"Where are you off to?" Meta asked as Michelle bounded down the staircase.

"A soccer game."

"Soccer? I didn't know you liked soccer."

"Actually it will my first game," Michelle admitted.

"So what's with the new found interest in soccer? Or should I have said who is your new found interest?" Meta smiled all knowing.

"No one why?" Michelle countered in her best attempt to cover her excitement.

"Michelle Bauer come clean. I know I am getting old but I am certainly not senile just yet. You can't fool me. I know you have someone special in your life. It's been written all over your face for weeks now. Surely you haven't been spending all of your free time at CONNECTION VILLAGE……"

"Meta," Michelle sighed, "Could we please not go there?"

"Honey, that's not what I meant. I am just glad to see that you are happy. For a while there I was getting pretty worried about you."

"At least someone in this house is," Michelle remarked off handedly.

"That's not fair Michelle. Your father is doing the best he knows how."

"Well if that's his best I am not very impressed," she quipped.

"Michelle," Meta began, "Can't you see that you are being as stubborn as your father is? Nothing is going to get resolved by you two avoiding one another. The gulf between you is only going to widen."

"Aunt Meta, please, can we not rehash this again? What's done is done besides I am already late as it is."

"Michelle," Meta reached for her niece's arm, "You can't run from this forever. Sooner or later you are going to have to face your father."

"My vote is for later." With that been said Michelle left without another word.

Danny was pacing the sidewalk in front of the center as Michelle pulled up.

"I'm so sorry that I am late. My Aunt Meta picked the very moment I was walking out the door to discuss me and my father. I had a hard time getting away from her."

"That's okay. We still have a few minutes. Besides the field is only a couple of blocks away," Danny offered reaching for Michelle's hand.

Michelle found a parking space in the lot adjacent to the field. Her comfortability level was running at an all time love. This would be the first Clayton event that she had ever attended. Even though Springfield High and Clayton were well known rivals, Michelle had never attended a game that hadn't taken on her home turf. Ed Bauer would never condone such a thing. Michelle laughed to herself wondering what he would say if he could see her now. Gratefully there wasn't a chance of that happening. He was out of town again completing the last of his business for his new project.

Michelle looked around her instantly feeling like a fish out of water. As the eyes of all those around her traveled the length of her body, she was sure that everyone there knew she didn't belong. It was easy for Danny to sense how nervous Michelle was. Easily he draped his arm around her shoulder and went in search of his friends.

"HEY!" Danny tapped the shoulder of his friend, "JT this is Michelle." JT let out a low deep wolf whistle as he eyed Michelle from head to toe. Danny felt her posture stiffen at noise. "Easy there buddy!" Danny glared at him. He recalled the things that Michelle had told him about how she felt about most guys. He did his best to comfort her. "JT is a friend of mine from school."

Michelle vaguely wondered if this was one of the friends that she had read about. She hoped not but had a strong feeling her suspicions were correct.

"Let's go grab a seat," Danny suggested.

Michelle attempt at following the game was fruitless. Sports of any kind were not her strong suit. Danny did his best to explain things that were happening on the field but she wasn't paying all that much attention but rather reveling in having Danny close to her. That was all she truly cared about.

Michelle's eyes scanned the surrounding bleachers feeling as if she had stepped into a foreign country. As much as she knew she should have been looking at this place and Danny's friends with an open mind, she couldn't get past all the things she had read about them. It clouded her perception of things. Michelle couldn't stop herself from wondering exactly what the guys sitting next to her and Danny were really thinking about her as well.

"GO DEAN GO!!" Danny screamed, "He's an excellent player," Danny turned to say to Michelle, "The team would have never made it this far without him."

"They owe it all to DEAN-the- MACHINE," JT piped in.

"Hey we're ahead by four, let's go grab something to eat," Danny suggested. "Having a good time?" he inquired handing Michelle her hotdog.

"Yeah I am. I didn't realize that you knew so much about the game."

"We, me and JT, only come cause of Dean. He taught us everything we know. He's our best bud. We all played when we were younger but Dean is the only one of us who ever did anything with his talent." It was hard for Michelle to miss how much Danny admired his friend as he spoke of him.

"DANNY……." Michelle heard a sugar coated voice ring through the air. Looking up Michelle caught sight of girl in a black leather jacket standing before them. "Danny boy, where the hell have you been keeping yourself?" she moved in closer to Danny ignoring Michelle's presence entirely. "Don't tell me they've got you locked up at that center still?" she cooed, "Want a 'j'?"

The temptation for Danny was strong. The joint was just within his grasp. Its sweet aroma made the deal he and Michelle seem like a distant memory.

"Nah," he finally uttered, "I gave 'em up."

"WHAT!?!?!" her voice was loud and disbelieving, "You of all people. I can't believe it. What have they done to you at that place? Come on one puff ain't going to hurt."

"Nope, I told you I quit!" For Danny it was increasingly difficult not to reach for the joint in her outstretched hand.

As the conversation continued, Michelle sized up this girl carefully not knowing what to make of her. To Michelle she looked as if she thoroughly enjoyed being a hood. The black leather jacket, leather bike boots and joint sandwiched between her fingers to Michelle were all signs that she loved being a juvenile delinquent. That she loved showing how tough she thought she was. Looking into her face Michelle couldn't muster one ounce of compassion for this girl.

"I'll be right back," Danny said as he walked away following the nameless girl around the corner.

Michelle's blood ran cold enough to freeze in her veins. She was certain Danny was about to go back on his word, "Danny," she pleaded.

"It's okay really. Nothing to worry about," he came back to kiss her softly, "I know how this looks. But I promise you I remember our deal. I just have to take care of this now."

"Who is that?" Michelle asked turning to JT

"Darcie Jenkins," he said it as if Michelle should have know who that was.

"And?" she was waiting for further explanation.

"She's Danny's old girlfriend," JT snickered, "I'd say it looks like he's moved up in the world. Where did he find you?" JT tried to pull Michelle in closer to him. She was gorgeous, Santos has all the luck he thought to himself.

Michelle struggled to remove herself from JT's grasp just as Danny came around from the side of the building. The look of fear on her face brought his feet from a simple walk to an all out run. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING JT!?!?!" Danny raged taking Michelle under his own arm immediately she fell limp under his grasp.

"I just thought….well you went off with Darcie…..I thought she was fair game man," JT countered as if he had done nothing wrong.

"THINK AGAIN!!" Danny's steely gaze cut through JT like a hot knife cuts through butter. "I SHOULD RIP YOU APART YOU ASSHOLE!!!!" Danny moved forward grabbing him by the collar of his jean jacket.

"Danny stop!" Michelle had found her voice once again, "No harm done really." She didn't want Danny starting a fight with his friend over her. She had been there with Hunter and it wasn't pretty. She felt it was better to just let it drop.

"LIKE HELL NO HARM DONE. Look you are shaking," Danny's voice softened.

"It's okay really." She reached for his arm to reassure him, "Let's just go watch the rest of the game. You don't want to disappoint Dean, do you?"

"Are you sure?" Danny couldn't believe that she was okay with what had just happened. Remembering their talk he couldn't believe that she wasn't thinking about that again. More importantly he couldn't believe that JT would have been such an ass.

"Yes," she repeated, "Let's get back to our seats," Michelle said pulling on his arm all the while looking back at JT and the smirk he wore so proudly on his face.

Michelle sat in silence for the remainder of the soccer game feeling like she had been in a head on collision with a Mack truck. She was having a rough time getting past what had happened with JT. Danny did his best to soothe what he was sure was her frazzled nerves but nothing at the moment was working. She just wanted more then anything to go home and forget about the whole thing. The questioned that loomed large in her head now was would they ever have a normal date. First there had been Thomas, then Parker and now his ex-girlfriend and JT. She was beginning to believe they were doomed.

"Do you mind if we stick around to talk to Dean before we go?" Danny asked not knowing what Michelle was truly thinking.

"If you want." She pondered what kind of person Dean might be.

Her encounter with Dean had been a pleasant surprise. He had been nothing but a perfect gentleman saying all the right things and by they time they parted company Michelle had relaxed a great deal. Danny was relieved to see the change in her demeanor as the pulled up in front of CONNECTION VILLAGE.

"I'm sorry about JT. I don't know what the hell was with him tonight."

"It's forgotten really. Dean's a great guy by the way. I liked him a lot."

"Yeah he is. We've been friends for a long time. We do almost everything together. If it wasn't for him and his family god knows what would have happened to me. Probably a hell of a lot worse then what did."

Michelle searched for a logical way to bring up Darcie Jenkins in this conversation. She needed to know exactly what she had meant to him and what it was they had been doing on the other side of the building that night.

"Danny, I need to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"That girl tonight," Michelle paused, "JT said she used to be your girlfriend."

"Yeah she was. But that was a long time ago."

"Well it was hard to miss that fact that she still thinks of herself as that." Michelle was sure she sounded paranoid to the extreme but she couldn't stop herself and this line of quizzing was better then the real question that was floating around in her mind.

"I'm the last thing Darcie wants. She was just messing with your head is all. Looks like she succeeded too," Danny touched the frown lines forming around Michelle's mouth, "I told her to give it a rest. She was just pissed that I wouldn't take a hit off that joint. There was a time I was her number one sidekick."

"So you are saying you didn't smoke that joint with her?" Michelle pulled back to stare him directly in the eye.

"WHAT?!?!" Danny's voice showed his disappointment in Michelle's lack of faith in him, "Of course not. Do you really think that little of me? We have a deal, beside what the hell did I need to escape from? I was with you what more could I have wanted? I actually enjoy spending time with you. I thought you knew that."

Michelle looked at him again. Again the thoughts that had formed into words had hurt him. She could have kicked herself but this was all still so new to her she had trouble determining which end was up most of the time.

"I didn't know what to think," she started, "This girl she came out of no where and you didn't even introduce me……….."

"I was doing my best to spare you. Darcie can be a card most of the time. She likes to play people. I thought that I was doing you a favor, then shit my good buddy JT decides you're fair game. I should have kicked his ass!" Danny's voice hardened again.

"Forget about that okay? I am the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have doubted you. Man, do I feel like an ass," Michelle hung her head in embarrassment.

"I don't have such a great track record. Who could really blame you for thinking the worst?"

"I am sorry though," she apologized again.

Danny stopped her lengthy apology by pulling her body against his chest nuzzling his nose in the soft folds of her hair. He sighed deeply thinking how soft and sweet it smelled. The warm spring breeze encircled them. He let his fingers run through her feathery hair easily stopping to caress her face. Their eyes met and locked on one another. Michelle wasn't able to breathe the world suddenly had stopped spinning. A sensation of wanting to be with Danny in every sense of the word consumed her. He kissed her cheeks gliding towards her neck and then bare shoulders. Even in the warmth of the night Michelle felt herself shiver. The fire that filled her body was maddening. She found herself returning his kisses as she ran her hands along the outline of the muscles bulging beneath Danny's shirt. She too felt him tremble under her touch.

"Do you want to go inside?" he whispered. Michelle only had the ability to nod her agreement for she had no voice at the moment.

The pair made their way to the one of the sofas in the main room. The center was dark and quiet. Without either thought or control Michelle absently began unbuttoning Danny's shirt lacing her fingers through the dark hairs on his chest. She heard him breathe deeply as the tips of her fingers made contact with each of his nipples. The thought that she had enticed him excited her all the more. Instinctively she brought her mouth down hard on his. She had never wanted anyone in the way she wanted Danny Santos at this moment in time.

In all her experiences with Parker, it had always been about what him or what he wanted. The feeling coursing through her presently were nothing like she had ever felt before.

Danny's own desire for Michelle had him kissing her in a way he also had never done before. This was the very first time for him to experience such a pull of emotions. It wasn't like he hadn't had sex before. He had many times but this wasn't just sex to him. This was connection he could find now words for. His kisses deepened into ones that were strong and demanding but not in such a way that they frightened Michelle. They only served to say what she knew that Danny was unable to say aloud.

Gently he laid her body against the sofa his hands finding their way to the softness of her skin. He was so nervous that he felt his own hands shaking. Michelle shuddered with each effortless brush of his fingers.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispered. He didn't want to push her into something that she wasn't ready for.

"Yes," she murmured lifting her head to kiss his chest again.

Before they were able to continue the overhead fixture flooded the room with a bright white light.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE!?!?!?!" Liza bellowed.

Michelle and Danny looked at Liza wearing expressions of children who had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Both scrabbling in their current state of undress, they came to stand before Liza and Jeff.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?!?!" Liza yelled again.

"NOTHING!" Danny returned with the same force.

"What do you take me for Santos? Some kind of idiot?"

"We're sorry Liza," Michelle stammered still caught in the hear of her moment with Danny, "Things got a bit carried away. It was wrong to be here." They were already on thinning ice as far as Liza was concerned this surely would cause their breaking through.

"You're sorry?" Liza echoed her disbelief, "As if you think that sorry could actually atone for this."

"What else is there for us to say or do?" Michelle asked in all seriousness.

"How about how inappropriate the two of you being here is…….."

"SHE DID!" Danny offered harshly.

Danny's attempt at defending Michelle only served to infuriate Liza all the more. "You are through here. As far as I am concerned you will have nothing more do with this center. I will see to it. You were here to do research and that's been completed. You waltz in here thinking you can change things well I for one am not buying it. I am sure that once I discuss this with Malcolm both of you," she seethed turning towards Danny as well, "will be out on your ear." She exited the room on that note not giving Michelle or Danny a chance to defend themselves against her attack.

"SHIT!" Danny said under his breath.

Michelle fell back into the depths of the sofa hugging a pillow close to her chest. She rocked back and forth in an attempt to keep herself from crying. Again she felt as if she had stepped into a nightmare. A nightmare of her own making. There was no doubt that Malcolm Farrell would hit the roof when Liza told her version of that night's events. Danny joined her reaching for her still shaking hand.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked gently.

"GOD!" she cried, "What have we done to ourselves now?" she covered her face with the palm of her hands.

"I'll take the blame for this," Danny offered, "It was my idea to come inside."

"I didn't exactly say no did I?" Michelle countered, "Besides you have so much more to lose than me. I will talk to Malcolm in the morning. I'll tell him that I understand if he wants me to stop coming here."

"NO!!! NO you can't do that. I need you here," Danny's voice was pleading. "You're the reason that I'm hanging in with this. Without you I leave too!" he said adamantly.

"Danny you can't do that and you know it. You have to be here or you will end up in jail. Is that what you want?"

Going to jail…that idea was something from what seemed like light years ago. With Michelle as part of his life Danny couldn't recollect the things he had done that would have put him in jeopardy of being thrown in jail.

"No, but……I'll work this out. Don't worry. Everything will be okay." He cradled her body close to his hoping to hatch some way for them both to get out of this.

Early the next morning Michelle headed start to CONNECTION VILLAGE, knowing it was in the best interest of all those involved. Surely she needed to do some sort of damage control after last night's incident. It thrilled her to know that Danny wanted to take care of this. It showed her just how far he had come but she couldn't help feeling that she needed to try as well.

Michelle let her eyes quickly glance to the empty room. The smile that broke on her face was one she had no control over. Last night for the first time she had been totally, completely at ease with another person. And if Liza had not interrupted them Michelle knew the connection that she and Danny had been about to make would have been exquisite. As she continued on her way to Malcolm's office, Michelle ran head on into Liza, "Excuse me," she muttered not wanting to meet Liza's gaze.

"Malcolm wants to see you immediately!" she said with a smirk.

"Actually I was just on my way to talk to him," Michelle countered with a sudden confidence she hadn't any idea where it had come from.

"I'll warn you now this will be the last time you step foot in this place."

Michelle was timid as she knocked on Malcolm's door. When there was no answer, she gently pushed the door open. Malcolm was sitting with his back to the doorway staring intently at the back wall of his office.

"Malcolm, do you have a minute to talk to me?"

"Sounds like I'm going to need a lot more than just a minute."

"Before you kick me out could you at least listen to my side of the story?"

"Who said I was kicking you out?" Malcolm returned confused.

"Liza already said I have one foot out the door as it is."

Malcolm shook his head in disgust. "You know how Liza is. She spoke her piece. Yes she wants you and Danny gone. I told her I would think about it. I thought about it and I decided that you were the best thing to happen to Danny. So Danny is staying and you are staying. Besides Danny said in no uncertain terms that he was gone without you," Malcolm had to laugh, "You would have thought he was the one in charge of this place not me by the way he stormed in here this morning."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I knew he wanted to talk to you. I didn't want him to do that. He needs to be here with or without my being here."

"Don't apologize Michelle. Don't you understand what wonderful things you have done for Danny by just being his friend, well I guess now I'd have to say his girlfriend," Malcolm chuckled.

Michelle had to blush being sure the Liza had given him all the gory details. "I never thought things would get that intense between us."

"Why do you keep apologizing?"

"I didn't think you would be too comfortable with the fact that Danny and I are a couple now. I mean I guess we're a couple."

"Oh yes sweetie, you two are definitely a couple. Danny did nothing but sing your praises this morning. And you are right I normally don't condone romances at the center but this is different. You are good for him. So let's jut not have any more late night romps here again and we will call it even."

Michelle blushed at his poignant comment, "Deal. I better get to school before someone misses me."

"Michelle," Malcolm said before she was able to leave, "You are doing a great job. Danny is lucky to have you."

"Thanks."

Malcolm felt a twinge of guilt as he watched Michelle leave his office. His head knew that keeping her involvement from Danny was the right thing to do. She wouldn't have stood a chance at getting as close as she had to Danny if he knew what Malcolm's master plan truly was. Yet the logic of his actions didn't stop them from tearing at his heart for lying to Michelle. It was easy to see how pleased she was with herself and there was no denying that she was making in roads with Danny the he would never been able to make.

Danny had been waiting outside the center that morning when Malcolm had arrived. He had already received a rather colorful version of the story from Liza the night before. He was curious as to what Danny would have to say about it all since Liza painted a less then pretty picture of the scene. As she spoke to him, Malcolm was doing his best to surmise if she had been more angry about it or embarrassed at what she had walked in on. Not to mention that Malcolm knew that there was no love loss between Liza Brooks and Danny Santos. Liza had tried to no avail to get Malcolm to see the light as she put it and drop Danny's case from the first sign of trouble. So he was certain that there was more behind her words then just what she said. The only thing that Malcolm wasn't able to shake was her final statement,

'You are taking a big chance with this girl. You could lose you state license over all of this!'

Those words bantered about his head late into the night and were there again when he awoke this morning. He didn't want to see them as a threat but the words left little room for interpretation. He didn't want to believe that Liza's intentions were to turn him in if he didn't side with her but recalling her angry face this morning he was less then sure. His only hope was that they young woman he trained to be his assistant was more committed to all the good they had done at CONNECTION VILLAGE rather than the one thing that he had chosen to do to save what he thought was a lost soul, maybe two souls. Michelle needed this as much as Danny did and if Liza couldn't see that then it was just too bad.

Danny's honest confession to Malcolm of what had taken place the night before overwhelmed him. Danny had no clue that Liza had already filled him in on all the pertinent details. He told him everything, and even a few things that Liza had known nothing about. Like Darcie Jenkins, his refusing her joint; JT's attempt at putting the moves on Michelle that ultimately led them to the center where things got a little out of hand.

Weeks before Malcolm had been lucky to get Danny to stay in the same room with him, even though he had been well aware that doing jail time loomed large in his future if he didn't cooperate, to a person who was now volunteering information. Malcolm couldn't look past the fact that this change had been Michelle's doing and hers alone. His pangs of torment about keeping his plan silent vanished again. He would find a way to tell them both, together when they had come far enough to handle it. His next hurdle would be much more difficult. Telling Liza his decision.

Michelle rushed across campus slipping into Ms. Robert's Psychology class in the nick of time. She slid into her seat as the bell overhead sounded. Parker gave her a quick wave and Hunter turned her head in an attempt to make sense out of what was happening between Michelle and Parker.

When she had told him about Michelle's new boyfriend; that he was some hood from the other side of the tracks, Parker had gone ballistic. Yet now all Hunter witnessed was a cool calm collected Parker treating Michelle as if he was completely in the dark about Danny Santos. Her attempts to pump Thad for information but all he would say was that Parker had finally realized that things were over with Michelle and he had to make the best of it. To Hunter that just didn't sit right. She was certain that Parker would have gone off on Michelle much in the same way she had. Why did she even care? Hunter thought to herself. Michelle had made how she felt perfectly clear and Hunter had no intention of being in a place where she wasn't wanted.

"Settle down everyone," Ms. Roberts said holding a stack of papers in the air, "I'd like to return your papers. So, if you could please get with your partner I will do just that."

Michelle and Hunter eyed one another from across the room. Each uneasy about having to approach the other. As always Michelle made the first move.

"Hi," she said drawing a chair next to Hunter.

"Hi."

"I hope that we did well," Michelle said in an attempt at conversation.

"Well with all your first hand experience I'm sure we aced it," Hunter's words said with a bite to them.

"I'm sorry you still feel that way," Michelle countered.

"I'd like to call your attention to what I feel is a superbly written paper," Ms. Roberts remarked stopping in front of Michelle and Hunter, "These two worked very hard and I want to share with you all what I thought was a wonderful paper."

Ms. Roberts started with them by handing them their graded paper. A large red A+ sat just below their names. She continued passing out copies of their work to the others in the class.

"Although there were others skillfully written, I wanted you all to read one that was well thought out as well. Ms. Bauer and Ms. Wolffe put forth exemplary effort and I wanted you all to get a chance to experience it as well."

Michelle felt her face flush with Ms. Roberts' words of praise.

"I guess your slumming actually worked in our favor," Hunter said making but another stab at Michelle's relationship.

"GIVE IT A REST WOULD YOU!?!?!" Michelle turned away not letting Hunter take this moment away from her. She was proud of the fact that they had done so well.

Parker sat in the corner of the room reading Michelle's paper. He felt his hands tighten around the pages with each word he read. Line by line showed him how much he needed to follow through with his strategy and fast. It was essential that he put Michelle back on the correct path. As he read further Parker came across a section that was devoted to someone named "Jake" who in reality was clearly Danny Santos to any that knew him. Michelle had been true to her word and did not use any names from the files at the center. Parker was revolted by what he read as well as disturbed by the fact that Michelle was so close to these people. The idea that glaringly stood out in his mind was what were the people at school thinking? Hunter wasted no time in spreading the gossip of Michelle's new found love. After what he was sure half the school would read in her paper, Parker didn't want them all drawing the conclusion that Michelle thought he wasn't good enough for her. He could let them all think she had left him in the dust for some piece of trash.

Parker swallowed hard around the lump in his throat searching for a bit of composure before he approached Michelle.

"Hey nice work the two of you did," he said lightly touching her shoulder, "Roberts was pretty impressed. All that praise for you two.

"How did you and Thad do?"

"Let's just say not nearly as well as you did." Parker half laughed. The bell sounded and Michelle got up to leave. "Hey, wait a second," he grabbed Michelle by the arm. By instinct she immediately pulled back, "Easy, I just want to ask you something." Michelle relaxed her frame a bit thinking old habits died hard.

"So what do you want to ask me? I have to get to Trig."

"About the cast party. Don't you think it's a good idea if the leads go together?" Michelle looked away knowing what was coming next. "Would you be my date Michelle?"

"I'm sorry Parker I can't. I already asked Danny to come with me. Hey listen I have to go. Sorry though."

"DAMN!!!!!!!!!" Parker slammed his books down on the desk. He sure as hell didn't want to spend the entire night watching Michelle and her boyfriend parade in front of him. He had to do something.