Disclaimer: If I owned the world, I would own Charmed, and that would make the world a better place, no?

Ch. 8:

Chris orbed into the manor, outside of Meredith's door, before opening the door gently and walking inside.

"Who's there?" Meredith called weakly.

The room was dark and cold and Chris could see something that he assumed was Meredith moving on the bed.

"It's me." He said softly.

"Ugh." Meredith moaned, rolling over. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," he said, sitting on the side of the bed, "I did the math and figured your migraine would hit right about now. It's been about five hours since you used your power."

"The past sucks." Meredith moaned. "Piper hasn't developed my pain reliever yet."

"Which is why I went ahead and made it for you." Chris said.

Meredith turned over and looked at him.

"You look horrible." He told her, seeing her face for the first time.

"If you don't give me that vial, you're going to look horrible." Meredith growled.

He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She quickly downed it and sighed as it began to work. A second later she disappeared. Chris sighed and orbed away.

The sisters were in the kitchen and they all jumped when Meredith stepped out of the shadows and went directly to the fridge. A second later, Chris orbed in right next to her.

"Did you really think I would forget the most important part?" he asked, holding a fast food bag in front of her face.

She spun and hugged him tight.

"You are the best friend someone could ask for." She told him.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied, handing the bag over. "Eat your hamburger."

She grabbed the bag and sat down at the table.

"What are you two up to?" Piper asked.

"Mer gets migraines about five hours after she uses her powers." Chris explained as he snagged a fry from her. "I made her the potion that takes the pain away, but I side affect has always been a craving for a burger and fries. We've never been sure if it's the potion, or just Mer."

Meredith slapped his hand away and continued eating.

There was a flash of orbs and Leo arrived in the kitchen.

"Good, you're all here." he said. "I'm just letting you know that I'm reinstating Chris as your whitelighter."

"Ha!" Chris said. "Pay up."

"Bastard." Meredith muttered around the burger in her mouth.

"Ah." Piper rebuked. "No talking while eating."

"Sorry, Aunt Piper." Meredith muttered contritely.

"Aunt Piper?" Phoebe questioned.

"Yeah, I called you all Aunt while I was growing up." Meredith replied, taking a sip of her drink. "Piper was very keen that I never forgot that my parents sacrificed themselves to save me. She said that no one could ever replace them and that she wouldn't try."

"What happened to your parents?" Paige asked.

"We were being hunted by a demon." Meredith replied matter-of-factly. "They set up a trap to vanquish it, but the trap was more powerful than they expected. It vaporized all three."

"You're Kathy and Martin's daughter?" Leo asked.

"Yep, that's me." Meredith replied. "I was born November 23, 2002. So I should be 1 slash 23 next week. At least I think I will be. This whole time travel thing really screws up you time telling abilities."

"How did you wind up with us?" Piper asked.

Chris and Meredith looked at each other. Chris shrugged and Meredith turned back to Piper.

"I was having some difficultly with my foster family." Meredith replied. "There were eight of us and the parents couldn't really handle having a child that could make it rain inside when she got upset. When the Elders found out what was going on, they made sure I made my way to San Fransico."

The sisters exchanged a look as Meredith went back to eating.

"Leo, can I talk to you outside?" Piper asked.

He nodded and they moved out of the kitchen. A second later, Paige and Phoebe followed them.

Chris and Meredith exchanged a look before Meredith shrugged and went back to eating, slapping Chris's hand away as he stole another fry.

"What's up?" Leo asked as they moved into the sun room.

"When did Meredith's parents die?" Piper asked him.

"About two months before she got here." Leo answered.

"So does that mean she's in the system now?" Paige asked as she and Phoebe joined them.

"I would guess so." Leo replied.

"Where did they live?" Phoebe asked.

"New York." Leo replied warily. "Why?"

"Paige, do you think some of your friends in Social Services might be able to find her?" Piper asked her sister.

"I can ask." Paige replied.

"You can't be serious." Leo said. "You're not thinking of trying to adopt her or something, are you?"

"Why shouldn't we?" Phoebe asked. "She's told us we adopt her, so why can't we save her from having to go through any of that at all?"

"Paige, find out what you can." Piper told her.

"I'll go make some calls." She replied, walking off.

"Piper, do you really want another toddler in the house?" Leo asked.

"I like Meredith." Piper told him. "And I trust her. And I think there's more to what went on with her foster family than she said. I don't want to leave her there."

"Plus, it's not like Piper's doing this alone." Phoebe added. "She has Paige and me. Besides, wouldn't the Elders prefer that a child as powerful as Meredith was protected and not left to the mercies of the foster care system."

"Fine." Leo relented. "But I'm going to tell them what's going on and see what the others think."

"You do that." Piper told him. "In the mean time, no one tells Meredith what's going on."

"Alright." Phoebe agreed. "I'll let Paige know."

She left Leo and Piper alone.

"Piper, do you really think this is wise?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Piper replied.

"We don't even know everything about them, Piper." Leo told her. "How do you know any part of their story is true?"

"I don't." Piper admitted. "But I'm not leaving a magical child somewhere where someone might punish her for her gifts. Not if I can prevent it."

"Hey, Leo." Paige called as she walked in to the room, the phone in her hand. "What were Meredith's parents name's again?"

"Kathy and Martin St. James." Leo answered.

"You heard that?" Paige asked into the phone. "Thanks. Get back to me as soon as you can." She got off and walked over to them. "I have a couple of friends who are going to try to find her. I told them they were friends of family friends and that when we heard about what happened, we thought we'd try to find their daughter, see what we could do for her."

"Good." Piper said. "Phoebe tell you to not tell Meredith?"

"Yeah." Paige said.

"Let me know what you find out." Piper told her.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Leo said, orbing away.

"Me too." Piper said after he was gone.

"I've gotta go." Chris was saying as Piper and Phoebe entered the kitchen again. "I got a new lead on a demon I want to track down."

"You want me to go with you?" Meredith asked.

"Please, you're no good to me for at least another two hours." Chris told her. "I'll be fine." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Get some rest." He stepped away. "You still owe me five bucks."

He orbed away as she glared at him.

"Jerk." She muttered.

"He's such a work-a-holoic." Phoebe said.

Meredith laughed.

"He always has been." She said.

She picked up her trash and threw it away.

"For once I'm gonna take his advice." She told them. "I'll see you all in the morning."

The days past and there was little to no news. After four days, Leo came back.

"The Elders have decided that if you can get her, you should keep her." He told them. "She's one of the most magical children out there, she needs to be raised in good."

"Yeah, well we're having trouble locating her." Piper replied. "The New York care system isn't cooperating."

"You want me to see what I can find out?" Leo asked.

"Would you?" Piper asked.

"I'll see what I can do." Leo replied, orbing away.

"I'm out of here!" Phoebe called.

"Where are you going?" Piper asked.

"I have a date with Jason." Phoebe replied.

"Okay." Piper said as Phoebe walked away. "Have fun!"

"Will do!" Phoebe replied, shutting the door behind her.

An hour later, Chris appeared.

"I found the demon." He said. "Are you guys ready?"

"Well, Paige is upstairs, Meredith's in the kitchen, and Phoebe's on a date." Piper reported. "If that's what you want to call ready, then sure, we're ready."

"Can you please get your sisters?" Chris begged. "I'll get Meredith."

Without waiting for an answer, he walked out.

"Sure, why not?" Piper grumbled.

Chris walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, I got a hit on the demon." He told Meredith. "You coming?"

"Something weird is going on here." Meredith said, ignoring him as she shut the refrigerator.

"I'm sorry." He replied. "Demon? Vanquish? You gonna help?"

"Paige is always on the phone with people in New York." Meredith continued. "Phoebe keeps smiling at me, and I swear I saw Piper looking at toddler's clothes."

"She has a toddler, remember?" Chris asked. "Now can we please go vanquish the demon?"

"Girl's clothing." Meredith replied. "And unless there's something you haven't told me, Piper doesn't need to buy girls clothing."

"MEREDITH!" Chris shouted.

"WHAT?" she shouted back.

"Can we please go vanquish the demon?" Chris pleaded.

"Geez, Chris." Meredith said, moving to the door. "All you had to do was ask."

Chris stared after her.

"This whole family is nuts." He complained before leaving.

A/N: Just a little filler until Little Monsters. Let me know what you think.

Abbey