Disclaimer: I don�t own any of these characters.
Michelle walked through the front door of the house, and immediately smelled brownies. Danny wasn�t incredibly handy around the kitchen, but he had learned how to make brownies, thanks to the pre-packaged mixes that had instruction right there on the box. She walked through the living room, into the kitchen, and saw Danny standing at the counter.
He was wearing blue jeans, and denim fit him the way it had never fit any other man. He was shirtless, as well, yet another aspect of his appearance that made Michelle weak. He was pouring hot fudge onto large scoops of ice cream that sat atop two huge pieces of brownies. He turned around, and presented the dessert to his wife. Michelle could tell that he was proud of himself. He had that mischievous grin that he always had when he�d done something that he knew would make her happy.
They sat down at the kitchen table, and ate the hot fudge brownie-sundaes together. Michelle was still in her scrubs, but Danny didn�t care. In fact, he thought she was rather sexy in hospital green. Her hair was pulled loosely in a bun, and wisps of her naturally wavy hair escaped from it, falling around her face in a most feminine, beautiful way.
"Chocolate always makes everything alright," Michelle said to Danny, as she wiped hot fudge from her face.
"I know," he replied. "I�ve heard it�s also an aphrodisiac."
Michelle laughed out loud, and Danny looked at her, pretending as if he was hurt by her laughter.
"Like you need an aphrodisiac," she said through her giggles.
"Well, that�s true," he said. "My libido doesn�t need any encouragement, does it?"
Michelle laughed again, and headed to the bedroom to remove her scrubs. Danny followed close behind her, determined to help her rid herself of the hospital garb.
For a long time, they sat in the tub together, Michelle�s back leaned against Danny�s chest. They talked and laughed, creating the kind of moments that they shared before the awful truth about Mick had been revealed to them. Their marriage was strong and solid, and it allowed them to truly leave the outside world behind when they were together.
Carmen sat alone in the Santos study, again nursing a drink in the wee hours of the morning. She was anxious to leave for San Cristobel, hoping that the time away would wash away those awful memories.
Her thoughts turned to the envelope she�d run across in her dresser. She wondered what he would think of her now, what she�d become. She�d talked herself into believing that he would�ve been proud of how strong she was, how different she was from when they knew each other. True, she wasn�t the most respected person in town, but he hadn�t been either. But she knew that what they�d shared had been a product of the soft and tender side that each of them possessed. They had distracted each other, at the precise time that each needed distracting, from the realities of their lives. For whatever reason he�d come into her life, and left so quickly, she thanked God. It was true, that there wasn�t much life inside her heart anymore, but had it not been for him she would�ve died inside completely, a long time ago.