Tony stood on his balcony, enjoying the view. The week had been worse than usual, ending with the death of Mason and seeing him promoted director of CTU, a position he never in his wildest dreams imagined he'd achieve. It had also brought him Michelle. His eyes lit up in a gentle smile as he crept back to his living room, where Michelle lay asleep, hair spread out on his pillow. Taking care not to wake her he planted a kiss on her forehead, tiptoeing outside the room. He closed the door quietly and went into the kitchen. He was going to cook dinner for them tonight.

It was strange, he thought as he prepared the dinner, how much nicer his apartment appeared these last few days. The furniture was the same, the decorations were the same, yet something intangible had changed. He no longer returned only when he was exhausted, he was happy to return. It was his home suddenly, a place to invite his friend, his best friend in the whole world.

He carried the plates out quietly to the dining room, finding the table cloth he'd bought just yesterday. He stopped to review it in silence, noting the place actually looked like people were eating meals there. It was a far cry from eating on a tray on the coffee table, watching TV. Tonight he didn't have to turn the TV on for background noise; he had someone to talk to him.

'Hi, Tony,' Michelle said, appearing with a sleepy look in her eyes. 'Oh, that looks great. Did you cook dinner again?'

'I did,' he answered, watching her reaction carefully. What if she hated the food?

Michelle gave him tight hug. 'Tony, it's incredible. Look at it; you got all the knives and forks laid just like in a restaurant.'

'Of course I did. You're here,' he said, unable to explain himself better. Unable to tell her he would have worked hard the entire day just to get a smile from her, to impress her.

'Even the napkins… It's great. "Such attention to detail", as Chappelle would say.'

Tony burst out laughing. 'Honey, "attention to detail is the key to success."'

'Where did you hear that?' Michelle asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. He allowed himself to be turned round, bending down for a long kiss. 'Come on, tell me. Someone at CTU?'

'No, before that. In the army,' he said, pulling her chair out for her. 'Let's eat now.'

'Come on, Tony, you never told me anything about the army. Who was so keen on detail?' Her eyes sparkled, shining with anticipation.

Tony laughed, watching her. She was his. He still couldn't quite believe it. Michelle loved him as much as he loved her. Her smile was for him, looking deep into his eyes, teasing him. His breath caught in his throat.

'Tony, you're dreaming.' Michelle leant forward to give him a gentle shake. 'Wake up. Tell me who was so keen on detail. I want to know!'

He shook his head, grinning, enjoying her frustration. 'You don't want to know that, honey.'

'TONY, stop teasing! I do,' Michelle begged, sensing a story. 'I want to know everything about you. Tell me about the guy in the army who loved detail.'

'Ah, it was in the sniper school. We could all shoot real well, hit anything. He decided to train us in the real world, out in town. He stationed us along a pedestrian mall, and we were supposed to stay where he put us and wait till he came walking down, and shoot at him. Not real bullets, of course, it basically would've just made a noise. It was a warm day, and we waited and waited, and he didn't come. After a while we got real bored. My partner went to get a few cokes, and then this street juggler came, and he was SO good. He had about a dozen green balls and never dropped any, and …'

'Did you miss your instructor?'

'Honey, we all missed him, except for one guy, who was unfortunate enough to bump into him with an armful of burghers. He walked straight down the mall in his uniform, and none of us noticed him!'

'So what did he say to you guys?' Michelle asked, eating her dinner, watching him with interest.

Tony sighed. 'He said what I just did, "attention to detail is the key to success." He kept us out the entire night, in a row, repeating that single sentence.'

Michelle's eyes lit up. 'I wish I would've seen you then, Tony. You would've looked so cute!' Tony's heart skipped a beat. She thought he was cute! 'But don't stop. You slept all the next day?'

'Now Michelle, we need to watch some army videos tonight, not that sentimental stuff you brought last night. You never get to sleep all day unless you're dead! No, he kept us out till 4:30, and our DI took us out for training at 7:00, and I had KP in between!'

'What did you do to get that?'

Tony got up, and kissed her firmly on the lips, cutting off any further words. He ran his hand through her hair, brushing it to one side. 'You look so lovely.' The words came out unexpectedly, making him blush. Michelle rewarded him with a deeper kiss.

'Tony, where's the coffee and cake?' she teased.

Tony paused with his armful of dishes, turning to face her. 'Honey, I'm sorry, I didn't have all the ingredients, so…'

'Tony, I was joking! Some cookies would be fine.' She jumped up in alarm. 'You've made more than I would've cooked in a year. You were great.'

He shrugged. 'It was for you.' Maybe if she liked the dinner, she would come again. He longed to ask her to have dinner with him the next day, but didn't want to crowd her. 'Ah, would you like to stay and watch a video with me? You can choose,' he asked her, not daring to look at her, to see the rejection in her face.

'I'd love to. But we'll have to go and get something from the video library, Tony, coz yours are all really violent, and I get that all week anyway.'

'Ok,' he agreed, grabbing his keys. His heart was bursting inside, he could barely stop smiling. She was going to spend a little longer with him. 'Pick anything you like, Michelle, only not another sentimental romance. I couldn't watch another this soon.' The moment he said it terror struck him. What if she decided she'd go home after all? 'I mean, if you really wanted to, I could try…'

'Tony, you didn't watch much of it last night, you know. You fell asleep real soon.'

Tony grinned sheepishly. The week at work had been the busiest he could remember. CTU's clean-up fell to him. Retrieving whatever was possible from the damaged workstations fell to him. Organizing flowers and cards, and calling the families of the dead fell to him. The first of the funerals would begin the following week, and he wasn't sure how he would get through it. He had been in the office five days without returning to rest more than once. He had occupied himself so totally with work because he dared not leave himself time to remember what had happened. If he was honest with himself, he would be there now too; sitting in his office staring at the empty space now cleared of rubble but not yet redecorated. Michelle had grabbed him two nights ago, reminding him of dinner and a movie. He had returned to his apartment intending to clean it up a little and plan something to cook for her, but had collapsed onto his bed instead, crying himself to sleep. His sleep was filled with nightmares of explosions with him attempting to pull bodies out. At least he had her visit to focus on the following day, giving him a reason to get up, tidy up, and leave the apartment to do a little shopping. His pain slowly faded to the background.

Michelle looked as though she had grieved every day since the explosion. She had eaten the dinner he prepared and they had watched the video she had brought. The romantic couple failed to capture his imagination. Michelle had sat beside him on the couch – he had pulled her closer and she had stroked his hair, soothing away his hurt, just as he soothed her. When he next woke up he was lying alone on the couch, tucked up in his blanket. She called him soon after, laughing at him for having slept so long. He found himself refreshed, and risked asking her to dinner again, and she had agreed and come to join him later that day.

'Let's walk,' she told him. 'If you keep feeding me that much, Tony, you'll have to come walk with me too, or I won't fit any of my clothes.'

'Sure' he agreed cheerfully. He would walk anywhere with her, he knew. He locked the door and followed her to the lift, and outside. It was dark and quiet. He reached for her hand, pleased at how firmly her fingers closed over his. Now he was like the other couples he'd watched from his balcony, enviously. A deep peace he'd never experienced settled over him. He loved Michelle totally – he would protect her with his life. He would need to protect her; she was too willing to stand by her beliefs.

He squeezed her hand tighter. 'You risked a lot, sticking by me,' he said softly, remembering how her hand had taken his under the table in the holding room. 'I won't forget that.' (I'll remember it always, sweetheart. I knew you really loved me then, when I was at rock bottom and you stood by me.)

Michelle stared at him in amazement. 'Tony, I told you before, I stick by what is the right thing to do. I got you into that mess. Do you really think I'd abandon you? They would've given you less, if there were two of us.'

Tony shook his head. 'No, sweetheart, they would've given us both a life sentence. We got lucky.' He chewed his lip, remembering his guilt when she had been brought in to join him, hands cuffed behind her back. He had decided that he would protect her whatever it took, take the entire blame himself, sign anything if they would drop their charges against her. Hearing her question about their likely punishment he had told her what he planned, to try to ease her fears, but she had amazed him yet again, refusing to let him lie for her.

'Tony, I'll remember how you insisted I had nothing to do with it when Chappelle came in,' she said, shaking her head. 'After I told you…'

Tony slipped his arm around her shoulders, turning to kiss her. There was no way he would have allowed anything to happen to her, whatever she said, but he knew better than to tell her.

'Let's forget about it,' he told her, leaving his hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. 'It would've been real tough.'

'Yeah. At least my parents get spared the shame of going to see their son in jail. And the embarrassment in front of all their friends.'

They walked to the end of the street, coming upon a side street with several shops. 'Tony, I saw your father in the corridor, when you were in hospital,' Michelle admitted softly. 'He seemed real nice.'

Tony nodded, holding open the store's door for her to enter. 'He is. My mom's very nice too. I'd love you to meet them one day. Now go pick some sentimental slush, before I change my mind and pick a thriller about some homicidal nutcase.' He wandered off to look at some thrillers, while Michelle went into the romance section. Soon she returned, holding two tapes, a smile on her face.

'These are both real good. Do you mind if we get both?' She glanced hesitantly at him. He found himself grinning back at her.

'You expect me to sit through two of these! Michelle, they're both the same! There's no story, just two people who meet, fall in love and get married. That's all!'

Michelle shook her head firmly, chewing her lips to contain her smile. 'No, Tony, there's lots more to them. You left out the quarrel. Couples always quarrel in these films; it makes it all the sweeter when they reunite!'

Tony shook his head, puzzled. 'I don't see why a quarrel is necessary.'

Michelle put the tapes firmly into his hand. 'It just is, trust me. They need to, so they can reunite and see how much they love each other.'

Tony shrugged. 'If you say so. I guess my parents are real close then,' he said mischievously. 'They argue every day. My mom always has some job my father doesn't want to do – but she always wins in the end, and he does what he's told!'

They laughed together, Tony pulling out his library card. 'Tony, I'll let them know you said that,' Michelle teased.

He pulled her towards him firmly. 'Try that, and you won't get either video. We'll get something like this one,' he pulled a case out at random, glancing at its back cover, 'a guy who gets turned into an insect.'

Michelle pulled an alarmed look onto her face, holding a finger to her lips. 'My lips are sealed' she said.

'That's better,' he agreed, taking out the tapes. The man behind the counter threw him a sympathetic look as he handed them over. 'And now a short stop at the drug store, for a packet of tranquilizers, to help me cope with such exciting movies.' Michelle punched him on the arm.

'Ow,' he complained, rubbing the spot. 'We've only been going out a week, and already you're beating me up! I guess my father's lucky after all. He just gets to listen to,' Tony pulled a stern expression onto his face, pointing his finger in the air, "Marco, there you are. Have you cleaned out the gutter yet? You know it will rain this afternoon. Better get the ladder now."'

They giggled together, walking hand in hand. 'Poor guy,' Michelle said.

'No,' Tony told her. 'Someone's got to organize him. If he'd be a single guy he wouldn't notice if the weeds grew over the house. He likes to read on the weekends - would like to read,' he corrected himself.

'And you'd do as you're told too?' Michelle inquired, teasing him gently. 'Put down a book and go fix something, if your wife asked you to?'

Tony rolled his eyes at her, delighted to see her laugh. 'If she was pretty enough. If she smiled nicely, and kissed me, and…. Hell, if she fetched the broom I'd move.'

'I hope you've got a broom with a real long handle,' she teased, resting her face against his shirt. 'Your wife could stand in the middle of the room and chase you round.'

Tony laughed merrily. 'I'll change my broom to one with a real short handle. And I'd keep a bag packed, so I could escape easily. I'd go hide out at my parents place. No, not really. They'd just send me back. They both believe the woman is always right!'

'Smart people!' Michelle told him, squeezing his hand. He drew her closer to him. One of the curls had come loose from her ponytail; he tucked it gently behind her ear. He wanted to tell her just how lovely she was, her hair shining in the lamplight, her eyes sparkling at him, her lips soft and full, but he lacked the words. Maybe he should make some extra strong coffee and watch the two tapes with her, learn something. Gently he laid a finger under her chin, tilting her head up, and bent down to kiss her.

'We should get back to your place, Tony,' Michelle told him, stepping back a few minutes later. 'This type of behavior isn't encouraged on the street.'

He shook his head regretfully. Michelle took his hand again and he closed his fingers over hers, bending to pick up the bag. 'Wait a sec,' he said, going into a café and emerging a minute later with a box. 'It's not as good as I can make it, but it'll have to do.'

Michelle snuggled up to him on the couch after they finished their cakes, watching the movie spellbound, while he breathed in the scent of her perfume and shampoo and concentrated on the way her body rose and fell with each breath. 'It's a good movie really, isn't it? For a romance movie, I mean?'

'Sure' he agreed, feeling her hair against his face. 'It's fine!'

He awoke a few hours later, as she shook his shoulder firmly. 'Tony, wake up. The movie's over. I got to go home now; I've got something on real early.' She laughed at his sleepy expression. 'You done better this time, you made it till just before the end of the first movie. Pity you didn't see the second one, though. There's a real handsome guy, and he can say such lovely things to this girl he meets.'

'He can?' Tony asked, attempting to tidy his hair with his fingers. What a mess he must be, he thought in despair. No wander she wanted to leave.

'You look SO cute when you wake up.' She leant forward, giving him a kiss on his forehead. 'Get some sleep. I'll see you on Monday.'

The doorbell woke him next morning, ringing repeatedly. He pushed the blanket from the couch, noting he must have fallen asleep over the second movie despite the strongest Colombian coffee he'd drunk. A few useful sentences lingered in his brain as he hurried to answer the door. Next time he saw Michelle he would be better prepared. He would know exactly how to compliment her hair, her eyes… He opened his door, standing aside for his father.

'Hi, Papa. Am I late for something?'

'No, I just didn't see you all week, so I decided to check if you really are as fine as you keep insisting you are.' He settled in an armchair, gazing round in silence. Tony followed his father's eyes, seeing two coffee mugs, two plates with the remains of a cream cake on them, two forks, and oh God… He attempted to lift the video case from the table, but his father beat him to it. He stared at the cover in astonishment, while Tony's face grew hot.

'So, you finally asked the lovely Michelle out,' his father noted, pleased. 'I was beginning to think I'd have to go to CTU, take you by the hand, and ask her out for you. So what did you say?'

Tony rubbed his face hard, chewing his lips. 'Ah,' he began, falling silent under his father's scrutiny.

Mr. Almeida began to laugh. 'So, she had to ask you.' He shook his head slowly. 'Never mind, Tony, she'll stick with you. Just make sure you look after her.'

'I will, Papa. You know I will.'

And he had, he thought, jumping out of bed. He had let her down earlier in the day, never dreaming she was a target for kidnapping. He hadn't let her down since. She was his best friend, his wife, his responsibility. He would move heaven and earth to help her. His eyes gazed at the cold tiles on the floor. The life of everyone else in the nation was also his responsibility, and he had failed them.

"At least my parents get spared the shame of seeing their son in jail." He groaned aloud, raising a swollen hand to rub his face, before lowering it. 'No they won't, Almeida,' he muttered to himself. 'They'll be coming here for so many years; they'll feel right at home!'