Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I still don't own 24 or any of the characters.
When her alarm went off at 5 the next morning, Tony could have sworn they had just fallen asleep. He hit the clock to shut it up, then rolled over to kiss Michelle awake. "Hey, baby," he whispered into her hair. She began to stir, then opened her eyes.
"Good morning," she mumbled. He swore his heart skipped a beat when she gave him that sleepy smile.
Leaning down to touch his lips to hers, he said, "Guess what today is...our first day as a 'married couple.'"
She laughed, but had to admit to herself she liked how that sounded. "We better get up and get to the airport then."
"If we must," Tony sighed. "You can shower first, I don't feel like moving yet."
He layed back and just watched her walk towards the bathroom. She was so gorgeous it was stunning, but there was something more than just beauty...Tony knew he had completely fallen for her on every level. When she asked him the night before if he thought CTU would ever find out about their relationship, it had taken him by surprise. He had been considering the idea of marriage for a long time, but her question made him wonder if she was thinking along the same lines. He knew he could never risk losing her, and thought she felt the same way, so he had been trying to convince himself she was really asking when they were going to tell their superiors about them.
Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her. He would never get over how sexy she was like that; it made him want to pull off the towel and drag her back into the shower...or the bed, or the bathroom counter, whatever was nearest. "Damn," he muttered, purposefully loud enough for her to hear.
"What?" she asked innocently, looking over his shoulder at him as she walked into her closet. "You better get in the shower while I get dressed."
"What's wrong with what you're wearing?" he complained. She dropped her towel just before she closed the closet door, and he caught a glimpse of the body that drove him crazy. "Now you're just trying to tease me."
She laughed from behind the closed door. "Shower, now," she ordered.
He reluctantly complied. "By the way, I picked up some bagels on the way here yesterday, so no need to try to cook breakfast."
He could almost hear her smirk. "Like I would anyway. Burning down my apartment building before this mission even starts wouldn't exactly inspire confidence from Division."
Tony showered quickly, then dressed and joined Michelle in her kitchen. "Thanks for the bagel, Tony...cinnamon, my favorite," she said, handing him his usual, blueberry. "When is Jack coming to pick us up?" They had decided to take one car to the airport and try to avoid the hassle of parking.
"Around 6:30," he answered. She glanced at the clock and saw they had just under half an hour. "Are you all packed?"
"I just have a few more last-minute things to throw in." She knew he would tease her about the size of her bags, but as she explained to him before, they just had different approaches to packing. While he only took things he was fairly certain he would need, she started with pretty much everything she owned, then eliminated things she knew she wouldn't need. She ended up with way too much stuff, but her motto was "better safe than sorry," and in a mission like this, anything could happen. Besides, they were supposed to have just returned from their honeymoon, and she knew any bride would pack ridiculous amounts of clothing for that.
Michelle and Tony both rushed around the apartment to finish getting ready, and Tony began to move bags to the door so they could load the CTU car when Jack arrived. He knew Jack had only told Chappelle that he would be picking up both Tony and Michelle that morning, and had conveniently forgotten to mention that it would take one stop. There was a knock at the door, and Tony answered it to find Jack there. "Hey, need some help taking bags to the car?" he asked. They each took as much as they could carry and managed to get it all in one trip.
"Wow," Tony panted as they set the luggage in the trunk. "I think Michelle packed for a month."
"Women," Jack rolled his eyes. "The first time Teri and I went to visit her parents together...I thought I was going to have to rent a U-haul." Tony smiled, knowing it was progress for Jack to be able to bring up his wife in a light-hearted conversation. For months after her death, he had closed up and withdrawn every time her name was mentioned.
"I just have to grab a couple things from my car," Tony said. "I'll be right back." He jogged to his SUV and unlocked it, ducking inside the driver's side door. He reached for his sunglasses, then paused. Slowly, he leaned across and opened the glove compartment, then pried open the subtle panel inside hiding a small hollow. His fingers closed around the object he was looking for, and he pulled out the small velvet jewelry box. As he flipped it open and looked at the ring for the thousandth time in the last week, he didn't hear Jack approach the car.
"Finally," Jack said softly.
Tony jumped and whipped around, slamming the box shut and trying to hide it. "Jack..."
"Hey, I can keep a secret," Jack assured him. "Consider it not seen."
Tony paused. "Thanks. I'm trying to work up the nerve to ask her...and to tell Chappelle. After this mission."
"Believe me, she'll say yes. And Chappelle can just suck it." Tony smiled.
"Hey, are you two about ready?" Michelle exited the apartment building and walked over to the car. Tony quickly shoved the box farther into his pocket, then slid out of the car.
"Yeah, we've been waiting for you," he teased, grabbing his sunglasses.
"Well, slowpoke, race you for shotgun," she laughed, shooting off toward the car. He decided to let her have it, and for a moment let himself dwell on how adorable she was as she swung into the front seat, then poked her head up and stuck her tongue out at him. "You're no fun to race," she complained. He ambled over to the car and leaned inside, kissing her nose, then her cheek, then her ear. "Enough teasing," she whispered, and claimed his lips with hers. He couldn't help but groan as she pushed her body up against his, tugging gently on his bottom lip. As he opened his mouth to let her tongue in, Jack smacked the roof of the car.
"Seriously, you two!" he said, smirking. "Can you try to keep your hands off each other for a few minutes? You know you can't be all over each other this week when it's not necessary, or somebody from CTU will wonder what's up."
Michelle blushed, but Tony just growled, "That's why we're taking advantage of the time now. Good thing you already know."
Jack snorted. "Get in, Tony. In your own seat. We have to go or we'll be late for our flight."
The three laughed and joked all the way to the airport, mostly at each others' expense. Through the crisises and quiet moments over the last two years, they formed a trust between them that ran deep. It made them an unstoppable team at work, and good friends outside of it. Michelle had decided that in CTU, relationships between co-workers went one of two ways: absolute trust, or fierce rivalry. In a job where they all regularly put their lives in each others' hands, it was nice to have that trust.
They pulled up to the airport to find two CTU officers waiting. It really wasn't necessary, but Jack had to admit it was nice to be able to hand the keys to one of them instead of leaving the car in the parking garage and carrying their luggage in. The trio entered the airport, and having no patience for lines, used their badges to get through customs and security. Once they found their gate, one of the CTU agents volunteered to sit with their bags so they could walk around the terminal for a while.
They strolled along, looking into the shops, enjoying the chance to relax and act like normal people - as much as they could, anyway. All three of them stayed alert: being agents who spent their days fighting terrorist attacks, they couldn't be completely at ease in an airport. Obviously, since 9/11, plane hijacking had been in the public spotlight, but there were other reasons airports were terrorist targets. Plane bombs were just as effective, and then there was every country's worst nightmare: a bio-weapon, like a virus, released in an airport. Before any agency was even alerted, the situation would become impossible to contain, mostly due to the high numbers of people leaving both by ground and by air. All three of them tried to put morbid thoughts like this out of their minds for the moment, knowing the likelihood of an attack like this was low.
When they were far out of sight of the CTU agent, Tony let himself slip an arm around Michelle. "Are you two ready for this mission?" Jack asked. "It shouldn't be too complicated, just provide a reasonable cover for the tact team operating from underground on your property. All you have to do is keep up the married act."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Tony kissed Michelle's head. "Are you ready to protect our asses all week?" Jack knew he was only half joking; he really was concerned for Michelle's safety.
"Tony..." she said, obviously picking up the same worry.
"Hey, it'll be fine," Jack assured both of them. "You know I'll do whatever it takes. Plus, there shouldn't be any reason for either of you to be in danger. We'll just go in, get our proof, then you can feed everyone your excuse for selling the ranch - it was just more work than you expected. The only reason we really need the cover is that the Mexican government can't know what we're doing; we suspect the Salazars have connections within it," he reminded them.
"Yeah...then we have to pull out and go through some red tape before we can arrest them, right?" Michelle tried to remember what they had been briefed on.
"It's a little more complicated than that," Jack sighed. "We'll probably have to run another undercover mission to get someone inside their actual operation...otherwise we'll never be able to get to them. Right now we're just looking for enough proof to justify doing that."
Tony was still caught on Jack's last statement. "And we know they don't have connections close enough to CTU to realize we aren't who we say we are?" he asked.
"The only people who even know about this are us, a few trusted agents we need to make it happen, Baker's field team, Chappelle, and President Palmer. Hammond doesn't even know all of it, the specifics skipped over Division straight to D.C." Jack explained.
Just then, a voice came over the PA system. "Flight 158 to Mexico City is now boarding from Gate C."
"That's our cue," said Michelle. The three made their way back to the gate and took their carry-on bags from the agent there, thanking him for his help. Knowing how unreliable airlines often were with baggage, they had each packed the essentials for a few days in the smaller bags.
They boarded the 727 and found their business class seats, all next to each other. Jack was pleased to find that they were seated next to the emergency exit...just in case. He slid in to the special window, and Michelle sat next to him, knowing Tony would prefer the aisle. They stowed their bags and settled in, trying to get comfortable for the four-hour flight. Surprisingly, they taxied onto the runway and took off with no delays, and the three started to think of ways to entertain themselves - for serious government agents, they acted remarkably like middle school kids when they got the chance. Tony and Jack wasted no time getting into an argument about which baseball team should be crowned world champions - the Cubs or the Dodgers. Michelle just rolled her eyes and commented that neither team had a winning record the previous season, and obviously the Yankees were superior, causing both men to groan and turn on her together.
Noticing that their loud laughter and heated debate was drawing stares from other passengers, and knowing she was dramatically beaten in the baseball trivia area, Michelle suggested a game of Scrabble. When Jack pointed out they didn't have a board, and it would be impossible to play on a plane even if they did, she told him to quit being a smart-ass and get out his laptop. Tony did the same, and within minutes she had networked the three together so they could play easily.
Halfway through the game, Jack said, "You know, Michelle...I think you somehow programmed this game to let you win." She had as many points as he and Tony put together.
"Just because my vocabulary is twice yours!" she exclaimed, spelling out "latex" on a triple-word square.
"I can see why you're the smart one who works the computers," Tony commented, "while Jack runs around shooting anything that moves."
"Hey, you're getting beaten just as badly as me, Almeida!" Jack protested as Michelle laughed. They finished the game, Michelle beating both of them horribly, and Tony coming out just a few points ahead of Jack.
They passed the rest of the flight just talking, the conversation mostly light-hearted. The next few days wouldn't be easy on any of them, so they tried not to be too serious until they had to. When the "fasten seat belt" light came on and the flight attendants instructed them to prepare for landing, they were all surprised at how quickly the time had flown by.
When the plane taxied to a stop at the gate in Mexico City, the three quickly located their bags on the luggage carousel. "Hey, we actually got all of the things we left with!" Jack commented, surprised.
Michelle laughed. "Come on, have a little faith in the airline."
"Yeah, right. I've flown too many times to have any of that left."
"Add that to the way Murphy's Law tends to come into play whenever the three of us are together..." Tony said. Michelle had to admit it was true: when it came to the trio, whatever could go wrong usually did.
"Well," Michelle smiled, "let's see if we can prove it wrong this week." Tony hoped she was right, and for the hundredth time he said a silent prayer for this to go smoothly, and for Michelle to come out of it unharmed.
"I better go try to find the car they sent for me," Jack said. Tony and Michelle were to rent one and drive to the ranch themselves, so that anyone the Salazars had watching them wouldn't be suspicious. Jack would ride with an agent CTU had sent, and they would enter the underground operations center from the cellar a nearby convenience store. CTU had built the tunnel so the TAC team could come and go from the ranch without drawing attention.
"Bye, Jack...we'll hopefully see you soon. You've got the number for our secure cells." Tony knew they wouldn't have much contact over the next few days.
Seeing his friend's nervousness, Jack said, "You know I've got your backs, Tony. This will be over before you know it." He warned him silently not to smother Michelle in an attempt to keep her safe from practically non-existent danger.
As Jack headed for the parking garage, Tony and Michelle turned to the rental desk. Tony filled out the form using his fake name and information, and listing the ranch address. They found their car, a dark blue Honda Odyssey, and loaded their bags into it.
"Look, Tony, it has a sunroof!" Michelle was thrilled at the discovery as they left the airport. She rolled it back, and he couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked, her head of curls blowing in the wind, her face glowing with excitement.
"You know, I'm really going to enjoy spending these days with you," he said. "We'll technically be working, but it'll pretty much all be free time."
"One problem...CTU will have cameras all over the place." He saw desire flash through her eyes. Damn...when she looked it him like that, he gave himself about ten seconds before he had her pinned up against the nearest wall.
"I guess we'll just have to find the spots they don't, because there's no way I can keep my hands off you for a week," he said mischievously, still feeling the effects of that look.
"Tony...if they found out, what would they do?" He had been debating that question with himself for weeks, and fingering the velvet box in his pocket, he knew he would have to find out soon.
"There isn't much they really can do," he said. "Officially, anyway. There used to be rules about relationships in the office, but those were dropped before..."
"Nina," Michelle said quietly. It wasn't a subject they discussed when they could help it, but it wasn't a secret, either. During her first months of work at CTU, she realized Tony had a chip on his shoulder the size of LA. He came off as indifferent and not very friendly at first, but she started to see through that to the hurting man underneath, and bit by bit, he let her closer. She had taken what she could get, not pushing, but always there for him, and he didn't want to ruin that by telling her about Nina. Then, after nearly half a year at CTU, she was eating lunch with several tech girls when the conversation turned to Tony Almeida.
"Did you see him today?" Lisa pretended to fan her face. "Wearing all black, with those sunglasses...he looks so mysterious!"
Sarah giggled in agreement. "The tall, dark, and handsome look definitely works for him. I wonder if he knows everyone here would kill to go out with him!"
"I bet he doesn't care," Kory said. "After the Nina fiasco last year, he probably won't ever date someone from here again." The girls nodded and murmured their agreement.
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked, realizing she was a little alarmed by the idea of him being against office relationships.
"You didn't hear about what Nina did to him?"
She knew Nina Myers, the woman she had replaced, was in jail for treason and the murder of the wife of a former CTU agent, but she didn't see how that would affect Tony's personal life. Since coming to CTU, Michelle was friendly to her co-workers, but mostly kept to herself and did her work well, so she hadn't heard much about the chaos of the last year. "No, I guess I haven't really been paying attention to the office gossip," Michelle admitted. "I know Nina was a traitor and killed some people..."
Lisa leaned in, excited to have the story. "You know Jack Bauer, right? Former director of CTU?"
"I know of him," Michelle said. "Isn't he the agent who's wife Nina killed?"
"Yeah, but that's not the whole story...Jack and Nina were having an affair before, but Jack decided to go back to his wife and try to work things out. Nina was OK with it; she hadn't actually cared much about Jack 'cause, you know, she was a terrorist and all...she was really just trying to gain his trust and get to some information."
"Wow..." Michelle said, still not seeing what any of this had to do with Tony.
"So after Jack left her, Nina needed a new source of info. She didn't waste any time seducing Tony, which wasn't hard because he had been jealous of Jack the whole time they were together. She treated him like crap, but for some reason he stayed with her - maybe he liked having something Jack didn't, or maybe the sex was just really good." Lisa shrugged. "So the day Jack's family was kidnapped and she was exposed as a traitor, Tony was pretty torn up about it. He wasn't exactly Mr. Personality before, but ever since he's been a quiet, stick-to-business kind of guy."
Suddenly things made sense to Michelle - the way Tony seemed so hurt, almost bitter; why he kept his distance when she was first hired; and the pain that flashed in his eyes every time someone mentioned Nina Myers. Michelle had quickly excused herself from the conversation, trying to process all of this. That day, she decided not to ask about Nina. When he was ready to tell her, he would.
"Chelle...I know I've told you this before, but thank you so much for being so understanding about that. After her...I thought I'd never love again. I felt like my heart had been shredded and there was no point in even trying. When you first walked into CTU and George told me you'd be taking her place...my first thought was that I had to keep my distance at all costs. I knew it wouldn't be easy because you're so beautiful, but as I got to know you, I realized it would be impossible. Your gorgeous eyes could see through every defense I put up, and I found myself falling hard. Before I knew it, I was completely in love with you, but convinced you didn't feel the same about me. How could anyone so perfect want to be with someone like me? Then, the day of the bomb..."
"Oh, Tony...I'd been in love with you so long before then but I convinced myself you were off limits for lots of reasons. There's something I've never told you about that day..."
He looked at her, almost concerned. "What happened, baby?"
"When Jack was trying to convince me to help him..." She looked away, remembering how it had caused tension between them. "I didn't want to go behind Mason's back, but Jack told me he wasn't fit to run CTU. I was so shocked to find out he was dying. We obviously weren't the best of friends, but I had always respected him, and to find out he would be yanked away so fast..." Tony saw this was hard for her to remember, but she continued. "I went to Mason's office later, to verify some protocols or something, then I just stood there looking at him. He looked so frail, and he could see in my eyes that I knew. He started to talk to me, about lots of things - his son, how he came to work at CTU, and how he had always wanted to become a teacher. The he said something I'll never forget. 'Michelle,' he said, 'Find something that makes you happy and go for it. Everything else is just background noise." I realized you were the one thing I wanted."
Her voice cracked, and Tony saw the tears escape from her eyes. He reached across and took her hand. "Oh, Chelle...he was a good man. I owe him so much; it's thanks to him that I have you. He was right, as long as we're together, all this - the mission, Chappelle's 'relationship in the office' BS, everything going on at home - is just background noise."
"I don't know what I'd do without you," she said tearfully.
"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. Forever&ever, I promise you."
Minutes later, they pulled up to the ranch that would be their home for the next few days. "It's gorgeous!" Michelle exclaimed. The hills were covered with colorful wild grass, spreading out across the property. A long driveway lead up to a huge Spanish-style house, almost a mansion, painted white and decorated with red and navy trim. The wooden fencing lining the property was more for decoration than protection, and even the fields in the distance were naturally beautiful.
Tony parked the car near the welcoming double doors in the front of the house. "And it's all ours," he said, kissing her. He knew the CTU agents would consider this part of their cover, but from the way she flicked her tongue across his, she certainly didn't. "Mmm...you know you're just teasing me here," he mumbled into her lips.
She laughed quietly and pulled away. "Come on, let's start unloading our stuff and find our bedroom."
"And find out if it has cameras," he added under his breath. They both took their bags out of the rental car, and Tony fumbled with the keys he had been given, finally swinging open the door. The inside was every bit as elegant as the outside, even if it was a little under-decorated. From the entryway, they could see into the stylish but functional kitchen. They turned to the left and dragged their luggage up the grand staircase, quickly locating the master bedroom upstairs.
Michelle dropped her bag. "Wow..." she breathed. The four-poster king-sized bed was made up with a detailed stitched comforter, and at least eight pillows in silk cases lay at the top. An ornately carved dresser and two matching chairs also occupied the room. She made her way across the plush carpet into the bathroom, which was at least the size of her bedroom at home. "Look, a jaccuzi bath!" she discovered, smiling suggestively at Tony.
"We'll have to find a way to take advantage of that," he said, equally impressed with their living quarters. This was by far the easiest field mission he had ever heard of - a week with his girlfriend, in a room that resembled a honeymoon suite.
They spent a few minutes unpacking, claiming drawers and closet space, chatting casually about the mission and whatever came to mind. Then Michelle suggested, "Why don't we go check out the house? I think we have a couple hired hands to meet, too."
Tony pulled out a folder from his computer bag. "Oh, Jack gave me briefs on all of them. Let's see...we have Enrique and Juan, brothers who are going to get started on some crops and things, and Racquel, who's in her early 20's, to help with cooking and cleaning. Jack doesn't think any of them will be too nosy, they're all just looking for any work they can get."
Michelle read the papers on the three, then said, "All right, let's go introduce ourselves."
"Oh, wait," Tony said. "You forgot your 'wedding ring'."
Michelle laughed, digging through her bags till she found it. Out of everyone at CTU, Tony was the one who orignally pointed out they would need rings. Where Chappelle had found these, he didn't know, but Michelle wasn't crazy about hers.
"It's so flashy," she complained. The huge diamond was surrounded by smaller green and purple stones, and it certainly did draw attention. Tony smiled to himself, running his fingers over the velvet in his pocket once again. He hoped she would like the ring he picked out more - it was definitely more her style. "What?" She noticed his grin.
"Nothing," he said, leaving his thoughts behind for the moment. "Come on, let's go check out our new home."
A/N: Next chapter hopefully coming soon!