2014
Chris sat on his mothers lap, wiping away the stray tears that spilt down his face. He didn't care if it made him a baby. He curled up beneath her chin, holding out his arm as she bandaged the magical burn. It stung and the ointment made the burn resonate through his arm until he couldn't tell whether the pain was coming from the burn near his wrist or at his elbow and shoulder. "That should do it until your Dad comes back." Piper pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Does it still hurt?"
Chris shrugged but tears were still spilling down his face. It really hurt. He just wanted his Dad to come back and heal the arm. Piper rocked his back and forth. "Oh baby. I'm so sorry you got caught in the crossfire. But you know your brother is really sorry."
"Why is he so mean to me?" Chris asked. "He always hurts me." Piper wiped the tears as quick as they fell and Chris wanted to stop them because he could see the pain on his face.
"Oh my little Peanut." she smiled at him sadly, tears in her own eyes. "Wyatt doesn't understand sometimes. It's no excuse. He should never hurt you and he knows that. He's going to be in a lot of trouble when your Dad brings him back. But he just can't control himself."
Chris's brow furrowed. "But why? I don't hurt him. I don't hurt Mel either and I'm her big brother. Doesn't he love me?"
"Baby, Wyatt loves you very much. And you are the best big brother in the world to Melinda." His mother sighed and tried to explain it best she could. "When Wyatt was very little, before you were born, something bad happened to him. He was taken away by someone very evil who tried hurting him and none of us could save him because we couldn't find him and I couldn't be there because I was pregnant with you and thought something bad had happened." She bent forward and kissed him on the nose. "The man hurt him so much and the only way he could make it stop hurting was to hurt whoever the man was. We don't know what happened but we know he vanquished the man and saved himself. He was very little and it made him confused. Now, your Daddy, Aunties and I have to help him not be confused."
"Is he... Is he evil?" Chris asked. He stuttered over the word, scared of what it meant even. Evil was what they vanquished. It was dangerous and scary and it wasn't something Chris liked coming across. If his brother was evil that meant he was going to be vanquished. Despite everything, Chris loved his brother. He didn't want to see him gone.
She shook her head, her hair shaking around her. "No. He's just still hurting. It was very scary for him and to stop being scared he hurts people, even if they're someone he really loves. But he's getting better. Isn't he?" She raised her eyebrow at him and Chris had to think about it. He didn't ever want to make his mom upset though and though he didn't really know the answer he nodded.
"Yeah, Mom. He is." Chris leant forward to bury his face in her neck and her hand came up and carded his hair.
"You know if he ever hurts you when he's having a fit, you have to tell me straight away. No matter what's going on with Wyatt, I will always be there for you too, Peanut." Piper murmured. "I don't love either of you any more or less than the other."
Chris knew that. What he didn't know was what had happened that morning to set Wyatt off. It was just a normal day and Chris, Wyatt, Melinda and the older cousins were playing a game when Henry shouted out it was good cops versus bad cops and Wyatt was a bad cop. He got really angry all of a sudden. When Chris had tried to calm him down, Wyatt turned on him and Chris became a target of blind rage. The cousins and Melinda had gone to Magic School once Piper came in and broke things up.
As Piper rocked back and forth with Chris in her arms to subside his tears and take away some of his pain with just her soothing words. "I love you, Peanut."
Just then Leo orbed in. Chris looked around for Wyatt but he was nowhere to be seen. "He's calmed down and he's upset for losing control. He's also upset that he hurt you, Chris."
"Yeah well, maybe some healing would help Chris." Piper said.
Leo looked down at the bandage on Chris's arm and sighed. "Sorry, Chris. Didn't see it. Give me your arm." Chris stretched his arm out reluctantly to his father, the action hurting him more than it should have. He curled further into his mother as Leo healed the burn and sniffed back the remaining tears as the burn was healed.
"Thank you." he said quietly and Leo affectionately rubbed Chris's hair. "Where's Melinda?"
"At magic school with the cousins."
"I better go check on them. Make sure they're not hurt too."
"I already checked. Chris was the only one."
Leo smiled sadly down at Chris. "You know when your brother has a fit, you should leave him alone and come get one of us straight away." Chris flinched and shrugged his shoulders.
"I just wanted to help him."
"Yeah, but now Wyatt's really upset because he thinks he hurt you."
"Leo, it's not Chris's fault. He didn't do anything wrong. He wanted to help his brother and he tried to do the right thing. Now next time he knows, don't you Chris?" She pressed a kiss on his forehead and Chris nodded, barely glancing up at his father and guilt made him feel terrible again. He could feel the burn like a ghost and now it hurt his whole body.
"Can I take a nap?" Chris asked. He hadn't asked to willingly nap for years.
"Sure baby. Leo, want to take him upstairs?"
Leo started to lean down when he paused and look up to the ceiling. He huffed and leant down, pressing his lips to Chris's forehead. "How about I come back and maybe read to you? Wyatt needs me." He shot a concerned look to Piper who couldn't help but nod understandingly.
Chris was getting too big to be carried but Piper hauled him up anyway and carried him all the way up to his room. "I could have orbed." he said quietly when they got inside.
"What? You orb? You tell me that now?" she laughed when he giggled and then put him in his bed. "Your Dad will come down when he's finished with Wyatt. But for now, do you mind sharing a bed with me? I'm a bit tired myself after such an eventful day."
Chris took a moment to consider it then nodded his head and Piper sat back in the corner against the wall, propped up by pillows and let Chris lay across his lap. "Want to grab me your favourite book?"
Holding his hand out, Chris let his new music book fly into his hands. "Really? This is what you want me to read to you?" Chris just nodded his head and handed it to his mother. "Okay. A history of classical music… you're such a strange child." She read the theories of classical music aloud to Chris until he fell asleep, curled up against her. He wasn't surprised Leo didn't come. He never did.
A/N: Why do I always feel the need to publish something on my birthday? I haven't written anything, especially for Charmed for years. I did a binge watch the other day and then got a writing bug and decided to do a series of one-shots that will be a rough story line of the Unchanged Future and are a little bit Chris-centric but I might focus on some other people too. I've progressed from the angsty/emo stuff of my childhood – I was thirteen years old writing FanFiction, that was pretty much all I knew with my hormones running around – so hopefully this isn't as horrible as what I used to write.
BUT – in saying all of the above. I haven't read the comics. I know what is canon (I looked it up on the wikia) but I sort of liked the world I built up in my head when I was thirteen. So forget the way the canon children are and I'll tell you how I always thought of the kids. I added some things to allude to some canon stuff but this is just what I thought it was when I watched the finale and you know what? I like my version better. :P
Ages/age differences in 2014… From there you can all work it out.
Piper Halliwell & Leo Wyatt
Wyatt Matthew Halliwell: 12
Christopher 'Chris' Perry Halliwell: 10
Melinda 'Mel' Prudence Halliwell: 7
Phoebe Halliwell & Coop
Prudence Johanna 'PJ' Halliwell: 7
Parker Eline Halliwell: 5
Penelope 'Posey' Sophia Halliwell : Just born soooo… 0
Paige Matthews & Henry Mitchell
Henry Bailey 'Junior' Mitchell: 8
Patricia 'Patty' Samantha Mitchell: 5
Piper 'Pipa' Marcia Mitchell: 5
P.S. Look at my bio for the reason why I drift between British/Australian/American spelling...