A/N: New chapter! Sorry it took me a while, lots of exams this week. Anyway, this chapter is just Chris and Melinda. I wanted to show you more of just them, but don't worry, everyone else will be back for the next chapter. Enjoy!

chapter 7

"Do you think Jack's right? About why Wyatt brought them back too I mean," Chris questioned Melinda as they got back to Melinda's room.

"Yeah, I do," she admitted. "He's usually right about these things. He was undercover in Wyatt's guard for about five months, and made it out alive when they found out." Melinda turned to face her brother, and looked him in the eyes. "I trust him." Chris nodded.

"Fair enough." He smiled a little while Melinda went into the small bathroom. "You know I can't help but worry about stuff."

"Just like mom," Melinda muttered as she came back out. "Can you help me with this?" She handed him the first aid kit and indicated the burn on her shoulder. Chris sighed, but took the kit.

"Sure. Turn around." Melinda did as he said, wincing slightly as he began to clean the wound. "You could get Ben to heal it you know," he stated pointedly, and noticing her immediately tense up.

"No," Melinda replied firmly. Chris rolled his eyes, but didn't argue, he understood why she refused to let anyone heal her.

"Done."

"Thanks." Chris handed her the first aid kit, and she put it back in the bathroom.

"You know you might want to change shirts," he advised. Melinda furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Why?" Chris smirked a little.

"Because now that the sisters know who we are they're gonna start obsessing over the small stuff, like how your shirt is covered in blood." Melinda sighed, and nodded, she knew he was right. Cole was bad enough, in her opinion, but the sisters would be a whole lot worse.

"It's not all mine," she muttered grimly as she went back into the bathroom. Chris looked down, he'd figured as much, but had been half-hoping it had been all here. He didn't want her hurt of course, but he didn't like that she'd seen so many other people hurt. It was a lose/lose situation.

Chris loved Melinda more than anything. She was his baby sister and he'd do anything to protect her, but that was getting harder and harder to do everyday. The world was getting crueler and crueler with every passing day, and Melinda wasn't the girl she used to be anymore. She was no longer the little girl Chris remembered following him around, sneaking into his room, and begging to be included in everything he and Wyatt were doing. He'd never tell her, and he certainly never showed it, but he really didn't mind having her around all the time, he actually liked it for the most part. But she wasn't that person anymore, she hadn't been for a long time. Sure, in some ways she was the same. She still had the same personality, smart, stubborn, and sarcastic, but she wasn't carefree or joyful anymore, and she was angry all the time now. Chris and Melinda had both been forced to grow up way too quickly, they'd seen things that, in a normal world, not even most soldiers in third-world countries would have to see. They'd watched almost everyone they loved murdered, they'd watched friends and strangers alike tortured to death, and they'd watched their big brother do it all, even if it hadn't always been directly.

What Chris wanted more than anything was for things to be normal again. Sure, Wyatt had always been evil, but he'd at least seemed to fight it when they were kids. Chris wanted his family back. He wanted his aunts, uncle, cousins, and mom alive again. He wanted his uncle and sister back to the way they used to be. Hell, he even wanted Leo to actually act like a dad and be there. All he could do though was pray that saving Wyatt would fix it all, and that maybe things would be good this time around.

"Hey Chris..." Melinda called, bringing Chris out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Can you grab me a shirt? Second drawer from the top." Chris rolled his eyes, but did it anyway.

He grabbed one of her black t-shirts, black didn't show the blood as much, out of the drawer, but as he was closing the drawer he noticed something. Upon closer inspection he could tell it was a picture, one he'd thought she had burned years ago. He smiled slightly as he remembered the day it was taken.

"We looked happy, huh?" Melinda mused quietly, startling Chris, who didn't know she was standing behind him.

"We were happy," he muttered, taking a quick look back at the picture of them and Wyatt, taken about a month before their mother was killed. "Here." Chris handed her the shirt, but paused when he noticed she had a considerable number more scars than she'd had when he left.

"He's been attacking a lot more," Melinda told her brother, knowing why he'd paused.

"Lin, I -" Melinda held her hand over his mouth so he wouldn't continue, and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," she assured him. Chris sighed, but nodded as she pulled on her clean shirt. As Melinda was redoing her ponytail she noticed Chris glancing back at the picture. Sighing, she grabbed it and threw it back in the drawer. "Look Chris, I said I'd help you save Wyatt, that picture proves why, but I'm not an idiot. You and I both know what Wyatt's like, and he's gonna keep getting worse." She paused to look Chris in the eyes. "I promised I'd help you, and I will keep that promise...but I'm not going to rule out the possibility of having to kill him either." Chris just stared at her for a minute, but then slowly pulled her into a hug.

"I know Lin," he murmured quietly. "But we can't give up either." Melinda sighed, but stayed in her brother's arms.

"I'm not."

A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I know I didn't give you any answers, and probably gave you a few more questions, but don't worry, I'll be answering some in the next one. I'll try to update soon. Reviews are appreciated!