Chapter 12

"What now?" Phoebe voiced as everyone sat in a tense silence. No one daring to move, but only delved into their thoughts and worries.

"I don't know. Darryl just told me they found a teen matching Chris's profile and gave me the location. He said we should probably take it slow with him… he may still not want to be found…" Paige spoke in a hoarse voice, knowing everyone in the room didn't want to hear the last part.

Two weeks after Chris had left, Paige had gone to Darryl, in her last hopes to find her nephew, and begged him to do whatever he could to find him. It didn't take much persuasion on her part due to the fact that Chris was his godchild.

"What do you mean 'what now'? We know where he is! We're going to go up there, tell him we're sorry, and convince him to come home," Wyatt sighed exasperated. His patience was wearing thin and quickly. How could his family be so calm? Ever since he heard they found his little brother, all Wyatt could think about is seeing Chris and making sure he was okay.

"Wyatt, I know you're anxious to see him… we all are! But we can't just ambush him and Bianca! That might just scare him away!" replied Phoebe as she watched her nephew's troubled face.

Wyatt scoffed, "Scare him away? What is he, a mouse? This is Chris we're talking about! My brother, your nephew! We've lived with him for eighteen years! We know him! Why are you all acting like he's a stranger?!"

"Because we didn't really know him! Don't you get it, Wyatt? Sure we've been living with him for eighteen years, but let's face it! None of us truly knew him!"

"Then what do you want me to do, Aunt Phoebe?! What do I have to do to get him back? I- i just want to see my little brother again…. why is it this hard?" Wyatt choked out as a tear fell upon his cheek.

Not having an answer herself, Phoebe just began to rub circles into his back, feeling guilty that she had taken out her anger on him when he himself was hurting.

"Piper?" Leo questioned as he glanced down at his wife who had yet to speak a word. She sat tense and rigid, staring meaningfully out the window. When she heard her husband's concerned voice, she turned and was met by her family's gaze.

"I think we should take things slow, I don't want to lose him again…" Piper added with a nod of her head.

"What if he doesn't want to see us?"

Everyone's head turned toward Ryan's huddled form in the corner of the living room. Although his voice was soft and only slightly above a whisper, his words hit everyone hard.

"What?" Leo asked his son again, studying him carefully.

"You guys are all ready to jump up and go meet him! Say your greetings and become one big happy family again. Has it ever crossed any of your minds that he may not want to see us?!" Ryan exclaimed, his face masked and void of emotion. At this point, everyone was thinking how eerily close he resembled Chris.

"Ryan, I get what you're saying….. but I can't just sit here knowing where he is. I have to do something," Wyatt explained, desperately trying to get his brother to see his point of view.

"I don't think we should all go up there. Seeing all of us on his doorsteps would probably intimidate him," Paige added.

"So… whose gonna go?" Phoebe asked. This was the question that was plaguing all of their minds. They all wanted to see him so desperately, how could any of them stay behind?

"Leo and I will go… we're his parents," Piper finally declared as everyone turned their attention towards her.

"No way! The last thing he ever did with Chris is hit him!! Do you really think Chris wants to see him first? If anyone should go, it's me! I'm his big brother!" Wyatt replied with a determined face.

At his son's words, Leo looked away and felt the grip of guilt around his heart.

"Wyatt!" Phoebe, Paige, and Piper exclaimed at once.

"What?! There's no way I'm letting Mr. Child abuser get anywhere near my little brother!" Ever since the "event," Wyatt had been bitter towards Leo. Not for a second forgetting that his dad had actually laid a hand on his brother.

"I know you're dad made a… mistake. But we all did too! We can't go around playing the blame game. Right now we have to concentrate on helping your brother. I know you wan to see him, but we're his parents. That means we are going first, and I don't want to hear anymore arguments about it!"

Running his hands through his hair, Chris let out a frustrated sigh. Both elbows on the table, Chris glared at the bills that lay before him, wishing them away. Around him, the busy sounds of the small café buzzed around him.

He had told Bianca that his boss had asked him to come in today to work some extra hours, but in truth he had no intention of going to work. Not wanting Bianca to worry, Chris had brought all the bills with him and settled down at the little café on the corner of the street to sort out a plan. For the past couple of months, the bills seemed to come in an endless stream and kept piling up. The checks he received from work just didn't seem to cut it.

Beside him lay the morning paper opened to the jobs section, several large red circles littered the page.

After several hours of thinking, stressing, and worrying, the only solution Chris could come up with was to find a second job to work. There was no way he was letting Bianca work so close to her due date. There was also the baby to consider. The hospital bills, food, diapers, college fund- the list was just endless.

As his mind began to throb with the pressure and stress, Chris felt another wave of nausea sweep over him and the room began to slightly tilt. Closing his eyes, he rested his burning forehead against the cool surface of the table. For the past few weeks, the nightmares had been coming more frequently. The familiar nausea followed but soon developed into dizziness and migraines as well.

Hearing his watch's alarm ringing, Chris groaned as he lifted his head to see that it was already 3 o'clock. Time to go home. Grumbling as he stood up, he quickly stacked up the papers and roughly jammed them into his pocket. He knew he was acting childish and grumpy, but couldn't help it. He was still a teenager for crying out loud! Shouldn't he be allowed to be care free? To complain about little things such as girls? Whine to his parents about shallow things such as wanting a car? Only have to worry about getting good grades instead of bills and supporting a family?

Snorting to himself he bitterly thought, "That's just every other teenager but me."

A wave of guilt washed over him when he realized how selfish he was being.

'But is wanting to be a normal teen a selfish thought?'

Thinking he was just acting a little delerious from his fever, Chris shrugged off his thoughts and headed out the door.

Immediately after stepping out onto the bustling streets, the cold swept over him and seeped through his thin layers of clothing, biting into his flesh. As he dredgingly began his walk home against the current, the cold winds whipped across his face and stung at his cheeks.

'Great, just make things harder on me.'

Ducking his head, he wrapped his arms around his body to create some warmth. Despite the freezing temperatures, beads of sweat began to form across his forehead, 'Is it getting clammy?'

A wave of dizziness washed over him as he staggered along the sidewalk. With his mind swimming, he didn't notice anyone around him until he collided into a solid form who reached out to steady his swaying figure. He thought he heard a faint gasp in the distance but was in no state to even care.

Blindly groping for the nearest wall, he felt his hands meet a concrete surface and leaned his body up against it, eyes clenched close and his breath in labored gasps.

"Oh my gosh, Chris! Honey, what's wrong?! You're scaring me!"

His body froze, stomach dropped. 'This can not be happening. Why me? Why today?!'

"I can't do this... not right now... please... just once, can't i rest?" Chris silenlty plead.

Slowly opening his eyes and lifting his head, he was met by the teary gazes of his parents.

"Chris, you don't look so good. Let's get you to a hospital- where's the nearest hospital here? Should i call an ambulance? Jesus, I-.... I don't know what to say, what to do! it's... it's just so good to see you, son," Leo choked out as he reached to touch his son's face but froze when Chris just flinched away, anxiety and fear in his eyes.

"I'm... im sorry.. so, so sorry, Chris... please believe me! I missed you more than you can imagine..." Piper pleaded as she couldn't hold back the tears that welled in her throat.

Chris's mind was frantic, the pressure of all the emotions threatening to spill over and drive him over the edge. He unconsciously tightened his grip agaisnt the wall, knuckles drawn white.

Noticing her son's tense posture, Piper's heart shattered, "Chris... I just want you to know, I-"

He couldn't take it anymore. The pressure. His parents. The noise. Life.

All of his nausea forgotten, he did the one thing he always wanted to do. Run.

Pushing past his parents, ignoring their pained faces, leaving behind the drama, the stress, the responsibility; he pushed pass blurred faces and numbly ran, not once looking back.

Piper's face crumbled as she leaned against Leo for support, her pain running down her face in beads of tears,

"I love you, Chris.... I just wanted to let you know, I love you."

TBC...