A/N: Chapter One is present-day: 2004. [ Also, remember at the end of "The Power of Four" (haven't read it? Please do!) where Prue says her new job is Whitelighter to the Charmed Ones? Well. . ] [ Another also... Piper never had Wyatt and Chris isn't in this. Sorry, heh. ]

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Piper Halliwell, still in her dark blue pajamas, picked up the newspaper from the front steps. She brought it into the kitchen where she found her sisters, Phoebe and Paige, sitting at the table snacking on the eggs, sausage, and bacon Piper had made.

"Morning," Piper said cheerfully.

"You're awfully happy," Phoebe commented, sipping her milk.

Piper shrugged and sat down, placing the paper on the table. "It's nice out. Can you blame me?" she asked, picking up the milk carton and pouring herself some. She glanced at the side, the Missing Child panel. A little girl with raven black hair and gorgeous green eyes smiled up at her. In the picture, the girl looked about thirteen. She had been missing two years, so would be fifteen now, and her name was Stacey O'Bryan.

Piper frowned, her good mood suddenly gone. "What sick psycho would kidnap an innocent little girl? And it says here that she lives about forty-five minutes away from here . . . or lived forty-five minutes from here, actually."

"Children go missing everyday, Piper," Paige replied gently.

Piper shrugged. "I know. But still . . . it's horrible." She sighed, setting the carton down and sipping her milk, but not touching her food. After a few minutes, she stood. "I should get ready. I have to get to P3 soon to set up for that Star Light Star Bright party I agreed to host. Why did I agree to host?"

Phoebe laughed. "Because you're a good person."

Piper grumbled something before turning and walking out of the kitchen.

"Doesn't take much to end her good moods, does it?" Paige commented.

"That's Piper for you," Phoebe replied, shrugging. She glanced at Stacey O'Bryan's picture. "She's right, though. It is-"She cut off, eyes snapping shut. She nearly dropped the milk as a vision hit. A girl, looking almost identical to Stacey, being burned at the stake, screaming in pain. A young man, with chocolate brown hair watched from within the crowd, looking anxious and desperate. Then, as fast as it had come, the vision ended.

"What did you see?" Paige asked curiously.

Phoebe quickly filled her little sister in. "And . . . I felt what he felt. It was like he wanted to help but couldn't. Or like . . . something was supposed to happen and it wasn't, or something was about to happen."

Paige blinked in confusion. "Okay . . . if you say so . . ."

Phoebe sighed. "I know it sounds weird, Paige. But I-I can't explain it. Something about it was really weird though. It looked like it was . . . a different time period."

"But you said the girl looked like one the on the milk carton, right?' Paige asked, becoming more and more confused by the second.

"Right. Well . . . I think." Phoebe bit her lip, glanced at the clock, and jumped up. "Oh my god. I'm late for work. We'll figure this out later. If I don't get to work on time, Elise will fire me faster than I can say 'family emergency.' Fill Piper in, kay? Love you! Bye!" She snatched her bag up from the table and ran out of the kitchen. She nearly fell on her way to her car, dropping her bag twice. She unlocked her Mini Cooper and jumped in, slamming the door and throwing her stuff onto the passenger seat. Going a little too fast, she pulled out of the driveway and went to the right. Suddenly, a girl ran in front of her car. Phoebe shrieked and slammed the brakes. The girl screamed, jumping backwards and to the side, but she landed wrong and fell to the pavement.

Phoebe undid her seatbelt and got out of her car, running over to the girl's side. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?? I didn't see you there!"

The girl looked up at Phoebe. Phoebe's jaw dropped as she realized that this was the girl on the milk carton! She looked scared and lost and helpless.

"Y-you're . . . oh my . . . you're Stacey O'Bryan, aren't you?" she asked, dumbstruck.

The girl's eyes widened in fear. "I- no . . . You have the wrong person!" She stood up, though it seemed pretty painful to do so. "S-sorry . . . Bye . . ." She turned to run but ended up limping horribly for a few steps then falling back down. She glanced back at Phoebe, completely and totally terrified.

"Don't worry . . . I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me,' Phoebe said gently, taking slow steps towards the girl. "I'm a friend. I can help you, okay Stacey?"

"You have the wrong person!" the girl cried, tears in her eyes. "I just want to leave! Please, just go away!" Nearby, a garbage can exploded.

Phoebe glanced in the direction of the explosion, eyes wide, and then back at the girl. "Please, trust me. I can help you get better." She held her hand out to the girl. "Trust me."

The girl didn't take her hand.

"Stacey, please. If I were going to hurt you, I would have already. I can help you. My sisters and I can help you. So please, come with me!"

"She won't go with you, witch."

Phoebe turned to see a man, dressed all in black with pale skin and greasy black hair, standing – er, floating – behind her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, standing in front of Stacey to shield her.

The man grinned, revealing yellow, rotted teeth. "I am what she fears the most. I took everything she ever wanted in life. I am the one who took her away from her parents."

"Demon," Phoebe hissed. "You better run if you know what's good for you!" she snapped at him.

He laughed. "I'm not afraid of you, witch, and I will not leave until I have what I came to find. Stacey has been a naughty girl. She ran away from me."

"Gee, wonder why." Phoebe clenched her fists and levitated, going forward and trying to kick the man. Instead, her foot went right through him and she lost her concentration, falling back to the ground in a painful thump. She quickly got to her feet, though achy and bruised, and backed up to Stacey. "Unless you want to go back with him, you'll get in my car and you'll let me take you to my house where you'll be safe."

Without a second's hesitation, Stacey ran to Phoebe's car, got in, and slammed the door. Phoebe followed, her eyes never leaving the demon. She turned the engine on, did a horrible U-turn, and drove like a bat out of hell back to Halliwell Manor.

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"Paige? Piper?" Phoebe called loudly, letting the front door slam. Stacey was hiding behind her.

Paige came tromping down the stairs and into the hall, dressed in a black frilly skirt and a white tank top. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she was barefoot.

"What's up, Pheebs? I thought you had to rush to work before your boss fired your ass," Paige quipped, smirking at her bad attempt of sarcasm.

"Yeah, well we have bigger problems than my ass getting fired," Phoebe replied dryly. She stepped aside so Paige could see Stacey, who was still as frightened and lost as she had been back on the street.

Paige blinked. "Wait . . . isn't she-"

"The girl on the milk carton," Phoebe finished for her, nodding. "A demon attacked her."

"Great. Another day, another innocent. So should I go call Piper?" Paige asked.

"No. She needs to set up for the Star Light Star Bright party. If we need her later, she's only an orb away. Right now, we need Leo or Prue," Phoebe replied. "Leo? Prue?" she called, looking skyward.

Two sets of blue and white lights appeared and shot down to the floor, then formed into Leo and Prue.

"Hey, Pheebs, Paige," Prue said, smiling. Since becoming assistant Whitelighter to her sister's, her afterlife had become seemingly more enjoyable. "What's today's crisis?"

Quickly, Phoebe filled Leo and Prue in on the breakfast conversation, her vision, and then the whole situation that led to her meeting Stacey and bringing her home.

"And you say you . . . went right through the demon? Like it was smoke?" Leo asked, frowning.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll go check with the Elders about the demon and see what they know about her," Leo said, nodding at Stacey. He orbed out.

Prue crossed her arms. "Are you sure she's the same girl as the one in your vision? I mean, you've had visions of different time periods before, Pheebs. Maybe it was one of her past selves . . . or a family relative."

"Could be. But if it's not, then that means some demon is going to swoop in her, snatch her up, and take her back to the time in my vision so she can be cooked to a crisp," Phoebe replied.

Stacey whimpered, backing away and into the wall.

Paige stepped closer to her. "Don't worry, we won't let that happen. You just need to trust us, okay?" She glanced at Phoebe and Prue. "First things first, we need to contact her parents and let them know she's okay."

"You can't," Stacey snapped, her first words so far.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Why not?" Prue asked.

Stacey narrowed her eyes. "Because they're dead."