Reality Bites
Disclaimer: Don't own anything apart from the plot and Meg
A/N - Kirsty: Ah, yes, grumpy Chris. I like grumpy Chris. :D But I also like the other sides of him (hell, I like all of him), so yes, those will be popping up as well, including his sweet side, though definitely not in this chapter lol. That probably won't be till further down the road. Thanks for the review!
Chapter Four – Stormy weather
"Just like that fact that an Elder is after my brother, and that I die at the end of the sixth season slipped your mind" he hissed in a horrible, deathly quiet voice. "Wanna tell me about that Megan?"
Oh. Shit.
Meg said the first thing that popped into her head.
"How do you know my full first name?"
The guy that looked absolutely nothing like Chris Halliwell, but still acted like him, blinked at her question. It seemed to have put him off his stride. He sat back a bit and frowned at her.
"What does that matter? You need to tell me why you kept this from me, and you need to do it right now!" he ordered.
Meg's mouth fell open. He had the audacity to order her? Who the hell did he think he was! She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep, calming breaths, trying her best not to let her temper get the better of her. It had done a lot of damage over the years, and Meg was trying to keep it from running rampant, which wasn't an easy thing to do. She opened her eyes and met his gaze as calmly as possible.
"I do not have to do anything Christopher. Not here and not now. I'm at work, in case this slipped your notice. Any discussion we have" she said, stressing the word discussion, "will be at home tonight, not while I'm earning a living. Capiche?"
Chris's frown transformed into a scowl, and he opened his mouth to argue, only to stop when Meg held up her hand.
"No, Chris. Tonight okay? I'll explain everything then. Right now, I'm at work."
Not waiting for him to answer, she got to her feet, only to sit back down again abruptly as the room span for the second time in as many days. Dammit. I really need to eat.
"Thought you were going?" Chris stated dryly and Meg waved her hand at him.
"Yeah, I'm getting there. In a minute."
She took another deep breath and once again tried to stand. She didn't make it very far. She swore under her breath as she sunk back down again.
"Doesn't look like it to me."
"Shut up Chris!" she snapped, his snarky, amused, annoyingly sarcastic tone sparking her anger again. She turned towards the bar and tried to get her co-workers attention. She'd be fine as soon as she got some food in her.
Unfortunately Tim was busy with a customer and didn't notice her ever-so-slightly desperate hand movements. She sighed, wondering if she'd be able to make it to the bar without passing out. She carefully rose to her feet again and took a step forward.
The room spun and tilted and Meg knew that this really wasn't her night. Shit.
"Hey! Hey, hey what's wrong? Meg, sit down. Sit down!"
Chris's voice was very distant. She found herself listening to him as her body didn't give her a choice. Her knees dissolved and her collapsed back into the booth.
"Meg! That's the second time you've almost passed out on me! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I just need to eat" she mumbled, blinking slowly.
"You need to eat? Why haven't you already? For God's sake woman, you'll be the death of me!"
Meg stared at the table as Chris's grumbling drifted off. She didn't care about him at the moment. All she cared about was staying conscious. Damn her physical being that needed three square meals a day and at least seven hours sleep a night! Or a day in this case. She smiled woozily at her thoughts as she began to float.
"Here. Eat this until your food gets here. Meg? Meg! Eat!"
Her nose twitched as a bowl of pretzels and nuts were thrown down in front of her. They smelled really good. She wanted to bury her face in them, and she very nearly found herself doing just that.
"Jesus Meg! Eat them, don't inhale them! You'll choke that way!"
Meg ignored him and continued to plough through the snacks. She'd never tasted anything so good. The fog in her brain began to clear as she motored her way through them. The bowl was soon gone, and she was able to sit back and take in her surroundings again, starting with a disgruntled Chris, who for some reason was sitting right next to her. She smiled at him tentatively.
"Thanks. I need to get regularly or my blood sugar gets low."
Chris frowned. "Are you diabetic?"
Meg looked at him in surprise and nodded. "It's not bad, but I do have to eat and sleep regularly, or I can't function."
"So why the hell did you not eat when you first got here like you said you were going to?!" Chris snapped.
Meg flushed guiltily.
"I didn't say I was going to eat as soon as I got here, I said I'd get something at work! Which I am!" she hissed as she nodded towards Tim, who was heading in their direction with a full plate. Her mouth watered as he placed it down in front of her. Hmm. A packed sandwich and fries. The bar snacks had cleared her head, but she was still extremely hungry.
"You put your health at risk just so you aren't late for work? Christ, Meg, you need to take better care of yourself! I need you to be at your best, and don't have the time or the inclination to look out for you!"
Meg froze with the sandwich half way to her mouth. He didn't have the time or the inclination? She closed her eyes as pain lanced through her. My God, were they all the same?
She opened her eyes, put down her meal and slowly turned to face Chris, who was glowering at her. The angry look dropped away, turning into a confused frown when he saw her expression.
"Oh, don't worry Chris, I'm a big girl, you don't have to look out for me. I can take care of myself. You just worry about you, since that's all you seem to have the time or the inclination to do anyway."
Chris's jaw dropped slightly and he frowned again. The brown eyes that looked so much better in their natural shade shifted as guilt trickled through them, before they became shuttered and closed off once more. Meg grimaced and looked over towards the bar.
"My break's nearly over. I have to go back to work. You're welcome to stay, but it probably be boring. It isn't very lively here tonight."
She got up and pushed past him, her meal forgotten.
"Meg, wait!"
She stopped and turned back, frowning slightly at the demand in his voice. She raised an eyebrow, trying for a bored expression. Chris's own expression flickered, so she must have pulled it off.
"Ah… don't forget your sandwich. You don't want to get sick" he said quietly, holding out her plate after a small hesitation. She snorted silently.
Like you'd care she thought, taking the plate and heading to the bar. But the thing was, she thought he actually might. She'd read regret in that hesitation. She didn't think he'd meant to say what he'd said.
She shrugged as she put the plate down, took a bite and headed towards a gesturing customer. So he regretted speaking his mind. So what? She wasn't going to let it, or him, get to her. She was who she was, and she wasn't going to change for anyone. She couldn't change, at least not her health anyway. The truth was she was usually on top of the disease, but Chris's appearance had thrown her for a loop. She hadn't had a spell like that for over a year, and it wasn't going to happen again.
As for changing who she was, well that wasn't going to happen either. She'd tried doing just that, spending two years of her life trying to be the person someone thought she should be. The result had been painful, both physically and emotionally. She wasn't going to do it again.
She did finish the sandwich though, doing it on the sly so Niall wouldn't tell her off. He'd been right when he'd said she needed to take care of herself, and not let things get on top of her. So she finished her sandwich, served her customers, went on her second break and completely ignored the blond haired, brown eyed man, who broodily nursed a single drink and didn't leave the booth for the rest of the night.
~0~
She was able to finish directly at two that night, as it had been no way near as busy as the night before. She had just walked out the door, not really looking forward to going home to face Chris, who had finally left when it became clear they were closing, when someone pulled away from the wall, startling her.
She froze, raising her hands in defence, only to lower them when the person stepped into light of the doorway. She relaxed slightly and scowled.
"Jesus, Chris, a little warning would be nice! What the hell are you still doing here anyway? I thought you went home!"
"I thought I'd, ah, wait for you" he muttered as he frowned at the sidewalk. "You know, just to make sure you got home okay."
"I thought you didn't have the time or the inclination to look out for me?" she said sweetly, ignoring the way her heart leapt at his gesture.
Chris scowled. "Yeah, well, I may have, ah, overstated that a bit" he muttered, his eyes flicking to her and then flicking away again.
"Oh, really?" Meg said, blinking innocently. Chris scowled again.
"Look, I'm sorry alright?" he suddenly burst out. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to."
Meg sighed. He didn't mean to. He was apologizing because he felt guilty, not because he didn't mean what he'd said. But, knowing him, it was the closest she was probably going to get.
Deciding to let him off the hook, she smiled gently. "It's okay Chris, don't worry about it" she said. "Let's go home okay?"
Chris frowned in confusion and looked like he was going to say something, but seemed to change his mind. His lips folded and his expression darkened.
"Yes, so you can explain why you kept some very important details from me" he said snappily and Meg sighed. She'd been hoping he'd forgotten about that.
They didn't speak as Meg drove them back to her apartment. The closer they got, the more tense Chris seemed to get. He was lost in his own thoughts, not very pleasant one's going by his body language, so she left him to it. Her heart was racing at the thought of the upcoming conversation. She knew he wouldn't like what she had to say. She didn't like her reasons either, but they were the only ones she had.
She pulled into her assigned slot, got out of the car and led the silent witch up to the door. She gasped when she went to unlock it and found it already unlocked. Her hand went to the cell in her bag, ready to call the cops if there was anyone inside.
"What's the matter?" Chris asked from behind her.
"The door's unlocked" she breathed as she took a few cautious steps into the apartment. "There could still be someone inside."
"Ah…"
Meg frowned at the tone and spun round to meet a pair of guilty eyes. She frowned at him.
"What?"
"The door's unlocked because I didn't think to lock it when I left. I just orbed."
She stood there, stupefied, for a long moment, trying to process her shock. He'd left without locking the door? Jesus Christ!
"You left without… you're kidding me right?! Chris, you can't do that! Everything I own is in this apartment! This is New York City; people will take every opportunity they can get!"
"I'm sorry! I haven't lived in a place where you have to lock up when you leave for a really long time! I'm not used to it!" he snapped.
Meg shook her head, pushing down the pity she felt at his explanation, knowing that he wouldn't appreciate it. She couldn't imagine living somewhere that so far away from a home that you could leave without locking.
"Please remember" she said on a sigh as she walked into the lounge and took a quick look around, breathing out in relief when she didn't notice anything missing. "As I said, everything I own is in here, and I can't afford to replace something if it gets stolen."
"If someone was determined enough, a locked door isn't going to stop them" Chris muttered and then sighed and held up his hands when Meg turned to glare at him.
"Okay, okay, I'll remember!"
"Good. Thank you. I'll get you a key so you don't have to orb all the time as well, though we'll have to share the car. I take it you can drive, can't you?" she asked, not remembering any time in the show where she saw him behind the wheel.
A very peculiar expression passed through Chris's eyes at her question, before he nodded slowly. It was a mixture of emotions, surprise, delight and gratitude the three that shone through the most, before as always, the curtains closed and his eyes were blank once more. Meg frowned. Why did he keep doing that?
"Alright, so we're home" Chris said as he folded his arms and looked at her expectantly, annoyed once again. "How about you do what you said you would and tell me why you hid something this big from me?"
"I didn't hide it from you Chris" Meg said as she sighed for a second time, ignoring the way her heart pounded when Chris called her place 'home'. "I honestly never even thought to tell you."
His eyes widened, and his annoyance kicked up a notch, to become anger. "You never thought to tell me the one thing that I've been looking for, for the last six months, as well as the fact that I'm going to die soon? Come on, that's bullshit! You just didn't want to tell me!"
"I didn't want to tell you? How do you figure that?" she scoffed. "And would you please get rid of that ridiculous costume?! I'd actually like to see the person I'm arguing with thank you very much!"
Chris blinked, as if he'd forgotten that he was still wearing someone else's face, scowled, held up his hand and clicked his fingers. At once, yellowish/white lights swirled around him, obscuring him from view. They cleared to reveal his normal appearance, and after pushing aside her wonder at magic being performed right in front of her, Meg smiled slightly. There he was. That was much better.
Chris launched straight back into the argument, folding his arms again and glaring at her furiously.
"You had to have deliberately kept it from me, so that I'd go home none the wiser!" he snarled, his anger building.
"Why on earth would I do that Chris?! Why would I want to send you back into a reality to face your death?! It slipped my mind, that's all! God, all this magic crap is new to me; you can't expect me to remember every little detail immediately!" Meg snapped.
"THIS ISN'T A TINY LITTLE DETAIL MEGAN! THIS IS MY LIFE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, AS WELL AS MY BROTHERS!"
Meg gasped as his roar echoed off the walls. His face was red with fury and eyes blazed with it. She swallowed and unconsciously took a step back, the emotion bringing back all sorts of unpleasant memories, before she realized what she was doing, stopped and held her ground. He was not going to intimidate her!
"I know that!" she hissed. "I know it's your life! You're my favourite character on that damn show, and watching you die the first time tore me apart! If there were anything, anything I can do, so that you don't go back to that, I'd do it! But that doesn't mean I deliberately kept this from you! It honestly just slipped my mind! I would have remembered, probably as soon as we started figuring out how the hell you got here, and I would have told you! I never thought you'd find out about it on your own!"
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME TO RESEARCH!" Chris bellowed.
Meg threw up her hands in exasperation. "I didn't mean for you to find out about the end of the season Christopher! I thought you would just look up the spell!" she barked.
"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO LOOK UP THE SPELL IF I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS?!" he shouted again, and Meg had had enough. The lid on her anger blew, and she found herself shouting right back at him.
"STOP YELLING AT ME! OKAY, I MADE A MISTAKE, I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU! SO SUE ME! YOU KNOW NOW AND I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW FROM NOW ON! NOW GET OFF YOUR BLOODY HIGH HORSE AND CALM THE FUCK DOWN!"
Chris's jaw hit the floor. He stood there, staring at her in disbelief, the wind taken right out of him, as she hissed in a couple of breaths through her teeth and sank down into the sofa, her hand fisted on her heart as if that would slow the speed of its beating. She closed her eyes, trying to settle her temper. She hated getting worked up like this. It put her right back where she was a year ago. She'd only managed it about half way when she opened her eyes again and met his shocked gaze, her hands trembling. She hid them under her knees, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"Please don't shout at me Christopher. Talk to me and tell me how you're feeling, but don't shout at me. Please."
Chris stared at her for a long moment after her too-calm request, before he cautiously nodded.
"Fine. No shouting" he said softly, walking over to sit beside her. She only just stopped herself from flinching, praying he wouldn't notice that either. "But I really need to know everything Meg."
"And you will. We'll get you home, and somehow prevent you from dying as well. But we need to do it calmly."
She got up and headed towards the computer, finally settled again.
"The spell is on here. I'll just call it up."
Chris nodded but didn't say anything. When Meg looked over her shoulder to see why he was so quiet, she found him looking at her thoughtfully. She raised an eyebrow in question.
"Did you know you have an Irish accent when you're angry?" he asked in an amused tone.
Meg grinned. "Well, yeah, that's because I am Irish" she said as she rolled her eyes.
"Christ. Red hair and Irish as well? No wonder you've got a temper" Chris muttered, but he didn't sound angry or annoyed. If anything, he sounded impressed.
"Look who's talking" she muttered as she turned back to the computer, hitting a few keys.
She smiled to herself as she pulled up the story. When she was mad wasn't the only time her accent came through, but he didn't need to know that. She frowned in disappointment at the thought. They'd probably never be in the other situation that brought her Irish out.
