Paige was brewing the potion that Chris was going to take to put him in the meditative state so that he could recall an event that started happening while he was still in his mother’s womb. Phoebe was getting everything ready in the attic were they were going to perform the ritual and Gideon would guide Chris to the memory. Leo and Piper were putting Wyatt down for the night and Victor was watching Chris intently from over the book that Gideon brought and he was supposed to be reading.

“What’s on your mind Chris?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Chris said vaguely.

“Then why are you turning your head over to the stairs every few seconds?”

Chris bit his lip and leaned on the dining room table a bit, “I was thinking, that maybe, if you weren’t going to be offended, that maybe, since there is a room here and maybe-“

“I think your parents will be thrilled if you move in and I won’t be offended, here is where you should be Chris,” Victor said calmly and Chris smiled.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and tell them?”

“Now?” Chris asked nervously.

“No, better time than the present- or would that be past for you?” Victor winked.

Chris bobbed his head and got up nervously. He walked slowly up to the nursery. He hovered in the hall until his parents left the room gently closing the door .

“Er, hi, can we talk?” he asked awkwardly.

“Sure,” Leo said calmly and led Chris to the closest room, which just so happened to be the one Chris was thinking of moving into. Leo pulled a chair from the desk while Chris and Piper sat on the bed awkwardly.

“If you’re worried about what we are going to do-“ Leo started.

“No,” Chris hurried to assure. He trusted Gideon, he knew the man wouldn’t put his life in unnecessary danger. Chris decided to be blunt because he really didn’t know any other way to approach the subject. “I was thinking of accepting your offer.” He said simply making a motion with his hands to show the room.

Piper couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was coming home, he was moving home! He still refused to call her mom, but he was coming home. She wanted to hug him but she knew he wasn’t ready for that yet so she settled for the next best thing, she hugged her stomach, where baby Chris was growing, and with the biggest smile of the world she said:

“Any time you want to, you can just come.”

Chris nodded, “I’ll bring my stuff after we get the memory,” he smiled shyly.

“If you want, I can go with you to get it now,” Leo said. “The potion will take a little while still.”

Chris looked at his father and nodded, “Okay. Yeah, it’s better to keep busy.” He agreed, even though deep down he knew Leo was afraid he’d change his mind and that was why he was in so much of a hurry. But he wasn’t going to. Leo kissed Piper and they both orbed away.

---

Chris was lying down on the attic’s floor surrounded by candles. His family was surrounding him and by his head Gideon was kneeling and talking smoothly. He had taken the potion and he felt sleepy but at the same time he had a clear view of all he was thinking.

“Think back Christopher. Think to that moment you were still protected by your mother. You were still in her womb,” Gideon said calmly and Chris’s mind just went back and he was amazed. He looked around and he was floating, everything was dark put he knew he was safe.

“Now reach for your brother. You know he is there, go to him, follow his eyes.”

Chris thought of Wyatt, of that constant presence in his life. He thought of how he felt every time they had spoken in their minds, every time Wyatt hadn’t wanted to give a long explanation of what was happening so he just let Chris see through his eyes. And he was away from the complete and safe darkness and wasn’t floating anymore. He was sitting, on a crib. He looked around, he was on a cave, barely illuminated. The crib looked out of place here. There was a man lighting candles on what looked like a stone round table and checking a cauldron nearby every now and then. The man approached and crouched down to be eye level with him.

“Hello Wyatt,” his blue eyes met his and he smiled. The worst part, the rational eighteen year old part of Chris thought, was that he wasn’t scary or smiling evilly. No, he was smiling as if he’d seen a long lost relative.

“You know, you are going to help your Aunt Phoebe,” the man continued. “You are going to help us become one big happy family. Just the three of us.”

The man lifted him up and walked with him towards the raised stone table where the candles where.

“You see Wyatt, there is nothing more important to your Aunt Phoebe than family. So when the only family she has left becomes evil, she will have no choice, because I know she would never abandon you. And that’s my chance. That’s when I’ll reveal myself. Of course,” he waved his hand dismissively, “At first I’ll have to pretend to help her in saving you from evil, but with time, I’ll just convince her that that’s who you are,” he said as he sat the baby on the stone. “And since you’ll still be just a boy, you’ll need guidance, parents, us,” he finished caressing the blond curls.

“Now, this ritual takes three days, but don’t you worry,” he said in a way he obviously thought soothing. “I have a decoy for your family to chase to give us time. Then, I’ll just let you go.”
And he started the ritual, and he talked more to Wyatt as if he was going to be a favorite Uncle, explaining his plans in detail to the toddler who he thought could not comprehend or tell anyone. At the end of the three days he just lifted the anti-orbing wards he had and told Wyatt to orb home. His family just assumed Wyatt managed to escape.

---

Chris opened his eyes and saw his family’s heads and Gideon’s hovering over him.  Leo helped him sit up. Paige couldn’t hold it anymore.

“So, did it work?”

“Yeah, I saw the nut job who kidnapped Wyatt. Gideon was right, he used some kind of ritual that was triggered when Wyatt turned sixteen. He planed the attack for just before so that if we figured that Wyatt had been turned we’d think the attack was the trigger and if we didn’t we’d think his anger because of the attack was what turned him.”

“So, who turned him?” Piper asked.

“I don’t know, I never saw him before. He is not one of the demons we’ve crossed,” Chris said.

“But why did he do it?” Phoebe asked and Chris looked at her frowning.

“You.”

“Me?” she asked bewildered.

“Yeah, the nut job kept saying how with everyone out of the way and the only family you had left going evil you’d be One Big Happy Family. Wyatt was the only one besides you that was supposed to survive, and he thought you’d stick by him, since he was just a teenager.  Then he’d swoop in and at first pretend to try to help you get him back but  he thought that with time he’d be able to turn you and you would all rule the world and all that rot and- what?” he asked as Phoebe had gone white and started shaking her head.

“No, that’s not possible,” she turned to Piper and shook he arms as if to tell Piper to agree with her. “We vanquished him! He’s gone! We did! Piper! Paige!”

“It’s the only explanation,” Piper said sadly to her sister. “And it explains why he never showed himself or why you survived. And why Chris never met him and he is not on his list. You didn’t go evil, so his plan didn’t work, and you died before he could do anything.”

“No!” Phoebe shook her head and Paige hugged her to comfort her. Chris looked at Leo.

“You know who this is?”

Leo nodded grimly, “There is only one person obsessed enough with Phoebe to go to these lengths for her; Cole. Her half-demon ex-husband.”

“But, but, didn’t you vanquish him?” Chris asked bewildered.

“Apparently,” Piper said grimly. “He doesn’t stay vanquished.”