A couple of months later and Erin found herself hobbling out of the outpatients centre on a pair of crutches. Spring had finally sprung and the whole day seemed to reflect Erin's mood

"I'm so glad to have those casts off" she sighed

Leo looked at his daughter and smiled, today the doctor had been happy enough to remove her casts much to Erin's relief. He's supplied her with crutches until she built up the strength again but Leo could already see she was making progress.

"I need to talk to you" he said as they got back to his car

"About what?" Erin said as she niftily manoeuvred herself back into the car

Leo took a deep breath "Nora"

"I don't want to talk about her" Erin said quickly staring hard at her feet

"Erin…" Leo sighed "The case is going to court as you fully well know and they need you to testify"

"I don't want to" Erin scowled "Anyway I thought they'd locked her up"

"She is in prison at the moment awaiting trial but this case will determine her sentence. She needs to be punished for what she did to you"

"Like I could forget" Erin sighed as they pulled out of the hospital car park

"We're going to have to talk to the lawyer for prosecution about it. They need you in court to tell them what happened"

"What if I don't want to" Erin bit her lip

"I'm not going to force you" Leo said quietly "I just want you to think about it"

Erin shrugged and just stared out of the window. Suddenly the lovely spring morning had been tainted by memories of the past and now all she could focus on were the darkening rainclouds bringing spring showers


The next day Leo finally allowed Erin back into school; although she was glad to go back she couldn't help but feel a little nervous about what was awaiting her there. But she needed something, anything to keep her mind off the rapidly approaching trial that was only weeks away

As she hobbled into her art class she was immediately met by an excited looking Nate who flung his arms around her almost causing her to fall backwards

"I missed you" he told her

"Ditto" she grinned

"Doesn't count" he told her and she stuck her tongue out at him

"Where is everyone?" she asked looking at the low population of the classroom

"School trip" he told her

"Why didn't you go?" Erin asked as she hobbled over to her seat

"I was worried about you; I wanted to be here when you came back"

"You shouldn't put your life on hold for me" Erin scolded

"Yeah well I did" Nate said giving her his trademark lopsided grin "Anyway why didn't you go?"

Erin just motioned to her crutches and the braces with a confused look on her face

"Obviously" he grinned "How long are you on those for"

"Maybe a month of so" she said

"Does it still hurt?"

Erin frowned "A little, my arm and leg are still a little stiff and I still get the occasional twinge but apart from that I'm fine" she assured him, noticing the worry on his face

"Ah Miss Dalton, I heard a rumour you'd be gracing us with your presence today" Erin turned around to see Mr Peters walking into the classroom "Everyone carry on with what you were doing" he told the class as he walked over to where Erin was sat "How are you?"

"Fine" Erin said as she put her crutches to one side

"How have you been getting on with your work?"

The good mood Erin was in suddenly disappeared as she showed Mr Peters her sketchbook

Ad the teacher flicked the pages over he noticed that this was different to Erin's usual work. The lines weren't as clear cut and everything seemed to be out of focus

"It's rubbish" she said hanging her head

Mr Peters shook his head as he gazed at her work some more, although it wasn't up to her usual standards, he had to admit there still was a certain charm about her art

"I had to do it with my non-writing hand" she explained

"It's not bad Erin" he told the young girl "Not bad at all…"

"It is!" the sketchbook was snapped shut

"Now Erin…" the teacher warned "You know these things take time…"

Erin nodded sulkily and listened to the teacher as he filled her in on what she had missed


Harry bounded up to Leo's office with a case file in his hand and knocked on the door softly. Poking his head into the room he saw Leo was on the phone deep in conversation

"She seems very reluctant to talk about it" he heard Leo say

There was a pause as Leo listened intently to the speaker on the other end of the phone

"Of course I understand, but you must understand she's not one to open up to strangers easily"

Leo rubbed at his temples with his free hand as he scribbled a note down on a nearby piece of paper

"Alright then" the older man said reluctantly "Six o'clock this evening will be fine. Goodbye" he hung up the phone and turned towards Harry was finally stepped into the room

"I've finished the report on the overdose victim we had in a while ago" the file was place down on the increasing stack that seemed to permanently remain on Leo's desk

"Thanks" Leo said sounding distracted

"I was thinking of taking an early lunch…" Harry continued, tentatively addressing the issue

"Whatever you want"

"…And a pay rise wouldn't go a miss either…" Leo's head shot up and Harry chuckled "Kidding Leo, I was seeing what it took to get your attention"

"Sorry" the older man sighed

"Who was that on the phone?" Harry asked settling himself down on a nearby chair

"Edward Adams, he's the prosecution for Nora's case"

"Is the case coming up soon?"

"A matter of weeks" Leo grimaced

"I'm guessing Erin's not too happy about that"

Leo nodded "I did try and mention it to her but she's closed off. This lawyer is keen to get her to stand up in court as a witness but she's terrified"

"Is it a necessity to have Erin there?" Harry asked "The court must know what she's been through"

"Apparently there's a good chance that Nora will plead not guilty to the charges. When she was taken in to police custody they found vast amounts of drugs and alcohol in her system. The defence might try and get her off on account she was not in control of what she was doing"

Harry snorted in disgust "That woman nearly killed Erin; they need to lock her up and throw away the key"

"I agree…" Leo assured him "…But Erin seems petrified by the idea of going through it all again. Edward is coming over tonight to try and build up a rapport with Erin before the case goes to court. I just don't know if Erin is strong enough to go through all this again"


Nikki sat in her car idly drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for Erin to be dismissed from school. In the back seat Alice was strapped into her carrier and was singing a happy little song to herself of her own creation. Moments later Nikki saw Erin hobble out of school looking utterly exhausted, the girl made her way over to the car with a confused expression on her face

"I can walk home" Erin said firmly, leaning on her crutches

Nikki shook her head "Get in the car"

Erin sighed knowing when she was beaten and slipped into the front passenger seat beside Nikki

"Erin!" Alice squealed happily as the young girl did up her seatbelt

Erin smiled and reached back to tickle Alice in the ribs which made the girl laugh harder

"How was school?" Nikki said as the pulled away from the gates

"Tiring" Erin said leaning back against the headrest "Did Leo send you to pick me up?"

Nikki snorted "Leo has no idea about parenting. He might think it's alright for you to walk home after what you've been through but I on the other hand have your general well being at heart. He knows that you need to take things easy and not be pushing yourself too hard, too soon" Nikki said launching into a full blown evaluation of Leo's parenting skills

"Yes mother…" Erin said sarcastically and rolled her eyes

Nikki glanced on her with a shocked expression on her face

"I didn't mean…I'm sorry…" Erin stuttered

"No, its fine" Nikki smiled

"Do you think its odd that I never really called my own biological mother 'mum' to her face?" she pondered

Nikki shook her head "There's more to being a mother than just giving birth" she told the girl

Erin shrugged and stared out of the window

"And just for the record, if my little one grows up to be anything like you than I'll be proud" she said giving Erin's hand a squeeze.