This story begins with a scene from the episode "Chris-Crossed" and then back-tracks to follow Chris through his childhood up until the moment he travels back in time. Each chapter is an episode in Chris's life. Some of them are cued from scenes in the television show and some from my imagination. The story is based on facts up until the episode "Hyde School Reunion."
None of this story could have been written without the help of the website www.thecharmedones.com
I would like to say thank you to all of you who reviewed during this story. I appreciated all of the feedback. I have no immediate plans to post another story, but this could change in the future. Once again, thank you for all of the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed. This story is a product of my imagination. Some of the scenes have been taken from the script and modified. When this occurs, the episode and writer of the original scene is cited.
Note: Part of this chapter was taken from the episode "Chris-Crossed," which was written by Cameron Litvack.
Part Nine
"Yeah, but…it was supposed to be more like a surgical strike." Chris said.
"To save Wyatt?" Leo responded.
"Yeah, to save Wyatt." Chris answered.
-Season Six, Episode 121, "Chris-Crossed"
Chris and Bianca walked towards the manor. His hands were clammy with apprehension. He was about to do something that would change his entire life. Something that would change the life for the baby that would grow up to be him. Maybe Wyatt wouldn't steal his toys anymore. Or maybe he'd become the bully. Who knew what would happen, or if there would even be a future for him to return to when he was finished. It only took a second glance at Bianca's brunette head to remind himself why he was doing this. He could potentially save her too. Save her from the anguish that Wyatt had inflicted upon her.
The two of them gathered at the end of the long line forming in front of the manor. Chris could already see the probes that were dancing inside the window, almost causing power overloads with their excitement to get at those who were gathered outside. The doors opened and a middle aged woman led the group into the house. The probes began to scan each of the tourists. The tour guide chatted away, warning the visitors against holographing and straying from the group. Chris waved his hand and the probes bypassed him and Bianca. The first obstacle was passed. But that was the easiest of them all to get by.
He felt awed as Bianca led her through the rooms that he had grown up in. He could remember incidents that had happened in each spot better than ever. They walked past the spot near the stairs where he'd failed to save Melinda and towards the kitchen where Wyatt had blown up his first potion and blamed it on him. Chris froze as the hologram that depicted his mother and aunts came to life, splattering a life-sized portrait of her in front of his face. He gripped Bianca's hand and tears nearly came to his eyes as he watched the Charmed Ones become reborn.
"Come on, let's go save them," Bianca whispered to him as the hologram shut off and the group started towards the lobby. Chris stared at the spot where his mother had been standing moments before. He could feel her in this house. He could feel his cousin and his aunts and his father. They had all died here, and some of it had been Wyatt's doings. He had to be stopped.
The group filed into the kitchen, and then quickly onto the attic. Chris stared at the spot where he used to eat breakfast. The feelings were too overwhelming. He had to get away from all of it. He turned to face Bianca, to admit defeat, when a demon shimmered into existence. The demon said something and Bianca held out her hand to Chris. She calmly turned and stabbed him with an athame and beckoned him to follow her into the basement.
They had been lucky. Most of Wyatt's demons were much better trained. He was surprised that this one hadn't recognized either of them. All demons knew who he was. Wyatt had made it a requirement so that he wasn't killed by mistake. "Come on!" he heard Bianca call to him, knocking him out of his daze. He stared at her, trying to forget the pure emotionless state that her face had been in moments earlier and followed her into the basement.
"We can stay here until the museum closes, then we go get the Book…what's the matter?" she asked, once again knocking Chris out of his thoughts. She never seemed evil when they were alone, or even when they were out doing Wyatt's bidding. But the smallest moments like this reminded him too vividly of the girl who had once almost killed him simply because his brother had told her to. He didn't want her to become that girl again. And if he left… anything was possible.
"Nothing. It's just…sometime I forget who you really are." Chris summarized, not wanting to look at her. He knew she would be disappointed in him, in his lack of faith.
He felt her hand slip into his and he looked at her. "You mean who I used to be, Chris," she reassured him. "Before I met you." She was right, of course. But he was still afraid that she would turn back and that he wouldn't be there to stop her. He just couldn't find any way to tell her that.
"So, what do we do while we wait?" Chris asked, looking around the room. The toys that had been stored down here from his childhood were gone. Wyatt had probably destroyed them when he had taken over the manor.
"We say goodbye," Bianca answered, her voice growing suggestive. Chris was immediately focused on Bianca, all doubts about her flying away. The old Bianca would never have taken any sort of risk like that in this particular location. She would survive. Chris felt himself becoming swept up in the moment and all thoughts vanished from his head.
Hours later, Bianca pushed open the door to the basement and led Chris up the stairs. His worries had returned full-blast. There was no way he was going to be able to leave her behind. If he went into the past, he was just going to mess up the future. It really wasn't that bad… He quickly snapped his head up when he realized that Bianca had been speaking to him, prepping him for what might come. He was about to tell her he'd changed his mind and tuned into her instructions right as she was saying "…pass yourself off as their whitelighter."
"And are you sure that I won't lose my powers when I go back?" Chris asked. He had asked her this dozens of times and already knew the answer by heart. That wasn't really the problem. He knew that in order to be their whitelight, he was going to have to get his father out of the way, and the only way to do that was to promote him to Elder. As it was in his reality, his father hadn't become an Elder until several months after his birth. Having an Elder for a father instead of a normal whitelight could cause him to become more powerful...even more powerful than Wyatt.
"...protect the Charmed Ones – keep them alive for our future," he tuned in to the end of what Bianca was telling him. Keeping them alive. That would change everything for sure. If his mother survived past his fourteenth birthday then the whole future would be different. He wanted it to be different; he really did, but was this really such a good idea? He would change everything, not just Wyatt, but his whole existence. The only way to avoid changing too much was to do this as fast as possible, and knowing his family, it would be the opposite of that.
"Great, no pressure there," he joked, trying to get his mind off of the severity of what they were about to do. Bianca smiled and walked over to him.
"You know you're the only one who can do this, Chris," she whispered. "You're the only one who can save us." She looked at him, her eyes wide. The looked mimicked almost exactly the one Melinda used to give him, only it lacked the innocence.
Save us or save you? Chris wanted to shout, but held back. Was she really doing this to save the world, or was she doing it to save herself from what she had done to all those people while under Wyatt's control? "If I make it back," he joked, but he was still confused.
"You have to make it back… if you want to marry me…" she trailed off. All of Chris's doubts about her motives flew from his mind. She clearly wanted him to stay as much as he did. She knew the risks; she had known them since the moment that they had thought up this plan. There was really no way around them. There was almost a one hundred percent possibility that he would change the future so much that they would never have met, and he would have to live with that knowledge.
"You sure know how to motivate a guy, you know that?" Chris responded. There was nothing he would rather do now then reenact the scene from the basement, but he kept his mind focused. The two of them walked over to the stand where the Book of Shadows had been replaced by a shimmering holograph.
"Are you sure you can summon the real Book? Away from him?" Bianca asked, the first signs of doubt entering her voice. Chris sighed. Of all the parts of the plan they had come up with, this was the part he was the most certain about.
"Yeah, but we won't have much time once it gets here. His demons will be all over us," he said. This was it. The moment for the two of them to back out altogether. All she had to do was say the word…
"We won't need much time, just long enough to send you back to them," Bianca responded. It was official. He was leaving. She pulled a piece of chalk out of her pocket and started to slowly draw a huge Triquetra on the wall.
By the time that she'd finished, the room had grown dark. Chris had left his stance behind the book stand and was pacing back and forth in front of the row of boxes that Wyatt has placed their for historical accuracy. She threw the chalk down on the floor and looked at him. Chris met her eyes. They both knew what this meant, but neither of them wanted to admit it.
"It's time," she said, finally breaking the ice. Chris felt his stomach in his throat. He wanted to throw himself down on the floor in front of her and beg her not to make him go. But he knew that it was stupid. They hadn't gone through all of this just to admit defeat. He had to go through with it.
But it didn't stop him from protesting once again. "I don't want to go, I don't want to leave you," he said, his voice growing low. He didn't want to leave her. His fears of what might happen resurfaced. She might turn back. She might find another. She might not even be there when he returned.
Chris watched as Bianca pulled of the ring that he had presented her with earlier and push it into his hand. "This will help remind you of why we're doing this, what's waiting for you here," she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. It was like a slap had jolted Chris back into reality. He had to stop being so selfish. He was doing this for the good of mankind. He couldn't back out because of his petty personal issues.
"You sure I'll find a way back?" he asked, eyeing the Triquetra. The spell only worked in one direction. There was no conceivable way for him to return.
"You'll have the Charmed Ones to help you," she said. Chris felt a small smile coming to his face. He would get to see his mother again! Just as the smile surfaced, it was replaced with a frown. It also meant seeing his father.
"Maybe… I just hope I don't change too much," he responded.
Bianca shook her head. "You can't make it any worse." He felt the lightness of her response and knew that it was almost time for him to go. If he held on any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave.
"Just make sure you take care of the guards, then get out of here," he instructed. "If he finds you, if he knows you betrayed him, he'll kill you." Bianca looked at him, her face slowly regaining its old expressionless nature. She knew what kind of risks were going to be facing her. It was possible that they were worse then the ones that he was going to have to face.
"Don't worry, I can handle myself," she told him. Her face was completely devoid of any emotions now. Somewhere inside of him, Chris knew that she was going to be alright without him. She would survive. It was what she was best at.
Chris looked at the wall, and then at the space before him. It was time—there was no denying it. He started to chant a spell he had memorized long ago and within seconds, the book dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of him. Chris picked it up and quickly started to flip towards the correct page. Bianca looked at him expectantly. They had come this far… too far to give up now.
Hear my words, hear my rhyme,
Heed the hope within my mind:
Send me back to where I'll find
What I wish in place and time.
Chris looked up to see the Triquetra swirl with color. He started to walk over to it, but his stride was shaky. He reached out a hand, almost running his palm along blue orb-like designs in front of him. Suddenly, he heard two demons shimmer into the room. He instinctively turned around and saw one of them grab Bianca from behind. He called her name. "Go… Go!" she responded, kicking at her attackers. Chris took one last look at his home and jumped through the portal, landing on the hard wood floor of the attic twenty-odd years earlier. He quickly orbed out of the room and to the arboretum he had proposed at earlier that day.
It was beautiful. Green and luscious and completely unharmed. He took a moment to compile himself and collapsed on the bench. Now all he had to do was wait for the Titans to be freed and he would be able to start over from the beginning. It was time to change the future. Time to change his future. Time to make it work out right.
It was time to make sure he would always have a home.