Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 38
"Chris, why don't you take the night off?" Piper asked as she looked at her son whipping up dinner once again. "You've been cooking for us every night for who knows how long now."
Chris smirked. "Oh, getting sick of my culinary skills already?" he asked with mock hurt.
Piper smiled as Chris continued his work. He seemed so genuinely happy when he was in the kitchen and that brought a smile to her face. "So what's on the menu tonight?"
"I dunno," Chris laughed. "I don't have a name for this dish yet."
"Another one of your master creations?"
"Let's just say it's something...different," he smiled mischievously. "But I have to admit, the strawberry cheesecake didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped."
Piper's eyes widened with glee. "You made strawberry cheesecake??"
"Yep, but no touching until after dinner," Chris answered with a smile that widened when he saw Piper's pout. "And don't give me that sad pout, either. It's not going to work."
"Fine, be that way," Piper answered with a smile. "Make me suffer with my cravings."
Chris walked over and hugged his mother. "But I did make you some of my very special crème caramel..." he whispered.
Piper playfully slapped her son's arms. "Then why didn't you tell me??" she asked as she made a dash towards the fridge.
Chris chuckled as he watched Piper savouring the crème caramel. "Oh my, Chris...this is absolutely heavenly!!"
"So am I forgiven?" Chris asked with an innocent schoolboy look.
"Maybe if you give me the recipe for this?" Piper asked with a grin.
Chris smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Mom. Future consequences."
"Oh for crying out loud!! You have got to be kidding me!"
Chris just laughed and continued preparing dinner as Piper playfully stomped out of the kitchen.
Dinner was a relaxed and happy affair as the entire family gathered to spend time together. Ever since Wyatt had turned good again, the entire household seemed to become more relaxed. Even Ryan and Wyatt were slowly rebuilding their relationship. Things were even funnier when Wyatt interacted with his baby self and never failed to provide the family with laughs.
After the dishes were done, the three Halliwell brothers rejoined the rest of the family in the parlour when Chris suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Leo asked upon seeing Chris' change in behaviour.
"We have visitors," Chris said calmly. "Do you guys want to entertain them?"
Phoebe looked at Chris strangely as he said those words. "Did you get a premonition of our guests?"
Chris chuckled. "No, I can feel them trying to pound their way through the protection that I set up."
Wyatt laughed as he pictured the scene in his head. "Lil' bro, these would-be visitors wouldn't happen to be a group of very angry Elders, would it?"
The Charmed Ones' eyes widened in horror as they understood the situation while the three younger Halliwells just laughed at the image of angry but powerless Elders.
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"That punk!" an Elder cried out angrily. "He put some spell on the house so that we can't get in!"
"He's totally out of control!" another Elder added. "Absolutely no respect!"
They continued pounding away, hoping to eventually weaken and pound through the protection, all the while seething and furious at being embarrassed by a young witch.
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"So..." Chris asked after the laughter died down. "Do we want to see them?"
"Not particularly," Paige answered. "But it's probably still a good idea to see what they want."
"Mom? Dad?" he asked, seeking their opinion.
"I guess Paige is right," Piper answered, though she was less than enthusiastic about meeting the Elders again.
"Alright," Chris answered and snapped his fingers. All of a sudden, five Elders dropped in from above and landed in a heap on the parlour floor, causing Ryan and Wyatt to burst out laughing and earning them glares of disapproval from Leo and Piper.
"So, to what do we owe this honour?" Chris asked sarcastically as the Elders got up and quickly tried to restore an image of dignity.
The lead Elder gathered himself to speak. "We have considered your circumstances and have decided to make certain exceptions for your family."
"How generous of you," Ryan quipped in the same sarcastic manner that his older brother just used.
Walter chose to ignore the comment and continued. "We will retract our statement blaming the Charmed Ones for Wyatt's turning. And we will not seek to punish him any further."
Wyatt looked up with surprise, but found that Chris was not even cracking a smile. "That doesn't even come close to what I indicated at our earlier meeting. I'm afraid that you're wasting our time."
Walter clenched his fists and had to swallow his pride and fury. "Well, what exactly is it that you want, Christopher?"
"We've already been through this," Chris began. "An apology to my family."
Walter looked at the other Elders. "Fine," he finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.
"You will all treat my family with respect from now on."
"Very well."
"No more attempts to punish Wyatt."
"Done."
"And you will give Wyatt back his witch and whitelighter powers."
"Absolutely not!!" Walter and the Elders said together. "Are you out of your mind?"
Even Wyatt was taken aback by Chris' blunt demand. In fact, he was already getting used to a life without powers and he really didn't need them back.
"Then I guess we have no deal," Chris answered flatly. "Now if you don't mind, my family would like to spend time alone without being bothered by unwanted visitors."
Walter glared at Chris and fought the urge to attack him. With a frustrated growl, he and the other Elders orbed back 'Up There,' leaving the Halliwells in peace.
"I can't believe you just did that to the Elders," Phoebe said in awe. "And they didn't even raise their hand or their voices."
"I wouldn't mind them," Chris continued. "But I have a feeling they will be back. Until then...anyone for strawberry cheesecake a la Chris Halliwell?" Chris only chuckled as members of his family made a made dash towards the kitchen.
to be continued