All Andy could think of as he made his way through the mall to the
information booth was why they had sent him. He was a homicide
investigator, after all, and even though homicides in the mall weren't
unheard of, they didn't usually happen at three in the afternoon. Plus,
whoever had called the stationhouse had asked for him specifically. As far
as he knew, there wasn't a personal emergency, though his first thought
when he was dispatched had gone to Prue. He had just found out the truth
about Prue and her sisters, and he was constantly worrying about them.
He arrived at the information booth in record time and as soon as he walked up to the desk, he understood why he had been asked to go. Prue was sitting down, holding a little blond girl in her lap, and Piper was at her right side, talking animatedly with the little girl. Phoebe was talking with the receptionist, casting furtive glances in the little girl's direction every so often. "Hi, Inspector Trudeau," he said, flashing his badge and a smile. "What can I do for you?"
"Andy," Prue said in a tone that let him know he could drop the professionalism, "this is Abby Lancaster. Abby, this is my friend, Andy."
"Hi," Abby said shyly, leaning back against Prue.
"Hi," Andy answered with a friendly smile. He sat down in the chair at Prue's left side. "How are you?"
"Okay," she answered with a polite shrug. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," he said, smiling. She was one of the most polite kids he'd ever met. He looked up at Prue, silently asking her what had happened. She just shook her head, biting her lip. Andy had an idea just by the way Abby was acting that she had been left by someone, so he proceeded cautiously. "I have to ask you a couple of questions, okay?"
She nodded, her hand searching for Prue's. Once Prue gripped her hand tightly, the little girl took a deep breath and set her shoulders. "Okay, shoot."
He took out a small notebook and set his pen to it, waiting to write down what Abby was about to tell him. "All right, can you tell me what happened?"
"My daddy decided to take me to the mall today because he said he was going to buy me a new teddy bear," Abby explained, huddling on Prue's lap. "Before we got to the toy store, he asked me if I wanted to go to the science. I like those stars that you stick on the ceiling that glow in the dark, so I said yes. I went straight for the stars and when I turned around, he was gone. I met Prue and she took me a couple of the other stores to look for him. When we couldn't find him, we came down here and Lorraine paged him over and over. He never came."
"What does he look like?" Andy asked.
"He has brown hair and blue eyes," Abby answered, closing her eyes to think. "He was wearing his favorite pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a weird symbol on it."
"Do you think he would have left you?"
Abby shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "He always said he'd love me forever. When we moved, he said we had to move because my mom didn't want me anymore, but he would always love me. I don't know why he's not coming back for me."
Prue wrapped the girl in a tight, comforting hug. Abby buried her face in Prue's arm, trying not to cry. After Andy was through writing, he looked up and met Prue's eyes. She was begging him to help her with Abby, help her know what to say and what to do. "Can she stay with you?" Andy mouthed. When Prue nodded, he tapped Abby's knee and smiled, meaning it as a comfort to both Abby and Prue. "Okay, Abby, I'm going to get everyone I can to look for your dad. In the meantime, you have a choice to make. You can either come with me and I'll take you to a place with a bunch of kids where you can stay until we find him, or you can go home with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe and stay with them until we find him."
Abby looked up at Prue and smiled, her tears tapering off. "I can stay with you guys?"
Prue nodded, smiling. "Of course, honey."
"I want to stay with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe," she said excitedly.
"Great," Andy said with a smile. He stood up and went to leave the information booth.
Piper rushed up and followed closely behind him. "Andy," she said, stopping him, "Peter is Abby's stepfather, not her real father. Her real father died before she was born."
"Okay, thanks. The first thing I'm going to do is see if anyone reported her missing four years ago. Something about him telling her the mother didn't want her isn't sitting right with me. I'll call you when we find anything."
"Andy, what happens if the mother did abandon her and you can't find the stepfather?" she asked quietly.
He cleared his throat, wishing he could avoid the question altogether. "We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," he said instead, giving Piper a quick smile before heading back to the station.
**********
Abby stepped into Halliwell Manor and involuntarily drew in her breath. The house was impressive from the outside and totally amazing from the inside. From the vintage wallpaper right down to the hardwood floors, the place looked like something out of a home and garden magazine. She walked further into the foyer, peeking into the dining room at her right, then gazing into the parlor at her left. "Whoa," she said under her breath.
Prue giggled, dropping the shopping bags in the hallway. She and her sisters had gone on one more shopping binge before bringing Abby home. They had bought Abby some new clothes and sneaker, as well as necessities like a toothbrush and undergarments. When they were done shopping for clothes, they had taken the little girl to the toy store so she could get the new teddy bear she was promised. "You like it?" Prue asked as she flung her keys onto the little table in the foyer.
"Yes!" Abby said excitedly. "This place is huge! My apartment could fit in your parlor!"
Smiling, Prue wrapped her arm around Abby's little shoulders. "Want to see where you'll be staying?"
Abby nodded her head vigorously, running back to get the shopping bags that contained her new clothes. Once she got all of them in her hands, she bolted ahead of Prue, taking the steep stairs two at a time, She heard all three sisters burst into giggles, but she didn't stop until she reached the top of the staircase. Prue caught up with her a moment later and led her down the hall and into a bedroom that seemed to be out of Abby's fairy tale books. The headboard was made of dark cherry wood and all the furniture matched perfectly. The mattress was raised high above the ground and it looked incredibly comfortable. "Prue, this is amazing," she whispered.
Prue grinned and slipped a few of the bags out of Abby's hand. "I'm glad you like it."
"Whose room is this?" She dropped the rest of the bags and climbed onto the bed, bouncing slightly to test it. It was soft and bouncy, just as she suspected.
"Mine," Prue answered. She started to unpack the bags and refold the clothes, separating them into neat, organized piles. "I'm going to stay with Piper and you can stay in here until Andy finds your dad."
"I didn't mean to kick you out of your room," Abby said apologetically.
"Oh, sweetie, don't worry about it." Prue sat down on the bed and patted her lap. Abby complied, crawling across the bed and settling into Prue's lap. "While you're here, you're family. Our house is your house, okay?" Abby nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable here."
Abby nodded again, resting her head against Prue's shoulder. "Prue, why are you guys being so nice to me?"
Prue looked down at Abby, brushing the girl's hair out of her face. "Well, we like to help people anyway, but you're a special little girl. We wanted you here with us rather than at the group home downtown. We wanted to look out for you."
Abby smiled widely. She had weathered so much loss already in her young life, and she was starting to believe that no one wanted her at all. Her mother didn't want her, and she thought her stepfather loved her. Apparently, though, he didn't or he wouldn't have left her at the mall. Then the sisters came along and she was able to believe that someone cared about her.
"Come on, honey," Prue smiled, tapping Abby's knee. "Let's go back downstairs. I think Piper is making you a spaghetti dinner."
Grinning, Abby climbed off Prue's lap and stood up. Prue stood as well and took Abby's hand. Abby allowed Prue to lead her down the stairs, all the while thinking that she was certainly lucky the Halliwells had found her. I'm definitely going to be comfortable here, she thought as she sidled a little closer to Prue.
He arrived at the information booth in record time and as soon as he walked up to the desk, he understood why he had been asked to go. Prue was sitting down, holding a little blond girl in her lap, and Piper was at her right side, talking animatedly with the little girl. Phoebe was talking with the receptionist, casting furtive glances in the little girl's direction every so often. "Hi, Inspector Trudeau," he said, flashing his badge and a smile. "What can I do for you?"
"Andy," Prue said in a tone that let him know he could drop the professionalism, "this is Abby Lancaster. Abby, this is my friend, Andy."
"Hi," Abby said shyly, leaning back against Prue.
"Hi," Andy answered with a friendly smile. He sat down in the chair at Prue's left side. "How are you?"
"Okay," she answered with a polite shrug. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," he said, smiling. She was one of the most polite kids he'd ever met. He looked up at Prue, silently asking her what had happened. She just shook her head, biting her lip. Andy had an idea just by the way Abby was acting that she had been left by someone, so he proceeded cautiously. "I have to ask you a couple of questions, okay?"
She nodded, her hand searching for Prue's. Once Prue gripped her hand tightly, the little girl took a deep breath and set her shoulders. "Okay, shoot."
He took out a small notebook and set his pen to it, waiting to write down what Abby was about to tell him. "All right, can you tell me what happened?"
"My daddy decided to take me to the mall today because he said he was going to buy me a new teddy bear," Abby explained, huddling on Prue's lap. "Before we got to the toy store, he asked me if I wanted to go to the science. I like those stars that you stick on the ceiling that glow in the dark, so I said yes. I went straight for the stars and when I turned around, he was gone. I met Prue and she took me a couple of the other stores to look for him. When we couldn't find him, we came down here and Lorraine paged him over and over. He never came."
"What does he look like?" Andy asked.
"He has brown hair and blue eyes," Abby answered, closing her eyes to think. "He was wearing his favorite pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a weird symbol on it."
"Do you think he would have left you?"
Abby shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "He always said he'd love me forever. When we moved, he said we had to move because my mom didn't want me anymore, but he would always love me. I don't know why he's not coming back for me."
Prue wrapped the girl in a tight, comforting hug. Abby buried her face in Prue's arm, trying not to cry. After Andy was through writing, he looked up and met Prue's eyes. She was begging him to help her with Abby, help her know what to say and what to do. "Can she stay with you?" Andy mouthed. When Prue nodded, he tapped Abby's knee and smiled, meaning it as a comfort to both Abby and Prue. "Okay, Abby, I'm going to get everyone I can to look for your dad. In the meantime, you have a choice to make. You can either come with me and I'll take you to a place with a bunch of kids where you can stay until we find him, or you can go home with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe and stay with them until we find him."
Abby looked up at Prue and smiled, her tears tapering off. "I can stay with you guys?"
Prue nodded, smiling. "Of course, honey."
"I want to stay with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe," she said excitedly.
"Great," Andy said with a smile. He stood up and went to leave the information booth.
Piper rushed up and followed closely behind him. "Andy," she said, stopping him, "Peter is Abby's stepfather, not her real father. Her real father died before she was born."
"Okay, thanks. The first thing I'm going to do is see if anyone reported her missing four years ago. Something about him telling her the mother didn't want her isn't sitting right with me. I'll call you when we find anything."
"Andy, what happens if the mother did abandon her and you can't find the stepfather?" she asked quietly.
He cleared his throat, wishing he could avoid the question altogether. "We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," he said instead, giving Piper a quick smile before heading back to the station.
**********
Abby stepped into Halliwell Manor and involuntarily drew in her breath. The house was impressive from the outside and totally amazing from the inside. From the vintage wallpaper right down to the hardwood floors, the place looked like something out of a home and garden magazine. She walked further into the foyer, peeking into the dining room at her right, then gazing into the parlor at her left. "Whoa," she said under her breath.
Prue giggled, dropping the shopping bags in the hallway. She and her sisters had gone on one more shopping binge before bringing Abby home. They had bought Abby some new clothes and sneaker, as well as necessities like a toothbrush and undergarments. When they were done shopping for clothes, they had taken the little girl to the toy store so she could get the new teddy bear she was promised. "You like it?" Prue asked as she flung her keys onto the little table in the foyer.
"Yes!" Abby said excitedly. "This place is huge! My apartment could fit in your parlor!"
Smiling, Prue wrapped her arm around Abby's little shoulders. "Want to see where you'll be staying?"
Abby nodded her head vigorously, running back to get the shopping bags that contained her new clothes. Once she got all of them in her hands, she bolted ahead of Prue, taking the steep stairs two at a time, She heard all three sisters burst into giggles, but she didn't stop until she reached the top of the staircase. Prue caught up with her a moment later and led her down the hall and into a bedroom that seemed to be out of Abby's fairy tale books. The headboard was made of dark cherry wood and all the furniture matched perfectly. The mattress was raised high above the ground and it looked incredibly comfortable. "Prue, this is amazing," she whispered.
Prue grinned and slipped a few of the bags out of Abby's hand. "I'm glad you like it."
"Whose room is this?" She dropped the rest of the bags and climbed onto the bed, bouncing slightly to test it. It was soft and bouncy, just as she suspected.
"Mine," Prue answered. She started to unpack the bags and refold the clothes, separating them into neat, organized piles. "I'm going to stay with Piper and you can stay in here until Andy finds your dad."
"I didn't mean to kick you out of your room," Abby said apologetically.
"Oh, sweetie, don't worry about it." Prue sat down on the bed and patted her lap. Abby complied, crawling across the bed and settling into Prue's lap. "While you're here, you're family. Our house is your house, okay?" Abby nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable here."
Abby nodded again, resting her head against Prue's shoulder. "Prue, why are you guys being so nice to me?"
Prue looked down at Abby, brushing the girl's hair out of her face. "Well, we like to help people anyway, but you're a special little girl. We wanted you here with us rather than at the group home downtown. We wanted to look out for you."
Abby smiled widely. She had weathered so much loss already in her young life, and she was starting to believe that no one wanted her at all. Her mother didn't want her, and she thought her stepfather loved her. Apparently, though, he didn't or he wouldn't have left her at the mall. Then the sisters came along and she was able to believe that someone cared about her.
"Come on, honey," Prue smiled, tapping Abby's knee. "Let's go back downstairs. I think Piper is making you a spaghetti dinner."
Grinning, Abby climbed off Prue's lap and stood up. Prue stood as well and took Abby's hand. Abby allowed Prue to lead her down the stairs, all the while thinking that she was certainly lucky the Halliwells had found her. I'm definitely going to be comfortable here, she thought as she sidled a little closer to Prue.