Set-Up

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Sorry for being an idiot and not saving the chapters! I'm just going to start from where I left off.. but normally I would have read some of the previous chapters before to give myself a better idea of what I was going to write so.. sorry if things are a bit not right!

Ashirr-Leigh.. xx

Kane clutched the phone card in his hand and wondered if there was any point in using it. Of course he wanted nothing more than to hear Kirsty's voice but he didn't want to make things tougher on her.

"You going to use that, Phillips?"

"I.. I don't know."

Over the past couple of days, Kane had warmed slightly to his cell mate. He'd learned that in prison, you needed at least one person to help you get through the days and more importantly, the nights.

"Call her."

"What?"

"Whoever it is that's putting that sad look on your face, call her."

"I don't know.. what if she doesn't want to talk to me? I've left her alone with my son and she's three months pregnant. The stress isn't good for her."

"Mate, just call her."

Kane decided to take his advice and phone Kirsty. What's the worst that could happen?

***

Sitting on the couch, Dani felt like there was a spotlight on her. Beth, Rhys and Scott were all watching her as she tried to talk to them. She'd never felt less in control.. except from on that day when nothing at all had been in her power.

"What if it's not true? What if they're lying and Kane didn't do it?"

"Oh, he did it alright."

Beth glared angrily at Rhys. He was never good at using tact.

"Dani, they're not lying. We don't know if Kane did it or not but the evidence is stacked against him, the police have to go on that."

"But what if they've got it wrong? They got it wrong when.. they've got it wrong before."

"Not this time, Dan. They're finally going to put that scumbag down, make him pay for what he did to you."

Rhys had always known deep down that his feelings of hate for Kane had not disappeared. How could anyone expect them to? He'd only played along to keep Kirsty in the family, losing her seemed a worser fate than living a life that involved Kane Phillips.

***

A knock on the door startled Kirsty. She had fallen asleep with Aiden in her arms.

Aiden jumped up before Kirsty had the chance and opened up the door. Robbie and Tasha. Ever since Aiden could remember, they'd been a part of his life. They were his godparents and Tasha was like a little sister to Kane.

"Shhhhh!!" Aiden whispered, with his finger to his lips.

"Mummy's asleep!"

"It's ok, I'm awake. Hey Rob, hey Tash."

The normally exciteable Tasha was unordinarily subdued. She'd taken the news of Kane being locked up extremely hard.

"Aiden, how about you go into your room and play?"

"Mummy.. don't you need me?"

"Of course I need you, sweetheart.. mummy just has to talk to Robbie and Tasha for a bit."

"Ok."

He walked slowly into his room, keeping an eye on his mum until he could no more.

"So.. how are you Kirsty?"

It seemed a stupid question to ask but Robbie didn't really know what else to say.

"I've got to be strong.. you know, for Aiden."

"Does he know what's going on?"

"I told him that Kane's away for a while. He doesn't know where."

"We were really shocked when mum phoned us and told us what had happened."

An awkward silence followed. No one knew what to say. What do you say in a situation as unbearable as that?

After a few minutes, Tasha spoke up.

"I don't believe that he did it."

"Of course he didn't do it."

They both looked at Robbie but he could not match their plea of solidarity. A part of him was still unsure as to whether or not Kane had done the crime. He hated himself for doubting him but he couldn't help it.

He'd once had a chat with Scott just after he'd started dating Tasha about when to take the next step with girls. It was about a month or so after Kane had come back to the Bay and most people were still reeling that he'd returned. Scott had said to Robbie that you should never push things too far and that you always had to make sure that the girl was ready. He'd used Dani as an example and how she clearly hadn't been ready to sleep with Kane, she was now an emotional wreck and could hardly step outside the front door in fear or seeing him.

Whenever Robbie tried to decide what he believed about Kane and the robbery, his mind took him back to that day and how Kane had hurt Dani so much. He knew he was capable of rape, he just wasn't sure whether or not he had done it again.

"I'm sorry guys.. I don't know.. but I don't know Kane as well as you both do."

A tear unknowingly slid down Kirsty's cheek. Even his own friends were against him, what chance did he stand?

***

Dani was slowly pulling apart the pieces of her mind. Her head was all over the place and she didn't know what to think.

"I thought I could trust him."

"Who?"

"Ethan.. well, Kane too. It's always about trust, isn't it? If you trust people.. then.. then they just break it. The only person you can really trust is yourself. You can't rely on anyone else because they don't care if they hurt you. They don't care if they.. if they betray you."

Scott stretched over and put his hand on Dani's shoulder to try and calm her down. He remembered when he'd went through everything with Dani when Kane had first come back to Summer Bay. She used to work herself up so much that she'd almost have a panic attack. His hand on her shoulder used to reassure her, but not now.

His hand touching her shoulder triggered so many memories, bad memories that she didn't want to see. She had no choice. It took over her whole body and suddenly she was there again. In the very same house, on the very same couch. He was there, looking at her, walking towards her. She was telling herself to get up, move away but she couldn't do it. Something inside her knew what was going to happen but she was powerless to stop it.

Then there was a hand on her shoulder, a different hand, a stronger, more forceful hand. It was pushing her, forcing her to lie down. Momentarily, her strength returned and she struggled with him but it was too late. He was on top of her and the weight of his body held her down. His hands were wrapped around her wrists, making sure that she couldn't get up and then..

"Dani! Dani, are you alright?"

Their voices woke her up from her frightening flashback. Why must she relive it time and time again? It was in the past, nine years in the past but yet it was still so fresh. She remembered it all like it was yesterday and she feared so much that she was destined to live in the past forever.

***

Sorry that it is kind of short!

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Here's the next chapter. Read and review please!

The phone rang making them all jump. They had been so captivated by the television as it had just announced that a Kane Phillips of Summer Bay had been refused bail and charged with robbing the Yabbie Creek bank and raping the receptionist.

"I'll get it, I'll get it, I'll get it!" shouted Aiden, excitedly, as he ran in from his bedroom.

Kirsty shook her head, fearing that the little boy would again be disappointed.

"Everytime the phone rings he runs to get it because he thinks it's going to be Kane." she confided in Robbie and Tasha.

They could only look at each other sadly. They adored Aiden and couldn't bear to see him or Kirsty so hurt.

"Hello?"

"Hey son, it's daddy!"

"It's really you this time?"

"Yeah, Aid, it's really me."

"I thought it might just have been someone else, daddy, it has been all the other times."

Kirsty turned to look at her son as soon as she heard him say daddy.

"Aiden, let me talk to your dad."

The child sighed. His mummy had done that last time. He'd only gotten to say hello to his daddy and then the phone had been taken off him.

"Daddy, mummy says that she wants to talk to you but I want to talk to you too."

"Son, I think you should put your mummy on. I need to talk to her."

"But daddy.."

"Please, Aiden."

"Ok just one more thing daddy. I have an idea. Why don't you just come home and then we can both talk to you at the same time? We can play again out in the garden and then you can show me how to work my new car because mummy doesn't really know how. She tried to do it last night but then she started to cry and she said she had something in her eye.."

Kirsty grabbed the phone off Aiden before he could say anymore. She didn't want Robbie and Tasha to hear that she'd been crying, she was stronger than that.

***

"I'm so sorry, Dani, I didn't mean to make you have a flashback, I just thought that.."

"It's alright.. just about anything can make it happen now."

Tears welled in Rhys' eyes as he listened to his daughter's weak voice and watched her shaking hands. He didn't know what to do for the best. If he hugged her, it could trigger another flashback and cause her yet more pain but if he left her alone, he would be failing her as a father. Too proud to let anyone see him crying, he pushed back the tears and walked away.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed and see if I can get some sleep. Louisea will be up early in the morning."

"Ok, Dan, you know where me and your dad are if you need us."

"Thanks, Beth."

She wiped away her tears as yet more came to dampen her cheeks. She kept telling herself to be strong for her daughter but as each moment of the day passed and each terrifying thought from the past went through her mind, another bit of strength was pulled out of her.

***

"Kane, they just said your name on the telly."

"Kirst, I'm so sorry, I never wanted you to go through any of this."

"I.. I need you, Kane."

"Babe, we'll just need to try and get through these next two months, then everything will be ok."

"But what if it isn't? What if you're found guilty."

"I'm not guilty."

"Yeah, I know that but the police clearly don't. I don't know what I'd do if you were sent to prison. Robbery and rape.. that would carry a long sentence."

"Kirst, we'll worry about that if it happens."

He was trying to remain cool and calm but deep down, he was just as petrified as Kirsty. If he was locked away, he would never see his children grow up, he would probably lose Kirsty too. There would be no way that he could ask her to wait for him.

"I can't believe this is happening to us. What did we do to deserve this?"

"Nothing, babe. I love you, that's all that matters, ok?"

"I love you too, Kane.. so much."

They were silent for a moment as they both thought of the other, pictured them.. just simply loved them.

Before Kane got the chance to say anything else, the prison officer that even the most scariest of prisoners feared walked by and casually grabbed the phone and hung it up.

"I wasn't finished!"

"There's a queue, new boy. Five minutes is the most you get."

"But that was barely even two!"

"Are you arguing with me, Phillips?"

Kane just walked away, defeated, as Kirsty cried on the other end of the phone. Was this all they would ever get from now on? A few minutes of every day for them to talk just wasn't enough.

***

At 6 o clock the next night, the door of the caravan park burst open as Henry, Max and Matilda came in. Beth had invited them round about two weeks ago and had completely forgotten.

What they saw as the walked in puzzled them. Dani and Scott were cuddled up on the couch and Louisea was playing round about them.

Henry looked over to his mum who was cooking in the kitchen.

"What's going on?"

"Oh god, I meant to cancel tonight."

Scott got up from the sofa and joined everyone in the kitchen.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Mum and Rhys invited us, what are you doing here?"

"Long story."

"Guys, I don't think this is the best time right now."

"Why?"

Dani, hearing them from in front of the tv, decided to intervene.

"Hey guys.. I think you should stay. It'll be nice to have some people round."

"You sure, Dan?"

"Yeah, course."

***

A couple of hours after dinner, Dani was sitting outside in the porch when Matilda joined her. Things had been strained between the Sutherland and Hunter kids when they'd first met but now that everyone was grown up, they'd all become good friends.

"Are you ok, Dani? Mum just told me and the guys about Kane."

"Tonight's been good. It's helped to take my mind off things."

"I can't believe that he did that. I wonder what possessed him."

"I don't know.."

"Sorry, you probably don't want to be talking about this."

"Don't worry about it. So, how are you? You seemed pretty quiet at dinner."

"Mmm, I've got stuff on my mind too."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"You sure you've not got enough on your plate?"

Dani shook her head. Talking about something else would do her good.

"It's just guy problems!"

"Isn't it always?" Dani laughed.

"There's this guy at uni, right, and oh my god, is he cute! All the girls have got major crushes on him but guess what?"

"What?"

"He chose me! There's this party coming up soon and everyone's going to be there and he asked me to go with him."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's Henry and Max."

"What have they got to do with it?"

"They said that they heard some other guys talking about Iain, the cute guy, and they were saying some really bad stuff about him."

"Like what?"

"That he's been in jail and that he beat up some guy for like nothing. I don't know what to do."

Dani shuddered. It reminded her so much of when she met Kane. Everyone warned her against him, told her to stay away but she ignored them.

"Tilly, you've got to leave it."

"What?"

"Just stay out of it. What these guys are saying may or may not be true but you can't take your chances. You'll end up just getting hurt."

"But how do I know that? He seems so easy-going and relaxed."

"Ok, Tilly.. when I first met Kane, everyone said to me what Max and Henry are saying to you. If I'd listened to them, I wouldn't be where I am now. It's not worth it."

Matilda nodded and hugged Dani. She didn't feel the need to say anything, she knew that Dani must have felt really strongly because they'd never before spoken to each other about Kane like that.

She would stay away from Iain, she didn't want to tempt fate. Her mind was still undecided over Kane but she knew that she didn't want to be hurt like Dani so clearly was.

***

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Sorry for taking so long to update but hopefully you'll like this chapter! Please read and review!

The next morning, Kirsty got up about 7. Not that there had been much sleep to wake up from. In the early hours of the morning, she'd been woken up by the sound of sobs coming from Aiden's bedroom. When she went to see to him, all he would say was "Dad." It broke her heart because his father was the one thing that she couldn't give him.

***

Scott sat on the cold chair with dozens of thoughts running through his mind. He missed his girlfriend but he knew that would never work out anymore. Now, he was finding himself attracted to Dani all over again. It seemed so wrong because the situation just wasn't right but he couldn't help his feelings. Although their break-up had been difficult, he could now see that it had also been stupid. They could have worked it out somehow.

Disturbing him from his thoughts, Louisea appeared at the door, fully dressed.

"Hey Louisea, where's your mummy?"

"Sleep. We wake her?"

"No.. no, I think your mummy needs to sleep right now."

Louisea looked disappointed. It was a Monday morning, her mum should have been taking her to nursery.

"Did you get dressed all by yourself?"

There was no need to ask this question because you could tell just by looking at Louisea. Her little pink top was inside out and her skirt was back to front. She had, for some reason, chosen black socks that were all crinkled around her ankles and her purple shoes were on the wrong feet. Louisea didn't care though, she'd done it all by herself.

"Yeah!"

She beamed from ear to ear and Scott infectiously smiled back. She really was a gorgeous little girl. She had Dani's bright green eyes and the dark, curly hair of her husband.

"I got ready for nursery."

"Oh.. I don't think you'll be going to nursery today, Lou."

Louisea screwed up her face, stamped her foot and crossed her arms. She was not happy.

"Sorry, Lou, but it's too far away."

His explanation meant nothing to her, she wanted to go to nursery and she wanted to go now.

"Ok, if you were in nursery, what would you be doing?"

"Play, draw. Fun stuff!"

Scott was struggling to connect with Louisea. It had been ages since he was around kids. The only real experience he had was when he was a teenager and he'd had to try and amuse the twins and Robbie. That was years ago though.

"Right.. well.."

He took a napkin from the kitchen and found a pen sitting on the table. It would have to do.

"Ok, I've got an idea, Lou. You know that you're mummy's been a bit sad, don't you?"

She nodded her head, wisely.

"Well, why don't we try and cheer her up? You draw a nice picture for her on this napkin and then we can go and get her something nice to eat from the Diner, ok?"

Sounded good to Louisea.

"Ok!"

Again, she beamed but this time, Scott felt that he was the cause of it.

From the hall, Dani listened to her little girl and the once love of her life bonding. A smile also spread across her face. The feelings that had erupted for Scott had seemed inappropriate but perhaps he felt the same way?

***

'Dear Kirst,

I love you so much and that is why I'm determined to prove my innocence. I did not rob the bank and I did not rape the receptionist. The old Kane would maybe have did those things but not the new one, not the one who is with you, not that man that you love.

I miss you and Aiden so much and I want to be there for you both but I can't. We just have to stay strong for our son because if we crumble, we will be easier to beat.

I know that this is only a short letter but I will write you more, you are the only thing keeping me going in here. You and Aiden are my life. Never forget that.

Love Kane'

As he finished writing it, a tear slid down his cheek. He defiantly wiped it away. No. He was going to be strong, if he was weak he would lose. He wasn't going to let this beat him, he would prove his innocence.

"That to your wife?"

"Yeah."

"She still sticking by you?"

Kane turned to face his inmate. It was only then that he thought, was he asking too much of Kirsty to stand by him?

"Of course she is.. she's my wife."

"Yeah and she's hot too by the looks of that picture that you keep carrying around with you. She could easily find someone else."

"When the hell did you see that picture?"

"You left it here when you were on the phone."

"Don't look at my stuff, it's private."

"Hey, I'm just saying, she would have no problem finding someone else, you better watch out."

"Kirsty wouldn't do that to me.. she.. she wouldn't."

"You don't sound too sure, mate."

Kane grabbed the letter he had just writted and stormed out of the cell.

"I'm not your mate."

Sitting by himself, he added a new part to the letter.

'P.S I will understand if you don't want to stick by me. I love you but wanting you to stay with me through all this is asking alot.'

Just writing it made him sick. The thought of life without Kirsty was enough to throw him over the edge. Life without Kirsty wasn't a life, it was an existance without meaning.

***

"I'm cold, mum, I'm really cold."

Felicity Nairn looked sadly at her daughter. She looked ill. She'd lost so much weight over the few weeks since the attack had happened because she wasn't eating. Anything she did eat, she couldn't keep down.

"Sweetie, I think I should take you to a doctor."

Jessie simply didn't have the energy to debate with her mother anymore. To the doctors it was although she very much doubted that they would have any medication to cure the victims of rape.

***

The room was dark but there was just enough light to see. The two men inside it sat side by side, drinking and laughing. They'd just watched the early morning news report that again had in it details of the arrest of Kane Phillips in connection with the Yabbie Creek Bank robbery and rape.

"That'll teach him."

"It certainly will."

One man threw his can across the room and opened up another one. It didn't matter if he got drunk, he was celebrating. Kane Phillips was about to get his comeuppance and he had been the mastermind behind it all.

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Here's the next chapter. Sorry that I'm taking a while to update! Please read and review!

Sitting in the doctor's surgery beside her mother, Jessie tried to make herself appear normal to the other people who were waiting. She hated the fact that she had "victim" written all over her. She'd woken up that morning and found herself strangely determined. Determined not to be the victim.

"Mum?"

Felicity looked, eagerly, at her daughter. It was the first word she'd spoken all morning.

"Thank you."

"Oh, honey, you don't have to thank me. I'm your mother."

"No.. but I do. I couldn't have got through any of this without you."

She then enveloped her daughter in a hug. The only good thing that had come out of this attack was the fact that they were now reunited. Felicity knew that they would never allow themselves to lose each other again.

Jessie smiled and defiantly wiped the tear away from her eye, remembering that she wasn't going to be a victim anymore.

***

After seeing Scott and Louisea bonding so well, Dani had went back to bed for some much needed sleep. For the first time in weeks, she'd slept a dreamless sleep, a happy sleep.

When she got up, almost two hours later, she'd totally forgotten about Scott and Louisea's "plan" to cheer her up. The chocolate cake from the Diner and drawing by Louisea was a total surprise.

"Aww.. you shouldn't have!"

"For you, mummy!"

Dani picked up her small daughter and hugged her tight. She was the absolute best thing in her life, she didn't know where she'd be without her.

"It's beautiful, sweetie."

Scott watched and admired the way that Dani was with her daughter. Despite all the pain that she was going through, she refused to let it rub off on Louisea.

"Me go play now?"

Since coming to Summer Bay, Louisea had made friends with the other kids whose parents were staying at the caravan park.

"Sure, sweetie, let's go."

Dani took her hand and led her out the door to the play area. Before leaving, she glanced back and her eyes met with Scott's. They both knew that something was happening, they were just both too scared to do anything about it.

***

Waiting in the tiny office, Kane felt that his lawyer didn't care. He was meant to be there almost half an hour ago, couldn't he see how important this was?

Finally, ten minutes later, he arrived.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Traffic's bad."

"Traffic's bad? I'm stuck in this hole and you're complaining about bad traffic?"

"Mr Phillips, incase you have forgotten, I am the man representing you. I am the only one who can give you the slightest hope of freedom."

"Yeah, I know, and I appreciate that but we've not got a lot of time."

Mr Gregorie opened his briefcase and took out his notes concerning Kane. They weren't easy reading.

"Look, Kane, I suggested this meeting today because we really need to discuss your plea."

"My plea? What?"

"You're still maintaining your innocence?"

"Of course I am. I'm not about to admit to something that I didn't do."

"Whether or not that is true.."

"Excuse me? What do you mean 'whether or not'? Don't you believe me?"

"That's not for me to say."

"It's not for you to say? You're my lawyer! If you don't believe me, who will?"

"Mr Phillips, I am trying to help you. The odds are stacked against you being found not guilty. If you plead guilty, your sentence will be hugely reduced."

"No, no way."

"You have to be reasonable about this."

"Reasonable? You think asking me to say I raped someone when I didn't is being reasonable?"

"I'm just telling it like it is."

Kane got up and kicked his chair. He hated when he got angry like this but what his lawyer was saying disgusted him. He had to say he was guilty to reduce his sentence? Never.

***

"Miss Nairn?"

Jessie and Felicity stood up and walked into the doctor's office.

"Ok, now what seems to be the problem?"

As he said this, he put his hand on Jessie's arm.. it all came flooding back. The balaclava covering his face but making his eyes seem yet more bright. His strong grip on her making her lie still. Her pointless efforts to stop him went unnoticed as he continued to rape her. She tried to shout but his hand smothered her screams. Why was he doing it? She didn't understand then, she still didn't now. She was trying to concentrate on anything else but him and what he was doing to her but it was so hard. For that night, he was everything.

She turned around and without another thought, ran from the doctor's surgery. Her front for the other patients was destroyed and she was the victim once more.

***

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Sorry it's been a while since an update but I'm going to try and be more regular from now on.. I promise! Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming!

Sitting the hospital waiting room, she hated the fact that everything was so bright. The walls were white with massive white strobe lights on the ceiling. Hospitals weren't cheery places, why try and make them out to be?

Many of the mothers-to-be sitting around her stared over in her direction because she was so unlike them. Most of them were accompanied by their husbands or boyfriends but she was alone. All of them were happy, beaming from ear to ear but she was on the verge of tears.

The first scan for her baby should be a happy day, that's what she kept telling herself.. but without Kane, it was one of the saddest that she'd ever had to go through.

"Mrs Phillips?"

The expectant mothers all looked around and followed Kirsty with their eyes as she pulled herself up and dragged herself into the room where the nurse was. She breathed a huge sigh of relief as the door closed behind her, glad that all eyes were no longer on her.

"How have you been feeling, Kirsty?"

Should she tell the truth or should she lie?

"Yeah, fine."

Lie. There was no point in telling the nurse that she'd been feeling absolutely terrible, that she still was, that she feared she always would.

"You look a bit tired, are you still up early with morning sickness?"

Again, Kirsty was faced with the same dilemma. It wasn't the morning sickness that had been keeping her up.

"Eh.. yeah, it's getting better though."

"Ok, good. Where's Mr Phillips today?"

She almost lost it, she almost broke down and cried but she somehow managed to salvage every tiny bit of control she had left and looked away.

"He's.. he's at work, he wishes he could be here."

At least the last bit wasn't a lie.

***

Two hours away in his dull, damp cell, Kane could only dream of seeing his baby's scan. He and Kirsty had looked forward to this day for a long time. At Jamie's scan, they'd been so ecstatic and happy but it had been tinged with sadness because Kirsty's family hadn't been around to share the moment. They'd vowed that this time it would be different.. and it was, this time he wasn't even there and Kirsty was alone.

"Phillips, how many times do you have to be told?"

"What?"

The prison officer sighed and started explaining, for the second time, how the inmates were to start their duties now. Kane's, for the day, was to clean the communal area where most of the inmates sat at night before lock-up.

"Well, come on.. don't just sit there."

He, like Kirsty, pulled himself up from his bed and dragged himself outside. Everything was hard to do in these circumstances, even things that you normally didn't think about like standing up and walking.

***

She found herself in the same corner that she had literally lived in before her mother had arrived. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten there, she only remembered the doctor's and then being here. The way home had been blanked from her memory, if only other things could be.

"Jess.. Jess, please take the chain off, it's mum."

"No, I want to be alone, on my own, here, alone."

Felicity only wished that she'd been closer to her daughter in the past year or so, perhaps then she'd more freely open up to her.

"Jessie, please. You need someone to talk to."

"No! No.. I'm sick of people telling me what to do.. just leave me alone.. please.."

Her voice had retired to a whisper that was barely audible to Felicity but she understood, her daughter needed some space.

On hearing her mother go away, Jessie finally felt free to cry. It's not that she didn't want her mother there, she just didn't want to let her see the true state that she was in. Not that she was doing a good job of hiding it. The trial was just over a month away now and she wasn't prepared. In a couple of days, she had a meeting with her lawyer who was going to go through her statement and try and prepare her for cross-examination.

Statement.. cross-examination.. lawyer.. she hated those words, she hated everything about the trial and the way she was so frightened of it. What if they didn't believe her? What if they thought she had made it all up?

***

After Louisea had settled with the other kids, Dani re-approached the house and felt just as nervous as when she had just come back. This was a good kind of nervous though, it was the best feeling that she'd had in weeks and it was all because of Scott.

"Dani.. hi, how's Lou?"

"She's great, really happy. She keeps talking about you."

Scott smiled, delighted that he'd finally connected with Louisea.

"You're really great with her, you know."

"Aww.. I don't know, I think she misses her dad."

"She doesn't need him, she has you.. and she has.."

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind."

They once again looked into each other's eyes but this time their feelings could not be denied. Tentively, Scott got up and walked towards Dani, her bright eyes drawing him in. She held out her hand and he calmly took it as their lips met.

They were gentle with each other, knowing that they had both been hurt but it couldn't have felt more right. Looking on from the porch, Rhys and Beth smiled at each other. Their family had alot of problems at present but Scott and Dani coming together again could only make things better.

***

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Sorry *again* about the lack of updates..

Clutching the picture of her baby, Kirsty cried and shook. Her life was falling apart and there was nothing she could do about it. Despite her unconditional love for and trust in Kane, she knew all too well that the evidence was stacked against him and the likelihood was that he would go down. Some would say that he deserved it for not getting his comeuppance after raping Dani but as ridiculous as it sounded, he truly wasn't the same man anymore. There wasn't a shred of the rapist in Kane anymore, he was just a beautiful, loving, caring man, a husband and a father.

***

"I don't know why we ever let ourselves break up, we were so good together."

"I know.. it was my fault. I was too focused on my career."

"No, I should have supported you, not tried to pull you back. Anyway, let's not talk about that anymore."

Dani nodded and just relished being in his arms once again. Half a year ago, the thought of lying on the couch with Scott would have been absurd but now, nothing could have made her feel any better. She might not have Ethan anymore but she had Scott and Louisea, that's all that mattered.

"What do you think dad and Beth will say?"

"Don't worry about them, I'm sure they'll be happy for us."

He looked into her eyes and it hurt him to see fear. Back when they had been dating, he'd hurt when she was hurting because they were so close. Although they'd only become reacquainted again for a few weeks, they were getting to that stage once more.

"What's wrong? You're worried about something."

"No, no.. I'm fine."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself, not me.. and you're not doing a very good job of it either."

She looked down at her wedding ring and the pictures of Ethan and Emmie came flooding back. Memories of Kane throughout the years had attached themselves to those pictures, the two things that had hurt her most in the world.

"I just.. I'm worried, yeah, you're right because I'm frightened."

"What of?"

"Of starting a relationship again so soon after Ethan, of the trial, of Kane.. of everything. I don't want to get hurt again."

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know, I'm just paranoid, I hate the way I am when it comes to things like this."

"You're bound to be a bit anxious what with what happened with Kane and everything, it's ok, I understand."

"I just want this stupid trial to be over with and I just want to move on with my life. Actually no, you know what I really want?"

"What?"

"I want to rewind about 9 years and stay away from Kane. If I'd just avoided him then things would have turned out so different."

"You don't know that, now come on, stop beating yourself up. Just forget about the trial and Kane and Ethan for one night and let's just enjoy each other's company."

She smiled at the man that she was slowly but surely falling in love with all over again.

"Ok, sounds like a good plan to me."

***

Not too far away, Kane dreamed of having a similar kind of night with Kirsty. He'd never asked for much in life, just to be part of a family, to be accepted. Now that he was, it was being so cruelly taken away from him.

"Are you trying to get yourself in trouble?"

"What?"

"I said hand it over."

Kane hadn't even noticed the "top dog" enter his cell. He'd been blissfully locked away in a part of his mind that was reserved for Kirsty, Aiden and their unborn child. Nobody else could get to him when he was there.

"Hand what over?"

"Are you stupid or what? The ring, hand over the bloody ring."

The only ring he was wearing was his wedding ring. Surely he couldn't expect Kane to give him that?

"That's my wedding ring."

"Correction, that's my wedding ring."

"You're not having it."

"Yes I am."

Kane stood up to confront this man who seemed to think he had the right to all of his things. Nothing else mattered but his wedding ring, that was precious.

"Don't try and take me on, Phillips. Your the new boy around here, you do as I say."

"I don't do as anyone says."

The top dog clicked his fingers and in came two of his heavies. One of them forced Kane against the wall, his left arm behind his back, as the other prised the ring of his finger. They took it in their stride, obviously having done it to many other prisoners.

Kane couldn't help but think that the stealing of his ring signified what was to come. His ring had been taken, his wife and son would be too, his life would be taken straight out of his hands.

***

On Kirsty's instruction, Tasha had collected Aiden from nursery that day to allow her to have some time alone. Tasha had been more than happy to help, at least this way she felt like she was doing something.

Tasha and Robbie had a two year old little girl, Simona, together and Aiden was in her room playing with her Tasha heard a loud bang. Fearing that one of the children had got hurt, she ran from the kitchen where she had been making dinner and burst through the bedroom door.

"Aiden, what happened?"

She looked around and saw that the contents of one of the shelves had been knocked to the floor.

"How did that happen?"

Aiden picked up a pink fluffly toy from the other side of the room, amongst the mess. In a red loveheart, the words "Daddy's Little Girl" were displayed.

"Simona picked up the stupid teddy and said dada."

He looked so lost and hurt that a tear sprung to Tasha's eye. Aiden was obviously missing his dad.

"I know you must be missing your dad, Aiden, but you can't go around knocking things off shelves. You or Simona could have been hurt."

"Why does she have her daddy when I don't have mine?"

"Your daddy loves you very much, Aiden."

"That's what mummy said when I asked her, that's not a proper answer."

Tasha patted her knee, telling Aiden to sit on it.

"Auntie Tasha, when will my daddy come home? He's been working a real long time."

"He'll be home soon, Aid. Just don't ever forget that he loves you, ok?"

"I want my daddy."

"Hey.. hey, don't cry. I thought you were meant to be a tough, strong boy?"

"I am!" Aiden said, through tears.

"See, Simona needs a fluffy toy to remind her that uncle Robbie loves her but you, being a big strong boy, you know that your daddy loves you already. Simona's just a little girl but you're bigger and smarter than her."

"Yeah.."

"So, no more tears, ok?"

***

The night before had been amazing for both Scott and Dani. They hadn't done anything, they'd only kissed a few times but just being in each other's company had been of great comfort to them both.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I was just thinking about the trial last time round, do you think it will be the same this time?"

"I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Hmm.. you know I was so frightened that people would think I was a liar when he was found not guilty. I didn't want to go back to school because I knew what everyone would be thinking of me."

"I'm sure everyone believed you, Kane was scum."

"There were still some people who thought I was lying, they didn't mind telling me either."

"Everyone that mattered knew the truth, that's all that counts. Just know, ok, that this time round, I'll be there for you. When you have to give your evidence, I'll be right there."

She once again let herself just be in his arms, the feeling like one she'd never felt before. Perhaps she could make it through.

***

[Ashirr-Leigh]

I think I need like reminders or something to make me update!! I keep on forgetting.. but here's the next chapter of Set-Up. Please read and review!

The thud of the heavy mallet being slammed against the desk caused him to shudder in a way that he never had before. Courtrooms weren't unfamiliar to him, but this feeling was. He'd been so sure of himself when he'd first stood trial for raping Dani.. now he didn't know what was going to happen. If the situation hadn't been so serious, he would have laughed at the irony.

***

Tasha sat by the phone, cradling a sleeping Simona in her arms. She knew that the trial would only just be starting but she didn't want to leave the phone just incase something was to happen.

"Tash?"

"What is it, Robbie?"

Ever since Robbie had been unable to pledge his full support to Kane, Tasha had been frosty with him. She felt like he'd somehow betrayed her. He'd allowed Kane to be Simona's godfather, yet he believed that he could be capable of robbery and rape? It didn't make sense to her.

"Don't tire yourself out worrying, ok?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean that whatever happens, happens. You'll find out soon enough from Kirsty.. just don't worry yourself."

"Robbie, I don't think you understand how serious this is. Imagine if it was Scott on trial, or Henry."

"It's not the same."

"Yes it is! I may not have any proper relatives but Kane is like a brother to me. If he goes to jail, I don't know what I'll do."

"Ok, ok.. I'm sorry. I just don't want to see you upset."

"Well try and be a bit more supportive then, ok?"

Robbie sat beside his wife and put his arms around her. He may not be able to support Kane, but he could always support Tasha.

***

Jessie, being the first witness, was understandably nervous. On walking into the witness box, she'd caught a glimpse of her "rapist" and fear had rippled through her body. His eyes, that's all she recognised. She hadn't seen anything else but his eyes were enough to momentarily paralyse her.

"Are you alright, Miss Nairn?"

"I.. yeah, I'm fine."

"Ok, now can you state that you are indeed Miss Jessica Bernadette Nairn?"

"Yes, yes I am."

Her lawyer stood up and smiled at her in reassurance. He wasn't going to be hard on her, he just wanted the facts. She knew that it was the defence lawyer who would rip her to shreds.

"Alright.. now, we're going to take this easy, Jessica, because I know you're very frightened."

She shakily nodded at him, feeling humiliated at letting herself get into such a state infront of so many people. Where had the confident, bubbly, cheery Jessie gone?

"On the night of the robbery, why were you still at the bank?"

"I had been off for a week prior to that day on holiday and I had some work to catch up on."

"Ok, what time were you planning on staying until?"

"I don't know.. about 11, maybe 12. I live close to the bank and I'd gotten permission from the boss to stay later."

"And when did you realise that something was happening?"

She took a deep breath, remembering the noises that she had heard behind her, the noises that she had stupidly passed off as being a dog or small animal outside.

"There were noises."

"What kind of noises?"

"I don't know.. like.. scratching? I thought it was a dog or something scratching the door but it must have been him trying to get in."

"What time was this, do you know?"

"I'd say around 11.15."

"Then what happened?"

"The noises didn't stop. They kept going so I got up to check what they were."

"And..?"

"He was there.. looking at me."

"Could you see his face?"

"No, he had a balaclava on. But his eyes.. I could see his eyes. They were so bright and blue and.."

"It's ok.. you're doing well. Did he say anything to you?"

"He asked me where the money was kept."

"Did he have any kind of accent?"

"It was just local.. I'm not sure, it was muffled because of the balaclava."

"What was your answer to the question?"

"I didn't say anything at first, I was in shock. Then he told me that he knew there was money here and that I shouldn't bother lying to him. So I pointed to the safe at the other end of the bank."

"And that's when he opened it?"

"Yeah."

"What did he open it with?"

"Plyers."

The lawyer picked up an evidence bag containing a set of plyers.

"Are these the plyers that he used?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that?"

"I remember the white paint. It was on the handle."

"Alright. Could you tell us what happened after that?"

"I don't really understand.. I wasn't trying to stop him taking the money, I wasn't that stupid but he.. he just.."

"What did he do?"

"He just came at me.. I don't know I.."

Without warning, tears were pouring down her cheeks. She looked over at her mum, hoping for reassurance but seeing that she, too, was crying.

***

"We should be there."

"Rhys, calm down."

"I am calm.. I'm just saying, we should be there."

Beth wanted so much to heal the whole situation but this time, not even she could do that.

"Kirsty didn't want us there, we have to respect her wishes."

"Why? Don't you think Dani's going to need us?"

"She has Scott."

This gave Rhys a bit of comfort but he still wished that he could be there for his daughters. Although he didn't agree with Kirsty's decision to back Kane, he knew that she would be hurting. Kirsty, however, didn't want her father there. She knew how angry he would be and also that his anger would be directed at Kane.

"I hope they make it last this time."

"Me too. They've both been messed around, they deserve a bit of happiness. Mind you, so does Kirsty."

"Not with him."

Beth didn't have an answer. Like her son, she was undecided. She didn't know Kane as well as all the others.. they'd been around when he'd attacked Dani. She had only ever saw the good side of him, a side she loved and cared for. However, she knew that he had the ability to destroy people, Dani was a prime example.

***

"He shoved me down.."

"Was he violent?"

"No.. he didn't hit me or anything, he just.. he was so strong."

"Did he say anything to you while he raped you?"

She shook her head, everything now becoming too much for her.

"No, he didn't say anything. I told him to stop.. I asked him why.. I kept telling him just to take the money and go but it was like he didn't care. He just ignored me."

"Ok, Jessica, you're doing great. Just a few more questions, ok?"

"Ok."

"So, the man left and then you called the police, correct?"

"Right."

"And why didn't you tell the police that you'd been raped?"

"I was so ashamed.. I think I was in disbelief.. I was trying to deny that it had actually happened."

"But you later relented and told them the next day."

"I thought about it over the night and realised that I couldn't let him get away with it."

"Alright, Jessica.. take a look at the defendant."

She cautiously looked over in Kane's direction. To Kirsty, he looked like a broken man. To Jessie, he looked like a monster.

"Had you ever seen this man before?"

"No."

"But you strongly believe that he is the one who attacked you?"

"The eyes.. they're the same."

Kane felt like crying when he saw the fear in the victim's eyes. To think that he had done this to Dani made him feel sick. He'd never before truly realised the effects of his actions, although he was sorry for them. Now, listening to Jessie, he started to believe that perhaps he should go to prison, perhaps he should be made to pay.

***

The courthouse was silent, everyone touched by Jessie's emotional statement. Whether or not they believed that Kane was the man who had caused her to be in so much pain, they wanted justice for her.

In the back corner of the public gallery, sat a man. He was wearing a cap to shield his face and was looking down at his feet. No one had noticed him but if they had, they would see a smirk across his face. Things weren't looking good for Kane and he was pleased.. he was proud. The smile on his face would have sickened his victim, his eyes gleaming bluer and brighter than ever before.

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Sorry that this is short but I just didn't have enough time to post the rest of it. I will do later on tonight, or sometime tomorrow.

Dani was clutching Scott's hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Even holding his hand would have felt highly inappropriate not so long ago.

"I'm next, they're going to want me next."

"Don't worry. You just have to tell the truth and you'll be ok."

"It never works out like that.."

***

As Dani was worrying outside the courtroom, Jessie was panicking inside. Questioning from her lawyer had finished and she'd done pretty well, she thought, but now the defence lawyer was about to begin.

"It's Jessie, isn't it?"

She nodded her head.

"You're obviously very shaken up, recent events will have done that to you. I only have a few questions to ask you."

Her breathing was becoming deeper. She was so frightened of being called a liar.

"On the night in question, would you say you were tired?"

"I.. emm.. yeah, I suppose I was a bit."

"It was late at night, you'd been working all day."

"Yeah, yeah I would have been."

"Tired enough to have facts confused in your mind?"

"What? No."

"All you could see of this man was his eyes, correct?"

"Yes."

"But that's enough for you to point the finger at this man?"

"The eyes are the same.."

"The same? The same what? Colour? Shape? Size?"

"Bright.."

"There are many people in the world with bright eyes, Miss Nairn."

She felt humiliated and stupid. Of course no one else would understand. How could she expect them to?

***

Waiting outside, someone else did understand.

"All I ever wanted was a quiet life and now look what's happened. Trouble seems to follow me around."

"Dani! After today it'll all be over for you."

"No it won't be. Whatever happens, things will change. If he goes to jail then Kirsty will hate me for testifying against him.. if he is found not guilty then I'll.."

"You'll what?"

"They could get it wrong again."

"Don't worry about that now."

"Scott, I.."

"You what?"

"I think I love you."

As soon as she said it she felt like it was a mistake. How stupid could she be? Of course he wouldn't say it back to her.

"I love you too. We've got to make a proper go of it this time, Dan. Me, you and Louisea."

Just as she was nodding in agreement, her name was called. Her time had come.

***

Things weren't looking excellent for Kane. Kirsty, sitting in the gallery, knew this. She felt like every time her and Kane managed to be happy, someone was always there, waiting to hit them back down again. Nothing could have hit them harder than this.

"Miss Sutherland, you've known Kane a long time, haven't you?"

"Since I was 17."

"And you're now.. 26, right?"

"Yeah."

"Can you tell us about your first meeting with Mr Phillips, please?"

She let her memory go back until she felt like she was 17 again..

***

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Next part of the previous chapter!

~ 9 years earlier ~

"Mum, mum? Where are you? I need.."

She was stopped mid sentence by the boy sitting by the fridge. He was so cute. He looked at her back and she instantly knew that their was an attraction between them.

"Are you looking for someone?"

The way he smiled at her made her smile back.

"Yeah.. I'm looking for my mum, Shelley, she's the counsellor around here."

Just as Dani said this, her mum appeared from her office next door.

"Dani! This is a nice surprise!"

"I came for money.. remember I asked you to leave me some?"

"Oh right, yeah. I totally forgot. How much do you need?"

"About $20."

As she spoke to her mum, her eyes remained firmly on the boy. Something about him immediately drew her to him.

Shelley fumbled around in her pockets and gave her eldest daughter some money.

"I've only got 15, is that enough?"

"It'll do."

Dani put the notes in her pocket and turned to leave.

"I'll see you later, mum.. see you..?"

"Kane, I'm Kane."

"Cool. I guess I'll see you around."

~ Present Day ~

"So you met Mr Phillips through your mother's work."

"Yeah, she was his counsellor."

Dani felt so uncomfortable talking about this with Kane there. They didn't discuss the past, it's just something that they never did, not wanting to cause any friction.

"And what were your first thoughts of him?"

"I.."

"Go on."

"I thought he was cute."

Kirsty bowed her head, knowing how hard it would have been for her sister to say that. Kane avoided any eye contact with Dani.

"When did you next see Mr Phillips after that day?"

"A couple of days later."

~~~~~

"It's like he's obsessed with her or something. I don't know what to do anymore, Hayles."

Dani and Hayley were sitting in the Diner at lunchtime with a milkshake, as they did every day. They had an hour for lunch and they usually spent it talking about boys, make-up.. normal everyday things.

"They've got a lot of history together, Dan. They can't just forget it."

"I'm not asking him to, Hayles. It's just that Gypsy's in Will's past, I'm his future."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"And he loves you. Don't let this come between you."

"It's her who's coming between us."

As they continued their conversation, Kane walked into the Diner. He'd been told by some lads in his year that it's where all the kids went at lunchtime and judging by the amount of Summer Bay High uniforms he could see, they were right.

"Can I just get an OJ, please?"

Dani looked up as she heard someone talk, a familiar voice. Him. Once again, their eyes met and they smiled.

"Dan.. Dani?"

Hayley followed Dani's gaze and soon found that she, too, was looking at Kane.

"Dani, do you know him?"

"No, not really. I think my mum counsells him."

"Well that fits."

"What do you mean?"

"He's the nut who kidnapped Shauna."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah."

Somehow, that made Dani even more intrigued. She was having problems with Will and that was getting her down. He was becoming closer and closer to Gypsy and that annoyed her. Perhaps her spending time with this guy would show Will what he was missing.

"I'm just going to the toilet, Dan, then we better go and meet Brodie."

"Yeah, sure."

When Hayley got up, she grabbed her chance. She walked over to the guy and sat down opposite him.

"Hey."

"Eh.. hi."

"Remember me? From the other day.."

"Dani, isn't it?"

"Yeah. And your Kane, yeah?"

"Right."

"You just move here?"

"A couple of months ago."

"Cool, you like the place?"

"It's alright.. a bit dead though."

"You can't be looking in the right places."

He smiled when she said this. She was obviously up for it too.

"Come to one of my nights out, I'll show you a good time."

"I'd love to."

Before they could say anything else, Hayley re-emerged from the toilet.

"Dan.. we should go."

"Yeah, ok. I'll see you around, Kane."

"I'll hold you to that!"

They both laughed. Dani was having some fun, she didn't realise that Kane was taking her seriously.

~~~~~

"So, you were having problems with your boyfriend at the time?"

"Yeah."

"And you were just having fun with Kane?"

"Yeah. I didn't mean any of it.. I thought he knew that."

Kane silently cursed himself. It all seemed so obvious now. She'd never liked him in the first place, how could he have thought that?

"I believe there was a kiss shared between you and Mr Phillips?"

~~~~~

Dani couldn't believe her luck when she'd found out that Kane needed a Maths tutor. She was good at that, she could help him.

"Be careful, Dani, he's bad news."

She ignored Sally's words, passed them off as paranoia. She liked this guy and Will wasn't treating her with the respect she deserved.

"Don't worry, Miss, I'm a big girl, I can look after myself."

For the past few weeks, she'd been seeing him everywhere. Whether it was a coincidence or not, she didn't know, but she liked it all the same.

"So, what is it that you're having trouble with, Kane?"

"It's chapter 9."

Sally wearily left them alone together, praying that it would be ok. Dani was naive, Kane was trouble. Something was bound to happen.

"Ok, let's see.."

She went to take the textbook and their hands touched. They looked at each other and could contain their feelings no longer. Kane pulled her head towards his and they kissed. A kiss that had been waiting to happen since the moment they met.

~~~~~

"You wanted to kiss him, am I correct?"

"Yes."

The thought of it now made her feel sick. Even touching him, brushing by him, made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. How could she have been so stupid?

"Even though you had a boyfriend?"

"As I said, we'd been having problems. It's stupid, I know.. but I was just a kid."

"Be careful, Dani, he's bad news."

Sally's wise words now rung in her ears. If only she'd listened. If only she hadn't been so hellbent on doing what she'd wanted.

"After the kiss, did you pursue a relationship with Mr Phillips?"

"No. I realised that it was wrong. Me and Will, my boyfriend at the time, sorted out our problems and I knew that I shouldn't have done it."

"But Mr Phillips, he wanted more?"

"Yes. I tried telling him about Will but he didn't understand.."

~~~~~

"Kane, I'm sorry, but I've got a boyfriend."

"Who, Will? He's not right for you."

"Yes he is, I love him."

Kane was crushed. She had to be messing him around. The attraction was obvious, she couldn't deny that.

"Come on, Dani, give me a chance."

"In different circumstances, I wouldn't think twice, but I'm with Will."

"Don't be with him, pick me."

"There's no choice here, Kane. I love Will and he loves me."

He moved closer to her and tried to kiss her. He knew she felt the same way, she just needed to be pushed.

"Get off me! Stop it!"

He pulled back. What was her game?

"You didn't mind me doing that a few days ago."

"That was different then."

"How?"

"It just was.. now, please.. go home."

He turned around, angry. Whatever she was doing, he would soon work it out.

Dani went back inside her house, slightly shaken.

"What's wrong, Dan?"

"It's Kane.."

Brodie frowned. She, like Hayley and Sally, had tried to warn her off him but to no avail. When Dani wanted something, she got it.

"What does he want?"

"Me to be his girlfriend. I told him about Will but he.. he's really freaking me out, Brodie."

~~~~~

"So you were weary of Mr Phillips before he attacked you?"

"Yeah. He kept following me around, coming to my house. He just wouldn't take no for an answer."

Kirsty wiped a tear from her eye. She'd never heard her sister talk about this before.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. I tried to ignore it."

"You didn't tell anyone?"

"Only Brodie."

"Not your parents? A teacher?"

"I didn't realise how serious it was."

Scott looked over at Kane, catching his eye. He stared venomously at him, wanting to kill him for the pain that he was putting his girlfriend through.

"Can you tell the court about the day that Mr Phillips attacked you?"

~~~~~

Trust her family to leave her to do all the shopping. There were so many bags, she knew she was going to drop one. She cursed when it landed on the ground.

"Let me help you."

"Kane, no."

"I only want to help you with the shopping, Dani. You can't manage it all on your own."

She relented, knowing that he was right. She couldn't manage on her own.

"Thank you."

"No problem, what are friends for, eh?"

She smiled, hoping that Kane had finally gotten the message.

"Well, here we are. Thanks for helping me but I'm ok now."

"I'll just help you unpack."

"It's ok, I can do it."

"But you have so much stuff. If you leave some of this, it'll melt before it gets into the freezer."

"Fine, but then you have to go, ok?"

"Ok."

She was letting him stay, she wanted it too, he could tell. After putting a few things in the cupboards, he made his move.

"So, Dani, when's the second date going to be?"

"What? Kane, there wasn't even a first date."

"But there was a first kiss.. I would like a second."

"Kane, no! I told you, I love Will. I thought you'd finally got that. Obviously not."

"You can stop your little games now, I know what you're doing."

"I'm not playing any games.. please, just leave."

She could see that he was getting angry now. She kicked herself for letting him in.

"Come on, Dani.."

As he said this he moved closer to her.

"Kane.. go home."

She backed away from him but found herself banging into the couch. He flicked the strands of hair away from her eyes and stroked her face.

"No! Kane, stop it."

She was beginning to get frightened now, he wasn't listening to her.

"You know this is what you want, stop kidding yourself."

His grip around her wrists tightened and he pushed her down onto the couch. She struggled, tried to get up, but he was by far stronger.

"Kane, no.. please.."

It was only when he unzipped his trousers that she froze and could no longer speak. Inside, she was shouting and screaming but his power over her meant that she could only lie there.

***

[Ashirr-Leigh]

Thanks for the reviews! They mean alot..!!

Only one person in the courtroom was happy after just hearing Dani speak. Her description of Kane's past made him out to be a monster, a monster that could easily have committed a bank robbery.

He deserves it, he had it coming.

He kept telling himself this over and over again. He'd waited for this moment for so long, now it was happening.

Dani struggled to remain in control of herself as she painfully described Kane's attack on her. In her mind it was all so clear, all so vivid.

"He.. he heard a noise or something, I don't know, he left anyway."

"Then what did you do?"

Thinking back, she remembered how frightened she was that he was going to come back. She imagined him walking back through the door, laughing at her.

"I got up, I thought he might come back so I got up. I tried to go upstairs but I.. I don't know, I couldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like it just hit me then, what had happened. I'm not sure, but I collapsed onto the stairs.. don't know how long I was there for, but then Brodie came in."

"And you told her what happened?"

"Yeah."

Telling Brodie had been so difficult, she'd been so ashamed. She felt dirty and humiliated, she didn't want anyone to know what had happened to her but she had to tell her. She needed to.

***

"Still nothing?"

"Yeah, sorry Tash."

"Ok, thanks anyway. I just thought that Kirsty might have phoned you first."

"Not yet. If she does though, you'll be the first person I call."

"Thanks Beth, bye."

Beth hung up the phone, the third time she'd done so after a call with Tasha.

"She's frantic with worry."

"What's she calling here for? We don't care what happens to that scumbag."

"Rhys, please."

He had no one else to take his frustration out on but Beth. For so many years of his life, his family had been haunted by Kane Phillips in one way or another. Perhaps now, they'd finally be free.

"What are we going to do, Beth?"

"What do you mean?"

"Either way, someone's going to be upset. If he's found guilty, Kirsty will be devastated.. and there's Aiden to think of. Then if he gets off, Dani will have went through all that for nothing."

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens, Rhys."

It's the waiting that really got to him. With Dani's case all those years ago, the wait for the verdict had been the longest time of his life.

***

"After the attack, police records show that you complained that you were being harassed by Mr Phillips."

"That's right."

"In what way?"

"He showed up at my house a few times, followed me around places.. I don't know.. it's like, he was threatening me. He didn't want me to press charges on him."

"So, from your personal experience, do you think that Mr Phillips could be responsible for the robbery and, more importantly, the rape of Miss Nairn?"

Dani looked over at Jessie who was sitting with her mum. The pain in her eyes was all too familiar to her.

"I.."

"Truthfully, Miss Sutherland..?"

The direction she looked in changed to Kirsty and their eyes met. Seeing the tears streaked down her baby sister's face almost made her give up. Whatever she said, it wasn't going to make anything any easier. She had to tell the truth.

"I think he could be."

***

"Simona, please, please, baby.. stop crying, it's ok.."

Her daughter's consistant screaming was beginning to get on her nerves. It was probably because she hadn't paid her much attention all morning. Her mind was somewhere else, her mind was with Kane.

Tasha tenderly picked up her daughter and cradled her in her arms.

"You're almost getting to big for this now, Mona.. but don't worry, mummy's here. Daddy'll be home soon.. and everything will be ok. I promise, everything will work out just fine."

She was trying to convince herself more than Simona. It wasn't working, though. She didn't know what was going to happen to the man who she called her brother.

***

"Miss Sutherland, correct me if I'm wrong, but Mr Phillips was never actually found guilty of raping you, was he?"

Straight away, Kane's defence lawyer had come down on her hard. She knew that this would be their line but she could never prepare herself for people that didn't believe her.

"No."

"The event is always going to be a hazy one. He thought you wanted it, you weren't sure."

"I was positive. I didn't want to.. to have sex with him."

"But yet you didn't try and fight him off?"

"I froze.. I.."

"Indeed."

Memories of the first trial with Kane came flooding back. His defence lawyer had tried to make out that she had wanted it, she'd only declared that Kane had raped her when she realised what effect her actions would have on her relationship with Will.

"I didn't want to.. I told him no.."

Kane hated to listen to this. He wished he could but in and make them stop but if this was his only chance of getting off, he had to take it.

"You'd been playing games with him, Miss Sutherland. Flirting with him, kissing him."

"I kissed him once. Only once and it was a mistake. A huge mistake."

It made her angry that she had to back up what she was saying. Of course he had raped her. Why couldn't they all see that?

"Let's come forward a bit. Your sister, now Mrs Kirsty Phillips, began dating Kane how long after his alleged attack on you?"

"About two years after."

"Surely she couldn't have believed that he'd raped you?"

"I.."

That was something that Dani had never thought about. She'd never doubted the fact that her family believed her.

"Of course she believed me.. she's my sister."

"Anyway, you accepted their relationship, true?"

"After a while."

"Why did you do this? You say he raped you, weren't you frightened that he would do this to your sister?"

"Terrified. She was adamant that she was going to be with him, though. Said he had changed. If I didn't accept them, I thought they would run away together. At least if they were in Summer Bay, I could protect her."

"It all seems a little.. hard to believe, forgive me for saying. Let's get this straight. You are 17 years old and you meet a guy who you, admittedly, thought was cute, right?"

"Right."

"You're having problems with your boyfriend so you decide to try and make him jealous."

"It wasn't like a decision.. I.. I don't know. I just wanted Will to notice me again."

"Ok. So, you get closer to this guy and then you kiss him."

"Yeah.."

"Then after you sleep together, your problems with your boyfriend sort themselves out so you decide to call it rape?"

"No! I didn't want to do it, please.. I didn't want to."

"Have I touched on a raw nerve, Miss Sutherland?"

That was the final straw. She was so humiliated, she couldn't go on with the questioning anymore.

"I've had enough, I can't do this anymore."

"That's ok, Miss Sutherland, I have no further questions."

As she stood down, her whole body shook in what could only be called a mix of fear and anger. She'd lost it again.

Neither Kirsty nor Kane could look in Dani's direction. They both desperately wanted him to be freed but humiliating Dani was only going to make things worse. For now, they looked at each other and found comfort in the other's eyes. It had been so long since they'd been able to touch each other. So long since they'd kissed. So long since they'd sat down and chatted together.

***

"Papa Rhys?"

"What is it, Aiden?"

"Where's mummy and daddy?"

Aiden had been asking for his parents all day. Each time, Rhys was stumped as to what to say.

"I told you, remember? Daddy's still working away and mummy, well mummy's with Auntie Dani today."

At least when he said that, it answered Louisea's questions as to where her mum was.

The children were the real victims in this situation. Aiden stood to lose a parent and Dani was so close to the edge that looking after herself was hard, never mind her daughter.

"He's been working away a real long time, Papa Rhys."

"I know, Aid, I know."

"Papa Rhys?"

"Yes, Aiden?"

"Where is daddy?"

"I told you, working away."

"I know that, but where?"

"He.. eh.. somewhere far away."

"Like New Zealand? He's been there before, Papa Rhys. He brought me back a present. He always does when he works away. What do you think he'll get me from this new place, Papa?"

Although Rhys hated Kane, he couldn't deny the fact that Aiden doted on him. There was no present that he would get him from jail though.

***

"Dad? It's me."

"How's it going?"

"It's looking good for us, dad."

He slugged down some more beer as he congratulated his son.

"You've done me proud, boy, you've done me proud."

***