Author's Note: This is the final chapter in the series, and it's been a long time coming. It's difficult for me to believe that I started this series back in 2005. This chapter has specific spoilers for Season 6 Episodes 22 & 23 'It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World' parts 1 & 2. Those were the episodes that made me want to write this series in the first place, because I was so annoyed with the way they ended the storyline for Chris. Hopefully some of you out there are still interested in reading the ending to this story now that it's 2017.

Discalimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I'm not making any money from this story.

Warning: Non-consensual spanking of an adult by his parent.

Home Again Chapter 5

Over the past month Chris had spent most of his time trying to figure out how to get home, all the while worrying about what that home would be like. Now there were only two days left, and the worry over what might await him was quickly being replaced with the worry that he wouldn't make it home at all. And every once in a while, late at night, he wondered if maybe it wouldn't be so bad not to go back. He was enjoying getting to know his parents, and being the older brother instead of the younger one had its appeal.

The only reason he kept seriously looking for a way to get back, was his fear that two of him couldn't exist at the same time. That meant if his little self was born before he went home, one of them might disappear, or be absorbed by the other, and no way did he want to be stuck in the body of an infant.

For the past few days, Chris had spent almost all of his time in the magic school library looking for information on how to get back. The family had come up with a potion, and a spell, but they didn't know if either one was going to actually work, and were reluctant to try them without researching every other option.

Today, Paige, Gideon, and Chris were all in the magic school library, trying to perfect the spell to send Chris back to his own time. Chris had been getting more and more jittery about it for the past week, and he was almost at his breaking point, snapping at his friends and family when they didn't know how to do the spell. A stern word or two from Leo was still enough to get Chris to back off and apologize to whomever he'd sniped at, but everyone could tell his apologies were becoming less sincere. He was terrified that they wouldn't be able to find a way to send him back, and when baby him came out of Piper, he knew bad things would probably happen, and he didn't want to find out what that might be.

He was frustrated and griping at his Aunt Paige when his parents walked in.

Knowing something wasn't right, Leo said, "Hey, what's wrong? Isn't the spell ready?"

"I think it's ready," Gideon said. "This should work."

"Should work?" Leo asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well there are no guarantees with time travel, Leo." Gideon replied, obviously irritated. "You should know that better than anyone." After an awkward pause, Gideon apologized. "Sorry. There's always a chance that something might go wrong."

"Alright, we're not taking any chances," Leo said.

"We might have to." Chris said tiredly. "I'm running out of time here."

"No, I'm not sending you though a one way portal unless I know where you're gonna land."

Chris rolled his eyes, but kept his biting comment to himself.

"Well you can never be certain," Gideon said. "Unless of course you went too, and even then…" he left it up in the air, getting the thought seeded in Leo's brain.

"Okay, then let's forget the spell, and start to work on that potion again," Leo said.

"But the spell has a better chance of working," Gideon said. "It's the power of three."

"Yes, but if something goes wrong," Leo said, "he'll have extra potion with him, and he can come right back."

"I agree," Piper said, effectively putting an end to all arguments. "It sounds safer, so why don't you guys work on that."

Chris was willing to do as his parents asked for now, and nodded in agreement. The conversation soon turned to baby Chris and getting the nursery ready, at which point Chris muttered, "I've got to get out of here."

While there was a lull in the conversation, Gideon discretely left and went to his office to confer with the Gideon in the other dimension. Both agreed that it was time to start setting things in motion so that once Piper went into labor, Chris, Leo, Paige, and Phoebe would all be out of the way, allowing both Gideons uninterrupted access to both Wyatts.

# # #

Later that same evening, Paige, Phoebe and Chris finished the potion.

"That should be it," Paige said, gathering some of the potion into a tiny glass vial.

"Here's hoping," Phoebe muttered as she and Chris started filling more of the small vials full of the potion. Soon there were ten vials sitting on the table in the attic of the mansion.

Chris grabbed four of the vials, and said, "You two go get Mom, while I get Dad, and we can meet at magic school to try it out."

"Not so fast," Phoebe said, "It's almost dinner time, and I'm starved. You've waited a month already. You can wait another hour."

Scowling, Chris raised his voice and said, "Dinner? Seriously? You're worried about your stomach right now? My entire future is at stake, but let's make sure you get fed first."

"I'm kind of hungry, too," Paige said, trying to diffuse the situation.

Phoebe glared at her nephew and simply called out, "Leo!"

"What the hell?" Chris hissed, while glaring right back at his aunt.

"I've had more than enough of your attitude, mister!" Phoebe said.

"My attitude?!" Chris yelled. "I sure hope my future Aunt Phoebe isn't such a…"

"Hey!" Leo's voice cut Chris off. "I don't think you're going to like the consequences if you finish that sentence."

Chris cringed slightly, and turned to face his father. When he saw the stern look on Leo's face, Chris crossed his arms, looked at his shoes, and muttered, "I was just gonna say selfish… witch."

"Yeah, right," Phoebe said, clearly not believing him. "You may think that I'm a selfish bitch, but…"

"Hey!" Leo said again, but his censure didn't have any effect on Phoebe.

She continued with, "…I'm not the one who has no consideration for how other people are feeling!"

Chris glared at her over his shoulder and said, "Yeah, well if you think I was going to call you a bitch, then maybe it's because you were acting like..."

"That's enough!" Leo said loudly. "From both of you," he added. He looked at his other sister-in-law and said, "What's going on, Paige?"

"The potion is done," she said with a smile, trying to focus on the positive. "Chris wanted to try the spell to send him back right away, but Phoebe wanted to eat first."

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder to get his attention. Once he had eye contact, he could see the fear and worry behind the kid's anger. He said softly, "Your mom's been making a lasagna for the past couple of hours. She'd be pretty disappointed if none of us ate any of it."

Chris' shoulders slumped. "Yeah, okay, we'll eat first." He glanced at Phoebe and muttered, "Sorry." He turned back to his father, to see if that would be good enough, but the man still looked displeased. He quickly added, "I didn't mean it, I'm just worried that I won't get back home. We should have tried this sooner."

Leo gently squeezed his shoulder. "No, we needed to put in the time and do the research to make sure we're doing it right. We're not going to try something that could get you killed just because you're impatient."

With a sigh, Chris nodded.

Leo put his arm around Chris' shoulders. "Why don't we all go downstairs and let Piper know the potion is done. Then we can eat while we discuss trying out the spell along with the potion."

Both women agreed and headed for the door, but when Chris tried to take a step in that direction, Leo tightened the arm across his shoulders. "We'll be down in a minute," Leo added, as the women left.

Chris cringed but stayed quiet. He hadn't gotten spanked since his unfortunate drunken confession a month ago, but Leo had swatted him several different times, and he was pretty sure that almost calling his aunt a bitch was going to be a swatting offence in his father's opinion.

As the sound of footsteps on the stairs receded, Leo let his arm drop from around Chris' shoulders, and instead took a firm grip on the kid's upper arm with one hand, and swatted his rear end twice with the other.

Because he'd been expecting it, Chris' only reaction was a soft grunt of pain.

"Don't call your aunt names," Leo said before putting his arm back around the young man's shoulders. "I know you're worried. We're all worried. And I know we're running out of time, but you need to have a little faith in your family. We're going to do everything in our power to get you home."

"Yeah, I know." Chris felt too guilty to keep eye contact. He knew they all loved him, and they'd all been working like crazy for the past month to get the spell and the potion right.

"Your mom will never admit to this, but at nine months pregnant, she's worn out by the time dinner is ready. I don't want you guys trying out the spell tonight."

"But…"

"No." Leo said with finality. "Piper will have a lot more energy tomorrow morning. All of us will. So when we're eating dinner, and I suggest trying the spell first thing in the morning, I'd really appreciate it if you could back me up."

Chris hated it when his father stayed calm and used logic and kindness against him. With a frown, Chris muttered, "Fine."

Leo pulled him into a quick hug. "Thank you."

Soon they were downstairs, and eating dinner with their family.

# # #

Bright and early the next morning the entire family gathered at magic school so they could attempt to send Chris back to his own time. Piper was the last to arrive with Gideon after going over the spell one last time.

Piper moved into place alongside her sisters. The three of them stood in a semi circle facing the wall with a triquetra drawn on it. Wyatt was in his stroller next to Phoebe, while Chris and Leo stood together facing the sisters. Gideon stayed unobtrusively off to the side to observe.

"Do you have the potion?" Piper asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Chris pulled two vials out of his pocket to show his mother. "Leo has his, too," he said as he put them away.

Piper made eye contact with her husband. "You'll come right back if something isn't right."

"You know we will," he assured her.

Piper looked at her son with tears in her eyes. "I guess this is it then. Time to send you home."

He didn't trust himself to respond, but nodded. He forced his eyes away from his mother, and turned to Paige. "Bye, Aunt Paige. Thanks for… well for everything."

She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Hopefully I won't have time to miss you," Chris said, "Because I'll be seeing the older version of you on the other side of that wall." He let her go, and she stepped back into place.

Chris turned to Phoebe and said with a smirk, "You were the first one to find out about me. Without you being a pain in the butt, Mom and Dad might still be in the dark about me, so… I guess I kind of owe you one."

"Yeah, I guess you do." Her voice wavered, and a couple of tears ran down her face as she went to hug him. "Be safe," she whispered before letting him go.

He looked down at his older baby brother in the stroller, and knelt down so he could be eye to eye. "Be good." He couldn't help the desperation in his voice. Wyatt just stared at him solemnly. Chris leaned in and kissed the baby's forehead. "Bye, Wyatt."

Unable to avoid it any longer, Chris stood and looked at his mother. "I'll miss you." He'd promised himself he wouldn't cry when it came time to say goodbye to her, but that was a promise he couldn't keep when he saw the tears rolling down her face.

She stepped over to him, and pulled him down into a tight embrace. "Or, maybe I'll be on the other side of the wall, too."

His arms tightened around her, hoping that would be true with every fiber of his being. He didn't trust himself to speak, but he nodded as he let her go.

Piper stepped back into place by her sisters, wiped at her face, and held the paper with the spell up so that her sisters could see it along with her.

Chris turned to Leo and said, "Ready?"

Leo nodded, turned towards the wall along with Chris, and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Let's do this."

The sisters started to chant, and a few seconds later a portal opened up on the wall where the triquetra was drawn. Chris and Leo glanced at each other once, and then moved in unison to walk through it.

# # #

Chris stepped through the portal with Leo hoping to go back to his own time… but instead he ended up in exactly the same time. The sisters were still all standing around, and baby Wyatt was right next to them in his stroller. But the sisters were wearing different clothes. They were all in black instead of their usual bright colors. Chris' first thought was that maybe someone had died.

"Did we go forward a few days instead of years?" Chris asked, looking to Leo for his opinion.

"What are you guys doing back here?" Piper asked. "And how did you change clothes so fast."

"Something went wrong," Leo said. "This isn't the future, but it isn't our present either." He pointed to Piper and said, "That's not my wife. Her aura is all wrong."

"T.M.I." Phoebe said with a grimace.

"Well," Piper said, "If you're not my Leo, then where did my Leo go?"

Everyone turned to Gideon, but the man simply shook his head. "I have no idea."

Chris got the vial of potion out of his pocket, held it up for everyone to see, and said, "So we go back where we came from."

"Not so fast, mister," Piper said, physically snatching the potion from his hand. "We need to figure out what's going on first."

"Sure seems like Mom to me," he muttered.

"You shush." Piper said, and then turned to her sisters. "In fact, all of you shush. This Leo and I are going to talk, while the rest of you keep quiet and listen, so we can figure out what's going on quickly without too much confusion." She turned back to Leo and said, "Where were you two trying to go?"

"We're trying to get Chris back in his own timeline twenty-two years into the future. He came back in time to keep Wyatt from turning evil, and now that…"

Leo stopped mid sentence when the sisters all gasped. "What?"

"To keep Wyatt from turning evil?" Piper asked carefully.

"Yes."

"My Chris is here to make sure Wyatt doesn't turn good."

Leo shook his head. "What? That doesn't make any sense."

"Actually it does." Gideon spoke up. "It makes perfect sense. Instead of sending Chris and Leo forward in time, you sent them to a parallel universe. One that matches our universe in most ways, except that the forces of good and evil are flipped."

"This can't be a world full of evil," Chris said, "I don't buy it. You all look too normal to be evil."

"You be quiet," Piper said, "Your father and I are talking."

Chris swallowed at the glare his 'not' mother was giving him.

Leo held a hand up and said, "Maybe you should define evil, and see if we're talking about the same thing."

"Immoral, wicked, bad, harmful, selfish."

Leo shook his head. "So you don't practice magic for the greater good?"

Piper and her sisters laughed. "The greater good?" Piper asked once she was able to speak. "You've got to be kidding. Magic wouldn't even work if we were trying to do something for the greater good."

"Interesting," Leo said. "So why do you practice magic?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Paige muttered.

"I told you to shut it," Piper said before turning back to Leo. "We practice magic to gain power, money, and fame. If there isn't some kind of personal gain involved, the magic itself won't work."

Leo nodded. "In our world, magic won't work if there is any kind of personal gain involved. We practice magic to help others."

Piper shook her head. "That's crazy." Then she looked over at her baby, and said, "Let me guess. Grown up Wyatt is an exception to that rule?"

Chris opened his mouth to agree, but thought better of it.

"That's right." Leo said. "But we've solved the problem back in our universe, so Wyatt will grow up to be on our side, instead of against us."

"We have too," Piper said with a smile. She held out the vial she took from Chris and said, "Sounds like we need to get you back home, so we can get our guys back and try getting them home again."

Leo took the vial from her hand. "I agree. Ready Chris?"

The younger man nodded, wanting nothing more than to get back to his real mother.

Leo tossed the vial against the wall, but nothing happened. The purplish goo slid down the wall, but no portal opened.

"No," Chris said to himself. "This can't be happening." He got out a second vial, and tossed that against the wall also. To his dismay nothing happened. "Why isn't it working?"

"Because those were made with selfless magic, and only selfish magic works here," Gideon said.

Leo looked at Piper and said, "If you guys could do the spell again, we'd be happy to get out of your way."

"I'd advise against that." Gideon said.

"Why?" Piper asked.

"How do we know there are only two universes?" Gideon said. "What if you send them to three other sisters? Maybe there are an infinite number of parallel universes. How do we know we're going to get our Chris and Leo home? We need to research this before we try anymore spells."

"Well that's just great," Piper said with exasperation. "I'm ready to pop any minute, and my husband and son are lost in another universe full of good witches doing God knows what to them."

Chris put a hand on Leo's shoulder to get his attention, and whispered in his ear. "My birthday is tomorrow. We're running out of time."

Piper glared at him, and held up her hands. "What are you whispering about?"

Holding up his hands in a placating gesture, Leo said, "He said his birthday is tomorrow, so whatever we're going to do, it needs to be done today."

Piper looked down at her belly and said, "Tomorrow? That's two weeks early." She glared at Chris again and said, "Are you lying to me?"

"No." He moved slightly behind Leo as he answered.

She turned to Leo and added, "I don't know about your Chris, but our Chris used to lie to us all the time. He's gotten much better about being honest with us over the past few months, but sometimes I can tell he's still hiding things."

Leo pulled Chris to his side, put an arm around his shoulders and said, "Our Chris has been known to lie to us, and he's withheld information from us, but not for a long time now. He told us his birthday was tomorrow weeks ago, and I don't believe he'd lie about it." He turned to the young man in question and added, "Would you son?"

"Of course not!" He said indignantly. "Why do you think I've been pushing you all to do this? I don't know if I can be in the same timeline with my younger self, and I sure as hell don't want to get somehow combined with baby me. I told you we should have tried this earlier."

"So he's pissy and whiney, but honest," Phoebe said. "I'd rather have the one who lies."

Chris muttered, "I see you're a bitch in both worlds."

"Hey!" Leo reprimanded. "What did I say to you about that? Apologize to your aunt right now."

"She's not my aunt!"

"Chris." The warning in Leo's tone was clear. He leaned in slightly and whispered, "I will swat you in front of them if you don't apologize."

Chris blushed, crossed his arms, and quickly muttered, "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I'm on edge, but I shouldn't take it out on you."

Having watched the entire exchange with interest, Piper turned to her family and said, "All of you stay here and start researching other dimensions. I want to talk to this Leo alone. We'll be back in a few minutes."

"Dad?" Chris asked uncertainly.

"It's okay." Leo said, "I won't go far. Go help with the research."

With some grumbling, everyone watched as Leo and Piper left the room.

As soon as the door was shut behind them, Piper said, "This is good enough. The doors are magically soundproof."

"What did you want to discuss in private?"

"I can tell that you clearly love your family, the same way my Leo loves us. If your Chris is right, and I'm going to go into labor today…" she put a hand on her stomach, and a flash of fear crossed her features. "I've had this feeling of dread all day long. If we can't get my Leo back before it happens, I need you to promise me that you'll keep them all safe while I'm incapacitated."

Even with the dark aura pulsing around her, Leo could still feel the pull of family when he looked in her eyes. He clasped her right hand in both of his and said with sincerity, "Of course I will. I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe. You may not be my Piper, but I'd protect any version of our family."

She took a deep breath of relief. "Thank you." She looked back at the door and asked, "How did you get your Chris to be so… honest?"

"With a lot of love, patience, and understanding," he said, letting go of her hand.

With a scowl she said, "I don't buy it. We've shown him all of those things, and he still lies to us."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Wait, I thought you guys were evil? How does love, patience, and understanding fit in with being evil?"

"We're not evil to each other!" Piper said, looking aghast. "Certainly never to our children."

"That makes a lot more sense," he said with a nod. He looked over at the door, knowing Chris probably wouldn't approve, but he found it difficult to deny Piper in any universe. He looked back at her and said, "Chris doesn't lie to me because I'd spank him for it."

She nodded. "My Leo would spank our Chris for lying, too, but it doesn't always stop him. In fact, my Chris is probably having his bottom roasted right now if your Piper told him Chris' birthday is tomorrow."

Leo took Piper's hand in his once more. "You just have to keep at it, and stay consistent. You said yourself that he's getting better, right?"

Before she could reply, she gasped and put a hand on her stomach.

Leo put his free hand on her shoulder and said with concern, "What is it?"

She smiled at him, "Baby Chris doesn't seem to approve of our conversation. That was a fierce little kick."

He smiled and put a hand on her belly next to hers. "I'm pretty sure adult Chris wouldn't approve of our conversation either."

She gripped his hand tightly and said, "You will protect them all if I'm out of commission."

"I will."

After taking a deep breath, she nodded and let go of his hand. "Okay then, let's go back in there, and find out how to get you back home."

When the two of them went back into the room, Gideon was talking to everyone.

"…several scientific books on alternate dimensions, and he's proposed many theories on traveling between them."

Chris caught his dad's eye and said, "Dad, could you please tell Gideon this is a waste of time."

"What's a waste of time?" he asked Gideon.

"I was telling everyone about a professor at Stanford who…"

"A human professor, not a witch," Chris interrupted to clarify.

Gideon scowled at the young man. "As I was saying, a professor who has written several books on alternate dimensions. I thought it would be a good idea for you and Chris to go speak with him."

"To what end?" Chris asked.

"He may not be a witch," Gideon said, "but that doesn't mean he isn't knowledgeable. In fact, he's probably smarter than the lot of us put together. Go have a theoretical conversation with him, and figure out how he would travel to other dimensions, and see if he has any theories for getting to a specific dimension."

"See," Chris said to Leo, "a waste of time."

Leo shook his head. "I'm sorry, Chris, but that actually sounds like a pretty good idea to me."

Chris rolled his eyes and said, "Not when you hear about Gideon's other idea."

Leo looked at the Elder expectantly.

Gideon said, "There's a witch in Nevada who claims to have traveled to another dimension."

Chris flung his hand towards Gideon as he said. "Now that's worth checking out."

"Yes," Gideon said with irritation, "Which is why I already said Paige and Phoebe should go and see her."

"We should all go see her," Chris said. "She's a witch who went to another dimension and came back to this one, which is exactly what we want to do."

"She claims to have done that," Gideon said, "That doesn't mean she actually did it. The professor has actually spent years researching the subject."

Chris looked to his dad for backup, but instead of agreeing, Leo turned his eyes to Piper and said quietly, "I think we should go to both. What do you think?"

Piper nodded. "Both."

"You're conferring with evil mom now?" Chris asked.

"Yes," Leo said sharply, "And I agree with Gideon."

"But…"

"You're the one who keeps telling us we need to hurry," Leo pointed out. "If we split up, we can check on both leads at the same time."

"What if Paige and Phoebe lie about what they find out?" Chris asked.

Leo shook his head. "They want their Chris and Leo home just as much as we want to be back in our own dimension."

Chris crossed his arms and sighed. "Fine."

Piper gave Leo a look that clearly said she was impressed, and then said, "Wyatt and I will stay here with Gideon to get things ready to make a new potion once you get back.

# # #

Grumbling under his breath, Chris orbed with Leo to one of the bathrooms at Stanford. They quickly found Professor Paulsen's office which had a list of office hours taped to the door.

"Looks like he'll be here any minute," Leo said.

"Good, we can get this over with."

Leo leaned against the wall. "You've been awfully snippy today. Wanna talk about it before you end up taking it a step too far?"

Chris leaned against the opposite wall and shrugged. "I'm not sure talking will help. You know why I'm on edge. One way or another my whole life changes tomorrow, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. All I can do is hope for the best."

"That's true, but Chris, life changes permanently for all of us tomorrow, not just for you. But you're the only one snapping at everyone."

Blushing, Chris looked at his feet. After a few moments he said, "You're right. I'm sorry." He made eye contact again. "I'll stop."

"Thank you." Leo walked over to his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "Change doesn't have to be bad. I have every confidence that we will find a way to get you home, and that it will be a much better home than you left."

"I hope so," Chris said with a smile.

A man in his forties came around the bend in the hall, and saw them waiting by the office. He focused on Chris with a scowl and said, "If you're here to complain about a bad grade, take it up with the administration like everyone else." The man turned his gaze to Leo and added, "I won't be intimidated by parents who threaten me."

Taken aback, Leo said, "My son doesn't even go to this school."

The professor's eyes opened wide, and he suddenly dropped to his knees. "Oh my God, Mr. Halliwell, I didn't recognize you. Please forgive me!"

Chris and Leo stared at each other in shock for a second.

"Have we met?" Leo asked.

"No, sir."

"Get up," Leo urged gently.

The man jumped to his feet, but kept his head down.

"How do you know me?" Leo asked.

The professor laughed, but then when he saw neither man was laughing with him, he cleared his throat and said, "Everyone knows the Charmed ones are the most dangero… I mean… powerful witches on the planet. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, but your hair looks so different from all the pictures I've seen, and you're wearing… a pastel blue shirt."

Chris and Leo exchanged a significant look and Chris said, "Good verses evil. Hidden magic verses public knowledge."

Leo nodded, and gestured towards the professor's office. "We'd like to ask you some questions about your theories regarding alternate dimensions."

The man's eyes opened wide with shock. "You would?"

Chris nodded when the man looked at him.

"Yes, of course." The man rushed to open his door, clearly terrified and willing to say anything to appease them. "It would be an honor to speak with you."

# # #

While Chris and Leo were busy with the professor, Gideon was busy making plans. He'd made an excuse about getting more ingredients, and scurried off to his office to speak with his counterpart.

He pulled the curtain away from the mirror and said, "It's time."

"I agree," evil Gideon said.

"Did you get the professor's office warded so Leo and Chris won't be able to hear or feel either version of Piper?"

"Yes," evil Gideon answered. "Did you warn the dimension traveling witch that the Charmed Ones were after her?"

"She's set a trap that should keep Paige and Phoebe busy for hours."

The Gideons nodded at each other, and smiled.

Evil Gideon said, "All that's left is to induce Piper's labor with the tea."

"And get Wyatt alone," they said in unison.

They both covered the mirror back up, and went to make Piper some tea.

# # #

Half an hour later, evil Piper put a hand on her stomach and winced again as another contraction wracked her body.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a contraction. No need to worry, these things take a while to really get going."

"Piper," Gideon said with concern. "It's past noon. If Chris' birthday really is tomorrow, and you're having contractions… you should probably go to the hospital."

Nodding, Piper said, "You're right." She looked up at the ceiling and said, "Leo." When he didn't show up, she muttered, "That's weird." She turned to Gideon and asked, "Do you think this Leo can sense me?"

"I would assume yes, but this situation is unprecedented, so there are no guarantees."

Piper called louder, "Leo? Chris? It's time to take me to the hospital." When no one answered, she frowned at Gideon. "I think something's wrong. Can you sense them?"

Gideon closed his eyes for a moment, and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"No," Piper shook her head, and stood up. "This can't be happening. I can't do this on my own! Leo! Christopher! Paige! Anybody!"

Gideon stood and patted Piper's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. I'll orb you to the hospital, and I'll find Leo, Chris and your sisters."

"But what about Wyatt?" Piper asked, looking over at the playpen where her toddler was sleeping.

"I'll take him down to the daycare here at magic school as soon as I get you to the hospital. He's asleep, and I'll be gone for less than a minute."

Piper shook her head. "Take him there first. I'll be fine for a few minutes."

Gideon hesitated, but then touched the sleeping child, and orbed away. Instead of orbing to the daycare, he orbed the child to the couch in his own office. Wyatt slept through the move. Grateful that things seemed to be working, he rushed back to Piper, told her that her child was at daycare, and orbed her to the hospital.

By the time Gideon got back to his office Wyatt was awake and calling for his mother. When he saw Gideon, the child quieted down. Gideon smiled and talked calmly to the little creature that should have never been allowed to exist, and slowly pulled a magical dagger out of his desk drawer. As soon as he started walking towards Wyatt with the dagger in hand, and a smile on his face, Wyatt's protective bubble came up.

Gideon's fake smile turned into a grin. "Good, we understand each other." He got closer to the child and said, "Your magic won't protect you for long." He tried to push the dagger through the bubble, but Wyatt's protection was stronger than expected, and Gideon found himself lying on the floor a few feet away. He got back up, and walked towards the child with menace in his eyes, but before he could try the dagger again, Wyatt orbed.

"Clever," he muttered, and orbed after the toddler.

# # #

After listening to the professor for two hours, Chris had to begrudgingly admit the man had several good ideas for traveling to other dimensions. Since magic was known in this world, the man's theories took that into consideration, which made it more valuable than it would have been in their world.

Once they had a solid idea to try, Leo thanked the professor for his time, and stepped out into the hall. The instant he stepped over the threshold of the professor's office, he knew Piper was in pain. He put a hand on his stomach, and turned to look at Chris.

Chris raised an eyebrow in question, which quickly turned into a frown as he stepped into the hall with his father.

"Mom," he said. "No… not my mom, she feels different. It's evil Mom. She's in labor."

Leo glared back at the professor. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" The man held his hands up in surrender. "I swear!"

Leo stepped back into the room, and he couldn't sense Piper anymore. He jabbed a finger at the professor and said, "If I find out you had anything to do with this, I will hunt you down."

The man's face grew pale, and he appeared to be paralyzed with fear.

Leo stalked out of the office, put a hand on Chris, and orbed them both to Piper's location. The two men found themselves in a hospital room.

"Leo! There you are." Piper said, holding out a hand to him, and the other to Chris. "I wasn't sure if you guys could sense me the way my Leo and Chris do."

Leo clasped her hand, and said, "We can, but when we were in the professor's office, we couldn't."

Chris held Piper's other hand and said, "Someone sabotaged the office to keep us away from you."

"What?" She let go of their hands and struggled to sit up all the way. "Who?" she asked as she swung her legs off the side of the bed. Before she could stand, another contraction hit, and she was forced to remain still until it passed.

Leo stepped in front of her and said firmly, "Piper, you need to stay here." He gently raised her legs and eased her back onto the bed.

"Paige and Phoebe never came back," she protested weakly. "What if they're in danger? Gideon was supposed to go look for all of you, but he never came back either."

"I promised you I'd look after everyone, and I meant it. Chris can stay here with you, and I'll…"

"Dad," Chris interrupted, "I can't sense Wyatt."

Leo closed his eyes for a second and then held Piper's hand again. "Where's Wyatt?"

"Gideon took him to daycare for me. Oh my God, is he not there? Leo you have to find him!" Piper said in a panic.

He squeezed her hand. "Promise me that you'll stay here, no matter what, and I will."

She nodded. "I promise."

He kissed her forehead. "We'll be back as soon as we have information." He looked at Chris and said, "Let's find Gideon first."

Chris nodded, and the two of them orbed to magic school.

# # #

For an hour Gideon chased Wyatt as the child orbed away from him repeatedly. He'd get a fix on Wyatt's location, orb to the child, and then get a few words out before Wyatt orbed away again. Figuring the child would get tired well before he did, Gideon simply followed him to the next place again and again. But soon it became clear that Wyatt wasn't going to slow down or stop any time soon, and that was precious time that Gideon knew he didn't have. The good versions of Chris and Leo would be out of the professor's office any time, and there was no guarantee that Phoebe and Paige would remain trapped for more than a couple of hours.

Frustrated, Gideon stopped chasing after Wyatt and orbed back to talk to his counterpart in the office.

"We need help," they said in unison.

"But who?" good Gideon asked.

After a few seconds of thought, a smile grew on evil Gideon's face. "Barbus, the demon of hope."

"The demon of fear in my world," good Gideon said with a smile of his own. "He didn't disapprove of our idea." Then he frowned. "But how would that help? The child will simply orb away from him as well."

Evil Gideon shook his head. "He can show the child something even more horrific than me, leading the monstrosity into my arms."

Nodding, good Gideon said, "Once we have him, we should orb him to the underworld before trying the dagger again. He's too little to orb back to the surface, so he'll be trapped with us, and his family won't be able to sense him down there."

With a grin, evil Gideon said, "You truly do belong in our world."

"I'm not evil," good Gideon hissed, "Getting rid of this child isn't an evil act, it's ridding the world of a terrible fate."

Evil Gideon rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. "To the underworld then."

It took almost no convincing to get Barbus on Gideon's side, and soon Barbus was playing with Wyatt's mind, showing him horrific and frightening images, which left the child confused, distraught, and vulnerable.

Gideon quickly snatched up the weeping child, and orbed them to the underworld just before Wyatt's protective bubble tossed the man off him. Then the chase was on again, but no matter where the toddler orbed, he was confronted with monsters and demons that tried to attack him along with Gideon.

# # #

Leo and Chris orbed into the magic school library. He called out to Gideon, but the man wasn't there.

"I'll check his office, you check the daycare," Chris said.

With a nod Leo orbed to the daycare, while Chris orbed to Gideon's office. He found the office empty, and started rifling through the desk for clues to the Elder's whereabouts.

A few seconds later Leo orbed into Gideon's office also and said, "Wyatt's not in day care, they haven't seen him all day."

Both Chris and Leo heard what sounded like an echo in the room, and turned towards a large curtain against the wall.

"Did you hear an echo?" Chris asked, as it happened again.

Leo nodded solemnly, while putting a finger to his lips in a gesture for Chris to be quiet. Leo crept towards the curtain, and Chris followed suit. Soon they were both holding an edge of the curtain, and when Leo nodded, they flipped the curtain out of the way.

Both Leo and Chris stepped back in shock, when they saw strange images of themselves through a large mirror. The other Chris and Leo were wearing dark colors, and their hairstyles were very different, but their faces were unmistakable.

"What the hell?" both Chrises said at the same time.

Both Leos cocked their heads to the side and said, "Are you our counterparts?"

"They're in our world?" the Chrises asked.

Good Leo raised his hand and evil Leo nodded, gesturing towards him. Good Leo said, "We are originally from a dimension where people strive to be good, and we went through a portal to a dimension where people strive to be bad. Are you two originally from here?"

"Yes," evil Leo said. "Your Piper is in labor. Is mine?"

"Yes," good Leo said. "Are the sisters missing along with Wyatt, and Gideon?"

"Yes."

"Bastard!" both of the Chrises exclaimed.

"What?" Both Leos asked.

"Don't you see?" the Chrises said, and then gave each other an annoyed glare. Good Chris gestured for evil Chris to talk. "This mirror is proof that Gideon is behind all of this. He sent us to the professor. He had the room sabotaged. He sent the sisters into who knows what kind of trap, and he has Wyatt."

The Leos looked at each other with confusion. "But why?"

"Who cares?" the Chrises said. "We need to find him, and stop him."

Evil Leo raised his hand, and good Leo nodded. "The Elders warned me before Wyatt was born. They said Piper and I shouldn't have kids together, because they would be too powerful, and it would upset the balance. Maybe Gideon still feels that way."

"This is the event," both Chrises said. Evil Chris gestured to good Chris, who said, "This is what turns Wyatt evil. Imagine a family friend, someone Wyatt has trusted since birth, suddenly trying to hurt him when his family isn't around. Wyatt isn't that easy to kill, because of his bubble, and his ability to orb, so Gideon needs time."

The Leos nodded as that idea percolated in their heads.

Good Chris continued, "Days or weeks of being chased and attacked again and again by a trusted adult would be enough to twist anyone's perception of reality. It would leave him unable to trust what any authority figure tells him. Turning our Wyatt evil."

"And my Wyatt good," evil Leo added.

"We need a plan," evil Chris said. "We need to rescue the sisters, save Wyatt, kill Gideon, get back to our own dimensions, and get me home to my time."

"And get back to Piper," both Leos added.

Good Chris looked at evil Chris and said, "We should start in the underworld. Maybe we can't sense Wyatt because he's down there."

Evil Chris nodded and said to his Leo, "While we do that, you guys should go get Phoebe and Paige, and then bring them to the underworld. Hopefully by the time you get there I'll know where Wyatt is, and we can attack Gideon together."

"No," both Leos said in unison. Evil Leo said, "The sisters can take care of themselves. Wyatt is the priority. You and I will go to the underworld together."

Both Chrises shook their heads. Good Chris said, "We might need Phoebe and Paige to help defeat Gideon. It's a much smarter move to have one of us get them, while the other goes to the underworld. I can go get the sisters while you go to the underworld."

"No," both Leos said again. Good Leo gestured to his counterpart and said, "We're still Elders, which means we have all the power we need to take care of Gideon by ourselves, but you'll need to protect Wyatt while we do that, so we all go look for Wyatt."

Evil Leo raised an eyebrow and asked his counterpart, "What exactly do you mean by 'take care of Gideon'?"

"You know what I mean."

Evil Leo nodded in approval.

Good Chris' eyebrows went up in shock. "You're going to kill him?"

Leo put a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "If he's trying to kill Wyatt, then Gideon isn't working for the greater good, he's working for evil."

Chris slowly nodded in agreement, but then said, "If you and Gideon are both Elders, you have the same powers, and if I'm busy protecting Wyatt, I'm not going to be much help. We need Phoebe and Paige there to help."

Evil Chris nodded. "Exactly. We get the sisters while you find Wyatt, and then we all work together to kill Gideon."

Both Leos shook their heads. "I said no."

Evil Chris looked at his Leo with a scowl and said, "My plan is better."

"You already got spanked once today, Christopher" evil Leo said, "Do you want to make it twice?"

"No," evil Chris muttered, turning bright red.

Good Chris blushed also, just from hearing the threat.

"So tell me you're going to follow my plan," evil Leo said.

Evil Chris crossed his arms and said with a scowl, "I'll follow your plan."

"How about you, Chris?" good Leo asked. "Are you going to follow my plan?"

"Yes, Dad," good Chris said with a sigh.

The two Leos looked at each other and good Leo said, "We find Wyatt, and then meet back here."

"Agreed," evil Leo said.

# # #

The instant good Leo and Chris orbed to the underworld they could both sense the evil dimension's version of Wyatt and Gideon. Leo put a hand over his chest as he felt Wyatt's mental anguish and whispered, "He's terrified."

Chris nodded. "And Gideon is anxious. He can probably sense us down here."

"He can, but that doesn't mean he will. He's focused on Wyatt, not us."

Both of them turned their heads in the opposite direction. "He orbed," Leo said.

"Try calling to him," Chris said.

"Wyatt," Leo called out while closing his eyes and focusing his energy towards the child's location. "Come to Daddy, Wyatt."

A few seconds later, Leo opened his eyes and shook his head. "I doubt he'll come to me, he'll know I'm not his Leo, and who knows what kind of things he's encountered down here."

Chris nodded and said, "We'll have to go to him."

"I agree." Leo looked Chris up and down once and said, "I'll distract Gideon, while you get Wyatt."

"Why me? I could distract Gideon and you could grab Wyatt. He's more likely to go to you."

Leo shook his head. "Wyatt has known his father since birth, and I'm sure that Leo has been a daily caretaker just like I was. You've only been around for a year and you generally don't do diaper changes, feeding, or bathing. Plus after the age of fourteen you lived in an evil world. You fit in with the evil world just as well as you fit in with the good one. Your aura has the same murky quality as your evil counterpart, unlike the sisters who had very different auras from their counterparts. I think he'll trust you before he trusts me."

Not sure if he should be offended or not, Chris simply nodded and said, "Okay. You orb to Gideon, confront him, and I'll count to ten before orbing to Wyatt."

"Once you get him, orb back to Gideon's office."

"You won't attack Gideon on your own, right?" Chris asked. "You need backup before you try to kill him."

"As soon as I sense the two of you have left the underworld, I'll orb to Gideon's office. I doubt he'll follow me, at least not right away. He'll need to concoct a new plan once he realizes Wyatt isn't alone anymore."

"Okay," Chris said, "Let's do this."

Leo orbed away, and Chris counted to ten in his head, before focusing on his baby brother. He orbed to the little boy, only to find him crying loudly surrounded by three men. They were wearing pastel colors, and their eyes were all white, but they were trying to stab through Wyatt's protective bubble.

"We need to kill the evil being!" the tallest man said, as he tried to plunge his knife into the bubble.

Wyatt wailed even louder, as the man was tossed away by the bubble. Chris could clearly see that the toddler was straining under the continued attacks. Seeing red, Chris held his hand up and used his telekinesis to take control of the men's knives, and plunged them into the 'good' demons' hearts.

Once the men were all lying dead, Wyatt's bubble went away. The toddler looked at Chris, and immediately ran towards him calling out, "Iis! Iis!"

Chris swooped up the little boy into his arms, held him close, and orbed them to Gideon's office.

For the next several seconds, Chris paced around the room, trying to comfort a distraught Wyatt. He could see his counterpart in the mirror doing the same, but Wyatt was too busy crying, and leaning his head against his brother to notice. Chris rubbed his hand up and down the boy's back and muttered soothing words like, "It's okay, Wyatt. It's over now. You're safe. I've got you."

Leo orbed in about one minute after Chris. Wyatt saw him and screamed. Wyatt's bubble circled around both him and Chris to protect them, while the baby yelled, "No!"

Chris turned around so that baby Wyatt was facing the mirror, and said quickly, "It's okay, Wyatt, look. Your dad is right over there."

The bubble went away, and Wyatt yelled, "Dada!" as he struggled to get down out of Chris' arms.

Good Leo could see his Wyatt doing the exact same thing, and both Leos walked to the mirror. "Bring him over here Chris," they said in unison.

Both Chrises quickly took the struggling Wyatts over to the mirror. Both Leos went to put their hands on the mirror to comfort their respective Wyatts, and to everyone's shock, their hands went straight through.

"It can't be that easy," Both Leos said, as they stepped right through the mirror with shock on their faces. Both Chrises handed over the Wyatts, to their real fathers, who hugged the babies close.

The Chrises grinned at each other, and went to step through the mirror, but the two Leos stopped them with a hand to their arm.

"Thank you, for saving my son," the Leos said in unison.

"Wyatt is my brother in any dimension," the Chrises said before stepping through the mirror into their own worlds.

"Now that we're all back in our correct dimensions, should we destroy the mirror?" evil Chris asked.

The Leos looked at each other and nodded. Good Leo said, "Both Gideons probably feed off their counterparts. If we cut them off from each other, they won't be as powerful."

Evil Leo nodded. "I agree. Now that we're in our respective dimensions, we destroy it together, so Gideon can't consult with himself."

The Leos looked at the Chrises and said in unison, "Can you think of any reason why we shouldn't destroy it?"

Both younger men shook their heads.

Both Leos stepped to the side of the mirror, and held up their hands. "Good luck," they said to their counterparts, before little bolts of lightening shot out of their hands to break the mirror's frame. The glass shattered, and when the pieces fell to the ground, they turned black, reflecting nothing.

"What now?" Chris asked.

"We go to free Phoebe and Paige. I'll stay back with Wyatt while you save them, but I'll be there to help if things so south."

The three of them orbed to the address where Gideon had sent Phoebe and Paige earlier that day. The address turned out to be a normal looking house in a suburban neighborhood. As Chris walked up the steps to look in a window, both Phoebe and Paige came rushing out the front door. Both sisters looked disheveled with black smudges on their clothes and skin.

"Chris?" Phoebe said. "Are you our Chris?"

"I am. Are you guys okay?" Chris asked.

"We are now," Paige said. "What happened to evil Chris and Leo?"

"It's a long story, but…" Chris gestured to Leo and Wyatt, and said, "…basically we're all back in our own dimensions."

"Piper's in labor," Leo said, "And Gideon tried to kill Wyatt."

"What!?" both sisters yelled.

"Let's go home, where we can talk," Leo said.

Chris held his hand out for Phoebe, and they all orbed to the living room of the manor.

# # #

Half an hour later, everyone was standing around Piper's hospital bed, apprising her of the situation.

Once everyone was done with their explanations, Piper said, "If Gideon was behind this all along, that means our original potion to get Chris home probably works."

Chris smiled and said, "I bet you're right." He dug a vial out of his pocket and held it up for his mom to see. "My ticket home once everything is settled here."

She smiled back, but then looked at her husband. "You'll still go with him to check it out, right?"

He pulled a vial out of his pocket also. "I will."

"Good," Chris said, and stuck the vial back in his pocket. "Now that that's settled, what's our next move?"

Piper whimpered, held her stomach, and started breathing hard. Leo shifted Wyatt to his other hip, clasped his wife's hand in his and gently talked her though the contraction. Once her breathing went back to normal, Leo looked at the members of his family and said, "I want to stay here with Piper…" She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, but Leo beat her to it. "…but I'm the only one who can actually kill Gideon, and he has to be stopped today."

He turned to Phoebe and said, "Will you stay with Piper?"

"Of course," Phoebe said, moving to stand beside her sister, and clasping her hand in comfort.

Leo looked at Paige and then Chris. "The rest of us will go back to the manor and set up some protective wards. Then Paige and I will hunt down Gideon while Chris stays with Wyatt in the manor."

"Why can't Paige stay with Wyatt?" Chris asked. "I've been practicing witchcraft a lot longer than her, I'll be much more useful in a fight." He turned to Paige and hastily added, "No offence Aunt Paige."

"None taken," she said, "You're right."

Leo said, "You are better in a fight, son, that's why I need you to stay with Wyatt and protect him. I don't think Gideon is going to put up much of a fight once I confront him, but how many demons saw Wyatt in the underworld today? Any number of things could try to attack him while I'm busy."

Chris didn't like it, but he did see his father's logic, and nodded in agreement.

Fifteen minutes later, Paige, Leo, and Chris had finished warding the manor. During the process, Wyatt had been clingy, refusing to let Leo out of his sight. When Leo tried handing the child over to Chris, Wyatt whined, "No."

Leo gave Wyatt a kiss on the top of the head and said, "Daddy has to go. You'll be safe with Chris."

"No." Wyatt grabbed Leo's shirt and held on tight.

"Hey Wyatt?" Chris said.

The little boy looked at him warily.

"Gideon is bad, right?"

"Gee Bad!" Wyatt agreed.

"That's right, and we don't ever want to see him again, do we?" Chris said.

"No."

"Dad and Aunt Paige have to go stop Gideon, so he never comes back."

Wyatt's face scrunched up in thought, before shaking his head again and saying, "No."

Leo chuckled, and said, "Nice try, Chris, but two-year-olds don't do logic." He looked at Wyatt and said firmly, "You're going to stay with Chris."

"No," Wyatt whined.

"Yes, Wyatt." Leo said as he handed the boy over to Chris.

Wyatt's chin wobbled as he held out both hands to Leo and said, "Dada."

Ignoring the child with some effort, Leo looked at his older son and said, "If anything or anyone attacks, you and Wyatt orb to me."

Chris scowled. "But I thought the whole reason you wanted me here was so that I could fight off whatever came for Wyatt."

Leo shook his head. "I need you here in case things go badly and fighting is the only option you have left, but if you're able to orb away with Wyatt, then that's what you do. Absolutely, positively no heroics."

"I've killed hundreds of demons, Dad, I wouldn't call killing a few more heroics."

"Chris," Leo said sternly, "I mean it. You do not engage the enemy if you're able to run. Have I made myself clear?"

After heaving a huge sigh, Chris said, "Fine, yes, you've made yourself clear. I don't fight, I run."

"Thank you." Leo looked at Paige and said, "I still can't sense Gideon, so let's start in the underworld."

She nodded and the two of them orbed away.

Chris muttered to Wyatt, "I'm not two."

"Oo?" Wyatt asked.

"Exactly. Wyatt is two. Chris isn't two." He glared over at the spot Leo had been standing and added, "And yet we both get the same flat out 'no' from Dad." He shook his head and gave his brother a tired smile. "How about a snack?"

Wyatt nodded, and Chris carried him to the kitchen.

# # #

Half an hour later, Wyatt was on the living room floor playing with blocks, while Chris sat on the couch watching him. Chris had been monitoring his senses, tracking his father and his aunt when he could. They'd been in and out of the underworld several times searching for Gideon without any success. Chris had also kept his senses open to search for Gideon's essence, but hadn't felt him once since being left at the manor.

Wyatt walked over to Chris holding a couple of blocks, leaned against his brother's leg and held a block up to him. "Iis?"

"No, I don't want to play blocks right now."

"Iis." Wyatt said, tapping the block against his brother's thigh.

With a sigh, Chris said, "Fine," and held out his hand for the block.

"Giving in to your brother's demands as usual, I see." Gideon's voice said from across the room.

Wyatt's protective bubble circled both him and Chris.

Chris picked up Wyatt and held him close. He stared at Gideon with shock and horror when he realized he still couldn't sense the man. That meant Gideon was using some kind of blocking spell or power to prevent it, which meant Leo would never be able to find him.

Making a snap decision, Chris set his brother on the couch next to him, and whispered in his ear urgently, "Orb to Daddy and Aunt Paige. They're at magic school."

Wyatt looked up at Chris with confusion.

Chris raised his voice and tried to use the same tone Leo used when he was displeased. "Orb right now, Wyatt."

The little boy orbed, taking his protective bubble with him.

"Smart," Gideon said, before taking the dagger out of his black robes. "Or was it?"

Chris stood, held out his hand, and orbed his brother's sword, Excalibur, into his waiting palm. The two men circled each other for a few seconds, before Gideon rushed towards the younger man with his dagger in the air.

Chris held his ground, and kept the sword mid level in front of his body. To his shock, Gideon ran directly into the blade, impaling himself on it as the sword went through his stomach, and out his back.

Once the two men were basically eye to eye, Gideon smiled, stabbed the dagger into Chris' stomach, and said, "I'm an elder, stupid boy. I can heal myself."

Chris had been stabbed and healed too many times to count, but nothing compared to the burning pain he was experiencing right now. It radiated from his wound, all throughout his body in waves.

Gideon twisted the dagger, and shoved it farther in.

Chris cried out in anguish, and grabbed Gideon's shoulder to keep himself upright.

Gideon, pulled the dagger out and said, "Even if you could heal yourself, which you can't, the magic surrounding the dagger wouldn't let you."

Chris put his hand over the bloody hole in his stomach, and staggered backwards. He groaned and fell to the floor.

Gideon pulled the sword out of his own stomach while yelling in pain, and then let it clatter to the ground.

Leo, Paige, and Wyatt orbed into the living room in that moment.

Gideon orbed away.

"Chris!" Leo said, handing Wyatt to Paige, and rushing towards his son. He held his hands above Chris' wound and a healing white light came out of them. A few seconds later, when the wound didn't heal, Leo put even more effort and concentration into his powers.

"I'm sorry," Chris wheezed. "I was trying to keep him here for you."

"It's okay, son, don't try to talk," Leo said without taking his eyes off the wound he was trying to heal.

Chris put a bloody hand on his dad's shoulder. "Won't heal."

Leo's eyes snapped to Chris'.

"Magical dagger," Chris said, panting in pain. "Won't heal." A tear slid down his face.

Leo, put his hand on Chris' face, and wiped away the tear. He said gently, "It's gonna be okay, son, we'll find a way to heal this."

"I'm sorry I didn't orb." Chris said, more tears pooling in his eyes.

Leo kissed his son's forehead, "Don't worry about that right now." He looked at Paige and said, "Bring Wyatt over here. We'll try to heal him together."

Chris gripped his father's shoulder tighter and said, "I disobeyed you."

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "It's okay, Chris, I'm not mad. I forgive you."

Relaxing marginally, Chris nodded, and then whispered pitifully, "Hurts."

Paige and Wyatt were kneeling on the other side of Chris by this time, and all three of them held their hands over Chris at the same time to heal the wound. But the wound didn't heal. Chris' blood continued to seep out, soaking the carpet around him. He lost consciousness, and his pulse weakened.

"Come on!" Leo shouted, and tried to heal him again.

Paige put a hand on Leo's hand to stop him, and said with tears running down her face, "It's not working, Leo. He's gone."

"No." Leo said desperately, and leaned his head down on his son's chest. "No, no, no, I can't lose you." Leo reached up to cup his son's face, but as he touched him, Chris disappeared.

"No!" Leo's hands grasped the floor where his son had been, and tried to sense him, but couldn't. He could however finally sense Gideon, because the man was busy healing himself.

"Take Wyatt to Piper," Leo snapped at Paige before orbing to Gideon's office to confront the man.

A primal yell came out of Leo and lightening bolts shot from his fingertips the instant he saw Gideon sitting behind his desk.

Gideon screamed with shock and pain as the lightening coursed through is body. His body jerked and twisted with each new jolt of lightening, and eventually his eyes rolled back.

Leo stopped using his powers, and let his hands drop to his sides. Gideon slumped back into his chair, not moving. For a few moments the only sounds in the room were Leo's breathing, and a slight sizzling sound coming from Gideon's body.

Then Gideon's eyes opened slowly, and a wheezing breath came out of him. He looked up at Leo and said, "I did it for the greater good."

Leo nodded and said, "Me too," before lifting his hands, and shooting more lightening into the man who'd tried to kill both of his children. He could sense it the instant Gideon's essence left his body, and stopped using his power. Once it was over, he took a deep breath, walked over to the body, and searched it for the magical dagger that had killed Chris. After finding it, he put it in his pocket, and then orbed to his wife's side at the hospital.

His entire family was in the recovery room standing around Piper, and there in her arms was infant Chris. She held him out to Leo, and as he carefully took his baby into his arms, he said gently, "I'm going to fix this. I promise you I'm going to fix this."