Danielle peered out the window, her eyes were fixed on the people walking past but she didn't take in the faces, the voices; her mind was distant. She watched as Jane busied herself outside the cafe, cleaning the tables and Denise opened up the minute mart, getting frustrated as the key jammed in the door lock. Even though Danielle had watched these same people and same things had happened day after day when she worked on the stall, she couldn't help but feel slightly out of place back in Walford. Even though she had returned the same person, people were always going to think differently of her after everything that had happened at the wedding.
"Danielle, you ok?" Danielle heard a soft voice from behind her, making her jump as she snapped out of her daze. She turned to see Roxy in the doorway hugging a dressing gown tightly around her waist, rubbing her eyes whilst she yawned. "See you're a morning person then" Roxy said another thing that reminds her of Ronnie she thought without muttering a word. "Just couldn't sleep" Danielle replied. She had been up since the early hours of the morning, restless and unable to shut her mind off.
Roxy had woken in the double bed alone after having fallen asleep next to her restless niece. As she had registered the empty space beside her, Roxy had immediately worried that Danielle had bolted. She had grabbed her dressing gown as fast as she could and fallen over herself as she's stumbled sleepily through the door, falling back into her normal drowsy state only when she had seen the small figure standing by the window. She couldn't help but wonder, although it had only been one night so far, how long could they keep this up? The constant fear that Danielle would run, keeping the truth from Ronnie, Danielle hiding away from Walford, from the world. It was all so much work, so difficult.
"Want some breakfast?" Roxy asked, ushering Danielle away from the lounge window and towards the kitchen. "We have toast, cereal; I can make you bacon, eggs, sausages...." Danielle managed a small smile as Roxy continued to list the entire contents of her fridge. "Coffee will do thanks" Danielle replied after Roxy finished, catching her breath. "Two coffees coming up then" Roxy said as she busied herself around the kitchen worktops. Danielle cautiously took a seat at the kitchen table as Roxy continued to hurry around her. The situation felt odd to Danielle; a dream that had taken a new direction. Even though she was sitting in the Mitchell kitchen, eating breakfast with her family, it was nothing like Danielle had imagined it.
Danielle sat on the sofa as she heard Roxy moving around in the bathroom. Roxy had told Danielle to "make herself at home" before she went for a shower but however much Danielle tried the situation just felt uncomfortable. She sat perched on the cushion, her legs nervously shuffling on the floor. Danielle couldn't help but feel nervous, which was silly because there was no one else around. Peggy was downstairs setting up the bar with Tracey and Phil and Ben had gone away for the week – kindly giving her a chance to settle in.
As the morning wore on Danielle continued to flick through the endless list of television channels – each one failing to her hold her interest as she held her finger on the remote button. She wasn't really interested in what was on television but it was background noise, Danielle couldn't bear to sit in silence any longer. Roxy had gone down to the bar to help Tracey after Peggy had to head out for a while. She had managed to sit a bit more comfortably on the sofa, her back falling into the cushion more as her nerves started to lessen.
As she reached the end of the hundreds of television channels Danielle turned the television off disappointed, the screen turning to black once again. As she ran her fingers up and down the sofa arm she wondered what she could do. After only seconds of thinking she decided to bravely have a look round her new home, even saying home in her head felt weird to Danielle. As she poked her head nervously through the first door she was greeted by the sight of a peacefully sleeping Amy, her tiny niece wrapped tightly around her bed covers.
As Danielle leaned over the sides of the cot she wanted to reach out and poke Amy, wake her up so she had company, a distraction from the painful silence. But Danielle decided better of it, though she wanted to fill the silence, the sound of a tired and screaming baby probably wasn't the best of ideas. Danielle had spent enough time babysitting Amy to know that whilst she could be an angel, she could also be a handful at the same time.
As Danielle slowly left the room, gently shutting the door behind her in an attempt not to wake her niece she the sound of laughter and banter from downstairs. Danielle cautiously edged closer to the top of the stairs – recognising the familiar voices as they laughed and chatted. Though the sounds made her nerves reignite Danielle slowly began to make her way down the stairs. She knew that she couldn't stay locked up forever, even though she wanted to stay in the comfortable bubble she had started to create. Danielle tried to reassure herself that everything and everyone would be fine, these people were her friends. But as she walked out into the bar she soon felt the glare of the locals eyes burning through her, it felt like a thousand faces all mesmerised by her sudden appearance.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Jack stated forcefully, a protective tone to his voice even though Ronnie wasn't around. Danielle froze as the sound of Jack's harsh voice echoed around the now silent pub, his finger pointing aggressively at her. Without a second though she bolted from the bar, not stopping even when she heard the reassurance of Roxy's voice calling her back.
"Dan, wait!" Roxy called desperately as she instinctively turned on the spot to chase Danielle. But as Roxy turned hoping to comfort Danielle, she was disappointed to find Danielle had already vanished out of sight. "Nice one Jack, thanks a bunch!" Roxy yelled, her face hardening in frustration and anger as she turned to look at a bemused Jack.
"Trace, look after the bar" Roxy ordered as she followed Danielle up the stairs. She found her niece cowering on her bed; the legs tucked up tight to her chin with her arms wrapped her shaking legs. Roxy noticed Danielle clutching her legs, tears streaming down her face. It looked like Danielle was trying to protect herself, huddling into a little ball to try and block out all the pain.
Danielle had heard Roxy approaching but all she could hear in her mind were Jack's words, 'What the hell is she doing here!' That's what they were all thinking, each fixated pair of eyes were wondering as to why the pathetic little freak had returned. Truthfully the question had been looming in the back of her mind since she agreed to return to Walford, she now realised how naive she had been to hope that it would all work out. Jack's aggressive questioning only served to confirm Danielle's fears; she didn't belong here and she never would.
