Leo and Chris were now in the Dining Room alone. Leo watched his Son as he walked over and opened a drawer near the dining table.
He turned to Leo before pulling out the contents of the drawer, "just placemats tonight all right?" He asked.
Leo was only half listening to him, trying to figure out how to start his planned apology. "That's fine," he answered still staring at him.
Chris looked up at Leo, noticing for the first time that his Dad was staring, "what?" He asked.
"Nothing," Leo said immediately as he turned to open the cutlery drawer. Then changing his mind he turned back to Chris, "well, actually…" he started to say, and then paused.
"Dad, if you want to ask me something, just go ahead, I'm fine with anything you want to know," Chris said, trying to put his Dad at ease.
"You said upstairs you have all the memories of the other Chris, including the day he died." Leo said, making sure he had his facts straight.
"Yes, that's right Dad, except the other Chris is now a part of me too, so you don't have to refer to us as two different people. As I said before, I'm still trying to sort everything out. At the moment it just feels like I've woken up from a very vivid nightmare." Chris said, putting his hand up to his forehead and rubbing it.
"This is going to take a bit of getting used to for all of us. I can't imagine what you're going through at the moment," Leo said to Chris sympathetically.
"Honestly, I'm just happy to be alive!"
Chris saw Leo turn away slightly as he said that, as if he'd hit a nerve. "What is it, Dad, is something bothering you?"
Leo looked straight at him. "Ever since Gideon," he searched for the right words, "betrayed us and you were killed, that day has haunted me."
"That was a bad day, with the evil world and then happy world," Chris started to agree, but was interrupted.
"No Chris, I'm not talking about any of that," Leo said, but then corrected himself, "of course, that was all bad enough, but I'm talking about a promise I made to you. I promised I would save you and send you back to your own time. I left you on that bed to bleed to death, and you trusted my promise that I would save you. I'll never forget the look on your face as I orbed out. You were in incredible pain, yet you were still only concerned about your brother. I have relived that day, over and over again, maybe a thousand times since then, trying to think of what I could have done to save you. I never should have left you alone with Wyatt in the first place. I knew Gideon was after him, I knew you could not possibly defeat him, he was a powerful Elder."
Chris had let his father talk, because it was obviously something he needed to get out of his system, but decided to cut in, "Dad, that was a crazy day, there was no way you could have predicted what was going to happen, and I certainly don't blame you for anything. The whole reason I came back from the future was to save Wyatt. I was always willing to give up my life if it saved the future, because so much more was at stake than just my life."
"I know that now Chris. I don't think any of us really understood back then. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I put you in that position and I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise to save you." Leo said earnestly.
"Dad, there's no need," Chris started to say, but was interrupted by Leo.
"Just say okay, Chris, please."
Chris looked at the pain on his dad's face, "okay." he said softly.
The relief was immediately evident as Leo sighed, "thank you. Now we'd better set this table before everyone wonders what we've been doing all this time."
The dinner conversation was pleasant enough. Phoebe had talked about her divorce from her fourth husband and how she couldn't believe her daughter was almost twenty years old and was now refusing to be called Ladybug, no less. The others agreed that Phoebe should have dropped that nickname when she was 3 years old, and that she had been lucky her daughter had humoured her for so long.
Phoebe had offered, once again, to set up Paige with a date, which she, once again, had politely refused. She was happy with her life the way it was and after losing her soul mate when she was in her twenties she had not been interested in meeting anyone since. Phoebe, still could not understand this, and promised to keep trying to match make, much to Paige's annoyance.
Piper happily listened to the conversation, pleased that everything seemed normal again.
Suddenly, Leo stood up, obviously sensing something. Unfortunately, he was too late as the whole table and everyone sitting around it, were surrounded by a crystal force field.
Before anyone could say anything, the answer to all their questions walked in from the Living Room.
"Having a family reunion without me?" Wyatt asked sarcastically.
Nobody had seen him for several months, and were surprised at how he looked, dressed in black trousers, black T-shirt, his blonde curly hair now down to his shoulders.
"Wyatt," Piper started to say, but was cut off by Leo.
"What do you want?" he asked coldly.
"Nice to see you too, Dad. Don't worry, I won't keep you long, I just came by to congratulate my little brother for surviving Gideon's curse. Well done, everyone, reversing his magic was quite an achievement. Unfortunately, it has resulted in a drastic change of plans on my part."
"Wyatt, please what ever you are planning, don't do it. Let's talk about it, like we used to. We love you and want to help you get over this obsession you have with Excalibur." Piper pleaded.
"That's your problem, Mum, everything is so black and white to you. Don't you understand it's all about power! I've known that ever since I saw Gideon stab Future Chris all those years ago, right in front of me. I wasn't even two years old, but I worked out back then that whoever has the most power wins. Excalibur will give me that power, and nobody will ever threaten me again."
Chris could not believe what he was hearing. This Wyatt was beginning to sound more and more like the Wyatt from his original future, and him witnessing his stabbing when he was a baby had contributed to him turning evil.
"Well, it's been fun and all, but I've got to run now," he said continuing with the sarcasm.
"Wyatt!" Leo shouted, frustrated, as he watched Wyatt orb out.
A couple of seconds later an alarm sounded on a bracelet on Paige's wrist. "He's at Magic School," she said, stating the obvious.
"You have an alarm to detect Wyatt going to Magic School?" Chris asked surprised.
"We had to Chris, we knew he would eventually come after Excalibur," Paige answered.
"Excalibur is safe, though, isn't it?" Chris half stated and half asked.
"Nothing is one-hundred-percent," Leo answered him.
Just then Paige reached for the key attached to a chain around her neck in a panic, realising it wasn't there.
"The key's gone, he must have orbed it to himself before he put us in this force field," she said frantically.
"What else does he need?" asked Piper just before Chris was going to ask the same question.
Before anyone could answer, they heard the Elders jingle Leo.
"Oh no!" Was all Leo could say.
"How did he get the spell from the Elders?" Piper asked
"I don't know, but he has, and now all he needs is the code and that won't take him long. We need to get to Magic School, fast!"
"How will we break the force field?" Jeni asked, speaking for the first time since they had been trapped.
"Why don't we try the old Power of Three spell?" Phoebe asked.
"We haven't used that one in years," Piper said, "but it is the most reliable."
The three of them carefully moved together, trying not to touch the force field in the process, and all held hands and began chanting:
"The Power of Three will set us free," over and over again until the force field exploded setting them all free.
"Jeni, you stay here," Chris said to her, "it's too dangerous!"
"No, Chris, I want to come," she pleaded with him.
"Please, I don't have time to argue, just do this for me," he pleaded back, firmly.
Reluctantly she agreed, and a few seconds later found herself alone in the house that only fifteen minutes earlier had been filled with a happy family enjoying a celebratory dinner.