Making Wyatt giggle is one of the greatest joys in my life. It's so easy to do, but every time his face lights up I feel like I've accomplished something legendary. He's such a great kid.

Piper asked me start babysitting Wyatt for her on a more permanent basis, it only made sense given my newfound ability and what had happened with the DRAGON last week (I still found it ridiculous that I managed to miss all that).

I can hear the sisters all talking upstairs, which was a bit weird. Didn't they leave already? I remember because Phoebe had all but begged me to go with her and it took both Paige and Piper to convince her to leave me alone. I shrug it off for now. Around here so many emergencies happen without warning, it's hard to keep track of where they are at any given time. Besides, I'm more occupied with keeping little Wyatt here entertained.

After a while, Piper comes in and lifts him from his crib. "How's my little man?" She asks happily.

I can't help but smile at the interaction, "He's good, a little sleepy though. Might have to set him down for a nap soon."

She nods, "Hey, this is a weird question, but you didn't move the Book of Shadows - did you?"

I blink at the absurdity of her question, "No, you know I never touch that Book."

She laughs, "Right. I almost forgot about that. You know you're more than welcome to, right? We trust you with Wyatt, I think it goes without saying that you can look in the book."

Her confidence in me makes pride swell in my chest; I was glad to hear it. Something was nagging at me though, "Have you asked Paige or Phoebe?

"No, not yet," she responds absent-mindedly, preoccupied with tickling Wyatt and making funny faces at him.

"Oh, I thought I heard your voices up there earlier?"

"Huh, so did I. That's weird." She trails off for a moment before shaking her head, "Oh well, maybe they just popped in for a bit. Anyway, I'm off to P3, thanks again for looking after him."

I smile sweetly at her and say, "I'm happy to, you know that. Say hi to Ray and the others for me!"

"I will," she promises easily, before leaving.

I probably should have felt more sad about not working in P3 anymore, but it was only ever a temporary job for me. I'd only stepped in to help out while Piper was pregnant. Now that she was able to work properly again, the transition of swapping to help out with Wyatt felt pretty natural. I never thought I wanted kids of my own, always planning to follow in both my parents footsteps by adopting, but seeing the connection Piper shared with Wyatt almost made me second guess that idea. It was clear how hard it was on her to be leaving him, but she was always a working woman at heart, and I was happy to be able to support her.

Like I predicted, Wyatt falls asleep pretty soon after Piper leaves. I keep him cradled in my arms, trying to ignore how heavy he was becoming. Part of me wanted to take Piper up on her offer and go check the book. Ever since I learned of my ability I'd been wanting to read whatever information they had about it. However, I knew it was best for the little one if we stayed in his nursery.

Once his weight got to be too much, I settled him into his crib to give my arms a break. Even with this, I still brought the chair over to make sure that I would be able to rest my hand on his arm. Leo had told me that my ability would only work if I was in physical contact with the magic being, and I didn't want to risk anything evil detecting him while it was just the two of us in the house. If anything happened I could easily call for help, but I didn't want to have to do that during my first day taking care of him.

We stay like that for a while. Piper calls to check in at one point and I quickly answer the phone to make sure it doesn't wake the sleeping baby; next time I'll have to put it on silent. She asks me to let her know when he wakes up, I promise to and tell her to go enjoy her time out of the house.

Once his eyelids start to flutter open, his cry is almost immediate. I give him a bright smile and try to shush him, but he pays no mind to my words. Instead, he grabs my finger and tries to pull it closer to his face, presumably to suck on. I chuckle at his antics, freeing my hand before it can be covered in baby saliva, he doesn't like that but is easily appeased when I give him one of his toys. I call Piper, and accidentally interrupt a demon vanquish she was doing as per Chris' request. I appologise profusely, but she reassures me that she's glad I called and says she'll be home soon.

Wyatt and I have moved to the kitchen by the time Piper arrives. The room lit up with bright lights and Wyatt squealed with delight at the sight and sounds of it. When I see two figures forming, I assumed Paige must have brought her home, but its nerve-wracking to discover that it's actually Chris.

Their connected hands immediately separated as Piper rushed over to see her baby boy to pepper him with kisses. Wyatt was clearly glad to see his mother home and practically shone under her loving touch. Chris stayed noticeably distant, even taking a step back when he notices Wyatt and I in the room. He seemed to be avoiding looking at the display of affection too.

"Has he eaten yet?" Piper asks, after greeting me.

"No, I was just about to feed him."

She bats her hand at me in the air, not taking her eyes off the toddler. "Oh, don't worry about that. Let me do it. You should go out and enjoy some time to yourself."

I chuck at her, clearly she just wanted some time with her son. I don't hold it against her. We say our farewells as I grab my bag and make my way out of the manor. I'm almost down the steps completely when I notice an unexpected shadow.

I turn and look at Chris quizzically, "Why are you following me?"

He clears his throat, shifting awkwardly. I get the impression he hadn't realised he was doing it, like he had just been following me on instinct. "I, uh, didn't realise you were looking after Wyatt now."

That doesn't answer anything. I place my hands on my hips as I ask, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Why would I?" He fires back, then clarifies, "I think it's a good idea, with your ability we definitely have a better chance of keeping him safe."

I make a humming noise in thought as I continue on my journey home. Paige orbed my over this morning so I don't have my car. She often forgot that, unlike her, I actually need a car to get home. It was tedious having to walk, but I'm kinda of used to it at this point. I wasn't about to ask Chris to orb me anywhere! I'm trying to maintain a polite indifference to the man, and I get the feeling that if I touch him again, any resolve I have will crumble.

He continues to follow me, walking closely by my side. I feel his hand almost brush mine and immediately flinch away, wrapping my arms around myself wishing I had brought gloves or something to cover my hands. Considering I was only there to help Wyatt, I hadn't thought I hadn't thought to bring them.

We walk in silence for a while, like a tentative truce. Neither one of us really wanting to break the calm around us.

Eventually my curiosity gets the better of me, "What do you know about my power? Got any helpful tips from future me of how to control it?"

The question gives him pause. He takes a while to answer, and when he does its not very satisfying. "Not much, you didn't talk about it really."

Well, that doesn't help at all. I make a bit of a disgruntled face at his lack of information as I continue to walk forward.

He rushes to continue, "I only know what I've read in the Book, and that ever since you acknowledged your ability, your signal's been getting harder to detect."

I contemplate this with a tilted head, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. "What do you mean? Like, you can't sense me?"

He shakes his head, "No, I can still feel you, it's just a bit fainter than before. But, um, earlier when Piper asked me to take her to the manor to see Wyatt, I was barely able to sense him. If I hadn't known where to look I wouldn't have found him easily, which is saying something."

My expression turns to wonder as his words sink in, my body moving forward on auto pilot now. The implications of this new ability of mine were pretty staggering. Leo told me about what I could do, but hearing it from Chris just hit me differently. How would it develop overtime? Would I be able to fully cover Wyatt's magic to completely hide him from detection? Apparently not, otherwise Chris wouldn't need to be here, right? My feet keep carrying me forwards but my mind is struggling to catch up.

I get the feeling he wants to talk more, but either doesn't know what to say, or can sense I'm too deep in thought to be of much conversation. So, he leaves it be.

The rest of our walk is spent in quiet contemplation until we stop suddenly. I wonder why we halted, but when I turn to look at him I see conflict on his face.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Piper is calling me."

I blink, realising that my movements were so in tune with him that I'd followed his lead automatically. I don't know how to feel about that.

He stands there for a moment, and I can only assume he's waiting for me to say something.

"It's okay, we're pretty close to my apartment now," I reassure him, which wasn't a complete lie. "Just, make sure you go somewhere private first, okay? I know I shouldn't have to say it, but you don't want anyone seeing you just disappear off the street, right?"

He looks at me with a smile as says, "Always cautious, Cas. That's one of the things that I-"

The sentence is left unfinished, as he cuts himself off and looks to the floor with his hands clenched. I'm so caught up in his words that I forget to correct him about my nickname. "That you, what?" I ask breathlessly.

He chuckles, fists unfurling from his sides. "Nothing, I'll tell you later." Then with a quick wave, he stalks into a secluded alleyway.

I'm left standing there wondering what just happened. It takes longer than I would like to admit for me to shake myself out of it and continue walking home to get my car.

I'd only just made it to my building, searching for my keys when someone grabs my shoulder. Luckily I have my hand in my purse so I grip the perfume bottle filled with potion, Paige gave to me for emergencies like this.

I get ready to turn around and point it in the face of my attempted kidnapper, but freeze when I hear them chuckle. "Woah, hey, sorry Cas. Ease up."

I face Chris and glare at him. I swear he must enjoy startling me, he does this too often. "What the hell, Chris? And - seriously - stop calling me that."

He continues to chuckle, brushing off my request. "I'm sorry, honestly. I thought you heard me."

"Obviously I didn't! What do you want anyway?" I grit out, adrenaline still running through my system.

"I just thought I should warn you, the neighbours across the street were murdered today." My eyes widen, so close to the Manor? Chris continues, "The sisters want me to search the astral plane for any clues. So, uh, if you call for me I might not be able to hear you."

My heart softens a bit at this, it was sweet that he thought to warn me. "Thanks for the heads up Chris. Guess I should go back over to keep an eye on Wyatt for Piper."

He nods before a thoughtful look flashes over his face and he mumbles, "The sisters were acting really weird today."

"Weird how?" I ask curiously.

His cheeks flush as he stammers out, "Uh, nothing. Forget I said anything."

I look at him oddly and want to ask more, but he cuts me off before I can.

"Did you want me to orb you back to the Manor?" His tone seems almost hopeful, but I'm probably just projecting that.

A reflexive, "No!" Bursts out of me, too loudly, and he looks taken aback. I quickly try to recover by adding, "I mean, it's more important for you to look into that m-murder right? I'll be fine driving." I stumble over the harsh word, not feeling comfortable with it on my lips.

His face is blank but his eyes shine with some unspoken emotion. "Be safe," is all he says.

I nod with a tight smile, "You too."

He nods grimly in return, then heads back to the shadows. Its the same place he had orbed me to after our drunken night together, when he convinced me to stay. Things seemed simpler back then, before I knew of my ability, and before he decided he'd rather kiss other women. I feel the familiar pang of hurt at the thought, but try to ignore it. There's nothing going on between us, I remind myself, he can do whatever he likes.

As I approach the manor I see two strangers come rushing out. They both look relieved to see me.

"Thank God, you have perfect timing. Look, Piper's gone, work emergency, and we have to go too. Wyatt's just upstairs napping, okay? Bye!" One informs me quickly, as they're both getting in Phoebe's car.

I'm lost for words as I stare after them. What- who was that? Must be innocents the girls were looking after, I guess? Huh, weird they lent them the car.

I make my way up the steps still pondering that odd confrontation. My first priority is to make sure Wyatt's okay, everything else comes second.

He's right where they said he would be, napping peacefully. His cute little face makes me smile. I don't want to wake him so I grab the book I've been reading and settle in the chair facing him. Although Chris is out of earshot I could always call Paige, or Leo if I really had to. It was usually pretty hard for me to get through to him, but if he knew it was about Wyatt I'm sure he would come in a flash.

The thought comforts me, knowing this little one had so many people to take care of him.

Our time passes peacefully, until there is a commotion downstairs. The loud bangs wake Wyatt and I cradle him in my arms trying to calm him. Eventually the noise stops. I'm tempted to see what happened but I don't want to risk putting Wyatt in any danger.

Something made him quite inconsolable and, try as I might, he just won't settle down. I let out a breath of releasing when I see his mum walk in, "Hey Piper, what was all that noise earlier?"

She looks a bit put on the spot and flips her blonde hair from her eyes. "Oh, don't worry about that. Just some low level witches. We were able to handle them, no problem."

Her tone is almost vindictive and it makes me pause for a moment before Wyatt demands more attention. He's practically wiggling out of my arms so I put him down in the crib for his own safety.

I feel Piper's gaze on me, and turn to look at her. "You're not very good with him are you?"

I blink at the sudden accusation. "Oh, um, I'm sorry. He's just still upset from the noise." A thought occurs to me, and I say something thought I'd have to say to Piper, "Why don't you pick him up?"

She looks affronted and quickly retorts, "Don't tell me how to raise my child." Then a moments pause before she smiles wickedly, "I think you need to leave."

My stomach drops, "What? You can't be serious Piper."

She nods, "I am, clearly you're not handling him well. I don't know what I was thinking hiring you. I can take care of him myself."

My mind is reeling, this is not what I expected. Sure, it's only my first proper day taking care of him but I thought I was doing well. "I don't understand..." she had been so pleased this morning.

"Leave. Now." She commands. Even Wyatt stops crying from the hostility in her tone.

With no other option I comply, giving Wyatt a final pat goodbye. "I guess I'll see you at the club then?" I ask timidly.

"Sure, whatever," she dismisses.

My eyes sting with unshed tears, I had not been expecting this. I pass by Paige on the way out and feel relieved at the sight of her. "Oh, Paige. You won't believe what just happened. Piper basically just fired me!" Saying it makes my throat close, sobs close to coming out, and I lean into her for a hug.

She feels stiff and rigid, like she doesn't know how to handle this. "Er, there, there?" She pats my back awkwardly. "It's, um, for the best right? Maybe you should just, like, move away and not come back?"

I freeze and pull back, looking at her startled, "What?"

"Yeah!" She says with more confidence, "Go get a fresh start - and stay away for Chris. He's no good for you, you know? I'm just looking out for you sis."

I stutter incoherently, completely confused, while she guides me to the door. She says how Alaska was really nice this time of year, or better yet Australia! Before I know it, I'm standing outside with the door slamming behind me and the echoes of giggles coming from the house.

What the hell just happened?

I drive home quickly, before I can let what just happened fully sink in. I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, before the tears start.

When I walk into the house there are three women I don't think I've ever seen before waiting for me. One, with long dark brown hair, is prompted up on the couch with an bleeding leg. A short haired brunette is trying to stop the bleeding with tissues from my coffee table, while the third, a strawberry blonde, stands up with a relieved smile when she sees me.

Part of me wants to scream, a pretty natural reaction to finding strangers waiting for me in my home, but when I meet eyes with this strawberry blonde stranger, it fades in my throat. I feel some weird connection towards her nagging in the back of my brain, I can't put my finger on it.

That's not enough to fully appease me though.

"Who the hell are you?!" I demand, whipping out my potion to hold up in defence. I doubt it could knock out all three of them, but I've got to try.

The strangers look heartbroken and the strawberry one says, "Oh, Cas. Not you too."

This sets the hair on my neck on end. "How do you know my name? And- Don't call me that, only my sister can call me that!" I wave the bottle threateningly at her to punctuate my point.

She places her hands on her hips and claims, "Cas, I am your sister!"

The conviction in this strangers voice makes me hesitate. Still, "Prove it."

Without blinking she replies, "I made that potion your holding for you after you almost got mugged in P3's parking lot during your first week there."

I falter from my defensive position. I had only told Paige about that incident.

"Wait- you almost got mugged?! Why didn't I know about this?" The woman on the couch demands.

"We really don't have time for this guys," the short haired one interjects earnestly, "Piper's hurt, Cassy. Where's your first aid kit?"

I tighten my grip, but feel my resolve weaken. "Okay," I concede, "I'll help you, but no sudden movements!"

Once I tell them where its located the strawberry blonde orbs it to her hands. She places it in mine saying, "You're the best equipped for this."

Her use of magic and knowledge of my interactions with Paige sets me on edge, but I push it to the side to help the other stranger currently bleeding out on my couch. "This will sting a bit," I warn her before applying the antiseptic.

"That's okay, just do what you can. We have to get back to the manor fast, for Wyatt." Her voice is calm even with the painful injury, probably still in shock. I decide not to say anything and focus on patching her up.

The short haired woman tried to reassure her, "They're not gonna hurt Wyatt. They won't risk exposure. Not while we're still alive."

"How are we going to stay alive? How are we gonna fight without out powers?" Strawberry blonde asks her.

"At least you can still orb," she responds.

The woman I'm currently performing first aid on sighs, "I wish you could orb to Leo. I'd give anything for one of his unwanted visits right now."

The longer I listen to these women, the more similarities I notice between them and the three sisters I've spent the last three years of my life with. Those women I saw at the manor today felt like strangers, especially compared with the connection I feel here.

"Why don't we just call Chris?" I interject, before I can stop myself.

The woman on the couch smiles while the other two look at me astounded, part of me wonders if they forgot I was even here. Yet more evidence that they're the real Paige and Phoebe, I'm sad to admit.

The woman claiming to be Paige says, "He won't listen to us though!"

"But he'll still listen to me. He's my whitelighter too, after all."

They agree it's a good idea, and once I've patched up the brunette I leave the room for a bit of privacy.

It takes a few tries, and I feel like an idiot walking around my apartment yelling "Chris!"

Gosh, what must the neighbours think of me? On second thought, I don't want to know. I'm just glad Beth's gone out of town for the weekend.

On the fourth try, I feel a niggling in my brain and hear that familiar otherworldly chime - like someone it telling me to wait and be patient.

"No, this can't wait!" I respond to the noise in my head. "He's my whitelighter too, and I need him - right now!"

Finally, I hear the sound of orbing behind me and turn to face the forming lights.

"Alright, alright," I hear his charming voice say, "What's so important you have to pull me here? I told you I was doing an investigation for the sisters."

I'm so happy to see him, I could hug him! But I won't, because I'm still trying to keep my distance. It's just nice to see a familiar face after being surrounded by these three strange ones. "It's about the sisters Chris..." I trail off, not knowing where to start.

His face lights with curiosity and concern, "What about them? What's happened?"

"Well, you know how you said they were acting weird today?" I pause to gauge his reaction.

He flushes again and nods, not meeting my eyes. Weird, but okay.

Deciding to just rip the band-aid off I tell him quickly, "I think someone did a body-snatching spell on them."

"A body-snatching spell? What? Cas, that's ridiculous."

I let the use of my nickname slide, knowing we have bigger problems right now. "I know, okay? I know it sounds ridiculous, but- okay, Piper fired me this afternoon, and then Paige told me I should move to Alaska! Don't you think that's odd behaviour?"

He looks genuinely startled at this, "Piper did what?"

I'm too amped up to even register his words as I continue, "Then, when I got home there were these three strangers in my apartment waiting for me, and they knew so much Chris! They know about me, and Wyatt, and Leo! And- and one of them can orb!" I breath heavily as I finish my explanation.

"Let me get this straight," Chris interjects, closing his eyes and holding his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "You come home to find three strangers in your house and your first reaction is to have a long chat with them?"

I amend, "No, I had to patch up their injuries first."

He drops his hand and looks at me with frustration. "Even better, you had to heal the intruders first!? What if they had been here to hurt you, Cas? Why didn't you call me sooner?"

I flush at his implication that I couldn't protect myself, starting to get annoyed. "Um, didn't it just take me like ten minutes to call you here now? What good would that have done?" I ask rhetorically and hold my hand up as he tries to interrupt. "It doesn't matter anyway. They didn't hurt me, and they need our help."

"We can't help everyone, Cas," he says with such deep sorrow, as though it's something he's tried to convince me of before.

"But we have to try," I insist defiantly.

His eyes glaze over, like he's lost in a memory. His hand reaches up to cup my face, but I step back before he can touch me. I look away, but still catch a glimpse of the hurt on his face.

"Please, just hear them out," I plead with him.

He sighs, long and heavy, then pulls himself together again. "Okay. Where are they?"

I smile, trying to ignore the heavy weight in my gut, wishing my facade could be even half as good as his is.

The three women light up with hope when we step into the room.

The strawberry blonde, 'Paige', is the first to speak. "Thank God you got him here!"

"I was starting to get a bit worried you might not be able to convince him," short haired 'Phoebe' adds.

"Well I never doubted you," 'Piper' tells me with certainty from the couch, before asking Chris, "Did she fill you in on what happened?"

"Uh-huh," Chris responds doubtfully, "So, which one are you meant to be?"

Before she can answer I stop her, knowing that claiming to be a Charmed One is just going to look plain ridiculous and completely unbelievable. "Don't tell him," I request, "Let him figure it out."

She closes her mouth and nods thoughtfully, taking my advice. Just like Piper always does.

So, they tell us both the story of what happened today. How around lunchtime everyone stopped recognising them, and they all had to rush into their workplaces to handle different emergencies. I interjected that I had actually seen two of them running from the house, but had just assumed they were innocents and didn't think more of it when I saw Wyatt was okay. Chris shoots me a look at that, but I ignore it. Then, the said when they got back home to the manor there were three blondes that used the Book of Shadows to steal their powers from them. Fortunately Paige still had her orbing ability so they were able to escape to my apartment before they were killed.

There goes my body snatching theory.

'Paige' showed him her orbing ability, which at the very least proved that they were trustworthy.

Chris and I were both reeling from all the information. It sounds unbelievable, but last week there was a literal dragon flying around the city, so yeah, this seems pretty believable in comparison.

Seeing our shock 'Piper' says, "Remember this morning, Chris? When you said something was going to happen to the book? Well this is it. It's happening now."

"Okay," he says, trying to wrap his head around it all. "If what your saying is true, then you just need to say the original spell that gave you all your powers and everything will go back to normal. Is that right?"

'Piper' frowns at him, heavy with the burden of the situation, "It won't get our identities back, but it's a start. We'll need to write a counter spell for that."

He nods, and stays silent thinking for a moment.

"Why don't we call Leo?" 'Paige suggests, "Maybe his new Elder powers can help fix this."

"No," Chris denies immediately, "He's taking care of Wyatt up there right now. We shouldn't drag him into this."

I see Piper's expression soften, and any lingering doubt I had of their identities is immediately erased. That was the look of a mother, glad to know her child was safe. You can't fake something like that.

Eventually it's decided that Chris will orb in, copy the spell for them and bring it here for them to say. At first they all had wanted to go the manor, but I insisted that Piper needs to rest her injured leg.

The four of us are on edge as we wait for Chris to come back. Paige and Phoebe pace restlessly, while I sit on the couch with Piper, trying to keep her mind off things by asking how P3 is going now that she's back at work.

When his orbing sounds up again I jump to my feet, hoping that he's alright.

He seems fine enough, he has no injuries, but his shirt is pretty rumbled. I see a smear of lipstick on his neck and try to hold back a flinch at the sight of it.

He hands over the spell to Piper, slightly shaking, and insists, "You have no idea what I had to go through to get that for you."

"I think I have a clue," I can't help but mutter, and his gaze flicks to meet mine. There's something like guilt there, but that makes no sense and I try not to dwell on it.

The sisters thank him profusely. When they say the spell we can all feel the magic in the air. I swear, I could almost see a shimmering glow come in through the window and settle over the three of them. It's a beautiful sight and my eyes start to leak from the stress of this strange day.

It's great to see the sisters with their powers back, even if I still don't actually recognise their faces.

When they offer to take me to the manor with them to handle the imposters, I politely decline. Today's been a lot for me, and I just want some time alone to process everything.

Paige nods, accepting my decision easily, and leaves to take her other sisters back home.

Chris lingers for a while, offering to get me anything I might need. I tell him that all I really need is to be by myself for a while. It seems hard for him to accept that...

"I didn't want to, you know that right?" He tells me, trying to look me in the eyes.

I don't let him, too emotionally on edge to have direct eye contact with him right now. I know what he's referring to. I stare at the wall as I ask, "Which time?"

"Either." He says simply, and I'm betrayed by the fluttering of my heart at the statement.

I tried to squash down any hope. There couldn't be anything between us, we weren't right for each other. "Doesn't change what happened," I tell him blankly.

He looks darkly at the floor, "No, it doesn't."

"Goodbye Chris, and..." There's so much I want to say, but I settle for, "Be safe."

"You too," he responds before evaporating into sparkling lights.

It was smooth sailing after that, or so I was told. The sisters blinded the girls powers, and made sure there were held accountable for the innocent lives they had taken. They wouldn't be harming anyone else again, and I was grateful.

Authors Note - This one was so fun to write! Our first major plot change and some more cute bonding moments between Chris and Cas!

Let me know what you think! Please? Was anyone too OOC? Did you like my new editions? Were the interactions I created believable? Is Cas cool or too Mary Sue? Is her power okay? I wanted her to not have one but then like as if they would involve her in anything hahah I NEED FEEDBACK PLEASE!

I'm trying to be as faithful to the lore of the show as possible, while still adding in believable tid-bits because the show runners dropped the ball a few times (like Piper running around the house in this episode after having seriously injured her leg lol).

Thanks for reading! oxoxoxo