Dropping the gun on his desk, just out of her reach, but close enough that she would attempt to get at it, he whispered at her, "What the hell have you done Michelle?" His face was just inches from hers, he could feel her breath as it drifted across his neck. As he reined himself in, pulling himself back from her, he caught her eyes, and was mesmerised by the mix of emotions pouring from them. True, anger dominated her, but what caught his attention was the pain he saw.

Instinct took him over, and before he could think what it was he was doing, his fingers were brushing the moisture her tears had left from her face.

Her anger melted away the moment his fingers touched her face, his eyes filled with a softness that she recognised, the same softness that she knew was mirrored by her eyes. "Tony…" She whispered, wincing at the pain in her voice.

He almost laughed at that, but this pulled him back to reality. He drew himself back from her, pushing his eyes closed for a moment as he considered what he was going to do. Then he looked at her, his eyes filled with pleading. "Tell me…Please Michelle, tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong." What else could she say? Either he believed her or he didn't.
He held her gaze for a moment, searching for something to tell him whether she was telling the truth. He did believe her, but then again, he had believed in Nina. His fingers strayed to the handcuffs tracing the metal that was lacing her skin as it bit into her. "Michelle…please…" He couldn't finish, he wanted desperately to trust her, but he just couldn't.

"That's…He's…" Swallowing hard, and trying to repress the memories that were dancing about her head, she forced herself continue. "His name is David. There's…There's a police report on this. Please don't…I can't…" She trailed off, unable to finish. The pain was something she could deal with, but the fear was something else entirely.

She heard him sigh, but didn't look up, couldn't. She had tried so hard to forget this, and he was the last person she wanted to know about it, let alone discuss it with. It wasn't until she felt his fingers working the handcuffs free of her wrist that she was able to meet his eyes.

"Show me," he whispered as he freed one hand, reattaching the other to the chair.
She glanced at his gun, he hadn't moved it, and it was now within in her reach. He followed her eyes, but said nothing as he nudged the keyboard closer to her. It was a start, something to grab onto as she felt the world she had built collapse around her.
She didn't feel anything as her fingers flew over the keys, the same way as they did every day, but this time filled with urgency. She tried to keep herself calm, to prepare herself for what she knew she was about to see, to brace herself for his reaction.
But it was a pointless exercise, she had forgotten the photo's that were attached to the file, and the memories that they brought back were more than she could fight against.
The fear that traced through her as he found her going through his stuff. The pain as his familiar weight crushed her into the floor, choking the air from her. The stinging pain as her salty tears fled into the open cut just below her eye. The bitter taste of the blood that poured into her mouth as his teeth tore through her flesh. The shiver of fear that traced her spine as the glaring light glinted off the blade of his knife that was approaching her face.

As he watched a single tear drop from her eye, he whispered to her, "It's alright. I promise you it's going to be ok."

She looked at him, nodding slightly as a soft smile appeared on her face. Despite everything, she believed him. She brought her free hand up to her face and wiped the tear from her face.

Catching her hand in his, he brought it to his mouth, gently tracing the swollen skin where the handcuffs had cut into. As he brought it down, he entwined her things with his. "I don't understand. Why wasn't this on his record." It wasn't the apology that he wanted to utter to her, but somehow it was all he could manage.

Michelle understood, pulling him closer to her. "I didn't…I didn't press charges."

"What…but…" He didn't even know how to respond to that.

"I was advised not to…he, um, he came out worse than I did." Catching his sharp glance, she smiled slightly, hearing the satisfying crunch as her booted foot connected with his stomach echoing through her mind. "I broke his nose and two of his ribs."
The laugh that this brought from him was small, lessened by the picture of her swollen face on the screen and the fear which he'd seen haunting her face. It was enough, however, to bring a small laugh from her as well as she drew his face close enough for her to be able to kiss him.

He kissed her softly for a moment until her giggling forced him to pull back. "What?"
"Don't ever point a gun at me again." She whispered, laughing as he rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm going to speak to Jack," he grinned as she pulled a face at him. Then kissing her quickly, he murmured, "Stay here," before disappearing out the door.