A/N: Hey everyone. This is the sequel that I'd been planning on posting for 'You and Me' since quite a few people mentioned in their reviews of that they were still interested in it. This chapter is particularly fluffy but the rest of the story won't be so much…at least not based on the breakdown I came up with… I think for the most part, you should be able to follow this one without having read 'You and Me'…I've tried to incorporate as much of the back story as necessary as the story progresses…
Reviews are greatly appreciated! They're definitely what keep me writing… Hopefully you guys enjoy it!
Chapter One – Bliss
"I'm not stopping the car, Michelle."
Tony and Michelle had been driving for hours, trying to find the hotel they'd booked for the better part of their seven day honeymoon - including drive time. In the midst of their travels they'd been caught in a torrential downpour; vicious enough that it brought every car on the road to a crawl.
Tony had been fuming at mother nature the entire time; furious she had decided to cut into his highly valued, far-too-rare alone time with his new wife. After a lot of coaxing, Michelle convinced him to abandon the highway for the moment and find a place to at least ask for directions.
He finally conceded when she looked at him like that; assuring him she'd much rather have the opportunity to live out being married for more than a couple of days. Reluctantly, he'd pulled into gas station and sat idling in the car while Michelle ran in to speak to the attendant.
He was still getting used to the fact that she was his wife when just over a year before she'd been the person he sat a little closer than necessary to in meetings or whose desk he lingered by when the end of the day rolled around and it would've probably made more sense to go home and catch up on some sleep. Before Michelle, spending extra time at work when he didn't have to would never have been worth it…before Michelle.
"We missed the exit." she told him dejectedly, brushing the rainwater from her cheeks. "It's gonna take forever to get back there now...There's an accident going north."
Tony said nothing, but started the ignition; fully prepared to go all night if he had to.
"You can't drive in this weather" Michelle half-pleaded with him to think about the situation logically.
"What else are we gonna do?" he asked dully.
She studied him carefully before responding.
"There's a motel down the street...we could spend the night there-"
"No wife of mine is staying there." He snapped, more at the circumstances than at her. Much to his irritation, Michelle laughed softly.
"I'll live…" she assured him. "Besides, you'll get us both killed if you keep trying to drive in this weather..."
"It's our honeymoon, Michelle!"
"I know..." she rubbed his hand gently. "And we'll get to the hotel tomorrow..."
He remained brooding silently for a moment, considering her proposal carefully.
"Tony…" she soothed again after waiting for a moment or two. "It's only one night..."
Tony sulked, hating the prospect of spending even a second in such a sleazy establishment...on his honeymoon nonetheless!
"Don't you want to come to bed with me instead of driving around some more?" She tried a new approach and twisted around her in seat to rub the back of his neck. He loosened his grip on the gearshift and his eyes closed.
Michelle inched a little closer.
"C'mon honey," she kissed, and then bit, his earlobe. Tony restrained the groan that had formed in the base of his throat as Michelle's fingers traced their way up his inner thigh. Her other hand still rubbed his neck, while she nibbled her way down his jaw.
She grinned, knowing her tactics were working when she caught him biting his lip firmly out of the corner of her eye.
"Alright..."
They were grateful for every second of the week off together they'd been granted, (something Tony had worked out with Ryan Chappelle months before on the sole condition that they be "reachable" in the event anything happened while they were away). The recent addition of new personnel, and Jack Bauer's agreement to be at work the entire time they were gone, made the vacation possible. Michelle had been pleasantly surprised when one day at work Tony had innocuously mentioned that their four day honeymoon had been extended to seven.
He liked to surprise her like that.
He liked to slip in the mention of it into their everyday routine so it didn't come across like such a huge deal. He wasn't really sure why he did things that way but it could, possibly, have had something to do with how her eyes widened and her mouth hung agape as realization washed over her face.
He had proposed to her like that.
On a walk they'd taken a few minutes before midnight on Christmas Eve while visiting her family clear across the country. He'd worked up the nerve to do it a split second before he actually pulled her aside so as not to give himself time to think.
Now that they were here, on their honeymoon, he had to admit he was pretty damn glad he never gave himself time to think.
His arms were around her the second the room key was locked securely in his hand. She brushed back a few pieces of his dripping hair that had fallen out of place during their dash to the building. He kissed her palm quickly and dragged her to the stairs.
When the door to the room closed Michelle surveyed the damage. The comforters were grungy, there were water stains on the ceiling and she cringed to think of the state of the bathrooms. Tony dropped the one bag he'd grabbed as they made their way inside.
"Hungry?" he asked, realizing he himself was starving. They hadn't eaten a bite since early that morning in anticipation of the meal they would have when they arrived.
Michelle nodded and he exited the room, promising to return with something in a few minutes.
"There wasn't much." he apologized, tossing a small, wet, paper bag onto the bed at Michelle's feet.
She eyed the assortment of packages as they fell out, looking a little disappointed now.
"Romantic, eh?" He said sarcastically when he noticed her face. Beginning to see the humor in the situation for himself, he smirked and lifted the first bag dutifully in his hand. Because really, this could only happen to them…
Michelle laughed and nodded slowly, coming to kneel beside him. One by one each item was held up for inspection and given the nod of approval. There definitely wasn't much… A bag of pretzels each and a couple of granola bars seemed to be the extent of their dinner.
Her eyes fell on the final package.
"Dessert?"
He nodded, his lips twitching in amusement. "I mean, who needs chocolate covered strawberries when we can have a whole cupcake to ourselves..."
She tilted her head to one side, and, grinning, kissed him lightly; her hand resting gently against the back of his neck.
"This isn't so bad..."
He shook his head, brushing his fingertips across her cool cheek.
"Guess not..." he agreed, entirely convinced the only reason for that was the fact that she was sitting beside him.
Suddenly, Michelle was on her feet like a bolt of lightening.
"I just thought of something you forgot..." she told him quickly before rushing out the door, leaving Tony sitting on the bed dumbfounded.
She returned with two white plastic cups and held one out to him.
"Champagne..."
He raised an eyebrow as she thrust the cup into his hand and tapped the brim of her own to it.
"Cheers..." she said dryly before taking a sip and waiting for Tony to follow suit. He did somewhat reluctantly and nearly choked with when he recognized the liquid...
Gingerale.
The rain continued to pound against the roof of the two-story motel, and Michelle's teeth chattered as she pulled the thin blankets closer to her chin. The broken blow drier meant her hair was still damp, resulting in an unpleasant chill running up and down her back from the instant they'd crawled into bed.
"Damn it." She shuddered quietly, feeling Tony shift beside her before his eyes opened.
"What's wrong?"
"I left my sweater in the car…"
He waited a few seconds before propping himself up on his elbow and leaning over her; slightly exasperated.
"I told you to keep it handy…"
"I know…" She brushed it off. "I guess I meant to stick it in the bag at the last minute…"
He fell back against the pillow with a defeated sigh, before grudgingly kicking off the blankets and rising from the bed. Wordlessly, he threw on his clothes…
"Don't worry about it…" she protested, anticipating what he intended to do. He ignored her.
"Tony honestly leave it, I'm-"
The door closed behind him; cutting her off mid-sentence.
Michelle lay silently until he returned with her sweater tucked inside his shirt to prevent it from getting soaked. He himself was drenched once again.
"Here…" he tossed the sweater at her before stripping out of his clothes and making his way back to the bed.
She was about to tell him he shouldn't have bothered and apologize for forgetting in the first place when he leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.
"Get to sleep. I want to be out of here first thing tomorrow."
After staring at him for a moment she pulled on the sweater and lifted his arm to make room for herself. He raised an eyebrow as she pillowed her head on his chest and wrapped her arm across him. His own hand came to rest on around her shoulders and he brushed the hair away from her face; muttering in a seemingly irritated voice about remembering to listen to him in the first place from then on…
The next morning dawned bright and sunny. The remnants of the storm still remained behind as the leaves of trees and even parts of the sidewalks were still wet. When dressing that morning they heard something about roads being flooded a few miles inland but otherwise, it was as though nothing had really happened.
Neither Tony nor Michelle could even be bothered devoting any amount of time to a proper breakfast. They were out the door as soon as the sun had risen.
Michelle flopped backwards on the bed, eyes closed. In sharp contrast to the one they'd spent the previous night in, this room was covered with a thick, fluffy, impeccably clean duvet; much more to her liking. There were at least ten pillows on the bed that were probably each three times thicker than the one they'd slept on at the motel and Michelle had a sinking suspicion that all the appliances, (blow drier included) would work.
"Finally..."
She felt the mattress shift and heard Tony chuckle as a hand brushed the hair off her forehead.
Reality starting to sink in, Michelle rolled onto her side with a rather large, stupid grin on her face. Tony grinned back before leaning in for a kiss. With a soft sigh, Michelle reciprocated, tongue parting his lips and falling back again, this time with his body pinning her down.
After a minute, he lifted himself up and proceeded across the room. Michelle watched with a smirk from the bed as he moved the "Do Not Disturb" sign from the inside to the outside of the door; laughing at the notion of how much of a cliché they were at that moment and unable to imagine herself caring less.
It was their honeymoon. They'd never even had a weekend away, alone together in the entire time they'd been dating, let alone a glorious, seven days. It was their honeymoon filled with their "Do Not Disturb" signs, strawberries dripping with champagne, and even, (if Michelle really felt daring and spontaneous), herself dressing up in that little wine-colored negligee her best friend Alicia had pressed into her hands at the last minute as part of a wedding present "just in case".
It still hadn't registered fully that they were married and she had a feeling it wouldn't until they were back to their daily routine once again. As much as they'd acted like a married couple in the months since engagement, actually being married was an entirely different story.
Tony was in the process of filling two glasses with freshly chilled champagne, when a pair of arms snaked around his waist.
"Hey," Michelle smiled lopsidedly, nuzzling her face into the collar of his shirt.
He studied her mass of curls for a few seconds before tilting her head back and pressing another light kiss against her lips.
"C'mon…" he nudged her out of the bathroom and inclined his head towards the bed. She frowned suspiciously.
"So this is how it's gonna be from now on? All you have to do is grunt and point-"
Her lack luster protests were cut off when his hand slid round the back of her head and their mouths fused together one more time…
"Don't kid yourself sweetheart; that's how it's always been…"
Tony closed his eyes as the cool ocean breeze played across his face and the sound of waves gently lapping on the beach filled his ears. This has to be heaven… He thought blissfully as he adjusted the position of his sunglasses on his nose and leaned back in the lounge chair he'd been occupying for most of the afternoon. Michelle was napping peacefully in a hammock beside him, a beach towel covering her upper body and the book she'd been reading splayed half-open across her chest. The nap was to make up for the lack of sleep they'd gotten the previous night and to ensure she was refreshed for the similar kind of evening they would likely have as soon as the sun went down. She preferred the shade supplied by the trees she gently rocked between; afraid that if she fell asleep in the sun she would end up burned or severely overheated. He, on the other hand, would sit in the sun all day if he could…
He was oh so very tempted to pull his new wife into his lap. After all, he was already nice and toasty and he could see goosebumps all over her bare legs. It was the kind of thing a husband would do, and any excuse for them to cuddle up under that towel of hers was, as far as Tony was concerned, a good one. He was more than glad for the privacy of their little corner of the beach; it meant he could do things like that away from prying eyes, (which was, of course, the best part of their honeymoon to begin with). Plus, she might refer to him as her "husband" again if she really wanted to make his stomach churn and his head spin.
That settled it. He pulled himself upright, lifted the book from her lap and gently lowered himself into the hammock. Her lids fluttered open and took a minute to adjust to the sun before she shifted the distribution of weight to avoid sending them both toppling into the sand below. Once he was settled she pulled him closer, and nestled into his delightfully hot chest.
"You're freezing, baby." He noted, pulling her further into his warmth.
"No, I'm not." She assured him with a yawn as they swayed gently side to side. "You've just been lying in the sun too long."
"Still tired?" he asked, once they'd both stopped wiggling around in an attempt to find a good position.
"Mhm, a little." She managed to control her smirk, knowing he'd feel it against his skin. "My husband kept me awake all night."
"And he's planning on doing it again tonight." He gave her fair warning and slid his fingertips underneath the strap of her bathing suit that crossed her back. "After he takes you out to dinner and you get your strength back."
She snickered against him and kissed his neck.
"Wanna go swimming again?" he suggested.
"In a few minutes; right now this is perfect." The breeze was light enough that they stayed comfortably warm in the little cocoon they'd made for themselves, and the few clouds in the sky had moved away entirely, providing them with more sun.
To top it all off they were together, and in the vague recesses of his mind Tony wondered if she knew exactly how right she was.
It was a few minutes before something caught the corner of Tony's eye.
"Hold still a sec…" he told Michelle, reaching a hand into her hair lazily.
"What's wrong?" she frowned and shifted a little.
"Nothing, just don't move…" he readjusted the position of his hand. "There's a spider in your hair, hang on…"
Michelle's eyes went wide and she cringed and tensed in his arms.
"Is it out yet?" she asked desperately, a tinge a panic in her voice.
A second later Tony responded.
"Yeah, got it." he held up his hand for inspection. "See…it's just a little one…"
She instantly shoved his hand back.
"Okay…just…put it somewhere else." She told him in the same voice.
Tony studied her, clearly amused.
"I have a spider-thing, alright? Get it out of here…"
She watched as he set the spider a few feet away in the sand and it scurried into the distance, he was still laughing.
"Since when are you afraid of bugs?"
"I'm not!" she defended. "I just don't like spiders. Lots of people don't like spiders."
He snickered softly and pulled her back against him.
"They're tiny, Michelle."
"They're creepy. I don't like them…I've never liked them."
Tony probably should've let up, but he was having too much fun teasing her.
"You killed that one in the bathroom before…"
"Yeah, well, I don't mind killing them if it'll keep them from crawling into the bed at night…" she shuddered instinctively as she imagined it, and Tony let out one final chuckle before kissing the top of her head and resting against the hammock once more.
"What's your 'thing'?" she asked.
Tony stated confidently. "I don't have one."
"Why do you always have to be so -?"
He gently placed a hand over her mouth to silence her.
"Don't talk now." He chided; leaning back in the hammock and rocking some more.
Dinner was peaceful. In some ways they were reminded of their first date; one where they had been so excited at the prospect of an evening out together they hadn't really registered how tired they were or how long the work days had been. That night, and this night now, were just about them; about simply enjoying each other's company.
The difference was on their first date they had been nervous; wary of gestures or glances that might linger a little too long and make the other person uncomfortable, or of lull's in the conversation that might've suggested they'd broached too sensitive of a topic or that the date just wasn't going all that well. This was just comfortable and familiar, and it made it all that much better.
"What's wrong?" Tony interrupted a moment of silence when he noticed Michelle looking slightly perplexed starring out into the water.
She smiled and snapped herself out of her daydream.
"Nothing." She assured him.
Tony raised an eyebrow and began slowly drawing circles on the back of her hand.
"Michelle…" he pressed; his voice suggesting that it was quite obvious she was thinking about something and shouldn't waste energy trying to conceal it from him.
"I just can't remember if I forwarded everything on the new security program for City Hall to Gael-"
"You really need to loosen up honey."
Her eyes narrowed indignantly.
"I'm loose…"
Tony laughed and grabbed her hand.
"Let's get out of here…"
They were the first ones in the pool the next morning.
"Don't even think about it, Almeida." Michelle warned him when she noticed the glint in his eye as he watched her saunter over to the water's edge.
He grinned and said nothing; choosing instead to move closer towards her.
"I'm taking you with me if you try anything…" She threatened a second time when she noticed he was almost close enough to grab her.
Apparently Tony didn't think very highly of her threats because a second later he'd lifted her from the pavement and made to toss her in the pool. Michelle, not planning on going down without a fight, retained her grip on him and he followed her into the water.
She shrieked at the sudden coldness and sputtered and coughed when that got her a mouthful of water.
Tony tried not to laugh as he wrapped an arm around her and drew her to the side.
"That's a good look for you…" he teased, pushing the hair out of her face.
Her mouth opened as though she was about to argue, but she ended up laughing instead.
"I guess we know who the better swimmer is now." He continued.
She raised an eyebrow and pulled away from him.
"Yeah…right…you threw me in the pool, that doesn't count."
His eyes widened.
"Prove it then…race me…"
"No…"
"Michelle…"
"No…"
"C'mon Michelle…you know you want to beat me…"
"I'm not-"
"There's no one even around…"
She chanced a quick glance around the perimeter. He was right, there was no one. She sighed.
"Alright."
"There and back twice." She agreed when they took their positions at one end.
"What do I get when I win?"
"A pat on the back." She told him sarcastically. "But you won't win…"
He laughed.
She muttered a complaint about his cockiness under her breath that he didn't quite catch.
"What was that?" he questioned innocently.
She scowled.
Michelle did lose, though not by as much as she'd anticipated. It could have partially been due to the fact that she'd been given something of a head start because Tony was just that nice of a guy.
When she finally did touch the edge he watched smugly as she gasped for breath.
"I killed ya…" he joked.
"Yeah right…"
She felt the sudden shift in weight from the bed and noticed despite the thick curtains that it was already morning.
"Tony…" she groaned tiredly, her voice croaky from sleep. When there was no answer she forced herself out from under the covers and towards the bathroom. Tony's muffled voice could be heard coming from the other side of the door.
"What's going on?"
A guilty Tony covered the mouth piece of his cell phone quickly and froze like a deer caught in the headlights when his eyes met Michelle's.
"I uh…"
She was willing to bet a year's salary the person on the other end of the line was Jack.
With an exasperated sigh she shook her head slowly and exited the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Tony pulled back the covers, noticing Michelle's back was still turned to him. He slid back into bed and pressed his face in the crook of her neck, biting back a chuckle when she shuddered against him.
"I was just checking in…"
"Uh huh…" she whispered drowsily.
"Like Ryan told me to do…"
"And since when do you do what Ryan tells you to do?"
"Since he gave us a week off and made it possible for us to do this all day…" he countered, biting gently into her neck. "But I'm not sure he realized that at the time…"
She turned over, unable to prevent herself from laughing and shaking her head.
He pulled her in a little more closely and kissed her firmly; his thumb gently running across her cheek.
She shifted slightly under his gaze after a few minutes and said something about getting out of bed when he pulled her back against him and his face turned from joking to serious again. It still made her feel slightly uneasy when he looked at her like that; as though with a single look he could tell everything that was running through her head whether she admitted it or not. It was scary and incredibly comforting at the same time; unnerving as well as calming.
"Hey…" he grabbed her attention and wrapped both arms around her again so she couldn't slip away. "Stay here for a bit, alright?"
Her expression softened and she half-smiled.
"'Kay…"
The rest of the vacation passed in much of the same fashion; staying in bed until noon, afternoons by the water, dinner plans made spontaneously at the last minute…The last night was sad as much as it was sweet and romantic. Deciding they'd rather spend it together in private, they ate quickly in a quiet restaurant and headed back to their hotel room to change clothes and grab a blanket.
The beach was particularly breezy and Michelle's hair kept getting blown around to the point where she more or less gave up on trying to tame it. The waves crashed furiously against the shore and calm water far out in the distance reflected the light of the moon and stars, giving the whole scene and somewhat ethereal glow.
They remained sitting in the sand for a long time; not really concerned with anything but making the night last as long as possible. Whenever Michelle's thoughts would wander to the prospect of work the following afternoon she would snap her eyes shut and push them from her mind. Work wasn't about to ruin the night; she could think about it later.
There wasn't much conversation between them. Occasionally he asked her if she was still warm enough, and once in a while she would make sure he didn't want to go inside yet. Eventually, Michelle's head came to rest lightly against Tony's shoulder.
"We'll do this again sometime…" he said quietly with his mouth nestled in her hair.
She eyed him uncertainly.
"We'll find a way…" he promised emphatically, reading the look immediately. "No matter what happens…"
"I know…" she smiled and pressed her lips against his cheek as he pulled the blanket further around her shoulders.
When they finally did head back to the hotel room Michelle was pulling off her sweater before the door had even shut behind them. They tugged recklessly at each other's close, not able to move fast enough all of a sudden; needing to make the most of these last few hours of freedom.
The clothes landed haphazardly around the room and when it came time to clean up the next morning Michelle laughed aloud at how they'd managed to cover so much ground in such a small span of time before tumbling onto the bed.
There was something different about that night; something that reminded them both that when it was over everything, these feelings of contentedness and genuine happiness, wouldn't be coming to an end. It felt…permanent. They weren't balancing on the edge of a knife in an attempt to preserve what they had; it was meant to last and regardless what would happen in the future, knowing that was good enough for them.
"Michelle! Good! You're back…" Chloe hurried up to them the second they entered the CTU bullpen.
"I finished that workup I was doing for Field Ops on Woodward case and something came up that cross referenced with what you put Adam on for the week. I tried to talk to him about it but he didn't seem to think it was a top priority…" she rolled her eyes.
"So could you just let him know that I'm allowed to access the files for the report because it's obvious he won't listen to me…You'd think I'd have gained a little respect by now but according to Adam only his way is the right way…"
Michelle glanced at a smirking Tony who had just walked past her and sighed slightly before giving her full attention to Chloe.
Back to the grind…