IN THE LIVING YEARS
By Moonie -For Erin
Disclaimer: Not mine sigh
Summary: The request was for Tony & Michelle fluff - dating, proposing, wedding, baby... So here it is...
"I can take it from here," Michelle told the agent as she looked in through the holding room's window at her brother. He sat there, hunched over with his head in his hands… She hated seeing him like this, so broken. And most of all she hated that she'd been unable to prevent things escalating to this point. She knew it wasn't really her fault, that she'd been busy trying to prevent a war from starting. But it didn't change the way her brother was probably feeling right now because of it.
The agent opened the door for her and she slowly walked in, the click of her heels resonating loudly in the otherwise silent room. He didn't look up, but she could tell he'd registered the presence. She approached him, stopping at his side and crouching to try and look at his face.
"Danny…" she spoke slowly. He reacted, recognizing his sister's voice. He looked at her. She knew the expression in his eyes. He'd "messed up" and he felt sorry for it. "Hey, it's okay," she hushed, placing a hand on his head. She gave him a reassuring smile. He returned the smile, unsteady but calm. "Come on. I'll take you home."
"Is it over?" he asked as she helped him to his feet. The effect of the sedatives hadn't likely worn off completely and it showed in his unsteady steps.
"Yeah," she assured him. "Everything's fine." As they walked out of the small room, she veered him down a path to the parking garage. She didn't want to pass through the main area. Carrie might still have been there, and she didn't want to risk Danny going through it all again.
Arriving at her car, Michelle settled her brother in before going around to the driver's seat. She didn't turn the radio on, wanting to put work aside for a moment. They rode the distance to Danny's apartment in silence. She focused on the driving something that she could do calmly instead of on edge.
At the apartment she got Danny to bed and made two cups of coffee. She sat at his side, giving him one of the cups. He seemed relaxed now, his worries calling for energy he could no longer muster. Neither of them spoke for a while, words escaping them, exhaustion winning them over. Finally, Danny spoke up.
"Remember that day, your birthday party at the pool?" The question surprised her, but then she smiled as she understood what he was talking about.
"I was ten…" Danny nodded.
"I was supposed to keep you occupied for a while before taking you there…"
"And we got lost," Michelle remembered.
"Oh, but we had fun," Danny sort of smiled.
"Sure, once the panic had passed," she teased.
"Never has as much fun as that day…" he spoke, lost in the memory. They shared a look, the thought of how things had gotten in the recent months flowing in. "I want us to get that back," he gave his sister a weak smile. She nodded, hand on his arm. "You've had a long day. Go home, little sister. Relax, you've earned it." She didn't seem sure, and he knew why. "I'll be fine. If it'll help, I'll get my neighbor to stay with me, okay?" Finally she relented with a smile.
"Okay, big brother."
Leaving the apartment ten minutes later, secure in the knowledge that her brother wasn't alone, she trailed her feet back to her car. Her own apartment was something she yearned for at the moment. She sometimes felt like she was neglecting it, spending so much time at the office. Regular home chores were a soothing escape. Her only foe was the kitchen.
As she entered her home, she kicked off her shoes. The place was quiet, the only sounds coming from outside. Changing into plain clothes, she picked up the TV remote from her nightstand. She didn't have time to put the remote down before she heard…
"… was rushed to the hospital immediately. We've yet to receive word on his condition, but we'll keep you updated. If you're just joining us, President David Palmer is in critical condition after an unknown assailant made an attempt on his life during a press conference in regards to the events of the previous day."
Michelle sat on the edge of her bed in disbelief. After everything they'd all gone through, now this… She was getting a migraine just thinking about it. When she'd started working at CTU, she'd been told it could get… rough. She had no idea this was what they meant. She hadn't even really thought about the possibility. She was happy with her job, felt comfortable with the environment, the people… Tony…
"Tony Almeida, this is Michelle Dessler. I trust you'll make her feel welcome here," George Mason stood introducing the two. They shook hands, smiled and nodded.
"I'll do that," Tony assured him.
"Good. We need all the held we can get," he shared a knowing look with him before walking away. Michelle looked at him, then Tony, puzzled. Tony shook his head lightly.
"Don't ask," he indicated for her to follow him.
"Okay." He looked back at her for a moment. She was looking around, getting acquainted with the area. He'd been stunned by her from the moment he'd seen her come through the door accompanied by George Mason. At the same time, he was cautious. He truly wanted to believe that Nina had been a fluke, that he'd know better from then on. This woman didn't look duplicitous – but then neither had Nina. He really wanted her to be "real".
As she looked back his way, he quickly covered and focused ahead once more. "Here we are," he indicated the desk. "Computer and phone are all set. If you need anything, you've got the list of extensions in your top drawer." She nodded, setting her bag and jacket on the chair. "We have a few minutes before we get started. Come on, I'll show you around."
"Thank you," she smiled and followed him once more.
An hour later, Michelle was still getting set up. She had a good feeling about this job already. Compared with how things had become over at Division, it didn't take much for this to be better. And it definitely was. She could tell the people here were still reeling from the events of a particularly traumatic day, one that had been hard on some and devastating for others. She'd heard all about the drama of the Bauers, the revelation of betrayal of a few agents, including Nina Myers. She knew Almeida had been promoted to Myers' former position, and she now had his job. If only for that, she'd read up on him before she came to CTU. She hadn't met him yet, but she knew him to a degree. When they'd finally come face to face, she knew she had gotten the right impression about him. The one thing she had been unable to see until they met was the strength the feeling of safety in his eyes and his face. She'd felt at ease around him right away, though at the same time careful. She had a job to do, and somehow she'd have to find balance of mind.
"Hey, how are things working for you?" the already familiar voice broke through her thoughts. She looked up at Tony.
"Just about set," Michelle nodded.
"Good. We have a few things coming in with some priority. Ready to dive in?"
"Definitely," she nodded. Tony smiled to himself as he walked with her to the conference room. She was eager to get started, a feeling that would do the people here some good, he felt it already.
Tony had been on his way out when the call came in about the attempt on he president's life. Part of him wanted to stay, help figure out what had happened, but his body screamed with exhaustion. Leaving the task in the hands of the agents who had just clocked in, he got into his car and drove home. The landscape, which usually seemed to fly by, seemed suddenly bright and mesmerizing. They'd come close to losing it all, losing themselves. The pain in his ankle still throbbed, but he pushed it away. It reminded him that he'd been wrong and that this insistence could have gotten them all killed. The people he should have listened to, he had ignored.
Michelle… Once he had realized he'd been wrong, he feared that the progress they'd made in their relationship would have come tumbling down. He feared he'd lose her before they had anything. But then everything was aligned once again. They were allies once more, the way they worked together made things flow in a way that made him thankful for her presence a little more every day. And it wasn't just about work. She just made him feel good in general. They didn't have much shared "down time", but they had their quick lunches, quick dinners or even breakfasts depending on the day they were having. One would get some food, offer to share, so they'd pull a chair to the other's desk and talk as they ate. Michelle always seemed to have a knack for bringing in take-out from places he'd never heard of. He'd ask how that was, and she'd sort of blush and dodge the topic. He found it sweet, didn't push.
Now he had a chance to get beyond the co-workers/office friends step and get to be closer to her. But could they really make it work? The job they had, its demands on a person… would it get in their way if they were to become a couple? What if they got closer only to be thorn apart by some unforeseen future event? He realized he shouldn't let that dictate his choices, but he couldn't ignore it either.
When he got home, he hurried along before a certain nosy neighbor noticed his slightly unbalanced steps and inquired about how it happened. At the moment he didn't feel like finding a story to tell her, and somehow telling her that a co-worker had done this breaking a witness out of the building in order to get proof to stop a war didn't feel like the right thing to do though he would have loved to see the look it would have created on old Mrs. Franklin's face.
"Tibbs?" he called as he walked in, looking for the big orange cat. He'd somehow ended up with him after his grandmother had moved into a home for the elderly. He'd been uneasy about it at first but had grown attached to the feline over time. Another neighbor had two kids, and they could always be counted on to come play with and feed Tibbs while Tony was at work.
He found Tibbs in his usual spot, sitting by the television. Tony often found him just sitting there, like he was waiting for the television to come on. After doing just that, causing Tibbs to sit to attention, Tony went to take a shower. The whole day weighed on him like an extra layer of skin, which he was eager to shed. He came out afterward relieved and lighter. Grabbing something to eat on the way, he went to lie back on the couch. Tibbs sat at his feet. Tony soon fell asleep, the sound of the Palmer reports growing dimmer until they were gone.
When at last sleep took him, he found himself in one of his usual dream of a simpler life, where as of late he found his "co-worker/office friend/maybe something more"… she was more present with each occurrence of the dream.
Michelle walked back into CTU 24 hours after she'd left it. They were still fixing things. Instinctively she looked to her wrist, which was mildly hurt in the bombing. Looking around, there were barely any signs of what had gone down in this place. Her gaze trailed up to the office up on the second level. It was empty – he wasn't there yet. She sighed, somewhat disappointed.
"Hey," came a voice from behind. She gasped, turning around.
"Tony, hi," she smiled.
"Were you looking for me?" he asked.
"Uh…" she looked back to the office, then to Tony. "I… yeah, I was," she nodded with some confidence. "I wanted to know how you were."
"I'm good," he nodded and smiled.
"Good," she kept nodding.
"And you?" he asked.
"I'm good too."
"Good." They looked at each other, both trying to speak up but having some difficulty.
"Alright, you're here," Ryan Chappelle walked in their direction. They looked over at him. "It's a bit crowded around here," he indicated the work crews, "But we have work to do, so let's try and focus," he indicated for them to follow him.
Around lunchtime, as Tony was finishing a phone call, there was a knock at his office's glass door. He swiveled about in his chair, finding Michelle standing there with a paper bag. He signaled for her to come in and take a seat.
"Listen, take some time. Take it easy. Why don't you guys take a vacation? Give your heart time to heal." Michelle had begun laying out the containers of food. She mouthed the name "Jack?" to Tony and he nodded. He listened and smirked. "You should listen to her. Alright, I'll talk to you later. Bye." He hung up.
"How's he doing?" Michelle asked, putting the empty bag aside and handing Tony a fork.
"Thanks. He's okay. Restless, stir-crazy, but okay."
"Good to know," she nodded.
"Well, you came at just the right time," he eyed the food.
"Hungry?" she laughed. "Skipped breakfast again?"
"Going to interrogate me?" he teased.
"Alright, alright," she 'backed down'. They ate quietly for a minute. Finally, swallowing a bite and putting his fork down, Tony looked to Michelle.
"What are you doing Saturday?" She held up her fork, indicating for him to give her a moment to swallow.
"Uh… nothing much. Why? Have something in mind?" she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"I'd like to take you out to dinner. A real one, not a desk meal." Michelle smiled, sort of relieved.
"I think it's a great idea," she nodded. "You're on."
TBC