Author's Notes: It's getting more and more heated! Mwahaha. Just wait and see what happens...

Don't own them, as always!

The day's heat had faded into a warm evening by the time that Chris had gotten ready to go out. Not surprisingly, neither Wyatt nor Melinda were home, nor were either of his parents. His mom had called to let anyone at the manor know that she was catering a business dinner at her restaurant that night and would be home late, and Leo had dropped in sometime after Chris' phone call with Landon to tell him that he was going to be grading papers and working on lesson plans at Magic School.

As such, Chris had the manor basically to himself for the afternoon and majority of the evening. It had given him a good amount of free time to do his schoolwork. He hadn't realized just how much he had to do that weekend. But, it was getting close to finals, and his professors—particularly his classical literature professor—liked to give more readings than most normal people could get through. By the time to meet with Landon had arrived, he hadn't even managed to plow through half of it all. It was more than a little disconcerting.

Granted, he had been somewhat distracted by various thoughts at hand—Landon, his sister, that freak she had been with, among a few other things. So he was proud of himself for getting as far as he had. It was better than not getting anything done at all.

Just shortly after eight-thirty that evening, Chris went upstairs to maybe change his outfit. This was clearly a date, and usually from what he had seen with Wyatt and Mel, going out on actual dates meant dressing a little nicer than usual. But they were going to a club, which was casual. After swaying back and forth on it for a few moments he finally decided against it. He wasn't going to stress out over this, because it wasn't that big of a deal. If he made it out to be one, then things were going to be uncomfortable and tense.

He just needed to let loose like he had planned to, but keep it under control so that there wasn't a repeat of what had happened not too long ago when he had first met Landon. That he could do.

Putting his wallet into one front pocket and his phone into the other, Chris then headed into the bathroom to look himself over. He had a mild five o'clock shadow and his somewhat short brown hair was a little unkempt. He looked fine in his eyes. If he tried to shave again it was just going to tear his face up, and that was one of the last things that he needed at the moment.

He heaved a sort of calming sigh. It was now or never. Chris focused on P3, and soon he felt that familiar sense of weightlessness as he orbed out of the house and toward his destination. The back room—the one that was always locked on the outside—was where he was heading for, as that was their safe spot to orb to. And as he had expected, it was dim and empty inside upon his arrival, which made his slipping into P3 that much easier. Nobody seemed to notice that he had just come out of a locked room.

Chris knew that he had left a little earlier than their scheduled meeting time. It had been an intentional move. He stepped towards the bar and ordered himself just a small shot of rum, figuring that if he couldn't get himself to loosen up entirely, a shot or two would help him. He downed it quickly, trying not to wince at the way that it felt as it went down his throat. Given his rather low tolerance, that was more than likely going to be enough to help him. He would just have to give it time.

While he waited, Chris chatted casually with one of the bartenders that was working that night, Sam. Sam was a student at the same college Chris went to and was paying her way through bartending, and she seemed pretty nice. They had had a class together—basic Biology—and had relied on each other from time to time for notes and study sessions. They had both managed to pass the class, too.

He glanced down at his watch after what felt like just a few minutes of chatting with her. He was surprised to find that it was almost nine o'clock. Curious, he glanced over his shoulder, and did so just in time to see Landon stepping down the stairs and into the club.

"I've got to get back to work," Sam said, but she smiled. "Good talking to you, though. See you around campus maybe?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah, good talking to you, too. I'll be around."

"All righty, Chris. See you later!"

As Sam headed off to help someone with a drink order Chris saw Landon moving closer, until finally the two of them were side by side. He had made a move to stand but when he saw Landon already going to sit, he changed his mind.

Landon tapped his hands against the bar top. "You haven't been waiting long, have you?"

"Not really, no," Chris said. It was a lie, but it wasn't like it mattered. He had found a good way to pass the time. "Just got here a few minutes ago. How's it going?" What a stupid question, he thought to himself.

"It's going. It's nice to get out and just hang out, though, Jesus." Landon waved down one of the other bartenders, ordered himself a drink and then looked to Chris. "You want anything?"

"Uh…" He paused. "I'll pass for now, but thanks."

Once the bartender was gone, Landon continued. "It's been a pretty busy week. Lots of paperwork signings and dealing with irate people. Shitty, but you know how it goes."

"Dealing with irate people? Oh, yeah, I know how that goes." Chris thought back to his sister and to that freak she had left the house with. On top of that, there was another charge of his who had been giving him trouble. Thankfully, though, he seemed to be doing fine and as such, wasn't bugging Chris any. "Some people can be a real damn handful."

"You're telling me!" With his newly given drink now in hand, Landon downed the shot, then laughed. "So…we don't have to worry about your brother popping in, right?"

It was clear by the look on his face that he was joking, however Chris was still a little caught off guard by it. For all he knew, it was entirely possible that they would see Wyatt tonight. He hoped to God that they wouldn't, though. "Hopefully not. He likes to come here, too, but last I heard he was going out on a date on the other side of the city."

"Good. Then there won't be any repeats of last time. Cause I gotta tell you," Landon leaned in, and he nudged Chris' shoulder, "you're…something else. I'm glad you called."

Despite himself, Chris turned a little red. He hadn't ever gotten that kind of compliment before, and he didn't know how to react to it. So he just let his lips curl into a small grin. "Well, I could say the same. So." And that much was true. He remembered that night and what it was like. He knew that he wouldn't mind a slight repeat of it.

"Come on, then, dude. Let's dance."

Right around the time that Landon stood up, the live band singing had just begun their new song, which had a real upbeat tone to it. Like before, Chris could almost feel the music, and on the dance floor—he had made sure to move far enough from the bar and the stairwell for comfort reasons—his body was beginning to respond to it. He looked around at the other people, especially Landon, for cues on what kind of dancing was best. It hadn't occurred to him to stop using his head and just let his body go with it. But he was trying.

The two of them danced at a pretty even pace throughout the entire song, and just far enough apart for them to move around when they wanted to, and where they wanted to. When it ended it was time for the live band to take their short break, during which the music switched over to one of the MP3s on the list server. The DJ had chosen some pretty dance-beat tempo techno, and the song sounded somewhat similar to the one that Chris had danced to with Landon the last time they had met up.

As the music progressed they got closer, and Landon became more daring in his moves. His hands would grip Chris' for a short period of time before they would move toward his waist, and they would dance with their bodies surprisingly close to one another. Chris couldn't believe that he was actually dancing so well—or this close—without having some sort of inhibitor on him that kept his over-thinking side away. But, he supposed that was because of the shot he had taken not so long ago.

It wasn't too long thereafter that Chris found himself with his hands moving out, to the sides, or forward toward Landon. He feigned touching the soft material of the other's shirt when he was clearly feeling for something else, just touching and feeling in general. He was feeling a little winded, but that didn't matter. He was having fun, and he hadn't felt that in an awfully long time.

Eventually Landon had caught on to the way Chris was acting and the two of them moved close enough together that both of them had their arms wrapped loosely through one another's, with Landon's on the outside and Chris' on the inside. Feeling the way that the older one's hips were moving helped to keep him in sync with the music, and in sync with him. Their faces hadn't moved close enough yet, but that was Chris' doing. He would look at Landon every so often but his eyes were mostly everywhere else—on the floor, on the other people, on the bar…it was an unconscious habit of checking out his surroundings to make sure everything was all right.

When the live band came on and switched to something a little bit less danceable and more soft ballad, Chris and Landon finally came to a standing halt, but their bodies were still close together. Even though he knew that they could be seen by just about anyone, that didn't seem to make him freak out any. Instead, he found himself feeling almost flippant about it.

"Come on, let's go sit down," he suggested.

It was needless to say that Landon didn't hesitate. When he and Chris walked over to the more secluded seating area, they sat on one of the cushy loveseats, though this time, there was no immediate kissing or anything of the like. This was fun and all, but that reasonable side was beginning to rear its head again. Chris wanted to know more about Landon, because he was curious. Although he and Landon were sitting relatively close, it was obvious by Chris' stance on the loveseat—he was turned and facing the other with one of his legs up and under him—that he wasn't looking for anything at the moment.

"How'd you like the band?" Landon asked.

"Got one of their song files on my phone, actually," Chris said. He pulled it out of his pocket and poked at the screen to find the file. It started playing a few seconds afterward, after which he stopped it.

Landon peeked over the screen. "My number in there yet?"

Chris snorted, amused. "Funny you should ask that. I actually wanted to sit down here and get to know you a little better. I…don't…usually do what I did the other night." It had been embarrassing to think that he had acted so crazy about it, even if he had been under a spell.

"Didn't figure," Landon replied. "It was nice, though. Not gonna lie."

Chris laughed. "Yeah, it was great. But that's just not what I normally do. Tonight…well. More or less. Just having fun, enjoying myself."

"Nothing wrong with that, especially on a Friday."

"Nope, not at all." Chris half-smiled. "But, anyways. I…don't even think you really know who I am, outside of Chris." He snorted again. "I'm Chris…Halliwell."

Landon's expression changed suddenly. He looked surprised. "Chris Halliwell? Wait, you're related to Piper Halliwell?"

Chris nodded. "Good old mom."

Landon laughed. "Holy fucking shit, that's awesome. So you mom owns this place? And that restaurant, too? You've got a great little niche here, don't you? Free drinks and free food. People would kill for that kind of stuff."

"You're telling me." There were a lot of people Chris knew, namely Wyatt's friends, who tried to get free drinks all the time from P3. And the unfortunate thing was that they usually got them, at least one or two apiece. It added up after a while. "Usually it's capped at one free drink and maybe one appetizer, I think is what my mom said."

Landon laughed again. "Yeah, well, your mom's a smart woman. Good way to keep her businesses afloat." He shook his head, scratching the side of it afterward. "Man, I can't believe I didn't realize who you were. I've seen you in the articles about the restaurant and about your mom, too. And your dad, and brother, and sister…you've got a pretty famous family."

Chris' immediate response was "Don't remind me", but he threw in a chuckle afterwards to make it sound not quite so annoyed. They were well known in the mortal world and even more so in the magical community. There were textbooks that had passages about them all written in there. It was scary to think about sometimes, but that was what happened when you were the child of a Charmed One.

"So tell me a little bit more about you," Chris said, wanting to switch the light off of him and onto the other.

Landon scratched at his goatee. "Well, hm. What's there to say about me? Name's Landon, Landon Bailey. I'm twenty-five. Graduated from college a few years ago and I've been working with this advertisement company for a while. Got two brothers—both younger than me. Mom and dad are divorced. And…" he shrugged, "that's about it."

Well, working in advertisement would explain the business card with all of the information on it, Chris thought. And twenty-five wasn't bad. Landon was only four years older than him. "I'm twenty-one," he stated suddenly, but offhandedly.

Landon didn't seem to care much. "So are you still in school?"

"Yeah. I've got about another year or two to go, I think." Like his Aunt Phoebe, Chris was studying Psychology, if only because he didn't really know what else there was out there that he wanted to do. There were…plenty of other things that would be occupying his time in the future, he was sure.

"Not too bad, not too bad. You still living at home?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah…same manor on Prescott. M'sure you've seen pictures of it in the paper. I'm related to Phoebe Hal—"

"You're related to Phoebe Halliwell, too?" Landon sounded almost as if his jaw were going to come unhinged. "Man. I should have guessed that. Still, that's awesome. She's your…she'd be your aunt, right?"

"Yeah. She—" Just as he was about to continue on, a piercingly loud cry for help flooded his head. Chris winced and hunched over from it, having not been expecting it at all.

He felt Landon's hand on his shoulder, who helped him to sit up straight again. "Whoa, Chris, you all right?"

No, Chris thought. No, he wasn't all right. That painful cry was from Sophie, and she sounded like she was in real danger. It couldn't have come at a more awkward time, but she needed him, and as much as he hated having to leave, his obligation to his charge—to his friend—was much more important than any date.

"Actually, no, I'm feeling…really lightheaded all of the sudden," Chris said. He slowly moved to stand. "I'll be right back."

"…Okay. Want me to help you to the bathroom, dude?"

"No, no, it's okay. I got it."

Chris planned on coming back, for sure. Whatever demon had made the mistake of attacking his charge was going to pay for it, and with their life. He wobbled some and stumbled while he walked, thanks to more cries in his head from Sophie, but he managed to get himself to the bathroom.

This demon was going down.

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Sophie's cries inside his head quieted down once Chris managed to orb to where she was. He immediately recognized it as a pathway through a park, though he didn't know which one it actually was. All he knew was that nobody was around, and he figured that she must have been walking home from work. The store that she worked at was just off in the distance. That meant that this demon must have been waiting for her…

"Sophie?" Chris called. He couldn't see her anywhere…where had she gone? Was she hiding?

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash of movement. Just as he started running toward it, there was a sudden scream; he felt an overwhelming pain in his chest, almost like he was being stabbed. He staggered over to a nearby tree, clutching the area right over his heart. A wheezing breath escaped him.

"Sophie…" he grunted.

But he had to dredge on. Pushing himself up and away from the tree, he struggled to get himself closer to the spot where he had seen the movement. He managed to get himself past the bushes that were in his way, which gave way to a cement walking path. There was a demon standing there, hunched over, and before he was able to use his power on it they were shimmering away.

Chris stood there for a moment, still clutching his chest, when what he saw next made him sick to his stomach. He almost dove forward and toward Sophie's body, reaching out to check and see if she still had a pulse. Her skin was warm, flushed, and there was blood dribbling out of a stab wound right below her ribs.

"G-God, Sophie," Chris stuttered. She still had a pulse, and he could feel her moving beneath him. "Don't move, don't move! You're gonna make it worse. I—" His heart, still pained, was now beginning to beat rapidly; he could feel adrenaline pumping through his system.

God, why couldn't he heal yet?

"Wyatt!" he shouted. "Wyatt!"

Nobody came. Chris cupped the back of Sophie's head and tried to lift it, only to make her groan and cough in response. He paused, holding her in place.

His voice became more desperate. "Wyatt, damn it, please!"

Where the hell was his brother?

After a couple more moments of waiting, Chris realized that it was useless. Wyatt wasn't answering his call, which meant that he wasn't at home. That nixed orbing there. He had no idea whether or not his Aunt Paige was even home, or would even be able to hear him calling for her, if she was busy. It was worth a shot. She was his last chance at this point.

"C-Chris—" Sophie began to say. She stopped speaking and slowly reached up to grip his hand.

"Hang in there, Sophie, come on…come on. We'll get you healed, I promise." Chris, holding back anxious and frustrated tears at the moment, returned the grip and focused as best he could on his Aunt Paige's house.

When he and Sophie rematerialized on the floor of his aunt's living room not too long after, he looked around him to see if anyone was there. He doubted that Henry would be, but he was desperate at this point.

"Aunt Paige!" he called, "Aunt Paige, are you here?"

Nobody came right away. Although reluctantly, Chris let go of Sophie's hand and moved to stand. The pain in his chest had mostly faded away, but it was still there, prickling at him, hurting him. He hurriedly stepped through the archway that led into the entrance hall, down which he ran, pushing the door to the kitchen open. Nobody was in there, either.

"Aunt Paige!" Chris' cries had become yells now—frustrated, worried yells. He turned around and bound out of the kitchen, moving toward the staircase and then dashing up it. But he stopped abruptly at the sight of one of the doors swinging open fast. Out of it came his Aunt Paige, who had a brush in her hand. He noticed his Uncle Henry fumbling around on the bed behind her.

"Chris, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Downstairs," was all he said.

He didn't even try to run and instead simply orbed there, landing at Sophie's side. His Aunt Paige joined him not but a moment later. She, too, knelt down and looked over his charge.

"Heal her," he said. His voice was somewhere between a command and a request—shaking and trembling as it was.

When Paige stuck her hands out to try and heal Sophie, the familiar golden glow didn't come. Chris looked at his aunt expectantly, worriedly—why wasn't it working? Sophie was still alive, he knew it. She was hanging in there.

Paige tried once more, but nothing happened. Chris knew what she was going to say when she pulled her hands back and he looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Chris…" she said quietly.

"No," he said. "No, she's notdead. Damn it, no." He swallowed roughly then. His throat was sore, strained; he was holding back tears and it was starting to hurt, and badly, almost like he was going to choke.

Paige reached out and gripped his forearm, and at first he resisted, but soon he gave in. Silent tears trickled down his cheeks and he began sniffing more and more, an obvious sign that he was beginning to cry. Paige moved so that they were both standing, and when they were she gave him a tight hug. Chris didn't respond to it so well at first.

He eventually pulled back from it to wipe at his eyes with his wrists. He didn't know what to say. But he could see the pain in his aunt's eyes, too.

She looked down. "I'm so sorry."