Chapter nineteen
Chris broke out gut wrenching sobs, his fingers lightly tracing patterns in the ash, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." His whispers echoed loudly throughout the Seer's lair.
Wyatt and Kit knelt beside their brother, "It's okay." Wyatt said, "It wasn't your fault."
"I let my powers get the better of me." He whispered, "I lost control." His fingers were gripping his hair to the point Wyatt and Kit feared he would soon literally pull his hair out.
Wyatt and Kit eased Chris' hands away from his head, "Calm down." Wyatt said, bringing Chris' hands to rest in front of him, "It's going to be okay."
Chris scrambled to his feet, "I should go." Chris whispered, eyes downcast and brimming with tears.
"Go where?" Piper asked softly.
"You know, demons to hunt." Voice still no more then a whisper.
"No." Piper said, "I won't allow it!"
"I'm twenty two years old. I can hunt demons if I want to."
Wyatt pulled Chris into his arms and whispered one word, a command "Sleep."
Chris' legs buckled underneath him and he collapsed into Wyatt's arms. Scooping his littlest brother into his arms he looked up, "I guess we better get back to the manor."
Much to everyone's surprise Wyatt's departing orbs were crystal blue.
Reappearing in Piper's bedroom they saw Wyatt covering Chris with a blanket, the Twice Blessed turned to them, "Well, we should go get something to drink, Tinkerbell here will be asleep for a couple of hours."
The Halliwell/ Matthews/ Perry/ Wyatt family reconvened in the living room,
"You just turned him off like a light switch." Piper stared at him in wonder, "How?"
"The connection between Chris, Kit and I is,"
"Was." Kit corrected.
"Was," Wyatt shot a glare at Kit, "Really strong. But even before all this Chris began to close himself off from us. But the main time I could do anything like that, the only time I've needed to do anything like this was when Mika was murdered, and when you," his eyes were trained on Piper, " Were murdered."
"It's not that bad mum," all eyes turned to the foot of the stairs, there stood Chris, a wry smile on his face, "It's not like Wyatt had to re-build the city this time."
"What?"
Chris gave her a lopsided grin, "Ya see, one of the powers I had before Sunshine over there," he said waving his hand casually in Wyatt's direction, "bound them, was the ability to manipulate the elements and I went a little crazy. It's no big deal really."
"How did you wake up?" Wyatt questioned.
Chris smiled warmly for a moment, "That trick stopped working when I was fourteen. And if you ever call me Tinkerbell again I swear to God I'll kick your ass."
"Oh now that's nice. Tink." Wyatt said with a grin.
"So," said Chris with a grin, rubbing his hands together, "there anything to eat in this joint?"
Piper and Wyatt got up, Piper went into the kitchen while Wyatt walked over and guided Chris to the couch, the younger of the two slipping in between his twin and his aunt Paige, the former wrapping an arm around him and the latter patting him on the knee.
"You okay kiddo?" Paige asked.
Chris nodded, "Yeah."
"No homicidal rampages in the Underworld?" Kit asked.
"Not just yet." Chris smiled, "First we have to get you and Wyatt home."
"We're not going back." Wyatt said, kneeling in front of Chris, "Not without you. If we go back we'll change back."
Chris pressed his forehead against Wyatt's, "It's okay. I promise. I'll fix everything, you'll see."
"I don't want to become the man I was again little brother."
Chris pressed a kiss onto Wyatt's forehead, "You won't be, not really." Chris smiled warmly at his brothers, "You'll go back. You'll keep up appearances and one day, the three of us will be reunited and everything will be the way it should be." All the while Kira's message replaying in the back of his mind. But she was the Source. It was just a lie. It had to have been.
"Alright, dinner's up." Piper called from the dining room table.
The rest of the family moved to where Piper had whipped up a feast in the short time the others had been talking.
"Mum you didn't have to do this." Chris admonished, "It's too much."
Piper smiled warmly, "Nonsense. Now sit down and eat."
After a lengthy and happy family dinner the whole affair became rather somber when Chris looked up, "Alright, it's time for you to go."
Slowly they walked up to the attic and stood around the book of shadows, "How are you going to send us back?" Kit asked, "That spell's a one way door. It only goes backwards in time."
"Ah ye of little faith. You just have to tweak it a little."
Kit and Wyatt went around to each family member, saying goodbye before finally stopping at their brother.
"I guess this is it." Chris said with a smile.
"It's never 'it'. You know that." Kit said.
"But when we meet again. Everything will be different. We won't remember any of this."
"But maybe we will…" Wyatt said.
"Personally, I don't want to." Chris said, "Too many bad memories."
Chris held his arms out and Wyatt stepped into them, arms wrapped around Wyatt's middle he whispered into his ear, "Don't forget me. I love you."
Wyatt hugged him back, "Love you too little brother."
He turned back to his twin, no words were exchanged as they silently embraced, "I'll miss you Kit."
"Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?"
"I'm not." Chris reassured, "It's just, see you later."
The three brothers stood behind the book of shadows and chanted,
"Hear the words,
Hear the rhyme,
Heed the hope within our minds,
Send us forward to where we'll find,
When we wish in place and time."
The portal opened and with one last smile Wyatt and Kit Halliwell stepped through and back into their own time leaving behind a very scared but still very, very determined younger brother behind.
Chris had seen what the future could hold, how good Wyatt could be. No matter what happened to him he would make sure that his family would get the future he'd dreamed about. Where they were all happy, safe and together.
Fuck Kira. Chris thought bitterly, she was only bullshitting him. Stupid Source. Stupid demon. Lucky Chris wasn't in the resurrecting and re-vanquishing mood.
One thing he regretted about his about the gift of foresight was that he himself couldn't look into his own future to ascertain if her visions were real.
It didn't matter. He had work to do.
