Sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter up but it is a very long one! I hope you enjoy.
I don't own 24. Adults only content! Thanks:)
2 hours later Michelle found herself staring into the mirror in David's bathroom. She had been at the house for 35 minutes now, most of the time had been spent sitting with a group of other women at a separate table to the men. She had tried to appear as though she was making an effort to make small talk with these people but really she was studying the group of men at the next table as they sat talking.
There was a cloud of smoke above them as they all puffed away on cigars and skulled scotch. So far she hadn't heard one comment that was of any kind of interest. They actually appeared to come across as a bunch of ordinary business men all enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon together. What was odd was the clear line of the men and women. David had made it more than clear she wasn't to approach their table or speak with anyone unless he told her to. She was surprised he had let her even walk into the house to go to the bathroom on her own.
After meeting her at the gate to his property he had eyed her up and down and smiled at her before promptly slapping her across the face for not being able to cover her black eye better. He had introduced her as his 'lady friend' to everyone else, before instructing her to go and sit with the other wives and behave.
She knew that tactical could see everything that was happening through a camera on her blouse and could hear everything through a pin point microphone on her bra strap, which made it impossible for her to even go to the toilet. So she used the time to take a minute and collect herself before she had to go back out there. She took in a huge breath of air as she pumped herself up to go back out and face everyone again. She hated this and just wanted to be back at Tony's house where she felt safe and comfortable.
She flung the door open and got the surprise of her life to see David standing there waiting for her. "Took your time, is there a problem?"
Michelle shook her head and tried to smile for him, "No not at all, just touching up my make-up."
He reached for her and pulled her into him. He reeked of alcohol and sweat. He couldn't even hug her without being rough, with his size and height she almost felt like a small child in his arms. His hands trailed down her back where he then grabbed her bottom and began to kiss her neck. He growled into her ear, "Come with me."
Before she could even respond he began to drag her down a hallway. Michelle panicked. Was this guy serious? Did he really expect sex now whilst he had a group of people waiting outside? There was no way she would do this and she knew Tony would be storming the house before he let this guy to this to her. Just as they were about to open a door to a bedroom another man appeared. "Hey David, there is something that needs your...ummm attention."
"Fuck off Jacob, I'm busy. I'll be out in a few minutes."
David turned Michelle's body around so she was facing Jacob and as he stood behind her he ran his hands down over her breasts and grabbed at them forcefully, right in front of this other man. She felt sick, her heart was racing and her body hurt as he pushed his into her back.
Jacob didn't look the slightest bit phased by what David was doing. In fact, it was like he just looked straight past Michelle to David. He shook his head, "This can't wait David. Marley has made an..."
David cut him off, "Shut the fuck up. What have I told you about..." He slammed his hand into the wall. "Fine, but this better be fucking worth it."
David spun Michelle back around. He reached his hand under her skirt to her inner thigh and held her roughly. "You, wait here. I'll be back soon."
Michelle just nodded her head in response. Her heart felt like it started to beat again as it sunk in that she had just been bought a little bit of time. She knew that she had only a few minutes to find something or get the hell out of there because when he came back she knew what she was in for. He pushed her body out of his way and followed Jacob down the hall.
Michelle crept down the hall behind them, keeping a safe distance and then watched as he left the house and went back outside. Once she could see he was in the garden with the other men she turned around and scanned the room. She had seen a door leading off the kitchen earlier that was locked so she decided to head there first. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out.
"Yeah..."
"Michelle, it is Chloe O'Brian. There is a room behind the library, I am not sure how you can get in there as we can't tell if there is a door or not but..."
"Fine, where is the library..."
Chloe directed Michelle down the hall, through a study and lounge room, down some stairs and through a couple more doors before she came to a library. "Chloe, does Tony know I am heading down here because if I get caught at this end of the house I am..."
She was cut off by Ryan coming onto the line, "Don't worry Michelle, Tony is able to see what is going on. Tactical is ready to head in the second you need them. We are going to create a distraction on the street outside his front gate to hopefully buy you some time."
"Ok." Michelle hung up and began to search the room. She pushed every shelf or latch she could find trying to find something that would lead into the next room. One shelf she pushed made a draw open out which held a gun and a pile of paperwork. She checked the gun was loaded and then put it inside her jacket. After 10 minutes of finding nothing and feeling like she had searched everywhere she began to panic that she was running out of time. She went to dial the office again when as she stepped forward she looked down and saw a tiny lever on the ground, next to the leg of a desk. She pulled the lever and heard a clicking sound behind her. She turned to see a couple of what looked like books sliding to the side and a little handle.
She rushed to the handle and pushed it down, immediately a section of the book shelf moved to the side like an automatic door. Her heart was pounding. She ran back over to the library door and locked it. 'This is it' she told herself. If David or anyone came down to this area now she was screwed. She had barely opened the door behind the shelves an inch when she heard whimpering. She held her breath and pushed it open enough to look in.
Michelle's body slumped hard against the shelf beside her when she saw what was in front of her. Not 2 women but 6. All huddled together in a room no bigger than most people's bathrooms. They were all only half dressed, battered and obviously scared to death. They held each other close, put their heads down and pushed their bodies into the wall as far away from Michelle as possible. Michelle wanted to burst into tears. The sight of this and imagining what these women must have all been subjected to made her want to vomit. She quickly kicked into action.
She raised her hands and kept her voice quiet, "I'm not here to hurt you, and I am a federal agent. I am here to help you."
A couple of the girls raised their heads and looked at her in hope, the rest kept their heads down and cried, begging her not to hurt them. She walked towards them, "Please, you have to trust me, we don't have time but I am here to get you out. There are a pile of police surrounding the house and we are going to get you out of here but I need your help."
Michelle tried to get eye contact with them one by one. After what felt like forever a couple of the woman rushed at her and threw their arms around her, "help us, please. Oh my god, please help us."
She held them back tightly, even though their grip was sending pain through her body. "I'll do my best but I really need you to help. Does anyone here know their way around this place?"
They all shook their heads. "We get blindfolded when we are lead out of here. We don't even know what is on the other side of the wall."
Michelle told them she needed to make a call. It was hard even getting out of their grip to reach her phone. She called the office. "Ryan, can you see this?"
"Yes Michelle, well done. Tony is on his way in now."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Chloe is going to direct you out of that room into another area of the house until we get the place under our control."
Tony and his team all entered the property from 5 or 6 different locations, hoping to surround David and his men as quickly as possible. The second David saw agents storming his property he bolted inside. Within seconds his men began firing at the agents and the whole place became mayhem. The other women outside were screaming and running around everywhere trying to find somewhere to hide and the tactical team was doing their best to make sure the women were not caught in the fire fight.
Michelle had made it back up to the first floor with the women and just about had them into another room when one of David's men rounded the corner and caught them. He called out to David and began swearing abuse at Michelle and trained his gun on them telling them not to move. Michelle stood in front and yelled at the women to go into the room. There were a few moments where they didn't move, scared to death they would be shot if they did but after Michelle screamed at them again to get into the room they all made a run for it. The man fired a shot and Michelle fired back as she dropped to the floor. She felt the bullet fly past the top of her head. She yelled at the women to lock the door. She was now outside in the hall on her own but the 6 women were locked inside the room together. Before she knew what was happening she felt someone grab her by her shoulders and pull her up onto her feet. She elbowed the person as hard as she could in the groin and as he doubled over she turned and punched him in the neck and side of the head. She got in the 3 hard blows before the other man that had fired at her attacked her from the back. She was kicked and punched repeatedly by both men. She had no hope of beating the both of them and she felt like she had only a second left until she was killed. She fought like she had never fought before, fighting for her life with strength she never knew she had.
The sound of a gunshot pierced her ears. She didn't know if she had been shot and everything felt like it came to a complete stop for a moment whilst she looked to see what had happened. The man that was holding her by her hair and arm slumped to the ground. Another shot went off and immediately she felt the 2nd man fall down on top of her. Blood poured from his head gushing down all over her.
"Sweetheart, are you ok? Chelle, talk to me..."
The sound of Tony's voice made her burst into tears. She was so weak and the weight of the dead man's body was too heavy for her to move from under him. Within seconds she felt the weight being lifted and she could see Tony reaching down for her. "Tony..."
"It's going to be ok baby..." He pulled her up off the ground. He wanted to hold her and check every inch of her but he knew that the house still wasn't under control and they were not safe yet. He did a quick scan of the room again and couldn't see anyone.
"There are 6 women in that room. I told them to lock the door..."
Tony was trying to keep himself together. The sight of Michelle covered in blood and after watching her be beaten like that was playing over and over in his head. "You were amazing sweetheart..." He pounded on the door. "Police, open the door."
When the door was unlocked, Tony held Michelle and began to push her into the room, "I want you to stay in there baby until the place is secure. Lock the door."
"I can help Tony...don't leave me..."
He kissed her on the forehead quickly but basically picked her up body and forced her into the room. "You have already done enough, please Chelle stay in the room. I'll be back for you in a minute. I love you..."
He didn't give her a chance to argue or reply, he stole one last look at her before pulling the door closed behind him and yelling at them all to lock it and wait. He grabbed another gun from one of the bodies and began to make his way down the hall. He could hear his men telling him that different sections were now under control but that 3 men were still not counted for. Once he was into the next room he could hear fighting and ran towards it. One of his agents, Les was wrestling with a man. He fired a shot in the air to get their attention and then trained his gun on the other man. The man was unarmed and raised his hands above his head and began to beg for his life. Les was able to get back on his feet and Tony passed him his extra gun whilst directing the man to lie down on his stomach with his hands on his head. As the man went to lie down he tried to make a desperate reach for a gun he could see on the ground and Tony fired straight away. One bullet straight into his shoulder.
Tony called for help and when Les said he had the situation under control Tony kept making his way down the hall. He crossed through 3 rooms finding nothing. He had almost done a circle and was almost back to the room where the girls were all in when he felt a bullet skim his arm, making him drop his gun. He dropped to the floor to pick it up as he also flipped to see who it was.
Before he had time to grab it, he was kicked in the head and he felt his body slam into the ground. It was David. He looked up at him and they stared into each other's eyes. The rage in David's eyes was like nothing Tony had ever seen before. "YOU..."
Tony didn't speak back. He could see by the expression on David's face that he was realizing that Michelle must be an agent as well and that he had been set up. He began screaming at Tony and calling Michelle a fucking bitch, demanding where she was. Tony didn't speak and David kicked him again. "Where the fuck is she?"
Again Tony just looked at David, straight in the eyes. "It's over David. You are surrounded; you are not getting out of here." He barely got his last word out before he was smashed across the side of his head with the base of the gun.
Michelle could hear everything. She could hear David beating Tony just outside the door and she knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before David killed him. When she heard him begin to scream at Tony again demanding to know where she was she took that opportunity to open the door hoping he wouldn't hear over his own noise. She looked to see David standing over Tony kicking him. She watched as David knelt down to Tony and held his head up by his neck and put his gun to his head, "I'm gonna ask you one last time, where is she?"
Michelle's heart was pounding out of her chest. She couldn't fire now whilst David had the gun directly at Tony's head with his finger on the trigger. She prayed for David to move or do something that would give her a shot. She raised her gun and then just when she thought she was going to have to make the call to shoot and risk everything, Tony opened his eyes and caught eye contact with her. She felt a rush of adrenalin and hope.
Tony quickly darted his eyes all over and then into David's so he would not look around. "Ok ok...don't shoot. She's..." He mumbled so that David wouldn't understand him. David tightened his grip on Tony, "WHAT?"
Tony again spoke as though he could barely string a sentence together. This time he allowed David to be able to make out a couple words he said. Tony pretended to start again and nodded his head the opposite direction of Michelle. David was falling for it and he looked up over Tony's shoulder. Flustered and fooled into thinking Tony was on deaths door, he allowed his gun to waiver as he tried to make Tony sit up.
Michelle took the 2 second window of time David's movements had allowed her, where the gun was not trained on Tony, to fire. She felt so weak that even just holding the gun up the last minute had been exhausting and she felt like her arms were giving out on her. The force of the gun going off was enough to make her stumble to the side. The bullet entered David's shoulder making him drop his gun and flail to the side a little. Before the pain set in and he even knew what was happening, Tony was able to punch him in the neck and push his body away from him. He reached for the gun and was only a second ahead of David who had now been able to react to what was happening and was trying to go for the gun as well. Tony literally wrapped his finger through the loop, flicked the gun on its side toward David and pulled the trigger. It hit David in the other shoulder making him again fall back and gave Tony enough time to hold the gun correctly, sit himself up a tiny bit and aim his next shot. This time he got him directly in the head and he watched as David's body basically folded backwards and slammed against the wall.
He looked over at Michelle but before he had a chance to even start moving, a couple agents came rushing into the room and helped him up. One agent jumped over him to get to Michelle and the women. Tony watched as Nick opened the door completely and told them all that they were safe and it was over and then went to help Michelle get up off the ground. She was tired and weak though and said she needed to sit.
The women were screaming and all began to huddle around Michelle. Some trying to help her, some thanking her repeatedly for saving them. The more the women looked around to see the place flooded with police and it really set in that they were finally safe, the more hysterical they became. They didn't take their eyes off Michelle and tried to get closer to her, she had saved them and they needed to know she was going to be ok.
The tactical team wrapped blankets around all the women and tried to get them to give Michelle space so that they could check on her. Tony and Michelle were only a couple of meters apart, both on the ground, winded and exhausted trying to gather the strength to get to each other. Michelle hadn't been able to get eye contact with Tony yet as he was flanked by people, all she could see was his body but she could hear him asking about her and the sound of his voice bought fresh tears to her eyes. She looked up at Baker who was kneeling over her asking a pile of questions. "Can you lift me over to Tony?"
"I don't think you should move yet Michelle, not until the medics have checked..."
"Please, I ok...can you please just take me to Tony?"
Baker didn't need much convincing. He knew how close Michelle and Tony were and after everything they had both just done if she just wanted to be near him, who was he to prevent that. He took one of the blankets and wrapped it around Michelle and then slowly picked her up in his arms. He was surprised at how light she was. "You need to tell me if I am causing you more pain."
"Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate..."
"Of course Michelle. You were both incredible today. You just saved those 6 women and god knows how many others!"
Michelle caught eye contact with him as he finished his sentence and smiled. She thanked him again, for everything.
As Baker took the last couple steps toward Tony he told everyone to make some room. He would never forget the look of relief and happiness on Tony's face when he lifted his head and saw that he had Michelle and was bringing her to him. He felt goose bumps on his neck as he slowly lowered Michelle onto the ground next to Tony and before she had even hit the ground Tony was scooping her into his arms and kissing her neck.
Tony took a moment to thank Baker before whispering to Michelle, "You saved me..."
Michelle held onto Tony as tightly as she could, "You saved me. I love you Tony."
"God I love you sweetheart. It's over, it's actually over."
They both slumped against the wall but stayed as close to one another as possible. Tony couldn't help but smile as he watched her try and wrap the blanket around him as well. Everything felt completely unreal. He looked around at the 30 or more agents that were now all walking around the room taking care of different tasks. He tried to block out the body of David that was still so close to them that Tony's foot was just touching David's side. Blood was everywhere. He could hear the women all comforting each other and trying to answer questions they were being asked but all any of them were interested in knowing was when they could go home. Then he trained his eyes back on his Michelle who was finally back in his arms. He could feel his stomach turn inside out as it set in just how close they had been to really losing each other. They had saved each other and they had both taken their turn at facing death in the eyes but somehow they had managed to beat it and he decided now he was going to never lose another second of getting to love Michelle and make her as happy as she made him.
He could see that she was losing the battle to stay awake. Her grip on him was becoming less and less to the point that her hands were merely resting on his chest now. He could hear the medics making their way into the room and being briefed on the situation. He nudged Michelle on her cheek and neck, "Baby, I need you to try and stay awake."
"I'm tired Tony. I'm really tired."
"I know sweetheart, I know and you will get to sleep really soon but right now it is so important that you don't fall asleep. Can you look at me?"
He knew she had taken multiple blows to her body and head and it worried him how dangerous it was for someone with a serious concussion to fall asleep. He knew how she felt because he wanted nothing more right now than to hold her close and sleep for hours. He eyes flickered a little as she struggled to open them and he found himself nudging her again. "Sweetheart..."
"Not sleeping, just resting my eyes sir."
As soon as she called him 'sir' he panicked and screamed for help. The sound of his very loud cry for help made her eyes open again. A few medics appeared next to them. "You gotta help her stay awake, she's been hit in the head..."
The next 20 minutes past in a blur as they were both helped. Michelle could feel some many hands on her, an oxygen mask was now on her and she had lost count at had many needles had been jabbed into her. At one point someone went to slide her body to the side away from Tony and she instinctively grabbed for his hand. As she rolled her head to check on him, she felt his hand tighten around hers and then they caught eye contact. He winked at her and it sent shivers down her spine. Now she knew exactly how she had gotten all that strength to fight the way she had today. Tony had given her the strength to fight harder for her life and his then she ever would have thought possible of herself. She winked back at him and told him she loved him.
Once they were both stabilized they were placed on stretchers and taken out to waiting ambulances. Their families had been notified and would meet them at the hospital.
The next time Michelle opened her eyes she saw her Dad sitting next to her holding her hand and she could feel bandages and that she had been cleaned up. "Dad?"
Relief was evident in his eyes as they opened very wide as he smiled and stood up over her. "Sweetheart, how you feeling?"
"Ok, I think. How long has it been?"
"You have been in the hospital for about 7 hours now Chelle..."
"Is Tony ok? Where is he?"
Jackson smiled, "He is fine, and you are both going to be ok. He is just next door and we have already organized for you to move into the bed next to his if you want..."
Michelle nodded her head. "Yeah I need to see him, he saved my life today Dad. I need to see that he is alright."
Jackson kissed her on the forehead. "And you saved his from what I hear. You are such a brave, incredible woman Chelle. You saved those 6 women!"
"Just doing my job Dad. Besides I had a whole team and Tony right behind me."
Jackson shook his head and smiled. He wondered if his daughter would ever actually understand how amazing she was. He could see she was itching to see Tony and wasn't going to be able to calm down until she did. He knew Tony was already awake as he had been floating between the 2 rooms for hours now. He had spent most of the time talking with Tony's parents. "How about I go check if we can get you moved over now that you are awake? Tony can't wait to see you..."
Michelle smiled widely for him. "Thanks Dad."
As she watched him wonder out of the room she realized she hadn't even asked what was wrong with her. She tried moving her arms and legs and once she knew she could move each limb she figured anything else couldn't be too bad. She felt like she had been hit by a truck and knew she was covered in bruises and was very swollen. She didn't care though, she was just so relieved that she and Tony were going to be ok and back together again. She pictured all of the women's faces from earlier today and she knew they had done the right thing.
Tony was ecstatic when he learned that Michelle had finally woken up and was ready to come into his room. He had been awake for an hour now and felt like every second was an hour as he waited for her to wake. He had requested that she be bought into his room as soon as he saw the empty bed but was told that they would have to wait until Michelle had woken up and agreed to sharing a room with him. He had the headache from hell and had to lie with his head to the side a little as he had 15 stitches to the back of his head where he had been hit with the base of the gun. His chest was black and blue and he had a pile of little cuts and scrapes but nothing a little time wouldn't heal. Considering how the situation could have ended up, he didn't think he could be more grateful. He had been told that Michelle was in much the same condition as him, her back had opened up and had required a whole new set of stitches and she was badly beaten and bruised but she would be ok. He had been warned now by both his dad and hers plus the doctors that Michelle had very clear hand marks around her neck and on her arms. His stomach turned when he was told but they had all wanted him to be prepared before he saw her.
His sister had been reading him the sports section from the paper for the last few minutes but the room went dead silent when the door opened and Michelle was wheeled in. A couple nurses pulled the other bed out of the way and it felt like forever for them to get her set up before he could finally see her. She was beautiful and made his heart begin to race. They locked eyes, "Chelle..."
Michelle burst into tears. Seeing Tony, surrounded by their family and finally having everything behind them hit her like a ton of bricks. The second she started to cry she saw him slowly sit up and begin to get out of his bed. His mom tried to stop him but he assured everyone that he was fine. It felt like it took him forever to get to her as each step was clearly hard and he was shaky on his feet. His dad help to steady him and by the time he reached her bed he was breathing deeply and looked a little pale. Michelle reached her arms out and he fell into her embrace. "I love you Tony. I can't believe we got through that. Thank you...thank you..."
He kissed her and held her tightly, "Thank you sweetheart. I love you so much. Everything is going to be ok now."
Michelle shifted her body to the side. "Can you get up?"
He nodded his head and his Dad helped him to get onto Michelle's bed and lie next to her. It took them a few moments to get into a comfortable position but they both felt so much better once they were finally lying next to each other. If their family wasn't in the room then Tony would be doing a complete inspection of Michelle to know exactly where she was hurt but he knew that would have to wait.
Josh came over to Michelle's side, "We heard what you did Michelle, you continue to amaze us but we will all never be able to thank you enough for saving our son..."
They could all see her become a little blush but also a little uptight, her voice was soft, "Tony saved me, he was amazing! I never stood a chance and he completely saved me..."
Tony's stomach turned as images of the 2 men beating Michelle flashed through his head. He felt like it made his blood boil and he could feel his whole body become tense. "Don't even say it Chelle..."
Everyone else was a little confused by Tony's reaction but Michelle wasn't. She knew exactly how he felt because she was the same way. She didn't want to hear anything that was going to make her have to think about this afternoon. She figured she would never ever get over seeing Tony with a gun to his head like that. She looked up at everyone and tried to put a smile on her face, "Let's talk about something else...can we?"
Josh, Shelley and Jackson all looked at each other with concern in their eyes. As parents, they wanted to understand what their children had been through so they could help them through it but they could also see that everything was so raw and that they both needed a little time. Luckily Jo seemed a little more oblivious to everything and jumped in straight away talking about a movie she had seen last weekend. She was clearly at a loss of what to say and so anything and everything was just dropping out of her mouth until someone else jumped in and helped her. Finally Shelley was able to calm down for a moment and join in on the conversation.
Jackson watched as both Tony and Michelle seemed to relax a little when the attention was off them and the conversation was on something completely different. He knew his daughter well enough to know she wasn't listening to the conversation at all, she was off in her own world, most likely analysing everything that had happened. He felt extremely torn and useless, all he wanted was to know what to do to help his daughter feel better. A few minutes he decided that Michelle and Tony really should be given a few minutes alone, they must have so much to talk about so he asked Tony's family to join him in going to get some more coffee. His parents picked up on what he was doing straight away and went along with him, having to drag Jo with them as she didn't seem to want to leave their side.
Once the door closed behind them all and for the first time they were alone together since they had arrived back at the office this morning. Tony turned his body a little more to the side so he was facing in towards her. His voice was quiet and drawn out, "So how you really doing sweetheart?"
Michelle shook her head a little. "I have no idea. I'm not just saying that, I really don't know how to start even thinking about everything..."
"I know baby, I am the same."
"How's your head Tony? And where else are you hurt?"
"I've got some stitches, and apparently they had to shave a chunk of my hair off!"
Michelle giggled a little at him. His neck and back of the side of his head had a bandage on it so she couldn't see anything. She ran her hand up across his forehead and through his hair, "I love you hair but it will grow back in no time baby. Does it hurt?"
"Not at the moment really. I mean I can feel it but I think they have pumped me full of enough pain medication that I feel pretty good..."
"Where else are you hurt?"
Tony could see just like he had been feeling, she was on a mission to understand exactly what had happened to him and how he was hurt. Based on how she had been the last couple days, he knew she would be feeling self-conscious of her bruises and he wanted to get rid of that straight away. He held her hand, "I'll make you a deal sweetheart. I'll show you my everywhere I have been hurt but then I need you to do the same."
She nodded her head. "Alright, but I haven't even had a chance to look myself yet so I don't even know what I look like."
"No one has spoken to you yet?"
Michelle panicked a little. "No...Why, what is it? As soon as I woke up I asked to come in here. I know nothing is broken cause I can move everything."
He put his hand on her cheek, "No nothing baby, I was just surprised you hadn't even had a chance to see yourself yet, that's all." He was going to leave it at that, figuring he was almost glad he would be with her when she looked at her stomach and legs herself but he knew she wouldn't see her neck until someone gave her a mirror to look into. He had to warn her and he didn't want her to see it before being warned. He cleared his throat and then kissed her on the cheek. "There is something I want to tell you baby, just cause you won't be able to see it until you get up..."
"What?"
He tried to keep his voice as soothing and calm as possible. He ever so gently traced his fingers down her cheek to her neck as he spoke, "Beautiful, you have some bruises on your neck, they are in the shape of hand..." he held his breath as he waited for her to react. Her eyes were a little watery but she didn't seem that shocked.
Michelle could remember so vividly being held by her neck that she wasn't surprised, she just hated the thought that she was left with such a clear reminder, "Is it really bad? Like really obvious it is his hand?"
He couldn't lie to her. He kept eye contact and did half a nod. "It is obvious baby but remember they are just bruises and they will go away. I didn't want you to get a shock when you looked in a mirror. Our Dad's prepared me that you must have been held very roughly there." He could feel himself beginning to well up, this was so hard. "I am so sorry baby, I love you so much...I am so sorry they hurt you..."
Michelle stopped him, "Hey, its ok. I remember it happening so I kinda figured there would be marks. I only really care about how you feel having to look at it..."
He pushed himself up enough that he was able to reach his lips to her neck and kiss her. He took his time and kissed her around her whole neck, covering every mark he could see with his kiss. He whispered as he spoke, "You know how stunning I think you are, I don't see the bruises like that baby, I just see you. I just hate thinking about you being hurt."
Michelle kept her hand running through his hair as he kissed her. It felt so nice and she loved how slow and gentle he was with her. It felt so intimate and she couldn't believe she was in this position with him. She had never allowed herself to be so raw in front of anyone and this felt like one of the most intimate moments of her life. When he finished kissing her neck she directed his head so that they could kiss on the lips. It wasn't even slow for a second, immediately they opened their mouth's and explored each other. It was heated and intense.
When Michelle let out a little moan, it bought Tony crashing back to reality. It turned him on so much that he went to push himself into her and then he remembered where they were and the situation. He growled in frustration as he pulled back a little, "Jesus Chelle...you have a way of making me forget everything else in the world." He licked and nibbled on her ear as he spoke in a husky voice, "Do you know how much I just want to be back at home, alone with you...no interruptions..."
She blushed and giggled shyly. She loved hearing him speak to her like that. "I've never wanted anything more..."
He growled again in frustration as they locked eyes. They kissed again.
After a few minutes, Tony pulled back slightly, "Should we continue before everyone comes back? I need to see you, I need to see for myself how you are?"
She nodded her head. "Me too. Can you go first?"
"Ok baby." He rolled his body back a little. They were both in hospital gowns but he had pulled boxer shorts on shortly after he woke up. "Remember...just bruises and I'm not hurting right now ok!"
She nodded her head but she felt sad for what she was about to see. She stopped his hand from pulling up his gown. "Let me."
He nodded and smiled. He liked that. Michelle went to pull the whole gown up and then hesitated when she wondered if he had anything on. She looked at him and he guessed what she was thinking straight away. "I've got boxers on..."
She blushed a little and then quickly pulled the whole gown up, she wanted to do it quickly and then be able to take everything in straight away. She couldn't help let out a loud sob when she was confronted with his whole chest black and blue. He had welts and a lot of areas were quite swollen. He was in worse condition they she had thought and it made her feel sick to her stomach. She started to really cry. She could hear him saying her name over and over and telling her he was ok but she it was hard to accept when she was seeing him like this. Her tears began to fall all over his stomach and chest as she leaned down and kissed him gently and began to trace her hand over him. Images of David over Tony like he had been were flooding her mind and it felt like all she could hear was the sounds she had heard of Tony being beaten whilst she was on the other side of the door. She became more and more hysterical, unable to stop crying and stop her mind from feeling like it was going to explode.
Tony could tell she could barely hear him and had gone off into another world thinking about everything. He absolutely hated seeing her so upset. He had never seen her cry like she was right now. It made him cry. He heard the door open and he saw his Dad's face. They caught eye contact over Michelle's head and Tony shook his head at his Dad. As much as Josh's natural instinct was to and try and help he knew this was a private moment between Tony and Michelle and was something they were going to have to get through on their own. He quickly nodded his head at Tony that he understood and then closed the door and turned to the rest of the family. "We can't go back in yet, they need some more time." He led them all back off into one of the waiting areas. They had all heard Michelle crying hysterically and Jackson asked again if Josh was sure he shouldn't be going in and helping her. Josh shook his head, "No, I think Michelle just saw Tony's injuries for the first time. We need to give them a bit of space." He could see the sadness on Jackson's face. He put his arm across his shoulder and led him back down the hall. "I know how badly you want to help your daughter, this is the worst feeling in the world but I promise you that Tony will look after her."
"I know. Tony is amazing with her. I just feel so useless at the moment. I can't get my head around what they have been through the last few days...and that is just what we actually know of! I just wish there was something I could do."
Josh dropped his head. "I feel the same way. Tony had been through the worst couple years of his life before he met Michelle and she changed everything for him. He was so withdrawn from us and walked around like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I've done everything in the world I could to get him to try and open up, for us to be as close as we use to be. Then all of a sudden when they came home the other morning after what happened at the bar, Tony finally leaned on me, asked me for help and was more open with me and Michelle then I have ever seen him in my life. Having that bond back and then seeing him go through this is making me feel desperate to be there for every second but I know I can't. They are so good together Jackson, she brings out the best in him and I've never seen Tony love anyone the way he does your daughter. We have got to find a way of being here for them but still giving them space to work things out on their own."
Jackson thanked Josh and then they both sat together and continued the conversation. It made Jackson realise he himself was opening up more to Josh and their family then he had with anyone in years and years. It felt nice to be able to talk to someone about his daughter and his fears and have them completely understand.
Tony ended up having to grab Michelle by her cheeks and force her to look at him. "I love you sweetheart. I know you are picturing everything that happened but try and look at me and remember that we got through it. We are safe now."
Michelle pushed her head into his shoulder and neck. "How will I ever get those pictures and sounds out of my mind? I've never been so scared in my entire life Tony. What would I have done if I lost you?"
She was in the most awkward position trying to be close to him but also trying not to put any pressure on his chest. He needed them to be close and so he pulled her into his body as much as he could. It did hurt, but it was more than worth it. He held the back of her head and kissed everywhere he could reach. "I don't know baby, I feel the same way. I don't know...I'm just trying to think about nothing but being here with you now in this moment. That we are both safe and have each other."
He could only just make out her telling him she loved him through her sobs. He told her he loved her more than anything in the world and then they stayed like that, just holding each other and crying for a long time. Tony realized he needed this just as much as she did. He needed Michelle. That feeling hit him like a ton of bricks. He had never really 'needed' anyone in his life. To be dependent on someone else, to trust someone else with his heart and need them physically and emotionally was something he had never experienced before. It was overwhelming and ever so powerful. He thought he should be scared but he wasn't, if anything it made him calm. Needing Michelle and knowing that she needed him and that they both wanted that, was the best feeling in the world.
After nearly 15 minutes, Michelle finally pulled back. She had calmed down a lot although tears were still making their way down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and so were his. "I'm sorry I lost it Tony."
"Don't be sorry, I've lost it to. I don't think I ever needed to be held more than I do right now and that was perfect. Thank you for being here Chelle."
"Thank you baby. We are going to get through this right?"
He wiped a couple tears away with his thumbs. "I promise you that we will. There is going to be lots more tears and it is going to be really hard but we have to just keep talking and looking after each other."
"You know that I'd do anything for you Tony? I am here for you for anything. I want you to always feel like you can talk to me, vent...anything."
He tried to smile, "I do baby, I just watched you put your whole life on the line for me, and I just cried in your arms...something I've never ever done before. You make me feel so comfortable and safe. I just hope you really understand that I am here for you in every way possible as well."
She kissed him on the lips, "I do. I do."
Tony went to pull his gown back down, he wanted to see Michelle but she stopped him. "I haven't finished." She traced her fingers over his chest, "Does this hurt? You have to tell me if I am hurting you."
"It's fine sweetheart."
He watched in surprise as she spent a very long time inspecting every inch of his stomach, chest, arms, neck and head. She traced her fingers everywhere and every few minutes would gently kiss where she was touching and then continue. It made him feel so loved, important and special. It was exactly how he wanted to be with her, how he knew he would be with her and having her be this way to him made him feel better already. As he watched her he day dreamed about them both being better and back at home. She snapped him out of his thoughts, "What about your back Tony?"
"Yeah, I've got some bruises but nothing as bad as my front." It was an effort for him to sit up to show her but he didn't think twice, he was going to expect her to do the same thing in a minute so he went along with everything she asked. Luckily his back wasn't as bad and she helped him to get settled back down again. Then she went to shuffle down the bed so she could check his legs. She moved in a way that sent pain through-out her whole body and she let out a sob. Tony stopped her, "Baby, you have to be careful. You are not ready to be moving like that...I am ok, really."
"No, I want to see...I need to see Tony."
He nodded his head. "Ok, but let me help you." Together they were able to make it so that she could see his legs. It required him moving up the bed and helping to hold her up a little and keep her steady. He only had a couple big bruises on his right leg from being kicked and a couple scrapes but that was it. His legs were in the best condition of his whole body. When she had finished, he helped her again to lie back down again in a position she was comfortable in.
"Nowhere else Tony? Anywhere else you were hurt?"
He looked at her a little confused. "You have just seen every inch of me baby, I'm not..."
"Not every inch of you..." She raised her eyebrows at him. Concern was written all across her face.
He tried to lighten the mood up a little by kissing her on the neck and smiling, "I'll lose the boxers if I need to prove it to you but I promise you that I am just fine."
She smiled back at him but he could see by her slight hesitation that she was deeply worried about him. She looked up and around the room. There was a small window on the door to the room which anyone could look into at anytime, not to mention that the door was unlocked and nurses walked in and out without bothering to knock all the time. He ran his thumb down her cheek and gave her a cheeky grin. "I know what you are thinking..."
She couldn't help but blush and smile back at him.
"And the fact that you have just gone completely red just proves my thinking is correct!"
She let out a little shy giggle. "Tony!"
He kissed her ear and neck.
"What am I thinking?"
He kissed her again. He loved watching her squirm and decided to have a little more fun with it. He lowered his voice. "You are thinking that you want to remove my boxers because you seriously do need to see for yourself that I am ok. Which I completely understand because I feel the same way BUT you are hesitant because you haven't actually really seen all of me yet and that makes you very nervous. Plus you know that someone is likely to walk in the second you've gone and gotten me all naked." He took a deep breath and decided by the way she was smiling and clearly loving the way he was talking to really go for it, "MOST importantly though, you know once you have looked and touched me that you will have started something we can't finish right now..."
"TONY!" She sounded shocked but obviously was loving every word he said.
He laughed.
"You can't do that to me!"
"Do what?" He asked all innocently.
"Speak to me like that in your husky sexy voice and...and...that's totally not fair when you know how much I want you."
He hesitated for a second because she had just stroked his ego completely. Somehow she had managed to completely turn the table on him and now he felt himself going very red. He had to take back the control. He pulled the blanket up to their chests, took her hand and guided it down so that she was holding him in her hand. He kept his hand firmly over hers and pushed down on it as he whispered into her ear. "Will you settle for just feeling that I'm ok because I'm just warning you if you take em off, I'm not going to be able to control myself?"
Michelle kissed him on the lips and then slid her hand from under his up to his boxer line. She laughed when he so obviously flinched and took in a huge breath and then held it as he waited to see what she did. She could feel him growing harder by second and his body was flinching uncontrollably. She slipped her hand inside his boxer shorts and then proceeded to explore him everywhere. Her voice was just above a whisper. "Ok, I'll refrain myself but only because we are in the hospital and I don't want someone barging in. Just know how hard this is for me."
He could barely breathe, never mind talk. Her cheekiness took him by surprise and he absolutely loved it. "Hard for you?"
She gripped him in her hand firmly and nodded her head. She gave him the most sexy, seductive smile he had ever seen.
His voice came out squeaky, "This is you refraining yourself? God, I can't wait until you..." He couldn't even finish the sentence before he leaned down and kissed her passionately. She had him wrapped around her little finger. He was complete putty in her hands. When he felt he go to pull her hand back out he couldn't help himself, he needed to feel her just for a moment longer, he reached his hand back down and put it over hers again and held it in place. That made her moan, turning him on even more and he pushed himself into her hand. "You are going to pay for this sweetheart; my inspection of you is going to have to be very thorough."
Michelle gasped and bit her lip. She couldn't believe the chemistry between them. It felt impossible to stop once they started. The way he was looking at her, the tone of his voice and he was so hard in her hand made her whole body feel weak. "I want you so much Tony. You have..."
The both pulled back so quickly when they heard a knock on the door and it begin to open. Michelle pulled her hand out so fast and rolled her body a bit that it sent pain shooting through her so much she let out a little sob. Tony rolled onto his side a little and tried to comfort her by running his hand down her cheek. "Sorry baby."
They both looked up to see a nurse walk through the door. She looked at them both with sorrow in her eyes. They looked a mess. They had both been clearly crying, Michelle still was. She approached the bed. Tony pulled the covers up and tried to lie on his side as much as he could as he hoped like hell the nurse didn't want to check either of them right now.
The nurse approached Michelle's side of the bed. "How are you feeling dear?"
"Alright."
The nurse looked unconvinced and asked Tony how he was feeling. He replied exactly the same as Michelle.
"Would you both like an injection for pain? You are due. I also will then need to do a set of obs on you both."
Tony spoke for them both, "Yes please, that would be good."
Michelle nodded her head.
The nurse smiled at them. "Ok, let me go organize that for you straight away. I'll be in a couple of minutes."
Once she left the room, Tony and Michelle looked at each other and then laughed. Michelle shook her head, "Oh my god, I thought we were totally busted!"
Tony was smiling. "Well I'm not out of the woods yet and she's going to be back in a minute and is going to want to check us both so for the next few minutes you can't touch me..."
She blushed and laughed. His voice was full of frustration, "And stop looking at me like that!"
"Like what?"
"LIKE THAT! With those beautiful...oh my god Chelle. I'm begging you, help me out here!"
Michelle turned her head away from him, she still had a big smile on her face. "Ok, ok. Let's talk about something else and you look that way and I'll look this way for a minute."
He laughed. "Thank you!"
"So, how do you think Jo is going with all this pregnancy stuff? Do you think your parents are handling it?"
Tony was very grateful, this subject would help. "I actually had a chance to ask mom quickly after I woke up when Dad took Jo to get a drink. She said that they had all talked a lot whilst they have been waiting at the hospital with us and they are slowly getting their heads around it."
"Is Jo ok?"
"Sounds like it, I mean she is going to need a lot of help and support but I am sure just knowing mom and dad are being so good about it would be making it a lot easier."
"Your parents are amazing like that. I can't believe the last few days they have had between you and Jo. They must be going out of their minds."
"Yeah I know, I feel bad. But I also feel closer to them then I have for years. It actually feels really good."
"Yeah, me too with Dad. I mean we have always been close but I have really loved him being here through all this. And I love how well our parents seem to be getting along."
"I know, we are so lucky, it is awesome. You know our Dad's have already planned a golf day?"
"Really?"
"Yup, it's really cool." He took a deep breath. "Ok, you can turn your head back around now. Just DON'T go touching me or looking at me again like that until they come back!"
Michelle turned back and looked at him. "You have my word."
Just before the door opened again, Tony took her hand and held it tightly. His voice became serious. "After they are gone though Chelle, I really need to be able to see you and know how you are doing."
"I know."
"Are you going to be honest about how you really are?"
Michelle looked at him a little shocked, even though she knew damn well he had every right to be wary after the way she had handled things after the bar. "I won't hide anything from you anymore Tony, I promise. It is hard for me though, I can't help how insecure and horrible I feel about it so I need you to be a bit patient with me."
"I will sweetheart. I do understand how hard this is on you. I also know that David kissed and touched you again and we have to talk..."
"Tony..."
"No, I am being serious baby. You have to be able to talk to me about this. You have to be able to face this and the best way to start is by talking to me about it and being able to say what he did and how it makes you feel."
"Did you see and hear it all?"
"Only what the camera picked up but when he was holding you it blocked the camera so I don't really know how he touched you."
"If that Jacob guy didn't come when he did I was going to blow my cover cause I just couldn't handle him touching me a second longer..."
"Trust me Chelle, I was already on my way in, the guys had to hold me back for a moment. There was no way in hell I was going to let him get you behind a closed door."
Before she could respond there was a knock on the door followed by a couple nurses walking back in with their injections. Tony kept a hold of Michelle's hand and tugged it tighter. "I love you, it will be ok."
Thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think, I really appreciate it. Thank you:)
