Chapter 21

The Wiccaning?

Chris glanced down at the slumbering baby in his arms and smiled contentedly. His son was growing up so fast. He could hardly believe that it had only been two months ago to the day that his son had been brought into the world. His and Anne's worlds had changed so much since then. All for the better. Well. . .except for the amount of sleep they each got. . .and their sex life. . .but other than that all for the better.

As his partner came out of the bedroom in her fluffy white robe, her black hair tangled and sticking up in odd places, the witch-whitelighter couldn't help but chuckle. It had been her night to get up with Alex being as he had to be out late closing up the club. Apparently it had taken its toll on her. Which was part of the reason Chris had gotten up this morning when Alex started fussing. Mommy needed to sleep in after her rough night.

Grabbing a mug down from the kitchen cupboard, Anne filled it with steaming black coffee before sitting down across from her lover at the table. Taking a sip, she smiled as the hot liquid went down her throat. "I have no idea what I would do if it weren't for this lovely invention. Coffee simply must be the most beautiful idea ever to grace man's mind."

"Was he up a lot then?"

Anne smiled at her son. "Oh, our little darling was no trouble. Just a little wet at midnight. Hungry at 3. Once I fixed his ailments he was the perfect little angel. I'd say he's sleeping rather well for only being two months old. Some have it much worse than we do. Babies waking up every hour on the hour and all."

Shifting his son to the other side with a skill that he never thought he'd acquire, Chris reached for his own coffee mug. He took a big swallow. "So, I was thinking we should discuss the wicanning. It should be performed here pretty soon, you know."

Suddenly, their happy, cozy little family went up with a squeal from their son and an utterly shocked and slightly horrified look from the mommy.

Chris sighed, stood from the table, bouncing lightly while reaching for a bottle. He knew the shrill squeal meant hunger. So, holding the baby tucked in with one arm, he used his free hand to warm up the bottle on the stove. In between hushing his upset son, Chris tried to figure out why his girlfriend was giving him the angry eye. "What? What'd I say?"

"Wiccaning?" Anne shook her head. "What makes you think we should raise our child as a wiccan? I'm Christian. I've been raised that way and had always planned for my children to be raised that way. You never once said anything about the wiccan religion."

"Test this."

He handed her the bottle and she put a little milk on her wrist. It was only slightly warm. She handed it back to him with a little nod. He put the bottle into his son's wailing mouth. Alex stopped crying and sucked away merrily.

Sitting back down at the table, Chris sighed. "Everyone in my family has had a wiccaning. The ancestors bless the child in goodness and light, protecting them from the forces of evil. I just assumed that would be okay. Who wouldn't want their kid blessed in goodness and light?"

"You assumed wrong." Anne stood up and tossed her now empty coffee cup into the sink with a clang.

Alex jumped in his father's arms at the sound.

"You scared him. Be mad at me all you want, but don't be loud about it." Chris warned in a low, steady tone. He smiled down at his son as if to say that everything was fine.

"Chris, you just do not seem to understand. I want him baptized. I want to teach him my faith. You knew I was religious. We even had a discussion about how I was a little afraid to go into church considering I was carrying a part witch and the scripture mentions stoning witches. Then you told me that story about your mum having the same reservations."

Chris watched her pace back and forth and wondered how it was that woman could get worked up so fast. He hadn't said anything about pure wiccan religion. All he had said was he wanted a wiccaning. "That's my point. My mom and her sisters were raised to be Christians, but they still understand and respect and sometimes practice the wiccan religion. Such as the wiccaning. We can do both."

"Both?"

"Why not? People have different religions all the time. They teach the child both and when the kid is old enough, he or she makes up her mind for herself what their belief is. We could and should do the same for Alex."

She looked skeptical but not angry anymore. "So. . .we do a baptism and a wiccaning?"

"Sure." Chris glanced down at the baby, whose eyes were drifting closed again. "We'll leave the door open for whatever path he wants to choose."

Anne moved back over to the table and smiled. "You always know what is the right thing to do. I love you so much for that." She glanced down at Alex. "And I love you as well my little angel." Then, she returned her attention to the father. Cupping his face in one hand, she bent over to give him a kiss. Pulling away, her bright blue eyes danced. "Both it is."

000

"And the creepers?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Check."

His mother glanced down at the list in her hand and nodded. Taking one last look through to make sure she hadn't missed anything, Piper Halliwell crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage. She smiled at her son. "Well, then I guess that covers all the demons that could possibly come after the matriarchs. Only one thing left to do."

Looking thoroughly exhausted and slightly disappointed at the thought of more work to be done Chris tried hard not to let his frustration show on his face or in his voice. He failed. "We vanquished all the demons, Pheobe chose the perfect outfit for Alex, which in the future he'll probably kill me for ever going along with, we have candles ready, so I guess I don't see what's left to be done."

"Summon Grams."

"Oh." Chris looked sheepish as he ran his hand through his hair. "That."

Piper noticed the slightly nervous appearance he suddenly developed and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Okay, Mister. Spill. I know that look. What's wrong?"

Her adult son grinned, still fidgeting. "Grams is kind of. . .intimidating. Not to mention the last time I saw her was during that whole slime monster thing, and she really wasn't too fond of me."

"But you weren't here for your wiccaning." Piper waved her hands dismissing what she had said. "Well, you were here. . .just not you."

"I get it."

His mother smiled fondly at the memory of her baby boy's wiccaning. It had been peaceful and so full of light. Not a single demon had attacked, and her whole family had been there for the event. Well. . .except for Prue. What she would have done if her sister could have been there to meet her nephews. . .well, no point in thinking like that. She had seen her mother and grams and all the matriarchs bless her son without a single hitch and that was all she could've hoped for. Now, she wished the same good luck for her grandson's wiccaning.

"You know, Grams finally figured out that you and baby Chris were the same person. Once she knew all that you had done and sacrificed for this family she just held baby Chris close and showered him with love. She even got Wyatt to stop orbing you all over kingdom come." Piper frowned. "By the way, why didn't you warn me about that?"

"Future consequences." Chris replied without missing a beat, giving his mother a wicked grin.

She playfully slapped him on the arm. "Ha ha ha. Very funny."

"Seriously? I guess I just didn't think it was that big of a deal. Wyatt stopped picking on me pretty early on."

"Thank God. I want you two to get along."

Chris turned his eyes away from her at that point. He didn't want to think about what his mind was leading him to think about. The fact that he would never have the chance to get along with his brother. He would never get a chance to bond with the new improved version of Wyatt because they weren't brothers in this time. Wyatt was his nephew now. He had given up the right to grow up with his big brother when he had gotten Anne pregnant.

"Chris?" Piper put a hand on his shoulder, her chocolate brown eyes searching his jade for a hint as to what she had said to put him in such a somber mood. When he didn't respond, she planned to probe him a little, but was interrupted by her youngest sister's arrival into the attic.

Paige noticed the remainder of what seemed to be a tender moment and paused in the doorway. "Bad time?"

"Not at all." Chris replied, moving away from his mother. "What's up?"

"Well, it's just that I was kinda hoping we could get this show on the road. I've got a date later."

Chris folded his arms over his chest and gave his aunt his patented annoyed look. "You want to rush my son's wiccaning so you can go on a date?"

"Well, sort of." She shrugged. "Yeah. Considering I had to reschedule with Dale when you had Alex's baptism two weeks ago. Which, might I add, makes the wiccaning seem a little bit redundant."

"Paige." Piper warned.

The youngest Charmed One threw up her hands defensively. "I'm just sayin'."

"Yeah, well, don't."

Chris shot his mother a grateful look. He knew his aunts were a little upset over the whole dueling beliefs, but at least his mother understood. After all, she had always been the one to want a normal life, and she had been a Christian woman, who had made sure that when he and Wyatt were growing up they went to a church too. Technically, Chris was just as much a Christian as a wiccan. There was nothing wrong with his son learning more than one belief too.

It was at that moment that Pheobe came in holding Alex. His poor son was wearing blue pants over a bright red one-piece that featured tiny bunnies. Bunnies of all things. Yup, if his son ever saw pictures of himself in that outfit when he was older, Chris was a dead man. As it was his Aunt was still cooing over him and the hideous outfit.

"Oooh, yes. You are soooo handsome. Little Alex Halliwell is just so adorable. I could smush your little face you are so cute."

"Pheobe. Stop. You're going to scar him for life." Chris said, shaking his head and chuckling.

Piper grinned. "Yeah, you're probably the reason Chris is so neurotic."

"Hey. Aren't you supposed to always stick up for me and defend me and love me unconditionally?"

His mother gave him her sweetest smile. "Yes, and I do all those things. But face it, Chris, you are neurotic." When he pouted she put a hand to his face. "But completely lovable for it."

Paige rolled her eyes. "I think I feel a toothache coming on."

Leo and Anne appeared at the doorway to the attic, the Elder holding Wyatt, while Anne cradled baby Chris. When Anne reached her lover's side, she noticed the baby reaching out for his mother, so she reluctantly handed him over to Piper. As soon as Piper had the baby in her hands a demon shimmered in behind her and before anyone could move had shimmered back out again, with the Eldest Charmed One and baby Chris in tow.

"Piper!" Pheobe and Paige cried out simultaneously.

Leo stared in horror at the spot his wife and son had been standing in only moments prior. Thoughts horrible in nature were creeping into his mind about what could be happening to them. He only snapped out of his dread induced stupor when Wyatt tugged on his shirt asking about where his mom had gone. Leo glanced down and shook his head dazed. "I don't know buddy, but we'll find her. I promise."

"I'll start scrying." Paige announced, heading over to the table.

Pheobe moved over to the Book of Shadows. "We could try a summoning spell too. One of them is bound to work."

"No need ladies."

The Halliwells and Anne turned to the sound of the voice. It belonged to a demon shrouded by shadows. His face was concealed by a dark black hood. When he spoke it was as if the sound was coming out of the darkness itself. He moved forward toward Chris. "You. You are the time traveler. The one who disguises himself as the brother of the Charmed Ones. . .but you are really just the small child. . .Christopher. The one whom I have in my possession. Along with your precious mother."

"You want something. Just say what it is." Chris replied, speaking with a firmness and strength he didn't feel. On the inside, he felt like the fourteen year old who had lost his mother. Who's greatest fear had come to life and as a twenty-three year old man may come to life again.

The demon gestured toward Pheobe. "The fire-starter."

Anne rushed forward, ready to strangle the demon with her bare hands for even suggesting that they give up their child to him. She was halted in her fury by the father of her son. He held her tightly, locking eyes with her. The woman ripped out of his grasp, but made no more attempts to charge the demon. She knew that without magical powers, she would merely become another pawn in the demon's game. She didn't have to like sitting on the sidelines though.

"Choose wisely, young Christopher. Either you and your mother. . . or your son. If you choose to save your son, you'd be killing yourself, possibly leaving him without a father. Not to mention that your brother would be without his mother. I wonder if the Twice Blessed Witch could handle being raised without his mommy? Or if perhaps the rumors are true and he is destined to become evil. If so, losing his mother might be the trigger. So much to lose if you don't hand over the child. So very much."

Paige stepped forward, her eyes shooting daggers. "Listen, you, you've just made the biggest mistake of your life. You messed with the Charmed Ones, and when we find our sister-which we will-you're going to pay dearly for this."

"Yeah, so save yourself a lot of pain and bring her back now." Pheobe added.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with." The demon glanced over at Chris. "Perhaps you, Time Traveler, can inform them of exactly who the great Nyru is? You seem well educated in higher level demons."

At the mention of the name, Chris visibly paled. His jade eyes went wide with a mixture of shock and fear and all he could do was shake his head in denial of what his ears had just heard. He refused to believe that this demon was the same one that had all those years ago...or would in the future be responsible for so much pain. His pain. Wyatt's pain. Leo's. His entire family's bane. The demon who had found the weakness in the Halliwell family and exploited it. The demon Chris and Wyatt had spent an entire year trying to hunt down and vanquish, only to have failed. The demon who had murdered Piper Halliwell, sending the Halliwell family spiraling downward into an inescapable void.

"No. . ." Chris breathed. "It can't be."

Nyru lowered his hood, and revealed the face of the demon that had haunted Chris' dreams since he was fourteen. "I see you have heard of me."

"Chris?" Pheobe asked, searching his face and finding a vulnerability she had never seen before in her neurotic nephew. "Who is he?"

Chris ignored her, instead focused on the one demon not even Wyatt had managed to track down and make suffer. "What do you want with my son?"

"He's a fire-starter. That's a rare find. Not to mention the only fire-starter with whitelighter blood. He would make an exceedingly useful ally. With a Halliwell child as my apprentice I could easily win the bid for Source. Not to mention the usefulness his sensing ability would be for hunting good witches. However, if you really don't want to part with him, I'd be content to destroy the power of three forever."

"You don't have the power to do that." Paige argued.

Nyru grinned. "I don't need power. I have found the weakness in your family." He looked over to Chris. "You. You are the weak link. Of all the Halliwells to ever have walked the earth, you are the weakest. Knowing this and knowing how Piper Halliwell would die for her children it was quite simple. I offer her a choice. Her or the baby. You all know what decision she will make."

"Now, I'm going to be fair about this and give you one hour to make up your mind. You better be prepared to lose either your son or your mother, Christopher. I won't put up with any tricks. If you know my reputation as you seem to, then you know I'll be prepared. Remember, one hour."

When the demon had shimmered out of the attic, Pheobe ran to the book to check for possible vanquishes, while Paige started to scry. Leo turned to his adult son, a gentle look in his eyes as he saw the terror in his son's face. "Chris?"

"He killed her. In my time line, Nyru was the one to kill mom." Chris didn't even notice Anne's hand take his and squeeze in comfort. He was far too gone to be aware of his surroundings. "It was my fault. I was too weak. He targeted me, and I couldn't orb out. He had put an anti-orb spell around the house. My telekinesis wasn't enough to stop him. He just kept attacking. Just as he was about to kill me, mom stepped in. She took the hit for me. Mom died in my arms." Chris turned to his father. "I was fourteen. This isn't how it's supposed to be."

Anne frowned, thinking back to a conversation a year ago in a bar when she and Chris had first met. "Wait a moment. It is quantum theory. Everything changes with each small move that a person makes while in the past. It is a ripple effect. By your staying here in the past, ripples are constantly being sent forward, changing how things were. Alex changes things as well. He wasn't born in your original time line. Now that he is here, Nyru's focus has changed. One of the many changes being made by your and Alex's presence in the past."

"What have I done?"

Leo moved to put a hand on his son's shoulder in reassurance, but Chris pulled away. The father would not give up so easily though. "Chris, this isn't your fault. You couldn't have known that any of this was going to happen. Besides, we will get Piper back. We've been in situations like this a thousand times before."

"Not against Nyru. Wyatt couldn't even find him. If he has mom hidden. . ."Chris shook his head, looking for all intents and purposes the epitome of hopeless. "She's going to die, and it'll be my fault. Again."

000

Nyru watched as Piper Halliwell struggled against her restraints while trying to sooth the screaming child in the demon's arms. Everything was going soo well. The father would hand over his son to him or the mother died. When the mother died, the son would blame himself for letting her die. He'd fall apart, and little Alex would lose his father making the child easy prey. Either way, Nyru won.

tbc. . .

Thanks sooooooooooooooooooooo much for the reviews! I'm sorry this took so long to get up, but my life is really busy right now. I hope that you can all forgive the slowness, and let me know what ya think cuz it helps me tons!