(My little Christmas present... Finally!!! It'll will take me longer again, but here's something

Btw, sorry, Charmedfreak, but feel free to go on... Always reading everything carefully, ok??

)
EDITED: I changed the first part, hope you like it!
EDITED 2: I fixed the problem
EDITED 3: I explained that better. corrected in orange.
Chrissy.W.x wrote:Steve sighed when the four friends left another shop. "That's useless," he muttered, "We'll never find the right gift."
Veronica and Nicki nodded in agreement. They had no idea what to get for Chris. They had agreed earlier that it should be something magical or magical related, and on the same time it should be personal... But what exactly?
Chris was half-witch and Elder, he was the owner of Excalibur... was there anything they could give him that was more special then those things he already had, something that could surprise him maybe?
Nevertheless they had gone to several stores for magical equipment, still they hadn't found anything that was good and special enough for Chris.
"That's frustrating!" Tom exclaimed and again the others just nodded.
"And now?" Veronica asked after a moment of silence.
Nicki took Steve's hand and caressed it. For a moment their eyes locked and they smiled at each other lovingly. Then Steve said: "We go on... we still have two more shops on the list to check."
The others agreed even if Tom started to get a little grumpy. So they went into a small and empty alley and everyone grabbed the other's hand. Then the half-Phoenix shimmered them to the other end of the city.
"So, where do we go now?" Veronica asked when they had taken solid form again.
"'Spencer's shop for mystical accessoirs and common potions'," the Tom said and pointed at the exit of the backyard they were in, "right around the corner.
When they reached the shop the women frowned. "Are you sure we're at the right place?" Nicki asked.
The shop looked not very welcoming. It was dark and you could hardly see inside, through the dirty windows. And the paint on the wall was gone too... the whole building looked like it could crash down any minute.
"Yeah, we're right," Steve said, "Tom and I had been here often when we were younger... to get the stuff we needed for school..."
The girls shrugged, but let the men move ahead, following them a little hesitatingly.
Inside the shop was as unwelcomming as it had been from the outside. It was dark and dusty and... God? had that been human eyes in that glass on the shelf? Nicki and Veronica couldn't help the feeling of being in a freak-show.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" an old man said, appearing behind a curtain.
"We're searching for a gift... it's for a special friend of ours." Steve said, while the girls instinctivly stepped a little back.
"A special friend, I see..." the old man said. He looked like he hadn't had a shower in ages... He scratched his chin for a moment then asked: "Is he magical?"
"Yes," Tom said, simply.
The man nodded: "I guess, you already searched through a lot... if you got here on Christmas Eve, I would say you hadn't been successful." The four friends nodded.
"Well," the man went on, "finding the right gift isn't a matter of value... it's a matter of the heart." He made a break looking at them, then he smiled: "You know what? Search through this shop, you can turn over every stone in here... and I'm sure your heart will show you the right gift for your friend!"
"Thanks," Steve said and started to walk around, same as Tom. The women hesitated a moment, eyeing the owner of the shop suspicious, but then did the same.
-...When the ghost left, the evil man was left alone again in his house, and... do you know what happen then, Wy?- Chris was telling little Wyatt a story as he hugged him while they were both sitting on the sofa. The child shook his head, very serious, hard-thinking probably. They both had stayed for a while in the lounge after setting the tree, while the others had gone back to their activities. Actually, the two of them were so focused that none of them noticed the presence of Victor, who was leaning against the frame of the door, smiling full of love. However, Chris didn’t see him. He smiled at Wyatt and went on: -Well, it happened that another ghost came!- Wyatt opened his little eyes a lot:
-Was it a bad ghost??- He asked, but his brother shook his head, hugging him more strongly:
-It was a good one. A little weird maybe... But he was good, though the bad man didn’t know. It was the ghost of Future...-
-Christmas!- Added Wyatt at the same time as his brother, who laughed and rubbed his hair:
-Yeah, that’s it... It was the ghost of Future Christmas. Actually he had come to show him the evil future he was creating... He wanted to show Mr. Scrooge how the future would be, if he kept on being so mean, and...-
-But Mr. Crooge was bad... And bad people like doing bad things, so Mr. Crooge like bad things...- Said Wyatt, trying to understand the whole thing. Chris looked him in the eyes, also a little bit distressed:
-Actually, I don’t think he was so bad, Wy. I thing he just didn’t realise he was doing bad things. He was good, but he needed to be taught and shown the good ways... Understand??- Wyatt nodded, not really understanding the whole thing, but at that moment another voice distracted them:
-The Christmas Carol of *! Nice choice...- It was Victor, who had decided to finally enter grinning at his grandsons. He was really moved by that scene, but had noticed that Chris’s version of the tale was changing slightly. The oldest raised his eyes at him and smiled a bit ashamed:
-Hey grandpa... I was telling him our favorite Christmas story! You used to tell it to me, remember??- No, of course, he didn’t... Victor sat by his side, and patted his knee:
-So you’re telling me that I was to blame for your... obsession with time travelling??- He laughed. Chris also laughed slightly and lowered his eyes.
-Kind of...- Wyatt didn’t understand what they were talking about, but the story had to have an ending, so he pulled from Chris’s sleeve and begged:
-But what happened with him, Chris?- Victor smiled too, and looked at him, waiting for the ending:
-Well...- Chris was, however, kind of confused now: -Wy... I mean... Mr. Scrooge saw all the wrong he was gonna do, so he decided to change and... he turned good, helped people, saved the child that was gonna die, gave money to the poors, and...
-And he lived happy ever after.- Finished Victor, caressing the child’s curls. Chris smiled, staring at him, but with other images in mind. –And all that thanks, especially, to the ghost of Future Christmas!- Now Chris bushed. But Wyatt was just clapping his hands very happy.
-Ok... Guess we can tell mom the story later, bro. Just go play with your toys and I...-
-YOU... and I- Intervened Victor, placing his hand on Chris’s knee when he was starting to stand up. Chris sat down again, kind of confused, but the man went on: -You and I have a conversation waiting, don’t we???- Chris stared at him confused for a moment, while Wyatt had already left their side and was on the floor playing with those little cars he loved so much, but then he smiled, realizing what his granpa meant:
-Oh... Yeah... The angels stuff.- Victor nodded immediately and repeated:
-The Angels stuff. What happened, son?- Chris looked him in the eyes, and then sighed, resting his back on the sofa:
-Nothing worrying, grandpa, I told you...
-You wouldn’t worry if it were not worrying.- Chris had to smile, and surrender. Victor had always understood him so well! Actually, that had been so in both timelines, and maybe in those others he didn’t remember now, too... He and uncle Cole... Such two special people in his life. Chris had to thank them both for being who he was, no doubt. And now he had to speak, or Victor wouldn’t let him go.
-Well... Ok. I was shopping in the mall with Bianca, when this little child... Annie, came to me weeping and said I was her guardian angel. Period.- Victor furrowed his eyebrows and immediately afterwards he smiled softly:
-But she’s just a child... She might have just seen in you that great person you are, or maybe... she might be a witch... There’s nothing weird in that, actually you are...
-NO! I’m not, I told you! I am NOT a guardian angel! That’s different, grandpa. That’s just fantasy! Nothing real! I don’t think guardian angels exist at all.- Victor looked in his grandson’s eyes, shocked for his reaction. The boy seemed to be irritated, but... why??
-Son... I didn’t mean... Ok, listen. We talked about this, yeah. And you have to understand that all this magical stuff is hard for me. I don’t see the difference, I...
-There’s a huge difference. Magic is real. I AM real. But angels. That kind of angels, are just a myth!
-Well, right...- Victor didn’t want to argue, and Chris’s attitude had changed for some reason, a reason he wanted to find out, actually, so he decided to leave things that way.
–But as I said, maybe she is a witch and felt you were a whitelighter. Period.- Chris laughed a bit sarcastic:
-You cannot feel that... And she said she DID see my colors. And the worst is her mom wants to talk with me too. I tried to phone, but no one answered. I don’t know what this is about, but this is ridiculous, don’t you see?? The thing I less wanna hear about right now is angels. Angels and miracles are things that don’t exist!- Victor listened to him patiently, and frowned:
-Wait...- He said finally, pensive: -You don’t believe in them, or you just don’t wanna hear about those things, because they... disappointed you??- Chris looked in his eyes, and felt his own distress when he tried to swallow and was hard. His eyes went wet now...
-It’s ridiculous, that’s it.- He answered simply. Victor stared at him, worried, and then patted his knee:
-Come on, Chris. You can talk to me.- He paused, feeling Chris’s eyes avoiding his. Then continued, suddenly remembering: -You said... You stopped to believe in angels when...- He paused. He had said he had stopped to believe in Santa when he was seven. Also in angels... And in those things. Chris nodded:
-Actually... when mom died,
some years later. That helped-
-Chris...-
-No. Forget it. That’s not the question, and I should just talk to that woman and help them, or find out what this is about..-
-Chris.- Victor insisted, holding now his hand: -This is about YOU. This is about your faith...- Chris laughed, but said nothing, keeping just his eyes fixed on little Wyatt while he played with the toys. –Everything happens for a reason, son. You say that, and my daughters say that and I have realised that’s true. Have you... Have you stopped to think that maybe you don’t need to help that girl?? That maybe... she’s helping you??-
-Me???- Chris looked at him confused: -I don’t need any help, I...- But Victor smiled:
-She’s gonna help you get your faith back Chris. You believe in witches, magic, whitelighters... But this is Christmas, and you don’t really believe in the Christmas spirit, son. You don’t believe in the Christmas miracle.- Chris tried to smile, but the tears that were fighting to go out, finally ran down his cheeks. He sobbed a little bit and tried to stay calm. Victor smiled understanding, and pressed his shoulder as he said: -
I hadn’t stopped to think that these are one of your first true Christmas since you are here...- Chris swallowed.
-These are my first true Christmas since almost ever, grandpa,
even though it’s already the third time I celebrate it in the past... Present. Whatever.- He said with a very weak and sad voice, but smiling. – I mean... last year was nice. But
Christmas were not so...
stressing for me. We had other things in mind, other worries, and other things to think about, like... myself having been conceived and all. Actually, with all the “
me-being-their-son” stuff, I didn’t even pay attention to Christmas. They just passed by...
And that was good, because I... I just didn’t want to remember the previous year, you know??
The first year I was here. That was like a... like a nightmare. They didn’t trust me, they even hated me, and I had to live with that, and keep on. You don’t know how hard it was to... to look through the window and see they were having fun while I was freezing outside. And then I was on the bridge all the night... I even felt asleep there, wishing that Leo came for me. Wishing that something happened, and they finally realized that I was who I was, without my own intervention. But guess what, grandpa, no miracles!- He laughed sarcastic. Victor pressed his shoulder again, kind of surprised for those revelations:
-They... didn’t invite you??- Again, Chris laughed:
-Oh, they did. I just didn’t feel like going... I wanted them to beg me to go. Or maybe I just wanted them to know who I WAS, and don’t feel forced to invite me just because I didn’t have a family... Isn’t that ironic??- Actually, Leo had told him short before that, that he was NOT family... Chris was so hurt at that moment... However, it was not the time to bring those memories back. And Victor was not helping... The old man nodded, understanding:
-I see... Ok, let’s do something. Call that woman, talk to her, to the girl, and think about all that. And then we can talk again. And you’ll tell me if you don’t really believe in Christmas anymore.
-But I do, I believe in...- Victor shook his head:
-No, you don’t, Mr. Scrooge. Maybe you need a little trip along your life, too- Chris frowned, still feeling his eyes wet. He hadn’t really thought of himself as Mr. Scrooge, actually his version of the story was a different one, but... At that moment, Wyatt patted his knee:
-Are you sad??- He asked innocently. Again, the little child was feeling his sadness. And Chris felt bad for that. He took him in his arms and hugged him tightly: -No, buddy, I am fine. These are the best Christmas ever.- He said with no intonation... Then he looked at Victor out of the corner of his eyes, and nodded as he smiled. He was so damned right... He had been behaving as an idiot all that time, hating snow, complaining about long lines in the mall, and just pretending that he was happy, when all those memories said he wasn’t for Christmas anymore.