A/N: Title of this chapter comes from the Beatles song titled: Michelle.

Michelle, ma belle. Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble. Tres bien ensemble

(Michelle, ma belle. These are the words that go together well, very well.)

CORRECTION: In chapter 1, I mentioned that Michelle's grandma had attended a Beatles concert. But the dates really don't match up. Thus, it was really Michelle's mother who attended the concert.

Michelle, ma Belle

The following takes place between 8:00 am and 9:15 am.

8:00 am.

Tony tried to act normal and carry on with his regular routine. Except that now he had some time to kill. He figured that now that their meeting was cancelled, he would just catch up on some paperwork.

He walked towards the desk located in corner of their family room and started thinking about his priorities while Michelle buzzed around in the kitchen while getting ready to leave the house.

He turned when she heard her speak from the kitchen: "We'll stop and grab a proper brunch at the Mall," she reassured him. "In the meantime, this should do," she added while pouring herself a giant glass of milk. "Enough calcium to feed an elephant," she smirked.

He became acutely aware that this day was like no other. The inevitable was bound to happen.

He wanted to ask her to stay. Yet he had no reason to make such a request, he couldn't just say: yeah, stay with me, don't go shopping with your friend.

Once his Michelle left the house, there was no question she would find out about Palmer.

It was not a matter of 'if' but 'when'.

It was out of his hands.

It was in the hands of fate.

"Tracy is here," Michelle announced and he realized he had been so absorbed in her own thoughts to notice that she was right there beside him now.

"Already? Did she get here on a jet plane?"

She smiled at that.

For a moment or so they locked eyes.

He cupped her face in his palms, his forehead naturally seeking to lean against hers. "You're the best thing that has happened to me." Then he kissed her lips ever so softly and pulled back some to gaze into her eyes. "Never forget that, mi amor."

Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, nodding slowly. She could still feel the strong manly scent of his aftershave mingled with something she couldn't quite define. She knew the corners of his mind so well that she couldn't help but feel that he was holding something back. "Is everything alright? She cocked her head slightly as if to punctuate the hesitation in her question.

He smiled sort of apologetically. "Hmm…yeah, yeah…I just realized that I need to balance my checkbook, so I'll be pretty darn busy…"

A loving smile curved her lips. She knew how much he hated dealing with his checkbook. Right then, they heard the honk of a car. "I love you so much," she murmured as a way of a good-bye.

A few seconds later, she was heading for the front door.

Once she made it across their lawn and reached the driveway, she turned to see if her husband was watching out the window. Sure enough, he was standing by the sliding glass window, holding his cell phone to his ear yet ready to wave good-bye.

She returned his wave and got to the passenger side of her friend's Toyota Camry in one fluid motion.

On their way to the mall they listened to a CD of children's songs instead of the radio. In the backseat, Tracy's little girl clapped and sang along to the music.

Tony tried to get hold of Jack, hoping he still had that untraceable phone he given him a year and a half ago after helping him fake his death. All he got was a standard voice recording that said: the number you are calling has been disconnected or is no longer in service.

After the third time re-dialing the number, Tony tossed the phone aside in exasperation.

8:15 am.

Tony decided to call CTU. He wanted to speak to Chloe but got Edgar instead. He learned that Chloe had not reported to work in that day. Was she sick?

"I need Chloe's cell phone number, pronto." He told Edgar.

"Sure," Edgar said in a patronizing tone. "Except that she's not answering!" He let out a sigh. "Look, Tony, we're busy…trying to apprehend President Palmer's shooter… When and if I get hold of Chloe, I'll let her know you called."

Edgar hung up before Tony had a chance to respond.

Tony considered his options. He could call Edgar back and let him in no uncertain terms know how imperative it was for him to get hold of Chloe; yet he doubted that Edgar would be in a more cooperative mood. Or he could just wait…and do nothing. He didn't really like this idea, but what else could he do at this point short of showing up at CTU?

8:40 am.

Chloe gets apprehended for insubordination in her quest to help Jack. At CTU, Edgar listened in when Bill tries in vain to get Chloe to tell him where Jack is. Then, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of apprehension when Bill barks at him: "Put Chloe in a holding cell when she gets back…"

For a moment, Edgar considered calling Tony back. Yet he quickly dismissed this idea. He told himself that he was way too busy and besides, Tony was no longer a CTU agent and thus, he had no responsibility to call back.

…..

In the meantime, Tracy chatted with the sales lady at the cash register while Michelle paid for her purchases at Motherhood Maternity.

Michelle bought several pairs of jeans; she wasn't crazy about wearing jeans with elastics around the waist but she also could not picture herself wearing dresses all the time. She also bought several loose fitting tops and a couple of nursing bras. She was glad that Tracy was there helping her decide between the different styles.

"I know these clip down styles are nicer, but trust me from a practical standpoint, these are way better" Tracy had assured her while holding the wrap around style bra which was clearly labeled as a sleep nursing bra. "Oh, and I wear these all the time not just for nighttime," she added casting a loving look at her young child who had fallen asleep in her stroller."

Michelle smiled back. This was turning out to be a good day and they were done with their shopping in record time. She was relieved to find that she had found what she needed without having to spend half a morning looking in different stores, comparing styles and sizes.

"Oh, Tracy…she sighed as the sales lady handed over her purchases. "You have saved my life, I don't know what I would have done without you," she added with genuine appreciation.

"Probably passed out in the middle of the mall by mid-afternoon, overwhelmed by so many choices," Tracy chuckled, giving her a slight pat on her arm.

8:58 am.

The two women sat down at a table in quiet the corner of the nearest Jamba Juice, with Tracy's baby strapped to a wooden restaurant style high chair. Michelle ordered a breakfast wrap which contained egg whites and a mix of veggies and fruit and gooey cheese (the best part no doubt) wrapped in a hearty tortilla. Tracy ordered a turkey and sausage breakfast wrap and a small strawberry banana smoothie for her child.

Michelle loved watching Tracy with her baby, especially now that she was expecting a child of her own. Being a mother was no easy task, she knew. Just from her friendship with Tracy she had observed many an occasion when she had witnessed the challenges of young motherhood.

Except that today little Mary Ann was having a bad day. She spit out her smoothie after taking a tiny sip from her straw and made a face. Bits of juice landed on her mother's tank top (since she was sitting closer)

Michelle bit her lower lip and gave her friend a sympathetic look.

Tracy tucked the long curls that framed her face behind her ears and exhaled. She and Michelle had met back in college; they had been roommates that became fast friends. Before long, they had exchanged confidences and hair styling secrets. Tracy's hair was remarkably like Michelle's in texture, length and coloring, except that Tracy's was considerably curlier to the point that it was nearly impossible to straighten it without the aid of strong chemicals; whereas Michelle's locks could be easily straightened with a just a good brush and hair dryer.

Funny how Tracy always said she would like her hair to behave like Michelle's, considering how much the latter actually admired her friend's well defined curls. Although Michelle was not particularly unhappy with her hair; she could certainly appreciate its versatility but did not spend too much time thinking about it.

"Oh, if only I had your hair…I would wear it straight ALL the time," Tracy had sighed like a mantra back then, brush in hand during particularly bad hair days.

Sitting across from Michelle at Jamba Juice, she did not have much time to fuss with her hair as she did in her college carefree days. Sporting her best 'you- better-eat-your-vegetables smile', she grabbed a fork and tried to feed her daughter some of her breakfast burrito. But the child shook her head and pushed the offending utensil away with such force that it landed on the floor, food splattered everywhere.

"It's the terrible two's" Tracy directed her comment to the other guests dining nearby as a way of an explanation. "Well, she's not quite two yet…so it's more like the terrible ones!" she pursed her lips, shook her head slightly and shrugged. "But I guess no one has invented THAT term yet."

Michelle bent down to pick up the plastic fork and stood up to throw it in the trash behind her.

The older couple sitting at a table nearby nodded knowingly.

"Oh, dear…wait till the teenage years!" Said an older female voice in her late 60's.

"Ours are ALL thankfully gone...married off or in college," the woman's husband replied happily.

Michelle smiled politely, but mostly focused on Mary Ann and trying to figure out what the child wanted. She wasn't one to strike up random conversations with strangers. You just never knew these days what kind of people you would find. Most people tend to be too trusting and assume that most people are exactly like them. Moreover, her years of training as a CTU agent had taught to limit her interactions and to portray certain aloofness when interfacing with the public.

"Until then, brace yourself for the worst is yet to come!" The older man, who introduced himself as 'Bob', continued with a smirk.

"And to think that I was actually looking forward to her getting a little older…" Tracy replied, matching the tone of the conversation.

"Well, we're glad we're here just in time to burst your bubble," Bob's wife replied, grinning from ear to ear.

It became clear to Michelle that these people clearly enjoyed this type of light hearted snark. She relaxed some, but continued to pay attention to Mary Ann, stroking her hair and speaking to her in a gentle soothing voice. Under ordinary circumstances, she might have laughed along but somehow she did not like thinking of children as a burden.

She was in the midst experiencing the joys of pregnancy, abundantly filled with hope for the future and did not even want to consider that she may indeed living in a bubble.

A few minutes later, the couple left amidst smiles and after cracking a few more jokes.

It wasn't until they left that Tracy turned her attention to her baby. She was surprised to see that Mary Ann was actually eating a few bites of Michelle's breakfast burrito which she had set aside on a separate plate for her.

"Hmm" Michelle sighed, clearly exaggerating how much she enjoyed her burrito all for Mary Ann's benefit.

"Oh, Michelle…you're so good with her," Tracy drew out a long breath. "I think you ought to baby sit more often."

"Sure…I'm all for it," there was no hesitation in Michelle's voice.

"Perfect!" Tracy's smile suddenly faded. "I guess the timing couldn't be better…"

"Yeah…" Michelle agreed thinking that once the baby was born her time would be more limited. She ate a few more bites of her burrito with gusto.

But then she became concerned at her friends somber expression. "Is there something wrong?" she asked while feeding a very eager Mary Ann another bite of her food.

Tracy looked down on her burrito, picked at it with a fork pushing the food around in her plate. Yet she did not take a bite.

After a few minutes of silence, Michelle just knew. "What is it?" her voice was laced with such concern that it sounded soothing. "Another fight with Tom?"

Tracy's expression grew even more miserable at the mention of her soon to be ex-husband.

She waited for her to elaborate but Tracy just gazed off into the distance, past the tall paneled windows that overlooked a very busy street.

"He wants a divorce, and I know I shoulda seen it coming and not be surprised…" Tracy pushed her plate aside, deciding she was done eating.

"Oh, Tracy, I'm really sorry…." Michelle reached across the table and covered her friend's wrist with her hand.

"When we got married seven years ago, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would wind up as a single mom," Tracy stifled a sob.

"I'm here for you…for whatever you need…" she gazed over at little Mary Ann who was now scribbling furiously with a red crayon on the kids' menu. "And not just for babysitting," she reassured her.

Tracy mumbled a quiet thanks.

Right then, Michelle's cell phone rang.

It was 9:15 am.

A/N: As it turns out, this story is going to be a bit longer than I had originally anticipated. So, stay tuned for there are MORE chapters in store!

Thanks for reading. Thanks for the ALL the lovely reviews! They really help with inspiration, plus they make my day!