Title: A Whitelighter's Priority
Author: rachelAbendstern
Summary: Everyone's preparing for Wyatt's birthday...
Spoilers: Season 6 Charmed; I forgot to mention BtVS last chapter, 'The Gift'
Disclaimer: Neither Buffy nor Charmed is mine, and I don't make any money with it. Lily though belongs to me XP
8. Preparations
So keep on kicking
The bomb is ticking
Don't stop
Don't be a runaway
Go for the fire
Baby are you tough enough?
Just keep on living
And don't start giving
The delicate reasons
To get you in the seasons of heartbreak
Baby are you tough enough?
God, he was in so much trouble!
It was not enough that he had to worry about the assassin Wyatt had sent after him this month. Because unlike Leo was thinking, that Darklighter hadn't been sent by some demon Chris had pissed off. No, that little visit had been courtesy of his older brother and now Chris was left to worry if Wyatt had sent an assassin into the past by plain luck, hoping he would find and destroy his unfaithful sibling or if he had found a way around the time barrier to keep contact with his servant, maybe even found a new spell or potion that would open the portal in both directions unlike the one-way ticket Chris had had to use himself. Either way however, his brother would keep sending assassins after him until he was sure one of them had fulfilled their mission.
A sharp stab of anger mixed with pain pierced his heart at that knowledge. Wyatt had done so many things in his lifetime, to Chris as well as the rest of the world. But never had he truly attempted to kill his younger brother. He must have gone mad beyond reason when he learned of Chris' disappearance. Chris only hoped Bianca and Lily were safe. If Wyatt ever found out about his wife's betrayal, there was no place on this earth where she or their daughter could run from him.
Involuntarily, the young witch shuddered with a sense of foreboding. He didn't have his aunt Phoebe's gift of clairvoyance but he always did have a knack of knowing where things were headed...
Of course, maybe Wyatt wouldn't even need to send assassins to get rid of Chris. Because that was the other thing he was worried sick about at the moment – literally.
With all the turbulence his life currently consisted of in this time, his obsession to find the one who would turn his older brother, the young man had completely forgotten about one – rather important – fact: his own conception.
As it was at the moment, his chances to be born stood less than fantastic. And it was his own fault, he knew that. When the Titans went after the Elders and Whitelighters that very first week he spent in the past, the Charmed Ones had had to become goddesses to stop them – and much faster so than in his own past.
In Chris' timeline, the Elders had been too insecure, too afraid of the consequences to do what was necessary until it was almost too late. There were only a handful of Whitelighters and even fewer Elders left before they finally saw reason. And as much as Chris despised them, that couldn't happen in this timeline since one of the reasons his brother so easily had taken control was the serious lack of balanced power in the Elders' council.
The only way to avoid that had been to push someone into charge that wasn't afraid of what had to be done and had enough trust in the sisters to give them that much power over the whole world. The only way had been to make Leo an Elder. Whatever else he thought of the man, his father had never been one to back down from a responsibility. At least not until it came to Wyatt.
So now, he had two split up parents who had yet to screw for him to be conceived and no idea how to fix the mess he had brought onto himself. Chris hadn't even noticed the effect it had on him at first. He just thought he didn't get enough sleep – god knew that was true – but he was getting weaker by the day. After even Spike had voiced his concern – well, as much as you could call the sentence: "You look like shit, witch boy. Anything wrong?" concerned – something had snapped into place in his head and he had remembered with sudden horror that it was only a little over nine month until his birth date. He had done his homework then and went from fortune teller to fortune teller, getting birth augurs done and what not. What he came up with didn't do anything to reassure him. His conception date was Wyatt's first birthday. Which was in two days.
And he was running out of ideas by now. This last week he had tried almost everything to get his parents back together, from failed love potions to bizarre spells, which all had taken a rather awry effect. He supposed the personal-gain-small-print interfered with his attempts but had it really been necessary to have your own aunts and mother hit on you for god's sake! That had been just so wrong! After that he had tried to set up Leo and Piper the mortal way. Needless to say it didn't work – and boy if they didn't all think he belonged into a guarded ward by now!
666
Spike eyed the young man who sat on his regular place on the couch, studying his ever-present books from his perch against the doorframe. Something was seriously wrong with Chris, and the vampire had every intention of finding out just what exactly it was.
Chris hadn't been his usual self for a few days now. Normally, the half-breed was always aware of another person in the room but lately Spike had managed to sneak up on him more times than he was comfortable with. While he'd like to think it was because his skills had improved since they had first met, he knew that it wasn't the truth. Chris looked ill. His skin was pale, his eyes dull, he was way too easily exhausted and he reeked of weakness. In old days, the young man would have made the perfect prey for the vampire. As it was, Spike was more concerned about the boy than looking for easy prey. Yes, he had finally admitted that he was concerned about the whole lot of them. Not that he knew how that had happened...
But since he couldn't deny it any longer he might as well ask the boy about his problem. For Spike had the distinct feeling Chris knew exactly what was wrong with him. And this time, he wouldn't let witch-boy get away with the elusive answers he gave anyone who sounded vaguely concerned about him.
So, walking over to the oblivious young man he called: "Oi, pet! What's wrong with you?"
And once again, the boy jumped in surprise. "Spike! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"You know, that's the whole point of me asking you if something is wrong," the vampire countered quickly.
"You usually sense better than me if someone is coming near you." Chris opened his mouth to respond but Spike quickly interrupted him. "And don't give me that shit that it was nothing, because I think I know you enough by now to know that there is some soddin' trouble ahead."
He almost had to smirk at the sullen glare the witch threw his way. He did smirk when the silence stretched on without Chris making any move to explain. If the whelp wanted to play, that was fine by him...
"You know, if you don't want to tell me, I could always contact the sisters and tell them your little secret. I'm sure your mom will find a way to... convince you to talk."
The vampire was fairly certain that this argument would do the trick. After all, he had seen the almost comical respect the boy had for his brisk kick-ass mother.
"You're playing dirty!" Chris shot a frustrated complaint.
Squirming uncomfortably under Spike's amused stare, the young man finally gave in with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, fine! Mom and Dad split up. And it's only about nine month until I am supposed to be born."
Was that supposed to make sense? "Meaning?"
The boy slumped in his seat letting his head fall against the back of the couch. "Meaning," he elaborated wearily, "they have to screw within the next two days; or I'm screwed."
If Spike still had had the urge to breathe, he would have been in serious need of oxygen right now. Dumbfounded he sat down heavily beside the youth, for once not having anything to say. That is, he would have had something to say if only he could get his mouth to cooperate. Like 'Ridiculous' or... 'Ridiculous'! Did he mention 'Ridiculous'?
"I won't even be history, because technically I would never have even existed." Chris went on without noticing the state of shock his companion was in.
Finally regaining his cool, Spike told him matter-of-factly: "Well then. We'll just have to sort out a way to bring them together again, won't we?" He would burn in hell before he would let anything happen to the boy – well, more so than he already would have to anyway.
"I already tried, Spike," Chris sighed in exhaustion. "Everything from potion to love spell to blind dates. The only thing I managed so far was getting my aunts and mom to want to jump my bones!"
Spike snorted involuntarily. "Bad mental image!" Despite everything the boy and sisters were family, even if three quarters of them didn't know that yet.
"You tell me! It was gross!"
"Don't worry, Chris!" Spike tried to reassure him after a small contemplating silence. "Me and the nibblet will work something out. Your parents will get back together."
After all, there was nothing the little bit and him liked to do more than conspiring.
666
It was the evening before Wyatt's birthday that Victor Bennett stood nervously outside the door of Halliwell manor. Part of him was itching to turn around and run away while the other part was trying its best to convince him to just go ahead and finally ring that damn doorbell. Heavens knew he owed it to his girls.
Perhaps it was too late for him to be the father they deserved. But he really wanted to make up for his failure as a father with his little grandson. It was the least he could do. Maybe even, his brave Prue would see him from wherever she was now and believed him when he said family truly did mean something to him. Regardless however he wanted to see his grandson again, so when his now eldest daughter had invited him to stay over for the child's birthday, he had readily accepted.
The man had arrived right after nightfall after a rather pleasant flight from New York to San Francisco. He only hoped that this time there would be no surprises of the demon kind or stray magic kind or whatever the hell seemed to be everyday life for the three girls. The sisters might be used to it by now, but Victor still had troubles of grasping the concept of Wiccan lifestyle sometimes – even after decades with first hand experiences. Which of course was a huge part of the reason he didn't visit his girls nearly as often as he ought to.
Finally scraping together all his courage, he rang the bell and instantly heard Piper's muffled but unmistakeable voice – or rather what he liked to call her commando tone. As much as he wanted to deny it, she eerily resembled her grandmother Penny in quite a few ways.
"Chris! Go get the door, would you? I'm covered in dough at the moment."
Instead of an answer or footsteps approaching, he heard the low chime of Whitelighter orbs on the other side of the door, accompanied by a dulled light as the person on the other side materialized. 'Another Whitelighter?' Victor thought confused. Wasn't Leo his daughters' guardian angel? Or had they found yet another half-breed like Paige, his lively stepdaughter?
The thought of Paige still brought the old pain back to life. The pain of having lost his Patty to another man, an angel for god's sake; of having lost Patty because of his own stupidity, his own cowardice. It had taken him a while to get used to the idea that his ex-wife had had a daughter with another man, but he also knew that none of this had been the girl's fault so he kept his animosity directed at the full-blooded Whitelighters and tried to get along with her – which was surprisingly easy really.
The opening door interrupted his little trip down Memory Lane and abruptly he found himself face to face with some young man who looked entirely too much like Piper not to be another Halliwell sibling he hadn't known of yet. The boy couldn't have been much older than twenty two, twenty three, the man noted absent-mindedly.
"Hello..." Deciding to take the straight forward approach, he continued, "Let me guess: You are another sibling the Halliwell women didn't tell me about, aren't you?"
To say the young man looked shocked was putting it mildly. His face drained of the little colour it had to begin with and he stuttered awkwardly. "I'm,... no, I'm..."
He was saved from further awkwardness however as Piper came down the hall, still drying her hands on a towel with a bright smile on her face. "Chris a Halliwell? That's ludicrous. He's just our new Whitelighter."
His daughter couldn't see, because 'Chris' had his back towards her but Victor thought he had caught a fleeting look of misery on the boy's features. He didn't have time to ask about it however because the moment the young man stepped back, Piper engulfed him in a bone crushing hug, welcoming him with genuine happiness. "Hello Dad! It's good to see you!"
666
His day was getting worse by the minute!
Why hadn't Piper told him that she had invited his grandfather – no, Wyatt's grandfather, he reminded himself sternly – over for the kid's birthday? Then again, why would she? It was not like she was aware of their relationship. And what would he have done had he known? Not come to the manor? After all, this was maybe the last chance to get his parents together in time. Chris was already reeling under the effects it had on him that this chance was becoming smaller and smaller.
At least he would have been prepared. He had been about ready to black out when he unexpectedly faced a younger version of his grandpa.
Life was a bitch, truly and honestly! Chris had known this long since, but he was just painfully reminded of that fact. There stood the one person he had always been able to go to, talk to, who had never treated him like he was nothing more than a nuisance and had always listened to what he had had to say without judging him or ridiculing him. The one person he had always been able to trust and he couldn't even tell him how much he had missed him!
And to top it all off, his grandpa had noticed on first sight what every other member of this family had been oblivious to! Chris should have known really. Victor was more perceptive than people made him out to be and just because he was not quite comfortable with magic around didn't mean he hadn't picked up on a few things over the years.
Laughter sounded from the living room, where the sisters had taken their father while Chris himself stood in the kitchen, continuing his mother's preparation of the cookies and birthday cake for tomorrow. Living with an ex-chef-cook for a good part of his life had taught him quite a few tricks when it came to food.
Chris had exactly two reasons for wanting to stay in this room in the first place. Working in the kitchen kept him away from the rather painful presence of his grandpa. Chris didn't trust himself not to give anything away with Victor nearby. The old man had always had a knack of knowing when his grandson lied and the half-breed didn't particularly want to push his luck, even though his grandpa didn't technically know him yet.
He suddenly heard the door opening and saw Dawn standing there, a happily giggling Wyatt in her arms. Oh, yes. That was the other reason why he wanted to stay away from the living room.
Spike and Dawn had come up with the great idea that they would only be able to help him, if they were here in San Francisco to make Leo and Piper see reason that they were meant for each other. Surprisingly enough, neither sister had complained too much when their Whitelighter had shown up with his two companions this night. To the contrary, Piper had all but recruited them on the spot for the birthday preparations she wanted to be done as fast as possible. So, Chris helped Piper with preparing the dough – and trying not to collapse with fatigue by the way – the vampire worked together with a reluctant Leo on the decorations and Dawn had to baby-sit Wyatt so that his mother and aunts were free to bake, set the table, arrange the flowers and just generally clean out the house. All the while, the two Sunnydalers worked on getting Leo and Piper to rediscover their love for one another.
However the only thing they had accomplished so far was that everyone thought Dawn had a crush on Leo while Spike wanted to hit on Piper. Hadn't the situation been so serious, Chris was sure he wouldn't have been able to stop laughing at those hilarious ideas.
"So," he addressed the girl curiously. "What did you all laugh about?"
"Well... It seems that this little imp here spoiled all of his mother's recent dates by scaring them off with glowing eyes when Piper wasn't looking!" Dawn answered him with a smirk.
That revelation did make him laugh, however. It just sounded so much like something Wyatt would do. "Really? Way to go, Wy!"
Looking at the girl with his brother on her hips, he wondered briefly why Piper had allowed Dawn to get near her baby boy at all. Of course, it was really hard not to like and trust the teen and since Wyatt didn't have his shield up around her, his mother obviously believed her safe enough for now.
Dawn left him after a few more minutes of comfortable banter, and Chris continued to put small portions of dough on the batches until he heard another familiar voice speaking from the doorway.
"Well, it seems like growing up with Piper as your mother really does teach you a few tricks in the kitchen department."
Rather focusing on the cookies than really thinking about his reply, Chris answered distractedly: "Yeah, you could say that."
Realizing just what it was he had given away so casually, the half-breed instantly froze. Finally turning around in trepidation, Chris saw the tall form of his grandfather standing in the kitchen, leaning against the closed door for support.
Tbc
A/N: I know, I'm late. I had to finish an Excel-worksheet for school which is due tomorrow. Do you know how frustrating it is if you don't know what the hell you did wrong, because you did exactly the same thing as the first time and it just doesn't work anymore? Someday I'm going to kill Microsoft, honestly.
So, don't be surprised if there are more mistakes than usual in this chapter, because I wrote most of it with a headache and a running nose. Damn flu!
Beginning's from 'Tough enough' by Vanilla Ninja for anyone who cares ;)
Well then, on to the revs:
mewer44444: Thanks! Yeah, I wriggled myself out of that situation, didn' I:) I'll see about that other story...
phoebe turner: Sorry, it was even later this time... But unfortunately school has to come first. You haven't got an email, so I'll just say thanks here for your rev on Journey's End. But sorry, it was a one-shot basically. There might be a sequel some time in the future- once I finished with this one...
redfox88: Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter as well. There are not too much btvs-references in here I think, so you should be fine :)
Lonnie: You'll have toI'm afraidbecause I don't have the time to write longer chapters... :(
Sallywags: Thaanks! I'll try :)
YoshimiWolfspaw: Thanks! And there really was no hint, I just thought I was obvious... well, you know now, though, don't you ;) And thanks as well for your rev on Journey's End!
Bunny Moon: I wanted to thank you via email, but somehow they wouldn't let me see your address... Anyway, thanks! Do you speak German? Since you know Soehne Mannheims...
Ok, then, that's it for today.
See ya all :)
P.S.: I made a few changes on the chapter. Really just a one or two things I forgot... like I said, I was ill ;)