Tony and Michelle - straight after Day 2. I don't own any of the characters. Adult content! Please review and let me know if you would like me to continue.
Michelle could barley drive she was so tired. Trying to make any sense of her thoughts for the day was useless, she didn't even know where to begin, never mind trying to make sense of anything. She had surprised herself many times today. Usually this job tested you and pushed you to your limits but today had exceeded that and she had found herself making decisions which would change her life as she knew it, without even thinking. There would never be a strong enough word to describe how lucky she and Tony had been that Jack was right about the recording. She would be sitting in a cell right now, not driving home. The thought of Tony made her shiver. He was her boss and she had crossed so many lines with him today. She wanted to keep thinking about him but didn't allow herself to, she knew how she felt, hell she had know how she felt about him since the day she met him but everything had gone so wrong today she didn't know where that left 'them'. She cursed herself for even allowing herself to think the word 'them' when it came to Tony. She had no right, he wasn't hers and she wasn't his. She was no one's, she was alone.
Michelle dropped her keys as she stood numbly at her door. As she reached down for them she noticed the door was slightly open. Had she left her apartment unlocked? No, she would never do that. She stood to the side and slowly pushed the door open. No noise, just darkness so she tracked her finger around the door frame and flicked the light on. Mark Johnson was sitting on her couch. Mark had worked briefly with Michelle at Division and he been called into CTU this afternoon to assist with getting the office back up and running. He had asked Michelle out at least a dozen times before and she had flatly refused every time. He was arrogant and pretty much the opposite of what Michelle would ever want in a man.
"What the hell are you doing in my apartment? How the hell did you get in?"
Mark smirked at her, "Look Michelle it was a tough day today and I figured you wouldn't want to be alone."
Michelle took a step back towards the door. "So what you break into my home and sit and wait for me? How dare you?! You need to leave." She pulled out her phone. "I'm calling the police, so either you can leave now or you can have them drag your ass out of here."
"I wouldn't do that if I was you Michelle."
Michelle started to dial. "Don't threaten me, don't even talk to me."
"This Almeida....you care for him right?"
Michelle stopped in her tracks and looked up. "What does Tony have to do with this?"
"Everything." He made his way from the couch to Michelle, his words reeked of a threatening tone she had never heard before. "I take it he is the reason we are not together." He used both his hands to push her up against the door. "Now unless you want to see Almeida being carried away in a body bag, I suggest you do as I say."
Tony had been so pissed off with himself since the moment he had let Michelle walk out of his office. "See you tomorrow", "See you tomorrow", what kind of fucked up way was that to end the day they had shared together? He picked up his phone, wondering if she had even made it home yet. Her phone rang out, when it got to her voicemail he freaked out about what to say and slammed the phone down. Tony wondered how he was going to get through the night with Michelle weighing so heavily on his mind. He tried her once more, this time plucking up the courage to ask her to call him back and then decided he had to go home and try and sleep.
Tony made sure he was back in the office early, there was so much to do after the day before. He had barely slept and felt like he spent the whole night waiting for Michelle to phone him back. He sat staring down at her station until he saw her make her way in.
Tony was shocked at what he saw. Michelle looked like she hadn't slept a minute and even though she had worn her hair down allowing it to brush across her face he could tell she had been crying. She seemed unsteady on her feet and kept her head down acknowledging no one as she made her way to sit down. He raced out of his office and made it to her before she had even had a chance to get settled in her chair.
"Michelle."
She slightly lifted her head, clearly not wanting to make eye contact. "Hey."
Tony tilted his head and rubbed the side of his face, he thought Michelle had been vulnerable yesterday but even that didn't seem to compare to how fragile she looked now. "Did you sleep at all Michelle? Are you ok?"
"Sorry Tony, I am ok, just didn't manage to sleep at all but I am sure I am not the only one tired here today."
Tony sat on the edge of her desk. "True but something else seems wrong. I tried to call you last night after you left to explain..."
"You don't need to explain anything Tony. I'm sorry for everything I put you through yesterday."
"Michelle, you have nothing to be sorry for, I'm the one trying to apologise for how I left things yesterday." He watched as she closed her eyes, clearly fighting back tears he lowered his face in close to her. "Why don't you come upstairs into my office so we can talk?" He so desperately wanted to put his arms around her and comfort her.
Before Michelle even had a chance to respond Chapelle walked up behind her. Chapelle took a long 2nd look when he noticed an incredible bruise on her neck. "Michelle, Tony, have you both had your medical check yet? Division wants everyone in the office checked by lunchtime."
Tony told Chapelle he had, he did it an hour ago when he arrived. Michelle spoke with her head down as she stared at her desk. "Not yet."
"I think you should go now Michelle, has anyone looked at that bruise on your neck since yesterday?"
Tony stood up quickly. "What bruise?"
Chapelle turned Michelle's chair around slowly so Tony could see what he was looking at. Michelle pulled her hair down, trying to cover the mark. "It's nothing, looks a lot worse than it is."
Tony was horrified, he was sure that bruise wasn't there yesterday. He had held her neck, her cheeks, he had studied every inch of her a million times during the day. Chapelle snapped him out of his thoughts again. "I'm not so sure of that Michelle. Please go for your medical now." Chappelle was going to continue but Michelle stood up and told him she would go. She was out of their sight within seconds.
Chappelle stepped closer to Tony. "I don't think she is fit for work Tony. Maybe you should send her home once she is done?"
Tony assured him that he would make sure Michelle cleared the medical before doing any work. He agreed she certainly didn't look fit for work but on the other hand he didn't want to send her home where he couldn't be around her to see her, to look after her. As he watched Chapelle leave he decided he would go into the medical with Michelle. Something was wrong here. He had never seen her this way before. He was frightened, frightened that Michelle had been more seriously injured then she had told anyone. He still couldn't get past the fact that he knew he would have noticed a bruise like that forming last night. He jumped off the table and headed straight for the medical room.
Michelle knew she had to come out of the bathrooms soon. Anyone could walk in on her and she couldn't let anyone see her like this. She didn't know what the hell she was going to do, she couldn't have a doctor looking at her now, she would never be able to hide the damage her body had suffered last night. She was sure she would completely lose it if John or any of the other doctors laid a finger on her. She was trapped, she couldn't stay in the bathroom all day, she couldn't go to medical, she didn't know how to handle Tony and Chapelle but above all else Mark would be arriving soon and the thought of that made her feel more horrible and lonely than she ever imagined possible.
Tony stood at the door to John's office. Michelle wasn't there and John hadn't seen her. He turned and looked down the hallway where he could see Michelle slowly making her way out of the bathrooms.
"Michelle?!" He moved fast to catch her before she was out in the open office space again. She looked distraught at seeing him. Had he really screwed things up so seriously last night that she didn't even want to be near him? Or did she completely regret everything that had happened between him? "What's going on? You are supposed to be in medical?"
"Tony, I'm fine, really. There is so much to do I'm not going to waste time when I know I am ok. I've got to get back to my station."
"You know it is not an optional thing Michelle. Division isn't suppose to allow anyone to go back to work before being checked after circumstances like yesterday. But I know you already know that, why won't you go to medical? Why won't you even look at me?"
"I ummm. Tony, I just can't do it right now."
"How come? I can't let you go back to work unless you do. I'm not sure if you are ready to come straight back to work. I need to know what is going on with you."
Silence overcame them as she couldn't find words. She had no answers, there was nothing she could say that was going to make this situation better.
Tony so gently brushed her hair away from her tear stained eye. "I want to know what is going on with you. Come with me, I'll take you ok?"
"No." She pushed passed him to make her way to her station but stopped dead in her tracks when Mark rounded the corner. In panic she spun back around toward Tony, "Ok, ok, I'll go."
Mark caught up with them. "Good morning Michelle...Tony."
Tony stuck his hand out for Mark to shake, "Mark isn't it? Thanks for coming in yesterday and helping us with the clean up around here, it is going to take some time."
Mark smirked at Tony and shivers ran down Michelle's spine. She found herself taking a step almost behind Tony. Mark shook Tony's hand but stared directly into Michelle's eyes. "No problem, I am just sorry for what you all went through yesterday."
Tony was put off that this guy couldn't seem to take his eyes off Michelle. He hadn't even been able to look him in the face when he shook his hand and he could swear Mark was smirking at him rather than smiling. "Why don't you go get your medical done, I just have a few things to go catch Michelle up to speed on."
"I don't need a medical Tony, I didn't arrive until later last night, I was never exposed to any danger. Do you think I could talk to Michelle for a few minutes?"
Tony looked back at Michelle as she seemed to be almost hiding behind him. His heart hurt when he looked into her grief stricken eyes. He shook his head. "Sorry not right now, Michelle needs her medical and I need to go over some things with her."
Mark didn't respond but instead gave Tony a look that Tony didn't know how to take other then arrogance. Almost like he was shocked Tony had not just agreed with what he had asked. Tony didn't have time to deal with someone who had such a chip on his shoulder, he turned his back on Mark and lead Michelle down to medical.
"What was that about? Do you know him?"
Michelle could barely keep up with Tony's pace as he whisked her down the hallway. "Sort of, I worked with him at Division for awhile."
"Are you friends?"
"No, no we are not. Listen Tony, I appreciate you looking out for me but I can handle this medical."
Tony pushed the door open to the John's office and held it open for her. "I'm not so sure about that right now Michelle. If you are not going to talk to me, then I need to see for myself if you are ok." He didn't want to give her another chance to delay or get out of this and so he closed the door behind them and turned to John. "Hi John, Michelle Dessler needs her medical pass."
John motioned for Michelle to sit up on the bed. He watched as she struggled to make her way. Usually such a bubbly, friendly woman he had immediate concerns based on the sight of her. He turned in quietly to Tony. "Is there something I should know about here?"
Tony looked over John's shoulder at Michelle and then leaned in and whispered. "I'm sure there is Doc, but I don't know either, that is why I am here. She has a terrible bruise on her neck and she is just not herself. Could she been in shock?"
John shrugged and turned back to Michelle. "Hi Michelle, how are you feeling? Did you sleep last night?"
"No, not really. I am ok, just tired."
"Well I'd like to start by taking your blood pressure and then checking any wounds you sustained yesterday. Tony tells me you have bruising on your neck?"
Michelle shot Tony a shocked and hurt look. "I told you that was fine Tony."
"I'll let John decide that." He walked over to Michelle and rested his hand next to hers on the bed. "I'm not trying to give you a hard time here, I'm trying to look after you."
"You don't need to do that Tony."
Tony had to hold himself from having a go back. Why was she shutting him out so much? He wanted her to look at him again like she had yesterday.
Silence hung in the air as John took Michelle's temperature and blood pressure. Her temp was up a little but her blood pressure was very high. "190 over 140". He looked at Tony and shook his head before turning back to Michelle and looking at her eyes with a torch.
"Would you mind removing your sweater Michelle? Other than your neck, do you have any other injuries?"
Michelle closed her eyes as a few tears began to make their way down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and awkwardly removed her sweater revealing bruises as dark and deep on her arms. She didn't want to be rude to John but she had no idea how to respond to him. All of her energy and effort was being taken up by keeping herself from completely losing it.
"Holy shit Michelle. What the fuck has happened to you? I want to know what the fuck has happened to you...now!"
"TONY!" John put a hand on Tony's shoulder, "I need you to keep calm."
Michelle watched as Tony paced around the room swearing and mumbling. He continued to look back at her, his eyes desperate for answers to what was going on. Michelle mistook his frustration and sadness for anger and felt hopeless like she had disappointed him more than she could imagine.
What she had been through though was not something she could tell him about. She couldn't tell anyone or else she would be putting Tony in harm's way. John was trying to be calming as he begged Michelle for answers. "I can't say, I need you to both just forget about this. Tony please?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? What exactly are you asking me to forget about here Michelle? Tell me who did this to you."
John went to place his hand on her shoulder but she pulled away and stood up. He was seriously concerned by the situation. Clearly Tony had strong feelings for Michelle, he had never seen him lose his cool like this before. Her blood pressure was high and he needed her to calm down and he knew that wasn't going to happen unless he could calm Tony down. He asked Tony to step outside with him.
He had to put his hands on both of Tony's shoulders just to try and keep him still. "Ok Tony, obviously someone has done this to Michelle but we are not going to be able to work this out and help her if you don't calm down."
"Ok, ok, but what do we do?"
"I want to call Ashley in. Michelle might feel calmer around a woman. Tony, I'm going to be asking Ashley to bring a rape kit."
Tony slumped against the wall. Tears made their way down his face and he could barely get the words out. "You think she has been raped?"
"I don't know Tony, but we need to find out and she needs a full examination."
Tony nodded his head and asked for a minute alone with Michelle. He took a deep breath and walked back into the room. The bed was empty, he scanned the room and it was empty. The side door was open and she had gone. He almost bowled John over as he ran out of the room to find her.
He didn't have to go far, she was back at her desk staring blankly at the screen. He slowed himself down as he approached her and knelt down beside her. Careful to keep his voice low enough for no one else to hear he spoke as gently as he could. "Chelle, come back to the medic room with me. I am here for you, whatever has happened I will help you with."
"Tony I'm begging you to drop this. Just let me work."
"I won't drop it Chelle, not for a second. You are not well enough to work, you are not legally allowed to work unless you pass the examination." He rubbed his eyes, he hated being out in the open with Michelle like this for everyone to see. "Look at me."
She did as she was told.
"Come on Chelle, didn't something finally happen between us yesterday? Don't you trust me?"
"I do trust you Tony, I trust you with my life. But just as much as I trust you, I need you to trust me on this. I need you to not tell anyone and just forget about it. You know I wouldn't ask unless it was important."
"How could anything be more important than the fact that someone has clearly hurt you? I won't do it Michelle, I won't forget this. I am suspending you from work until I know you are ok."
She was shocked, could this be going any worse. She was going to lose Tony, her job, everything. "You are going to suspend me?"
Tony was having trouble keeping his voice quiet and he could already feel a million eyes staring at them. "Yeah Michelle I will, now come to my office."
She was going to flatly refuse but then she saw Mark across the room glaring at her and the rest of the staff staring. Humiliated, she stood, steadied herself and made her way to Tony's office. She could feel him right behind her. He snapped at people to get back to work.
Once the door to his office was closed Michelle pleaded with Tony. "Don't suspend me, I can't go home, I don't want to go home, please."
"Michelle, can't you see the position I am in? Even if I wanted to let you go back to work, which I don't, I couldn't. Chapelle would never allow it. If you don't open up to me I can't help you. I don't understand why you are protecting someone that has clearly hurt you?"
"I'm not protecting them, I'm protecting...."
"Who Michelle? Who are you protecting?"
Chappelle came barging in, not even bothering to knock. "What is going on? Michelle are you ok? I just spoke with John. Ashley is waiting for you Michelle with the kit and then they are going to take you down to the hospital."
"What kit?"
Chappelle looked at Tony and then back at Michelle. Tony looked like he was now in just a bad a condition as Michelle. He doubted he had ever seen pain so clearly expressed on someone's face before. "The rape kit."
Michelle took a step back from them both. She turned to Tony. "What have you said? Does everyone know what is going on? How could you do that?"
Tony raised his voice. "What could I have told Michelle? I don't know a fucking thing! All anyone knows is what is so clearly obvious."
Michelle pleaded with them. "If I tell you what happened, will you let me go to the hospital on my own and not suspend me?"
Tony shook his head. "No deal. If you think for a second I am letting whoever did that to you get away with it, you don't know me at all. You are not going to the hospital without me and you are not continuing to work until I say you are well enough."
"So you will send me home on my own but..."
"Are you scared to go home on your own Michelle?"
Michelle covered her eyes. "Of course I am fucking scared Tony. Why do you think I am begging you to let me work?"
Chappelle cut Tony off before he had a chance to respond. "I want you both to go down to the medical room together. Tony, you are clearly not in a position to be working at the moment either. You are both not suspended but I will not allow either of you to go back to work until I can see this has been sorted out. Michelle, I appreciate how delicate this situation is but you know that we can protect you, we can ensure your safety and I can promise you no one will harm you anymore. To do that though, we need to know what happened. Why don't you take Michelle back to the medic room Tony and maybe after you have both calmed down and Michelle has been helped we can then work out where to go from here?" He didn't wait for an answer; he wasn't asking for one, he was telling them. He walked out of the office and closed the door behind him.
They stood staring at each other. Tony rubbed his stubble, he had done that so much in the last 2 days he felt like his skin was going to turn raw. He turned and closed the blinds to his office leaving them in complete privacy. Michelle looked so close to caving in. She was holding the table for support, she was so pale and so ready to collapse.
Tony made his way slowly to Michelle. He picked up her hands from the table, they were so small and soft in his hands. "I want to look after you Michelle, will you please let me take you back to John and Ashley?"
Michelle kept her head down but raised her eyes to him. "I really don't want him touching me Tony."
"Who? John?"
"Yeah, John, Ashley, I just can't..."
Tony let go of her hand only to catch a tear making its way down her cheek with his thumb. "Me Michelle? Can I touch you?"
He received the slightest nod, but it was enough, he would take whatever he could right now. "Chelle let me see your arms again." He put his fingers at the bottom of her sweater but didn't pull on it until she had put her hands there as well and slowly started to take her sweater off. He helped her and then took the sweater from her hands and placed it on the desk behind him. He gasped at the sight of her arms again. His heart felt so heavy but he tried to remain as calm as possible for her. He moved his hand to the bottom button of her shirt. She moved her hand over his to instinctively stop him.
"Sorry Michelle, I'm sorry I just..."
Michelle could see the desperation in Tony's eyes. He looked so wounded, so afraid and although she didn't think it possible, that made her hurt inside even more. She took a deep breath and then removed her hand from his, giving him the ok to proceed. Tony closed his eyes for a few seconds and then undid the 3 last buttons of her shirt. He didn't want her to feel exposed but he needed to see how bad all of this was. He drew in for more air as he gently pulled one side of the shirt over to the side revealing her stomach. His heart dropped as his eyes scanned an incredibly large bruise covering her entire hip, he couldn't see how far down it went below her pants line. He couldn't handle this, he wanted to but he could feel himself losing it. Besides, he wasn't a doctor, he wasn't going to be able to help her like she needed. He sighed her name as he released her shirt and pulled her in for a hug.
Having Tony's arms around her was the safest she had felt. She wished the moment could last forever but she knew it wouldn't and she was going to have to somehow manage to get through this – for Tony's sake.
He whispered into her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. "I can't do this alone Michelle. You really need a doctor, you really need to tell us who did this to you and what happened. I am going to have Ashley come up here to my office. Will you talk to her? I'm just asking for you to talk to her, tell her where you are hurt and we can go from there. Please, please do this for me Michelle."
"Ok, ok, I'm just so sorry Tony."
"Ssshhh.." he put his hands on her cheeks and looked in her in the eyes. "Don't you dare say sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for. Just please let us help you."
She pulled out of the hug and wiped her tears repeatedly whilst giving him a nod. "Ok, I'll talk to Ashley."
Tony felt a little relief as he called Ashley and asked her to come to his office. Within a minute she was there. Ashley looked at Michelle and then back at Tony. "Can you give me a few minutes alone with Michelle Tony?"
He looked at Michelle who nodded to him that she would be ok. He told them he would be down stairs to please let him know as soon as they were finished. He mouthed "Thank you" to Michelle as he pulled the door closed behind him.