One of the twins stirred restlessly and Christie sat up, watching him like a hawk. Daniel, she thought to herself, that one is Daniel. She had to remind herself once again that he wasn't Rollie. She felt like she had been waiting an eternity. Yesterday and last night had been some of the longest hours of her life. Repeated assurances from Doctor Watson that the twins were not seriously injured, just heavily drugged, had not brought her any relief. Only them waking up could give her that.

Daniel's eyes blinked open and he looked around in surprise. His arms wrapped around Rollie and he pulled the other man closer to him. There was more than a bit of fear in his face and eyes. It leaked away as he spotted the blonde woman. "You're Angie," he stared at her in surprise before finishing a trifle uncertainly, "aren't you?"

Startled by the fact that Daniel recognized her, she still managed to answer promptly. "Yes, I'm Angie. How did you know?"

The minister sat up slightly and brushed one cheek against Rollie's hair. "He showed me your picture once. He loves you a great deal, you know."

She smiled at the positive declaration. "I know." Daniel seemed to feel almost an imperative to maintain his contact with Rollie. She had a feeling it would be a while before they would be able to separate the twins. It was a good thing no one on Hope really wanted to do that at the moment.

"Where are we?" He looked around curiously. He already felt somewhat at home in the small, friendly bedroom. It was so different from what he had been used to and yet it felt comfortable. It was as far from the places They had kept him as was humanly possible. That single fact, more than anything else, relaxed him a bit.

"You're on Hope Island."

"Hope Island?"

"It's off the coast of Seattle. This is where your father sent Rollie when he thought he was you." Angie tilted her head slightly to one side. "Did I just make any sense?"

Daniel smiled at her and she felt her heartbeat quicken slightly. He was so much like Rollie it was unbelievable. "Actually, yes, you did, Angie. May I call you Angie?"

Angie thought about that for a moment. Was she going to be Angie now? Or should she tell him to call her Christie? She wasn't sure and it showed in her voice when she answered him. "You can call me Angie or Christie." Seeing his confusion, she explained. "Christie Culhain is the name I was given when I went into the Witness Protection program. Of course, between Rollie and some other events, I've managed to blow that identity sky high, but..." She shrugged philosophically. "We'll work it out. We always do."

"And my being here, um, 'blows' Rollie's cover as well, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but They did a lot of it already." Angie wasn't certain how much she should tell Daniel Cooper about what had happened to Rollie after They had taken him away in Las Vegas.

Daniel frowned, perplexed and worried. "What do you mean?"

"They made me think I was you, Daniel."

Both Daniel and Angie jumped at the soft words.

"Rollie! You're awake!"

"Yeah, Ange, I'm awake." He could have made a crack about stating the obvious but decided against it. Of course, a little joke might be good. "That or I'm talking in my sleep, luv." The Aussie sat up and Daniel pulled away slightly. One glance at his twin and Rollie immediately reached out to pull him closer. He exchanged looks with Angie as he hugged his twin tightly. They were going to have to be careful with Daniel for a while. His eyes were haunted with bad memories and pain. Rollie felt a pang of guilt as he remembered how happy he'd been on Hope. And all the while Daniel had been in Their hands, living a nightmare! "All right, Daniel?"

"Yes," Daniel answered softly, trying to pull away as Angie sat on the edge of the bed beside Rollie.

Rollie smiled warmly and kept one arm firmly wrapped around the other man, his other hand snaking out to hold Angie's. "So, where's Mangela? Did he explain anything this time?"

As Daniel looked surprised again, Angie answered calmly, proud of her matter-of-fact tone. "Around, no." She smiled warmly at Rollie, her eyes full of love, before shifting to look at Daniel and then both of them together. "He brought Dingo with him." She wondered how long it would take to get used to Daniel. She had a feeling it wouldn't take long. She also had a hunch that if Rollie was feeling particularly mischievous, he might try to talk Daniel into swapping with him to see if they could fool her and the islanders. Well, they would see who would win that particular game. She grinned, her eyes sparking fire at the twins.

"Your fathers?" Daniel asked, seeking confirmation of his memories of their talks.

"My dads," Rollie confirmed. "So, let's see if we can't drag them in here and find out what they know about this tangle."

"I'll see if I can find them." Angie stood up, but paused at the door. "Oh, Kevin, Ruby and Bonita sort of know about you, Rol. Well, Kevin does. Ruby and Bonita saw you and Daniel together."

Suddenly Rollie's head snapped around, seeking the alarm clock. "Oh! The service!!!" Horrified that he would be late for the Sunday morning service, he scrambled to his feet.

"Rollie, it's Monday," Angie informed him drily.

Startled, Rollie stood there looking at Angie.  He felt slightly numb and more than a little guilty about missing service. While part of him knew he would be forgiven due to the circumstances, he still felt as if he'd failed his congregation. This was the first time he'd missed giving a sermon since his arrival on Hope. "Oh." He flushed and looked down at his toes. He'd seen the look in Angie's eyes, the one that said she'd been worrying about him - again. Fresh guilt welled up inside him at causing Angie more pain.

Recognizing signs he'd come to know well during the times he'd been with Rollie, Daniel sat all the way up and reached over, wrapping one hand around his twin's wrist. "Rollie, look at me." The words were firm and not to be denied. Rollie looked at the younger man, his expressive brown eyes wide. "It's not your fault, Rollie. Believe me. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault." Compassionate brown eyes stared deeply into their guilt-filled twins. Daniel waited patiently, his gaze never wavering.

Angie watched from the bedroom door in fascination as Rollie took a deep breath and slowly released it. She smiled softly as she watched the tension drain from him. She had been startled by Rollie's reaction at first, but knew she should have expected it. She was pleased to see that Daniel Cooper seemed to know exactly how to reach her best friend and love. She filed the knowledge away, knowing she might need it again later.

"I know," Rollie whispered softly. His head lifted and he smiled at his twin, a bit ruefully. "I know." He smiled at Angie and shrugged slightly.

Before Rollie could say anything, the blonde spoke up. "I'll go find Mangela and Dingo."

Rollie's smile turned into a grin. "Don't bother, Ange." He looked past her, waiting. Sure enough, Mangela and Dingo stepped inside a moment later, joining Angie at the door to the bedroom. "Hi Dad, Mangela."

The two older men beamed at the sight of the man they considered their son in flesh and blood, heart and soul. Dingo walked up to Rollie first and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "I love you, son," he whispered roughly into the younger Tyler's ear. He looked over at his son's twin and smiled at him, his blue-grey eyes twinkling merrily. Speaking more loudly, he said "G'day, Daniel! Pleased to meet ya finally."

"Uh," Daniel blinked, "good day, sir."

"Sir? What's this 'sir' stuff? I'm Dingo. Got it?" Dingo's eyes sparkled as he spoke.

Daniel nodded slowly, uncertain just what to say. Dingo was definitely not the type of person he was used to meeting.

"Daniel," Rollie's softly pulled his attention toward him. "This is Mangela."

"Hello, sir," Daniel sat up straighter, feeling suddenly like he had when called in by his father's people for some perceived slight that might harm his father's reputation. Lectures on that subject always seemed to come from them, never his father. His father hadn't the time to waste on his wayward son.

Mangela hugged Rollie, then walked over to sit beside the young minister. "My name's Mangela, sonny boy." He grinned, white teeth flashing. "You'll get used to us, Dingo and me." He reached out and hugged Daniel Cooper hard. "Besides, you're family too!"

Rollie exchanged surprised looks with Daniel. In all the time he'd known his twin, in all the times he had thought of his father and Mangela, he hadn't imagined this moment. And yet, Mangela's words caused a warm curl of pleasure to squeeze his heart. He felt Angie slip her hand back into his and he squeezed it, silently sharing the warmth he felt at Mangela's words with her.

"Mangela, Dad, what do you know about this whole mess?" Rollie asked soberly as he sat down beside Daniel. He looked questioningly at the older men. Angie sat back down into the chair.

Dingo pulled one over from the living room. Swinging it around backwards, he straddled it, his arms folded over the back. "You better tell it, Mangela."

The two older men exchanged telling looks. Mangela gave a single, short nod. "All right, sonny boys, Angie girl. I was walkabout and one night I had a dream. An eagle was ambushed by dingoes. They were pinning him down so he could not fly. Oh, he tried hard, but he couldn't free his wings. Feathers flew and blood flowed, but the dingoes held tight and wouldn't let go. Funny thing was they were careful not to kill the eagle. You'd think they wouldn't care, but it seemed they did. A vulture kept them under control. When I woke up I knew I was dreaming true." He looked deep into Rollie's eyes. "And I knew there wasn't anything I could do to stop it, because it had already happened."

Rollie nodded slightly, feeling the truth in his adopted father's words. "What did you do?"

"I went and found Dingo. Not an easy chore, mind!"

Rollie grinned as his father flushed. He knew the truth of that from firsthand experience.  "No, not easy at all."

"Once I found him, we came to the States and started snooping around a bit. Dingo read how you died, but I told him they were lies so we kept snooping. We finally found the dingoes and the vulture who lorded over the pack."

"Washington, son, they were just outside Washington, D.C. in Alexandria, Virginia," Dingo interrupted. "Ronald Garrick was the boss's name."

Rollie tilted his head slightly as he searched his memory. That name didn't ring any bells. He glanced at Angie and she shook her head, then gave a nod. He turned his attention back to Mangela. Angie would find out all about him later. "Go on."

"We snuck inside, though it was passing hard."

"Yeah, a lot of security there, but we managed to get in. No one the wiser either," Dingo boasted.

Rollie stared at the two men in surprise. "Wait a mo! You snuck inside?!?" He'd known Dingo flirted with illegal activities, but breaking and entering? Especially into what must be a high security installation!? His heart leapt into his throat as he thought of what could have happened to them. They should know better than to try something like that!

"No worries. Like Dingo said they never knew we were there." Mangela grinned hugely, enjoying himself now that Rollie was safe. "We poked around a bit. Found some stuff in the trash. It looked like they were getting ready to destroy it soon, but we read a pretty tale there. Oh yes!"

"You got that right, Mangela. It told us where you were and where you were going, son. We found out about Daniel too."

Rollie frowned, his brow puckered. He hugged Daniel with one arm and left it around his shoulder. Daniel smiled wanly and wrapped an arm around Rollie's waist. "When was this, Dad?"

"Um, it was... What? Early April, wasn't it, Mangela?"

Rollie felt numb. He hadn't agreed to anything by that point except the witness protection. As a matter of fact, he hadn't even met Daniel then. He swallowed hard. The thought that they had controlled them so completely made him feel cold inside.

Angie frowned to herself as she thought about it. Arrogant, manipulative bastards! They'd been so sure of themselves, of what Rollie and Daniel would do! How?!? She shivered as a thought occurred to her. Had They been involved in Kate's death? Was that all part of the plan too? She hoped not for Rollie's and Daniel's sakes, but feared it was true. She hoped neither of them thought of that possibility. She wrapped her arms around herself, carefully pushing the horrible thoughts down to where Rollie hopefully wouldn't be able to read them. She would deal with those - later.

"I'm sorry," Dingo looked at the twins, then Angie. "We didn't dare take the papers. Somebody might notice something was missing. We did, uh, pick up a few things on our way out, including one of them disk thingies. I tried to get someone to check it out, but they couldn't get past the, um, security. Maybe Angie can give it a go. I expect she'll have better luck than my, uh, contacts."

Rollie looked at his father and felt something... Something unsaid, something Mangela and Dingo didn't want him to know. He wondered what it was, what it meant. "You both took incredible risks. You shouldn't have done it. These people are ruthless! They could have killed you and not batted an eye." He sighed softly. "I guess I should say thank you for trying though. What did you do then?"

"Well," Mangela picked up the thread again, "we knew we couldn't get to you, not yet anyway, and it would be better if we were away from their eyes, so we headed back home. We went deep into the bush and I ... I called a corroboree of all the tribes in the Northern Territory. While the others danced and held the ceremonies, I talked to the elders and the wirinuns."

Rollie looked at him puzzled. "Why?"

Mangela exchanged glances with Dingo, then looked Rollie straight in the eye. "I called for justice. I told them what happened to you, what they'd done to other folks. I told them all about what we found out about these white fellas. I asked them to call judgment and they did."

Something clicked inside Rollie's mind then. "You pointed the bone? Who? How?" He looked torn, horrified and guilty. Daniel looked at his twin in bewilderment, not understanding. He looked at Angie and saw she'd paled, but there was something in her eyes, something fierce and, almost, glad. He leaned closer to Rollie, trying to offer his support, though he didn't know what it was for.

"Yeah, I pointed the bone. Not then, but ... I did the first a couple of weeks ago." Mangela raised his head proudly and stubbornly matched Rollie's glare. "I did the other last night. And I'm not going to undo it. It's done and will run its course now."

Rollie took a deep breath. "They'll kill you! Besides, it's wrong! Mangela you can't take justice into your own hands. It's for the courts to decide."

"I didn't. I told you I asked the elders and wirinuns. They decided and passed the sentence, not me." He matched Rollie's stare. "I did what I did and I won't change it. Not even for you, Rollie. Maybe it's not white man's justice, but it's justice all the same."

"You got that right," Dingo chimed in with his support.

"Who?" Rollie asked in sick resignation.

"Bloke named Victor Loubar," Dingo answered promptly. "He was the first. Appropriate since he started it all or seems to have anyway."

Rollie closed his eyes and swallowed. For a second, he'd been fiercely glad and he knew he would be doing some hard praying over that reaction. Because of this, Rollie missed Angie's grim smile of satisfaction flash across her face. "Who else?" He managed to croak out. "Who did you do last night?" When there was no answer, he thought swiftly. "Garrick? You pointed the bone at Garrick?!? Mangela, they'll kill you for that! They... They ..."

"Let 'em try, I say. It's done and neither they nor you are going to undo it. They don't know how and you won't find it. I made sure of that."

Rollie leaned past Daniel and hissed at Mangela. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you have a death wish now?"

"Oh, don't worry so much, Rollie. Mangela told them the truth. If they want to try and kill him, they can, but it won't change the facts. If they kill Mangela and by some miracle undo his boning, there's another wirinun waiting to point the bone and another after him and another. Whatever they do, they can't stop all of 'em." He chuckled without humor. "You should have seen the look on Garrick's face when Mangela called out to him in the dark. He knows what's been happening to Loubar lately. He turned pale as milk and fainted right over. His underlings had to carry him down. They left the island as soon as they reached their boat." He looked sharply at his son. "Struth Rollie! I doubt they'll be back and, if they are, well, they don't know who Mangela is and the whole island knows a bit of what's happening by now."