Author: Cath

Title: A Thousand Reasons (2)

Feedback/Reviews: greatly appreciated

Disclaimer: Still not mine. Unlikely to change anytime in the near future.

Notes: A companion piece of sorts to A Thousand Reasons. This time, Tony's POV; because some of you so kindly asked, and the plot fairies were so willing to comply.

There are a thousand reasons why they shouldn't be doing this.

And, intrusively, they go through his head, resonating, as he lies her down on his bed later that evening.

It has been a while since he has last been here and he can't help but feel nervous. And there are factors which have contributed to this, and he knows that he has issues to overcome. Nina, for one.

How can he trust anyone after that debacle?

But as he looks into her eyes and sees her trusting him, he knows that trust is not an issue; she is not Nina; she is not the person who is constantly looking at someone else, wishing that they were with Jack instead. No, Michelle is not Nina. And he no longer wants to think about Nina.

He is her boss and he should be more considerate of factors relating to this. Such as: their future with CTU if Division get to know about this.

But Division don't yet have to know; he can keep the truth from them for some time to come. And if there comes a time when Division have to know, then they can talk about it and come to some arrangement then. They can carefully orchestrate some plan whereby it is impossible for either of them to be moved. Because he doesn't think that he can cope with not working with her in such close proximity.

He is her boss and it could be construed that she couldn't refuse his advances.

But then that would be a load of crap. Because he knows that she is as invested in this… relationship as he is; she instigated the initial contact, after all. Besides, he doesn't imagine that she'd care about that; she'd be more than willing to refuse him were she uncomfortable with the situation. And he'd be devastated if she were only considering sleeping with him because of his position within CTU.

She is currently emotionally vulnerable following recent events and he might be taking advantage of her.

But at this moment, as she slowly pulls his shirt above his head, over his arms, rolling him over so that she is on top of him, kissing him, he can't imagine that she is in a vulnerable state of mind. Impassioned and turned on, yes; vulnerable, not so much. He asks her again, after this train of thought, if she is entirely sure that she wants to go ahead. Her laughter, kisses and amused comments of "hell, yeah" persuade him that he is in no way taking advantage of her.

They are friends and he doesn't want to screw this up. This reason takes a little more consideration.

But honestly, he doesn't think he could give this up in order to maintain a purely platonic friendship. The hope is that this will evolve into something far stronger than their current friendship. He's liked her as more than a friend for long enough.

Perhaps she thinks he's only up for a one night stand. There's little evidence to prove otherwise.

But, damnit, he will prove otherwise. He feels far more for her than a one-time only or friends-who-fuck type arrangement; he can only hope that she has seen as much. Because he believes that she thinks more of him than that.

She's a colleague and if things fall apart, he will have to continue to work with her amidst awkwardness and rejection and a multitude of other negative emotions.

Maybe he will. But at this point, if he stops (which, frankly, he doesn't feel that he can unless she truly objects) it will be awkward anyway. And he'd rather chance the happiness of a short while than continue to place restrictions on himself. He does not believe that he could prevent himself from feeling for her. Besides, he has encountered all these negative feelings and more in the past and yet continues to work at CTU.

On a more selfish note, there is his reputation to consider: does he really want to be known as the boss who sleeps his way through all the girls in the office?

But then, he hasn't been with anyone since Nina, and this is different. She is worth sacrificing his reputation for, should anyone be bothered enough to gossip. And why should it be any of their business, anyway?

No; as he kisses her firmly and their tongues entwine, hungry for more, hands and fingers exploring each other tentatively, he cannot bring himself to believe that this is anything less than the beginnings of a relationship.

And as he slowly unbuttons her shirt, stroking the side of her face, twisting her hair around his fingers, ensorcelled, he tries to dismiss all other intruding thoughts that distract him from concentrating on what is important.

And finally, she is naked before him.

There are a thousand reasons why he shouldn't be doing this, but as he gazes, transfixed, at her breath-taking beauty, he can't recall a single one.

FINI