Chapter Fifteen
Wyatt barely heard his beloved aunt Paige pronounce his younger brother's death. "He can't be dead… he just can't be," he kept saying to himself, as if the mantra would protect him from the obvious truth.
Chris couldn't be dead, not after all they'd gone through to try and get him home safe and sound.
Wyatt didn't feel the tears begin to run down his cheeks, or the sobs that suddenly started racking his body.
"Chris," he whispered to the immobile body in his arms. "Come on, Chris, come back."
A startled gasp coming from Phoebe forced him to look away from his brother's pale and still face, and up to Chris's ghostly soul.
Chris was standing there, semi-transparent, looking rather tired. He looked at the family members who were there with him, and, for a moment, he found himself wishing that he'd had time to see his little sister, his father, or his cousins and uncles one last time. In fact, he found himself longing for more time to do the many things that he'd promised he would do before he died. It was too late now. Chris would never get to graduate, get a job, have a serious relationship, or continue with the family legacy. He wouldn't be able to watch old movies with Mel, joke around with his cousins, or try to beat Wyatt at basketball again. His life was over, and all those things that he loved to do, he couldn't do them anymore.
Smiling sadly at his aunts and mother, who were staring at him, ghostly Chris got down on his knees and faced his brother. "Watch over them, Wy," he said quietly, knowing deep in his non-corporeal heart that those words would probably keep the young man from doing anything stupid in his grief.
Wyatt couldn't stop staring at the ghost of Chris, but when he heard those words, his face adopted the usual stubborn expression. "You're not leaving, Chris. It's not your time to die yet."
Chris stood up. "I'm afraid it is," he said, before turning to look at the entrance of the room, where a figure familiar to the three sisters was standing.
As she recognized Death, Piper threw herself on her son's body, yelling out "No! You're not taking him!"
Death stepped into the room, shaking his head. "We've been over this before. When it's someone's time to die, you've got to let them go." His voice was calm, yet tired, as if he was used to having this argument. "You can't fight me," he said in a whisper, yet everyone in the room heard him as clearly as if he'd said it into their ears.
"We can try," a determined voice said, and with new strength, Wyatt began pouring everything he had into his healing ability, holding his hands over his little brother's dead body.
The ghost of Chris shook his head sadly. This was not the way he'd planned to go. Hell, he'd thought that he'd die once he was extremely old, but, that had been taken away from him. But, still, even if he felt that this wasn't so bad, except for all that he regretted not doing, he didn't want to leave his family, especially his brother, this way. Wyatt was taking this so hard; he didn't even seem to believe that Chris was really dead.
Unable to do anything about it, the dead man stepped towards Death, who was now holding out his arms, as if he was welcoming him.
"You can't take him from me again!" screamed Piper, feeling her heart become cold in a familiar way. She could still remember Leo telling her that Chris had died, so many years ago. Even if that was Chris from the future and not the boy she'd truly raised, she'd still felt the loss keenly, and had been devastated for a long time after. And now, her son, the Chris she'd raised and saved from an evil future, was dead all over again.
Feeling the strong emotions in the room, Phoebe's knees buckled, and she landed on the floor, trying to deal with not only her sisters' and Wyatt's sadness, but her own as well. It wasn't easy for an empath in that sort of situation, and Phoebe felt herself perilously close to passing out from everything she was feeling.
Paige could feel herself tearing up as she watched her nephew die for the second time. She was the only one present who'd been there at the first passing. Now, she had to go through it all over again. And yet, she felt stronger than her sisters, and, with force, she turned to Death, who was a lot closer than he'd been just a few seconds ago. "He's not ready to go," she said in a quiet but firm voice.
"Aunt Paige, please," Chris whispered, his voice not being able to speak louder than that. "It's ok."
"No, it's not," Paige answered, her voice breaking slightly on the last word. "He's still alive, otherwise, his soul wouldn't be lingering here."
Death looked the same as he did when first arriving. He was used to dealing with the Charmed Ones, and yet, every single time he met them, he became more and more exhausted. "But he will be completely dead in just a few more moments. That's why I'm here."
Chris had been watching what was going on as he stood there in all his ghostly glory. His brother wasn't looking up from trying to heal him, his mother and Aunt Phoebe had collapsed, and now Paige was arguing with Death himself. Chris could hardly believe all this was going on, and while he wanted to stay and comfort his family, he felt drawn to the man dressed in black. He knew that he was about to die, and his family still wouldn't accept it.
Chris looked back at Wyatt, who still had that determined look on his face, and who was still holding his hand over Chris's wound. His eyes were filled with pain, and his mouth was quivering, as if he couldn't keep the sobs inside his throat any longer. Seeing this, Chris struggled against the pull Death had on him, and tried to go back to his brother. He had to be with Wyatt, he just couldn't leave him like this.
As if suddenly sensing Chris's resistance, Death looked up at the spirit, now frustrated. At the same moment, Wyatt's hands began to shine as his healing abilities were activated.
"It's working," Wyatt said, barely daring to believe in what he'd just accomplished. "I'm healing Chris!" he then said excitedly at his mother, who instantly looked up and held Chris closer to her.
Paige was the only one who saw the struggle that ghostly Chris was going through. On one hand, he still felt attracted to the darkness of Death, but, on the other, he could feel his body calling him back. Finally, Chris surrendered, and he closed his eyes as his spirit vanished and returned to his body.
The physical Chris suddenly gave a little gasp under Wyatt's hands, and Piper started crying once more, this time with happiness, since she knew that her son was returned to her.
"It seems that I am no longer needed," a serious voice said, and only Phoebe and Paige turned in time to see Death vanish into the shadows.
Meanwhile, Chris was struggling to breathe deeply. He was still immersed in blackness, and although he knew that he'd been unconscious for a while, for some reason, he felt as if he'd just been dreaming the whole thing.
Finally, all the pain in his body vanished, although his exhaustion didn't, and Chris was able to tiredly open his eyes and look up at his mother's tearstained face. He frowned slightly, and then asked, "Why are you crying?"
Piper didn't answer. Instead, she drew her son into a hug, while Wyatt took advantage of the moment to wipe his eyes dry on his sleeve. Now that his brother was alive once more, it wouldn't do for him to see Wyatt with tears on his face.
Phoebe smiled, relieved with the change of emotion in the room, and she stood up and joined Paige. Together they watched the joyous reunion of mother and son, with Wyatt sitting nearby, smiling widely. They would interrupt in a little while, reminding Piper that her husband was probably worried sick by now, and then they would all orb to the manor to greet the anxious Leo. But, for now, they'd let her and Chris enjoy the moment.
(A/N) Did you guys really think that I would truly kill Chris off? He's my favorite character! But, I did realize that I should probably put in that kind of cliffhanger in my stories more often! I got such awesome reactions and reviews! How about it? No? Oh well.
Thanks so much to all those people who favorited and alerted my story! Especially thanks to my lovely reviewers: PhoenixRain26, Nosside, Iris Sanchez 125, Patry (LOL! I'm glad you didn't cry, and I hope you didn't do anything drastic this past week, I still have to finish the story!), SkaterGirl246, and Funnie! You guys are the best!
And last chapter's challenge, to find which is the reference to what episode in the seventh season of Charmed: Season 7, episode Imaginary Friends; Wyatt comes back to the future and sees his little brother, inquires whether that's "before or after he swallowed the marble", the reference is Chris's memory of him swallowing a marble at a birthday party. Congrats to both Iris Sanchez 125 and bstant who sent me messages with the answer in them, although I'm sure a couple other people found the reference too.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, are now more relieved, and can fully enjoy what is coming next. There are a couple chapters left, and soon, this story will be finished... or will it? Anyway, see you guys next week! Don't forget to leave me a review if you can!