Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
Michelle told Danny everything � how she found Mick�s autopsy report, how she discovered the discrepancy between the two reports, how she discussed everything with Dr. Wesley, and about meeting with Frank Cooper. She left nothing out, and when she was finished, she was clearly exhausted.
It had been one hell of a day for Michelle, and Danny could see that in her eyes. She was spent, totally and completely spent, after what she�d been through. Part of him wanted to close off the way he was used to doing whenever something was too heard to deal with, but the look on Michelle�s face begged him no to � begged him to say something to her that would reassure her. When it came to his wife, Danny could never close off. Michelle had worked her way into his heart and soul, and he had no choice but to be an open book where she was concerned. Trusting her was as natural and involuntary to him as blinking his eyes, and so he obliged her pleading expression with his words.
�Michelle, it�s going to take me a little time to digest all this,� he said, as he put his arms around her. �But if you�re worried that I�m angry with you, or that I blame you somehow, don�t be.�
Michelle leaned her head on Danny�s chest as a sigh of relief left her body. After everything she�d just told him, he was still there, holding her, comforting her, as if her pain were the only issue at hand.
But her pain was not the only issue. Danny had lost Mick years earlier. He grieved for his brother, and dealt with the reality he�d been presented about his death. It was a chapter in his life he thought was behind him. But now, thanks to Carmen�s lies, the hurt and confusion was back, more so than ever.
�I know this is terrible, Danny,� Michelle said. �And I want you to understand that I know that I was not the only one who suffered from this lie. You suffered too.�
Danny was always touched by the way Michelle knew him. It never mattered what she was going through, she was always concerned for him and his feelings.
�Losing Mick was really heard,� Danny said. �But I want to make sure you understand, I lost Mick a long time before you came along. Mick�s death, however it happened, was the outcome of what he�d become. The brother I�d grown up with was long gone by the time he died,� he said, reassuring Michelle.
�But Mick�s death has always been an issue between us,� Michelle began. �I know you believed me when I told you what happened that night, but the fact that Mick was dead because of me was always there. It was always there, Danny. Carmen made sure that you never forgot how your brother died, and that I never forgot that I took another person�s life.�
�But it wasn�t enough to keep me from loving you,� Danny countered.
�I know that, and I can�t tell you how happy that makes me,� Michelle said. �But for six years, I believed that I killed someone. Self-defense or not, I was responsible for the death of another human being. It�s something that I should be sorry about, something I should feel horrible about, and part of me does feel that way, but another part of me knew that it was Mick�s death that brought you to me. If it weren�t for Mick�s death, we never would�ve gotten married, and I would�ve never known you.�
Danny knew she was right. He�d dealt with the same conflict, ever since he fell in love with Michelle. He knew he should be saddened by Mick�s death, but part of him could only see that because of Mick�s death, he and Michelle had found each other. It was a terrible position to be put in, but they�d done their best to deal with it, and they had. They�d made a life for themselves, despite it all, and now they were dealing with the possibility that it had all been a lie.
�I still can�t fathom why my mother would do this,� Danny said softly. �What possible motivation could she have to lie like this? She didn�t know you back then, so surely she didn�t have any score to settle with you. None of this makes any sense.�
�Maybe she was just so overcome with grief that she wanted someone to blame,� Michelle speculated. �Maybe she just couldn�t face the truth that Mick took his own life, so she sent you out on a wild goose chase, to find a murderer that she knew didn�t even exist. Maybe she thought you wouldn�t find anything, and you�d just give up. Or maybe, she just didn�t care who you found, as long as you took revenge out on someone.�
�Michelle,� Danny said, before his voice choked from the realization of what could�ve happened had he not fallen in love with Michelle.
�She would�ve just let you kill someone, Danny� anyone,� Michelle said through tears. �She would�ve let you kill me.�
The tears that had been forming behind Danny�s eyes fell freely, as he thought of what he might have become, because of Carmen�s lie. Had it not been for the grace of God, making him fall in love with the woman he was supposed to kill, he�d have become a murdered � a filthy, angry mobster, filled with hatred and bitterness. The thought occurred to him that perhaps that�s what Carmen had wanted. Maybe that�s what she�d been trying to achieve when she sent him out to find his brother�s �killer�.
�You and I have been through so much because of this,� Michelle said. �I felt so damn guilty for taking your brother from you. And when I was in medical school, there were so many times when I felt like I had no right to be there � no right to learn how to save lives when I had already ended one. And ever single time the subject of head injuries came up in class, I felt a thousand imaginary eyes, staring at the back of my head, and I just wanted to get up and run out of the room and never come back. But I didn�t. I stuck it out. I became a doctor. And then I took the Hippocratic oath. I didn�t feel like a doctor! I felt like a hypocrite, taking the Hippocratic oath!� her anger had simmered beneath the surface for a long time, but now it was bubbling over.
Danny took his wife in his arms and walked her to the bedroom. �We�re going to find out the truth, Michelle, I promise. And whoever is responsible for playing with our lives this way will pay for it.�
He gently laid down on the bed with her, and cradled her against his chest. �But right now, all I want to do is hold you, and remind myself that the only thing that really matters is the way we are, right here, right now, in each other�s arms.�