It’s Not Just Us Anymore Chapter 5

Republisher’s Note: We pick up the on the run in San Cristobel.

Danny opened his eyes and looked around for Michelle. She wasn’t there. He wondered where she was. He quickly got up, dressed and hurried downstairs. Michelle was sitting at the counter talking to Abby and Rick was fixing breakfast.

“Hi,” Michelle said, “We didn’t think you were ever going to join us.”

Danny walked over and kissed her, “And miss seeing you this morning? Forget it.”

“So Michelle, how do you want your eggs this morning?” Rick asked cracking two eggs into a pan.

Michelle winced, “No thanks.”

“You OK?” asked Danny.

“I’m fine

“Michelle, you need to eat. Just eat something,” said Rick in full doctor mode.

“Don’t bother. I couldn’t keep it down anyway.”

“Well, try this anyway,” suggested Abby handing Michelle a plate with two slices of toast on it.

Michelle took it, just to please everyone, “So what do you have planned for today?” She asked Danny.

“I have a meeting this morning and then we have the rest of the day together.”

“A meeting, with who?”

“Philip Spaulding. He and I talked last night and he wants to meet with me today. He wasn’t very specific so I’m not sure what it’s about,” He looked at Rick, “Do you know?”

“He hasn’t said anything to me.”

“While you’re at Spaulding, could you drop something off for me?” asked Michelle.

“Sure, what is it?”

Michelle ran upstairs, grabbed a bag and ran back downstairs, “Here, tell Phillip it’s for Lizzie. There’s a message attached. It’s for when she has chemo.”

“OK, I’ll give it to him.”

“Can you drop me off at Company, too? I’m anxious to actually see people again.”

“Sure but are you up to it? Remember the doctor in San Cristabel said that you were supposed to take it easy.”

“I’m fine. I’ll go crazy if I just sit around here.”

“OK, I’ll pick you up after my meeting.”

“Michelle, I think you should also schedule a doctor’s appointment soon. You need to start taking care of yourself,” pointed out Rick.

Michelle nodded, “I will. I’ll call and make an appointment as soon as I can.”

Danny and Michelle left and drove to Company. Michelle went in and sat at the counter. She didn’t see any familiar faces but it felt good to just sit and not have to worry about going back to prison.

Suddenly she heard Selena say, “What brings you to Springfield?” and a familiar voice answered, “A lot of things but I mainly came back to see my daughter.”

“You’re here to see your daughter?” asked Selena.

“Yes, but I don’t think she’s too thrilled to see me,” said Claire.

“Why? Don’t you and your daughter get along?”

“Well it’s a complicated situation…I haven’t seen her since she was a baby and she’s all grown up now.”

“I know what that’s like,” Selena said smiling at Drew, who had just wandered over to them. None of them had noticed Michelle listening to their conversation.

“I just found my daughter last year and it’s been the best year of my life,” Selena said.

“Well I hope that the same thing happens with me and my daughter. She’s been told some horrible things about me by her family.”

“That’s awful,” said Drew sympathetically.

Michelle listened to their conversation. It was making her sick.

“What kind of things?” asked Selena.

“Well, I don’t know who said these things to her but they’ve told her that I neglected and abused her. That I never wanted her in the first place and that I handed her off to her father and step-mother the first chance I got.”

“That’s so horrible,” said Selena, “Why would her family say things like that?”

“Because it’s true,” said Michelle. She had had enough of Claire criticizing her family and making herself out to be this wronged mother.

“Michelle,” said Claire. Selena looked startled and Drew looked worried. She hadn’t spoken to Michelle since Michelle had fallen down the stairs.

“Claire, you and I both know that everything Rick, Dad, my mom, Holly, Vanessa and everyone else has said about you is true.”

“Michelle, you don’t know that. You were too young to know what was going on. You only know what happened from people who don’t like me and wanted to turn you against me.”

“Wait a second, Michelle is your daughter?” asked Selena.

“Yes,” said Claire smiling at Michelle, “She’s my daughter.”

“I told you last night that you are not my mother. You never were and you never will be.”

“Michelle…” Drew started to say. She wanted to point out her own experience.

“Shut up Drew,” snapped Michelle, “I have not even started with you yet.”

“Hey, leave her alone,” said Selena.

“Selena, would you like to know what your precious little girl did? She flew down to San Christabel looking for me and Danny. Even with no proof that we were there she flew down there, demanded that she be shown around and then decided to push me down the stairs,” yelled Michelle.

“Look, Michelle,” Selena started to say.

“No, I am sick of both of you,” Michelle said to Claire and Drew, “You both think that you can waltz in and out of my life at your own whims. You,” she gestured to Claire, “think that you can make up for years of abandonment and fear by coming back now. And you,” she turned to Drew, “You go from being my friend one minute to accusing me of murder and pushing me down the stairs, endangering my baby, the next.”

“Michelle, I said I was sorry about that,” protested Drew.

“You put my baby in danger,” cried Michelle, “You have no idea how lucky I was.”

“I do, Michelle and I am sorry OK.”

“No it’s not OK. I am sick of making excuses for you. So you were adopted, so was I. And I loved my mom,” Michelle said glaring at Claire, “I covered for you when Mick died. I was there for you every time you needed me and what do I get in return?”

She never got her answer because they were interrupted by a voice saying, “What’s going on here?”

Gus Aitoro and Miguel Santos, Junior

Selena Davis Becomes a Mother

Selena Davis (jail bird, former hooker, and waitress extraordinaire) had an interesting life. She came on canvas as Abby’s (Abby Bloom Bauer) jail friend, helping keep her safe there. Abby invited her into the Bauers’ lives. Selena was very pro-Abby and as an extension to that she was Team Michelle in the Dresse-Messe fight thinking she understood Drew and telling her to back off. Selena came into town with a secret – she had given up a daughter taken from her and when her rights were terminated, the girl was put up for a closed adoption. Eventually she discovered that she and Drew had the same photo of Drew as a baby and realized Drew was her daughter. Selena immediately became Team Drew, but kept secret that she was her mother, instead faking information to make it so Drew thought a dead friend of Selena’s was her mother instead. That evolved into a huge complicated story which ended up with Drew realizing Selena was her mother, that Max Nickerson wasn’t her biological brother after all (she adopted him anyway), and that Ben Warren was her father. They were working to be more of a family when Ben Warren was killed.

Selena Hearts Alone

Selena had an ongoing romantic relationship with Buzz Cooper and it was pretty well established Selena as a more mature version of Nadine. Selena helped Buzz take care of Coop and Rocky after Jenna died and stayed in a romantic relationship with Buzz after the kids were sent to live with Jenna’s family in the UK.

Next Selena’s backstory got a rewrite. Blake, in a totally idiotic decision, skipped over all the great romantic stories in Springfield, including the Rassie couple that she had spent a LOT of time researching already and Manny which is the best story ever, in order to write about Selena’s story with Miguel Santos. The book was published as Hearts Alone under Blake’s pen name Darlena LaCrosse. Blake found out that Selena (who had previously extensively interacted with the Santos family without a shred of recognition including knowing Carmen’s son who had previously been named after Miguel) had her backstory reset to have a second secret child, this time by Miguel Santos. This second child was also a son also named Miguel Santos, Jr. (That was his name at birth although we don’t know if he changed it. I would think he would have because otherwise Mick would have hit on spots with the same name for example I know there is a woman who has my same name in Germany because I run into her name when I do all sorts of stuff. Also, I have an uncle who named his kid my brother’s name when he was born later and we run into that all the time.)

Miguel, Jr. On Screen, On Canvas

We had two on screen connections with Selena’s son. Selena called him to warn him when she skipped town, without looking up a number so she had it memorized or at least programmed in her phone because he picked up directly, it wasn’t through a secretary or anything. Later while Gus Aitoro tries to get Danny convicted of Carmen’s murder, Danny remembers one time when he went to the Cubs game with his father (which was traditionally Danny and Papa only) and another boy showed up. Danny figures out it was probably this Miguel Jr. although his dad didn’t tell Danny who he was. Gus kept dropping Cubs references so until his backstory came out Danny thought Gus was this Miguel. That was a red herring, but Danny was probably correct that it was Miguel, Jr. at the game that day.

Did Gus Really Know Who He Was?

Harley Cooper and Gus Aitoro, 2004

This first suggestion that Gus was Miguel, Jr., was during Danny’s trial for Carmen’s murder when they were trying to figure why Gus had a grudge against him. Danny thought maybe Gus was Miguel, Jr. to be out to get him. It was found out that instead Gus’s father was a police officer in Chicago who was killed by the Santos family (which had nothing to do with Danny, but Gus just wanted revenge, even though we later learned that Gus’s sister had already killed Ray and Tony’s father so eye for an eye requirement met).

During Danny’s trial was not the last time the suggestion came up. It was discovered that Gus was adopted by the parents who raised him. When Danny was working at the Tower Club it came up that Danny and Gus were both allergic to peanuts. They actually did a blood test to see if Danny and Gus were related that came back negative. This really is unfortunate because the strongest relationship that Gus had on the show for most of his run was with Danny. At that point in their relationship they both actually seemed a little sorry that it wasn’t true. It would be especially interesting because Gus had gone after the entire Santos family because they were related by blood or marriage. To find himself on that list (especially earlier on) would have had FAR more impact than the story they actually wrote.

Gus a Spaulding

It turned out that Alex (who had 2 children torn away from her as babies and so knew the pain it caused so even if she had done it she would have fessed up later) had paid a member of the staff that Alan had slept with and impregnated to leave without telling Alan. She had the baby and gave it up for adoption. Alan thought she’d dumped him and didn’t know about the pregnancy. When the possibility came up, Alan and Gus tracked down the woman who was a nun and confirmed that they were indeed Gus’s biological parents.

It would be much more interesting for Gus to have been a Santos than a Spaulding and fans kept hoping they were leaning that way. However, despite the fact the story leaned that way more than once it never happened. I, for one, am sorry they didn’t go. I think there would have been a lot of emotion. Seriously the only time the Spaulding connection effected storyline seriously was in service to the ridiculous Alex was a drug dealer storyline. And that Alan lived with Gus and Harley for a short while.

So What About Miguel?

While Manny was still on canvas periodically Miguel, Jr. would get a mention. Normally the suggestion was that he was maybe Gus until they did the test, but after the blood test the possibility was gone (or not this IS a soap town). So what we know he was a lawyer (a successful lawyer according to Selena) and that whether she raised him or not, Miguel, Jr. was aware that Selena Davis was his mother and that Miguel Santos, Sr. was his father. He probably knew Miguel because that probably WAS Miguel, Jr. at the game with Danny, but whether the two Miguels had an on-going relationship or if this was a one time thing is unclear. Most likely he would have taken another name, as I mentioned earlier, the older he got the more a Miguel Santos, Jr. would have stood out and he realized that the Santos family was a potential threat.

Selena is able to dial his number without looking it up, but was never shown on camera calling him at any other time. He also didn’t hang up on her, so they must have either had a semi-positive relationship or at least an understanding she’d only call if there was an emergency. So did they talk off screen? What did he think of his mother? He certainly didn’t help her get out of jail or to find Drew. I don’t think she even told Drew about him. Actually I don’t think she told Drew about any of this. What did he know about his father? Did he have any interest in meeting his half-siblings? Did he resent his mother AND Carmen, his mother OR Carmen for getting his father killed? Did he resent Selena losing the trust fund Miguel had set up for him? Having the real Miguel, Jr. (if it couldn’t be Gus, sigh) would have been a very interesting story development. There really were so many ways they could have gone with the character. It would have been an interesting path to go down. In my never humble opinion, I think no matter what way they’d taken Miguel, Jr. having him be Gus or not, would have been a lot more interesting than the drug smuggling or deep, dark, best forgotten amnesia year stories. So let us raise a toast to the unknown Miguel, Jr. Who knows maybe he’s out in undeveloped, shadowy clouds around the never written edges of Springfield, sharing a drink with Michelle’s other half-brother, Claire’s son who was mentioned once in passing and never again.

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Blake Marler Book Update 2015

One of my early projects for this website was to put together a list of books about Guiding Light. It took longer than I thought to find, read, and review each one so I decided to do something I thought would be faster. I decided to put together a list of the fake books that only exist in Springfield. I thought this would be easier to find than the real books, but it’s proven a far harder a task than I thought it would be. Tonight I’m offering up an update of my original post on Blake Marler’s books. I’ve discovered several things over the years that I’ve included as updates to that post, but I think it’s time to reorganize and repost what I’ve found.

Blake Book Signing

Blake “Chrissie” Thorpe Marler, first driven to write while she hung out pregnant at the Bauer Cabin (not wanting Ross to realize he was the father of her baby since she wrongly believed Holly and Ross had developed a romantic relationship at that time). Eventually Blake produced two best-selling novels. Subsequently Blake uses that fame in her investigations aka snooping (like when she discovers Gus’s true identity during Danny’s murder trial). She later used this experience to serve as Henry “Coop” Cooper’s book agent and was considering writing another book herself when the show ended.

I kindly had Blake’s titles confirmed for me by welovekeifer They were published under the pen name Darlena LaCrosse, originally this was to keep Ross from realizing Blake was the author and she kept using the name for her second book to cash in on initial fame.

Blake’s Writing

One True Love – Set during an approximately World War II era romance, OTL told a fictionalized account of the Hoss story where they get a happy ending. Blake’s versions of Holly and Ross often appeared before her on screen to act out scenes from the book as she wrote it. They even talked to her to comment on her writing and how realistic or unrealistic it was and what she should be writing. Blake called the Holly character Clarissa, the Ross character Armand, and the Blake character Christina. Holly accidentally got hold of some chapters and the book was first published as a serial story in the Springfield Journal. Ross eventually realizes Blake wrote the book and deduces to look for her at the Bauer cabin finding her at the cabin just in time to help deliver their daughter, who they name after the Holly character in the book, Clarissa.

http://web.archive.org/web/20030411002010/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/love.html

 Hearts Alone – (Don’t expect this part to make sense – it was just plot point so swallow hard and just accept it. ) While looking around for a love story to tell in her second book (rather than use any of the incredible Springfield love stories – Manny, Bloss, Quola, and Jeva spring to mind as great novel possibilities) and after discarding writing about Cassie & her experiences with Richard (which Blake had done at least some preliminary work on – see below), Blake chooses to focus on the story of Selena Davis’s (recently revealed mother of Drew Jacobs, currently dating Buzz Cooper) hidden past which involved a long term affair with Danny’s father Miguel Santos (who was married to Carmen at the the time) which produced a much talked about, but never actually seen on screen son. This let us have the few glimpses we had of Miguel on screen. Sadly we’ll never know which image of Miguel was closer to the truth, Carmen’s or Selena’s as we see and hear of him chiefly through their memories and each has a lot of their own self-image tied up in how they saw Miguel.
Unfortunately, Blake failed to adequately disguise the people involved in the book and almost immediately everyone figured out it was about Miguel Santos. That the woman was Selena took a little longer to come out, but out it came with Maria Santos (aka Abuela) realizing Selena was the woman. It’s less clear that Carmen realized it (she was busy with her own troubles at that time) and the goons after Selena were unspecific about who gave the orders. Blake has a book launch party for it at Company and begins her investigation of Gus there. She later apologizes to Danny if the book brought up bad memories. Danny told Blake he had heard from many people it was a good book, but that he hadn’t read it himself because he didn’t want to look back on that part of his life. He felt only bad memories and revelations waited there (and by this point who could blame him) and he was much more interested in his future with Michelle than in revisiting his father’s past. This was during the time that Bloss and Manny were the closest, but sadly they never even really acknowledge the important beat of them being once and future step-siblings and therefore in-laws.

http://web.archive.org/web/20030411001314/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/hearts.html

The cover above is Hearts Alone. The image above was the closest thing to a clear shot of the cover. It says Darlena La Crosse on the top above the sunset and Hearts Alone below. Attend Blake’s Book Launch Party for the book here:
https://glmanny.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/blakes-book-launch-party

Apparently Blake used that early research on Rassie to produce a short story she published on her author’s website:

True Romance – SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME: Cassie’s Story – A web publication
http://web.archive.org/web/20021001072758/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/romance.html

Blake’s Author Website

Thanks to Soap Opera 451 for putting me on this website.

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20030410201729/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/index.html

A second archived version with a different letter from Blake:

http://web.archive.org/web/20021206055651/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/index.html

Blake’s Author Bio
http://web.archive.org/web/20021015001920/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/bio.html

Blake Marler’s Web Diary – Tory Granger
http://web.archive.org/web/20030205231959/http://www.soapcity.com/gl/behindthescenes/blake_marler/diary.html

Scenes from the Show

Conversation about book

Ross Discovers Blake is Darlena LaCross.
https://glmanny.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/ross-realizes-blake-darlena-lacross

Ross discovers that Blake being Darlena means he’s the father of her baby.
https://glmanny.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/christmas-1999

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Blake’s Book Launch Party

 Harley Cooper and Rick Bauer are trying to hide the fact that Harley is pregnant with Rick’s baby. As Harley was only recently separated from Phillip Spaulding they don’t want him to know. Both think Phillip will break contact with both of them when he finds out. They are having supper at Infierno. Phillip comes in wearing an absolutely gorgeous suit.

Cut to Company where Blake is having her book launch party. Buzz is still angry with Blake because her book put the mob wise to Selena Davis who was dating Buzz at the time she was recently forced to run. I think he’s quite reasonable to be mad at her. He is now competing with Billy for Holly’s attentions. This makes less sense except that Billy and Buzz just love competing with each other. At the moment Buzz has ticked Holly off and his efforts with Blake’s party to make it up to her isn’t working. So currently Billy is ahead in Holly’s affections. I truly think Billy and Buzz enjoyed sparring with each other more than either of them cared about Holly, but it’s a really fun storyline (if you don’t think about it too much, cough, cough, Holly’s fault Jenna died, cough, cough).

Meanwhile Blake is determined to track down Selena’s unknown lawyer son. Ross is already not so crazy about Blake’s involvement digging into mob history. Blake has taken the bit in her teeth and won’t be stopped. Ross: “Since I to love you and I prefer loving living people, I have to change your mind.”

Fresh off eviscerating Buzz, Holly comes over to Blake on her break from signing books and wants to know what Ross is upset about. Holly brings the news that Hearts Alone (the book the party is launching, the one about Selena and the Santos family) is on the bestseller’s list. Buzz flashes back to Selena fleeing town. Gus is at Blake’s party. Claire calls to tell him she hasn’t gotten anything on Danny yet, Gus threatens her to continue trying to get Danny to confess to something on tape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxnC_edJzrI (Part 2)

Rick, Harley, and Phillip catch up on all the other on-going storylines around Springfield after they all gather together at a table at Infierno (a rare instance of there being two restaurant sets up at once).  Blake realizes something is wrong with Buzz (he’s not over what happened with Selena). Billy tries to help and Gus takes another stab at Blake hoping to use her against Manny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOP0EQQcAzQ (Part 3)

I may find more of this. I think there was a little more to this party, but basically I went ahead and did this post from one channel’s posts because I wanted to get it out.

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Bauer’s Fourth of July BBQ – Part 2 by SJ

Republisher’s Note: This fanfic is actually from 1999 and is set in an alternative version of the Bauer BBQ that year. The author, SJ, has a rather distinctive sense of humor she writes into her stories, if you enjoy it check out the Benny Dietz stories section for more. Also look for more MarySue style name dropping from that group of friends who were active fanfic writers at the time. Note in both this and the last part Michelle says she’s wearing a tankini. This was a style of swimsuit that was invented and really took off for awhile in the late 1990s, early 2000s. It was a two piece swimsuit with a tank top made out of swimsuit material for the top and a separate bikini bottom. They are no longer “in” so you may not have seen one. I’m linking to an image suitable for the Bauer BBQ below.

Tankini in Fourth of July Colors

Dear Journal: As I mentioned in my last post, Danny and I had gone to my room after his playful jealousy over my modest tankini swimsuit. He had demanded that I take the suit off and change. Being quite bold, not to mention desirous of my spouse, I did as he bade and removed the suit’s top.

Danny then stepped towards me and said that he loved me, but felt we just could not be together in this house right now while there was still danger lurking everywhere. I went and put my arms around his neck. It must have been the feel of my bare skin against his shirt that made him reach for me and give me a very sensuous kiss. It is a shame that the video cameras were not operating because I bet Holly Jo could do some great animation work with our kissing scene. I digress. The kiss was long and languid. I melted further into his arms and pulled the back of his shirt from his linen slacks.

I ran my hands over his muscled back. Doing this was extremely exciting and I breathed out his name through our kiss. He broke from the kiss to remove my pareo (I was thinking now we are getting somewhere) and I at the same time began unbuttoning his shirt.

All of a sudden, we both heard a loud thump, thumping noise. Well, Danny got all skittish and got that killer rabbit look in his eyes and he ran out of my balcony door. I sighed and put my suit top back on and also added a denim shirt and tied it off at the waist. I was pretty sure what the thump thumping was anyway. I went up to the garage apartment and saw Selena doing her Jazzercise video tape. I interrupted her and asked her how she was doing. She said everything was great down at Company and that she had come home and spent some quality time with the folks downstairs. She said she was exercising now because she had eaten about 30 bar cookies, “they were so good Michelle,” she said. I said, “I know. Selena, I made the cookies. I named them Dannys. They are similar to the cookies that Danny’s first girlfriend, Carla, used to make for him.”

Selena told me that she needed to be frank with me. She said that she had met a woman in prison whose name was Karla. This woman had poisoned her lovers with arsenic laden brownies. Once we figured out that the two Carla/Karla’s could not be the same person we had a good laugh.

She then advised me that even though the cookies were good, it was good that I had changed the recipe somewhat, I would not want Danny pining away for Carla. She also told me about a book she had read in prison. This book reported that people always remember the foods from their childhood as better tasting. This was because a person’s taste buds are less sharp as they age. I did not really hear everything she was saying here. I was instead wondering why Selena always seemed to turn every conversation into gabfests about her prison or streetwalker experiences.

I thanked Selena for her sage advice and said that I needed to go find Danny. She resumed her exercise tape (thud thump). Selena was an attractive person and had a charming figure. But she tended to knock into people or knock them down when she went past you. One time she almost knocked Carmen down, not something you want to do if you want to live a long life. After that incident, I was going to talk to her, but Abby told me that Selena did this to protect herself. She had learned in prison, that if you were aggressive, other people would step back, to avoid being stepped on if nothing else. I wondered at the time why a lot of Abby’s stories had to do with prison life too.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Danny and I are going to talk over Honeymoon locations tomorrow with a travel agent. One of the agents we have called is really pushing this place called San Cristobel. She says that everyone who is anyone in Springfield is going. She also said we could get a great charter flight down with everyone. Frankly, I am not sure I want to honeymoon with all of those people. I would really like for us to be alone and not be part of someone else’s trip. I mean I really like Reva and Cassie. They are fun and even call themselves the positive vibe girls. They rev people up and get them to play games and dance. But Reva usually goes off with Josh which always leaves Cassie the odd person. But this doesn’t last for long as she always finds another couple to hang with. I don’t want it to be us. Danny is mine now, I am not sharing.

I know this sounds mean especially since, she is sad and lonely because Hart died. I feel for her. I just do not want her knocking on my suite door at 7 AM. All the while saying “rise and shine sleepyheads, it is time for our morning jog!” No, on my honeymoon all I want to do is lay with my spouse on a bed or a hammock or a big chair or anything that is horizontal.

I went to look for Danny, the love of my life. It feels so good to write that. Now if I could just get the nerve up to tell him, all would be well. Lord knows everyone else in Springfield knows this by now. I find him in the kitchen. He had a big glass of milk and was eating the Dannys I had made for him. At first he did not believe I had made them. Aunt Meta verified this for him. She was still in the kitchen with the smelling salts. Now she was administering them to Holly, who was just out of the mental hospital. She was mumbling that seeing sights like Jesse in a teeny black Speedo was one reason she had stayed in the hospital for such a long time. Well, Danny had about 10 of the cookies in his hands and at least 5 in his mouth. This was surprising to me as I had never ever see Danny eat a food product. Note to self get easy to cook recipes from Aunt Meta. Remember Michelle, cooking is just like a chemistry experiment but without the sulfur.

I went up to him and he waved me away while he finished his treat. I told him that I was not trying to take the cookies away and he got less defensive. I stood very close to him and let him chew. Finally, he noticed that I had not changed yet and told me to go back to the room pronto. He followed me with still another wad of cookies in his hands.

My goal in getting Danny back to my room was to tell Danny that I loved him, wanted to be with him and show him physical proof of this. Being apart from him made me want him more. I was happier to see him each time we happened to run into each other. Although dear journal, I still do not understand why every time that I surprise him, he seems to be reaching into his coat pocket and then quickly withdraws his hand. I told Aunt Meta about this and she suggested that he might be “packing heat.” I told her he was probably just reaching for his breath spray (he really likes Binaca). Maybe it is both?

Anyway, I am rambling and it is late. Danny did not leave here until a bit before 12. Given our track record that means we spent almost 8 hours together. That must be some sort of record. Usually we are together for about 70 seconds a day.

I then set out to complete my plan. I asked Danny again if he wanted me to change out of my suit. He said yes and went to the balcony to allow me privacy to change. I ran over and locked the balcony door. Until that moment, I did not know that this door had a lock on it. We never lock doors here at Casa Bauer. Why would we ever need locks for protection? It is not like I will be abducted or anything.

I told Danny to sit on the bed. This relaxed him a bit. I then removed my top and dangled it before him asking him if he’d like to party. Danny, who was now gripping the bedspread said Michele, you know we cannot do this. I sat on the bed so that I was behind him and I leaned in close and started to whisper into his ear. What did I say, well I gave him the speech?

You know “the I am a Man speech.” But, I inserted woman instead of man and tried my best to duplicate his speech. I cannot remember all the words I used but it went like this.

“I lay here night after night thinking of you, wanting you, needing you here beside me, with me, touching me, stroking me. I dream about you and what it would be like to have you with me at all times. To climb into these cold clean sheets and remember what it would be like to be back in our big bed. Our bed with those sheets that never rustled (400 thread Bermuda Cotton sheets are very quiet). Here in this small bed, we would be touching if we even moved an inch. You tell me that you want to wait for us to be together until you settle all of the family business. Danny, it has already taken such a long time. I am young and in love. I have known your body and I want to know it again, now.”

“I am just a woman, Daniel Santos, and I want you with me, right now.” With that statement I leaned in closer and pressed my breasts against his now sweat soaked linen shirt. I heard his sharp intake of breath as he felt me against him. Boldly, I leaned farther forward and wrapped my legs around him.

“God,” he said, “you do not know what you do to me.”

“Yes,” I said, “I think I do because it is the same as what you do to me every time we are close together like this or even when we speak on the telephone. I sense and feel the touch of your lips, your arms stroking mine, your hands and your lips stroking my neck, your hands tangled in my hair, the touches you give me when we kiss. Your soulful kisses that make me feel you have invaded my very soul.”

“I long to have you lean back against me and let me show you how much I love you.”

At this, Danny finally stopped being the noble gangster and followed my wish and lay back against me so that my breasts were closer to him. He shifted down so that they were then directly over his face. Oh my, I thought. Danny then pulled my lips down to meet his and pulling away from the kiss pulled my neck closer to him so that he could kiss first one then the other breast. I was beginning to feel a lot warmer and I intuitively pressed against him even more to which he said, “Michelle you feel as if you are not wearing anything.”

“Danny, I am not wearing much.”

“Michelle?”

“Yes, Danny,” I replied “what would you like me to do?”

“Thanks, Michelle, I think I can take things from here. But I do have two logistics questions. First, could we turn on some music, it sounds as if Buzz, Jesse, Drew, Max and Selena are upstairs now and they seem to be making a lot of noise?”

“Your wish is my command, sire.” As I got up, I took off my pareo and tankini bottoms. I was standing there just 6 inches away from his body without any clothing on and it was so warm in the room. I reached over and began unbuttoning his shirt and he undid his trousers to reveal his silk boxer shorts. It was really hot now.

“Michelle, I still have one more question.”

“What is it, Daniel?”

“Is your bedroom door locked?”

The End

Bauer’s Fourth of July BBQ – Part 1 by SJ

Republisher’s Note: Although it was much more fully developed in fanfic than on the show, it was a running theme that Michelle couldn’t cook, they touch on that in this fanfic. This writer was also part of a group that often MaryJaned themselves and a small group of other fanfic writers into stories, hence the mention of Danny’s first girlfriend. She also does a real nice of job of subtle dropping in hints and jabs about the storylines current in 1999.

Author’s Note: Hey everyone, a post on Kristi’s board got me thinking about what to bring to the Bauer BBQ. Realizing that with the planned story line, Manny may not be at the BBQ this year, I decided to go ahead and write this 2 part story now. Also, I created a recipe for a cookie that even Michelle could bake. So I guess this first part of the story is also a challenge for other Manny recipes.

————————————————————–

Michelle’s Journal Entry—July 4, 1999 11:30 PM

 

I cannot believe another July 4 has come and gone. It is so exciting that Abby’s hearing is returning. And this BBQ was wonderful for her. Rick has been so moody lately that he didn’t even want to do this BBQ but Abby surprised him at the last minute. I think he was very happy about it. Abby wanted to have the BBQ because of family tradition and she wanted to be with her friends when she could finally hear fireworks, not just see them. I bought her some earplugs just in case the noise was too much. Abby is such a wonderful and inspiring spirit to me. I hate it that Rick does not seem to understand that she is having some bad times now along with the good. Rick is always in a bad mood lately.

Good news Journal! Aunt Meta finally helped me devise a recipe that I can actually make I was talking to her the other day about my desire to learn to cook. She told me that what I need to do when I think about cooking is think of it as a lab experiment for a Chemistry class. I told her about a cookie that Danny’s first girlfriend used to make for him and she agreed to help me come up with a recipe.

About that girlfriend, I’m not putting on my Nancy Drew cap to help find her! She’ll just have to go unfound as far as Danny is concerned. He is mine now! Danny told me about her once, they met in Puerto Rico during the summer his family lived there. They were both 14 and met at the concession stand at the San Juan baseball park. He said her name was Carla and they’d seen each other every day that summer. She loved making him these cookies which he still talks about. He said he tried to track her down again after he came into some money at age 18 but had never been able to find her.

Anyway, I played around with one of the recipes Aunt Meta gave me and I think I’ve finally hit on something good. I’ll be honest and admit to burning a few batches but I made 10 batches that turned out perfect and everyone is gobbled them up at the BBQ. I remember thinking that I had better put some aside so that the real guy can try some! So here is the recipe for my new creation, which I’m calling

————————————————————–

Dannys

Serves 8 to 10 (if you double the recipe do not put in larger pan/break batches up)/ Prep time 5 minutes/ Baking time 30 minutes (convection oven) 35 (regular oven)

Ingredients

22 graham crackers (use food processor or hand to process into crumbs)

½ cup of wheat germ

1 12 oz. Can of evaporated milk

3 oz. Each of butterscotch chips and chocolate chips (or use 6 oz of 1 of these)

1 ½ tsp. Of vanilla extract or use 1 tsp. of cold espresso

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9 by 9 inch pan with Mazola or Pam nonstick spray

Combine all of the aforementioned ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour into pre-sprayed pan. Bake in oven for around 30 minutes. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes then cut and cool on a plate. Put the Dannys in a plastic zip-lock bag and place on top of picnic basket (so they don’t get mushed) or place on plate and set out for the BBQ! This is a great no fuss, no muss recipe for kids to make too since there are no eggs and no flour to make a mess.

 

Options–Use ½ of walnuts or pecans, add in with rest of ingredients.

You can also substitute 6 oz of peanut butter chips for the chocolate and butterscotch chips.

If you want to make Billys use marshmallows instead of the chips.

————————————————————

 

Okay, now I have written down my first recipe! Now I need to learn to cook something a bit more substantial.

But I have no ideas.

Where was I, oh yeah, talking about the BBQ? It was around 3 PM and I was standing in the kitchen helping set out the food when I looked over to see Aunt Meta fanning Lillian while Abby waved smelling salts under her nose. Ha, Jesse again, I thought and I was right. I looked out the window and saw that he was wearing those teeny black Speedo swim trunks, again. I thought I had thrown those things out last summer. Anyway, Lillian was finally coming around and Meta was muttering that in her day, men didn’t wear those things if they didn’t fill them out properly. Lillian then laughed and said, yes, if you do not have a well packed package, make sure that the wrapping isn’t too tight. At that both women started laughing and Abby who had heard half of the conversation was just standing there looking perplexed.

Danny had told me that he wouldn’t be by until after 5 so I decided I had time for a swim and ran upstairs to put on my new tankini. I loved the suit, it was demure but functional. I tied my new pink and salmon colored batik pareo around my waist and ran back downstairs to the pool. I would have to say that the sights that awaited me were surreal.

Jesse was there in the aforementioned bathing suit with Drew in a leopard print bikini. They both looked kind of tacky if I do say so myself. Bill and Pilar were there in matching suits. Her white one piece with a diagonal red stripe matched his red trunks with a white stripe. It was kind of cute to see them trying so hard to meet each other half way. Lizzie, Marah, Susan and Tammy all had really cute little suits that seemed to range the colors of the rainbow. Max was there too and was teasing Marah much to Susan’s chagrin. Shayne was splashing around in the wading pool with the Mahler twins (who Aunt Meta had agreed to baby-sit yet again). Beth and Cassie, inexplicably had on identical suits and Jim was standing between them looking awkward as usual.

Selena and Buzz, the newlyweds, even showed. Buzz had promised Abby a lot of food from his new restaurant and they were dropping off the assorted dishes. There is still a lot of tension between Drew and Selena. Ben just came in with Blake followed by Ross and India. It is obvious they are all being a little too polite at this moment. Everyone looked happy on the surface but you could sense the stress and tension underneath everyone’s polite gossiping.

Rick is standing at the grill with Philip (Harley who just had the baby sent her regrets) and they both are laughing and drinking beer. When will someone tell Rick, a doctor BTW, that rare hamburgers are not cool anymore? I bought some veggie burgers for him to cook this year and he even served them rare, which I did not think was possible.

I had a nice swim (Bill asked the kids to help him teach Pilar how to play Marco Polo at the opposite end of the pool, so I wasn’t bothered). I was thinking about Danny again, about the 500th time that day. I’m not sure why Rick is so against our union. Abby and Meta are on our side but lately this makes Rick more determined than ever.

I resolved not to think about that and instead thought back about the night Danny and I spent together at his house. It was the night he had announced to his mother and the other so called “Springfield families” that he was going legitimate. I had waited in his room for him and when he came in and found me in his bed, well the night became a sleepless one pretty fast for both of us.

It was very special and Danny had promised to get us away from here for a real honeymoon when he took care of one more piece of business. He was working on that today and I couldn’t/still cannot wait to start on that life together. If only Danny weren’t so possessive and protective of me all the time. I talked to Aunt Meta and Abby about this too. Abby said that Rick had been like this when they were first married and his so called wild bull behavior had continued through her incarceration. She chalked it up to an intense sense of jealousy that men seem to feel when they enter into the physical nature of a relationship. Aunt Meta said pretty much the same thing but in a bit more graphic detail.

I got out of the pool and toweled off. I wrapped my pareo around my waist and looked around at everybody again. Then I heard his voice. It wasn’t his playful voice, it was the gruffly serious voice.

Michelle, what are you wearing? I want you to go and change right now. I just wink at him, but inside I’m thinking, here we go again! Then I saw him and sighed. He was wearing an off-white pair of linen slacks and a very rich looking shirt that matched the slacks. He looked a little too good. I smiled and went over to hug and kiss him but he held me away.

“Danny,” I say, “I’m not wearing anything revealing or sexy.”

“That is a matter of opinion,” he said.

I pointed out all of the other women pool-side. He didn’t care and was getting ready to tell me again, I just know it, when Cassie knocked Beth into the pool. In the process, it soaked Danny’s shirt. Cassie laughed looked at Danny and the other people that had gotten wet and said “oh, sorry” and walked away. Jesse jumped into the pool to help Beth and I turned away so as to not see him leave the pool, that suit of his, Drew please talk to him! The pool incident seemed to relax Danny a little bit and he started talking in a calmer tone. He said, “I know you are being a good host Michelle, but you can still do a good job in a long sleeved jumpsuit that zips up to your neck.”

I laughed nervously, realizing that for all intents and purposes he was being a bit playful but was also quite serious. I told him he had to get over this jealousy. Just then Bill and Pilar walked by and Pilar made a point of telling me how cute I was in my suit. Bill politely agreed and with that, Danny said, “that is it!” He then playfully pulled me into the house and down the hall. We entered my room and he slammed the door shut. Then he surprised me by kissing me very passionately. I told him that this was much better than our discussion at the pool. He stopped nuzzling my neck and told me again to change out of my sexy suit (HA) and into something more appropriate..

I looked at him and sighed. Then I said, “whatever you want Danny” and I reached up and unhooked my top.

 

Drifting Apart by Kellie Chapter 1

Republisher’s Note:  Good news! This fanfic is complete. It’s short though. In this universe, when Danny asked baby or medical degree first, Michelle said medical degree and she’s now in her residency. They have their own place and there is some real nice authentic interactions with other Springfielders.

Michelle groaned as she awoke to the annoying sound of her pager. “I just got to sleep,” she grumbled as she rose and walked to the telephone on the other side of the on-call room. She looked at the number on the pager display and realized it wasn’t an emergency page. She tapped her foot lightly as she dialed the number. She didn’t even let him get out a hello before saying, “Danny, this had better be good. I had just gone to sleep for the first time this shift. This snow storm has flooded the ER with wreck victims.”

“My aren’t you the grumpy one this evening. I guess I’ll have to forget about the little surprise I have for you,” Danny answered in a teasing tone.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Thirty-six hour shifts like this one tend to make a person grumpy.”

“I understand completely. I’m sorry that I woke you up. You go on and grab your nap and call me when you have a free minute.”

Michelle quickly replied, “Hold it, you’re not getting off that easy! You mentioned a surprise. I’ll never get back to sleep until you tell me what it is.”

“If I told you now, I’d miss seeing that beautiful face of yours light up when I give it to you.” Danny smiled as he thought about how Michelle was going crazy with curiosity.

“Danny.”

“Don’t even try to pry it from me. You’ll find out in due time. I just called to see if you were going to get off on time for once.”

Michelle softened her tone, “I think so. Danny, you have to at least give me a hint about that surprise.”

“Well, I guess I could be persuaded to drop a hint.”

“Hmm. What will it take to get you to talk? Too bad you’re not here, I know I could get more than that hint from you.”

“Who says I’m not there,” Danny replied as he opened the door to the on call room, cell phone in hand. “What type of persuasion do you have in mind?”

Before Michelle could walk to the doorway, her pager went off again. “Damn! This thing always goes off at the worst moments.”

Danny nodded and watched as his wife went back to the phone and answered what he knew was an emergency page. Michelle rushed across the room and grabbed her lab coat after hanging up the phone. “I’m sorry sweetie, they’re bringing victims from a ten car pile up into ER. I have to get down there,” she said before giving Danny a quick kiss and darting out the door.

A half-hour later, Danny left the hospital dejectedly and headed to Company. He went over to the bar and had a seat. “Buzz, I’ll take a beer please.”

Buzz walked over to him and placed the beer on the bar. “Danny, you look like you just lost your best friend.”

“Seems that way, lately.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Buzz, I’m not sure talking is going to solve this problem.”

“You can’t know that until you try. Besides, everyone needs to enjoy my pearls of wisdom from time to time.”

Danny smiled at Buzz’s attempt to lighten his somber mood. “It’s Michelle.”

Buzz replied, “Trouble in paradise, huh?”

“You could say that,” Danny answered as he grabbed a handful of nuts from the bowl on the bar.

“Well, enlighten me.”

“I’m just tired of not seeing my wife. Ever since she started her residency at the Cedars, she works non-stop. Her shifts usually begin when I’m getting home from work and end two days later when I’m on my way out the door to the office. We both knew that this was going to be tough, I just didn’t realize how tough.”

“Doesn’t Michelle get a few days off between each of those long shifts?”

“Yeah, but lately Josh and Matt have been sending me out of town a lot to meet with clients. During the last month, Michelle and I have been lucky to have one night a week where we’ve both been home.”

“What happened before you came here?”

“How did you know something happened, Buzz?”

“I’m psychic.” Buzz paused while Danny smiled. “Actually, it was the look on your face when you walked in.”

“Buzz, you are an expert at reading people. I just came from the hospital. I went over there to surprise Michelle and have dinner with her. Rick loaned me the key to his office.”

“That explains why Selena dropped what she was doing and took that basket of food over to the hospital earlier. You were the one who called her.”

“Yeah.”

“What went wrong?”

“Michelle got paged to ER. There was a ten-car pile up. It will be hours before she gets another free moment. When that happens, she’ll need to grab a nap. She’s worked most of this shift without sleep.”

“I see. When does this shift end?” Buzz asked.

“Eight o’clock Saturday morning.”

“Why don’t the two of you take off to the Bauer cabin when she gets off? A weekend away might help.”

“I thought about that, but Michelle will be dead on her feet when she finally gets home. Sleep will be the only thing on her mind when she walks in the door.”

“Well, I don’t know what else to tell you. You’ll just have to trust that everything will work out.”

“That’s getting hard to do. I’ve always tried to support Michelle and her dream of being a doctor. I guess I didn’t realize our marriage would take second place to medicine.”

Favorite Individual Episodes 3

These days most people are watching Guiding Light via clips instead of individual episodes. Learn more about clips here:
https://glmanny.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/highlight-clips

In some ways this is unfortunate because they were written, timed and paced with the idea that you would watch the whole episode. By only watching clips of a single story line you lose the interconnection of stories, the cuts between them, and the pacing. Some wonderful people load entire episodes on YouTube. I want to point out and link to a few of those that are just exceptionally well done episodes in and of themselves that taken as whole even out of context with surrounding episodes they are just a perfect mix and a true jewel to behold.

I’ll be posting these, not in any particular order but as I come across episodes that I think deserved to be singled out that I find online.

This episode originally aired Mon., April 5, 1999. I picked this episode because it is a nice mix of drama and humor. It’s well known as a Manny episode for introducing Pilar Santos, Danny’s sister, but it also has some nice Pharley and Jeva stuff as well. I’m afraid I’m going to have a bit more commentary slip into the description this time, but I have a lot of opinions about this.

Blake, Cassie, and Harley are having Slumber party at Jessup Farm. The women look like they are having a great time. Harley and Cassie are an example of a great Guiding Light friendship. I can’t say they brought out the best in each other, but they certainly supported each other and it was long lasting friendship. Pharley are fighting because Phillip, wanting to help Harley deal with the reintroduction of her daughter in her life, arranged for Jim (Daisy’s adoptive father) to get a better paying job in Springfield so they’d stay in town. Harley viewed this as Phillip being manipulative. This is part of why I was never a Pharley fan. Harley would act like she didn’t know Phillip at all. I mean I love Phillip, but he’s totally controlling and manipulative, if Harley didn’t understand that and agree to put up with it she shouldn’t be married to him. The episode also has a very nice Jeva bedroom scene.

Back to the Manny stuff. They totally do this strange non-sibling like vibe between Pilar and Danny which thankfully is never seen after this episode, just so Michelle can act jealous which she does extremely well. I really like this version of Pilar, but once she’s almost shot at Casa Santos something breaks in her permanently. I wish we’d gotten more of this strong version of Pilar.

Buzz (about Drew to Selena): “Was she adopted by wolves?” Selena’s create a dead mother for Drew plan is just stupid and mostly causes trouble except in the long run I think it makes Max’s life much better. Who’s Max? You’ll see soon. OK now Josh is making me think of Danny during Michelle’s pregnancies & making me feel sorry since they never have this baby. Cassie actually that is wonderful advice, that might be her best speech on the show ever. Let’s see audience let’s take a poll if you were going to look for Phillip where would you look? (Deafening roar) With Rick! Yep, so why doesn’t Harley know that? See what I mean about Harley not really knowing Phillip. I mean they had some nice light romantic scenes and were good supportive friends, but once they start the romance Harley starts seeing Phillip as she wants him to be not as he is. Rick on the other hand, always understands all about Phillip. They have a great example of their friendship here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psl_ik5h0yU (Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRWBW4r5cg4 (Part 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyIe8L7TNhg&NR=1 (Part 3)

LAST UPDATED: December 10, 2022 I added my signature blog post.

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Michelle, Carmen, and Danny on the Docks Nov 13-14 2000

Mon., Nov. 13, 2000 – At the Docks: Michelle is confronted by Carmen. Carmen tells her that Danny isn’t there to protect her this time. Michelle is very upset and screams. She tries to get up and yells at Carmen that she isn’t real. Carmen tells her that she shouldn’t be afraid of her if she isn’t real. Michelle tells her that she was drugged. Carmen tells her that the drug will be out of her system before anyone finds her. She tells her that everyone is going to think she was upset about Danny’s affair and she came down to the docks and killed herself. Carmen pulls a gun on Michelle and tells her that she had her brought to the docks where Danny was supposed to kill her so long ago. She tells her that she is going to kill her and toss her body into the lake. Michelle doesn’t understand how Carmen could still be alive and Carmen just smiles and tells her that she can almost forgive Danny for not killing Michelle since she would get to do it. She blamed Michelle for taking both her sons from her beginning with Mick and then Danny. Carmen: “You’re NOT family, Michelle, and I don’t like you, so you have to die.” Michelle doesn’t understand how she can kill her and Carmen tells her that she is a mother fighting back for her  children and besides; she has killed for a lot less before. Michelle: “And your grandchild, Danny’s child…You need it. Let the baby live.” Michelle tells Carmen her baby will be the next generation of Santos. Michelle begs Carmen to lock her up and keep her alive until the baby is born. Carmen tells her that she isn’t sure that the baby is really her son’s. Michelle (annoyed in spite of everything): “Of COURSE it’s Danny’s.” Carmen tells her even if it is, Danny will have other children and they will not have blood tainted by hers. Michelle asks Carmen how she faked her death with Claire there to see that she died. Carmen tells her that Claire has a lot of tricks up her sleeve as well. Michelle doesn’t understand why Claire would help her. Carmen tells her it is because Claire doesn’t want Michelle with Danny any more than she does. Carmen tells Michelle that she has to die and points the gun at her. Michelle yells, “Danny!” Carmen laughs, telling her that it’s a nice try but doesn’t believe her. Danny however walks up behind Carmen. Danny: “Mother?” Danny begs Carmen not to shoot Michelle. He tells her that he will take care of Michelle. Carmen says that Michelle has to die. Danny realizes what Carmen has done to them. Danny: “What kind of mother would do this?” Michelle: “Your kind and my kind.” Danny tells Carmen that Michelle is carrying his child and he won’t give her up. Carmen tells him that he is his father’s son, weak and not knowing that he already has everything. Carmen tells him that all she wanted was to know who Miguel’s mistress was and he died protecting her. Carmen says this time the right person will die. She turns and points the gun at Michelle again. Danny tells her that Claire knows she is alive and will tell the authorities. Carmen tells him that she won’t shoot her but he will. She says he will do it and she will go back to where she was staying and he will be powerful beyond belief. Carmen seems to be mixing up Michelle and Selena (although she never uses her name) Danny tells her to get out of the way and pulls his gun on Michelle. He points the gun at Michelle, but it’s only a trick to get his gun out without Carmen reacting and he turns it on Carmen. He tells her to drop her gun and she refuses. She tells him that there is only one way to stop her and that is to kill her. She knows he won’t do it because he is her son. Danny pulls the slide back on his pistol. Danny tries everything, but Carmen makes it clear he is out of time and out of choices, if he wants to save Michelle and his child he has to kill her. At Company: Phil is talking to Rick. He tells him not to be upset and Michelle will turn up. Rick wants to know how this all happened and how Michelle fell in love with a mobster. Phillip tells him that her mom Maureen was the same way. She always looked through the bad exterior and saw the good in everyone. Phillip tells him that you can’t pick who you fall in love with. Rick wonders why Bill and Michelle couldn’t be together. Phillip thought Rick had made peace with Danny and Michelle being together. He tells him that he tried to respect the union because of the baby and their love. He is upset that he couldn’t save her from the mob. Phillip tells him that everything will be alright and they go in for a bite to eat. Later, Rick tells Phil that he needs a long hard run and leaves. Phil talks to Buzz about Michelle being missing. Maria walks in and Buzz excuses himself and Phil leaves. Maria tells Buzz that there is trouble. He told her he has heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Jhg2SHQiM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEFM_-v3N_E

Tues., Nov. 14, 2000 – At the Ferry Docks: Carmen is shot and lying on the dock, bleeding. She apologizes to Danny. He tells her they will send for help and she should hang on. Danny asks Michelle why she didn’t go for help and she told him if she had called 911 the police would have come and he and Carmen both would have been in trouble. She also knew that there was nothing they could do for Carmen, she has seen injuries like hers before and there was no saving her. They walk to the other side of the docks and Michelle tries to tell Danny that Carmen made it impossible for him to do anything else and in reality she had killed herself. Danny says he killed his mother and takes his gun out. Michelle is worried and Danny tosses the gun out into the lake. He tells Michelle that she should leave so she wouldn’t be a part of what happens next. Danny tells Michelle to stay hidden on the docks. She wants to stay with him. He takes her aside and tells her to stay put. Danny pulls away to go back to Carmen. Michelle grabs his hand and refuses to let go until he promises not to hurt himself. He promises her and says he will be right back. Michelle asks God to forgive him and to help Danny to forgive himself. Danny is looking at Carmen’s body and he tells her he hates her. He hugs her and cries while continuing to say he hates her. Finally with tears in his eyes, he drops his mother’s body into the water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpuShkvKTVY

My Comments:

There is another heavy Rick-Phillip conversation about Manny in the episode guide here, I wish I had it almost as much as I wish I had the one where they decide to throw Michelle into the Psych Ward. They are important for the story. I don’t know why the clippers so narrowly defined Manny to include just Danny and Michelle and not the people that impacted what happened to them.

I love how whenever Michelle wakes up her first word is “Danny.” It’s an acknowledgment of how necessary they are to each other. A half hour swimming and Michelle couldn’t find some place to get to shore?Just how big is Lake Springfield? Carmen is truly cracked at this point. Michelle answers her own question about how Carmen pulled it off when she realizes Claire is in league with Carmen.Oh Carmen even if it hadn’t been the pregnancy something would have brought Manny back together. Michelle bargains for her child’s life. Carmen doesn’t hesitate at the thought of killing Robbie which shows you how much Carmen believed in the code, it was just a way to control Danny.

Michelle tried to catch up Danny quickly. I think Carmen truly believed that Danny would just go quietly go sit in the car. “Yes, Mama.” About 2:00 Carmen’s speech explaining her background with Miguel and Selena and why she hates Michelle. Carmen isn’t wrong about the quality of the cops. Danny tries everything to talk Carmen down. Carmen really believes Danny wants all that crap, but if it’s a choice truly Danny would always choose Michelle and his kids being safe and happy, although without them he might have taken on the reins of a business he would eventually reform more and more, happily. However, Carmen wouldn’t have been happy with that either.

This is a nice move with Danny and the gun when he swings it over. It makes you wonder for a second & still is a great excuse to get his gun out. When he swings the gun over, it’s a killer move. The proper response to “You’re my son” would be, “No, I’m Michelle’s husband and that baby’s father.”

Although I think Carmen really believes that – that she is saving Danny and that he will understand someday because he just doesn’t understand her, when he figures it out he’ll understand. Really Carmen doesn’t understand Danny. Danny wants different things than Carmen and her telling Danny that Michelle isn’t good enough for him was probably the worst argument she could make. Except for a handful of times when he was horribly, horribly hurt Danny always thought Michelle was too good for him. However, when Danny makes his move wouldn’t the better move had been to step between Carmen and Michelle instead of to the side. It was a belly shot, not a chest or head shot. Important later. Whenever there is a gun shot, Danny’s first reaction is always “Michelle, are you OK?” I think Michelle was wrong not to call 911 though. Not calling for help for Mick was understandable, this was just wrong. If they wanted it to be convincing they really should have had some blood bubbles or something and lots more blood in general to justify Michelle’s claim that Carmen wasn’t savable especially because at this point they didn’t intend for her to come back again. I think what happened afterward would have gone better if they’d involved Frank at this point, but Michelle not calling is really a plot point though so they can hide Carmen’s death for awhile. And Danny drops into a very dark place here and doesn’t come back for a long time. That’s all the farther that the plot had gotten though. Carmen’s second return from the dead wasn’t planned at this point as Saundra Santiago says she was shocked when they called her to come back from the dead a second time. Man, I wish they’d give Nancy a month to get the part before they dropped her in this crucial of a scene. I like that Michelle turns to prayer here and what she prays for. It’s really something someone raised by Maureen would do. I also feel bad for the thug guy who sticks around and saves Carmen and then she kills to keep him quiet.

This is great playing Danny’s literal love-hate relationship with his mother. Saying “I hate you” while acting like it’s “I love you” when both are true. This scene is a wonderful example of the powerful acting that Paul Anthony Stewart is capable of.

The Marony blog author posted this comment on one version of these clips and I want to include it here:

“Of course Danny loved his mother, it’s the same love he had for Mick who tried to hurt Michelle and whose murder brought Danny to town. Carmen was an awful mother but she was still his mother. I think Danny wanted desperately for his mother to finally accept that Michelle was his world but it never happened. But if it came down to Michelle or Carmen Danny would ALWAYS choose Michelle.” It’s part of an interesting discussion about Danny’s feelings for Carmen. Read the comments for this alternative version of part of these clips here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhGBx_btWx0

Manny Reunite Danny Discovers Michelle’s Pregnant Oct 31-Nov 2 2000

Tues., Oct. 31, 2000 – At the Santos Compound: Selena tells Maria that she had Miguel’s son and they called him Miguel Jr. Selena starts to cry and tells Maria that she loved Miguel very much and she promised him she would protect their son. She tells Maria that he has always been in her heart. Maria seems touched and says she understands. Selena tells her that she has told her everything. Maria doesn’t believe her. She asks Selena to sit down and tell her about her grandson. Selena tells her that he is a lawyer now and doing well. Selena tells her that she doesn’t see him much and that the last time was several years ago. Maria wonders why and Selena tells her that she was afraid of Carmen. Maria didn’t understand what Carmen had to do with it. Selena told her that she loved Miguel and tried to leave him but she couldn’t. She hated Carmen since she was the only obstacle between her and the man she loved and she called her and told her once. Selena said that Carmen realized before Miguel’s death that he really loved someone else and wanted to leave her (Carmen). Maria asks Selena why Miguel was killed. Selena says she has had a hole in her heart for years about this and it feels good to be able to mourn Miguel with Maria. She said after Miguel died, she was terrified that Carmen would find her and her son. She said that Miguel had provided for them but she trusted the wrong person with the money and lost everything and ended up turning to prostitution. Maria is shocked and angry that her grandson’s mother would be a hooker. She asked if he ever found out and Selena said he did but that wasn’t the reason they didn’t see much of each other. She said her son blamed her for something else. Maria gets out of the wheelchair and attacks Selena telling her to stop lying. Selena says all she wanted was for Miguel to be with them and for Carmen to know she and the boy existed. She tells Maria that Carmen realized what she said was true and had her men try to beat the name of Miguel’s mistress out of him but he refused to give in. Instead he let the men beat him to death all the while smiling at Carmen, knowing she would never know whom he was hiding. Selena tells Maria that Miguel died to protect her and his son. He never told. Selena is crying. Maria is angry and says that she betrayed her son and hid. Maria says Selena lived and now she will make sure she doesn’t. Geraldo comes in and announces the police are there. David and Harley enter. They see Selena in the garden with Maria. Harley asks Selena if there was a problem. David is concerned she was there against her will. Maria turns the charm on again and says there have been false rumors that Selena was involved in Miguel’s death and she wanted to reassure Selena. Harley says she will call Buzz to let him know. Buzz is relieved and tells Harley to get Selena out of there. Harley tells Maria that Blake was talking on TV about her new book that had a remarkable resemblance to the death of Miguel Santos. She said right after that Selena was attacked and Blake was robbed and wondered what Maria thought about it. She said she had no idea. Harley asks her to let her know if she thinks of anything. They start to leave and Maria calls out to Harley. She asks Harley to find out who killed her son so justice can be done. She said even if it isn’t in this world she knows the fires of hell burn forever. Maria thanks Selena for coming and blesses her. Selena kisses Maria and tells her how sorry she is for her loss. She leaves with Harley and David. Maria tells Geraldo she has a job for him. At Cedars: Danny goes into Michelle’s room and sees her sleeping. He calls her name but she doesn’t wake up. He gets her chart and reads it. He realizes she is pregnant and that it is his child. The chart said that Michelle was having intense lower back pain and is in her second trimester. The fetus is at risk. Danny sits down by the bed.

Michelle is asleep, but Danny talks to her: “That’s why you left. You didn’t want me to know. You didn’t want the baby to grow up like I did. I don’t want that either. I don’t and it’s not going to happen, I’m not going to let it. I swear, I swear, on my father’s grave I swear this baby, our baby is going to grow up safe and free. I give you my word, little guy, hang in there be strong, OK? Your mom is going to take good care of you, she’s the best, you’re going to be so proud of her. I’m going to make you proud of your old man, too. I can do that. I can do that. I can give you what you need and I can give your mother what she needs, so you hang in there you can do it, we can do it, we can make this work.”

Danny is teary eyed when Michelle wakes up. She smiles at him. Danny tells Michelle everything will be okay but she says he doesn’t know. He tells her he read her chart and he knows about the baby and everything is fine with the pregnancy. She wants him to leave and he tells her that he understands why she tried to hide the pregnancy from him. She asks if he is angry with her. Danny: “No, I’m not angry, I’m…please look at me, please….Honey, all I feel right now is love for you and for this baby. That’s all I feel. You came back. Oh, I know you don’t think you came back to me, but you did, you did because we belong together. We do and this baby proves it, that we’re a family.” Michelle grows agitated and he soothes her. “No, I mean the three of us. Just the three of us. We’re a family. Nobody else. Just us. This is a new start for us. A new beginning. I’m going to turn my back on this family for you and for this family. I’m no longer going to be a Santos. It’s over. Don’t you understand? I love you. I love you. I love you more than my own life. I love you!”  He tells her he loves her and kisses her hand. Rick comes in and tells Danny to get out. Danny goes out in the hall with Rick and tells him that he knows Michelle is pregnant. Rick tells him that they are no longer married. Danny tells him he would never have consented to the divorce if he knew Michelle was pregnant. He tells him that he loves Michelle. He tells Rick that if Abby were to come back and tell him she was pregnant with his child he would never let her go either. Rick seems to understand. They are interrupted when Michelle gets out of bed and walks to the doorway. They both help her back to bed. Rick takes her pulse and says it is okay. He asks Danny if he knows how to take a pulse and he said he does. Rick asks him to hold on to her wrist and take her pulse every few minutes. Rick says that if it gets higher than 80 press the call button. Danny sits with Michelle and holds her hand telling her he is there and not going anywhere. She looks at him and then closes her eyes. She falls asleep for a little while and wakes up to see him again. He kisses her hand and tells her everything is okay and he is here. He rests his head on her stomach as Michelle looks at him, smiling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8h9YWVtGeQ (Link repeated from last episode, pick up todays 1:40 into clip, Sound corrects at that point too)

Nov. 1, 2000 – At Cedars: Danny holds Michelle’s hand and she tells him she could get used to this. Danny:  Three hours ago everything started over for us. That’s an hour a piece, one for you, me, and the little one.”  He thinks she should get some rest. Claire walks in and says she hopes he was just leaving. Danny tells her that Rick asked him to monitor Michelle’s pulse. He asks about the baby and she says they’ll know more in the morning. She asks to speak to Danny in the hall and he goes outside. Claire asks Michelle if she’s sure she wants him there and she tells her how happy she was to wake up and see him. She asks Claire not to mess this up for her. Claire tells her to rest and not worry about anything. She goes outside and asks Danny why he’s there. He says that he loves Michelle. She thinks if he really loves her he’ll do what’s best for her and leave. She reminds him that Michelle needs to be free of the violence. She wants him to walk out of Michelle’s life permanently. Danny goes back inside and Michelle wants to know what Claire said. He tells her that Claire is on top of things and thinks they are getting along well. Michelle tells him that Claire has been good to her. He thinks he should go so she can get some rest but she doesn’t want him to leave. He tells her he doesn’t want to but they have to do what’s best for the baby. She tells him about being in New York and how nobody knew her there. She felt alone but realized she wasn’t. She says she carried a piece of him inside her. She would go see the sites and wish he were there to share it with her. She tells him she kept thinking back to the day he asked her to go away with him and she said no. She admits she wishes she’d told him yes. He asks her to say yes now. He tells her that he prayed every day since she left for a second chance and thinks this could be it. He says he’ll take her anywhere she wants to go if she’ll just say yes. She wonders how he could forgive her after she hurt him so badly. Danny: “What’s the worst that could happen, we’d break up? We’ve already done that.” Michelle: “I didn’t like it very much.” She asks if there is anywhere they can go where they will be safe. Danny promises her that he will always protect her. He says that things are different now because all the questions he had about whether or not he could run the family have been answered. He shows her the Santos ring and says he’s the boss now. He says he’s ready to drop everything if she just says the word. She tells him yes and he says it’s done. He tells her once she’s out of the hospital, they will leave town. Michelle says she can’t wait and her pulse starts racing. Danny: “You can forgive me for all the things that I did?” Michelle: “I already have…I know that I love you and I can’t live without you.” Danny: “It feels like a thousand years since I touched you. I can’t believe we have the rest of our lives together. I will always protect you. I promise.” They kiss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE-EyLtD4lE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBA4y4CEWRE

Thurs., Nov. 2, 2000 – Danny runs into Frank in the hallway and asks if Buzz is okay. Frank says that Danny doesn’t have to worry that he is in the clear. He tells him that Selena was visiting his grandmother at their home and it seemed to be left of friendly terms. Danny wonders why Selena was talking to Abuela. Frank tells him that some people think Selena is connected to Miguel’s death in some ways because of Blake’s book. Danny has no idea what he is talking about and Frank asks him to keep his eyes open and protect himself. Danny says that he and Michelle are back together and he wants to protect her. Frank tells him he hopes he does. Frank leaves. Danny sees Claire and she tells him Michelle is asleep. He tells her that he will leave then and not bother her. Claire asks him to stay for a minute so she can talk to him. Claire tells Danny she won’t try to change Michelle’s mind about reconciling but she wants him to promise that he will take Michelle and vanish until his family stops looking for them. She mentions Carmen and says others in his family must feel as strongly as Carmen did about having him lead the family and they won’t let him walk away. Danny says he knows how to protect Michelle and goes into her room. Alan comes in, sees the end of the conversation and offers Claire his support.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zftqXbS7OA

My Comments:

I loved how when given a square chance Michelle loves Danny’s family as much as he does. 1:15 Yep May it took you about 20 seconds to loose him. I love even though it was off screen Danny has now spent enough time around the hospital because of Michelle and Rick that he knows how to locate Michelle’s room & read her chart, compared to how it was a foreign environment for him when she faked her blindness.

Danny isn’t really worried about Rick at all, but he really does want to make him understand rather than for instance decking him to get his way. I love that Danny shows that he understands what happened with Rick and Abby and reaches out that way. Danny and Rick working together to protect Michelle is much better than them fighting over her.

This isn’t just Claire being her abrasive and selfish self, she knows something that Manny doesn’t. Claire knows that if Manny reunite Carmen is still out there and determined to kill her. Well, that’s kind of silly Michelle. Of course Claire said something, Claire ALWAYS says something.

See despite Frank’s tendency at this point to still be suspicious of Danny at this point. Danny does trust Frank (unless he’s feeling a sudden rush of jealousy) which you can see in his reaction to Frank here and when he brought in his suspicions about the Nova car wreck. I realize Frank is upset over Buzz, but that was kind of a harsh way to tell Danny. Although I appreciate Frank showing a little Manny support.Claire should have come clean to Danny at this point.