A Chris Story

[alchemystik32]

Brit, you've done an amazing job! Keep up the good work, and the girls are beyond precious.

( From: ntc )

[scifi]

Brit, you have some fantastic ideas going here. Definitely keep this up.

And your girls really are absolute cutie-pies.

[Assassin Witch]

Wow..this story is great so far. Chris has had just a horrible life, and now his memories are altered by him changing the past...that's gotta suck.

[brittania]

Thanks for the great reviews everyone. And thanks for those nominations.
I also want to ask everyone to pray for one of our fellow posters, who has a son that is very sick and needs all of our thoughts and prayers sent their way.
Now, on with the story:
Chapter 11
They were now on the Golden Gate Bridge. They saw Chris sitting there, staring at the traffic below.
Chris never remembered feeling so sad and alone in his life. Leo had been the only one left that still trusted him after he revealed Wyatt was evil in his future. While it was more important for Chris’ mission that the sisters trust him, it meant a lot to him that Leo did.
When Chris first came to the past, he was nursing a huge grudge against Leo. It seemed like Chris had always come last with his father. As a child growing up, Leo often missed Chris’ birthdays, baseball games, and other important events in his life. He would make promises to attend and then in turn have to break them because the Elders would need him or some whitelighter was having problems that required Leo’s assistance. Leo always seemed to make time for Wyatt though.
What Chris did not know was that the only reason the Elders allowed Leo to stay with his family was to guide Wyatt and ensure that he would ultimately be a force of good, a task at which Leo ultimately failed. Wyatt was always causing trouble, even from a young age. After the death of their mother, Wyatt became completely uncontrollable.
For Chris, the perceived rejection of him by his father when he was sent to live with his grandfather was extremely painful. Chris had always longed for his father’s attention. After being sent away, Chris began to resent him. He felt any attempt Leo made to see him or help him he was merely doing out of obligation. Deep down, Chris wanted a relationship with his father. He wanted him to start paying attention to him.
After Leo realized that Wyatt could no longer be reached, Chris felt Leo was only then showing an interest in him because he lost Wyatt. But Chris did not want to be a consolation prize and he refused his father’s offers of help.
Since Chris had arrived in the past, Leo was paying more attention to him than he ever had while he was growing up. At first, it was Leo following him because he was suspicious of Chris. Chris found that he enjoyed all the attention he was getting from his dad, for whatever reason he was getting it. When Leo wasn’t following Chris, Chris was looking for Leo.
After an incident in which they both fell through a time portal and Chris ended up saving Leo, their relationship improved. Leo realized that Chris didn’t want him harmed and he began to trust him. At the time, Chris had not even thought that saving Leo meant saving himself (since he had not been conceived yet). It had happened too quickly. He saved him because, he realized, he cared about his father. That night after getting home, for the first time in Chris’ life, they sat down and had a drink and just hung out together. From that point on they began to have the kind of relationship Chris had always hoped to have with his father. Leo was paying attention to Chris in a good way and they were spending time together, just hanging out. When Bianca injured Chris, it was Leo that took care of him. Leo even defended Chris to the sisters after he saved Wyatt from the Order.
Then Leo caught Chris using a demon to scan Wyatt for evil and all that changed. Chris never remembered Leo being so angry at him as he was when he caught Chris in Wyatt’s room using a demon to scan Wyatt for evil. For the first time in his life, he had been feeling like Leo really cared about him. He was afraid he had now lost that.
Leo orbed on to the bridge beside Chris. Chris jumped to his feet as Leo’s orb cloud settled.
“Leo, I’m sorry. Please believe me, the demon wouldn’t have hurt Wyatt. I was trying to help…”
“I know,” Leo said coldly, “but your solutions are making things worse. I haven’t forgotten that you sent me to Valhalla. I still don’t know why you felt you needed me out of the way, but I dropped it because I know you didn’t want me harmed and I figured there was an important reason for you to get me out of the way.”<br>“I wasn’t going to leave you there,” Chris said, sadly.
“So now you’re finally admitting that it was you that sent me there? I knew it, but I couldn’t really prove it before.”
“It was a mistake, okay? I just…I was afraid if you found out that I wasn’t a real whitelighter, you’d send me back.” Chris continued, “I know. I screwed everything up. I’m trying to fix it, but…you need to get Piper back.”<br>“What?” Leo asked as Chris turned the conversation. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s just…it’s what I feel most badly about. If I hadn’t sent you away, you two would have got back together. You were supposed to get back together.”<br>Leo nodded sadly, and somewhat pissed at Chris, “Well, it’s too late for that now.”<br>”No! It’s not!” Chris insisted. “Your family needs you, Leo. You and Piper, well, I mean…didn’t you two want to raise Wyatt together? Have more kids?” Chris was rambling right now and he knew it. But he was getting scared. If what the Seer had said was right, his time was running short.
Leo became thoughtful. Speaking low, he said, “Piper and I getting back together at this point would be a mistake. And as for having more kids, with our lives, would be a disaster.”
Chris became more despondent than ever.
Leo got back to the point. “Look, I know you mean well, Chris, but your methods are dangerous. You are causing more problems for us. I’m going to speak to the other Elders concerning what to do about you.”<br>With that, Leo orbed out, leaving Chris alone and despondent.
They were in the office at P3 now.
Chris was entering the office. He never remembered feeling so alone and miserable in his life. His own family hated him—including his mother and father. Chris began thinking that maybe all those years as he was growing up, they merely tolerated him because he was their son.
He was ready to grab some liquor that was stored in the back of the room when Phoebe entered.
“Hey,” she greeted him, shutting the door behind her.
“Hey. So, did you come here to kick me out?” he asked, racking his brain at the same time trying to figure out where he could possibly go. That is, until he completely ceased to exist.
“No. I came to ask you a question.’
”What?”
“I need you to be honest with me. No games, no running away. Just the truth.”<br>Chris, desperate for someone to trust him, simply nodded and said, “Okay.”<br>Phoebe took a breath, then asked, “Are you Wyatt’s little brother?”
Chris was somewhat taken back. He wasn’t expecting that. He paused for a moment, then admitted, “Only if I can get Piper and Leo back together in time.”
Phoebe nodded and smiled.
Chris plopped down on the couch as Phoebe asked, “Why didn’t you tell us the truth, Chris?”<br>“I couldn’t,” he said. “I know how my dad…Leo is. He would’ve sent me back the moment he found out who I was. As it is…” he paused. He looked at Phoebe. “I ruined everything. My own parents hate me…”
”They don’t hate you, Chris,” Phoebe tried consoling him, walking over. “As soon as they find out who you are…”
”They can’t!” Chris insisted.
“Look, Chris, I really think they need to know.”<br>“Phoebe, I haven’t even been conceived yet. I may cease to exist. I screwed up, okay? I screwed up and now I might never be born…”
“If they know, I’m sure they’ll be happy about it. Once they get used to it,” she tried saying.
“My dad doesn’t even want me. He told me another kid would be a disaster…”
“I’m sure he won’t feel that way once he finds out, Chris. I mean, I’m sure the thought of another kid is scary to him, but once he knows that he is supposed to have another son and that he’s known you for a year now…”
“He’ll hate it,” said Chris. “Just like he hates me.”<br>“I’m sure Leo wasn’t like that to you in the future.”<br>Chris hung his head down. “He didn’t want me then either.” Then, “Look, I…I need to go. There are some things I need to do.”<br>“What things?”<br>“Just…things,” he said, getting up. “Phoebe, you can’t tell anyone that Piper and Leo are my parents.”<br>“But…” she began.
“Phoebe, please?” he begged.
Reluctantly, she sighed, “Okay. But we need to talk more about this soon…”
“Fine,” he said, orbing out.

[italiannna]

Great update!!

[brittania]

Chapter 12
The next few scenes Piper and Leo viewed were of Chris visiting fortune tellers, oracles, soothsayers—anyone that could give him information about his future, or rather, if he even would have a future, or a past for that matter. All of them told him the same thing—he had disrupted the time line. His conception was no longer a sure thing. Just by being in the past, nothing was meant to be anymore because his whole existence in this timeline was screwing up the cosmic order.
They saw Chris get upset, after Leo healed Chris’ shoulder which had been injured by a light dart a demon tossed. At the time, Leo informed him and Phoebe of his plans to ask the other Elders to agree to send Chris back to the future.
Then another moment in the attic Chris was trying to convince Phoebe to stall getting de-genified in order to keep Piper away from her boyfriend Greg. As a genie, Phoebe could not refuse to help Chris, who held the bottle. When she asked how she was supposed to take charge and take orders at the same time, Leo informed them both that she wouldn’t have to because the other Elders agreed to send Chris back to the future. Chris went off on his father and accidently wished that he would get over whatever issues Leo had with him. Phoebe was forced to grant the wish and Leo suddenly dropped all resentment he had towards Chris. Chris was thrilled with how Leo suddenly warmed up to him. He put out of his mind that it was the effects of a wish. He was so happy that his father liked him and was buddying up to him. He hoped from that point maybe he would be happy when he learned Chris was his son.
They saw Chris panic when Jinny the Genie threatened Piper and Leo’s sleeping bodies with a fireball and when she wished his aunts and mother dead (although he knew his mother had to still be alive, because he still existed). They saw his fear as he started to fade away and seeing his parents on the ghostly plane.
Leo turned to Piper and said, “I hadn’t really thought about this before now—remember how I told you that it would take someone with a bond to crossover, a connection? That was why Chris was the one we were able to connect with—both of us have a bond to him.”<br>Then they saw the scene in the alley when he reemerged from nothingness, and immediately freak when he saw his father injured from the darklighter arrow.
Paige orbed Piper and Leo to Gideon, leaving Chris and Phoebe alone.
“What happened? Is he okay?” Chris asked, scared.
“Yeah, I think so,” Phoebe said, trying to reassure him. “It looks like he got hit by a darklighter arrow. Don’t worry, Chris. They’re taking him to Gideon so he can heal him.” Then, “Are you okay? Where did you go?”<br>“Nowhere,” Chris answered. “The last thing I remembered was being in the attic with you and Paige. And then—nothing. Are you sure Leo’s going to be okay?”<br>“Yes. He’s going to be fine,” Phoebe assured him. “And when he and Piper get back to the manor, we’ll tell them about you.”
Chris sighed, worried. He looked down. “What if they aren’t happy about it. What if they don’t want me as a son?”<br>Phoebe hugged him, “Chris, they are going to love you. I mean, I’m sure they are going to be freaked out at first, but once that passes, they’ll be thrilled.”<br>Phoebe continued to reassure Chris. He then orbed Phoebe home then went to P3 to change his clothes before the inevitable reveal to his parents. He had orbed downstairs and walked the steps upstairs looking for his aunts and parents. As he started walking towards Piper’s room, he stopped when he heard the voices coming from inside the bedroom.
Piper and Leo now found themselves in the hallway outside of Piper’s bedroom as Chris lurked just outside the doorway, out of sight from his aunts and mother in the room.
“…Not because of anything anyone told us or anything,” Paige was saying, “because of Chris.”<br>”Chris? Why would Chris know what happened?” Piper asked.
Phoebe replied, “Because he wouldn’t be here if it didn’t.”
Paige asked, “My turn?”
Phoebe said, “Yeah.”<br>Paige continued, “Chris is your son.”<br>Chris didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until that moment, when he let it out.
“Wyatt’s brother,” Phoebe confirmed. “Look, I know this is huge…”
“No, it’s not huge,” Piper was saying, “because its not possible. I’m not pregnant.”
Chris became disheartened hearing his mother’s reaction. It wasn’t the response he had hoped she would have when she learned she was expecting him. It took every ounce of will he had not to orb far away.
“No, I mean, how can that have happened? I mean, I know how that can happen, but…<br>what am I going to do?”<br>“Well, maybe you should talk to Leo about it,” Phoebe suggested.
“I can’t,” Piper shot back.
“Why?” Phoebe asked.
“Because….because I can’t!”<br>Chris decided to just get it over with. There was no use putting off facing her. He would have to do it eventually. He took a deep breath, then stepped in the doorway.
“Is this a bad time?” he asked, afraid his mother was going to reject him.
Piper spun around at the sound of his voice. Her expression was shock. Then, as it sunk in and she realized something, her expression softened.
As they watched the scene unfold, Piper told Leo, “I remember that was the first time that I really looked at him. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. The resemblance was definitely there—he looked like he could be my son. Then I looked into his eyes and I knew it was the truth. He had his father’s eyes—your eyes.”<br>Piper stared at Chris for what seemed like forever to him. After a few moments, she walked over to Chris, looked closely at his face, and then embraced him in a hug.
“I am so sorry for everything you’ve had to go through,” she said.
Chris stiffened up and sensing this, she let go.
She knew it wasn’t her fault, yet at the same time, she felt part of her duty as a parent was to protect her children from suffering. Obviously, she had failed to do this for Chris. She also knew that she had been the reason for some of his pain over the past few months. Even though she knew her rejection of him at times had been understandable—not knowing he was her son or what his true motives were—she could not help feeling bad about it.
“It’s okay,” Chris said, still nervous. “I understand.”
Chris was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. It was a combination of a few things. It was strange for Chris when he first came back to the past, to a time when his mother was still alive. He adored her, but he kept her at a distance. There was a fear of her getting too close just to lose her again when he went home. The other part was the reaction he heard her having when she learned she was pregnant with him. She seemed upset by the news that she was having another son and that son was him.
He hoped Leo would at least be happy about it. Leo had not been there much for Chris while he was growing up. He always believed that Leo never wanted another son. After their talk on the bridge a few weeks before, that confirmed it. However, the few months before that and again since the genie wish he accidentally made for Leo to get over his issues with him, he and Leo had been getting along really well. He hoped that maybe things between them would change for the better. He found himself enjoying his father’s company. They had spent more time together in the last few months than they had in his entire life prior to Chris coming to the past. Chris began to believe for the first time in his life that his father really liked him.
Chris asked his mother, “Where’s Dad?”<br>Piper was somewhat taken back at first by how naturally it sounded when Chris referred to Leo as “Dad”.
“Leo…your dad,” she said, “Had to go up there.” She motioned upwards.
“So when is he coming back?” Chris asked, anxious to get telling Leo over with and finding out his reaction to the news.
“Well, Chris, the thing is, he’s not coming back.” Off Chris’ incredulous look, she continued, “We can’t tell him I’m pregnant right now.”
Paige chimed in, “Why not?”<br>Piper turned to her sisters, “Because we can’t. Okay? We can’t do that to him.”<br>Phoebe, seeing the hurt look on Chris’ face, started, “Piper…”
Piper turned to Chris. “It’s not because of you, Chris, don’t get me wrong. I mean, I’m sure once his head stopped spinning, too, he’d be really happy about it, but—We can’t keep making him hold on to us, it’s not fair to him. We have to let him go.”
Chris was unsuccessful at trying to hide his hurt feelings. Nothing had changed and it never would. Leo didn’t even care enough to say good-bye to him.
“Yeah. Sure. I understand,” Chris said, trying to sound like it, but failing to convey that. “I need to go…”
Piper asked, “Why? I mean, can’t you stay a little while? So we can talk?”<br>Chris brushed her off. “I can’t. I’ll talk to you later.”
With that he orbed off, leaving Piper to rationalize to herself that she was doing what was best for everyone.

[italiannna]

Awsome update Brittania.

[CharmedLitWitch]

I love this story! Great job! I agree it is so plausible to have the avatars involved with Chris to push Leo over the edge. Keep up the good work!

[brittania]

Thanks for the votes for fan fic of the week! I really appreciate it! It mean a lot to me, seriously.
This chapter goes into what Piper remembers about the time between Courtship of Wyatt's Father and Spin City. I wrote this chapter because I had several requests for it, as I was going to go right to events around Spin City and following that.

Chapter 13

As Piper and Leo watched the scene, Piper realized for the first time how Chris must have felt when she decided not to tell Leo she was pregnant with him—that Chris was their younger son. At the time, she had been too overwhelmed to see it, but now she could. By choosing not to tell Leo at the time, she was unintentionally making Chris feel like he was an unwanted burden.
She whispered to Leo, “I’m sorry. I should have told you right away. I was trying to protect you and I ended up hurting you both.”<br>Piper remembered the first few months of her pregnancy after learning Chris was the baby she was expecting. After he left the manor, her sisters tried to convince her to tell Leo, but Piper insisted it was better that he not find out just yet. When they continued persisting, she snapped at them and told them to mind their own business.
After the initial shock wore off, she wanted to talk to Chris. After twenty-four hours had gone by and she had not yet heard from him, she decided to call him.
She was standing in the manor living room when she called for him.
Chris orbed in immediately.
“Yeah, what do you need?” he asked, all business as usual.
“I just thought we could talk,” Piper said, somewhat nervous.
Chris appeared edgy. “I don’t have time right now. I’m trying to work on some demonic connections to find out who might be after Wyatt.”<br>“Well, can’t that wait for awhile?” she asked.
“No, it can’t,” he insisted, getting upset.
“Chris, I think there are a lot of things we need to talk about,” she implored. “I mean, I have questions.”<br>”I can’t tell you anything about the future,” Chris told her, expecting this.
“I know. But…I mean, can’t you just tell me your birth date? That’s not going to mess up the future.”<br>”November eleventh,” he answered quickly. “Is that it? I really need to get going.”<br>“Chris, don’t you think we should sit down and talk? I mean, I’d like to get to know you. You are my son.”<br>Chris sighed, exasperated. “You’ll get plenty of time to know me when I’m born. I didn’t come to the past for that. The only reason I’m here is to save Wyatt and I’m working on that right now. So if you don’t mind, I really need to go.”<br>“Sure,” she nodded, slightly distressed.
With that, he orbed out.
It was then that Piper started to believe her younger son hated her for something she had done to him in the future.
Piper could not let it go. As the baby version of her younger son continued growing inside of her, she was constantly trying to make excuses to see Chris. She decided not to call for him again unless it was in relation to his whitelighter duties to them, but she called him every time a demonic situation came up, whether they really needed him or not.
A few days had passed without Piper seeing Chris. She was aware he was orbing into the attic to look at the book when she was not around—Phoebe and Paige had seen him. She felt like he was purposely avoiding her. Her sisters tried to talk to him about it, but he just brushed them off and would make an excuse to leave as soon as the topic came up.
This had been going on for a couple of months when one day she arrived at P3 before opening and he was still there in the office, which is where he had been staying.
“Hey,” she said, surprising him.
Chris had been looking over some notes he had taken on various demons when Piper entered.
“Hey,” he said, caught off guard.
“How have you been?” she said, not sure of what to say.
”Fine,” he said, clearly uncomfortable.
“You haven’t come by the house in a few days.”<br>”I’ve been busy,” he explained, avoiding looking at her.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” she offered. She was really trying to reach out to him.
“No. I got it.” His uneasiness around her was becoming very apparent. “I need to go now.”<br>Piper said, “Wait. Chris, why are you avoiding me?”<br>“I’m not,” he lied.
“You know, I was thinking,” she said. “Maybe you should come stay at the manor.”<br>”I don’t think so,” he replied.
“But you came here to protect Wyatt, right? Well, if you stay at the manor, you’ll be better able to protect him. We have a daybed in Wyatt’s room. You can stay in there with him,” she said, trying to convince him. Then, thinking, “I guess that would be your room to in the future, huh?”<br>“Yeah,” he nodded, remembering. “I’ll think about it. I have to go now.” He orbed out.
Chris decided to take Piper up on her offer as he realized it would make it easier to protect Wyatt if he was staying there, but he continued to avoid his mother. He was often out long hours during the day and night. Sometimes he didn’t come home at all. Piper found herself staying awake worrying about him. She felt like she the mother of a teenager. But she tried not to push him.
Piper was four months pregnant when she decided to see if maybe Chris would speak to her own father.
Piper was shocked at how happy Chris seemed when he first saw Victor. He was like a little kid, running up to him and hugging his grandpa. Apparently, Chris was very close to her father in the future. It was Victor who was able to get Chris to open up about why he was keeping his distance from his mother. Victor was also able to convince Chris that was all the more reason to get close to her now.
When Piper first realized the reason why Chris had been keeping his distance from her, she became very upset and scared about dying young. That only lasted a moment though, when she realized how it was affecting her son. This was why he was so afraid to get close to her, because he had lost her in the future. She tried to reassure her son, told him the future might have changed, but deep down she wasn’t so sure.
The next couple of months they became very close. Piper began to realize how much Chris missed having his mother. In some ways, he resorted to being a kid around her, which was understandable since he was only a kid when he lost her. She tried to get him to relax once in awhile. She worried that he was working too hard. She hated that he had to give up so much.
As close as they became, she still could not get him to open up about anything. He refused to talk about Bianca, how he survived in the future, specific things Wyatt had done to him. He absolutely refused to talk about Leo at all. Every time Leo’s name came up, Chris seemed to get upset. She would soon find out why.

[ShantaD]

Good chapter. After reading the Drew interview I had to come over here for a Chris fix. I was glad to see you added a chapter. You write the character very much the way I envision him also (not surprisingly). I'm looking forward to more.

[brittania]

I told you, Shanta, I think you and I are sharing a brain.
Thanks.

[ShantaD]

As long as that doesn't make us individually half wits.

[leigh19]

That was great! I love how it makes me relive season 6 all over again- sigh- those were the good old days:)

Can't wait to see what you do with the Spin City stuff!!!

[roseyc]

this is real good a real good story .....it would be a great season 8 opening story......and the end of the season 7 finding him like you said how they found him

[italiannna]

Love the fic!!!! Great update!!!! Yay!!!

[brittania]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. And thank you to those who have voted this story fan fic of the week. It means a lot to me. Right now my story is in first place. HOORAY!!!
Chapter 14
They were in the basement at the manor now. They saw Chris sitting against the far wall, rocking back and forth in agony.
Chris was trying with all his will to fight off the infection he had received from the spider demon. The harder he fought, the more pain he felt, but he couldn’t let it take him over. It had already caused him to help the spider demon to escape, nearly taking his mother and his unborn self with her. Fortunately, his aunts had saved her by scaring her off with a vanquishing potion and knocking him temporarily unconscious.
Through his agony, he could hear his father’s voice coming down the steps.
“Chris? Chris, it’s Leo.”
Some of the pain Chris was feeling became suppressed as his rage took over. The anger that Chris felt pushed him to his feet. He staggered over to the stairs.
Upon seeing his father, Chris screamed, “Bastard!” He let loose spider webbing from the palms of his hands, aiming it at Leo. Leo orbed out, the webbing just missing him.
The pain again took over, messing with his mind. He slumped back to the wall and fell to the floor, continuing to rock back and forth in pain.
“Chris!” a voice sang out. “Oh Chris! Come closer!”
Chris stumbled to his feet again, held out his palms from which he shot spider web up against the wall. The image of the spider demon appeared on the web.
“That’s it,” she smiled back at him. “Now, bring me the cocoon.”
“No,” Chris defied her, shivering from fever. He suddenly winced from sharp pain that seared through his entire body.
“Don’t fight it,” she ordered. “Embrace your new powers! Use them!”
“How?” he asked, just wishing the pain would stop. It was unbearable now. “I don’t understand.”<br>“You will,” she smiled. “All in good time, my sweet. All in good time.”<br>He couldn’t fight it anymore. Nor did he want too. Giving in to the infection seemed to take away any pain he was feeling, both physical and emotional. His green eyes turned red as he allowed the infection to take over.

They were now viewing another scene that Leo remembered well. They both recognized the cave of the spider demon.
Chris had Leo pinned to the wall with spider webbing. He was pacing back and forth, trying to suppress any human emotions that remained inside of him.
Leo was trying to reason with him. “That’s not the demon talking, Chris. That’s you. You just need to fight this.”<br>”Why fight when I’ve already won,” Chris shot back, shooting some more webbing at Leo.
Leo then got an idea. “Tell me why you hate me so much, Chris.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Chris sulked.
“Sure it does,” Leo said, egging him on. “Deep down you hate my guts. Admit it.” Leo was trying to bring Chris’ human emotions out in an effort to get him to overcome the spider demon infection. As Chris got up in his face, Leo continued, “Why don’t you just admit it? What are you—afraid?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” Chris said defiantly.
“Then why don’t you tell me what I did to you? What? Did I miss a school play? Did I take away your favorite toy? Did I play favorites with Wyatt?”
With that last part, Chris’ rage flared to the surface and completely took him over. Using all the strength he had gained from the demon infection, Chris picked his father up and hurled him across the cave.
As Leo tried talking to Chris, Chris punched him in the gut, saying, “You don’t know me!” He threw his father down to the ground and continued punching him, screaming over and over again, “You don’t know me!” All the rage he felt for his father over the years was pouring out of him.
Suddenly, the infection left his body. Unbeknownst to him, his pregnant mother had swallowed the antidote in an effort to cure her son by inoculating him against the infection before he was born.
However, it was no longer the infection working in Chris. All the pain and anger he had been keeping pent up in his entire life had come to the surface. He had lost all control over himself and continued hitting his father again and again.
He did not notice his mother and his aunts entering the cave.
His mother ran over to him, screaming, “Chris, no!” She grabbed him by the arm to pull him off his father, ordering him, “Chris! Look at me. Look at me!” Chris stopped hitting his father and stood facing his mother, who had him by the arm. “It’s okay. It’s over,” she said, trying to calm him.
Chris, regaining control of himself, looked at his mother, then over to his father and realized what he had done. He had lost control and everyone saw it. His mother, father and aunts all witnessed. Angry and embarrassed, Chris broke away from his mother’s grip and stormed out of the cave past his aunts.
The scene in Chris’ mind ended, but it brought back memories for Piper and Leo.
Moments after Chris stormed out of the cave, Piper went after him.
“Chris!” she called out to him outside the cave, realizing he had already orbed away.
Her sisters and Leo, who had already self-healed from the beating his son had given him, followed Piper outside the cave.
“Piper, he probably needs some time alone right now,” Phoebe tried consoling her with.
Leo felt awful knowing he did something that would cause a child of him so much pain and anguish. “I’ll go talk to him, Piper,” he said. “But first we need to get you home.”

[brittania]

Chapter 14 (Continued)

When they got back to the manor, they were surprised to find Gideon there waiting for them.
“Sorry to come by unannounced,” he said, “but I wanted to extend an invitation to Piper and Wyatt to come stay at the Magic School. Sigmund relayed to me what Leo told him, about your pregnancy and the danger you were facing. I thought maybe you may want to convalesce at the school until the baby’s born, since the school is protected. For your own safety.”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Piper agreed, rubbing her stomach.
As Leo helped Piper pack her bags, he asked, “Do you have any idea why Chris is so angry with me?”
“Not really,” she said sympathetically. “He hasn’t really opened up to me. He keeps giving me that whole spiel about not messing with the future, but I think it’s more than that…Chris seems to keep his feelings bottled up. It’s like he’s just holding it all in…”
”Until he explodes,” Leo finished for her. “Like tonight.”
“That was the demon, Leo,” Piper tried telling him.
“No. That was Chris. The demon just brought it to the surface.” He then asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant…that Chris was our son?”
“I didn’t want you to feel obligated to stay with us, Leo, You needed to go up there,” she explained. Then, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I didn’t realize how much that would hurt you…how much it would hurt our son.”
Leo said, “It isn’t your fault, Piper. Chris was angry at me when he first came here from the future. Now I need to find out why.” He placed his hand on Piper’s belly. “I just hope he’ll talk to me.” Just then he felt a kick, bringing a smile to his face. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”
After Leo dropped Piper and Wyatt off at the Magic School, Leo had gone talk to Chris. Chris was blocking Leo from sensing him, but he had an idea of where he might be. Leo orbed to the Golden Gate where he found Chris sitting, looking at the traffic below.
“Can we talk?” Leo asked, hopeful.
Chris really did not want to see anyone at that moment—especially Leo. He was embarrassed by how he lost control of himself. He still had not completely pulled himself together. That emotional outburst he had left him feeling wrecked.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Chris replied, wishing Leo would just go away.
“I think there is. A lot actually,” Leo said.
Chris replied, “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. You’re my son, Chris. I think I deserve to know what I did that was so bad.”
“You were never there for me,” Chris answered. “You were there for everybody else…Mom, Wyatt, half the world, but you were never there for me. You didn’t have the time.”
Leo thought about this for a moment. “Maybe you didn’t just come here to save Wyatt. Maybe you came back to save us too.”
“I doubt it,” Chris said, orbing away.
For Chris, Leo’s absence for the past six months proved to him that nothing would ever change between them. He felt he wasn’t important to his father.
It was extremely distressful for Leo. He was shocked when Phoebe first told him that Chris was his son. He was also surprised that he never thought of the possibility when he was trying to find out who Chris was. Now that Leo knew, he could see that Chris definitely resembled Piper—something that had never dawned on him before. There was also a lot of guilt Leo was feeling. He was hard on Chris the first few months he knew him. He even through him into a wall in anger. He was also feeling guilty for something he hadn’t even done yet to hurt his son so much.
Leo was unable to track Chris because he had blocked his father from being able to sense him. Leo was spending a lot of time at the manor hoping to catch Chris there, as well as at the Magic School with Piper and Wyatt. One day he orbed in to the school to see them and Chris was on the floor playing with some toys with his brother. It brought a smile to his face to see his sons like that, imagining Chris and Wyatt both as children playing together. The moment Chris spotted his father he told his mother he had to go. Before Piper could protest, Chris orbed out.
Another time at the manor Leo orbed in under the guise of checking up on Phoebe and Paige. Phoebe was the only one home at the time.
“Chris isn’t here,” she said sympathetically as soon as he orbed in.
“I’m not here to see Chris. I was coming by to see how you were,” he lied.
“Yeah, sure,” Phoebe side-eyed him. “Have you spoken to him at all?”<br>“He won’t speak to me,” Leo answered. “I don’t know how to reach him.”<br>“He’ll come around, Leo. Just give it some time.”
The time came when Chris was forced to work with Leo to help the sisters. The Charmed Ones and Darryl were in trouble over some magic exposure, and Leo and Chris worked together to save them. While that helped to ease some of the harsher feelings Chris was having towards Leo, he still would not discuss anything personal with him.
Then Chris was arrested. It wasn’t his fault, really. He was after a demon that was getting away in a Porsche the demon had stolen from a new car lot. Chris chased after him and when the demon orbed away, Chris was stopped by the police.
He felt like he had been sitting in the jail cell for eternity. He thought maybe they were just going to leave him there when Leo finally orbed in.
“Took you long enough,” Chris said, obviously pissed.
“Shhh,” Leo said, pointing out the guards nearby. “I’m getting you out of here.”<br>”Great. So, Darryl’s going to cover?”
“Forget Darryl. Come on,” Leo ordered Chris.
“Wait. What about exposure?” Chris asked, concerned.
“Right now I’m more concerned about them exposing you. Now come on. You have an aunt to save.”<br>A grateful smile came over Chris’ face. “Thanks, Dad.”<br>Leo was taken back. That was the first time Chris had called him Dad without sarcasm in his voice. From that point on, Chris seemed to have let go of any resentment he had towards Leo.
Later, when the situation with the demon was resolved, Leo asked Chris why he stole the car rather than just orbing after the demon.
“There were other people around. I didn’t want to expose magic,” Chris explained. “Besides, Dad, when else would I ever get the chance to drive a Porsche?”

[DumbBrunette]

Besides, Dad, when else would I ever get the chance to drive a Porsche?”

Hee!

Awesome chapter(s) brit!

[Charmed Force]

OMG Brit, I just read the whole story (so far) and I swear I am crying at Chris's pain. Oh the poor guy! I never really liked him all that much on teh show, he just skeeved me out, but your story is so plausible that I have totally changed my opinion of him! You rock!

[brittania]

Chapter 15
Piper and Leo were now in the attic at the manor.
Chris was looking through the Book of Shadows, occasionally glancing at his older brother, Wyatt, who was in the playpen.
He heard a sound. Chris called out, “Hello?”
There was no response. He then heard a floorboard creek. He looked at his brother. “It’s time to get you out of here.” As Chris moved to pick his brother up, he was suddenly telekinetically thrown across the room.
Gideon materialized next to the playpen. “Don’t make me sacrifice you both,” he warned Chris.
Chris immediately flicked his hand, telekinetically sending Gideon flying to the other end of the room. Gideon, athame in hand, became invisible.
Chris leaped to his feet and ran over to the playpen to retrieve Wyatt. As he was coming towards the playpen, Gideon materialized in front of him, stabbing him in the gut with the athame.
A searing pain shot through Chris as the athame cut into him. He cried out, “Dad!” before sinking to the floor as Gideon pulled the athame out.
Gideon had walked over to the playpen and was picking up Wyatt as Leo orbed in to his younger son’s side.
Piper and Leo cringed at the sight of this scene. For Leo it was bringing back upsetting memories from the worst day of his life. For Piper, it was her first view of the horror that her son and husband had gone through while she was in labor.
As Leo hovered over Chris, Chris cried out, “Wyatt…Wyatt…”
Leo looked over and saw Gideon holding Wyatt.
“It’s for the best, Leo,” Gideon said, orbing out.
Leo looked back at Chris, who was writhing in pain from the wound in his gut. Leo felt torn between his two sons, but realized that right now Chris’ danger was much more imminent. He would heal Chris first, then go after Wyatt.
He placed his hands over Chris’ wound. The glow from his healing touch did not appear to be having any effect on the hole in Chris’ gut.
“Go find Wyatt,” Chris tried ordering his father, amid his pain.
“We will. I promise. I need to heal you first.”
Minutes passed and still it appeared to have no effect on the wound. Chris was becoming weaker with each passing moment.
“Come on,” Leo said, helping his son sit up. He orbed them both into Piper’s bedroom and helped Chris on to the bed. He then placed his hands over the wound again, hoping the glow would begin to heal him.
“You have to go find Wyatt,” Chris said, gasping. He was sweating and becoming very pale.
“We’ll find Wyatt together,” Leo said, continuing to try to heal him to no avail.
“It won’t work. You already tried,” Chris said, pushing his father’s hands away. “Gideon’s magic did this to me. He’s the only one who can stop it. Go! Saving Wyatt saves the future, you know that.”
“Gideon can’t kill Wyatt, remember?” Leo said. “We still have time.”<br>”Only until the trauma turns him,” Chris reminded him.
“I’m not going to choose between you and Wyatt, Chris. I can’t,” Leo said desperately.
“You don’t have to, Dad,” Chris explained. “Find Gideon and you save us both.”
Leo hesitated for a moment, torn. He then said, “Okay, but I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“Where are you going?” Chris asked, gasping for breath.
“To get one of your aunts to watch over you,” Leo said. “You’re going to be fine, I promise.” He bent down and kissed his son’s forehead before orbing out.
Minutes after his father orbed out, Chris heard a commotion downstairs. He heard a parade of footsteps coming up the stairs. There were people in the house.
Then he heard Paige’s voice calling out from the downstairs, “Chris!”<br>Then more commotion. Moments later, a member of the SWAT team, gun drawn, entered Piper’s room. Spotting Chris lying on the bed, bleeding from the wound in his gut, he called out, “I found him! He’s in here!”
More footsteps. Several more SWAT team members entered the room, guns drawn. They were followed by Darryl and Sheridan. The smiles disappeared from their faces when they saw Chris sprawled out on the bed, appearing to be dying. Paige came running in the room behind them, rushing to Chris’ bedside. He was gasping for air and growing weaker.
“Hey,” Paige said, forcing a smile. She brushed the hair out of his eyes with her hand.
“Where’s my dad?” Chris asked weakly.
“He’s gone after Gideon. He’ll find him and we’ll reverse his magic—what he did to you,” she assured him.
“He won’t be able to,” Chris said, resigned. “I’m going to die.”<br>”No, you’re not. Just hang on, okay. Please just hang on, Chris,” she was begging him. She could see him getting weaker by the moment, laboring for each breath. Paige was afraid he was right. “Hang on. I’m going to call your dad.”<br>Paige left the room before Chris could stop her. As she left, a SWAT team member entered, handing Sheridan her forensics kit. She took out some items which she used to collect a sample of Chris’ blood with.
“Who did this to you?” she asked.
Chris would not answer. He continued struggling with his breathing. Darryl prevented Sheridan from pushing it as they heard Paige out in the hallway calling for Leo.
Darryl ordered them all out of the room, telling Sheridan that they should leave him alone with his family. The SWAT team exited the room, followed by Sheridan and Darryl.
Leo then rushed into the room moments later, running up to Chris’ side. Paige stood in the doorway, watching.
“Hey,” Leo said.
“Hey,” Chris said back.
“Hold on,” Leo begged him, stroking his son’s hair. “Just hold on. Hold on…Don’t give up, okay.”<br>Chris weakly replied, “You either.” At that, he gasped a few times, turned his head and closed his eyes, all the while Leo was crying, “No. No…please…”
Leo buried his face in his son’s chest.
At that moment, the entire room froze still.
Barbas flamed in. He placed a metal band around Chris’ wrist, unfreezing him as he did this. The purpose of the metal band was to prevent him from using his powers.
When Chris’ eyes opened, he saw Barbas looming over him menacingly. He then noticed the wound in his gut had disappeared.
“What?” Chris started.
“Your daddy’s biggest fear for you was watching you die and not being able to help you. He just thought he couldn’t heal you. And…with a little help from Gideon’s magic, so did everyone else, including you,” Barbas explained. “Now, with a little help from my new friends who so kindly have caused your auntie and daddy to freeze here, you will now get to experience your greatest fear.”<br>With that, Barbas grabbed Chris by the arm and flamed out.
Once Barbas and Chris were gone, Paige and Leo unfroze to find Chris’ body had disappeared.