Author's Note: This is my second fic. I wrote a oneshot a couple moths ago (by the way thanks to those who reviewed, I appreciated it). I've decided to try and write somthing again. It's Tony and Michelle a little bit before season two. I thought I might take it through to after S2 to when they are together, that is if anyone wants me to. Please review, let me know if I should continue and if it sucks let me know that too (although hopefully you won't be too harsh :) Anyway let me know ...
Chapter 1 (memories)
It was another long day at CTU, what else is new? Tony Almeida was sitting in his office just wracking his brain about what to do.
He didn't think he had ever felt so confused and flustered in his life…and he had made it all the way up to the rank of 1st lieutenant in the marines and was currently the second agent in command at the Counter Terrorist Unit of LA ... so he had deffinitely been through his share of difficult situations.
But this was something totally different. Tony's brain always seemed to be telling him one thing and his heart was always screaming the exact opposite.
After what had happened with Nina, he had promised himself that he would never get involved with a co-worker again. He also made a vow to protect his heart from getting hurt. It was too hard to trust people. Especially anyone involved in the CTU world, where anything was possible. He had learned this lesson the hard way.
But now, over ten months and one new IP manager later…he had himself a big problem. Bigger than he'd care to admit.
He was completely entranced by Michelle Dessler and as much as he tried to force himself to keep a professional demeanor and tell himself that co-workers and friends were all they could ever be … his heart didn't seem to be getting the message.
He thought about her all the time and found himself looking at her a hell of a lot more than he should. Although he had managed up to this point to keep these weak points under the radar, it was becoming harder and harder by the day. There was just something about her that melted right through him and he couldn't seem to make it go away.
Now he was sitting in his office, knowing that in half an hour she'd be coming in there, and they'd be working alone together on coordinating intel for a new lead that just came in, for who knows how long. He felt so unraveled.
How was he going to keep it together being alone with her for that long? Sure they had worked on plenty of things together, and he was always able to stay professional. But when he was in a mindset like this, thinking about her in that way, it made things very difficult.
Everyday for the past five months since she started working there, it had been getting harder and harder to be around her, but yet he couldn't deny that he loved every second of it.
He remembered her first day there, when he had first laid eyes on her and it all started…
At the exact same time someone else was having some un-work related thoughts of their own.
Michelle Dessler had pretty much wanted Tony since the moment she had met him… Now if only she could get Tony to feel the same way about her.
It wasn't as if he was rude to her or anything. In fact, sometimes she thought that he was ever so slightly more pleasant with her than anyone else. (Although this could very well just be a notion made up by her head to appease her, so far, unrequited feelings.) No, things weren't bad between them. She would even go so far as to say that they were friends, in the context of the work place of course. But if he saw her in any light other than a co-worker, he deffinitely wasn't showing it.
Michelle wasn't unrealistic. She wasn't one of those women who would come on to men even when they weren't interested. In fact, she wasn't one of those women who came on to men at all.
But in between the 99 percent "work talk" and professionalism, there was something about the way Tony's eyes periodically remained on her for just a moment longer than called for. Every once in a while she would notice it ... Or the way, when they would get caught standing very close to each other or some part of their bodies would accidentally make contact, he seemed to hesitate slightly. As if it had some kind of effect on him.
She could seriously have been reading into things way too much, but it was enough of a push to fuel her to not give up on it yet ... at least not totally.
Michelle had been attracted to him right away when she met him, and although she didn't know anything about him then, she was sure she felt something that was different from anything she was accustomed to.
Little did she know that a few months later it would be this hard for her to keep her feelings for Tony platonic.
He was constantly on her mind and she seemed to always feel the need to look at him, not in a weird way, but just to know what he was doing and satisfy her eyes.
Whenever they interacted she always made it her priority to keep things professional. But inconveniently, or conveniently depending on how you looked at it, they repeatedly happened to end up just a little closer than necessary ... probably because subconsciously she just couldn't help herself. She just hoped that it wasn't enough for anyone to notice ... ok, maybe in the back of her mind she wanted him to notice a little, but she wasn't about to admit that to herself.
She started wondering how she would get through the night ahead with him, and how she had gotten into this situation with work and him and these feelings that she just couldn't dismiss. Her thoughts drifted back to a familiar memory, one that had repeated itself many times in her dreams over the past five months. It was the day that started everything ...
Flashback
Michelle had just been sent over to the CTU office for her final iterview for the position of Internet Protocol Manager. As she was driving over there from her current office at division she started wondering what it would be like to work there. She assumed that she was getting the job because she knew a few other people that applied for it and she was the only one who was sent for a "final interview". If that was the case, she hoped the change would work out for the best. Anything had to be better than working at division, under Carey.
She would have done just about anything to get out of that office and this was just the opportunity she was looking for. This position would be a step up for her, and it would be somthing different. She knew the reputation of CTU. This was where all the action happened ... "the front lines". If you worked there you had to be on your A game at all times because just about anything was possible. But she looked forward to the challenge. If there was anything Michelle Dessler thrived on, it was formidable situations.
As she reached CTU, parked her car, and made her way into the building, all she could think about was this next step in her career and in her life.
Tony was on the end of a long 16 hour shift, complete with a terrorist threat and debriefing reports. He was just about ready to leave when George Mason, director of CTU, threw the dart that burst his bubble. It seemed that after 6 long months of a few temporary replacements, none of which seemed to be competent or fit into the system well, they had finally found a permanent replacement for his old job.
"Where are you going?" George asked as he caught up to Tony, who was putting his jacket on.
"Home George ... I've been here for sixteen hours." Tony said matter of factly, as if George had just asked him the most obvious question imaginable.
"Well you're gonna get a little warm in here with that jacket on because you're not leaving yet."
"What?!" Tony asked raising his voice a little, not believing what he was hearing. What else could there possibly be to do?
"Almeida, I really don't need any of your whining right now... Chappelle and I finished the interviews and we picked a permanent IP Man."
"I'm ecstatic for you George ... but what does that have to do with me being stuck here?" Tony asked sarcastically, barely trying to hide his disdain as he was now following George back up to his office, still looking for an answer.
"Look ... no one wants to leave here more than I do ... but she's on her way here now from Division for her "final interview" so that I can offer her the job... You should be here. You're gonna be working closely with her ... I dont want you two just thrown together after the fact."
"Well that nice ... considering the fact that Division didn't include me in the hiring process and it doesn't really make a difference what I think at this point." Tony said, not wanting to relent without a fight.
George ignored Tony and continued as if he had never spoken. "Her name's Michelle Dessler, take a look over her file."
"Fine George" Tony said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to get some coffee and then I'll be downstairs... Just let me know when she gets here." Tony said with a huff as he stormed out and downstairs to the break room.
He sat their drinking his coffee, finding himself uncharacteristically calm, after being forced to stay even longer. As he drank the warm liquid that he had come to depend on way too much to get through a day, he browsed her file. She seemed to be very qualified. He just hoped she'd be easy to work with, because the last thing he needed was another problematic person to handle. "I just hope this doesn't take too long so I can get the hell out of here" he thought to himself.
He finished his coffee, rinsed out his cubs mug, and left the break room. He headed across the floor and picked his head up just in time to stop dead in his tracks. Luckily, because if he had gone five more steps there would have been a major collision.
In front of him stood the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It hit him like a ton of bricks and he just stood there staring at her ... for how long he didn't even know. She had the most flawless face ... he couldn't take his eyes off it. She had delicate reddish brown curls that framed it ... and the most perfectly shaped mouth he could ever imagine.
As Michelle walked across the floor and was thrust at this person, she looked at him and her breath caught in the middle of her chest and she felt as if time stood still for a minute. He was gorgeous. He had wavy dark brown hair and the most intoxicating eyes she had ever seen. She felt an amazing feeling jolt through her body. She was completely caught off guard by what was in front of her and, unbeknownst to herself, a small shy smile was slowly forming across her face.
Tony took notice of this and then realized that the encounter was bordering weird, so he forced himself to speak.
"Hi ... I .. I'm Tony Almeida ... can I help you with somthing?" He could barely get out the words as he was trying to catch his breath and regain his composure. She had completely floored him.
She flashed a dazzling smile that made his heart stop for a second and then she said it. The words that excited his pulse and deflated his heart all at once...
"I'm Michelle Dessler. I'm here to see George Mason."
Michelle had almost jumped out of her skin when he mentioned his name and the thought of working closely with him everyday invaded her mind. It was a short flash of excitement and hapiness. But that feeling was quickly replaced by the more difficult reality when it hit her. "This is going to be my boss" she thought. This meant that things would have to be kept professional.
For a second Michelle could have sworn that Tony gave her a look, mirroring the one that she could only assume was plastered all over her face. A look that must have depicted her initial reaction to him and the feeling that it sent through her. But then he introduced himself and she said her name, and that look, if it was there, was deffinitely gone. He was still wearing a friendly expression, but that "look" that was in his eyes had disappeared.
"It's nice to meet you Ms Dessler. His office is right up there." He said as he pointed to George's office. "You can go up, he's expecting you."
Tony did his best to sound professional but his mind was going a mile a minute. He watched her as she said thank you and walked away, in awe of her gorgeous figure gliding across the floor and almost floating up the stairs. He was going to be working with her everyday. "Any guy would kill to be me right now." he thought. Then he snapped himself out of it. "That's just it...I have to work with her" he told himself. So this would have to be the last time he could allow himself to have any thoughts like that about her.
"I will not break my promise to myself ... I'll only think of her as a co-worker!" he informed himself as he made his way into George's office, preparing himself for what he knew he had to do.
"Good, Michelle this is Tony Almeida. He's my second in command and he'll be your direct superior." George said to Michelle after Tony came in, but her eyes hadn't left him since he had appeared at the door.
"Oh" she said breathly, with a slightly surprised and nervous look on her face, and a tiny smiled appeared for a second and then it was quickly masked by a serious expression, followed by "It's nice to meet you Mr. Almeida".
This produced a slight grin on Tony's face at hearing her call him that and then he said, in a more sheepish voice than he had intended ... "Please ... Tony."
Michelle bit her lip and said "Sorry" and immediately felt her cheeks getting warm at the sight of the adorable, almost unnoticeable grin and how he told her to call him Tony.
For some reason Tony couldn't peel his eyes off her faintly pink cheeks until his attention was diverted.
"Alright then ... let's get started." George said, sounding vaguely put off by the seemingly juvenile tension in the room.
George began to question Michelle on some protocols and her knowledge on some of the tasks that she would be doing. He then started going over some of her qualifications with her. Michelle knew that the hard part was over, most of the difficult procedural questions and testing and interrogating had gone on during her formal interview. This was just a light repeat of some things that George wanted to go over again for his own benefit and that of Tony, since this was the first time he was present.
Be that as it may, this effort was falling on deaf ears because Tony wasn't at all interested in Michelle's credentials at this point ... or how she would handle a major capabilities search or recalibrate the main servor's drive. He was sitting there thinking about how he couldn't think about her ... desperately trying to come up with rational reasons why he coudln't be attracted to her.
Michelle on the other hand was intent on George's inquiries, wanting to make sure she was making a good impression and everything would go smoothly. George explained to her that they had decided to offer her the position ... which she graciously accepted.
Tony wasn't absorbing much of anything and he hadn't said a word because he constantly had the corner of his eye locked on her. He found himself unconsciously trying to memorize every inch of her face, every look she gave. "She really is so beautiful" he thought.
"Tony ... do you have any questions ... anything at all to say?" George suddenly asked him expectingly, with a look on his face that was wondering why he hadn't spoken up at all.
Tony cleared his throat, tried to sound professional, and said "Everything seems to be good. You seem to know what you're doing so ... I look forward to working with you." "She has no idea how true that is"he thought.
"Me too" Michelle replied. Stifling her deight at his comment.
And for a instant Tony could have sworn she gave him an eye ... but he thought he must have imagined it. Then she flashed him a smile. That beautiful smile that cut right through him, and he knew right away that it was going to be an uphill battle trying to keep strictly business thoughts about this woman.
"Uh ... there is one concern that I have though." said George, breaking the little moment.
"What's that sir?" Michelle asked trying to hide the worry in her voice.
"Well ... you seem like a nice woman ... and you're obviously qualified from a technical standpoint ... but I just wonder if you're a little too ... what's the word I'm looking for here ... "delicate" ... for a job like this. I mean it gets pretty intense here and when things need to get done ... believe it or not ... I can be pretty ruthless, especially when I don't get enough coffee. And Tony here ... well, he could pretty much be described with one phrase ... "short fuse"".
"That's not true" Tony said, knowing that it was more accurate than he'd like to admit but none too pleased at having this flaw revealed to his new co-worker in such a way.
"That's right Almeida ... you've got the patience and disposition of a saint." George mocked.
Michelle descided to cut in at this point. She didn't want to listen to Tony get cut down and she wanted to put Mason's unease to rest as quickly as it seemed to start, even though she wasn't sure how serious he really was by the comment or of it was more of a warning type of thing.
"Well, either way sir ... I am coming here after working under Ryan Chapelle and Brad Hammond. So ... as I appreciate your concern ... I think I'm most likely equipped to handle whatever might go on down here... and I have to say I've become quite unfazed by ..."harsh callousness" ... so I can't imagine you guys will be so bad." She said in a slightly joking, yet serious tone. She decided that she kind of liked Mason's sarcasm. It almost put her a little at ease.
George chuckled slightly at this and Tony smiled. They both looked at each other, jointly acknowleging their strong dislike for the same two men.
"Well then ... I think you'll fit in here just fine." George said with as much of a reassuring smile as his surly demeanor could muster. Then he motioned that the meeting was over and everything was settled so they all got up.
Tony and Michelle made their way to the door and they reached for the doorknob, both not realizing that the other was doing the same thing. Their hands brushed each other.
Michelle felt a warm tingling sensation take over her hand and shoot up her arm and into her body. It was a feeling she had never gotten before. She didn't know what to think of it.
Tony just stood there looking at their hands, thinking about how cool and soft her skin was. Then he peered up at her and the look on her face seemed to embody what was going on in his head. (surprise, nervousness, happiness...) and then he realized that his hand was on hers longer than what anyone would consider appropriate and so he released it.
Michelle lifted her hand with an awkward look on her face, "Oh ... um"
Then, with his hand now hovering, still out in the air, Tony murmured "That's ... ah ..." He cleared his throat and slightly shook his head as if to wake up his brain and then said "You go."
Michelle smiled a sweet half smile and said "Thanks ... I'll see you tomorrow." and then walked out. As she went, Michelle couldn't help but think about how her luck had changed. She now had a new job that she was really looking forward to. And this connection she had with Tony Almeida was deffinitely somthing that she was going to have to watch out for. Things would deffinitely be interesting at CTU!
As Tony stood at the door he watched her walk down and all he could conclude was that he had never had a feeling like this before. It was almost as if he didn't have control of his body ... or his mind for that matter. He didn't know how he felt about this.
"Smooth Almeida"
Tony's thoughts were interrupted by George's jeering comment and then he realized how obvious he must have been so he quickly snapped himself out of it.
"What do you want from me George? ... I'm exhausted ... I can't even think straight ... I've been here forever."
"Right ... and your slick studdering abilities have nothing to do with the woman who just walked out of here?" George rhetorically asked, rolling his eyes.
"Ok ... obviously she's good looking, I'm not blind. But I'm not gonna let anything interfere with work ... and she's obviously qualified and she seems like she'll be easy to work with ... so that's all that matters to me ... So now if we're done with your "analysis" ... maybe I can actually get out of here and attempt to get some sleep."
"Whatever you say Tony" George replied, not very convinced. "Just don't forget what's important ... don't be stupid."
Tony walked out with a million thoughts running through his head. He was still overwhelmed from meeting this woman. There was somthing about her that had an effect on him that he couldn't describe. But Mason was right, in his own pain in the ass way. She was going to be working with him and that was all that mattered. He'd just have to repress these feelings until they went away. "How hard can it be?" he wondered.
Tony's thoughts were rudly interrupted by his phone ringing, so he picked it up, not bothering to try and conceal the annoyance in his voice.
"Almeida" he said into the reciever sharply.
"Oh ... uh, I didn't mean to bother you. I was just calling because we're supposed to meet in ten minutes but I'm gonna need an extra five for the system search on the terrorist cell to finish up."
"Oh sure ... no problem" he said trying to soften up his voice a little.
"Ok, see ya in a few." and she hung up.
It figured that he would answer, annoyed for being interrupted while thinking about her, and it ends up being her. "I need to get it together. She's going to be here in 15 minutes and I've got to be completely professional and tough" he ordered himself. Then he realized how much time he had lost by daydreaming, so he quickly focused and tried to get caught up.
Michelle just sat there for a minute when she got off the phone. It wasn't totally a lie. The reason she needed the extra time was because the search wasn't done. She just conveniently left out the part about that being because she was sitting there thinking about him and didn't start it right away. "How am I going to get through an entire night alone with him in his office?" she wondered.
Tony seemed annoyed on the phone. She hoped he wouldn't be mad when she went in there. She started wondering what his view was on having to do this work with her and whether he was annoyed at the prospect, because that was how he sounded.
Tony's phone rang and he picked it up.
"It's Michelle ... I just finished up, so just let me know when you're ready for me."
That was an interesting choice of words, Tony thought. He was ready for her now ... anytime, anywhere. "Don't be ridiculous... this is work, remember work, you have to work with her" he chastised himself.
"I'm just getting some stuff done ... you can come over now." he said.
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute."