In the End - Charmed story for fanfic100

[tommygirl]

Title: In The End
Fandom: Charmed - Chris
Characters: Chris, Bianca
Prompt: 3. Ends for fanfic100 - My prompt table.
Word Count: 959
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Much love to ladybug218 for putting up with all my writing and doing a marvelous job as beta. Feedback is loved and adored!

In The End

When the end came, the first thing Chris realized was that there was no more pain. One second he was in the manor, convinced that the torture would never end and his gut was going to explode, and the next, he was fine. Poof. No more pain coursing through him, no more worries about saving the day.

It wasn’t like he expected. There were no bright lights, no angels dressed in white, or even the familiar face of a loved one. He stood alone in what appeared to be a park and the only clear thought he had was that it was finally over. He wasn’t sure how he knew that Wyatt had been saved and his dad had come through in the end, but it was a certainty in his mind.

He took a seat on a bench, unsure of what he was supposed to do now. Growing up, he was used to random visits from his dead great-grandmother and grandmother. Sometimes even his Aunt Prue would appear in the attic and tell him stories about battling demons. His mother and his aunts were never allowed to visit, though – too soon, too detrimental, too much bullshit for Chris to pay attention to.

Chris knew something happened at the end. It was part of the reason he never feared his own death – because he had proof that there was more, hopefully something better than the darkness he spent his lifetime in. He believed that death wasn’t a punishment, but rather a new journey, one that hopefully didn’t involve evil brothers and the end of the world.

He sat there for what felt like hours, though he had no idea how time worked in such a place, but nothing happened. A panicked thought crossed his mind. He died out of his timeline. What if he was lost in some ghost park for eternity? He’d go mad.

“Chris?”

Chris glanced around the immediate area and there she was…beautiful, smiling at him as though the last time they had been together had been a joyous one, and holding flowers in her hands. He stood up, glancing down at his own rather lacking attire, and managed, “Bianca?”

She nodded, closing the remainder of the distance between them. She brushed her hand against his cheek and he finally felt completely free. This was one of the things he had fought for – her, them – and seeing her removed the last of the worries from his shoulders.

Chris leaned into her caress, keeping his eyes fixed on her out of fear she would disappear, and said, “You’re really here with me.”

Bianca smiled and said, “Always. You saved me, Chris.”

“I got you killed. You and everyone else.”

“You saved me – demons are usually condemned to hell, but your love for me changed that. You saved your brother from becoming a monster and your family is about to be whole now. You saved the future. You accomplished everything we set out to do,” she replied. She grabbed onto both of his hands, intertwining them with her own, and said, “It’s fixed now, and it’s because of you. You can finally rest.”

“Rest? As in the eternal slumber?”

She leaned over and kissed him. She said, “It’s time for you to go back and enjoy the life you deserve.”

“No. I had my life. I want to stay here with you.”

“You don’t belong here. Not yet anyway,” she replied.

Chris hugged her, she was tangible and there with him, and he couldn’t imagine losing that again. He breathed in her familiar scent, wondering how a dead person still had a scent, and said, “I don’t want to leave you again.”

“You don’t have a choice, Chris. You’re needed back there. You’re the only one who can keep things from going bad.”

“Oh great. That’s my rest? Making sure evil doesn’t win. I thought I was finished,” he replied.

“With one ending comes another beginning,” she replied.

He rolled his eyes and said, “What’s with you? Is part of the afterlife talking like a fortune cookie because my Grams must have missed that lesson.”

Her hands went to her hips and she glared at him. She said, “I’m trying to get it through that thick skull of yours that you have to go back, that you’ve only started your journey.”

He smiled and said, “That’s my girl. I was beginning to think I was incapable of annoying you – and what fun is an afterlife if I can’t do that?”

“It’s not time for your afterlife.”

“So you say.”

“You need to listen to me, Chris. You’re going to have a great life, the one you always longed for, and one where you can do even more good.”

Suddenly he hated the peaceful feeling of this place. He hated that he was given a glimpse of Bianca only to have her taken away from him again. But what he hated most was that he couldn’t feel angry. An all-encompassing understanding coursed through him. He sighed and asked, “Will I remember?”

“No, not for a long time.”

“I don’t want to forget you, Bianca.”

She kissed him again, this time allowing it to last a bit longer before she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands. She said, “I’ll always be with you, but you’re meant for more. Christopher Perry Halliwell has a life of greatness to live.”

He nodded, realizing that he believed her, that he knew that she would be with him, and one day they would be together again. He glanced around, watching as the park evaporated before his eyes. They were backdropped by darkness, the only light coming off Bianca’s practically-translucent skin.

“What’s happening?”

“You’re going home,” she said.

{Fin}