Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The humming of the TV seemed to get louder the angrier Melinda Wyatt became. She stared at the television, flicking through the stations with the narrowing of her eyes. Her classmates, though eager to see the execution, were quite amused when the stations started flicking with increasing speed. Not that any of them knew it was Melinda messing with the TV.  The students probably just assuming it was a piece of junk… though that wouldn’t have been an incorrect assumption. 

Though should the young witch continue with her action, no matter how subtle, her teacher might begin to suspect magic usage was abound. 

Melinda was the only one in her class, that she knew of, who was descendant of witches. Though hers was a secret she guarded closely. Especially after her mom’s youngest sister had been burned to death when Melinda was six years old. 

It was common knowledge that her aunts were witches but assumed that Melinda and her mother did not possess such powers. 

That being said, Melinda often used her powers when when she found herself in times of trouble. And that happened a lot, especially as she got older. The young witch found she couldn’t focus when all they taught in school was how to persecute witches.  

Melinda Wyatt knew she lived a dangerous life, simply by existing, so why should she abide by the these unfair rules? 

For instance, the young Warren witch knew her magic would short circuit the TV, having accidentally done so many times at home. Melinda could use the faulty technology to her advantage. She, under no circumstances, would take the mandated viewing of her only remaining Aunt’s execution lying down. 

Her teacher was preoccupied with trying to abide by the government mandate for the viewing, that she wasn’t really paying attention to her students. It was imperative that she got the TV working again, because the consequences of her class missing it would be severe. If Melinda’s teacher didn’t get the TV working then the school could be fined heavily and her teacher potentially fired.  

Melinda knew her teacher wouldn’t be paying attention to her at that moment.   

Though seventeen-year-old Melinda couldn’t escape the execution of her family, she would resist in her own way. She would make a thousand televisions explode if it meant delaying her having to watch the death of the last vestiges of her family. Even if meant exposing her magic for all to see, she would do it every day for the rest of her life. 

She would take on anyone who tried to stop her. 

“This old thing must be in the fritz,” Her teacher chuckled nervously as she began to beat the large bulky TV with her first, an nervous trill in her voice. “I’ve been trying to get the school to get us a new one for years. Especially for a historic moment such as this.”

The woman had wheeled the practically ancient machine in on a cart which was already old even in the early 00s. 

“Exactly,” One of her classmates agreed with smirk in Melinda’s direction, “the more witches they punish, the better off the world will be.” 

Melinda just rolled her eyes at that. 

They all knew about how her Aunt Phoebe had been executed. She’d heard the whispers about her for her entire life. Though it hadn’t come as a shock when her Aunt Prue was targeted next. Prudence Halliwell had been charged with using magic to scam her customers at Bucklands and sentenced to death. 

Melinda hadn’t seen her remaining Aunt since her Aunt Phoebe’s execution. 

Melinda didn’t think that execution of her Aunt Prue was historic, not that she could say that. She’d been expressly forbidden by her parents from even mentioning she was related to the traitors Phoebe and Prudence Halliwell, even if it was public knowledge. It’s the reason she’d been given her father’s last name in the first place. 

It just wasn’t safe to be a Halliwell anymore. 

“Mrs. Nicholson,” Melinda lazily raised her hand, ignoring her class’s terrible attempt to irritate her, “can I use the restroom?”

The woman stopped smacking the TV to look at her, a skeptical look on her face. 

“You don’t want to miss the execution, do you?”

All her classmates eyes were on her, the unsaid out in the open. 

“We’re all gonna miss it regardless,” She snorted derisively as the TV started smoking, “because that thing a piece of junk.” 

All her classmates started laughing with it sparked and Mrs. Nicholson looked exasperated. 

“Fine fine,” She waved her off, “you may go Ms. Wyatt but you must be back in time for the execution. As for the rest of you I expect you to be on your best behavior while I go get another TV from the AV room.” 

Melinda moved out of her seat, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she left the room. Even though she couldn’t stop the execution, she could delay having to see it. Because burning at the stake was apparently something they still did in the year 2020. 

She knew she could break her Aunt Prue out of the detention center with a simple thought. Her father once told her that she was what the Elders called twice-blessed. Apparently, she was foretold to become one of the most powerful beings in existence. 

It was why her parents hadn’t been able to bind her powers as a baby. Why it was imperative she learned to have such precise control over them. One bout of accidental magic and she might have end up in the same situation as her aunts. 

With a blink, her AirPods were in her ears, luckily covered by the beanie on her head. She pulled out her phone and hit the play button on it. The sounds of Ashnikko’s L8r Boi filled the silent hallways of Baker High School.  

Melinda closed her eyes and wondered what her life might of been like had her Aunt Phoebe hadn’t killed Cal Greene. Would she have been able to practice magic openly? Would she have had more family than simply her parents? Because as it stood she didn’t have any siblings and now she’d never have the chance to have any cousins. 

Melinda and her mother were about to become the last of the Warren Witches. 

“Ms. Wyatt.” 

Melinda’s eyes flew open when she heard her name. She pulled out her AirPods and came face to face with her principal, Mr. Williams. He looked none-too-pleased to see her wondering about the halls. 

“Yes sir?” She replied nonchalantly, readjusting the black plaid shirt that was tied around her waist in an attempt to hide her nervousness. “Is there something wrong?”  

“I should be asking you that, Ms. Wyatt.” He replied unamusedly, “You shouldn’t be wandering the halls right now.”

“Mrs. Nicholson is getting a new TV.” She frowned, trying to play it cool. “ I asked if I could use the restroom, precisely so I wouldn’t miss anything.”

Mr. Williams wasn’t buying it. 

“Students aren’t supposed to be wandering the halls now.” He reiterated, crossing his arms. “I understand how you must be feeling, since this is your only remaining Aunt. How tragic this must be for you and your mother, knowing how they’d succumbed to the devil’s bargain.” 

Melinda’s fought the urge to pop his head like a balloon. 

“So if I have to pee you just expect me to hold it?” She scoffed, ignoring his comments. “Just so I can watch her die.” 

The bald and rather squat man glared at her. 

“Yes.” He hissed annoyedly. “I do. You will watch her execution Miss Wyatt, if you know what’s good for you.” 

“Excuse me?” She scoffed, “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

However, before Mr. Williams could berate her more, the temperature seemed to drop in the hallway. 

Melinda let out a breath and she could see it from how cold it had suddenly gotten. She shivered and scrunched her eyes as a ball of bright white-blue light seemed appear out of nowhere behind her principal. It almost reminded her of an orb…

The young witch held up her hand so that she could see, noticing that the man didn’t seem to notice this strange phenomenon. 

“Uh — Mr. Williams,” Melinda began unsurely, “What’s that behind you?”

“Don’t try and play dumb with me, Ms. Wyatt,” He snapped at her, “you’re already on thin ice.” 

The ball seemed to get bigger and brighter, so much so that Mr. Williams finally seemed to noticed it. He turned around and gasped. He did the same thing Melinda had, covering his eyes to shield himself from the brightness. 

“Oh,” He chuckled nastily, “I’ve got you now you little witch.” 

It was then then he turned from it, his expression cruel. 

“I knew,” He hissed as he took a step closer, “that you and your mother were witches. I knew it.” 

“No!” Melinda snapped, “I’m not. I don’t know what you’re taking about? My mother already proved to DA Pratt we aren’t magical.” 

“That was a fluke,” The man said as he got into her face, “and we both know it. I will prove once and for all—“

Melinda couldn’t take it any more. This man was entirely too close to her and was yelling at the top of his lungs that she was a witch. As soon as those words left his lips, it was as if she’d already been given the same death sentence as her aunts. 

Using all her strength, Melinda threw him back with her powers sending the man hurdling towards the mysterious orb.  

The young witch watched helplessly as her principal collided with the orb. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then the ball seemed to explode, sending a shockwave that vaporized her principal but left her unharmed. Melinda didn’t have time to react as the energy from it reverberated back in itself like a black hole. 

Then the orb of light started sucking in everything around it.

Melinda closed her eyes for a moment, blinded by the sheer brightness of the luminous vortex. She stuck her shoes to the ground with her magic. Faintly, she could hear her name being called from behind her. Melinda turned her head as best she could and opened her eyes. What she saw when she opened them was her mother and her father orbing into the hallway. 

This must have been serious for them to use magic so blatantly out in the open…ignoring the fact she’d just inadvertently murdered her principal with her own. 

“What’s going on?” Melinda yelled as her parents moved closer, her hair whipping around her face. 

“We don’t know,” Piper replied worried, clinging to her ex-husband to keep from being sucked in. “but I need you to take this.” 

Melinda’s mother tried to hand her a bag but the portal’s gusting wind forced it into her chest, causing her to wheeze in pain. She tried to blow her hair out her face to no avail, trying to focus her energy on something to distract her from whatever was going on. Although, Melinda could see her mother’s face was tight with worry, she was doing her best to conceal it. 

That told Melinda that whatever this was, it was bad. 

“The Elders say that the fabric of the universe is unthreading,” Leo answered his daughter’s unasked question with a frown, “that it’s ending.” 

“It’s ending?” Melinda sputtered incredulously. “Are you serious? How did this happen? What do we do?” 

“We don’t know,” Leo replied as he looked to his wife, “But they’ve figured out the trigger.”

“The trigger?” Melinda yelled confusedly. 

“As soon as your Aunt is executed,” Piper replied forlornly, “that’s when it will all be gone.”

Leo nodded, a frown on his face. 

“So what? Are we just gonna cease to exist?” Melinda snapped shrilly, “What are we supposed to do? I won’t just sit here and die like them. I refuse!”

Her father looked down at her bags before nodding to the portal.

“You leave.” 

Of all the things that Melina had been expecting him to say, that hadn’t even made the top ten. 

“You want us to go into that?” Melinda sputtered as people started spilling out of the classrooms, some being sucked into the vortex. “Are you crazy? I just saw it vaporize my principal!” 

“Witches!” Someone yelled, gripping the doorway, “They’re witches, look!” 

Leo moved instinctively closer to his family.

“There’s no time to argue Melinda!” He snapped angrily. “The Elders have determined it’s some sort of portal…that only magical beings can pass through.”

“So we’re trusting the Elders again?” She snapped angrily, “That’s rich—“

“Melinda Prudence Wyatt!” Piper said silencing her daughter. “That’s enough.” 

Now was not the time for the girl to hash out her grievances with the celestial beings. 

Melinda glowered at her mother, though it was a poor attempt at hiding how genuinely fucking scared she was. If she hadn’t stuck herself to the floor she’d of been shaking like a leaf. How does one prepare for the end of the world? 

“What do we do?” She managed to croak out. 

Instead of answering, her father turned her mother, his expression solemn.

“Take her through,” Leo’s voice was thick with emotion, “I’ll catch up.” 

“What?” Melinda cried as her father turned and put up a force field, blocking anyone else from being sucked into the vortex. “Dad, I’m not leaving you. This is just too freaking much! Do you have any idea how crazy this is?!”

“Yes. And you don’t have a choice,” Leo replied as he turned back to the crowds that were forming in the doorways of the classrooms, “it’s almost time. Go!” 

Piper pulled Leo to her and kissed him, putting in it everything she’d never been able to say. 

The Halliwell matriarch then gripped her belongings tightly while she grabbed her daughter’s shoulders. Piper steered Melinda closer and closer to the portal, allowing its gravity to draw them through. She could hear behind her the people staring to swam Leo and had to stop herself from going back to help him.

Her daughter might lose one parent already from this, she didn’t need to lose two. 

The closer Melinda got to the portal the brighter it got until she could no longer see. She could feel her mother’s grip on her shoulders and her own in her bag but that was it. She could no longer sense her father or any other magic over the overwhelming power of the portal they were stepping through. 

Melinda could have sworn she heard what sounded like screaming as she passed through it, though whether it was hers or her mothers she wasn’t sure.

When Piper and Melinda emerged on the other side, everything was calm. Though they were no longer in the hallway of Baker High School, that much was certain. Melinda looked around confusedly, clutching her bags for dear life. She did not recognize the place they’d been dropped into. 

Though judging by the look on her mother’s face, she knew exactly where they’d ended up. 

“Where are we?” Melinda asked her mother who was looking around cautiously. 

“Magic school,” Piper replied with furrowed brows, “which can’t be right. It was shut down when the witch hunts began. Last your father had been here, this place was in a state of complete disrepair.” 

“Looks pretty intact to me.” Melinda muttered more to herself than to her mother. 

It was then the pair heard footsteps coming towards them from the nearby hallway. 

“I think I heard something in one of the levitation classrooms,” Came an unfamiliar voice, “it sounded like a boom. One of the kids might have set another one of their failed experiments loose as a prank.” 

Melinda stiffened slightly clutching her bags for dear life not knowing what to expect. 

“Stay behind me,” Piper instructed her daughter as she dropped her bags, “we don’t know what could be lurking around here.” 

For all Piper knew, Magic School could have been taken over by demons. 

“Fine,” Melinda huffed, “but I can take care of myself.” 

Piper raised her hands, ready to attack whatever demon was lurking there. However, instead of seeing a demon or a witch hunter, they were met by a woman neither had ever seen before. That being said, the woman took one look at both of them and frowned. 

She looked rather confused to see Piper, though it was almost if she knew her. 

“Piper?” The woman quipped, seeming to relax a bit before turning back to the hallway, “Guys, it’s just Piper. You can relax.” 

Piper gave the woman a skeptical look as she turned back to the pair. 

“How did you get in here?” The woman continued, “I thought you were at Wyatt’s lacrosse game?” 

“Wyatt?” Piper frowned, not sure what this mystery woman was talking about, “Who’s Wyatt? How did you get into Magic School? Last I checked the Elders had sealed it off.” 

The woman furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“Uh…I work here,” She replied as she crossed her arms, “as the Deputy Headmistress? Remember?”

The look Piper was giving the woman was all the answer she needed. 

“And who is that with you?” The woman said as she looked at Melinda then, “Did she have something to do with that bang I heard?” 

Piper had enough of this banter. She squeezed her hands but the woman didn’t do anything, she didn’t even flinch. Instead, she just continued to look confused as she uncrossed her arms and placed them in her hips. 

“Wow,” The woman huffed, “did you just try and freeze me? Seriously! What happened to you?”

Piper was about to speak when the woman shook her head, looking a bit exasperated. 

“Did you get into a fight with Leo?” She sighed, looking sympathetic. “I understand that husbands can be annoying but you don’t have to take it out on your sister.” 

It was then that the woman turned back to the hallway before Piper could get a word in edgewise. 

“I don’t—“ She began but the woman cut her off. 

“Leo!” The woman called over her shoulder out the door, presumably to a person named Leo who was in the hallway. “Piper’s in here with some girl and she’s acting weird.”

It was then that Piper realized this woman was talking about her ex-husband Leo, which couldn’t be right. She’d watched him — he was — he couldn’t be here. There was no possible way that her ex could be there. 

What kind of portal had then gone through?

“Yes,” Piper replied seriously, “get Leo, he’ll know what to do.”

As if on queue, the former whitelighter walked into the room, wearing the getup of the Headmaster of the Magic School. He looked older than Piper or Melinda had ever seen before. That confirmed a suspicion in Piper’s head that they hadn’t just travelled to magic school, they’d travelled to magic school in a different dimension. 

The world as she and Melinda knew it was well and truly gone. 

This version of Leo took one look at the woman who’d called him before looking at Piper in surprise. Although, that surprise quickly morphed into confusion as he saw the girl standing beside her. She looked like she could be his and Piper’s daughter, however, she was much too old to be their daughter. 

It was then that the realization hit him. 

Piper had described a child to him once, when they’d thought Wyatt was going to be a girl. A daughter they’d had in an alternate future, the one where Prue had lived. While their youngest child and only daughter took more after mother in their coloring, like her brother Chris, they looked like him. This girl was almost the spitting image of his wife, though like Wyatt she had light colored hair and eyes from him. 

The real question though was how had this child, the one that had never happened, end up there with a woman who looked like his wife but was not his wife? 

“I’ll take it from here Paige.” Leo said as he moved to stand between his sister-in-law and this lookalike of his wife and alternate daughter of his. 

“What’s going on—“ Melinda huffed but her mother clapped a hand over her mouth. 

“Piper,” Leo said with a look of concern on his face, trying to play dumb first. “I thought you were at Wyatt’s lacrosse game with Mellie?” 

“Ok,” Melinda said as she orbed in front of her mother causing her to gasp, “I don’t know who this ‘Wyatt’ is but we don’t know him. We just came out of this portal—“

She gestured behind them to a portal that was no longer there. 

“Well —  Well—“ She sputtered, “it was there! It was like an orb except it sucked things into it like a black hole. I was at school but then it spit mom and I out here—“

“Melinda,” Piper hissed, grabbing her daughter’s arm. “what did I say!”

“Wait,” Paige said as she looked to Piper, “did you say portal?”

“Yes,” She narrowed her eyes at Paige, “did you create it?” 

Paige then looked to Leo in alarm, causing Melinda to huffed annoyedly at being ignored. 

“Is this what Phoebe’s vision was about?” She hissed seriously, “But this doesn’t make any sense! Portals shouldn’t spit out lookalikes and random kids!” 

“She said she saw a portal opening,” Leo agreed, “but not what came out of it.”

“Right but—“ 

“My aunt could be getting executed any moment and we’re standing around talking about portals—“ Melinda snapped, cutting off Paige. 

“Hey,” Paige chastised her, “don’t sass me, I’m your Aunt. I think?”

“I only have two sisters…” Piper cut in angrily and then trailed off, “well soon to be none. I would certainly remember having third sister.” 

“It’s a long story.” Paige replied with a sigh before something Melinda had said caught her attention. “Wait, did you say your aunt was getting executed?” 

“Yes!” Melinda snapped. “She was found guilty of using witchcraft and sentenced to die because she was a witch. What’s there not to get?!”

Paige and Leo just looked more worried and perhaps a bit confused. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Melinda sputtered in complete disbelief, “You claim to be my aunt yet you don’t know what happened your sisters!” 

“I—“ Paige started but Melinda was on a roll. 

“And you!” Melinda turned to her father but she starting to suspect it wasn’t the one she’d left behind at the high school. “Dad, why you don’t know that? What’s going on?” 

Leo didn’t know what to say, luckily Piper beat him to the punch. 

“Melinda Prudence Wyatt,” Piper chastised her daughter, “now is not the time for your teenaged angst. There has to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.” 

There had to be because Piper didn’t want to think of what kinds of magics were at play here. 

“You called her a Wyatt.” Leo said and Piper nodded, looking wary before he sighed, “Alright, think I know what’s going on here.” 

“Care to share with the class?” Paige said as she shot her brother-in-law a look. 

Leo nodded, wringing his hands as he tried to think of how to explain this to Paige. 

This was not a tale he liked to revisit. The life this Piper had lived was too close to the one he and own wife could have lived. He had vowed after Chris was born to never make the same mistakes he had in the past (the same ones that he’d made in this alternate timeline). 

He would never put duty above his family ever again.

“Could you go get Piper,” He said as he glanced at the other Piper, “our Piper. Please. I promise it will all make sense when she gets here.” 

“Fine,” Paige huffed as she orbed out, “but you’d better tell me what’s going on here.” 

The air was tense as Paige orbed out, leaving Leo standing in the classroom with this other Piper and this other Melinda who was not his Melinda (but he knew in his heart he would love her all the same). 

“I’ll just start with this,” Leo said gently, raising his hands in surrender, trying to pick his words wisely, “I’m afraid this isn’t the world you came from.”  

Piper had been worried this was the case. 

“What?” Melinda replied incredulously, “I — I mean you, my version of you, said the world was ending. I didn’t actually believe you because that’s ridiculous. Magic can’t actually do that, can it?” 

Leo frowned. He didn’t like to think that any versions of his daughter was fatherless. In a way, this daughter was and it broke his heart. 

“I don’t know what could have caused this,” Leo replied, looking saddened, “but the portal that brought you here is gone. This unfortunately means that the world as you know it is gone.”  

He couldn’t substantiate her claims about this other world ending. However, if the portal that brought then here was gone then it was likely that this was true. Now he just needed to figure out why and how they’d been brought here. 

That future the sisters travelled in the 90s shouldn’t have existed anymore because Prue was dead.  

“So Prue isn’t being executed?” Piper quipped hopefully. “And Phoebe isn’t dead?” 

Leo nodded, a small smile on his face. 

“The action Phoebe preformed in your world never took place here,” Leo replied as Paige orbed back in with Piper, “though I believe my Piper might know more.” 

As soon as Piper materialized and locked eyes with her other self she gasped. This other version of her was nearly identical, if a little older than the version of herself that she’d seen in that time travel spell. She looked at the girl standing beside her alternate herself who looked like grown up version of the little Melinda she’d met that day too.

This was Piper’s glimpse at what her only daughter could have looked like if she’d taken after her father with her looks.

Piper could see the similarities between her own daughter and this girl. It made  her heart break knowing that this was the only one of her children who’d met her eldest sister. It broke and mended her heart all in one moment, making her think of Prue and a future she’d never gotten to see.  

“Alright,” Paige said as she looked to Piper, “care to explain this?” 

She gestured to the alternate Piper and Melinda. 

“Well—“ Piper and her alternate self said at the same time. 

They didn’t get to finish their sentences because they both seemed to trail off when they spoke in unison. Piper took a step towards her other self, her eyes almost unfocussed. Both seemed to be in some sort of trance, moving towards each other as if attracted like flies to a light. 

“Mom?” Melinda ventured hesitantly but she didn’t seem to hear her. 

When they met, both Pipers gently touched hands casing them both to gasp. This universe’s Piper took a step back from her alternate self and alternate Piper started to shimmer. That Piper smiled sadly at her alternate self as she took a step forward. 

“Take care of her.” She said speaking so quietly that only tis world’s Piper could hear her words. “Please. She’s already lost so much.” 

She would be loosing both parents after all.

“Of course.” This world’s Piper replied, a bit choked up. 

The alternate Piper smiled, almost looking like she was at peace. She then took a step forward and hugged her other self. Then she seemed to phase through her but didn’t come out the other side. Instead, she was absorbed by this world’s Piper who shivered as if a ghost had passed through her.  

“Mom?” Melinda gasped, looking like her world had come crumbling down. “What did — what happened to my Mom?” 

“Melinda—“ Piper began, moving toward her. “it’s ok—“ 

The young witch rushed up to Piper, her expression one of fear and fury. “What did you do to my mother?” 

Piper looked down at Melinda and smiled, shedding a little tear. She gently grasped the girl’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. Melinda didn’t know what to make of this, neither did Paige or Leo who were looking on with fascination and concern. 

“I am Mom.” She replied quietly, her voice quivering. 

That caused Melinda’s face contorted into an ugly snarl as her eyes narrowed. 

“No,” Melinda shook her head in disbelief, her voice dripping with venom. “she was here and then she wasn’t after she touched you. What did you do to her?”

Paige moved to intervene but Leo grabbed her shoulder. He shook his head, he was certain this was something the two of them needed to work out. He could sense that his wife wasn’t entirely his wife anymore, not that he could really explain what happened. 

Apparently there couldn’t two versions of one person in the same timeline.  

“If I wasn’t your mother,” Piper let out a shuddering breath as she placed both hands on her alternate daughter’s face, cupping her cheeks, “then how would I know that your favorite color is lavender? That you had a goth phase in middle school.”

“A lucky guess.” Melinda grumbled unconvinced. “Maybe there’s another version of me here that did that too? That doesn’t tell me that you’re my mother.”

“Then how about this?” Piper conceded ver voice overcome with emotion. “I know you worried every day that you might come home and find out that I’d been taken like your Aunts Phoebe and Prue. That one day you’ll have to watch my execution on TV at school in front of all your classmates…”

The young girl’s eyes widened in shock.  

“Mom?” Melinda asked hesitantly, tears streaming down her face. “I — are you in there?” 

“I’m your Mom,” Piper replied seriously, “she and I — we’re one being. I might be from this time but I’m also your mom, honeybee. Nothing is going to change that.” 

“Only my Mom,” Melinda started to get choked up, “called me honeybee.” 

Piper nodded and that’s when the damn seemed to burst. Melinda started to cry in earnest as she tackled her mother in a hug. Piper squeezed her daughter tightly as the new set of memories settled in her mind. 

It was a little disorientating to have two sets of lives in one consciousness, one she’d lived and one she hadn’t. But one thing was for sure, she would always remember her first daughter no matter what. Even after she’d used the spell, she thought of her. Especially after Wyatt had been born and when she found out she was pregnant for a third time. 

Melinda Wyatt was the daughter of her heart, then and now. 

“Uh…” Paige piped up and got Piper’s attention by clearing her throat, “can someone please explain what just happened?” 

Piper turned to Paige and Leo, with an arm around Melinda’s shoulder. 

“Our consciousness melded,” Piper replied softly as she looked at Leo, “I am both myself and that Piper, if that makes sense.” 

“We’ve got to tell the Elders.” Leo reasoned, not missing Melinda’s scowl. “Perhaps they might understand what’s going on with this vortex and the sudden appearance of alternate realities.” 

This was much bigger than the simple premonition that Phoebe had foreseen. 

“I’ll take you,” Paige said as she looked at Piper, “what are you going to do?” 

Piper looked down at her daughter and she could tell, from a lifetime of memories that weren’t hers, that Melinda was scared out of her mind. 

“I’m going to get Melinda acquainted with this world.” Piper reasoned, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder reassuringly. “And get her set up at home.” 

“That’s going to get confusing,” Paige quipped as she beamed out with Leo, “having two Melinda.” 

Melinda stayed silent until she was sure that Paige and that version of her father were gone. 

“What does she mean?” She quipped as she looked to her mother.

Piper walked her daughter out of the classroom, her arm still around her shoulder. 

“The world you’ve come to is different from the one we left.”

Melinda derisively snorted at that. 

“I’m going to ignore that sass given the situation.” Piper sighed. “Witchcraft is still a secret here and your Aunt Phoebe never killed Cal Greene.”

“That’s one good thing at least.” Melinda murmured, “Though it’ll be weird to see her alive.” 

Piper smiled softly at her daughter. 

“Phoebe is going to love you.” She assured her, “And so are your siblings.” 

Melinda huffed.

“That’s gonna be strange,” She muttered, “having siblings. I mean I’d always wanted them but I understand why I didn’t. It was too dangerous.” 

“Yeah,” Piper replied with a frown, “it was. But here I have three kids with your father.”

Melinda didn’t know what to think of what. 

“You stayed married?” She whispered, “Because there wasn’t the threat of the witch hunts?” 

Piper nodded. 

“He also clipped his wings.”  

Her daughter’s eyes widened at that. 

“Really?” Melinda gaped at her mother, “Is that why he couldn’t orb? But then who was the lady with him? She claimed to be your sister but I only remember you ever mentioning Aunt Prue and Aunt Phoebe.”

Melinda wondered when she was going to see her Aunt Prue again and what she would be like here. 

“That would be your Aunt Paige,” Piper smiled before it slowly turned to a frown, “my half-sister. She’s part-whitelighter like you.”

“Really?” Melinda shot her mother skeptical look, “I mean that explains the Orbing at least.” 

“Yeah,” Piper replied, trying to delicately explain Paige’s existence. “and she was born when your grandmother was in a relationship with her whitelighter.” 

Melinda laughed for a moment but when she saw her mother’s face she stopped. 

“You’re serious?” She sputtered, “I thought you told me that I was the first Witchlighter?” 

“Maybe in your world,” Piper continued not even noticing her slip up, “but here you…or this word’s version of you was the fourth. We found out after…”

Piper didn’t know how to break it to her daughter that her Aunt Prue was dead. 

“After what Mom?” Melinda pressed, “What happened?” 

Perhaps it was better to get this out of the way now? Then Melinda could be better prepared for this world. And she wouldn’t be constantly looking out the window wondering when her Aunt Prue would be stopping by. 

“After your Aunt Prue died.” 

Piper expected her daughter to be devastated but she merely shrugged. 

“I didn’t know Aunt Prue all that well anyway,” Melinda replied nonchalantly, “since she was so busy with work. And then she distanced herself from us when she joined the resistance with Dad. I know it always hurt you that we weren’t close but it is what is it.”

Piper nodded, her expression pensive as Melinda seemed to digest everything that happened. 

“So I have another Aunt who’s a Witchlighter like me, Aunt Phoebe is alive, and there’s another version of me running around…”

Melinda trailed off for a moment looking a little scared. 

“Is what happened to you going to happen to me?”

Piper shook her head and moved stray hair out of her daughter’s face. 

“No,” She replied honestly, “at least I don’t think so—“

“You don’t think—“ Melinda sassed her.

“Melinda.” Piper said her name warningly.  

“Mom.” Melinda shot her mother’s tone right back.

“Your ‘counterpart ‘ here, you could say, is a boy,” Piper replied seriously, “or at least he’s who I think your counterpart is.” 

All this counterpart nonsense was making Melinda’s head spin. 

“I have no idea how to respond to that.” She replied her expression one of befuddlement. 

“In this dimension,” Piper explained patiently, “as I said, I have three kids. One of them is the ‘Wyatt’ your father and your Aunt were talking about earlier. I think Wyatt is your counterpart of this dimension, though I do have a daughter with your same name.”

Melinda didn’t like that her mother kept referring to it as ‘her’ universe. Though this version of her mother had her own mother’s memories, it was clear their consciousnesses hadn’t melded into a new ‘Piper’. It would seem this version of her mother merely possessed the memories of her mother, she hadn’t lived them. 

Melinda suddenly felt very alone, especially knowing that her version of father was probably dead. 

“Why don’t you think it’s the girl?” Melinda quipped, her voice hard. “And does this mean I’m going to have to change my name? Because technically I was born first.” 

“No you’re not,” Piper assured her, “and I don’t think it’s your younger sister because this Melinda isn’t part whitelighter.” 

Well that settled that then Melinda supposed, though she hated how her mother kept insisting these were her siblings. 

“Oh,” She replied as she went quiet, “that’s…that’s a lot to take in.” 

“Try having two sets of memories,” Piper quipped causing her daughter to frown up at her. “…I shouldn’t have said that.”

Her daughter looked like she was going to be sick. 

“I’m sorry, sweetie.” She began delicately with a sigh, “I know this is scary and overwhelming.” 

Melinda wretched herself free from her mother’s grasp and took a step back from her. 

“Are you really my mom?” She asked quietly, a hint of fear in her voice.

Piper ran a shaking a hand through her hair. 

“Does it matter?” Piper replied, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m your mother, Melinda Wyatt. Being from an alternate future doesn’t change that.” 

Melinda glared at her. 

“Of course it fucking matters!” Melinda snapped, her voice cracking a bit. “I don’t know if my — my is Dad’s dead. I don’t also want to lose the only parent I have left.” 

Piper’s expression seemed to soften then. 

“I’m going to be honest with you as I always have.” She began and saw that Melinda was already starting to shut down. “I am and I’m not.” 

Melinda snorted derisively at that. 

“I have your mother’s memories but I also have the ones of this universe.” Piper explained patiently, even if her head was beginning to hurt from all of these timeline shenanigans. “I am both the Piper you met today and your mother, if that makes sense?”

Melinda just stared at her uncomprehendingly, still looking wary.  

“Let’s just say,” Piper continued as she squeezed her daughter’s shoulder, “I still remember the experience of holding you in my arms in the hospital when you were born—“

Her daughter smiled softly at that. 

“—but I also remember holding Wyatt in my arms after giving birth in the manor.” 

Melinda furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“Why would you want to give birth in the manor?” She wrinkled her nose at that. 

“A lot was happening.” Piper deadpanned. “Magic was gone that day…just like it did on your birthday.” 

That seemed to conclude in Piper’s mind that Wyatt was Melinda’s counterpart. That meant they were both the Twice Blessed. How was that going to work? 

“You never told me that,” She frowned at her mother. “Magic stopped working when I was born. How did you notice that?” 

Piper looked wistful then. 

“Well,” She chuckled, “your father had to catch a taxi instead of simply orbing into the hospital.” 

“That’s weird,” She replied with a frown, “both the magic thing and the memories thing.”  

“Yeah well,” Piper agreed, rubbing her temples. “this whole day has been weird.” 

Melinda chuckled at that. 

“You can say that again.” She quipped, looking at her mother. “I — I’m just glad I didn’t loose you too Mom. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to go through that portal alone.” 

The weight of what had happened hung heavy between them. 

“I know you’d of been fine sweetie.” Piper assured her as she closed the space between them again, pulling her daughter to her chest. “You’re one tough cookie.” 

That didn’t get the laugh out of her daughter like she’d been hoping. 

“What about Dad?” Melinda asked her mother as she looked up at her, the young witch’s expression full of fear, “Do you think he’ll turn up here? Or maybe he came out after us somehow?”

Piper’s heart broke for her daughter then, having the suspicion that her Leo would not be joining them. 

“I think it’s just you and me sweetheart,” She replied sadly and added, “I don’t think your Dad is gonna make it.” 

Melinda buried her head into her mother’s chest and cried. The weight of everything she’d lost and gained all at one coming crashing down on her. Piper simply held her daughter close squeezed her tight. 

That didn’t mean that would make the loss of her father any less raw and real. 

“No,” Melinda cried, “he has to. He promised he’d take me to the Heavens for his weekend.” 

“Oh sweetie,” Piper sniffed, “I know it’s hard but your Dad isn’t truly gone.”

Melinda looked up at her mother skeptically and a bit hurt by the assessment. 

“That’s not my Dad.” She grumbled angrily, “My Dad’s a whitelighter and an Elder.” 

“Any version of your father would still love you,” Piper reassured her daughter, “regardless of where you came from.” 

“I don’t care! It’s not the same,” Melinda said as she wretched herself out of her mother’s grasp. “that’s not my Dad. And you’re clearly not my mom because my mother would have been grieving the loss of my Dad regardless—“

“Melinda.” Piper said as she took a step forward and her daughter took a step back.  

“No,” Melinda shook her head, tears spilling from them. “just stop. Leave me alone.”

With that, Melinda took off in a dead sprint down the hallway. All Piper could do was watch with a sad look on her face. Her daughter was on the track and field team at Baker, there was no way she’d be able to catch up to her. 

Piper sighed and shook her head, wondering what kinds of magic has put her in this situation. 

This was certainly unprecedented, in more ways than one. Not only had another version of herself come through a portal but it was a version of herself from a future that could never happen. 

“What the heck is going on?” Piper murmured to herself, “How is this possible?”

Perhaps it could be another scheme of the Avatar? But they’d killed one of them so they probably wouldn’t retry the whole Utopia thing again for a few thousand years. Nor did the Elders have the kind of power to draw people from alternate futures? That left this to be the work of a demon but that didn’t make sense either. 

Why would a demon want to create an alternate version of herself and her youngest daughter? 

“Paige,” Piper called out to her sister, “can you orb me home? I think Mel needs some time to herself. I’ll start taking care of her room.” 

In a flurry of orbs Piper was gone from the hallway.

Chapter Text

Melinda didn’t care where she was going as long as she was by herself.

It wasn’t like she was going to be with her family any longer. Her mother wasn’t her mother and her father as she knew him was dead. And she didn’t consider the people of this universe, the Aunt she didn’t know existed and the siblings she had never met, her family. 

Like always, all she had to rely on was herself.

 The young witch took off in the direction that her mother wasn’t, making her way down the rather long looking hallway. It looked like it could go on forever, felt like it too the more she walked. Maybe she’d walk for so long she she could just disappear. 

It felt like if she closed her eyes she just might. 

“I want to go home.” She sniffed, wiping away her eyes. 

At least her Dad would be there and she could complain all about it to him. Her parents had an amicable split and he never said one bad thing about her mother to Melinda. It always made her hope that one day that they might get back together.

 It that this it could happen anymore…her Dad and the world she’d grown up in was gone. 

Melinda eventually came upon a library that seemed like a good place as any to unleash her rage. If she destroyed the books she could just used her powers to fix them.  And then nobody would be any the wiser. 

She just wasn’t expecting someone to be in there when she walked inside. 

The boy didn’t immediately look up when she walked in which Melinda was thankful for. Though she was perplexed by his presence. She couldn’t sense an ounce of magic in him yet he was handling the magical tomes as if they were going to come alive at any moment.  

“If you’re here to bug me—“ The boy began but stopped when he saw who was standing there. “Oh. You’re not PJ.”  

“No,” Melinda replied with shake of her head, “I’m not.” 

The boy hopped off the chair he was sitting in, placing the tome on a nearby table. He walked up to her and Melinda had to resist the urge to knock him into the shelves. The kid couldn’t have been older than thirteen, that would be mean. Then again, given the day, she didn’t much care for what was right and wrong anymore.

Not to mention she’s been looked down upon by everyone who didn’t gave magic for her entire life because of what her Aunt Phoebe did. 

“You look familiar,” The boy adjusted his glasses, “a little like my cousin actually.” 

The alternate reality child of Piper and Leo wasn’t sure what to say.  

“I get that a lot.” Melinda chuckled weakly, “I guess I just have one of those face.”

The boy studied her for a moment before shrugging.

“Oh. Well I’m Henry Mitchell Jr,” He said before holding out a hand to her, “but you can call me, Henry.” 

“Uh…” Melinda said as she took the boy’s outstretched hand, “ok. I’m Melin— Melanie. Melanie Watt.” 

The boy gave her a calculating look.   

“Well,” Henry quipped, “why are you hanging around the library? I mean most of the students are home on break.” 

“I — uh — my parents are dead.” Melinda rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, “So I’m…here.” 

“Oh,” Henry winced reflexively, “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s ok,” She waved him off, “you didn’t know.” 

There was a bout of awkward silence between them. 

“So…” Henry quipped. “Did you just start at Magic School?” 

“I’m starting next term,” She lied, “Paige brought me here to get to know the place.” 

“So you’ve met my mom then.” He beamed and Melinda was inwardly cursing. “She can be stern but she means well. Have you been assigned a whitelighter yet?” 

Melinda shook her head.

“Oh well I’m sure that’ll happen soon,” Henry replied with a gentle smile, “it’s standard procedure for all new enrollees.”

“I see.” Melinda quipped, rocking on her heels. 

Before Henry could ask anything else, a young woman beamed into the library. Melinda had to cover her mouth to stifle her gasp, though the smirk Henry sent her told Melinda she was unsuccessful. Though she knew whatever he was thinking was far off from the real reason she’d gasped. 

This girl was the spitting image of her Aunt Phoebe. 

She had only ever seen pictures of her but she’d studied them as a kid. She hadn’t really had a lot of friends because of her family history. Not to mention her mother was always worried that she’d accidentally reveal her powers to a friend on accident.  

“What is it this time, PJ?” Henry sighed as he turned from Melinda. 

“I think Parker cast a spell on my phone,” PJ huffed as she handed it over to him, “and I don’t want to be late on my posting schedule.” 

“Posting schedule?” Melinda quipped causing PJ to notice her for the first time. 

“Yeah!” She beamed, “I’m the Cupid of San Francisco on Tik Tok.”

Melinda furrowed her brows. Was this supposed to mean something? Judging by the way this girl was slightly offended that she didn’t was answer enough to Melinda. 

“PJ,” Henry hissed, “she’s new. Cut her some slack.” 

“How do you not know what Tik Tok is?” PJ sputtered in disbelief. 

Melinda shrugged. 

“My parents are dead.” She supplied sheepishly, “And I haven’t had much access to technology.” 

Since the Witch Hunts began, there hadn’t many technological advancements because people were to consumed by the emergence of witchcraft.

“Oh,” The girl deflated a bit, chuckling awkwardly. “sorry.” 

“It’s fine.” Melinda shrugged noncommittally.

“Well I’m Prudence,” The girl smiled at her, “but you can call me PJ. I’m the eldest of the Charmed Ones.”

Melinda could tell by the way the girl talked that she felt important because of her status as a ‘Charmed One’, as if that really meant anything to Melinda. The Charmed Ones had been wiped out in her world, with only her and her mother to continue the Warren family legacy. Perhaps if she’d of gotten to continue on there she could’ve had children of her own who would continue the legacy. 

Not that she’d of ever wanted to have children if it meant they could be burned at the stake for simply existing. 

“Uh,” Melinda chuckled awkwardly, “ok? I’m Mel — anie.” 

PJ looked gobsmacked then.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who the Charmed Ones are!” She gasped in shock. 

Henry was giving Melinda a curious look too. 

“I thought the Charmed Ones were dead,” Melinda lied with the truth, “or at least that’s what I was told.” 

“Well whoever told you that lied or was working off faulty info.” Henry said as he handed PJ back her phone. “Here. It wasn’t bespelled you just needed to soft reset it.”

“Thanks.” PJ beamed at him before looking to Melinda. “Well it was nice meeting you, I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you. Bye!~”

She winked and in a flourished of pink light, PJ was gone. 

“You really thought the Charmed Ones were dead?” Henry quipped as looked to Melinda. 

She shrugged. 

“Clearly I was lied to.” She mumbled dejectedly. 

It was bizarre knowing that her Aunt Phoebe was alive and had children. And that her Aunt Prue was the one who  was dead. Not to mention she had an aunt she didn’t even know existed. 

“Well,” Henry said as he moved to leave, “I’m gonna go to the cafeteria. You want to come?” 

Melinda smiled softly and nodded. 

“Yeah,” She replied as she moved to join him, “I’d like that.” 

Meanwhile at the Manor, Piper was pacing about the attic. Paige was flipping through the book, a frown on her face. Neither seemed to have figured out the mystery that was following Henry to the cafeteria. 

“I don’t understand,” Paige said as she looked up at Piper, “the book doesn’t mention anything about strange portals. It does mention time travel but that doesn’t explain what happened.” 

“I know,” Piper scrubbed her face, “try having two sets of memories swirling around in your head.” 

“About that,” Paige said as she walked around the podium, “do you feel any different?” 

Piper sighed at that. 

“It’s like I told Melinda—“

“Yeah,” Paige sighed, “she’s gonna need a nickname.” 

Piper glared at her. 

“— I remember her timeline and I remember this one.” Piper continued with a huff. “I remember going through that portal…”

It was then that Piper’s eyes widened.

“I remember going through the portal.” She reiterated as she walked over to the book. 

“Yeah,” Paige quipped with a frown, “you said that.” 

“No,” Piper grumbled as she flipped through it, “I remember what Leo — that world’s Leo, told me about what their Elders had discovered.” 

“Oh!” Paige replied in shock. “That’s helpful. What did they say?”

Piper flicked through the book till she landed on the To Move Ahead in Time spell. She gasped when she saw that it was back in the book. The spell had disappeared when they’d used it. However, that wasn’t the only change to the book. 

The spell name was different. 

“To Move Through Alternate Realities?” Piper recited the spell in confusion, “This isn’t the spell that Prue, Phoebe, and I used.” 

Paige walked over and examined the page. 

“On a piece of paper, write the date and year on which you would like to arrive.” Paige recited, “Image the reality you wish to see. Ignite as you recite. Seems straightforward.”

“Yeah,” Piper quipped, “but I wonder why we can suddenly travel to alternate realities?” 

It was then that Leo appeared in a flourish of orbs with their son Wyatt beside him. 

“Hi Mom.” Wyatt beamed at his mother but it dimmed when he saw her worried expression. “Is everything ok?” 

Piper bit her lip, debating if she should tell Leo what she’d discovered while Wyatt was in the room. 

“We should tell him,” Leo said seriously, “the Elders think his powers might help.” 

“He’s seventeen Leo.” Piper replied with a huff. “I don’t care if Wyatt is twice-blessed or what the Elders think.”

“Mom,” Wyatt bemoaned, “let me help! I’m not a kid anymore.” 

He was still her baby and he would be a child until she said otherwise. 

“I hate to agree with Leo,” Paige hedged with a sheepish smile, “but maybe he’s right? I mean, we don’t even know what this all means.” 

Piper glowered at them both, not wanting to be outnumbered. 

“Fine”, She huffed, “but I think it’s easier if we show him.” 

Wyatt just frowned at that. 

“I’ll go get her.” Paige said as she orbed out. 

“Get who?” Wyatt frowned. 

“You’ll see.” Leo replied cryptically. 

Paige reappeared in the cafeteria of Magic School to find that it was in a complete state of disarray. Some tables were upturned, others were scorched, and handful were even cut into multiple pieces. What the heck could have done this? 

It wasn’t like demons could have gotten into the school…could they? 

“Can you summon a shield too?” 

Paige heard the sound of her son’s awed voice and sighed exasperatedly. She followed it through the debris to find the source of the carnage. Melinda was standing in front of a table and Henry was sitting on one beside her. In Melinda’s hands was sword that seemed to be made of orbs. 

But that couldn’t be possible! Whitelighter magic was inherently pacifistic by nature. Orbs shouldn’t be able to cause actual damage to things…unless it had been a made possible in her world? 

“What is going on here?” Paige yelled, getting the attention of her son and new niece. 

“Mom!” Henry beamed at her, “She can shape her orbs into objects. It’s so cool!”

“I don’t care what she can do,” Paige replied, crossing her arms. “you shouldn’t be destroying school property.”

Melinda, who’d been feeling much better since destroying the cafeteria, turned to Paige with a glare. 

“I think given all that’s happened today I get a pass.” She sassed her, the orb sword disappearing from her hand. 

“Don’t you sass me,” Paige huffed, “I’m still your aunt.” 

Henry gawked at that. 

“What?” He sputtered, looking from his mother to the girl beside him. 

“You’re not my aunt,” Melinda snapped, “both my aunts were burned at the stake for being witches.”

“What’s going on?” Henry tried to get a word in edgewise. 

“Look,” Paige sighed, “I get it. This is all happening really fast, that’s how it was for me when I first discovered magic. It’s confusing and scary.” 

“You didn’t grow up with Mom, Aunt Prue, and Aunt Phoebe?” Melinda gasped. “I guess I just assumed you did.” 

Paige gave a rueful laugh. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about this world yet,” Paige quipped amusedly, “but no, I didn’t. I only found out about all this after Prue had died.”

“Oh.” Melinda replied quietly. 

She looked around the room, a sheepish expression her her face. 

“Sorry.” 

Paige waved her off.

“Do you feel better?” 

Melinda nodded. 

“Then it’s fine,” She said as she patted Melinda on the shoulder, “I’ll just get one of the students to fix it.” 

“Oh I can do that.” Melinda said and squinted her eyes at the tables, causing them to return to their unblemished state. “I — uhh — have the power of projection.”

Not to mention she channeled her powers in the same her Aunt Prue did. 

“Wow,” Paige chuckled, “I wonder how much else your powers differ differ from Wyatt.”

Melinda soured at the mention of the boy who was supposedly he counterpart in this world. 

“Uh,” Henry piped up, “can someone explain what’s going on? I thought she was a new student.” 

Paige turned to her son, wrapping an arm around Melinda’s shoulder. Whilst she still wasn’t sure about this new world, she didn’t entirely hate this new aunt she’d acquired. She seemed cool, like actually cool, not the unattainable cool that her Aunt Prue used to be. 

“Henry,” Paige said to her son, “this is Melinda Prudence Wyatt, your cousin.”

Henry furrowed his brows in confusion. 

“I have a cousin Melinda,” He frowned, “and she doesn’t look like that.” 

Melinda rolled her eyes at that. 

“That’s because she’s from an alternate dimension.” Paige supplied helpfully. 

“Oh,” Henry’s eyes widened, “well that explains why you didn’t know what Tik Tok was.”

Melinda just shrugged. 

“Alright,” Paige said as she looked to Melinda, “your Mom wants to see you.”

Melinda frowned at that. 

“She’s not my mom.” She huffed.

“And she’s not not your Mom,” Paige squeezed her shoulder, “I know it’s confusing but she’s still cares about you kid. They both do.” 

“Whatever,” Melinda sighed, “can we just go?”

Paige nodded. 

“I’ll send one of the girls to come get you,” Paige said to to her son as they orbed out. “but you can’t tell anyone else, not even your sisters. Not until your Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo figure out what they’re going to do.” 

Before Henry could say anything else, they were gone. 

“She didn’t say anything about telling someone who’s already met her.” Henry said to himself with a smirk as he pulled out his phone. “Call PJ Halliwell.” 

When Paige and Melinda reappeared in the attic, Piper, Leo, and Wyatt were in the midst of a conversation. 

“Mom!” Wyatt huffed, “You can’t keep treating me like I’m some defenseless kid.”

“You are my son,” She snapped, “And as long as you live under my roof you will not be taking the reigns on demon hunting.” 

“Dad?” Wyatt pleaded with his father, “You can’t be serious?”

“Wyatt,” He sighed, “Your mother is right—“

Leo tried to reason with his son but Wyatt wasn’t having it. 

“The Elders clearly think I’m ready,” He began which only caused his mother’s frown to deepen. “I mean I’m the freaking twice-blessed—“

“So that prophecy exists here too, huh?”

Wyatt turned to find a girl he didn’t recognize standing next to his Aunt Paige. She looked like she’d walked out of some teen fashion magazine from the early 00s. Though she also looked strangely familiar somehow?

 She almost reminded him of his father, which was strange. She also reminded him of his mother too. Now that he looked at her face, they looked similar. 

Who was this girl?

“Who are you?” Wyatt frowned, looking to his Aunt Paige for an explanation. “Why did you bring one of your students here?”

“She’s not a student.” Paige said looking to Piper and Leo to take the reigns.

“She’s your sister,” Leo clarified when Wyatt turned to his parents. “from an alternate timeline.” 

“That no longer exists.” Melinda added bitterly. “So you’re stuck with me.” 

“You’re joking?” Wyatt laughed and when his mother shook her head, her expression stern, his laughter stopped. “Wait — you’re serious?”

He turned to Melinda then, really looking at her. 

“I mean…” He trailed off, “we look like we could be related? If you had a kid that looked like Mom but took after Dad.” 

“Kinda like you?” Melinda scoffed. 

Wyatt’s frown deepened. 

“Sure.” He supplied with a shrug. “I guess l you could say that.” 

“Well aren’t you an observant one.” She added with a smirk. 

“Great,” Wyatt replied dryly, “another bitchy sibling.” 

“Wyatt!” Piper chastised him. “Be nice, she’s been through a lot today.” 

“Thanks not Mom.” Melinda grumbled, arms crossed. “Great pep talk.” 

“You too young lady,” Piper glowered at her daughter, “I understand this is all very new but I’m still your mother. You do not get to talk to me like that.” 

“Whatever.” Melinda rolled her eyes. 

“Her and Chris are gonna get along great.” Wyatt muttered. 

“Not helping, Wyatt.” Paige chastised him.

Wyatt sighed deeply and scrubbed his face. 

“Sorry,” He said as he turned to his new sister, “I shouldn’t be taking out my frustrations on you. You don’t deserve that.” 

Behind him, Piper and Leo were smirking. Wyatt was their most even tempered child, the one willing to be the bigger person in any arugument except when it came to demon hunting. He was the perfect one to introduce Melinda to first and get her more familiar with their family and this world. 

He would take her under his wing and show her the ropes like he’d done with many kids at Magic School.

“So you’re the Wyatt they’ve been talking about?” Melinda quipped looking him up and down, “And you’re twice-blessed like me?”

Leo looked to Piper. 

“She’s twice blessed too?” He whispered and Piper nodded. 

“Yup,” Wyatt beamed, “I’m the eldest of the Warren line of witches.”

“Oh,” Melinda shrugged, “uh cool…I guess? I don’t have any cousins or siblings.”

Paige chuckled awkwardly at that but Wyatt seemed intrigued. 

“Why?” He gasped, looking shocked. 

He couldn’t imagine living in a world without Chris and Mellie even if they annoyed him a lot at times. 

“My parents are divorced,” She frowned, “and it wasn’t safe to have more kids with the witch hunts.”

“Witch hunts?”

Melinda gave her mother an exasperated look. 

“Did you tell him nothing?” She huffed in annoyance. 

“Wait —“ Wyatt said as he looked from Melinda to their mother. “Why would Mom know?”

“Your sister comes from an alternate future that your mother and your Aunts Prue and Phoebe travelled to in the late 90s.” Leo explained with a frown. “It was a one use spell but it showed them Melinda’s future.”

Wyatt furrowed his brows at that. 

“How could that be Mellie’s future?” He replied uncomprehendingly.

“My name is Melinda too dingus,” The girl replied with a huff, “he’s not referring to your sister.”

Wyatt looked between his parents and Melinda in confusion. 

“Well that’s going to get confusing.” He chuckled weakly. 

“Yeah,” Paige agreed quietly, “we’re gonna need nicknames.”

“Well I’m not changing my name.” Melinda replied hotly. “I came first.”

“And no one is asking you to, sweetheart.” Leo tried to be placating. “This is all just a little confusing.”

“No shit.” She snapped. “Try being me.”

“Now Melinda—“ Her father tried but Melinda was on a roll. 

“Don’t patronize me,” She replied angrily, “you might look like my Dad but you’re not my Dad. My Dad sacrificed himself so Mom and I could come here. And then I lost her too—“

“I’m right here sweetie,” Piper replied softly causing causing to let out a bitter laugh. “I promise.” 

“I don’t believe you,” She cried, “you might have her memories but you’re not her. And I’m tired of everyone acting as if everything is ok because it’s not!”

With that, Melinda orbed out of the attic. 

“Well that went…not as horrible as it could have.” Paige quipped with an awkward chuckle. 

“Yeah,” Leo scrubbed his face, “but how are we supposed to find her now? I was hoping she might know why the spell had changed.”

“A spell in the book changed?” Wyatt piped up, “Does someone want to tell me what’s actually going on? What was she talking about?”

Paige, Leo, and Piper exchanged looks before Piper sighed. 

“A portal opened up in Magic School earlier today whilst you were at lacrosse.” Piper explained seriously, “Melinda and an alternate version of myself came through it. Paige and your father found them and he sent Paige to get me. When that Piper and I touched… I absorbed her.”

“You absorbed her?” Wyatt echoed her in confusion.

“It was weird,” Piper said as she tied to wrap her head around it, “because I have her memories in my head and the memories of this life. I’m still your mother but I also have her mother’s memories…if that makes sense.” 

“Sorta?” Wyatt replied with a nod, “So it’s like in the movies how there can’t be two of the same person so they merge into one being who possesses the aspects of both?”

Piper nodded. 

“Exactly that.” 

“But we don’t know how this portal opened or why it opened.” Paige piped up, “All we know is that the spell that your mother and aunts cast changed.”

Wyatt still looked a little confused. 

“We were hoping that your mother might have remembered something from that other set of memories.” Paige finished with a nod.  

“And did you?” Leo quipped curiously looking to his wife.

Piper nodded. 

“It was actually something Melinda’s father — her version of you — said.” She said as she walked over to the book where it was open to the spell. “That something was destroying universes.”

“Universes?” Paige quipped, “Plural?”

“The Multiverse is real,” Wyatt gasped. “like in the marvel movies?”

“Yes,” His mother replied seriously as she glanced up at her husband, “and it’s being shrunk by something. All I know is that I used that spell to bring her and I to the ‘main universe’ where we would be safe. It’s why the portal opened.” 

“And that world is gone now?” Wyatt asked worriedly. 

“Yeah,” Leo replied with a frown, “Melinda is the only survivor.” 

“Oh,” Wyatt replied quietly, “I guess that’s why she’s kind of a bitch.” 

Piper didn’t have the heart to chastise him this time. 

“I mean,” Paige quipped, “wouldn’t you be too if everyone and everything you’d ever known was gone? And the world you came to was different from what everything you’d ever known?”

Wyatt nodded looking thoughtful. 

“I mean at least it’s good ours is the ‘main universe’ then.” He chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. “At least in the Marvel comics, it’s usually the main universe that is spared the carnage.” 

“I hope so,” Piper replied with a frown, “But first we need to find Melinda. She might get hurt, this world isn’t like hers, she’s gonna be scared.” 

But where could she possibly be? 

“If I was a Witchlighter in an unfamiliar world but needed some space, where would I go?” Paige muttered aloud, “I mean, that could be anywhere?!” 

“I think I might know where to start.” Wyatt piped up with a wry smile. “I’d go to—“

“—The San Francisco bridge.” Leo finished with a nod to his son. “Good thinking.” 

“I mean,” Paige chuckled, “it’s like the brooding spot for witchlighters.” 

Wyatt looked sheepishly at that, knowing she was right. 

“Alright,” Leo said as he looked to Paige and Piper, “someone needs to go get her while we continue researching.”

“Maybe there’s a clue hiding in what they brought?” Paige supplied helpfully. 

“Good idea.” Piper nodded. “Can you get her while Leo and I start looking?” 

“Yeah. I’ll go—“ Paige said but Wyatt was already orbing out. “or not.”

“Let him go,” Leo reasoned wisely, “I think she needs the perspective of someone her own age.” 

Chapter Text

Melinda didn’t know why she’d decided to orb to the bridge. This was the one place she had back home that she could use to escape the watchful eye of her parents and the witch hunters. It was a place where she could blow off steam safely and have some time to herself. 

This was a place where all eyes weren’t on her, where she could simply be herself. 

“Hey,” Came an uncertain voice, “I thought you’d be up here.”

Melinda didn’t turn to look at Wyatt as he orbed in. She just continued to dangle her feet over the side of the bridge, looking down at the cars passing below. She didn’t say anything as he sat down beside her either. The young witch was just hoping he’d take the hint and leave her alone. 

“Let me guess,” She huffed, “this is your spot too?”

Wyatt merely shrugged. 

“It’s kinda everyone’s place,” He replied honestly, “those of us that can teleport anyway.” 

“Aren’t you all Witchlighters?” Melinda scoffed.

Wyatt shook his head. 

“Mel— my little sister,” Wyatt amended quickly, “is a regular witch and Henry is mortal. And some of my cousins are half Cupid too.” 

“I see,” Melinda replied quietly, “so I guess that means I’m not going to get absorbed by her…like Mom.” 

“That’s…” Wyatt trailed off as he tired to find the right words, “I can’t imagine what that must have been like.” 

“It fucking sucked is what it felt like.” She replied bitterly, “I thought the only thing I was going to have to go through today was watching my Aunt Prue get executed…not watch my entire world get destroyed.”

Wyatt wanted to reach out and pull her into a hug, to let Melinda know it was going to be okay. But he didn’t think she’d respond well to that. He quietly put his hand out and patted the bridge, trying not to look awkward. 

“I — uh — yeah.” He blew out a breath, “That does suck.”

Melinda snorted at that. 

“Thanks,” She replied dryly, “you give as good a pep talk as your Mom.” 

Wyatt rolled his eyes at that. She was their Mom but he didn’t think it would be prudent to say that. Melinda would come around in time, he was sure of it. 

“Tell me what it was like.”

Melinda turned to him then. 

“What?”

“Tell me what your world was like.” He reiterated patiently. 

“You seriously want to know,” She replied with disbelief, “about a world where your parents are divorced, you weren’t born, and witches are hunted for sport?”

“I mean that sounds dreary as hell when you put it like that but it’s your life,” He replied with a smile, “and I want to get to know you. I mean you are my sister after all.” 

Melinda rolled her eyes at that.

“I know what you’re doing,” She replied as she looked out into the bay, “you’re using whitelighter-y tactics on me. Trying to get me to open up and talk about my feelings — all that mushy shit.” 

“I can’t help it, I’m the mediator of the family.” Wyatt replied with amusement, “It’s kinda in my nature.”

“Sure,” Melinda scoffed, “And I bet you’re the Elders ‘Golden Boy’ too.” 

Wyatt chuckled awkwardly at that. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m under their thumb,” He replied sheepishly, “but I would say that out of all my siblings they like be best. Though I honestly think that they’re more afraid of me than anything.”

Melinda looked at him out of the corner of her eye. 

“Is it because you’re the twice-blessed?” She quipped, trying not to sound too curious.

She wanted to know if the Elders were assholes in this universe too.

“Sorta?” Wyatt replied as he leaned back, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin. “Though I think that it has to do more with the fact that I almost turned evil and would have killed my entire family to take over the world.” 

Melinda just gawked at him. 

“No.” She gasped. “You can’t be serious.” 

“Oh, I’m serious.” Wyatt sighed, “Luckily, my parents were able to put a stop to it before anything could happen to me. I think the Elders have liked to keep me close more so they can ensure that I don’t turn out like that alternate version of myself.” 

The mention of an another alternate version of Wyatt made Melinda a little queasy. 

“Wow,” She snarked, “and here I thought I had it bad with divorced parents and witch hunts.”

“Did they really hunt witches in your world?” He asked casually. 

Melinda nodded, a frown on her face. 

“It all started when Aunt Phoebe used her active power to kill Cal Greene after he assaulted her friend.” Melinda recalled with sadness in her voice. “That exposed magic to world and the new witch hunts began. Because of the stress of it all, my parents got divorced. Aunt Phoebe was sentenced to die and burned at the stake when I was nine years old.”

“Wow.” Wyatt breathed.

He couldn’t imagine his Aunt Phoebe using her power to actively hurt anyone, even if they were bad.

“After that is when the government stated cracking down on magic and eventually my Aunt Prue was caught.” Melinda continued with a sigh as she leaned back and laid down. “We weren’t close but I still didn’t want to see her die, ya know?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Well she was supposed to be burned at the stake,” Melinda amended, “but the world literally ended and now I’m here talking to you. Crazy right?”

“Yeah…” Wyatt replied at a loss for words. “That’s a lot.” 

“Try living it.” Melinda chuckled, “You don’t make many friends having two convicted witches for aunts.” 

“Speaking of, what did you do for fun,” He asked, lying down beside her as he put his hands behind his head. “in your world. I mean, I assume you weren’t off fighting demons every day like us?” 

“Oh I hunted demons,” Melinda smirked as she held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “but it was sparingly. It was hard to do so and avoid the witch hunters, especially when they were hunting demons too. Not to mention Dad usually kept a watchful eye on me because of my powers.”

Wyatt hummed in agreement.

“I know what that’s like.” He chuckled with a knowingly smile, “Dad’s always getting on mine and Chris’ cases about hunting demons…”

“…that you’re too young for such things.” They both said at the same time causing them both to laugh. 

“Yeah,” Melinda sighed wistfully, “but I guess when I wasn’t doing that I was running track and field at school. Or hanging out with what little friends I had.” 

“You weren’t popular?” He gasped jokingly appalled, and nudged her, “I can scarcely believe it. You had to be the life of the party.”

Melinda rolled her eyes. 

“Nobody thought Mom or I were witches,” She replied, her voice quiet. “but because of what Aunt Phoebe did, I wasn’t exactly popular.”

“I see.” Wyatt mused. “Everyone wanted to be friends with me in school—“

Melinda scoffed at that. 

“Of course they would.” 

Wyatt just huffed in amusement at that. 

“Yeah,” He sighed, “but they wanted to be friends with me because of my powers and who my parents were. Nobody wanted to be my friend because they liked me for me.” 

They were both quiet for a moment. 

“I guess we’re more alike than I realized.” Melinda said, her voice quiet. 

“Yeah.” Wyatt agreed, a small smile on his face. 

She was just glad they weren’t the same sex or she wouldn’t exist anymore. 

“What are they like?” Melinda blurted suddenly. 

Wyatt looked at her curiously.

“Who?” 

Melinda huffed. 

“You know who,” She shot him an unamused look, “our siblings. What are they like?” 

Wyatt smiled at how she’d said that Chris and Melinda were their siblings not his siblings.  

Whilst Melinda and Wyatt were bonding, their parents and aunts were trying to figure out what to do. They were entering into uncharted waters and needed some sort game plan to combat this new reality. And to discover if what happened to Melinda’s world would happen here too. 

And most important of all, vanquish the evil responsible for all the carnage.  

“So let me get this straight?” Phoebe said as she sat down on the couch in the sun room. “While I was at a book signing, you discovered the multiverse?” 

Paige and Piper exchanged glances before nodding. 

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Piper replied with a sigh, “but that’s the gist of it.” 

“Wow,” Phoebe breathed, “I mean we knew time travel was possible but I didn’t think the multiverse fit the Elders whole ‘Grand Design’ shtick?” 

“Me either truthfully.” Leo said as he walked in and handed each of the ladies glasses of water. “And when I went to the Heavens they seemed just as perplexed, especially because of the massive energy spikes they’ve been seeing.” 

“Wait,” Paige said as she looked to Leo, “you didn’t tell us that.” 

“They didn’t say much,” He replied with a frown as he sat beside Phoebe, “and we were a little busy remember?”

“Well what did they say?” Piper asked, shooting him an unamused look. 

“They’d been tracking these sort of anomalous magical signature for weeks now.” Leo replied seriously, “And from what Odin told me, the culmination of them was the portal.”

“So does this mean there could be more of them?” Phoebe quipped concernedly. “Other realities, I mean.” 

Leo shrugged. 

“It’s too soon to say but I wouldn’t put that out of the realm of possibility.” 

“This is bad,” Paige frowned, “how are we supposed to keep track of the people that come through? We were lucky it was only an alternate Piper and Melinda. Next time it could be whole country’s worth of people.”

“The Elders are working on that,” Leo replied though he didn’t look too pleased. “not that they would tell me how they were doing it.”

“I guess we’re just supposed to wait around and see when the next one pops up then?” Phoebe scoffed. 

Leo nodded. 

“Well,” Paige smirked, “we’ve never been good at that.”

Piper didn’t like the look that Paige had on her face. 

“What are you thinking?” She said, crossing her arms. 

“There has to be a reason that spell appeared in the book—“ Paige began but Piper shut it down.

“No.” She shook her head. 

“What spell?” Phoebe quipped.

“The Time Travel spell is back,” Leo replied with a frown, “except it’s changed to an inter-dimensional time travel spell.” 

“Oh,” Phoebe said as it dawned on her what Paige wanted to do. “I’m in.”

“Seriously?” Piper huffed, “We don’t even know what kind of world we’d be traveling into? For all we know we could he inviting whatever is going around destroying universe here to our universe!” 

“Well, do you have any better ideas?” Paige shot back, “Because right now I am seeing a whole lot of nothing.” 

Piper seemed to deflate at that.

“No,” She scrubbed her face, “just — before we go opening any more portals can we give Melinda some time to adjust? I don’t want to traumatize her further by opening another one so soon.” 

Paige and Phoebe nodded, though they worried they didn’t have that kind of time.

“So what are we going to do about that,” Paige piped up, “speaking of Melinda’s older sorta doppelgänger. They both can’t be Melinda—legally speaking.”

“I know,” Piper bit her lip worriedly, “and I’m going to have to figure out what exactly we’re going to do about Melinda’s schooling too. It’s not like the Elders can just magic her up some legal documents.” 

“Maybe they can?” Paige said as she stood, “I mean, if we’re going to have people just popping in from wherever, they’re gonna have to do something.” 

Melinda the elder was going to set a prescient—whether that was good or bad was yet to be determined. 

“I’ll come with you,” Leo said as he stood, walking over to kiss his wife on the crown of her head. “perhaps I’ll be able to get more out of them on what to do with the spell.” 

“Just be careful.” Piper said as they orbed out before turning to Phoebe. “I don’t want Melinda to have to change her name…but we can’t call them both Melinda.”

“And she can’t go by her middle name either,” Phoebe replied sheepishly, “because of PJ.” 

“I don’t want her to loose her identity too,” Piper said as she scrubbed her face, “on top of all this.” 

“Well, how about this?” Phoebe said as she pulled out her phone, “Why don’t we think about alternatives to Melinda? Like Melissa or Melanie? It won’t be her name exactly but…”

“It’ll be close enough.” Piper smiled. “Thanks Phoebe.” 

“Of course,” She said as she took Piper’s hand and squeezed it. “I can’t wait to meet her. I mean, the last time you saw her well…I wasn’t exactly able to.”

“Yeah,” Piper chuckled weakly, those memories of her sister dying bubbling to the forefront of her mind. “I’m just glad that future never came to pass.”

“Me too.” 

The two of them sat there in somber silence, not wanting to voice why it hadn’t come to pass. 

Henry Jr. was doing some investigating of his own back at his Aunt Phoebe’s house.

“Henry,” PJ said as she looked at her cousin in the reflection of her vanity mirror, “you can’t be serious. That girl can’t be our cousin, Melinda…she’s like Wyatt’s age.” 

Henry scrubbed his face. 

“She isn’t our Melinda, PJ.” He reiterated slowly, “She’s a Melinda, like from another universe.” 

PJ turned to her cousin then, her expression one of confusion. 

“Alternate realities don’t exist.” She scoffed. 

“They do now.” Henry said as PJ hopped off of her chair and walked to the door. “I mean you saw her, she looks like she could be one of us.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything, Henry.” She said as they walked out of her room and towards the stairs. “There are probably a lot of people who look like us but aren’t related to us.”

He scowled at her then. 

“What you guys talking about?” Peyton asked as she walked out of her room, sketchbook in hand.  

“Nothing.” Henry said at the same time that PJ said, “Henry thinks we’ve got another cousin somehow.” 

“Another cousin?” Peyton echoed her elder sister in confusion as Henry glared at PJ. “But Aunt Paige and Aunt Piper aren’t pregnant?”

“She’s not a baby,” Henry sighed exasperatedly as they walked down the stairs into the living room, Peyton following them. “she’s a teenager. She looked like she was Wyatt’s age—but PJ, I just know she’s related to us.”

“And how do you know?” She quipped incredulously as she deposited herself down on the couch. 

“She’s like crazy powerful,” Henry asserted and when PJ didn’t look convinced he continued. “like Wyatt levels of powerful. Her eyes did the whole orb-glowy thing his does when he uses his powers.”

That got the two cupitches attention. 

“I thought Wyatt was the only one that could do that?” Peyton quipped curiously. “Since he’s the twice-blessed.” 

“Me too.” Henry nodded, “But this girl can do it too! And she could shape her orbs into objects and like actually do damage with them!” 

That caused PJ to laugh. 

“Well now I know you’ve lost it.” She asserted with a shake of her head. “Because everyone knows that the power of orbing is an inherently pacifist power.”  

“Then how do you explain Tam and Kat’s combustive and inhibitive orbing?” Henry smirked. 

“They’re the children of the Charmed Ones!” PJ defended with a grumble, “It would make sense their powers don’t follow that rule. As for an ordinary witchlighter, I don’t see that happening.”

“Yeah but—” Henry tried to defend himself but was cut off by Parker beaming into the room. 

“Guys!” She said, out of breath as she landed in the living room. “Wyatt was with a girl on the bridge.”

“What?” Peyton and Henry gasped. 

PJ frowned, “Why would he bring some girl to our spot?” 

“It was really weird,” Parker recalled as she deposited herself beside PJ who moved so that her younger sister wasn’t on top of her. “Because like she looked like Wyatt a little bit. It was like Parent Trap levels of weird.” 

“Wait,” Henry said as he walked over to Peyton, “did you say she looked like Wyatt?” 

“Yeah?” Parker frowned and PJ groaned, “Did I walk in on something?” 

“Henry is convinced that a girl from an alternate universe that’s suddenly appeared is our cousin.” PJ said as she leaned back on couch, “And I think he’s nuts.” 

“I don’t know,” Peyton shrugged, “Mom, Auntie Piper, and Auntie Paige have certainly faced off against their fair share of weird things. I don’t think it’s that far fetched.” 

“Thank you!” Henry beamed at her, feeling vindicated. “Because it’s not! I’m serious PJ, the girl in the library was our cousin.” 

“You saw a weird girl in the library?” Parker said as looked from her sister to Henry. “That can’t be a coincidence…two strange sightings in one day.” 

“Fine,” PJ sighed and grumbled something under her breath before saying, “I’ll play along…for now.”

Henry seemed to relax a little then.,

”What did the girl you saw look like Parker,” She asked Parker, “did she look like one of us?” 

Parker thought about it for a moment. 

“She looked a lot like Aunt Piper,” She replied with a shrug, “except she had blonde-ish hair like Uncle Leo and eyes that were like his too. Honestly, she could have been Wyatt’s twin except if Wyatt didn’t wear glasses and had more dirty blonde hair.” 

PJ frowned at that while Henry smirked. 

“That sounds like that girl I saw in the library!” He said as he looked to PJ, “Now do you believe me?” 

“No.” She huffed annoyed, “That’s circumstantial evidence at best.” 

“Well you should,” Came the disembodied voice of Wyatt, “because Henry is right.” 

PJ, Parker, Henry, and Peyton watched as two people orbed into the living room. One of them was Wyatt and the other was the girl that PJ, Parker, and Henry had all seen. Henry was smirking like the cat that had gotten the crème while Parker just looked surprised. PJ looked downright annoyed and Peyton was just waiting for someone to explain what the heck was going on. 

“Where are we?” The girl asked as she looked to Wyatt, “I thought we were going back to the manor?” 

“Do you really want to see Mom and Dad right now?” 

The girl shook her head. 

“No.”

Wyatt smirked, “I didn’t think so.” 

“There no way,” PJ whispered, “how — how is she a Warren witch?” 

It was then that the girl looked at the little group that was gathered.

She recognized PJ, Henry, Parker, but not the young girl on the chair opposite the couch. Though judging by her appearance she had to be the other two sisters’ sibling and thus a child of her Aunt Phoebe. And the last remaining member of this universe’s Charmed Ones that she had yet to meet. 

Peyton was simply observing her with a shy smile. 

“Hi,” She waved, “I’m Peyton Halliwell, Phoebe’s my mom.” 

“I see…” Melinda replied with a bit of an awkward wave of her own before looking to Wyatt. “Why did you bring me here? Is this some sort of intervention?” 

“No!” Wyatt sputtered as he held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t think anyone but Uncle Coop would be home…clearly I was wrong.” 

His sheepish and genuine worry caused Melinda to relax a bit. 

“And I wanted to see if it was you I sensed on the bridge,” Wyatt said as he looked to Parker. “Parker Halliwell.” 

“Guilty as changed.” She replied sheepishly with a shrug before looking at Melinda.  “Are you really from an alternate universe?” 

“Yeah,” Melinda frowned, “I am. My name’s Melinda Prudence Wyatt.”

“Wyatt?” Peyton echoed, “Like Uncle Leo’s last name?”

Melinda nodded. 

“It wasn’t safe to be a Halliwell where I’m from,” She fidgeted uncomfortably, “so Mom and Dad gave me Dad’s last name.” 

“Not safe?” Parker echoed her, “Why?” 

“Guys,” Wyatt cut in, “can we not ask her twenty questions like this is some kind of interrogation. Melinda’s been through a lot today.” 

“That’s another thing.” Parker frowned, “Her name is also Melinda? That’s—”

“—going to be confusing.” Melinda finished the thought for her with an annoyed grumbled. “I know…I know. Everyone keeps saying that. 

“We’re working on it.” Wyatt replied sheepishly causing Melinda to glare at him. “So…” 

He rocked on his heels as he continued. 

“These are our cousins.” He began again, trying to get over the awkwardness in the room. “Their mom is Phoebe, as they said, and their Dad’s a Cupid named Coop.” 

“Coop?” Melinda snickered, “What kinda name is that?” 

“Not a very good one I’m afraid.” The man himself said as he walked into the living room from the stairwell, “We aren’t exactly taught the significance of names as young Cupids… so I picked Coop.”

Melinda had the decency to look ashamed by her jesting after that. 

“I heard some commotion from the attic and felt I should come down and check.” Coop continued, looking undeterred. “I guess it’s a good thing I did.”

PJ, Parker, and Peyton looked sheepish. 

“Alternate realities, huh?” He smiled kindly at Melinda, “That’s a new one.” 

“Yeah.” Melinda replied dryly. “It sucks.” 

“Sorry Dad.” The cupitches chorused.

“I hope we didn’t interrupt your session.” Parker added apologetically. 

Coop shook his head. 

“Nope, I was finishing anyway,” He said as he looked to Wyatt and Melinda, “so what’s this about alternate realities and cousins with the same names I’ve been hearing about?” 

“Well—“ Wyatt began but it was then his Uncle suddenly started laughed. 

Apparently, Phoebe was calling him. 

“Your mother has impeccable timing girls.” He said as he looked to the ceiling. “I’ll see you kids later. It was nice to meet you, Melinda.” 

“Uh…you too?” She said as the man beamed out in a flourish of pink light and hearts. “Huh, he really is a Cupid.”

They all laughed at that.