Chris let the warm water run over his head and down his back. He was leaning his head forward against the cold tiled wall of his parents' shower recess and hoped the warm water would somehow wash away the pain he was feeling from unintentionally changing his own history. He really didn't want to play this game anymore. His head hurt from the mix of memories his brain was still trying to sort out and now he felt like his heart had been ripped out as well. He was tired. So very, very tired. And he wondered if he had enough energy left to fight Wyatt. Again. It seemed like he had been fighting Wyatt most of his life. Maybe it was Wyatt's destiny to be evil and Chris should just accept it and give up? He sighed at the thought. He really didn't want to think at the moment, he just wanted to go numb, for a little while at least. He turned to lean his back against the shower wall and let the cooling water run directly down his face. He let his mind wander back to the last time he was here and how he had somehow put an emotional barrier up around himself, not letting any of his family in, except of course for that one time when the Spider Demon infected him and in the process shattered his defences. Other than that one time though, he had managed to stay completely focused on saving Wyatt, to the point where nothing else mattered, not Bianca, not even his own life in the end. Back then saving Wyatt had become the most important thing to him, because saving Wyatt in turn saved the future and he had not wanted to return to the original future he had come from. This time, though, he wasn't so focused and his family knew who he really was, so there was no facade to hide behind. He didn't have the strength to distance himself from them anymore, because his mother hadn't died when he was fourteen and his father hadn't ignored him all his life, they were both wonderful parents and he had lived a much better life. A life he wanted desperately to go back to.
Suddenly, it came to him.
"Why do I have to stay here?" He asked himself.
He felt his brain come to life again and his excitement grew as he starting connecting the dots that were his thoughts.
His enthusiasm back, and the numbness now gone, Chris all of a sudden realised the water in the shower had gone completely cold. He jumped out of the way and quickly turned the taps off.
"Geez, how long have I been in here?" He asked out loud as he hurriedly dried himself, before getting ready to go downstairs and share his idea with his waiting family.
As Chris walked down the stairs, he could see an audience waiting for him in the Living Room. Paige had obviously told everyone what had happened and they were waiting for an explanation.
"Chris, there you are, I was getting worried," Piper said, not wanting to press him for answers straight away.
"I'm fine Mum, thanks. In fact, I was just thinking…." Chris started to say until Leo interrupted.
"Paige told us what happened at P3," he said.
Chris looked at Paige, who for some reason immediately felt guilty for telling them and started to justify.
"I'm sorry, Chris, it's just you were acting kind of weird. I was worried about you," she said.
"No, you don't need to apologise, I don't mind you telling everyone. I was going to explain anyway," he said.
"What about future consequences?" Phoebe asked, having a dig at his stock phrase whenever asked anything about the future the last time he was here.
Chris smiled. "Okay, point taken, I did use that line a lot, but the circumstances were very different last time, and it's important I tell you what I did at P3 so you can somehow try to fix it for me."
"Wow, that was easy," Phoebe said. "I was expecting a big speech about how it will mess with the future."
"That's the problem," Chris explained. "I've already messed with the future, unintentionally. Sort of like Paige did when she went back in time and we ended up with flower loving hippy grams." They all nodded and smiled at the memory. "You guys fixed the timeline then, and I need you to do it again."
"You're getting ahead of yourself, Chris, just tell us what happened," Piper said gently.
"Okay," Chris said as he walked over and sat on the arm of the chair his father was sitting on. He looked at his Mum and Dad and continued, "I've already told you I'm engaged in the future, to a great girl." They both nodded. "I met her at Magic School. She grew up there because her parents were killed when she was a baby." He paused. "Well," he said looking around at all of them, "I just saved her parents' lives today and now she won't be growing up in Magic School and I will never meet her!"
"Wow," was all Phoebe could say.
"Wow is right," Paige agreed, "now I understand why you were acting the way you were."
"I had no idea who they were. I didn't know much about what happened, just that Jeni survived after her parents were killed and because they were attending an interview for Magic School, you took her in Paige. That's how we met, she now teaches at Magic School and so do I." Chris told them.
"You're a teacher?" Piper asked, not believing how much information she was getting from Chris this time around.
That question from his Mother made Chris smile and momentarily calm down. After pouring his heart out to them, his Mum had only made a comment about him being a teacher. He knew how happy she was with his chosen profession in the future, so wasn't surprised she chose that little bit of information to ask about.
"Yes, Mum, I'm a teacher," he said to her. "And I love it," he added.
"Did you hear that Leo, our son's a teacher," she said proudly to Leo.
"Yes, Piper, I did," Leo said smiling at her, "and I think that's great Chris, but continue with your story," he said trying to get the conversation back on track.
"The point is, after I'm gone, you have to promise me you'll track down Jeni's parents in London and make sure you get them back here. Somehow." He pleaded.
"What do you mean after you're gone?" Piper asked. "Where are you going?"
"That's what I came down here to tell you. I've just realised if I take Excalibur back to the future with me as soon as possible, then that should solve all our problems. Wyatt won't get a chance to steal it as an adult, or use it as a child. I will still have it in the future and be able to train with it properly. And when I return, Wyatt should follow me because there is nothing left for him in this time," Chris explained, satisfied that this was the answer.
"That does make sense," Phoebe agreed.
"Yes, but you came here on Wyatt's magic, getting you back won't be easy," Paige cautioned.
"What about the potion you made last time?" Chris asked.
"That was for your magic, Chris." Leo said to him.
"That's right, we made that potion based on the spell Chris had used for himself, and the Power of Three. Do you even know the spell Wyatt used?" Piper asked
Chris was looking increasingly deflated at the direction this conversation was taking.
"No," he answered shaking his head.
"It is a good idea, though," Piper agreed. "If we could make it work."
"Does that mean you'll at least try?" Chris asked, hopefully.
"Of course we'll try," Phoebe said reassuring him.
"How about you still start training with Excalibur tomorrow as we planned, and Paige, Phoebe and I will start working on that potion?" Leo asked him.
Chris nodded, "Sounds great! Thank you."
"Now, you'd better have some dinner," Piper said to him.
"Is everyone ready to eat?" Chris asked.
"Chris we all ate ages ago, while you were in the shower." Piper said to him.
"Oh, I didn't realise I was in there that long," he said.
"Don't worry, I saved you some it's in the fridge. You sit down at the table while I go and heat it up for you."
"Thanks, Mum."
Satisfied that his family wouldn't let him down regarding Jeni, and that they had a plan in place for Wyatt and Excalibur, Chris sat at the table feeling a renewed sense of determination.
Wyatt had a renewed sense of determination as well, but his was for a very different reason. In the short time he had been in the underworld, he had enjoyed it immensely. Demons were in complete disarray in this time frame, and they were crying out for someone to organise them. He was more than happy to appear to be their saviour, as they could all sense his power and were only too happy to cater to his every whim. They would all serve a useful purpose as decoys and backup for his plan to obtain Excalibur, and the best thing was he didn't feel at all guilty betraying their trust in him, as they were only demons after all. As he amassed his demonic forces with empty promises of using his power to help them defeat the Charmed Ones, he laughed to himself at how stupid they were for blindly following him. Power was everything to Wyatt, and he felt this was a dress rehearsal for how easily he would slip into the role of ruler of the world when he returned to his own time with Excalibur. Everything was going according to plan, and victory was so close he could smell it.