Title: A Whitelighter's Priority

Author: rachelAbendstern

Summary: Chris has to take care of two new charges – on the Hellmouth. I know, the idea is old, but give it a shot. Please?

Disclaimer: Neither Buffy nor Charmed is mine, and I don't make any money with it. Lily though belongs to me XP

1. New Charges and other Problems

Sag ein kleines Stückchen Wahrheit,
Sieh wie die Wüste lebt.
Schaff ein kleines bisschen Klarheit,
Und schau wie sich der Schleier hebt.
Eine Wüste aus Beton und Asphalt,
Doch sie lebt und öffnet einen Spalt,
Der dir neues zeigt, zeigt das altes weicht,
Auch wenn dein Schmerz bis an den Himmel reicht.

"You want me to do what!" Chris all but yelled at the Elder. They were sitting at the bar of P3, or rather; Leo was sitting, since Chris had abruptly jumped off his seat as he had heard what the other man had had to say.

"I want you to take on a new charge, Chris!" Leo sounded positively venomous. He really did not have any patience with his junior Whitelighter. It did not have anything to do with his own animosity towards the young man or with his guilty conscience that telling him he should not have left his family no matter what. No, it had nothing to do with that not at all.

"I told you, I don't have time for another charge! I came here for one reason and one reason only and that was not to make up for the missing Whitelighters, but to save Wyatt! You better keep that in mind because if you don't, what happened in my future will happen here just the same!"

It felt good to vent his anger on Leo but the only problem was it did not help any. The Elder was still wearing that resolute expression that told his younger opponent that nothing he could do or say would change Leo's plans for him. That just drove Chris completely insane! How did this damn bastard not see how dangerous it was if Chris were to divert his attention from the sisters? Then again, Leo did not trust him and neither did the sisters. That realization hurt more than he wanted it to even though he was prepared for it. Why did their actions hurt him so much if he had expected this to happen?

He did not have time to contemplate his situation any further however because the other man grabbed his arm unceremoniously and orbed out with an unwilling Chris in tow.

He found himself in an unknown living room. He did recognize the vibes that suddenly went through his whole body however.

"The Hellmouth!" he shouted at Leo. "You have got to be kidding me. You actually want me to take care of a charge on the Hellmouth! Are you mad? You know as well as I do, that a charge on the Hellmouth needs a fulltime Whitelighter, Leo!"

Chris was no longer angry with the Elder; he was seething! How could Leo do this?

"Who the hell are you people?" A strange voice made its way through Chris' rage and he took a quick look around. Six stunned faces stared at them. Two of whom were witches, the young Whitelighter sensed, and some of the others were not quite human either.

"As Whitelighter it is your duty to take on several charges and you know that, Chris!" The Elder did not even both to acknowledge the intrusion on their little conversation.

"I will tell you once again I didn't come here to be a regular Whitelighter." Chris was done screaming, his voice was a dangerous hiss now and his fury had almost reached the boiling point. He could feel his powers getting out of control, but it would not do for Leo to find out about his witch powers now. Chris had enough problems without opening that can of worms. Shaking with the effort to contain them, he tried his best to reason with the Elder.

"Listen, Leo I get that you want me out of the way. Believe me I get it but what you want to do now puts others in danger. You want to talk about Whitelighter morals how about this, these girls need to be their Whitelighter's first priority. Even if you take the sisters away from me they would be my first priority, because they are what I came back here for in the first place!"

"Now that you warned us we can prevent it and we don't need you for that." Leo's voice was alarmingly condescending.

"You are so full of it!" Chris started once more, only to be interrupted by a voice – again.

"Hey, would you people care to fill us in?"

Turning around Chris caught sight of a tall man in black leather with spiky bleach blonde hair and a seriously pissed expression. However, the young man was too pissed-off himself to be even remotely intimidated.

"Do you mind peroxide we're fighting here?"

"No, Chris we're done," Leo's sharp voice objected. "There is no point arguing any longer, it will not change anything. Tara and Willow will be your new charges along with the sisters. Take good care of them; you know what happens when you fail."

"Yeah, I bet that's exactly what you're counting on isn't it," Chris did not even try to conceal the bitterness in his voice this time. "It's what you always do." However, the Elder had already started to orb out, leaving him alone with the two witches and their friends, he assumed. Abandoning him once again proving some things never change.

Trying to calm himself down, Chris rubbed his eyes wearily. "Great, just great," the young man muttered under his breath.

That little display just now probably did not do a thing to convince the two girls to lay their faith in their new guardian. Despite everything, the young half-breed felt sorry for those two. They would be the ones to suffer, if he failed in his new duty – which was only a matter of time really.

They were still looking at him. The bleach blonde-haired person – something did not feel right about him – did not seem to be able to decide if he was pissed or amused. Another tall man, this one brown-haired person and more sturdy, eyed him suspiciously, as if Chris was going to jump him, if he was not careful. The blonde woman at his side looked more as if she would jump Chris any minute, and for completely different reasons. Chris actually had to fight down a blush at her intent stare. Then there was a teenage girl who was tiny with long brunette hair and had a gaze that was equally suspicious and curious.

The two witches, one flaming red and the other honey colored hair were standing very... very close together and were watching him more confused than anyone else was.

"So," the red one uncertainly began. "What is a Whitelighter and what is our part in it?"

Chris' temper momentarily flared up to new heights as he heard this. "He didn't even tell you!" Raking his hands through his hair he said, "This is getting worse by the minute!"

666

The Scoobies eyed the young man in front of them warily, not quite able to figure out if he was a threat or not, while said young man stared sullenly back at them.

Spike took in his appearance curiously. He did not seem like the ordinary Whitelighter. In his time on earth, he had heard quite a bit about them and had even seen one or two in his days. Those white blue orbs had been enough for the vampire to know who exactly was visiting the Summers' home. To be truthful he had always wondered why he had not seen one around Red and the other witch so far. What surprised him was that this one actually tried to fight his calling. In front of his supposed charges no less. This was not an average Whitelighter at all. It certainly did not put him into Spike's good graces either. He had no soul but he intended to keep his promise to Buffy to look after Dawn and the little bit would be quite upset if anything happened to her little group of friends. If this... boy put any of them in danger then there would be hell to pay! Spike would make sure to find a way around that damn chip in his head to deliver it personally.

The tension in the room was almost tangible by now, "So…"

"Okay…" Dawn's voice perked up at the same time the newcomer finally decided to say something.

A tight smile played around the young man's lips as he motioned for Dawn to continue, "Ladies first."

"Why don't we start with introductions first and then you can tell us what you came here for."

"Sounds fine with me."

"Uh…well…ok, I'm Dawn," the brown-haired teenager began awkwardly after realizing this Chris-guy would not start with introducing himself first.

"That guy over there-" she pointed to the whelp "is Xander with his girlfriend Anya."

Now she pointed to the blonde-haired woman who cheerily waved him a hand. Spike chuckled as he caught the look on the Whitelighter's face. The ex-demoness seemed to seriously weird the boy out.

"Bleach-blonde here-"

"Hey!" Spike objected.

The nibblet went on as if she did not hear him, "is called Spike."

The boy turned a calculating stare at the vampire and Spike had the distinct feeling that he was being examined inside out. He shot a glare at the Whitelighter in return but otherwise stayed silent – for now.

"Those two," Dawn continued, oblivious to their little battle, indicating the witches "are Willow and Tara." Willow was the red haired women and Tara was the blonde one. "It sounded like you already knew they were witches…" the little bit uncertainly stopped at this point.

"Yeah, I did." the boy answered absentmindedly, eying the witches with a fascinated look. "Are you two an item?"

Both of the witches blushed, causing the vampire and ex-demon to chuckle with mirth and the whelp to grunt, "Does subtlety mean anything to that guy?"

"So, what you're saying is that Whitelighters are some sort of guardian-angels for witches?" Willow recapitulated what they had been explained by Chris in the last twenty or so minutes.

"That's... putting it a bit simple but yes," the young man confirmed patiently.

They had all settled down on the couch and on various easy chairs – or the floor in Dawn's case – in the Summers' living room. Now that he had calmed down after his little argument with his Elder Tara found him almost amiable and handsome. The young witch loved Willow dearly but she was allowed to watch after all. She especially watched the young man's aura. It did not feel like the other Whitelighter's aura at all. In this one, she sensed darkness. Not evil darkness, but the kind of darkness, that came along with sorrow, despair or fear. She had a feeling Chris had seen too much at too young of an age. There was something else that bothered her about his aura, something she knew she should recognize but could not place at the moment.

"You know, what bothers me?" Spike spoke up. Somehow, it still amazed Tara that the vampire now fought on their side and was part of their little group even without a soul. True, he always complained and always whined but when it came down to it, he had not let them down so far. He had earned his place here as far as she was concerned. "Why wasn't there a Whitelighter at their side all along?" The witch smiled secretly when she noted that Spike did not even try to conceal his accusation.

"Because apparently they didn't need one so far," the young Whitelighter stated with a frown marring his features, as he asked himself the very same question.

"How's that possible?" Dawn asked confused. "I thought you said every witch needs and has one assigned to her as soon as she comes into her powers. Willow had her powers a long time before I came here."

"I don't really know," Chris confessed. "I am new on the job and Leo didn't exactly tell me much about you."

Noting the almost undetectable animosity in his words, Tara wondered what issues the two Whitelighters might have with each other.

"Yeah," came the dry comment from Xander. "We overheard that."

Tara suppressed a giggle when she watched her lover's long-time friend. Xander's eyes looked a little glazed over as he tried to process the information they had been given. After all his time on the Hellmouth, she would have thought that the young man would take this new development a little more in stride.

"Yeah," Chris actually looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry about that." He looked down at his hands for a moment, obviously debating on what to say next. "But, I meant what I told Leo, the sisters will always be my first priority. You should know that. I know, it's not fair to you but I can't help it. That does not mean that I will not help you if I can, or that you can't call me if you need me. You should know that, too. I'll do my best."

The blonde witch could tell he was being honest with them. Chris had a determined look on his face that made him seem older than he probably was.

There were some minutes of silence before Willow spoke up again, unbelievingly shaking her head. "Why would they leave us alone when they look after all other witches? I mean are we less important than the others or did we actually make it that good on our own and screwed up now somehow?"

Tara could hear a distinct note of betrayal in her lover's voice and quickly tried to soothe her. "Oh, but we weren't alone Sweaty. We had Mr. Giles all along didn't we?"

Nodding, Willow gave her a teary smile.

"Who's Mr. Giles?" Chris asked curiously.

"He was the former school librarian and my sister's Watcher. He has moved to London again a few days ago," Dawn filled him in without hesitation.

"Dawn!" Xander cried accusingly but the girl just shrugged it off.

"What given what he is and what he told us he probably knows about Slayers anyway," she argued reasonably. If Tara had not known Dawn was still hurting from the loss of her sister, her composed façade would have fooled her. They were all still hurting but she was the one Tara was most concerned about.

"Well, that would explain it," Chris interrupted her musings, frown firmly in place again. "A Watcher is not quite a Whitelighter but they do have about a similar knowledge. If that Watcher took you in from the very beginning, along with his Slayer, then the Elders wouldn't have interfered, knowing you'd be safe with them."

He looked at Dawn thoughtfully, and then spoke with a surprisingly soft voice "I'm sorry about your sister." When they all stared at him he explained, "If her Watcher has left that means she died or am I wrong?"

"You're not," Willow quietly confirmed.

666

After everything had been said and done Chris waited for the girls to retire to their bedrooms. It was late, approximately one o'clock in the morning, and the brunette teenager that was the former Slayer's sister had to go to school tomorrow – or today, that was. Xander and Anya had left a few minutes ago, leaving the living room couch for him to sleep on if he wanted to. Feeling exhausted himself, the young half-witch let his head fall down on the back of his chair, listening to the noises of doors open, bare feet tapping on the floor and the quiet voices of the girls upstairs. It was nice. He had not heard the nighttime or morning noises of a house full of people, of a family, in a very long time and he missed it. Piper and her sisters did not allow him to sleep in the manor. They said that it was because there was not enough space for that many people but he knew the truth was that they just did not trust him. So now, he enjoyed listening and being trusted enough to stay in the house overnight, pretending he did not care about the sisters' obvious dislike for him.

It amazed the cynical witch how easily the group had accepted him. Living on the Hellmouth and helping a Slayer in her fight for years, he had thought they would be more wary of a stranger. Nevertheless, he did not fool himself. They might have decided to trust him, but Chris knew quite well, he had to prove himself worthy of their trust. The same way he had to prove himself to the sisters.

He did not really know much about Slayers only that they had been created to deal with vampires because, curiously enough, witchcraft did not work on them without serious complications. Slayer lore was not one of his stronger points since the Watchers and their council mostly worked on their own. The only thing he did know was that there was some kind of college in the England of his time.

Sensing a presence behind him, he remembered why he had not gone to sleep yet. After all, how could he sleep when a confrontation was waiting for him?

"You're a vampire, aren't you?" Chris asked, without turning around to face Spike. Only because he did not know about Slayer lore did not mean he did not recognize a vamp when he saw one. If the master vampire was surprised, he did not show it as he moved in front of the boy.

"Got that right, there a problem with that?" he challenged curtly, arms crossing over his chest.

'Pretty impressive,' the tired boy thought. Keeping his cool, he scrunched his face up replying, "Lay off, I'm not here to judge you. I guess there is a reason that you are invited into this home so as long as you don't jump me or anyone I care about we're cool!"

"Talking about that, if you put any of them in danger you will have me to answer me, got that? Who are your other charges anyway?"

"I can't tell you but they pretty much look for trouble if it doesn't come find them first." Chris answered wearily.

"Hmm…with such troublesome charges why are you being assigned two others that live on the Hellmouth of all places? Isn't that like calling for the devil?" The boy probably just imagined it but Spike sounded almost sympathetic there.

"Because Leo wants me fail." He sighed as exhaustion kicked in, "He'll most likely be watching me all along the way to hell."

"Well, that Elder will not be the only one watching you." Just for good measure, Spike gave him a warning glare.

"I figured as much," Chris mumbled. This bunch was lucky to have a friend like this, he acknowledged somewhat jealous. He could not remember anyone who had his back like that, not after...he did not want to go there.

"Great," he announced a bit louder. "That being solved would you let me sleep now? I'm wiped."

Casting a last suspicious glance at the witches strange new Whitelighter Spike left the house to return to his crypt for the daylight hours.

666

The house was still except for the occasional creaking of wood and the rhythmic breathing of its occupants. However, not all of them were asleep. While the young man downstairs unconsciously burrowed deeper into his blankets on the sofa and the teenage girl in a bedroom upstairs was dead to the world, the two young women in the master bedroom were debating the latest events with hushed voices.

"So, what do you think of him, Tara?" Willow asked her lover, knowing she probably had seen things others would never have noticed.

"Well," the shy girl began. "I think he is no threat to us."

"Obviously or we wouldn't have let him stay here." her red-haired friend retorted wryly. "What else, you picked up more than that, didn't you? I mean, you could read his aura!"

"I did," Tara confirmed. "It was... I don't know, confusing."

"Explain," Willow looked at her questioningly.

"Well, the other Whitelighter's aura was, you know all bright and good if somewhat tinged with his current emotions – whatever they might have been. But Chris' was just... dark." She wrinkled her brows, trying to remember and putting into words what she felt back downstairs.

"Dark as in – evil?" her partner questioned quietly.

"We already agreed, that he means no harm," Tara playfully reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. So – how?"

"There was sorrow, pain and fear that kind of dark. I think he is hiding something but when he promised to help us, I didn't feel any lie or second thoughts." She paused again, remembering something different. "There is something familiar to his aura, you know. Like something I know I have seen a hundred times before but I just don't recognize what!"

Sensing her lover's frustration, Willow moved over to place a not so chaste kiss on the other witch's lips.

"Don't worry, sweaty!" another kiss before adding, "We'll figure it out eventually. I mean, it can't hurt to keep him around now that we have our very own Whitelighter, can it?"

Instead of an answer, Tara placed her arms around Willow's neck and kissed her once more lovingly.

666

When Dawn came down the stairs a couple of hours later, she was delighted to find someone already had breakfast ready. After last night, she had expected Willow or Tara to crawl out of bed only to take her to school and then head straight for the comfort of their warm sheets again. Lucky university students had no classes today, she grumbled under her breath. Well, at least she only had to get up for second period.

Smelling hot chocolate and pancakes from the kitchen, she guessed she was wrong though. Hot chocolate and pancakes were there all right and neatly arranged on the countertop but the cook was nowhere in sight. Shrugging, she took her fill and entirely relished the sweet treats. It was a beautiful day outside and she found that for the first time in days she could just enjoy the peace of the morning without the plaguing thoughts of her dead sister.

Perhaps something like Chris was exactly what they needed to shake them into reality again and force them to continue with their lives. She did not want to forget her sister, the ache of her loss still remained, but now she saw that the world did not stop with her sister's death and unless she wanted to follow her, she somehow had to go on.

Finishing her breakfast she went to peek into the living room checking if the new addition to her already weird family was up already. The young man, who was supposed to become her friends' new guardian, fascinated her. Aside from good looks–hey she was a hormone driven teenage girl she had the right to say he looked cute–he was a mysterious stranger, who appeared to be more than the average Whitelighter he described to them the night before. Why else would he have outright refused to take Willow and Tara as new charges? At first, it had made her mad but later she realized that he did not reject her friends but the responsibility of any new charge he could have been assigned to. That fact made her extremely curious as to what it was that was more important to him than his duties as a Whitelighter.

Noting Chris sitting on the couch, obviously awake, she walked over to see what he was doing.

When she came close enough to look over his shoulder, she spied some Tarot cards lying on the tablecloth uncovered. One in particular – the one Chris held contemplating in his left hand – made her shiver.

"That's bad, isn't it?" she whispered fearfully.

Jerking his head around in surprise, he stared at her asking confused, "What?"

Catching her gaze he turned to the card again, "Oh no, don't worry. Death doesn't always mean death. More often than not it just means that things are changing."

Letting out a relieved sigh, she chuckled. "Well, I could have told you that without reading cards. I knew that the moment you showed up."

"I guess." It made Chris show a half smile but she could tell he was still troubled about something.

"What do the rest of them mean?" Dawn curiously eyed the cards spread on the table.

At first, it appeared the Whitelighter had not heard her since his gaze was still lingering on the card in his hand but then he turned around again an apologetic smile in place.

"Sorry, Dawn but that's kind of personal."

"Then you laid the cards for yourself?" Chris nodded silently, giving the girl even more reason to be concerned.

"So, did you make that breakfast I just devoured?" she tried to change the topic after a few seconds of silence, not wanting to stir anything up.

"Uh, yeah I got hungry and took the liberty of using your kitchen." Matter of factly he added, "I figured since you have to go to school soon I'd leave some for you."

"Thanks!" Dawn was really beginning to like this guy.

"Listen about school... could you drive me cause I don't think Willow or Tara will wake up anytime soon…" she trailed off as she noticed the faraway look on Chris' face.

"I gotta go!" he exclaimed suddenly, jumping off the sofa and ready to orb. Taking a last look at her she could see his face soften with regret, "Sorry Dawn but even if I could stay here, I couldn't drive you because I don't have a license. If you need me or if anything happens just call my name and I'll hear you. That goes for all of you."

With that said, he disappeared in a swirl of white blue orbs.

"Great," Dawn muttered with a pout. "That beaming thing would have been so cool!"

666

Returning to Halliwell Manor Chris immediately got the sickening feeling that something was wrong. He did not have much time to dwell on it however because the sisters assaulted him with questions as soon as he materialized. Although he could not make out much more than a few words as they all spoke up together.

"Okay shut up!" The yell was loud enough to actually make them stop. Chris had a hard time not laughing aloud at their shocked faces. Had they known his real identity, or if he would have yelled at them like this in his own time, he was sure he would have gotten a slap on the head for this!

As it were, he only gave them an exasperated look. "Now, can you tell me what is going on, with one after the other this time?"

Phoebe began, "Well we're not really sure what's going on."

Impatiently, Chris raised his eyebrows for them to explain.

"See we all seem to have forgotten some of the things that happened yesterday," Paige was now explaining for her sisters.

"Yeah like that huge fight I apparently started. I only know about that because of a flashback from Elise when she wanted to fire me!" her elder sister spoke up again, clearly agitated.

"You what!" Chris did not believe his ears. Aunt Phoebe initiated a fight with humans and did not even remember it? There was definitely something going on.

"And Flo just got fired because I apparently forgot I promised to stand by her side when she had to face that jerk of a boss! Not to mention that I can't remember how that coffee-stain got on my blouse." Aunt Paige wore that pout of hers that she seemed to have perfected.

Shaking his head incredulously, the young Whitelighter looked at the woman who would one day be his mother and asked dreadfully, "What did you forget?"

"Why is everyone asking me that?" Piper sounded clearly annoyed. "How can I remember something I've obviously forgotten?"

Phoebe chimed in, before Piper could blow up in her Whitelighter's face. "Anyway we already have a spell ready that hopefully will bring back our memories."

Now, Chris was decidedly confused. "Then what do you need me for?" he questioned scrunching up his face.

"Duh," that was Paige again. "We thought perhaps you knew something about this you know coming from the future and all that might give us a head start."

"No," the boy began but then suddenly he realized what exactly he was missing in this scene. "Wait where's Wyatt?"

"Who?" three voices said at once. Oh boy, that was so not good.

"You know Wyatt The little baby boy I came here for in the first place?" He looked at them expectantly but the only response he got was total confusion. Great, just great.

"Who's Wyatt, a friend of yours?" Piper asked curiously.

Chris stared at the younger version of his mother. It was so hard sometimes not to forget that she did not know him, let alone love him, and now she did not even remember her firstborn.

This could be the answer to all your problems, a little insistent voice sounded in his head. If Wyatt did not exist then he could not turn evil and could not destroy everything their family had fought for for so long. Chris knew it was not right even as he thought this. He came back to save Wyatt and to bring back the big brother he knew all his childhood, not to cause him to disappear completely. If so he could just have done what the resistance originally wanted him to do – kill the boy before he turned out the monster he was in his time.

And apart from all that the Charmed Ones would fix this anyway, they always did eventually. Like Phoebe said, they had the spell already written.

So he answered Piper honestly – for the time being. "Apparently you've forgotten Wyatt is yours and Leo's son." He actually managed to get the man's name out without a hint of bitterness or anger.

"My son!" the eldest witch sounded and looked aghast. "What could possibly happen that Leo and I could forget a child of ours?"

"And a nephew of ours!" Paige added as bewildered as the other two witches.

"Good question and why didn't it affect me." Chris knew now something was definitely going on. "Actually I know why it didn't affect me."

Already putting the pieces together in his mind, the young man walked over to the Book of Shadows. He begin leafing through it searching the side he knew had to be there somewhere.

"Chris?" Phoebe inquired uncertainly.

"I think I know what's going on. There are these guys called 'cleaners' and it's their job to make sure magic will not be exposed. They well they 'clean up' after magical accidents and if there's a threat to magic they can simply erase it. They could take the witch or warlock or... child away with them and clean everyone's memory of any trace they ever existed. Perhaps Wyatt went overboard with his developing powers which would have caused the cleaners to step into action."

He could practically feel Piper fuming at the thought that anyone dared to take away her baby and make her forget him.

However, it was Phoebe once again who asked the next question. "So how come you're not affected?"

Having found the page he was looking for the young man looked up to face them and replied, "Leo assigned me two new charges and coincidence has it that they live in Sunnydale on the Hellmouth. I was there all night so the cleaner's magic was useless there since the Hellmouth interferes with their kind of power. Besides, it's not as if they need it anyway since people in Sunnydale only know what they want to know. You should see how many accidents and deaths happen there with a 'barbecue-fork' involved."

At their startled stares he explained, "Vampires."

"Oh."

"Anyway back to topic," Paige interrupted Phoebe's surfacing curiosity. "How do we stop them?"

"First of all you get your memories back. You already have a spell, cast it."

"Smartass!" Paige exclaimed impatiently. "I mean how do we vanquish them?"

"You can't."

"What!" Piper exploded.

"Calm down!" her Whitelighter ordered patiently.

"You can't stop them by magic but maybe with your wits. They're needed to keep magic hidden and to keep the balance of things in this world. Meaning, you can't vanquish them without causing serious trouble and that they can't erase you because that would tip the balance towards evil."

Now Chris showed a distinctly impish smirk, "Just imagine what job they would have to do to clean up after the Charmed Ones if they decided to let their magic on the loose."

Identical answering smirks slowly appeared on the three sisters' faces. Before anyone could start talking again the familiar sound of orbs interrupted their conspiratorial silence.

"Leo!" Chris welcomed the newcomer with a fake smile. God how he hated that man! Sometimes he just wanted to blow the whole truth up in his face that yes he was his son and his precious twice-blessed Wyatt was the black sheep of the family not him. Then again Leo hadn't believed him when he had knew who he was so what chances were there for him to believe the guy who had taken over his position as the Charmed Ones' Whitelighter and banished him to Valhalla?

"There you are." Leo sounded less than pleased but there was an almost apologizing air around him. Chris really wished he did not have to take the empathy-blocking potion right now. Unfortunately, it did not only block his feelings to Aunt Phoebe but it also blocked him from sensing any other's feelings. "Aren't you supposed to take care of your charges?"

He is so full of it, he thought angry. "I am taking care of my charges unless you wanted the sisters to be taken over by another Whitelighter!"

With a little disbelief and an adequate amount of satisfaction, Chris noted the uncomfortable shift in his father's posture before he replied, "No... can I talk to you in private for a second?"

Chris hesitated uncertainly, what did he want now? He had not done anything these past few days – at least nothing Leo would possibly know about.

Piper's voice sounded encouraging, "Go on we've got this covered."

Having no other excuse to get out of the situation Chris followed the Elder down the stairs.

"So," Paige looked determinedly around at her sisters. "Let's get started."

"Moments lost make witches wonder

Warlock's plot or demon's plunder

If this is not a prank

Help us to fill in the blank."

666

The girls found out about the fight and coffee-stained blouse the hard way, along with the reason of why the Cleaners took Wyatt away. The little boy had let a very large dragon loose over San Francisco. While a part of them was proud that he accomplished such a feat, they were mostly concerned about loosing him again. Eventually they managed to convince the Cleaners to leave their son, or nephew, in his mother's care with the little help of Chris' earlier suggestion.

So when morning came – again – Wyatt remained in the lives and most importantly the minds of his family this time.

When Chris awoke he pretended to still be asleep on the couch in the Summers' home. For a while, he laid there quiet and drinking in the peaceful and friendly atmosphere of the early hours of morning. Here, away from the sisters and away from San Francisco, it was as if he could let his guard down and could forget about his fears, his pain and his mission without feeling guilty about it. He knew it would not last but he intended to enjoy the moment for as long as he could.

It reminded him of the better days in his time. Days when Wyatt was still the big brother he loved, when his family still believed in him and when they were all still alive. He also remembered some of those rare moments after everything had went to hell in a hand basket were he spent time with his little girl and the woman he loved. God how he missed them. It hurt so much to think that he might not see Lily or Bianca again but there was no one who could have done this job other than him. It had been their very last option after everything else had failed. So now, he was here stranded in a time and in a place that was not his with a family that did not know him or trust him. As much as he did not want it to it still hurt badly nevertheless.

He picked himself up off the couch with a weary sigh realizing which way his thoughts had taken. Well then, he was hungry anyway.

Half an hour and a few pancakes later he found himself once more in the living room where he was contemplating his new situation while walking around the room and taking note of the various pictures standing around.

Man, he really could do with a little advice right now. It was true what he told the Slayer's sister and her friends yesterday the sisters and Wyatt would always be his first priority. Nevertheless, he really liked this group and it would not be so bad to be their Whitelighter. Still, it would be unfair to them.

Bringing his arms down from where they had been crossed over his chest, he was suddenly aware of the small bulge in the pocket of his trousers. A sudden smile lit up his features as he brought the content to the fore. It was an old game of Tarot the heirloom of Bianca's family. He could remember Lily shyly giving it to him with her huge bright eyes and quavering lips. It had been right before Bianca and he went to Halliwell manor to get him back in time.

Well he had asked for advice so he might as well try it. While Tarot did not work like Phoebe's premonitions when it came to seeing the future, it was quite helpful if you did not know what to do.

Chris sat down on the couch while already shuffling the cards. There were three fields to fill head, heart, gut, meaning ratio, feeling and subconscious. What he got when he played the cards was the Jester, the Hermit and Death.

Yeah, that was great. The Jester showed he was a rebel not belonging anywhere and trying to find his way. He was hard to bring down and had a different view on the world and the people around him, which was an advantage at times. Actually, it was rather befitting if he thought about it.

Then the Hermit which said he lived on his own, having small to no contact to other people and then returning to his inner self. Obviously, his heart thought he needed to concentrate on himself for a while.

Lastly Death, which was not as bad a card as most people thought it to be. Mostly it just indicated a serious change. There could be a certain hope in that prospect because change was not always of the bad.

Maybe he really should accept his new duty. Having an overprotective vampire around would most certainly be interesting.

"That's bad, isn't it?" The sudden intrusion startled him out of his reverie. Looking at Dawn he asked her confused, "What?"

The girl did not reply but kept staring at something on the table. He turned around and saw the last card in his hands. He had not even noticed that he had not put it down.

"Oh- no don't worry," Chris tried to reassure the teen. "Death doesn't always mean death. More often than not it just means that things are changing."

The young half-breed spent the next few minutes talking to Dawn. He liked the young woman. She was witty, smart and not afraid to kick your ass if she thought it necessary. He really was sorry for not being able to drive her to school but he could not afford being caught without a license. Darryl might cover for the witches and him but Darryl was in SF and not in Sunnydale. At her suggestion to do that 'beaming thing' he had to laugh. Lucky for him, Xander rang the bell just a few seconds later. Having to go to work himself, he wanted to spare Willow and Tara from getting out of bed after last night's unexpected session.

They were only out of the door when Chris heard someone orbing in behind him. He turned around to face Leo staring down at him. The Elder wore a curious expression and he seemed to be equally displeased and apologetic.

"Listen Chris," he hesitantly began. "I thought about yesterday and you were right." Astonished Chris listened to Leo's clumsy reluctant apology. "You did come from the future for one purpose only, to save Wyatt. It's not fair or for all our best interests to distract you from that with other charges…"

"Stuff it Leo," Chris interrupted him hastily with a curt gesture of his hand. "I'll do it."

Leo blinked a few times before making sure he heard right, "What?"

"I'll do it," the younger one repeated calmly. "As long as it doesn't interfere too much with my mission and besides Sunnydale's like Disney World for demons so it might be useful sticking around a bit."

The Elder stared at him clearly astounded. "Alright," he slowly agreed. "If you say so."

His future son glanced at the floor not facing his father but nodded determinedly nonetheless.

666

Dawn watched from the shadows of the doorframe as the scene between the two Whitelighters unfolded. She had forgotten her schoolbag in the kitchen and when she had came back in to get it she witnessed the other Whitelighter from yesterday orb in. With only a bit of a guilty conscience and a tad frightened, she listened in on them. She did not want Chris to abandon them so soon after he had come into their lives. Her two friends were likely to get a new Whitelighter assigned to them and she did not want Chris to leave. She wanted him to stay damnit!

So when Chris told the older man to stuff it and that he would do the job she wanted to run in and throw herself at him in a huge hug. She was sure she had a goofy smile on her face though.

Only after she had sneaked out of the house did she become aware of another thing Leo had mentioned, He is from the future!

tbc

A/N: Well, my second try at fanfiction. It's a Chris-centric fic, so I put it in the Charmed section not anywhere else. I intend to continue this story, so tell me if you liked it or if I should stop right here.

Oh yeah, the little bit of German at the beginning was taken out of the song 'Und wenn ein Lied...' by 'Soehne Mannheims'. Gee, that sounds weird. I didn't translate it at the beginning, cause I like the German words better (I am not that good at translations), but for anyone who's interested:

Tell a little bit of truth,
See, the desert lives.
Shed a little light on things,
And look how the veil lifts up.
A desert made of concrete and asphalt,
But it lives and opens a rift
That shows you something new, shows that the past yields,
Even if you can't feel anything but pain.

Told you, not too good. Oh well.

Read an review please.

P.S.: Chapter had been beta-read and reedited by shadowhisper. A huge thanks!