A/N: Slow chapter here and admittedly, no Danielle. I've made another unintentional 'slip' with this story. If anyone can spot the extremely subtle inconsistency between chapter 26 and one of the very early ones (between chapters one and Six), lemme know. Very subtle, but I'm not going to be more specific about the chapters. Remember, between chapter 26 and chapters 1 to 6
Hey there Delilah what's it like in New York City
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl tonight you look so pretty, yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you, I swear it's true
Ronnie lugged herself over to her flat, poured herself a large glass of wine and curled up onto the sofa. She was gone, she'd blown it. A lifetime's worth of dreams and she'd overwhelmed the girl. Was it simply a case of too much too soon? Ronnie recovered her very own shiny, miniature locket which had fallen to her chest. It had been kept warm as it rested on her skin. The picture inside was her source of comfort, but tonight it wasn't enough. A taste of the sweet life and suddenly a reminder's not adequate. Come to think of it, it never had been.
Hey there Delilah don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely give this song another listen
Close your eyes, listen to my voice it's my disguise
I'm by your side
Ronnie lifted her body and moved over to the kitchen. She slowly poured the full glass of wine into the plug hole, smiling as she thought about the offending faces Roxy would pull at the waste of this glorified liquid. Ronnie knew better. Life had rapidly become far too valuable to be drowning her body in alcohol, loosing control of her mind and not being able to wrap each cherished breath with utter appreciation for the life she now lived… hopefully would continue living when Danielle returned, be the odds against that as it may.
Oh look what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh look what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me
Ronnie quickly locked up. It was ironic how she'd just evicted a good lot of wine from her house, but was now heading to the pub across the road. Ronnie smiled, these random thoughts just kept popping into her head nowadays. It was like she had started to live again, her mind no longer locked away. Admittedly, a large part of that mind was engraved with Danielle's attributes, but she truly believed that the feeling of being happy, lifted, gifted and blessed through Danielle would never leave her. She took pride in the responsibility she now held, always wanting to be a mother, but now knowing, with the aid of financial security and a loving family all around her, she would be anything and everything Danielle wanted. At the moment, Danielle needed a friend as much as Ronnie did. Her heart craved for much more, but Ronnie would settle knowing that her girl was happy.
Hey there Delilah, I know times are getting hard
But just believe me girl; you and me together, we're gonna go so far
We'll have it good; we'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good
Her walk across the square was uneventful. She passed a smartly dressed teenager who gave a friendly smile, one which Ronnie warmly returned. Darren Miller reminded Ronnie of herself at his age. He was an 18 year old ambitious Delboy, taking it on his shoulders to find his own way through life. His family hadn't been the best people to truly support him and propel him forward in life, but like Ronnie, it seemed to have made him stronger. He was a great example to other youngsters around the square, and although Ronnie didn't know him on a personal level, she could see he was an independent, strong minded young man. Something Ronnie had been forced to become at a much younger age (obviously the female variation).
Hey there Delilah, I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away, I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall, we'd have it all
"Hello you, are we sleepy today eh? Come on then…" Ronnie watched as a slightly chubby man arched over her nieces cot, tickling her on the tummy and whispering comforting words to her.
Ronnie couldn't help but giggle, making her presence at the doorway noticed. "Goodness Mr Mitchell, you want to be careful, Roxy will have you babysitting next." Ronnie walked towards the man, arms crossed around her chest
Phil bolted right up and turned his head to face Ronnie. He stood for a moment in shock before smiling, accepting that his enamouring side had been caught surfacing. Everything above his neck was soon rosy-red as he attempted to excuse his actions. "Ronnie... Yeah, um…You know, just seeing her off…" His flustered self awkwardly moved away from Amy and found the sofa.
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
"Danielle not with you?" Phil soon recovered and handed Ronnie a cracker.
"No…" Ronnie looked down, knowing she had no shame that reflected actions resulting to Danielle's departure. Then again, the young girl hadn't truly convinced her of this. "She's gone to visit her dad." Ronnie voice was soft and warm.
Phil chose his words carefully. As much as he didn't show it often enough, Ronnie and Roxy were family, he loved them very much. "Is everything alright between you two?"
Funnily, Ronnie was battling with the question herself. They'd made incredible progress this week. "As alright as it could be I guess." Ronnie smiled and looked appreciatively at her cousin on her right. "Not much has changed since Saturday if that's what you mean." A slight tension was now present in the room. The place was surprisingly quiet tonight.
Phil sighed, and looked Ronnie in the eye. "Are you happy Ronnie? I mean you and Danielle…" The words he was looking for seemed completely out of reach. Luckily for him, Ronnie saw his intentions as good and remained calm.
"Phil, believe me she's my daughter." She smiled and hastily changed the subject, Phil was looking out for her, but she didn't need his defence. "I think I've found the perfect babysitter, Roxy's gonna love not having to pay you as well." The blonde cheekily laughed, nudging a grinning Phil Mitchell.
A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
And we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way
"I've never had the chance to be there from the beginning…" Phil trailed off, staring right ahead, continuing to talk to Ronnie but immaterially a million miles away. "I can be a great Dad, I know I can. I can be just like Grant, I can Ronnie, I really can…"
Ronnie felt for Phil, it wasn't often he talked to Ronnie like this. He was a deep man and to some extent troubled. She empathised with him; they had great deals in common, a few mutual complications. "Hey come on, at least you know there safe, well looked after eh. Its hard, but nothing can change how much you love them…" She gently rubbed his shoulder, to which he moved away and cleared his throat, mentally returning to the room. He was about to leave as Ronnie spoke, "Ben's a lucky boy Phil, you love him with all your heart and he knows it…"
Her cousin turned around and smiled to the blonde. "You keep quiet okay, or you'll be babysitting with me..."
Delilah I can promise you
That by the time that we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame
Ronnie gently knocked on Ben's bedroom door.
"Hi Ronnie!" Ben paused his console game and shifted to make room for his auntie. Ronnie was different around him, warmer, exhibiting qualities that he'd only experienced from his mum.
Ben's room was warmly decorated. His walls were painted in beige, one consumed with his enormous wardrobe, the other crammed with random toys and games.
"How you doing little man?" Ronnie casually flicked through Ben's CD collection before taking her seat on his deluxe double bed.
"Hmm…" Ben shrugged, causing Ronnie to giggle. He wasn't the most conversable.
"How's the violin practise going?" The lady's eyes wondered over to the far corner of the room where Ben's violin stood proudly, screaming for attention in its bold colours.
"Rubbish," he sighed loudly, "I wish I was good as Danielle." Ben slumped glumly onto a pillow.
Ronnie couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to that very evening. She still had to stop herself from melting in pride. "She said she'd be more than happy to help you guys." She lifted the boy's small head and tickled him under the chin.
"My teacher's said I'm at the bottom of the class. I've not been predicted to pass my exam. Please don't tell Dad, he'll go mad after he spent all that money."
Something about his pleading eyes seemed exorbitantly familiar. She'd seen that look before… "That's what predicted grades are there for Ben, to be proven wrong." Her simper caused Ben to lift his head, Ronnie looked comfortingly into his eyes..
"I hope Danielle comes back quickly." Ben leaned forward, curling his fists so that he could rest his head on them.
The blonde looked thoughtfully at the wall, twisting her locket around frequently, occasionally brushing it with her thumb. "Me and you both Ben, Me and you both…" She whispered, kissing her locket quickly before Ben could notice.
Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do
"Is she actually your daughter? Do you love her?" Ben was far too innocent and his young nature restricted his view of the sensitive topic.
Ronnie grinned at this abruptness, "Of course I do. I've always loved her Ben, it's just she grew up with different parents, that's all."
"And now she's come to find you…" He beamed curiously at his aunty.
Ronnie nodded, still not believing it herself. "She has, I'm so happy she has…"
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ben picking at loose strands on his duvet. "Why did she clean for us? The toilets downstairs are disgusting." Ben's hands moved to fidget with a book at his side.
Ronnie suddenly felt anger rising for her auntie, although it wasn't directly her fault. Ronnie's attempts are remaining affable were quite successful. "She won't be doing that again." How could Danielle have not said anything? Those toilets were truly revolting, even Billy wasn't expected to ever clean those, and he was more than willing if it earned him some cash.
Ronnie started feeling a little suffocated. Ben's questions were heading in a direction Ronnie was trying to avoid. They were sure to lead her deep into the past, to evoke anger within Ronnie at herself. If she started to dwell in the past, at her own stupidity and blindness, Danielle's absence would prove to be malignant.
"Well, I'll leave you 'chill out,'" She lifted her arms to mimic quotation marks with her fingers. "Oh, don't worry about the violin Ben, you keep on practising, we'll soon prove that teacher of yours wrong." She hugged Ben and left him to eliminate the remaining aliens lingering on his T.V.
Was it right to encourage his hopes? It would break his fragile little heart if Danielle wasn't up for it. Worse, what if she never returned?
You'll know it's all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there Delilah here's to you
This one's for you
"Let me know when you reach home safely.
I'll always be here if you want to talk…
Love Ronnie XxX"
Ronnie pressed the green button on her mobile phone, kissing the screen as the message was being processed. She'd taken extra time to type the message out in full, not wanting to abbreviate any word for fear that Danielle didn't understand. She promised herself not to text Danielle for at least the next 30 hours. She didn't want her love to contradictorily push the girl further away.
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me
A/N: So guys, any idea what that mistake is? How about a triple update tomorrow if anyone guesses by 12 in the afternoon (GMT). Between one of the earlier chapters (1 to 6) and chapter 26
Review please! I hope Dani gets home safely…