Disclaimer: I don't own 24 or any of the characters. Do I really have to put this on every chapter?
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, they are my motivation to write! And I wanted to keep this rated T so the end kind of cuts off, sorry )
At his apartment, Tony found the duffel bag he usually used for short-notice trips. He was used to this kind of thing, and he kept most of his toiletries and things in a travel case anyway, so all he really needed to pack was a few changes of clothes. The "moving company" was at the ranch today, bringing enough furniture, kitchen items, and other personal effects to make it look like he and Michelle really were a newlywed couple intending to live in the ranch house.
As Tony packed, he tried to sort out his thoughts about the mission. His initial reaction had been less than excited – Michelle in the field just wasn't something he was crazy about. Jack had been right, she was just capable as any other CTU agent, but she was hisCTU agent. He knew it was unfair for her to have to accept him running headlong into dangerous situations, while he couldn't do the same with her...but it was his job to protect her, wasn't it? That probably wasn't the best thing to say to her: she loved her job, and would think that implied she wasn't good enough. There was really no way to talk her out of this mission, and if everything went as planned, it wouldn't put her in much danger anyway. He knew that if he couldn't put this out of his mind, he'd go crazy thinking about all the possibilities, so he turned on the radio and tried to keep his mind on other things as he drove to Michelle's place.
20 minutes later, Tony knocked on her door. She threw it open in seconds, and he hugged her. "Hey," he said. "How's the packing going?"
"I just got started," she admitted. "Are you finished already?!"
"Yeah...Want some help?" he asked.
"Well, I think I better do it myself...you can come keep me company, though," she suggested.
They walked back to her bedroom, and he flopped down on her bed. As she disappeared into her closet, he grinned and said, "How 'bout you bring that sexy black shirt you wore last week?"
She laughed and came out a few seconds later, holding the clothing in question. "This one? It's just a plain shirt..."
"Believe me," he said. "It's sexy. Anything is gorgeous on you."
"You're so sweet," she laughed, crossing to the bed and kissing him. "But why do I get the feeling you're just after...this?" She climbed on top of him and pushed him backwards, pressing her body to his and swirling her tongue around his lips.
He groaned. "God, you're so amazing." Rolling her over, he looked into her eyes. "Chelle...of course I love that," he said seriously. "But you know I really do think you're the most beautiful woman alive, right? I need you more than you'll ever understand."
"Tony..." she whispered. "I do understand, because I love you just as much. I love being with you because I know that whatever happens, wherever we are, all that matters is that we're together. No one and nothing could ever take your place."
Lost for words, all Tony could do was lean down and kiss her gently, tasting her soft lips on his. "I love you, and I can't wait to spend the next few days with you."
"It's going to be hard to keep CTU from thinking we're going a little overboard on the acting," she laughed. "Good thing Jack will be the only agent to really have direct contact with us." Reluctantly, she dragged herself off of Tony. "I better go finish packing."
"While you do that, I'll go try to scrape up some dinner for us from the nonexistent food I'm sure you have in your kitchen," Tony teased. The first time he tried to cook at her apartment, he was astonished at the lack of ingredients for actual meals in her cupboards. It was mostly sandwich stuff, frozen dinners, and peanut butter. She insisted there was no point in keeping her cupboards stocked when she was never home - not that she would attempt to cook even if she was.
"You know, that's one thing I'll enjoy about this week - your cooking!" Michelle commented. "We wouldn't want our ranch house to burn down, so I'll just stay out of the kitchen."
"That would probably be smart," Tony agreed as he left the room.
Half an hour later, the couple sat down to a dinner of stir-fry, made from anything Tony had found in the kitchen. "You did check to make sure this stuff wasn't spoiled, right?" Michelle asked, knowing things in her house sometimes hung around longer than they should.
"Don't worry, I learned that lesson a long time ago," he laughed.
They chatted and teased lightheartedly over dinner until Michelle's phone rang. She rolled her eyes, assuming it was someone from CTU, and answered it: "Dessler. Oh, hi Danny." Tony held back a grimace at the sound of her brother's name. He wasn't Danny's favorite person, and the feeling was mutual. Ever since the day Danny had tried to strangle an employee in CTU, even if he did have a reason, Tony had been wary of the man. Michelle was always looking out for him, and he never seemed to appreciate it. Tony respected the fact that he was her brother, but at some point he wanted to protect her from Danny, because it seemed like she ended up in tears after most of their conversations.
"Sorry, Danny, I won't be able to make it," Michelle continued. "No, I'm going out of town for a while...a work trip." She knew she couldn't give him any specifics, the mission was too classified. "I know...you know how my job is, I don't really get a choice in these things. Of course I do, its just that...what?! Why? No, Danny, she doesn't have a right to be there! You need to think through what you're doing to Rachel with this...not to mention the kids!" Tony winced. It didn't sound like Danny was sticking to his decision to try to work it out with his family. A few years ago, he had left his wife and two kids for Carrie Turner, who also happened to be Michelle's boss at division. Carrie had broken it off a few months later, and Danny still blamed her for "ruining his life". He had no one to turn to, so Michelle had become his main support, trying to get him to go back and actually try with Rachel, his wife. Since he had agreed, he was occasionally caught with Carrie, which both Rachel and Michelle were getting sick of. Tony knew Carrie really was a manipulative bitch who wouldn't give much thought to the fact that she was tearing apart a family with her whims and games, but at some point, Danny had to take responsibility for his own actions.
"Listen, Danny, I'm really sorry I can't be there, but I don't think Carrie should be either...It is my business, because you're hurting Rachel, the kids, yourself, and me with all this." Michelle closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, obviously not getting anywhere with the discussion. Tony went and stood behind her, massaging her shoulders. She reached back and took one of his hands in hers as a silent thank-you. "You're right, I can't tell you what to do, you're a grown man who makes his own decisions. I just hope you realize that you're making the wrong one here. Tell Mollie happy birthday for me...I'll call you when I get home." She hung up the phone and rested her head in her hands.
Tony was silent, waiting for her to speak, then he felt her shoulders shaking. "Come here, baby," he said softly, leading her over to the couch. He sat, then pulled her into his lap.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, then she said, "He's back with Carrie. He was calling to tell me that Mollie's 4th birthday party is this Saturday, and I said I wouldn't be able to make it. He got kind of mad, then said I just didn't want to go because Carrie is going to be there - at his daughter's birthday party! I told him she shouldn't be anywhere near it, she doesn't even know Mollie, but he got defensive and said he could make his own choices. Mollie and Cole have to be confused...and Rachel is probably so upset. I should go call her." Tony was constantly impressed by Michelle's involvement with the family, even when Danny wasn't with them. She loved her niece and nephew, and through all of this, she and Rachel had become close.
"You can go call her in a second, baby...stay here for a little bit," Tony suggested, pulling her closer. Michelle gladly complied, laying her head on his should and relaxing in his arms. She loved it when he held her like this - he was so safe, so strong. There was nowhere she would rather be than here, with him, no matter what else was going on. After the years of dating, she realized she had trouble sleeping without feeling his arms around her, listening to his comforting breathing.
After a few minutes of just soaking him in, she reluctantly pulled away and went to call her sister-in-law. Tony decided to do the dishes while he waited, even though he knew Michelle liked to insist on cleaning up, since he always cooked for them. He hoped she and Rachel could comfort and encourage each other - after Danny's latest decision, they would both need it. Tony himself wasn't very good at helping Michelle with these problems, because he knew she wouldn't appreciate the best solution he could think of - wringing Danny's neck till he stopped hurting the two wonderful women in his life. Still, Tony sympathised with Michelle and tried to hold back his ideas, if only because he loved her so much and for her sake, would refrain from pounding her brother to a pulp.
Ten minutes later, Michelle stepped back into the kitchen. "Oh, Tony, you didn't have to do the dishes! We're at my apartment, after all."
"It's no problem, Chelle," he said. "How's Rachel doing?"
"Shocked, really. She thought things with Danny were going so well..." Tony could read the sadness on her face.
"I'm sorry, baby," he said, desperate to make her feel better. "I know she really appreciates having your support through all this...and you know you have me, no matter what."
"Thanks, Tony." She hugged him and just rested for a moment. "Enough of this mood...let's do something fun tonight," she said, trying to cheer them both up.
"All right, any ideas?" Tony liked the suggestion.
"Hmm...we did a movie last night..." She thought for a moment, then her face lit up. "How about we go mini-golfing!"
He had to smile at her excitement. "Sure, sounds like fun!"
40 minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of a nearby putt-putt course. It was pirate-themed - a little cheesy, but still cute. Michelle was as excited as any of the kids, and Tony had to admit her smile was contagious as she dragged him over to pick out their clubs. He grabbed a dark blue ball, but she dug through the bucket until she found the one she wanted - bright yellow. "It's lucky," she explained. "So this way I'll beat you for sure."
"Chelle...remember when we played this forever ago?" he asked.
"Mmhmm, I think it was our second date," she replied. "Why?"
A mischievous smile crept across his face. "Remember who won?"
"Only because you cheated!" she accused him, laughing.
"Hey, I don't see a rule that says you can only hit your own ball!"
"Yeah, right," Michelle rolled her eyes and smirked. "You just couldn't accept losing to a girl."
"Fine, this time, I'll play by the rules and beat you fair and square," he agreed.
Tony apparently had a different definition of "rules", and the round was filled with laughter, flirting, and light-hearted arguments over some of his creative strategies. Still, Michelle managed to come out two strokes ahead. As they walked hand-in-hand back to the club rack, she teased, "See, even making up your own rules isn't enough to beat the master!"
She struck some sort of pose with her club and ball, and Tony couldn't help but laugh and pull her in for a hug. "Good job, sweetheart, I guess you beat me," he said patronizingly.
"Oh, that's what happened...you weren't trying," she laughed, deciding to let him get away with it. He was glad she did - a man's pride could only take so much, and losing to his girlfriend in mini-golf was pushing it.
They knew they should head back to Michelle's so she could finish packing, but neither wanted the night to end. "You know, we're only a few blocks from Razzleberries," said Tony, referring to their favorite ice cream place. "Wanna walk over and get a cone before we leave?"
"Sounds great," Michelle agreed, wrapping an arm around his waist as they started that way. The ice cream shop was only a few blocks away, and they arrived there quickly.
"Hey, Mack," Tony greeted the man behind the counter.
"My best customers!" he said. The two were regulars there, and knew almost all of the few employees by name. Mack, a cheerful older man, was one of their favorites, and visiting him was high on their list of reasons to stop in. "What can I get for you today?"
Tony considered the menu. "I think I'll try the peanut butter ice cream," he said. "In a cone, please." He made a point to try something different every time they came - the opposite of Michelle, who was a creature of habit. "Your usually, sweetheart?" he asked her, smiling. Mack was reaching for the mint ice cream to make her mint-chocolate chip cone even as she nodded.
They took their treats outside and sat on a nearby bench to enjoy them. "Tony..." Michelle said hesitantly.
"Yeah, baby?" He looked at her, wondering why she sounded so uncertain.
"Do you think CTU will ever find out about us?"
He thought for a minute. "You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, right baby?" She nodded and smiled. "So I'd say they're going to find out eventually...why, do you think we should tell them soon?"
"Not before this mission...I don't want to risk them switching one of us off it. How pissed would Chappelle be if he found out DURING the next week?"
Tony laughed at the idea. "Well, there wouldn't be much he could do about it...and he can't be too upset, he's the one who always says nothing else matters when we're in the field."
"I guess we should just wait till we get back, and think about it then," she said. "I don't know how either of us, or Jack, is going to be able to keep a straight face for the next few days, though!"
"Definitely. I thought Jack was going to explode before Ryan finished briefing us on this - he obviously knew what was coming!"
"Yeah," Michelle agreed. "I was only half listening to Ryan talk, I kept trying to decode that weird look Jack was giving us."
"We're going to have find out which areas of our house this week have surveillance..." Tony said, "and which don't." He gave Michelle a mischievous look.
"Come on," she said, laughing. "We better get going." The two poked their heads back inside Razzleberries to say goodbye to Mack, then made their way back to Tony's car, pausing occasionally to window shop or just take in the scenery.
It was after 10:00 by the time they got back to Michelle's apartment, and they knew they would have to be up early to get to the airport for their 9:00 flight the next morning. Michelle quickly finished packing, and they both got ready for bed. As she slipped under the covers next to Tony, he pulled her to him. "You're so beautiful, Michelle," he whispered, nibbling along her shoulder.
"Mmm, Tony...I love it when you do that." She rolled over and kissed him passionately, feeling her entire body press against his.
"As much as you love this?" he asked, kissing and licking his way to the sensitive spot on her neck. He knew this drove her crazy.
She moaned softly, increasing his desire. "You're right...I think this is better." She began to tug at his shirt, wanting to feel his bare skin under her fingers. He rolled on top of her, holding himself up as she removed his shirt. She ran her fingers up and down his chest, and felt him harden against her leg.
"God, Chelle, the things you do to me with just your touch are amazing." He needed to get closer to her, feel her skin against his...
They made love until they were both exhausted, then fell into a peaceful sleep cuddled together, his arm draped over her.
Please review it, next chapter coming ASAP probably in a couple days!