Power Play (part 7- 12/24/04)

[Nite Owl]

Author: Aurora Nightstar

Note: This story is a sequel to The Trial of Leo Wyatt. The events of Aftermath of a Wish also occurred. Sorry to disappoint the Prue fans, but Prue will not be making an appearance in this story. For those that didn’t read those stories, I decided to follow what the show does now and do a ‘previously’ so everyone knows what they need to know to understand this story!

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Previously on charmed:

“Richard wished the charmed ones alive again. It must have saved Prue too because she is also a charmed one,” Phoebe responded.

“Great, so I end up old and alone,” Paige predicted. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

“You? Alone? No way!!! Are you kidding? You and Uncle Glenn were the coolest!” Chris exclaimed, then slapped his hand over his mouth. “Oops!!”<br>
“We were the coolest!” Paige said pridefully. Then it hit her. “Wait! Did you say Glen?”<br>
"Just a warning," Chris warned. "This is the future I came from. It will happen naturally anyway. So don’t push for it now; just let it happen when it is meant to. OK? If you change things, you could wreck that future, just like I did by breaking up Leo and Piper.”<br>

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"Leo!" Piper insisted. "He is our son; don’t give up!"

Tears were now rolling freely down Leo's cheek as he choked out, "Piper, you know I can't heal the dead! I wish I could, but I can't!"

Suddenly Wyatt orbed out of his mother’s arms. "What the hell?" cried Piper.

Wyatt reappeared, this time in his father's arms. Taking one of his father's hands, he put his other one over his brother. "Kwis," he said. Much as when Paige helped Leo heal Cole, both Leo's and Wyatt's hands turned golden. Suddenly Chris' chest turned golden and it began to move. As father and son continued to hold their hands over their son/brother, the golden sparkles spread to completely envelope Chris. Suddenly Chris' eyes opened as he began to chokingly breathe. Leo grabbed him and held him tightly, while Wyatt cried out, "KWIS!", and Piper, Phoebe and Paige let go of their held breaths, hugging each other in joy.

Chris looked at the others and weakly asked, "What happened?"


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"Perhaps we were being a bit hasty," another elder admitted sheepishly. "We will just strip Leo of his elder and whitelighter status and make him mortal. Then he can be with his family, but will not be able to use his powers to punish the guilty again."


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"They saw the future Chris went back to and decided to let me off with just stripping my powers." Leo turned to Mitch. "You're the girls' whitelighter now, Mitch." Then he turned to Piper, hopeful pleading in his eyes. "Because now I'll just be your husband and the boys' father, so I hope you don't mind me being around the Manor more."

"YOU ARE KIDDING?" Piper ran and jumped and threw her arms around Leo's neck, her legs around his chest. Leo happily threw his arm around her and began to kiss her, first lightly, then more passionately.


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"But what about.." Chris started to say. His tone dropped as he realized he was too late. "Sending me back," he said in a small voice.

"Looks like you will have to wait," Phoebe told Chris, grinning. "Your parents are getting busy!!"

"Thanks, I didn't need that image in my head," Chris retorted.


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Two elders stood together, chatting. "Oh, don't you worry; we will take care of him soon enough," one of them said. "You send a stud like that to three sluts and one of them is bound to take the bait!"

The two elders looked into the reflecting pool, watching Paige and Mitch dancing together at P3.


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Power Play starts here


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Paige and Mitch rejoined Chris and Phoebe at the table. Chris still looked totally out of it. Paige looked sky-high in love, constantly giving him "those" looks. Phoebe couldn't blame her--Mitch was one hottie, with a great personality, too. But Paige had obviously dibbed him first, so Phoebe just shrugged and kept looking.

Mitch asked whether anyone wanted anything. After we gave our orders, he walked off to get them. Phoebe sighed. Considerate, too. Yeah, her little sister had hit the jackpot, just like her big one! Now if only she could...

Then she noticed Paige looking daggers at a pretty blonde woman who was dirty-dancing with a nice-looking guy on the dance floor. "Who's she?" Phoebe asked.

"Jessie," Paige replied, a sneer in her voice.

“Glen’s fiancée?” Phoebe raised a brow.

Chris looked up at Paige. “Paige,” he said. He glared at her with one of those don’t you dare looks.

“Glen’s EX-fiancée,” Paige looked twice at Jessie’s date. “She sure lowered her standards in men, didn’t she?”<br>
“I don’t know about that Paige, he is kinda cute,” Phoebe suggested. Paige shot Phoebe a cold stare. "What, I was just saying," Phoebe said sheepishly. “What do you care anyway? You got Mitch.”<br>
“Yeah right,” Chris muttered to himself sarcastically, well rolling his eyes.

"I know, but Glen's still my friend, and I still care for him a lot." Chris nodded at her approvingly.

Just then Mitch walked back with their drinks. "I've got to get going pretty soon," he told them. "I have other charges I have to check on."

Paige gave her a "Just watch me!" look, and Phoebe smirked at her. "I'll go with you," she told Mitch and he nodded.

Paige and Mitch walked outside of P3. Paige threw her arms around Mitch. She pulled herself in close. She closed her eyes and pulled Mitch even closer, close enough to kiss. As her lips touched his, Mitch pulled away. “What are you doing?” Mitch demanded, wiping at his lips.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Paige asked seductively.

“Don’t you know whitelighters and witches are not allowed to be together like that?”<br>Mitch cried, still shocked.

“You danced with me all night, and now you are suddenly concerned about the rules?”<br>Paige pouted.

“I always follow the rules. We were just being friendly,” Mitch insisted.

[Nite Owl]

“Oh,” Paige looked down, very disappointed.

Mitch reached for her. “Look at me,” Mitch insisted. Paige looked up at him. “Any guy would be lucky--I mean jackpot lucky--to be with you, and if I were still alive, I would so definitely go for you, but I can’t,” Mitch explained. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. “Sorry,” he muttered as he orbed out. As he orbed, he was thinking, Cold shower--right now!

Paige looked down at the ground, feeling disappointed. She really thought he liked her, maybe even loved her, the way Leo loved Piper.


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A small group of elders had been watching in anticipation. “Damm it! I thought we had him there,” Mara said as she watched Mitch turn Paige down. Mara was a female elder with short reddish-brown close-cropped hair and dark green eyes, slightly muscular arms and a pot belly. She put her hand on her hip and the other hand gently brushed over her shoulder. She smiled at Rico, another elder. “So, what now?” she asked in a sweet and suggestive voice.

Rico, the other elder, looked on. “What is wrong with him, she is gorgeous?” he asked, growling. “How could he say no?” His mouth turned down, defying the natural laugh-line wrinkles on his face. “We need a new plan,” he stated thoughtfully as he stroked little bit of facial hair he had under his chin. Mara grinned and her eyes sparkled as a thought occurred to her. “Forming a new plan?” Rico asked. Mara nodded. "Good," he said. "I love your plans!" and she smiled back.

[Nite Owl]

A few moments later, a car pulled up. The guy in the passenger seat rolled down the window. Reaching out his hand and rubbing his fingers together, he called out, “Hey, baby, how much?” The driver and the two guys in the back seat all laughed and howled. Paige narrowed her eyes. She kicked the tire of their car, wishing she had Prue's power, so she could do something awful to their car, or Piper's so she could blow it up.

The guy shrugged. “Oh well, baby, your lose,” he said as they drover off. She could still hear their laughter drifting back. She hadn't felt this down in a long time.

“Hey,” a voice called from behind Paige. What now, how could this night get any worse, Paige wondered. She looked over. The light shinned from behind Glen making him appear as an angel.

“Glen, what are you doing here,” Paige said with a smile.

“Was here to see Metalica,” Glen said.

“And you are leaving?” Paige questioned.

“Yeah, didn’t feel like watching my ex dance with another guy, well I am here alone!” Glen responded.

“Well, you are not alone anymore,” Paige grabbed his arm and they went back into P3 together.


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Leo had his arms wrapped around Piper, kissing her passionately as they both rested in bed together. “I think I am going to like having you around more,” Piper smiled seductively at him.

With that Leo smiled as he gently stroked Piper’s hair. “I love you,” Leo told her.

“I love you too,” Piper responded while kissing him on the neck. This sent shivers up and down Leo’s spine. The edges of her mouth turned up, forming a smirk. “You know, we always were very good together.”

“Understatement,” Leo smiled back at her, kissing her passionately.

Piper smiled then another thought occurred to her. “Oh my god, we forgot to…”

“Send Chris back,” Leo finished her sentence.

“It can wait till morning,” Piper told Leo as she continued to kiss him. She got no arguments from him, just a lot more love.


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The music was still going loud, which was starting to give Chris a headache. “When does this end?” he asked. He rested his head against his hand.

“Not for another four hours,” Phoebe told him.

“Ohhhhhh,” Chris said as he rested his head in his down on the table. “I am not going to get any sleep tonight. Am I?”

“With a concert going on in the next room, not likely,” Phoebe snapped back. “Neither will your parents,” she added with a smirk.

“Ewww,” Chris said as he rolled his eyes.

“You do want your parents together, don’t you?” Phoebe asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to hear about them doing…” He was too grossed out to finish that sentence. He just looked over, totally dazed.

“You need some sleep,” Phoebe stated.

Just then Paige walked back in, on the arms of another man. “You both remember
Glen,” Paige said as she came over.

Chris looked over at Paige and Glen. “Yeah, of course,” Chris answered without even thinking. Then suddenly it hit him. “Paige, what are you doing?” he shot back. He was barely able to hold his head up, but he couldn't believe what his aunt had done, especially after he had warned her.

“I know Phoebe, but you are,” Glen questioned looking at Chris.

“Mr. Tried and Cranky over there is Chris,” Phoebe told Glen. Chris looked up glaring at Phoebe. “What, you are not in the best mental state right now!” Which is very understandable given all you have been through today, Phoebe thought to herself. She turned back to look at Paige. “I thought you were with Mitch,” she questioned.

“Total bust. He actually follows the rules, so here I am with Glen,” Paige said, smiling happily at Glen.

“Say what?” Chris exclaimed. He wanted to chew her out about pushing her future relationship with his uncle, her future husband, especially after she'd seen what happened when he pushed his parents apart too soon, but he was barely able to hold his head up.

“What is wrong with that?” Glen asked.

Paige looked over at Glen with a smirk, then back at Chris. “You know what, Chris, you can use my room tonight.” She looked back at Glen with a suggestive smile. “I won’t be needing it!” Glen smiled back at her as he felt his pants getting tighter.

Chris still wanted to yell at Paige but couldn’t, so all he could say was thanks. “Thanks. You sure Ma… uh, Leo and Piper won’t mind?” he asked.

“Mind, they will probably be too busy to notice, at least until morning,” Phoebe said with a laugh.

“Ewww…. Not helping the mental state here,” Chris muttered. Phoebe and Paige both laughed, while Glen looked confused. Chris was not amused.

“Oh, you know we love you,” Paige said, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

Chris glared at her, then mumbled both a thanks to her and a good night to everyone, before exiting for the back rooms so he could grab a few things and no one would see him orb himself back to Paige’s room.

[Nite Owl]

A couple hours later, Leo heard Baby Chris crying. He looked over at Piper, who was still sound asleep, happy, satisfied smile on her face. He tried not to wake her as he slipped out of bed. He saw Baby Chris tossing and turning in the crib. He was clearly still asleep. Leo gently shook him until little Chris woke up. Leo picked up his baby son. He was clean, didn’t need changing. “It is ok, little guy, Daddy’s here,” Leo murmured. Baby Chris smiled as his father held him, melting his daddy's heart yet again.

At about the same time, adult Chris also woke up from a nightmare of his own. He stayed under the covers, thinking. Heck, I could call him in the future; why not now! So he called out, “Mitch. Mitch!”<br>
Mitch orbed in. He looked over at Chris, feeling a little confused. “Chris?” he asked.

“Sorry to bother you in the middle of the night, but,” Chris told him.

“Nah,” Mitch interrupted. “Not like I was asleep anyway! What can I do for you before you go back tomorrow?”<br>
“Tomorrow? I can’t," Chris insisted. "I just remembered something else that happened in the future, the very near future.”


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Leo smiled and moved out into the hall, since he didn’t want Wyatt waking up too.

He heard talking coming from Paige’s room. He was about to knock on the door as he heard Chris talking. “Ok, I will tell you, but first, this stays between us, ok?” Chris insisted. “My parents must not be told, and they don’t get to know!” Chris pointed up as he said the last part.

“You never tell anyone anything! Why are you trusting me?” Mitch asked feeling privileged.

“Because I know you follow the rules; you will follow the rules of confidentiality too,” Chris told him.

Leo decided not to open the door, since this had piqued his curiosity. What could Chris possibly be up to this time, he wondered.

[Nite Owl]

“Pretty soon, within the next few days, Mom will have a really close call. She will almost die,” Chris began, and Leo had to bite his lip not to let his gasp be audible. Not Piper!

“Oh, don’t worry, I will heal her,” Mitch reassured him.

“No you won’t; this will happen during a whitelighter recall. No whitelighters will be allowed to come to earth,” Chris told him. Mitch’s jaw dropped. “Like I said, I know you. You always follow the rules!”

“Then how did she get through it in the fut..” Mitch wondered outloud, echoing Leo's thoughts.

“Dad healed her. He would break the rules for her, you wouldn’t,” Chris said plainly.

“Oh,” Mitch wanted to say something to give him some hope, but he knew what Chris said was true.

“Without his powers, Dad won’t be able to save Mom,” Chris continued. Leo, who was still listening outside felt that sense of wounded pride again as his son still didn't seem to have any confidence in him.

“What can we do about it?” Mitch asked.

“I need to convince the elders to give Dad his powers back,” Chris told him.

“And when that doesn’t work?” Mitch asked, then shook his head and restated it. “I
mean, if that doesn’t work?”<br>
“Can you help me try, at least,” Chris pleaded.

“Oh, absolutely, I don’t think I really want to stay the Charmed Ones' whitelighter
anyway,” Mitch told him.

“Ah, why,” Chris wanted to know.

“That Paige, man, she is hot! If she keeps hitting on me like that, I don’t know how much I can take,” Mitch told him, wiping the sweat from his brow and making both
Chris and Leo smirk. “I really don’t want to break the rules, but damm!”<br>
“Don’t worry about Paige; she moved on fast,” Chris grumbled.

“Oh,” Mitch said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Sorry,” Chris said.

“Forget that, let’s focus on the elders. What if we can’t convince them?” Mitch asked.

“Then Plan B,” Chris shrugged.

“What is Plan B?” Mitch wanted to know.

“Ah, I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Chris admitted, looking down at the floor.

“What are you going to do, get in the way of the attack?” Mitch laughed. "You'll never get back to the future that way!"

“Remember, you can’t tell my parents,” Chris shook his head. Mitch was kidding when he said that, but he could tell by Chris’s reaction that Chris sure wasn’t.

“No,” Leo said quietly to himself from outside the door.

“Oh, they will get suspicious if I suddenly decide I want to stay longer,” Chris said.

“Why to stay,” Mitch wondered out loud. “Think, is there anyone else you might like
to see, say good-bye to before you leave?”

“Hmmm….” Chris thought for a moment then he lit up. “Grandpa! Good idea, thanks
Mitch.”<br>
Leo heard Phoebe coming up the stairs, so he quickly went back into Piper’s room.
Phoebe went past Paige’s room and when she heard talking, she knocked quietly on the door. Chris got up and opened the door. “Ahhh, how long were you standing there,” he asked.

“Just got home,” Phoebe began. “Oh, hi, Mitch! I am not tired at all; I am just gonna go watch my favorite movie downstairs! You two are welcome to join me if you like!”

Chris shook his head. “If I see 'Kill it Before it Dies' one more time I think I am
gonna….” Chris began.

“Kill it Before it Dies! I love that movie!” Mitch exclaimed excitedly.

“Really!” Phoebe was thrilled someone else actually liked her favorite movie. “Well, come on, watch it with me!” Phoebe turned and headed for her room to get the video.

Mitch headed for the door. “Are you all set with me for now?” he asked Chris.

“Yeah, I am good; just need a good night's sleep,” he said. He leaned back down resting his head on Paige’s pillow. "See you tomorrow."

Mitch nodded as he closed the door.

[Nite Owl]

Early the next morning, Chris orbed to the attic. He frantically flipped threw the Book of Shadows. He turned a page, and then flipped it back. “Damm it, it isn’t in here,” he muttered to himself.

Just then Leo came up the stairs. “Chris, what are you looking for?“ he asked gently.

“Oh, nothing,” Chris lied. He glanced up at Leo as he closed the Book.

“Listen, Chris, sorry for blowing you off last night,” Leo started.

“What are you talking about?” Chris asked, surprised.

“You know, me running off with Piper,” Leo explained, blushing a bit.

“Oh that. Don’t even give it a second thought," scoffed Chris with a grin. "Hey, if Bianca was there coming on to me like that, I would have..” and Chris smirked suggestively.

“Ewww. Thanks, I didn’t need that image in my head,” Leo interrupted. Chris couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”

“Oh nothing, I said the exact same thing to Phoebe last night,” Chris laughed.

“How about you keep looking for whatever it was you are looking for,” Leo said as he headed for the door. “But don’t be too long. Piper is making breakfast,” and he headed for the stairs.


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Elsewhere that same morning, Paige woke up in bed with Glen. “I love you,” Glen said. He smiled at Paige.

“I love you too,” she smiled back with the total look of an after glow. Glen kissed Paige.

“I let you get away too many times before and now I realize what a mistake that was,” Paige said.

“Yeah,” Glen smiled.

“What I am really trying to say,” Paige started in.

“That you want to start actively dating again,” Glen guessed hopefully.

“No,” Paige smiled slyly.

“Darn it!” Glen gritted his teeth and stated barely audibly.

“I was thinking we should get married,” Paige then suggested sheepishly. “What do you say, will you marry me!” Rather then answering her, Glen wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately.

“Is that a yes,” Paige teased. She kissed him back delaying him from answering.

“Yes!” Glen smiled brightly. He had not thought of marrying Paige before, but this just felt too right!

[Nite Owl]

About fifteen minutes later, Chris came downstairs. He stood by the entrance and his jaw dropped as he saw Victor. He wondered if Mitch had told or if someone overheard his conversation the night before. Baby Chris was sitting in his grandfather’s lap. “Yeah, I know all about that! Piper asked me over to talk with him a while back, to find out why she was such a terrible mother!!” Victor was saying jovially. “Turns out she wasn’t.” He smiled proudly at his daughter, but then his smile turned upside down as he remembered what Chris had actually told him.

“Hehhh, looks like you should have been asking him why I was such a terrible father,” Leo said with a laugh. Chris started to turn away, since that was not a conversation he wished to become involved in, but Phoebe and Mitch walked in.

“Where are you going? It’s breakfast time!” and Phoebe nearly dragged Chris to the kitchen.

“Mitch, you are going to stay for breakfast?” Piper invited.

“Can’t; not allowed to eat on the job,” Mitch replied. He eyed all the wonderful things Piper had prepared. Mitch had no interest in all the breakfast meats, like sausage, bacon, and ham, since he was a vegetarian, but everything else piqued his interest. Muffins so light and sweet, they could be passed off as cupcakes. Pancakes draped with strawberries, and stuffed French toast, both topped off with fluffy whipped cream.

“Did you..” Phoebe started in as she looked at all the food.

“Right here, no-yolk vegetarian omelet,” Piper grinned as she put an omelet down on Phoebe’s plate. Chris sat down.

“You are in a good mood,” Phoebe said to Piper. “I wonder why,” Phoebe said in a suggestive tone and an ear to ear grin. Chris just rolled his eyes in mock disgust.

“You are a vegetarian?” Mitch asked Phoebe.

“Yeah, hey, screw the rules!" Phoebe declared. "Eat with us! Piper's food is the best!"

“Can’t, sorry!” Mitch said as he orbed out.

“Stealing Paige’s guy?” Piper asked raising a brow. Chris picked up a glass of orange juice and took a sip.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Heck, no; nobody will be dating him. He follows the rules!” Phoebe scoffed, before adding, “Right now, I am still looking for the father of my child and you can bet it won’t be a whitelighter; especially not one that follows the rules!!”<br>
Chris choked a bit and put his glass back down. He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “You OK there, buddy?” Victor asked, patting him on the back.

“Yeah, fine. Don’t think I am not happy to see you, cause I am, but what brings you by?” Chris asked.

“Leo called me,” Victor said.

“He did?” Chris asked slowly. He looked down around his feet again.

Leo thought for a moment. He could tell that each passing second made his son more and more nervous, so he finally spoke up. “Victor was the first person you tried to visit when you went back to your own time. I thought you might like to see him before you leave again.”

Chris was relieved that it appeared that his dad didn’t know. Then it hit him how thoughtful that was, even if it did mess up his plans. He smiled warmly at his dad. “Thanks dad, you’re the best!” Chris said.

[Nite Owl]

“Wish I had thought of it,” Piper said with a smile. Chris’s eyes fell on Piper. He stared as he tried to memorize every feature, her smile, the waves in her hair, her eyes as he wanted this moment to be remembered forever. He feared this would be one of the last times he got to see her.

“Maybe you weren’t such a lousy father after all,” Victor suggested to Leo.

“Well, I was then, but I'm not now, and I won't be for this one," as he tickled Baby Chris. Both Baby Chris and Adult Chris smiled. Chris still didn’t take his eyes off Piper.

“What? Do I have something on me?” Piper demanded, noticing how intensely Chris was staring at her.

“No," Chris said with a smile. "You are perfect.” Piper smiled back at him.

“Don’t worry, as soon as Paige gets home, we will send you back,” Piper said.

“Hey, what is the rush? Let him stay a little longer,” Leo suggested.

“Yeah,” Chris thought for a moment. “I would like to say good bye to Prue too before,” Chris said.

“Prue?” Victor interrupted.

“Ah, Chris would you wait till tonight to do that?” Phoebe requested. “I would like to go with you!”

“Count me in too,” Piper added.

“What are you going to summon a ghost?” Victor asked.

“No, Prue was dead, now she is alive again. Long story, it is magic just accept it!” Piper told her dad. Her dad smiled.

“Wow!! I guess magic does have an upside. Losing my daughter was definitely the most devastating moment of my life,” Victor said.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Leo agreed. He looked poignantly at Chris. “When I thought I lost you, was the worst moment of my life! Please, please, please don’t put us throw that again!” Leo pleaded. Chris looked over at his dad briefly and then back at the floor again.

“Oh right, like he would get hurt on purpose,” Phoebe said half joking. “Anyway breakfast was great, but I have to go to work.” Phoebe took one more drink as she ran out the door.