A/N- Let me know if there are any more problems with the chapter formatting (or if I repeat bits again.) Thanks guys.

Tony sat in his office contemplating how much he hated Ryan Chappelle. Firstly he'd arrived late, which gave Ryan a reason to have a go at him. Then there was the state of his clothes, yet another reason for Ryan to give him a lecture, which he did at length. Tony had barely listened to either of these, his concentration focused on not losing the contents of his stomach all over Ryan's pristine suit.

Then came the lecture on the place of relationships within the office, obviously he'd been having conversations with Carrie Turner. Tony tried to keep his answers polite and short, but the pain in his head combined with his annoyance at having to discuss this meant that he was snappy and defensive. This wound Ryan up even more, so then came the lecture on not showing up to work with a hangover.

It was two hours of lectures before they even discussed what Ryan had come for. Tony was seriously considering putting his fist through the glass table, just to avoid any more of Ryan's garbled nonsense.

He'd been surprised at how much he'd forgotten in two days. Walking into CTU had been the worst experience he could remember. Broken glass, rubble, damaged equipment were all strewn out across the floor. There were blood stains everywhere, including a large patch where Paula had been. He'd had to climb the stairs to George Mason's office, George's things were still in it. He couldn't bear to move any of it. Chappelle was waiting for him there, he just didn't want to do this. Then came Ryan's droning voice echoing through his head. He hated Ryan Chappelle, he hated this job, he hated this place, he hated the smell of death that was thick in the air, he hated the screams that he heard in his head as people ran from the explosions.

His head was buried in his hands, it had been for a while, desperately trying to hide the tears that were coursing down his face. The only thing that he didn't hate was her, her smile, the feel of her skin under his fingers, the smell of her in his clothes.

Eventually he pulled himself together, pushing back these thoughts, forcing himself to focus on his work, he needed to get it done before people started to arrive. He took some more painkillers, not really sure how many he'd already taken, but not caring.

Tony was saying something, but she wasn't really paying attention. Stood underneath the balcony, she was surrounded by those who were left and were well enough to come back into work. Even so, the damage of that day was clear, most of them were sporting injuries of some kind. Arms in bandages, cuts and bruises, eyes that betrayed the fact that they hadn't been able to sleep.

She pushed her eyes closed, but it just made it worse, images flooding through her mind. Paula, laying on the stretcher, dying. George Mason's arm about her, his words in her ear. A body on the floor, she didn't know whose, she'd thought it was Tony, was relieved when it wasn't, but he was still dead.

She forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying, something about memorial services. He looked awful, she knew how difficult this must be for him, his eyes were filled with pain. She wanted to tell him that it was ok, that he was doing a good job, that she was there for him. That was probably why office relationships weren't supposed to happen, it created a conflict of interests. He needed to do his job, she just wanted to take his pain away.

She'd drifted off again, memories overwhelming her. Tony was calling out names, she didn't know if hers had been called or not or what he was calling them for. This was not going to be a good day. She should have just phoned in sick.

People were wandering off now, she wasn't sure why. Why wouldn't her mind focus on anything?? She followed them, pretending like she knew what she was supposed to be doing.

Tony watched Michelle from the balcony, he knew full well that she hadn't been listening to a word he'd said. He'd watched her since she'd arrived. She was perfectly composed again, make up covering bruises on her face, hair pulled neatly back, her usual work clothes. Only her eyes betrayed the fact that this wasn't a normal day.
The names he'd been calling out were transfer lists, CTU was being shut down whilst it was being rebuilt, and everyone was being transferred to Division. He wondered how long it would take for her to realise she wasn't on any of the lists. He went back into Mason's office, his office now, slumping himself down into the chair, watching the seconds tick by on his clock.

Michelle had been able to find out that they were being transferred to Division, but she hadn't found out who she had been reassigned to. She'd checked the network, but her name wasn't on any of the lists. She'd cleared out her desk along with everyone else, trying to make it look like she had a clue what she was doing. She waited until everyone started to leave before she went upstairs. If she was going to have to crawl, she didn't want everyone to see.

He didn't see her walk into his office, didn't hear her close the door behind her, he was looking at the picture which he'd found buried in the back of the drawer, George Mason with a baby in his arms. He wasn't aware that he was crying until he felt her fingers brush his tears away, her hands pulling him into her arms, her voice whispering in his ear.

He tried to pull himself back, to pull himself together, but she wouldn't let him go. Eventually he just let himself collapse against her, his body shaking. He could feel tears coming from her eyes against his shirt.

Ryan Chappelle watched as Michelle led Tony out of CTU, Tony was leaning heavily against her, his head resting on hers. This irritated Ryan, he'd given Tony what he'd asked for, but the conditions were clear. His relationship with Michelle was to be kept entirely out of the office. He watched them go, not noticing the tear stains on their faces, entirely occupied with the fact that Tony would ignore what he'd said so easily.
Not that it mattered, they'd both pay for what they did to him.