A/N: set between series 3 and 4 - so Danny and Alice have never met. They're in for a bumpy ride! Vanessa owns Mara already. Also, I've changed it slightly so Alice has no daughter. To be honest I was never overly keen on the character Charlotte so for this she just doesn't exist. Sorry Charlotte, hahaha. Oh! And I really loved what Alice's hair was like in series 5, so in this story, she still has her long hair but she also has a fringe, I thought it really suited her, so she's had a premature hair cut. Enjoy! L x

-x-

Alice drove quickly along the road as she left the city behind and the terrain opened out, revealing the bush in all its glory. It was just around 6pm and the sun was still high on the sky - and it beat down on the dusty track road and the animals who resided in the bush on either side. Dust splayed out behind Alice's Jeep as she ploughed on, and the wind rushed into the vehicle through the open window, catching Alice's fringe and blowing it across her forehead so it was bunched up on one side.

Her skinny jeans were slowly toasting her legs and her black vest top was sticking to her uncomfortably. Even by African standards, it was a particularly hot day, and most people had decided to reside inside, in the shade, out of the searing hot sun.

But Alice Collins, being a locum vet, was always all call. Usually, though, her work was always situated in or around the city, as different locums would cover different areas, besides the areas that had resident vets there already. So her trip out into the back and beyond of the African bush was quite a trek, and wasn't going well in the boiling heat.

She had already been driving for an hour, and she had little under another still to go. Her water bottle lay tossed to the side on the passenger seat, completely empty, and even with the window down the temperature of the Jeep was excessively hot, especially as even the air that blasted into the cabin seemed to feel warm against her face.

Running a hand over her face and neck, Alice wiped her damp skin and sighed, obviously not particularly pleased that she had such a long way to travel. But she had been offered quite a bit of money by the state vet as it wasn't usually her job to answer to such calls, and as a bonus she would get to treat a wild zebra - a change from her usual cats, dogs, and goats. So she had taken up the job, and she was now speeding along, heading West out of Jo'Berg. Alice was certainly qualified, and she had spent time out in the bush before, but for years she had worked as a locum in the city, and so she was at least looking forward to having a challenge again - even if it was in the middle of nowhere.

It was a posh country lodge she was heading to that hadn't yet opened, called Mara, and they had been receiving stock for the past couple of weeks when one of the newly appointed staff found the injured zebra in the bush. The vet that usually covered the area of the bush West of Jo'Berg was a 'Mr Trevanion', whom Alice had never worked with before and so knew nothing about. But the state vet had called her to say that Mr Trevanion was officially out of work for a few days as he was involved in a legal battle in court with his step-son. And so, Alice was the one who was now called out to deal with his problems.

-x-

Exactly 47 minutes later - not that she had been counting or anything - Alice pulled off at a junction, following the newly erected sign for 'Mara Lodge.' It was only just after 7 at night, but already the sun was setting over the mountains, illuminating them beautifully against burning red sky. Alice was cooler now that the sun was setting, and so her window was now rolled up and she sat much more comfortably in the cabin of her Jeep as she drove slowly, gazing at the sky. You never saw the same sunset in the city as you did out in the bush.

She picked up her speed again slightly as trees began to hide the sunset from her, and so just every so often a shaft of golden light would stream through into her car and onto her face as she sped along. The trees hung over the road in places, almost like an archway - it was beautiful. She could see dark areas at the side of the road every so often where flowers were being planted beneath the trees and a few spades and bags of flower seeds lay around. The staff, though, had evidently all finished and returned either to the lodge, or home.

Alice continued on the road for approaching 5 minutes, and as she rounded another bend, she saw it.

It was a grande, beautiful lodge, and it was silhouetted beautifully against the now almost completely set sun. It was perched up on the side of a hill partly, numerous balconies and glass sliding doors. There were still some trucks scattered around the place, and Alice could make out a bar through one of the glass doors being erected as she drew closer, showing that as lovely as it was, it was still under construction.

She followed the sign for the main entrance, and drove around the left side of the building, eventually coming to a stop in a large, clear car park.

It was very quiet, and as Alice jumped out of her Jeep, she looked around, looking for any sign or life. There were a couple of lights on in the building closest to her that housed the reception area, so swinging her vet bag over her shoulder, she pushed the car door shut and wandered over.

She immediately noticed that there seemed to be a decent security system already installed - one camera even followed her movements as she made her way to the glass door. The person in charge obviously knew what they were doing - they had everything set up the right way round. Even though the place wasn't completely finished, they were introducing their animals to give them time to settle properly, and they had already installed a security system in case anyone thought they would get lucky robbing what was quite obviously a very lavish place.

Alice pushed her way through the glass door, and the air conditioning was a welcome feel as she left the stifling night air behind. A man stood up from behind the desk, pulling on his jacket, ready to go home. He caught sight of Alice and frowned.

'Can I help you?' he asked, his deep voice filling the room.

Alice blushed slightly, stuttering. 'Oh, em, I'm the locum vet? I'm here to take a look at a zebra, I'm sorry I took so long I came from the other side of Jo'Berg.' Alice walked forwards and held out her hand, but the man laughed.

'Oh, I'm not the boss!' he laughed, straightening his jacket and picking up his keys. Alice dropped her hand back to her side and laughed nervously. 'She was expecting you though, she's just through there.' The man pointed to his right, through another set of glass doors where the lights were dimly lit.

'Thanks.' Alice smiled, and wandered over as the man at the desk turned to leave.

She pushed open the door slowly, and it opened up into what looked like the main bar. There were posh oak tables everywhere, surrounded by comfy looking seats, and an massive island bar that ran almost completely along the wall Alice was facing. The full right wall was made of glass, and it looked out onto a pool and outside area that looked completely finished - and lovely.

The woman Alice was after - she presumed - stood looking out through the glass, her arms folded in front of her. She spotted Alice's reflection in the glass and spun round.

'Oh! Hello!' She smiled, her strong Zimbabwean accent welcoming and friendly, her white skin glowing with a golden tan. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders, and she was dressed in what looked like designer jeans and a very nice top.

Alice seriously wished she had put more effort into her jeans and t-shirt combo.

'Hi!' Alice smiled, and began to walk towards her. 'I'm Alice Collins, I'm the locum vet - you called about a zebra?'

'Ahh yes! You're not quite what I expected.' Vanessa laughed, 'Not many female vets around here really!'

Alice smiled as the ladies met with outstretched hands. Vanessa shook her hand gently.

'I'm sorry it took me a while,' Alice started, 'I came-'

'-Oh don't worry it's fine, the State Vet said you had a bit to travel, so thank you for coming.' Vanessa smiled. 'The zebra is in a pen out the back, want to get straight to work?'

'Sure!' Alice replied, and Vanessa smiled as she led her out through the glass sliding doors. As they walked past the pool, Alice tried to strike up conversation, impressed by the place.

'This is a beautiful place you have here.'

'Thank you.' Vanessa smiled, 'I bought it about 2 months ago, it's our grand re-opening in 2 weeks.'

'Wow!' Alice smiled, looking out at the view into the bush as Vanessa led her past another building and down some stone steps.

'It was quite a challenge. And quite a lot of money!' Vanessa laughed. 'The owner before looked after it, but I've added some of my own personal touches to it too.'

'Well it's really lovely. Have the rest of your animal stock settled in fine?'

'Yes, not had any problems at all. Well, besides the zebra.' She added, as they rounded a corner. 'Speaking of which - there he is.'

Alice followed Vanessa's line of sight and saw a large male zebra lying on the floor of his pen, which was situated under a tarpaulin shade cover and was lined up beside some other empty pens.

'He's beautiful.' Alice smiled. 'I'll go see if I can help him.'

'Perfect. Listen, I hope you don't mind but I'll be back at the main bar if you need me, I'm going to do a bit of paperwork before it gets too late.' Vanessa said, backing away and letting Alice pass.

'Sure! No problem. I'll come get you when I'm done.'

Vanessa departed with a smile, and Alice headed across to see what she could do to help the animal in need.

-x-

It hadn't been as serious as Alice had feared. She wondered if, when she saw him lying down, that it was possibly a broken leg, but it was just a gash - albeit rather deep - on the inside of his leg. The bright light that Alice had turned on to examine him on the roof of the pen flickered off as Alice hit the switch, and she slung her bag back over her shoulder. Smiling as she watched the zebra drop off to sleep, his pain medicine making his drowsy, Alice turned on her heel and made her way back to the bar - almost getting lost on her way.

Eventually, she wandered past the pool and in through the sliding doors. Vanessa sat at one of the tables with numerous pieces of paper out in front of her.

'Hey! How's he doing?' she asked, lifting her head from her work.

'He'll be fine.' Alice smiled, 'He's got a wound on his leg that I've dressed, but it was quite deep, if you don't mind I'd like to put him on a course of antibiotics cause I'm worried about infection, and he will need his dressing changed a couple times over the next few days. This, eh, 'Mr Trevanion' vet, am I right thinking he is back to work tomorrow?' Alice asked, resting her hands on the back of one of the chairs.

'Yeah he his, the court case finished today - unfortunately his step-son is going back to the UK. Do you know him?'

'Nope, not at all I'm afraid.' Alice laughed. 'Is he British?'

'Yes. He moved out here from England a couple of years ago with his wife, daughter, and step-children.' Vanessa started, 'but his wife died last year in a bush fire. I've heard it was one of the worst in years, such a shame. His step-daughter returned to England, and now he had just lost custody of his step-son, so he is going back too. I can't help but feel sorry for the man. I've only met him a couple of times, but he is really lovely.'

Alice smiled. She didn't even know the man and she had just about heard his life story. 'I'm sure he will be fine.' Alice added, slightly awkwardly, not knowing who he was talking about. 'Anyway, if I leave this here with the drugs the zebra is going to need - could you give them to Mr Trevanion for me? Will he be here tomorrow?' Alice asked, placing a piece of paper on one of the tables opposite Vanessa.

'He will be here, yeah. That's not a problem.'

'Good. Means your zebra will be in good stead to heal nice and quickly.'

The two ladies smiled at one and other.

'...Anyway. Time for me to go.' Alice smiled, and started to walk away.

'Thank you Alice.' Vanessa smiled, standing from her chair.

'No problem.' Alice smiled again and turned her back. As she reached the doors leading out into the reception, Vanessa called her back.

'Alice! You're not driving back to Jo'Berg are you? You could stay here if you want? It's just me and my manager that stay here at the moment.' Vanessa called, still standing by the table.

Alice turned, her hand on the long handle of the door. 'Aww thanks Vanessa, but I'll be fine. The journey passes quicker than you think. If I need to I'll stop at a B and B.'

'Are you sure?' Vanessa asked, gesturing to a door which obviously led to some of the lodge's rooms.

'I'm fine, thanks though.' Alice said, and pushed the door gently with her hip.

'Okay. Take care!'

'I will. Bye!' Alice called back, her hair swinging in her ponytail and she disappeared from the room, leaving Vanessa to return to her paperwork in silence.

-x-

As Alice clambered into her Jeep and started it up, she couldn't help but regret not taking Vanessa up on her offer. But she really needed to get back - and the sooner the better. Generally the longer she spent out in the bush, the less she wanted to return to the city.

Vanessa hadn't been at all what Alice had expected - she was expecting an old, stuffy, arrogant man, whom she seemed to bump into at hotels and lodges most of the time. She had seemed like a nice woman - and a very successful one at that. She couldn't help it - Alice was the slightest bit jealous. Especially at the way she had talked about Mr Tevanion, she could tell that Vanessa liked him. It had been written all over her face. Alice hadn't been with a man in...well, a while.

Sighing and clunking the Jeep into reverse, Alice steered out of the car park and started trundling along the small road again. After a couple of minutes, she had begun daydreaming about finding her perfect man. She was just waiting for him to run straight into her life-

BANG!

The whole car shook as it was rammed from the side, and almost titled up on two wheels. The car stalled and Alice was flung sideways onto the passenger seat and her ribs bashed painfully against the handbrake.

'WHAT THE-?'

BANG!

The Jeep was rammed again, harder, and it tipped up onto two wheels even further, creaking as it bounced back down onto all four and Alice's neck jolted forwards.

Breathing heavily, her eyes wide with fear, Alice looked in the side mirror of her jeep, and gasped in shock, her hand travelling to her mouth.

Something definitely HAD just run into her life. But it certainly wasn't a man.

It was a giant white rhino.

A giant white rhino who at that point, seemed to think that Alice's Jeep was a toy.

BANG!

The rhino slammed against the Jeep again, harder than before, and even though Alice attempted to hold on to a part of her seat, the car was flung completely up onto two wheels, and then crashed onto its side. Alice was flung completely off the seat and smashed into the passenger side window, which was now resting against the ground.

She was curled up in a ball, one of her legs jammed awkwardly under the dashboard and her face was pressed against the broken glass, as was her shoulder and much of the left side of her body.

'Help,' she tried to call, but instead it escaped her mouth as a gasp, the wind completely knocked from her. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she began to feel the glass slice at her skin as she tried to move. She was almost at the stage of hyperventilating, her breathing fast and unsteady. Pushing herself from the ground and cutting her hand more in the process, she heard the rhino sniff at the now showing underside of the Jeep.

If he rammed it again, the Jeep would end up on it's roof, and Alice could be stuck there - and God knows how long it could go on for. The petrol engine was also very much exposed to the rhino's sharp horn - one blow from it and the petrol would surround the car. Petrol on the ground of very dry land in a very hot country could be disastrous. If it caught alight, the whole Jeep would be blown apart.

Alice closed her eyes as the rhino gave the Jeep another nudge, and the windscreen cracked loudly.

Alice's eyes snapped open and she suddenly saw an opportunity. As best as she could - because she was sitting on her haunches trying to keep her body off of the glass, she lifted one of her legs and kicked wildly at the windscreen. The crack grew in size as she continued to kick, spreading its fingers the full span on the glass.

She heard the rhino outside grunt, and Alice whimpered, delivering the most powerful kicks she could.

The glass suddenly shattered, and Alice clambered out of the frame as quickly as she could, sprinting away from the Jeep. She heard the rhino nudge the Jeep once more, exhaling sharply, and Alice ran as fast as she could, leaving a trail of blood behind her as she sprinted away into the bush.

Alice slowed, hesitant to go much further into the bush, knowing just how dangerous it was. But just that second, she heard the Jeep being pushed onto its roof, and then the heavy sound of the rhino's footsteps as it came in her direction.

Feeling her heart rise into her throat in fear, she turned right and sprinted away, praying that it wouldn't follow her.

-x-

After a few minutes running, Alice stopped, and tears began to flow down her cheeks, stinging the cuts on her face. She had no idea where she was. She didn't want to run back the way she had come, in fear that the rhino was still there, but she knew she needed to get back to the road. So she knew she needed to turn right, to head in an 'n' shape. Alice stepped towards her right, but stopped dead in her tracks.

She heard something rumble just a few feet in front of her, and she waited for the glint of eyes that told her a lion was just in front of her.

She never waited very long.

She was tearing off to the left again, running as fast as she could, her tears flowing down her face as she began to sob as she ran.

-x-

10 minutes later, she changed direction when she heard something large rustle in the tree next to her.

She never stopped running, and she never stopped crying.

-x-

She had eventually reached a small river. She was sitting on the rocks by the side, her arms wrapped around her legs tightly, holding them as close to her body as she could. Beside her, lay many small pieces of glass, all of which had been pulled out of her arms, the top of her leg, - and the really tiny bits - her face. She knew she had needed to remove them otherwise the infection would potentially set in faster. The water was very slow moving - it was almost stagnant, and so Alice knew it wouldn't be completely clean.

But she had no choice. And so the left side of her t-shirt and jeans were now damp, where she had used the water to wash out the cuts. As she sat huddled up, small droplets of blood oozed out and stained her clothes further. The cuts on her face stung as they bled slowly, and as her tears continued to fall from her eyes.

Alice had even resorted to drinking from the water. She hadn't had anything to drink for hours, and in the heat during the travel her body had sweated most of her fluids away. So she had been desperate. At least if she found a way back the next morning, she could quickly get treated if she had picked up any infection from the water. But she knew if she didn't have anything to drink, especially with the steady loss of blood, she could pass out from dehydration.

So really, she had picked the least dangerous of two dangerous options - all on her own, lost and afraid.

-x-

A/N: I'm so nasty to poor Alice. Be so kind as to review? Thank you! :D L x