Neurotic
Summary: "My name's not Chris Perry," Chris said, as if it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to say. "It's Christopher." He paused, almost reluctantly. "Christopher Halliwell."
Disclaimer: Charmed and Chris don't belong to me, doo dah, doo dah, I'm not making any money from this, oh, dah doo dah day.
Chapter the Twenty-Sixth
Chris was Piper's second son.
Chris Perry was Piper's second son.
Christopher Perry, the neurotic boy from the future, was Piper's second son.
Christopher Halliwell.
Her nephew.
And she couldn't tell anyone about it.
Not for a lack of wanting to tell anyone about it. Phoebe felt the news almost strangle her, making her giddy and breathless, and she wanted to scream it out to the world. The only problem was she wasn't exactly tuned into the same frequency as the rest of the world at that current moment.
Chris was…
Oh, god. Oh, god. And I totally hit on him, when that Titan thing was going down…
That wasn't the best thought she'd ever had in her life. She watched Pippa and Chris as they easily interacted with each other, and that grace and ease between them didn't go when Paul and Piper came back into the room, heaped up with blankets.
Chris had come back to save his family, like he'd said. Only he'd literally meant it.
It was if someone had dumped eighty jigsaw puzzles in a box at her feet, told her to sort them, and then someone else had come along and put them together for her, in a magical instant. Everything fit suddenly, and the world became achingly clear.
Chris was part of the family.
Chris had risked everything for them.
Chris was… staring right at her. Actually, right through her. It was disconcerting to say the least. Scrambling to one side, Phoebe moved to a different vantage spot. Cole was beginning to stir; a flush of colour was already rising in his cheeks.
Hurry up, she whispered silently, a plea to any who were listening. You heard me, Cole. You can tell them where I am. I'm right here. And Chris is my NEPHEW. Oh, god.
She felt wretchedly annoyed with herself. The fortune teller had plainly told her that her vision was clouded, and that she'd seen everything she'd needed to figure it out. In her vision of the future, she'd seen that cute little brown-haired boy, and even though Chris had spoken the same words she hadn't connected the dots. Like she should have done.
Chris, I'm sorry. I should have realised, and then maybe you could have confided in me Instead, Chris had confided in Victor, and possibly Leo. Leo knows, too. That's right. Piper's going to kill him when she finds out.
She found herself torn between watching Cole and watching Chris, and forcibly chose the latter. Chris' eyes were travelling over Cole's prone body in worry, guilt already on his tormented face, and Phoebe realised they were the exact same shade as Leo's. His cheekbones were angular, but reminded her of Piper, and there was a defiant tilt to his eyebrows that reminded her of her mom.
How could I not have seen this before?
"He's waking up," Chris said quietly. God, he was so stupid! To put someone through the trauma of being resurrected, to a world that would make absolutely no sense, and then for this to happen. Cole could have died, and would you have cared? He's just a means to an end, but is this how they see you too?
Chris forced those thoughts away. They never lead anywhere constructive. Besides, a whole lot of people will be dumped into a future that doesn't make any kind of sense at all unless we find who turns Wyatt!
"Cole?" Piper said briefly as Cole blinked and opened his eyes, looking around himself in confusion.
"Nnnnngggghh," Cole answered, swinging himself up into a sitting position and holding his face. "Yeah, that was fun." He looked sourly up at them.
"What happened?" Chris asked, concern washing over his features.
"The avatars took my powers away," Cole answered briefly. "I guess you should be happy, I'm all human again." He looked down at his hands as if to verify the fact that he was even still there.
"I didn't see any avatars-" Piper started, looking around worriedly as if they still might be there.
"Don't worry, they're gone," Cole rushed to reassure her. "But there's some good news at least. Just before I passed out, I heard Phoebe, and I don't think I was hallucinating."
"That's a good reference," Paul quipped. Piper and Pippa turned a double glare at him, and he withered visibly. Chris resisted the urge to snigger. When they'd been growing up, he was the one usually the target of Piper's glaring (oh please, like I blew up the toaster on purpose) and now Paul was getting it double.
It seemed there were perks to this time-travelling lark after all.
"So she's on… the astral plane?" Piper guessed.
"I don't think so," Chris said, a little hesitantly as he meandered his way though his guess. "I mean, when you and Leo were stuck on the astral plane, Paige and Phoebe heard your calling. It stands to reason that Phoebe would be yelling her head off to get us to pay attention, and have you heard her?"
Three heads shook as one.
"Unless it's because Paige is stuck elsewhere," Pippa voiced her guess. "So I'm going to get right onto getting her and Dan out from the book. Paul, you'll give me a hand, right?"
"Sure," Paul said, picking up the book. The two nodded at the others and headed out to sit at the dining room table.
"Okay, they were definitely after us," Paige said, breathing hard as she and Dan hid behind a dumpster. The sound of pounding feet echoed in the air and they bent down as closely to the wall as they could until the sound got quieter – their pursuers were getting further away.
"They were shouting something about us giving back the falcon," Dan said, not breathing quite as hard as Paige, but worry was splayed more openly on his face. "Maybe that's what we have to find to get out of here."
"Good thinking, Batman," Paige said, twinkling a smile at him. "It should be safe to get out from here, now. I can't hear them."
"I'll go first," Dan said, sliding the gun out of its holster and keeping it concealed by the coat he was wearing. He started to edge out of small alleyway they'd concealed themselves in.
"Wait!"
Dan turned sharply at the sound of her voice. "What?"
"Look at this!" Paige moved out from the safety of the dumpster across to a large poster pasted onto the wall. "I didn't see this before, did you?"
Dan crossed over to it. "No, the wall was blank."
"Meaning we might be getting a little outside help," Paige said happily. "Listen. Do you feel as if you're stuck somewhere? Is there something you have to find to get the most out of life? Sister, don't get down, get even. Contact Eddie Mullen, PI, 555-1425. Literary types most welcome."
"Eddie Mullen?" Dan blinked. "I think—wasn't Mullen a name on the cover of the book?"
"Yep," Paige said, grinning. "I think we passed a phone box on the way here, don't you?"
Perked up by the spark of hope, they exchanged a relieved look and exited the alleyway.
"Hey, what's the matter?"
Chris was too busy watching him mom and younger brother walk out that he didn't realise Piper was talking to him. Blinking, he turned to her, looking slightly confused. Piper, holding the small of her back, settled into one of the large, squishy armchairs and rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I was asking you," Piper said, a warm humour in her voice.
"It's just-" Chris bit his lip, and looked at Cole, who was looking at him in a similar kind of confusion. "I guess I was hoping you'd be able to find out who turned Wyatt," he said, in a low mumble. "I was only thinking of the situation, and not of you." He looked at Cole. "I- I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for," Cole said, a little amazed. "You brought me back. Even though this is extremely confusing, I'm grateful. I never really—knew what life was, until I met Phoebe." His eyes were distant, and his voice was tinged with an open longing. "I've never had the chance at life. Real life. I think I'm at a point where I can accept what I am, and try again. Even if that's not here. And if I can help get Phoebe back, and save the future- Well, it'll help erase a little of my karmic debt, right?"
Chris nodded, still downcast.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Cole said, his voice a little rough. "You did what you had to do, okay?"
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but he's right," Piper said. "We need Paige back and this was the only way. Aren't you the one that said we need the Power of Three for the future?"
A thousand emotions flitted over Chris' face, and he eventually managed to twist his mouth into a semi-smile. "Yeah." He looked troubled. "I'll go fetch the Book of Shadows, see if there's a spell to hunt for witches lost in different planes."
He walked past Pippa and Paul with his head down, and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. Crossing the floor to the book, he started to flicker through it, but his eyes couldn't focus on the page properly.
Frowning, he moved closer, but the words seemed to collapse inwards on each other more. The book actually looked to be at a slight angle. He tilted his head, but it lurched awkwardly. He stumbled backwards in horror.
You're useless. You're never going to find what you're looking for because you have no talent what-so-ever. You were the worst person to come back to do this! It was your egocentrism. That's why you came, when there were so many people who wouldn't have screwed up so far. You're truly pathetic.
Now the floor was moving, and the ceiling… the ceiling was slipping away… and everything felt like water beneath his feet and he could hear his mom crying out to him, and Leo calling for his help, and Melinda screaming her death, and Paul- he couldn't find Paul- where was he? Where are you? – and the floor left him and the ceiling zoomed up to greet him…
…I'm sorry…
…and the next thing he knew was warmth, spreading through him. What?
"I can't do much for him," the voice was saying, "just a little quick start."
Chris tried to ask what was going on, but "Hmmmmuh?" was what came out. He was suddenly, painfully aware that it was dark everywhere, and when he tried to open his eyes, a barrage of light slammed into his vision, and he had to shut his eyes again.
"Was it a demon?" someone else was saying. That voice was familiar.
"Mom?" Chris managed this time, blinking furiously.
"No, it's me, Piper," the voice said, sounding incredibly amused.
"I think it's just exhaustion," the first voice said. Male. Chris zoned in on that voice. Leo. "He's overworked himself."
"Oh, god," Piper said, her voice still sounding distant. "I just assumed dad was keeping an eye on things like that."
"'msorry," Chris managed this time. He tried to push himself up, and was surprised when he couldn't.
"You really have to take care of yourself," Leo lectured. "If Paul hadn't heard that thump… How are you going to help us save Wyatt if you knock yourself unconscious for a week?"
Chris managed, with – and he assumed – Paul's help to manoeuvre himself up into a semi-sitting position. Paul – and it was him – winked at him as he pushed cushions behind him to prop him up. "All right, dad," Chris said sarcastically through lowered eyelashes.
Leo sent him a blank look as Piper sniggered at Chris' sarcasm. "I'm being serious."
"Swell," Chris said. "So when are you going to start yelling me about the other thing I did today?"
"What do you mean?" Leo questioned, instantly looking even more worried.
"I kind of brought someone back from the dead," Chris said, very quickly. Leo stared. "And he's standing behind you."
"Wha—" Leo started.
"Hello, Leo," Cole said, smoothly if a little awkwardly.
Leo turned back to Chris, his expression decidedly mixed. He flickered a glance at Chris. "You know what, as soon as your mother gives birth to you in this timeline, I am definitely making sure you get grounded for your next fifty lifetimes."
Chris pursed his lips. "Thanks. But you might want to re-direct your madness at the other things that have been going wrong around here."
"Wha-" Leo said again.
"Phoebe's stuck on a parallel plane somewhere, and Paige and Dan are trapped inside a book," Chris said. Then his thoughts rearranged themselves, and he figured one more thing out. "Oh," he added thoughtfully, as Leo looked at him dumbstruck, "I also believe that maybe Barbas is somehow out and about."
