Promises
          Chapter 10  
 

Danny found Michelle sleeping when he made it back to her room. Bill was still there, as he had promised. He followed Danny out to the hallway.
"We talked for a little while and then she just couldn't keep her eyes open any more," Bill explained. "She told me about being poisoned. Who could have done this to her?"
"I don't know Bill," Danny sighed. "Frank's working on it."
"Come on Danny," Bill snapped. "With all of your connections you don't honestly expect me to believe you're letting the police handle this."
"I promised Michelle I would work with the police on this," Danny's eyes narrowed. "As far as she is concerned, that is exactly what I'm doing."
"Just find whoever it is," Bill demanded. "And make them pay for hurting her."
"That's exactly what I plan to do," Danny said.

After Bill left, Danny went back in to sit with Michelle. Looking through the window of her room, he saw the sun beginning to set. It had been a long day. One he would rather forget. He was so lost in thought that he was startled by the tap on his shoulder.
"Ray," Danny sighed when he turned around. "I'm glad you could come."
"You sounded so desperate on the phone," Ray whispered. "You mind telling me what's wrong with Michelle."
"I really need to talk to you, but I don't want to leave Michelle right now," Danny sighed.
"Well, for starters, just tell me why Michelle is in the hospital," Ray said, in a hushed voice.
"She was poisoned," Danny whispered.
"Poisoned?" Ray said a little more loudly than he intended.
"Shh!" Danny said, looking at Michelle. "She's been sick for a few days now. The doctors say she'll be okay, but she's still really weak."
"Who did this?" Ray asked.
"I wish I knew," Danny uttered. "I thought for sure it had to be my mother, so I called Ben Warren, who denied everything. Then I went to see her in jail."
"You visited Carmen in jail?" Ray questioned. "I thought you said you never wanted to see her again."
"I didn't," Danny began. "But I thought if she saw me after all this time, she would slip up or let something out that would prove she was the one behind this."
"But she didn't," Ray finished.
"No," Danny rubbed his stiff neck. "She told me she didn't know anything about this and for some reason I believe her."
"After everything she has done, all the lies and deceptions," he began. "Why trust her now?"
"You should have seen her, Ray," Danny winced. "She didn't look anything like the woman who raised me. She was pale and her eyes were sunken in. I almost felt sorry for her, but then she looked at me with that gleam in her eye again. It didn't take long for me to remember everything she did to Michelle and the hatred returned. She swore on my father's grave that she had nothing to do with this."
"She actually said that?" Ray asked. "Danny you know how she felt about your father. If she said that, then you know she couldn't have…"
"I know," Danny snapped. "She wasn't behind this. But that doesn't make me feel any better because someone is and I don't know who it is. Before, I knew who I was protecting Michelle from and now…now I don't know who is trying to hurt her."
"Danny, I know how easy it would be to fall back into the old ways again," Ray began. "But you have to think of Michelle and what that would do to her, not to mention what it would do to you too."
"I don't want to go back any more than she wants me too, but I have to protect her and the…" he stopped short before finishing. "There's something I haven't told you. We haven't told anybody because until I find out who was behind this, I don't want this to get out. But next to Michelle, there's no one I trust more than you."
"What is it?" Ray questioned.
Danny hesitated, knowing he could trust Ray, "Michelle is pregnant."
"Danny," he smiled. "This is wonderful news. Everything's okay, right?"
"Yes," he nodded. "The baby wasn't hurt this time. I just have to make sure that there never is a next time. I have to find out who is behind this. I promised Michelle I would protect her and our baby and that's exactly what I'm going to do…whatever it takes.

Danny stayed the night with Michelle, dozing more than sleeping in the chair beside her. He awoke with a jolt every time the door to her room opened, usually by a nurse. The idea that whoever poisoned her was still out there, kept him on edge. He knew how independent his wife was, but she was just going to have to understand that he had to do whatever it took to keep her safe. She wasn't going to like being watched 24 hours a day, but there was no other option. Someone had to be with her at all times.
At 6:00, he finally gave up on sleep and decided to get to work. He needed to get the word out that Michelle had been poisoned and he was on the rampage. If the right person heard and knew the wrath of the Santos' maybe they would slip with some information, trying to save their own hide. He had to be careful with this because he didn't want Michelle to know what he was doing. It would worry her that he was getting involved with these people again and that was the last thing she needed right now. Besides, he wasn't getting involved in the "business" again. He was only using the Santos name to get the information he needed. The only problem was he didn't know what he would do when he found out who was responsible for this…or maybe he did know. He just prayed Michelle would understand.