Hey, I'm back with the second chapter. Thank you Gabyhyatt for reviewing the last one. You wanted to know why Chris doesn't want to marry Dana and here it is...is it the reason you expected?

Chapter 2

"How can you decide a month before the wedding that you can't go through with it?" Dean asked, folding his arms.

"Why not?" Melinda decided to try a different tactic with her brother, knowing him better than Dean. Chris shrugged his shoulders at Dean, but looked at his sister. He was clearly in two minds about the whole thing.

"This wasn't an overnight decision." Chris finally admitted. It had been something he'd thought about for some time now. He'd been wondering whether marrying Dana really was the best thing to do. It wasn't commitment that scared him, but the idea of marrying a whitelighter. He'd heard how it almost ruined his parents' relationship and how Leo had become mortal to save their marriage. He didn't want to ask Dana to ever do that, and knew that she wouldn't give up her wings for him anyway.

Melinda walked to the drinks cabinet and poured three glasses of bourbon, handing one of them to Dean. She then took the other two and walked to stand in front of Chris, holding one out to him.

"One drink to calm your nerves and then you go through everything." She warned him, sipping her own alcohol. She just watched as Chris took a mouthful and then slammed the glass on the fireplace. He just looked at Melinda with a mixture of fear and worry in his eyes.

"What do I do?"

"We go through everything," Melinda repeated what she'd already said to him and then smirked, "You're right, though. Wyatt wouldn't understand this."

"I'm not sure if I do." Dean admitted as Chris sat on a chair arm and ran his hands through his hair. Melinda glared at her boyfriend, who looked at her defensively mouthing 'you do?' Would she leave him a month before their wedding? Not that there was ever going to be a wedding. The two had discussed this in the past and made it clear they didn't want a piece of paper to say that they loved someone. If they did get married, Dean was certain that he'd just elope in Las Vegas to get away from all the stress of planning a wedding. He'd seen enough of the planning these last two months to even want to consider doing it himself.

"You know what Mom and Dad went through. You heard the stories, right?" Chris looked at Melinda, and saw her nod. Of course Melinda had heard the stories. It was one of the reasons she didn't want to get married. They may have had a great marriage in the end, but it was full of ups and downs before Melinda was born. In fact, it was why there was such a large age gap between her and her brothers. Her parents had almost split up on numerous occasions and did completely split up at one point.

"You know their circumstances were completely different, though," Melinda frowned, "The Elders were completely against them being together at first. And then Dad became an Elder and..."

"I know, but what if that happens with Dana?" Chris asked.

"It doesn't just happen to any whitelighter," Melinda shook her head, "I don't think it's like a regular promotion. Dad said that he became an Elder after the Titan attack."

"Titan attack?" Dean frowned, trying to get his head around the Halliwell family history, "Titans are real?"

"I'll explain later, sweetie," Mel smiled and then turned her attention back to Chris, "Dana would have to seriously do something amazing to become an Elder. Not that she's not capable of it but I honestly don't think it would happen. Unless there was something else on the scale of the Titans that wiped out almost all the Elders again."

"Well, what about if her whitelighter duties get in the way?"

"And what if your witch duties get in the way?" Melinda shrugged her shoulders, "You know that's really just like any other business. From what I've heard of the stories of Mom and Dad, Mom was a bitch."

"Mel, I know you didn't get on with Mom but..."

"No, think about it as an outsider," Mel sighed and then turned to Dean, "If I refused to support you in your hunting, that would make me a bitch, right?"

"Well, that depends..."

"Say I was complaining about not having a normal life and I just wanted you to stop saving people. What if I pretty much gave you an ultimatum of saving people or me?"

"That doesn't sound like you, Mel, but I get your point. Yes, I'd think you were a bitch and probably leave you," Dean nodded his head, "Wait, is that what your mom did?"

"She didn't like Dad being a whitelighter," Chris sighed with a shake of his head, "She is still one of the only Halliwells that I've known just want to hide from all of magic at times and force a normal life on those around her. But that was part of her charm."

"I wouldn't have blamed Dad for walking out on her," Mel shrugged her shoulders, with a snarky laugh, "But that isn't the case with you and Dana. You both support each other. Innocents have always come first for you and charges have always come first for Dana. That's just the way it has been from the start, and you respect each other for that. It's what makes you...well...you."

"Doesn't Wyatt have to deal with stuff like this considering Bianca's a Phoenix?" Dean asked, screwing his nose up at the idea. The longer he'd been with this family, the more complicated he realized it was.

"No," Chris shook his head, "Bianca gave up her Phoenix lifestyle shortly before meeting Wyatt. Now she really only uses her powers to help innocents if they come along. Usually, it's ones that Wyatt brings home with him. That's why he wouldn't understand this."

Chris sighed and looked down at his hands. He was picking at his nails, when he finally looked up at his sister and her boyfriend, "I really don't know what to do."

"Do you love her?" Dean now asked.

"Yeah, with all my heart." Chris admitted.

"Do you want to marry her?" Dean asked again.

"Of course," Chris nodded, "I just..."

"Don't doubt yourself," Dean shook his head with a humorless laugh, "If you want to marry her, I say go for it. Forget about what could happen in the future. You realize that every single couple probably goes through these thoughts. Hell, even those of us who have no plans on ever marrying question whether we'll be with the people we love years from now."

Those words made Mel look at him with a questionable frown. Dean knew he was going to have to explain those words later, and he would but right now he was getting through to Chris.

"Think about the poor soldiers who are out there fighting for their country. They wonder whether their wives will still be there when they come back home and whether their marriage can survive another tour of duty. But that doesn't stop them from getting married to the people they love. Sure, some of those marriages end in divorce, but a lot don't."

Chris nodded his head, listening to everything Dean was saying. The guy had a point.

"Thanks," Chris said with a small smile.

"Glad I could help." Dean said, tipping his glass to Chris before walking out of the room. He decided it was time for the siblings to talk to each other.

It wasn't long before Melinda joined him in next sitting room, between the living room and the sun room. He often wondered about the point of this, but had never brought it up. He was glad it was here. It meant he could sit in comfort while Melinda finished talking to Chris.

"So, you wonder whether we'll be together years from now?" Melinda asked, sitting next to Dean with her bourbon still in her hand.

"You don't?" Dean raised the question, putting his arm around Melinda so she could lean into him.

"I guess sort of," Melinda admitted with a sigh, "I wonder whether you're gonna be alive a few years from now."

Now it was Dean's turn to frown, but then he realized what she meant. He quickly sat her up, so he could look into her eyes.

"I'm not Ben," he told her, "I know about demons, for one. And I can hold my own. There is never any need to worry about one of them getting the best of me."

"I'm glad you're so confident," Melinda told him, "I don't have the best track record for people staying alive when demons attack with me around."

"Hey, you're the one who saved me from my damned Hell deal," Dean pointed out, "And I survived you trying to kill me. I think it's safe to say your bad luck in that department is over."

Melinda smiled softly, but clearly didn't completely believe him. After all, history said something completely different.


What do you think? Is the bad luck over for Mel? How about Mel and Dean's relationship? Could it withstand the test of time? What did you think of this chapter? I'd love to read your feedback! Until next time...