"They are CHILDREN, Leo!"
Before he even made it down the stairs, Chris could hear his mother shouting from the kitchen.
As he had drifted off to sleep the previous night he had briefly wondered how she would take the news—by the time he had gotten back home, his mother had gone to bed and he had managed a brief conversation with his father before stumbling into his room and collapsing from exhaustion.
His dad, always the more level headed of his parents, had taken the news fairly well. He had looked concerned, but there had been definite pride in his eyes as well when Chris had told him about his new role.
His mother, however, would be an entirely different story and Chris braced himself for the worst as he reluctantly walked into the kitchen.
He paused in the doorway for a moment, surveying the shards of broken plates currently littering the ground. The young man was willing to bet that this was the work of his mother's explosive power.
It took a second for the woman to catch sight of him but, as soon as she did, she came rushing in his direction and pulled him into a tight hug.
Well, at least she wasn't mad at him, he thought with relief.
"Christopher!" She exclaimed, uncharacteristically using his full name. "Sweetheart, we are going to fix this, I promise!"
He let her cling to him for a bit, but he soon had to beg for mercy. "Mom, please, you're hurting me." He choked out.
She apologized as she drew back and then quickly ushered him towards the table where a large stack of banana pancakes was waiting. Although they were his favourite, he looked up at her with wary confusion.
He had expected her to yell at him, not to cling to him and treat him to his favourite breakfast. She was behaving oddly, not that he could really blame her for it the day after her sister's funeral.
The young man looked towards his father, in search of an explanation but the older man simply shrugged. Leo was probably just as confused—she had been yelling at him a moment earlier and now she was hovering over their youngest son as if he was six years old again.
"Would you like syrup or jam, sweetheart?" She asked, placing a hand on his cheek as she spoke. "You know what, I'll bring you both!"
Piper bustled off towards the cupboard and he watched his father cautiously back away as she passed. She did not acknowledge her husband and quickly retuned to sit next to her son, the promised items in tow.
Before he knew what was happening, she had coated the pancakes in syrup and jam for him and looked up expectantly.
"Don't you worry about a thing, sweetheart. Just enjoy your breakfast." She said before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "We're going to sort everything out."
Piper turned, her expression visibly darkening. "Aren't we, Leo?"
His father let out a gentle sigh as he looked towards the table and Chris could tell that he was trying to choose his words carefully.
"As I was saying, Piper." The whitelighter began cautiously. "Even the elders can't fight fate. I'm not sure what we can do."
Chris could feel his mother tense and he braced himself for an outburst. She was not always the best at listening to reason.
"He's too young, Leo." The woman snapped back, clearly forgetting her earlier attempt to be calm. "He's not even done college! And lord knows he has already sacrificed enough. I'm his mother and if Chris wants a normal life, I am going to fight until he gets what he deserves."
"Mom, it's fine." Chris cut in, hoping to diffuse some of the tension. There was already so much to deal with, and he didn't want his parents to argue on his behalf.
He had never been fond of conflict.
"It's not fine, Christopher." She retorted, finally directing some of her anger at him. "They can't do this to you! I won't let them turn my son into a whitelighter! This is not how things are supposed to be! You're not one of them!"
Chris was somewhat surprised to feel a flash of anger run though him as his mother spoke. Sure, he was not thrilled about the situation either—but it hurt him more than he had expected to hear her statements.
Pancakes forgotten, the young man stood up abruptly.
"Sorry if I'm a disappointment to you, mom." He replied, roughly tucking in his chair. "But if you didn't want your son to be a whitelighter then you probably shouldn't have broken the rules and married one. But, like it or not, you're stuck with me now."
Incensed, Chris threw a handful of orbs up towards the ceiling to emphasise his point. "I'm never going to be normal. Deal with it." He paused. "Or don't"
Before he could take another step he felt his mother's hand on his arm and softened as he looked down to see the hurt in her eyes.
"Chris," She began, much more gently then before. "You know that's not what I meant."
After a moment, he let out a breath and nodded.
He knew that.
Of course he did.
But he had been so worried about her disappointment and rejection that he had quickly leapt to the worst possible conclusions.
"I love you, and your brother and sister, exactly as you are." She continued before shooting her husband an apologetic glance as well. "I'm just worried about you. And your cousins. I know better than most what a huge burden has been cast on you all—and no mother wants her child to experience that kind of danger and pain."
Chris nodded as he slowly sank back down into his seat. Piper quickly sat down beside him and they both waited for a moment as Leo made his way to the other side of the table.
He could sense the concern radiating off of them both.
The young man took a breath.
"I know, mom. I get why you're worried." He conceded. "And you're right, this isn't exactly what I imagined for myself." Chris gave a small smile. "I may have inherited dad's powers, but I got your terrible stubbornness." He noted. "I did not accept this without a fight."
His father smiled and his mother gave him a playful swat on the arm for the comment on her demeanour.
"I was up there last night, telling the elders off for summoning me—but then I heard the girls crying out for help and I knew what had to be done. They needed me, mom, and I know that I can do this better than some random whitelighter the elders might assign." He paused, feeling an all-too-familiar lump forming in his throat. "And I realized that I do want to do this. For Aunt Phoebe. I know she'd want me to be the one looking out for them."
His mother brought a hand to her chest and he could see the tears instantly begin to well.
"Sorry mom, I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, no, you didn't." She reassured him with a pat on his arm before wiping away her falling tears. "Sometimes I'm not sure what I did to deserve such brave and wonderful children."
He tried not to flush at her comment. Piper Halliwell could be surprisingly mushy at times, especially when it came to her sons and daughter.
"But still, Chris." His mother began again, trying to regain her composure. "You're only twenty-three, and this is going make your life so much more complicated. How are you going to be the Charmed One's whitelighter and get through medical school? And don't even get me going on your poor cousins. They're dealing with the loss of their mother, for goodness sakes. How are they supposed to handle this? Prue just started college, Parker has six more months of high school, and Peyton is only in the eleventh grade! This is insane!"
Chris gave a sigh and looked down at the old wooden table. "I don't disagree with you, mom." He said softly. "But, like dad said, I don't think there is anything we can do. Phoebe is gone, and the power of three has shifted to the next generation. You couldn't stop it when it was your turn, and we can't stop it now."
Piper looked like she was searching for a retort but, unable to find one, the woman simply leaned back against her chair, glancing between her husband and youngest son.
"God, you really do sound like your father sometimes." She muttered, her slight annoyance laced with undeniable amusement.
Chris looked over at his dad who gave him a quick wink.
"What can I say, I learned from the best." The young man commented, eliciting another glow of pride from Leo. Despite the stress of it all, his father's clear support did make things easier. He'd had an excellent role model growing up and, as soon as the man had gotten his powers back, he had trained all three of his children to the best of his ability.
In practice, this had meant a lot of time spent with Chris, who had inherited more whitelighter powers then both of his siblings combined. Wyatt could orb, sense, heal and had telekinetic orbing. So far, Melinda could only orb. Chris, meanwhile, had every whitelighter ability and had proven to be a natural at a young age.
He had even begun to follow his father's path in the mortal world, channeling his desire to heal into his drive towards becoming a doctor.
In retrospect, this turn of events should not have come to a surprise to anyone.
Chris paused for a second, his senses suddenly alerting him to a new presence in the house.
"The girls just beamed into the attic." He noted, standing up from his chair once more. "I should go check on them."
"Okay." Piper agreed with a defeated sigh as Leo nodded in approval.
"If you need any help. With anything. You know I'm here for you Chris." The older man said as his son began his stride towards the door.
"I know." He replied, looking over his shoulder as he reached the threshold. "Thanks, dad. I love you guys."
And with that, Chris disappeared from view.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Piper and Leo watched their son make his exit before turning back towards the family dining table.
The former Charmed One sighed as her husband reached out and placed a gentle hand on top of hers. Truth be told, she was glad that their argument had passed and, although nothing had resolved in the way she wanted, her son's calm reassurances had helped her feel better about the current predicament.
She wasn't ready to give up on finding another way forward, but she was undeniably exhausted. If Chris was content, she would let him carry on until they could think of another plan.
"Piper." Leo began slowly as he gave her hand a light squeeze. "I know it's hard, but we shouldn't be too surprised by this." He said softly. "He's already spent two years as the Charmed One's whitelighter, after all. And we've known for a long time what his powers seemed to suggest."
The woman bit her lip as she tried to accept her husband's calm assertions. Even after all these years, it was painful to think of the grown-up version of her son who had bravely saved the future. They had chosen not to tell the boys what had happened in the past, deciding instead to focus on the future that Chris had worked so hard to create.
During the past few years, however, they had all been filled with bitter-sweet memories as her son had grown into a young man identical to the one they had once known. He was just as brave and handsome as he had been before—but, she was glad to say, he had not been burdened by the horrible experiences of his counterpart.
His brother had never turned, his mother was still alive, and he had developed a very close relationship with his father.
As Piper had just pointed out, Leo and Chris were very similar most of the time. They'd had similar mannerisms in the past too, which she began to notice after Chris' true identity had been revealed, but in this future their bond was even more apparent.
This Chris had not had to fight nearly as much as his other version had been forced to. As a result, he was much calmer and more level headed and he generally preferred healing to aggression. The boy had always been wise beyond his years and, as recent events had demonstrated, he embraced challenges with a strength and insight that she attributed to her husband.
"I suppose you're right." Piper replied, grateful that the man had not been scared away by her earlier outburst.
She had not really meant to take out her grief and anger on him, but when he had walked into the kitchen that morning and told her what had happened to Chris and his cousins last night, she had lost her cool.
It was just a lot to take in, especially after everything else that had been going on that week. The woman had been in a pain-filled daze ever since she had watched her sister fall to the demon and (understandably) her emotions were even more frayed than usual.
As unfair as it all seemed, the logical side of her brain knew that this was simply the hand they had all been dealt. Every time something terrible happened to the family, she would pray that they had finally paid their dues. That they would finally be allowed to live the normal lives they wanted.
But things were never that simple for the Halliwells. Their power came with huge responsibilities and there had never been any reprieve.
Deep down, she knew there never would be.
"I just hope they can handle it all." The former Charmed One sighed as she looked up at her husband once more.
As he gave a reassuring nod, Piper tried to calm herself by focusing on the biggest of all silver linings. Without magic—without their burdensome destinies—she never would have found her Leo. He always had been, and always would be, the best thing that had ever happened to her.
It always helped to remind herself of that during times like these.
He had given her love, and courage, and happiness—and three little angels of her very own.
She couldn't bear the thought of life without him.
"I know that Chris can do this." Leo replied, the proud smile once again tugging at his lips. "He has mastered his whitelighter powers and, even if he might not have picked this job, he will preform it with fierce loyalty and diligence. And I'll be there if he ever needs any support." He paused. "And the girls—they're young, and I wish this could have waited, but they're powerful witches. They spent their entire lives watching the example set by you and your sisters." There was a thoughtful pause. "In a lot of ways, they're a lot more prepared that you guys were when you became the Charmed Ones. You didn't know you were witches—but they've been honing their powers since they were born."
It was a fair point.
"I suppose." The Piper slowly agreed.
"And they'll have you and Paige to guide them." Leo finished, his voice softer than before.
They both knew that a third name should have been present, and an all-too-familiar jolt of pain passed through her as she thought of her younger sister.
She wondered how Phoebe would react if she was here. How she was reacting as she watched from the great beyond. Terrified? Angry? Proud?
Piper could not say for sure, but she was willing to bet that it was a combination of the above.
Eyes locking with her husband's, the woman let the tears begin to fall.
"We'll all protect them." She whispered, her voice quivering with emotion. "It's what Phoebe would want us to do."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N- I hope a few people are enjoying this. Please review to keep me motivated!
