I'd been doing my best to stay away from everyone from the Halliwell manor ever since that night. It was so embarrassing to think that Phoebe had felt my emotions, and I didn't want to risk that happening again any time soon.

It was becoming difficult to avoid them at the club. Whenever they came in, I'd try to keep serving people on the opposite side of the bar. When they tried to catch my attention, I just pretended not to hear or see them. Phoebe wasn't often with them as of late, but the few times she was, her gaze made me uncomfortable. In the past, she had just glanced over me. She never intentionally ignored me, but it was clear she only saw me as her sisters adopted sister. But it was different now. Now she looked at me like I was a puzzle, one she had just discovered a new piece of, and was trying to figure out how it all fit together.

Piper was impossible to ignore, considering we had to meet up at least once a week to discuss the status of P3. I was glad we were able to keep the conversation strictly business related, she must have understood I didn't want to discuss anything else. She was the only one who still treated me normally. It was good to see her getting back to her usual self and dealing with her situation as a defacto single mother.

As the days wore on, Paige was becoming more desperate to talk to me. I knew I couldn't shake off her attempts to contact me forever, but orbing into the middle of my bedroom was going too far.

"What the hell, Paige!" I yell angrily from my spot on the bed.

She scoffs and crosses her arms, "Right back at you, sister. Why have you been avoiding me?"

My face flushes as I open my mouth in protest, but before I can say anything, there's a knock on my door.

"Cassy? Are you alright?" Beth's concerned voice comes through the door, "I heard you scream."

I clear my throat and glare at my sister, "Yeah, I'm okay! Paige just, uh, took my favourite shoes without asking. I only just realised." Horrible, horrible excuse. I don't even have enough shoes to have a favourite!

There's moment hesitation on the other side of the door, "Okay, just checking in. I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" I call back, so very thankful her room is on the other side of our apartment. There was no way she could overhear conversation from there. "Seriously, Paige?" I hiss, "How were you going to explain that if she walked in?"

"Don't avoid the subject. I know you saw me at the club tonight - why did you ignore me?" The hurt is clear in her voice. I look down, embarrassed, and wring my hands together. I don't want to admit my reasons to her, but I know she won't leave it alone until she gets an honest answer. Realisation seems to dawn on her as she asks, "Was it Chris? Did he do something to you? I swear if he hurt you I'll-"

"No!" I cut off immediately, "He didn't. At least, he didn't mean to..." She raises her eyebrows expectantly at me, prompting me to continue. "It's just, I can't stand the way he looks at you. And when Phoebe felt that, and I just... don't want to deal with any of it." It may not have been the whole truth, but it was an easier one. I didn't want to tell her that most of my frustration had been from looking too deeply into her thoughtless comment.

She clearly didn't expect that response, "What? Cas, that's so stupid."

I nod but don't look up, I can feel tears welling in my eyes. I feel so stupid for crying over something so silly. but I cant help it. Ever since I found out he kissed another girl part of my soul has been aching and I can't quite shake it. Who was it? I bet she was magic, like him. Why would I ever think he'd be interested in a mortal girl like me?

The bed dip as she sits next to me. "Oh, honey, don't cry. It's okay," She rubs my back soothingly. "Honestly, you don't see the way he looks at you. Believe me, you've got nothing to worry about."

That's enough to pull me out of my put of despair as I look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Cas, he is so clearly smitten with you, it's ridiculous. Anyone can see it. Whenever you walk into a room, it's like his whole demenour shifts. He can't take his eyes off you. And where do you think Phoebe was getting those emotions from when we brought the dogs over?"

I shake my head, not believing her words. It's obvious she's just trying to make me feel better. After all, what guy would look twice at me while she's in the room? Paige doesn't realise the appeal she has, which just adds to her charm.

"Look, I actually came over here to talk about more than just boys, but I think a proper bonding night free of intense talks is seriously in order for us," she tells me kindly.

I smile at her, glad she knows me well enough to not push too much onto me in this state. The rest of our night is spent with her hiding in the bedroom while I go on snack runs to the kitchen, not wanting Beth to hear two pairs of footsteps. We stay up late talking about anything and everything except magic and Chris, then fall asleep next to each other on my bed.

Paige leaves early in the morning to get back to the Manor to get ready for her day. As much as I want to stay at home, I still need to unload more of our stock that arrived over the weekend, so once I feel coherent enough, I make my way over to P3.

Chris is already there when I get to the club. That shouldn't have surprised me, considering he lives here, but I can't help the sudden flutter of my heart when I see him. My steps fumble slightly on the stairs, and the noise brings his attention to my arrival. He waves a hand in greeting with a bit of a stunned expression on his face. Clearly, he didn't expect to see me here so early either. I shyly return it with one, berating myself for my awful clumsiness, and quietly make my way to the back to grab the first he sees me come back in carrying the large box he offers to help, which I deny.

He tries to insist on it, but seems like he knows he can't win this one. "You always did prefer to do things without magic," he muses, mostly to himself.

I laugh lightly at this, "Is there any other way for me?"

He looks a bit startled by my reply, like he hadn't meant to say that out loud. He rubs the back of his neck and mutters something under his breath about guessing not.

I go behind the bar and start putting away the new bottles. There's a slight tingle in the air and when I pop back up I see he's orbed all the other boxes into the room for me.

"Chris! You really didn't need to do that," I try to lecture, but the smile on my face ruins any scolding in my tone.

He just shrugs with a secret smile on his face, already unloading one of the boxes for me. "I don't know what your talking about."

I leave it be and we work quietly in tandem, giving each other shy smiles every now and then as we go. He seems pretty familiar with where all the stock goes now. Eventually Leo orbs in, and says he's glad I'm here. That's a bit peculiar, but I don't let myself dwell on it.

He sits down at the corner of the bar with Chris, and I decide to give them some time alone; using the excuse of checking out the back for any boxes we may have missed. Honestly, I just wanted to get out of there. It makes me uncomfortable to see them both together, there is something so eerie about it. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it unsettles me seeing them in the same room. Probably just because the last time they were, Leo was throwing him into a cabinet.

I linger in the back for longer than necessary. When I come out, they seem in the middle of a serious conversation so I meander behind the bar, not wanting to disturb them.

"Leo, I didn't come all the way from the future to protect and oversee other chargers. I came here with one, main goal." Chris spells out with ice in his tone, clearly not enjoying the discussion they were having.

"To protect Wyatt," Leo answers lowly, his fingers interlocked as he rests his hands on the bar counter.

Chris' head turns towards the bar and we lock eyes for a moment. I quickly look down at the bottle in my grip, not wanting to appear like I was eavesdropping. He takes a moment to respond to Leo, but when he does his answer is a simple: "Yeah."

I notice Leo glance between the both of us quickly, before he continues to grill Chris. "From some demon who will attack in the future, but you're not sure which one." The doubt in his tone is obvious, and Chris has clearly had enough.

He raises from his seat and slaps his hand on his pants in frustration, "Hey, man, fine, whatever. Don't believe me. All I'm saying is that there is no way I'm taking on another charge, and that's that." He starts to make his way up the stairs, but as soon as his hand is on the railing Leo calls out to him.

"Not even if it's Cassidy?"

I'm so startled the bottle I'm still holding nearly slips out of my hand. I manage to place it on the counter and look at Leo with my jaw hanging open.

What?

Chris' body goes stiff and somehow he looks more surprised at the revelation than I do, but just for a moment before he covers it up. Leo's words have stopped him though, and he turns to look between the two of us with a guarded expression

"I- I don't have magic," I stutter, "Why would I need a whitelighter?"

"Well, that's not strictly true now, is it?" Leo asks directly and I feel light-headed under the weight of both their stares. "Cassidy, didn't you wonder what happened with Phoebe last week? We've all been trying to speak with you about it, but you've been avoiding us."

I shake my head at his words, not to deny I'd been avoiding them but to deny his first statement. I'd been trying not to think about the last time I was at the Halliwell Manor, so I had no idea what he was referring to.

Chris looks between the two of us curiously, evidently not having been involved in any of these about me discussions.

"Cassy, when you touched Pheobe... you blocked her empathetic ability."

The bombshell dropped, and I almost staggered back from the weight of it. "N-No. I didn't."

How could that be possible?

"Yes. You did," Leo rebuffs with finality.

I'm too stunned for words, this isn't possible... I and blindly search for something to hold me up, settling for the countertop of the bar. It can't be possible - I do not have any powers! I may have gotten envious of the girls at times, but it was not something I seriously wanted for myself! I'd seen how they were constantly sought out by dark forces, ever since Paige had reunited with them her life was consumed by the fight between good and evil.

Had I not been so distracted by the situation, I might have noticed the quick flicker of shock that clouded Chris' eyes at the revelation. But, it was wiped quickly from his expression with a grimace. And, I was too busy just trying to stay upright on my feet.

I struggle to control my breathing as Leo continues his life-shattering words, "I've discussed it with the other Elders at length, and we're come to the conclusion that you have an extremely rare ability, Cassidy. You can block the magic. There have only been a few known throughout human history, most die never even realising they have this ability because they live without ever coming into contact with magic."

"But- how?" I stutter, "That's not- if that's true, then how come I can be orbed?" I'm trying to find any way to discredit his words. Because they're false. This couldn't be possible.

"We're not sure. Our theory that Phoebe was affected is because her empathy was only just awakened, so it was easier for you to suppress. Being a whitelighter, or half in Paige's case, makes orbing a more innate ability, which is much stronger than a newly developing power."

I can feel myself start to full on hyperventilate as the gravity of his words weigh down on me.

Leo must not notice, because he continues with the exposition. "When the Elders and I looked deeper into it, we uncovered that you already had a whitelighter. Piage has somehow already been assigned to you from the day you were born."

This is all too much. My eyes roll to the back of my head as my knees give out under me, the weak grip I had on the counter not enough to keep me upright.

I must have only lost consciousness for a few seconds because Chris and Leo are still here, I can vaguely hear their voices.

I shift on the floor, expecting to feel pain from the hard concrete, but am pleasantly surprised to feel something soft and springy beneath my body, a mattress? I was still behind the bar where I had fallen, but somehow a mattress had gotten beneath me. Oh, wait, I know this mattress! It's the one I used to pass out on after working too late - the one from Chris' room.

"I see I made the right choice assigning her to you," Leo mutters lowly, "I'm trusting you to keep her safe now. Do you think you can handle that?"

Chris' only growls out one word, "Yes."

"Good!" Leo exclaims, sounding far too happy with himself. "I guess I'll leave you to it then." As soon as the words were uttered, there's a tingling sensation in the room as I hear him orb away.

I'd missed most of the exchange, too preoccupied with regaining consciousness and then mentally freaking out over Leo's earlier words. I curled up on the mattress as I try to breathe through the lump of shock and terror that had taken up residency in my chest. Chris quickly comes to my side, evidently hearing my panicked breaths. He grips my shoulders gently and looks into my eyes, offering soothing platitudes of: "Hey, it's okay, you're okay."

The spark of his touch set off a different wave of apprehension through me; I don't want him to touch me. It isn't fair. The feeling of him affects me so much, yet he clearly doesn't feel the same way, given how he goes around kissing other women. I try to control my emotions and focus on breathing as black spots being to cloud my vision. Evidently, I'm not doing very well.

"It's alright, deep breaths Cas." He tries to demonstrate for me by taking in a big gulp of air and slowly releasing it. Show off.

He grabs my hand from its curled up position beside me, and places it on his chest so I can feel the steady rise and fall of it. My brain short-circuits and I gasp deeply, inhaling more unnecessary air into my overflowing lungs. I try to pull my hand away, but his firm grip holds it in place. Eventually, with his help, I'm able to get my breathing under control. He releases my hand and sits beside me on the mattress behind the bar. We're shoulder to shoulder, quietly breathing together as sparks dance lazily under my skin where we touch. There's a building tension in the room, like he wants to ask me a question but doesn't know how.

Our moment is interrupted by my phone ringing. Knowing I won't have the strength to reach it myself, Chris quickly orbs it to his hands. "Phoebe's calling," he explains.

"Let me take it," I demand shakily, making grabbing motions towards the phone.

He fights back a smile and I can almost sense that he wants to play a game of keep away with it.

I quickly snatch the phone before can decide whether or not to go through with it. "Hello?" I croak, still finding my voice.

"Cassy! Hey! How are you?"

I'm startled by her burst of energy in the previously quiet room and can only mumble an, "Err" before she continues.

"That's great! Hey, listen, did Leo talk to you yet? Because I've got a major favour to ask..." She trails off and I realise she's actually waiting for a response from me this time.

"What kind of favour?" I ask timidly, ignoring the look Chris shoots me.

"Well, see, I need to go into work today and I was kinda hoping you could come with me..."

I blink, realising the implication. I literally just found out I have this ability and already she's asking me to use it? I don't want to be rude, but the idea of using it frightens me, but I am also so very bad at saying no to people. "Pheobe, I-"

"No." Chris interjects loudly. My grip on the phone looses in shock and he takes the opportunity to snatch it back from me. "She's not doing that Phoebe."

"What? Is that you Chris? Look just-" I hear her please from the other side of the phone even with the distance.

"No, you've got to face this on your own Phoebe. Trust me," Chris hold steadfast.

I hear her groan before a sharp, "Fine, whatever, future-boy!" is tossed out and the line goes dead.

I look at him with wonder. Ordinarily, if someone spoke for me, I'd be annoyed about. But, given the fact I fainted barely ten minutes ago, I'm grateful. It was a sweet gesture that meant a lot to me. I was glad he cared enough to set healthy boundaries for me, even when I wasn't able to myself.

Chris doesn't say anything as he orbs the phone to the other side of the countertop - in sight but out of reach. A clear challenge. He wasn't going to stop me if I wanted to call her back, but I would need to get up and do it myself.

I smile as I settle back beside him, feeling content to just sit here for a while longer. Chris shift in his position next to me to get more comfortable, and his arm somehow ends up wrapped around my shoulders. He looks down at me with a soft smile, and my eyes latch on to his lips. I can't help but stare at them wide eye's, looking for some trace evidence. I know I have no right to, but I still feel a twinge of betrayal recalling that he's been locking lips with other women.

The stark reminder chills my blood and makes my body stiffen. "I, uh, I should go," I stutter quickly, scrambling to my feet.

Chris must sense the shift in mood, as his smile drops and he looks at me questioningly. "What's the rush, Cas? You should really take it easy after that fall."

I flinch at the nickname, shooting a glare at him, "Seriously Chris? Can you just- stop." Calling me that, being so charming, making me care about you; there are many things I want him to stop. "I'll be fine, I just need to walk it off."

"Let me orb you," he tries to offer.

"Please, don't. I'll be okay"

"But, um, I'm your whitelighter now, right? I have to make sure you're safe." He's jumped up beside me now and hands my phone and bag to me.

The excuse sounds flimsy at best, and I shoot a look at him. "I heard what you said, Chris. You don't even want to be my whitelighter." He opens his mouth, but I continue before he can say anything. "Don't worry about it. I hereby release you off all whitelighter duties surrounding me. You are free to accomplish your mission from the future without worrying about me." I try to keep my voice from cracking, and thankfully, succeed.

He doesn't look as thrilled as I had expected, but lets me leave without trying to stop me. It's not until after I slam the door that I let the tears start to fall.

Dam him for affecting me so much!

Authors Note: I almost left it with them cuddling on the floor, but we need that angst! The thrill of will they/won't they/when will they? Hahah Chris really messed up kissing that Valkary, but I'm glad for it because they were getting way too close too quickly!

Also, I really wanted to have her interact with the Cleaners but just couldn't think of a meaningful way to do it. In my mind, they'd basically adore her for actually reminding the others to be mindful of exposure and because her power is as neutral as neutral can be. Maybe she can talk to them during the tribunal so I can include that in the story? What do you think?