I don't own Charmed nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: Having spiraled again over the show recently, I also read about the comics and decided to use only what I liked. Hope you enjoy!
Chris came to a gasp as his eyes flew open. Had he succeeded in saving Wyatt? Where was his father and aunt? The last clear thing he remembered was his father pleading with him to hold on. He looked down to check himself over and was surprised to find no visible injuries. Had had been healed? What was happening? Confused as hell, he stood up, got dressed, and then orbed downstairs to the kitchen. His mouth dropped open and he gaped in shock at the scene in front of him - his parents, Wyatt, and an unfamiliar girl sitting at the table. "Hey, the birthday boy finally woke up! Took him long enough," Wyatt teased.
"How's twenty-three so far?" Melinda asked him.
"Happy birthday, peanut." Piper grinned at her middle child and then stood up to go check on breakfast.
Chris' head spun. "Thanks, guys." He struggled to wrap his mind around what was happening but couldn't come up with anything to say. "Uh, can you two leave? I want to talk to Mom and Dad."
"Sure. Happy birthday again, big bro!" Melinda beamed and completely missed Chris' double take.
He had a little sister now. Holy shit. He had changed way more than expected so this whole experience was mind-blowing. As soon as Wyatt and Melinda departed, Leo turned to look at his son. "You look like you're in a little bit of shock. Is something wrong?"
Chris waited until his mother set down her frying pan before he said anything. He decided to go for the blunt approach. "The last thing I remember is dying in Dad's arms."
Dead silence. The cup in Leo's hand clattered to the table and he paled. That's when Chris noticed his father looked older and he cocked his head to stare at the man as he tried to figure out what had happened. Piper recovered first and grabbed Chris' hand to pull him in for a hug. "I am so proud of you, Christopher Perry Halliwell. Your dad and I love you more than we can say. And we can happily tell you that you succeeded in creating a new world." She tearfully smiled at him when he reluctantly pulled out of the hug.
Chris barely had time to react to anything else before Leo stood up and pulled his son in for a bear hug. His body shook with sobs. "I'm sorry, Chris. I'm so fucking sorry."
He shook his head. "Dad, it was never your fault - it was always Gideon's. You can't blame yourself for what happened because I don't."
Leo continued to shake. "If I hadn't let that bastard into our lives, none of this would have happened."
Chris wasn't about to let him go down this path. "Dad, stop. I meant it when I said I don't blame you for anything. It was one hundred percent Gideon's fault. Have you been blaming yourself all this time?"
Piper watched them, hopeful that Leo would finally forgive himself for the events that transpired all those years ago (nothing seemed to help - her husband still occasionally had nightmare and days where he put up walls so high nothing could reach him). "What did I tell you, Leo? He never once thought it was your fault."
Leo's sobs started to slow down as he processed Chris' words. He had always feared his son would hate him (again) if he ever remembered. "I broke my promise that I'd get you home safely."
"No, you didn't. Look around us, Dad - you did get me home safely. So please forgive yourself, okay? And why do you look old?"
Piper bit her lip but couldn't help the laugh that escaped. Leo started laughing too. "I'm mortal now. Fell from grace a few months after you were born so I could be with our family," he explained.
"As you're aware, you now have a little sister - Prudence Melinda was born on February 16th, 2007. She goes by Melinda but you two shortened it to Mel, and the nickname stuck. Sold P3 and opened my own restaurant, Halliwell's," Piper told him.
Leo took over from there. "I'm in charge of Magic School now and teach a few classes."
"Any cousins?" a curious Chris asked. In his original timeline, he had one cousin via Phoebe - Prudence. She had died too.
"Yes! They'll be coming over later if you're up to it. Phoebe married a Cupid named Coop and they have three daughters - Prudence Johanna, Parker Victoria, and Patricia Trinity. PJ was born in October 2007, Parker followed in December 2009, and Trish came along in July 2013. Then there's Paige - she married a mortal parole officer named Henry Mitchell and they also had three kids. The twins, Tamora Hallie and Katherine Grace, were born in June 2007. Henry Junior - or Ry - arrived in November 2008," Piper informed him.
Chris blinked as he struggled to process everything. "This is a lot to comprehend." So much had been thrown at him in just a few minutes.
"I think we're overwhelming him," a concerned Leo whispered to his wife.
Chris held up his hand to stop him. "I'm fine. Just processing everything. Bianca?" he questioned hopefully.
Piper and Leo exchanged happy glances. "You're together in this world too - guess you were meant to find each other in any timeline. Bianca wants you to call her when you get the chance."
Good. Chris couldn't wait to see her. "And my memories? Why don't I remember this timeline?"
"They haven't caught up to you yet. It could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days before they return but we'll answer whatever questions you come up with." Leo's hands were still shaking and he tried to still them but nothing seemed to work - he was still coming to terms with everything himself.
"Okay then." Chris relaxed for what felt the first time in a long time just as Wyatt and Melinda came back in.
"We figured we waited long enough," Wyatt explained.
Melinda snorted. "We eavesdropped."
"Wyatt Matthew and Prudence Melinda Halliwell!" scolded Piper. She rolled her eyes and chuckled at them before ruffling Chris' hair.
The five of them sat down to talk for about half an hour before several people - Paige, Henry, and their kids - orbed in. "Happy birthday, kid. How's today treating you?" Paige prodded.
"He remembers," Piper told her youngest sister.
Chris stood up and rolled his eyes as Paige opened her arms for a hug but complied anyway. "You'll be happy to know that I'm still the cool aunt."
"Ha!" cried Kat. She shrugged when her mother glared at her.
"Never doubted it for a minute." Chris was glad to see some things never changed and he could count on his aunts for that.
Henry, Kat, Tamora, and Ry introduced themselves to Chris before making themselves at home in various rooms. "This is pretty much a normal day for us now. Bit hectic." Leo parked himself in a chair and turned on the TV.
"You giving up control of the remote or no?" Henry asked his brother-in-law.
Leo sighed but threw the remote over as Chris sat down on the couch. "Fine but you know one of the kids is going to steal it in less than fifteen minutes."
"True but I like having the power to choose what we watch for those fifteen minutes."
Chris watched their back and forth in amusement just before the door opened and Phoebe stepped in with her family. When she found out about the return of their neurotic Whitelighter, she gasped then started to cry and hugged him too. "It's nice to see you again, Christopher."
"But you see me every day," he pointed out.
"Don't be a smart ass. You know what I mean." She grinned and then introduced him to her girls.
PJ looked and acted nothing like the Prudence that Chris knew but then again, this one was a completely different person with a different father. He definitely missed her but he already looked forward to getting to know all six of his cousins. "I like fucking with you all the time so be prepared," the twenty year old warned, smirking at him.
He stepped back. "Should I be worried?"
Leo laughed and clapped him on his shoulder. "A little bit, buddy."
"Great."
"Don't worry. Wyatt will kick her ass if she tries anything stupid," chimed in Parker.
PJ sighed. "Do you have to ruin my fun?"
"Always. That's what we're here for." Fourteen year old Trish took off running once she saw the look on her oldest sister's face. Even though she was the youngest of them all, she still didn't get away with much.
PJ sighed and shook her head. "Little siblings."
"Still adjusting to the fact that I have one," Chris admitted. Melinda was pretty amazing and he liked her already but this was a lot.
"I guess instant sisters would be a big shock. And the rest of us, from what Mom, Aunt Piper, and Aunt Paige told us."
"How much did they tell us and when?"
"You, Wyatt, and Melinda have known the truth for years but the rest of us weren't informed until last month, when your twenty-third birthday began to approach and no one was sure what would happen. Aunt Paige, Aunt Piper, and Uncle Leo got just a teensy bit weird on us and it seems like they've finally calmed down. Didn't really throw us for that much of a loop with all the shit that goes on around here." PJ grinned at him and then went off in search of the others.
Chris took a moment to himself because he was starting to feel overwhelmed but then headed back out with the rest of them. Sure enough, Leo and Henry had lost control of the TV.
"This overwhelms me sometimes and I've been in this family for years. 2007 was a happy year - even with the sisters' pregnancies overlapping each other - but God, was it chaotic. We needed to escape a few times," Coop told his nephew when he ran into him.
Chris nodded. "I can understand why."
Parker suddenly zoomed into the room and dragged him with her. "Can I tell Chris about the shit that went down at my Wiccaning? I love this story. Let me tell it," she pleaded.
"It's gross!" Wyatt pointed out to his cousin, his lip twitching.
"Still funny." Trish shrugged when the others turned to look at her.
"What happened?" Chris questioned.
"Nothing much, aside from the fact that Grandma and Grandpa disappeared to have a quickie. Something they repeated every time Grandma was summoned for non-emergencies." Melinda found it amusing all these years later.
Chris' mouth dropped open. "What?"
"They still love each other. It's actually pretty cute and touching." Piper still didn't want to think about what her parents got up to every time they saw each other, though. It was traumatizing and gross.
Patty and Victor had never stopped loving each other. They talked through all their issues and were always grateful when they could see each other. In fact, he considered Paige's children to be his grandchildren too and treated them accordingly. When the situation called for it, he had taken care of all nine of them at the same time once. "And how is Grandpa?"
"He's great. Probably going to show up at some point today or tomorrow." Wyatt grabbed a drink out of the fridge and then joined them around the table.
"I hope he brings money," Trish whispered low enough that nobody else but her cousins could hear.
"That's because you always want money," Ry teased.
"He's right, Trish. You love your money." Tamora grinned at the look of mock outrage on her face.
After dinner, the rest of the Halliwells left because they could tell Chris needed a break from all the chaos. "A normal day for us but God, we're the most badass fucking witches when there's a demon around. No one messes with the Halliwells." Melinda stared at both her brothers. There was a twinkle in her eye.
And that's when Bianca shimmered in. Wyatt jumped. "How many times have I told you to knock? Warn a guy!"
They stared at him, amused. "I can't believe she just scared you." Melinda intended to make fun of him for this for a long time.
Chris stood up and pulled Bianca in for a kiss. "I missed you so much."
"I did too."
He pulled back just for a second. "Wait a second, you remember too?"
Bianca nodded. "For a few years now. Your parents helped me make sense of my memories and we fell in love again." She held up her hand to show off her ring finger - and the engagement ring - on it. "Surprise! You proposed two months ago."
"Holy shit." He was thankful he got to spend the rest of his life with her and intended to make sure that nothing went wrong this time.
She laughed. "Exactly the response I hoped for. Are there any leftovers around?" Bianca kissed Chris again and then headed towards the kitchen, hoping the Halliwells hadn't eaten everything (which tended to happen a lot).
Bianca stayed for a few hours before going home. Gradually, everyone went to bed except for Leo and Chris. "Chris."
"Yeah, Dad?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Dad." It felt right to say it and he hadn't even hesitated. It felt good to say out loud.
It took two weeks for Chris' memories to catch up to him and he adjusted quickly to having both timelines in his head. He made sure to reassure Leo again that it wasn't his fault, noting that his father and Paige seemed to have the most issues with his death since they witnessed it. He had a family and a fiancee that loved him and the world was much better off than it had been before. Christopher Perry Halliwell was truly happy and for the first time, complete.