Note: This is set before The Courtship of Wyatt's Father, but might also contain a few spoilers from the episode. Also, it may seem sort of confusing at first because there are two sides of the story and one of them is not all it seems to be…

He was tired, tired of the endless battles, the daily arguments within himself. Nobody could have known how hard it was to listen to his parents go on each day, not even knowing he was their son. On the better days, he could almost believe that they could see something in his eyes, some hint of the bond they shared. But those were only the better days, and he could never quite fall for the dream.

It was easier now that his aunts knew his little secret, but he was still the outsider. He was still the one who didn't quite belong.

The sound of the traffic below was almost inaudible over the wind, but Chris sat sturdily on the upper cross-bars of the San Francisco bridge. His dad had been right, it was easy to think up here, and it certainly beat staring up at the ceiling of a room that wasn't even his yet.

A shimmer of light interrupted his thoughts. At first, he thought it was his dad, come to give him some unasked for (though not unwelcome) advice, but the dirty blond hair was too long and the face was unshaven.

Chris nearly fell off of his perch he was so startled. Standing quickly, he tried to back away from the new arrival, only to find that he had nowhere to go; the thought of orbing never occurred to him.

'Hello little brother,' Wyatt greeted.

`

Even the wind seemed to have gone silent. Chris could hear nothing but the terrified beating of his own heart. He had never been so scared- nor had he ever been so angry. This man, this demon who called him brother had killed everyone he had ever cared about.

And now he stood there, smiling like the brother he had never been.

'Chris, what's wrong?' the older boy seemed genuinely confused, but it was not long before some form of realization hit him. 'We were afraid this might happen, Chris, you did it, you can come home now, back to where you belong.'

'What are you talking about?' He could feel the fear slipping away from him, but the anger was still there.

'I've come to take you home, little brother, our family is waiting for you- mom and dad are so proud!' Wyatt held out a hand to his now completely confused brother.

'How do I know this isn't a trick?'

'You'll just have to trust me.'

Hesitantly, Chris reached out and took the proffered hand. In a silent shimmer of slue, both figures were gone.

*

Phoebe sat down at her desk, cluttered as it was with letters, papers, pens and memos. She picked through the first layer of junk, then stopped. 'God I need to get this sorted out.' She muttered.

It was at this moment that she noticed the young woman sitting on a stool by the door, though it was another second or two before she got over her surprise.

'What are you doing in my office?' Asked the witch.

The girl stared at her for what seemed like forever before answering. Her expression was one Phoebe couldn't even begin to read, and the waves of emotions coming from her were even more confusing.

'Beware the familiar stranger who comes in the night,' she began, cryptically. 'For he bears nothing but death in his gift-laden arms.' Her eyes were slowly glazing over with a deep shade of blue. 'The son returns to clip the bud before it's bloomed.' She continued, even as her body went stiff. She began to shake violently in some sort of seizure.

'Chris!' Phoebe yelled, not caring if her co-workers overheard her and confirmed the rumors of her insanity. 'Chris, get your butt down here!'

But is was Leo, not Chris, who materialized in the corner of the room.

'What is it?' he asked, apparently not seeing the obvious problem.

'Help her,' Phoebe ordered, but even as Leo stepped towards her, a column of blue light appeared behind her and, before the being's features could be made out, it encompassed the girl and disappeared.

'Leo, what the hell just happened here?'

*

The house was almost exactly as he remembered it. The front room Wyatt had brought him to was just as bright, just as welcoming as it had ever been. And, though there were no witch-detectors or museum tape, Chris knew that this was his time. A time where his older brother really was older than him.

'Chris?' He turned slowly to see his mom standing there, her expression no longer the resigned familiarity that she always had in the past, but one of love. It was the same expression he had seen her use when she looked at baby Wyatt, one he had wished she would have sent his way on more than one occasion.

'Mom,' he didn't trust himself to say more. He didn't want to look weak in front of his brother, not after all he'd just gone through.

Piper, his mom, stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a loving hug. He felt tears soaking into his shirt. His mom was crying.

'Hello Chris,' Over Piper's shoulder, he caught sight of another familiar face.

'Bianca,' it was only by shear strength of will that he kept himself from breaking down, and the warm salty droplets that tickled his shoulder were no help at all.

And, suddenly, it was his fiancée who held him close. 'I knew you could do it,' she whispered as his mom wiped her eyes dry.

'Yes, little brother,' Chris felt Wyatt's hand on his damp shoulder. 'You finally proved yourself the hero.'

Chris smiled at this. Yes, he'd finally proven himself to the only person he'd ever needed to convince…

'Alright, come on, I've got a potato casserole in the oven- your favorite, Chris, and I know of a few others who are eager to welcome you home.' Piper announced, taking charge as she was bound to do in those situations.

'Yeah, like us,' Bianca backed away to give his Aunt Phoebe a chance to hug her nephew, Paige was just behind her.

'Now,' Paige said, looking him square in the eye, 'Who's your favorite aunt?'

Chris' eyes darted between the two. 'If you wanted me to say it's you, you shouldn't have asked the question,' he replied, smiling.

Phoebe grinned. 'That's my nephew!'

Paige nodded, approvingly, then patted him on the head. 'I know you meant me,' she whispered.

'Hey, I heard that!' Phoebe complained, lightheartedly.

'Good.' Paige replied.

'Okay, enough.' Piper cut in. 'Go set the table, you two.' She turned to her son and smiled lovingly. 'I am so proud of you…'

The doorbell rang, and Wyatt let to go get it. 'That'll be Kirra,' he informed them off handedly.

'I'm… I'm going to go check on the casserole, leave you two alone for a few moments.' Piper smiled again and slowly backed out of the room.

Chris wrapped his arms around the young woman who had helped him through so many ordeals, then Wyatt's words came back to him. 'Hold on, Kirra… Kirra's dead, isn't she?'

'A lot of things have changed,' Bianca replied solemnly. 'It may take you some time to get used to it all.'