Michelle hadn't seen Tony all day and she was beginning to think he was avoiding her. She started her regular routine as soon as she got in, and then went to see Carrie about any results she'd found on the bombings in Europe and Africa. Most of her morning and afternoon had been spent going over Carrie's findings.

As much as she disliked the woman, Michelle had to admit she knew what she was doing. She'd not only done the research, but she'd cross-referenced several suspects with CTU's database to find any matches and any connection with the murder victims. Michelle was following up on a couple leads that Carrie's results had produced when she finally caught a glimpse of Tony climbing the stairs to his office.

She exhaled and sat back in her chair, wondering if she should call him or leave him alone, when the phone rang. It was Tony.

"Hey Michelle, it's Tony."

"Hey."

"How's your day going?" Jesus, Almeida - could you be any more lame?

"It's going fine," Michelle answered in a tone she hoped conveyed that she was not in the mood for small talk.

Taking the hint, Tony continued. "Ok - listen, I have some things to go over with you. Can you come up?"

"Yeah - I'll be right there."

Tony glanced over the report from the tech lab, barely able to believe what he was reading. He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"Hey," he said when she entered his office. "Have you been working on the Gladwell stuff today?"

"Yeah, we've gotten a few leads we're working on, but none of them really seems to be going anywhere."

Tony tossed the report down on his desk. "Well, don't expect them to. The laptop was a plant. The information was phony and..." he hesitated, unsure of how to tell her the rest. "There was a bomb rigged to it."

"What!"

"Fortunately, the detonator malfunctioned," he finished quietly.

It took Michelle a moment to find words. "Tony, I spent the better part of yesterday morning working on that thing. I could have been killed."

"I know." Tony felt sick.

Michelle was speechless.

"We think it was some sort of decoy," Tony continued. Neither of the Gladwells' fingerprints were found on it, so it looks like it wasn't their's after all. We believe the real data was on the desktop that was stolen and we were suposed to find the laptop and go off on some wild goose chase."

Michelle felt dazed. "So we were supposed to be distracted, but from what?"

"We don't know yet," Tony admitted. "Listen, I know this is pretty upsetting. Why don't you go home? We don't have a lot to go on with this and the day is almost over anyway."

"I'm fine, Tony. I don't need to go home. You can't send me home just because you don't want to be around me," she snapped.

She couldn't have stunned Tony more if she'd have slapped him across the face.

"That's not the case," he said softly. "Although, I can see why you feel that way."

She crossed her arms and stared at the floor.

"Michelle," he said as she turned to go, "Listen...I owe you an explanation about last night. I know you're probably mad at me and I don't blame you, but will you please give me a chance to explain?"

"I'm not mad, Tony," she said turning around. "I'm just really confused and a little frustrated." Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one could overhear her, she continued, "I mean, one minute you're all over me and the next you're bolting out the door..."

"I know," he interrupted. "I know it looks like that, but there's more to it and I need to tell you about it. Will you see me tonight? Your place, my place, someplace neutral, I don't care. I just need to talk to you."

Not ready to throw in the towel by any means, Michelle said, "All right - why don't you just come by my place when you finish up here?"

"I will. Thanks, Michelle."

She nooded and left the office, leaving Tony to marvel at how he'd manged to screw things up before they'd even gotten started.

Michelle heated up a slice of leftover pizza and was just finishing it when Tony got there. She'd already decided to drop the attitude and give him the benefit of the doubt. She let him in and offered him a beer, which he accepted. She took his hand and led him into the living room pulling him down onto the couch with her. "Talk to me."

Tony laughed a little at her directness, and felt a little twinge of gratitude that he didn't have to find a way to start the conversation.

"First, I want to apologize for running out of here last night. Michelle, I know I've been sending you mixed signals and I'm so sorry. I haven't meant to. I do have some conflicting feelings, but not about you. I think you're beautiful, intelligent, funny and compassionate and I am so crazy about you that I can't see straight."

Michelle's heart swelled at Tony's confession. "So what's the problem?" she asked softly.

Tony hesitated. This was harder than he'd imagined it would be. "Well, the whole thing with Nina," he started, "It's no secret what happened there. The problem is - I've never dealt with it. I've blocked the whole thing out and in the process I've put up this wall around myself and blocked everyone else out too. I've worked hard at convincing myself that I didn't need anyone and I haven't let myself get close to or trust anyone since that day. And now here you are. Someone I am so attracted to and care so much about and I don't know how to let you in."

"Tony...I'm not Nina."

Tony took a breath and nervously continued. "I know you're not and my problem isn't with you at all. It's with me. The whole thing completely undermined my self-confidence. I don't know how to trust my own judgement any more. I mean...I had complete faith in Nina and look what happened. When her treason was exposed, it was like I'd been hit by a freight train...and then I shut down. I know that I need to come to terms with all that has happened and I just need a little time to do that."

"Did you love her?" Michelle asked, not really sure if she wanted the answer to that question.

"Yes. I've tried to deny it since then, but the truth is, I did. And I tried to convince myself that she loved me too. Obviously, she didn't, but at the time, I was under the happy illusion that she did."

"Ok. I understand now. I appreciate your honesty, Tony. Thank you. And if I can take a minute to be honest too, I have some reservations as well. You know...in situations like this, if things fall apart, it's not usually the boss who gets reassigned to Omaha."

Tony laughed. "No - I suppose not. So...it looks like we're both taking a chance here."

Michelle nodded. "Thanks for telling me," she said caressing his arm. "I know it wasn't easy for you."

"Well, it's not like I could put it off any longer." He shook his head. "Not after last night. Believe me, Michelle, I wanted nothing more than to make love to you last night, but it wouldn't be fair to you to take that step with all this stuff still hanging over me. I just need some time to get rid of it. Can you give me that?"

"Tony," she said, "I haven't been interested in anyone else since the day I met you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," he smiled, and then turned serious again. "I'm glad you're not disappointed."

"Oh...don't get me wrong," she grinned, "I'm plenty disappointed. But I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me."

"Yeah...I'll come up with something..." he laughed.

"So...can I still kiss you?"

"Are you kidding me?" He pulled her to him and pressed a slow, breathless kiss to her mouth.

"You're going to let me know when this is all resolved, right?"

"Believe me, sweetheart, you'll be the first to know," he said, continuing the kiss.

"Oh God, Almeida, this is going to kill me..."