A/N and Disclaimer: I don't own.

This chapter is absolutely MAMMOTH! By my standards anyways. It is like 2700 words long so I hope you enjoy. Couple more OCs not as major as Ash and not nearly as major as Chris. Don't worry.

Please read and REVIEW! And above all enjoy.

This is a rather light chapter, I wanted to focus some more on Chris and his relationship with other people before we move onto the darker stuff.

Chapter 15- Waiting on Recovery

"God Chris, will you just sit down man? You are in NO condition to be going to Wyatt's just yet. It's been what, maybe 24 hours since you woke up?" Ash was standing in between Chris and the closed door that his friend currently wanted to exit through. His eyes were narrowed with frustration as he pleaded with the stubborn Halliwell.

"Ash! Bianca! Remember here?" Chris' voice was distressed and he obviously didn't want to be arguing.

"Of course Chris, but she's not in as much danger as you think she is and if you would just calm down and think logically then you would get it too."

"What are you talking about? She's still with Wyatt! If that is not danger than nothing is dangerous."

"Look, Chris, we all know that everyone else is dispensable to Wyatt except you." Ash's brown eyes were tinted with sadness at the truth of his own words. "Wyatt gets physical pain, he gets that and he associates that with power. If he is going to hurt Bianca, he's going to do it for a purpose. He wants to hold power over you and right now there is no reason to when he has no clue where you are. He doesn't want to waste his time hurting Bi when there's not merit to gain from it."

Chris' eyes softened at this. Knowing his brother better than anyone else, he knew that Ash was right.

"Fine… but I'm not waiting long…" Ash breathed in a sigh of relief at this. Getting Chris to wait around when there were things he wanted to accomplish was harder than shoving a bowling ball through a fence. Damn stubborn Halliwells.

"And I'm not going to like it…" Chris grinned at his best friend who rolled his eyes but laughed back.

"Damn, it's so good to see you again." Ash said happily, "It's been hell without you."

"Naw man, hell is much nicer."

"You would know"

"Why yes I would."

--

They were so childish and cute joking around together. Ash and Chris were perfectly matched as friends. The other knew what the other was about to think, feel or do before they knew themselves. It was refreshing to listen to their childish banter; it was so different to see Chris like this. The three sisters and Leo were seeing their new found relative in a completely new light. Instead of weak, demanding, sarcastic boy and annoying they saw him to be a strong, driven, passionate and well… still sarcastic young man.

"Do you guys really think we should be eavesdropping like this?" Leo asked uncertainly. He was received with a harsh "shush" but was otherwise ignored. It seemed to be a pattern they'd been practicing. Ignoring him, they ignored him when he had told them to let Chris be alone for a while and not try to bother him. They had ignored him when he told them that it was an invasion of privacy to cast a hearing charm on the room Ash and Chris were in so that they could hear what they were saying and they ignored him when he was trying to tell them about how that was personal gain.

"You and your stupid Halliwell pride." Ash laughed. The occupants of the outside room chose not to take offense at that rather thinking about how casually Ash had associated Chris with their last name.

"Yep, I never go anywhere without it." Piper and Leo's son returned amusement in his voice. It was so easy to forget how much pain he had to be in due to Bianca's wound on his soul if they hadn't been there when he had first got it, they would never have believed it.. It was scary to think about how well he could hide it. It was also easy to forget that while they had just started to think of Chris as a Halliwell, he had been one his whole life.

"Speaking of Halliwells… Chris, don't you think you should get to know them. Frankly, I'm not sure what terms you're on with them." Ash's voice spoke again a little less lightly.

"I would, but I think they are having too much fun eavesdropping on us." Chris responded lightly.

"Oh shit." Phoebe muttered as the door opened to reveal an amused looking Chris and a confused looking Ash. The lesser powerful of the two was looking at them with slight disbelief and he shook his head in wonder.

"I'm a telepath, remember?" Chris said raising his eyebrows as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides you guys talk damn loud." The youngest Halliwell's voice was calm and level but Phoebe saw right through it and she was pretty sure Piper did too. Mother's senses, you know? Chris Halliwell was absolutely terrified that he would have to face rejection from his family who although were quite different than the family he knew growing up, were still family.

"Actually we don't really know, what powers do you have Chris?" Paige interjected recovering from the awkwardness of the situation to state her own question.

The two boys' eyes seemed to darken. Ash's more so than Chris'.

"Not as many as Wyatt."

Piper looked at her… son, Chris as he answered that question. Shame filled his countenance and then was gone in an instant. His eyes were slightly downcast and he seemed to have some enormous weight upon his shoulders for a reason that didn't make sense. His answer didn't make sense? What did it matter that he didn't have as many powers as Wyatt. They as the charmed ones probably didn't have as many powers as Wyatt did combined.

"Chris, what does that matter?" Piper said softly her voice filled with sadness.

"I don't know. It always has though." His voice seemed so hollow for a moment. So hopeless and so far away as he shoved resurfacing memories he'd rather live without back into the far recesses of his mind. If he could just keep them there longer, hopefully until he died, than he could continue living or whatever it was he was doing. Ashton was shaking his head in frustration and had placed his hand on Chris' shoulder to try and comfort him in some way.

"Well, do you want me to show you around the resistance headquarters?" The brunet boy asked hesitantly obviously changing the subject. He gestured with his eyes towards a door that they had never been through before.

Phoebe smiled and nodded along with the others. Chris brightened and stiffly made his way to the door. His normally graceful movements seemed to be jarred just a little more than usual. But who could blame him in what he's been through recently?

--

Chris waved his hand in front of the door he had just bolted shut. A few pale blew sparks flew from his fingertips and wrapped themselves tightly around the locks and bolts and then sunk into the metal.

"Just for a little extra protection." He muttered. While the spell looked simple and hadn't even required a verbal word, Ashton knew that even the forces of nature wouldn't be able to get past that door if they wanted to. Maybe Wyatt, but thank God he didn't even know that door existed.

"Do you mind glamoring? It's just that… well…" Chris' voice trailed off obviously not wanting to reveal that they had been dead for several years in this point in the timeline.

"Seeing the Charmed ones would cause quite a commotion around here." Ash finished for him noticing his friend's hesitance. Chris shot him a grateful look in return.

Paige's eyes narrowed slightly as if she didn't buy it but still complied. A swirl of orbs surrounded her and her sisters and Leo. Paige was now a redhead with large green eyes, the only thing that didn't change was her unnaturally pale skin. Phoebe was a brunette with straight long hair and choppy bangs. She had blue eyes that reflected her cheerful personality. Piper had wavy light brown hair that was streaked with blond highlights. She had startling grey eyes and high cheekbones. And Leo… he had black hair that was long and fell around his ears. He was tall and… Oh god, his nose was about five inches long…

"Haha… Paige, this isn't funny." His voice came out nasally and strange even though he had nostrils probably big enough to fit a baby cactus up.

"Yeah it is." Paige replied laughing along with the other sisters as Leo returned his own nose back to a normal size and shape not trusting the female witch lighter to do it. To everyone's great surprise and delight, Chris was smiling as well. He truly had a great smile. When he used it his eyes and face lit up making him look like a normal teenager and not a war torn veteran. His smile showed off the genetics his two beautiful parents had given him and for a moment he just looked like a normal, (definitely) gorgeous boy.

"Shall we?"

--

"There are rumors flying around. Have you heard them Claira?" Asked Derik who was one of the few whitelighters that had sided with Chris and the resistance instead of retreating into the heavens with the rest of the elders and leaving the rest of the world forsaken only to be killed later by Wyatt on his vicious warpath. Derik looked to be in his early to mid twenties when he was really over a hundred if the years were really counted. He had black hair and dark eyes but was one of the nicest people that you would ever meet if you met him.

Claira, the girl he was speaking to had strawberry blond hair which was pulled up into a rather strange looking high ponytail and clear blue eyes. A pair of black rimmed glasses teetered on the bridge of her nose. She was about twenty four years old; it's hard to remember the years anymore. She was a potions maker and while not very good at it; her potions had still managed to save some lives.

"No… I don't gossip."

"Fine, then I won't tell you." Derik joked, still very much so a kid at heart despite the dark times they lived in.

"Just tell me."

"People are saying Chris is back!" He smiled eyes shining with hope. Once Chris had left, while Ash and Bianca, for the time that she had been here, had tried to keep the people's morale up, it just wasn't the same without their leader who always knew how to keep the faith but without overdoing it. The youngest son of Piper and Leo had always been a light of hope for the survivors, he represented hope and good and it was hard to have him gone for so long. Now the rumors were spreading like wildfire and the morale was already boosting with just the mention of his name.

"Well duh, everyone's heard that."

"And you're not FREAKING happy!?"

"I am! I really am, but what if he's not really back, what if it's just a rumor?" Her voice was flat but it was obvious how excited she was at the idea that Chris was really back.

"We can't even think of that possibility."

"Trusting word of mouth isn't so wise these days." She muttered reflecting on how many traitors there had been at one time.

"Anyways, I need to get back and give these potions to Ash." Claira gestured to the bag that she was carrying over her shoulder. Ashton was the head potions master only bested in potions making by Chris himself. He would have been legend in the world of potions-making had it still been constructed. Deserving much more credit than he ever gave himself for—when you hung out with Chris for the majority of your life, his self-depreciating ways were definitely going to rub off on you. The truth was she was in such a hurry just to get to Ashton just to be with him. She was his girlfriend after all. (A/n: yeah weren't expecting that one were you?) He was so fun to be around. While he was no Chris, his presence always did seem to bring the happy-meter up a little bit. Plus she was truly in love with him, which was something very hard to find during these times.

Suddenly the door behind them opened. It was the door leading to the living quarters where Ash, Bianca, and Chris had crashed whenever they needed to since none of them really spent that much time in them anyways. They had always been too busy.

"Well here's your chance." Derik said expecting to see Ash step out as he was the only one who ever went back there anymore.

"Hey As— Oh my god, Chris?" Claira's voice rose about an octave.

"Wow, Claira, nice to see you too." She bust forward nearly tackling him in the process as she rushed to hug him. Chris winced slightly but did not push her away, instead smiling sheepishly.

"He just got back, let him breathe." Ash's light and cheerful voice sounded from behind the resistance leader.

"Ash! Where have you been, dammit?" She laughed hugging him too along with a small kiss.

"Well let's do the math, we just came out of that door…"

"Shut up."

It was so weird for the sisters and Leo to see Chris and Ash acting like this, it was as if an entirely new mask was put on… or taken off?? Whatever it was, they seemed like completely different people. That girl and that man seemed to know them as well as they were now joking and laughing. Claira had attached herself to Ash's hip and he had his arm around her shoulders… they hadn't even considered the possibility of Ash with a girlfriend even though it was obvious that Chris had had Bianca. They looked… so… normal… as if the rest of the outside world wasn't falling apart. At this rate, pigs were seriously going to start flying.

"Oh! Who are they?" The older of their group, who had been identified as Derik, asked his dark eyes drifting to the glamorized charmed ones and Leo.

They saw Chris and Ash exchanging a glance. Chris seemed to be asking something with his eyes and Ash gently shook his head guilt flooding his features along with the simple action. He didn't want to lie to Claira or Derik but it was necessary.

"They are new here, I found them on my way back. Their names are Kamer (Leo), Manda (Phoebe), Mercy (Paige), and Melinda (Piper)." Chris spoke without skipping a beat thinking up make-believe names extraordinarily quickly, so quickly he didn't even realize that he had named the girls names that all started with the same consonant.

"Oh! Hey! I'm Claira, potions maker and Ash's girlfriend, this idiot here is Derik."

"Whatever, Chris, the resistance is eagerly awaiting your return. I hope you've got your handshaker and your hug-giver ready." Derik gave him a grin knowing how much Chris hated physical contact.

Chris returned it. While his bones already ached thinking about all of the near future, it was damn good to be back to people who were his friends. He looked back at the sisters (and Leo) and motioned them to follow.

They walked down the hall into a large brightly lit grey room. It looked more like an auditorium or a warehouse than an actual room per say. There were what seemed to be hundreds of people milling around in it. They all stopped when they saw Chris walk forward.

"Chris is back."

"God, it's Chris."

"Chris! It's really him."

"Chris we've missed you!"

"Chris, Chris, Chris, etc."

Filled the room and they all started rushing towards him much to the past visitor's amazement. He was almost like royalty here. No, better than royalty, every single person in that auditorium seemed to love him like a friend instead of just marvel at him from afar.

"It has begun." Derik whispered melodramatically before chuckling, "Who wants to bet Lisa's already telling everyone in the housing area?"

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