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 64

Once they arrived at the manor, Wyatt showed Jamie to Chris' room. She gently knocked on the door, waiting for Chris to acknowledge her. She heard shuffling noises inside the room and soon, the door opened.

"Yes?" Chris asked, his face not betraying any emotions.

"Hey Chris," Jamie smiled, trying to hide her nervousness. "How are you doing?"

"I'll live," he answered flatly. "Can I help you with something?"

Jamie knew that Chris would react this way. In fact, both Wyatt and Ryan had warned her about this in advance. Being prepared, Jamie knew what needed to be done to get through to Chris. "I just wanted to talk. Can I come in?" she asked, walking into the room before Chris could say no.

"Excuse me," Chris called out, angry at Jamie's pushiness. "I didn't exactly extend an invitation to you…"

"Chris, I'm sorry, okay?" Jamie said, her voice full of remorse. "What I did to you was wrong and inexcusable, but I just didn't know what else to do."

Chris stared at her blankly. "And you're telling me this because…"

"Because I don't want to lose a friend like you…" Jamie said. "…or the chance of something even bigger…"

"Something even bigger?" Chris asked, not sure what Jamie was talking about.

Jamie blushed, embarrassed that she had to make it so obvious. "I really like you, Chris…I've liked you for a while now…"

"You know that I don't need your pity, Jamie. We had already gone through this before. I can accept that you don't want to be with me, but I really don't appreciate you making a joke out of this," Chris said somewhat angrily. He felt old wounds being reopened and didn't understand why Jamie had to rub this in his face.

"I'm not playing with you, Chris. I meant what I said!"

Chris desperately wanted to believe Jamie, but was more afraid that he would get hurt again. "That's not what you said at the rehab centre."

"I…I didn't know what to think then. I was scared, Chris. I was scared that Brad would find out…and then he would hurt you again."

"So what makes you think that Brad won't come and hurt me now?"

Jamie smiled a bit at the thought. "Don't worry. Brad won't be bothering you or me any time soon."

Chris furrowed his brows and he narrowed his eyes. "What was that supposed to mean? What exactly happened to Brad?"

"I'm not quite sure myself," Jamie answered. "But I'm sure Wyatt and Ryan can fill you in on the details."

"What does Wyatt and Ryan…" Chris stopped in mid-sentence as he realized what Jamie was talking about. "Wyatt!!! Ryan!!!"

Footsteps could be heard running up the stairs. "You called?" Ryan answered.

"What exactly happened to Brad?" Chris asked bluntly.

"What are you talking about?" Ryan answered with an innocent smile.

Chris snickered. "You know, I would actually believe you guys if both of you didn't plaster that innocent smile on your faces."

"Don't worry, lil' bro. We taught him a lesson that he won't forget any time soon."

Chris looked horrified. "You WHAT???"

"Calm down, Chris," Ryan added. "It's not like we killed him or anything. We just gave him a nice beating."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better??" Chris hollered, getting increasingly agitated. "What were you two thinking?"

"Look, Chris, that Brad needed to be taught a lesson," Wyatt continued. "That'll teach him to hit women in the future. And that'll show him that nobody messes with my brother and gets away with it."

Chris sighed in resignation. "Look, guys. I appreciate the gesture, but I'm really not crazy about the idea of you going in to beat Brad up."

Jamie took Chris' hand and squeezed it gently. "That's what I love about you, Chris. You're so sweet and gentle. Even when someone has wronged you, you still don't wish bad things to happen to them. But you have to understand where your brothers are coming from too. They just wanted to show you that they love you so much, Chris."

Chris smiled and nodded, knowing that Jamie was right. However, that still didn't resolve his other questions. "Okay, so Brad is out of the picture. That still doesn't mean I'm the right guy for you."

"I think I'm willing to take the chance to find out," Jamie smiled.

Chris sighed, wishing that he could believe Jamie. "Look, you are a great girl. And you have an awesome future. I'm…I'm a cripple confined to a wheelchair. Seriously, would you want to be seen in public with someone like me?"

"STOP CALLING YOURSELF A CRIPPLE!" Wyatt, Ryan, and Jamie exclaimed at the same time.

Chris looked annoyed at the sight of everyone ganging up on him. "Well, how do you propose I call myself then? Wheerchair-confined? Physically challenged?"

"None of this should change who you are as a person," Wyatt reasoned.

"Well it does for me!" Chris answered.

"But it doesn't for me," Jamie argued. "I like you for who you are as a person, Chris. Your heart…your character. I couldn't care less if you could walk or not."

Chris still didn't dare to believe Jamie's declaration. "So you're saying that you wouldn't mind being seen with me at your friends' house or at a party?"

Jamie nodded. "That's right. I'd luv to show my friends what a great guy you are though! And frankly, I don't really give much thought to what other people think of me." Chris remained silent as he thought about Jamie's words. "So am I forgiven?" she added after a moment.

Chris sighed in resignation, happy to have heard the words of support but still frightened that he would end up hurt. "I just hope you're not going to regret this, Jamie…"

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Wyatt and Ryan walked in and sat on Chris' bed. "Well, you two seem to be bonding rather nicely," Chris observed with a smirk.

"Well, it's always good to have at least one brother who doesn't have rollercoaster mood swings," Wyatt answered good-naturedly.

"That was cruel," Chris answered with a look of mock hurt on his face.

Ryan laughed at the bantering, happy to see some life back in Chris again. "You know, Chris, Wyatt does have a point."

"Now you're ganging up on me too?" Chris asked. "And to think that you were always my favourite brother…"

"Don't try pulling an Aunt Phoebe, Chris," Wyatt laughed. "Won't work on us."

"Fine," Chris said, putting on his puppy dog eyes and his pout. "Gang up on little old me. So much for brotherly love and compassion."

The three brothers just laughed at that and enjoyed each other's company for the next hour.

"By the way," Chris said after a few moments of comfortable silence. "I really should thank you guys."

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me and for bringing Jamie here…"

"Anytime, lil' bro," Wyatt said, hugging his brother. "Anytime."

"Don't worry, Chris," Ryan added. "Jamie won't hurt you. I know things will work out. I just know it."

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Chris tossed and turned in his sleep. His blankets were twisted and cold sweat drenched his forehead. "No…no…" he mumbled as he continued to struggle with the invisible foe. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" he screamed before his eyes opened and the dream stopped. His breathing was heavy and fast and he gripped the bed sheets tightly. His eyes were glazed and were filled with fear and terror. Amidst this fear, Chris failed to notice the tears there were streaming down his face.

- to be continued -