Disclaimer: I don't own anything Charmed. I do own my characters Josh, Rachel, Kat and some more that will appear later.
I try my luck with yet another story. Not much magic at the beginning of the story, I hope you like it, though.
Please review to let me know what you think.
Big thank you to my beta Laura!
Chapter 1
Wyatt and Rachel, his girlfriend walked into the club P 3. They had been dating for almost 4 years, Rachel was in his psychology course at college. Rachel wanted to be a teacher at magic school while Wyatt one in a school for the gifted. Tonight was their first night out again after two weeks. They had been searching for a new flat that was large enough for the both of them, and then the moving took more time than expected. But tonight was their night. They had gone out to see a movie, eaten some dinner in a fancy restaurant neither of them could really afford and now they wanted to dance. Well, Rachel wanted to dance, but Wyatt was okay with that.
As they got into the club they immediately got onto the dance floor. After some time, Rachel leant in screaming into Wyatt's ear, so he could hear her despite of the loud music. "Is that Chris?" She pointed to the wall opposite.
Wyatt turned around. He wasn't really interested in meeting his little brother tonight and maybe even his sister-in-law, especially when he wanted to spent his time with Rachel. Instead he saw Chris with a young woman. But this woman obviously was not Kat, Chris' wife. Well, it would have been really unusual, if she had been it. Chris and Kat never went out at least not together. But that didn't explain, why his brother's tongue was popped into the dark haired woman's mouth.
Rachel waited for her boyfriend to decide, what to do now. She didn't want to go over there, making a scene as it was not their business of what Chris did in his spare time. But she knew her boyfriend well enough. She had her own opinion about Wyatt's brother's marriage anyway, but Wyatt still believed that some thing called love connected him and Kat.
Wyatt took Rachel's hand and led her over the dance floor towards the brunette Halliwell. He leant against the wall.
"Why, hey little brother, are you having fun?" Wyatt asked cocking his head to the side.
"Wyatt! Hey! How are you?" Chris was obviously drunk. The words were slurred and he wavered slightly. "This is my big brother," he told the girl in his arms.
She laughed, apparently drunk as well. "Hi!"
"Hello! Hey, Chris, where's Kat tonight? Does she even know about your wife?" Wyatt replied rude, pointing at the woman.
The black haired held up her hand, showing the golden ring on her finger, smirking.
Wyatt frowned. "I see."
"Come on, Wyatt, it's not our business here. Let's just…" Rachel said. She tried to pull Wyatt away, but was not successful.
"I am going to bring you home, Chris," Wyatt said sternly. "Excuse us," he told the woman and led his brother away. "What the hell are you doing? What's with your wife?"
Chris made a beeline for the bar. "Hey, how about another shot?" He ordered three more glasses of whiskey but Rachel and Wyatt both refused, which ended in Chris drinking the three shots on his own. "Kat is in….I think…Nashville, Tennessee," Chris stuttered.
"Making an interview with God knows who. Or something like that." The brunette got the barkeepers attention and got another shot.
"What about Josh?"
"What about Josh? He's at home with Denise."
"Who's Denise?"
"Denise, the babysitter," Chris explained.
Wyatt shook his head. "Rach…"
"I know, I know," she interrupted him. She knew that Wyatt wanted to bring his brother home and she was okay with that. She knew about their brotherly bond which was important for them in their fight against the demons and how protective Wyatt still felt towards his brother, although they both were over 20 now. Luckily, there hadn't been many demons over the years since Rachel and Wyatt were together. But this could change any day. Moreover to Rachel, family meant everything, even more so, as she had lost all of hers and found such a nice home in the Halliwell family.
Wyatt got behind his brother helping him down the barstool. He paid the bartender and somehow they made their way out of the club. Rachel got a cab and the three got in the back.
"Where do you know this Denise from?" Wyatt asked.
Chris rested his forehead against the cool glass of the window. He felt the consequences of too much alcohol, the dizziness and the ill feeling in the pit of his stomach. "She's a neighbour. About sixteen. I hope, she called all her class mates and talked with them for as long as possible, spending Kat's damn money."
"You left Josh with a sixteen year old girl?" Wyatt asked.
Had his brother always been such a nagging jerk? "Damn it, Wy. I know what is good for my son and what's not! It's me who is raising him for 4 years now. So shut the fuck up!" he shouted at his brother angrily.
"Okay, okay! Calm down," Wyatt said. He searched for Rachel's eyes, but she just stared out into the night. "I'm sorry, Rach."
"It's okay, Wy, really. Let's just get him home and then get home ourselves and do something else." She winked.
Wyatt smirked.
They arrived at the apartment complex, where Chris and his family lived for almost 5 years now. They had an apartment on the fourth floor. It seemed that Chris could be quite heavy, if the wanted to, despite his slender form. Wyatt had contemplated to orb them but it was too risky as a lot of young restless people lived here. It was not really a home to raise a child, but Kat was a TV reporter and wouldn't just live in a nice little house in the suburbs. Therefore, they stayed in a fashion magazine like, four room apartment. Only Josh's bedroom had showed some life. Chris and Leo had made the room themselves with wallpaper with cars on it and enough room to play in.
Wyatt found Chris' keys in his brother's pocket and opened the door, startling the sixteen year old babysitter. She obviously had been watching a movie that was not suitable for her age.
"Oh, hi, Mr Halliwell!" she greeted turning off the TV.
"Hey, Denise," Chris mumbled. "Did you call your friend in South Africa?"
"No, of course not, Mr Halliwell," the girl squeaked.
"Then please do it now, my wife pays for everything. That's the only thing she can do."
The girl frowned, wondering. It was only the third time, she met Chris Halliwell and babysat Josh, but usually he was really nice towards her.
Wyatt sighed. "You should go now, Denise," Wyatt said. "You'll get your money tomorrow."
Denise grabbed her bag and jacket and headed out. "That's okay. I see you soon, Mr Halliwell."
"Bye, bye." Chris fell down on the sofa, resting his feet on the coffee table.
"I am going to the kitchen, making you some coffee," Rachel said.
"I hate coffee," Chris told her angrily. "You do know that I hate coffee. I tell you every damn morning, Kat!"
Rachel looked at her boyfriend. "I'm Rachel."
"You should go to bed now, Chris. Come on, I help you," Wyatt said. He took his brother by the arm and tried to lead him straight into his bedroom. But Chris fought against him. "I have to say good night to my son first."
"Josh is already asleep. You will only wake him up. Come on."
"Let me go!" Chris yelled and broke free out of his brother's grip. He opened the door of his son's bedroom. The little boy was already sitting up in his bed. The loud voices had woken him up. His daddy had been out tonight and Denise had watched him. She couldn't cook and the pasta she had made, tasted burnt. Usually, his dad never left him alone for so long but his mommy had called this morning and then his daddy got really mad and Josh couldn't talk to him any more. He couldn't explain why his daddy was so angry. Mommy was gone so often, that it was more unusual for her to be home. Therefore, Josh could not understand why his dad was so angry. Even before dinner time, Denise came over and his dad left the apartment without even saying goodbye. That had made Josh really sad, but Denise played with him with his cars and it was a bit better. She even sang a song to him before he fell asleep.
Chris went over to his son. The little boy pressed his stuffed dog at his chest and looked at him with his large brown eyes.
"Hey, sport. How are you?"
Josh wrinkled his nose at the smell that came from his dad. Usually, his daddy smelled really good like fresh cut grass. The smell came out of a bottle, which stood in the bathroom on the basin, next to the really sharp thingy his daddy used every morning, but Josh was not allowed to touch.
Tonight, there was another smell. Smoke and something else that Josh didn't recognized. Demon guts, maybe. Yes, that had to be it. He and Uncle Wyatt surely had been vanquishing a demon or two. That must be why his uncle was there, too. Josh couldn't wait until he was old enough to vanquish some demons, too. He hoped he'd get some cool blasting power like his uncle.
"Have you been blasting demons?" Josh asked with large eyes. Maybe they would tell him a story about the vanquish.
"No, no demons. Just whiskey," Chris said.
Josh didn't know what Whiskey was maybe a dark lighter or some kind of warlock. Dark lighters were really dangerous towards Uncle Wyatt, daddy, Auntie Paige and her kids and Josh himself. Warlocks were always dangerous for everybody.
Josh watched his daddy starting to laugh. He never laughed at least not without any reason at all. Or maybe Whiskey was a funny guy. Whatever it was, Josh didn't really like his daddy tonight.
"Go now, daddy! I want to sleep," Josh said. He tried to lie back down again but his daddy held him back by his wrists. It hurt.
"What do you think, Wy? Does he look anything like Kat?" Chris picked his son up. Josh didn't want to leave his warm bed and he struggled a bit against him. But Chris only held him tighter and Josh gave up fighting against him. Chris stood up, wavering slightly but getting his footing back at once. He showed Josh to Wyatt like some piece of clothing.
"What do you think, Wy?" he asked again.
The blond man shook his head. "He's a miniature you. Okay? Now, put him back to bed."
"I don't know…" Chris took a closer look at his son.
Josh started squirming again in his arms.
"Chris, let him go," Wyatt said again, more firmly. He got closer to his nephew and saw tears gather in his eyes. "Chris, you're scaring him." He took the little boy out of his brother's arms and hugged him to his chest. "Why don't you just say goodnight and join Rachel?"
"Okay, okay. Night, Josh!"
"Night, daddy," the little boy mumbled into Wyatt's shoulder. His uncle smelled better, but his shirt had a hint of smoke as well.
Wyatt waited for his brother to leave the kid's bedroom. He took a deep breath, patting his nephew's back a bit. Then he lay him back down in his bed. "Okay, baby boy, there you go," Wyatt sat down on the edge of the bed, covering the little body properly. "Are you okay?"
Josh nodded, making his long banks fall into his eyes.
Wyatt smiled at him, stroking the hair back. He couldn't wait to have such a little thing on his own. Josh really was one tough little guy.
Flashback:
Wyatt and Chris sat on the hard plastic chairs for what seemed like an eternity. Kat was early and some nurse said something about complications, but that was all they had heard.
"Do you want me to call someone else?" Wyatt asked for the hundredth time. And Chris shook his head mutely for the hundredth time in return.
They just sat there, helplessly, watching the minutes tick by.
Finally a doctor came to them. He told them that Kat was fine, still a little groggy but she would feel better tomorrow.
"What about the baby?" Chris asked impatiently.
"He's really small and needs some help breathing. We put him into an incubator.
His heart is pumping, and his other internal organs are working fine. He should turn out okay. You can go and see him."
It was easy to find Josh between the other babies. He was the smallest of them and had long dark locks already. The ventilator that was attached to his nose seemed much too big and heavy for the little guy but the nurse said he was okay. It was torture to only be able look at the baby, not being allowed to touch him.
"Do you think his head is okay?" Wyatt asked after a while.
Chris looked at his brother like he was going to kill him any second. "Look at your own!" he said through grunted teeth.
Wyatt smirked. "Come on, it looks a bit deformed."
"It does not!" Chris crouched down getting at his son's heigh. "He's perfect. I tell you, tomorrow they'll put him out of this thing and he will breathe all on his own because he's a tough little guy. He doesn't need anyone."
The doctor allowed to get the baby into a normal little crib and Josh breathed on his own, he drank his bottle on his own and he could scream like crazy, if something didn't went his way.
"Okay, you go back to sleep now. We never wanted to wake you," Wyatt told him standing up.
"Uncle Wy, is daddy okay?"
There was no use lying to his nephew. "Ehm…no, bud, he's a bit sick tonight. But he'll be fine tomorrow."
"Okay, because tomorrow, I have to be at the kindergarten on time as Mrs. Davidson hands out the instruments tomorrow," Josh explained. "And when you are late, you get the stupid triangle and I want the cymbals."
"Oh, don't you worry, you'll be in time, I promise," Wyatt smiled at his son. Poor kid already had to worry about getting the shit, if he was too late.
Josh nodded. There was no need to not believe his uncle. Wyatt had never lied to him. His uncle turned off the light again, but before he could leave the room, Josh yelled after him. "Uncle Wyatt, who is Whiskey?"
Wyatt tried not to laugh. "That's a thing for your daddy to explain to you."
Josh shrugged and cuddled deeper into the covers.
Wyatt saw his brother and girlfriend sitting on the sofa. She was talking to him quietly, but Chris didn't really seem to care. Wyatt took the seat next to his brother. "Are you okay?"
"Of course. Perfect," Chris replied. "Kat is gone."
"But she will be back?" Rachel asked. Maybe they had finally broken up.
"Yeah." The two lovers looked at each other, both noticing the disappointment in Chris' voice.
"You need to go to bed," Wyatt told him harshly. "Come on, I help you."
Chris didn't fight against his brother this time and staggered to his bedroom. God, he hated this bedroom. Kat had chosen everything, the big wooden bed and the damn antique wardrobe and vanity. He had thrown away the fucking black and white carpet months ago, when Kat had been on a business trip. She had gone totally crazy but Chris told her a demon had ruined it. She couldn't argue against that.
Wyatt helped him lying down and took of his shoes and jeans. "Can you care for Josh tomorrow morning?"
"I can care for my son no matter what!" Chris shouted.
"Okay, I know. When do you need to get up tomorrow for work?"
"I don't need to get up for work at all," Chris mumbled. "I was fired. Because Kat had to get to the airport and I had to bring Josh to the kindergarten and therefore, I came too late and my boss fired me."
"Oh, that's bad. He can not just fire you," Wyatt said, but he didn't have any answer as Chris was already asleep.
Wyatt took the alarm clock off the nightstand and programmed it on 7 o'clock.
Wyatt didn't hear from his brother for the next 2 days. He had orbed by three times, but no one was home. He had asked his Aunt Phoebe to take a look at her nephew. When Chris told his parents at the age of 18, that he'd be a father and had ran away to marry Kat, a girl he had met at a party 2 months ago and who was not even his girlfriend, Piper was furious. She refused to talk to Chris for months but Leo had tried to make her understand, but he was somehow caught in the middle. When Josh was born, Chris was the one caring for him, as Kat had a job to pay their bills and wanted to go on with her career. Leo helped his son as good as he could, but Piper was stubborn as ever and avoided her son and grandson.
It was Phoebe, who helped her nephew with his little baby.
Wyatt was in class when his mobile started to vibrate. He gave his students a task to do and went into the hallway.
"Wy, it's me," Chris said. He sounded somewhat far away.
"Chris? Where are you? I can't really hear you."
"Wy, Kat's plane crashed. She's dead."
Wyatt opened his mouth but no words came out. She's dead. Kat was the most livid person he knew, the one who wanted nothing more than making a big career in television, the one who was even more stubborn and determined than his mum and brother together, dead.
"God, Chris, I'm so sorry. That's awful. What happened?"
"The plane crashed," Chris repeated monotonously.
"Listen, I'll come to get you right now."
"No, no, that's okay. Just go on working. I just wanted you to know."
Obviously, his brother was still in shock. He didn't seem to care at all. He had just lost his wife and showed no feelings. Chris never showed much of his emotions but this was a unique situation.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely Wy, I can handle it. I called her family already, but they still don't want to hear anything about her. So it's up to me to arrange the damn funeral. At least, she left enough money to pay for it. I really don't want to waste my money. Listen, Wy, I need to go now, I'm still at the police station."
Wyatt looked at the mobile in his hand quizzically. What the hell? Did his brother just told him that the funeral for his wife was a waste of money?
He must be still in shock.
Wyatt knew his brother and Kat had some problems. They surely would have never married – hell, they would have never seen each other again - if Josh wasn't about to arrive, but they married out of their free will. They even ran away to do so. This was weird. Chris needed some time to understand the situation that was probably it.
He couldn't be that uncaring.