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 58

Mike sat on the couch, rubbing his temples for the umpteenth time. The rest of the Halliwells (minus Chris) were seated around the room, looking at Mike with concern. "So let me get this straight," he said with a weary voice. "You're the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches the world has ever known."

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige nodded in response.

"And you two are Chris' brothers. And you're all from twenty-three years in the future." Mike had a bewildered look on his face as he tried to take in the information. "So you," he pointed to Wyatt, "were the source of all evil. But Chris came back to the past to save you. Somehow in the process, the future was altered so much that you can't return and have to stay in the past."

Again, everyone responded by nodding.

"And Chris is the one who will save the world from the ultimate evil..."

"That's right...I know it's a lot to take in," Wyatt continued.

Mike laughed nervously. "Yeah...most people will probably think that all of you have gone off the deep end."

"But you do believe us, right?" Ryan asked hopefully.

"Scarily enough, I actually do," Mike answered, bewildered at how well he had accepted the Halliwell's bizarre explanation.

"So?" Wyatt prompted, hoping that Mike would help them with Chris.

"I'll see what I can do..." Mike answered. "But don't get your hopes up just yet because I think Chris is pretty angry at me too right now."

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Chris sat in his small apartment staring at the wall. His encounter with his family really unnerved him and he found it difficult to get his emotions under control. He knew that this would happen if he ever saw his family again, which was exactly why he tried to assume a new identity and start a new life.

Deep down, Chris had never forgotten his family. Despite running away, the pain of forsaking his family and the pain of hurting them tore at him each and every day. He only hoped that his family was able to move on and that Wyatt and Ryan would fill in the void that he had left. After seeing his family, it was obvious that he was wrong.

A soft knock on the door interrupted Chris' thoughts but he chose to ignore the visitor. "Probably annoying salespeople," he reasoned.

The knock persisted and Chris was tempted to answer it, just to make the person go away. He didn't have to make the decision as it turned out that he didn't lock the door when he came home. Mike walked into the apartment tentatively and took a seat across from Chris.

"I'm sorry..." Mike said genuinely, feeling as if he had caused Chris' pain somehow.

"It wasn't your fault," Chris answered softly. "You probably know everything by now...so I'll understand if you think I'm a total freak..."

"Stop," Mike interrupted. "I don't know every detail but I do know enough. And you really need to stop putting yourself down."

"If this is your way of softening the blow..."

"Chris, you're a great guy. You really are. But you're as stubborn as a mule! I'm not trying to soften the blow. All I'm saying is that you're being awfully unfair to yourself." Chris remained silent, which prompted Mike to continue. "I don't think that you're a freak. If anything, I probably think of you as a saint of sorts because as difficult as it is for me to comprehend, what you've done was still awfully amazing."

"How is betraying your family amazing, Mike? Or did they forget to tell you that part?"

Mike sighed, knowing that Chris won't make it easy for him. "You didn't betray your family, Chris. You did all you could to remain loyal to your brother, and Wyatt knows that. He loves you for that. He knew he was irrational at the time but can you blame him? He had just lost the love of his life. He completely regrets what he did...and he just wants to make things right..."

Chris just shook his head, refusing to listen to his friend. "Things aren't as simple as you think, Mike. It's just...complicated..."

"Then work at finding a solution," Mike countered. "You always tell me that there is no such thing as a problem with no solution. Maybe now it's the time for you to act on those words."

Chris just remained silent, his face sullen and betraying his negative mood.

"Will you at least just talk to them?" Mike pleaded, hoping that Chris would at least agree to this request. "Please?"

The young Halliwell closed his eyes and sighed before nodding reluctantly.

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Two week later...

Chris sat in the parlour of the manor, staring out the window. His mind wandered as he thought about the last time he was in this house. Despite promising himself to not to buckle under the pressure, Chris ended up coming home with his family, albeit reluctantly.

He had to admit that his family was very convincing in their arguments. Even with his natural talent for arguing, Chris found it difficult to counter his family's pleas. Part of the reason that he agreed to return was borne from guilt. He knew that he didn't come back, his family would feel even worse than they already did. So, as he had done all his life, Chris put aside his personal feelings in order to satisfy others.

Mike had been very supportive of him and promised to keep in touch. It was hard for him to lose a good friend like Chris, but both knew that there really weren't any viable alternatives.

Of course, his family was extremely grateful to Mike for everything that he had done to bring Chris back. On the other hand, they weren't so naïve as to believe that everything would be fine once they got back home. There were still a long list of issues to work out but getting Chris back to San Francisco was a big first step.

"Chris, what would you like for dinner?" Piper asked, hoping that her son would soon return back to his old self.

Chris turned from the window to look at his mother. His eyes had lost all their former sparkle and the young man looked weary and exhausted. He forced a weak smile and got up from the couch to head towards the kitchen. "Let me prepare dinner...you go take a break."

Piper was about to object but thought better of it. After all, if she let Chris have his way, maybe he would come around sooner rather than later.

The family enjoyed one of Chris' gourmet meals for the first time in a long time. Nevertheless, something was still missing as the usually joyous atmosphere was replaced by one of tension and hesitation.

Chris didn't really have much of an appetite and he avoided eye contact with Wyatt. As a result, he ended up playing with his food for most of the meal.

"Are you feeling alright?" Piper asked, knowing full well that her son wasn't in the best of moods.

"I'm fine," Chris answered softly with no hint of the usual sarcasm in his voice.

"Why don't you go rest up..." Paige began.

"I said I'm fine," Chris snapped in response as the tension in the room intensified. He stole a quick look at the hurt expression on his aunt's face and scolded himself for his childish behaviour. "I'm sorry..." he muttered before heading off to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

The rest of the family sat in the dining room, trying to figure out a way to remedy the situation. As they sat in silence, they could hear Chris labouring away in the kitchen washing dishes. Phoebe got up to offer assistance to Chris but Piper pulled her back to her seat. "Just leave him alone, Phoebe. I think he needs this to vent..."

Phoebe sat down and pulled Piper into a hug. "It'll be alright. He'll come around soon," she comforted Piper and in the process tried to comfort herself as well.

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Ryan flipped through another textbook as he tried to finish his term paper. His room was a mess, looking as if a tornado had just come through. Wyatt walked in and navigated himself to the bed.

"I'm busy, Wy..."

"I know, I know," Wyatt groaned. "You have to finish your term paper."

"Then why are you here?" Ryan asked.

"This is driving me nuts!" Wyatt whined as he played with the baseball by Ryan's bed.

"You're going to drive me nuts if you keep doing that and not tell me what is going on."

"Chris."

"What about Chris?"

"He's at it again..." Wyatt answered. "I'm sure he has cleaned absolutely everything that can be cleaned in this house. I mean, even Mom thinks the house is overly clean..."

"Well, like Mom said, maybe this is Chris' way of coping."

"Coping? By treating himself like a servant instead of a family member?" Wyatt asked incredulously. "I mean, he's doing all the cooking, cleaning, picking up groceries, laundry, and who knows what else? Mom is going crazy because apparently Chris doesn't sleep anymore. And we all know he doesn't eat..."

"Wyatt, calm down, will you?"

"How can I calm down? We went to bring back our brother, not to get ourselves a servant!"

"Will you quiet down? He's gonna hear you!"

Wyatt threw his hands up in frustration. "See? We even have to sneak around when we talk. This whole situation is messed up!"

Ryan turned around to face his older brother, who looked like he was going to cry any minute. "Look, this is hard for me too. I don't like this any more than you do. But seriously, what do you think we can do about it? I don't want to risk pushing Chris away."

"I know. This just really sucks..." Wyatt complained again.

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Chris looked around the spotless kitchen and sighed. There was not a single thing out of place, which meant that there was nothing for Chris to do. He looked out towards the yard and of course, the grass was already nicely cut. Looking at the clock, Chris decided that he might as well start on dinner.

He was well on his way to preparing the meal when he sensed someone walking in. Immediately, his body tensed and he stopped chopping the vegetables.

"Chris?" Piper asked softly. When she received no response, she decided to continue. "Chris, would you please take a break? You're pushing yourself way too hard." She sounded soothing, but unlike the past, Piper's words no longer comforted Chris.

"I'm fine," he answered softly before returning to his work.

"Honey, you're not fine," Piper continued. "When was the last time you slept more than three hours a day? Or the last time you had a decent meal?" she asked, her voice becoming hoarse. "You spend all your time working, cleaning, and doing all sorts of chores..."

"I said I'm fine. Someone has to do these things..."

"That someone doesn't have to be you, Chris! You are allowed to relax and enjoy yourself too. You have a life to live just like everyone else in this house." Piper quickly brushed the tears from her face. "You're my son, Chris. You're not our servant. We didn't want you back so that you could be at our beck and call!"

Chris didn't respond and just stared out the window. Piper took the opportunity to close the gap between them and she placed her hand gently and lovingly on Chris' face.

The younger Halliwell flinched and backed away. "Why are you doing this to me?" he asked, his vision blurred by tears. "Why?"

Piper was taken aback by Chris' reaction. "What are you talking about, Chris?" she asked, completely bewildered.

"All of you...you're all treating me...like nothing ever happened. Everything was going so well..." he cried, "and then I screwed everything up. When Wyatt found out about Melanie and I... I remembered your looks, your faces...you never said anything but I knew deep down you were disgusted by what you saw...disgusted by what I did...and when Melanie died...I knew all of you wanted me to leave...because she died because of me," he rambled, his body shaking. "And now...now you all treat me as if...as if nothing happened...as if things could ever be normal again..."

"Chris, don't do this to yourself," Piper pleaded.

Chris shook his head furiously. "I've been through this too many times....one minute you guys all hate me...then suddenly I'm the best thing that's ever happened...only to have you all disgusted with me again...I can't do this...I just can't!!"

Piper never thought that Chris felt so strongly about the "incident." She had never seen Chris so broken and so distraught in the time that she knew him and seeing him like this shattered her heart. "Chris..."

"No..." Chris cut her off. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have lost control like that..."

"It's okay, Chris..."

"No it's not," he answered, a faraway look in his eyes. "I just need some time alone, okay?"

Piper took this as Chris' way of telling her to go away. Despite wanting to stay and comfort her son, she complied with Chris' wishes. Once Piper had left, Chris slowly calmed down and regained control of his emotions. If he had paid closer attention, he would have heard his mother's sobs in the parlour as well as Wyatt and Ryan's words of comfort to her. Instead, Chris poured himself a glass of water and swallowed two pills, a ritual that had become a daily habit for him since his return to the manor.

- to be continued -