Do You Really Want to Know 2-Who I am…
Chapter 8
By: teal-lover
Summary: How Chris learned the cunning and duplicitous behavior we saw for over a year. Alternates between the past, unchanged future, and the changed future.
AN: Background in previous story is that something terrible happened to Chris and changed the way he saw things and learned to survive. This is the prequel/sequel to "Do You Really Want to Know", but can stand alone. Spoilers for all of season 6.
I know it's been forever since I've updated, and I do apologize to everyone who's been reading (especially charmfan who's reminded me that it's been so long). I honestly believed I could have finished it during the semester, but classes had other ideas. Now that I'm free for the next 3 months, I would like to finish this & update pretty frequently, but I'd also like to know if anyone would still read it, or would I be wasting my time? Otherwise, I've got another charmed story--Chris & Wyatt of course:) I've been dying to write & would be pretty anxious to get that down.
So before I commit to either one, can you let me know? Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?
Rating: PG-13, which may change later on in chapters depending on where my mind takes me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of the characters or get any money from writing this fiction.
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Journal entry #2. March 4, 2003
…Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh that's right, I had just met Bianca. Bianca Lynette Perry. Oh, wait, I guess now is a good time to mention that I took her last name when I came to the past. Piper actually thinks that somewhere along the way, she thought that up. But come on, really—she's never followed the family naming conventions. Wyatt Matthew Halliwell? Christopher—can you guess what my middle name is—Halliwell? I guess mom liked some sort of traditional, because she wanted to give us both our father's name. And since we had to be Halliwell's, and Wyatt was already taken, I got stuck with a form of his first name. Christopher Lee Halliwell. But since I've never really been fond of the man or the name, why should I be the one to bring it up? Bianca would be so proud:)
So anyway, that day we met, she offered me a grilled cheese:) You know that was the only thing that woman ever knew how to make? Even after I tried to teach her so many times. I just wanted to do for her what she did for me, but she just never caught on. Domestication was never her forte, she griped. She was much better at—other things. Lucky for me, I guess. Because her lessons—I soaked up like a sponge. I think they began on the day that I had my first meltdown…
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Bianca stood back silently and watched the blonde stalk around the apartment before he orbed out in a huff. Several weeks had gone by since he had assigned her to his brother, and she had barely left the apartment except to gather a few things to wear. Unused to the confinement, she had begun to feel like a caged animal, and though she didn't show it, she felt as anxious as Wyatt was acting. He had been very 'displeased' to say the least, that his brother had yet to utter a single word, let alone bounce back with a resiliency that Wyatt had been so sure he possessed.
In the beginning, Wyatt had seemed so confident that Chris would learn to curb his more unruly behavior after Tem'al and his followers were through with him, and for the most part, be back to his old self soon afterwards. He couldn't have been more wrong.
Wyatt had no idea that when he told Tem'al and his followers to break his spirit, that is exactly what they did, and it was highly effective.
Since then, Chris had seemed content to hide from the world and stare at the walls within the apartment in silence. The only sound she ever heard him make was on one disastrous occasion weeks after he woke from Leo's Elder-induced slumber. Wyatt had grown weary of his brother's complete lack of response.
The taller man had stormed into the bedroom and forcibly orbed the boy away. Surprised at the sudden action, she shimmered after the two. It was, after all, her job to protect him
What she saw when she arrived made her want to pull her dagger and she cursed the blonde under her breath. The two stood in the middle of an empty cavern in the underworld, the stench of death and demons lurking not far away. Sheer wild-eyed panic replaced the normally despondent expression on the brunette, and he looked about ready to bolt. But that wasn't even an option with Wyatt firmly holding him in place by his upper arm, shouting words and demands that went unheard through the fear.
The soft moans and squeals he was emitting reminded her of a rabbit caught in a snare. The teen was obviously terrified of what his brother had in store for him down in the demon's layer. Bianca caught on immediately and thought it was a shame that he didn't understand the purpose of the visit, though she doubted even if he had, that it would have made much of a difference. Fortunately, she did, and found herself striding over to the Twice-Blessed Witch purposefully, hoping that her actions wouldn't get her vanquished in the process.
"Wyatt, stop it! Please…You're not going to get through to him like that. He can't even hear you."
Wyatt whirled around in a blind rage, dragging his brother along with him and causing him to stumble. He pulled him up and tried to ignore his brother's struggles, but cursed loudly when Chris dug his fingernails into his hands in an attempt to pry his fingers from his bicep. "Excuse me? Did you just give me an order?"
"No, or course not," she lowered her head submissively before stepping close enough to be heard only by him. "He's terrified, and he's not going to respond to you like that. He can't. In my line of work, I've seen enough responses like that to know that he's reacting on pure instinct right now. He probably isn't even aware of who you are at the moment. And if the wrong people were to see this display, they won't see it that way. They'll think he just hasn't learned anything."
He continued to glare at her for a moment while he considered her unspoken words. That he would be perceived as not being able to reign in a teenaged boy, his own younger sibling at that. He smirked as her eyes widened in fear while he threw an energy ball in her direction.
Wyatt could see the visible sigh of relief when she turned and watched a demon being disintegrated for daring to intrude on their conversation. "Fine," he griped and shoved the younger boy into her arms. "You deal with him."
Before the older witch could change his mind, Bianca shimmered out with her new charge. It was several moments after arriving in her apartment when she realized that she still held him in her arms. She could feel the slight trembles that rippled through his body and he lowered his head. His cheeks were flushed a light shade of pink in obvious embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," came a whisper so soft that she thought she had imagined it. With his lips slightly parted, she knew that she hadn't. She flipped her hair over her shoulders, smiling broadly with a swell of pride that he had chosen to speak to her—not his brother. She picked a piece of imaginary lint off of his shoulder and tried to decide on the best way to make him feel at ease. Though she rarely—if ever—got a chance to use humor in her profession, she felt the need to release it now, secretly hoping that it would relax him, even if only slightly. "It speaks?"
He snorted with a grin before he backed away and dropped on the couch exhaustedly. Her comment seemed to work at first, but the guarded way he curled his knees to his chest said otherwise. They still had a long way to go. After weeks, she had managed to coax two whole words out of him. It was such a small step, but it was a start.
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Hours later, neither of the two had yet to move from the couch. Chris seemed content to merely pass the time alternating by either staring at the wall, or staring at her. Bianca found it a bit disconcerting and decided to change the subject, which must have been her by the intensity of the gaze currently directed at her. "Ok. Wyatt, will be looking for us, you know." His only answer was to stand up expectantly, turning again to glance at her before staring at the wall again blankly.
She thought that he must have sensed his brother coming because he flinched mere seconds before the trail of orbs appeared beside him. Wyatt raised his eyebrows questioningly before deciding that he didn't care why they had been gone so long. With a casual glance in her direction, he waved his hand and orbed them both back to the confines of his apartment.
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Changed future…
"I don't understand, Aunt Phoebe. Why would I, sorry, he—have been that afraid of the underworld. Or of Wyatt for that matter? It doesn't make sense."
Phoebe smiled at her nephew sadly while he flipped through the journal again. "It wasn't the underworld that was the problem, honey. It was the demons that might have been down there. A few in particular, actually. I really don't know what the other Chris wrote in that journal, but I do know that whatever is in there, will help you to understand what's been happening to you lately with the nightmares."
He frowned in determination before flipping back to the page he left off with.
Phoebe brushed his hair back from his forehead. "Maybe you should take a break. I know Wyatt is anxious to see you."
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "No, no, later, I promise. I need to read this through because I don't understand anything that's happening to me right now. I can't take these nightmares anymore. Tell Wy to get some sleep. I'll probably be a while anyway. He'll understand, right?"
"Of course he will. I'll be downstairs if you need me."
TBC…
AN: I broke it here only because I wanted to post something right now, and it was a logical place since the next part jumps back to Chris' journal entry. I have so many more hand written pages to type, that it will take me several hours to get through them. So, I'll start again tomorrow when I get home from work.
See you soon:)
