Timeline: This story takes place after Danny has taken Michelle from the hospital. Rick and Abby have just left the Santos house after telling Michelle that he was wrong. Danny has taken Michelle inside because she�s feeling sick. The sweet conversation that we saw between them has just ended, and she has fallen asleep in his arms, on the sofa in the Santos study/living room.
He carries her up the stairs to the bedroom they used to share. He�s imagined carrying her up there so many times before, but not like this � suffering the ill effects of a sedative, angry and hurt at her brother. No, in his daydreams, she was always staring up at him, with love and passion in her eyes. �Oh well,� he thinks to himself. �At least she�s here, in my arms, the way I never thought she�d be.�
He lays her gently in the bed. Any other time he would�ve savored the thought of undressing her, but not this time. She is finally sleeping, peacefully, knowing that she is no longer locked in a room at the hospital. He doesn�t want to disturb her. He just wants her to rest.
He sits across the room from her, in a large, over-stuffed chair, tears falling freely from his eyes. Behind the tears are so many emotions � love, regret, relief, anger. Until this moment, he never truly realized the depth of his feelings for her. He sees her lying there, sleeping soundly, and he knows that she trusts him and loves him in a way he doesn�t deserve. �I will not let her down, ever,� he says out
loud.
He watches her sleep until 2:30 a.m., when she begins to wake up. He goes to her, gently caressing her hair. Her eyes widen, and a smile spreads across her face when she sees him. His heart races when she looks at him.
�I�m glad you got some rest,� he says.
She slowly sits up in the bed, and says, �I think that sedative is finally wearing off.�
He just smiles at her. She is so beautiful.
She speaks again, questioning. �Wait a minute. The last thing I
remember, we were talking downstairs.�
�Right,� he chuckles. �You fell asleep on my shoulder, so I carried you up here.�
She looks down and notices that she�s still dressed. �You let me sleep in my clothes?� she says.
�Well, I didn�t know if I should��
�You mean you didn�t want to undress me?� she asks coyly.
�You know it�s not that, Michelle. I just wanted you to rest.�
�I know, Danny.� She smiles that smile again, and his pulse quickens.
�How are you feeling?� he asks.
�Not bad, considering,� she says. �I can still feel that place all over me,� she says, running her hands down the skin on her arms.
�Why don�t you take a shower?�
�I think I will,� she says.
Danny walks her to the shower, then leaves the room and closes the door. Naturally, the thought occurs to him to surprise her in the shower, but he knows that she needs these moments to herself, to absorb what she�s just been through. He walks back to the bed and sits down to wait for her.
�She�s been in there a long time,� he thinks. He decides to peek in and check on her. He knows that the sedative really took its toll on her, and he wants to make sure she�s alright.
He opens the bathroom door slightly, and looks in. He sees her leaning against the side of the shower, and he hears her crying. His heart breaks again.
Michelle lets the hot water stream over her body. She pays no
attention to time. She wants to wash away the memories of the past three days. She lathers herself generously with the lilac scented body wash that has been there since she first moved in. After a long while, she steps out of the shower, and finds the white terry-cloth robe that Danny left for her.
She wraps herself in the softness and warmness of the robe. She towel dries her hair. She doesn�t take the time to blow dry it or style it.
She just wants to get back to the sanctuary of Danny�s arms.
Michelle opens the bathroom door, and sees Danny sitting on the bed. He�s still wearing his black jeans, but his shirt is gone. She walks to the bed and sits next to him. He slides his arms around her, and she cries the last of her tears on his bare chest. He buries his face in her hair, and cries with her.
He�s not thinking of making love to her. He just wants to comfort her, make her feel safe.
She looks at him, and smiles through her tears. He wipes her cheeks with his thumbs. She takes his hand in hers, and kisses his palm, then each finger tip, then his wrist, the inside of his arm.
There are no words. They don�t need them. Every feeling and emotion they�ve felt is expressed in the way their hands move across each other. He doesn�t need to ask her if she�s sure, and she doesn�t need
to
convince him that she is. They just know. This time, the time is right. Danny
slides the robe off her shoulders, his mouth tracing from her left ear, down to
her shoulder. His fingers gently massage the small of her back. Her hands slide
across his chest and around to his back. She wraps her legs around his waist.
They fall back onto the bed and make love, the way no two people have ever made
love. She is truly his, and he is truly hers. There are no interruptions � no
intrusive mothers or brothers, no explosives or firearms. Finally, their moment
has arrived. The moment they�ve waited so long for. The moment when they give
themselves, totally and completely to one another, despite what the rest of the
world may think. This moment is theirs, and theirs alone.
