Yay. Chapter 10 already! Go me! *grins hugely*

I'd originally planned for this to be the final one, but because it seems people are reasonably happy with how it's going, I've decided to play it out and see what happens.

Also, I really didn't intend to update regularly, but as it worked out, I just couldn't seem to get it out of my head. So lucky you.

Disclaimer: pretty sure nobody actually reads this, but I've still gotta say it anyway. CHARMED IS NOT MINE!

Phew.

"Are you seriously saying that the supposed ruler of the world didn't actually take into account how to reverse an enchantment in case he ever regretted it later?" (G) Wyatt asks incredulously, shaking his head slowly from side to side. "No, I don't believe that for one second. I know I sure wouldn't do something so stupid, knowing that the effects may possibly be permanent. So, unless you lost some serious IQ points one way or another when you became evil, I doubt you would either."

(E) Wyatt shrugs lazily. "Believe what you wish. My main concern was getting Chris back. I didn't really care much about anything else."

"So what exactly were you planning to do when you got him?" he says, brows creased slightly. "Just keep him as a three-year-old?"

(E) Wyatt nods. "Pretty much."

"Well, isn't that just great," Chris butts in, heavy on the sarcasm. "So, basically, what you're saying is that even if we get the demon to change him back, other Chris may still feel very fond of that damn toy and will continue to regress so that mentally he's a child anyway?"

"Mm… that sounds about right."

"Dammit, Wyatt! How could you be so irresponsible?"

Laughing, (E) Wyatt replies, "You of all people do not get to lecture me on responsibility. Besides," he looks towards where Piper is standing with little Chris in her arms, sucking on the tip of his thumb with this peaceful, sleepy expression on his face as he rests his head on her shoulder. "I kind of like him that way. It has to be said, you are a very sweet child."

Jaw clenched, Chris says tightly, "Regardless, if we don't put this right soon then we won't be able to stop you from being turned. We're on a deadline, you know! Luckily for us, we still have a few months yet."

"Are you serious?" Piper suddenly cries out in outrage, and the two Wyatt's and Chris turn to her in surprise. Is she angry about the time limit….?

Oh no.

She's got that glint in her eyes like she'd really love to blow something up.

"You've just been told that your other self - who you'll soon become when you go back to the future - may have been permanently regressed into a toddler and all you can think about is Wyatt?!" she shrieks. "The one who did this to you!"

(G) Wyatt winces, and Piper sends him an apologetic look.

Chris rolls his eyes. "Look, Piper, this is the fate of the world we're talking about here. Not just me or my family or my brother. The world." He begins to massage his temples. "So as long as I can ensure that my version of the future is the one that comes into existence, then my work here is done. And if I must remain a three-year-old, so be it."

Chris grimaces, eyeing his drooling counterpart currently falling asleep in his mother's arms. "I mean, he seems pretty happy… I think."

"So… what? You change the future, grow up as normal, then one day just spontaneously revert back to a child again?" Piper asks, trying to wrap her head around it without success. "Don't you have dreams of your own? Completely unrelated to this?"

"Of course I do," he mutters mournfully. "But this is bigger than me. And, from the looks of things, it's not like I'll know any better."

"So that makes it alright?"

"God, no! It just…" He sighs. "Makes it easier."

"It's not over yet, Chris," Piper tells him softly, "There's still hope, you know."

Staring hard at a spot on the ground, expression taut, Chris is unable to meet her gaze as he says forlornly, "Is there?"

I hope no-one is confused by this. I really tried to make it as clear as possible, but when you're dealing with time travel it gets messy fairly quickly.

Not long after, things take a turn for the worst.

As promised, Chris and (E) Wyatt take little Chris to the park, mostly because he kept bugging them and it was clear that he wasn't going to forget, no matter how exhausted he appeared.

With the three of them gone, Piper, Paige, Phoebe and (G) Wyatt set to work vanquishing some of the demons from Chris' list at his insistence that although they aren't the ones responsible for turning Wyatt, it is still hugely beneficial in the long run.

"So," (G) Wyatt begins conversationally as they are mixing potions, "I'm curious. Chris was here for over half a year and you never once suspected that he might be a Halliwell?"

"No, we didn't," his Aunt Paige responds brusquely, casting him a cautionary glare over her shoulder as she reaches for the black pepper on the top shelf. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he's very good at hiding things. To be honest, we were very… cynical. And not so pleasant or cooperative as a result."

"Yeah, Chris told me that," (G) Wyatt remarks casually, nodding. At her puzzled glance, he amends, "My Chris. He told me bits and pieces when he started regaining his memories. At first, he refused to talk about it, but we've never been able to keep things from each other." He shrugs. "It wasn't long before he spilled."

"You mean he told you were evil in another life?" Phoebe asks in bewilderment.

"Chris didn't give me much specifics, but yeah, he did. How else do you think I knew how to calm him down after his nightmares? I can't imagine how difficult it would've been for him if he hadn't told anyone. At the time, Chris really needed the support." (G) Wyatt's expression becomes reflective and he murmurs darkly, "The kid was a disaster."

"Chris said something earlier," Piper says enquiringly, a thought just occurring to her, "Something about having gone through this before. Would we have found out eventually?"

"Oh, yeah. Otherwise, how would you have known to name him Chris? You practically hated the guy." Unbeknownst to him, the three sisters flinch. "I think if things had played out the same way they had before, Phoebe would have had some revealing premonition or something and Chris would've been forced to come clean." He cocks his to the side and purses his lips. "If I remember correctly, Mom freaked out, accidentally blew some things up, forced Chris to move into the manor, feed him at every opportunity, before eventually banning him from the Underworld and doing something that, to this day, still makes me wanna laugh every time I think about it."

(G) Wyatt smiles warmly, eyes crinkling around the edges.

"Why?" Phoebe asks suspiciously. "What did Piper do?"

"Oh, I probably shouldn't…"

"No, tell us," Paige insists keenly, making it clear she isn't going to allow that to be dismissed.

Smothering a snigger, he replies uneasily, "Fine. She, uh, she kind of, er, made it so that Chris couldn't, um, couldn't orb without… um, feeling this irrepressible need to be near her."

He breaks off, laughing.

The sisters exchange looks of confusion.

"You have to understand... every time he tried to go demon hunting, Chris had to come right back because he couldn't bear to be away from Piper. She thought it was great. Only problem was, Chris just wouldn't admit defeat, so he kept trying, but it was one of those spells that's influence intensifies the more you fight it. He told me it got so bad, he was literally following Mom around like a lost puppy until she eventually went nuts. He was that clingy. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think maybe that was his intention. From what I heard, it was like this crazy battle of wills. And Mom and Chris are both insanely stubborn people." (G) Wyatt smiles fondly. "It would be just like him to be that sly and calculating, using Mom's own spell against her."

"But why would I do that in the first place?" Piper asks. "It seems kind of like a desperate measure to take, if you ask me."

"Oh, it was," (G) Wyatt assures her. "At the time, you were quite heavily pregnant so understandably, you didn't want your unborn child down in the Underworld putting his life at risk every time you turned your back. Evil me is not the only one whose ever gone overboard trying to keep an infuriatingly reckless Chris from harm."

"Sounds to me like you're speaking from experience," Paige thoughtfully observes.

(G) Wyatt gives a half-laugh. "I am. But that's a story for another time. Chris… he likes to overlook the fact that everyone has their limitations…No matter what timeline he's in."

"Wait," Piper interjects with a sense of urgency. "You said I was pregnant whenever Chris was in the past. How long was he here for?"

"A while…" (G) Wyatt responds evasively, "You know I can't give you any exact details. Last time Chris almost disappeared because of his own negligence, almost missing his conception date. I'm not gonna give that a chance to happen again."

The sisters freeze.

"Did you just say he almost disappeared?" Piper asks with an edge to her tone that (G) Wyatt can't place. "As in, started to fade away?"

"Um…" He scratches the back of his neck. "Yeah…"

"Oh God," she gasps, her breaths coming faster. "He said Leo was supposed to save his parents and that's why he-" She swallows, remembering how they'd all demanded answers from him after her sisters had told her what had happened to their whitelighter in her absence. "… I should have realised as soon as I found out…"

"Mom, what're talking about?" (G) Wyatt asks in confusion.

"A few months ago whenever Leo and Piper were trapped on the Ghostly Plane, Chris started to become transparent as if he was going to disappear," Phoebe explains on her sister's behalf since it's obvious she's in no state to do so. "He told us that Leo was supposed to rescue his parents at some point in the future, and because Leo had been injured, there had been a chance that that would've caused him to cease to exist. Now though…"

(G) Wyatt still appears perplexed.

"She means," Piper says weakly, "That that must've been the date you're talking about. The date of his conception."

His face clears. "Oh," (G) Wyatt says, then in realisation, "Oh. I so didn't wanna know that!"

"Just think how strange it must've been for Chris," Paige mumbles, shuddering herself.

"That means I'm pregnant," Piper suddenly declares, needing to have it stated aloud. "I'm over two months pregnant…"

"You're what?!" a new voice exclaims in shock, and Piper spins around to see a familiar figure entering the room, holding a young Wyatt's hand.

"Oh dear Lord…" Piper hears someone mutter distantly, but she hasn't got a clue who.

Her whole world is crumbling, falling apart around her, reducing to one single point…

One point right in front of her. It's all she can see. All she can possibly comprehend.

Green eyes locked on hers.

Just one single point…

One man.

"Leo…"

Thanks for reading. And please, please review.