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!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 18
~ flash forward continued from last chapter ~
Several hours passed before Chris woke up. During this time, his mom and aunts managed to create another antidote and fed it to Chris. By the time he woke up, the sky was dark. It didn't really make much difference to Chris since in his mind, his life was already full of darkness.
His thoughts were interrupted as the door to his room opened. Without even looking, he knew it was his mom. She sat down by his bed and ran her hand through his hair. Chris did not show any response to her touch and did not acknowledge her presence.
"Chris..." she began, "I'm sorry for binding your powers. If I had known that this would have happened, I would never have agreed."
Again, Piper's words were met with silence. After several more failed attempts to get her son to talk, she sighed sadly and walked out of the room.
Only after his mom had left did Chris dare to wipe the tears from his face. For the next two weeks, Chris barricaded himself in his room whenever he could. He did not utter a single word to anyone in the manor. For a while, the Charmed Ones even thought Chris was under some evil magical influence that prevented him from talking.
It was only after several weeks that Chris slowly came out of his self- imposed shell and began interacting with his family again. By now, he had regained his powers, but he avoided using them unless absolutely necessary. Even then, he used as little of his powers as he possibly could.
At the time, no one noticed the change, but Chris was never the same since that incident. From that point onwards, Chris began to show disdain or aversion to his powers and he became increasingly introverted, preferring to keep things to himself rather than sharing his problems with others.
~ flash forward ends ~
Paige's eyes glistened with tears as she learned of these events. "I'm so sorry, Chris," she said.
"It's okay," Chris answered softly as he stared at his hands. "You did what you thought was best for me."
"But it wasn't for the best," Paige continued.
Chris smiled a bittersweet smile. "No, it wasn't. But you had no idea..."
"So at one time, you actually liked telling us things...instead of having us prod things out of you..."
Chris smiled at his aunt again. "Don't read too much into it, Aunt Paige."
"I'm a terrible aunt....I..."
Chris stopped her before she began her rant. "Don't. Don't go there." Paige looked at the dead serious look on Chris' face and decided to heed his warning. "So," the young Whitelighter continued, "can you stop ignoring me now?"
"I never meant to ignore you," Paige explained, "it was just so hard."
"I know," Chris answered. "I don't know why you had the dream all of a sudden, but either way, can we put this behind us?"
"I'll try my best," Paige smiled before hugging her nephew.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phoebe downed her fourth cup of coffee as she frantically tried to finish her column. She was about to start typing again when Chris orbed into her office, causing her to nearly spill her coffee in shock.
"Are you crazy?" Phoebe hissed. "What if someone comes in?"
"I'm going to be quick," Chris said, showing no remorse for his actions.
"This better be important," Phoebe fumed, but her smile gave her real thoughts away. The truth was that she loved seeing her nephew and could never really be angry with him.
Chris smirked. "It is, believe me," he simply stated.
Phoebe looked up at her nephew with an exasperated expression, prodding him to continue.
"I need to you to pick up some take-out Chinese food on your way home from work."
Phoebe nearly fell off her chair hearing that comment. She got up and smacked Chris on the head.
"Ow!!" he protested. "What was that for?"
"Christopher Perry Halliwell. You risked exposure, orbing into my office, just to tell me to pick up Chinese food on the way home! Are you out of your mind???"
"But..."
"But nothing, young man. If Piper and Paige find out about these latest antics..."
"But..."
"Do you realize how swamped I am with work and here you come waltzing in..."
"Alright already!!!" Chris hollered, silencing Phoebe. "You never let me finish..."
Phoebe, still fuming, sat down in her chair. "Okay. Finish."
"What I was going to say, before you got all worked up, was that I needed you to take the food to P3 after work."
"Why P3?"
"It's Ryan's birthday today. I wanted to surprise him," Chris said sheepishly.
Phoebe immediately jumped up and hugged Chris. "Aww, that's so sweet!! Why didn't you say so earlier??"
"Uh, Aunt Phoebe...I'm having trouble breathing..."
Phoebe released her hold on Chris and blushed. "Sorry. You know how excited I get with these things."
"So you'll pick up the Chinese?" Chris asked hopefully.
"For sure!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"You know that I've never worked the bar before, right Mom?" Ryan asked nervously as they drove to P3.
"Don't worry. Andy, the other bartender will do most of the work. You just need to help him out."
"Okay...if you say so," Ryan answered, still not reassured. "Why didn't you ask Chris to do it?"
"I'm putting him on bouncer duty," Piper lied.
"Chris? A bouncer?" Ryan laughed. "Now this I have to see."
Piper and Ryan got out of the car and headed into the empty club.
"Where are the lights, Mom?"
"Turn right and the switch will be on your left."
Ryan flicked the switch and gasped at the sight. It was a table full of his favourite foods.
"Surprise!" everyone shouted as they came forward to hug Ryan, who was overwhelmed by this gesture.
"Happy birthday, baby!" Piper smiled as she hugged her youngest son, followed by Paige and Phoebe.
Finally, Chris came up and hugged his brother. "Happy birthday, Ry."
"Thanks, Chris!" Ryan said, still overwhelmed by surprise. "This is unbelievable!"
"You didn't think I'd forget, right?"
Everyone laughed and enjoyed a night of family bonding. It was a night where worries about demons and the future were far from everyone's mind. By the time everyone headed back the manor, it was nearly midnight.
Once back at the manor, everyone headed to their respective rooms for the night. As Chris emerged from the shower he noticed Ryan staring at a photo album, lost in thought. Sighing, Chris sat down beside Ryan and pulled him into a hug.
Ryan stared at a picture of the four Halliwell siblings – Wyatt, Chris, Ryan, and Rachel. "It doesn't get any easier with time, does it?" Ryan asked in a sad voice.
"I don't know," Chris whispered, his own eyes brimming with tears.
"I miss Rachel."
Chris hugged his brother tightly. "Me too, Ryan. Me too..."
~ 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!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 18
~ flash forward continued from last chapter ~
Several hours passed before Chris woke up. During this time, his mom and aunts managed to create another antidote and fed it to Chris. By the time he woke up, the sky was dark. It didn't really make much difference to Chris since in his mind, his life was already full of darkness.
His thoughts were interrupted as the door to his room opened. Without even looking, he knew it was his mom. She sat down by his bed and ran her hand through his hair. Chris did not show any response to her touch and did not acknowledge her presence.
"Chris..." she began, "I'm sorry for binding your powers. If I had known that this would have happened, I would never have agreed."
Again, Piper's words were met with silence. After several more failed attempts to get her son to talk, she sighed sadly and walked out of the room.
Only after his mom had left did Chris dare to wipe the tears from his face. For the next two weeks, Chris barricaded himself in his room whenever he could. He did not utter a single word to anyone in the manor. For a while, the Charmed Ones even thought Chris was under some evil magical influence that prevented him from talking.
It was only after several weeks that Chris slowly came out of his self- imposed shell and began interacting with his family again. By now, he had regained his powers, but he avoided using them unless absolutely necessary. Even then, he used as little of his powers as he possibly could.
At the time, no one noticed the change, but Chris was never the same since that incident. From that point onwards, Chris began to show disdain or aversion to his powers and he became increasingly introverted, preferring to keep things to himself rather than sharing his problems with others.
~ flash forward ends ~
Paige's eyes glistened with tears as she learned of these events. "I'm so sorry, Chris," she said.
"It's okay," Chris answered softly as he stared at his hands. "You did what you thought was best for me."
"But it wasn't for the best," Paige continued.
Chris smiled a bittersweet smile. "No, it wasn't. But you had no idea..."
"So at one time, you actually liked telling us things...instead of having us prod things out of you..."
Chris smiled at his aunt again. "Don't read too much into it, Aunt Paige."
"I'm a terrible aunt....I..."
Chris stopped her before she began her rant. "Don't. Don't go there." Paige looked at the dead serious look on Chris' face and decided to heed his warning. "So," the young Whitelighter continued, "can you stop ignoring me now?"
"I never meant to ignore you," Paige explained, "it was just so hard."
"I know," Chris answered. "I don't know why you had the dream all of a sudden, but either way, can we put this behind us?"
"I'll try my best," Paige smiled before hugging her nephew.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phoebe downed her fourth cup of coffee as she frantically tried to finish her column. She was about to start typing again when Chris orbed into her office, causing her to nearly spill her coffee in shock.
"Are you crazy?" Phoebe hissed. "What if someone comes in?"
"I'm going to be quick," Chris said, showing no remorse for his actions.
"This better be important," Phoebe fumed, but her smile gave her real thoughts away. The truth was that she loved seeing her nephew and could never really be angry with him.
Chris smirked. "It is, believe me," he simply stated.
Phoebe looked up at her nephew with an exasperated expression, prodding him to continue.
"I need to you to pick up some take-out Chinese food on your way home from work."
Phoebe nearly fell off her chair hearing that comment. She got up and smacked Chris on the head.
"Ow!!" he protested. "What was that for?"
"Christopher Perry Halliwell. You risked exposure, orbing into my office, just to tell me to pick up Chinese food on the way home! Are you out of your mind???"
"But..."
"But nothing, young man. If Piper and Paige find out about these latest antics..."
"But..."
"Do you realize how swamped I am with work and here you come waltzing in..."
"Alright already!!!" Chris hollered, silencing Phoebe. "You never let me finish..."
Phoebe, still fuming, sat down in her chair. "Okay. Finish."
"What I was going to say, before you got all worked up, was that I needed you to take the food to P3 after work."
"Why P3?"
"It's Ryan's birthday today. I wanted to surprise him," Chris said sheepishly.
Phoebe immediately jumped up and hugged Chris. "Aww, that's so sweet!! Why didn't you say so earlier??"
"Uh, Aunt Phoebe...I'm having trouble breathing..."
Phoebe released her hold on Chris and blushed. "Sorry. You know how excited I get with these things."
"So you'll pick up the Chinese?" Chris asked hopefully.
"For sure!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"You know that I've never worked the bar before, right Mom?" Ryan asked nervously as they drove to P3.
"Don't worry. Andy, the other bartender will do most of the work. You just need to help him out."
"Okay...if you say so," Ryan answered, still not reassured. "Why didn't you ask Chris to do it?"
"I'm putting him on bouncer duty," Piper lied.
"Chris? A bouncer?" Ryan laughed. "Now this I have to see."
Piper and Ryan got out of the car and headed into the empty club.
"Where are the lights, Mom?"
"Turn right and the switch will be on your left."
Ryan flicked the switch and gasped at the sight. It was a table full of his favourite foods.
"Surprise!" everyone shouted as they came forward to hug Ryan, who was overwhelmed by this gesture.
"Happy birthday, baby!" Piper smiled as she hugged her youngest son, followed by Paige and Phoebe.
Finally, Chris came up and hugged his brother. "Happy birthday, Ry."
"Thanks, Chris!" Ryan said, still overwhelmed by surprise. "This is unbelievable!"
"You didn't think I'd forget, right?"
Everyone laughed and enjoyed a night of family bonding. It was a night where worries about demons and the future were far from everyone's mind. By the time everyone headed back the manor, it was nearly midnight.
Once back at the manor, everyone headed to their respective rooms for the night. As Chris emerged from the shower he noticed Ryan staring at a photo album, lost in thought. Sighing, Chris sat down beside Ryan and pulled him into a hug.
Ryan stared at a picture of the four Halliwell siblings – Wyatt, Chris, Ryan, and Rachel. "It doesn't get any easier with time, does it?" Ryan asked in a sad voice.
"I don't know," Chris whispered, his own eyes brimming with tears.
"I miss Rachel."
Chris hugged his brother tightly. "Me too, Ryan. Me too..."
~ to be continued ~