Michelle stirred restlessly, the dim light bothering her. Half asleep, she pressed her face deeper into her pillow and willed herself to relax, but sleep eluded her. After a further ten minutes of fruitless turning she sat up and strained her eyes peering at the bed beside the door. Its occupant was motionless; the only sound the respirator's hum. Slowly she swung her legs from the bed and groped for her crutches, standing with difficulty. You'll sleep better once you check on him! She hobbled past the two bedside cabinets and over to the unconscious figure, tears filling her eyes as she studied the numerous tubes hooked into him.

'I love you, sweetheart. You gotta hang in there,' she whispered, chewing her lip.

Tony's chest rose and fell as the oxygen was pumped into his lungs. She stood before him a second longer swaying from exhaustion before she moved round the bed, settling on top of the blankets. He almost looks like he's sleeping from here. You can't even see the tubes. Worn out, she pressed her face into the crook of his neck and shut her eyes. I'm so tired, honey.

An outraged nurse ordered her back to her own bed an hour later. Michelle lay back in her cold sheets frustrated, her sleep disturbed for the second time that night. 'I wasn't hurting him,' she whispered, glaring at the torchlight directed into her face.

'He is an ICU patient! Only medical staff are supposed to approach him. No one would be allowed anywhere near him in a normal hospital. Now will you settle down or do you want me to call the doctor to prescribe some sleeping medication?'

'I'm fine,' Michelle muttered, her fists clenched under the blanket. Who does that arrogant woman think she is? She doesn't even know Tony! I'm his wife… Not wishing to attract further attention to herself she lay down and shut her eyes, watching the nurse tiptoe across the room and pull a pale blue curtain aside. She flashed her torch onto Tony's parents ascertaining they both slept and left, shutting the door quietly.

'Michelle. Want me to move your bed over to Tony?' Marco whispered, crossing the room noiselessly.

She nodded in delight. 'Sure, but that woman won't like it!'

'Our sleeping arrangements are nothing to do with her,' Marco replied, moving the first cabinet. 'Damn it's heavy.'

'Need a hand?' she inquired softly.

He shook his head, pulling it forward. 'No, I can manage!' Ten minutes later the cabinets stood on the other side of her bed and he nodded at her. 'Hang on now.'

Michelle lay back while he wheeled her across the newly freed up space, pushing her bed against Tony's. 'Thanks,' she whispered.

'You got it. Now get some sleep. You had surgery today.'

Michelle nodded. 'Yeah. You too, Marco.'

Marco rubbed his face, the moonlight showing her his obvious restlessness. 'Yeah. Here I am giving advice I can't keep! I can't sleep. I keep expecting someone to come in and find us here. Hassan or his men, or some other nutcase! That colonel took my gun when I waved it at the doctor! I can't even defend us anymore.'

'But we're in a small military camp. We're as safe as at home,' Michelle assured him.

Marco shook his head. 'We're in a small group of Marines in the middle of millions of nuts,' he replied, his politically inaccurate description of their situation forcing her to chew her lips hard to avoid grinning. 'Yeah we got weapons, but they got the numbers and believe me, I don't like being here! Michelle, we were on a plane, flying over the mountains. It looked so solid, we had four jet engines and state of the art computer software and still we ended up falling out of the sky! You telling me we're safer down here?'

She remained silent, considering his words.

'You see. This isn't a safe part of the world. You kinda think you're invincible when you're in an airplane flying above them, that you're totally separate from them and their issues, but I learned my lesson. I just need to get outa this region!'

'You should move your own bed over to Rita,' Michelle advised. 'Trust me, it'll help!'

He nodded, a smile lighting his face as he considered her advice. 'You're right. Who am I kidding here? I only spent a handful of nights away from her since we were married and I spent that time working on my designs anyway. Didn't have a hope of sleeping alone! You just gave me an idea! Goodnight, sweetie.'

'Goodnight,' she whispered, watching him cross the ward and climb into his wife's bed. Hand pressed against her mouth to stifle her laughter she watched Rita stir, burrow her face into his neck without waking while he slipped an arm about her, kissing her forehead. That nurse is bound to find plenty to object to once she tours the ward again! Tentatively her hand reached out, her fingers brushing Tony's arm above the bandages. Shutting her eyes she decided to leave her hand where it was in the hope he would feel her presence and take comfort. Please Tony, just show me you're aware I'm here.

Her sign arrived two hours later when the outraged nurse brought the doctor in to sedate her. 'I'm not hurting Tony, I just need to be near him, just in case he wakes up,' she begged, willing him to understand. 'I'm not moving!'

The doctor nodded gravely, allowing her to see his smile. 'I'm not sure I'd recommend your theories on patient recuperation, but it seems to be working in this case. Look at those readings. They're stabilized in the last two hours. I take it you've been here since then?'

She nodded, staring at a graph of meaningless data. 'He knows I'm here?' she whispered, hopefully.

'He sure does. You better stay right where you are. We don't wanna upset something that works so well for him. Goodnight!'

TWO MONTHS LATER

'Close your eyes,' Michelle ordered, a grin on her face. Tony obeyed, breathing in the scent of her slightly shorter auburn curls as she bent over him. 'You can open them now!'

'Four Weddings And A Funeral,' he read, staring at the disk in resignation. 'Haven't we watched this before, honey?'

'You watched the first twenty minutes before you fell asleep,' she replied, planting a kiss on his cheek. 'You're gonna watch it all this afternoon, Tony. You've just woken up; you're bound to be alert.'

Would've been, without that! He threw her a pleading look which she ignored, sticking the disk in. 'Need a pillow?'

Tony nodded, enjoying the novelty of having their beds downstairs in the dining room where his brothers had placed them on Michelle's return from hospital to save her leg the necessity of climbing the stairs. They had pushed the table aside leaving the occupants of the bed perfect access to the wide screen TV, one of his sole forms of entertainment as his hands were bandaged after extensive reconstructive surgery. Too weak to leave his bed he was visited twice a day by a doctor who checked his vital signs and healing wounds carefully, and was reminded yet again to stay away from all food he enjoyed. Left with what to all intents amounted to blended baby food and unable to use his computer or turn the pages of a book he was ready to howl in frustration had not Michelle taken an extra two weeks from work to spend it with him.

His eyes roamed to the clock on the wall, noting a mere five minutes had elapsed since the last time he checked it. Michelle lay beside him dressed in a pale green sweater, her leg curled up to her chest. He moved his head, kissing her exposed shoulder.

She trembled at his touch, turning to face him. 'You're definitely recovering,' she said lightly, returning his kiss.

Delighted, he pushed his elbow against the bed and struggled to sit up, bending over to kiss her warmly on the lips. 'Aha.'

'And you're already disobeying the doctor. You're to lie perfectly still, remember, to allow the injuries to heal.'

'I'm fine,' he muttered, ignoring her admonitions as he placed another kiss on her warm lips. It's kinda true, Almeida. You're a lot better and if sitting up to kiss her will kill you, you'll die happy!

'How about we settle you down,' Michelle began, lowering him carefully, 'and I'll kiss you instead. If Dr. Anderson sees you sitting up, he'll get mad. You don't really wanna get sent back to hospital!'

Tony rolled his eyes at the thought. 'Nah. That guy's in the wrong profession, trust me, honey! He'd do better as an undertaker!'

Michelle giggled at the thought of the dedicated physician who assiduously visited Tony daily in the role he had suggested. 'Sweetheart, you're being a little unfair,' she protested. 'He's a real good doctor…'

'He's gloomy! I feel worse when I see him,' Tony grumbled. 'He got this long face,' he pulled a face to demonstrate, delighting in hearing a second giggle. She's been through hell, Almeida, she needs to laugh. 'And then he pulls his beard,' he pulled a bandaged hand along his chin, 'and says nothin' for a while, and just when you think he's gonna pronounce you dead he pulls out his blood pressure machine and gets a high reading, then he says "hmmm", and then…'

Michelle's shoulders shook with laughter. 'You're in the wrong profession too, Tony. You could definitely go as a comedian!'

'You've been spending too much time with my mom, sweetheart!'

Michelle's shoulders shook harder as she gave way to laughter. Her eyes rested on Tony who grinned back at her.

'I gotta admit somethin' though. I do admire his beard. What would you say if I were to grow one just like his?'

Michelle stared at him in dismay. 'No, Tony, you mustn't,' she cried. 'It looks horrible. Nobody in my family ever had a beard. It wouldn't suit you!'

'You can't know that till I grow one,' he argued, barely able to contain his mirth. 'But if I do, it's gonna be a real beard, not like Dr. Anderson's neat one. I wanna look like Ali and Hassan and all the rest of them…'

Michelle gave a gasp, reaching forward to give him a push. 'Don't you even think of it,' she cried, grabbing a cushion before she remembered his poor condition. 'Tony…'

The bell rang at that precise moment and she laid it down, shaking her head at him. 'Don't move!'

Tony lay back, his eyes sparkling with surpressed laughter, ears pricked to hear who had come to visit him. Hearing the doctor's voice killed his merriment. It's him again.

'No doctor, I wasn't hurting Tony,' Michelle's voice protested as she led him down the hall. 'We were just talking!'

'You gotta remember his condition,' the doctor reminded her. 'Any movement could reopen some stitches and necessitate a further operation. I'm certain you wish to avoid that. He is to lie still and rest. Good afternoon, Tony.'

'Dr. Anderson,' Tony said politely.

'Let's take a look at you,' the doctor began, opening his bag. 'How have you been feeling?'

'I'm fine,' Tony replied, pulling a face at Michelle that the doctor, head buried in his bag failed to notice. She shook her head at him sternly, hand pressed over her mouth.

'We'll see. What's that?' He pointed accusingly at an empty packet of cookies and three beer bottles. 'Don't tell me you've been eating solids and drinking alcohol?'

'No sir, I wouldn't dream of it,' Tony assured him. 'I acquired a taste for mashed vegetables! My brothers are home on leave and they didn't seem too keen on blended lentils and bottled water, so Michelle found them something unhealthy from the cupboard.'

The doctor nodded, glancing at him to determine whether he spoke the truth. 'I hope so,' he said disapprovingly, tugging at his beard. Tony threw Michelle a quick look from the corner of his eyes, while she pressed her fingers tighter about her mouth. 'You remember the importance of keeping away from germs in your condition, I hope?'

Tony nodded, not trusting himself to reply.

'And yet you entertained visitors!'

'Sir, I've hardly seen anyone since I got home,' Tony protested. It's true, Almeida. You haven't seen anyone apart from Bobby, Marco and Jo, apart of course from Anna, Rita, Maria and Jane, Cousin Juan, Papa and Mom everyday, and a few friends from CTU, like Jack and Gael every afternoon. You've been lonely!

The doctor pursed his lips, disbelief plain on his face. 'Just remember to lie still and get plenty of rest,' he repeated, shaking his head at the reading. 'Your blood pressure's still high – you're in considerable pain.'

Tony narrowed his eyes hating his discomfort revealed to Michelle whose eyes clouded in sympathy. 'It's not too bad anymore,' he lied.

'Unfortunately I can't prescribe a higher dose of morphine,' the doctor said, his tone a little kinder. 'You're at your limit. Now let me check that stomach wound.'

Tony winced as the bandage was removed and the doctor examined his most serious shot. 'It's healing, right?'

To his relief the doctor nodded. 'It's clean. Try and get some rest and yes, I am aware it takes patience to deal with this but I can't hurry the process along. It'll take time.'

'I understand,' Tony assured him, watching a fresh bandage taped over his wound.

'And why, if I may ask such a foolish question, are you not upstairs in bed? Whose idea was it to move the bed down here and what for?'

Tony gave a sheepish smile, indicating the large screen TV. 'They thought it was easier if I just slept here,' he said, using his training to hide his lie. There's no way you could have come downstairs, Almeida, not this badly hurt. Had they put you upstairs you couldn't have been carried out into the garden! The doctor left a little silence in his wake, Michelle avoiding his eyes.

Tony struggled to sit, determined to hide his discomfort. 'Sweetheart, I was right. We were having fun before he came and now we're not! I'll pretend to be out tomorrow!'

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she shook her head. 'Try that and he'll have you back in the hospital within the hour. Sweetheart, you've only been out for two days.'

'Michelle, being stuck in that place really made me feel bad,' he explained lazily. 'It's better being home, I'm not surrounded by death. And now my parents are back….'

They shared a conspiratorial grin, Michelle shaking her head. 'And your father's practically recovered from the sea voyage!'

'Well, Papa's obviously not cut out for a life at sea,' Tony agreed solemnly. 'Still, he's almost better now! And he coped fine with the train!'

'Trains,' she corrected, dissolving into fits of laughter. 'They were telling me some tales about the line from Tashkent onwards yesterday. If it wasn't them telling the tale I wouldn't have believed it. Apparently there was no need to look for the bathroom, it….'

Tony nodded hurriedly. 'I can imagine,' he said.

'And one train was two days late and they slept in a station with hundreds of other people because no one knew when the train would arrive, but they knew it wouldn't wait for long…'

'The trip of a lifetime,' Tony observed, burying his head in his pillow. 'Michelle, sweetheart, you can't blame mom. She always hated flying, and after that final landing…' He shook his head. 'In her defense, let me say she coped admirably with the crappiest train trip I ever heard of.'

'She coped fine,' Michelle agreed. 'I think she even enjoyed it! I mean, it's not everyday you get hauled off a train and ordered to shovel snow from the tracks! And while your father was digging she found someone who could speak English and she got lots of new recipes!'

'Ladies always have it easy,' Tony remarked, eyeing her warily. 'Just picture it, honey. There was poor Papa shoveling snow while mom was chatting in a warm carriage! And then the cabin with the leaking tap on the container ship! It was just Papa's luck they got into that storm, really!'

Michelle settled beside him, kissing his forehead. 'Bering Strait's always rough, Tony! It's virtually impossible to cross in the winter.'

'And it wasn't anyone's fault that that wave knocked him across the deck while he was vomiting outside.' Hearing footsteps from the garden he nodded his head at the window. 'Shh.'

Marco entered, his face a little thinner, arms full of shopping. 'Hey,' he said, narrowing his eyes at their expressions. 'You kids laughing at me again, I guess!' He eyed them in turn, noting them turn crimson. 'It's really not that amusing. What was I supposed to do, abandon your mom? I spent days persuading her to just get on the plane.' He grinned at them, thrilled to see Tony so relaxed.

Michelle nodded. 'I know, I tried too. She wouldn't go for it. But look at it on the bright side, Marco! You had a fantastic train trip!'

Marco rolled his eyes as he set down a heavy bag. 'You can say that again! I thought I'd freeze my,' he glanced hurriedly at his daughter-in-law, 'my fingers off when I was given this shovel and told the tracks needed clearing. You guys should try it once! Gives you a clear idea of just how fragile technology really is!' He settled on the bed beside Tony, laying a hand on his forehead. 'You're still a little feverish, Antonio. Has the quack been?'

'He said Tony needs to rest and keep quiet,' Michelle reported. 'He says Tony's in real pain.'

Quack doesn't need to come tell me that, I can sense it. 'I'll cut you some oranges, m'ijo,' Marco decided, lifting the bags into his arms. 'You need some vitamins. Has your mother returned yet?'

They shook their heads and he sighed dramatically. 'She's determined to replace her entire lost wardrobe in one day! Oh well, at least the travel insurance is paying for it!' He shook his head at Michelle who attempted to take a bag. 'No, sweetie, your leg's not well yet.' Seeing Tony's exhausted face she kissed him and tucked him up, ordering him to sleep and followed Marco to the kitchen.

He grinned at her, pulling a chair from the table. 'Sit down, sweetie. Are you hungry?'

She shook her head, elbows on the table as she watched him peel and slice a bag of vegetables. 'What are you doing?' she inquired, puzzled.

'Preparing dinner, as per Rita's orders. This was always my job,' he explained, grinning at her. 'I'm the kitchen hand and she's the cook! I gotta chop the beef up next.'

Thank God it's not chicken. Sipping an orange juice she remained in the kitchen not wishing to disturb the sleeping Tony. She watched while Marco sharpened a knife and cut the meat with easy strokes. 'You're good at it,' she told him and he nodded, acknowledging the praise.

'I should be, after all these years. It's not easy, raising a family when the mother has to work. You find yourself in a perpetual rush. Not the way I planned it.'

She shifted restlessly. 'You two have done a fantastic job. Did you have a plan you followed, how you dealt with all those kids?'

Marco rubbed his face and laid the knife on the counter. 'Wanna know a secret? We had no idea what we were doing half the time! We just kinda faced each day as it came. Half the time everyone else knew what mischief our kids had done except for us.'

She grinned, shaking her head at him. 'That's not true! I saw your calendars where you noted where each child was supposed to be after school…'

'That's the easy part,' Marco interrupted, eyeing her in amusement. 'Hard part was when they were old enough to attend after school activities by themselves and you expected they were there, only to discover they were on the other side of the city hanging out with kids I ordered them to stay away from! Ask Tony, for instance, where he went the night I was away in San Francisco. It's quite a tale, let me tell you!'

Michelle looked intrigued. 'Give me a clue?' she pleaded.

Chewing his lip, he shook his head. 'Actually, I'd love to hear what he's got to say about it after all these years! You ask him when he wakes up and I'll sit here and listen!'

Tony squeezed his eyes tighter. Oh no! Resolved to rest rather than be subjected to either the comedy or her questioning he lay motionless, allowing their voices to float over to him. The relentless pain proved easier to bear at home than in the sterility of the hospital.

The door opened again and Tony's younger brothers entered, Bobby automatically moving to the cupboard to find a packet of cookies.

'Sounds like you've got too much time on your hands, Papa,' one of them teased, grabbing a beer. 'You know, I could maybe bend the rules a little and allow a family member to accompany me on my next trip. I am the captain, after all! Marco Almeida, lucky winner of a sea voyage…..'

His father narrowed his eyes. 'Watch it, m'ijo. You may have attained the rank of captain, but you're still my son!'

Michelle watched as the two Marcos grinned at each other, the younger rising to place his arms round his father. 'Sorry, Papa. Still, anytime you reconsider, just send me an email and I'll arrange permission for your trip! If they allow wives on, I don't see why they shouldn't let fathers. I'll even give you my bed and sleep on the floor, and we'll do our best to keep to calm waters…'

His father clucked in irritation, swatting him on the leg. 'Behave yourself, m'ijo, unless you want me to spank you in front of Michelle!'

'And that is my line to leave,' the young captain said, winking at her. 'Tony up yet?'

She shook her head, placing a finger on her lips.

'They'd have killed you, Marco,' his father said, a little quieter.

The captain shook his head. 'I'd have died by myself, so far from the sea! No wind, no waves, no salt in the air! How can you live like that? No wonder you took a sea trip, Papa, to clear your lungs…' He backed out of the kitchen, fleeing upstairs as his patient father rose.

'And you say we done a good job!' Marco sighed, returning to slicing the beef.

Michelle nodded, taking a cookie Bobby offered her. 'Yeah. I just hope I'll figure it all out one day.'

'Oh, you will,' he assured her hurriedly. 'As long as you accept each kid as an individual, you'll do okay. When we first had Tony, all we knew about babies was that they drank milk! You know that too!'

She nodded, helping herself to the final chocolate cookie from the pack.

'And the rest comes. I'll tell you a secret though. The most important thing you can teach your kids is kindness. Everything else they will learn to the best of their ability, but this has to be taught at home. A lot of people don't attach any significance to that quality, but Rita and I always considered it vital.'

'I agree,' Michelle told him, sipping more juice. She glanced towards the dining room and Marco left the counter, peering inside.

'He's still asleep. Were you watching something, sweetie?'

'Nothing important,' she admitted, finishing the juice. 'A romantic comedy that Tony doubtless hated. It's not surprising he's sleeping so soundly! I'll watch it later, it's okay!'

'Romantic comedy,' Marco repeated, a strange expression crossing his face. 'And you got a coupla hours to kill till you can watch it?' And Tony's unlikely to wake up anytime soon with the prospect of being forced to sit through that. 'Did I ever tell you how I met Rita?' he inquired, finishing the meat.

Michelle shook her head, having heard only bits and pieces from Tony.

'I can guarantee it's at least as romantic as anything you'd see on the TV,' he assured her. 'As for humor, well, the entire episode seemed downright grim at times, but in retrospect it's amusing enough.'

Michelle rose and peered into the dining room, planting a kiss on Tony's forehead while he struggled to lie motionless. She left the room noiselessly, settling back at the table. 'Tell me about it,' she begged, certain from their characters it would be a story worth hearing.

Tony opened his eyes a crack and strained his ears determined to catch every word, aware his father would be inclined to include juicy parts to the story they had omitted from mentioning to him. Through the half open door he watched Michelle lean her elbows on the table and turn her head towards his father, her eyes bright with anticipation. He watched Marco pull a second chair from under the table and lean back. Come on Papa; start talking before I fall asleep! I really need to hear this!

The End

The remainder of the story discusses Marco's meeting Rita and the birth of Tony. Only for those who grew to like these characters. Thanks for all the reviews – they really made my day!