Unforeseen Circumstances
A sequel to Mistaken Identity
Parts 5-6
"You're what?" Danny said as he turned around to hand Michelle her glass of water. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the expression on her face.
"God Michelle" he said, "what is it? You are white as a sheet."
"How did you....Where did you get....?" she stammered not able to put an entire sentence together.
"What Michelle, what?" What is it? You are scaring the hell out of me," he said as his gaze followed her eyes to see what she was looking at on the table.
There he saw it. Her picture. On the table in plain sight. He had left it out intending to look at, when she had come knocking on his door. He had forgotten all about the picture being there once he saw who it was on his front stoop. This was the worst possible thing that could ever happen. Now what the hell was he going to do?
"Oh God, oh God" he said watching her begin to retreat by taking backwards steps away from him.
"Michelle" he began walking towards her.
"Stay away from me" she squealed. "Don't touch me."
"You don't have to be afraid of me Michelle. I know this looks bad but you have to listen to me," he said before he was cut off.
"No, I don't," she shouted loud enough for anyone in the next apartment to hear. I don't have to listen to anything you have to say" she said, her eyes growing wide as he continued to move closer to her until he was able to grasp her arms in an attempt to calm her.
"Let me go" she screeched and he was taken aback at her obvious terror of him.
"I am not going to hurt you baby," he said. "You know I would never hurt you."
Something flickered in her eyes then and for a brief moment; she stopped squirming in an attempt to escape him.
"Now" he said firmly "Listen to me okay? I have no idea how to even begin to explain what you just saw so you have to give me a minute to gather my thoughts. Please sit down and drink your water while I try, okay?" he said.
She backhanded the glass of water so hard it went flying across the room and shattered upon contact with the opposite wall. Ice and water spilled all over the kitchen but Danny made no move to clean it up just now. "I don't want your damn water" she sneered.
"Fine, suit yourself" he retorted, "but you will sit there and you will listen to me."
"Or else what Alex? Give me a break. Tell me where you got the picture Alex," she said in a voice now devoid of fear.
"I am trying to tell you but you won't shut up long enough to listen to me" he answered.
"Why don't you just come out and admit the truth. It's not like I haven't already figured it out you know?" she said. "I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what is going on here."
"It doesn't?" he gulped. He suddenly had a feeling that she wasn't going to be the only one who got sick tonight. His bathroom would be pulling double duty if this kept up.
"No" she answered, "It is so obvious."
"What is?" he queried.
"You are a stalker. I have read cases about people like you. You are sick. You took our one night together and you made it more than it was. Obviously you followed me back to Springfield and you somehow got into my house. You know, I thought I had lost that picture. Danny had it and after he died, I couldn't find it again. Tell me how you ended up with it? Where did you find it in my house? Was it in a closet? My bedroom? My damned underwear drawer?" she shouted.
"What else did you take you sick bastard?" she said not through with her tirade. Couldn't you just let that night go? God knows I did and I wish it had never happened."
Danny watched her as she spewed her venom. He let her say her peace for it was giving him a few extra minutes to try and figure out what to do.
She hadn't figured out he was Danny as he feared. She thought he was a stalker, of all things. The way he saw it, he had two options.
He could admit to stalking her and let her leave his house and his secret would be safe. Damn it. He couldn't do that. Then she would live her life in fear thinking someone had been in her home going through her things and taking them.
That option had to be eliminated because he had originally faked his death so she wouldn't have to live in fear in the first place and if he allowed her to believe what she thought about him, then she would be living in fear anyway and his staging his death would have been in vain. He had no other choice.
He had to go with option two. He had to tell her.
He brushed his hand through his hair and sighed deeply. How was going to start? Where would he begin?
"Well, Alex?" she said, "What do you have to say for yourself? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the police and have you arrested for stalking?"
"Don't be silly Michelle" Danny said, "I am not a stalker and I think you know it."
"Then would you care to explain how a picture of me came into your possession?" she said sarcastically.
"You're a smart girl" he retorted, "You figure it out."
"Look Alex. Lets stop playing these childish games okay? If you aren't a stalker, then there is no other way you could have gotten that picture. Only Danny...." she said and froze. Chills ran down her body and she began to shake violently. Her lips were trembling so badly that she could barely form any words.
"No" she muttered, shaking her head, "It can't be."
Danny was at her side, kneeling on the floor to be eye level with her, in a second. He took her shaking hands in his own and held them as he gazed into her eyes, free to now tell her the truth, regardless of the consequences.
"Yes, baby" he said. "Its me. Its Danny" he confirmed.
"But how?" she said finding her tongue again. "You're dead. They showed me the pictures. We had a funeral. You can't be him. What is the matter with you? Being a stalker isn't bad enough? You have to lie by saying you are my Danny to cover it up when you should know how much that would hurt me?" she said pulling her hands away from him and trying to stand up.
"No, Michelle. Listen to me. It's me. You know its me," he said.
"No, I don't. My Danny is dead. He wouldn't have left me to come live in this ridiculous small town and live his life as a boring investment banker. He loved me and I loved him. We were happy, damn it. You don't know what you are talking about."
"It's me baby. I had to leave. I had to fake my death to protect you. Its true. I swear to God it is. Look inside your heart baby. You will know its me," he said.
He could see the battle she was fighting on whether to accept this new information. He could see her resolve slipping.
"I don't believe you," she said halfheartedly.
"Yes, you do but I'll prove it to you anyway. Your favorite color is blue, your birthday is August 8th and you love the smell of vanilla candles," he offered.
"So what does that prove?" she snapped, "that you've been in my house? You got my birthday off my driver's license that I keep on my dresser and anyone who has ever been in my house can tell that I love the color blue and I like vanilla candles as most of my house is blue and it is filled with vanilla candles so sorry Sherlock" she said "That doesn't prove jack."
"Okay, okay, wait a sec. let me think" he said. "Okay, I got it. We danced the Macarena at our wedding reception. What else? Let's see, oh yes, you had a puppy named Wiggles when you were ten and uh, Shakespeare is your favorite author and more than anything in the world, you wanted to have a little girl so you could put ribbons in her hair' he said very proud of himself for remembering all of those details. She had to believe him now.
Michelle began to shake her head back and forth slowly, in denial.
He was getting to her She was beginning to believe what he was saying. IF he could just come up with one thing that only she and he would know, then she would have no choice but to believe him. Then they would figure out what to do. What could he think of? Think Danny. There has to be something.......
"Tell him I will wait outside" he spurted and her head ceased it's shaking and her mouth fell agape.
"What did you say?" she said in voice barely above a whisper.
"Tell him I'll wait outside. Remember Michelle? Our wedding night. We were so happy and so in love. We said that nothing would ever separate us, even death, remember? You said that whoever died first would have to just tell St. Peter that they would wait outside of heaven until the other got there. Remember?" he said.
"Oh God" she said. "You are Danny. Oh God" she said again.
"Michelle, we need to talk about this" he said as he stood up and walked over to the broken glass and began to pick up some of the pieces before either of them got cut.
"Why?" she said. "It is obvious that you wanted to get away from me. You faked your death to leave Springfield."
"No baby, no, that isn't how it was" he hastily explained. "It nearly killed me to leave you. I did it for you, baby. So you would be safe. I did it for you."
"How convenient Danny" she said. "Couldn't you have just told me what you were going to do? Didn't you think I had a right to know?"
"Not in this case I didn't," he admitted. "I am sorry but it was the best decision. You are still safe and it was because I faked my death. It was the only way."
Michelle stood up and began to shout at him again. "No Danny" she said "it wasn't the only way. You had no right to make that decision for both of us. Do you have any idea what this has been like for me? Do you have even the smallest clue how much I have suffered these past three years?"
"I've suffered too," he said.
"Bullshit" she shot back. "You didn't get a call while you were in another city that your spouse had been gunned down in the middle of the street and it was too late to see his body, because it had been cremated before you could even see him. You didn't live with the torment of not being there for him when he needed you the most. You didn't wake up night after night after night screaming for your husband who was gone from you forever. No, you were here in this town living your life as Alex Perez, town stud."
"What in the hell are you talking about? I am no town stud. I haven't been with anyone since that day until you came stumbling back into my life in December. Why did you have to come here Michelle? Why did you have to complicate things? Now I don't know what to do and it doesn't look like you are going to believe that I did this for you and stop acting like you are the only one who suffered damn it. Don't stand there all high and mighty and tell me I haven't suffered. I suffered every bit as much if not more. You had a chance to go on with you life. I was dead. You could have gone forward. I couldn't. I made all the sacrifices and I don't have to stand here and try to justify it anymore. I did what I did because I loved you more than my life. I still do and I still think I made the right decision," he said.
"Well you didn't" Michelle yelled back walking towards him. "You made a bad decision and I had to pay……" her words were cut off as she slid on a piece of melting ice on the kitchen floor. She tried to put her hands out and land on them but despite her efforts, she landed on her side instead.
"Michelle" Danny shouted and fell down beside her. "Don't move. Are you okay?"
"Do you have a hospital around here?" she asked calmly.
"The nearest one is in Brockton but it is only about twenty minutes away. Why baby?"
"I think you need to get me there quickly" she said with worry in her eyes. "I am pregnant."
______________________________________________
"Oh God" Danny replied bending down and picking her up gently and cradling her body to his. "Hold on baby. Just hold on" and she wrapped both of her arms around his neck and locked her fingers tightly together.
"Maybe I should call an ambulance," he said. "There isn't a lot of room in the Maxima and you won't be able to lie down comfortably."
"We will get there faster if you drive Danny" she added and Danny shook his head, realizing he didn't have any other choice in this matter.
"Okay baby. I will take you to the car and then get you a pillow to lean against. That should help a little," he offered and she responded by nodding her head in agreement.
He began to walk gingerly with her in his arms and he thought he heard her make a sound of protest "Are you in pain?"
"Not really" she said "but I only found out this morning that I was pregnant and according to my calculations, I am just now three months along and the risk of a miscarriage is there and I just want the baby to be safe" she said not able to stop the tears from running down her cheeks.
"Its gonna be okay baby. Trust me" he said not believing his own words of comfort. When she was placed safely in the car and propped up on some pillows and wrapped up in a blanket for good measure, they began their silent journey to the hospital.
Danny swerved in and out of traffic; ignoring the obscene gestures being flipped his way and the verbal assaults. He ran a red light here and a stop sign there in his haste to get to Cardinal Cushing Hospital quickly.
They arrived in the parking lot in record time. Not taking the time to park the car, he stopped in from of the emergency entrance and jumped out of the car and went to get a nurse. Within minutes a nurse and an orderly came out of the sliding glass doors with a wheelchair.
"Call Dr. Welch" Danny told the nurse "Tell him Alex Perez is here and it is an emergency. He will come," he added and the nurse nodded her head in understanding.
Michelle was wheeled directly into the trauma area bypassing the waiting area and nurses station where pages of forms to fill out no doubt awaited them.
The orderly who accompanied them to the trauma room helped Danny lift Michelle onto the table, then left to see if Dr. Welch had arrived in the ER yet.
"Lay down baby" Danny instructed and Michelle firmly reminded that she was a doctor and she knew the correct procedure for dealing with patients in danger of miscarrying.
"All right then" he said conceding this round to her "What should you be doing?"
"Lying down" she smirked, stretching her body fully horizontal on the examination table.
Danny took her hand and kissed it, without letting it go. "Smartass" he murmured
Dr. Welch entered before she could form a rebuttal, which was, on second thought probably for the best.
"Alex, you old dog" Dr. Welch said, "What's going on?"
"Hey Tom" he answered taking the doctors hand that was being offered and shaking it hastily. "This is Michelle. She is pregnant and she fell," he said cutting right to the chase.
"I see. Hi Michelle" he smiled down at her in a manner that Danny deciphered as being entirely too flirty. "Why don't you tell me what happened."
"Hello Dr. Welch. What Dan, er Alex has failed to mention is that I am also a doctor. I was here visiting with Da, I mean Alex when I slipped and fell on a wet spot on the floor. I just recently found out I was pregnant and since I fell on my side, I felt it prudent to come in and be examined" she explained in a calm manner. "I think a sonogram would be the first thing to do."
"Yes, I agree and that is precisely what I had in mind. Hang loose, I will be right back," he said smiling down at Michelle who couldn't help but feel at ease.
Dr. Welch left the room to procure the sonogram machine, leaving them alone together in the room.
Neither said anything for a minute until Danny finally spoke up and said "When we find out the baby is okay" he paused, "We gotta talk.'
"Yes" Michelle agreed noting that he hadn't relinquished his hold on her hand.
"How do you know Dr. Welch" Michelle asked the question that had been weighing on her mind since they had arrived.
"I handle his portfolio," he answered cryptically.
"Is that all?" she asked, "You seem more familiar than that."
"We've become friends over the last months I guess" he admitted with a tone that clearly said he was not willing to talk about it.
"Oh okay" Michelle said at a loss for words. Why would Danny be so tightlipped about knowing the doctor?
Dr. Welch returned, wheeling in the portable sonogram machine and all questions left Michelle's mind.
"Okay Dr. Michelle" he said mischievously "Let's see what we have here" he said as he turned on the machine and told her to raise her shirt and unbutton her slacks.
He squirted a clear gel onto her stomach and lifted her shirt higher to allow the roller to move around. Michelle unzipped her slacks and pulled them apart also, allowing even more room to examine the baby.
Danny watched Tom move an instrument that resembled an electric razor across his wife's stomach. He didn't like it one bit that Tom was privy to Michelle's exposed areas and if Michelle lowered her panties one more centimeter, then Tom Welch would know all of Michelle's secrets and Danny thought he might just have to punch him out then.
The irony of the situation was that Tom had no idea the Michelle was his wife. Tom knew more about Danny, or Alex as he knew him than anyone else in West Bridgewater and even that was very little. He had met Tom a few days after Michelle had reentered his life for that one magical night.
He certainly didn't want Michelle to know that he had met Tom for the first time in this very hospital when he had come here with a badly cut wrist, the result of nearly putting his hand through the medicine cabinet in his bathroom.
He had been shaving at the sink and saw his reflection in the mirror. Cursing himself for letting Michelle get away from him, he had taken out all of his frustrations and put them into one punch, right into the medicine cabinet where a shard of glass had broken free and embedded itself into his wrist.
He had cut an artery and Tom had told him it was a miracle that he didn't bleed to death while he had stubbornly driven himself to the hospital. Tom was the doctor on duty that night and he had managed to stop the bleeding, given him a few units of blood and stitched his wrist up as good as new.
He had seen the bruise that was forming on his knuckles and had correctly deduced what had happened but didn't say a word. He had merely tended to his wounds and sent him on his way with his prescription for pain medication and an invitation to call him if he ever needed someone to talk to.
Danny had taken Tom up on his offer one time and they had both drank more than their share and Danny had gotten frightened the next morning when he couldn't remember what he had told Tom the previous night. He had decided then to not interact with anyone again. It was too dangerous.
He pushed his sudden bout of jealousy for his friend Tom down and watched Michelle's eyes, as they were riveted to the screen where different shades of black and gray were displayed. He was watching her face as she took in every move on the monitor.
Soon the room was filled with a sound that resembled an ocean, then a low thwoop, thwoop, thwoop echo filled the room.
What was that sound? Was the machine malfunctioning?
Michelle looked over at Danny and smiled. He couldn't help it, he smiled back not caring what Tow would think. What was she smiling so brightly about?
"Do you hear that?" she asked and he nodded his head.
"That's our baby," she announced and for the first time since Michelle has told him she was pregnant, the thought of becoming a father hit him.
It truly hit him. Exactly as a ton of bricks would hit him. All of the air left his body. It was bad enough that Michelle was now involved in this dangerous circumstance, but now an innocent baby was added to the equation and would have to be considered too.
What a mess. He had to find a way to fix this. Maybe he should send them both back to Springfield and he would support them from here. That wouldn't be fair to her, the baby or him for that matter but he honestly didn't know what he was going to do about this situation. He would put it to the back of his mind for now but soon, and very soon, he was going to have to address it again.
He looked up from Michelle's shining face to see Tom Welch's amused one. He looked at Danny and lifted his hand in the air and wiggled his fingers indicating that he knew that this woman was the reason he had put his hand through the mirror.
He turned his head to make sure Michelle was still watching the baby on the monitor. She was. He turned his attention back to Tom and saw that he was finding this situation very interesting indeed.
After clearing his throat several times, to keep from laughing Danny surmised, Tom turned his head back towards the screen and began to speak to Michelle.
"When are you due Michelle?" he asked.
"Truthfully, I just found out I was pregnant today and so far have not been able to see a doctor to get a due date but the baby was conceived in mid December.
"Are you sure of that date?" he asked.
"Very" she answered and Tom looked over his head and gave Alex a look that told him in no uncertain terms that he had made the connection between this woman, the baby and his hurt hand. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he recalled Alex mention the name Michelle the night that they went out and got plastered.
"Okay then, that puts your due date around August 15th, give or take a day. If this is your first child, it may be longer since first babies sometimes have a way of tarrying a bit."
"This is my first pregnancy" she said her head going back to look at her baby's image on the screen to examine the tiny figure shown on the screen.
Tom refocused his attention back to Alex and noted that he seemed to not only lost all of his color but his face was a mask of indescribable pain. He recognized that pain. He had seen it once before.
He studied his friend a bit closer and gave him a half smile showing him his support. Clearly Alex didn't want his support for he said in a booming voice "Is the baby okay or not Tom?"
"Okay Alex. Here's the way it looks and I think you should sit down ," he said as Danny felt his knees buckle under him and he slid to the floor.