DISCLAIMER: Nothing belongs to me except the basic story and Melinda. Don't take without asking.

It's an average night at P3. It's a half hour before closing time and the crowd is slowly starting to thin. Piper starts clearing a few tables, all the while keeping an eye on the young woman at the bar. Every fifteen minutes or so throughout the night Piper checked in with Leo to see what he thought about the girl. The girl seemed familiar to Piper, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly gave her that feeling. Piper also found it curious that a beautiful young woman would come to one of the hottest new clubs in San Francisco and do nothing but sit at the bar and drink soda after soda. Several men that Piper thought seemed very attractive approached the girl and asked her to dance, but she smiled politely and turned them down. Piper found the girl very strange. Piper takes a tray of dirty glasses to the bar and then goes over to Prue and Phoebe, who are dancing by the stage. Piper drags them aside and points out the girl at the bar.

"Does she look familiar to you?" Piper asks her sisters.

"No, I don't think so," Phoebe replies, still sort of dancing. "Why? Should she?"

"I don't know," Piper says. "I feel like I know her, but I don't know how. And she seems kind of odd. She's been here all night and all she's done is sit at the bar and drink soda. She turned down six dance offers."

"Well, lock her up," Prue says sarcastically. Then she smiles and says suggestively, "Maybe she doesn't like guys."

"I'm serious, Prue," Piper says. "I'm not being paranoid about her, either."

"Piper, you're worrying about nothing," Prue says. "So, she turned down six guys. Big deal. Just take care of your club and let the bouncers worry about her."

Piper dismisses her sisters' lack of concern and turns back to the bar. The girl is gone. 'Okay, so I was being paranoid,' Piper thinks. She says to her sisters, not letting them have the satisfaction of saying, 'I told you so.' She goes about her business, leaving Prue and Phoebe to their dancing.

The club closes after a good night and Piper is taking care of the money. Phoebe remembered a test the next day that she needed to study for and left about fifteen minutes before closing time. Prue wanted to stay and now she is waiting to catch a ride with Piper. Leo is doing general clean up around the club. Suddenly, the entire club is engulfed in flames. Piper's shirt catches on fire, and Leo quickly tackles her to the ground putting out the flames. Her arm is burnt pretty badly and she's in shock. Leo picks her up, ready to carry her out of the club, but all the exits are blocked. Prue deflects the flames away from the front door to clear a path for Leo. He gets outside, but Prue is hit by a falling support beam and knocked unconscious.

The young woman from the bar runs up to Leo as he kneels on the ground and checks Piper's arm. "Where's Prue?" she asks frantically.

"What?" Leo asks, confused.

"Prue Halliwell," the girl yells. Then she looks really worried. "Oh God, she's still inside." Before Leo can say anything the girl disappears right before his eyes.

Inside, the girl finds Prue unconscious amidst the flames. She lays her hands on Prue's shoulder and then reappears with Prue outside the club. Leo jumps from surprise. Piper starts to regain control of her senses. She sees the girl and asks accusingly, "Who are you?"

Sirens can already be heard. The girl looks Piper in the eyes and says, "I think that's an explanation that will have to wait until later."

* * *

Prue suffered a concussion and Piper had second degree burns covering her entire left forearm. After being released from the hospital, Piper didn't want to cope with the sudden destruction of her club so she turned her attention to the mystery woman who had apparently saved Prue's life. The woman insisted that Phoebe be present for the explanation, so with a skeptical Prue and Leo in tow, Piper drives the group to the manor.

After waking up Phoebe (she had fallen asleep on her sociology notes) and breaking the news of the club, the four women and Leo sat in the parlor for the girl's story.

"Okay, I guess I'll just cut to the chase," she says scanning the suspicious eyes of her audience. She fixes her gaze upon Piper and Leo right as she continues. "My name is Melinda Wyatt." Piper and Leo look at each other and then back to Melinda. "Daughter of Piper and Leo Wyatt, born April 1, 2004. Please no April Fool's jokes." The group gives a light chuckle and some of the tension is chipped away. "The reason I came to the past was to save Prue from tonight's fire. In my past, she died." Melinda looks at Prue who just returns her gaze with an expression of solemn gratitude. "My mother and father were married about a year from tonight's date. I was born when I said and when I was one year old, a warlock killed my mother and Phoebe. It was a powerful warlock, but he could have been vanquished if the Power of Three had not been destroyed in the fire – which by the way was started by a warlock." The group exhibits no surprise and Melinda continues.

"After the complete and total destruction of the Charmed Ones there was an evil free for all. Demons and warlocks overran the world. People – mortals and witches alike – lived on the run or in hiding. Dad and I chose the running option. He hid my heritage from me for the most part. I knew I was a witch. That was something he couldn't hide because he didn't have the ability to bind my powers. By the way, I'm empathic and I can blink. But anyway, dad hid the Book of Shadows from me and never told me you three were the Charmed Ones. He simply told me that bad men would kill me for my powers and that was why we had to run. When I was 13, he was killed by a Lithos demon. I found the Book of Shadows among his things and read practically the whole thing in a day. I knew that this book would change my world. It was my only hope. I found a spell that would take me back in time. I memorized the spell and picked a date, the day you got your powers.

Then, in case I failed, I destroyed the Book of Shadows. I travelled back to the date that you got your powers with a minor snag – I didn't get the right year. I showed up six years too early. I lived on the street for a couple months, but eventually social services got their hands on me and put me in a foster home. I was forced to live out a normal life in the past." Melinda pauses and smiles. "I was at your high school graduation, Phoebe. It was weird." Phoebe smiles at the thought of her own niece being at her graduation. "I was a freshman at the same school." Then Melinda's smile fades.

"I was at your grandmother's funeral, too. I've felt like such an intruder all this time. I didn't feel like I had the right to be there, watching you three. But I justified it with the knowledge that I could save the future. I had to keep an eye on Prue to make sure she didn't die in tonight's fire. I didn't know when it was going to happen exactly. I just knew where and how and that I had to stop it."

Phoebe interrupts. "But if you read the entire Book of Shadows, you should know that you can't use your powers for personal gain. You should not have come back here just to save your family."

"I know that's what you think, but this isn't for personal gain. Yes, I would love to grow up with both parents, two aunts who would love me as their own, and lead out a fairly normal life. Well, as normal as we can get," Melinda begins. "But this is for the future of the world. I told you already that the world is dominated by evil in the future. Without the Charmed Ones, the future is doomed. But with Prue alive, you and mom won't die facing that warlock because you'll have the Power of Three." Melinda directs the last comment toward Phoebe.

"So, what now?" Prue asks. "You saved me, so isn't the future changed already?"

"Yes, it has been changed, but it's not a sure thing until you vanquish the warlock that started the fire in P3. Once he's gone the future will be changed indefinitely."

"What happens to you?" Leo asks. Even though he has a vast knowledge of supernatural occurrences because of his experience as a white lighter, his knowledge of time travel is limited.

"Time travel is a complicated thing. I can see two possibilities," Melinda says. "I can stay here and live out the rest of my life. It could get tricky, but it's not impossible considering I've already lived here for about seven years."

"And the other possibility?" Piper asks.

"It is possible that I might just disappear. My past will not happen; therefore, I will cease to exist."

"What about this warlock?" Prue asks. "What do you know about him?"

"Unfortunately, not much. Dad said that mom and Aunt Phoebe sort of vanquished him by accident. That's about all I know though."

"So, we'll need to figure out who we're dealing with somehow," Phoebe says.

"I think we could all use some sleep first. It's late," Prue says. "We can start fresh in the morning."

"We could all meet here tomorrow at nine," Melinda offers.

The sisters nod their heads. Melinda stands and heads for the door and Piper follows. Before she leaves, Melinda turns to Piper. "I can tell what you're thinking. Don't worry. I got a job after high school and I have an apartment a couple blocks away from P3. I'll be fine."

"There's just so much I want to ask you. This is all so confusing," Piper says.

"I know. Time travel can have that effect on people," Melinda says. "If I end up not disappearing after this is over you can ask me whatever you want. The future will be changed and whatever happened in my past won't matter."

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow," Piper says.

"Bye," Melinda says. She walks out and Piper closes the door behind her. Melinda looks back and whispers, "I love you mom."

* * *

Leo stayed at the Manor that night, but neither he nor Piper got any sleep. They were up all night talking about Melinda and what the future may hold for them. This is the second time Piper has been made aware of her future and it didn't turn out any better than it did the first time. Piper wonders if anything good will come of a future with Leo. She tries to keep from doubting their relationship, but it's difficult. The only reassurance Leo can offer her is that the future is not set.

The next morning Piper and Leo are sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee, not talking, just sitting quietly. They've said everything more than once. Prue walks in, showered and dressed, but looking exhausted. She pours herself a cup of coffee, sits at the table and rubs her temples.

"You didn't sleep either, huh?" Piper asks. Prue shakes her head and takes a sip of coffee.

"I don't know if it was the concussion or what Melinda told us, but I couldn't even close my eyes." She takes another drink of her coffee. "I don't care how many times we've escaped death. It still shakes me up."

"I know what you mean," Piper says with a quick glance at Leo. It's all she says. The three of them sit in silence for a few minutes until Phoebe drags herself into the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas. She pours herself a glass of orange juice and leans against the kitchen counter.

"When's Melinda supposed to be here?" she asks, her mind still not kicking into gear.

"Thirty minutes," Leo replies.

Then the phone rings. Piper answers it. "Hello. This is her. Yes. Well, I have to...yes. Okay." Piper hangs up the phone. "That was the insurance company. I have to meet their representative to get an estimate on the damage at P3 at eleven."

"They do fast work," Prue says.

"And they talk fast, too," Piper comments. "I barely got a word in."

* * *

It's ten-thirty and the group has been trying everything they can think of to find out who this warlock is. But they've found nothing. Phoebe is upstairs with the Book of Shadows, Prue has fallen asleep at the kitchen table while searching the net. Piper, Leo and Melinda are in the living room talking. Melinda walks over to the picture of the three sisters and picks it up.

"This is the picture," she says. "It's the only picture of you that I had ever seen. Dad kept it with him always, folded up in his pocket. It was really beat up."

Piper and Leo just watch her. She looks around the living room. "I vaguely remember the Manor. We stayed here till I was four, but after a while it was too dangerous to stay in one place. I remember the picture of Grams the most. Dad would tell me that I could never misbehave because Grams was watching from that picture and if I was bad Grams would tell mom. It worked, freaked me out big time, too."

Piper looks at Leo and laughs. Melinda turns and smiles at her. "Dad always told me you had a beautiful smile. He was right."

Piper rises from the couch and approaches Melinda. "I'm so sorry you missed out on so much. I lost my mom early on, but I had Grams and my sisters. All you had was Leo. And a life on the run. I can't imagine having a childhood like that."

"It was tough, but not quite as tough as when I saw you alive for the first time at Phoebe's graduation. I knew I couldn't approach you because you didn't have your powers, but I wanted to just run up to you and tell you who I was. There were times when I contemplated telling Grams. But I knew it would be best to wait. So I did. Last night in P3 was the closest I had ever been to you." Tears are welling up in Melinda's eyes. "Every time you came up to the bar I just wanted tell you everything."

Tears roll down Melinda's cheeks. She wipes at them and looks away. Piper puts her arms around her future daughter and holds her tight. "It's okay," Piper whispers. "You can tell me anything now."

"I've dreamed of this so often," Melinda says. "You holding me. Comforting me. It's something I've wanted my whole life."

"You can have whatever you want now," Leo says quietly. Melinda and Piper look at him. "If you're still here after they vanquish this warlock, the future is yours. You can have anything, do anything."

"He's right," Piper agrees. "You can start over here."

Suddenly, Phoebe runs down the stairs. "I forgot about my test. It's in like 15 minutes. Piper, you're going out. You can drop me at school, right?"

"Yeah, sure, Pheebs," Piper says as she grabs her keys.

"I'll go with you to P3," Leo says.

"I'll take over looking in the Book of Shadows," Melinda comments as she heads to the kitchen to tell Prue what's going on. The younger Halliwells and Leo leave quickly to get Phoebe to her test in time.

Melinda enters the kitchen to find Prue looking on the Internet, but she's not looking for anything on the warlock that started the fire. She's on the website for Popular Photography.

"Does our warlock like to take pictures?" Melinda teases.

Prue grins. "No, I do. I was getting nowhere and very frustrated so I decided I needed a break from surfing for warlocks."

"Yeah, when dad told me about you guys he told me you had been trying to get into professional photography," Melinda says. "Phoebe forgot about her test, so mom and – I mean, Piper and Leo are going to drop her off before they go to P3 to meet the insurance guy. I'm going to go look through the Book of Shadows."

"I'll join you," Prue says as she shuts off the laptop. "I'm going cross-eyed from staring at this thing." About halfway up the stairs Prue comments, "I don't think they'd mind if you called them mom and dad."

"I know, but it would just be too awkward to call them mom and dad. I mean, technically, she's only five or six years older than me right now." Prue nods her head as they enter the attic.

"So, will Piper rebuild P3?" Prue asks.

"She did when you died so I can't imagine why she wouldn't now," Melinda explains. "Leo kept the place running even after Piper and Phoebe died. It really upset me when he had to close it and we had to start running from evil. I was only four, but all I had to know my mom by was the picture of the three of you, the Manor, and P3. I cried so hard when we left San Francisco because I was losing two things that connected me to you three. You'd think a child who had no memories of her mother wouldn't get so emotional over that kind of stuff."

"Not necessarily," Prue comments as she absently pages through the BoS. "Phoebe never knew our mom and she still searches for anything that will help her know mom better. She's even tried calling premonitions out of some of mom's old things. In a way, you're living her dream."

"Well, at least Phoebe had female family members to help her with some things, like personal things," Melinda says. "I mean, picture having only Leo to help you through puberty, Mr. Old-Fashioned."

Prue giggles. "I can only guess how that went."

"Yeah," Melinda says. "I know he always missed mom, but I think that moment was when he missed her the most."

"So, Leo didn't remarry?" Prue asks curiously.

"No," Melinda says quickly. "In 100 years, Piper is the only woman he has ever loved. He's committed to her. If he could say 'till death do us part' right now he would."

"Well, he can," Prue says. "there's not really much stopping him."

"You forgot Dan," Melinda says.

"Oh yeah," Prue says. Then she looks quizzically at Melinda. "He told you about Dan?"

"I kept asking about the past and he didn't want me to know too much about the witchcraft aspect of it so he told me everything else that he knew. He told me how your mom died. He told me about your dad. Grams. Your mom's white lighter. Andy," Melinda pauses. "He told me a lot because I wanted to know everything about mom and the family line. Also, sometimes it was the only way we could pass the time while we were running from evil."

"And I thought I grew up too fast," Prue says. "You didn't have a childhood at all. Did you take advantage of the time you had here in the past?"

"A little, but it still wasn't what you could call a childhood. I made a few friends in high school, which was nice. I still keep in touch with two of them, one who I think might be a witch," Melinda explains. "I didn't indulge too much because I was busy watching you."

"How often were you 'watching me?'" Prue asks.

"Well, I couldn't keep very good tabs on you for the first few years because it was virtually impossible to follow you around when I didn't have my driver's license. I knew that I really didn't have to worry for a while so I didn't follow you much. After Grams died I thought about telling you everything, but I remembered that you didn't get your powers till Phoebe had been to New York and back. Plus, Piper was still working at Quake."

"So you waited some more," Prue comments. "They say patience is a virtue."

"Then I'm one virtuous woman," Melinda jokes. "After Phoebe returned I knew it was only a matter of time until the fire happened," Melinda says. "I'm sure you're wondering why I just didn't tell you right after you got your powers. I knew that you would still be skeptical about your powers and that I needed to let you get used to them. Otherwise, you probably would have thought I was some crazy girl who watched too many movies. Also, even if I did tell you, Piper wasn't with Leo yet and knowing about me could have changed things in a completely different direction. I had to let everything run its course."

"But you could have intervened at times. There had to be some things that you could have prevented."

"I didn't know any exact dates. Otherwise, yes, I would have tried to save Andy and I would have tried to do something to keep Leo from losing his wings, and a lot of other things. But all I knew was the general order of events. I had no idea when Andy would die or when Piper would contract that disease that almost killed her," Melinda explains.

Prue looks down at the Book of Shadows. "I wish we could just find this warlock and vanquish him."

"Me too," Melinda agrees. Then they hear the phone ring. Prue starts to leave, but Melinda stops her. "I'll get it." Then she blinks out of the room.

"Very cool," Prue says.

Downstairs, Melinda answers the phone. "Halliwell residence."

"Melinda? This is Phoebe."

"Hi. Do you want me to get Prue?"

"No, just listen. You need to be careful," Phoebe warns. "I just had a premonition of Prue being killed, but I didn't see the warlock."

"What room was she in?" Melinda asks.

"The attic," Phoebe replies. Then Melinda hears a crash upstairs.

"Oh God no," Melinda says. "Phoebe, gotta go." She hangs up the phone and blinks upstairs.

Prue is standing on one side of the room and the warlock is dragging himself off the floor on the other side of the room. Melinda blinks next to Prue. "That was Phoebe calling to warn us about this." Melinda grabs the BoS, takes Prue's hand and blinks to the living room just as the warlock shoots an energy bolt at them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Phoebe gets a cab and heads home. She leans forward and says to the driver, "Hey, can you step on it?"

"Look, lady I'm already doin' ten over," he says. "I ain't gettin' a ticket for you."

"If you get a ticket I'll pay it," Phoebe says impatiently. "Now just floor it." The cabbie is still uncooperative. Phoebe takes out two twenties and drops them in the front seat. The driver floors it so quickly that Phoebe is thrown back against her seat. Then she takes out her cell phone and calls Piper. She has a feeling the insurance agent never showed up.

* * *

Piper and Leo are standing in the charred remains of P3. Piper gives an audible sigh.

"This is going to take a lot to fix," Piper says. "I don't know how much insurance will pay for."

"It'll be okay, Piper," Leo reassures her. "You're not one to have your dreams crushed."

"You're right, of course," Piper says, leaning back against Leo's chest. He wraps his arms around her waist. "I don't think I could have reopened the club if Prue had died in the fire. I can't even imagine that," Piper's voice is a little shaky. "I just keep thinking 'What if Melinda hadn't shown up?' or 'What if she had been even a minute too late?'"

"But she did show up and Prue is safe," Leo says. "So, don't worry about that." Then Piper's phone rings. "Hello," she answers.

"Piper. It's Phoebe. Get home now."

"What's wrong? Where are you? I have to meet the insurance guy," Piper rambles.

"He's not going to show. It was the warlock trying to get Prue alone. Luckily, she's not because she's with Melinda. I'm in a cab on my way there. Hurry Piper. Bye."

Piper turns to Leo. "We gotta go."

"What about the insurance guy?" he asks.

"I'll explain on the way."

* * *

Prue throws the warlock into the foyer while Melinda searches frantically for something to help them in the Book of Shadows. The warlock recovers and blinks next to Prue. He clutches her throat and tries the old-fashioned tactic of strangling her. Melinda uses the old-fashioned tactic of smashing a vase over his head. Then she shows Prue a spell she found.

"That should work. We've used it before," Prue says. A second later, Phoebe rushes into the room. Prue points to the spell that they had previously used on the shape shifters. Phoebe nods her head and without hesitation they begin.

In the circle that is home
Safety's gone and evils roam

The warlock cries out in pain and rage as the witches continue the spell. Suddenly, Piper and Leo burst into the house. Leo immediately falls to the ground in pain. Melinda stops chanting and hurries over to Leo.

"Help them," she says to Piper before she blinks out of the house with Leo. Piper joins her sisters and they continue the spell.

In the circle that is home
Safety's gone and evils roam
Rid all beings from these walls
Save sisters three
Now hear our call

The warlock disappears as they always do and less than a minute later Melinda blinks back into the house with Leo.

"How did you know it was safe?" Prue asks.

Melinda smiles. "I'm empathic. I could sense a great deal of relief eminating from the house."

Piper goes to Leo. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," he replies. "I think I got out just in time."

"Well, another warlock defeated," Phoebe says. "The future is saved. It's just another typical Halliwell day."

"I'm still here," Melinda says in realization. Everyone just looks at her for a second. "I really believed I was going to disappear."

"Looks like you're taking up permanent residence in San Francisco," Prue says with a smile. "What do you want to do with your new future?"

"I kinda wanted to go to college. I just didn't pursue it because I thought it would be a waste," Melinda says. "I was salutatorian in my class. I could probably still get some scholarships. I'd might have to retake the ACT, but that's not much of a problem."

"Well, anything's possible," Phoebe says. "I mean, if I can go back to college, you can definitely go back."

"Because you were no salutatorian," Melinda says with a wide grin.

"Hey, like you would know," Phoebe says, playfully hitting Melinda on the arm.

"I went to school with you remember," Melinda says, hitting Phoebe back.

"I'm going to have to find my yearbook and look for you," Phoebe says with a laugh.

"Well, I think you two have hit it off," Piper says. "Are you going to stay around here to go to college, Melinda?"

"Absolutely," Melinda replies resolutely. "I just got my family back, and I'm never losing it again."