Summary: This story is set in the future, sixteen years from the Season Six finale. Tasha, a girl whose past is unknown even to her, appears to the Charmed Ones, asking for help. Along the road to controlling her powers, an attraction springs up between her and Chris, but can their feelings for each other overcome the demons in her past--and future?
Dedicated to: NL, where are you now? J, who said you could rain on my parade? WJ, you deserve each other, that guy and you. You're both so…smart! NLA, your candle burnt my skin, but maybe it's starting to heal now. What is this feeling, so sudden and new? L, helping you with your J allows me to feel so parental. And T? Don't dream too far. Don't lose sight of who you are.
Disclaimer: CHARMED IS NOT MINE. Wow, I have a talent for being obvious )
Important Note: Gah. This is so long. I think I may divide this one up. also, it isn't much of a magic-y chapter, it's here to further the link between Chris and Tasha, so sorry. \ Also, the plot for this chapter is kidnapped from a movie. Guess which. I dare ya. That, and the song Chris sings (no cheating!)
Chapter Fourteen
His green eyes glinting in the darkness, Chris leaned closer to her and lowered his lips to her ear. "I've wanted to do this for a while."
"I'll bet you have," Tasha whispered back, running her fingers through the dark, soft hair at the nape of his neck and pulling his face closer to hers.
His lips traveled from her earlobe to her forehead, eyelids, cheeks, and neck as she moaned at the warmth he left. After what seemed like an eternity, his lips were poised above hers, and he slowly lowered his mouth to hers. He paused, and she felt his warm breath against her face for a moment, then—
"TASH!"
Tasha Fuller jerked up, eyes wide, and slammed her head against a very hard something.
"Oh good God, who stabbed me in the head?" she spluttered, blinking against the stars forming in her eyes. A pained groan answered her, and she looked up to see Chris Halliwell leaning over her and rubbing his chin.
"What the hell?"
"I could say the same," groused Chris. "I always knew you were hardheaded, but damn, girl!"
Tasha rolled her eyes and stood, brushing herself off and straightening her clothes as best she could after a night of sleeping on a couch.
"What in the world possessed you to stand over me like that? What are you, the Kinderstod?"
Chris looked at her and smiled.
"What are you smiling like that for? I was in the middle of a really good dream before YOU had to barge in and wake me up!" as she said this, she remembered what had actually been in the dream, and blushed scarlet. This seemed to be the signal for Chris' grin to widen even further as though he knew what she had been thinking.
This does not seem good.
"What exactly is so amusing, Christopher?"
As impossible as it seemed, his smile grew even wider and his eyes twinkled merrily, forcing her blush to intensify.
"What!" She quickly glanced at the mirror in her room and checked her appearance. Hair, argh, but not THAT bad…outfit, rumpled but decent…WHAT?
There was no possible reason for Chris to be smiling the way he was right now, unless if he had magically figured out some way to be all Freddie-Krueger and sneak into her dreams, but even he wasn't this low, and—
Shit.
"Okay, you wouldn't've sunk that low, would you? Why are you smiling like that? Chris, did you--"
He was still smiling. Damn that smile!
"That was really underhanded of you! I'm entitled to privacy in my own head, aren't I? And I can't exactly control what I dream so just wipe that smug smirk off your face you sneaky, pompous freak! I can't believe you would sink to that level, it's bordering on stalking! And I'll repeat, I can't control my damn dreams okay, and it was just a kiss and not anything R-rated, especially since you woke me up when you did, and—"
She trailed off at the confused expression on Chris' face.
"What are you ON about?" asked Chris, looking genuinely lost. He ran a hand through his thick dark hair.
Unless, of course, I'm completely off base and acting like a crazy person.
"Nothing," she said hurriedly, looking around for her hairbrush. She saw it on the dresser that Chris was leaning on and reached around him to try and get it, but he blocked her with a wide smile on his face, this one cocky and daring.
"Are you saying you dream about me? These dreams are possibly kinky? And R-rated?"
"I said they weren't," Tasha blurted before she realized what she was saying, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Chris started to laugh hysterically at the distressed expression on her face and the cute blush creeping over her features.
This was only something that could happen in nightmares, and soon she would wake up without having to deal with any of it. She wouldn't have to rationalize why she had said the things she had, she wouldn't have to defend her reasoning for the idea that had instantly leapt into her head, and she wouldn't have to apologize for assuming that he had cast privacy-invading spells. She could just wake up and laugh at how stupid she had been in her dream.
Only this was no dream, and she had actually been this much of an idiot. He waited patiently as she looked at the floor and tried to master herself.
"Chris, do you see that athamè over there?"
"Yeah." Once again he was bewildered by her tangent.
"Grab it and stab me. Just stab me and get it over with. Make sure you do it here so you don't have to clean it out of the carpet."
He started laughing, and found that he couldn't stop. "I'm not going to stab you. If I did that, who would I pick on and embarrass? Oh wait, you handle that quite well all by yourself."
She groaned and leaned her forehead against his chest. "I can't believe what an idiot I am when I'm around you. Do you have this effect on most women, or is it just me?"
He still fought with controlling his laughter. "I think you're definitely one of a kind."
"Then put me out of my misery!" Tasha pleaded, her eyes wide.
"Sorry, I can't do that. I enjoy your company too much." His eyes took on a sexy expression and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"I'm so sure," she drawled, hesitating for a moment then brushing her lips against his cheek. "Anyway, get out. I need to take a shower."
"You sure you can handle that by yourself?" he asked, winking.
"I think so. It's only something I've been doing since I was able to walk, so just maybe. Would you like to stay and make sure?" the smart remark popped out of her before she realized what she had said, and she groaned again.
"I could take that statement so many ways, so to save time let's pretend I've already embarrassed you and left you in your misery."
"Thank you."
Chris turned and exited, but then poked his head back around the doorframe.
"Yeeeesss?"
"Just forgot one thing." He kissed her slowly and softly. It was sweet in its simplicity yet potent, and once it was over, he swaggered out, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Damn." Tasha breathed, brushing her fingertips over the lingering warmth.
One night, one moonlit night and one confession, and that was all it had taken for her to be reduced to this star-struck, trembling female cliché. He had sauntered in, uninvited, and she had kissed him. He had teased her, kissed her, and left her, and the strangest thing was, the part that galled her the most about the entire exchange had been his quick departure.
Girl, this is not good.
Sighing, she grabbed her stuff and stepped into the bathroom.
x0x
"What are you smiling about?" Wyatt asked Chris, looking over the top of his portable PS.
"Nothing," said Chris unconvincingly, his Cheshire cat grin widening even further.
"That's not a nothing grin. That's an I-just-got-some grin."
Chris merely shook his head, slouched down in a chair, and grabbed a muffin.
"Just tell him," advised Pearl, turning another page of the newspaper and taking a sip of coffee. "You want to, he wants to, go ahead and do it."
Wyatt and Chris both winced at her choice of words and the images it invoked. "Pearl!"
Pearl looked up, and a smile flitted across her face. "As two heterosexual males, that shouldn't evoke such a reaction."
The two brothers looked uncomfortable and edged their chairs slightly away from Pearl.
"Dude, I don't really care," informed Wyatt, trying to look bored.
Pearl rolled her eyes.
"Okay, you've dragged it out of me," said Chris quickly, leaning forward.
Pearl rolled her eyes once more.
"We kissed," Chris confided. Wyatt's eyes widened in confusion, and Pearl raised her eyebrows. "For the, what, third time? Fourth time? And you're still acting like your hormones are something new?"
Chris glared at her. "No-one asked you."
"Okay, you kissed her. So?"
Chris turned his glare upon Wyatt. "What do you mean, 'so'?"
"Well, that smile is your just-got-laid smile. And a simple kiss doesn't usually get that smile from you."
Chris sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"I know…I know. But, Tasha's different. Man, she's special. And not in the way you're thinking Pearl," he said, as he spied the evil look on her face. "I don't want to rush her or push her in any way. It was hard enough to get her to admit her feelings without running away from me or shoving me off the balcony. And I'm pretty happy with the fact that she's admitted it to herself and to me. I'm just…I dunno. I'm just happy to even be around her. I was happy even when we used to argue all the time." Chris looked worried. "Is that weird?"
"Nah. It's just love." Pearl observed, not looking up from the article she was reading.
"Whoa, whoa, love? I've known her for like, a few months at most."
"That's a big step for someone whose usual love stories are measured in hours," parried Pearl, barely sparing him a glance.
"Dudes, shut up," Wyatt broke in before Chris could retort.
"Wyatt, I am not in love."
"That's what you say man, and I believe you. One hundred percent."
Chris glared at both innocent faces looking up at him.
"Fine." He yanked the paper out of Pearl's hands, ignored her screech, and pulled the basket of muffins closer to him.
x0x
"So, he's like totally in love with you."
Tasha looked up from the book she was flipping through and raised an eyebrow.
"This would be who?"
Pearl flapped her hands impatiently. "Chris! Duh."
"I take it he told you about last night?"
"Not in vivid detail, but that's why I came to you. SPILL."
Tasha blushed. "It's called a private life for a reason, Pearl."
"And since when has that stopped either me or you?"
"Fair point."
At this, Pearl flopped onto the bed and scooted closer to Tasha, who leaned forward conspiratorially.
"Okay, so we're on the balcony, right, and we're talking about John and Patience and how they were both 'subtly' working their magic on us—figuratively speaking," she clarified. "They were both talking to us about love and all this stuff. So I'm like, okay," she demonstrated with a blank face. "And then Chris asks me about love. So I turn to answer him, and he's staring right at me, and I'm…transfixed."
She trailed off here, her eyes turning dreamy. Pearl poked her. "Snap out of it."
"Sorry, sorry. So, I answer him, and I tell him that love is, well, a very scary thing. And then he says, in this totally sexy voice that's all low and confident and—sorry. He asks me whether I'm scared of him. And I said—"
"What? What did you say?"
"I said, you've got to be kidding me, that colour is so last season!" Tasha gabbled, making a frustrated face at Pearl and glancing towards the door. Pearl turned.
"Oh, hey Chris!" she squealed, looking innocent. "We're just doing the girl thing. Gossiping. Clothes, hairstyles…" she trailed off lamely at the knowing look in her brother's eyes. "Periods."
Her words had the desired effect as Chris flinched and covered his ears. "Offend not my delicate ears!"
Tasha laughed and sat up.
"You find this funny? Me, being grossed out?"
"Nah. I find it cute."
Chris leaned closer to her and winked slightly, as Pearl watched the pair transfixed. This is cuter than the whole Spike/Buffy thing going on. And less tormented. Darn Joss.
Whatever riposte Chris had been ready to send was interrupted, however, as the doorbell rang. He pulled away and Tasha looked disappointed.
"I'll just get that," he volunteered, setting off down the stairs.
"Damn." Muttered Tasha, looking at Pearl mournfully. Pearl just chuckled. "You guys are so cute. I've never seen him this way since the Cheating Bitch."
"Who?"
Pearl silently cursed her big mouth. "Oh, I thought you knew. Um, just some girl he used to go out with."
Tasha looked tempted to ask more questions, but then a high female voice traveled up to the room. "Hey Chris!"
Tasha looked confused. "That's Jenny," she said, not noticing Pearl's wince at her mention of the name. "Wonder why she's here." With that, she made her way down the stairs as well.
"Good question," muttered Pearl, marveling once more at the supreme irony of life. "Maybe that thing about being careful what you say out loud is true after all."
x0x
When Chris had opened the door to see none other but Jenny Locke standing on the threshold, it had taken all of his willpower to not slam the door in her face.
"Hey Chris!" she chirped pleasantly, shining her thousand-watt grin his way. "It's been ages. How are you?"
Chris raised an eyebrow, trying to swallow down the distaste that had risen. "Can I help you?"
"I'm sure you can," she smirked, looking him up and down before returning her gaze back to his face. "I just wanted to say hi."
"And you felt that a telephone couldn't communicate this?" Chris asked, his face still neutral.
"Well, no, I wanted to see you," Jenny smiled, and before he realized, hugged his stiff body, and kissed him on the cheek like they were old buddies.
"What's going on?" Tasha called, coming down the stairs. Chris and Jenny both jerked their heads up to look at her, Chris rubbing a hand over his cheek.
"Tasha," Jenny faltered, a smile creasing her beautiful features. "What's—what are you doing here? You know Chris?"
"Uh…"
An evil grin spread across Chris's face and he interrupted. "Oh we've met. Many, MANY times." He pulled Tasha over to him and kissed her cheek slowly and purposefully.
It didn't last long, but Tasha clearly saw a glow appear in Jenny's eyes when Chris had kissed her cheek.
"Oh really? Well, how do you two know each other?"
"Um…" once again, Tasha was at a loss for words, both for the kiss she had seen and the one she had just experienced.
"She tutors me in Algebra," lied Chris, a slightly cold tone to his voice as though he was daring Jenny to do something.
"Oh!" Jenny looked taken aback, and then quickly recovered. "I didn't know that."
Chris leaned forward and scowled at her. "There's obviously a lot about me that you don't know. And I'd like to keep it that way."
Tasha saw a slight tremble in Jenny's chin. "I thought we were going to forgive and forget."
Chris laughed at that, and just shook his head as though it had all been one huge joke. But Tasha could still see an ice-cold anger in his glacial eyes. Jenny smiled as well, and acted like nothing had happened. Tasha, for her part, merely stood there wondering what exactly had brought on Chris' dislike of Jenny. It was obvious that there was some sort of romantic history between the two of them, there was an almost tangible feeling between the two, a mixture of hate from Chris, and desire from Jenny. Tasha frowned. Jenny was sweet and nice, and beautiful—long legs, angelic blond hair, a killer body, plump in all the right areas, beautiful smile. She was all feminine and all curves. In fact, Tasha would deem her almost completely Chris' type of floozy—er, girl.
"You're TOO funny Chris! Well, anyway, I just came to say hi. I guess I'll just see you tonight at Paul's?"
Tasha blinked before remembering that there was a party at Paul's house that night. Not her type of affair, but Lydia had found out that Wyatt would be there, and had forced Tasha to attend so she could "lend moral support".
"Um, okay,"
"We'll definitely be there. Bye!" Chris rushed, and, practically shoving Jenny out of the house, slammed the door shut.
Tasha gave Chris an amazed and irritated look. "I know you don't care for her much but I'm not going to be used to make her jealous. That's exactly what you were trying to do when you kissed me back there and that's not right Chris."
"I'm sorry."
"I'll bet you are," Tasha said, sighing. "I'm just going to go call Lyd now." She ruffled Chris' hair and walked to her room. Once upstairs, she recalled that she had left her cell phone downstairs in the kitchen, and, grumbling, went to retrieve it. As she made her way down the stairs for the second time, she heard Jenny's voice again, and quickly ducked into the shadow of the landing, straining to hear what appeared to be a now-amiable conversation between two people who had seemed to hate each other.
x0x
"What do you want now?" Chris hissed, after having opened the door for the second time to see Jenny there.
"You're being a meanie. Is it wrong of me to want to say hello to an old friend? A very hot, gorgeous, drool-worthy friend who I didn't realize could be so sexy when angry?"
He glared at her, still talking in a whisper. "I don't know what hole you crawled out of, but I don't want to visit any time soon."
She pushed through the doorway and strolled into his living room. "That's too bad, sweetheart. By the way, thank you for inviting me in."
Still standing with the door open, he looked her over angrily. "I didn't invite you in. There are laws against harboring women like you."
"Don't use big words, Chris. They tend to mix me up."
Her eyes leisurely made their way over the loose jeans that hung low on his lean hips, the pale blue t-shirt that was snug enough to show how well he was put together, and on up to the perfect lines that defined his collarbone and throat. When she was close enough to touch him, her eyes rose to his beautifully sculpted face, and she wondered why she had never given him much thought before. She was definitely thinking of him now, and of what those strong arms and lean fingers could do to a woman when he was inspired enough to put them to work.
"You're still a treat on the eyes."
He caught her hand. "Treat yourself to the view of my house, as you're walking away from it."
With that, he turned to walk away from her again but before he got very far, she yanked him down and pressed her lips against his before he knew what she was up to. There was a moment of stillness while she ground her lips against his and he was too dumb to react. Once he realized that Jenny really was doing this to him, he pushed against her and found that she was a lot stronger than he gave her credit for. Her fingers dug into the back of his neck and she groaned softly as she nibbled on his bottom lip and urged him to kiss her back.
He wasn't going to fall into her web again. Not again.
"Let go of me, Jenny. Let—ow!" He winced when she bit his bottom lip and she stepped back when he covered his lips with a hand and stared at her angrily. He looked at his fingers expecting to see blood but found none.
"Don't ever do that again. What the hell is wrong with you!" He glared at her furiously, his blood heating in his veins. "Are you crazy?"
Oblivious, Jenny ran her fingertips down his arm and looked back at his lips. "Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?"
Chris gave her an appalled look and stepped back. "I want you to get the damn hell away from me."
"Oh come on." She giggled and ran a finger down his chest. "I know all about you and what you do." She put a slight stress on the last word. "In fact, a month or two after we broke up, I met this girl who said that you were the best thing she's ever had between her legs. She was sad to see you go, but she said that you kinda had an attitude."
He thought he couldn't be more taken aback, but she continued talking like it was a normal everyday conversation they were having.
"She also said that you're the best kisser she's ever known, and that you like to kiss really hard and deep when you're…how can I say this in a PG way? When you're finishing, if you get my drift?"
He was going to be sick. "Forget I ever knew you, Jenny."
"That's going to be a little difficult once I'm done," Jenny smiled, winking and walking out the still-open front door.
Chris scrubbed his hand against his lips once more to rid them of the feel of hers. "What the hell just happened?"
"Kinda what I was wondering."
Chris spun to see a shocked-looking Tasha on the staircase.
"Tash—"
"I presume you have an explanation?" Tasha asked, raising an eyebrow.
He did, but it was something Tasha didn't need to hear. "Jenny…knows some things she shouldn't know and she threw them back at me. And then she…it's not worth it. Forget I said anything."
Tasha raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"She actually…well…she, uh…she kissed me."
"No shit!"
"Okay, so you saw that part," Chris muttered sheepishly. He plopped down on a couch and stared at Tasha till she grudgingly did the same.
Under her glare, he gave in and took a deep breath.
"Okay, so she grabbed me and kissed me. She bit my lip and then acted like I was mortally wounding her when I pulled away. It was stupid, she was stupid for pulling it, and I swear that I didn't feel anything but disgust because…"
She held a hand up to stop him. "Don't feel the need to explain things from your side. Just know that I'm going to beat the crap out of her when I next see her."
Chris looked at Tasha for a long moment. "You mean, you're not mad?"
"Why would I be mad? You didn't lead her on or ask her to kiss you, or even kiss her yourself. So no, I'm not mad. Annoyed, sure. Grossed out, a little. Disappointed, a bit. But I'm not mad at you."
"Wait, so you're annoyed, grossed out, and disappointed in me?"
"No. I'm annoyed at whatsherface, grossed out that someone else got to your lips, and I'm disappointed with you, not in."
"Same difference."
"They're completely different things. I'm disappointed with you, because of what I heard from Jenny. And she may be a lot of things, but I know the difference between a lie and a brutal truth. And what she said about you and your past conquests was a brutal truth."
Chris looked at her with regretful eyes. "Tasha…I can't go back and change the things I've done."
"I know that. We all have things we wish we could forget or erase--" at this Tasha's eyes clouded momentarily. "But try explaining that to my head."
Chris nodded in understanding.
"Do I get to know exactly why Jenny was being a stalking psychotic bitch?"
This was a hard topic, one that he didn't know if he could even explain, but he would try.
"I wanted Jenny the first moment I saw her. It was strange, it had never happened to me before, but I wanted her just the same. She wasn't the nicest person all the time but as much as I told myself that I shouldn't ignore that, I did. I ignored it. She was just so beautiful and I assumed that all everything that occurred on the outside, also happened on the inside."
"So you were caught up in a weak moment and you fell for the wrong girl. That doesn't make you a stupid person, Chris. It makes you human. Everyone has fallen for someone that they shouldn't have."
She made sense, but this wasn't her mistake she was making up for. Every mistake was his, and he was dealing with them.
"But it doesn't explain why you hate her so much," Tasha pressed.
"I—I don't want to talk about it. Can we not talk about it?"
Tasha looked at him for a long moment before nodding her head. "I don't want to push you into an explanation, I guess."
"Thank you." Chris pulled her hand up and kissed the back of her hand. It was a gentle gesture and one that was sweet, but it sent her nerve endings into a frenzied state of electrical currents and jumping hormones.
x0x
"I can't believe you talked me into this." Tasha muttered at Lydia angrily, yanking on her friend's deep gold hair. "I look stupid."
"You look hot. I am seriously so jealous of your wardrobe. You should give all your clothes to me, since you hardly wear them anyway."
Tasha glared down at her outfit in vexation. What Lydia didn't know was that all her clothes were the ones she had back in LA, and they held nothing but reminders of a past she'd rather forget. Maybe it was stupid to lay such meaning on clothes, pieces of fabric and buttons and zippers, but they still held memories despite all her reasoning. Tonight she was wearing a black halter top and a ruffled short black skirt. A little somber, but they did match her overall mood. Lydia, on the other hand, was a veritable firework in pink, purple, and yellow. Somehow, she made it all work.
"Let's just get this over with. You know, if you hung around Wyatt when he was being beaten up by his little sister, you would totally lose all respect for him."
Lydia looked at Tasha with wide innocent eyes. "Or maybe I'd settle for kissing him better."
Tasha rolled her eyes and continued navigating her way through the sea of people. "You're twisted. Now run along, he's over there on the stairs looking at you mournfully."
Lydia hesitated. "You'll be okay. Don't get into any trouble. Don't hurt anyone, and remember, you can just walk away. You—"
"Chill! I'm not going to go all Carrie okay?"
"Tell that to Jared. He's taken to crossing himself whenever you walk by."
"Eh, he can't handle being beaten by a girl."
"Literally." With that, Lydia sauntered off, a smitten expression on her face. Tasha rolled her eyes once more and slumped on a couch, taking another drink from the table beside her. She hated these parties, simply because they reminded her of the parties she used to attend every week back in LA. She had been a different person then as compared to now. She liked to think that she had grown up some. She shook her head. Best find Chris and irritate him; this wasn't the time for introspection. After a cursory look around the spacious house, she tapped Adam, who was busy making out with a leggy redhead.
"Have you seen Chris?"
Adam pulled himself away and nodded. "Going in the opposite direction to me thank goodness. He went into the spare bedroom with Jenny."
Tasha felt as though she had been punched in the stomach for a moment, before shrugging. Adam was either mistaken, or there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for it. Chris loathed Jenny, no doubt about it.
Right?
Maybe I should go upstairs and check, Tasha considered, finishing her drink and grabbing another. Just to make sure. But what if Adam saw someone and mistook it for Chris and I walked in on some dude and Jenny—EW! But then, Adam did seem pretty certain.
She sat there and considered her options, none seeming at all attractive.
Ah, screw it. I'll just wait for him to appear and then ask. I don't want to seem possessive, it's not like we're together or anything.
A little later—she wasn't sure how much later, things had kind of blurred together—she saw Chris' face swim into focus in front of her.
"Hey, having fun?"
Was it just her or did he look flushed? Guilty even? The next moment she was sure she had imagined it because he just looked bored.
"So much! Well, not really. I've been bored. Where did you go? I thought you went off with Jenny but then I realized that would be stupid. Well, unless you really did. Did you?"
Chris looked confused. "No…why are you talking like that?"
"Like what? I'm not talking like anything."
"How many drinks have you had so far?"
"Just three. I think three. Maybe it was three. Three is a good number. Power of three."
"Tash, you're not drunk, are you? Maybe we should go back home."
Tasha stood up and patted her now empty seat. "Sit! I'm not drunk. At least, I don't think I am. I haven't been drunk for awhile."
He sat down and pulled her in front of him. "You're not drunk yet. You're just really…relaxed. Especially your mouth."
His eyes sparkled with amusement as she poked him in the side. "I don't drink. Well, I haven't for ages. And I haven't eaten anything since this morning because I was so busy. I probably should have eaten something. Do you think I should've eaten something?"
Chris groaned in frustration. Perfect. "Tash, listen to me, sweetheart. You're going to have to sober up. Let's get you something to eat."
"I'm not hungry. I'm thirsty!"
Chris grabbed a glass of water and tried to give it to her. "Here. Drink some of this."
"But I'm hungry." She tilted her head and started kissing the side of his neck and along his ear.
"You're…okay. Mmm. Tash…stop for a second and look at me." She stopped kissing and clung to him.
"What's up with Tasha?" a voice asked. Chris looked up to see Wyatt with a concerned-looking Lydia on his arm.
"Oh, she drank a bit too much."
"Hardly anyone leaves these parties sober." Wyatt pointed out.
"I do. You do. Well, I do most of the time." Chris amended, stroking Tasha's back. "This would be entertaining if I were drinking along with her."
"But you're not going to. You're going to take her home, right?" Lydia asked pointedly. "Especially as if she does something stupid here in her alcohol-induced stupor, she'll kill us both."
Wyatt had to chuckle. To see Tasha; calm, put-together Tasha, drunk like this was enough to make his whole week.
"You seem to be enjoying this a little too much."
Lydia poked Wyatt. "Genius, this isn't good. Tasha hasn't drunk alcohol since moving here from LA."
Chris looked up interestedly. "Why not?"
"Ask her," Lydia hedged, smoothing her hair back. "It's not my place to say."
He ran a hand over his face and sighed loudly. "Wyatt, this isn't cool at all."
"Cooooooooooool. Coooooooooooooooooooooooool!"
Wyatt hid his smile with a hand and turned away when he couldn't fight his laughter anymore. "You have to admit that this is some funny shit here. Who would have thought that sensible, straightforward Tasha would get drunk? If you stepped away from this situation for just a minute and…"
"If I stepped away from the situation, she would be on the floor."
That made Wyatt laugh even harder. "Look, there's no reason to get worked up over this. Just take her home!"
Chris grabbed the water glass from Tasha as she flew it around like a plane and spilled its contents on them.
"Oops! Chris, your face is all blurry. Are you sick?"
"That sounds like a really good idea right now," Chris ground out, wiping his sopping-wet face with a sleeve.
x0x
(An hour later)
Chris had taken care of a lot of people in his short life, but this one was definitely giving him a run for his money. She actually managed to make herself sound very scary as she related to him how exactly she was going to kill him for dragging her away, but he waited it out and tried to see how long the alcohol would flow inside her system before she would finally give in and pass out. She had a lot more stamina in her small body than he gave her credit for.
He reentered his bedroom with a package of Oreos. "Tash, I think you should definitely eat something."
Tasha rushed at him and practically threw herself into Chris' arms. He was strong, but the force still stunned him a little. "Whoa. What's this all about? I was just gone for a minute."
He closed the door behind him and half-carried her over to the bed. He sat down and she curled up on his lap with her head tucked underneath his chin. While it felt so good to be holding her like this, he wished that she wasn't so lost to him at this moment.
"Tash, what do you say to going to bed and getting some sleep?"
"Will you go to bed with me?"
His eyes closed as he nodded against her. "I'll be right there beside you. You just have to promise me that you'll go right to sleep and sleep off some of this alcohol."
"I want to take a shower first. Will you take a shower with me?"
He couldn't seem to swallow. "Maybe next time. You're not up for a shower tonight."
"But I am," Her tongue ran up and down his neck, and he knew that there was no way he could take advantage of her like this.
"Tash, you don't know what you're doing."
"I know exactly what I'm doing."
The kisses she ran along his jaw were tempting, the way she nibbled on his ear was torture, and the movement of her body rocking against his was painful. He didn't doubt his need for her in any way, but he never pictured taking her like this. It would go against everything he wanted them to share, and it wasn't like she would even remember anything that happened. No, this wasn't to his liking at all.
Gripping her shoulders, he pulled her back until he could see her clouded eyes. "We can't do this tonight. It wouldn't be a good idea."
"But—"
"Tash, I'm trying so hard to be good about this. Trust me when I say that you will hate yourself if we do anything tonight. You're already going to hate your life tomorrow, and I'm not going to add myself to that list."
She leaned forward and kissed him so deeply and thoroughly that his body went languid and he allowed her to lay him back before he had a chance to think up any objections. He heard himself groan, as her fingers grew even bolder on his body. His arms felt heavy and weighted, and he could feel his restraint slipping away as she positioned herself on top of him and kissed him deeper and more forcefully.
He tried turning his head to the side to break the contact, but her hands came up and held him still so she could continue kissing and nibbling at his lips. "Sweetheart, you're very convincing but…but…oh God."
It took every bit of strength he had, mentally and physically, to move her from on top of him to his side. The moment her back hit the bed, she reached over and pulled his head down to where she could continue her seduction.
Chris knew himself well enough to know that they were nearing the point where all of his good intentions would be shot to hell. He kept reminding himself that this was not the way he wanted them to be together the first time. He sat up and stood to look down at her.
Running a hand through his hair, he fought for the control that was rapidly leaving him. "I'm not doing this. Call me a freak, or any other name you want to. But I'm not going to do this tonight. Not when you're like this."
She sat up and fiddled with his fingers as she looked up at him. "Can I call you sexy instead?"
"Tash…" The words died in his throat. "I'm having a hard time thinking right now."
He grabbed both of her hands and pulled her up until she was sitting in front of him. "You are the biggest weakness I have. And I'm not just talking about your body and the things I'd love to do to it. I'm talking about you. Don't make me do something that I'll regret when it comes to you. I'm begging you."
His pleading and pained tone must have registered somewhere inside of her because she took a step back and climbed up the bed on her own to get underneath the covers. Chris watched her speculatively as she tucked herself in and lay there quietly. He, on the other hand, felt like screaming in frustration. There wasn't a nerve ending in his body that wasn't crying out for release.
Turning out the light, he dressed for bed and climbed in beside her. She reached for his hand when he stilled, the only movement coming from her for a while, and he turned it over to kiss the back of it. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay."
"Come here." He pulled her over to him and tucked her against his chest. "What am I going to do with you?"
She was quiet for a moment before she shot up, head slamming against his chin, and slid off of the bed. He was seeing stars but he managed to make out her form as she scrambled towards the bathroom. She seemed to run into every wall, table and chair in her path, as they crashed against the floor and took her down with them a few times.
When the door slammed, he laid there staring up at the ceiling with the strangest urge to laugh. He managed a tired groan instead.
"This is going to be a long night."
x0x
(Morning)
Tasha's eyes fluttered open and then immediately shut when sunlight presented itself to her sense. Okay. Just don't move. Don't move, and your head won't explode. If it explodes, Chris will get into trouble for having a room all messy with blood and brains. Ew. Just stay still…and swallow about fifty Aspirin.
Painful noises flooded into her brain, and when she tried to think her way through them, it felt like her skull was being drilled into. Reaching out with a jerky hand, she found that the other side of the bed was empty. She could hear the sound of a shower and a masculine voice singing softly. Normally, she would've been entranced by Chris' singing, but at this point in time she wanted to shove a sock down his talented throat.
But that would require moving.
She heard the bathroom door open and the voice became louder, the tuneful, pleasant notes like a hammer smashing against every nerve ending she had.
"…Katie, come out and play. I've got a secret for you today. I think I love you, though I don't know you well. Oh-oh yeah, oh-oh yeah…"
She was in hell. This was hell, and she was in it.
A few doors were closed a lot more forcefully than they should have been, before there was blessed silence. She sensed eyes watching her. A warm hand touched her forehead and Tasha felt violently ill. "Are you awake?"
"Gnfrn."
He petted her hair back from her face and leaned in to whisper again. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that, sweetheart."
"Hurts." Amazingly, miraculously, she had actually moved a part of her body without wanting to break the rest.
His hand continued stroking her face. "How are you feeling?"
"Kill…if you have feelings for me, kill me. Help escape misery. PLEASE!"
He chuckled and stopped when she moaned at the movement his laughter had made on the bed. "I brought you Aspirin."
"Did I swallow pickaxe? Liquid can't hurt so bad. Grng."
Chris reached underneath her and pulled her up until she was in a sitting position with her head tucked under his chin. She fought to breathe as her head pounded.
"You hate me, right? This is sick twisted punishment for whatever I've done to you."
"Hey, I'm the guy who rescued you and stopped you before you went too far."
"Too far? You mean I didn't go all the way?"
If she wasn't in such misery, he would have had such a good smartass comment for that statement.
"Here's the Aspirin."
She took the pills but pushed the glass of water away. "No more to drink."
"It's just water."
"Don't care. No liquid. Ever again. Ever. Never. Remove kidneys."
"That's going to be a little difficult."
"IV! Would you like me even with an IV in my arm?"
He pushed the glass toward her again and waited until she had a firm hold on it before letting go. "Then make this water the last thing you drink."
"I hurt! Your voice hurts. The knife you shoved in my head hurts."
Finally she swallowed some water and he gathered her close to him as she curled up on his lap. She snuggled closer and sighed. "You smell good. All clean and fresh and…mmm."
Chris kissed her forehead while his eyes shone with devilish glee. "Are you seducing me?" When she froze, his arms tightened around her. "Because if you're ready and willing, we could make use of this bed here."
"Um…"
"We've waited so long and I need you, Tasha. This bed is bouncy. We could have a lot of fun making it bounce. Up and down, harder and harder."
She covered her mouth and shook her head, only adding to the pain she was still feeling. "Chris…"
"Are you saying you don't want me?"
"All I want right now is for someone to stop my head from exploding. If you can do that, I will give you anything you want."
He laughed again. "I'll remember that. After all, I brought Aspirin."
"I will be in pain for the rest of my life."
He stood up and helped her slowly stand. "I know how you feel."
"Don't wanna get up. Bring shower here."
"I can throw some water on you if you'd like?"
"Grrndf." She hobbled to the bathroom leaning on Chris for support. "Water hurts. Beat head."
"I'm going to beat your head if you don't get in there and wake up some." He closed the shower curtain and was silent until he heard her removing her clothes.
"No more drinking."
"No, no more drinking. The sooner you wake up, the sooner the Aspirin will take effect, and the sooner you'll feel better. How you're not sick and throwing up is beyond me."
"Threw up last night. How did I get back to bed?"
Chris put a towel on the sink and leaned his hip against it. "I dragged you there."
"You hit my head against something on the way there right?"
"Maybe once or twice." Chris quipped. "Next time you decide to drink too much, remember this T. Overall, you're not too bad, considering."
She grunted some kind of reply and he laughed again.
x0x
"Aspirin not kicking in yet?"
"I. Loathe. You."
"Guess not."
Tasha moaned and slumped against Chris more tiredly, her head spinning. She almost cried when the doorbell rang.
"That'll be the pizza."
Tasha didn't move.
"Tash, I have to go pay the man."
Still nothing. Chris began to poke her, and she swatted at his fingers. "No! You're my pillow. Pizza go away."
"Tasha…"
Giving in, Tasha leaned away for a moment grudgingly.
"Attagirl."
Soon the sounds of Chris arguing with the man at the door filtered into her brain.
"No, I said no anchovies!"
"Grfng." Tasha said to no-one in particular. Why isn't there a foolproof cure for headaches?
With that thought, Tasha suddenly had an idea.
Tasha had a brilliant idea.
Well, to her deluded and painful mind, anyway.
x0x
"Mint for clarity… Ooh. Lavender for relaxation and blood flow. Mimosa for stress. Belladonna for peaceful sleep."
Adding several more herbal ingredients, Tasha added some dried dragon's blood, said a quick chant, and fanned away the resulting smoke, coughing as she did. Every cough was like a nail being shoved into her brain.
"Okay. Here we go." She took a pinch of the bluish powder in a spatula, poured it into a gel capsule and swallowed it.
Almost instantly, she was engulfed in a noiseless, heatless explosion. After the light which had seared itself into her eyelids faded away, she looked around. She was standing in the midst of nothing, held up by air. Her surroundings were dark, with small starlike lights glinting at intervals. Her eyes quickly became accustomed to the blackness, but even then and with the aid of the lamps (if that's what they were), she couldn't see anything. There was nothing to see. Suddenly, a voice floated out of the nothingness.
"Why," said the voice. "Do I get the feeling that this is entirely YOUR fault?"
Tasha spun around and saw none other than Christopher Perry Halliwell, looking exceedingly irritated.
"Statistical probability?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "What did you do?"
"I—OW!" She clutched her head. "I tried to make a headache cure. It didn't work."
"Oh god, you didn't. Is your toaster empty!"
Tasha cringed at the noise, and Chris took pity on her. "Okay, okay. I won't yell. What did you do?"
"I don't know! I just used some mimosa, lavender, belladonna…some other stuff…and something else…and…yeah. Don't ask me what I did exactly; I was working under a lot of pain! Now I'm here." Tasha snapped.
Chris looked around. "Wherever here is."
"I think…" Tasha hesitated.
"Yes?"
"I think I'm in my head."
Chris raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Figures." Then his face broke into a smile.
"What?"
"I knew I was always on your mind."
Tasha gaped. "Whatever!"
"Hey, how else do you explain my being here?"
Rolling her eyes, Tasha grabbed his hand, before doubling over in pain.
"Are you okay? Tash, where's it hurt?"
"My HEAD! Where do you think?"
"Oookay…calm down. It'll wear off. We need to figure out how to get out of here."
"How can you get out of your own head?"
"Easy," said Chris. "You're not the first idiot to try something like this."
Tasha looked up hopefully.
"We just walk towards the light." With that, Chris pointed at a far-off pinprick of light. Relief flooded Tasha's veins.
"I'm warning you though, T. We're walking through your head, we're going to see a lot of memories, even stuff you want to keep hidden."
The blood drained from Tasha's face. "Maybe I should go alone and come back for you later."
Chris laughed. "Dream on. It can't be that bad, Tash."
Tasha licked her suddenly-dry lips and tried to shake off her sudden bad feeling along with her headache.
"I hope not."
©WalkThruTheFire, 5th July 2006
A/N: sorry to leave you with such a bad cliffhanger, but this chapter is already 22 pages. We get to the main point in the next chapter ) it's time for a little stroll through Tasha's twisted mind. BWAHHAHAHHAHAHAH! Er, sorry. Please review and make my day! Liked it? Hated it? Got any ideas? Just click that purple button down there…