By Thursday afternoon Dani had finally made her decision. It wasn't easy, and she wasn't sure this was the right thing to do, but it's what her heart told her, and it had never steered her wrong before.

She got out of the cab and took a deep breath. She looked at the large mansion before her and braced herself to go in. It seemed like yesterday that she'd just gotten here, and at the same time, it felt like she'd been here forever.

She finally cleared her thoughts, grabbed her bag, and headed to the house.

She was about to knock on the kitchen door when Alyssa opened it.

"You don't need to knock Dani. You live here again, remember?" Alyssa smirked as she widened the space between her and the door so Dani could walk in.

"Auntie Dani!?" She heard Gavin's voice first, and the little boy was in her arms the next thing she knew.

"Oh, my Gavi-Tiger, I missed you SOOO so much!" She wrapped him up in a big hug and held him tight. She kissed both his little cheeks; her aching heart needed this badly.

"I missed you too! And Kiki misses you too!"

"I'll tell you both a special story later," Dani promised him.

"Gavin, I know you are so happy to see your aunt. But Mommy and Dani need to have a little talk. Can you go downstairs and wait?" Alyssa asked, and he bobbed his head happily.

"Don't worry, his playroom is child safe, all carpeted now and up to Beck's high standards," Alyssa added with a roll of the eyes.

Dani wondered. She seemed great. So why did Alyssa want her back that much, then? Didn't she say Rebecca wasn't a perfect nanny?

"Auntie Dani, can you come and play soon?" Gavin asked with wide and hopeful eyes.

"I sure can, Gavi," Dani promised him. "I can't wait!"

"You made the right decision," Alyssa said. "He never stops asking you about you; it's exhausting."

Dani felt a little burst of happiness at that. She loved that little boy so much. It would have been easier to leave. She would've been depressed and likely for a long time. But she'd be able to leave all this drama behind.

In the end though, she couldn't do that. She simply couldn't leave Gavin, not now when his life was about to get so complicated. He needed her, and he was the reason she chose to stay.

"There's coffee if you want." Alyssa gestured to the counter. "I'll go print the papers out."

Dani grabbed herself a steaming mug while she did so. It was weird being back there after the last time.

She sat across the large kitchen table from Alyssa as she signed them. They were a copy of the same papers Rocco had signed. Apparently, Alyssa wanted to ensure she was doing everything right, probably because of the divorce and the potential for a custody case.

Dani signed off on the bottom and handed them back to her.

Just as they were finishing up, she heard a knock on the door from the living room.

"Alyssa!?" It was Katherine yelling as her heels clicked across the floor.

"The entire spa is gossiping, and what they're saying, better not be ..." Katherine stopped short when she reached the kitchen and saw the two sisters sitting together.

"Danielle," Katherine looked surprised. "I didn't realize you were here."

"Of course, she's here. She lives here." Alyssa snapped. "You, however, do not. So why are you walking into my house uninvited?"

"I heard you and Rocco separated. Probably divorcing?" Katherine said with a frown. "What is going on, Alyssa?"

"It's none of your business," Alyssa said flippantly.

"I'm your mother. Of course, it's my business when my daughter is screwing up her entire life. You're smarter than this!"

"So, you let yourself in to insult me?" Alyssa narrowed her eyes.

"No, I'm here to try and clean your mess up. I can set you up with a marriage counselor. My friend Nancy just saved her marriage with one." Katherine continued. She stepped further into the kitchen and helped herself to a cup of coffee.

"I don't care what your friend Nancy did," Alyssa said with an annoyed look on her face. "Just stay out of this."

"I'll make some calls. You will try," Katherine demanded.

"We are way past counseling," Alyssa said. "We even exchanged, I hate you's, this week."

Dani raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't realized things had gotten that bad.

"We all say things we don't mean when we argue." Katherine was fishing out her cell phone from her purse as she spoke. "One visit."

"I think she made it pretty clear that she doesn't want your help," Dani said.

She didn't care to defend Alyssa, but whatever got Katherine out of here sooner.

"It's funny, isn't it, Dani?" Alyssa commented. "How she only wants to mother us when it benefits her."

"Both of you are so ungrateful! All I ever want is to help you two."

Dani nearly spit out her coffee. "Then why did you refuse to help me when I begged you to?"

"I didn't refuse; I gave you conditions. I didn't want to give you the money you'd throw away on your drug infested brother."

"What's going on with your brother?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"He's a waste of time and energy. Dani, you'll understand that someday." Katherine snipped.

"He's no such thing! He's trying to rebuild his life after a lot of tragedy and needs professional help to do it." Dani's frustration was growing by the minute.

"Oh, so you need a good rehab place?" Alyssa inquired.

"He's in one. It's just really expensive," Dani explained.

"I know of a better place," Alyssa said. "I'll make a call if he doesn't mind relocating."

"Hello? If either of you would listen to me." Katherine continued but they both ignored her.

"Where is it?" Dani asked.

"Colorado," Alyssa said. "A friend of mine, Marc, runs it. He only charges what people can afford."

"That would be amazing!" Dani said she was shocked that Alyssa had a friend like that and that she would actually help her. Although it probably had more to do with sticking it to Katherine.

"You'd both see how much of a waste of energy this is -"

"Can you leave already?" Alyssa cut her off with a harsh look.

As she left the house, Katherine was muttering something about ungrateful and entitled daughters.

"What a bitch," Dani muttered.

"Looks like we agree on something." Alyssa smirked.

"I'll call Marc now," Alyssa said as they got up to put their coffee cups away.

"This is - I can't thank you enough," Dani said, still in a bit of shock.

"Whatever it's fine," Alyssa shrugged. "I'd rather not have a sister hate me too."

"I never hated you," Dani said. "Strongly dislike, maybe."

"Well, I am a pretty big bitch." Alyssa laughed as she grabbed her phone.

Apparently, not always, Dani thought with surprise.

**

Alyssa's friend Marc was not only willing to help Kevin, but he also called him directly to talk about it all. Apparently, they had talked for nearly an hour. Marc sensed some of himself in Kev and wanted to help and mentor him. They were in the process now of getting the details worked out and getting him transferred.

It was a huge weight off her shoulders, and she was extremely grateful to Alyssa. However, she couldn't help but wonder about her motives. She'd never shown any interest in being sisters before. Dani knew she had to tread carefully here.

"Auntie Dani, look what I got! From Becks!" They were sitting in the backyard enjoying the sunshine and warmth.

"Oh wow! That's very cool." Dani said enthusiastically as he showed her a floating toy for the pool.

"But I can't play 'till I have lessons." Gavin frowned.

"Swimming lessons?" Dani asked.

"I was a lifeguard for a few summers. I can give him lessons." Dani offered.

Alyssa was lounging in a chair next to her, tanning her already over-tanned skin as she sipped some white wine.

"Go for it," Alyssa said casually, as she flipped over to sun her back.

"Gavi, do you want me to teach you how to swim?"

"Yay!" Gavin cheered.

"Okay, let's go get your trunks on," Dani said taking his hand to lead him inside.

Gavin was initially nervous, but Dani kept a good hold on him as she stepped into the pool.

She held him and showed him how to kick his legs to stay afloat. Then she had him while he kicked until he started feeling confident.

"Okay, I'm going to let go now are you ready?" Dani asked.

"I ready!"

She let go but stayed very close; he kept kicking his legs and stayed afloat as she let for.

"You're doing it, Gavin! Good job!" Dani cheered.

"I did it I swam!" She picked him back up and cheered with him.

"You sure did! Yay, Gavi!"

She carried him over and set him down on the edge of the pool. He grabbed the juice that he'd left there and took a sip.

She looked up to see if Alyssa was watching and noticed she had gone back inside and missed his big triumph. It reaffirmed Dani's decision to stay even more. Gavin not only needed a caretaker but also to be cheered on for his accomplishments. He needed attention and affection all the time not just when it suited Alysa to give it. 

These seemed to be things Alyssa just couldn't do. A part of her felt bad for her sister. Her inability to love probably stemmed from how Katherine raised her. Dani witnessed it today. Katherine made it seem like she did everything for Alyssa, but she was rude and pushy. She only came over because of the rumors and had forgotten Dani was even living there. She didn't even ask to see her grandson; she was terrible mother. Alyssa was so much like her, and that was so unfair for Gavin. He needed to be mothered, and if her sister couldn't do it, then she would. 

"Auntie Dani, I can jump?" He asked, and she smiled and backed up a little.

"Yup. Go ahead I'll catch you, buddy." She held her arms out to catch him as she jumped.

She silently promised him that she always would.