A/N: This fic is kind of connected to 'Catching Teardrops' but you don't necessarily need to read it to understand this fic.
All kinds of feedback is most welcome.
"Ace?"
Tony shook his head.
"Really? It means one who is superior… who excels."
"Michelle, Ace Almeida? You would do that to the kid?"
She snorted.
"Ok, I see your point."
Sighing, she turned the page of the Baby Book of Names – which she started from the back, and scanned for more names that jumped out at her.
At 23 weeks pregnant, they both finally felt relaxed enough to go through some names to pick out for their unborn child. A scan was scheduled in the forthcoming days and both agreed to have three names picked out for each sex, so when the sex was determined, they could focus on narrowing down the names to one they both loved.
She was laid on the couch with her back supported by the arm rest, while he was sat at the other end massaging her feet on his lap.
"Arthur?"
Tony shook his head.
"Arlo?"
Tony stopped, thinking.
"It's because it's Spanish that you're considering it, right?"
He grinned, and resumed massaging.
"To be honest, any name beginning with 'A' should be ruled out, don'tcha think hon?"
"Aw. I was really hoping I could convince you with the name Adonis." The name barely left her lips before she howled with laughter almost flinging the book across the room.
Tony watched her, shaking his head and smiling.
"Adonis Almeida," she muttered to herself before laughing all over again.
"Can you imagine telling my mother we chose a name with a Greek origin?" Tony said over her laughter. "If we name our child using a origin of country, it's going to be Spanish. You know the rules."
"A origin of country? What on earth is that?" she teased breathlessly wiping a tear from her eye.
"You know what I meant."
A smile tipped up on his face. "Besides, it's hard to concentrate with the stink coming from your feet."
"Hey!" Leaning forward, she shoved his arm, before pausing.
"Do they really stink?"
He chuckled. "Absolutely… Not." And he slid his hands up to her ankle.
"Oh god Tony," Michelle gasped in barely a whisper as he worked his fingers on the tight muscle around her ballooned right ankle. Her head tipped back in ecstasy and she gradually slipped back down onto the couch.
Tony looked on bemused at his wife's reaction, reminding himself to do this for her more often.
While from the outside, allowing Tony to do everything for her drew some negative comments from friends and family; from the inside, it was unequivocally the right thing to do. From the moment she told him she was carrying their second child, Tony could not leave her alone. He had always been affectionate, but the news kicked the demonstrative up several notches. Every night he fell asleep with his hand on her stomach, and every morning after he awoke, he would put his head on Michelle's lap and speak to his child. When he saw her naked, his eyes lit up at seeing her bump so exposed – his eyes and fingertips traced every curve, his heart sprinting with a combination of excitement, adoration and impatience. He told her as often as he could that she looked beautiful, and how he loved her so. In day to day life, whatever was thrown her way, she took it all in her stride and he admired the way she held herself - she positively glowed and he worshipped wasn't obsessive. He never panicked if she didn't text or call. He never demanded anything. He only insisted that he took care of her. Which is why when she mentioned her feet were aching, he wordlessly guided her to the couch, put her feet up on his lap and got to work. While occasionally Michelle found herself getting irritated with Tony, she would remind herself that he missed out on her pregnancy with their son. And she would be thankful of the two hours she took each day for herself to practise meditation and yoga. When her hormones weren't playing up and she wasn't feeling irritable, she rolled with it and fell in love with her husband just a little bit more, every day.
Michelle sat up again.
"Do you know what? I've got it!" she beamed.
Tony stopped moving.
"Got what?"
"The perfect name if we have a boy."
A rush of butterflies surged through Tony's stomach.
"Tell me."
His eyes met with hers.
"Bauer."
He continued staring at her as if he misheard.
"Bauer." She repeated. "We should call him Bauer."
Still staring, he waited for her to bust out a grin and tell him she was joking. But she remained straight-faced.
Tony moved her feet from his lap and turned his body to face her fully.
"You want to call our son – OUR baby son, Bauer. As in, Jack Bauer. Bauer. "
She nodded.
"She is serious."
He held her gaze tight.
"Please tell me you are joking", He half pleaded.
"No! I'm serious. It makes perfect sense. And like James, he can have his daddy's middle name."
"That would make his initials B-A-A. Like the sheep noise. BAA."
She nodded again.
Tony's eyes dropped down to the floor in disbelief.
With his attention diverted, Michelle allowed the grin she had been suppressing to spread across her face. She could feel the laughter bubbling close to the surface. And without meaning to, she omitted a little snort before quickly disguising it as a cough.
His eyes met with hers once more, her grin long gone. He was silently pleading for her to start laughing but she didn't.
He clenched his fist. He had to get out of there. He felt rage fizzing through his veins.
Distraction.
"I need coffee. Do you want me to make you some?"
"Hmm. Yeah. I think I could stomach a small cup. Could I get it milky?"
"Sure." And he sprung up from the couch and darted out of the room.
Entering the kitchen he immediately felt calmer. The kitchen was one of his favourite places in the house – second to their bedroom.
In the kitchen Tony could feed his son breakfast, drink coffee with his wife and cook all his favourite foods. In the kitchen was where his boy took his first steps. In the kitchen was where he and Michelle usually ended up having sex when the bedroom was just too darn far away.
Strolling over to the other side, he flicked the kettle on and then rummaged in the cupboard for the instant stuff. He hated instant but the smell from the coffee maker would turn Michelle green.
"Bauer. We should call him Bauer."
The rage that fizzled, now sparked and then ignited.
Tony took the mugs out of the cupboard and slammed them down on the counter.
"She wants to call him BAUER. BAUER!"
He poured the instant stuff from the cardboard box into their coffee tin, before slamming that on the counter too.
"It's not enough to give Jack as a middle name to our son, but if we have another, she wants to give him Jack's SURNAME!"
He yanked a drawer open causing the cutlery to rattle. Fishing out a spoon he hurled it onto the counter with a loud double clank before placing both palms of his hands on the counter and leaning over it trying to calm himself down.
Tony loved Jack. He loved him like a brother. He just drew the line at naming his kids after him. Once was more than enough. The kettle clicked off quietly having boiled raucously, but Tony didn't move.
He didn't hear her approach, just felt a slight nudge in his back as she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"You okay sweetheart?" she asked tenderly as she rested her head against his back.
Like a light switch being flicked as he heard the touch of concern in her voice, his emotions went from irritated to placid in half a beat.
He nodded. "Mmhmm. I was just really thrown when you suggested Bauer as a name."
She turned him around to face her. Taking his hands in hers and holding his gaze, she kissed him softly on the lips.
"Forget it. It's not on the list."
"Are you sure?"
She smiled. "Yeah I'm sure."
"I better make you that coffee then," he grinned at her.
"No, wait." She reached out touching his arm to stop his movement.
"Your mom called. James hasn't been happy all day and thinks he'd be better off coming home now. Can you pick him up?"
"He hasn't been happy?" Tony frowned, feeling the tug of worry pull at his heart.
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about honey, she thinks he is just missing us and I do too."
"Yeah, I'll go get him. You okay to get the coffee yourself?"
Michelle laughed, "I think I got it. Go. I'll see you in ten."
She listened to him pick up his car keys and waited until she heard the door click before going out into the hallway and picking up the phone on its first ring.
"Mi hija, did it work?"
"Yes, yes it did."
The sound of roaring laughter filled her ear which was so infectious; Michelle couldn't help but laugh back.
"I knew it! I know my son and he would not be happy at that suggestion!"
Suddenly Michelle felt uneasy, as she remembered him slamming around the kitchen.
"Do you think we took it too far?
"Absolutely not my darling!" her mother in-law hooted. "It was long overdue."
Mercedes Almeida is Michelle's second favourite woman in the world after her own mother. To say Mercedes was thrilled at Michelle and Tony reuniting was an understatement. When she first met her grandson, Michelle couldn't tell if she was bursting with pride or about to burst into tears. Turns out it was both. Warm, compassionate, loving and incredibly astute, she saw a lot of herself in Michelle and treated her as one her own. She never held anyone to blame for the end of the marriage, just hoped and prayed that it really wasn't the end.
They continued chatting – mostly about James, until Michelle heard a key in the lock.
Hurriedly saying her goodbyes, she placed the phone back in the receiver and straightened herself out.
"How's my boy?" She asked as Tony gently kicked the front door shut behind him while carrying their son and the usual huge duffel bag of toys.
"A little better for seeing me I think," he cheerfully replied. "But, tired."
Though his parents lived such a short drive away, throughout the journey he felt his stomach knot over and over as he thought about his son being so unhappy that he had to be returned home. The moment he held James in his arms, he understood. James had missed his mommy and daddy. That was all.
"So," he started as he made his way towards his wife.
"I heard you spoke to my mother on the phone while I was gone?"
Michelle immediately knew where this was going and held her ground.
"Yeah. She called seconds after you left."
"What was it about?" He placed the duffel bag on the floor, and threw his keys into the bowl on the side table.
"Umm. She had a cooking question." And internally scolded herself for not thinking of a better lie.
"Oh really?" He moved closer, stopping about a foot away from where she stood.
"That's strange because, my dad could hear my mother laughing from the back yard while he was in the lounge."
Michelle bit her lip to stop herself from smiling, and shifted closer to him taking their son from his arms.
"Hi baby!" She kissed him on the cheek. Opening his eyes a crack, he murmured "Mommy" before looping his arms around her neck as she brought him to her chest. He rested his head on her shoulder, his face buried in her neck. Michelle could feel his breath tickling her neck.
"I'll put him down for a while, and then he can have dinner with us."
As she walked past her husband, she leaned into his ear and whispered "2-1".
He turned around and grabbed her by the elbow.
"I'll get you back sweetheart!" he whispered back, and let her go.
Halfway up the stairs, she called out to him as he headed into the kitchen.
"Bring it on!"
Tony chuckled. He would never get tired of the tricks they pulled on each other. And even he had to admit she had got him good with the suggestion of the name Bauer if they had a baby boy. He flicked the kettle switch on once more and began to conjure up ways to get his wife back.