A/n: First off, my sincerest apologies for the lack of writing in this story, it's just everything's been ridiculously hectic. But now, that I have time, I hope to start writing bunches of chapters all together. Again, reviews are always appreciated. To all of the readers out there, thank you very much for even taking time to read this. So how about I stop talking and let you all read on. Here goes!

Chapter 9 – The Change

With a heavy heart, Tony slowly entered his apartment only to be met by an appreciative purr from Tugger. Tony had called his sister, Christina, and asked her if she would take care of Tugger while he was with Michelle and she had obliged gratefully, saying it would give her a chance to get out of the house where three young children all under the ages of ten lived. Tony picked up Tugger and scratched behind her ears to which she snuggled closer to him. He then said to her,

"Well, it looks like we're going to have a change of scenery around here. So how does Virginia sound?"

Although he wasn't really expecting an answer from Tugger one way or the other, saying it out loud for the first time made Tony realize that he was actually going to be leaving L.A. This had been his home for more than fifteen years and although he didn't love everything about LA, there were certainly some things he was going to miss.

Where else would you be able to call for Chinese food at 3:30 in the morning? Where else would the pizza delivery guy arrive before an ambulance? Where else would he find a friend as good as Jack? Where else…where else would he ever find someone like Michelle?

And out of all of those questions he knew only the answer to the last one. No where.

He'd never find anyone even remotely like her. She was his one, his only, his forever. But none of that mattered now as she no longer wished for him to play a role in her life. So instead, he forced himself to face the facts and start to move on.

It was however, no easy task. Although friends had told him that he had made great strides in moving on, he knew that he had actually made very little advancement. Indeed, he still wore her necklace.

Hidden from the prying eyes of the world he wore the necklace daily. It allowed him to feel connected to her. Even though they were no longer together, it allowed him to believe that someway, somehow they would somehow get together again.

Leaving L.A. would be hard there was no doubt about it. His parents and younger sister lived in L.A. He would miss them no doubt, but he would also miss his nieces and nephews. He thought about not having the chance to see the twins, Nathan and Tyler, and their little sister, Hayley, grow up. He adored them and they reciprocated his feelings. He was their favorite Uncle Tony. Albeit, he was their only Uncle Tony, but that made no difference.

Flashback…3 years ago

He was the cool uncle. The one that they went to school and bragged about how he could carry a gun and how if their little friend didn't share the finger paints, Uncle Tony would come after them. He was the Uncle that whenever he babysat them allowed to stay up as late as their little eyes would stay open and let them have candy for breakfast.

He remembered one day when seven-year-old Hayley ran up to him and told him about how she liked Jeremy, a boy in her class who had shared his pudding with her. Tony, pretending that he was hurt that he was no longer the number one man in his life had asked the typical protective male question, "Is he a nice boy?" Hayley had giggled and told him that Jeremy was very nice indeed. She then proceeded to ask him,

"Uncle Tony? When do you know you're in love? Mommy and Daddy always tell each other they're in love. Am I in love with Jeremy?"

Tony stared down at his little niece and brought her up to sit on his leg while he carefully explained to her,

"Well, Hayley, you see, the thing is love is when you go to sleep thinking of that person and you wake up the next morning still thinking of that same person. He or she is the last thing you think about at night and the first thing you think about in the morning. It's that feeling that everything's better when they're around."

As he explained this to her, his eyes started to drift off towards a certain someone who was at that time talking to his mother. Hayley's perceptive eyes followed Tony's and landed on Michelle. Hayley then ventured just a little bit further and asked,

"Is that how you feel about Auntie Michelle?"

Tony looked down at her and with a smiling face said,

"That's how I feel around you! You know you're my number one girl!"

He then proceeded to tickle her to which she tried to squirm away from him while laughing gleefully. Michelle looked over and couldn't help but be warmed by the sight in front of her. Tony and his adorable niece. Michelle couldn't help but think; I wonder what he'll be like with our daughter one day. As soon as that thought entered her mind, she prayed that her daughter would be angelic or else the ever protective Tony would die from the thought of her ever dating. As she daydreamed momentarily, Hayley came running up towards her. Michelle took her in her arms as Hayley laughed and giggled and then whispered for Michelle's ears only,

"Uncle Tony says that he thinks about you all the time! He also said I'm his number one girl, but I'm willing to share him with you!"

Michelle giggled at this and said to her,

"Well, that's very generous of you, Hayley!"

Hayley, proud at herself for being praised by Michelle bounded off to go and play with her older brothers who at the moment were playing the very enticing game of who can run around in circles the longest before dropping to the ground from the dizziness.

As Tony approached Michelle, she excused herself from his mother and went towards him. Upon reaching him, she put his hands on his chest and then pulled him in for a sweet, lingering kiss.

Tony looked surprised and asked,

"What was that for?"

To which Michelle simply replied,

"For thinking about me all the time."

Tony's face lit up in a big smile before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for another kiss…only to be met with a round of "Ewww" and "Gross!" from Nathan and Tyler.

End of flashback

Tony knew it would be a huge change and his parents probably wouldn't be thrilled about the idea of their son leaving L.A. They were still recovering from the loss of Tony's older brothers to Chicago. But inside his heart, Tony knew that sacrifices had to be made.

He had made more than a few for his country, and now, it was time for him to make yet another sacrifice. Jack, being the ever resourceful Jack had told Tony that if he was still interested, a job as Head of Field Operations was available in Virginia. Tony had thanked him and said that he'd take it.

After packing for a few hours, he called his parents and his sister and told them of his decision to leave LA. They were visibly shaken by his announcement and came rushing over to his apartment to make sure that no one was holding a gun to his head or anything like that. He assured them that he would keep in touch and that he'd call at least once a week. After finally ushering his parents out of his apartment at close to midnight, he then proceeded to check the flight Jack had booked for him. 10:45am. That was a good time. It meant he didn't have to get up at like 4:30 and rush to get to LAX. And as Tony shut his computer down, he proceed to settle into a night of what was hopefully a deep and peaceful slumber.

But alas, that was not meant to be. For instead of sleeping while sugar plum fairies danced in his head, he spent the night wondering how on earth him and Michelle had gotten to the stage they were presently at.

While packing, he finally realized that he did indeed have a lot of stuff that was Michelle's. Anything as insignificant as one of her sweaters to their wedding photo album. He knew that in order to get over her, he would have to part with these belongings but he had no intention of simply throwing them out. Those memories were too precious to him. So instead, he packed everything that even minimally reminded him of Michelle into a large box, taped it down from every angle possible and promised himself that although he wouldn't throw her belongings out, he would never look at them again.

He vowed to himself that as soon as he settled down in a house in Virginia, that box would become a permanent fixture in the corner of his attic. Never to be talked of, never to be looked at, never to be opened.

Finally, at around 4:30 in the morning, he managed to drift off to sleep dreaming about none other than Michelle.

Back at the hospital 8:39 pm

Susan sat by Michelle's bedside as she tossed slightly. The doctors had told her that Michelle had indeed woken up, but was still very groggy and disoriented from the effects of the drugs. Susan thought about how it was such a pity she couldn't have awoken a few hours ago to Tony's face.

As Michelle slept, Susan stared down at her only daughter and sighed. She couldn't believe that Tony had left. He didn't even really explain why he had left. She knew that he needed to get away and that the divorce had taken its toll on Tony, but never did she expect for him to leave Michelle when she needed him most. None of this made sense. Her mothering senses heightened and she realized that something else must have happened. Something must have happened to make Tony leave.

Suddenly Michelle started to whimper. She was having a nightmare. Susan tried desperately to calm her down and felt her heart break when Michelle uttered four words:

"Tony…please…help me."

Susan tried soothing Michelle and she tried waking her by gently coaxing her out of her dream, but Michelle still whimpered in fear. When Susan finally managed to wake Michelle from her nightmare, Michelle stared into her mother's eyes and Susan for the first time, noticed the tears that filled Michelle's eyes.

Michelle cried into Susan's shoulders and simply said,

"Mom, he was after me. He was hurting me and there was nothing I could do. I didn't want it to happen. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just can't get his face out of my mind. And…and…no one was there to help me…"

And then in a whisper Michelle said,

"…not even Tony."

Susan held onto her daughter and took every tear Michelle gave. She reassured Michelle that she would never be hurt again and that she would always be safe.

As Michelle heard these comforting words from her mother, she couldn't help but think the only way I'll ever feel safe again is if I feel Tony's arms around me. That's the only way.

After a few minutes of holding Michelle tightly, Susan felt Michelle's breathing even out and soon, she felt her drifting off towards slumber once more. She silently looked on and as John entered the room, she walked towards him and said to him,

"They didn't deserve this. Neither of them deserves the pain they're both going through. She's scared John. Our baby's scared and the only person in the world that can make her feel safe is leaving her."

The tears that she had been holding back for days finally started to flow as Susan cried for Michelle, for Tony, and their family.

The next morning 6:30 am

Tony swore as the alarm rang and alerted him that it was indeed time for him to get up. He looked over and wished that instead of saying 6:30 it said something like 3:30 so that he could get a few more hours of shut eye. He was exhausted. He had slept only two hours the night before and just as the alarm woke up him, he was having another flashback about him and Michelle.

Michelle.

Today would be the day he left his Chelle for good.

No doubt one of the hardest days of his life.

He groaned as he reluctantly got out of bed to shower. After making himself a cup of coffee, he heard his doorbell ring. Jack was on the other side and as both men greeted each other, Jack couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that his one true friend was leaving LA for good.

Tony had promised that they would keep in touch with emails and that if Jack was ever in Virginia, Tony would be his personal tour guide. Jack had visited Michelle the night before at around 9pm and had been told by Susan about what Michelle had said earlier that night. Jack's heart broke for Michelle, and when Susan had asked him where Tony was going to, he could only solemnly reply, "Virginia."

As the word Virginia echoed in her head, Susan tried to place the pieces together. Virginia? As in the other side of the country Virginia? Why would Tony go so far away from Michelle?

She asked Jack as to why Tony would leave for Virginia out of all places and he answered, although not completely honestly, that Tony simply wanted a change of scenery. After everything that happened in the past two years, Tony just wanted to start anew again.

And here he was, standing in front of Tony, helping him with his bags and carrier for Tugger. Tony took one last look at his apartment and with a slight twinge of regret, he said goodbye to the place he had lived in for the past eighteen months. He had never called this place home because frankly it wasn't his home. Home was where the heart was, and his heart was with Michelle and always had been.

The ride to the airport was uneventful. Both men tried to make small talk, but truth to be told, they could only talk about the weather so many times. After it, in LA where it almost never rained, "weather's nice" could only be said in so many different ways.

As they arrived at LAX, Jack gave Tony a small package. He told him that it was a gift from everyone at CTU, a small thank you for everything he had done for them during his stay at CTU. Tony had thanked him and told him to pass the word to everyone at CTU. Jack and Tony looked at each other for a few seconds, knowing that it was time for them to say goodbye.

And so without further hesitation, Tony rubbed the back of his neck and said,

"Thank you, Jack. For everything. For getting me back a job I even marginally liked, for helping me, for just everything. You've been a true friend all these years and I can't thank you enough. You've always been there for me and well, frankly, I feel kind of bad for leaving you and everyone at CTU at a time like this. I probably should have given you guys more warning and stuff."

Jack interrupted and said,

"Hey, you need to do what you need to do. We all only do the best we can. Right now, all you need to focus on is getting over to Virginia and starting over. It might…no, it'll be good for you. And it's been an honor to be your friend, Tony. We're gonna miss you around here."

Both men shared a slightly awkward straight-guy two pat on the back being moving apart both putting on their own sunglasses before Tony disappeared into a mass of travelers entering LAX. As Jack watched his best friend leave, he couldn't help but hope that Virginia would be good for Tony. Because if it wasn't, then he would have left LA for nothing, he would have left Michelle for nothing.

As Tony entered LAX, he couldn't help but feel as if he had already left LA. He proceeded to go through the ticket counter, requesting a window seat if possible. He smiled fondly at the memory of how Michelle had always asked for the window seat, saying that she liked being on the inside knowing that he was on the aisle seat protecting her. She also stated that if the plane was going down, she at least wanted to see where they were going to land.

As he proceeded through Customs he couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness. He had asked his parents and sister to see him off at the airport because he had wanted to save them the pain of seeing him leave, but now, as he realized it, he was quite lonely.

The customs lady had been nice enough to allow him to bring Tugger on board as their flight was under booked. There were plenty of extra seats on board and she figured a small cat wouldn't do much harm to anyone. As he boarded the plane, he took one last look at LA. One last look at the place where he had fallen in love, had his heart broken, and the place that almost took her away.

A/n: Again, if you could review, it'd be MOST appreciated. Thank you all for reading!