A/N Long time so little update, Alice and Danny are in the bush looking for Dupe and Evan who they think were lost in there, they found out the radios weren;t working so they are likely already home. They had a disagreement about Danny helping Alice with Derek being back and hurting her but Alice refused and they headed back to the truck in silence. Oh Rosie and Max are now a couple :) Enjoy!

Danny and Alice reached the truck after walking in a stilted silence, even the warm night couldn't thaw the ice that had developed between them. Neither one even tried to break the silence, sensing the futility. As they climbed into the truck Danny began to wonder how they would ever be able to get passed the walls they had erected to protect themselves from the other.

Alice just tossed her bag into the back, turned the ignition, harder than necessary Danny noted. The engine spluttered and died. Alice sat up straighter, closed her eyes in annoyance for a moment then tried again. It made a choking sound and died a second time. Her spirit dropped lower, "I can't believe this!" she muttered then jumped from the truck, walked around to the hood and popped it. She shone her torch over the engine and looked at in complete puzzlement. "Why didn't I listen when Dupe gave me those tips on engine maintenance?" she asked herself softly. Everything looked fine, oily, black, enginey. She hadn't noticed that Danny had joined her and was looked at the engine every bit as puzzled as her, "Do you see a problem?"

"I'm a vet." she told him. "Dupe laughed when I tried to explain to him how to fill this thing with diesel. Apparently you don't just shove a pipe in a hole and pour."

Danny frowned at her, "Really?"

She shrugged, "Its an art, apparently." she smiled, "He's so full of it." Went back to the engine and tapped something that rattled. She moved her hand away quickly. "I'm no good at this stuff he tried to teach me once, the sent me down to my surgery, I think I annoyed him."

Danny smiled with her, "You were never that way inclined, I remember when you asked me to help you cut your grass as your strimmer was broken, nope just no wire."

"Hey I was what? 15? How was I to know I had to check there was wire?" she told him with fake indignance. "Come on then smart arse, you fix it then!" unable to stop the smile at the memory.

"I would…." he started gingerly. "But I don't have enough light."

"Yeah, yeah." she murmured dipping her finger on some oily residue and swiping it across his cheek. "I believe you."

"Hey!" he laughed then rubbed his cheek. "So what now?" mind on the task at hand.

"Well we wait until we have more light then you can show off your mechanic skills.

"This is an expensive piece of equipment, are you sure you want me messing with it?" he said quickly.

"I trust you." she assured, knowing he was no mechanic but wondering how long he would carry this on for.

"Do you?" he asked without thinking then shook his head, "Ignore me." he sighed, "Anyway what is the plan until morning?" changing the subject as well as hoping that somehow the truck would fix itself somehow.

The thought sobered Alice, she didn't like the thought of spending the night in the bush with no provisions or shelter. They could try to make it to Elizabeth's point but in the dark that was worse than dangerous and counter productive, by the time they got there they would be turning back to hike home. "Well." she sighed. "We build a fire, set up camp, I have a few spare blankets in the truck but no food I am afraid. The radio is out of range or the sodding receiver is playing up. So we are here until morning when we hike out."

"Can you build a fire. Because I really haven't been here that long and…." they walked into a clearing not far from the truck.

Alice shook her head, "Don't worry yes I can build a fire, I need kindling." she took the torch and went looking for branches and twigs. "I won't go far. You dig a shallow hole, pretty small the fire doesn't need to be too big. It'll be a mild night I think."

He nodded and picked up a sharpish twig from else where to break up that hard ground, he was left alone with his thoughts. He had liked seeing Alice smile. When she smiled it transformed her whole face, her eyes sparkled. He could hear the laughter in her tone. It made him feel unsettled, almost twitchy, but not in an altogether bad way. The moonlight had seemed to enhance her eyes. Had they always been that liquid blue? Then again they had always captivated him. Her strength too? Why wouldn't he let him help her? Yes they were exes but they had a child together, they could go to the other when they needed. They had made a fragile kind of peace now, not quite friends but not at war either.

'Maybe that's what she's afraid of you donut!'

He frowned at the internal observation, barely scratching at the ground as his mind raced with possibilities. Was she afraid of them falling out again? He knew she'd be afraid of the outcome of Rosie's court case, but why would that affect them?

Alice appeared from behind a bush carrying an armful of branches and twigs. She spotted him beside a half dug hole and laughed, Danny felt his head begin to swim a little bit. All the air seemed to dissipate within his body and he was breathless a moment

"Look at that pitiful excuse of a hole! And you call yourself a bush man!" she placed the branches down and knelt opposite him and dug into the hole. "Lets make a deal, when I teach Thomas bush survival techniques you come too and watch, yeah?"

"I um…." his mind blank, "It's..."

She looked up at him a lock of hair falling into her eyes, as she tried to swipe it away with the back of her hand she put the slightest touch of mud of her cheek bone. "Are you ok?" her voice low and soft.

He was reminded of other times she sounded like that... soft hands... heated kisses,...he jumped to his feet and began wiping his hands on his trousers.

"Danny?" she asked startled.

"I'll just….um….get the blankets." and walked off towards the truck leaving Alice wondering what had happened between them.

Danny hurried away in the direction of the truck, away from the fire, from Alice and the uncertain feelings that seemed to be surrounding him. He braced his hands on the truck inhaling deeply. "What was wrong with him? His heart was pounding and he had no idea why! Why was he reacting to Alice so strangely? He had skipped tea today, that was it! He was feeling shaky because of hunger! It had to be! Mind made up he nodded to himself rounded the truck, climbed in the back and retrieved the blankets. As he did a tub of hot chocolate, milk, marshmellows and mugs fell out from within the folds. He frowned at the items. Strange supplies to pack, unless Alice put them there to go out on a date and forgot about them….jealousy flooded through him at the thought of her in the arms of another man…..he dismissed the thought as a purely natural feeling to have for an ex wife. He made his way back to Alice, still unsettled but feeling ok until he caught sight of her sat infront of a mound of branches, embers glowing. He swallowed hard "I found these in the back of the truck with the blankets. Held up the items.

Alice smiled, "That will be Dupe. He does that for Caroline at times. He likes to surprise her, moonlight, marshmellows and hot chocolate. Never fails he said."

"Really? He asked, "I never pegged him as a romantic." passed her a blanket trying to act normally, she didn't seem to be affected.

"Yeah believe it or not he is a hopeless romantic. She was going to leave on their wedding day and he went after her in a hot air balloon even though he is deathly afraid of heights."

Danny nodded placing his blanket on the floor, finding new respect for Dupe, you had to respect a man who would face his greatest fear to show the woman he loved how much he wanted to be with her. He accepted a mug with chocolate powder in it, "My kind of man."

"I think, in another life, he and you would be firm friends. You are quite similar but your differences would have completed each other. Since you are working here now I'm hoping you both find common ground." she sighed. "He's afraid that you will hurt me which is why he doesn't trust you. I'm sorry about that, he's protective."
"No, no I totally understand."

"He's one in a million." she agreed. "I'm sorry but I'll have to heat the powdered milk and water together." she grimaced. "This stuff is rank, I'm hoping the chocolate covers it though."

He shook his head, "That's fine." he looked up at the clear blue sky and looked at the stars, he could see why Dupe enjoyed this so much, being out here the quiet, beside a beautiful woman, he could get used to this…..

Alice busied herself mixing some water and milk in a metal mug and hung it over the fire using a branch. He watched her wanting to prolong this peace, "How'd you meet him?"

"Completely by accident. It was Caroline actually. She was in Liverpool visiting her sister Georgina, I was on placement at the vets they took her dog to. Georgina kept on talking about Leopards Den." she reached across and stirred the water. "I mentioned how amazing it all sounded and how one day I hoped to buy into a place like that a run a vets surgery. Next time she came she brought Caroline, we spoke, she liked me and decided to talk to her husband Dupe and here I am." she shrugged then looked up at him with a smile. "I admit it took him a while to warm to me properly. He saw me as a bunny hugger and had said I had no real respect for the circle of life." her eyes went distant. "I think it changed the first time he saw me actually save an animals life. You know that look someone gets when they can't believe that its still alive, when it seemed all hope was lost and you managed sometimes with only luck to get them back."

He nodded warmly, loving the enthusiasm in her voice. She sounded like the girl he'd known when she had been excited about something. "He adores you, I imagine I don't have to tell you that." he told her. He had seen the old mans face light up when she was around him then he remembered his warning from Dupe when he first visited.

"The feeling is very mutual." she lifted the milk from the fire when it was bubbling, "He's kind of adopted me as the daughter he never had, although he would never admit it."

Danny knew the last part of that statement was false, the old man might never admit it to her but he was definitely paternal around her and not afraid to show it.

"He does have a biological son though, his name is Kirk."

The conversation came to a natural end and they sat in silence while she poured the hot milk onto the chocolate in the mugs. Danny place his beside him after stirring it to allow it to cool and looked up at the stars, they looked so large and bright here, their beauty unobscured by the smog of the city, kind of like her he mused, she was bigger here, brighter, "I'm sorry about before," fell out of him before he even thought about saying it. He didn't want another argument to flare up but he needed her to know that arguing with her was the last thing on his mind.

Alice shook her head, "It's ok."

"I only want to help because I hate seeing you so stressed, I'm not going to try to protect you from anything, I know you don't need me to and you'd never allow me to, I see how strong you are now. How strong you became by losing our son. You'll never let that happen again. We can work this out together, let me help."

Alice looked up at the dark blue sky and sighed, "I'm scared." she admitted. "I'm scared I'm going to lose Rosie, I'm scared that Derek will come back and try to finish what he started all those years ago. Most of all I'm scared that Derek will find out about you and Thomas being back in my life and he'll target him!"

Danny knew that it was inevitable that Linda and Derek would find out about Thomas, his name would be included in all the reports, and that gave Derek all needed to try to get to Alice. "Let me help then!" he pleaded.

"I can't." shaking her head, "Because if I do…." she inhaled deeply. "If I let you help, then I lose my son." she whispered.

"What?" he gasped.

"I've thought about this," she elaborated, "I have a solution of sorts but it means Thomas going to live with you. I can't do that to him I'm making progress with him and i'm sorry but I know he doesn't want to live with you. He needs stability, I need him to know he can trust me to be there, trust that I won't send him away again. That I have always wanted him. If I send him to you, even with the intention of keeping him safe, what if he says no? What if he refuses to talk to me after? What if he stays and Derek hurts him? Either way I lose!" she sighed and turned her face away but not before he saw the tears stain her cheeks.

"Oh Alice." Danny went to her and wrapped his arms around her.

When Alice found herself in his embraced she tensed up momentarily, but the familiar feeling of comfort that she had been lack for so long, wrapped around her and she rested her head against his chest, her arms slowing snaking around him too. The tears dried but they remained wrapped up together for so long.

Alice allowed herself to get lost in memories, a mix of new and old, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the rumble of his laugh, his boyish charm that seemed to leak through at unexpected times. His passion, his empathy, how when she hurt he felt it too, he eyes remained closed as she basked in the feeling of being safe and loved.

"You'll be fine." his chest rumbled by her head.

Danny pulled back and looked at her, a stray tear lingered on her cheek and he used his thumb to gently brush it away, he opened his mouth to speak to her, it may have been to offer reassurance, he wasn't sure as it died on his tongue as soon as he looked into her eyes. It had been so long since he had been this close to her. He'd forgot how disarming her eyes could be after she had been upset. And her scent, citrus and dust, it filled his nostril permeating his being, heat flooded his body and his head began to swim….

Dupe was frantically pacing in the kitchen, the only thing stopping him from stomping from the house getting in a truck and searching the bush was his wife. He had known not to go out looking for that injured cheetah but he had fund an opportunity not to be missed to teach the kid how animals act differently when injured. He had left a note on the fridge that the radios were playing up and he'd be back before dark…..ok yeah he had walked in just as it was getting dark but he decided to take the kid home. He had a hard day traipsing through wilderness and all he wanted was a cold glass of whiskey but he'd walked in to find Caroline and Nomsa sat in the kitchen waiting for their return. When he entered they stood up and the first thing they ask him is where Alice is! Did she find him? How was he supposed to know? He wasn't even aware that he had been lost! They'd then explained the situation and he told them he had left a note which some child, Rosie no doubt, had taken down to replace with some note about school! Bloody kids! Now Alice was out there alone in the dead of night with some clueless bunny hugger! He would never forgive himself if something happened to her!

It made it worse that Caroline and Nomsa still harboured some insane hope that they would manage to get Danny and Alice together as a couple. OVER. HIS. DEAD. BODY! There wasn't enough whiskey in creation to make him believe that Danny wouldn't hurt her! He could out there right now planning how to do it, he silently fumed. He knew what the bush was like! A dark night, stars shining almost romantically, you get talking, reminiscing about old times, a stressful situation manages to bring out sides of people you didn't know were there! Alice had loved him once, and as much as she tried to deny them Dupe knew she still had feelings for Danny buried deep inside. She wasn't Alice around him, she was a woman unsure of her feelings! What if he charmed her again like he almost did last year! What if he…..he couldn't finish the thought! Thoughts of Caroline forgotten he stormed towards the front door, there was no way he was going to allow Danny to seduce Alice! He'd kill him first!

Caroline caught up to him half way down the hallway and grasped his wrist, "And where do you think you are going?"

"I'm not letting him do this again!" he told her almost a garble of words. "Do you realise what he could be doing!"

"Who do what?" she asked frowning. "And again? I don't understand Anders."

"I'm talking about Danny! Seducing Alice like he tried to in the kitchen when he was here last year!"

Caroline raised an eyebrow, she hadn't known about that little tidbit of information!

"I found him right down there trying to kiss her!" he said gesturing wildly, "And I won't allow it!"

"Isn't it Alice's choice if she wants to kiss him or not?" Caroline asked. "She's a grown woman Anders, I think you forget that sometimes."

Dupe crossed his arms scowling, "I know she's a grown woman, it's just you don't understand, I know what men like him are like!"

"Really?" she told him pointedly, "I seem to remember numerous warnings about what men like YOU were like. I am wrong like she is?"

He scowled deeper frown lines marring his face, "It's the so called noble ones you have to look out for! At least with me you knew exactly what you are getting in to. With those ones you don't know until they have broken your heart and gone!" he rubbed his face.

"He's solid Anders, dependable!"

"He'll break her heart!" he countered.

"You don't see the way he looks at her!" Caroline reasoned.

"NO! I see the way she looks at him!" he told her, voice raised slightly, breathing hard. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't want her hurt." he finished softly.

Caroline put both her hands on his forearms and rubbed gently. "Danny won't do that!" Caroline assured. "Next time he is here look at him when he looks at her, look in his eyes." she smiled then rubbed her hands together. "Meanwhile I am hoping the supplies Nomsa and I left in the truck will do the trick…."

"Excuse me?" he asked realisation dawning. "Don't tell me you tampered….."

"Oh no we didn't touch a truck, we considered it but we didn't know what to do and didn't want to hurt them. We may have noticed a truck needed maintained and didn't tell anyone and we saw your note of the fridge and thought….."

"You mean this was all you?" he asked mouth agape.

"All they need is time and space to clear the air. They'll be so good together!"

"Leaving them stranded in the bush is dangerous Caroline!" he seethed. "She could get hurt!"

"Shes smart Anders! She'll come home safe and sound and maybe closer to Danny! And didn't you teach her how to maintain the trucks?"

Dupe covers his face with his hands, "Oh my God." he murmured then looked at her seriously. "Caroline she can barely fill the thing with diesel! She can perform the most intricate of surgery on a lion but put her in front of a truck and she doesn't have a clue!"

"She'll be fine." Caroline repeated although her face slightly paler than before.

Dupe huffed and let out the breath he had been holding, "Leave them alone Caroline, I mean it!" a tone to his voice she had never heard before. "Alice is an adult, you're right about that, so let her sort out her own relationships."

"Fine!" she told him.

With that agreement reached they headed back to the kitchen to wait, neither one of them saw Thomas stood just behind the wall in the study listening to every word, his face thunderous. If Dupe was right and there was a chance that Danny might hurt Alice again there was no way that was going to happen! He was going to make sure of it! He may not like being stuck here but that didn't mean he was going to allow anyone to hurt Alice. His mum had taught him that much! And she was too bad, she was here, willing to fight for him. Which was far more than anyone else was willing to do!

Alice looked up at Danny, his hand was warm and soft against her cheek. An unusual expression on his face. The air around them was charged and seemed to be crackling with emotion. Her heart began to stutter and her stomach filled with butterflies, and in that moment Alice knew she had to get out of this situation. She couldn't allow any feelings beyond friendship where she and Danny were concerned.

Still though, when he so close she could feel his body heat warming her her mind just blanked. The feelings she didn't know she had been denying were bubbling beneath the surface and the kiss that seemed so close was all she wanted... NO!

"Danny…." she croaked. "We can't..." inhaled deeply, shook her head. The movement caused his hand to drop and her mind returned. "We shouldn't be doing this…."

Alice's voice snapped Danny back to reality with a thump and he shuffled back from her quickly. He sat there unsettled by the feelings coursing through him.

"We can't….I don't..." she finally looked at him seeing the uncertainty upon his face that was on hers. She forced her expression to go blank like stone. "Thomas needs to be our priority, Thomas and Rosie."

He put his head in his hands and scrubbed his face, "What is happening to us?" he murmured to himself. "Is there still something between us or something else?" he didn't want there to still be something there but he had a feeling that is what is was! He raised his head, "When I looked at you then…." he shook his head knowing he couldn't finish the statement even if he wanted to. He didn't understand what was going on! "I'll take the first watch, you get some sleep."

Alice didn't reply, happy that he agreed that whatever had almost happened between them couldn't happen again. She lay down and crossed her arms making a pillow as she closed her eyes she knew that sleep would remain elusive.

A slight way across as Danny stared into the fire the only thought in his head was how cold heart he was, Sarah hadn't even been gone a year!

A/N Awww dupe being all fatherly around Alice, hes sweet. i think he and danny need to clear the air. danice too, they are both too mixed up, next chapter could be promising...

sorry for the length of time between updates, BEYOND busy right now with work, home ect, i should be prepping for an interview for promotiom right now but i got bored and here we are. i have a week off next week so hoping to get another chapter up, only half a chapetr written as of yet though. thank you to everyone still sticking with this story, I appreciate it!