Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters.

A/N; And the editing continues...

"I swear to God, if I cannot save you, I will stop you," Chris said looking at his big brother sitting inside the crib, Wyatt's baby-blue eyes looking at him questioningly; he looked so innocent. Chris could hardly stand Wyatt staring at him like that, after everything he'd been through because of him. But it wasn't the baby's fault, and Chris didn't hate him. Not really, not at all. He couldn't, no matter how much he had tried. With a sigh Chris pushed away from the frame of the door and started walking down the hallway.

That's when he saw her; with her long, dark brown, almost black hair and pale complexion. Her body was lean, yet looked firm, like she'd been exercising her whole life. Her face was quite angular for a woman, with high chick bones, and a strong, slightly pointy jaw connected to a long, slim neck. Her eyes were similar to his, but what was alarming was that the similarities didn't end in the same sapphire green colour, but in the ghosts shining brightly in them. Her whole demeanor screamed confusion and something aching to fear.

Chris was a meticulous person. He was tactical; always one step ahead of everyone. He was also distrustful by nature. So, naturally, the first thing that came to mind upon seeing the stranger was that she was a threat; a demon, a warlock, the person who turned Wyatt evil and destroyed his life... He was already forming a game-plan in his mind, finding the best way to attack her without creating a scene and attracting the sisters' attention, but then something weird happened. Something even weirder than seeing his big brother as a baby. Chris felt panicked, and it wasn't his emotion.

The girl looked around her feeling alarmed enough, to make Chris' stomach twist. Her feelings were a tornado, and he had to try hard to separate them from his own. Anger turned into fear, turned into despair, turned into even more fear, and it went on and on into a vicious cycle, agitating to the point Chris started bouncing on the balls of his feet, unable to stay still. He couldn't understand what was going on; he had long ago mastered control over his empathy. This felt different...He couldn't just feel what she was feeling, it was more like she was in his mind, but not like a telepath more like...more like the psychic link he shared with his brother.

"Who are you?" he heard himself asking, and the girl twirled around frightened, hands on the ready to attack. Chris didn't change his relaxed posture, though his hands were as ready for an attack as hers, even as they rested inside the pockets of his jeans. The relief surging through her psyche upon seeing him, was honestly unexpected.

"Chris! Thank god you are here!" she said rushing towards him, but she stopped herself short a couple of steps before entering his personal space "What are you doing here? I thought you and Wy had a mission," she spoke fast, her eyes darting around the place. But then she focused on him, like she'd realised something "Where is Wyatt?"

"Who are you?" he asked again, feeling more and more uneasy as the seconds ticked by. He still wasn't convinced she wasn't a threat, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more. And she looked so familiar...

"Chris, stop kidding around," she ordered, and Chris felt his irritation flaring.

"I am not," he said curtly, and she huffed annoyed.

"Stop it!" she said "We need to get to the basement. If he gets back and we are here..." she trailed off, and Chris saw her shuddering. She caught herself though, and shook her head a little, as if she was disappointed at her reaction. Without another word she moved to get past him, heading towards the stairs, but he stopped her, grabbing her arm.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked, this time harsher his eyes pinning in hers. The girl looked back at him, straight in the eyes, and her thoughts resonated in Chris' mind. He swallowed down the gasp that threatened to leave his mouth, and kept his feet from moving backwards. His gaze didn't waver, as her inner voice echoed in his mind. She was thinking that his behavior was odd, that he was either joking or there was something seriously wrong with him. Chris couldn't tell why she acted like she knew him; he was positive he'd never seen her in his life before. Yet the girl was looking at him like she'd known him her whole life. It was unnerving at best.

Wyatt's wailing swayed Chris' concentration, when he turned to look towards the door to his left. She took the opportunity to free her hand. The baby whimpered loudly again, and Chris felt the girl's curiousness spiking. Before he could stop her, she was already walking towards the nursery. Chris followed suit, only to almost crash on her, as she halted, once she passed the threshold.

"Oh, my god!" he heard her whisper, her hand coming over her mouth, her eyes rounded "Wy?" she asked, moving closer to the toddler in the crib "Is that you?" her tone was drowned in doubt, and the baby giggled at her. She leaned over the cot, running a careful hand over the golden locks, and Chris scoffed, eyeing Wyatt.

"Oh great! You let her come near you, but not me? That's so typical of you," Chris said, a tint of betrayal colouring his voice, and the girl suppressed a smile.

"We don't want grumpy Chris around, do we, Wy?" she asked, talking to the baby conspiratorially. Wyatt giggled, his arms and little feet flailing around.

"I am not grumpy!" Chris exclaimed, forgetting himself for a second. The girl threw a look at him over her shoulder, arching an eyebrow "How do you know my name?" he demanded recollecting himself.

Whatever her response was going to be, the words died in her mouth before they got the chance to come out. Chris saw Wyatt blinking, and then a vial with some sort of a potion was orbed into his crib. The girl let a surprised yelp, swearing under her breath, and reached inside the cot to get the potion back. But Wyatt, always the tease, raised his force field around the crib, and threw her across the room.

"Ow," she moaned rubbing the back of her head, and glaring towards the crib "Not cool, Wyatt! Wait until you get older..."

"Now who's grumpy?" Chris asked, offering her a hand. He wasn't sure why he was being so civil, especially after she'd refused to answer his question. But there was something about her, something that dulled his distrust, no matter how hard he tried not to let his guards down so fast. The girl gave him a grateful smile, before dropping his hand. She turned to the door, cocking her head.

"They are coming," she said, and Chris didn't have to ask who she was talking about.

"I know."

"So we are in the past?" she asked, and Chris raised his eyebrows.

"I am, I don't know about you," he said, and she bit her bottom lip. Her eyes were calculative as they moved around the room, never focusing somewhere for too long. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and Chris refrained from trying to pry them apart. Her eyes zeroed on him, studying his face.

"Different time line?" she questioned, and Chris' mouth snapped a couple of times without a word coming out. Different time line...if that were true, it was not a good thing.

"I suppose..." he trialed off, ordering himself not to panic "How do you know me? And Wyatt?" he asked, and she shook her head in dismissal.

"We don't have time for that," she said, and Chris opened his mouth, ready to disagree, but she beat him to it "Later, I promise." Her eyes moved towards the door, as the voices of the sisters' floated into the nursery. "Let's just tell them I am your girlfriend," she suggested.

"What?" Chris looked at her like she'd grown a second head, but she didn't seem to notice.

"But no kissing, I am not into incest."

"Incest?" Chris whispered to himself, just as the Haliwell sisters walked inside the nursery.

"Where's my little nephew? Where is he?" Phoebe cooed over the baby crib and Chris rolled his eyes, not so subtly. For the life of him he could not understand, why they insisted talking to the baby like he was mentally impaired.

"You'll turn him gay some day, I swear," Paige murmured under her breath, with a sideways look towards her sister. Judging by the girl's chuckle, Chris wasn't the only one who'd heard her.

"See, no evil," Piper said sarcastically coming into full view, and Chris felt something giving at the girl's feelings. Tentatively Chris ventured into her mind, but the sorrow and pain residing there made him shiver, so he quickly recoiled.

"I told you Piper, I heard..."

Chris saw the girl wincing, when Leo stepped into the room. She took the smallest step back, her hands curling into fists. Chris had to raise his mental wards to spare himself from the waves of pure loathe and fear radiating from her. Her eyes were hard as a stone, and her lips were pressed into a firm line. Knowing that sooner rather than later Phoebe was going to pick up on the intense feelings, Chris grabbed the girl's hand giving a firm, warning squeeze. The change in her feelings, had been too fast, and time-travelling gave a bit of jet-lag to the traveller's everything, so the empath was still oblivious. Yet the girl had better get her emotions under control, if she wanted to survive in this alternate time line.

For a second nothing changed, but then she let a long gush of air out, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Right on cue Chris heard Phoebe gasp, as the middle sister looked at them for the first time. Her eyes were transfixed on the girl next to him, her face paling like she'd seen a ghost. Piper had a similar look drawn on her face, until she realized it and schooled her features. Paige looked at the newcomer, arching a questioning eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest. Leo was wearing a neutral expression, but Chris knew that he could tell something was wrong. Chin held high and rigid nerves, the girl met everyone's eyes until she made them look away first. Only Piper kept her eyes fixed on the teenager.

"Chris," she asked lethally sweetly "Who is this?"

"She is ugh..." he hesitated, before she painfully pinched his arm "My girlfriend!" it came out strained and sudden.

"Oh, is that right?" Piper asked, looking straight at the girl. Chris knew that look very well; it was Piper Halliwell's best you-should-fear-me look, and it never failed to deliver. Well, at least never before.

"Yes, that's right," the girl said brightly, and even though Chris had just met her, he knew she was trying hard to sound as aloof as possible "I'm Melinda Warren," she added and there was something aching to challenge in the undertone of her voice. Piper's eyes widened ever so slightly, but the witch didn't say anything "Christopher's girlfriend."

"From the future?" Paige asked and the girl, Melinda apparently, turned her attention to the youngest sister.

"Well, yeah, I hope he didn't cheat on me," she said, looking at Chris above her shoulder. Chris' face blanched, as she narrowed her eyes at him threateningly. He gave a nervous laugh, glimpsing towards the sisters to see if they'd noticed his less than normal reaction.

"Please, babe," he said, and his voice sounded weird in his ears. Wanting to be as convincing as he could, but keeping in mind Melinda's words about incest, he wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her close, but not too much. "You know I didn't."

"All that is lovely," Phoebe spoke, looking at them suspiciously. "But what are you doing here?"

"She had to tell me something important," Chris said "And it couldn't wait."

"Does it have to do with Wyatt?" Leo asked and again anger flared throughout Melinda's body, and Chris squeezed her waist. "Does it have to do with the demon that hurts him?"

"I can't tell, future consequences," Chris muttered in his usual monotone. He was getting really tired of the old mantra, but he knew it was for their own good.

"Great! Another thing you cannot talk to us about," Paige nodded her head sarcastically. Chris grimaced shrugging.

"So...are we done? I really do need to do some talking with Chris," Melinda said, taking a small step backwards and crashing onto the older man. Chris felt her discomfort, but kept his own expression controlled.

"Done? We haven't even started," Piper said, her hands coming to rest on her hips. Chris noted she was getting into interrogation mode, and Melinda must've realised it too, for her body stiffened against his.

"Right now? Piper, there are demons out there!" He reminded her, and it wasn't just a distraction tactic. They really had to take this demon hunting seriously; the more of them they got rid off, the less were the chances for one of them to turn Wyatt.

"And they will still be there after we talk this out."

"There's nothing to talk out. Meanwhile those demons are plotting on how to hurt your son," Chris tried again, aiming where he knew it hurt. Indeed Piper flinched, shutting her eyes for a long second and pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. After a couple of seconds, she re-opened them, fixing Chris with a glare.

"The demons will still be there afterwards," she said, effectively terminating the conversation. Chris scoffed in bitter disbelief.

"Fine, don't listen to me," he said coldly "What do I know, right?"

"Chris," Phoebe's voice was placating "We know-"

"It's okay, Chris," Melinda said, looking up at him "They can talk to me, if they want to," she added reassuringly "Sorry I can't help with the research."

"What research?" Paige asked, her interest piquing, her eyes moving back and forth between Chris and Melinda.

"I had some new info about..." Melinda trailed off, looking up at him, not knowing exactly how to continue her lie.

"Future consequences," Chris said simply "Sorry, we can't really tell you." There was though nothing remorseful in his voice. Paige exasperated threw her hands in the air.

"You can do it on your own, right, hon?" Melinda asked, and he smiled at her, grateful for the out she'd given him.

"Yeah, of course."

"Good," Melinda smiled as well, returning her attention to the three women. "It's not like we need him for the interrogation," she said clapping her hands.

"Who said anything about an interrogation?" Leo asked stepping forward and Melinda moved even closer to Chris, reaching for his hand. Chris added her behavior towards Leo to the list of things he was going to question her about later "We just want to chat," the Elder said with a smile.

"Leo, don't you have some place to be?" Piper asked scratching the back of her ear. He looked at her confused.

"I do?"

"Ah-ha," she nodded, and his surprised gaze turned into understanding. His eyes found Melinda's and he grimaced.

"I have some place to be," he said shrugging. "Play good," he admonished his three charges "I'll stop by later to say goodbye to Wyatt."

"So I guess, to the living room?" Melinda asked right after Leo had orbed out, and without waiting for a response she walked out.

"Mhm, she already reminds me of you," Piper said shooting a look at Chris.

Chris ignored the jab, his mind working into figuring out the riddle the newcomer had presented with her very presence. There was still a small, paranoid, part of his brain insisting that she could be an imposer, a warlock who wanted to hurt his family, but that was the part of his brain which had gotten infested with war paranoia. It was the part of his brain losing to the hugest chunk of it, which was certain about Melinda's lineage. The hugest chunk, which insisted that Melinda could be of assistance, that he finally didn't have only himself to rely on.

"Chris, hey, Chris I'm talking to you," Piper said snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Mhm?" Chris asked snapping out of his thoughts. His eyes focused on his mother's, which held neither love nor care for him. Only reluctant tolerance.

"Melinda, can we trust her?"

"What is your instinct telling you?" Chris asked and Piper hesitated. He looked to Phoebe and then Paige but they too remained silent. "You can trust her, although I shouldn't be the one telling you this. Ask her your questions, but don't make them difficult to be answered," he advised. "And don't force her to talk about the future," he said sternly.

"Blah, blah, future consequences, blah, blah," Paige said with a smirk. Chris rolled his eyes.

"I'm happy that you find my warnings amusing, just don't whine when they come to back bite your..."

"Hey, language!" Phoebe cut him off.

"I was gonna say nose, but whatever," Chris muttered, throwing his hands up before orbing away.

Melinda sat on the couch, opposite her mother and her two aunts, awaiting the onslaught of questions, not quite ready for it, but prepared to brave through it. The sisters were having one of their usual eyes-only conversations, and it allowed Melinda's mind to wander away; Wyatt was a toddler, not much older than two, which meant they were pretty close to Chris' conception date. And from what she could tell, from the little she'd seen them, Piper and Leo's relationship was barely friendly; one would characterize them as being polite for the sake of Wyatt.

It made sense that Chris didn't know her, hadn't ever met her; if Piper already didn't like Leo, she would surely not let him anywhere near the manor after Chris's birth. Hence no Melinda Haliwell. She didn't have a problem with that, if it meant less physical and emotional pain for everyone else. Her reality was already screwed up, maybe if Melinda was never to be born in this one, then maybe it could be spared. Maybe...

"You gonna use a polygraph or something?" Melinda joked, needing to break the silence. Thinking like that was bound to make her do something stupid.

"We don't need to," Piper answered resting her hand on Phoebe's shoulder.

"Great, so why don't we get started?" Melinda asked, crossing her legs over the knee. It was unnerving to be in the same room with all three of them; after all two thirds of the Charmed ones were dead in her present. Maybe a braver person would look directly at them, engage in small talk, and try to make up for all the lost time, but Melinda could feel her heart faltering every time she caught sight of her mother. So she took glimpses of them, under her lashes, and from the corner of her eye, wanting to keep her emotions under control; she shouldn't give a reason to Phoebe to consider her an enemy. Or worse, a deranged strange person from the future, emotionally attached to three, seemingly, strangers.

"Okay, so your name is really Melinda Warren?" Paige asked, bringing Melinda out of her thoughts.

"Um no, it is Melinda, but not Warren," she said, knowing that Phoebe could sense by now when she was lying or not. Paige squinted her eyes accusingly.

"So you lied?"

"I did not, it was my great-great-great-great...grandmother's name, but definitely not mine. So I technically did not lie," she said with a small shrug. Warren was a common enough name, not only the Halliwells had a claim on it.

"What's your real last name?" Piper asked, and Melinda's gaze snapped to the older woman. Her heart gave a painful shudder, and her stomach did an impressive somersault. Melinda drew in a long, calming breath.

"I have two," she said, and again, technically it wasn't a lie, since her aunt and uncle had been the people who raised her from the age of thirteen and onward. Phoebe's interest perked up, she leaned forward on her seat, crossing her arms over her knees.

"Two last names?" she asked and Melinda nodded "Why?"

"I was adopted," now that wasn't technical; it was an honest and real to god lie. But the story was a little bit complicated, and she couldn't exactly share it with them "But I kept both names, and, no I can't tell them to you." Phoebe gave her a look to let her know she wasn't fooled, but for some reason the middle witch didn't call her lie.

"Why not?" Piper pressed.

Melinda bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes falling to her lap. "Future consequences," she said adopting Chris's monotone. Piper rolled her eyes and threw her hands up, resting back against the couch.

"Are you and Chris...close?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes, but I cannot say more on the subject."

"Can we trust you?" Piper asked her eyes studying the girl's face. Melinda raised her eyes, looking between the three sisters.

"What does your instinct tell you?" the Whitelighter in her kicked in and Melinda silently cursed herself. She couldn't help it, being a Whitelighter was etched into her DNA, no matter how much she wished it weren't.

"Wow, you really are close with Chris." Paige's sarcasm was at the same time familiar and completely foreign. Melinda had actually forgotten that the sarcastic strike, running deep within the family, was also inherited by the youngest sister. In her reality, Paige's sarcasm had long ago ran out; her aunt had never been the same since the 'incident'.

"Well?" Piper asked and Melinda blinked, shaking herself out of her thoughts. She looked from her mom to her older aunt and then to her youngest before her eyes returned to Phoebe.

"Yes."

"Can we trust Chris?" Paige asked and both her sisters looked at her. Paige gave them an innocent look and a shrug.

"You can definitely trust Chris," Melinda reassured them.

"Do you know us, in the future?" Phoebe inquired and Melinda felt her guts turning into knots. She knew they were going to ask her that, sooner or later, but it still didn't make it an easier.

"I know you, yes," she said slowly, picking her words carefully.

"How well?" Piper asked and Melinda swallowed hard.

"Um well enough."

"And Wyatt?" Piper asked the worry clear in her eyes and voice. Melinda averted her gaze; she couldn't stand looking at the woman she'd grown up calling mom and see a stranger looking at her through her mom's eyes.

"And Wyatt too."

"How did you come here?" Paige asked thoughtfully. Melinda frowned and quirked her eyebrows.

"Actually...I don't know. I was with one of my charges..."

"You are a Whitelighter too?" Phoebe asked surprised, effectively cutting her sentence short. Melinda narrowed her eyes, quirking an eyebrow.

"Got a problem with that?" she asked, and Phoebe chuckled, probably surprised by her attitude. She shook her head and motioned for her to continue, but once again she was cut off.

"But I thought you had something important to tell Chris," Piper said raising an eyebrow and Melinda silently cursed the woman's attention to the details.

"Well yeah...But I had planned to open a portal not to just get sucked by one while I was with my charge! We were fighting this demon..."she stopped suddenly and her eyes grew wide open "Oh shit!" she cussed jumping up and heading for the stairs.

"That doesn't sound good," Paige noticed, just as Piper said,

"Shit? Oh, I don't like shit!"

Melinda walked into Wyatt's nursery and saw the baby sitting in the crib, talking animatedly to his teddy bear. She smiled at her eldest brother; not in her craziest dreams would she have imagined of a time when she'd be older than him. Melinda tried to walk inside unnoticed, but she stepped onto a squealing plank and Wyatt's eyes shot up to her face.

"Hey, buddy, remember me?" she asked and the baby giggled at her. "Yeah that's right you like me," she added walking closer to him. "Now, be a good boy and please, let me come close to you," she pleaded and Wyatt giggled again. She saw the vial resting next to his left leg. She knew that she had to be quick, because Wyatt could at any moment decide that it was time to play again and raise his shield. But she also had to be careful; any sudden movement could scare or provoke him.

"Damn it, even as a small baby I cannot figure you out, Wy," she whispered.

"What are you doing?" Piper's voice reached her ears. Her brother turned to look at their mother and smiled as she took another step closer to him.

"Do you see that vial?" Melinda asked never taking her eyes off the prize.

"How did it get there?" Paige questioned.

"He summoned it to him, from inside my pocket."

"Is it dangerous?" Phoebe sounded apprehensive and Melinda had to smile because Wyatt was once again looking at her.

"For him? No," she said with a big fake smile, thinking she must look like a crazy person. "For the rest of the world? Potentially."

"What are you planning to do?" Piper asked again.

"I could always summon it to me, the same way he did," she said without paying any mind to her words.

"So you are a witch too?" Paige more stated than asked.

"I am a Whitelighter as I said," Melinda decided to go for the half truth. "So I can orb things around, but then he's just going to raise his shield..."

"You know about the shield?" Melinda looked up to her mother and smiled cocking her head towards the fallen shelve.

"He did knock me on the wall with it," she said and instantly the sisters posture turned offensive. "Relax, he did it for fun, not because he thinks I am evil. Isn't that right, Wy?" she asked in a baby voice and Wyatt giggled clapping his hands. She wiggled her eyebrows before continuing, "So I thought about grabbing it."

"He's gonna summon it back." Paige said dismissively. With her attention back to the vial, Melinda didn't think before saying,

"He won't be able too, not if I hold on it."

Melinda had always been somewhat immune to Wyatt's powers. He could still summon something that was inside her pockets but not if she was holding on to it. She didn't know if she were immune to his other powers, but she doubted that was the case. Chris had tried many times to understand why was that, but attempt after attempt fell on a roadblock until he finally gave up. No one knew what stopped Wyatt's powers from working on her, and for Chris's sanity none would ever find out. Melinda chuckled to herself; Chris would lose it if anyone else was able to figure something that he couldn't.

"Hey, buddy," she said leaning over the railing and smiling to the toddler "Having fun?"

Wyatt raised his arms in an obvious demand to be held and she quickly grabbed the vial before wrapping one arm underneath his feet and the other around his back and picking him off his cot. Piper took a step towards them, and Melinda could see that the older witch was less than pleased with her holding her only son. Still she made no move to hand over the baby; for the first time since she'd found herself in the manor it felt like home, with Wyatt's calming presence in her mind.

"So what's the potion?" Paige asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Power enforcing," Melinda said and her youngest aunt raised her eyebrows.

"There's no such thing."

"I know," Melinda conceded "I invented it." Paige looked impressed only for a mili-second, before being glared at by Piper, and schooling her features.

"What for?" Phoebe frowned.

"For my charge," Melinda said feeling a pinch in her heart as she thought of Anwen "She...Well, her powers have been bound, and I was hoping to break the spell by reinforcing them."

"That's not how the spell works," Phoebe said a sympathetic undertone in her voice.

"I know, but I had to do something to protect her from him!" Melinda snapped, not minding her words. She was thankful that they hadn't questioned her immunity to Wyatt's powers, but she didn't expect them to overlook this one.

"Who is 'him'?" Piper inquired and Melinda was already trying to think of a convincing lie, when Piper answered her own question "Oh, I know, future consequences!"

"Unfortunately, yeah," Melinda agreed. "Here," she said, reluctantly handing Wyatt over to her, "I should better get going; I need to take a bath and eat something..."

"Where are you gonna go?" Phoebe asked genuinely interested. Melinda halted at the frame of the door, as she thought about that.

"I don't know...I hadn't thought of that," she muttered mostly to herself.

"You can stay here," Paige offered and earned another glare from Piper. "What? I can sleep with you and she can take my room."

"She won't stay in the house."

"Oh c'mon Piper, we can't sent her to the P3, the room is already too small for Chris alone, they're gonna suffocate in there," Paige said reasonably to her eldest sister.

"Paige, I understand all that, but she can't stay in the house."

"Piper, she's a Whitelighter," the youngest sister said with an exasperated look. "Just like Leo and Wyatt! She won't hurt anyone, will you?" she asked and Melinda shook her head no.

"Still Paige-" Piper insisted.

"I say we vote," Paige said quickly. Piper rolled her eyes but didn't protest. "All those against Melinda staying?" she asked and Piper's hand shot up, making Melinda involuntarily flinched. "All those in favour?" Paige's hand rose and so did Wyatt's, although his reasons were not explained. Phoebe also raised her hand after a small hesitation.

"Phoebe!" Piper yelped betrayed.

"I'm sorry, Piper, but I really think it's the best solution. I mean she is a Whitelighter, and she has a knack at making potions, even inventing new ones. Wyatt trusts her and I didn't pick anything evil," Phoebe said in a rush, tilting her head on the side. Piper huffed and shut her eyes.

"Fine she can stay," she gave in and Paige smiled. "You can stay," she repeated looking at the girl; "Paige's room is down the hall, go take a bath and relax. At two we serve lunch," she said before exiting the room muttering something only Wyatt could hear.

Chris knocked on the door, wondering what he was going to say once he was granted admittance. There was no answer though from the other side, so he taped his knuckles against the door once more. When again Melinda didn't say anything, Chris opened the door slowly, balancing the tray in one hand and stepped inside Paige's room. The lump on the bed moved and a black mane of straight silky hair became visible.

"Melinda," he said, putting the tray on her night-table "Melinda, wake up."

"In a minute."

"Wake up, we need to talk," he insisted. Feeling bold he sat at the edge of her bed and shook her shoulder. Melinda groaned, but opened her eyes blinking up at him. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. With the corner of her eye she noticed the tray and flashed a smile to Chris.

"Well, aren't you the perfect, caring boyfriend?" she asked teasingly and grabbed the dish.

"You missed lunch and dinner," he explained and his lips quirked into a smirk at her astonished expression.

"Dinner too?"

"Yeah, the sisters were kinda worried, Phoebe practically ordered me to bring this up to you," he said motioning towards the food.

"Remind me to thank her, because I'm starving!" Melinda exclaimed downing a mouthful of potatoes. Chris allowed them both a couple of silent minutes, before finding where he wanted to start from. He cleared his throat loudly and Melinda's, still bleary from sleep eyes, found his.

"You referred to incest before, does that mean...?" He trailed off.

"That you are my brother?" the girl asked, and he nodded. "Yeah," Melinda said focusing her gaze on her food. Chris ran a hand through his hair.

"But I don't have a sister."

"Maybe mom never got pregnant in your time line, maybe she gave me up for adoption," Melinda moved her fork around, as she listed off the the answers she'd come up with.

"She'd never do that," Chris refused. He knew his mother; she would've never done something like that. She had loved her two boys to death in his reality, and just the idea of her giving up one of her babies for adoption was laughable.

"She might have had her reasons," Melinda said.

"What reasons?"

"Can't tell, future consequences," she taunted and he rolled his eyes. Melinda flashed him a wicked smile, taking another forkful of her food.

"Actually past consequences 'cause it might have already happened," he said. "If she had been pregnant, though..." he paused frowning "Wouldn't I remember it?"

"Perception potion? An illusion charm? If she didn't intend to keep me, then why would she let anyone know about my existence?" Melinda asked shrugging.

"What reasons?" Chris asked returning to his previous point and she sighed.

"I can't tell." Chris groaned internally, and for once he knew how the sisters felt when he refused to answer their questions. It was annoying, really.

"C'mon, obviously you are from another time line, or even universe, so it might not happen the way it did-"

"A parallel universe," Melinda cut him off; "So it will probably happen exactly that way," she countered. Chris sighed and leaned on his hands, backing away from her "What are you doing here?"

"Uh-huh, I'm doing the questioning."

"Yeah right, what are you doing here, Chrissie?" she asked and he cringed shutting his eyes.

"Why does that nickname keep coming back?" he whispered to himself and Melinda chuckled.

"Wyatt called you that in order to piss you off," she said smiling and Chris nodded, chuckling humourlessly.

"And then, when it didn't work anymore, he started killing people." Melinda chuckled, obviously thinking that he was joking. But when his face remained grim her eyes widened.

"Wyatt, killed people?"

"What? You didn't know?" the sarcasm was drowning his words, but when Melinda's face stayed blank, he realised that of course she didn't know; she was from another time line or universe or...whatever. Things had probably evolved differently, where she was coming from. He let a long sigh out, and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes "Yes, Wyatt is killing people."

Melinda blinked, letting her fork on the dish and pushing it away from her "Wyatt is...Are you sure?" she asked, not wanting to believe his words. Chris scoffed before he could stop himself; it was so typical, no one ever wanted to believe that the golden boy had turned bad.

"Would I just speculate with something like that?" he asked angrily and she grimaced shaking her head. Then she tilted it to the side.

"Well, it makes sense, if you really think about it; like father, like son."

A/N; And that was the newly edited chapter 2!