He remembered the first time they had met, she had been sent for him, sent to kill him. It seemed his big brother had better things to do than try and crush his baby brother himself, that or he just couldn't face it.
So he called in the big guns.
The Phoenix.
Bianca.
She had struck hard and fast, cold and emotionless. There lay her weakness. There was no emotion in her punches, no passion behind her spin kicks. Emotion was something Chris had by the bucket load. He had blocked her punches, her kicks and was able to get the better of her.
Before he knew it, he had her pinned down, he was on top of her. In that moment, he was all too aware how attractive this slender female was. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he had to, but he wanted to find out for sure that Wyatt was behind this impersonal attack. He was almost offended that he hadn't bothered to come after him in person, but since Chris's last attack, maybe Wyatt was still recovering.
Chris remembered the first week of their relationship. Things were uneasy. Wyatts hired gun wasn't the wisest person to fall for, and the trust hadn't been there in the beginning. But she had saved his life, repeatedly. Without thought of money. Over time the trust developed and the relationship progressed, became more intense, more serious. She had stood against the most dangerous force of evil the world had ever seen, she had placed herself in direct threat because of her love. Because of their love. Because of him.
They had developed the plan, to save the world, to save Wyatt. To save their love. But it involved great risk and greater sacrifice, on both their parts.
A couple of weeks before their plan was fully developed and every little detail had been thought through, they had walked hand in hand to their spot, a little place by the bay bridge, so beautiful, or it had been. The place was a ruin, but to Chris and Bianca, it would always be beautiful. Their own little slice of perfection in a world full of chaos. They had kissed, and talked for hours before Chris could work up his nerve. He wasn't a nervous person usually, and Bianca noticed his uncharacteristic behaviour.
"Whats wrong?" She had asked, stroking his hair away from his eyes. Her voice so soft, so full of concern. Her eyes sparkled with the emotion which had been missing from their first meeting. She had come so far.
"We both know what I have to do." Chris told her, "We have no guarantees our plan will work. We have no guarantees that I'll be coming back from this."
There had been tears in her eyes, he remembered. Tears don't come easy to a cold blooded assassin.
Chris had fallen to one knee beside her, producing a box from his pocket.
He opened the box and a delicate diamond ring glistened in the sun.
She had been speechless for about a minute. That minute had seemed like an eternity, stretching out with uncomfortable uncertainty.
Then a smile appeared, small at first and then wider. Her eyes grew big as she took the ring and pulled Chris to his feet, wrapping her arms tightly around him, and he never wanted her to let go.
She pulled away, looking into his eyes, "This is an engagement ring, right?" Bianca asked uncertainly, "I'm not just jumping to conclusions am I?"
"Did you not see me down there on one knee?" Chris laughed.
"Well you never actually asked me any questions" She teased.
Chris looked back into her eyes and felt for a minute like he was falling into them.
"Bianca Perry," He said, "Will you marry me?"
She paused, looking at the ruins which surrounded them.
"You're asking me now? Here?" she had asked.
"This is still our spot Bianca. No matter what He has done to it." The nerves were back. "Marry me?"
"On one condition!" She had said, "That you come back to me" She was half teasing, half serious.
He had looked her in the eye and comforted her. "Have I ever let you down before?" he had asked.
She laughed and it was the sweetest music he had heard, it dripped from her throat like honey.
Laying on his back on the cold hard floor of the basement he had mused the meeting and the proposal. They were precious memories he never wanted to let go of. He hoped that by going back and changing the past, it wouldn't mean that he would never meet his love.
But he was all too aware that changing Wyatt would change so much else. Including their first meeting. If Wyatt wasn't evil, there was no way he would send Bianca to kill him, and then they would never meet. He remembered his promise to come back to her, but what if she wasn't here when he came back for her. If he changed things so they'd never meet. What kind of future would he have then? Without Bianca in his life.
He hadn't voiced his concerns to Bianca, who lay sleeping soundly beside him. She was so serene, so peaceful. Just laying there oblivious to the worries that ran through his head. He would have to wake her soon, the manor museum was now closed, the time to act was upon them.
But he just wanted a few minutes, to cherish this moment, with the woman he loved laying by his side, happy in the thought of here and now. He had no illusions, they had just said their goodbye, and the only thing left to do now was to leave.
He shook her awake, gently. She moaned as she rolled over, and once more he was blown away by her body. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked at him questioning.
"Honey," he whispered, "everyone's gone home. It's time."