Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed.
All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
On another note, some of you mentioned that Ryan's name was originally Ben in earlier chapters. Well, you're right! I've decided to change Ben's name to Ryan so that I won't get confused with another character from one of my other stories. Hope this clears things up a bit.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 10
"I think it's time you met everyone," Chris said to Ryan as their brief reunion chat ended.
"How do you think they'll react?" Ryan responded apprehensively.
Chris smiled and chuckled. "They'll love you. You're their little angel, remember?"
Ryan tried to look indignant, but his smile gave away his true feelings. "Not the little angel thing again. I'm almost eighteen!" he groaned.
"Either way, they'll love you. They always have, haven't they?" Chris voice trailed off as his smile slowly vanished.
"Do they know?" Ryan asked softly, able to read his brother's thoughts.
"About what?"
"The future. I mean, you know..."
"Bits and pieces," Chris sighed. "Apparently, Aunt Phoebe has gotten a few premonitions. I don't think they know enough to make anything of it though."
Ryan nodded as he stared at the floor in silence. "Maybe I should tell them..."
A look of panic swept across Chris' face. "No! You can't tell them, Ryan."
"But Chris..."
"Ryan," Chris pleaded. "Promise me...no matter what, you can't tell them."
Ryan looked up at his brother's face and was struck once again by the pain and sadness behind his eyes. It hurt him so much every time he realized all that Chris has had to go through. But he also knew that he would do anything that Chris asked. Sadly, he agreed to Chris' pleas, although deep down, he wasn't sure if he was actually helping or hurting Chris by agreeing.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris walked into the kitchen as the Charmed Ones quickly wrapped up their mini-conference. Ryan followed his brother into the room, clearly nervous and scared. "Mom, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige," Chris began as all the attention focused on him. "This is Ryan, my younger brother," he said, gesturing to his brother. Ryan stepped forward and looked nervously at Piper, not sure how she would react. He could see tears in her eyes as she stepped forward and hugged him.
"Ryan," she whispered.
"Mom," he cried as emotions overwhelmed him.
"I can't believe you're such a big boy already. Then again, I haven't even seen Chris as a baby yet..." she laughed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Ryan laughed at the comment, realizing how odd this whole situation must be for Piper. Phoebe and Paige came over and hugged him too, as they also tried to come to terms with this very strange turn of events.
"Wow, Aunt Paige. You look amazing!" he commented. "You might want to know that you'll look even better in twenty years' time."
Paige seemed pleased by this piece of information. "Hmm, now we have two flirts in the house," she laughed.
"I do not flirt," Chris protested.
"Yeah, right," Phoebe teased. "So what were you doing the other night at P3 with that young lady?"
"I was merely, uh, appreciating, uh, her attractiveness," Chris stammered, clearly embarrassed. "I'm twenty-one, for crying out loud! What else did you expect??"
Ryan was laughing at Chris' uneasiness. Resting his arms on Chris' shoulders, he decided to offer up another piece of information. "In case you haven't noticed already, Chris is quite the chick magnet in the future."
Chris' face turned even redder as a bemused Piper looked on. She couldn't help but notice the closeness between Ryan and Chris. This was just like her earlier dream. "At least one pair of siblings got along," she thought to herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Charmed Ones spent the day spoiling Ryan. They took him shopping for new clothes and any other "essentials" that they thought he needed. Things were made much easier when Chris offered to babysit Wyatt. He smiled as Ryan went off on his shopping trip, happy that the family was so quick to accept him...happy that Ryan didn't have to go through what Chris had to in order to gain acceptance.
Chris shook himself from his thoughts and smiled at Wyatt as the baby offered him a building block. The young Whitelighter gladly accepted it and soon, the two were happily playing on the floor. Laugther filled the manor as time passed by quickly. Chris didn't even notice Ryan's return because he was too focused on Wyatt. It was only Phoebe's excited voice that alerted Chris to his family's arrival.
"Hey," he smiled as he brought Wyatt to his lap. "How did the shopping trip go?"
Ryan laughed as he looked at the bags that he was holding in his hands. "It got a little out of hand, I think."
Both Paige and Phoebe smiled as they noticed an almost identical smirk on Chris and Ryans' face. "Hey, I love spoiling my little nephew," Phoebe said excitedly.
"Uh, Aunt Phoebe," Ryan replied, "I'm almost eighteen. I think your 'little' nephew is the one playing with his blocks on the floor over there."
"Don't get smart with me, young man," Phoebe answered with mock anger. "It's hard enough with one cocky future boy in the house," she laughed, motioning to Chris.
Chris only laughed as Wyatt snuggled up to him, a scene that did not escape Piper's observant eyes.
"Hmm, looks like you and Wyatt did some major sibling bonding today."
"Well, we had a really good time today, didn't we Wyatt?" Chris cooed, causing Wyatt to laugh and clap his hands.
Piper appreciatively took Wyatt back into her arms. "Looks like you had lots of fun today, Wyatt!" she said as she kissed him on the forehead. "Thanks for babysitting him, Chris."
"No problem," Chris answered as he got up from the floor. "Anyways, wash up and get ready for dinner."
"Oh yes, dinner!!" Paige echoed. "I am absolutely starving!"
Everyone went back to their respective rooms to get ready for dinner. Ryan, meanwhile, went to the basement, where he was staying with Chris until more permanent arrangements could be made.
Piper was the first to return to the kitchen and she found Chris putting the final touches on his casserole. "That's so sweet of you to make dinner, Chris," she said. She was finding it increasing hard to believe that she could actually grow to hate Chris. "How could I hate such a wonderful son?" she kept asking herself.
"I figured you would all be back pretty late," Chris said as he did a final taste test before nodding in satisfaction. "By the way, this is Ryan's favourite," he added.
"It turns out that you make one awesome older brother," Piper continued. "Ryan absolutely adores and worships you, you know that? He could hardly stop talking about how great you are."
"Don't worry, Mom. Ryan is a great kid. You taught him really well," he replied, already knowing what he mom was trying to ask.
"Thanks," she whispered as he kissed Chris on the cheek. This show of affection touched Chris deeply and he almost dropped the plate that he was holding. Luckily, he had become so good at blocking his emotions that he was able to recover quickly.
The dining room was soon full of activity as everyone got seated. Chris brought out the final plate and got seated himself.
"You made THE casserole!!" Ryan exclaimed excitedly as his eyes lit up. "You're the best, Chris!"
"THE casserole?" Phoebe asked curiously.
"Let me guess," Ryan began. "Chris doesn't cook much around here, does he?"
"Well, tonight would be the second time, I believe. The first time being this morning," Paige offered.
Ryan nodded in understanding. "Well, you see, this casserole is absolutely the best. I'm not joking here. I don't know how he does it, but it's just amazing."
"Interesting. So he does a lot of cooking in the future?" Phoebe asked.
"All the time," Ryan answered. "He's amazing in the kitchen, you know that?"
Chris coughed to get everyone's attention. "Geez, I'm still in the room you know. Don't talk as if I'm not sitting here!"
"Sorry," Ryan smiled sheepishly. Everyone laughed and began to eat their dinner. Before long, everyone agreed that Ryan was right. This was absolutely the best casserole ever.
"Chris, this is wonderful! Where did you learn to make this?" Piper asked, totally impressed. It wasn't everyday that Piper Haliwell would be impressed with someone else's cooking.
"Well, actually," Chris began, "you taught me."
A look of surprise was evident of Piper's face. "So I'm supposed to know how to make this dish in the future?"
"Well yeah," Chris acknowledged. "I just modified and changed a few things along the way."
"Interesting..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris was sitting on his cot, reading the latest book on his reading list when Ryan walked into the room with a grin on this face.
"I told you that they'd love you," Chris said as he put his book down.
"Yeah, you're right, as usual. I guess I just didn't know what to expect."
There was a moment of comfortable silence as the two brothers simply enjoyed each other's presence. Finally, Chris decided to ask the question that had been nagging him all day.
"Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did Wyatt attack you?"
~ to be continued ~
I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
On another note, some of you mentioned that Ryan's name was originally Ben in earlier chapters. Well, you're right! I've decided to change Ben's name to Ryan so that I won't get confused with another character from one of my other stories. Hope this clears things up a bit.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 10
"I think it's time you met everyone," Chris said to Ryan as their brief reunion chat ended.
"How do you think they'll react?" Ryan responded apprehensively.
Chris smiled and chuckled. "They'll love you. You're their little angel, remember?"
Ryan tried to look indignant, but his smile gave away his true feelings. "Not the little angel thing again. I'm almost eighteen!" he groaned.
"Either way, they'll love you. They always have, haven't they?" Chris voice trailed off as his smile slowly vanished.
"Do they know?" Ryan asked softly, able to read his brother's thoughts.
"About what?"
"The future. I mean, you know..."
"Bits and pieces," Chris sighed. "Apparently, Aunt Phoebe has gotten a few premonitions. I don't think they know enough to make anything of it though."
Ryan nodded as he stared at the floor in silence. "Maybe I should tell them..."
A look of panic swept across Chris' face. "No! You can't tell them, Ryan."
"But Chris..."
"Ryan," Chris pleaded. "Promise me...no matter what, you can't tell them."
Ryan looked up at his brother's face and was struck once again by the pain and sadness behind his eyes. It hurt him so much every time he realized all that Chris has had to go through. But he also knew that he would do anything that Chris asked. Sadly, he agreed to Chris' pleas, although deep down, he wasn't sure if he was actually helping or hurting Chris by agreeing.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris walked into the kitchen as the Charmed Ones quickly wrapped up their mini-conference. Ryan followed his brother into the room, clearly nervous and scared. "Mom, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige," Chris began as all the attention focused on him. "This is Ryan, my younger brother," he said, gesturing to his brother. Ryan stepped forward and looked nervously at Piper, not sure how she would react. He could see tears in her eyes as she stepped forward and hugged him.
"Ryan," she whispered.
"Mom," he cried as emotions overwhelmed him.
"I can't believe you're such a big boy already. Then again, I haven't even seen Chris as a baby yet..." she laughed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Ryan laughed at the comment, realizing how odd this whole situation must be for Piper. Phoebe and Paige came over and hugged him too, as they also tried to come to terms with this very strange turn of events.
"Wow, Aunt Paige. You look amazing!" he commented. "You might want to know that you'll look even better in twenty years' time."
Paige seemed pleased by this piece of information. "Hmm, now we have two flirts in the house," she laughed.
"I do not flirt," Chris protested.
"Yeah, right," Phoebe teased. "So what were you doing the other night at P3 with that young lady?"
"I was merely, uh, appreciating, uh, her attractiveness," Chris stammered, clearly embarrassed. "I'm twenty-one, for crying out loud! What else did you expect??"
Ryan was laughing at Chris' uneasiness. Resting his arms on Chris' shoulders, he decided to offer up another piece of information. "In case you haven't noticed already, Chris is quite the chick magnet in the future."
Chris' face turned even redder as a bemused Piper looked on. She couldn't help but notice the closeness between Ryan and Chris. This was just like her earlier dream. "At least one pair of siblings got along," she thought to herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Charmed Ones spent the day spoiling Ryan. They took him shopping for new clothes and any other "essentials" that they thought he needed. Things were made much easier when Chris offered to babysit Wyatt. He smiled as Ryan went off on his shopping trip, happy that the family was so quick to accept him...happy that Ryan didn't have to go through what Chris had to in order to gain acceptance.
Chris shook himself from his thoughts and smiled at Wyatt as the baby offered him a building block. The young Whitelighter gladly accepted it and soon, the two were happily playing on the floor. Laugther filled the manor as time passed by quickly. Chris didn't even notice Ryan's return because he was too focused on Wyatt. It was only Phoebe's excited voice that alerted Chris to his family's arrival.
"Hey," he smiled as he brought Wyatt to his lap. "How did the shopping trip go?"
Ryan laughed as he looked at the bags that he was holding in his hands. "It got a little out of hand, I think."
Both Paige and Phoebe smiled as they noticed an almost identical smirk on Chris and Ryans' face. "Hey, I love spoiling my little nephew," Phoebe said excitedly.
"Uh, Aunt Phoebe," Ryan replied, "I'm almost eighteen. I think your 'little' nephew is the one playing with his blocks on the floor over there."
"Don't get smart with me, young man," Phoebe answered with mock anger. "It's hard enough with one cocky future boy in the house," she laughed, motioning to Chris.
Chris only laughed as Wyatt snuggled up to him, a scene that did not escape Piper's observant eyes.
"Hmm, looks like you and Wyatt did some major sibling bonding today."
"Well, we had a really good time today, didn't we Wyatt?" Chris cooed, causing Wyatt to laugh and clap his hands.
Piper appreciatively took Wyatt back into her arms. "Looks like you had lots of fun today, Wyatt!" she said as she kissed him on the forehead. "Thanks for babysitting him, Chris."
"No problem," Chris answered as he got up from the floor. "Anyways, wash up and get ready for dinner."
"Oh yes, dinner!!" Paige echoed. "I am absolutely starving!"
Everyone went back to their respective rooms to get ready for dinner. Ryan, meanwhile, went to the basement, where he was staying with Chris until more permanent arrangements could be made.
Piper was the first to return to the kitchen and she found Chris putting the final touches on his casserole. "That's so sweet of you to make dinner, Chris," she said. She was finding it increasing hard to believe that she could actually grow to hate Chris. "How could I hate such a wonderful son?" she kept asking herself.
"I figured you would all be back pretty late," Chris said as he did a final taste test before nodding in satisfaction. "By the way, this is Ryan's favourite," he added.
"It turns out that you make one awesome older brother," Piper continued. "Ryan absolutely adores and worships you, you know that? He could hardly stop talking about how great you are."
"Don't worry, Mom. Ryan is a great kid. You taught him really well," he replied, already knowing what he mom was trying to ask.
"Thanks," she whispered as he kissed Chris on the cheek. This show of affection touched Chris deeply and he almost dropped the plate that he was holding. Luckily, he had become so good at blocking his emotions that he was able to recover quickly.
The dining room was soon full of activity as everyone got seated. Chris brought out the final plate and got seated himself.
"You made THE casserole!!" Ryan exclaimed excitedly as his eyes lit up. "You're the best, Chris!"
"THE casserole?" Phoebe asked curiously.
"Let me guess," Ryan began. "Chris doesn't cook much around here, does he?"
"Well, tonight would be the second time, I believe. The first time being this morning," Paige offered.
Ryan nodded in understanding. "Well, you see, this casserole is absolutely the best. I'm not joking here. I don't know how he does it, but it's just amazing."
"Interesting. So he does a lot of cooking in the future?" Phoebe asked.
"All the time," Ryan answered. "He's amazing in the kitchen, you know that?"
Chris coughed to get everyone's attention. "Geez, I'm still in the room you know. Don't talk as if I'm not sitting here!"
"Sorry," Ryan smiled sheepishly. Everyone laughed and began to eat their dinner. Before long, everyone agreed that Ryan was right. This was absolutely the best casserole ever.
"Chris, this is wonderful! Where did you learn to make this?" Piper asked, totally impressed. It wasn't everyday that Piper Haliwell would be impressed with someone else's cooking.
"Well, actually," Chris began, "you taught me."
A look of surprise was evident of Piper's face. "So I'm supposed to know how to make this dish in the future?"
"Well yeah," Chris acknowledged. "I just modified and changed a few things along the way."
"Interesting..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris was sitting on his cot, reading the latest book on his reading list when Ryan walked into the room with a grin on this face.
"I told you that they'd love you," Chris said as he put his book down.
"Yeah, you're right, as usual. I guess I just didn't know what to expect."
There was a moment of comfortable silence as the two brothers simply enjoyed each other's presence. Finally, Chris decided to ask the question that had been nagging him all day.
"Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did Wyatt attack you?"
~ to be continued ~