Promises
         Chapter 35 
 

This Emergency Room was becoming an all to familiar place. So many life changing events had happened here for him. It was here he cried in his grandmother's arms the night his father died. It was here, after his car accident, he knew for sure his wife loved him. It was here his grandmother died and Michelle held him in her arms, promising him she would never leave him. It was here that he found out he was going to be a father. And here he was again. Waiting. They always told him he would have to wait. How was he supposed to just stand there while the only person that mattered to him was slipping away? No! He was not going to think that way. She has to be okay. She has to be.
He knew he needed to call Rick or Abby. Maybe Rick was still working. He should try to have him paged. But he couldn't force himself to move. He stood there, his head leaning back against the wall, trying to keep his legs upright. His will was quickly dissolving and he slid down the wall until he hit the floor. Then he just sat there, head in his hands and prayed.

What seemed like hours, but was surely a matter of minutes, Dr. Sedwick tapped Danny on the shoulder. His head snapped up and he quickly jumped to his feet. "How is she? How's Michelle?"
"Let's go somewhere we can talk," she motioned him over to a nearby deserted office.
She closed the door behind them and sat down in the chair beside him. "Michelle is in premature labor."
"Oh my God," he groaned, his head dropping to his hands.
"We're trying to get the labor stopped, but Danny it doesn't look like that is going to happen," she continued.
"So she's going to lose the baby?" his voice cracked.
"I will do everything in my power to not let that happen," she demanded. "I've called in a neonatal specialist to be on hand when the baby is born."
"What about Michelle?" he asked. His fear heightened when she was silent and avoided his eyes. "What about my wife?"
"Danny, there's some bleeding," she began. "We've started her on transfusions to hopefully buy us some time, but if we wait too long…"
"What?" he demanded.
"We just can't wait too long," she repeated. "It may get to the point where we'll have to do a C-section. But the longer we wait the better chance the baby has."
"And the longer we wait, the worse chance Michelle has," he said. "Is that what you're not telling me?"
"We are going to do everything to make sure they are both okay," she tried to reassure.
"Please don't let anything happen to them," his voice choked.
"And if it comes down to a choice?" she asked.
"Save my wife."

Danny sat in the darkness alone after Dr. Sedwick left. He wanted to see Michelle, but she told him to give her a few minutes and then she would let him in. He buried his head in his hands wishing somehow he could start this whole day over again. But this started long before today. It started with the day his brother attacked Michelle. She was thrown into this family and it was never even her fault. He should have come up with some other way of keeping her safe. He never should have married her. He never should have fallen in love with her.
Danny was lost in his thoughts and he didn't hear the door close behind him. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ray."
"How you holding up?" he asked, sitting down beside him.
"Not very good," Danny mumbled.
"Your mother called me," Ray explained. "She told me what happened."
"They let her go home," he stood, turning his back to Ray. "She was just in this Emergency Room, less than six hours ago. They said she was okay. If I had been here, I would have seen that something wasn't right."
"This is not your fault," Ray sighed.
"Not my fault?" Danny whirled around to face him. "Ray, everything that has happened to her from the day she met me has been my fault. I promised her that day on the docks I would protect her. I was supposed to kill her and I ended up promising her I would keep her safe. But I haven't done it. I haven't done anything to keep her safe! She's been in more danger with me in her life."
"You live in a dangerous world Danny," he said. "Michelle knew that."
"My 'world' hasn't been the problem Ray," he half-laughed before his voice rose with anger. "It's been my family. They are the ones who have hurt her and I haven't done a damn thing to stop it."
"Are you kidding me?" Ray argued. "You sent your own mother to prison to protect Michelle. You have moved heaven and earth to keep her protected these past few months."
"And look what good that did!" Danny shouted. "Someone still got to her and someone still hurt her! Now I may lose…"
He stopped and turned his back to Ray again. Ray put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can't think that way Danny. Michelle is a strong woman. She's going to get through this. You both are. Don't beat yourself up over the what ifs."
"I can't lose her," Danny's voice broke as he faced Ray with tears in his eyes. "She's my life."
Ray's heart broke seeing his cousin in so much pain. He hugged him trying to give him some comfort, but Danny pushed him away.
"I've got to see her," he said, hastily wiping his tears away.
"I'll be in the chapel if you need me," Ray whispered.
Danny nodded and walked out of the room. Slowly he made his way back to the exam room where Michelle was. He saw Rick and Abby down the hall in the waiting room, Rick nervously pacing back and forth. She looked up when she saw Danny, tears in her eyes. He wanted to say something…wanted to explain what was happening, but the words wouldn't come. But he knew words weren't needed…his tear-stained face said it all.

Danny stood outside the door, waiting for Dr. Sedwick to let him in. He couldn't go to the waiting room because he couldn't face Rick and Abby right now. He knew Rick would blame him for all of this and he would be right. It was all his fault. But his guilt would have to wait. Michelle needed him.
Moments later Dr. Sedwick exited the room and pulled Danny aside. "She's finally resting," she began. "She's stable right now, but we're monitoring her very closely. They're getting a room ready for her upstairs and I'll let you know as soon as we're ready to move her."
"Can I see her?" he asked.
"Of course," she said. "But Danny you have to keep her calm. Don't let her get upset."
He nodded his head in understanding and slowly opened the door. He made his way over to the side of the bed and looking down at her he felt his tears beginning to well up again. 'No,' he said to himself. 'You have to keep it together for her sake. No tears. No sadness.'
She seemed to sense his presence and she opened her eyes when he sat down. "Hey," she whispered.
"Hey," he forced a smile as he drew her hand to his lips. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," she mumbled. "Did you talk to Dr. Sedwick?" He nodded. "You can't let them do a C-section, Danny. It's too soon."
"Don't worry," he said pushing a stray curl from her face.
She pushed at his hand becoming more agitated. "You're not listening to me. They can't take the baby!"
"Sweetie, calm down," he whispered. "You have to stay calm."
"I am not going to let them do this," her voice cracked.
"Michelle please," his eyes were pleading. "I have to think about you first."
"No!" her voice rising. "I am not going to lose…"
Her voice trailed off as she grimaced. Danny panicked, seeing the pained expression on her face. "What is it?"
"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth.
"I'll go get Dr. Sedwick," he jumped to his feet.
"No," Michelle called after him. "It's okay. I'm fine."
Slowly he sat back down, searching her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said. "Now back to what I was saying…"
He pressed his finger to her lips. "Hush," he began. "I heard you and I know how you feel about a C-section. Dr. Sedwick assured me she wouldn't do one unless absolutely necessary. Now, it's not helping anything you getting upset. You have to stay calm and relax."
She looked up into her husband's loving eyes and she kissed his finger. "Okay. I'll try."
"Good," he smiled. "Now let's talk about something else."
"Like what?" she smiled back.
"The fact that it's Christmas," he laughed.
She looked at him with wide eyes, "Christmas! I forgot all about it!"
"Well, there's been a lot going on," he sighed.
"My dad," she said. "He was supposed to be in last night. Where is he? Have you heard from him?"
"No, but I'm sure Rick and Abby have," he tried to reassure. "I'll go ask them in a minute if they've heard from him."
"They're outside now?" she asked. "Please go on and ask them. I want to make sure he gets here."
Before he could protest about not wanting to leave her, he looked into her pleading eyes and relented. "Okay, I'll be right back." He leaned down and gently kissed her. "Rest."
He made his way down to the waiting room where Rick and Abby jumped to their feet when they saw him.
"How is she?" Abby asked.
"She's in premature labor," he explained. "And there's some internal bleeding."
"When are they doing the cesarean?" Rick demanded.
"Dr. Sedwick said we were going to wait as long as we could," Danny replied, rubbing his sore neck.
"Michelle could bleed to death, Danny," Rick shouted.
"I know that," Danny shouted back. "But I'm not going to let that happen."
"What, you going to protect her like you always do?" Rick snapped. "You tell me over and over that my little sister is safe with you. If that's true, why does she keep getting hurt? Your entire family has done nothing but hurt her. Her life has been in danger since the day she met you!"
"Rick," Abby said calmly. "This is not Danny's fault."
"Yes it is," he shouted. "If he really loved her, he would let her come back to her family and live the life she deserves."
"You know how much Michelle loves him," Abby cried.
Ignoring his wife, he continued to yell. "I will never forgive you if anything happens to my sister or her baby."
"Don't worry," Danny said calmly. "Because I'll never forgive myself."

Michelle woke up to find Bill by her bedside. "Hey," she smiled.
"Hey," he said. "How are you?"
"I've had better days," she groaned. "How are you?"
"I've had better days too," he frowned. "Michelle I am so sorry."
"Sorry?" she questioned. "For what?"
"I should have know what was going on with Pilar," he explained. "I probably spent more time with her than anyone and I had no idea what she was planning. If I had known she was going to hurt you…"
"Bill, please don't blame yourself," she said. "Pilar had everyone fooled, myself included. I had no idea she hated me so much."
"I should have sensed something though," he sighed. "Looking back now, I guess I should have been suspicious with her visiting her mother so much."
"But Carmen is the one who saved my life," she said.
"I know," he half laughed. "How weird is that?"
Michelle smiled, "After all this time, of her hating me, she said she's changed. I want to believe her for Danny's sake and for this baby's sake, but it's hard."
"That's understandable," he frowned. "That lady has done nothing but hurt you since the day she met you."
"True, but I have changed," they heard someone say from the doorway. They turned to see Carmen standing there. "I was wondering if I might have a minute alone with Michelle."
Bill turned back to Michelle with an unsure look on his face. "I don't know if that's a good idea right now."
"It's okay," Michelle nodded. "I'll be fine."
"Sure?" he questioned.
She nodded again and he stood to leave. "I'll be just outside. You take care of yourself." He stopped in front of Carmen on his way out the door, peering into her eyes. "Don't upset her."
Carmen nodded as he turned to leave. When she heard the door close she smiled at Michelle. "I guess it will take time for everyone to begin trusting me."
"Given everything that's happened, I'm sure you can understand," Michelle stated.
"May I sit?" Carmen motioned to the chair Bill had vacated. Michelle nodded as she began to prop herself up on the bed. "We have a lot to talk about."
"I guess," Michelle said. "But I have to ask you something first. Why? Why did you save my life?"
Carmen sighed and began, "As I told Danny, I realized when I was in jail that he was going on with his life and if I wanted to be a part of it, I had to change. And I had to realize that you were a part of his life and no matter how much I wanted to deny it, you were the reason he is happy. You are having my first grandchild, Michelle. I don't want to miss out on his or her life. I want to be a grandmother."
"I really want to believe you Carmen," Michelle sighed.
"I know it will take time for you to trust me," she said. "And I completely understand after everything I've done. All I ask is that you and Danny give me a chance."
Suddenly the door opened and both women quickly turned. "What's going on here?" Danny demanded.
"We were just talking," Carmen explained.
Danny's eyes went quickly to Michelle for confirmation. "It's okay," she said softly.
"Michelle really needs to rest," Danny said. "I'm sure you won't mind continuing this conversation later."
"Of course," Carmen stood to leave. "Just remember what I said Michelle. If you need anything, please let me know." She turned to Danny, caressing his cheek with her hand. "I'll be outside."
Danny grabbed Michelle's hand as he sat down. "She didn't upset you did she?" he asked quickly.
"No," she smiled. "She was just asking me for another chance."
"I can't believe she would talk to you about this now," he groaned.
"Danny, it's okay," she reassured. "She wants to be a part of our lives."
"I don't want you to worry about any of that right now," he said.
"Did you find out about my dad?" she asked softly.
"Rick said he called last night and he was delayed in New York," he answered. "He was trying to call JFK airport, hoping he could get a message to him to come straight to the hospital."
"So he may not be here when…" her voice broke.
"Don't do this to yourself sweetheart," he whimpered. "You look tired. Why don't you try to get some sleep?"
"Will you stay here with me?" she asked through her tears.
He climbed up on the edge of the bed and held her in his arms. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."