They settled in bed and watched the movie. Tony noticed Michelle fall asleep half way through but he just let her sleep. He felt so happy to finally see her sleeping he did everything not to stir her. She had drifted off with her hand entangled with his, he thought she was just so beautiful and he felt happy to see her look so peaceful.

Michelle was slowly coming to, she was in the middle of being awake and asleep. Images from the day earlier in the week began to flood her mind and she wasn't able to recognize it was a dream. She was picturing only a few minutes after the bomb had gone off and she could see a body under rubble that looked like Tony. Her stomach dropped as she took a moment to think about what it would mean to her life if Tony had been killed in the explosion. Her hand started to grip his tighter and tighter.

Tony decided he should wake Michelle up, he could tell she was starting to have a nightmare because her face was scrunching up and her hold on him was getting stronger and stronger. He stroked the side of her face, "Chelle......Michelle..."

Michelle's eyes began to slowly open. She felt the biggest rush of relief when she saw Tony's concerned face looking down on her. She reached for him and pulled him down into her body for a tight hug. She could hear him telling her 'everything was going to be ok' but what registered was the security and warmth of his body pressed against hers. Tony pulled back, still cradling her in his arms.

"What were you dreaming about Michelle?"

"It's ok, doesn't matter. I'm sorry if I woke you up..."

Tony wanted Michelle to talk to him, he wanted her to feel like she could open up to him and it seemed like she was so good at directing the attention off her so that she never had to open up. "It matters, please talk to me."

Michelle adjusted her eyes and looked deep into his. Every ounce of her wanted to tell him exactly how she was feeling but she continued to stop herself, she wasn't use to having anyone to talk to. "Really Tony, don't worry..."

"I am worried Michelle. Why won't you talk to me?"

"I don't know what to say."

Tony stroked the side of her face, "I want you to tell me what you are thinking." He stopped and they both stared at each other for a moment. "Don't you feel like you can talk to me Chelle?"

Tony almost looked a little hurt and Michelle hated that she was the cause of that. "I know I can talk to you Tony, its not that – it's me....I'm not use to having to open up to anyone."

"Well who do you usually talk to when you are upset?"

Michelle let out a huge breath, "I don't really, I just put it aside."

Tony threw his leg across Michelle's and pulled her in closer. "You need to be able to talk Chelle." Tony felt guilty the second it came out of his mouth because he knew he was the last person who should say something like that considering he never opened up to anyone.

"Well I can't talk to friends or family about work because they don't understand and there is so much I'm not allowed to say that I wouldn't know how to explain anything anyways." Michelle could feel herself so close to tears, it was hard not to fall apart in Tony's arms because for the first time in her life she finally felt like she really could with him.

Tony was looking far away into her eyes like he was waiting for more, so Michelle kept going. "It's alright Tony......who do you talk to?"

"I....I...guess I don't really either."

They watched each other for a moment before Tony offered what he had wanted for so long. "Maybe we could talk to each other from now on?"

Michelle traced the frame of his face with her thumb, "I'd really like that Tony."

A few moments of silence followed before Tony tried again. "What were you dreaming about?"

"You......I was dreaming about you then Tony."

"Me? What was happening?"

Michelle broke her eye contact with him and instead stared at his chest. "Just after the explosion....I saw this body under a pile of fallen ...I....I....thought at first it was you." Michelle could see Tony's face soften dramatically, she went to continue but finally the tear that had been waiting for so long made its way down her cheek.

Tony's thumb was circling in the same spot on her cheek, he was oblivious to his own as actions as he was too sucked into her face and words. He spoke but only her name came out. "Chelle..."

"It's like my dream just keeps replaying how I actually felt when it happened...."

Tony was almost talking over her, but in a whisper. "What?....What did you feel?"

Michelle felt his hand raising her chin up so she was looking him in the eyes again. "Devastated. I was devastated Tony. I knew you were such a special person and I thought I'd never have the chance to tell you that. I was..."

Tony felt overwhelmed with emotion for Michelle. "You were the first person I looked for Chelle, it was like I couldn't breathe till I saw you across the room ok..."

He kissed her gently on the lips but when he pulled back he felt her hands wrap around his neck to keep him in place. He kissed her again, this time hardly.

Michelle pulled Tony into her. The feel of his body pressing into hers was almost all she needed. She kissed him passionately as she spoke. "I love being as close as possible to you Tony."

"Come closer Chelle..." he pressed his lower body into hers roughly as he almost lifted her upper body off the bed into his arms.

Their touch for each other was fueled with a need for both of them to be as close to each other as possible. Michelle clutched to his shirt momentarily before tugging on it impatiently to be taken off. Tony stopped kissing Michelle and lifted himself up enough to pull his shirt off before lowering himself back down to her. She could feel how turned on he was as he looked her dead in the eyes and pushed himself into her hip. Michelle lifted herself into him. "I need you Tony."

It was like that was all he needed to hear before he was able let himself really go. "I need you Michelle." He kissed her again, this time deeply and groaned into her mouth. Tony wasted no time in sitting her up enough to pull her top off, barely breaking the kiss. He explored her chest with his hand, thinking of nothing but getting closer and closer to her. His mind was racing to the black lace underwear she was wearing, he couldn't help slipping his hand inside the boxer shorts of his that she was wearing and firmly tracing his fingers over the lace. Even just the thought of what he was doing with Michelle was blowing Tony's mind, he kept telling himself over and over that this was it, he had her and she wanted to be with him.

Again, Tony pushed himself into her side so she knew exactly what all this was doing to him. Michelle took a sharp deep breath when he did this. "Tony...." Upon hearing her saying this he repeated his actions hoping she would say his name again and when she did he groaned into her ear as she spoke.

Michelle was wide awake now and her nightmare couldn't be further from her mind. Tony was pressing himself against her just like he had last night but this time the phone wasn't ringing. She pushed onto his chest so that he would move from his side on to his back but she found that he pulled her with him so that she ended up basically on top of him. She broke the kiss and began to make her way down his chest and stomach with her tongue.

Tony watched as Michelle kissed his body passionately. He ran his hands through her hair before allowing his head to sink back into the bed so that he could soak in just how unbelievable he felt. His body flinched and his breathing fastened as he felt her fingers grip the top of his boxer shorts and pull them off. Tony couldn't take his eyes off Michelle as she made him feel so good. With one hand clenching the sheets and the other still firmly gripping her head he groaned loudly before telling her how amazing she was.

There was something different about being with Michelle. It didn't take Tony long to realize it was because she meant more to him than anyone had ever before. He felt frightened for how deeply he was falling for her – no one had ever taken Tony's heart and now he knew without a doubt that Michelle had stolen it. He wished he could know how she felt, what she was truly thinking – that way he could deal with his own feelings. Her mouth felt better than he could have ever imagined, he wanted this moment to last all night but as it was he could barely hold himself. He could barely breathe, never mind think. "Chelle....I'm....Chelle....Oh God....close...."

Michelle had made Tony climax and he needed to hold her close. He pulled her body up so that she was lying on top of him, wrapped his arms around her and began to use his tongue to kiss her neck and shoulder – anywhere he could reach. Still fighting to find words and his breath he expressed to her how he was feeling through the way he held on to her body and kissed her.

His cell phone started ringing and within seconds hers followed – they both stopped and looked at each other, at the same time, "It must be CTU."

They broke apart and slid off the bed fumbling for their phones. Tony watched as Michelle basically jumped out of his room to answer her phone so that whoever was calling couldn't hear his conversation as well. He flipped his phone open.

"Almeida."

"Tony its Chappelle."

Tony looked at his watch, it was close to midnight. "What's up Ryan?"

"We need you on assignment. We have found Swartz and his men (a group CTU had been looking for, for months) at a bar downtown and division wants to send in a few undercover agents immediately to get in as close to them as possible. After our huge losses the other day we are working with a skeleton team and there are just not any other options now Tony, we need you in the bar."

"What about Sims or Davis? Shouldn't I be running tactical from base?"

"Ordinarily yes but you are the most experiences field agent we can call on right now. Sims will join you but Davis was injured in the explosion. I will have to run the operation from base this time."

Tony couldn't believe it, this couldn't have come at a worse time. He was so tired and stretched from the week already he wondered how he'd even manage something like this right now. He knew though, this was his job and this was what life with CTU was like and there wasn't any choice for him. "Alright, I'll head in. What presentation am I working on?"

"Pants and a shirt will do."

There was an uncomfortable silence and Tony could tell Chappelle had something more to say. "Is there something else Ryan?"

"Umm Yeah, Tony we are sending Michelle in as well. The more in there the better, you will all be strangers to each other though. John is calling her now."

Tony sighed. "Ryan, are you sure there is no one else you can ask on this? Michelle is really doing it tough after this week already, I don't want to push her."

"I understand that Tony but you know how limited we are with agents and staff right now, my hands are tied. Michelle is a good agent and this is what this job is about – I appreciate it has been a hard time but that's the nature of this work and she signed on for it."

Tony didn't push it, he hoped once there he might be able to swap things around but he knew he couldn't piss Chappelle off by being over protective of Michelle because of their relationship – it wouldn't take much for Chappelle to decide he'd make things difficult for them both. "Yup, I'll see you soon Ryan."

Tony hung up and tried to take a couple big breaths, his chest felt so restricted. He looked up to see Michelle standing in the door way. "I'm sorry Chelle. I can't believe this is happening."

"It's not your fault Tony. This is the job right?!"

Tony could see how stressed Michelle was already. He knew damn well she was not ready for anything else right now. He also knew she'd put on her brave face for his and everyone else's sake. As he walked over to her he became very aware of how naked he was but it was hard to care. No amount of shyness came close to the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach of the task ahead of them. "Are you up for this Chelle? I really don't want you even having to worry about this case now."

Michelle had already kicked into her guarded work mode. The only way she knew how to deal with how she was feeling and the stress of her job was to build a protective defensive bubble around herself. "I'll be fine. How are you feeling?"

Tony had made his way to her now and he wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her in close. She felt so stiff and tensed up in his arms, he could tell she was already distancing herself from him. "I'm worried about you."

"You really don't need to be. I'm trained for all this Tony, I'm not going to fall apart you know."

Tony challenged her. "I know you can handle yourself Chelle but I don't think you are ready for this, it's too soon and I don't think you have dealt with the other day yet at all."

Michelle pulled back and out of his arms and made as if she was just starting to get ready to leave. She kept her head focused on the ground as she responded. "I don't let how I feel affect my work Tony. If you and everyone else have to do this then there is no reason why I shouldn't have too."

"You don't need to be strong around me Michelle...."

Michelle wanted to be able to tell Tony exactly how she was feeling but she didn't know how to. Regardless of what he said she felt so much pressure to always be the most capable agent, and now the fear of disappointing Tony by appearing weak made her even more determined to do and act how she thought she had to. "Are you worried I can't do this Tony? That I'll let you guys down?"

Tony reached out for her and grabbed her hand. "Michelle..." He stopped, his silence demanding her to finally look up at him. "That is not it all – I know you can do this.....I don't care about the mission Chelle, I care about you and how you are really feeling."

Michelle couldn't talk, one word was sure to open the flood gates of tears just waiting for their opportunity with her. Tony knew she was close, he tried to reach her again. "I thought we just agreed to really talk and open up to each other Chelle?"

Michelle shut her eyes tight for a moment in attempt to hold the tears at bay and then she shocked Tony with her words. "Ok....I'm not worried about me Tony. John said you will be the one trying to ease into this group and I'm scared as hell of something happening to you. I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to let my personal feelings affect my work 't handle it if you were hurt."

"Awe here." He wrapped her up in his arms again. "I'm going to be fine. Nothing much can happen in a bar, I'm just trying to get these guys to talk to me – that's it. We are both going to be back here in a few hours snuggled up in bed together....trust me!"

Michelle offered him a very unsure nod of the head before hugging him. Tony was touched by how hard she held on to him. He had never had someone worry about him like this before, it was a really good feeling. He would have given anything in the world to blow CTU off just so he didn't have to let go of her, every ounce of his body was consumed with Michelle.

She eventually broke the hug reminding him they needed to get ready and go because they were expected at CTU shortly.

Within the hour Sims, Tony and Michelle were in the bar. They had entered at different times and made there way to different sections of the room. Although it was Tony was going to approach the group, Sims and Michelle were under strict instructions to do what ever they had to if they were presented with an opportunity of an 'in' with the group. Fortunately the seedy bar was crowded and there were not many choices for seats except for a couple just to the side of the Swartz group. He eased in next to them with no trouble. Michelle set herself up at a barstool and Sims joined a few women on the couches.

It wasn't hard for Tony to begin communicating with the group, they were all extremely drunk and all it took was him laughing at a few jokes he over heard before they asked his name and began to include him in their drunken conversations. Half an hour passed and not one worth while thing had been said. Most of the talk had been on the baseball game the night before mixed with dirty jokes. Tony bought them a round of beer and offered some smutty jokes of his own to win them over. He told them his name was Nick and he was in marketing for a car company. They told him they worked in IT for a large investment firm down town.

Michelle kept stealing glances at Tony. She couldn't relax even though he didn't appear to be in any danger at all, they were all just laughing and getting even more tanked. She was so tired and this whole exercise was feeling useless. These men seemed to have put business aside for the night and were concentrating on having a good time. She dreaded the thought that Tony was going to have to somehow try and get 'in' with them enough that at least one of them would want to trade contact information. That would make division happy, that would hopefully be enough to begin to be able to keep tabs on the group. She wondered how Tony was going to achieve it, most men wouldn't really care for swapping details with some random guy they had gotten pissed with for a couple hours. Sims seemed to be having a good time, making the most of sharing a couch with a few girls.

The man seated across from Tony, Roy, had taken notice of Michelle. He pointed her out to Tony. "Check out that piece of ass."

Tony felt his stomach drop a little, this was not something he had thought he would have to deal with. He turned his neck enough to check Michelle out for Roy's sake. "Nice...."

"She's all alone. What do ya reckon, think I'll have a shot?"

Tony tensed his body up so much his legs cramped. "Didn't you say you were married?"

"What's your point?" He laughed and Tony had to join him. "I just want to bang the bitch, I'm only human..."

"You have a point." Tony felt sick the second the words left his mouth. He was panicking over what was going to happen with Michelle and this guy. If he approached her, she was under strict orders from Chappelle and Hammond to do what ever necessary to get close to them if possible. Now it seemed she was going to be offered a golden pass into the group and Tony knew Michelle would have to go along with this guy as much as possible. Certainly nobody would ever expect her to sleep with someone for the sake of the mission but they would expect if she had to kiss him or have his arm around her then that's what it would take.

Roy stood up. "Yes...I think I deserve a little treat." With that he made his way over to Michelle, patting Tony's shoulder on his way past. Tony turned in his seat to watch. This was his worst nightmare, he thought he might be physically sick if he had to watch Michelle kiss this man and he felt devastated for Michelle and the situation she was about to be put in.

Michelle watched Roy walk to her and offered him a smile. He stood next to her putting his arm around her shoulders and leaning in so he could speak to her.

"What on earth are you doing here in the middle of the night on your own?"

Michelle almost choked on the foul alcohol stench on his breath. "Just needed some time out, you know, do some thinking."

"Well would you like some company? My name is Roy. I've spent the last hour or so thinking how beautiful you are."

Michelle couldn't believe how lame this guy was but she knew it was a good opportunity. She almost felt a little excited that she would actually get to help out in the mission, she could show Tony that even after the week they'd had she could handle this no worries. She figured she would just try and talk to this guy as much as possible without letting anything advance. "Hi Roy, I'm Cassie. I'd love some company..."

He began asking a little about her but mainly talked about himself. Nothing too worthy but some info slipped out that if true might help. Just learning about where he hung out and what he liked to do was all good information. CTU knew this group was responsible for a huge portion of the international drug trade and specifically they had been linked to some known terrorist groups in the Middle East. What was unclear was if the connection was purely drug related or if something more sinister was going on.

He sat himself next to her but kept his arm on her shoulder. After talking to her for 15 minutes her began to slide his hand up and down her back. Shivers ran through her body at his touch, he was so forward Michelle started to worry it would be a lot harder than she first thought to keep him at bay. Tony wasn't laughing with the other guys any more, he was having trouble controlling his frustration and anger at how the situation was panning out. He stood up and made his way to the bathroom down the hall. Sims saw him from across the room and decided to follow so they could check in with each other.

Michelle noticed Tony and then Sims head off down the hall out of site. She desperately wanted to talk to Tony so she excused herself from Roy saying she needed to take herself to the ladies.

"Hurry back, I'll order you another drink."

She forced a smile. "I will, sounds great."

Tony had passed the bathrooms and turned into another little room off the side of the hall way with a smoke and bank machine. He stood facing a wall for a moment, shut his eyes and banged his forehead into the wall. Sims startled him and he was even more shocked when Michelle also appeared a second later.

Sims was the first to speak, Michelle and Tony just stared into each others eyes trying to read what the other was thinking.

"Seems you both are doing well out there. Heard anything worthwhile yet?"

Tony wasn't aware how stand offish he had become. He answered Sims without even so much as eye contact because he was too focused on Michelle. "Nothing, this is useless – they are all too tanked. We should all call it a night."

"But Michelle is talking with that guy one on one – surely something is going to come out. This is exactly the situation we were hoping for isn't it?"

Michelle confused Tony's frustration for him being angry with her. "Umm this guy Roy has offered a bit so far. Just little things about where he goes out, where he lives and what he likes doing..."

Tony rubbed the side of his face roughly. "You know what he wants from you don't you?"

"Well yeah, I am hoping I can just keep it like this for awhile and then I'll just make something up to leave."

"He's not interested in talking Michelle, he is after a screw. His hands are already all over you."

Sims stepped in, unaware of their relationship. "How are you going to handle this Michelle? Tony is right, it won't be long before he'll make more moves. It would be good to spend as much time with him as you can, I can't see Tony or I getting anything closer than this."

Michelle struggled so hard to keep eye contact with Tony, she desperately needed his guidance and assurance. "You are in charge Tony. What do you want me to do? If he kissed me what you expect me to do?"

Tony looked at Sims, it was so hard to maintain professionalism and focus on the mission and not on how he was feeling. "It's what you feel comfortable with Michelle. Obviously the more you give this guy what he wants the easier it will be to make him talk."

"So you are saying I should kiss him for the sake of more time with him, if it comes up?"

Tony couldn't believe how screwed up everything was. He was so torn... He didn't speak, instead he glared at them both. Sims spoke up for him. "If you can handle that Michelle....I mean there is only so much really that can be done in such a public bar. If he is talking about leaving together that's when you need to have a solid plan of how you are going to refuse him. Tony and I will be watching very closely so you have no trouble with him." Sims phone rang as he ended his sentence and he stepped off to the side to take the call.

Michelle leaned in closer to Tony. "You're angry with me..."

"Are you really going to kiss him?"

"Tony, you guys basically just said that's what I should do if it helps the situation. I can't win – if I do then you're pissed with me, if I don't then I might be jeopardizing how much I can get out of this guy, therefore letting you all down."

"What do you expect from me Michelle? I can only tell you what I know Division would be hoping for but I can't watch you fool around with this prick."

Michelle yelled at Tony in a whisper. "How come you let him come over? You knew what he'd want from me so why didn't you stop him?"

"How Michelle?"

"I don't know but you should have. Now your making me pick between being a good agent or a good girlfriend...."

"It's not my fault Michelle, there is nothing I could do to avoid this happening."

Michelle was going to cry, she knew she had to get back immediately before she was gone too long or she actually did cry – it would be hard to explain that to Roy. "I have to go before he comes looking for me. All I want is to do the right thing by you and make you happy....but...right now, I can't even figure out how I'm supposed to do that. Just tell me what to do!"

"Chelle..." God he wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to beat the shit out of Roy and then take Michelle home where he was the only one that could even look at her. She was waiting for an answer he really didn't know how to give, he had never felt like this before. He didn't realize how powerful his emotions could be and how hard it could be to control them. "Chelle...."

She couldn't wait any longer, she had to go and so she made her way back to Roy. The look on Tony's face was ripping her apart. She felt so incompetent as an agent because she just didn't know how to handle the situation and she felt guilty that it was her personal life that was making her not know what to do. She slid back into her seat and forced another smile, it was a lot harder this time.

"Sorry, I stood at the cigarette machine for a minute, I'm trying to quit and I had to talk myself out of it."

Roy laughed. "No harm. Want one of my smokes?"

"Not yet, I'd like to see how strong I can be."

A good sign of how much of a bastard this guy was, he immediately lit up a cigarette in her face. He dropped his other hand to her thigh and ran his hand from the top of her knee to half way up her thigh pushing her skirt up a little. Tony saw this from the other side of the room and struggled to find his breath. Once he did a pile of obscenities escaped his mouth, so much so that a couple of the other guys asked him what was wrong.

"Just remembered I forgot to do something today at work that I had too. I've just put myself in the shit box."

They laughed at him and pushed another beer his direction. "Fuck it, have another – there is nothing you can do about it now."

Michelle decided she had to try and push for as much information as she could before things came to an end with this guy either way. "So can I see you again?"

"Why don't we just worry about tonight for now? I'm heading overseas for work in a few days and I'll be gone awhile."

Michelle's ears perked up. "Where are you going?"

"Middle East."

"What for?"

"Lets just say I've got some things in the pipeline I've been working on for a long time and it's time to put things in to motion."

Michelle tried to push, she couldn't believe he had said as much as he had. Of course to him he had no idea what he was offering. "Sounds exciting, what is it?"

Roy leaned in and kissed Michelle's neck before she even had time to react. He whispered into her ear. "I think we have talked enough..."

Her body froze and her stomach turned as she felt his dry cracked lips press against her neck and his slimy tongue trail her skin. She couldn't physically take the frown off her face as she closed her eyes and tilted her face away from him so that he'd stay at her neck not try for her mouth. His hand gripped her thigh harder and moved a little further up her leg.

Tony couldn't bare watch, yet he couldn't take his eyes off them. He felt so angry, so jealous, so frustrated. He had physical pain seeing Roy touch and kiss his Michelle like that. He was so torn on what he did expect or want to happen. He was devastated Michelle hadn't pulled away but he couldn't ignore the fact that she was a good agent and she was doing her job – and it was all under his mission and as good as his orders.

Roy stopped to order a drink. He flipped his wallet open and Michelle caught his real name and address. She couldn't believe it. That made her decision on the spot. She had gotten more information than anyone could have expected in this one night. He wasn't interested in talking anymore, all he wanted was sex. She wasn't willing to kiss him or touch him, especially now that she felt satisfied everyone would be happy enough with what she had gotten. She knew she could not handle anyone kissing or touching her that wasn't Tony – he was all she wanted. The address helped seal the deal for her.

The bar man refused to sell him another drink as the place was about to close in a couple of minutes. It was 3am. He turned back to Michelle. "Cassie lets get out of here."

Michelle bit her bottom lip. "I've drunk too much and I need to sleep. I think I'll call it a night."

His entire demeanor changed within a moment. He put his hand on her cheek and roughly pulled her face in towards his. He went to kiss her on the lips...

Tony's heart was racing and all the color drained from his face. Sims stood and slowly etched his way closer to Michelle ready to step in if need be.

Michelle didn't let his lips meet hers, she pushed him back on his chest and yanked her head back. He kept a grip on her hair and yanked it very hard to bring her face back in. "What the fuck are you doing?" His other hand on her thigh was so tight it felt he was pinning her to the seat. She again pushed her head back and him away.

"Leave me alone, I told you I'm calling it a night."

His voice was so vicious it scared the hell out of Michelle. "I am not done with you. Now gather your things so we can leave."

By this point Tony and Sims were ready to step in. Roy was hurting Michelle which was making Tony livid. In hope of not blowing his cover straight away he signaled for Sims to step in.

Michelle looked Roy dead in the eyes. "Get your damn hands off me and leave me the hell alone."

Michelle yelped in pain as he gripped her leg even harder and pulled on her hair and the side of her face. Not only Sims jumped straight in but so did the bar man and a couple other guys standing just a few feet away. They pulled Roy away from Michelle and held him so tight he couldn't move.

Sims rested his hand on Michelle's shoulder. "Its ok maam, we are not going to let him lay another finger on you."

A couple big tears rolled down her cheek. "Thank you. I need to get out of here."

The bar man gently touched her forearm. "One of us will wait with you whilst you get a cab. Is there anyone we can call or anything for you?" He then turned to the 3 guys holding Roy. "Can you stay with him till we make sure the young lady has left safely?"

The all said 'of course'. Michelle thanked them all and then escorted by Sims headed out the door. They walked straight past Tony who looked a mess. He waited a couple minutes before following them out. A CTU car was just around the corner and they all headed straight for it. Once outside Tony ran to catch up with them, he caught them only a few steps from the car. Sims opened the door up and Michelle jumped straight into the back. She had not spoken a word. Sims asked if she was ok but she just gave him a very unconvincing nod. Tony slid into the seat next to her and Sims jumped in the front. Their driver took off straight away. Tony went to put his arm around her but Michelle flinched and put her head down. He pulled his hand back straight away. He spoke so only she would hear.

"Chelle it's ok. He can't hurt you anymore, you are safe. I am so so sorry. I'm sorry..."

Michelle cut him off. "I didn't kiss him Tony. He kissed my neck but I didn't let him come near my face or lips. I didn't kiss him..."

"I know baby.....I saw..."

"I couldn't do it....I just couldn't handle him touching me. You are the only one in the world Tony that I want to kiss or touch me – no one else, ever. I don't care what kind of agent that makes me."

Tony had to catch a tear that dropped down his cheek. He couldn't believe her words, they were so unexpected. They made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world – he wondered if he would ever be able to get his head around the idea that Michelle really felt this way about him.

"Awe Chelle....I want to be the only one who ever gets to hold you..." He tried again to put his arm around her but she tensed all up and shrank into herself, he had to pull back again. It felt like a dagger drove straight through his heart when she didn't want him to touch her yet. "Chelle.....please Chelle..."

Michelle was so lost, she felt all over the place. "I know where he lives and his real name. Samuel Masters. 12 Northshore Drive. That's who he is."

Tony repeated the details to Sims loudly and had him write it down. They both told Michelle they were proud of her. Michelle turned her head and gazed out the window, she could feel Tony watching her so closely but she didn't know how to handle him. She still felt so hurt by their fight outside the bathrooms and hurt that Tony had acted so angry with her when she didn't know what else she could have done differently. She was hurt he hadn't given her an answer and told her what to do, instead he had confused her. After how rough Roy had been she could only handle being held gently, she felt so jumpy. What happened tonight made her really realize how much she cared for Tony, she was in love with him and she was ready to distance herself from him because she didn't know how he felt back and she was so scared of being crushed by him. She was very shaken up by the experience and as usual didn't know how to ask for help and comfort.

They pulled into CTU and Tony jumped up and went around to open the door for Michelle. He put his hand out to help her out and was so excited when she let him help her. Michelle started to head straight for Tony's car.

"Chelle where are you going?"

Michelle stopped and turned around to face him. "To the car. We are going right?"

"We have to just go in and see Chappelle and Hammond first."

"Can I wait out here? I just want to go."

Tony shook his head and stepped in closer to her and reached his hand out for her again. "No Chelle. I'm not leaving you out here by yourself. I promise we won't be long. Please take my hand." He paused for a moment and stepped a little closer. "Please sweetheart."

Michelle was nervously shaking. She took his hand and let him lead her inside. They all headed into conference room 4. The onsite doctor came in to check Michelle as they did a short debrief. Michelle stayed quiet and let Tony and Sims explain everything they could before she added her input. Chappelle and Hammond were pleased with the results although expressed their concern and apologies to Michelle for how things had ended.

Now inside in the lights, Michelle saw the bruise on her thigh. She could see very clear finger prints and she had a huge very dark and deep bruise. It was so painful. Everyone in the room gasped when they too saw the result of how hard Roy had been trying to pin her.

By 4:30am they were finally ready to leave. Tony led Michelle back out to his car and opened the door for her and helped her into the seatbelt.

Tony didn't push Michelle to talk on the drive home. He let her just relax for a few moments. Inside he made her some hot chocolate and pulled out some fresh boxers and a t-shirt for her to sleep in. She thanked and offered him nervous thank yous.

She took an awkward step in his bedroom getting ready to change and let out a gasp with pain in her leg. Tony rushed over to her. "Let me help you."

"It's ok...I....really..."

"Michelle please."

She nodded her head, relieved he walked over behind her. He brushed her hair so gently to the side to see if there were any marks. When he lifted her hair up not only was their a huge red, swollen mark but he could actually see where a couple clumps of hair had been pulled out. He also noticed a slight bruise on the side of her cheek and neck where Roy had pulled her.

"I feel sick seeing what he did to you. That was the most impossible thing I've had to watch Chelle. Does it hurt a lot?"

"My heads not too bad at all, it's just my thigh that is bothering me."

Tony kissed her sweetly on the neck. He went to lift her shirt to help her to start to get changed when it dawned on him she would probably feel a little nervous standing with nothing on. He had seen her now with everything gone bar her underwear but that had all been in moments of passion. You usually had to work up to just strutting around naked in front of each other. Instead of drawing attention to it all he decided he would get himself down to his boxers first, he figured that would help. Michelle turned to see him completely stripping down. He tried to lighten things up a little. "I figured we might as well strip together, that way we don't have to....you know..."

Michelle smiled. "You are so sweet."

They held the smile for a few moments before Tony stepped in a little closer to her. "Let's get you comfortable. We need to talk Chelle....I wish you would let me wrap my arms around you and hold you."

Michelle's eyes were watery. "I want you to...I've just..."

Tony stepped into her. "Come here sweetheart." He took the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up, she lifted her arms up and he slipped it over her head. Although he was in complete awe of her body he tried to just focus on her face and eyes. He liked how they looked at each other, it felt so intimate. He pressed his chest up against hers as he reached around her back and unclipped her bra. Before he pulled back he closed his eyes and kissed her on the forehead. When he opened them he saw the Michelle had finally begun to cry. He felt so relieved. "Awe sweetheart, that's it – I'm here with you."

She began to sob, tears over took her face. Tony tried to wipe them away but her face was soon saturated. "I can't help it Tony, I can't be strong right now. Is that ok? I just hated tonight."

"It is more than ok Michelle. Just because you cry it doesn't make you any less strong. You are the strongest woman I know. I owe you an apology for tonight Chelle. I was so unfair to you outside the bathrooms. Is that why you have been hesitant to my touch?"

"A few things. I just feel shaky from him, he was rough. Why were you so angry with me?"

"I wasn't angry with you Chelle, I was angry at was happening. Frustrated. I didn't even realize till after you walked away how bad I was – its just I have never felt like that before and I didn't know how to control myself."

Tony could tell the hurt in her voice. "I wanted you to tell me what to do, why didn't you?"

"Michelle I couldn't make that decision for you, that had to be up to you and what you thought was best for you. You would have been angrier if I had made you do something you didn't want to....trust me." He stopped but then added, "Trust yourself Michelle, it should have been about you, not me – I stuffed that up."

"No Tony. That's why you hurt me. I thought I'd lose you if I made the wrong decision or did the wrong thing..."

Michelle grabbed the t-shirt and pulled it over her head and stepped back from him a little. He stepped in after her so she was no further away. "Don't block me out Michelle. I know you are hurting but don't pull away, don't put up barriers." He was challenging her to confront all this.

"I don't know how to be both to you Tony..."

"Both what Chelle?"

Michelle sighed. "I want to be a good agent for you. I don't want you to think I'm going to screw something up because I am upset. I don't want you to think I can't handle this job because I have been not sleeping or whatever. I've learnt how to get through this stuff. I know it doesn't seem that way because I freaked out the day of the bomb and I've been having nightmares but...."

Tony cut her off. "I think you are a fantastic agent Michelle, I always have. Everything I've said is because I want you to know that you don't have to 'get through this stuff' on your own anymore. You are allowed to be upset and scared and God I so badly want you to lean on me – I want us to be close like that Michelle. Don't you want that too?"

"Yes but tonight I struggled to do the right thing as your partner and for work. It was like you wanted me to kiss him if it meant I got more information but then if I had you would have been so angry. How was I meant to know what you truly expected from me? You were pissed because you had to watch, did you think about how it felt for me actually having to have him touch me like that??"

Michelle had actually raised her voice, she was finally letting herself go in front of him. Tony was trying to keep as calm as he could. "Michelle I didn't know how else to act, I'm sorry. I knew I was suppose to encourage you to do the most you could for information but I couldn't get past how much it hurt seeing him touch you. I care for you more than I do the job Michelle and I panicked over what position work had put us in. It physically hurt watching all that happen....but you know what hurts more??"

"What?"

"Knowing as much as it was hurting me, it was worse for you and there was nothing I could do. I'm so sorry he touched you...kissed you. You have no idea how it made me feel though Chelle when I saw that you couldn't go through with it, even with all the pressure you were under."

Michelle stepped in closer to Tony and rested her hand on his chest. He closed his eyes for a moment in relief. "I kinda feel like I freaked out as well because tonight I really felt how powerful my feelings for you are and I don't really know what you are thinking. I don't want to get hurt."

He smiled and covered her hand on his chest with his own. "I feel exactly the same way beautiful. I've been stressing from the moment we got together that I am falling for you so deeply and I don't know what you are thinking."

"I'm telling you Tony, you are everything to me. I can't believe how intensely I feel for you. I've never ever wanted to be so close to someone. It's hard to Tony because I've spent a year basically suppressing my feelings for you and having just a 'professional relationship' that now I'm just getting use to the fact that I can really say and do what I want with you."

Tony pulled her in, he hesitated and whispered, "May I?"

"Please."

He hugged her tightly. "That's all true for me too sweetie. I'm loving all this so much though, I love getting to know you better, I love sharing my feelings with you, and I love growing closer to you." He kissed her cheek with his tongue. "And WOW I love having intimacy with you. God Chelle, being able to explore your body and having you do the same to me is just the most amazing thing. Do you have any idea how incredible you made me feel before baby?"

Michelle's face lit up. "Do you have any idea how much I loved doing that to you? I don't think I could possibly be more attracted to or turned on by you Tony."

He bent his knees lowering his body just a little so he could kiss her. She opened her mouth for him straight away and moaned. He backed her up against the wall. "So how come I am in just my boxers and you managed to put your top back on?"

Michelle giggled. "I'd offer to take it off for you but then the phone would probably just ring again..."

"Take it off gorgeous, I don't give a damn if the freaking president calls, I'm not being interrupted with you again."

Michelle gave him a very seductive look and then pulled her top back off.

His hands ran straight across her chest, down her stomach to the top of her pants where he gripped them and began to slowly pull them down. As he did this he kissed her with his tongue on the neck, cheek and lips. "I can't believe how close I've gotten to this and then been so cruelly interrupted."

"What do you want Tony?"

He picked her up and took her to his bed. "You....I want to make you feel so good."