A/N Hi! I tried to update as soon as i could! This chapter is the longest one of this story! yay! I hope you guys enjoy it, but i think this one is quite sad so consider this a warning! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it's very much appreciated! xx


Wyatt was only half-listening to the conversation that was going on between the rest of his family (excluding his mom and Chris). Him and Chris had both wanted to go see Piper but they both agreed that it would probably be best if only one of them went. A quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors later and it was Chris who went to see her. The subject of conversation had then switched to what had been going on in the time they'd been gone but, even though he tried his hardest, he couldn't really concentrate on what was being said and it was huge effort just to be able to nod or say something back in the right bits.

He just couldn't get the memory of his death out of his head. When they'd first come back he didn't really think about it but after they were told what had happened, the memory of it came flooding back. Now it took up all of his thoughts and he couldn't think about anything else. The memory was just so vivid that it felt that it had happened mere minutes ago...

Flashback

"Love you too!" they chorused as they shut the door.

"God, she worries WAY too much!" Chris said as they made their way down the stone steps to the car.

"She's just protective that's all. We can't really blame her, considering what kind of stuff happens in this family!" said Wyatt.

The opened the doors of Wyatt's car and climbed inside.

"Yea i know, but we're all grown up now. We can look after ourselves just fine!" Chris said.

"She's our mom, she can't help it!" Wyatt said with a smile and Chris laughed.

Wyatt started up the car and they drove off down the road.

"Geez i can hardly see in this weather!" Wyatt muttered to himself.

"Well it'd maybe help if you put the wind screen wipers on!" Chris said sarcastically as he placed his feet up on the dashboard.

"I was just about to do that!" Wyatt said retorted. "Feet down!"

Chris sighed and lowered his feet back down.

"It's not my fault the comfort of this car is at sub zero!"

"Well maybe you should buy your own car!"

"With what? Biscuit crumbs! I'm broke!"

"Well get a job!" Wyatt said. "Then i won't have to ferry you everywhere when you buy your own one!"

"You wouldn't have to ferry me anywhere if dad wasn't so strict and let us orb wherever we wanted!" Chris said.

"One car ride isn't going to kill you!"

Wyatt shook his head and snapped out of the flashback. At the time he never knew how true that one sentence was...

Because that one car crash did kill them. Their lives were destroyed in the space of a couple of minutes...

Even though he didn't want to remember any more, he couldn't stop the memory from invading his mind again...

"Yea but it takes 5 times as long!" retorted Chris.

"Don't be so impatient!" Wyatt scolded in a playful voice.

"Yes dad!" Chris said back sarcastically with wide smile on his face.

Wyatt laughed at his brother's antics and then turned his full attention back to the road. He switched the headlights on as it was too dark to be without them any more.

"We nearly there yet?" Chris asked in a playful tone and a cheeky grin on his face.

Wyatt sighed irritably but in a good-natured way.

"No Chris." he said.

10 seconds later...

"What about now?"

"Not yet Chris."

1 minute later...

"Now?"

"No Chris."

Another minute later...

"This is taking AGES!" Chris exclaimed.

"Chris, we've only been on the road for 5 minutes! You're worse than a six year old kid!" Wyatt said back, stopping the car at a set of traffic lights.

"Yea well we could have been there 4 minutes ago if we just orbed..." Chris said in a sing-song voice.

"Urgh! You're not going to shut up about the orbing thing for the whole journey are you!"

"No because i think it's a very important subject!" Chris said trying to be serious but he ended up laughing when he saw the expression on Wyatt's face.

"Ok let me rephrase what i said earlier...You are a kid!" Wyatt said.

"Hey!"

Wyatt laughed as Chris scowled at him. The started off again when the traffic light switched to green.

"It's not like we would have got caught if we orb-

"Chris shut up!" Wyatt said.

"You know by saying that i might just not talk ever again and then we'll see how you feel!"

"Well i won't have a headache, that's for sure!"

Chris sighed. "You moan too much."

"You talk too much!" Wyatt retorted but he was smiling as he said it.

Chris shot him a "That's not funny" look but then he smiled slightly. He was never that good at being serious.

"Hey i was thinking-

"Never a good sign." Wyatt interrupted with a smile.

Chris glared at him. "As i was saying before i was rudely interrupted, i was thinking that we should buy an apartment in town."

"Um, that's quite a random decision is it not?" Wyatt asked.

"No! Mom's managed to keep us hostage in that house for too long," Wyatt laughed. "And we need to get out of there!"

"Okay i agree that we need our own independence away from home but where are we going to get the money to do so? Your were just saying that you were broke!"

"Well i'll get a job, you'll get a better job-

"What's wrong with my job!" Wyatt interrupted.

"Oh come on! You work in a coat room!"

"Hanging up people's coats is not that bad a job! I get to meet lots of new people!" Wyatt argued.

"Yea sounds great." Chris said sarcastically.

"Well for your information, i'm planning to quite that job anyway-

"Hallelujah!"

-and i'm getting a job in a restaurant The coat room job was just to get some extra money."

"A restaurant? Mom's restaurant?"

"No. I think the independence thing should also stretch to work places and not just where we live!"

"Yea i agree. I don't know where i'm gonna get a job though..."

"You could take over my job at the coat room." Wyatt said with a smile.

"Oh yea, because that's my dream job!" Chris said sarcastically raising his eyebrows. Wyatt laughed.

Chris thought for a moment and then his eyes lit up. "Hey! I could work in Magic School!"

"Magic School?" Wyatt repeated sceptically. "Why there?"

"There lots of good reasons! The best one being that i can use my powers whenever i want and i won't have to worry about magic exposure! Plus dad says he pays the teachers-

"Wait. You want to be a teacher?"

"Well yea, what else would i be working in Magic School as?"

"I dunno, a librarian or something."

"A librarian? You can really see me as a librarian?" Chris asked raising his eyebrows at Wyatt.

"Okay maybe not a librarian. But being a teacher would be hard work, especially since you'd have a class full of mischievous, magical kids!"

"I was one of those kids once! I can handle it!" Chris insisted.

"Well if your sure."

"I am."

"Wait. What about the whole independence thing? Dad is the headmaster." said Wyatt as they stopped at another set of traffic lights.

"I know but he's better than mom..." Chris said with a smile and Wyatt laughed.

Chris looked past Wyatt and out of the window. Suddenly the car was illuminated in a white light and the smile vanished of Chris face.

"Wyatt!"

Wyatt turned his head to look out the window and he gasped as he saw a large struck speeding down the road. Straight towards them. It didn't look like it was slowing down. Wyatt grabbed onto Chris's arm and was about to orb out but it was too late. The truck hit the car with a sickening crunch of metal on metal and everything went black...

End of Flashback

Wyatt didn't remember anything past that point so he took it that that was when he died. He felt a pang of (emotional) pain. He'd had the easy way out but Chris...He'd suffered. Even though he didn't really remember, that wasn't the point. It should have been him, not Chris. He was driving the car, he was the oldest. He was the one that was meant to protect Chris.

But in the end, both of them were dead. They'd never do any of the stuff they'd wanted to do with their lives. Chris would never be able to teach at Magic School, Wyatt wouldn't get to work in the restaurant. They'd never be able to buy an apartment and move away, they'd never have a proper feel of what it was like to be truly independent.

They'd never be able to have their own families...wives, kids...none of it...

Wyatt shook his head slightly. It was just so unfair.


Piper sat in the kitchen. Chris had gone back through to the rest of the family a couple of minutes ago after she'd said that she wanted to be on her own for a little while. She was actually glad Chris had come through. She felt a lot better than when she was up in the attic. Now she could sit and think for a while before going to face everybody. The only problem with this was, she generally started thinking about the things that had upset her in the first place. So now as she sat there, she started thinking about the day that she'd first learned of the car crash...

Flashback

Piper stood at the counter in the kitchen, busily preparing dinner. Wyatt and Chris had been gone a good hour. She didn't know when they'd be back but she knew they wouldn't be long. She had a rule in the house that they were to call her every hour and a half to let her know they were okay so she'd ask them how long they'd be when they called. Suddenly there was a knock on the front door.

"Leo, could you get that?" she called out the kitchen. Leo didn't answer her.

"Leo?" she called again. There was still no answer. Then she remembered. Leo had gone to Magic School for a while.

"Dammit." she muttered as she put the pasta sauce on a simmer. She went to get the door.

When she opened it, she saw that it was two police officers. One male and one female.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"Piper Halliwell?" asked the male officer. Piper nodded.

"I'm Officer Louden and this is Officer Gordon" he said. "Can we come in?"

Piper nodded and stepped aside so they could get in.

"So what is this about?" she asked.

"Maybe you should sit down." said Officer Gordon.

Piper looked between them. They didn't like they were about to give good news.

"No, i don't want to sit down. What is this about?" Piper asked sharply.

"We have reason to believe that your sons, Christopher and Wyatt have been in a car crash." said Officer Louden as gently as possible.

Piper froze and stared at them numbly. A car crash!

"What! How?"

"The car and the truck were found by passers by not that long ago. We're not sure if the two men are your sons but we looked in a mobile phone that was in the youngest's pocket and your number was in it. We looked up your number and got your name."

Piper walked over to the couch.

"I'm sorry to say that your oldest son didn't survive the crash." said Officer Gordon gently sitting opposite Piper."We'll need you to come down to the Morgue and identify the body though to make sure it's him."

Piper looked up at her. Wyatt was dead? No he couldn't be!

"It can't be them. I bet it's someone else, it has to be!" she said desperately.

"It could be someone else but it's very highly doubtful. Maybe if we describe them. The youngest had brown hair, he was wearing black jeans, black sneakers and a black shirt and the oldest was wearing blue jeans and a red t-shirt and he had blonde hair." said Officer Gordon.

Piper sat in shock. The description was exactly what Chris and Wyatt were wearing, the same hair colours. It was them...

"No. No, no no!" Piper muttered loudly and she burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.

"Christopher has been admitted to San Francisco Memorial." said Officer Louden.

Piper took her hands away from her face.

"Chris...he's still alive?" she asked.

Both officers nodded and Piper felt a small burst of hope. He would be okay at least, he had to be...

"I..I need to get Leo." she said quietly with tears streaming down her face.

"Your husband?" asked Officer Gordon and Piper nodded.

"We'll need you to come down to the Mor-

"I know, i know!" Piper snapped at them. "Can at least have a little time to myself first!"

They both nodded. "Of course." said Officer Louden.

They stood up. "We'll wait in the car." said Officer Gordon and Piper nodded. They left.

Piper sat on the couch, staring down at the floor. She felt numb. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't!

"Aunt Piper?"

Piper looked up quickly and hurriedly wiped her eyes when she saw Kanira standing in the doorway.

"Kanira! Um, what's up? Everything okay?" she asked trying to mask her upset.

"I was actually going to ask you the same thing. Why were the police here?" Kanira asked.

"Um..."

"Aunt Piper?"

"Look, Kanira, i'll explain later okay?" Piper said rubbing her eyes.

"No i want to k-

"Kanira please!"

Kanira stopped and looked at her aunt. She looked so upset.

"Okay. I'll, uh, go upstairs." said Kanira and after Piper nodded he made her way to her bedroom.

Piper got up off the couch. She needed to go get Leo. But how was she going to break the news?


"Piper will you just tell me what's going on!" Leo said as they walked through the door of Magic School and into the manor.

She hadn't explained anything to him in Magic School because she didn't want the police officers waiting too long and getting suspicious. All she said was that he needed to get home straight away because something terrible had happened.

Piper turned to Leo and took his hands in hers.

"The police came here around 20 minutes ago-

"Why? Has someone seen you using magic?"

"No, that i would have preferred to this." Piper said quietly.

"Piper what's happened?"

Piper looked into Leo's eyes sorrowfully. "Wyatt and Chris have been in a car crash."

Leo's eyes widened in shock. "What! Are they okay?"

Piper shook her head and her face crumpled, tears streaming from her eyes. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak properly and stop crying. "No. Wyatt died when the truck hit the car and Chris's been taken to the hospital."

Leo said nothing. He stared at her, his face frozen. He didn't move or speak for at least 2 minutes but then he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Wyatt's dead?" he managed to croak out. Piper nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

"We have to go to the Morgue and identify the body." she said and Leo couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears poured down his face, which he covered with his hands.

Once he had calmed down slightly he spoke again. "And Chris? Is he badly injured?"

"I don't know. They didn't tell me." said Piper.

Leo pulled Piper to him and they cried together. The pain in her heart was unbearable. Why did this have to happen?Why?

"We better go. The police officers will be wondering where we are." said Piper pulling away and wiping her eyes. Leo nodded and they made their way out the door.

Piper felt a tear escape from her eye and roll down her cheek. And that moment hadn't even been the worst...

The police car pulled up outside the Morgue. Leo and Piper looked at the building in dread. Leo squeezed Piper's hand gently before they got out the car and she squeezed his back. They got out the car and slowly walked towards the doors of the Morgue with the police officers walking behind them. As they went in a man in a white coat came over and Officer Louden stepped forward to talk to him.

"We're here about the car crash victim brought in not that long ago." he said to the man.

"Ah our newest John Doe." said the man.

"Yes. We've got the victims possible parents here. They'll be able to tell us if the victim is their son or not." said Officer Louden.

"Okay, this way." said the man leading them into a room with white walls.

There were sliver trays were bodies were kept built into the walls and as the man led them to the right one, Piper grasped Leo's hand tightly and prayed in her mind with all her heart. Please don't let it be him, please God please!

"Here we are." said the man stopping in front of a tray with the number 15 on it. He grasped the handle. Piper closed her eyes. The feeling of dread was so powerful.

The man pulled the handle and the tray came out. There was silence. Piper slowly opened her eyes and gasped quietly. She felt fresh, hot tears well up in her eyes and overflow down her cheeks. There on the tray was Wyatt. His skin was paper white, his eyes closed in a certain serenity. The cuts on his face (obviously from the crash) had been cleaned. Piper walked slowly towards him. She let go of Leo's hand and stretched hers towards Wyatt. She touched his hand that was lying at his side but then withdrew her hand quickly. He was so cold. She tried again, this time remaining contact. She moved closer and stared intently at his face. Suddenly the pain and realisation hit her. Her oldest son was dead. And there was nothing she could do to change it. It was too late. Piper brought her free hand to her mouth and started sobbing. She took her hand away from her mouth and used it to stroke Wyatt's hair. She bent down and kissed his forehead, the tears dripping onto his face.

"I love you." she whispered. She let go of his hand and backed away, crying into her hands. Leo, who hadn't moved the whole time, pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"So is this him? Is he your son?" Officer Gordon asked gently.

Leo nodded with tears streaming down his face as Piper cried noisily into his shoulder.

"What is his name?" asked the man so he could go and register him.

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell." said Leo quietly, looking at Wyatt.

The man nodded and closed the tray slowly.

"We keep the bodies in preservation for a minimum of three weeks."

"Okay." Leo said numbly nodding his head. He was really just in auto-pilot.

"We'll see ourselves out." said Officer Louden.

"Alright." said the man nodding his head.

Leo and Piper walked slowly towards the exit, getting support off of each other. When the got outside Officer Louden turned to them.

"Would you like us to take you to the hospital to see your other son?" he asked.

Piper and Leo didn't say anything.

"Mrs Halliwell?"

Piper looked up at him. "Um, yes..take us there..." she said absently, in slight shock.

Her and Leo got into the back of the police car and were driven off to the hospital.

More tears rolled down her cheeks. Damn her mind! Why was it making her remember all this! It did the exact opposite of what she wanted it to do! Now it was on a roll and she couldn't stop herself remembering when they went to the hospital...

The car stopped outside San Francisco Memorial and Piper and Leo reluctantly got out. Officer Louden gave a small wave and drove off. Piper and Leo turned and looked up at the tall building. Leo grasped Piper's hand and they walked inside. The walked up to the reception desk and waited impatiently for the receptionist to finish talking on the phone. Once she'd put the phone back in it's cradle she looked up at them.

"Yes, may i help you?"

"We're here to see our son, Christopher Halliwell." said Leo.

"Halliwell...Halliwell..." muttered the woman typing the name into her computer. "Ah here he is. He's in ICU."

She told them the floor and room number and they set off towards the elevator. Neither of them said a word as they waited in the elevator, or when they got out again. All they did was squeeze each others hand in support as they walked down the corridor to the correct room number.

They stopped outside the correct room and Leo took hold of the handle. He didn't move for a minute or so, dreading what he was going to see when he went inside that room. Piper felt exactly the same but she squeezed his other hand in encouragement. He slowly pushed open the door and they stepped inside. The curtains were half way around the hospital bed shielding their son from view. Piper listened to the continuous beep of the heart monitor and got a small amount of comfort from the fact that it confirmed that he was still alive. But that wasn't enough. She slowly walked towards the curtained bed, with Leo trailing reluctantly behind her. She got past the curtain and looked at the bed. She gasped.

Chris was lying in the bed with the sheet tucked up to his chest with his arms over it. His face was injured along with the rest of him. Piper walked closer so she could see better. His face was almost unrecogniseable. It was covered in cuts and grazes and purple bruises were beginning to form under both of his eyes and jaw. He had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth to help him breath. Even his arms were injured, the same cuts over them too with purple bruising. And they were only the injuries that were visible. Who knew how many of his bones were broken or what damage had been done to his organs in the impact.

"Oh my god." Piper whispered as she sat down in a chair beside the bed. Leo sat down beside her.

Piper took hold of Chris's hand. The warmth of it was comforting, unlike the coldness of Wyatt's. He didn't stir at all apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest. Suddenly a doctor walked in.

"Oh i'm sorry. I didn't realise anyone was in here." he said.

Leo stood up. "Are you Chris's doctor?"

The man nodded. "Yes i'm Dr. Robertson." he said holding out his hand.

Leo shook it. "I'm Leo Wyatt and this is my wife Piper Halliwell. We're Chris's parents."

"Ah yes. The police got in touch with you i take it?"

Leo nodded.

"Is he going to be alright?" Piper asked, speaking up for the first time since the doctor came in.

The doctor hesitated. "Um, it's hard to say."

"What is that supposed to mean!" Piper demanded.

The doctor looked between them for a moment. How was he supposed to explain this?

"Your son has experienced very serious injuries Mrs Halliwell. It's amazing that he's survived this long." he said, trying to be gentle but the harshness of the news suppressed that.

"What! How bad are the injuries exactly?" Leo asked.

The doctor looked down at his clipboard he was carrying. "He has 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken leg, a broken arm, a serious concussion, serious head trauma, damage to the spinal cord, kidney damage, various bruising, cuts and grazes and internal bleeding but we've managed to stop that." he said reading the patients information.

"Oh my god." said Piper starting to cry.

"What are his chances of making a full recovery?" Leo asked quietly.

"He has around a 20 chance of making a recovery, but even then there is a very possible chance that he'll be paralysed from the waist down because of his spinal cord injury." said the doctor.

Piper cried harder and Leo sat back down, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry." said the doctor.

He checked Chris's current condition and then left. Piper laid her head on Leo's shoulder and cried some more.

"Why did this have to happen to them Leo?" she cried. "Why!"

Leo looked at Chris sadly.

"I don't know."

End of Flashback

Piper wiped the tears away as much as she could. The week after that had been the worst week of her life. Watching her baby boy struggling to hang on was heart-wrenching. The last hour of his life was 100 times worse...

Flashback

Piper sat beside Chris's hospital bed, clasping his hand in hers as normal. She'd been there nearly a whole day, never leaving his side except to go to the toilet and get cup after cup of coffee. She'd been at home with her sisters when she'd got a phone call from the hospital. They'd said that Chris's condition had taken a turn for the worse and he'd slipped into a coma. They told her to get down to the hospital as soon as possible. She'd called Leo and they'd got to the hospital as soon as possible. Now Leo was outside getting some fresh air whilst she sat with there son.

Between being at the hospital and planning Wyatt's funeral, they were exhausted. But they had to keep going for Chris and Wyatt.

When they'd got to the hospital, the doctor had informed them that wouldn't be long until he would die. There was nothing more the doctors could do to save him. So now Piper hadn't left his side, wanting to be there when it happened. She was actually quite angry at Leo for leaving the room but she knew he wouldn't be long. Sure enough, he came back in.

"Hey, any change?" Leo asked and Piper shook her head.

Leo sat down beside her and put his hand on Chris's leg, wanting to have some type of contact with him.

They sat there for 15 minutes in silence, then Piper noticed that Chris's breathing was becoming more laboured. He was struggling slightly now. Leo noticed as well and they glanced at each other. Leo put his hand on Piper's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

Another 10 minutes and it started to happen. Chris was beginning to really struggle. With her other hand, Piper stroked his hair affectionately. He was finding it so hard to hang on and it was breaking her heart. Tears started rolling down her cheeks but she smiled warmly at him even though his eyes were closed.

"It's okay sweetie. We're here. Just let go, sweetie, let go. It's okay. Just let go..." she whispered gently to him.

He took in a couple of more breaths. Leo stretched his arm over Chris, took his other hand and pulled it over Chris's stomach so he could hold it properly. Chris really struggled to get at least one breath in now. Piper was still whispering comfortingly to him. He took in a deep breath and something inside Leo filled him with dread and knowing.

"Here we go." he whispered to Piper.

Chris let the breath out slowly. He didn't breath in again.

"Beep...beep...beep...beep..." went the heart monitor then it changed to one, long continuous beep. Piper looked up and saw the green line going across the heart monitor screen. She closed her eyes, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. She leaned forward and kissed Chris's forehead.

"I love you sweetie." she whispered.

She sat back down properly in her seat. Leo pulled her to him and they hugged each other tightly. Now their youngest son was dead. They'd lost both their children in the space of a week to something so...so normal. Wasn't that what she'd always craved? A normal life? Now it was quite ironic. It hadn't been something supernatural that had killed her sons. It had been something normal...

It was just so unfair.

End of Flashback

Piper got up off the stool and walked over to the sink. After splashing water on her face, she dried it on a tea-towel and walked towards the foyer. It was time she spent some proper time with her sons. Time that she'd lost but had now regained. As she walked she realised that they would have to leave them again and she felt fresh tears prickle her eyes.

It was just so unfair.


So what did you's think about this chapter then? Make my day and review!