UNREQUITED

Summary: When Emily Hargreaves meets Wyatt and Chris Halliwell, she has no idea how complicated her life is about to become. Set in the changed future. It's about life, love and all of that…

Disclaimer: The characters in Charmed do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made. The characters of Emily and Chloe do belong to me though, but they can be borrowed as long as I'm asked first.

Notes: Hi! Sorry for the slight delay in updating. Real life and work have been extremely hectic just lately, and I've been suffering from a touch of writer's block with both my stories as well :-(

I read this one through right from beginning to try to beat the block and get me back in the mood of writing it, and I can't believe how long it is! It's almost novel-sized already and will definitely be by the time I've finished it.

I'm also rereading False Memories because it seemed to cure the writer's block with this one, and that's almost as long too. I hadn't really realised that both of them had reached such an epic length until now. It's weird to think that I'll have written two novels by the time I've finished.

Anyhow, enough of my pointless rambling, let's continue on with the story...

P.S. Thanks for the reviews. I've answered the signed ones.with the reply system :-)

Chapter 26

Magic School, three days later…

Wyatt jumped as the door to his office banged unceremoniously open, almost causing him to score a deep red line across the front page of Simone Johnson's perfectly acceptable homework assignment.

"Are you trying to ruin my life? Or is this some kind of really unfunny joke on your part?"

Chris flopped down in the plush, leather chair before the desk and eyed his brother with bitter resentment shining in his green eyes.

Wyatt was at a loss to understand what he'd done. "What are you talking about?"

"The recital!" Chris burst out as if that explained everything.

"What about it? I know I pulled out of the coordinating job this year but…"

"And Dad kindly volunteered me to take your place," Chris interjected in a complaining tone.

"So? If you can't be bothered to get off your lazy butt to do me a favour, then that's not my problem." Wyatt shot back, irritated now. "I didn't say I wouldn't help out anyway. It's just that the coordinating job takes a lot of extra time – time that I don't have to spare at the moment, not with the wedding so close. I don't think Chloe'd be very appreciative if I'm hardly at home right now, do you?"

Chris sighed and raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end. "Okay, so it's not your fault, but why can't my life be simple and uncomplicated for once? Is that really too much to ask?"

"Are you going to explain what the problem is, or am I supposed to guess?" Wyatt demanded, still non the wiser as to what his brother was lamenting over.

"It's not really the job that's the issue; it's more who I'll be sharing it with."

Wyatt frowned, confused why this was a problem. "Carmella Frost is okay. She's pretty cool for sixty-two year old if you ask me."

"Yeah – except that she pulled out this year too."

"She did? Oh right – her husband, I almost forgot. Of course she wouldn't want to be away from him right now."

"Can't you or Dad…?" Chris left the question hanging.

Wyatt shook his head, his expression sombre. "No, Dad says it's his time – we can't interfere. I think she's accepted it, even if the doctors haven't yet. She was saying that they were still trying to persuade them to attempt another course of chemotherapy."

Chris nodded and then sighed. "I'm sounding really petty and selfish now, aren't I?" he said. "Other people have much bigger problems than me. I could really do without this at the moment though."

"Do without what?" Wyatt asked in exasperation. "You're not making any sense, you do realise that?"

"Guess who wants to make a good impression on her new boss?" Chris said, getting to the salient point at long last.

Finally, Wyatt understood what his brother was so agitated over. "Heather."

"Heather," Chris concurred with an exaggerated grimace. "And don't you dare laugh," he added, when Wyatt's mouth immediately quirked up at the corners.

His brother chuckled despite the threat. "So did she volunteer her services before or after she knew that you'd been given the job?"

"Before, I think – it seemed to be a fait accompli when Dad told me earlier anyway. And that's another thing – why was I assigned the job, when anyone else would have been asked if they wanted to do it first? Talk about reverse nepotism."

"Well, you shouldn't have agreed to work here full-time, should you?" Wyatt replied unsympathetically. "In case you hadn't noticed, Dad's determined to groom you as his successor. You lost any leverage you had against that little scheme the moment you gave up the day job."

"Humph!" Chris responded in a disgruntled tone. "And it seemed like such a good idea at the time. If I'd known I'd be forced into a situation like this, I definitely would have thought twice about the decision."

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Just tell her you're not interested…"

"Yeah – like that's not going to make things super awkward," Chris interrupted. "We still have to work together, you know."

"So be subtle about it then," Wyatt said. "Make it clear that you're dating Emily now. I mean, you are dating her, aren't you? You did ask her out on Saturday?"

Chris nodded. "We're going out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Well finally," his brother remarked.

"She's not going to be very happy."

"Why are you that bad a date?" Wyatt quipped with a grin.

"Ha! Ha!" Chris shot back sardonically. "I meant she's not going to be happy about me working with Heather on the recital."

Wyatt sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Probably not, but she's going to have to learn to trust you sometime, Chris. Just be upfront with her. Don't try to hide things whatever you do. That's a sure-fire recipe for disaster if ever there was one."

"And won't that just make a great first date conversation," Chris commented dryly.

"Yeah well, rather you than me, bro."

"Thanks for the sympathy – not."

Wyatt laughed. "Seriously though, if you want to make it beyond the first date, then lying to her is a very bad idea."

Chris nodded. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll be honest with her, I promise."

Wyatt wrinkled his nose in response to the 'Dad' jibe. "I do seem to be turning into your Agony Uncle lately, don't I? What's up with that?"

"You're my big brother – it comes with the territory."

"Well, if I'd known that was in the job description, I would have told Mom and Dad not to bother having sex again."

"Please! So not needing that mental picture right now. I only just ate lunch."

Wyatt laughed at his brother's playful disgust and then glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"All right," he announced, "the 'Wyatt Halliwell counselling service' is closing for the day. I need to get this marking finished before my class tomorrow, so get going before I charge you extra. I promised Chloe she'd have my undivided attention this evening, so I have two choices: either I complete this now - or else I sleep on the sofa tonight."

"The former is definitely the preferred option in case you were wondering," he added pointedly when Chris showed no signs of leaving. Sitting forward, he picked up his pen again to emphasise his point.

"All right, I'm going," his brother said, finally taking the hint and rising to his feet. "Just be grateful that the only thing you need to worry about in your love life from now on is whether you get kicked out of bed or not."

Wyatt grinned. "I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think. Okay so Heather has set her sights on you, but she clearly wants to make the right impression in her new job as well. I can't see her being unprofessional about it."

"Hmm," Chris mused, not entirely convinced. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

OOOOOO

Wednesday, late afternoon…

Chloe pushed the doorbell and was startled when Emily opened the door almost straightaway, looking distinctly harassed and more than a little wild-eyed.

"Oh thank god you're here. You have to help me!" she exclaimed in a panic. Grabbing her hand, she dragged her through into the main bedroom. "I don't know what to wear!"

Chloe bit back a smile – the entire contents of Emily's closet were strewn about the room – lying on the bed, over the back of the easy chair by the window, hung on the door handle and even a few outfits in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"He said dinner," Emily rambled on, "but that could mean anything! I mean are we talking a fancy restaurant or the local diner? I don't know. He didn't say…"

"You could always call and ask him," Chloe said, interrupting her cousin's panicked musings with this sensible suggestion.

"I can't," Emily immediately refuted the idea. "I don't want him to think that I'm turning this date into a big deal, or that I'm subtly suggesting he take me somewhere that he's not comfortable with."

Chloe shook her head and laughed. "You worry too much about stuff like that, Emily."

"I know," Emily admitted candidly. "With anyone else I wouldn't be so unsure, but with Chris – I feel like I'm walking on eggshells half the time. It's like if I push things too far, he'll back off, but if I don't show that I'm sufficiently interested, he'll look the other way. Sometimes I don't know how to act for the best."

"Emily look – Chris asked you out remember? He wouldn't have done that if he didn't want to. And you said he was jealous of you dancing with Ryan the other night. What more proof do you need that he's genuinely interested in you? You need to relax and go with the flow for a while. Stop worrying about the rights and wrongs of how you should be acting and just enjoy it. I mean if anything is going to turn Chris off, then it's you being all obsessive over every detail."

"Like what to wear tonight," Emily suggested with a small, self-depreciating smile.

"Well, that's a first date tradition," Chloe said with a grin, "But I do think you might be going a little over the top with it all the same."

Emily felt the knotted ball of tension inside slowly begin to unwind at her cousin's sensible advice and gentle teasing. "I'm sorry – I guess I just want everything to be perfect. I've waited for this for so long."

"I know, but be careful not get your expectations too high, Emily. Chris is a normal guy, he's gonna make mistakes – as will you."

"I know; I'm not that unrealistic."

"Honestly," she added off her cousin's penetrating look.

Chloe nodded in satisfaction. "Good," she said. "As for the 'what to wear' dilemma… my future brother-in-law doesn't seem the fancy, high-class restaurant type if you ask me – unless it's for a really special occasion – so I think you can rule out the ball gown. I do think he'll go for something a bit more upmarket than the local diner though. This is a date after all, and his Aunts will have instructed him in the proper etiquette of that, just like they did with Wyatt."

Emily giggled. "Chloe!"

"Hey, I'm not criticizing, far from it. I think that sometimes we're a bit harsh on the opposite sex when it comes to dating. They may seem insensitive when they take us quad bike racing or something on a first date, but half the time I think they just don't realise what women want because nobody has ever explained it to them. Wyatt and Chris have grown up surrounded by women so they're not completely clueless like some. We struck gold in that respect, I guess."

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Emily nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, we're getting off the point," Chloe continued. "You don't want to look overdressed, but you do want to look like you've made an effort, so think smart casual with a dressy twist. First decision then, are we going for a skirt…?"

She bent down and picked up a beige mini-skirt off the floor that was so short that it looked like two strips of material sewn together. At her cousin's raised eyebrows, Emily hastened to explain.

"Okay so it's not me. Everyone in LA is so image conscious though, and they were in fashion so I…," she trailed off with a shrug. "I only wore it once – in front of the mirror in my apartment – I was never actually brave enough to go outside in it."

"Well good because I'm certainly not suggesting you wear it tonight, that's for sure. You want something that'll make Chris sit up and take notice, but that might be taking it rather too far. So anyway, skirt or pants?"

Emily considered it for a moment. "Pants, I think," she eventually decided.

"Right, so how about we go for something simple?" Chloe said, "And then dress it up with the top and accessories?"

Emily nodded in agreement and then watched as her cousin rifled through her clothes until she located a suitable pair of flatteringly cut black pants.

"Okay so now for the top half…"

"I usually wear that one with those pants," Emily replied, pointing to a cream lace-effect chemise.

Chloe immediately shook her head. "No, it's nice but it's too loose-fitting. You have a great figure, Emily; you ought to showcase it a bit more – subtly of course, you don't want to be too obvious."

Once again, she searched through Emily's clothes, locating the perfect candidate about half a minute later. "Wow! This is gorgeous," she exclaimed, lightly fingering the satiny material. "Where did you get it?"

"Umm – a little boutique in LA – I fell in love with it." Emily frowned. "You don't think it's too low cut?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at that. "Emily," she chided in a long-suffering tone. "It's not like it's down to your navel or anything. If you're really that worried, then put it on and let me be the judge."

Taking the garment from her cousin, Emily did as instructed, tossing her discarded t-shirt and bra – for the cut of the top didn't allow her to wear one - onto the bed beside her. Chloe smiled broadly when she looked enquiringly at her for her opinion on the result.

"It's perfect. It really suits you and that colour totally brings out your eyes, they look positively huge. Chris is gonna be so bowled over."

Several hours later, standing in front of her mirror, Emily had to admit that her cousin was right. The rich turquoise colour of the top did accentuate her eyes, an affect that she'd enhanced with some subtly applied make-up. The fitted bodice and thin straps showed off her curvy figure and toned upper arms to their best advantage. The v-shaped neckline was much more daring than she usually wore, but not so overly décolleté that she felt self-conscious about it. She also liked the fact that, while the bodice was fitted, the rest of the top flared out from just under her breasts, hiding what she believed to be her worst feature - her slightly rounded stomach.

All in all, it showed off her best features and concealed her worst – the perfect garment in fact. Dressed up with some high heels and chunky jewellery, Emily was more than satisfied with the outfit Chloe had picked out for her. It was still her, but had a subtle sexiness about it, which she liked.

This was a date after all, and she wanted Chris to view her as more than a friend now. The transition was going to take some getting used to, she knew, because they were secure in their relationship as it was. Moving it forward a step would break it out of those comfortable boundaries and into the unknown, which, while exciting, was also a little scary as well.

Ding… Dong…

Emily's heart leapt in her chest as the sound of the doorbell announced the arrival of her date. Drawing in a deep, steadying breath, she pushed her nerves aside and went to answer the door.

"Hi!" she said shyly.

Chris didn't answer straightaway; instead, he slowly and deliberately looked her up and down, quietly taking in her appearance. While his intense scrutiny was gratifying in a way, it was also agony as she awaited his verdict. Eventually it came…

"Wow!"

Emily blushed at the compliment and shivered at the low, gravely timbre of his voice, which sent tingles down her spine and woke up the butterflies slumbering in her stomach.

"You look great," Chris continued with a smile.

"You too," Emily said, finding her voice just in the nick of time.

He did look good, she noted, now that she could actually bring herself to look at him properly. The dark, forest green hue of his shirt brought out the striking colour of his eyes in the same way that the turquoise blue of her top did hers, and she smiled inwardly at each of them using the same method of enhancing what was, in both cases, one of their best physical features.

She imagined her choice of clothing was done a little more consciously than his however – Chris probably just knew that he looked good in green; she couldn't quite imagine him thinking along any other line than that. Analyzing things to the depth of why someone looked good in one colour and not another was definitely a girl thing.

"So are you ready to go?" he asked.

Emily picked up her purse and nodded. She moved towards the open door of her apartment, but stopped when Chris TK'd it shut with a casual flick of his fingers.

"We're not driving then?" she enquired as she locked up from the inside, an act that seemed decidedly on the wrong side.

"No, were you expecting us to?"

"Well yeah, I guess so," Emily said, turning back to face him and stashing her key in her bag. "Wyatt usually drives when he takes Chloe out, or else he did in the early days."

Chris shrugged. "I'm not Wyatt," he stated cryptically, not offering any other explanation as he closed the gap between them to a matter of centimetres.

He was now standing so close that Emily was forced to tip back her head in order to look up into his face "I had noticed that," she quipped lightly. "I think it's the dark hair that does it."

Chris grinned at her and then reached out and rested his hands on the curve of her waist, his fingers burning her skin through the thin material of her top. Emily instinctively grasped hold of his lower arms and then her world tipped on its axis as he orbed them out.

When they re-materialised in a secluded spot somewhere in the heart of the city, Chris didn't immediately let go of her, and Emily's heart thumped wildly in her chest as he looked down on her in contemplative silence. His features were concealed in shadow because of the dim lighting in the alleyway, so she couldn't see the expression on his face. She felt sure he was about to kiss her though and the anticipation was almost too much to bear.

However, just as she was about to stand on her tiptoes and beat him to it, he suddenly tensed up and stepped back, letting out an audible sigh. Emily frowned, confused as to what was wrong. Her unease grew as they walked the remaining block to the restaurant, ordered their meals and waited for the starters to arrive. Chris was uncharacteristically quiet and seemed a little on edge. She felt like she was carrying the whole conversation every time she ventured to communicate with him.

At first, she thought that maybe it was nerves that was making him so reticent, but that didn't make any sense because he'd been perfectly relaxed when he'd come to pick her up. Whatever had happened in that alleyway had put him on his guard and she was at a loss to understand why. Had she done something wrong? Finally, as he played with the Caesar salad on his plate and gazed abstractedly around the restaurant, she could stand it no longer.

"Look, you didn't have to feel obliged to ask me out, you know," she said, a little snappily. "There's no point in this if you don't want to be here."

Chris started guiltily at that and turned to look at her, an apology shining in his green eyes. "Emily, it's not that, I'm sorry. I just… there's something I have to tell you, but I didn't want to ruin this date before it's even begun."

He impulsively reached across the table and took her hand in his, "I want to be here, I promise you," he said with such genuine sincerity that Emily couldn't help but believe him.

"If that's truly the case, then there's nothing you could say that could ruin this," she said.

Chris nodded, but didn't look wholly reassured. "Wanna a bet?" he said wryly.

"Chris…"

"Okay – I told you about the recital that we have at Magic School every year, right?"

Emily nodded, utterly perplexed now. What did Magic School have to do with their relationship?

"Well, it's in six week time. All members of staff help out to a certain extent, but two are chosen to coordinate the whole thing. Wyatt usually does it with a witch called Carmella Frost, but he pulled out because of the wedding, and Carmella's husband is ill, so two other teachers have to take on the responsibility this year."

"You," Emily guessed.

"Yes," Chris agreed heavily.

"And this is a bad thing because…," she prompted when he didn't elaborate.

"Well it takes up a lot of extracurricular time," Chris replied, avoiding the real issue.

"They give you time off for good behaviour though, don't they?"

"Well yeah but…," Chris broke off with another sigh. "That's not really it to be honest," he rushed on before he lost his nerve. "I'll be doing the job with Heather – she volunteered. I guess she wants to make a good impression on my father…"

"More like she couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some time alone with you," Emily said acidly.

Chris wisely didn't mention the fact that Heather had offered her services before she knew he was involved. He didn't think it would go down too well. It smacked of him defending the other woman's actions and he wasn't stupid enough to do that. The previous week's incident had taught him that Emily had a jealous streak in her nature, and while he wasn't prepared to accept her not trusting him, he could still be sensitive to that.

"Whether that's the case or not, it doesn't make a difference," he said. "I know this is only our first date, but I'm hoping it's not the last. This is my job, so I can't just back out. Just so you know though, I'm not interested in anyone but you, okay? You have to trust me on that."

Emily nodded and looked down at the table, trying to ignore the doubts that were clamouring to overwhelm her with uncertainty.

"Can you do that?" Chris asked boldly. "Look at me, Emily."

Emily lifted her gaze to his. "I'll try," she said quietly. "I believe you, I do. Only after I let myself…," she trailed off unable to continue.

They'd never really discussed what had happened nine months before; it had always been a taboo subject between them. They'd skirted around the subject with cryptic asides, but had never once confronted the issue head-on. Emily knew they would have to if they were to move past it and have an honest, open relationship however.

Too embarrassed to look him in the face, she fixed her gaze on a picture on the wall. "I let myself hope for something that, at the time, I could never have. I knew that and I never would have tried to make it happen, but the feelings were there all the same. It took me a long time to move on from it and I'm… I'm scared of getting hurt again. I trust you, but it's going to take me a while to accept that this is really happening. Heather unnerves me; I look at her and I think she has everything that I don't, just like Bianca did. I mean, why wouldn't you…?"

"Stop! Just stop, okay?" Chris cut in, genuinely shocked by her insecurity over his feelings and her own attractiveness.

He leaned forward and took both her hands in his. "Listen to me. I won't deny that I loved Bianca, but let's get one thing straight - I liked you from the very beginning, okay? I was in a committed relationship though, so I never allowed myself to see the possibility of anything more than friendship between us. When you saved me from that demon and nearly got yourself killed in the process, I realised how much you'd come to mean to me however."

Hanging on his every word, Emily almost stopped breathing. This is what she'd needed to know for weeks now. He'd explained the slow, gradual breakdown of his relationship with Bianca, but he'd never really explained his feelings for her personally during that time.

"Things were difficult with Bianca though and I wasn't sure that what I was feeling was real. When you said you were going to LA, I did think seriously about asking you to stay, but in the end, I chose to try to work things out with Bianca instead. I knew that there was the potential there with you, but I also knew I wasn't ready to let go of what I had with her either. I don't regret that decision – I still believe that you going to LA was the best thing for all three of us. It gave me the space to work out what I really wanted; having you around would have just complicated the issue. Us being together under those circumstances could never have worked out anyway. There'd have been too many ifs and buts getting in the way."

"And there isn't now?" Emily asked.

Chris smiled and gently squeezed her fingers. "No, I don't think there is. Bianca will always be an important part of my life, but she's in the past now. I've moved on, and so has she if the rumours are true."

"Rumours?" Emily asked curiously.

"That she's dating again." Chris clarified. "I've no doubt that she's had plenty of offers – after all some men were crass enough to ask her out while we were together – but rumour has it that she's accepted a few recently."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

Chris shook his head. "No, which is why I know that I'm ready for this," he said, gesturing between the two of them. "I honestly hope she finds someone to make her happy, someone who can give her what I couldn't."

Emily nodded. "But I'm not… I'm not like Bianca at all," she said, his frank honesty making her admit to one of her greatest fears about the long-term future of their fledgling relationship.

Chris laughed. "Well that's not entirely true," he said to her utmost surprise.

"But, but I'm a redhead," she said stupidly.

"So, my first serious girlfriend was a blonde," Chris replied. "I don't think I go for any specific kind of look to be honest. When it comes to personality though, then I guess I do."

Emily looked at him, amazed. She was like Bianca in personality. Since when?

"You're different in lots of ways;" Chris went on, responding to her unspoken thoughts, "Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are similarities though, even if you can't see them. You have a similar sense of humour to me for instance, which Bianca – and Carolyn, my first girlfriend – have too. And you're your own woman, even more so since you came back from LA. You're not afraid to tell it like it is which I like. And…,"

He paused, obviously unsure whether to voice his next opinion or not.

"And what?" Emily asked, wanting to know.

"You can be stubborn and difficult sometimes."

Emily stared at him aghast. "That's a good thing?"

"Well – it can be incredibly frustrating, but I have to admit I find it kind of sexy too."

"You're weird, you know that?" Emily said teasingly, blushing at the thought of him thinking about her in that way.

"So I'm told," Chris told her with a grin before his expression turned serious again. "Are we okay here?" he asked gently.

Emily nodded; feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time. The conversation might have been heavy for a first date, but it had cleared the air and addressed all the lingering issues that needed to be dealt with.

"Good, then let's just enjoy this, shall we?"

Chris sat back, picked up his fork and attacked his abandoned salad with gusto. Following suit, Emily likewise returned to eating her Prawn Marie Rose.

The rest of the meal passed in a significantly more relaxed fashion. Because they already knew each other so well, there was non of the usual awkwardness that inhabited a first date. Alone in his company for the first time in a while, Emily was more aware of the flirtatious edge to their conversation than ever. Such was the frequency of the secret glances and accidental touches that by the time the waiter offered them coffee, Emily swiftly declined, dying to get somewhere more private with her date.

Chris, seemingly of the same mind, also refused the offer of a hot drink and asked for the bill instead. Their conversation stalled at this point, but the resulting silence wasn't uncomfortable, instead it was filled with a pleasant sense of anticipatory expectation.

"So," Chris said as they exited the restaurant and descended the steps to the sidewalk outside, "How does a walk down on the Waterfront sound?"

Emily nodded in agreement. "That would be lovely," she replied, throwing a shy, sidelong glance his way.

"Okay then," Chris said, reaching out to take her hand in his as they crossed the road, and headed towards a deserted backstreet just around the corner from the restaurant.

Emily had gotten used to being transported all over the city in an instant, but she was still amazed at how many out-of-the-way places there were to orb in and out of. Chris and Wyatt seemed to know the location of all of them too, which wasn't all that surprising since they'd lived all their lives in San Francisco and had been orbing since early childhood, she supposed.

Once they were away from prying eyes, Chris let go of her hand and slipped his arms around her waist, his fingers pressing lightly into the small of her back. Even though she hadn't realised it when he'd done the same thing at her apartment earlier, she now recognised that this was just an excuse to touch her more intimately, and had nothing to do with orbing her anywhere whatsoever.

Of course, she wasn't about to object to the subterfuge so she stepped in closer, resting her hands lightly against his chest and looking up into his face with a knowing twinkle in her eye. Chris grinned unrepentantly back at her and started to bend in closer before suddenly stopping to take in their surroundings.

"Somewhere a little less seedy, I think," he murmured dryly as he straightened up again.

Emily nodded, realising she didn't really want their first kiss to be in a smelly, garbage-strewn alleyway either. Expecting to be orbed though, she was startled when Chris abruptly pulled away from her instead.

"What's wrong?" she asked urgently, then desisted when he waved at her to be quiet.

As he cast an appraising eye around the darkened alleyway, she hadn't a clue what he was looking for. However, she was soon to find out when there was a sudden flash of bright light, accompanied by a sharp pain in her left shoulder. Gasping and clutching at her injured arm, she fell heavily against the wall of the building behind her.

"Get down!" Chris said, shoving her to the floor as another flash of light lit up the dark alleyway like a lightening bolt.

As Chris deflected the resulting energy ball into a dumpster alongside them, she finally realised what they were up against. A dark figure emerged from the far side of the alleyway, another glowing energy ball at the ready in its hand. Before she'd had the chance to register what she was seeing, the demon hurled the second missile in their direction, firing up a third the moment Chris TK'd it away from them again.

Through a haze of pain, Emily heard Chris swear violently and gasped in horror when he rose from his crouched position beside her to face their attacker down. After that, everything seemed to be occurring in slow motion – the demon threw his fiery weapon directly at the waiting witch-whitelighter and Chris immediately gestured with his hand, deflecting the energy ball right back at their attacker. The demon then tried to dive out of the way, but found that utterly impossible when the energy ball expanded to such a huge size that it engulfed him completely in its red-hot midst, vanquishing him on first contact.

As silence descended, Emily staggered drunkenly to her feet and moved towards Chris, who was looking down at his hand with an astonished expression on his face. "Did you do that?" she asked, referring to the rapidly expanding energy ball.

Chris was still looking confusedly at his hand. "I err, I think… umm… maybe."

He stopped and looked at her, clearly shocked by what he'd apparently done. When he took in her pale face and the bleeding wound on her shoulder though, his bewildered expression quickly faded into a look of concern. "You're hurt!"

"I'm fine," Emily hastened to assure him, but then belied her words as a wave of dizziness caused her to sway dangerously on her feet.

As the edges of her vision blurred, Chris reached out and caught her firmly around the waist, holding her upright. "We need to get you to someone who can heal you," he said in her ear as she struggled to combat the overwhelming feeling of faintness.

She barely heard him though, and as their bodies dissolved into a sparkling vortex of blue light, she felt the darkness descend...

To be continued…