Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Time: Three weeks after the explosion, the Manny marriage and escape to Tahoe
Ray Santos had begun to show signs of awakening from his coma. He had moved his fingers slightly, and turned his head from side to side. CAT scans had shown that there was significant brain activity, so all signs were pointing to the beginning of his recovery.
With that news, the entire nursing staff of Cedars Hospital rushed to his side. For some reason, he had become everyone�s favorite patient. Maybe it had something to do with his extreme good looks, or the fact that he was a Santos without a dark agenda. Whatever the reasons, he was constantly surrounded by nurses. Nurse SJ sat at his bedside, soothing his beautiful face with a cool, damp washcloth. Nurse Carla checked to make sure his pillow was properly "fluffed" every 20 minutes or so. Nurse Elizabeth used physical therapy techniques on the calves of his legs, so that the muscles would not atrophy from lack of use. Nurse Heather, whom the other nurses affectionately called "Pepper", designated herself as Ray�s official blood-pressure-taker. And then there was Sonja Ray, the worst of them all, who combed his hair endlessly. And they were only the second shift nurses!
Danny had given no one information concerning his and Michelle�s whereabouts, although he did call Bill and Pilar regularly to check on Ray. When Bill told Danny that Ray was beginning to wake up, he couldn�t have been happier.
Danny woke Michelle up early that morning, because he wanted to share the news about Ray. She was thrilled as well. They celebrated Ray�s recovery by making love, the way they celebrated everything these days. Afterwards, Michelle said to Danny, "I know that you want to see Ray." She wanted him to know that if he wanted to return to Springfield, that was alright.
"I�m not ready to leave here yet," he answered.
"I know. I didn�t mean today. I just want you to know, that whenever you�re ready to go back, I�ll be ready too."
"It�s hard to imagine being somewhere else, after spending this time with you, here in the beautiful place."
"Well, we have to get back to reality sometime."
"We really have to?" he whined.
"Danny, you know we do," she laughed.
"How about this," Danny began. "We�ll keep on checking in with Bill about Ray�s condition. If everything is still going well, we�ll stay here another two weeks."
"Sounds like a plan," Michelle said.
"Before we go back to Springfield, I�m going to have to talk to my mother, although I don�t even want to hear her voice."
"You have to find out what�s going on, Danny. I understand."
"Yes, I�ve got to know if she�s discovered who planted that bomb. I�m not going to take you back there if it�s still so dangerous," he said as he kissed her again.
She kissed him back, her mouth never tiring of his. As he rolled her underneath him, he said in a voice that emanated his desire for her, "But that can wait."
He stood outside Ray�s room. There were so many nurses in there. He wondered how many nurses one man needed. The journal was in his briefcase. Now that Ray was beginning to come out of his coma, he figured Danny would return soon. When he did, maybe Ray would be able to tell Danny himself. How he hoped that was true. He did not want to be the one to drop this terrible truth on Danny.