Michelle hung up the phone and turned to Tony. "I'm in trouble, they know about us and they are pissed. I have to go in now." Michelle felt panicked and began to finish getting ready as quick as she could.
"Chelle it will be ok, I'll come in with you and I'll talk to them." He gathered the rest of his stuff and they headed for the car.
They spent the entire ride trying to suss out what was going to happen. Tony had to keep reassuring Michelle things would be ok. He wasn't sure if he even believed it though. It was unusual for Hammond to have called her in like this. They pulled into the parking garage and kissed before they got out to go inside.
Hammond was waiting for Michelle with Chappelle in conference room 6. They looked surprised to see Tony right behind her. Chappelle greeted them both. "Michelle, Tony – it is probably best you are here Tony, we need to talk to you too."
Both Michelle and Tony didn't speak, rather just nodded politely and took a seat.
Hammond was in a foul mood and wasted no time on chit chat. "I'm sure we don't need to tell you both that office relationships are strictly against regulations."
"Michelle and I are not just fooling around, what we have is serious."
Hammond smirked at Tony. "Things were serious with Nina too Tony, surely you learnt how messy these things can end up....not just for you two but everyone around you."
Michelle was insulted and Tony was horrified that Nina had just been used against him. Michelle kept a straight face, "In all fairness sir, I'm not Nina – there is no threat or potential for a situation like that."
"Michelle I wasn't insulting you, it was merely an example of how personal relationships in the work place do not work. This is magnified in our line of work. We can not afford for personal emotions and feelings to be a factor in our office."
Tony tried to appeal to Chappelle who was capable of acting a little bit more like a human. "Ryan, we are really happy together. You can trust that this will never be an issue for us – nobody else will even know. Please give us a chance to prove that to you."
Hammond snapped before Chappelle even had a chance. "Sorry, these rules are in place for a reason. We cannot bend them for you two and not be expected too for anybody else."
Michelle was over Hammond and his attitude. "What are you saying then?"
Hammond closed his eyes for a moment, almost like he was working out how to word what he was going to say. He took a step back as he spoke. Chappelle's eyes dropped to the floor. "Michelle you have two choices. You can take a transfer which at this time would be to be one of our branches on the east coast – or you can resign with a full reference."
Michelle was shocked and couldn't speak. Her stomach flipped and she felt all of her muscles tighten. Tony arked up straight away, "What? You can't be serious. What about me? I am just as much a part of this....."
Chappelle cut him off. "Tony we need you here as director. You should consider yourself very lucky that no action is being taken against you, especially seeing as you are Michelle's boss."
"No action – how do you figure that? Either way I lose Michelle, you know she is the best in her field, we need her here. Punish me instead, demote whatever you have to do..."
Hammond raised his voice. "You should have thought of that then Tony before you decided to get involved. This is not negotiable. We will give you a couple minutes Michelle to make your decision."
Hammond and Chappelle left the room pulling the door closed behind them. Tony began to pace the room rubbing the side of his face. He was furious. "Fucking bastards! I swear to god they are useless pricks...." He continued to mouth obscenities until Michelle interrupted him.
"Tony, I need to make a decision. You going off is not going to help." She didn't even know how she felt. It was hurtful that she was so expendable to CTU. All of her hard work, especially over the last few weeks meant nothing. She felt ashamed that everybody would just think she had been kicked out because she had slept with her boss without knowing the truth of their relationship.
Tony felt guilty that Michelle was copping everything for something they were both doing. "I'm so sorry Chelle. I can't believe they are doing this...."
"What do I do Tony? If I want a job I'm going to have to move to New York.....I wonder if they will find me useless there too..."
Tony held her shoulders. "You are not useless..."
"Then how come they can just drop me like this? I've worked so hard. I mean they won't touch you yet they are more than happy to completely get rid of me.....I'm so glad I gave this job everything!!" Her sarcastic tone was full of hurt and anger. Tony could see that she was trying to hold back tears.
"They are just being jerks Chelle. You are the best at what you do. This is going to hurt them because there is no one who can do what you do."
Michelle dropped her head. Tony watched her as he tried to find words that would be of some comfort to her. There was nothing he could say, he felt so responsible and awful that this was happening to her because of him. He could hear her repeating 'New York' quietly to herself. He didn't know what he would do if she left him.
"Would you go to New York Michelle?" He felt himself unable to breathe as he waited for her response.
"Then there would be no 'us' and all of this would have been for nothing."
Tony despised hearing the words come out of his mouth but in his heart he only wanted Michelle to be happy – no matter what that meant for him. "I'll walk away from you Chelle, if you want me to. Then you could keep your job here."
Tony's motivation behind his words was lost on Michelle. She was too desperate for a solution and too frustrated to find one that she felt her world caving in around her. She stood up and moved away from him. "You'll just walk away? 20 minutes ago I thought I was important to CTU and you and now I see how mistaken I was...."
"Michelle that's not what I meant! I want you to be happy, I just want you to know I'll do anything for you to be happy. I'd be devastated Chelle but I don't know what else I can do. This is so messed up, considering I'll probably leave soon anyways."
"Sorry." Michelle looked into his eyes. Seeing the man that had completely stolen her heart, she realised giving CTU up for him was not a hard decision. She could easily get a job somewhere else with her qualifications but she would never ever have anyone like Tony in her life again. She cared for him more than she had anything or anyone else in her entire life. Looking into his beautiful eyes made her feel so warm and special inside, she knew nothing else was more important than being with him. She hoped he felt the same way.
Her voice was quiet and her lip quivered. "Tony, are you sure you see and want a future with me?"
Tony thought Michelle must be thinking she would leave for New York. "Don't leave me Michelle. I'll quit and move to New York too if that's what I need to do to be with you. Chelle..."
"Tony I'm not talking about New York. I just need to know that your serious about me, about 'us' before I make a decision."
He took her hands in his. "I'm in love with you Michelle. Nothing will ever change that. I need you, I want you.....I have to have you in my life."
Hammond and Chappelle returned and Tony and Michelle broke apart. Michelle didn't bother sitting down. "Go ahead, fire me. I'm not going to New York and I'm not leaving Tony so do what you have to do."
For the first time a flicker of sadness crossed Hammonds face. "Are you sure Michelle? You have such a bright future with CTU."
"You know I've gone above and beyond for you guys here. I've put my country ahead of myself – just a few weeks ago I nearly had to go to jail for doing the right thing serving my country. I've worked two positions since the bomb not to mention about 100 hours overtime. Since my first day here I have given this office 150 every minute of everyday. I'm disappointed and insulted that none of that means a thing simply because I happen to love someone who shares an office. If after everything I have given you, you can't trust I'd continue to do the right thing then I don't want to work here anyway. You are treating me in a disgusting manner and I have lost respect for you and this place."
Michelle turned and left the room before she started to cry. She managed to hold her tears while she was in the conference room but her first step outside the door and the tears began to take over. She headed straight to the car.
Tony felt proud of Michelle for her words. Chappelle and Hammond both stood looking very disappointed. Tony thought he could see regret in both of their eyes. He shook his head at them as he left the room to chase Michelle. He found her at the car with tears streaming down her face. He went to wrap her up in his arms but she tensed up. "Can we just get out of here Tony?" He opened the door for her and helped her in.
Michelle covered her face with both of her hands as Tony drove. He turned down a couple streets until he found a more secluded place to pull over. He parked the car, pulled the arm rest up between them and slid over to Michelle. He pulled her body into his, pushing her head into his chest and held her tightly. Tears formed in his own eyes as her sobs became louder when he wrapped himself around her. "I'm so sorry Michelle. God I'm sorry. I'm going to look after you. I can't believe you gave it all up for me.....it's my fault."
Michelle pulled her head back and wiped his tears with her thumbs. "It was the easiest decision to make Tony. You mean everything to me and as long as I have you, I don't care if I don't have CTU. I'm more crying because of the shock and I'm so angry with them. Plus it was hard for me to stand up and say all that stuff to them."
"I don't even know what to say Chelle.....in my wildest imagination I could never imagine that anyone could give so much up to be with me. God Chelle, I don't want you to regret this. What if I'm not everything you want?"
"You already are everything I want. I'll never regret this Tony. It's sad it came to this but you know what? It was just a job, you on the other hand make me happy. I don't think you understand how long and how much I've wanted to be with you. I use to think about you holding me, or kissing me all the time, all year! Now when you do....I get tingles all over my body, my knees go weak and my heart pounds so hard I think it's going to jump out of my chest. I'd do anything to be with you, because you are the most special person I know."
He hugged her tightly and kissed her on the top of her head. A few happy tears managed to make their way down his cheeks. "I love you more than I'll ever know how to explain." He let their bodies move apart and he started the car back up. He drove them the short distance to his apartment. They drove in silence but held hands firmly and continued to swap looks of admiration.
Once inside Tony took Michelle's bag and put it down. He held his hands around her waist and looked deep into her eyes. He couldn't speak, his emotions felt too strong for words. He'd never felt so intimate with someone and yet they were only holding one another. He was taking her all in, just soaking up her beauty and thinking about what it felt like to be with Michelle. He wanted all of her, he needed to be able to be that close to her.
Michelle could tell by Tony's eyes that this was it, they were going to give each other everything. He had never looked at her like this and it felt so different, so unbelievably special. She knew it was a look he had never given to anyone else before, this was for her. There were still no words spoken which seemed to make everything even more beautiful between them. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He didn't shift his gaze as he carried her to his bed and laid her down gently. She pulled him down on top of her so that he was covering her entire body. He let his weight sink into her as he began to nibble on her neck.
Within moments they were kissing passionately and pressing their bodies into each other. Michelle tugged on the bottom of his shirt and so he sat up and pulled it over his head. She sat up with him and moved her lips all over his chest using her tongue in her kisses. She groaned as she moved over his body, Tony watching her every move. Eventually he pulled her head up and had her lean back so that he could unbutton her shirt. Once he had removed her bra he lay her back down, kissing every inch of her bare skin.
He sat back up and under her lustful eyes undid his own belt and pants. Michelle moaned his name loudly. He felt a pang of shivers run down his spine as he saw her hands grip the sheets tightly while she stared at him. Tony then began to undo her belt and pants while kissing her hips and running his tongue along the top of her pant line. She put her hands on the top of his head and ran them through his hair. She listened to him grunt and groan and begged him for more by lifting her hips and lower body into his hands.
He slid off the end of the bed taking the remainder of her clothes with him. He stood looking at her naked body while he removed everything that he had on. She looked at how turned on he was and called is name. As he crawled back onto the bed he firmly kissed her thighs, stomach and chest. As their bare skin pressed against each other they both groaned. They kissed tenderly for a few minutes before Tony lifted his face and looked at Michelle.
Without him needing to say a word Michelle could tell by his expression what he was asking. His hand stroked her cheek and hair while she nodded with a sexy smile. "Ohh Chelle..." He pushed himself inside her and they both gasped for air. He explored her gently and slowly and they both groaned.
As their pace fastened so did their breathing. The heat between them continued to rise and soon they were kissing everywhere they could reach. They made love for the first time and they both felt like it was perfect – just as they had dreamed of.
When they had finished Tony whispered into her ear, "I love you." She returned his words and pulled him in for a hug. They stayed wrapped in each others arms for a long time, never wanting the moment to end. Eventually they both drifted off to sleep with Tony still on top of Michelle.
