Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Everyone was gathered at the church. Carmen and Ben were seated on the front row. Pilar and Bill sat directly behind them. Rick and Abby stood at the back of the church, waiting for Michelle to arrive. It was obvious that Rick did not want to be here, but Abby had convinced him. Michelle seemed so adamant for him to come, and hear the announcement Carmen would be making.
Michelle and Danny stood alone, outside the church.
"I can�t believe this is happening," she said.
"Well, it is. You�re going to be my wife again," Danny smiled.
Michelle put her arms around his waist and laid her cheek on his chest. "I can�t wait," she said softly.
"Neither can I," Danny replied, as he kissed her forehead, and playfully touched her hair.
They held each other for a moment before Danny spoke again. "I made reservations for us, at a really nice hotel in Chicago."
Michelle was thrilled. "I didn�t expect that you�d want to go away, considering the transition your family is making."
"Well, unfortunately it won�t be for long - just a couple of nights. I figure I can spare that much time for you," he said sweetly. "After all, Michelle, we fought hard to get here, and you deserve something special on your wedding night."
"I already have something special, Danny� You."
He gently brushed her cheek with his hand, and said, "I promise, we�ll go away somewhere� somewhere exciting, as soon as the legitimization is finalized."
"As long as we�re together, I don�t care where we are," she said as they stepped inside the church.
Danny and Michelle sat down next to Pilar and Bill. Rick and Abby sat behind them. After everyone was seated, Ray and Father Thomas entered from the back of the church.
Father Thomas was giving a traditional welcome and greeting, when Rick noticed that Abby was fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Is he too loud," Rick asked, referring to Father Thomas.
"No, no, I hear something very strange," Abby answered.
"Maybe it�s the sound of the pages in his Bible rustling."
"No," Abby said. "It�s not paper. It�s very strange - like a clock sort of, but also like wind blowing."
Michelle turned around and saw the distraught look on Abby�s face. She knew that Abby was having a difficult time adjusting to all the new sounds she was being flooded with.
"Abby, if you need to leave, it�s o.k." Michelle whispered.
"No, I�m fine. It�s just that something in this room is making a very strange sound."
Everyone had noticed the commotion by now. Abby was clearly very agitated. Father Thomas and Ray stepped down to ask if they could help. Abby kept repeating that she heard a clock ticking. No one else could hear the sound, so everyone began listening to their watches, trying to discover where the sound was coming from. It was Ben who figured it out.
Ben took Danny aside from the group and said, "I�m afraid what she is hearing may be a bomb."
"Oh my God," Danny said. "Find it."
Danny and Ben quietly circled the room looking for anything suspicious. Near the back of the church, Ben noticed that one of the floor boards was loose. He knelt down, with his ear to the floor, and heard the ticking. He motioned for Danny.
"It�s here," he said, pointing to the loosened board.
Ben began pulling on the board, trying to expose the explosive device. It was stronger than he anticipated. He removed his jacket, to free his arms, and commenced pulling again.
Michelle noticed Danny and Ben, and walked toward them. Just at Danny saw her coming, Ben managed to free the floor board, revealing a small bomb.
"Michelle, stay back," Danny screamed. "There�s a bomb in the floor! Everyone�s got to get out of here!" He was frantic. He grabbed Michelle and ran toward the door. His only thought was to get her out of the building.
The door was locked. He couldn�t believe that the door was locked. He panicked.
"It�s locked!" he screamed. "We can�t get out of here!"
It was as if time stood still. Memories flooded him. He saw himself, standing on the beach with Michelle, the night she�d confessed the truth about Mick. He saw the look in her eyes when she realized she was going to die. He remembered the night he demolished his car, racing back to save her from Carmen. He remembered throwing her in the cold shower, holding her while she raged at him, realizing that she cared for him, wanted him. He remembered promising her she would be safe. He could not let anything happen to her. He would do anything.
Just then, he saw the window. In an instant he was on his knees, removing the bomb from the floor. Everyone was screaming at him to get away from it, but he couldn�t hear a thing. He was totally focused on making sure that Michelle was not hurt. When the bomb was loosened, he instinctively grabbed Ben�s coat that was still on the floor beside him. He wrapped it around the bomb as he picked it up, as if the coat would somehow shelter him from the blast. He stood up, turned to Michelle, and said, "I love you more than anything, Michelle, more than my life."
He crashed through the window, and everyone inside the church saw the explosion. Michelle collapsed on the floor.
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Although the dust had settled in the moments after the explosion, the chaos had not. Rick was holding Abby, for whom the explosion had been unbearably loud. She was in tears. Pilar was sobbing in Carmen�s arms. She had believed that the violence was over. She was wrong. Ray was unconscious on the floor. During the explosion, a piece of flying debris had hit him in the head. Father Thomas, still stunned, was using Carmen�s cellular phone to call for help. Ben stood at the window Danny had jumped from, still incredulous at Danny�s sacrifice.
Ben could not imagine loving a woman that much. Selfish bastard.
It was Bill who went to Michelle. She sat on the floor, her face expressionless, but her tear ducts clearly functioning. She was crying, but making no sound. She could not believe what had just taken place.
Bill sat down next to her and held her. Had Pilar not been so consumed by her own fears, she would probably have been jealous.
"Michelle," Bill began. "Are you hurt?"
As if snapped back into reality, Michelle wiped her tears and began to speak. "Fine, Bill, just fine," she said defiantly. "The love of my life just jumped through a window with an exploding bomb to save my life. I�m just fine, really." Her eyes shifted and her tone became somber. "Except that my heart is gone." Her voice broke.
With everything that was going on, no one else in the room was paying attention to them. Bill helped Michelle to her feet, and said, "Let�s get out of here. This is the last place you need to be right now."
She was in a fog. She had no idea what direction she was going, so she let Bill lead. He walked her to his car, which was parked around the corner, and they silently drove away. Michelle stared out the window, gradually becoming aware of the dark, empty feeling in her chest.
Danny stood at the back of the church, out of sight. Thank God he had thought to toss the bomb to the side as he jumped out the window. He knew he didn�t have much time, so he�d thrown the bomb to the right, and when he hit the ground, he rolled to the left as fast as he could, into a group of shrubs that sheltered him from the flying debris. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but he�d managed to get far enough away from the explosion. The best he could tell, he was only bruised and scraped.
He was still clutching Ben�s jacket. He noticed something heavy in the inside pocket. He reached in and pulled out a small tape recorder, with a tape inside. He wondered what it was, but for now that would have to wait. He had no idea who could�ve planted that bomb, but if it was planted in retaliation for the Santos legitimizing, he knew he wasn�t safe. He had to get out of there. No one could find him. He had to have answers before he returned home. And Michelle, he had to get to her. He had to let her know he was alright. He had to get her out of town, somewhere she�d be safe.