Paige's mouth became very dry. " Philomela?" she said, her jaw dropping. She hadn't seen her little girl ever since she gave her up for adoption fifteen years ago. "Why are you here?" Philomela looked hurt. " That…that came out wrong. Why don't you come inside?" There was an explosion. Paige glanced behind her shoulder. "Actually, don't. Just…chill out here for a sec, 'kay?"

The youngest sister rushed inside. The demon continued to chuck her energy balls. " Energy ball!" called Paige. It zipped into her hand and she threw it at the demon, blowing one of her arms off.

Piper hurried downstairs, holding the Book of Shadows in her arms. " Here's the spell!" she cried. Phoebe and Paige huddled around her. " 'Demon of Evil, Black as Night, banished you are by Sisters of Light'!" The demon shrieked as she expanded like a balloon and exploded.

" Well, that was fun," Peter remarked. He turned to his mother. " Can we do that again?" Phoebe whacked him on the back of the head good- naturedly.

Paige heard a gasp and turned. Philomela had come into the house and watched everything. The teen began to run. " Wait, stop!" Paige cried. " Someone freeze her!"

Melinda waved her hands and time slowed to a stop. Philomela froze just as she got to the doorway. Paige went to the door and picked up her daughter.

" Who is that?" Phoebe wanted to know.

" Philomela," Paige told her.

Piper raised her eyebrows. " That's her?"

" Who's Philomela?" Melinda asked.

Paige sighed as she set her daughter on the couch. " You'll learn soon enough. Mel?" The young witch unfroze time and Philomela stood up, eyes huge.

" Who are you people?" she cried. Paige grasped her daughter's shoulder and pulled her down onto the couch. " What are you, witches?"

" Yes, and so are you," Paige told her daughter. Philomela stood up to run again, but Paige pulled her down. " I know you have questions. Just let me explain everything, OK?" Philomela nodded uncertainly. " Once upon a time, your great-great- oh I don't know how many greats- grandma Melinda Warren went to Salem, Massachusetts. She was a witch and they burned her at the stake. She said that one day three sisters would be born, the most powerful witches in the world, and they'd be the Charmed Ones.

" So, hundreds of years later, your grandma had three babies, Prue, Piper-" Paige pointed to her, "and Phoebe." She pointed to Phoebe. " But she also had another baby- me, of course- with her Whitelighter…uh" Philomela gave her a blank look. " He's sort of like a guardian angel. Anyway, that wasn't supposed to happen, so my parents put me up for adoption. Prue died about sixteen years ago and Piper and Phoebe found me. We became the new Charmed Ones."

Philomela still looked freaked out. " O-kay," she stated. " How do I fit into this story?"

" Well," Paige began, knowing she was going to be even more freaked when she heard this part, " an Incubus-a demon- invaded my dreams fifteen years ago and impregnated me with a demon baby."

Philomela grew pale. " Me?" she croaked.

Paige nodded. " Within a matter of days I was full term and a demon. However, my sisters saved me-" Paige flashed them a grateful look- " and we killed the demon. You were born minutes before we killed him. You would have been a demon if my sisters hadn't saved us. But you were born human. I was only twenty-four when you were born, too young to raise a child. So-" Paige's voice began to get choked up. " I had to give you up."

" You need some water or something?" Peter asked a shaken Philomela. She shook her head.

" So, what, I'm half-witch and half-demon?" Philomela inquired.

" Half-demon, ¼ witch and ¼ Whitelighter," Paige added.

Philomela stood up. " Well, I've got to go," she told her mom. Paige also stood.

" Don't-" Paige began but Philomela rushed out the door. She turned to her sisters. " My daughter. I didn't think I'd ever see her again. I probably won't either."

" It's OK, Paige," Piper comforted her. " Learning all that stuff just scared her."

" She'll come back," Phoebe promised. Both sisters reached out for Paige, but she walked towards the door and slowly closed it. She's not coming back, Paige thought.

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Philomela kept running until she was around the block and walked the rest of the way home. Jesus, she thought, I just wanted to find my mom, not a whole freak show. She had watched her mom-her real mom- blow up a demon with her sisters-my aunts and cousins, thought Philomela.

I can't believe it, Philomela thought as she walked down the street. My mom's a witch? My father is-was- a demon? How can this even be possible? I don't have any magical powers or anything, like her.

All I wanted to know was who my real family was, that's it. Philomela sighed. Well, that whole plan's screwed.

She walked up the driveway and opened the front door. "Anybody home?" she asked.

" We're in the kitchen," her father called. Philomela entered the kitchen. Her father sat at the table, reading his newspaper. Her mother was at the stove, making something spicy. See? Philomela thought. This is how REAL families act.

" How was your day?" asked her father, Mr. Freeman.

" Good," Philomela replied.

" Did you go visit your birth mother?" her mother inquired, her tone strange. Philomela knew her mother didn't like the idea of trying to find her real mom.

" Yeah."

" How did it go?" her father wanted to know, setting his paper down. " What did she say?"

" She's really interested about getting to know me," Philomela told him.

" Did you learn anything?" Mrs. Freeman asked as she put the pot on the table.

" I…I didn't really liked what I learned," admitted Philomela.

Her father looked her straight in the eye. "Philomela," he began, his quiet voice serious, " you told us you wanted to learn about your past. Like it or not, you know where you come from now. Miss Matthews must've had a good reason for letting you go."

He's right, Philomela thought. " You should give her a chance," her mother concluded uneasily.

Damn, Philomela thought. Parents are always right. Well, maybe I should go back. Miss Matthews-Paige- obviously wants to get to know me. Hey, maybe she'll teach me how to be a witch. Philomela smiled. It might not be too bad.

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Don't worry, it gets better. Much better…