Synopsis:

The following is a short account of what actually happened on 24

Day 5, 7:13 am: The flat screen TV sitting on Tony and Michelle's kitchen counter is on relating the news of David Palmer being assassinated.

Michelle says to Tony: "Never once did I regret our decision to leave CTU."

She tries to call CTU. Tony is not happy about this.

She says: "I don't want to look back on today and realized I could have helped."

Michelle leaves the house. Tony decides he will go with her. Right then he's knocked down by a loud explosion outside.

Michelle dies at 7:15 am.

A/N:

This story will differ from the aforementioned events. Everything that happened before this day stays the same. The format will resemble the real time format, except that it will not be hour by hour but rather in various time increments. For instance, the events in this chapter ( feelings, thoughts and behaviors) in this chapter will occur between 6:16 and 7:03 am.

I always wanted to write a Michelle/Tony fanfic. What finally inspired me was some encouragement from lifeisaticket.

…

Morning Has Broken

The following takes place between 6:16 and 7:03 am.

Michelle opened her eyes to a bright new day, sunlight streaming in through the windows. The first thing she heard were the sweet sound of birds chirping outside her window like a hand delivered summon from heaven. She smiled, thinking that the baby chicks must have just hatched. The bird's nest was located in the strangest of places: right above her bedroom window, on the gutter on the roof.

With a smile on her face, she looked on to Tony, still sleeping peacefully beside her with his back to her. Their radio alarm clock sitting on Tony's side of the bed read 6: 18 am. It never failed. She would usually wake up right before their alarm went off.

The alarm awakened at exactly 6:20 am blasting a Beatles song on their favorite oldies radio station. She recognized the lyrics right away as it was one of the songs she fondly remembered from her childhood. Her mother had been a die-hard Beatles fan. Heck, her grandmother had actually attended a live Beatles concert back in the day.

When I get older losing my hair,

Many years from now,

Will you still be sending me a valentine

Birthday greetings bottle of wine?

If I'd been out till quarter to three

Would you lock the door,

Will you still need me, will you still

Feed me

When I'm sixty-four?

Right when Paul McCartney was in the middle of singing the chorus, she saw Tony open his eyes.

Oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo

You'll be older too, (ah, ah, ah, ah)

And if you say the word,

I could stay with you.

Tony turned over to face her and smiled weakly at her with groggy eyes. She thought that was a good sign since Tony wasn't normally a morning person and she knew better than to start talking to him about important matters as soon as he opened his eyes.

"I would stay with you forever, even if you're older too," he smirked, pulling her into his arms.

"Well, you'd better!" she said in a playful tone, gently stroking his face.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, alright," he whispered, his hand patting the bulge on her belly. Yesterday, at the Prenatal imaging center, they had seen the first sonogram of their baby in color 3D. Not your standard sonogram by any means, but a state of the art ultrasound catering to the needs of overly eager first time parents. At first, it had been hard to make out anything beyond a beating heart and a flexed arm….until the technician switched the image to 3D…that's when they got an amazingly clear view of the baby's face.

"I love you both so much," his lips brushed hers softly. Suddenly, he was utterly amazed at his good fortune.

She sighed. "I love you so much, Tony," she gazed at him adoringly.

Much to her surprise, after a minute or so, Tony sprung out of bed in a flash. Funny how he was always the last one to wake and yet he was always the first up and about. Michelle, on the other hand nearly always awoke first, yet it usually took her a while longer to talk herself into leaving the comfort of her warm covers.

She sighed a heavy sigh of content as she watched him stroll over to their master bathroom. Then, she reached over to her night table to retrieve the folder with the pictures of their baby's sonogram. The pictures were in an unnatural yellowish color yet you could clearly see the baby's face up close: the silhouette of the eyelids, mouth and nose staring right up at her.

"OH, Tony, look," Michelle had sighed, unreservedly elated.

The outline of the fetus' nose was stunningly clear. "He's definitely got your nose," Tony had smiled at her, eagerly awaiting her reaction, deciding against mentioning anything about what seemed to him like a double chin. That would definitely kill the moment…and he liked nothing better than seeing his wife happy.

"And your eyelashes, I can tell" she happily added. She would have liked to have seen his eyes, but the baby's eyes had been closed during the entire session.

Another sonogram picture (a regular black and white in 2D) showed the baby's entire body profile. In this one, an arrow clearly pointed to the baby's male parts. Tony had nearly squealed when the doctor had told them that the baby was indeed a boy. Since they learned of the pregnancy, Tony had claimed that something 'told him' that the baby was a boy. It felt so good to have been right all along; it was as though he had indeed won the lottery…big time!

Almost reluctantly (for she would have loved to linger in bed a little longer), Michelle rolled out of bed and slid off her lavender silk nightgown. Next, she reached for her favorite dark jeans which were within reach folded in a chair beside the window. She decided against wearing the white blouse on top of the jeans which she had pre-selected the day before. She was grateful that the jeans still fit her (although tightly) even though she was already 16 weeks along. As it was, almost everyone she knew had been surprised to learn of her pregnancy as she barely 'showed'.

Then, she pulled from her closet a red cami with delicate white lace around the collar. She looked at her self in the mirrored closet doors. She looked good.

Still, it was time to get herself some maternity wardrobe, she decided. She would ask her friend Tracy to come to the mall with her after work.

She had been thinking ahead of the days events that somehow that she missed Tony coming out of the bathroom (all freshly showered) and getting dressed. Next thing she knew, he was smiling at her, clad in his jeans and blue dress shirt. He was so incredibly handsome.

"So, will you do it, then?" he asked.

Michelle tilted her head. She must have missed something he said.

Seeing that she appeared confused, he continued, "Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm sixty-four?" he winked at her.

She returned his smile brightly and breached the distance between them in two steps. "You bet I will," she assured him, kissing him lightly. "I will love you forever." She straightened his shirt collar and stepped back to take a better look at him.

"Even when I'm losing my memory, my teeth… and my hair?" he inquired in a playful tone.

That hair of his was certainly one of his best features. She pursed her lips and gazed at him with gentle eyes.

"Will you still be with me even in the end if I wind up with a feeding tube in a nursing home? He went on with a hint of a sheepish smile.

"Sure, as long as you keep your side of the bargain…"

He gave her a curious look, not sure what she meant.

"You know, as long as I don't have to cook," she clarified seeing the confused look on his face with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'll still be right there with you," she lightly patted his chest. "Making sure that feeding tube is on right…"

"That sure is a relief," he chuckled. "It's getting late," Tony said suddenly serious. "Our meeting with Rick Roset," he reminded her.

Michelle gazed over at the clock radio. Its annoying red light flashed. It was 7:03 am.

"I'll start the coffee," he added already walking towards the kitchen.

Oh, shoot! She thought. She would have to hurry or she would barely have time for breakfast.

The radio announcer asked his listeners to stay tuned promising a run down of the latest news at the top of the hour. Then, he reminded listeners that all they had to do was listen for the next Beatles song and be the ninth caller with the song title in order to win the grand prize. Michelle shook her head slightly and smiled. As a teenager, she had listened to disc jockeys faithfully day and night and followed all instructions; never once did she win a thing.

It was the luck of the draw. Just like life. You never knew for sure what was around the bend.

A/N: Please leave a review if you would like to read more. This will probably be a short fic of just a few chapters and I will like to keep going while I'm still inspired. Thanks so much for reading.