A/N : I apologize for the lack of an update sooner than now, there are a few reasons behind it, but I won't bore you with the details. Just understand I didn't mean to leave you waiting so long! Nevertheless, I hope the length of this update partly makes up for it. :-D

"What!" Grams exclaimed, her eyes almost popping out of her head.

"I know Paige," Prue repeated. This time, she pulled away from her mother's embrace, and took a step away from her loved ones. She half turned away from them, her gaze watching the other people 'Up There'. She had been expecting this conversation for years, but that wasn't to say she was prepared for it, indeed she wasn't – at all.

"Prudence!" Grams said, desperate for answers, and for Prue to turn her attention back to the conversation.

Patty looked carefully at her daughter, wondering, searching, for truth. "How... how could you possibly know about Paige?" She managed to utter out.

Prue couldn't bring herself to look back at her mother or Grams. An involuntarily lump formed in her throat, and she tried to swallow it away. A million different thoughts all screamed through her head at the same time. Prue put a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache forming from her emotional chaos.

Seeing her obvious discomfort, Andy walked over to Prue, standing in her line of sight. He took her other hand in his saying, "you never told me."

Prue dropped her hand from her forehead, and refused to look at Andy. She could sense the anticipation and anxiousness from Patty, Penny and Andy, but also the lack of understanding, and the desperation to have all the answers. She couldn't place her hesitance in explaining her secret to her family, but she couldn't shake it off either.

Prue pulled her hand away from Andy's, in a gentle manner, because it wasn't that she didn't appreciate his support or concern, it was just that... where did she begin? The thought crossed her mind that perhaps she didn't want her family to know. This secret had been purely her own for over two decades, and in a selfish way, did she really want to share it? All the memories she shared with just Paige? Could she willingly let other people into all of that?

She kicked herself for even saying those three words - 'I know Paige'. Of course it opened up all the mystery that goes with saying such a thing! But she didn't want to dig through that mystery to find suitable answers for everyone; who's to say she even had such suitable answers anyway?

Prue gritted her teeth. Her mother, and grandmother did deserve to know how she knew about Paige, but she couldn't find the strength to do it. How could twenty-three years worth of secrets be boiled down to a simple answer? But then, it wasn't like they needed to know 'everything'. Just the basics, the broad details of it all.

Details. She sighed. Details she could do. Well, not the finer tuned ones, but the basic ones, yes. She quickly worked though it all in her head, the words she could use to explain it as briefly as possible.

"Andy, go stand back over there," Prue said pointing to where he'd been previously. If she was going to do this, she needed for him to hear it too. She turned back to face Patty and Grams, inhaling a deep breath.

"I know Paige because..." Finding inner strength, Prue forced herself to look into her family's eyes. "Because the night she was born in the manor, I heard her cry. I knew a baby was on the way – I remembered what it had been like with Phoebe. Her cry verified that there had indeed, been a baby born." Prue steeled herself against the memories that flooded her mind's eye. "I heard you two talking about taking her to a church – that it was the only place she could go that you would know she was in good hands."

"Prudence-" Grams started, but Prue held up a hand, stopping her.

"The bare truth of it is that I found out which church it was, and went to it one day, after being dropped off at school in the morning. I was told which family she had been adopted to, and where they lived. Over the years, I kept 'tabs' on her, wanting to know that she was safe and well. We met a couple of times whilst she was a young child, but she just thought of me as a local, regular kid at the same park as her." Prue smiled in memory. "Anyway, it wasn't really until I was in high school that we properly spoke. There was this mentoring program to help younger kids in other schools. I knew this would be a perfect opportunity, so every Wednesday afternoon, for four years, I met up with Paige."

Prue saw the disbelief in her mother's and grandmother's eyes. Andy looked shocked too, but also a little betrayed. True, high school had also been the time that they were extremely close, so Prue guessed that he wondered why she hadn't told him what she'd been doing.

Knowing some of the questions that would be asked, Prue tried to cover the bases beforehand. "I never told Paige about who I was, or anything about her true family. She never even knew my full name, she didn't ask for it because I think she sensed my hesitance. After high school we kept in touch, and I became a listening ear for her, when she felt she didn't have anyone else to turn to."

"Prue... I..." Patty tried, but failed to form words.

"The last time I saw Paige was a couple of weeks ago in a coffee shop. The past three years have been difficult because I didn't know what our powers might mean regarding her place in the family. I've had a sense that the whole Charmed thing must have been why she was separated from us, but before our powers came... I just didn't understand it." Prue shook her head. "I wanted to know why she wasn't part of our family, but I knew better than to ask the question."

Prue stopped talking, her mind having run out of words. She didn't feel like there was a whole lot else to say – surely she'd said enough to explain how she knew Paige? She felt a cold shiver, as she thought about all she hadn't said. It wasn't that she had lied, she just hadn't told the whole truth.

Like, when she had heard Paige cry in the manor, she had been the only one awake, and slipped into her mother's room. She had picked her baby sister up, and held her tenderly as big eyes blinked up at her. Prue felt guilty also about not saying how she had actually seen Paige whilst under the care of Sister Agnes, and made a suggestion for the name 'Paige' above any other name starting with P.

Prue lost herself in her reminiscence of her secret. The times they had played as children in the park, the long conversations during Prue's high school years – how many there had been of those! Prue remembered feeling a sense of pride being able to be Paige's mentor, how mentoring was the only thing she could do to act like a sister for Paige. She also thought back to the guilt and remorse she had felt, not being able to tell Paige about her family and bring her to the manor to meet her other sisters.

Prue's memory shifted to the more recent encounters, and she smiled. Paige had certainly grown into a woman she felt deserved the support of her family. Whilst Paige had grown to be strong, and full of willpower, it was her easy humor that Prue had always found comfort in. In an awkward situation, Paige had always seemingly broke the tension with some witty remark that had left both of them in laughter.

Whilst the thought brought about pain for Prue, she felt confident that Paige would fit well into the role of a Charmed One. Her lightheartedness would be a welcoming element to the Power of Three. Prue could only hope that it would also help Piper and Phoebe through the difficult time ahead without their older sister.

Prue thought about how much she felt she had to protect Paige. When Prue was sixteen, Paige was only nine. Prue had felt not only responsible for Piper and Phoebe – but for Paige's welfare too. Paige was so much younger, and she didn't have anyone who gave her the type of family love she was so desperate for.

Prue kicked herself again – that wasn't true. Paige's adoptive parents had been as loving as biological parents, but Prue knew that Paige had always craved a sense of belonging, and it hadn't been satisfied from her parents.

"Prudence," Grams said breaking the silence and Prue's reverie with it. "You were only seven years old, how could you... I don't know." She shook her head. "How could- how did you manage to find Paige? I just can't believe it!"

Prue shrugged. She couldn't tell if Grams was angry, or upset. The last thing she wanted right now was an angry Grams.

"You've known about Paige all this time... I..." Patty couldn't find the words for what she wanted to say. She wasn't even sure she knew what she wanted to say.

Prue looked at her mother, half-hoping Patty would be the most understanding about what Prue had done. But she didn't see understanding in her mother's eyes, she saw... hurt.

Andy met Prue's eyes for a split-second, then looked away.

Prue felt the distance the three of them were putting out, whilst they tried to work through what she had. Tears, once again welled up in her eyes, and she sniffed, the onset of crying just a weak barrier away from being released. She couldn't help but take their absence of warmth as disapproval, disappointment and despondency. Could her mother and grandmother be that mad at her? Could Andy see it as being so unfaithful? She had to know.

"Andy," she pleaded, desperate to know what he was feeling.

He didn't meet her eyes but shook his head. "I thought you could trust me with everything back then," he said in a low voice.

Prue couldn't find her voice to reply. Of course she had trusted him – but couldn't he see there was more at play than just simple trust?

"How could you think about doing all of that... meeting your sister, without even telling me?" Grams said, anger evident in her voice.

Prue swallowed as she tried to blink away tears. She hadn't expected quite such a response, and it was hurting her, that neither Patty, Penny or Andy, could see that what she had done was out of complete and utter love for her family – all of her family. Paige had been her baby sister – her abandoned baby sister, and even at a young age of seven, she still felt the need to protect and be responsible for Paige. How could she not? By looking after Paige, she hadn't been saying she felt more love for Paige than Piper or Phoebe, but simply that she wanted to share her love and support to all three of her sisters.

Prue's chest constricted as she fought against sobs that waited to escape. Her throat burned as everything that had happened within the last day alone crashed into her heart. Emotionally she couldn't cope with everything she needed to deal with. Just accepting her death was hard enough! She raised a hand to cover her mouth as a sob finally surfaced.

Prue took one last look at the fallen faces before her, and saw what brought even more pain to her already tortured heart; enmity towards her. Uncovering her mouth, Prue said, "I'm sorry," emotion breaking through. She turned, and slowly walked away, letting her heart rule her head, and succumbing to her heartache.

Grams stared at her granddaughter's back, as she disappeared from view. One of them, Patty, Andy or herself should be going after her, she thought, but from her own emotions, she guessed that none of them had the courage to do it. How could they, with Prue's revelation?

"That girl, she is just too strong-willed!" Grams said, turning her eyes to Andy and Patty. Their disbelief mirroring one another's, as well as her own. "I find it shockingly incredible that a seven year old could have tracked down her sister so well. Don't you think?"

Andy scratched his head. "She trusted me with everything, absolutely everything, how could she not with this? How could I not even see it! I was dating her and failed to see what she was doing entirely!"

Grams nodded her head at Andy, understanding his feelings. She then looked at her daughter. "What do you think of it all? I must have slipped up somewhere, we were so damn careful to keep Paige a secret! How could a seven year old outwit us!" Penny shook her head, this time at herself.

Patty took a deep breath, finding a calm tone, she said, "I want to say that I'm surprised by what Prue did, but in all honestly, from the bottom of my heart I can't say I am."

"How are you not surprised?" Grams asked skeptically.

"Because this is Prue we are talking about, the Prue that we all know and love. The Prue that has always put family before anything, even herself – Piper's wedding certainly proved that, in an ironic, weird way... she did crash the wedding after all... but that's not the point. Doing something like this," Patty said, extending an arm, "says Prue all over."

"She shouldn't have done it though!" Grams shook a finger.

"You think you let on about Paige to Prue? Well I beg to differ, I remember how scrupulous you were about keeping everything 'hush hush', but it is exactly like Prue to find out what she needs to know, whether you know she's doing it or not. I will agree, she was so young, but Prue's commitment is the backbone of her personality, and even at that age, she was already showing signs of the type of person she's grown to be." Patty sighed.

"So what are you getting at?"

Patty smiled at her mother's slight frown. "What I'm saying is, don't put this past Prue. If there is one person who could find their baby sister, and practically look over her for so many years in secrecy, then it's Prue. I know we all feel hurt for not knowing, like she did it behind our backs, but she did what she deemed was right."

Patty still saw a hint of betrayal in Andy's eyes. Feeling her eyes on him, he said, "I would have helped her." She now smiled at him.

"And she would have known that, but don't you see, this was something for Prue to do, on her own. It wasn't that she didn't trust you, or love you enough to tell you, it was that she simply couldn't tell you. She knew that it was a big enough secret enough for her to not even be told about her sister, so how could she possibly tell anyone else? Think about that." Patty touched Andy's arm lightly, reassuring him of her words. "It wasn't anything against you, so don't hold it against her."

Andy exhaled noisily, a small smile finally spreading on his face as he looked at his feet. "I suppose you are right." He brought his eyes up to look at Patty, and she squeezed his arm.

"Well you weren't exactly welcoming to her either, you didn't run off after her anymore than either of us did," Grams commented to her daughter.

Patty nodded her head. "I know," she said in a small voice. "It was just so shocking, to think that the daughter I had abandoned, had someone watching over her safety after all."

"And you wish it had been you?" Andy gently asked.

"Partly," Patty admitted. "It was extremely hard to give her up, and I guess, selfishly, I'm jealous that Prue got to spend time with her."

Grams gave her a sad smile. "It's entirely reasonable to feel that way."

"I know," Patty said again. "But what is not reasonable, is letting my daughter now think she's been disowned because we couldn't deal with her secret. We have to find her."

"I agree, but I don't think all of us should go, just one," Andy suggested. "Prue will feel overwhelmed if we all approach her."

"Good point," Grams said.

"OK, well I will go to her first, if anyone should be apologizing to her, it should be me. Maybe you two can talk to her after I have," Patty said, receiving nods from Andy and Penny. "For someone who follows caution and rules so closely, she sure does have her moments of doing the complete opposite."

Patty left Grams and Andy to do their own things, and headed off in the same direction Prue had gone. Admittedly, she was feeling guilty for letting Prue leave the way she did, knowing some of the thoughts that would have been going through her daughter's head. She had been wrong to let Prue make her own assumptions as to what her family now thought of her, but Patty couldn't deny how she had felt after Prue's secret was revealed.

Considering Prue had been so supportive to Patty before she even said her secret, in terms of her loving embrace, it was unfair that Prue hadn't immediately received that same amount of support. Patty would just have to fix that. Even though it wasn't in Prue's nature to let other people's opinions and words get to her directly, right now, she was in a deeply vulnerable and weak state of mind, as anyone would be in her position. However, it would be this vulnerability that would cast dark and depressive thoughts in Prue's mind, and inevitably in her heart.

As Patty walked past whitelighters and other benevolent beings, she wondered whether it had been a good thing to explain the Paige situation to Prue so quickly after all. Even though Prue already knew about her, it had spurred more drama into an already dramatic event. Prue could have done without having to go through the trauma of revealing her secret, whilst trying to deal with her death.

Patty sighed, Prue had been so persistent in knowing Patty's own secret! One thing was becoming all too clear – the Halliwell's had too many secrets between one another, and those they loved. Something would have to change that, she thought to herself.

As Patty neared an area she recognized 'Up There' she knew she would find her daughter close by. There was this pond, almost like structure, that was square in shape, and only about a foot tall. Within it, contained a strange silvery liquid that when stood over, would display images of the loved ones you wished to watch over. It was a nice way to see what they might be up to, but it was easy to get attached to the images, and forget that as a departed being, you too were meant to move on.

Many a time, Patty had watched her daughter's after her death, however, she'd never been able to bring herself to conjure Paige's whereabouts. It would have brought too much pain to bare, had she watched the daughter she never got to know. She guessed that had she bulked up the courage to see Paige, she might have realized sooner that Prue knew Paige.

Well, everything happens for a reason, she thought to herself. As she slowed her steps, she could see a small form, half resting on top of the edge of the pond, and half kneeling on the floor. Patty knew it was Prue, but she didn't want to startle her.

As she got closer she realized Prue had her back facing Patty, and had draped an arm on the pond edge, on which she rested her head. Patty walked round Prue quietly, and momentarily stood watching her. Prue's eyes were closed, and her face was streaked from tears. The thought crossed Patty's mind that her daughter was looking rather ill – from exhaustion, and she made a mental note to make sure Prue got some rest not long after they had talked.

Patty knelt next to her daughter, and softly called her name. She brushed a loose strand of Prue's hair off her face, and secured it behind her ear. Patty made a quick glance to the pond, mentally calling for images of Piper and Phoebe, and saw that they were both sleeping, desperate for rest themselves, after spending a day in grief over their sister's death.

Prue sniffed, and raised her head, wiping away any tears that might still be present. She had no more to give; she was on emotional overload, and felt sick more than anything. When she had discovered the strange pond-like structure, she'd managed to see Piper and Phoebe on the strange watery surface. Finally managing to see her sisters, even though not directly, had broken her resolve to remain strong. Her emotional barrier had completely broken down, and she had poured her heart out onto the pond edge.

She had reached a point where there had been no more to give, she was depleted of energy and the ability to cry anymore, and so resorted to resting against the pond.

"Prue," Patty said again, softly as before.

Prue turned her tired eyes to her mother, but didn't say anything. She didn't have anything to say. It hurt Patty to see the raw emotion in her daughter's eyes. In motherly instinct she pressed the back of her hand against Prue's forehead. As she expected, Prue was running with fever.

"Are you feeling alright?" As the words left her mouth, Patty realized what a stupid question it had been to ask. Prue's blank stare in reply confirmed as much. "I don't mean like that, I mean physically, you don't look too well."

"How would you feel..." Prue's quiet voice started, but didn't finish. She slightly shook her head. What was the point? There was none. Seeing concern written on her mother's face, Prue looked away, and let out a heavy breath. She wanted to ask if Patty was mad at her, angry at her, for finding out about Paige. But she couldn't find the energy to ask the question, or to care about the answer.

"Sweetheart," Patty said, worriment in her tone. "Can I talk to you?" She felt she had to ask, because if Prue was this drained, the likelihood was that Prue might not even listen. Prue gave a slight shrug of a shoulder in response. Patty shifted her legs and weight, so that she was more sitting than kneeling. She placed a hand on Prue's back, moving it gently to give some comfort. "I know you must be thinking that I'm angry at you, but I'm not, I promise, and neither is Grams or Andy."

Patty caught a glimpse of Prue rolling her eyes, not believing a word of it.

"I mean it Prue. I know we reacted badly, there is no excuse for how we responded, and I'm sorry for that." Patty didn't get the impression Prue was listening fully, and let out a disgruntled sigh. She couldn't blame Prue for feeling how she felt, but Patty wanted to make amends, so that she could help Prue move on. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I know I have; you didn't deserve that, so please accept my apology?"

Prue looked into her mother's caring brown eyes, and saw truth in them. She didn't want to be like this to her mother, but she had nothing left. In all the years that she'd wished to spend time with Patty, she had never imagined it to be like this.

"It was such a shock, to find out that you already knew about Paige and even that you spent time with her. I was locked in bewilderment, and I just froze. I didn't mean to give the impression that I was disappointed, or even disapproved of your actions." Prue continued to give Patty a blank stare, feeling physically devoid of being able to do anything else.

"Grams was just angry at herself, for thinking she'd been outsmarted by a child. You know how she loves to be right about everything – she's like you," Patty gave her daughter a small smile. "And Andy, well Andy was just being a little selfish, making it personal about him, but he now realizes that it had nothing to do with him at all. But what it all comes down to, is that we still love you Prue, we just got a little wrapped up in our own thoughts, rather than think about what all this has been like for you."

Prue inhaled a shaky breath. At a time when she needed support the most, her family had turned their backs on her. But if there was anything she'd learned from her life being cut short, it was that there was no time for holding grudges, or being focused on the negative side of things.

"I'm so proud of you Prue. You have done so much for this family, and I will always be in deep gratitude to you for that. Not only did you raise Piper and Phoebe up, single-handedly, and keep an eye on pesky Grams, but you also acted like a guardian angel for Paige." Patty's voice broke at the end, as her own emotions worked to free themselves.

"I was far from being a guardian angel," Prue said quietly, struggling to make her voice any louder.

Hot tears burned in the corners of Patty's eyes. "No you weren't. You don't realize how much pain I was in after giving her away, the grief has stayed with me all these years. But to know that Paige had -" Patty swallowed against a lump in her throat, as tears began to fall. "To know that Paige had her big sister -".

"Mom," Prue said, her own concern rising. She'd never seen her mother break down before, and seeing this, would have broken her heart, had it not all ready been in a million pieces.

"I mean it Prue, you don't know how much pride and happiness you have given me, by secretly looking after Paige. That Paige had you to turn to, to be loved by..." Patty shook her head. "That you cared for Paige, as much as you cared for Piper and Phoebe, well, all I can say is... thank you." A sob escaped from her mouth, and she closed her eyes against her tears.

Prue pulled her mother into a tight hug, as Patty broke down after years of worry over her baby daughter. Prue gently rubbed her back, willing the tears to come out. She felt a wet kiss against her cheek, as Patty clutched on to her.

"Mom, it's OK," Prue whispered. After a few minutes, Patty's crying calmed to a stop, and she gently squeezed her daughter before breaking the embrace to look at her.

"Where you get your strength from is a wonder to me," Patty said, wiping at her last tears. "You must be an angel." She truly meant that statement, if only Prue could see it herself.

Prue's brow furrowed for just a moment, not in confusion, but in a lack of understanding. "They are my sisters; Piper, Phoebe and Paige, there's nothing angelic about it. Sisters look out for one another, it's as simple as that."

Patty was in awe of Prue's modesty, that she could see her actions as normal. "Your sisters are so lucky to have you as their elder sister."

Prue's gaze dropped slightly. "Were. They were lucky. They don't have me anymore," she whispered.

Patty sighed, now the healing, and moving on would have to start. "My darling daughter, I know this is hard." She took Prue's hand. "But we will work through this together, along with Grams and Andy. We are all here for you sweetheart."

Prue nodded. "I just don't know where to begin."

"It starts with goodbye," Patty said gently, her heart going out to her anguished daughter.

A/N: I hope you don't feel what I've portrayed here is too far-fetched. Prue would have been seven when Paige was born, and I personally find it totally believable to think that she would have noticed something going on.

Perhaps, I'm just a softy, and against the 'Prue vs. Paige' storyline Charmed seemed to have set out. Hmm. ;-)