Against the Grain

A/N: Alright guys, this is Part Two in the Disenchanted series. It takes place approximately 3 months after the epilogue for the first part (the prologue spans several weeks though…as you'll figure out when you read it). It's the same kind of format – prologue and epilogue take place outside of the "threat day" and the actual story is 24-style in the sense that it takes place over the course of a day. Characters are more or less the same, but there may be a few appearances that weren't in the first part.

The idea here is just to give you a snapshot of what's been happening since the last part. I really, really hope you all enjoy this!

Prologue

WEEK ONE

"Agent Evans?"

Alex spun around to come face-to-face with the sun-kissed, brown-haired cop.

"Are your people okay?" She blurted out immediately, a look of concern crossing her face. His green eyes flitted upwards at the corners in mild amusement. Her stomach churned and her heartbeat increased. He was attractive, no question there.

"No, no." he assured her easily, a crooked smile on his face. He was a little taller than Rick but with a similar build – not too lanky, not too broad. His tan made him look like he spent hours outdoors and his hands fidgeted a little across his body that was clad in heavy SWAT gear.

She forgot she was probably supposed to respond to his assurances about twenty-seconds later than she should have. Yup. He was hot.

"Good." She smiled unnaturally and his grin widened, revealing a row of perfectly straight white teeth.

He glanced around quickly and took a step closer to Alex. She inhaled deeply.

"So, you were kind of a badass out there." He commented teasingly. At this, Alex burst out laughing. They'd been on a raid at this warehouse that was supposedly full of plutonium as well as the group of men responsible. She might've gotten a little aggressive when she found the ringleader cowering in the corner, shaking like a little girl…like the ones his bombs had obliterated in the middle of London on a school bus a few months before. Intel had suggested he was trying to pull the same thing in LA.

The cop grinned. "I guess you get that a lot."

Alex shrugged, relaxing a little now. "Usually once in a while."

He laughed, the corner of his mouth pinching in endearingly.

"Does that mean you don't date cops?"

Her whole face flushed.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I'll level with ya…I think you're kinda cute, but the guys bet me a hundred bucks you wouldn't date a cop."

The redness deepened and Alex lowered her eyes to the ground briefly.

"So what'dya say, Agent Evans - ?"

"Alex." She corrected quickly, she felt Wiley and Rick behind her now and was fighting the urge to turn around and tell them to go away. She'd rather face the seven-headed hydra than have them overhear her private conversation; she just couldn't bring herself to look at them. She brushed her hand unconsciously over the inside of her opposite arm, where a shiny scar remained from her father's attack several months before.

"Alex…" the cop smiled easily. "How do you and those gorgeous blue eyes feel about helping a guy out here and going on a date with me?"

She bit her lip, hesitating only a moment before scribbling her number on the corner of the piece of paper she was holding and tearing it off. It was a line that probably should've made her vomit a little in her mouth, but he managed to pull it off somehow.

The cop grinned when she handed it to him.

"So do I get a name for you?"

He laughed. "Luke…O'Hearn." He spun around at something and sighed a little.

"Alright…I gotta get outta here but uh…I'll call you tomorrow."

" 'kay." A less prominent blush had returned.

"Later Alex."

"See ya."

Tony crawled across the bed and on top of slightly drowsy Michelle, who smiled warmly at him when his mouth landed on her neck.

"Hey…"

He grinned against her. "Hey…" His hand slipped beneath her t-shirt and she gasped slightly.

"Whatcha doin'?"

She felt him puff against her, containing a chuckle as he moved down to the collar of her shirt.

"What's it look like?"

Her soft laugh resonated throughout the room and he smiled again, enjoying the taste of her sweet skin beneath his lips. His mouth trailed back up her neck and covered hers. She sighed contentedly, leaning her head back against the pillows. The last three months had been like this – lots of kissing and foreplay regardless of how tired either of them were. It was nice; fantastic really…but Michelle couldn't help but miss the days of getting mauled on her way out of the kitchen and having sex pressed up against a wall, or in the shower, or on the couch or even (once) on top of the dryer. Tony was always attentive, but he still seemed almost afraid to hurt her still. They were still getting used to each other and it would get better little by little… it had gotten better little be little. They'd be back to normal soon enough.

Besides, who was she to complain about a lot of kissing?

His caresses were almost reverent when his hands slipped beneath her shirt and up to her breasts. She moaned and pressed into him and his palms trailed south, thumbs brushing across her bellybutton and then below the waistband of her underwear.

She moaned his name softly, reveling in the ache that was pooling between her legs. They'd been having sex again for months, but only recently had she actually started feeling this again; she was once again enjoying (or being tortured by) the moments where she just wanted to hurry up and get the hell home so they could do this a couple of times before passing out from exhaustion. She was actually starting to want him again, which was nice. She wanted to want him more than she could ever explain.

His mouth was on her bellybutton now and his hands and finally slid between her legs and she arched against the mattress and into the stupid, smug grin he was wearing. After as long as they'd been together he still managed to come up with something that would completely throw her for a loop and leave her panting for breath and she certainly wasn't complaining about that either…

She moaned louder when her underwear disappeared completely and his mouth landed against her thigh, and then her core…

Definitely not complaining.

WEEK TWO

"You okay?" Michelle gently interrupted Rick's thoughts at dinner that night. It was a nice restaurant without being overly fancy and uptight. Michelle touched his arm gently as she spoke to get his attention. Rick sighed apologetically.

"Sorry…" he mumbled under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Tony frowned. "You've been out of it all day."

"Really?" Rick shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess I'm just tired."

At that moment Michelle's phone vibrated against the table. She scooped it up quickly and grinned.

"Alex…just checking in. She's having fun."

"Who is this guy anyway?" Tony scowled and Rick bit his lip. Michelle sighed.

"It's her decision, not yours."

"I just asked who he was, Michelle." Tony responded flatly.

"Some LAPD guy who asked her out when we finished that raid last week." Rick muttered bitterly.

Tony made a face.

"She's entitled to a date or two in her life without the two of you getting bent out of shape." Michelle teased them mercilessly.

"Guys that age only want one thing." Tony grumbled, much to Michelle's amusement. She laughed loudly.

"It's true." Rick assured her earnestly.

"Well maybe that's all she wants too…"

"Michelle!" Tony exclaimed.

"She's an adult…that's all I'm saying."

Tony grumbled something under his breath that no one caught, before excusing himself to go to the bathroom. Michelle sighed exasperatedly when he was gone, eyeing Rick who was obviously still somewhere else.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah…" he attempted to assure her to no avail. "I'm fine."

Alex approached Michelle's desk and received a pair of raised eyebrows.

"Well...?"

She shrugged, a grin appearing on her lips.

"It was fun."

"You didn't sleep with him, did you?" Michelle asked warily. Lewis had been up from Field Ops a few minutes before telling anyone who would listen that Agent Evans was in a particularly good mood that morning…because of all the sex.

"Oh…god, no! We went to dinner and then he took me to this bar-club thingy. We just made out a little bit."

Michelle, relieved, cocked her head to one side.

"Good?"

Alex blushed a little. "Yes."

It had been very good actually. She'd only kissed a couple of guys in her lifetime, but Luke beat them all out hands down. She thought of the way he'd casually removed her beer bottle from her hand and placed it next to his on the bar before caressing her shoulder and leaning in to kiss her briefly. He'd pulled back slightly for reassurance and she'd smiled just enough to give him what he was looking for. He'd kissed her again, teasing her lips apart with the tip of his tongue and his hands moving around her waist and tugging her body closer as he slowly moved deeper into her mouth.

Michelle smiled softly as Alex swung a chair around from an empty station and slid in beside her.

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Managing the subnet. It's gonna be another twenty minutes though. Keep me company. Give me some details."

Alex laughed. "You want the dirt?"

Michelle grinned. "Are you seeing him again?"

Alex bit her lip. "He's supposed to be calling me when he gets off tonight…so we'll see if that actually happens."

"He'll call." Michelle assured her breezily. Alex shrugged.

"We'll see I guess. The hot ones don't usually call back…"

"How hot?" Michelle raised both eyebrows and Alex snickered at her.

"See that thing on your left hand…that means you're not supposed to talk like that anymore."

Michelle laughed.

"I haven't had a first date in years…let me live vicariously."

"Ahh…but you got a good one." Her eyes shifted upwards to the office Tony was pacing in, the phone against his ear. Michelle followed her gaze and smiled.

"You have a point…but still…" Michele eyed her deviously. "How hot?"

"Hot. I'll snap you a Polaroid if he calls me back."

Michelle laughed, and both heads turned at the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Alex, you forgot to send to fax the copy of the debriefings to Division…" Rick interrupted their five minutes of 'girl-talk'. He was obviously angry. Alex gave Michelle a look before staring at him incredulously.

"You said the rest of the stuff could wait until today." She rose to her feet and folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, because I figured you'd know that needed to be done yesterday!" he snapped. Alex's jaw cocked to one side and she stared at him.

"Since when?"

"It always has to be same day. Division sent over the mandate last week. I told you about it then."

"No you didn't." she protested firmly.

"Yes, I did. It was the day the cop called so I dunno…maybe your head wasn't into it…"

Alex's mouth hung agape. To even insinuate she wasn't fully, completely, 100% focused on her job (whether it be on something out in the field or something as pointless as bureaucracy) was insulting.

"You didn't tell me, Rick." She snapped. "I'd remember."

"Obviously not." He scowled. "Look, just get it done before Bill calls to bite my head off…"

"Oh Jesus Christ, if that's what you're worried about I'll call Bill and tell him I forgot. Just relax…"

"Fine."

She snatched the folder out of his hand and stormed off.

Michelle stared at Rick when he finally turned to look at her.

"What?" he muttered. Michelle frowned.

"What the hell was that?"

"I dunno…Bill's the one who sent the e-mail."

"I didn't get a copy…"

"Only Field Ops did." He brushed her off. "I don't like it either, but it has to be done."

Michelle said nothing, just began typing something on her computer.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"I didn't say anything." Michelle told him mildly, her eyes never leaving her computer as her fingers danced across the keys. Rick scowled.

"Is Tony still gonna be stuck at Division all night?"

Michelle shrugged. "Far as I know…why?"

"Dinner?"

"Why? Something you wanna tell me?"

Rick rolled his eyes.

WEEK FOUR

It was a Saturday and she wasn't working. Bill had been back at Division for three months and had been married for almost two. They never got a honeymoon. The wedding had been in LA, but Karen had been on the first flight to DC the following Monday at the bequest of the newly elected President Palmer.

Which was why Alex had immediately taken advantage of her first Saturday off in weeks to make plans with her uncle who, being back at Division, got all weekends off. He worked weekends only because he had nothing else to do and there was always something to catch up on.

"So what do you feel like?" Alex asked as Bill pushed the grocery cart through the store. He was making dinner and she was supposed to be helping him (though he usually just ended up doing everything himself while she kept him company) and Claire would be joining them later that night. There had been discussion of going to a movie. It was the first night they'd had like this since the girls moved into their own place.

Bill shrugged indifferently. "You tell me. You've probably been eating chicken every day." He teased.

Alex laughed because it was horribly true.

"Steak?" she suggest, salivating already at the thought.

Bill grinned and nodded in agreement as they made their way to the meat counter.

Filets in hand they moved to the lettuce and he watched Alex carefully select a bag of spinach. She wore sweatpants tied loosely at her hips, a small patch of skin revealed as a result, and a fitted black tank top with spaghetti straps. Her hair was tied in a loose bun at the base of her neck with pieces hanging around her face and her bangs brushed out of her eyes. He noticed she looked a little more tanned than usual and her hair had a golden tint.

"You look good, Aly." He commented as she dropped the spinach into their cart. She smiled, and he noticed her face looked a little different too. She had extra freckles and her jaw was angular and less round, making her electric blue eyes stand out more than usual.

"Do I?" She hadn't spent much time with Bill in the last two weeks but she didn't think she looked different. She'd been banking on the fact that she wouldn't be looking or acting any different.

"You look like you've lost weight." Not that she really had any weight to lose before, but it was obvious now. Her arm muscles were more cut than usual and when she reached for a something on a higher shelf her shirt rode up revealing her flat stomach with the slightest amount of definition. In general she was smaller than she had been before.

Her cheeks colored a little.

"Not really…I put on ten pounds when I came back to LA and I was just trying to shred out a bit." She shrugged innocuously. "I've been working out more I guess. I didn't think anyone would notice."

Bill's brow creased a little.

"Are you sure you're eating enough?"

"Yes." She sing-songed. "I didn't even drop the full ten."

He looked uncertain. "Alright."

"You just said I looked good!" she reminded him easily.

"I know…you do."

She smiled gently. "I'm fine. Trust me."

"Alright."

She remained adamant that her sudden drop in weight had everything to do with relief Michelle was alive and safe and clocking a few extra hours in the gym with the new recruits and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that someone was seeing her naked on a very regular basis… The occasional piece of chocolate or dessert didn't seem nearly as appearing as the prospect of sex did and well, she wanted to look as good as she possibly could. He certainly did. She had to bite back a laugh. He was so out of her league it was practically hysterical. Everything he did was sexy even when he wasn't trying to be, and she was just awkward and uncertain and a little self-conscious…in bed, anyway. He claimed it was endearing, but she wasn't sure she believed him.

At that exact moment her phone dinged, indicating a text message. She bit her lip, having an inkling who it might be and flipped it open.

Come over tonight?

She bit her lip, texting back when her uncle's back was turned.

Dinner with Bill. Remember?

"It seems like you haven't been around much lately…" he interrupted her just as she'd sent her reply. Alex forced her jaw to unclench before answering with a smile. She felt bad lying to him, but there really wasn't an option. What was she supposed to say? "Hey, Uncle Bill, funny thing… I'm having an obscene amount of casual sex which is why I've been MIA for the last few weeks"?

"Yeah…this Christensen Op is really taking up a lot of time…and Rick's going to DC soon so we're trying to get stuff squared away before he leaves." She pushed the cart down a new isle, hearing her phone ding again and fighting the urge to see the response. Unfortunately, Bill heard it too.

"Who was it?" he queried casually. Alex shrugged.

"Just Wiley. He bumped into someone from Langley we trained with." Thank god she was a good liar.

"Ah…" Bill angled his eyes down at her. "Not The Cop?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. She'd absolutely kill whoever told him. He didn't need to know what was going on.

She said nothing, focusing instead on the bottles on a shelf.

"What kind of dressing do you want?"

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

She turned around sighed patiently.

"There's nothing to tell. We've just gone out a few times. It's really not a big deal."

"And will I ever get to meet him."

"Uncle Bill, honestly this thing with the cop is nothing. We went on a few dates and we're both too busy to go out again anytime soon. If there was something to tell you I would."

It wasn't a total lie.

"I didn't think you wanted to date anyone…"

She looked at him curiously. One of her favorite things about Bill was that no matter how busy or stressed out he seemed to be at the time he paid attention to every single word she said, no matter how subtle. He'd always been like that and she really loved him for it…it also made her feel horribly guilty lying to him as much as she was.

She jumped when her phone beeped a third time and Bill rolled his eyes a little and told her to answer. She glanced at her two new flashing messages, a slight smile forming on her lips as she read that Bill couldn't miss.

After.

And then…

I missed you all day.

Bill eyed her warily.

"You're sure there's nothing you want to tell me about you and this cop?"

She looked practically radiant when she shook her head…though he didn't think she realized that.

"Absolutely nothing."

WEEK SIX

Michelle brushed a dripping strand of her out of her eyes and crouched a little, trying to find her breath. She raised her eyes towards Alex who was glistening slightly, having barely broken a sweat. Michelle hadn't thought she was that out of shape. She went running all the time and had even done some light boxing with Wiley to refresh her on the basics. It was District's mandate: she and Tony both had to be recertified for Field Work being senior management, even if the position was only interim.

Truth be told she was kind of enjoying be back at CTU. She knew they'd eventually be done for good…but for the time it was nice. It was familiar and comfortable and something she'd done for almost her entire adult life. She was good at this…even if her position technically was a demotion. She didn't mind working beneath Tony and she was kind of enjoying the interoffice dynamic they had going on. Rick as Head of Field Ops meant things were a little more relaxed than they'd ever been with Jack, and Michelle was reminded daily of why she'd liked having Alex around so much at Division...

Except right now. Right know she was about two seconds away from telling her twenty-three year old drill sergeant where she could shove her 'one more round'.

Alex laughed at Michelle's bitter mumblings.

"C'mon…you're doing great. There's a reason we're doing this, remember?"

Michelle sighed. After her months with Svenski she felt vulnerable and the fact of the matter was even at her top form she wasn't anywhere near as capable as Alex was in hand-to-hand combat. Michelle with a gun was fine…she was a good shot, great even, and could out maneuver someone long enough to pull her weapon on them…But Michelle hadn't trained with Special Forces and SEALs and performed covert ops overseas. She could hold her own without question, but she wanted an edge she hadn't had before…and seeing as Alex could've probably given Jack a run for his money she seemed like her best bet.

They'd been sparing for a little over an hour and so far Michelle just felt like she was completely useless. She didn't think she was useless – at least not against most people – but every jab she threw was blocked with the smallest of movements and half the time Michelle ended up on the ground.

"You're dropping your left side too late." Alex informed her crisply, pulling her back to her feet.

"You need to get under me… It's all about leverage."

She watched Alex walk her through the maneuver and then nodded, indicating she wanted to try. It was four more attempts before Michelle managed to get Alex to stumble a little, and six when she finally flipped the girl to the ground. Alex grinned up from the mat and accepted Michelle's proffered hand.

"Again."

Michelle felt exhausted, but accomplished now. It may not have been as smooth of a takedown as Alex had made it look, but it was something. She was getting better.

Michelle was pulling Alex to her feet for the third time when she watched her relaxed expression vanish and her complexion grow pale. A hand flew to her mouth and Alex eyes closed as she took a deep breath. Michelle immediately moved a hand to her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Alex nodded quickly, eyes still closed. It was a few seconds before they opened again.

"Fine. I haven't eaten since breakfast. Guess I overdid it."

Michelle frowned. "You haven't been working that hard."

Alex laughed easily, the color returning to her face.

"You're not as much of a pushover as you think." She teased. "It happens all the time…seriously. Ask Claire…I've almost puked on the treadmill more times than I can count."

Michelle didn't look convinced, but conceded. They were about to move on to something else when the same thing happened again. This time Alex had to dart for the locker room and Michelle caught up with her just as the door to a stall slammed shut. She winced at the sound of retching. Alex emerged a minute later looking pasty and sweatier than she had been moments before.

"Michelle, I'm okay." She assured her calmly, leaning over the sink and rinsing her mouth out with water. "I'm probably just overtraining… I'm still waiting on my period and…"

Michelle's eyes widened "What?"

"Relax." Alex assured her. "Happens to me all the time. I probably just need to take a few days off and it'll go away."

"How long have you been feeling like this?"

Alex ducked her head back into the sink to hide her eyes.

"Maybe a week…the throwing up is just something that happens when I'm not eating enough. I swear."

"It's happened more than once?"

Alex straightened up and turned off the water.

"It's nothing to worry about. I'll take a few days off, eat lots, and my period will come and I'll stop getting sick. Okay?"

Michelle studied her warily, but nodded.

Tony leaned against the doorway, a smirk forming on his lips as he studied the scene in front of him. Michelle had just emerged from the shower, tucking a fluffy white towel around her body and rearranging her hair in the mirror, her mouth twisted in concentration. Tony watched for a few more seconds before sidling up behind her, curling his arms around her waist and nuzzling his face into her shoulder.

"Hey," her head angled to face him and her mouth kinked into a grin. He ran the tip of his nose along her cheek before pressing their lips together briefly.

"Hey." He tightened his grip on her turned them both back towards the mirror. He kissed her cheek, swaying back and forth slightly. Michelle grinned a little.

"What's with you?"

He shrugged. "Nothing…I just like having you around."

Her grin spread and she leaned in, running her teeth along his bottom and dipping her tongue briefly into his mouth. Tony groaned a little and one hand slid from her waist to her leg, and then the edge of her towel. She gasped when his fingers touched her knee and his lips left hers to nip at her shoulder. His hand continued its upward ascent, beneath her towel this time, and paused when it reached her thigh.

"Tony…" she hissed, her hands coming to cover the one across her hips and her head resting back against his chest. He trailed one finger along the inside of her leg. Her hands grasped his when he pressed against her curls first, and then between her folds. He smiled, mumbling something low against her as his thumb continued to circle tighter and tighter. One finger slipped inside of her, followed by another and she whimpered while his teeth sunk into her neck.

She said his name more insistently, her legs starting to give a little. He laughed softly and kissed the patch of skin just below her earlobe. She heard him speak again, but the words got lost against her. His teeth raked across her skin as his fingers started to move faster and the pressure of his thumb increased. She cursed softly and he chuckled, going faster still and finally hitting her soft spot, making a moan escape her lips.

He moved one hand to her chin, tilting their mouths together. She panted into his, trying to regain her breath.

"Tony…"

"Yeah, baby…" he answered mindlessly, rocking them back and forth still. She grinned, turning in his arms and bringing her hands to his face.

"Bed?" She suggested coyly, her lips twitching still when they pressed against his. He groaned as her hands slid down the front of his boxers. His nose bumped against her chin as he deepened the kiss and scooped her into his arms, leaving the bathroom behind and landing on the mattress together.

As usual, she'd read his mind.