Thanks for reading. I hope you like this chapter. This is for adults only. Sexual content and swearing etc...you have been warned. I don't own 24 etc...

Tony pulled out his favourite cubs t-shirt for Michelle, it made his stomach do flips when she pulled it on and it almost went to her knees. She looked adorable in it. He pulled her under the covers and wrapped her up tightly in his arms. He couldn't believe what had happened between them tonight, he was sure he was going to wake up alone in a few hours and it would all have been a dream. She reached up and stroked the side of his face and they spent a few minutes watching each other. They both had so much to say but were so overwhelmed they didn't even know where to start. Both of them wanted to tell the other how deeply in love with them they were but were scared to death of being rejected. After a year of keeping their feelings at bay and then all of a sudden spending the most intense and passionate few hours with each other was difficult to get their heads around and they had no idea of what they could or should expect from each other.

He tucked the covers around them, "Are you comfortable sweetheart?"

She smiled. "Do you have any idea how much I love hearing you call me that?"

"If it's half as much as I love calling you that then it is a lot!"

They both giggled a little and then went back to watching each other as they slowly drifted off to sleep.


Tony was woken a couple hours later by the sound of his phone vibrating on the bedside. He looked at the clock, it was 4am. He slipped out of the bed and took the call in the next room. He hoped he didn't wake Michelle up as he opened and closed the door. It was Thomas from CTU who needed some codes. It still sometimes amazed Tony that in this line of work it was deemed completely normal to call someone at that time of night to ask for some codes. He asked Thomas how things were coming together and he filled him in on what had been done in the last almost day. So many people had been flown in from around the country to help get their office back up and running as quickly as possible, also to allow those staff members that had worked through the ordeal a chance to take a few days to recover. All of the key agents had to complete a debrief and medical before they were allowed back to work. Tony's and Michelle's were set for the day after next.

As he hung up the phone he began to think about Michelle doing her debrief and all of the things that were going to come up. He thought about how he had her help him drug Chappelle and put her entire career and life on the line. He started to get angry at himself, how could he have put her in that position? He should have done everything he could to protect Michelle and look after her and yet he felt like he had failed her. Thinking about how he had failed Michelle led to him thinking about the rest of the decisions he had made and before he knew it he was beating himself up over just about every single thing he did. As he thought about those few minutes that it took him to find and see that Michelle was alive and ok after the bomb he literally felt sick. The raw emotions he felt then overtook his body now and he only made it in time to the bathroom before he vomited.

Michelle deserved so much more than he could offer her. He was well aware that at least 3 of the guys at the office had asked Michelle out since she had started at CTU. Apparently she had refused 2 of them and the 3rd guy Brad was an arrogant prick that made out like he and Michelle had been together on a number of occasions. Tony didn't really believe him. For starters, she didn't seem the type to have a 'friend with benefits' as Brad called it and he had never once seen Michelle give him the time of day. If anything she seemed quite happy to go out of her way to ignore him. Even so, that was just people at work; he could only imagine how often she must get hit on. He couldn't believe she wasn't married with kids by now. She was the smartest, most stunning woman he had ever laid eyes on and she should be with someone that could give her everything and make her happy. She deserved to feel protected and safe and he was pretty sure he had blown both of those in the last 24 hours.

Maybe he was still a little drunk, maybe he was finally losing it after holding it in for all this time but he started to cry. The last time he cried was when Jack's wife Teri, was murdered by his then girlfriend Nina. He didn't love her but the way she had betrayed him had left him feeling worthless. He had lost so much self-confidence since then and he had still never figured out what was so wrong with him that he hadn't figured out what she was up to. Michelle had been the first person after all of that to make him smile. She didn't know that, she had also been the first person to give him hope for a future again and start to believe in himself...she didn't know that either. It felt like she had given him so much, more than he would ever be able to explain to her in words and yet he felt like he gave her nothing. He had nothing to offer except a complicated and humiliating past.

He made his way down to the kitchen because it was the furthest room from the bedroom and sat on the floor. He curled his legs up and cried. Once he started he couldn't stop. That only made him more frustrated and as he tried to cover his cried by ramming his head into his hands he only seemed to get more and more worked up. He was overwhelmed by everything and he figured after everything her was actually finally losing it.

Michelle woke from a nightmare. It startled her and she sat up. She looked around the unfamiliar room and it took her a few minutes to remember where she was and snap out of it. She looked over at the empty bed. She stumbled out of the bed and opened the door. Just about all of the lights were off except for a small one coming from the bathroom down the hall. As soon as she stepped outside the bedroom door she could hear Tony crying. She couldn't see him so she followed the sound to the end of the hall to the kitchen. She could barely see anything it was so dark. She looked around the side of the kitchen counter to see Tony hunched in a ball with the palm of his hands pushed tightly into his face as though he was trying to silence himself. He hadn't heard her. She knelt down beside him and gently touched his shoulder. "Tony?"

He dropped his head and turned away from her. He looked mortified that she had found him like this. It literally felt like her heart broke into a million pieces as she watched him. She could see his face was red and tear stained, his eyes were swollen from crying and he was shaking. He kept his head turned from her and his voice was broken and husky, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry."

She tried to put her arm around him so he would turn into her but he wasn't budging. "Hey...hey it's alright, come here."

He shook his head. "I'm ok..."

"Oh my God Tony, please let me hold you."

She ended up having to use all of her strength to turn his body into hers so she could successfully wrap her arms around him tightly. He resisted at first but she told him to stop and just let her hold him. Finally he collapsed into her arms. They sat like this for over 10 minutes as she stroked his hair and told him she was there for him and how amazing he was. Through broken sobs he could say nothing but 'sorry' over and over.

Tony took some huge deep breaths and gave her a huge shock by pulling out of her arms and standing up, "This is fucking ridiculous. I'm sorry, this is the last thing you need. I'm a fucking weak..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Tony, don't you dare!" She yelled at him.

He was taken aback by her voice and he wasn't sure what to do. Being held by her had been amazing. It had actually felt like it gave him some strength and ability to see a ray of good but he was still so caught up in that dark place he had no idea what to do with himself.

"Talk to me Tony...please."

He didn't mean to sound aggressive, he was just so defensive because he felt embarrassed. "What do you want me to say Michelle? Huh? What do you want to hear? Isn't this enough? The first night you are here with me and you get woken up by me bawling like a fucking baby...I'm sure you have seen and heard enough!"

She was devastated seeing him like this. She was careful to keep her voice soothing and calm. "I want you to hear what you are thinking about. What has got you so upset?"

He shook his head. "No, that's not your problem. I am not going to put my shit on you."

"Have I done something? Did I do something wrong Tony? Tell me and so I can fix it."

He was still yelling at her, he couldn't believe that she was managing to stay so calm. He had never been this raw and vulnerable in front of somebody in his entire life and the fact that she wasn't raising her voice at him, laughing or leaving confused the hell out of him.

"Who was the last person you slept with? Did Brad fuck you like he said?" As soon as the words left his mouth he could have shot himself. He could not believe he had just spoken to her with such little respect. He hated himself right now. He lowered his eyes unable to bare seeing the look of disgust that must be on her face.

"I hate Brad, I've never touched him. And you were the last person I was with Tony. Have you forgotten just a couple hours ago already?"

He was shaking his head, still in disbelief at what he had just said to her. How could he have done that? Michelle mistook him shaking his head for him not believing her answer. "Tony, I haven't been with anyone with since I met you."

His heart started to pound so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. "Me?"

She took a step closer to him. "Yes, you...only you. Is that really so hard to believe?"

"You could have anybody. There isn't a guy out there that doesn't want you."

She shook her head. "I don't care, you are the only person I want touching me."

He lowered his voice for the first time. "That was so out of line and disrespectful. I am so sorry I spoke to you that way."

She had made her way back to him again and she ran her hand up and down his chest, his eyes watching her every move. "I know that's not what all this is about Tony. Take a chance on me and tell me what you are thinking. What is the worst that can happen?"

"You'll leave, even though I already completely deserve for you to be walking out the door on me right now."

"Well I'm not going anywhere so it looks like you have nothing to lose."

He took a deep breath and then without thinking he reached for her. She took his hands and led him over to the couch. Before he had even sat down next to her, he started. "I feel completely overwhelmed. I can't stop thinking about yesterday and everything that happened. All of the wrong decisions I made, everything I did wrong. The fact that I put you through hell, I didn't protect you, I put your career and life on the line. I almost had you sent to jail! I could have done so many things differently, so many things better and I feel like I let everyone down and most importantly I failed you."

She held his hands. She fell even deeper in love with him as she heard him speak. Seeing this side to Tony only made her fall even harder for him. "Baby..."

He looked up at her, surprised to hear him call her 'baby'. It actually made him smile a tiny bit.

"You were incredible yesterday. You led the entire agency to a successful outcome. You were brave, you stood up for what you believed in and what you knew was right. Without you, Jack would never have been able to prove that recording. You treated everybody with integrity and respect. You made intelligent and smart decisions under the highest amount of pressure anyone could ever imagine. You didn't fail anyone, you gave everyone somebody to look up to and admire. You gave us all strength to keep going. You took risks and got results. You should be so proud of yourself. I've never been more proud of anybody as I am of you. And in the middle of doing all that, when I broke down and needed you, you were there to catch me. Do you have any idea how special and amazing that is?"

He sat there speechless. Never in a million years did he expect her to say a word of that. It was the most beautiful thing anybody had ever said to him and it came from the person that meant the most. "You really think all that?"

"I don't think it, I know it."

He shook his head in disbelief, "How do you do it Chelle?"

"Do what?"

"Make me feel the way you do? You know that you're the person I trust more than anybody in the world. Did you know that after all that happened with Nina you were the first person to make me smile again?"

"Really? When?"

"We were in a meeting with Brad Hammond from Division and he was rambling on for hours about some crap and you started pulling faces every time his back was turned. You had the cheekiest little grin and it made me laugh...and of course then I got in trouble..."

Michelle laughed, "I remember that, he told you if you were not going to take the CF meeting seriously then you should just leave!"

"Yup, and you just sat there with this cheeky smile and then when he looked at you, you put on this most innocent face which made me laugh again and get kicked out of the meeting."

Michelle laughed. "I had no idea Tony...I was just bored and you looked just as bored..."

He leaned in closer to her, "That's just it Chelle, you don't even know it when you do these things, it is just...well...it is just you. It is what makes you so special."

"Tony..."

"No, seriously, I mean look at just what happened. I just yelled at you, completely spoke out of line and was disrespectful and you are still here. I can't believe I broke down like that in front of you and all you wanted to do was hold me and make me feel better. Do you know how confused I was that you didn't just up and walk out on me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I am supposed to be strong and I want to be the one that looks after you. I don't want you to think you can't count on me or that..."

She cupped his cheek with her hand. "Baby, you are strong and you do look after me. The reason why I love you so much is because you are sensitive. You somehow manage to be the perfect blend of the toughest, smarted agent to being the sweetest most sensitive man I know."

There was silence as they both realised what she had just said. He looked so deeply into her eyes she could have sworn he was looking into her soul. He pulled her in closer to him. "Did you just say you love me?"

Her face went completely red, she bit her lower lip and looked so shy. "Yeah...yes I did."

"I am in love with you Michelle. I have been for a very long time."

"Oh My God..." Her voice was quiet.

Tony leaned into her pushing her so that she was now lying on her back and he was on top of her. He pushed his body into hers and kissed her softly on the lips. Michelle was so overwhelmed she almost didn't know what to do, she was glad Tony was taking the lead. His voice was deep and husky, "Are you saying that I am the only one that gets to hold you like this? The only one that gets to kiss you..." He kissed her neck as he spoke and began to run his hand up her t-shirt and hold her. "That you will lean on? Count on? That I get to protect and look after?" He continued to explore her chest as he watched her eyes for answers.

He was taking her breath away, making git hard for her to form a sentence. She nodded her head. He slid down her body a little and pushed her top up so that he could suck on her nipples roughly until she began to moan for him. He became hard against her and as soon as she felt it she swayed her hips against him. He slipped his hand inside her underpants making her gasp. "Tell me baby, tell me that you are mine."

God she loved how intense and passionate he was. The way he made her feel like the most important person in the entire world. His fingers were slowly opening her up and he was gently playing with her as he waited for her answer. "I'm yours Tony."

He smiled like she had never seen before. Then within seconds his expression turned intense. He continued to stroke her gently whilst kissing her breast. "Harder Tony...I need you."

That was all it took, her words drove him wild. He pushed her underwear down and then used his fingers on her. He loved watching her body move up and down the couch because of his touch. The harder he pushed the higher up the couch she slid and as he increased the pace her body rubbed against him making him harder and harder. "Fuck, I love you Michelle. I love you." He slid down even further and used his mouth on her. He had to hold her by her hips as her body writhed uncontrollably under him. He was in heaven. At one point she went to reach for his boxer shorts but he grabbed her hand and pinned her down. "I'm not done with you yet." He almost lost it when he heard her groan in frustration for him. It didn't take long for him to make Michelle climax. He stayed with her in the moment until her breathing started to return to normal and her body stopped jerking all over the place.

He pulled his boxers off and then crawled on top of her. "I need you Tony. I want you inside me." He couldn't wait a second longer. He pushed himself inside her and began to make love to her. He had never felt closer to somebody in his entire life. This woman had just become his entire word and he would do anything for her. He wanted her to be as happy as she made him. He knew she was the one. He kissed her everywhere telling her how much he loved her and how beautiful she was. They pushed each other over the edge together. She screamed his name and he growled hers. Even afterwards they continued to kiss and hold each other for a long time, never wanting the moment to end.

Finally he sat up pulling her into his arms. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around them. He nuzzled his face into her neck. "Thank you for before. I am so sorry..."

"Don't apologise baby. I love you and that is what I am here for. Next time I want you to wake me. I don't ever want you to cry alone again."

"You are the most special person in the world. You are my everything."

They sat cuddled on the couch together talking for hours, well after the sun had come up. They talked about everything from family, friends to what they loved about each other. It was the best start to the day, the first day in a new life for both of them.

Please review if you are reading the story and would like me to keep writing. Thanks for taking the time to read and for letting me know what you think:)