He did it for me

Chapter 15

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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Christopher was looking in on the dramatic scene at the Manor as he wiped his own misty eyes. He looked up as Prue patted his shoulder comfortingly. "His life was really that bad?"

Patty locked eyes with her daughter, silently agreeing to keep their responses to a minimum. "He's had a very rough time, Christopher, and has been through some terrible things. None of which, he has deserved."

"But I know my family, they wouldn't treat anyone like that—would they?" For the first time, doubt crept into his voice.

Prue admitted, "He may have said those things in anger—but unfortunately, much of what he said was true."

Patty still tried to defend her remaining daughters, "Prue, that's not fair—"

The younger woman quickly grew angry and defensive as she retorted, "You're right, it's not fair, Mom. But it doesn't make it any less true. You heard it with your own ears when they said that Chris wasn't meant to be. You saw how they didn't want to help him and practically avoided it at all costs. If I had been there—I would have done anything in the world to make sure that My nephew existed, even if it meant that I had to stoop lower than ever before."

"Her moral values wouldn't allow her to do just anything to make it happen. It just wouldn't have been right to make Piper and Leo--you know--and there's nothing wrong with that."

Prue folder her arms and snapped, "Oh really? Well, where were Ms. Phoebe's moral values when she abused her powers to find out who her future husband was going to be? Hmm? She, right along with the rest of them—picked and chose when they were going to break the rules. Only it never applied when it came to Chris. So, I really can't blame him for lashing out like that."

"Chris is just hurting right now, Prue. But that doesn't mean they didn't care about him."

"How is he supposed to know that, Mom? When everything he said is exactly how they acted? They never treated him like he was family even after they found out who he was. They had a sarcastic remark or called him a neurotic freak every single chance they got, while the others just laughed and agreed. Not one of them ever stopped to think of the reason he may have been like that. And to top it all off--Chris was murdered mom! And they all pushed it aside as if nothing happened."

Christopher had watched their argument with growing interest. The more he heard about his other self's life, the more he was saddened by what the young man had endured, and the guiltier he felt for all he had not. "He deserves to be happy," he remarked absently—bringing an end to their bickering with the one thing they agreed on completely.

Prue smiled warmly, "Yes, he does."

"What will happen to him?"

Patty answered this time, "When you go back home, he may decide to come with us now. And move on from this spiritual plain to where he belongs—where he'll finally be happy. We were just hoping that he would get some closure from being down there to be able to do that."

Christopher mouthed a very familiar looking 'oh', before turning away deep in thought. Their explanation didn't seem right or fair to him, and it was at that moment that he made a decision. One that he hoped wouldn't cause too much grief when the time came. He furrowed his brows and began studying the old tomes once more.

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Chris shook his head, "No! Wyatt! You can't tell them. They hate me enough as it is. What do you think is going to happen when they find out that THEIR Chris isn't really here? That I tricked them—yet again about who I am? I'll tell you what'll happen—they're jaws will hit the floor—just a few seconds before they bounce me back up there on my ass."

Wyatt was unconvinced, "Nope. Oh, they'd be surprised. But then I think they'll start showing you the respect you deserve."

Chris had calmed down considerably with Wyatt's earlier declaration. Rolling his eyes sarcastically, "Yeah, and maybe hell will freeze over. They just can't see me as their son/nephew."

Wyatt questioned, "Why?"

"Because in their eyes, I'll always be the annoying whitelighter who came from the future and screwed up their lives."

"You didn't screw up anything, Chris. If anything, you made all of ours better." Wyatt smirked, "Because I'm a whole lot happier not being an evil tyrant. And as my family who is supposed to be a paragon of good—I should think that they would be quite happy about that too. See that's why I want to tell them. So they can thank you properly. I'll get mom to bake you her famous homemade chocolate chip cookies—I bet they're your favorite?"

Chris blew out a frustrated breath as he tried to get his brother to understand. "Wyatt—I don't want to tell them because I don't have much time here. And I don't want you to tell them either."

"Wy?" the older man quipped.

Chris glared at him pointedly for questioning him again, "Because I just finished explaining to you why, that's why."

The blonde grinned, having known exactly what the brunette was referring to. "I'm not asking you a question this time. I mean WY. You said you always wanted to call me that, and I don't mind. I would actually prefer it if you would call me Wy. Really. So you can drop the WYATT."

Chris blushed furiously at the apparent misunderstanding, "Oh. Yeah, sorry. But do you understand?"

"No. But I'll do as you ask. For now. But I have to warn you—I'm about as good at keeping secrets as Aunt Phoebe…"

Penny had been quiet until that point, but added her own to Wyatt's laughter at Chris's wide-eyed expression. She was glad that Wyatt had been able to pull the boy out of his somber mood and praised herself mentally for bringing him to meet the Twice-blessed Witch. And his playful teasing had helped to further draw him out of his shell—at least, she hoped he was teasing. 'This really is good for him!' she thought once more just as an orb trail began to form nearby. She clasped her hands together and shushed them quietly, "It's showtime, boys."

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Up there…

Hearing someone approaching, Leo motioned to his wife and friend to duck down further in their hiding places to avoid being spotted. As the person drew nearer, from their vantage points, the three of them had all of the remaining angles in the room covered. There was no way that they could miss whoever it was placing the assignments in the mail slots that rested on the outside. This room had typically been off limits to everyone, save for the person distributing any recent news and assignments. It was highly against the rules to observe the comings and goings of the carrier. But then again, Leo rarely ever followed the rules since meeting the Charmed Ones. This time was no different.

Watching with interest, he noted with no small amount of surprise when the only real friend he had among the Elders—a long time supporter and advocate for Leo Wyatt and the Halliwell sisters—strolled into the forbidden room with an empty satchel. 'I had no idea that he did that.'

Wanting to get a closer look, he signaled to Sheila to keep an eye out for anyone coming. She nodded eagerly, having already been prepped on what to do in that event.

Piper waited for her signal to freeze the room, flicking her wrists out of old habit—something she tended to do when nervous. As soon as she felt the effects of her freeze, she nodded to Leo and headed for the door. As they entered together, both were astounded by the magnitude of the interior of the room that had seemed tiny from the outside.

"Whoa," Leo muttered as he took in the room that seemed to go on forever.

Piper stared in awe, "You can say that again. This place is huge. It would take weeks just to get to the end if you can't orb. Which way did William go?"

Leo took Piper's hand and orbed her to the younger Elder's destination. They stood back carefully, and eyed his frozen form. He appeared to be staring down at a sealed envelope.

Piper reached over and rifled through his satchel, "His bag was empty when he came in. Now there are several things in here. Where did he get them?" She pulled one out, only to have it snatched away before she could look at it. She frowned testily, "What'd you do that for?"

Leo pointed to the back of the envelope excitedly, "Piper, look at this."

"Well I was trying to, but someone just rudely snatched it out of my hand."

Leo ignored her attitude and waved the letter in front of her face. "This is an assignment. This is what they all look like when we get them—with one exception."

"And that is?"

"These have seals on the back of them. But by the time we get our assignments, these seals have been removed. We never see them."

Piper observed the seal and examined the emblem closely before handing it back to him, "It's got some kind of marking on it. Like a family crest or something."

"Or something. It's not a family crest, Piper. It's a symbol—signifying an Elder and Whitelighters given name, other than the name we're born with. We all have them."

Digging through the pack again, she asked "So you're thinking that the person who sealed it was the person who gave you your orders? Look, there's one on each envelope. Can you recognize any?"

Leo stared at each and shook his head with a disappointed sigh. "Even if the person who sealed it wasn't the one who gave the order, they probably would know who actually did. And No, I don't recognize most of these. But there are very few Elder's who know all of these symbols."

Piper nodded her head in the direction of William. "Well maybe he's one of them." Her voice was laced with mistrust, "I know he's your friend, Leo. But how do you think the seals get removed?"

He stared at the younger Elder, who had remained frozen under Piper's power. "You're right. If he distributes the mail, he's got to know."

"Should I unfreeze him so we can ask him?"

"No. Not yet. Let's hide first and see what he does. I want to see if he actually reads any of the assignments before he distributes them."

"And if he does?"

"Then he knows who set up our son."

"Even if he does know, what good will that do us? He already made it clear that he won't help us, Leo," Piper pointed out.

Leo took his wife's hand and stared at her with a deadly determination—prepared to do whatever necessary for his son, "Then I hope for his sake that he doesn't know, because I'm not walking away empty handed if he does. Friend or no friend. Our family comes first. Agreed?"

Piper's hardened expression matched her husband's before they orbed, "Agreed."

Tbc…

AN: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!!!! You guys really make writing this worth it.