Hey everyone! I am so sorry that this took so long! Thank you wonders of technology! But oh well.. Oh yes, and thank you Shea for all the help on this! I hope this was worth the wait so with out further ado...The second chapter…
….
….
….
….
"Tony." Michelle whispered to herself. There he sat behind the transparent glass in a metal chair, dressed in a blue jumpsuit, his hair unkempt, spilling messily over his forehead. Michelle realized that he had changed. His face had grown more solemn, and more wrinkle lines had appeared on his forehead.
She felt terrified as her eyes looked up and met his, millions of emotions flooding through her body. Joy…Sadness….Fear…. Hope...Though the face had changed, the eyes had not. They were the same as when she last saw them.
She sat down on the chair, oblivious to how the uncomfortable back was digging into her spine. Her whole body was trembling now, whether it was out of sheer delight, despondency, concern, or anger with herself, Michelle knew not. She picked up the phone, feeling the cool plastic in the palms of her hands. Slowly she lifted it to her ear, watching closely as Tony did the same with his.
She heard the crackle of the phone line. Michelle struggled to find her voice and yet couldn't. Itseemed that words would just get in the way.All the people in the other booths seemed to fade; it was just her, and him, on the other side. Tony gave her a familiar half smile and all the pain, tears and guilt that had followed her the past couple weeks surged, then completely evaporated. Michelle smiled, still at a loss.
"Hey." She let the familiarity of the voice wash over. It sounded raspy and a bit faint from the bad phone connection, and yet it was his.
"Hey." Michelle said back, not breaking eye contact with Tony. She felt as if she wanted to cry and laugh, but was unsure what to do first. "How are you?" He said, looking her over.
Michelle sighed grinning slightly, "I've been better." Tony smiled, this time fully and Michelle watched in amazement as his face returned to the way it had before, when it seemed nothing in the world could harm them. Michelle wistfully yearned for the two inch plexi-glass that was separating them would disappear. She wanted to be held by him, and that kind of longing was the hardest to bear.
"Listen Michelle, Jack's doing everything he can to get me out of here, he's even going to try and speak to President Palmer." Tony said softly into his phone, though his eyes never left Michelle's face.
"I know, it's just that-" Michelle paused, as her frequent companion, guilt, started to engulf her again. "It's just that if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here." She finished, looking down at her lap, somewhat afraid of the conversation that would follow.
"Michelle, listen to me." Tony said forcefully. "This isn't you're fault, I did what I thought was best. And I'd do it again." Michelle eyes strayed off of her lap, and soon found his face once more.
"Tony, if I hadn't gone with the field team into the hotel-" Michelle replied, not wanting to recollect the events of that day. Tony hurriedly cut her off.
"If you hadn't gone into the hotel, many more lives would have been lost." He said simply. Michelle sighed poignantly and looked to the booth next to her. A mother sat, clenching her phone, with salty tears surging down her cheeks.
"Michelle." She turned back to her own booth and the occupant inside. Tony was gazing at her with a look she had never seen before on his face. "I love you." Was all he said.
Michelle swallowed and nodded. She lifted her hand up to the glass and gently put her fingers on it, feeling the coldness run up and down her fingers. Tony stood up from the hard metal chair and made his way over to her. Tenderly, he slowly lifted his hands and put them up to Michelle's.
Michelle closed her eyes slightly and almost felt his warm touch against hers again. She looked at their to hands together and quietly said into the phone "I love you too."