Disclaimer:

"Charmed" and all related characters and events are the property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

Author's Note:

This is another of the original stories running around in my cranium. There will be one or two original characters, but if you've read my stuff you know I lean toward the family drama side with Piper, Leo, Chris, & Wyatt. If you take the time to read and enjoy it please review it for me. If you take the time and don't enjoy it please tell me why.

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He rushed to get Bianca out of her house. Having no real place to take her he orbed them into Golden Gate Park. There was a beautiful garden near the entrance across from Ghirardelli Square. It was a favorite spot of theirs and they needed that right now to think.

When she had called him from the back alley of her apartment building Bianca had been hysterical. He could barely make out everything she was saying but he had gotten the essence of her tone… GET HERE NOW!!!

They had been sitting on this bench for the last ten minutes in absolute silence. He didn't want to push but his mother would go major postal on him if he didn't pick his sister up on time again. She had hinted as much when he got assigned pick-up detail this morning at breakfast. It wasn't that he meant to forget about Mel, but she really wasn't the first thing on his mind when he got busy. Today had to be the exception though, Piper was clear on that.

"Baby you have to tell me what happened." Chris gently shrugged her head off his shoulder. "Was there an attack?"

"Only if you consider your mother forcing you into a life of murderous death an attack," Bianca was audible, but just barely. She was truly rattled even though she and Chris knew this would be coming maybe not today, but soon indeed.

"Explain?" Chris was firmly pushing for the whole story and for her to continue further.

"I walked in on some type of coven meeting that was planning my initiation." At this point Bianca had moved off of Chris completely and was sitting sideways in order to face him. Gone were her tears and the look in her eyes was replaced by a fierce and fiery glare.

"Your what?"

"My mother has been preparing to take me on my first kill for a while. I've been putting her off with school and work and anything else I can think of."

"So what changed?" Chris inquired taking hold of his girlfriend's hands to keep them from shaking as violently as they were.

"She found out about you!"

Chris was on his feet at that proclamation and virtually pulled her up with him as he asked, "Are you kidding me? I gotta warn my family…."

"No! She doesn't know about you specifically," she responded making every attempt at putting him back into a seated position, "just that a guy is in my life. Her theory is if I have time for him I have time for, for… that."

"So, you just left? She's going to look for you. You know that, right? If she scrys for you and comes up with me they'll be hell to pay. We need to get to the manor. My mom and aunts will have a better idea of what to do, because hanging out in the park can't be the best solution to this problem. Besides we have to give them a heads up. If trouble is brewing and could possibly end up on their doorstep I owe them a first account explanation as to why."

"Anyone home," Chris came through the door like a hurricane, Bianca trailing behind him and the door slamming in chorus with his yells.

He zipped through the living room, cut across the family room into the conservatory, the dinning room and finally the kitchen. He grabbed Bianca's hand and orbed to the attic. As soon as they took form and he eyed Phoebe and Paige he inquired accusingly, "Didn't you guys hear me?"

His aunts were huddled over the book and Phoebe was writing down potion ingredients. Paige looked up and slammed the book closed almost severing three of her older sister's fingers.

"Hey! Watch it missy. Who's this?" Phoebe demanded as she came from behind the book's podium and took a defensive posture next to Paige as they viewed the stranger amongst them with a great deal of suspicion.

Chris went into protection mood and assumed a stance of guardian by pulling Bianca behind him slightly as though he were concerned that one of his aunts would suddenly attack someone just for showing up without notice. He stood starring at his aunts unsure of what to say next.

"Chris?" Paige's eyes finished her question for her.

"This is my girlfriend." He let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her waist to move her into an introductory posture. "Bianca these are my aunts, Paige and Phoebe."

They were pretty much dumbfounded. When did Chris get a girlfriend? Maybe they were out of the loop, but it would be extremely unlike their sister to leave out a detail like that. Phoebe was mentally tucking away a Q & A session to be completed at a later time. Paige's look indicated she wanted answers now.

To the sisters he asked, "Where's mom?" His words were clipped in a rushed and hurried manner as if he were still running.

"Piper's with Leo they're kind of in the middle of something." Paige was deliberately being vague. "You guys aren't just leisure orbing are you?" Years of being a Charmed One hadn't completely jaded her, but it made her highly cautious and Paige was automatically suspicious.

Dropping Bianca's hand and slapping his palms on his upper thighs Chris started moving forward toward his aunts speaking a perceptible, but lowered tone. "Look some danger might be stirring up and heading our way… soon! I need to give mom a heads up before she finds out from someone else or worst still after it's too late to change anything. We need your help."

"Chris we're sort of in the middle of our own little crisis. There are innocents involved and some nasty upper level…."

"Paige!" Phoebe yelled to stop her sister from saying the "D" word. She didn't think Chris' girlfriend needed to hear about demons on her first visit to the manor, if this was her first visit. Phoebe had taken notice that she did seem to know about his magic.

"…demons." Bianca finished Paige's sentence.

So much for maintaining discretion Phoebe thought. Chris could tell his aunts were stunned and very concerned with Bianca's knowledge.

"Stop worrying," he said, "we don't have any secrets."

"But apparently you have a plethora of secrets from us." Paige accused.

At that moment Leo and Piper materialized and barely took notice of the energy in the room let alone the extra people. Piper approached first. "I hope that potion is ready because they are right on our heels."

They being Horde Demons who collected the powers and bodies of powerful up and coming witches. An alarm from the Elders had sounded after more than twenty witches had been attacked, the last five in the San Francisco area. These witches were new to their magic and powers and had little control or practice in being able to protect themselves.

"We got a little side tracked with your son's…um, guest." Paige gestured toward Chris and the raven hair girl she had only moments before learned was his girlfriend.

"It has to keep! Phoebe get it finished. Chris," Piper turned to her son and hoped her voice and eyes conveyed more meaning than her words, "take your friend downstairs and don't come up no matter what you hear."

He was, like everyone else, paralyzed by his mother's tone. "GO!" She yelled.

They started moving to exit the room just as Phoebe turned around and asserted, "done."

She capped the potion vile and passed the others around to her sisters. Leo stood off prepared to heal should the need arise. Chris and Bianca were barely down the hall of the second level when they heard a loud crash, Bianca screamed and coward against the wall nearest the bathroom.

"Come on," Chris pulled her up. "We'll hang out in here until their done."

They took off down the hall to his room, which was the farthest down the hall from the attic stairs. Meanwhile back upstairs the group of Horde Minions poured into the attic. The Charmed Ones would have to keep battling the group unless they could get to the leader. They had learned this from fighting Kazi and Swarm demons in the past.

Piper was blowing them up left and right and her sisters were doing their best to slow them down. Finally with him losing so many minions the "King" shimmered in prepared to do battle. But so were the sisters.

"Phoebe get over here!"

"I'm a little surrounded at the moment." In mid-air kick Phoebe was coming down and hollering at her sisters a few feet away from her.

Paige immediately grabbed her older sister's hand and in a blue blinking of light they were gone. The Horde King and his minions were briefly stunned. As the girls reappeared at Phoebe's side Piper spat the words in the demons face, "you all must be getting dumber. Did you really think we just bailed and what left her behind?"

"No matter," the King roared, "killing one or three it's all sport to me! You don't have the power to finish this."

For a moment the girls wore the same dumbstruck look the demons had minutes earlier. Of course they could vanquish him. Separately they each reflected on the kick-ass potion and spell they had in their arsenal.

"Now," Paige shrieked. One after another the girls threw their potions. So close it seemed like a continuous motion. The only problem was he seemed to not be affected at all. It was as if he had been drenched in tap water instead of a toxic concoction of orange sludge that had simmered for hours and should have left nothing but an immensely weakened form soon to become a scorch mark and distant memory.

"Start the spell," Piper grabbed Paige and Phoebe's hands and they began to chant….

Greedy demon that you are

Taking things from near and far

End this terror here tonight

Stop your reign of fear and fright.

All that was left was another charred and ruined Persian rug.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"So do you think we should go check on them?"

"You're kidding right. Not the best way to get my mom to do things for you… not following her orders and all."

"Oh, sorry."

Just then the house phone rang and Chris popped into the hallway to pick up the cordless he was supposed to share with Wyatt and Mel.

"Hello… Oh, okay… I'm sorry… please don't… Lindy, I'm on my way. Yes now! Chill, I said I was coming… Fine!"

"What's the problem?"

"I forgot my sister again. Who knows what she'll make me do so she doesn't rat me out to my mom. She's sitting at school with a ticked off orchestra teacher who offered to drop her off at the local precinct. Not cool."

"Wow."

"Look I'm gonna just orb. My mom hates it but I don't have time for conventional transport right now. If anyone asks, I ran out for a minute."

"You're leaving me? I don't think so."

"You'll be fine. I have to go. Just stay in this room."

Chris left and Bianca closed his door and hoped for the best, that being his family having no reason to seek them out in the next ten minutes or so.

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When Chris got to the high school his sister was sitting on the steps alone. He didn't know where the teacher was, but he was grateful to not have to explain how he got across town so quickly. Not that she would be any happier.

Melinda Marrin Halliwell, it would have been Prudence if only Phoebe hadn't had a daughter first, hated the idea of magic and would never use it for ordinary task. She wanted nothing to do with it and denied any connection to it unless absolutely forced into confrontation, which so far had not happened. She wouldn't want to orb home and she'd protest the whole way.

When she was born things at the Manor were finally calm. Every Halliwell had settled into their "normal" life and besides Wyatt none of the second generation had come into any immense powers. Melinda was aware of her brothers and their special gifts, but she also saw the kind of trouble it got them into at times. Then there was the fact that they always had to trot off to magic school to learn one thing or another. She liked hanging around with her mom and her cousins and friends. So when Melinda noticed that she was able to do a few things subconsciously she did her best to ignore it and she didn't tell anyone. She didn't want to practice or get better at it she just wanted it to go away.

But when she hadn't displayed any magic by her twelfth birthday her folks began to worry. They took her to meet the Elders at magic school; they did all types of spells and she was the subject of much of the pillow talk between then and her thirteenth birthday. She, however, held onto the truth she'd created… that she hadn't come into her powers yet.

Finally, her parents let it go. They didn't hide magic from her and made sure she knew the magic she descended from, but they refused to make her practice if she wasn't ready, so long as there wasn't a need. Melinda wasn't sure if they suspected the truth or not, but, she figured as long as it wasn't hurting anyone she could remain magic free.

As a fifteen year old sophomore at Baker High Melinda was an A student who played the violin; was on the swim team; the debate team; and wrote for the school paper. She had plans on being a journalist just like her aunt Phoebe. She adored her family and even though things on the magical front had heated up somewhat she was still able to stay out of it and that made her tremendously happy. Her only problems were the two six foot giants that lived down the hall from her who never seemed to give magic a rest.

"Let's go squirt." Chris was the ever present big brother. He put her through the entire typical little sister hell including calling her names. Of course if pressed he'd say it was all in fun, but the way he tended to forget her everywhere she wasn't always so sure.

"Whatever. You're a half hour late. Does mom know?" She could play the typical little sister role pretty well herself.

"No, and you're not telling her." Chris reached for her instrument case and grabbed her hand to help her up from the steps.

"Where's the car Chris?" She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"We're riding the orbs today kiddo. Something came up and it was this or the trip to the precinct." He started pulling her toward the back of the building.

"Great trap me in your personal gain consequences. Nice."

"Don't start with me okay. I'll make it up to you I promise."

"Why are you being so accommodating?" Melinda was no fool she figured if he was being this nice there had to be a reason. And of course there was and she was waiting back in his room with no time to spare.

"Keep talking and I'll change my mind. Next time you need a date chauffeured around think, your choice could be me or dad. I am the lesser of two 'evils'."

They ducked behind the main building and reformed in Melinda's room. Not being thankful on any level she didn't utter two words to Chris and slammed the door as he exited the room.

On the other side of the door all the fun was just heating up.