A week and a half had passed and Alice was on edge, Thomas and Danny had began to spend more time together. Sometimes it was here, she of course made herself scarce, other times it was elsewhere. As much as she would have loved to talk to Thomas about what he did with Danny, it was his time with his father and she didn't want him to think she was quizzing him. It was just hard, he may be a teenage boy and with that deserved his space, it was just she would always feel like she was never going to be able to have enough time with him. As it was when he did return home from being out with Danny he didn't seem excited about it or particularly talkative, it seemed like he kind of tolerated it. It was the best they could ask for right now. She just hoped that one day he would warm up to his father.

Rosie however seemed to be getting quieter and more subdued as the days passed. Alice had received a letter from their mother outlining how she was going to get Rosie back and how Alice didn't have a hope in hells chance of keeping her, she was making sure of it! Alice had passed it straight on to her solicitor. Hopefully she would manage to keep it out of court but Alice wasn't holding her breath! Linda had missed the chance to mess up her life and Alice wasn't giving her the chance to mess up Rosie. She had tried hard enough the first time round but Rosie had got here just in time.

As it was she was currently sat on the veranda, a can of pop by her side surrounded by paperwork that she had severely let slide since this whole debacle started. Rosie was doing something inside, being much too quiet, evidence of how worried she was, and Thomas was out on his visit with Danny. She really had to A get this stuff in order and B someone manage to keep on top of it. Her neck was stiff so she say up straight rubbing it and checked her watch. It was quarter to eight. God she had been at it for hours and felt like she had done nothing…. Running her hand through her hair she decided to stick at it until Danny brought Thomas home, maybe they could grab a coffee and she could ask him how the visits were going since she got zippo from their son!

It was funny how much she missed him when he wasn't here. The words in front of her eyes began swimming so she sat back slouching and rubbed her eyes with the tips of her fingers. She hadn't been sleeping well recently….

"Well well well, if it isn't my stepdaughter. Come say hello to daddy."

Alice felt her blood turn to ice, her eyes popped open and she was on her feet in a second. She hadn't heard anyone walking up the stairs, or even a vehicle approaching! She looked at the man who arrived, still short, still punchy, his hair was longer and greyer than she remembered. The years hadn't been kind to him at all! "What are you doing here Derek?" she asked coldly on her guard looking around quickly.

"Does a father need a reason…."

"You are not my dad!" Alice spat. "You'll never be my dad! THANKFULLY!"

"What about Rosie?" he retorted.

"Rosie doesn't need you! She doesn't need mum! She has me!" voice full of venom feeling adrenaline begin to surge.

"Every child needs a father." he told her, "Like yours did. You married…..."

"Don't talk about something you know nothing about!" her rage rising at his words.

"How is your kid by the way." Derek carried on unphased by her anger. "It'll have been what? 10 years now?"

Alice narrowed her eyes refusing to be played or pulled into an argument. He was trying to get information on her current situation. Trying to find out if Danny was still around, and if she had Thomas. She refused to give him an inch, he wasn't using them against her, it was bad enough using her baby sister! "Leave Derek, NOW!"

Derek however, seeing this wasn't working began to change tactics, he had limited time here. "C'mon Alice, I'm only here to… oh hello Rosie." and he smiled widely.

Alice paled and looked in the direction of the front door taking a step towards it. "Rosie, go…." The front door still closed from before. Rosie wasn't there and in that moment she knew her mistake, as soon as her eyes were off him he moved like lightning and ploughed into her. Derek's weight hit her and she collided with the wall with a clatter. Alice pushed him with all the strength she could muster, but he held her securely.

Alice looked at him belligerently, trying to hide the fact that she was scared, "Let me go Derek, I'm warning you! You think you'll get Rosie back when I tell my solicitor this?" her arms pinned behind her back between her back and the wall.

He leaned in mouth close to her ear, "You think I want the brat back? That's Linda. I was much more interested in you." he murmured. And inhaled deeply. "You smell really good." he purred and Alice felt her skin crawl.

"I mean it!" She told him voice harder than before. "I'm warning you!"

He laughed pulled back and studied her face. "You are warning me? I seem to remember the last time you warned me ending badly for you." he smiled not giving her an inch in movement. "And you're older now, better looking…." he raised a hand to run it down her cheek.

Alice tried to shove him away gain throwing all her body weight forward. She managed to free one hand but before she could swipe at his face he caught it and pinned it above her head.

"Actually I remember last time a little differently..." she began forcefully. "Didn't Danny come over and kick your ass?"

Derek's face flushed with anger.

There was a squeak and the front door opened and Rosie walked out. "Alice, you ok? I heard a bang…." her statement trailed off when she saw her sister being held against a wall one arm around her neck the other being held above her head.

"Alice?" she whispered voice deserting her her face pale, eyes wide, "What the …." her body frozen in shock. Until she recognised herself in the face of the man with her sister.

Alice shook her head panic filling her. History was repeating itself, "Go inside Rosie. Lock the door. Put your music on. You'll be safe.

"Alice no..." Rosie said taking a step towards them.

"NOW Rosie!" Alice demanded. "I'm not messing around!"

Derek finally looked at Rosie his eyes dark and venomous, "Rosie!" he practically snarled.

When Alice heard the tone she lunged trying to free herself instinctively trying to protect her sister. "Don't talk to her!" Alice spat.

"NO!" Rosie said, straightening her spine she headed for her father. Derek seemed to turn a little ready to defend himself against her attack, Alice used this slight distraction, and the fact his hold loosened and threw herself against him. Derek stumbled back and she was free, only momentarily. She used the time though to get to Rosie, push her down the hallway into the house and pull the door closed. Derek had already roared in rage and grasped her hair….

Danny was sat in the truck trying to coax Thomas into conversation. It was hit and miss, sometimes they could talk, sometimes Thomas sat in silence and then there were times it was almost hostile! They had been on a visit to the lion enclosure today, Danny felt it was best to educate him about all the dangers of being here without preaching. They had sat the lions and spoke a little bit about animals, Thomas had admitted how worried he was when Alice had thrown herself in front of the lion for him. He had quieted after that and hadn't said anything since. He was enjoying this time with his son, the kid was layered and so much like Alice had been when she was young. There were hints of himself there too, especially how guarded he was.

Leopards Den appeared in the distance. Thomas was staring out into the distance, his mind obviously miles away. Danny looked again at the house and frowned when he saw two people scuffling on the veranda. One of them was Alice…..but he couldn't make out the other. He felt anger fill him when he saw Alice take a knee to the stomach. She fell to the floor and he attacker was over her and obviously kicking. He saw Alice get to her knees when he saw her take another kick to the ribs. He was almost blinded with anger, the person in question looked up in their direction. He picked Alice up by the collar said something the hit her once again. She fell to the floor while he ran to the far side of the wall, rounded the veranda and ran off. Danny immediately had to chose whether to go after the attacker or make sure Alice wasn't too badly hurt. He had no choice really, he had to make sure Alice was ok, and of course that the kids didn't see her in a bad way! The wheels screeched to a halt and Danny hopped out before it had stopped moving. He ran up the stairs and found Alice on her knees groaning, her face pressed against the veranda.

The door burst open and Rosie appeared, "Where is he!" she shouted a knife in her hand.

Danny looked at her eyes wide, combine that with Alice on the floor and the anger within was now genuine concern. "Alice are you ok?" he asked, one arm around her shoulder, the other under her chin lifting it to look at him.

"Get the kids inside." she told him breathless, clutching her ribs, keeping her face still hidden.

"Alice." he murmured.

"Get them inside!" she demanded, voice harder than he could ever remember hearing.

Without thinking he tenderly rubbed her shoulders and stood up. Rosie stood by the front door. She saw Danny approach and Rosie quickly knelt down. "Alice you ok? I'm so…."

Danny stood her up. "Rosie, Thomas please go inside please."

"What happened to her?" Thomas asked getting out of the truck slowly and looking at Alice. "Who was he?"

"We'll talk later Thomas." Danny promised "Please go inside so I can sort your….Alice." he added.

Rosie took Thomas' arm and led him inside. Thomas' eyes didn't leave her until he was in the hallway. It wasn't until they heard the door click that Alice released the groan she had been hiding. In the next moment she felt gentle hands on her shoulders, "C'mon get up." Danny said softly.

"In a minute." she almost gasped as pain shafted through what felt like every iota of her body. Her ribs ached.

Danny ran his hand over her hair softly.

Alice swallowed and rolled so she was sat on the floor. A trickle of blood ran from her nose and she swiped it away with her wrist. It nudged her nose and she winced in pain. "Least its not broken." she murmured to herself. "Son of a bitch always goes for the ribs." and tried to push herself to her feet.

Danny offered his hand silently. She looked at it a beat then up at him. Saw his eyes were full of concern and slipped her own into it. His other arm came around her and she was on her feet. Pain shafted through her ribs and her arm snaked around to grasp it, she was almost bent double she was in so much pain. If not for Danny holding her up she may have fell to the floor!

Danny helped her as she limped to a seat and she sat, he knelt before her and placed two gentle hands on her face as he examined her pupils,"I'm fine Danny." she told him breathless, unsettled by how gentle he was being.

"You going to tell me what happened just then?" he asked examining her head for bumps or cuts. She dabbed at her nose again as more blood trickled and rested her head back against the chair she rested on and closed her eyes. "It's nothing that affects you and Thomas." was all she was willing to confide.

He knelt down looking at her and took both of her hands in his.

Alice's eyes popped open and she looked at their joined hands.

"It's obviously affecting you if someone is coming here and doing this to you."

"Danny…."

"This person could have really hurt you if I hadn't came when I did." he told her interrupting. "Let me help Alice, please."

She was silent.

His mind was busy making connections, "It was him wasn't it? Derek!" he rubbed his face and could feel the anger flowing. "This is just like when we lost Thomas." he told her. "When you went there and Derek hit you and we lost the chance to have Rosie with us and lost our son altogether."

Alice yanked her hands away, she was well aware of the story, see this was the part where he went after Derek, gave him a kicking and they lost the kids and she wasn't having that happen again. This was why he was staying well out of it! "Actually it wasn't him at all, poachers. Sometimes they don't like it when we don't let them take our animals. It happens."

"Since when do poachers come this close to the house? I may not have lived here long Alice but c'mon I'm not stupid." he took a deep breath. "We're not going to lose Thomas again are we?" he asked. Fear in his voice he couldn't quite hide.

Alice sighed. "My mum is going for custody of Rosie."

"So Derek did come for a little visit then? A little warning to you to what? Not fight back? Give him what he wants?" his teeth clenched and fists flexing.

"History is repeating itself!" she got to her feet gingerly, unable to look at his angry expression anymore.

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you go looking for him like you did last time we WILL lose Thomas and Rosie will end up back with them in a much worse situation then before! Especially because I will no doubt end up in prison for trying to take her back, whether I'm allowed or not! You don't get it do you?" she fumed. "They have planned ALL of this, they are using you to get to me like they always do and you as always fall for it! How they know you are back around is beyond me because I haven't spoke to you or mum properly in years! And Thomas! He's already lost his mum and dad! I want to make headway but that isn't going to happen if you go and try to get revenge or make yourself feel better about something that, lets be honest, has absolutely nothing to do with you! Just leave it alone OK!"

"I wasn't..."

Alice cocked her head and looked at him incredulously.

"Ok, I considered it for a second but I'm a father Alice."

"You were before." she replied.

"I've grown up!" he countered.

"Look, if all I have to do is take that to make sure the kids stay here safe with me then…." she shrugged. "They need me."

"I can't believe that you will just accept that Alice." he said in disbelief.

"Of course I don't accept it!" she shouted. "But I'm practical! I can't bear the thought that I will lose the kids a second time. I won't survive it! The last time this happened I lost my baby sister, my son and my husband. I have the first two back and I'm not losing them again!"

Danny heard the unsaid 'because of you' at the end of that statement, if he had any doubts about whether she thought it he could see it also shined from her eyes. "Let me help you keep them! You don't have to do it alone, I'm here, let me help!"

Alice made a face, "I can do this alone!"

"Why? Why do you think you have to do that?"

"I don't think, I know. I've been alone for..."

"You aren't alone Alice." he interrupted. "And as you say there is more at stake then just you here!"

She bit back a retort that leapt to her tongue, "I don't want or need your help Danny. Now Thomas has been dropped off we don't need to communicate." then she walked inside clutching her ribs as she went.

Danny clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to shout. He had forgotten how stubborn Alice could be, he hadn't known she could be so strong, then again she never had a reason to be in the past before their family fell apart. Shaking his head he headed for the stairs and began to descend. The front door squeaked and he saw Rosie slip out. Her face fell when she saw him climbing inside his truck.

"She pushed you away then?" she asked leaning against the pool at the top of the stairs.

Danny looked at her in question.

"We eavesdropped." she replied to the unspoken question. "The study is good for that."

Danny shrugged, "Not a lot I can do if she doesn't want me to help. She's as stubborn as they come."

Rosie nodded and crossed her arms, "I think deep down she probably does want your help." she murmured.

"She won't let it happen you know." he told her. "She'll keep you here if it kills her."

Rosie flinched at his choice of words knowing her dad was more than capable of doing that to Alice if he wanted to.

He saw her and got out of the truck and headed towards her. "It will be ok." he assured and rubbed her arms.

"My biological mum and dad against an unmarried half sister? Really?" she shook her head, "I might as well pack my stuff now."

Danny saw her eyes fill with tears and pulled her towards him for a hug. "I will not come to that." she looked up at him and he patted her cheek and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Everything will be fine Rosie, I promise."

A man knelt behind some bushes, phone in his hand as he watched, first the interaction between the man and Alice then the interaction between the man and his daughter. He couldn't make the man out properly, or when he had been in the car but this had to be her husband, Dennis or whatever he was called. There was something between Alice and him, there had been a lot of touching going on, add that to the little interaction with Rosie there. Oh a nice proper little family, he made a face and punched in a number.

"Hey Linda, just thought Id let you know that the husband is around."

Pause.

"Yeah Danny or whatever. Think the son is too."

Pause.

"Maybe if you really want to get to Alice maybe we don't use Rosie, we use the boy instead. That'll really get her going!"

Pause.

A large smile began to bloom across Derek's face as Linda outlined an idea of what they could do.

Alice had her head pillowed on her arms as she sat at the kitchen table, a cold cloth lain against the back of her neck to try and beat the headache that was slowly beginning to throb. She was so bloody tired of all of this! Why couldn't life be simple? She had enough heartache to last a lifetime and the hits just seemed to keep coming, not just figuratively now but literally! She felt a like a clown who had too many balls in the air and at any moment they were all going to coming crashing down. She hadn't let on to her sister but she had seen hers and Dannys little moment earlier, why did he have to be so bloody paternal with her? The phone rang and she got up tiredly and shuffled to the phone, her ribs still painful although not as intense as earlier. If this was a call out she was going to make her excuses, she was just too tired to deal with anything but herself and the kids right now.

"Hello Leopards Den, Alice speaking..." her voice weary.

"Alice, it's Danny."

Oh for the love of….. she thought remaining silent. He could say what he had to then she was going to bed, sod it!

"Alice I'm only phoning to see if Evan is at your house, he hasn't come home from tracking with Dupe."

"He's not here, neither is Dupe incidentally. If you give me a minute I'll grab a radio…." she kept the phone to her ear as she walked to the receiver, her aches twinging as she went.

"You think about accepting my help?" Danny asked gently.

Alice sighed, "What help can you give?" fatigue creeping into her tone.

"I have no idea." he admitted, "Sometimes a good listener is all the help you need. I could hang around just in case he shows up again."

Alice halted a moment considering his offer then shook her head, "No thanks."

He withheld a sigh, "What are your chances?" he asked, "Of losing her?"

"I don't know, my solicitor hasn't received any paperwork yet. There will be court ordered visitation at the very least…." found the radio she had been looking for, "One minute." and sent out a brief call….only to receive no reply.

"Du Plessis!" she repeated. "This is Alice, answer the bloody radio."

She swore when the radio remained silent. It wasn't like Dupe to allow this to happen. He was always very aware of the safety of anyone in the bush, it was a lesson he had drilled into her when she first arrived here. He wouldn't allow his battery to go flat like that which meant only one thing…

"Danny get over here, I need to go out into the bush. Its best not to go alone and I can't take the kids."

"What's wrong?"

"Just get over here, I'll explain on the way."

A/N usually by this point i would know if we are nearing towards the end of the story (and i'd have started writing another one) but i only have most of the next chapter written, it's so hard writing Danice now! But anyway...has something happened to Evan and Dupe? Was it animals or a more dangerous beast who walks on 2 legs? There is more to come, i just need to find time to finish writing the chapter!

Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, it was really nice hearing from all of you :) x