Unlikely Connections, chapter 3
Unlikely Connections
Tony/Michelle
PG - NC-17
Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Michelle stopped typing once she’d seen him enter her area of the bullpen. He was talking to another agent. At least she assumed he was another agent. It was a bit hard to tell at times. But, this guy was dressed similar to Tony and just had that way of handling himself. That was really how she was able to tell the difference between the grunts, an affectionate word used for people who did her work and the field agents. She’d been called a nerd, a geek but never a grunt. At first she’d been offended but Nina had laughed at her expression and explained the IT department came up with it themselves. Now she could see why. It’d only been three months but it was clear that the majority of the work was done in the bullpen. Without the IT work, the agents were flying blind. Michelle smiled a bit to herself at that. It definitely gave her a sense of pride to finally be doing something that helped others.
She focused back on Tony and his companion, wondering what they were talking about. It seemed serious from the look on their faces. Michelle just had a hard time taking anything serious from the agent Tony was speaking too. She’d finally decided it was the hair.
How do you take someone seriously as an agent who can’t even control his hair?
Still, the black spikes were waving this way and that as he animatedly spoke with Tony. This was something she’d started doing more and more of; Agent Almeida watching. She couldn’t deny she was a little hurt that he’d just dumped her at HR and hadn’t really said a word to her since. They passed each other and she’d say hello, he’d respond but he always had this look on his face. She couldn’t place what it was, but it made her feel uncomfortable. He wouldn’t stop by and speak to her but she’d caught him staring almost as often as she herself had been.
“Dessler! You get that background check done?”
Michelle started and looked back at her monitor. “I got it right here, Agent Bauer.” She saved the file quickly and pulled the USB drive out of the computer, handing it to him as soon as he’d made his way to her side. She smiled up at him as he took it, a small smile formed on his face. She liked Agent Bauer. He was married with a daughter so they had a bit in common. Every now and then he’d sit in the break room and eat with her. He seemed to be a bit of a loner. She didn’t see many agents stay in for lunch and she definitely didn’t see any of them eating with anyone else but other agents. That didn’t seem to bother Jack Bauer.
“Thanks. I’ll need as much information as I can get for this one.” He pocketed the drive and looked back up at her. He smirked. “Ok, what is it Michelle? I know that look. You’re snooping.”
Michelle feigned shock. “I most certainly am not.” Jack just raised an eyebrow at her and she caved. She knew she wasn’t a very good liar. “Ok, ok fine. See Agent Almeida and spiky hair over there.” She didn’t look their way but just nudged her head in their general direction. Jack snorted at her description of Tony’s friend. “That would be Agent Sheppard, Michelle. But, I think I like spiky hair.” He looked contemplative for a moment. “I think I might use that.”
Michelle kicked him in the shin. “Ow! Ok, yes I see them. So what?”
“Are you working on whatever it is they have? For the past few days they’ve been in and out of here constantly and so far, none of the IT people have been asked to run point.”
Jack sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. “And let me guess, you wanna give it a try.”
Michelle bit her lip but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Jack could read it all over her face. “I do happen to know what they are working on and it’s extremely dangerous. I don’t think you should cut your teeth on this one.” He hated seeing the look of disappointment on her face. “You’re one of the best techs we have. Don’t doubt that. But running point, you’ve seen how crazy it is.”
“Jack, I can do it. I’ve watched Nina do it hundreds of times by now.”
“Nina is a senior tech as well as a backup agent. She’s been here for years, Michelle. It’s not the same thing as watching.”
“Please, just, if anyone says anything...just put in a good word for me, huh? Otherwise I’ll never get to show I can do more than run profiles.”
Jack reached out to squeeze her shoulder in support. “I’ll see what I can do, ok?”
Michelle smiled back at him.
“For the last time, John, no fucking way.” Tony was getting irritated. He hated repeating himself and he’d had this fight with Sheppard for almost two days now.
“Tony, you know this is the best way in. We need surprise on our side and this is it. Just take another look at what I’m suggesting. Hey, Tony!” John smacked his friend on the arm to bring his attention back to the schematics he held. “What’s up with you man? You’ve been walking around here like a zombie for the past few months.” Tony rubbed the back of his neck and took the plans from John to study them. As his head bent down, Sheppard glanced over his shoulder in the direction Almeida had been focused on. John smirked.
“Oh...I see.”
Tony didn’t bother looking up. “Ya see what?” He flipped the papers around and John noticed suddenly they seemed to be the most important thing in the world.
“I’m an agent too, Scarecrow. It’s my job to notice things.” Tony quickly glanced up but moved his eyes back down. “She’s cute.”
“I have no idea what’re talkin’ about.” Almeida turned and placed the plans on the nearest desk. “Here” he pointed to a side gate of the facility they were working on infiltrating. “That’s where we’ll go in.” He started to walk off when John tried to stop him. “You aren’t gonna acknowledge the fact that I was right this time?”
Almeida just pushed past him, definitely irritated now. “Fuck you, Jinx.”
Sheppard just smirked as he watched Tony storm off.
The sound of the locker door slamming echoed off the walls. Eventually everything went quiet again except for the deep breathing of CTU’s top agent. Scarecrow turned and leaned back against the lockers, the back of his head bumping into one of them harder than he’d intended. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, calming down. He saw Jack squeezing Ms. Dessler’s shoulder and her smile swim in the back of his mind.
Tony closed his eyes. He had no idea what kind of relationship they had. He could tell they were close but he didn’t know how close. He hated to think Jack would cheat on his wife. He’d worked with Bauer for years now and Tony wouldn’t have thought it in his character. But then there was Ms. Dessler...
Tony turned back to his locker and opened it. Removing his shirt he slightly smiled. He’d have to be blind to miss how beautiful she was and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Apparently he wasn’t as covert about it as he had originally thought.
“Oh!”
Almeida swung around at the sound and just stared back at Michelle. It seemed like forever but was only a split second, she raised her hand, quickly covering her eyes. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! Mason said I’d find you in here. I wasn’t, I didn’t know you did that here.”
“Did what?” Tony couldn’t help but snort when she covered her eyes. He just had his shirt off. He noticed the file in her hand and walked slowly towards her, gently taking it from her.
“Well you know, undress.” He flipped through the file before looking up and noticing she was still covering her eyes. He reached up and pulled her hand down. “Stop that.”
She kept her eyes closed and he sighed. “Ms. Dessler, I was just changing my shirt. The room has glass walls.”
Michelle opened her eyes slowly but nothing could have stopped her gaze from falling lower to his chest. She already knew she was attracted to him but this was the most of his skin she’d ever seen. And it was nice skin.
Tony didn’t seem to notice the way she was looking at him, flipping back through the file. “Shit, I told Sheppard this was gonna be harder than we thought.”
Michelle noticed scars here and there. Keepsakes of his life in the field. There was one particular round, bumpy spot about the size of a nickel on his left shoulder.
“You were shot?” Tony looked up at her tone. She sounded sad, concerned maybe. He stepped closer, closer than was professional and lifted her hand up to the old wound.
“Be glad you’re in IT, Ms. Dessler. Getting shot at isn’t exactly fun. And getting hit is damn sure no picnic.”
She pulled her hand back quickly and held it against her chest. “You can call me Michelle, you know. I mean, you did pull me into all of this. I think the formalities are a bit much at this point.” She smiled at him and Tony took a deep breath before turning his back on her.
“Thanks for this...Michelle.”
He quickly walked around the corner of a bank of lockers as she spoke. “You’re welcome.”
She had no idea if he heard her. She was too fixated on the many scars crisscrossing his back.
Tony/Michelle
PG - NC-17
Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Michelle stopped typing once she’d seen him enter her area of the bullpen. He was talking to another agent. At least she assumed he was another agent. It was a bit hard to tell at times. But, this guy was dressed similar to Tony and just had that way of handling himself. That was really how she was able to tell the difference between the grunts, an affectionate word used for people who did her work and the field agents. She’d been called a nerd, a geek but never a grunt. At first she’d been offended but Nina had laughed at her expression and explained the IT department came up with it themselves. Now she could see why. It’d only been three months but it was clear that the majority of the work was done in the bullpen. Without the IT work, the agents were flying blind. Michelle smiled a bit to herself at that. It definitely gave her a sense of pride to finally be doing something that helped others.
She focused back on Tony and his companion, wondering what they were talking about. It seemed serious from the look on their faces. Michelle just had a hard time taking anything serious from the agent Tony was speaking too. She’d finally decided it was the hair.
How do you take someone seriously as an agent who can’t even control his hair?
Still, the black spikes were waving this way and that as he animatedly spoke with Tony. This was something she’d started doing more and more of; Agent Almeida watching. She couldn’t deny she was a little hurt that he’d just dumped her at HR and hadn’t really said a word to her since. They passed each other and she’d say hello, he’d respond but he always had this look on his face. She couldn’t place what it was, but it made her feel uncomfortable. He wouldn’t stop by and speak to her but she’d caught him staring almost as often as she herself had been.
“Dessler! You get that background check done?”
Michelle started and looked back at her monitor. “I got it right here, Agent Bauer.” She saved the file quickly and pulled the USB drive out of the computer, handing it to him as soon as he’d made his way to her side. She smiled up at him as he took it, a small smile formed on his face. She liked Agent Bauer. He was married with a daughter so they had a bit in common. Every now and then he’d sit in the break room and eat with her. He seemed to be a bit of a loner. She didn’t see many agents stay in for lunch and she definitely didn’t see any of them eating with anyone else but other agents. That didn’t seem to bother Jack Bauer.
“Thanks. I’ll need as much information as I can get for this one.” He pocketed the drive and looked back up at her. He smirked. “Ok, what is it Michelle? I know that look. You’re snooping.”
Michelle feigned shock. “I most certainly am not.” Jack just raised an eyebrow at her and she caved. She knew she wasn’t a very good liar. “Ok, ok fine. See Agent Almeida and spiky hair over there.” She didn’t look their way but just nudged her head in their general direction. Jack snorted at her description of Tony’s friend. “That would be Agent Sheppard, Michelle. But, I think I like spiky hair.” He looked contemplative for a moment. “I think I might use that.”
Michelle kicked him in the shin. “Ow! Ok, yes I see them. So what?”
“Are you working on whatever it is they have? For the past few days they’ve been in and out of here constantly and so far, none of the IT people have been asked to run point.”
Jack sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. “And let me guess, you wanna give it a try.”
Michelle bit her lip but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Jack could read it all over her face. “I do happen to know what they are working on and it’s extremely dangerous. I don’t think you should cut your teeth on this one.” He hated seeing the look of disappointment on her face. “You’re one of the best techs we have. Don’t doubt that. But running point, you’ve seen how crazy it is.”
“Jack, I can do it. I’ve watched Nina do it hundreds of times by now.”
“Nina is a senior tech as well as a backup agent. She’s been here for years, Michelle. It’s not the same thing as watching.”
“Please, just, if anyone says anything...just put in a good word for me, huh? Otherwise I’ll never get to show I can do more than run profiles.”
Jack reached out to squeeze her shoulder in support. “I’ll see what I can do, ok?”
Michelle smiled back at him.
“For the last time, John, no fucking way.” Tony was getting irritated. He hated repeating himself and he’d had this fight with Sheppard for almost two days now.
“Tony, you know this is the best way in. We need surprise on our side and this is it. Just take another look at what I’m suggesting. Hey, Tony!” John smacked his friend on the arm to bring his attention back to the schematics he held. “What’s up with you man? You’ve been walking around here like a zombie for the past few months.” Tony rubbed the back of his neck and took the plans from John to study them. As his head bent down, Sheppard glanced over his shoulder in the direction Almeida had been focused on. John smirked.
“Oh...I see.”
Tony didn’t bother looking up. “Ya see what?” He flipped the papers around and John noticed suddenly they seemed to be the most important thing in the world.
“I’m an agent too, Scarecrow. It’s my job to notice things.” Tony quickly glanced up but moved his eyes back down. “She’s cute.”
“I have no idea what’re talkin’ about.” Almeida turned and placed the plans on the nearest desk. “Here” he pointed to a side gate of the facility they were working on infiltrating. “That’s where we’ll go in.” He started to walk off when John tried to stop him. “You aren’t gonna acknowledge the fact that I was right this time?”
Almeida just pushed past him, definitely irritated now. “Fuck you, Jinx.”
Sheppard just smirked as he watched Tony storm off.
The sound of the locker door slamming echoed off the walls. Eventually everything went quiet again except for the deep breathing of CTU’s top agent. Scarecrow turned and leaned back against the lockers, the back of his head bumping into one of them harder than he’d intended. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, calming down. He saw Jack squeezing Ms. Dessler’s shoulder and her smile swim in the back of his mind.
Tony closed his eyes. He had no idea what kind of relationship they had. He could tell they were close but he didn’t know how close. He hated to think Jack would cheat on his wife. He’d worked with Bauer for years now and Tony wouldn’t have thought it in his character. But then there was Ms. Dessler...
Tony turned back to his locker and opened it. Removing his shirt he slightly smiled. He’d have to be blind to miss how beautiful she was and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Apparently he wasn’t as covert about it as he had originally thought.
“Oh!”
Almeida swung around at the sound and just stared back at Michelle. It seemed like forever but was only a split second, she raised her hand, quickly covering her eyes. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! Mason said I’d find you in here. I wasn’t, I didn’t know you did that here.”
“Did what?” Tony couldn’t help but snort when she covered her eyes. He just had his shirt off. He noticed the file in her hand and walked slowly towards her, gently taking it from her.
“Well you know, undress.” He flipped through the file before looking up and noticing she was still covering her eyes. He reached up and pulled her hand down. “Stop that.”
She kept her eyes closed and he sighed. “Ms. Dessler, I was just changing my shirt. The room has glass walls.”
Michelle opened her eyes slowly but nothing could have stopped her gaze from falling lower to his chest. She already knew she was attracted to him but this was the most of his skin she’d ever seen. And it was nice skin.
Tony didn’t seem to notice the way she was looking at him, flipping back through the file. “Shit, I told Sheppard this was gonna be harder than we thought.”
Michelle noticed scars here and there. Keepsakes of his life in the field. There was one particular round, bumpy spot about the size of a nickel on his left shoulder.
“You were shot?” Tony looked up at her tone. She sounded sad, concerned maybe. He stepped closer, closer than was professional and lifted her hand up to the old wound.
“Be glad you’re in IT, Ms. Dessler. Getting shot at isn’t exactly fun. And getting hit is damn sure no picnic.”
She pulled her hand back quickly and held it against her chest. “You can call me Michelle, you know. I mean, you did pull me into all of this. I think the formalities are a bit much at this point.” She smiled at him and Tony took a deep breath before turning his back on her.
“Thanks for this...Michelle.”
He quickly walked around the corner of a bank of lockers as she spoke. “You’re welcome.”
She had no idea if he heard her. She was too fixated on the many scars crisscrossing his back.