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 63

Chris secured his wheelchair into the "stairclimber" that the Halliwells had installed to allow him to move around the manor. Pressing the button, he slowly glided towards the main floor. He could hear Piper and Wyatt yelling but he tried to tune them out, not really wanting to get himself involved in whatever arguments that were having.

Once Chris wheeled himself into the parlour, two sets of very angry eyes were set on him. Wyatt looked like he was going to explode at any minute while Piper looked distraught.

"You guys called?" Chris asked somewhat nervously as he did not know what was going on.

Wyatt grabbed the newspaper with the apartment rentals and threw it to the floor in front of Chris. "Just when were you planning to discuss this with us?"

Chris stared at the newspaper and realized that he was busted. There was no point trying to come up with excuses or trying to lie himself out of this one. "What's to discuss?" he answered coolly. Chris really hoped that they would drop the discussion before he blew a fuse himself. Things haven't been going well the last few days with the whole Jamie situation and losing his job thanks to Wyatt.

"Oh, so I guess everything's been decided already," Piper stated, clearly hurt by her son's actions. "And I guess none of us has a say in any of this."

"I'm doing what's best for everyone," Chris defended.

"Wrong," Wyatt argued. "You're doing what YOU think is best for everyone…without our input!!"

Chris just rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Why are you guys making such a big deal out of this? It's not like I'm moving to Timbuktu or anything. I'll be like a five-minute drive from here. And you guys can always orb to me if need be."

"That's besides the point." Piper tried to find a way to reason with Chris setting off his temper again. Piper always thought she had a fiery temper but her middle son's temperament made her seem almost docile. "Honey, you're my son. And any mother would want to have her sons as close to her as possible."

"Mom's right," Wyatt agreed. "You need to stay in the manor."

Chris just glared angrily at Wyatt for his comment. "You're telling me to stay in the manor. I'm not a child, Wyatt. I think I can make my own decisions."

"Yeah, look where your decisions have gotten you!" Wyatt yelled before being able to stop himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Chris spat, not letting his hurt show. "I guess I should've thought twice before bargaining with Mokrian for your life."

Wyatt felt like Chris had just slapped him in the face, but in his anger, he decided to fight back with comments of his own.

"Yeah, Christopher, you saved my life and cost me Melanie. So I think we're pretty much even!!" Wyatt hollered.

"Stop it!!" Piper screamed above her two bickering boys. "Both of you need a time out. Now!!" Not surprisingly, both Chris and Wyatt were now too worked up to hear what Piper was saying.

"You just proved my point, Wyatt. I'm moving out," Chris stated angrily as he stared Wyatt down.

"Chris, if it's extra space you want, we can give it to you," Piper reasoned, hoping to change her son's mind. "I just want my sons to be close to me, Chris."

Chris remained unwavering. "Mom, you have yours sons close to you. Wyatt and Ryan are going to be around."

Piper looked at Chris, stunned. "Is Chris saying that he doesn't see himself as my son?" she asked herself as she analyzed her son's latest statement over and over. Exhausted, she walked to the sofa and buried her face in her hands, sobbing quietly.

Wyatt looked mightily angry by this point. "We're not discussing this any more, Chris. You're not moving out and that's that."

"Whatever," Chris answered as he prepared to wheel himself out of the parlour. Wyatt grabbed Chris' wheelchair and turned him around, forcing his younger brother to look him in the eye. "I'm moving out, Wyatt," he said defiantly. "Just try and stop me," Chris added, just to spite Wyatt.

The last statement just completely set Wyatt off as he lost control of his own anger and frustration. He couldn't understand why Chris was so dead set on moving out. Before he knew what he was doing, he felt his hand connect with Chris' face. "Who the hell do you think you are, going around and imposing your plans on everyone?!"

Chris' hand flew to his throbbing cheeks and he gazed up at Wyatt with glassy eyes. Still in shock, Wyatt immediately orbed out.

Piper crossed the distance between herself and her son, her maternal instincts kicking in immediately. As she tried to wrap Chris in a hug, she was pushed away. "I'm nothing, that's what I am," Chris said to Piper, his voice shaking as his anger gave way to grief.

"Stop it, Chris. I don't care if you have magic or not," Piper said with determination. "I don't care if you can walk or not. You're still my son. You're not nothing. You're my son, Chris, and I love you. Isn't that enough?"

Chris shook his head sadly. "No, Mom, that's not enough, I'm sorry. I don't want to be your son who needs to be looked after all the time. The son who is confined to a wheelchair. I don't want to be the son who failed the family!! Don't you understand?"

Little did anyone know that Ryan had been watching the argument from the stairway this whole time. Seeing Wyatt angrily orbing out, he came into the parlour to do some damage control.

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway," Chris muttered in defeat.

"Help us understand then," Ryan urged, speaking up for the first time.

"How?" Chris asked, his tone a mixture of anger and frustration. "How can I make you understand what it's like to be confined to this damn wheelchair? To not be able to help defend your family? To be totally useless in the fight against demons?"

"Chris…" Ryan began but was cut off by an emotional Chris.

"How can you possibly understand how it feels to have someone you care for reject you simply because you can't walk? To have them choose someone who would hurt them over you? How can you understand what it's like to have people at work treating you as if you were some plague simply because you're in a wheelchair, huh? Tell me, how can I help you understand??"

Ryan and Piper looked on helplessly at Chris because they knew that he was right in a sense. No matter how much they said that they understood or tried to understand, they just would never truly feel how Chris felt.

"And you know the best part?" Chris continued bitterly. "The best part is that all of this was my own fault, my own doing! I was the one who stripped myself of magic. I was the one who ran out into the street and got hit by the car. So I have no one to blame for all this but myself!!" he yelled before breaking out into angry sobs.

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Wyatt orbed back into the house but went straight to his room. In his upset state, he really didn't want to speak to anyone. Sure, he was upset at Chris, but mostly he was angry with himself. He had orbed back originally to apologize to Chris, but he ended up overhearing his brother's emotional comments in the parlour. "How could I have been so insensitive?" he lambasted himself. "I should've known better than to lash out at him…"

Calming himself down, he decided that he needed to fix things with Chris. He couldn't stand to be at odds with his brother and he needed to make things right. He walked towards his younger brother's room and was surprised to find the door open. A closer look revealed the sight of Piper embracing Chris in a warm hug while he cried onto his mother's shoulders. Seeing this made Wyatt feel even more guilty but he knew that there was work to be done.

Before he could knock, Piper looked up and saw her eldest son standing there with a grim expression. Even without speaking, Piper knew that Wyatt wanted time alone with Chris. She slowly disentangled herself from Chris and walked quietly out of the room, patting Wyatt on his shoulders before closing the door behind her.

Chris quickly dried his tears, not liking the fact that Wyatt had caught him in a moment of weakness. "What do you want, Wyatt?" he asked, trying to sound cold and uncaring but failing miserably. Instead, his voice betrayed his deep hurt and his vulnerability.

"I just wanted to talk, Chris."

"If you want to remind me of what a loser I am and that I brought everything upon myself, you can save it. I've already heard that speech one too many times."

Wyatt sighed and moved to sit on the bed, facing Chris. "If anyone is a loser, it would be me. Not only am I a loser, but I'm a totally ungrateful idiot."

Chris remained silent, not quite knowing what to say to Wyatt's comment.

"I'm sorry for everything that I said. I should have been more sensitive and should never have lashed out. I was just so upset that you were planning to move out. I really want you to stay, Chris…"

"Is it true?" Chris asked.

"Is what true?" Wyatt asked with a confused expression.

"Is it true that you still blame me for Melanie…"

"NO!" Wyatt exclaimed. "I didn't know what I was talking about. Do I miss her? For sure. But to blame you? No way!!"

"You should…"

"We've been through this before, Chris…I was stupid to say that…I really didn't mean it. You have to believe me, Chris!"

"I never meant to upset you guys…" Chris said softly. "All I wanted was to make things easier for everyone."

"Chris…when are you going to learn?" Wyatt sighed. "You're not a burden. We're family…and we take care of each other."

Chris looked up at Wyatt with glassy eyes. "Do you even know what you're talking about?" he asked. "I'm in a freaking wheelchair. It's not like I have a broken leg or a pulled muscle. I'm an invalid…a cripple…a damn useless cripple, Wyatt!! This isn't for a day or a week…I'm not going to get any better!!"

"Stop it!!" Wyatt yelled, startling Chris. "Don't you dare talk about yourself this way ever again. You're not an invalid. And I don't freakin' care if you can ever walk again or not. Because no matter what, you're still my brother. My amazing brother who gave up everything to save me. Don't you understand what you have done for me?! For this family?!"

Chris remained silent and looked at the floor. Wyatt gently placed his hand under Chris' chin and lifted his face so that he could look into his brother's eyes. "You're a hero, Chris. No matter how you think of yourself and what other ignorant people say about you. You can't change the fact that you're probably the biggest hero in the history of the Halliwells."

Chris felt a tear slide down his face. "Then why…why does it still hurt so bad?" he asked.

Wyatt felt his heart ache at the question, only because he had asked it so many times himself. "I don't know, Chris. I don't know why life has been so unfair to you. Believe me, if it would help change things, I would gladly take your place just to take your pain away. I'm sure any of us would…you've already done so much for this family. But please…Chris…let us help you. You're not alone in this…"

"I'm so sorry…" Chris cried as Wyatt pulled in into a tight, loving hug. Wyatt knew he had to protect his brother, he couldn't stand to see Chris get hurt any more.

"I love you, lil' brother. And anyone who messes with you again will have to deal with me personally," Wyatt vowed.

"And me too," Ryan added as he walked into the room to join the brotherly hug, the youngest Halliwell's tear-stained face showing a renewed conviction.

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"Stop it, Brad," Jamie cried as she struggled against her boyfriend. "You're hurting me!!"

"I can hurt you whenever I want," Brad snarled. "That'll teach you to be unfaithful to me."

"What are you talking about? I never cheated on you!!"

"I know you have feelings for that pretty boy cripple at the rehabilitation centre."

"I already did what you asked. I transferred Chris' file to Valerie. What more do you want?"

"I don't care, Jamie. The fact that you even showed any feelings for him is cheating to me!" Brad drew his hand back, ready to hit Jamie once again. Before he could unleash his hit, however, Brad felt someone grab him from behind, causing him to loosen his grip on Jamie. "Who the hell are you?" Brad yelled.

"What kind of a man would resort to hitting women? You're totally pathetic," Wyatt said with disgust.

"Why don't you mind your own business?"

"It's my business when you lay your filthy hands on my brother and his friends," Wyatt said with a steely voice.

"Aw, the little pretty boy cripple is sending his brother to fight for him? How cute," Brad mocked. Right after the words left his mouth, Wyatt's fist connected with his face, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"You show any disrespect for my brother again and I guarantee that it'll hurt a lot more."

Brad glared at Wyatt as he struggled to his feet. "You punk!!" he yelled as he charged towards Wyatt, who simply landed several more punches to Brad before grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, causing the bigger man to scream out in pain.

"I'm warning you, bastard," Wyatt hissed menacingly. "No one hurts my brother without paying the consequences ten times over. The only reason I'm letting you off is because my brother actually has a good heart and wouldn't want me to beat you to a pulp. So consider this your lucky day," he said before pushing Brad to the floor. "And stay away from this young lady if you know what's good for you."

Wyatt smirked with satisfaction as Brad scurried away quickly without saying another word.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked gently as Jamie's trembling slowly died down.

"Yeah, thanks so much," Jamie answered, smiling gratefully.

"You're welcome," Wyatt answered. "I don't think he'll be hurting you again any time soon."

"I don't know how to thank you guys," Jamie answered. "Can I buy you guys dinner or anything?"

Ryan and Wyatt laughed. "That's okay, Jamie. Don't worry about it. Although, we would be very happy if you could pay Chris a visit."

Jamie's smile faded at the mention of Chris' name. "I…I can't, I'm sorry…"

"Why not?" Ryan questioned.

"I've already hurt him so bad…I don't think I can face him again."

Ryan smiled at Jamie, letting her know that they weren't angry with her. "Jamie, I know my brother. Chris will never blame you…if he did, he wouldn't be blaming himself to death right now…"

Jamie looked at Ryan and Wyatt in shock. "Why would Chris blame himself??"

"Hmm…because my brother has a tendency to make himself the martyr of the family…so he seems to take responsibility for everything that goes wrong…from bad weather to accidents to other things that are beyond anyone's control," Ryan answered, trying to add a little humour to the tense atmosphere.

"It'd mean a lot to us…and to him…if you would at least pay him a visit and just talk to him," Wyatt added.

Jamie thought for a moment and pondered Ryan and Wyatt's words. "Alright, let me get my bags…"

- to be continued -