Promises
         Chapter 24 
 

"What the hell are you doing here?" Michelle practically shouted.
"I came to see my son," Carmen responded quietly.
Michelle hesitated as she heard Danny move. She turned to make sure he was still sleeping, then turned back to Carmen and pushed her out into the hallway.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here," Michelle said, once she had closed his door.
"Michelle," she began. "I don't want to argue with you. I just wanted to see how Daniel was doing. The doctors say he's going to be okay?"
"You can drop the worried act," she demanded. "You're not fooling anyone. Do you think I'm that stupid? That it's just a coincidence that Danny was shot the same day you were released from prison?"
"I had nothing to do with this," Carmen gasped. "How could you even think that I would have my own son shot?"
"A little retaliation for him testifying against you," her eyes blazed. "Just a little warning that you're back and you're going to make him pay for putting you in prison. Or was it me you were after? Didn't kill me the first time, so you thought you'd try again?"
"How dare you say that to me," Carmen demanded.
"How dare I?" Michelle laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time you tried to kill me! You were probably the one who had me poisoned too."
"As I've already told Daniel," she began. "I had nothing to do with that. I have done a lot of thinking over the past year and I've had undergone counseling to deal with my anger towards you. I know you make my son happy and I've forgiven you for killing Mick. I've changed…"
"You will never change!" Michelle shouted. "You are a cold blooded monster and I will never let you hurt Danny again."
"Michelle, listen to me," Carmen begged.
"No!" she shouted. "You listen…" She shut her eyes tight as the room started to spin. When she opened them again, everything started to turn black.
"Michelle," she heard Ray shout. He wrapped his arms around her and steadied her. Then he looked at Carmen and shouted at her, "What are you doing here? What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything to her," she defended. "Things got out of control as they usually do when we are in the same room. I was just telling her I was worried about Danny. I heard he had been shot and I wanted to make sure he was okay."
"You are such a liar," Michelle glared.
"Think of me what you will, but I love my son. I would never do anything to hurt my own son," she began. "But I would like to know something from you, Michelle."
"What?" she snapped.
"When were you and Danny planning on telling me I was going to be a grandmother?" she asked.
Michelle froze, "What are you talking about?"
"I know you're pregnant," she said.
"What, you've been having us followed?" she questioned.
"No," Carmen snapped. "I am a mother, Michelle. I can tell you are pregnant."
Before Michelle could shout back, Ed rounded the corner. "Why aren't you downstairs?"
"Michelle, go home with your father," Ray said.
"I'm not leaving with her here," she cried.
"What's the problem?" Ed asked.
"This is Danny's mother," Ray explained.
"She may have given birth to him, but she is not a real mother," Michelle shouted.
Ray grabbed her shoulders and turned her so she was facing him, "Didn't I promise I would stay here with Danny?"
Before Michelle could fight back, Carlos walked up and grabbed her gently by the arm. "Come on, Michelle and we'll go home with your father."
Michelle sighed, "Ray, promise me you won't let her anywhere near Danny."
"I promise," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "Now get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. I need to get that bag from Danny's room," she nodded. Before turning to join her father and Carlos, she gave one final warning to Carmen. "You've hurt us for the last time."
Carmen and Ray watched as she walked around the corner with her father and Carlos.
"Ray, you know how much I love Daniel, I would never…" she got out before he cut her off.
"I don't want to hear it," he threw up his hands. "I promised Michelle you wouldn't get anywhere near him and I plan on keeping that promise. And if you try to sneak in, I'll tell the police officer guarding him to have you arrested. Now you don't want to go back to jail the same day you got out, do you, Aunt Carmen?"
Before she could answer, he turned and went back into Danny's room. Carmen pulled out her cell phone and walked down the hall away from the guard.
After five rings, the person answered. "Where have you been?" she demanded. "I'll tell you where I am. I'm at the hospital checking on my son who was shot. I told you nothing was to happen to him…I don't care about that…you're not doing the job you were paid to do….she went home with her father…yes, she has a bodyguard…you know what to do." She snapped the phone closed and turned to leave.

The next morning Michelle woke with a pounding headache. Rick had given her a sedative last night to help her sleep, despite her protests that she didn't need it. It took a few minutes for her eyes to focus on the clock. She jumped up when she saw it was after 10:00. Her heart beat a little faster when she saw the bag from the hospital on the floor beside her bed. She stuffed it under the bed, making sure no one could see it. She would deal with that later. She threw her robe on and went downstairs. The house was silent, except for Abby and Jacob in the family room.
"Abby," Michelle said.
"Good morning," Abby smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Why did you let me sleep so late?" she asked, ignoring the question.
"You needed the rest," she explained. "Rick is already at the hospital. He called a little while ago and said Danny is doing fine. Ray said he slept through the night."
"Where's Carlos?" she asked next.
"He's checking around the outside of the house," she explained. "He wanted to sleep outside your bedroom door last night, but Rick and your dad convinced him that he would be close enough in the guest room. He said to make sure you don't leave the house without him."
"I promised Danny, I wouldn't," she sighed, sitting down next to Abby, rubbing Jacob's leg.
"You never answered my question," Abby stated. "How are you feeling?"
"My head still hurts," Michelle winced. "But it's better than it was last night."
"Did you get much sleep?" she asked.
"Yeah," she said. "I kept having nightmares though about what happened. Abby, I really thought we were through with that life. I thought we were finally free to live a normal life. But now Carmen is out of jail and Danny was shot and I have a bodyguard twenty-four hours a day. This is no kind of life for a child."
"What are you saying, Michelle?" Abby questioned.
"I don't know," she sighed. "All I know right now, is I need to get to the hospital to see my husband. If you see Carlos come in, tell him to give me thirty minutes and I'll be ready to go."
Abby watched her climb back up the steps. She worried what Michelle would do if things didn't change soon.

"Come on Carlos," Michelle pleaded.
"Okay, okay," he said coming out of the guest room. "Let's go."
Michelle followed him down the stairs, "Abby," she called out.
"She took Jacob for a walk," Meta said.
"Aunt Meta," Michelle walked over to hug her. "I'm so glad you're home."
"I came as soon Ed called me and told me what happened," she said.
"You didn't have to cut your trip short," she said.
"I was just visiting a friend," she said. "I can go again before long. Now, how are you?"
"I'm hanging in there," she smiled. "I'll be a lot better once Danny is home with me."
"How's he doing?" she asked.
"Well, Abby told me Rick called this morning and said he slept through the night," she explained. "Which is good because he was in a lot of pain last night. Of course, the whole time, he's worried about me."
"That sounds like Danny," she smiled. "He's right to be worried though. Abby told me you have a concussion. And to be honest, you look a little pale."
"My head does still hurt a little, but I'm feeling better than I did yesterday," Michelle sighed. "I just want to be with Danny."
"She also told me that Carmen is out of jail and you had a run in with her," she said.
"She showed up at the hospital last night, acting all concerned about Danny," she groaned. "I didn't buy it for a second. She says she's changed, but I will never believe that."
"You can't let her upset you like this," Meta scolded. "Does she know about the baby?"
Michelle nodded, "I accused her of having us followed, but she says she could just tell, I guess by looking at me."
"Well, you are starting to show," Meta said.
"I know," she said, smoothing her shirt over her growing stomach, "but I still wouldn't put it past her to have us followed. Anyway, I better get going before Carlos wonders what's keeping me."
"You know if you want to talk later, I'm here," she said.
Michelle reached up and hugged her tight. "I know and I don't know what I would do without you. We're going to be okay. All of us."
"Michelle?" Carlos entered. "The car's running."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm ready." She turned back to Meta, "When Abby gets back, tell her I'm at the hospital."
She nodded as she watched them leave through the back door, worried about Michelle and wondering how much more she was going to be able to take.

"No!" Danny shouted from his sleep.
Ray had fallen asleep in the chair, but jumped when he heard Danny cry out. He gently shook him, trying to wake him up. "Wake up, Danny!"
His eyes suddenly opened wide with fear. "Michelle."
"She's okay," Ray reassured.
"Where is she?" Danny panicked. "Why isn't she here?"
"She was tired last night so she went home with her father," Ray explained calmly. "She should be here in a little while."
"Is she okay?" he asked.
"She's fine," Ray said, sitting back down. "I talked to her brother a little while ago and he said she got some much needed rest last night. She was still sleeping when he left the house."
"Good," he exhaled sharply. "She didn't look good last night."
"Don't tell her that," Ray laughed.
"You know what I mean," Danny sighed. "She was just so pale and I could see in her eyes how tired she was."
"Well, she went through a lot yesterday," Ray said. "You both did. But you're both going to be fine."
"Nothing will be fine until I find out who did this," Danny demanded.
"Do you think you were the target or Michelle?" he asked.
"He had the gun pointed right at Michelle," Danny said. "I'm just afraid that this may have been my fault."
"How could this possibly be your fault?" Ray asked.
"I've been working with Bernard trying to find out who poisoned Michelle," he began. "And I've been putting some threats out there trying to get someone to talk."
"Danny," Ray groaned. "You promised Michelle that you had left that life for good."
"I know," he sighed. "But I figured it was the only way I was going to find any answers. Bernard warned me that I was stirring things up. And I'm afraid that maybe this was my warning to back down."
"Well, it's a warning you should take heed to," Ray said. "You've got to stop this before you get yourself or Michelle killed."
"So I'm just supposed to stand by and wait for someone else to try to kill my wife?" he said. "I can't do that Ray."
"You have to Danny," Ray pleaded. "Because one way or another, if you don't stop this, you're going to lose her…for good this time."