𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 || 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥

Chapter 44 - Rise, My Phoenix

Note: I couldn't help but add the video at the top because Drew Fuller is in it and...yeah, that's pretty much it. I don't think I need another reason, right? LOL JK JK but honestly, it goes well with the chapter so if you wanna, don't forget to play the song while you read ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter!

From death, there comes life.

At least that's what I told myself as a baby's cry pierced the stale air of the waiting room, my hand clutched tightly in either sister's. I shared a look with my step-mom, joy radiating on her face. Leo arrived moments later, Wyatt on his hip and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at his safety.

"Is he okay?" Paige asked as Phoebe took him from Leo's arms.

Leo nodded, "Yeah. He wasn't with Gideon long enough to do any damage,"

Paige glanced over at her brother-in-law, "What happened to Gideon?"

Leo was silent then and the sisters let the subject drop as he went on, "How's Piper?"

A doctor walked over then, interrupting our conversation as we turned to him, "She's resting comfortably,"

"Is she okay?" Phoebe asked in concern.

The doctor nodded, "We stopped the bleeding, obviously had to perform a c-section, but I think she's going to be okay,"

"And the baby, is he all right?" I asked in a small voice, feeling my chest tighten.

He looked at us seriously a moment before pressing a button on the wall, "You tell me. "

Suddenly, my mind went back to a memory - it seemed so far away now - from before he...before he was gone...

"So how does this work then? I'm-I'm older than you, Chris. Much older. Do I look my age in your time?" I asked him hesitantly, afraid of the answer as he held me in his arms.

His grip on me tightened, as if the mere thought of going back pained him just as much as it did me. The sheets on my bed were wrapped around our bodies but I felt a growing cold form in the pit of my stomach as I anticipated his answer.

But his voice was soft, sweet, in the darkness as he spoke, reassuring me, "It's not like that. You may be twenty-four years older than me, Mattie. But you don't age - it's a demonic trait passed down to you. You can thank Cole for that, it's how he managed to keep a low-profile among humans for the better part of his own life,"

I nodded, mulling that fact over, secretly a bit relieved that I wasn't old and wrinkled in Chris' future, "So technically I'll be 46 but I'll still look as I do now? I'll still look 24?"

It was Chris' turn to nod as he gazed down at me, green eyes boring into my own whilst he pushed a stray strand of ebony hair away from my mocha skin, "Yes... But it wouldn't matter if you did look your age, Mattie Grace. You know I'll always love you, right? Age is a number, not a feeling. It doesn't define love."

His words made my heart swell and in answer, I captured his mouth with my own. Our lips moved in sync, fitting together just like puzzle pieces. I couldn't help but be happy in this moment, knowing it all would work out - for the better.

"Oh, look...he's beautiful! Baby Christopher."

Phoebe's voice snapped me from my thoughts and I noticed that my feet had taken me to the delivery room without me even realizing it. Glancing up, my eyes met the smiling face of Leo...and the bright emerald eyes of the tiny baby being placed in his arms. I sucked in a breath, shock radiating all over me. Because where the others were all smiles and laughter, joy over this new addition to the family...all it brought me was pain.

The lyrics of a song I'd known well once upon a time came back to me in a flash of memory then.

"'Cause if the world is spinning and I'm still living, it won't be right if we're not in it together, tell me that it's over..."

Paige turned to me then, hugging me gently as she whispered.

"See, Mattie? Looks like we didn't lose him after all."