"She's so beautiful." Veronica sighed, with her head resting against the glass of the two way mirror that looked in to the room next door. She'd walked out when her daughter had started screaming at her to leave. Veronica had wanted to stay. She'd wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her daughter and to never let her go again. The girl had been too upset thought. Veronica had known better than to stick around and antagonise a pissed off teenage girl. She'd gone next door with Tanner, and another agent had brought them two cups of strong coffee. Veronica cradled her cup between her hands, savouring the warmth it was giving off. "She has Spencer's eyes...her attitude too." A small smile tugged at the mother's lips as she watched her daughter through the glass. As much as she denied being a Hastings, she certainly had the mouth of one.
"They're twins aren't they?" Tanner had put enough time and resources in to the case of the missing Hastings kid to know the details off by heart. Kathryn Hastings had been born four whole minutes after her fraternal twin sister. She'd been far smaller than her sister too. She'd spent a month in the hospital before she'd been allowed home with her family. "It's been a couple of years since I last saw Spencer. I'm sorry I haven't been in touch recently. Truth is, this case was cold from the start. Her turning up like this was a fluke. We might never have found her otherwise."
"It's a miracle." Veronica shook her head, still barely able to believe what she was seeing. Her youngest daughter was alive. She was safe. Where she had been didn't matter, yet.
"We're bringing in this McCullers guy. I ran his record. He's clean. Not even a parking ticket. He had a wife, but she died two years ago."
"So the son of a bitch was careful." Veronica tore her gaze away from the glass. A woman from family services was sitting with her daughter, trying to calm her down. Veronica could understand the girl's anger. She had just found out her whole life was a lie. It was natural the teenager would lash out and start to shut down. It was going to take a lot of time and patience to make Paige understand they were telling her the truth.
"I want his ass nailed to the wall for this. You tell your men, I want this done by the book. This guy walks because some incompetent rookie screwed up a search warrant, and I'll bring the wrath of god down on this office!" Tanner nodded in understanding. Veronica Hastings wasn't just some grieving mother of a lost child. She was a highly educated defence lawyer, with the power to back up any threats she might make.
"You should be able to take her home soon. We'll need to follow up with interviews, but for now it's probably best we give her a couple of days. This is going to be hard for her to swallow. From what I can tell, she had no indication that she'd been taken." Tanner wasn't saying anything that Veronica didn't already know. The Hastings women were resilient though. She had no doubt that her daughter would be strong enough to handle it; regardless of what she wanted to call herself, she was a Hastings.
The two women headed back in to the room next door. Paige looked up as the door opened, her eyes narrowing suspiciously on the woman who claimed to be her birth mother. Veronica had seen her daughters give her some looks over the year, but neither Spencer nor Melissa had ever looked at her with so much contempt. "Paige, you can go home now." Tanner's words were a poor choice. Paige's face lit up like it was Christmas morning.
"Home? Is my Dad here?"
"No. Paige, I meant you can go home with your mother. With Veronica."
"That's not happening!" Paige snarled, the look of hatred returning to her face. "I have no idea who that woman is! You can't make me go home with her! I want to see my Dad!"
"Paige, your dad's being brought in for questioning. The social worker would have explained that to you. I know this is all a hot mess right now, but we're not wrong about this. Veronica Hastings is your mother. That makes her your legal guardian. We're going to need you to go with her tonight. We'll speak to Nick McCullers and see if we can't clear this thing up." Tanner was pandering to her. Paige could see it written all over her face. Her eyes were too bright, her smile too forced. She was telling Paige what she wanted to hear. They were making it look like she had a choice, when really she was backed in to a corner.
"Fine." She relented, unable to look the woman who claimed to be her mother in the eye. "I'll go without a fight, but I get to see my dad first."
"Paige that's not going to be-" Tanner started to shoot her down, but Veronica spoke up.
"I'm happy for that to happen. If it will help Kath...If it helps Paige to deal with all of this, then I'll allow it." For the first time since Veronica had opened her mouth, Paige didn't feel like clawing her eyes out.
"Thank you." She managed to force herself to look at the woman, trying not to see all the similarities between them. Veronica Hastings was tall and slender, with long dark hair and eyes that were the exact same shade of brown as Paige's own. Her high cheekbones and strong jaw were also something Paige had faced in the mirror countless times before.
Her mothers eyes had been blue, her hair a dark blonde. Paige's nose was a different shape to both of her parents. All of these things kept going around Paige's mind as she followed Tanner through the maze of corridors that made up the Pittsburgh office of the FBI. Veronica was following behind them. Close enough to keep Paige in her sight, but not so close as to make her feel smothered. Paige felt for the woman. It wasn't her fault the FBI had screwed up and put all of these ideas in her head. She would be heartbroken when Paige's DNA proved that she wasn't this Hastings girl; when Paige's father would take her home, back to the safety of their house, and the woman would go back to not knowing what had happened to her missing child.
"Paige!" Nick McCullers sprang to his feet the second his daughter walked in to the interrogation room he'd been sat in for the last forty minutes. The senior investigator on the case, an agent Tanner, and a woman from Family Services also walked in to the room, but Nick didn't care about them. His attention was fixed solely on Paige as he threw his arms around her and held her tight.
"I'm sorry, Dad." Paige clung to his neck, burying her face against his shoulder as she tried not to start crying again. "They keep saying this crazy stuff about me and I don't know why..." Paige bit back a sob as her dad pulled back to look her right in the eyes, his big hands gripping the tops of her arms.
"Paige...I have no idea what they're talking about either. You are my daughter, and when they get that through their thick skulls, we are both going home. Now, you can call Shana's parents. I'm sure they'll take you for tonight-"
"They say I've got to go with that woman. The one saying I'm her kid." Paige's lower lip started to wobble. She was really trying to keep it together, but seeing her dad had knocked all of the fight out of her. She just wanted to curl up in his arms and have her father make everything right again.
"They can't do that." Nick shook his head and finally turned his attention to Tanner. "You can't take my daughter from me and just give her to some woman!"
"Maybe you should have thought about that fifteen years ago, Nick." Tanner's tone was dry and curt. It left no doubt that she'd already made up her mind that Nick McCullers was a child abductor. She hadn't figured out his motivations yet.
She didn't know whether he was a sick pervert, or just a man who's wife had wanted a child of their own so desperately that he'd stolen someone else's; but why didn't matter so much at the moment. They would hammer out the details once he'd confessed. She had to hand it to the guy though, he was stick to his story.
"My daughter was born in Austin, Texas, seventeen years ago. On May 10th. I have her birth certificate at home. I have her baby photos, a lock of her hair...Jesus Christ, I've even got the first tooth she lost! I don't know who you think she is, but you're wrong! This is my Paige...my little girl..." There were tears welling up in his eyes as Nick hastily wiped them with the back of one arm, and kept the other around Paige's shoulders. He couldn't let her see him breaking down. He had to be strong for her.
"If that's true, Mr McCullers, then we'll know in a few hours when we get the DNA test back. For now, Paige has to go home with who the state believes is her rightful guardian. Right now, based on finger print evidence, we believe that is Mrs Hastings. We'll get a search warrant for your house for that stuff you mentioned. We can compare that DNA too. If it turns out we're wrong, I'll be the first one to apologise."
""You'll be doing a lot more than that." Nick growled out, with his jaw set. "You don't need a search warrant. Just like I don't need a lawyer. Take what you want, I've got nothing to hide. Paige is mine, and I will do anything that I can to help prove that."
"We appreciate your cooperation, sir." Tanner was back to wearing the fake smile as she moved to get the door. "The sooner we straighten all this out the better. Now your daughter's going to have to go. Just for tonight." Nick nodded his understanding.
He would move heaven and earth for this daughter's sake, but he knew the only way to get Paige back was to prove he was innocent of whatever it was the FBI were accusing him off. He pulled Paige back in for one more hug. "You be good now. You remember how your mother and I raised you, and you do what these people tell you. No mouthing off, you hear me?" Paige was took choked up to answer him, all she could manage was a nod of her head. "I'm going to call you tonight. Everything's going to be okay. You'll see." He kissed her cheek before giving her a gentle push towards the door. Paige couldn't remember walking out of the room, but she suddenly found the door closing behind her and agent Tanner's hand at her back, guiding her down another whitewashed corridor.
The walls were starting to feel like they were drawing closer together. Her stomach was churning and she could feel acid burning at the back of her throat; it felt like it was closing up as she started to struggle to breathe. Her legs gave way beneath her. She hit the floor like a sack of potatoes, her knees slamming down hard against the cheap carpet. She couldn't take in any air. Her mouth was open, her lungs were gasping, but she couldn't get the oxygen her body so desperately needed.
"Paige! Paige, it's okay!" Tanner dropped down beside her. She was trying to help her, but she didn't know what was wrong. The social worker was on her other side. Crowding her wasn't helping Paige any. She was in the middle of a full blown panic attack. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to focus on blocking the rest of the world out.
"Out of the way!" She heard an authoritative voice ordering the others away from her, and she then felt something being thrust in front of her face. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at a paper bag. Veronica had pulled it out of her briefcase, and was holding it up to her mouth. Paige snatched hold of it and started breathing in to it. She sat back against the wall, clutching the bag over her mouth as her breathing started to return to normal. Veronica hovered uncertainly beside her, her expression a picture of concern. She noticed a strand of hair that had come loose from Paige's braid, and tucked it back behind her ear.
"Do you get them often? The panic attacks?" Veronica asked some time later, when she and Paige were sitting in her car and stuck in traffic on the I79. The teenager had lapsed in to a stony silence after recovering from the anxiety attack, and she hadn't said a word since they'd left the city. Paige had suffered with anxiety on and off for years, it was mostly under control. "Melissa, your older sister, she used to get them a lot when she was your age."
"I'm an only child." Paige answered dryly. She was sitting curled up against the door of Veronica's Prius, her head resting against the back of her hand and her eyes glued to the road.
"Paige, I understand this is hard for you. It's hard for me too. I thought you were...it's going to be an adjustment." Veronica glanced over at the stranger sitting in her car, thinking that was probably the understatement of the century. She didn't need blood tests, or fingerprints to know the girl was hers. Even without the resemblance to her other daughters, Veronica could feel the connection deep down in her bones.
"An adjustment? Seriously?" Paige finally looked over at the older woman. She was doing her best to do as her father had asked her and to be polite, but it was hard to mind her manners when it felt like her world was imploding.
Veronica's first instinct was to check the girl for her tone, but she caught herself. Paige wasn't Spencer or Melissa. She was going to need to handle her with kid gloves for a while; at least until they were no longer virtual strangers. "You look like Spencer when you pull that face. Would you like to see a picture of her? I have some of her on my phone, Melissa too; and your father-"
"You've never met my father." Paige huffed, slipping back in to her sulk. Veronica wasn't so easily swayed.
"You're a twin you know. Fraternal, not identical. Spencer, she was born a few minutes before you. You were so tiny when you were born-"
"Please stop." Paige closed her eyes with a pained expression. "I'm sorry that you lost your baby, I really am, but I'm not her. I don't want to hear about your family, I just want to go home to mine."
"I understand why you might feel that way." Veronica's grip tightened on the wheel. She was wearing a tight smile and talking like Paige's guidance councillor from school. "The FBI are rushing the DNA testing tonight. We'll know which one of us is right by morning."
"Can't wait."
The two women fell back in to an uneasy silence for the rest of the drive. Paige kept herself busy by checking her cell phone. It had been going like crazy all afternoon, so she'd knocked it on to silent mode. The calls and messages from her friends were mounting up, particularly from Shana. Paige didn't answer any of them. Even if she'd felt like talking, she wouldn't have known what to say.
Eventually they reached a town called Rosewood. It looked like every other small town in Pennsylvania. Main street was lit up with stores and coffee shops, and people were milling around, enjoying a seasonally warm late September evening. Paige was supposed to be over at Shana's house, making the most of having her girlfriend all to herself while her parents were out. She was supposed to be watching movies and planning a lazy Saturday morning with Shana. She wasn't supposed to be in some strangers car, being driven to god knows where, to meet a bunch of people who were going to think she was someone she wasn't.
"Peter's away on business at the moment, and Melissa's working in London. I've called them both. They're coming home as soon as they can. So it's just going to be me, you and Spencer tonight. It's probably better that way, you won't be too overwhelmed." Veronica explained as they pulled up the drive of an impressive looking ranch style house. The Hastings clearly had some money. Alongside the main house was an old barn that looked like it had been converted in to a guest house. Veronica pulled in to carport. There was a Toyota Highlander parked on the far side, and still space for another two cars. Back home, Paige struggled to get her bike in alongside her dad's car.
"Come on in." Veronica ushered her inside. They went in through the back door, walking in to an open plan kitchen, with marble counters and shining appliances. It looked immaculate, like no one ever cooked in it. Veronica placed her briefcase down on the the breakfast island and shrugged off her jacket. "Spencer? Are you home? Spence!" She called out for her daughter, and Paige waited patiently for her first glimpse of her supposed 'twin'. She didn't have to wait long.
Spencer Hastings blew in to the kitchen like a hurricane, pulling on a denim jacket and flicking out her hair. "Hi Mom. I'm just on my way out. I'm meeting Emily for dinner." She hadn't noticed Paige. The other girl had attempted to shrink in on herself as she stood by the door, out of the way. She and Spencer had a similar build, though the other girl was an inch or so taller. She was as skinny as a rake, where as Paige was carrying more muscle. They had the same long dark hair, though Paige's was shorter. She was still growing out her bangs from last year.
"Dad left a message on the answering machine, but I don't have a clue what he was talking about-" Spencer caught Paige staring at her as she headed for the back door. "Sorry, I didn't realise we had company. I'm going to take off, I won't be home late."
"Spence, I need you to stay." Veronica put her arm out to stop her daughter from walking out. Spencer's face twisted. She looked like she was about to throw a strop, then remembered Paige was standing there.
"Mom, I'm going over to Emily's. I told you about this last night. You didn't say you were bringing a client home for dinner-"
"Spencer, this is...Paige. She isn't a client. She's...She's your sister."
"Mom, I know I complain about Melissa all the time, but that doesn't mean you had to go and swap her." Spencer cracked. Her sarcasm cut a little too close to the bone for Paige, who was still watching the other girl intently. She was trying to figure out whether she was meant to feel something. If the girl standing in front of her really were her twin, then surely she should have felt something? She'd heard about twins who could feel each other's pain, or know when one another was in trouble, even when they were miles apart; but she was looking at Spencer Hastings, and apart from some mild amusement at her joke, she felt nothing.
"Spencer, this isn't a joke. She's your sister." Veronica tried again to get her daughter to listen to her. They had kept the existence of her missing twin from her in order to protect Spencer. She had been too young to remember her. Her parents had felt it kinder to let her forget. There had been no leads in the case from the start. The CCTV in the department store hadn't been working and no one had remembered seeing anyone walking off with the baby. Veronica and Peter Hastings had long ago given up hope on their missing child being found alive. "There are some things your father and I never told you-"
"Big surprise there." Spencer interrupted, with her arms folded across her chest. She fixed her attention on Paige, refusing to believe what she was hearing. "Is this like the thing with Jason? Has dad got any more illegitimate children running around that we should know about?"
"It's nothing like that." Veronica snapped through clenched teeth. She was clearly still trying to exercise some control in front of Paige; but at the same time, she didn't want Spencer airing their dirty laundry before the other girl had even had a chance to meet the rest of the family. "Paige is your twin sister. She was taken from us when you were very little. She was abducted."
"Seriously?" Spencer lost the attitude as she looked between her mom and the stranger standing awkwardly by the door. "Holy Sh-"
"Spencer! Language!"