Try, Try Again Chapter 23 of 29
A/N: This is an AU so I am using my creative license to fool around with the timeline a bit. Just go with the flow :) Also this has spoilers from “The Courtship of Wyatt’s Father” with lines taken directly from the episode. I tweaked it a bit to follow our story…
Chapter 23
Conception
Things had been going well for the family since the letters that future Piper sent alerting them to the fact that Chris was only fourteen years old. Piper had put an end to all of Chris’s solitary demon hunting. Chris had no problems following the rules now that he knew Leo would follow through on the consequences. He was no longer grounded and Leo had given him back his ability to orb.
Chris’s previous behaviors suddenly made so much more sense. It was astonishing to understand why the boy was acting his ‘age’ of 22 some of the time but at other instances he seemed so much less mature. Piper and Leo shook their heads at what they missed all along. How did they not see that Chris had glamoured himself to appear older? What had Piper said once about the behavior of their future counterparts? That they were willfully blind? Apparently that trait was something she seemed to have in common with her future self. They had missed all the signs.
As much as things were going well for the family, it was not working out for Leo trying to maintain a functioning family life and continue with his role as an Elder. The other Elders had been trying to convince Leo that he belonged up there with them but Leo felt he needed to be with his family.
Piper and he had decided that it would be safest for Chris if Leo remained an Elder while Chris was still back in time. It would also enable Leo to keep a closer eye on the other Elders. Leo thought he was doing an okay job trying to satisfy both sides but he had been trying to come up with a more permanent solution. He knew he couldn’t stay down here as an Elder but he refused to leave his family.
Leo decided to stop worrying for a little while and enjoy his family. Besides this was an important day. Today was Wyatt’s second birthday and they had planned quite the party.
Chris stayed hidden is his room. Not only did a party for a two year old not sound like much fun; he was also afraid he might accidentally call Piper ‘Mom’ in front of the other guests. He was surprised at how easy it had been to call Piper ‘Mom’ in either time line. Calling Leo, ‘Dad’ had taken a little persuasion from Leo, and Chris really didn’t want to get a refresher course on what to call the man. One ‘discussion’ had been enough to convince Chris that his father would prefer not to be called by his Christian name.
Chris was getting out of the shower when he heard the party wrapping up downstairs and he thought he would wait just a few more minutes before joining the family. He was drying off and getting dressed when he heard several explosions downstairs. He quickly threw on his shirt and jeans before racing, barefoot down the stairs.
“It’s ok, Buddy, I’ve got you,” Leo said while picking up Wyatt.
Chris surveyed the damage before asking, “What happened?”
Piper had walked over to check on Wyatt when she saw Chris. “Wait, stop right there, you could get hurt,” she said as she saw that he didn’t have any shoes on. There were wooden shards all over the staircase.
Chris rolled his eyes and said, “Mom, I’m fine. What happened?”
“Darklighter attacked. I’m not sure if he was after me or your brother,” Leo explained. “I need you to take him up to Magic School so that both of you are safe.”
“What? No, Dad! I need to be here to protect him and get whatever is after him. This is the reason I came back. I can take care of myself,” Chris shouted only losing his fury after stepping on a splinter. He sucked in a deep breath and valiantly tried to hide the fact that he had stopped and was only standing on one foot.
Leo was about to take a step forward and do something about his son’s attitude but Piper gently grabbed his arm to stop him.
Piper noticed the pained expression across Chris’s face but decided against calling him on it. She needed him to get to a safe location and pointing out his weaknesses wouldn’t do that. “Chris, I need you to protect Wyatt. You are the only one that can keep an eye on Gideon without being seen. Orb upstairs, get your shoes on and take care of your brother for me, please.”
Chris wanted to argue but his foot was hurting and his mom did have a point. He wouldn’t be seen by any Elders. Besides, he didn’t really want to see what his dad would do to Chris for yelling at him like he had just done. He sighed and replied, “Yes ma’am,” before he orbed up to his bathroom to take care of the splinter.
Piper finished walking over to Leo and said, “Will you get Wyatt changed and packed for Magic School for me?”
Leo chastely kissed his wife and whispered, “That was amazing the way you convinced him to protect Wyatt.”
Piper gave him a smile and watched as he orbed away. She then looked to Phoebe and Paige asking, “Can you two come up with a spell to make sure no one else at Magic School can see him. It won’t help that he is protected from being seen or sensed from Elders if one of the teachers talks with him.”
“Right, good plan,” Phoebe said and the two younger sisters walked off to prepare a spell.
Piper looked around the destroyed entryway and decided that it wasn’t personal gain to magically clean the area up. And if it cleaned up after the party too, well then who was going to know? First she walked over and mopped up a bit of the darklighter’s blood so they could scry for him. Then she quietly said the spell that took care of the mess magically and watched with a smile as the two rooms mended themselves.
Leo came down with Wyatt at the same time Chris orbed from his room. Piper gave a small frown at the scowl that Chris shot Leo’s way but again let it slide. She had to make sure her children were safe and if Chris thought he was protecting Wyatt he would do it. If he even got a whiff of Piper trying to coddle him he would fight them the whole way.
“OK, we’re ready,” Phoebe informed them.
Chris’s eyes shot over to his aunt, “Ready for what?”
Piper saw her son’s defenses going up and decided to put a halt to them, “I asked them to write a spell so that no one could see you up at Magic School, that way you can stay hidden.”
“Oh,” Chris said quietly and waited while Paige lifted the note containing the spell.
Paige looked up and said, “It’s a version of the Elder cloak, it’s the best I can do under such time constraints.” She then looked over at Chris and recited the spell:
Cloak this witch through family ties
From all other prying eyes
White and gold lights surrounded Chris for a moment then dissipated.
“Alright then, Leo, take Chris and Wyatt up there and make sure that no one can see Chris,” Piper told Leo.
She then looked over at Chris to say, “You keep an eye on him and protect him from Gideon.”
Chris sighed he really would rather go and hunt down the darklighter than babysit his older brother. And wasn’t that weird to say! Instead he softly said again, “Yes ma’am,” then he allowed his father to orb him and his brother to Magic School.
After his father left Wyatt and him in the nursery, Chris noticed that he was beginning to feel odd. He hoped that he wasn’t affected by any of that darklighter poison when he got that splinter in his foot.
The three sisters got busy scrying for the darklighter and had found him by the time Leo returned. They drove Piper’s car to the location and got out walking toward an empty alley.
Piper looked around and asked, “You sure this is the place?” Something didn’t feel right; she looked around at the street and back down the alley, “This could be a trap.”
“Well, we have to protect Wyatt,” Leo said, ending all discussion.
The quartet walked into the alley, Paige and Phoebe a few paces ahead of Leo and Piper. Piper saw a darklighter on the rooftop and blew him up only to have two more take his place.
Paige orbed herself and Phoebe up to the rooftop and they threw their potions at them vanquishing them both. The same darklighter that appeared in the manor hit Phoebe with the crossbow knocking her off the building and onto a dumpster below.
Before anyone could react the darklighter appeared in front of Piper and Leo. Piper raised her hands and blew him up causing a huge explosion. When the flames cleared Piper, Leo and the darklighter were all gone.
“Piper,” Paige cried out to the now empty space where her oldest sister once stood. She orbed down to Phoebe and helped her up. “Oh, you’re bleeding,” she told Phoebe, “We need to get you to the hospital.”
Paige helped Phoebe to the car and drove away.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Suddenly the street is completely deserted. No cars, no people, only empty buildings and the world was oddly lacking the vibrant colors that it normally had. Piper and Leo walk out of the alley.
Piper looks around and calls out, “Phoebe? Paige? Where's my car? What's going on? Where'd everybody go?”
Leo looked behind them and said, “I think we should get out of here. Something’s not right.”
Piper was still walking forward with Leo trailing slightly behind. “No, not without Phoebe, she's hurt,” Piper says in a no nonsense tone, “Didn't you see her fall?”
“But Piper, you don't understand,” Leo says urgently, “We can't worry about them right now. We need to worry about us.”
“The hospital,” Piper says suddenly, ignoring Leo, “If Paige couldn't get to you; she'd take Phoebe to the hospital. Memorial's just down the street.”
The same darklighter that attacked them at the manor walks out of the alley.
“Piper,” the darklighter says, “You're not supposed to be here.”
“Yeah,” Piper says, “Well, you're not supposed to be here either; at least not in one piece.” Piper raises her hands and tries to blow him up but her powers don't work. She looks over at Leo.
“Come on,” Leo says as he grabs her arm and tries to orb out but can't.
Piper asks, “What's wrong with our powers?”
The darklighter walks closer and loads his crossbow.
“I don't know,” Leo yells, “Run. Go, go, go.”
Piper and Leo run off. They head towards the hospital trying to lose the darklighter.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Paige is standing in the hospital’s hallway as Phoebe comes walking up with a bandage on the back of her neck.
“I’m fine, they are letting me go,” Phoebe tells her younger sister even though the doctor had wanted her to stay overnight. She tugs Paige’s arm saying, “Come on, we gotta get outta here…” She pauses as she hears her name being called. “Did you hear that? I think I just hear my name.”
Paige didn’t hear anything but both sisters stopped to listen. While they were standing there a doctor was working on a man that had just flat lined. The sisters stood witness to the doctor trying to restart the man’s heart.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Piper and Leo were standing in the deserted hospital when suddenly a man appeared. Piper called out to her husband, “Leo, who’s he?”
The man said, “Leo? You must be an angel,” before the man vanished.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
The doctor was able to restart the man’s heart. Phoebe and Paige watched as the man took in a deep breath and said, “Leo, you must be an angel.”
The sisters looked at each other before quickly leaving the building and orbing home.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Leo said, “I know where we are. We are on the ghostly plane. A darklighter doesn’t have the power to put us here.”
The two looked at each other then said at the same time, “Gideon!”
“Oh no, Chris and Wyatt are at Magic School right now!” Piper said, “We have to get out of here.”
Leo was nodding in agreement with his wife when he suddenly paused and said, “Oh, God, Chris…”
Piper looked back at him with a questioning gaze. “What? Is something wrong?” she asked him.
“Today is Wyatt’s birthday,” Leo said in way of explanation.
“I know, Leo, I was there…” Piper began and then suddenly said, “The letter… Chris needs to be conceived today!”
Leo nodded gravely and said, “Let’s get back to the manor.”
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Chris was sitting in a darkened room of the nursery. Wyatt had just fallen asleep and Chris was finally taking the time to have a pity party. The odd feeling he had earlier went from strange to downright scary. He felt like he was floating and he noticed that his hands had become transparent. He realized what was going on. His mother wasn’t pregnant with him. He tried to orb to warn his family but his powers weren’t working. Tears filled his eyes as he realized that he had changed history enough to stop him from being born. He hung his head. He was fighting his emotions. If he was going to die then he was going out with dignity. He roughly wiped the tears off his cheeks. He closed his eyes for a moment…
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Phoebe and Paige arrived at Magic School. Paige told Phoebe, “Let’s go and find Chris first. Then I’ll go make sure Gideon is distracted, you go and find anything you can on portals.”
The sisters made their way to the nursery and saw Wyatt sleeping in a crib with Chris sitting over in a darkened corner. Paige called out quietly, “Chris…”
Chris’s head jerked up and he all but ran over to the sisters.
What the sisters saw had them both drop their jaws. Chris was completely transparent.
Phoebe asked, “What happened?” as she noticed the red rims around Chris’s eyes, a definite indicator that the boy had been crying.
Chris bit back the sob he wanted to let out as he replied, “I think I’m ceasing to exist. I couldn’t even orb to get help.” He looked behind the sisters and asked, “Where are Mom and Dad?”
Paige took in a deep breath before saying, “Uh, that’s the problem. We think they are stuck on a different plane of existence. We need your help trying to find a way to get them back.” She wanted to reach out and hug her nephew instead she whispered to him, “Don’t worry, we still have time.” And she crossed her fingers hoping she wasn’t lying to the boy.
Chris took a deep breath; there was nothing more he could do. Either he was going to be conceived or not. The only thing he should be focusing on was how to get his parents back to this plane. Maybe they still had time, maybe not but either way Wyatt was going to need both his parents… Especially if Chris wasn’t going to be there. He pushed that thought aside and got back to business.
Phoebe and Chris left the room to find information on portals while Paige went to make sure Gideon didn’t stumble across them. Fortunately for Paige the Elder was in his office working.
Phoebe and Chris entered the empty library and quickly got to work. It didn’t take long for Phoebe to find the section on portals. When she found a book on opening them she turned to tell Chris but he had disappeared. She held her breath for a moment before deciding that the best thing they could do would be to make sure they got his parents back; praying with everything she had that it wasn’t too late…
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Piper and Leo were laying in their bed in the manor when Leo shot up saying, “A portal!”
Piper sat up and said, “What?”
Leo started to pull his pants on as he explained, “It must be a portal that got us here. We have to get back to that alley.”
Piper followed his lead of getting dressed as she asked, “But how will they know?”
“We will just have to trust that they will figure it out,” Leo told her.
Leo and Piper arrived at the alley and looked around but nothing had changed. Suddenly the darklighter came around the corner saying, “I knew you would come back here! Now I can finish my mission.” He raised his crossbow and aimed it towards Leo.
Leo put his hand up and said, “Let her go, it’s me you want.”
The darklighter said, “True, but this is just too great of an opportunity. It is my nature to destroy good.”
“Then why are you working with an Elder?” Leo asked him.
The darklighter dropped the crossbow slightly as he was shocked by the question, “How did you know…” he began but the sounds of the street flooded through them. Suddenly the world was bright, colorful and full of noise again.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Paige called out to the darklighter, “Because this time I'll vanquish you for real.”
Piper smiled and said, “Well, it's about time.”
Before anything else could be said the darklighter was struck with an arrow and he exploded. The sisters and Leo looked up to where the arrow came from and watched as another darklighter dark orbed away.
Piper looked over at Leo and said, “Well that was odd.”
Leo nodded, “Yeah but he all but gave us confirmation that the attack was a set up.”
Paige and Phoebe opened their mouths to ask what they were talking about but Piper saw them and said, “Later, let’s get the boys and head back to the manor.”
Phoebe and Paige exchanged looks and Phoebe said, “Let’s go to the manor first.” And the two orbed away before Leo or Piper could ask any questions.
When Piper and Leo arrived at the manor, Piper looked over at her sisters and said, “Spill.”
The younger two exchanged looks again, silently trying to figure out who was going to tell Piper that her youngest had ceased to exist.
Finally Phoebe looked back over at the oldest sister and said, “Chris…”
Before she could get any further suddenly Chris appeared in front of them. He looked around, raised his arms up in victory and yelled, “Yes! I’m back!”
Piper looked from Chris to her sisters and then back to Chris again before asking, “Where did you go?”
“I’m not sure. One minute I was transparent…” Chris began.
Piper interjected, “WHAT?”
Chris looked over to his aunts and Paige explained, “He was ceasing to exist. He needed to be conceived…”
Chris flushed and started to back out of the room saying, “Uh, I don’t need to hear any more. I’m back, all… conceived… and all. Umm, Dad, can you give me a lift to get Wyatt? I don’t want him at Magic School by himself.”
Leo quickly walked over to his son and orbed them out of the room. He had no desire to discuss what had happened on the ghostly plane with his sisters-in-law any more than Chris did.
He orbed them directly to the nursery where Wyatt was still sleeping. They both looked over the little boy for a moment before Chris worked up his nerve to talk to Leo.
“Uh, Dad?” he began and then paused.
Leo smiled as he asked, “Yes, Son?”
“I was uh, thinking about how you can remain an Elder and still come home,” Chris started.
Leo’s attention turned fully to Chris as Chris continued, “See, I’ve been thinking about it. I know you and Mom decided for you to stay an Elder to protect me.”
Leo nodded.
Chris continued, “And I also know that the other Elders are giving you a hard time. So I have been wracking my brain trying to think of a way for you to be able to do both and while I was sitting here with Wyatt it came to me.” Chris paused, suddenly unsure if he wanted to tell his dad what he had come up with.
Leo pushed a little, “And?”
Chris gave him a small smile and turned towards Wyatt so he didn’t have to look his father in the eye as he said, “What if you worked here, at Magic School? I know that Gideon won’t like it but he hasn’t replaced his assistant Sigmund that died during the Titan attack. This way you can keep an eye on Gideon and still come home every night.”
Leo smiled as he listened to the logic behind his son’s idea. Just the thought that the boy was trying to find a way to allow Leo to be at home warmed his heart. But beyond that, it was a really good idea! Leo didn’t hold back he reached out and pulled his son into a hug and kissed the top of his head. “That sounds like the best plan I’ve heard in a long time,” he said.
Chris surprised himself with the feelings of happiness that the simple words of praise gave him. He reached up and hugged his father back, even relaxing into the embrace. The two stood like that for a moment when little Wyatt decided to make his presence known. Chris backed away a bit and looked up at his father who was smiling down to him.
“Let’s get Wyatt home and tell your mom the plan,” Leo told. He suddenly felt like everything was falling into place.
TBC
Chapter 24
A/N: Yes, poor Sigmund died during the Titan attack. Some things happened a bit differently in this timeline and I guess Sigmund was up there and unable to escape. Remember many of the Elders died during the attack, but not all. Some of those cowards, uh, I mean Elders escaped. Unfortunately Gideon was one of the lucky ones.
Chapter 23
Conception
Things had been going well for the family since the letters that future Piper sent alerting them to the fact that Chris was only fourteen years old. Piper had put an end to all of Chris’s solitary demon hunting. Chris had no problems following the rules now that he knew Leo would follow through on the consequences. He was no longer grounded and Leo had given him back his ability to orb.
Chris’s previous behaviors suddenly made so much more sense. It was astonishing to understand why the boy was acting his ‘age’ of 22 some of the time but at other instances he seemed so much less mature. Piper and Leo shook their heads at what they missed all along. How did they not see that Chris had glamoured himself to appear older? What had Piper said once about the behavior of their future counterparts? That they were willfully blind? Apparently that trait was something she seemed to have in common with her future self. They had missed all the signs.
As much as things were going well for the family, it was not working out for Leo trying to maintain a functioning family life and continue with his role as an Elder. The other Elders had been trying to convince Leo that he belonged up there with them but Leo felt he needed to be with his family.
Piper and he had decided that it would be safest for Chris if Leo remained an Elder while Chris was still back in time. It would also enable Leo to keep a closer eye on the other Elders. Leo thought he was doing an okay job trying to satisfy both sides but he had been trying to come up with a more permanent solution. He knew he couldn’t stay down here as an Elder but he refused to leave his family.
Leo decided to stop worrying for a little while and enjoy his family. Besides this was an important day. Today was Wyatt’s second birthday and they had planned quite the party.
Chris stayed hidden is his room. Not only did a party for a two year old not sound like much fun; he was also afraid he might accidentally call Piper ‘Mom’ in front of the other guests. He was surprised at how easy it had been to call Piper ‘Mom’ in either time line. Calling Leo, ‘Dad’ had taken a little persuasion from Leo, and Chris really didn’t want to get a refresher course on what to call the man. One ‘discussion’ had been enough to convince Chris that his father would prefer not to be called by his Christian name.
Chris was getting out of the shower when he heard the party wrapping up downstairs and he thought he would wait just a few more minutes before joining the family. He was drying off and getting dressed when he heard several explosions downstairs. He quickly threw on his shirt and jeans before racing, barefoot down the stairs.
“It’s ok, Buddy, I’ve got you,” Leo said while picking up Wyatt.
Chris surveyed the damage before asking, “What happened?”
Piper had walked over to check on Wyatt when she saw Chris. “Wait, stop right there, you could get hurt,” she said as she saw that he didn’t have any shoes on. There were wooden shards all over the staircase.
Chris rolled his eyes and said, “Mom, I’m fine. What happened?”
“Darklighter attacked. I’m not sure if he was after me or your brother,” Leo explained. “I need you to take him up to Magic School so that both of you are safe.”
“What? No, Dad! I need to be here to protect him and get whatever is after him. This is the reason I came back. I can take care of myself,” Chris shouted only losing his fury after stepping on a splinter. He sucked in a deep breath and valiantly tried to hide the fact that he had stopped and was only standing on one foot.
Leo was about to take a step forward and do something about his son’s attitude but Piper gently grabbed his arm to stop him.
Piper noticed the pained expression across Chris’s face but decided against calling him on it. She needed him to get to a safe location and pointing out his weaknesses wouldn’t do that. “Chris, I need you to protect Wyatt. You are the only one that can keep an eye on Gideon without being seen. Orb upstairs, get your shoes on and take care of your brother for me, please.”
Chris wanted to argue but his foot was hurting and his mom did have a point. He wouldn’t be seen by any Elders. Besides, he didn’t really want to see what his dad would do to Chris for yelling at him like he had just done. He sighed and replied, “Yes ma’am,” before he orbed up to his bathroom to take care of the splinter.
Piper finished walking over to Leo and said, “Will you get Wyatt changed and packed for Magic School for me?”
Leo chastely kissed his wife and whispered, “That was amazing the way you convinced him to protect Wyatt.”
Piper gave him a smile and watched as he orbed away. She then looked to Phoebe and Paige asking, “Can you two come up with a spell to make sure no one else at Magic School can see him. It won’t help that he is protected from being seen or sensed from Elders if one of the teachers talks with him.”
“Right, good plan,” Phoebe said and the two younger sisters walked off to prepare a spell.
Piper looked around the destroyed entryway and decided that it wasn’t personal gain to magically clean the area up. And if it cleaned up after the party too, well then who was going to know? First she walked over and mopped up a bit of the darklighter’s blood so they could scry for him. Then she quietly said the spell that took care of the mess magically and watched with a smile as the two rooms mended themselves.
Leo came down with Wyatt at the same time Chris orbed from his room. Piper gave a small frown at the scowl that Chris shot Leo’s way but again let it slide. She had to make sure her children were safe and if Chris thought he was protecting Wyatt he would do it. If he even got a whiff of Piper trying to coddle him he would fight them the whole way.
“OK, we’re ready,” Phoebe informed them.
Chris’s eyes shot over to his aunt, “Ready for what?”
Piper saw her son’s defenses going up and decided to put a halt to them, “I asked them to write a spell so that no one could see you up at Magic School, that way you can stay hidden.”
“Oh,” Chris said quietly and waited while Paige lifted the note containing the spell.
Paige looked up and said, “It’s a version of the Elder cloak, it’s the best I can do under such time constraints.” She then looked over at Chris and recited the spell:
Cloak this witch through family ties
From all other prying eyes
White and gold lights surrounded Chris for a moment then dissipated.
“Alright then, Leo, take Chris and Wyatt up there and make sure that no one can see Chris,” Piper told Leo.
She then looked over at Chris to say, “You keep an eye on him and protect him from Gideon.”
Chris sighed he really would rather go and hunt down the darklighter than babysit his older brother. And wasn’t that weird to say! Instead he softly said again, “Yes ma’am,” then he allowed his father to orb him and his brother to Magic School.
After his father left Wyatt and him in the nursery, Chris noticed that he was beginning to feel odd. He hoped that he wasn’t affected by any of that darklighter poison when he got that splinter in his foot.
The three sisters got busy scrying for the darklighter and had found him by the time Leo returned. They drove Piper’s car to the location and got out walking toward an empty alley.
Piper looked around and asked, “You sure this is the place?” Something didn’t feel right; she looked around at the street and back down the alley, “This could be a trap.”
“Well, we have to protect Wyatt,” Leo said, ending all discussion.
The quartet walked into the alley, Paige and Phoebe a few paces ahead of Leo and Piper. Piper saw a darklighter on the rooftop and blew him up only to have two more take his place.
Paige orbed herself and Phoebe up to the rooftop and they threw their potions at them vanquishing them both. The same darklighter that appeared in the manor hit Phoebe with the crossbow knocking her off the building and onto a dumpster below.
Before anyone could react the darklighter appeared in front of Piper and Leo. Piper raised her hands and blew him up causing a huge explosion. When the flames cleared Piper, Leo and the darklighter were all gone.
“Piper,” Paige cried out to the now empty space where her oldest sister once stood. She orbed down to Phoebe and helped her up. “Oh, you’re bleeding,” she told Phoebe, “We need to get you to the hospital.”
Paige helped Phoebe to the car and drove away.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Suddenly the street is completely deserted. No cars, no people, only empty buildings and the world was oddly lacking the vibrant colors that it normally had. Piper and Leo walk out of the alley.
Piper looks around and calls out, “Phoebe? Paige? Where's my car? What's going on? Where'd everybody go?”
Leo looked behind them and said, “I think we should get out of here. Something’s not right.”
Piper was still walking forward with Leo trailing slightly behind. “No, not without Phoebe, she's hurt,” Piper says in a no nonsense tone, “Didn't you see her fall?”
“But Piper, you don't understand,” Leo says urgently, “We can't worry about them right now. We need to worry about us.”
“The hospital,” Piper says suddenly, ignoring Leo, “If Paige couldn't get to you; she'd take Phoebe to the hospital. Memorial's just down the street.”
The same darklighter that attacked them at the manor walks out of the alley.
“Piper,” the darklighter says, “You're not supposed to be here.”
“Yeah,” Piper says, “Well, you're not supposed to be here either; at least not in one piece.” Piper raises her hands and tries to blow him up but her powers don't work. She looks over at Leo.
“Come on,” Leo says as he grabs her arm and tries to orb out but can't.
Piper asks, “What's wrong with our powers?”
The darklighter walks closer and loads his crossbow.
“I don't know,” Leo yells, “Run. Go, go, go.”
Piper and Leo run off. They head towards the hospital trying to lose the darklighter.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Paige is standing in the hospital’s hallway as Phoebe comes walking up with a bandage on the back of her neck.
“I’m fine, they are letting me go,” Phoebe tells her younger sister even though the doctor had wanted her to stay overnight. She tugs Paige’s arm saying, “Come on, we gotta get outta here…” She pauses as she hears her name being called. “Did you hear that? I think I just hear my name.”
Paige didn’t hear anything but both sisters stopped to listen. While they were standing there a doctor was working on a man that had just flat lined. The sisters stood witness to the doctor trying to restart the man’s heart.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Piper and Leo were standing in the deserted hospital when suddenly a man appeared. Piper called out to her husband, “Leo, who’s he?”
The man said, “Leo? You must be an angel,” before the man vanished.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
The doctor was able to restart the man’s heart. Phoebe and Paige watched as the man took in a deep breath and said, “Leo, you must be an angel.”
The sisters looked at each other before quickly leaving the building and orbing home.
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Leo said, “I know where we are. We are on the ghostly plane. A darklighter doesn’t have the power to put us here.”
The two looked at each other then said at the same time, “Gideon!”
“Oh no, Chris and Wyatt are at Magic School right now!” Piper said, “We have to get out of here.”
Leo was nodding in agreement with his wife when he suddenly paused and said, “Oh, God, Chris…”
Piper looked back at him with a questioning gaze. “What? Is something wrong?” she asked him.
“Today is Wyatt’s birthday,” Leo said in way of explanation.
“I know, Leo, I was there…” Piper began and then suddenly said, “The letter… Chris needs to be conceived today!”
Leo nodded gravely and said, “Let’s get back to the manor.”
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Chris was sitting in a darkened room of the nursery. Wyatt had just fallen asleep and Chris was finally taking the time to have a pity party. The odd feeling he had earlier went from strange to downright scary. He felt like he was floating and he noticed that his hands had become transparent. He realized what was going on. His mother wasn’t pregnant with him. He tried to orb to warn his family but his powers weren’t working. Tears filled his eyes as he realized that he had changed history enough to stop him from being born. He hung his head. He was fighting his emotions. If he was going to die then he was going out with dignity. He roughly wiped the tears off his cheeks. He closed his eyes for a moment…
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Phoebe and Paige arrived at Magic School. Paige told Phoebe, “Let’s go and find Chris first. Then I’ll go make sure Gideon is distracted, you go and find anything you can on portals.”
The sisters made their way to the nursery and saw Wyatt sleeping in a crib with Chris sitting over in a darkened corner. Paige called out quietly, “Chris…”
Chris’s head jerked up and he all but ran over to the sisters.
What the sisters saw had them both drop their jaws. Chris was completely transparent.
Phoebe asked, “What happened?” as she noticed the red rims around Chris’s eyes, a definite indicator that the boy had been crying.
Chris bit back the sob he wanted to let out as he replied, “I think I’m ceasing to exist. I couldn’t even orb to get help.” He looked behind the sisters and asked, “Where are Mom and Dad?”
Paige took in a deep breath before saying, “Uh, that’s the problem. We think they are stuck on a different plane of existence. We need your help trying to find a way to get them back.” She wanted to reach out and hug her nephew instead she whispered to him, “Don’t worry, we still have time.” And she crossed her fingers hoping she wasn’t lying to the boy.
Chris took a deep breath; there was nothing more he could do. Either he was going to be conceived or not. The only thing he should be focusing on was how to get his parents back to this plane. Maybe they still had time, maybe not but either way Wyatt was going to need both his parents… Especially if Chris wasn’t going to be there. He pushed that thought aside and got back to business.
Phoebe and Chris left the room to find information on portals while Paige went to make sure Gideon didn’t stumble across them. Fortunately for Paige the Elder was in his office working.
Phoebe and Chris entered the empty library and quickly got to work. It didn’t take long for Phoebe to find the section on portals. When she found a book on opening them she turned to tell Chris but he had disappeared. She held her breath for a moment before deciding that the best thing they could do would be to make sure they got his parents back; praying with everything she had that it wasn’t too late…
/ CHARMED / CHARMED / CHARMED /
Piper and Leo were laying in their bed in the manor when Leo shot up saying, “A portal!”
Piper sat up and said, “What?”
Leo started to pull his pants on as he explained, “It must be a portal that got us here. We have to get back to that alley.”
Piper followed his lead of getting dressed as she asked, “But how will they know?”
“We will just have to trust that they will figure it out,” Leo told her.
Leo and Piper arrived at the alley and looked around but nothing had changed. Suddenly the darklighter came around the corner saying, “I knew you would come back here! Now I can finish my mission.” He raised his crossbow and aimed it towards Leo.
Leo put his hand up and said, “Let her go, it’s me you want.”
The darklighter said, “True, but this is just too great of an opportunity. It is my nature to destroy good.”
“Then why are you working with an Elder?” Leo asked him.
The darklighter dropped the crossbow slightly as he was shocked by the question, “How did you know…” he began but the sounds of the street flooded through them. Suddenly the world was bright, colorful and full of noise again.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Paige called out to the darklighter, “Because this time I'll vanquish you for real.”
Piper smiled and said, “Well, it's about time.”
Before anything else could be said the darklighter was struck with an arrow and he exploded. The sisters and Leo looked up to where the arrow came from and watched as another darklighter dark orbed away.
Piper looked over at Leo and said, “Well that was odd.”
Leo nodded, “Yeah but he all but gave us confirmation that the attack was a set up.”
Paige and Phoebe opened their mouths to ask what they were talking about but Piper saw them and said, “Later, let’s get the boys and head back to the manor.”
Phoebe and Paige exchanged looks and Phoebe said, “Let’s go to the manor first.” And the two orbed away before Leo or Piper could ask any questions.
When Piper and Leo arrived at the manor, Piper looked over at her sisters and said, “Spill.”
The younger two exchanged looks again, silently trying to figure out who was going to tell Piper that her youngest had ceased to exist.
Finally Phoebe looked back over at the oldest sister and said, “Chris…”
Before she could get any further suddenly Chris appeared in front of them. He looked around, raised his arms up in victory and yelled, “Yes! I’m back!”
Piper looked from Chris to her sisters and then back to Chris again before asking, “Where did you go?”
“I’m not sure. One minute I was transparent…” Chris began.
Piper interjected, “WHAT?”
Chris looked over to his aunts and Paige explained, “He was ceasing to exist. He needed to be conceived…”
Chris flushed and started to back out of the room saying, “Uh, I don’t need to hear any more. I’m back, all… conceived… and all. Umm, Dad, can you give me a lift to get Wyatt? I don’t want him at Magic School by himself.”
Leo quickly walked over to his son and orbed them out of the room. He had no desire to discuss what had happened on the ghostly plane with his sisters-in-law any more than Chris did.
He orbed them directly to the nursery where Wyatt was still sleeping. They both looked over the little boy for a moment before Chris worked up his nerve to talk to Leo.
“Uh, Dad?” he began and then paused.
Leo smiled as he asked, “Yes, Son?”
“I was uh, thinking about how you can remain an Elder and still come home,” Chris started.
Leo’s attention turned fully to Chris as Chris continued, “See, I’ve been thinking about it. I know you and Mom decided for you to stay an Elder to protect me.”
Leo nodded.
Chris continued, “And I also know that the other Elders are giving you a hard time. So I have been wracking my brain trying to think of a way for you to be able to do both and while I was sitting here with Wyatt it came to me.” Chris paused, suddenly unsure if he wanted to tell his dad what he had come up with.
Leo pushed a little, “And?”
Chris gave him a small smile and turned towards Wyatt so he didn’t have to look his father in the eye as he said, “What if you worked here, at Magic School? I know that Gideon won’t like it but he hasn’t replaced his assistant Sigmund that died during the Titan attack. This way you can keep an eye on Gideon and still come home every night.”
Leo smiled as he listened to the logic behind his son’s idea. Just the thought that the boy was trying to find a way to allow Leo to be at home warmed his heart. But beyond that, it was a really good idea! Leo didn’t hold back he reached out and pulled his son into a hug and kissed the top of his head. “That sounds like the best plan I’ve heard in a long time,” he said.
Chris surprised himself with the feelings of happiness that the simple words of praise gave him. He reached up and hugged his father back, even relaxing into the embrace. The two stood like that for a moment when little Wyatt decided to make his presence known. Chris backed away a bit and looked up at his father who was smiling down to him.
“Let’s get Wyatt home and tell your mom the plan,” Leo told. He suddenly felt like everything was falling into place.
TBC
Chapter 24
A/N: Yes, poor Sigmund died during the Titan attack. Some things happened a bit differently in this timeline and I guess Sigmund was up there and unable to escape. Remember many of the Elders died during the attack, but not all. Some of those cowards, uh, I mean Elders escaped. Unfortunately Gideon was one of the lucky ones.