Where My Heart Beats
By Amy
There was no commotion on the plane. Jesse was resting comfortably, and for now, he was stable and hanging on. The doctor and the nurse stayed at his side, while Drew hovered over him like a mother hen. Richard’s jet was fairly large, so Michelle sat alone near the back of the cabin. She watched Jesse constantly, her eyes searching the doctor’s face for any hint of trouble. So many things were running through her mind, and she could not seem to put them in perspective.
From the corner of her eye she caught sight of Danny. He was sitting alone, as far away from everyone as he could get, his body crumpled from the weight of everything that had just happened. It was then that she realized… she had _forgotten him.
She stood up from where she was sitting and slowly walked across the cabin toward him. He saw her coming but did not react. His face was blank, void of anything she could recognize.
"Oh God, what have I done?" she thought to herself as she sat down beside him.
Still, he did not react. It wasn’t until he saw the tears and _heard her soft cries that he spoke.
"Michelle, I’m so sorry about this," he said, and he meant it with everything in him. She didn’t say anything. She wiped her tears away and composed herself enough to speak. She looked up to find him looking at her, directly in her eyes, desperate for some kind of reassurance.
"You know, I was just remembering something," she began.
"What?" he asked, sure that it must have something to do with Jesse.
"I was just remembering that day on the beach," she continued. "It was Thanksgiving, and you followed me there. I’d been horrible to you earlier, accusing you of kidnapping Marina and Lizzie. You were pounding me for information about Mick’s death, and I was so scared. Do you remember?"
"I’m not particularly proud of the way I treated you, but yeah, I remember. It seems like a really long time ago," he answered.
"You asked me something that night," she said. "You asked me if I though Jesse loved me enough to kill for me… to protect me. And I didn’t know how to answer you."
"Why are you bringing this up now, Michelle?" he asked, his guilt growing heavier by the second.
Michelle continued. "Part of me wanted to say ‘no’ because I knew what you thought. I knew that you suspected that Jesse killed Mick. Another part of me wanted to say ‘yes’ because I wanted to believe that Jesse and I had that kind of love, that kind of connection. But deep down, something inside me just knew… that we didn’t have that kind of love."
Danny looked at the floor, still not understanding where all this was coming from or where it was leading.
"And now I look at you," she went on. "I think about all we’ve been through and everything you’ve done for me. And I know that we have that kind of love."
He looked up at her, tears filling his eyes, "Michelle…"
"You pulled a knife on Richard because you wanted to protect me and keep me from going back to prison. You shot at what you thought were Bernardo’s men to protect me, to protect us."
"But it wasn’t Bernardo’s men, Michelle. It was Jesse," he said, his voice breaking.
"But you know what, Danny? If the situation were reversed, and it was your life on the line, and I was the one holding the gun, I would’ve done the exact same thing."
"No you wouldn’t Michelle," he said, taking her hands. "You’re not like me."
"I’m exactly like you, Danny," she countered. "I love you enough to do anything, anything to protect you. We have that kind of love, Danny. I’ve been so focused on Jesse and his condition that I forgot about you, and I’m so sorry. I didn’t see that you were going through hell, too. You’ve been beating yourself up with guilt, and by ignoring you and your feelings, I’ve only added to it. You have to stop blaming yourself, Danny. I’m not blaming you. No one’s blaming you. Please believe me, Danny. I don’t blame you."
He couldn’t look at her. He just shook his head and stared at the floor.
Michelle knelt down in front of him, and forced him to look into her eyes.
"You forgave me for killing your brother the brother you loved. You forgave me because you knew it was an accident. It took me a while to really understand that. When we first got married, things were tense between us, to say the least, but even then I was starting to have feelings for you. And the more time that passed, the harder it was for me to deny it. But I was so afraid. I was afraid for a lot of reasons, but one of my biggest fears was that when you looked at me, you would always see your brother’s killer. I thought that you’d never be able to see me as anything else. But you did see me. You saw me clearer than anyone else ever has or ever will. So, you have to know that I forgive you for what happened with Jesse. I forgive you, Danny, and when I look at you, I see you. And I see you clearer than anyone else ever has or ever will."
"But he has your mother’s heart, Michelle," Danny said. "Jesse has your mother’s heart." Gently stroking his cheek, Michelle replied, "But I have your heart, Danny. And you have mine."
In that moment, they knew. They knew that despite everything, their love would survive, because, as Michelle put it, they had "that kind of love".
Danny managed a slight smile through his tears, as Michelle placed her hand on his chest. "My heart beats right here, Danny."
The End