Hard Choices
      Chapter 10
 

The paramedics arrived and rolled Danny off of Michelle, who let out an involuntary sob when she saw the volume of her husband’s blood that was on her, on him, pooled on the floor in front of her. The little bit of medical training she’d had so far told her that he had lost too much blood, although she was somewhat relieved to see that the wound appeared to be on his side, and below the chest area.

The police had arrived shortly after the ambulance, and Michelle vaguely noted Jesse talking to David and Frank as Drew sat trembling at the edge of a booth, her hands cuffed in front of her. Theresa had hovered at the edge of the room, appearing to be in shock, as the paramedics tended to Danny, but she pushed her way through as they loaded him into the ambulance.

“I want to go with him, I’m his fiancée,” she said.

The paramedic looked quizzically at Michelle. “But you said you were his …”

Michelle considered covering, saying she was his ex-wife, continuing the ruse and allowing Theresa to accompany him to the hospital. No. No, Danny could be dying, and there was no way Michelle was going to let Theresa take anything else away from them.

“I'M his wife.”

“Not anymore –“

“Yes, I am. I’m his wife, and I’m the only one who can authorize medical treatment for him. Let’s go.” She climbed into the ambulance, past Theresa.

Theresa’s face darkened, with anger or humiliation – maybe both, Michelle couldn’t tell for sure. “I don’t know what’s going on here, Michelle, but I will find out. If you and Danny are still married, if this has all been some sort of set-up, God help both of you.”

“Theresa, Danny is seriously injured, and you’re wasting precious time threatening me. And you claim to love this man?” Michelle turned away from Theresa, shaking with anger, and was grateful when she heard the ambulance doors close behind her.

As the ambulance pulled away, Danny lifted his head and groaned weakly. “Michelle? Michelle, are you okay, baby?”

Michelle gently pushed him back down onto the pillow and stroked his cheek. “Shhhh. I’m here, right here. I’m fine. Just take it easy, we’re on the way to the hospital, they’re going to take good care of you.”

“Drew … crazy … everything’s crazy, wrong. Wrong.” Danny coughed and winced in pain. “I love you. Always you.” Then he lost consciousness again, and Michelle felt a wave of panic rise in her chest. She turned to the paramedic seated on the other side of Danny. “Is he okay? Help him! Help him, dammit!”

Michelle was kneeling in hospital chapel, praying for Danny’s life. He had been in surgery for over an hour; he had not regained consciousness in the ambulance, and Michelle was terrified. It had been so hard being separated from him while she was in prison, and over the last few weeks through this situation with Theresa; how could she go on if she lost him forever? She couldn’t. All she and Danny had wanted, from the moment they’d finally admitted to themselves and each other that they were in love, was a chance at a normal life. Regular jobs, a warm, safe home, a healthy, happy family. Didn’t they deserve that? Why, oh why, was everything always so complicated for them?

“Michelle?” Jesse slid into the pew beside her. “How’s Danny?”

“I don’t know. They’re still operating, and I’m so scared, Jesse.” Michelle got off her knees and sat back in the pew. “Where’s Drew, what happened to her?”

“Frank took her to the station to question her, they wouldn’t let me go with her. She’s a mess –”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“No, really, after she shot Danny, it was like she woke up from a nightmare, she had no idea what she’d done. I feel responsible for this, Michelle. I should’ve told her what was really going on, but I had no idea she would -- ”

Michelle let out a short, bitter laugh. “Come on, Jesse! You couldn’t have told her, she would’ve run straight to Theresa and blown us all out of the water. Drew doesn’t care about anybody but Drew. She was ready to kill me tonight, you understand that, don’t you? And it’s not the first time. Did you know she was the one who told Danny I killed Mick? As far as she knew, Danny was going to go find me and kill me that night, and that was fine with her. I tried so hard to be Drew’s friend, I actually cared about her, but she’s just full of venom and hatred and selfishness, and I’m done sympathizing with her.”

“I understand how you feel, Michelle, I do … but I love her, and I have to stand by her now. Drew’s been hurt a lot, I know that doesn’t justify everything she’s done, but I can’t turn my back on her now. I can’t.”

“Well, feel free to go … our little charade is over, anyway. Theresa knows that Danny and I are still married, and I’m sure she’s figured out the rest by now. In fact, I’m expecting Theresa or one of her father’s henchmen to come in here and finish Drew’s botched assassination attempt any minute, and frankly, it’ll almost be a relief.”

“Michelle, you don’t mean that --”

“Yes, actually, I think I do. If Danny … dies,” she choked on the word, “I might as well be dead, too.”

Michelle was a startled by a sudden flutter in her stomach, unlike anything she’d felt before, although it reminded her a bit of the feeling of coming down the last big hill on the roller coaster at the Springfield Fair. It was like a tiny fish was swimming mad circles inside her. The baby. It was her baby.

“Jesse! I just felt my baby move! Oh, my God!” Michelle was crying, but this time she was smiling through the tears. “It’s the most amazing feeling!”

Jesse smiled, too, and started to speak when he was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He took the call while Michelle sat beside him, holding a hand on her stomach and grinning in awe.

“Michelle, I have to go. They’re booking Drew for assault. I have to get her an attorney and call Serena … are you going to be okay here by yourself?”

“Yeah, I am. Go, Jesse, it’s fine. I’m not really by myself.”

Jesse squeezed her hand and walked out, and Michelle bent her head and spoke out loud. “Hi, sweetie. I forgot about you for a little bit, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I’m just so worried about your daddy. But we both love you so much, and I’m not going to give up on him, or us. No matter what happens, I have to think about you now, don’t I? I promise you, I’m going to take care of you and keep you safe. I promise.”

She felt a hand on her shoulder, strong and warm. Rick. “Michelle? Honey, Danny’s out of surgery. It went well. He’s going to be here for awhile, but he should be just fine.”

Michelle jumped up and into Rick’s arms. “Oh, Rick! Thank you, thank you. Can I see him?”

Rick smiled and nodded and led her out of the chapel by the hand.