The Elder's Gift
Chris faded away in Leo's arms as Leo sobbed. He couldn't believe that he lost his son. He had failed him again. He had broken yet another promise in an endless line of broken promises in the mind of his son. It didn't matter to Leo that he hadn't actually broken those promises yet. He had in Chris' memories therefore it was something he had to make up for. Now Chris had just one more thing to hold against him. Gideon was going to pay. Leo would make sure of it. The elder had killed one son and was trying to kill the other. Leo orbed out to find Gideon.
Leo destroyed Gideon and set the world to rights but it didn't help. Chris was still gone. Leo spent all of his time hunting Barbas. He barely slept, barely ate, all he could think of was getting revenge for his son. Maybe if he killed everyone involved with his death his son could forgive him for the last broken promise. After almost a week of this orbs formed in front of him.
Leo gasped as the orbs revealed Chris. Leo launched himself into his son's arms. "I'm sorry Chris. I'm so sorry. I tried to save you. I tried to get you home."
"Dad, it's okay. You saved the future. You completed my mission. My death wasn't in vain. You can't let your grief rule you dad. I need you to stay the dad I knew in this time. I.." Chris paused. Could he say it? Could he say the one thing that would snap his father out of his fog. The one thing that he had never said to this Leo. The one thing he never even said to his own Leo after the age of five. He took a deep breathe and started again. "I love you dad and I'm not gone. I'll explain everything soon. As it is I snuck away so I don't have much time. Just relax. Spend time with your family. Take care of them. They need you. I'll see you soon dad."
Leo had never let go of his son all this time and he began to sob during Chris' speech. "You snuck away from where? Have you gone to see your mother or aunts yet?"
"I can't tell you where I snuck away from. Not yet. And no I haven't gone to see them and I'm not going to. You are the one who needs me now dad. Your grief is sending you on a downward spiral and if you're not careful it's going to cost you everything. You said once that maybe I came back to fix us too and it wasn't my intention, but I've gotten my hopes up since then. Don't let me down dad. Go home."
"I love you Chris." Leo said hugging his son one more time before he orbed out. Chris smiled before he orbed out as well.
Leo orbed back into the manor with a smile on his face. Piper saw him and looked at him strangely. "What's up with you?" She asked suspiciously.
"It's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be fine." Leo said happily.
Piper started to get frustrated with her husband. He goes on a grief stricken rampage for an entire week and then finally comes home only to be all happy. "Well maybe everything is gonna be fine for you Leo, but not for me. My son is dead. I know I have his baby self, but it's not the same. I'm glad you're happy, but I can't forget so soon." She snapped at him.
"Oh Piper I'm sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been here. I'm happy because big Chris isn't gone. I saw him. He didn't explain much..."
"He never does." Piper interrupted.
"But it seems like he is going to be around soon. At least he said he'd see me soon." Leo told his wife watching as the information set in and her face transformed from one of grief to one of hope.
"Far be it for me to disbelieve anything especially when it comes to Chris, but how do you know it was real? Why didn't he come to me?" Piper asked sulkily.
"He said that he had to sneak away and he didn't have much time, but I needed him. He said if I kept it up I would lose everything and he didn't want me to change." Leo got his goofy giddy look on his face again. "He really does love me. He forgives me for everything. And he'll be back. Soon."
"Well then we better have a room ready for him don't you think?" Piper smiled. She could understand that Leo needed him more. They were all taking his death hard, but Leo was by far the worst. Probably because of his relationship with Chris. At least getting a room ready for him would give them something to do and even if he didn't mean that he'll be back in the way she was hoping for at least the room would give them something to remember him by.
Leo and the sisters spent the next week pulling all of his belongings out of storage and redecorating a room for him. The walls were painted in his favorite color of forest green, the bedspread and curtains were in a soft beige, and the furniture was in a deep redwood. They went out and bought all new furniture for the room since he had been using hand me downs before. Piper washed folded and put away all of his clothes and even bought him new ones.
Leo had a good idea of how Chris would be coming back. He was worried though because it would involve breaking the rules. Even if Chris had been given full whitelighter status, which he more than earned, the elders would never allow him contact with his living family. He didn't say anything though. If anyone could find a way around the rules Chris could, and even if he was just able to sneak away and see them from time to time a room would make him feel loved and welcome and that was the most important thing.
Just over a week after he appeared to Leo, Chris orbed into the kitchen during breakfast and suddenly found himself buried under a pile of crying women. "Well if I had known you were going to maim me I would have at least waited until after I ate." He drawled sarcastically.
The sisters, half laughing half crying, pulled him to his feet. Piper smacked him on the back of the head. "If you ever do that to me again I will find a way to resurrect you just so I can kill you myself. Got it?"
Chris laughed. "Got it mom." He said mock obediently as he looked down. He glanced up from under his eyelashes to see his mom smirking at him in his trademark smirk. "Hey you've been practicing my look." He laughed. Chris turned to see Leo standing back and giving the girls their moment. He figured he got his a week ago. Chris would have none of it. "Dad." He said walking over to Leo. "Thank you for listening to me for once." He smiled.
"Well I couldn't risk losing my family now could I?" Leo smiled brightly at him. "But I do think it's about time for the explanations you promised."
"Okay well first of all you now see before you a full fledged whitelighter. The elders gave me full whitelighter status since I did die saving the world and all."
"But how are you allowed to be here. It's against the rules." Leo asked confused.
"Well given the cirumstances, meaning me growing up in hell caused by one of their own and risking my very existence to fix it, they decided to offer me one more gift. They let me ask for whatever I wanted. Of course this was probably the last thing they wanted. They kept offering me other stuff, but I held firm so I am now your whitelighter again!"
They all cheered and engulfed him with hugs again. Piper was the first to speak. "Well as soon as your dad said you were coming back we started getting a room ready for you just in case."
Chris laughed. "You'll never change mom." He said shaking his head.
"What other stuff did they offer you?" Leo asked wondering what the elders could possibly offer that could make up for Chris' life.
"Well they offered to let me keep my witch powers, send me back to the changed future so I could see what I worked for, they even offered me full elder status. Of course they did let me keep my elder powers along with my whitelighter powers, but I don't have the status with it." Chris said.
"And you turned all that down just to be our whitelighter? Why?" Paige asked incredulously.
"Well even if I got to keep my witch powers I would still be here in this time and unable to see you guys. I like being a whitelighter and all, but not if that means I can never see my family again. They would have let me see you in the changed future, but that's not my life anymore. That's baby Chris' life. I would rather see it unfold than just be thrown into it. That and you guys need me. As far as elder status, no thanks. I've never wanted to be an elder. I'm not big on the whole greater good. As long as my family is safe and happy I'm good. I do have to warn you though dad. You are going to have to make a big decision very soon. I've heard the talk up there."
"What kind of decision?" Leo asked.
"You will have to choose between being an elder full time and becoming mortal again, but there are those who would rather recycle you than make you mortal. If you go to them first you will probably get a better deal than if they force it on you, but they will refuse to keep you as a elder as anything but full time." Chris said looking at his father sadly.
"Okay I'll go tell them I choose mortality. I'll be back soon." Leo said orbing out without even thinking about it.
Chris couldn't help but smile. "I guess I really will have my father this time around." He said softly to himself.