Author's Note: I know this chapter is super short, and I haven't updated in awhile, I'm so sorry. Things are crazy. I will try to get back to a weekly schedule as soon as I can. Please enjoy a little taste of what's to come, and don't forget to share and review!

Chapter 8

Uncharted Territory

The next morning:

Michelle woke to sun shining in her eyes and pain all over her body. She blinked several times to get adjusted to the light, and felt its heat warm her entire body. She smiled in contentment and closed her eyes again, snuggling even deeper into the blankets. Sure, she was in a hell of a lot of pain, and the night started out long and restless, but she couldn't remember the last time she slept this late. It had to be past 9 o'clock, which was like mid-afternoon for her. And how couldn't she be happy when she was safe, warm, and wrapped in…

Her eyes shot open and she looked up. There was Tony, lying next to her, his arms wrapped around her. Michelle's head was laying on Tony's bare chest. He was fast asleep and…shirtless. Michelle's heart began to pound as she remembered her surroundings. She was in his bed, lying on top of him…

"Shit" she whispered and pulled herself away from him. His arms fell down like spaghetti and his eyebrows scrunched up, annoyed at being disturbed in his sleep. He cleared his throat and then laid his head back down on the pillow.

She steadied her breathing and tried to regain composure. What they hell happened last night? She remembered falling asleep on the couch, but that was it. She had no recollection of going into the bedroom. Tony must have carried her in. She felt completely embarrassed that he had done that. But did he…stay with her after tucking her in? No, there was no way he would have done…

Then she remembered waking in the middle of the night, screaming at nothing. She remembered fighting and kicking, yelling and begging for mercy. And then Tony had run into the room and brought her back to reality. She remembered grabbing onto him, pleading him to stay…there had been nothing she wanted more than for him to stay with her, to hold her, to take her pain away. And he had.

She ran her hand through her dirty and matted hair. She had just spent the night with Tony Almeida…with her boss. Michelle became very anxious and thought she was going to puke.

How could she have been so stupid? To let her emotions get in the way of her professionalism…again. She hadn't been thinking, she had just awaken from the scariest nightmare of her life, and all she wanted was him to hold her. What was this…this crush she had on him? It didn't make sense. She had never felt like this for anyone in her entire life. What was she thinking? That was exactly it…she wasn't.

She sat on the bed and ran the soft sheets through her fingers. They smelled like him. She realized she had slept soundly the rest of the night after he had come in the room. What surprised her even more was that he stayed the whole night. He must've fallen asleep, because the Tony she knew would have never done that.

She slowly and painfully dragged herself out of the warm bed. She staggered over to the kitchen and figured out how to start the coffee machine. She hoped she wouldn't burn it like she did most things.

Tony woke up to the smell of burnt coffee. He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. Who was in his house making…shit. He jumped up in his bed and saw an empty place next to him. Michelle.

He ran out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, following the smell of the burnt coffee. Michelle was batting at the machine with her good arm, trying to wave the smoke away so it wouldn't set off the alarm. Tony saw the scene and laughed out loud. Michelle jumped and spun around. She became very embarrassed and blushed a bright red. "Jesus Tony, you scared me!"

He laughed, walked over to her, and unplugged the machine. "And you scare me. You think you're going to stop a machine from smoking by whacking it?"

Michelle blushed even deeper, not only because he was making fun of her but also because he was standing right next to her without a shirt. "I'm sorry, okay? I tried to do something nice but apparently I set the temperature on too high or something. I saw it burning and panicked."

"I'm only teasing, you know that." He walked over to the drawer and pulled out a new coffee filter. "Remember, I'm supposed to be taking care of you, so why don't we leave everything else to me and you just concentrate on getting better, okay?"

Michelle smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Good. Now while I make a real cup of coffee, how about you go get cleaned up and comfy? You probably haven't showered since…"

Michelle's face fell at the thought of the mission. Tony kicked himself mentally. He had wanted to make her forget about that, and here he was only awake a few minutes and already her mind was back on to her beating.

"I'm sorry" he said almost immediately. "I…didn't mean to say that, I wasn't thinking. I was hoping to make you feel better but…"

Michelle looked up at him. "Don't be. I know it was an accident. You're right, I need to just…purge of all of this. Besides, I really do need a shower" she smiled.

He smiled back. "Good. Now, let's see, how are we going to do this…"

Tony had come up with the idea of wrapping her arm and shoulder in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet. It took them awhile, but finally he managed to get it to stay without letting any water in.

"Perfect. I swear, I should just quit while I'm ahead and make a business out of thinking on my feet."

She laughed. "Don't get too ahead of yourself there, trust me. Someday your resourcefulness will wear off."

"God, never!" he said offended. Michelle laughed even louder. "Yeah, okay then. You just keep telling yourself that."

Tony started the shower and once again helped Michelle out of her shirt. Although it was still awkward, they had gotten used to it and tried to pretend as if everything was normal. Once she was in her bra, Tony stopped and realized she couldn't go in with it on. "Um, what did you want to do about…"

"I've got it. Really, I can do it on my own. But thank you. I can take it from here."

He smiled. "You're welcome. I'll leave a fresh pair of clothes outside the door when you're done. Then we can stop off at your place and pick up anything you need."

"Great, thanks!" She shut the door behind him and bit her lip to try to hold back a smile. God, she was out of her mind! She had been standing right in front of Tony in her bra, and him shirtless. She couldn't keep her emotions in any more. After a long struggle, she managed to get her bra off along with Tony's sweats and her panties. Once she was finally undressed she stood in front of the mirror and stared at her naked body. It was the first time Michelle actually had looked at herself since the surgery. For the first time she saw all of the bruises, cuts and scrapes…including the one on her neck. She saw the stab wound on her side that had been causing her so much discomfort. She saw the bruises on her breasts, ones she didn't even remember occurring. She saw the outlines of hands and feet line her arms and stomach and felt the tears silently roll down her cheeks. She took in a deep breath and stepped in the shower. After this, she was done. No more feeling sorry for herself, no more sulking in her own misery. This was her purge, her redemption. As the hot water hit her skin it left cleansing marks all over her heart and soul. This was her new beginning, her new start…whether she liked it or not.

Just as Tony finished making breakfast he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. He looked over and saw Michelle looking brand new; new clothes, wet hair, clean body…and she had a little smile on her face. This was the best part of all. He smiled back at her.

"Hey, feeling better?"

Michelle nodded in reply. "Yes, much better, thanks. The shower really did help. Although, can I ask you for one more thing?"

Tony finished distributing the food onto the plates. "Sure, whattya need?"

Michelle's face grew red again. "Well, this is actually really awkward, but um…I don't have trouble getting the bra off, it's just…"

Tony's eyes grew with realization. "Ah…I get it. Yes, that's not a problem."

He walked over to her and her blush deepened. She turned around and lifted the back of her (really his) tee shirt. Tony stared at her raw, bruised lower back.

"It's just I can't get the clasp closed."

Tony nodded and lifted the shirt up even higher, revealing her spine and unhooked bra. He reached under her shirt, ran his hands up her spine, and hooked the bra shut without looking. After he finished he settled her shirt back down and patted her back. "All done."

He walked back over to their plates of food, set them on the table and grabbed two coffees. Michelle turned around and smiled gratefully. "Thank you" she whispered.

"No problem. Now come sit and eat. You must be starving."

Michelle sat down and stared at her monstrous plate of food. Tony had gone all out; scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast. "Wow. This looks…delicious."

Tony smiled through a mouth full of food. "Good. I figured you must be hungry since you haven't really eaten in 2 whole days."

Michelle gave a small smile. She loved how he always thought of others before himself. "Actually, I am pretty hungry. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now eat, we need to put some fat on you."

As they ate, Tony tried to start conversation.

"So, we need to stop off at CTU so you can checked up by the doctors. Also, Ryan called while you were in the shower and wanted to get you debriefed, but I told him that you needed more time to rest."

Michelle shook her head, her wet curls falling down around her shoulders. "No, I really should get debriefed, I can't hold this off any longer."

Tony looked at her. "Are you sure you're ready for this? It's not going to be easy…"

"I know that. But if I don't do it now, I never will. I might as well get it over with."

Tony sighed. "As long as you're sure you're up to it."

"I'm positive" she replied firmly. "I need to do this."

He nodded and picked up his coffee. "Okay. I'll give Ryan a call and let him know."

"Thanks. But first, do you mind if we stop off at my place and pick up some clothes? I don't think it would be very appropriate if I walked into CTU in your sweatpants."

Tony laughed and almost spit out his coffee. Michelle laughed back at him. They made eye contact and burst out in hysterical laughter together. Michelle clutched her stomach she was laughing so hard, and Tony's face turned bright red. When their laughter finally died down, Tony wiped his eyes and Michelle tried to catch her breath.

"No…that would not be very appropriate" he choked out. "Not a problem. Do you have a suitcase or something to put everything in, or would you rather use mine?"

Michelle looked at him for a moment then stared down at her plate. "Oh. I…didn't realize you were planning on me staying that long." She turned a deep shade of red.

Tony looked confused. "What do you mean? Was there somewhere else you wanted to stay? Because I think we can both agree you are in no condition to be living on your own, at least not for awhile…"

"No, no I know. Actually, I don't have another place to stay, and I really do appreciate you taking care of me for now. I just wasn't sure how long you…wanted me here."

"Michelle, I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't want you here. Besides," he shrugged. "I enjoy the company."

Michelle smiled a little and her blush grew again. He was so goddamn cute when he was like this. Out of work, Tony was a completely different person…in a good way. He was sweet, funny, natural…completely in his element. And she loved it. She thought she had known all about him from their friendship at work, but this was totally uncharted territory. Michelle was excited to learn about it.