Author's Note: I'm back! Been a while, huh? Honestly, I tried to post this the other day and the site was down so blame Fanfic for a last post! Well someone wanted a longer chapter and here I come to give you what I think you have been asking for. As you can tell from the title, this chapter is primarily about Chris and Piper, so I hope you all enjoy the mother/son time I created. And there was a question about the ages of Wyatt and Chris. Piper mentioned it a few chapters ago, but to let everyone know: Wyatt is 19 and Chris is 17. So, I know you call came here for the fic and not my ramblings so get out of here and get to reading and reviewing! Oh, and speaking of reviews, thank you all very much!
Chapter Twenty-Four: Mother Son Bonding
The Manor living room was silent when Chris orbed himself back in. He had taken as much time as he thought necessary and decided that it was time he came back to apologize for his behavior. But, one couldn't blame the way he felt and he wasn't going to apologize for that. It had been too much for him to handle, his mother's death and the discovery of his parents and so-called brother all within a few days. Those feelings were valid, but he was going to say sorry for the outburst and his rudeness.
But, thanks to no one being around, the apology was postponed and Chris took the time to his advantage. He walked around the living room and took everything in. The outside of the Manor had been impressive, but the inside was just as beautiful. Most of the furniture had to have been old and running his hand down of the couches, Chris wondered if it was a great grandmother or grandfather who had sat there once in the past.
On the mantle Chris found a series of pictures. There was one photograph in the center of three women, one of them being his real mother. Spread out next to them were others, pictures of the other two women and who were most likely their husbands and children. Stopping in front of one picture in particular, Chris found himself staring into the face of the girl he and Daniel had met at school, Bryn. Were the two actually related?
Hearing noises coming from upstairs, Chris turned to the stairs and quietly made his way up. Wandering the hallways he found many closed doors belonging to the other family members who shared the house. Seeing that one of the doors was open, Chris made way to see who was there, but found himself drawn to a staircase that led upward. Following it, he found himself in what appeared to be an attic.
The room was large and filled with an abundance of old furniture and what Chris referred to as "stuff". In the center of the room there was a small table covered with a cloth that held a cauldron and other bottles and bowls containing different colored liquids. Circling the table, Chris looked up to see a podium holding a large green, leather-bound book. Putting down one of the bottles he had picked up, Chris moved on to the book and stared down at the closed cover.
"Strange," he whispered, his fingers tracing the triquetra. Using most of the strength he had in his hands, Chris pried the book open and began flipping through the pages. Each was unique and contained a water colored picture of whatever was being described on the page. "To vanquish a ghost, the truth spell, necron, vampires, darklighters..."
Chris stopped as he stumbled across the entry of the Darklighters. Reading the description of the black clothing, ash-like orbing and crossbow, he began to remember a night from when he was a child. It had always been a nightmare, but maybe it really wasn't. Closing his eyes, Chris could see the woods and the man who held him and it didn't take long for the man in black to appear, the crossbow in his hands. Shivering, Chris remember the man shoot the arrow, wounding whoever it was holding him and being taken away from the safety of the dying man.
Get away from my family!
The voice echoed in his mind. Opening his eyes, Chris shook the memory from his mind, closed the book and left the attic. Returning to the second level, Chris saw the opened door and made his way toward it. Knocking softly, he heard no answer and slowly entered. He found that he had entered a bedroom and knowing that he probably did not belong turned to leave, but stopped when he found a picture on top of the dresser by the door.
Leaning in for a better view, the picture was that of the man and woman from the day before, his parents. The picture had been taken in the very same dinning room from yesterday and there were two others in it. It was a birthday, Chris assumed, and there was the man, the Whiterlighter, and next to him was the woman, the Charmed One. Both adults were standing on the sides of a young boy with blond hair and in the woman's arms was an infant boy.
"That was Wyatt's birthday," a voice said.
Chris jumped and turned around. It was the woman from the picture and the day before. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."
"I knocked, but no one answered."
She nodded, but didn't say anything more. Standing with a good distance between them, Chris knew she was giving him his space. Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward. "I'm sorry."
The woman made a face. "For what?"
"The way I acted yesterday. I got a little angry."
She shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Anyone would have been angry in that situation."
Taking a seat on the bed, the woman patted the side and motioned for Chris to sit. He hesitated, not knowing if he wanted to get close to her, but seeing the look in her eye, he knew that he had nothing to fear. Besides, there was something about her that drew him to her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was his mother? Sighing, Chris sat and looked the woman in the eye.
"There is so much I want to say and so much I want to know," she began, "but I don't really know where to start."
Chris nodded, not knowing what to say. His mind wandered as he looked the woman over. He saw so much of himself in her it was almost scary and he wondered how she was keeping her calm about the entire situation. As if reading his mind, the woman smiled.
"See the resemblance?" she asked.
"Kinda hard to miss," he replied.
"Listen Chris, there are a few things I want to talk to you about. After you left the other night I had a long talk with Leo and we made a few decision. I want you know that we understand how hard this is for you, it's hard for us too even though Leo is more calm than ever, but I think that is his way of staying strong for us. Either way, I want you to know that we are not going to make you do anything that you don't want to. There is no pressure from Leo or myself on wanting you to move in or wanting to take the place of anyone," the woman began.
Chris looked down, listening. Feeling a gentle touch on his hand, he glanced up at the woman.
"I know Cathy was your mother and that you loved her," she continued, "and I would never dream of taking away her place. If you'd like, you can call me Piper. Maybe overtime you can learn to love me as you did your mother, but until then I want nothing more than to be your friend. I'm here for you, Chris. If you need anything I will always be there, and so will Leo."
"You either rehearsed this or you speak from experience," Chris said.
"It's a little of both. Your aunt was given up for adoption when she was a baby and she was almost forced to enter this family when we found each other," Piper said. "I don't want that to happen between us. I want to get to know you, but I am willing to do it on your terms."
"Thanks."
With that Piper stood and paced around a bit, wondering about Leo and the others. He had gone to the Underworld with Daniel to see if they could find any information on Wyatt and Derrick had driven home to see what was going on with Cathy's house and what the police were doing.
"Worried?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, a little."
"I am too."
Piper smiled. "What a couple of days this has been."
Chris looked away and back at the picture on the dresser. It really was him, and the young boy was Wyatt, was his brother. Turning away in anger, Chris sat silently thinking of how Wyatt was the last person to see his mother alive. Once again, those feelings of hatred were returning, but with them now came a feeling of guilt. Never had Chris been the violent kind, always thinking of himself as some sort of pacifist, but it was in times like these where he was confused about where he stood. Wyatt needed to pay for what he had done, but would Chris be able to live with the fact that he had harmed his brother?
"I still can't believe it," he whispered. "All this time he was my brother and I never knew."
"Chris, no one knew. Not even Wyatt," Piper said, taking her seat again and taking Chris' hand.
He didn't pull away and let her move closer as his eyes began to tear. Though Chris might have been close to Daniel and even Derrick to some degree, Chris still longed for that safe feeling of family that seemed to have died with Cathy. Ever since her death all he had wanted to do was be taken into someone's arms and be allowed to cry for what he had lost. The tears falling, Chris moved next to Piper and let her wrap her arms around him as he wept.
"I miss her so much," he cried.
"I know you do," Piper said, running her hand through his hair trying to sooth him. "And I know she misses you too, and loves you."
"I should have been able to save her. I should have been there to take the fall, not her. She never deserved this. It's not fair."
Piper rocked him back and forth. "It's not fair, but I really don't think that she would want you to cry like this. I know she would want you to go on and live your life. It's not your fault."
The two sat there for a while, sitting in silence. Piper wished she could make all of Chris' pain go away, if only she had that power. Inwardly she cursed the Powers that Be for what they had done to not only herself but to her son and the woman who raised him. Chris was right, Cathy had not deserved to die, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. But it was as she was thinking this that Piper realized who Cathy's killer was: Wyatt.
Her heart immediately broke. How was she supposed to deal with the fact that her eldest son had killed the most import person in her younger son's life? What was she supposed to do to fix what had been done? So many questions entered her mind and her head began to ache. It was then that Chris pulled away, his tears gone and a look of worry on his face.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm just thinking about too many things," she replied. "Why?"
"I could feel it."
"As in you were tapping into my emotions?"
"I guess you could say that," Chris answered. "I don't know, sometimes when I am around certain people it's like I can read them...or at least what they are feeling."
Piper nodded. "It's called empathy."
Chris' eyes widened. "There is a name for what I have?"
She tried to hold back a laugh. "Yes. Empathy is a power that your Aunt Phoebe has...oh no, your Aunt Phoebe..."
"I have an Aunt Phoebe?"
"Yes and she should be coming home at any time now," Piper said, standing up. "Which isn't a bad thing, I'm just not sure if you are ready to meet her. You see, unlike Leo and myself, and your Aunt Paige-my sister who was given up for adoption-Phoebe probably wouldn't understand that you need your space right now."
"I see. And is it my Aunt Phoebe or Paige who is Bryn's mother?" Chris asked.
"Phoebe...wait, you know Bryn?" Piper asked as she stopped her pacing.
"We actually go to the same high school," Chris answered. "Wyatt does too, although I don't know why he would go to school in the first place..."
"He's probably trying to fit in," Piper suggested. "If he's spent all his life in the Underworld then he wouldn't know how to interact with humans here. It's most likely a ploy to make him seem like an Innocent, but that's beside the point."
Chris nodded. "So, I have one cousin?"
"Three, your Aunt Paige has two daughters. Which, they are all going to want to meet you and right now is not the best time for a reunion. We can go up to the attic and wait for Leo and Daniel to come back and no one should bother us."
"Leo and Daniel are coming back from where?"
Piper hesitated. "The Underworld. Leo wanted to find out as much as he could about Wyatt and Daniel thought it would best if he went along, knowing what Wyatt looks like. Derrick didn't seem to mind, I mean Leo can take care of the two of them. Derrick went back to your house to see what is going on with the police."
"I see. So it's just you and me then until they get back." Chris stood and walked over to Piper. "While we are in hiding from the rest of the family in the attic, do you think you can show me what's in that green book?"
Piper raised an eyebrow. "You've been in the attic?"
Chris gave a small smirk. "I saw the stairway when I came upstairs and I was a little curious."
Piper smiled as she nodded. "It's called the Book of Shadows. Everything you want to know about anything magical, good or evil, spells and powers it's all in there."
"Speaking of powers, maybe you can help me with mine," Chris asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Cathy always felt so bad that she didn't understand them and couldn't help me out. Daniel could only do so much, but you're my mom and I had to have gotten hem from you. Fighting has never really been my thing, but I think that I should at least be able to protect myself if something were to happen. Right?"
Placing her arm around his shoulders, Piper began to walk him from her bedroom and toward the attic. "I will answer any and every question you have."
As they walked down the hall, Chris smiled inwardly. Much may have happened over the last few days, but Chris realized that instead of wallowing in what had happened, that he needed to make the best of it. Yes, the woman he had loved all his life was gone, but he had found his family. Of course Chris felt a bit guilty, Cathy had only been gone a few days and it seemed that after a couple of hours that he was already warming up to Piper. But, what Piper had said did make sense: Cathy would have wanted him to go on with his life.
Taking a deep breath, Chris stopped Piper at the foot of the stairs and looked her in the eye. Two words were forming in his mouth and though he wasn't sure he was ready to use them, he wanted to try them out, to see if he would eventually become comfortable enough to use them in the future. Piper must have sensed his hesitation for she looked down at him with a worried look in her eyes. She motioned for him to saw what was on his mind and when he finally spoke the two words touched her heart and she knew that her son just might come home after all.
"Thanks mom."
