Note: Once again, I'm really touched by all the words you've sent my way :) Makes me all motivated :D So here comes the next chapter!

CHAPTER THREE

MONTHS LATER

"Excuse me, sorry…" Tony mumbled after he'd bumped into someone, running down the hall at CTU. He swerved into another corridor, sidestepping someone wheeling equipment cases. "Make way!" At last there were the doors to the clinic. "Have they arrived?" he asked the doctor. She shook her head. A moment later, the doors were pushed open once again.

"Tony!" He turned at the sound of her voice.

"Michelle, are you okay?" he asked, approaching.

"Careful," Jack told him as he finished walking her to be checked. There were a few scrapes on her face, but more prominently her arm hung oddly and Tony could tell she was in pain but was trying to keep it in check. As Michelle was examined, Tony and Jack stood back.

"What happened?" Tony asked, keeping his eyes on her, wanting to be sure she was all right.

"While we were searching the house, I heard a noise and went to see. Peterson and his crew had hidden entrances. I caught two of them coming in. Peterson himself got in through an entrance that opened into the room Michelle was verifying."

"Where is he now?" Tony asked angrily. Jack nodded back as he was led in, bleeding from the head.

"She… responded," Jack smirked. The doctor stepped back and the men waited to hear what she had to report.

"Her shoulder was dislocated. Other than that, just a few cuts and bruises," she assured them.

While she was being treated, Tony helped Jack and dealt with the three men they'd brought in. Finally an hour and a half later he was able to head back to see her as she rested in the clinic. She was asleep when he walked in. He sat at her bedside, watched her peacefully in slumber.

He'd been looking through some documents that had recently come in when Gael had informed him about things going south at the Peterson house. It had taken a few more minutes before Jack had called in to inform him that they were arriving and that Michelle had been injured.

Now as he sat watching her, he felt himself slowly coming down off the overwhelming panic of not knowing how she was, how she'd be. One thought that had been flipping among so many thoughts before now stood out as those others went away: 'I can't lose her…'

They'd been together for a little over a year now, and he truly felt he'd never feel as good as when he was with her. And in that moment he decided to ask her to marry him. He'd figure it out, plan it out, and make it an unforgettable moment.

She stirred and slowly awoke a few minutes later. She opened her eyes, finding the man she loved gazing down upon her. It was a strange feeling, how he seemed to make her feel so strong, even when he wasn't there with her. At the house, as she'd been crouching and rummaging through a box, she'd heard the faint sound of a floor board creaking and she'd known someone was there, someone who would mean her harm.

As he'd gone to grab her, she'd moved but he'd still managed to get a hold of her throwing her forcefully to the ground. She never really got to see what she struck that made the cuts on her face. She scrambled to her feet tried to get her gun, but he was upon her once more. They struggled and he pushed her back down. This time when she hit the ground, she was dizzied with sudden staggering pain in her arm.

Then she thought about Tony – she couldn't give up, couldn't give in to events that could escalate and separate them forever. Momentary clarity came like a rush of adrenaline. She looked up, seeing Peterson had a gun and was about to shoot her. She had to think fast. She had to distract him for a moment. She'd come to know even the most futile of attempts could work as long as she got him talking at all.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she panted. He didn't move, but he wasn't shooting yet either. With difficulty, she stood supporting herself with her good arm against the wall.

"Why's that?" he entertained her suggestion.

"There are snipers stationed in the building across the street. They have you in their sights already." He blinked, though he tried to hide it.

"You're bluffing."

"Maybe. Then again…" she trailed knowing she had him doubting now. That was all she needed. He moved toward her, as though to take her again. She held until he'd approached enough and in a rapid movement she swung away from her wall lean and crashed his head through the window. He slumped back, unconscious. She breathed, sliding into a sitting position, cradling her arm. Jack joined her soon after, taking in the scene as he called for back up.

Looking up at her dear Tony, Michelle felt so thankful for his presence in her life – her heart. He made her feel safe strong, and loved. That alone was reason enough for her to know she wanted to hold on to what they had. She remembered how her grandmother, sweet Nana Fran would tell her young granddaughter about the day she'd proposed to her grandfather. She would go on about how more women should do as she'd done, and Michelle had said perhaps one day she would do just that. And that day she knew the time had come, as soon as she'd decided how to go about it.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked, looking down on her with a smile.

"I'm okay. It's just…" she indicated her arm.

"Gave him hell, uh?" he grinned.

"You bet," she laughed lightly, quieting with a wince. "Did he talk?"

"He did," Tony nodded. "Don't worry about that right now. You should rest." The sound of a phone ringing halted the conversation. Tony took the cell off his belt and answered. "Almeida."

"Tony, it's Jack. Look, I'm sorry to interrupt but we need you here."

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," he responded before hanging up. "I have to go. Are you gonna be okay?" he asked.

"I'm in good hands," Michelle nodded. "Go on." They kissed quickly and he headed off. She watched him go. Once he was gone, she called the doctor over. "Can I make just a quick phone call?"

Later that day, Tony came to gather Michelle and they drove home. Promising he'd help her get better, Tony settled her in and went to rent a movie. While he was out, Michelle got up. Medication was only helping to a point, but she had things to do and it helped distract her from any residual pain. She sat at the kitchen table with the phone.

"Hey Clara, sorry I couldn't talk longer before."

"It's fine. How's your arm?"

"Annoying, but I'll live," Michelle laughed.

"Good to hear. So if you have any ideas I'm all ears." Clara had been thrilled to hear of Michelle's plans to propose to her brother. She was even happier that Michelle wanted her opinion on the "scenario".

"Actually, I did have a thought…"

As Michelle and Clara worked to fine tune the "plan", Tony was working on a plan of his own. Having things go just right was something he really wanted, but there was no guarantee. After hurrying to pick up a movie, he sat in his car a few minutes, tried to come up with something. Then the beginnings of an idea started to form. Taking his phone, he dialed his sister's number.

"Hey Anna, are you busy? I need to ask for a favor… Yeah, here's the thing…" He continued to speak with her, discussing his idea, as he took off toward home. By the time he pulled up to the driveway, they were finalizing. "Right. Friday night. Thanks, I owe you."

Inside, a moment before, Michelle heard him arriving and hurried to stand, taking a bag of popcorn and sticking it into the microwave, phone balanced between her ear and her good shoulder as she pressed the buttons. "I have to go, he's coming… Yes, yes, I'll call you… Yes, Friday night… okay, gotta go," she hung up just as Tony walked in.

"What are you doing up?" he asked with a smirk.

"Come on, it's not that bad, 'mom'," she teased in return. "I wanted to make us some popcorn," she pointed to the microwave with the phone. Before he could ask about it, she continued, "Was just about to call you." She didn't need him suspecting. It had to be a surprise.

On Friday, both of them were making their way through the workday with their minds miles away. In a few hours, they each had a plan to put in motion, unaware of the other's similar intentions. Michelle tried not to think too much about her shoulder, despite the fact that it wasn't letting her. Still, she didn't want to be treated like she couldn't do her job because of it, which meant putting on a brave front. Tony had been informed of this, so he'd taken it down a notch, though he tried to help covertly anyhow.

When lunchtime came about, it was a battle of the cover-up. Trying to hide their intentions had been hard over the last few days, but it was all worth it if it all went off without a hitch. And sort of thankfully, they'd been so busy with their work at CTU and their own plans for that very night that the fact that the other was hiding something never registered.

"Have you talked to Clara lately?" Tony asked.

"Uh, she called to check up on me last night, so a little, yeah. Why?" Michelle asked, focusing on positioning the ice over her shoulder.

"I don't know, it's probably nothing. It just seemed like she was avoiding talking to me."

"Why would she?" Michelle asked, knowing all too well. Clara was never very good at hiding things, and Michelle knew it. She'd confided in her nonetheless, convincing her she could manage to keep this one.

"That's what I want to know."

"I'm sure it'll clear up soon."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Of course," Michelle grinned, making Tony laugh.

They continued on with their lunch without hitting any other awkward subjects. The day went on, like any other day. Then it came time to head out. Thankfully for Michelle's side, something came up to keep Tony in for a short time longer. This allowed for her to head out and 'get in place'. Clara came to pick her up and drive her to where she needed to be.

"So, are you excited?" Clara asked brightly as they drove. She herself was visibly excited at the prospect of having Michelle as a sister-in-law.

"Honestly? I'm a little nervous…" she admitted.

"Hey, don't worry. I know my brother. Only a severe and sudden inability to speak or nod would keep him from saying 'yes'…"

"Thanks," Michelle smiled.

"Still, I want to hear all about it as soon as possible, okay?"

"Deal," Michelle nodded.

"Good."

Back at CTU, Tony hurried to get through his work so he could get in place for the proposal. He had time left, but he still wanted to get there with some extra breathing moments. He wanted to believe he had no need to doubt, but then there was always a possibility for some unexpected thing to come out of the woodworks and intervene.

"Tony, do you have those reports yet?" Jack asked, walking into his office.

"Working on it," Tony assured him, still focused on his computer screen.

"Is something wrong?" Jack asked, stopping at the door. Tony looked up.

"No, why?"

"You look a little distracted." Tony looked back down for a moment, smiling to himself before looking back up.

"I'm asking Michelle to marry me tonight," he confided. Putting aside the office stance for a moment Jack relaxed into a smile.

"That's good to hear. Congratulations," Jack spoke, his tone putting forth his confidence of the positive response to the eventual proposal.

"Thanks."

"Tell you what. Why don't you go ahead? I can take care of this," he stepped up.

"It's okay, I'm almost done. Thanks for the offer."

"Sure," Jack went back out of the office.

Shortly after, Tony left CTU. He drove off to where he needed to be. Anna was waiting for him there when he arrived.

"There you are," she greeted him.

"Didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"

"Not at all."

"Thanks again for this."

"My pleasure," Anna hugged him before heading off.

One hour later, Tony and Michelle waited in their respective positions. Tony took out his phone to call Michelle just as it rang. Checking the caller ID he saw it was Gael. He answered, unaware that at that moment, Michelle was calling him to get him to her position. She got his voice mail, hung up without leaving a message.

"Tony, we need you back at CTU," Gael told him.

"Why, what happened?"

"All they said so far was to call people back in."

"Okay, I'm on my way," Tony sighed, looking around. "Have you called Michelle yet?"

"No, I'm about to."

"Okay." After explaining to Anna over the phone about the call back to the office, Tony got back to his car and headed off to CTU.

After Michelle got her own call, she hailed a cab and she was on her way. She called Clara during the ride.

"Looks like I'm going to have to reschedule," Michelle sighed after telling her what happened.

"That's too bad. But like I said, I'm positive it'll be a 'yes', so it's only a matter of time," Clara told her as she arrived in the backyard of her sister's home. Anna was there and looked up at the sound of Clara'' voice. "Okay, talk to you later. Bye."

"Was that Tony?" Clara paused.

"Why?" she asked, unsure if Anna knew.

"Something about a 'yes'…"

"What are you… oh… oh!" her eyes grew wide as she gasped. "You're saying Tony is going to propose?"

"Weren't you talking to him?" Anna asked and Clara shook her head, beaming. "Then… Michelle?" she finally understood. "Then they really don't need to worry, do they?" Anna laughed.

When Michelle's cab pulled up to CTU, she spotted Tony's car in the parking lot already. She paid the driver and went into the building. Arriving in the meeting area, the others had arrived or were arriving. She sat next to Tony, and they shared a look as Ryan Chappelle stood at the head of the table.

"I know everyone's probably anxious to head home, but this couldn't wait." He went on to explain that there were reports of a planned hit against a foreign dignitary presently visiting Los Angeles. Everyone was given his or her assignments and the meeting broke.

As Tony had been listening, he'd been fiddling with the engagement ring in his pocket. When Michelle came to stand, she lost an earring. She crouched to retrieve it just as Tony did the same.

"Wait, I'll get it," he told her, getting his hand out of his pocket. When he did this though, the ring fell out, plinking and rolling to a stop by the fallen earring. Both froze in place. They turned their heads toward each other at the same instant.

"Beat me to it…" she breathed, smiling. He looked puzzled. "Tonight… I was going to ask you. Had it all planned, then they called."

"So had I," he admitted.

"So… ask away." He smiled, reaching for the ring on the ground, holding it up between them.

"Michelle… marry me?"

"That's a definite yes," she leaned in to kiss him. As they pulled back, he placed the ring on her finger, squeezed her hand as they shared a grin. He retrieved her earring and gave it to her just as Chappelle returned.

"What are you two doing under there?"

"Sorry," Michelle spoke as they looked up. "Lost an earring…"

"Well come on," he left again, leaving the newly engaged agents to burst into repressed laughter.

"Love you…" they each whispered, sharing one last look before putting their game faces on and getting to work on the case at hand.

TBC