Disclaimer: I don´t own them, but by the way who would want them durably. They are much too expensive in maintenance costs. So I borrow them and then will give them back as good as new. OK Chris might be a bit damaged. But what do you have your own personal elder for, eh?
A/N: 29.6.2007: Now 'betaed' - thanks Rachel!!!
Chapter three: Coming down
The following day Chris wandered around the city.
No-one noticed the young one with the slightly grubby, creased shirt and the baggy jeans. Chris thought about how his messy look and his disheveled hair would have made his mom shout.
If she could see him now…
But here was only the Piper of the past who didn't give a damn about him.
'Whatever, this is San Francisco´, Chris thought with a trace of a smile playing around his lips. The city where everyone could live and walk around just like they preferred to do.
As long as you were not running around screaming "DEMONS!", or you suddenly appeared in bright blue-white orbs on Main Street, no-one would even notice you. And even if you did…, but Chris wasn't sure about this at all. So he decided better not to try!
For now, here on the streets he was just a normal guy strolling around.
If any one of the passengers had known where Chris had planned to go next, their opinion about him could have been changed- maybe.
Chris enjoyed the feeling of just being "normal", even if it was only for a short while.
Leo had suspended him from his whitelighter duties, but he was not willing to accept that.
He'd made a decision, and in that sense he was as stubborn as …well, his father, he had to admit.
He had decided to fight; to do what ever lay in his powers to change the direction his father had forced the fate. He would bring everything into line again, so he would not have to return into his dark future to go on with the resistance war.
However, now…here was the place!
Chris entered an insignificant-looking Chinese shop in a lonesome, a bit dingy back alley far away from the pulsating life of the main streets. Nothing really showed anyone that there was a shop here at all. On the wall atop of an old wooden door was one simple Chinese symbol painted in bright red. "Life", it told the uninitiated- "really old magic" it promised the magic community.
Chris entered the store a little hesitant. He knew exactly what he wanted, and that he would almost certainly find it here, but he had not the slightest idea as to how he could pay for it.
But he would care about that later on. The young man was prepared to find an old, tanned and wrinkled man behind the counter. Someone with silver-grey hair and eyes mirroring the wisdom of centuries.
Therefore Chris was surprised to find a young girl alone in the centre of the shop.
She must have been around his age. Her long dark hair was caned in a braid which lay elegant around her right shoulder. Immediately Chris had to clear up with some other stupid prejudices. She didn't wear the obligatory silk suit he would have expected.
"Watching too much TV makes you stupid, you always knew!" Chris mumbled to himself.
The girl wore wide black jeans and a tight sleeveless top, in which some dark shining effects sparkled. She sat in the middle of the store on a small seat cushion with closed eyes.
Chris stood in the doorway, unsure of wether he should speak up or not. The girl seemed to meditate, and he knew from his future aunt Phoebe, that you should never disturb someone's meditation.
Yes, sometimes he had spared some attention for one of her endless dry lectures, he remembered with a trace of a smile. But his smile was soon washed away, as his thoughts went on…
That almost insane interest of his aunt in meditation and the search for inner peace had started after his mum had been killed, right before…
"I've awaited you", a voice awoke him out of his deep thoughts.
"What?" was his nonchalant introduction.
"Well, good morning to you too!" the girl replied with a small inviting smile.
"Uh, Sorry! Good morning, I'm Chris!"
Lissom, the girl stood up to face Chris.
He was halfway towards giving her a handshake, when a sharp pain reminded him, that shaking hands with a broken arm would not be the best of ideas ever. So he left it by a simple friendly smile for the girl.
"So how did you know I was coming?" he asked curious.
With that the girl's expression became very intent.
"The ghosts of the ancestral told me!"
Chris smiled unconsciously.
"This is no funny stuff, kid!" she said.
"I know that. I had some experiences with the ghosts of my ancestral as well."
Chris went on smiling, as he thought about the ghosts of his grams and grandma and their literally eternal squabbling.
"Oh, I see", the girl responded wondering, surprised that the ancestral stuff interested someone who was so definitely non - Asian.
There seemed to be many prejudices to overcome on both sides.
"So how can I help you, mister-experienced-with-ghostly-ancestral?"
Chris liked the girl's sense of sarcasm. In other circumstances he would have loved to have been able to kid-around a bit with her, but for the moment the case required he be serious right now.
"I need something to overcome some real bad nightmares," he said in a calm voice, hoping the girl would not kid-around about this.
There was nothing funny about his dreams, and to call them bad was an understatement. They were slowly eating him up inside!
The girl sensed his serious need. Chris meanwhile tried to lighten the severity in the atmosphere between both of them with a little small talk.
"By the way, I introduced myself, but what's your name at all?"
The girl flushed imperceptibly, but then again showed her strong side.
"I'm Tian-Zhou, but I think Tia would do."
"OK, Tia then", Chris said smiling one of his most engaging smiles, that at home had granted him to get everything he wanted to reach.
Tia smiled fathomlessly at him and came straight back to their business affairs.
"So you need something to keep them away?"
"No, I would never, oh I mean yes, the dreams, for sure!"
"I could give you a potion. A very powerful one, by the way. It will keep the nightmares away…"
Then she became suddenly silent and Chris could formally see the "but" she had not added in Tia's face.
"Where is the "but?", he asked instantly. "Tell me what's the snag on this potion?"
"There could be some serious secondary effects!"
"Which are…?" said Chris raising an eyebrow, as his mother would have done.
"You know, every dream has its aim, whether they are good or bad ones. Blocking them out would mean taking away an important tool of self healing from your soul. This can't be healthy in the long run. It's obvious that you can't take the potion forever. Although it is to be feared, that the nightmares will come back with an impetuous force, if you stop taking the potion. I think the longer you take the potion, the heavier the side effects might become. You have to consider if your case is worth it. If you want it, I can reconcile with giving you one vial of the potion."
Chris was determined to take this potion whatever it may cost him. He would deal later on with the consequences.
At the moment he needed a clear head, which he hoped would come back with some hours of a deep relaxed sleep.
This brought both of them to the main problem: The payment!
The only money Chris "owned" was some forgotten change from the last grocery shopping he had done for Piper, which was about 12 dollars.
Uncertain, his left hushed into his jeans pocket.
"Erm, I'd like to have your potion, but…"
"…You can't pay properly!" she finished his sentence. "Ok, how much do you have?"
Timid, Chris put his spare money onto the counter, carefully avoiding Tia's glance.
Tia smiled sadly at the ten dollar note and the small heap of coins.
Chris had given her literally all his money, down to his last cent.
She respected this gesture deeply.
"So that's all, hmm!"
"Mhm" Chris mumbled, staring intensively at his shoes while he shuffled them against the floor.
"Ok", Tia said, "we make an arrangement: I'll give you the potion, but you'll owe me a favour in return!"
Chris became uncertain. He hated to be in someone's debt.
"What favour you mean?"
"I don't know yet, but you'll know when its time for it!"
Chris looked up. This was a real crucial for his nerves.
"I can only promise you, that it will be nothing that would act against the greater good!"
The young whitelighter was suspicious; he had a bad feeling in his stomach.
But desperate circumstances required desperate measures.
"Ok, 12 dollars and a favour for the pretty lady, and a goodnight sleep for the guy experienced with ancestral ghosts in return, that's the deal!"
He smiled, and Tia was glad to see him smile again.
Out of some wooden box she took a little vial. Its content glowed night blue.
'That fits,' Chris thought.
"It's very small", he said. Too small, if he thought about the things he had to overcome.
"One drop every time before you go to sleep will be enough. But be aware, if you forget or stop taking it, the side effects will crash in. So be careful!"
Tia attached the vial to a long thin silver-chain and fastened it around Chris' neck.
Then she took two steps back and looked awaiting with a slanted head.
Chris felt uncomfortable.
"Um, thank you, I think I should leave now?"
"Don't you think we should take care of this too?" she said gently touching his right arm.
Chris pulled back his injured arm instinctively. Once again he paid with an intense pain for the movement.
Tia winced as Chris let out a repressed cry. The last thing she wanted to do was to cause more pain than necessary to the boy.
Chris felt the sudden impulse to back off, but Tia kept holding his arm gently but firm.
She examined his injured arm with amazing dexterity.
"How long did you run around with that arm! It's definitely broken," she stated.
Chris mumbled something unintelligible.
Without hesitation the young woman took hold with her left hand right above the elbow of the broken forearm and pulled with her right hand onto Chris´ wrist with surprising power.
Chris yelled out in pain at the top of his voice.
"What was this for?" he asked, as he got his breath back.
"I only fixed your bone" Tia said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
She medicated the arm with an awfull-smelling ointment, and covered it with a clean cotton cloth.
With deft fingers she put a provisional splint out of some small bamboo slats onto Chris arm.
He had to grit his teeth, while holding his arm. It was now severely throbbing, but there was no way to escape Tia's soft grip.
Chris could only look with big jade eyes, and try to hold back the tears.
Soon after Tia had finished the procedure the pain faded slowly to a more bearable level.
"You have to take care that you don't strain that arm for at least three weeks."
'Dream on,' Chris thought, but was grateful nevertheless. What Tia had done seemed to have worked.
"Why did nobody take care of your injury before? Don't you know any whitelighters?" Tia asked.
"None I would like to meet at the moment" Chris muttered, hardly audible.
"OK, that's your decision", she said while putting his splinted arm into a sling.
Then she guided Chris out of the store and surprisingly put a kiss on Chris´ forehead.
"So have sweet dreams Christopher, and take care of yourself!"
"Thank you!" was all Chris managed to say as he walked away a little irritated.
After Chris had left the alley, Tia made her way back into the store, where she disappeared…
An old man with silver-grey hair and eyes that mirrored the wisdom of centuries, came sleepily out of the backroom behind the counter.
"Is anyone here…!" He asked into the emptiness.
…
Chris walked through the city for hours. He tried to sort out the things he had just experienced, but he was not able to overcome his feelings of confusion and irritation.
He thought about what to do next. Sooner or later he had to go back to the sisters, wether he wanted to or not. There was no other way to get to Wyatt.
An uncertain feeling of concern overcame him suddenly. What if something happened to Wyatt or the sisters while they had no whitelighter? Was Leo replacing him? He wasn't sure. But regardless, before he could meet the Charmed Ones again he had to calm down, and get a clear head. That meant one night of proper sleep, at least!
The rest of the day went by in a daze. Chris was so lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed that it was getting darker and slightly cold.
He knew that he had to find a place to sleep for the night.
There was no way he would go to the club where he might have to face one of the charmed sisters, or worse Leo.
Once more Chris became aware of just how lonesome he was in this time. Everyone who would not have hesitated to give him a bed for the night was in these times at best a school kid or at worst not even born.
Was it true, could there be something inside of him like homesickness?
Homesickness for a time as cruel and twisted as his time, the dark future, was?
In a strange way there was. He belonged to his time if he was willing to admit it or not. There were lots of people he liked or even loved. He missed them deeply. What he would have given for at least one soul to not treat him as an annoying, suspected-to-be-evil little nuisance, who everybody could push around as much as they wanted.
At that moment, he'd have given the world for a comforting hand and a few encouraging words. But there was no-one.
No-one in this damned world cared the slightest bit about him. Even the sisters didn't care where their suspended whitelighter could be.
As night fell over San Francisco, Chris sat down on a bench at the park, right next to an angel statue. Chris found it appropriate in a way.
He neede to consider his options.
No money, no way to sleep at the club, no friends - great! Half a year back here and you are as low as you can get.´ Chris was really down in the dumps.
He closed his eyes, just for a short while, fighting back the tears that were starting to roll down his cheeks.
Chris didn't really recognize that he slowly drifted into sleep.
Some faint voice from far away told him the potion…….´ But it was already too late. The cold hands of his nightmares had a firm grip on him.
There was no way out…….
TBC...