Danny and Alice walked hand in hand down the street, it was a hot lazy almost summer day and they were enjoying some rare time together, since Danny was seventeen and holding down a part time job as a chefs assistant and going to college and Alice was fifteen with her GCSE's approaching they didn't always have this luxury. As it was they were enjoying window shopping and just being together. They were heading for her house, "So what do you want to do now?" he asked.

"You could come in mine, if my dad is out." she suggested. "My room is..."

He looked down at her smiling face. "No thanks." he drawled knowing where this was heading.

Alice rolled her eyes, "It wasn't for that reason!" she huffed. "But even if it was does it even matter? I'm almost sixteen!"

"Yeah, ALMOST and….don't look at me like that!" he declared at her belligerent expression. "I refuse until you're old enough ok!"

He saw the beginning of a pout and grinned, "Awww you in a huff now?" he joked.

"Yes!" and she tried to yank her hand away. "Don't I have ANY say in this at all?"

"Of course!" he promised.

"Well…."

"You have a say when you're sixteen!" he interrupted. "This is important Alice and I need you to know that it isn't a mistake."

Alice narrowed her eyes, "You do know I hate you right!" she growled not understanding why he didn't know that he would never be a mistake to her.

He chuckled low and pulled her closer to his side, "Since we won't be alone in yours how about we go swimming?" knowing that if she somehow managed to get him alone somewhere he was a goner. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that she was only 15!

She didn't reply, simple continued to stare the opposite direction to him.

Oh so she really wanted to try and do this, he began in a flippant voice, "Well, I don't blame you for not wanting to go, we both know I can kick your ass swimming laps so I knew you wouldn't want to…." he saw her shoulders stiffen and knew that he'd won.

"You? Win me?" she smirked at him cockily. "In what lifetime are you talking about coz it certainly isn't this one!"

He stopped walking and halted bending low to look in her eyes, "Prove it!"

"I don't have to, I seem to remember beating you last time we raced!"

Before he knew it he was laughing, "That was only because you grabbed my ankle and I sank."

Alice twined her hands with him and they continued their walk, her earlier ire forgotten, "Yeah I suppose that did help. You'd be much quicker if you didn't wear your t-shirt in the pool you know."

"I only wear it to make sure that I don't give the other girls heart palpitations." he winked at her.

Alice frowned, he always said that but….. "Danny…"

"Alice just leave it alone, please. I have issues with having my shirt off….its nothing serious…" he was quick to add and they walked on in silence. He knew there was going to have to show her eventually but not yet. He was holding off until they were ready to go all the way and that was a while off yet.

Alice exhaled disliking the silence that seemed to be growing. "Ok then. How about we both grab out stuff and you meet me at mine in twenty minutes?"

He nodded still lost in thought.

When they arrived at the respective homes they parted to collect their things. After collecting hers Alice walked outside and sat on her fence raising her face to let the suns rays warm it. She was only expecting to wait a few minutes before he turned up. After waiting ten minutes she checked her phone and frowned. She quickly sent a text expecting some sort of reply but her phone remained silent. Ok, this wasn't like him, she was waiting 10 more minutes and then go to his. Actually she could do that now, it wasn't like she hadn't been inside his before…..although at certain times he was evasive about her visiting, like he didn't want her to see something…..she hadn't even seen his parents before, she realised… with that thought in mind she walked slowly down the street.

She reached his gate expecting him to burst out of the front door like he usually did….but he didn't appear so she strolled down the path and rang the doorbell. The front door was yanked open abruptly. "What do you want….." an older man snarled. "Who are you?"

Alice jumped and took a step back, "I'm Alice a friend of Danny's." she looked at the mans face and could see traces of Danny in the mans face there were subtle differences though, Danny's eyes were softer and his hair was darker than the man before her, there was something about his attitude, there was a harshness in his demeanour and a cruel slant to his mouth….

"Oh." the man said seemingly changing, his attitude now warm and welcoming. "Daniel….." he called.

Danny appeared carrying a bag. He saw Alice and paled, he looked at his dad wearily then back to Alice. "A…Alice, I thought we were meeting at yours?"

"You didn't tell me about your friend Alice." his dad said to him.

Alice looked at Danny in question.

Danny began to wring his hands together, "Dad this is Alice, my friend. Alice this is my dad Robert."

"Friend or girlfriend?" his dad asked studying Alice intently.

Alice blushed red and Danny knew that his dads question no longer needed clarification.

"I only came to see if you were ready to go swimming." Alice told Danny. "I text you…."

Danny seemed to stiffen when his dad moved quickly. "Oh are you kids going swimming?" he pulled out his wallet, "Here let me…."

"Dad it's alright I have…"

"Oh no Daniel." Robert murmured his tone lowering to below freezing. "I insist." and pulled out a twenty. "Have fun you two." and smiled at Alice widely.

Danny looked at his dad, he saw the threat in his eyes and took the money.

"Get some fish and chips on the way home too huh?" Robert suggested.

Danny nodded and bowed as he left the house taking Alice by the hand.

"See you later Daniel." his father called. To any outward observer it sounded like perfectly innocent farewell… Danny knew better.

Alice missed Danny wincing at his fathers words.

After a long day together Danny and Alice walked hand in hand through a darkened street. Danny was dreading going home….

"You're being really quiet tonight." Alice told him snuggling into his side. She claimed earlier it was due to it being chilly but truth he told she just liked being close to him.

"Am I?" he murmured seemingly lost in thought. "I'm just thinking."

"Should I be worried?" she quipped.

He smiled at her but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Definitely!"

They carried on walking in silence.

"Oh I forgot to say my dad text he needs my help tomorrow, my uncle is moving and my dad said we'd help and I have work later so I don't know if I'll be able to see you at all." Danny murmured.

"That's cool." she replied. "I've made plan with my friends."

"I'll text you ok?" he assured.

"Danny it's fine, I'm sure we'll survive a day of not seeing each other."

He nodded finding himself at her gate. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss.

"Can you do me a favour?" she asked smiling up at him. "I keep telling my dad I'll cut the grass but I when I try to cut it the strimmer doesn't do anything but spin. Dad can't work the new one since he blew the old one up last year so would you…."

"I'm your man." he nodded she didn't even have to ask. "But not tomorrow."

"Ok." went up on tip toe and left a lingering kiss on his lips her hands rested on his chest. "I'd better get in, its almost curfew. See you."

"See you." he said softly. And as soon as she was safely inside he made the slow trek to his house feeling like a condemned man.

As Danny said she didn't see him at all the following day or even the one after, true to his word though he had text her telling her that he was staying at his uncles as he still had stuff to pack and move. She thought nothing of it, especially since he showed up at hers bright and early the following morning…..

It was ten am and Danny walked towards Alice house making sure he kept his features schooled. He was stiff and sore but he had promised that he'd cut her grass and he wasn't going to be able to put it off any longer. If he didn't see her soon she'd seek him out and he would much rather see her on his terms not hers. He just had to make sure he was careful around her that's all….oh and to keep his shirt on at all costs. It was bad enough he had a bruise on his face this time. His dad had been drunk and sloppy….he had a cover story for that though. He just hoped she believed it, he hated lying to her but telling her the truth was unthinkable!

His dad hadn't been too happy he had a girlfriend, he had been even angrier when he saw that she was so obviously younger than him, he was livid that Danny hadn't told him about her. When was he supposed to tell him though? Between the beatings. Truth be told he wanted Alice to have nothing to do with his father! Alice was the one good and decent thing in his life and he knew that his father would do all he could to poison her with his venom and Danny would die before he allowed his father to do or say anything against her!

With that final though he reached her front door and rang the door bell. Alice opened it and beamed at him when she saw him.

"Danny! I was going to call to yours today." and wrapped him in a tight hug.

Danny withheld a groan as his aching ribs protested the grip. You ready for me to cut this grass?" he asked needing to get her off him. The pain was beginning to increase.

"Sure am! It's going to be a scorcher today so hopefully we'll have it done quick. Then dad said I could go pick up a new 10 foot pool for the back yard. Come on in and I'll get the stuff."

Danny walked through the home casually seeing an older man sitting at a sofa as he passed. This wasn't his first time in Alice's but it was the first time he saw her dad. Alice opened the cupboard door in the kitchen while he stood watching. He kept glancing to the man on the sofa reading the newspaper.

"Dad…" she called from the cupboard. "This is Danny, he's cutting our grass." then swore at something in the cupboard.

"Want a hand?" Danny asked.

"No, I'm fine." she replied voice full of exertion. Danny backed off and sofa the man on the sofa had lowered the paper and was looking at him. Danny found himself looking at Alice's deep blue eyes, the man also had shaggy black hair, but apart from that he looked nothing like his daughter. "Hello sir." Danny said needing to break the ice.

"You the Danny she's been rabbiting on about on the phone to her friends every night for the last six months?"

"Dad…." Alice began from inside the cupboard.

"You're only mentioned about 30 or 40 times!" Alice's father said reasonably, like that number was anywhere near reasonable.

Danny cleared his throat. "Possibly."

Her dad stood up approached Danny and offered his hand. "I'm Ian."

"Daniel Trevanion." and they shook briskly.

Ian's hand clenched around Danny's slightly. "It goes without saying that I'll know if you hurt her…."

"No chance of it." Danny said quickly.

"Oh my God dad!" Alice declared appearing from the cupboard red faced. "Could you embarrass me anymore!"

"I'm doing my job as your dad…" tweaked her nose as she swatted at his hand. "Got to weed out all the no hopers. You'll see one day when you have a daughter as beautiful as you." and he looked at Danny. "Not any time soon! Are we clear?"

Alice blushed crimson and grabbed Danny's arm. She shot a death glare at her dad, "Wait outside!" She practically ordered Danny.

"I'll grab the heavy stuff." he interjected.

"Good start Danny." her dad said as he settled back on his sofa.

"Can you please go back to reading your paper dad!" Alice moaned.

Ian shrugged and picked up his paper. Alice and Danny were soon outside and he was unwrapping the wire on the strimmer. "Your dad seems nice." he remarked.

"He's a pain! See what he was doing!" she rolled her eyes. "Can't believe he embarrassed me like that, see your dad a few days ago? He was cool about it!" Alice nodded.

Danny didn't reply, his dad was that cool about everything he had the bruises to prove how cool he was about things! "He loves you Alice. He's just trying to take care of you. Making sure I don't hurt you…." he trailed off.

"You never would." she replied flippantly and she unwound the extension cable.

Danny stopped what he was doing and watched her as she unwound it. "I never would you know." putting emphasis on the word never. "No matter what you might say or do."

Alice glanced up at him. "I know." she smiled. "Where did that come from?" and took the orange cable form him plugging it in.

He shook his head, "No where, just wanted to make sure you knew."

"Well don't worry, I know." and she revved the engine. "Last time I tried to cut the grass it wasn't doing anything."

He took the strimmer from her and examined the head, he smiled and spun it to show her. "You have no wire."

Alice made a oops face, "Oh." she laughed. "My bad."

"You have any inside?"

She shook her head.

"It's ok I have some in mine, I'll run down."

"I can come with you." Alice suggested.

"No!" he yelped. "I mean, it's only two doors down. You just, well trim and bag the weeds in the bushes." there was no way he wanted her anywhere near his house! His dad was still half cut from the night before.

Alice shrugged and Danny jogged out the gate. He reappeared ten minutes later, his face flushed. "Took me a while to find it." he told her sounding winded.

Alice looked at him and noticed a strange shaped bruise on his forehead. She walked over to him and reached up, "How'd you hurt your head? Its bruised."

He raised his hand and gently touched the mark. "I um, dropped a box on my head while I was helping my dads friend move. I tried to life too many boxes at once."

Alice frowned, "Thought it was your uncle who moved."

"Um….errr…it was….I mean, he's like my uncle but not actually my uncle, you know what I mean? He and my dad being so close."

Alice felt like he was deliberately being evasive and felt suspicion begin to bubble. She let it lie though and began cutting the hedges while he put wire on the strimmer. When he was gone he revved it and grass flew everywhere. He grinned at her and stuck his tongue out. She made a face back.

They worked in companionable silence until Alice got bored and put some music on. The sun was high in the sky and she looked at Danny. Sweat was trickling down his face.

"I have sun cream to protect your senstitive skin if you want to take your shirt off."

"It's ok." he told her panting. "I'm fine like this, really."

"Danny look at you, you're sweating!"

Danny grinned at her cockily knowing she hated it when he acted all arrogant, "Isn't it me who is supposed to try and get your clothes off? I had no idea I was so irresistible to you."

Alice raised an eyebrow un-phased, "You'll overheat." she warned.

"I'll be fine." he promised.

Alice shrugged and carried on. Half an hour passed and she suggested taking a break.

"You sit in the shade on the steps and I'll go grab us some cold drinks."

As she returned she saw his back to her sop putting the glasses down she crept up behind him, grabbed the hem of his t-shirt from behind and pulled it over is head.

Danny yelped and jumped to his feet.

"See nothing to…." after Danny turned she saw the multicoloured bruises that littered her chest. Not only that but old scars too. "What…"

"Give me my t-shirt Alice…." he asked coldly.

"What….how…" she stammered.

"Give me my t-shirt!" he growled.

Alice tossed it to him still in shock. Danny pulled it on and stalked out of her garden leaving her alone. Alice didn't follow.

Alice didn't hear from Danny for the rest of the day but at midnight that night she received a text from him and found him waiting door her in the back yard. She went downstairs and found his sat on her back door step. As she rounded him she saw his face was pale, he held bunched up toilet roll to his nose to try and stem the flow of blood. "My dad doesn't like he very much." was all he said before he slid sideways, slumping to the floor.

Alice hadn't known what to think never mind do, he was just lying there so still he was breathing that much she knew….did she call an ambulance? Did she try to move him into the recovery position? After kneeling down touching his head gently she finally decided that moving him was the only real option available to her ….if she called an ambulance and her dad found him here it was likely HE'D need the ambulance for the heart attack he'd be having!

She opened her back door wide, put her hands under Danny's arms and pulled him into the house, grunting with exertion as she did so. After reaching the living room she somehow managed to lift him onto the sofa. After waiting a moment listening for any sounds for above, hearing none she collected some warm water and wads of kitchen roll. She knelt by him and gently wiped his face cleaning the cuts and abrasions. Being this close to him and having time to really look she saw faint lines on his cheek and forehead….scars she realised. Indignant rage filled her a she began to ponder how long this had been going on for and the fact that rather than confide in her he chose to endure it all alone. It had always seemed that Danny was really accident prone, always covered with bumps and bruises of some sort…obviously it was more than that and since only he and his dad lived in that house it left him the only culprit….his own son!

He began to rouse so she spoke to him softly rubbing his cheek gently. "We have to be quiet." she whispered as soon as he opened his eyes. "My dad is asleep upstairs."

Danny frowned up at her eyes cloudy and confused, "What am I doing here? I don't remember…" he tried to sit up but she put her hands on his shoulders holding him in place.

"You said your dad didn't like you very much." was all she said dipping the roll in the water and rubbing his face. "Did he…." she sighed and looked into his eyes breaking off the question knowing he'd lie…"Why didn't you tell me?"

Danny couldn't stand the expression on her face…the pity….he covered his face with his hands.

Alice placed her hands over his and lowered them, "Talk to me." she urged voice low and full of feeling.

Danny sat up slowly his head bowed as he tried to order his thoughts. "I'm over six foot Alice." he told as a way of understanding, wrapping an arm tightly around his ribs as they began to throb.

"And I'm over five foot." she shrugged. "That's only your height, what's that got to do with anything?" she tried to take his hand into hers but he pulled it away.

"It means I'm big enough to take care of myself, big enough so he can't….he shouldn't…." his hands gestured in front of him trying to find words which wouldn't come.

"Danny…." she began, softer than before.

Again Danny felt her pity and hated it, he didn't want it! The feelings inside changing from sadness to anger. He surged to his feet. "Actually what it means is I shouldn't let him do it!" he shouted louder than he intended. "I should stop him..."

"He's your dad Danny. Maybe you feel you can't…."

"But I want to!" his face twisted for a moment into someone she didn't recognise. "As he's doing that you have no idea how much I want to just hit him and hit him and hit him!" he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply willing the anger to ebb. When he was sure his voice was calmer he began again, "Whenever I see him I can feel it and I want it and it sickens me. The worst part is that I feel like that with him and then I see you and I'm so scared that if I give in to that feeling with him I'll do it you too." he saw her about to protest and knelt before her raising his hands. "You see these hands Alice?" he murmured. "They're his, I get them from him." he knew his dads well enough to know that they were more than slightly similar.

"No Danny, they are yours." she challenged.

He looked away and shook his head.

Alice wrapped her much smaller hands around his and held them tightly. "You see these hands?" she murmrued. "These hands hold mine, they wipe away tears when we watch a sad film, they pick flowers for me when I'm angry at you, they tickle me until I can't breath and move hair away from my face." she moved his head so he looked at her. "These hands weren't made to hurt, they were made to heal and one day they will. You have a doctors hands Danny."

Danny closed his eyes trying to stem the emotion that was swelling. "I'd never do it." he choked then looked at her and swallowed hard. "I'll never ever hit you, I promise I'll never hurt you…"

Alice now went to her knees before him and put her hands around his face. "I know, you never had to say. I didn't even think it!"

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. Ignoring the pain that burned, he just had to feel her in his arms.

"We need to get you out of there." she murmured.

Danny shook his head, "I have no where else to go, what happens if I become a ward of the state or go back in care. What happens if I'm moved from you…."

"Back in care?" she murmured.

He nodded slowly, another secret he'd kept from her. "Neither my mum or my dad wanted me. As soon as I was old enough to take care of myself he decided he could handle me. If I took a step out of line he raised his hands, then after the first few times he didn't really need a reason." he shook his head. "I can't be taken away from you Alice."

"He can't just do this to you either!" she told him passionately.

"I can handle it as long as I have you."

Alice nodded an assent and kissed him gently. "Then I'll always be here, I'll always be yours…."

That time had brought both of them closer than they ever thought they could have been. The relationship seemed to grow over night from kid stuff to something much deeper, much more serious and thus much more complicated. She was there for him and he breathed her. A few weeks later she turned 16, then she had her exams and her dad began working away at the rigs. Danny ended up practically living at hers….then a few short months later everything changed…..

A/N Oh poor danny :( but it made him and Alice so much stronger...maybe that wasn't such a good thing in some ways, they were only kids after all! And the change coming, two guesses what it is...more memories next chapter, this one you get the rest of the story on their son... Will try and update soon.
Thanks for reading x