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Disclaimer: I don�t own any of these characters.
It was unseasonably warm for this time of year, and February had been an absolutely beautiful month. Danny and Michelle had spent the better part of February looking at houses, trying to find the place that would become their first home. It had been almost three months since their baby�s memorial, on Thanksgiving weekend, but Danny and Michelle were more thankful than ever for the blessings and gifts in their life.
They had been truly happy these last months. Learning how to live with each other, on a daily basis, without constant threats or unhappiness, proved as much of an adventure as their escape to Nevada the summer before. Michelle learned that Danny loved iced tea and hated peanut butter. Danny figured out that Michelle greatly disliked tomatoes and always slept with her feet outside the covers. They learned the kind of things that had seemed insignificant before, but now were the things that kept their life interesting.
They looked at five houses that morning, Friday, February 25, but at two o�clock that afternoon, they had to meet Bill and Pilar at the courthouse. Carmen�s sentencing was scheduled for three o�clock.
During the trial, Danny and Michelle had been present only on the days they were required to testify, and then again when the verdict was read, but it had been quite an ordeal for them nonetheless. Carmen fought hard - lied, cried, got angry, feigned remorse - but in the end it wasn�t enough to gain her freedom. Dietz�s testimony had sealed her fate, and as much as he hated testifying against her, he couldn�t turn down the state�s offer of a lighter sentence in exchange for his cooperation.
Today Carmen would be sentenced for her crimes, for her pitiful excuse for a life. The old Danny would�ve been jumping for joy at the thought of Carmen rotting in prison, but Danny had learned a lot about himself, and about life, in the past few months. Their baby�s death had taught him that life was far too short to be spent filled with hatred and bitterness. And while he was glad that justice would be served where Carmen was concerned, he would not waste one minute or one shred of energy on hating Carmen Santos. His life with Michelle was too precious.
Danny sat next to Pilar during the sentencing, and Michelle and Bill sat on either side of them. Pilar knew that her mother was guilty, but it was terribly hard for her to watch her mother go through such public humiliation. Pilar loved Carmen, despite who she was and what she had done. If only Carmen could understand the kind of love that Pilar had for her, perhaps she could�ve saved herself. But Carmen had never truly understood love - she only understood control, intimidation, and manipulation, and it had proven to be her downfall.
Danny hugged Pilar tightly when the judge sentenced Carmen to life in prison, without the possibility of parole. Pilar cried softly in Danny�s arms, saying, "I know you hate her Danny, but she�s Mama, and I love her."
Danny softly whispered in his sister�s ear, "I don�t hate her, Pilar. I feel sorry for her. Sorry that she�ll never know how much you really love her, and sorry that she never knew how wonderful life can be."
Pilar walked to the front of the courtroom, and the bailiff allowed her to embrace her mother one last time, before she was taken to the county jail, to await transportation to the women�s penitentiary. She was still insisting on her innocence, begging Pilar to believe in her.
Pilar, who had developed quite a set of nerves the last few months, said, simply, "I love you, Mama" and walked away.
Pilar and Bill invited Michelle and Danny to come back to Matt and Vanessa�s house with them. Despite her earlier reservations, Vanessa had come to accept Pilar and genuinely cared for her. She had been quite supportive during the trial, and today she�d promised to have a light dinner prepared for them when they returned from the sentencing.
After they finished eating, the four of them walked outside onto the front porch, overlooking Lake Geneva. It was a lovely evening - the sky was clear and the stars were bright. The cool crisp air was refreshing to them all, after the day they�d just experienced.
"Danny, I have something important to tell you," Pilar said. "I�m leaving Springfield."
"What?" Danny asked, clearly shocked.
"Springfield has never felt like home to me," Pilar said. "After everything that�s happened, I just want to start a new life, somewhere else."
"Are you sure?" Danny said.
"I�m sure," she replied. "I�ve been offered a graduate assistant position at a small private university in San Diego. I�ll be teaching undergraduate courses, while I work on my graduate degree."
"I�m going with her, Danny," Bill said. "I�ve been offered a position with a major software company in San Diego."
Danny would miss his sister, but he knew that she was doing the right thing. She�d never really had an identity of her own, and this was her chance to develop her own talents. He knew she needed to get away from everything, and he was glad Bill would be with her.
"When are you leaving?" Danny asked.
"Our flight leaves at nine o�clock, tomorrow morning," Pilar replied.
The next morning, Danny and Michelle drove Bill and Pilar to the airport. It was hard for Danny to say goodbye to Pilar, and equally hard for Michelle to say goodbye to her best friend. He�d been the one who rescued her the day at the church, when the bomb exploded, and she thought Danny was dead. He�d been the one who kept them posted on Ray�s condition while they were in Reno and Lake Tahoe. Bill had always been there for her, and it was hard for him to imagine her life without him in it.
Danny and Michelle held each other close as they watched the plane take off and ascend into the morning sky. The feelings of sadness were quickly replaced by feelings of joy and hope - the feelings they�d learned to depend on the last few months.