Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed. I own five seasons of Charmed on DVD, and have some posters in my closet, but I don't think that counts...

Leo, my dad, carried me into a bedroom. My eyes were closed and I felt very weak. Every time dad took a step, it jarred my body. Dad put me on a bed and I managed to open my eyes. He was kneeling next to me, trying to Heal my wound. Gideon was after Wyatt; if dad didn't save Wyatt then my coming back would all be for nothing. My future wouldn't have changed, except that I would die. I would die before I was even born. It was hard to breathe but I managed to.

"You have to find Wyatt." I told dad. I was amazed at how weak my voice sounded. Dad shook his head.
"We're going to find him together." He said desperately. I shook my head; I felt like my body was becoming stone. Dad was still trying to Heal me.
"It won't work. You've already tried." I took a breath. "Gideon's magic did this to me. He's the only one who can stop it."

I never felt more rage then I did right now. Gideon is trying to kill Wyatt, it's because of him Wyatt turns evil, and I tried to protect the future. When I protected Wyatt, Gideon killed me; I knew I would die. I could feel it. Dad had to save Wyatt, otherwise my death will be for nothing. I pushed his hands away.

"Just…go. Saving Wyatt saves the future. You know that."

Maybe it would save me too. Dad looked desperate. "Gideon doesn't know how to kill Wyatt, remember? We still have time." Dad said as he got ready to try to heal me again. I pushed his hands away. "Only until the trauma turns him." I pointed out. I was sweating heavily now. Dad looked torn and tortured."I am not going to choose between you and Wyatt, Chris. I can't."

It was ironic. After all the mistrust, all my lies and manipulations, my dad still loved me. He never had in the future, but he loved me before I technically existed. But it didn't matter; he had to save Wyatt.

"You don't have to, dad. Find Gideon and you save us both." I said. I really hoped it was true; I couldn't stand it if my life, and my death, was all for nothing.

Dad still looked torn. "All right. All right, but I'm not leaving you alone. I'll be right back." He wasn't supposed to stay, he had to save Wyatt! "Where are you going?" I asked, revealing my weakness inside. I knew what had to be done, but I didn't want to die alone.

It was getting harder to breathe and I was starting to feel cold. I felt my blood leave my body; I had to keep breathing. "To get one of your aunts to watch over you." Answered dad.

I tried to breathe, but it hurt. It hurt to fight, I'd been fighting all my life, it was so comfortable on the bed; if I could just sleep…I would never have to fight again. I mentally hit myself. I had to keep fighting. I had to save my brother.

"You're going to be fine. Okay? I promise." Said dad. I knew he couldn't promise that, but I nodded anyway. Dad leaned over, kissed my forehead, rubbed my hair, and orbed out.

I kept taking breath after breath. I forced myself to picture Wyatt in my head. I made myself breathe and breathe; I made myself live. Once they beat Gideon, they would come back and Heal me. I told myself, even though I knew deep inside it wouldn't happen. I felt a tear slide down my cheek; I didn't want to die. I didn't want it all to be for nothing.

I wiped away my tear with effort. My hand was numb and cold. It fell back on the bed with a plop, and I knew I didn't have much time left. "Chris?" I heard Paige call.

She was in the house? "Paige?" I tried to shout, but it came out much softer.

I was starting to get dizzy. Suddenly the door to the room burst open, Darrel and Sheridan dragging in Paige behind them. Two SWAT members also came in and pointed their guns at me. With the exception of Paige, everyone wouldn't stop smiling. I groaned slightly; how much worse could my death get? Would I see mom or dad again before I died? After all I had gone through, couldn't they let my die in peace? Darrel put his hand on my forehead. I pushed it away roughly. I glared at him and Sheridan.

"Get out!" I told them as rudely and as forcefully as I could.

Darrel smiled and walked out of the room with Sheridan. The SWAT people dragged Paige out with them. They probably wanted to respect the 'dying man's last request' rule. They should go to hell; I'd been there, and they deserved it.

I was dizzy and it was hard to focus on anything; I felt cold all over, like it was winter in the room. I knew I was sweating heavily. I tried to breathe faster to give myself more time; I couldn't stop breathing, no matter how hard it was. Breathe in, breathe out.

Somewhere in the distance I heard Sheridan and Darrel talking to Paige. Paige started to call for Leo. For dad. Had they beat Gideon yet? Could dad Heal me? I looked at the door, and noticed that my vision was getting blurry. Breathe in, breathe out.

Dad ran into the room. "Chris." He said running to sit by my side. It was so hard to breathe. "Hey." I managed to say. My voice was like a whisper. Dad looked like he'd been crying, his face was lined with worry and fear.

"Hey. I'm here now. You can…hold on, okay? Hold on…hold on. I'm here. You can hold on, okay?" he said, trying to reassure himself, and me all at once.

I nodded and my head felt like stone; cold and heavy, and slow. Breathe in, breathe out. I was happy my dad was here for me now, at my death. It made up for when he hadn't been in with me in the Future.

"Don't give up, okay?" he said again, his voice breaking. Dad's hand was in my hair, he was hugging me. He loved me. My father loved me.

But I wasn't important now; Dad wasn't Healing me, so he still had to save Wyatt, he couldn't give up. "You either." I said. I couldn't breathe!

I felt so cold, so cold. Then I saw Clarence standing in front of me. Clarence, the Angel of Death, who worked at P3 less then a year ago.

I suddenly found that I was warm and snug; I felt free and weightless. Clarence held out his hand. "Take my hand, Chris. It's your Time." he said gently.

Part of me was angry; all of my life I'd dodged Death. Why did I have to be taken now, when Wyatt still had to be saved!? I felt spirit rising out of my body; I looked back at my body and saw that it was fading away. Fading where?

Dad was crying, clutching at the bed and screaming his anguish to the world. I saw that Paige had been standing by the door the whole time; she was crying too, the tears running freely down her cheeks.

I wanted to reassure them that I was ok, but knew that I wouldn't be able to reach them. I felt so bad; why should dad and Paige have to suffer for my mistake? It wasn't their fault that I died, they shouldn't be crying over me.

"Can't I stay until we save Wyatt?" I asked Clarence desperately. I was floating in the clouds 'Up There' with Clarence, my family was gone. I felt my wound, but it was gone; if I hadn't known I'd been hurt, I never would've believed I'd been injured.

"But Wyatt will be saved." Said Clarence.
"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Chris, your death motivates Leo to go after Gideon and commit a great act of evil. This makes the worlds go back to the way they were, and it saves the Cosmic Balance. Wyatt will not have been with Gideon long enough for him to be traumatized into becoming evil. Because of that, you never came back because Wyatt was never evil." Clarence paused for breath.

"You didn't die today Chris, one possible version of you did." I was still confused. "I don't understand." I said. I was myself, how could I not have died?

"You saved Wyatt, so you never had to come back, Gideon never turned him evil, and you, Chris, didn't die." I didn't get it. I was dead; Clarence was and Angel of Death. "You didn't die because in the future you created, you never came back here. You saved your life by saving Wyatt from becoming evil. You died, so that you would survive."

Ok, so somehow I wasn't dead because I saved Wyatt. But why was I floating? "So what will happen to me?" I asked.

Clarence smiled kindly. "You will go back to the future you helped create. To live the rest of your life there. My jaw dropped; I was going back home! I wasn't dead! I'd saved Wyatt after all! It had all been worth it.

"You have a choice, as a reward for saving the future; you can choose to remember the life you lived, along with the one you get to go back to. Or you can forget this life and only have the memories of the one you will now live. Either way you will remember the memories from the life you will live from now on, but you get to decide if you want to remember this life too."

I put my hand to my chin; this was big. I would start life with a completely clean slate either way; but did I want to remember the horrors of the world I fixed?

I decided I did. It was who I was, and am. I didn't want to lose any part of myself, no matter how scarred. "I'll keep my memories, thanks." I told Clarence. He smiled and held out his hand. "Then let's go home, Chris, to your new life." I took Clarence's hand, and went into my future.

A big thanks to:

Tintenschwert...

who helped me with the editing of the story and made it better :)

Don't forget to R&R. :D