Note: Thanks for the comments on chapter 1! This one's a bit longer. I hope you enjoy it. And a big thank you to my wonderful friend, Jade (TwentyFourGirl,) for all her encouragement and feedback! I couldn't do it without her!

CHAPTER 2

Tony Almeida apprehensively sat in his director's office at CTU. He couldn't wait to be done with the day, done with the paperwork, done with the phone calls. He couldn't wait until 7 o'clock when he would be having a Valentine's date with Michelle. The day had been so stressful and thinking about what the evening held was the only thing keeping him from imploding. Stressful work days at CTU weren't lacking, but today just seemed to be building a wall of frustration around him. Nothing was going smoothly and his phone wouldn't shut up. Although it was possible that the day wasn't any worse than a usual day; it just seemed so because it was Valentine's Day and he just wanted to spend time with Michelle.

As Tony's lunch hour came around he realized he wouldn't be leaving the office. There was so much work to be done. He heard the sound of heels clicking on the ground and a short knock on the door. He looked up to see Michelle entering the windowed room. She set a stack of papers on his desk. "Division sent over some new protocols for the recent threat on the subway downtown. Chappelle wanted me to let you know he'll be here within the hour for briefing."

Tony rubbed his temples with his hand and leaned back in his chair. The last thing he wanted was new protocols and Ryan Chappelle breathing down his neck. "Thanks."

Michelle observed her husband's tension. "You wanna grab a bite to eat?"

Tony wanted to say yes, so badly he wanted to say yes, but he knew it just wasn't feasible. "I wish I could, but I've got a lot of work to do up here. I better keep on task if we want to make our reservations for tonight." Michelle looked down as her cheeks grew slightly pink; she worked to cover up a smile trying to make its way to her face. She looked up and Tony noticed her eyes glaring at him. "What is it?"

"You've been working really hard. I'll get you something to eat. What do you want?"

Tony grinned at his wife's sweet, maternal side. She was strong and intelligent and could obviously hold her own when she needed to, but she was also so gracious and caring. She had plenty of soft spots and he loved that about her. "Anything is good."

"Okay, I'll go get some Chipotle burritos. I'll be back."

"Alright. Thanks, Michelle. See ya in a bit." She flashed him a smile and headed down the stairs to the floor. Tony watched as she walked away, and took a deep breath. Having Michelle at work was great. It was days like these he couldn't imagine how he ever lived without her.

The ring of his phone interrupted his thoughts and he picked it up, "Almeida. Alright, I'll be down in a few minutes." He hung up the phone and clicked out of the computer programs that were running. In three minutes he was down in the bullpen with Chappelle.

Two hours later Tony was ambling up the stairs to his office. The meeting with Chappelle had been provoking. Apparently the recent threat had elevated to worse than they originally thought. Michelle found a huge lead and Chappelle insisted that she go out to the field and follow it. Tony hated her out in the field. Ever since she got promoted from an analyst, he had to worry about the constant possibility of her being called to field ops. She was good out there, really good, but the thought of her being in that much danger made his stress level spike to awful heights.

His cell phone rang and he answered as he swung open the glass door, "Almeida."

"Hey, it's me. Listen, make sure Chloe stays on point with this. We need updates fast. We're almost at the building."

"Alright. Hopefully we can get this wrapped up quick." Tony took a breath and looked down at the floor. He'd much rather Michelle be down there at a computer, but he knew she had just as much to show for herself in field ops and that's where they needed her right now. He gripped the phone close to his face. "Michelle, be careful. Okay?"

He could almost feel her lively eyes and determination through the phone. "Always."

As the evening's hours crept into view, CTU had essentially terminated the existing threat. Michelle was still in the field finishing up the remains of the job and Tony was debriefing the new shift in his department.

As soon as he finished he was back at the house he and Michelle shared cleaning up and dressing for the night he'd been thinking about all day. He took a quick shower, changed his clothes, and sprayed on a dash of cologne.

It was already close to seven o'clock and Michelle hadn't even called him since he left CTU. He pulled out his phone and clicked her speed dial number. A hoarse, somewhat breathless voice picked up on the third ring, "Dessler."

"Hey it's me. Are you almost done debriefing? It's already almost seven."

"Yeah, but the new shift has things pretty messed up down here. I'm going to have to get a couple things straightened out before I leave."

Tony looked at his watch and tried not to sound irritated, but a bit of irritation slipped out anyway. "Come on, Michelle, someone else can handle that. We finished our job for the day."

"I know; I'm sorry, Honey." She was apologetic in a non-sympathetic way. Michelle always did what had to be done. She was dedicated. But that didn't always end up being in Tony's best interest. "As soon as this is under control I'm on my way. Do you wanna meet me at the restaurant?"

Tony didn't feel so enthusiastic about starting a dinner on Valentine's Day without his wife, but in Los Angeles it was nearly impossible to get in anywhere without a reservation and he didn't want to lose his. "Fine. I'll leave now and see you there. Don't be long; they can cover whatever's going on."

"I'll see you soon." Michelle hung up the phone abruptly. Tony rolled his eyes, grabbed his jacket and wallet, and headed out the front door. It was times like this he hated the jobs he and Michelle had. When it used to be his life, he didn't care the time it took from him. The worries were a lot less when he had no one and nothing to lose. But now that Michelle was his life, he detested the moments that it stole from them.

Michelle stepped out of the shower, moving as hastily as she could. She knew Tony wouldn't care how done up she was; he just wanted her to be there with him as soon as she could get out of CTU, but there was no way she was going to the restaurant straight from work- the field no less- without a shower and some fresh make-up. The restaurant wasn't formal or exceptionally nice, but still.

She opened up her closet doors and grabbed the dress she'd planned on wearing. As she slipped it on, her cell phone buzzed on the bathroom counter top. She grabbed the phone and her make-up bag simultaneously attempting to multitask as much as she could. She flipped it open with one had and then wedged it between her ear and her shoulder, "Hi, sweetheart, I'm getting ready right now."

Tony's voice came through the other end of the line, "Michelle, it's been half an hour since I sat down. I'm sure you look fine. Just get over here already."

His tone slightly stung her at first, but she understood his position and shook it off. "I'm not going out looking like a mess, Tony. I'm moving as fast as I can. I'll be there in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Twenty minu-" Tony cut himself off before his voice continued to escalate. A short breath was released from him. "Kay, I'll see you then."

Michelle slapped the phone shut. She tried to do as much with her hair and make-up as she could in the rush of the few minutes she had. This wasn't exactly how she imagined the night would play out. She didn't want to carry a negative attitude, but she had a feeling that a handful of tension was going to accompany them at dinner.

She unplugged the curling iron after finishing touching up a final curl of her hair then slid into some heels. She grabbed her small purse and keys and swiftly made her way out of the house.

Tony sat at his table, still alone after more than half hour. His patience was wearing thin. This was not how he had hoped the night would start. He supposed that all women worried a lot about how they looked when they went out. Even with Michelle being a federal agent and having to get down and dirty at times, she was no exception to that rule. Although, she always looked good no matter what. Why did she insist on putting him through this test of patience? Tony leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. He uttered a grumbling noise under his breath.

He looked at the little red package inside his jacket that was draped over his chair. He planned on giving it to Michelle after they ate their dinner. He wanted to get her something special and when he saw this, he just had to get it. He was excited to give it to her; if she'd get here before tomorrow came.

The waiter appeared alongside the table as he looked up. "Are we still waiting on your other half?"

"Yeah, she's on her way."

"Okay, I'll come back around in a few minutes."

Tony nodded and made an effort to offer a weak smile. He cocked his head and his eyes traveled down to his watch. He thought about calling Michelle again. As he considered the idea, a small figure in a deep red dress flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and spotted Michelle walking toward the table following the directions of the maitre de. Tony's heart dropped. She looked gorgeous. Her relaxed sleeveless dress flowed perfectly around her body and down to her knees. Her thick auburn curls were gathered up behind her neck while her pink-lipped smile lit up her face in harmony with her distinctive brown eyes.

Tony's heart suddenly began pounding against his chest. Seeing Michelle like this made him feel so fragile. This beautiful girl owned every piece of him. Forever and always she would be his world. She had always been the only thing that could ever take his breath away from him. The only thing that could draw him in with so much supernatural force. Completely taking in the sight of her, he thought one thing to himself, she was worth the wait. This night, to have her with me, was worth the wait of this whole day.

As she arrived at the table Tony stood up and greeted her. "Michelle. Sweetheart, you look beautiful." He kissed her cheek and took hold of her hands.

Michelle's lips curled up as she lowered her head. After a moment her eyes gazed up to his while a coy smile held on to her cheeks. He pulled out her chair and she sat down. "Honey, I'm sorry about being late. I just, I had to-"

Tony stopped her, "Baby, it's okay. You're here now. Let's enjoy this night."

Michelle looked a little surprised at his reaction; he wasn't always the most relaxed about things. But her eyes soon turned comforted. "Yeah, okay."

Her smile reassured the idea playing in his head once again, she was definitely worth the wait.