He did it for me

Chapter 14

By: teal-lover

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Being twice blessed, Wyatt thought that nothing could ever hurt him. It's devastating to find out how wrong you can be. Takes place in the future that Chris changed.

Chris just turned 19, and Wyatt is three months shy of his 21st birthday.

Disclaimer in chapter 1

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Not wanting to make a false move, Chris didn't dare struggle in the vice-like grip that had been warm and embracing only hours prior. He tried to reason with him, "Wy—come on, please—I can explain!"

"Oh, so--now--it's Wy? I'll give you five seconds to start talking. One—two—"

When the blonde showed no signs of releasing him, he knew his powers didn't work as a newly corporeal spirit and did the only other thing he could think of. Panting heavily, he mentally called for his great-grandmother. Moments later to his relief, his panicked gaze was torn away from steel-blue eyes by her voice.

"WYATT MATTHEW HALLIWELL!!!!" came the abrasive and extremely angry shout from behind him. "If you lay one finger on that boy's head, so help me--I SWEAR I will forget you are my great-grandson and wipe this floor with you!"

Wyatt then did something that surprised even Penny Halliwell. Sporting an enormous grin, he lowered him gently and pulled the tense young man into a hug. "Relax. Both of you. I would never hurt my brother."

Penny stalked over and yanked Chris out of his arms, putting herself in between the two just in case. "Well a minute ago, he was several inches off of the ground and you were convinced that he wasn't your brother. So forgive me if I don't trust you!"

Wyatt smiled sincerely and took a step forward, but stopped when Penny held her hand out and blocked his path. "I'm sorry. Look, I know it was kind of stupid," addressing the young man behind his great-grandmother, "but I just thought that if you're anything near as stubborn as the one I grew up with, there was no way you would admit who you really are. Unless of course—you were forced to."

Chris narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Wait. Who do you think I am?"

Wyatt laughed, "Can we stop with the games, Chris?"

Chris closed his eyes as he thought, 'Damn. Busted.'
"So you know?" he asked the blonde.

"Yeah. I knew there was something different about you. I mean you feel like Chris Halliwell, just not the one I'm used to; and I sensed it was familiar—but I couldn't place it. So I guess I somehow remember you from when I was little. But I finally figured it out when I thought of your letter, actually. You said that you always pretty much called me—I mean, him--Wyatt, and that's what you've been calling me since you got here."

Chris stepped around the woman and yelled angrily—his arms flailing wildly, "So what the hell were you doing back there—lifting weights! YOU WERE JUST SCREWIN' WITH MY HEAD!"

Wyatt looked offended, "Of course not. I just wanted you to tell me and I knew you never would willingly. Besides, don't catch an attitude with me because it's no worse than what you just did."

"WHAT DID I DO?" Chris practically screeched.

Tapping his foot impatiently, Wyatt raised an eyebrow incredulously. "How about pretending to be a certain other Chris we know?"

"Yeah, well. I had good reason," he sniped.

"Take it easy--I believe you. Is he ok?" Wyatt asked worriedly.

Chris stalked off to the center of the room, searching for the candles before answering sullenly. "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself."

Penny sighed and tried to clarify, "He's perfectly fine, Wyatt. I left him with your Grandma Patty and your Aunt Prue. That's where I was just now; I went to check on him."

Wyatt nodded and watched with concern as Chris stalked around the room and began reorganizing the candles. "Chris, what are you doing?"

He stopped momentarily to glare at the two older witches, "I'm leaving, what does it look like I'm doing. Oh but don't worry--I'll be sure to send back your REAL brother. You know, the one that belongs here. I knew I shouldn't have come back here."

Wyatt rushed over and grabbed his arm, "Why? Chris—stop. You are my real brother. You may not be the one I grew up with, but I don't consider you any less of my brother."

Chris snatched his arm back and glared at the older man, "Don't touch me! Because you sure as hell didn't think that a few minutes ago."

"Look, I said I was sorry about that. But actually, what I said was 'I know you're not my brother that was killed here YESTERDAY'. Ok, ok, look--I didn't mean it, honestly. I was just trying to get you to tell me yourself." He added to make the younger man smile, "Come on, Chris. I do stupid and impulsive things all the time. And I'm sure you know I've never been the brightest crayon in the box."

Chris couldn't help but crack a smile when Wyatt comically clasped his hands together and squeezed his eyes shut begging for forgiveness. He couldn't believe that the Twice-blessed Witch actually had a sense of humor. Not being evil had done wonders for his personality it seemed. "Well now that's not true. The Wyatt I knew was a genius, proven through many I.Q. tests, and not shy about flaunting it either. So that means you are pretty smart too. And if you're not, than it's certainly not because you're stupid—it's because you're just lazy. Am I right?"

Trying to hide his smile, Wyatt admitted "Maybe a little—but don't tell mom! So am I forgiven?"

Chris allowed a grin to escape, "I guess. But don't ever do that again!" His smile faded, "You reminded me too much of—you know…"

All traces of humor quickly fled from Wyatt's features. "I'm sorry. I would never really hurt you, you know that right?" He suddenly seemed nervous as Chris avoided his eyes, "No, I guess you didn't." He stuttered as he realized his mistake, "Oh man. Does that mean I--Did I-um. Would I. What I mean is—did he ever hurt you?"

"Doesn't matter. He's gone. They're all gone. Everybody I ever knew," he remarked with a blank stare.

Wyatt stumbled down onto a bench nearby. His face took on a greenish hue as he imagined the possibilities. Even though he wanted to give the false impression earlier, he had never even considered wanting to do any physical harm to the young man and couldn't imagine his other self doing so either.

Chris stared down at the older man wallowing in guilt, and immediately felt bad for saying anything. He tried to console him and replied brightly, "Look, it wasn't so bad. He was really only mad enough to try and kill me once. The rest of the time, it was never anything he couldn't fix—he had healing capabilities."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better! What kind of monster was I that would hurt his own flesh and blood?"

"It wasn't you," Chris stated calmly.

"But it was still me in another timeline!"

Chris shook his head firmly, "It wasn't him either. It was the evil that changed him. But it wasn't his fault. I always knew that the evil wasn't meant to be part of him or his destiny. You're proof of that. But I never blamed him for any of it."

"I must have been horrible. And then I guess I didn't think about any that. I'm so sorry, Chris."

"Well you—sorry, he--had his moments. Listen, forget about it, ok? And I said I forgive you for that little stunt, so don't go banging your head against the wall." Chris, grinning wildly, walked over and sat down next to Wyatt as he added, "You can't afford to loose any brain cells," which earned him an elbow in the ribs.

Penny had been watching their interaction carefully for the past several minutes. She had been secretly pleased that Wyatt had discovered his identity, and had still accepted Chris for who he was. She knew that ultimately, he needed that acceptance in order to be able to move on from his indefinite state of waiting. She laughed softly as the two 'boys' as she called them, continued to joke around and shove each other playfully before settling down into an easy camaraderie.

Wyatt scrunched his face up with a thought, "Oh man, I just thought about something scary. Did you ever change my diaper?"

Chris shared the same disgusted expression before finding the humor in it, "Oh gross—no! I had too many memories of you as an adult to do that. There was one time though, when I was babysitting you. And you—you know…Well, I just wasn't going there—so I let you sit in it until they came home from a vanquish. You whined at first—expecting me to help you out, but finally--You screamed so loud—that Piper came running in thinking that I was torturing you or something. It was pretty hysterical, actually."

Wyatt burst out laughing at his own expense as he imagined the scene. Settling down after a few moments, he decided to ask, "Why do you call her Piper and not mom?"

"Because she's not mom," he muttered quietly.

"But—"

"NO! My mom died the day I turned fourteen. And then my Aunt Paige, and Aunt Phoebe. Screw Leo—he was always a jerk! But that was my timeline. It doesn't exist anymore, and neither do they. I can never see them again."

"But they're alive!" Wyatt insisted. "Any they're trying to find a way to bring—"

"Your other brother back to life," Chris interrupted, growing steadily more agitated as he shot up and paced the floor. He began to rant, "They don't give a crap about me; never have. Your family—Piper included, hated me since the day I got here. They were CONSTANTLY yelling at me; CONSTANTLY kicking me out of the house; CONSTANTLY disappointed in me. You know, I came back before my time and when I screwed things up so badly that I almost didn't get conceived—I begged them to help me, but they didn't care! They even said that the only reason for my existence was so that I could come back to save you!"

"You were almost an only child because it was only by sheer dumb luck—and perhaps one really good f—"

"CHRIS!" Penny yelled to head off his very colorful language, but he only skipped over the word and continued on non-stop with his tirade.

"which is the only reason your brother was born at all. They only tolerated me after Phoebe busted me and told them who I was. Look at them now. They're all up in arms trying so desperately to find a way to bring him back. Why? Because Christopher was murdered and it wasn't meant to happen. Sure, that sucks and all—but when Gideon shoved a nine inch piece of steel through my chest—they just acted like it was story they heard on the evening news about a total stranger. It was like, 'That's a damn shame. Oh well, at least we still have the baby.'

Wyatt was astounded by the sheer amount of pent up anger that had been unleashed by what he thought was a simple question. He glanced up at Penny who shook her head telling him to let it go. He couldn't imagine what his family must have put him through to make him lash out like that. How could they not care about Chris? Wyatt didn't understand because he barely knew the boy and already loved him. He stood up to calm him, but his great-grandmother beat him to it.

"They didn't care if I made it back to the future or not. They were just glad to be rid of me!" He turned around in half circles, unsure of what to do next and unable to focus clearly through his watery eyes.

Penny Halliwell felt as if her heart were breaking in that moment. She could do nothing else but draw him to her, stroking his hair tenderly, "…no, Darling," she whispered.

"They were glad…" he insisted disconsolately. "They're all I have—and I don't really have them…"

Unable to stand witnessing his pain, Wyatt padded over to them and spoke up, "You have me, Chris. Listen--I'm not really good at this stuff—but you know I. Uh. Um. I love you, bro," he mumbled quickly with his head down.

"What?" Chris asked in surprise.

"Don't make me say it again," Wyatt warned him.

"You don't even know me."

"Not entirely, no. But I know what you did for me. And I know what you gave up for me--mostly. So when Aunt Sheila told me about you, I just kept thinking that I wished I could have gotten a chance to know you—when I was old enough to actually remember meeting you. And thank you for everything you did for me. So I'm glad you came, because now I can. And I understand how you feel, but there's just no way they can NOT care about you, Chris. Maybe they just need to be reminded…"

Tbc...

An: well? Was it worth the wait? I really hope so, because I worked hard on it—so let me know what you think? And I hated to put Chris through that (sniff), but it is supposed to be an angst story so he'll just have to deal with it :)

And did anybody notice the duplicated paragraph at the beginning of Chris & Wyatt's scene? Because I swear it was not there in the original when I uploaded it. can just be so screwy sometimes.