Chapter 13: Going Home
Tony opened the door and walked into the office from a meeting with an important client. The meeting had not gone as well as he had hoped. As he replayed the conversations in his head, he was so distracted that he didn't notice the receptionist wasn't at her desk. Neither were the secretaries. He leaned into Juan's office to brief him, but found it empty. He looked across the hall at Pedro's office to see that it, too, was empty. It was then that he heard everyone in the tech room.
"Geez, are you guys hiding from me or something?" he asked as he turned the corner and moved toward the tech room. The television in the corner was broadcasting an American newscast.
Pilar, who had spent the last 18 months unsuccessfully trying to garner his attention, gave him a dazzling smile. "Welcome to your going away party, Mr. Almeida. You were a great boss, I'm going to miss you." She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek.
Tony looked confused. He was surprised to hear someone use the name Almeida.
"What's going on?" he asked as Pedro popped the cork on a bottle of champagne, poured a glass to overflowing and thrust the dripping flute into Tony's hand.
"Congratulations! President Palmer granted you a full pardon, my friend," Juan said as he slapped Tony on the back. "You're going home to Michelle and Sophie."
Tony was stunned. "Don't do this to me guys. This isn't funny."
Pedro shook his head. "This is for real, Buddy. You are going home."
"For real?" Tony repeated.
They were all nodding. He began to smile, then laugh as the reality hit him. He lifted the champagne flute to his lips and emptied it in one quick swallow.
Ella, one of the secretaries, had slipped out of the room as Tony walked in. She came back in, speaking fluent but heavily accented English into a phone.
"Mrs. Almeida, hold on, I have your husband right here." She handed him the phone. "We thought you might like to talk to your wife."
"Sweetheart," he said into the phone. He could hear her laughing and crying at the same time. "Oh, God, Baby! I don't know how you did it. But it doesn't matter, all that matters is that I am coming home to you."
She tried to answer him, but there was so much noise in the background he could hardly hear her.
"Honey, what is going on?"
"We're having a party!" she said as she stepped outside onto the patio to get away from the din. "When people heard the news, they just started dropping in. Almost everyone you know is here: your entire family, my brother and his kids, Jack, Kate, Bill and Patty Conner and their kids, Chase, Kim, Chloe and Adam and a huge group from CTU. Everyone is just so happy, Tony. We can't wait to see you."
"I can't wait to get home to you, baby," he said in a serious voice.
She explained that he had to go to the American embassy in Argentina, (Jack had finally confirmed that Tony was in Argentina.) and they would make all of the arrangements for him to come home. He should be back in the U.S. by the end of the week. After they exchanged "I love you's", Michelle asked if Tony would like to talk to his parents. From there the phone was passed to almost everyone at the party, including Sophie who listened intently to the voice on the other end. After nearly an hour Tony finally hung up. His coworkers were now well on their way to finishing a fourth bottle of champagne and were planning a real going away celebration.
Tony went to the American embassy which was only about an hour from the office. They verified his identity through fingerprint records and he filled out what seemed like a million forms. It didn't matter, he thought, he would jump through a ring of fire if it meant he could go home to Michelle. He finally got back to his apartment that evening after making a stop at a toy store to find a present for Sophie and a jewelry store to find a present for Michelle. He wanted just the right gifts and finally settled on a soft, white teddy bear for Sophie and a diamond heart-shaped necklace for Michelle.
The first thing he did when he got back to his apartment was shave off his beard. He stroked his smooth cheeks. Michelle had indicated that she liked the beard when they were together after Sophie's birth, but he preferred to be clean shaven and was sure Michelle wouldn't object. The Ambassador told him they would probably be able to make arrangements for his return to the U.S. on Thursday, but he would let Tony know for sure tomorrow. At any rate, he would he home for Sophie's first birthday which was only two weeks away. An event he had always assumed that he would miss, he would now share with his wife and daughter. He called Michelle again just to hear her voice and to let her know what to expect. Just to be able to call her at will was wonderful. Tony decided to pack early just to be sure he was ready. He had so much restless energy that he didn't know what to do with it all. He finally got in bed and tried to sleep. It was useless. All he could think about was sleeping next to Michelle, how good it would feel to hold her again.
His mind began to wander back to the first time he held Michelle in his arms. Over the last 18 months, Tony has blocked out this memory every time it threatened to creep into his thoughts. The few times he had allowed himself the luxury of remembering, he did so with a full bottle of wine to numb the pain. Now there was no longer a need to numb the pain, he closed his eyes and savored the memory.
He remembered the bombed out condition of CTU. He remembered how hard they had all been working and Michelle was working harder than most. The events of the day had become too much for her. He found her hiding in a quiet hallway, frightened and vulnerable. This woman who was always so confident and strong, who he had been in love with since the moment George Mason introduced them. She had beautiful, soulful eyes that seemed to look deep into him. He wanted to tell her how he felt, ask her out, but he couldn't. He was still smarting from his humiliating relationship with Nina. He had fallen for Nina badly, like a teenager and everyone knew it. What had he been thinking? Even before he knew she was a double agent, he knew in his heart that the relationship was going nowhere. She was using him to get back at Jack, he thought at the time. But she was so alluring and so sexy, he was sure if he tried hard enough that he could make her love him.
But now he was standing next to Michelle who had admitted her feelings for him earlier in the day. Knowing it was completely inappropriate, he decided to hug her, try to calm her down. A quick hug, he thought, it was harmless. He put his arms around her. Her body felt so warm. He felt himself tighten his grip, draw her in closer. As the hug ended he found himself looking into her eyes, their faces just inches apart. He pushed a stray tendril of hair behind her ear and touched her face to wipe away a tear. She tilted her head almost imperceptibly as if she was waiting for a kiss. His mind was racing; he wanted to kiss her but not here, not now. Before he could make a decision she opened her lips slightly and pressed them to his. He felt his own mouth open and his tongue slip gently into her mouth. She started to pull away and whispered that she was sorry, but he wanted more. He pulled her face back to his and kissed her deeply. For those few seconds, they were the only two people in the world. The chaos and fear and grief of the day were gone. It was just the two of them. The kiss ended abruptly when they were discovered by Carrie of all people, but Tony could not erase the memory.
When the day finally ended, everyone was given 48 hours off. Tony and Michelle said goodbye. He thanked her for her exceptional service that day. She'd really made a difference, he said. He wanted to hold her again but decided against it. They each went home exhausted to empty apartments. Tony slept eight solid hours before waking at almost 5pm. He lay in bed for a while but found all he could think about was the horror of the day just past. He got up and took a shower hoping it would clear his mind but it didn't help. His brain kept replaying the day. Unable to stand it any longer he picked up the phone and dialed Michelle's number. He asked if she had slept well and tried to make small talk. He finally admitted that thoughts of the previous day were driving him crazy and he didn't want to be alone. She agreed that she also wanted someone to talk to. He invited her to his apartment for dinner at 7 o'clock.
Tony spent the next hour getting ready and deciding how the evening should go. When he met her at the door, should he kiss her? Maybe a light kiss on the cheek, he thought. He wanted to take this relationship slowly. He didn't want to muddy the waters with sex. He again remembered his relationship with Nina that was based solely on sex. Not that he complained at the time; she was exceptional in bed.
Michelle knocked on his door at 7:00 sharp. She brought two bottles of wine, a white and a red, not knowing what he was serving for dinner. She was so thoughtful. He leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips, as planned. They had a wonderful dinner. They ate steaks and drank wine and held hands across the table and most of all discussed their painful experiences of yesterday. It felt so good to talk it out.
It was almost 10:00 when Michelle offered to clean up the kitchen. Tony protested but she insisted, so they moved into the small kitchen to clean up. Michelle washed while Tony dried, their bodies close in the warm confines of the kitchen. They seemed to keep bumping into one another and the sexual tension grew. As Michelle slipped behind him to put something away, Tony could feel the soft pressure of her breasts against his back. He closed his eyes relishing the feeling.
The kitchen was clean and everything was put away and they began the awkward process of saying good night. Tony fully intended to give her a simple good night kiss and hug. As he wrapped his arms around her, he could again feel the warmth of her body, smell her sweet fragrance. He couldn't stop himself, he lifted her face to his and began to kiss her, softly at first and then more deeply. He was running his hands up and down her back and he could feel her hands on his neck and the back of his head pulling him closer and closer. She moaned softly which made him crazy. He pulled away from her and stepped back. He started pacing, his left hand rubbing his forehead. He told her that he wanted to take it slowly, wanted to make sure the relationship worked. She agreed that had been her intention as well, she never slept with a man on a first date, but now… The tension was greater than she could have possibly imagined. They began kissing again, this time urgently, as if they feared some imaginary force might tear them apart.
"Oh God, Tony," she whispered between kisses. "Make love to me, please. I want you to make love to me. I want to make love to you."
He was dizzy with excitement. Had he heard her correctly? Was she sure that was what she wanted? She looked into his eyes and nodded lightly. He reached behind her head and released the clip that was holding her hair up and fanned it over her shoulders. The next thing he knew, he was carrying her to his bedroom kissing her the entire way.
He laid her gently on the bed again asking if she was sure. Without saying a word, she began to unbutton her shirt. He took her hands in his and kissed them. He took over unbuttoning her shirt, although his hands were shaking, and he proceeded to undress her. She was beautiful. Her skin was creamy white and smooth. Her muscles firm and her breasts perfect soft handfuls. He stroked her body noting several dark bruises from the bombing yesterday. He kissed each bruise tenderly. She seemed tense at first, but relaxed as he stroked and kissed her. She reached out and helped him undress and he slipped into bed beside her.
He kissed her lips and told her to stop him if she didn't want to go any further or if he did something she didn't like. Then he pinned her gently on her back and started exploring every inch of her body. He couldn't ever remember making love so intensely before. They collapsed in an exhausted heap in each others arms.
At this point he was smiling and thoroughly aroused. It was one of his favorite memories. He had memorized every minute and could relive it in vivid detail. There was more to the memory, but he usually managed to avoid the rest. It wasn't a happy memory and most times he chose to suppress it. Tonight, as he thought about Michelle and their relationship, the memory came crashing through and he couldn't prevent it.
He remembered that Michelle fell asleep quickly in the warmth of his arms. He lay awake, watching her sleep, noticing the contrast between the porcelain color of her skin and the olive tone of his. He was too full of emotion to sleep. The sad and painful emotions of yesterday had suddenly been replaced with a whole new set of emotions. He was filled with an incredible peace that he finally had been able to admit to Michelle how he felt. He was thrilled and grateful that she felt the same way. He was overjoyed that, although it had happened much sooner than he had planned, their first intimate experience had been so tender and satisfying for both of them. He had to admit, though, that the whole thing scared him. Had they moved too fast? Would Michelle wake up regretting her decision? He started to get angry with himself. It was all his fault. He should have had more self control. He knew they should not end up in bed together tonight, and yet, here he was, with her beautiful body in his arms, drinking in her scent, feeling her soft skin. He kissed the top of her head. Please don't regret this, he thought as he finally allowed himself to sleep.
He awoke some time later in the dark room knowing instinctively that Michelle was in bed with him, but unable to feel her in his arms. He opened his eyes and at the same time caught the soft, rhythmic sound of sobbing coming from the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes not sure what to do next. Had he hurt her physically? Was this all just too much for her emotionally? She was lying on her side with her back to him. He reached out to her, touched her bare shoulder and whispered, "Babe, what's wrong?" He moved closer until their bodies touched. "Oh, Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you? Baby, I never meant to hurt you. I didn't mean to force you into something you didn't want to do."
"Oh, Tony," she whispered back. She turned over and put her arms around him. "You didn't hurt me. You were incredible."
He wiped tears from her face.
"I don't know why I'm crying. I guess I just never realized that a man could be so good to me, could make me feel like I do right now. I never imagined that I could be so in love and have that love returned."
She looked away. The pained expression on her face told him that she had been hurt in the past. She looked as if she wanted to say more. He said nothing and waited to see if she would go on.
Michelle turned over so she again had her back to him. She was about to bare her soul and she couldn't look at him.
"I never dated much in high school. Guys never seem interested in the smart girls. There were a couple of guys in college, but you know how college is, it was mostly about the sex for them. I went along with it; it seemed like that was what was expected. They seemed to enjoy it, but I never did. I always just felt vulnerable and used." She paused to gather her thoughts.
Tony held her and stayed silent; he stroked her hair and curled a thick stand of it around his finger.
"After college, I got a job in a man's world. Most of the men ignored me and that didn't really bother me. I had my girlfriends, but they all seemed wrapped up in finding a man. When I started working at Division, I met someone who seemed to care about me. We started going out. I thought I loved him. It was good at first, he was nice to me. Over time the relationship started to change. He started to get rough with me, in bed. When I would try to talk to him about it, he turned it around and made it my fault. He said if I were more responsive, more loving, he would be more excited. But since I wasn't doing the things he liked, the only way for him to get really excited was to get rough. Tony, the pathetic thing is that I had so little self esteem that I let him continue to do it." Tears traced paths down her cheeks as she relived the painful memory. "One day after work, we went out for drinks and then back to his place." She was crying hard now and making no attempt to control it.
Tony closed his eyes and held her close. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear any more. "Honey, you don't have to do this," he whispered.
But she continued, haltingly, speaking between sobs. "We both had a little too much to drink. He started undressing me in the entrance hall. I thought it was funny at first; but then he pushed me down on the floor. He held me down, he was so strong. I tried to fight but I'd been drinking. There was no point, so I stopped fighting, but that seemed to make matters worse. I just begged him to stop. By the time he was finished, I had bruises on both arms from him holding them down, my shoulder blades and tailbone were bruised and my back was raw from the rough tile on the floor. The one shoulder blade was bleeding." She reached back and touched the spot. "There's still a scar."
Tony kissed the spot tenderly.
"He stood up and started walking away and he said that if I told anyone he would deny it; he'd say that I liked rough sex, and he had a longer and more distinguished career than I did. Who were they going to believe? Then he went upstairs and took a shower. I could hear him singing in the shower. Then he went to bed. I laid on the floor crying for hours. I finally got dressed and went home. The next day I put in for the transfer to CTU. I never told anyone. After I started at CTU, he called me and said he was sorry and asked me to go out with him again. I almost said 'yes'. Do you know what stopped me?"
"No, sweetheart, what?" he asked feeling angry and devastated that she had been forced to live through this.
She turned over and looked in his eyes. "You did. When George introduced us, your eyes were so warm and your smile was so genuinely kind, that I realized that there really were good, gentle men in the world. And even if there wasn't one for me, I didn't have to stay with a man that hurt me."
A horrible image of a man, someone he probably knew, brutalizing Michelle assaulted his mind. How anyone could ever hurt her was beyond his comprehension. He knew she would never tell him who did it because if he knew, he would probably kill the bastard. He pulled her closer so her face was pressed against his neck. "Baby, I had no idea. I'm so sorry. I promise you I will never hurt you. I will never make you do anything you don't want to do. I love you so much."
Tony remembered how they lay awake for a long time just holding each other. They both had demons in their past, haunting them, making them fear love. But that night as they held each other tenderly the demons were vanquished; sent far away where they couldn't hurt either of them any more.
The thought that his wife had been raped and what it had done to her emotionally still made him angry. They had only talked about it one other time and it was clear to him that she still blamed herself for the incident. Allowing himself to think about it had exhausted him. He fell asleep sad from the memory, but satisfied that he and Michelle would be together very soon.
Tony awoke the next morning with the same nervous energy he had the night before. He decided to go to the office, clean out his desk and turn his files over to Juan and Pedro. They were going to need another partner; they had far too much work for the two of them. Tony smiled wondering where they were going to find another government agent who had worn out his welcome in his own country.
When he got to the office he found that Juan and Pedro had a better idea. They asked Tony to open a branch office in LA. They could use an office on the west coast of North America. They had numerous contracts with shipping lines in Washington and Oregon as well as Vancouver. Tony would also be able to handle the Asian contracts. Tony jumped at the chance. The business was lucrative and he liked the work. Things were beginning to fall into place.
The ambassador's secretary called Tony around noon. Plans were in place for Tony to return to the U.S. on Friday. He had hoped for Thursday, but Friday would have to do. He would arrive in Washington DC at Reagan National Airport around 1pm. He would be escorted to the Attorney General's office where he would have about an hour worth of paperwork. At that point he would be a free man.
Tony called Michelle. She had gotten off the phone only a few minutes earlier with the AG's office who had given her similar information. She told Tony that she and Sophie and his parents would meet him at the airport. She also told him that they had all been invited to President Palmer's home outside of Washington for dinner the day he came home. They continued to chat, neither one of them wanting to say goodbye.
The flight to Washington seemed to go on forever. It didn't help that Tony was nursing a mild hangover from the going away party the night before. It was a great party and for once the goodbyes weren't really sad. He would probably see Juan and Pedro at least a couple of times a year and would talk to them regularly. They would both be in LA next month to help him set up their branch office. Tony looked at his watch; they would be landing in 2 hours. He reclined his seat slightly and allowed himself to think of Michelle meeting him at the airport and he drifted off to sleep.
The plane landed in Washington just a few minutes late. Normally, security regulations allowed only ticketed passengers at the gates but the AG had arranged special security clearance for the Almeida party. Michelle and Sophie, along with Tony's parents walked toward the gate with three escorts from the AG's office. A crowd of reporters followed them as far as the security checkpoint calling question after question at them. Michelle good naturedly answered some of the questions as she walked along. She waved at the cameramen and reporters as she cleared security as if to say she couldn't answer any more questions.
Prior to the plane landing, Michelle had been told that Tony would have to wait on board while everyone else deplaned. Once the plane was empty, representatives of the AG would then board to again verify his identity. Once verified he would be able to leave the plane and meet his family at the gate.
The 747 was nearly filled to capacity and it seemed that the line of exiting passengers would never end. Sophie was tired of being held and squirmed to get down. Michelle eventually relented and moved to a deserted corner of the gate and set Sophie on the floor with her caterpillar. Michelle knelt beside her trying to play normally while her stomach was tied in knots. She tried to make casual conversation with Tony's parents who sat in chairs nearly, but it was impossible. They were all too excited.
The plane was finally empty and James Hendricks and Rachel Brown, two of the representatives from the AG's office that escorted Michelle, boarded the plane. The official that stayed behind, Justin Quinn, told Michelle it would take 15-20 minutes to verify Tony's identity. She thanked him and looked at her watch. Sophie was pulling herself up on the furniture and taking careful steps with her mother's help. Michelle walked her to a full length panel window so she could look out. Sophie looked at the big silver plane just outside the window.
"Daddy's on that plane, pumpkin," Michelle told her as she smoothed Sophie's black curls.
Sophie pressed her nose against the window far more interested in her own reflection.
At the same time, Tony was trying to be patient while he waited with Hendricks and Brown for final confirmation on his identity. They scanned his hand print and sent it electronically to the FBI. While he waited, he looked out of the plane's windows wishing he could see through the tinted windows at the gate. Try as he might, the tint on the windows and the glare of the bright afternoon sun prevented him from seeing through the window. Could Michelle be on the other side looking out?
Tony gathered his carry-on luggage so he would be ready to go as soon as they obtained the necessary confirmation. He decided to remove the white teddy bear from his bag and he tucked it in the crook of his arm. He didn't know if Sophie had developed "stranger anxiety" yet and he was hoping the bear would keep her from being afraid of him. Tony asked the one remaining flight attendant if the flowers he had ordered were at the gate. She confirmed that a dozen, long stemmed white roses and three red rubrum lilies and a dozen long stemmed yellow roses were waiting in the airline holding area just behind the gate. She would retrieve them as soon as she left the plane.
Michelle lost track of time while she and Sophie played by the window. She was startled when Mr. Quinn touched her shoulder gently.
"Mrs. Almeida, they're exiting the plane."
Michelle stood up quickly and smoothed her dress into place. She had agonized over what to wear and finally decided on a fitted, sleeveless floral print dress. It was very conservative but Michelle knew it accentuated her every curve. She tucked loose hairs behind her ears and then started to straighten out Sophie's sundress.
"Honey," her father-in-law said smiling. "You both look beautiful. Now go to him."