Chapter Sixteen
The room was slightly dim, as the curtains had been drawn over the sunlight that was trying to make its way through the window. In the bed lay Chris, still looking rather pale and sickly after his very-near-death experience, fast asleep. His chest rose and fell rhythmically; a quiet snore was the only sound in the room.
The door was slightly ajar, but, after a loud knocking was heard, it was kicked open all the way by Piper. She was holding a large tray containing many bowls and plates, some of which steamed slightly, in her hands.
Chris groaned at the sudden noises, and he turned over to see his mother. He noticed that a couple of strands of her hair had escaped the bun which held the rest of it back. She was looking worriedly at him, a look which he was getting a lot ever since he'd returned from his most recent trip to the underworld.
"I'm awake, Mom," he groaned, as he sat up.
Piper, seeing her son adopt a seated position, set the tray over his legs, pointing out what was on it.
"That is chicken soup, and I want the plate to be clean when I come back up here. The drink is your Aunt Paige's special health potion, which I also want you to finish."
Chris grimaced when he saw the large glass containing a greenish and murky liquid. Piper noticed the expression on her son's face.
"Yes, I know it tastes gross, but you have to drink it."
Chris tentatively lifted the glass to his face, and, before he could even sniff at the contents, he quickly began to swallow them. He didn't allow himself to think about what the drink contained, or why it tasted so horrible, but instead, he kept gulping until he'd finished it. Gagging slightly, Chris set the glass down, ignoring his mother's approving look, and then he began to wipe his mouth on his sleeve.
Piper took a napkin, and slapped Chris's hand gently to keep his clothes away from his face. Then, she used the napkin to wipe at the remaining traces of the health potion from her son's lips. Chris, didn't move as he allowed his mother to clean him up.
Piper smiled, and then wrinkled up the napkin in her hand as she stepped back. Her son grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the soup, eager to get rid of the horrid taste that still resided in his mouth.
Seeing that she was no longer needed, the eldest Charmed One began heading to the door, when a quiet voice stopped her.
"Mom," Chris was saying, "can I ask you something?"
"Sure, sweetie," Piper said, changing directions and going back to the bed. She sat on the corner of it carefully, to make sure that the tray didn't tip over and dump its contents all over the clean sheets.
"When I was dying, I thought I heard you guys talking to Death."
Piper nodded. She remembered that quite clearly, even though she'd been racked with grief at the moment.
"You said something, though, and I can't stop thinking about it," Chris's face looked extremely serious as he spoke.
Hearing her son's words, Piper began to go over the meeting with Death yesterday, trying to figure out what she'd said that was troubling him so much.
"You said that he couldn't take me again," Chris emphasized the last word, before looking at his mom, confused. "I haven't died before, so, why would you say that?"
Piper froze as she listened to her son. Yesterday, she hadn't cared what she was saying, as long as her son was brought back. And, the mention of Chris's prior death, so many years ago, had apparently slipped out. None of her children, or Paige and Phoebe's, knew the sacrifice that the alternate future Chris had taken in going to the past to save Wyatt from turning evil. It had been a very well kept secret, that is, until yesterday. However, it seemed that Chris was the only one who'd found out, since Wyatt wasn't asking her about it at all, and he wouldn't have been able to resist knowing if he had paid attention to Piper's frantic cries. Of course, Wyatt had been extremely upset, which was why it was no surprise that he hadn't been listening. Chris, however, had been standing there in his spiritual form, and had been watching the whole situation from outside his body. He'd heard everything she said, and now, he wanted to know what was going on.
Piper sighed. It was time to tell her young son about how he'd returned from the future to save his brother, who was nearly a year old at the time.
"Chris, do you remember that once your Aunt Paige told you that we fought some titans and got turned into goddesses?"
Chris nodded. He remembered that story well, since the Charmed Ones' past exploits were practically legend in the family. Everyone knew about most of the demons they had faced, and they were all in the book as well.
"We didn't do it by ourselves. There was a whitelighter who arrived, and saved Paige when she was about to be killed. He was a young man, about twenty years old."
Chris frowned. He hadn't heard about this guy before. He'd been told that the titans had been defeated by his mother, and that was it.
Piper continued, "He'd come back from the future to save Wyatt, who had turned evil and was then the Source of All Evil." She didn't pay attention as her son's eyes widened and his breathing began to accelerate. "Later on, we found out that the whitelighter was a half-witch. That year, I also got pregnant."
Chris froze, as everything he was hearing suddenly made sense. It was so obvious now… He was the whitelighter who'd come back from the future to save Wyatt. Chris could hardly believe the conclusion to which his mind had arrived, and, as he struggled to make sense of it, he noticed that tears had begun to roll down his mother's face.
"The whitelighter's name was Christopher Perry Halliwell, and, the very day he managed to find out who turned your brother evil, he was killed." By now, Piper was sobbing into her hands.
Chris wanted to hug his mother, but he couldn't move. He'd died? He'd come back from the future and died? "B-but I'm still alive," he breathed out, stuttering slightly in shock.
Piper looked up at her son's words, and she hugged him fiercely, no longer caring about the tray which she was jostling, causing a bit of soup to spill out. "No, because we made sure that that future never happened. Wyatt never turned evil, so you never had to go back to the past to fix everything," she said into his shoulder. Her son, after not moving for a few more moments, then put his arms around her. Piper's sobbing intensified, and Chris buried his face into his mother's hair, feeling sorry for his other self, who had died before he was born.
After several minutes, Piper pulled back from her son, and wiped at her eyes with the wrinkled napkin which she was still holding. "You should finish your soup," she said, her voice breaking slightly as she stood up.
Chris glanced down at the food, which he had completely forgotten, and smiled.
His mother began to head out. As she walked through the door, she heard a muffled, "Thank you," and she smiled sadly before heading downstairs.
Chris dipped his spoon into his soup once more and began to stir it thoughtfully. He hadn't expected that answer, and now, he was sure that he would never forget about what he'd been told. Now, everyone protecting him made sense. They felt guilty about what had happened all those years ago, and wanted to keep it from happening again. It wasn't that his family thought he was weaker than Wyatt, it was that they'd already lost him once, and they didn't want to do it again.
Chris grinned as he leaned back against his pillow. He put his arms behind his head as he thought of how he longer had to prove himself to his family, since he'd done it such a long time ago. He'd shown everyone back then: he was just as strong as Wyatt was. He wasn't in his brother's shadow anymore. He was Christopher Perry Halliwell, a witch in his own right, and the son of a Charmed One.
(A/N) Awww! Wasn't that adorable? And very very different from the last chapter? Now, I know that not too much happened during this chapter, other than Piper spilling the beans on past Chris, but it was necessary. He had to know eventually, right? And if nobody had told him, he would naturally have been confused about why they'd been talking to Death in that way. Anywho, I hope this chapter was enjoyable to all of you guys, and I am sorry to say that there is only one chapter left! Don't worry, though, the story doesn't quite end here, I don't think!
Anyway, I want to thank people who Favorited, Alerted, and most of all, those who reviewed! Nosside, PhoenixRain26, annaangel23, Funnie, Mrs-Fanfiction and Patry (I'm glad you're liking this story so much!)! You guys are the best!
And yes, although this story is drawing to the close, have no fear! The next chapter will be posted soon, along with a little surprise! See you guys soon!