Piper’s bags and packed Wyatt’s diaper bag and then came back over to the bed.

“How you doing, sweetie?” she asked.

“Just peachy,” Piper said.

She really didn’t feel that bad, but she knew that she couldn’t stop this and it was making her anxious. She wanted Leo with her and he wasn’t and it was just like so many other things about this year. She’d wanted him and he wasn’t there. They’d been perfectly in sync, despite outside interference, ever since their time on the ghostly plane, but now she just felt…alone.

Gideon came in just then and Piper thought that it was really rude of him not to knock.

“You’re in labor,” he said, stating the obvious. “It’s not safe. Both of you must get to the hospital. When the others return I will send them there.”

Phoebe nodded.

“Thank you. If you would be so good as to orb us to the manor I’ll drive us.”

Gideon nodded as well then frowned when he saw she was holding Wyatt.

“Surely it would be best if Wyatt stayed here. I would be glad to watch him.”

“No,” said Phoebe and Piper opened her mouth to speak but another contraction gripped her and she suddenly couldn’t talk. “We’ll take him too.”

“But you’ll have so much to do,” said Gideon.

“I am taking him with us,” said Phoebe firmly. “Will you send us to the manor please?”

Gideon seemed very annoyed but he waved his hand and Piper felt the familiar sensation of orbing and then she was in her attic with a very pissed off evil version of her husband caged inside it.

“Are you in labor?” he asked, prowling.

“What’s it look like?” Phoebe said, putting Wyatt down for a second to grab something, probably her car keys.

“Then so is my Piper, you have to let me go!” he yelled.

“Look, I’d love to but I’ve got a very pregnant lady and a little boy and no active powers,” Phoebe said sharply. “Paige is working on getting you guys switched back; just hold tight and we’ll sort it out.”

“Piper needs me!” the evil Leo yelled, slamming his wrist against the shimmering wall around him and then dropping to the floor in pain.

“Wyatt needs me,” the evil Chris said.

“If I’ve got our Wyatt here then Evil!Phoebe has your Wyatt,” said Phoebe. “So calm down. We’ll get you home as soon as we can.”

“Now!” roared the evil Leo.

Piper had felt very odd through this exchange but she only just weakly stood up and walked downstairs with Phoebe’s help, Wyatt clinging to her other hand.

Phoebe got Wyatt strapped into his car seat and helped Piper into the car and then fended off their noisy neighbor who was complaining about Phoebe parking her car in front of her driveway again.

“I’m obviously moving it,” snapped Phoebe. “Can’t you see Piper’s in labor?”

“Well, keep it moved,” said Mrs. Whats-her-face and Piper wanted to give her a piece of her mind, but as it was they were moving, they were on their way, she was having this baby, and she still felt like she was in the dark about something.

When they got to the hospital and got checked in she felt better and a little bit more in control of herself.

“You need anything?” Phoebe asked.

“My husband would be nice,” Piper said.

Phoebe brightened.

“Well, I can try there. Paige took her cell phone with her.”

“You think the service extends that far?” asked Piper sarcastically.

“With a little magic boost,” said Phoebe and grabbed the phone by Piper’s bed and dialed.

“Give me that,” Piper said, taking it.

It rang for a minute and then Paige answered it.

“Hello.”

“Where the hell are you? I'm in labor. Get your ass down here.” Dimly Piper could hear something that sounded like Phoebe’s voice asking if Piper was okay and Paige answered back that Piper was in labor but Paige’s voice sounded funny, like there was an echo. “Who's that? You've got an echo. What the hell is going on?” she asked.

Two voices answered her back that she was on her way and then one voice said that they had Chris and Leo with them and to make sure Wyatt was okay.

That really piqued Piper’s interest.

“So, why the need to bring Wyatt?” she asked Phoebe once she’d hung up.

“I just think it’s better if he’s with us,” Phoebe said with her guilty face.

“Something is going on,” Piper said.

Phoebe looked around furtively and whispered.

“Okay, we didn’t want to worry you, but you’re already in labor so…”

“So what?”

“So the danger isn’t over for Wyatt.”

“Excuse me?” asked Piper.

“Yeah,” said Phoebe. “We don’t know who it is exactly, but I’m still going with my gut theory that it’s someone we know and with recent events Paige and I think that makes it most likely to be-”

The doctor came in just then and Piper barely registered the fact because her heart was pounding in her head she was so angry and afraid. Oh, they were all going to get it when this was over. How dare they keep this from her? Oh, she knew why and she could see why but she was suddenly so afraid. She’d thought it was over.

“I’m going to call Sheila,” Phoebe said.

What good that would do, Piper didn’t know, but then Sheila had asked to be let know when the labor started so…

The doctor left after poking and prodding her uncomfortably and Piper tried to keep from shrieking at the next contraction. She didn’t want to scare Wyatt.

Suddenly his shield went up and she stiffened and moved to get up.

“Phoebe!” she yelled. “Phoebe!” Suddenly Wyatt vanished, shield and all. “Phoebe,” Piper shrieked.

Phoebe burst into the room.

“What’s the matter?”

“Wyatt’s gone! You have to find him. He just vanished! He didn’t orb out on his own and his shield was up.”

“Okay, okay,” said Phoebe, freaking out herself. “I will, I will. Sheila’s on her way to sit with you, okay? I’ll go to the attic and scry for him, okay?”

“Just go!” yelled Piper. “I’m only in labor, he could be…just go!”

Phoebe nodded and ran out of the room, bumping into the doctor on her way out. The doctor entered the room and smiled.

“We ready to have that baby?”

Piper stifled a rant and another contraction gripped her.

***

On the other hand, he finally felt like he knew his enemy. He had the pieces even if he didn’t understand everything. No matter his situation, he felt better, like at least they knew where to take action.

Leo was a bit annoyed. He was hovering underneath a rock overhang while other rocks smashed through the air. Paige was waging a war against herself and the evil Phoebe, but it wasn’t going well.

“This is nuts,” he said. “No one can win. They’re too evenly matched.”

“Well, they think alike,” said Chris.

“But we don’t have time for this,” said Leo. “I gotta get back to Piper, Wyatt’s still in danger.”

“Gideon-” began Chris.

“Did you say Gideon?” asked Barbas.

“Yeah. Why?” asked Chris.

“Because I’m not so sure you should pin all your hopes on that one,” Barbas said, chuckling.

“How do you mean exactly?” said Leo, exchanging glances with Chris.

“He was desperately hoping to eliminate Wyatt,” said Barbas. “I read him when I was judging the Tribunal trial.”

At that precise moment the fighting stopped as both Paiges reached for their ringing cellphones.

Everyone heard everything said and Leo’s heart sank.

Piper was in labor. There went that hope. Barbas looked at Leo and shrugged.

“We have to go get Piper,” said the evil Paige.

“And Wyatt,” Leo added.

“If we find our Wyatt,” said the evil Phoebe, “then we’ll save yours too.”

“Then you can send us home,” said Chris.

“Agreed,” said the evil Paige.

“Where should we start?” asked Leo.

“There’s a divergence here,” said Chris.

“You’re right,” said Leo thoughtfully. “Our Phoebe never crossed over. So your Piper’s all alone, but ours should have Phoebe with her.”

“Also, you two didn’t get captured like Evil!Leo and Evil!Chris,” said Paige brightly.

“I told you we shouldn’t have both left,” sniped the evil Paige at the evil Phoebe.

“Well, we thought we could just get right back,” said the evil Phoebe. "Gideon babbled all that stuff about keeping the worlds separate until we could put everything right again."

Barbas started laughing at the mention of Gideon.

"He's a tricky one," he said.

“This isn’t helping,” said Paige. “Let’s get to the hospital and your Piper.”

They orbed, sans Barbas, back to the hospital. When they got there the evil Piper was in labor and told them about Wyatt disappearing through screams and threats to blast them all for letting her son get taken and leaving her alone.

It was a frightening mirror to look into, Leo thought, and he was glad his Piper wasn’t there to witness it.

“Back to the manor,” he said instead and they all agreed.

The evil Sheila had just arrived when they left.

They orbed to the evil manor and when they got there they found the evil Wyatt sitting on the floor of the attic, his shield up, crying, the evil Gideon hunched next to him, bleeding from an athame sticking out of his gut. As they watched he pulled it out and straightened.

“Wyatt!” cried the evil Phoebe.

There was an instant connection between the sisters, evil or otherwise, Leo was very interested in that, but, somehow, they were all on the same wavelength. They turned and spoke as one.

“We call upon the ancient power, come punish through this hour, strike down this threat from both there and here, make him suffer, then disappear.”

The evil Gideon hunched over again in pain and then black orbed out. The evil Wyatt’s shield disappeared and he started to cry.

“Wyatt, thank God,” said the Phoebes.

Both of them stepped forward to go to him, but then the evil Phoebe looked at Phoebe and she stepped back and the evil Phoebe picked him up instead.

“Did you give that bad man Gideon those wounds?” asked the evil Phoebe.

“It looks like Wyatt can handle himself,” said the evil Paige.

“Yeah, but for how long?” asked Leo. “Gideon's one of the most powerful Elders. If he wants him dead, he'll find a way.”

“I can't believe it was Gideon all along,” fumed Chris.

“Don’t stress out about it,” said Paige. “You still figured it out before anybody else. That’s good, Chris.”

“But he's still out there,” Leo said. “If he wasn't vanquished here, he wasn't vanquished in our world, either.”

“So what we need to do is get everybody back in the right place,” said Paige. Her doppelganger spoke at the same time. “Fix this whole nutty balance…thing.”

“You’ll send our men back?” confirmed the evil Phoebe.

“Immediately,” said Leo.

The three Charmed Ones spoke the spell and opened the portal and Leo thankfully walked through with Chris and Paige.

When they got there Wyatt was sitting on the floor crying with the evil Leo and Chris straining against their crystal cage and talking soothingly to him.

“It’s about time,” snapped the evil Chris. “Your bastard Gideon almost wiped him out.”

“There's my brave little guy,” said Leo, going to Wyatt and picking him up. Wyatt instantly calmed in the arms of his father and Leo relaxed just a little. He gestured to the cage. “Quick, the portal's closing. We gotta get their men back through.”

Chris nodded and knocked the crystals aside.

“Your Paige, Phoebe, and Wyatt are just inside the attic,” he said.

“Thanks for nothing,” said the evil Chris and they quickly left.

“Hey, buddy, I got ya,” said Leo, almost squeezing Wyatt too tightly in his relief.

“We’ve gotta get to the hospital,” said Paige.

Just then Phoebe came into the attic and smiled brightly.

“Well, it’s about time you got back. Don’t you know a baby’s coming?”

“Yes, but we had to save Wyatt,” said Leo. “How’s Piper?”

“Why would you need to save Wyatt?” Phoebe asked, cocking her head like a bird.

“Because Gideon’s after him,” Chris said in a ‘duh’ tone of voice.

“Don’t be silly,” said Phoebe. “Gideon’s an Elder. Now, I’ll go get the car running, but hurry, we wouldn’t want to waste gas and pollute the atmosphere more!”

She grinned unnaturally and headed downstairs.

The others stared at each other in shock.

“What’s her deal?” asked Chris.

“I don’t know,” said Leo, “I really hope I don’t know. But that’s beside the point; we have to get to Piper.”

Just then a shot rang out and everyone reacted with a jerk. Leo let Paige and Chris go first, he followed more cautiously with Wyatt in his arms.

They found Phoebe lying in a pool of blood in the front entryway with the neighborhood patrolman standing there with a gun in his hand.

“Have a nice day,” he said, smiling just as weirdly as Phoebe had.

“We have to have my driveway clear,” cheerily said the neighbor woman, Mrs. Noble, the one the girls were always complaining about.

The patrolman smiled and they both smiled and left.

“Leo!” hissed Paige.

Leo came back to himself after the shock and hastily handed Wyatt to Chris and grabbed Phoebe, scooping her in his arms and inside and Paige slammed the door shut while Leo began to heal her.

“Put him in the playpen. I don’t want him seeing this,” Leo said harshly. Chris put him in the next room and then hovered in the doorway. “Don't let him out of your sight,” Leo barked.

“What's wrong? What's taking so long?” asked Paige anxiously.

“I don't know,” said Leo.

“Is she okay?” Chris asked, his voice hushed.

Phoebe sat up and gasped.

“Thank God,” breathed Paige.

She knelt down by Phoebe.

“Wyatt?” asked Leo, turning to Chris.

“I got him,” said Chris, picking Wyatt up and keeping him on his hip.

“Are you okay?” Paige asked Phoebe.

“Yeah, just remind me to never park in Mrs. Noble's driveway again,” said Phoebe.

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?” said Chris.

“By getting us all to the evil world, Gideon screwed up the balance, messed with the grand design,” said Leo slowly.

It was the only explanation that made sense to him.

“Well, if you ask me, the grand design is pretty messed up in the first place,” said Paige.

“Wait,” Phoebe said, “so are you saying because of what he did, our world is bad now too?”

“No, on the contrary,” said Leo, “it's good. Too good. Where every little infraction is a capital offense and everyone just accepts it.”

“Okay, how come we weren't affected?” asked Chris.

“Because we must have been crossing over when the shift occurred,” said Leo.

“What about Phoebe?” asked Chris.

“She was acting nutty earlier,” said Paige.

“I think she died,” said Leo. “I brought her back, but being out of this plane must have snapped her out of it.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Phoebe. “I came here to scry for Wyatt. Where’s Wyatt?”

“He’s right here,” said Chris, shifting his hips to show her Wyatt.

“So is Gideon affected?” asked Paige.

“No, he wouldn't be because he's an Elder,” said Leo.

“How do we know he's not using the situation to his advantage, you know, come after Wyatt again?” asked Chris.

“Because I'm going to find him first,” said Leo and he meant it.

He meant it with every fiber in his being. At first it hadn’t really registered with him that it was Gideon after his son. Gideon, his old mentor, his friend, his fellow Elder, one of the good guys. But now, now seeing Phoebe’s blood on his hands and knowing that his wife was alone and in pain and that his sons were in danger, Leo was out for blood.

“Okay, I don’t know what anyone is talking about,” said Phoebe, “but I would just like to point out that if Gideon is the one who has somehow shifted the balance of the world then he probably knows how to shift it back and he should be alive to do that.”

“We have to get to the hospital,” said Paige.

Leo nodded, but he was conflicted.

“We shouldn't take Wyatt there, but someone has to watch him at all times.”

“I’ll watch him,” said Chris. “I didn’t come all the way from the future just to lose him now.”

“Are you sure?” Leo asked, irrational worry flooding him.

“I can handle myself, Dad,” said Chris. “I’ve been dumbing down for you all.”

“Yeah, okay,” Paige said and snorted and Chris glared at her.

Then there was a whisper of noise from the other side of the room and everyone turned in fear.

But when Leo turned back around he saw Chris had vanished and reappeared behind Paige and was holding an athame to her throat, and Leo now held Wyatt in his arms.

“See?” Chris asked, dropping his arm.

The girls stared at him and Leo chuckled. He knew exactly what Chris had done because he could do it himself, but Whitelighters and Elders never used their skills that way because they spent all their time on the defensive. Chris had clearly learned to turn his magic to a different use.

“So that’s why your healing was so lousy,” Leo said.

“Well, it was needed,” said Chris, “but this was needed more.”

“You little deviant,” said Paige. “I can think of at least eighteen different times in the last year where we could’ve used another fighting arm if you get my drift.”

“I’m sorry,” Chris said. “The element of surprise is my best friend. If it was life and death I would have done something.”

“Okay, so you’ll be fine,” said Leo. “I have to find Gideon. You two, go to the hospital.”

“Okay,” said Paige and Phoebe in unison.

Leo orbed, still feeling slightly worried, but he knew that he needed to find Gideon before any of this could be over. Besides, the Elders needed to know what was happening here.

When Leo orbed Up There, all the Elders were all in a tizzy, chattering in tight groups like a bunch of hens.

“Finally,” Roland said, noticing Leo and coming to him. “Where have you been? What’s happened? How did the balance shift?”

“Gideon,” said Leo and explained the situation in short, terse sentences.

At first no one believed him, but then Leo had them examine his memories and consternation spread among all the Elders.

“How could this happen?” asked Roland, sounding fearful.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to stop it,” said Leo.

“But-”

“No,” said Leo, “I’m going to stop it.”

Leo turned and walked away and set about finding Gideon with his senses, something that he’d never failed to do before. It was difficult to put enough love into the connection, but Leo replaced his anger with Gideon with his love for his family.

“You won’t find him that way,” Orlando interrupted him.

“Why not?” asked Leo.

“I’ve already tried,” Orlando said. “I’ve been watching what’s been going on. Gideon is covering his tracks well.”

“Then I’ll find him the old fashioned way,” said Leo.

“No,” said Roland, coming over to them. “Leo, I must remind you of your responsibilities.”

“My responsibilities right now are to protect my son,” said Leo.

“How, by taking revenge on one of our own?” asked Roland.

“Gideon stopped being one of us when he went after Wyatt,” said Leo.

“That is not for you to decide. You're but one voice in a chorus, Leo. We can't allow you to take matters into your own hands.”

“Gideon did,” Orlando said.

“Yes, and look what he's wrought. The world is spiraling out of control. Innocents are being hurt, killed, all because one Elder acted alone.”

“I know what I'm doing,” said Leo.

“I think Gideon thought he knew what he was doing, too. Truth be known, he was not alone in his thinking. There are others who share his fears of Wyatt, that your union with a Charmed One might've created too great a concentration of power,” said Roland.

“Wait, so you're on his side?” Leo said, outraged.

“No, of course not. What Gideon's done is inexcusable.”

“Then let me handle him,” said Leo.

“Please, Leo,” said Roland, “your emotions are clouding your better judgment. The fate of the world is more important than any one child.”

“No one is more important than my sons,” said Leo.

“Aren’t they all your sons, your daughters?” Roland asked. “They're who you should be protecting. That's the greater good. Come…help us find a way to restore what was while we still can.”

“Obviously I’m not meant to be Up Here,” said Leo. “I can't do that. Not until I stop Gideon. Even then, I can’t. Consider this my two weeks notice.”

He orbed back to the manor.

***

This was it. This was his moment. It may not seem like much, but now all cards were on the table, and he was ready. Ready to prove he’d done the right thing, that he was greater than his fate, and that he understood what was at stake.

Piper lay back, not exactly comfortably, but it wouldn’t do to act ungrateful at the help she was receiving. The fast and heavy contractions had stopped for the most part and she knew that probably wasn’t the best sign, but she was sure the doctors were doing their best, and whatever happened would be okay.

Besides, there was Jello-O. And Sheila. Sheila was a great friend and Piper was so grateful to have her. Sheila had just left because visiting hours were over for a while, but then she was going to come back.

Glancing up, Piper saw Paige and Phoebe peek their heads into her room.

“Oh, there you guys are. Where have you been?”

“She seems normal,” Paige said.

“Come on, come in, come in,” Piper said, smiling, very happy to see them.

“Piper, are you okay?” asked Phoebe.

“Of course I'm okay,” Piper said. “I'm having a baby, for crying out loud.” She held out her Jell-O cup to them. “Jell-O? It's really yummy.”

“No, thanks,” said Paige, looking confused.

Piper wondered why but just then an orderly came in.

“Excuse me. How'd you like your dinner?”

“Are you kidding?” Piper said. “The frozen peas and processed turkey? It was to die for.” He bent over to grab her tray. “Oh, here, let me give you a hand,” she said, moving it for him, noticing at that moment that his right hand was gone.

Both of them laughed at her unintentional joke.

“Piper, that's not funny,” said Phoebe.

“Oh, that's okay,” said the orderly. “It's my fault it even happened.”

“Why is it your fault?” asked Paige.

“Oh, I used my cell phone in the hospital. Talk about your big no-nos. Hey, good luck with the little one,” he said, leaving.

“Thanks,” said Piper cheerfully. She didn’t sober, but she grew more somber. “He really should've known better.”

“Piper, snap out of it! This is crazy-making!” said Phoebe crazily.

“What is?” Piper asked, feeling bewildered.

“This, everything! You, the hand, the whole damn world! It's driving me insane!”

“Phoebe, you really should not swear. They will cut your tongue out,” admonished Piper.

Whatever was the matter with them?

“Ohh! This is ridiculous,” said Phoebe, throwing her hands up and turning away.

Paige stepped closer with a patient look on her face.

“Okay, Piper, you have to listen to me,” she said like she was speaking to a child. “Wyatt is in danger.”

“What do you mean? What kind of danger?”

“It's Gideon. He's trying to kill him.” Piper couldn’t help it, she started laughing. “It's not funny! I'm being serious,” protested Paige.

“That's ridiculous! He's an Elder. He couldn't hurt a fly,” Piper said, still laughing.

The doctor walked into the room then and asked what was so funny.

Despite how funny it was Piper didn’t want to say, she felt guilty about not reporting Phoebe’s swearing as it was.

Besides, she felt another contraction and gasped in pain.

“Whoopsy! That's not good,” said the doctor.

“What's not good?” asked Phoebe anxiously. “What's going on?”

“Those darn contractions,” Piper said, grasping her stomach. “They're a lot more painful than they should be.”

“What does that mean?” asked Paige.

“It means visiting hours are over,” said the Doctor. “Buh-bye now.”

“No, we're not leaving her,” said Phoebe, putting her hand on Piper’s.

Piper appreciated the contact. The pain was getting worse.

“Oh, I'm sorry, but rules are rules. Did you want to keep your legs?” asked the Doctor.

“We'll call you,” said Phoebe and they left.

Good, she didn’t want them to lose their legs.

“Okey-dokey,” she said as brightly as her inner anguish would allow. “Ouchy,” she said as another contraction hit.

***

His big moment and nothing was happening. He couldn’t find anything, nothing came to him, this was getting anti-climactic.

Leo orbed back to the manor and no one was there. He was wildly frightened for a second until he heard something and when he turned around Chris was there with Wyatt in his arms.

“Where were you? I nearly had a heart attack.”

“Very funny and impossible. I didn’t know it was you,” said Chris. “We need to establish some sort of password. It’s not like Gideon can’t glamour and orb like we can.”

“You’re right,” Leo said.

“In fact, how do I know you’re not Gideon right now?”

“You don’t,” said Leo. “How can I prove it to you?”

Leo wasn’t worried that this wasn’t Chris. No one was as paranoid. Besides, Leo could feel these were his sons. His connection to them couldn’t be faked. Chris wasn’t that far advanced in those parts of his studies.

“Maybe I’m being stupid,” Chris said.

“No, you’re being smart,” Leo said. “Verify I’m me. However you need to. What did you do in the future?”

Chris grimaced and put Wyatt in his playpen.

“Shield up, Wyatt,” he said. Wyatt obliged and put his shield up. “Good boy,” Chris said, then turned to Leo. “You won’t like it."

“I’m fine,” Leo said.

Chris shook his hand and an athame appeared in it. Leo swallowed a stab of fear and smiled encouragingly.

Chris moved quickly, shielding his movements from Wyatt’s sight, and stabbed Leo in the stomach. Leo doubled over, feeling the pain wash through him. It wouldn’t kill him, but it hurt.

Chris pulled out the athame and Leo straightened up, the wound closing itself over. Only two things could kill an Elder: Darklighter arrow or another Elder.

“What does that prove exactly?” he asked.

Chris shrugged.

“It’s not easy to hold a glamour when you’ve been stabbed in the gut.”

“Wow, I’m glad we’re changing the future,” Leo said, getting his breath back. “Still, I bet there was a tiny part of you that enjoyed doing that.”

“A tiny bit,” Chris admitted, looking guilty.

“It’s okay,” Leo said. “I get it.”

“Okay,” said Chris. “Now we know who everybody is, unless you’d like to return the favor?”

“I trust you,” said Leo.

He was not going to stab his son. No way, no how.

“So, just come up with a password.”

“Something Gideon doesn’t know about your time here,” said Leo.

Chris looked away.

“Phoenix.”

Leo thought about reaching out, but decided against it. Bianca was as yet too raw a subject for their fragile and new relationship.

“Okay,” he said softly. “Have you been able to scry for Gideon?”

“Yeah, I thought I had him for a sec, but then I lost him,” Chis said.

“Well, keep looking. Gideon's bound to surface again,” said Leo. “He’s got to be hiding in the Underworld though.”

“Couldn’t the Elders do anything?” asked Chris.

“No,” Leo said shortly, going to Wyatt and picking him up.

“Trouble in paradise?” asked Chris, smiling a bit sardonically.

“Let's just say we're not seeing eye to eye,” said Leo. “I quit.”

“What?” asked Chris.

“Well, it’s not exactly that easy, but I told them I wasn’t doing this anymore,” said Leo.

“I’m…proud of you,” said Chris.

“Thank you,” said Leo, feeling touched. “We’ll see what happens later. Right now we’ve got to find Gideon ourselves.”

Chris went back to scrying.

“That bastard,” he said, finally, throwing the crystal down. “Why is he doing this anyway? If he always viewed Wyatt as a threat, why did he turn him evil in my future?”

“I don't think he did intentionally,” Leo said thoughtfully. “I think Gideon tried to kill Wyatt in your future…only, just like in this time, he found out that Wyatt can protect himself. So, he probably had to get him away so he could figure out how to do it.”

“You mean kidnap him?” Chris said.

“Imagine being taken away from us for weeks, maybe even months,” Leo said, holding Wyatt closer, kissing his head. “Constantly fending off Gideon's attacks. Who knows what that would do to him?”

“I had no idea,” Chris said softly.

“We're going to change that future, Chris…for both of your sakes.”

Chris smiled and went back to scrying. Leo quietly walked the floor with Wyatt, reaching out with all his senses and tracking Phoebe and Paige. But his heart, his heart was with Piper. He couldn’t wait till this was over and they could be together, with their new son, away from all dangers to their family, good or evil, within or without.

He had to stop cathartically hurting people. It wasn’t the way to work out his issues. But, strangely enough, it appeared to have done the trick. His resentment seemed all gone. Well, he’d always have issues; he wouldn’t be him if he didn’t. But his two main issues felt so blessedly resolved. It made him that much more eager to complete his task so he could enjoy his own future.