Disclaimer: Story's mine. Characters aren't.

Summary: No-one can ever have that perfect a cover on their first go. What if Chris blew it the first time round?

Recap:'My little brother is almost as strong as I am.' Wyatt thought wryly. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way to keep Chris on his side permanently. Holding Bianca prisoner wouldn't work for long. Chris would be too reluctant to do anything he thought was "evil".

'But, thinking about Bianca…' Maybe he could convince the former assassin of the truth. Chris would listen to her.

'But I have to get back to the future first. Before my meddling family get hold of Chris.' He thought. And he could be sure that they would.

Chapter 7

After catching up with Paige and Phoebe, Piper had persuaded them to wait where they were until herself and Leo went home, collected little Wyatt, and dropped him off at Darryl and Sheila's. When Sheila had said she'd be delighted to mind their first-born for a little while, they returned to where Phoebe and Paige were on stakeout across the road from the posh looking hotel that the scrying crystal had landed on.

"Any sign of them?" Piper whispered now, looking towards the building. Phoebe pointed upward.

"There's a window up there that looks like it's been blown up. It only showed up like that after I put a de-glamour spell on the building."

"And watch this." Paige added.

"Stone!" she called for a pebble on the ground. As it dissolved into blue orbs, she directed it upwards to the blackened window. It reached the room, but bounced against some sort of shield and fell downwards as it materialised.

"That looks like Wyatt's shield." Leo put in. "I suppose that's what happened when you tried to orb in?" Paige nodded.

"I was very nearly a Paige coloured blob on the ground." She told them.

"We think Wyatt's shield is probably keeping us out, and Chris in." Paige added, confirming Leo's theory.

"Makes sense." Piper supposed. "I guess we'll have to take the normal way in, then. It's probably better that way anyway."

"Why?" Paige asked, confused.

"Well, if we don't use magic to get in, Wyatt can't sense us. I hope." She explained.

"Plus, there's the whole personal gain thing." She continued. "Are you sure that that's it?"

"Positive." Phoebe answered. "We went in, and asked the manager who was staying there. He babbled and bit about a confidentiality clause, but –"

"Oh, please tell me you didn't use magic." Piper groaned. Phoebe looked affronted.

"No." she retorted. "We used our God-given gifts. The guy is old and we are two young, gorgeous women. He was all over us. Well, figuratively speaking."

"Ew." Was all Piper had to say. Paige rolled her eyes and Phoebe stuck out her tongue at her older sister.

"Anyway," Paige continued, trying to get back on topic, "he told us that Room 304 is being rented to Matthew Wyatt."

"Why is he using a false name?" Piper queried.

"If he used his real one, the records would show a tiny baby. And how many people are called Wyatt Halliwell, anyway?" Leo clarified.

"Right. So now you guys are here, baby Wyatt's safe, and we are armed with lots of potions and a spell to return Wyatt to the future. So what are we waiting for, exactly?" Paige asked.

"Nothing. Come on, we have a nephew to save." Phoebe said confidently. They strolled in, past reception, trying to look like they had every right to be there and weren't coming to try and magically send the 24 year old version of the Twice Blessed child forward in time so he couldn't harm their nephew/son who came back to save his older brother from turning evil and who hadn't even been conceived yet.

Anyway, they walked in and took the elevator to the 3rd floor, trying not to look suspicious. The ride up was probably the longest one any of them had ever experienced, nail-bitingly agonising and so slow it almost seemed as though Piper had frozen the scene. At last, they reached Wyatt's floor, and stepped into the hallway.

"Room 304." Muttered Phoebe.

"To the left." Replied Paige, looking at a sign opposite. They walked down the sophisticated beige and red hall cautiously, until they came to the door labelled 304. Raising a hand, Piper…knocked. The other three stared at her.

"What, you have a better idea?" she quipped, shrugging at them. The door opened, seemingly of it's own accord.

"Ok, anyone else getting a strong 'Scream' vibe?" Paige asked.

"Paige, you fight demons for a living. You can't be scared of a door."

"It can't be for a living if I don't get paid." Paige retorted, walking slowly inside the room with the others following. "And demons usually just jump out at you. They're not big with waiting to creep you out." As she spoke, four of Wyatt's bodyguards shimmered into being around them. Piper glared at her sister.

"Why is it that when anyone mentions the 'D' word, they automatically come running?" she asked of no one in particular, blowing up 2 of the demons as Paige, Phoebe and Leo reached into pockets and bags full of potions and hit the other 2. And 3, and 4, and 5. When they reached 12 vanquishes, Wyatt seemed to run out of demons. Or else he just got impatient.

"I'm touched to have a family that cares so much about my welfare." He sneered. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this little visit?"

"Where's my son?" Piper snapped, clipping off each word.

"You mean my little brother? Oh, you don't need to worry about him." Wyatt replied, a smirk marring his features.

"What have you done, Wyatt?" Leo snarled. "I swear, if you've hurt one hair on his head, so help me Wyatt I'll –"

"You'll what. Kill me? Torture me? Come on, dad, we both know you don't have the guts. Anyway, Chris is fine. He's just realised the truth, that's all. He's coming home with me. True, he needed a little…persuasion to figure out where his loyalties lay, but no matter. The point is, he's on my side now."

"No way." Paige denied. "Chris is good. He would never fight on the side of an asshole like you."

"Ooh, sharp. You died too soon, Aunt Paige. You would have been a valuable asset to me." Paige was struck dumb, but Phoebe was keeping focused on the goal at hand.

"Listen, you. I don't know who you think you are, but you are no family of mine, Wyatt. The nephew I know is good. So leave my sister alone and give us back Chris!"

"All right. You can see him once before you lose him forever."


Chris was in the next room with Bianca, holding her in his arms for comfort as they tried to figure out a plan. There had to be some way he could get her home safely. He heard the argument starting up in the other room but paid it no attention, thinking it to be between Wyatt and some of his demon minions. Wyatt's shield flickered and vanished, causing Bianca's head to shoot up.

"Chris, the shield!"

"I know, Bi. He must be distracted. Now we can get you out of here!" Chris replied gleefully. "Shimmer out, go to the Manor and we'll ask the Elders to send you back later. Or we'll write a spell, or something. Go!" Bianca nodded.

"Love you. Be careful, Chris." She warned him, reaching up to give him a quick kiss before shimmering out. Chris himself waited a few moments before orbing in a completely opposite direction. Before he could get very far, though, he felt something pulling him back. He reformed by Wyatt's side.

"What do you want now, Wyatt?" he sighed, cursing under his breath.

'So close! At least Bi got away.' He thought to himself.

"Chris!" Four voices called out in relief. He glanced over at who he had taken to be demons, only to find they weren't. Standing opposite him were the very people he had been trying to get back to. His family.

"Chris, what have you done with Bianca? She's not here anymore. I can't sense her."

"She's not your concern, Wyatt. How dare you kidnap her just to get to me?"

"All's fair in love and war, as they say. Well, maybe not the love part. But this is a war, Chris, isn't it? Your war against the truth, and my war to convince you of it."

"You know what? You really annoy me when you start spouting that crap." Chris held up his hands and froze his older brother, then turned to his family.

"How did you do that?" Piper asked him. She had, of course, tried to freeze Wyatt herself several times, but it hadn't worked.

"Umm, he's evil." Chris said, presuming she meant how had he been able to freeze a witch. "Anyway, he's to powerful for me to be able to hold him for long. If you've got a plan, I suggest you get to it. Now."

"Right. Time to send you back, Wyatt." Piper told her eldest son, as he started to move again. "Phoebe, the spell!" Phoebe dug a page out of her pocket and held it out. The trio started chanting.

"Guardians of the gates of time,

Hear our words within the rhyme,

Send Wyatt back from whence he came,

Without whom who he came to claim."

As the spell finished, Paige threw a potion at the wall behind Wyatt. He regained full movement and lunged forward, only to be caught by a howling wind and forced towards the swirling vortex that had appeared in the wall. As he was sucked in he looked directly at Chris and sent a message to his mind.

'Next time, little brother.' Chris heard. 'There's always next time.' The portal closed, and the wind dropped. Chris shuddered, and the rest of the group let out a collective sigh.

"I'm glad that's over." Supposed Phoebe.

"Unfortunately, it's not." Chris determined. "Wy…att is still out there, and I need to figure out who turns him, and stop it. It's only a matter of time until he tries again."

"Yeah, but Chris, we'll be prepared next time." Paige affirmed. Chris ignored her, and continued in his own topic.

"And there's another thing too. I've been thinking, and I think – well, I think that you shouldn't remember this."

"What do you mean, Chris?" Leo asked quietly, knowing what his son was going to say.

"You know too much about the future." Chris explained. "You could change it in unimaginable ways just by knowing, but what if you decide to do something about it? I'm sorry to sound selfish but I really want to be born." He looked desperately at them, begging them to understand.

"Chris, you know we would never try and change –"

"Piper…" Leo interrupted his wife, and she glared at him.

"Don't tell me you agree with him, Leo! We just found our son, and you want to forget all about him?" Something inside Chris stung at this, knowing that the Leo of his time would be elated to get the chance to forget him. The hurt stopped slightly, though, as Leo spoke his next words.

"Of course not!" he argued, looking insulted. "I'm proud of our son, Piper, and that's why I won't risk messing up his life for him! You think my decision is easy? You think it's easy, knowing he's going to be around all the time knowing that I won't know who he is? It's not! But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, for Chris!" He finished his tirade out of breath and still raging. He opened his mouth to start again but was calmed down by Chris' soft words.

"Thanks, dad."

'Wow.' Leo thought, stopped in his tracks. 'He just thanked me.' It was nice, hearing that from your son. Sure, he was used to Wyatt being around, but Wyatt couldn't talk yet. Couldn't show gratitude. He couldn't even say "Dad", much less "Thank You". He beamed at Chris, who smiled back gratefully. Phoebe, of course, interrupted the moment quite unintentionally.

"Hey, do we get a say in this?" she asked, indicating herself and Paige. All three turned and glared at her.

"No."

"Jeez." She mumbled. "Sorry I asked." Chris turned to Piper.

"Look, mom, I know this is going to be hard for you. But I've got to do this. It's not just my own future I'm screwing with here, it's a lot of other people's as well! My cousins! My sister's." At this Piper started.

'I'm going to have a baby girl?'

"I will save him, I promise. You just have to trust me enough to let me handle it." Piper bit her lip.

"Man, you are going to be so hard to handle as a teenager."

"Count on it." Chris smiled. "Is that a yes, then?"

"Hmm, a daughter, eh? I don't know if I want to go forgetting that, either."

"Please, mom." Chris pleaded. After a moment, Piper nodded.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

"Thank you. Now, we'd better get back to the Manor before the hotel manager finds that we've destroyed this suite."

Without another word, Leo took Piper in his arms, and Phoebe caught hold of Paige. The group dematerialised into sparkling blue and white orbs, and headed over to the Manor.

AnimeAlexis: Whew! I'm actually starting to be proud of myself, I'm living up to what I determined to do at the start of the summer. There you have it, though, the new and improved Chapter 7. Only about 2 more chapters until Arrival is finished for good! Aww, sad. Anyway, review and tell me what you think!