I am so impressed with myself. I finished yet another chapter! Yeah for me!!!! Um… as always, review. Yada yada. Oh… school's out so I will probably get this done faster, that and my other two fics. If you like this fic, check out my others. They're also really good. Uh huh. Now on with the story!

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Rachel woke up later that night. Piper had fallen asleep in the chair next to the sofa. "Piper?" Rachel weakly whispered. She was very quiet, but Piper was able to hear her, and woke with a start.

"You're up! How are you feeling honey?" She asked.

"I hurt."

"I bet. You had a bad cut on your leg, and Leo healed that, but he couldn't heal your other injuries. You have to stick those out, ok?"

"Yes."

"Do you want anything?" She asked.

"Can I have a glass of water?"

"Anything." Piper said.

"Thank you." Piper went and got the water, stuck a straw in it, and gave it to Rachel. "Is Mrs. Duran here?"

"She was, but she let you stay the night."

"Good. I like it here."

"And I like having you here."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"You're the first person that ever said that to me." Piper smiled. This little girl had been through so much through her life, and yet she was still so sweet.

"Rachel, why did you run away from Mrs. Duran's house?" Piper dared to ask.

"They were after me. I needed to go away. I like Mrs. Duran; I didn't want to see her hurt." A heart of pure gold.

"Who's they?" Piper asked.

"I dunno."

"Have they been after you a long time?"

"Yes. Piper, they scare me. They want to kill me. That's why I ran to here. I wanted your help."

"You had a lot of people worried. You should have called first."

"Na uh. Mrs. Duran said she didn't want me to talk to you ever again."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she doesn't like you because I like you better."

"Come on, lets get you up to the guest bedroom, you'll be more comfortable there." Piper suggested.

"But I'm not tired. Let's play hide-and-go-seek!" Rachel said, quickly forgetting that she was hurt.

"Honey, Leo doesn't want you to walk yet. You got a lot of rocks in your feet from running around without shoes. Don't they hurt?"

Rachel thought for a minute, looked at her feet, and answered "Oh yeah, they do. I , I was just so excited to see you that I forgot I hurt. Those boys in the park took them again. They always take my shoes. I'm sorry I lost your old shoes Piper." It shocked Piper how casual Rachel was about her shoes being taken. She had to remind herself that Rachel lived in the park for a year before Paige found her. Just as she had when she discovered that Rachel was lost in the city, Piper shuttered at the thought of the little seven year old living on the streets.

"Shhh, sweetie, its ok. They didn't fit me anymore. Come on, let's go. I want you to hang onto my neck." Piper said, scooping up the girl. She was surprised to see how much lighter she seemed than when she had left. When Piper carried Rachel in earlier, Piper hadn't noticed that she seemed lighter. Her main concern was for the gash, and the other injuries. "You're a mess. Before we get you into the bed, lets give you a quick bath, ok?"

"Not too much soap. Soap in cuts hurts, k?"

"Only a little soap. Got it."

"And you gotta brush my hair first, other wise it will get ratted."

"Brush hair first. Got it."

"And the water can't bee too cold, or too hot."

"I'll let you be a judge of the water."

"K." Paige and Phoebe peered out of Paige's door and saw this.

"She's going to make a great mom." Paige commented, shutting the door.

"Too bad she can't have kids." Phoebe said.

"They haven't told you?" Paige asked, surprised that Phoebe had been left out of the loop.

"What haven't they told me?"

"I've said too much. You'll have to talk to Leo or Piper."

"What! Come on Paige, tell me!"

"Can't!" Phoebe made advances, trying to get the information, but Paige just smiled and orbed away.

"NO FAIR!" Phoebe shouted. She ran out of her room, certain Paige didn't orb out of the house. She found Paige watching tv. "That was no fair. You can't do that. That was cheating."

"If life was fair, ducks would have shot guns. Besides, trying to squeeze information out of me isn't fair either."

"Please?"

"I've said it once; you'll have to talk to Piper or Leo."

"Ok, do you know where either of them is?"

"You and I both saw Piper go and give Rachel a bath, and I think Leo is upstairs at the book of shadows."

"Why is he checking the book?"

"See if Rachel's attackers are there. He knows what kind of weapon they use."

"But we don't even know what they look like."

"He's as determined as a father."

"Ah ha! Another hint! What do you know?"

"No."

"Fine, I go ask now."

"Good, because I'm not telling you anything." Phoebe chucked, then ran up to the attic, where Leo also turned her down for information, saying that she should hear it from Piper. Piper was a bit tied up at the time, but it didn't matter to Phoebe.

"Piper, can I talk to you for a second?" Phoebe asked, poking her head into the bathroom.

"Uh, sure." Piper said, coming out into the hall.

"Paige told me something about you and Leo becoming parents." She said.

Piper pulled Phoebe into another room in the hall. "Leo and I are going to try and adopt Rachel, but we don't want to tell her yet. If we get her hopes up, and we won't be allowed to, for some reason, we don't want her to be heart broken."

"When are you going to tell her?"

"When we get a green light, or soon there after. We want to have her there when we make it official. And Phoebe, I just found out that Leo had been going through the steps with Paige for the past two months today. So this is really new to me."

"That's why Paige knew something. Honey, I am so happy for you."

"Thanks. But don't tell her yet. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Now, may I go back to reading the Velveteen Rabbit?"

"Can I join? I love that book!"

"Can you take over for a while? I'm so tired."

"Sure thing." The two went back into the bathroom.

"Rachel, can Phoebe finish reading to you, and get you ready to play in the bed?" Piper asked. Rachel looked scared. But she saw the trust in both Phoebe's and Piper's eyes and nodded. Phoebe smiled, picked up the book, and sat on the toilet seat (it was down) and began to read. Piper smiled and went into her bedroom to take a nap. She didn't realize how tired she was, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit. When Rachel was done, she wanted to know if Piper was going to come, so she and Phoebe stopped by her bedroom. They peeked in the dark room and saw the sleeping Piper.

"Let's let her sleep. Can you play with me?" Rachel said. Phoebe's heart melted. She looked down at the girl in her arms, and thought that a girl who had that much street smarts and was still that sweet was impossible.

"I would be honored, Princess Rachel." Phoebe said, putting on a fake British accent. Rachel giggled. The two played far into the night. Rachel, who had slept the entire day, was full of energy. She was bummed out that she couldn't walk until the next day, but she didn't let that kill her spirits. She even out lasted Phoebe. After Phoebe fell asleep, Rachel took a book off the shelf and began to look at the pictures.

"Can't you read?" Piper asked when she woke up much later that night. She came into the doorway and watched Rachel for a few minutes.

"Not really. I didn't go to first grade, and school hasn't started yet. School starts in just a week. I never learned. Do you think the kids will tease me because I'm gonna be older?"

"I think that most kids are mean, and will make fun of any one that is different. But being different is what makes us so special. You just have to be careful not to disappear in the middle of class." Piper explained. She tapped Phoebe on the shoulder, waking her up. "Go to bed sweetie." She said. Phoebe smiled, and got up and left. Piper promptly took her chair. "I brought a book that I thought we could read together, if you're still not sleepy."

"What book?" She asked.

"Maybe you've heard of it, Harry Potter?"

"I saw that movie!" She exclaimed. "Yeah! Let's read!" She said.

Piper opened up the book and began to read.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much…" Soon, she was no longer Piper Halliwell-Wyatt, she was Harry Potter. Ron Weasely. Hermione Granger. Professor Snape. Soon, through the words of J.K. Rowling, she had Rachel captured, giggling at funny things, and gasping at the scarier parts. It was nearing dawn when Rachel drifted off to sleep, and at perfect timing. Piper closed the book after the third chapter. She kissed the sleeping girl's head, turned off the light, and left.