He did it for me
Chapter 22
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
AN: I know I said I would deal with Chris and Christopher and Wyatt in this chapter—but I decided to break it in half until I finished with their part. Anyway, I really hope you guys like this—cause I've been working on this chapter for the last couple of months—and I'm soooo excited about posting it. The first part of the family's reaction…
P.S. I'm still not gonna' tell you why;) Yeah, those CA meetings are so not working for me. Because sadly, the story will be almost over when I do finally tell you—but what I will tell you—is that in nearly every chapter I've written so far, there has been a clue working up to the reason (and it's usually in/near the cliffie). There's been some important facts that some of you have hit in your reviews—but I don't want to give too much away…:) and oh my goodness—is my AN a cliffie in itself? I really gotta' get to that meeting:)
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Standing outside in the hallway waiting for Leo, Sheila watched her friend trying to control her shaking. She led her over to a chair, calling her name softly to get her attention. "Piper? Honey? He had to do it. If Leo had left him alive, he would most assuredly try—and possibly even succeed—in keeping us from getting Chris back."
Piper's head shot up, her brown eyes swimming in salty tears. The words caught in her throat, "I don't care about that. What if? What if he wasn't lying? That Chris—That Chris wasn't—part of—my Chris?" Her voice now came in shallow hiccups, "That he was just—out there…alone…"
She rose to her feet the second she heard her husbands footfalls. His own legs shaking as he approached, he shared her grief and concern as the water cascaded down his cheeks. He entwined his fingers in her hair, pulling the woman to him tightly in an attempt to quiet both his and her wracking sobs. He didn't know how he would ever forgive himself if it were true. Was Chris truly a separate soul that they hadn't even bothered to mourn all of these years?
"Oh, L-eeee-o," she drawled out. "What have we done? How could we have not known? What if he's been out there?"
Leo shook his head furiously, as if the action would lend truth to his denial, "It can't be…It just…can't be. It's not possible. He was lying. Matthias was lying. That's it."
Though Sheila didn't want to believe it either, she began to recall their meeting in the manor attic just hours earlier. Chris' reaction didn't seem right. 'He didn't remember anything…'
Leo looked up to his friend, "What?"
Sheila was startled and hadn't realized she had said her last line out loud. But since they had heard it, she may as well repeat it clearly. "Chris—at the Manor. He didn't remember anything. He backed away from us, like he was afraid. And Angry. I know you don't want to hear this, but—the Chris you raised doesn't have any reason to react like that. And maybe—" seeing the terrified looks in their eyes made her stop her train of thought. If it was the truth, then they would have to deal with it. But, she decided, not until they had proof. She changed what she had intended to suggest, "Look, I don't know. I think we should talk to Penny first…"
Pulling apart, Leo cupped her face in his hands before reaching down and gently stroking it with his thumb, erasing the tears while Piper did the same for him. He kissed her temple before he nodded and reached for the other woman's hand to orb them all home.
Without another word, they orbed back to the attic, where Phoebe and Paige were eagerly awaiting their return.
Phoebe jumped up in relief, "Oh, thank goodness. Maybe you can answer what's going on…"
Piper ignored her frantic babbling, her eyes scanning the room before she raced out the door ducking her head into every doorway she could find.
Following her lead, Leo orbed through the house in search of the one he couldn't sense.
Paige and Phoebe remained still, sharing a dumbfounded expression.
The younger of the two lifted her hand to her hip, "Did they just blow us off?"
The empath shot her an irritated glance, "Looks that way doesn't it?" She suddenly became aware of a third person in the room and turned to face her, "Sheila? What just happened?"
"You could probably save them some time if you told them where Chris was," the woman replied bluntly.
Phoebe replied evasively, "Yeah, see, I can't tell you that. By the way, what did you find out?"
"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Sheila bristled, "He's my—"
Sensing her friend's irritation, Phoebe held her hands up in mock surrender. "Whoa, it's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that we don't know. That's what we had been trying to tell them before they flew out of here like a bat outta' hell. Something was going on—and Grams sent him away with Wyatt, and then she left too."
Her eyebrow arched in confusion, Sheila asked, "I thought he couldn't leave here?"
Both sisters rolled their eyes, but the younger spoke. "Yeah, because in the last quarter of a century, it just slipped her mind."
"What?"
"Oh, just a little piece of information that Grams neglected to mention in all of these years that she's been coming here. You see, apparently, Halliwell spirits are summoned to the Book of Shadows, NOT the Manor like we thought. So they go where the Book goes if summoned. So that means we've got a problem…"
Sheila shrugged not understanding the problem, "Well where's the book?"
Paige tilted her head and smiled sweetly, "With Wyatt."
"So where's Wyatt?"
Twirling her fiery red locks with her index finger, she answered, "With Chris…"
Sheila began to get annoyed at the woman's evasiveness, "And where's Chris?"
Paige whispered conspiratorially, "Hence the problem," then yelled, "WHO THE HELL KNOWS!"
Scratching her forehead in frustration, she added, "Wyatt's got his shield up wherever he is and I can't sense him for some reason. We even tried scrying. No luck. Maybe Leo can-"
Piper crashed through the attic doorway again, running her fingers through her waist length hair. She mumbled to herself and gradually got louder, "I can't find him! I can't find him! HOW CAN HE NOT BE HERE! LEO!"
Blue and white sparkling lights coalesced into her husband's form. His eyes searched hers hopefully, but she shook her head frantically, "Me neither," he supplied to her silent question.
Piper seemed to notice her sisters in the room for the first time, and addressed them shortly, "Where is he?"
Phoebe shifted nervously under the older woman's glare, "I don't know, Piper. That's what I was trying to tell you when you got here…"
"What happened?" Leo asked worriedly.
The empath answered and babbled incessantly, making all in the room who listened even more confused, "there was this weird premonition…Prue said something…Grams gave them the book…she rushed them out…then she left"
The three new arrivals looked to Paige anxiously for a more coherent explanation, "Don't look at me, I was here and I didn't even get that."
Paige grumpily instructed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Slower this time Phoebe, from the beginning-in complete sentences-please?"
Taking a deep breath, she began again. "Sorry. Look, guys—this is going to be hard to accept, but I know it's true. I had this premonition when I touched Chris, and Wyatt saw it too. Only it wasn't a premonition. It was of something that happened in the past—just not Chris' past because he hadn't even been born yet, or actually even conceived yet. Before you guys had got stuck on the ghostly plane, Chris—the other Chris, had asked us to help him get you two back together so that you could—you know…make him? Anyway, Paige and I had been talking—and I kind of mentioned that since we were having so much trouble getting it to happen, that maybe Chris wasn't meant to be born. And Chris kind of walked in and heard it. Please don't be mad Piper, it obviously wasn't true…"
Phoebe shrunk away from her older sister, fully expecting to incur the infamous Halliwell fury knowing how defensive the woman could be when it came to her children. She looked up in surprise as the only emotion on Piper's face appeared to be despair.
Instead of an angry shout, Piper let out a small sob as she reached out for her husband's hand. Her sisters words confirmed in her mind the existence of both Chris'. Two entirely separate beings contradicting her long time belief in just the one.
One glance in Leo's direction told her that his mind had reached a similar conclusion.
Phoebe studied her sister and brother-in-law carefully and furrowed her brow in concern at their stunned faces and the mountain of emotional turmoil that was being directed her way. At the lack of response, she shared a questioning look with her youngest sister intending to continue, but was interrupted.
Sheila once again stepped in for the couple, filling in the void of silence where she knew would be flitting with questions in any other circumstances. "What happened after the premonition?"
Paige answered this time, "Well. Wyatt and Grams got really mad at Phoebe. Then she got some kind of telepathic message from Prue, then ordered Wyatt to take Chris out of the Manor and hide somewhere safe until it was all clear. She said he could take him wherever the Book of Shadows went—and don't ask me where that might be—because I haven't a clue where Wyatt would go. We couldn't scry for him. And I can't sense him—he's blocking me off somehow. Can you, Leo?"
"No." he answered despondently. "I guess Wyatt hates us now too."
The red head shook her head adamantly, "No, he doesn't. Granted, he was a little upset about the vision, but he'll get over it—just like Chris will."
Phoebe jumped in proudly, "Exactly. The anger Chris is feeling right now isn't his. We think when he was killed yesterday, the first Chris's memories got transferred to him somehow. But he's got a much better life to look forward to now, and I explained that to him. Those old memories aren't important any more, and once he's had a chance to mull it over and reflect on the good things he has in his life, I'm sure he'll be his normal cheerful self again. When we fix this, he'll bounce right back—I'm sure of it!"
She paused momentarily before asking Piper, "Are you alright, honey?"
Leo pursed his lips tightly, trying to hold back his temper. Only seconds passed before he exploded, his arms flailing and pointing in the empath's direction. "PHOEBE! Can't you ever just keep your mouth shut for once! He HAS the first Chris' memories because he IS the first Chris, Phoebe. And you just got finished telling him that that everything he's ever been through has been insignificant—AND—if that wasn't enough of a blow—you OH SO efficiently reminded him of everything he DOESN'T have."
Tbc…
