DISCLAIMER: As usual, none of the regular Charmed characters are mine. This story is written for the enjoyment of the Internet reader. Print it out if you like, but please don't reproduce it or post it on your site without notifying me first.
"PHOEBE! Get up! Your bus leaves in twenty minutes! P-H-O-E-B-E!!" Piper called upstairs for the third time. "Lord, that girl is going to give me gray hair by the time I'm thirty. PRUE! You've got an early appointment, too! PRUE!"
"Good morning, MOM!" Prue teased Piper as she hopped down the stairs.
"Ummmm. I'm glad to see SOMEONE is up! Breakfast is served," said an exasperated Piper who obviously had had little sleep due to the rings under her blue eyes.
Prue sat down at the kitchen table, but Piper just plopped into her chair. "These waffles are cold and I can't complain to the chef! That's me!" said Piper as she pushed her plate away and put her head on the table.
"Ah, is something bothering you? You seem to have gotten up on the wrong side of the country, let alone the bed," asked a concerned Prue eating her delicious lukewarm waffle. "And these are good, Piper. dear."
"Well, I'm just fine and dandy! CHIPPER AS ALWAYS! Just one big..." cried Piper sarcastically throwing her hands about.
"Whoa, hold your horses! Hey, I'm on YOUR side. Anything you want to talk about?" asked Prue trying to calm her sister.
"Umm. A certain middle sister witch rearranged her schedule so she and a certain angel-type could have the whole day off. Something about orbing me off to Paris! And this morning this certain angel-type has to go to a white lighter convention or some big meeting and that middle sister witch is left all alone in this big old house crying in a pillow. And that's the whole story in a nutshell, thank you very much!!" sniffed Piper.
"Oh, sweetie. I'm sure Leo would have stayed if he could," said Prue coming over to comfort her.
"I know, but this was to be our best and most romantic trip ever. PARIS!!! I always wanted to see it," Piper sniffed holding onto her sister.
"Well, maybe you can do it another day. But isn't that a "little" dangerous being there without a passport? And as I recall you took Spanish in high school," said Prue looking into her eyes. "Hmmmm?"
"White lighters really don't have a language problem. And we were just going to stroll around and have a late dinner there. It was going to be wonderful!" Piper replied starting to cry again.
"Tell you what, Piper. I'll call you when I'm done and we'll have lunch together and go shopping this afternoon. OK?" asked Prue smiling lovingly at Piper.
"Well, OK. I was just going to clean out some of the attic this morning since I have so much FREE time," said Piper a little happier. "A little house work never hurt anyone and it will keep my mind off my problems."
"Great. Hey, look. I haven't had a date in almost a month," said Prue trying to empathize with Piper. "You'll be strolling under the Eiffel Tower in no time!"
"What about that lunch you had with.." asked Piper.
"Mr. Boring? I don't even count him," said Prue wriggling her nose a bit.
"Time, Prue," Piper reminded Prue pointing to the clock.
"Oh hell. Thanks. I'll definitely call YOU later, Piper. Bye, sis," she said heading out the door.
Piper sighed heavily and threw the cold waffles away. She plopped a fresh batch into the waffle iron for Phoebe.
"Hi, Piper. Bye Piper. I'm late! See you tonight," Pheebs said running through the kitchen.
Now Piper picked up everything and threw the whole mess into the sink. "That streak may have been Pheebs. Now you're all alone. Well. That's it. Kitchen and then the attic, Piper. Oh, what fun!" Piper yelled to nobody.
Piper spent most of the morning going through old boxes and sorting though old cast-offs. She sat down with a cool drink wondering why Prue had not yet called.
"Just one more disappointment. This is not my day," she complained out loud to herself. Walking to the far side of the attic behind some old trunks. "Another room full of dust? What else did Grams save?" Piper asked to the empty attic. After unlatching the old door she peered into the crawl space between the attic and the gables. "Ouch!" she cried out as her head hit the low ceiling. "I'll either end up in the emergency ward with a concussion or bronchitis from this dust. Whoa!" Inside some old trunks Piper found a door about three feet high in the attic wall.
At least five old trunks and some old used furniture had been discarded in the crawl space. It was so low that Piper had to get around on all fours. The first two trunks contained old clothes and linens. Much of the cloth had long ago been reduces to rags. The third one looked much older than the rest. Under the dust she found a surface that had been very fine leather at one time.
"Beautiful! Surely something wonderful is stored in here!" thought Piper looking for a distraction from her cleaning. As she lifted the ancient hinges they creaked with age. Piper thought she heard the wind coming from inside the trunk. Lifting the lid fully Piper shined her flashlight in and saw a swirling vortex that looked like the inside of a tornado.
"Whoa! This house IS never dull. Where in the name of Wicca does that go?" Piper asked herself.
After the trunk was opened the swirling of the vortex started rotating faster and faster. The suction increased and Piper felt an incredibly strong draft.
"Ah, time to get out of here!" she thought as she backed off on her hands and knees. Everything not held down started disappearing down the vortex. "Ah, somebody help!" cried Piper as she was also dragged toward the trunk. Piper felt nothing for she had been knocked unconscious as she fell. She appeared outside Halliwell Manor and plummeted twenty feet to the ground below hitting her head on a rock and ending up sprawled out on the ground..
A little girl in a pinafore approached her. "Lady. Oh, lady. You can't sleep here. Lady! Ahhhhhhh!" she screamed when she saw the blood coming from Piper's head wound.
"Penny?" cried the girl's mother coming around the corner. "Good lord, what is the matter?" she said wiping her hands on her apron.
"That lady. I think she's dead!" the girl said clinging to her mother's skirt.
Her mother leaned over and placed a hand on Piper's heart. "No, precious. She is just asleep. Run over to the Samuels. I need Hank to help me get her into the house! Hurry!"
The kind woman put a cloth sack under Piper's head and straightened her neck out to make her more comfortable She looked at Piper's strange clothing and the strange single shoe she wore.
"Who and where could have you come from?" she pondered shaking her head.
Hank, the Samuels' handyman, helped carry Piper into the house. Piper's head had been wrapped for she had lost a great deal of blood. Upstairs the woman dressed her in one of the her old nightgowns, put Piper to bed and called the doctor.
"She must of had a very bad fall. I set her broken leg as best I could and bandaged her head. Could she have fallen from your roof, Mrs. O'Shannen?" inquired the doctor.
"If she did, I don't know what she would have been doing up there. She had no papers and no purse and she was dressed very strangely. And she wore only one of these strange shoes!" said Mary O'Shannen holding up the Nike sneaker.
"Hum. Never seen anything like it. She really shouldn't be moved. Most of the missions are full and vagrancy is so rampant these days. Can you keep her for awhile Mrs. O'Shannen?" asked the doctor.
"Yes, of course," Mary O'Shannen replied worried what her husband would say.
"You have a good heart. Give her some tea if she wakes up. And use the morphine pills sparingly only if the poor woman needs them. I'll come back tomorrow. Good day to you. You are truly an angel," said the doctor as he tipped his hat.
"Good day and thank you!" she replied.
Penny laughed heartily. "That's funny Mother. He calls you an angel when you're really a witch! Ha-ha-ha!"
"Shh! Not around our guest. We don't know who she is. I just don't know. Her face or family seems familiar. Now scoot. We'll wash these things she was wearing and then make some luncheon. Now move, Penny O'Shannen," ordered her Mother.
That night while Piper still slept, Jack O'Shannen came home looking very chipper.
"Good evening, dear. How are you doing?" he said taking off his hat and kissing his wife.
"Fine, love. We did have some excitement today! A stranger appeared in our side yard!" she said returning the kiss.
"Stranger? I do hope you sent him on his way. It's hard enough for us to make it today," Jack said stiffly.
"No, it was a lady and she was injured. She has slept since we found her. Even now she sleeps in the guest room. The doctor said we dare not move her for awhile. Her leg is badly injured," said Mary pointing upstairs.
"Doctor? Mary, please. We have little enough for us and..." said Jack.
"Jack O'Shannen. The poor woman was bleeding from the head and had a broken leg. I would not want her death on my conscious and I hope you feel the same way. If not, you are not the man I pledged myself to, Mr. O'Shannen!" she said stamping her foot.
"I'm sorry my dear. Things are just so different now. AND we have poor Penny and Phoebe to worry about, too!" said Jack holding her wife. "We'll look after her till she can move on. Is that satisfactory?" he asked lovingly.
"Yes, my dear. I thank you," she said as she gently kissed her husband.
Piper had been sleep for almost twenty-four hours. She dreamed of her sisters and her lover, Leo. Suddenly something from the darkness something lunged at her and she awoke with a start.
"Whoa! Ouch!" she cried as she sat up and her head started swimming. Very quickly she fell back on the pillow unable to sit up.
"Woooo! When will this room stop spinning? What's wrong with my leg?" said Piper holding her head and her stomach as the room spun around. Then she ran her hand down her leg and found it in a splint. "WHOA? What has happened to me?" She looked around the room that was vaguely familiar.
"Hello?" asked Penny as she wandered into the room. The adventurous child of eight feared nothing, a necessary quality in a family of witches.
"Well, hello, yourself? Who are you?" asked Piper a little perkier.
"Penny O'Shannen. Who are you?" she asked sitting down beside her.
"P.P.P.P. Oh my God. I don't know! H.H.H.Ha.. l.l.l.l.i.i.w.w.w! Oh damn. It's so frustrating. I KNOW I'm SOMEBODY, but WHO?" said Piper struggling with her memory. She could remember things that were vaguely familiar, but nothing she could but a name to.
"Holly? Is your name Holly?" asked Penny. "That's pretty!"
"Ah, yea. It's a nice name, but I can't place it either. Well until I can remember, Holly it is. It'll be great around Christmas time. Very nice to meet you Penny. How old are you?" said Piper quietly admiring the pretty little girl.
"Eight," said Penny. "You're pretty."
"Thank you. You're mighty pretty yourself. Are you the only one here?" inquired Piper.
"No. My mother is downstairs and my sister Phoebe is asleep in our room," reported Penny.
"Phoebe?" thought Piper. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"What is going on? Oh, hello. You're awake! I'm Mary, Mary O'Shannen. How are you feeling?" asked Mary putting her hand on Piper's head.
"Hi! I.. um.. really want to thank you for your help. I just am at a loss to remember my name or anything! That bump just wiped my Etch-a-Sketch clear!" quipped Piper smiling.
"I don't know what that is, but it did leave you with a clean slate," said Mary O'Shannen smiling a little. "Not a thing? You must be a scared young lady. I assume you don't know how you got here either. The doctor said that your leg will need a long time to heal. I'm afraid you'll have to stay in bed."
"Fine with me. I can't even sit up without the room spinning. And could I have something to eat? I'm starved!" said Piper pleading with her eyes.
"Then it appears you are getting better, my dear..a" said Mary.
"HOLLY," chimed in Penny.
"Uh, that's as good as any for now," said Piper giving a "who cares!" look.
"Holly it is. The doctor said some tea would be good for you," said Mary smiling at the thought of her choosing her own name.
"That would be great! And maybe some cheese and nachos?" asked Piper with her mouth watering.
"You do speak strangely. I have some soup on the stove. I'll bring you up a bowl. Just lie there Miss Holly," said Mary heading out of the room.
"Where AM I going?" thought Piper as she stared at the strangely familiar ceiling.
Penny fed the soup to Piper since she didn't dare sit up just yet. Mary came in to check on her.
"That was the most delicious vegetable soup! Especially the basil and thyme seasoning," said Piper. "Thank you for your kindness."
"Well! You are quite right. That's been our family secret for a long time," said Mary surprised.
"No, really. That's the way my a..a.. Damn it! There goes my stupid memory again. I know things, but not from where or when. Anyway, I can remember cooking soup like that. And thank you for the tea. It was delicious," said Piper. As she handed Mary the cup it fell from her hand. Piper froze it before it hit the ground. "Ah, oh my God! What was that? Did I do that? Ah, that's impossible!" stammered Piper showing fright in her eyes.
"Great lord of mercy!" cried Mary as she tried to freeze Piper, but nothing happened. "Well that answers one question. You are a good witch at least." said Mary as she picked the frozen cup from out of the air.
"A good witch? I'm afraid you blew a microchip. I AM NOT GLINDA! There are no such things as witches!" said Piper shaking her head.
"If you say so. But I think we'll be keeping you here for a while, Holly. I think you need the kind of help we can give. Now get some sleep," said Mary covering her up and turning off the light.
Piper closed her eyes trying to remember anything. Nothing seemed right. If only she could remember something. In the background she could hear the radio playing: "Brother, can you spare you a dime...."
"Uh, no. Shut off. Now! This is not good..." cried Piper as she was pulled in and disappeared. Her foot caught the trunk lid kicking her Nike sneaker off as the lid was pulled closed behind her. The wind stopped and then there was silence throughout Halliwell Manor.
Two days later Piper was finally sitting up. She was getting along very well with the O'Shannens. They found her a cheerful, caring, intelligent though a very confused young woman. Most of the bits and pieces of her memory made little sense to them. And to Piper, the world was full of familiar objects, but they didn't look quite right to her. Clothing, furniture, speech patterns seemed to be slightly wrong.
"You are doing very well, Miss Holly. I am so glad that these fine people have taken you in. Missions and Hoovervilles are not a place to recover from your injuries. But you will have to stay off that leg for at least six weeks. I want it to heal properly before you walk on it," ordered the doctor.
"Ah, well. Maybe I remember something by then," said a frustrated Piper.
"Your memory will just have to come back on its own unless you can afford a private sanitarium I think it best you wait. Goodbye, Miss Holly," said the doctor.
"Good bye and thank you!" cried out Piper.
When Mary returned she looked very thoughtful. "Holly, when I throw this ball up, wave your hand at it like this!" she instructed.
"OK!" said Piper. The ball was thrown up and Piper made it stay in mid-air.
"Cute trick. How did you do that?" asked Piper looking carefully at her new friend.
"I am sure it was you, Holly. I have the same power too!" said Mary as she repeated the demonstration. "All the women in my family are witches going back generations. They do exist and you have one of their powers. Somehow you were sent here by accident or by design so that we can help you!" said Mary smiling at her charge.
"Uh, OK. I don't really believe all this hocus pocus but I'll do anything to help me find out who "ME" is!" quipped Piper.
"You came to us in these clothes. The pants seem to be from a farm so maybe you are from the country. DO you know what this strange shoe is?" asked Mary holding up the Nike.
"Oh, that's my sneaker," replied Piper promptly.
"So you were sneaking around our house, Miss Holly?' asked Mary a bit annoyed.
"Um, no, I don't think that's what it was for. I kind of remember falling, but the reason completely escapes me," said Piper looking strangely at the shoe.
"NI-KEE? Weird!" said Piper looking over the shoe.
Later, Mary brought her in newspapers, books and pictures to help jog her memory. Some of the old family pictures she had given Piper, she had seen before, but her mind remained a blank. Even listening to the radio did not help for the radio personalities had stopped entertaining long before Piper was born. She could read the newspaper, but little of it made any sense including the date, February 21, 1930.
"President Hoover Predicts Upturn in Economy"
"2 1/2 million Unemployed."
"First Solo Aeroplane Flight To Hawaii."
"Dirigibles Are The Future In Air Transport."
"Jack Benny Program Launched on NBC."
"These headlines are really way out! I am a stranger in a strange land," thought Piper putting down the paper.
Penny brought in a curly haired doll. "Hi, Are you reading?"
"Trying to. I just don't have a lot of interest in it I guess. Too many holes in this Swiss cheese head of mind. So what's your dolly's name?" asked Piper trying to forget her predicament.
"Little Orphan Annie. She's has really pretty hair," said Penny combing it.
"I see. You've got awfully pretty hair, too," replied Piper.
"Thank you. Do you know Annie's song?" asked Penny.
"I really can't remember much. Let's see. HUUMMM. Maybe," thought Piper as she sang:
The sun comes out tomorrow,
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow,
There'll be sun.
Just thinking about tomorrow.."Penny interrupted her. "No, no. It goes like this:
Who's that little chatterbox,
The one with the curly locks?
It's Little Orphan Annie!
She and Sandy make a pair.
They never seen to have a care.
It's Little Orphan Annie!""Little Orphan Annie and I have a lot in common. We're both lost!" thought Piper. "You're a very good singer," said Piper sighing a bit.
"Thank you. I'm going to sing on the radio when I grow up just like Kate Smith! Who do you like to listen to?" asked Penny.
"Whoa. I am so sorry. I can't think of anyone right now. You tell me who you like!" asked Piper.
"Oh, Kate Smith, Bing Crosby and the best is Little Orphan Annie," said Penny with a smile.
"Can Holly comb Annie's hair?" asked Piper trying to be cheerful.
"Of course. Annie would love you to. Here, Aunt Holly," said Penny handing her the doll.
"Aunt Holly? She really likes me!" thought Piper as she felt a warm feeling for this little girl.
Back in 2000, Prue and Phoebe were frantic trying to find their sister.
"She always let's us know where she is!" said Prue pacing the attic.
"Well, she's not at the club and she's not with Leo. Two strikes to start," replied Phoebe looking distressed.
"This morning she was pretty pissed. She might have taken off to get away for awhile, but she wouldn't run off without telling us. That sounds more like you, Pheebs," said Prue.
"Uh, let's stay focused here. I WOULDN'T just RUN off. Well, at least not now. New York was another matter entirely," confessed Phoebe looking a little peeved at Prue.
"And a long time ago, too. All right, she was going to clean out the attic. All these trunks have been moved and there's a big pile of trash over there," pointed Prue.
"Uh, we're NOT throwing out my old Donatelo doll. That turtle got me through some bad times!" said Pheebs picking him up and dusting him off.
"What the hell? Pheebs did you ever notice that door over there?" asked Prue approaching it cautiously.
"Nope. Never been up here before I found the Book of Shadows. Open her up!" said Pheebs putting down the doll.
The door creaked as Prue pulled on the latch. "It's awfully clean for an unused storage space. Not a cobweb in sight," commented Prue.
Phoebe got a flashlight and crawled in. "Someone's been in here. The dust was recently de... Prue!" cried out Phoebe. "There's Piper's sneaker. Unless she's hopping around on one foot, I don't think she'd leave it here."
"Or she changed her shoes. What else is back in there?" asked Prue.
"Trunks full of old clothes, some broken furniture and the like. Not even good garage sale stuff. Let's she what's in here," said Pheebs and as he opened the fatal trunk.
"See anything?" asked Prue leaning in from the door.
"Beautiful old ancient, trunk. Maybe pirate treasure," said Pheebs turning around and smiling at Prue. She opened it, saw the swirling vortex and was being pulled in.
"P-R-U-E!" cried out Pheebs as she was fighting the suction.
Prue concentrated on Pheebs pulling her back though the pull was very strong. Prue forced the trunk lid closed, the suction stopped and Phoebe went flying backwards into Prue.
"Ahhhhhh!" cried out Pheebs flying from the crawl space.
"Uff!" Prue cried out.
"You don't make a good backstop, sister dear. But thanks," said Pheebs hugging Prue and helping her get up.
"That answers how Piper disappeared, but where is she?" asked Prue throwing her hands up.
"Anywhere. Another place, another, time, another dimension. And we don't dare go through it ourselves because it could have shifted since Piper want though. We might be lost elsewhere. We need another course of action," concluded Pheebs. "Let's keep on looking."
The days went into weeks and finally Piper was up and about. She cared deeply for the only people in the world she knew with a special fondness for the children Penny and Phoebe. In fact the parents could tell that she simply loved all children.
Still not too mobile, Piper could help around the house and was especially happy in the kitchen. She got to be will known in the neighborhood as a kind, but strange young woman. With her hair up in curls and wearing some borrowed dresses, she was a very pretty, very becoming maidenly woman already past the prime marrying age. The O'Shannens had made inquires through the newspapers and through the police with no response. Even sending telegraphs to other cities found no missing woman matching Piper's description. Piper had no life and after waiting for weeks, she wanted to start one.
One day after Piper was almost fully recovered, the sat around the family dinner table.
"So Miss Holly. What are going to be your plans now? You want to go work in a clothing factory as a house maid. Without a husband or an education, you have very poor prospects!" said Jack O'Shannen bluntly.
"You know, for some reason I fancy to be a cook. Mary and I have had a lot of fun working in the kitchen and I think I want to continue it," said Piper.
"I know someone over in the Market Street Orphanage. They may need some help there. The salary is very minimal, but if you get some experience, maybe you could get a job in someone's house," suggested Jack.
"Maybe. But without a place to stay," said Piper looking a little sheepishly.
"Holly, we'll have none of that. As long as you need it that room is yours!" said Mary.
"Mary, may I speak.." said Jack getting up.
"I'll hear nothing of it. Holly is like THE BABY SISTER I NEVER HAD. I don't want her roaming the streets. I just want her to get back on her feet. Please, Jack," pleaded Mary.
"Well, for a while I guess!" said Jack never able to turn down the woman he loved.
"And I would be happy to pay room and board. You have all been so kind to me." said Piper not wanting to lose her only friends.
"Find a position and then we'll worry about you helping us out," said Mary patting Piper on the hand.
Prue was shifting thought the attic junk that Piper had been going through looking for a clue about the mysterious trunk. Most of the items she threw away were junk, but one of the trunks outside the strange door was memorabilia from decades ago such as pictures and letters and strange keepsakes that meant nothing to those that inherited them.
Phoebe came dragging into the attic looking very downtrodden.
"Five nights work and nothing. I can't find anything about that black hole that sucked up our sister. The Book of Shadows is no help. The Internet and the Wiccan libraries talk about how unstable the vortexes are, but no way to find the other end without risking getting lost ourselves," complained Pheebs.
"And you can't sense anything either?" asked Prue reaching for another picture.
"Zippo. I spent hours in Piper's room holding onto anything. I see Piper doing this and Piper doing that. All things that we know about except one. Did you know she broke your Fonzie doll? Huh?" asked Phoebe looking at her sister.
"UH, no. I never remembered her mentioning that. I always figured it was baby Phoebe," replied Prue cocking her head to one side.
"No way! I was 18 months old at the time!" exclaimed Pheebs.
The next picture Prue picked up startled her. Five people were in it.
"Uh, Pheebs? LOOK at that!" said Prue very surprised.
"Oh, my God, is that PIPER? It sure looks like her!" said Phoebe taking the picture from Prue and looking at it closely. The back read, "Jack O'Shannen, Mary O'Shannen Penny O'Shannen, Phoebe O'Shannen and Holly Wells. Dated August 23, 1930. "
That has got to be Piper. She is thinner, but definitely the right age," said an excited Phoebe.
"That's Grams and her sister," remarked Prue pointing to the two young children.
"She must be the Aunt Phoebe that my MOM was so fond of. My namesake! Holly Wells? Halliwell! Smart girl! She's sent us a clue. Now all we have to do is go get her!" said Pheebs.
"I'm not so sure. If she were sending us a message, she would have used the Book of Shadows," thought Prue.
In orbed their favorite white lighter. "I heard you found something," said an excited Leo.
"We think she is trapped in the past. We just found this picture of our great-grandmother's family," said Phoebe.
Leo looked at the picture as his hand caressed the image of his love. "Piper!" he whispered. "That's very dangerous. You have got to be careful in the past."
"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Phoebe looking strangely at him.
"No," said Leo handing back the picture. "We can't have too many people wandering back in the past. Besides I'm already there. They're your family and she's your sister," said Leo sadly.
"OK, we're on our own. August 1930. We need clothes, maps, money and a basic knowledge of that year," explained Prue.
"Uh, Prue we're not going there for a vacation. Let's get in there and get back out again, " said Pheebs motioning to Prue.
"Pheebs. We don't know what condition she's in. It may take more than a quick kidnapping. Besides if she's living with Grams' family, then she is protected by witches. We're not the Charmed Ones then. It may take some work to convince her. And YOU need to know what you're up against Pheebs. History was never your best subject," Prue reminded her sister.
"Right! I need to know which TV shows they watched!" said Pheebs sarcastically.
"Radio, Phoebe. I was listening to radio then," explained Leo.
"I knew that. Could you help me a bit please, Leo?" asked Pheebs sheepishly.
"Sure. I may have been a kid, but that world was my home," said Leo brightening up knowing now he could help.
"Then it's off to the past again," said Prue.
At the Market Street Orphanage Piper stood in the institutional kitchen wearing a starched white uniform and listening to Mrs. Martha Wainwright, the shift supervisor..
"And you really have no idea what experience you have had, Miss Holly Anne Wells?" asked a skeptical Mrs. Wainwright.
"Uh, no. Not a thing before four months ago. But I love to cook and I'm a fast learner. I think," chimed in Piper all bright eyed and eager.
"We'll see," she replied looking down at her latest recruit.
"So where can I start? Lunch?" asked Piper looking around at the antique kitchen.
"The chef does the cooking. You're in preparation. We need that 50 pounds of carrots and 70 pounds of potatoes peeled," said Mrs. Wainwright pointing at the bags in the pantry.
"OK. Where's your Que-sen-nard?" Piper asked sighing at the task given her.
"You don't squeeze 'em hard, you peel them. You'll find the peeler in the drawer over there. We need them by ten. Now, hurry!" she said as she left Piper to her tasks.
"Great. Something tells me I'm at the wrong end of the scale here. But I need this job! Holly smile, smile!" said Piper as she found the peeler and pulled the bags in from the pantry and humming, "You work hard for the money!" by Donna Summers.
Piper proved to Mrs. Wainwright that she was a hard worker though she had to be shown some of the simplest tasks that were done differently seventy years before. Soon she did move up to helping the chef with simple tasks. And she felt much better helping the chef, though institutional cooking did not need Piper's usual creativity. The orphanage cooked one way, fast and cheap.
One evening Piper was sitting downstairs totally exhausted. Those ten hour days were taking a toll on here. Her long confinement to bed and her back breaking work had left her quite thin.
'Why do I keep thinking I had an easier life?" Piper thought to herself. She closed her eyes dreaming of things she did not recognize. It the background she heard a radio playing, "So let's have another cup of coffee and let's have another piece of pie...."
Then Piper heard little Phoebe screaming upstairs. Rushing to her side she saw a demon-like creature hovering over here. Whoosh! He froze in his tracks as Mary and Jack O'Shannen came up behind her.
"PHOEBE," cried out Mary. She ran in, grabbed her daughter and took the screaming child from the room.
"I'll watch this old thingie for you," said Piper pointing to the freeze dried demon.
"Bless you, Holly Wells. You saved our little girl. You have a home here as long as you wish. Consider yourself one of the family now," said Jack O'Shannen patting her shoulder and going off to check on his daughter.
Little Penny O'Shannen came out from behind the bed. "You did great, Aunt Holly. You saved her just like the Lone Ranger. I love you, Aunt Holly," cried little Penny holding her tight.
"And I love you too," Holly cried in her arms. Then she looked up at the demon. "You'll stay frozen if you know what's good for you. Umph!"
Later in the attic Mary O'Shannen showed Piper the book. "This book as been in our family for over 200 years. It belonged to our ancestor Melinda Warren and the first of our line in America. Phoebe has the power of second sight and saw the name Ex-witch or something like that. Let's see. Here, the demon Nexus. Now we can vanquish him. Would you like to help me? My power is only so great and I don't like to use the children for this type of thing," explained Mary O'Shannen.
"Try and stop me!" said Piper.
So they revisited the children's room, set up the candles as required and together recited,"
Demon Nexus, hell's disciple,
Vanquish and be gone from our sight,
Never more darken our house,
Darkness is overcome by night.The demon became animated again and reeled in pain, "Noooooooooo!" He burst into small orange pieces of flesh and disappeared.
"Busted that demon right out of here. Gives you a charge doesn't it?" asked an excited Piper.
"We are just defending are family, Holly. Nothing more," said Mary O'Shannen.
"Yes, and that is very important. Definitely," agreed Piper a little more demurely.
"Your language is very strange Holly, but I know your heart is here. God must have sent you to help us. And here you are and here you'll stay, if you wish," said Mary.
"There's no place I'd would rather be. Thank you Mary. I found myself a home!" said Piper crying uncontrollably.
"We're going to be photographed tomorrow. I want you part of our family portrait. You are family now, Holly," said Mary O'Shannen now crying herself.
Two weeks later on September 9th, 1930 two familiar figures walked up to an equally familiar house.
"Boy, how new it looks. The old street really hasn't changed much, Prue," said Phoebe really enjoying the experience. She was dressed in a tweed suit with her hair curled on top of her hair.
"I'm still worried about what shape she is in. At least she was at home with family," replied Prue as walked up to the door and knocked. Prue had her hair curled over her shoulders. "She's been here for months by their reckoning of time."
Mary O'Shannen answered the door. "Good day. May I help you?"
"Yes, hi. My sister and I are looking for our sister, Piper. We heard you had a woman staying with you that might be her," said Prue smiling at her great grandmother.
"May I ask who you ladies are and where you are from?" asked Mary crossing her arms and eyeing them suspiciously.
"Certainly. I am Marie Miller and this is my sitter Susan," replied Prue who didn't want to used their family "P" names. "We're from Long Beach and our sister has been missing for months. We have a picture of her."
Mary O'Shannen looked at the photo that had been processed to look old. It was a formal picture of Piper with her hair down. She wore it partially curled now.
"Oh, dear. Yes, I know this woman. Piper, you say?" asked Mary very sad that she may loose such a good friend. "Please come in!"
Prue and Phoebe entered the house and sat down in the living room. Mary O'Shannen sat down across from them very stiffly.
"Now when did you say she disappeared?" the mistress of the house asked.
"Back in February," replied Prue.
"I never saw any inquiries about her," said Mary O'Shannen.
"We only had the police in Long Beach looking for her. It was only chance that we heard about her being here in San Francisco. She had run off before and for the longest time we were expecting her to return," said Phoebe leaning toward her great grandmother.
"That doesn't sound like Holly. She is not at all flighty. Though her speech is strange like yours," said Mary eyeing her guests.
Phoebe looked worried at Prue.
"I still have suspicions because Holly remembers nothing. She never spoke of two sisters," explained Mary.
"Oh, the poor dear." said Prue trying to sound like Grams.
"Is there anything else special about your sister that you could tell me?" asked Mary looking at them with one eye.
"PIPER has a scar on her ..um.. bottom from an accident when she was two. And she has two birthmarks, one on each leg," replied Phoebe.
"No, not something of the body..." remarked Mary crossing her arms.
"You mean her power?" asked Pheebs looking at Prue.
"Go on," continued Mary.
"She can freeze things. You see, she's a witch," said Phoebe.
"And?" she replied eyeing them again.
"Well, you might as well tell her everything." said Pheebs throwing her hands up.
"And we're witches too," said Prue looking a little disgusted at Pheebs. "I can move things with my mind and my sister can see into the future."
"So show me," she said still not satisfied.
Prue moved a couple of objects on the table while Phoebe picked up another object and told Mary of it's recent history.
"Lord of mercy, you are witches. And with those powers are you descendants of Melinda Warren?" asked a now believing Mary O'Shannen.
"Oh God!" said Pheebs.
"Well to be perfectly honest, yes. We're also your descendants. I'm Prue and this is Phoebe. I really can't say any more Mrs. O'Shannnen," replied Prue feeling very uneasy.
"Phoebe? Of course. No wonder you all looked familiar. You must have O'Shannen blood in you. Lord o' mercy. Welcome, welcome dear sweet daughters of mine," said Mary crying and holding them. Prue and Pheebs at first held her lightly then very tightly for they never knew her. "And you have to take her away? My heart will always ache for her, but she belongs with you," cried their great grandmother. "How did she come to us?" she asked wiping her tears.
"We think she fell through a hole in space. She found an old trunk in the alcove of the attic," explain Phoebe.
"You live in this house? My word. I know of no such thing. I wish I could help you," replied Mary.
"As soon as we get back, it will be destroyed. If our magic can accomplish anything, it will be that," said Prue.
The door opened and the sisters heard a familiar, "Hi, Mary. I'm home. I passed through the Jewish quarter and stopped at a bakery. You should try these things called bagels. There delicious!" said Piper already chewing on one. "Oh, hello? You have company! I'm so sorry I interrupted. I'm Holly Wells."
"Uh, hi. I'm Prue and this is Phoebe," said Prue taken aback that Piper didn't recognize her.
"Please to meet you," replied Piper very earnestly.
"Do we look familiar to you?" asked Pheebs looking deep into her eyes.
"Maybe, but my mind's all mixed up," laughed Piper. "Mix mastered to the max."
"Holly, these women know you. They seem to be your sisters," Mary said to Piper.
"Sisters? Ha-ha. No-no-no-no-no-no. I don't remember any sisters. If you'll excuse me I had a very long day," said Piper leaving quickly as she panicked.
"PIPER WAIT!" cried out Pheebs.
"Piper? That is an odd name. MY NAME IS HOLLY. I live in this house with my.. uh..adopted family. Now both of you scram back to where ever you came from. I don't know you. I don't WANT TO KNOW YOU!!" yelled Piper as she ran up the stairs.
"Dear me. She doesn't want to leave," said Mary a little relieved.
"Amnesia victims often cling to what they remember," explained Prue.
"Let me go talk to her," said Pheebs going upstairs. She found Piper crying in her room.
"Uh, Holly. When I was fifteen, Mark Wyndham tried to attack me. It was you I called, not Grams. You used to let me play with your porcelain dolls even though Prue warned you that I was too young but you knew how much I loved them. Who always kept me in line when my ideas got too hair-brained, who always acted as a buffer keeping Prue from killing me, who sat down and had my first 'your now a woman' talk?" said Pheebs now crying. "It was you. You see you're my big sister and you always watched over me. I never had anyone else I was ever so close to. Whenever I needed you, you were there. Mom was gone and Grams never really understood me. Don't you remember?"
Piper lifted her head from her tear soaked comforter and looked at Pheebs. "I'm sorry, I just don't remember. All I know is that I live here and I am loved here. My life began six months ago and that's ALL I KNOW!" cried Piper.
"Oh, Piper. We need you. We need you to come home. You're so far from it. I need you, Prue needs you and the Charmed Ones can't survive without you WE LOVE YOU," cried Phoebe in tears.
"The Charmed Ones? I saw something about them. In that book upstairs that Mary showed me.." remarked Piper.
"Yes, Holly. The Book Of Shadows. That's right," said Pheebs now smiling that Piper recognized something.
"But they don't exist yet, unless I'm from a time before us," thought Piper looking perplexed.
"That's right. About three quarters of a century MY dear sister," said Pheebs.
"But that's impossible!" replied Piper.
"Nothing is impossible. We're all witches," said Phoebe smiling and shaking her head at Piper.
"Now you really think this spell will bring back her memory? That sounds like personal gain to me," said a worried Prue looking down at Phoebe as she lined up the candles on the floor and prepared the circle.
"Hey look. Piper right now is as innocent as they come. I don't see us stretching the rules," said Pheebs finishing her Wicca circle. "Finished! Now go get Piper."
Piper was walked into the attic very nervous. "I feel like I'm opening some new strange door and I'm very scared at what's I might t find on the other side," she stammered.
"You're life is not perfect Piper, but it is yours and you're very much loved there," Phoebe said trying to reassure her.
"Mary, whatever happens I'll never forget you or your kindnesses. Thank you for everything!" Piper said hugging her tightly.
"The same my sweet one," replied Mary,
"OK, into the circle. Mrs. O'Shannen please help us. Together," said Pheebs.
"Above from the clouds
and down from the ground,
Memories once lost
are again found,
Thou shall remember
all you once knew,
Your mind is intact
through and through."The candles increased in brightness as a cold wind blew through the attic. Piper's eyes rolled up in her head and she passed out among the candles.
"Holly!" cried out Mary O'Shannen.
Prue ran over to her. "Piper, Piper sweetie. Wake up. Can you hear me?"
"Whoa! What was that? Prue?" she asked looking up dazed.
"Oh my lord!" cried Phoebe smiling from ear to ear.
"What did I do hit my head on? I was in the attic and...wait a minute! Something is not right!" said Piper sitting up and looking around. "Why is everyone dressed up like some old Clark Gable movie?"
"Hi Piper! That's a long story. You're a long way from home," said Pheebs cheerfully.
"This is the Manor isn't it? Who are you?" asked Piper to Mary O'Shannen.
"Oh, just a friend," she said tearfully. "Come on downstairs and I'll get you some tea."
"Ah, we really have to get going. We've been here long enough," said Prue.
"AAHHH. Going? Going where?" asked Piper.
"Where you belong, Holly..er..Piper. It's been a pleasure knowing you, my dear," said Mary O'Shannen.
"Um, likewise," Piper said looking strangely at her sisters.
In ran the two children. "Mother, what is going on?" they asked.
"Aunt Holly is going home," said Mary lovingly.
"Please Aunt Holly don't go!" they screamed.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. Good bye my dears." Piper said hugging them tightly. She got up to stand next to her sisters. "Aunt Holly?" "What is going on here?" she whispered to Phoebe.
"The bigger girl. That's Grams! Does that help any?" giggled Pheebs.
"NOOOOOO!" said Piper shaking her head.
Phoebe gave both Penny and Phoebe a big hug. "So long my darlings!" she said with genuine affection.
"Good bye my daughters. Safe journey and God speed," sad Mary O'Shannen. The little girls waved too.
"Bye," waved each of the Charmed Ones as they vanished in a series of white orbs.
The next day Prue and Piper tried to tell Piper what had happened to her.
Holding the picture they had found Piper looked at it amazed. "And I spend six months back in 1930? The last I remember is being pulled into the stupid trunk," exclaimed Piper.
"Yep. You luckily fell into the clutches of your own great grandmother And if we never found you and you lived to about 95, you would have been taking care of yourself, Holly Wells in 2000. Or if you had kids you might have considered their grandchildren your own third cousins," said Pheebs smiling at her cutely.
"Whoa, whoa. My head is spinning. Pheebs leave all the time travel mumbo jumbo to Mr. Spock! It didn't happen and I'm back. Though I can't remember ANYTHING about it thanks to your spell!" said Piper a little sarcastically.
"At least you're back being a buffer between us," said Prue.
"That is something I didn't need to come back to," said Piper even more tense.
"How about coming back to me?" said a friendly white lighter who materialized next to her.
"Leo!!!" Piper first screamed then gave him a passionate kiss.
"I did some [kiss] serio-[kiss] thinking while you were miss [kiss]-ing. And there's [kiss] [kiss] [kiss] Something I want to ask [kiss] [kiss] [kiss] you. Oh just ..." Leo mumbled as they orbed out leaving Prue and Phoebe.
"Now THAT was one beautiful reunion," sighed Pheebs. "Maybe someday I'll..."
"Oh you will. But what was that he was trying to ask her?" thought Prue.
"Even money we're bride's maids by spring," quipped Pheebs.
"And aunts by next Christmas!!!" returned Prue looking up at the ceiling.
"Good luck, sis," shouted Pheebs to the ceiling. "Come on. How about a couple of old maids heading down to the club leaving the love birds alone. Huh?" asked Pheebs.
"Sounds good," said Prue grabbing her coat and heading out the door.
"Old maids??? Not in your lifetime!" said Prue pointing at the door and closing it behind her.
