Chapter 3

Michelle could have cried as she stood in front of her closet. She didn't know where they were going and she wasn't sure what to wear. She had to look great because he always did.

She finally decided on some casual but smart jeans and a nice shirt with her leather jacket. She was just putting on her lip gloss as there was a knock on the door. She looked at the clock and smiled. He was right on time as usual.

She bounded across the room and tried to calm down before she opened the door. There he was in dark jeans, a crisp white shirt and a leather jacket. He looked at her and they both laughed. They had practically synchronised dress senses. He shrugged and produced some flowers that he had been holding behind his back.

"Thank you, they're lovely." She said taking them from him and leaning forward to smell them.

"I'll just put them in some water and then we can go." He came into the kitchen as she arranged the flowers in a vase.

"What do you think?" She said showing them to him before setting them in the centre of the table.

"I think you're amazing. And I think I'm going to die if I don't kiss you right now."

He crossed the room and swept her up in his arms, looking at her for a moment before he kissed her. When he pulled back and kissed her forehead she smiled and said,

"You know, if you want me to fully function as a human being it's not a good idea to kiss me like that before we go out."

He smiled and raised his eyebrows at her before taking her hand and leading her out to the car. He held her hand the whole way to the restaurant and he was the perfect gentleman; opening doors and holding out her chair. Although she never expected he'd be anything less it still made her feel really special.

Throughout dinner they talked about their families and their childhoods. He watched with affection as she ate her way through a huge piece of chocolate cake.

"You want some coffee?"

"No thanks. How about we take a walk and try and burn some of this dinner off?"

"That sounds good to me." He smiled as he tried to catch the waiter's attention.

They walked out into the night and headed into the nearby park. Almost immediately Michelle took his hand and held onto it tightly. He couldn't stop smiling. Here she was, the woman of his dreams holding his hand. Even though this was the happiest he had ever been he couldn't help but think about tomorrow.

Michelle sensed the change in his mood and stopped. Turning to him she instinctively hugged him. He was surprised but soon relaxed into the hug.

"What's this for?" He said.

"This is what I wanted to do earlier in the break room. You looked so vulnerable then and all I wanted to do was hold you."

He smiled and held her tighter.

The next day the CTU employees and some representatives from division filed into the war memorial park across the street where chairs had been set up ready for the service of remembrance. As they crossed the street in a crowd, Michelle took Tony's hand briefly and gave it a squeeze to comfort him; he looked at her gratefully with tears in his eyes.

They sat down next to each other and listened as different people talked about their fallen friends and co-workers. Finally it was Tony's turn. Glancing at Michelle he got up and made his way to the podium.

Michelle shed some tears before he even started to talk and she suddenly felt a hand on her back. Turning around slowly she saw Jack offering her his handkerchief. She smiled at him and took it, turning back to listen to Tony.

"As you all know, George Mason was a man of few words so I'm going to stick to the facts as he would have. When he began to get sick he battled bravely through his debilitating symptoms to continue to do his job. He never complained and he never once asked why this had happened to him. He saw it as simply his duty to see us all through the hard times. I know he's probably looking down on us right now telling me to stop talking crap about him and get back to work."

There was soft laughter from everyone and Tony had to fight hard to hold back his emotions.

"But he deserves our recognition and respect for what he did. Not just because he spent his life serving his country but also because he made the supreme sacrifice for it and made it possible for the rest of us to go on with our lives. Although it's hard to go on without him and everyone else that died that day we owe it to them to do so; because if we don't, then they will have died for nothing. So we will go on and do our jobs and make all of them proud of us, as we will always be proud of them and keep them in our hearts forever."

He came back down and sat beside Michelle, as Jack patted him lightly on the back. It was then time for a minute's silence. As they bowed their heads, in a gesture of unity, everyone joined hands. Tony and Michelle were grateful for this as they needed to hold onto each other, now more than ever.

The rest of the day at work was solemn. Later on as they prepared to leave, Tony caught Michelle as she was shutting down her computer.

"Hey."

"Hey, how are you?" She asked looking into his eyes.

"Ok. Glad that's over." She nodded.

"Listen I have to stay here for a few more hours but would it be okay if I call you later? We can talk some."

"Sure. You can call me anytime, I hope you know that." She smiled and he stood for a moment unsure of what to do with everyone watching.

Finally, seeing his dilemma she walked past him, discreetly brushing her knuckles against his and smiled back at him before walking away.