Thanks so much for the great reviews guys!
ChrisBianca: I know, but bringing Barbus in makes it so much more fun!
Chapter 2
No one spoke for quite some time as the sullen and fearful looks on their faces did all the talking for them. The Halliwell's prayers and nightmares seemed intertwined as each one thought about the consequences of bring back the two evils, or allowing their youngest member to face death all over again.
The choices weighted heavy on their consciences especially the boy's mother who looked as if she were a deer caught in the head lights with nowhere to run and no time to react. Her husband held a similar gaze as tears streamed down his face and onto his son's blood soaked shirt, while the boys two aunts stood motionless at the foot of their sister's bed one tightly squeezing the other's hand in disillusion and shock.
"What are we going to do?" the youngest sister said still in a daze. Off of her question glances were traded by everyone in the room who quite simply didn't know the answer. Silence over took the room once more as the group tried hard to search for the solution to their dilemma.
"Leo" the woman whispered softly. "I can't lose him for a second time. I won't"
"I know Piper, but I don't think bring back Gideon and Barbus…" the man trialed off unsure of what to say next.
"We will worry about getting rid of them after we save our little boy"
The scene was too much for the younger sister to stomach. She had watched her nephew die once already at the hands of the Elder now she would have to watch him and his parents suffer all over again as they struggled to make an impossible decision. No, it was too much. The walls were closing in on her and she had to escape.
"I'm gonna go get some cold water and some bandages for Chris" she blurted out before quickly exiting the room. "I'll go help her" a dejected Phoebe spoke as she followed her younger sister.
Once the two were gone Piper and Leo sat alone with their son hoping for a miracle and preparing to make the best decision possible given the set of circumstances that surrounded them.
"He looks like a sleeping angel" the woman said as she lovingly brushed the boy's dark hair from his eyes.
"Yeah he does" the father said mimicking the motions of his wife.
"You know what we have to do Leo"
"Yeah I know" the man said putting all doubts in his mind aside.
"Why is everything in our life so got damn difficult? First I lose my mother, then Grams and Prue. Now I'm forced to bring back the man who tried to kill both of my children just to save the one that he managed to get his hands on. I don't understand why this family always seems to be on the losing side of things" Piper began to cry out in pain that seemed all too familiar to her.
"In all honesty I don't know Piper. But what I do know is that we will get our son back and when we do. Both Gideon and Barbus will be sent right back to hell where they belong" the man spoke in a raised voice as he let his anger, pain and disgust be known.
"How can you be sure Leo? What if something goes wrong?"
"Then we will handle it just like we always do"
"Promise?" the woman spoke as she looked into her husbands eyes.
Returning the stare and placing a affectionate kiss on her lips he replied "I Promise"
"Hey are you ok?" Phoebe asked as she watched her sister search frantically for something.
"Yeah I'm fine. Where the hell is the got damn first aid kit" the woman said slamming the kitchen draw shut causing a glass to fall from the counter. "Ouch! Fuck!" she shouted as a piece of glass cut into her skin. Almost instantly she sank down to floor and wept. "I don't understand any of this" she yelled. "Why is this happening to him? He didn't do anything to deserve this!" she continued to bawl.
Suddenly she felt a loving arm being draped around her shoulders. "Don't worry Paige he's going to make it through this, we all are" the older sister spoke.
"How do you know this Phoebe? I mean my God, we have to resurrect Gideon and Barbus to save him. Do you remember how hard it was defeating them the first time? What if we end up doing more harm then good and we lose both Chris and Wyatt"
Although she didn't want to think about worse case scenarios, she knew that he baby sister was on to something. "I don't know Paige, but we can't just sit back and watch as Chris dies again. We have to have faith that everything's going to work out" she finished reaching for the dish rage in back of her and wiping the blood from her sister's leg.
"I'm so scared Phoebe" Paige whispered as she stood up.
"I know sweetie. We all are, but we have to stay strong for Chris. He needs us to be as strong as possible for him, Piper and Leo"
"Oh gees I can only imagine what their feeling right now" the younger sister spoke as cold water began to fill the empty container.
"Well that's why we need to be there for them. After everything Leo went through when we thought Chris died and how hard it was for him to reconnect with Piper, it just seems like fate is playing some sick twisted joke on them. I mean with all that Piper's been through I'm surprised that she manages to keep it all together" Phoebe replied while picking up the first aid kit.
"Ok I think we have everything Chris needs" Paige spoke grabbing another clean cloth from the laundry room.
"Alright, let's bring this stuff upstairs" said Phoebe as both sisters left the room and headed up the stairs.
Outside their sister's room they could hear the couple talking.
"So what is it that we need to do" the woman spoke.
"Well there are a few books at magic school that I think would help us out" the man said as he reluctantly stood not really wanting to leave his son's side.
Taking notice of this Paige spoke up as she and Phoebe made their way into the couple's bedroom.
"No Leo you stay here, I'll go get the books from magic school" she said placing the supplies she had gathered by the boy's mother.
"Are you sure Paige" the man said hoping that she won't withdraw her offer.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You just stay here with Chris and Piper"
"Thanks so much Paige I really appreciate it"
"I'll be back as soon as I can" she said giving the man a broken smile before orbing out.
"How's he doing?" Phoebe spoke as she sat on the love seat next to her sister's bed.
"No worse, but no better either" the woman sadly replied.
"It's ok Piper. Chris will be just fine. You'll see" Phoebe said trying to remain optimistic.
"I hope so. I love him so much. If this doesn't work I don't know what I'm going to do"
Phoebe was about to reply when the boy in question began to awaken.
"Chris, baby?" the boy's Mother spoke.
"Come on Chris open your eyes for Daddy. Please" his father pleaded.
Christopher Halliwell could hear the voices of his loved ones calling out to him. He didn't understand how this was happing. One minute he was stuck in the sprit realm the next someone was reciting a spell and then he was back in his injured body on his mother's bed. None of it was making any sense to him. Not that he was complaining about being alive again, it was just that something just didn't seem right. Everyone knows bring back the dead is not possible, unless the person who did it was very powerful.
As his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the light he could see three different figures around him. After a few seconds the images became clearer as he was now able to make out his Mother, Father and Aunt surrounding him on the bed.
"Mom" the boy was barely able to speak through the dryness of his throat and the pain in his side. "What's going on?"
"It's okay sweetheart you're going to be just fine?" the woman responded.
"Hey sport" his father said as he ran a hand over the boy's face. "How are you feeling?"
"Like hell" the boy replied. "How did I get here? Did you guys cast some kind of spell because if you did there maybe personal gain issues that…"
"That's my little boy, just as neurotic as always" Piper smiled.
"Don't worry Chris we didn't cast any spells. In fact we don't even know how you got here or why" his aunt informed him.
"So if I'm ok why does it feel like I'm dying again?" the boy questioned.
"It's complicated sweetie, but we're working on it" his mother replied.
"Working on what?" the boy said before going into a coaching fit.
"Ok, no more talking for you" the boy's mother warned.
"But…" the boy began before being cut off.
"Not another word Christopher Perry Halliwell"
"Not even if it's Mommy" the boy said batting his eyes and flashing his perfect smile.
"Not even" Piper smiled back at her son as she helped him drink some water.
"Leo can you orb up to the attic and bring Chris down a shirt. I have a box of his things from P3 in the corner to your right"
"Ok, I'll be right back" the man said to his injured son.
"And I'm pretty sure I'll be here when you get back" the boy joked before coughing once more.
"CHRISTOPHER!" Piper scolded.
"Gees, alright already, I'll shut up" he laughed slightly as he grabbed his side.
"That's what you get for being a smart-ass" Phoebe said feeling much better now that the mood had been lightened some.
At that precise moment Paige decided to orb in.
"Hey you guys I found a few books to help us bring back Gideon and Barbus…" the woman trailed off as she looked into her nephew's eyes. "Chris you're awake" she said happily, that was until she saw the look on the boy's face.
"Why would you want to bring back Gideon and Barbus?" the boy asked nervously as he spoke his attackers name.
"Umm" his youngest Aunt began.
"Please don't lie to me Paige" Chris pleaded.
"Not now Chris" the boy's mother spoke.
"That son of a bitch tried to kill me and I want to know why you're trying to bring him back?" the boy said in a slightly raised voice.
Piper didn't know what to do. On one hand she didn't want to agitate her son any more than he already was on the other hand he deserved to know the truth.
"Ok Chris I'll tell you why" she spoke.
"No Piper, you won't" her husband interrupted as he entered the room. "We're fixing the situation and that's all you need to know"
"Dad"
"DAMN IT I SAID NO!" the man spoke in a tone Chris never thought he would hear from his father, not even when the man didn't know who he was. So he would let it go, for now.
"Alright" Chris dismally replied.
Noticing the hurt look on his son's face the man immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry Chris. Everything's just really complicated right now and we're still working out some of the details our selves so there's no use in getting you worked up over nothing"
"Phoebe, Paige can you give us a minute?" Piper spoke.
"Sure honey. We'll go check on Wyatt and baby Chris" Phoebe said as they made their way out the door, closing it behind them.
"Leo can you hand me the shirt please" the woman spoke as she helped her son out of the bloody garment.
"Argh" the boy groaned as his mother removed the article of clothing from his body.
"I'm so sorry sweetie" the woman said as she began cleaning the wound while her husband sat in silence holding his son's hand.
Once Piper was finished nursing her son's injury, the three of them sat quietly. Piper and Leo were sharing worried looks while an exhausted Chris began to fall asleep.
"This is all my fault" the man said as he watched his son take painful breathes.
"No Leo it's not. This is all Gideon and Barbus's doing" the woman tried to reason with him.
"If I had helped Chris from the beginning instead of fighting him" the man stopped as his mind flashed back to the many times he had physical abused his son. "Then maybe we would have found out what Gideon was up to sooner and we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now"
"Will you stop it Leo? There was no way any of us could have possibly known what that bastard was up to. He was an Elder for goodness sake, he had the perfect cover"
"I just feel so damn helpless" the angel said in a somber tone as he looked into the face of the son that he let down on so many different occasions.
"Hey we'll get through this together. Like always" the woman smiled at him. "I love you so much baby" she said wrapping her arms around the man.
"I love you to Piper. You just don't know how much" Leo said as he passionately kissed his wife.
The couple remained in each other's embrace for a little while to come, allowing the love that they shared for each other and their children to sustain them for the time being.
That was until they heard their son cry out in pain.