Revisiting The Past
Parts 10-11
By Kellie
"Claire hired a lawyer for you? This gets better and better." Danny mumbled as he stood and walked across the room. Finally, he spoke, "Tell me how that happened."
"I got a message at work a few months ago asking me to call this lawyer. I returned the call and he started talking with me about a divorce like we had met before. I'd never spoken to the man before in my life. When he apologized for calling me at work after I had specifically asked that he wait for me to contact him, I knew something was up. I went over to his office to meet him. He had no idea who I was. After we talked for a few minutes, I asked him to describe the person he met with. The description fit Claire. "
"What did you do?"
"I've never been so furious in my life. I stormed into Claire's office - I can't even remember everything I said. I remember coming to the realization that day that she had been manipulating every decision I had made since that day at the cabin. I couldn't stand to be in the room with her and I told her that I never wanted her to be a part of my life again." Michelle laughed, "Of course that was easier said than done since we work in the same hospital. Basically, I haven't spoken to Claire about any personal matters since then. I only see her at the hospital and speak with her about patients and a research project we were working on together about a new surgical procedure she developed. "
Before Danny could respond, Aunt Meta entered the kitchen. "Good Morning you two. Michelle, I'm so glad Rick was able to convince you to come home," she said as she walked over and hugged her great-niece.
"Good Morning Aunt Meta, how was that cruise?" Michelle asked as she watched Meta walk around and pour herself a cup of coffee.
"It was great, dear. Now, have you and Danny come to any decisions?" Meta inquired.
"We've talked and we still have a lot of ground to cover," Michelle said as she glanced uncomfortably towards Danny.
Meta could tell by looking between them that she had interrupted the pair at the wrong moment. "I take it I've interrupted at the wrong time. You two were talking about something serious?"
Danny gave Michelle a sideways glance as he tried to figure out what to say. He heard Michelle respond, "We were discussing Claire and how much influence she's had on my life - on the mess I've made of things."
"Both of you listen to me, Claire never would have been able to manipulate your lives if there hadn't been openings for to worm herself into. Yes, things are a mess. Michelle, don't shoulder all the blame for this yourself. Claire played a part in it, but you both allowed her to interfere. If you had talked about a lot of this stuff at the time it was happening, Claire never would have found those openings. You two allowed her to use your very real problems to tear you apart. You both have to take some responsibility for your part in this mess."
The pair nodded as they watched Meta begin pulling things out of the refrigerator to prepare breakfast. "You two need to get out of here and finish that talk. Rick and Phillip will both be down in a few minutes. Since it's Saturday, Beth and Harley will both be stopping by to drop the kids off to spend the day with Phillip. You won't be able to discuss anything privately once they get here. " Meta reached under the counter and pulled out a picnic basket and handed it to Michelle. "Danny, the cooler is in the laundry room. Please get it for me," she ordered as she began pulling containers and drinks from the fridge.
As soon as Danny stepped out of the room, Michelle spoke, "How come I get the feeling that you're the one behind Rick's little plot to get me home?"
Meta looked over at her and smiled, "I decided it was time for you two to talk."
"How long have you been planning this?" Michelle asked as she shook her head.
"Blake and I came up with this one months ago. After we got Ross on our side, he convinced Rick to go along with us," Meta laughed.
"A conspiracy, I should have know," Michelle said as she shook her head.
"Yeah, too bad it took us so long to find a way to get you here," Meta answered as her niece smiled.
Danny came back into the room and set the cooler on the counter. "Danny, get some ice packs from the freezer," Meta ordered as she began placing things into the cooler.
A few minutes later, Michelle found herself in the front seat of Danny's car as he backed out of the driveway. "I can't believe Aunt Meta engineered all of this," she said.
"Did Aunt Meta know you were coming home?"
"Danny, I didn't even know I was coming home until Rick came to visit me and laid a plane ticket on my plate at dinner. It seems that Blake and Aunt Meta decided it was time for me to come home and face you. I have to say, they were right," Michelle said as she reached out and laid her hand on top of his on the gearshift. "So, where are we going?"
"Home," he answered, "We're going home."
______________________________________
Michelle sat on the rock with her arms around her knees as she took in the sight before her. He stood behind her and watched as she studied the changes at Laurel Falls. Finally, Danny asked, "Well, what do you think?"
"I�m stunned � I can�t believe you went ahead and finished the house." Michelle stood and faced him, "Why on earth did you go ahead with the house?"
"I guess I always hoped you�d come back," he replied.
Michelle looked up at his deep, brown eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel herself getting lost in his gaze yet again. "Danny, I have one more question."
"What?" he asked.
"Why are you still living at Rick�s with the house sitting out her ready to move into?"
Danny took a step closer to her and ran his finger along her jawline, "I tried to live in the house, but it just didn�t seem right without you here. Aunt Meta came out one day to bring some of my mail. The next thing I knew, I was back at Rick�s, no questions asked."
"Aunt Meta has always had a knack for taking care of everyone," she commented as she turned to look at the house.
"Do you want to look around inside?" he asked as he began to walk towards the back deck.
Michelle reached out and grabbed his arm, "Danny, I can�t."
He turned and looked at her with a puzzled expression, "What do you mean you can�t?"
"Danny, I�m not going inside that house until we�ve resolved everything. If I go in that door, there�s no turning back � I�ll be going in to stay. When I go through that door with you, I want a clean slate � no more secrets, everything out on the table. You deserve that � I deserve that," she said as she took his hand and sat back down on the rock.
Danny took a seat behind Michelle and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. "Does that mean you�re definitely staying � you�re not going back to Chicago?"
Michelle reached up and put her hand into the hair along the edge of his neck. "Danny, I love you and I want to have the future we promised each other before Claire butted in. So, yes, I�m staying. But first, I am going to have to go back to Chicago to work my notice at the hospital."
"Over my dead body. I�m not letting you go anywhere near Claire."
"Danny, I know what she�s done and I�m not going to let her interfere anymore."
"No, your not because you�re not going anywhere near her again."
"Danny, let�s not fight about this. I have responsibilities at the hospital that I can�t drop. I�ll have to go back for a few weeks to give them time to find a replacement."
"Michelle, I love the fact that you are devoted to your work, but the idea of you going back to work with Claire," Danny paused as he tried to find the words to explain what he was thinking.
Michelle reached up and put her fingers over his lips, "I have an idea, why don�t you come with me to Chicago while I work my notice?"
"That sounds like a plan," he replied as he tightened his arms around her. "I remember the first time we came out here together."
"Our wedding," Michelle answered. "You made my dreams come true that day."
"How could I forget? You were so beautiful, you took my breath away."
"Danny, we�re doing a fine job of dancing around what we really need to discuss."
"I know. I just want a few more minutes like this before we start sorting out the rest of this mess. I could strangle Claire with my bare hands right now."
"I know, but that won�t solve anything," she answered.
"Where do you want to start?" Michelle asked.
"Let�s go back to that phone call you were going to make before Carlos showed up at the cabin. Tell me about what was going through your head while you were there?"
