Catherine Trudeau was a rather pleasant lady, her pitch black hair had gone a bit grey around her temples a few years back, and she had let the white overtake the darkness, without bothering to dye it. Her husband, Charles, a former Inspector and Captain was a bit more serious than she was. She was one to look at the brighter side of things, to find the hope in the darkest of situations. Even when she received the phone call that she had spent her entire life dreading with her husband, and later with her son finally came.
'Mrs. Trudeau, this is Inspector Morris, I'm Andy's partner, and I am very sorry to tell you that Andy was killed in the line of duty.'
She had collapsed in tears, wailed for days for her fallen son, and was barely able to make it through the funeral. The only comfort she had gotten at the time, was that he died protecting the woman he loved. The official report said that a dirty IA inspector framed Andy for murdering his partner, and then attacked Prue and her sisters in an effort to force Andy into writing a false confession in exchange for Prue's life. But he hadn't counted on Phoebe's martial art skills, nor the fact that Prue was not your typical woman. Of course at the time she had no idea that they were witches, but she took comfort in knowing that they were hunting the dirty cop, and that her son died a hero. Later of course, she thanked Piper and Phoebe for killing the bastard.
Her grief had started to turn to happiness when Prue called her to tell her that she was carrying Andy's baby, and that she was going to keep it. Of course the young woman had spent nearly half an hour explaining to them how she was not going to cut them out of the baby's life, and that they are more than welcome to come at any time to see their grandchild, but that they only needed to call first. She had excused the woman's need for privacy, and written it off as Prue's attempt to lead her own life without worry of retribution from them, but when they learned the truth, they realized that Prue was just trying to protect them.
She had to admit that learning the truth about the Halliwells made sense of many things that used to happen back in the day, starting with how Patty had died. She had never really understood how Patty drowned, she had known the woman a long time, and knew that she was an excellent swimmer. But Penny had claimed that she had a dizzy spell while in the water, and fainted.
She was proud of the girls, for accepting the responsibility and refusing to give up their powers in order to help others. She admired the amount of sacrifices they made, least of which was her own son. She took solace in his daughter. Little Andie was a lot like her father, and she always entertained them greatly when she came. It was quite odd at first why one of her aunts, or even Leo, always accompanied her, but once the big family secret was out, she was grateful. And it also explained why they never agreed to let her pay for the ticket, they never bought any. Not that it was actually needed. Because just like she found out for herself, Andie was quite powerful.
Andie had just turned two, and Catherine had called the sisters to ask them to bring Andie by so they can see her and maybe give her presents. She was glad when the sisters didn't even protest in the least, and Piper had told her that one of her Aunts will be with her. She was surprised when she opened the door and found Phoebe carrying Andie that day, for she knew that aside from levitation, Phoebe did not have any active powers, least of all a way to teleport across the country. She was very happy to see the youngest Halliwell, and she welcomed her with open arms. Phoebe quickly explained that Leo orbed them here, but did not join them and that they were staying for as long as they weren't needed back home. It was about midafternoon, when a demon shimmered in the middle of the living room. Apparently when he only sensed Phoebe with Andie, he thought he can take them both out. For news of Andie's real capabilities hadn't quite reached the underworld yet. Phoebe had immediately placed herself in front of Catherine and Andie, and screamed for Leo and Paige. The demon had merely smirked, and created an energy ball. But before he could even take his aim at Phoebe, he shook violently before exploding into nothing. Phoebe had turned around, her eyes shining with pride at her little niece, who just looked innocently at her.
She had just pulled the cookie tray out of the oven, when she heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get that," her husband called from the living room, as she made her way to the kitchen sink to wash her hands.
Charles, an ex-police Captain, was very fond of Prue and her sisters, and had grown fond of the new kid as well, amicably referring to him as 'newbie'. So he was not surprised nor displeased when he opened the door, and found both Prue and Chris standing, with Andie in Chris's arms. What did surprise him was the nervous look on Prue's face.
"Grandpa!" Andie squealed in delight, as she threw herself at the older man, who welcomed her with open arms.
"Hey Kiddo," he greeted affectionately, laughing softly as her small arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
Prue smiled at the sight, she knew that Andie held a special place in Charles's and Catherine's heart because she was Andy's daughter. Not only was Andy an only child, but he had passed away, and Andie was their only link to him. Well, at least for now she was.
"I smell cookies!" Andie declared happily, and Charles soft laughter turned into a loud one.
"Andie!" Prue chastised.
"Don't chastise her Prue," Catherine protested, as she walked over to them, "We're her grandparents, she can ask for whatever she wants from us," she added softly.
Prue gave her a small smile, as she now hugged Charles, who had moved Andie on to her grandmother.
"You guys remember Chris," she commented, gesturing to the man in question.
"Of course," Catherine said happily, "always nice to see you, dear," she welcomed him, extending a hand, which he hesitantly took.
"He's my ride," Prue quipped, trying to hide her nervousness, as well as get Chris to lose that rigid posture he'd adopted since she told him that they were going to go visit the Trudeaus and tell them about her pregnancy, and the truth about his identity. She honestly did not know what he was so nervous about, it was obvious that they liked him, and from his stories, they were good to him in the future. But as he had mumbled, after she pestered him about it, what if this version did not like what they saw?
Of course her mama-bear persona had reared its head at his comment, and she told him that they would be crazy not to like him. And that from what she saw, they really did like him, but he couldn't help it.
The Trudeaus laughed amicably at the comment, as they led them towards the sitting room.
"Can I get you anything to drink, Prue?" Catherine asked, as she walked ahead of the small group.
"No, thanks. I….uh…."she didn't quite know what to say.
Charles, his detective instincts kicking in, had already figured that Prue was nervous the moment he saw her. But now, when he saw her at a loss for words, he got really worried. Prue was hardly a woman to lose her ability to voice her thoughts.
"Prue, is everything alright?" Charles asked worriedly.
Prue's looked pointedly at Andie, who was now watching her closely, worry evident in her bright blue orbs.
"Mommy," she whimpered as she reached for Prue.
Prue was a bit hesitant about picking her daughter up, she had started to show, and had worn a loose blouse on purpose to avoid the Trudeaus seeing her baby bump, and was worried that if she picked up her daughter that the bump will become visible. But at the slightly scared look Andie had on her face, her mind was made up, and she plucked her daughter out of Catherine's arms to soothe her.
"I'm fine baby," she soothed, as she kissed her cheek, before she positioned the child strategically in front of her stomach, as she cradled her head close to her chest.
Charles and Catherine traded looks before, they both looked at Chris, who smiled apprehensively at them, before he looked back at Andie who was now clinging to Prue as if her life depended on it.
It was quite obvious that something was up, and that Prue did not wish to talk in front of her little girl.
"Chris," Catherine called, and waited till the young man's slightly familiar eyes looked at her - she knew they looked familiar, she just didn't know why - before she spoke again, "why don't you take Andie and see if those cookies are ready to be eaten yet," she suggested, as she eyed the four year old closely.
"Chocolate chip cookies?" Andie mumbled from her place inside her mother's arms, and Catherine nodded with a knowing smirk. Her smirk turned into a genuine smile when Andie's sweet face broke into a truly happy grin.
She pulled back slightly to look at her mother, who had managed to school her features into a playful smirk.
"Did I ever tell you that Grandma makes the best cookies?" she teased, earning herself a confused look from Andie.
"I thought that was Aunt Piper!" Andie exclaimed.
"Well, don't tell your Aunt Piper that, but I like your Grandma's cookies better. Your daddy used to sneak me some all the time," she recounted affectionately, barely catching herself from chocking on her words when she mentioned Andy.
"REALLY?" Andie squeaked.
"Uhuh. And he used to sneak some past Grandma for himself as well," he smirked playfully.
"Let's go squirt, you and I both know that they'll talk about boring grown up stuff," Chris piped up, and that seemed to do the trick. Andie scrunched her nose adorably at the thought of boring talk, and flung herself at Chris. Chris took her out of Prue's arms, who smiled gratefully at him.
"Right through there," Catherine pointed in the direction of the kitchen, before she led the other two towards the couches.
"Okay Prue, now with Andie out of the way, we're really worried. Is everything alright?" Catherine asked worriedly, "You're not going to die or disappear again, are you?" she added fearfully.
"No, no," Prue quickly shot down that scary thought, "I'm fine. It's just…..it's kind of big and I have no idea where to begin," she confessed.
"If it isn't something bad, then does it really matter where you start," Charles argued, and she had to admit that he had a point.
Prue sighed, before an idea finally came to her. She reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone, before she quickly opened it and scrolled through the pictures till she found the one she wanted. It was a picture of her and Andy in high school, and it was one of her favorite ones of the two of them.
"This is a picture of me with Andy, fresh out of junior high," she explained, as she handed them the phone.
"I've never seen this before," Catherine commented, as she looked at her son's face. He looked quite different in that photo, his hair longer, slightly lighter, and his striking blue eyes looked slightly greenish from the sunlight.
"Grams was the one who took it, and I found it on an old film roll at the house," she told them, and they both nodded.
"What does this picture have to do with anything?" Charles asked, the pain of losing his son awakening once more within him.
"Andy at that age, he doesn't look like someone, doesn't remind you of someone maybe?" Prue eluded.
They both looked back at the picture, trying their best to see what Prue meant by her questions, when a loud squeal mixed in with a deep throaty laugh disrupted their focus. That laugh, seemed to light a bulb in Catherine's head. She gasped loudly, as she whipped around to look in the general direction of the kitchen, where her granddaughter was happily spending time with Chris…..her grandson.
She had always thought that there was something familiar about Chris, but was never able to place it. Now she knew what it was, he reminded her of her own son.
"Chris." She whispered in disbelief, her eyes now finding Prue's tearful ones.
"Exactly!" Prue said tearfully, "Chris is my son with Andy."
"Andy's back?" Charles choked out. He had to hand it to the Halliwell sisters, they were the only ones who were capable of making him speechless. The first time he had heard Prue was pregnant, he was pleasantly surprised. But this time….well….he was utterly confused. He may not know a lot about the magical world, but he was pretty sure that dead people were still incapable of having babies from beyond the grave.
Prue shook her head softly, "no, I'm afraid not."
"Then how?" Catherine choked out.
"A few months ago, a demon attacked us in the middle of the night. Chris and I were the only ones awake, Chris vanquished him, but not before he threw a potion at me. Next thing I know, I'm in the manor, but it's completely empty. He had managed to transport me to a parallel dimension," she started her tale, "and that's where I met Andy." She added, "and…..uh….."She stammered, not entirely sure how to phrase her words.
"We understand Prue," Charles decided to spare her the embarrassment.
"I had known for some time that Chris was my son, but he didn't tell me who his father was. It wasn't after I returned from that alternate dimension did I know. Apparently, with my stuck in that dimension, I risked Chris's existence, and he started to disappear. He fully disappeared while I was there, and only came back when I did. He had told his aunts about who his father was, so when he came back when I did, my sisters put the pieces together and told me. He confirmed it." She finished.
"Why didn't he tell you before who his father was?" Catherine asked.
"Because apparently I never told him how he came to exist, and so he didn't even know what to tell me. I would've asked him how he's Andy's son, and he had no idea how to answer." Prue answered.
"But you would've believed him anyways," Charles argued.
Prue chuckled tearfully, "he didn't even tell me he was my son. I was the one who figured it out when I saw old pictures of Andy here, and he looked a lot like Chris. Then I remembered the old rolls of films I had, and I developed them. I had already had this nagging feeling that he was mine from the moment I laid eyes on him, but I thought it was some sort of side effect from the trauma. But when I saw those old pictures, I knew in my heart that he was mine. His reaction when I dropped that bomb was all the evidence I needed." She explained, "He was quite secretive about the future, fearing that he might ruin it even more, and I never thought that his father would be Andy. I thought it might be someone else." She added.
"So you're….." Catherine stammered, pointing towards Prue's stomach, and Prue smiled. "Yes, I'm about six months along." She informed them, as she leaned back, and pulled the shirt around her stomach to show them the bump.
They both chuckled at the sight, and Catherine's tears became ones of joy.
"But how come he didn't tell your sisters that you were alive?" Charles wondered, the question suddenly popping into his head unanswered.
"He didn't know I was captured. Apparently that was one other thing we never told the kids, we just told them that I came back and they assumed it was the Elders. We never even told them when I came back, so he didn't mention it to my sisters to avoid screwing up the timeline."
"But he did know when he was born, so he must've known a rough guess of when you returned," Catherine thought out loud, and when all Prue did was lower her gaze, the answer dawned on the older couple. Chris didn't care about his own existence, he was too focused on Wyatt.
Before they could say another word, Andie's squeal caught their attention, followed by Chris's protests.
"Andie, get back here," he called, only for the four year old to ignore him, and run to her mother.
"Mommy, the cookies are delicious," she exclaimed excitedly, as she handed her mother one.
Normally, the Trudeaus would be fawning over the energetic child, but right now, they only had eyes for their grown up grandson. They had been told the story that everyone else knows, Chris was here to save Wyatt from a future evil. Chris froze at the sight of tears in his paternal grandparents' eyes, the pride, the joy. It's true that he had a fairly good relationship with them in the future, but after 'the event', he had gotten closer to Victor. Not to mention that when Wyatt became unstoppable, they more or less blamed him for not being able to put an end to it all.
"You are just like your father," Catherine whispered tearfully, "you have no idea how much joy it gives us to know that our grandson risked his own existence to protect his family." She added, as she approached him, standing in front of him, her eyes holding his guarded ones steady.
"May I?" she asked, holding her arms up.
Chris smiled at her, and Catherine couldn't help but wonder how they never made the connection before. His smile was a replica of his father's, and it made the tears come faster. Chris wordlessly wrapped his arms around her, and buried his nose in her shoulder and hair.
"I've missed you," Chris mumbled, and she laughed happily into his shoulder.
Charles hugged both his wife and grandson, as a tearful Prue and bewildered Andie watched on. Chris wrapped one of his arms around Charles, and lost himself in the embrace of his grandparents. He momentarily forgot about the horrible, destroyed future he came from, and reveled in the normalcy of it all.
"We're very proud of you son," Charles choked out, as he kissed the top of his head, and Chris was too busy fighting back his own tears to actually answer.
"Mommy?" a bewildered Andie called, her confusion deepening even further when she saw tears in Prue's eyes.
"Why are Grandma and Grandpa hugging Chris?" she asked, and Prue chuckled.
"Because he reminds them of your daddy," was the only answer Prue was able to give.
I am so terribly sorry for the four months wait, but this chapter just refused to be put into words. I know that it is a filler, but I wanted to move the timeline a bit, and was sort of stuck on how. I will do my best to update again soon, but I can't make any promises.
I would love to know what you guys think of this chapter, and if you are no longer interested in the story, let me know and I will take it down.
Also, I am not sure if it was ever mentioned on Charmed if Andy had any siblings, but for the sake of this story, he didn't.
Thank you all for your patience.