Hey, Hi and Hello to all of you. I know the last week was a little slow on the update front, but hey! It wasn´t my fault!
University is really busy these days and yesterday my really annoying lan connection had to crash. Can you imagine how boooooooored I was last night?
Anyway, I´m rambling. Hope you like my new chapter and hey, if not... don´t tell me. I might actually cry, and you don´t wanna see that, do you? Trust me,... you don´t.
But if you like it please tell me so in a sweet little review. I might still cry and you still won´t wanna see it but at least you´ll know that you made a miserable and still rambling person happy!
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You came!
Leo immediately orbed into the room, quickly followed by Paige who brought Phoebe along. He knew by the way Piper had yelled that something must be wrong with Chris. After what happened last night and this morning he just knew what that sounds like. Leo went to the other side of the bed and found it hard to breath when he saw why she was so upset. His son´s back.
"Oh god. Piper, what happened? Where do those bruises come from?"
He crawled over the bed to Chris and started healing him while Piper stammered, "I ... I don´t know, Leo. He woke up and we talked ... not even two minutes. He suddenly seemed to be in pain and when I asked him why he told me his back was hurting. And that´s what I found when I looked at it. Didn´t you see it when you changed his t-shirt?"
When Chris´ skin was looking normal and Leo felt that the new injuries were healed , he turned him back on his back, explaining , "No, he was perfectly fine, I checked if there were any hidden injuries left, but there was nothing!"
Before Leo could say anything else Chris stirred, drawing all the attention back to him. Piper leaned down to Chris and started caressing his face. She saw that his eyelids were fluttering but he couldn´t find the strength to open them.
Chris felt like he was buried underneath a ton of very heavy and surprisingly very hot sand. He kept digging and digging, trying to get out but every time he managed to shove some of it away it caved back in on him.
He didn´t know where he was. He didn´t know what had happened after he threw the potion at the demon and saw it explode. In fact, Chris didn´t even know how long ago that actually was! He couldn´t see anything, it was so dark around him. And silent. A threatening silence.
Then suddenly a voice broke through to him. His mothers voice. But it seemed so far away that he had to put all his concentration together to understand what she was saying.
"Chris?... Christopher? ... Come on sweetie, open your eyes ... Could you do that for me please? ... I know it´s hard but ... "
Piper felt a huge relief when he slowly opened his eyes. Chris´ vision was a blur but he could make out his mothers face in front of him. He felt hot and tired but he wanted to stay awake for her.
Piper smiled at him "Hey, how are you feeling? Are you ok?"
Chris nodded. Actually he felt numb all over and was far away from "being ok" but his mum didn´t need to know that. Now that he could actually see her, his mind became a little clearer and he remembered that he had talked to her, more than once, since he orbed back home.
"Do you want anything? Are you hungry?" Piper asked.
But Chris shook his head this time and whispered "Water"
Piper was happy that she could actually do something for him. She turned around. "Paige, could you..."
Paige smiled "I´m on my way!", and orbed out down to the kitchen to get a glass and some water. Meanwhile Phoebe walked over to the bed where Chris was lying.
"Come on, oh dearest nephew of mine, I´ll help you." She put her arms underneath Chris´ body and lifted him so that he was sitting up. Then she sat down behind him and leaned his back against her chest.
Chris really liked that and sighed relaxed, resting his head against her shoulder.
Paige returned and handed the glass to Chris who took it with shaking hands and drowned it hungrily. When he was finished Paige asked him if he wanted more He nodded and she refilled the glass with the bottle she had brought from the kitchen. Chris emptied it just as quickly and handed it back to his aunt who put it next to the bottle on the nightstand.
Piper sighed and looked at her son , "Chris, I know you are tired but we need to talk about what happened. You think you are up for it?"
"Even if I wasn´t you wouldn´t let me of the hook, would you? So just start the interrogation." he said with a grin on his lips which told Piper that he at least had not lost his sarcasm.
"Where have you been last night?
Chris knew that they wouldn´t stop until he told them every little detail so he just started at the beginning. He had changed that event so he didn´t have to be afraid of future consequences anymore. He could actually talk about it, and DAMNED that felt good!
"I went after a demon. Scradon. A couple of days ago one of my contacts told me some rumors about him and I recognized him as the one who is responsible for..." Chris looked down at his hands, sorrow visible in his face.
"What kind of rumors?" Piper asked trying to get her son´s mind away from her death and back to the subject at hand. Leo saw that Chris still had trouble speaking and continued for him.
"He is said to be gathering other demons to train them for some future mission. But the elders were not able to find out what it was. They said last night that Scradon could have turned into a serious thread as he is high-level with some serious powers."
Paige frowned "So that mission was..."
"... The demise of the Charmed Ones. Yes." Chris who had regained his voice finished the sentence.
"I just had to stop him. No matter the consequences."
The way he said it made Phoebe dread the answer to her next question.
"Chris, when you went down there, you didn´t know if you would make it back, right? Was that the reason why you´ve been acting so different last night?" It was actually more of a statement than a question.
Nevertheless it made Piper shiver. She was afraid of what Chris might say and her biggest fears were confirmed when he whispered "Yes"
"It wasn´t a complete suicide mission though. I had a very powerful vanquishing potion. I knew I´d probably have to go through a few of his minions first and I was prepared. They weren´t the problem. In this time his so-called army mainly consists of low level demons. Over the years he trained some of them others were replaced by more powerful ones."
"Chris, exactly how many are a few?" Paige asked suspicious
"Ehhhhhhm... ten, maybe twelve?" Chris answered sheepishly knowing that Piper would tear him into shreds any second now, and his expectations were not disappointed.
"CHRISTOPHER PERRY HALLIWELL!!! Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND??? "
"Mum, mum, mum, ... calm down. It only took me about twelve minutes. It wasn´t such a bad deal." He tried to calm his mother down.
But Piper had non of it, " Chris still, you can´t go after that many demons alone..."
"Mum, I´ve done more in less time when I was 19."
All that was left for Piper to say in this particular moment was "Oh" and the other people in the room didn´t look much better.
But Chris brought them back to reality. "Anyway, the minions weren´t the problem. Scradon himself on the other hand was a different story. I made the strongest potion I know, and it´s a hell of a potion, trust me on this one, but I still had to weaken him first."
"How did you do that?" Leo asked him worried.
"Telekinetic energy blast"
Leo was shocked, "WHAT? You can do that?" and Chris just nodded. He had been up quite a while now and started to get tired which didn´t go unnoticed by Leo.
Piper asked "What is a telekinetic energy blast?"
Leo turned to the sisters and explained, " It´s basically a very concentrated attack with his telekinesis. He just builds the magic up inside till he can´t contain it anymore and releases it all at once."
"Wow" said Phoebe and Paige at the same time while Piper just looked stunned.
"It´s nothing special. Wyatt can do it too. Whenever he wants actually. When I do it, I end up like this, physically and magically completely drained. He doesn´t even so much as sweat."
Paige chuckled "Aaw, do I see a little inferiority complex shining through?"
Having hit a sore spot she only got a sarcastic smile as an answer which transmitted a few words which Piper would have scolded him for. It didn´t last long though because he sighed exhausted and leaned further into Phoebe who tightened her arms around him and cuddled him closer.
Leo saw that Chris needed to go back to sleep and asked him one last question. "Chris, when you came here you were seriously injured, but only internal. Not even a scratch on the outside. And just a few minutes ago you suddenly had more injuries which seemed to come out of nothing! Any clue where they came from?"
Chris frowned and closed his eyes, apparently in deep thought and seemed to have an idea when he opened them again.
"The potion."
Piper was instantly worried. "What potion?"
"Scradon ... He hit me with a potion before we started fighting... Said it was supposed to... prevent any visible injuries so that I´d look like an easy kill once he had me hanging as the main attraction outside his cave... Was still in experimentation phase though, so it might be a side affect..."
His slow speaking and closed eyes showed everyone in the room that it was time for Chris to rest so Piper ended the conversation.
"Ok baby, enough talking for now. Just go back to sleep. Is there anything you want, more water or something to eat?" but he just shook his head.
When Phoebe wanted to get up and lower him down he grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Aunt Phoebe, can we stay like this a little? You used to do this when I was a kid and sick. It always made me feel save and relaxed. Can you stay a little longer? Just till I´m asleep? Please. "
He sounded so lost and frail that Phoebe kissed his forehead and said, "Of course sweetie. I won´t go away. Just sleep now. We´ll be here when you wake up."
The girls had tears in their eyes and Leo swallowed hard, imagining how bad Chris must feel if he actually asked for this . Asked for comfort and love. Something he normally never would have done.
So they just sat there. Phoebe gently caressing his hair and rocking him into sleep, his parents each holding one of his hands and Paige with her hand on Piper´s shoulder.
After about fifteen minutes Phoebe gently got up and Leo helped her lowering Chris exhausted but at least sleeping body down into the pillows and Piper and Paige gently covered him with the comforter. Piper pressed one more gentle kiss on to his temples and switched the baby phone on the nightstand on.
Then, with one last look to their son and nephew they left the room.
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Afraid that they might wake him up this time, the Halliwell family moved downstairs into the kitchen. Silently they sat down around the kitchen counter except for Piper who busied herself with making some fresh coffee. They were all lost in their own thoughts about what Chris had just revealed.
When Piper finished preparing the machine she pushed the button and put both her palms down on the cold but soft wood of the cupboard. Her vision started to blur and the first drops silently fell between her hands. When Leo looked over to his wife he saw that her shoulders started shaking and that she raised one hand to cover her eyes.
He got up and moved behind her. The moment he slung his arms around her Piper started sobbing heartbreakingly not able to hold back any longer and pressed her body back into her husbands chest trying to find comfort.
Leo just held her for a while, then turned her around and pulled her close again. Piper rested her forehead against his neck and continued crying.
Phoebe and Paige looked at each other worried but were overcome with emotions themselves. Leo started murmuring comforting words into Pipers ear.
"Shhhh,... everything is going to be fine..."
But Piper just exploded. "NOTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE!!!" she yelled and pushed him away. She continued ranting "My son is lying up there in my bed, suffering for things that are NOT HIS FAULT!
My little baby boy is carrying the weight of the whole goddamned world and its whole goddamned future on his shoulders even though it SHOULDN´T BE HIS RESPONSIBILITY! He lost his mother when he was fourteen, FOURTEEN Leo! I left him alone with a brother that turned into the evil overlord of the entire planet!
And what does he do? He travels through freakin´ time trying to save his brother, his whole family and pays with THE LIFE OF HIS FIANCÉ for it. He comes here and meets his dead mother alive and happy and she treats him like a peace of shit! But he just goes on and on never complaining, never resting, never giving up until his body gives up and he has a complete breakdown!!! What did he do to deserve this?"
And then she turned her head to the ceiling and yelled again "WHAT DID HE DO TO DESERVE THIS?"
But then Piper stopped ranting and squeezed her eyes shut suddenly feeling very light-headed. Leo saw her swaying dangerously and caught her before she could fall. Phoebe and Paige were at her side in an instant and Paige orbed a dining room chair next to her sister for her to sit on.
After Leo helped her sit down he said soothingly "I know this makes you angry, I feel the same way, but remember being upset is not good for the baby. Time travel is complicated Piper, we don´t know if the baby´s condition might even affect Chris."
Piper was back to sobbing. "I know Leo, but this is just so unfair. He´s so weak, he couldn´t even sit without help. And his temperature is rising, I´ve felt it when I kissed him. I just don´t know what to do..."
"Right now you´ll let Phoebe and Paige take you to the living room and you´ll rest a little. I can´t have you breaking down. You are still pregnant and need to take your time outs. You have two versions of him to take care of and they both need you. And in the meantime Paige, Phoebe and I will look after Chris. He´ll be fine. I´m sure Wyatt misses his mommy too. Paige could get him for a while to spend some time with you, what do you think?"
Piper knew that he was right and nodded. But then the baby phone went off and they could hear whimpering sounds that seemed to come from Chris.
Leo turned to Piper and said, "You stay here. I´ll go. He´s probably just dreaming." and orbed out before Piper could protest.
"Come on Piper, let´s go sit on the couch. Paige will go and get Wyatt, ok?"
Paige smiled back at Phoebe and Piper and orbed out to Sheila´s. Then Phoebe helped her sister up and brought her to the couch in the living room. She gave Piper the baby phone who turned the volume up. A second before Paige arrived with Wyatt they heard Leo speak.
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When Leo orbed into the room he found Chris shaking in his bed, turning his head from one side to the other. He had beads of sweat on his forehead and looked pale. Leo checked his temperature with his hand and was shocked that it had gone up so quickly. It was starting to get serious now and he had to calm Chris down.
"Chris! Come on buddy it´s just a dream! Wake up!" he said slightly shaking Chris´ shoulders. He turned towards his fathers voice and opened his eyes.
"Daddy?... What are you doing here? ... I´ve been waiting all day for you to come but it was getting late and mommy sent me to bed. I hoped you would be there to blow my candles out with me this time but you didn´t come. I´m happy that you didn´t send me a letter this time daddy and that are actually here."
Leo knew that Chris was delirious so he decided to go with it. He was confused and hurt by his sons words, he had obviously missed his birthday and not only this one. Then he thought back to the day when Phoebe had turned into a genie. Chris had said to Leo that his father sent him too many letters when he was little. Obviously apology letters because he had missed one or the other event in his sons life. Too many. Leo remembered thinking what a bad father Chris must have had and now he felt horrible realizing that he had been this father.
He felt tears welling up when he answered " I´m sorry that I didn´t come but I´ll make it up to you. Now you have to sleep, because you are sick buddy."
"You don´t need to be sorry daddy. I talked to Wy and he said that you are a very busy man and that you have a lot of people to look after. It´s ok that you want to spend the little time you have with Wy because he needs you more. I know he is a special child, the twice blessed child. I just wished you would come to my birthdays, that´s all I want. I´ll be seven next year and I would be sooo happy if you´d come, ok daddy?"
Leo had tears running down his face and didn´t know what to say. How could he have missed his son´s sixth birthday? How could he play favorites with him and Wyatt? How on earth could he become that person?
Chris suddenly frowned, "Dad, is Wy sick too? Is that why you came?"
But this time Leo reacted quickly, he couldn´t allow his son to feel like he didn´t love him for just a second longer.
"No Chris, Wyatt is ok, he´s downstairs with your mum. That´s not why I´m here. I came for you, to see how you are."
"Can´t you heal me please dad, like you always do?"
"No buddy. I´m sorry. I´ve already tried but it doesn´t work. But I´m sure if you stay in bed and sleep a lot, you´ll be fine real quick."
"Ok daddy." Chris said closing his eyes.
Leo ruffled his hair and pushed some out of his eyes when he said "I love you Chris, I love you so much."
Chris smiled almost asleep and answered "I love you too, dad"
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Leo descended the stairs slowly and lost in thoughts. He went to the living room and let himself fall down on the couch next to Piper. He saw the baby phone on the couch table and realized that the girls must have heard everything.
He looked at Piper. She had Wyatt on her lap who played with a rattle. Her shocked eyes confirmed his suspicion.
"How could that happen? How could I become such a bad father? " he asked fondling Wyatt´s head, raw emotion evident in his voice.
Phoebe who sat with Paige on the opposite couch answered, "We don´t know Leo, but it´s not too late yet. You can still change that."
Leo nodded. "I know, but I just don´t understand how I could ever love one of my children more then the other or at least show it more." He shifted his gaze to Piper´s swollen belly and put one hand to it, gently caressing it. "I still can´t believe that he´s in there. That we are really going to have a second child and that it is going to grow into such a strong, courageous, brave and absolutely wonderful man."
Then he bent down, placed a kiss on Pipers stomach and smiled. "You know little Chris, I can´t wait till you come out of there and I can hold you and hug you and spoil you rotten!"
Piper just wanted to protest about the spoiling thing when the baby kicked into her stomach right were Leo´s hand was. One look into his beaming face told her that he felt it too. It was the first time Leo felt his second son in his mothers womb and it was just as amazing as it was with Wyatt.
Piper said "I guess he wants to say hello to his daddy and that he´s looking forward to meeting you too. Even though we´ll have to talk about that spoiling thing again, young man!"
This sent a smile on everybody´s face and Phoebe proposed "Hey,why don´t you two stay here with Wyatt and play a little together before he has to go back to Sheila´s. Paige and I will go upstairs to Chris. He shouldn´t be alone too long."
Leo and Piper were reluctant not wanting to decide between their sons but saw that this was the best solution. Chris would probably sleep for a while and Wyatt would spend the night at his godmother´s house so they could be with him now and go to Chris later.
Piper turned to her sisters. "Ok, but could one of you please hand me the phone? I promised to call dad regularly."
Phoebe got the phone and gave it to Piper. Then she went upstairs with Paige.
Chrissy.W.x – don´t worry. I wouldn´t even know how to go on like that for ten chapters.
MissHaunted xXx – No I don´t like those "meanie" Leo fics either. It´s ok when he takes his time to understand it but some just overdo it. And I´m just gonna pretend I got my cookie and pretend I say thanks but just because of the "puppy dog eyes"! And I´m really sorry that it took me thaaat long to update this time, but I´m still faster then some others, right? Right? Right? Right? ( Sorry but I´m a sucker for other people telling me I´m right) smile
And a big thanks to all the other reviewers too!!!