Disclaimer for story: I do not own “Charmed”

Summary: Piper and Leo think Chris is evil and throw him out. He gets desperate. What happens next might just save them all. Extremely AU. Chris revelation fic. Good Gideon.

Author’s note: Any mistakes in Canon are due to me changing Canon to suit my story. Chris’s and Wyatt’s age’s for instance. There is a reason why I need Wyatt to be a teenager when he turns and why Chris can’t wait so many years to decide to come back.

Gideon is not the one that turns him here!

Leo and Chris were always close in the future.

If you have a problem with not following Canon please don’t read because I’m not a sticker to canon.

This starts when Leo says Chris isn’t family after they take the empathy blocking potion.

Have Fun!

Chapter 1- Get out

“One big happy family,” Chris said to Leo smiling.

Leo’s smile faded and he said coldly, “You’re not family Chris.”

Chris’s insides burned. He tried very hard to convince himself that this wasn’t his father. The one that would take him up to the Golden Gate Bridge, and because Wyatt was afraid of heights, turn it into their special place. The one who died in his arms.

“As a matter of fact Chris, the girls and I need to talk to you. Seriously. Follow me.”

Chris followed him downstairs dreading this meeting. He had been certain he had just averted a crisis. What now?

The girls were seated waiting for them and their postures screamed trouble. Piper started:

“We talked, the three of us, and we’ve decided-“

“When?” Chris asked.

“Right before this whole empathy mess started,” she snapped, “That is not the point here. The point is that we don’t believe you.”

“On what?” There were so many things that he said and his family didn’t believe him. Which was ironic since Chris avoided at the most telling lies, he preferred half-truths. When he had to lie, like when he told them Paige died, he was always left with a profound sense of guilt. He couldn’t help it. It was something his mother had instilled on him.

“That some evil is after Wyatt,” she said. “That we would have allowed someone to hurt him. We reached the conclusion you are the evil after Wyatt and are trying to gain our trust so he’ll drop his shield and you can get him. I want you out of here or I’ll just blow you up.”

There was a rushing in his ears, his mother had just threatened, no promised to blow him up, kill him, and all of that because of that stupid shield. He wanted to laugh. He was the one telling Wyatt to put his shield up so they would keep their guard up for any evil and now they were using that as proof of his evilness. He didn’t even have arguments against it.

He was tired from his investigations, from being alone for so long, from having to fight the people he loved every step of the way. That little phrase from his father had already been a harsh blow on his oversaturated spirit and this was just the last drop. His brain was telling him to deal with this rationally, to try and reason with them but the temper he inherited from his mother just made him blow up on her face.

“Fine!” he snapped. “Don’t help me! I’ll save Wyatt alone and fuck the balance. It’s not like you’ve been helping anyway! You won’t see me for almost a year and then you can just dump me in the first dumpster you find if you want!” and with that he orbed away n a flurry of blue and white lights.

“Er- that went well,” Paige said but Piper wasn’t dissuaded.

“We got what we wanted, he’s gone.”

“What if he was telling the truth,” Phoebe asked.

“He wasn’t,” Leo said firmly.

“He wasn’t or we don’t want to believe we failed and Wyatt got hurt in the process?” Phoebe asked.

“He is lying,” Piper hissed and stalked away angrily.

xx

At P3 Chris was frantically searching his notes. He took away an enormous list, every demon that came in contact with a Halliwell from the moment Wyatt was born to the moment he left the future. He had a plan, he would go after the biggest threats and he would investigate with the Charmed Ones help to find out which of the demons had been after Wyatt. He knew he couldn’t just vanquish them all, there was balance to be kept, but right now he was desperate and not thinking straight.

They wouldn’t help him, and he didn’t know if he was going to be conceived. Piper and Leo didn’t seem any closer to getting back together than they were the day they separated. What if he just ceased to exist? He had been counting on the fact that if that happened the Charmed Ones and Leo would keep going and save Wyatt, but now that hope was lost.

He looked at the list and made a decision, Wyatt was more important. He had two months to vanquish nineteen years worth of demons. He orbed away.

xx

An- I know this is very short but this chapter just had to stop here. I’m posting the two first chapters together to make it up to you though! Forgiven?

Chapter 2- A new source of power

Leo orbed into the kitchen and found the girls setting the table for dinner. Wyatt was playing with some rubber toys in his high chair. He smiled at the scene, he hadn’t been able to come since Chris left the day before but Piper seemed to have gotten what she wanted, the family life was back to normal, or almost. He grimaced. They would not like the news.

“Hi,” he said.

Piper saw him and smiled, oh, how he missed that smile. He had an odd feeling, as though he had seen that smile somewhere else. He shook the feeling away and inhaled deeply.

“There is a problem.”

“What now?” Paige whined. “When it’s not Chris ridding us to the bone it’s the Elders,” she quickly stopped at the glare she received from Piper at the mention of Chris.

“What’s the problem?” Phoebe quickly tried to diffuse the situation. That whole “we decided” hadn’t been true. Paige and Phoebe had been all for giving their Whitelighter a chance to explain himself better, but in the end Piper and Leo were the parents and they were set on a warpath against Chris.

“Well, there is a very strong magical source acting out lately. Since yesterday afternoon to be more exact,” he explained.

“And that is bad because…” Paige made a motion as if to say “get to the point already!”

“Well, according to the Elders they felt this strong magical presence a few months ago but it wasn’t active and they were waiting to see which way it went. Especially since something was blocking them of finding out who this is and where he or she is.”

“How much power?” Piper asked.

“They’ve equated it to how much they expect Wyatt to have once he has reached adulthood,” he answered and the girls nodded in appreciation to what they were up against.

“And this power isn’t lying low anymore?” Phoebe asked.

“Not since yesterday,” Leo shook his head. “There’s been a spree of demon vanquishing. Just to give you an idea the amount of demons vanquished in the last 24 hours equals a little over half of what the Charmed Ones, both sets, have vanquished until today.”

“More than half of what we vanquished in six years in one day!” Piper was floored.

“But if whoever this is vanquishing demons isn’t that good for us. Why stop them?” Paige asked confused.

“Not at this rate,” Leo shook his head. “For there to be good there needs to be evil and vice versa. There is a balance to be kept. That is why we don’t just send you after demons randomly. We send you after the ones that threaten that balance.”

“So we have to find whoever this is, who I might add is as powerful as the most powerful being around, and what? Vanquish them, convince them to stop?” Piper asked.

“Well,” Leo winced, “The Elders would like you to convince them to stop since they are obviously on our side and could be a great asset.”

“And no idea who “they” are?” Paige asked.

“Nope.”

“I bet “they” are not in the book either,” Phoebe huffed.

“Probably not,” Leo shook his head.

“You’re of great help,” Piper glared at him and Leo smiled sheepishly.

“Lost which spell?” she asked.

“Our best bet,” Paige said. “Want me to orb Wyatt to your dad’s?”

“Please,” Piper said.

“Be right back,” Paige said picking Wyatt up and orbing out. Phoebe and Piper went to the attic followed by Leo to get everything ready. Soon Paige was back and they were casting the spell, nothing happened. They tried changing the spell, nada, they tried writing a new spell, and guess what? Exactly, nothing.

After a couple of hours of trying every summoning and locating means they knew Phoebe bit her lip and glanced wearily at Piper and Leo. They would not take her suggestion well.

“You know who might know something?” she asked trying a light tone.

Piper’s eyes narrowed and she snapped, “No,” and Phoebe could tell she was saying no to her idea and not answering her question but she plunged on:

“This might have happened and he’d-“

“No!” Piper said more firmly.

“Yes,” Paige snapped at her. “He might know and we’re not condemning the world just because you and Leo don’t want to hear that you might not be the perfect parents! No, Piper,” Paige held her own in front of her oldest sister glare, “I don’t like thinking I might have let my nephew get hurt but other than that there is no reason not to trust Chris.”

“He sent me to Valhalla,” Leo said firmly.

“We don’t know that for sure. And has it occurred to you that maybe there was a good reason for it. It’s not like you could have been killed there. There were many other ways to permanently get rid of you if he wanted, more efficient ways. Valhalla seems quite a stupid choice and if there is one thing Chris isn’t is stupid. Do you really want to let the world go to hell because of your pride Leo?”

Leo’s cheeks puffed and for a while Phoebe and Paige thought he’d explode but after a moment of silence he shook his head jerkily. Half the battle was won and both sisters turned to Piper.

“Fine!” she snapped. “Call him.”

Phoebe smiled and promptly called, “CHRIS!” They waited. “CHRIS!” Nothing.

“Would you come?” Paige shrugged, she turned to Piper. “You call him.”

“Why me?” Piper asked outraged.

“He never ignores you,” Paige said simply.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Phoebe asked. “I think we should be offended.”

“Chris,” Piper called but she had no luck. “Apparently he started ignoring me now. CHRIS, I’m hurt!” she cried and instantly orbs started forming. Chris materialized in front of them and glancing at Piper he scowled.

“You lied! I was busy!”

“What happened to you?” Piper asked worried. He looked awful, his clothes were dirty and singed, he was completely bloodied up and there were gashes and burns everywhere she could see. On top of that he looked exhausted, ready to drop at any moment. They were all so shocked at his state that none of the stopped to think that a Whitelighter should not be able to stay hurt like that.

“None of your business,” he snapped and when Leo automatically came forward to heal him he took a step back and cried “Stay back!”

Leo was stung; Chris had acted as if he was afraid of him.

“What do you want?” he hissed again.

“Let me heal you and then you can help-“

“You don’t need to touch me to get my help, what do you want with evil me? I thought you paragon of goodness didn’t mix with riffraff like me,” he snapped angrily.

Leo inhaled deeply, “Look, we get that you’re offended and maybe even a little angry-“

“Maybe,” Chris sneered, “A little.”

“There is this strong magical presence that has been around for a few months and has been acting out since yesterday,” Phoebe said soothingly as if trying to coax a scared animal. “The Elders are worried. Do you know anything about it?”

Chris snorted derisively, “You wouldn’t figure it out even if it smacked you right in the face,” he shook his head and glared at them. “Figure out by yourselves I’ve got stuff to do!” With that he orbed out.

“What did he mean by that?” Piper asked angrily.

“I don’t know, but he clearly knows who we’re after,“ Paige said.

“Well, then we have to get him back,” Piper snapped and turned to Leo, “Can you sense him?”

“I’ve never put him on my radar, sorry,” Leo shook his head.

“Paige, orb to P3 and find something of his so we can scry for him,” Phoebe told Paige and she and Piper waited for her to come back. Another two hours later and they had no luck. Paige had only found some of his clothes, Chris obviously kept his stuff hidden and they couldn’t scry or summon him no matter what they did.

“Finding Chris is just as hard as finding that new power,” Phoebe huffed.

“Maybe he is blocking us,” Leo mused.

“What?” Piper asked.

“Whitelighters can put their charges on mute if they need to,” he went on. “But a Whitelighter can’t block scrying,” he frowned.

“Well, this one can,” Paige huffed but Leo took no notice and went on, “An Elder could but not a White- AH!” he doubled up in pain and the girls ran to him.

“Leo!” Piper cried.

Leo raised his head and there were tears streaming down his face, he orbed out without noticing that they had all been touching him.

xx

Chapter  3- He is ours

They reappeared in a cave and when they looked around there were ashes and bits of rocks everywhere. It looked like a battle field, an empty one at that. Except for one figure that was on the ground next to where Leo had orbed them. They looked at him and Piper’s blood froze at the sight of her broken Whitelighter, unconscious lying on a pool of his own blood.

Leo had already ran towards him and had started healing him.

“Paige!” he cried. “He’s too far gone; I can’t do this by myself.”

“I can’t,” Paige stuttered, “I can’t-“

“Try,” Phoebe urged her and pushed her towards Chris and Leo. She knelt down next to them as Leo instructed Paige on what to do and feel for. Phoebe looked at Chris’s face and she felt a pang in her heart. He was smiling, as if he’d finally be where he wanted to, as if he’d finally get peace.

Piper on the other hand couldn’t move, she just stared at the scene and remembered horrified the words she told Paige the day before when Paige had tried to argue on Chris’s behalf. “He could die for all I care,” she had said but now faced with the fact she was scared. What if they’d been too late? How had Leo known?

She stayed there, tears running down her cheeks watching as Leo’s and Paige’s glowing hands moved everywhere over Chris’s body and Phoebe gently caressed his head as if she was telling him to hold on just a little bit more. She had hated this man, he had destroyed her family, turned Leo into a Elder, lied and manipulated them, but for some reason unknown to her, her heart was bleeding as if a part of her was dying with him.

After what seemed like an eternity Leo’s and Paige’s hands stopped glowing but Chris didn’t wake.

“We did it,” Leo said sighing. “He’s exhausted. I don’t expect he’ll wake any time soon.” He gently lifted Chris in his arms. “Paige, can you-“

Paige nodded, “Yes,” she said roughly. She knew now what Leo knew. Chris had been so far gone that they had to reach within his magic to save him. And she felt his magic, his familiar magic, the magic she had learned to feel for when Leo had her meditating. Piper and Leo’s magic flowing through Chris.

She walked dazedly to Piper and waited for Phoebe to join them. Piper looked like a wreck and she didn’t even know who he was. How would they tell her?

As they orbed in they saw Leo gently lying Chris on his and Piper’s bed. Phoebe went to the bathroom and got a wet washcloth and started wiping Chris’ face.

“I’ll get some of your pajamas,” Piper told Leo. “Can you change him?” he nodded as he lifted Chris up with Paige’s and Phoebe’s help and took away his dirty shirt.

Paige and Phoebe helped him clean his arms, face and chest and then left so Leo could deal with changing him and cleaning Chris legs. They joined Piper downstairs and the three of them waited in a heavy silence for Leo to join them. Once he did Paige could see he was struggling to find a way to tell Piper but Piper was the one to break the silence.

“How did you know?”

“I felt him,” he said. “Whatever blocks he had fell when he got too close to-“ he couldn’t finish “he’s ours,” he whispered.

“What?” Piper asked confused.

Leo looked at her and said sadly, “They say your life runs through your eyes when you’re about to die. Well, I saw his, everything, eighteen years in a second. I saw his birth, I saw him loose each one of us,” he snorted. “When I died he said he’d fix it. He did, he sent me where I’d learn the skills I’d need to survive. He wasn’t lying about Wyatt. But he left a lot out,” there was so much pain in his eyes as he said this. “Wyatt is the evil that destroyed the world and Chris is trying to find and stop whoever turns him. But he doesn’t know who, so when we said we wouldn’t help he snapped, he got desperate and went after every demon that came in contact with a Halliwell in the next 19 years. He is powerful, but he is also human. He was tired and injured.”

Piper was shaking her head and Paige couldn’t tell what she was denying as she moaned “No, no, no.”  That he was her son? That he was left alone at such an early age? That he wasn’t lying or that Wyatt, their little angel was evil? Leo got up and walked towards Piper. He knelt down and took her shaking hand on his.

“He is Piper. I saw his life though his eyes and you have no idea how much he loves us, how much he loves you.”

She whispered, “He can’t be…We told him…I told him to leave. He’ll hate me.”

“He doesn’t,” Leo said. “He’s hurt. I won’t lie to you. He is very hurt but he doesn’t hate us.”

xx-

She had been watching him sleep for a while now. She was afraid of what would happen once he woke up.

The “then you can just dump me in the first dumpster you see if you want!” that he had yelled at her kept repeating in her head. At the time she hadn’t understood what he had meant but now those words cut her deeply, because her son could even think for a second that she would abandon him, that she would give him up.

She tried focusing on what Leo had said but all she could hear were those words, all she could remember were every harsh word she said, all she could see was his face when she told him to leave and the fact that even though she had  thrown him out he had come instantly when she said she was hurt, but she hadn’t made sure he got healed.

“Maybe,” “A little”, full of sarcasm.

She had driven him to the desperation that almost killed him.

Chris stirred and even dreading him waking up she hoped he wasn’t having yet another nightmare. His sleep had been restless. He would thrash around and cry out but his body was so exhausted that no amount of shaking woke him up.

This time though he was waking. He stirred and rubbed his eyes. He looked around confused and jumped up suddenly alert knelling on the bed. He saw Piper and his eyes narrowed.

“How did I get here?” he asked suspiciously.

“We found you,” she said softly. “You were injured.”

“And you healed me and brought me here? How magnanimous. Not worried I’ll infect you with my evilness?”

Piper swallowed hard and tried to remind herself that he didn’t know they knew. Was this how he felt? How many times did he have to remind himself they didn’t know who he was? How had he managed? She wanted to break down and cry.

He was still glaring at her and orbs started forming. She lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

“No! Don’t go!”

He stopped orbing and hissed, “I haven’t got time for this. I have a job-“

“We’ll help!” she said and he goggled at her.

“What?” he spluttered.

“We’ll help. We shouldn’t have said what we- I said. I’m sorry. For everything.”

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and apparently he was quicker to connect the dots than they were because his eyes went huge and he got out of the bed frantically shaking his head.

“No, no, no. You can’t. You’re not supposed to! There are RULES! You can’t know! You can’t-“

He was getting hysterical and Piper came to stand in front of him and tried to stop his frantic passing, “Stop that!” she ordered. “It’s okay, everything will be fine.”

“Nothing is fine!” he cried. “Nothing!”

She didn’t know what to do. He looked so desperate and she was at a loss of how to comfort him, what to tell him. She didn’t know what brought him to this state, yes she had a faint idea, but how could she help him not knowing how he got there? Orbs formed between them and as he materialized Leo pulled Chris into an embrace and tried to quiet him down.

“We know Chris, but we’ll make it fine,” he said firmly as he rubbed circles on Chris’s back. Chris tried to fight the embrace but Leo didn’t let him go instead bringing both of them down to rest against the wall. From the distance Piper heard Wyatt’s cries and she was torn about which son to help. She decided to go to Wyatt. Leo obviously had a better understanding of what Chris was feeling.

She found Paige bouncing a crying Wyatt around in the living room.

“I have no idea what’s going on. He’s been more subdued than usual and your dad said he’s been fussy all along but then he suddenly started crying and he doesn’t need to be changed, he doesn’t want his bottle, I tried healing him, now that I can, but he’s not hurt or sick. Then again, I’m not used to healing maybe-“

Piper stopped her sister’s babbling by taking Wyatt from her arms and bouncing and cooing him.

“What’s wrong little man?” she asked. He was red and puffy from crying but he didn’t stop for a long while, and when he did he just laid his head on her shoulder quietly and sadly, as if asking for comfort, she truly did not understand what was going on.

xx

“We’ll help you,” Leo said soothingly. Chris had stopped struggling and was just lying against his father as if his life depended on it. He didn’t say a word so Leo went on. “I know. The girls only know the summary but I know everything Chris. I know why you didn’t tell us who you where. I wish you had, so I could have understood why I needed to know how to fight with a sword.”

“They did it to attack Wyatt. The Darklighters,” Chris said quietly. “They started coating swords with their poison because of Excalibur. Darklighters were the only kind of Demons Wyatt didn’t accept in his ranks because they are a threat to him and his Whitelighter blood. So they went after you to send a message to Wyatt. I arrived too late-“ he choked.

“I know, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I can’t heal! I called Wyatt, but he didn’t care anymore, he didn’t come. I can’t heal!” he was sobbing by now and Leo tried to sooth him.

“I know! Sshh. I know everything and we’ll fix this together.”

Chris nodded. He didn’t know why he was letting himself get comforted by Leo. That went against everything he had made himself get used to, but he did. Maybe because Leo knew now and he had been alone for so long.

Wyatt started spiraling down ever since most of his family died on an attack, leaving behind only Leo, Chris, Wyatt, Phoebe and Victor. By the time Leo died Wyatt was Lord Wyatt, he had announced magic to the world, brought demons out of the underworld and was ruling mortals by fear. Leo, Phoebe, Chris, Victor, Darryl and his family and Billie had got together every which, mortal, and even some demons that wanted to fight into a group forming the resistance. That had happened around the time Chris was fourteen, they had been fighting for almost two years when Leo died. And Chris’s luck only got worse after that, Victor, who had been sick for a while and couldn’t get medication died a few weeks later, and Phoebe died on an attack that Wyatt’s troops had made on a group of witches that were hiding and the resistance had sent a rescue mission led by Phoebe. Chris had been so busy fighting that he only found out when they started to gather the bodies of the fallen and his aunt’s body was among them.

He was sixteen and a half when the others named him the leader of the resistance in Phoebe’s place. He was seventeen when he finally managed to convince Darryl and Billy to help him with his plan. His father and Phoebe hadn’t wanted to when he first sprung up the idea after all their attempts to save Wyatt failed.

He turned eighteen last week but didn’t even stop to acknowledge the significance of the date.

xx

It was a while before Leo managed to calm Chris’s sobs down. The boy must have really been over the edge to let himself be comforted by Leo this way. Leo thought with a pang that they hadn’t helped matters any.

He hoped Chris let him help. He had a new understanding of Chris now that he’d seen his life.

He heard from the distance, Wyatt’s cries quieting down along with Chris’s. Leo  knew he could count on Piper to take care of Wyatt and right now the best he could do for both his sons was help Chris calm his emotions.

After being able to process some of his son’s life Leo was astounded at the strength of the bond his sons shared. And it was this bond that was the base of Chris’s belief that he could save Wyatt. A bond so strong that Chris or Wyatt could feel the other even if they were in the underworld, that even if the other was blocking them they knew what they were feeling, if not their thoughts, they knew their intention, but a bond that dimmed out of the blue. And Chris believed that whatever magic turned Wyatt was also responsible for cutting their bond.

He, Leo, Phoebe and Victor had tried everything from spells to potions to reverse that magic but they couldn’t even remember Wyatt being attacked, and Chris would have known if he had. He would have felt it. That is why Chris came with the theory that maybe this happened before he was born and that the magic lay dormant all that time. The only time they could remember was around when Chris was born but they still couldn’t figure out who could have done it. Chris said they should stop it from happening but Leo and Phoebe told him the rules, you do not change history. After they died Chris chucked the rules, or most of them, out the window and Leo could understand why. Wyatt was all he had left but there was more, there was no repairing the world he came from, they had to stop it from happening.

Since Chris had come he had kept a tight rein on his emotions and a block on himself so that Leo and Paige wouldn’t be able to sense him and know who he was. Leo snorted mentally, the fact that he couldn’t sense Chris was part of what made him suspect the boy. But there is just so much you can tight the reins before they snap and Chris had been doing so even before he came, afraid that even with a dimmed bond Wyatt would be able to feel him and therefore figure out where the resistance was and what they were planning. And his rein just snapped.

He was only eighteen for crying out loud. Just a boy, as was Wyatt. Barely twenty and already responsible for destroying everything they fought to protect.

He kept rubbing circles on Chris’s back in a soothing manner and waited to see if Chris said anything. He heard footsteps and saw Piper approaching with Wyatt. He decided to initiate the conversation himself.

“You know, telling Wyatt to put his shield up whenever you were near was a good way to make us keep our guard up but it also just proves how clueless we are.”

Piper frowned and looked down at Wyatt. When Leo looked at Chris and saw the exact same frown he had to chuckle.

“There were many times when you were a little too eager and told Wyatt to put his shield up before he could have seen or heard you. If we had noticed we would have known something was wrong sooner.”

“What? How?” Piper stammered. “He what?”

Leo took pity of his ex-wife and explained. “Chris thought that if we thought he was a threat we would keep our guard up and therefore stop the real threats. So he was the one telling Wyatt to put his shield up through their mental bond.”

“What bond?” she asked.

Chris looked at her and smirked.

“Hey!” she cried as Wyatt orbed out of his arms and to Chris’s. He kissed the blond little head and said, “Good boy.” He looked up and said. “That one.”

“Wyatt can feel Chris’s emotions and intentions,” Leo explained. “He knows Chris never meant him any harm so Chris told him telepathically to put his shield up.”

“Great! That’s just peachy!” Piper huffed. “I so wanted my sons to be able to plan mischief right in front of me without me knowing. This is all your fault!” she glared at Leo who didn’t hide his chuckle and was joined by Chris’s who turned into a blown out laugh as he remembered the many times he and his brother did exactly that to steal more cookies from right under Piper’s nose.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” Piper huffed and stalked away before either of them could see the smile playing on her lips. Chris was acting very uncharacteristically, but at least he was talking to them. She knew that was a result of his nervous breakdown but she thought that maybe that breakdown had been a blessing after all.

xx

A/N- Thanks for reading and reviewing. Don’t worry. Chris isn’t going to be this easy on them, but as Piper said, he is kind of out of sorts right now.

Chapter  4- The future

Leo found her cooking.

“He fell asleep again,” he said as he approached. “Maybe the next time he wakes we’ll be able to talk.” She smiled at him. “You know,” he said cautiously. “He was what brought us back together in his timeline. I told him once how I had decided to go Up There for good, and the two of us had one last time, and you ended up pregnant. I felt him before I left. Even though he had just come into existence. But I left. But while I was there all I could think of were you and Wyatt and this child I’d never even meet. So I decided to come back. I talked to the Elders about resigning but they worked a deal with me instead and I continued from down here. I came back a couple of weeks later; you didn’t even know you were pregnant yet.”

Piper shrugged but she couldn’t help but feel elated at knowing he chose his family.

“Maybe I could work that same deal again. I mean, I made it work then, why not now?” he continued hesitating. “That is if you want to.”

She turned around and kissed him giving him his answer. Yes, she was angry at him for becoming an Elder without even consulting her, but she missed him so much and since finding out about Chris the previous day she had been thinking about their relationship and what she wanted. And she wanted him, together they could face anything. They could fix anything. They could save Wyatt and help Chris. Together they were strong.

When they pulled apart Leo was smiling, “I’m glad you feel the same way.”

She smiled back at him and hugged him, “How is he?” she asked.

“Spent, emotionally and physically,” he answered.

“How is Wyatt?” Leo had told the little boy to orb to mommy after she left and had heard the yelp that signaled he had been successful.

“He was subdued and just went to sleep. I don’t know what happened.”

“I know. As I said he can feel what Chris is feeling, and all of Chris’s blocks fell and I don’t think he was lucid enough to remember to put them back up.”

Piper’s head snapped up, “Should we take Wyatt to dad’s?”

“Wouldn’t help, their link is too strong. I’ll ask him to block Wyatt again when he wakes, and only Wyatt,” he finished firmly.

Piper nodded and asked, “You know everything about him now?”

“To the extent a father should never know,” he said and she grinned at his grimace.

“My point is you know what he knows, his plan, and if we want to help him we need to be brought up to speed before Mister Efficiency wakes up so we can keep up with him.”

“Good idea, “he nodded. “We should call Phoebe and Paige and start.”

xx

“So mainly, he doesn’t have a clue,” Paige huffed.

“No,” Phoebe said. “He does. He knows the attack happened around the time he was born.”

“The attack happened and Wyatt was kidnapped and the stress drove Piper into premature labor. Something I’d like to avoid this time around,” Leo said with a serious face and the girls nodded. The description Leo gave them of the time they spent with Chris in the NICU for so long was not something they wanted happening either, even if they knew that he turned out all right afterwards.

“But as I was saying,” Phoebe continued. “Chris knows they were hired guns and also knows that whatever magic was put on Wyatt laid completely  dormant until it  was triggered. He was good and then turned completely overnight. This is someone extremely patient. They waited 14 years to act and to gain what? Wyatt was the source, the ruler.”

“We need to look at what happened and maybe we will get a clue,” Paige said “We all agree that the trigger was the attack on our family?” Everyone nodded. “What I don’t get, and please don’t get offended, but how did Phoebe survive? I mean Wyatt, Leo and Chris were Up There when the attack happened and thanks to the Elders muting them when they shouldn’t didn’t find out until later. But you don’t have many active powers and from what Leo told us very vaguely,” she glared at Leo who had refused to give name of husbands or children or even sex or age, “our kids had some mighty power, and Piper’s we don’t even need to say. But the only one to survive was you, and with no serious injury?”

“None taken,” Phoebe said. “I wondered about that too.”

“And so did future you,” Leo said. “But everything went spiraling down so fast after that that there was no time to look into that. She said she got knocked out right in the beginning and woke to me healing her, they thought that maybe the demons thought you were dead.” He looked at her sadly remembering the strong woman from Chris’s memories that valiantly tried to fight against Wyatt’s reign. “Unfortunately, as Paige said, you don’t have many active powers and you died fighting with the resistance not long after I did and Victor had just died too. Chris was sixteen.”

“No wonder he is so neurotic,” Paige said sadly. “He’s been alone and fighting when he was supposed to be skipping school and dating.”

They all nodded sadly.

“And they wouldn’t make sure a Charmed One was dead?” Piper asked skeptically.

“That is weird,” Phoebe agreed.

Leo nodded, “Yes, I agree.”

Piper frowned and looked at the list and other notes that Chris had stashed in a hidden place at P3 and that Leo brought. They were very specific. They had every demons that came in contact with a Halliwell in the next 19 years or so, names, powers, dates and the kind of interaction, attack, vanquish and the occasional truce for a common goal. Even Wyatt’s minions and the resistance allies were there.

Minions, she frowned, only minions, there were no counselors, and if there were Chris hadn’t been aware of.

“What if whoever did this got vanquished before they managed to become Wyatt’s mentor and get to power?” she asked.

“Someone powerful enough to kidnap Wyatt from us and not get caught couldn’t be vanquished by just anyone. I bet the power of 3 was needed and if we vanquished them they are on that list,” Paige said pondering. “But you are right, maybe they did get vanquished and someone else who knew the plan set the trigger off.”

“And maybe the one who set the trigger wasn’t powerful enough to control Wyatt,” Phoebe added.

“That is Chris’s line of thought and that is why he has vanquished the bigger threats, with your help.” Leo said but he bit his lips. “But the fact is, that for all his investigation and vanquishes he hasn’t made much progress. We might need a new approach.”

“What approach?” Piper asked.

“No idea,” Leo said simply.

“He is definitely spending way too much time with the Elders, “Paige huffed.

xx

Chris stirred and woke blearily. He was once again on his parent’s bed. He moved his arm to rub his eyes and touched a small body. He turned his head and smiled at the sight of his brother sleeping with his thumb on his mouth next to him. He smiled remembering his mother’s exasperated tales of how if one of them had a nightmare she could count of the fact the other would have orbed to their bed. Apparently she wasn’t happy when a four year old Wyatt orbed to Chris’s crib and broke the crib.

He smoothed Wyatt’s locks. He missed his brother. His Lordship wasn’t his brother. He could feel his Wyatt in there crying for help, trapped, he just didn’t know how to help, but he knew he had to find a way. That is why when every potion and spell failed he decided that he had to stop whoever turned him before they could. And he would.

He sighed, what would he do now? Now that they knew who he was. He hadn’t wanted them to, he hadn’t wanted them to ever know such pain. They didn’t need to live with the pain he did. He wanted to protect them, but at the same time being able to rely on his father the way he did, like when he was alive, had felt so good.

Seeing his family alive was hard but the hardest part was Leo’s open hostility. He had always been close to his father. The three of them sharing the Whitelighter-Elder bond that let the other one know how they felt made them have a comprehension of each other that as much as he was a momma’s boy, as Wyatt called him, they didn’t have with Piper.

And when they lost everyone, including Wyatt, they became even closer.

And when Leo accused him, distrusted him, that hurt deeply, because as much as Chris tried to distance himself he could only see his father taking his last breath in his arms as he called for Wyatt:

“He won’t come,” Leo tried to stop his youngest son’s yells. There was no one to save him. Wyatt had killed all the Elders and Whitelighters. He was the only one left that could have saved him, but Leo knew he wouldn’t come. “Chris,” he rasped. “You stay safe okay? Obey your Aunt. I love you.”

“No, dad,” Chris was sobbing now. “Just hang on a little bit more, he’ll come. WYATT!”

“I should have taken those fencing lessons with your brother,” Leo joked out of breath. “I love you. Don’t ever forget that. Your mother and I will always watch over you.”

“No dad, don’t. It will be okay. I’ll fix this. I promise. Dad, no please,” Chris begged but there was no answer, Leo had closed his eyes and after his last breath his body vanished as happens when a Whitelighter is killed and Chris was left hugging the air and sobbing for a long time.

When he had orbed back to headquarters his Aunt Phoebe was ready to read him the riot act but one look at his face and at the fact that he hadn’t come back with Leo and she just hugged him and started crying with him. When she died he didn’t let anyone hug him, Billie who had always babysat him had tried to comfort him but she understood why he couldn’t let her. He was truly the last Halliwell, Wyatt not being counted as one anymore and she had understood there that even though he was far from being a child, even though he had been fighting since he was fourteen now there was truly no one left to care of him. He had to let go of any remains of his childhood to become the leader on his aunt stead.

And that was true for this time too, because even seeing them every day they hated him, he was even more alone than in the future where even not letting them replace his family he had Darryl’s and his family’s and Billie’s support. Here he had no one to run to, no one to bounce ideas off of. And now that they knew, he didn’t know if he could just forgive them and start treating them like the family he missed.

He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. He gently lifted his brother and walked to the nursery laying Wyatt back on his crib. He didn’t want Piper to freak out when she didn’t find him there. He lightly kissed the blond head and went downstairs. He found the Charmed ones and Leo all seated around the dining room table studding notes and charts. He goggled as he recognized his notes and charts.

“HEY!” he cried crossing his arms and glaring at them “You stole my stuff!”

The four of them who had been so absorbed in what they were discussing jumped up and stared at him.

Piper stammered, “We er- we-“

Leo blushed and Phoebe cringed but Paige just stared at Phoebe.

“You know what I just figured out? You hit on our nephew,” in a simple random statement as only Paige could pull off. “And you frequently pointed out he was hot. Which is not only incestuous but I’m pretty sure criminal considering his age.”

That got them all out of their stupor as they all agreed as one, “PAIGE!”

xx

A/N- Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5- Meetings

After Paige’s disturbing comments and after explaining why they had invaded Chris’s privacy, a very annoyed Chris was sitting with them so they could discuss plans.

“We were trying to take a new approach,” Leo started explaining. “Not that we don’t think you were doing a good job, but fresh eyes sometimes can see what you missed.” He hurried to assure Chris as the boy had bristled and having seen everything through Chris’s eyes he now knew how much they had hurt him. How much they had to atone for, and the last thing he wanted was for Chris to think they were criticizing him.

Chris reluctantly nodded.

“How do you have so much information on these demons?” Paige asked. “We looked at the book and most of them aren’t there.”

“At first, when Wyatt expelled us from the Manor, we took refuge at Magic School. Gideon had managed to seal it from Wyatt after he had attacked the Elders. Dad and Gideon were the two last left. That is when we compiled most of this information and that was where headquarters was for a long time. Until the day Wyatt managed to break through Gideon’s protections and we had to evacuate. Gideon fell then, he gave us time to save a lot of the people that were protected there and I think he didn’t want to abandon the school. We managed to take our notes and some of the books with us,” Chris explained sadly thinking of his teacher. Gideon was a stiff but he had been fond of the man who had fought so hard for magic to be taught. He had loved his school and could never have left.

“Magic School?” Paige asked.

“Uh?” Chris asked.

“What’s Magic School?” Piper clarified.

“You don’t know?” Chris asked bewildered. “But-but-we went there- Paige taugh- er- I can’t tell you that.”

“Calm down,” Leo said putting a hand on Chris’s hand and tried not to wince when Chris pulled his hand back. “I never told them about Magic School. They obviously found out about it before you were born because I distinctly remember, from your memories, Gideon visiting in the hospital.”

“And Magic School is?” Piper asked.

“A school for Magic,” Chris replied simply.

Paige groaned and banged her head on the table, “It’s genetic! Leo passed along the irritating gene! We’re all doomed.”

Leo glared at Paige, “You know Paige, I can recall many instances in Chris’s life where Piper was complaining about him having your mouth.”

“Children, stop fighting,” Phoebe scolded. “So, obviously, with that name Magic school is a school for Magic, but we never knew there was one and who is Gideon?”

“He is an Elder and my mentor,” Leo explained. “He was one of the Elders who fought for mine and Piper’s wedding and he built Magic School to teach witches their craft. He had to fight for it too since most of the Elders were against it. It is located in another plane and there is  a special passage to go there. When Wyatt first started attacking, as Chris said, we took refuge there and took whoever we were protecting there. Even mortals.”

“So they have all kinds of information about magic there,” Piper asked. Chris nodded and Piper glared at Leo. “And you thought this wouldn’t have been useful before because…”

“Didn’t cross my mind,” Leo smiled sheepishly.

“Please explain to me how I could have stayed married to him for so long?” she asked Chris with an exasperated tone.

“He was good in bed,” he answered simple. “Hey! Don’t glare at me that’s what your sister over there used to say when you asked that!” he said pointing at Paige. “In front of the innocent children!” pointing at himself.

Paige looked pensively and rubbed her chin, “That does sound like me.” She said unfazed by her older sister’s and brother-in-law’s murderous glare and Phoebe’s snickers.

“I think,” Phoebe tried to say between her laughter. “That we ought to get a hold of that information to see which of these is most likely to be our bad guy.” She said pointing at Chris’s enormous list.

“We could also check Magic School and talk to Gideon about the boys-“ Leo started.

“Hey! My sons are going to go to normal-“

“Which doesn’t necessarily exclude Magic School. I attended both,” Chris said simply. He had loved Magic School. He had loved learning in general. Wyatt called him a nerd, he might be, but he just did.

“So, should we all go?” Phoebe, “And you know, just see, keep our options open,” she said calmly to Piper who was scowling and huffing.

Chris went pale at the thought, he had loved Magic School, he had missed Magic School, but there had been so much death the day they evacuated. They had lost so many. Innocents who couldn’t fight back. He had a hard time coming back to the Manor after everything, but he had had to get used to it in the future after his family was killed. They had had to stay and live here even after finding Piper dead and the house destroyed. But he hadn’t been to Magic School since that day and after the emotional breakdown he just had, and let’s face it he was still having, he didn’t think he could just orb there like nothing happened.

“I think Wyatt might still be a little cranky,” Leo said calmly imagining what was going through Chris’s mind. To be honest he was having a hard time shaking the images he got from Chris’s memories off of his head but at the same time he wanted to see the school and Gideon to convince himself that that hadn’t happened and wouldn’t. “Maybe Chris could watch him for us and so we can look around calmly.”

“Yes, yes,” Chris lunged at the chance. “I’ll stay right here. Babysit.”

“I thought you didn’t do babies,” Piper raised an eyebrow at Chris who had always been reluctant to do anything that entailed babysitting Wyatt.

“I- I do now. I’ll take care of him, I promise-I’ll-“

“Relax, I’m just kidding,” Piper said softly. “I trust you,” she said hoping he would understand that she really meant that.”

He looked away but nodded. Piper sighed, “Let’s go?”

xx

“This is amazing,” Paige looked around at the vast library. They had gotten a tour of the school after being introduced to Gideon and she was enchanted by so much magic being freely done.

“We could have used this source of knowledge so many times in the past,” Piper agreed. “If someone had remembered yo let us know about Magic School,” she narrowed her eyes at Leo who in her opinion was very lucky she missed him so much and they hadn’t had time yet to be alone or he would have gotten reacquainted with the couch tonight.

Leo smiled sheepishly at Piper, but he honestly had never thought of bringing Magic School up, after all, Piper wasn’t the Elders’ biggest fan and Gideon was an Elder.

“This one can help too,” Gideon said handing another enormous tome to add to the growing pile that they were collecting. “I think maybe Christopher should have come with you, he would know better what information he has and hasn’t.”

“I can tell you that,” Leo said. “I saw his whole life,”

“Exactly,” Gideon pointed out. “You saw eighteen years worth of a life in a second. There is no way you can remember everything, even Chris can’t remember everything, but something that would stand out to him might not be the same thing that would stand out to you. You are doubly biased here. You saw everything from Chris’s perspective, so you only saw what he noticed, and then we have to add your perspective, what you would have noticed.”

Phoebe nodded pensively, “He does have a point there. I mean no one can pay attention to everything, if you had watched all the events as an unbiased spectator you still would have missed stuff that maybe someone else wouldn’t and would have seen stuff someone else would miss. Chris might have other details more fresh in his mind.”

“I know,” Leo said sighing. “But I don’t want to put him through this, not this close to him snapping. I might not have seen everything but I saw enough of what happened here,” he looked sadly around Magic School, “to know that the first time he comes here again is going to be hard. I- I just want to give him some time.”

“You might not have that time,” Gideon pointed out.

“Whatever happens doesn’t happen for another nine months, we can give him a few days,” Piper said firmly. She was not going to push, she had pushed Chris enough, now she was going to make sure she kept both her boys safe and happy.

xx

Chris went to the door holding the bottle. He still couldn’t get used to babysitting his older brother. He opened the door and he had to work hard not to take a hard intake of breath and launch himself at the man in front of him, but by now he was a pro at this.

“Yes,” he said.

“Is Piper in?” the man frowned.

“No, er- they,” he looked uneasily to the outside. “Would you like to come in Mr. Benet?”

Without even asking how Chris new his name Victor just smiled, “Sure,” and entered.

“They went to magic school,” Chris said nervously tightening the bottle with both hands, “It’s a school for magic.” He finished lamely.

Victor raised an eyebrow at him, “Amazingly enough I figured that one out all by myself.”

Chris nodded a little ashamed, stupid, stupid.

“You must be Chris,” Victor said.

Oh goody. His mother and aunts most have badmouthed him to infinity and back and who knew what Victor thought about him.

“Nothing you heard is true,” he rushed to explain. “They wouldn’t have left me here alone with Wyatt if-“

“So you are not my grandson?” Victor asked.

“Oh- that,” Chris was taken aback. Really his family capacity for gossip was amazing. Not even twenty-four hours since they knew and apparently their whole network already knew. “Yeah, I, yeah. I’m not evil though.”

“Don’t worry,” Victor said patting his arm and leaning forward. “Your mother was very quick to call me and explain how I had to forget anything she might have ranted to me before, and that if I ever told you I would be banned from the house. So we’ll keep this little talk among ourselves.”

Chris smiled, that was so like his Grandpa. Just go over his mother head and let him know that everything wasn’t just as perfect as she’d like to depict but that’s okay because life isn’t perfect.

“So, why don’t we steal some of those cookies your mother has always handy and get to know each other?” Victor said pulling Chris over to the kitchen. He didn’t even startle when Chris poised his arms and Wyatt orbed himself into his brother’s arms.

“I was going upstairs to give him a bottle,” Chris shrugged.

xx

Paige looked at her watch and then at the pile of books in front of her. She sighed and looked at the others who were still browsing for other books. She bit her lip.

“Er- guys- sorry,” she winced. “I really have to go. Don’t look at me like that; some of us have boyfriends waiting for us.”

“Uh, boyfriend, yes,” Phoebe jumped. “Forgot about that, gotta go to. Give me a ride?” she asked Paige.

“Sure?” Paige nodded and grabbed Phoebe before anyone could complain and orbed out. Gideon just stared at the spot.

“Are they always like that?” he asked bewildered.

“Pretty much,” Leo said biting back a smile as Piper huffed and glared at the spot her sisters had been seconds ago.

“We should take this home so we can look calmly, er- that is if we may?” Piper added at the end, remembering to be polite at the last second.

“Of course,” Gideon smiled. “Just remember to bring them back.”

“Will do,” Leo nodded.

“Oh, and Leo. I think I might have an idea of how we can figure out who is after Wyatt. I’ll contact you all later.”

“How?” Leo asked.

“I want to do some research to make sure we can use this but as soon as I have this figured out I’ll talk to you. Won’t take long,” Gideon said. “I just need to look into bonds a little closer.”

“Bonds?” Piper asked.

“Yes,” Gideon said. “Hopefully our guy underestimated Chris’ and Wyatt’s bond and we can use that to our advantage.”

“How?” she asked.

“Not sure yet,” he said. “I’ll tell as soon as I know myself,” he answered going away and leafing through one of the books.

Piper looked at Leo, “He is weird.”

“Yeah, but he is very old?” Leo smiled at her. “He is entitled to.”

xx

“You have to understand,” Victor said as he took a bite of the cookie he had just dipped in the milk. “Your mother is very defensive of her family. They have been attacked to many times these last years and lost Prue, she’s scared of losing someone else.”

“I know,” Chris said taking a bite of his own cookie as he held the bottle for Wyatt who was on his lap with his other hand. “But there is defensive and then there is aggressive.”

“Oh, but that is Piper’s stile when she doesn’t like what she’s hearing. And there is nothing she likes to hear less than that she might fail. She wouldn’t have given anyone who appeared here saying she failed a chance. She probably never even took a good look at you after you uttered those words. Because if she had, she would have seen her face Leo’s eyes, Phoebe’s nose and from what I hear Paige’s mouth.”

Chris smiled at his grandfather’s description. He had heard that many times in his life, “I never said she failed.”

“No, you said Wyatt got hurt and in Piper language that translates into “she failed”,” Victor said wisely. “And then her goal became to prove you were lying and she did not fail.”

“But she didn’t. She was a great mom. She always took care of us. No one saw the attack coming. They attacked the three houses at the exact same time so they couldn’t call the other for help. They didn’t have a chance,” Chris argued.

“Yes, that is very rational and all, but in all the time you’ve know your mother, when was she rational?” Victor asked and when Chris made a silent ah with his mouth Victor nodded, “See?”

Chris nodded and startled at the sound of an angry voice, “Who are you calling irrational here? I’ll have you know I am very rational thank you very much! Right Leo?” Piper glared at her father from the door she had just crossed. When no sound came from her husband she repeated hissing, “Right! Leo!”

“Oh, um, yeeeaaaaaaaaahhhh,” he said slowly and unconvincingly.

Piper huffed and walked to the table. She took Wyatt from Chris, grabbed the milk, refilled Chris’s cup to the brim and took a cookie. Chris just stared at his cup bewildered.

xx

A/N- Thanks for reading and reviewing.

So, I thought hard about this. At first I thought of not bringing Gideon at all into the story, but then I thought that with him being good he is actually a good source of information. So I decided to make my own Gideon. Here you have him. Hope you like him.

Chapter 6- Stay here

“So, where are Phoebe and Paige?” Victor asked.

“Boyfriends,” Piper answered as she made faces to a giggling Wyatt who was in her lap. Leo and Piper had joined Victor and Chris at the kitchen table and where having their own snack.

Chris looked horrified, “They aren’t coming here are they?”

“I think not,” Leo frowned and Chris sighed relieved.

“Why? I’d like to meet them,” Victor said.

“Jason is okay, but I can’t stand the whiner,” Chris moaned.

“I know,” Piper said sympathetically.

“That’s not nice,” Leo said frowning

“But he is,” Piper moaned. “I love Paige, but she has got to change boyfriends ASAP,” she said making a face and Chris nodded. Inwardly she was ecstatic at him agreeing with her.

“I can’t understand her being with him?” Chris said. “He’s such a whiner, “oh poor me I can’t use magic”, “oh my family feud”, “oh my toe I just bumped”. Uncl- I mean her husband was nothing like that. He was strong and brave.”

Piper had eagerly brought her head up hoping to catch a slip but was disappointed. Oh, well, at least the whiner would be gone soon.

Leo did have to agree with Chris. From the memories he saw, Henry had been a very brave man. He had faced the challenges his magical family had come up with nothing but courage, especially for a mortal who could have done nothing against magic. And he remembered the sight of him dead, his gun in hand, obviously he had tried his best to defend his family against all odds.

“What did you find?” Chris asked.

“Gideon gave us a bunch of books where we can find more information on those demons on your list. We might see something new. Leo vetoed the ones he remembered you’d already seen but you might just want to take a look to make sure we’re not looking in any books you’ve already looked,” Piper explained. “And he had an idea about using your bond with Wyatt to find out who is after him but he didn’t elaborate much.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Gideon alright. Once he has all the facts he’ll tell his idea,” Chris nodded. “I’ll check the books before I go back to P3,” he said getting up and Piper startled crying:

“Stay!”

She didn’t want him going away. She wanted him to stay there where she could take care of him. Where she could get to know him. She might have only known he was her son for a day but that changed everything.

“Uh,” Chris asked. “Didn’t you want me to check them?”

“No, I mean,” she started awkwardly. “You don’t have to go back to P3. You can stay. We can put a bed in the attic for you or maybe move Wyatt’s crib back to our room and put a bed in the nursery so you can have some privacy.”

Chris looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He fumbled with the too large t-shirt he was wearing, the one his father had dressed him in when they rescued him. He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to say yes, to come home, and be with mom. But she wasn’t mom. She was Piper who had threatened to blow him up so many times.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said instead. “I’m fine at P3.”

“You’re my son,” she said quietly hugging Wyatt. “I can’t allow my son to sleep in some wore down couch in the back room of  a club.”

“Then he can stay at my place,” Victor said. “I have an extra room. And you won’t have to worry Piper, and Chris can still have his space.”

Chris sighed wanting to hug his grandfather. Yes, there wasn’t any history with his grandfather. He could stay there and not be awkward. He nodded eagerly.

“That’s okay,” Leo said. “Thank you Victor,” he finished and gently took Piper’s hand squeezing it to stop the protest that was forming in her mouth.

“Okay, then. The books,” Chris said darting from the room as quickly as he managed.

“I wanted him here,” Piper whispered.

“I know,” Leo said putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “Me too. But he needs space. At least this way he is going to be taken care of and when he is ready we’ll have a room ready for him.”

xx

And that is how the next couple of months went by. Chris had to admit that with his family helping him instead of hindering investigations were going much smoother and so was their daily demon vanquishing. 

To Chris’s and Piper’s immense relief Paige did end her relationship with the whin- er Richard, after a very short stint of living with him. They were very careful to being very sympathetic of her situation of course and never really dance in joy in front of her.

Phoebe had also ended up things with Jason, or more like he had with her after finding out, in a way that only a Charmed One could have managed, that she was a witch. And though Phoebe was sad Chris and Leo weren’t overly worried knowing she eventually did end up with her soul mate.

Piper had tried again to bring Chris home when Phoebe and Paige had moved out by decorating one of the rooms to be his, but though he had been extremely compelled to accept and had been very touched she did that, he still felt awkward around them. They were trying very hard to get him to forgive him but this nagging voice inside of him said that they should have given him a chance even if he wasn’t family. He was there to save Wyatt. It had looked as if he had saved Paige, so yes, he didn’t change anything there, just told Leo what he had done the first time around and made it look as if the idea was his. But shouldn’t that had been enough to at least treat him decently?

The fact that they only changed their mind because they found out who he was still bothered him, even though he understood what his grandfather had said about them not wanting to believe they failed. He truly did, and he wanted to just forgive and forget, but all that time he had forced himself not to get close, to pretend they weren’t getting at him. All the time he had had to learn to depend only on himself was hard to just throw away and start anew. He couldn’t just go back to being Leo and Piper’s baby boy and let them take care of everything. And that was where he and his mother butted heads most often. Maybe because Leo had his memories and therefore had not only seen him fight since he was fourteen but seen him fight next to his father and aunt, so he didn’t try to coddle him, but Piper would always start fretting. Like the first time he was about to just orb into the underworld to get information:

“But it’s dangerous,” she had cried.

“I’ve been doing this all along. I know what I’m doing!” he had cried back. “You never complained before!”

“Before I thought you were a twenty-something Whitelighter from the future who could only get killed by a Darklighter’s arrow, now I know you are an eighteen year old boy who can get killed and just so happens to be my son!”

“That doesn’t change anything!” he cried.

“That changes everything!” she cried back.

Chris was getting frustrated. He was ready to blow something in front of him when his father intervened and in a very calm manner explained to  Piper that Chris was right, he did know how to take care of himself. He wasn’t blocking Leo anymore so if something happened Leo would know and he already had the contacts in the underworld that they didn’t so it was best to just let him go. Piper had huffed but had reluctantly accepted.

And in that front being with his grandfather was easier. His grandfather didn’t treat him like a small child. He was there when he needed to talk but didn’t ask where Chris was every second of the day.

But at the same time Chris was tempted to accept that room. Especially after Phoebe and Paige moved back and started sharing a room.

“So that if you ever stop being stubborn you know you have a place here,” Paige had winked at him.

The fact is, that in this particular morning Chris was still living with his grandfather, when at breakfast he had gotten up from the table to get more coffee only to feel dizzy and stumble back toppling the chair backwards and falling to his knees. Victor ran towards him immediately.

“Chris! What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly trying to help Chris back to another chair.

Chris couldn’t concentrate very well, he felt lightheaded.

“I don’t know,” Chris said faintly. He tried hard to remember if he had been hit with something but couldn’t for the life of him. Orbs formed behind Victor and Leo was soon kneeling in front of him.

“What happened?” he asked Victor going straight to Chris, his hand glowing but stopping. He tried again and frowned. “This should work if he was injured or sick.”

“We don’t know,” Victor said frowning as well. “He was fine but when he got up to get more coffee he just lost color and balance.”

“I don’t feel so good,” was the lame explanation Chris was able to give.

“Let’s get you home first, then we can figure this out” Leo said and he took Victor’s and Chris’s arms orbing them to the manor where Piper was pacing.

“What? Where did you go? You can’t just orb- Chris!”

She ran to them as she saw both Victor and Leo helping Chris onto the couch.

“Was he attacked?” she asked worriedly.

Chris shook his head but stopped abruptly as the movement only made the room spin more.

“Why don’t you just heal him?” she asked Leo.

“I already tried that but I can’t feel anything wrong with him. No, that’s not right,” Leo shook his head, “His presence is fainter, lighter but he isn’t injured.”

“Maybe this is some side effect of the time travel,” Victor offered.

“I don’t know,” Leo frowned. “I don’t remember seeing anything like that on his research but maybe he missed something. I’ll get Paige and Phoebe to go to magic school with me so we can see if we find something. You two stay here and take care of him.”

As Leo orbed out Piper sat next to Chris smoothing his hair. She bit her lip worried. He was completely out of it.

“Would you like to lie down  a little?” she asked gently.

“Uh,” he asked dazed. “I don’t remember any attack.” He said and Piper exchanged a worried glance with Victor.

“We know,” she said. “That’s not what I asked. Would you like to lie down a little? Dad and I can help you up to your room.”

He shook his head again but halted abruptly closing his eyes as if to stop the dizziness, “No,” he said in a woozy voice. “Don’t want to move.”

“Okay,” she said worried. “Why don’t you just lie down here then?” she finished by getting up and helping him lie down on the couch. Victor took off his shoes.

“Can you get one of the blankets from upstairs dad?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said and stopped to kiss her head. “Don’t worry honey. We’ll figure this out.”

Piper nodded but her heart was tight all the same. What was happening?

xx

A/N- To those of you who liked Richard, sorry, but I hate him! He’s cute, I’ll give you that but he has that whinny quality that unfortunately is the actor’s. I mean I love brothers and sisters but I so hate Tommy’s scenes!

Anyway, I can’t see Piper or Chris liking a whiner and I thought that’d be a good way for them to agree, without even noticing what they were doing.

Thank you all who reviewed. There has been a problem and I wasn’t allowed to respond to reviews that arrived the last few days, for any story. I hope they fix that soon! But I appreciate them all!

Chapter 7- Parents

“There isn’t anything here about time travel side effects,” Paige groaned worriedly. Leo had orbed home a while ago and came back with bad news. Chris wasn’t getting better, he seemed worse. He was still conscious but it had been over an hour since Piper had managed to get him to say anything coherent. Now he was just lying silent as if he didn’t understand the world around him. That was two hours ago and they were getting desperate.

A book snapped and Gideon put it aside with a defeated expression, “Nothing,” he shook his head in answer to the other three silent question. “Just the usual rules and risks about changing the timeline but no physical effect on the traveler.”

“We are sure he wasn’t attacked?” Phoebe asked again and Leo shook his head.

“Yes,” he repeated. “I made him promise not to block me. I would have known if he was.”

“Yeah, but this is Chris-I-have-to-deal-with-everything-on-my-own-Halliwell we are talking about,” she said.

“Even so,” Leo said. “If he had blocked me I would know he was blocking me. Now that I know what to look for,” he huffed at his own blindness before. Every day he noticed a new way that should have revealed who Chris was and they just didn’t see. He suddenly snapped his head up. “Piper’s calling. Something happened.”

He orbed out and the others followed him. Really, you just don’t say something like that and expect them to sit and wait for him!

As they appeared in the Manor’s living room they met a frantic Piper, a worried Victor and an unconscious Chris.

“What happened?” Leo asked.

“This happened,” Victor said holding Chris’ hand up for them to see. It was see through.

“What?” Leo looked bewildered. “What is going on here?” he asked worried. His son was disappearing. He looked at the others and though Phoebe and Paige looked appropriately shocked Gideon was smiling.

“What are you smiling at?” Piper snapped at the Elder.

“Oh, sorry,” he said flustered. “I just realized what the problem is. He isn’t sick, injured or having a side effect of the time travel.”

“Then what is happening?” Piper cried.

“How long has it been since he snapped and you found out who he was?”

“Two months,” Paige answered and comprehension dawned on her. “Oh, two months, he had two months, yes. We’re wasting time here!” she cried turning to Leo and Piper who were still so worried about Chris that they couldn’t understand what apparently everyone else had as Phoebe was nodding and Victor looked definitely uncomfortable. “But I don’t understand. You two are back together. Haven’t you, you know?”

“Haven’t I what?” Piper snapped. “My son is disappearing and you people speak in riddles.”

“Exactly, he is ceasing to exist, he needs to be conceived,” Gideon said simply smiling. “You to need to – er-“ apparently his calm and wise demeanor didn’t prevent him blushing as he tried to continue. “You know.” He finished flustered.

“Oh,” Piper said taken aback. “But we have been, er- you-know.”

“Well, obviously you need to have more,” Phoebe stated. “So go!”

“What if he isn’t?” Leo asked worried. He was a little nervous. He didn’t know if he was going to be able to have sex on command like this.

“He was never going to be conceived before his time Leo,” Gideon said. “Or else it wouldn’t be him. But he needs to be conceived or else he’ll disappear completely. I’m pretty confident the time to conceive his has come.”

“We could wipe up a lust potion if you two need the help,” Phoebe offered.

“We don’t need help,” Piper hissed then she looked at Leo who was green with nerves. “Maybe, just in case. Leave it by our door.”

She grabbed Leo by the hand and pulled him away in the direction of their room not looking at the others.

Paige patted Victor’s arm, “You can stop looking as if you’ll throw up Victor, all the talk about your daughter’s sex life is over.”

“Thank God!” Victor said sitting on the couch’s arm.

xx

Piper had gone to changed in the bathroom. Phoebe had knocked on the door and Leo, who  had already striped down to just his boxers, stuck his hand out to get the potions vials. He looked at them and sighed. He didn’t want his son conceived by a lust potion. Piper and Leo had talked about this and they were eager to have this new baby. He was wanted and he should be conceived naturally. But at the same time he didn’t want to risk his son. He put the potions on the nightstand and waited.

He decided that if they weren’t able to get in the mood he would not risk Chris. He would just drink the potion and- every thought went out of his head when Piper opened the door and came wearing a nightgown Leo had never seen before. Oh, they definitely wouldn’t be needing any potion.

xx

“I think we’re on the clear,” Paige smiled as Chris’s hand started looking more solid. She, Victor and Phoebe had stayed downstairs with Chris. Victor was steadily playing with Wyatt to avoid thinking about what Piper and Leo were doing. Gideon had orbed back to Magic School telling them that he would stop later on because he had done all the research he needed and he would come explain his idea.

Chris started stirring and rubbed his eyes. He looked groggily around and when he looked up he met his Aunt Phoebe’s smiling face. When he realized he had his head on her lap he sat up abruptly.

“What happened?” he asked.

“How do you feel?” Phoebe asked.

“I’m fine. Don’t feel dizzy anymore,” he said simply.

“Good,” she nodded.

“What happened ?” he asked again.

“Oh,” Paige answered simply patting his arm. “You just needed to get conceived. But don’t worry, your parents went upstairs and took care of it.”

Chris’s made a disgusted face and shuddered, “I so didn’t need to know that!”

xx

Chris hovered in front of his parents’ bedroom door as he came down from the attic. He shuddered again, really people! They’ve been there forever! He had already been conceived! Stop being so horny!

He decided to just go back downstairs. As he passed through Paige’s room, his room now, he hovered a little. He looked around to see if anyone was coming and slowly entered the room. He set the book he had been carrying on the bed and gently ran his hand through the bedspread. The bed was still Paige’s but the sheets and duvet had a more clean mixture of a blue and white pattern to them. A lot less girly and very similar to what he used to have in the future in this very same room.

Leo must have been the one to chose the sheets, he thought. The rest of the furniture was still Paige’s but her stuffed animals were gone and the shelves were empty except for one or other book on Magic. The shelves where ready for his stuff.

He sat on the bed and looked around. He thought of the last two months. He had been getting closer to them, not as close as he was in the future but he was more open to their approach. To their care. He closed his eyes and thought back to his mother’s gentle care while he was sick. He had been dizzy, having a hard time comprehending what was going on but her touches were there. Smoothing his hair, asking if he wanted something.

And his dad had known he wasn’t well, and orbed as soon as Chris had first started wobbling.

He missed that. He knew he was an adult. He shouldn’t be missing that. He had lived so long without that, but would he be living without that care if his family hadn’t died? He was only eighteen, he’d still be in school, getting ready for College. No, he knew he might protest but his mother would still be taking care of him if he was sick.

He looked around, he wasn’t ready to call them mom and dad but he was ready to come home. Home, he thought with a smile.

xx

Chris walked out of his room; he had decided he was going to tell everyone he was staying here. He hoped his grandfather didn’t mind. Somehow he thought he wouldn’t. As he came out in the corridor the door to his parents’ bedroom opened and he came face to face with the smiling faces. He couldn’t help it. He turned his face and blushed furiously.

“Chris,” his dad called and came to him. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Humhum,” Chris moaned not wanting to stay there with the images that were running through his head.

“Are you sure,” Piper asked coming towards them. “You don’t sound alright.” She frowned and started checking his hand to make sure it was solid.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He rushed to say. “You’re pregnant. You did it. I mean –NO!- I mean, oh my God! Can we not talk about this, please!” he begged and Piper and Leo who where now blushing too nodded and hurried downstairs.

xx

Piper had cooked dinner for everyone in an attempt to remove her sisters smirks and her father’s and Chris’s awkward expression. They were about to start eating when the familiar jingling of orbs was heard and Gideon appeared with a bunch of books.

“Oh, good. You’re all here,” he said and deposited the books on the dinner table right next to the roasted chicken. Without missing a beat and not a little bit fazed about interrupting dinner he started.

“I think we can use Chris’s and Wyatt’s bond to find out who kidnapped Wyatt since Chris already knows,” he stated.

“No I don’t!” Chris looked outraged. Did Gideon think that if he knew he wouldn’t have already taken care of the bastard?

“Well, not consciously you don’t,” Gideon explained. “But you and your brother share a mind link so you may actually have his memory of the event.”

“Gideon,” Piper said slowly. “Please sit down and explain. Properly. As if we couldn’t read your mind.”

“Oh, yes,” Gideon took a seat on the table and started, “I’ve been researching bonds of the nature you and your brother share. It is my comprehension that at that age where you were still in the womb and Wyatt was a toddler neither of you could have blocked the other, but at the same time you were probably too young to comprehend what was going on to remember. So even though you have the memory. It is not conscious.”

“Wouldn’t Leo have seen it though,” Paige asked.

“No, because it’s like we said before, “Phoebe continued for Gideon getting excited. “Leo has Chris perspectives of happenings and I bet for Chris coming out of the womb and trying to survive was more important and required the baby’s full attention than whatever might have come through Wyatt’s link. But at the same time the memory is there. So you want to make Chris remember what happened to Wyatt so we can see the kidnapper?”

“Exactly,” Gideon said pleased that someone was following his line of thought.

A/N- Thanks for reviewing

Chapter  8- Our foe

Paige was brewing the potion that Chris was going to take to put him in the meditative state so that he could recall an event that started happening while he was still in his mother’s womb. Phoebe was getting everything ready in the attic were they were going to perform the ritual and Gideon would guide Chris to the memory. Leo and Piper were putting Wyatt down for the night and Victor was watching Chris intently from over the book that Gideon brought and he was supposed to be reading.

“What’s on your mind Chris?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Chris said vaguely.

“Then why are you turning your head over to the stairs every few seconds?”

Chris bit his lip and leaned on the dining room table a bit, “I was thinking, that maybe, if you weren’t going to be offended, that maybe, since there is a room here and maybe-“

“I think your parents will be thrilled if you move in and I won’t be offended, here is where you should be Chris,” Victor said calmly and Chris smiled.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and tell them?”

“Now?” Chris asked nervously.

“No, better time than the present- or would that be past for you?” Victor winked.

Chris bobbed his head and got up nervously. He walked slowly up to the nursery. He hovered in the hall until his parents left the room gently closing the door .

“Er, hi, can we talk?” he asked awkwardly.

“Sure,” Leo said calmly and led Chris to the closest room, which just so happened to be the one Chris was thinking of moving into. Leo pulled a chair from the desk while Chris and Piper sat on the bed awkwardly.

“If you’re worried about what we are going to do-“ Leo started.

“No,” Chris hurried to assure. He trusted Gideon, he knew the man wouldn’t put his life in unnecessary danger. Chris decided to be blunt because he really didn’t know any other way to approach the subject. “I was thinking of accepting your offer.” He said simply making a motion with his hands to show the room.

Piper couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was coming home, he was moving home! He still refused to call her mom, but he was coming home. She wanted to hug him but she knew he wasn’t ready for that yet so she settled for the next best thing, she hugged her stomach, where baby Chris was growing, and with the biggest smile of the world she said:

“Any time you want to, you can just come.”

Chris nodded, “I’ll bring my stuff after we get the memory,” he smiled shyly.

“If you want, I can go with you to get it now,” Leo said. “The potion will take a little while still.”

Chris looked at his father and nodded, “Okay. Yeah, it’s better to keep busy.” He agreed, even though deep down he knew Leo was afraid he’d change his mind and that was why he was in so much of a hurry. But he wasn’t going to. Leo kissed Piper and they both orbed away.

xx

Chris was lying down on the attic’s floor surrounded by candles. His family was surrounding him and by his head Gideon was kneeling and talking smoothly. He had taken the potion and he felt sleepy but at the same time he had a clear view of all he was thinking.

“Think back Christopher. Think to that moment you were still protected by your mother. You were still in her womb,” Gideon said calmly and Chris’s mind just went back and he was amazed. He looked around and he was floating, everything was dark put he knew he was safe.

“Now reach for your brother. You know he is there, go to him, follow his eyes.”

Chris thought of Wyatt, of that constant presence in his life. He thought of how he felt every time they had spoken in their minds, every time Wyatt hadn’t wanted to give a long explanation of what was happening so he just let Chris see through his eyes. And he was away from the complete and safe darkness and wasn’t floating anymore. He was sitting, on a crib. He looked around, he was on a cave, barely illuminated. The crib looked out of place here. There was a man lighting candles on what looked like a stone round table and checking a cauldron nearby every now and then. The man approached and crouched down to be eye level with him.

“Hello Wyatt,” his blue eyes met his and he smiled. The worst part, the rational eighteen year old part of Chris thought, was that he wasn’t scary or smiling evilly. No, he was smiling as if he’d seen a long lost relative.

“You know, you are going to help your Aunt Phoebe,” the man continued. “You are going to help us become one big happy family. Just the three of us.”

The man lifted him up and walked with him towards the raised stone table where the candles where.

“You see Wyatt, there is nothing more important to your Aunt Phoebe than family. So when the only family she has left becomes evil, she will have no choice, because I know she would never abandon you. And that’s my chance. That’s when I’ll reveal myself. Of course,” he waved his hand dismissively, “At first I’ll have to pretend to help her in saving you from evil, but with time, I’ll just convince her that that’s who you are,” he said as he sat the baby on the stone. “And since you’ll still be just a boy, you’ll need guidance, parents, us,” he finished caressing the blond curls.

“Now, this ritual takes three days, but don’t you worry,” he said in a way he obviously thought soothing. “I have a decoy for your family to chase to give us time. Then, I’ll just let you go.”
And he started the ritual, and he talked more to Wyatt as if he was going to be a favorite Uncle, explaining his plans in detail to the toddler who he thought could not comprehend or tell anyone. At the end of the three days he just lifted the anti-orbing wards he had and told Wyatt to orb home. His family just assumed Wyatt managed to escape.

xx

Chris opened his eyes and saw his family’s heads and Gideon’s hovering over him.  Leo helped him sit up. Paige couldn’t hold it anymore.

“So, did it work?”

“Yeah, I saw the nut job who kidnapped Wyatt. Gideon was right, he used some kind of ritual that was triggered when Wyatt turned sixteen. He planed the attack for just before so that if we figured that Wyatt had been turned we’d think the attack was the trigger and if we didn’t we’d think his anger because of the attack was what turned him.”

“So, who turned him?” Piper asked.

“I don’t know, I never saw him before. He is not one of the demons we’ve crossed,” Chris said.

“But why did he do it?” Phoebe asked and Chris looked at her frowning.

“You.”

“Me?” she asked bewildered.

“Yeah, the nut job kept saying how with everyone out of the way and the only family you had left going evil you’d be One Big Happy Family. Wyatt was the only one besides you that was supposed to survive, and he thought you’d stick by him, since he was just a teenager.  Then he’d swoop in and at first pretend to try to help you get him back but  he thought that with time he’d be able to turn you and you would all rule the world and all that rot and- what?” he asked as Phoebe had gone white and started shaking her head.

“No, that’s not possible,” she turned to Piper and shook he arms as if to tell Piper to agree with her. “We vanquished him! He’s gone! We did! Piper! Paige!”

“It’s the only explanation,” Piper said sadly to her sister. “And it explains why he never showed himself or why you survived. And why Chris never met him and he is not on his list. You didn’t go evil, so his plan didn’t work, and you died before he could do anything.”

“No!” Phoebe shook her head and Paige hugged her to comfort her. Chris looked at Leo.

“You know who this is?”

Leo nodded grimly, “There is only one person obsessed enough with Phoebe to go to these lengths for her; Cole. Her half-demon ex-husband.”

“But, but, didn’t you vanquish him?” Chris asked bewildered.

“Apparently,” Piper said grimly. “He doesn’t stay vanquished.”

xx

A/N- I know this is short but this was a cutting point. Sorry. Thanks for reviewing!

So now you know why Wyatt had to be so young, and since I needed a bond so strong between the brothers I couldn’t see Chris waiting too long to take a desperate measure.

Chapter  9- Reactions

“Yeah, that is definitely the guy I saw,” Chris nodded grimly at the picture Phoebe showed him. “Why isn’t this on the book? His human face would have been useful.”

“I changed my mind many times about that,” Phoebe grimaced. “I put it there then I took it away.”

“So what do we do now?” Paige asked.

“For starters you need to find a way to extinguish him from existence,” Gideon said. “As vanquishing him to hell doesn’t seem to be enough.”

“And vanquishing him is hard enough,” Piper huffed.

“But we have the advantage here,” Leo said. “He doesn’t know we are on to him, even if he’s heard of Chris he must think he was successful in covering his tracks because in all his investigations Chris has made it clear that he is looking for who is after Wyatt but that he doesn’t know who is.”

“Meaning that as long as we don’t tip him off he’ll keep to his schedule and we have time,” Chris nodded.

“He might still be in hell for all we know,” Victor said. “I mean, he only kidnaps Wyatt in how long?”

“Seven months,” Chris said.

“Seven months is a lot of time,” Piper nodded. “He might still be figuring out how to come back and maybe we can stop him from coming back.”

Chris rubbed his chin, “I might look into my demonic contacts to see if there is talk about any demon coming back.”

“Won’t that tip him off?” Phoebe asked.

“Shouldn’t,” Chris said pensively. “I’ve asked that before. Some of the demons you did vanquish in the future are ones that had been vanquished or banished and managed to come back. If he gets tipped off by that then he is already on his guard because of my snooping.”

“We could also find out more about that ritual in case we have to undo it,” Paige offered and the others nodded in agreement. Better safe than sorry.

xx

Paige found Phoebe staring blankly at her computer screen in the room they shared. She pulled another chair next to the desk and asked.

“Are you okay?”

Truth be told, she had deliberately come looking for Phoebe to know how she was feeling with this whole Cole business.

“Oh, yeah,” Phoebe said with unusual sarcasm for her. “My whole family is going to get slaughtered and the whole world is going to go to hell because one lunatic can’t just let go of me. I’m dandy!”

“You said that right,” Paige said firmly. “Because of one lunatic not because of you. Cole is at fault here not you.”

Phoebe looked at her and smiled sadly. She sighed deeply and said sadly.

“But he was right. If Wyatt had been the only one to survive I probably would have stayed by his side. Even him being evil.”

“But Chris survived and you had to choose between you nephews, and you chose to continue our family’s fight. Chris saved you. Chris is saving us all,” Paige tried to comfort her. “And this time we’ll make sure Cole can never come back.”

“He also miscalculated,” came a voice from the door and both girls startled and looked at Chris who slowly came in sitting on one of the beds. “That ritual was for Wyatt to go against everything he learned from us, but Cole forgot that his sense of family was learned here. He might have chosen 16 as an age because Wyatt would be at the same time old enough to cause damage and young enough to still need a mother, but Wyatt didn’t want family once he turned. One of his first actions was kicking us out, and we were lucky that he must have been in the first stages of becoming evil and didn’t really try to kill us, just threatened. He said we were holding him back. Cole’s plan wouldn’t have worked because he didn’t understand what is being a Halliwell, what we are taught. He thought that what we were taught was just all that good philosophy but I learned that family comes first here. That’s something I was taught by our family. And when Cole’s magic erased the values he learned as Halliwell he erased that as well.”

“Which just proves that as much as he always proclaimed to love me he never really knew me,” Phoebe said sadly.

Looking at his aunt Chris decided to go against his self imposed rules. He got up, walked to her, kneeled down and hugged her remembering all the times she had done the same to him.

“But he also wasn’t your soul mate. Dad always said that we may have many loves in our lives but only one person is our soul mate. Mum was his, and I know my Uncle was yours. You just have to be patient.”

Phoebe smiled gratefully and reveled in the embrace. She did try to get some information though, “And that Uncle doesn’t happen to have a name?”

Chris pulled back and glared at her, “Nice try.”

“Oh. Come on,” Phoebe whined. “You said yourself, we’re soul mates. So why waste time with other boyfriends?”

“Because other boyfriends teach you what you need to make your relationship with your soul mate work. Besides, if you know who he is you’ll never know if you stayed with him because you knew you’d end up with him or because you chose being with him,” Chris said seriously. “He being your soul mate does not mean that your relationship will be easy and without doubts. Look at my parents,” he finished giving her a knowing look.

Phoebe nodded reluctantly seeing the logic behind his reasoning. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t curious.

xx

“When I get my hands on him,” Piper hissed furiously as she briskly turned the pages of a book, “He’ll wish he never left hell. No, he wasn’t satisfied with destroying my sister. That wasn’t enough! He had to go and mess with my son and slaughter the rest of my family! We’ll find a way to finish him off for good and hopefully it will be very painful!”

Leo looked at her worriedly, he couldn’t deny, he was fuming himself and wanted nothing more to cause Cole a whole world of pain for what he did to Wyatt, Chris and everyone else that had been his family and he had met through Chris’s memory. But Piper, oohh, Piper had been hating Cole for a long while and now she was downright scary.

Victor and Gideon had left a while ago and Piper and Leo, unable to just settle down no matter how late it was, decided to start looking at the many demonology books they had borrowed from Magic School throughout the last couple of months to see if they had some idea. They were at the dining room table an while Leo had sat down to read calmly Piper was standing over a book that was laid on the table.

He decided to get up and walk behind her. He gently wrapped his arm around her and rested his chin on her shoulder, “We’ll stop him. For good this time. I promise. I will not let him hurt our boys or the rest of our family,” he finished putting his hand possessively over Piper’s belly and thinking of his youngest son. No matter how much they changed everything Leo felt a pang at the knowledge that Chris would be marked for life. He might go back to a world where what he lived through never happened but the fact that he had already lived through it wouldn’t be erased.

Piper looked down at her belly and fiddled with Leo’s fingers, “We’ll help him get over all that happened, won’t we?” she asked in a whisper.

“Yes,” Leo said firmly, “And he’ll have so many good memories when he goes back that all that he lived will just feel like a horrible nightmare that can’t hurt him anymore.”

xx

Piper was watching them sleep from the door. She didn’t know if he had always had nightmares, she’d have to ask her father, or if last night’s events prompted the nightmares but the fact is that Chris must have obviously had a restless night because when she went to wake Wyatt up she almost had a heart attack at finding his crib empty. She ran out to get whoever was in the house, which she knew was only Chris because both her sisters had let her know yesterday that they would be leaving for work very early and Leo had been called Up There right before she woke, actually he woke her to let her know. When she entered Chris’s room she found both her son’s sound asleep. Wyatt curled up next to Chris who had unconsciously wrapped a protective hand around the baby. That had happened before. That first day they found out and Chris spent so much time unconscious. After her dad had dropped Wyatt he had orbed to Chris many times, and sure enough when they followed to get the little boy they had found Chris thrashing around.

That day Chris’s sleep had been unnatural due to the fact he was recovering. When he wasn’t thrashing he was just laying there, stiff as a board. Today no, Chris was on his side and he had his legs folded towards his body and Piper was amazed at how someone so tall could occupy so little space on the bed. She felt a pang at that not knowing if this was just how Chris had always slept or if this was brought from the years of not having proper places to sleep.

At that moment Wyatt decided to take his thumb out of his mouth and smacked his brother’s nose when waving his little fist around to get better positioned. Piper had to stifle a giggle as Chris gave a snort and brought his own hand up swatting at his nose as if to chase away a fly, neither of them rising up. She decided to let them rest. Chris would be going into the Underworld and he needed a clear head for that. She left her boys knowing they both were in good hands and went downstairs to get breakfast ready for the three of them and maybe Leo if he came back in time.

xx

“Good morning,” Piper said from the stove as Chris entered the kitchen quite awake and carrying Wyatt. He had obviously changed and freshened up and had also changed Wyatt.

“Morning,” he said as he put Wyatt on his high chairs. “Where’s everyone?”

“Paige and Phoebe have left and Leo had to go Up There.”

“They probably want to discuss the whole Cole issue, Gideon must have told them,” Chris said and when Piper huffed he added, “I know you’re not the Elders biggest fan but they are extremely old and knowledgeable. They might have some idea we don’t.”

“Says the half-Elder,” she muttered and Chris smiled briefly. Blue orbs formed as Piper was bringing the bowl with scrambled eggs to the table and without missing a beat Leo sat on the chair next to the one she was taking and took the bowl before he even fully materialized.

“Any news,” Chris asked as he poured himself some milk.

“They were discussing ways to boost the power of three in order to completely eliminate Cole,” Leo said.

“Is that possible?” Piper asked.

“Well, we’ll have to test but they think we might be able to channel a power of six.”

“Uh?” Chris asked bewildered.

Leo smiled, with Chris’s knowledge of demons  and the future it was a rare ocasion when Leo could tell him something he didn’t know. He enjoyed the feeling, “The Power of Three is formed by three descendants of Melinda Warren. They don’t necessarily have to be sisters or from the same generation. It’s just that until the Charmed Ones there never had been more than one or two descendants at a time. So right now if we find a way to channel Wyatt’s and the baby’s magic,” he said pointing at Piper’s belly. “Adding yourself we have six descendants. Even though you and the baby are technically the same person right now you are physically two different people. But the problem is neither the baby nor Wyatt can chant a spell. So Piper has to be able to channel both her and the baby and we have to find a way for someone to channel Wyatt.”

“But that would put Wyatt in danger,” Piper fretted.

“If we can make this happen on our turf and on our schedule Wyatt would be in less danger than if Cole stays loose,” Leo argued.

“And how do we do that?” Chris asked trying to dissipate a possible argument on something that was still a theory.

“No idea,” Leo nodded and Chris banged his head on the table.

xx

A/N- Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 10- Plans

 “Son,” Leo started slowly as he sipped his coffee. “Remember the day the Cleaners tried to erase Wyatt?” Piper frowned at him from over the kitchen table. She definitely did not like being reminded of that day.

“Humhum,” Chris mumbled through his mouthful of cereal.

“Remember your charge, the one you had sex with?”

Piper’s mouth opened and she gaped at her husband. Now, that he never shared with her!

Chris stopped chewing and stared at Leo. He glanced at his mother and the tip of his ears started going red.

“Did you use protection? I mean, she was your first.”

Chris started coughing and choking. Leo ran to help and thumped Chris’s back until Chris was finally able to breathe, “What?” Chris shrieked.

“I am just saying,” Leo said calmly as he went back to his chair, “that though I understand that you seduced her because you didn’t want another charge, I know for a fact that back in your time you never had the opportunity to have a relationship, seeing as you were so young when the war started. And even if I would rather that your first time had been special and not a means to an end I still have to worry if you used-“

“We didn’t do anything!” Chris cried helplessly. “We didn’t I swear! I didn’t want a charge and she didn’t want a Whitelighter that wasn’t committed. We staged that we-“ Chris stopped as he glared at Leo’s smirk. “You knew that!”

“Of course I did,” Leo chuckled. “I saw all your memories remember? I just couldn’t help it,” he continued laughing. “You had to see your face!”

Piper slapped Leo, “Don’t tease him!”

“That was mean! Cruel! “Chris sat back on his chair and glared at Leo.

“Oh, you owed me,” Leo said. “Do you know the lecture I was given by your mother here when she realized you were still 17 when I bought you that drink at P3?”

“You deserved that, underage drinking, at my club!”

Chris smiled fondly, “Was my first.”

“I know,” Leo said with a sad smile. He had been sixteen the first time he had drunk alcohol with friends, and illegal as it might have been Leo also know that having your first alcoholic drink with your friends and preferably underage is a rite of passage, one more rite Chris missed like many others.

“Well,” Chris said wiping his mouth with a napkin. “As fun as being made fun of is, I have to go. I want to see if one of my contacts has heard anything.”

“Oh,” Piper said unsure. She knew he had to go and she knew another fight about his safety wouldn’t do anyone any good but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be worried until she saw him back home safe and sound. What if Cole was already around and decided to get him out of the way? “Be careful. I’ll be at P3 if you need anything. Or, don’t know, want to have lunch together,” she smiled hopefully.

Chris looked at her and after a moment of indecision he nodded, “I’ll try to be there. But I can’t guarantee anything; I mean if I get a lead I might have to do some investigation.”

“That’s okay,” Piper smiled, inwardly she was doing somersaults as Chris orbed away. Leo took her hand and kissed it.

“I think we might be making good progress,” he told her.

xx

There was a knock on the door of her office and Phoebe called, “Come in.”

Elise came holding a few sheets of printed paper and sat calmly on the chair in front of Phoebe’s desk.

“Any problem?” Phoebe asked.

“I don’t know,” Elise answered with a worried expression. “You tell me. I mean,” she sighed glancing at the article in her hand. “I thought you and Jason had finished things off peacefully.”

“We did,” Phoebe said bewildered.

“Really?” Elise asked and putting on her glasses she read. “Some men are just sadistic bastards who you have to teach a lesson to. You can’t let them threaten you or your family and need to take action,” she raised her eyes to Phoebe. “And the girl was just asking how to deal with an overbearing mother-in-law. Is Jason threatening you? I mean, I’d never expect but-“

Phoebe sighed and took the article, she re-read it and flinched, “Yeah, I might have gotten out of subject here. I’ll re-write it.”

“Phoebe, I know you will, that isn’t what is worrying me.”

“It’s not Jason,” Phoebe said. “Er- my ex-husband is steering some trouble but we’re taking care of that, don’t worry.”

“I didn’t know you had an ex-husband.”

“Yeah,” Phoebe said. “I have one and he’s a demon.”

“I hate that kind of man,” Elise said sympathetically thinking Phoebe was using a figure of speech. “Look, if you need time to deal with him, just let me know, we’ll think of something here. Maybe you could ask Jason for help. I mean, I know you aren’t together anymore but he cares a great deal for you and he might lend his lawyers.”

“Thanks Elise,” Phoebe said. “But I think Cole needs to be dealt with in my family way. I might take you on that offer of time though.”

“Any time,” Elise nodded and got up. “Don’t let him get you down,” she said as she left.

“No I won’t,” Phoebe said to herself. “He won’t win.”

xx

“Really? Me?”

“Yes, I think you are an excellent choice.”

“But, I haven’t even been at this for long, I mean I’m still learning myself. Phoebe or Piper would be much more appropriate-“

“From what I have seen the last couple of months,” Gideon said from his chair behind his office desk. “You are much more committed to your magic than your sisters. And I’ve talked to Leo, he says you worked with children before as a social worker.”

“Yeah, but I never taught them,” Paige answered from the chair she was sitting on in front of the desk. Gideon had called her here for a chat and she had been surprised when he offered her a teaching position.

“Leo seems to think you’ll do well. And as for not knowing enough magic,” Gideon said waving a hand. “We are all always learning. I need you to teach them more than just spells. I need you to teach them to embrace their magic as you have been trying to.”

Paige had to admit, she was tempted, very tempted. She had fallen in love with Magic School since that first tour and had been coming here frequently. And if Leo said she would do fine she had a nagging suspicion that she might have taught here in the future and he was talking from his little trip into Chris’s memories. She looked at Gideon and decided to take a leap of faith.

“Okay, I accept.”

xx

Piper was finishing with her monthly balance when blue orbs started forming next to the counter. She smiled widely until the person materialized and her smile fell.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said disappointed.

“Don’t jump in joy like that, I might feel too loved and become overwhelmed,” Paige said sarcastically putting her hands on her hips and glaring at her sister.

“I was just expecting Chris,” Piper said. “He said he might come for lunch.”

“Oh,” Paige said. “Okay,” she finished giddily jumping on one of the stools and swinging her legs. She leaned towards Piper and said in a sing song voice. “I got a new job.”

“You’re always getting new jobs, that is the very definition of a temp job,” Piper said going back to her numbers.

“Oh, no,” Paige said waving a hand dismissively. “I got fired from the temp agency this morning. They said I’m too unreliable,” she shrugged. “Go figure.”

Piper looked at her sister and had to bite back a laugh. To be honest considering most of Paige’s temp jobs ended up in a magical disaster and that was when she didn’t have to disappear in the middle of work for one of their magical disasters she was quite impressed they hadn’t fired her before. Well, at least Paige didn’t seem sad about it.

“And what new job might this be?” she asked.

“I am going to be a teacher,” Paige announced importantly and Piper burst out laughing. “Hey!”

“You’ll be right at home with the teenagers!” Piper choked through her laughter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Paige glared at her.

“Nothing,” Piper said innocently. “Where are you going to teach?”

“Magic School,” Paige said. “Gideon called me earlier and just so you know your husband vouched for me,” she finished huffing.

“I think you’ll do great,” Piper said and she really did. Not only would Paige be a kindred spirit with her students but she was passionate about magic.

“Thanks,” Paige preened. “Me too.”

Orbs started forming again and to Piper’s immense joy this time Chris did materialize.

“Hey,” he said stuffing his hands in his pocket. “So, lunch?”

xx

“No one has heard of anyone coming back,” Chris said though a mouth full of sandwich. They had decided to go to a dinner close to P3 to have some lunch and sat at a secluded table so they could talk. “At least according to my sources but there is talk about someone wanting to hire for a big job. No one knows what the job is or who is hiring. But whoever this is wants muscles and not brains.”

“If this is Cole he wouldn’t want brains. Brains could figure out who he is and destroy his plan,” Paige said thoughtfully. “After all he did remain in the shadows for all those years. He probably didn’t show himself for any of his hired muscle.”

“You’re right there,” Piper said. “I mean, he wouldn’t want to risk Phoebe finding out he was behind all this.”

“When he explained his plan he didn’t say anything one way or the other. He just talked about how the spell worked and how he would kill all our family to get us out of the way. But if I had been him I wouldn’t let anyone know who I was either,” Chris said slowly. “But that means that if he is the one looking for muscle now he is already here and my question is how do we find him? He will have taken measures not to be found in the usual ways.”

“And we don’t have anything that belongs to him anymore,” Piper said. “At least not strong enough to scry. There are a few pictures, but I don’t think they were personal enough. They are more personal to Phoebe.”

“I don’ think scrying is enough, and I definitely don’t think we should go up to him before we have a sure way to extinguish his sorry ass forever. We have the surprise element going on for us and we should use it,” Paige said and then she stared at Chris who was staring at Piper open mouthed. “What?”

“Phoebe,” Chris said and the other two just stared at him. “Phoebe is what is more personal to Cole. If we could find a way to use her to locate him.”

“She isn’t a possession,” Piper said annoyed.

“To Cole she is,” Paige agreed with Chris.

“Maybe we could come up with a spell to get her to him, instead of getting him to us, as a usual summoning spell would. And then all we have to do is make sure we follow her,” Chris said thoughtfully. “I’ll check if there is something at Magic School later.”

“You can go with me tomorrow when I go to work,” Paige said and then she kept her eyes firmly on Chris’s reaction.

“Sure, and I’ll use the library while you’re in class,” he said absent mindedly.

“How did you know-“ Piper started but was cut by a triumphant cry from her sister.

“I knew it! I was a teacher wasn’t I? Yes, I was! Yes I was!”

Chris looked at her and then groaned when he realized his slip. He slapped his forehead.

“So, was I a good teacher? Favorite teacher?”

“You’ll have to find out with time,” he huffed annoyed at getting played so easily. Piper just looked at her sister’s gloating and Chris’s glaring amused.

xx

Chapter 11- Cole

Paige was loving her new job, granted she had a little nervous breakdown at first when her rebellious students were too, well, rebellious. But as soon as she asserted her authority with them she began to really enjoy this new life full of magic. Chris had gone with her that first day to do some research in the library and it hadn’t been easy to roam those halls again. At first he kept having flashbacks to the hell that had happened when Wyatt’s troops invaded the school but if there was one thing to be said about Christopher Perry Halliwell was that he was strong and would not let anything stop his mission. He managed to overcome that in order to look for information and started going there more frequently.

Leo and the other Elders were still trying to figure out a way to channel Wyatt’s and the baby’s inside of Piper magic so that they could boost up the vanquishing spell.

Phoebe had started helping Chris on his research because she had to admit that to Cole she was a possession. She had taken Elise’s offer and had been sending in the column from home so she could help out more in the research.

Piper on the other hand was modifying the potion and spell used to vanquish Cole the first time to erase him completely. At first she had suggested erasing him from existence, going back in time but she had to concede the point that going back over a hundred years to erase someone could change history too much. Even their own personal history had been too attached to Cole and could be changed in too many ways. So they couldn’t stop him from existing from the start but they had to make him stop existing from now on, so he couldn’t ever come back.

Their investigations  and research paid off a little over a month afterwards.

Chris stared at Leo as he had finished explaining what the other Elders had come up with. They were all once again seated at the dining room table that was covered in books as Leo, who was standing kept showing them a passage after another that backed their theory.

“That actually makes sense,” Chris said. “That could very well work. Good work dad,” Chris smiled.

Leo who had been nodding with Chris stopped his head motion abruptly and stared at Chris who had gotten the last book to read the passage over again. He wasn’t the only one staring shamelessly at the boy. When Chris brought his head up he looked at his parent’s and Aunts’ goggling and asked innocently:

“What?”

“You called Leo dad,” Paige offered.

“I know,” Chris said simply and went back to reading as if nothing had happened. Leo couldn’t help himself, he went towards Chris and pulled him up into a hug.

“Dad! You’re ruining the book,” Chris protested but made no move to leave the hug. After a while Leo let him go and awkwardly tried to change the subject.

“So, we think that if we- what Piper?” he asked a little fearfully seeing as his hormonal wife was glaring daggers at him with her arms crossed.

“Nothing, dad,” she hissed.

Leo was sympathetic, she was jealous! But that didn’t wipe the smile off his face and she just glared more fiercely.

Chris looked at her innocently and added, “I had been planning on calling you mom too but if you don’t want- humph- choking here- need air!” he cried as Piper, who had been on the seat next to him all along, pulled him into a crushing hug.

xx

“They were all in the attic having prepared all necessary and some unnecessary (except to appease Piper) potions. Chris had Wyatt strapped to his chest in one of those baby carriers and they were all forming a circle. Leo took Piper’s hand who took Chris free hand. Paige, grabbed Chris’s arm since even though Wyatt was strapped to him he was holding the boy’s hand, they had to be touching skin, and with her other hand took Phoebe’s who closed the circle by taking Leo’s free hand.

“So,” Piper asked, “are we ready?” Everyone nodded. “Now, don’t forget Chris, if this doesn’t work you orb Up There with Wyatt immediately. I know that right now you are the most powerful here but Wyatt’s and yours safety,” she added with a firm look at her kamikaze son, “is more important.”

Chris rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, you’ve only been repeating that every second since we started planning mom.”

“And yet, why do I have the feeling that it wasn’t enough?” she sighed.

“It will be,” Leo said calmly squeezing her hand. He knew why she was worried. Chris had the tendency to not care for his own safety, but Leo knew he would never let Wyatt get hurt.

“Okay then,” Phoebe said in a nervous voice that was trying to sound brave. “So, we are ready?”

“Yes,” Paige answered for everyone.

Phoebe started chanting the modified summoning spell that would take her to Cole. By having everyone linked they were hoping, after a lot and a lot of research, that the others would be taken with her. They felt themselves fading in that same familiar way as when they were orbing and yet slightly different.

They reappeared on a cave without a sound. The cave looked nothing like your normal demon lair. As a matter of fact, apart from the stone walls you’d swear you were in some kind of luxury apartment, there was something to be said about Cole liking his comfort.

Sure enough he was there, sitting at a huge wooden table that must have had the purpose of being a dinner table, bending over papers and books. Phoebe let go of Paige’s and Leo’s hand and stumbled forward, “Why couldn’t you just let me be?” she asked, her voice coming out choked.

Cole’s head went up at the sound and he turned around on the chair to look at her. He stood up abruptly letting the chair fall down as he moved forward. A jet of lightning coming from Chris’s hand and hitting right next to his foot stopped him, “Na,na,ni,na,na,” Chris shook his finger. “You keep away from my aunt.”

Cole smirked at Chris, “So you’re the Whitelighter from the future every demon is afraid of? Should have guessed that only a Halliwell would break the rules of time that way,” he studied Chris up and down, “Elder powers, you’re obviously Piper’s. Maybe I chose the wrong brother.”

Chris was the one smirking now, “Then Wyatt would have been the one here stopping you. You didn’t chose the wrong brother, you forgot that we are brothers and  that will be your downfall.”

“I heard that before, and yet, here I am,” Cole said in a confident tone.

“Not for long,” Piper sneered with all her hatred at him.

“NOW!”

Phoebe quickly grabbed Paige’s hand who had never let go of Chris’s.

“You can’t vanquish me,” Cole sneered and held his hand up to send a fireball at them to break the link when another lightning bolt pulverized his hand. He yelled in anguish and stared at Leo.

“Who said anything about vanquishing?” Leo said lifting his hand again.

“You’re a pacifist!” Cole cried.

“Not when you’re the subject,” Leo said keeping Cole busy as Chris managed to get ready. “You’re right Cole, we are going to be One Big Happy family, and you’re not part of it.”

Chris had his eyes closed and was focusing with all his might in his bond with his brother and trying to go through the one that Wyatt had with his baby self. He had practiced this before in the manor but what he would do next couldn’t be practiced as a one time event was already dangerous. He let his brother and his baby self know what he needed and soon enough he felt their power rush through him, he felt their magic coming from the bond into him. He opened his eyes and they were glowing, he was glowing with the amount of magic he had in him. His hands felt hot, burning but neither Piper nor Paige let go. Piper and Phoebe threw the potions at Cole and they all started chanting. Chris channeling Wyatt’s and the baby’s magic.

Cole started crying in pain as his skin and flesh turned slowly into sand, the sand started flying around him in a whirlwind until there was nothing left of him. And when there was nothing left, the sand burst into a million different colors and disappeared, not a grain left behind.

Piper and Paige let go of Chris, their hands in blisters. Leo ran to them as Chris fell on his knees with his eyes closed in pain.

“Give the power back Chris,” Leo instructed. “Make it flow back through the bond before it burns you.”

Chris heard his father’s words but the power was consuming him. He was in so much pain, he didn’t want it but he didn’t know how to return it.

His skin was reddening up and breaking in blisters when he felt it, he felt Wyatt calling for him calling for his power, and he felt a second presence and recognized it as himself. He let go, he just let go and on instinct both babies took back what was rightfully theirs. Chris couldn’t support himself any longer and Leo helped him lie down while Phoebe unstrapped Wyatt. Chris was unaware of the soft glow of healing as he drifted into darkness.  

xx

The next time he woke was to his Aunt’s smiling face. She had been sitting next to him in his bed waiting for him to wake up.

“You do realize how disturbing this is, don’t you?”

“I wanted to thank you,” she said and hugged him. “You were very brave.”

“It was nothing,” he mumbled embarrassed.

“You were,” Phoebe said and there was a definite proud tone in her voice. “And you have no idea how much you saved me.”

“Well, yeah, that was the whole point of travelling back in time,” he shrugged. “To save you all.”

“No, I mean how much you saved me,” she emphasized. “I don’t know how my relationship with your Uncle was or is going to be,” she wrinkled her nose. “But I’m sure that whatever relation I have with him now will be better. More free, because I only noticed until today when I saw him, but I had been clinging to that relationship. To the illusion that maybe if I had done something different, that maybe if I had saved him. But today, when I saw him, I realized that was all it was, an illusion. There was no saving him, there was no changing him. And now I’m free of him forever. Here,” she said waving her hand around as if to indicate the world, “and here,” she put her hand on her chest.

Chris smiled. He was glad he helped his aunt. He didn’t know if Cole had  ever been an issue between her  and Coop. He had been too young to notice these details but if she was feeling better now and if he helped her he was happy.

“I’m  hungry,” he declared trying to change the mushy subject.

“Oh, yes, Leo said you might be. You expended a lot of energy containing all that magic. Piper left a lot of food ready,” she said pulling him up.

“Where did she go?”

“To the doctor with Leo. They wanted to make sure that what we did didn’t hurt little you. Though Leo sensed the baby and said he was fine, but you know your mother…” Phoebe trailed off rolling her eyes. Chris laughed. Yes he did.

xx

Chris approached his parents wearily. They had been lounging in the garden stargazing and cuddling together on one of the recliners.

“Hum, er,” he cleared his throat.

“Chris,” Piper smiled. There seemed to be a general lighter air now that the threat was gone.

“Hi,” he smiled nervously. “Hum, we kind of have a problem, “he flinched.

“What problem?” Piper was quickly alert sitting up. “Can’t we get a break?”

“No, this isn’t magical,” he said nervously. “I mean this is magical but er –theportalthatbroughtmebackwasonewayonly.” He blurted, “I had already told dad that though,” he added helpfully and hopefully.

“Can you say that again slowly please?” Piper asked calmly and Leo was bighting back a laugh as he was reminded from Chris’s memories of all the times she said that to either Chris or Wyatt with the exact same tone when they were confessing to some misbehavior.

“The portal that brought me back was one way only, kind of, can’t use it to go back. So I kind of don’t know how to get back to my time,” he said quickly. “Well loved talking to you, see yah!” he tried to run away but he was quickly stopped.

“Stop right there Mister. Do you mean to tell me you jumped through a portal with no way back?” his mother’s stern voice asked.

“Yeaaaaah,” he said painfully.

“What the hell were you thinking? What if you had ended in the wrong time?” she yelled at him.

“I was trying to save you all!” he yelled back. Not a good strategy with Piper.

“That was still too risky no matter how noble the goal! What if you’d ended up eaten by a dinosaur?” she snapped and Leo flinched remembering the close call he and Chris had back when he didn’t trust Chris.

“Then I would have been,” Chris said his jaw trembling. “It’s not like I had anything else left to lose.”

That simple strained phrase deflated all of Piper’s righteous anger. She just stood there staring at Chris trying to keep his cool and impersonal façade. Leo stood quietly by her side because he knew that both of them needed this. This had to come from Piper. Leo had known Chris came on a one way portal. As Chris had said, Chris himself had told him the portal was one way that time that he was trying to see if he had changed the future. And then Leo had Chris’s memories and he knew exactly why Chris left not knowing if he’d ever be able to get back home. He had nothing left back home. But to Piper, all of this was theoretical. All of this was something they told her. She didn’t see or know what Chris was thinking when he made the decision. Leo didn’t have to wait long though. Piper launched herself forward and involved Chris in a hug.

“I’m sorry Peanut,” she said softly and Leo smiled as Piper unknowingly started using the same nickname she had given Chris in the future making her son smile sadly. “But you have us now. We’ll all be there when you go back.”

Chris hugged her back but said nothing he just nodded into her hair. After a while Leo cleared his throat.

“Well, seeing as I knew the portal was one way I had asked Gideon and the other Elders help,” he said quickly to not incur Piper’s wrath. “And they do know a way back. It’s not a portal, because this time your future self won’t have left. We have to send you back to merge with him. It’s a power of 3 spell though.”

Chris nodded nervously and Leo continued. “I’d love to keep you here Chris, and I’ll miss you. But you deserve to enjoy the life you fought for.”

“I know. But I’m scared of what I’ll find,” Chris said quietly.

“You saved us. Everything will be fine,” Piper said firmly. Inside she was breaking at having to let go of her son so quickly. “And if you get there and the world didn’t change. You come right back.”

xx

There had been teary goodbyes and promises. Piper had made one last dinner with the whole family and even Gideon had been invited. Now they were chanting the spell and Chris had just disappeared in a flurry of lights. Piper was crying and hugging her stomach. Leo came and hugged her. After a few months, a healthy baby boy entered the world to his family utter joy.

Chapter 12- Going home

 “Ha!” The blond cried. “You guys get stupider with the passing of time,” he chuckled as he sent a demon flying away. “Scorch this one Chris.” And he passed on to the next one but when he didn’t hear the familiar sound that came with his brother sending his bolts of electricity he looked back ready to berate his brother. “Chris I said- CHRIS!”

The demon had gotten his bearings back and was gaining on his brother who was just standing there. Doing nothing. Wyatt quickly blew the demon up and turned to blow the other. Playing with them was fun but right now he needed to get rid of them and find out what they did to Chris. He went over to Chris and put a hand on Chris’s shoulder and the other hand on Chris’s cheeks, “Chris,” he called but Chris didn’t answer. What was more scary was that Chris eyes kept furiously darting from one side to the other. Wyatt closed his eyes and reached for their bond but had to quickly retreat. There had been a rush of images that he couldn’t almost identify but he had seen flashes of his parents dead or dying and he did not like that. He orbed both of them to the Manor.

“MOM!” he called “DAD!” he hoped his mother wasn’t at P3. He needed help. He made Chris sit down on the couch and Chris sat there. Stiff as a board, only his eyes moving. Blue orbs formed and Leo appeared next to them.

Leo was still an Elder, but upon reflecting on Chris’s memories he had decided he didn’t want a life where he would outlive all of his relatives, unless he was struck by a Darklighter’s arrow. So he had gone Up There with all the intention of resigning when they had stuck another deal. He would still be an Elder but he would give up his immortality, aging as a mortal and one day finding his death of old age.

He looked good. He still had blond hair but it was now deliberately streaked with grey hair. He looked definitely as someone in their late forties.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Wyatt said nervously. “We went after those low level demons and we were just fooling around you know.? Taking our time to get some practice when Chris just froze. They did something to him dad. I tried to reach him trough our bond and a million of images kept flashing, and they weren’t nice ones. All full of death and dark- er dad?”

Leo had gone from trying to heal Chris to staring at Wyatt and then he had started smiling. He realized his son must have thought that odd, but honestly, how did they forget what today was? They had only been waiting for this day for the last 18 years and now all of them just forgot! Leo put a calming hand on Wyatt and said:

“They didn’t do anything to him. He’ll be fine. He just, er, needs time to process this information.”

“What information?” Wyatt snapped at Leo. Unfortunately for Leo both his sons had inherited their mother’s temper. Where Wyatt was the one that not only looked more like Leo but was also closest in likes and dislikes while the same was true for Chris and Piper, both of them had Piper Halliwell’s mighty temper, which had been compared to Penny Halliwell’s and should not be messed with. “My brother is completely unresponsive, right when we were fighting demos and you’re just sitting there!”

“Wyatt,” Leo said calmly and grabbed both of his son’s upper arms to stop the flailing. “I need to explain something to you. Actually, we all need to. Let’s get your mother and aunts and we have some history to tell you. So go get your mother and I’ll ask Paige  to orb Phoebe here.

xx

“Why the hell didn’t you ever tell us this?” Wyatt asked angrily. Leo had taken Chris to his room where he was still in the same state. They didn’t know how long he would take to process all the memories of a lifetime. As Leo explained, he was a full Elder, so he was wired to get loads of information at once. So when he got Chris’s memories the process had been smother. Chris on the other hand was just half-Elder.

They then had gotten all together in the living room. His Uncles and grandfather having joined the storytelling, after all Henry and Coop had been privy to many of the “Do we tell them?” discussions. Wyatt was on the couch between his parents and Phoebe and Paige were sitting on the coffee table in front of them. Coop and Henry were standing behind their respective wives while Victor was just sitting back comfortably in one of the armchairs.

“Because we wanted you to live whatever you could of your life unburdened. What happened wasn’t your fault Wyatt, you were under a spell. And we didn’t want Chris to worry about what would happen,” Piper said gently.

“Look son,” Leo said. “I had your brother’s memories from his last time, and because of that we were able to prevent some disasters,” he smiled. “But at the same time I lost the chance of being surprised at something new that happened, and sometimes when I knew something bad would happen I had to let that happen because I knew how that would be important for our life later on. Like when you were seven and caught chicken pox from your friend at school and spread it to your brother and cousins.” Everyone winced at that experience. “I knew that in the end you’d be okay and have very much needed antibodies, but believe me, I was very tempted to keep you home in quarantine at the time. But someone,” Leo smiled at Piper, “talked some sense into me. I tried to change a lot. So we could build up those new good memories, and the last four years have been completely new, but living with that knowledge, that expectation was very hard. And we didn’t want you and your brother and even your cousins to live with that. With the knowledge that I knew what you would be doing and that your mother, aunts and uncle had a very vague idea.”

“Annoyingly vague,” Paige huffed.

“So that’s how you knew I was going to  take the car for a spin when I was fifteen?” Wyatt asked grimacing.

“Believe me,” Leo patted his son’s arm. “I saved you from a very unpleasant punishment.”

“Humph,” Piper scowled crossing her arms. “I still say the intent should have been enough for a grounding.”

Wyatt looked down nervously, “What if he hates me now? Because of what evil me did?”

“He won’t,” Phoebe said squeezing his hand. “He never did.” Wyatt nodded unsure.

“We should go tell the girls all this now,” Henry said. “Or they’ll have our heads.”

“Yes,” Coop agreed. “Definitely.”

xx

Chris abruptly shot up gasping for air. He closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing to a regular rhythm. When he opened his eyes he was staring at Wyatt’s blue eyes. Wyatt had been sitting on a chair next to Chris’s bed since his talk with his parents had ended. That had been four hours ago.

Wyatt said nothing, and neither did Chris. Wyatt tried to understand the look in Chris’s eyes. Was that hate? It looked like hope.

“Wy?” Chris asked in a whisper.

“I’m sorry Chris, I’m-humph-“ Chris had lunged himself at Wyatt and was hugging him fiercely and crying. Wyatt was confused. Chris was always so composed, so cool. He never broke up like this. Wyatt brought his hands up and started rubbing circles on Chris’s back like when they were little and Chris had hurt himself.

“It’s okay,” he said calmly. “Everything will be fine.”

“I know,” Chris said and Wyatt knew that even through his tears Chris was smiling and was happy. He was content for what felt like the first time in a long time. Wyatt could feel it. “We really are One Big Happy family.”

“I guess we are,” Wyatt smiled intoxicated by what Chris was feeling.

The end

xx

A/N- I had planned some long coming back full of conflicts but then this scene came to my mind and this was just the perfect ending that I changed my plan!

I hope you had fun and thanks for reading!