Gideon banged the door behind him and went straight to a curtain in his office. He ripped the curtain open and stared at his reflection but the reflection was different, more sinister.

“I gather you’ve heard,” his reflection said.

“Yes, this complicates matters. The child will be even more protected by his family,” Gideon said grimacing as he sat down on an armchair.

“And what of the brother?” his reflection asked sitting back in a similar chair as the one Gideon had just sat on. Except where Gideon was stiff his reflection was relaxed, almost as if this was all a game to him.

Gideon raised his eyebrow, “Another threat of course. Has to be dealt with.”

“I like how you think,” his reflection smirked. “Though if they do strip Wyatt’s powers our problem is half solved. If we convince him that the brother needs to have his powers striped as well…” the reflection made a motion with his hand as if explaining what was left unsaid.

“They can regain their power somehow, we can’t risk that. No they need to be eliminated. Both,” Gideon said firmly. “Besides, getting rid of the baby, we get rid of Chris and he has become quite an annoyance.”

“He has no inkling at what we are up to though,” the reflection said calmly. “Maybe having him have the Charmed Ones going around on a wild and wrong chase might benefit us and-“ he added slowly. “Now that they know who he is he might start using his powers and we can gauge how much of a threat he is.”

“Leo is an Elder, if the baby he conceived as a whitelighter is the most powerful being around what do you think the baby he conceived as an Elder will be?”

“Exactly my point,” the reflection told Gideon. “Piper was indestructible when carrying Wyatt we need to know what powers Christopher may be lending his mother before we act or else all might be lost.”

Gideon nodded silently and lay back on the chair.

xx

Piper was putting Wyatt down for a nap and she gazed at his sleeping little body. She brushed his soft cheek and couldn’t believe this little angel would do what he did to his family, to his brother. She closed her eyes and she couldn’t shake away the image of the scars that littered Chris’s body.

She opened them, tucked Wyatt in tighter and turned and almost screamed as she was faced with Leo who had been leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed.

“How long have you been spying?”

“Not long enough,” he said with a cheeky smile and came forward wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned forward and let herself rest on his chest.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“How could I be? Chris is right, this is all messed up. My baby will become an evil dictator and my other baby doesn’t acknowledge I’m his mother.”

“He’s just scared to loose you again,” Leo said. “He talks to you. With me, he doesn’t even make eye contact. And from what Prue said,” Leo snorted bitterly. “He has every right to hate me.”

“And yet he fought in Valhalla just so you wouldn’t,” she reminded him smiling at him. “Just because you weren’t there for him doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. Just that he’s angry. I know from experience.”

Leo looked at her with hope in his eyes and then she leaned forward, “Ask dad how to reach Chris. He’d know.” Leo nodded. “And don’t forget, he might have had to grow up faster but he is just twenty. When he arrived he was still a teenager.” She hugged him and they stayed silent for a while.

“So, what did Gideon have to say?” she asked business like.

He looked at her and sighed, “Honestly? I don’t know. I couldn’t tell from his reaction. I went Up There afterwards to tell the others and again. No one stood out. I honestly have no idea which one of them is plotting against us.”

“Maybe Chris will have more luck next time he goes underground,” Piper said. “I don’t like the idea of him going but he is right. Right now, that’s our best lead.”

“I understand him better now. Why he had to lie and manipulate us. That’s exactly what I did to Gideon, even though he’s my friend. Because I had to,” Leo said in a low voice pressing his cheek to her hair.

xx

Chris ran a hand through his wet hair as he came down the stairs. He had a long bath to try to shake of the stink of Darklighter but he still felt dirty just from being around them. He had only stolen the bow from a Darklighter he vanquished, not before questioning him of course. But still, that was one dark item too many.

He hadn’t gotten anywhere. He had tried to integrate in some Darklighter group to see if they said something but so far none of the conversation was useful just plain disturbing. He opened the kitchen door and his mouth split into a smile, he didn’t even notice Piper’s surprised gaping.

“Grandpa!”

Victor turned towards him, surprised at being received with such warmth, especially after hearing the whole story from Piper and sized his grandson out.

“So you’re Victor?” he asked.

“Chris dad,” Piper corrected.

“I heard you say his name was Christopher Victor,” he said cockily and let a humph out when Chris hugged him.

“I missed you so much Grandpa!” Chris said and Victor didn’t know very well how to react. But this was his grandson, a grandson that apparently had problems relating with everyone else in the family, and he wasn’t about to begrudge him any kind of affection, so he just hugged the young man back.

“Dad helped Paige a lot after you died,” he heard Prue tell Piper. “And while you where alive every time you needed a man-to-man kind of talk with Chris dad would help.” He felt warmed at that, he might have been a poor father but apparently he made that up by being a good grandfather.

Chris suddenly let him go and Victor saw that he was flushing with embarrassment.

“Sorry, I -er- got carried away. Just-“

“That apparently I’m the greatest grandfather ever!” Victor announced a little cockily and glared at Prue when she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah,” Chris said smiling. “We all loved you and the girls had you wrapped around their little finger. Especially Paige’s youngest.”

“Let’s face it,” Prue said dryly. “She had everyone wrapped around her little finger.”

Chris let out a smile but Victor felt warmed at that. Paige might be the result of Patty’s love affair but since the girl had joined the family he felt as if he had four daughters and to know her daughter viewed him as her grandfather made him very happy.

Victor met Piper’s eyes and saw her looking longingly at Chris. He hoped the young boy gave her a chance soon because Victor knew how much Piper longed for that reception.

xx

“So, what can I help you with?” Victor asked his son in law as they both sat on the garden benches.

Leo shrugged uneasily and Victor decided to help, “You find yourself in the same situation I was a few years ago?”

“Yes, except, I haven’t done anything yet. And hopefully will never do,” Leo sighed and let his head drop on his hands rubbing his eyes. “He hates me.”

“That’s how it feels. That’s what I thought Prue felt,” Victor said. “But she didn’t you know. She was angry but she still loved me. That’s how you know he still loves you. If he didn’t he wouldn’t care enough to be angry.”

“What do I do?” Leo asked him desperately.

“Be there for him, and wait,” Victor said. “This has to be done on his time not yours. Show him you are there if he needs you and when he’s ready he’ll let you in. Not before.”

Leo nodded and vowed to let Chris know that he could count on him even if the boy never returned the affection.