Disclaimer: I disclaim Charmed.
WARNING: Spoilers for whatever the last season was. If you don't want to know who Paige marries, don't read this.
A/N: Anyone who's looking for another Charmed fic should check out The Long Suffering Angel by Crazy8ball. It's fascinating and inspired my own 'Kitty'. --Read this chapter and you'll see what I mean.
Closing his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted, Chris turned and faced the people that had the audacity to call themselves his parents.
"What do you want?" he asked coldly, immediately knowing the spell, power, whatever, had been removed. They wouldn't hurt him and he didn't know them. Things evened out in his mind.
"Chris…" his father began, and Chris unconsciously put out the flame that lit inside his at hearing his father call him by his nickname. He was Christopher to this man. That was how he told friend from foe in his mind. Christopher and Chris. No one was ever allowed to use both. Especially not these people. "God, son, I am so sorry. I… we… it was never… God, we're sorry," he ended at a whisper. Tears were running down both the adults' cheeks and Chris wasn't remotely surprised to find that he didn't feel one bit sorry for their pain.
On the contrary. "You're sorry?" he repeated bluntly. "Sorry? What the hell do you think that word means to me? Sorry-- as in pathetic, yes you are. Sorry as in worthless screw-ups, yes, you are! But sorry as in you are apologizing? Sorry as in, you expect me to understand and forgive you? I can count the number of times you forgave me when I said I was sorry on one hand!"
"Chris, it wasn't us!" Piper said desperately, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. "We had no power over what happened. We were just as helpless about it as--"
"As I was?" Chris finished coldly, crossing his arms. He let the statement echo in the silence that followed emotionlessly, not hating himself for feeling the satisfaction he felt at their desperate, guilty, and pained expressions. After another moment, still before he personally felt they had suffered enough, he sighed deeply and glanced away, asking in a steely voice, "What were you possibly hoping to accomplish by following me out here?"
He watched coldly as the couple exchanged looks. He could feel the pain and guilt rolling off them like ocean waves in a hurricane and honestly didn't care. They deserved to feel this way. It was about time they realized how bad they'd screwed up. He knew it had taken him way too long to figure out he hadn't done anything wrong, but this was just ridiculous.
"Chris…" murmured Piper softly, swimming eyes seeking his behind the sunglasses imploringly. "Baby, please understand--"
"I am not your baby," Chris cut her off icily.
The woman visibly flinched beneath the harsh tone, harsh reality, but kept trying anyway. "Chris, please try to understand it wasn't us! We are not responsible for anything! It was all the Elders' fault. If it weren't for them, you would have been happy, sweetie. I promise you would have been happy. Promise," she ended in the feeblest voice he'd ever heard from the woman. One of the broken-est he'd ever heard from any woman, period. Her eyes were looking at him so sadly, so desperately he couldn't help how his heart and mind both told him to loosen up on them.
He sighed again. He looked at the wall to his left, then looked at the floor for a moment, then finally back to his parents. They were watching him, waiting for him, such hope and pleading in their eyes, expressions… hearts. "I understand," he managed to say at last, unable to look them in the eyes. He adjusted his shoulders uncomfortably, changing his crossed arms slightly so that he looked more insecure than defiant, now. "I know you're good people… I know that you probably wouldn't have hurt me if not for the Elders. I know."
He empathically felt their hearts soar and relief flood through them so much he toyed with the notion of it drowning them. Metaphorically speaking, of course… Ah, what the heck. He admitted to himself that he was thinking about it literally drowning their sorry asses.
"So… so you think you can… you can forgive us?" asked Piper, hardly able to speak through her combined hope and anticipation. Her eyes were shining.
Chris' eyes slowly came up from their spot on the floor. Looking her square in the face, he said, "No." At their shocked expressions, he explained without emotion, "I said I understood. But, because of you and the screwed up company you surrounded yourself with, my entire life was, and will continue to be, a living hell. Sorry, but forgiveness is divine and I'm an angel only by birth."
The two adults stared at him, mouths hanging open 'sophisticatedly'. Chris doubted they were going to say much after that, and he didn't care to hear them anyway, so he turned and walked away again.
It was only when he was completely out of sight, out of earshot, that his heart shattered and his walls crumbled.
For the hundredth time within the last 24 hours, Chris felt emotions slam into him, but this time they hit him like a 5, 000 pound truck, even through the potion he'd only partially lied to Cole about. He could restrain his calmed powers better with that potion because it was supposed to calm his emotions, too. It was supposed to restrain them, to some extent. This didn't feel like restrained emotions to him.
It felt like he was… drowning in them. Hundreds of pounds of water… emotions… pressing down on him from every side. Like he was trying to kick his way to the surface, to oxygen, but something was always pulling him down, no matter how hard he thrashed against it. And there was nobody to extend a hand and pull him out… because there was nobody he trusted with his life… his secrets… his anguish anymore.
He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall behind him. The wall was hard. Flat. Unyielding. He allowed himself to slide down it until he had sunk to the floor. This wall wouldn't change because of emotions. There wasn't anything to call it away for more important stuff… And he wasn't afraid of leaning his entire weight against it. This wall was his new best friend, he decided. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to break the news to Paris… who was PMS-ing to the point that she terrified him at the moment. Poor Joden, trying to ease her outbursts.
Chris took another deep breath, trying to fight his way to the surface of the emotions. The weight of them was worse than the weight of the world tonight… this morning, actually. It was probably about six in the morning, two days after his seventeenth birthday. His birthday… damn brain, pulling up more bad birthday memories for him… The first on without Jess… the way his aunts had to sneak him parties because they knew Piper would never allow them… 'Birthday spankings'… the newly acquired forgotten birthday…
Honestly, people had three ways they could remember his and Jessie's birthday. One: They just remember his. Two: They remember Jess' and then remember they were twins, so they realized it's his birthday, too. Three: They just remember the damn date. Come on, what else happens in November worth remembering? It's a cold, desolate month. No one cares about November.
"Hey, get up," said a bright voice. Bianca's bright voice. Bianca had a bright voice?
"What the…" he said aloud at that notion. It was a… strange… concept, to say the least.
"Come on, I could sense your self-pity a mile away," she said lightly, taking his hand without asking and forcefully yanked on it. "I'm not letting you do that because you're stronger than breaking, now get up!"
"Mrgh," Chris complained incoherently, not wanting to get up and face this girl. It was much easier just sitting here and fighting through these nightmarish emotions on his own, with his eyes closed to the outside world. Well… maybe not as easy as ignoring them, suppressing them, would be. He was good at that, and with Bianca as company… he'd be forced to, anyway. He was just deciding that he would get up, when he was left no choice in the matter-- Bianca had actually succeeded in jerking him bodily to his feet.
"Whoa," he stated, surprised. "Damn girl, weight training?"
Bianca gave him a look. "Jujitsu practice, thank you. And it's not like you weigh more than ninety pounds, anyway. Seriously, do you ever eat?"
"Of course I eat," Chris snapped, suddenly able to imagine his hand smacking her upside the head very clearly. "Do you ever have a civil conversation? With anyone?"
"Of course I do," she snapped right back. "I--"
But whatever she was going to add was cut short as there came a squeal of, "KITTY!" and a pink blur tackled Chris to the ground. Bianca gaped, surprised, and Chris squeaked, pained.
"Rosie!" he gasped, struggling to untangle himself from his cousin's bone crushing hug so he could breathe. "Rose-- air-- good-- suffocation-- bad-- Thank you," he ended as the younger teen let go, blushing. He leaned back from his position on the ground to observe Phoebe's daughter, Primrose.
She looked a lot like her mother and father-- both their dark hair, Cole's light eyes, Phoebe's tan complexion. The indisputable Halliwell cheekbones. Piper's nose that reddened when she cried… And now she was looking homicidal.
The fifteen year old smacked him in the arm, not good-naturedly. "You brat!" she yelled. "You were planning to leave without seeing us-- me-- again, weren't you? Weren't you?"
"Rose-- I--" Chris began hastily, but Bianca cut him off, holding up her hands.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said, wrinkling her nose in confusion. She faced Primrose. "Did you just call him Kitty?" Rose nodded brightly, but threw Chris a filthy look, beneath which he withered. Bianca stared, bewildered. "Why?"
"Because," said Rose lightly. "He's like a cat-- you could turn his entire world upside down and he'd still land on his feet." She smacked him in the arm again, still glaring, before getting to her feet. She offered Chris a hand up and he accepted warily. Primrose could be like Damien if she had a mind to be… and she normally had a mind to be. Chris loved her to death, but she could be a dangerous young lady when things weren't going her way, and when it came to Chris… Chris didn't like telling her everything she wanted to know. So things with him didn't normally go her way.
Bianca leveled a sneer at Chris. "How many nicknames do you have, Christopher?"
Chris felt like smashing Bianca's head through his new best friend-- the wall. It may be solid, but with a comment like that… he could definitely made it cave. No question about it.
"Well," began Rose, seeming not to see the rhetorical-ness behind Bianca's question. "There's Chris, Chrissy, Christine with Dad, Christy-pher, Creeper --which he still won't tell me how he got--, Starlighter because of that whole house arrest thing, but I don't get why they just didn't go with Moonlighter 'cause we all know he does drugs so probably drinks, too, then there's--"
"Rose, shut up!" Chris exclaimed, staring at his cousin with a newfound wonder. She had said all that in one breath. Even Wyatt couldn't do that, and Wyatt was a talker. Of course, he was a thinker, too, but he could talk while thinking, so… he got some work done, let's just say.
Rose glared at him. "Fine then, Kitty," she all but spat. "But I'm kidnapping you and we're all going to the family breakfast together. Is that clear, my now-eldest cousin?"
"Now-eldest? What, Wyatt doesn't count just because he's--" Chris cut the sentence off just in time to realize that Rose had no idea Wyatt was the Source. Phoebe wouldn't have told her. Chris paused in his thoughts to consider a certain point-- Phoebe sucked at keeping secrets. How could she not tell her daughter that her nephew was evil beyond words?
"Wyatt's dead, Chris," Rose said softly, sounding confused and reluctant. "I'm sorry… I thought you knew that. He was off demon hunting just a few weeks after you disappeared from Grandpa's… he never came back."
Chris gaped How could Phoebe let Rose believe Wyatt was dead? How could this girl not know that Wyatt had caused this war-- this war that was the reason she even had to live in this safe house in the first place? That was just… just… Chris didn't know the English word for what this was. Something like blasphemy, he supposed. He knew the word in Elder-ish, as these people called it, was liguta. But that doesn't really help these readers, because they don't know Elder-ish.
Chris opened his mouth to protest her information, but stopped himself. He would annoy Phoebe into doing it herself. Rose was her responsibility, not his. He shook his head, ignoring the look Bianca was giving him, and turned to his oldest cousin. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he looked her seriously in the face. "Rose, you know I love you guys and everything, right?" She nodded. "Okay. But I can't stay here long enough for breakfast. Me and the others from the Resistance have to leave before we compromise this location, okay?"
Cole's blue-green eyes stared at him from his cousin's face. "You work for the Resistance?" she whined at last, shocked and envious. "That is not cool! I'm only a year and a half younger than you and I can't even go outside in the campus' garden without adult supervision!" She took a deep breath and yelled, "DADDY!" at the top of her lungs.
Cole instantly shimmered in, concern washed over all his features. "Rose, sweetheart, what is-- Chris? What are you--?"
"Well, I'm half witch, half whitelighter, see?" answered Chris with feigned innocence. "Not that shocking, actually…"
"No, that's not what I-- I mean, what happened? I thought you'd still be with them. You didn't leave but twenty minutes ago," Cole was staring at him, thoroughly perplexed. Chris could vaguely recall that Phoebe thought he was extremely cute when that look came onto his face. Chris wouldn't know.
"Well…" he began, his mien dreamy just for the effect. He knew he wasn't really going to try to think of something to say. He wasn't going to try to remember. There was too much work to do with the war and everything without his own personal drama getting in the way. "We learned some stuff and then I hope the ones from the past sent Piper and Leo back to the hereafter and Elderland." Cole gave him a look and Chris became incredulous. Of all that he was learning, his uncle was most concerned about him calling his parents by their first names. He sighed, aggravated, when the look didn't let up. "Fine. I hope they sent Mother and Father dearest to where ever the hell they summoned them from. Happy?"
"Very," replied Cole easily and didn't push the subject. Chris was grateful for that much, at least. He didn't want to discuss what he'd found out in front of Bianca and Primrose. As a matter of fact, he didn't want to discuss it in front of anyone… He just didn't want to discuss it.
They began walking again, not really knowing where they were going. Cole had managed to ease a lot of tension by placing himself between Rose and Chris, and draped an arm over each their shoulders casually. And, also casually, he said to Chris, "You know, you are staying to have breakfast with us, whether you like it or not. Invite your team, if you want, but you are coming."
Chris glared, but Bianca smirked. "Yeah," she commented, eyes lit with mischief. "I'm sure they'd love to see who you're related to… Halliwell."
Chris opened his mouth, but nothing came out for the second time that day as he paused thoughtfully. Then, "You know," he stated conversationally. "You'd think they'd have figured it out after five months… I mean, all they'd have to do is look in any modern book about magic and they'd find a Warren-Halliwell family tree. They know I have a brother named Damien, a sister named Jessica, and my name is Chris… Not that hard."
Rose sneered. "Your own Resistance team doesn't know you're a Halliwell? What, don't you trust them?"
Chris shot her a sidelong look behind his sunglasses, smirking. "Rose, here I was thinking you were able to dodge empathy, especially with Phoebe as your mom." At her arched eyebrow, he said with an open grin, "Your jealousy is all over the place."
Rose leaned over Cole to smack him in the arm again and Chris laughed. "Nicole, your daughter is abusive," he complained lightly and had to duck beneath the next strike that would have been upside his head.
Cole rolled his eyes. "Christine, I honestly believe you could take her."
"Hey!" exclaimed Rose as Chris and Bianca both laughed. She smacked her father's arm good-naturedly. "You're supposed to take your daughter's side, man!"
Cole held up his hands in surrender and promised to bare that in mind next time, though the look on his face suggested otherwise. It wasn't unnoticed by his daughter, which sent Chris and Bianca into more laughter.
Not long afterwards, the four came to the college's cafeteria and Cole pushed the door open. The hall was huge. There were at least two dozen long tables and a bar in the back. Dishes of breakfast foods were spread out over every table and everything was lit by the brilliantly shining light of dawn. Already, in this early hour, the place was bustling. Cole led the way expertly to a table near the back right beside the wall of windows.
There, they found almost every Halliwell/Matthews assembled, moving about comfortably, getting food and putting it on plates, talking and laughing, horse playing and whispering. Paige and Prue were joking around over the pancake plate, Phoebe was trying to get her youngest daughter to not pour syrup in her big brother's hair, Henry (Paige's husband) and his son were talking about something serious and completely ignoring their plates, Penny (Grams) was having a heated discussion with Andy (Trudeau), and Patty (Charmed Ones' mother) was welcoming the ones from the past to the table while trying to hold onto a little girl's (Paige's daughter's) hand.
The talking immediately ceased when Cole, Primrose, Chris, and Bianca appeared. There was a moment's silence as the ones at the table tried to register their long-lost nephew/grandson/great-grandson/cousin's presence and Chris felt slightly guilty. His being at a family get-together shouldn't be such a drama, and he knew it was his fault for losing contact with them during the five months he'd been at the Resistance… and that partial year with Wy…
The silence only lasted long enough for him to think that, however, as the three littlest ones sprang forth and tackled the boy to the ground with squeals of delight. Everyone else laughed.
As soon as Chris had gotten back to his feet, holding the five year old girl, Palomah, Paige's daughter, in his arms, the scene got very confusing. "Ooo, Chris, is this your girlfriend?" asked the four year old Petra, tugging on Bianca's hand for attention.
"I love her hair, it's so perdy!" squealed Palomah, jumping out of his arms to go admire Bianca's curly, streaked black and blonde hair. "You should marry her!"
"Chris!" whined the five year old Porter. "Mom made me eat carrots yesterday! Yesterday, and it was a Thursday! Chris, you have to yell at her."
"Phoebe," Chris said in a scolding voice, looking at the one from his time. "What have I told you about carrots and Porter?"
The older woman bristled. "What? He ate them the day before yesterday!"
"Because it was Wednesday," he replied as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.
Phoebe looked confused. "So why wouldn't he eat them yesterday?"
"Yesterday was Thursday, 'cause you see, the days of the week change everyday, Phoebe," Chris explained with feigned good-patience. At Phoebe's look of daggers he continued, "Porter only eats carrots and eggplants on Wednesday. Honestly, woman. And you call yourself his mother." He shook his head sadly and Porter positively beamed-- before he was swept off his feet by his loving father and carried to his mother.
Then, with a little help from Primrose, Chris and Bianca managed to maneuver their way to the table to face the happily surprised adults (and one older cousin). Bianca was accepted by the females at once and was placed between Phoebe and Patty where conversation immediately started up. Chris would never get how girls could always socialize so easily with no common background, but didn't have time to contemplate it long as he was suddenly engulfed in a tight (manly) hug from his uncle, parole officer, Henry.
"Hey Chris," he said as they pulled apart and looked each other over. "So, you still testing the boundaries of the law?"
Chris grinned sheepishly. "What law?" he asked innocently enough, forcing a laugh from the man.
Then the other uncle that happened to be an officer of the law, Prue's husband, Inspector Andy Trudeau, came up and clapped him on the back. "What do you mean 'what law'?" he asked with a grin before pulling Chris into a hug, too. "I hope you don't think that just because it's war means you can go looting stores."
"Looting stores? Nah. Just hotwiring an occasional… pre-owned car to get away from crazy demons… that sort of thing." Chris grinned at his deceased uncle's shocked look and asked with a suppressed laugh, "Don't tell me that's illegal?"
Andy shook his head, laughing under his breath. "Nowadays? Not at all."
"Oo-oo-oo!" exclaimed Phoebe from the future. "My turn!" The woman leaned across the food-filled table to wrap her nephew in a spine-splitting embrace. When she finally pulled apart and sat back down, people were laughing at her eagerness. She ignored them. "So, you look alive, that's good-- that is good, isn't it? Oh, that's very good! I'm so happy you're here! You're planning to stay this time, right? Like, take a vacation and actually have someone take care of you-- you're staying, right?"
"I dunno, maybe I'll stay for an hour or two more…"
This was met with exclamations of incredulity and almost immediately brushed off as him just being insane (again). Chris couldn't help but smile into his plate. It had been a long time since he'd had people that cared about him like this. People at the Resistance were friendly (for the most part) and certainly would do what they could if he asked for their help (which he never did), and he was sure his team would follow him to the end of the earth… but they weren't like his family. They didn't pamper him and make him believe they knew best. This was a good feeling…
"Do I get another hug?" asked Paige of the future, batting her eyelashes at him in an attempt at puppy dog eyes. Chris sighed theatrically before nodding, conceding. She squealed and also leaned across the table to pull him into a bone crushing hug. "It's good to see you're okay, really, honey," she said after pulling away. But she was giving him a knowing look and he immediately knew that she knew about Free Style. That thought made him squirm slightly in his seat.
Phoebe and Paige of the past, taking this as their turn, instantly jumped to their feet and tried to tackle hug him, too, but Chris' intangibility finally kicked in and they fell straight through him and landed in Cole's lap. Paige instantly squeaked an 'ew' and got back to her feet, eyeing his uncle with distrust, and Phoebe took a moment longer, accepting Cole's help up while looking torn. He offered his to-be wife a small, understanding smile. Phoebe reluctantly returned it. Chris could see the chemistry between them, even from different times, experiences, and situations. He suppressed an 'ew' himself when he thought they were going to start making out in front of everyone.
Luckily, his aunt (and Cole's wife) butted in at that moment and broke them up with psycho babble that only her past self could make heads or tails of. He briefly wondered what it was like for them to see each other when they were this far in time apart. Whenever he and Wyatt would get stuck in the past, it was either before he was born, or just a year or so in the past so he knew exactly what was going on. These two were seventeen years apart… or more.
Then, like most large family get-togethers are, it became chaos once more. Then Victor arrived and he instantly found the ones from the past. Only Chris noticed the man's eyes grow wide and mutter, "Piper," with relief and joy, until he also found Chris. His expression became torn as he wondered whether he should separate the two, but Chris gave him a promising-like smile, assuring everything was alright. Victor took it as just that, and ran to pull his 'formerly' dead daughter into a hug. She returned it with a somewhat amused smile. She had seen him not too long ago.
When at last he pulled back and looked at her properly, he noticed something up with her appearance. She grinned fully now. "I'm from the past, Dad. Year 2004."
His mouth made an 'o' of comprehension. The others just laughed and started their eating and talking like nothing was weird. Chris knew from experience that this was nothing for them and they had no problem socializing because of it. He, however, wasn't finding it so easy to fit in. His empathy was still out of whack and he felt himself unintentionally tapping into his family's powers… and Phoebe and all three of her children had telepathy. And Chris was only able to control telepathy through bonds (AKA: Wyatt and used-to-be Jessie), therefore, he could hear how everyone's thoughts kept wandering back to him every two seconds. Never before had he been so at the mercy of everyone's thoughts and feelings as he was now.
Oh, God, I hope he's got someone looking after him properly. He doesn't care enough about himself to take the time to keep healthy without someone on his ass about it… --- Paige.
Where has he been? He looks like he hasn't had a decent night's sleep in years… What's going on in his head? How come he can block my telepathy and empathy but I can't dodge his? Not cool. I should probably bring up powers to see if he has any questions… Piper sure as hell never let him practice it, so he's only really been a witch two or three years and we were so vulnerable when we were that new to it… ---Phoebe.
I'm going to put sleeping pills in his drink and once he's out cold, I'm going to tie him up and lock him in a room here, where it's safe and he'll have people who actually give a damn about him… That kid's not getting out of this place… -- Cole. The man physically smirked.
I am definitely going to help Cole with whatever plot he's thinking up to keep that kid here against his will… heehee. He's not leaving this safe house. -- Henry. He glanced over, saw Cole's smirk, and smirked himself.
I hope we did right, sending his parents back to the afterlife and Elderland… God, he's going to hate us forever… We have to change this… Have to… I wonder where Chris is and why he hasn't gotten back yet… How could he not tell us we were his parents? How could we not see that he was abused? Ugh… I hate being so helpless… We'll probably have to summon him. Please, God, don't let him be hurt… I'm going to kill Bianca if she hurt him… --- Piper from the past. Of course, according to that thought, there was no longer a Piper of this future… Chris vaguely wondered what that last part was about. Gotten back yet? From where? He was right across the table from her! And Bianca… How could his mother know about her? And what did she mean 'hurt him'?
Well, whatever she meant, he could feel how worried she was. For the first time, he started wondering if he actually might be able to forgive her… or her future self. But… nine years. Nine years. They had had that long to fight the damn spell/power, yet it only got worse. Where were his real parents those nine years? Why didn't they fight it? Why didn't they realize what was happening when it started up the second time, after he had been 'drowned'? Why didn't they… why…
Chris closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. A peaceful breakfast with an oblivious family was not the place to break down. When he opened his eyes, however, he was surprised to find everyone staring at him. He was instantly back to 'normal'. "What?" he asked, bewildered, inciting a laugh from most of his cousins.
Phoebe gave him a look. She had obviously been the one talking to him. "I asked about how your powers are coming along, now that you get to practice being 'super witch' with Prue," she repeated with a slight smile, but Chris could feel her concern.
He sighed theatrically, but used the woman's telepathy to send, What the heck are you on about?
He didn't miss her incredulous, affronted flash of feelings for having her powers violated like that when she couldn't his. In his head, he heard her reply, Any new powers? I know about the telekinesis, intangibility, and that memory thing. You manifest the rest of Prue's powers yet?-- hint of a smirk.
I can astral project memories, now, he sent back, hiding his own smirk. Everyone always teased him about taking after Prue so much, but it was fun when he could use it against them. And I astral projected a split personality that totally kicked my ass a few weeks ago… but that was just weird.
Split personality? Like when Prue's astral self crashed Piper and Leo's wedding? What do you mean?
Chris smile physically. The people at the table were still waiting for him to answer. The other telepaths had no idea of the silent conversation, courtesy of Phoebe knowing how to cloak her power. He had to admit-- she was good. Charmed alright. I mean, I was mentally killing myself about losing so many innocents, then I astral projected my angry side who basically kicked my ass for being weak. Not fun. I blamed it on a past life so the Resistance wouldn't think I was losing my mind. Anything else you want to know while you have access to my head?
Phoebe physically gave him a soft smile. "Chris, we lose innocents sometimes. It's hard, but if you can't save them, then they weren't meant to be saved. You have to believe that. Or else, how are you ever going to sleep at night?"
Chris laughed at the last part, but hastily covered it up by saying lightly, "Gee, thanks for blowing our cover, Aunt Pheebs."
"Hey!" said Prue, realizing what was going on. "No telepathy at the table!"
Phoebe glowered. "I blame it on Chris' not knowing the rule."
Chris grinned. "Oh, I've known about it; but you can blame it on my not caring."
Phoebe stuck out her tongue at him. Chris laughed again. Charmed alright.
A/N: I know, there wasn't a lot of 'meat' to this chapter. I needed some fluff after last chapter and before the next one. And don't worry, I'm getting the Charmed Ones back with their Chris soon. Maybe in the next addition, then there will only be about two more chapters. Over thirty chapters… wow. Review and tell me what you think, remind me what loose ends I've completely forgotten about… PLEASE REVIEW!