Chris slept through the next day, waking up only to groggily use the bathroom. Piper was starting to get worried but Leo explained that Chris’s own innate magic had to be used to help heal him from Gideon’s attack. An Elder power was no laughing matter.

They couldn’t deny that after the threat of Gideon had left a weight had been lifted from the house and al the moods seemed to be better. Even Leo and Chris who were morning the loss of their mentor were happier. Leo had decided to separate Gideon the mentor from Gideon the traitor. Gideon the traitor had to die, he tried to kill Piper and Chris and Wyatt. Leo wasn’t sorry for what he did but Gideon the mentor would be missed. Chris was a little more confused after all Gideon the mentor for him had already been a traitor and he felt cheated. So he coped by accepting that he never knew Gideon at all.

The next few days at the manor had been filled with idle talk with laughs and with relaxing. And though the threat was gone no one wanted to touch the next dreaded subject: that now that they saved the future Chris and Prue had to leave. Now when they ha just started becoming close to Chris, when he had just started opening up to them. But as much as she didn’t want to bring the subject up and especially not say that word that Gideon put so much stock into Phoebe decided that she would have to talk to her sister and brother in law. Because she definitely didn’t want to bring the subject up with Chris who was acting as if being in the past was perfectly natural. Someone had to. For the sake of Balance.

So she slowly approached Piper’s and Leo’s bedroom and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” she heard and found Piper putting Wyatt down for the night on the crib that had been put next to their bed.

“Hey guys- er- we need to talk.”

“About?” Leo asked.

“You know, about how people should be in the time they belong,” Phoebe said vaguely.

Piper froze on the process of folding a quilt and looked icily at her sister, “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she hissed.

“About how Prue and Chris have to go back to their time. Enjoy the fruits of their labor. Have a normal life,” Phoebe said firmly and Leo sat down on the bed slowly, looking at Wyatt sadly. He shook his head and looked at Pipers belly. He brushed his hand fondly on her belly and looked at her, “She’s right,” he said sadly. “He shouldn’t be here when he is born.”

“Why not?” Piper said her voice thick with tears. “Older Paige said there shouldn’t be any problem until he is eighteen.”

“Shouldn’t isn’t a certainty,” Leo smiled sadly. “And he should be able to be happy in his own time. We don’t have the right to deprive him of a normal life just because we will miss him.”

“He won’t really be gone you know,” Prue said from next to Phoebe and Phoebe gave a scared start. “Neither will I. I’ll be back when he turns six. Hopefully with Andy, and he’ll be here in a few months,” she said pointing at Piper’s belly.

Piper shrugged and Phoebe knew she knew they were right but she didn’t want to let go.

“I’ll miss him, he won’t be the same,” she said sitting down next to Leo and resting her head on his shoulder.

“We’ll have him back in twenty years. And then we’ll have both Chrises and hopefully the memories of a happy life will help him cope with the memories of his hard past.”

Prue nodded satisfied and smiled at Phoebe nudging her to say the rest.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the empath.”

Phoebe huffed, “Well, now one of you has to convince Chris.”

Leo and Piper looked at Phoebe weirdly, “I don’t see him running to draw a portal,” she added.

“I’ll talk to him,” Leo said.

---

Chris was lounging on the yard watching the stars. Leo smiled. In all his time here Leo never saw Chris just lay around lazily and relaxed as he was now. He hoped he would see lots of that in the future. He sat on the recliner next to Chris turned to his son. Chris looked at him and smiled.

“What’s up dad?”

“That’s what I’m here to ask you son,” Leo said calmly. “We’ve saved the future over two weeks ago and you haven’t yet mentioned going back. I’d love to keep you here forever son but your Aunt Phoebe is right. You don’t belong in this time. Don’t you want to see the changed future for yourself? Don’t you want to see Wyatt, your cousins, maybe even Bianca?”

Chris bit his lips and rose slowly. He mimicked his father’s posture by turning to face him, resting his elbows on his knees and entwining his hands. He looked at them as he said quietly, “I’m scared of what I’ll find. Of who I’ll leave behind.” He looked up and met his fathers matching eyes. Green met green and they both reflected the same pain.

“You don’t know she won’t be there son?” Leo said. “And I don’t think she would want you to through your life away, your happiness for her. I know your mom, she might be avoiding having to let you go but deep down she knows that’s the best and she’ll end up shoving you through that portal herself if she has too.”

Chris smiled at his father, he was so right. That’s exactly what Piper would do.

“I don’t think the portal will work since Aunt Prue and I won’t have ever left for the past. We’d have to find a spell or something that will send us back and make us merge with our new selves.”

“We’ll find a way,” Leo assured him squeezing his shoulder. “And this way we’ll have you and Prue for a little while longer.”

---

“I never knew people wrote so much about time travel,” Paige huffed as she perused yet another tome on the subject at magic school. They were all there trying to find a spell to send Prue and Chris back and Piper had left Wyatt in the nursery. Even Victor had come to help and was quite awed at all the magic around.

Phoebe looked at Chris as she closed another book, “You know. You never did tell us how you came into the manor unnoticed the first time.”

Chris smiled at the thought,” That was a big gamble. We had to use the first opportunity we had to enter the Manor so we couldn’t be sure of the date. And at the same time I had to be here before the Titans. We finally had an opportunity and Bianca and I went. We posed as tourists and hid until the Museum close. Wyatt transformed the manor into a Museum to remind people of the power he came from,” he clarified. “When I got here I was very lucky the attic was empty. I don’t know what I’d do if someone was there. I had a little memory dust with me but I really didn’t want to have to use it. I heard your voices downstairs and was so tempted to see you but I had to orb away. I couldn’t let you see me. Since you had never felt the power shift the portal makes I don’t think you recognized it. But you did feel something because I orbed just in time to here you come into the attic because something was wrong.”

“I remember that,” Piper said. “We found nothing so we just left again.”

“I think I found what you need,” Victor said bewildered handing the book to Leo.

“You did?” Phoebe asked. “Dad found the spell, oh come on! Dad? The mortal while all the witches here found squat. That is so unfair!”

“I’m afraid Aunt Phoebe that he did,” Chris nodded at her reading the spell. “Congratulations grandpa. He patted his grandfather who looked very pleased with himself.

“Don’t get so cocky dad,” Piper huffed.

The preparations for the ritual and spell that would take Prue and Chris back took another five days in which Piper thrived to shove all the food and the hugs she could into Chris. Finally for the dread of all of them the day came and the whole family was together in the attic to once again say goodbye.

Chris first hugged his baby brother who wasn’t all that sure what was happening but knew he wasn’t liking it. “You be good for mommy and daddy and the whole world okay buddy. I love you very much.,” he kissed him and Wyatt gave him a slobbery kiss back. Prue seemed to be following Chris’s lead because she was next for Wyatt as Chris pulled Victor into a hug, “Thanks for the talk grandpa.”

“Whenever you feel like talking Victor, you come see me,” Victor told him and Piper sighed.

“Chris dad! Chris!”

Chris just smiled at his grandfather and went to his youngest Aunt, “I hope this tie around you only get to spoil me,” he pulled her in a hug.

“Count on that,” she told him with a sad smile.

“I love you dad,” he heard Prue saying as she hugged Victor.

“I missed you so much.” Victor said. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

Phoebe nudged Chris and pulled him into her hug and said, “I hope you’ll stop with that annoying habit of blocking me out.”

“Fat chance,” he laughed.

Next was his mother and he couldn’t help his eyes from watering he hugged her tight and whispered, “I love you so much mom.”

“Me too honey, I’ll be there. You’ll see.” He pulled back but she didn’t let him go immediately. She took his face in her hands and pulled him for a kiss in the forehead. “I love you,” she whispered.

His father pulled his dazed body from her and hugged him fiercely.

“I’ll be there for you this time, I promise.”

“I know dad,” Chris nodded into Leo’s chest. “I love you. Always have.

“I love you too son.”

Chris smiled at Leo and when looked at the others he saw he had missed Prue saying goodbye to her sisters but that didn’t matter. They’d see each other again. Prue hugged Leo and took Chris by the hand. They entered the triquetra that had been drawn on the floor and the girls started chanting. White lights formed around them and blinded the place. As they faded Chris and Prue were gone.