Hello everyone, sorry about the wait. The second half of this chapter just wouldn't come. Thank you to everyone who has followed and favourited this story. It's really helped push me to finish the chapter. I hope you like the story so far.
If I haven't said it before, I don't own Charmed. Hopefully, I've caught any mistakes in the story but if not, I'm sorry.
"Phoebe!" Piper called, carrying Wyatt downstairs.
Leo and Phoebe rushed to meet her.
"Did you find him?" Phoebe asked.
"No, but do you still have Chris' shirt?" Piper wondered.
Leo frowned, staring between the pair. "What?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "Chris sneaks in here and uses our first aid supplies sometimes. He left a shirt the last time." She explained. "Phoebe was supposed to give it back to him."
"Well it's a good thing I didn't." Phoebe defended.
"How many times has Chris come here needing help?" Leo wondered.
Piper shrugged, shifting Wyatt carefully. "He comes at night, we're not sure how often he did it before we noticed."
Leo pushed down the rising feelings of guilt, reminding himself that Chris wouldn't go to someone for help even if he felt like it would be given freely. That doesn't mean it shouldn't have been offered.
Phoebe patted his arm. "I'll go get the shirt. Piper, why don't you bring Paige her coffee?" She suggested, giving Piper a look before starting up the stairs.
Piper huffed. Annoying empath. She frowned at Leo's troubled expression. "Chris wouldn't ask us for help, Leo. He won't ask anyone. You know that." She reminded him.
"Are you saying we shouldn't help him?" Leo asked, surprised. He had never thought that Piper could be so cold.
"No. I'm just saying we shouldn't blame ourselves. If Chris asked for our help and we refused him that would be different. But we didn't." She argued.
Leo guessed she wanted to say more but Wyatt started crying. He leaned out for his father, whimpering. Leo took his son, smiling down at his little angel. "You'll always ask for our help if you need it, won't you?" He said, bouncing Wyatt, making his giggle.
Piper smiled. "We're not Chris' parents, Leo." She replied. She sighed. "I'd better bring up the coffee."
Leo smiled sadly at Wyatt's smiling face. He couldn't believe that his little boy could ever be in any danger of evil. But he didn't believe Chris was lying. He didn't believe anyone would ever put themselves through so much for a lie. Or for a stranger.
He suspected that Piper felt the same way about Chris. Whoever he was, he clearly cared about their family.
Paige frowned at the scrying crystals. "Why are you being so difficult?" She growled at the crystals.
"Will this help?" Phoebe asked, handing her a shirt.
Paige shrugged. "Have you tried calling him? I'm not very hopeful about this." She admitted holding up the shirt.
Phoebe nodded. "Chris!" She called.
"Chris!" Paige joined in.
They both waited for a moment, sighing when nothing happened.
"Ask Piper to call him." Paige suggested. "He always comes when she calls."
"He doesn't always come." Piper argued, walking into the attic. "You're welcome." She muttered, when Paige snatched a cup of coffee out of her hand.
"If he doesn't come when you call, then he's just ignoring us." Paige said, ignoring Piper.
The girls began calling Chris, getting more and more worried when he didn't appear.
Leo watched the trio, anxiously. Even Wyatt seemed worried about him.
"He'd at least come to tell us to not it off." Paige said, looking anxiously between her sisters.
"Maybe he didn't hear us." Piper guessed but she didn't look like she believed that. "Maybe he can't hear us." She said, more to herself.
Suddenly, Leo could hear something. He turned away from the sisters and listened.
"Leo?" Piper called, worried and hopeful.
Leo shushed her. He had to strain his ears but then he heard it. Chris.
"Can you hear him?" Piper asked.
Leo ignored her and handed Wyatt to Paige. He didn't bother to tell them about hearing Chris but he guessed they knew that's what he heard. Phoebe, who was closest, latched onto his arm before he could orb away to Chris.
"It's bad, Phoebe." He pleaded for her to let go.
Phoebe met his gaze with a glare that Leo only thought Piper and Grams could give.
He sighed and orbed.
Chris wasn't awake, but he wasn't asleep either. He was in some strange in-between state where he could distantly perceive the world around him but not entirely understand or interact with it.
He was woken up by the familiar sound of orbs. He groaned as he heard his aunt's shrill voice calling his dad. He didn't need them right now, he was trying to save the future.
Chris felt something chilled pressed against the back of his neck and then along his forehead. It felt amazing against his burning skin. Even if the cold things were trying to pull his head up. He was dizzy enough when he was lying down, did he really have to get up?
It was only through sheer stubbornness that he didn't end up face down against the toilet again as he was dragged onto shaky legs. He felt incredibly weak.
The Resistance would have to leave him behind. They didn't have enough white lighters left to come save him. He would just dehydrate in an abandoned house or end up being caught by Wyatt. It had happened to plenty of people before. Chris knew the reasons for it. He had become desensitised to the death of his friends and allies. He had stayed with Daryl Junior until he had finally died after a series of fever induced seizures from an infected wound.
Then Wyatt had found him. He had found himself wishing that he had just left Daryl Junior behind. He had died anyway, Chris had nearly died and, in the months he had been missing, over half the Resistance had been slaughtered.
"C'mon Chris, work with me." His dad begged.
No. That wasn't right.
He was in the past. Leo wasn't his dad yet. Piper wasn't his mom. But he was still dying. Chris knew the feeling.
He was pulled against a warm, steadily moving, upright surface. An arm was pressed against his chest, holding him to the surface. Chris panicked.
He could feel the air being pressed out of his lungs. There was a vice around his chest. Chris could hear his name being called but he ignored it, instead attempting to drag air into his straining lungs.
It must be Wyatt. Wyatt was choking him. He liked to do things like that to Chris and the others.
Chris could feel himself leaving the strange in-between place he was in and slipping down into unconsciousness. The last felt was his dad's hands and the sensation of orbing.
Leo and Phoebe orbed into Chris's room. Leo was confused. He knew he had heard Chris call him from here but he had checked here last night.
"Leo!" Phoebe called, pulling away from Leo and moving into the tiny bathroom. She hovered for a moment, uncertain, before crouching down and pressing a hand on the back of Chris's neck.
Chris was slumped against the toilet seat, flushed and panting. The smell of blood and vomit hung in the air. Phoebe could tell that he had a high fever. She pressed another hand against his forehead, flinching at the heat. How could he have gotten this bad so quickly? She had seen Chris only two days ago and he had been fine, running off to kill more demons.
Phoebe pulled Chris's head away from the disgusting mess in the toilet.
Leo quickly moved in beside her and slipped his hands up Chris's arms. He pulled him to his feet, despite Chris's legs threatening to drop the whole time.
Chris groaned and tried to pull away even though he obviously would have fallen. He mumbled something about leaving him behind.
"C'mon Chris, work with me." Leo begged.
"Dad." Chris groaned.
Leo ignored him as he succeeded in dragging Chris to his feet. He pulled Chris against him, bracing him with an across his chest.
He glanced into Chris's room, trying to see if there was anything he should get for Chris.
"Leo!" Phoebe called, she had Chris's face in her hands.
Leo didn't understand until he heard how fast and shallow Chris's breathing had become. His struggle to escape restarted, only more uncoordinated than ever.
"Chris, breathe!" Leo ordered, sounding more desperate than authoritative.
His heart sank as he realised that Chris was quickly losing consciousness, falling heavier in his arms.
"We'll get him to the house." Phoebe decided, quickly. "You can heal him there."
Leo nodded. Inside, he wasn't very optimistic about being able to heal Chris. If it was that simple he imagined the elders would have sent another white lighter. If it was that simple, Chris wouldn't be this bad off.
Leo could hear Piper calling him, demanding that he come home and tell them what had happened to Chris. She demanded he bring him to the house.
Leo sighed. He knew Piper didn't want to see Chris in such a worrying condition but she was adamant, already arguing with him before he was there argue back.
It was only a second until they were back in the house and Chris had been orbed to their couch.
Leo hovered over the white lighter, hands extended for healing.
"He doesn't look good." Paige commented, bouncing a crying Wyatt.
"What's wrong with him?" Piper demanded.
"I don't know." Leo admitted with a sigh. His healing wasn't working. He looked up and down Chris's sweat soaked skin, spotting a seriously infected hole in Chris's bicep. "He's sick." He added to Piper's question as he prodded at Chris's arm.
He was discouraged by Chris not even flinching. The wound looked bad and Leo was beginning to suspect something more than a simple injury was causing this.
"I think he's been poisoned."
Yay! Chris is getting help, but Leo can't just heal him. I like torturing poor Chris more than that. I'm going to try get the next chapter finished as soon as possible. Hopefully.