DISCLAIMER: This story is based upon the series Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Productions with the exceptions of Serena, Noxaven and any others that don't look familiar.

COPYRIGHT: 2000

RATING: G

Protectors of the Innocent

The air hung heavy, the night had settled in. The scene slowly opens to reveal a dark v alley, as a small figure seems to scurry in the shadows, glancing behind her every so often. The figure becomes clearer to reveal a young girl about the age of 7. Her hair is matted and she is dressed in a worn out white undershirt and a pair of old pants. She starts to run faster until she is out of the ally. We hear the little pitter patter of her feet along with helpless whimpers as she desperately tries to flee from the darkness. As she turns the corner, she grabs onto the wall for safety. She stops as she tries to catch her breath; she whimpers and sighs in fear. She wipes her eyes as her breathing starts to slow down. She glances down the street, looking for a place of safety and she starts to walk. After she had gotten a decent way down the street she crosses and makes her way to a building. She stares at the front of it and notices the sign. She then makes her way to the back.

Her walk slows down as she hears a door open. She sees a man come out with some big cardboard boxes as he tosses them into a big trash bin. She hides in the darkness as she watches. The man made his way back to the door and when the coast was clear, the little girl ran to the door before it could close completely. She then makes her way inside. The focus shifts to the P3 sign outside the club.

Meanwhile, inside P3 the three sisters are cleaning things up for the night.

Piper sighs and says, "What a night, huh girls?"

"Tell me about it Piper, you're really getting things goin around here," said Phoebe.

"She's right sis," said Prue as she sat at the counter. "P3 is The-Place-To-Be!" she said as she tapped her hands on the countertop.

"Things are finally coming together aren't they?" said Piper with a smile. She then grabbed a towel and said, "But what comes along with a great deal of business is a great deal of cleaning."

"Oh tell me about it, you really do have your hands full tonight Pip," said Prue as she looked at Phoebe and smiled and winked.

Piper turned around to grab a towel and then turned back and playfully hit Prue and Phoebe as she said in sync with the playful hits, "You guys could…offer…a hand."

"Ok, ok," Phoebe said as she and Prue giggled.

"That's what I thought," said Piper making a silly face as she stopped hitting them.

The man who had stayed a little late suddenly came out of the back and said, "I finished throwing out the trash Piper, is there anything else you want me to do before I go?"

"Umm…actually Joe could you make sure that the new shipment of glasses came in for tomorrow? There should be 5 boxes in that back storage room."

"Ok," he said as he left. He started to make his way to the storage room but little did he know the little girl had already begun to make her way further inside the club. She had heard someone coming and she gasped and quickly hid behind a couple of boxes. When he made it into the storage room he put on the main light to brighten it up a little. "Glasses…glasses, where could they – aha! There you are. Now, let's see. One, two, three…fo-." All of a sudden something caught his eye. Curled up on the floor was a child with her knees wrapped up with her head buried in them. "What the?!?" The little girl looked up very slowly until she met his gaze. "What are you doing in here?" he said with his hands on his hips.

The focus shifts to the three girls as they are chatting while cleaning when suddenly their chitchat is interrupted by Joe's voice.

"Uh, Piper, we got a problem."

Piper turned around and said, "What? Oh no, tell me we don't have the shipment yet."

"Well, not exactly. But you might say that we have a little more than just a shipment of glasses," he said as he came out of the doorway slowly as he was hand in hand with the little girl. The three girls stared in shock. Joe then let go of the girl's hand and turned to her and said, "This is no place for children! It's ill-e-gal. You know what that means, that means the cops could come and - " The little girl's eyes started to welt up as her chin quivered.

"Joe! Stop it, you're scaring her," said Piper.

"Yeah, she's just a kid!" said Prue.

"Talk about insensitivity!" said Phoebe.

They all began to get up and Joe had a look like, what did I say? "She won't open her mouth and if anyone found out that we allowed a minor –. It could be our jobs guys and I can't afford to have that happen!"

"Joe, just go. We can handle it from here," said Piper.

He turned to the little girl and said, "Sorry kid, but rules is rules."

Piper sighed impatiently and said, "Joe! If you want to keep this job you better grab your coat and skidattle." He left and the door closed with a light thud and Piper had made her way to the little girl. The little girl looked at Piper with a terrified look as she sniffled.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he'll be fired tomorrow," said Piper hoping that comment might lighten the moment. However as she made her way closer to the girl, the girl tensed up even more, sniffled and shook a little in fear. Piper turned to the other two with a look of uncertainty. They gave innocent looks and just urged her on. Piper turned back to the little girl and noticed a tear roll down her cheek. "Oh dear, please don't cry," she said as she bent down to her level, "it's gonna be ok."

Piper took the clean side of the towel she was holding and wiped the girl's tears from her face. Piper then asked sweetly, "Can you tell me you name?" The girl looked cautiously at her and then over at the other two and then made an unsure face.

"Ok, well how about if we start," said Phoebe as she and Prue made their way over. "My name is Phoebe."

"And I'm Prue," she said with a kind smile.

"And my name's Piper. We're all sisters," she said giving a smile.

"And all of our name's start with a P! Isn't that funny," said Prue. The girl still looked unsure and said nothing.

Phoebe walked over to her and said cautiously in a cute voice, "Does your name start with a P?" The little girl looked up at the three of them innocently and then paused a minute and then shook her head no.

"Do you think you can tell us what your name starts with?" said Piper sweetly as she tried to get something out of the poor girl.

The girl looked down, paused and then whispered slowly, "Ss."

"S, huh?" said Phoebe. The girl looked up and nodded a little. "Hmm…is your name Sara?" The girl shook her head still looking sincere and serious. "Suzie?" Again, she shook her head no.

"No, no, your name is…Samantha," said Prue as she squinted her eyes as if she was thinking real hard. Again, a no.

"Stephanie?" said Piper quietly. Negative.

"Wait, wait. I got it. Your name is sss…Silly Billy Lily!" Phoebe said cutely. The little girl let out an adorable laugh and then covered her mouth innocently.

They all smiled and Prue said, "A laugh! You all heard it!"

"That's progress," said Phoebe as she smiled at her. The little girl gave a half smile and then looked at Piper as Piper gave a cute wink. "So what do ya say, kiddo. Do you think you can trust us?" said Phoebe as she put out her hand.

She paused for a moment and then gave a small smile as she slid her hand into Phoebe's.

Suddenly Phoebe's eye's closed as her world turned black and white. She saw the little girl and a warlock of some sort, it was this thick cloud of smoke. Eyes were glowing within it and it encircled her as rays were shot onto her neck as she tried to run away.

After the premonition had ended Phoebe, who was shocked by what she saw, glanced at the girl worriedly. The focus shifts to the young girl, as she stands there helpless and insecure.

(Cut to opening credits)

Back at P3:

Piper and Prue noticed that Phoebe apparently had a premonition; they both glanced at each other with the same look.

"Umm…sweetie, why don't you go wash your face and hands in the bathroom and when you come out I'll have something for you to drink, ok?" said Piper. The girl agreed and Piper smiled and said, "It's right around that corner over there, do you see it?" She nodded as she made her way to the bathroom.

Piper watched her go around the corner and then turned to Phoebe and said, "Did u have what I think u had?"

"Mm hmm," said Phoebe with a concerned look on her face.

"Phoebe…" said Prue as she turned to her also waiting for an explanation.

"I saw that little girl and a warlock, or a demon or something. This big poof of green smoke surrounded her and these ray thingies came out and they were hitting her."

Piper had a confused look on her face as she said, "Anything else?"

"Just her terrified face and screams. She's so innocent you guys, we can't let that happen. Do you think she'll talk to us about what, or maybe I should say, who she was hiding from?"

"I dunno, but let's not push it out of her just yet. We have to make her feel comfortable enough to come with us," said Prue.

Phoebe and Piper nodded in agreement. Just then Piper saw her come out from around the corner.

"Hey there! All better?" said Piper as she went over to the girl putting out her hand for her to grab.

She nodded as she grabbed a hold of Piper's hand and smiled.

Piper returned a smile and said, "Here, you can sit at the big counter with us." Piper picked her up and placed her on the stool and then sat down. The girl was still unsure about these women but they seemed really nice and friendly.

"Would you like some water?" asked Prue. The girl nodded and they gave a glass to her. She took a couple of gulps and then put the cup down, almost finishing the whole glass.

"You must have been pretty thirsty!" said Phoebe cutely as she smiled at her.

The girl smiled and nodded. The three of them looked at each other and they all knew that they had to get something out of her but they didn't want to push it.

"Umm…honey, you don't have to talk right now, cause I know that this is all scary and everything. But if we ask you some questions and you either nod or shake your head for the answer, would that be ok?" asked Prue gently. The girl nodded. "Great," she said with a smile.

"Ok, for starters, umm, do you live around here?" asked Piper. The girl made an unsure face and made an 'I don't know' gesture.

"Are you running away from where ever you came from?" asked Prue. The girl stared at her intently and nodded yes.

"Is there someone that you're running away from?" asked Phoebe. The girl's body stiffened and a terrified look came across her face as she nodded slowly. She then put her head down and rested it in her arms. The three of them looked at each other worriedly.

Piper walked over to her and rubbed the girl's shoulders in a comforting manner as she said, "It's gonna be ok. You're safe with us, you don't have to be scared."

"Hey, hey," said Phoebe gently as she bent her head down to meet the girl's gaze. The girl moved her head to the middle of her arms as she looked at Phoebe. "Come on, trust us."

"We're gonna help, don't worry," said Prue. Piper continued to rub her back.

"Umm, sweetie…you who!" said Phoebe in a silly way trying to get the girl's attention. She looked at Phoebe. "Can I ask you just one more question?" The girl nodded. "Ok, now this is very, very serious, I want you to give it a lot of thought." The girl looked at her seriously and intently. Phoebe then continued and said, "Is your name really Silly Billy Lily?" The girl then giggled out loud in response to the silliness of the comment and also out of relief. Piper smiled and shook her head playfully.

"S..Serena," the little girl muttered quietly.

They all stood shocked. Piper cocked her head over the girl's shoulder and said, "What was that honey?"

She turned to look at Piper as she said, "Serena. That's my name."

They all sighed in relief. "Serena. That's a beautiful name," said Prue. Serena smiled at her.

"So Serena how old are you?" said Phoebe.

"6 and a half," said Serena quietly.

"Wow, you're an old lady!" said Piper. Serena giggled and Piper smiled.

"Umm, so where do you live?" said Prue trying to get some more information out of her.

"California," said Serena as she continued to give minimal answers for she was still unsure about the situation.

"Do you know what part of California sweetie?" said Piper gently. Serena just shook her head quickly. "Well, what about your parents. Do you know their phone number? We could give them a call if you'd like," said Piper as she bowed her head down a little trying to reach the girl's gaze.

Serena's eye's moved in all directions as she avoided eye contact with them. A look of uncertainty came across her face as she muttered, "Umm…"

"It's ok, you can trust us. We can help, you don't have to be afraid," said Phoebe.

Serena looked at Phoebe for a moment and then took a deep breath. There was something about the women that she found comforting, maybe she could trust them. She looked at Piper and said sadly, "I don't have any."