To explain first...this is a what if story that goes on the pretense that the show ended with "Something Wicca this Way Goes" as it was originally planned in the first place. It takes place in the future that could have existed for Wyatt and Chris had the show ended when it was planned to and completely erases any season 8. I know there are some season 8 fans out there, but I wasn't one of them and became inspired to write this just for fun.
Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed.
An old home stood amongst the dark world, a world being ravaged by a thunderous storm. Branches from a tree struck the window as the vicious wind blew through it. Three older women sat in the old home, nestled near the city of Boston. They were reminiscing about the past, a life they had once lived, but had to give up.
These were no ordinary women though. They were the infamous Charmed Ones, sister witches who were once the most powerful witches in the world. They were bonded by their sisterhood, forming the power of three. They had powers that made many demons cower and hide in fear, powers they used to protect the world from evil.
The sisters hadn't practiced their magic in years, as they were forced into hiding. Many moons ago, the sisters went up against a most powerful threat, a demon named Zankou. The demon was after something of theirs, a great power nestled beneath their child hood home in San Francisco. The great power was known as the nexus.
The nexus was a point of incredible energy. It resided under the earth at an equal distance from five key elements. Those were earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. The location of each element formed a pentagram with which the nexus resided in the middle. The nexus could either be used for good or evil and whichever side controlled the nexus received a power boost. The Halliwells chose to build their family home over it, so they could claim the nexus for good magic.
The demon, Zankou, was out to claim the nexus for evil. He wanted to use it's power to become the next source of the underworld. He had been trying to thwart the sisters for months, trying to get them out of his way so he could try for the nexus. It had seemed apparent that they were too strong for him.
His day had come though, the day in which he would have the chance to harness the great power for himself. He had managed to get into the Halliwell Manor and control the nexus. The sisters only had one option in defeating him and protecting good magic. That option was to destroy the nexus altogether. Neither good nor evil would be able to tap into it's powers again.
In destroying the nexus and Zankou, the sisters had nearly destroyed themselves. They had nearly exposed magic as well. There had been police investigators and FBI agents that were suspicious of some of the sisters activities, as they were involved with a lot of unsolved cases and murders. After destroying the nexus, the sisters knew that their actions would gain themselves a lot of attention from those sources. So, in the process of taking out the nexus, they decided to fake their own deaths.
The sisters thought that faking their own deaths would be the only way to get out of explaining the situation to the authorities, the only way to get out of essentially exposing magic. For their last spell, they had used an incantation and ritual to change their identities so they could safely go into hiding. They looked as themselves to those they called family, but were disguised to anyone else. Their names were also changed.
Phoebe had given up her dream job so she could start a new life as Julie Bennett. Piper had given up the club and the manor to take on her new life as Jamie Bennett. Paige had given up her place as the headmaster of magic school to take on her new life as Jo Bennett. They had given Leo a new identity as well. He took on the new identity of Nathan Bennett and remained Piper's husband. Each sister and Leo only went by their new names in public. In the safety of their homes, they used their real names, though it did get confusing on occasion.
Together, Piper and Leo had moved their family out to Boston. They had raised Wyatt and Chris to have a normal life, one without magic. She had left the manor in the care of her father, Victor. She had also given him control of P3, though he knew nothing about running a night club. Victor originally had custody of her boys after the Charmed Ones supposed deaths, but he sent the boys to live with an Aunt and Uncle, claiming they needed to be with a real family, claiming he couldn't care for them on his own. Of course, that Aunt and Uncle were really their parents.
Now Piper sat in her living room on this stormy evening, talking and reminiscing with her sisters. Her sisters had flown from their respective cities and new lives to visit with her. They had usually only gotten together on holidays. This was no holiday though.
"I have some news that might not go over well with you guys." Piper said. Paige and Phoebe both looked at her curiously, waiting for her to explain. "It certainly didn't go over well with me."
"Well, what is it?" Paige asked. She caught a quick glimpse of lightening outside of a window in the living room.
"I'm sure you both know that Chris insisted on going across the country for college." Piper replied. Both sisters shook their head, indicating that they knew about Chris. "I assumed he would be staying at a dorm and he let me assume that. I just found out that he's been staying with Dad at the manor."
"He's staying at the manor?" Phoebe asked with worry.
Piper nodded her head. "Yeah, but the attic has been sealed up for some time now." She explained. "And he knows nothing about magic."
"But if he gets into the attic, he could find out about magic." Paige said.
"I know." Piper replied. There was a rumble of thunder that seemed to vibrate through the walls of the house. "Part of me is freaking out inside, wondering if he'll find out the truth about everything. There's also part of me that might actually be relieved for him to know the truth."
"Piper, he can't know the truth." Paige said. "That's why we bound the boys powers."
Piper turned to the doorway of the living room as she heard the front door of the house opening. All three sisters went quiet as Wyatt walked into the house, shutting out the rain behind him. He took a few steps from the door, revealing himself in the living room doorway. "I am officially done with school." He said, stepping into the room. Wyatt was an architect major at their local college. Unlike Chris, Wyatt had chosen to stay at home for college. Chris had stayed home to take his basic courses, but he headed out to San Francisco for med school after his first two years of college.
"So did you pass finals?" Piper asked curiously.
"I hope so." He said, letting out a smirk. "I actually studied for them." It was no secret that Wyatt wasn't always the best student. Chris was always the book worm, the one set on getting straight A's through school. Wyatt was a more laid back student, especially when it came to a subject he didn't like.
"Wow." Phoebe said impressed. "You must really be into all of this architecture stuff. I bet you can't wait for graduation"
"Yeah I am. Can't wait." He replied.
Piper looked at Wyatt curiously. "Did you by any chance know that your brother was living with your Grandfather at the manor?" She asked him.
"Ah, well..." He started, not really sure how to answer. His brother had sworn him to secrecy, waiting for the right time to tell their mother on his own.
"Yes or no?" She demanded.
"Yes." He answered, somewhat reluctantly. "I don't know what the big deal is though. You said we lived their when we were babies."
There were some things that Piper had told her boys about the past and some things that she hadn't told them. She didn't like Chris staying in the manor because she was worried about him discovering magic, discovering their big family secret. "The big deal is that he lied to me." Piper replied. "He lied to your father too."
"Well, I told him not to lie to you." Wyatt exclaimed.
"So that makes it ok for you to lie to me?" Piper asked, somewhat angrily.
Wyatt puckered his lips, about to speak. He thought for a moment about what he was going to say. "I didn't lie to you." He said. "I just didn't tell you and it never came up."
"Piper, I don't think chewing out Wyatt is going to make you feel any better about Chris being in the manor." Paige said.
Piper turned to Paige. She did have a point. Wyatt was the one to reply though. "Why don't you want Chris staying in the manor?" He asked. "At least he's staying with Grandpa and not some random roommate in a dorm."
"It's not that I don't want him in the manor, I just..." Piper spoke, stopping mid-sentence. She wasn't sure how to answer Wyatt's question. "I just wish he would have been honest with me."
Wyatt had an eery feeling that there was something his mother wasn't telling him. He wasn't in the mood to argue though. "Ok, well I'm going to head to bed."
The girls each said good night to Wyatt and watched him walk from the room, not speaking again until they heard his feet heading up the creaky stairs. "I hate lying to him like that." Piper admitted. There were so many things that her children did not know about the past, about her past. She had told her boys that they were involved with something in the past, that things didn't go well, and that they had to change identities and relocate to a new town. The boys knew of their parents and aunts real identities, but they didn't know about magic. Piper had bound the boys powers just before they relocated to Boston. "I wish I could just tell them the truth."
"You know it's for the best Piper." Paige said. "My family doesn't know anything about our past or magic either."
"Yes, but you met them after we defeated Zankou and your kids were adopted, so they don't have magic locked away inside of them." Piper argued. "Wyatt was foretold to be one of the most powerful witches to walk the earth, yet he knows nothing about magic."
"My little Lady Bug doesn't know anything about magic either." Phoebe said, speaking of her own daughter. "I bound her powers at birth."
"I know." Piper replied. "Part of me feels a bit guilty about..." She paused. "Abandoning our legacy, our destiny."
"We didn't abandon anything, Piper." Paige tried to reason with her. "We had no choice in what we did, otherwise we would have been exposed. Magic would have been exposed."
"I guess you're right." Piper agreed, somewhat reluctantly. "It's getting late though and you have early flights in the morning."
"Yeah, guess we should get to bed." Phoebe replied. She was feeling a bit tired anyways.
Phoebe and Paige did not live in Boston near Piper and her family. Phoebe had relocated to Pennsylvania and began work at a newspaper. She had her own column, though she wasn't giving advice. She was writing about community events and organizations. She had also met her husband at the paper. He was the brother of one of her coworkers. Together, they had conceived the beautiful little Lady Bug, also known as Sarah. She was four years younger than Chris was.
Paige had moved to Chicago and revisited some old roots as a social worker. That was how she came to adopt her two children, Aidan and Emma. They were brother and sister. She had taken them in temporarily while she tried to find a suitable home for them. They became family to her and her husband, so they eventually decided to make it official with an adoption.
The sisters never wanted to split apart, but they were worried that if they remained close, the demons would be able to sense their power and know that they were still alive. Even with disguises, they knew they would never be able to completely hide from evil. Many evil beings could sense power and since their power was stronger together, the sisters decided to move to different cities across the country, usually only getting together on holidays.
This reunion wasn't planned like their holidays usually were. The sisters needed some bonding time. They had missed being so close to one another, being able to talk whenever they pleased or meet up for lunch whenever they felt the urge. Sometimes Piper felt lost without her sisters and she was especially glad that they had come out to see her, even if it only was a for a few days.
Paige and Phoebe headed upstairs to bed, the lightening guiding their way. Paige was staying in the guest bedroom, while Phoebe stayed in Chris' room. He wasn't home to use it anyways. Piper headed into the kitchen to grab a quick snack before bed.
She rummaged through the fridge, pulling out the leftover cheesecake they had had with dinner. She hadn't had a piece with dinner, opting to have one later. As she cut a small piece for herself, she heard someone fumbling with the knob on the back door in the kitchen.
The door opened and Leo walked in from the attached garage. He had been out playing pool at a bar with some coworkers. "Hey, your still up." He said, somewhat surprised. He thought she would have been in bed already, as it was starting to get late.
"Yeah, want a piece of cheesecake?" She asked.
"No thanks." He answered. She walked over to the fridge, putting the cake away. "What time do your sisters leave in the morning?"
Piper took her plate of cake over to the kitchen table. "I have a cab taking them to the airport at seven." She replied, taking a bite of cake.
Leo joined her at the table. "I'm sorry they couldn't stay long." He said. Paige and Phoebe had only been able to stay for three days. Usually when they came for Christmas, they stayed at least a week.
"Yeah, me too." She spoke in between bites. She looked up at Leo, setting her fork down. "Do you ever wonder what things would have been like if the boys had grown up with magic?"
"Um, well..." He started, wondering why she was asking such a question. "I guess I've thought about it a few times. Why are you asking?"
"I'm just worried that Chris will find out our secret, that he'll discover magic." She explained. "He is staying in the manor you know."
"Of course I know, but the attic is locked up." Leo tried to reassure his wife. "He can't get in there and if he can't get in there, he can't discover magic."
"When it was just Prue and I in the manor, the attic was locked too." She reminded him. "When Phoebe came home, she was able to get into the attic. The door had somehow come unlocked."
"And you think that the door will just mysteriously open for Chris, like it did for Phoebe?" He asked, more like assumed.
"Anything's possible right?" Piper asked, picking up her fork again.
"If that does happen, maybe that means he's meant to embrace magic." Leo suggested. "Maybe that's where his destiny lies."
"Oh for cryin' out loud, Leo." Piper replied, practically snapping at him. "Our boys are going to make their own destinies."
Feel free to share any thoughts on this so far. I will be updating periodically, so if you're even a little interested, please check back for them. Thanks!