Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed, just the a fanfiction.

The One We Didn't Know

It's been five years since the Charmed Ones had fulfilled their destiny. Now they have plenty of time to relax and live their lives as they wish.

In the past five years, Piper has had a daughter named Prudence, who's now four years old. Phoebe has a daughter named Parker who is three years old and she is now four months pregnant with her second child. Paige has two year old twin girls named Patience and Peace and just adopted a baby boy who she named, Henry Jr.

Piper has finally opened her restaurant like she's always wanted, Phoebe is the biggest advice columnist in all of the country and Paige has went from super witch to super whitelighter while also getting back to her love of being a social worker..

The sisters had gotten so used to everything being un-normal that normal had become strange to them but they loved it. As the Charmed Ones it could only get but so normal with all of their children developing their powers left and right. Then there were still strange occurrences that happened every so often but they were happy and everything was peaceful.

Piper had just taken Wyatt, now eight and Chris, now six, to school and Leo and little Prue were at magic school. She was off for today so she decided to take some time to relax and have "Piper" time. She got a cup of herbal tea and then went back into the living room and stared out the window. Nathanial Pratt passed by walking his dog.

"Haven't seen him in a while." Piper thought.

Just a couple years ago, the date in which Phoebe would have been burnt alive for killing a man, Cal Greene, a baseball player if they continued in the direction that they were going passed. Phoebe still met Cal Greene but obviously it all played out differently this time around but it was cause for Phoebe and Piper to reflect on. It all reminded Piper of the daughter she had in that reality, the little girl she had brief time with but was looking forward to watching grow up. She loves the three children that she has, they're amazing but Melinda, the daughter she never had still peaked her curiosity and she wondered what she would have been like.

Piper shrugged off the thought then snuggled in a blanket on the couch and watched television.

Days passed and Piper found herself having another relaxing day at home. She was handling some business at home on the phone when she heard a little girl calling out "mommy" from the kitchen. She hoped Prue didn't orb home from Magic School. Prue got the power of orbing even though Leo was mortal when she was conceived because at this point, whitelighter is basically embedded into his DNA.

Piper quickly hung up the phone and ran into the kitchen. There was a little girl but it wasn't Prue.

"Mommy!" The girl yelled frightened and hugged Piper tightly.

It wasn't Prue but Piper knew who this little girl was. She looked to be the same age as Wyatt and looked so much like Chris and Prue. The little girl that was holding on to Piper for dear life was Melinda Halliwell, the daughter Piper saw when she went to the future all those years ago. Now that future is in the past and it actually never happened so why is this little girl here in the Halliwell kitchen?

Piper just knew some demon had to have been playing a trick on her. She just couldn't understand what was happening and frankly, she didn't believe it.

"Melinda?" Piper questioned.

"Mommy, I was so scared!" Melinda exclaimed, still panicked.

"Why?" Piper asked.

"The witch hunters, they were after me! I was running and the next thing I knew I was here! I didn't use magic! I promise I didn't!" Melinda explained, frantically.

"It's ok." Piper assured her.

"I didn't really think you would be here. They took you already. I guess I was really expecting daddy but you were the first name I called." Melinda said.

Piper hugged Melinda. She hated what Melinda was going through but still wondered if she was real. She felt real and it all seemed real but was it? What if there was a demon behind this, though she couldn't understand why there would be.

Piper did everything to make sure Melinda was real and she couldn't find any evidence to prove otherwise. The next question was how and why was Melinda here?

She made Melinda hot chocolate and got her comfortable in the living room. Then Piper went back into the kitchen.

"Paige!" Piper yelled once Melinda was comfortable enough to watch cartoons.

Paige orbed in immediately.

"What's up?" Paige asked.

"Follow me." Piper said before she led Paige into the dining room so that Paige could see the little girl in the living room. They walked back into the kitchen.

"Who's that? She looks like Chris and Prue… she looks like you. Oh goodness, that's not you, is it?" Paige asked.

"No."

"Ok, you never know with us. Who is she, really?"

"She would be Melinda Halliwell, as in the daughter I saw in the future that never happened, the daughter that was never born because Wyatt was born instead. I don't know why she's here."

"Are you sure she's real. She's not an illusion, a shape shifting demon?"

"No, trust me. It's really her."

"Wow, strange but I've actually seen stranger."

"Can you orb up there and find out what's going on for me, please?"

"Sure." Paige said and then orbed away.

Piper joined Melinda on the couch and continued to comfort her. A few minutes later Piper heard the front door shut.

"Piper! Did you cook breakfast this morning, me and the baby are starving?" Phoebe asked as she walked in.

Melinda took one look at Phoebe and screamed so Phoebe turned around thinking that maybe there was a demon behind her. She saw nothing.

"What's going on? Who's this?" Phoebe asked.

"It's ok Melinda, it's ok. I'll be right back. I'm just going to the kitchen."

Piper and Phoebe went into the kitchen.

"Who's that little girl and why did she scream when she saw me?"

"Long story, short, that's the daughter I saw when we went to that alternate future and my guess is that she screamed because where she's from, you were burnt alive two years ago." Piper said.

"How is this possible?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. I have Paige on it now."

The two of them headed back to the living room and Piper tried to make Phoebe's being alive make sense to Melinda, it didn't but she did eventually calm down.

About a half hour later, Paige orbed back in and called Piper for her attention.

Piper and Phoebe followed Paige to the kitchen. They were curious to know why the elders thought Melinda was here.

"So what did you find out?" Piper asked.

"You were right. That is the same Melinda you met when you went to the future. The elders think that some kind of way a portal opened in her world and brought her to this parallel universe. Maybe she opened it on her own without meaning to, maybe it was already there or maybe a demon opened it but they definitely believe that it was a portal." Paige explained.

"How do we send her back?" Phoebe asked.

"Send her back?" Piper questioned.

"Yeah!" Phoebe said.

"We can't send her back to that world. That's a world where witches have to constantly look over their shoulders, she can't use her magic and demons are on the prow more than ever."

"Piper, she doesn't belong here." Paige said.

"What does it matter? Will it really hurt anyone or anything if she stays?" Piper asked.

"Maybe, how do we know this won't affect the grand design or something?" Paige pointed out.

"I can't send her back there." Piper said.

"You can't or you won't?" Phoebe asked.

"What?" Piper questioned.

"This is a little girl who you've felt a connection to every since you've seen her. You must want to get to know her." Phoebe said.

"That's true. When you saw Parker in that premonition you had about her, you couldn't wait to see her. You even used personal gain to try and speed up the process. You loved her from that very moment and I love Melinda just like I love Wyatt, Chris and Prue but it's deeper than that because if I send Melinda back I will be sending her back to a world that we tried so hard to keep our kids from ever having to experience. She can have a better life here."

"I'll go see what the elders say about this?" Paige said and then orbed off.

Paige orbed in later and explained that the elders were dead set against Melinda staying in this world. They believe she's as powerful as Wyatt and all four of the children may be too much power for one world to handle and it could shift the balance of good and evil and that needs to happen over time.

"Wasn't it already shifted to good when we fulfilled our destiny?" Piper questioned.

"I suppose." Paige said, unsure.

Later that day, Phoebe went to get Wyatt and Chris from school and Paige was called away to help a charge.

"How am I going to explain Melinda to Leo and the kids?" Piper wondered.

Phoebe came back with Wyatt and Chris. Wyatt and Chris hung out with Melinda but all these people Melinda didn't know was confusing to her. It was obvious that everything was different but she never realized she was in an alternate reality. She just knew everything was different and couldn't understand why.

Leo soon came home with Prue and Parker from magic school. Prue and Parker ran off to play together and Piper pulled Leo aside before he saw Melinda.

"Hey, how was your day?" Piper asked.

"It was really good. Yours?" Leo replied.

"It was interesting. I have something to tell you. You know all those years ago, Prue, Phoebe and I went to the future and I discovered that we were divorced but we also had a little girl."

"Right."

"Well, what would you say if I told you that little girl is sitting in our living room playing with Wyatt and Chris?"

"I would say, I don't understand."

"There was apparently some portal she came through and now she's here and I don't really want to send her back because that world is horrible and her life would be so much better if she can grow up in this world. Come here." Piper led Leo to where they could see into the living room. "Look at her. Can you send her back to the horrible world she came from?" Piper asked.

Melinda looked their way and noticed Leo and Piper in the archway.

"Daddy!" Melinda exclaimed and ran to hug Leo.

Wyatt and Chris were perplexed and looked at each other both wondering who this girl was.

"Melinda, come with me sweetheart." Piper said and took Melinda up to her and Leo's room and they sat on the bed together.

"Mommy? What's going on?" Melinda asked.

"What do you mean?" Piper replied.

"Everything is different. Aunt Phoebe is alive. Aunt Prue is nowhere to be found. You and daddy are together. You have other kids! Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige have children. Everyone's all relaxed as if there isn't something after us all the time. Things couldn't be any more different."

"You're right and you're very bright. I didn't know how to tell you this but when you ended up in that kitchen earlier today you came through a portal. The portal led you to this alternate reality, meaning everything is different like you said. This is a reality, a universe where your Aunt Phoebe is alive but unfortunately your Aunt Prue isn't."

"Did she kill someone too?"

"No, sweetie, not at all."

Something Melinda said just registered to Piper.

"You know Paige?" Piper asked.

"Yeah!"

"How?"

"She came after Aunt Phoebe died."

"Oh." Piper said, surprised but thought that it made plenty of sense. She then shook her head because she realized that in both worlds she had to lose a sister in order to gain one.

"Why am I in an alternate universe like you said?"

"We're not really sure but we do know that everything happens for a reason."

"..Do I have to go back?" Melinda questioned, sadly. "Everything is better here. I have brothers and a sister. You and daddy are together. Everyone's safe. I feel safer here."

That night Piper and Leo talked as they laid in bed together.

"What are we going to do about Melinda?" Piper asked.

"I don't want to send her back either Piper but I'm worried about the consequences and we can't be selfish."

"It's not selfish to allow a little girl to live a safer, happier life."

"Yes but Piper, we're not adopting. Melinda is our child in another universe. She's not even really ours, she's the child of a another us. She doesn't exist in this world and she could have but she didn't… for a reason."

"The only reason I can think of is so that we could have the three beautiful children that we did have but now she can be apart of all this. Leo, she doesn't want to go back. She's afraid. You should've seen her when she arrived here. She was so distraught."

The next day Piper and Leo tried their best to explain Melinda to Wyatt, Chris and Prue. Wyatt kind of got it but Chris was a little lost and Prue… well she's four years old. They concluded it by saying Melinda was their sister since they decided to let Melinda stay and hope it didn't backfire. If it did they would just have to figure out a way to fix it. If anyone got suspicious about Melinda, they couldn't prove anything except what they say because they all share the same DNA, the same very special DNA.

They went out and got Melinda some clothes and enrolled her in school. As far as everyone was concerned, Melinda was Wyatt's fraternal twin. Again, no one could prove otherwise and as far as where she suddenly came from, it was none of their damn business.

Wyatt, Chris and Prue got along with Melinda really well and she fit right in, of course. She seemed so much happier. The light that was in that little girl Piper met when they time traveled was there again. It assured Piper that she had done the right thing.

Melinda was also as freakishly powerful as Wyatt, though a lot of their powers were different and only shared a few. After seeing what Melinda could do, Piper, Leo, Phoebe and Paige did become a lot more nervous about Melinda sticking around because they already saw what Wyatt would be able to do in the future. Two of them being this powerful were scary. Melinda just didn't have as much control over her powers because she wasn't used to using them. Though, Chris and Prue weren't as powerful as Wyatt and Melinda they were pretty powerful themselves and they all knew that even Chris and Prue would be a lot more powerful than any of the Charmed Ones ever were and let's face it, the Charmed Ones are pretty damn powerful. None of them had any clue how Melinda being here would affect Wyatt, Chris and Prue being the next "Charmed Ones." Maybe it didn't affect it at all but they were definitely going to find out.