Hello! Im still away from home... All of the reviews from chapter two have made my day(s), you have no idea how much they mean to me- so thanks a million! I really hope you all like this chapter, and please review!
And thanks again to Katie for helping me by reading through this!

Show and Tell- Chapter Three- Conference Room

As Tony and Michelle turned the corner of the dim hallway that led into the open bull-pen, they shared a knowing look and pulled apart. Now that they knew everything was okay with their superiors, they were going to have to tell their workers their news as well—just not yet.

Before that day, the only person at CTU that knew of Tony and Michelle's relationship was Jack. He found out almost accidentally only days after being reinstated as head of field ops.Jack was very happy for them; Michelle had already earned his trust when she decided to stick by him on the day of the bomb, and he and Tony had already started to bond, something which they had never really done before. And it was almost a comforting thought, knowing that Jack was keeping an eye on you and an ear on what other people were saying about them.

The conference room was a buzz with weekend-related conversations as the three late people, who were ironically the three most influential, straggled in. Silence greeted Michelle inside of the long glass room as the door swished closed behind her. She immediately felt all eyes on her, and the uncommon flushed and overwhelmed feeling returned as she brought her hand away from her ring on the chain she had been fiddling with. Michelle felt a deep pang in her chest when she briefly caught Tony's eye, a reassurance along the lines of "everything's fine now…"

Hushed whispers flew across the room of department heads and other the other important CTU staff as Tony made his way to the head of the long table, Ryan Chappelle seated on the opposite head and Michelle near him, across the table from Jack, she was in between Adam Kaufman—formerly of Division—and the new, promising techie Chloe O'Brien.

The varied hums consisting basically of: Tony Almeida was never late to his own meetings, he always expected his people to be punctual…and Michelle Dessler, the most organized person at CTU… why are her cheeks so red?…and Chappelle late? Something must be wrong here... stopped as soon as Tony called that Monday's meeting to order, albeit a little late. The agents were loyal to Tony, who they had trusted for years. On the other hand, Chapelle was known as a pain in the ass and CTU as a whole barely tolerated his weekly visits from Division.

Michelle was grateful for the quiet and borderline boringness that the next hour and a half of the meeting brought. It was her chance to unwind from the past two stressful and exhileratingdays, especially the last twelve hours. She now fully appreciated the comfortable swivel chairs in the meeting room.

Tony couldn't help but steal glances at his beautiful fiancée throughout the meeting while other people were presenting, and although she couldn't very well beam at him, the emotion in her dark eyes said it all. She was happy, he was ecstatic, and honestly, Tony didn't know if hecould wait before they got home before passionately kissing her.

Little did he know, Michelle was feeling the same way. He looked incredibly handsome in that dark red and black. She didn't even realize it when her mind wandered, she stared at Tony, biting her lips and turning her large necklace "charm" in her fingers.

Michelle didn't know how long she was in that trance; it was easy to get lost as random people droned on about one specific aspect of their department. But she snapped out of the haze when Chloe O'Brien tapped her on the shoulder.

"Um, Ms. Dessler, are you ok?" Softly questioned Chloe, which was obviously her being curious as opposed to being friendly.

Hearing Chloe's whispering voice and feeling the hand on her upper arm brought Michelle back into the word and she swiveled her chair in Chloe's direction and not having comprehended what Chloe had asked her, she dumbly responded with a throaty, "Um, what?"

"Nothing… Never mind," retorted Chloe, visibly annoyed, as she watched Michelle trying to regain her footing in the meeting's current topic. Chloe watched Michelle glance at Tony as he spoke to Jack, half the table away, about a new protocol idea they had been brainstorming. She saw the dreamy gaze that Michelle gave him. Then something caught Chloe's perceptive eye. Michelle was fiddling with something on a chain around her neck, and it looked like a silver ring. A wedding-type ring, or something awfully similar.

A short gasp escaped Chloe as she realized the implications of her discovery. It had been rumored that Tony and Michelle were a couple, but there was never any evidence to support this, well, no physical evidence… It was all still encrypted, and she didn't have the decoding key—yet.

Fingers nervously near her mouth as she impatiently chewed her nail,Chloe tried to hold her wad and keep this revelation private. Yet seconds later, Chloe lost all of her limited self-control and politenessand hissed to Michelle, "Why were you staring at Tony like that…and is that a wedding ring on that chain!"

Michelle heard the question—which was really more of a comment—and felt incredibly stupid. She froze and felt a bit faint all of sudden, and quickly all the color flowed from her face, leaving it pale and scared looking. Why had she been playing with it in the middle of a meeting? She meekly looked toward Tony, who noticed her pleading look, but didn't understand what was happening.

Meanwhile, Chloe was irritated when Michelle wouldn't answer her and she repeated her question a little louder, "Is that a—"

"Chloe! Why are you talking during Gael's overview?" demanded an angry sounding Tony, who didnt fully understand what was happening, but could tell Michelle needed Chloe off her back.

Michelle was mortified. Chloe hadn't realized exactly how loud she had spoken, and now the room was silent. Everyone had heard Chloe, as well as Tony cutting her off forcefully; normally Tony wouldn't do that… All eyes were on Michelle and her burning face now.

"Sorry" Chloe commented, in a bland, frustrated tone that hinted that she wasn't very sorry at all. She looked at Michelle as if to say, this isn't over yet.

Thank goodness for Tony Michelle thought as he stood from his chair and addressed the whole room, "Look, guys, I understand these meetings aren't the most fun, but we'll be done once Gael finishes his overview, can you make it until then?" The room was silent. "Good." Tony sat back down and everyone's attention was on a handout paper Gael was referring to.

When she was sure no one was watching, Michelle mouthed thanks to Tony, who in turn gave her a curious "what-was-going-on?"look. She simply shifted her eyes in Chloe's direction, and then tapped her silver necklace. Tony understood instantly and pulled a small face, which eased away all of Michelle's previous discomfort.

Soon enough, the meeting was over, and Michelle bolted from her seat, straight to her workstation, the others slowly trickling behind her. She tried to bury herself in her work, tried to avoid any prying eyes that came her way.

She knew it wouldn't be long until Chloe approached her. Sure enough, minutes later, she saw her begin walking purposefully across the bull-pen. Michelle feebly searched for Tony on the floor, but to no avail. This time she would have to deal with Chloe solo. Why wouldn't this girl just let up? thought Michelle, she's new here; she should know when to restrain herself. But she already knew that Chloe wasn't that type of person, so there was nothing Michelle could do to escape her. She took a deep breath, and watched Chloe nearing her desk…

TBC