SANTOS.....SANTOS.......SANTOS. The word resounded in Michelle's ears. She couldn't move. She couldn't breath. Wake up, wake up she heard herself screaming but she already was.

This had to be just another bad dream. It had to be. This man in front of her couldn't be Danny Santos. Couldn't be Mick's brother. She felt as if she were about to throw up. Nausea filled her. The room spun around her. She grabbed on to the only thing within reach for support. She grabbed onto Danny's shoulder as everything went black once again.

"Michelle!" She could hear his voice but couldn't open her eyes. She didn't want to open them. She wanted to remember how safe she had felt with him. How caring he had been with her. She wanted to remember his eyes. Those eyes that knew her inside and out. She didn't want to think that Mick had the same black eyes. But his had been evil, sadistic in a way. "Max, get Dr. Edwards NOW!" She could hear the concern in his voice. She could feel his soft touch against her face. Feel his strong arms holding her delicately. "Michelle, sweetie, please say something, anything," he pleaded. Suddenly that soft voice was replaced with a sardonic one. There she was again back at that warehouse. Tied to the floor. Being taunted, being cut left to bleed to death.

Danny felt her shudder. "What's happening here?" he said aloud not really expecting an answer.

"Mr. Santos?" Dr. Edwards started as he entered the room.

There was that name again. That name that Michelle had grown to fear. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I wish I knew. One minute she was awake finally then the next she just fainted dead away. I can't get her to come around. No matter what I do," alarm crept into Danny's voice.

Michelle heard it again. The worry he had for her. Mick's voice kept trying to invade her thoughts. Kept trying to mixed the two voices to make them one. She did her best to fight it. Her heart pushing for the truth that it had known. The truth that Danny wasn't Mick. That Danny was a good guy who she had feelings for. Again she saw her blood mixed with Jesse's blood. Maybe this was what it would always be like for her. She would always be on the outside looking in. Looking in on her own life with absolutely no control over anything.

"Her vitals are good and strong, Mr. Santos. We still need to run that head CT. Maybe that will give us some answers." If they would just stop with that word maybe she could think. Think about the great man that Danny was. The man not his name. Think was a quick wit he was. How he made her laugh. How he had taken care of her when she was sick. She remembered hearing his voice the night of the accident. Telling her that she was going to be fine. That he wasn't leaving her side. This all had to be a mistake. He couldn't be a Santos. Just couldn't be. How could she ever look at him. Look at those eyes again without seeing Mick, seeing that knife, remembering that hideous night.

"Dr. Edwards, you do whatever you have to do for her."

"I intend to Mr. Santos."

"One more thing," Danny grabbed for the man's arm, "I know what you think about me. I know you think you know who I am, but you don't," he stressed, "I love this girl. I would lay down my life for her no questions asked. So trust me when I tell you that I will take care of this."

Dr. Edwards looked Danny directly in the eye. His first instincts about this young man had been the right ones. He saw nothing but devotion and concern in them. Whatever had caused these two girls to be hurt, he was certain that Danny Santos was not to blame. He only felt sorry for whoever was.

Drew looked on while Nino stood beside her bed. His laughter was beyond any control he had of himself. She wasn't so sure this plan of his was going to work. Setting Michelle up to take the fall for Mick's death was great but Nino hadn't seen the look in Danny's eyes when she had told him about Nino's being after Michelle.

Danny was like a man possessed. Why she had been surprised she didn't know. Michelle had that effect on every man she had even the remotest contact with.

There was no way in hell that Danny Santos would kill her. And frankly Drew wasn't sure that Nino was even smart enough to set the elaborate plan in motion. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch.

He threw a wad of cash on the tray next to the bed. It was more then enough money for Drew to disappear. For this to all come together he needed her to be as far away from Chicago as she could get. His gut was telling him still that he should just kill her and get it over with. Not take any chances that she would slip up again. He tried to weigh which was the lesser of two evils. Having her lead Danny to the truth about how Mick really died or Danny finding her dead and knowing he was responsible.

He didn't need anymore heat then he was already getting from Danny as it was so he had to let her walk away. He made a mental note to himself that when all died down again that he would find her and do what he should have all those weeks ago.

"I need you to be gone tonight!" he stated firmly.

"What?" she said confused. "Tonight? You want me to just up and leave the hospital?"

"Yeah," he returned as if it had been understood.

"Nino, I can barely move thanks to you. How far do you expect me to get like this?"

"Don't know, don't care. Just go!" he yelled. "I can't let Santos get another crack at you." Nino began pacing in front of the door.

"This is crazy even for you. I can't just leave like this," she stated firmly.

"YOU WILL EITHER LEAVE ON YOUR OWN OR IN A BODY BAG!" Nino said in a violent whisper whipping her head back by her hair, "The choice is yours."

"I'll go, I'll go," she relented.

"I don't ever want to see your face again!" With that said he was out the door as fast as he had entered.

Drew cradled her head in her hands trying to make sense of just how she had gotten herself into this mess. Not only did she have to worry about the Rivera Family, she was damn sure that Nino wasn't letting her off the hook that easy, but now the Santos Family had been added to the mix. She shuddered to think of exactly what they would do to her.

Gingerly she dressed and headed for the door. This was insane. She was barely able to move. Move she did though. Even though she had been prepared to die moments ago when Nino first came to her right now the thoughts of death and dying made her sick to her stomach.

As she climbed into the cab and told the driver to take her to the airport, she hadn't a clue where she was destined. The only thing Drew was sure of was the farther away the better.

Nino closed the door to his room at the frat house. He needed to find that police report that Bernard had had him swipe from the station. He was definitely certain that Danny would be coming to search Mick's room and soon. He needed to have a few things there for him to find. Had to be sure that all roads regarding Mick's untimely death led to Michelle Bauer.

"Damn it," he said aloud unable to find the elusive folder. He had kept it just to have something, anything to taunt Mick with. Nino had loved reading and re-reading Michelle's account of how Mick had stalked her. How she had wanted nothing to do with him. That he was a monster.

Nino had intended to throw all those words in Mick's face but had never had the chance. "Finally," He fingered the manila folder almost seductively. A menacing smile filled his face. Nino was about to enact the ultimate revenge. A retaliation for all the things that the Santos Family had cost him and his own. He only wished that he could be there to see Danny's face when he found all these things. See the expression when he knew his only choice was to kill Michelle. Kill the girl who had murdered his brother in cold blood.

Nino slipped out of Mick's room unseen by anyone. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait for the show to begin.

Dietz stood to the sideline watching Danny hurrying down the hall. He was following the gurney that carried a young woman. Dietz wasn't clear on who she exactly was but he had a suspicion.

All he did know for sure was that Carlos Alverez had been a ruse for Nino to lure Danny into the middle of a drug war and further away from who killed Mick. Actually Carlos was in the employee of Bernard. A fact that Dietz was sure that Danny was unaware of.

He had also uncovered some disturbing information regarding Mick. He had been able to find out that the girl that had accused Mick of harassment looked a great deal like the girl that he had just seen Danny so lovingly following down the hall.

He wasn't quite sure how to tell Danny all of that. Jimmy had already told him of how protective Danny was of this girl. He said that he had even called her his family. Said that they were to dispose of Nino should he come anywhere near her.

That statement had surprised Dietz. Never once had he heard Daniel Santos give an order like that. Dietz knew all too well that it would be all out war if anything had happened to Nino Rivera. Exile or not Bernard would not let a thing like that go unpunished.

The ringing of his cell phone called Dietz back to the present. "Hello," he said into the mouthpiece. "What?" he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you positive? There can't be any mistake? Fine I'll be sure to tell him," Dietz slammed the phone closed.

Dietz still was trying to digest what he had just been told. He had done some checking on this Michelle Bauer. He needed to know all there was to know about her. Especially since she was linked to Mick and now Danny as well.

His source had informed him that Michelle had come to Chicago a little over a year ago. That she had hooked up with Mick, dated for awhile then she dropped him. That's when things turned ugly. Mick had gone wild. The harassment charges had been valid. Even though they had never been enforced. According to this man, Mick stalked her relentlessly. What he had said finally was the most puzzling. The night that Mick died Michelle Bauer was admitted to this very same hospital with her wrists slashed. The more bizarre thing was that someone fitting the description of Nino Rivera had been the one to bring her here.

"WOW," Dietz said beneath his breath. "How am I going to explain this one to Danny?"

Dietz looked up the hall again to see Danny standing talking to a doctor. More then likely Michelle's doctor. Even from a distance Dietz was able to read his concern for her. Whatever was going on here, the one thing Dietz was sure of was that Danny Santos cared for this young woman a great deal. He hated like hell to be the one to have to break all this news to him.

He had a sinking feeling in his gut the deeper they dug into this the more Danny was going to hate what he found.

Danny paced endlessly in front of door leading to the x-ray facilities. He peered through the window but was unable to see Michelle. He couldn't get the picture of her face out of his mind. She looked terrified just before she fainted. He couldn't make sense out of any of it. This look had been different. It wasn't anything like the one she had had while she was recounting her story of Nino. This was one of pure terror.

He rubbed his hand along his jawline the stubble was now forming a full blown beard. He couldn't remember when he had slept last or eaten anything for that matter. Danny dropped his body into one of the chairs in the waiting area. He felt as though he was in fast forward. He kept replaying Michelle's account of what Nino had done to her. He couldn't get it to stop. His fists clenched at the mere thought of Nino touching her, threatening her. Nino Rivera was better then dead. He would welcome death after the plans Danny had for him.

Nino would rue the day he ever branded himself a ladies man. Danny smiled ominously thinking to the morning at the diner. Thinking about the petrified expression on Nino's face when he had threatened to be sure he never got fucked again. That's exactly what Danny had in mind. He would take great pleasure in watching him squirm. Danny could hear him now begging, pleading. He would relish the sounds.

"Mr. Santos," Dr. Edwards startled him.

"How is she?" Danny said jumping to his feet.

"Well, she has a severe concussion and some badly bruised ribs...."

"Then she's going to be okay?" Danny felt himself relax for the moment.

"Yes and no."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Danny looked the man squarely in the eye.

"I explained to you about her being terribly underweight."

"Yeah?" it was hard to miss the irritation in his tone.

"Well, I had an EKG run as well as the other tests and I didn't like what I saw. I am going to have a cardiologist consult on the case with me."

"Cardiologist??? What did you see?" Panic replaced the irritation in Danny's voice.

"There were some irregularities in her rhythm. I just want to have them checked into further."

"Could you please talk English?"

"Sit down," Dr. Edwards touched Danny's shoulder lightly. Danny felt the tightness in his own chest as he followed the doctor's instruction, "When a person is as underweight as Michelle is the body begins feeding on it's own muscle tissue to sustain itself. You understand the heart is a muscle. And when the body draws from it we begin to see an arrhythmia start. I believe that's what we are looking at here with Michelle. But I need to be sure."

Danny sat there not saying a word. All he was able to do was breath. Slowly in and out breathing. There were some many things he didn't understand. So many holes in the story. So many questions he needed answers to.

"What can be done for her?" he finally spoke.

"Well really the damage that has been done so far can't really be repaired. But we will need to find out what caused the weight loss. She may have an eating disorder or there may be something physical causing it or even emotional in some cases."

Danny thought about Nino instantly. Michelle had said that he would never leave her alone. That no one could protect her. He was beginning to believe more and more that the cause for Michelle had been an emotional one.

"So exactly what are you saying Dr. Edwards?"

"I'm saying we have a very sick young women on our hands." Danny brought his hands to his eyes to hold back the oncoming tears. "I need the cardiologist to take a look at the EKG results and we will proceed from there."

He felt like he had just been shot through the heart himself. This was all a bad dream. He was sinking in quick sand with no vine to grab hold of to pull himself to safety.

"Thank you Dr. Edwards," Danny shook the man's hand. "Thank you for everything."

"It's quite all right son."

"No really I know what you think of me. I saw it on your face before...."

"Wait," he stopped Danny mid-sentence, "Yes, I will admit the name Santos got me to thinking but not anymore. I don't really care much about what it is you do or how it is you do it. All I care about right now is my patient. And from where I stand you look as worried about her as I am."

"Can I see her?" Danny was relieved to have the doctor on his side. The last thing he needed right now was to have the cops nosing around all of this.

"I don't know how to tell you this......but she doesn't want to see you."

"What?" Danny clamored.

'She didn't say anything more then that. She doesn't want to see you."

"I don't get it?" Danny was utterly confused.

"Neither do I but right now I think it's best for her. Stress is not the thing she needs right now. Let me speak with the cardiologist and we will go from there."

Danny nodded. "Dr. Edwards," he stopped him before turning to walk away, "Do whatever it takes to make her well."

"I will do my best Mr. Santos. I promise to keep you informed of everything."

"I appreciate that. Also, I have a theory about what happened to her. So I have men stationed outside her room. No one is to go in without clearing it through them. Jimmy knows that you are her doctor and that I trust you so if you need anyone else to be with Michelle please run it by him. They have instructions to keep her safe at all costs."

Dr. Edwards could help but notice the finality of Danny's statement. "I completely understand. I will be sure to make your wishes clear." The last thing he wanted was to be adding patients to his roster.

"One last thing. Please tell her that I love her."

"Sure thing," he smiled as he turned to go. Danny Santos was nothing like he had expected him to be. He may have been the Mob Prince but lurking underneath was a heart of gold.

Danny strode down the hall not really seeing anything around him. He wasn't able to stop thinking about what Dr. Edwards had told him. That Michelle was one very sick young girl. It kept repeating over and over and over again.

"Daniel, we need to talk," Dietz tried to grab for his arm as he walked past.

"Not now," he returned as he continued forward.

"Damn it Danny! There are some things you need to know," Dietz countered forcefully.

"Dietz," Danny's voice dripped of venom, "Damn it Dietz, I said NOT NOW!"

He pulled out his cell phone as he looked on at Danny's retreating back, "Hello. We have a problem here. I think you need to come right away. I will pick you up at the airport."

Dietz shut the phone, "Sorry Daniel, I had to call. I think you're in way over your head in this one."