New Chapter! Yay! Anyways, the next chapter will be coming sometime later today (hopefully) or tomorrow, in thanks for all your infinite patience with my spotty updating. Furthermore, as promised, this chapter has its main focus on the neurotic oh-so-lovable Chris Perry/Halliwell. And Darren's identity (for the most part) will be revealed very soon.

Again, thank you to all reviewers and story-alerters. All I can ask is that these numbers increase! Thou shalt multiply!

Future-2024

Chris groaned and awoke, sitting up quickly and regretting it when a sharp pang traveled through his chest.

"I thought I told you to take it easy." Came Andy's voice from the side of the bed. Chris's head snapped to look at him and then traveled to the woman who was standing behind the young doctor. Chris was filled with familiar warmth as he gazed at her.

"Bianca…" He mumbled softly, not trusting his eyes at that particular moment.

Bianca smiled at him as she walked forward, sitting down on the bed.

"Well, I have other patients to attend to." Andy interjected, leaving promptly, a huge grin on his face. "Don't strain those ribs Chris."

Chris rolled his eyes at his friend and threatened to ground him with the jug of water next to his bed if he didn't stop making stupid inferences.

Andy laughed as he went out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Bianca turned back to Chris and immediately threw her arms around him, mindful of not jostling him too much.

Chris was then completely unprepared for the wallop he received on his ear.

"Ow. What was that for?" Chris whined lowly, pretending to be hurt.

"For getting injured you idiot." The laughter left her eyes, replaced by an anxious seriousness. "I told you to be careful Chris. One of these days you won't get so lucky and…" Bianca trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Chris took her into his arms again.

"I'll be fine Bianca. You know me. I'm invincible, remember? Besides you're in as much danger as I am."

"Maybe so but he's not looking for me specifically Chris. You need to take care. I know he's your brother, but you know he won't hesitate to do whatever it takes to get what he wants."

Chris nodded solemnly, swallowing thickly at the thought. Bianca noticed his discomfort and changed the subject.

"Well now that I'm here…" She leaned against him, placing a tender kiss on his lips then pulling back to grin at him mischievously. "Let's see how those bandages hold up…"

Chris grinned at her.

"You know what Andy will do to me if something happens to them right?"

"Who says he has to know?"

Chris laughed as Bianca's hands ran up and down his chest, tickling the sensitive skin.

"Fine. But I'll tell him it was your idea."

Bianca replied by kissing him again.

Present Time

Chris was sleeping blissfully when a loud thud startled him into wakefulness.

Damn it!

The now very angry witchlighter lifted his head up and his weary eyes focused on…

None other than Darren Halner.

What the hell does that nuisance want now?

"Uh hello," You flipping moron "I'm trying to sleep. Besides, how the hell did you get my door open?"

Darren grinned at him, holding up the copper item triumphantly.

"Key. Piper gave it to me when I went to the manor this morning."

"This morning?" Chris turned to look at the clock propped up on the small, cluttered night table.

Wow. Eight. This son of a-

"I wasn't sure at what time we're supposed to be up and what not, but hey, demons don't care much for time you know?"

-woke me up so damn early.

"Yeah, well, we're not going to be doing anything productive without some rest so get out of my room and go back to your cot or whatever it is that Leo set up for you."

"Elder Leo."

"What?"

"Elder Leo. Elders are very important magical beings. I find it respectfully correct to address them as such." Darren put out smugly.

Chris wanted to telekinetically toss the whitelighter against something. He wanted to say that Elder Leo deserved no respect for abandoning his family and failing to come and save his mom and-

Chris cut himself off. He didn't need to think about that right now.

"Look, whatever, ok? Just go back out there and give me some time to get ready all right?"

Darren nodded, flashed another smile and left promptly, slamming the door behind him.

What a clumsy goody "I call him elder" fake, idiotic, incompetent…ugh!

Now in a bad mood, Chris growled at no one in particular and began to get out of bed.

The task was almost accomplished until he used his bad arm. A horrible pain had him leaning on his bed in less than a second. Chris drew in breath through his nose, trying to calm the horrid stinging sensation that enveloped him. Finding another reason to hate his day, Chris came to the realization that he needed healing fast; otherwise he might just end up collapsing in front of the Charmed Ones. He briefly entertained the thought of asking Darren to heal him. Yup, asking that smug, perfect little whitelighter to heal a wound that wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place.

Yeah. No way was that going to happen. Chris would rather it kept hurting.

Darren chuckled as he left the room. This was just so much fun. Darren tossed the key up into the air and caught it expertly, tired of acting so awkwardly clumsy in front of everyone. He was tempted to do it again when he heard Chris curse from the other side of the door. Darren stopped grinning.

Well Chris, can't do anything to help you this time, dude. You're on your own with this one. At least until you ask for help. Or collapse. Whichever comes first.

Darren was irritated at being unable to do anything. But if he wanted his plan to work out without any hitches, a few concessions had to be made.

"For the greater good." He said bitterly, to no one in particular.

Chris had finally finished getting ready, making sure his arm was wrapped up securely, when a loud knock vibrated on his door.

"You ready yet? Piper said she'd let us join breakfast if we get there early!"

Though the thought of his mother's cooking was enough to make him salivate, Chris was only growing more annoyed with Darren the Angelic Clutz. Seriously annoyed.

First he drops in like nothing, messes up everything by coming to stay with me then gets on my case with his irritating, over-accomplishing, butt-kissing attitude.

"I'm almost out. Quit bothering me so much okay? I'm sure Piper won't not let us eat if we aren't there at freaking 9 A.M. sharp."

"Fine. But if we're late, it's your entire fault. It's important to be timely you know."

Chris mimicked the other with a screwed up expression on his face.

He had to find a way to get rid of him. The whitelighter was too curious, naïve and overall annoying for his own good.

Soon. Or Chris might just end up strangling him. Maybe he could send him to Valhalla?

A flurry of white-blue orbs signaled the arrival of both whitelighters at the manor. Chris immediately moved into the kitchen, leaving Darren behind.

Darren didn't mind in the least. He was too busy trying to sense whether the resident brat was hanging around nearby. If that was the case, he needed to be extra careful with his shields, thoughts and behavior in general. If the kid was upstairs still sleeping then he could relax a little and actually enjoy the meal. Darren remembered Piper's cooking with nostalgia, the fondest memory of her being when she taught him (over a course of weeks of course, he was no chef prodigy) to cook. Darren smiled as he remembered afterschool afternoons spent in the manor kitchen, spending time there as Chris's friend, both boys elbow deep in a mixture of some sorts, whilst Piper went around checking on their progress and-

"Hello! Earth to Darren! Dude, we're supposed to sit down now, stay out of the clouds please. You're the one that insisted on being early." Chris snapped at him, leaving the hall with an annoyed huff and returning to the kitchen.

Darren regained his composure and joined the rest of the Halliwells in the kitchen.

"Mmn, this smells great Piper!" Phoebe complimented, forking a couple of pancakes and sticking them onto her plate. Paige made a grab for the scrambled eggs as Piper set down two mugs of coffee in front of both Chris and Darren. Thankful for the caffeine boost, Darren immediately set to emptying his cup. Chris was much more reluctant to participate, the actions too much an illusion of what he'd experienced for real in the past. The memories the scene brought up were a painful reminder of everything that he'd lost.

Darren sensed Chris's pain and did his best to ignore it. He had enough emotions to work through without channeling the same conflicted feelings from Chris. Darren promptly and totally turned his receptors off, feeling immediately relieved at the temporary fix. Shut downs of this kind didn't last long enough in his opinion.

"Come on, eat! I made enough for everyone."

Wanting to please Piper, both brooding young men reached for the plate of pancakes at the same time. Chris's hand brushed Darren's and for a moment, what had eluded him yesterday suddenly caught up to Chris, dancing so close to his conscious that he could almost reach for it and then—the feeling vanished suddenly and Darren was looking at him with a disconcerted smile, holding the plate of food in front of him.

"Whoops. Didn't mean to grab for it at the same time. Guess we both like pancakes huh?"

Darren plopped a generous serving of the floppy circles onto Chris's plate with his fork, before Chris could protest.

Having once again failed to catch what his mind was hiding from him, Chris's annoyance only grew at the whitelighter's seemingly careless and presumptuous tone.

"No problem. Just stay away from my plate." Chris grumbled, grabbing the eggs and putting a spoonful on his plate. Darren shrugged and took the plate once Chris was done.

"Well guys, we have a big agenda today." Phoebe announced, hoping to diffuse the palpable tension that was growing between the two whitelighters. "The biggest thing is to get rid of one Replica demon."

"Leo took Wyatt up to Magic School this morning and we placed all other engagements on hold to give us enough time to vanquish him." Piper joined in. "You two will be coming along. Who knows when we'll need a whitelighter? This being your first time with us, Darren, just make sure to be there for backup but try to stay out of the way as much as possible."

"Oh sure, Mrs. Halliwell."

Piper flushed a little. "Just call me Piper. 'Mrs. Halliwell' just makes me feel…"

"Old?" Paige supplied, turning to look at Darren. "Same goes for me."

"And me!" Phoebe interjected. "And just call Chris whatever he told you to call him. Leo too. Did you guys sleep well last night?"

"Oh I did, until I was rudely awoken early this morning." Chris hissed, sending a pointed glare at Darren.

"Apologies. I wasn't sure at what time we were expected to be at the manor to fulfill our duties."

Piper laughed. "You're earliness this morning surprised me a little, I admit. Just be here at a reasonable time. Not too early, or late. We'll call you if we truly need anything."

Darren nodded his acknowledgement and stuck a spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

"This breakfast is really good Piper."

"Thank you Darren. I'm glad you like it."

Chris shot him a look of pure envy and dislike, clearly warning him to knock it off.

Darren took the hint.

"So, Chris, care to tell us a little more about your future?"

Chris visibly paled and Darren struggled not to choke on his coffee.

"I thought I already told you. I can't tell you anything because of future consequences. Stop asking."

Phoebe grinned. "You know I will, you'll eventually tell me, oh mysterious Chris. I have my ways."

Chris rolled his eyes and went back to eating, glancing at Darren every once in a while as the conversation became mundane. Darren got along well with the sisters (compared to his own awkward relationship with them) and Chris couldn't help but feel a little angry that they were accepting this stranger more readily than him, a Halliwell. Not that they knew that of course, but that was beside the point. And the whitelighter was taking every opportunity to get them to like him, agreeing with them on everything and being an overall A-class suck up. Chris's eyes narrowed as he remembered that he hated people like that.

Darren offering to pick up the table was the last straw and Chris acted before he could fully think through it. One minute he was sitting there peacefully and the next he had moved his foot ever so slightly so that Darren the Angel of Clumsy tripped and sent a plate flying in a graceful arc.

An inexplicable feeling of shame washed over him but was quickly traded for the task of stifling laughter.

That's what you get for being such a nuisance, Darren Halner.

Darren was aware that Chris was growing to dislike him more and more. And while he contemplated ways to speed up such a process, he neglected to pay attention to his footing, this time truly earning the name of ungraceful. The plate he'd been standing up with promptly flew out of his hands and landed on the floor with a crash. The sound hurt his ears and responding out of childhood instinct he immediately apologized and tried to pick up the broken pieces.

Piper groaned at the loss of yet another plate while Phoebe and Paige stood up simultaneously, accepting Darren's apology and offering to finish cleaning up while Darren cleaned his shirt clean of the mess that had been splattered there only a few seconds ago.

"Sorry. I wasn't really paying attention. I can be clumsy sometimes…" Darren admitted sheepishly, trying to hide the fact that he'd just cut his hand on one of the shards of ceramic. Damnit.

"Its fine Darren," Piper finally said, standing up with a small, but amused sigh. "Things around here get broken all the time. That plate was not the first to die."

Phoebe chuckled as she moved to get the broom and the pan.

"Yup. Wasn't really your fault. We can all be a little clumsy sometimes." Chris supplied, earning a soft glare from Paige, who was silently telling him to quit fighting.

"Sorry, again…I'll just go to the bathroom to get cleaned up then."

"Bathroom's in the hall."

"Thanks."

Darren left the room as fast as possible. The sound the broken plate had made had jarred awake the memories he tried to suppress. The instinct to clean up the mess as soon as possible was just proof that he had become careless and dropped the act, even if only for a moment. Letting the act slip was unacceptable. Totally dangerous and compromising. So Darren quickly shut and locked the door of the bathroom, and ran the water, immediately setting his cut hand underneath it, trying to figure out the best way to hide the small injury.

The fact that his hand was still bleeding was one peculiarity that endangered everything. Because Darren Halner, whitelighter extraordinaire, couldn't heal himself.

Darren finished washing his shirt (and his hand) and ventured back out, careful to let the long sleeves of his shirt cover the slight cut on his palm. He felt a hint of anger towards Chris, who he knew by now, had tripped him, but the feeling only lasted a few minutes. Now he just needed to get rid of the wound on his hand and he'd be fine.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Chris said sarcastically, standing up from the table and carrying his plate to the sink. Phoebe was cleaning up the last bits of broken plate on the ground while Paige and Piper were taking the rest of the tableware to the sink.

"Sure, Chris. We'll do it straight away." Paige grumbled, still sorry for having missed her date the day before.

"Well, we got everything ready, potions, spell, whitelighters…"

"I agree with Chris. I have a big deadline for tomorrow at the paper, and if I don't make it…" Phoebe shuddered to prove her point.

"Hey, I want my baby back here so stop complaining. You ready to go Darren?"

Darren shambled into the kitchen slowly, a hesitant smile on his face.

"Yup, got my shirt all cleaned up. But we're going to have to wait a little while. The Greater Powers are calling me right now."

"Ugh. Make it quick. And see if they know something about this situation too."

Darren nodded and orbed.

Chris sat back down with a huff. He better hurry up before I go up there and yank his butt back down here. The fact that a steady pain was beating in his arm only served to increase his anxiousness. And I better get my research started soon. I want to know everything about this guy. Maybe there's something in his past I can use to blackmail him into leaving...

Darren appeared before Alyssa in a hurry. She glared at him as she arrived, having seen what had happened from the skies. Her gaze softened when she noticed the slight panic that still lingered in his eyes.

"Just be more careful." The Greater Power said gently, but sternly, taking his hand into hers and healing it.

Darren nodded and orbed back to the manor.

"Well finally. Any interesting news?"

Darren pointedly ignored Chris.

"The Greater Powers don't foresee any heavy danger from this undertaking. They can't tell me anything of course, but they seemed pretty sure that we'd be okay. They feel better about it knowing and Chris and I will be there to heal."

A silence went over the room.

"What?"

"Chris can't heal." Piper stated, sending a suspicious look to the whitelighter in question. Chris shrank under the eyes on him, particularly the searching gaze of the woman who didn't know she was his mother.

"Not my fault powers develop slowly in the future. Now can we please get on with the mission at hand?"

The deflective argument was weak but no one said anything to the contrary. Darren didn't give them the chance, though he couldn't help but think that the opposite was true.

"Well, that seems plausible I guess. But I agree that we should start on the mission. We don't know how long it will take."

The Charmed Ones agreed with a nod and Paige clapped her hands. "All right then! Now who's orbing us there?"

Another chapter, come and gone...And the next chapter; action, revelations, more fighting, but some friendship as well.

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