happy holidays to all! heres my gift to everyone! sorry, no spell check!

Chapter 11

Voices were filling his head.Begging. Pleading. They were all so... desperate...

"Run Chris! Please! Don't do this!"

"There has to be another way... there just has to! Chris, please! Just don't!"

His vision became blurry as moisture covered his cheeks... was he crying?

"Why are you doing this to us? We need you... I need you! Dammit! For once just listen to me!"

He tried moving his limbs to reach the voices... they all sounded so familiar..

He soon discovered moving was a bad idea as he crumbled in pain. Why do i feel like i was hit by a truck? Where the hell am i?

"CHRIS!"

Who is that voice?

"no... NO! STOP!"

He shot up in bed as beads of cold sweat trickled down his face. His breath was labored as his heart was beating through his chest. He felt his stomach churning and his body burning with fever. Without a secound thought, he stumbled toward the bathroom and began wretching his guts until heaving became physically painful and tears were streaming down his face. Looking down into the bowl, he saw tints of red mixed in with the mess. Blood.

Closing his eyes, he tried to slow his breathing as he leaned his head against the cool toilet seat and willed his migraine to dissappear.

This was not an unordinary thing for Chris. Ever since he was little, he remembered having the same nghtmare appear every once in a while and constantly being sick and heaving his stomach into the bathroom. He figured he just had a weak stomach.

Locking himself in the bathroom and curling up into a ball to ease his nausea and migraines... not the best of his memories.

He never told anyone about his condition, not even Bianca. The only person that knew a little about it wasn't here to comfort him right now.

As his migraine continually pounded his head, Chris curled himself into a ball and thought back to one of his most comforting memories.

:Flashback:

A 11 year old Chris was doubled over the toilet, dry heaving to the point where it became physically painful and tears were cascading down his face. He didn't know how to make it stop. He had been doubled over for the past 15 minutes, and he couldn't make the wracks of heaves stop. With his constant heaving, Chris didn't hear the doorknob turn or the voice of concern that was beside him in a second.

"Hey, it's ok... I'm here. Just calm down alright?"

A supporting hand was laid gently across his back and was creating soothing circles. A warm murmur was against his ear.

"Don't worry, Chris. Just try to relax, okay?"

A few minutes later, Chris was slumped against the cool porcelain with his eyes shut. No more energy was left within him to lift his head to see who the guest was.

A gentle hand was caressing his hair, "Rest, okay? Jesus, you're burning up. Maybe I should call somebody.."

"Aunt Prue?" Chris mumbled as the voice spoke again. His surroundings were blurring into one giant white blob... and was the room tilting towards the left?

"You must be delerious... it's me, Wyatt."

Wyatt? Huh?

"What are you... shouldn't you... out or-" Chris's slurred rambling was cut off by a concerned Wyatt.

"Shh... I came back early, and good thing i did. You shouldn't be laying here, it's cold. I'm gonna carry you to bed, alright?" Without waiting for his answer, Wyatt placed one of his arms under Chris's knees and slung the other across the younger boys shoulder. Lifting the boy up off the ground, he gently carried him to his room.

Laying him down on the bed, he gathered all the blankets and made sure Chris was sufficiently covered.

"I'm okay, Wy... probably ate something wrong or something..." Chris stated his slurred speech. But in truth, he felt like his body was covered in flames and someone was continually beating him across the head.

Wyatt frowned down at his little brother and placed a soothing hand against his burning flesh, "Chris, you're burning up. I think I'm gonna call mom and dad-"

Before Wyatt could go, a hand shot out and stopped him, "Don't tell them... okay? Please? I- uh... don't want them to worry..."

Not fully convinced, Wyatt carefully studied his brother's reaction, "Are you sure, buddy?"

Managing a weak smile, Chris nodded.

"Alright then, what do you want? I know i suck at cooking, but i can atleast attempt canned soup, can't i? How hard could that be?"

"I'm fine, Wy. You don't have to babysit me. You can go out... if you want.."Chris muttered his soft response. He wanted Wyatt to stay with him, but also didn't want Wyatt to stay unwilliningly.

"Uh-huh... nice try Chris, but you can't get rid of me that easily. There is no way I'm leaving you like this."

With an inward sigh of relief, Chris feverently nodded with a genuine grin.

"So what do you want? Chicken noodle or tomatoe?"

"Um... Wy? Can you just stay with me while I sleep? Just for a little bit... until i fall asleep?" Chris repsonded shyly, not looking into his brother's eyes.

Wyatt froze for a second, just staring at his little brother before breaking out into a large grin, "Anything for you, lil' buddy. Now scoot over."

Scooting over across the bed, Wyatt slid in, adding a comforting weight. Chris placed his head on Wyatt's shoulder as Wyatt made soothing circles across his back and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead..

"Goodnight, Chris."

And with that Chris drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

:End Flashback:

Lifting his hand and touching his cheek, Chris hadn't realized he was crying. Looking around the cold empty room, his heart sagged when he realized that his brother was no where near to comfort him.

Closing his eyes and leaning against the wall, Chris just let it out and began to sob.

'God, I wanna go home...'

"Wyatt, hon. You okay?"

Wyatt's gaze ripped away from the window and fell upon his Aunt Phoebe. For three months now, Phoebe had been on a break and was constantly lurking around the house, constantly asking each family member how they were doing. On her spare time, she would research both magical and non-magical ways to find Chris.

"Hey, Aunt Phoebe. Yeah, I'm okay..."

Looking skeptical she asked, "What're you thinking about?"

With a look that said 'Do-you-even-have-to-ask', he replied, "Chris."

"I see... what about him?"

"What if he's hurt? Or sick? I mean, there's no one there to look out for him!"

"There's Bianca."

"She doesn't count, she's pregnant. A lot of good she'll be," Wyatt remarked sarcastically.

Patting his shoulder she replied, "I know you're worried... we all are..."

"Do you want some soup Ryan?"

"No thanks, mom."

"You should eat something."

"I'm fine."

Sighing with exasperation, Piper returned to wiping the table as Ryan continued to stare blankly out the window. Leo who was also studying his son with concerned eyes looked anxiously at Piper. For the past three months, Piper had been extremly moody with everyone and was constantly flaring up her temper. In her spare time, she resorted to vigorously scrubbing the house clean or to just lock herself in the attic.

"Maybe you should relax, Piper. Just sit down?"

"I'm fine, Leo," she snapped back.

With a sidewards glance at his son, Leo asked in a gente voice, "Ryan, why don't you go see what your brother and aunts are up to?"

Shrugging his shoulder with indifference, he stood and left the room leaving behind a tense silence in the kitchen.

"Piper, you need to quit snapping at people. Especially your family."

Freezing for a second, Piper didn't respond.

Leo continued, "I know you've been depressed, but we all are! He was my son too! Snapping at everything that moves isn't helping anyone."

Turning and glaring at Leo, Piper replied with venom, "Do you really miss him Leo? He was your son, but do you really miss him?"

Instantly feeling hurt, he answered her with a cool tone of his own, "Of course i do!"

"Well, you sure don't express it!"

"Just because i haven't been hissing at everyone doesn't mean i don't miss him! Every second, i can't stop thinking about him! When i sleep, i remember the last time we saw him! I hit him, Piper! That was the last thing i ever did with him! I hit him! You have no idea how guilty i feel! I told him he was a screw up! That's the last thing i ever said to him... Piper, I'm hurting just as much as you are... but we're parents and we have two other kids to raise. We gotta suck it up. Yelling and screaming isn't going to bring him back. We have to remain civil headed and search for him like that."

Collapsing into a chair beside him, Piper leaned over and clung to him, "I know, Leo. I'm sorry, i should've never accused you like that. I had no right. I'm just so worried! He has no money! Where is he staying, what is he eating? What if he's hurt or sick?"

Giving his wife a tight squeeze, he replied, "I know... i think about the same thing..."

In the distance, the echo of the phone ringing could be heard.

"I'll get it!" Paige's scream could be heard all throughout the house.

Releasing from their hug, Leo asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah... thanks, Leo."

"No problem."

A thundering of footsteps could be heard from behind the two and as they looked up, Paige was standing in the doorway with glassy eyes and a phone within her limb hand,

"They found him."

TBC...