Blood which Binds

By M.J Rosemary

Rating: PG-13/R

Summery: When Chris is exposed as Leo and Pipers son, he fears they know to much to soon, and attempts to once more change time, however in doing so trust is lost, and Chris finds himself at the receiving end of a deadly cult of vampires.

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, other that a few original characters.

Author Note: This is my first 'Charmed' fanfiction and as I know very little about the show, this is probably going to be very out of character. Please review, as any constructive criticism will be welcomed. Final thought: Updates may be very slow, as I'm not very good with keeping up on things... Reviews may help though lol...

Spoilers: For anything after Chris's true identity is discovered.... Slight au though, as within this story it is portrayed differently.

Timeline: Season 6, between Chris-crossed and the Headless Horseman.

Second Author Note: Over the last few days I've made several changes to grammar etc, while also adding several new scenes in a attempt to make the last few paragraphs less choppy. I'm also hoping it will explain the plot a little better, and add to the tension. Thankyou to all who have already reviewed, I was VERY surprised with the amount of feedback.

Third and LAST Author Note IMPORTANT: When writing the second chapter, I realised a key scene made very little sense due to the smallish conversation between Piper and Chris towards this chapters end, therefore I have had to change it very slightly. This chapter is mostly the same, except for some extra thoughts, and a longer more in-depth argument between mother and son. I'm sorry if this causes any confusion, as I wasn't 100 sure where this story was going when first writing this chapter. However, I now have a good plan and the importance of a rather under-detailed event in this chapter had to be changed somewhat, so it would explain the second chapter, and Chris intentions. Sorry for all and any um... cough ups and confusion. Please blame me fully, as really, I should have waited a little while before posting this chapter, as I was never 100 happy with it.

Chapter One

Then...

The pain was the same, as was the steady throbbing against his chest. Please stop...

"It's been a while since you last screamed" The older spoke softly, while his hands tenderly brushed hair from within the others eyes. "They're beginning to find you boring" Then, entwining his fingers within dark, damp hair, he forced pained features to gaze upon his own cold expression. "When did you stop listening to me, Chris?"

"W...hen you...st...opped b...being my... b...brother" The words were almost lost beneath his pained coughs, as Chris sought to escape the others cruel grasp.

"Scream for them"

Now...

The wall no longer formed support against his sudden dizziness, and Chris found himself lying painfully against the cold, cruel floor, cradling a tender and bruised arm. "Not good..." Glancing around, he gently raised himself, before looking towards the small child sleeping within his crib.

Wyatt...

His older brother had always commented upon his hair, and when playing among the other boys, he'd asked how he saw beneath the thick strands. Chris knew Wyatt sought to irritate him, and ignore his brothers' smug remarks. Though, he remembered once, when lying across his mothers' bed, Wyatt had swept the loose strands away. He'd thanked him later, at the time being to unwell to consider the simple act as kindness.

His brother hadn't always been unkind.

"Chris?"

Dizzy, and unprepared, the young whitelighter stumbled. "Leo!" Chris winced, "damn!" His gaze momentarily caught the table, and wondered whether he'd damaged it during his sudden fall. He remembered the wall no longer held against his back, and his arm painfully slamming into something solid. "Don't do that"

"Sorry, did I catch you at a bad moment?"

The Elders' words seemed oddly sympathetic, and Chris glanced up blankly. Then, unable to except the warmth within Leo's eyes, he turned away, seeking to numb the pained confusion, and to re-close the protective walls.

"Piper's calling" Leo continued upon Chris's silence. When noticing the others lack of movement, his voice quickly hardened, almost becoming harsh. "Chris! Upstairs" Leo's cold expression soon broke through Chris's troubled thoughts, and the younger Whitelighter once again captured the gaze of his father. The older man appeared far closer in both appearance and mannerism to the father his unborn self would later come to know.

"Yeah..." Not awaiting an answer, he simply left Leo alone, allowing the other to ponder his sudden thoughts concerning the young whitelighter. Had Leo witnessed pain within the youth? Turning, he stumbled for a second, noticing the table Chris had reached for, and its damaged leg.

------------

"You don't look to healthy..." Piper spoke questionably, as her whitelighter orbed in beside her. "In fact, I'd say you look like you went head on with a demon." Her eyes caught his own, almost toying with his silence. "Hmmm..."

"What? You called me..." Chris spoke quickly, defending himself against the women's questioning eyes. His gaze briefly caught several pairs of clothing scattered beneath and around her feet.

"Caught you at a bad time? I'm sorry your whitelighter obligations interfere with your social life,

Chris, but you have a duty to be here, on time... and when we call."

Her voice never raised, nor did she sound angry, and Chris wondered why she had spent the last three minutes calling his name. There were no demons, blood or breakages; in fact, she almost looked as though she was waiting for something, or someone...

"You're going out!" Chris suddenly cried, the fleeting seconds without thought causing the words to sound dangerously frightened. Had she noticed?

"Can I trust you to keep an eye on Wyatt? For an hour?" She asked, completely oblivious to the others unplaced desperation. "I'm meeting up with Greg"

"What, no... You can't go out." You're not meant to! Chris thought worriedly. "Babysitting isn't part of my Whitelighter obligations!" He scoffed as an afterthought.

"Paige and Phoebe will be back in an hour, and then you can go off and do what ever you were doing" She waved a hand towards him, as though the act would rid him of his life outside the Manner. "What ever that is"

"But..."

"Wyatt's down stairs, hopefully sleeping..." She returned to her clothing, and Chris wondered whether she was deliberately ignoring him.

"But… Piper..." He hadn't meant to sound so incredibly desperate. "Piper, you need to be here, something... I..." The sudden words quickly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Piper asked.

Chris's mind froze; fearing his mouth would utter words both forbidden and destructive. She wasn't ready. None of them were ready.

"It's... It's nothing. I just..."

"Chris, is there something you need to tell me, because if your in trouble?"

"I'm not, why do you always assume..."

"Because you leave me with no other thoughts" She cried in desperation, finally succumbing to the long hours of lies and deceit.

Chris stood still for a while, feeling her thoughts, and brought an unsteady hand towards his head where a thudding pain slowly kneaded between his eyes. Long ago, when he was still innocent towards the horrors of his later life, his mother would simply hold him. And when the small lights glowed orange against her warm face, she would whisper into his room stories of great adventure, where they would lie for him to capture during sleep.

His favourite, he remembered, while wrapped within her caring arms, was spoken when he was eight. It had been a fairly tale then.

"Just for an hour?" He painfully ignored her words, and sought to block out the desperation within his mothers' voice. "And then Paige and Phoebe will take over?"

"No, it's ok, you can go..." Pipers gaze moved away from his startled features, and towards the door, suddenly unwilling to leave her son within the Whitelighters' hands.

"What" He almost laughed, unsure whether through relief or stress. "But, you just called me..."

"Leave Chris!" Realising her harshness, she brought a tender hand against the Whitelighters shoulder, and for the first time realising how tired he looked. "Trust is so important within this house... I'll stay with Wyatt. I'm sorry..."

"So am I"

She wanted to question him, ask what he had meant. However, Chris faded into a blanket of blue lights as he orbed away, and suddenly Piper felt very alone.

------------------

Chris hadn't left on orbing, instead, he found himself leaning lightly against a wall, once more watching his sleeping brother. He winced slightly, noticing the deep bruising patterning his left wrist, and wondered whether Piper had noticed. Turing from the wall, he silently stepped towards Wyatt's sleeping figure. "Things are going to be a little chaotic around here" He whispered softly, remembering all two well his 'favourite' story...

Five, four, three…