Just a short fic that appeared in my mind whilst writing out chapter three of Whispers. You know how it is, they won't leave you alone until they're typed out. The words in italics are memories.
I do not own Charmed or any its characters. A few of the sentences featured in this fic are taken from the episode - 'It's a bad, bad, bad, bad world part 2.'
When Tomorrow Comes
He had been stabbed before; it was never a pleasant experience, the feeling of cool metal slicing smoothly past your skin and cutting deep into the muscles below. Your body jutting forward as the pain took hold and a cry wrenching from your lips. The agony as each time you breathed you antagonised the angry wound just that little bit more.
This time seemed different though, and not just because there was no failsafe to heal him. The athame had been out for Halliwell blood and it had met its intended destination, only a different son, though he would take the pain a thousand times over if it saved the blond, blue-eyed boy that was so different from the brother that Chris had left behind in the future.
This time the pain seemed just that little bit more realistic, as though each time he had been stabbed joined together as one. He couldn't think how many times he had called Leo… no Dad. Time seemed to slow as Gideon lifted Wyatt tenderly in his arms, his left arm brushing aside a blond curl. An action that only family and not a murdering liar should do.
Piper pulled Chris into her arms, the relaxing shushing noises quieting his sobs. Softly she stroked his arm, "It's alright angel, Mommy's here."
"It hurts."
"Oh, I know it does, come here." Piper lifted her son's scraped knee, her head bending down and brushing a soft kiss onto the cut skin. "There all better, right?"
In a dazzling display of lights, his Dad appeared before him, rushing to his side immediately at the sight of his body on the floor. In the future bodies on the floor were not a rare occurrence, when Wyatt or one of his many followers lost there tempers. It didn't always end in death either; mostly it was a way to work out frustration or to beat answers out of a 'traitor'. He'd come here to change all of that, and the moment had passed all too soon. He'd been too consumed with lies to see the truth that stood before him.
Leo's hand on his shoulder brought him back into the present, reminding him of Wyatt. "Wyatt… Wyatt." Alarmed Leo turned around to see his son in the traitor's arms.
Leo frantically threw aside the broken piles of wood. His hands cutting as they scraped against sharp edges. It was no matter as the next piece moved aside to reveal a small curled hand.
Chris stood off to the side sniffling, his hand tightly gripping his Aunt Paige's. The demon had shimmered in unexpectedly as the two were playing, taking them both by surprise. He was shaking even now as the image of Wyatt flying across the room played repeatedly through his mind.
A sob wrenched from Leo's lips as he pulled his eldest son's limp body onto his knee, a golden glow already covering the boy's broken form, knitting the bones back together and the blood disappearing from sight.
Rushed breaths came out of his body as he fell onto his parent's bed. Leo rushed over, kneeling beside him to try once more to heal his wound, nothing was working and his blood was still flowing freely. His Mom would probably freak about the mess he was making of her duvet. Weakly Chris lifted up a hand and pushed aside his Dad's. "It's not working."
Leo looked at Chris; his eyes were different from how he'd ever seen them. He was genuinely terrified at the thought of losing him and through all the pain clouding his mind a smile shone out. He had managed to save at least one thing for the future. In his wildest dreams, he had not expected Leo to care.
"Dad?" One-step. "Dad?" Another step. "Where are you?" Chris crept around the corner, his steps light so as not to be caught. Strong arms encircled his waist, lifting his feet off the ground as his body swung around in the air, erupting giggles out of his mouth.
"Gotcha!"
More giggles, like bubbles floated around the room.
"Dad, put me down." With a last swing, Leo did just that, planting a kiss on the top of his dark hair.
He wasn't going to leave him. So many times had Chris sat by as Leo turned his back and orbed out of a room. Desperately wishing that he could just stretch out his arm and ask him to stay. Nevertheless, the words never got past his lips, and his hand never strayed from his side.
Now that he was willing to stay, Chris would have to ask him to leave. If he had the strength, he would have laughed at how ironic his life was. Right now Wyatt needed their Dad far more than Chris did. Was it wrong that a spark of jealousy still lit up in his heart? All that he had come back from the future to save was crumbling around him, slipping through his fingers with each passing second, and all he could do was lie on a bed and grumble.
"You have to find Wyatt."
Leo nodded; he knew full well what was needed at this moment in time. He needed to heal Chris and then the two of them would set out to save Wyatt and the future of his children's lives. "We're going to find him together."
Together. Isn't that what he had always wanted? A family, a normal family. His Dad, Mom and brother together.
Chris sat snuggled between his Mom and Dad on their bed with Wyatt opposite, the piles of presents glittering in the light just itching to be opened.
"Open mine first!" Screamed his brother. His Mom tutting at the overly loud volume for this time in the morning. Wyatt winced, speaking just above a whisper. "Sorry - please."
Chris shook his head, "The cards are first." he spoke matter of factly. His hand reaching out and grabbing the colourful envelopes. Wyatt pouted, and Chris rolled his eyes. "Then I'll open up your present."
His Dad had left and now he was on his own. He had always thought that when he was on his own he could think properly. Being on his own was what Christopher Perry Halliwell did best. On his own, no one could hurt him or figure him out. However, an alien feeling struck his core, being alone was the one thing that he didn't want anymore. Walls had been built up in the future and knocked down in the past leaving him vulnerable to his emotions.
He'd screwed up his original plan completely. The one rule was don't let them discover who you are. There were far too many complications if they did. The fact that he had lied, the fact that they didn't even know he existed, what if he had managed to alter his entire existence? He almost had.
His Aunt Paige orbed into view. Her face a picture of panic, he was glad that he had managed to save her and not just for the reason that she leant him a lot of money.
"My God! Chris!… Leo couldn't heal you … you're dying." She was direct too.
He smiled at her face, trying to pull her eyes away from the blood. It worked, the brown orbs tracing there way up to his own, tears glittering, though trying her best not to allow them out. At least the spell had been broken and she wasn't smiling at him, informing him he would be going off to a better place.
Where would he go?
"Chris." Paige rushed forward, her hand enclosed in his own. "You'll be okay," She nodded. "Leo will rescue Wyatt and then he'll come back here and…"
…She could never lie to him either. Chris looked up to her face, the tears now flowing freely, snaking their way down her face and along the curve of her chin. Her mouth wobbled, she couldn't quite admit the truth, and it would be too hard to tell him there was no hope even if he did know it already.
"Let me guess, you want another twenty?"
"If you don't mind." His feet shuffled on the floor. "Wyatt owes me thirty, so I'll pay you back I promise."
Paige chuckled. "He owes me too so I wouldn't hold your breath." Her hand dug deep into her pocket, pulling out a wad of notes, quickly counting out how much he had requested and slipping in an extra ten. "There you go."
Chris grinned. "Thanks so much, you are the best Aunt ever."
"That's what I'm here for, an open bank to my nephews."
Chris took a step forward and kissed her on the cheek.
Throbbing pain made him bite his lip. An escaped tear strolling leisurely down his cheekbone, he had had all the time in the world and it was not supposed to end this way. He wasn't supposed to be lying in pain, his stomach releasing his life's essence in agonising slowness. He was meant to swoop in, save his brother from demons and disappear back, no one the wiser and everyone the better as the future turned into a wonderland of joy and happiness. Just like the stories that his Aunt Phoebe favoured, all that happy ever after crap.
Chris peeked into his cousin's room, her head tiredly resting against her pillows as her Mom's voice soothed around the sleepy room.
"and then they kissed."
"Ewwwww!" Melinda's tongue popped out of her mouth, her face screwing up in obvious distaste.
Phoebe laughed, her hand reaching out to tussle her daughter's head. "You won't be feeling like that much longer, trust me."
Melinda's nose wrinkled at the thought of kissing a boy of all people.
"All too soon you'll be wishing for a knight in shining armour to come sweep you off your feet. I did."
"Aunt Phoebe?" Chris questioned, taking a tentative step into the room. Her head swivelled around to face him, immediately leaping up off the bed and running to grab his arm.
"See here, Chris is a perfect example of a knight in shining armour. One day, far off." She glanced at his face to make sure 'far off' stuck in his head. "A charming young girl will be… somewhere… defenceless, waiting for a hero to come rescue her pretty little feet. Chris will sweep into action, destroying the mean, disgusting, ugly demon. His eyes will light upon the fair lady's eyes and together the two will… orb off into the distance. Living happily ever after."
Melinda laughed, clapping her hands together in delight. Whilst Chris rolled his eyes at his Aunt's strange idea of a twisted fairytale. He watched as Phoebe kissed her daughter on the head, and then the two left the room. A smirk played on his lips as an idea came into his head.
"So, what you're saying is that all girls are defenceless and waiting for the men in shining armour?" He used the innocent look on his face as if the tale had just taught him just that.
Phoebe coughed, "What? No. I mean…" Her hands moved to her hips. "Are you saying I'm defenceless mister?"
"No." Chris smiled, "You are."
A scream tore from his mouth and Paige re-entered the room, she had cleared the tears from her face and would look half way normal if not for the quivering of her lips and sickly colour of her skin. He wanted to reassure her that it would all be over soon, the cold was starting to creep into his fingers and toes, making it hard to feel comfortable in his Mother's sheets.
A sound from downstairs caused her to turn, orbing out of his sight and from the sound of it to the hallway. A trickle of hope ran through him, as he wondered whether his Dad had returned with Wyatt in tow, after all of this time he had to ensure that Wyatt was safe, he had not come all of this way to not even find out the final outcome.
With new resolution his hand turned into a fist, he had to hold on just that little bit longer for his Dad. The door banged open and Darryl stood in the doorway, smiling.
"You know, if it would have been anyone but you two…" The sentence trailed off into a frustrated sigh.
Wyatt grinned. "Yeah we know, but we're after a demon. Do you want dead people lying about the streets?"
Darryl shook his head, "You know I don't, but I can't keep bending the law for you guys."
Chris nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation and Darryl's problem at being involved. "Do you think maybe, just this last time you could let it slide?" He bit his lip.
Darryl sighed, placing his hand onto the top of the car and leaning forward. "I swear, you Halliwell's will be the death of me yet."
"Hmmm, probably." Wyatt replied. A grin crossing his face.
"Is that supposed to be encouraging?" Darryl questioned, waving the two on quickly before any of his officers could see.
"Thanks. See I told you, it pays to have someone inside of the law."
Chris shook his head, "Let's just get going before Mom finds out you're driving her car."
"Leo! Leo!" Paige shouted, desperately wanting her brother in law to appear with an answer.
Leo orbed into sight beside her, explaining where he had been until he caught the look on her face. So similar to the one that Prue had worn when she had informed him that Piper had died. Except that this time there would be no going back in time and altering the present.
"What's wrong?"
The door to his and Piper's room swung open, with what seemed like an army of Swat teams emerging from inside. "What's going on? What the hell are you doing here?" Had they arrested Chris? Or worse with the state of the screwed up world.
Darryl walked by, his eyes lighting on Leo in sadness. "I'm sorry Leo."
Leo inhaled deeply, brushing past the officer and running into the room. "Chris!"
At the sound of his Dad' voice Chris turned, a weak smile drifting onto his face, gone in a flash as another wave of pain ripped through him.
Slowly Leo walked up to his son, kneeling down carefully as though a sudden breeze might blow away what little string of life his son was holding onto. His hand reached up and stroked aside his hair, the sweat on his forehead making the damp hair stay in place. His green eyes so like his own shone out in hope of Wyatt's rescue.
Leo shook his head slowly and regretfully.
The light in Chris' eyes dimmed, had it been his fate to come back to the past and die? He had not succeeded in setting out what he had intended to do and ruined his own future in the process, at least if he wasn't dying he could return to the future and try something else. A small niggling voice reminded him that this had been his last hope.
His head hung low and Leo picked it up, begging him to hold on as though it was all up to him. If only he could click his fingers and make everything perfect. "Don't give up, okay?"
Chris nodded. It was not his last hope, his Dad was. Leo still had a chance to change the future. Summoning all the strength he had left Chris smiled, "You either." His eyes drifting shut involuntarily and his head falling to the side.
"No, no, no. Please… no. No, please. No."
With that, this Chris Halliwell saw and heard no more. Disappearing from sight.
"Chris."
The End.
You can choose to see the memories in two different ways, as past ones or future! Let me know what you think.