Ronnie sat impatiently in the back of a cab, tapping her foot on the floor. Before she had left, she had been asked by DCI Pearson to give a DNA sample and some fingerprints, something to which she obliged straight away. Normally, Ronnie wouldn't have done it so willingly but precious time with her daughter was at stake and she hoped that by helping the police along with their investigation; her and her daughter would be reunited.

She sighed loudly as the taxi driver pulled to halt at some temporary traffic lights, annoyed at how long this journey had taken. They had set off twenty minutes ago and they were still a good ten minutes from Walford; Ronnie just wanted to return to the hospital as fast as she could and be in close proximity to her daughter, and possibly – possibly spend some time with her.

Her heart pounded against her chest as she thought about Danielle – her daughter. Her beautiful face, the dimples in her check when she smiled and how content she was when she was asleep. Everything she thought she would never have had been handed to her on a plate but her own closed mind had failed to see what was really there, that her little girl had been in Walford all this time. She was perfect, she really was Ronnie thought. Such a caring girl, such a nice person, so beautiful, and she was Ronnie's, she really was.

A while later, Ronnie forcefully stuffed some money into the taxi driver's hand before running towards the Vic. She received many stares as she ran through the Square, hitching her wedding dress up as she tried to run as fast as she could. She didn't care what people thought, what they thought of her and what she had done; all that mattered was her baby.

She slammed her hand across the red doors, sending shooting pains through the whole of her hand, before banging again hoping to get somebody's attention. Nothing could move faster enough for Ronnie, as she shouted through the door, "Aunty Peg!"

The door flung open to show an unimpressed Peggy Mitchell stood, with her hand on her hips, however her face broke into a smile as she saw Ronnie stood there, confusion fading across her face as she realised her niece/step daughter was stood in the same dress as she had been last night, "Sweetheart, why are you still dressed like that? Where's Danielle?"

There was no time for conversation as Ronnie rushed upstairs, shouting a few answer's down the stairs, her voice slightly breaking as she realised how bad the situation sounded, "There was an accident aunty Peg, she's at the hospital"

Within minutes, Ronnie had dashed into the shower, stripping off her bridesmaid dress and feeling the water cascading down her body; her make ran down her face uncontrollably and her tear stained face was washed away in an instance. It felt so relaxing, as if it was washing away all the bad memories and starting a fresh, blank canvas. She couldn't help but let her thoughts drift off to her baby – not that she wouldn't want them to – but she just wanted to hold her, to never let her go and just have more contact with her. She was craving it.

Within minutes, she had left the comfort of the bathroom and ran out in her towel, almost knocking Peggy over, who watched, concerningly, her niece, "What do you mean accident?"

"Just an accident Peggy, ok. Just leave it," Ronnie cried through her bedroom door, before appearing in a fresh set of clothes, some old tracksuits and a hoodie. Her hair was scrapped back into a ponytail and not a scrap of make up was visible on her face. She smiled at Peggy before rapidly making her way down the stairs and slamming the door behind her. She couldn't bear for anyone to know about the car and how it could have been her fault. If only she'd protected her child, held her in her arms and believed her when she had pleaded with her – her own mum.

As she made her way across the square, she put her hand in her left pocket, brushing her fingers across the delicate chains of the lockets. Hers had been such an important part of her life and Danielle's in hers and she wanted them to be together, like they should have always being. It also offered her a small bit of comfort, knowing for the first time in her life that her daughter was safe – safe and beautiful.

She paused at the Slater's front door, fearing a little reluctance to enter, as she breathed deeply. She had to do this; she had to – for her daughter. Cautiously, she approached the door and timidly knocked. She cast her eyes around the front of the house, letting them drift upwards and latching onto the figure of Stacey stood watching from the window above.

The door opened and Ronnie was greeted by Jean, who let the blonde Mitchell in, fussing around her as she did. They never had Mitchell's in their house, Jean thought, not since, since Roxy and Sean had been together. "Can I...I get you anything, Ronnie?" Jean questioned as Ronnie shook her head, "Tea? Coffee? Biscuits?"

"I, I wondered if I could go and get a few things from Danielle's room, she asked me to get some things for her," Ronnie spoke quietly, hoping that she would be allowed, as she dragged her eyes from the floor and onto Jean's face.

"Oh," Jean paused as she spoke, "Stacey's upstairs – I'm sure it will be ok!" She smiled cheerfully as she watched Ronnie smile back before leaving to go upstairs.

Ronnie slowly made her way up the stairs, apprehensive about how Stacey was going to react – she didn't normally act like this but now she was a mother, Danielle's mother, everything had to be perfect. She wanted to be the perfect mother to her little girl.

She slowly opened the door, knowing which was Danielle's room from seeing Stacey earlier, and cautiously entered the room, closing her mouth to stop the sound of her heavy breathing escaping. Her face fell as she saw Stacey staring at her, a cold glare piercing through her skin.

"What did you do to her Ronnie Mitchell? What happened to her?" Stacey shrieked as Ronnie closed the door behind her. "You Mitchell's you ruin everything!"

"It was an accident Stacey…" Ronnie whispered as she stared around the room, a tidy bed in the corner catching her eye. That was where her baby slept, where she had been at her most content and peaceful. She felt her heart rush with pride as she thought about how her daughter took after her in her tidiness, one thing that Ronnie remembered from Danielle's interview – and a small segment of the life she wish she had seen. "She…she got hit by a car, I came to pick up some things for her and see if you wanted to come and see her,"

"You left her at the hospital by herself?" Stacey breathed, unable to believe the cruelness of this woman if her thoughts were true.

"No!" Ronnie replied, knowing that it wasn't true, it wasn't. She wanted to see her baby, she needed to see her, and she hadn't left, she hadn't rejected her – she wanted her but she wasn't allowed. "It's…" She rubbed her forehead as her forehead creased, "It's complicated, ok, but she's there with Roxy,"

"But you left her…"Stacey accused as she saw Ronnie's face fill with offense, her eyes darting around the room, "I'm going to that hospital and I'm staying with Dan until she is better, and you," She pointed a slender finger at Ronnie, "If you hurt her, I will get you ok, one tear from her and I'll make sure you never see her again,"

Ronnie meekly nodded as she started to pack a few of Danielle's things – it felt wrong to be going through a stranger's belongings, but this stranger wasn't just anybody – it was her daughter. She smiled to herself as she fiddled through Danielle's possessions, gently folding the clothes into a bag she had brought with her, before zipping up the bag and placing it over her shoulder.

For the whole of the time she had packed the bag, Stacey had just stood there, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes at the blonde woman. She hadn't said a word, but no words were needed as both knew how each other felt. They left the house in silence and made their way across the Square, Ronnie requesting to stop at the Minute Mart before they caught a taxi together.

Inside, Ronnie was debating over the type of chocolates to buy her daughter as Stacey stood sighing loudly at the side of her, "What type do you think she'd like?" Ronnie quietly questioned as she turned her head to face Stacey.

Stacey focused her eyes on Ronnie as she stared at her face, seeing small tear marks evident across her cheeks, "The dark one, she likes dark chocolate," Stacey spoke quietly as she took the box out of Ronnie's hand.

A small smile faded across Ronnie's face as she took the chocolates and flowers, in her hand, to the counter to pay for them. It was a small bit of information – insignificant to most – but to Ronnie it meant the whole world, a small part of her daughter's life that she was slowly starting to know.

The journey to the hospital was slow and painful for both women, the tension in the air feeling like it was able to be cut by a knife. Ronnie desperately hoped that there had been some developments in the case and that she would be free to see her daughter when she wanted and be there to hold her little girl's hand.

The ward was no different to when Ronnie had left, which was now a few hours ago, except they were greeted by the two DCI's. Ronnie felt her heart turn in her chest, anxious that they were here to tell her good news and not bad. She ushered Stacey off to the room, not wanting her daughter's best friend to know what was happening, telling her that she would follow her in a minute.

"Miss Mitchell, can we have a word?"

Nervously nodding, Ronnie followed the two women into the small family room which had become so familiar over the past twenty-four hours, taking a seat on one of the comfy chairs.

"Miss Mitchell, we found some DNA inside the car. The good news is that it isn't yours so you are no longer a suspect in our investigation. However, some of the DNA does match to yours and we have since found out that the sample comes from a male, which along with the match's in your DNA suggests to us that it is a member of your family," DCI Pearson explained, as Ronnie felt elation spread across her face at being cleared.

"We understand that you want to spend some time with your daughter, so we will be back in a few hours to take a full witness statement from you Miss Mitchell,"

Ronnie nodded as she stood up, smiling at the two women before stumbling out of the room and making her way down the corridor. Happiness was an understatement of how she was feeling, elation – maybe, but she had never felt so happy in her whole life. She was off to see her baby.