Do you want the bad news or the good news first? Well you're going to get the good news first because the bad news won't make sense without it. GOOD NEWS= new chapter! BAD NEWS= its kind of short.....It wasn't going to be this short originally but when I got to the final line that ends this chapter i was like "ooooooo that would be a good place to stop!" but don't worry more coming soon. (I don't own charmed!)

REVIEWS:

atlan2007: thank you once again for your continuing support !!!

lizardmomma: thanks for the review!

.: for some reason your name disappeared on the last chapter so i decided to thank you again!

HaVe Fun!

"Thank you George." The girl gave her driver a small wave as she shut the passenger door and the old man smiled in return as he went to park the family car. When he had gone she rushed up the steps leading to the Victorian era mansion she called home.

"Mother I'm home." She called out excitedly as she removed her shoes but paused when the house remained silent.

"Mama?" It was very uncommon for her mother to not meet her after school but every so often she would find her giving a tour to some guests or working away in the garden. After she placed her school things in the nearby library the girl went in search of her mother. Due to the cloudy skies the many hallways and rooms of the mansion were covered in shadow. When she found the first floor empty except for the cooks she continued to the second floor. At the end of the main hallway a door stood slightly ajar allowing a dull light to think the darkness. the door led to her father's private study, a room that was off limits to everyone but his business partners. She began to approach it but paused when she heard voices. If she interrupted a meeting she would be in very serious trouble. Before she could decided what to do next a woman's blood curdling cry ripped through the entire house sending a chill down the young girl's spine.

Her fear told her to run but her curiosity told her to stay. Another scream echoed through the hallway but this time it was followed by an even more frightening sound.....laughter. The low and maniacal noise was countered by a man's frantic shouts and then......silence. The girl inched closer to the door trembling at the thought of what she might find beyond the door frame. When she reached the threshold her eye's were met with a hellish scene. Her mother's body lay in the middle of the room in a pool of red. Beside her body the girl's father was bent over in despair. His sobs were the only sound the girl could hear apart from the beating of her own heart which felt as though it had jumped to her throat.

"Da...daddy?" the man whipped around to face his daughter. He rushed forward in a vain attempt to shield the sight of his wife's ghastly corpse from his daughter who had burst into tears.

"Sssh honey. It's alright. Listen to daddy now. You need to get out of the house. Go find George and tell him to take you to your Aunt Rita's"

"But..."

"No buts now. Promise me you'll be a big girl."

"I ..I .p..promise daddy."

"That's my angel." The man pulled her into a tight hug an gave her a kiss before pushing her towards the door.

"Go on sweetie. I'll be right behind you." The girl nodded and took off at a sprint desperate to leave the gore far behind her but skidded to a halt when a man appeared out of thin air right in front of her. She had seen this man before. He was one of the business partners who often spent many hours locked up in the study discussing work with her father.

"Nooo!" in seconds her father was in front of her blocking the man from her view. "Stay away from my daughter."

"Filth like you doesn't deserve her."

"If you lay a hand on her I'll kill you."

"Not if I kill you first." In a flash of light the girl watched in horror as her father was thrown across the room. He only stopped when his body crashed into a large bookcase rendering him unconscious.

"Daddy!" the girl screamed as the other man approached. He was just about to grab her arm when a hand grasped her shoulder.

"I'll keep you safe." In a whirlwind of color her father's study disappeared and after that all she knew was darkness.

Melinda shot up in her bed knocking a bed side lamp off its table. Her heart was racing, her breathing erratic, and her clothes were damp from the cold sweat that covered her body. She threw off the covers and rested her head in her hands as she sat on the edge of the bed. 'It was just a dream.' She tried to shake the pictures from her head but failed to do so. 'The scream. The blood. The demon.' The three images spun around and around in her mind making her light headed. Upon checking the time she found that it was almost noon. She quickly dressed and checked her appearance in the mirror. Large dark circles had formed beneath her eyes. She shook her head to fend of the weariness and then went off to find the house's other occupants. Just as she suspected she found Piper and Prue hard at work in the attic.

"Good morning sleepyhead." the older sister grinned as Melinda wearily entered.

"Yeah sorry I must've been really tired."

"Don't worry you didn't miss anything."

"Except for breakfast." Piper looked up momentarily from the book as she spoke.

"Oh that's fine. I'm not that hungry." Her stomach let out a loud gurgle in protest.

"There's a plate you downstairs. You may want to warm it up a bit."

"Oh Piper thanks...."

"No problem." The two sisters watched her go, Prue with a look of concern on her face. She had never seen Melinda look so......ragged. The teen looked like she had just been through hell. She couldn't attribute this to anything considering things had been fairly quiet since their encounter with the demons at the church. She would have to talk to her later.

"Prue?" the witch was awakened from her daydream by her younger sister. "Something wrong?"

"Uh no. Just spacing out. Find anything?"

"Nope nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Not a..."

"I get the point."

"Sorry. What should we do?"

"Keep looking. There's got to be something in here that's useful."

Melinda popped the smorgasbord of breakfast food into the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. She was about to revisit her dream when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She went into the family room and peered out thee front window. A second later her eyes widened when she realized who was walking up the front stoop.

"Prue. Piper!" she ran to stairs and met the sisters at the bottom.

"Melinda what? What is it?"

"Phoebe."

"What!?" the Halliwells spoke in unison.

"Phoebe is here....NOW."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you really want to find out with your dead sister standing on the stairs with her half-witch half-demon pupil?"

"No." Piper began to panic. "Prue you need to get out of here and Melinda...." Piper stared at the girl for a moment. "you should leave too."

"To the attic?"

"To the attic!" Prue grabbed Melinda's hand and they rushed upstairs just as the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Piper paused a moment to calm herself and then opened the door. "Phoebe!"

"You don't look happy to see me. Is this a bad time?"

"What? No no no. I've missed you! How was your trip?" She hugged her sister as she walked in and the shut the door behind her.

"It was good. Long and exhausting but good." She talked as she gave a curious glance towards the kitchen.

"Cooking something?"

"Leftovers."

"Leftovers? Piper you don't do leftovers."

"Yeah well I decided to turn over a new-leaf. Stop wasting so much food."

"Have you been redecorating?"

"No...why?"

"Where's Grams' table?"

"Oh the table! Yes that we did move. We decided we needed more space."

"Uh-huh." It was blatantly obvious to Phoebe that Piper was hiding something. She had never been a good liar. Piper noticed her suspicion.

"Want some tea?"

"Sure."

Upstairs in the attic Prue and Melinda sat in complete silence occasionally giving each other a nervous look. If Phoebe found out about what Piper was up to two things could happen. First she could totally flip when she found out that Piper had gotten involved in the supernatural again and then never talk to her sister again in which case the were screwed. Or she could be furious at Piper for keeping it a secret and then never talk to her sister again in which they were still screwed. Melinda went through these scenarios over and over again trying to find a way out but was interrupted when a demon shimmered into the room. Prue's jaw dropped in disbelief as the demon poised to strike. Melinda jumped to her feet while simultaneously forming a energy ball in her hand. Like an assassin she snuck up behind him and drove it into his back covering his mouth to silence his scream. Prue and Melinda met each others gazes as two more demons appeared. With a nod they set to work.

Downstairs Phoebe sat herself down at the kitchen table as Piper started the kettle. She chewed on her nail as she thought how to approach the conversation that had prompted her visit. No matter what she knew Piper was going to be defensive about it. As she opened her mouth to speak she heard a large thud above her head.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"That noise?"

"Oh it was probably just the bats."

"Bats? In broad daylight?"

"Did I say bats. I meant rats. We really need to set some traps for those things." As soon as she finished her sentence a large crash shook the house.

"That wasn't a rat." Before Piper could stop her Phoebe had gotten to her feet and headed upstairs.

"Phoebe wait."

Melinda rolled over just in time to dodge another energy ball. Prue jumped on the remaining demon and drove an athame into its back. The two of them let out a sigh of relief but soon inhaled at the sound of approaching footsteps. Melinda looked at Prue and mouthed "go" as she struggled to her feet. Less than a nanosecond after Prue had vanished Phoebe walked into the attic followed by Piper.

"Piper I'm telling you.......oh hello." Phoebe stopped when she spotted Melinda.

"Hi." Melinda was trying to think of an explanation as to why she was there but couldn't so she looked to Piper for help.

"Um Phoebe this is Melinda. Melinda this is my sister Phoebe."

"Hi."

"Hi....Melinda?" Phoebe turned to Piper who's stomach churned at the sight of her younger sister's face.

"Melinda your food is done. Why don't you go ahead and eat while me and Phoebe talk." Glad to be excused Melinda rushed out of the room without a second thought. Once she was gone Phoebe whirled around and the tirade started.

"Piper are you nuts?!"

"You've been talking to Paige, haven't you?"

"Piper this is serious and yes. At first I thought she was crazy but now I don't"

"That's good."

"Now I think your crazy! Piper who's this girl and where did she come from?"

"Oh Phoebe come on. Its not that big of a deal."

"Big deal? A felony isn't a big deal? And why was Billie here?" Piper gulped. Her sisters were on track to expose her little undertaking and that wasn't a good thing.

"Billie was here to give Melinda company while I was at the club. I wasn't going to leave her all alone."

"Piper what's really going on here? This isn't you." Now Piper was getting irritated. In her opinion she was a grown woman and had the right to do what she pleased.

"Phoebe just let it be. I'll deal with it okay. Just worry about your own life."

"Piper you're part of my life."

"Not lately." With this last comment the 'real' issue was out in the open. Piper had always been close to her sisters but the relationship between her and Phoebe had always been the most intimate. Ever since the ultimate battle the ties between Piper and her sisters had been strained. They still got together occasionally but it just wasn't the same. She missed the unity that came from going up against a ruthless demon as the Charmed Ones.

"Where is this coming from?" Phoebe looked at her older sister in confusion.

"You know what it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Despite what you're feeling right now I still care about you but you seem to have forgotten that." Piper was speechless as Phoebe stormed passed her out of the attic. 'This is a disaster.' For the second time in less than a week she had pissed off a sister trying to hide her secret. She took in a breath to prevent any tears from falling.

"Prue she's gone." Piper quietly spoke as she took a seat on the couch. Prue appeared and a minute later Melinda joined them carrying a plate of food. The two watched Piper in silence waiting for her to collect her thoughts.

"I can't do this anymore." Melinda looked at Piper in panic afraid that she was about to get kicked out....again. "I have to tell them." Relieved that she wasn't getting the boot Melinda chimed in.

"I think that's a good idea considering we don't have Billie anymore."

"I think we're going to need all the help we can get." Melinda slouched in disappointment. She hadn't gotten along with Billie even before she revealed her secret and she didn't think their relationship would improve anytime soon.

"Okay Piper why don't you go call Billie while Melinda and I go through the book."

"Prue we've been through it a million times and our demon isn't in there."

"Yes but the Collectors are."

"Excuse me?"

"Those demons that just attacked were collectors"

"You mean like the brain zapping kind?"

"Yep."

"Who were they after?" Melinda looked up from the food poking with her fork. Prue answered.

"Me."

Snap. You remeber those guys from season 2 right? Yes they're back with avengance! The next chapter should be up by the weekend! R&R ha i figured out what that meanS!!!!!