A/N: Ah, I don't think Leo is going to shoot anyone in the leg for a while, Gryffindor620. I will seriously consider the thought, and I appreciate the enthusiasm. I really do. But I like to keep some reality in my fics and not go too all out, and Leo does after all have a daughter, so I think he needs to keep his job. I'll consider him shooting something, though... Maybe having to kill someone attacking him or something... Or maybe attacking Melinda... Ooh... Possibilities... Well, let me get control of my wild imagination trying to take over my mind and body and get to Chapter 2...

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Prue picked Melinda up again. She was in preschool. When Prue went to the room, the little four-year-old went crazy.

"Aunt Pwue!" She said, not really get her "r" out.

"Hey, kiddo." Prue picked up the little girl. She'd never had kids of her own, but her husband wanted kids. Andy really did, but Prue was waiting. It wasn't the right time. Still, she enjoyed taking care of Melinda. Her little niece was always a joy to be around.

Except now.

Everyday, she asked, "Where's Mommy and Daddy?"

An innocent little question, and one that she deserved an answer to, but Prue couldn't give her the truthful one. The one that told her that Piper-- her mother-- had been gone for a month now.

And that was the truth.

Leo hadn't taken it too well. But still, neither had Prue or Phoebe. Leo was at work so often and hardly every home. It got so bad that he asked Prue if she would take care of Melinda. Melinda had been living with Prue and Andy for a few weeks now. Piper disappearing was too hard on Leo, without counting the fact that he had the entire police station out looking for her.

He knew who did it.

Dan Gordon.

The same man from earlier. On the street. But there was no evidence besides the circumstantial kind, though it was all true. Or course, none of it would fly in a Court of Law. Hard as it was for Piper to be gone, it was even harder to not know where her body was. If she was even dead. It gave way for thoughts of her being alive. She could be dead... She could be barely hanging on, or... She could be anywhere.

"Daddy's at work," Prue answered instinctively, the same as always, though her thoughts were elsewhere.

Melinda knew something was wrong, but didn't ask. Aunt Prue looked tired. Little Melinda didn't have any clue that her mother was probably never coming back. Prue put the little girl in the car and took her back to her house.

In Oregon, a woman stumbled into a forest ranger's cabin. A man ran to her and caught her as she fell. She looked terrible. Her ankles were bleeding from being bound together, though it looked as if she had gotten the rope off recently. Her hands were still bound, though, from behind her back, and she was barefoot. Tears were streaming down her face. Her clothes were dirty and had blood smeared on them. Her hair was down, and looked as if it would never be able to be combed out again. Her clothes had grass and dirt stains on them, mixed in with the blood, and her right leg was flowing blood. It looked as if she'd been shot above her knee a week or so ago. She fell into the ranger's arms, crying and mumbling something incoherent.

Leo went to see Melinda that night. Phoebe had wanted to go, as well, and had asked her brother-in-law if he would take her. Leo agreed.

"How you holdin' up?" Phoebe asked as she got in the car. Leo glared at her, but his blue eyes held pain and sadness. "Me too."

Melinda was in her bedroom at Prue's house when Phoebe and Leo got there a moment later. They made it to the door without saying anything. Prue opened the door and hugged both Phoebe and Leo, and let them in. Andy was in Melinda's room. She was coloring and babbling on about the puppy her Mommy was going to get her.

"Melinda's fine. You wanna see her?" Prue asked.

Leo nodded. He hadn't seen her in a couple of days. It was hard to look at her, but he had to come. Since the day she was born, Leo couldn't spend more than three days without her. Once though, when Melinda was only three months old, Leo was called out to Los Angeles to work there for a few days. He had had to stay for a week. It was the longest he'd been away from his daughter. The longest he'd been away from Piper was a month, and it was before they were married. The month seemed to go on forever, and when Leo got back, he promised he would never leave for that long at a time again.

He never did.

But now... Now she had been gone for a month, and that promise was deteriorating slowly.

Andy came out, with Melinda close behind. She looked up to see Leo there with Phoebe and Prue and screamed, "Daddy!"

The sweet little voice echoed through him. Leo scooped the little girl up while saying, "Hey, baby girl. I missed you." She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on tighter.

"I missed you, too," the four-year-old responded.

Melinda hugged Leo again. When she poked her head out and saw Phoebe, she jumped from Leo's arms to Phoebe's.

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A/N: Okay, it wasn't too short, right? Chapter 3 is about as long, but they get better. I do have to say that this fic is animal-oriented. Extremely. I have dog training parts and parts where they take the dogs to a park. (K-9 dogs, that is.) So if you have a problem with dogs, don't read this fiction or Wyatt. Houses has no animals, but you never know, I can work things in. Home Sweet Home is very animal-oriented. Just a warning.