Michelle had gotten over her surprise at Tony's reaction quickly enough. After all he had been through, how could she blame him for anything? Especially with those eyes of his looking at her. He had pulled her closer and kissed her, then pulled her into the tub all together. They never did get to that Chinese dinner she had ordered.
They drove to the airport the next day to catch their flight. They showed their ID's at the front counter, but it seemed to be taking longer than usual to get their boarding passes. Finally, a man in a suit came up to Tony.
"Mr. Almeida? My name is Franklin Davy. May I speak to you alone for a moment, please?"
"A'right, sure, but I'd rather not make my wife wait outside."
"Of course, follow me."
The three of them went into a room with cold white walls and Mr. Davy motioned for them to sit down. Once they were all seated, he shuffled some papers for a second, then said, "Mr. Almeida, it would appear that your name is on our 'No Fly List.' Is there any chance this is a mistake?"
Tony looked down at the table, scratched the back of his neck, "Look, I was just released from prison yesterday, but I got a full pardon from the President himself. I'm not a threat. My wife still works for CTU, she can vouch for me."
"I'm sorry," Mr. Davy said, "but it would be a violation of federal law to let you on any flight while your name still appears on that list. Perhaps if you come back when this has been cleared up…"
"Perhaps if you called the President, he would explain to you that I have been given a full pardon! Perhaps if you called CTU Seattle they would tell you that by keeping us off this plane you are keeping a Federal Agent from her job!"
"Nothing is keeping your wife from getting on the plane, Mr. Almeida, except for you. She is free to go."
Tony stood up, knocking the chair over behind him. He put both hands on the edge of the table and stared down the man across from him. "You really think you're 'defending the country?' You don't even know…"
Mr. Davy picked up his radio, "Security, please report to room 37."
Michelle put her hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezed it. "We'll drive back," she said to him. "We'll drive," she said to Mr. Davy. Michelle took her husband's arm and steered him back out to the baggage check to get her things, and then back outside to the rental car office.
They passed most of the 14-hour drive in silence. Michelle drove the first leg and let Tony sleep. He seemed so tired, like he hadn't slept at all while he was in prison. Tony had told her to wake him after four hours, but she didn't have the heart. The dry grassy hills of California turned into pines trees, then the evergreens of Southern Oregon. Late in the afternoon, with at least 5 hours still to go, Michelle stopped for gas at a truck stop in Eugene. She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open, so she parked the car and leaned her own seat back for a quick nap.
A few minutes later, she woke to the sound of Tony's voice in her ear. "I think that means it's my turn, sweetheart." Michelle smiled sleepily, opening one eye against the afternoon sun. "Actually, I think it was my turn a few hundred miles ago."
"But you were so tired," Michelle said, unable to stop a yawn as she spoke.
Tony got up and came around to her side of the car, opening the door. "Up," he said, "you're not supposed to sleep in the driver's seat." Michelle complied, climbing over the console to the passenger seat. Tony re-adjusted the seat, took her hand in his, and got back onto the freeway.
For a long time Michelle stared out the window, unable to fall back asleep. She wished she knew what to say to Tony. How to ask him about prison, about his reaction the night before, about the letters he returned, about everything. Deep inside, she found herself wanting to know why he had filed for divorce so quickly, and without even speaking to her first. Michelle realized that she was scared to know just what Tony had been through; afraid to see how dearly his love for her had cost him.
Michelle wanted to ask Tony so many things, but was afraid to broach any subject that would be painful for him. He deserved to be happy, not to be dragged back through painful memories for the sake of her curiosity. Finally, Tony was the one who broke the silence. "How has Seattle been?" He asked.
"I didn't like it at first," she admitted, "but now it's grown on me. I miss the sun in the winter, though."
Tony nodded, "Yeah."
"There's a rumor going around that a leadership position at Division in L.A. has opened up, and apparently I've been recommended for it." Michelle paused awkwardly, "unless you don't want to move back down there."
"You're the one with the job," was all he said.
Michelle tried to think of something else to talk about. "Jack's got a new job in D.C., working for the incoming Secretary of Defense."
"Hmmm."
"He says he's really enjoying it, but it's hard to picture Jack at a desk job with a suit on every day."
Tony smiled crookedly and looked over at Michelle, "Jack? All dressed up and playing by the rules? He won't be able to stick with that for long, watch. As soon as there's trouble, he'll find is way to whatever CTU office is close enough and manage to tag along with whatever mission is the most dangerous."
"I don't know," Michelle said thoughtfully, "Apparently he and the Secretary's daughter have become friends.
"Ulterior motives, then? Maybe, but I don't know if the woman exists who could keep Jack from sticking his nose into danger."
"Well, he deserves to be happy for once, he's been through enough."
Tony stared out at the road ahead of him, "When you've been through as much as Jack has, you reach a point when it's no longer about finding happiness. It's about becoming too comfortable with the opposite of that, so that happiness just doesn't feel right any more. Has he been able to kick his drug habit?"
"He's been clean since that day," Michelle said, knowing they both knew what day 'that' was, "but that didn't keep them from firing him anyway."
"I heard," Tony replied.
Michelle bit her lip and looked out the window, 'Yes,' she thought to herself, 'it was only me that you wanted out of your life.' The silence hung in the air between them. Tony continued to drive and Michelle continued staring out the side window at the passing countryside. Eventually, she closed her eyes to sleep.
