DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the "Charmed" Ones. They belong to the WB. I do however own Charlotte, who is Paige's sister and Paige's daughter, Savannah as well as Paige's husband, Matt and Phoebe's daughter, Allyce. Enjoy!!!


“Family Secrets”



Paige was sitting at her desk at south bay social services, trying to ignore a headache that had been waging a war against her for the last few hours. She had been at work now for four hours and she wanted to go home. Little did she know how valuable she would be in the next hour.
As Paige took out a pen and began to sign a placement form, Darryl came into the office. He came straight over to Paige and asked, “Can you come here? I need your help.”
“What is it?” Paige asked. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
“It’s important,” Darryl said. “A little girl is outside and she’s really scared. I need to leave her here, but I don’t want to until I’m sure she’ll be okay. Her name is Charlotte. She’s about six years old.”
Paige nodded and pushed her paperwork aside as she followed Darryl outside to his car. When they got there, Darryl introduced Paige to Charlotte and for a few minutes, Paige couldn’t speak. Charlotte was like looking into a mirror of the past. She had Paige’s green eyes and her chestnut brown hair. The only difference was, Charlotte’s clothes were a little more dirty and of course she was much younger than Paige.
“Paige?” Darryl asked. “Paige, are you okay?”
Paige nodded as she came out of her trance.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I’ll take her. Come on, honey. You’ll be safe with me. I promise. Come on now. Let’s get you a stuffed animal and something to drink. Then you can hang out with me until we find somewhere for you to go.” She smiled warmly down at the scared child.
Charlotte took Paige’s hand timidly and the two made their way back to Paige’s office. When they got there, Paige got Charlotte a drink of juice and then she was about to let Charlotte pick out a stuffed animal, when she saw Charlotte staring at Firefly, who was sitting next to Fizzy.
“Do you like that, sweetie?” Paige asked.
Charlotte nodded.
“Here ya go,” Paige handed Firefly to Charlotte, who took her with such care, Paige was amazed.
Charlotte smiled at Paige and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Aw, you’re welcome, sweetie. Now, why don’t you sit here and play with Firefly while I get some work done. Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”


Paige worked for about two hours before she finally resigned to taking Charlotte home with her. She didn’t mind of course, but she knew that Piper and Phoebe would want to know where she came from. And Paige didn’t honestly know how to answer that question when either of her sisters asked it. she couldn’t lie to them, but she really didn’t know what to say either. She had a feeling she knew who Charlotte was, but she didn’t want to give into her feeling of familiarity. It was impossible. It just had to be. Charlotte couldn’t be her…
“Excuse me….” A tiny voice said, breaking Paige out of her thoughts. “Excuse me, Miss…. I have to go potty. Please?”
Paige smiled down at Charlotte and said, “Sure. Let’s go, sweetie. And you can call me Paige.”
Charlotte nodded and smiled at Paige as she led her to the bathroom.
After they both had done their business, Paige clocked out and took Charlotte home. When they got there, Paige set her stuff down and called out, “Sisters!! I’m home!!”
“Hey squirt!!” Came Piper’s voice. “I’m in the kitchen!”
Paige nodded and led Charlotte into the kitchen. She could tell the child was becoming shy, but she assured Charlotte she had nothing to worry about.
“Hey Missy Paige!” Piper greeted, using Paige’s family nickname. “How was your day at work?”
“Fine,” Paige said as she sipped at a cup of iced tea while popping two advil into her mouth.
Piper nodded and then her gaze fell upon Charlotte who was sitting in Paige’s lap.
“Hi there, sweetie.” Then Piper turned to Paige and asked, “Who is this?”
Paige didn’t have time to answer because at that moment, Phoebe came in. she smiled when she saw Paige and looked confused at Charlotte.
“Whose…” Her voice trailed off as Piper told her to stay quiet.
“I just asked that question.” Piper said. “Paige was just about to answer it.” She then turned her gaze upon Paige as Phoebe glanced her way too.
Paige sighed and then said, “Sit down you guys, this is going to be a long story.”
“Longer than the one where you used magic to clean your friend’s pimples?” Piper asked with a smirk.
Paige glared at her and then took a deep breath.
“Whose the kid?” Phoebe asked.
Paige took another deep breath before saying, “Piper, Phoebs, I want you to meet Charlotte. My little sister.”
The silence that filled the room after Paige’s confession seemed thick enough to cut through the toughest block of ice.
“She’s your….our….” Phoebe couldn’t bring herself to say it. She was too shocked.
Charlotte felt the tension in the room and buried her face in Paige’s shoulder, crying softly.
Paige silently rubbed Charlotte’s back, trying to calm her down. She couldn’t talk anymore at the moment. When she finally regained her voice she said quietly, but sternly, “Guys, come on, say something. THE silence is killing me and it’s scaring Char-Char.”
“Char-Char?” Phoebe asked, raising her eyebrows.
Paige nodded.
“I just came up with it. Cute nickname, huh?” She then glanced down at her baby sister and asked, “What about you, honey? Do you like that nickname?”
Charlotte nodded and let out a sob, but started to relax in Paige’s embrace.
“Aw, that’s a girl. Everything’s going to be okay.” Paige assured Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded, but then spoke.
“They don’t like me,” She said quietly. “Are they mad at me?”
Piper’s heart broke at this. She got up off her chair while glaring at Phoebe and knelt down in front of Charlotte. She put a hand on Charlotte’s back, which caused the child to look at her and pull away slightly.
“Charlotte, honey, we aren’t mad at you, sweetie. We aren’t. I promise. Phoebe is just a little tired from work, that’s all. Hey, do you like brownies?”
Paige gasped and Charlotte nodded, her tears subsiding a little.
“Wow! Piper never lets me have brownies before dinnertime,” Paige said. “She must really like you a lot to give you such a special snack.”
Charlotte smiled a little and said, “Thank you.”
“Aw, you’re welcome, sweetheart. Do you want some milk with your brownie?”
Charlotte nodded.
“Yes, please? Thank you.”
“Aw, you’re welcome. Such nice manners.” She smirked at Paige who glared playfully at her. Paige knew Piper was only kidding with her.
After Piper had given Charlotte her brownie and milk, she gave Paige one and set one in front of Phoebe without a word. Something was the matter with Phoebe and Piper was determined to figure out what it was. She didn’t like the way Phoebe was acting and it was doing nothing to help Charlotte feel welcome or comfortable here. If anything, it was making her feel less so.
“I’ll be right back,” Phoebe said. She got up, but Piper stopped her in her tracks.
“Freeze!” She said, making Charlotte jump and Paige giggle. “You know what I mean.” Piper said, turning to Paige. “Maybe you should take Charlotte into the living room and put on one of your “My Little Pony” tapes for her. I’m sure she’ll like that.”
Paige nodded.
“I’m sure she will too. She’s already fallen in love with Firefly.” Paige smiled fondly down at her little sister. She knew that there were a lot of questions to be answered on her part and Piper and Phoebe would expect answers, but for now, the most important thing was getting Charlotte settled. She took Charlotte into the other room and put on “The Quest for the Golden Horseshoes” for her. As they sat and watched the movie, they could hear Piper lecturing Phoebe in the kitchen. When Paige saw that it was upsetting Charlotte, she closed the kitchen door and settled back down to enjoy the movie with her.


“Phoebe, why are you acting like this?” Piper asked, wanting a straight forward answer from her sister. “You didn’t treat Paige like this when she first came back to live here. If anything, you’re acting out my role the first time I met Paige again. and frankly, I don’t like it one bit. That little girl needs us to help her feel welcomed and like she belongs. Like it or not, Paige is going to adopt her, so whatever wiccan chip you have on your shoulder, get over it fast.” Piper took a deep breath and waited for Phoebe to respond.
“Are you finished rambling and ranting?” Phoebe asked, her eyes staring back at Piper in annoyance.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Phoebe Marie.” Piper said sternly. “You know very well how you acted in there was wrong. And to answer your question, yes, I’m finished.”
Phoebe nodded and then said her peace.
“First of all, I’m not jealous of Charlotte. Secondly, I don’t have a wiccan chip on my shoulder towards the kid. Thirdly, I have one towards Paige.”
“Why?” Piper asked. “I’m sure Paige didn’t plan for this to happen. It’s not like she woke up this morning and wrote a list of things to do. 1. Go to work. 2. Get lunch. 3. Find my long lost baby sister and bring her home to shock Piper and Phoebe. Honey, it wasn’t like that at all and you know it.”
Phoebe nodded, but her glare towards the closed door was evident.
“I know, but she could have explained herself a lot better. She didn’t have to say it in a rush like that.”
Piper nodded.
“Well, you didn’t give her a chance. She’ll probably explain it better tonight once Charlotte is asleep.”
Phoebe nodded.
“Maybe you’re right.”
Little did they know, Paige was listening outside the door. She had come in to get Charlotte and herself something else to drink and had heard everyword that Phoebe and Piper had said. How dare Phoebe think that she, Paige, intended for this to happen. She didn’t intentially do this. It wasn’t her fault and it certainly wasn’t Charlotte’s. Charlotte was the innocent in all of this. Paige’s insides boiled with anger as she grabbed a Ssips from the cabinet outside the kitchen and went back to join Charlotte. She wasn’t going to explain anything to Phoebe, not until Phoebe started acting her age and treated Charlotte nicer and Paige with the respect she deserved. She would tell Piper though, but not Phoebe.



Dinner that night was a very tense affair. At least on Phoebe’s end. She didn’t talk much and excused herself early to go to bed. Piper didn’t buy it, but she let it go for now. She knew Phoebe would come around in time. She only prayed it was sooner rather than later. Especially for Charlotte’s sake.
After dinner was over, Paige put on “My Little Pony: Firefly’s Adventure” for Charlotte and sat down to talk to Piper. As long as Paige was in the same room with Charlotte, the little girl was okay. She liked sitting in Paige’s lap, but she could tell that Paige and Piper needed to talk so she sat on the floor and played with Firefly, Fizzy, Baby Lofty and Baby Half Note while watching the movie.
Paige smiled fondly down at her baby sister while she filled Piper in on the details.

“It happened when I was about sixteen and a half. My birthday was two months away and that’s when my parents adopted Charlotte. As you know I was into a lot of D-R-U-G-S and A-L-C-O-H-O-L and partying a lot, but when Charlotte came home with us, I immediately stopped all of that. My parents said that it was like a miracle. I started doing better in school and didn’t require as much counseling. I even baby-sat Charlotte every weekend so Mom and Dad could go out for dinner. I loved her to pieces. I still do of course, but I mean back then, she was my world. She was the wake up call I needed to straigthen up my life. Then when our parents died, Charlotte was barely one and a half and I was just seventeen. Of course the DCFS people didn’t think I was able to take care of Char-Char on my own. I was only eight months sober and they were afraid of me slipping again. Of course I thought differently, but it was no use. The next day, they placed us in different foster homes and I was devastated. Charlotte was upset too, but she didn’t understand the extent of it. she was barely two years old. When I turned eighteen, I looked and looked for Charlotte, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. I prayed and prayed that God would reunite us and it looks like he answered my prayers.” Paige smiled down at Charlotte even though she was crying a little. She then said in a tearful whisper, “I can’t lose her again, Pipe. I can’t. Please, talk to Phoebe. Please.”
Piper nodded and embraced her younger sister. She knew Paige was scared and confused and she wanted more than anything to help her feel better. She then said, “Honey, it doesn’t matter if Phoebe acts like a spoiled brat for awhile, you still are adopting Charlotte. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Paige nodded as she relaxed in Piper’s loving and safe embrace.
Piper stroked Paige’s hair gently and then said, “She can sleep in my bed tonight. I can take the couch.”
“No way.” Paige said. “Charlotte can sleep with me. You need your bed. Besides, I don’t’ think she would do well sleeping alone her first night in a strange place.”
Piper nodded as she too smiled down at the little girl who was now playing happily with Paige’s old ponies. Even though Paige had had them since she was four years old, she had taken very good care of them and they were almost mint.
After the movie was over, Paige got Charlotte ready for bed. She let her wear one of her old “Little Mermaid” nightgowns and then she tucked her in for the night.
“Sweet dreams, Char-Char.” Paige said, giving Charlotte a kiss and hug. “I love you, sweetie.”
Charlotte returned Paige’s hug and kiss and said, “I love you too, Paige. Sweet dreams.” Then she added, “I’m happy I found you again.”
Paige nodded as she felt a lump form in her throat.
“I’m happy we found each other again too, kiddo. See ya in the morning. We’ll go shopping tomorrow for some new clothes and a few other things.”
“Sounds fun,” Charlotte said sleepily. As she closed her eyes, she held Firefly close and Paige felt a sudden urge to let Charlotte keep her. She had two Fireflys and the other one was in her Dream Castle in the playroom. It was mint too. Besides, Firefly was doing the same thing for Charlotte that she had done for Paige all those years before and Paige was happy to hand her down to Charlotte. She knew Charlotte would take good care of her. As Paige crawled into bed beside Charlotte, she started stroking Charlotte’s hair gently and said a prayer that God would help them get through the next few weeks.


The next morning, Charlotte woke up in a happy mood. She still was a little scared of her new surroundings, but once she knew Paige was there, she was okay. She had breakfast with Paige and Piper and then Paige got herself and Charlotte ready to go to the mall. Piper wanted to come, but she couldn’t because she had to go to P3. Celine Dion was playing there tonight and she had to get stuff ready. She had told Paige to bring Charlotte down after they were done shopping and Paige said she would think about it. she didn’t know how tired Charlotte was going to be and she wanted her to get a nap if she could.


When they got to the mall, Charlotte held Paige’s hand as they walked through the stores. She told Paige what her favorite colors were and Paige tried to pick out outfits that were pink, green and orange. She found a jumpsuit that was orange and green and she and Charlotte fell in love with it. They bought matching sun dresses and Paige promised that they would wear them to the beach when the weather warmed up a little. Charlotte liked that idea and she was all smiles. She loved being with her big sister again.
After Paige had picked out some underclothes for Charlotte and a pair of sandals, she paid for the items and then took Charlotte to the toy store. She took her to where the “My Little Pony” section was and Charlotte picked out Baby Moondancer, Baby Glory and Galaxy. Paige also bought her Cupcake and SweetStuff. After they paid for Charlotte’s new ponies, Paige took her to Carlos’ Pizza Cave for lunch and they each got two slices of pizza and shared fries while Paige had a salad. Charlotte was a good eater and that please Paige. It also pleased Paige that Charlotte enjoyed eating at home better than out. She enjoyed the pizza and she liked eating out every once in a while, like today, but she liked home cooking better. Paige knew that Charlotte would like Piper’s cooking once she got to taste it a little more.
After they left the mall, Paige took Charlotte to the park and pushed her on the swings for awhile. She swung herself too, and showed Charlotte how to pump her legs by herself.
After they spent some time at the park, Paige could tell that Charlotte was becoming tired, so she decided to go home. When they got there, Paige put Charlotte to bed in the living room and opened up Baby Moondancer so that she could hold her along with Firefly. After Charlotte was fast asleep, Paige called Piper to let her know that she and Charlotte were okay.
“Hey Pipe!” Paige said in a loud whisper. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” Piper said. “I’m just doing inventory. How did your day go?”
“It went fine. We had fun. I bought her five “My Little Pony” ponies and some clothes. Then we went to have pizza at the Cave and then to the park. The poor thing is exhausted. She’s fast asleep on the couch now. She asked me to ask you if you would make pasta tonight. She loves it.”
“I sure will.” Piper said. “I know you like it too.”
“What about Phoebs?” Paige asked warily.
“The way Phoebe is acting, she can eat in the basement for all I care.” Piper laughed and Paige didd too. She knew Piper didn’t mean it.
While Piper told Paige about her day, Paige listened and then went over to check on Charlotte. As she did so, she started rubbing her back and Charlotte flinched a little. This got Paige worried and she decided to do a little more investigating. She told Piper to hold on while she checked on Charlotte. As Paige lifted up the side of Charlotte’s shirt, she gasped. Bruises covered her little sister’s right side and there were fading ones on her stomach. As Paige put the shirt down gently, she bent down and gave Charlotte a kiss on her cheek. “Sweet dreams, Char-Char. Your big sister’s right here. I’m never going to let anyone hurt you again.” With that, she got back on the phone and said, “Piper, I need you to come home now.”
“Why? Is something wrong?” Piper asked, becoming worried.
“Oh yeah. Something’s very wrong>” Paige replied, while glaring out of the window.
“Okay. I’ll be right there.”


Piper arrived home an hour later to find Charlotte awake and watching “My Little Pony: The Quest for the Golden Horseshoes”. She smiled down at her and said, “Hey, Charlotte. How was your day, sweetie?”
“Great!” Charlotte exclaimed happily. “Paige and I went to the mall and look what she bought me!!” She showed Piper Galaxy and Baby Moondancer and Baby Glory.
“Aw, they’re so cute!” Piper said. “Maybe I’ll play with you later.”
“Okay!” Charlotte said. “Paige is in the kitchen making a snack for us.”
Piper nodded and patted Charlotte’s shoulder before going into the kitchen to see what Paige was up to. She found her making a vegetable dip and cutting some broccoli and colliflower in a bowl. A Ssips was sitting near the bowl as was a cup of tea.
“Hey Missy Paige,” Piper said, giving Paige a kiss on her cheek. “So what’s the big emergency. Charlotte seems fine to me. She’s watching a video and plaing “My Little Pony” without a care in the world.”
“That’s because I haven’t talk to her yet. And I don’t have the heart to do it before dinner, especially since you’re going to make her favorite meal.”
“What exactly do you have to talk to Charlotte about. You lost me a little.”
“I went to check on her while she was sleeping,” Paige said while closing the door, so that Charlotte wouldn’t hear their conversation, “and I started rubbing her back a little and she flinched, so I decided to check it out. I lifted up her shirt and there were bruises on her side as well as her stomach. Something’s not right and I want to find out what it is. It might be the thing that makes or breaks my chances of adopting her.”
Piper nodded and her jaw about hit the ground. She was in shock. How could anyone hurt someone so innocent and sweet? How could anyone do that to anybody? She regained her composure and said, “Do you want me to be there when you talk to her?”
“No,” Paige said. “I think it should be just her and I. I’ll tell you everything of course, but the initial conversation should just be between us. I know there’s going to be a lot of struggle and tears because she won’t want to talk and I know how to calm her down so she can.”
Piper nodded and helped Paige get the snack ready. She respected Paige’s decision and she knew that if Paige or Charlotte needed her help, either one of them would come to her in time.
After Paige had brought the snack into the living room, she gave Charlotte her Ssips and then put the tray of vegetables and dip on the coffee table in front of them. She watched the rest of the movie with Charlotte and then suggested that they take a walk.
Charlotte agreed, but only if she could bring Firefly with. Paige agreed and after Charlotte had put the baby ponies in the nursery that she and Paige had created, they were off.
As they walked down the street, Paige started a conversation that would hopefully get Charlotte to open up.
“Ya know I didn’t always live with my sisters,” she started carefully.
Charlotte looked up at her with interest.
“You didn’t?” She asked.
“Nope. I was put in different homes for three years before I found Piper and Phoebe. And it wasn’t easy fitting in with them after such a long time either. Thankfully, Phoebe was a sweetie, but Piper was really mean to me.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened.
“Piper was mean and Phoebe was nice?”
Paige giggled a little.
“Yes.”
“Did Piper say she was sorry?”
Paige nodded.
“Yes. After awhile. It took her a little while, but she finally apologized and we became closer. That’s why we’re so close now.” Paige waited a moment before she continued. “Did you fit in with the families that you were with?”
Charlotte’s gaze fell upon the ground and she gripped tighter to Firefly for comfort..
“Char-Char?” Paige asked, looking down at Charlotte in concern.
Charlotte sighed and shook her head.
“They were really mean. My foster Mommy wouldn’t let me eat and then sometimes if I was bad, she would…..” Charlotte’s voice trailed off as her lower lip started to tremble. “….she hurt me. She hurt me really bad! I