Chapter Twenty-Five

Michelle couldn't have told anyone under the threat of torture what happened the rest of the night, and not because of the alcohol. She remembered the laughing and teasing of her friends, of sharing a cab ride with them. Now it was after midnight and she was lying in bed, dreaming of what happened earlier that evening.

Tony had kissed her, taken her breath away, and in public. She never took him as liking public displays of affection, but obviously she was wrong. It had been absolutely perfect, even if her friends ruined the ending.

She sighed and turned on her side, hugging her pillow. Michelle couldn't believe how much life had changed so quickly. A few days ago she almost died; now she had helped save the U.S. from a nuclear bomb and had a promising future with the man she had been dreaming about for a year.

Michelle wished she could fall asleep, but she just couldn't. With another sigh she turned the TV on and hoped the distraction of it would help her fall asleep. She flipped through channels and settled on a rerun of Friends. She had been an avid fan of the show and had seen all the episodes, but it was still a good way to relax and have a good laugh.

Twenty minutes later she was sound asleep.

Tony was proud of the way he was able to stay busy and focused on Saturday. He was so nervous and anxious about the date tonight that he wasn't sure he'd be able to get anything done, but he surprised himself. He got his apartment cleaned, took his dog to the vet for her checkup and then for a walk. He did laundry, washed his car.

At five o'clock he stopped to get ready for the date, which gave him two hours to prepare. He took a shower, shaved, and stood in front of his closet, trying to decide what to wear. He normally wore a suit to work, even though most days the jacket came off because he hated it. He never wore a tie, though. While his mother and sister had managed to buy him several, they were in the back of the closet and reserved for times he couldn't get away with not wearing one. While he wanted tonight to be special, he didn't want to be anything but himself. He settled on a pair of nice khaki pants and a blue Polo dress shirt. A spray of cologne, his dress watch and deodorant completed the package.

Tony let his dog outside and mentally reviewed the night in his head. He hoped and prayed no one bothered his cell phone tonight.

Ten minutes later he was in his car, heading to the nearby florist. He walked inside and sighed mentally. He wasn't the most romantic guy in the world and the only times he went into a florist shop was on Mother's Day. He wandered around the shop, wondering what to get Michelle. Roses were too predicable. He saw the display of tulips and decided on them. He remembered how his sister, Lisa, always raved about how much she loved tulips. He hoped Michelle did. Tony picked up a bouquet of white and purple tulips, remembering somewhere in the back of his mind that Michelle's favorite color was purple.

That task done, Tony drove down to Hanson's, a fine dining steak restaurant downtown that one of his best friends, Rick Nallum, owned and managed. He and Rick went back to their college days at San Diego State and then in the Marines. They'd known each other for almost sixteen years and Tony didn't have a closer friend.

Tonight Rick was going to help him out.

Tony parked in the fairly dead parking lot… it was still early for dinner… and headed inside.

"May I help you, sir?" the maitre de asked.

"Yes, I'd like to speak to Mr. Nallum please," Tony said. "Tell him it's Tony Almeida."

"Yes sir," he said. "One moment."

Five minutes later Rick came out. "Tony! Hey, man, what's up?"

"What happened last night?" Tony asked. "You didn't show for the game."

"I know," he said. "Dana wasn't feeling well and wanted me to stay home to help with Kayla."

Rick had a three year old daughter, Kayla, and his wife was six months pregnant. Tony loved Kayla to death- she called him "Uncle Tony"- and sometimes he envied his friend's peaceful life.

"Tell Dana I hope she feels better," Tony said.

Rick smiled. "I will, thanks. So, what's up?"

"I need a favor," he said.

"Anything," Rick said instantly. "What?"

"I have a date tonight."

Rick's eyebrows rose. "A date? Really? That's fantastic! Who is it? Did you finally have

the nerve to ask that woman in your office?"

Tony laughed at all the questions. "Yes, I asked Michelle out. Can you hook me up with a nice table for us at seven thirty?"

"Of course!" Rick walked over to the maitre de. "Walter, put a reservation in for two under the name Almeida. Seven thirty, table 17."

Tony chuckled at Rick. He had been after him for months to get over Nina and ask Michelle out. Rick turned back to Tony and said, "Table 17 is in a corner, nice view, private."

"Great, thanks, Rick," Tony said.

"Anytime," Rick said, slapping him on the back. "Have a great time!"

"Thanks," Tony said, smiling and walking out the door. Right on schedule.

Michelle was nervous. She had been all day. To distract herself, she had cleaned her apartment to perfection and done all her laundry. She didn't want Tony thinking she was a slob or anything. She wasn't, but she wasn't a clean-freak either.

She had changed three times, unsure of what to wear. She didn't want to be too dressy, but didn't want too casual either. She finally settled on a white dress with her good amethyst jewelry to compliment it. The dress was simple and sexy, without being too dressed-up. She wore a new pair of white sandals to also keep it less dressy.

Her hair was another story. She always wore it up at work and considered keeping it down tonight. She stared in the mirror for what seemed like forever, lifting her hair up in several different ways. With a huff of exasperation at herself, Michelle decided to keep it down and spent the next twenty minutes fixing it with mousse and the hair dryer.

She searched her closet for her pretty, little white clutch purse that she only used on special occasions. She found it, finally, in the bottom of a drawer, which showed the last special occasion she had been to. It basically fit her license, a credit card, some cash, her cell phone and a tube of lipstick. Not much, but fine for a date.

She was ready, with thirty minutes to spare. She went downstairs and settled on the couch, turning on the TV to wait. She flipped channels, finding another episode of Friends and waited for Tony to show up.

At five minutes to seven the knock sounded and she rubbed sweaty palms on her couch. Here goes nothing!

She opened her door and grinned. Tony had brought her flowers.

"Hey," he said, his voice low and sexy. He held out the bouquet of tulips. "These are for you."

She took them, smiling. "I love tulips. Thank you!"

Tony smiled, relieved that she liked them. She motioned him to come in and Tony stepped into her apartment. He turned around to face her as she shut the door behind them. She looked amazingly beautiful.

She started to move past him, but he grabbed her arm. She looked up at him inquiringly. "You look absolutely beautiful."

Michelle blushed and whispered, "Thank you."

Tony leaned down and kissed her softly.

She eventually pulled away. "I need to put these in water."

"Okay." He followed her and looked around, amazed at how beautifully decorated her apartment was. She had a central theme of bright yellow and royal blue throughout all the rooms downstairs, and a lot of plants and flowers to accent.

She put her flowers in a vase in the kitchen and then gave him a tour.

"This is the extra bathroom and spare room," she said, as he had already seen the kitchen and living room. The spare room, which did not have a bed, was full of boxes on one side and bookshelves on the other.

"This is okay," she said, looking around, "But it's upstairs that makes this place so awesome."

He followed her upstairs, looking at the framed pictures on the walls and wondering who the men were. He recognized Danny in a few of them, but several photos had different guys in them. Friends or old boyfriends?

"Ta-da," she said as they got to the top.

"Wow." The room was amazing. Decorated in white and purple, it was basically one huge room. A fireplace stood against a wall, a queen-sized bed opposite it covered with a white comforter and several different sized purple pillows. An alcove sat to one side and sported her computer desk and a file cabinet. A TV stand stood beside the fireplace, facing the bed.

"That is a walk-in closet," she said, pointing to a partly closed door. "And this is my bathroom."

He walked into a huge bathroom, also decorated in white and purple.

"The skylight can be annoying if you try to sleep during the day," she said. "I have to keep the door closed because of it. I have to sleep with it dark."

"Me too," he said. "You place is beautiful, Michelle. You are a great decorator."

"Thanks," she said, blushing. "It's a hobby."

"Well, feel free to decorate my place, although the purple may be a bit much," he teased.

She laughed. "Okay, no purple. How about hot pink?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "No, thank you."

She bit her lip, looking as nervous as he felt. "Let's go get something to eat."

Michelle nodded and followed him out to his car. He opened the door for her and she eyed him. "Yes, I know how to be a gentleman," he laughed. "My mom taught me well."

She laughed and settled in the passenger seat, waiting for him to get in himself before saying, "You mean you have a mother? Tony Almeida didn't crawl out from under a rock?"

He laughed at her teasing. "Believe it or not. I even have a sister, brother-in-law and two nephews."

"Really? How old?" she asked.

"Umm, let's see," Tony said. "Ethan's four and Josh is one. No, two."

She laughed at him. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "Yeah. I distinctly remember an email from my mom reminding me of his birthday party, begging me to fly to Chicago for the weekend."

"Did you?" she asked.

He eyed her. "What do you think?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "C.T.U.'s great benefit package that you can never use."

"Except for the medical insurance," Tony teased, although it was so true.

Michelle nodded.

"You said Danny had kids?" Tony asked, staying on the subject of their families.

"Yeah, a boy and girl," she replied. "D.J., who is Danny Junior, is six and Amber is four. They live with their mother, who is still pissed at Danny and doesn't let him see them much."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Do you get to see them much?"

"Not as much as I'd like," she answered. "They're great kids."

"Yeah, I miss my nephews a lot. I've only seen Josh once," Tony said, trying to bring the subject away from her brother's problems. "Lisa, my sister, never lets me forget that whenever we talk. She's always trying to make me feel guilty. She just doesn't understand the job."

"What does she do?"

"She's a first-grade teacher. Her husband, Pete, is a dentist."

Michelle grimaced. "A dentist, ugh. One of my worse nightmares."

"Why?" he asked. "You have great teeth. You've probably never even needed to see a dentist."

"I go regularly to the hygienist, but one time I had to get a filling. It was horrible," Michelle said, making a cute face.

Tony laughed at her, pulling into the parking lot of Hanson's. He saw her eyes widen. "How did you get a reservation here? I've heard they book out for weeks!"

"They do," Tony answered, parking the jeep and getting out to open her door. As she got out, he finished, "It helps to have the owner be your best friend."

"You are best friends with the guy that owns this?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah. Rick Nallum and I go back more years than I can remember," Tony said, taking her hand as they walked to the door. He was feeling nervous again and hoped his hand wasn't sweaty.

"How far?" she asked.

"Freshman year of college. He was my roommate." Tony opened the door and ushered her insider. He looked at the maitre de, the same man as before, and nodded.

Within seconds the maitre de was walking them through the restaurant and to the table Rick selected. Tony was impressed, and could see by Michelle's face that she was too. The table was in a corner, dimmed lighting and a great view from the window beside them.

"Wow," Michelle said after they sat down. "He must like you."

Tony smiled. "We survived as roommates all four years, and spent a lot of our time together in the Marines."

Michelle was about to speak when Rick showed up. Tony rolled his eyes at him, but Rick thoroughly ignored him and held his hand out to Michelle. "Hello, I'm Rick. You must be Michelle."

She smiled and shook his head. "Thank you for the wonderful table. You have a beautiful restaurant."

"Thanks," he said. "I don't want to embarrass Tony, but I just wanted to say hello and be able to tell my wife that I actually met the famous Michelle."

Tony could feel his face turning red. "Thanks, Rick. You can go now."

Rick and Michelle both laughed at him. "I'm leaving, but please enjoy a bottle of wine or champagne on me."

Tony looked over at Michelle, who was smiling at Rick. He always was the ladies man.

"Thanks," she said, looking over at him. "Um, Tony?"

"Whatever you prefer," he said, not really liking either one and knowing Rick knew that. Both of them preferred beer or harder liquor.

"Your house wine then, please," Michelle said.

"Perfect choice," Rick said, laying on the charm thick. "Enjoy your meal."

Tony rolled his eyes at him again and bit back a smile at the triumphant look on Rick's face.

"He seems nice," Michelle commented. "I have a hard time picturing him in the Marines, though. How did he end up owning a restaurant?"

"He was one of the best snipers in Third Division," Tony told her. "We were both restless when we got out of college. Both of us had done a combined bachelor program, spending five years at San Diego, and after that much time we wanted to have some fun. We were young and stupid. Anyway, once he was out he got the loans and opened this place up."

"Combined programs?" she asked, going back to their schooling. "Wow. I'm impressed."

Tony was surprised she didn't already know. He already checked her file and knew she had a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of California at Davis. "Yeah, I have my degree in engineering and computer science. Rick has his in computer science and business management."

"Wow," she repeated. "Computer science was enough for me. Why did you do two?"

"Well, my dad was an architect and always wanted me to join his practice, so to please him I majored in that," Tony said. "But I always loved computers and took all my electives in that. Rick didn't know what he wanted to do, so he took the same computer classes with me. We eventually took enough credits to get a degree in that as well."

The waiter interrupted them with their wine and then asking for their orders. Neither had looked at the menu, but they glanced at it quickly and ordered.

After he left, Michelle went back to asking questions. "After getting two degrees, what made you decide to go into the military?"

"Rick. Despite having two degrees, neither of us were ready to actually go out and get jobs in either field. By having our degrees we could enter as officers, so we did it. We both served six years as snipers."

"And then?" she asked.

"Rick met Dana and decided to get out of the military for her," Tony said. "I left because I knew I didn't want to make it a career. By having military connections, though, I was able to apply to a lot of different Federal agencies. I was hired by D.O.D. and worked as an analyst while taking night classes at Stanford for my masters."

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "You like school?"

Tony laughed. "Actually, yeah, I do. But my masters is as far as I'll go. I have no desire for any more."

"I loved college," Michelle said, "But I'm glad it's over."

"Why?"

"College holds some great memories, but some bad ones as well," Michelle said. "By the time I graduated I was glad to put those years behind and move on."

"What happened that was so bad?" he asked.

"A lot," she said, her eyes clouding over. "The worse thing was my parents' death in my sophomore year. They were killed right before Thanksgiving break; car accident."

Tony blinked, hearing the pain still in her voice. He reached across the table and took her hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's been nine years now. It was just so hard to lose them both at once, without any warning."

"I can't imagine how awful that would be," he said softly to her. "It was horrible when my dad died. I can't imagine losing my mom at the same time too."

"I went through a pretty rough time for a while," she admitted. "Danny had just gotten married and didn't have a lot of time for me. It was Lily who actually helped me out."

"How?"

"She was my roomie," Michelle said, a smile on her face. "She refused to let me be alone. She would drag me to parties, bars, everywhere she could think of to cheer me up."

"Did it work?"

Michelle chuckled. "Yeah, too well. I found out that alcohol can numb the pain. I started partying, skipping classes. My grades dropped." She shook her head. "I went from one extreme to the other."

Tony couldn't remember the exact number, but did know from her personnel file that she had graduated top of her class with a very high G.P.A. He was surprised by her admission. "How did you get straightened out again?"

"Lily. She was great at turning me onto partying and drinking, and great at reminding me what I was throwing away."

"She sounds like a good friend," Tony commented.

"She's the best," Michelle said softly.

Their food arrived and the conversation turned to lighter subjects. Tony couldn't believe how easy and natural it felt being with her. He was more relaxed than he had been in days. He could barely stop the grin threatening to overwhelm him every second.