A/N: Here's the next instalment

Ronnie barged up the stairs and into the front room to find Danielle pacing up and down its length. "Wow", she whispered under her breath. Danielle heard Ronnie's soft voice and stopped dead in her tracks. Both women stood starring at each other for minutes, hours, days. Neither sure how long they stood, but with the amount of times they had locked eyes tonight, this was incomparable. Neither wore a look of hate, resentment, or anger: Danielle looked scared and very tired. Ronnie looked shocked, amazed, although Danielle couldn't figure out why.

"I suppose you want me to leave." Danielle wanted to get out of here as fast as she could. What had she been thinking, confronting Ronnie Mitchell? Anytime she upset Ronnie, she feared for her life. Danielle took a quick stride towards the door, but Ronnie immediately blocked her path.

"You're not going anywhere, not again" Ronnie's voice was resolved. What did Ronnie want from Danielle? She had already offered to leave but Ronnie intended on playing with her. She spoke so softly, lovingly, and yet her words held so much determination it confused Danielle, furthermore she was too wasted to play. It scared her, what did she mean by 'not again'? Danielle had escaped once from the club when Stacey had drenched Ronnie, and God knew Ronnie held a grudge.

Ronnie noticed Danielle's facial expression transform into one of complete terror. She realised the stupidity in her comment. "I'm sorry, what I mean is… I don't want you to go… I mean…umm… you know… we need to talk." Ronnie was struggling to string words together and form sentences that made any sense. Danielle was a fragile girl, one wrong word…

Danielle found this woman unbelievable. "What did he tell you?" She asked hysterically whilst letting out a small - but very sarcastic - laugh. "Did he say I'm just after your money, what, did he claim he's never spoken to me in his life, that I'm just some girl that's after attention?" Danielle just wanted to leave, being interrogated for 'lying' was the last thing she needed, especially when she was the innocent party here.

Ronnie had managed to tare her eyes from Danielle for what seemed like an aeon.

"No actually, he thinks you need help, you know, a doctor. I told him I would be there for you; I said I would help you get through this." Ronnie raised her hand to wipe her cheek.

Of course, that fits in well with Archie's style: First it was Ronnie who was the mentally unstable one. "Yeah, it seems doctors and hospitals are all you're there for. But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll pass on that thank you." She noticed how hysterical her voice sounded as she once more headed for the door. Ronnie was still very much drunk, but she had no intention of letting Danielle go anywhere. She once more stepped in front of the door way.

Ronnie spoke gently, as if she was exploring turf she had never walked on before "You have no idea Danielle. I'm a simple woman, I don't want for much. But you see, for the last nineteen years, I've craved for my little girl. I thought having that baby was the biggest regret of my life, because the pain it caused in having her snatched away, it made me who I am today. A cold, resentful woman. A woman who won't let anyone into her life in fear they'll take the important factors away from it. For the past nineteen years, I've craved the one thing I can never have; someone who I thought was buried six feet under. ." Ronnie's voice was breaking. "If ever, there was the minimal chance I could meet her, to be given the chance to be a mother…" Tears fell down her cheek akin to a river to the sea. Her voice had cracked, along with her throat swelling up, but in some way she found the strength to continue. "…If that chance were ever to arise, then all the regret, all the pain would be insignificant. The one thing I've realised today, I never regretted having my baby." Ronnie was deep in thought, she just starred. Her voice had become inaudible, so as Danielle found herself creeping forward to make out every word. Ronnie never noticed, but she continued. Her voice remained at ease, her eyes completely fixed in the same position, as if it held all the answers.

"What I regret is the fact such a precious being was destined to be born to me. Me, someone who was incapable of protecting her, having to give her up to complete strangers. That's what I regret. That's what cursed my life. Those are the actions that make me who you see today" Ronnie's vocal volume had incremented with each of the last three statements. As she spoke each one, she punched the table top for emphasis.

"Ronnie… I…" It was now Danielle's turn to trip over her words. All she saw was Ronnie's vicious pounding of the table. She dropped the sarcasm; she spoke caringly towards the women who she claimed was her birth mother. Ronnie shook her head as if to tell Danielle she was okay, which caused her head to pulse. She made a mental note to avoid doing that again anytime soon. "It's fine honestly" Ronnie's guard was rising as she wiped her tears away. She tried her best to avoid the cold hearted expression. It's the last thing appearance she wanted to go across to Danielle. She was now fighting against her own army.

Danielle's temper was rising. Why was it all about how Ronnie felt? If everything was so 'fine' for Ronnie, then why was she keeping Danielle here? If she left now, she could get the late train and be in Shropshire within a couple of hours. "I don't want to fight Ronnie, I'm leaving your life okay, you believe Daddy, that's fine 'coz to be honest, I'm tired of chasing you. I'm the stupid crazy girl who needs help. If that makes it easier for you, then fine. Nevertheless, I'm leaving Walford, that's the end of these painful seven months for me okay. Just promise me you won't drag all this up in my life when you finally realize, 'coz you chasing me Ronnie: now that's truly crazy." For the third time tonight, Danielle attempted the door. Ronnie made no attempt to block her path

"You've not heard a word I've said have you?" Ronnie's gaze was still fixed at the same spot. Her voice was barely a whisper. Danielle froze on the spot. It's always about Ronnie. Had no one bothered to listen to what Danielle had been saying? The most confusing factor was Ronnie being so nice, so vulnerable and so quite. Ronnie ended by repeating what she had said earlier. "You're not going anywhere."

Danielle's sarcasm – encouraged by her drunken state - crept into her voice again. "What now, does your guilty conscious want to pay for my psychiatrist? Daddy claims I'm mad, and you say 'ooh lets get her to a doctor?'" She imitated a little daddy's girl voice for the last phrase.

"I did it for us." Ronnie whispered, her gaze lifted on to the three-seater. She was truly defeated. All her energy went into making sure her guard stayed down. She controlled what she let others see, and most of the time that had meant hiding all her emotions. But if she was truly in control, then she should be able to show them all just as easily.

The last thing Ronnie needed was Archie around her manipulating everyone. He was poison, but Ronnie had made sure to absorb all he had just so Danielle wouldn't have to face him. "I've learnt the hard way Danielle; I had to make sure he left. The only way I could do that was to play the game." Ronnie finally looked up to meet Danielle's eyes. She was pleased to see Danielle's expression soften, it gave her reason to continue. "Do you know how hard it actually was not to yell, or to throw things at him, whilst he stringed together more lies? It's what he would have wanted, but I wasn't prepared to give it to him. So I played his game. I made out that you were crazy, that I wanted to help you…" Tears formed in Ronnie's eyes as she stopped mid- sentence once again. She was unable to speak her mind.

Danielle stood watching Ronnie crack. She was attempting to get to grips with what Ronnie had just said. It all made perfect sense to her now. Danielle knew there was something missing when she was alone upstairs: The shouting, the violence, it was absent. All Danielle could hear was baby Amy in her room whilst Roxy settled her. At the time, silence had meant one thing. Archie was feeding lies, whilst Ronnie was consuming them, digesting them, allowing them to seep into her blood.

In fact, Ronnie had absorbed all his lies, took everything in, and beaten him at his own game. Ronnie was superior; she rid this place of the devil which sat on everyone's shoulder. It hit Danielle harder than a tonne of bricks. She hadn't told Ronnie properly. Until the words left her mouth, there was still uncertainty.

"I'm your da…" She couldn't do it. Her voice trailed off. She was betraying her mother, her true mother.

"You're my birth mum, the locket mummy" Danielle's tone was purposely 'cheesy' as she let the widest grin in seven months onto her face. As Ronnie's watery face grew into a complete "awww" expression, Danielle felt her mind relax. All thoughts temporarily stopped spinning. Such a big weight off her shoulders: She was ten feet high.

Both women stood starring at each other for minutes, hours, days. Neither was actually sure how long they stood. ""Wow" was the only word Danielle could muster up.

A/N: BeckiieEE, are you psychic??? Well done anyway, it was the closest guess!!

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