Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

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Erica stepped out onto the front porch again, this time fully decked out in dress, tights, bloomers, coat, scarf, hat, mittens, boots, and a burning desire to run out into the front yard, plow through the knee-deep snow, and bury herself in it. Carefully making her way down the front steps, Faith by her side, she still couldn't help but giggle at the sense of wonder she felt experiencing her first snowfall.

Now that the sun was up, the magical beauty of the fresh snowfall was magnified a thousand times, turning every tree branch and rock into a dazzling display of twinkling brightness. Blinking against the blinding whiteness of the sun, Erica was awestruck with every step.

Reaching the bottom of the steps that Fredrick cleared before breakfast, Erica couldn't contain her excitement any longer and ran to the closest drift of snow she could find. Wading into it, she giggled as she flopped backwards into it, relishing the feel, even as cold as it was.

Right behind her cousin, Faith yelled, "Erica! Wait for me!" Watching Erica drop into the snow giggling, she giggled as well. "Oh, Erica! Now you're all snowy and wet!"

"I don't care!" she retorted between giggles. "This is like magic!"

Jogging up to stand next to her prone cousin, Faith held out a mittened hand. "Come on! Let's go make snow angels!"

Pulling herself up with the offered hand, she followed Faith around to the north side of the house opposite the garage where the lawn lay dormant beneath the untouched snow. Erica watched as Faith lay down and splayed her arms and legs out, wiping them back and forth until she had carved out a perfect snow angel. Helping Faith back up, Erica looked down at the pattern and smiled.

"That's pretty neat! Let me try!" she said through her smile. Finding a clear patch next to Faith's angel, she lay down just as Faith had done and repeated the process, getting up to admire the two patterns with their apparent hands joined together. Spending the next ten minutes making more, they finally looked back on their works of art.

Erica looked at her cousin. "That was so much fun! What else can we do?"

She shrugged. "We could build a snowman!"

Nodding vigorously, the two spent the next half-hour rolling snow and stacking it into a body and head. Using rocks for eyes and loose sticks for arms, Erica made a smile out of gravel from the driveway before taking off her scarf and wrapping it around the neck. The two girls laughed at the sight as it was barely half their height, lumpy, goofy looking, and not at all what you see in movies and TV shows, but so much better because they'd made it. They laughed so hard their sides ached when they noticed the rock eyes made it look cross-eyed.

Starting back to the house, Erica noticed how wet they both were. "Aunt Heather isn't going to be mad at us for getting wet, is she?" she chattered through cold lips.

Faith turned around and walked backwards through the snow toward their front door. "Mamma said we could go out in the snow, she knows that means getting wet, and cold. Cook will probably have hot cocoa for us to drink in front of the fire so we can get warm again!"

"It sure is cold! I bet it stays this cold until spring, huh?"

Her cousin turned back around to see where she was going. "It might not. Sometimes we get a snow like this and the next week it'll turn warm and melt everything, but we'll get more snow by Christmas, that's for sure."

Reaching the foot of the steps leading up to the front door, Erica watched Faith stamp her feet and wipe her arms and sides of her coat to remove the snow. Doing the same, she helped wipe snow off of parts of her cousin that she couldn't reach as Faith did the same in return.

"Hey, Erica?" Faith asked while she was getting brushed off. "Do you know what you want to be for Halloween? It's this Sunday, only three days away!"

Shrugging, Erica finished brushing Faith off. "Nothing, I guess. I haven't dressed up for Halloween in years. That's for little kids."

Turning, Faith looked at Erica with a hurt expression. "Oh. Never mind."

Seeing she'd accidentally hurt Faith's feelings, Erica apologized. "Faith? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." Even as she spoke, she watched Faith ascend the steps in a sullen waddle. "Faith! Come back! I'm sorry!"

Hurt turning to childish anger, Faith spun around, looked back at her cousin, and spat her reply. "Well, maybe in California it's for little kids, but here it's for everyone!"

Erica moved slowly up the steps towards her. "I'm really sorry, Faith! I didn't know you liked Halloween so much!"

"Erica, that was mean!" Faith crossed her arms. "I'm not a little kid and I love to dress up for Halloween! Even Mamma does, and we have lots of fun at the Halloween party!"

Hanging her head, Erica stopped on the steps. "Faith, I swear I didn't mean to make you feel bad! Back home, almost nobody does Trick-or-Treat... except little kids. They don't even go to people's houses anymore! They have Trick-or-Treat at the mall. I didn't know it was different here! Will you please forgive me?"

Looking at her cousin warily, Faith judged her explanation as if to search for hints of lies in it. Satisfied Erica was sincere, she uncrossed her arms and nodded. "Well, OK." Her sullen expression slowly breaking into a smile, Faith giggled. "I can't really stay mad at you anyway, Erica!"

She finished climbing the steps and hugged her slightly older cousin. "Thank you, Faith! I really am sorry. I'll try not to assume so much in the future. It's just... really different here."

They took each other's hands and walked up to the door, which opened for them as they approached.

"Welcome back, Miss Faith, Miss Erica." Fredrick greeted them. "Did you quite enjoy yourselves?"

"Quite!" Erica nodded with a grin. "Thank you, Fredrick!"

"You should call him Freddie, like I do, Erica." Faith offered as she sat down on the marble bench to take off her boots. "I think he likes it!"

She looked up at the huge man and noticed only the slightest remnants of a smile fading to his normally emotionless expression.

"As you like, Miss Faith." he replied. "However, I should say that Miss Erica should be free to refer to me as she prefers."

Thinking as Fredrick helped her out of her coat, Erica turned and looked up at him. "I'd like to call you whatever you like."

Fredrick raised an eyebrow in surprise, having never been asked what he liked to be called. Thinking honestly a moment, he looked down at the child before him. "I think I like you referring to me by my full first name, Miss Erica. It seems to suit you."

Smiling, Erica stood tall and tried to sound formal and dignified as best she could. "Then Fredrick it shall be. Thank you for helping me with my coat, Fredrick!"

"My pleasure, Miss Erica." he replied with only the slightest hint of a smile. He found it odd that he was actually beginning to think of Erica as a young girl, but he understood it was what she needed to be for now. Guiding her to the marble bench, he knelt and helped both girls off with their boots and mittens before helping them put on their indoor shoes. Looking around briefly, he asked, "What has happened to your scarf, Miss Erica?" The mention of its absence caused both girls to giggle at the memory of their ridiculous looking snowman that now wore it.

Making their way into the living room, the two saw pillows and a blanket placed in front of the fire. Rushing forward, stopping at the fireplace for a moment to warm their hands, they sat on the pillows just as Cook came out of the dining room with a tray. Lowering it down so they could each take a steaming cup of cocoa, she smiled at the girls.

"Did you have fun Erica?" Theresa asked.

Nodding, she smiled. "Don't you know it! I didn't know it could be so much fun to do something as simple as making a snowman!"

Leaning in next to her cousin, Faith bumped shoulders with her, giggling conspiratorially as she sipped her cocoa. Repeating the process over and over, she kept bumping shoulders with Erica as the girl described her first time playing in the snow to Cook and her aunt. Finally, she'd managed to irritate her cousin after five or six bumps.

"What?" Erica fumed, turning to look at her just as Faith crossed her eyes and grinned like an idiot, mimicking their snowman. Erica stifled a laugh, her ire loosing out to her funny bone. Finally, the two were forced to put their cups down, rolling on the floor and giggling like crazy.

Their giggle fit was infectious as both Cook and Heather couldn't help but chortle at the two of them, the room filled with the sound of giggling girls. Even the unflappable Fredrick couldn't help but let out a few repressed chuckles before composing himself as he entered the room.

When Heather saw Fredrick standing and waiting for her attention, she asked through her mirth, "What is it Fredrick?"

With only the faintest hint of a smile and a glance at the two laughing hyenas in front of the fire, he bowed slightly. "Madame, I wish to inform you that the main highway is open once more. I will have the driveway cleared within the next thirty minutes."

His news halted the laughter at once as Faith rolled over on her stomach to look back at him. "So soon?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Faith." Fredrick nodded curtly. Knowing what the girl was thinking from experience, he added, "Though I do believe school is still unlikely to be resumed until Monday the first, at the soonest. Too many in the area are still snowbound."

"Thank you, Fredrick." Heather nodded in understanding. Turning to Erica, she could see mild fear in the girl's eyes. Having already considered how to proceed, she smiled at her niece. "Erica? Are you ready to come with me into town to get some clothes of your own?"

Faced with the prospect of leaving her safe and loving environment, Erica gulped as she shook her head slightly. "Do I have to, Aunt Heather?"

Looking at Cook, Fredrick, and then Faith, she cleared her throat. Without a word, all three knew at once that she wanted to be alone with her niece.

Erica watched as Faith stood up and grudgingly left for the kitchen with Cook and Fredrick. Standing, she walked over to her aunt where she beckoned Erica with a patting of the loveseat's cushion. Nervously, she sat down as Heather turned to face her.

"Erica, I know you're happy here, and you're happy being you." she began. "Is there something keeping you from wanting to go with me into town?"

Fidgeting with her fingers, Erica was terrified to say out loud what she was feeling. After a moment, her aunt took her hands to quiet their restlessness. Without a word, she looked into her aunt's vibrantly blue eyes and wished that Heather could read her mind so she didn't have to say it out loud.

"I see." her aunt said, knowingly. "You're scared that people will 'know' and that you'll be made fun of, aren't you?"

Tears welling up in her eyes were Erica's only response.

"Oh, sweetheart!" her aunt consoled, drawing her into a comforting hug. Holding her lovingly for a few minutes to quell her fears, she finally pulled back and regarded her niece. "How about this. Before we go shopping, I'll take you to a friend of mine who runs a beauty salon. Her name is Brooke Hathaway and she lives just a short way down the road. I can call her up and I'm sure she'll be happy to help you feel much more comfortable as Erica so no one will know. Would that be alright?"

Drying her eyes with a tissue, Erica nodded. Curious, she asked, "Did... did she used to be Uncle Richard's friend?"

Surprised by her niece's knowledge of Brooke's connection to her late husband, she was stunned speechless for a moment. Finally she asked, "How do you know about that?"

Sniffing, Erica shrugged. "Faith told me that a lady that lives nearby named Brooke was in the war with her daddy."

Heather smiled sadly. "Yes, she was in the service with Richard. She and your Uncle Richard were very close friends for many years! Brooke was also a very dear friend to your father and mother. In fact, she sort of introduced them to one another, from a certain point of view." Heather barely managed to hold back her tears as she remembered that day with a sad fondness.

Turning around, Heather smiled as she saw the three people she was waiting for enter. New Years Eve nineteen ninety-five just wouldn't be the same without her sweetheart to kiss at midnight. Making her way to the door, she saw him notice her approach and her heart fluttered with anticipation.

"Richard! I'm so glad you could make it!" she said as she got close enough for him to hear.

Richard Hargrave, a Sergeant in the United Stated Marine Corps, smiled his rugged smile as he saw her approaching. He removed his cover and ran his free hand through his short-cropped red hair. At just over six feet with classically handsome features and a muscular ex-football player's build, he was what most women would die for in a man. That he was also charming, witty, gracious, and kind made him the target of much of the female population around the college.

For his part, Richard couldn't believe he'd ever managed to attract the eye of Heather Moore, the most beautiful girl he'd ever known. She wasn't the most popular girl, nor the most outgoing, but in his eyes no woman could ever compete with her stunning beauty, quick wit, intelligent mind, and graceful charm. "Hey, beautiful! Couldn't leave you alone! You might come to your senses and realize you could do way better than me!"

Heather smiled coyly as she wound her arms around his waist. "Better than you? Who? Adonis? Apollo? John Wayne?"

Jack peered around his best friend's shoulder, having been standing next to him and being quietly ignored by the two lovebirds. "Ah, come on! This jarhead? I just don't get why you threw me over for that! What do you see in him when there's me to be had!"

Sergeant Brooke Hathaway tapped him on the shoulder. Jack turning to face her, the woman Marine looked him up and down, then likewise with Richard, shaking her head. "Sorry Charlie, but even I can tell he's got you beat."

Jack, ever the comedian, took off his cover and held it to his heart. "Brooke! My sweetness! Say it ain't so!"

Pushing past Jack and snaking around Richard, Brooke smiled and hugged Heather. "Hey, beautiful! Still sure I can't tear you away from this clown? I can really make it worth your while!" She arched her eyebrows at Heather in a comically seductive way.

While Heather was much more curvaceous, Brooke was no less attractive. At five foot eight, she stood taller than Jack even without the aid of her two-inch heels. Her legs long and muscular, her waist tapering nicely into rock-hard abdominals, her shoulder-length ebony hair curly and framing her face perfectly, and her lips full and beautiful.

"You make an awfully tempting offer, Brooke..." she said in her low throaty voice. Releasing her and returning to Richard, she hooked an arm through one of his. "...but alas my heart is already spoken for."

Jack turned to his best friend. "Say Rich, you wouldn't mind if Heather took a little break from you, would you? Just a short one? Like say for an hour? Oh, I don't mean for myself, but think of poor Brooke!"

Turning to his best friend, Richard smirked at him. "Yeah, I know who you're looking out for, Jack."

Pleading as the four made their way through the other guests, Jack begged, "Oh, come on Rich! Give a guy a break! Just let them go upstairs, alone, for ten minutes! I swear, you can even handcuff me to the front door! I just wanna know it happened!"

Brooke slugged Jack in the arm hard enough to bruise. "Can it, clown! I'm not your personal masturbation material."

"OK, OK. You know I was only kidding around." Turning to Heather Jack smiled sincerely. "So how've you been?"

She put her other arm through Jack's as they walked slowly. "Can't complain, Jack." Thinking of how to segue into what Brooke wanted to talk about, she asked innocently, "Seeing anyone?"

He jerked his thumb at Brooke and Richard. "No one but these two yahoos. Alas, you were my last and final hope. My heart can never love another!"

Smiling, Brooke hoped to not give too much away. "Well, that's too bad. I was hoping you could help me with a little problem."

His smile melted immediately. "What's her name?"

Laughing, Heather reached the end table where she'd put her drink and the ones she'd already gotten for the trio. "Oh, Jack! Here I thought I'd ruined you for all other women!"

He nodded. "True, true, but what's her name Brooke? Her name!"

Looking at him, Brooke smiled. "Her name's Erica. She's sweet, but shy. I met her while waiting for Heather at the campus library. I kind of got my signals crossed and thought she was hitting on me, but she was really just wanting to ask about my service. She was doing some psychology paper on the effect of women in predominantly male occupied professions."

Wincing as he picked up a beer bottle, he opened it and handed it to her. "Please! Not another she-woman man-hater! I don't care how cute she is, they're more trouble than they're worth! You sure she wasn't hitting on you?"

Taking a drink, Brooke shook her head. "Positive. And she's not a left-wing wacko feminist, either. Her professor probably is, so it's the assignment she got, but she's actually quite nice, loves the armed forces, and even thanked me for my service."

Shaking his head as he took his own beer, Jack swigged it. "Then her old man's probably a swabbie at the base."

While Brooke laughed, Richard, who'd not been listening to the conversation, asked, "What about swabbies?"

Taking another drink, Jack grinned. "Nothing, Rich. Just go back to ogling your girlfriend."

Picking up his own beer, Richard glared at his best friend since age fourteen. "I wasn't ogling her, I was admiring her beautiful eyes!"

Nudging him in the shoulder, Jack quipped, "Sure, sure, Rich. Increase your scanning elevation about twenty-five degrees to find her eyes."

His comment brought a laugh to the three and a blush to Heather's cheeks before Brooke turned and looked toward the door and checked her watch.

Noticing the action, Jack shook his head. "Oh, no! You didn't! Brooke! Say it ain't so! You set me up without even asking?"

She shrugged as she took another drink. "You'll love her, Jack. I swear."

He nodded. "Uh-huh. How many eyebrows does she have?"

"Three, one for each eye." Brooke smiled sweetly. "But you'll never notice because the hump on her back will draw all your attention." Almost sensing more than hearing the front door open over the clamor of conversations and the music, she turned and smiled when she saw Erica look into the throng of partygoers. Handing her beer over to Heather, she didn't even look back. "Excuse me." she said as she headed for the door.

Thinking she might've come to the wrong address before she spotted Brooke coming toward her, Erica smiled and embraced her. "Hi! I thought I got the wrong place. This is your party?"

Slinging her arm over Erica's shoulders, Brooke grimaced. "Not exactly my party, but I was invited, so the invitation is yours as well. Come on!" She leaned in close to whisper, "Keep calm, girl!"

Making their way through the crowd, Brooke walked toward the trio with her guest. Heather and Richard were looking at each other with stars in their eyes; Richard's back turned to their approach.

Jack was the only one who saw them coming. The two getting closer, his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly the room seemed very quiet, the noise and laughter seeming to fade into the background. He wasn't even seeing Brooke anymore, just the girl she was with. She was thin, but not skinny, with well-rounded hips and bust and a narrow tapering waist. The T-shirt she wore under a see-through white jacket emphasized her gracious curves, and her jeans covered long legs that Jack could tell were well formed and sexy. Her shoulder-length red hair bounced with every step, framing her beautiful face and haunting green eyes.

For her part, Erica saw Jack at the same moment and her breath caught. He was not ruggedly handsome, nor especially well built or tall. His dirty-blonde hair was almost non-existent, cropped short and spiked up out of his head like tiny porcupine quills. His face was neither exceptionally attractive nor homely, hands callused and scrawny. It wasn't his looks that had always taken her breath away. It was him. Most especially now, with a room full of half naked women surrounding her Jack, his eyes were locked on her and only her as though she, Erica Hargrave, were the best looking woman in the room.

Brooke stopped in front of him. "Jack? This is Erica." Seeing the two staring into each other's eyes and not even noticing her, Brooke pursed her lips. "Well, I can see you two don't have any further need of me." she said as she turned toward Richard and Heather, trying keep them distracted to give the two a moment alone in a crowded room.

Erica spoke first. "Hi!"

"Um... hi!" Jack swallowed hard. Gathering his composure, but still unable to tear his eyes away from hers, he stammered as he held out his hand. "Jack, Jack Dunning. Lance Corporal, USMC."

She smiled and took his hand gently, only just then realizing that he didn't know who she was. "Erica... Erica Hargrave. Student. Stanford." Her eyes smiled along with her lips and she could feel her hand nervously sweating in his.

Just then, Jack heard from behind him, "Erica!?"

The young woman's eyes were torn away from Jack's enchanting stare when she heard the one voice that had been catching her attention her entire life. Looking over Jack's shoulder, she saw her brother looking at her in sheer astonishment. "Richie!? Brooke didn't say you were going to be here!"

Jack was confused as her full name hadn't even processed in his mind yet. In point of fact, Jack hadn't done much actual thinking since he first saw her. Suddenly, it all dawned on him, his eyes grew wide, and he looked at her again. "Erica... Hargrave? But... Rich's Erica?" The last time he'd seen his best buddy's little sister was over five years earlier at Richard's nineteenth birthday. He'd only showed up long enough to gather up his buddy for a night on the town. What he remembered of her was the image of a little girl. Now before him stood a vision of lovely young womanhood.

Her brother pushed Jack aside. "What are you doing here, Erica? You're not twenty-one yet! You can't be here!"

Brooke halfway interposed between the siblings. "She's my guest, Rich! And she turns legal in like a week, so back off!"

"That's OK, Brooke." Erica's eyes flared. "I can see I'm not going to be allowed to have any fun here tonight. Maybe you can take me to another party? I can be your date!"

Pulling Richard aside, Jack tried to convince him to let her stay. "Listen! Rich! Come on, man! Let it be! If she stays here, you can keep an eye on her, and so can Heather, Brooke, and I, right? If she leaves, God knows what trouble she could get into! Think, man!"

Turning back to his sister, Richard lowered his gaze. "Look, Erica. I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything, OK? I... I overreacted. Please stay." He looked up at her as he finished his plea.

Her fury at still being treated like a child by her older brother melted quickly. Never one to carry a grudge long, she eyed him suspiciously. "Fine! But I don't want Sergeant Ramrod killing my good time, is that clear?" She poked him in the chest as she finished.

Raising his hands defensively, Richard backed away. "I give! I give! Why don't I get you a beer?"

"I'll get it!" Jack offered, his voice nearly cracking comically. Turning to Erica, he smiled. "Don't move a muscle, my angel! I'll be back to worship the ground you walk on in a flash!"

Erica looked to Brooke and her brother with a wistful smile as Jack ran to the bar. "Isn't he funny?"

Brooke tousled her hair. "Unfortunately, looks aren't everything."

"Don't let his outward clownish charm fool you, sis." Richard warned. "He's still the same Jack Dunning you've known for years."

Biting her lower lip, Erica swayed gently. "He always seemed really sweet to me."

"The word you're looking for is 'desperate'." Brooke said as she took another drink. "We call him Corporal Strikeout for a reason."

Erica shook her head, inwardly hopeful. "Doesn't do well with the ladies then?"

"He does fine at first." Heather interjected. "But once girls stop laughing at his jokes, his lack of things like a car or money, and thereby his ability to take them out, tends to make them lose interest quickly."

Furrowing her brow, Erica fumed. "Well that's awful shallow of them!" Pausing, she asked, "Is he very bad with money?"

"Not really." Brooke shook her head. "He's just overly generous. He sends most of his pay to the place that's taking care of his mom."

Her heart melted, remembering the few times she'd met Mary Dunning and how torn up Jack had been about moving her into a home before he'd left Pittsburgh. "Oh! That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, other girls think it's sweet too." Richard smiled. "Until it's time for their second date and he still can't afford to take them anywhere, let alone have a car to take them in."

She slapped her brother in the chest. "You know, you could be a little more generous with your dough back home, Sergeant! Daddy's not getting any younger, and he's about killing himself trying to put me through school!"

He nearly choked on his beer. "Hey! I send what I can! More than Jack!"

His sister crossed her arms. "But he makes less! I bet he leaves less to spend on himself than you do!"

"You're right, he does!" Heather nodded. Turning to Richard, she smiled as she draped her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. "You really should help your family more, Richard. Your money doesn't impress me!"

"Good lord!" Brooke rolled her eyes. "If this gets sweeter, I'm gonna barf!"

Nearly running back to the foursome, Jack handed Erica a beer and smiled. "Here! My treat, my beauty!"

Nodding at Erica, Brooke joked, "If she's Beauty that makes you The Beast."

Putting the drink down, Erica smiled. "That's very sweet of you, but you don't need to buy me drinks! I think I'd like to stay clear-headed." Slipping her arm into Jack's, she looked around. "Is there someplace quiet we could talk?"

"You could take him upstairs!" Brooke smirked.

"Brooke!" Richard barked as he nearly turned white, knowing what most couples went upstairs to do. "Over my dead body!"

Erica stiffened her back. "Is that so, Richie?"

Lowering his voice desperately, he leaned in toward his sister's ear. "Are you crazy? Do you know what Mom and Dad would do to me if they found out I let you 'go upstairs' with Jack?" he emphasized with air quotes. "I'd never live to see morning! Mom'd kill me over the phone!"

Erica tilted her nose up. "Well, Mom and Dad aren't here, Richie! So unless you want me to just leave and take Jack somewhere more private, he and I are going to go upstairs!" She paused to let her brother squirm. "...and talk!"

At that, Erica took her brother's beer, took a swig from it, handed it back to him, and practically dragged Jack toward the staircase.

Looking back at his best friend, Jack just shrugged. "What can I do, Rich? Buttons' got me hooked!" referring to the nickname he'd given her on the first day they'd met when she was only ten and he was almost fourteen.

Richard looked over at Brooke as the two disappeared up the stairs. "What the hell, Brooke? You set my sister up with Jack?"

"Would you rather I set her up with Corporal Strikeout, or have her end up with someone like you, Sergeant Trouser Snake?"

Heather turned his head to face her. "Relax, darling. I'm sure she's perfectly safe with Jack. Now would you mind not thinking about your sister and turn your attention back to me? It's kind of creepy if I kiss you while you're thinking about your sister."

"Ha!" Brooke busted out laughing. "Maybe that's why he's so protective!"

He pushed Brooke's shoulder. "Cram it, Brooke! That's not even funny! I'm just looking out for her is all!"

Once more, Heather turned his head back towards her. "I'm over here, dear!"

As he finally returned his focus back to his girlfriend, Brooke sighed and took another drink. "Great job, Brooke." she said to herself as she looked up the stairs where Jack and Erica had gone and then to Heather and Richard starting to dance. "You've managed to help find love for everyone but you."

Heather shook her head to clear it. "You see, Erica... Brooke, your father Jack, and your Uncle Richard were already good friends when I met them. Brooke was the one who set your parents up on their first date. A few months later they were married, and then two years later you were born!"

The girl weakly smiled, unnerved by her aunt's story that showed she wasn't actually Erica Hargrave. She finally understood that, as her mother had told her, there was so much about her family that she didn't know. Maybe this Brooke lady can tell me more about dad... and me. she thought. "I think that would be OK." she said after a brief pause.

Her aunt nodded. "You can join Faith in the kitchen for lunch, sweetie. I'll call Brooke up and see what she says."

Erica hugged her aunt before heading to the kitchen. "Thank you, Aunt Heather. I love you!"

She hugged the girl back. "I love you too, sweetheart. Now scoot!" Heather watched the girl head through the dining room toward the kitchen, moving over to the couch and picking up the receiver for the old phone. She hadn't told Brooke yet of Erica's death, not knowing how to break the news. Dialing quickly before she lost her nerve, she didn't have to wait long before it was answered.

"Hello?" Jenny Hathaway answered.

"Hello, Jenny? This is Heather. Is Brooke available?" she queried.

"Oh, hi Heather! Yes, just a moment!"

Heather listened silently to the woman on the other end of the line.

"Honey? Heather's on the phone for you!" Jenny called out.

After a short wait, she heard the phone being handed off with a murmured comment.

"Oh, stop it! Heather is not my girlfriend! Hello?" Brooke answered.

"I'm not your what?" Heather probed.

"Oh God, that wife of mine! Anytime you call lately, she's taken to saying, 'Your girlfriend's on the phone!' Honestly!"

Heather could hear Jenny in the background. "Well she calls you enough to be her girlfriend! I think you talk to her more than you do me!"

Brooke lowered her tone. "Honey, I do you way more than I talk to her! Ow!"

Listening to their exchange, Heather had second thoughts about breaking the news to her best friend. "Brooke, if this is a bad time..."

"Nonsense! What's up?" Brooke asked happily.

Sighing, Heather prepared herself to break her friend's heart. "It's about Erica. I... I have some bad news."

Knowing exactly who Heather was talking about without having to be told, Brooke was silent a moment while she sat down, hearing the pain in her voice. "What's happened?"

Heather took a deep breath. "I don't know how to put this any easier, Brooke. I'm just going to say it. Erica... died... of leukemia... a few weeks ago. Her and Jack's... child... has come here to live with us."

The woman on the other end of the phone couldn't breathe. Both Jack and Richard had been her best friends in the Marine Corps and afterwards. Their loss was hard to take, but Erica was Richard's sister, Jack's wife, and one of her best friends. "No!" she whispered. With the discipline of her Corps training, she cleared her throat and wiped away the escaped tear, pushing aside her pain. "Are... are you OK?"

"Thank you dear, but if anyone is hurt most by this, it's their... child. Before Erica died, shortly before your wedding, her parents Frank and Judith were killed in a car accident. Eric's life has been thrown into chaos. Now he's here, thousands of miles from the only home he's ever known, orphaned, scared, lonely. I tell you Brooke, he's traumatized. Badly."

"I can only imagine!" Brooke replied. The line went silent for a moment while Brooke explained to her wife what was going on. After a moment, Heather heard an extension pick up.

"Heather? This is Jenny! I'm so sorry to hear what's happened! Erica was such a nice woman! How can we help?"

Heather explained. "Well, Eric arrived Tuesday evening, a week early and with nothing but the soaked and ruined clothes on his back. He lost all his luggage when he changed planes. We tried laundering what little he had, but the power went out before they could be washed and when we tried to dry them near the fire, they were burned beyond use. He was effectively left with nothing from his old life. No clothes, no pictures, nothing. It seems the medical bills for Erica took everything Jack and Erica ever had."

She paused a moment to let the situation sink in before explaining further. "We just gave him one of Faith's robes to wear for lack of anything better. To make a long story short, he's sort of... escaped... into a fantasy world where he's a twelve-year-old incarnation of his own mother. He... he thinks he's Erica." Static filled the line as she waited until one of them responded.

"Well... that's... um..." Brooke broke the silence.

"What can we do to help?" Jenny repeated her earlier question.

"I was hoping to bring 'Erica' over to see you Brooke, so you could help her."

Brooke knitted her brow. "You mean like... snap him out of it?"

Disagreeing, Jenny caught on quickly. "I don't think that's what Heather had in mind, love. I think she means for you to give him a makeover."

"Her." Heather corrected her only slightly.

"Um... OK." Pausing, Brooke asked, "Are you sure that's the right thing to do, Heather? We're talking about Jack's son!"

Answering for her, Jenny insisted, "Of course it is! We'd be happy to help."

Smiling, Heather replied, "Thank you, Jenny. Brooke? From a psychological point of view, this kind of temporary escapism is healthy in the long term. After a while, she'll come to terms with her grief, give up the fantasy, and want to go back to being Eric. She just can't handle it right now. It's... it's too painful. What she needs now is to feel safe, and right now that means being more at ease with her identity, more like a girl. Will you help?"

"Of course she'll help, Heather." Jenny answered. "Won't you, love?"

Brooke growled at her wife. "I can answer for myself, love!" Pausing a moment, she finally did. "I'll help, Heather. If you really think this is in his best interests, I'll do what I can."

"Thank you, Brooke!" Heather beamed. "I really appreciate your help with this! We'll be over at your place in say, half an hour?"

"That's fine, Heather. I'll get things ready. Anything in particular?"

She ticked off each item with her fingers. "Hair... cut, color, and style. Nails and any makeup and styling advice you can give her."

Brooke took notes. "OK. Hair. What color?"

"Do you remember Erica's hair color? That shade of red?"

"Yeah. I remember." Brooke nodded once more and swallowed hard, holding back her tears as a hundred happy and painful memories flooded her mind. "Let me think. Yeah, I have something that can work for that. It won't be wash away though, it's permanent hair dye. It'll be staying until it grows out, say twelve to twenty weeks at minimum. Is that alright?"

"It will be fine, Brooke. I don't see her giving up this fantasy for at least that long. She's just... lost. She's even lost her faith in God. She's so angry with Him that before she retreated into her fantasy, she was cursing His name. She has a lot of pain and loss to work through."

Brooke frowned so strongly that Heather could hear it over the phone. "I see. Well, I should have everything ready by the time you get here. We'll see you soon."

"Thanks ever so much, Brooke! Love you and see you soon! And thank you too, Jenny!"

She listened as Brooke hung up, hearing Jenny say, "See? I knew she was your girlfriend! 'Love you, Broo...'"