Okay, fellow readers, let me warn you: this is not at all my best chapter. I had a bit of trouble with the whole thing, especially since I don't remember all the events from season 3. Don't say I didn't warn you :-D
The following takes place right before season 3. Events do not occur in real time.
(By the way, the two schools that Shani and Shawn go to probably don't exist. They are a pure figment of my imagination.)
A DAY IN THE LIFE – The Beatles
Chapter 7 – A Secret Life
A Secret Life, 2000 – Starring Penny Johnson Jerald as Hope
TONY
My idea of a good day isn't being waken up by the phone at five in the morning… when today I actually start work at ten.
That's exactly what happened. Dring, dring, dring, the phone insisted.
Damn, this better be important.
"Cee-Tee… Uh hello," I said, suddenly remembering that this was my home phone.
The man on the other line seemed nervous but familiar. "Uh sorry. Wrong number." And he hung up.
What the…
Whatever. I hung up, exhausted and slipped back into bed. I almost forgot about the call.
Next to me, Michelle was stirring. She yawned. "Good morning sweetheart. Is it time to wake up yet?"
I smiled. "Not quite. It's five."
She stood up at once. "What? Who the hell called us at five in the morning?"
"I don't know. This man that got a wrong number."
She didn't like that. "Wrong number?"
"Yeah. Wrong number…" Why was she acting so weird?
She got out of bed and ran to the phone. She picked it up and dialled 69. After listening for a few seconds, she groaned.
O-kay…
"What? Did you miss your lover's call? Next time, tell him to call less early." I was teasing her but she still threw me an annoyed look.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Hey, you're the one acting weird. If it isn't Mr. Love, then who is it?"
She hesitated. "It's… Danny."
"Danny? Oh my god! Is something wrong? Call him right away!" I grabbed the phone from her. I didn't like Danny very much but I figured that, if he was on his death bed, it would only be fair for him to speak to Michelle before he died.
"Tony…"
I pressed on the redial button. "What?"
"Nothing's wrong. He isn't on his death bed or anything."
Man, how does she read my thoughts? "Okay. Then why is he calling at five in the morning?"
"He calls sometimes just to… talk."
"WHAT?"
A man said 'Hello?' in my ear but I ignored him. For about a second. "Uh hi."
"Who's this?"
"Danny, it's Tony." I added, "Tony Almeida," just in case he didn't know. "Did you just call a few minutes ago?"
"Er yes. Could I speak to Michelle please?"
No, you fucking psychotic bastard. "Of course." I smiled sweetly at Michelle and gave her the phone. "Here, your darling brother wishes to speak to you."
She mouthed 'Sorry' and took the phone. "Hello Danny."
I sat down at the table and picked up yesterday's newspaper, thumbing through it but not really reading. I could hear Michelle talking.
"I was asleep." (pause) "I'm fine." (pause) "Okay." (pause) "Fine, but I know all of this already!" (pause) She sighed. "What do you want from me Danny?" (pause) "What?" (pause)
And so on, so forth. I peeked from behind my newspaper. Michelle was gesturing all over, obviously exasperated. She looked at me, sensing my amusement and pulled her tongue out at me. It made me wonder how two siblings could be so incredibly different: one charming, simple, smiley, smart and kind-hearted and the other a sociopath, difficult, whiney, stupid and mean (okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit).
Thank god I got the better end of the deal!
MICHELLE
The day was not starting very well for me. It was five o'clock in the morning and I was speaking on the phone with my brother.
Danny dearest. What a surprise.
And it sure wasn't. Danny was always calling me. And, every time Tony picked up, he would fake something. Once, he even pretended to be a bible salesman. Danny Dessler, who has been an atheist since he set foot on earth.
Desperate indeed.
He used to call me once every two, three weeks just to check on me. That was okay with me. I dealt with it as much as could. Since the CTU incident, I started avoiding him as he avoided me. The incident had different impacts on our lives: it found me a husband, it lost him his wife. Lisa, his then wife and one of my close friends, decided that enough was enough and severed the rope. For good. She won custody of the children. For once, I believed he truly deserved it. I mean, come on! How dare he come and barge in everyone's lives? Yes, it was selfish of me to think like that of my own brother but he had no right to do this to me… and everyone else.
Danny had not always been like this. The big 'change' happened after Izzie and mom died. I understand that losing a little sister and a mother can change someone but, after all, I went through the exact same thing he did! Not only that, but I was younger and I had no one. He was married and had twins on the way.
Anyways, there he was rambling on in my ear. The conversation started innocently enough.
"Hello Danny."
"Michelle! I called you a few minutes ago but you didn't answer…"
"I was asleep."
He didn't seem to get the message. "Oh. Well, how are you?"
Apart from being exhausted, annoyed and tired of you calling me ALL THE TIME, I'm perfectly fine. Really! "I'm fine."
"Okay. Um, Shani got accepted at Valley High."
"Okay."
"And Shawn is enrolling in the sports program at John Hingston."
Why is he telling me things I already know? "Fine, but I know all of this already!"
"Really? Did you speak to Lisa?" I could hear the jealousy in his voice.
I sighed. "What do you want from me Danny?"
"Montreal."
"What?" This was getting really funny, like talking to my grand-mother when I was a teen. She would warn me against boys and make-up and the evils of high school. Not that needed any warning.
"Let's go to Montreal! We can go skating, visit our old house, go see grandma and grandpa's grave…"
"What?" I said again, exasperated. I wasn't really listening, more interested in making faces at Tony.
"I bought the tickets," he said, as if it would make me pay attention.
And it did. Oh boy, did it ever! "WHAT?"
"Are you listening to me? I said, let's go to Montreal! Don't you miss the old days? Our childhood? Maybe I can talk Dad into…"
"What are you talking about Danny? When did this happen? When are the flights?"
"On Monday?"
"MONDAY?" Today was Thursday.
"Yeah, I figure you can maybe take a few weeks off."
"A few weeks off? I can't just start gallivanting and take a vacation when I feel like it…"
"It's Tony, isn't it?"
"What does Tony have to do with any of this?"
"He's the one making you stay. He won't let you see me anymore! God knows he hates me…"
"Danny! Listen to yourself! Do you even know who I am anymore? Do you think I would let my husband decide my life? Tony has nothing against you! He even was the one to call you when he found out you were the one who called at five in the morning! He was worried about you, Danny. Worried!"
"Bull. He wasn't worried. He was acting like that to get your sympathy."
Oh please. Give me a break! "Sympathy. You think Tony called you because he wanted your sympathy…"
"I warned you against him Michelle! I'm telling you, he's evil… He manipulates you, he doesn't love you, he only wants to control you and turn you into a Tony-clone machine! He…"
"He's my husband, he's a wonderful man and I love him. Bye Danny." I hung up.
I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the wall, ignoring the stupid phone ringing again. It was most probably Danny calling to blast me. I really didn't need this right now. Soon, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"You okay?" Tony sounded worried.
I laughed. "No, not really."
"What did he do to you again?"
"He wants to go to Montreal. Montreal, damn it!"
"Montreal?"
"Yes. He bought the tickets and wants to leave on Monday."
"Montreal?" he said again.
"Yeah, he was pulling the big 'I miss you' act. Trust me, you don't know what he's been doing for the past few months. Every morning…"
Every morning. For the past few months, he had been calling every morning with a new excuse every day. 'Let's go back to Montreal!' 'Let's rent a cottage!' 'I miss the old days!' Didn't he think I missed the old days? When we got along well? When he was a normal and kind human being? When I could trust him, when he could trust me? But life changes. People change. And you can't do much about it but deal with it.
TONY
I couldn't believe my ears. Danny Dessler was calling our house at five in the morning because he wanted to drag his sister to Montreal? Talk about acting like a freak.
Michelle sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. "I love him so much but he's driving me nuts. You have no idea…"
"Why don't you tell me?"
She leaned against the wall. "He calls me every morning to complain. It used to be about his wife but then she left him so now it's me. 'Michelle, come and visit me!' 'Michelle, let's go on a trip together!' He comes up with these weird souvenirs from our childhood in Montreal once in a while."
"I see…"
"And then, he starts rambling on and on. And I get frustrated and hang up. But, then, I regret it and feel horrible. Am I a horrible person, Tony?"
"No, of course not…" But I wasn't really listening. What puzzled me was the fact that he had been calling every morning and not once was I the one to answer the phone. Weird…
"And you probably answered the phone about twenty times but every time he pretends to be someone else. He's scared of you, Tony. He's scared…" She started laughing hysterically. "I'm tired. I hate him."
I swear, she must be a medium or something. What else could explain the fact that she can guess what I'm thinking about all the time? I sat down next to her and brushed a stray curl from her face. "You don't…"
"Oh yes I do…" She got tearful. "I'm sick and tired of all of this. I'm so stressed out. I don't need this on top of everything!" She turned away from me.
"Hey…" I took her face and turned it towards me. "Hey, listen to me. Everything is going to be alright."
She looked at me dubiously.
"I'm telling you. In three days, we both get a day off. You want to do something special?"
She smiled a bit. "Yeah…"
"How about a cooking class?"
Her smile got wider.
"No, wait. That would be dangerous for the teachers."
She laughed and hit me. "That's not nice!"
"I know, I know… I just wanted to make you laugh."
She kissed me on the cheek and stood up. "Thanks…"
I followed her back into the bedroom. "Hey, guess what else?"
"What?"
"I got a call from Larry yesterday… and he said he would call me today."
Her eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yes, really. And he believes you have a lot potential. He's just looking to see if there is a position for you."
Which actually wasn't exactly true.
Yesterday evening, I received a call. "CTU, Almeida."
"Tony, it's Larry."
"Oh, hey."
"It's about the job requests…"
Right away, I got the wrong idea. "I didn't get it, did I?"
He seemed surprised. "What are you talking about? You got it!"
"What?"
"Well, it's not official yet. I still have to talk to Nate."
Thoughts of a new life, a new house, a new city and new jobs for Michelle and I filled my mind. "Wow! That's great!"
"Yes. Now, in Michelle's case…"
Oh damn… "Michelle what?"
"Don't get me wrong. She has plenty of potential and we would love to have her with us but…"
But…
"I haven't found any position for her yet. I'm still looking but, Tony…"
"Of course. I understand."
"Don't keep her hopes up too much. Get her ready for the news."
"Is it really that bad?"
He sighed. "I'm afraid so. We had one position but we just met a candidate who has more experience than Michelle… It's an opportunity we can't miss."
"Alright. Thanks."
Don't keep her hopes up too much, he said. Get her ready for the news. But, right now, she was ecstatic, jumping around and giving me kisses, Danny's call long forgotten. Tell me, how do you tell someone so happy that the cause of their happiness isn't true? How? You don't, that's how you do it.
Soon after, we went back to bed. I laid down next to her for a few minutes until she fell asleep. I grabbed my cell phone from the night table and went to my office. I turned on my laptop and dialled Jack's number.
"CTU, Bauer."
"Hey. It's Tony."
"Oh, hey."
"Did I wake you?"
"Of course not." I could almost see him smirking on the other side of the line. "Today's a big day."
"Yeah. Are you ready?"
He hesitated. "Yes," he said finally, very un-Jack Bauer-ly.
I felt there was more to his response than he cared to show. "Jack… Are you sure about this? We can always t-"
He cut me off. "I'm sure. We worked a year on this. I'm not about to throw it all away. It's not like I haven't done worse…"
We both laughed. "Okay…"
"How's the wife?"
"The wife is sleeping and I'm in deep shit." I sat down in my chair and typed a few passwords.
"Uh oh. What did you do now?"
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I've been hiding this whole operation from her for a whole year. I don't like having this whole 'secret life'."
"Oh, yeah…"
"And I told her Larry Hertzog from Langley had a job for her… That was, uh, kind of a lie."
"Ouch."
"I mean, she was so happy about it! I didn't want to break the news to her… Anyway, want to go over it a last time?"
"Sure, why not…"
"Alright. At one, you and Chase head to the Federal prison. Ramon Salazar's gonna be waiting for you."
"Hip, hip, hurray." He didn't seem very enthusiastic.
"I guess you aren't too happy about that…"
He sighed. "Why should I be? Ramon's a fucking bastard."
"Do you have the prison plans?"
"Yeah. Listen, on second thought, I think I'll be okay. I'm going to rest a bit, okay?"
"Yeah, sure… Have you spoken to Gael yet?"
"No, he's supposed to call me in a few minutes."
"Do you want me to call him?"
"Nah, it's okay."
"Jack… What if this doesn't work? What if we missed something?"
"We have to hope for the best. I think we covered pretty much everything. Listen, I really have to go, okay?"
"'Kay." I added "Good luck," but I don't think he heard me. Which, really, was too bad. 'Cause he sure as hell needed luck.
MICHELLE
At around seven, I woke up abruptly from a nightmare.
I don't often have nightmares but when I do, they're bad. Like, for example, I once dreamt that aliens had tied me up and were poking me in the rib. I woke up screaming in pain. It was a dream, of course, but the poking was real: Tony had his elbow in my rib.
That morning, I dreamt I was in a shopping mall. Then, a faceless man threw me into a big bag and dragged me away. I kept on kicking but he took a big wooden stick and hit the bag until I was sore all over. But that was not all. After a few minutes, he threw the bag on the floor and opened it. He took me out… and put Tony inside instead. I started hitting the faceless man and screaming.
"Tony! Get out of the bag! Get out, now!"
He only looked at me sadly and crawled in, dejectedly. "It's the only thing I can do."
The only thing he could do?
It's the only thing I can do.
It's the only thing I can do.
It's the only thing I can do.
It's the only thing I can do.
IT'S THE ONLY THING I CAN DO.
And then-
I woke up. I was buried under a big cover but I was still shivering. Now, I have never been religious or superstitious but it all felt so… real. I was wondering whether this all meant something when Tony grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him.
"This isn't getting to be a nice morning, is it?" he mumbled in his pillow.
I beamed. "Just a bad dream."
He turned his head and kissed the top of my head. "I'll always be there to protect you."
I know. I could see that in the nightmare. But, why didn't you get out of the bag?
Of course, I didn't say that. "I know…"
"You hungry?"
"Not really."
"Mmm… 'kay…"
He slowly drifted back to sleep.
I brushed the hair out of his face and kissed him softly. Yes, I had just had a nightmare. Yes, I had received a call from my psychotic brother. But I most surely had a new job waiting for me. I was in a nice comfortable bed with my husband. Work didn't start until ten.
Life was good.
Next week (or eventually)… Chapter 8 – You've got mail: Tony finds something he wasn't expecting in the mailbox. Between season 3 and 4.
