A/N: It was a longer chapter, so it took me longer to type. Thanks for the reviews on the last one! And a thanks to the original bitch who started my mind going on this part of the story. And just a little FYI, the italics are the future/memory. Enjoy!
Chapter 8 – Memories and Decisions
"Chris? Melinda?" Piper called.
Phoebe and Paige shuffled their feet as they waited for their nephew and niece. Leo just continued to stay silent. He hadn't really said much after the sisters informed him of their apparent young deaths. But he did agree that they should all be together when they confronted Chris and Melinda about it though.
When Chris and Melinda orbed in, they noticed the sisters' and Leo's sad expressions, and knew that Melinda had been right, Phoebe had figured it out.
"We know," Paige told them quietly.
Chris and Melinda glanced at each other.
"We're sorry," Phoebe added.
"This must've been really hard on you,' Piper started softly. "Seeing us alive and well when we've been dead in your future for years." Chris and Melinda couldn't look at their mother. "It's okay you know," Piper told them. "To talk about it."
Chris sighed. He shared a look with Melinda before finally looking at Piper. "We can't tell you," he said quietly in an apologetic and heartbroken voice. Piper sighed, she could tell how much this hurt her children.
"It's okay," Phoebe assured them. Paige and Piper nodded their agreement.
The sisters received two small smiles from the kids from the future.
"Why couldn't I save them?" Leo finally asked, distraught.
Chris took a deep breath and looked away, refusing to look at Leo.
"Because you weren't there," Melinda told him bluntly. Some of her anger leaked out when she added, "You didn't show up until it was too late."
Leo looked like he'd just been shot by a darklighter arrow. The sisters glanced at each other, but none of them knew what to say. Leo finally said, "I don't understand."
"Then why don't we show you."
Everyone turned around to find the source of the voice.
"Wyatt," Chris breathed, feeling Melinda tense beside him in preparation for a fight, while the sisters gasped.
"You're Wyatt?" Paige asked the tall man with shoulder length blonde hair who was wearing all black.
Wyatt smirked. "Now is that any way to greet your nephew Aunt Paige?"
Paige looked aghast. Phoebe was watching with wide eyes. Piper and Leo were in stunned silence.
"So what do you say, Dad?" Wyatt asked with a twisted smile. "Want to see why you couldn't save them?"
"What are you talking about?" Phoebe questioned in confusion.
"Showing you the memory of that day," Wyatt answered simply.
"Wyatt, don't," Melinda said firmly with a warning laced in her tone.
Wyatt looked at his little sister. "Don't worry Mel, we'll only watch the ending."
Before anyone could say anything else, the room began spinning and everything changed. When everything stopped, they were in the sunroom, but it was different.
"Where are we?" Piper asked in suspicion.
"The future," Chris answered dully, trying hard to suppress his emotions.
"The day you die to be exact," Wyatt clarified without emotion or caring. Chris glared at him, while the sisters and Leo began looking around in shock.
Melinda grabbed Chris's hand. She could feel their fear. He squeezed her hand, both of them thankful that he'd taken the empathy blocking potion so that she wouldn't have to feel his emotions too.
"So what's happening?" Phoebe finally asked. Wyatt pointed, and all eyes followed.
A young Chris, he looked about fourteen, was hunched down over someone.
Paige and Phoebe gasped when they realized it was Piper.
"No. No. No," Chris was whispering frantically. "DAD!" When no orbs appeared Chris yelled again, "DAD! LEO! Mom needs you!" His voice was breaking as tears fell. "LEO!" Panic was evident in his voice. So when no orbs showed, Chris tried again, "Aunt Paige! Mom's hurt!" No orbs again.
The sisters held onto each other while Leo looked devastated. Chris and Melinda both had tears running down their faces. Even Wyatt was refusing to watch, which at least gave the rest some hope that maybe he wasn't completely heartless.
"Wyatt!"
Blue orbs immediately filled the room, forming both a teenage Wyatt, who looked about sixteen, and a young Melinda, who couldn't have been more than ten or eleven.
"Mom!" Melinda yelled as Wyatt instantly began trying to heal her.
"Why isn't it working?" Chris asked impatiently after a few minutes.
Wyatt didn't say anything, just continued trying to heal.
But Melinda began to cry, "No...," and grabbed at her stomach as if she were in pain.
Chris glanced at his sister before looking back at Wyatt. "No…" he started quietly, praying for his brother to say he could heal her.
But Wyatt looked at both Chris and Melinda and shook his head slowly. Unshed tears were in his eyes as he told them heartbrokenly, "I can't heal her." They all knew what that meant so none of them spoke it out loud.
The sisters were crying hard now. Leo was in disbelief, wondering why he hadn't come when his son called. He too had tears running down his face.
Suddenly Chris looked up with fear in his eyes. "Aunt Paige didn't answer either," he said in quiet panic.
Wyatt's eyes went wide and he orbed out.
Chris looked over at Melinda and saw she was on her knees, hunched over and crying silently. He made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
A few minutes later Wyatt orbed back. He caught Chris's eyes and shook his head sadly.
"Aunt Phoebe?" Chris choked out. Again Wyatt shook his head.
Still holding onto Melinda, Chris felt her flinch. Wyatt saw this, and both boys heard their sister let out a moan of pain as she continued to be hunched over with tears overflowing.
"Mel?" Chris said worriedly as Wyatt dropped down on Melinda's other side.
The room swirled again. This time when it stopped they were in Piper's bedroom, but yet again it was different.
Teenage Wyatt, looking the same as he did in the last memory, was standing by the dresser, looking at a picture of Piper with her three kids.
Chris came into the room slowly.
Wyatt looked at him and quietly asked, "Did it work?" Chris nodded. "Good," Wyatt nodded as well.
The sound of orbs made the boys look up to see Leo, looking the same as he always had, except dressed in Elder robes.
"I came as soon as I heard," Leo said immediately, apology written on his tear stained face.
"Why not when Chris kept calling you to heal her?" Wyatt shot back in anger.
Leo looked at Chris, who was glaring daggers at his father. "I'm so –" Leo started softly but Chris cut him off.
"Save it Leo," he said coldly.
Sagging his shoulders, Leo took a breath to steel himself before trying again to talk to them. "Where's Melinda?" he questioned quietly.
"Sleeping," Wyatt answered simply.
"I'd like to see her," Leo said calmly, starting to walk away when Chris stopped him.
"I gave her a sleeping potion," Chris informed him. "She'll be out for a while."
"You did what?" Leo replied incredulously, staring at his youngest son in utter confusion.
"She got a new power," Wyatt said lightly. "Empathy." Leo looked at his oldest in surprise. "She was too overwhelmed with all of this, so we decided to help her get some rest," he informed his father simply.
Leo took a deep breath, and became calm and business-like. "She was given her power for a reason. It's not right to try to suppress it, she needs to learn to control it sooner rather than later," Leo said admonishingly.
"She's eleven!" Chris yelled in retort. "In case you missed the memo…" he continued seething. "Our mother and aunts are dead! She has enough to deal with on her own. She doesn't need to deal with everyone else's feelings too!"
"Chris," Leo started to object.
"Just leave," Wyatt interrupted. Stunned, Leo turned to Wyatt. "Just get out of here. We don't need you. You're only making things worse."
Leo was hurt. But after a sad glance at both of his sons, he orbed out.
The room spun again. Except this time when it stopped they were back in their attic. The sisters were all stunned. Their tears had finally run dry. Piper was holding her stomach protectively, and sharing a sad and helpless look with Leo, who was utterly crushed, mostly because of himself and his behavior in the future.
"That's when you became an empath?" Phoebe asked Melinda sorrowfully.
Melinda finished drying her eyes and nodded.
"It nearly killed her," Chris said bitterly. Leo looked down guiltily.
"Oh sweetie," Piper sighed, pulling her daughter into a warm embrace. She felt Melinda tense, but Piper wasn't letting go.
"I'm so sorry," Leo whispered with such sincerity even Chris was almost feeling bad for him.
"As you should be," Wyatt said emotionlessly.
After giving into the hug, Melinda finally pushed Piper away and turned to Wyatt. "Is this why you're here? To punish him?" she questioned harshly.
Wyatt's eyes turned dark. "I'm here to bring you back," he replied firmly. Then looking at Chris added, "Both of you."
Chris shook his head, but it was Piper who said, "No! You're not taking them." The look in her eyes and the tone of her voice told her children she meant business.
Before anyone could say anything, orbs filled the room and Gideon appeared.
"Leo, good," he started in urgency. "I've been trying to find you. There's a great new power here. This might be what you've been searching for, the one who turns Wyatt."
Slow clapping caught Gideon's attention, and he turned and saw the full grown evil Wyatt standing there smirking at him.
"Little slow on the uptake," Chris commented sarcastically. "That's Wyatt." Gideon's eyes widened.
Suddenly Melinda cringed, doubling over with the shear force of emotions that just hit her.
"Mel?" Chris asked with concern. The sisters and Leo looking worried as well. Gideon seemed confused.
But Melinda was looking at Wyatt, who looked back at her with an odd and confused expression. She finally stood, still staring at Wyatt, and said, "I'll go back with you."
"What?" Chris and the sisters and Leo blurted incredulously.
"But Chris stays," Melinda finished, still staring at Wyatt.
Wyatt took a deep breath, considering this.
"Mel, you can't be serious," Chris said in confusion and disbelief.
"Why should I let him stay?" Wyatt asked curiously.
"To prove your right," Melinda answered simply. "If he stays and he can't find whoever turns you, then you're right and we just wasted our time on something that didn't exist."
The sisters and Leo couldn't believe their ears. Chris was in stunned confusion.
Wyatt smirked. "Deal," he agreed.
"Mel!" Chris pleaded, grabbing her arm when she made to walk to Wyatt. "Don't do this," Chris whispered almost frantically. "You don't have to do this."
Melinda sighed, looking him in the eyes. "Yes, I do," she told Chris firmly. "Trust me," she said confidently. Chris opened his mouth to argue, but Melinda threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "It's Gideon," she whispered in his ear so quietly Chris almost didn't hear her.
Chris was stunned, and staring at her in bewilderment, long enough for her to walk over to Wyatt. They locked eyes for a minute, and then he waved his hand and a portal opened on the wall.
The sisters and Leo were speechless. Melinda looked back at them. She gave each of them a genuine and reassuring smile.
With one last meaningful look at Chris, Melinda turned back to Wyatt and nodded. The others watched helplessly as Wyatt and Melinda walked through the portal and it close behind them.
A/N: The end! And actually no, that's not a joke. I may decide to add an epilogue or something, but as of now, this is the end of Future. Thanks to all who've read and enjoyed this story! And as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!