Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed blah, blah, blah.

A/n: This is what happened in the past whilst Chris was in the future. Remember time goes by differently so even though Chris was only in the future for a day, he was gone for three days in the past. Didn't think I'd get it up so fast but here you go. Nice long chapter. Longest I've ever done. Thanks lizardmomma, charmedaddict11, taika-tala, obsessedwreading, bekaroo and guest(s) for being such loyal reviewers so happy you like the story.

CharmedOpal: Thank you. That's how I was trying to portray her, glad it came across well

2026.

Monday:

Phoebe stood at the door of her bedroom at sighed at the sight; Penny was curled up in her bed sobbing uncontrollably. Phoebe walked down to the foyer where Piper was cleaning up.

"How is she?" asked Piper.

"She's crying," said Phoebe "I really want to know more about her,"

"I do too, I have no idea who she is," said Piper.

"No, I want to know about her life. It seems horrible," said Phoebe.

"Yeah," replied Piper "She told me her family is dead,"

"Well her parents and older sister are," said Phoebe "And her cousin and two of her aunts, her other cousins besides Chris are evil and her other older sister is trapped in a dungeon,"

"How do you even know this?" asked Piper.

"She told me," replied Phoebe.

"Sounds like it was quite a moment," commented Piper.
"I feel like I know her or something," said Phoebe "Do you?"

Piper shook her head "No, I find her annoying though,"
"Piper," scolded Phoebe "She's twelve,"
"Maybe annoying isn't the right word," said Piper "I meant I find her ways annoying. Y'know the demon hunts? She's only a little girl she shouldn't be going to the underworld,"

Phoebe nodded "She's been going since she was seven,"

"I blame the family; they shouldn't have let that happen,"

"Yeah," said Phoebe "I don't know."

"She's really messy aswell," sighed Piper "She never makes her bed, you'd swear I'm her slave or something,"

Phoebe laughed, "I have to go to work. Keep an eye on her, okay?" and left the foyer.

Piper gazed up the stairs before returning to cleaning.

Alleyway.

Paige walked down an alleyway; she had heard Will's calls and orbed immediately to his location.

"Will?" she called loudly; she though it best not to mention it was her. She gasped when she saw him slouched against a wall oozing blood. She ran and kneeled beside him raising her hands over the cut. Within seconds it was healed.

He jumped up "W-what are you?" he said in fear. "You-I,"

"Calm down – I'll explain everything but not here," she held out her hand "You need to trust me, okay?" Will looked at her for a moment; he gulped and timidly took her hand and they orbed off.

Bay Mirror.

Phoebe sat at her desk reading her letters; she had been there for three hours and needed to check on Penny. She dialled Piper's number.

"Hello, Piper Halliwell speaking,"

"Piper," greeted Phoebe "How's Nelly?" she asked.

"She's fine – she just got out of bed now," replied Piper.

"Great, I'm glad," she said "I've been so worried,"

"Yeah," said Piper "What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing," said Phoebe scanning a letter "Why?"

"You're awfully concerned about Nelly," remarked Piper.

"Of course I am, are you saying you're not?"

"No, of course I am but you're smothering her,"

"Don't be ridiculous,"
"I'm not. Since Chris left I've noticed she's been more comfortable around you and she's leaning on you for support,"

"You've gotten all of this in just a day? He left yesterday,"

"Because it's been happening all day. First she hugged you for about ten minutes, then you guys had a long talk and now you're ringing from work to check up on her?"

"She's a twelve year old girl Piper, she's here without her family. I'm trying to be nice and helpful,"

"Okay," said an unconvinced Piper.

"What would you do if you're best friend liked you but you didn't like them?" asked Phoebe.

"Excuse me?"

"It's a letter I'm reading," answered Phoebe "Well?"

"I'd blow them up,"

"No you wouldn't,"

"You're right I wouldn't; I'd tell them the truth," said Piper.

"Hm okay. I better get back to work. I'll talk to you at home,"

"Okay, bye Pheebs," and hung up.

Phoebe sighed and tried to concentrate on her letter but she couldn't. All she could think about was Penny and why she felt like she knew her.

Halliwell Attic.

"So, you and your family are witches?" asked Will faintly "Like real magic and stuff?"

Paige nodded "Yep, and I'm your whitelighter. I'm here to protect you,"

"But I'm not a witch," said Will.

"I know," she paused, uncertain whether she should tell him or not, "But you've a great destiny to fulfil and alcohol is not the answer,"

"Is this a joke?" said Will standing up angrily.

"A joke? What, no," said Paige "Sit down,"

"No, my father put you up to this right?" he said.

"No he didn't – sit down," repeated Paige.

"I'm not sitting down – tell me the truth. Did my father put you up to this?" he demanded.

"No," repeated Paige "He did not,"

Will paused and dawdled for a moment "So if he didn't who did?"

"Nobody put me up to this. I really am here to protect you,"

"But you don't know me?" he asked in confusion.

"That doesn't matter – I always help people I don't know," she explained, "its kind of my job,"

"Didn't you say you're a social worker?" he asked.

Paige sighed "Yeah, that too," she lied not wanting to confuse him even more.

"This all seems fake," he said.

"Fake, how?"

"Magic and witches?" laughed Will "If the crew heard you,"

"The crew? That's all you can think about," she said shaking her head "So what? They're losers and they don't deserve you as a friend. You will do great things in life," she said.

"I'm out of here – this is ridiculous. Stop dissing my friends," he said and stormed out of the attic. Paige sat at the table and sighed.

Tuesday:

"He wouldn't listen at all?" asked a baffled Phoebe. Paige nodded dully pouring a cup of coffee "Not even to one word,"

"That's rough," sympathized Phoebe "You'll get through to him."

"What if I can't? This is my very first charge," sighed Paige.

Toast popped up from the toaster and Phoebe grabbed them "Why don't you ask Leo? He was a whitelighter," she glanced at the clock "I have to go. Good luck with Bill," she said and rushed out.

"It's Will," called Paige. She sighed "Leo," she yelled.

Within moments, blue orbs appeared "Paige," he greeted "Hi,"

"I need help," she replied.

"With Will," she groaned, "It's too hard,"

"You're his whitelighter; you'll figure it out,"

"What if I can't?" asked Paige "What if I'm deemed the worst whitelighter in history because I can't handle it?"

"You won't; every whitelighter has doubts on their first charge." He noticed the uneaten toast on Phoebe's plate. He picked it up "Here," he said handing her the toast.

"60 years as a whitelighter, and the best you have is toast?" she ate a bite "I mean, he's hanging around with the wrong crowd and getting drunk every night. He won't listen to anything I say to him," she took a big bite "Why don't you try to get to know him as a friend," asked Leo.

"Hello, I'm 25 and he's seventeen. Won't that look odd?"

"No, get to know him as his social worker. Do things social workers do,"

"Like what?" asked Paige.

"You were one once, do what you did before," he replied.

"I wasn't a social worker, remember? I quit when I got promoted,"

"But you studied it so you'll know,"

Paige nodded "I guess you're right,"

He grinned "Toast and venting – always works,"

Paige laughed, "Thanks, I got to go to Richards," and orbed off.

Piper entered the kitchen when she orbed off "Leo?" she asked.

"Oh, hey," he said awkwardly.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Paige called me; she needed help with Will," he explained.

"Will?"

"Her new charge,"

Piper nodded "Right,"

"Can I see Wyatt?" he asked.

Piper nodded "Sure, he's playing in the sitting room" he smiled at her and went into the sitting room.

Attic.

Penny sniffed when she read through the book; she was feeling much better today. She kind of got over not going to the future. She didn't really want to – she was happy in the past getting to know the family she never had. The only reason she wanted to go back was to go save her sister but she knew Chris would do that.

She let herself bond with her mom and it was amazing; they had a long talk about her family – but what Phoebe didn't know was that it was her family too. She didn't go into much detail. She didn't even tell them their names she just had to tell her of her past and she was glad she did.

She found the entry she was looking for and got jotted down the ingredients for a potion; she was going to try and vanquish the demon that killed her mother. She had to.

She knew this was a dangerous demon; she had faced him before back then she was surrounded by her cousins. They were avenging Phoebe's death so Penny didn't do much work.

She went over to the cauldron and began adding ingredients one by one and when it was finished she said a spell to go down to the underworld.

Bay Mirror.

"Here," said Phoebe handing her column to her assistant Roy.

Roy nodded "Is that the finished draft?" he asked.

She nodded "yep, done and dusted," and he left the room. She began packing up her things when there was a tap on the door.

"Jason," smiled Phoebe "How are you?"

I'm alright, I guess." He said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You haven't been returning my calls in two days," he said.

"I know and I'm so sorry," she said, "its just there's a lot of family stuff going on right now,"

"Are your sisters okay?" he asked concerned.

"They're fine – just other stuff. Cousins," she said.

"I see, are you free for dinner tonight?"

Phoebe's mind wandered; she had no plans but she had decided to spend the night with Nelly watching movies and eating junk food. She wanted to distract her from Chris's absence for at least one night. The poor kid was worried sick.

"I can't, my uh cousin is in town and I promised to spend the night with her. Y'know catching up and stuff," she lied.

"What cousin?" asked Jason.

"Her name's Nelly," she said.

"Isn't that the name of the kid staying at your house?"

"How do you know about her?" asked Phoebe in alarm.

"I went by your house yesterday morning but a girl answered the door and said you already left. Said her name was Nelly," he replied.

"She did?" she said "She never told me," she paused "Aw, you came by?" she asked.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," he said.

Phoebe smiled "Thank you," she gave him a peck on the cheek. She glanced at the clock "I have to go but I can do breakfast tomorrow?"

Jason nodded "Looking forward to it already," Phoebe smiled and left the office.

Halliwell Manor.

Paige slumped on the couch and groaned, "What will I do about Will?" she asked Piper.

Piper shrugged "You're asking the wrong person. Did you see him today?" she asked.

"No," answered Paige "I got no calls. I spent the day with Richard and then I had to go to my temp job,"

"What job are you doing now?" asked Piper.

"Secretary," she answered "For some lawyer,"

Penny walked in and sat beside Paige "Hey," she said.

"Missy, where have you been all day?" asked Paige.

"Nowhere," shrugged Nelly innocently.

"I haven't seen you since last night," said Piper.

Paige turned to the girl "Where were you?"

"It's none of your business,"

"It is when you're staying under my roof,"

"I was in the underworld, okay?" said Penny.

"The what?" shrieked Piper "By yourself?"

"I've been doing it since I was 7 its no big deal," she shrugged.

"7 years of age? That's ridiculous. You won't be demon hunting in this house without supervision Missy," said Piper.

"That's not fair-," began Penny.

"Don't make me put you in a crystal cage," she threatened.

Penny laughed "You wouldn't,"

"Oh she would. Trust me," said Paige.

Penny sighed "Fine," and made a face at Paige.

Phoebe entered the house glowing "Hello," she greeted.

"Why are you so happy?" asked Paige gloomily.

"life is so wonderful," sighed Phoebe dreamily.

"What have you done with my sister?" said Piper in mock horror.

"And why are you acting so weird?" asked Paige.

"Jason and I have a breakfast date in the morning,"

"Breakfast isn't a date," laughed Piper.

"It so is," defended Phoebe.

Paige shook her head "'Fraid not sis,"

Phoebe looked at Penny "What do you think?"

"She's twelve," said Piper "How would she know?"

"Breakfast isn't a date," said Penny shaking her head.

Piper shrugged "What dya know, she does know,"

Phoebe sighed "Whatever,"

Paige sighed "I think I'm going to go to bed," she announced.

"It's only 9pm Missy Paige," said Piper "Why so soon?"

"I'm tired, goodnight," she said and disappeared up the stairs.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Penny.

"She has a new charge and she's having problem's with him," explained Phoebe "Hey Nelly, do you want to watch a movie?" she asked.

Penny nodded "Sure, what one?"

"Kill it before it dies?" suggested Phoebe "It's my favourite,"

Penny nodded "Great,"

Piper sighed "Can I talk to you for a sec Pheebs?"

They both entered the foyer "You need to stop," said Piper.

"Stop what?"

"Acting like her mother," said Piper "She had one and she died. Don't try to fill the void. She'll either hate you or cling to you,"

"I'm not trying to act like her mother Piper,"

"It seems like it,"

"I'm being a nice person," said Phoebe "Maybe you should try it sometime," said Phoebe storming back into the sitting room leaving Piper dumfounded.

Two hours had passed since Phoebe and Penny began watching Kill it before it dies and the credits had just rolled.

"What time is it?" asked Penny dazily.

"Twelve am," replied Phoebe "It's time for bed,"

Penny nodded "Great movie," and began leaving the room.

"You thought it was good?" asked Phoebe.

Penny came to a halt and nodded "Yeah, I used to always watch it,"

"You did?"

Penny nodded again "Yeah, it was my mother's favourite,"

"It's my favourite too," she paused "You never talk about your mother," she knew it was a touchy subject but she needed Penny to open up about her family and past; for her own good. It was no use bottling it up.

Penny shrugged "I never do,"

"That's not good, you know,"

"Spoken like a true advice columnist," said Penny.

"Well I am," smiled Phoebe "So, your mother?"

"She was a great woman," said Penny "She was so strong,"

"In what way?" asked Phoebe.

"When my father died she was the glue. She held my sisters and I together. It was her that kept us alive," said Penny.

Phoebe nodded "Your sisters sound wonderful,"

"They were." Said Penny "Parker died,"

"Was Parker the oldest?" she asked.

"No, the second oldest. She was 6 years older then I."

"How did she die?"

"She saw my mother die," said Penny quietly "It destroyed her. She went up against upper level demons alone and it-it-she died," a tear began to slide down Penny's cheek.

"What about your oldest sister?" asked Phoebe.

"She's still alive – I hope. She got kidnapped," said Penny.

"Right, she's the sister Chris went to save? What's her name?"

Penny paused; she didn't want to say Prue, as Phoebe would put 2 and 2 together then "P.J," she said using her nickname.

"What about your father?"

"Why are you so nosey?" asked Penny.

"Excuse me?"

"It's question after question. I obviously don't want to talk about it, who would? Would you like if I interrogated you about your mother's death?" asked Penny angrily.

"I was trying to h-,"

"Help? Ha, yeah right, you were being nosy. Just leave me alone," and stormed off. Phoebe slumped on the couch.

Piper was right. Penny would either hate her or cling to her and Unfortunatly she was edging towards the hating route.

Wednesday.

"Where's Phoebe?" Piper asked Peny entering the kitchen setting the baby monitor on the table.

"Who knows, who cares," she muttered eating her cereal.

"Excuse me?" asked Piper.

Penny sighed "She tried interrogating me last night?"

"About?"

"My family,"

Piper rolled her eyes "I told her not to do it," she said. The door bell rang "I'll get it," said Penny bounding towards the front door. It was Richard holding flowers.

"Oh, hey," greeted Penny "Paige," she yelled.

"Are you the future girl?" asked Richard.

Penny nodded "Yeah, I'm Nelly. You're Richard right?"

Richard nodded "Yeah," he smiled when he saw Paige "Hey," She gave him a kiss "Hi, thank you," she said holding the flowers "They're lovely," she ushered him in "I'm up in the attic,"

They went upstairs and entered the attic "Why here?"

"Trying to find a demon," she said looking through the book.

"Did one attack?" asked Richard.

Paige opened her mouth to answer but suddenly Chris arrived in the attic with a girl in tow.

A/n: That's all for now. If you're following this story but not reviewing please, please review. They inspire me to continue the story knowing that I have readers. Thanks agai n to my current reviewers This long chapter is to say sorry for not updating in awhile.