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 42

Once again, the entire Halliwell household was gathered in the parlour of the manor, waiting for Chris to come home. Piper was alternating between anger and distress while Leo tried his best to calm her. The door opened and a groggy but surprisingly sober Chris trudged into the manor.

Leo had to restrain Piper to prevent her from unleashing her wrath right at that moment. Chris took a few more steps and finally realized that the entire family was staring at him.

"Wow, everyone's still up," he mused before shrugging and heading up the stairs.

"Christopher Halliwell," Piper called out in a steely, calm voice. "You get yourself back in the parlour this minute."

Chris groaned and trudged back downstairs. "What's so important that it can't wait?"

"I don't know what has gotten into you but I think that you're forgetting something. You're twenty-two, not sixteen. So start acting your age!!!"

"Are you done?" Chris asked in a non-caring way, causing Wyatt and Ryan to stare at each other with wide, surprised eyes.

Phoebe whistled softly in shock, earning her a jab in the ribs from Paige.

"Excuse me?" Piper asked, livid and on the verge of exploding.

Chris snickered and turned around. "I take it that you're done. I'll see you in the morning."

"Oh no you don't," Piper fumed. She marched up to him and turned him around so that they were now staring at each other. "You better whip your sorry ass into shape before I completely lose it, Christopher."

Chris laughed, a bad move given Piper's rage. "Seems like you've lost it already."

Paige buried her face in her hands upon hearing those words. "Bad move, Chris," she thought.

"What happened, Chris?" she demanded. "One minute, you're bent on saving the world, and the next you're an out-of-control teenager!!"

"Maybe I finally came to my senses! Maybe if you had given me a real childhood and let me be a normal teenager, I wouldn't have turned out to be the freak that I am!!" he yelled back, eliciting a collective gasp from everyone in the room.

"So this is my fault that you're acting like some delinquent?" Piper screamed.

"Would you just chill out? You're always so uptight. It's a wonder Dad didn't leave you for someone more exciting back in my time!"

SLAP!!!

Chris' hand flew to his face where Piper's hand had made contact. Mother and son stared at each other before Chris orbed out. Only after Chris left was Piper able to cry. Paige and Phoebe rushed to comfort their sister while Wyatt and Ryan just stared at each other in shock.

"What just happened?" Ryan asked, not believing his eyes.

"That could not be Chris that we just saw. I'm sure it was a demon of some sort," Wyatt mumbled, equally shocked.

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Piper sat on her bed staring at the wall. Her mind was trying to come to grasp with the turn of events. How? How could Chris, her wonderful, selfless son suddenly turn into the bitter, rebellious, and callous person that she saw in the parlour? To make matters worse, she actually saw some truth in Chris' words. She didn't give him the childhood that he needed. He was never given a chance to be a normal teenager.

A gentle knock on the door brought Piper out of her thoughts. "Come in," she answered tiredly, hoping that Leo would give her the comfort that she needed right now.

Instead of Leo, however, it was Chris who emerged. Piper cursed in her mind, not ready to go through another battle with her son right now.

"Hey," he called out softly.

Piper just looked away, not wanting and not daring to say anything to her son.

Chris stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Guess I deserved that, huh?" he muttered. He took tentative steps towards Piper, carefully gauging his mother's reaction.

Finally, he knelt down beside her and took her hands, only to have her pull them away.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Chris whispered. "I've been acting like a total idiot and I'm sorry." When she didn't respond, he continued. "I'm sorry for the things I said. I didn't mean them, Mom. Please don't think that what I said was true," he pleaded.

"Then why did you say them?" Piper finally asked, her eyes glistening with tears but her temper quickly softening once she saw the face of vulnerability on Chris.

"I was angry," Chris admitted, "but not with you." Piper looked at her son, prompting him to continue. "Something's wrong with me..." The comment sent Piper in "alert mother" mode immediately. "My powers are becoming increasingly uncontrollable. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I've looked into every possible reason and I still can't find out why. And then I get these painful attacks from time to time..."

"Why didn't you tell us??" Piper asked, horrified that Chris had kept all this to himself.

Chris looked away. "Habit, I guess. Growing up, I was never very good at letting other people know about my problems. I didn't want to look bad when compared to Wyatt...I didn't want to look weak..."

"Oh Chris..." she whispered as she pulled her son close and hugged him.

"Things always have to be so hard...just when things start to look up, another crisis happens. What did I ever do wrong? How come everything has to be so hard?" he asked.

Piper's heart ached but she had no answer for her son. The fact was that she had asked the same question many times herself but she too never found an answer.

"I'm scared, Mom. What if a demon attacks and my powers fail on me? I need to protect my family, but without my powers, I'll be useless. I don't want to be responsible for hurting you guys. I'm so scared..." he whispered as tears began to fall. "What if I can't complete my mission? Can't save the world? Then everything will be my fault..."

"Oh baby..." Piper whispered. "You're doing the best you can, Chris," she comforted her son. "We're so proud of you and no matter what happens, we will all be proud of everything that you've done. You can't take on the responsibility of the whole world, Chris. You're only twenty-two."

"Mom...I don't want to fail everyone..."

"You won't fail, Chris. I know you will succeed...and we will all help you..."

"Too dangerous," he muttered.

"Hey, if you can take this on, so can we," Piper said confidently. "Don't forget that your mom and your aunts are the Charmed Ones."

Chris laughed through his tears. "Yeah, how could I forget?" he chuckled, earning him a playful smack to the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Chris said again. "If I could take back everything I said..."

"I'm sorry for hitting you," she said as she leaned in to kiss his hair.

"I deserved it..." Chris answered, ashamed of his earlier actions. "What a role model for Ryan," he lamented.

"Hey, I think you've earned the right to be the rebellious son at least once in your life, don't you think?" A comfortable silence filled the room as mother and son enjoyed each other's company. "And we're going to fix this whole fiasco about your powers, okay? Trust me," Piper added.

"Okay," Chris answered obediently as he hugged Piper, happy that his mother had forgiven him and is there to protect him when he needed her most.

to be continued