It had been 3 and a half weeks since she left San Francisco and Erin didn't think she was doing too badly. She'd found a place to live, a crummy little motel room that she'd rented out for then next two months until she got properly sorted, but it was still a bed and a bathroom and she was in the process of making her it her own. She really wished she hadn't left all her posters back home, but on her second day at the motel she'd ventured into town and found a second hand record store with a whole collection of cheap posters. Not only had she got hold of plenty of tattered decoration for her room, she had secured a three day a week job there- bliss! Well that took care of Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday... now she needed to find somewhere for Monday, Tuesday and Friday. In the mean time though, she had her savings and the prospect of wages from the new job so she could afford a little time to... get acquainted with the dusty little town she had decided to make her fresh start. A fresh start in more ways than one.

On the very long bus ride out of San Francisco, then another two long bus rides through places she had given up trying to identify, Erin had nearly a day to think about her life and come to the conclusion that perhaps she should do what everyone wanted and tone down the drinking, the late nights and maybe lay of the weed a little bit. Afterall, it was what her mother had been begging her to do since she was fourteen and she could at least pay Paige's memory the respect it deserved by calming down. Not quiting mind, she'd stubbornly insisted to herself, just reducing. It wasn't like any of her cousins had the right to look down their noses at her really, none of them were that perfect and hadn't it been Mel, Cassie and Wyatt who had been her accomplishes on the day she tried to magic up a cannabis plant using a potion recipe she'd found at the bottom of an old trunk and signed and dated 1955, property of Penny Halliwell? But considering she's just packed in college, it would probably be a good idea to be on the ball at work.

And if this new Erin was really going to shine through, she'd better start unpacking! Heaving a bag that was already spewing clothes onto the dull blue carpet, Erin launched herself into her fresh start.

4 hours later she stood back to admire her handy work. The sickly green bathroom tiles shone admirably and the pale Ikea wardrobe containing neat piles of her clothes had been scrubbed to an almost as good as new standard. Erin had taken down the curtains and let the evening sunlight cast an warm glow across the white walls, the said curtains had been washed in the bath (revealing themselves to be quite a cheerful shade of red) and were now hanging, dripping from a clothes horse in bathroom, waiting to be recycled as a throw to cover up the nasty, floral upholstery on the small sagging couch. The reproduction watercolours of English hedgerows had been taken down and pinned in their place were Erin's prized finds- the four posters. Not bad at all, she murmured, glancing over at the clock. Only then did she notice that it was 6pm, her stomach gave a small rumble- she hadn't eaten since breakfast and that had been a disappointment. Reaching for her small black backpack, she headed out of the room and into town to search for something to eat and perhaps a taste of the nightlife of this strange new place.

* * *

Night fell on San Francisco, unnoticed by Piper and Leo, huddled in the Attic of the Manor, pouring over the Book of Shadows and arguing about why Erin had failed to respond to the call a lost witch spell or show up on the scrying map.

"Oh Erin, where are you?" muttered Piper. If they couldn't find Erin then something must be really wrong. Of course her niece had run away in the past but she like to be found because she liked the drama, Piper knew that, and she knew that Erin was of course entitled to take a trip away if she wanted, but something didn't seem to fit. Firstly, Erin clearly planned to be gone a while, having emptied her dorm room of all her valuable possessions, normally she took nothing more that her guitar and a jacket, expecting to be found and home later that night. Secondly, if Erin had decided just to take a trip then surely she would have told someone, but none of her friends or family had heard anything. So Piper thought she was, at this point, absolutely entitled to be sick with worry.

"Well I think we have to rule out demons in this case" offered Leo. "She had time to pack and that's just not demonic."

"No, this is definitely an... 'Erin' thing. Only serious..." Piper gave up scrying and flopped down helplessly onto the couch. "Why didn't she try talking to us? We all lost Paige, we all can help her deal with it. She's been so... good, up to now. Bottled it all up inside, and that's just not Erin. I'm her aunt and I know what it's like to lose a mother- she could have come to me. I can't believe I've let her down like this Leo. And why am I even bothering to find her? She clearly doesn't want her family anymore. Not even Henry! I can't believe she'd abandon him like that!"

"Piper! You've not let anyone down. You've been this family's rock. Erin's just...well lets face it Piper, our niece, for all her good points, is incredibly self centred and wilful. I think that this is more inevitable than your giving it credit for. But I do think you're right in looking for her, regardless of her opinions about her family, she does need us. And Henry, he needs her home SO much right now."

"OH Henry!" cried Piper. "He's crumbling away Leo." She was right. Her poor brother in law was barely making it through the days and his body looked like such a fragile exterior, Piper couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until the thread holding his exhausted body up would snap. And Leo was right! Erin was being incredibly selfish ad she was going to drag her back here if... she was interrupted by swirling blue lights as Leo orbed out, returning seconds later with a sleepy looking Olivia and an irritated Henry Jnr.

* * *

Taking in the green chalk board writing offering 'beer, food and music' Erin decided that this little bar was right up her street and pushed the heavy wooden door open. Being underage was of absolutely no concern to her, she was very used to talking barmen around and by now, her stomach was rumbling quite a lot and the prospect of a greasy plate of fries and the alluring strumming of a single electric guitar were too much to resist.

Inside, she found a small table crammed into a corner and slid a single sided menu card out of the little plastic holder wedged between a ketchup bottle and salt and pepper dispensers. A waitress, dressed in black pants, a t-shirt with the bar's name embroidered in red onto the left breast and a tiny navy apron tied around her minute waist glided over and placed a beer mat and set of cutlery wrapped in a white paper napkin down next to her. "What can I get you?"

"A beer and some fries please" replied Erin, confidently looking into the girl's face and smiling broadly. The girl raised her eyebrow uncertainly, but nodded.

"I'll bring it over."

"Thanks." Erin settled down in her seat, rummaged in her bag for her little sketchbook and pencil (both twins had inherited Paige's artistic flare) and began to doodle absentmindedly on an empty page. As she drew, her eyes darted around the cramped little business, not much different from some of her favourite bars back home- small, friendly, but slightly shabby with peeling paint and worn red leather on the twenty or so seats jumbled into half of the room. In the other half was a short bar, painted black with an array of brightly colour liquors and a neon, bottle shaped sign advertising a brand of larger Erin had never heard of lining the back wall. Next to the bar was a tiny dance floor and beyond that in the corner directly opposite Erin, was a small platform on which a lone guitarist was strumming aged old chords to a song hailing his long lost love. His angst fell on deaf ears though because Erin, the waitress and a grey haired man at the bar, clutching a glass of whisky, were the only three inhabitants.

"Here's you are." The waitress pushed a large plate in front of Erin. "Hey, that's pretty good!" she was looking down at Erin's sketchbook. Only now did Erin take in what she had drawn- the Manor. She gave a weak smile and slammed the book shut in disgust, she was meant to be forgetting the Halliwells, not sketching the damn Manor!

"Is that somewhere you know?"

"Yeah, it's... home." Erin found herself replying. Suddenly, all she wanted to talk about was San Francisco.

"And where might that be? You don't get building like that around here."

The reply was barely audible. "San Francisco."

"San Francisco. Well, cool. I've never been, always wanted to though." Erin didn't reply. "If you want anything else just holler." And with that the girl went back to wiping unused tables. Erin took a swig of beer and picked up a fry and before she new it, she was thinking about her mother again.

Paige hated cooking. Of course she did it because she had to (Henry was also as far removed from a chef as it was possible to be, opting for cold beans out of the tin over turning on the stove) so if she could twist her big sisters arm, and most of the time she could, Paige sent everyone Piper's for dinner. Failing that, she would poach the Manor freezer for soups, lasagnes and casseroles that Piper had been saving but would mean Paige could go for at least four days only having to use the microwave. But sometimes, Paige found herself having to dig out a cook book and the drama that followed when she either forgot to put the lid on the blender, sliced her finger open with a knife or left something in the oven until the kitchen was thick with smoke, was inevitable.

On this particular occasion, their dad was working nights and Henry Jr was at a birthday sleepover, so only Paige and the twins, aged seven, were at home. After over boiling potatoes until they dissolved and even managing to burn frozen pizza to a crisp, Paige shrieked with frustration, threw a spatula across the kitchen and yelled to her daughters to get in the car- they were going to Aunt Phoebe's.

Only half way there, the car started spluttering and jerked to a halt, smoke pouring from the engine, just as Paige managed to pull it over in a side road. "Get Out!! Out! Out! Get Out!" she shouted, wrenching open the back door and clicking the seatbelt release buttons. Erin and Olivia clambered out into the freezing cold night, shivering, they watched their mother heave open the car bonnet, slam it down again, and swing a Jimmy Chooed shoe at the pale green body work then shower the night air with obscenities as her heal cracked against the cold metal. "Why do I bother driving? Orb, always bloody orb!" she muttered through gritted teeth and then suddenly erupted into floods of tears. Erin and Olivia watched anxiously, scared, neither of them had ever seen any adult, never mind their mom, cry before.

"Mom?" ventured Erin, as Olivia put her arms around Paige's waist.

"Oh girls, I'm sorry, silly Mommy..."

"Silly Mommy," echoed Olivia, planting a kiss on her mother's arm. Paige started crying again.

"I am, I'm a horrible, useless Mommy, I can't cook, I can't do anything and I'm crying in front of my two beautiful girls who I don't deserve."

"Silly Mommy," added Erin, taking Paige's free hand and squeezing it. "We love you"

"Love you" repeated Olivia.

Paige squatted down to meet her daughters' level. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Oh goodness me! You two must be starving" she darted her eyes around the street and noticed a diner two doors down. "Come-on, lets go get foooooood!" They abandoned the car and headed for the warmth of the diner. "Two Cokes, a cappuccino and the biggest plate of fries you have please!" Paige told the waiter as he filled up their water glasses.

"Mommy, you never let us have fries!"

"Or Coke!"

"Well it's a special treat for my two lovely girls isn't it!" And by the time they had dug into their food, Paige was smiling broadly again and both Erin and Olivia were giggling as she tickled them under the table.

When they got home that night, Paige had insisted the girls spent the night in her and Henry's big double bed and the three of them snuggled down together, whispering stories to each other under the duvet and playing special secret games until they drifted off to sleep.

But Erin had woken up when she rolled over, stretching out her arm for her mother, only to find a warm empty space on the mattress, with Olivia sleeping peacefully three feet away. Creeping out of the bedroom and onto the landing, Erin heard her mother's voice from the bathroom. Tiptoeing to the closed door, she peered through the key hole and saw Paige, curled up in her pyjamas on the tiled floor, the portable telephone pressed to her ear, sobbing uncontrollably.

Listening for a moment, Erin caught snippets of conversation. It seemed that Paige was talking to Phoebe. Phrases wafted into the child's ears, she didn't understand them, but she'd never forgotten them:

"Back in town"

"Divorced"

"Just a kiss... one night..."

"Break Henry's heart..."

What she's heard had stuck in her mind for twelve years and gradually, as she got older, she'd made more sense of what she had heard. And the name that her mother had stammered had been stewing in her thought ever since...Glen.

The guitarist finished his set, put down his instrument and headed off stage and towards the washroom. Erin decided she could with another beer and picked her way across to room to the bar. She hoisted herself onto a bar stool and waited patiently for the waitress to finish choosing a track from the bar's ipod before asking for her drink. The man with the whisky glanced up as she spoke. His eyes rested on Erin's face and he blinked somewhat surprised before realising he had been staring too long. Shaking his head as if to dismiss something, he returned to gazing into the amber liquid he was consuming.

The track changed and Erin's ears pricked up as she recognised the gentle strumming of Girl from the North Country Blues echoing out of the aged speakers above her head. The man too seemed to recognise the track, his face lifted and Erin, who was now watching him quite intently, thought she saw a lonely, nostalgic smile flicker across his worn looking face. The man noticed her gazing and winked "I doubt a young lady like yourself has any idea who this is singing" he chuckled.

"Actually," replied Erin smugly, "It's Bob Dylan."

The man looked somewhat taken a back. "Now how does a girl as young as yourself know that, you must be at least seventy years too young!"

"Well you must be at least thirty years too young" she retaliated. The man chuckled. "He was my Mom's favourite singer." She added.

"Was?"

"She died." The words came quietly

"Oh, I'm sorry." His looked suddenly uncomfortable, but instead of shrinking back to his drink, the man continued to stare.

Erin frowned "What? Have I got something on my face or something?"

"No, no, I'm sorry. It's just, well you look just like someone I used to know. For a minute there I thought you were her, but of course, Paige would be in her fifties by now... you just took me right back to my," he lowered his voice, "teenage years" and winked.

"Paige?" breathed Erin softly. Her stomach turned five somersaults, but she managed to keep her cool. "Who was Paige?" somehow, she felt like she already knew.

The man chuckled again "Oh no, I wont bore you with the woes of an old man, you got back you drink and enjoy yourself, I expect your meeting some friends soon and it wont do your image much good to be sat here chatting to a decrepit drunken stranger."

"I'm new here, I don't have any friends, and besides, your not drunk- you've been swirling that same glass around for over half an hour."

"Cheeky one aren't you? You've got spirit!" he laughed again... "Paige had spirit too- that's exactly what she would have said."

It was getting too much for Erin to bear, but then she told herself, there were hundreds of Paige's in America- millions even and some of them probably had 'spirit' and looked a bit like her, surely he couldn't be talking about her Paige, her mother?

"What's your name?" asked the man.

"E...Erin."

"Well Erin my dear, listen to me when I tell you, never walk away from someone you love... never. Else you'll end up a lonely old man like me."

Erin swallowed. "So was... Paige... was she your wife?"

"No... I wish she was my wife, the most stupid thing I ever did was marry somebody else and walk away from my girl. No, Paige was... well she was my best friend and... I guess she was my girlfriend. But I made a stupid mistake and by the time I woke up, it was too late, she was married, she had three children and...."

"Are you Glen?" She couldn't contain herself any longer.

The man was so shocked he shattered his glass in his white knuckle grip. "That's my name... how did you..."

"Are you talking about a woman called Paige Mathews?"

"Oh my god!" he whispered. No wonder he recognised that face, the girl sat in front of him was, it had to be, one of Paige's children... the three children she had with that other man, that Henry. The three children that could have been his if only he'd woken up from his self delusion and left his gold digging wife sooner.

"You knew my mom! You knew her when she was a kid! You're Glen! You're the one who..." then Erin remembered, "You're the one who nearly broke up my mom and dad."

"No, Erin, no, it wasn't like that... really it wasn't, it was one night and I didn't even know she was married or even about you or anything until afterwards, as soon as I found out, I walked away. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I left you all in peace. I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, but breaking up a family isn't one of them."

Erin had to let it go, she couldn't get into a fight with a complete stranger now and besides, Glen knew her mom before she was a Halliwell, he was the key to a whole part of Paige that she thought had been lost.

"Let me buy you a drink" he offered, and you can tell me all about your mom and what she's up to these days..."

"I told you, my mom died." Her heart stabbed painfully now and the devastated expression on Glen's face only added to the hurt.

"H...h...how? When?"

"Cancer. Three months ago," was her hollow response.

"Oh..." Glen looked so pained; it even managed to break Erin's heart, reminding her of the moment she had to accept her mother had slipped away. But Glen gritted his teeth and fought back his tears. "Well how about that drink, I expect there's lots of thing's you'd like to know about your mother when she was your age..." And the pair retreated to Erin's table to talk fragilely about a person they both believed the world should never have been deprived of.