FALSE MEMORIES

My first posted story here. Also my first Charmed Fanfic, although I have written fanfiction for other shows.

Disclaimer: The characters in Charmed do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.

Summary: Loved the Piper/Leo/Chris family dynamic in Season 6 so that's when this story is based. Set after Chris-Crossed and Prince Charming. Nobody knows who Chris is yet, but they're about to find out, courtesy of an unexpected visitor from the future…

Notes: I have more time to write at the weekend, so another update for you. Please read and review, I love reviews!

Chapter 8

The silence was deafening, and to Chris, extremely oppressive as he buckled under the weight of six pairs of eyes upon him. Getting awkwardly to his feet, he kept his head bowed and his eyes trained on the floor, as he waited for somebody – anybody – to react.

It was the matriarch of the Halliwell clan, who finally broke the Mexican standoff. Shaking herself out of her reverie, her eyes burned into the top of her great-grandson's bent head, as she demanded, "You're a Halliwell?"

Reacting automatically to Penny's peremptory tone, Chris immediately squared his shoulders and stood up straighter, his eyes snapping up to her face. He opened his mouth to deny it, but the sudden, reassuring warmth of Future Leo's hand between his shoulder blades stopped him in his tracks.

The constant secrecy, it was just too hard for him to maintain. He didn't want to be responsible for the fate of the world anymore. All he wanted was for someone to tell him that everything was going to be okay, that this desperate trip to the past wasn't just an exercise in futility, a fool's errand with no hope of succeeding. He wanted - no, needed - to feel his mother's comforting arms around him again, to be safe in the warm security of his family's love.

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he eventually gave in and admitted the truth. "Yes."

His whispered confession was barely audible, but it sounded like a foghorn in the ears of his listening audience.

"You're my son. That's why…" Present Leo trailed off, shaking his head in stunned disbelief. "I need to sit down," he said, groping behind him for the armrest of the nearest sofa, where he parked himself with a heavy thud.

Chris's breathing quickened in growing panic. His heart was racing, and he desperately wanted to run, but something kept him glued to the spot. He couldn't move, do, or say anything as he waited for his family's verdict. What had he expected? That they would just welcome him with open arms and everything would be okay again. Real life wasn't like that, he knew. It was hard, brutal, the stuff of nightmares, not fairytales with their phoney promises of happily-ever-after.

"I have another nephew. Who'd have thought it, huh?" Paige's smile was warm and genuine as she looked at her tense whitelighter with new eyes.

Tired and emotional, Chris's breath caught in his throat at his aunt's gentle statement, while his green eyes filled with involuntary tears.

Rubbing his hand soothingly up and down his son's spine, trying to keep him calm, Future Leo looked gratefully over at his sister-in-law, thankful that someone had chosen to say something positive. Chris's eyes turned to his mother then though, and his father groaned inwardly, fearing what would happen next.

He always knew this would be hard for Piper to take in, suddenly discovering that she had another child out of the blue like this. Her reaction could cause untold damage to their son's fragile psyche though, and he just hoped that she didn't inadvertently break the boy's heart as she came to terms with the discovery that she was a mother twice over. The fact that she was still frozen in open-mouthed shock didn't bode well however.

Piper couldn't speak, couldn't move – Chris was her son? No, no, that couldn't be right. Someone was playing a practical joke on her. That was it; it was all a stupid prank. Only it wasn't and she knew it. He has your colouring, Leo's eyes, her mind screeched at her, forcing her to see what was right in front of her face. It was all too much to take in though; she was not ready for this. Wyatt was enough of a handful, how was she going to cope with bringing up two magical children?

Oh God, he's looking at me. What to say, what to say?

Still numb with shock, Piper opened her mouth and said the first thing that came into her head. "Cookies! You want some cookies? I made them this morning," she stuttered, knowing that she sounded like gibbering idiot, but unable to stop the cringe-worthy words from escaping her lips.

"W-what?" Chris stared at her incredulously, and then flickered a confused glance at his father.

Future Leo patted him reassuringly on the back. "Just go with it, son," he gently encouraged, relieved that Piper hadn't out and out rejected their boy. The fact that she wanted to feed him was a good sign, at least he hoped it was.

"Erm, okay," Chris agreed, taking his father's advice. "Double chocolate chip?" he asked expectantly.

"Ahh - a nephew after my own heart," Phoebe cut in then, her voice vibrating with friendly warmth.

Chris shot her a small smile. "The double chocolate chip king and queen," he said softly, briefly meeting her gaze before shyly looking away.

Phoebe smiled, liking the sound of that. Gazing at Chris, she just knew he had to rival Wyatt for cuteness as a little boy. Having another nephew was a good thing, she decided. Now she just had to get used to the fact that he was six foot and twenty-one already.

"Okay," Piper said, clapping her hands together, suddenly all business. "Everybody into the kitchen."

Doing as they were ordered, they all made their way through to the other room, where they stood around exchanging awkward glances as Piper bustled about, sorting out drinks for everyone. When she presented Chris with a huge glass of milk, rather than a mug of coffee like everyone else, his eyes widened comically, but he didn't protest. It was an acknowledgement of sorts, and there was something decidedly comforting about it.

He wasn't stupid; he knew that his bombshell had been of the nuclear variety, and that it would take time for the dust to settle. While they were his family, in some ways they weren't. They didn't know him, not really. That knowledge didn't make the situation any easier to deal with though – logic went out the window where love was concerned.

"This is a good reaction, isn't it?" he murmured to his father under his breath. He thought it was, but he wasn't entirely sure, being distinctly on the insecure side where this timeline's Piper was concerned.

Future Leo chuckled. "She's feeding you, that's always a good thing. Your Mom doesn't force food down just anybody's throat, you know."

"And what about you?" Chris asked, nodding over at Present Leo, who sat at the table with baby Wyatt in his lap, looking like he'd just received a two thousand volt shock.

"Umm – that's about what I'd expect. Instant grown-up sons are a big deal. Just give them both some time to get their heads around it, okay? My brain will probably start working properly again in an hour or so, I should think."

"Double chocolate chip."

Chris jumped a mile as Piper thrust a plate of cookies under his nose. "Umm thanks," he said, taking one.

His mother tapped the side of his glass with her finger. "Drink up," she instructed.

Chris obediently put the tumbler to his lips and took a big gulp of his drink and a bite out of his cookie. Piper nodded in satisfaction, and then continued to hand around the cookies to the gathered throng.

Once everyone was fed, she looked about for something else to do. Keeping busy would stop her having to think about… Oh God, she had another son. Chris was her son. He had come here to save his brother, not his friend. He had done all this for Wyatt, for his family.

It was that thought that finally broke through the haze of self-protective denial fogging Piper's brain. "Why Chris?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Her son looked confused, startled by the unexpected question aimed his way.

Future Leo had quickly followed his wife's convoluted thought processes though. "It was my father's name," he explained.

Piper nodded. "It's a nice name," she decided. She looked directly at Chris then, her motherly instincts kicking in when she saw the look of shy vulnerability on his face.

"I'm sorry," she said, moving forward and reaching out to gently touch his hand. "This is just a lot for me to take in."

"I know. I don't expect you to… well…" Chris broke off and waved his hand between them to illustrate the point that he couldn't articulate in words.

Piper nodded in understanding. "Let's just take things one day at a time, shall we?"

Chris smiled, a wave of relief running through him. "I can do that."

"Good, that's settled then," Piper said, returning his smile and lightly squeezing his hand. "So, do you want another cookie?"

Twinkling orb sounds answered her question and she span around just in time to see two cookies disappear from one of the plates in a swirl of blue lights. "Paige!" she scolded sharply.

"Hey! I didn't do anything." Her sister replied, holding up her empty hands as evidence.

"Err, Piper," Phoebe pointed to the blond little boy in his father's lap, who was munching happily on one of the stolen cookies, the other held tightly in his grasp.

Piper's eyes widened. "Wyatt!"

Future Leo began to laugh, amused by the shocked expression on her face. "You'd better get used to it," he warned. "They both have stealing cookies down to a fine art in the future."

"Both of them?" Piper looked over at Chris, who was looking guilty and rather contrite.

"I think you'd better show her," Future Leo said to him.

Throwing his father a reproachful look, Chris made a small come-hither gesture with his fingers and a cookie flew off the plate and directly into his waiting hand. Lifting it to his mouth, he took a deliberate bite, his teeth sinking into the chocolate-y goodness. Phoebe and Paige started to giggle, while Penny and Patty smiled indulgently.

Piper looked between her two sons, then shook her head in exasperation. "You two will be the death of me," she said, not realising for a second the devastating impact her innocent words would have.

The glass of milk smashed to the ground, spewing creamy liquid across the floor. Chris went pale and he staggered backwards, his haunted eyes going to a place just beyond her, seeing something that wasn't there, but which was obviously very real to him. He stood his ground for a brief instant, and then pushed past his aunts and ran out into the back yard, where he could be heard retching, a few moments later.

"I was the one," Piper said, turning her gaze on the future version of her husband as the truth slowly dawned. He was pale and frozen in shock, grief etched on his face for all to see.

"Yes," was his quiet reply.

"He… he was there when I…?"

The Elder nodded and a horrified sound escaped the back of Piper's throat. "And… and Wyatt?"

Future Leo hesitated, not knowing quite what to say. "Umm – he was there but he was… unaware, unconscious… until afterwards."

"It was because of me - Wyatt turning, wasn't it? I was responsible."

"No, no, Piper – you can't think like that. The evil, it was there before you…"

"This is what you meant though, when you said that they didn't pull the trigger until he was sixteen. I was the trigger, wasn't I?"

Unfortunately, there was only one available answer to her anguished question. "Yes."

"Oh, oh God!" Piper's hands rose to cover her mouth and her sisters immediately rushed over to comfort her.

"It's okay honey," Paige said, wrapping her arms around Piper's waist and resting her chin on her shoulder. "We'll stop it, we will."

"Yes," Phoebe tearfully agreed, completing the three-way embrace as she too wrapped her arms around her elder sister. "Nothing's going to happen to you or Wyatt. We're not going to let it, you hear?"

As he observed the unconditional love and support that existed between the three sisters, Future Leo forcibly shook himself out of his frozen stupor. What the hell was he doing? His boy was in pain and he was just standing here, while Chris was out there all alone and suffering.

"I'm sorry, I have to… Chris," he said, heading for the open door in search of his son.

With tears in his eyes, Leo cuddled Wyatt close to him, struggling to take in the horrible reality of their future. The baby started to cry, unsettled by the tense atmosphere in the room. As he rocked the little boy in his arms, trying to soothe him, Leo's eyes strayed to the open door and his thoughts immediately turned to his other son. My God, what the poor boy must have been through. It didn't bear thinking about.

Something inside of Leo clicked into place and he rose to his feet, quietly handing Wyatt to his grandmother before making his way outside.

In the backyard, Chris was pacing round and round in circles, swiping angrily at the tears streaming down his cheeks, while his future self stood to one side, deep concern written all over his face as he watched their son's agitated distress.

"We could cast a spell," the young whitelighter was saying. "Like what Wyatt cast on me. We could make them forget. They wouldn't have to know – about me, about anything. We could make them forget."

Future Leo shook his head and reached out to grab his son's forearms, halting his restless movements. "Chris no."

"Why not?"

"Because I have to go back to the future in a couple of days, and I'm not leaving you alone to deal with all of this."

"I'll be all right. I was fine before you came to visit."

"Were you? Were you really?"

Chris ignored the question. "It's not right. They shouldn't have to know, not yet. That's why I didn't say anything in the first place. We should cast the spell; make them forget any of this ever happened."

"No," Present Leo said firmly, finally making his presence known. "Your father is right, I'm right. This is not for you to carry alone."

Pulling out of Future Leo's grasp, Chris turned to look at him, his green eyes full of fear and self-loathing. "But… but what if she hates me?"

"What if who hates you?"

"Mom," was the whitelighter's unexpected reply.

Present Leo looked over at his future self, and saw that the man was as shocked as he was. "I don't understand. Why would Piper hate you?"

"Because I couldn't save her," Chris burst out in anguish. "I tried to but I couldn't… And Wyatt, it wouldn't have happened if she… It's all my fault. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. It's all my fault."

With that, Chris buried his face in his hands and started to orb out, unable to face what he mistakenly perceived as his father's disgust…

To be continued…

P.S. Stony Angel : Re: the last part and Chris not being affected by the arrow that hit Piper. If she was pregnant, the poison would have directly affected the baby, and therefore him. However, I figured that as Chris hasn't been conceived yet, he would only be affected if Piper was in danger of dying and his actual existence was threatened. In this case though, she wasn't so Chris was unaffected. Hope that makes some sort of sense.