Author Notes: I wrote this because I lost a bet; a friend and I spent weeks discussing how the storyline with Danielle/Ronnie was going to end and even after reading all the rumours of her dying I wasn't entirely convinced, so we made a bet...and I lost. So here's a on-shot about what could have happened if Danielle hadn't died.

Disclaimer: I don't own Eastenders, but I did write this fic.

Meet Again

The tiny, baby fingers clutched her teenage thumb and her heart melted. The baby had her, she had her clutched into her hand and she wasn't willing to let go. Ronnie knew tears were sliding down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She knew she didn't have long with her daughter, only a couple of short hours to spend with the tiny being that had only just left her womb. Such a short length of time to breath in every scent, to discover every inch of her daughters form and to experience as much of her daughters life as she could. The baby squeezed her hand, pressing tightly around her palm, digging her nails into the skin. Ronnie lifted her head and looked around. Her baby was no longer sleeping in her arms, she was no longer minutes old and Ronnie was no longer a teenager. Her daughter was asleep, comatose in a bed, her hand squeezing tightly around her palm, her adult sized nails digging deep into Ronnie's skin. It hurt, but she didn't care. She leapt from her seat beside the bed, causing the chair to fall over backwards. But it didn't matter. Her daughter, her baby was waking up.

-

The doctors pushed her out of the room, forced her to leave Danielle on her own, with no familiar faces to wake up to. Ronnie could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks and she stared through the glass at the daughter she had given up and finally found again. It broke her heart to see her lay there, with tubes coming out of her, her body battered and bruised. But she didn't care, her daughter was alive, she was there right in front of her and she was alive. That was all that mattered. That was all she cared about at that moment.

"I'm looking for Danielle Jones," a deep voice asked from down the corridor, Ronnie turned and breathed deeply as her eyes locked with the man who had brought her daughter up. The man who had kissed her knees when she'd fallen, the man who was every bit her parents, more so than herself. She regretted everything. She regretted the moment she had let her father take the baby from her, forcing her to let the tiny, helpless being be taken away and given to someone else. The man was walking over, his eyes looked red as though he'd been crying.

"Are you Danielle's friend?"

I'm her mum, she wanted to scream. She wanted to tell him everything, but the words caught up in her throat and she just nodded.

"Is she okay?"

"She squeezed my hand," she gasped, the worlds slipping easily off her tongue. "She squeezed it so hard."

They shared a smile, a look of relief and Ronnie felt guilty. This man had been everything her daughter had needed in life and she was lying to him. Every moment that ticked by she was keeping the truth from him.

"Did you know her well?" he asked as they sat outside the intensive care room, waiting for news on the girl that they both loved.

"I let her stay with me for a while," she responded, letting the words float into the silence that followed.

-

The nurses came out and Danielle's father entered the room. Ronnie stood in the doorway, watching him holding his daughter's hand, watching him talk to her like she was his baby. She wasn't awake. She hadn't opened her eyes and she hadn't spoken. But Ronnie knew that the squeeze of her hand had been a good sign.

"I'm so sorry baby," Danielle's dad mumbled, kissing her forehead, letting his tears fall into her matted hair.

It was too much to watch. Ronnie couldn't handle listening to him talking to her, telling her it would be okay and that they'd go home soon. She didn't want her to go home, she didn't want her going anywhere. She was her mother and they needed to be together.

-

The sweet smell of her daughters brand new skin travelled through her nose, each breath pushed it deeper into her brain, locking itself away in a special place where she would always remember it. The tiny fingers, each one perfectly formed and a little bit wrinkly. She laughed at how perfect everything seemed, her tiny button nose, her head of soft light hair. When she found out she was pregnant she'd been scared, she was worried that she wouldn't know how to be a mother. At only fourteen it was easy to wonder how she'd cope, whether she'd be able to love another human being enough. But the moment the little girl had been put into her arms, her worries had disappeared and her heart had started beating for her daughter.

"Can I get some help in here please!"

The sound of Danielle's dad's voice pulled Ronnie from her reverie. She jumped out of her seat, rubbing her sleepy eyes and she rushed to the door. He was holding her hand, his fingers were intertwined with Danielle's and she was staring up into his eyes. Ronnie's heart beat faster, her mind taking in every possibility. Nurses rushed past her, pushing her out of the way, pushing them both out away from Danielle. She was willing to step aside and let them do their job when a voice shouted out; it was rough, horsy, but the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

"Mum."

She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry, she wanted to rush over to her daughter side and pull her into her arms. But the door was shut in front of them, stopping them from seeing Danielle screaming out her name.

"How can she be shouting for her mum?" her dad asked nobody in particularly and Ronnie froze. "She died, she's not alive anymore."

"Yes she is," Ronnie whispered, the words slipping out before she had the chance to stop them.

"No, we buried her, we buried her and she…"

Ronnie interrupted him, stopping him in his tracks, "She's my daughter."

The man's eyes were wild, searching Ronnie's face, anger building in his expression. He looked ready to hunt her down, to wrap his arms around her neck and strangle her to death.

"No, this can't be, you're a stranger, you're just a stranger,"

Ronnie shook her head, her eyes filling with tears again, "No I'm not, I'm her mum, I'm her birth mum."

He was about to argue back when a nurse came over and they both walked towards her. Ronnie had so many things she wanted to say, to ask. But the nurse spoke before she had the chance.

"Danielle is calling for her mum,"

"Her mum is dead," her dad snapped, coldly. But Ronnie shook her head.

"No, I'm her mum, she's calling for me."

The nurse looked confused, letting them both enter the room as Ronnie forced her way in beside Danielle's dad.

"Danielle?" he asked, walking up to his daughter, his eyes filling with tears as he sat down beside her.

Ronnie's heart was beating so loudly it echoed in her ear. She wanted to go over, she wanted to take her other hand. But she was scared. Maybe it was the woman who brought her up that Danielle was calling for, maybe she was the mum she wanted. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sweet sound of her daughters voice.

"Ronnie?"

"Danielle," she gasped, taking it as permission to go over.

Their hands touched, their fingers intertwined as Ronnie took hold of her daughters hand. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she picked the hand up and leant forwards to kiss it.

"Baby," she sobbed.

Danielle's mouth curled into a smile, her own eyes pouring with tears as she pulled her other hand out of her father's hand and reached out to Ronnie. Ronnie leant forwards, pressing her body into her daughters embrace as they wept together.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,"

"Mum," Danielle sobbed, clutching her tightly.

As Ronnie held her daughter, reunited with the girl she thought she'd never see again, she turned to see her daughters adopted father step away. She mouthed 'thank you' to him as he left them alone, as he let them have the moment that they'd both dreamt about, that they'd both spent years wishing for and at that moment, they were reunited as mother and daughter.