Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed.
All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
This is my first Charmed fic. I apologize if I get any of the show's details wrong. I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
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Anguished Soul - Chapter 22
Paige pounded on the door as she waited for an answer. "Chris! Open the door!" she cried, hoping that she wasn't too late. Her heart sank when she received no answer at the door.
"Orb us into the apartment, Paige," Piper suggested. Tears running down her face, Paige did as Piper asked. Once in the apartment, they immediately ran into Chris' room.
Paige gasped as she saw Chris curled on up the bed, shaking. His hair was damp and his face was ghostly white.
"Chris?" Paige whispered softly as she sat on his bed, wiping the cold sweat from his face.
Chris looked up at her with eyes that had become dull. "Why are you here?" he whispered, his strength nearly sapped from him.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I should've listened to you."
"Just leave me alone," he said as he tried to turn away.
"I'm not leaving you, Chris. You'll be fine, I promise."
"I deserve this," he said simply before going silent once again. "Just leave, okay? I don't need your pity."
Phoebe moved to the other side of the bed so that Chris couldn't avoid them. "We're not pitying you. We can't exactly vanquish demons without a Whitelighter, you know."
"They'll assign a new one to you."
"We don't want a new one. You are our Whitelighter, so you're not going to ditch us now. And that's final." Before Chris could get in another word, the three witches said a spell and unleashed their powers on Chris.
To their dismay, their spell had no effect on the young Whitelighter. Paige sat on the bed and took Chris' hand in hers. "We can't break the spell, Chris," she sobbed. "But you have to fight it. Only you can beat the spell."
"No," he whispered. "I can't beat it. It's too strong for me." A single tear slid down his face as he felt himself losing the battle. "I'm sorry, Paige."
Paige looked panic-stricken as she felt Chris giving up. "You can't give up, Chris. We have so many things that we need to do. So much time that we need to spend together. You can't throw all of that away," she pleaded. "Please, Chris. Fight it. I know you can do it."
Paige's pleas pushed Chris to try one last time. He concentrated the little power that he had left and tried to break the spell's hold on him. A tremendous pain ripped through his body and he let out an anguished cry before his body relaxed.
"I think it worked," Phoebe commented as she noticed colour slowly creeping back onto the Whitelighter's face. Sure enough, Chris' breathing returned to normal and his body stopped shaking. There was no doubt that he was still physically weak but at least his situation was very slowly improving.
Taking his hands once more, Paige brought them to her lips and kissed them. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I should've listened," she whispered as tears threatened to fall again.
Her words were met by a pair of sad eyes, eyes that should never belong to someone as young as Chris. His only reaction was to pull her close and comfort her as she sobbed softly. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris rested his elbows on the kitchen counter as he watched Paige prepare the pasta. "Remember to drain the pasta thoroughly," he reminded, causing Paige to smile.
"Yes, Chef Perry," she answered with a giggle.
"Hey, this is serious stuff," the Whitelighter answered with mock anger. Paige simply responded by flicking water at Chris. "Is this any way to treat an injured, defenceless Whitelighter?" he asked with a grin.
"Oops, I left the dressing for the salad in the basement," Paige remarked with a giggle. "I'll be right back."
The light atmosphere in the kitchen abruptly turned tense as Piper walked into the room. Chris merely acknowledged her with a nod before turning his attention to the pasta.
"We need to talk," Piper began.
"Actually, there's nothing that we need to talk about," Chris answered coolly. "You've made your point of view quite clearly. There's no need repeat yourself."
"Listen to me, Chris," Piper replied sternly.
"No," Chris cut her off angrily. "You listen to me, Piper. We've been through this one too many times and I'm not going to go through it again. If you're in trouble, I'll help you because you're my charge. I will be civil towards you because you're Paige's sister. But beyond that, I want nothing to do with you, is that clear?" he asked.
"I admit I was wrong this time," Piper conceded.
"That's my point," Chris argued. "The point is you still don't trust me. And like I said before, you probably never will. So let's not fool ourselves into thinking that anything will change for the better." Without waiting for an answer, he walked out to the backyard, leaving a stunned Piper standing in the kitchen.
"Wow, that sounded like a mighty pissed off Whitelighter," Phoebe remarked as she poured herself a glass of juice, trying to diffuse the tension.
Piper sighed and sat down by the kitchen table, staring at the half-made pasta. "Well, I can't say I blame him for feeling this way."
"Let me talk to him, okay?" Paige offered as she placed the dressing on the counter before heading out to the backyard to join Chris.
"You okay?" Paige asked gently joined Chris in staring off into the horizon.
"Not really," Chris answered after a brief pause.
"Want to talk about it?"
"There's not much to talk about. I shouldn't have said what I did to Piper. But I have too big of an ego to go and apologize."
Paige thought for a moment before replying. "You know, you have a right to be angry. If I were in your shoes, I would be furious."
"I know," Chris answered. "The problem is I'm not angry. I'm just," he paused, "God, I don't even know," he groaned in frustration.
"Maybe you're not angry. But you're hurt. It hurts when people don't believe you and accuse you of things that you are not. It hurts even more when you've put yourself on the line but end up being accused instead."
A sad smile formed on Chris' face. "I used to think that Whitelighters had the easiest job. I guess I should've saved my laughter until I've actually tried being a Whitelighter myself."
Paige pulled Chris close and hugged him. "It's okay. You're a great Whitelighter. Just don't push yourself to do something that you really don't want to do."
Chris smiled and kissed Paige on the forehead. "I think we better get back to the pasta or else I'll be accused of starving my charges to death."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris and Paige sat out in the backyard gazing at the stars in the night sky, enjoying the comfortable silence that enveloped them. Neither Chris nor Paige had ever shown much interest in stargazing, but it seemed such an appropriate thing to do now that they're a couple.
"That was very courageous of you," Paige finally remarked, breaking the silence.
Chris turned to face Paige at that comment. "What? You mean apologizing to Piper?"
Paige nodded with a smile of admiration. "I wasn't expecting you to. Not so soon anyways."
"It was the right thing to do. I don't think I couldn't done my job properly if I didn't get everything out on the table."
"You continue to amaze me everyday, you know that, Chris?"
"I take that as a good thing?"
"Definitely good," Paige said with a smile.
The two sat in comfortable silence for a while longer before Chris wrapped his arms around Paige and helping her lean back against his body. They sat that way for a long time, enjoying that peace that they had been given and wondering how long it will last before they were placed in another life- threatening situation.
Paige was broken out of her thoughts by the soft sound of Chris' singing:
"When I am down, and oh my soul so weary, when troubles come, and my heart burdened be, then I am still and wait here in the silence, until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be."
Paige felt tears of joy fall as she heard Chris pour his heart out to her.
"I love you, Paige," the young Whitelighter professed. "I need you to help me through this."
Paige leaned back against Chris and savoured the moment. "I love you too, Chris. I've never loved someone like this before."
"This will always be our song, Paige," Chris whispered.
"You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be. You raise me up to more than I can be."
~ to be continued ~
Note: "You Raise Me Up" as recently performed by Josh Groban on his CD "Closer"
This is my first Charmed fic. I apologize if I get any of the show's details wrong. I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
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Anguished Soul - Chapter 22
Paige pounded on the door as she waited for an answer. "Chris! Open the door!" she cried, hoping that she wasn't too late. Her heart sank when she received no answer at the door.
"Orb us into the apartment, Paige," Piper suggested. Tears running down her face, Paige did as Piper asked. Once in the apartment, they immediately ran into Chris' room.
Paige gasped as she saw Chris curled on up the bed, shaking. His hair was damp and his face was ghostly white.
"Chris?" Paige whispered softly as she sat on his bed, wiping the cold sweat from his face.
Chris looked up at her with eyes that had become dull. "Why are you here?" he whispered, his strength nearly sapped from him.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I should've listened to you."
"Just leave me alone," he said as he tried to turn away.
"I'm not leaving you, Chris. You'll be fine, I promise."
"I deserve this," he said simply before going silent once again. "Just leave, okay? I don't need your pity."
Phoebe moved to the other side of the bed so that Chris couldn't avoid them. "We're not pitying you. We can't exactly vanquish demons without a Whitelighter, you know."
"They'll assign a new one to you."
"We don't want a new one. You are our Whitelighter, so you're not going to ditch us now. And that's final." Before Chris could get in another word, the three witches said a spell and unleashed their powers on Chris.
To their dismay, their spell had no effect on the young Whitelighter. Paige sat on the bed and took Chris' hand in hers. "We can't break the spell, Chris," she sobbed. "But you have to fight it. Only you can beat the spell."
"No," he whispered. "I can't beat it. It's too strong for me." A single tear slid down his face as he felt himself losing the battle. "I'm sorry, Paige."
Paige looked panic-stricken as she felt Chris giving up. "You can't give up, Chris. We have so many things that we need to do. So much time that we need to spend together. You can't throw all of that away," she pleaded. "Please, Chris. Fight it. I know you can do it."
Paige's pleas pushed Chris to try one last time. He concentrated the little power that he had left and tried to break the spell's hold on him. A tremendous pain ripped through his body and he let out an anguished cry before his body relaxed.
"I think it worked," Phoebe commented as she noticed colour slowly creeping back onto the Whitelighter's face. Sure enough, Chris' breathing returned to normal and his body stopped shaking. There was no doubt that he was still physically weak but at least his situation was very slowly improving.
Taking his hands once more, Paige brought them to her lips and kissed them. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I should've listened," she whispered as tears threatened to fall again.
Her words were met by a pair of sad eyes, eyes that should never belong to someone as young as Chris. His only reaction was to pull her close and comfort her as she sobbed softly. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris rested his elbows on the kitchen counter as he watched Paige prepare the pasta. "Remember to drain the pasta thoroughly," he reminded, causing Paige to smile.
"Yes, Chef Perry," she answered with a giggle.
"Hey, this is serious stuff," the Whitelighter answered with mock anger. Paige simply responded by flicking water at Chris. "Is this any way to treat an injured, defenceless Whitelighter?" he asked with a grin.
"Oops, I left the dressing for the salad in the basement," Paige remarked with a giggle. "I'll be right back."
The light atmosphere in the kitchen abruptly turned tense as Piper walked into the room. Chris merely acknowledged her with a nod before turning his attention to the pasta.
"We need to talk," Piper began.
"Actually, there's nothing that we need to talk about," Chris answered coolly. "You've made your point of view quite clearly. There's no need repeat yourself."
"Listen to me, Chris," Piper replied sternly.
"No," Chris cut her off angrily. "You listen to me, Piper. We've been through this one too many times and I'm not going to go through it again. If you're in trouble, I'll help you because you're my charge. I will be civil towards you because you're Paige's sister. But beyond that, I want nothing to do with you, is that clear?" he asked.
"I admit I was wrong this time," Piper conceded.
"That's my point," Chris argued. "The point is you still don't trust me. And like I said before, you probably never will. So let's not fool ourselves into thinking that anything will change for the better." Without waiting for an answer, he walked out to the backyard, leaving a stunned Piper standing in the kitchen.
"Wow, that sounded like a mighty pissed off Whitelighter," Phoebe remarked as she poured herself a glass of juice, trying to diffuse the tension.
Piper sighed and sat down by the kitchen table, staring at the half-made pasta. "Well, I can't say I blame him for feeling this way."
"Let me talk to him, okay?" Paige offered as she placed the dressing on the counter before heading out to the backyard to join Chris.
"You okay?" Paige asked gently joined Chris in staring off into the horizon.
"Not really," Chris answered after a brief pause.
"Want to talk about it?"
"There's not much to talk about. I shouldn't have said what I did to Piper. But I have too big of an ego to go and apologize."
Paige thought for a moment before replying. "You know, you have a right to be angry. If I were in your shoes, I would be furious."
"I know," Chris answered. "The problem is I'm not angry. I'm just," he paused, "God, I don't even know," he groaned in frustration.
"Maybe you're not angry. But you're hurt. It hurts when people don't believe you and accuse you of things that you are not. It hurts even more when you've put yourself on the line but end up being accused instead."
A sad smile formed on Chris' face. "I used to think that Whitelighters had the easiest job. I guess I should've saved my laughter until I've actually tried being a Whitelighter myself."
Paige pulled Chris close and hugged him. "It's okay. You're a great Whitelighter. Just don't push yourself to do something that you really don't want to do."
Chris smiled and kissed Paige on the forehead. "I think we better get back to the pasta or else I'll be accused of starving my charges to death."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris and Paige sat out in the backyard gazing at the stars in the night sky, enjoying the comfortable silence that enveloped them. Neither Chris nor Paige had ever shown much interest in stargazing, but it seemed such an appropriate thing to do now that they're a couple.
"That was very courageous of you," Paige finally remarked, breaking the silence.
Chris turned to face Paige at that comment. "What? You mean apologizing to Piper?"
Paige nodded with a smile of admiration. "I wasn't expecting you to. Not so soon anyways."
"It was the right thing to do. I don't think I couldn't done my job properly if I didn't get everything out on the table."
"You continue to amaze me everyday, you know that, Chris?"
"I take that as a good thing?"
"Definitely good," Paige said with a smile.
The two sat in comfortable silence for a while longer before Chris wrapped his arms around Paige and helping her lean back against his body. They sat that way for a long time, enjoying that peace that they had been given and wondering how long it will last before they were placed in another life- threatening situation.
Paige was broken out of her thoughts by the soft sound of Chris' singing:
"When I am down, and oh my soul so weary, when troubles come, and my heart burdened be, then I am still and wait here in the silence, until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be."
Paige felt tears of joy fall as she heard Chris pour his heart out to her.
"I love you, Paige," the young Whitelighter professed. "I need you to help me through this."
Paige leaned back against Chris and savoured the moment. "I love you too, Chris. I've never loved someone like this before."
"This will always be our song, Paige," Chris whispered.
"You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be. You raise me up to more than I can be."
~ to be continued ~
Note: "You Raise Me Up" as recently performed by Josh Groban on his CD "Closer"
