What if...(the first section)

[Nite Owl]

Author: HowerPower

This tells what happens if Chris shows up at various points along the way and stays relatively out of sight. Folks that have read the other sections, this is the whole thing up to what would be the end of season 2 for us.

Piper Halliwell rushed home in the pouring rain with an umbrella, but still soaked from the deluge that night.
She picks up the pace as she mutters to herself, "How am I going to tell Prue that Phoebe is coming back home? I know she'll be furious"
As she enters the home, she can't help but to think back to just six months earlier when her grandmother died, her youngest sister left home for New York, and that bump on the street with that young cute blonde man.
The next few minutes play out as we see them unfold in the series opener, but we take a wild turn with the arrival of Phoebe and a young man calling himself Chris. We now pick up the opener with Phoebe walking through the door with a drenched Chris behind her.
The youngest Halliwell walks through the door with a big "Surprise! I found the hide-a-key...with the help of this guy I found sitting in front of the house"
There were three sisters and three vastly different views as to what just happened. Eldest sister, Prue was more focused on Phoebe's return, Piper was happy to see Phoebe, but Phoebe was more impressed with the guy she met out front. Pheebs had always been rather open in her relationships and this guy was cute, but for some reason she thought it would not be right to approach him in any seducing way--even though that's what she does best.
With a cautious look, Phoebe glanced at the guy and said, "He knew my name when I stepped out of the...cab"
Before any sister could say anything, the man began his speech. For some reason unknown to the girls, he looked at Piper more then the others. "My name is Chris and I am a relative of yours"
The cab driver beeped the horn and Piper left to pay him with Prue's purse. Chris looked at Prue in an intense manner but was wary of her defensive demeanor. He barely got out a "Hi Prue, it's nice to meet you"
Prue's reaction became more threatening than anything else.
She looked at Chris with a menacing look, "Who are you and what do you want?"
Chris felt apprehensive about how to approach this. He looked at Phoebe for a kinder face before facing the stare of Prue "I am related to you and I have come from a long way to see you three together"
Prue then looked at Phoebe and said, "Did you meet this kid in New York and brought him here? Is he your new toy?"
Phoebe looked at Prue then Chris in an embarrassed manner, "This guy was sitting on the steps when I came here and you think I brought him..."
Chris stopped Phoebe before the two got into an argument, "This is no way to get the power of three working"
Prue walked over to the spirit board, turned it over and saw the writing on the back. Her mother had written about the power of three and somehow this guy knew of it. Before anything came out of her mouth, he offered to leave. As he exited the Manor, he bumped into Piper and a big smile came over his face. Just before he closed the door, he offered up this last piece of advice, "Don't be shocked about what happens tonight. It's meant to be"
He closed the door and within a second he had vanished.
Things progress as they do for the sisters and they vanquish Jeremy just as we remember.
As the Prue talks to Andy outside, Chris can be seen sitting on the side of the street across the road with a smile on his face. As the three girls go back into the home, Piper turns around sees him, and offers a quick smile before entering the home. He notices Prue closing the door using telekinesis and with a big grin says, "Now, it all begins"
He then orbs out before anyone notices.

Two weeks later, Chris finds himself at the party of the three shape-shifters as the three witch sisters come into the home. Although he tries to make himself invisible to the girls, Prue spots him out of the corner of her eye just as she is leaving the home to go back to her home. She says nothing to him but he does offer a sly grin to her.
Several days later, after the demons-of-the-day were vanquished, Chris finds himself standing outside of the Manor wondering if he should go in and tell the truth right now. As he ponders the situation and is in deep though, he starts pacing back and forth and eventually bumps into the same man Piper bumped into six months ago...Leo Wyatt.
Leo was doing his "job" of going to the home as a handyman and didn't see Chris either. One could only imagine the look on the face of Chris when he bumped into his father...but for Leo, nothing was special about this bump.
Chris managed a "Whoa! dad" but caught himself before he said anything else. Leo wondered what he meant by that but Chris did a quick get-away and managed to orb out around the corner.
Leo jogged up to the front door, grabbed the envelope with the video tape in it and proceeded as we remember. He did note the slight sense of another orb where the stranger had been, but he was sure it was just his imagination.
Chris noted when Leo went into the home then orbed back to where he was.
"Thanks, dad! no attention now either" and Chris put down his head and walked away like he just lost his best friend.
Maybe he had.

Chris finds himself in the shadows of his family along the way. He was there when Piper met the ghost named Mark and mumbled to himself that maybe Mark may have been a better father than Leo was. However, he knew what's done was done and you couldn't change what's already happened, so he just let it go.
The toughest time for Chris was watching his mother turn into a wendigo. The thought of his mom being so hairy kind of freaked Chris a bit but he knew it would all come out fine in the end. However, for the purpose of our account, the next major spot Chris shows up in would be to buy an item at Tanjella's store right before Barbas makes his first appearance and just before Prue and Phoebe arrive.
It went like this:
Chris looked in shock at the price of the item he just bought as he left the store. As he opens the door to leave, he is met by Prue and Phoebe coming in for Phoebe's good luck charm. Prue hardly notices him, but Phoebe recalls his face from the night she became a witch. She hollers back at him, "I remember you from a while ago...you were there when I came home and you were sitting on the steps of my house"
By now, Phoebe was starting to realize that his remark as he left the Manor on that night was something he knew was going to happen, so she asked him about it in a harsh way, "I know that you know something. Spill the beans, mister"
He looked as if he was caught in a lie, "Look...Phoebe. I know that you know that I know something, but I can't tell you what it is. All I can tell you is to make sure your handyman fixes the light fixture when he shows up. And try not to be shocked when you see the way he repairs it. And don't be so tough on Prue for not saying 'I love you' because it's just not her way. When the time comes around, she will say it"
By now, Phoebe was getting a bit upset with this guy. Chris sensed Phoebe's frustration, so he left as soon as possible to avoid any more questions. However, before he turned the corner, he could be heard to say, "Let go of your fears"
It was only a few days later that Phoebe knew something was suspicious about this guy. Everything he said would happen came true. While she was alone in her room, she vowed the next time she saw him, she would not let him go so easily.
With a sneaky grin on her face, she uttered to herself, "Next time, Chris. Next time you won't get a away"
The next day began as we see the sisters in the attic. Prue has just received a telepathic message from the young witch named Max and Leo shows up to fix the light fixture. For Phoebe she recalled the words of Chris to watch for how Leo fixes the lights.
Things progress as normal and when Phoebe sees Leo hovering, her "Oh, my God" response was partially muffled by the knowledge that Chris knew what was going to happen.
As Phoebe and Leo talked, she became more enthralled by Leo's story and his "Piper problem" to worry about what she was told by Chris a week ago.
It was only after a few moments that Pheebs put it all together. She thought Chris was also a whitelighter and now Leo was taking over for him.
She looked at Leo and said, "So Chris was with us at first, right?"
Leo's puzzled look gave her the answer she needed right away. He had no idea who Chris was.
The confusion spreads from witches to their guardian and future brother-in-law. Who was Chris and where did he come from?

[Nite Owl]

For our own sanity, I should answer the second half of that question. But instead of "where did he come from" I'll answer the "where does he go" question that I know a lot of you folks are wondering.
A small apartment in the middle of town is where Chris "lives" while he is in this time. Just for the sake of accuracy, Wyatt also exists-- as well as Bianca, but for this account, only Chris is important.
At this time, Chris hears a ruckus on the street and checks out what is happening. He notices his father arguing with a being known as Alec--who just happens to be after a woman named Daisy. Chris peeks out just in time to see his dad get shot by an arrow from Alec and knows what happened.
In a frantic tone, Chris mumbles to himself but directs it at the just wounded Leo, "Dad, go to mom. She's your only hope"
As soon as Leo left, Chris knew where he went. Chris smiled and orbed out...finding himself in front of his future home, waiting for the action to begin inside. As he stares at his home, his thoughts are centered on whether his mother can figure it out in time--and just because Chris is here, that does not mean anything...and he knows it.
Many hours pass and Prue finds herself talking to Andy in the restaurant giving him information on Daisy. She notices Chris and excuses herself from the Andy table, then walks over to Chris...this time there was no escaping it. He had to come clean about his real identity.
She sits beside him at his table and gives a simple question, "You're certainly around a lot, aren't you? First you're at my home with Phoebe, then I see you at a party, I see you coming out of the store. I know things happen for a reason, so what's your reason for being where we are all of the time"?
Within a few seconds he had revealed his identity to Prue alone. If she had been drinking something, it surely would have been spit out from the shock of what she just heard. He went on by telling Prue, "I told you because Phoebe can't keep a secret, and you are more mature. I most certainly can't tell Piper, and you know why"
Prue smiled at him with that comment, "Piper? Don't you mean 'mom'?"
He nodded, "Yeah. I guess so. But 'mom' needs to heal 'dad' or there is no me. She has to learn to control her...eh, I mean his power to heal"
Sadly, Prue took that secret to her grave. Chris would become a second sounding board for Prue alone--especially after Andy's death. While Piper and Phoebe had Leo, Prue dealt with Chris when he appeared.
So all this time and Prue knew of Chris. She just never told her sisters...or us for that matter! We only found out now and only through the demented mind of a rabid Charmed fan (that would be me).
But the story does go on. See, Chris knows what will happen to Prue and when it will happen. He somehow left that part out. But that's in the future...let's move on with the alleged present-day events as they unfolded.
Andy died at the hands of the crooked cop and Prue was in a funk for a while after his death. Although she knew Chris was there, nobody could take Andy's place. After they arrived home from the funeral, Prue and Chris met in a wooded area. He knew what was coming so he just blurted out the obligatory answer, "Yes. I knew it would happen and it had to happen. But you have to stay strong because other evils are ahead for the Power of Three and those evils mean business too"
Prue nodded in acceptance at that comment and began to walk away, but she had one question before she left, "How and when do I die?"
Chris was stunned at the blatant way that question was asked, "Sorry, I can't tell you that", he said.
Before she could ask anything else, he orbed out...leaving Prue to wonder her own question. However, his fading comment gave her hope:
"You won't die" was his echoing voice...
Prue grinned at that fading comment, "You know, you're like the brother I never had!" and as Chris orbed into his small room, he answered to himself, "Yeah and you are the aunt I never had"

[Nite Owl]

Purists that enjoy Charmed may like the fact that I have involved Prue as a main ingredient to this story. However, as much as she would disagree, she is not the center of this account...that would be Chris. His appearance at vital spots in the early Charmed lives of the sisters is no accident. But How does Prue respond when Chris is no longer there for her at a critical moment? Let's find out.
Phoebe's vision of her future death sends the threesome ahead ten years just as we remember. Everything plays out just as it does until Piper goes to the home and intends to bind the powers of her daughter, Melinda. As Prue waits in the truck, she recalls Chris should be alive at this point, so she calls him...no response. A few more attempts also yield no Chris appearance (This is why we see Prue dejected when Piper gets back into the truck). It was at that point she knew that even in the future, nobody would be there for her.
Both of the participants had to hold their secrets close at hand. Prue could not tell Piper or Phoebe about Chris and Chris could not tell Prue about...well you know. It was harder for Prue to keep the secret since she could not go back to another time when she felt like it. The next time the two would meet was in the hectic realm of the newly opened P3 club with Dishwalla on hand.
She met him at a corner table just before the show began and he told her that he would not be around much over the course of the next year due to having a "strange feeling watching mom almost be with Dan"
Well Prue could understand that so she accepted it. The next time they would get together was at Camp Skylark when Prue met her mom's whitelighter. Chris knows about Paige so he also knows about Sam. For him to allow Leo to tell the sisters about Sam was rough, but he allowed it to happen.
One month later, Chris finds himself hanging by his fingertips watching as his mom slip into a coma from the rare Arroya Fever. We know how trying it was for us to watch these events play out, but for Chris it was even tougher. His meeting with Prue at a late night office session went something like this:
Prue walks into her office tired and worried, but it was hard to tell which which of the two prevailed. Sitting at her chair was none other than Chris and he noticed her worn out appearance, "Hey, look" he said, "What's up what that face?"
He walked over to Prue and whispered in her ear, "If mom dies, I would not be here, right"
That gave Prue a slight glimmer of hope, but anything is possible with the Halliwell family so Prue was not going to settle down until Piper had been cured and/or healed.
As she left her office, Chris shouted out, "You worry too much, you know that?" and with a grin he orbed out of the office leaving Prue to close the door behind her to an empty room. It was then that Prue began her thoughts of leaving Buckland's, "...If Piper survives or not" was how she phrased it.
The last meeting of Chris and Prue was nothing to fancy, but he did orb into the Manor to calm her down while she faced off with the antagonist photographer named Finley Beck.
He laughed at her muddled look, "Pay attention to what he says" Chris explained, " He can help you out in your life if you listen to his words"
As it turned out, Chris was right. His words did help vanquish the demon of illusion and in her room, Prue gave a loud "THANK YOU" which caused her sisters to ask who was with her in the room.
(That would be the last time we see or hear Chris for what would be the second season for us. The next time he appears, is when Prue meets Vince, the empath, because his room is next to the room Chris has been using for a few days. Season three will follow soon. How will Chris react to Cole, and the most traumatic event in the lives of the sisters at season's end? Most importantly, How will Chris vent his thoughts with Prue not around in season four? We'll find out).

NOTE: I always think it's important to picture the character speaking the words written. That way you know what they should say as opposed to them saying something they would never say. Also the way they speak is vital as well. I know how Drew Fuller sounds like, so I imagine him saying the things I wrote. It's easier for me to write that way.