Warmth was wrapped all around me, filling me inside and out with a sense of peace and security. I smiled into the soft material brushing against my cheek, snuggling deeper into the embrace I had fell asleep in the night before.

The simple movement must have awoken the person sleeping next to me because just then, I felt the gentle pressure of fingertips against my olive skin. As strands of hair was brushed back from my face, I caught his hand in mine and placed a butterfly kiss to his palm before blinking sleepy eyes up at my boyfriend.

A small smile split his face, his voice husky as he spoke, "Morning, my Mattie Grace,"

I couldn't help but smile at the name. Funny, it was one I'd always hated because of its association and yet...when he said it, it was different. When he said it, I felt loved.

"Morning, baby," I mumbled sleepily back before snuggling back into his chest.

Silent laughter reverberated through his chest and he pulled me closer.

"You know we have to get up, right? They're gonna be wondering where we are," he pointed out to me, his voice low and soft.

I groaned, shaking my head, "Don't remind me. Just let me sleep,"

He kissed the top of my head, fingers weaving gently through my ebony locks. I loved moments like this with Chris - moments when it was impossible to get up out of bed, impossible to break away from him. I could stay like this for the rest of my life and never want for anything else.

But unfortunately - I knew he was right. We still had to figure out how to get Piper and Leo back together so that Chris would exist. Otherwise...well, I didn't want to think about otherwise. So with that thought, I reluctantly released my grasp on him so that we could start our day. Once standing, Chris turned back to me with a sweet smile on his face, his green eyes shining in the bit of light coming through the curtains in my bedroom.

The girls had been kind enough to give me the use of the guest room since I stayed over too much - not their words but altogether still true.

"Would you rather I walk out or orb out?" he smirked and I rolled my eyes, pulling my blankets around me tighter to soak up the warmth that was still clinging to them.

"I think you already know the answer to that." I sighed and he nodded, dropping a kiss to the crown of my head before disappearing in a swirl of blue-and-white orbs.

When I finally made my way down to the kitchen, it was safe to say I was more than a little late - Wyatt's birthday party had already ended and now came the clean-up.

"And where have you been, missy?" my step-mom asked as I stepped into the kitchen.

I shot Phoebe a sheepish smile, "Oh, I overslept. Sorry about that,"

She hummed knowingly just as Paige strode in.

"Okay, forget about the strawberries, she's onto us,"

"What do you mean? She knows about Chris?" Phoebe demanded of her younger half-sister.

"No," Paige sighed, putting away the dirty dishes before turning back to us, "She knows we're up to something. I can't believe how hard it is to get two people-"

Phoebe put up a hand, "Stop right there, I don't need to hear more. And Paige, that is disgusting,"

"Well, it's what we're trying to do, right?"

"No, we are trying to romance Piper and Leo together so they can conceive Chris, our nephew,"

"And that's different how?" I snorted, a grin forming on my face.

"Well, because what Paige said is very Springer, what I said is very Oprah,"

"Oh," Paige exclaimed sarcastically, "Well, whatever show we're watching, we're running out of time. At least Chris is. We should probably tell him,"

"Yes. Chris!"

There was a slight jingle as a swirl of orbs lit up the kitchen before Chris appeared before us.

"Hey. So how's it going?" he asked quickly.

I tried not to notice how disheveled his brown hair looked as the memory of running my fingers through those very same locks resurfaced in my mind. A scarlet blush tinted my cheeks and I tried to look anywhere but at him.

Paige shrugged halfheartedly, "Not so good,"

"Well, what do you mean?" he asked before turning to Phoebe, "What does she mean?"

"We're running out of ideas," she explained to her nephew.

"Well, that's too bad because it has to happen today or I don't happen,"

My eyes widened with Phoebe's as she replied, "Wait, today?"

"Yeah. I did the math. And if I'm not conceived by midnight tonight, that's it. I won't be born, which means I won't be coming back from the future to warn you about Wyatt turning evil,"

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

He bit his lip, a guilty look washing over him as he replied, "I didn't want to worry you... Hey, what about making a love potion and just, like, slipping it to them?"

Paige shot him an admonishing glance, "No, we're not tricking your parents,"

"Why not? I'm desperate,"

Phoebe rolled her eyes, "Hey, look, I have an idea. Call me crazy, but why don't we just tell them the truth?"

"Sure, let's give them a massive case of anxiety," Paige replied to her sister's suggestion sarcastically.

"We're already out of options,"

"And time." Chris pointed out.

A massive crash sounded in the living room and we all looked at one another in confusion. What in the world?

Things happened in such a blur then, I almost didn't know what was happening - not before it was over anyway. And when it was - after the Darklighter had appeared, then quickly orbed away once injured - Chris was lying on the floor, panting. But most importantly - he was safe.

He shot a glance over to Phoebe, "Thanks for saving my life. Hope it wasn't for nothing."

I bit down on my lip so hard that I felt tiny drops of blood on my tongue. But that pain wasn't enough to counteract the ache that was beginning in my chest.