Disclaimer: I don't own 24 or any of its characters.

A/N This story takes place roughly 18 months after the events of Season 2, a year after Tony and Michelle got married. It passed rapidly as both concentrated on work and enjoyed free hours together, dining at a host of restaurants and enjoying dozens of movies. Their first anniversary is upon them…

An icy wind fresh from the Pacific howled its way through LA, screaming its fury at being constrained. Trees bent before it, their weaker branches snapped off like driftwood, a host of multicolored leaves left in its wake. Dogs returned to their kennels, cats opted to remain indoors, and the early morning joggers snatched an extra hour of sleep in lieu of venturing out. Even the permanent smog, so much a feature of the city, bowed its way out as though sensing a more powerful opponent, leaving the early risers gaping at the sheer beauty of the coming day. Icy and powerful, it worked its way into every nook and cranny, entering a third floor apartment and venting its spent rage on the figure of a dark hair man sleeping with the blanket pushed below his waist. Tony stirred, blinking in surprise to find himself shivering in the middle of summer. Rubbing his eyes, he padded over to the window, pulling it shut as quietly as possible, unwilling to disturb his sleeping companion.

Michelle stirred, her arm moving automatically across the bed to feel Tony. He watched her amused as her hand patted the sheets and her eyes opened. 'I'm here, sweetheart,' he said, climbing back beside her. 'Just went to shut the window. It's kinda windy.'

Michelle opened her eyes and sat up, listening to the howling wind. 'You don't exaggerate, do you?' She grinned at him, shivering from the sound. It was a weakness she failed to beat – she invariably started feeling cold the moment she even heard the approach of a storm. 'Cuddle up and get some sleep, or we'll be late tomorrow! We were real late yesterday!'

Tony pulled her into his arms, unable to resist tucking a few curls behind her ear. Her complete lack of ability to guess the time after being woken unexpectedly never failed to delight him. 'Sweetheart, you don't know the meaning of the word "late." Arriving at 8:40 rather than 8:30 doesn't begin to describe what poor mom went through every single day when we were young.'

'She had a dozen of you to get ready, she had an excuse to be as late as she chose,' Michelle told him, pressing her face into his shoulder. 'Can you imagine getting that many kids and ourselves ready every morning?'

'Honestly, I can, but I try not to,' he laughed. 'And you're real understanding, honey, but a lot of my teachers weren't. They actually told her off, after a coupla months!'

'You're not serious?' she asked, horrified.

'Aha. When I was eight I had this middle-aged teacher with a permanent scowl' he pulled a face to demonstrate, 'and one morning she met us outside class and asked mom "Mrs. Almeida, do you realize what time school starts?" And mom looked at her and said, "I sure do. Do you realize what time Sesame Street ends?"'

They giggled together, Michelle puzzled. 'What's that got to do with it?'

'Oh honey, you'll find out when we've got our first five kids,' he told her mischievously. 'You don't imagine they're going anywhere, before Elmo waves bye bye.' He shook his head, his face serious; his sparkling eyes the only indication of his amusement. 'I mean, you really wanna listen to three young kids howling all the way to school, and a crying baby? Mom couldn't, so we always got to watch the end.'

Michelle giggled again, fully awake. 'What time did it finish?'

'8:40. And school started at 8:45, and it was a good fifteen minute walk, so you work it out,' Tony replied. He rolled onto his side and glanced at the clock. 'It's 5:15, honey, we should get some sleep.'

'I'm not tired,' Michelle told him, stroking his hair. 'How come you didn't walk to school alone, Tony? Or with Jane?'

'I did sometimes,' he said, running a finger along her nose. 'But it rained a lot in the autumn and there were these fantastic puddles on the way. Real deep and wide, couldn't even see the bottom of a coupla them. Totally irresistible.'

'You didn't step into them?' she cried in delight. 'Tony Almeida, you wouldn't!'

'Not anymore, honey,' he assured her, winding a curl onto his middle finger. 'And no, I didn't step into them.' He paused a moment for emphasis. 'I jumped!'

Michelle laughed aloud, rolling on top of him. 'You were horrible! I hope your mom smacked you.'

'Oh she did, but not hard enough,' he admitted, flipping her over and tickling her. 'You tellin' me you never jumped into any, Michelle? Coz I'm not sure I'd believe that!'

Michelle turned red under his intense scrutiny. 'Maybe a few,' she admitted.

'Just a few?' he pressed, ticking her stomach. 'I need the truth! You'll be tickled till you admit it!'

Michelle squirmed, laughing, struggling with him, tangling them both in the sheets. 'Ok, maybe more than that.'

'Maybe?' Tony asked, in a mocking tone. 'I think you're holding out. Got to take this to the next level,' he murmured, pinning her down.

'No no, stop,' she begged, laughing harder. 'Alright, I admit it. I jumped into plenty of them, but not by the time I went to school!'

'Aha. I knew we'd get to the truth eventually.' He kissed her lips, grinning at her. 'You wanna get some sleep now, Michelle?'

She shook her head. 'After this? You really woke me up, Tony. So tell me, what made you stop?'

Tony pulled her closer to him, watching her sparkling eyes. He was undoubtedly the luckiest man in the whole world, having her beside him. 'Stop what?' he asked, unable to resist running his fingers through her hair.

'Jumping into them. You know, you stopped sometime. I mean, you hate the rain now.'

'Aha. Oh, everyone grows up.' He closed his eyes, feeling her moving in the bed beside him. 'Let's get some sleep honey, it's real early,' he begged. 'Otherwise I'll go to sleep at my meeting and I'll be fired for sure!'

'Oh yes, you got Chappelle first thing,' Michelle noted in amusement. 'Don't pretend you don't enjoy seeing him, Tony! You know you love going over to Division. Hey, you might get lucky. Hammond could attend too.'

Tony groaned aloud and pulled the blanket over his head.

Michelle laughed, diving after him beneath the sheets. 'Where did you go?'

'I've escaped,' he muttered, hanging onto the sheets she attempted to rip from him.

'They'd find you,' she told him amused.

'You're right. I got a better idea. I'm sick, real sick. Tell them I got something infectious, like the plague!'

Michelle giggled, amazed yet again how relaxed Tony was at home with just the two of them. 'Why don't I make you some real strong coffee to wake you up,' she said, climbing out of bed.

'Yeah,' Tony said, sitting up, knowing that he was too alert to attempt a successful return to sleep. 'I'll start drinking it now, and hopefully it'll wake me up before I arrive. Did I ever tell you about the worst meeting I attended at Division?' He pulled his undershirt off, turning to glance at her. She shook her head. 'Well, I made myself a real strong coffee and figured it would wake me up for sure, but I made it too late. It hadn't started working by the time the meeting started and my eyes kept closing.' He grinned at her. 'I should have two coffees, sweetheart.'

'You're having one,' she told him firmly, as he had known she would. 'Just one, Tony, or you'll get hyped up and fidget all through the meeting, like last time.'

'Now honey, it wasn't last time,' he protested, his face serious again. 'I went there a coupla times since. And I had at least six coffees, not two. And it wasn't the coffee that made me a little restless, it was just that I remembered I forgot to lock the car and the video camera was on the front seat! Hammond kept reading this never ending list of figures, remember, and I couldn't stop wondering who'd steal the camera…'

'And I kicked you under the table, and you didn't understand what I was trying to tell you,' Michelle continued. 'And anyway, it was entirely your fault the door was left unlocked, Tony. If you'd left CTU a little earlier you wouldn't have been so late that you were forced to just run inside…'

'Ah, but there was an interview with the Cubs captain,' he reminded her, turning red under her intense scrutiny. 'Sweetheart, I was waiting for it all week and the program was delayed a little. It's not as though I missed anything.'

Michelle got up firmly. 'I'm making you a coffee, Tony, ONE cup. Go have your shower.' She watched while he undressed, amused by his grumpy expression. 'Go on,' she insisted. 'I'll set your water.' She moved into the bathroom and turned the taps on, pausing in thought. After a second of silent deliberation she turned the hot water off and increased the cold.

Tony made his way to the bathroom, rubbing his eyes. Keeping her face straight with difficulty she pulled aside the shower curtain, watching breathless while he stepped inside.

'Hhh,' he gasped, jumping back, his eyes wide with shock. He turned to regard her, noticing her leaning against the door frame with an innocent expression. 'There's serious payback due, Michelle.' He watched amused as she backed into the bedroom, following her mercilessly. 'You wanna join me?'

'Now Tony, you got to relax,' she begged. 'Tony, stop. What's the matter, I heard Marines always shower in ice cold water at dawn. I saw it on the TV,' she faltered, turning to run.

Tony caught her easily, pinning her to the wall. 'They do in boot camp, honey. And it's a good idea, it sure wakes you up. Come join me!'

'No no Tony,' she squealed, as he pulled her towards the bathroom. 'No Tony, stop, I don't believe in cold water…'

'I do,' he told her, chewing his lip as he noted her alarm. 'It really works. Come on, Michelle, we'll shower together. We won't even need that coffee,' he teased, stepping into the icy torrent without releasing her arm.

'Tony, don't do it,' she pleaded, the first frigid drops wetting her arm.

Tony pulled a face, turning the hot water full on. 'Oh, I got a soft heart, Michelle! I'll grant you mercy this once.' Noting her relief he burst out laughing. 'Honey, come join me. You didn't REALLY think I'd pull you in?' he questioned, chuckling.

She shook her head. 'No, I didn't. It wouldn't have been worth it, trust me!'

'Aha,' he questioned, tossing her soaking pajamas onto the bathroom floor. 'So what would you have done to me, sweetheart?' He pushed her against the wall, tilting her head to look into her eyes. 'You won't escape till you confess!' He narrowed his eyes and pulled a stern expression onto his face as though he were interrogating an unhelpful suspect.

'I would've hidden the coffee,' she whispered, pulling an equally serious look onto her own face.

'No,' Tony exclaimed, shaking his head wide-eyed. 'That's real mean, honey. You shouldn't even think of trying it!'

'And,' she continued, holding up a hand, 'I would've…'

'What?' he cried, intrigued. 'What could be worse than that?' He chewed his lip, fighting to keep his face serious. Wonder what else she's got in mind.

'I would've told your mom!' she told him, grinning.

Tony drew a deep breath, unable to keep his laughter inside any longer. 'Sweetheart, that's real low! That's just unacceptable, I'd never have heard the end of it! Try anything like that, and I'll show you just how mean I can get. I can be mean,' he repeated, feeling her shaking with laughter in his arms. 'You don't believe me, do you?'

'No,' she told him, between fits of laughing.

'Well, I can be! I wouldn't do any more cooking!' he finished, his eyes sparkling with fun. 'And, I'd announce my strike the day YOUR mom would be invited to dinner!'

Michelle's mouth fell open and she punched him on the shoulder as hard as she could. 'Tony, that's terrible!'

'Yeah,' he agreed satisfied, and drew her closer for a kiss. Her hair brushed his cheek, the scent of shampoo filling his nose, and he marveled at his fortune in having her yet again. She was his now, he no longer had to rush through breakfast to get to CTU early just to admire her from afar. He swallowed, hugging her tighter.

Michelle stroked his hair, kissing him deeply. 'Say it, sweetheart,' she said.

'Say what?' he teased, tracing a drop of water along her face. 'Ok, Michelle. I love you. I love you more than I could ever explain. There's no way I could bear to be away from you more than a coupla hours! You satisfied you exposed all my weaknesses?'

They left the shower when the water turned cold, shivering. Tony rubbed himself dry and put his towel on the rack, crawling back beneath the blankets. He shut his eyes, watching Michelle emerging from beneath his eyelashes, waiting expectantly for her reaction.

'Tony! You're back in bed,' she cried exasperated, grabbing his blankets. 'Get up.'

'Honey, we're too early. We got plenty of time,' he insisted, throwing her a look guaranteed to melt her heart. 'Why don't you come back and warm me up?'

Michelle shook her head, chewing her lip, wavering once he pulled her side of the blankets up, patting her pillow. She sighed before succumbing to his advances. 'You don't really expect us to fall asleep for another hour?' she asked, watching his face.

'Sleep? Who said anything about that?' he inquired cheekily. 'That cold shower was a great idea, sweetheart, it really woke me up!' They exchanged meaningful grins before he rolled on top of her. 'I'm just a little cold!'

'Tony, it's ringing again,' Michelle protested an hour later, her eyes on the alarm clock. Tony reached over her and switched it off, replacing it on the bedside table. He kissed her again while she fought to sit up. 'No, Tony, you can't pretend it's a Saturday,' she said reluctantly. 'We got to get up, it's a Monday, remember? You're expected at Division.'

'Oh no,' Tony groaned, rolling out of bed. 'I didn't go there yet?'

Michelle was unable to prevent her laughter at his dismayed expression, shaking her head slightly. 'You didn't. Chappelle called a briefing about something, remember?'

He nodded. 'Aha. I was gonna have a dozen coffees.' Her shadow warned him of her punch an instant before she hit his arm and he shook his head. 'Fighting again, Michelle! Keep it up, and I'll have to find the battered husbands' shelter!'

They collapsed onto the bed shaking with laughter, until Michelle pushed him up. 'Go make breakfast, Tony. I got to do my hair,' she told him and he nodded, marveling at the length of time it took to brush out. Trying to guess what the upcoming briefing would consist of, he cracked two eggs over the frying pan and put bread into the toaster, cutting up tomatoes. Michelle emerged to find breakfast prepared and Tony at the sink, swallowing something from a nondescript brown mug. 'You're busted!' she cried. 'I caught you red handed, Tony! Don't pull that innocent expression; I know what you were up to. You were having a coffee!'

'Honey, I got a meeting,' he protested, sitting opposite her at the counter and grabbing the Cubs mug before she could remove it. 'I really got to wake up for that, or Chappelle will fire me. He's not all that keen on me anyway,' he said soberly, and she nodded, the playful mood gone. They ate rapidly and she carried the dishes to the sink to rinse them while Tony grabbed his briefcase. 'Looks like we're taking two cars,' he said regretfully, knowing he would miss her chatter on the long drive.

He kissed her and dashed over to the elevator aware he would be late. They'll give you that disapproving look again, Almeida, when you open the door and attempt to sneak in. He narrowed his eyes and turned his car on, reversing out of the car park. The drive proved long and dull without Michelle to amuse him. It's too quiet! She's not here to make you laugh, Almeida, or tell you the latest gossip about your employees that you're always the last to hear. This meeting is gonna be real long without her beside you. Without being aware of his actions he let out a long sigh, deciding to buy her a small present after work. The rest of the drive passed pleasantly as he sat in an endless stream of traffic, his mind considering the present. There was no special occasion, so he could buy something small she would appreciate. Should he get a large box of her favorite chocolates? He shook his head slightly, driving forward another few feet. No, you buy that all the time, and anyway, you end up eating half of it. This should be for her alone. Flowers? No, you buy them all the time too and they won't last long. Without realizing it he reached Division and parked the car, remembering to lock the door and raced to the entrance, showing his I.D. to the security guard in the booth. A movie. Yeah, that's it. She'll love a soppy sentimental romance! A smile tugged his lips as he pushed the conference room's door open and entered, moving automatically to the back.

'Glad you could join us, Almeida,' Chappelle remarked in his nasally voice. 'If you're representing CTU, be on time!'

He slid silently into his seat at the back of the room, glancing at the thick folder before him. Dammit, it'll take all morning to get through this. Don't they realize I got work to do, real work?

'Now that we're finally all present we can begin,' Chappelle droned in his nasally voice. 'We're discussing the infiltration of terrorists from friendly nations – terrorists who've migrated to these nations and appear fully westernized. The first such nation is our primary ally the United Kingdom. Open your folders to page two. We have a list of suspects they sent us who're currently visiting the States. As nothing concrete has been proven against them the United Kingdom lacked the ability to deny them passports. We on the other hand were unable to deny them entry. Currently our allies have several million Muslims within their borders, as do we. We're holding a conference next week in Melbourne to discuss this growing hole in national security.' Tony twirled his pen, wishing he could think of something concrete to solve what he saw as an emerging problem. 'We're sending someone from CTU to attend the conference,' Chappelle continued. Tony stared at him startled; having assumed Chappelle himself would attend. 'Almeida, you've never been to Australia, so I've sent them your name. Pack enough things for a week. We'll send you over an itinerary by this afternoon.'

'Sir, I can't just fly off to Australia,' Tony began, his heart divided as he spoke. He would indeed enjoy the opportunity of seeing an entirely different continent, but he was unable to contemplate leaving Michelle alone. 'I've got my first anniversary next week.'

The entire table cast him incredulous looks. 'Tony, you can celebrate that event on your return,' Chappelle told him refusing to consider his protest. 'It'll hardly make any difference, and the conference would do you good.'

'Sir, I agree with you about the conference,' Tony assured him, longing to go. 'But…'

'But you'll pack a suitcase and go,' Chappelle told him firmly. 'And use this time to prepare a presentation about our own local militants to last roughly an hour. I'll be faxing over the details shortly.' He dismissed Tony's objections with a disdainful look.

'Yeah,' Tony agreed, unable to think of a way out of it. You'll have to break this to Michelle sometime tonight, Almeida. She won't like it; she's been planning this anniversary party all week! He struggled with an unusual lack of attention during the remainder of the meeting. It's not gonna be a pleasant evening, tonight.