To Be Charmed

Chapter One

Birth and Death

A/N: Hello! This is my third Charmed fanfic! This story is set way before the original Charmed Ones (Prue, Piper, and Phoebe) received their powers and will turn AU at one point! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Charmed doesn't belong to me, nor do any of the recognizable characters.

With a newborn in her arms, Patty Halliwell looked exhausted. She glanced down to her other three daughters and said, "Girls, this is your new sister." Phoebe, just a few months shy of two years old, gave a toothy grin and reached up to be held. Patty bit her lip; if she moved the baby to her other arm and reached over…. Her oldest, Prue, picked up Phoebe and placed her at the foot of the hospital bed. Phoebe crawled up to Patty and wiggled her way between the bed rail and Patty's free arm. Piper, the middle child, climbed aboard and leaned against her mother's knees. Prue took the space left over and laid on her back. Patty and her girls remained in their places until Penny, Patty's mother, entered.

"Patty, Sam is waiting." Patty groaned. She had signed her hospital release form a little over thirty minutes ago, but she wanted all of her girls in one spot. "I'll be right out, Mother. Take the girls." "No, Mommy! We want to stay!" Prue objected. Penny grabbed Phoebe and gently set her on her feet. "Prue, Piper, your mommy will see you soon. Now, hold hands." Penny held onto Phoebe's small hand as Prue and Piper joined hands and walked out the hospital and to the parking lot.

Patty took her time getting dressed. She wasn't ready for what was to happen, but if it didn't happen, the consequences could be great. Sam, her Whitelighter, strolled in. "Not to alarm you, but we've got to get moving." He picked his tiny daughter up and reached for Patty's hand. Once they held hands, Sam orbed them out.

Meanwhile, Penny had her hands full with the older three sisters. "Why can't the baby come home with us?" Piper asked. Penny closed her eyes. The sooner Patty came home, the sooner she could rest. "Girls, the baby can't stay with us. Your mom and I will tell you when you're older."

It had been sixteen years since that day. Now that Patty was gone, Penny took care of the girls and asked that Sam keep an eye on her youngest granddaughter. He reports every month. August of '94, however, was different.

Weeks after the fatal car crash that left the adoptive parents of Paige Matthews dead, social services finally found the girl's birth mother, but she had died a few months after Paige was born. The father had not been listed, but the hospital did pull out two more files on Patty Halliwell. "She had two other children born here, plus a third born at her residence. Prudence, Piper, and Phoebe. Father is listed as Victor Bennett," the nurse said. The social worker nodded. "And is he the custodial parent?" "No. Says here custody was given to Penny Halliwell, the grandmother." "Why?" "Divorce." With no clue as to who Paige's father is, the social worker wrote down the address of Penny Halliwell.

"You are certain you have all of your things? Clothes, books, sentimental items?" Paige nodded and looked around her childhood bedroom. The furniture would be taken out soon and the house would be put up for sale. She tried not to cry. "Well, then. Let's get to it." The social worker led her to the car parked in the drive way. The two suitcases and three full garbage bags fit easily in the truck of the small car. Once on the road, the two stopped for a late morning breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Eating quickly, they were back on the road in a hour.

"Now, Penny Halliwell is your grandmother, maternal. Prue is your oldest sister, Piper is the middle child, and Phoebe is the youngest, but she is older than you. Prue is twenty three, Piper is twenty one, and Phoebe is seventeen. I'm sure you'll fit right in, being so close in age and all that." Paige nodded. Her head hurt from all the thoughts going on inside. Would her new family like her? Would they look like her? Would they even know her name?

All too soon, the car pulled up and parked in front of the house. Paige looked astounded. The house was a red Victorian with white trimmings. It was at least two stories high, if not three. "Well, come on!" The social worker was already half way to the door. Paige followed, breaking into a little jog when she rang the door bell. The door opened to reveal a woman whom Paige thought looked good for her age. "Yes?" The woman asked.

The social cleared her throat. "Mrs. Halliwell? I'm with social services. May we come in?" Mrs. Halliwell gave a look and opened the door wider to allow them in. "Social services?" She led them to a room on the right side and bade them to sit. Paige took a seat directly across from Mrs. Halliwell. "Yes. This is Paige Matthews. A few weeks ago, her parents died in a terrible car accident." Paige looked down and twisted her fingers nervously. "Protocol would be to send her to the closest family she has left. The closest family she has lives in Los Angeles and, as it turns out, she was adopted. A nun at a church says she found Paige and gave her to the Matthews, a couple that worshipped there."

Mrs. Hallliwell's face did not portray anything. She sat there, looking between the social worker and Paige. "Doing some digging, we managed to find the hospital Paige was born at. The name on the birth certificate was 'Girl Halliwell'. The mother was listed as Patty Halliwell." Paige looked up at the sound of a gasp and saw Mrs. Halliwell wiping a tear from her face. "It can't be. Are you sure? Is this…my granddaughter?"

Penny looked at the girl with intrigue. She did look a lot like Prue. She even had the braces all her granddaughters had. She listened as the social worker went on about her gaining custody and Paige's history. The visit was short lived, however, when a pager went off. "I'm so sorry. That is my boss," the social worker said, "Paige, come get your things." Penny walked the two to the door and waited in the doorway for Paige to come back, carrying two suitcases and three white garbage bags. She reached for the suitcases. "Here, I'll carry these." She placed them in her sewing room for the time being. "The Manor has three bedrooms. Phoebe's room is down the hall and mine right there. This was my sewing room, but it's your's now. You can sleep on the couch tonight and tomorrow, we'll empty this room and make it your's."

Paige looked around the room. It looked to be a good size. She wondered how she would decorate or even if Mrs. Halliwell would let her. "Thanks, Mrs. Halliwell," she said, turning to face the woman. "Grams, dear. I'm Grams."

AN: And that is the first chapter! Stay tuned for the second!