Chapter 43- Scout in a Hole

When Danny saw Angelica again, he told her what he learned about the others in the safehouse basement on Kailano Island. She said it would take a while to help them escape, because when Valentin and the Marchesis learned of the Webber's escape, they immediately put up cameras and some V-Guards around the safehouse. They'd have to come up with a new plan and it probably wouldn't happen right away.

By the time Saturday morning rolled around, Danny was going to meet Cam at the grand opening of Carly's Café, which is what she called it. Danny wasn't sure whether it would be packed with people excited for something finally new to do on the island, or if no one would want to go since Carly was the owner. It was somewhere in between though. When they arrived, Willow was sitting with Alexis, each sipping tea, while Elizabeth sat with Anna, Robin, Kevin, Lulu, and Nikolas eating a light lunch. He also spotted Monica with Bobbie and Donna; and Spencer and Emma off to the side while their parents talked to Elizabeth.

Danny and Cam passed Spencer and Emma. Spencer reached for her hands and gave them a soft squeeze. "I've missed you. Being in V-Town and only seeing you from a distance killed me… I want to pick up where we left off."

"Spencer…" Emma sighed. "I care about you, I really do… and I hated seeing you in that cage… but I think we should just be friends."

Spencer dropped her hands and his face went white. "It's Danny, isn't it? I knew you had a thing for him!"

Danny rolled his eyes.

Emma scrunched her face. "What? No! He's always been like a brother to me."

"First my inheritance goes to his line, now he's stealing you from me."

"That's not true," Emma said. "I just want to be friends. It has nothing to do with Danny. I'm sorry…"

Spencer looked up at Danny. "Well, there he is."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "She's right. In fact, I have a girlfriend."

"You do?" Cam asked surprised.

"Yeah…" Danny said. "Though we're keeping it secret. My family doesn't know about her…"

"Oooh, forbidden love." Cam patted his back. "Though I guess that's sort of like me and Joss since our moms hate each other. We're not keeping it secret though."

Emma sighed. "See, Spencer? There's nothing going on between me and Danny."

Cam and Danny walked over to Alexis and Willow's table next.

"I'm so glad you're enjoying your new job and your new family," Alexis said. "You don't know how much you mean to your mom. And your dad too now."

Willow smiled a little. "I'm getting an idea."

"Danny, hi!" Alexis rose and hugged him.

"Hey, sorry, I thought you guys were meeting tomorrow," Danny said.

"We decided to meet sooner," Alexis said.

"Yeah Jax invited me over tomorrow," Willow said, then chuckled. "But don't worry… I reassured Sam that I'm coming back."

Danny sighed in relief. "Thank goodness, I don't think I can take another Mom meltdown… anyway, I'll see you later."

Cam and Danny made their way to the counter where Trina was working.

"Hey, Cam!" She grinned. "Hey, Danny!"

"Hey," Cam said. "I'd like a peanut butter milkshake."

"Chocolate milkshake for me," Danny said.

Trina took their order, and as Carly walked out, she slipped and fell backwards, then screamed.

Bobbie hurried over to her and helped her up.

"Uhhh…" Trina said. "Ms. Corinthos, are you all right?"

Carly groaned. "Until the next thing happens…"

They found a table next to Elizabeth and the group she was with while they waited for their milkshakes.

"So, I met my grandparents last night," Cam said. "Not Monica, but my mom's folks."

"Did you?" Danny asked. "And?"

"And… they were nice. Weird, since three years ago Aiden and Violet would've been all over them. Now they have a complete wall up. It didn't take long before Aiden wanted to go to his room. Violet was polite though. Just hesitant. Good thing they're starting therapy on Monday."

Danny nodded. "Scout's starting this morning."

"Thank goodness there's a law saying only kids can go to therapy… at least for the time being," Cam said. "Mom wants me and Jake to go too. I told her I didn't need it."

Danny groaned. "My parents are trying to push me to go too once the kids are finished… Anyway, I was wondering about Jake… He still can't talk or even laugh."

Cameron frowned. "Yeah, apparently there's a surgery that can repair his voice box. But they're waiting until the new year. Letting him get at least one semester of school done, and they need to make sure they have all the medical supplies and equipment they need."

"The reason I wanted to meet with you guys," Elizabeth said drawing Danny's attention. "Is that I found out that Robert and Laura are alive."

Lulu's mouth dropped slowly. "Is this a joke? Wait… you're serious? My mom's alive?"

Kevin smiled and held Lulu's hand giving it a soft squeeze.

Robin's face lit up, but her eyes also watered with tears. "And my dad?"

Anna wrapped her arm around Robin.

Elizabeth nodded. "They were on Kailano Island with my parents. Jason has informed Julian and Alexis. They still want to build the army up before they attack though. But there's a teenaged girl who helped them escape, so maybe she'll be able to help with the others too."

GHGHGH

Danny and Willow ended up walking back home together once they finished visiting with Cam and Alexis.

"I'll race ya!" Danny darted off.

Willow ran behind. "Hey, you got a head start!"

"Last one there is the rotten egg!" Danny yelled.

"And the first one has to eat it!" Willow shouted back.

Danny made it to their front door well before Willow did. He leaned against the house, crossing his arms, and grinning.

"Oh, wipe that smirk off your face," Willow said. "You got a head start."

"That was like a 5 second head start. I made it here 5 minutes before you."

"Oh whatever…" Willow rolled her eyes. "You still haven't taken me up on my challenge to play you in chess."

"You played in tournaments… that's not fair. Besides, we don't even have a board."

"I'm sure Alexis would let us borrow hers."

They pushed the door open and heard Drew and Sam talking in the kitchen.

"Andre said that Scout still fears that we're going to abandon her or send her back to V-Town," Sam said.

"And that fear probably won't go away overnight," Drew said. "That's why we need to keep reminding her that we won't do that."

"She drew a picture of herself in a hole," Sam continued. "She told Andre that she keeps hearing voices. The V's voice, and Nelle's… keep telling her if she comes out of the hole then she'll be flushed. But she also hears all of our voices telling her it's safe to come out. But every time she climbs out of the hole something makes her want to go back inside."

Danny and Willow frowned at each other.

"And what does Andre think?" Drew asked.

"He thinks she's actually doing better. She used to want to stay in her bathroom. But that represents staying safe within V-Town. But the hole represents staying inside herself to stay safe." She sighed. "Which he said still isn't healthy. But she at least realizes that she's not safe within V-Town. She just needs to learn that she really is safe here with us and that we're not going anywhere."

"What does he think we can do to help her?" Drew asked.

"He thinks if we keep taking turns spending one on one with her, that it'll help. And to keep her doing things she enjoys doing. And if we can get her to open up to us more that it'll help immensely. We need to earn her trust. I actually asked him about Willow and Danny too…"

Danny furrowed his eyebrows.

"He thinks we need to build their trust too, and that'll be harder with them since they're older," Sam said.

"Makes sense," Drew said. "I've been meaning to have a good talk with Danny. But he always puts a wall up when I try."