MONTHS LATER
"Hey, is something wrong?" Tony asked Michelle, as they were finishing up their lunch. She looked up at him, the question coming as a surprise.
"Why do you ask?"
"You seem a bit preoccupied, that's all," he explained. She wasn't sure how to respond – he wasn't completely off.
"To be honest… there is sort of something I'm trying to… figure out right now. It's nothing for you to worry about though. I just want to wait until I know more, which should be by the end of the day."
"Are you sure?" he asked. He trusted her judgment, but to be aware that something was going on with her and not knowing what that something was made him worry despite her assurances that he didn't have to.
"Absolutely," she nodded.
"Okay," he nodded back. The phone rang a moment later. "Alright, I'll tell her," Tony told the caller before hanging up. "That was Liz, she needs to see you. I have to talk to Adam, so… walk you down?"
"Sure," she smiled.
The couple headed down to the main floor of CTU. Tony approached Adam's station while Michelle found Liz at hers. He watched as the women exchanged a few words before walking off together. He shook it away, trying to focus on his work.
"You got it?" Michelle asked Liz as they walked briskly.
"Yeah. How do you want to proceed?"
"You go in first, leave it behind. I'll go after."
"Okay, that works. Here we go."
Michelle and Liz entered the ladies' room. Liz went into one of the stalls as Michelle stood at the mirror, checking her makeup. When Liz exited she joined Michelle at the mirrors.
"Done," Liz told her.
"Alright. How long will it take?"
"Three minutes. Leave it and your bag in there when you're done. Wash your hands, we go out, talk a bit, then you remember you 'forgot' something, go back and get it."
"Sometimes these cameras can be a pain," Michelle sighed as she went into the stall was in before as she laughed in return. She took a breath, reaching behind the seat for the small box. Arguably, she could have waited until they were home again to do it, but she couldn't wait that long.
It had started that very morning, as a sudden feeling of nausea hit her. It would have all been fine, but it made her factor in some other elements. In the end, all the possible signs couldn't be ignored and she had to face the idea that she might have been pregnant. It only took half a second more for her to decide to wait until she knew for sure before she told Tony. When they arrived, she called Liz and explained the situation. She offered to get the test for her over lunch break.
After she'd followed the box and Liz's instructions, she exited the stall, calmly going to wash her hands. They walked out of the bathroom, where Liz 'stopped' her to ask a question.
"How are you feeling?" Liz asked.
"I don't know," Michelle admitted.
"It's okay for you to be nervous… conflicted…" Michelle looked to her, not surprised she understood. Liz's husband was with the LAPD, she was with CTU… and they had two sons and a daughter. She definitely had a perspective that was practical in times like these.
"I wish I didn't have to be…" Liz nodded, then looked at her watch.
"You're on," she tapped her arm. "Just go, it'll be okay." She walked back toward the main area, leaving Michelle to 'realize' she'd left her bag. She went back into the bathroom stall and took the stick from the box in her bag.
It was negative. She sighed, absorbing this for a moment before breathing out and nodding to herself. Putting it back in her bag, she left the room and returned to her desk. She picked up her receiver and dialed Liz's extension.
"Whitley."
"It's Michelle. I… checked, and there's nothing," she followed the code they'd agreed upon.
"Okay, thanks," Liz looked over from her desk, giving a sympathetic look.
When Tony and Michelle returned home that night, a call from Anna took Tony away before they could talk. She and Ben were going through a divorce, and her siblings had spent many hours since then checking on their sister and their nephew.
When Tony finally got home, Michelle had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him. She'd slid down into a more comfortable sleeping position, but it was obvious it hadn't been her intention. Tony carefully awoke her, crouching to be closer to her eye level.
"You're back…" she spoke sleepily. "How's Anna?"
"She's getting better…" he assured her. His tone made her understand he wanted to know what was going on, as promised. She sat up, running a hand through her hair to get a few errant strands out of her vision.
"I… thought I might have been pregnant." He started to react, so she continued before it could escalate in either direction. "I'm not. I took a test, it was negative." Just as she had when she found out the result, he paused for a moment to allow the process of the information.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I guess it's just a bug…" she laughed it off.
"That's not what I meant…"
"I know," she nodded slowly. "I'm okay. Part of me did kind of get excited for a moment, but… an even bigger part was worried…"
"Because of the job?" Tony asked, coming to sit next to her on the couch.
"The job," she nodded, "the risks, not just to our safety but to… its… We've both seen what this… environment, what it does to people, even if it's an indirect involvement. How can we purposefully put someone through this?"
"Sometimes there's no other way. It's just how it happens," he tried to reassure her a bit.
"I want us to have a family, I do… But maybe not just yet?" He gave her a smile.
"I can live with that," he agreed. She breathed in relief, leaning in to rest her head against his shoulder.
"Thank you."
MONTHS LATER – THE MORNING OF DAY 3
"I talked to an old colleague yesterday. He's based in D.C. now, he said he'd be on the lookout for houses on sale," Tony spoke, buttoning his shirt. He looked back to Michelle, who was finishing fixing her hair. She turned back to face him as well.
"That's good," she nodded, though both were silently wondering if this would jinx them and end up smacking them later. "Want to grab some take-out on the way home tonight?"
"Sure," he nodded. "Pizza?"
"Sounds like a plan." He came to stand behind her as she fastened the thin chain of the heart pendant around her neck, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Let's go then…"
THE NIGHT AFTER DAY 3
The key grated into the keyhole at the front door. She turned it tiredly, finding it resisted as it had been doing lately. She tried getting it open, pushed, banged limply. Nothing worked. Defeated, she slid down into a sitting position, leaning against the door as she rested her face into her weakened hands. She cried silently despite herself. She couldn't move.
"Michelle? Michelle? Are you okay?" Her neighbor's voice, her hand on her shoulder… she was too trapped in her thoughts to feel them. She didn't know how much time passed between her falter and the woman's arrival. "I'm taking your phone, alright? I'm going to call someone, but I'll stay with you until they get here." She didn't resist as her neighbor did as she'd said.
The first number at the top of her contacts' list was 'Anna Cell'. She made the call. "Mich…"
"This isn't Michelle. My name's Felicia Anders, I'm her neighbor from across the street. Who's speaking?"
"Anna Almeida. I'm her sister-in-law. What's going on? Where's Michelle?" she asked, concerned.
"She's right here next to me. I was taking out the trash and I saw her just sitting outside her door. She's not responding to me, I was worried…" A low voice drew her attention. "Wait…" She turned to Michelle, still sitting there, now one hand on her head and the other wrapped around herself.
"Tony…" she had spoken. Anna heard it as Mrs. Anders held the phone close to the near-catatonic woman.
"I'm on my way…" Anna breathed as the neighbor took the line again.
About fifteen minutes later, a car drove up containing the three Almeida siblings. Clara had been with Anna at the time of the call. James was picked up on the way. They came to find Michelle now resting against the door with her hands hanging loosely in her lap. Her eyes looked into the distance.
"Has she said anything?" Clara asked worriedly. Mrs. Anders shook her head as Clara crouched in front of her sister-in-law. "Michelle?" she took her hands. She turned her head to look at her. "Hey… What are you doing out here?" She didn't move at first, but then she blinked.
"I-I couldn't get the door to open…" she spoke distractedly. Clara looked back to her siblings.
"Michelle? Where's Tony?" Anna asked then. At the mention of her husband's name, Michelle felt the overwhelming emotions crawl up once again. Her hand reached to her head, trailed to her lips and rested there. Her eyes closed as she grabbed at the moment of that last kiss before he was taken away from her. "Where…" Anna started again, on the verge of tears herself at Michelle's non-responsiveness.
"They put him in jail…" Michelle spoke with the same tone as before. The siblings reacted to this with shock, confusion.
"What? Jail… why? What for?" James asked. She opened her eyes, slowly looking up at them. Her gaze wavered, exhausted.
"Me…" The weight of this whole mess of a day seemed to be pressing on her, crushing her, with just this one word.
Clara took the keys, still in the door, gave them to Anna. "Come on, I'll help you up," she told Michelle.
"I'm okay…" she insisted, still low and even. "I'm just… so tired…" Clara got her to her feet, making sure she didn't fall back.
"I got you. Just hang on, we'll get this figured out." They thanked Mrs. Anders and got Michelle into the house. Sitting on the couch in the living room, Anna and Clara sat on either side of their brother's wife. James stood, pacing from time to time. No one knew where to start. When Michelle had called in late afternoon the day before and told them of Tony's being shot, she'd been clearly affected but remained collected by necessity. They'd all known her to remain more or less in control most of the time. This was different.
"What happened last night? You just left, the two of you… You signed him out, and…" Anna started and Michelle cut in.
"Things were… frayed… I didn't see, the secrets… The virus got out in the hotel, they started losing it…"
"The Chandler? You were there?" Clara asked. Michelle just went on.
"I was fine, I wasn't infected… Gael was, he-he died… There was a man, he'd tried to leave… I killed him…" her voice stumbled there. "They came out of nowhere, took me and killed those others… He made Tony help him – so I wouldn't be harmed… They said it would amount up to charges of treason… We were going to have pizza…" she finally couldn't go any further.
Next thing she knew it was morning. She was in her bed, and as she opened her eyes, she found her brother sitting at her side, on a chair from the kitchen. He came to sit on the edge of the bed when he saw she was awake. She whimpered, releasing in her brother's presence. He touched her forehead, whispering.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm here little sister."
A FEW WEEKS LATER
"I-I don't understand. Why are you transferring me?" Michelle asked, doing her best not to shake her head or raise her voice as she sat across from Driscoll.
"Homeland Security in Seattle needs someone, and after hearing about your accomplishments at the Chandler Plaza Hotel and in your dealings with Saunders…"
"I can't go to Seattle, what about Tony?"
"I've put in a word, to try and have him moved to a facility in the area. The rest is out of my hands."
"I understand," Michelle spoke slowly.
When she arrived home, she sat in the quietness, trying to think. She still hadn't settled in this situation yet. There had been the media coverage, the questions… But mostly there was the loneliness. Tibbs the cat was a nice companion, but he wasn't Tony. Not unlike when Anna had gone through her divorce, the siblings made their constant visits, made sure she'd be okay.
She was going to visit Tony the next day. She didn't want to tell him about the transfer, not yet. If they couldn't get him there…
Just as she was heading for the door, the phone rang. Somehow she knew who it was before she even picked up the receiver.
They wrapped the news in apologies, stating reasons she didn't really listen to. The only thing she heard was that they couldn't transfer Tony.
She went through the visit, leaving the subject of Seattle untouched. She hated seeing him in there, knowing what he must have been going through. When she got home, she hit the phone, the computer, left no option non-attempted. She had to find a way to stop this. She couldn't move so far and leave him behind. She couldn't.
But all her tries remained tries. Nothing succeeded. Finally she had to face the facts – she would be heading miles and miles away without her husband. She felt sick just thinking about it. The thought of telling him…
When she returned to the prison and he saw her face, he knew she had news he wouldn't like. "I'm being transferred to Seattle. I tried everything to stay or have you come as well, but…" He could tell she was unwilling to leave him, and he felt the same way. As they parted, he assured her that it wouldn't change anything, and that they would still get through it all somehow.
A week later, she was closing the last of the boxes. They were picked up for shipping along with the furniture. Now all that was left was Tibbs in his travel box. She stood in the echoing silence. She tried to grab at all the memories, all the little moments both meaningful and insignificant. Finally she had to go or she'd miss her flight. With a sigh, she walked out, closed the door. She would have to face a new chapter of her life, without him…
TBC