Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
******
Danny met Michelle at the door of their home, and instantly put his arms around her. If Michelle didn�t know better, she�d have thought he somehow knew what she had uncovered earlier at the hospital. But there was no way he could know, and she knew that his loving gesture toward her was the result of his always knowing when she�d had a bad night at work.
"You look exhausted," Danny said.
"I am," she replied. "Physically and emotionally."
"I heard about the shooting victim," he continued. "I guess you were in the ER when she came in."
At first Michelle was puzzled, but then she heard the familiar buzzing of the fax machine, and she realized how Danny had known about the shooting.
"The police department issued a press release a while ago. It came in over the fax machine, and it said she�d been taken to Cedars," Danny said, as he and Michelle sat down on the sofa.
"Did it say anything about her condition?" Michelle questioned.
"Just that it was very critical," he answered. "I guess they sent it out before they knew anything."
Michelle shook her head slightly, as a tear rolled down her cheek. For this moment, she�d forgotten about what she found in Mick�s autopsy report, and the sadness she felt was all for the young teenage girl who had died under her care.
Danny knew what Michelle�s expression meant. He�d seen it before, several times, in the few months Michelle had been at Cedar�s, and once before, the night she told him the truth about Mick. It always affected her the same way, and Danny knew that his tender-hearted wife would never be the kind of doctor that could leave everything behind when she left the hospital. True, it would make her work difficult, but it would make her the kind of doctor that anyone would want to have.
He held her head against his chest as she let out all the emotion of the evening. His touch, and his words always soothed her, and she let his warm embrace envelope her. She felt his heart beat next to her face, and suddenly remembered Mick. A stab of pain rushed through her, and Danny felt her body become rigid in his arms.
"What is it, baby?" he asked, lifting her face to his.
She couldn�t tell him the truth, not now. She wasn�t even sure what it was that she�d discovered, other than a big discrepancy. Losing Mick had been hard on Danny, even though he knew what kind of man Mick had become. Danny had wanted to believe that Mick could turn his life around before it was too late, but by the time Michelle encountered Mick on the beach that night, it was already too late. She couldn�t bring up such a painful issue for her husband until she was sure there was an issue to discuss. That meant waiting until after she talked\ with Dr. Wesley.
"She was just 16, Danny," Michelle said. Her sadness for Leah Salinger was genuine, even if it wasn�t the only thing eating away at her tonight. "She was a runaway, living on the streets. God knows what kind of life she must�ve had, and now it�s just gone."
She stopped, knowing that she�d already said more than she should. Leah was, after all, her patient. But Danny understood this, and whatever bits of information Michelle allowed herself to share with him, never found there way into the "Journal". He knew that after a night like tonight, she needed to let off a little steam, and he would never take advantage of that.
He held her against him again, and said, "Why don�t I run you a hot bath?"
The thought of soaking in the tub sounded heavenly to her. "That would be perfect," she said.
A few minutes later, Michelle sank into the bubbles and the hot water, and did her best to put away the thoughts of what had happened tonight. The bottle of "SJ�s Secret Jasmine Formula" bubble bath was sitting on the side of the tub, and Danny hadn�t been stingy when he poured it in the bath.
She heard the fax machine again, and assumed it was another press release concerning Leah Salinger, alerting the media of her death. Her name was probably absent from the report, because she was a minor, and Michelle doubted that any relatives had been notified yet.
Michelle was drying off when she heard Danny turn the fax machine off, and open the bedroom door. She quickly wrapped herself in a towel, and walked out of the bathroom, into the large expanse of their bedroom. He was looking at her the way he always did when she came home after a bad night at the hospital - like he wanted to love away all the hurt and despair. And even though her mind was plagued with images of Mick, holding a pistol to his own heart, she was going to let her husband sweep her into their own private world.
She melted into his arms as they nestled under the covers of their bed. His hot breath on her neck and his hands on her breasts were enough to make her slide out of reality, and into the place they�d created just for themselves. On nights like these, Danny wouldn�t let her be aggressive - he barely even let her participate, other than to simply enjoy what he did to her.
"Just let me," he�d whisper in her ear. "Just let me love you." And that was all it took for Michelle to give herself over to him.
His healing touch had saved her time and again, since the beginning of her marriage, and she had done the same for him. There were many nights, while Danny was leaving the Santos business and taking over the "Journal" that Michelle had been the one to take charge. And likewise, there were nights when their need for each other consumed them, and the advances of one were matched equally by the other. But tonight was Danny�s time to do what he loved best - to love his wife in the most intimate of ways and make the rest of the world fade away.
When their bodies were one, it was always magical, and tonight was no different. The power of their love, physically expressed as they made love, created a safe-haven, where no obstacle seemed too insurmountable. Michelle had always wished that they could stay in this place forever, and tonight she felt especially reluctant to stop, a fact that was not lost on Danny. Loving his wife this way was something he�d never get enough of, and if she wanted to continue until dawn, that would be fine with him.
Somewhere, in the wee hours of the morning, they settled into each other�s arms to fall asleep. Michelle�s thoughts turned immediately to what she�d found in the hospital morgue. She�d spent six years believing that she killed Mick, and if that was a lie, there would be hell to pay.
She turned to look at Danny, sleeping beside her. Mick�s death, as ugly as it was, had brought the two of them together. All these years, she�d dealt with such conflict in her heart. Part of her wished that things could�ve been different, and maybe Mick wouldn�t have had to die. But another part of her could not be sorry about what had happened, partly because of what Mick did to her, and partly because she might have never known Danny had it not been for Mick�s death.
"Whatever happened that night," she said in a soft whisper, "he was your brother, and you deserve to know the truth."
"And so do I," she thought to herself as she snuggled close to Danny�s chest.
Across town, at the Santos house, Carmen was plagued by fitful sleep. She finally relented, and walked downstairs to pour herself a drink.
"Damn," she said out loud. "Why must I dream about that awful night?"
Quickly, she poured herself another drink
Dietz made his way into the Santos study at 6:00 a.m. and was surprised to find Carmen asleep on the sofa. She was still in her nightgown, so he assumed she�d come down sometime during the night or early morning hours. As always, he stopped for just a second to admire her beauty, which was, in his mind, matched only by her ruthlessness.
�Mrs. Santos,� he said, as he touched her shoulder.
Carmen�s eyes flew open as if searching for some unknown enemy. Her gaze relaxed when she saw that it was Dietz who had awakened her.
�Dietz,� Carmen said. �You startled me.�
�Did you sleep down here last night?�
�I came down at 3:00 a.m.,� Carmen replied. �I couldn�t sleep.�
�Nightmares again?� he asked.
Dietz was the only other person alive who knew the truth about that night, and even though he sometimes annoyed her, she found comfort in the fact that there was someone with whom she could share her agony. She knew that Dietz was more than a little fond of her, so his loyalty to her would prevent him from ever letting the truth out.
�I don�t understand it, Dietz,� she began. �The nightmares that I had six years ago were understandable, but these dreams� I just can�t explain them. I don�t know why they�ve returned out of the blue.�
�Maybe it�s your conscience,� he said.
�Don�t tell me you�ve developed one of those things, Dietz,� Carmen said sarcastically.
�I�m not being judgmental, Boss, you know that. I understood why you did what you did back then. You did it for him, to protect him and honor him, and maybe it was the right thing to do. But, even then, I wondered if it might not creep up on you again, later on, and, I don�t know, haunt you or something.�
Even in his simple-mindedness, Dietz had an amazing grasp of Carmen�s motivations, and she knew it. She didn�t know if she should be glad, or afraid, that he knew her so well.
�Well, it looks like the haunting has begun,� Carmen said.
*******
Michelle rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 6:00 a.m., and Dr. Wesley was due at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. She wanted to be there early, so that maybe she and Dr. Wesley would have time to talk before he got too busy.
She quietly rose from the bed, and pulled on a pair of khakis. She was standing at their dresser in her pants and a dark green bra, french-braiding her hair, when Danny woke up.
�I thought it was your day off,� he sleepily said.
Michelle sat down next to him on the bed and softly kissed his lips. �It is, honey. But there wasn�t a doctor in the morgue last night when the Jane Doe was finally identified, and I want to go in for bit this morning, and make sure that Dr. Wesley has all the information he needs.�
She hated not telling Danny the whole truth, but at least she didn�t have to lie. She did want to be sure that everything was in order concerning Leah Salinger, but that wasn�t the only thing she wanted to consult with Dr. Wesley about.
�You work too hard,� he said. As he kissed the hollow place between her breasts, he said, �I love this spot.�
�Mmmmmm, and it loves you back,� Michelle said with a sigh. She lifted his face to hers and continued. �Last night was incredible, Danny. You always know just what I need.�
�I�ll always know, Michelle,� he said.
�She quickly finished braiding her hair, and put on her dark purple sweater set. Danny had gone to the kitchen to make coffee, and she quickly joined him at the table. She wanted to enjoy this morning with him, before she talked with Dr. Wesley. She wanted to memorize exactly how they talked to each other, how they moved around each other, how they touched each other. If what she suspected was true, the dynamics of their relationship would change, and although she had no doubts that their love would survive, it would be changed, and she wanted to remember this moment.
�I want to remember exactly the way we are,� she thought to herself.
Forty-five minutes after having coffee with her husband, Michelle was sitting in the morgue, across the desk from Dr. Wesley. She told him about Leah Salinger, and asked him to make sure that everything had been taken care of properly.
Once she�d been assured that Leah�s records were in tact, she broached the subject of Mick�s autopsy with Dr. Wesley. She told him everything � how she�d come to know Mick, what happened the night he died, that she was now married to his brother, and that her mother-in-law still blamed her for Mick�s death.
�So, Dr. Wesley,� Michelle said, �this is very important to me. This single event has defined so much of my life, and I need to know if what I�ve been led to believe all along has been a lie.�
Her eyes begged him to open up to her, and he did.
�Dr. Santos,� Dr. Wesley began, �I performed that autopsy myself. I remember it clearly. And I can tell you that the report you found in the filing cabinet is correct. Mick Santos died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the heart.�
�Was his mother aware of this?� Michelle asked, not really knowing what to hope for.
�Yes, Dr. Santos, she was.�