CHAPTER 2

Wyatt watched his brother sleep for minute. The kid was so exhausted he hadn't moved a muscle since Wyatt had made him lie down. The older brother was sitting on the edge of his kid brother's bed just watching him breathe in and out...in and out. He had never realized how lucky he was to have Chris in his life before the...the event. When his father had orbed his brother home, and told Wyatt what had happened to him and their mom...he was numb. He hadn't thought it was possible to lose anyone. He was all powerful. Shouldn't that mean his family would always be safe? Demons attacked them all the time, and it was rare when anyone got hurt because he would vanquish them in the blink of an eye. They should be safe then, right? Then that nice little bubble he had been living in burst. His mom was killed not by a demon but a psycho human. Chris had almost died that day too. He had almost lost his best friend before really ever finding him.

The Twice Blessed didn't used to like to admit that he cared about his brother. The two of them had always been so different. Wyatt was good at school, liked speech, playing sports, and dressed as Chris described as clean cut. His brother on the other hand wore whatever he could manage to put together in the morning. Most of the time it was jeans and a long sleeved tee or sweatshirt. The only thing Chris had ever been interested in was music. He loved to play his guitar. Not for anyone but himself. Wyatt respected that. Not that he would have ever admitted to it before now. Also, Chris hated school. The kid was so smart that he found classes boring and generally used the time to develop either new spells or new tunes. The only time his brother had played sports was when Wyatt asked him to practice with him. The Twice Blessed just realized that never once had his little brother turned him down when he needed his help.

"Chris...I should I have told you." He shook his head. "I thought you knew. I mean, you're my brother of course I..." Wyatt closed his eyes frustrated that he still couldn't just say the stupid words. He felt the words. Why couldn't he say them? He shook his head and rose from the bed. He needed to talk to someone about all of this. Chris needed help, and the adults were going to have to find a way to get over their own issues and give it to him. Even if Wyatt had to bang all their heads together, they would realize that Chris was in trouble and do something about it.

Stopping at the door, Wyatt turned toward his brother one last time just to make sure he was really sleeping and wouldn't get up and do something stupid again. He sighed. "Just hang on for a little longer, Chris. I'll help you." He swallowed hard. "I love you." He grinned slightly. "There I said it. You can't hear me, but I said it. Maybe someday I'll get over my stupid male pride enough to tell you when you're actually conscious." With that he slipped out of the room to go find his father and aunts.

Chris turned over in his sleep mumbling. "I love you too, Wy."

Wyatt paused just outside his Aunt Pheobe's room. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her exactly. His mom's death had hit her pretty hard. It was the second sister she had lost. The only person she seemed to care about any more was her daughter, Melinda. He didn't know if he should even bother her with this. He wasn't entirely sure if she could get a grip on her own issues long enough to help Chris with his. He sighed and knocked anyway.

The door opened a few minutes later. Pheobe frowned as she saw Wyatt's face. "What's wrong? Dumb question. Do you want to talk about it or..."

"It's not me, Aunt Pheobe, it's Chris." Wyatt took a deep breath. "I need all of you guys to help with this, so just promise you will meet me and the others in the conservatory in fifteen minutes. Don't tell Melinda about this. It's not something she should hear about."

"Wyatt, you're scaring me. What's wrong with Chris? What happened?"

Wyatt sighed. "I'll tell you all at the meeting. Just get ready to leave your own problems behind for awhile. He needs you guys to be strong for him. I gotta go get Aunt Paige and Dad so just...get ready and be there." He orbed leaving a highly worried Aunt in the hallway.

Paige had taken Piper's death only slightly better. She had decided to focus on her work, and on taking care of Phoebe, Leo and anyone else who needed her to listen. Problem was, Chris wasn't talking. She probably thought he was doing as well as could be expected. Probably thought he was just hiding in his room dealing with it like he dealt with everything else, just cranking up his music blocking out the world. She needed to hear that she was wrong. She needed to know that Chris needed her more than anyone else.

Wyatt orbed into the Great Hall of the magic school and saw Paige sitting at one of the long wooden tables, a pile of papers in front of her. When she heard the sound of orbing, the Head Master looked up and smiled at one of her favorite nephews. "Hey, Wyatt, what's up?" She noticed the look on his face. "Oh. Need to talk?"

"Yeah, but it isn't what you think." He moved over to stand in front of her. "Chris is in trouble. I'm working on getting everybody together for an emergency family meeting in about ten or fifteen minutes in the conservatory. Can you be there?"

Paige frowned clearly highly concerned. "Yeah, of course, but Wyatt...you're seriously freaking me out. What kind of trouble?"

"I'll tell you when I tell everyone else. Just be there, and, Aunt Paige, thanks for always being there for me...you know, when I needed to talk. You are doing a great job of being strong for everybody. I know this isn't any easier for you. I'm just hoping you can be even stronger...for Chris' sake."

"Wyatt?"

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I got to find Dad before I start talking. I'll see you in fifteen." Blue and white lights enveloped the teenager leaving his aunt staring at the spot he had been standing in only seconds earlier. Her heart clenched at the thought of how serious Chris' problem could be that his big brother was going around gathering all the adults. She knew the kid was in pain...maybe she had underestimated how much? Still...the twenty-two year old version was always so strong. He had lived in a hell world, and still kept on fighting. Being a determined little neurotic was who Chris was. Well, who that Chris was...maybe they weren't exactly the same after all...

Wyatt glared at the whitelighter standing guard outside the entrance to the chambers of the Council of Elders. He was not in the mood to put up with the so called rules. As the tall blonde angel continued blabbing about how only full whitelighters were allowed 'up there' Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Dad!"

Leo Wyatt came running out the doors of the chamber frowning as he saw his eldest son standing in front of the guard with a look that could kill on his face. The father turned to the whitelighter. "Uh...he's my son. It's fine. Both my boys have been up here before."

"That is strictly forbidden. No one but full whitelighters are allowed."

"That rule has been broken so many times, Henry. Don't worry so much. It's fine. If anyone gives you any problems just tell them to contact me." When the young whitelighter left, Leo turned to his son smiling, happy to see the boy out and about again. "So, Buddy, what's up? It was your first practice today right? Did everything go okay?"

Wyatt rolled his eyes tired of explaining that it wasn't him in need of help. That this Halliwell son would be fine provided that his brother didn't go off and do something stupid again. "Dad...it's Chris. He's in more pain than he's letting on. A whole lot more. I can't help him on my own. That's why I've arranged a meeting of all you adults. It's gonna start as soon as we get to the manor. I'll explain everything once everybody is ready."

Leo's face fell, his blue-green eyes looking panicked. Wyatt recognized that look. His father had sported the same terrified look the day he had lost his wife and nearly his youngest son. He took a shaky breath in and shuddered slightly. "Is he...I mean...Wyatt, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Come with me and then you'll know." He didn't wait for Leo to orb out. Wyatt just left his father standing on the clouds as he orbed into the conservatory to be met by his two aunts who seemed to be a combination of afraid and concerned.

Paige rose as soon as she saw her nephew appear. "Okay, Mister, what the heck is going on? What happened? Is Chris hurt?"

Leo orbed in just as she finished her sentence. "I'd like to know that too."

Wyatt let out a breath and motioned for the two adults to take a seat. He moved to the center of the room and began pacing not entirely sure where to begin. Not sure if the adults could handle hearing the details of what he had discovered regarding his little brother. Pheobe was close to slipping over the edge; Melinda was the only thing holding her together. Paige had never really dealt with her own issues, but rather chose to take on everyone elses, and Leo? Well, their Dad tried to be around as much as he could but being in the manor reminded him of Piper so much that he couldn't breathe. Would any of them be able to actually help his brother? He had to believe they could. If not...Chris might not make it, and that would destroy Wyatt. He sighed. "This isn't going to be easy for any of you to hear but...Chris attempted suicide."

He glanced around the room as he heard Paige gasp and lean back on the sofa. Pheobe's hand was at her mouth and her eyes began to tear up. Leo looked ready to throw up. Wyatt nodded. "Yeah, well, at least you didn't have to see it."

"How could this happen? Why didn't we see any signs?" Pheobe spoke softly, more to herself than to her eldest nephew.

Paige shook her head slowly. "When did this happen, Wyatt? What exactly happened?"

"Okay, here's the whole story. I orbed into our room after practice and was about to take a little nap when I saw..." he closed his eyes pained at just the thought of his brother actually doing what he was about to describe. Pained by the truth of it. "I saw Aunt Pheobe's prescription migraine pills spilled on his bed. When I got up to look for him...he was in the closet with some ties wrapped around his neck like a noose."

Tears slipped down Pheobe's face. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't lose anyone else. Losing two sisters was hard enough, but to lose her sister's son because all of them had been too absorbed in their own pain to notice his would be the end of her. The guilt and sorrow would kill her.

Paige hugged herself trying to will away the mental image she kept getting. Picturing her sweet selfless nephew trying to hang himself was too much to take. She had loved that boy before he was even conceived and imagining that she could have ended up outliving him hurt beyond belief. Suddenly she thought of her brother-in-law. This was going to bring about one hell of a painful memory for him. She hoped he didn't lose control like when he had lost the twenty-two year old Chris from the future. This was bound to remind him of that and without Piper here, Leo might not be able to stay on the straight and narrow if he were to lose Chris again.

"Where is Chris now?" Leo asked, his voice soft as tears threatened to fall.

"In his bed." Wyatt replied softly. "He needed to sleep. Don't think he has since mom..." He couldn't say it. "Anyway, I checked and he's completely zonked. I doubt he'll be up for at least a couple hours. That's why I got everyone together now." Wyatt turned to his father, his eyes full of compassion for the poor man who had already lost so much. His Dad looked so scared. His powerful, Elder father sure didn't look very strong right now. He looked terrified. "Dad...Chris was conscious enough to see what happened...to mom."

The teenager had expected a gasp of some kind, instead he noticed his Aunt Pheobe close her eyes silent tears streaming down her face. Paige took the news worse, her breath caught in her throat and for the first time in his life Wyatt saw panic in her eyes. Surprisingly Leo became more calm. Wyatt frowned unsure on what that could possibly mean. "Dad?"

"He saw her...you're sure?"

Wyatt nodded stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. He started describing it. I felt like I was going to lose it just listening to the brief details he started on. God, he's just a kid. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did he have to see his own mother killed? Worse, that he saw her go like that." He felt tears welling up in his own eyes and wiped them harshly away.

"What are we going to do?" Paige asked glancing back and forth between Leo and her sister. She shook her head. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. It's hard enough without the visuals. He's kept it to himself for a month. It's been eating away at him for that long, you guys, and we didn't even see it."

Phoebe looked at Leo knowing how well her suggestion would go over on him. "He should be talking to someone about this. Someone outside of the family who isn't emotionally tied to him. Someone who can see if he really is making progress or just putting on another show."

Wyatt shook his head looking at his dad. "He doesn't want to see a shrink. Got really freaked out by just the idea of it. He claimed that's why he didn't tell anyone he saw what happened. Making him see a shrink isn't the way to go."

"He just doesn't understand how helpful talking things out with an impartial party can be." Pheobe countered. "He's only seen the psychologists on television and in movies. They are just people who want to help."

Paige nodded. "They helped me after my parents died."

Leo looked at the faces around him as though they were strangers. His mind was so fuzzy right now that nothing was in focus. Everything was so wrong right now. His son had tried to kill himself. Chris a boy who had always seemed so strong...so sure of himself. Chris had always been that way before. His adult self...Leo closed his eyes at the thought. He couldn't do this again. He would not lose his youngest son again! "Enough. We can decide whether or not to go the psychiatric route later. First we figure out how to help him now."

Pheobe swallowed trying to think of anything that might be useful. "Maybe we should clean out the medicine cabinet. That way he won't have access to anything."

"That's probably a good idea. Who knows how long he's been abusing the drugs." Paige replied absently.

Leo winced and shook his head. "He's not a drug user. Chris isn't like that."

"He didn't used to be like that." Wyatt countered. "Dad, Paige is right. He used those drugs to numb the pain, and I have a feeling that today wasn't the first time. It is probably safer just to get rid of all those pills."

Pheobe nodded. "Leo, we have to cover all the bases."

"For Chris' own good." Paige added.

Leo nodded finally consenting. He turned to his sister-in-laws and trying to speak without choking up told them the plan for now. "I think that I should be the one to approach him when he wakes up. Tell him that we know, that we love him, and that we're going to do everything we have to in order to help him through this. Even if it means making him do things he doesn't want to do...like go talk to someone."

Paige shook her head still dealing with some shock. "I can't believe we could have lost him."

"We aren't going to lose Chris." Wyatt said firmly to the rest of his family. "No matter what."

tbc...