Alice was sat in her lecture listening to the tutor droning on. She was quickly losing the will to live! C'mon hurry up! She found herself mentally timing how long it would take her to pack up her bag and getting the hell out of here when the bell finally rang! She checked her watch and was disappointed to see that it was still 10 minutes till the end of the lesson. She'd checked her watch for the 20th time in 5 minutes and she swore that the watch was going backwards! She felt eyes on the back of her head but she resisted the urge to look behind her. To look at Danny. She really wasn't going to. Nope no way! "Oh for god's sake!" she muttered. She had to look. She turned her head and found him looking at her. There eyes met and he smiled at her slightly, involuntarily a small sigh left her lips. Alice heard the sigh and looked away. God this was killing her. Couldn't he of changed? be nasty maybe. She would of said ugly but there was no way he would ever be ugly to her. You could say that he wasn't conventionally handsome but to her whoo, he was jut gorgeous. His eyes the colour of moss, all the different types of smile he had indicating what type of mood he was in whether playful or happy. Anyway love wasn't like that. She hadn't loved him coz she thought he was gorgeous she'd loved him because he was just the most sweet loving person ever. It was like no matter what he had the power to make her smile. His playful sense of humour but also his sensitive side. How he always knew what to say to perk her up. How they'd been so in tune with each other and knew what the other was thinking. She fell for the whole thing, the fact that he was good looking was just a bonus.

Ok Alice time for some detachment here! She was going to tell him about Lexi today. After University. She was going to take him somewhere quiet and tell him he had a daughter. Well he might have a daughter. She had to rustle up the detachment because she didn't want him thinking that if he had to have Lexi he had to have her too! They weren't a package deal. She pulled the photograph from her pocket and looked at her daughter. This had been taken at her birthday party last year. Her eyes were a luminous green colour bright and twinkling when Danny's did when he was happy. She was covered in cake but her fathers grin was plain to see on her face. She had to stop thinking like that! She wanted Lexi to be Danny's she wanted it with everything inside her but she had to face facts there was an equal chance she was Josh's. Not that he could have a hand in creating a magical enchanting little girl! She had to be Danny's! that was the only explanation she just had to be! The bell rang and yanked her from her thoughts. Wow that 10 minutes had passed pretty fast! The tutor wiped the board and she missed the title of their first assignment. Everyone was walking out. She'd just ask her tutor before she left. Danny stopped in her row.

She so didn't want to deal with this now! She had to get her thoughts in order for later!

"Hello." he said.

"Hi." she replied dismissively. He didn't take the hint. He just grinned at the challenge.

"You look a little distracted." he told her.

"I was actually. You don't have the title of the first assignment do you. I sort of faded out." Alice asked.

He grinned and told her. She scribbled it down on her pd and then shoved it in her bag. "Thanks."

"You free for lunch?" he asked as she zipped up her bag.

She looked at his face. Bad idea. She forgot how to think when she looked into his eyes. When he looked down at her like that. She shook her head quickly and looked at the floor. And walked passed him through the door. "Sorry got stuff to do!" she mumbled.

He followed her. "Alice." he said teasingly.

She turned back and looked at him again. Determined to stand her ground. His eyes were NOT going to hypnotise her this time she vowed.

"Danny I'm bu….." her eyes met his and she forgot what she was going to say after a minute she heard herself saying "Ok" then heard his answering chuckle.

God she'd folded like a deck of card. Fucking pushover Alice!

"Great how about spuds a lot? My favourite place to eat on this planet!" he said dramatically.

"Now you sound like Shauna!" she said dryly.

"Is that a compliment?" he asked.

"Take it how you will!" she replied and smiled. "Anyway that'll be good. Ain't had a jacket spud in forever!" she told him.

They sort of made a silent pact to avoid all conversation which was going to cause an argument. They started talking about old times. "Remember when I threw you in the sea at the beach?" he asked.

She smiled. "Yeah. God I hated the seaweed that day. Do you remember my revenge." she replied.

"A perfectly executed flying dive. Couldn't of done it better myself!" he told her. "Then of course we had the seaweed." he laughed.

"Now that wasn't funny." she said with a huge smile. "I really thought a crab was on my head. I was traumatised for a second!"

They both laughed. "We had good times when we were kids." she said.

"Yeah we did." he answered.

They walked into the shop and ordered their food. When there food arrived they walked outside and into a park. They sat on a wooden bench. Danny made a joke of looking round suspiciously.

"Don't worry Danny Graham is still in Glasgow. Happily living with his boyfriend last time I seen him actually!"

"Thank God!" he said dramatically. "I think he's expecting me to call." Danny said.

"He is, he told me he thought you were pretending to be straight and were really in love with him!" Alice told him seriously.

Danny's mouth fell open. His eyes widened. "I am NEVER going to Glasgow again!"

Alice burst out laughing. "Joke!" she said. "You weren't usually this easy to fool before!"

"Am not now, I was pretending!" he said snidely then looked at her from the corner of his eye. He then turned his head and winked.

"You scare me sometimes you know." Alice admitted after a few moments.

"Why?" he asked confused.

She shook her head. "Just dunno if ya serious half the time." she then opened her box and looked at her food. "My favourite!" she said and dug into her jacket potato which was covered in beans and cheese.

Danny sat and pondered her words. He opened his and looked at his food, with tuna and sweet corn. Alice recognised the gleam in his eyes.

"Don't even think about it Daniel Trevanion!" she warned. "I remember what you were like for sneaking bites of my food. I'll stab you with my fork if you try. I will!" she said playfully her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"It just might be worth it!" he said and stabbed at her jacket potato. He ended up with a large piece of potato and cheese.

"No!" she said and tried to grab his fork but he plunged it in his mouth before she could stop him.

"Aha!" he said in victory and went to stab again but she was really and deflected him with her fork.

"En guard!" he said teasingly.

They had a fork fight. She won and pretended to stab him.

"Argh! She got me!" he said dramatically. "There is enough life in me to do this." he said weakly. He had been lounged on the back of the chair. He suddenly sat up and tickled her stomach. There boxes fell to the floor.

"No Danny! Stop!" she shrieked laughing hard. He still remembered where she was most ticklish.

"Daniel." a unfamiliar voice said. She looked at Alice suspiciously.

"Miranda!" Danny said guiltily and stood up quickly.

"What's going on?" she asked looking between the two of them.

"Nothing!" he said quickly. "Just carrying in with a friend." he put emphasis on the word friend.

Alice's eyes narrowed. Why the hell was he being evasive. They hadn't done anything wrong. They were just messing on.

She stood up and offered her hand. "I'm Alice. I knew Danny a while ago. We were talking about old times and just got carried away there wasn't nothing untoward going on."

Miranda looked at her hand as if it was covered in mud and then crossed her arms. She turned back to Danny.

Alice's mouth opened in shock. O so this is how the bitch wanted to be then! Like hell she was being dismissed like that! Not by this stuck up cow anyway. She took a deep breath and went to tell her where to stick her head.

Danny knew Alice well enough to realise that she was going to tell Miranda where to go. Her face when Miranda had dismissed her had been just shy of irate. She was getting ready to blow her head off.

"Hey Alice it was nice seeing you, I'll see you back at our lecture yeah." he said and smiled.

Alice's lungs deflated and her rant disappeared from her tongue. She glared at him angrily.

"Ok!" she angrily and picked her bag from the floor along with her rubbish. Her movements were short and jerky evidence of her anger at being basically told to go away! Like hell was she speaking to him again. She been the one asked to leave even though his girlfriend was the one with the problem.

Lads! Why bother with them!

Danny had watched as Alice had walked away and hated having to say that to her but Miranda would only have pissed her off and he didn't want Alice to end up getting herself arrested. He remembered all to well the trouble with Sarah!

Miranda looked at Danny. Arms folded tightly. "Am I right in assuming that this Alice is the same one you were talking about the other night?" she asked.

"Yeah so." Danny replied after Alice had disappeared from sight. It annoyed him that she hadn't looked back once. Did she not care at all?

"What happened to closure?" she asked him.

"God Miranda she's in my class. I can't not talk to her! Plus it was lunch it's not a crime!" he said angrily.

"Dan you were doing more than eating lunch. You were tickling her for Gods sake!" she retorted.

"We were talking about the past and got carried away!" he replied and calmed down.

"I knew you still had feelings for her. It's in your eyes when you talk about her. They twinkle and your breath catches when her name is mentioned!"

"Fuck off Miranda. You don't know anything ok! I don't love her right. We have history that's all!" he was seething.

"Danny don't lie to me. I know what I saw. You were putty in her hands. Your wrapped round her little finger and she knows it. She's playing you and your letting her!" Miranda repeated his name the way Alice said it, but she added a sneer.

"Well if that's what you think then there's no point in us having a relationship is there. Since your so certain I'm in love with someone else!" Danny shouted at her.

"I knew you didn't love me Daniel. You never told me once in 8 months. You're a bastard Trevanion and I hope you and her will be very happy together!" she said bitterly and walked away.

Danny was shocked. He had told her he loved her hadn't he. At least once. God he hadn't. well at least he hadn't lied to her coz he didn't love her. Didn't mean he loved Alice though. He picked his rubbish from the floor and walked towards his flat. He wasn't going back to his lecture today. He walked deep in thought. He dumped his rubbish in the nearest bin. He didn't love Alice did he? Sure he was grateful that he knew she was happy and they were friends but the love they'd had had been a kids love. Innocent. Not the kind that lasts. The kind that fizzles out. It couldn't of survived 5 years of not seeing her could it? He couldn't trust her to love her again and if you didn't have trust what did you have? Nothing!

(X)

Alice was sat at home in her kitchen. Trying to make a start on her assignment. She was still pissed at Danny. He wouldn't of done that to her before. Just dismissed her like that. She stabbed her pen hard on her paper. She was in the kitchen at the table. Ryan and Lexi were making crispy cakes. Lexi fingers and mouth were smeared with melted chocolate. she smiled at her daughters giggles. She started licking the chocolate from her fingers. Ryan whispered something to her and she ran into the living room. She returned with something hidden behind her back. Alice concentrated hard on her work, she scribbled down sentences quickly. She finally formulated a short paragraph and wanted to get it down quickly.

"Alice." Ryan said.

"Hmmm." she asked engrossed in her work.

"Can you look at me?" he asked softly.

"2 minutes." she replied and finished her sentence. She looked up. Ryan had a funny look on his face. "You ok?" she asked.

He smiled and took his apron off. Lexi stood beside him practically hopping with excitement.

Ryan's face turned serious. "I love you Alice Collins. I want you and Lexi to be with me forever." he went down on one knee in front of her and produced the box Lexi had brought in. He opened it. "Will you marry me?" he asked.

Alice was shocked. She hadn't seen this coming in a million years. Ryan was looking into her eyes. If this had been Danny he would have hypnotised with his eyes but she felt nothing when she looked at him.

"Well what do you say Alice?" he asked.

A vision of Danny filled her mind. Then she remembered Miranda. She had no business thinking of him. He wasn't hers. He hadn't been for 5 years.

She smiled at Ryan. "I'd love to marry you Ryan!" she replied. And kissed his cheek.

Danny could put that in his pipe and smoke it!

Ryan grinned and slipped the ring on her finger. Lexi squealed in excitement. Ryan lifted Lexi and twirled her round. There was a knock at the door.

She kissed Ryan again. "I'll get that. Lexi go upstairs and wash your hands please."

She walked to the front door and opened it. Danny stood there!

"D..D..Danny." she stuttered and hid her left hand behind her back.

"Hi I just came over to apologise for Miranda's behaviour and mine actually. There was no excuse for the way we both dismissed you like that. And her rudeness was well out of order!""No worries." she replied.

Ryan came to the door. "Whose there Alice?" Ryan asked.

"It's my old friend Danny." she said.

Ryan opened the door wider and stepped outside.

"Danny this is my boyfriend Ryan." Alice said.

"Hey!" Ryan chided. "I'm your fiancé now!" he put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him possessively.

Danny was shocked. Engaged!

"That's nice. You're a lucky man!" Danny said voice shaky. Nothing prepared him for the next shock. A little girl came from behind Alice and tugged her hand.

"Mummy whose that?" she asked and looked at him.

Danny stared at the child.

Alice saw Danny's shock and gulped.

A/N ok alice gt engaged to ryan to sort of get back at danny 4 dismissing her. wot an idiot right! an now he's seen lexi. his reaction 2 lexi up next chappie. review please x