Title: The Revelation

Author: storydivagirl at hotmail dot com

Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just a fan...especially of Chris.

A/N: Written for a request for a Chris short...and it's Chris so how could I resist? Feedback always appreciated.

Piper's gaze shifted back and forth between where her sisters were seated on the edge of the sofa and where Chris was hovering in the foyer, unsure of what else to do. She knew she had to do something, say something even, but exactly what was lost on her. She tried to think, but it felt impossible as her mind reeled around what her sisters had said. She was pregnant. She was pregnant after spending the night with Leo (who was gone) on the ghost plane and her sisters had known that it was going to happen for weeks because her son (apparently) was standing there as an adult. Her sisters had known for weeks and not told her...

She would deal with that later. Right now she needed to figure all of this out and come to terms with the fact that Chris was her son.

Her son. Her very adult, very secretive son who was trying to save his future.

Suddenly, it wasn't simply about the idea of Wyatt being evil anymore-something that was quite hard for her to fathom-but about the life that her other son was living. The only thing she could think about was how horrible she had been to him. She had wanted Chris gone from the moment he appeared in her life and she had made that quite clear at almost every opportunity she could. She had tried to get rid of her own son, tried to force him away with horrible words and actions, and probably won the title of "most terrible mother...ever." Piper hated that Chris had felt unwelcome by her. Chris had come back from the future to save his brother and Piper had dismissed him. Why not put up a sign that flashed "I love Wyatt best" while she was at it?

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Paige asked.

Phoebe stood up and placed her hand on Piper's arm, adding, "I know this is a bit of a surprise, but-"

Piper shooed them away from her. It wasn't time to worry about her. Sure, she was surprised and thrown for a loop, but that was all part of being a mother sometimes. And she was Chris' mother and she needed to focus on him right now. She pushed past Phoebe and Paige and moved over toward Chris. She stared at him, studying every line and freckle, and he smiled. Not a real smile, but a hesitant upward turn of the lips. That was when she saw it. He was so much like Leo that she couldn't imagine how she had never seen it before. Even without all the glaringly obvious hints that now made sense...Chris was her son.

She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her. He didn't respond at first, which simply made her tighten her grip on him. She needed him to know that she loved him, that he mattered. It was a strange thing to her, the way motherhood had worked for her-that she could love this little person (or big person in Chris' case) so much without really knowing him at all. All she needed to know was that he belonged to her and it made everything clear. She loved him and would protect him with her life.

Finally, his arms looped around her and he said, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before, Piper. I'm so sorry I had to lie to all of you."

"It's not your fault. I should've known," she replied. She pulled back and met his gaze. She smiled and said, "I should've seen it." She patted his cheek and added, "You have your father's eyes."

"And your smile," he said easily, as though he had heard it a million times, and she realized that he probably had.

"I'm sorry, Chris."

"What are you sorry for?" he asked.

"I'm your mother and I treated you..." her voice trailed off as she remembered all the terrible things she had said to him. She shook her head, more to keep tears from falling, and went on, "I said things that no child should have to hear from a parent."

He shrugged. Chris had always been good at concealing everything from them, but now it annoyed her. Even now that she knew, he was trying to hide things. He looked at her for a second and then focused on the floor as he replied, "You didn't know who I was, Piper. You were protecting Wyatt, which is what any good mother would do."

"I should've-"

"Should've what? You didn't know me from Adam when I first showed up. Who would automatically assume that I was her son coming from the future?"

"He has a point," Paige added. She shook her head and added, "I'm still hoping I never hit on him."

"Ew," Phoebe said, slapping Paige on the arm, but whispering, "I already asked-and no."

"Thank God. I was starting to worry there for a minute. Nightmare type thoughts that I was the reason he was so neurotic in the future. Because his dirty 'ole auntie hit on him even though we didn't know and he was-"

"I'm standing right here! I can hear what you're saying and it's freaking me out," Chris exclaimed.

"What he said plus a double ew," Phoebe replied.

Piper rolled her eyes, but chose to ignore her sister's insanity. Now that she knew who Chris was she couldn't pull her eyes away from him. She asked, "How about I make you dinner?"

"That's not really necessary."

"Sure it is. I'm your mom and moms cook for their kidsand I happen to be a damn good cook."

He smiled-a real smile that nearly threw Piper off balance-and he replied, "I know you are."

"Right. So what's your favorite food? Pancakes? Pizza?"

"I appreciate the offer, but-"

"No buts are allowed, Chris," Piper interrupted.

"I can't stick around, Piper."

"You can't leave. I just found out about you."

"I have to get back to hunting for whoever is after Wyatt. I've been so preoccupied with trying to get you and Leo together-"

"What?"

"There were love spells and wishes and bad, bad things," Phoebe interjected.

Chris glared at her and tried to explain, "It's this whole not existing thing, but it doesn't matter anymore. I'm back and I've got to concentrate on my job. I need to figure out who is after him before it's too late."

"Wyatt is important to all of us, young man. We'll handle this together...after I make your favorite food. Now tell me what it is!" Piper ordered.

Chris raised an eyebrow and replied, "Young man?"

"Chris!"

"It's pancakes. I love pancakes. Favorite food in the world. Can't get enough of them," he replied, throwing his hands up in the air. He glanced at Phoebe and Paige and back to his mother. When he noticed her pleased expression, he added, "This is insane. You all know that, right?"

Phoebe moved over next to Chris and started ushering him through the hall toward the kitchen. She glanced back at Piper and Paige with a small smile before she focused on Chris and explained, "Hey now, insanity is one of those wonderful Halliwell traits that you've obviously inherited. And trust from my experience that it's best to go along with your mother when she gets like this, especially when she's right."

"Don't I know it," Chris replied as Phoebe pushed him through the door to the kitchen.

Paige stood next to Piper and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I've got a lot to make up for, don't I?"

"What?"

"I was so horrible to him. My own flesh-and-blood and I treated him like a common criminal," Piper replied, tears slipping down her cheeks. She threw her hands up in defeat and said, "Great, the hormones are starting already."

"Oh yay," Paige muttered sarcastically. She shrugged off Piper's annoyed gaze and replied, "What? Like we all won't be affected by your emotional outbursts."

"Thank you, Paige. Not only am I worried about the fact that my son hates me because I'm a mean shrew of a mother, but now I apparently have to worry about hurting your feelings."

"What you need to do is calm down. Take a minute and let what just happened sink in. It threw me for a loop when I found out and I'm only the aunt." Piper rolled her eyes and Paige added, "And you have nothing to make up for. Chris said it himself. You didn't know who he was. None of us did."

"But-"

"He loves you, sweetie. He wouldn't have come back here if he didn't love you and Wyatt so stop worrying so much about whether he likes you or not. You don't need to do anything magnificent to win him over other than being yourself."

"You're right," she replied. She started toward the kitchen and added, "But first I'm going to cook him those pancakes and then I'll force feed him whatever else his heart desires because he's way too skinny. Have you noticed how skinny he is? That can't be healthy."

"Said like a doting mom," Paige responded with an encouraging smile. Paige watched her sister scurry off to the kitchen. She glanced upward and said, "This should be interesting."

fin