Daniel smiled and hesitantly followed Rollie out to the car.

"Daniel, this is Doctor Watson. Doctor Watson, Reverend Daniel Cooper." Rollie watched his twin anxiously as he introduced them to each other. It was certainly going to be awkward for everyone on Hope for a while. He hoped it wouldn't last long. Hope Island didn't know Rollie Tyler. He had been Daniel Cooper in every way for so long. Everyone essentially knew Daniel, having met him through Rollie. Daniel didn't know anyone here, except for him. However, he knew everyone on Hope. Talk about confusion!

"Doctor Watson," Daniel shook the woman's hand, pleased that his hand remained steady and his grip was firm, but not too tight. He hadn't really talked to anyone in months! It was going to seem strange for a while, strange to meet and actually talk to people, strange to be able to go where he wanted when he wanted.

Doctor Watson smiled warmly at the minister, "Daniel, a pleasure to meet the 'real' you, finally." She turned to Rollie. "Let's get some lunch." Silently, her eyes asked the Aussie if he knew what he was doing.

Rollie just gave her a winning smile and led the way to the car. He and Daniel slipped in at the passenger side, Rollie sitting on the inside. He saw how his twin hungrily absorbed the sights outside the car's window as the doctor drove down the road to Hope and growled mentally at Ronald Garrick. When they came to a stop at the medical clinic, he sent up a silent prayer for understanding from the islanders. There were wonderful people on Hope Island, but he was going to be pushing their understanding to the limits over the next few days. God, please take care of Daniel. Let them understand and accept him. He nudged his twin. "Well, go on, I want to unfold my legs."

At the prompt, Daniel opened the door and scrambled out of the car.

Rollie followed immediately. So far, no one was looking their way. "We can eat at the Widow's Walk." He pointed in that direction and they started walking. One of the islanders rode by on a bicycle and did a double take at the sight of two Daniel Coopers with Doctor Watson. Rollie winced at the sound of metal hitting metal and glanced back to find that he'd run into a trash can. Fortunately, the man was already picking himself up. Yeah, they were going to be asking a lot out of Hope for a while. A large black dog with a white markings came down the steps of the tavern and rushed up to Rollie, his tail wagging eagerly. He woofed slightly as he greeted his friend. "Hey there, Bob. How's it going? Did you have another fight?" Rollie scratched the friendly dog behind his ears.

"Daniel, this is Bob. Sometimes he spends the night at the Widow's Walk when he's had a fight with his... friend."

Daniel blinked slightly. "Uh, hi Bob," he said, uncertainty in his voice. Bob? He leaned over and petted the dog's head. He found his fingers playing with the soft, clean fur and was entranced by the feel and the warmth of Bob's body.

Rollie frowned slightly and exchanged looks with Doctor Watson. This was just one more sign of how much Daniel had been deprived of experiencing while he was held captive by Garrick and his people.

"Daniel?" Father Mac spoke, looking at the two men in confusion.

"Father Mac!" Rollie exclaimed, pleased to see their fellow cleric. "I'm Rollie," he pointed to himself, "that's Daniel," he finished, pointing at his twin.

Father Mac blinked in surprise. "Rollie?"

"Rollie Tyler," the Aussie reached out and hooked a hand around the priest's elbow. "We're about to eat. Join us and I'll try to explain."

Everyone turned to stare at the twins as they came inside with Father Mac and Doctor Watson. Their curiosity was written all over their faces. The room turned silent.

Molly gave herself a shake and went to escort them to a table. She looked at the twins in confusion, then tentatively spoke to one. "Daniel?"

"Yes. Daniel, this is Molly Brewster. She's engaged to Kevin. He's Hope's law enforcement." Rollie smiled gently at Molly's dazed expression. "Maybe we best explain everything before we eat." He gave a silent prayer as he led the way to the bar and turned to face the islanders eating lunch. He scanned the crowd and was pleased to see that he recognized all of them. The Aussie turned to Molly. "Are there any vacationers or mainlanders here now?"

"Uh..." Molly took a deep breath and visibly took hold of herself. "Um, not right now. We usually don't have guests this close to Christmas..." She trailed off uncertain of what to call this man who looked like Daniel and apparently knew who she was. She felt a headache start.

"Could you get Alex, Dylan and Boris out here?" Rollie asked quietly.

"Uh, sure, I can do that." She headed for the kitchen to get Boris.

"And call Kevin while you're at it!" Rollie called after her.

Molly nodded as she disappeared through the double doors, she held them closed with her hands as she stared wide-eyed at Boris Oblensky.

The Russian looked at Molly in confusion. "What is down, Molly?"

"I am so confused!" Molly just stood there, trying to remember how to breath properly and to pull her scattered thoughts into order. "Um, Daniel... That is, Daniel's twin? He wants you to come out so he can explain. I don't know what he's explaining. Boris, he knows who we are and Daniel doesn't and I am confused. I have got to find Alex!!!"

Boris stood there blinking for a moment. "Well, go! Moosh! Moosh! Find Alex now! I will keep eye on Daniel and his twin. Moosh, Molly, moosh!" He stalked out of the kitchen and looked around at the stunned and silent islanders. Following their stares, he slowly turned to look at the two men who looked like Daniel Cooper. They even dressed like Daniel Cooper. He wondered which one was which. He strode over to them, standing at his full height. "I am Boris. Who are you?"

One of the twins smiled. "I'm Rollie, Boris. That's Daniel. Why don't you have a seat while we wait for the others."

"What about Mayor and Nub? What about Ruby and Bonita? Should they not be here too?"

"You're absolutely right. Do you mind finding Brian and Nub for me, Boris? I'll call the store and get Ruby and Bonita here."

Boris blinked as he absorbed the knowledge that 'Rollie' whoever he was did indeed know the island. He looked at Daniel and saw confusion and a look of helplessness on his face. If Rollie had hurt Daniel, he just might have to bend him. He gave a decisive nod. "Boris do that," and swiftly headed out of the tavern. He paused beside Harry on the way out. "You keep close eye on this Rollie, Boris be back soon," he whispered loudly and hurried out.

Rollie hid the smile that threatened to appear on his face as he overheard the Russian's attempt at quiet conspiracy. At least, he was concerned about Rollie and not suspicious of Daniel. Hopefully, the big Russian would remain protective of his twin once he knew the truth. Daniel needed all the protectors he could get and Boris would be a solid support for him, once Rollie and Angie were gone. The Aussie had no doubts that they would be gone and soon, too soon probably for Daniel. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that whatever was happening, there was something that had to be done. He would do it, but not at the cost of any more pain or hardship for his twin. He leaned back against the bar,  his long legs stretched in front of him and crossed his ankles. He smiled brightly at the people watching them. "You'll get used to Boris, Daniel. He's a good soul." He nodded and smiled at a couple of the Angle Dogs. "Oh, by the way, he's Jewish."

"J--Jewish?" Daniel's eyes remained glued to his twin's face. He couldn't face all of the people looking at them, at him, right then and he snatched at the offered distraction.

"Yeah, I didn't know until Arnie showed up."

"Arnie?" Daniel brightened at the mention of his best friend. "Arnie was here?"

"Yeah, he came by for a visit. I'll tell you all about it later." Rollie's eyes sparkled slightly, then the humor left his face. "He'd lost faith, Daniel. His job, well, it's not easy doing what he does. It takes a very special person to do that and it was weighing on his heart."

Remembering the position his friend had accepted, Daniel nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, it would be hard. I don't think I would have the courage. Is he all right?"

"Yeah, he is now. Thanks to Evan and Boris and Nub and the people of Hope." Rollie turned from the familiar faces staring at them and smiled at his twin. "Arnie just needed a vacation. Why don't you call him later? You can tell him what's going on."

"Do you think we should? I mean..." Daniel trailed off uncertainly. He was very confused and he didn't want to bring trouble to his friend or to the people on Hope.

"Yeah, I do. We need to let people know, Daniel. We can't hide it and we have to stop them."

"Stop what? Rollie, we don't even know what... What he is doing?" Daniel sat on one of the bar stools and folded his hands on the bar. His legs felt like rubber and he didn't want to fall flat on his face with all of these people watching him. "Maybe... Maybe it's important. You know, national security and..." He trailed off at his twin's look and looked down at his hands.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. We'll know more after Angie cracks the information on that disk Dad and Mangela brought."

"If there's anything there."

"Yeah, there's that. But if it is, Ange will find it."

Daniel nodded, willing to believe in his friend's faith in the beautiful blonde. He absentmindedly began to trace random patterns in a wet spot on the bar. He focused his whole attention on the mindless act, unwilling to meet the eyes of the people staring at them. Would they accept him? Would they believe the fantastic story Rollie was about to reveal? He couldn't stay on Hope Island. This was Rollie's place. He'd made it his own by hard work and acts of compassion and understanding. He couldn't deny Rollie his place on Hope Island. But... Where was his? He imagined going to his parents and explaining what had happened. He shivered. Somehow, Daniel doubted his father would believe him and he really couldn't blame him. His mother... His mother might believe, but she wouldn't understand. No one could. No one... Daniel shivered at the sudden chill he felt and hugged himself. Then, there was a warm weight on his shoulders and he found himself looking into the warm eyes of his twin. The compassion and understanding there brought a lump to his throat. He leaned into the welcome warmth. Rollie understood. Rollie would stand by him. He closed his eyes and gripped his twin's coat with one hand. He thanked God for Rollie's presence. At the moment, Rollie Tyler was the only person he could hold on to and he was grateful the man was willing to accept his need. God and Rollie Tyler. Hopefully they would be enough to maintain the sanity of the lost soul named Daniel Cooper. Hope. Hope was something he had lost for so very long. Yet here he was on an island of Hope. Here he was reaching for it again. He felt fear chilling his heart and tightened his hold on his twin's coat. Blood roared in his ears and he swayed slightly. The warm arm around his shoulder tightened and held firm, pulling him closer as Daniel fought the darkness that reached for him.