A/N: I know, very slow at updating this, but I've been very ill. Doctor diagnosed me with serious tuberlazyness! :-D

Might be wise to re-read previous chapters, I know I had to. :-D

"Thank you." Ronnie dragged the two tubs of ice-cream towards her from the counter. "Oi, put that away!" Ronnie nodded in Danielle's direction, but her eyes more direct to the five Pound note she was unfolding.

Danielle was adamant not to let Ronnie get sentimetnal. If she said she was going to do something, she would. "It's on me, I told you." She wasn't a charity case, and she certainly did,'t need Ronnie to support her.

Ronnie saw it best not to push the girl. She was no child, she needed her independence and Ronnie had no intention fo causing embarsament. But that didn't dilute the unpleasant feeling that rose up Ronnie's chest as she watched Danielle spend money on her, subsequent to her expressing her financial trouble earlier in the week.

"So Danielle, I hear you had fun at Peggy's wedding," Janine smirked across the counter, smiling cheekily as Ronnie swirled around. "Could be quiet the wedding crashers you two!" She smugly laughed at her own crack.

Ronnie's anger grew rapidly as she sensed Danielle's fear almost suffocate the small room. The need to smack that jaw away from the slut's face was overwhelming, but the counter prevented it. Instead, Ronnie looked over to Danielle who stood motionless, lost within the fear expressed in her wide eyes.

"Come on Danielle," Ronnie almost had to drag the unnerved girl outside of the shop.

Once they were outside, Ronnie turned to face her daughter. "Do you want me to go put her straight? Believe me, it would be my pleasure!"

Danielle smiled, "No, I just want to forget, let's not let it ruin today eh?"

"I'm sorry, I should have said something, it's…"

"No! I'm glad you didn't…" Danielle trailed off and looked to her feet as they set into motion. "Just please... leave it yeah?" How could she have made herself look so stupid? No one needed to be reminded of how small and mediocre Danielle became when Ronnie's pernicious filled tounge sprung into action.

"Sorry..." Ronnie bowed her head in shame, wanting to say so much but not being able to form any words to describe what she was feeling. She momentarily rubbed Danielle's back as they walked, wanting to hold her girl's hand before crossing the street. "I don't think I'm gonna like that new place after all," she giggled.

Danielle was feeling uncomfortable with the physical contact, clearly displaying the height Ronnie had over her. This uneasiness was only amplified when she realised they were heading to Ronnie's flat. Now thinking of it, it was the last place she wanted to be. What if she did something wrong? Or dropped something, said the wrong thing?

"Umm… I was thinking why don't we head off to the Vic instead?"

Ronnie sensed Danielle's fear. It was hurtful to see Danielle wasn't at ease with her, but she couldn't blame her. At the end of the day Ronnie had spent her life being proud of the abrupt, straight-to-the-point and fairly ruthless temperament she had built. "Okay, if that's what you want…" She looked to Danielle as they diverted themselves across the square.

The pub was astonishingly quiet considering that it had been closed for most of the afternoon.

"Wow its dead in here." Ronnie looked around, briefly making eye contact with Charlie who was seated to her left.

He looked at her for a second before shifting his eyes to an oblivious Danielle. Ronnie started feeling a little flushed as her heart rate increased. Was he judging her? She was trying her best with Danielle, just wanting to make a fresh start. A startled Ronnie watched on as Danielle acknowledged his presence.

"Alright Charlie? Where is everyone?" Danielle took a scoop of her ice cream, awaiting his answer.

Charlie huffed, "Mo and Jean have decided to go window shopping and I'm taking Patrick and Dot to see Jim. Aint seen you all day today love, you alright?" Charlie glanced up to Ronnie before quickly returning his gaze to Danielle. The girl seemed happy enough; he was only looking out for her. Ronnie was someone who liked to keep herself to herself. Charlie didn't know her all to well and he was sure that applied to most of the square.

Ronnie awkwardly looked over her shoulder, willing to do just about anything to tear Danielle away from everyone else so she could spend some time with her. She and Charlie obviously had some sort of bond. They mindlessly chatted away about the occupants of the Slater household whilst Ronnie stood beside Danielle, pretending to look around the pub for her sister.

"Right, um… well I'll leave you to it then," Danielle smiled warmly over to Charlie, who looked back at her and then to Ronnie, now with her back to him on tip-toes with her neck craned, certainly on the look out for someone.

"I'll see you later love!" Charlie gave the blonde a wink of confidense before taking a swig of his orange juice – complementing his good deed of driving his friends to see Jim later on, - quite intimidated by Ronnie's bothered presence. This all changed as she glanced to Danielle and Charlie couldn't quite make out whether her spontaneous smile was forced or not.

After a quick drink, Ronnie suggested they take their social upstairs. Danielle – who had experienced quite a busy day today – was exhausted. The nerves of being in someone else's territory kicked in again, even though she had made a quick visit upstairs earlier the same day. Something inside her didn't want this day to end, as if it would never come again.

"Trace, is Roxy up there?" Ronnie attracted the barmaid's attention who customarily smiled in response.

"Peggy and her have taken Amy for a walk, Phil's popped out to fill out some paper work and Ben's playing around with some new gift Phil's bought him." She bent down to put some glasses away. "Looks damn expensive I'll tell ya that." With that she spun on her heel and walked over to serve Libby.

Ronnie smiled at Phil's casual splash on his son, something she always promised to do if she ever had children.

"Listen Danielle you head up, I've gotta sort my bike out before it gets nicked. Won't be long." She gently squeezed her daughter's arm before turning to leave.

"Oh… Um, well I'll wait here for you then," Danielle sat down onto the bar-stool nearest to her, not keen on ascending the stairs which led to the Mitchell home, particularly when uninvited and more so when she wasn't on duty as their cleaner.

Ronnie was afraid that when she returned, Danielle would have vanished. Today had truly been the most successful and transcending day of her life, she had no intention of letting it end. "Go on I'll only be a minute, plus I've got something for you." With that she swiftly left the pub. The cold air making its way through her hair only reminded her once again of the blessing she had been presented with.

Danielle let her feet fall to the ground before making her way to the side door. She looked back at Tracey, almost asking for permission with her eyes, but the recipient of her watch was now busy serving Max.

With a guilty feeling, almost as if she was doing something wrong, Danielle pushed the door with her left shoulder and walked through, noticing the attenuated volume of the jukebox. As she gradually made her way up the stairs, she was careful not to knock any of the pictures hanging from the wall. Advancing the last few steps, she could make out a very familiar sound coming through the living room. A resonance she had not heard in quite some time, not sounding as exclusively magical as she knew it could be but still attracting her closer until she was hovering by the door. It was relatively distinguishable what Phil's gift to his son had been and it wasn't until the intonations stopped that Danielle softly knocked on the door.

"Come in," a drowsy, quiet voice filled the blonde's ears, informing her that she was welcome.

She saw Ben standing in front of the T.V, his bright red T-shirt and jeans differed from what she'd seen him in earlier.

Throughout the Mitchell lunch, Danielle had gone well out of her comfort zone to initiate discussions with other's around the table. She was quiet proud of the efforts she had made, but Phil and Ben had proved to be difficult individuals to find topics of conversations with, most likely because they were the only male representatives around the table.

Ben's lack of understanding of the situation meant that he was far less affected by the awkwardness Danielle felt. "Hello Danielle, sorry was I making too much noise?" He sat down on the sofa rather gloomily, instinctively expecting for his actions to be looked down upon.

"No! It's just well, I've not heard the sound of a violin since I moved to London. I almost forgot how beautiful it was." Danielle took a seat next to the boy as he adjusted his sqaure glasses over his eyes.

"Me and Abbey have had a few lessons at school and Gran finally persuaded Dad to get me one." Ben stared down to the bow in his hands, carelessly twisting the end screw back into place.

Danielle gazed longingly at the instrument before her. It was particularly striking in its unorthodox colours. The bouts were coloured in dark-sky blue, gradually increasing to a vivid lighter shade from right to left. Shiny orbs were scattered around the body to give the piece a gleaming attribute. The chin rest, finger board and neck were emphatically shaded in dark grey, enhancing their importance as they stood out boldly from the brighter body. The 'F holes' elegantly fell across either side of the body, the bow a complementarily tone of red oak.

Danielle looked over every inch of the eye-catching piece, Tracey had certainly been right; this must have set Phil back a few bob. "Well can I hear you play?"

Ben lifted his head, thrilled that someone actually commended his interests. "I'm not very good…" He carefully lifted the violin from the coffee table and placed his chin in its designated place. His small figure was struggling to hold the violin in the somewhat awkward place whilst his left hand picked up the long bow. Ben slowly bowed the silver strings causing a high pitched, squeaky sound to fill the room. Danielle tried not to react, waiting for the boy to break into a melody. Very soon, a recognizable nursery rhyme was played back to her.

Ben's solo came to an abrupt end. Danielle applauded in quick succession, beaming at Ben who grinned at her. "Well you can read music Ben, you're half way there!"

"Well not exactly. I have to write all the note letters down underneath, but I know what all the different note values are. We learnt them in school."

Danielle placed her hands on her laps, turning her body around to face Bens. "I think everyone starts off like that, but with practise you're gonna be great. Can I give you some advice though?" Danielle's apprehension commenced a thumb fight between her hands, both digits mindlessly battling away.

"Yeah sure," Ben now copied Danielle in shifting his body so she was in better view.

"Well, I think you need to lift your right arm a little higher. It makes it easier to play the strings. Look I'll show you." Danielle rose to her feet, indicating Ben to do the same. She placed the violin under his chin, manoeuvring his arm until she was satisfied.

"Here look try it now," Danielle handed him the bow, adjusting his bowing hand as he tried to familiarise himself with the new position.

The sound being emitted was no easier on the ears, but it was clear that Ben's fingers would be able to glide easily along the strings when it came to playing notes higher along the neck.

"Try not to push down heavily on the strings, just let your fingersit glide over them." Danielle was just about heard over Ben's screeching efforts. As the boy followed Danielle's advice, the screeching lessened and became a little more familiar to the sound Danielle so vastly adored.

Ben turned around to look at the clock, "Thanks Danielle, you've probably taught me more in the last five minutes than my teacher has all year!"

Danielle beamed at Ben's comment.

"Would you like to have a go?" Ben grasped the instrument by the neck and thrust it towards Danielle.

"Um…okay." Danielle took the violin from Ben with shaky hands. She raised it to her chin and took the Bow from the young boy. The violin was a very unforgiving instrument. If you didn't practise it for lengthy periods, you would find yourself deafening the people around you. Danielle tried to remember the last time she had played, the last time she had been graced by its sound as she held the bow caressing the strings. Had it been her mother's funeral? No, she was certain she had played once or twice after that…

Danielle stood in her position for some time, sweeping her hand over the strings finding her notes. All of a sudden she closed her eyes and broke into a traditional Irish piece. The fast paced staccato and enhanced sound compared to Ben's amazed him. He watched on as Danielle created the most amazing sounds by plucking the violin strings, something he thought impossible to do with a violin without breaking it. She swiftly streamed her hand up and down the neck of the violin, effortlessly pushing the strings down at specifically selected places, provoking the most stunning pitches and melody. What astounded Ben was that her eyes had remained closed for the entire piece, her face displaying the deep concentration she had lost herself within. It was clear how passionate she was about the stringed instrument, her bowing action matching the sharp actions of her playing. Her back was up straight, her body exhibiting an elegant posture, one which Danielle didn't even know she posed.

The sound came to an end all too quickly as Danielle looked around to Ben. "Sorry got a little carried away. I've not played in ages and I'm not very good but I really…"

"Are you kidding? That was amazing!" Ben's face had lit up with excitement, "I love 'Jenny's Chickens', could you teach it me?" Ben beamed at Danielle thrilled at her unexposed talent.

Meanwhile

Ronnie stood watching Ben pester Danielle into playing it back to him again. She wiped away the tears trickling down her cheek. That was the most amazing thing she had ever heard, even if she was a tad biased. The way Danielle had lost herself within her actions was amazing, playing the instrument which she was obviously so zealous about.

Ronnie walked into the room, interrupting just as Danielle was about to give in to Ben's pleads, raising the violin to her chin.

"Ronnie!" Danielle let the instrument swing down from her cheek, leaving it hanging from her hand. "Sorry I was just…"

Ronnie went in and embraced Danielle into a tight hug, one which was completely unexpected. The girl was totally bewildered. She patted the offender's back, signalling that she was ready to be released. Ronnie unwillingly untangled herself, moved over to Ben and tightly covered up his ears. He smiled, clearly accustomed to his aunt's actions.

Ronnie looked to Danielle, hands fixed on either side of Ben's head. She spoke few words, but said them with utter pride. "That was fan-bloody-tastic!"

A/N: I know there have been no updates for ages. Thanks to 'Karen From Ireland' for giving me a kick up the backside. Please review, I've got some good ideas on where to take this story now!