A/N: Ok, here's my first attempt at posting any of my work. It's not beta-ed, so please forgive any mistakes that you catch. I wrote this after watching season 2 and thought I would finish it up for fun. If you like the 1st chapter, let me know. I have more waiting. RR.
Three Weeks Later
Chapter 1
Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Michelle had decided to act against her normal dating policy and ask Tony out. After all, she hadn't known at the time that CTU would find the nuke in time. She figured that if she had to die, why not make the first move?*If you want to have dinner sometime_* god, she had been stupid. Three weeks later and Tony had never once mentioned their conversation or the kiss. *Mmmm, the kiss. That man is like magic.* Michelle sat on her couch, thinking backwards to that excruciatingly long day. So many people had lost their lives, not only in the bombing at CTU, but during the whole course of the day. She closed her eyes and breathed in the breeze that was flirting with the lavender curtains in her living room windows. Rearranging herself so she was reclining on the sofa, her head leaning over the arm, she reveled in the breeze and the soft sounds of the radio playing in the background. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
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Tony was still at his desk. He knew Michelle deserved an answer, that she had summoned up every ounce of willpower she possessed to ask him out. He also knew that she believed him when he told her wasn't sorry about the kiss. *Hell, I wasn't at the time. She is one amazing woman_but I knew that long before her lips touched mine.* Tony smirked silently, but became somber again as he realized that he now had a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting close to her. He leaned his head back against his desk chair and closed his eyes, remembering her scent, the taste of her lips, the fear in her eyes. *My god, I only made things worse_I only hurt her more. Selfish bastard that I am, I was only trying to protect myself. What am I saying!? Michelle is ten times the woman Nina ever was. And then some. I'm such an idiot.* He stood and gathered the files he had been looking over. He had taken to staying late; partially to avoid Michelle, partially to keep him from thinking about Michelle. The work he stayed to finish was, more often then not, menial things that normally would have taken him less than half of the time he ended up spending on them. His goal to avoid Michelle Dessler had worked near perfectly, but he couldn't get her out of his head. No matter how many times he vowed that he would not think about her, she would invade his thoughts, sending him scrambling to find equilibrium. She didn't have to be within several miles to severely interrupt whatever he was working on. And she did so very often.
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Kim Bauer had noticed the way Michelle looked at Tony. Before she had spent ten minutes in the building, she could tell. Michelle was already well on the way to falling in love with her boss. It had been an awful day for Kim, considering she had just been told that her father was dying and then that he hadn't died after all in just a few short hours; Kim was shocked that she remembered the exact look on Michelle's face when she had looked at Tony that morning. Kim smiled at her father across the small living room of Jack's apartment. They were finally getting around to unpacking the boxes of pictures and family treasures that Jack had simply left strewn about his apartment. The doctors had made Jack promise to take it easy. In fact, they only allowed him out of the hospital after a mere week's stay when they learned that not only would Kim be living with him, but Kate Warner had promised to stop by very often and keep an eye on him. "It's the least I can do after you saved my life" Kate had told Jack when he had protested. *Pitched a fit is more like it,* Kim smirked.
"What's so funny?" Jack looked inquisitively at his daughter.
"Nothing."
"Uh uh, don't give me that, Kimberly, what were you thinking about that made you laugh?"
Kim looked her father in the eye. "Dad, how much do you like Kate?"
Her question caught Jack off guard. He took a deep breath and answered her question with one of his own while pretending to busy himself with the contents of the box directly in front of him, "Why? Don't you like her?"
Kim smirked. She knew her dad well enough to know when he was avoiding a topic_and that was definitely what he was attempting to do at the moment. "I asked you a question, dad."
Jack smiled at Kim. She reminded him a lot of Terri right now, trying to keep him on a subject she knew that he was trying deliberately to avoid. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled and answered slowly, "yes, I like her."
"Enough to ask her out?"
"Kim!"
"Dad!" Jack looked at her and cocked his head to one side, as if appraising her before a confrontation. "Dad," Kim continued, "I know you like her. I just want you to know that I do too. If you like her enough to date her, then do. It's been a long time since mom died and I know I've made things tough on you. I really want you to be happy."
Father and daughter sat in silence for a minute. Then Jack nodded as he said "thanks, honey. I'm glad you feel that way."
The doorbell rang at that moment and Kim kissed her dad on the forehead as she rose to answer it. "No prob Daddy." She opened the door to an increasingly familiar face.
"Hi Kim!" Kate breezed past and into the kitchen with bags of groceries. "I thought I'd make you guys some dinner tonight, that okay?" Kim just nodded and helped put groceries away. She heard her dad walk into the kitchen.
"Hey Kate." He smiled at her.
A smile played around the edges of Kim's mouth. She knew the look on Kate's face instantly. It was the same look Michelle Dessler wore every time she so much as glanced at Tony Almeida.
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Three Weeks Later
Chapter 1
Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Michelle had decided to act against her normal dating policy and ask Tony out. After all, she hadn't known at the time that CTU would find the nuke in time. She figured that if she had to die, why not make the first move?*If you want to have dinner sometime_* god, she had been stupid. Three weeks later and Tony had never once mentioned their conversation or the kiss. *Mmmm, the kiss. That man is like magic.* Michelle sat on her couch, thinking backwards to that excruciatingly long day. So many people had lost their lives, not only in the bombing at CTU, but during the whole course of the day. She closed her eyes and breathed in the breeze that was flirting with the lavender curtains in her living room windows. Rearranging herself so she was reclining on the sofa, her head leaning over the arm, she reveled in the breeze and the soft sounds of the radio playing in the background. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
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Tony was still at his desk. He knew Michelle deserved an answer, that she had summoned up every ounce of willpower she possessed to ask him out. He also knew that she believed him when he told her wasn't sorry about the kiss. *Hell, I wasn't at the time. She is one amazing woman_but I knew that long before her lips touched mine.* Tony smirked silently, but became somber again as he realized that he now had a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting close to her. He leaned his head back against his desk chair and closed his eyes, remembering her scent, the taste of her lips, the fear in her eyes. *My god, I only made things worse_I only hurt her more. Selfish bastard that I am, I was only trying to protect myself. What am I saying!? Michelle is ten times the woman Nina ever was. And then some. I'm such an idiot.* He stood and gathered the files he had been looking over. He had taken to staying late; partially to avoid Michelle, partially to keep him from thinking about Michelle. The work he stayed to finish was, more often then not, menial things that normally would have taken him less than half of the time he ended up spending on them. His goal to avoid Michelle Dessler had worked near perfectly, but he couldn't get her out of his head. No matter how many times he vowed that he would not think about her, she would invade his thoughts, sending him scrambling to find equilibrium. She didn't have to be within several miles to severely interrupt whatever he was working on. And she did so very often.
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Kim Bauer had noticed the way Michelle looked at Tony. Before she had spent ten minutes in the building, she could tell. Michelle was already well on the way to falling in love with her boss. It had been an awful day for Kim, considering she had just been told that her father was dying and then that he hadn't died after all in just a few short hours; Kim was shocked that she remembered the exact look on Michelle's face when she had looked at Tony that morning. Kim smiled at her father across the small living room of Jack's apartment. They were finally getting around to unpacking the boxes of pictures and family treasures that Jack had simply left strewn about his apartment. The doctors had made Jack promise to take it easy. In fact, they only allowed him out of the hospital after a mere week's stay when they learned that not only would Kim be living with him, but Kate Warner had promised to stop by very often and keep an eye on him. "It's the least I can do after you saved my life" Kate had told Jack when he had protested. *Pitched a fit is more like it,* Kim smirked.
"What's so funny?" Jack looked inquisitively at his daughter.
"Nothing."
"Uh uh, don't give me that, Kimberly, what were you thinking about that made you laugh?"
Kim looked her father in the eye. "Dad, how much do you like Kate?"
Her question caught Jack off guard. He took a deep breath and answered her question with one of his own while pretending to busy himself with the contents of the box directly in front of him, "Why? Don't you like her?"
Kim smirked. She knew her dad well enough to know when he was avoiding a topic_and that was definitely what he was attempting to do at the moment. "I asked you a question, dad."
Jack smiled at Kim. She reminded him a lot of Terri right now, trying to keep him on a subject she knew that he was trying deliberately to avoid. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled and answered slowly, "yes, I like her."
"Enough to ask her out?"
"Kim!"
"Dad!" Jack looked at her and cocked his head to one side, as if appraising her before a confrontation. "Dad," Kim continued, "I know you like her. I just want you to know that I do too. If you like her enough to date her, then do. It's been a long time since mom died and I know I've made things tough on you. I really want you to be happy."
Father and daughter sat in silence for a minute. Then Jack nodded as he said "thanks, honey. I'm glad you feel that way."
The doorbell rang at that moment and Kim kissed her dad on the forehead as she rose to answer it. "No prob Daddy." She opened the door to an increasingly familiar face.
"Hi Kim!" Kate breezed past and into the kitchen with bags of groceries. "I thought I'd make you guys some dinner tonight, that okay?" Kim just nodded and helped put groceries away. She heard her dad walk into the kitchen.
"Hey Kate." He smiled at her.
A smile played around the edges of Kim's mouth. She knew the look on Kate's face instantly. It was the same look Michelle Dessler wore every time she so much as glanced at Tony Almeida.
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