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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
"Is this what I think it is?" Danny asked, his smile more beautiful than she�d ever seen it. She always knew he�d be a wonderful, doting father. She wanted more than anything to experience that with him. But not now. Not this way.
"Yes," Michelle said flatly. "I�m pregnant."
He put his arms around her and swung her around. He was so happy he was practically dancing. "God, give me strength to do this," she silently prayed.
He sat Michelle down on the bed and touched her stomach. "I guess I shouldn�t have picked you up like that. Did I hurt you?"
He was being so sweet. She didn�t know how she was going to be able to do this.
"No, of course not, Danny."
He finally noticed that she didn�t look happy.
"What is it, Michelle?" he asked, his concern genuine.
"Danny, we were so careful. How in the world did this happen?"
"I don�t know, Michelle, but isn�t it wonderful?" He was still beaming with joy.
"No, Danny, it isn�t wonderful," she said. Danny�s shock was evident.
"We promised each other that we would not bring a child into this world until this family was out of all illegal activities."
"We�re getting closer, Michelle," Danny countered.
"Close is not good enough!" Michelle said forcefully. She lowered her voice to a whisper before speaking again. "This is our child we�re talking about. It�s been almost two years, and I know you�ve been doing your best, Danny. And I also know that Carmen hasn�t been helping you. She�s stood in your way at every turn. It�s not that I think you aren�t going to do it, but we both know it�s going to take more time. A lot more than nine months."
"Michelle, this is a wonderful gift. We�ll make everything else fall into place. We�ll deal with it, I promise."
She took a deep breath and said, "Danny, today, after I took that pregnancy test, I went to the park. I sat on the bench, you know the one, the one Carmen took you to. The one where you tried to push me away from you. And you said, �what if one day I bring our son here, and tell him the facts about our family�? Do you want that for our child, Danny?"
"But we�re working on legitimizing the business, Michelle. By the time this baby is old enough to know about the business, it will all be legal."
"You say that now. But what if by the time our baby is old enough, you aren�t even around? That�s what happened to you. Your father was gone by the time you knew anything about the business."
"I�m not going to die, Michelle."
"Oh really? You can guarantee that?" she said. "And even if you could, what guarantee do you have that the nature of this business, this life, won�t creep into our child�s life, and get to him before we even have a chance?"
"That�s not going to happen."
"Well then what the hell happened to Mick? Do you think your mother wanted him to turn out that way. Do you think that�s what she intended? And look at you Danny. You grew up in a life you didn�t really want. You�ve never really wanted it. But you don�t have any choice. You�ve never had any choices. You�re trapped in this. I don�t want our child trapped in this life!"
"So what are you suggesting, Michelle? An abortion?" he asked, his face begging her to say no.
"Of course not, Danny."
"What then?"
She didn�t know how she was going to say these words. She loved him so much, and she loved their baby. She wanted so badly to share this with him, the way it was meant to be shared between a husband and wife, a father and mother. But, for the sake of the child that their love had created, despite their best efforts to thwart it, she found the strength.
"I�m leaving, Danny."