This part takes place right after Season 2.
Disclaimer: I don't owe anything of "24", or the song "Closer to you" by Counting Crows or "The fabulous world of Amelie".
Again …Events do not occur in real time
Michelle was driving down the street in her blue Ford.
She had just taken her brother back home and was now heading home alone.
Her head was pounding like hell and she could barely focus on the traffic in front of her.
The last day had been one of the most horrible and scaring days of her whole life, and yet it had been one of the most wonderful, too.
She hadn't been that happy in a long time and even though she was tired and exhausted she couldn't help but smile.
Everything that had happened in the last 24 hours between her and Tony seemed so surreal.
And actually the whole day was covered in a grey shadow in her memories now.
The only thing she still remembered clearly was his soft lips on hers.
That kiss had been the most passionate experience in her entire life.
And all the time she had feared he wouldn't feel the same for her…
Since she had started at CTU a few months ago, there had been something hanging between them. And after her breakdown he had comforted her and then they had finally kissed.
And after they had managed to get through the crisis alive she went up to his office hoping he would say something.
At first he didn't seem like he would say anything and she wanted to leave with that but in the end he said "See you tomorrow"!
And then she knew that he wouldn't forget about the kiss. But had she interpreted it right?
Or had she misunderstood what he intended to say?
Maybe he just meant that he wanted them to be friends like before, and that the kiss had been due to the crisis they'd had to face.
But would he have said that he doesn't regret anything, then?
Michelle's head started to hurt even more as she thought about it and the cars in front of her merged to a thick grey smoke.
She had to close her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
A few minutes later she entered the parking lot next to the house where her apartment was located.
Michelle turned off the engine and leaned back in her seat, fiddling with her car keys.
How come she made herself feel so nervous, she asked herself again and again. Just because she did not know what Tony's intention was.
She should just ask him right away. And for just a single second she even considered driving back to CTU, but then she shook her head slightly and decided to talk to him first thing when she was back at work tomorrow.
It would be better to give it some time, anyway…
But what if…
"Michelle stop" she whispered to herself and got out of the car.
The only right thing to do now was to get some rest and sleep and to give it some time.
She would talk to him the next day. Period.
Tony was still sitting at his desk in his new office, trying not to think about what had happened during the last hours but to focus on the left work he had to do yet before going home.
He signed the paper in front of him as his phone ringed,
"Almeida?" he answered.
"It is Brad Hammond, from Division."
"Hey." Tony leaned back in his seat.
"I just wanted to let you know that I settled everything over here so you could come over to District by tomorrow at 6 and sign your new contract as director of CTU Los Angeles."
"Okay. Thanks Brad." Tony hung up again.
It was a carrier move, but somehow it didn't felt right having gotten it from George, knowing he had only gotten it because George had been exposed to a lethal dose of radioactivity.
Tony stood up, took his jacket and walked carefully out of the room trying to not put any weight on his right foot, that was still hurting badly.
During the last two days a lot of things had occurred.
A lot of people, friends of Tony had lost their lives, there had almost been a third world war and … he had kissed Michelle.
Suddenly a smile appeared on his face.
He still couldn't believe that it had really happened.
Since Michelle had started at CTU two months ago this was all he wanted, to kiss her and touch her.
Today it became true.
And yet he felt kinda strange. He couldn't help but ask himself what she was thinking about all this.
She didn't seem sorry for what happened but still… But why didn't he told her that he would love to go out with her, love to spend some time with her besides work? Instead he told her that he would see her tomorrow…at work.
Could it be anymore unclear?
How could he say that? To Michelle, the woman he had fallen in love with ever since she had been introduced to him?
He felt like kicking his own butt for this.
He should talk to her tomorrow…and clear his intentions once and for all…and maybe ask her out for dinner and a movie like she'd offered before.
When Michelle opened her eyes, the sun had already risen and was covering her whole bedroom in a bright yellowish light.
She pulled back her blanket and took a look at the clock on the wall.
Even though she had slept through, which she hardly could, her head was still pounding like yesterday when she got home.
She decided to take a quick shower because she had to be at work in about two hours.
Michelle got out of her pyjamas and turned on the hot water.
When the water finally ran over her body she had to sigh, because this always made her headache go away…this and Tony.
She remembered the other day a few weeks ago, when she had been at work for like 30 hours straight. Her head was hurting like hell. But the worst was that it had been Tony's day off and when he got to CTU she was ready to leave. But just in these five minutes she needed to bring him up to speed, her head stopped hurting; instead, she was feeling so good like never before.
Now she was looking forward to seeing him again. Without the anxiety of a nuke or a terrorist threat.
She turned off the water and wrapped a big towel around her body.
When she looked into the mirror, she saw how tired she still looked.
Then she realized that she was touching her lips with her right thumb. She couldn't stop smiling at the thought of kissing Tony again.
A shiver ran through her whole body when she thought about their kiss earlier.
When she met him a few months ago, she never even thought that this could happen, or would.
Her heart was racing again.
Why was he making her nervous? How could just the thought of Tony make her feel dizzy?
When Michelle left her apartment 90 minutes later she was wearing the best outfit she had for office. And it had taken her about half an hour to find an outfit she felt comfortable in, and something she looked good in. She just hoped Tony would notice her clothing.
She had taken a black tight skirt, which was a little shorter than the one she wore yesterday, and she had taken a light red blouse with sleeves that went till her elbows.
And she had put on some of her favorite perfume.
On the way to CTU, she tried to stay calm and not to feel nervous, but when she entered the major hallway, it was all in vain.
Tony was talking to an agent, leaning against the desk next to him when he noticed Michelle entering CTU.
He noticed that she had done something new with her hair.
She had bent some strains back with a small ribbon and a few strains were hanging loose. And the blouse she was wearing made her look even more beautiful.
"Tony?" someone cut him out off his thoughts.
"Yeah?" he turned back to the agent he was talking to and added,
"Uh…we should start a type B protocol for this."
"Okay."
"Let me know when you are set.", he said, and then started to walk away.
He glanced over the whole hallway looking for Michelle but he couldn't spot her anywhere.
When he arrived at her desk he saw her purse laying next to her jacket.
" Oh…Tony?" the blonde girl next to him turned to the side.
"Yup?"
"Brad Hammond called. He wants you to call him ASAP."
"Thank you." He took a last look on Michelle's desk, sighed and then went over to his office.
When he came home yesterday he went straight to bed. But even though he was tired, he couldn't fall asleep within two hours.
He could only think about Michelle and their kiss.
When he finally managed to fall asleep he had some weird dreams about the last day. But he couldn't remember anything now, he just knew it had been a weird night of weird dreams.
But when he got up this morning he took a shower and felt good again, and also he was a little bit nervous about meeting Michelle.
When he arrived at the last step, he reached out for the door as he suddenly noticed someone standing in front of him.
It was Michelle.
Tony noticed that Michelle was wearing a necklace, with a small heart.
When he noticed that he was staring at her neck, he rose his head and saw her smile, the smile that he loved so much.
"Hey." She said.
"Hey." He answered smiling.
"I need to talk to you." Michelle finally pressed out and was hoping he wouldn't notice her unusual fast heartbeat.
"Uh…sure…Now?"
She nodded slightly, almost unremarkably.
"Uh…I've got a call to make that can't wait…unfortunately."
"Oh, of course. No problem. We can talk later." She smiled friendly and went downstairs to her desk.
He watched her walk away until she arrived at her desk and sat down. It seemed like his head had gotten hotter so he took a deep breath and went inside his office.
When Michelle sat down she turned around a bit so she could watch Tony from the corner of her eyes.
She stayed like this for a minute and when she turned to her screen she suddenly realized how deeply she had already fallen in love with him.
Because right now, all she wanted was to walk into his office and kiss him again.
Tony hung up the phone and leaned back, sighing.
The day was going to get very stressful for him. He was about to call the secretary of state and he had to initiate a co-op, and he had to take care of the CTU's rebuilt. Not to mention the computers that were needed and weren't working yet.
He looked down the hall and spotted Michelle talking to a maintanance man.
He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked today. Usually she looked really good, but today she looked great!
His heartbeat increased, and he felt the blood streaming into his face.
He had already fallen in love with her so much, and yet it seemed like he felt in love with her more and more with each day.
He reached out for the phone and dialled 2039 … her number.
"Hello?" Michelle answered after two rings.
"It's me." He simply stated.
When Michelle heard Tony's voice her heart stopped beating for a single second.
"I need you to start an operation-delta-protocol."
She wrote it down.
"I just got off the phone with Brad Hammond. Division is sending 3 more IT-people over within the next hour. Could you take them over and fill them in?"
"Of course." She said smiling.
"They are supposed to work with Stevenson, so make sure they get a Level 4."
"Alright…anything else?", she asked and hoped he would take the first step.
After a moment he answered,
"Not so far. Anything about the processors in the IT-room?"
"They are making progress but they need two more hours to configurate it."
"Okay. Thanks.", he sighed.
"Tony?"
"Yeah?"
She turned around in her seat and took a look at him upstairs.
"Could you … uh…about earlier…"
"Uh yeah. I don't have any time right now. Sorry" he cut her off.
"Okay." She obviously was disappointed.
"I promise you I'll call you when I get some space, okay?" he smiled.
"Thanks." Then they hung up.
Michelle turned to her screen and sighed. Somehow she had the feeling that he didn't want to talk to her.
She forced herself to stop thinking about it, and decided that she was going to talk to him, no matter what. She just couldn't spend another day not knowing what he wanted.
She just couldn't.
Tony hated himself. Even though he really didn't have any time to talk to her, he still felt like an idiot. She must have had the feeling that he didn't want to talk to her, but he did.
Actually, that was all he wanted.
He dialled the number of the secretary of state, and then decided that even if he had just one minute to talk to her today, he would take the chance.
He wanted to tell her that he would love to go out with her, and he just hoped that she hadn't changed her mind about that yet.
A few hours later, Tony was sitting in his office and he'd just ended a call and was now turning off his screen.
He took a breath and stood up, he'd never thought that being the director would mean to spend all the day on the phone.
When he went downstairs his glance wandered almost unintentionally to Michelle's desk.
There she was, typing on her keyboard, looking still breathtaking and gorgeous.
Michelle hated this work. Writing one report after another, she had been sitting at her desk for over two hours and was facing at least one hour more.
She stretched a little bit and rubbed her bare hand over her neck.
"You okay?" Tony appeared behind her, sitting down on her desk right next to her.
"Yeah…just sitting here for hours makes my back feel like a stone." She smiled shrugging.
"What are you doing anyway?" he took a look at her screen.
"Chapelle wants me to do these – probably some kind of punishment." She grinned.
He had to smile too. They really had sedated Ryan yesterday.
"So…You got some time, then?"
"Yeah, it is no priority."
"Cause I got some time now."
"Oh…good." She felt her head getting red.
"So…about yesterday…" He wiped over his forehead.
"Yeah." She agreed.
"Sorry for putting you on the spot like that, but I just wanted to know what you think." she quickly added.
"Michelle…I can…" the phone cut him off.
Michelle sighed loud and picked it up.
"Dessler."
Tony cleared his throat and watched her while she was talking.
He somehow was glad about the interruption because he didn't really know what to tell her.
Furthermore, he did not know what she was going to tell him.
Maybe it would be better to let this subject go, but honestly it was the last thing he wanted.
Instead, he wanted to tell her about his feelings, and he wanted to kiss her right now.
"That was Carl from Division. Hammond wants us to send them some data and the updates. But the processors aren't working properly yet. So someone needs to drive over to them and this someone turned out to be me."
"Can't you just send a messenger?"
"No…they also want a report." She shrugged.
"Alright, when are you gonna leave?"
"Now." She simply stated.
"Okay…uh… So, see you later, then." He smiled pitiful.
"Yeah." She sighed.
Tony went back upstairs but turned around halfway watching Michelle taking a laptop and a bunch of folders.
Suddenly he remembered how worried he'd been about her after the explosion. But when he heard her voice he could finally concentrate on work again. And then this whole thing with Carrie -he didn't want her to feel bad and he also couldn't stand it when she was sad.
"Hey, Tony! We need you over at IT! We've got a problem!" someone yelled from downstairs.
"Coming." He answered and just hoped this day would be over soon, so he could finally talk to her.
It was 12.10 pm when Michelle left CTU, and now it was already 4.40 pm.
She was heading back to CTU in a black SUV and was waiting at a red light.
The meeting at Division had taken longer then she wanted.
Worst of all was that her headache was coming back, along with tiredness.
Her glance wandered across the car and spotted her cell and the next second she was dialling Tony's number.
"CTU." A female voice answered.
Michelle was so perplexed that she didn't respond.
"Hello?"
"Uh…it's Michelle. Is Tony around?"
"Yeah, but he's not able to talk right now."
"Why?"
"We got a problem in the IT-room. Tony's trying to handle the situation." The woman explained then added,
"It is like a freak house over here."
"Okay…could you tell him I'll be back in a few minutes?"
"Yes." Then they hung up.
A few minutes later, Michelle entered the parking lot and left her car on it's designated space.
When she arrived at the main entrance, she realized the chaos inside. A lot of people were running around and someone was yelling something about a CPU from upstairs.
She passed by a bunch of people and almost ran into Tony.
"Oh, sorry …" she murmured.
"You are back!" he wiped over his forehead seeming nervous and exhausted.
"Just got here…Tony, what is going on here?"
"One of this IT-guys screwed up everything…we had to shut down half of our system."
"What do you need me to do?"
Tony took a look at his watch,
"Aren't you supposed to leave at 5?"
"Yes…but …now?"
"The next shift will be here by 7.", he shrugged.
"Then I'll go…so, now, what can I do?" she gave him a determined look.
"Alright, I got an important appointment at District in an hour. We should have taken care of this problem until then. Could you help out in the IT with the server update?"
"Okay." She nodded shortly and then went over to IT, past the hallway where they'd kissed two days ago…then her smile faded. She would be working on the update for at least one hour, and he'd probably leave for his appointment in half an hour. And then there were her 4 days off. And that meant they wouldn't have time to talk today, and would probably never talk about it.
Even though she dropped that thought as fast as she could, it still was on her mind.
They would find a way…and now she had to concentrate on work.
When she left IT again, it was 7.30 and she hadn't seen Tony since she got back. He now was at District, so Michelle took her purse, then took a last look at his office to make sure he was really gone, then went out to her car and headed home.
She arrived at her apartment complex just 15 minutes later, but she didn't enter the parking lot. Instead she pulled around and headed downtown.
She just couldn't accept that they hadn't talked – and so she would drive over to his apartment and would finally talk to him.
When Tony arrived home it was way later then he hoped it would be.
He prayed during his meeting at District that he'd be home by 8 but now it was 9.15 and he'd missed soccer!
And the even worse part was that it was probably too late to call Michelle.
Just then, he saw someone sitting on the steps in front of his apartment on the first floor and stopped halfway.
After he had carefully sneaked nearer, he recognized that a woman was leaning against the wall, sleeping.
It was Michelle.
He went up to her and watched her for a second.
How long had she been waiting?
He carefully touched her arm,
"Michelle?"
She opened her eyes surprised and stared at him with sleepy eyes.
"Tony?" she asked confused then sat up and remembered where she was.
"Hey." He sat down next to her.
Michelle tried to manage her hair, lowered her head and stared at her feet trying to get invisible.
"You okay?" he looked worried.
"Yeah…what time is it?"
"It is 9.15 … how long have you been here?"
"About an hour." Michelle was still staring at the floor.
"Why are you here?" his voice was softly and caring.
She lifted her head finally and looked at him with an almost fearful look, but didn't answer.
"Michelle?"
"I'm sorry…this was a bad idea. I shouldn't have come here." She stood up, hesitated for a moment, then wanted to walk away as suddenly as Tony grabbed her hand.
"Wait." He whispered.
There was not a chance he was letting her go now.
Michelle didn't turn around her eyes filling with tears and Tony was still holding her hand tight. Not willing to let her go. They remained like that in silence for a few seconds then she broke the silence,
"Maybe I should go now."
She took another step away, but he still didn't let go off her hand.
"I think you should stay." He said quietly.
The tears rolled down her cheek as she turned around, looking at him in desperation,
"Tony…"
He didn't answer but stepped down to her and looked at her, his face just inches away.
Michelle could feel his warm breath on her face, that sent shivers all over her body.
None of them moved until Tony grabbed her face with his hands, wiping away her tears carefully.
"I am glad that you are here." He smiled.
"You are?" she seemed to be surprised.
Instead of an answer he started to kiss her softly.
The kiss became more and more intense.
Tony was holding her tight and she'd wrapped her arms around his neck, tickled by his hair.
When they separated, Michelle leaned against the wall behind her, and both of them were breathing hard, not breaking eye contact.
"Wow." Michelle whispered.
"Yeah." Tony agreed smiling brightly.
Michelle smiled all over her face, fiddling with her sleeve, still looking at Tony.
"So…that's what you wanted to talk about?" he grinned.
"Kind of." She shrugged and felt that her head was getting red. She quickly broke eye contact and lowered her head.
Tony stepped forward and pulled her chin carefully up again,
"Don't." he was smiling softly.
Michelle gave him an uneasy look, so he leaned forward and started to kiss her again.
When his lips touched hers again the shivers started to flush through her again, but this time even more intensely.
She could feel how she started to shake slightly.
Michelle totally gave in to the kiss and couldn't think anymore. Everything turned upside down.
Tony pulled her tighter and could feel her heartbeat increasing. When he touched a small part of bare skin at her hips, he felt butterflies in his stomach.
Her skin felt so soft and hot.
He couldn't believe he was kissing Michelle, because ever since he'd met her that was all he'd wanted.
When they broke apart he noticed that Michelle was shivering.
"Are you cold?" he asked caringly taking her hands into his.
"I don't know." She pressed out smiling brightly.
"Okay…come on." He said and pulled her upstairs.
"What are you…" she was cut off when he stopped in front of his apartment.
Tony put the keys into the lock and opened the door, pulling her inside. She suddenly took her hand back and stepped back.
"I should go now."
"Michelle…it is cold outside. C'mon in." he said and then finally pulled her in.
When he closed the door, she looked around and noticed that Tony's apartment wasn't exactly what she had thought it would be.
Instead, it looked great.
Every time she'd been in a boy's apartment it had been messy or the furniture didn't match but everything looked like a catalogue in there. He had arranged his cupboard with his couch and it just looked great.
He must have noticed her staring as he said,
"You are surprised, aren't you?"
"Yeah…I mean I would have never expected you to have such a nice apartment."
"Thanks."
"No…I didn't mean it like that, but most guys don't have…well …nice apartments. But this is great!"
"What can I say. I like it this way." He shrugged grinning and went out.
"I like it." She said and went to his cupboard where he'd placed some pictures.
He came back carrying a blanket and went over to her.
"This is my sister and my mother." He pointed to a photo and then gave her the blanket.
"Thank you." She took it and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Sit down on the couch, I'm gonna make us some tea."
"You don't need to make tea." she said, sitting down.
"That's okay, and I don't want you to freeze." He said and went to the kitchen.
Michelle leaned back on the couch and wrapped herself up into the blanket inhaling it's smell. It smelled like Tony, and she had to smile. She'd never noticed this smell before but now she just knew it was his.
A few minutes later he came back with two mugs and placed them in front of her on the table. He sat down next to her.
Michelle sat up yawning…she'd almost dozen off in the last minutes. She quickly took a sip of her tea and noticed that she'd taken his mug.
"Oh…sorry."
"Never mind." He said and took hers instead.
Michelle saw that he'd given her his CUBS-mug.
"How many of these do you have?"
"Two. One for home and one for work." He grinned.
"I feel so honoured." She said laughing.
"You'd better be careful with it, then!" he said trying to hide a smile.
"I promise." She was still laughing.
Michelle leaned back again turning her head to Tony.
"Tony?"
"Uh?" he put his mug back on the table and leaned back to her.
"Do you really want this?"
He started to smile then leaned over and kissed her again. This threw Michelle off her shoes, but after a second she joined and slid over to him.
At first Michelle couldn't open her eyes right away; instead, she started to smile when she leaned back again.
Her heart was racing and she was breathing hard again.
When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Tony smiling too.
"Is that a yes?" she grinned.
"Uhm, actually…"
"Tony!" she gave him a horrified look.
"Just kidding. Listen, you are here, right? And I really like to spend time with you…so yeah, I really want this." He smiled again.
"I like to spend time with you too." She answered.
"Would you like something to eat? I could make some pasta." he said.
"Yeah, why not?" she said and took another sip of her tea. Slowly she was getting warm again…partly due to Tony.
"Alright, could you give me a hand in the kitchen?" he stood up, took his mug and went over to the kitchen.
She stood up, laid down the blanket and followed him.
Leaning against the doorframe she wrapped her fingers around the mug.
"Uhm, it probably would be better if I didn't help you."
"Why?" he looked at her holding a pan and a pot.
"I would just ruin the food."
"You can't cook?" he seemed utterly surprised.
"Let's just say, that the expression "can't cook" is a harmless way to define it." She shrugged.
"Okay, then you could do the pasta. There is nothing easier then boiling water and putting in the pasta." He handed her the pot that was filled with water and she put it on it's designated space on the stove.
She watched him for some time while he was cutting the tomatoes and the herbals. He looked so different being here then he did at work. More relaxed, and happier. There was no doubt he loved his job, but who wouldn't start to enjoy the time off when having a job like they had?
It ate up your private life like a hungry monster. Michelle had barely spent time in her apartment lately. That's why she was taking 4 days off, from tomorrow on. Now she really regretted it, because meant she wouldn't see him …unless …
"I think you can put the noodles in now." He cut her out off her thoughts indicating on the package next to her.
She cut it open with a scissor and carefully put it into the boiling water.
Tony went over to her and put a pan next to the pot with the noodles. He put in the tomatoes and water.
"So far, you're doing a great job." He teased.
"Thank you, but better hold up with compliments until it's done." She grinned.
They remained in silence for a moment as he suddenly burst out,
"What kind of music do you like?"
"I...uh…the Counting Crows?" that was all she could come up with.
He looked at her for a second, then turned around, went out of the kitchen and came back two minutes later, and the song "Closer to you" started to play.
Michelle looked at him in surprise, then smiled friendly on his grin.
Tony was incredibly happy tonight. He was standing in his kitchen- with Michelle. The woman he'd met a few months ago at CTU and who he'd fallen in love with from the beginning. And the woman he'd dreamed of so often ever since.
The last woman he'd dreamed of happened to be Nina Meyers…the woman who had betrayed him and her country, who'd killed Jack's wife.
He was wondering if his bad luck would come back with Michelle. He'd never had a long-term relationship. And after he found out about Nina, he'd sworn himself to never fall in love again with someone from work.
Then he met Michelle. And how could he not fall in love with her? She was intelligent, beautiful and … everything he'd ever dreamed of. His glance wandered over to her.
Maybe he got lucky this time.
Michelle was staring at the water, sunken in her own thoughts, she didn't notice that Tony was watching her.
Standing next to him it seemed they had known each other for a long time.
She really enjoyed being with him outside work.
He was special.
Thinking about the last years, her love life hadn't been … a real love life.
She had dated a guy once over at district two years ago.
But Greg had turned out to be just a regular male she'd already known. He'd taken her out twice and then he'd intended to sleep with her and for the little naïve girl she was, she did. One of the biggest mistakes of her life. Because right after that she learned he was married and now every time she saw him she felt like a traitor.
The other guys weren't even worth mentioning and so she'd never had one single relationship that had lasted longer then two months.
When George Mason introduced her to Tony the day she started at CTU she knew he was different. He was one of these guys who didn't start to flirt right away. He'd treated her with respect.
And somehow Tony seemed to be different in other ways too.
He'd been her rock during the last days, he had told her they would survive and somehow she believed him uncompromisingly. He'd kept her going and had stopped her from giving up.
But without George Mason, she probably wouldn't be here tonight.
He didn't just save millions of lives he also saved her life.
George was the real hero.
A tear appeared in her eye and she quickly wiped it away.
"Michelle!" a loud yell brought her back to reality.
Tony had pushed her to the side and was moving the pot over the water that was spilled all over the stove.
Then he turned to Michelle, who was still starring at him, confused.
He went over to her and took her hands looking at them,
"Did you burn your hands?" he asked worried.
When she noticed she was starring at him, she quickly lowered her head and whispered,
"No. I'm fine."
"Good." He sighed relieved.
"Thank you." She smiled guiltful.
"Alright. How about that? You set the table and I am gonna finish this?"
She nodded slightly, still shocked.
"Hey, it's okay. Nothing happened." He tried to comfort her but she just gave him a sad look and went out.
Five minutes later they were sitting at the table, eating in silence.
"Are you okay?" he asked laying his hand on hers.
"You know… I was just thinking about Mason."
"Why?" of course he knew why.
"When you told me about him, that he would die…I went up to his office and we talked. And he told me that I should find something that would make me happy. And right after that I asked you out." She looked up on him and smiled.
He almost let fall his fork out of surprise.
"So…without him I wouldn't be here."
"I can't believe he'd say something like that."
"He did, and somehow he saved my life twice." She smiled slightly.
He put down his fork and took her hands,
"He saved mine twice, too." he took a deep breath and added,
"Listen, Michelle. I really want this to work…us."
"Me, too." She said then she leaned over the table and kissed him.
Later they were standing in the kitchen, cleaning up.
Tony was putting the plates into the dishwasher and Michelle was putting the tomatoes back into the fridge.
She was leaning against the doorframe when Tony closed the dishwasher, watching her.
"You should wear more red. You really look gorgeous in red." He went over to her.
She looked down and tried to find a new topic as he suddenly started to fiddle with her curls.
"Michelle?"
"Yes?" she looked up at him.
"Could you promise me to never get rid of your curls?"
She looked at him in surprise mixed with confusion about his words, as he suddenly started to kiss her passionately.
There they were again, the shivers all over her body. Kissing him just felt great, and with each time it became more and more intense. And she couldn't tell anymore where she was. All she could tell was, that she had deeply fallen in love with him.
Tony wrapped his arms around her hips and could feel her warmth through her cloths. It made him shake slightly, and he felt like he was on drugs because she made him feel like he was flying. At least that was how he imagined being on drugs.
Both were smiling at each other when they separated. Michelle stepped back as the clock on the wall fell into her glance.
"It's really late. I'd better go now."
"There is no way I am going to let you go now. It is way too late and you are too tired to drive home now. It is a 20 minute ride."
"I can turn on loud music and leave the window open." She suggested.
"C'mon Michelle. Be reasonable. You can sleep here."
"That is not necessary, Tony."
"I insist. You can take my bed and I will sleep on the couch."
"Tony…"
"That's an order." He grinned.
Finally she gave up and nodded slightly.
"Good. The bedroom is over there, next to the bathroom. There is a fresh blanket on the bed."
"Thank you." She smiled and went to the room he'd just pointed to.
Ten minuets later she was laying in Tony's bed as he knocked on the door.
"Everything's all right?" he asked from outside.
"Yes." She responded.
"Okay. In case you need anything, I am in the living room. Good night, Michelle."
"Good night."
She pulled the blanket up to her chin.
It was almost midnight and even though she was tired she couldn't fall asleep right away. She just thought about this evening and where she was now.
A bright smile appeared on her face. Maybe it would really work out this time.
She hoped for it, because she'd already fallen in love with Tony too much to let go off this.
Tony was sitting on the couch swallowing the last sip of his water. He couldn't even believe Michelle was laying in his bed right now.
Then he remembered that he wouldn't see her for the next days, due to her vacation.
Maybe he just should ask her out tomorrow morning before he left for work.
And maybe she would say yes.
But he wanted to find out.
When he opened his eyes again it took him a few seconds to realize where he was.
He quickly stood up and saw that he'd only have one hour until he had to leave for work. He went to the bathroom and took a quick shower.
When he got out of the shower a throbbing pain flushed through his right ankle. He'd totally forgotten about that.
It already seemed so far away. The whole day seemed to be covered up in a thick shadow. All he still could remember crystal clear was Michelle … when she was tired, afraid and devastated he tried to comfort her and all that had led to this. She was sleeping in his bed.
Michelle was woken up by a quiet knock.
"Yeah?" she opened her eyes not knowing where she was.
"Michelle? I've made some breakfast and coffee. Do you want to join me before I have to leave for work?"
Then she recognized his voice and suddenly everything was back.
"Sounds good." She said yawning and pushed back the blanket getting out of his bed.
She couldn't wait to see him again and quickly gathered her cloth and went to the bathroom.
Looking at the mirror she noticed that her hair had gone wild during the night. She tried to comb it with her fingers and finally decided to bend it together.
She splashed some cold water into her face and dried it with a towel.
Michelle was still tired but also incredibly happy.
During the last weeks she'd imagined how it would be to be with Tony outside CTU, and now she realized it was way better then she could've ever imagined.
She really started to regret that she had taken some days off. Maybe she should ask him if he'd like to do something tomorrow.
Michelle entered the kitchen and saw that Tony was sitting there reading the newspaper. He looked great like always, she thought. He was wearing a dark red shirt and black pants.
She sat down across him and took a big swallow of her coffee.
Tony folded the paper and put it down on a chair.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes…thank you." She nodded and hoped she wouldn't look too tired.
"Here." He handed her a plate with French toast.
"Thank you." She took a toast and put it on her plate.
"What are you…"
"Would you like …"
Both started at the same time and stopped smiling.
"Sorry, go ahead." She quickly said.
"I just wanted to know if you'd like to have dinner tomorrow." He said smiling.
A bright smile appeared in her face,
"That'd be really nice."
"What did you wanted to ask?"
"Uhm…I wanted to ask if you would like to go see a movie this week." She smiled shy.
"Oh…then we should have dinner and a movie tomorrow." He said.
"Great." She smiled too, biting another piece off her toast.
"Okay, I'm gonna pick you up at 6?"
"Perfect." She answered.
"Good." He took a look at his watch and stood up,
"Listen, uh … I gotta go to work. Just stay and have another cup of coffee. You can just close the door when you leave."
She nodded.
"Okay…Bye."
"Bye."
Tony took his jacket and a pack of folders he'd placed next to his computer and went to the door.
Before he closed it after him he took a last look at Michelle, who was reading the newspaper.
He hesitated a second then closed the door.
Michelle looked up when the door closed. She was disappointed, somewhat sad, that he hadn't given her a kiss.
Maybe it would be better to start it slowly.
Putting away the newspaper again she poured herself another cup of coffee, as suddenly the door opened and Tony came in again.
"Forgot something?" she asked.
"Yes." He went straight over to her and kissed her.
This was way better then to take it slowly, she thought smiling as they separated.
"Alright…Now I really gotta go! See you tomorrow at 6!" he smiled at her and then left the apartment.
Michelle was standing in the middle of the living room. Stunned.
He'd really come back just to kiss her goodbye.
She had to smile.
This was going to work out, she felt deep inside.
She had never had this feeling before and yet she knew what it meant.
Michelle had just gotten home a few minutes ago, and she was already looking through her closet almost devastated for not finding anything.
She tried different things on and off again and after she'd worn every possible piece of clothes, she sat down on her bed, disappointed.
She had nothing. Her closet had been filled with a lot of clothes for the office during the last years. There were skirts and pants in black and blouses but nothing that would throw Tony off his feet on their first date.
She pushed her hangers to the side and suddenly spotted a light rose viscose skirt sprinkled with small red flowers in the back of her closet.
A big smile appeared on her face. She had bought this skirt just a month ago, out of the blue.
She quickly put it on and looked down on her mirror – this was just perfect for their first date!
Damn you Tony, he cursed himself as he entered CTU again, it was already 5.25 pm.
He'd already been on his way home, when he got the call from Chapelle calling him back in.
He just hoped it wouldn't take him too long, because he still needed to get home and change.
For his date with Michelle tonight.
"Tony! I am glad I reached you – we got a problem with an interrogation. Remember Robert Stevens?"
"Yeah. Our co-ops got him last week."
"Right, he went straight to prison and they tried to break him there but they figured that it wouldn't work so they sent him over. And because you are the only one with a sufficient security level and also you were the tactical leader during this operation, we need you for the interrogation."
"Now?"
"Yeah...Division wants this to be done by tomorrow."
"Ryan...I am off."
"Sorry, Tony. We couldn't reach Hawkins."
"What about you?"
"I've got an appointment."
"But this will take me the whole night." He remembered the Stevens case, this man was an ex-marine and no one could break him in less then three hours.
"Sorry...I'll write this down as over time." He gave him an odd smile and went out.
This was bad. Really bad.
He looked on his watch. It was 5.30. In half an hour he was supposed to pick up Michelle, and there was no way he was going to make it.
He went over to a desk took the phone but hesitated. Cancelling was the last thing he wanted right now.
At these times he hated to work for CTU. Finally he started to dial her number as someone called his name from behind.
Tony hung up and turned around,
"John, what are you doing here?" John Hawkins was walking over to him breathing hard.
"Chapelle left me a message. I just got it and came over. Where is he?"
"He left."
"Do you know what he'd wanted?"
"It was about Robert Stevens – Division wants us to interrogate him."
"All right, where is he?"
"Chapelle already signed me on. Even though ..."
"What?"
"Nothing. I just...I've got a date in about half an hour."
"Alright...I'm going to take over."
"You sure?"
"I have to do some office stuff anyway...go and let me do that."
"Thank you so much John. I owe you one."
"Must be a great girl." John grinned sheepish.
Tony took his jacket and gave him a bright smile and nodded shortly.
Then he hurried to get to his car.
He had only 29 minutes left, so he decided to drive straight over to Michelle.
Michelle was standing in front of the mirror taking a last look into it.
She was wearing the rose skirt and a thin black pullover and a light blue coat over it.
She'd put on her sling-pumps and the matching purse.
She had also bent her hair together at the back of her head to a knot and just had pulled out some loose curls.
"Perfect." She whispered to herself smiling. Then she took a look at her watch.
It was 5 minutes to 6 and she was really getting nervous.
She'd spend the last two days trying not to think about tonight, but cleaning up her apartment, running errands and writing some reports hadn't helped at all.
After the shower she'd taken two hours ago she'd lighted up a little, but just half an hour ago the nervousness came back full.
"Calm down" she told herself once again and took a last look into the mirror, then went out.
She sat down on her couch, but just a second later she stood up again and went to her window.
It was 6.05 when a car entered the parking lot, and Tony finally got out of his car. He ran quickly over to her apartment.
Michelle stepped back from the window and waited for the doorbell.
But instead he knocked twice and Michelle counted to 5 then slowly went to the door and opened it,
"You're a little late."
When he saw Michelle, Tony couldn't say a word, he was too stunned. She looked so beautiful.
"I…uh…sorry. Got held up at the office. You look great!" he managed to say.
"Thank you." She answered shy.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes."
Then Michelle took her keys and followed him to his car.
"So…where are we going?" she asked getting into the car.
"There is a small theatre downtown and they play this movie "The fabulous world of Amelie" and afterwards we're going to a restaurant. But that'll be a surprise." He smiled and turned on the engine.
"Cool." She was leaning back in her seat when he left the parking lot.
"Uh…do you enjoy your days off so far?" he asked after a long silence.
If it means to have stomachaches all day because of the date with my boss then it is a no she thought, and then said,
"It's really quiet."
He laughed,
"Yeah, sometimes it even bothers me when it is too quiet."
"Yes. But it is nice not to think about some terrorists blowing off a building or something for while."
"That's right…oh here we are." They entered a back street where he parked the car.
They got out of the car and walked down the street until they arrived at a sign that said "Theatre" and just five minutes later they were sitting inside.
There were just two more girls inside who were sitting in the front part but Tony and Michelle took the last row.
"What kind of movie is it?" Michelle turned to Tony.
"It is a French movie about a woman who lives in Paris, but to be honest that is all I know." He shrugged.
"It is really nice here." Michelle leaned back and looked around.
He wanted to say something but then the film started and it went black around them.
About an hour later Michelle's hand was resting dangerously near his hand on the edge of the seat.
She was wondering if she could lay her head on his shoulder. She hesitated for a second but then almost unintentionally she laid down. She had to smile and took a deep breath when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
When the film was over they went out of the building and he stopped in front of it.
"A really good movie." She told him closing her coat.
He nodded smiling.
"So…where is that restaurant?"
"Right over there." He pointed to a building about 200 meters away with a sign saying "The Brazilian".
"A Brazilian restaurant?" she was surprised.
"Yeah." They went down the street and he added,
"Do you like that?"
"I love it." She said nodding.
When they entered the restaurant, Michelle took of her coat and looked around.
"Looks like we are the only ones."
"Yeah, because it is not open today." He grinned.
Michelle looked at him, confused.
"Antonio!" a small bald-headed man came over to them smiling brightly.
"Olá Pablo." Tony said and gave him a hug.
"Como vai?" Tony asked in Portuguese.
"I am good my friend." Pablo answered in English.
"This is Michelle. … Michelle, this is Pablo, an old friend of mine."
Michelle shook hands with him, still seeming confused about something.
"Boa noite Michelle. Nice to finally meet you." He winked at her, speaking with an accent.
"Nice to meet you, too." She managed to say.
"All right, Antonio. Your table is all set up. I'll be with you in a minute." He turned to Tony and pointed to a table in the middle of the restaurant enlightened with candles.
"Thank you." Tony smiled at him and then Michelle and him went to their table.
"I didn't know that you could speak Portuguese." Michelle sat down across Tony, finally speaking out what had surprised her so much.
"I am not fluent." He shrugged it off.
"Where do you know him from?"
"He is an old friend of the family. I've known him from my childhood on."
"And I can tell you a lot of things about this boy." Pablo came over to them caring a basket of bread, grinning.
Michelle smiled but when she saw Tony's uneasy face she quickly said,
"Maybe next time."
"Fine with me. Dinner will be served in 10 minutes. I am in the kitchen if you need anything." He also placed a bottle of red wine next to Tony and disappeared.
Michelle smiled at Tony. He could tell she was enjoying this as much as he was.
This could be the beginning of something great for both of them.
"You're surprising me. How did you know that I like Brazilian food?"
"I've read your file when I hired you." He grinned sheepish and opened the wine.
"Of course!" she laughed.
He poured her some wine into her glass and then himself.
"So…you grew up in LA?"
"Actually...no. I was born in Chicago but we moved here when I was 14. That is when I met Pablo. Each summer I helped out in here until graduation."
"He seems to be nice."
She took a sip of her wine and smiled at him.
They talked a lot during the evening, had a delicious meal, and both of them were having a great time being there with each other.
Tony told Michelle about his youth and she talked about her years in Seattle and the time at District.
They both were enjoying the talks and it just felt like the perfect date with the perfect person.
Michelle put the last spoonful of cake into her mouth and leaned back,
"I am so full."
"Yeah, me too."
"It was delicious. We should come here again." She emptied her water glass and smiled at him.
Then they went over and took their coats where Pablo was already waiting.
"Thank you for this delicious meal." Michelle shook hands with him.
"Next time I'll make you more." He grinned.
"Tenha uma boa noite. Have a nice evening." He waved at them and Tony went out to hold open the door for Michelle as Pablo said,
"Tony?"
Tony stepped nearer and Pablo added,
"Ela é linda."
"Yeah…she is."
"Take good care of her."
"I will. Bye Pablo. See you." He gave him a hug and then followed Michelle.
"What did he say to you?" Michelle smiled at him.
"Uh…he just said he liked you." He hesitated.
She gave him a questionable look.
"Really." He grinned.
"If you say so."
"Yeah…all right let's get back to the car. Over there." He pointed down the street and started to walk.
Suddenly he felt her hand folding with his pulling him back slightly.
She was smiling at him shyly. But when she saw him smiling too she leaned against him and they slowly walked down the street in silence.
When he wanted to let go off her hand in front of the car she pulled him back and started to kiss him softly.
About twenty minutes later they were walking up the stairs to Michelle's apartment in silence, sunken in their own thoughts about tonight.
When she stopped in front of her door he let go off her hand and pulled out the keys.
"It was a wonderful night, Tony. I'd like to do that more often." She turned back at him and narrowed her eyes slightly to see him in the dark.
"Yeah…I'd like that too."
She stepped forward and started to kiss him again, this time with more passion.
Her hand slowly wandered behind her and she opened the door pulling him inside without letting go off him.
She started to get rid of his coat and kicked off her shoes.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands slowly moved down to her hips where they touched a small piece of bare skin.
Michelle winced and held her breath for a second then started to kiss his neck and unbuttoned his shirt.
"Michelle?" he whispered his eyes still closed.
"Uhu…?" she didn't stopped kissing his neck so he slightly pushed her away forcing her to open her eyes.
She looked at him, his shirt almost unbuttoned she could hardly force herself to stop touching him but he looked at her, somewhat worried.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
She took a deep breath, stepped forward and opened the last button. She rose her head and smiled at him before she started to kiss him even more intensively.
"I'll take that as a yes." He got rid of his shirt and her hands moved slowly over his chest, she was grinning.
Then Michelle took his hand and pulled him into her bedroom, where they sat down at the edge of her bed, not breaking the eye contact.
She took off her pullover and lied down in front of him.
Tony himself laid down next to her his fingers touching the warm skin of her chest.
"I can't tell you how long I've waited for this." He whispered kissing her ear.
"Yeah…I know what you mean." She groaned smiling.
He started to kiss her again and she became dizzy even though her eyes were closed she felt like she was in a roller coaster.
All the tension that'd grown between them throughout the months they'd been working together was laying in this single kiss.
And none of them was willing to fight that back anymore.
When Michelle opened her eyes the sun had already covered her bed with bright light.
She slowly turned around and found herself laying right next to Tony who was smiling at her, his head stemmed on his hand,
"Good morning sleepy head."
"What time is it?" she asked sleepy stretching her legs.
"8.15. And unfortunately I gotta leave in the next 15 minutes."
Her smile faded and she quickly cuddled up on his chest where she laid down so he could wrap his arm around her shoulder.
"Why don't you just call Chapelle and tell him that you're sick?"
"Sorry." He kissed her head.
"I don't want you to leave."
"And I don't wanna go. But I have to." He stroked her shoulder with his fingers.
She sighed hard and slid even closer to him.
"What about this? I'm gonna take a day off tomorrow – we could do something then."
She looked up on him and a big smile appeared on her face.
Tony grabbed it and started to kiss her.
He got out of the bed and put on his clothes. Michelle sat up and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
Tony grabbed his shoes and sat down next to her.
"What are we going to do?" she smiled expecting.
"We could go to the beach?" he proposed.
"Great."
"I'm gonna pick you up around 12."
"Good." They kissed.
They slowly separated not willing to let go off each other,
"I should go now." He said and stood up quickly.
She smiled at him a last time and then he went out.
Michelle was beyond happiness. Something she couldn't describe.
It had been such a perfect date and an even greater evening.
She'd never felt something like this before but she could tell that she was in love with Tony.
Tony slowly closed her door and somehow it even was a disappointing noise to his ears.
'You're gonna see her tomorrow.' He reminded himself.
A big part of him just wanted to go back.