WOW! I haven't updated this in MONTHS...Whoooaaaa. :D So sorry for the delay, life's been pretty crazy. You wouldn't believe it if I told you (and if I listed all the things I gotta get done one more time, my friend Stacey might come to murder me teehee :D :D :D)
Well, um, uh, here's your lovely update! (If any of the people originally reading this are still ALIVE at this point...heh).
Disclaimer: What canI say? Brad Kern is slippery. But one of these days...
Chris immediately tensed when he saw Leo down at the breakfast table, reading the newspaper. After a moment's hesitation, he sat down, convincing himself that it didn't matter anyway. All the activity in the room seemed to cease as heads turned to stare at him.
"Uh…good morning," he greeted Phoebe and Paige.
Leo looked down from the newspaper. "Oh, hello, Chris," he said nervously, giving Chris an anxious look.
"…Hi, Leo," Chris said abruptly, not making eye contact. He turned towards the sisters. "Sorry for freaking out on you guys when I first got here. I was just…"
"Scared? Confused? Freaked out?" Phoebe supplied for him.
"Yeah," Chris laughed. Phoebe always had that creepy way of being able to read minds. "I guess you've got your empath powers already, then?"
"Didn't need them to know, though," she said, winking at him.
"It's fine, Chris. Don't be sorry," Paige assured him. She walked over to him and plopped three pancakes on his plate. "Here ya go. There are seconds if you need 'em."
Chris stared at her stupidly. He'd never actually seen his Aunt Paige before, not counting the videos and pictures of her. Now she was so close, so realistic, that he could reach out and touch her. He could hear her actual voice and not some recorded garble on a television screen.
"What?" she asked him, cocking her head. Then she grinned. "Don't worry, kid, I didn't make these, Piper did. The pancakes are safe."
Chris grinned back. "No, it's not that…I've just never met you before."
Paige's eyes widened. "Right! I completely forgot! Silly me. Allow me to introduce yourself as your Aunty Paige," she said cheerfully, extending out her hand for him to shake.
"Nice to meet you," said Chris, shaking her hand. "I guess you've already met me."
"Twice," Phoebe added.
"Chris…" Leo started after the laughter died down.
Just then Piper walked in carrying Wyatt and baby Chris. Leo stood up and took Wyatt from her arms to relieve her, placing him in his high chair and bringing him a cut up pancake.
A lump formed in Chris' throat when he realized that he shouldn't be distracted like this. He had a mission: find the lantern. What he was supposed to do after that, he wasn't sure…but at least he had a hint now. Leo had locked it in a safe.
Leo. Damn it.
The man sat down again, giving Chris a short glance before picking up the newspaper again and reading. Chris wondered why the hell Leo seemed to be scared of him. What did Leo have to be afraid of? Wasn't it Chris that should be afraid of Leo?
Chris stared down at his lap. Of course Leo would be scared of him…he was the lesser child, after all, and now he was older than the baby Chris was. He was a threat to Leo.
"Good morning, everyone," said Piper, reaching over for the coffee.
Paige stopped her in her tracks, grabbing her hand before it touched the pot. "The morning isn't good until I get my coffee. Move over, girlie."
Piper rolled her eyes. "Yes, your highness." She turned to Chris. "You don't like the pancakes?" she asked him, concerned.
"Huh?" Chris was pulled out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry." He looked down at the table. "Um, where's the fork?"
Phoebe laughed. "Are you kidding?"
Chris frowned, confused. "Uh…"
"We don't use forks in this house, not since Wyatt was born!" Paige laughed. "I guess I started that, though…" she muttered. "No wonder you didn't know."
Chris winced, remembering how, when he was four, Leo had yelled at him for using his hands to eat and sent him to his room. He left him up there for hours before Piper came home and found him. His mother had yelled at Leo, and Chris remembered feeling so guilty.
He'd known all his life that their breakup was his fault. His birth tore the family apart, sent Leo to Elder-land.
"Okay, I'm game," said Chris, forcing a smile back at them. He thought he saw Phoebe looking at him funny, but he disregarded it. If she knew what was good for her, she'd keep quiet.
He took a big bite of pancake. "Mmm!" he mumbled through his mouthful. "Dis is goog!"
"See? I told you Piper made them," Paige groaned. "Phoebe and I can't cook to save our lives."
Chris didn't realize just how hungry he'd been until he'd stuffed down two of the pancakes and a glass of milk. Then, completely satiated and ready to start with the "mission," he pushed the plate aside.
"What, you're finished already?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, I'm full. Thanks, Mom, it was great."
Piper smiled. She loved hearing him call her Mom, even if he wasn't supposed to be here.
Chris looked at Leo, trying to muster up enough confidence to bring up the lantern. It should be easy, right? Just ask where the key is. No questions asked.
Yeah, right. There would be questions…but his older self had strictly instructed him not to say a word. He wasn't allowed to divulge any information.
But was it that his older self told him not to tell the others anything, or was it that he just didn't want Leo to know?
Leo rose from the table, folding up the newspaper, and walked into the living room. Chris cut up his remaining pancake and gave it to Wyatt, then stuck his plate and glass in the dishwasher before following the man.
"Hey, um…Leo?"
Leo turned around, not looking the least bit surprised to see the teenager following him. "Hey, Chris, I wanted to talk to you about…"
"Look, it doesn't matter," Chris lied. It did matter, but this wasn't the time or place to get into it. "I need to know something."
"Shoot," Leo told him.
"Huh?"
"You know, 'shoot'," Leo repeated. "Like, 'go for it,' or 'tell me what you're'…" He shook his head. "Never mind. I guess you don't say that in the future."
"No, we don't." But you did, when you actually talked to me, Chris kept to himself. "I was wondering about the lantern that you keep up in a safe. Piper told me about it."
Leo narrowed his eyes, not quite understanding. "What did Piper tell you about it? I doubt she even knows what it is."
Chris gulped under Leo's suspicious glare. "Er, she just told me you had it locked up."
"What do you want it for?" Leo asked.
Chris couldn't find words. He didn't want to tell Leo anything—this was supposed to be simple. Find the key, get the lantern, destroy it if necessary. He wasn't counting on suspicion.
"I need it because…" He pressed his mind. "It's dark in the manor at night?"
"There are nightlights for that, Chris."
"Oh."
The wind blew outside and rattled the shutters on the windows, filling the emptiness of the room.
"Look, I don't really understand why I need it. But I do," Chris blurted. "Last night…"
"Last night, you were prying around in the attic," Leo countered. "Don't try to deny it, Chris, I saw you up there. You were looking for something. Why do you need the lantern?"
"You—you were spying on me!" Chris accused, rage bubbling inside of him. He suppressed it, trying to remain calm.
"I wasn't spying…I heard something up in the attic, and I went upstairs to see who it was. Demons know I'm mortal now, Chris, and without the older you, the Charmed Ones are completely vulnerable."
"They can defend themselves," Chris defended them. "They don't need you."
Leo flinched. To Chris' horror, he was actually enjoying Leo's belittlement. He was no better than Wyatt, trying to tear people apart. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he do anything right?
"Chris…"
"Don't!" Chris interrupted. "I don't want to talk, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. But I need the lantern—I do mean that."
"You need to tell me why," Leo asserted.
"You know the amount of power it holds," Chris said quietly. "You know what it can do. Think about what would happen if it ended up in the wrong hands."
Leo's eyes widened. "You want to use it yourself, so you can overcome Wyatt," Leo deduced. "You think that it will give you enough power to stop him."
"N-no!"
"Chris, it isn't going to help. You need to find another more peaceful way to stop Wyatt. It's the most effective path. Don't fight."
The rage was no longer able to be suppressed. "How DARE you!" Chris said under his breath so the sisters wouldn't hear. "I don't even know what the lantern DOES. All I know is that it holds a great deal of power that Wyatt is going to eventually steal! If we don't destroy it, then—" Suddenly Chris stopped short. "You," he hissed, "telling ME not to fight. After I avoided fighting Wyatt all these years, hanging on to the pacifist ways despite you telling me to train…make up your mind already!"
"Chris, it wasn't me!"
"It damn right was you!"
"Look, I didn't mean to make you mad—"
"Well, you did! Congratulations! I don't want the freaking lantern for myself, I need it so Wyatt doesn't—"
There was a crash up in the attic. The two of them froze.
Ahhhh, the beauty of cliffies. It's been so long since I've enjoyed the fruits of fanfictions...:D :D :D
Review, pretty please!