Chapter 1

This is a Tony and Michelle fic that takes place between season 2 and season 3. It's going to be a romantic and fluffy fic, mixed with some action. Enjoy! (hopefully…lol).

Much thanks to my beta, Rae, for her help and advice.

Disclaimer: 24 and all its characters do not belong to me; although I really wish they did lol.

Tony Almeida couldn't help but grin as the store manager handed him the small, elegantly wrapped box that he had been impatiently waiting for the entire week.

He paid for it and left the store, walking hurriedly over to Jack Bauer's car that was parked nearby.

He climbed in and glanced at Jack, "Mission accomplished."

Jack smiled and started to drive off, "I take it things went well then?"

"They sure did," Tony nodded, holding up the wrapped package to show it to him.

Jack laughed and looked over at Tony whose face looked tense; yet at the same time, through the five years he had worked with Tony, he had never seen him this happy and excited about something. He knew how important this was for Tony; after all he himself had been in the same situation once a long time ago with Teri.

"You look a little nervous," Jack stated.

Tony sighed with a wry grin, "Yeah, I am. I'm extremely nervous. I'm risking everything with this, including two and a half years of friendship. I always thought something like this must be really simple, but now I know it's not."

"Just relax Tony. The feeling is natural. Every guy goes through this before they propose to their girlfriend. Besides, you've been waiting for months to do this and you finally have the opportunity. Don't let the moment go," Jack said, encouragingly, a smile playing on his face.

"You're right, Jack. I'm probably worrying over nothing. But I can't seem to get the thought out of my head that she might say 'no'. I mean maybe it's too soon or what if it's not the right time…" Tony confessed. He was fidgeting in his seat.

"Oh come on! You've got to be kidding me! You and Michelle are too close for that to happen and you know it. You two are perfect for each other."

Tony chuckled and nodded. He had to agree. Out of all the women he had ever dated in his life, Michelle was the only one he had ever clicked with as well as one of the few people he could be himself around. Even with Nina he had found himself striving to be something he knew he couldn't be. With Michelle, everything came naturally.

After the day of the nuclear bomb, they had only gone on a few dates before they knew that what they had was one of a kind. She had moved in with him only four months ago, which happened after only three months of dating.

Their relationship was as perfect as any could be. Sure they had their ups and downs like every couple did, but he was grateful that he had a woman as smart, lovable, and beautiful as Michelle by his side to work things out. Throughout his life, he had never had much luck with women; and after what had happened with Nina, his self-esteem in that area had sunk even lower.

The car stopped as Jack pulled over on the side of Tony's apartment building. Tony moved to open the door to get out, but Jack stopped him and advised, "You'll be glad you did it, Tony; trust me. Just…" he paused for a moment, a look of seriousness passing over his face, "don't make the same mistake I did with Teri. Don't take Michelle for granted…ever. It'll be your biggest mistake if you do."

Tony sat in silence for a moment, mulling over what Jack had just said. He was right. Slowly, he looked up and nodded, "Don't worry, that's the last thing I'll do. Thanks for everything, Jack."

Jack nodded and wordlessly watched as Tony disappeared into the apartment building.

He started the car again and drove off, deep in thought. The last thing he wanted was for Tony and Michelle's relationship to end up like his and Teri's did, even though they had ultimately made up in the end, before she died.

"I hope they'll be happy," he thought, smiling to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by the never-ending ring of his cell phone. Back to work.

Michelle hummed to herself as she tidied up hers and Tony's apartment. She had resorted to doing work around the house since she had been granted a much needed day off from work and also since there was nothing else to do. Tony would be coming home any minute. He had called her on the road early that morning and told her that he had been called in to finish some quick, last minute things at CTU and that it wouldn't take too long.

"I swear that man is going to find some way to die in that office of his," she thought with a grin, a laugh escaping her throat. He was very responsible and a hard-working man, something she always adored about him from when she first met him at CTU; but sometimes she felt that he overworked himself.

Of course, she wasn't one to talk. It seemed that everybody that worked at CTU overworked themselves at one time or another to the point where it would drive most people insane. She couldn't complain though; after all, she loved her everything about her job….everything but the field work that is. Though she was rarely called to go out in the field, the mere prospect of it made her shiver.

Plus, it had been enough worrying about her own life and now she had to fear for Tony if he ever was called out. She wouldn't know what to do if something were to ever happen to him.

Michelle sighed out loud to herself, "I'll bring it up to him sometime."

She turned to make her way into their bedroom, but stopped herself when she heard the familiar, welcoming sound of a key turning in the lock to the front door. A few seconds later the door opened and Tony stepped in, a smile plastered on his face as he walked over to her.

"Hello darling," he greeted as he hugged her and gave her a brief kiss, the smile never leaving his face.

She returned his greeting in earnest and hugged him back, laughing, "Well don't you seem happy. Did something good happen at CTU today?"

He paused for a moment before answering, "Oh…uhhh…no, nothing good happened. I'm just happy to see you. Why? Do I need a reason to be happy?"

Michelle grinned and shook her head, walking towards their bedroom, "No, I was just wondering."

Tony followed her into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "So...what'd you do today while I was gone?" he asked curiously.

She shrugged, "Nothing really. I just made some phone calls, tidied up the apartment a little…"

"I can see that," he replied, looking around. He reached over and rubbed his finger along the edge of the nightstand, "No dust." He grinned.

She nodded and chuckled, sitting next to him on the bed. He put his arm around her and they sat in silence. After awhile Tony broke the silence, "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you go get ready and we can go out for a nice, romantic dinner and evening?"

Michelle jumped up ecstatically, "Alright, that sounds good!" She headed into the bathroom, "just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."

"Ok," Tony answered, his face breaking into another wide grin.

He fell back on the bed and was about to tell her to make sure she dressed up in something fancy when his cell phone rang from across the room. He grumbled to himself as he forced himself to get up from his comfortable position on the bed.

He reached for his cell phone and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Tony? It's Ryan Chappelle."

'Ryan?' He thought to himself as he rubbed his temple with his free hand, 'What could he want?' Whatever it was, Tony desperately hoped he wasn't needed back at CTU; that would ruin the perfect he had planned for him and Michelle to have.

"Hey Ryan, what's up?"

"We need you and Michelle out right away on an urgent call."

Tony's shoulder slumped. Michelle walked out of the bathroom at the mention of Ryan's name and glanced at him with a quizzical look. He could only return her gaze with a defeated look. The probability that he was going to get both of them out of this was slim.

"Uhhh…Ryan, is there anybody else? We're supposed to be having the rest of the day off," Tony protested.

"I wouldn't be calling you if there was anybody else, Tony," Chappelle backfired.

Tony sighed; there was no way out of this. "Alright, we'll be at CTU in a few minu-"

"Not at CTU," Ryan interrupted, "You two are needed out in the field."

Tony froze, "The field! Ryan, we're not even field agents!"

From across the room he saw Michelle tense up, clearly upset at the prospect of field work. 'Crap…' he thought to himself.

Ryan sounded like he was getting aggravated, "Yes I know that, Tony. But as I said before, there is nobody else. Normally we would have called Bauer, but he's already called in for another investigation."

Tony looked at Michelle and shook his head, "Alright, fine. What's happening?"

"Remember the Derick Laney case?" Chappelle inquired.

"Yeah," Tony replied. He sat down in a chair. Michelle walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning on the arm of the chair.

Ryan continued, "Well, we just found out his address from that laptop we confiscated from one of his contacts. There's a team in place already, but we need agents to go in who know what they're dealing with and since you and Michelle have been on this guy's trail for a month now, you two are the most logical choice. You'll be given further instruction from Agent Baker when you get there,"

Ryan rattled off the address as Tony took out a piece of paper and wrote it down.

"You got it?" Ryan asked.

Tony nodded, fiddling with the cap of the pen, "Yeah, I got it."

"Alright, thanks Tony. I'm sorry about all this."

Tony responded softly, "Yeah. Bye Ryan." He shut his phone and placed it on the dresser next to him. He looked over at Michelle.

"So I take it we're not going to have that 'nice, romantic dinner and evening,' huh?" she said despondently. It was more of a statement than a question and she sounded frustrated. He couldn't blame her, though.

He looked at the ground, "I'm sorry, Michelle. I wish I could do something about it, but I can't."

Michelle shrugged as she walked towards the front door to their apartment. "I know, I know. It's just another part of our job," she said a bit harshly, her voice rising slightly.

Tony followed her, "Hey, I'm upset about this, too. Trust me, I'd rather be going out with you than go do work."

She shook her head, "It's not even that."

His head cocked to one side as he looked at her in confusion. "Then what is it, Michelle?"

"I hate doing field work, Tony. You have no idea how much just the thought of me and especially you going out into the field scares me," Michelle confessed; a hint of anger was evident in her voice.

Tony was surprised. He had known that she was upset about the whole ordeal, but he never would have imagined that she was going to get this distressed by it. Part of him sympathized with her and agreed with her while the other part of him couldn't help but feel frustrated with the way she was feeling. They didn't have time for her insecurities.

"Michelle, I understand why you feel the way you do. But there's nothing we can do. This is the job…and the life we've chosen."

"But Tony…" she interjected.

"No," though he knew he would mentally beat himself up for it later, he was starting to get aggravated. "Listen, if you can't do this, then I'll call Chappelle right now and tell him you're too unstable to work. But if you decide to do your job, everybody is expecting you to do it effectively and without any hesitation."

Michelle pulled back, hurt by his sharp reply. Tony stared at her while she stood shakily by the door while she tried to compose herself. Her hand reached for the handle and she twisted it, looking up at him as she opened the door. "I'll be fine, Tony," she replied quietly.

Tony sighed to himself as she walked out of their apartment to the car. He tried to collect himself before following her. Of all the things to happen, this was the last thing the both of them needed before field work. He wanted to talk to her about it and solve it now, but he knew they would have to save it for later. Right now they had to stay focused on their assignment, not each other.

After a few seconds he made his way down to their car and he hopped in, putting the key in the ignition. Michelle sat next to him despondently, her body facing the window.

'Great…' he thought to himself.

Derick Laney…the first time he had heard that name was two months ago when he had appeared and made some terrorist threats to the United States. After a wild goose chase on his trail, he finally managed to disappear for good.

Then the other day they had stumbled upon another wanted criminal. After searching his house and finding his laptop and files, it was apparent that he was one of Laney's contacts. Tony had been that day that it might take awhile to sift through all the files and decrypt it, but he didn't think they would find anything of worth.

Thank God he had been wrong…that CTU had obtained Derick's address. When Tony had first looked through Laney's criminal records, what he had found had initially shocked him. The man was a psycho. He had been previously arrested and released for multiple acts of drug possession and dealing, starting riots, sexual assault and he was wanted for two subsequent murders. That combined with his new crime of terrorist activity put him high on the list of the United States' most wanted list.

This was the man's house they were going to. The responsibility of apprehending him was essentially in his and Michelle's hands; which was a prospect he wasn't too thrilled about. After all, this man was dangerous and it seemed he wasn't afraid to use lethal force.

Tony looked over at Michelle, who was still staring out the window. They hadn't said one word to each other ever since they had left the apartment. It was something that unnerved him. There was nothing he could do at the moment but wait for it all to be over.

Even though it hadn't really begun.

Tony stopped the car a block away from Derick's house in the nice, urban neighborhood. It didn't seem like the type of neighborhood that would house somebody like Derick; but after all the things Tony had seen in his life, it didn't really surprise him.

When Michelle had stepped out of the car they made their way over to Agent Tom Baker and the rest of the CTU team that was situated on the other side of the street.

"Agent Almeida. Agent Dessler," Baker greeted with a nod.

Tony and Michelle replied in the same manner. "So what's going on?" Michelle asked.

'She's going into agent mode once again,' thought Tony with a twinge of disappointment, noticing the stoic expression on her face and the tenseness in her body. Although he liked her ability to focus and work hard, he still enjoyed the carefree attitude she normally carried around him.

His thoughts were interrupted by Agent Baker's reply, "Well, we've got the whole house surrounded and we also have a medic on standby in case anything goes wrong. According to the infrared and satellite imaging that CTU is providing, Laney is in the house and as far as we know, he has no idea that we're here."

"Good," Tony said, "let's keep it that way. Make sure your men stay hidden and out of sight."

Baker nodded and proceeded to advise them on the infiltration mission, showing them the schematics of the house as he spoke, "There's a back entrance on the southern side of the house that's not rigged like-"

Michelle interrupted, "He's got his doors rigged?"

"Yes, he's either been expecting someone or he's being overly careful. Anyways, once you get inside, secure Laney and radio us on the two-way. The team will then move in from their positions."

"Alright…seems simple enough," Tony responded. He looked at Michelle and she caught his gaze.

"Let's go," he motioned to her to follow him.

They stealthily made their way over to Laney's house, careful to not get in the way of any of the house's windows. The two of them stopped outside the back door, one on either side of the door's frame.

He radioed in, careful to keep his voice to a whisper, "We're going in. Make sure all exits are secure once we enter."

"Copy that," came the reply.

Tony looked over at Michelle one last time, "You ready?"

She nodded and glanced up at him. Though she hid it well around everybody else, he could tell she was extremely nervous. This was their first time working together in the field, and though he was just as unsure as she was, he still found comfort knowing that she was with him, even though they had just had an argument…which was a rare thing that happened between them.

He nodded, "Ok…cover me. I'll go in first."

"Ok." She brought her gun up to her side as he did the same with his. It was now or never. He swiftly kicked the door open, bringing his gun up to bear as he stepped inside to a nicely furnished kitchen. Nobody was in sight from what he could see. Michelle followed him in as he made his way silently across the room, careful to aim his gun in every corner in case Derick was waiting to take them by surprise.

The kitchen was secure. He looked into the next room; it appeared to be the living room of the house. Tony looked back at Michelle and motioned her over. She scurried over to him, her hands quivering and her breath shaky.

He stepped cautiously into the living room. The only light in the room came from the sun streaming in through the closed curtains of a window. His eyes shifted across the room, looking for any sign of the man they were looking for. His gaze fell upon a hall way across the room.

Tony signaled to Michelle and she nodded. He strided towards the hallway carefully, so as to not hit any of the furniture.

'Derick has to be in there,' he thought to himself, willing himself to push past the fear that was threatening to overwhelm him.

He paused to check in a niche when he heard a series of footsteps and a muffled scream from behind him. Instinctively, he pivoted towards the noise; turning to face whatever it was that had made it. His eyes went wide and his blood ran cold at what he saw in front of him.

"No…"

A/N: Please leave a review and tell me what you think. I really enjoy feedback and it definitely motivates me more to update. D