In a way, I think it's a little harder for me to pinpoint exactly when Michelle fell in love with Danny than it is vice versa. For Danny, I think it was a little more obvious for the viewers, whereas with Michelle, I think it was more subtle. I think she was completely blindsided by it.

For so long, in her escape mode from the Santos family, Michelle was defiant toward Danny and adamant about her feelings and about her mission to bring Carmen Santos down. And, the last thing she expected was to care about Danny, much less fall in love with him. I think the moment those signs of her defiance began to turn into denial is when I knew Michelle was protesting far too much.

The woman was practically becoming defensive if anyone questioned her on feeling anything for Danny, whether it was the FBI agent, Drew, Jesse, her family, etc. I liken Michelle's denial of feelings for her husband at the time to Danny's denial toward Jesse's claims that Danny was indeed in love with Michelle. The first time Jesse called him on it, Danny had this look on his face like it wasn't true, when in fact is was very true. When matters of the heart are put out there for all to see, it can be pretty dicey, because you are vulnerable to attack from every direction. That's why there was so much denial in the story from Danny and mostly from Michelle.

Plus, I wonder if Michelle had this Springfield/Bauer image thing going on. Maybe, she was afraid to confirm her feelings because it would mean dealing with judgments and possible alienation from her family and friends, thus, the denial. I'm not sure of that. All I know is this relationship was/is much more serious than anything she had with Jesse. The second that Michelle acknowledged to herself having any feelings for Danny meant going to a place that Michelle had never been before ... never! The interesting thing is that this relationship is strengthening Michelle more than any of her other relationships have. Danny challenges Michelle and vice versa.

Personally, I always felt that Michelle was attracted to Danny, whether she admitted it or not. I think it's the pre-Cana scenes where Michelle finally allowed herself to see Danny in a different light. She saw him in the same position she was in, although Danny was right where he wanted to be.

Airpoet