Danny sat at his desk motionless. Oh God, not again he prayed. He couldnt go through this again. Why did people do this kind of stuff? Didn't they know what it did to people to have their hopes brought up just to see them crash down around them. It hurt worse with each time it happened.
Danny knew that feeling all too well and it seemed like some sick bastard was going to try to make him go through it all over again. Not this time, Danny thought, Damn it, not this time.
Danny turned the intercom on and finally spoke to Hope. "Hope, tell whoever it is that my wife is dead and that my schedule is too tight today to make any room for any ghosts."
"But Mr. Santos, she......." Hope said.
"Thank you Hope" Danny said and Hope took it for the dismissal it was.
Danny turned off the intercom speaker. God, when would it end? Why couldn't people just leave well enough alone.
SInce Michelle's body had never been found, Danny had been easy prey for the first few sickos who had tried to capitalize on his pain. The article that had appeared in the local paper about MIchelle's drowning had drawn these kind of people out of the woodwork. Especially those who had recognized Michelle as Danny's wife. It was no secret that the Santos family had money and while he had been mired in his grief, he had become an easy target.
The first call had come one month after MIchelle's disappearance. The caller hadn't identified himself but had said he had seen her picture in the newspaper and had information about the woman, for a price of course.
Danny had agreed to meet the caller. He had been so desperate to get MIchelle back that he had let his heart rule any common sense that he might possesss. He had given the "source" a good bit of money for his information which had turned out to be fraudulant.
Several weeks after that, he had received a call from a woman who claimed to know Michelle's whereabouts. That too proved to be a wild goose chase. The woman had produced a young lady who of course was not Michelle and his heart had broken all over again.
The next two calls he got were no better and he had finally wised up to the scam people were trying to pull on him. The next call he got, Danny had demanded the information before he would give them one red cent and the caller had hung up never to be heard from again.
And now this. Someone had actually taken it one step further. Someone had actually gotten the nerve to come to him claiming to be Michelle. What some people wont do for money. He was not going to be played anymore. He was barely functionable as it was, if he entertained this latest act of treachery, he would completely go off the deep end.
He had finally put her to rest. It hadnt been easy letting someone like Michelle go. He had come back to Springfield amidst some very suspicious looking eyes. The rumor mill was going rampant and he had even heard that he had drowned her himself to collect a large insurance policy that he had on her life.
Still most of Springfield had come out for Michelle's memorial service. Each one had a Michelle story to tell. His precious Michelle had touched so many lives and she was loved by so many people. He couldn't help the pride that had swelled up inside of him when he thought about how this extraordinary woman had chosen a noone like him to love. And love him she had. There was no doubt about that. When Michelle Santos loved, she did it with her entire being, just like she did everything else.
Most of the crowd had been cold to him that day, including Rick but some of the mourners had come to him to offer their services if he needed them.
Lisa had been his biggest supporter and his biggest help during this trying time. She had fielded the hundreds of calls he had received over the next couple of weeks. She had also answered all of the cards of condolance that had been sent and she took care of the thank you notes that followed.
She had even been the one he had turned to when he needed to pack up Michelle's things and put them away. He had put their house up for sale and had had several good offers but he had been putting them off for some reason.
Lisa had been there while he began to pack up her clothes. She had told him he needed to spend time alone doing this and that she would come back to check on him later. She had come back four hours later to find Danny sobbing hysterically clutching one of Michelle's dresses to his chest. She had helped him up then then arranged for a crew to come and pack up everything. He still had all of her stuff in the storage area.
The hospital had dedicated the new library in the children's ward at Cedars to MIchelle. They had had a ceremony and Danny had been asked to give the address.
How he made it through that day, he couldnt say. Sometimes all of the days just ran into each other.
He needed to get out of here now. He grabbed his jacket and left out the back way in case the imposter was still in the lobby. He was not sure what he would do to them if he saw them so it was better to not chance it at all.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Hope didnt know what to do. The boss had made it very clear that he was not going to see this young lady who was still sitting in the chair with tears falling from her eyes.
The mystery lady had heard what Danny had said over the intercom. She had looked like she had taken a mortal blow when she had heard Danny's words. She had slumped into the chair in which she was not sitting and had not moved.
Hope didnt know what to say to her. She looked so much like the lovely woman in the picture on Danny;s desk. Danny never talked about her and so far she hadn't asked. All that she knew about Danny and his wife she had gotten from Lisa and that hadn't been much.
She had a very strong feeling that this person was who she said she was. She had tried to go into Danny's office when she had first arrived but Hope had stopped her and told her she would need to make an appointment first. That was when she had intercomed Danny.
She wished now that she had just let the young lady just go into his office, but she knew how Danny was about people showing up without an appointment. She watched the woman for a while longer and couldnt take it anymore. She would go in an tell Danny about this person's remarkable resemblance to his wife. Surely he would let her in then. She would face his wrath because she really belived now that this lady was indeed Michelle. She got up from her desk and opened the door behind her.
Danny was gone. He had left without telling her, something he never did.
She turned around to tell the woman that Danny had left but she could see by the expression of the woman's face that she already knew.
* * * * * * * * * ** *
MIchelle sat in the chair for a few more minutes. Danny's poor secretary had looked so embarrased when Danny had refused to see her and even more so to discover that Danny had left without her knowledge.
MIchelle felt bad for her. It wasnt her fault. Michelle had been crushed to hear Danny's voice on the intercom. He didnt believe her. He wouldnt even come out to see for himself. She had heard the devestation in his voice.
She finally found the stregnth to stand up. She realized she hadn't eaten anything yet all day. Her body still was not a hundred percent from Rosie's birth but the opportunity had presented itself for her to come now and she had to take it whether she was completely healed or not.
She took a mental count of her money Louisa had given her. She had just enough to either get something to eat or take a cab home. Her and Danny's home. What would she do if that was not where he had gone? She would cross that bridge when she got to it, she thought. She opted to take the cab.
"Excuse me" she said in a barely audible voice. "May I borrow your phone to call a cab" she said.
"Certainly" Hope said then changed her mind. "Better yet, you can use my car"
"Pardon me?" Michelle asked incredulously. "Did you say I could use your car?"
"Yes I did" Hope answered.
"Why?" Michelle asked. She supposed she shouldnt look a gift horse in the mouth but she didnt know why this stranger was willing to help her.
"Because I believe you are Danny's wife not like the others. I think once he sees you he will forget all about my interference and be glad I sent you" she said confidently.
"Thank you so much" she looked at the name plate on her desk that said Hope Holden. "Hope. I dont know how to thank you enough. Do you have any idea where he may have gone?"
"My guess would be either home or the lighthouse" she said.
"Okay, and thank you so much again Hope. How can I ever repay you? she said.
"You can thank me be really being Michelle and make Danny smile. I have never seen Danny smile except for the picture he keeps on his desk" she said.
"I am and I will. Thank you, thank you, thank you" she said again and eagerly accepted the keys from Hope's outstretched hand.
She found the car right where Hope had said it would be. She took a chance on him being home first. She began the drive to their home.
What was it that Hope had said? She believed she was really his wife not like the others? What did that mean? What others? She would make sure to ask Danny about that when she saw him.
She pulled off at a gas station on the way home. She needed to let Miguel know that she had made it safely to Springfield. She also needed to know that Rosie was okay.
Miguel had been instrumental in getter her here and she would ask Danny to find a place for him in the company once he arrived in the states.
She dialed the number and prayed that Miguel was home. He answered on the second ring. "Thank you God" she breathed.
Miguels voice was urgent. "Oh Ms. Michelle, thank the heavens you called. "
"What is it Miguel? Where's Louisa? What's happened?" Michelle knew by the tone of his voice that something terrible had happened.
"Its Mr. Mick" he said. "He came back early and discovered you gone" he said.
"Oh God, Louisa" she said. Oh my God. Mick would kill Louisa for helping Michelle.
"Ms. Michelle, Mr. Mick was so mad when he came back and he took Louisa and Rosie and now he's gone"
"What?" Michelle screamed into the phone" oh God no" she said and hung up the phone. She had to find Danny and she had to find him right now. He was the only one who could save their daughter now.
* * * * * * * * * *
Danny shut the door of the storage room and went to pour himself a drink. His strange feeling hadn't gotten any better, had in fact gotten stronger.
What was happening to him? He had just now gotten to the point where he could sleep almost an entire night all the way through. The nightmares had almost gone away completely. He couldnt count how many times he had woke up screaming from a nightmare where Michelle had drowned. Sometimes he could see it happening, her body trying to surface to get air but being drug back down to the murky depths. Sometimes he would get to her just as she was slipping away. She would reach for him, her eyes big with fear, and just as he would pull her to him she would go under. Sometimes she had her bikini top wrapped around her throat.
The nightmares always ended the same and he always awoke to find out that the nightmares were real. Michelle was lost to him forever.
The immergence of this new person trying to run a scam on him had brought him running back to his memories. God, he missed her so much, missed all the things that they could never have together.
Where was that damn bottle? It had been almost two weeks since he had had a drink. He had vowed to quit drinking that day. Pilar, Bill and little Rachel had paid him a surprise visit. They themselves had been surprised to find Danny passed out dead drunk with his and Michelle's wedding album next to him.
Pilar had cried at having found her brother like this. She and Bill had sobered him up with tons of coffee and he had promised to curb his self destructive behavior.
It had been the first time that he had seen his niece since she had been born. Bill and Pilar had been married two months after he and Michelle had gotten married for real. Rachel had been born seven months after the wedding which had not made Carmen very happy. They had moved to Tulsa so Bill could run the Lewis Oil operations there and they had been living there ever since. Rachel had stayed with Vanessa and Matt while Bill and Pilar had been here for Michelle's memorial service.
Danny had been thrilled to see his little niece. She looked so much like Pilar it was amazing. He looked hard for something that was Lewis and had almost given up finding anything until the little lady had started to cry. She was downright mad and had a temper that would make her great grandfather H.B. proud.
Rachel had just turned one and was walking and giving her parents gray hair already.
Danny had promised to quit burying his misery in alcohol and to try to be a good uncle to his beautiful niece. He also knew that Michelle was watching him and he felt very ashamed at how cowardly he had become.
The Lewis's had stayed a couple of days and Danny had started to put his life back on track. He had to go on and make Michelle proud of him.
He talked to Michelle each day in his mind. She gave him stregnth when he wanted to quit and she listened when he told her how much he loved and missed her.
But now, that fragile hold he had on sanity was being yanked from him. This imposter had managed to upset his hard fought peace of mind. He hoped whoever the hell is was had been smart enought to leave and never come back. He hoped he never found out who it was that dared to extort from his painful memories.
He decided to take a shower and then go get some food. He had nothing in the house any more substantial than a can of chicken noodle soup. He was still so tempted to grab that bottle and drink until his mind was numb but he would be strong.
He stepped into the shower and let the water sluice off his body. The events of the day had shaken him more than he realized. He was used to his mind playing tricks on him. He heard Michelle's name in the wind, he heard her call to him at night, and he saw her face everywhere.
He was going to start right now to focus on the future. Michelle was gone to him but he would always have his memories. He was a better man for being loved by Michelle and he would honor her memory and repay her for her love, by being the man she had known he was inside. The one had had been when she was still alive.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Michelle pulled up into the driveway. Danny's car was there. Thank you Lord, she breathed silently. She tried the door, It was locked. She didnt have a key anymore but she hoped he still had the one they used to keep hidden in the planter on the back stoop.
He made her way out to the back and stuck her hand in the planter. Bingo. She opened the back door and walked inside her home for the first time in almost a year.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Danny was drying off when he thought he heard a sound. He wrapped his towel around his hips and got his gun from his drawer. The doors were locked so he had no idea how this prowler had gotten inside his home.
He tiptoed over the hardwood floors and saw something moving about in the kitchen. The element of surprise was on his side. He saw someone, it looked like a woman with hair so blonde it was close to white drinking something. Just help yourself, he thought sarcastically to himself.
He slowly came up behind her. "Freeze" he said in an even deadly tone. "Move and I will blow your head off" he said and the woman dropped the glass which she had been drinking out of and it shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Now turn around real slow. Any sudden movements and I might forget not to shoot you" he said.
Michelle took a deep breath. Danny was holding a gun on her. He didnt know who she was. She weighed the wisdom of whether or not to speak and decided against it.
Slowly, methodically she turned around. Danny's eyes got huge as recognition set in.
Danny was struck dumb. He was not capable of forming any words. Michelle could see that he was not going to say anything so she said the only thing she could think of.
"Hi Danny" she said and then fainted dead away.
**********************************************************************
Danny was convinced he was dreaming, but it seemed so real. He walked over to the woman who looked so much like his Michelle and touched her, she felt real. He had to be awake.
He picked her up in his arms and took her to the couch. He had to revive her. He rushed to the bathroom to get a cool cloth and came back and put it on her forehead. She looked so much like Michelle. He lifted her hair up on the back of her neck and froze.
There it was. A small half moon shaped birthmark that he had spent so much time kissing. There was no doubt about it. This was Michelle.
His heart threatened to explode. He had to sit down himself before he fainted along with her. She was alive. Where had she been? Had she left him? Why did she come back? Oh God he needed answers.
He rubbed the cloth over her forehead and tried to wake her. She began to come to. Her big brown eyes opened and connected with his. Both were lost in time as they became reunited with each other.
Michelle stared up at Danny. She was really here. She had made it. Now she had to convince him to help her. She tried to lift her head up and laid it back down. She felt so weak. She had to hurry and tell Danny and they had to be on their way.
She looked at his beautiful face and the changes that had occured during their separation. His cheeks looked more hollow than they had been and the edges of his temples were gray now. Still he was the most handsome think she had ever seen.
She finally managed to lift her head up and she put her arms around him. He seemed hesitant at first as it he didnt really beleive any of this were happening but soon he was clutching her to him in a tight fashion. She almost couldnt breathe.
"Michelle" he whispered in her ear and began to kiss her cheeks. Michelle felt the wetness of his tears fall onto her cheeks where they mixed with her own.
"Danny, it's me, it's me" she said while struggling to get up.
"Lay down Michelle" he said "you just fainted. Dont try to get up just yet".
"Danny, I have to, we dont have much time" she said.
"Much time for what Michelle? We dont have much time for what? Baby we have all the time in the world and we are going to start with where you have been for the last 10 months" he said almost angrily.
"Danny, you know where I have been. I got all of your messages" she said. Mick had taken great delight in torturing her with the fact that Danny didnt want her anymore.
"I dont know what you are talking about" he said. "What messages?"
"Danny, I have to ask you this, have you remarried" she asked.
"WHAT?" he said. That was the absolute last thing he would have thought her to ask him.
When he could find his voice again he said" No Michelle, I havent remarried. I had only been a widower for 10 months. What kind of monster do you think I am?" he said.
"Widower?" she said unbelievingly.
"Yes, Michelle. Widower. I thought you were dead, we all did." he said remembering the awful pain of the search for her body and the long nightmare filled nights afterwards.
"Why did you think I knew where you were? None of this makes sense" he said.
Michelle's head was spinning again. She felt faint again. Danny thought she was dead. Had spent these last months mourning his wife. It was more than she could handle and she let the emotions she herself had been bottling for the past ten months. She felt faint again. She stuggled to remain consience.
"Danny, my God, this is all so unreal. You really thought I was dead?" she said.
"Yes, MIchelle and so does everyone else in Springfield." he said. "Now please tell me where you have been all this time. "
"I'm thirsty, Can I get a drink first. I promise to tell you everything then" she said. Danny left and went to get her some water. He saw that she had sat up and sat beside her. He pulled her close and breathed in her scent.
"Please tell me Michelle. Please tell me where you were. I went crazy missing you. I saw your bikini top floating in the ocean and I thought..." he couldnt finish through the torrent of tears that assauted him.
"Oh God Danny' I had no idea, Mick said..." she started to say.
That brought Danny's head straight up. "Mick, Did you say Mick?" he said.
"Yes, Danny, Mick had me abducted. I went to get my top that night and someone grabbed me from behind and took me to an island where Mick was. He had me kidnapped" she explained.
"Michelle, Mick is dead" he said not knowing what to make of the tale she had just told.
"No, he's not. He is in Barbados. He wasnt dead Danny. I just knocked him out. He was not dead. That casket was empty." she said.
"Michelle, this is crazy. If you had wanted out of the marraige you should have just said so. You didnt have to fake your death to get away from me" he said.
"Is that what you think I did" she asked incrdulously. "Your kidding right?" God, please this couldnt be happening. He didnt believe her.
"Michelle, I saw them bury him. He didnt just rise up from the dead. At least you could come up with something better than this" he said with real hurt in his voice.
"Danny, you never actually saw Mick remember. Carmen didnt want his casket open. It could have been empty. Danny think about it, it could have been" she said.
"What are you saying. This is sick. How in the world would he be able to get away with it. Its impossible Michelle. You are going to have to come up with something better than that." he said.
"He had help Danny, I am sure of it. It could have been Carmen, I dont know" she said. "He is not dead Danny, I swear it" she said.
"OH great, now you are accusing my mother of being in on Micks faked death. That's crazy. She went after you with both barrells Michelle because she held you responsible for his death. Dont you remember? We got married that first time to save you from her wrath. Why would she put out a hit on you if Mick were still alive huh Michelle? This story is very weak Michelle. I cant believe you think me so stupid to actually believe you. " he said.
Danny was not going to believe her story. She had to have his help anyway. She had to convince him that his daughter was in danger.
"Danny, I promise you, Mick is alive and he is holding our daughter hostage" she said desperately.
Danny had felt all the breath leave his body. She had already stooped so low as to make up such an outlandish tale of Mick being alive and now she had created a ficticous daughter to fit into the equation.
"Stop it Michelle, dont say another word. If you do, I swear I will turn you out of my house" he said with cold hatred in his eyes.
He went into the bedroom to put some clothes on. She had stripped him emotionally naked, he would be damned if he felt physically naked too. He was going to find out where she really had been. He didnt for a second believe anyting she was saying but what had happened to make her make up some nonsense.
And now this lie that they had a daughter. If she had a daughter then it wasnt his. She wasnt pregnant when she left him, and he was now convinced that was what she had done. She had been gone ten months, and it only took nine for one to be born, he could do the math.
He walked back into the living room. Clearly she had been through something. Her eyes had lost their shine. He had loved her sparkle and it was gone. She wasnt the same Michelle. Phycially she looked like the same Michelle except for her hair being lighter and her skin darker, but she wasnt the Michelle he had loved with his entire being. Could he had been so wrong about how she felt about him?
"Danny, I need your help" she said risking his turning his back on her. Rosie's life depended on him and she wasnt going to let her pride get in the way of her safety.
"Tough" he said.
"Danny, you and I have a daughter. Her name is Rosie. Mick has her. He has disappeared with her and my housemaid. He has found out that I came back here to get you and he has taken her just like he took me. You have to believe me" she begged.
"Dont beg Michelle, it doesnt become you" he said snidely.
"I would do anything to keep Rosie safe. I was coming back to you Danny I swear I was. I just had to wait until Mick was gone." she said.
She was going to play this thing to the fullest he could tell. "So you had a baby?" he said sardonically. "You sure as hell dont look like you had a baby" he said.
He was going to do this the hard way. Fine. "Danny, I had her three months ago. I was two months pregnant that night he took me although I didn't know it. She's so beautiful Danny. She smells so good and when you hold her up against your chest you know you would die for her. She..."
"I told you to stop it. Unless you can prove to me that you've had a baby, then I want this to stop. I want you out of here. I have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours in agony over your death and you have been on some island somewhere probably laughing your ass off at how easy it was to fool me." he said.
"Okay Danny, fine" she said and stood up and brought her hand to the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head. She was standing before him in only her slacks and the ugliest bra he had ever seen. She was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and he still loved her so much.
"What are you doing" he said.
"I'm proving to you that I had a baby. Come closer" she said and despite himself he did. "Look here" she said and pointed to a place on her side. "Thats a stretch mark. I got it from my stomach expanding when I was carrying Rosie" she said.
"I dont see any damned stretch mark" he said. Her skin looked so tempting to touch even though it had been browned by the sun and was not the same creamy white color that she had had before.
"Look closer, they have faded some" she explained. "There is another" she said and pointed to a place on her stomach.
"Okay, I see it , so" he said his resolve slipping. "That doesnt prove anything" he said.
"Touch my stomach" she said and Danny's eyes grew wide. "Pardon me" he asked.
"I said touch my stomach, you can feel how soft it is. I havent been well and havent had a chance to work on getting it flat again. You can tell how much softer it is. Go on Danny touch it" she said.
Danny reached over and touched her stomach where Michelle had told him to. It was soft but not too soft. He still wasnt convinced.
"ALright its a little soft but...." he said.
Michelle sighed in exasperation. "Okay Danny, if this doesnt convince you then I will give up" she said and reached for the clasp on the top of her nursing bra.
Danny's eyes grew wide when he saw what she was about to do. "What are you doing" he said.
"Im going to prove to you once and for all that I am telling you the truth. Honestly Danny I cant believe you are being so stubborn" she said as she unclasped the front part of her bra and her breast jutted forward through the open area of the bra.
"Look here" she started to explain" See all these veins, I didnt have those before. See how dark my nipples are? They werent that dark before and my breasts werent this big before. They were even bigger when I was carrying her." she explained.
Michelle began to tug on her breast. Her breasts had hurt so badly since she wasnt nursing Rosie and it felt good to feel the milk began to flow and releive the pressure that had been building up.
Soon, a bluish, clear liquid began to come out of Michelles breast. Danny was spellboud. Michelle fed her baby that milk. She had really had a baby. Was it his?? He had to believe it was. He had to. Rosie she had said the babies name was.
He put his finger on the end of her breast and let the milk fall on his finger. He put his finger to his mouth to taste the milk that fed his daughter. He closed his eyes and let the truth was over him.
He and Michelle had made a little girl. She may not love him anymore and she may have left him but he wanted his daughter.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"Danny, I told you she is with Mick" Michelle said. "And as long as she is, she is in great danger, Please help me Danny" she cried. "Please"
Danny wrestled with his common sense for a minute. He was going to believe in Rosie. Whatever else Michelle had told him, he couldnt believe but he would help her to get their daughter and then he would fight like hell to keep them both.
"Okay, Michelle, I am going to get you something to eat so you dont faint again and then we are going to Barbados" and for the first time in ten months, Michelle smiled.