Something better

The memories started soon after Chris turned seventeen. Flashes of a world in darkness, fear and pain were the most common motives. Slowly the nightmares Chris had turned more intense and he saw pictures of dying innocents and a world full of demons. It was horrible and Chris was scared. What was happening to him?

He casted spell after spell to find out what was wrong with him, only to receive nothing informative for the first time. But half a year after all this started he dreamed of himself and suddenly everything made sense.

Well, it wasn't himself exactly. Rather a former version of him from a timeline the seventeen year old Chris thankfully never knew. It was the Chris who came from the future to save his brother from the evil; it was the man the sister and Leo got to know as Chris Perry.

He explained the teenager from the changed future what has happened and how it changed the future. It was hard imagining Wyatt as an evil ruler, Chris had to admit. The Wyatt he know was always optimistic, funny and a human ray of sunshine. Of course he knew the story of how Wyatt was summoned to the past and changed to his evil self by Vicus but still...his brother was good and Chris was more than just sure that he wouldn't want to experience a world where that wasn't the case.

After his enlightening dream Chris' memories slowly clicked into all the right places and by the time he was twenty-two (the same age he went to the past in the original timeline) he had all the memories from his past self as well as his memories from the changed future.

Of course that wasn't always easy. Sometimes the memories clashed and he had to withdraw himself from his family and friends to find some peace alone and organise his thoughts. Clear his head from unwanted memories like Gideon's betrayal and his own death (Being stabbed hurt more than he would have thought)

His nightmares stopped and only happened once in a while. As he grew older he learned to cope better with it. Even if some of the dreams left him shaking and hoarse from the screaming in his sleep. A blessing to have his own apartment in New York where nobody could hear him than. His family didn't need to worry about him.

Chris hated to worry his parents and so he kept all this to himself. They had no idea that he knew about Chris Perry. Before his dreams and memories started Chris didn't even know that there was a Chris Perry once. The Halliwells didn't talk about a neurotic whitelighter from the future. Maybe they didn't want to burden their Chris with it. At least that was Chris guess.

But it wasn't only the memories. As he grew older he watched himself became Chris. Often he would look in the mirror and compare himself to his other self. And over the years the person looking back from the mirror looked more and more like the witch who became the sisters' whitelighter while Leo was an elder. It was kinda cool to know that he was once responsible for protecting his family (he may have made mistakes, but all things considered he made a good job, thank you very much). Yes, he knew they didn't trust him but he couldn't blame them. He would have done the same. And the memories of a Mini-Wyatt who was scaring away their mother's dates was so damn cute, especially compared to the twenty-four-year old now. Sometimes Chris started laughing thinking about that.

Of course a lot of things had changed between the unchanged and the changed future. His relationship with Bianca for example. He knew her, he knew they were engaged, he knew she died. But in the changed future he never met her and frankly he didn't miss her. She was older than him that he knew, but that was it. He accepted her as a part of the unchanged future and there she belonged. She didn't fit in a life with a good older brother, a father who was always around and a Piper who was alive.

Chris was okay with it.

All those things came to his mind after he woke up from a dream where some of his memories mixed. Most of the time he was at peace with the two timeline sin his head but sometimes the mixed memories mad him restless and on the edge. He sat up in his bed and watched the sun dancing on the floor of his bedroom. Sun, sun was good. There wasn't much sun in the world Wyatt ruled. It was rather dirty and a dust was always in the air, making everything looking grey.

The young whitelighter sighed again and got up. With a yawn he made his way up the stairs to the kitchen. Living in the basement had its perks. He was closer to the food.

When he entered the kitchen he stopped to watch the scene in front of him. Piper was busying herself at the oven, making pancakes and telling her sixteen-year old daughter Melinda not to text her friends while having breakfast with her family; Leo sat at the table, reading the news paper and drinking his coffee while Wyatt filled a bowl to the brim with cereal and milk.

Chris had to smile. That was his family. They were all alive and happy. And most important, they were good. There were still demons running around and Wyatt was still the most powerful magical individual but this life was perfect. And with a happy family like this he the worries from the unchanged future which sometimes crept into his thoughts were almost non-existent and nothing he couldn't handle.

"Good morning." Chris greeted his family smilingly. Piper turned to him. "Good morning, peanut." He would always be her baby no matter how old he was. Chris got used to the nickname. Now he kissed her on the cheek before he opened the fridge and searched for the orange juice.

"On the table." Leo announced. Chris closed the fridge door again.

"Thanks, Dad."

He didn't miss the smile on Leo's face. Now that he knew what happened he realised why his father was so happy to have a great relationship with his son.

"What happened that made you smile like this?" Wyatt had watched his little brother and the saw the increasing smile on Chris' face. Now his brother looked at him and his green eyes shined with happiness.

"Nothing, it's just a wonderful morning." he explained and wrapped his arms around his brothers shoulders to pull him into a hug. In an instant Wyatt's arms found their way around Chris' waist and he hugged his little brother back.

I love you, Wy. Chris told his brother through their telepathic connection.

Love you too, little brother. Wyatt answered and smiled.

The changed future was great because the brothers had each other. They weren't alone like they were in the unchanged future. And that was the most amazing thing that happened once the timeline was changed.

Just a little fic that came to my mind this morning.

Like it? Let me know.