DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. CERTAINLY NOT THE CHARMED TV SERIES NOR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS

When Piper gave birth to Baby Chris, they decided to name him after both his grandfathers and the man who saved his brother. Christopher Victor Halliwell.

The family buried an empty coffin for him beside Prue. The gravestone read, "Chris Perry, the Man Who Saved the Future". To anyone else who saw it, it would be confusing, but to the Halliwells, it was a much deserved title for their Whitelighter.

They visited him whenever they could. And they made sure all their kids knew about him. The next generation of Halliwells grew up knowing of the bravery, sacrifice, and heroism of Chris Perry.

Wyatt, especially favored the stories, he knew that the Time Traveler had come back from the Future to save him and he swore he would honor that. He would become the best fighter against evil, the best son, and the best brother.

As for Young Chris, something in the story always stirred heavy emotions in him. To him, Chris Perry sounded like a time travelling superhero, except only better because he was real and he saved his big brother. Being named after him was sometimes difficult for Young Chris because he didn't think he'd ever be as brave or smart or powerful as the older man. But he'd try... try to live up to Chris Perry's example and hope he could be half the witch he was.

Phoebe was the only one who knew the truth and after Chris died, she didn't have the heart to tell Piper and Leo that their son was dead. So she kept it a secret.

As Baby Chris grew up, he would sometimes say or do things that reminded the family of Chris Perry. At first, they all thought maybe Chris was still watching over them. Being his usual neurotic self and bugging them to go vanquish evil.

Then, Baby Chris grew some more and the resemblance to his features became more and more evident. The idea that Piper may have had an affair with Chris Perry crossed their minds for a second but it didn't last long. Leo could clearly feel the paternal bond with his son and more, he trusted Piper wholeheartedly.

Paige wondered if maybe Young Chris was the reincarnation of Whitelighter Chris. They had all accepted this until Phoebe began to sob. She cried and apologized as she finally confessed the truth she'd been hiding all this time.

Shock. Horror. Grief. Anger. These emotions overwhelmed the empath and if she hadn't long gotten used to this power, she knew it would have knocked her out. All she did to defend herself was that Chris made her promise not to tell and when he died, she wanted to tell them but when she saw them all happy with Baby Chris, she couldn't. She didn't want to break their hearts on a day that was supposed to be one of the happiest in their life. And she thought that Chris was born now and they would make sure he lived a long and happy life.

Paige was stunned. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the young man who came from the future and saved them all was her nephew. The same nephew she watched fade away right before her eyes. She remembered his last moment. The look of a man who knew he was going to die. The tight hold he had on her hand as if afraid to let her go. The way she said her name and thanked her for staying with him. She remembered how much his death hurt and affected her. How she felt her heart twist and break when he faded away. Now to know that she had just watched her beloved nephew die...

Piper was furious and demanded to know why Phoebe never told her. She had a right to know. She said. He was her son and she deserved to know. She heard Phoebe's answer and to an extent she did understand but she didn't want to understand. Right now, she needed to hold on to the anger because if she didn't... the grief and shame would shatter her heart.

Leo was angry too, but for him, the grief was more prominent. He was suddenly brought back to the attic as Chris lay dying before him. At the time, he despaired at his death but focused on saving his son. The only son he thought he had at the time. So, he left him for a minute to call Paige. Just to call her and make sure she was there for him while he went to save Wyatt. Chris was dying and Leo left him to go save Wyatt. Paige was with him but it wasn't the same. Paige wasn't his parent. Leo was and he left his son to die.

Eventually, they all forgave Phoebe. They could understand why she didn't tell them but now that they knew, they could heal together from this years old wound that was suddenly reopened.

After that, Piper and Leo held on to their young son tighter than before. As if they were afraid that he would disappear and fade away like the other him years before. Chris didn't understand why and sometimes he reveled in their attention but mostly it weirded him out and he ran to his older brother.

None of the adults could bear to tell the children. They were all too young. The eldest among them was Wyatt and he was barely into his teenage years. How could they look into Wyatt's cheerful blue eyes that he had turned into an evil overlord in a different timeline? How could they look at Chris and tell him that he died to save them all? How? They couldn't. So they kept quiet for now and held on to their kids a little tighter than before. Someday, they'd tell them the whole truth but for now, let them be young.

A part of the family wanted to go to his grave and change it. Something to make sure everyone who saw it knew he was part of the family. But Piper couldn't do it. She hadn't been able to even visit his grave since she learned the truth. Everytime the others went, she held on tighter to Young Chris and for reasons that escaped the little boy, cried as she apologized to him over and over.

Leo was the opposite, he visited his grave more often than before. As if trying to make up for leaving him with only Paige as he died. He talked to his son and apologized and cried and told him he loved him. All the while knowing none of it mattered because he remembered what Chris Perry had said about his father. His son lived and died to see two versions of his father and both were disappointments.

In the end, they decided not to change his gravestone. It would be weird and a bad omen for the Young Chris they had with them. But mostly, they didn't change his name because he was more than another Halliwell. He was his own person who deserves to be remembered for his own merits and not the family name.

They did make one change however, an addition to the inscription. Now it read, "Chris Perry, The Man Who Saved the Future, Beloved Son, Brother, and Nephew"