Tony helped Michelle to his car. They decided it was best to leave her car
at CTU for the time being as she really wasn't in any state to drive. Tony
was elated to not only be finally leaving CTU but to have Michelle by his
side. His mind was racing trying to remember what state he had left his
apartment in that morning, he knew it wouldn't be good as it's not like
this morning he would have thought in a million years he'd be bringing
Michelle home with him tonight. Always the gentleman, Tony opened the door
for Michelle and helped her into her seat. He even leant across and did up
her seatbelt for her.
When they were on the road Tony asked Michelle what she felt like to eat for dinner. She thought for a second and then replied, "Do you want to just order in some pizza or thai or something – anything really, as long as they deliver so we don't have to go to any effort!" That sounded perfect to Tony. He turned the news off the radio and found some quiet music, he then took Michelle's hand and held it for the remainder of the drive. Both of them were nervous now, this was the first time they had been alone together outside of CTU. I mean they had gone for lunch together before on break from work, but this was so much different. They were finally being honest with each other about how they felt and it gave them both butterflies in their stomachs.
"Umm Michelle, please don't mind any mess at my place. I haven't had much time to keep up with chores lately. I..."
"Tony, I so don't care, whatever your place is like, I can guarantee mine is ten times worse."
They pulled into the underground parking garage and Tony lead Michelle up the elevator to his apartment. He was on the top floor and had a great little balcony with a view of the city.
"So, are you going to give me the grand tour Tony?"
"Sure, not too much to see." Michelle took Tony's hand as he lead her through each room. His place was very modern and stylish. In fact it was a lot like her own place, they had very simular tastes. Tony checked his messages and there was one from Chappelle saying that John would be at his house at 2pm tomorrow afternoon to debrief both Michelle and Tony. 'At least they are giving us a sleep-in' he thought to himself.
"Michelle, do you want to have a shower or something while I order us in some dinner? I grabbed you a night-stay bag from CTU when we left." (A night-stay bag was just toiletries for workers to use who ended up doing double shifts)
"Ahh yes, I would love a shower. Are you sure that's ok? I won't be long."
"Take your time, it will make you feel better. I'll probably take one after you." What he really wanted was to just take one with her, but seeing as they'd only kissed before he didn't want to push his luck. Besides he was happy to take things at any pace Michelle wanted, he was just happy to finally be able to put his arms around her and kiss her when he wanted. He grabbed some fresh towels for Michelle and showed her to the bathroom. As soon as she had closed the door he went crazy trying to straighten things up as much as he could. He called in for some chinese and pulled out some wine.
Michelle carefully took off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. She had her fair share of bruises on her body. She felt weak and sore. She kinda wished that Tony had come in to shower with her. The thought of having him wash her back put a huge smile across her face. Usually Michelle was the type to take things real slow with guys but with the way she felt about Tony she knew it would be impossible to keep her hands off him. She wondered what Tony was like in relationships, had he had many? Was he scared of commitment? Michelle had only gone out with a few guys in the past and none of them were even worth mentioning. They had all treated her like crap and she hadn't really been happy in any of them. Her friends would be impressed when they met Tony. That thought made her excited, she looked forward to being able to show him off to the girls. She had told all of them about him before – she had even shown them a photo from the CTU Christmas party. Everyone had agreed he was a hottie. She giggled to herself when she thought back to the discussions she had had with her friends about how she should just get drunk at the next work do and jump him. If only he had heard them all talking about him like that!! She decided that when Tony was having his shower she would call her friend Angie and tell her where she was – she just had to tell someone!! She drew a love heart on the shower door with her finger, a habit she had done for years.
When she was out of the shower and drying off she realised she didn't have any clean clothes to put on. She couldn't believe the thought hadn't crossed her mind until now. There was no way she was putting on the dirty ripped clothes she had on before, besides she couldn't really sleep in her skirt! She wrapped the towel around her body and shyly opened the door. Tony wasn't in the bedroom so she made her way down to the kitchen where he was fiddling in the kitchen, she surprised him.
"Tony, I, um, I don't have any clothes to put on"
Tony spun around to see his beautiful Michelle standing in his kitchen with just a towel on. She took his breath away. A smile crept across his face and he totally just stood there checking her out, forgetting to talk.
"Tony...."
He snapped back to reality. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Do you want to wear some of my clothes? They will be big on you, but at least they are clean and comfy." The thought of her in his clothes was a major turn-on. He lead her back to his room where he picked her out some tracksuit pants and a t-shirt.
"Thanks for that." They stood staring at each other. "I'll just go back into the bathroom and put these on – give me a minute?"
Michelle slipped back into the bathroom and got dressed. Tony stayed in the same spot and waited for her. She was out in no time at all. His clothes swam on her but she looked so cute. He let out a small laugh. "You are adorable Michelle, come here." Michelle walked into Tony arms and they hugged tightly. He kissed the top of her head and then pulled back. "You smell so nice and clean, I am still so gross – let me have a quick shower before the food gets here."
Tony headed into the bathroom and Michelle headed for her phone. She dialled Angie. "Where the hell have you been Chelle, I've been calling your mobile since yesterday. With all the stuff on the news, everyone has been so worried about you, are you ok?" Michelle could hear the anxiety in her friends voice, but she didn't have time to explain everything, she wanted to discuss Tony!! "Ang, I am fine, I'll explain later. Guess where I am? You will never guess....I am at Tony's house. I just had a shower at Tony's house...." Angie cut her off, "Oh my god, are you serious? Did you kiss? What the hell happened? Here we were worried you are out saving the world and instead your shacking up with Tony? You have to tell me everything. Where is he now? How did all this happen? Did you guys shower together?" Michelle laughed, "Shut-up for a minute so I can tell you!! I have to be quick because he is in the shower now. We had the day from hell, and it was just so emotional and scary. Basically we had to work closely all day but I totally freaked out this morning and he comforted me. Then we kissed. I started it Angie, but then he totally kissed me back! When stuff had calmed down at work we made out again, but then all this crap happened and we had an argument but then sorted it out. He told me he wants to be with me, and he didn't want me on my own tonight and so he brought me back here." Michelle stopped to take a breath and to hear Angie's reaction, "I didn't understand a whole lot of that Chelle, we are going to have to do coffee so you can give me full details – all that's important is that you guys finally got together. So tell me, is he a good kisser?"
Tony was still smiling. He had laughed at the love heart drawn on his shower door. It's those cute little things that just make her so perfect he thought to himself. He could hear Michelle's voice, was she trying to talk to him? He got dressed and headed out to the lounge room where the noise was coming from. He stopped in his tracks when he heard his name mentioned. Michelle had her back to him and was trying to talk quietly into the phone. He just listened...
"Oh my god Angie, he is the best kisser!! He has the most amazing lips. He starts the kisses off gently and slowly and then he puts his tongue into my mouth and everything just becomes so intense. I just wanted him so much Angie, he is so sexy. I could tell he was turned on as well....well actually the 2nd kiss in his office I could FEEL that he was turned on if you know what I mean."
Tony blushed, and lost his balance having to steady himself on the chair next to him. The noise totally gave him away and Michelle spun around. She was horrified to see Tony standing there, with the worlds biggest smile on his face. She was totally busted. How long had he been standing there? Either way she knew he had heard her last sentence. She told Angie she would have to call her back and hung up the phone.
"Tony, how long...how much did you hear? I am so embarrassed."
Tony kept smiling and walked over to Michelle, he put his hands around her waist and looked into her eyes. "Well I wish I'd heard the start of the conversation, but I just got here in time to hear you tell Angie you thought I was a good kisser....now is that true?"
"Oh yeah, you know – your alright, I guess" Michelle said laughing.
"Alright, just alright huh? Are you sure because that's not what you said to Angie. Didn't you also mention something about how much you wanted me? You know, cause you think I am sexy!?!?" The smile on Tony's face could not get any bigger. He had never heard a girl talk about him they way Michelle just had and it felt so unbelievably good. He was going to milk it as much as he could.
"Nah, I believe you have it wrong...what I said was that I could feel how much you were turned on." 'She is a total smartass' Tony thought to himself – he loved that. Nothing better than a woman with a good sense of humour who could hold her own. From that minute he knew she was going to be challenging and that was such a turn on.
"Ahh....was that it? Maybe we should practice my kissing then so I can be upgraded from alright kisser to good kisser. I mean, I want you to be able to give Angie only good reports..."
Tony started kissing Michelle just how she had described it to Angie. Slow at the start and then he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Michelle was still giggling as he kissed her. She was so use to seeing his serious side at work and it was so good having him be so playful with her. She couldn't believe how just being with him made her so happy. He gave her confidence. Michelle moved her hands down from the back of his head to his ass. This was the first time she had felt it and it made her nervous. He groaned at her touch and firmly run his hand up the side of her body spreading his hands as wide as he could to touch as much of her as he could. He had to keep remembering to steer clear of her right side where she had been kicked by James. He began to step back so he could sit on the couch, never breaking their embrace. As he sat, she pulled back a little. "Michelle, sit on my lap". She climbed on top of him so that she was facing him and had a leg on each side of his lap. Tony traced her face with his hand and gently slid his other hand under her t-shirt. He felt her flinch as he ran his hand across her stomach. She looked into he eyes and gave him a very seductive smile. They didn't kiss, instead just kept looking into each others eyes, taking in the moment. "You are so beautiful Michelle." Michelle reached for Tony's shirt and helped him pull it over his head. "Wow..." she gasped. "What" Tony didn't know what she was thinking. "Well, it's the first time I have seen you without a shirt on and Tony....you really are sexy." Michelle began tracing his chest with her hands. He had an amazing body. His arms were so muscly and strong.
Tony was in heaven. Here he was with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and she was sitting on his lap. It was the best feeling in the world to know that she was attracted to him. She made him feel so wanted. She turned him on so much, and it was so exciting to him that he knew he could turn her on as well. They sat, lost in each other until the door bell rang. It was the chinese food....they had both completely forgotten they had even ordered food. Tony helped Michelle off his lap and pulled his shirt back on. He grabbed his wallet and headed for the door.
Michelle and Tony sat on the floor of his living room with the pile of food in the middle of them. Once that had smelt the food they both realised just how hungry they were. The first few moments just passed in silence as they both munched on their dinner. Tony broke the silence...
"Michelle, do you think that maybe tomorrow after our debrief, I could take you out on a date? You know, out for dinner and a movie?"
"I would really love that Tony. What do you want to see?"
"I'm taking you out and so I will see anything you want to see....I am sure there is some crappy chick flick you would just love to make me watch!!"
"Wow, I expected to have to fight a little more to see a girly flick....I'm sure there are plenty to choose from. I'll tell you what though, you suffer with me tomorrow and you can pick the next one...deal?"
"Deal."
After all of the food was gone, Michelle helped Tony clear away the boxes and they retreated to the couch in front of the TV. Tony asked Michelle, "How are you feeling sweetie? You must be exhausted. Are you ready to go to sleep?"
Michelle was exhausted, but she was also nervous to go to sleep. She knew once she was laying there in the dark in silence she would start thinking about the day again. Tony grew concerned as saw the look in Michelle's face go from smiling to worry. "What's wrong, what are you thinking?
"It's ok, I'm ok, don't worry" she tried to reassure him, but he wasn't buying it.
"Tell me, I want to know what you are thinking Michelle."
"It's just....I'm nervous to close my eyes. The last couple hours with you has been so nice, you have kept me so distracted but I know when it's quiet and I am trying to sleep all I will think about is today. I'm not ready to deal with all that yet.....Don't you feel scared Tony?" Tony wrapped Michelle in his arms. "It's ok, I am here. I know it's hard thinking about today Michelle, but it is something we are both going to have to deal with, and sooner rather than later. But we have got each other now and that's got to make it easier. You are not going through this alone, I promise you that. I'll tell you what, why don't we lie on the couch and we will put the TV on down low, you can watch that till you fall asleep. I will hold you Michelle and I won't go to sleep until I know you have."
"Thanks Tony, I am so lucky to be here with you right now. I couldn't imagine being by myself right now. You know that I am here for you too right?"
"Yeah, I sure do – you have been here for me all day."
Tony turned off all the lights and put the TV on with the volume down low. He switched it to the comedy channel to ensure no news was going to come on. Michelle laid on the couch and Tony crawled up behind her, spooning her. "Michelle, how is your rib? Can I see your side?"
"It's sore, but I'll be fine." Michelle rolled a little more onto her back and let Tony lift her shirt to see the huge bruise. He was so gentle and she could see how much it upset him seeing it. "I swear to God, they had better not ever let me near that son of a bitch." Tony lent over and kissed Michelle's side. "I am so sorry he hurt you Michelle. I am so sorry, I'll never let anyone ever touch you again." Michelle took Tony's hand and held it tight, "Don't be sorry Tony, it wasn't your fault. I don't want you to worry."
Tony kissed Michelle's neck. He nibbled on her ear and pulled her body in as close as possible to his and placed his arm right around her. She closed her eyes.
"Tony....it feels so good to be in your arms, to be so close to you."
"You feel so good Michelle. I can't think of anything better than being able to fall asleep with you."
With that, Michelle began to drift off to sleep. Pure exhaustion let her fall straight to sleep. Tony watched Michelle and stroked her hair until he knew she was sound asleep. It wasn't until then that he allowed himself to close his eyes, rest his head and fall asleep too.
Michelle woke with a fright. Her sleep had started peaceful, but soon images of the day's events started flashing through her mind. She saw Paula trapped under everything covered in blood, she saw some of her friends lifeless bodies just laying on the ground. She looked at Tony, he was still asleep, after looking at her watch she realised they had only gone to bed a few hours ago. She slowly picked Tony's arm up and slid off the couch gently placing his arm back down. She headed for the kitchen to get some water.
Standing in the kitchen by herself in the dark everything started flashing through Michelle's mind again. Tears began to well up inside of her and before she knew it she couldn't control herself anymore and she began to cry. She fell to the floor and tried to muffle her cries into her arms and shirt as to not wake Tony.
Tony woke to find no Michelle next to him. He had to stop and think for a minute as to whether or not he had actually dreamed her coming home with him or not. Then he heard her cries. It was coming from the kitchen, he bolted into the kitchen to find Michelle hunched in the corner on the floor. Her knees were bought up to her chest and her head was buried in her arms that were on top of her knees. Tony sat beside Michelle and pulled her into his arms. He held her so tight and pushed her head into his chest and then placed his on top of hers, he kissed the top of her head repeatedly, "I am here, I am here, baby....I am here....it's going to be alright." He pulled her body in even closer to his, "I've got you Michelle, I've got you." Michelle sobbed so hard, she completely lost any control she had. She didn't want to be strong anymore, she couldn't. "I'm sorry I woke you Tony, I'm sorry....I" Tony didn't let her finish, "don't be sorry, just let it all out Michelle, you need to be able to get it all out, it will help you feel better." Michelle pulled her head up and looked at Tony, his shirt was completely wet from her tears.
Without thinking things started just rolling off her tongue, "I hate CTU, I hate that place, I can't go back there again. How could we loose everyone like that today Tony? What about Mason? There is so much evil out there and today I realised that it doesn't matter what the hell we do, it doesn't make a shit of difference. Innocent people still died today."
Tony just listened. He knew Michelle loved her job, she just needed to hate it right now. He did too. She was right, even though ultimately the bomb didn't go off in LA they still lost a hell of a lot of people along the way, it just wasn't fair.
"Be angry Michelle, you are allowed. I am angry too. You made so much difference though today, without you our country would be at war right now. You have to know how much of a difference you made – hell, I would have never made it through the day without you. It's ok Michelle to feel everything you are feeling right now."
Tony pulled Michelle back into him and they both stayed there sitting in each others arms. Michelle cried until she had completely worn herself out. She kept her head pressed into his chest and when there were no more tears left, she feel asleep in Tony's arms. Tony saw that Michelle had gone back to sleep and so he picked her whole body up in his arms and carried her back to the couch. He then crawled up behind her and took her back into his arms. He laid there wishing he could take away the pain Michelle was feeling. He didn't know how to though, and to make it worse he held the same pain and he didn't even know how to deal with that himself. All he knew for sure was that Michelle made him a stronger person and with her by his side just maybe he could get through all of this. Michelle made him want to get through it all.
When they were on the road Tony asked Michelle what she felt like to eat for dinner. She thought for a second and then replied, "Do you want to just order in some pizza or thai or something – anything really, as long as they deliver so we don't have to go to any effort!" That sounded perfect to Tony. He turned the news off the radio and found some quiet music, he then took Michelle's hand and held it for the remainder of the drive. Both of them were nervous now, this was the first time they had been alone together outside of CTU. I mean they had gone for lunch together before on break from work, but this was so much different. They were finally being honest with each other about how they felt and it gave them both butterflies in their stomachs.
"Umm Michelle, please don't mind any mess at my place. I haven't had much time to keep up with chores lately. I..."
"Tony, I so don't care, whatever your place is like, I can guarantee mine is ten times worse."
They pulled into the underground parking garage and Tony lead Michelle up the elevator to his apartment. He was on the top floor and had a great little balcony with a view of the city.
"So, are you going to give me the grand tour Tony?"
"Sure, not too much to see." Michelle took Tony's hand as he lead her through each room. His place was very modern and stylish. In fact it was a lot like her own place, they had very simular tastes. Tony checked his messages and there was one from Chappelle saying that John would be at his house at 2pm tomorrow afternoon to debrief both Michelle and Tony. 'At least they are giving us a sleep-in' he thought to himself.
"Michelle, do you want to have a shower or something while I order us in some dinner? I grabbed you a night-stay bag from CTU when we left." (A night-stay bag was just toiletries for workers to use who ended up doing double shifts)
"Ahh yes, I would love a shower. Are you sure that's ok? I won't be long."
"Take your time, it will make you feel better. I'll probably take one after you." What he really wanted was to just take one with her, but seeing as they'd only kissed before he didn't want to push his luck. Besides he was happy to take things at any pace Michelle wanted, he was just happy to finally be able to put his arms around her and kiss her when he wanted. He grabbed some fresh towels for Michelle and showed her to the bathroom. As soon as she had closed the door he went crazy trying to straighten things up as much as he could. He called in for some chinese and pulled out some wine.
Michelle carefully took off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. She had her fair share of bruises on her body. She felt weak and sore. She kinda wished that Tony had come in to shower with her. The thought of having him wash her back put a huge smile across her face. Usually Michelle was the type to take things real slow with guys but with the way she felt about Tony she knew it would be impossible to keep her hands off him. She wondered what Tony was like in relationships, had he had many? Was he scared of commitment? Michelle had only gone out with a few guys in the past and none of them were even worth mentioning. They had all treated her like crap and she hadn't really been happy in any of them. Her friends would be impressed when they met Tony. That thought made her excited, she looked forward to being able to show him off to the girls. She had told all of them about him before – she had even shown them a photo from the CTU Christmas party. Everyone had agreed he was a hottie. She giggled to herself when she thought back to the discussions she had had with her friends about how she should just get drunk at the next work do and jump him. If only he had heard them all talking about him like that!! She decided that when Tony was having his shower she would call her friend Angie and tell her where she was – she just had to tell someone!! She drew a love heart on the shower door with her finger, a habit she had done for years.
When she was out of the shower and drying off she realised she didn't have any clean clothes to put on. She couldn't believe the thought hadn't crossed her mind until now. There was no way she was putting on the dirty ripped clothes she had on before, besides she couldn't really sleep in her skirt! She wrapped the towel around her body and shyly opened the door. Tony wasn't in the bedroom so she made her way down to the kitchen where he was fiddling in the kitchen, she surprised him.
"Tony, I, um, I don't have any clothes to put on"
Tony spun around to see his beautiful Michelle standing in his kitchen with just a towel on. She took his breath away. A smile crept across his face and he totally just stood there checking her out, forgetting to talk.
"Tony...."
He snapped back to reality. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Do you want to wear some of my clothes? They will be big on you, but at least they are clean and comfy." The thought of her in his clothes was a major turn-on. He lead her back to his room where he picked her out some tracksuit pants and a t-shirt.
"Thanks for that." They stood staring at each other. "I'll just go back into the bathroom and put these on – give me a minute?"
Michelle slipped back into the bathroom and got dressed. Tony stayed in the same spot and waited for her. She was out in no time at all. His clothes swam on her but she looked so cute. He let out a small laugh. "You are adorable Michelle, come here." Michelle walked into Tony arms and they hugged tightly. He kissed the top of her head and then pulled back. "You smell so nice and clean, I am still so gross – let me have a quick shower before the food gets here."
Tony headed into the bathroom and Michelle headed for her phone. She dialled Angie. "Where the hell have you been Chelle, I've been calling your mobile since yesterday. With all the stuff on the news, everyone has been so worried about you, are you ok?" Michelle could hear the anxiety in her friends voice, but she didn't have time to explain everything, she wanted to discuss Tony!! "Ang, I am fine, I'll explain later. Guess where I am? You will never guess....I am at Tony's house. I just had a shower at Tony's house...." Angie cut her off, "Oh my god, are you serious? Did you kiss? What the hell happened? Here we were worried you are out saving the world and instead your shacking up with Tony? You have to tell me everything. Where is he now? How did all this happen? Did you guys shower together?" Michelle laughed, "Shut-up for a minute so I can tell you!! I have to be quick because he is in the shower now. We had the day from hell, and it was just so emotional and scary. Basically we had to work closely all day but I totally freaked out this morning and he comforted me. Then we kissed. I started it Angie, but then he totally kissed me back! When stuff had calmed down at work we made out again, but then all this crap happened and we had an argument but then sorted it out. He told me he wants to be with me, and he didn't want me on my own tonight and so he brought me back here." Michelle stopped to take a breath and to hear Angie's reaction, "I didn't understand a whole lot of that Chelle, we are going to have to do coffee so you can give me full details – all that's important is that you guys finally got together. So tell me, is he a good kisser?"
Tony was still smiling. He had laughed at the love heart drawn on his shower door. It's those cute little things that just make her so perfect he thought to himself. He could hear Michelle's voice, was she trying to talk to him? He got dressed and headed out to the lounge room where the noise was coming from. He stopped in his tracks when he heard his name mentioned. Michelle had her back to him and was trying to talk quietly into the phone. He just listened...
"Oh my god Angie, he is the best kisser!! He has the most amazing lips. He starts the kisses off gently and slowly and then he puts his tongue into my mouth and everything just becomes so intense. I just wanted him so much Angie, he is so sexy. I could tell he was turned on as well....well actually the 2nd kiss in his office I could FEEL that he was turned on if you know what I mean."
Tony blushed, and lost his balance having to steady himself on the chair next to him. The noise totally gave him away and Michelle spun around. She was horrified to see Tony standing there, with the worlds biggest smile on his face. She was totally busted. How long had he been standing there? Either way she knew he had heard her last sentence. She told Angie she would have to call her back and hung up the phone.
"Tony, how long...how much did you hear? I am so embarrassed."
Tony kept smiling and walked over to Michelle, he put his hands around her waist and looked into her eyes. "Well I wish I'd heard the start of the conversation, but I just got here in time to hear you tell Angie you thought I was a good kisser....now is that true?"
"Oh yeah, you know – your alright, I guess" Michelle said laughing.
"Alright, just alright huh? Are you sure because that's not what you said to Angie. Didn't you also mention something about how much you wanted me? You know, cause you think I am sexy!?!?" The smile on Tony's face could not get any bigger. He had never heard a girl talk about him they way Michelle just had and it felt so unbelievably good. He was going to milk it as much as he could.
"Nah, I believe you have it wrong...what I said was that I could feel how much you were turned on." 'She is a total smartass' Tony thought to himself – he loved that. Nothing better than a woman with a good sense of humour who could hold her own. From that minute he knew she was going to be challenging and that was such a turn on.
"Ahh....was that it? Maybe we should practice my kissing then so I can be upgraded from alright kisser to good kisser. I mean, I want you to be able to give Angie only good reports..."
Tony started kissing Michelle just how she had described it to Angie. Slow at the start and then he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Michelle was still giggling as he kissed her. She was so use to seeing his serious side at work and it was so good having him be so playful with her. She couldn't believe how just being with him made her so happy. He gave her confidence. Michelle moved her hands down from the back of his head to his ass. This was the first time she had felt it and it made her nervous. He groaned at her touch and firmly run his hand up the side of her body spreading his hands as wide as he could to touch as much of her as he could. He had to keep remembering to steer clear of her right side where she had been kicked by James. He began to step back so he could sit on the couch, never breaking their embrace. As he sat, she pulled back a little. "Michelle, sit on my lap". She climbed on top of him so that she was facing him and had a leg on each side of his lap. Tony traced her face with his hand and gently slid his other hand under her t-shirt. He felt her flinch as he ran his hand across her stomach. She looked into he eyes and gave him a very seductive smile. They didn't kiss, instead just kept looking into each others eyes, taking in the moment. "You are so beautiful Michelle." Michelle reached for Tony's shirt and helped him pull it over his head. "Wow..." she gasped. "What" Tony didn't know what she was thinking. "Well, it's the first time I have seen you without a shirt on and Tony....you really are sexy." Michelle began tracing his chest with her hands. He had an amazing body. His arms were so muscly and strong.
Tony was in heaven. Here he was with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and she was sitting on his lap. It was the best feeling in the world to know that she was attracted to him. She made him feel so wanted. She turned him on so much, and it was so exciting to him that he knew he could turn her on as well. They sat, lost in each other until the door bell rang. It was the chinese food....they had both completely forgotten they had even ordered food. Tony helped Michelle off his lap and pulled his shirt back on. He grabbed his wallet and headed for the door.
Michelle and Tony sat on the floor of his living room with the pile of food in the middle of them. Once that had smelt the food they both realised just how hungry they were. The first few moments just passed in silence as they both munched on their dinner. Tony broke the silence...
"Michelle, do you think that maybe tomorrow after our debrief, I could take you out on a date? You know, out for dinner and a movie?"
"I would really love that Tony. What do you want to see?"
"I'm taking you out and so I will see anything you want to see....I am sure there is some crappy chick flick you would just love to make me watch!!"
"Wow, I expected to have to fight a little more to see a girly flick....I'm sure there are plenty to choose from. I'll tell you what though, you suffer with me tomorrow and you can pick the next one...deal?"
"Deal."
After all of the food was gone, Michelle helped Tony clear away the boxes and they retreated to the couch in front of the TV. Tony asked Michelle, "How are you feeling sweetie? You must be exhausted. Are you ready to go to sleep?"
Michelle was exhausted, but she was also nervous to go to sleep. She knew once she was laying there in the dark in silence she would start thinking about the day again. Tony grew concerned as saw the look in Michelle's face go from smiling to worry. "What's wrong, what are you thinking?
"It's ok, I'm ok, don't worry" she tried to reassure him, but he wasn't buying it.
"Tell me, I want to know what you are thinking Michelle."
"It's just....I'm nervous to close my eyes. The last couple hours with you has been so nice, you have kept me so distracted but I know when it's quiet and I am trying to sleep all I will think about is today. I'm not ready to deal with all that yet.....Don't you feel scared Tony?" Tony wrapped Michelle in his arms. "It's ok, I am here. I know it's hard thinking about today Michelle, but it is something we are both going to have to deal with, and sooner rather than later. But we have got each other now and that's got to make it easier. You are not going through this alone, I promise you that. I'll tell you what, why don't we lie on the couch and we will put the TV on down low, you can watch that till you fall asleep. I will hold you Michelle and I won't go to sleep until I know you have."
"Thanks Tony, I am so lucky to be here with you right now. I couldn't imagine being by myself right now. You know that I am here for you too right?"
"Yeah, I sure do – you have been here for me all day."
Tony turned off all the lights and put the TV on with the volume down low. He switched it to the comedy channel to ensure no news was going to come on. Michelle laid on the couch and Tony crawled up behind her, spooning her. "Michelle, how is your rib? Can I see your side?"
"It's sore, but I'll be fine." Michelle rolled a little more onto her back and let Tony lift her shirt to see the huge bruise. He was so gentle and she could see how much it upset him seeing it. "I swear to God, they had better not ever let me near that son of a bitch." Tony lent over and kissed Michelle's side. "I am so sorry he hurt you Michelle. I am so sorry, I'll never let anyone ever touch you again." Michelle took Tony's hand and held it tight, "Don't be sorry Tony, it wasn't your fault. I don't want you to worry."
Tony kissed Michelle's neck. He nibbled on her ear and pulled her body in as close as possible to his and placed his arm right around her. She closed her eyes.
"Tony....it feels so good to be in your arms, to be so close to you."
"You feel so good Michelle. I can't think of anything better than being able to fall asleep with you."
With that, Michelle began to drift off to sleep. Pure exhaustion let her fall straight to sleep. Tony watched Michelle and stroked her hair until he knew she was sound asleep. It wasn't until then that he allowed himself to close his eyes, rest his head and fall asleep too.
Michelle woke with a fright. Her sleep had started peaceful, but soon images of the day's events started flashing through her mind. She saw Paula trapped under everything covered in blood, she saw some of her friends lifeless bodies just laying on the ground. She looked at Tony, he was still asleep, after looking at her watch she realised they had only gone to bed a few hours ago. She slowly picked Tony's arm up and slid off the couch gently placing his arm back down. She headed for the kitchen to get some water.
Standing in the kitchen by herself in the dark everything started flashing through Michelle's mind again. Tears began to well up inside of her and before she knew it she couldn't control herself anymore and she began to cry. She fell to the floor and tried to muffle her cries into her arms and shirt as to not wake Tony.
Tony woke to find no Michelle next to him. He had to stop and think for a minute as to whether or not he had actually dreamed her coming home with him or not. Then he heard her cries. It was coming from the kitchen, he bolted into the kitchen to find Michelle hunched in the corner on the floor. Her knees were bought up to her chest and her head was buried in her arms that were on top of her knees. Tony sat beside Michelle and pulled her into his arms. He held her so tight and pushed her head into his chest and then placed his on top of hers, he kissed the top of her head repeatedly, "I am here, I am here, baby....I am here....it's going to be alright." He pulled her body in even closer to his, "I've got you Michelle, I've got you." Michelle sobbed so hard, she completely lost any control she had. She didn't want to be strong anymore, she couldn't. "I'm sorry I woke you Tony, I'm sorry....I" Tony didn't let her finish, "don't be sorry, just let it all out Michelle, you need to be able to get it all out, it will help you feel better." Michelle pulled her head up and looked at Tony, his shirt was completely wet from her tears.
Without thinking things started just rolling off her tongue, "I hate CTU, I hate that place, I can't go back there again. How could we loose everyone like that today Tony? What about Mason? There is so much evil out there and today I realised that it doesn't matter what the hell we do, it doesn't make a shit of difference. Innocent people still died today."
Tony just listened. He knew Michelle loved her job, she just needed to hate it right now. He did too. She was right, even though ultimately the bomb didn't go off in LA they still lost a hell of a lot of people along the way, it just wasn't fair.
"Be angry Michelle, you are allowed. I am angry too. You made so much difference though today, without you our country would be at war right now. You have to know how much of a difference you made – hell, I would have never made it through the day without you. It's ok Michelle to feel everything you are feeling right now."
Tony pulled Michelle back into him and they both stayed there sitting in each others arms. Michelle cried until she had completely worn herself out. She kept her head pressed into his chest and when there were no more tears left, she feel asleep in Tony's arms. Tony saw that Michelle had gone back to sleep and so he picked her whole body up in his arms and carried her back to the couch. He then crawled up behind her and took her back into his arms. He laid there wishing he could take away the pain Michelle was feeling. He didn't know how to though, and to make it worse he held the same pain and he didn't even know how to deal with that himself. All he knew for sure was that Michelle made him a stronger person and with her by his side just maybe he could get through all of this. Michelle made him want to get through it all.