Disclaimer: I do not Charmed

Missing

Chris sat on the top of the bridge, gazing down at the traffic. Pain was lacing through him. His own mother had just thrown him out of the house. Fair enough, she didn't know that she was his mother, but it still opened a wound in his heart. Chris thought back to the scene about seven years before, back in the future, where he had lost his mother.

"Wyatt, Chris, get out of here!" Piper yelled, blasting at a demon which had entered the kitchen.

Wyatt took his brother's hand and orbed them up the stairs.

"No, we need to go back and help her!" Chris yelled.

"No, we need to stay here like she told us to." Wyatt snapped.

Chris looked at his brother. There was something off about him recently. But he wasn't about to let his mother fight a demon on her own, regardless of what Wyatt thought. Making sure Wyatt was distracted, he orbed down the stairs, and his heart stopped.

Piper was lying on the floor, blood pouring from a wound right above her heart. She was giving short, shallow breaths.

"MOM!" Chris yelled, sliding to his knees by her side.

"Chris..." she moaned slightly.

"WYATT!" Chris yelled.

His brother orbed beside him, and looked at Piper in shock.

"Mom, what happened?" he asked urgently as he knelt down beside her.

"Cursed...blade." she muttered.

Wyatt frowned as his powers didn't do the job.

"Why's it not working?" Chris demanded.

"I don't know, I'll get aunt Paige, you get dad." He ordered.

Chris held his mother's head in his lap as her breaths got weaker.

"Come on mom, stay with me!" he pleaded.

Piper looked at her son lovingly.

"Chris..."

"No, save your strength. Dad! Dad! I need you!" Chris yelled.

But, as always, Leo didn't answer his call. Chris tried again and again, but there was still no answer. Chris then tried to heal the wound, but his healing power hadn't kicked in yet.

"Mom, keep breathing, until Wyatt gets back." He pleaded.

Piper looked up at her son, smiling slightly.

"Chris, listen to me...this isn't your fault." She whispered.

"Mom, please! Wyatt, hurry up! Dad!" he yelled.

Piper shook her head slightly.

"No sweetie. It's ok." She whispered.

Chris sat and looked at his mother imploringly, as if willing her to live.

"Come on mom, stay with me." He said urgently, stroking her hair and trying to stem the flow of blood from her wound.

"Chris, don't blame yourself. I...love...you" and that was the last thing his mother, the greatest witch ever, said.

By the time Wyatt and Paige arrived, it was already too late. Chris was sobbing into his mother's hair, and kneeling in her blood. And that was the day Chris knew he was going to be all alone in the world.

Chris looked at the large clock in the bay, pointing at a minute to midnight. Another minute and it would be his birthday. Another minute, and it would be the anniversary of Piper's death. Blinking away tears, he orbed away, trying to forget.

XX

Piper was looking through the Book of Shadows, flicking the pages irritably. Chris had lied to them again and again, and this final lie, to justify binding her only son's powers, was that he would someday turn evil. She swore softly, thinking irritable thoughts of her Whitelighter, who had not only accused her son of becoming evil, but had also caused the break up of her and Leo's marriage. She would be more than content not to see him again, and she was sure Leo would agree. There was something about Chris that just drove her mad. Irritably, she headed to bed, hoping that Chris wouldn't be stupid enough to come back where he wasn't welcome.

XX

Leo, up in the heavens, watched as Chris orbed away from the bridge. That kid had some serious issues, and now he had told them that his son was apparently going to grow up to become the Source of All Evil. Leo could feel Piper's quiet rage at the kid shimmering away from the house. Smiling slightly, he went to confer with the other Elders about what to do with him and get him back to the future.

XX

Paige was sitting in the kitchen, having a midnight feast on Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

"Hey, what are you still doing up?" Phoebe asked as she came down the stairs, looking tired.

Paige sucked the spoon, considering whether or not to tell her sister what was really bothering her.

"Come on, I'm an empathy remember." Phoebe scolded, grabbing a spoon and helping herself to some ice cream as she sat beside her sister.

Paige shot her a dirty look.

"You know, Chris was right about that, it is very annoying." She grumbled.

Phoebe smiled slightly.

"Dont let Piper hear you mention him. She isn't happy."

Paige pursed her lips.

"What?"

"Well it seemed to me that Chris wasn't happy either." She said delicately.

Phoebe looked at her sister incredulously.

"What? You're taking his side? Paige, he lied to us from the beginning! He tried to manipulate us into binding Wyatt's powers!"

Paige pondered this.

"I think Chris believed it was the best way. And he seemed really hurt after he got no thanks for helping us save Wyatt."

Phoebe snorted.

"Typical egotist male."

"And when Piper told him she didn't want to see him again." Paige pressed.

Phoebe opened her mouth to respond, then shut it again.

"I admit that he seemed very hurt then, yeah. But Paige, he's been lying to us from the beginning!"

Paige nodded.

"Yes he has, but wasn't that to protect us? I mean, as he said, we most likely wouldn't have believed him if he had arrived and told us Wyatt was going to go evil. And he did it to protect us, and he's done a lot of other stuff to protect us and Wyatt. I think that he felt he had his reasons, he just went about it the wrong way." She said.

Phoebe sighed.

"It doesn't matter Paige. He lied to us, even if he did it for the right reasons."

Paige raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? You reckon he might have a point?" she asked.

Phoebe looked behind her to check Piper wasn't there, then nodded reluctantly.

"Well it seems to me like when we go bad, we're bad enough. If someone with Wyatt's powers went bad, things would be very bad, bad enough to make Chris do what he did. But it doesn't change the fact that he lied."

Paige nodded.

"Yes he did. But it might have been either to protect the future or to protect us. I mean, we don't know anything about him do we? We don't know his powers, what he gets up to, that sort of stuff."

Phoebe smiled.

"Sometimes you remind me so much of Prue. When she felt there was a good cause and she got behind it, she couldn't let go either." She said, smiling.

Paige looked imploringly at Phoebe.

"Come on Phoebe, don't you at least want to know why he lied to protect us? Dont you want to know why he was so hurt when Piper chucked him out?" she wheedled.

Phoebe sighed, then shot a grumpy look at Paige.

"Oh alright. But if he doesn't want to talk, we give up and go back to bed." She said.

"Fair enough. But I reckon he does owe us an answer for that at least, if not a whole lot more." Paige said, taking her sister's arm.

"Hey, wait for me." Piper said as she arrived, looking irate.

"Piper, we thought you were in bed." Phoebe said.

"So I can see, as you've eaten half the tub of my favourite ice cream and was hoping I wouldn't notice." She said with a slight smile.

"It was mostly Paige." Phoebe said happily.

"What sort of a sister are you?" Paige demanded.

"Oh wheesht, come on, I want to know as much as you do why he continually lied to us. And if I don't like the answer, I'll blow him back to the future orbs and all." She grumbled.

Paige rolled her eyes and they orbed to P3.

XX

They arrived in the club, to find all the lights off.

"Maybe he went somewhere?" Phoebe asked, trying to pick her way in the dark.

"Back to the future with any luck." Piper growled, still annoyed.

They headed to the office, where Piper had allowed Chris to sleep when he had arrived from the future. They opened the door to find Chris sitting on the couch that doubled as his bed, sobbing.

"Chris?" Piper asked, her irritation disappearing as she became the mother hen everyone was used to.

Chris wheeled around, startled.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Paige looked at their Whitelighter worriedly. He looked like hell. His face was pale, his eyes were rimmed red and full of tears.

"We came for some answers. Looks like it's time for you to give us them." Phoebe said as they all approached.

Chris shook his head and got up.

"It...it doesn't matter." He said.

Paige shook her head.

"Of course it matters. I didn't need to be an empath to see that Piper throwing you out hurt you. And this two wanted to see why too. You may have lied to us, but you're still our Whitelighter." She said.

Chris sat down and the three sisters stood facing him stoically.

"We aren't leaving until we get some answers future boy, so you may as well give us them." Piper said, slightly ashamed that she was bullying him when she was down, but you didn't just break up a marriage and tell you your son was evil in polite society.

Chris shook his head, tears falling from his eyes.

"No."

Piper sat down on the table beside his sofa.

"Spill Chris. Or I will get Leo to send you back to the future." She warned.

Chris sighed.

"I'm not going to be able to go to sleep until I tell you am I?" he asked, tears in his voice.

"Nope." Piper said stubbornly as her sisters flanked her.

Chris sighed.

"All right. I'll tell you." He said, taking a deep breath.

"Well, first, why were you so upset this afternoon when Piper chucked you out?" Paige asked interestedly.

She couldn't think of any reason why their Whitelighter would be that upset when he was thrown out.

Chris sighed.

"I cant answer that. Not until you know who I really am..." he muttered.

"Then tell us Chris! We want to know why you did all this!" Phoebe cried, frustrated.

Chris took a breath and looked right at Piper, and let down his thought shield so Phoebe could verify it if she wanted to.

"Because...I'm your son." He said to Piper.

As he said it, a great weight seemed to lift off of him. At least now, he could allow himself to open up to her a bit more...if she let him.

"What?" Piper asked, stunned.

Chris looked at her, fresh pain piercing his heart as he saw the distress he had caused her.

"You're my mom." He said.

Silence reigned for a few seconds. Whatever the sisters had been expecting, that hadn't been it.

"He's...he's telling the truth." Phoebe said, stunned.

"You're my son? Wyatt's brother?" Piper asked.

"Yeah." He nodded, tears still in his eyes.

Piper stood up went over to the sofa, and pulled Chris into her arms, where he promptly broke down.

"Ssh, it's alright sweetie, it's alright. I know now, I'm here." She cooed, stroking his hair.

Phoebe and Paige looked at them both, gobsmacked. Chris was Piper's son, that was apparent, Phoebe could feel it. And Piper had instantly dropped her fury to be there for her son when he needed her. She could feel Piper's anger evaporating and transforming into love for the son she hadn't even had yet from the future. Piper was rocking him gently on her shoulder as he got some control back.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked her son.

Chris looked down.

"I...I was afraid if I told you, it would only hurt more when I lost you again." He admitted tearfully.

"Oh sweetie." Piper said, hugging him.

Something then flashed into Phoebe's mind.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

"What, what?" Paige demanded worriedly, still reeling from the news that she had another nephew.

"I came onto my own nephew! That's just sick!" she wailed.

Chris let out a half-hearted snort of amusement as Piper sniggered slightly.

"Dont worry, it isn't the first time either." He said.

"I do it again!? Oh my god, I have a headache." She moaned.

Piper rolled his eyes.

"Right, can I deal with, my future son? I'll deal with my men mad sister later." She said, rolling her eyes.

Chris sat back a little bit as Phoebe clutched her head in shame, and Paige fought to repress a snigger.

"What do you mean, when you lose me again?" Piper asked compassionately.

Chris sniffed slightly.

"Well, I'll have to go back to the future eventually wont I?" he asked, trying to put her off.

"Chris." She said, knowing he wasn't telling her everything.

"Alright. Well...you're not in my future." He admitted.

Piper looked at him in concern.

"How not? Did I walk out, am I a bad mother?" she asked anxiously.

Chris shook his head urgently.

"No! Never! You're the best. No...you're not in my future...because you're dead." He sobbed slightly.

Piper reeled back in shock.

"I'm dead?" she asked worriedly.

Chris nodded sadly.

"It happens on my fourteenth birthday. We're attacked by a demon who attacks you with a cursed blade. Wyatt cant heal you and he goes to get aunt Paige and I'm meant to get dad, but he doesn't answer me...which is nothing new I suppose. They don't get there in time and you die right in front of me." He admitted, tears running down his face.

Piper was shocked by the news of her own death, but she quickly realised her son needed more. She held him in her arms and rocked him gently as he cried into her shoulder. Phoebe went and got some tissues from the bar while Paige looked on sympathetically. Piper continued to rock him, making small comforting noises as she did so. Phoebe returned, her own eyes glazed with tears and she passed a tissue to Chris, and he dabbed his eyes.

"Start at the beginning honey. Tell us why you came back." Phoebe said, clasping his hand.

Chris sighed, and realising that the floodgates were now open there was no point not telling them anything. And he was so relieved that he didn't have to hide who he was anymore that he felt they deserved to know.

"I came from the future to stop Wyatt turning evil. In the future, things are bad. Wyatt's taken over, he's become the Source effectively and he rules both the normal world and the underworld. He has legions of demons reporting to him. He misuses his powers and reminds everyone who he is and lives it large while everyone else suffers. And that's why I came back to stop him turning evil." He said.

"Wyatt...how could he do all that? And how do you mean, stop him? As in...kill him?" Paige asked.

Chris looked at her incredulously.

"No, I could never do that. That might be why things have gotten so bad because I cant bring myself to kill him. Despite all the evil he's done, he is still my brother and I love him. I could never hurt him. So I came back to try and stop the event which turns him evil in the first place."

Paige looked at him.

"What caused him to go evil? Was it Piper...dying?" she asked.

Chris shook his head.

"No. He was starting to go evil before that. It started small, just arguing with me and mom. But after she died, things just got worse. Arguing with dad, going to the underworld, amassing a power base. He sends a warlock that kills aunt Paige because he wanted to increase his orbing powers. The warlock gets her, and she orbed into the living room but I couldn't heal her, and Leo didn't answer as usual, so she died in the house, leaving us effectively alone. And then aunt Phoebe goes after him to try and stop him. I tried to stop her. His demons ambushed us, and took us before him. And then he killed aunt Phoebe in front of me with an energy ball to try and make sure I never betrayed him like he thought the three of you did. I had to watch the three of you die in front of me. That's one of the reasons I never told you who I was. I was afraid that if I let myself get close to you...it would be much harder to go back to a future where the three of you didn't exist." He admitted tearfully.

Paige squeezed his knee lovingly while Phoebe squeezed his hand and Piper stroked his hair.

"So if the three of us are dead, who're the Charmed Ones?" Piper asked curiously.

"Well I'm meant to be one but as Wyatt is evil, I cant do much. The Elders are either dead or are in hiding. Leo has vanished."

Piper frowned.

"But if you're half Whitelighter, isn't Leo...?"

"My dad? Yeah. He isn't much of one though."

"How not?"

Chris looked resentfully at the ceiling.

"He's never there. It leads to massive fights between you guys every time he does appear. He's always there for Wyatt and you, just not for me. He never has the time for me." He grumbled.

Piper sent a furious glare upwards, and Phoebe could bet that he would soon get a verbal bashing form Piper.

"So you're all alone? You don't have anyone?" Paige asked.

Chris shook his head.

"Not anymore. I did have Bianca, but Wyatt turned her against me, then he killed her when she tried to save me." He said.

The three sisters looked at him and realised how much pain he must have gone through in his short life.

"You came back to save Wyatt and all of us didn't you?" Paige asked.

Chris nodded.

"Yeah. And since I was here I tried to find the demon who does kill you and mom, but I didn't have any luck."

Phoebe looked at him sympathetically.

"Well you have us now. And we're going to help you save your future." She promised.

Chris gave her a watery smile and Piper pulled him close.

"I am not going to die and leave you all alone, I promise." She whispered.

"I don't get why you came back to save us from the Titans though. I'm confused by that."

Chris looked at her sadly.

"They basically rule the heavens as the new Elders, but they're nasty pieces of work. They rule up there, Wyatt rules down here and down there. I came to help you face the Titans to give me an opening and at least try and spare the Elders. And your hand aunt Paige." He said sheepishly.

"My hand?" she asked in confusion.

"Well mom's aiming for a Titan and misses and gets your hand instead. Dont worry, Leo heals it and fixes it."

"Thank god for that." She said as Piper looked slightly guilty.

"But why...?" Piper asked.

"Why did I split you and Leo up? Because only Leo would make you three into Gods to stop the Titans. And I'm afraid to say a small part of me took a savage pleasure in splitting you up. He was never there for me, so I guess a part of me figured he got what he deserved. But I never did it to hurt you mom. I would never hurt you. Except when I accidentally drop a water melon on your foot." He explained, looking guilty.

Piper shooshed him gently.

"It's ok, I understand." She said quietly.

"Do you?"

"Well, a little bit. Why do you drop a water melon on my foot?" she asked curiously.

"We're in the kitchen and I'm helping you get ready for a dinner party and it slips out my hand. I wont repeat what you shout." He said, smirking a bit.

"So are we close before I...?" she asked.

"Yeah. Wyatt gets on better with dad, I get on better with you, not surprisingly. We make potions and cook together. The chocolate cake you used to make with Grams, we make it together when we feel down. Which is quite frequent. I actually haven't had any in years. I stopped making it after..."

Piper rocked him gently as fresh tears fell.

"Then we'll make it together." She promised him.

"And I really didn't want to break you up but Leo..." he said, his voice full of tears.

"I know. Oh god..." she broke off suddenly.

Chris looked at her in concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked urgently.

"I threw you across the room. I'm so sorry." She exclaimed.

Chris smiled slightly.

"It's alright mom. You were annoyed and losing Leo."

"That doesn't excuse it! I threw you over the room! I threatened to blow you up!"

Chris wrapped himself in her arms and hugged himself close to her.

"It's ok mom. And I forgive you, and for not trusting me...and for sort of hating me too." He said.

"Aww sweetie, we didn't hate you. We just didn't trust you." Paige said.

"But...we were quite horrible to you, and you put up with it all to try and save us. That's..." Phoebe said.

"It's ok aunt Phoebe." He assured her as Piper rocked her.

"It must have been so hard..." Paige mumbled.

"Sort of. But I figured you weren't in my life so I just had to harden my heart. But then you three rumbled me..."

Piper kissed his forehead.

"It's ok Chris honey. We're here now." She said.

"We're very sorry baby." Phoebe said, going across to the couch and wrapping her arms around him too.

"So, why were you in such a state tonight?" Paige asked.

Chris sighed.

"Well my own mother did throw me out of the house I grew up in." He pointed out.

Piper sniffed, tears in her eyes.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry." She said.

Chris smiled, his tears starting to recede as he nestled into her embrace.

"But it seemed more than that..." Phoebe said probingly.

"Well...today is the anniversary." He admitted, tears welling up again.

"Of what?" Paige asked.

Chris opened his mouth but his vocal cords constricted and more tears fell as he struggled to get the words out.

"Of me dying?" Piper asked gently.

Unable to do anything else due to his voice failing him, he just nodded. Paige then got up and wrapped her arms around him and Phoebe as she joined them on the couch.

"I'm here now honey. All three of us are here for you now. Happy birthday my love." Piper said lovingly, stroking his hair.

"Yeah, happy birthday sweetie." Paige said, kissing his cheek.

"Happy birthday honey." Phoebe said into his ear, kissing his forehead.

Chris closed his eyes, failing to remember the last time he had been so happy. He had his mother and his two loving aunts beside him. And he and his mother were going to make their favourite together, a vague semblance of what a normal life should have been before Wyatt had gone rotten.

"Thanks. I'm...I'm glad I told you all this." He said.

"I just wish you'd told us sooner sweetie." Piper whispered, kissing him gently.

"I wish I had too mommy." He moaned, as she rubbed his back lovingly.

His aunts got up and went outside, as they had run out of tissues.

"I've missed you so much mom." He said tearfully.

Piper rocked him gently.

"I love you." She said to him, making his heart thump as he heard the words he hadn't heard, but had longed to hear for eight years.

"I love you too." He sobbed quietly.

Piper stroked his cheek as she headed out to find her sisters. She found them at the bar, and found Phoebe howling.

"Damn it, your emotions are killing me!" she wailed in total hysterics.

"Not what we had in mind was it?" Piper asked happily, but with tears in her eyes.

"Will we tell Leo?" Paige, also crying, asked.

"Later. For now, I just want to give him a warning. Leo!" she yelled.

Leo orbed down behind her.

"Piper, what's wrong?"

She responded by blowing him up.

"Ow! What was that for!?" he demanded angrily.

She narrowed her eyes.

"If you ever treat my son like that, I will summon a Darklighter, kill him, take his crossbow, and use it on you. Got it? Good." She said and headed back to Chris.

Leo looked at Phoebe, who was still crying hysterically, and Paige, who was torn between crying and laughing.

"What the hell was what about?" he demanded.

"Me." Chris said, as Piper led him out from the office.

"Chris, what's going on?" he asked in confusion.

"Leo...Chris is our second son from the future."

Leo looked at Chris in amazement, who was standing beside his mother.

"You're my son?" Leo asked in amazement.

"Yes. And thank you for not coming when he calls and letting me die!" Piper stormed.

"What?"

Phoebe, who had regained some modicum of control, looked at Leo with bleary eyes.

"You're a lousy father to Chris. You're never there for him. That's why he hates you so much." She explained.

Leo was staggered by it all, but he went to his son and pulled him close, with Chris stiffening slightly.

"Chris, I don't know what I did to become such a bad dad, but I promise I wont let it happen again. I will be there for you." He vowed earnestly.

And for the first time, Chris smiled slightly at his father.

"Ok...dad." he said quietly.

Piper smiled slightly.

"And you ever do treat him badly, we're going to have issues." She promised.

Leo smiled at them both.

"I will never mistreat you Chris." He vowed.

"You better not, or you'll have the power of three to deal with." Paige warned.

Leo nodded.

"I take it you three will catch me up later?" he asked.

"Yes. It's too much for one night, and there's been enough tears already." Piper said.

"Amen to that." Phoebe said weakly, having used all the bar's supplies of napkins.

Leo nodded and hugged all of them to him. Chris was still slightly stiff, but he didn't try and escape his grip either.

"I will fix us Chris, I promise." Leo said, as he orbed out.

Piper motioned to Paige, and the two of them went into the office as Chris sat beside Phoebe, who pulled him into a tearful hug.

"And to think I didn't want to find out what was wrong with you." She said quietly.

"I've missed you too aunt Phoebe." He said as she hugged him.

She pulled back, trying to smile.

"For future reference, the other time I flirt with you, am I time travelling?" she asked.

Chris nodded, a smile on his face.

"Yeah you are, and you're younger than you are now."

"Oh that isn't so bad then. And in the future...am I...?"

Chris grinned slightly.

"Considered good looking? Aunt Phoebe, the three of you always look great. Even when the wrinkles start to come in." He teased.

"That's ok then." She said, hugging him again.

Paige came out and whispered to Phoebe, who disappeared into the office.

"Thank you for wanting to come for the right reasons aunt Paige." Chris said, hugging her.

"Hey, that's ok honey. I'm glad we came." She said.

Piper and Phoebe came out of the office, and Paige quickly went back in, before reappearing a second later.

"Can I go to bed now? I've had enough soul searching for one night." He said.

Piper shook her head.

"No. You cant go to bed."

Chris looked at her in confusion.

"Not here anyway. You're coming home with us, where you belong." She said, smiling at him.

Chris hugged her fiercely.

"I love you mom." He said.

"Hey, we helped too!" Phoebe protested as the three sisters hugged him.

"I love you all, and I've missed you all so much." He said, tears threatening again.

Piper broke off.

"Come on honey, let's go home." She said, and they orbed out, bound for home.

Hello!

This was just a story I fancied writing, not connected to my other one, as I finished watching season six, and I reckon Chris should have had more time with his family before they killed him off. So, this was written so that he could have more time with his family and show how much he really loved them (I suspect he and Piper are my favourite characters).

Hope you enjoy, and please note, this is AU and not linked to Season Nine, which I shall hopefully write more of later. And please note that there is a Charmed related poll on my account page, so please dont hesitate to vote!

Until next time, please read and review!