Thirty minutes later the two found themselves thrust back into the world they were so desperately trying to avoid. However, at this point Tony and Michelle would do just about anything for Jack, and vice versa. Tony drove the short distance back to CTU very quietly, almost unreadable. He had just said goodbye to one of his longest, most loyal friends and Michelle could see the annoyance on Tony's face. Politics…
But he wasn't distant. As he drove he held a firm grip on Michelle's hand. Things were already getting back to how they should be. The two of them against the world.
Tony snuck into the back parking lot, so as to not be seen by a guard who could later testify against them if anything were ever to be uncovered about this secret "mission". The choices and decisions they made now would change the rest of their lives. As a precaution, Tony and Michelle would enter two different doors, two minutes apart.
"Ok, I'll
take side entrance, you take the back first" Tony said in a tone of
determination.
"Ok" Michelle agreed as she turned to exit the
car.
"Chelle wait" Tony stopped her, reaching out to her
arm.
Michelle spun around.
"Thank you for helping"
"I'm
here for you… always" Michelle said, catching his eyes for a
minute.
"I love you" Tony said leaning in to kiss her.
After
a brief kiss Michelle replied "Love doesn't even begin to cover
it, Tony", referring back to the night of their engagement. Tony
bit his lip and smiled, then focused.
"I'll meet you out here
in twenty minutes, max"
"See ya then" Michelle got out of
the car and into the parking lot headed for the back entrance. Tony
watched from the car.
He couldn't
imagine what the last 18 months had been like for her and this was
the first time he tried without pitying his own
self...
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(Season 3)
Michelle watched
as police officers escorted her husband out of CTU in handcuffs.
"Traitor?" how could this have happened. Tony of all people would
never intentionally betray his country in the way the title "traitor"
conveys. Nina was a traitor, Saunders was a traitor, but Tony? Not
her Tony.
The next few hours were a mad dash as division sent in
back up for CTU and Hammond worked the files. He refused to let
Michelle work on anything pertinent, promising, or urgent so she
finished up her briefing and headed over to NHS. They still needed
final blood samples, DNA analysis, things for research, but also for
documentation of the survival/mortality rate and they needed to have
Michelle on file as fully recovered. Minutes there felt like days as
Michelle longed to see Tony. For a few days she visited him at the
local prison regularly; getting there at visitor opening time and
leaving at closing. But life did have to go on for Michelle.
While Michelle hated the idea of sticking with CTU, she needed a job and she knew Langley couldn't offer one. Upon research she found a Homeland Security restructuring project and sent in a resume. Almost immediately she was accepted as assistant director of the project headquarters in Seattle. Leaving behind the dream of the house she and Tony had been looking at, Michelle packed up to leave for Seattle nearly one month after Tony's imprisonment. She would live in a small apartment in Seattle and come home to her LA apartment (which she and Tony shared after their wedding) every weekend to see Tony. As much as it would cost her to keep renting the LA apartment, Michelle just couldn't give up the memories now embedded into those four walls…
(18 months after season 2, 18 months before season 3)
May 16, 2007. It was a beautiful day. The weather was as perfect as it could be for LA. Could today really be happening?
Michelle asked that to herself frequently, even now as she ran from room to room frantically, frustrated.
"Where are the clips?" Michelle yelled to the four other girls in her apartment.
"Michelle, baby, did you try the bathroom" Jessica said making her way to the bathroom.
Michelle followed her. "Ha! Did i try the bathroom of course I tried th…"
She was cut off by Jessica holding up 3 silver clips
"Missed that drawer," Michelle said guiltily.
"Yeah," Jessica replied with understanding of Michelle's current state.
Michelle's mom spoke up over the "girlie" music playing in the background from the kitchen. "Girls, come get some breakfast. I promise, the dresses will still fit if you have a few eggs."
"Mom, seriously. Eating would not go over very well with the stomach at this particular time" Michelle said walking into the kitchen.
"Trust her, Michelle" said Julie, Tony's younger sister, "you will thank her for it later. It will most likely be 12 hours until you eat again."
"You all forget how common that is for me though"
"Well it's unhealthy. Sit down and eat" Michelle's mom said putting the plate down on the table.
"Mom, the flowers are on the table, you can't put the eggs there."
"Well goodness no, we wouldn't want to impose on the flowers territory. What was I thinking?" she quipped back in a sarcastic you're-going-crazy tone.
"Fine. Just hand me the plate"
The doorbell rang. Michelle's friend Christi opened the door. It was Ben, Julie's husband, Tony's best man. The girls screamed as they were all in t-shirts and underwear with their hair half done. They were surprised to see Ben ready to go, bowtie and everything.
"Hey baby. What are you doing and why are you already ready?"
"I have a gift from the groom to the bride."
The girls "aaaawwwww"ed as Michelle blushed and took the rather large box from Ben's hands.
"And there's a cubs game on today. We got ready early to watch the game" Ben replied with a smile.
"Could've left that part out, sweetheart" Julie said in response to his ruining the sentiment.
"Yeah well. I'm going to head back we're only in the 3rd inning." Ben turned around and shut the door behind him.
Jessica laughed. "Sheesh, Michelle. You better hope it doesn't go into extra innings, there may not be a wedding."
"You joke about that, but it is very possible" Michelle said with a smile.
"Well open it!" the girls yelled.
Inside the box was a bouquet of 2 dozen roses, a card, a mug, and a picture frame.
Michelle opened and began to read the card to herself
"Oh c'mon. don't leave us hangin!" Christi said anxiously.
Michelle started over, this time reading out loud.
"Dear Michelle. I don't even know what to say on this, the best day of my life. All I can say is that I love you… But love doesn't begin to cover it... For the rest of my life, Tony." Michelle smiled at his alluding to her response to his proposal. The thought of being married to this man was more than her heart could take.
She picked up the mug. She now had her very own cubs' mug. That, above all other things, made their marriage official. From then on she gets to share in Tony's interests, in his future. And then there was the picture frame. Small, simple, and silver, it held a picture from a few months back.
Tony had gone out of town with his dad one a recruiting campaign his dad was involved in. He had a few more pictures left on his disposable camera when he returned and the two of them went out on a movie date. It was a close up picture; one that Tony had taken by stretching out his arm and snapping the picture in the general direction of their faces.
They were so
happy. You could just see it in the picture. Michelle couldn't wait
to see Tony. It wouldn't be long until the sun would shine brightly
on her long, flowy white dress, her toes in the sand, with a small
group of 20 people watching her say "I do" to her prince
charming. Could today really be
happening?
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