When she stirred from a restless slumber, Pattie rubbed her eyes, noticing she wasn't alone. The figure was too blurry to make out clearly. Groaning, and not in the mood for company, she mumbled. "Go away!"

"Are you sure you want me to leave, darling?" the voice replied. Slowly pulling the quilt away from her face, Pattie was surprised to see that her visitor was, in fact, her grandmother.

Pattie glanced at the clock as bright sun was just beginning glow in the sky and pour into the bedroom with a sparkling radiant light. She could barely believe that it was only 5:30 in the morning and it was a weekend. Her mom and aunts probably wouldn't be up for another 2 ½ hours.

Using what little energy she had, Pattie pushed herself up into a sitting position, "How long have you been here?" she wanted to know.

"Long enough," Patty mused, watching as her granddaughter found a brush from her dresser and worked it through the tangles of her long chestnut hair. "You've had a long night, as far as I witnessed."

"I screwed up," Pattie admitted, falling back onto the bed and into her grandmother's arms. At least here she was relieved to know she didn't have to worry about the things she said, none of them would affect spirits. "I wasn't ready to tell her who I was yet but she found out because of the birthmark on my wrist. Then, to make it worse, I went to the graveyard to see Dad and she was there!" Pattie cried quietly. "I spilled the truth about her death by accident, now they all know. I am a pathetic excuse for a witch," she muttered unhappily as Patty held her tighter,

"Oh, spare me the dramatics!" another voice echoed, and both Patty and her granddaughter raised their heads anxiously to the ceiling, but by then the golden swirls of light were already bringing Penny Halliwell back from the afterlife. She had her hands gently placed on her hips and was giving Pattie one of her famous stares.

It was one that said, "I don't have time for this nonsense."

Pattie found herself unexpectedly smiling. Of all people, her great-grandmother always had the perfect comeback for everything, and knew just when she was needed to show up. She never failed. "Grams!" Pattie squealed happily, running into her arms.

"Well, my dear, you really have gotten yourself tied up in a bit of a dilemma haven't you?" she queried.

"Mother—," Patty went to interrupt dryly, sometimes her mother could be a bit too blunt, she felt.

"Oh, Patty let's not kid ourselves here," Penny continued, leading herself and Pattie back over to the bed and sitting down. "She's brought herself back to the past and being as she is a Halliwell, Pattie will be smart enough to get herself home, won't you darling?"

They both looked to Pattie hopefully, who shrugged, "I don't know how to get home. I don't have my powers, I screwed up any chance of getting help from my family, and my spell-casting screwed me over the first time, I can't rely on words to bring me back to eight years in the future." As she explained, Patty looked on sympathetically, knowing her granddaughter was at a loss for confidence.

"You miss your own time, don't you?" she inquired, and Pattie nodded agreeably.

"Except…mom," she began, but then halted, looking to Penny.

She folded Pattie into her arms. "Yes, Pattie, I know what's going to happen. I've been watching too, you know," she explained. Penny could be tough-as-nails, but then she could also be very comforting and Pattie felt safe now. "I don't know what damage has been done by what was found out last night, if any or a lot."

"I figured as much," Pattie grumbled.

"Oh, child, don't take so much pity on yourself," Penny shushed her, "It was an honest mistake. There aren't many of us who can say we wouldn't make the same mistake if put in your position."

Pattie relaxed a little, "Really?"

"Of course," Patty reassured her. "But what I told you before still stands to reason now. There's nothing more we can do except to give you advice, you need to find what you can do and not affect your future."

"No pressure there," Pattie replied, half-heartedly falling further into Penny's arms.

"Kid, if you don't have a positive attitude then there won't be any success," Penny reminded her.

A tear slipped down Pattie's cheek, "Mom's said that to me before, figures she learned it from you." Penny smiled graciously, rubbing Pattie's back. Even as powerful as she was, it was still a new experience for Penny to encounter future people from the afterlife, much less her great-granddaughter. She was in awe at how such a young girl could manage the power alone to bring herself back, whether or not it was an accident.

She soothed Pattie the way she had her mother and aunts as children. Patty watched this, feeling the young girl's pain. Desperately, Patty wished there was an answer she could give, but it was up to the girl to find one on her own.

"Have you thought about utilizing all of your allies?" Patty asked her carefully.

Pattie stared at her for a second, "Like who?"

"I don't know, anyone from this time who can help you fix the damage you may have done, or at least remedy it," she offered, stroking Pattie's hand and gazing at her empathetically.

"Patricia," Penny scolded her daughter, "you're not helping her."

"Mother, you know we can't influence her decision, the most ability we're aloud is to try and guide her in the right direction without any vital information," she retorted in her own defense as well as Pattie's.

The two became engaged in a heated conversation over Pattie's best interests but the argument stopped when they noticed that Pattie was not only amused by the situation, she was giggling uncontrollably. When they both looked at her with a curious stare she replied, "I just miss this, hearing you two argue. You always do it when you get summoned," she explained, remembering the time Patty had been called to settle a dispute between Penny and Victor after the girls had suffered the consequences of a spell and reverted back to adolescence. Both had their own opinion on how to fix the matter and Patty was the one to resolve the problem. Of course, banter was exchanged before that, much between the two women and Pattie had felt like she was part of a normal family listening to it, sarcastic comments and all.

Patty considered her granddaughter's innocence as she was still young and smiled warmly. "Well I'm glad we could entertain you, sweetheart," she said wryly. "Just consider the reason you may have been sent back here, all right? Can you promise me that?"

"Of course I can," Pattie agreed, giving Patty another hug, enjoying another lost moment with family.

"I hope we were able to provide some comfort for you," Penny noted as she watched Pattie crawl into her daughter's arms. Patty brushed hair from the girl's face lovingly. "Don't lose that logic of yours. Be safe and be smart, especially once you're back home, and you will get home you here me?" she asked, a tone in her voice which Pattie read as a hollow threat only meant to give her confidence.

"Yes, ma'am," she smiled obediently, and then hugged Penny again. "I love you both so much."

"We love you too dear," Patty said, blowing her a kiss, to which the white balls of light circled her and then she was gone as Pattie blew her one back.

"Always," Penny said, finishing the statement for her daughter, "No matter what time you're in." Then with one last wink, she grinned and was gone as well, leaving Pattie as alone again.

She felt alone.

Pattie looked around for the picture which sat on her nightstand in her 2008 room, the one in the purple frame which had been her inspiration for this spell in the first place. As she did an eerie chill reminded her the day had yet to happen, this picture wasn't in existence. In fact, it was coming up in a few weeks if she remembered correctly.

"I want those happy memories to be around forever," she whispered to no one else but herself.

An idea struck Pattie quickly. Being stuck in the past, her nightmare, spells, the one person she needed most right now but wasn't there. Down the hall her three family members lay soundly asleep, but somewhere across town the missing piece of the puzzle roamed free.

Paige.

Pattie knew the nightmare well, every detail of Prue's death. Maybe, she thought, this could benefit me. I can take what was missing and fix it. I can help my mother survive. I can have her, and Aunt Paige.

Somehow Pattie channeled the other voices out, the ones that said she was making a mistake, that that was impossibility, and that she had other people and other things to worry about. For all the wrong reasons she was making this decision; Pattie was diving in blind.

"If I can find Aunt Paige, maybe somehow I can guide her to us, so that even if I save mom I can still have her," she decided quietly. "Then I can find that spell that Aunt Phoebe should have said to stop Shax, say it, and save mom." She felt like she'd hit a stream of success. Thanks to a positive attitude, she thought happily. But the problem was still there, she couldn't remember exactly where Paige worked, or where her apartment had been. And even if she did find her, Pattie didn't know what she'd exactly say.

Then, she remembered what Patty had said about using her allies.

It all became clear.

Grabbing a piece of jewelry from her younger self's jewelry box which could back up her identity, Pattie quietly tiptoed down the stairs and then left a sticky note on the refrigerator.

Out – don't worry about me. I'll be back soon, I promise.

Then Pattie headed out the door, pulling her sweatshirt hood over her head.

An early morning air whipped through the streets of San Francisco as Pattie hurried down the nearly vacant sidewalks of the city. It was barely six when she'd left the house and even with the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her head to conceal her identity she still shivered. It wasn't like anyone was going to recognize her anyway except hopefully the person she was heading for.

He was her only hope.

Pattie pulled her hands inside her sweatshirt, taking off into a run down the concrete. She was thankful that it was early and many people weren't out yet. The few she had seen watched as she passed some nervously like she was a mischievous teenager and others with pure curiosity. Feeling the eyes on her made Pattie want to run faster, to slip away entirely, she wanted her powers so she could become invisible.

After sprinting three blocks, knowing how far away from the manor she'd been, Pattie wished she'd just asked Leo for assistance; it would have saved so much energy, she knew.

But asking Leo would have meant going through Piper, and that wasn't an option for this situation.

Finally, the sight of the police station came into view and Pattie let out a long sigh of relief. She gripped the rail on one of the steps, collapsing for a minute on them and taking shallow breaths until slowly she'd put her breathing back in order. Then when she gathered all her courage together, Pattie stood and walked into the station.

As she expected, the precinct was nearly empty. Fortunately though, the person she'd been hoping to see was seated at his desk rummaging through a mess of files, scribbling a few notes down for a case file. She didn't know if he'd just got on, or if he had been on all night.

Inspector Darryl Morris.

Pattie felt herself choke up; it was now or never.

"Inspector Morris," Pattie said, clearing her throat and walking up to his desk. He was taken from his thoughts and looked up at her with confusion.

"What the—who are you?" Darryl inquired suspiciously.

Pattie pulled the hood from over her head and then held out her wrist to present him the bracelet he'd given her for her sixth birthday not long after Andy's death. "I'm a Halliwell," she said simply, "just a few years ahead of your time. And I need your help."

He took the jewelry from her hand and inspected in carefully. Darryl would be like family to them for years, and seeing as Andy's tragic death had caused her so much sadness, Darryl felt it necessary to give her something when her sixth birthday rolled around. Sure enough, the inscription read: Happy Birthday, Love Darryl. He looked at her, misgiving flashing through his eyes, though Darryl was sure he could see bits and pieces of the little girl that was always running around the Halliwell manor, the same one Andy had cherished.

"Wow," he said, dumbstruck. "Magic really can do every damn thing out there can't it?"

"Except get me home," she muttered quietly, and then continued when Darryl looked at her confused. "So you believe me, you know it's Pattie?"

He studied her for a minute, and then replied, "Well, I guess I got to hope you're not a demon, don't I?"

"If I were a demon I wouldn't stoop this low," Pattie scoffed, her hair tangled from the wind despite her hood and her jeans light washed jeans tattered at the bottom, an old pair she always wore when just wanting to be comfortable. Even demons normally shape-shifted with style though, Pattie had to admit; she hadn't been dressed for time travel, but she was happy she changed from her graduation clothes at all. "Believe me. I just ran all the way from the manor just to see you."

"Oh yeah, so your family knows you're here, right?" Darryl asked. He was already reaching for the phone, "Should I call them?" But Pattie intercepted the phone from his hand and slammed it down. "I guess you have other plans."

"They know I'm here, but they don't know I'm talking to you. And they can't, so if they say anything to you, I was never around, especially not this early. I just need to get some information from you so I can fix what I screwed up." Pattie waited, thinking for a minute that Darryl might go right past her to her aunts anyway, but when he finally nodded, Pattie relaxed. She was getting somewhere.

"So…" he began slowly, "What is it exactly that you?"

"Just a little bit about a certain…Paige Matthews," Pattie said simply.

"And that is...?" The name didn't signify any recognition for him.

"Future stuff Darryl," Pattie groaned folding her arms; she hoped he wasn't stalling for some reason. Darryl always managed to be overly doubtful about everything magic, his disbeliefs on some level always got in the way. Yes, they were family but he didn't realize that magic affected him. "Listen, you help me and it helps you doesn't it?" she countered, not including that by this point in her life Darryl was on the East Coast, far from the Halliwells.

"How do you manage to swing that into helping…" he stopped abruptly, rolling his eyes. "I don't even want to know." Muttering, Darryl turned to face the computer, pulling up a database of people in the city. With Pattie looking over his shoulder, Darryl typed in the name which meant nothing to him and everything to Pattie.

The computer took what seemed like hours to search through endless files until it recovered records on Paige, only 23. "Yes, that's her!" she squealed happily, wrapping her arms around Darryl. "You always come through for us, don't you?"

Darryl smiled, happy to be of help. "Anything for family."

The clock had crept to quarter to seven by the time Darryl finally pulled the car into the parking lot of the Social Services building with Pattie in the passenger seat. She clutched the edges of the seat with both hands, thinking her plan through for the first time. Darryl turned to her carefully, "This is as far as I go," he told her. "You sure you're going to be able to handle…this?" When she raised an eyebrow at him he corrected himself. "Oh, that's right. You're a Halliwell."

She laughed, "You do know us too well. Thanks for everything Darryl. We really appreciate it, even when it doesn't seem like it sometimes," Pattie confessed, knowing what the future would hold, a bitter struggle to make amends with Darryl.

"All right," he agreed, "good to know. You guys are second family to us, magic or not. It's not a problem."

Oh let's see if you still say that in four years, she sighed, climbing out of the car. "Thanks. I'll get myself home, don't worry." With that she waved and Darryl drove away, leaving Pattie to stuff her hands in her pockets and stare at the building where her aunt was. Paige was always at work early before her Wiccan days, or so she'd been told. Pattie desperately hoped she'd be there now.

Still, Pattie didn't know what she'd say.

Taking a deep breath, Pattie pushed forward and walked through the glass doors and into her aunt's work place. While Paige had still worked there, Pattie hadn't spent too much time there but it still had a familiar feeling to her, the atmosphere and the workers.

As she wandered around, looking dismally for Paige and not finding any luck, Pattie's hope began to fall.

Until she bumped right into her.

"Oh!" Pattie yelped, falling backwards as Paige stumbled and held on to the files in her hand, pushing a piece of her sleek black hair behind her ear. Concerned for this strange girl, she knelt down next to her.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry, are you all right?" she questioned, laying a hand on her back. Pattie was caught up in her own shock for a second, lost in the memories of when she first met Paige. It took her a minute to disentangle herself from her own thoughts. "Hey, are you okay?" Paige asked again.

Pattie realized she was probably being mistaken for a runaway, abused, or homeless child. She wasn't sure what to think of that, whether or not to use it to her advantage or set Paige straight. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I…I didn't see you there," she stuttered. "I was kind of looking for someone just to talk to about some…things," she dragged out the last word, gulping.

Paige put the files on her desk, "Yeah, sure, I'm sure I could find someone who…"

"No!" Pattie interrupted, this wasn't going as she planned. "I mean, you're right here, can't I just talk to you?"

Paige wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't exactly sure which direction to take seeing as she wasn't technically a social worker, just an assistant. Even though she was supposed to hand Pattie over to someone else, she worried for the girl who was already on edge might run if she did. "Lila," she called, "I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

Lila went to interfere until she saw Pattie with Paige and then nodded.

Meanwhile, Pattie had figured out a plan to make Paige construe her words as a sign, guidance. All of this had to be done without revealing who she was, not that it would make any sense to Paige anyway. They sat down a good distance away from other workers, and Paige placed a hand on Pattie's shoulder. "So, why don't you tell me why you're here," she offered sweetly.

"Well, my foster mom and dad died when I was little and this place does adoptions…right?" Pattie lied, she knew they did. Paige nodded, listening attentively. "So I live with some really great family now, but I don't know…I guess I just want to know my roots. And I'm not sure if I should, you know?" Pattie saw Paige perk up; she knew it fell in the realm of experiences that hit close to home for her, that's why she was leading Paige there. "I'm sorry," she continued, "this is stupid."

When Pattie went to stand up and leave, she rested her desires on waiting for Paige to stop her. It looked like Paige was considering things for herself, which was what Pattie hoped for. Then a hand grabbed hers.

"Wait," Paige finally gathered herself together, her soft blue eyes gazing into Pattie's. "I know how you feel."

"You do?"

"I was adopted too." Pattie pretended to be surprised, but inside she was just glad her plan seemed to be working. "Being adopted doesn't make your family any less special, right?" Paige asked. "But it's not wrong to want to know where you came from either. Trust me, if you want to go into finding out your biological family, I think you should and I think you should seek the support of the family you already have to do it." It was good advice, and Pattie wondered how much she was already struggling with this now, how much had she wanted to meet the Halliwells all her life?

"So," Pattie went on, swinging her feet off the edge of the bench. "Did you look for your family?"

"Oh, honey…" Paige trailed off, almost not answering her. When she saw Pattie really wanted to know, Paige decided it would be a good idea to share this, to help Pattie relate to someone. "I have, a little bit. I'm just not sure how much I'm ready yet, or how ready they are."

"I think you should," Pattie encouraged, smiling. "You've sure made me want to."

Okay, so that was a lie, but it pushed Paige in the direction Pattie was hoping for. "I'll consider it," Paige replied slyly, to which Pattie felt ready to burst with joy. Her plan was working. "And I thought you were looking for my help."

"Believe me," Pattie replied, her smile fading instantly. "It's already been given. Thank you," she said honestly, giving Paige a hug. Paige didn't expect it, nor did she realize that she was holding her own niece, but she returned Pattie's embrace, feeling a sensation as she did. A sense of awareness. Pattie wanted to stay in Paige's arms forever; she wanted to lose them no less than she wanted to lose Prue. Desperately, Pattie begged to the spirits that her plan was working.

After all, she was using her allies, wasn't she?

"It was nothing," Paige brushed the situation off. "It's my job after all. And if you ever need help looking just come back and ask for Paige Matthews, all right?"

"Of course," Pattie replied, knowing that wouldn't happen. "Thanks Paige." At that Pattie winced instinctively, she'd never called her that before without adding aunt to it, it just seemed strange.

When the silence loomed over them, Pattie thought Paige might leave, but still she sat patiently, as if waiting for Pattie to confide in her more. She wanted to share the world with her aunt, but now wasn't the time. As soon as she was home though, Pattie planned on spending time with her and Prue.

Pattie took a leap of faith at the next question, feeling she may as well. "Do you believe in magic?"

Suddenly silence became loud when Paige eyed her with curiosity. "What kind of magic?"

"Like witches, demons, spells and potions. That everything happens for a reason if you believe in it and if you're supposed to be somewhere you'll get there." Pattie was speaking more to herself at this point, becoming lost in her own wonders, convincing herself again and again that what she was doing was right.

She saw the Halliwell in Paige when the girl didn't back away instantly like Pattie was a monster and instead replied. "I never considered it, really," she supposed, rubbing Pattie's shoulder, the one thing she always did when Pattie was distraught and needed comfort. Another reminder how Pattie needed Paige in her life. Then Paige winked, "I'll let you know."

When Paige's boss Mr. Cowan appeared and called her over, Paige felt the need to politely excuse herself. "I'm really sorry, honey, but I have to get back to work. If you want to come back later you can."

"No, I think you've done what you can. I'll be in touch," Pattie promised. Close touch soon, she thought.

Another quick hug and just as Paige was parting she realized she hadn't asked the most important question, "Hey, I never asked you your name!"

People were gathering here and there and voices were getting loud as they separated but Pattie shouted over it all. "Halliwell! Pattie Elizabeth Halliwell!" That was the one thing she could share. She was sure she'd muffled the word Pattie enough that the noise covered it, but the Halliwell part would stick with her until she would hopefully bring herself back to them, her family.

Her real family.

She caught Paige's eye as she walked away, and they shared a smile.

On the way home, Pattie felt proud of herself for this, she was about to cheat death as she knew it, despite every feeling telling her she wouldn't and couldn't. Now all she had to do was find the spell to stop the loss. She barely noticed the wind as it pelted her in gusts, finally reaching the Manor somewhere around eight, where the sisters were seated lazily out on the couch, barely awake.

"There she is," Piper announced as she walked warily into the conservatory.

"Oh, you had me so worried," Prue cried, pulling Pattie close to her. "Don't do that again."

"I left a note," Pattie reminded her.

"Pattie, your mother is neurotic and overprotective when it comes to you, it's her job," Phoebe explained as Pattie let Prue hold on to her tight, she felt herself smile a little, knowing what was coming if she could just escape. She didn't realize Piper and Phoebe were intent on figuring out what her nightmare the prior night had included as well as another brutal truth.

When she plopped down on the couch, Prue offered immediately, "I'll get you something to eat," and shuffling out of the room to distract herself from the obvious awkwardness.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Piper asked, glancing Phoebe's way, unnoticed to Pattie.

"Fine," Pattie replied genuinely, no recollection of her rough night.

"Good," Phoebe said, folding the section of the newspaper she was reading and sitting next to Pattie. "Because I think it's time you explained to us something we've been dying to know before your mother comes back."

"Look if it's about where I went this morning—" she was cut off.

"It's not," Phoebe assured her, making a mental note to keep that on her mind. "Something else."

"What then?" she asked, looking from Piper to Phoebe who seemed pretty surprised she couldn't remember everything that had occurred the previous night. They were going to have to let her down gently. Pattie wished Prue would walk back into the room, but she seemed to be conveniently busy, it figured.

Piper rested one hand on her knee and asked softly. "Who's Paige?"

Dun dun dun… I love cliffhangers, don't you? Sorry this took so long to get up, I lost the inspiration to write it and it'll probably have a bunch of errors in it because it's late and I'm posting it just so you can read it all that much sooner! I'll fix it later, I promise. But I really need your reviews because I'm not sure how confident I am with this one. Want to read more? I promise I'll try to get an update in this weekend!

Thanks for all your support so far,

Megan