Prue tucked Abby into bed, pulling the soft comforter up to the little girl's chin. Giggling, Abby pulled her arms out from underneath the covers and hugged her brand new teddy bear to her chest. The small white bear was soft and cuddly, and Abby had already named her Amethyst in honor of the deep purple ribbon tied around her neck. "Okay, sweetie, if you need us, you know where Piper and Phoebe's rooms are."

Abby nodded, smiling as she turned onto her side and propped herself up on her right elbow. "Thank you for everything, Prue."

"It's our pleasure, honey," Prue answered, running her finger gently down the girl's cheek. "You try to get some sleep."

Nodding again, Abby laid back down, settling her head into the pillows. She closed her eyes, but when she heard Prue stand up to leave, she opened them again. For some reason, she was overwhelmed with fear. Maybe she was afraid she was going to be abandoned once again. "Prue, wait."

Prue turned around, her brow furrowed in concern. "What's the matter?"

Abby shook her head, unwilling to say what was on her mind. Her fear was completely unfounded. Granted, she didn't know the sisters very well, but she didn't get the feeling that they would leave her, too. "Do you think they'll find Peter?"

Prue seemed a little taken aback at the fact that Abby had called her stepfather by his name instead of Daddy, but she didn't mention it as she walked back over to the bed and sat down right above Abby's knees. "Well, I can't guarantee it, but I do know that Andy doesn't give up easily. If anyone can find him, it's Andy." She smiled gently.

Abby smiled, running Amethyst's satin ribbon between her fingers. "Okay."

"Is something wrong, honey?" Prue asked, her face suddenly turning serious.

Sighing, Abby shrugged as tears began to gather in her eyes. "I just miss them. Peter and my mom."

Prue comfortingly rested her hand on Abby's arm. "That's perfectly understandable." She hesitated, wondering what she could say to ease Abby's mind. Suddenly, she grinned. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but a little nostalgia might do Abby some good. "Do you remember your mom at all?"

"Sort of," Abby said, propping herself up on her elbow again. "I remember the day we moved. My mom and my dad weren't living together, so I'd go to my dad's every weekend. One weekend, my mom packed a little suitcase and my daddy came to pick me up. She was holding me and when he came, she gave me to him. She waved goodbye and we drove to his friend's house. Then we took his friend's car and we drove all the way here."

"All the way?" Prue interrupted. "Where did you live?"

"Massachusetts," she said uncomfortably. "On the way, he told me that my mom told him that she didn't want me anymore and to take me away. What's weird is that she didn't act like she didn't love me. She was always hugging me and kissing me." Her eyes were growing heavy and she stopped to hide a yawn behind her hand.

"You should try to sleep now," Prue said softly, smiling. Abby closed her eyes and settled back onto the mattress.

Prue sat for a moment, then stood up. "Prue?" Abby called, opening her eyes once again. The fear of being abandoned was rising in her heart again. "Do you have to go?"

Prue turned around, suddenly realizing why Abby was so jumpy. "I won't if you don't want me to."

When Abby shook her head, Prue smiled, turned off the overhead light, and climbed into bed next to Abby. The little girl turned over so that she was facing Prue and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Prue said. "Now, close your eyes and just relax."

Abby did as she was told, hugging her bear tightly to her chest. Her mind was racing, however, and she couldn't seem to relax enough to fall asleep. So much had happened in the past twelve hours. It was like she had been through a lost and found, and it was hard for her to think of herself as someone people loved. Though, the sisters were making it easier. Everything they were doing for her, from allowing her to stay with them to making her a homemade spaghetti dinner, made her feel special.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked over at Prue. She had already fallen asleep and was snoring softly. Abby flung the covers off her legs, climbed out of bed carefully so as not to wake Prue, and sat down on the antique sofa in front of the window. She pulled the shade up and winced as the light from the street lamps flooded the room. She quickly glanced over at the bed and let her breath out in relief when Prue didn't stir.

Turning back to gaze out the window, her thoughts fell to her mother. She couldn't help but think about what she'd look like now, if she even remembered her daughter. The one thing that Abby remembered clearly about her mother was her golden hair. Abby and her mother looked quite a bit alike, she remembered. Both had the long blond hair that curled when it was humid and both had pale blue eyes. I wonder why she all of a sudden didn't want me, she thought. How could she just give me away like that?

She swiped at the tears that were welling in her eyes and sniffled. Her eyelids finally began drooping so she closed the shade and climbed back into bed, laying her head down on the pillows. She gave Amethyst a quick kiss goodnight and closed her eyes. "I miss you, Mama," she whispered before she drifted off to sleep.

**********

Prue stretched and opened her eyes, the bright sunlight peeking around the edges of her shades. Glancing over, she saw that Abby was still asleep, the teddy bear lying at her side. She also caught the clock out of the corner of her eye. It was a little after eight, and it was already shaping up to be an unseasonably hot day. She kicked the covers off, climbed out of bed, and quickly ran her brush through her hair before going downstairs.

As soon as she hit the bottom of the stairs, the smell of coffee brewing hit her nose full force. Grinning, she quickly made her way into the kitchen, the coffee scent making her mouth water. "Morning," she said cheerfully to Piper as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Morning," Piper answered, nibbling on her peanut butter toast. "How come you stayed with Abby last night?"

"What?" Prue shook her hair out of her eyes and sat down at the table with her sister.

"Well, I assumed that you went to bed after me and got up before me," she explained. "But when I peeked into your room this morning to check on Abby, you both were zonked."

"She didn't want me to leave," Prue answered with a shrug. "What was I supposed to say, that I had to?" She sighed, running Abby's situation through her head one more time. No matter how many times she thought it over, she couldn't think of anything that could help the little girl, other than trying to track down her mother. "You know, I don't think her mom abandoned her. I think Peter took her from the mother." When Piper looked up at her, confused, Prue recounted what Abby had told her the night before.

"A marvelous deduction, except for one thing," Piper said as she put down her slice of toast. "The mother never reported her missing."

"You're kidding me."

Piper shook her head solemnly. "Andy called this morning. That's why I was up so early. There's no Abigail Lancaster in the missing persons database."

"Why wouldn't she report her missing?" Prue asked, biting her lip. She knew the answer, but she didn't want to voice it herself.

"If she really did abandon her," Piper said softly.

Prue groaned and placed her head in her hands. Everything was falling apart. At least when she was going on the assumption that Abby had been taken from her mother, she was sure that the little girl would have someplace to go when all was said and done. Now, the girl had no one unless . . . Suddenly, Prue's head shot up. It was completely impractical, but it was worth bringing it up. "Is Phoebe up yet? We need to have a talk."

"I'm up," Phoebe said as she walked into the kitchen and sat down with her sisters at the table. "What's going on?"

Prue took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Okay, here goes nothing, she thought. "All right, if both her mother and her stepfather really did abandon her, Abby has nobody. She'll have to be put into foster care and I don't want to see that happen to her. So I was wondering . . . if it comes down to it, do you think we could take her in?"

Piper and Phoebe both gasped and looked up at their sister sharply. "Um Prue," Piper said gently, "don't take this the wrong way, but are you nuts?"

"Prue, we can barely protect ourselves and we're the Charmed Ones!" Phoebe exclaimed. "How could we protect a mortal child? She's defenseless."

"I don't know," Prue shrugged. "Maybe we can slip her a protection potion or something. Maybe something that blocks all evil magic?"

"If it was that easy, don't you think someone would have thought of it by now?" Phoebe countered.

Prue shook her head, trying to think of something else to say. "Look, honey, it's not that we don't want to," Piper said, placing her hand over Prue's. "It's that we can't. We can't put her life in danger and that's what we'd be doing if we took her in."

Prue sighed heavily, trying to fight the tears that were forming in her eyes. She and her sisters were Abby's only chance and her sisters were shooting her down without even considering what she was saying. "Okay, think about it like this. Abby's just a little bit younger than I was when Mom died. And we were lucky; we had Grams. Abby won't have anybody. Instead, she'll be taken in by family after family, moved from house to house, and finally she'll be thrown out onto the street on her own at eighteen. I can't let that happen to her. I just can't. Will you two please just think about it?"

Piper hesitated, softening at Prue's tone of voice. "She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"Yes," Prue nodded. "Yes, she does. All I'm asking is that you think about it."

Phoebe exchanged a concerned glance with Piper. "Sure, we'll think about it, honey."

"That's all I ask," Prue said, smiling in relief. "I'm going back upstairs. I don't want her to wake up alone."

"Okay," Phoebe said, watching Prue stand up and leave the room. Once she was sure her sister was out of earshot, she turned to Piper. "We can't take in a mortal child, Piper."

"I know," Piper sighed, sitting back against the chair, "but if I know Prue, she's not going to give up on this. And the thing is?"

"Yeah?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm not so sure she's wrong."