A/N Recap - Danice are back together and are gonna play a little trick on the family. Enjoy :)
(X)
Alice stomped out of the surgery, Danny hot on her heels.
"Oh God they're worse!" Liv murmured when she saw Alice turn back and gesture angrily.
"Ok which one is it?" Danny demanded when he saw them watching.
Alice ignored him.
"Alice." he hissed.
"I can't talk to you when your like this." she told him simply.
"Which one of them do you love? Is has to be one of them!"
Max, Thabo and Dupe froze eyes wide.
"I demand you tell me!" he yelled at her back.
Alice spotted the men and stopped. Smiled dreamily.
All 3 of them looked at each other wondering who is was she was looking at.
"Hi." Alice breathed.
No one was willing to answer, they all looked away.
"It isn't Thabo, he's with me!" Liv said and grabbed his arm tightly. He looked eternally grateful and clinged to her.
"Not Max!" Rosie added. "That leaves…..Oh my god!"
Rosie and Liv stared at Dupe open-mouthed.
Dupe paled. "Me? But no. I didn't. She wouldn't…..I'm innocent!"
Alice merely sighed.
"Alice I know you and Trevanion are having problems but I'm not the answer. I have bad personal hygiene. I drink too much. I snore. I have Caroline!" his voice becoming higher with each sentance.
Dupe was completely serious. Alice shot Danny a look. Danny grinned in reply.
All 5 people were suddenly staring at them Liv twigged first. "You two are…."
"You conned us?" Rosie declared in disgust.
Danny walked over and out his arm around Alice. "We did well dear."
"Course we did." she said smiling up at him. "Sorry Dupe, couldn't help it." they walked to the house hands tight.
"I'll get you! BOTH of you!" Dupe called after them.
Danny looked back and winked.
Rosie and Liv looked each other and high fived. "They're back!"
(X)
Danny, Alice, Charlotte, Liv and Thabo were sat in the kitchen. Alice was washing dishes.
"Charlie can we talk?" Danny asked.
She nodded not moving.
"This might be better alone." he suggested.
Charlotte's face froze. "I don't want to!" she yelped.
Danny nodded, walked around the table and kissed her head. "I'm here anytime ok."
Charlotte walked off leaving Liv and Thabo looking at Danny apprehensively.
Alice glanced across, picked up a tea towel and began to dry her hands.
"Here's where they double team us!" Liv whispered.
Danny smiled superiorly and twined his fingers with Alice. "I believe my wife hired you." Danny shot Alice a smile who returned one brightly.
"O God I'm gonna be sick!" Liv muttered.
Danny carried on ignoring Liv's sarcastic comment. "She told you the decision would have to be remade when I returned home, well here I am."
"Danny cut out all the stick up your ass crap. Can he stay or not?" Liv snapped.
Danny grinned at Liv's declaration. "Upon careful deliberation Alice and I have decided…..that Thabo can stay."
Liv's face lit up, she jumped from her seat. "Thank you so..."
Danny halted her. "We have conditions."
Liv froze and looked at Thabo. "There's always a catch!" Dropped into her chair and crossed her arms petulantly. "The adoring daughter persona didn't stay long." Danny said to Alice.
"Teenagers huh?" Alice laughed.
"Let me guess, we have to stay something like 50 yards away from each other huh dad." Liv said in disgust.
"Actually I quite like that one. Should I add it?" Danny asked Alice.
Alice pretended to consider.
"NO!" Liv yelped.
All was silent.
"What are they?" Liv said moodily.
"You will each have a set amount of chores and a small salary. Once your chores are done your time is your own. Your chores are on top of other household stuff like keeping your rooms reasonable and dishes ect." he motioned with his good hand. "Public affection to a minimum, as Alice said it makes your gran uncomfortable."
"Doesn't stop you." Liv muttered.
"She's not my gran AND I am a married man." Winked at his wife.
"Yuck!" Liv declared. "Get used to this Thabo, it only gets worse!"
Thabo grinned at her. How she enjoyed this playful banter with her dad and he just played along, not kicking off like other dads would.
"There's other little stuff….." Danny trailed off.
"Is that all?" Liv asked hopefully sitting up in her seat.
"No." Alice cut in. "Here is my condition, I want you to go to college."
Thabo looked at Liv, he knew how she felt about getting up early he grinned amused.
"Erm Thabo, don't know why your looking like that. We mean you too!" Alice said with a half grin.
"Not so funny now is it?" Liv crowed.
"Told you are one of us now Thabo." Alice said as his shocked face.
He looked at Liv uncomfortable.
"Look guys he…" Liv began understanding his worries immediately.
Danny was alarmed that Liv could read Thabo's face so soon.
"You don't have to worry about paying for the courses. Danny and I are gonna do that. Hence your smaller salaries." Alice said so Liv didn't have to, knowing it would make Thabo embarrassed to hear Liv voice it.
Thabo shifted in his seat, no idea how to react or what to say. "Thank you." he croaked.
Danny and Alice smiled widely. Danny extended his good arm. "Welcome to the family."
Thabo stood up and shook it smiling.
"Don't take that as an invitation Olivia!" Danny warned.
Liv rolled her eyes. "See what you let yourself in for?" they began to walk down the hallway.
"Kids." Alice called after them. They looked back. "I know I don't have to say this but no trouble with Mara, or the police, or each other." she stressed the last one.
"Yes mother." Liv breathed, as they began to walk off again they were chatting excitedly.
"That went well." Alice said smiling.
"What about Charlotte?" he asked worried.
"She still refuses to talk about it." Alice frowned.
"Not talking didn't do us any good." Danny said, his green eyes pained.
Alice nodded. "You go to her. You understand more than I do."
Danny stood up and touched her cheek gently.
"I'll be in the surgery if you need me." she told him.
Danny walked towards Charlotte's room, knocked. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah." came a yell. He walked in and saw her sat on the bed. She had obviously been on the phone. By the speed of her hanging up it had been with a boy no doubt.
"Danny." she said as a greeting.
He closed the door behind him. "Can I ask you something?"
"About the lion?" she asked panicked.
He shook his head.
She nodded.
"Why don't you call me dad anymore? I liked it. I miss it."
She shrugged her shoulder and looked at her blanket, the shrugging of the shoulders was a universal teenage answer.
"Is it coz of what happened to us?"
She shrugged again. Stiffer this time.
He sat down on the bottom of her bed and pondered his next words. "It's not easy is it?"
Charlotte didn't move or say a word.
"You know, forgetting what happened. It's even harder talking about it - bottling doesn't do you any good. See I bottled, and it almost drove me and your mother apart. It does that to you, you know. Distances you from the ones you love. You have probably noticed your mother and I have made up. We got there by talking. I told her what hurt me, she told me what hurt her and we met in the middle. At the time it hurt like hell but I feel so much better now. We both do."
Charlotte's head was still down staring at her blanket. She was quiet. Danny was about to stand up when she finally spoke.
"I wanted to shoot it but I couldn't. After he did that to you I still couldn't bring myself to hurt it!" she said angrily. Her head raised and he saw tears in her eyes. She got up fists clenched and walked to the window. Crossed her arms. She looked out of it. "You should have just let it jump on me!"
"Charlie - you don't mean that!" Danny answered shocked.
"I do. I was the one he wanted. It was my fault you were in there! Why should you get hurt for something that was everything to do with me?"
"Charlotte you're my daughter….."
"No I'm not Danny. Rosie is your daughter. Liv is too. I'm just excess baggage that came with mum!"
Danny stood up. "I won't have you talking that way about yourself!" he said angrily. "You ARE my daughter. I've brought you up! That is a dad, being a dad has nothing to do with biology. Fathering a kid isn't the same as being a dad!"
Charlotte exhaled and turned. "He almost killed you, coz of me. Liv, Rosie, mum. They could have lost you coz of ME!"
"No Charlie. None of this is your fault - it was just bad luck that's all." he softened his voice.
Charlotte was quiet for a while. Walked over and sat back on the bed. "I was really scared." she admitted with a whisper.
"Me too." he breathed.
She rubbed her face with her hands tiredly. "What were you thinking? See the only thought in my head is Oh my god I'm gonna die."
Danny exhaled and frowned. "Lots of things. I had no gun, no radio. I was worried about Dupe or Liv coming in. I had no way of getting help or warning anyone. Mostly I wanted to get us in the pen."
"But it was stuck." she finished.
"My fault." he whispered.
"It was just bad luck." she echoed looking at him.
They were silent again.
"Do you remember it?" she asked.
His face darkened.
"You don't have to answer that!" she added quickly.
"No it's ok." he told her. "I remember snatches up to injecting him. Then nothing."
"I could tell you - if you wanted to know." she hazarded.
Danny wasn't sure he wanted to hear it to be honest. But if Charlie need to let it out… "Yeah I do." he lied.
Charlotte's face changed. Turned pensive. "He jumped on your back. You sorta dived and gave him the needle. And he turned and pounced on you. You were out cold on your stomach. I was pretty sure he was gonna rip your head off so I ran to the office for a gun. I radioed Dupe too. Then I was stood in front of it holding a gun. I hated this animal so much and I wanted to kill it. You were lying there so still and it looked so proud of itself." she shook her head.
"You're a child Charlotte 13 don't blame yourself." he whispered.
She wrapped her arms around herself. "It started coming towards me then it collapsed. Dupe and Liv ran in. I was over beside you at this point. Poor Liv was going mental, she opened your mouth and blood poured out if it. I thought you were dead. Blood was everywhere, walls floor, you, me. After that it gets fuzzy. See apparently I went catatonic whatever that means."
Danny nodded, swallowed thickly.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. "Really really sorry." her voice broke. "I didn't want you to get hurt."
He scooted across the bed and pulled her close. "No need for sorrys, I'm your dad. I'd do anything to protect you. All of you. Even though you do drive me crazy and I wanna strangle you. I'll always protect you ok?"
Charlotte hugged him back tightly. "I love you." she whispered.
"Love you too little girl. And one more thing. Call me dad huh? My kids don't call me Danny."
She nodded wiping her eyes. "Ok dad."
He ruffed her hair. "Anything you need?"she shook her head.
"Remember Charlie I'm always here." he then walked to the door and exited. Closed the door and put his back against it leaned his head back and closed his eyes then rubbed his face. God that had been hard - but he did it - for his daughter. Now to find his wife, he was suddenly in need of a kiss and hug.
A/N story will be kickin bk in next chappie - centered bk on Livbo x
