I DO NOT OWN WACO OR THE DIALOGUE. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE PARAMOUNT CHANNEL. AFTER WATCHING THE MINISERIES, I FELL IN LOVE WITH MICHELE AND THIBODEAU. THIS ONE SHOT WAS INSPIRED BY A SCENE WHERE MICHELE COMPLAINS TO RACHEL THAT SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE WHEN DAVID KORESH TOOK HER FOR HIS OWN.

Mount Carmel. Waco, Texas. March 20, 1993.

Once Serenity had finally gone to sleep, Michele Jones sighed as she sat on her bed against the wall of her room. It had been almost an entire month since the federal agents had began the siege at Mount Carmel. The holy place of the Students of the 7 Seals had now become a Hell on Earth. With the federal agent's use of tanks and psy-ops, which consisted of shining bright lights into the compound at night while playing such sounds as horses being slaughtered and telephones off the hook, life had become utterly unbearable for the students. As the unholy sounds continued to blare their way into the compound, Michele wished more than anything that Thibodeau could have been there with her and her daughter.

Michele could still remember the first time that she had seen Dave Thibodeau. Serenity had gotten back up after being put to bed. Apparently, she had gotten bored of sleeping. David had then instructed her to make up a bed for their new guest. Michele had not been sufficiently prepared for the handsome young man who Koresh had brought back to Mount Carmel. He had long black hair, a slender figure as though he'd skipped more than his fair share of meals, and a pair of deep blue eyes that she wanted to just fall into. Michele was no stranger to men, but she had never in all her life, seen a man as beautiful as Thibodeau. She made the bed with love as she wanted him to sleep in as much comfort as the rickety bunk could possibly offer. The next few months that Thibodeau spent at Mount Carmel were the most heart wrenching that Michele had ever known. The more time that she spent with him, the more that she got to know the dude, she eventually realized that she was in love with Dave Thibodeau.

It pained Michele because she knew that it was a sin to love him. She had been promised to David Koresh from her youth and their spiritual marriage had been consummated before God. Michele loved Koresh, but she knew deep down that she was not in love with him. The lamb of God had never made her heart sing the way the drummer from Maine did. She wanted Thibodeau to hold her, to tell her that she was special to him, the way he was to her. But it was a joy she could never know…or so she thought.

When David asked Thibodeau to take her as his wife, she was stunned. Could God have heard her prayers and taken pity on her? The joy soon gave way to disappointment as Koresh made it clear that Michele and Thibodeau were to be married in name only. The forces of Babylon were seeking to destroy the Students of the 7 Seals. Michele was a weakness to David because Wayne Martin, the de facto lawyer of the holy group, declared that the Babylonians considered her union with David to either be Statutory rape or polygamy. The agents of Babylon would arrest David and take away the children; Serenity included. The only way out was to have Michele marry Thibodeau.

Even though it was only a false wedding, Michele felt as though she truly was Thibodeau's wife. She happily cleaned and mended his clothes, fetched him dinner, and made sure he had spending money when he left Mount Carmel. She even embraced the role of daughter in law to his mother: Balenda.

She told Michele that she received more letters from her than from her son; not that she was complaining. Balenda had always wanted a daughter and now she had one and a granddaughter in Serenity. Michele was so thankful for the clothes and coloring books that Balenda had mailed. Serenity had enjoyed them so much. She could talk to Balenda about feelings that she couldn't discuss with Rachel or any of the other wives. Thibodeau's mom never judged her and never tried to influence her to do something she didn't want to do. As Michele laid on her bed in the woman's quarters, she wished more than anything that she could run to Thibodeau's room and spend the night with him. It pained her heart to think about how the Babylonians would most likely kill them and she would never be allowed to share a life with her chosen husband.

When Michele dreamed of a life with Thibodeau, she imagined that kind of life that she'd seen in a copy of Better Homes & Gardens magazine that Judy Schneider had owned before coming to Mount Carmel. She would have a matchbox style house in a safe little suburb somewhere. The walls would be yellow and the roof would have grey tiles. They would have a pleasant little backyard and their property would be surrounded by a white picket fence. She could stay home with Serenity and home school her. The last thing she wanted was for Serenity to be exposed to the bullying and temptations that were rampant in the public school system. Most of all, Thibodeau could be her true husband. He would have a job and come home to her every night where she could make dinner for him and they could spend time together as a family. Michele could see Thibodeau teaching Serenity how to be an awesome drummer like her step dad was.

But now...she felt like it may never happen. As the sun dawned on another day, Michele feared that her dreams of a suburban life with the man she loved, were just dreams after all.

THIBODEAU AND MICHELE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN SERENITY AND GOTTEN OUT. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY TOGETHER. THIS IS A 1 SHOT FOR NOW, BUT IF PEOPLE LIKE IT, I MIGHT EXPAND. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.