Tony rested his hand on the small of her back as he and Michelle followed the hostess to their table. Michelle found herself deliberately slowing her step just to prolong that connection. They were led to a table in the middle of the room. Wanting something that provided a more complete view of the room, the agent in Tony took over and he pointed to a small table in the corner and asked if they could have that one instead.

Once seated, Tony reached for the wine list and asked Michelle if she cared for any.

"I'd love some, but I'm afraid I'm not very sophisticated when it comes to choosing wine."

"No problem," Tony said. "I have some favorites we can choose from. Why don't we taste a few and then decide on a bottle?"

"Ok," Michelle said uncertainly, "you're going to walk me through this, right?"

Tony laughed. "Don't be intimidated. I'm not some great wine expert. I like to try different things, but I kinda tend to stick to the ones I know I like." When the sommelier appeared, Tony selected 3 white wines for them both to taste.

"OK...let's see what we have here... Let's start with the Sauvignon Blanc," he suggested, swirling the wine in the glass and then lifting it to his nose. "Hmmmm..." he said, taking a sip. He passed the glass to Michelle. "See what you think."

Michelle shifted nervously in her seat. "Ok...I smell it first, right?"

Tony nodded. "What do you smell?"

Michelle felt like she was taking an exam she hadn't prepared for. "Umm...grapes?"

Tony laughed again. "Well, yeah...there's that. I smelled a little bit of tart apple. Try it again and see if you can pick it up."

Michelle put the glass to her nose again and breathed in deeply. "Oh! I see what you mean! I can definitely smell it now. Very interesting."

"Now take a sip."

Michelle complied. "Yep...there's that apple taste. How do they do that?"

Oh, lots of things go into it. I happen to know that this particular vineyard sits on what used to be an apple archard and the grapes grown in the same soil take on some of the flavors that way. There are probably some super secret wine making techniques the wine makers use to enhance the natural flavors as well, but I don't really know much about that."

"Hmm...I think your 'I'm No Expert' speech was a little misleading, Mr. Almeida. You seem pretty knowledgable about this to me."

Tony smiled at her. "Well...I admit I took a class once. Let's just say I consider myself a semi-educated wine lover. How's that?"

"OK - that works for me," Michelle said as she ran the glass under her nose again. "What's next?"

Tony was glad Michelle ws enjoying the impromptu wine seminar. "Let's move to the Voignier next. You first."

Michelle picked up the glass that Tony had nudged in her direction and repeated his swirl, sniff and sip routine. "Hmm...this one is crisper. Tastes citruisy."

"Excellent!" Tony exclaimed. "You're quite the student."

"So this one must have been made with grapes from a vineyard adjacent to an orange grove or something?"

Tony smiled. "I don't know. Maybe. There are all kinds of things wine makers do to bring out certain characteristics of the grapes. My so-called expertise doesn't extend that far," he said, taking a sip.

"OK - Chardonnay. Last one."

Michelle took the Chardonnay from him. "Oh, this one's a lot different," Michelle said. "Smoother - not as light. There's kind of a melon overtone to it. The aftertaste lasts a lot longer than the other two."

"I'm very impressed," Tony said as he reached for the glass. "You seem to be picking this right up."

"Well, I've always been a pretty good student," Michelle said, "but I must admit - this is one of the more enjoyable classes I've ever had. Plus...I find the teacher fascinating.

"Well, it's easy to teach an enthusiastic student," Tony replied. "OK - so...do you have a favorite?"

"Honestly, I really liked them all. If I had to choose, I'd have to say...the Voignier."

"Excellent choice!" Tony enthused. "That's my favorite too!"

"Really?" Michelle beamed.

"It is tonight."

Tony signaled the waiter and ordered a bottle of the Voignier along with the first round of tapas. "Tony, you just ordered without looking at the menu. Something tells me you've been here once or twice before."

"Yeah...once or twice," he laughed. "Actually, Pazo is my favorite restaurant and I really wanted to introduce you to it. I hope you're going to like it."

"Well, so far, it's been an excellent choice."

The sommelier suddenly materialized again and presented the label to Tony. Tony nodded and the man proceeded to open the bottle and pour a small amount into his glass. Tony picked up the glass, held it to his nose and then drank its contents. He nodded again to the sommelier, who then stepped to Michelle's side of the table, pouring a glass for her before doing the same for Tony. He left the bottle on the table and disappeared.

"It's all very ritualistic, isn't it?" Michelle asked.

"It is." Tony agreed. "I don't know where all the customs come from, but they're pretty much the same wherever you go. I don't know - I think it kinda adds to the charm in a way, but I also think it's one of the reasons people get so intimidated by the whole process. Personally, I think you just gotta go with what you like."

"Hmmm...go with what you like," Michelle repeated as she simultaneously took a sip of her wine and raised her eyebrows at him. "Excellent philosophy."

The subtle double-entendre wasn't lost on Tony. He leaned toward her and grinned, "I know I haven't said so yet, but you look absolutely stunning tonight."

"Really," she smiled, "I wasn't sure if you'd noticed."

"Oh...believe me," Tony said, reaching for her hand, "I noticed."

Michelle's stomach flipped as his hand came to rest on top of hers. Tony's stomach did the same when she began tracing circles on the back of his hand. Her touch on his skin ws electric, and he thought that if he didn't lean over and kiss her right now, he'd short circuit. He hesitantly started toward her, and just a fraction of a second earlier, he'd have reached his target. Unfortunately, the slight hesitation gave the waiter just enough time to appear with their tapas.

Michelle and Tony reluctantly broke apart as the waiter put the platters on the table.

"Wow - this all looks fantastic," Michelle said. "Let me guess...all your favorites?"

"Yep. Most of them, anyway. I hope you'll like them. I think I've had pretty much everything on the menu at least once, but these are the ones I order most often."

As they started eating, the conversation turned to the previous day. "Did you get your brother taken care of?" Tony asked.

"Well, yes and no. I got him home, but he's still pretty upset." She shrugged slightly at the understatement. "Actually, 'upset' isn't really the right word. He's pretty much a mess. And so was his apartment. I cleaned up a little for him and then tried to talk to him. He's just despondent and I have no idea how to help him. Carrie really did a number on him. It was almost a year ago that all that happened and he just doesn't seem to be able to get past it. I don't know what to do. Nothing I do or say seems to help him fix his life. It's really frustrating."

"Michelle," Tony started, "I don't think you should expect to be able to fix his life for him. He's a grown man. I mean...he's made mistakes, but you're right - they're not the end of the world. He has to be the one to decide that his life is worth living, though. It has to come from him. You can't be expected to restore his purpose in life for him. I think it's great that you love him so much and want to help him, but the majority of the effort has to come from him - not you."

"I know all that," she replied, "It's one of thse things that you know in your head, but you have trouble getting your heart to accept, I guess."

Tony reached for the Voignier and filled their glasses again. "I know what you mean. I'm sure it means the world to him that you're there to support him, but if you let him lean on you too much, he'll never dig himself out of it. I know that sounds harsh, but I think it's true."

"You're right. I try not to enable him, but I think I probably do sometimes. I just want him to be happy again like he was before. I want his kids to have their dad back. This has been so hard on them. If nothing else, I want him to be able to be a dad to them again."

"I'm sure he will be Michelle. It may take some time, but I'm sure he'll figure it out. Just don't beat yourself up over it in the meantime."

"Ugggh," she said, wanting to focus on something a little less heavy "Enough of this topic. Are you from here originally?

Tony shifted gears. "Nope. Born and reared in Chicago. Moved to California to go to college and then joined the Marines. Was in the Corps for 11 years and I've been with CTU for the past 4."

"Ahhh," Michelle said as she made the connection, "Chicago...the Cubs mug... I should have known. I'm an Orioles fan myself - so we won't have to worry about trash talking each other unless they both make it to the World Series."

Tony laughed. "Which, if recent performance is any indication, we'll probably never have to worry about."

"Right. Moot point," she grinned.

"So what about you? How did you end up here?"

"I grew up in San Diego, actually. My parents and sisters are still there. After I graduated, I applied at CTU on a lark, and was really surprised when they wanted to hire me. The rest is history, I guess."

"I don't know why you'd be surprised. You're smart, conscientious, creative, and very good at what you do."

It was Michelle's turn to laugh. "Is that my boss talking? I was hoping he wasn't going to show up tonight."

"Naah...he's not here. You won't be seeing him until tomorrow."

They'd finished everything on the table by this time, and the Voignier as well. They decided to forgo a second round of tapas, since they had gotten a fairly late start and they both had to be in the office early.

Michelle briefly considered fighting over the bill with him, but instead asked if he'd mind if she left the tip. Tony agreed. As they left the restaurant, Michelle slipped her hand into his and his stomach flipped again.

His stomach was still flipping as they approached her door. She, on the other hand, seemed perfectly calm and cool to him. "At least my palms aren't sweating," he thought.

"Tonight was really nice, Tony. Thanks so much for dinner, and of course the wine lesson. I love a nice, educational date."

Tony laughed. "Good! I'm glad you enjoyed everything. I had a great time too." As he spoke, he grabbed both of her hands and pulled her gently toward him. He intertwined his fingers with hers and leaned down and kissed her softly.

Michelle felt as though her heart would pound right through her chest. "Wow..." she said, not really meaning to speak it aloud.

"Uh huh..." Tony said, his lips still hovering near hers.

Michelle moved closer and reached up and kissed him back, with slightly more force than he had used. She slipped her tongue gently into his mouth, and was rewarded with a soft groan from him.

Tony was the first to pull away. "'Wow' is right," he grinned. "I think I need to go before I get carried away," he said as he took the keys from Michelle's hand. When had she taken her keys out? How did he not even notice her doing that? He reached past her and unlocked her door for her. "I'll see you in the morning, Michelle. Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Tony," she said stepping through the door. She stood in the open doorway watching as he got into his car and drove away. Exhaling as she closed the door, she locked it and leaned back against it.

Sweet dreams, indeed.