Quick Recap - A thirteen year old Rosie turned up and told everyone she is Alice's daughter but Alice claims she's her sister…

(X)

Alice's alarm clock shrieked at her the following morning alerting her to the start of a new day. She was lain on her stomach and her hand blindly whacked on her nightstand for the offending object. She managed to knock it to the floor but it failed to silence it so she was forced to open her eyes and retrieve it. She slid across her mattress and opened her eyes to peer over the edge. As soon as the bright sunlight in the room hit her eyes she felt a sharp pain begin to throb, she groaned and buried her face in the mattress until it passed. When she felt able to she peered again to see the bell alarm clock rattling from side to side angrily. She reached down picked it up and flicked the switch. It quieted immediately and Alice smiled snuggling back under her covers wanting to return to the serenity of sleep and she managed that…..until her phone began to vibrate against her dresser. Her eyes came open again and she barely restrained a growl of frustration, pulling herself from bed she padded over to ignore the call. When she picked it up she saw it was Vanessa…..why would she be calling her at seven am? She connected the call, "You better have a damn good reason for calling me at this time!" Alice said in lieu of a greeting.

"Well good morning to you, what a ray of sunshine you are this morning." Vanessa told her unusually chipper.

"Right I'm disconnecting….."

"Sorry!" Vanessa laughed, "I have a vet situation and my vet needs help."

Alice groaned her body deflating, all she wanted was to go to bed. "What is it? Can I help over the phone?"

"My giraffe is having real problems delivering and I need you, it's the same problem your giraffe had."

Alice was awake properly now, not totally alert but coffee should do the trick. "I'm on my way, have some coffee ready for me will you?"

"Rough night?" Vanessa asked.

"Not exactly." Alice breathed, "I'll talk to you later."

"Thanks for this Alice."

"Don't mention it." she murmured after disconnecting the call. She went in her wardrobe pulling out her clothes for the day. Her morning shower was going to have to wait, animals in distress didn't always pick the most opportune moments.

After pulling a brush through her hair and tying it back she left her room to find the curious faces of Nomsa and Caroline waiting for her. By their expressions they were full of questions and Alice was actually thankful Vanessa had rang her as she needed time to think about what she was going to say to them. "Vanessa needs me at Mara so I'll have to skip breakfast. I don't imagine Rosie will be up before I get back but if she is tell her to stay put, there are things we need to sort out."

"About Rosie…." Caroline began.

"No time, sorry a giraffe is in need of my skills." and she turned and waltzed out of the house knowing if she didn't get out soon both the women would have her hog tied to a chair torturing all the information out of her and God knew they were merciless!

She made it to Mara and the pens in record time and saw the giraffe in distress lowering. "Elevate her neck! And get more hay in here!" Alice ordered pointing to the area. Her whole focus was on the animal in front of her, the issues of her little sister completely forgotten.

Alice collapsed back onto a bed of hay and exhaled tiredly. She tore off her gloves and threw them in the used utensils bucket someone had fetched. She had felt like fate had been against them today but somehow she had managed it, mother and baby were fine, mum was even helping her little one to its feet. It had been incredibly tough going but as the little one stood there gingerly on its spindly legs she was reminded of why she did this job. Sometimes, against the odds, miracles happened. Vanessa stood beside her and put her hand on her shoulder, "You're a genius, I was sure we were going to lose both of them! Cooper could learn a lot from you."

Alice dragged herself to her feet, "Cut him some slack he's just a kid."

"He's the same age as you and graduated eighteen months before you did."

He probably had more distractions at Uni than she did. Alice had used Uni as her distraction from her divorce. She didn't answer just exited the pens heading for Mara's surgery.

"Sorry I got you out of bed," Vanessa said following her. "It's not like you to still be in bed at that time, you're usually up with the chickens."

Alice glanced at her, "My baby sister showed up rather unexpectedly last night rip roaring drunk! I didn't get much sleep."

"You have a little sister?" Vanessa asked as they entered the vets building.

"Yep." Alice discarded the used materials in the biohazard box. "She's 13 named Rosie and already I want to kill her! Why do teenagers have to be complete brats?"

"Coz they're teenagers!" Vanessa laughed. "At least Grace has a friend now."

"Don't count on it, Rosie isn't staying." and turned to look at her friend. "I have had her less than 12 hours and I'm tearing my hair out! My mum can have her back! She's already told Nomsa and Caroline I'm her mother! And they don't know whether or not to believe her coz we look alike."

"Whoa!" Vanessa breathed.

"And…."

"What?"

Alice shook her head, "You're gonna find out anyway." she sighed. "She told them about my ex husband Danny."

Vanessa eyes bugged, "Ex husband? You kept that one quiet!"

Alice shrugged and leant back against the cupboards, "We were young, seventeen, we divorced when I was twenty. I don't like to talk about him."

"Because he's an idiot and it causes you mental pain that you were stupid enough to marry him in the first place?"

"No." and her eyes seemed to be full of pain. "Because it hurts." and because once upon a time she had loved him almost insanely and had believed that they'd be together forever.

Vanessa scrutinised her, "Its been almost ten years and you're still in love with the guy?"

"No no I'm not in love with him I just….he was my first love and everything was so good and somehow we lost it." Alice protested.

Vanessa disagreed. "I don't think so Alice."

"How can you love someone you haven't seen in ten years? We were kids back then, he'd be a different person by now, I'm different."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Not this heart." and Alice picked up her vet box.

"Is he the reason you haven't dated then?"

Alice made a gesture of unknown. "Maybe, to be honest I haven't wanted to date, haven't felt the need for companionship or met anyone who made me want to change my life for them. I've fell in a rut I think I measure people against his memory and no one can win a challenge with a memory."

Vanessa grinned, "I know some nice real guys if you want to go out." she nodded still smiling. "Trust me once you get a real man you'll forget your ex in a heartbeat, I don't even remember my ex's name!"

"In a little while maybe, I have all this Rosie stuff to deal with, I don't want to scare him off before we even go on a date!"

Vanessa chuckled, "She really that bad?"

"You have no idea." and Alice exhaled. "I better be getting back to her, I dread to think what she'll do to Nomsa and Caroline!"

"Ring me if you need me!"

"I just might take you up on that," Alice admitted, "You have more experience raising a teenage girl than me. Oh and get in touch if mum or baby looks unwell." then Alice left the surgery and climbed in the truck which was parked.

"I'm here Alice." Vanessa reminded standing in the door way of the surgery.

Alice nodded, "Thanks." and waved then the truck roared to life and she drove away.

Nomsa and Caroline sat on the veranda deep in conversation, "What do you think of the two men who arrived this morning?" Caroline asked.

"Perfect for Alice." Nomsa murmured. "They are real men and you know they'd fight for the woman they love!"

"Which one should we set Alice up with then?" Caroline asked.

"The tall one was wearing a ring I think so it look like it'll have to be the other one. It's a shame, the tall one had such nice eyes. Mind you I'm not sure the ring was on his wedding ring finger though!"

Caroline nodded, "I asked them to come up in an hour or so to meet everyone if they wanted they both seemed nice when I picked them up."

"Now to see if Alice feels the same, we'll have Alice do the game drives and tours, maybe even see if we can get her and Leon alone, his name is Leon isn't it?"

Nomsa nodded and Caroline smiled, "She'll have to fall for him!"

"One step at a time Caroline, she needs to meet him yet and there is Rosie to factor in!"

"Ah yes!" Caroline breathed. "A teenage daughter might deter him." she frowned. "You really think Rosie is Alice's child?

"I have no idea, Alice is so secretive though and if she is Alice's then she was what? Fifteen when she had her, that's something you'd want to keep secret, maybe her dad is the one she married!"

Caroline nodded then made a face, "I can't see Alice giving her child away to her mother to raise and then leaving her when she left."

"Like I say she was young when she had her, the damage had already been done what was she supposed to do tell Rosie when she was four or five that she wasn't her sister but her mum? That would mess her up!" Nomsa told her, "Look there is no denying the kid looks like Alice, acts like Alice I can even hear Alice in her voice. It just seems to be a little too much for them to be sisters."

Caroline sighed, "That is a big spanner in our plan. Do you think we should wait? Not to mention the fact that Anders told us to back off."

"What is Leon is Alice's one and she misses out on love because Rosie is here?" Nomsa asked. "We'll just have to tread carefully."

Alice's truck appeared in the distance.

"Remember, Anders said we aren't to ask her anything." Caroline grumbled.

The truck pulled in and Alice climbed out covered in blood, hay and bodily fluids. Caroline twisted her face, "What on earth?"

"Perfectly natural." Alice said and grinned in triumph. "Mother and baby are doing well. Score!" she sobered. "Is Rosie up?"

"Nope and her room has been as quiet as a tomb." Nomsa replied.

Alice wiggled her eyebrows. "Well I think its time to remedy that don't you?" and she walked past the ladies into the house and straight into the room Rosie occupied. She turned her phone to its full volume and found a very noisy song to play right beside her head. After pressing play the song started abruptly and Rosie jumped up eyes wide. The light blinded her so she squinted her eyes to find Alice smiling at her arms crossed. "Oh its you." Rosie murmured and lay back down, her back to Alice. She was holding her head which was starting to pound.

"I thought I'd give you a warning, we need to talk, study thirty minutes!"

"Whatever!" Rosie muttered burying her face in a pillow.

"I mean it!" Alice told her icily. "Thirty minutes is enough time for you to shower, change and dose yourself up on coffee."

Rosie snorted although it wasn't altogether convincing.

"The tablets for your hangover are in the kitchen, hopefully what you're suffering now will stop you drinking but I doubt it."

"Do me a favour Alice and….." spewed expletives at her.

Alice narrowed her eyes, "Mum is getting you back if I have to find her and drag her back to you!" why their mum left her to Alice was a bloody mystery!

Rosie didn't reply so Alice counted this as a victory, she left Rosie's room and retrieved a dry towel and clean clothes. She enjoyed a hot shower letting the water unknot the tension in her muscles, her carefree façade seemingly working, well Nomsa and Caroline hadn't asked her any questions! When that was over and she was dressed in some clean khaki's and a pink blouse she felt much more human and able to handle whatever Rosie could throw at her. She walked from the bathroom rubbing her hair with a towel.

"Alice is that you finished in the shower? Our guests are here." Nomsa called.

Alice had never been one for dealing with the guests, she much preferred to communicate with animals rather than people but she best get out there and say hello, they were paying to be here after all! She walked to the front door, as she passed Rosie's door she pounded on it and shouted "Up!" and then continued to the front door still rubbing her hair with the towel. She could hear Caroline talking about her,

"Here's our vet Alice, she would have been here to meet you but there was an animal emergency in the neighbouring reserve and Alice won't let an animal down." Alice rolled her eyes at the way Caroline made her sound.

"That's ok." a male voice said, "Its my favourite way to greet a lady, right from the shower."

Oh God an arrogant one? Really? Alice hated him already! She walked through the front door she had yet to get her glimpse at the guests as her towel obscured her eyes.

"Alice come meet out guests." Nomsa said.

"Sorry, had an emergency this morning." the towel fell from her face and her eyes found one of her guests. Her smile fell and the towel slipped from her grasp fluttering to the floor. She suddenly had a headache the size of Africa. He was smiling at her and it felt like she had been kicked in the chest by a hippo. "Oh my god its you!" she managed to gasp.

The smile soon left his face too, an identical shock was written all over his face.

"Alice this is…." Caroline began.

"Danny." Alice finished for her. "Danny Trevanion."

Caroline frowned at her, "You know him?"

While she was still shocked that Danny was stood there in front of her another feeling began to bubble at how unfair life was treating her, anger! "Are you bloody kidding me?" she yelped, "I mean c'mon! Who next? This is truly getting beyond a joke!" turned on her heel and stomped into the house.

Everyone turned to Danny for an explanation, her was just staring at the space Alice had occupied.

"Well?" his friend Leon asked expectedly.

Danny couldn't seem to muster an intelligent sentence. Alice! His Alice! All grown up! And WOW! I mean just... wow! She was stunning, so much more so than when they'd been kids, and he'd thought she couldn't ever look better to him! Her eyes seemed deeper, bluer. Her hair shorter but blacker and glossier. She was still as tiny as ever but he sensed a pent up passion that had been absent when they were younger, and her face, had she always been that beautiful…..

'She broke your heart remember?' A malicious voice in his head reminded. 'She left you!'

His face hardened as he remembered every painful thing she put him through, she asked him for the divorce, she went off to uni without even bothering to call him before! All previous thoughts of how good she looked were forgotten as pain cascaded through him. He finally faced the people who were staring at him. "I knew her a long time ago." he said flippantly.

"How well?" Leon asked knowingly.

Danny glared at him and crossed his arms.

Alice appeared from the front door composed although her eyes never strayed from straight ahead, away from Danny, "I apologise for my earlier reaction." she told Leon, "Welcome to Leopards Den, if there is anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable don't hesitate to let me know." she shook his hand and smiled warmly. "Enjoy your stay too." she told Danny dismissively earning herself a glare from Caroline. Alice had intended to go down to her surgery and escape until she remembered she had her hell on wheels little sister to deal with, she swore, turned and headed back inside.

"Seems like she can't make her mind up." Leon remarked.

"Alice has been under a lot of stress recently, why don't I take you to your hut so you can get settled." Caroline suggested. "Of course you are both still invited to dinner tonight."

Leon smiled and nodded in agreement, Danny was lost in thought.

A/N bit of a shorter update from me tonight mostly a filler too, I have been busy as hell recently gah!
Anyway Danny is finally at leopards Den along with Rosie (i smell trouble!) and Nomsa and Caroline are hell bent on setting her up with Leon. Will they find out Danny is her ex husband? Or will the two ladies think that Danny is so much better suited to Alice? Hmmm stay tuned! Especially when they find out why Danny and Leon are there!
Will get to all your updated fics later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for reading x