All through the day Paige wondered whether she was making the right choice in meeting up with Madeline. After all, she was a friend of Prue's... actually that didn't seem entirely true and she was dying to find out why.

However she'd be in deep trouble if Piper found out.

Which was why she'd chosen a café on the other side of town, well away from anyone she knew and a table in the quietest corner... just in case.

She arrived five minutes early and waited until Maddy arrived dead on time. She spotted Paige, ordered a coffee and made her way over. 'Hi.'

'You're on time.' Paige said, wanting to break the ice but not really knowing how to go about it.

'You're early,' Maddy countered with a smile. 'But we're here to talk about Prue, right?'

Paige nodded. 'If you want to that is.'

Maddy shrugged. 'You never know, it might help me.'

'Why not start at the beginning?' Paige offered.

'It was about five years ago,' Maddy started. 'I'd had a bit of a rough time with a girlfriend, I was a mess. I went out for a walk one night, literally bumped into Prue, she seemed worse off than me.'

'How come?' Paige asked softly.

'Her friend, maybe I should say boyfriend, had just died. We didn't talk at first, just walked through the park together, I was glad of the company, I think she was too. When we finally did start talking we really let it out. She told me everything. She told me all about Andy, her sisters, her mother, the fact that she was a witch and I told her everything that had happened to me.'

'You just believed she was a witch?'

'Well, yeah,' Maddy answered. 'She tried to show me her power but she couldn't use it. Andy's death had screwed her up but she described everything she'd seen, all about her heritage, I couldn't believe she was lying.'

'What else did she tell you?' Paige questioned.

'Pretty much everything, she was so broken up I don't think it mattered. We talked for hours then we just sort of went our separate ways, no plans to meet up or anything.'

'But you did?'

'I started hanging around the park hoping she'd come back, I was infatuated with her really and one day we met again. She seemed to have got over her power fear so she showed me what she could do. I remember she borrowed a boy's ball and we played catch for hours, Prue using her telekinesis instead of hands.'

'That was pretty strange of Prue,' Paige said aloud. 'From what Phoebe's told me, she was always really careful about that.'

'They only saw what she wanted them to see,' Maddy explained. 'With me she was looser, happier, we got really friendly, met each other every day.'

'I'm having a bit of trouble understanding how you got from being friendly to being involved.'

'When I said I told her everything, that wasn't exactly true.' Maddy said sheepishly. 'I didn't tell her I was gay. One night we were round at my apartment talking, the lights were down, it was romantic, I got swept away and... I kissed her.'

'Bet she wasn't too happy.' Paige commented.

'Actually she got swept away too, we were making out for ten minutes before we both realised what we were doing. But... I dunno, she wasn't upset at all, she left but I knew she was coming back.'

'Wow,' Paige breathed. 'I never would've thought.'

'She didn't wanna tell anyone though,' Maddy said softly. 'I think she was scared of what her sisters would say and after a few months I got sick of it. I told her I was taking a job in England and I'd check in after five years, maybe we could give it another go. That's why I came round the other week, the five years was up.'

'I'm... sorry.' Paige said quietly. 'Maybe Prue just didn't wanna face their reactions.'

'I think it was just experimentation,' Maddy said. 'I... like I said, I was infatuated with her.'

'What about now?' Paige asked softly.

'I dunno... she's dead!' she answered. 'I don't suppose it really matters how I feel.'

'I didn't know Prue, I can't tell you what to feel.'

'I'll work it out,' Maddy smiled slightly. 'Why do you hate her?'

'I don't hate her,' Paige said then cringed at the sceptical look on Madeline's face; 'I just feel like I'm being compared to her all the time. I know she was their sister and the leader and all that but I'm a replacement for her.'

'They're bound to miss her.' Maddy argued patiently.

'I'm not saying they shouldn't but they don't think how what makes me feel!'

'Prue was a pretty big person to live up to.' Maddy said wistfully. 'Try not to worry about it.'

'Do you wanna take a walk?' Paige asked.

'Sure.'