"Your friend seems nice." Paige was sat in the front of Spencer's car, the Toyota Highlander she had seen in car port back at the house. They'd stayed at the Brew for half an hour, just long enough for Spencer to drink a coffee and Paige to have a second hot chocolate. She couldn't drink caffeine so late in the evening, she'd be climbing the walls all night if she did. Emily had been nice enough to sit with Paige until Spencer had come back inside. She hadn't asked her any awkward questions about what had happened to her. Paige had been grateful for that. She was probably going to face days of endless questioning, from the FBI and the Hastings alike.

"She is. You should count yourself lucky it was her you met, and not Hanna. She would have asked a million questions."
"Yeah, I feel super lucky right now." Paige rolled her eyes.
"Sorry." Spencer wasn't entirely sure what she was apologising for, she just knew that she really meant it. "I can't even begin to imagine how awful this must be for you."
"I know that I was taken when I was little. I know this is where I was supposed to grow up, but I didn't. I don't know you people; and right now, this feels more like being abducted."

"I'm sorry." Spencer repeated, there was nothing else she could think to say. "What were they like, the people who raised you?"
"Good people." Paige answered, and she honestly believed that. "No matter what anyone tries to say about my mom, she was a good person. She loved me more than anything else in the world. She and Dad gave me everything I ever wanted. I couldn't have asked for better parents."
"Sounds nice."

Veronica was waiting anxiously for the two girls when they got back. She was sitting at the counter, cradling a glass of wine. She jumped to her feet as soon as the girls walked through the back door. Her first instinct was to go to her daughter, but Veronica managed to hold back. She doubted Paige would let her anywhere near her, so she had to settle for asking if she was okay. "I just want to go to bed." The teenager ducked her head and walked right past Veronica, wanting to escape to the safety of the Hastings guest room.
"Do you need anything? Clothes to sleep in or-"
"I've got it covered, thanks. I was supposed to be staying at a... a friend's house. I've got an overnight bag."

"Okay. Good. We'll sort something more long term out tomorrow." Veronica nodded with a tight smile. Spencer recognised it for what it was. Her mother was feeling out of control. She was in a situation which she had no idea how to handle, and she was hating every second of it. Paige paused by the door. She bit at her lip as she looked at the spot just above Veronica's head.
"I can't argue with the DNA tests, you gave birth to me...but that doesn't make you my mom. My mom died two years ago, and she's not here to defend herself. When the FBI releases my dad, I want to go home with him. I could visit sometime, try and get to know you all, but I can't stay here."

To her credit, Veronica barely blinked as her daughter stood there rejecting her. "It's late. We'll talk in the morning." Spencer knew that line all too well. It was her mother's usual way of putting an argument to rest. There would be no discussion in the morning. No debate. Paige was about to get a baptism of fire in to the Hastings family's way of dealing with disputes. The other girl seemed to buy Veronica's spiel. With a nod, she bid the two Hastings women goodnight and headed upstairs.
"You're not just going to let her leave, are you?" Spencer asked, her tone somewhere between accusing and concerned. She'd only just found out she had a twin, she didn't relish the idea of losing her again so quickly.

"Spencer, it's late..." Veronica sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Her daughter was already one step ahead of her though, Spencer held her hand up to stop her from finishing.
"I know, we'll talk in the morning."
"Goodnight, Spencer." Veronica picked up her wine glass again and kissed her daughter's cheek, before heading upstairs to her own room. She closed the door behind her and made sure to lock it. Taking a sip of her wine, she kicked off her heels and then let down her hair. She and Spencer had the same dark locks, whereas Paige and Melissa's hair was a shade lighter. They booth took after their father.

Peter had been beside himself when Veronica had called to tell him the good news. She'd waited until the DNA had been confirmed, not wanting to get his hopes up before she knew for sure that Paige was their child. Losing their youngest daughter had damn near killed Peter Hastings fifteen years ago. Every false lead and sighting since had only served to twist the knife in a little deeper. Veronica had wanted to spare her husband the pain of another false lead. For all they had kept it from their other children, they had never given up the search for Kathryn. Regardless of what she wanted to call herself, their daughter was finally home. Peter was flying back first thing in the morning.

Veronica sat her glass down on the bedside table and moved over to her closet. There was a wooden box at the back of the very top shelf. It was the same place Veronica had hidden Christmas presents for the girls for years. She took the box down and perched on the edge of her bed with it in her lap. She opened the lid and carefully took out the contents of the box, laying each item out neatly on the bed in front of her. There was a lock of hair tied with a ribbon, Paige's first curl. A pair of baby booties followed it, along with a hospital bracelet and a bunch of photographs. Every picture had the same thing in common; they all showed Paige as a baby. When they'd made the decision to keep Paige's disappearance from Spencer, they'd had to hide all the evidence that the youngest twin had ever existed. It had broken Veronica's heart to do it, but it was the only way she and Peter had known how to carry on as a family.

It was a rough night for Paige. She hated sleeping out at the best of times, so trying to fall asleep in a stranger's house was neigh on impossible. She tried imagining she was in a hotel, the Hastings guest room was certainly fancy enough to pass for a five star hotel room. Paige's earlier nap had left her wide awake, and staring up at the ceiling long in to the early hours of the morning. She'd only managed to grab an hour or two of sleep before her internal body clock was giving her a wakeup call. Paige was an early riser, and always had been. She wasn't one of those people who could lie in bed all morning, letting the day go to waste. She wished that she were; that way, she could stay curled up under the covers and just ignore the rest of the world.

She checked her phone, and was disappointed to see that her dad hadn't called yet. He hadn't even sent a text. Had the FBI kept him in overnight? Had they carried on questioning him through the night? Was he still there? Paige tried calling his cell, but it went straight through to voice mail, just as it had done the night before. "Hey Dad, it's me. I, uh...I need you to come get me, okay? Call me back when you can, and I'll tell you where I am. I love you." Paige hung up and changed out of the clothes she'd worn for bed. She put her ripped jeans back on, since they were the only pants she had on her. There was a clean t-shirt in the bottom of her bag though. She pulled it on and tied back her hair.

It seemed the Hastings were early risers too. Paige could hear the shower running down the hall, so at least one of them was up. She hovered uncertainly by the top of the stairs. It felt weird to be up and walking around a stranger's home. It reminded her of the first time she'd stayed over at Shana's house, not long after they'd starting dating. They'd been out late at a party after a swimming meet, so Paige hadn't met the other girl's parents. She'd been terrified of going downstairs in the morning to meet them. It had taken an hour for Shana to coax her down. Paige probably should have called her girlfriend back last night. Shana had left her a dozen messages, worried about what was going on with her. She made a mental note to call her later. Shana was the type who liked to sleep in late.

"Good morning." Veronica greeted her with a bright smile as Paige finally worked up the courage to walk downstairs. The older woman was sitting on the couch with her laptop. It was barely eight o'clock, yet she was already dressed, with her hair done and her make up perfectly applied. It was like she was on show in her own home. "Can I get you some breakfast?"
"I'm good thanks." Paige shoved her hands in to the front pockets of her jeans, hunching her shoulders. "Have the FBI called again? Do you know if they've let my dad go yet?"

"I haven't heard anything. You'll be the first to know when I do. Are you sure I can't get you something to eat?" Veronica tried again. "I could make pancakes? Or there's cereal? Whatever you feel like."
"I feel like going home." Paige's answer was met with the same thin lipped smile that Veronica had worn the night before.

"I understand that, but it's not as simple as just sending you back to Pittsburgh. There are a lot of issues to consider. Nick McCullers is still under investigation for one, he also has no legal claim to custody of you. Family Services won't allow you to stay in his home whilst the FBI still considers him an accomplice to a child's abduction-"
"He didn't know!" Paige argued, unable to hold her tongue. "Neither of us did..."
"I'm sure the man will be exonerated if he's innocent. If that happens, we can look at the long term arrangements. In the meantime, I think we should plan on you being here for at least a few more days." Veronica knew full well that Nick McCullers had no legal leg to stand on when it came to custody of the teenager, whether he'd been complicit in the abduction or not. Paige wasn't his child. Even if he'd spent the last fifteen years raising her, he had no parental rights in the eyes of the law. Veronica couldn't imagine the headstrong teenager taking too kindly to that kind of news. It was better to keep her in the dark a little while longer.
"In that case I definitely need to go home. To pack a bag. I'll need my clothes."

Paige wasn't sure whether the older woman would go for it, but Veronica conceded with a nod of her head. She wasn't about to let her newly found daughter wander half way across the state on her own though. "Of course. I'll ask Spencer to drive you." Paige's first instinct was to refuse the offer, but the prospect of taking the bus in to Pittsburgh wasn't all that alluring.
"Spencer would be happy to drive you." The girl in question announced as she came walking down the stairs. She was dressed in a pair of grey slacks, along with a shirt and a sweater vest. The collar of the immaculate white shirt looked like it had been starched within an inch of its life. It was like looking at a walking advertisement for the young republicans. "Only it'll have to be after lunch. I'm meeting Toby."

"Okay, thanks." Paige had no idea who Toby was, though she could take a wild guess from the smile on Spencer's face. Veronica didn't look quite so happy at the mention of the boy's name. Paige wondered what her birth mother's expression would look like if she told her about her girlfriend. She'd never had the chance to tell her mom she was gay, she'd died before Paige had figured it out for herself. Her dad hadn't taken it very well at first; mostly because he'd come home early from a business trip, and walked in on her and Shana making out in the living room. He'd come a long way in the six months since he'd first found out his daughter was dating a girl. He hadn't exactly joined PFLAG, but he'd made an effort to take an interest in Paige's relationship. It had been more than she'd been expecting.

"I was actually thinking I'd walk around town for a bit, maybe take in the sights." Paige just wanted to get out of the house, especially if Spencer was going out too. Mother-daughter bonding time with Veronica wasn't exactly at the top of her to do list. "I can leave you my cell number." She added, trying to reassure the older woman that she wasn't just running off again; it wasn't like she had anywhere to run to. Her grandparents were all dead. Her parents were both only children. There were no aunts or uncles that could take Paige in if she ran away. There was Shana of course; her parents loved Paige like one of their own. They'd take her in without question, if she asked them to. The only problem was, she didn't want to ask. Paige knew all too well that her current predicament was because of her mother, but part of her couldn't help but blame Shana. If she hadn't pushed her in front of her to do that damn fingerprinting, then she'd still be none the wiser about her mother's crimes.

Paige was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she failed to really take notice of where she was walking, until she stopped in the middle of a street, having no clue where she was. She'd been pretty sure she'd be able to remember the way back to Main street. The coffee shop she'd been to last night seemed as good a place as any to waste an hour or two, particularly if Spencer's friend was working there again. She hadn't been paying enough attention to the passing streets though, so Paige McCullers found herself completely lost in the middle of a strange town. She'd taken both Veronica's and Spencer's cell phone numbers, as well as the land line for the house, but calling either of them seemed too much like admitting defeat. Paige glanced up and down the street, hoping to spot something familiar. It was like looking for water in the dessert. Nothing about the rows of houses, or the trees lining the streets rang a bell from her wanderings the night before.

She did notice a woman struggling with an armful of grocery bags though. She was trying to hold on to the bags while attempting to shut the trunk of her car over. One of the bags split though, sending tins rolling down the woman's drive. Paige shot forward without thinking about it, picking up the scattered groceries. "Thank you so much." The older woman had a warm, motherly, smile. "If I had a dollar for every time one of these bags has split on me, I could afford to have someone else do my shopping."
"That's what my mom always used to say." Paige laughed and shut the woman's trunk over for her. "Would you like a hand with these?"
"You're an angel." The woman sighed as Paige took another one of the bags from her. They carried the groceries up the drive and on to the porch. "My daughter has an uncanny ability to vanish from sight whenever I go grocery shopping. Speak of the devil; Emily, come help with these!"

Paige glanced over her shoulder and almost dropped everything she was holding as she spotted the woman's daughter running up the drive. It was Emily, Spencer's friend from the night before. She'd obviously been out running, seeing as she was wearing shorts and had her long hair tied back. She was breathing hard, and sweating slightly as she climbed the steps to the porch. Her attention wasn't on her mother. "Paige, hey." She greeted the other girl with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Your friend was nice enough to help me with the groceries." Pam answered for her, giving Emily a pointed look that had her moving to take the bags her mother was holding, so she could unlock the door.
"I got a little lost. I saw your mum struggling and offered to help." Paige explained as she followed Emily inside her house. She'd only intended to carry the shopping up to the porch, but she figured it was okay to go in.

"Thank you, Paige. Would you like some lemonade? I've got a fresh pitcher in the fridge." Pam didn't wait for the teenager's answer before moving over to the fridge. Emily shot the other girl an apologetic smile as her mother fussed around the kitchen, getting three glass tumblers out of one of the cupboards. Pam questioned how the two girls knew each other. She hadn't seen Paige around before.
"Mom, Paige is Spencer's sister. I mentioned it last night." Emily gave her mother a pointed look, silently trying to tell her not to make a big deal.
"Oh." Pam's expression changed slightly. Paige could see her opinion changing of her daughter's new friend along with it. She was looking at her with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity. Paige figured that was how most people in town were going to look at her, like some kind of side show to be whispered about.

"We've known the Hastings for a long time. They're a lovely family." Pam tried to recover as she handed out the lemonade. Paige fell silent, not really wanting to comment. She still hadn't met half of her so called family.
"How come you got lost?" Emily tried quickly changing the subject, sensing Paige's discomfort. "Haven't you got Spencer's number? I can get it for you if you want?" She offered, already pulling out her phone.
"I've got it. I just couldn't call out of pride. I wanted to take in the town on my own. Calling would have kind of been like admitting defeat, you know?"

"You're definitely a Hastings." Emily laughed. Coming from anyone else, the observation might have rubbed Paige the wrong way, but she let it slide. "How about I give you a guided tour?"
"That would be great, thanks." Paige eagerly accepted the offer. She'd only been hoping to run in to the other girl, so having Emily offer to give her a tour was a definite step up.
"Great. I'll just go get changed. I'll be right back." She discreetly managed to give her mother
a warning look on the way out. She didn't want to walk back in to the kitchen to find Paige being grilled.

Emily quickly changed out of her running gear and in to a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. She left her hair tied up for quickness, and sent Spencer a text to let her know Paige was with her. Her phone started ringing on the way down the stairs. She expected it to be Spencer calling her back, but it wasn't. "Hey sweetie. Lunch? Oh, I can't...my mom needs me to go grocery shopping with her, you know how she gets when my dad's away. Okay, I'll call you later. Love you too." Emily felt guilty about lying to her girlfriend like that, but Spencer was one of her best friends. She felt like she owed it to her to look out for Spencer's sister.

"There's not really a whole lot of town to see." Emily apologised an hour later, once they were sitting at one of the tables outside of the Brew. They'd walked around Rosewood, with Emily pointing out some of the main attractions. "There's the mall, the movie theatre, and the Brew. That's pretty much it."
"It's fine, kind of reminds me of home actually. We've got a mall and a handful of parks." Paige shrugged as she sipped at her coffee. "My friends and I spend most weekends in the city. We go catch a hockey game, or spend a couple of hours in the batting cages, stuff like that."
"So you're a jock?" Emily teased with a smile.
"Let me guess, that's a Hastings trait too?" Paige rolled her eyes, though a smirk was playing on her lips. She liked the other girl's smile; it was infectious.

"Spence plays field hockey, and Melissa played hockey and ran track." Emily answered, confirming Paige's suspicions.
"I play hockey, and I also run track. Swimming is my main thing though. I just love being in the water."
"Me too." Emily's face lit up at the revelation. She and Paige had just seemed to click instantly, their love of swimming was just one more thing they agreed on. "I'm team captain for the Sharks. You should talk to coach Fulton about joining."
"Thanks, but I'm not going to Rosewood High. I don't plan on being in town for more than a few days."
"Oh." Emily couldn't quite hide her disappointment. She had thought the other girl would be sticking around for a while. The varsity team could definitely use some more strong swimmers; and if Paige's ripped arms were anything to go by, she'd be fierce competition in the water.

"Paige, Em!" Spencer shouted over to them from the other side of the street. She was holding some guy's hand, and he gave Emily a wave as they crossed the road. "Paige, this is my boyfriend Toby. Toby, this is Paige." Spencer introduced her sister and boyfriend to each other. They shook hands as they exchanged pleasantries. Toby had a firm grip and a charming smile. He had that 'boy next door' look about him. "I was just about to call, are you ready to go?"
"Sure." Paige had been ready to go home since the moment she'd arrived in Rosewood.

"Great. Toby's going to come too, if that's okay? Em, why don't you come too?" Spencer seemed reluctant to be on her own for the long drive with her twin. She shot Emily a pleading smile, hoping she'd agree to come. She could use the backup, Paige was still effectively a stranger.
"Why not." Emily agreed. She didn't miss the grateful look Paige sent her way; she just hoped Samara, her girlfriend, wouldn't call to ask where she was - It would be hard to explain why she'd gone on a road trip with a girl she'd only just met.