Thanks a lot for the reviews, I appreciate them very much. I made this chapter a little longer. Hope you like it...
Chris got ready to go to his mothers house, his home actually, to have dinner with them. He just wanted to spend one perfectly normal evening with his family, one happy night to remind him, why he was doing all this. One night to remember if he wouldn´t make it back.
But he also knew, that he had to be careful. If they felt that something was wrong, if they got suspicious, all work and preparation could be for nothing. They would not let him go and Piper would question him until he told her what he was up to.
So he orbed over to the manors living room. Piper heard the familiar sound of orbing and called from the kitchen, " Chris? Is that you?"
Chris walked to the kitchen and answered, " Hi mom. Can I help you with something?" He couldn´t stop this sorrowful feeling from tying a knot into his guts when he said the word mum. He still couldn´t believe how fast his mother had changed from "I´ll-fry-you-if-you-hurt-my-little-baby-boy-wyatt-and-now-get-the-hell-out-of-my-house"- Piper into "I-love-you-peanut-and-I´m-very-proud-of-you"- mum. She hadn´t really said those words yet, but sometimes chris could see them in Pipers eyes.
"Well you could start off by giving your mum over here a hug! It´s like I haven´t seen you in days. Is something wrong sweety?" Chris smiled and went over to piper giving her a long and warm hug. While he let go of her he answered , "No, everything is just peachy. I´ve just been a little busy lately trying to find a ..."
"...new lead on who´s going to turn Wyatt?", Piper interrupted him with a scolding look.
Chris looked at her sheepishly and then to the floor, " Yeah, something like that..."
"Chris...", she said with emphasis locking her gaze with his," You can´t go on like this forever! You are going to get yourself sick sooner or later. Who´s gonna protect Wyatt then? Hmm? You need to rest and relax once in a while. When was the last time you slept a night through?", Piper tried to reason with her son.
Chris sighed, "I know you´re worried mum, but you don´t need to be. I´ve been on my own now for a while and trust me, I know how far I can go..."
Piper frowned at that comment and had to ask, "What do you meen you were on your own ? What about..." Chris stopped her talking and frowned himself, looking a little distressed. He looked to the floor knowing that he had to change the direction this conversation was heading to, to stop her from finding out. He took a deep breath and interrupted her,"Mom please, not tonight.You were right, I need to rest and relax, and I want to do this tonight. I just want to sit and eat with my family , you know, have a few hours of not thinking about the rest of the world and what would happen to them if I fail. I just need you, Phoebe and Paige to give them to me. And I need to see Wyatt happy and giggling when I tickle him and smiling when you kiss him on the cheak. You know, those little things that keep me from giving up the hope that I can save him, that it´s not too late and that that is actually his true nature, the innocent, happy, good child and not the mercyless, cruel killer...". That was when Chris voice broke. He couldn´t go on speaking. He just looked into Pipers eyes hoping that she understood what he meant.
And she did. She knew from her own experience that family and love where the strongest power recources there where. So if that was what her son needed, than she was the last one to refuse this request. She knew that it was a big thing for Chris to admit that he needed them, that he needed anyone or anything at all. So Piper decided to follow her motherly instincts and not dig any further. Especially when she saw how tired and desperate her son looked at her and the emotions that were rushing through his eyes. She had to stop her eyes from watering up so she changed the subject.
"Fine. But I´m afraid I´ll have to dissappoint you. Your brother has been quite grumpy today, and when he was not, you were quite active, thinking turning somersaults in my belly and punching in mummys stomach would be an awful lot of fun, so that I had to lay down. Phoebe had a deadline about the column coming up and Paige was at her temp job all day. So basically no one had time to buy the ingredients for the super duper meal that I wanted to cook, so...", Piper spoke faster and faster and chris thought it would be better for the baby, so basically himself, if she took a breath once in a while so he interrupted her and cought her shoulders.
"Mum, mum, mum...Hey relax...It´s no big deal. Listen, why don´t you go to the living room and sit down on the couch for a while, while I fix us something to eat, ok?", Piper nodded, suddenly feeling a little exhausted, and they started to move towards the living room.
Chris watched as she sat down on the couch and put a pillow behind her back to make her comfortable. "Are Paige and Phoebe at home yet? ". Piper nodded and smiled at her son for his loving gestures. "They are upstairs taking showers and changing.", she answered. "Ok, why don´t you tell them to set up the table when they come down and then sit here a little with you, while I´ll be in the kitchen.". When she nodded again Chris kissed his mother on the forehead and headed out of the room to prepare dinner.
Piper looked at her son as he walked away from her. Sometimes she still couldn´t believe it...her SON...This little baby inside of her and the young man that she had just talked to, they were one and the same. She remembered his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that were so much like his fathers. Only on very rare occasions Piper could see glimpses of what he´s been through in them. Glimpses of lonelyness, desperation, dedication, unconditional love, but most of all unbearable pain. It broke her heart that her Future-self had obviously not been able to keep him safe, to spare him all that suffering. She just wished he would finally open up and tell her when exactly "the EVENT" was going to happen, and how she could stop it. And Piper just really wished she could´ve seen him growing up so that she would understand him better. A slight kick in her stomach sent a little thought to her head and a smile on her lips...She would see him grow up. She would!...
Phoebe and Paige chose that moment to enter the living room. Phoebe saw the smile on her sisters face and sat down next to her while Paige made herself comfortable on the opposite couch. Phoebe looked at Piper and asked, "Hey, what´s all the smiling about?"
"Oh nothing, really. Just the thought of the most wonderful baby growing inside me.", Piper answered proudly with a voice that indicated that it ment everything but nothing for her. Paige understood the deeper meaning, "Ah, I see. Where is he at all? Wasn´t he supposed to be here for dinner?"
"Oh, he is here. Chris is in the kitchen cooking something for us. You know, I had a little emotional breakdown after he came because non of us had the time to buy the stuff I needed. I wanted it to be something special but Wyatt had one of his grumpy days and the pregnancy starts taking its toll on my nerves and then my little angel comes around and nothing is prepared ... gosh I gotta calm down. I´m freaking out again!", Piper took a deep breath and continued, "Chris brought me here and told me he would take care of everything. And here I am."
Phoebe smiled at her, " And that´s where you are gonna stay. Paige and I will see if we can help Chris with anything."
" No that won´t be necessary. He just askes you to set up the table for us. But before you go, I´d like to talk to you for a sec..." Paige understood the seriousness in Pipers voice, stood up and made her way around the couch table to the other side of her eldest sister. "What is it honey? Is something wrong?"
Piper took a deep breath, "Well, I´d like to ask you not to talk about anything future related tonight. No questions about future husbands, children, anything. Unless he brings it up himself. He´s obviously been on another demon hunt and I can see that he is tired. I went a little motherly on him, but he just said that he had been on his own for quite a while,and you know me, I had to ask... He practically begged me not to talk about this tonight. Chris admitted that he needs a break and that he wants it tonight. That all he needs is some time with his family where he doesn´t need to think about everything he´s been through and everything that still lies ahead of him. And he´s right, whenever I didn´t know how to go on I allways knew that I would , as long as my family was behind me. You guys give me strength to belive that every battle we fight is worth it.That everything I or somebody I love has to sacrifice on the way will be worth it in the end. And lets face it, Chris has made the biggest sacrifice any Halliwell has ever made. He left everything he ever loved, he ever fought for behind, not knowing if he would be able to return and enjoy the future he buildt with his own blood and suffering. So if what my baby wants is a simple night with his family...", Pipers voice broke and her eyes had watered up, so Phoebe continued for her, " ...Than that´s what he´s gonna get. I promise." Paige nodded and the three of them shared a group hug with tears in their eyes.
After a few minutes Piper pulled back and wiped the tears away. With a grin on her face she said, " So, stop it now. The last thing Chris needs now is three hormon struck women who start to cry whenever he opens his mouth." They all chuckled a little on this comment and Paige stood up. "Alright, alright. Phoebe and I will do the table now, and you just relax a little longer. This chick flick stuff can´t be good for the baby, especially when Chris hates it so much. They shared another grin and Phoebe and Paige went to the dining room.