Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed.

Chapter 3

Chris orbed back into the manor several hours later, covered in dirt, blood (fortunately most of which wasn't his) and bruises. His clothes were ruined and would have to be thrown away, as along with the numerous stains of dirt and blood, they were quite badly torn.

In the underworld, he'd vanquished demon after demon after demon. As he'd predicted, the sound of the fighting had attracted more of them, and he'd vanquished them all.

Some of them had even been cocky, upper-level demons, sure that no crossbreed, no matter what his heritage, could possibly vanquish them. They were probably less sure now, now that they joined the low-level demons as flecks of dust and ash on the floor.

Standing in the hall, Chris listened carefully for any sounds of movement in the house, and was relieved when there were none. While he was quite pleased with his morning's work, (he reckoned he'd probably vanquished his demon quota for the week), he was not looking forward to being on the receiving end of Piper's lecture if she found out where he'd gone instead of eating breakfast. And it wasn't because he was scared of being yelled at…

He just didn't think he could deal with the underlying worry and disappointment that would no doubt be in her eyes as she spoke. He didn't want to be the cause of such emotions to her. Already whenever he was around her, he could feel her fear. Her fear of failing him as a mother, even though he hadn't even been born yet.

Chris had tried to assure her that she'd been the best mother he could have ever hoped for, but he knew that she hadn't completely believed him. He couldn't imagine what this was like for her; her grown up son from the future arriving in this time when she's still pregnant with him. Being told by him that her precious eldest son, who to her is still a toddler, was going to become the ruler of all evil and have his whole family killed. And know that the whole future depended on your mothering skills…

This was what had happened to Piper, and yet she wasn't a quivering wreck, crying in the corner. She did what she always did, what she'd done his whole life, protect and love her family to the very best of her ability.

In fact, she was so like the mother he'd known growing up that he was having difficulty remembering that this Piper wasn't his mother. It was becoming increasingly difficult, because not only were they effectively the same person, but ever since she'd learnt his identity, the eldest Charmed One's maternal instincts had kicked in and she was behaving just like a mother to him. No, just like his mother.

Trying to clear his thoughts, as well as block out the neighbour's, Chris went upstairs to clean himself up, and dispose of his ruined clothes.

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Half an hour later, he came back down the stairs and wondered what to do. So far in his time in the past, he hadn't found himself with much free time. He spent all his time vanquishing demons. So now he'd just been on a vanquishing spree, and for the first time in months decided he deserved a few hours off… he had no idea what to do with himself.

He wandered aimlessly through the manor, and ended up in the living room. He stood in the middle of the room for a moment, looking around for a source of inspiration. His eyes fell on the piano in the corner.

The young witchlighter walked over to it and lifted the lid. It was easy to forget it was there in this time. None of the sisters played it, and Wyatt certainly couldn't yet.

Sitting down, and running his fingers over the keys, Chris tried to remember the last time he'd played. They hadn't had a piano when he'd been in hiding with Bianca, and there definitely hadn't been one in Wyatt's dungeons.

There had however been one in the resistance base. It'd been salvaged from a nearby house, and brought to the base in the hopes that music would encourage morale and hope in everyone who resided there. But until Chris had learned of it's existence, no one had really played it on a regular basis.

Chris looked at the empty music stand on the piano. The sisters had no sheet music, not that that really mattered of course. In the 2 years he'd been with the resistance he'd had virtually no music, only scraps of what scout teams found whilst hunting for food and other supplies.

Hesitantly Chris placed his fingers on the keys, and began to play. The tune was halting at first, his fingers stumbling through the vaguely familiar patterns of tunes learned long ago. And as he continued, the melody flowed more smoothly, the music singing out, almost with a life of its own, and Chris realised just how much he'd missed playing.

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Piper came back to the manor from the grocery store, bags in hand, Wyatt on her hip, and heard music coming from inside. She entered the hall, put down the bags and curiously looked into the living room.

The sight that met her eyes was one that she knew she would treasure. Chris, the neurotic whitelighter from the future, who had been recently revealed as her youngest son, was playing the piano.

She smiled. Chris hadn't noticed her yet, which was something else that surprised her. His hearing was so good, that along with his empathy and telepathy it meant that you couldn't do anything in this house without him knowing about it. But he was so wrapped up in what he was doing that he hadn't become aware of her, standing in the doorway. And she didn't do anything to alert him to her presence. She just wanted to stand and listen to his beautiful playing.

Wyatt however, had other ideas. He was bored, and wanted his mother to pay some attention to him! So he started crying.

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At the sound of a cry, Chris instantly stopped playing and looked up, only to see Piper standing in the doorway with Wyatt, who was crying.

He suddenly felt the need to explain his actions to her, worried that she'd be annoyed with him. "I- I was just… I w-was only… It- It was…," he stammered, for some reason finding himself incapable of forming a coherent sentence.

But Piper just smiled at him and said, "It's ok Chris. It's about time someone used the piano. All it does now is collect dust… and get destroyed almost every time a demon attacks. You can carry on if you want to."

As grateful as Chris was that he now knew that he could play the instrument whenever he wanted, he didn't think he could carry on playing, not now that he knew there was someone listening. "No, I've finished now anyway. But thanks."

He could feel her disappointment as she said, "Another time maybe, well I've got to go and sort Wyatt out. We're gonna go to the park, aren't we sweetie?" the last part directed at Wyatt.

She turned and started to walk away, but then she hesitated and turned back. He could feel her nervousness, it making butterflies in his stomach, as well as hers as she asked, "you could come with us if you want." Her hope that he'd say yes was practically radiating from her.

"Sure," Chris answered, "I'd love to." And it was true. He did want to go to the park with Piper and his little-big brother. He had no reason not to; he'd done enough demon vanquishing today to justify taking a few hours off. Also, he knew just how upset Piper would've been had he said no.

"Great!" Piper smiled, "I'll go and get Wyatt ready!"

As she walked away, Chris sighed. The only bad thing about spending the afternoon with Piper and Wyatt was that it would make him feel more like part of the family…. It would make him feel more like her son, like she was his mother… And the fact remained, he didn't belong here. This wasn't his time, and sooner or later, he'd have to leave. And who knows what he'd be going home to.

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Sorry about this chapter everyone! Not a lot happened, I know. It's kind of a filler chapter, more will happen next time… promise!!!

Again, please here my plea for ideas! And please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter, even though not a lot happened. Because reviews make me happy, and they might make me update quicker…