A/N So so so sorry it took me so long to update this! i'll try and be a lot quicker now. hope you like!
Danny awoke the next morning to a stiff neck and cramped legs.
"What the…." He muttered, turning around under the covers. He almost crashed off the lounge as he remembered why he wasn't in his bed. Montana, Kayla, sleeping he ticked off his mental check list. He looked down at his watch. It was only 6:30 and he wasn't needed at work for another two hours. He got up slowly, stretching out his cramped body before shuffling quietly his bedroom and peeking inside. Lindsay lay sound asleep, facing the window like she had been the night before. Kayla on the other hand had spread herself out to all corners of the bed, quite a feat for such a small child. Danny peered closer and noticed she still had one small hand clamped shut on Lindsay's shirt. Knuckles white from holding on so tightly. Danny smiled slightly at the girls, whispering a good morning but deciding to let them sleep. After all they had had a big day, and if Lindsay was correct a bigger one lay ahead of them. He crept into the room slowly, picking up pieces of clothing along the way before finding his work gear and creeping back out. He had almost made it when he heard a small yawn from the bed behind him, followed by a shuffling of sheets and a quiet sneeze. Danny turned around to face Kayla, sitting up quietly in bed, but trying to hold back the bombardment of sneezes coming her way.
"Morning Kayla" greeted Danny. He was still unsure of where he stood with Kayla, she had seemed comfortable enough with him by the end of the night, but her scared behaviour from earlier still played at the back of his mind. Then there was the matter of her seriousness and what he had seen in the bathtub that confused him even more.
'Oh well' he thought 'there's nothing you can do until Lindsay wakes up'. He turned back to the girl, realising for the first time she was staring at him intently. He squirmed a bit under her gaze, quite unsettled by being analysed by a four year old.
"So should we get some breakfast?" he asked smiling encouragingly at her.
She nodded yes, before following him silently out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she tried to climb onto the stool.
"Here you go" said Danny, lifting her easily onto the chair. "Do you want pancakes or cereal or toast?" he asked.
"Pancakes" she nodded quietly.
"Pancakes it is" greed Danny. He leant against the bench so he was almost at eye level with Kayla. "Now I don't know about you but I feel like adding a few choc chips to these pancakes" he suggested playfully "Do you think mummy would mind if we do?"
"No" giggled Kayla. "Mummy likes choc chip pancakes and so do I"
"Really" inquired Danny "Well there my favourite to" he added. In fact they weren't, he much preferred blue berry but he wanted to keep Kayla talking as long as possible seeing as that was the longest thing she had said since arriving.
She raised her eyebrows at him in surprise, a look he was sure she had copied off Lindsay. Speaking off which it was time she woke up as well.
"Should we go wake mummy up" suggested Danny pouring the pancake mix onto the pan and watching it bubble up.
"Put the coffee on" said Kayla, eyeing the pancakes hungrily.
"Huh?" asked Danny confusedly.
"The coffee wakes mummy up" replied Kayla.
"She likes her coffee doesn't she" smiled Danny.
Kayla nodded enthusiastically giggling as she looked up and down.
A few minutes later Lindsay stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen following the scent of fresh coffee.
"Told you" smiled Kayla, happily munching away at her pancake.
"Told you what?" asked Lindsay, making a beeline for the coffee machine.
"I told Danny that the coffee would wake you up" replied Kayla.
"I'm not that bad, am I" complained Lindsay sarcastically, reaching over to tickle Kayla.
"I think so" said Danny, walking in behind her as Kayla nodded and giggled.
"What did you do?" whispered Lindsay to Danny.
"What do you mean?" asked Danny in alarm. He ran desperately through what he'd done this morning, trying to figure out if he'd done something wrong to Kayla.
"I've never seen her this happy before" smiled Lindsay.
"Oh" said Danny in surprise "I just made pancakes" he replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well you're doing something right" said Lindsay, nudging him playfully in the shoulder.
"Thanks" said Danny, grinning as Lindsay walked past him to join Kayla at the bench.
"'Okay miss, I think it's time you go and get dressed" announced Lindsay. "We're meeting one of my friends at 8 o'clock"
Kayla nodded in response, scoffing down the remains of her pancake before hopping off the stool and skipping into Danny's bedroom.
"I'll go get her clothes from the drier" suggested Lindsay.
"Cool" nodded Danny distractedly.
"You okay?" asked Lindsay, walking past Danny into the bathroom.
Danny paused for a second. "Actually Lindsay, I have to ask you something" he said.
"Yeah" prompted Lindsay, walking back into the kitchen, Kayla's clothes lying over her arm.
"I know this may be none of my business but I noticed last night that Kayla had some scars on her arm"
Lindsay opened her mouth to say something but instead hung her head, drawing in a deep breathe. "I was wondering if you would notice"
"What, what were they?" he asked hesitantly.
"Cigarette burns" whispered Lindsay, refusing to look Danny in the eye.
"What?" gapped Danny "How did she get them?" he asked forcibly.
Lindsay looked up at Danny, tears in her eyes. "Look Danny…."
"Mummy I'm cold" called Kayla, interrupting the adult's conversation.
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute sweetheart" replied Lindsay "Danny, I have to get her dressed" she sighed.
"Yeah" nodded Danny slowly.
"I'll explain after. Okay?" asked Lindsay, laying a hand on his arm.
"Sure" said Danny. He watched Lindsay slowly walk towards his room, brushing a few stray tears away before opening the door and smiling brightly to Kayla.
Danny walked back into the kitchen, trying to stop himself from coming up with reasons for a four year old to have cigarette burns. His mind though, kept coming back to one possibility. Some one had hurt the two of them, and if they tried to again, by god Danny would hurt him, even if it hurt him to do so.