Disclaimer: No matter how many times I make a chapter, I still don't own EastEnders, I'm afraid.

A/N: I promised myself that I would update this as soon as I finished my exams. Well, I finished them on Monday and now I'm free from college, though I still have work at the weekends. Depending on me even having an internet connection and the state of my mind I'm in, then I should find myself frequently being able to update a little more regularly now. I know that people have been waiting and waiting for this next chapter, so here it is! Thanks to everyone who constantly keeps reading and reviewing!

Chapter Nine

Together Forever

“How many times have you slapped me now?” asked Sean.

“I don’t know, I lost count at fourteen,” admitted Roxy.

Although the estranged couple hadn’t seen each other for ages, they wanted nothing more than just to get together again. After she’d kissed him passionately and allowed herself to fall for him again, Roxy had taken it upon herself to slap him numerously in the meantime. She was still angry with him for trying to kill Amy, but knew that she loved him more than anyone she’d ever met. She still felt so guilty every time she saw Jack and how she’d betrayed Sean. However, he was here now and seemed to want to make a go of things.

Sean was surprised how quickly he was forgiven. But that assumption came tumbling down to the ground when Roxy started slapping and yelling at him in front of shocked hospital staff about driving the car into the lake. He admitted that he deserved so many slaps in the face, but not enough to last them forever. He rubbed the same spot he’d been slapped at least fourteen times and smiled weakly at Roxy. Even though she was a Mitchell and a feisty little temptress, he still had feelings for her. Heck, he even wanted to admit that he’d been missing having Amy around – even if she wasn’t his daughter.

“Rox, I had to go away for a while,” Sean was saying, “and then all this happened. I was the one that saved Danielle’s life. I rang the ambulance that came and they revived her in it. I don’t want to look like a hero, but I even took her in when she woke up. She lied about who she was, Roxy. No one else had come to see if she was alive, so I brought her back to my place … just for a while. Just until your dad stopped stalking the Square.”

“My dad was stalking the Square?” Roxy spat angrily. She had disowned her dad ever since what had happened. She walked towards the window and looked outside, almost as if she thought that he was here right now. But how could he know Danielle was in the hospital when he was probably back in Dorset? Roxy turned to face her husband again. “Ugh, this is driving me nuts. First, I let Danielle look after Amy and now I’ve just found out that same girl is my niece! You can’t get any crazier day than that.”

“You should be proud of her,” he said, showing a rare genuine smile on his face. “From what I’ve seen, she’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. I don’t wanna be seeing her Aunt Roxy leading her astray …”

“Oi! Aunt Roxy isn’t going to be doing nothing, yeah?” she said, poking him. “Besides, the girl can’t sit back and be all boring and stay in with Ronnie all the time when she gets out of here. What Danielle needs is a little bit of fun! Who better than me to take her out? Then Ronnie can babysit Amy for me, so everyone wins.”

“Well, not everyone’s winning at the moment.” Sean paused and sighed sadly, possibly even angrily or frustratingly. “Ronnie’s beyond despair at the moment. She doesn’t want to move from her bedside or anything … she was talking to Danielle as if she was awake. You should’ve seen her, Rox. She’s not the same frosty cow that we all see hiding behind the mask.” However, she nudged him in the ribs when he called her a frosty cow. “What’d I say now? God, Rox, what have you been doing? You been working out or summit?”

“Well, I do have a daughter to look after,” she winked.

Danielle was back in bed, but didn’t need the oxygen mask anymore. It had been quite sometime since she had her tumble out of bed, but now she was fine. She was awfully quiet, as Stacey silently observed her behaviour. Doctor Saab told her that she might have well been suffering from a mild form of paranoia. Whilst he explained it wasn’t threatening in a way, he encouraged Stacey to be there for her, considering she was the only person she wasn’t verbally or physically attacking right now. So that was what Stacey intended to do. Even though she felt very uncomfortable being with Danielle right now because she knew it was Ronnie’s job, Stacey knew she had no choice, but to do it. Danielle needed her now.

“You know, there were a lot of things I wanted to say to you,” she whispered.

“I heard what you said,” Danielle calmly replied, but didn’t look at her in the meantime. It felt awkward to be looking and talking to her best friend when she attended her own funeral. “You were saving up for a holiday … even though I wouldn’t have liked it, I would’ve went. You were right … I am that sort of person.” And then she forcefully looked at Stacey as if her heart had been broken. “Stace, what’s happening to me? Am I … am I mentally … ill?”

Stacey tilted her head backwards, closing her eyes. She remembered how hard it had been to look after her own mother and things had improved. But could the same be said for Danielle? She didn’t want this sweet, innocent girl being taken advantage of. That was why she suspected Ronnie Mitchell in a way. Whilst her intentions for bringing her into the hospital were deemed noble, Stacey still felt so much resentment towards her since the night that she rejected Danielle. After catching a glimpse of Ronnie, who was refusing to move from the window, she looked back at her best mate.

“They’re trying to find out, Dan,” she said quietly. “They said that you … that you were suffering from a little bit of paranoia. It was why you reacted the way you were before.” She grasped Danielle’s hand and clutched it tightly. “But I don’t care if you have paranoia. I’m your best mate, Dan, and we’re gonna get through this, you hear me?”

“I’ll – I’ll – I’ll try,” Danielle stuttered nervously, as a few tears slipped down her face. She was shaking somewhat violently because she was so emotional right now. As Stacey hugged her, she could feel the same overwhelming feeling of anger. That was why Danielle was shaking. “YOU REJECTED ME!”

Stacey immediately let go of Danielle, noticing her best friend was looking at Ronnie when she said this.

“HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME? YOU REJECTED ME ON THE STREET! YOU …” However, the topic suddenly changed. “YOU TOOK ME TO THE CLINIC TO ABORT MY CHILD! YOUR GRANDCHILD! ARE YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF?”

“Dan, listen to me!” Stacey raised her voice, hoping to gain some control over the situation. It seemed to work, as Danielle now looked at her fearfully in the eyes. “You shouldn’t be feeling like this, yeah? Ronnie don’t need you shouting at her either.” She grasped both her hands this time and clutched them tighter than ever. “We shared a room together, Dan, and we – and we talked our problems out together. Now I know that I didn’t really tell you much of my problems because I’m an arsehole for not doing that. You’re a great listener, Danielle. But let me do it this time. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? Maybe … I can help.”

“How can you help when she’s clearly using me to get what she wants?”

“All right, first we don’t know what she wants, except that she loves you. Oh my God, Danielle … she came round to my house and asked where you were that night! That night when Janine Butcher ran ya over … she finally knew the truth. She opened her eyes and saw that everything was different! She knew you were alive, she knew that all she needed was you. God, if this were my mum looking for me, I’d be there in a heartbeat! And besides, we’re all not perfect. You’ve seen my family, we’re all a bunch of nutters!”

Danielle couldn’t help, but smile at that last line.

“You told me everything that happened, right? Do you remember? Even though I was drunk and went to throw up, you told me that your granddad – Archie – manipulated you all this time. He controlled everyone, even you. It was all a game in the end, Dan! A sick, twisted game! What was the need in trusting him, anyway? Besides, you could’ve always come back to us and …” But then she stopped dead in her tracks. Stacey shook her head, sighing sadly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such a bitch. It was the biggest mistake I ever made and –”

But suddenly, Danielle remembered the pain. She remembered the pain of discovering Stacey telling Paul about the abortion and him coming up to her to say thanks for not going through with the pregnancy. She tossed over to her side after hearing Stacey’s words, cruelly reminded of how she had terminated her own child. It reminded her of Ronnie being there with her, too. Whilst it had been horrible, she only managed to get one good thing out of it – being close to her mum. Even though Ronnie hadn’t been aware of the fact that she was her daughter by this point, Danielle was just happy to have her there at the clinic with her.

So maybe it wasn’t all bad memories.

She sat up on the bed and looked lovingly at Ronnie, one of the ways she usually did. Ronnie looked confused, but pressed her hand against the window, feeling like an outsider as if she didn’t belong here. Doctor Saab had instructed that she stayed out of the room for now, but it had killed her on the inside. Why didn’t someone rip her heart out now if she couldn’t be in the same room as her daughter? She released her hand from the window and stared it for a while.

“The doctor said it’s best if she doesn’t come in,” Stacey said when Danielle looked worriedly at Ronnie, prompting her to look back at her friend. “You reacted dead violent before … I wouldn’t be surprised if you scared the ice queen herself, Dan!” When Danielle still stared at Ronnie, Stacey sighed. “All right then, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault, Stace!” exclaimed Danielle.

“It really is! Think about it! If I hadn’t gone and thrown up, then maybe you wouldn’t have left! Maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. If I’d locked the door and –”

“There was nothing you could do, Stacey. I don’t blame you, I never did.”

As Stacey found herself backing off, Danielle stared lovingly at Ronnie again. It caused Ronnie herself to be confused again, but she decided not to let it bother her. She needed her baby – and her baby needed her. It was nothing more or less than that.

Andy walked back into the hospital not long after meeting Archie and found himself met with the usual business going on – patients in and out, doctors and nurses rushing about, that sort of stuff. However, it wasn’t long until Gareth – who demanded to know where he was and the other minor details that weren’t important – confronted him. Ever since meeting that sinister man, Andy couldn’t stop thinking about the offer he had given him on the table. It was very tempting indeed …

He couldn’t look at Gareth in the same way anymore, it just didn’t seem right to be thinking about the offer! Why couldn’t he stop thinking about how Ronnie Mitchell could harm his daughter? They soon returned to the family room, where Charlie and Jean were waiting alone with Jack, who was holding Amy and rocking her to sleep. It reminded Andy of how much he used to love to see Danielle fall asleep when she was just a baby, too. Jack looked up at him, but didn’t say anything since he knew it wasn’t his place to do so.

“You all right, Andy?” Charlie asked worriedly. “You look really tired.”

“I am, as a matter of fact,” nodded Andy abruptly, trying not to show any signs of weakness on his face. He managed a small smile before sitting down next to Gareth.

“The doctor was in here before,” Charlie pressed on. “He’s called Doctor Saab, all right bloke. Anyway, he said that Danielle was awake and fine, but … she might be suffering from paranoia.”

Andy’s worried expression soon emerged.

“He said it was only a little form at the moment,” Jean said politely. “Said that she can get better if she’s willing to co-operate. Wow, you’ve got one little brave girl!”

“She must take after Stacey in one way or another,” Gareth offered a kind smile. He noticed how frail his father looked and rose to his feet. “Why don’t we say hi to Dan and then we can come back in the morning, eh? I’m sure that work can give you a few days off, especially after what’s happened today.”

Work was the least of Andy’s concerns, as he unwillingly found himself nodding and agreeing to what Gareth said. Whilst he said his goodbyes to Charlie and Jean – but purposely ignored Jack in the meantime – and joined Gareth, Andy couldn’t help to stop and wonder who the hell that man was. He seemed powerful and rich to sound so serious enough. It wasn’t the money that had Andy feeling safe; it was the fact that he could’ve possibly kept Danielle away from Ronnie and her family … forever. He left the family room with Gareth and eventually arrived at Danielle’s room, surprised that Ronnie was standing outside and Stacey was talking to his daughter.

“The doctor said it was best if I wouldn’t go inside,” Ronnie said sadly, but fought hard to maintain her understanding smile. She quickly glanced at Gareth before looking at Danielle again. “She yelled at me for all the things I did … doesn’t matter though, I deserved everything I got.”

“I don’t really know you, but you shouldn’t be beating yourself up at a time like this,” said Gareth, shocking his dad with the words he used. “Danielle wouldn’t want you to be acting like this. I can pass on a message to her if you want. Don’t worry … I don’t bite, anyway.” He was really starting to warm to the idea that Ronnie was Danielle’s beloved biological mother. She didn’t seem too bad after all, even though there were things he didn’t know. Just seeing her standing outside the door unfrozen from her spot seemed to do the trick.

“Thank you, but I don’t know if words are going to be enough,” Ronnie said.

Gareth shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’ll tell her that you love her and that you’re thinking of her.” He glanced at his watch and then at Andy. “We better hurry up, Dad. Visiting times finish in ten minutes.”

Andy nodded. “You go inside. I … I need a word with Ronnie here.” With his son going into see Danielle, he turned to face her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like the weight of the world was on my shoulders, taken off when she woke up and put back on again when she yelled at me,” Ronnie replied, being completely honest. She didn’t look at Andy when she said this – her eyes were firmly fixed on Danielle and her gaze had hardly been torn away from her beautiful daughter since the moment she was told to come out by Doctor Saab. “But everything considered, I think everything’s going to be ok.”

“You’re sure that you’re ok? Is there anything you need to tell me?”

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. “No, I don’t know what there is to say.”

“I see.” He broke into a wide smile. “I just thought that –”

“Thought that what?” Her voice was worried and demanding at the same time.

“Nothing,” said Andy, shaking his head. “I thought that maybe you were very tired from all the strain.” He continued to shake his head and then walked inside, leaving Ronnie feeling very awkward from the conversation. Andy went in and his face lit up when he saw Danielle there, smiling at him when he approached. “Sweetheart, I can’t believe it …” He stroked her blonde hair, which seemed to soothe her. “You’re alive.”

“You make it sound like I’m a local hero,” said Danielle, barely raising her voice above a whisper. She looked at Stacey, who was still in disbelief that her best friend was still alive. Next, she took a quick glimpse of Gareth above her, who was just satisfied that his little sister was awake. “But I’m not, Dad. I’ve done some terrible things … things that I’m not proud of and … I’m really sorry. I’m so sorry, Dad.”

Stacey rose to her feet. “I best be getting off.”

“What? Why?” Danielle asked.

“There’re only two people allowed in the room at a time and besides, I can tell Uncle Charlie and Mum all about your adventures,” she said, winking. “And we can drag Sean home if he’s gonna be coming back. Don’t worry about it, Dan; I’ll make sure that the police don’t come knocking round the house to arrest him. I’ll tell them all about him saving your life and that, yeah? I’ll see you later, Dan, don’t you dare go anywhere without letting me know first, you hear me?”

She chuckled at her sarcastic comment. “Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know.”

Stacey walked out of the hospital room to find Ronnie refusing to take her eyes off Danielle. She tore them away for a moment, however, to turn and face her daughter’s best friend.

“How is she?”

“Fine, she calmed down as soon as I told her to tell me what was going on in that head of hers. Told her to stop bottling it all up and take it out on me because you know me, I can take it.”

“And?”

“And I think it made her feel better. She told me everything – the abortion, going back to Telford – just everything, really. I don’t know if she’s still paranoid now, but I don’t think she’s barking mad.” She chucked to herself. “No one can be as barking mad as my mum.”

“Oi, that’s Jean you’re talking about there,” Ronnie warned, waggling her finger at her. “You should get to Charlie and her, though. They must be really tired. I’ll call you in the morning and let you know if anything happens.”

“Yeah, well, too bad for you because I’m going to be here whether you like it or not,” remarked Stacey, as she found herself walking down the corridor. However, she bumped into someone, who didn’t even bother to apologise. “Oh, that’s right! The ignorant type, right? Tosser …”

Ronnie continued to watch Andy coo Danielle, but Danielle looked like she wanted her real mum to come in and comfort her. She felt fine with her dad and brother around her, but they weren’t biological relatives. Ronnie sighed sadly, but felt happy that her daughter was really alive and well. It wasn’t a hallucination or a dream she’d been imagining for the past two weeks. This was the real thing happening. Everything would go smoothly from now on. All she needed to do was …

But someone tapping her on the shoulder cut off that thought. Ronnie turned around and received the shock of her life when she found herself looking at the very man, who had helped to create her daughter nearly twenty years ago. He hadn’t changed much, all things considered. She crossed her arms defiantly when he took another step forwards. Ronnie’s shell resurfaced and the frosty ice queen were back within seconds of seeing her old flame.

“Joel!” she shouted furiously.

“All right, Ronnie?” Joel Reynolds beamed away.

A/N: So there's the threat that could ultimately end Ronnie and Jack altogether: Joel. It's going to be interesting to write Joel now that he's arrived out of the blue. But will he put a stop to Archie's plans? Will he make Andy rethink the offer? More importantly, how is poor Danielle going to react to all of this? She's suffering too much. Surely, she doesn't need anymore bombshells, right? Coming next chapter: Joel confronts Ronnie that brings up memories of the past, Archie threatens Andy and prompts him to take the money, whilst Gareth finds himself mysteriously attracted to Stacey.