Life at The CTU
Once upon a time in a little place known as The CTU, mayhem was about to break loose. To catch you up, Michelle Dessler, the sweet and beautiful, was eying Tony Almeida, the handsome and intelligent, from across the crowded room. Jack Bauer, the hunk bossman, was watching Nina Myers, the cool and smooth talking chick, talk to Tony. Nina had her eyes for Jack but had been going out with Tony for quite some time now while Jack sorted out his marital issues but Tony had recently broken it off. See Tony was totally in love with Michelle but didn't want to make a move too soon because he was afraid of hurting Nina but Nina had always been in love with Jack but Jack had always been in love with his ex-wife Teri. They had been divorced for almost 2 years now but Jack still wouldn't even come close to dating. Or would he?
On one Tuesday, Nina and Jack had gone to a District meeting and wouldn't be back for hours. Tony saw this as an opportunity to talk to Michelle. He felt guilty but he decided that since Nina wasn't around, she would never have to know. Oh how silly! Doesn't he know that gossip flies faster than ever imaginable here at The CTU? But I digress.
Tony went over to Michelle's desk and asked her for a random file that we all know he didn't need. Michelle handed it to him and she could see he wanted to say something else. He paused and started fidgeting but eventually decided it was now or never!
"Hey Michelle…" "Yeah. What do you need? Anything else?" "Um sort of. Are you um. Are you busy tomorrow night? I mean I know that you probably are but" Michelle cutting in "No. I'm not busy." "Great! I mean um very good. Ok. How about dinner? Around 7?" "Sounds great. See you then" Michelle was doing her best to keep her cool but inside she was giddy with excitement. She couldn't wait until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Nina and Jack were on their way to a meeting. Nina loved these little moments with Jack. Even with something like a car ride to a meeting, discussing the meeting. For her this was the best part of her day. She wanted to tell Jack how she felt but he had already broken it off with her in attempt to get back with Teri and she didn't think she could stand the pain of getting rejected again. Also she and Tony had just broken off their relationship and she still cared about him. She had never loved Tony but she always cared for him greatly. Maybe it was too soon. But he had broken up with her.. Maybe that meant she could go for it.
"Uhh Jack." "Yeah." She could tell he wasn't really paying attention. He was focused on something else.
"Well I … I was just wondering … wondering what time you think the meeting will be over.." She had chickened out.
"I don't know. Probably not until after lunch since Mason has something new to rant and rave about. We won't have time to have a long lunch. We can just stop by somewhere quick on the way back if you want." "Sure. That sounds fine." Oh well. Maybe later she'll talk to him.
The next night, Michelle was getting ready for her date with Tony. She looked at the clock. 6:45.
"Ok" she was trying to prepare herself. She had waited for this for so long and it was finally happening. She had planned out the whole date in her mind. She was very excited and nervous. What if I say something stupid? Or call him the wrong name? Or.
The door bell rang. She opened the door and there he was. She knew she wouldn't say anything stupid or call him the wrong name because she was truly and deeply in love with him.
"Hey" "Hey" "Are you ready to get going?" "Yeah just give me a sec. Come in. Make yourself comfortable." Michelle went into her room and looked in the mirror. She had on her favorite yellow sweater with khaki pants. "I'm ready" she whispered to herself.
She emerged for her bedroom to find Tony looking quite nervous on the couch. I do love you Michelle thought.
Tony was trying to organize his thoughts. First I'll tell her how pretty she looks and then I'll ask her if she's ready to go. She is so wonderful. I am a really lucky guy. I think I may even love-
"Ready." Michelle came back interrupting Tony's thoughts.
"Wow. You look really beautiful." "Thanks. You clean up pretty well yourself." Michelle smiled.
"Well thank you." Tony was thankful for the lighter mood. "Shall we?" Tony held out his arm and Michelle took it. "Let's."
Back in the Bauer House hold….
Jack was sitting in his apartment. I hate this place he thought. The walls were an ugly dark green and it was peeling at the top. He hadn't bothered to get a nice new apartment because he was never there. He had rented an apartment after he and Teri were divorced but he hadn't planned on living there the rest of his life. He had lived with Nina for a while but then he moved out when he broke up with her. He felt terrible but he thought that there was hope for him and Teri. He had really liked Nina. Maybe even love but not the kind of love he had with Teri. Nina deserved someone that was in love with her and only her and Jack knew he was not the person.
The phone rang. "Bauer" he was in such a habit of doing that at work he just answered the phone that way everywhere.
"Hey Jack." He recognized the voice. It was Nina.
"Hey" "Um are you busy?" "No. Not really. Why? What do you need?" He wanted to be with her. He wanted to go somewhere, anywhere as long as he was with her. He held back from saying so but it took all of his might.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a bite. I know it may be late but I just thought you may want to get out and do something other than work." Jack pondered for a minute. "Sure. I'd love to." Thirty minutes later, Jack found himself in a dimly lit pizza joint with Nina.
She was talking about some movie she had just watched and ever now and then she would start laughing, thinking back to a funny part in the movie. Jack loved how she was so care-free and that she could just hang out in a pizza place with him and talk about nothing and make it seem so important. Teri never did that. She would always need an hours notice before going out and she always talked about things as though they were just little unimportant things. She never just threw her head back and laughed at the world. She always laughed softly and gently. Jack realized that he loved those things about her as well but it was more that he was used to them. Maybe he could get used to Nina as well. Who knows. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough!
Across town in an Indian restaurant, Tony and Michelle sat across from each other discussing anything.
"No way! I love that movie! What's your favorite part?" "It would have to be when Jamie Lee Curtis is dancing on the pole and she just falls off. I die laughing every time!" "Me too!" Michelle was amazed at how perfect Tony really was for her. He loved listening to The Doors, watching Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of cereal in his PJs, his favorite movie was True Lies, and his favorite color was dark red. These were all of her favorites.
"I can't believe this! I mean how many thirty year olds watching cartoons? I thought I was the only one!" Tony loved that about Michelle. She was not in least bit embarrassed about watching Roadrunner escape Wyle E. Coyote.
"Favorite TV show?" "Umm it's got to be… Seinfeld" "Oh my gosh I LOVE that show! My favorite is definitely George. Everyone loves Cramer and he's funny but George is the best by far!" Michelle's face just lit up when she talked. Tony loved how she said everything with such passion.
"No no no. The best is Elaine. She is the funniest." "Oh come on! She's funny and everything but George is definitely the greatest!" They could argue about this for hours. They might even end up doing just that. But they didn't care. They were perfectly content just the way they were.
The next day, back at work… Nina was running over last night in her head. It had been so great, just talking with Jack. She felt so open with him. Like she could tell him anything. But she knew she couldn't.
Jack sat in his office going over some important paper when he glanced up to see Nina sitting at her desk talking to someone on the phone. She looked so cute and important just sitting there chatting on the phone. It made him smile to himself. It had been fun last night, he thought. After pizza they had gone for a walk. They must have walked for hours just talking. They would up back at Nina's house around 2 a.m. and said goodnight. Jack had wanted to kiss her but he thought that it would be inappropriate. Plus he quite liked having Nina as a friend. After he had left her to try to go back to Teri, they stopped being even friends. But now it felt like old times. It felt like before they had decided to go out. It was just Nina. His friend. Jack didn't think that he could stand jeopardizing what he had but he could not lose the feeling that all he wanted to do was be with her.
De De De Dee. De De De Dee. (The familiar CTU ring we all know and love)
"Myers" "Hey, can you come up here for a minute." "Sure. I'll be right up." Nina went up to Jack's office.
"What do you need?" "What are you doing tonight? I had a lot of fun last night." "Nothing I don't think. What do you have in mind?" "Whatever. Your pick. I liked just talking. You know. I like being friends." "Me too." But Nina secretly wanted to be so much more than that.
Jack hinted the slight disappointment in her voice.
"Pick you up at say 8?" "Sounds good." Nina walked back down to her desk. I do love him. Maybe he just needs time. I'd rather be his friend than nothing though. She looked up at Michelle. She was on the phone and giggling. Nina didn't like Michelle. She thought she was nice but there was something about her that just made her angry. Nina kept trying to kick this feeling but just couldn't. I wonder who she's talking to?
"Marvin the Martian is SO better than Elmer Fudd!" "You are crazy! Elmer Fudd is like a really cool farmer." "Yea but Marvin has the cool dog." Michelle and Tony had been at it for a while now. Arguing. Laughing. Talking. "I got to go get some work done! My boss may just get mad at me." "Yea I might just! Bye." Tony hung up and wanted nothing more than to go over to Michelle and sweep her up in his arms and take her away forever. But sadly, there was work to be done.
Michelle smiled to herself and began to get back to work. Her phone rang again.
"Dessler" "Hey Michelle." Michelle could feel her face drain. It was Peter. Peter had been her old boyfriend. She was dating him for about 4 years before she moved to LA. After she had told him that she wanted to break up with him, he came after her. He followed her everywhere. One night he even broke into her house. He had been waiting there when she opened the door. He grabbed her and held a gun to her head. He told her that he had loved her and she broke his heart. He would have killed her if her neighbor hadn't called the police after they heard her scream. After that she moved away so he couldn't find her. But he had.
"What the hell are you doing? How did you find me." "Oh it was pretty easy. So who was that guy last night." She felt her heart beating faster and faster. "Get away from me Peter. I'll call the police." "Oh no you won't. Because I know where your boyfriend lives. I'm sure you'd hate to have anything happen to him." Michelle couldn't think. How could this be happening? She had been so careful. How did he find her?
"Leave him alone Peter. I mean it. I'm not a part of your life and I never will be." Click. Peter had hung up. Michelle panicked. What am I going to do? She thought.
De de de dee. De de de dee.
"Almeida." "Tony I need you now." "What's wrong? Are you ok?" "No. We have to go. I'll explain in the car." "I can't just leave." "Please Tony. It's important." "All right. I just got to let Nina know" Tony went over to Nina's desk watching Michelle almost run out of the door. What could be wrong?
"Hey." "Hey." "I'm going to be out for a an hour or so." "Well I kind of need you here." "It's important. Nina please." "Sure. Call me if you need anything." "Thanks." Tony was grateful that Nina was her boss. She may not have been the woman for him but she was a great friend. Apparently that was a very popular opinion.
In the car, in the CTU parking lot, Michelle explained everything to Tony.
"Look. Don't worry about me. What are you going to do? Where can you stay where he can't find you?" "I don't know. I don't know how he found me here.." "Did you call the police?" "No. He'll come after you Tony. Really. He will." "What matters is that you are safe." Michelle was so glad for Tony to be with her but she was so scared that something may happen to him.
That was strange the way Tony left, Nina thought. She looked towards the door. Who knows. She looked over around CTU and noticed that Michelle's desk was also empty. Now that's really strange. Ah ha. Nina had figured it all out. That's why Tony had broken it off. That's why Michelle was so happy and giggling all the time. For some reason Nina felt that she should be hurt but she just wasn't. Oh well. I never was in love with him. She sighed and went back to work.
Later that night.
"Look just stay here. You can sleep on my couch. Tony please. I'm really worried about you." "Of course I'll stay. Don't be worried about me though. I'm here for you." Michelle smiled. She was very grateful that she didn't have to beg him to stay. She sat down and turned on the TV. There were reruns of Friends so she decided to watch them. Tony sat down next to her. She put her head on his shoulder. I'm so comfortable just like this, she thought. After a while she forgot all about Peter and everything else. It was just Tony and her. On the couch. Watching Friends.
Michelle was startled when the phone rang. She had fallen asleep and so had Tony. She looked at the clock. 3:38am. Oh man. She reached for the phone, careful not to wake Tony, and answered. "Hello?" She said groggily.
"So he's sleeping over to what, protect you?" She was suddenly wide awake. "Peter just leave me alone." Her voice rattled with fright. She must have been talking louder than she meant to because Tony woke up with a start.
"Is everything ok?" he whispered.
She looked at him and mouthed "It's him!" He sat up and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed 911. This was getting out of hand.
"Tell him to put down the phone." Michelle almost screamed. He was watching them. He could see them. She looked around. She looked out of the window behind her and saw him. There he was. Standing there. Peter. She slammed down the phone and screamed. Tony already had the police on the phone and they were on their way. Tony jerked around and saw him too. All of the sudden Peter smiled and pulled out a gun.
"Run!" Tony yelled pushing Michelle towards the doorway. She heard a gunshot and looked over her shoulder at Tony. Lying on the ground. He had been shot in the side. She started to run back to him but he yelled at her to keep running. She didn't know what to do. Peter was gone from the window so she decided to run and get Tony.
"Michelle GO!" Tony ordered.
"I'm not leaving you!" Michelle helped him up and, with his arm over her shoulder, they walked as fast as they could towards the stairs. Suddenly Peter began beating the door down. As they were about 8 stairs up, her door caved in.
"Hold it." They froze. Tony let go of Michelle and told her to run. She refused. Instead she went down 2 stairs, enough to block Tony from Peter.
"What do you want from me." "You should have been mine from the beginning. We belong together don't you get that?" "I never loved you Peter, and I don't think you ever loved me either." The Peter raised his gun and pointed it right at Michelle's head.
"Oh sure I did." With that he pulled the trigger.
Almost exactly at 8:00pm Jack pulled up in Nina's driveway. The doorbell rang and Nina went to answer it. There was Jack. How can he just want to be friends? Can't he tell how much I love him?
"Hey." "Hey. Ready to go?" "Yeah just let me get my coat." Nina went over to her closet and pulled out her favorite pink jacket. She loved this jacket because last valentines day, Jack bought it for her on a vacation they had gone on.
"Ready." She was wearing the jacket. Jack remembered that day. It was a great day. Valentines Day with Nina. Everything was perfect. They stayed in a huge suite in a great hotel overlooking the beach. He wanted nothing more than to be back in that hotel. In that room. With Nina.
"All right. Let's go." As Nina walked past him and brushed up against him, he could smell her jacket. It still smelled like the hotel. It was too much for him to handle.
"Wait." He grabbed her arm. Nina turned around and looked up at him. They were so close. She could feel his breath on her face. He then leaned down ever so softly and kissed her. It was so great. Just to be with Jack. It felt so right. She felt like the past years without him had been incomplete. Maybe I'll regret this, Jack thought as he stepped back inside and closed the door, but it feels like this is where I should be.
Well we are unsure of how this will all go in the long run but for now, we are optimistic.
"Oh thank God. When can I go in?" "Now." The hospital door opened slowly. There he was. Tony. She loved him so much. The past few hours raced by in her head. They were on the steps, she heard a gunshot but it was like everything went in slow motion. Tony grabbed her legs, causing her to tumble down. The police were there. They took Peter away. She remembered looking back at Tony to see how he was. There was a bullet hole inched above his head not two stairs above where he lay. He had smiled at her. She smiled back.
"Hey." "Hey." "Oh God I am so sorry." Tears streamed out onto her pale cheeks and fell gently onto the bed where Tony was.
"Michelle. This was not your fault. Peter was a whacked out psycho and I'm just thankful that you are safe and out of danger." How could he be so perfect? She had never met a man quite like Tony Almeida. He was sweet and great in every way. She bent down and kissed him softly.
"Ms. Dessler? We need to let Mr. Almeida rest." The doctor came in. Michelle left with a quick goodbye and promised to be back in a few hours. She smiled to herself as she got into her car. The man she loved was fine. He had almost died trying to save her but he didn't. It finally seemed as though everything was in place.
"What time is it?" Jack leaned up on one arm and looked at the clock. It was already 8:45am. He jumped up and threw on his clothes. There was no time to go get more. He looked around but Nina was nowhere to be found. He stepped out into the living room and there she was. She was curled up on the couch. The TV was on and she was fast asleep. He smiled. He gently shook her and she woke with a start.
"Hey. It's almost 9, we need to get going." "Oh ok. I got up earlier but I guess I fell asleep out here." She shut off the TV and went to get dressed. By 9:00am they were in the car on their way to work.
When they got inside, something was wrong. Mason was standing in the middle of the floor directing people.
"Where, may I ask, is everyone?" Nina looked around and realized that both Tony and Michelle were gone.
I was beginning to think that your office has no director Mr. Bauer.
"I don' know where Tony is. He should be here." Nina went over to her desk and picked up the phone. She dialed Tony's number. It kept ringing. No answer. She then called his cell phone.
"Hello?" "Um hi .. Who's this?" "This is Michelle… Nina?" "Yeah. Um hey look.. Can I talk to Tony?" Wow this was way awkward.
"Tony is uh in the hospital." "He's what?!" "He got uh shot last night. He's ok though. I mean he'll be ok." Michelle explained everything about Peter and Tony and just everything.
Nina felt slightly faint. "Oh uh ok then. Um I was just calling to see why he wasn't here. I suppose I now have my answer. Ok then. Bye." "Wait Nina? Is it ok if I have the day off? I mean I've been-" "Yeah sure fine. Ok then bye." Nina slammed down the phone.
"Tony uh won't be coming into work today. Neither will Michelle. Tony got shot last night and is in the hospital and Michelle is with him." "Why does Michelle have to be there? We need her here." Man Mason was a total jerk.
"Well Tony needs her there." "Fine." Mason picked up his briefcase and started walking towards the door.
The next few days went on just like normal in The CTU. Jack and Nina. Nina and Jack. Tony and Michelle. Michelle and Tony. After about a week, Tony was released and sent home. Michelle stayed with him constantly. Not very long after, he returned to work. When he walked in the door he looked around and saw Nina. She was watching him. They smiled. It was like they knew that they would always care for each other but they had both ended up with who they knew thy should be with. Tony sat down in his chair and began to sort through the stack of papers on his desk. He looked up at Michelle. She was working on something on her computer. She glanced at him and smiled.
Jack called Nina up to his office. They had been seeing a lot of each other recently. It was different from before. It was more than it was before. They were in love. Finally Jack had found someone that he loved and that loved him. He knew part of him would always love Teri, but that was a we-have-a-daughter-together-therefore-we-will-always-be-connected love whereas with Nina it was an I-want-to-be-with-you-all-the-time love. Finally they were happy. Everyone was happy and for The CTU, that was enough. They all were going to live happily ever after. Could it get any better than this? I'm sure not.
THE END