Thanks for all the reviews guys! Much appreciated! And thanks for the people who alerted me to the fact that Ryan Chappelle is dead… no big loss, never really liked him anyway. However one forgets these things occasionally… so I fixed that for future readers! oh and just to clear up for a couple of people who where a bit confused, I know that Tony and Michelle were in the car together at the end of season 4 to drop Jack off… but they had to go back to CTU to debrief (in my storyline that is) and the car they were in was Tony's (I think, im an aussie so our steering wheels on the opposite side to the Americans.. confusion takes place when you think about it too much.. :P) anyway here's chapter 2, I hope you enjoy it, and please review, its nice to know that I actually have readers! Oh yeah, and I don't own any of the characters, sports teams, brands or labels that may come up, except for the ones I make up….

CHAPTER 2 TYING THE LOOSE ENDS

Tony turned the key in the lock and opened the door, exposing his current living arrangements to Michelle. She wrinkled her nose slightly in distaste as the scent of lemon-fresh disinfectant reached her. It reminded her of the medical rooms in CTU, where she had been way too many times. The house itself was so clean that it was almost sterile… it seemed as though instead of eating chocolate like normal people when she was depressed, Jen cleaned.

The phone call with Jen hadn't been pleasant. Tony had remained as calm as possible in the beginning, trying to gently break the news to her that he was still in love with Michelle, his soul mate, and therefore it would be unfair for both himself and Jen to stay together in a relationship. Jen however, didn't take the news calmly and started to get bitter, shooting accusations at him, asking him if he had been using her for the sex only, and asking him how he could go back to that "backstabbing bitch of a woman". By the end of it the argument had escalated to disparaging heights, so that both sides were yelling at each other, Jen so much so that Michelle could hear every word she said through the phone and from the opposite side of the room. Finally Jen, who was used to getting her way with Tony, backed down in shock of losing the battle, and told him that he had an hour and 10 minutes to get all of his stuff out of her place. She didn't even let them have time for a shower.

Back in Jens apartment, Tony and Michelle were throwing his possessions vicariously into boxes. They had just finished the bookshelves in his bedroom, and had moved on to the wardrobe and draws, laughing at the hideous floral curtains Jen had made for his windows.

" I can't believe you let her put them up! If I remember rightly, you threatened to stop cooking if I brought floral into the house" Michelle chuckled

"Yeah, I know, but u didn't threaten to throw me out if I complained! Besides, you hate it just as much as I do, so you knew I'd never let you really starve…"

They continued this playful banter for a while before Tony tentatively brought up the issue of where he was going live now that he had been evicted. Not wanting to ask directly, he suggested that he find a storage unit until he could find somewhere to live.

"I thought it was a given that you were moving back in with me" Michelle replied, startled at the thought of him living somewhere else.

"Oh I knew it would happen be eventually, it's just that you said that you needed time, so I assumed that meant that we would be taking it slow" he said, watching her closely as she attacked his boxer draw.

" I said I need time to forgive, I've had enough time to know what its like to be without--" Michelle stopped mid sentence, pulling out a small box. "What's this?"

Tony slapped his forehead in self-aggravation as he realised his idiocy. The small wooden box, and the contents within it was something that he had never intended or expected Michelle to find. He knew at the time that he was being a sentimental sap, but he had never been able to throw it away. Originally he had just kept it so that he could pull it out when they were older, but once they had spilt up it had become something of a memory r that he could keep, as he could no longer have the real thing. He sighed in resignation as he watched her tackle with the lid.

Michelle laughed as the forces of gravity gave in, sending half of the box flying and causing her to stumble backwards. Balancing herself, she saw the single piece of cardboard that had floated out onto the floor. As she bent down to retrieve it, she smirked at the bear staring up at her, the Chicago Bear that she was forced to join rather then beat, as the only way to spend time with Tony in the football season was to become one of the cheer squad. Actually, she had soon learnt about Baseball as well, for Tony was also an avid cubs fan… he obviously had a thing about bears. She looked up at him inquisitively; not understanding why the ticket was so significant that it deserved a box.

"It's the ticket from the first game I took you to…It's the first time we… you know" He told her staring at the beige carpet.

Noticing Tony's obvious embarrassment, Michelle decided against teasing him about it, feeling that it would be hypocritical of her to do so anyway as she herself had her own sentiments of him at home. Instead she handed him both ticket and box, before continuing to empty the draws in a peaceful silence, each reflecting on the past. It was only when they had finally finished packing his stuff up Michelle looked around the now-empty room and grinned impishly.

"c'mon… let's steal the curtains"

Hours later, Michelle was getting ready for a well-deserved shower. She wove through the maze of boxes that littered the bathroom, for whilst Tony had managed to pack all his bathroom stuff into a single box, it seemed that he had decided to use the room as a storage room as he unpacked. She finally managed to reach the glass door and turned the taps on, opting to have a hotter shower then usual to try and loosen the muscles that had become increasingly tighter the past 49 hours. She sighed in pleasure as she stepped in and immersed herself in the near-boiling water.

After a good 17 minutes Michelle finally turned the taps to the right, cutting off the warmth. Feeling slightly dizzy from breathing in the hot steam, she managed to wrap a towel around herself before stumbling out of the shower. Not watching where she was going this time, she tripped over the one box that had Tony's toiletries in it, managing to break most of his glass aftershave/cologne bottles. The sickly stench of mixing perfume hit her and she began to feel extremely queasy and dizzy. A new strange sensation of ice crept through her body and she weakly called to Tony, before falling to the floor, her world going black.

Tony never heard Michelle calling for him, but he had heard the crashing noise and then a dull thud. Rushing to the bathroom door, and pounded on it, his calls of "Michelle?" getting louder each time there was no response. Finally he burst through the door, thanking God that she hadn't locked the door. Noticing that she was on the floor near the towel racks, he knelt down beside her, shocked to see her a deathly white.

"Chelle? Can you hear me? What happened? Sweetheart?" he asked desperately

Michelle's eyelids flickered in response. Her surroundings were slowly coming into focus, and she became aware that she was on the floor, with someone leaning over her.

"Wha…why am I on the floor?" she questioned Tony weakly in a confused state.

"Come on sweetheart, let's get you out of here…can you stand?"

Michelle tried to sit up, but had to lean against the wall behind her, groaning slightly as blood rushed to her head, a brick of dizziness hitting her once more. Tony noticed this, shuffled closer to her and gently placed her arms around his neck and scooped her up in his arms, telling her to hold on. He carried her though to the bedroom, where he managed to clumsily pull back the bed covers with one arm. This was made considerably harder by Michelle, who, weak as she was, was having trouble holding on to him for laughter at his awkwardness. Not wanting to drop her, Tony inelegantly lay her down, getting tangled up in the towel as he did so. He covered her with the doona and sat next to her.

"Chelle, are you feeling alright? Should I call a doctor?"

"No no, I'm alright now, ….seriously, ill be ok" she added when he gave her a look of cynicism "I just feel a little lightheaded…"

"Mmm... k" he said, not entirely believing her, but knowing better to not push the issue. "But you're staying in bed for the rest of the day… and no… I don't care if you don't want to"

"fine" she muttered, pouting slightly "can I at least get some sort of clothing to put on?"

"what do you want? I'll get it for you"

"try the pajama draw… second from the bottom"

Michelle looked on in amusement as Tony hesitated before pulling out pink boxers and his old Cubs shirt. He then opened the top draw and pulled out some underwear, trying not to look at the other feminine items that lived there. He then chucked the bundle at her, feigning innocence at her reproving look when she discovered the very lacey boy-legs he had managed to find. Feeling it safer to leave the room, Tony went to acquire cleaning products so that he could tackle the bathroom.

Tony finally exited the spotless bathroom a good 20 minutes later to find Michelle asleep, one arm hanging over the side of the queen sized bed. He smirked at the sight and looked skywards, thinking that some things never changed. He went over to her and gently rolled her into a more comfortable position, pulling the covers higher around her sleeping frame. He was lost for a moment as he realised that the curls were back, and softly brushed them off her face, pausing to wind one around his fingers, like always.

Well my friends, that's the end of that chapter! Sorry it took so long, but school started again yada yada… anyway the next chapter will be here asap, and a little warning… it wont be the most innocent of chapter :P anyway don't forget to review on your way out!