Chapter Two

A/N: I made a mistake in the first chapter. This story takes place after the events of Chris-Crossed, not after Prince Charmed. Thank you all for your approval of my story and your wonderful reviews.

Chris seemed to be the only one not surprised to see her. "I was wondering where you were," he said, mumbling slightly.

Prue didn't match his bitter tone, placing a kind hand on his shoulder which he surprisingly didn't reject. "Chris, I am so sorry. This is all my fault."

Chris smirked. "Somehow I doubt that. Unless you said a spell or something to put me in this condition."

Prue winced. "Actually...yeah I did."

Chris's eyes widened and he quickly shrugged her hand off. He backed away from her, looking as though she had done something he might never forgive. "How could you?" he whispered. "How could you do such a thing? You've jeopardized everything? Do you realize that? Everything!"

Prue shivered in the face of her charges wrath. "I did it for you Chris. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. You weren't supposed to feel it at all. It wasn't supposed to affect you. It was only supposed to happen to them. I wanted them to understand. I just wanted to help."

Chris shook his head. "Yeah you helped alright." He eyed his injuries and met Prue's eyes with an angry tear-filled gaze of his own. "You've brought it all back."

He orbed out, and Prue moaned, putting her hands over her face. Her sisters, who had been staring at her all this time in blatant shock snapped out of their daze suddenly in the face of Chris' sudden disappearance.

"Prue..." Piper said quietly, almost disbelievingly. Reaching a hand out to touch her. Prue jerked back, out of her reach.

"Piper," she said in a hard voice. She nodded towards Paige and Phoebe. "Phoebe, Paige."

Piper grew colder at her sister's tone. "What are you doing here Prue?"

Prue looked at them warily. "I am a Guardian," she said. "Chris' Guardian."

The three living Charmed One's looked confused. "Ask Leo. I'm sure he could tell you," Prue said, waving off their inevitable questions. "I have more important to things to attend to."

A bright light flashed and Prue disappeared.

The three took a second to snap out of their shock once again and then took their dead sister's advice. "Leo," Piper called. "LEO! Get your elder ass down here."

Leo orbed in, looking extremely peeved. "Piper, you can not just keep doing this. I am not your Whitelighter anymore..."

Piper cut him off. "What's a Guardian?"

Leo blinked, surprised. "Guardians are like whitelighters except instead of being mortals during life, Guardians were witches. They travel by a method called 'shining' and, though they no longer possess their active Wiccan gifts, they are still able to cast spells and make potions. Unlike Whitelighters, they are not a constant in their charges lives. They are not supposed to directly interfere except in extraneous situations. They are only supposed to guide and monitor. They are also not able to heal. Why are you asking me this?"

"We met Chris' Guardian," Piper began, but Leo cut her off.

"Chris has a Guardian? Are you serious? Only very powerful witches are granted Guardians. How do you know it was his?"

"If you would let me finish," Piper snapped. "Chris' Guardian is Prue."

Leo's eyes widened, alarmed. "Chris' Guardian is a former Charmed One? He required that powerful a Guardian? This isn't good."

"Yeah, and she didn't seem to fond of us present Charmed Ones either," Phoebe said in response. "What do you mean it isn't good that Chris has a powerful Guardian? And she wasn't following that rule of non-interference very well either."

Leo groaned. "You don't understand. A Guardian is a special type of protector who watches over those who have a large amount of power and the potential to be corrupted. You see, most witches have the tendency to be good, but, if exposed to evil to much and possess too weak a will, they can be turned. Guardians watch over the balance. But when a witch is turned, their Guardian is also affected and turned. And if Chris is evil, it would explain Prue's negative reaction to you three."

Paige was indecisive. "Neither of them seemed evil to me. Chris just seemed young, scared, and hurt."

"Hurt?" Leo questioned.

"Yeah," Phoebe said, nodding. "Prue cast a spell. To make us feel what he felt, help us understand him, except it obviously backfired and affected him too."

"Except now I'm more confused," Piper said, her sisters nodding in agreement. "Prue's spell worked, but it also affected Chris, physically and emotionally, even more so than us. We could feel what happened, but to him it actually happened, both in the past and in the present."

"This isn't good," Leo said, not exactly sure what was going on, but knowing that they had a situation on their hands.

The room got that feeling again and the sisters tensed, aware now that they would be experiencing one of Chris' memories. Leo just regarded them in confusion.

"Why do you keep fighting me Chris?" It was a man's voice, soft and sinister. "You've nothing to gain by refusing me and everything to lose."

Chris' breathing came, sharp rasps, but his answer was strong. He sounded slightly younger than he presently was.

"You are a monster. I will never be like you. My family..."

"Is dead," the man interrupted. "Most of them anyway. And they never loved you anyway. You were the forgotten one, the mistake. They didn't care about you in life and they don't care about you in death."

"You're wrong," Chris shouted. "You're WRONG!"

The man was addressing someone else now. "Take him to the Underworld. A few days of punishment down there should be enough for any Whitelighter to 'see the light.'"

"Yes m'lord."

Fear emanated through the room then slowly dissipated.

Paige wiped at the tears which had formed in her eyes. "Well, at least we know he wasn't evil then. Of course, who knows what happened to him, what kind of punishment he had to endure, what it did to him?"

"It made him stronger," a new voice answered.

Prue was back, her eyes compassionate now. Her gaze was soft on Paige.

"How do we know we can trust you Prue?" Piper asked. "No offense, but you are his Guardian. If he had turned, you would have as well."

Prue lay her hands on the book. Piper shook her head, unconvinced. "The book can be tricked, and you're a family member. We've learned that the hard way."

Prue groaned. "This is the whole reason I cast the spell. You don't give Chris any credit for all he's done for you. But this can't go on any longer. Chris should not have been affected like that, we have to stop the spell."

Phoebe shook her head this time. "The spell won't end until it's run its course. You know that honey."

"Chris has experienced things no person should ever have to experience," Prue argued. "Some of them were life-threatening. If he is forced to be reminded of those, if his body is made to bare the wounds that were inflicted upon him once again, he could die."

"You should have thought about that before you cast the spell," Leo said. "Why did you cast the spell? Guardians are not supposed to interfere, you are there only to guide."

"Chris is more than just my charge Leo, he's my..." she trailed off.

"He's your what?" Leo challenged. "Your lover?"

Prue was outraged. "Lover? Chris? Of course not. Chris loved Bianca more than life itself, it tore him apart when she died in his arms. And then he had to come back here where you treated him like crap."

"If he's not your lover, than what is he Prue? Because you've broken more than one rule tonight and we need to know why. Why is he so important that you would risk giving your sisters-your family-his pain, especially if it was life-threatening?"

"Chris is...special, that's all," she said in answer, seething now. "I love my family dearly but they've treated my charge terribly, and he comes first. He has to."

A bright light flashed and Prue was gone. Leo ans the Charmed Ones looked at each other, completely lost for words.

Chris was curled up in a corner of his apartment when the girls listened to his memory. Terror overtook him as he remembered that particular one and all of its subsequent beatings and punishments.

His arms now sported bruises in a reminder of his demonic captor's fierce grip. Just another of the various wounds which now marred his body. He didn't even turn around when he felt Prue arrive.

"You're injured Chris," she said gently.

"Your doing I believe," he said bitterly, turning slightly to give her an angry glare.

She knelt in front of him. "I'm sorry hun, I really, truly am."

He shook his head. "I just don't understand why you did it."

He stood, blatantly ignoring his injuries and paced in front of her.

"They didn't trust you, they were hurting you, emotionally at least. They didn't acknowledge a single sacrifice you've made for them. They don't understand..."

"And they can't," Chris stated. "That's the point. If they understand it would be too late. It would mean I had failed."

Prue disagreed. "The knowledge of your identity would be more of a benefit than a hindrance in this situation Chris. You could change your relationships with them if they understood. All of them."

"And you seek to give them this understanding through a spell?" Chris asked. "Does the concept of 'no personal gain' mean nothing to you?"

"This isn't about personal gain," Prue argued. "This is about justice, life. Those who committed all those sins against you do not yet exist in the minds of their former selves. If we were to give them understanding of what kind of world you were forced to grow up in, raise the stakes, show them what is at risk, then the childhood you endured need never exist."

Chris threw up his hands in frustration. "This is not about me. It never was, and it never will be. This is about Wyatt. About the Charmed Ones. About the world. Even, perhaps, about my family. But not about me, my emotions don't factor into this, my relationships with the Charmed Ones don't mean a damn. They can't."

"And that is where you are wrong," Prue insisted earnestly, her eyes pleading. "You are just as important, just as critical as anyone else in this world, perhaps even more so than some. You have a purpose Chris."

"Yes," Chris said, "and if I protect Wyatt, keep him safe from whatever evil seeks to turn him, then I have fulfilled that purpose. Even if its to a world in which I shall no longer exist."

"Your purpose is not to make it so that you no longer exist," Prue said with conviction, looking sickened. "That is the talk of the young child in you, battered and beaten by those he should have been able to trust."

"The child you are attempting to draw to the surface?" Chris said angrily, drawing attention back to the spell Prue had cast.

"All actions in this world have consequences," he said softly. "Guardians are not immune. And that is why Guardians are told to watch and guide, but not to interfere. The consequences of a Guardian's actions may very well lead to the demise of their charge."

He indicated his injury-filled body. "If you are my demise, you could very well be the demise of the future. A student should not teach their teacher, a child should not discipline their parent, and a charge should not guide their Guardian. But as I have done both of the former, so shall I do the last. Do not interfere Prue. Watch if you must, guide if you can, but do not interfere."

Chris orbed out, leaving Prue feeling chastised and alone.

Chris orbed to the attic of the Halliwell Manor where he was met with the sight of the Charmed Ones in a frenzy.

Phoebe was simultaneously writing a spell and looking through the Book of Shadows while Paige was concocting a potion. Piper was lecturing a winded looking Leo while balancing an energetic Wyatt on her hip.

Chris stumbled slightly from his injuries and caught the attention of the attics occupants who halted all movements and went silent.

Chris gazed at them all wearily, then his eyes rolled back as his numerous injuries finally caught up with him and he fainted.

Piper came out of the stupor first and pushed everyone else back into action. "Leo, heal. Now. Paige, Phoebe hurry up and finish to potion and spell."

There was a flurry of movement and Leo hurried over to Chris and orbed him onto the couch. He looked him over, assessing his injuries and winced when he saw the bruise his own fist had formed on Chris' face during their earlier confrontation.

The punch had been a 'crime of passion' so to speak. He had just been so overwhelmed with learning that the mysterious whitelighter from the future was also a witch and then suspicious of his involvement with a Phoenix witch, he just didn't think. He regretted it now.

He let the healing glow flow over Chris and sighed with relief when the injuries faded. He had been worried that they would not heal because they had been inflicted by a spell but these seemed to heal just fine, which, truthfully, didn't make much sense.

"No, no sense at all, why are you healing," Leo murmured as he finished and Chris opened his eyes blearily, and blinking, unconsciously answered Leo's question.

"Because that's how my injuries were healed originally. By a whitelighter's magic."

He got up and stretched his back as Leo pondered his words curiously. Chris looked at the activity in the room and let a smirk cross over his face.

"I take it we have a demon to catch?" he asked wryly. The sisters looked taken aback.

"No," Paige said. "We're going to reverse the spell that Prue cast on you."

Chris was surprised. Very rarely in his life had people been concerned with what happened to him. Then again, the spell was affecting the sisters as well, and that probably would not work to well with their demon hunting abilities. Still...it was nice to have someone be concerned about him. Even if it was secondhand concern.

"Done," Phoebe said, putting down her pen, as Paige added the last ingredient of her potion. "So where's Prue anyway?" This was directed towards Chris.

The whitelighter shrugged. "Hopefully not interfering. So are we gonna do this or not?"

The sisters nodded and leaned over Phoebe to read the paper. They spoke in one voice.

"A spell was cast in compassion's name,

A foolish act and made in vain.

Take back the words,

Take back the rhyme,

To help the one who's come back in time."

The sisters stopped chanting and Paige indicated that Chris should take the potion. "To clear you of any residual effects of either spell," she said in explanation. Chris nodded and took it.

"Well, that's that then," he said after he downed it. "If you need me, you know how to find me." He started to orb away, but Piper gripped his arm and brought him back.

"Don't you think we should talk about this Chris?" she asked, her sisters and husband nodding in obvious agreement. Chris locked eyes with Wyatt who was balanced on her hip. The toddler looked all innocent as he sucked on his thumb. Chris rolled his eyes. I endure all this for you, you know, he thought and Wyatt giggled.

Chris started. Was it possible? Had Wyatt heard what he had thought? It was true that he and his brother had always shared a somewhat weak telepathic connection, but he hadn't expected it with the Wyatt of this time... he shook himself out of his thoughts.

"I think the air is pretty clear Piper," he said in response to her question. "You got to find out a little bit about the future, albeit just my future, and I got to endure childhood pain. Sounds like my idea of a good time. Let's get together for Yahtzee sometime. Saturday good for you?"

Piper just rolled her eyes at his sarcasm, quite used to it by now. "Look, Chris. We're sorry for how we acted after you got back from the future. We were just surprised that's all. It was a bit of a shock to find out that you're a witch too." Leo was quiet, ashamed of himself.

Chris shrugged. "Look, its understandable I guess. You're forgiven."

Phoebe spoke up. "You've got to understand Chris. You come here from who knows when and tell us that you're here to help us. Ok. Fine. But its like you've got this big secret. Why can't you tell us who you are? Why couldn't you tell us you were a witch? What else are you hiding? Prue was so upset about us not trusting you, but if she was still alive she would have reacted in exactly the same way."

"I can't tell you who I am because if I do it could seriously mess with the timeline ok? As for why I couldn't tell you I was a witch, I had a hard time getting you to work with me as your whitelighter, I had no idea how you'd react to that knowledge. As to what I'm hiding? I can't tell you, if I do, the world could end up worse than its already going to, and believe me, that's bad."

Paige was frustrated. "Why didn't you at least tell us that Prue was your Guardian? That would have probably helped us trust you quite a bit don't you think? Prue was our sister after all. She was a member of this family. She would have given you some serious credibility buddy."

"That was my decision," Prue said, shining in. "I've only recently died in this time, relatively speaking. In the future Chris comes from, you don't find about my ascension to Guardianship until two years after Chris is born."

"Why would we find out about you being Chris' guardian?" Piper asked, confused.

"She can't tell you that," Chris cut in, glaring at Prue. "Future consequences. I thought I told you to stop interfering."

"I'm the Guardian here Chris," Prue said. "And I think you've kept your identity secret for far too long."

Chris' face flushed in anger. "This is my life Prue. Let me live it. Let me make my own decisions. I don't want them to know who I am. It doesn't matter anyway..."

He was suddenly cut off as the familiar feeling of the memories washed over the room once again. Distantly he heard the sisters moan about how they thought they had stopped this but soon he was caught up in the memory.

"You never learn, do you Chris?" the man's voice from the earlier vision, angry, his words hard. "You just never learn."

A thump sounded in the memory and Chris fell and flew across the floor, holding his ribs.

"I'm sorry dad," the boy said, his voice implying that he was in his early teens, maybe thirteen or fourteen. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong." He whimpered quietly.

"You're such a screw-up Chris. Sometimes I wonder where your mother and I went wrong."

The sisters gasped as they watched Chris' body get littered with several cuts by an invisible assailant. Chris didn't cry out only curled into himself, seemingly lost in the memory.

"Stop this," a woman's voice now, cold. "Stop right now."

"This is not your concern Prue," the man said. "Step aside."

"He's my charge," the woman, now identified as Prue said. "He's my responsibility."

"Just leave Prue," the boy said, his voice weary. "I deserve this. Don't interfere."

"Chris..."

"LEAVE."

"That's right Chris," the man laughed. "Accept your fate."

The memory dissipated and the sisters breathed a sigh of relief as the phantom pains they had felt left them as well. Leo hurried over to Chris to heal him and Prue quietly asked what they had heard.

"A man, his father, was beating him," Paige said in a somber voice. "You showed up though, tried to help. Chris wouldn't let you though. What a horrible man to do such things to his own son."

"He healed me though," Chris said, almost to himself. He was cradling himself, looking down. "He healed me afterwards. He even apologized."

"That doesn't make it right," Leo said, attempting to console him.

Chris just shot him a sardonic look and orbed out, leaving the girls to figure out why their spell hadn't worked.