A/N: title of this chapter comes from the song by Phil Collins "Another Day in Paradise.

WARNING: This chapter is a bit racy, although I've tried to keep it at a T-Rating.

The following is a short account of what actually happened on 24

Day 5, 7:13 am: The flat screen TV sitting on Tony and Michelle's kitchen counter is on relating the news of David Palmer being assassinated.

Michelle says to Tony: "Never once did I regret our decision to leave CTU."

She tries to call CTU. Tony is not happy about this.

She says: "I don't want to look back on today and realized I could have helped."

Michelle leaves the house. Tony decides he will go with her. Right then he's knocked down by a loud explosion.

Michelle dies at 7:15 am.

Another Day in Paradise

The following takes place between 7:16 am & 8:00 am.

She spun on her heel and strode to the bedroom.

It took him the better part of the next five minutes to tidy up the kitchen.

As soon as he was done, he followed her down the short hallway that directly led into two rooms, the doors opposite one another.

He paused and for a moment, his eyes couldn't help but feel drawn to the room immediately to his left.

The baby's room. It had been planned right to the last detail.

The walls and ceiling were painted a beautiful sky blue color surrounded by hand painted clouds of varying sizes and shapes; the largest and fluffiest clouds were depicted in the wall nearest to the crib. The mobile that hung above the crib had been selected to match the theme of free flowing things related to the sky. It had stars, butterflies, rainbows and birds. Likewise, framed pictures of angels were showcased in selected places on the walls.

Even though decorating was not his thing, he had to admit this room was something else. His eyes roamed the room giving it its seal of approval and was quite pleased with the end result as well as with his own contribution to the project. He had spent a considerable amount of time coating the walls with their initial coat of paint.

They had hired an interior decorator to paint the exquisite array of clouds as Michelle wanted them to look realistic as though they were stepping into their little piece of heaven.

Even though the room was in need of the last finishing touches, Tony had to agree that there was this effect of magnificent serenity had been achieved to point of making him feel as if he was stepping into a different dimension...into their very own private paradise.

Everything was almost ready to welcome their baby into the world.

Their baby. His baby.

Just like the nursery, their journey into expectant parenthood had also been planned down to the last detail. First and foremost, they had waited for the right timing.

Their business was starting to turn in a solid profit and six months ago they had joined the ranks of home ownership.

Thus, when one day Michelle had surprised him with a playful smirk along with the positive results of a home ovulation kit, he had not hesitated. She wanted to have a baby with him. His Michelle wanted to have a baby with him...

In his heart he knew that the timing was just right.

With a bright smile he turned back towards the master bedroom

When he walked into their bedroom, he found her in the midst of getting dressed.

Apparently, it had taken her a few minutes to decide what to wear.

His smile widened.

"Hey," he said in a slow deep tone, his eyes zeroing on the outline of the dark colored bra which stood out in stark contrast to her gorgeously defined bare back.

Her skin looked vibrant, almost translucent.

She spun on her heel, holding the garment she had selected close to her chest. Yet, instinctively, she lowered the blouse in response to the sexy smile curving his lips and nearly let it drop to the floor.

One look at her is all it took. I can't do it, I can't just throw it all away. I love her and that was all that really matters.

What they had was too precious and he wasn't about to throw it all away.

He didn't like the passivity of just waiting for events to naturally unfold, that was not his style. He would very much rather grab the bull by the horns.

He bridged the distance between them in two steps.

"I have a confession to make," Tony said with a serious expression, scratching the side of his face. A titanic struggle between his own happiness and what he knew was the right thing to do. He knew they needed to find President Palmer's assassins. His own gut experience told him that that something much larger loomed behind it all. If there was something they could do to help, anything at all…

There was still time, he could tell her about President Palmer. As if it was suddenly suffocating him, he tugged at his neck collar.

"What is it, Tony?" She matched his expression and tone.

He loved her strong femininity. How she could be both caring and also a force to be reckoned with.

His s gaze fell on her perfectly arched eye brows, the delicate outline of her jaw. It finally rested on her mouth where it wanted to be all along.

And then he forgot about everything else.

"You're so beautiful today, mi amor."

She loved it when he referred to her as "mi amor." Even though she knew the term of enderarment was somewhat trite and certainly overused in the Spanish language, to her it had come to mean something special.

Most of all, she loved the way his voice sounded like a song whenever he spoke in Spanish.

She tilted her face to him, her eyes cloudy with need.

He felt himself growing hard as he looked deeply into her eyes, those eyes that meant everything to him; eyes brimming with love for him and only him… those eyes that were the door to the depths of her heart, body and soul…

He breathed heavily, knowing that he was the only one with a key to that door…

And they both leaned forward as they fell into each other's arms and his hand slid to her backside.

They kissed long and hazily as though there would be no tomorrow.

Her mouth tasted so good.

God, he wanted her, every damn cell in his being screamed for her…

"Tony, she murmured against his mouth."We only have an hour before the meeting."

He smirked. "We still have plenty of time," he assured her with a naughty glint in his eyes before capturing her lips again. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" He whispered, his hot breath in her ear, drawing shivers up and down her body.

She didn't say a word as she pulled back some to gaze at him for a moment, biting her lower lip. Then, she just smiled while unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it of his shoulders in a slow sexy way.

With her arms looped tightly around his neck he lifted her in a firefighters hold and lowered her gently onto the bed as though it was a field of roses.

Michelle propped herself on her elbows and watched him undress. God, he was absolutely gorgeous, she reflected as a rush of electric current traveled down her legs and her gaze settled on his taut, flat stomach…and then lower.

When he finally came to bed with her, her hands reached out to freely explore that superb body of his that aroused her to no end….

She gave a small moan as his hands expertly trailed down her body, caressing, exciting, tantalizing…removing all of her clothing slowly yet demanding… making every inch of her body throb with anticipation.

She cried out at the sudden invasion of his passionate lips in the most intimate of places. Just when she thought she just couldn't possibly take it any more, he swallowed the rest of her cry with a kiss that took her breath away.

She closed her eyes in delight, enjoying the delicious movement of his body inside hers. The urgency of his strokes, the weight of his body felt like nothing less than paradise.

"Michelle," he paused and for one mind shattering moment, his eyes piercingly seeking hers only to find them still closed. He wanted to see her wanton with need more than he needed air. "You feel so good…"

And she found herself intuitively opening up to him, arching her back and bringing him deeper into her.

She gave in, unable and unwilling to hold anything back.

"Oh, God, Tony! "She moaned loudly as she felt him pick up speed and his moments become more erratic.

"Open your eyes, Sweetheart," he pleaded right at that moment when they both were ready to welcome their release…

She opened her eyes just in time to lose herself in him.

That's the way it had always been with him…. Just perfect, absolutely perfect, she thought enjoying the feeling of uttermost connection as their bodies slowed making time stand still just for the two of them.

His head fell over her chest and they held each other tight for a few moments truly enjoying that ultimate feeling of breathtaking intimacy.

"I love you," he breathed.

"I love you too," This definitely was one of the finest moments in life that should last forever.

After a little while, Tony rolled over to his side of the bed, his eyes seeking the alarm clock.

It was 7:45 am.

They only had half an hour to make it to the meeting. He considered calling to cancel it.

She rolled onto one elbow and smoothed a hand over his chest. "We gotta get going, you know…" she said with a trace of regret in her tone.

Right then her tummy grumbled a little too loudly.

"Not without a good breakfast," he muttered, partly upset at himself for letting her go this long without eating.

"Yes, Sir," Michelle giggled, running her fingers across his chin. Then, she rolled onto her belly and contemplated his profile while resting her chin on her folded hands across his chest. "I'm not really that hungry…" she added as an afterthought.

"Hmm…well, your tummy says otherwise," he gave a low chuckle while putting his arms around her and gently rolling with her so that their bodies lay side to side facing one another. "Besides, we have our little guy to think about…"

As always, she relished the feeling of her body cradled against his and the feel of his hair roughed legs against hers.

It was incredible to feel cherished in this way.

This was one of the finest moments in life that should last forever. She smiled hazily, as this was the second time within the last hour that this same thought had crossed her mind.

He pressed his lips against her shoulder.

They nuzzled their foreheads, simply enjoying being with each other.

That's when they heard the loud buzzing of a phone.

"I'll get it," Tony sprung to his feet and surprised her by getting dressed in mere seconds. "Left my phone in the kitchen."

Four minutes later, she came into the kitchen fully dressed and with freshly applied lipstick.

He wordlessly handed her a cherry nutri-grain bar (her favorite flavor) while holding his phone to his ear.

No matter what went on any given day, regardless of whether she had worked up an appetite, he always made sure she ate well. Those Nutri-grain bars had at least 15% calcium in each serving. Thus, he made sure she had at least a couple of those bars a day (aside from her regular meals). Glancing through her pregnancy books, he had discovered a chart with the vitamins and minerals recommended for expectant mothers. He'd made a copy of the page and pasted it on the inside of one of their kitchen cabinets.

Sometimes when Michelle would comment on how she was not really hungry, he would wordlessly open the cabinet.

Michelle would roll her eyes at the chart which would glare back at her with a sweeping list of all nutritional facts necessary for optimum fetal development.

With an exaggerated look of defeat, she would then take a bite of whatever food group Tony offered her.

Tony would normally come back with a triumphant look on his face, as though he had personally put together the chart after many years of extensive research.

Presently, Michelle ate her breakfast bar while Tony talked.

"Yeah…Tomorrow sounds good, " Tony hesitated for a moment. "Let me double check my calendar…" he glanced over at Michelle while covering the phone's mouth piece. "Roset wants to meet with us tomorrow at 3:00 O'clock sharp…"

Michelle walked over to the couch and retrieved her phone from her purse. It only took her a few moments to check her digital calendar.

"Sounds like it would work," she murmured.

Tony ended the call and looked at Michelle with a relieved expression on his face as though he was in grade school and had just found out that recess had been extended for another hour.

Michelle sighed wondering what to do next. That was one of the wonders of owning your own business. Sometimes they had to work late well beyond their normal business hours…at other times, their schedule opened up at the most unexpected times…

Her eyes brightened at the thought of hitting the stores with her friend Tracy; getting to the mall early for a change and shopping for that maternity wardrobe she so needed.

Using the voice recording feature on her phone, she sent Tracy a text message. "I have some free time, could you meet me at the mall in an hour?" Michelle knew that Tracy hardly ever missed a chance to go shopping.

"Tracy says that she can come and pick me up in half-an hour…" Michelle told Tony with some hesitation. "I think…she needs to discuss something with me…"

Tony nodded. It sort of made sense for them to take the same vehicle. Tracy would have her 14 month old daughter with her and her vehicle already had a car seat installed. A car seat. Yes. Tony made a mental note to do some research on that. Although, they certainly had some time before the baby was born…it never hurt to be prepared.

A/N: Readers: Thanks so much for the reviews, Please keep them coming!