Disclaimer:
Everyone ready for the BIG!!!! moment? If you know what I mean.
Chris: NOOOO! You can't do that…OK you can, but pleeeeeeease don't do it.
You already told them about the evil-birthday-thing and now…that!
It's destroying my mission, you know.
Wyatt, say something!
Wyatt: Something!
Chris: Very funny and that original – almost ingenious. You know what, you deserve the sources title. Your jokes are REALLY terrifying.
You out there I'm apologizing if you just died of laughter. It's really hard to keep up with Jerry Lewis Junior over here.
Wyatt: That was so funny…..NOT!
Chris: ++sticks out tongue++
Wyatt: ++glares evilly++
Chris: ++makes an image-frame-seeking gesture with both hands++
Yeah honey give me that look, come on…give me more of the source…you know your fans loooooove that!
Wyatt: You are so dead, brother++pursues a squeaking, very infantile Chris++
You won't kill him Wyatt! You hear me? Don't even touch a hair on his head, or I swear by the book of shadows I'll bring back Cole to replace you!!!...
++runs after the boys, trying to prevent the worst…++
I swear, sometimes you should be happy that I don´t own you...!!!
Chapter twelve / part four
…Bianca stared terrified as Leo placed Chris limp body gently on the bed in their – yet not so secret anymore – hideout.
She was horrified as she saw her biggest fears come true…
…After she'd waited hours and Chris had not appeared for his birthday dinner, she had started to search for him. But the young whitelighter was nowhere to find.
She became so desperate that she had called for Leo, though she knew Chris would hate it. He had not seen his father for years now, and in Chris´ opinion things should stay this way – even on his eighteenth birthday. Too deep were the disappointments of the youngest son when it came to his father. Chris had sworn to himself that he would never give his father the opportunity to let him down again. And Bianca never questioned this decision – till now…
She was worried out of her mind and couldn't find another way out. So she called for the elder. She would find a way to deal wit her boyfriend's anger afterwards.
And the progress of events pointed out that she did darn right.
First Leo couldn't sense his son, because of the protection-spells over Wyatt's building, but as soon as Chris was outside on the streets again, he orbed to him immediately. Bianca was furious as she recognized that the elders seemed to have obviously found a way to evade the anti-orbing-spell the whole city was under, without sharing their knowledge with the remaining whitelighters and the resistance. Yet, this had to be discussed another time.
Now she was relieved that Chris was at least barely alive.
Leo examined Chris various wounds carefully and felt the anger against his oldest son rise…
…how could he…!
But now he needed to entirely concentrate on the healing. Hatred and anger would disturb his powers.
The elder placed his hands over his youngest and almost instantly the warm golden glow encompassed Chris´ body.
The elder worked his magic till the bleedings stopped and the wounds started to close, but something felt definitely wrong.
Leo and Bianca stared in silent disbelieve as the elder lifted his hands and the glow subsided.
A whole lot of nasty, ugly scars that refused to vanish defaced the boy's body.
The wound that was shaped as a big red-burning "W" even resisted any healing attempt.
Leo simply wasn't able to heal that one, and they both could only presage, how tremendously it had to hurt.
Leo sat crying about how twisted his family had become and how much his brave little son – yes Christopher would always be his "little" son – had to suffer under his monstrous cruel brother, while the remaining elders let him not even come near his sons.
This would change – NOW!
He had managed to escape the elders watch and he would find a way to stay here, where he was really needed.
This time forever!
"Leo" Bianca asked softly "Is there nothing else you can do for him? This is…this is so…"
The elder only shook his head tiredly.
His powers were jaded and he cursed the greater goods for unifying that much power in his eldest son that even an elder couldn't undo their devastating effects.
"Could you do me a favour and leave Chris and me alone? Just for a while, Leo?
I think he will need some time to recover from all this – if ever.
I promise I will call you when he's ready to see you again.
Just give him some time, please!"
Silently nodding in agreement, Leo kissed the forehead of his now sleeping son and orbed away.
Bianca sat there for a while holding Chris hand. She feared the moment he would wake up and start to realize the ferocious changes this day had brought over him.
She stood up again and put the cold remains of the birthday dinner away.
Remainders of another life.
The war they both had fought so hard had reached a whole new stage…
…and she was deadly determined to win it, no matter what it would cost her!
Heartbroken she pushed the birthday present still in its improvised wrapping into the dustbin. She'd managed to organize it on the black market, the only way to get anything you needed these days.
There was no use for his new T-shirt anymore she realized as she finally broke down crying besides him…
…
…"Oh my…what have…what have we done!" was all Phoebe could get out as her sisters picked her up from the ground where she had fallen as the connection with the young whitelighter broke.
Tears were overflowing her eyes.
Chris awoke with a start. As soon as his eyes got a glimpse of Phoebe, he knew…
"Chris" Phoebe choked out. Her first urge was to hug the boy, who in response to this looked like a hunted deer.
The horrified young whitelighter tried in a last desperate attempt to cover himself with his blanket as panic started to rise in his chest.
"We will fix this, Chris, I swear, we will find a way to fix this…!" Phoebe told, while tears streamed by now unrestrained down her reddened cheeks.
Chris was pale as chalk as he backed away from the empathic sisters' outstretched hand.
"Don't!" he whispered while his oldest aunt moved closer, unstoppable as ever when she had set her mind on something.
Chris wailed weakly but at this point it was already too late.
The boy slid without anymore power to defend himself into his aunt's gentle embrace, and her soft hand on his back rubbed the last blockades out of him in slow circles.
Chris tried his hardest not to cry now, but couldn't stop a deep heartfelt sob to escape him. How he longed to let go of all his pain!
"Shhhh!" all of Phoebe's empathic powers kicked in at once and seemed to melt with the ones of her nephew.
"We will fix this. We find a way…!" she repeated over and over…
Phoebe felt suddenly a so overwhelming urge to protect her nephew, that she would do anything to find a way to heal him…
WAIT…! NEPHEW…?????????????
What in all the world was she thinking here?
Over the now still form of the young whitelighter she locked eyes with her sisters.
"My god!" she whispered her voice raw of tears as the scales fell suddenly from her eyes.
"Phoebe" a tiny voice came hesitant over her shoulder.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"Can you…can you please let me alone for some time?!"
"But…"
"Please, Phoebe, I need…! I just…I can't…please…I can't!"
Phoebe felt how overwhelmed the boy was of the whole situation. He couldn't handle this right now.
Chris sounded so devastated and the empathic Charmed one felt that he was barely able not to loose it completely.
He was in no state to cope with them and all of their questions now.
She felt that every question now would be a question too much.
"You will not do anything stupid, will you?"
Chris features softened "Never would!" He sighed and Phoebe felt that he was sincere.
"But you will stay here, promised?" The anxious feared that the boy wouldn't be able to protect himself when he orbed god knows where in his current state.
"No" He answered honestly, which made Phoebes "overprotective-aunt-alert" go haywire.
Paige whereas instinctively knew that he would need a place to clear his head now and sort things through.
Whatever Chris and her older sister had gone through in his dreams was definitely not pretty.
"So please at least don't block us honey" She remarked, trying to be rational. "I'm just worried enough for you the way it is now!"
"Promised" He told as he grabbed his shirt the same moment he started to dissolve in tiny blue white orbs.
"Do you think we did the right thing?" Paige asked.
"I'm sure he told the truth; so lets orb back home…
…We have to talk!"
"Piper!" Paige exclaimed as she waited for the oldest sister to take her hand to be orbed home. She got no response…
"Piiiiiiiiiipeeeeeeeeeeeer!" Paige said in a singsong voice while waving her free hand before her sister's eyes.
Piper still looked thunderstruck at the place where the boy had lain only minutes ago.
How could she have missed that…
All the time it had been there…!
"Piper! Snap out of it!" Phoebe tried it with a soft nudge. But nothing…
Both sisters stared at Pipers dreamlike expression.
"He…is my son!" She said finally.
And it was no question. It was as statement!...
TBC…