Not my first FanFiction, but certainly the first of 'Charmed'. I'm going to give my best shot at this and I must warn you that English is not my mother tongue so mistakes will be made.

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. At least that's what the therapist says…

Summary: Season six. Chris has a tough time dealing with his family's distrust, with his memories and with the constant threat against his brother. But what happens when a stranger from the future comes along? And what are his real intentions? Set after 'Chris-Crossed' and 'Prince Charmed'.

Note: Thank you all so much for your reviews! You have no idea how happy you've made me!!

Warning: I won't update unless I receive at least 10 reviews.

Secrets revealed

By Amantine

Last time…

The flame of the candles flickered and brightened as white lights began swirling around within the circle, finally leaving behind two crouched forms. One of them, the larger one, had its arms rounded around the other as if attempting to shelter it from something.

The Charmed Ones and Leo ran to their aid, recognizing their children and nephews, their gazes obviously centered on Chris's unconscious body. M.J. briefly lifted his eyes to look at them before laying his brother down, looking concerned at the injured arm and leg. He stuck out his hands over the wounds and concentrated, yet the healing golden glow didn't come.

"What's going on, why isn't anything happening?" Piper asked, unable to keep herself from flipping out.

M.J. opened his eyes, panic taking over him while his breathing increased along with the sickening feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He allowed a shaking hand to travel up towards Christopher's neck in search of a pulse. Time seemed to stop as M.J. felt nothing else except cold, clammy skin under his fingers. There was no constant pulse and Chris' chest had stopped moving up and down...

"He's dead", M.J. spoke, his voice hoarse and pained and his body shaking uncontrollably, his eyes unable to look away from the lifeless body.

Chapter 10: Choosing to fight

Thick silence filled the room as its occupants tried to process the words. After what seemed like ages but in fact were only seconds, M.J. snapped out of his daze, his breathing increasing and his eyes darting around as if trying to find something to bring his sibling back. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the situation… All he knew was that his brother was dead, yet the implications of this aspect failed to register. God! His baby brother was dead! The same baby brother that he had once sworn to protect.

"No", he muttered, vision slowly blurring with unshed tears.

"Oh God!" Piper cried that very moment, covering her mouth with her hands, tears flowing freely down her face while she fell on her knees, her eyes locked upon the inert form of her youngest son.

As if in a dream, M.J. moved his hand to touch Chris's cheek. He shuddered as his fingers made contact with the cold skin and his mind began racing, going in overdrive in a mater of seconds. "No", he spoke again, a little more loudly this time.

He shook his head and, without giving it a second thought, intertwined his fingers with those of his brother, closing his eyes in concentration as he did so, a sharp, burning pain making its way throughout his entire body, making it convulse and tighten his grip on Chris' hands before his body went limp, collapsing on the wooden floorboards, white lights enveloping him before dissipating and leaving behind his true body.

"Wyatt!" Phoebe shrieked, being the first to actually understand –partly- what was happening.

She ran to the man's aid and checked for a pulse, trying to ignore the tears and the anxiety that gripped her. Finally, after searching thoroughly for a faint beat under her fingertips she found it… It was barely there… almost gone, but there.

"He… He's fai… fading", she stuttered, suddenly afraid that she might lose her other nephew as well.

The empath vaguely heard Piper sob as her older sister crawled by her boys' side placing a shivering hand over their heads. Even with the strong effects of the empath-blocking potion her sibling had ingested, Phoebe could still feel part of the unbearable pain the mother was feeling, seeing one of her sons dead and the other giving in.

"What are you standing there for, Leo? Heal him!" Paige angrily snapped, finally realizing that her ex-brother-in-law was still in the attic with them.

Leo, who up to that point had been quiet and had tried to comprehend what was happening, finally snapped out of his shock state and slowly walked towards the limp forms of his children. He knelt by Wyatt's side, knowing fully well that there'd be no chance of bringing his youngest back. He didn't have that kind of power…

His hands seemed to move on their own accord as they hovered over the eldest form, yet the warm glow didn't come. There was a little voice inside Leo's head that was screaming its lungs out at him, telling him not to heal the Twice Blessed. Going along with his instincts, the Elder moved his hand to the young man's neck, gently pressing the carotidal in search for the steady, but weak pulse.

"Leo…?" Piper began, salty tears wetting her cheeks, her red-rimmed eyes looking desperately at her ex-husband in search of an explanation. "Why aren't you healing him, Leo?" she asked, her voice choked from crying.

Although it broke his heart to see her like this, Leo wouldn't heal his oldest even if he could. "I won't do it…" he began but was abruptly cut off by the youngest Charmed One.

"What? What do you mean you won't heal him? He's your son!" she demanded, furiously wiping her wet, pale cheeks with the back of one palm.

Leo held up his hand in a vain attempt to silence her, only to be cut off by the mother of his children.

"What do you mean, Leo?" she asked in a somewhat dangerous tone, seeing as she lacked the energy to gather her anger.

"Wyatt has gone after Chris. He's trying to bring him back", the Elder calmly explained, inwardly praying that the higher powers -and Chris himself for that matter- would allow the youngest Halliwell to return to his body.

Piper and her sisters turned their gaze upon the fallen members of their family, their eyes holding reluctant hope within them while Leo moved to stay by Christopher's side, preparing himself to heal him.

M.J. opened his eyes and owlishly blinked feeling awkward in the grey attic he found himself into, attic that he recognized as belonging to the astral plane. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he looked down at his hands and frowned, noting that the glamour had left him to his true form.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that told him that he'll scare the hell out of Christopher, he turned around and felt his stomach turn to a knot.

Chris -or rather his soul- stood facing a white vortex which seemed both inviting and terrifying. Although Wyatt couldn't see his brother's face, he knew that the younger male was drawn towards the blinding light, fact which horrified the Twice Blessed. Traitor or not, the fact that Chris was his younger sibling would never change and he had never actually wanted him dead in the first place.

"Chris", he gently called out, approaching the boy.

Christopher tilted his head and peeked over his shoulder at his brother's silhouette, an exhausted expression upon his face. "Wyatt?" he asked tiredly.

Wyatt felt his throat go dry at the sound of his brother's voice. "Yeah", he managed to croak out, finally getting side by side with Chris.

The younger of the two diverted his gaze at the portal once more. "I can't escape you even in death, can I?" he absently whispered as if speaking to himself.

Wyatt's heart skipped a beat and he opened his mouth to say something, but found himself closing it, unable to find any words to address his sibling. He looked at his shoes, his mind trying to find something to say.

"I screwed up again", Chris suddenly spoke, his voice distracted, as if talking about the weather, making Wyatt look at him once more.

The older of the two lifted his hand and rested it on the other's shoulder. "You didn't screw up", he softly spoke, inwardly cursing himself for sounding so lame.

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Chris said, a small chuckle leaving his lips. "There's nothing left to do…"

Suddenly feeling himself panic, Wyatt looked between the vortex and his brother. "There's still so much you can do, Chris. All you have to do is turn around and give me your hand… Come home with me", he begged, voice wavering with despair.

Chris remained motionless and silent, giving no sign that he had heard his brother's words. Just as Wyatt opened his mouth to speak once more, Chris responded. "I'm so tired of fighting all the time Wy… I'm tired of their distrust; I'm tired of fending you all the time. I just want it all to end", he said while taking a step towards the portal.

"No!" Wyatt cried, seizing his sibling's hand in an attempt to stop him from going any further.

Chris looked at him, a slightly confused expression upon his face while he took in the Twice Blessed's appearance, the witch's desperate eyes and begging demeanour throwing him off balance for a little longer than a millisecond.

"Please don't let go", Wyatt asked of him, his voice quivering with raging emotions. "It's not your time. I know it's not your time. Please. I… I need you to stay alive. Please…", he continued, his tone so low and pleading that Chris felt sorry for the older man.

Christopher glanced longingly at the portal and took another step towards it before stopping and squeezing his eyes shut. A solitary tear rolled down his ghastly cheek before the boy tightened his jaw and turned to grab his brother's hand, signalling him to take his soul back to his broken body.

Relieve washed though Wyatt's being as he concentrated on the task at hand, feeling himself being automatically pulled towards reality.

The sudden merge of his soul with his body made him gasp and a wave of nausea wash over him, yet he kept his stomach at bay as he struggled to keep the room from spinning around its axis for Chris's sake. He sighed in a mixture of relief and worry as he felt his sibling's hand in his own and thanked every god he knew for the sheer fact that the witch's hand was tense and moving slightly, a clear sign that his soul didn't ditch him on the way back.

Wyatt scrambled to sit up, breaking all contact with Chris and sticking his hands over the shivering, bleeding body. The warm healing glow emanated from his palms that very second and the Twice Blessed watched with satisfaction and ease as his sibling's wounds slowly closed, leaving behind white, cold skin due to blood loss.

Christopher gasped and bolted upright the moment the last wound closed itself off, courtesy of his father's aid. Before his mind could catch up with what was happening around him, Chris felt himself being pulled into a tight, air-blocking, bone-crushing embrace. While his oxygen-deprived mind still struggled to regain all its normal functions, the Witchlighter awkwardly wrapped his numb arms around the solid form that held him in the clasp.

Another pair of arms, this time more gentle and more frail, wrapped themselves around both figures, silent sobs leaving the mother's lips as she held her grown-up children, relieved to see them both living. Weakened by the near-death experiences, but alive and relatively well.

"You're fucking stupid! How could you be so stupid?" Wyatt gently chastised, breaking the hug yet still keeping his brother at arm's length, his azure eyes locking with silted emerald ones, ignoring the pointed look he received from his mother for the used language.

Chris' body suddenly tensed, the boy looking elsewhere and trying to get away from his brother and mother in the most discreet way he could, trying his best not to draw his sibling's wrath or their family's suspicion.

Hurt, but understanding why the witch reacted this way, Wyatt released his hold on him and watched with fake detachment as the younger of the two backed away, their eyes never meeting once.

Piper, though, seemed too affected by all that had happened not to allow the disappointment cover her features. It hurt her like thousands of little knives in the heart to see her youngest back away from her touch, almost as if he was afraid of something.

"Chris, baby…" she began but was silenced by a swift, determined motion of the 22 year old's arm.

"Don't… Please", he begged her, his voice quivering from the emotional turmoil that his soul held in that particular moment.

Chris wasn't the one for expressing his feelings. Since they knew him, he'd always been emotionally unavailable and to see him now, begging not to be questioned in order to block the pain away made a greater impact on the Halliwells than any words ever could. This gave them a glimpse on how the whole situation was affecting the young man and it really wasn't a pretty picture.

They helplessly watched as the young Witchlighter closed his eyes and concentrated on dissipating into bright, shimmering turquoise orbs and failing miserably at it due to exhaustion.

Taking pity on his sibling, Wyatt placed a hand on his leg and dark-orbed them out of the attic and on top of the Golden Gate Bridge where he quickly conjured a jacked which he placed on Chris' shaking shoulders.

"Look at me Chris", he softly spoke, seeing as Chris tensed at the physical contact.

The younger hybrid lifted his gaze for a second, meeting Wyatt's calm blue eyes, before hastily looking away and pulling the jacket closer, as if trying to shield himself from a blow.

Wyatt merely sighed and backed away, his eyes clouding over with a combination of hurt, anger and betrayal. "Call for dad or for Aunt Paige when you're done sulking, okay? You can even call for me, although I doubt it…" he softly spoke in a somewhat joking demeanour before dematerializing into a flurry of midnight-dark orbs.

Chris didn't look up even though his brother had already left the spot on the bridge. His mind felt numb, as if it was impossible for him to understand what was going on. Zillions of thoughts passed him without making any sense, yet the idea of Wyatt being there, in the past of all places to be, stuck out more than the rest. A prominent feeling of anxiety washed over him as the involvement of his brother's presence began nagging him in the back of his head.

Possibilities for the outcome of this visit seemed to swirl around his head, unavoidably causing him a splitting headache which he chose to block out with all his mental strength.

Oh God, there was so much going on that Chris felt like he couldn't deal with anything anymore. His trip to the past, his family's distrust, Bianca's death by the hands of his sibling, his mother kicking him out, M.J., his family finding out about him, dying, and now being brought back by his older, murderous, ego-maniac brother seemed too much for the witch to bare. The load literally got so heavy that his knees buckled beneath him and he fell to the ground, his fists furiously hitting the metal beam of the bridge, unbidden tears streaming down his face and silent sobs wrenching past his lips.

Shaking uncontrollably, the 22 year old awkwardly stood up and slowly walked to lean by the metal support, gradually allowing himself to slide down into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his head against them, pain coursing through his veins like Darklighter poison. There was no possible way to deal with all that was happening. Not until he relieved himself from all the bottled up emotions… Or pushing them back so deep that they won't be able to hurt him again.

"Where'd they go?" Piper asked her husband the moment her eldest child decided to take his sibling and himself out of the attic, making all members of the family worry for their safety… Or Chris' to be honest.

It wasn't that they hadn't come to a somewhat trusting attitude towards the Twice Blessed, but the fact that he was still evil and that he had… unfinished business to attend to with his brother unnerved them.

"I can't sense them. Wyatt is blocking me", Leo answered after a pregnant pause, his eyes showing concern.

Piper sobbed once more, covering her mouth with a shaky hand as she did so, more tears rolling down her face. "How did we manage to screw up so badly?" she asked nobody in particular. "How could I let things get so out of hand?"

Phoebe placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and gave her a gentle, comforting squeeze. "I know I'm risking being blown to smithereens, but I'm just gonna go ahead and say it… Give it time Piper. It's going to turn out okay in the end, you'll see. There's a reason for everything…" she said, trailing off the moment both her sisters and her ex-husband-in-law shot her a pointed look.

The sound of orbs alerted them of a new presence and they all turned their gaze upon the attic door where Wyatt was carelessly leaning against the doorframe, watching them with forced indifference. The events of the day seemed to have affected him as well, probably more than the rest of the family. After all… he had induced himself into a coma in order to get his brother back from the dead. That's gotta count for something, right?

"We need to talk", he coolly spoke, an unreadable mask covering his face.

Leo nodded, same as Piper as she stood up, a look of pure determination crossing her face as she thought about her children. She was willing to do anything in order to ensure their happiness and the purity of their souls. She'd be damned if she'd allow darkness to consume her eldest again! She took a couple of steps towards the door before the Elder took her hand and walked beside her. The woman shot him a curious, yet thankful look, offering him a faint smile as they continued to walk towards their oldest son who watched the exchange with calculating eyes, relieve stirring up within, realizing that his brother may just have a chance at being conceived. If not… well, then Wyatt wasn't the most powerful witch of all times for nothing.

Taking comfort in that thought, Wyatt turned around and proceeded walking towards the ground floor, aiming for the conservatory. He absent-mindedly reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief which he checked to see if it was clean before stopping dead in his tracks and turning towards his mother, silently handing her the hanky. Piper looked at her son, pleasantly surprised by the small gesture. She took the offered item, muttering a 'thank you' before wiping away her tears. Wyatt merely bowed his head in acknowledgement and turned to continue his way towards the ground floor.

He entered the conservatory and plopped down on a chair, waiting for the others to do the same while he silently rubbed his temples, trying his best to relocate the emphatic link he once shared with his younger sibling. He released a throaty, annoyed groan noting just how soft he was getting when he thought of Chris as his brother and not as the Resistance leader he once was. 'Pathetic', he scolded himself. 'Really pathetic…'.

Once everybody was seated, Leo found the courage within him to address his oldest son. "What do you want to talk to us about, Wyatt?".

His voice sounded unnervingly firm, a clear sign that there was an inner conflict he was dealing with and which he didn't want to share with his family. There was the fact that everything in the man before him screamed 'evil', but there was always something that the 24 year old would do that made Leo question that darkness and clouded judgment. And that was giving him a headache.

Wyatt shot his father a dirty look, his eyes burning with azure fire. "Well, I was just about to ask how the weather is up there in Elderland", he sardonically replied. "What the hell do you think I want to talk to you about? My brother died and came back from the dead not half an hour ago!" he snapped, his voice reaching a very high level, making his father drop his head in shame.

Wyatt took in a deep breath and looked away, absently fumbling with Piper's keys which he'd picked up the table and allowing a heavy silence to form between them.

Leo looked at the Twice Blessed and frowned. The man seemed to have a harassed expression on his face, expression which he tried his best to hide from his family. Something had happened on the Astral Plane, Leo shortly realized and felt like someone decided to pour a bucket of ice-cold water in his stomach the moment his mind started making connections.

Suddenly feeling his throat dry, Leo opened his mouth to speak once more, almost dreading the answer. "He didn't want to come back, did he?" he asked and by the way his eldest winced, he knew he had hit the nail on the head.

Feeling as if the world crashed around him, Leo felt grateful he was sitting down at the moment because he was pretty damn sure his feet wouldn't have supported his weight once the deduced information was confirmed.

Hearing her ex-husband's words, Piper lifted her red-rimmed, poofy eyes to look at her tainted son, fearing the worst. She felt her heart sink the moment her child reluctantly nodded, his gaze fixed upon the floor. An uncontrollable shake coursed through her body and another silent sob left her lips just as she squeezed he eyes shot in a vain attempt to prevent more tears from spilling. She felt somebody's arms circle her shoulders and force her into a tight, almost comforting embrace. She recognized Paige by the sweet perfume which hung by her clothes.

"He's going to shut us all out, you know…" Wyatt spoke, his demeanour somewhat detached. "He's not able to handle the stress anymore and the fact that I'm here's going to make things much harder"

Piper brought herself to look at the man, the sight of her exhausted face making Wyatt inwardly cringe. "Why?" was all she could force herself to say.

Wyatt shrugged and eyed everybody around him with calculating eyes. "He's afraid", he nonchalantly replied, as if it was evident from the very beginning.

"Of what?" Paige asked while she drew comforting circles on her oldest sister's back.

There was a long pause in which the Twice Blessed closed his eyes and thought about the answer. Chris was afraid of getting too attached to the family because they were all absent in the future –no doubt there- but he couldn't tell them that. Firstly because he could change the future in even worse ways and secondly because, although he was the Source of the future and the oldest remaining in the family, he'd never ever hear the end of it from Christopher. Even if the 22 year had a somewhat prominent apprehension towards his older sibling, secrecy was Chris' area of expertise and he'd have Wyatt's head for spilling the most unimportant information about the future.

No, definitely not worth to hear one of Chris' never-ending rants about magical calamities. If Piper's anger was something the whole magical community marvelled at, Chris could be ten time worse if given the proper reason.

"Chris is afraid of a lot of things. He just doesn't show it. What's bugging him now can't be voiced. Not by me anyway. I'll be… Diplomat enough and keep his secrets… For the time being", Wyatt managed to speak, his voice somewhat strained.

Again, there was silence. There wasn't really much to say. The sole awkwardness of Wyatt standing before them made any subject barely approachable. Aside from the problems they'd encounter with the youngest member of the family, there really wasn't much to discuss about.

"I want the both of you to move here, in the manor", Piper suddenly spoke, her voice firm as she lifted her chocolate eyes to look at her son. "It is, after all, your home too…" she continued, eyes flashing dangerously as if daring her eldest to argue with her. 'No matter what it has become in the future', she inwardly added to herself trying to ignore the weird sensation that stirred on the inside.

Wyatt stared at her, obviously taken aback by the request. His breath hitched in his throat and he hastily looked away.

Could he do it? Could he stand the sight of his dead mother 24/7 in the same house in which he and his brother had grown up into? Could he risk digging up the buried pain and deal with her smothering him like she always did? Could he be as strong as Chris when it came to family matters?

The answer was fairly simple: he couldn't.

But the real question was: could he stand aside and watch from the sidelines as his brother faded more and more into himself because he wasn't strong enough to deal with his dead family? Again, the answer was simple: he could not. After all… Wasn't Chris the main reason he came back? Wasn't he there to find out his sibling's reasons for betraying him? Wasn't he there to convince Chris to join him once and for all? What would he accomplish if Chris retreated so much into his shell that there'd be no getting him back?

"Wyatt…?" Phoebe gently began, sensing her nephew's discomfort.

The man looked up at her with clouded blue eyes and nodded. "Okay", he muttered, barely louder than a whisper so that the Halliwells residing the room had to strain their ears to hear him.

Piper let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled gently at the Witchlighter. Maybe this was the first step towards reconciliation between them and the two brothers…

Wyatt suddenly frowned and looked towards the ceiling, confusion and surprise edging on his features.

"What is it?" Leo asked him, concerned that something bad was about to happen.

"Chris", Wyatt bluntly replied, his frown deepening. "He's calling for me…" he explained before orbing out of the house, leaving behind a concerned family.

TBC…

Whew! Reached 10 chapters. Now that I've accomplished this as well, I'd like to ask y'all a simple question to which I'd like a truthful answer.

Has my writing progressed from the beginning of this fic?

Anyway, this chapter here was a witch to write and I do hope I've managed to make it good enough. I swear I'll kill myself if I have to write emotions like these again. It's very hard.

Review pweeease! –puppy-dog eyes-