Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 23:31:56 -0800 (PST) From: Joseph Foster Subject: marvelously charming 20 Marvelously Charming Chapter 20 What's done is done. C.J walked out of the building an walked all the way home, over nine miles, just thinking, thinking of what had just happened, how this was going to change his life, and just praying that he wouldn't regret it later C.J was walking down Prescott, and for the first time really saw his neighbors, "Hey there Cole, I haven't seen you around in a while." a neighbor by the name of Tom called "Oh, hey Tom, um.. what's up?" C.J tried to stay mellow "Is that all I get, you're practically a shut in, anyway, you and the guys need to come over, we just got the new 100 inch T.V and the thing is bitchin, we've gotta watch a game, tell the others, I'll catch you later." Tom was kind hearted but totally oblivious to the world around him "Yeah, and so the day goes on..." C.J said to himself and continued walking, seeing families playing together in their yards, some would wave, and he would wave back and hold off the tears, of seeing all these happy people with their children. He walked until he was at his own house, and he walked through the door, not wanting to see anybody, so much for that, everybody was in the living room. "Where the hell were you, I waited for you, and it's been hours, why didn't you call?!" Wyatt yelled "I needed some time..." C.J said "Oh fuck that, we all need time, but we take the time for a courtesy to others, NOT to go off and do whatever the fuck we want, GODDAMN IT Ceej, you could have gotten hurt!" Wyatt scolded "YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER, SO STOP TREATING ME LIKE A..." C.J stopped he couldn't even say it "Like a what, a child? Well if you weren't a pussy we wouldn't be having this conversation, what you did was stupid, we are the charmed ones we can't afford to put unnecessary risk on our lives, we're in enough danger as it is." Chris said, trying to calm the mood, but instill on C.J how bad this was "It's not like I was off fighting demons by myself, I just decided to walk home..." C.J defended himself "From the doctor's office?" Wyatt asked surprised "You WALKED nine miles?" Chris interrupted "Why?" Caleb asked "Because I needed some time to think..." C.J said again "That excuse is getting old, what could you have possibly had to think about for two hours of walking..." Chris asked "JUST STOP I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!" C.J yelled, voice breaking slightly "WELL WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU AND I WAS WORRIED SICK, WHEN WYATT DIDN'T BRING YOU HOME!" Caleb yelled "What did you just say?" C.J asked "I was worried about you..." Caleb said "No... before that?" C.J prodded "I said I love you." Caleb said biting his lip C.J's eyes filled and tears began to flow, "OH GOD THIS ISN'T HAPPENING..." he sobbed "Why, what's wrong, tell us Cole!" Chris pushed "I can't believe I did it..." C.J said holding his stomach and sobbing deeper "Did what?" Wyatt asked "I HAD AN... abortion..." Nobody could make out the last word "What?" Caleb asked and the look on his face was knowing "I-I h-had an a-abortion." C.J said clearly but quietly Everyone in the room looked shocked "Y-you were p-pregnant?" Caleb asked completely astounded "About one and a half months." C.J said "How long have you known?" Caleb asked "About a week." C.J said "Guys can me and C.J have some time alone...?" Caleb asked and everyone went to the kitchen "Why?" Caleb asked in a stone cold voice "I'm not ready, and I don't think I ever will be." C.J said "So, why abortion, why not adoption?" Caleb asked on the verge of tears "Because I refuse to go through childbirth if I'm just going to give up the baby, I wouldn't do that, because then we would have a connection." C.J said in tears "But why didn't you talk to me?" Caleb pushed "Because I wanted to avoid this." C.J said "Avoid what, this is what couples do." Caleb said "Look Cal, we barely know each other, and even though I'm older, I've only truly lived my life for seven years, I'm not ready for kids, I'd make a horrible father, I can't even get a 5 year old to eat broccoli without bribing him with ice cream or money." C.J said "That's great, just joke about it." Caleb said "Who's joking, I'm not, I seriously can't make Johnny eat vegetables, Chris can, Wyatt can, Johnny can, and hell even Pogue can." C.J said "You're being too hard on yourself, don't you think we would have figured something out?" Caleb asked "Yeah, we probably would have, but I'm not interested in figuring it out, I want these things to happen when I don't have to figure things out, I want it to be planned, welcome, I would never be selfish enough to bring a child into an environment where he or she would be a symbol of a mistake I made, a condom breaking, I don't ever want to have my child resent me, the way I resent mine." C.J said "Why do you resent them?" Caleb asked "Because they weren't there for me, I know it's not their.. well it is my dad's fault and I have no love for him, but I know it wasn't Phoebe's fault, she would have died if she'd kept me, but demons, they were able to use dark magic to strengthen Trixani to be able to handle me, I guess, that once I realized where I truly come from, I resented my mother, she had no idea who I was when I shimmered back into her life, and I hated her for that, and I still hate my dad for making me think all that time that my mother abhorred my very existence, and I would abhor this kid's existence, and that's no environment for a child to be raised in." C.J explained "I get it. I still wish you'd trusted me enough to take me with you, I meant what I said, I love you." Caleb said "I don't love you." C.J said, and the pain from Caleb's heart struck him hard "What?" Caleb asked, and C.J felt another stabbing pain "I have feelings for you, maybe it's love, but maybe it's just a fascination, I've never loved anyone, I don't know how, so we'll just see." C.J said, and felt the pain subside "I get it, you just don't know what love is, it's ok, I'm not going to push you." Caleb said "Ok guys I know you're just listening anyway come on out." C.J said "That is so weird, we were just walking out here to check on you guys." Wyatt said "Right, it's ok, we're fine, as for the boyfriends and husbands or whatever you guys are, OUT, it's brother time." Chris said "Ok, but only cause you control when or if we have sex." Johnny said "Ok, and only cause I'm afraid of you." Piotr said truthfully "Ok, cause I need to get home anyway." C.J felt the pain again "Well... I do like you, a lot." C.J said and kissed Caleb lightly "don't be a stranger." He said and walked him out Johnny, Pete and the kids went over to Piper's "So, what happened with Caleb?" Wyatt asked giddily "He told me he loved me." C.J said "and what'd you say?" Chris asked just as upbeat "The truth." C.J said, his face falling slightly "What does THAT mean?" Wyatt asked "I told him I have feelings, but I don't know if they're love, I mean, I've only been truly alive for 7 years, so how can I love somebody?" C.J asked "Well you love us right?" Wyatt asked and Chris looked at C.J "Of course, but it's different with Caleb, he makes me feel really, he just makes me feel, and it's really beautiful." C.J explained "Aww, that's great kid, how'd he take that on top of the A-word?" Chris asked "Well, I could feel it, he was trulyl happy with my explanation." C.J said "So, why'd you have it?" Wyatt asked "Not you too, I'm not explaining it again, bottom line, I'm not ready." C.J said "Cool with me, your body your choice." Chris said "So, you guys aren't ashamed of me?" C.J asked innocently "Of course not, we made our choice, and you had to do the same, nobody has the right to judge you, but I wouldn't advise advertising your choice to the world." Wyatt said "Yeah, we would never let anything like this get in the way of the charmed ones, we're too important to the world." Chris said "So what should we do tonight?" C.J asked "You sure you're up for anything, well, top model is on tonight..." Chris suggested "God Chris you are so gay sometimes." Wyatt joked "Well, it's ADDICTIVE, I can't not watch it, physically impossible." Chris said pouting "Well you know, there are plenty of other shows you could watch." Wyatt prodded "Well at least I don't watch Gossip Girl behind closed doors so nobody knows what I'm doing, but hint hint, I would also be living with 2 empaths if I did that." Chris poked back "Guilty, I was just checking to see if it was anything like The O.C..." Wyatt pouted "O.C, now THERE'S a manly show." C.J joked "Look if we want to be manly we'll build something and not wear deodorant or something, and watch nothing on T.V except sports... now is that who we are...? Chris asked in a mock shrink voice "Top model it is..." C.J said and they all laughed They spent that evening together on the couch, all C.J could think of was his day, and how he would never know the child that could have been. "Ceej, you okay?" Chris asked "Yeah, I'm fine I just really wanted Janet to make it farther..." C.J lied "We all did, but dude, we're not crying over it, tell me the truth." Chris said and turned off the T.V, Wyatt was sleeping soundly "I just can't help but think about the life my child could have had, and wondering if I should have made the other choice." C.J said sniffling "Look Ceej, you'll never know for sure, but all you can do is try and cope, move on with your life, and see where your new romance takes you, to live happily ever after you don't need marriage and children, that's our own decision." Chris said and hugged C.J "I know, I know, you're so right, I never should have even given it another thought, I have a life to live and a man who wants to love me." C.J said "A man who DOES love you, and who you don't know if you love." Chris corrected "Right, how am I supposed to know, I mean, how did you know Johnny was the one you loved?" C.J asked, Johnny had been on the way downstairs and heard the question, naturally he wanted to hear the answer, so he stopped to listen. "Well, the first time I truly realized I was in love with him was the first time that I saw him with our son, I had always had some kind of feelings for him, but love, that didn't come until the day I walked into our bedroom and found him asleep with little Johnny asleep on his chest, and the love I had for both of them as my family started with that picture you see on the mantle, before that moment I was lost, and very terrified of raising a child and having a committed relationship." "That's beautiful, but when did you say it?" C.J asked "Actually I didn't truly say it for quite a while, I said it once while I was pregnant with Johnny, but that was during an argument, you know the one that caused Johnny to be born early, I still think John blames himself for that, it was nobody's fault, but honestly I didn't even tell him I loved him after he proposed to me, I think the first time I said it was in the kitchen, the day we discovered our son had fire abilities, when he set Johnny's shirt on fire." Chris said with a smile "My nephew set his daddy on fire?" C.J asked "Yeah, apparently he didn't like being between us when Johnny kissed me, and felt trapped, so he set his daddy on fire, I thought it was hilarious." Chris said "So you were already engaged with a child before you said you loved Johnny...?" C.J asked "Yeah, but that wasn't when I knew I loved him, it was just when I knew I was ready to say it." Chris explained, and Johnny smirked behind the wall "So you're saying, these feelings I have for Caleb could be love?" C.J asked "Well yeah, but you know, it will come to you in your own time, and you'll just know." Chris said Johnny proceeded to the kitchen, he saw Pete having a drink, "drinking alone?" Johnny asked as he poured a glass for himself "Just a little, I had a long day." Pete said "Hey I'm not judging, I just want one, because I just found out that Chris didn't love me until after I proposed to him." Johnny said "That's rough, but you probably didn't hear everything, you were eavesdropping weren't you?" Pete said slightly buzzed "Of course, so what you're saying is there's probably stuff I couldn't hear too well." Johnny asked pouring each of them a shot "Yes, when you little from opposite sides of a wall, you're not gonna hear everything too well, so your brain fills in what you think you heard, you know you're the sciency guy shouldn't you know all this?" Pete asked and motioned to take the shot "I'm not a scientist I'm a pilot, I fly stuff, and some of that stuff involved sciency shit, but all I do is fly I don't equate or whatever..." Johnny said and they did another "I get it now, I just assumed that working for NASA meant you were smart." "I am smart, but I'm smart in a non-bookish way." Johnny said and they took a final shot "What are you two up to?" Chris asked wrapping his arms around Johnny from behind "Just having a few drinks babe." Johnny said and kissed his hand "You guys are doing shots out of shot glasses, come on that's weak." Chris said and grabbed a party cup from the cabinet, "THIS is how the big boys do it." Chris said "What are you talking about that's not a shot, and if it was it would be like a do-deka, you can't do that." Johnny said surprised "Watch me." Chris replied and started chugging the drink, and flipping the cup over as he finished, "Good night." Chris said and gave Johnny's cheek a small kiss then burped That night, Johnny had plenty to drink, and walked into their bedroom, not too drunk, but drunk enough to not have any inhibitions... "Hey you and Pete seem pretty chummy, I'm glad you two have finally figured each other out, um honey, it is ok to get into bed I'm not gonna bite... yet..." Chris said and crawled towards Johnny, unzipping his hoody and licking his bulging slightly hairy pecs, and tonguing his stomach, "What, so you're not in the mood?" Chris asked and Johnny pulled his hands off of him "I heard you tonight..." Johnny said, and zipped his hoody back up "What do you mean?" Chris asked "You know exactly what I mean, I heard you tell C.J that you didn't even love me until after I proposed to you." Johnny said almost crying "Is THAT what you think I said, oh baby, no..." Chris said and tried to hug Johnny "DO NOT, patronize me Chris, explain it, I need to know." Johnny said as he pulled away from Chris "I wasn... Look honey, Johnny, I was telling C.J that I loved you, but I never knew how much I loved you or that I was IN love with you until the day I saw you with our son, and the day you proposed to me, were those days, I knew I truly loved you when Johnny Jr. fell asleep on you chest and I could see the love, and I knew that I was completely totally head over heels in love with you after what you said in your proposal, and after that I have never ever doubted the love I have for you." Chris said and Johnny kissed him "Oh, Chris I'm so sorry, let me make it up to you..." Johnny said and pushed him back on the bed "It's o..." Johnny kissed him and continued his assault on Chris's body "I know, don't think about it." Johnny said and Chris closed his eyes and after at least 15 minutes of ravaging, he felt a strange sensation, he hadn't felt this before, it felt like somebody was blowing him, but better, much better, he opened his eyes and saw Johnny riding him slowly "Oh, god, Johnny that feels so good, please don't stop." Chris moaned and grunted from the complete pleasure "Oh god Chris now I know why you love this so much, fuck me." Johnny said and Chris flipped them over and took the reigns, pounding in pulling out then slamming in, all that they could hear was the occasional grunt and the slapping sounds of flesh as Chris plowed into Johnny "OH here it comes!" Chris exclaimed and pulled out to cum on Johnny's stomach, he cried out and Johnny came and so did Chris "Wow. That was... amazing." Johnny said "Yeah, wow..." Chris said and snuggled up to Johnny, they fell asleep While they were sleeping, in the underworld a group of demons had gathered "We need a plan, these new charmed ones are unstoppable, and it seems they are always knocked up so they are always protected..." One demon said "Well, maybe if we had a better plan of attack..." a small demon said "Nobody asked you small fry." "Well maybe if they did, they would know that the only way to a charmed one's weakness is through the heart, attack the heart and we win." The small demon said "What do you suggest?" another demon asked "Leave it to me...." The little demon said The next morning Chris awoke to make breakfast, Johnny Jr. somehow sensed this and woke up to help "What you doing mom?" Johnny asked clutching his teddy bear climbing the bar stool and sitting "Making breakfast, what are you hungry for sweetie?" Chris asked taking out some pans "Chocolate chip pancakes." Johnny said with a smile "Chocolate chip pancakes we can do, grab mommy the milk and butter from the fridge." Chris said and went to work. Little Johnny hopped off the stool and opened the fridge, Chris heard something, and immediately froze the room, "Honey you need to be more careful..." Chris said and grabbed the bowls that had fallen off the top of the refrigerator "I'm sorry mom, but there's never anything on the fridgerator." Johnny said innocently "You're right, that must have been your father, I'll yell later, let's make these pancakes." Chris said and Johnny followed him to the stove, reaching for the burner, Chris smacked his little hand with the spatula not hard but enough to get the point across "WHAT did I tell you about the stove honey, it's hot you'll burn yourself." Chris said sternly to his saddened child "Not supposed to hit." Johnny said almost in tears "Hey, what did I tell you would happen last time if you reached for the stove again, I told you what would happen, but you did it anyway." Chris said "But it hurted me." Johnny said "Honey I just tapped you it wasn't hard enough to hurt..." "Aww what happened?" Johnny asked from the doorway Johnny Jr. ran to his father "Mommy hurted me." He told his dad "Did you deserve it?" Johnny asked "I reached for the stove." "And didn't mommy tell you that wasn't right and next time you would get a tap on the hand...?" "Yes..." "Then I think we should kiss that hand to make it all better." Johnny said and kissed his son's hand, "All better." Johnny said "Thank you." Johnny Jr. ran off with his teddy bear "I swear that child is out to get me." Chris said "Come on sweetie, he's just a kid." Johnny said back "Yeah, a kid that hates me and loves you, how that is possible I have no idea." Chris retorted "Well it sure smells great, what are you making?" Johnny asked "Do not change the subject, our son hates me, and our daughter is silent when I hold her, but hey maybe she hates me too and at her tender age of twelve weeks has already learned how to give the silent treatment..." Chris said and put the pancakes on a platter Johnny walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his lover, "Our kids worship you, Johnny just hasn't had to be disciplined before he's not used to it, but baby, remember, sometimes you have to let a kid get burned so they learn their lesson..." Johnny said attempting to make Chris feel better. Meanwhile upstairs, "What do you mean I ignore the kids, I'm with them more than you are and you gave birth to them." Pete yelled at Wyatt "You're only there with them if I beg you to be, and I don't want to have to ask you, you should just do it, they are your flesh and blood." Wyatt said "Well what about you, you go out drinking and clubbing with your friends and I stay with the kids, not having any kind of fun, you're becoming a club skank." Pete said back "I went out three times last week, I asked if you wanted to come but you didn't..." Wyatt retorted "You know what, I'm an adult with responsibilities, not only do I have two kids but I have a husband who can't be bothered with reality, but here's a check for you, if you keep up like this we aren't going to make it." Pete said calmly "Are you telling me you want to leave me?" Wyatt asked tone deadly "Yes, that's what I'm saying, if you can't change the way you act, I want to leave, because you are no longer the man I married." "You know what, neither are you, I married a fun, sexual, deep person, but this, this shell of a man isn't doing it for me right now, and you should know at the club I kissed someone and sucked their dick too." Wyatt said sharply "What?" Piotr asked as his stomach wrenched "Yeah, and you know what, I wasn't gonna tell you because it meant nothing, but with all this honesty being put out there and you wanting to leave me, I figured what the hell, might as well give you a reason." Wyatt said crying, he ran out of the room "Wyatt?" Chris called as he heard heavy footsteps running down the stairs, too heavy to be a child's, "seal this house from entry or exit ground all beings for real." Chris said scoffing at his lack of rhyming skill "What's wrong with the doors?!" Wyatt yelled, "and why can't I orb?!" he yelled "Wyatt what's wrong?!" Chris said and grabbed Wyatt's arm, Wyatt punched Chris in the eye "Reverse the spell, NOW!" Wyatt said and kicked Chris repeatedly in the stomach and ribs. Johnny ran in but Chris stopped him from getting involved with his freezing power, but lost consciousness after doing so. "MOMMY!!!" Johnny Jr. yelled, and blasted Wyatt with fire that sent him crashing into the wall, he hovered over Chris who had ragged shallow breathing, he held his little hands over his mommy and they glowed until there was no blood left and no marks. "Oh baby, don't cry it's ok, I'm ok." Chris said and put his hand to Johnny's face, his hand was the size of his son's face "I'm sorry I was bad mommy." Johnny said, crying "It's ok honey, you did good, you are a very brave boy." Chris said and kissed his son's cheek, "As for you..." Chris said and grabbed Wyatt's arm, reversed his spell, and orbed him up to his bedroom. Wyatt woke up surrounded by crystals, he tried to orb them, but nothing happened "Don't even try, I forced a binding potion down your throat while you were asleep." Chris said from the door "Why are you doing this, I just want to leave, why are you making me stay?!" Wyatt asked crazily "Wyatt was is wrong with you, you're acting like a... DEMON!." Chris yelled and threw a potion at the crystal cage, it caused Wyatt to start shaking violently and thrashing around "two warring souls now burn inside where only one can reside, I call upon the power of three to expel the evil now and set Wyatt free..." Chris said in a way that suggested boredom and anti-climax "AHHHHHHHHH!" Wyatt's body screamed as the demon from within was vanquished "Hi there... You've been on a bit of a rampage." Chris said and wiped his nails on his shirt "What?" Wyatt asked "So you don't remember anything after the possession...?" Chris asked in return "What possession?" Wyatt asked holding his head, he tried to orb the crystal away but it didn't work. "What's wrong with my powers?" Wyatt asked with total innocence "Oh I bound them after you almost killed me.." Chris said as nicely as possible "Can I have them back?" Wyatt asked "That depends, are you gonna try and kill me again?" Chris said "Only if you don't give me my powers back..." Wyatt joked "And dude, you NEED to apologize to Pete, even though you don't know what happened he does, and Johnny is still talking him out of leaving with the kids." Chris said "No, he can't do that." Wyatt said "I'm gonna go talk to him..." Chris said and walked from the attic to Wyatt and Piotr's bedroom "Honey, I'm here to take over." Pete was packing up his stuff along with the kids' stuff "Pete, you can't go, it wasn't Wyatt saying those things to you." Chris said nicely and put his arm on Pete's shoulder, Pete turned and looked him in the eyes "How can you say that, you weren't there you didn't see the look in his eyes when he said those awful things to me." Pete said and started to cry, Chris wrapped his arms around him "It's ok, he wasn't saying those things, he was possessed..." Chris said and patted his large back "But he must have felt some of that, the demon could have only amplified feelings he already had, I mean, he got hurt by what I said, demons don't hurt, he must have been semi-conscious of what was going on, you don't think he actually hooked up with some random guy at a club do you?" Pete asked "Wyatt would never do that, but possessed Wyatt probably did, not really caring." Chris said "Well, do you think he was trying to act like Wyatt when he said that he may as well give me a reason to leave him." Pete asked "Well here's how I see it, that demon probably took him over a few weeks ago, but had been watching him for a while to get down his mannerisms and ticks, so we wouldn't know the difference and yes, I think maybe possibly the demon fell for you as Wyatt and maybe was really hurt by the things you said, because I know Wyatt was shocked when he found out you were gonna leave him, he had no idea." Chris said "You are so smart, thank you so much, I love you Chris." Pete said and hugged him "I love you too man." Chris said and hugged him back, it was the first time they'd shown affection since the day Johnny and Wyatt had caught them in a compromising position "I see you two have made this a habit." Johnny said with a chuckle from the doorway, Wyatt in tow "It's not...." Pete started "I know dude, I was joking, you two are practically brothers, I get that you're gonna hug eventually." Johnny laughed, "However, I brought somebody for you Petey." Johnny stepped aside "Hi." Wyatt said and waved Pete went up to him and hugged him, much tighter than the hug with Chris, "I'm so sorry." Both of them said at the same time "Look Pete, baby, I don't know what happened or what was said, but I am so sorry, because I would never hurt you that way, I love you too much, please don't leave me." Wyatt pleaded "Get this straight Wyatt, if you as yourself ever say anything like the things you've been saying the past few weeks, I will take the kids and leave you so fast, but for now, I forgive you, because that wasn't you, I know you wouldn't do that to me." Pete said and kissed Wyatt on the cheek "I love you so much, I'm so sorry." Wyatt said Johnny and Chris left the room, "You think they'll be ok?" Chris asked Johnny held his hand to his ear, "oh yeah they'll be just fine." They both heard the moaning and groaning and then the door closed "Thank god for thick walls." Chris said "Unless you wanna listen from the bathroom..." Johnny said mischievously "Eww, my brother is one of the people in there, how about we make some noise of our own, and test just how thick the walls are, the kids are at mom and dad's for the night..." Chris said and dragged Johnny to the bedroom. To Be Continued