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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Danny sat alone in the Santos study. It was early, before dawn, and no one else had awakened yet. He took the opportunity to ponder on all that had taken place in the last weeks. Just when he thought he�d lost Michelle, that she would never feel anything for him, there she was, back in his life.
He thought back to the night he�d found her drunk at Millennium. He still managed to smile when he remembered throwing her in a cold shower. True, it had not been the greatest of circumstances, but she finally admitted that she cared for him. That night he swore to Michelle, and himself, that he make a way for the two of them.
And he had. He�d forced his mother to legitimize the business. Carmen hadn�t liked being cornered by Danny, but he didn�t give her any choice. She wasn�t going to run his life anymore. He wasn�t going to be her puppet for the rest of his life.
Now, in just twenty-four hours, he and Michelle would be husband and wife again. He could hardly wait to hear Ray pronounce them husband and wife.
His thoughts turned to Ray. Why had he been acting so strange? Could it be that he was just nervous about giving his first mass? When Danny had spoken with him yesterday, to confirm the private ceremony, he�d seemed so on edge, like he was afraid of something.
"I�m just being paranoid," Danny thought out loud. "That�s what being a part of this family does to you. I�m going to forget about Ray�s nervous problems and make reservations for tomorrow night."
Meanwhile, at the Bauer house, Michelle was also up early, packing a few things for her wedding night. She knew they wouldn�t be leaving town - Danny was going to stick around a be sure that Carmen made good on her promise - but she was sure he had something planned. Her heart pounded at the thought of finally making love to her husband.
"Tomorrow night," she whispered as she folded the white satin night gown.
"Tomorrow night," Danny whispered, as he hung up the phone.
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On a secluded street corner near the church, two people stood together, having what seemed to be a normal conversation. However, what they were talking about was anything but normal.
"Thank you so much for coming," Ray said.
"I still don�t understand why I�m here. We�ve only met once, and it was nothing out of the ordinary," the person said.
"I called you because I need the help of someone neutral, someone not at all involved with my family," Ray replied.
"If you think I don�t now what your family does, you�re mistaken. Everybody in this town knows what the Santos family is into."
"No, it�s not that. Believe me, I know that everyone in Springfield is aware of my family�s questionable activities. I have something that needs to be kept safe, " Ray said as he pulled the journal from his inside coat pocket.
"Wait a minute," the person protested. "If that thing is full of Santos family secrets, I don�t want any part of it."
"It�s not secrets about the Santos business, I promise you that. But it does contain a few personal skeletons, that have not yet been revealed."
"And you want me to keep it?" the person ask, sarcastically.
"Please, no one in my family knows this journal exists, so no one will have any idea that you have it," Ray pleaded.
"If you expect me to hold on to this dynamite, you�re going to have to tell me what�s inside it."
"It is my personal prayer journal. I began it when I entered the Priesthood. This particular volume contains details of a very destructive family secret, that will have a direct and devastating impact on Danny."
"Danny?" the person asked.
"Yes - it is something that eventually he must know. Something I hope to tell him myself. But I am afraid that something bad may happen, and I won�t be able to. This is why I�m begging you to keep this safe."
"And what am I supposed to do with it?"
"Just hold on to it, put it away somewhere that no one will find it. Hopefully, I�ll contact you soon and you can return it to me. But if anything happens to me, anything at all, you must give it to Danny."
"So, that�s it. Just hold on to it for a while, and deliver it to Danny if something happens to you?"
"That�s all."
"What is it you�re afraid is going to happen to you?"
"I don�t know, and it is that that scares me the most."
Their conversation was brief, and afterwards they went their
separate ways. Ray returned to the church, and the journal made its
way home with its new guardian.