Oh, a Storm Is Threatening My Very Life Today

Jack couldn’t remember how long it’d been since he’d sprinted for dear life like this. But damn the fatigue in his muscles because catching Tony was more important than anything else right now. In a way, it still didn’t feel real. He hadn’t really seen him up properly face-to-face, just the pixellated CCTV image Agent Walker had shown him. With his mind already slipping back into agent mode, he could almost treat this as running after any other suspect. That was a strange thing to think about: Tony Almeida being a suspect and not someone to speak to through his comm or otherwise work with. The sinking feeling in his chest still hadn’t gone away since he’d seen the photo. He had to wonder how he would feel when he finally got close enough to take a good look at him.

He didn’t even know where Agent Walker was by this point; he was so focused on getting to Tony. Jack chased him around the boat until he finally spotted him, yelling at him to stop, raising his gun without hesitation. But Tony didn’t listen. The polite but brusque facade Jack had kept up all morning was suddenly fading. He couldn’t take it anymore. He had been angry about the senate hearing long before this day, but that anger was now overshadowed by a much larger feeling of anger over not being able to comprehend what Tony was doing. Jack lunged towards him. Neither of them held back, Jack too fuelled by betrayal and Tony too fuelled by something that Jack was desperate to understand. Eventually, he managed to pin him against a shipping crate, feeling Tony’s hot breaths on his face and blood on his knuckles.

Tony’s eyes met his, and he looked into them, hoping for an answer, a sign that he was still the same person he had known for all these years. They stared back coldly, meanly, almost, but Jack didn’t believe it for a second. There had to be something more. That was all he’d told himself this morning since he’d seen the photo, that Tony wasn’t a terrorist, he wasn’t a bad person, there had to be a good reason for all of this. His eyelid twitched a little. There was a flinch, a very subtle one, but a flinch nonetheless, as though he was trying to look behind him. He could hear footsteps and assumed they were Agent Walker's. But then Tony gave a slight nod, making Jack furrow his brow. 

A sharp pain suddenly pierced his shoulder, and Jack realised his assumption was wrong. His vision started to blur, but he watched Tony’s expression soften, and Jack felt something lift in him. It seemed to remove some of the haze of uncertainty surrounding this whole morning. He felt himself fall to the ground, but not before a set of arms could catch him from behind.

“Sorry, Jack.” A voice whispered. Female. But not Agent Walker’s. It was familiar. Much more familiar.

And as the world faded to black, Jack realised this situation was far more complicated than he could ever imagine.

Jack opened his eyes slowly, finding himself in what looked like a small apartment. He could hear two people talking quietly.

“He’s going to wonder where we are. One of us has to go soon,” Someone said. While Jack hadn't heard him speak much today, save for a brisk phone call from Schector's apartment, he still knew it belonged to the man he'd chased down at the docks.

The room was spinning a little, and his limbs felt heavy.

“Well, we can’t just leave him here without explaining ourselves.” A woman replied. He recognised the voice. It was the last thing he'd heard before she'd shot him with what he presumed had been a sedative and then subsequently apologised to him.

Jack's vision cleared as he sat up with his hands planted on either side of him. He started to discern the two figures before him. They were both alive. Not just Tony, but Michelle too. Subconsciously, he had figured that out before losing consciousness. He had heard Michelle's voice plenty of times to recognise it. But now that he was actually seeing her in front of him, he felt the same confusing mix of emotions from before, when Agent Walker had shown him the photo of Tony.

He could feel his heart thunder in his chest as he regained awareness of his surroundings. The two people fell silent, turning to look at him. Jack’s gaze went to Tony, who, in a way, looked more familiar than before, and then to Michelle, who was biting her lip with concern. She looked different from when he last saw her; she wore a similar leather jacket to Tony, her hair short and curled, not long and straight as it had been last time. 

“Jack…” She started.

He shook his head. “What the hell is going on here?” As much as part of him wanted to rejoice that his two friends were alive and well, he was too astonished by it all to let himself be happy. He felt betrayed. He had been played for a fool. Even if there was an explanation for all of this, it wasn’t going to change the fact that he had mourned them, blamed himself for both of their deaths, and let himself feel deserving of each and every horrible thing that had happened since that day. “What the hell is going on here?” He repeated angrily, his voice echoing off the floorboards.

Before either of them could respond, a sudden cry pierced Jack’s ears. Tony and Michelle looked between them, but Michelle was quick to leave the room. Tony sighed, scratching his jaw. Jack heard Michelle tending to the crying baby in the other room. A memory returned to Jack. One of his last one-minute phone calls with Tony. He had told him that Michelle was pregnant. Jack remembered being so happy for them. But that was nearly six years ago. So either there was a second child somewhere unaccounted for here, or perhaps he was naive to assume their time apart had been simple and peaceful for them. Which only made him more concerned. He had to understand. He had to know what had happened.

Neither of them said anything, but Jack watched the shift in Tony’s expression, the softness that he had always seen when he talked about Michelle, amplified tenfold. She came out about a minute later, passing the baby to Tony.

"I'm just getting his milk." She said with a slight smile, and Tony nodded.

Jack felt like an intruder, watching Tony take his son in his arms, the corners of his mouth creeping up as he babbled quietly to calm him down.

Michelle did as she had said, but when she came back into the room, she looked at Tony, and they both looked at Jack. There was a hint of shame in her expression.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll… I’ll let Tony explain everything.” She took the baby back, holding the bottle in the other hand. “In the meantime, I’ll try to let him get some more sleep, then I'll send Bill and Chloe an update to let them know what’s going on.”

“Alright,” Tony said. “Thanks.”

Jack waited for her to leave the room before speaking. He hoped he would have the chance to talk to her later and apologise, but right now, he didn’t trust himself to keep his voice low and not upset the baby again.

“You… you let me think you were dead,” Jack said in a quieter but still angry voice. “Both of you.”

Tony gave him a resigned look. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

“You blew yourselves up!" He hissed. "I can still hear Chloe’s voice in my head telling me that you’d both been killed and that she was scared for her life because she thought she was next.”

Again, Tony looked remorseful, but his voice was firm. “We did what we had to do. Palmer tried to help us, but he was assassinated. We had no choice but to fake our deaths and go into hiding. We were terrified, Jack.”

Jack still couldn’t fathom this. Why hadn't Tony and Michelle asked him for help? They'd all ended up in danger because of him. Why hadn't they come to him?

“We were going to get in contact with you once we knew we were safe, but...”

“But you decided to work with a terrorist instead?”

Tony huffed. “We didn’t have a choice.”

“Bullshit. You could have gone to Chloe, Bill, or someone else you both trusted.”

“I couldn’t risk it-”

Jack went to speak again, but Tony cut him off with a twitch in his cheek.

“I lost my son once, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again!” Tony yelled.

He sat there silently, hearing the baby start to cry again just as Michelle had seemed to calm him down.

“You have no idea what we’ve been through, Jack.” He gritted through his teeth, jabbing a finger at his chest. “No idea.”

With their close distance, Jack could see the exhaustion in his expression - the signs of someone who had been pushing himself for far too long. He was sure he would see that fatigue in Michelle, too. And, with a sense of humility, Jack realised he had to look past his anger to understand what had happened. He knew deep down that whatever Tony and Michelle had done, there had to have been a good reason for it. They had kept his secret and, by the looks of it, had paid a terrible price. If they did resent him, Jack wouldn’t blame them. But judging by the fact that neither of them had shot and killed him at the docks, maybe that wasn’t the case. Jack took a deep breath, meeting Tony’s gaze.

“Then tell me.” He said simply. “Help me understand, so I can be happy that you’re both alive and stop being angry that I didn't know.”

Tony sighed before sitting next to him on the couch.

“It started with a phone call from David Palmer.”

Five Years Earlier

Tony grumbled to himself, trying to lock the car with one hand while holding the groceries with the other. Usually, Michelle came with him, but her morning sickness had been particularly bad today. It made them both a little nervous. They tried as much as they could to minimise being apart. By now, they'd stayed at three or four motels and were both sick of it. She was due in a few months; it wasn’t supposed to have taken this long to find refuge. They thought they would have figured out who was after them by now, or at the very least, gotten far enough away from them, but to no luck. Both of them were exhausted. Being presumed dead and on the run certainly wasn’t how they thought they’d be spending Michelle’s pregnancy. By this point, they’d hoped to have settled somewhere permanently under new identities. Palmer had promised to help when he’d warned them, but his assassination had forced them to improvise and take matters into their own hands. He'd thought faking their deaths would be the hard part — even though they'd managed to fake Jack's all that time ago — but Tony was convinced now that no amount of precautions could have stopped people from hunting them down.

Walking across the parking lot, he suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness wash over him. It was darker than he’d realised. He also couldn’t hear anything from the other motel rooms. But more than that, something was wrong. He just didn’t know what. This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to him. His gut instinct had helped him countless times as an agent, but he’d relied on it these last few months. Both of them, really. Any time one of them had expressed doubts about their safety, the other hadn’t given it a second thought, and they’d acted on it. They’d often been proven right, finding themselves trying to lose a tail or later hearing about supposed ‘accidents’ near the area.

Tony went to open the door but furrowed his brow when he realised it was already ajar. She wouldn’t have left it open like this, even if she knew he wouldn’t be long. Especially not at night. His gut churned.

“Michelle?” He called out, praying for a response, but found none.

Walking inside, he switched the light on and set the groceries down, immediately noticing the room was in disarray. Furniture had been upended, cupboard doors were open, and there were droplets of blood on the carpet. An unfamiliar man had collapsed on the carpet, holding a gun, and bleeding from his head, presumably from the broken glass bottle beside him. Tony checked his pulse, relieved to find him dead, but kicked his gun away, just in case. After stepping over him, his eyes fell to the open bathroom door. Tony called out for Michelle again, his voice unsteady. When he made it to the doorframe, he gasped.

She sat trembling, leaning against the wall with one hand gripping a pistol tightly and the other clutching her abdomen. Her weapon was pointed at a second figure, face down in a pool of his own blood in front of her. The side of the bathroom counter was stained red. There was also blood pouring from a gash on the side of her head. She looked like she was fighting with every ounce of adrenaline she had to stay conscious.

“Oh my God.” He breathed before rushing over to her side.

Michelle didn’t respond or glance at him; she was too fixated on the dead man before her. He gently took the gun from her hand and looked her over. Tony tried to see where she’d been hurt, assuming she’d been shot, but couldn’t find blood staining her clothes, aside from what had dripped from her head onto her shoulders. For a second, he thought she might be okay, just in shock, but a chill coursed down his spine when he noticed the blood was coming from underneath where she was sitting. As he followed the trail with his eyes, he realised that a significant amount of the blood on the floor was from her, not the man she’d shot.

“I-It won’t stop.” She bleated. “It won’t stop.”

He had to get her help, and more importantly, get them both out of there. There was no way this attack had been random. They couldn’t be naive enough to assume that. He was quick to clean up what he could, endlessly reassuring Michelle as he frantically tried to remove all traces of their stay. He was never going to be able to get rid of all the blood, not now. It helped that they’d cleared their DNA records from the government system, so he wasn’t too worried about what would certainly be an interesting double-homicide investigation. It also helped that they were so paranoid about having to flee suddenly; most of their belongings were already packed in a suitcase.

Tony grabbed a towel and used it to try and staunch the bleeding from her head, apologising as she winced. Mumbling something incoherent, he carefully wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees, standing while trying to will his body to stop shaking. Michelle clung to him for dear life, and the small whimper of pain she made broke his heart.

“We’re going to get you checked out.” He said weakly, not even convincing himself that there was hope here. “It’s going to be okay.”

He moved as fast as he could back to the car, setting her down in the passenger seat over another towel. She seemed to come out of her shock a little, beginning to breathe in hiccups as he started the engine and drove off, frantically trying to get his bearings and find a place to get medical help. A big hospital would pose too many risks with too many people to eye out and cameras that could allow them to be tracked by the people after them. But most regular medical practices would be shutting at this hour. Her hand reached out to his forearm resting on the console, squeezing tightly, not wanting to let go. He shifted a little, finding her hand with his own, trying to affirm in every way that he was there. They finally arrived at a small clinic, which appeared to be closing for the day. The lights were still on inside. Only a few other cars were parked in the lot, so he hoped there was at least one doctor or nurse still there. Maybe they weren't too late. He took Michelle in his arms as before, feeling her bury her head against his chest and dig her fingers into the nape of his neck. Tony cursed under his breath, panicking more, as he noticed that he could feel much more blood from underneath her than before and that there was a very large bloodstain on the towel. With one hand, he clumsily fished his gun from his waistband to have it ready. There was what looked like a service door at the back of the building. Slowly, he inched towards it, hearing it creak a little as it opened. The hallway was empty and dark, save for a sliver of light coming from the bottom of a door. Michelle’s mewls were muffled against his body but it was otherwise silent.

Taking a breath to steady himself, Tony shouldered the door open and found an older woman in a white coat. At first, she looked bewildered but then became as white as the coat when he raised his gun at her. She slowly raised her hands.

“My wife…” his voice broke a little, “is hurt. And you’re going to help her.”

Without dropping the gun, he whipped his head around at the sound of another door opening. A young nurse was standing there, holding a duffel bag, presumably ready to go home. She dropped it with a thud, looking at Tony with fear.

“I don’t want any trouble.” Tony adjusted his stance upon feeling Michelle slip slightly. “But if either of you make any record of us being here or call the police, I will have no choice but to kill you, do you understand?”

The doctor looked down at Michelle, her expression softening a little. She nodded.

“Set her down on the bed; I’ll check her out.” She turned to the nurse. “Emily, I know it’s the end of your shift, but could you please stay?”

“Y-Yeah.” She agreed nervously but seemed to share the doctor's sympathy. 

Tony tried to explain what had happened, but the truth was, he couldn’t know for sure. He tried to ask Michelle, but, by this point, she was so distressed that all he could do was hold her and reassure her. The nurse stitched the wound on her head while the doctor prepared her for an ultrasound. As she rolled up Michelle’s shirt and unbuttoned her pants, Tony could see red, inflamed skin where she’d been hurt, and he'd never felt so much rage in his life. She gently rubbed the fluid over Michelle’s stomach and moved the pulser around. They’d had a few by now, so they knew what they were expecting to see and hear. But it seemed both of them had already subconsciously deduced what had happened because neither of them reacted when the doctor informed them, very apologetically, that she couldn’t find a heartbeat. Michelle's grip on his hand weakened a little, and he pressed his mouth to her temple, the one that wasn't injured, with a sniffle. 

After tidying up the equipment and looking between them, the doctor cleared her throat, making Tony look up.

“We’ll give you both some privacy, but, when you’re ready, I can give you some advice on how to help with the recovery.”

The nurse bent down and unzipped her duffel bag, pulling out what looked like a sweatshirt and pants and placing them on a nearby bench.

“I-I can also give you these if you want." She said, facing Michelle, who didn't seem to react. "They’re just some spare clothes if you don’t want to keep wearing the ones you have on. We look about the same size, so hopefully they’re okay.”

“Thank you,” Tony said appreciatively on behalf of both of them.

The door shut quietly as they both left, and Tony wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could without exacerbating any injuries. She wasn’t crying audibly anymore, but he could still see tears slide down his cheek and feel them on his own. They sat there silently, neither of them able to bring themselves to say anything without breaking down again. They’d lost their son. They'd tried so hard to keep themselves safe and they'd failed. Tony wished to God that he hadn't left her alone. She'd had to take two hostiles by herself. While he was so grateful that she, herself, wasn't seriously hurt, it was so wrong that he hadn't been there. He wouldn't blame Michelle if she held that against him for the rest of their lives.

Eventually, Tony somehow found it in himself to let go, rationally becoming aware that the longer they stayed in one place, the riskier it became for them. He whispered to her that he would be right back, but she said nothing, staring blankly at the wall. When he exited the room, the doctor gave him some instructions. She told him to keep an eye on Michelle in case she had a concussion and also packed a small bag with extra stitches and an antiseptic for her head wound, as well as medication to stop the bleeding from the miscarriage if it persisted. The doctor suggested counselling for both of them but seemed to know that they weren't in a very stable position to do so.

“Look, I… I can see that the two of you are obviously in some kind of danger. If you ever need to come back, I’ll keep your records anonymous. I promise.”

He wished he could take her up on her offer but also knew they needed to get out of there as soon as possible, and he didn't want her or the nurse to risk becoming collateral damage either. So, he just thanked her and Emily for their offer before apologising for the nature of his entrance.

Returning to the doctor’s room, he found Michelle in the exact spot he’d left her in, half-dressed, sitting on the bed with a vacant look in her eyes. The air was a little chilly, and he could see goosebumps on her bare skin. It seemed she hadn’t touched the clothes the nurse had left for her.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to get cold.” He murmured worriedly before grabbing the clothes and helping her get changed.

Tony carried Michelle to the car and started to drive again, aiming to find another motel. His eyes constantly flitted over to her, but she was frighteningly resigned as she stared out the side window. It was very late, so there weren’t a lot of cars on the road, but Tony knew he couldn’t let his guard down for a second. Still, what he had hoped would be a simple task was taking longer than he thought, and he underestimated how exhausted he was now that his adrenaline had died down. He jumped a little when he hit a pothole, immediately placing a hand on Michelle’s shoulder, but she seemed not to react. She was still awake too, but Tony wasn’t about to let her drive. Feeling more vulnerable and afraid than ever before, he pulled into a small side street and parked the car.

He sighed. “I'm sorry, I can’t keep my eyes open. We’re going to have to sleep here for a couple of hours, okay?”

Michelle didn’t respond, but before he could speak again, her face screwed up, and she burst into tears. In one quick motion, he pushed his seat back a little and helped her over the console. If Tony ever had to describe the sound of a heart breaking in half, he was sure it was the pained cry Michelle let out as he held her. It was a tight fit, and he felt a pang in his chest when he could feel her stomach press between them — something that used to bring him so much joy but now just felt like a cruel reminder of what they’d lost. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered how sorry he was. 

“I want to go home.” She croaked.

“I know…” He took a deep breath, wishing he could give her what she wanted and that they didn’t have to be in this situation in the first place, but feeling utterly useless and hopeless as he realised that he couldn't even attempt to be hopeful now. “I-I know.”

Tony wasn’t sure how many hours had passed — not many, he knew — but he woke suddenly to the feeling of Michelle's fists beating on his chest. She was screaming and thrashing around.

“Hey… hey…” He said, shaking her a little until she woke up. “Michelle, it’s okay.”

She took in a shuddering breath, looking into his eyes. “He took our baby.” She muttered woefully. “He took our baby.” She repeated.

“I know.” He whispered, hating that he was unable to give her any comfort and that she'd had to suffer on her own before he got there. He shouldn't have left her. He didn't think he would ever forget how she looked right now.

Michelle burst into tears again, and he held her to his chest, quietly hushing her until she cried herself to sleep again. He eventually dozed off too, and before they knew it, the early hints of sunrise were starting to appear in the sky. Looking down at Michelle in his arms, he wondered whether she’d slept at all. Her eyes were closed, but she was still crying softly, her nails digging into his shoulders. He could see scratches all over his arms from when she’d grabbed onto him. He felt well enough to drive now, and hopefully, they wouldn’t have to go too far, so both of them could get some proper sleep too. Gently, he placed his thumb under her chin and tilted her head up. With the other, he stroked her temple. Michelle blinked a few times before looking up at him.

“I’m going to start the car so we can get to another motel, okay?”

She nodded, letting him assist her in moving back to the passenger seat.

To their relief, they found another motel within half an hour. He parked the car, paid for a room under a new set of aliases, and started to carry their things in, surveying the place while he was at it. Once he was done, he picked up Michelle, just as he had before, and carried her over. She looked very pale and very tired; he didn't think she could make it up the stairs. He was grateful that the nurse had given her some comfortable clothes because it meant he could lay her down in bed right away. To his confusion, she sat up and tried to move towards their luggage. Before he could protest and ask her what she needed, she bent down by one of their suitcases. As he came over to her, he could see the two things she’d grabbed: a utility knife and a small teddy bear, the one thing for the baby they’d brought with them. Michelle walked back over to the bed, placing the knife under her pillow and hugging the bear to her chest as she laid down and pulled the covers over her.

Tony sat on the edge of the bed, tucking a hair behind her ear. “Just try to get some sleep, Michelle.” He said softly.

Her eyes closed, and within a few minutes, Tony could hear her breathing deepen and slow down. He spent the rest of the day trying to settle in, still keeping his eye out on their surroundings outside. It was late in the afternoon by the time the pit in his stomach disappeared and allowed him to be hungry again. He remembered the doctor telling him that it was important for Michelle to keep her strength up with all the blood she’d lost. Tony walked back to the bed, bending down beside it. She was half awake, leaning into his touch when he gently caressed her cheek.

“You going to eat anything for me today?”

She shut her eyes again and shook her head, curling herself into a ball. He asked her again, but she whined in protest. Tony decided to make sandwiches for both of them, leaving hers in the small fridge in case she changed her mind later. As the sun set, he became aware of how desperately he needed sleep, so after a quick shower, he joined her under the covers. Michelle quickly shuffled over so he could envelop her in his arms again. He kissed the top of her head. 

This went on for another few days. He’d lie in bed holding her most of the time, as though if he let go, she’d disappear too. But when he did get out of bed on occasion, he’d try to stay wary of their surroundings, not wanting to have to move again. While part of him yearned so desperately to see Michelle smile, hear her laugh again, and go back to a time when they were both happy, another part of him was just as tempted to surrender to the darkness, hold her, and let the world swallow them whole. He would open the curtains, somehow thinking, perhaps with delusion and remnant denial, that the light might help, but it didn't. He’d make her food to eat, but she’d refuse his offer nearly every time, and even if she didn't, she would eat very little, but she at least allowed him to press the lip of a glass of water to her lips. She didn't move from the bed; he had to wonder if she would even be able to stand without passing out. She had barely even spoken to him; she'd just nodded or shook her head when he'd tried to talk to her. She was wasting away, and he became cognisant of how terrified he was of losing her too. So, at some point, Tony knew he had to put an end to this.

He kneeled at the bed's edge, just as he had every other time.

“Sweetheart… talk to me,” Tony begged weakly. “I would never make you do something you wouldn’t want to, but you’re all I have left. I can’t lose you, please. I know everything seems hopeless, right now, but we can’t give up. They can’t take everything from us.”

“They already have. We’re sitting in a motel room in the middle of nowhere, scared for our lives.” She finally said hoarsely. “We have no home. We have nobody to reach out to because, for all we know, they’re in just as much danger as we are. The one thing that kept us going and gave us purpose is gone. We have nothing left.”

“We have each other.” He said, the hurt plain in his voice.

She let out a sob, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know you hate me.”

Tony gave her a bewildered, heartbroken look. “Michelle, why would you think that?”

“Because I killed our son.” Her voice cracked. “Because if I had gotten to the gun in time, he wouldn’t have kicked me.”

He shook his head in disbelief, so horrified to think of her blaming herself, wishing he’d tried sooner instead of giving her the space he thought she’d needed.

“It’s not your fault, Michelle. This could never be your fault.”

She started crying, and he moved his face close to hers. He stroked her hair gently, feeling her hand touch the nape of his neck. He told her again and again that he loved her, that he was sorry, that it wasn’t her fault, and that he would never, could never, resent her for it.

"If anything, this is my fault for not being there when they hurt you-"

"No, that's... that's not your fault. We made a judgement call and didn't think we were in any more danger than usual." She was right, but it wouldn't change how he felt, at least, not now. The fact that she was even talking to him was still a huge step and what mattered was helping her get through this.

“A-All I want you to do for me is try a little. I know I can't do anything to make it hurt less, but it would mean the world to me if you got out of bed today and ate something for me, please.”

It took her a moment, but she eventually agreed, much to his relief.

As expected, she was unsteady on her feet, so he held her hand as they walked the short distance to the little table next to the kitchenette. He took out some food from the previous night and poured her a glass of water. She ate very slowly and didn’t quite finish it, but Tony didn’t care; it was better than nothing. Michelle said, very quietly, that she wanted to shower, and he was glad to help her. She had to lean against him a little as he washed her body and her hair, carefully minding the bruises that hadn’t faded yet. He dried her hair with a towel, and she did her best to comb it despite the tremor in her hands. They then flicked through whatever was on TV, eventually settling on reruns of a sitcom they both liked, with her sitting between his legs, her head resting against his chest. 

Tony was so happy that day. He was relieved that she had come back to him after feeling so disconnected from her. But the next morning, he was hit with the reality of how complex this situation was and how there would still be plenty of steps backwards for every step forward.

When Tony woke again, he noticed Michelle had moved from where she’d been nestled against him and was now on top of him. To both his surprise and confusion, she was kissing his neck and taking off her sweatshirt.

“Michelle…” He muttered.

Shifting lower, she started to work at taking his top off, and he realised what she was doing. Tony sat up and stopped her by cupping her cheeks with his hands. She had a glazed, exhausted look in her eyes, as though she wasn’t even quite aware of what she was trying to do.

“Baby, you don’t want this,” Tony said gently.

Her expression changed into something of shame and tears welled in her eyes once again. She was shivering a little, and he grabbed a robe he’d left on the bed from his shower and wrapped it around her shoulders. 

“I-I thought we could try to forget. I’m sorry, I’m-” Michelle said woefully. “I just wanted to feel something.” 

“No, no, don’t. You didn’t know what you were doing.” He sat up, holding her to him as she wept. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. None of this is okay, Tony.”

He sighed, squeezing her tighter.

“I’ve been selfish.”

“No, you haven’t, Michelle. You’re hurting-”

“But so are you!” She sniffled. “Not once have I asked you how you’re doing, and I’m so sorry. He was your son too.”

All this time, he’d been so focused on her, so worried, and trying so hard to give their situation hope that he hadn’t realised what little processing he’d done on his own. When he looked up, he saw her concern; he saw how upset she was for both of them, and Tony realised that was what he needed to do. To stop pushing his pain down for her sake and let them be in pain together, let them grieve together, but, most importantly, let them heal together.

Their eyes met, and only then did he let himself cry the way he wanted to that night. She took him into her arms, making small circles with her hand over his back. He buried his head in the crook of her neck. They sat there for a while, allowing themselves to share this moment of vulnerability, agreeing not to hide things from each other and that there was no point in trying to carry the weight of their loss on their own. Bringing everything into the open made them feel a little bit better, like maybe their situation wasn’t quite so hopeless after all. They'd been through so much, but they were alive and they had each other. That was all that mattered.

“We’re going to get through this.” He said, trying his damnedest to sound convicted but also to believe his own words. “Together, okay? I know it’s hard. I know it hurts, and I know it hurts a thousand times more for you than it does for me, but we have to get through this. Otherwise… I don’t know what’s left for us.”

“We will,” Michelle affirmed, her voice sounding more optimistic than it had in a long time. “We... we don’t have a choice.” She took a breath, looking him in the eyes. “We’re going to get through this. We have to.”

Tony looked at Michelle, then back at the road. Glancing down at the car radio, he noticed the date and realised that today marked two years. It had been two years since they were forced to disappear and start on a journey that had tested every limit they had. Things weren’t any better; they still had no sense of permanence and still lived like everyone they met was out to get them. They had become numb to their situation. The persistent migration and paranoia no longer fazed them. Focusing on staying alive, even if they weren’t quite sure why anymore, had been the only thing they could do to lessen the pain of their loss. But still, neither of them could say they were the same or even that they would ever be the same again. They didn't live; they simply existed. Michelle had recovered physically from the attack, albeit slowly; they were able to get through the day without much trouble. But Tony could only describe the sensation within them as hollow. Neither of them spoke as much as they used to. It was a rarity for either of them to smile or laugh, but they got by.

They had travelled hundreds of miles for a place they could call home, but driving around in constant fear of being followed could hardly be considered a road trip. They were somewhere on the outskirts of Virginia now. They’d wondered whether crossing the border to Canada would be wise — not that it would stop anybody from tracking them, but maybe border control could somehow help them. However, it was equally likely that border control was in on it. Maybe they were expecting them, waiting for them to fall into their trap. They couldn't know. Sometimes they dreamed of getting in a plane and flying off somewhere entirely new, giving themselves the fresh start they deserved — the one they’d wanted after leaving CTU. But, realistically, they both knew it was a matter of time before they were caught. They didn’t even know what these people wanted with them, whether they were just trying to fulfil a long-overdue hit order or intended to get their information. The thought of the latter scared both of them, and they’d agreed that if it ever got to that point, they would ensure those people never got a word out of them. It was a morbid thought, but at this rate, dying together sounded far more pleasant than the life they were living now.

Michelle furrowed her brow as she stared at the side-view mirror. 

“What?” He asked, already knowing and dreading what she was about to say.

She craned her head to take a look out the passenger window. “We have a tail.”

He cursed under his breath, his grip tightening.

“The blue Buick?”

“Yeah.” Michelle nodded. 

Their calmness was almost eerie; they were far too prepared and mechanical about this. Tony bit his lip, looking at the GPS for a detour they could take. Their usual tactic for losing tails was either driving into busy traffic or taking the nearest exit off the highway, but they were on an isolated country road. Michelle was already grabbing the pistol from their glovebox, ready to fire behind them if need be. 

As they prepared for the worst, the car inched closer behind them. They braced themselves for the first ram. His stomach lurched as the weight of the sedan shoved them forward. Tony tried to regain control of the steering wheel, but they swerved a little when they were hit again. He looked around them, wondering if they could drive off the gravel road and take refuge in some bushes, but the terrain on either side was quite steep; it would be suicide. Both of them hunched forward as the glass of the back windscreen shattered. Michelle quickly fired two shots through the gap, but judging by the sound, they only nicked the hood of the car. She took cover as they returned fire, wincing a little as a bullet made its way perfectly between them into the front windscreen. Michelle tried to shoot again, but her eyes widened when she pulled the trigger and was met with the sound of a click, not feeling the recoil of a bullet firing. 

“I’m out.” She said worriedly.

“There should be more clips in the glovebox.”

Michelle opened the compartment, frantically pilfering around for what he was referring to, but to no avail. She looked up at him and shook her head. 

His eyes widened. He tried to think about where they might have any other ammunition or guns but was interrupted by the sound of a bullet puncturing their back tyre. He gripped the wheel tightly to remain in control. The screeching of rubber against the road pierced his ears. Tony felt her hand touch his forearm, and when he saw the defeated look in her eyes, he nodded slightly. Slamming on the brakes, the car rotated ninety degrees as they skidded to a stop some distance away from their tail. Whatever happened now, it didn’t matter. It was over. He took his hand in hers and met her gaze. If this was how it would end, if this was the last memory he would ever have, looking into his wife’s eyes wasn’t such a bad way to go.

“I love you.” She whispered.

Tears welled in his eyes. He squeezed her hand.

“I love you too.”

Tony's heart thundered loud enough to drown out the faint sound of footsteps approaching the car. If he wasn't mistaken, someone else had pulled to a stop. Reinforcements, he was betting. He was sure the people that had finally caught them didn't want to take any chances. He just prayed that they were here to kill them, and nothing more. 

But just as a shadow entered the corner of his vision, it suddenly disappeared as more gunfire sounded, shocking them out of their content state. It seemed to last forever; the silence was almost deafening once it was over. He could hear Michelle panting, her expression afraid and confused, unsure whether to look at him or outside. Tony debated getting out of the car, as it seemed that the people who'd cornered them were no longer an issue. But he stilled at the sound of more chatter and another set of footsteps, different from before. He heard a man yell out. British. The owner of the voice then approached the driver’s side window with a smile.

“Come with me.” He said calmly.

Neither of them moved, too paralysed by fear.

“My people and I have no intention of hurting you. You can trust me.”

Tony almost wanted to laugh. They hadn’t trusted anyone besides each other in two years. Tony had to wonder whether they’d died in a hailstorm of bullets and this man was some kind of angel guiding them to the afterlife. Tony looked at Michelle. She certainly still looked real and just as terrified as him. Maybe this man had come to their rescue. But still, who was he? Why did he save them? How long had he followed them? How did he know what was going to happen? Michelle shrugged a little, indicating that she couldn’t think of any other ideas besides going with him.

Tony turned his head back to where he was. “Can you at least tell us your name?”

The man smiled. “It’s David.”

They were sitting in the back of a small van now, surrounded by a handful of armed people. Tony asked David where they were headed numerous times but received no answer.

“I’ll explain when we get back to the compound.” David finally said. "What's most important is that you're safe."

Tony chewed the inside of his cheek, staring at him, still not liking the situation. He felt Michelle lean her head against his shoulder, too exhausted to try asking any more questions. So, he conceded, spending the rest of the drive brushing his thumb over the back of her hand.

Eventually, they arrived at the compound in question, and judging by their slightly less rural surroundings and faint memories of work trips from years ago, Tony guessed they were around Washington now. David escorted them both inside to what looked like the main area of the building. People stood at all entrances, making it very clear that they wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. 

David cleared his throat. “Right, you two have been through quite a lot, so I think it’s best if you take some time for yourselves before I explain anything.”

A woman in a white coat, whom Tony recognised as the doctor who’d helped them when Michelle had miscarried, walked in from an adjacent room. She smiled a little at them. “Michelle, if you come with me, I can check you for any injuries.”

Michelle’s breathing shortened up, and her fingers moved to wrap around his wrist. Looking down at her, she shook her head at him. Tony didn’t blame her. He didn't exactly want them to separate, either.

Tony looked up at the doctor, speaking firmly. “I’d like to stay with my wife.”

“Of course,” David said. “You might have gotten some whiplash from the accident; it's best if you both get examined.”

They followed the doctor into a small ward. She asked questions and started checking Michelle just like she had back then before giving her an IV drip. Michelle's eyes kept flitting between him and the doctor.

“I-I don’t understand.” Tony said. "What's going on?"

She sighed. “About two days after you came to me, David approached me.” The doctor seemed a little nervous. Tony noted himself to be careful with what he said in this place, even behind closed doors. “I had no idea who he was, but he made it very clear that if I didn’t comply with his demands, he would silence me.”

Tony remembered the nurse who had been with the doctor last time. He had to wonder whether she had been part of David’s persuasion. The idea made him very concerned. David might be giving them a warm welcome, but he certainly seemed to be no stranger to violence.

“So, I’ve been working for him ever since. Any time his people have been injured, I’ve been the one to stitch them up. I must admit that always tending to stab wounds and GSWs has gotten a little boring, but the pay is certainly something else, and at the end of the day, a patient’s a patient.”

He lowered his voice. “What exactly does David do?”

The doctor shrugged. “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure. I’m guessing it’s not the most… legal work. He mainly talks about taking jobs and locating shipments. I see plenty of weapons and drugs come and go here, so I believe he’s some kind of mercenary.”

Once she finished with Michelle, she gave him a quick check-up too. She didn’t seem to find any issues, and by the time his examination was over, he was glad to see a bit more colour in Michelle’s face than usual.

“Other than some obvious fatigue, elevated stress levels, and some superficial bumps and bruises, both of you seem fine. David takes care of his people, so I’m sure within a few days, you’ll feel better soon enough.”

“Where exactly are we staying?” Michelle asked.

She turned to face her. “David’s set up a room for you upstairs. You can rest there for a while. I’m sure it’s nicer than the places you’ve been staying in the meantime.”

Tony met Michelle's gaze, and she nodded, seeming far too tempted by the thought of a comfortable bed and a place they could almost call their own. While they weren't exactly letting their guards down or ready to settle in here, this was certainly better than nothing. He was sure Michelle didn’t like the idea of staying in a mercenary’s compound any more than he did, but, for now, it was all they had. 

They made their way upstairs to the room in question, finding it spacious, well-furnished, and clean — three qualities that none of their previous accommodations had. The bathroom, too, was rather luxurious and seemed fully stocked with everything they might need. Michelle went to say something but Tony was quick to pull her in for a hug, practically squishing her against his chest.

“They’ve probably bugged the room.” He whispered in her ear. “If we need to talk, we’re going to have to stick to talking in the shower.”

She nodded against him. “I don’t know how much I like this.”

“I don’t either, but, right now, I don’t think we have a choice.”

Michelle sighed. “You’re probably right.”

After eating their first meal that wasn’t takeout or sandwiches in months, David gave them the night off. Even though it was only early evening, the two of them needed rest. They fell asleep practically instantly, to their surprise. David's insistence that they were heavily guarded here seemed to have sunk in subconsciously. Neither of them could deny that being taken care of and feeling somewhat safe for the first time in God knows how long outweighed a great deal of their stress.

—

Michelle woke in the middle of the night, wanting some water. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this refreshed. At this hour, she also figured it wouldn’t hurt to try to get her bearings. Quietly stepping downstairs, she managed to find a small kitchen. It took her a couple of tries, but eventually, she found a cupboard with clean glasses and filled one with the tap.

“Michelle?”

She jumped a little, gripping the glass of water tightly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just thought I’d take the chance to talk to you alone.” David smiled, the light casting a sinister shadow over him.

Michelle furrowed her brow at him. 

“I’ve read both your files.” David said. “One thing that stuck out to me was your sense of duty. It’s admirable. As someone who once worked for the government, I respect it.” His voice then took on a more serious tone. “But the thing I value above all else is loyalty. I treat those loyal to me very well, but those who betray me often don’t live to see the light of day.”

She sipped the water slowly, feeling his eyes bore into her.

“My point is, Michelle, I know perfectly well that you may not appreciate what I do here.” He moved closer to her. “However, the fact is, you and your husband have the potential to be very useful to me. I have no intention of letting go of either of you after trying to chase you down for almost two years-"

"You were following us?" She dared to ask.

"We thought you might try to contact CTU, or that the people after you might let up, but they didn't." He explained. "We tried to protect you from afar where we could but you did move around an awful lot."

That wasn't what she expected to hear. She wasn't sure whether to feel gratitude towards him, at least, for that.

"But the people who tailed you today were just one small cog in a big machine. After everything you've been through, I think it would be suicidal to go back out there alone." He advised, and she unfortunately agreed. "If you both stay and work for me, you will have a safe and stable home here. I can give you everything you need or want. But do not underestimate how far I will go to gain your loyalty.” The corners of his mouth turned up a little. “Understand?”

Michelle gulped. “Yes.”

Present Day

“I’m… I’m so sorry.”

Tony sniffled. “You don’t know what it’s like. Yes, you’ve been on the run, but it’s always been on your own. You haven’t had somebody else to take care of and look out for. I had to beg her to eat and get out of bed. She wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t move. I’d sit by her side every day but she'd feel like she was a thousand miles away. When I had to wake her in the middle of the night because I thought we were being followed, whatever progress she’d made... ” He shook his head. “Would disappear.” The haunted look on Tony's face made him want to take back every accusation he’d made. “She lost the light behind her eyes, Jack. Having our son might have brought some of it back, but she hasn't been the same since. And neither have I.”

He sighed. “If I had any idea that helping me would have done this-” 

Tony was quick to cut him off. “You couldn’t have known." He then hardened his voice. “But the point is, we owe David our lives. We owe him for giving us a place to have the family we’ve wanted for years, so don’t sit there and criticise us for not leaving earlier.”

Jack could understand that. He knew Tony and Michelle wouldn't have taken the man's refuge lightly. They must have truly been desperate to have had no choice but to let Emerson take them in.

“Michelle said something about talking to Bill and Chloe." He said after a beat. "I’m guessing they know you’re alive.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. When David said he was taking a job to infiltrate the CIP device, Michelle and I knew that was too much and that we had to do something about it. So she contacted Chloe and started feeding her the intel.” He glanced at his watch. “But I’ll let her go into the details because even though David trusts us, it's a big day and neither of us is there.”

They got up, and he followed Tony back to what Jack gathered was the baby’s nursery, where they found Michelle sitting and playing with their son. Jack felt a clutch in his chest at the smile on her face. It made him wonder how many other things she could be happy about these days. She looked up at them, and Jack returned the smile.

“I’m going to get ready to head off. I’ll tell him that you’re staying with Adrian.”

She nodded. “Be careful, okay?”

“I will.” Tony bent down, kissing her cheek and the top of the baby’s head.

Jack sat on the floor next to Michelle, and the baby walked towards him, looking curiously. The corners of his mouth turned up a little. He was reminded so dearly of when Kim was this age. It made him painfully aware of how much time had passed since then. Michelle watched, her expression bittersweet. Neither of them said anything to each other. They didn't know where to begin. But, eventually, Michelle moved to grab a laptop from a nearby table, presumably so she could communicate with Chloe or Bill.

“I know you’re probably disappointed in us.” She said after a while, not meeting his gaze. “I am too. I’m disgusted by what we’ve done since David took us in, but if there was an alternative, neither of us had the energy to find it. I fought Tony on it at first. I refused to let myself do anything for David but I couldn’t hold on anymore.” Adrian giggled and, just for a moment, Michelle's expression flickered to one of pure joy but the graveness soon returned. “We wanted to find a way out. We nearly did. More than once. But each time we tried... we just couldn’t go through with it. We realised that David was the only thing left to keep us safe. So, when he told me that he would be supportive if Tony and I wanted to start a family, that he’d give us a safehouse of our own, that he'd let us have the life we want and guarantee our protection... I didn’t want to find a way out anymore.”

He brushed his hand over hers, seeing how her eyes had become wet with tears. “Michelle, it’s okay. I don’t blame you.”

“I thought I’d be able to get over it a little. I told myself that so long as we made sure Adrian grew up to be a good person, it would undo all the bad we’ve done.”

“Until he wanted the CIP device.”

She wiped under her eyes, nodding. “That crossed a line for both of us, thankfully. But it took a bit of convincing for Tony. I-I think he was just so grateful for David and what he gave us, and I don’t blame him. After all that we went through... to have a place to be vulnerable and call home was everything we needed. He came to us at our weak point when he knew it would be hard for us to want an out. If I'd been stronger I wouldn't have let David convince us, consequences be damned. But we're here now.”

“I’m so sorry for what you’ve had to suffer through. I jumped the gun back there, and it was wrong of me to ever believe that you would intentionally work for someone like him. And while Tony said neither of you blame me, I can’t deny the part I’ve had in all this.”

Michelle shrugged. “So many things have happened to us. Terrible, terrible things. And we’ve been forced to do things just as terrible in return.”

A solemn silence fell between them, but the baby’s presence seemed to keep them in good spirits. Jack figured a change of topic wouldn’t hurt.

“How old is he?” Jack asked, holding him in his lap so Michelle could keep working, once he was sure he felt comfortable around him.

“Adrian will be a year old next month.” She said, smiling a little. “I wish you could have met him sooner.”

“Me too.” He agreed, sadly.

Tony came back into the room with an urgent look about him. Michelle’s eyes widened.

“Hey, I thought you left.”

“I think I know how we can keep David distracted long enough for me to plant the bug for Bill and Chloe to break into his system. And it’ll explain where I’ve been this morning.”

“How?”

He turned to Jack. “You’re coming with me.”

“What?”

“I’ll say that the FBI captured me, but you helped get me out. They won’t know we took you before the FBI could get to us. And we can convince David to let you work with us. The Senate hearing has been all over the news. He has to believe your story.”

Jack sighed. He was all for helping, but he didn’t like not having all the information.

"Hang on, you're not bringing the FBI into this?"

"Someone in the FBI is working for Dubaku, we can't trust them." Michelle explained. "That's why we're working with Bill and Chloe."

"What about when it's all over?" Jack went on. "You need to turn yourselves in and tell the FBI everything you have. That's the idea, right?"

Neither Tony nor Michelle could meet his gaze. Tony was the one to answer. "We... we don't know." He admitted. "When we contacted Bill and Chloe, they agreed to let us run away since there's no way in hell the FBI will let us get away with everything. We have to keep Adrian safe."

"But you can't be on the run again!" Jack said in protest. "You don't deserve that. The FBI will understand, especially if Bill and Chloe vouch for you."

"They can vouch for the CIP device stuff but not for anything we did voluntarily before that, Jack." Michelle explained. "It's fine, we've planned for this day. We have enough money to go into hiding for good, this time."

"No. I'm not helping you unless you let me bring the FBI in. If you give them everything you have from Emerson, maybe they'll make a deal. Please... as your friend, I'm telling you you don't need to run anymore."

Both of them looked downright terrified by the thought. At the same time, there was an expression Jack could only describe as hope. Jack knew if there was one thing he could do to try to make up for all Tony and Michelle had been through, it was this.

Michelle looked up at Tony, who sighed and looked back at Jack. "Alright. If... if you help us out and go along with the plan, you can bring us into the FBI." Tony conceded but Jack wasn't about to accept that at face value. "But if they don't offer us a deal, if they want to throw us in jail and put Adrian in state care, then you're breaking us out and helping us hide again."

Jack could understand that. They just wanted to be safe. And Jack could only pray that today would end well for them.

"I give you my word."

Renee groaned a little in frustration. Larry had said that bringing in Jack Bauer would have the potential to blow what was already a sensitive, dire situation way out of proportion, and she was beginning to think he was right. She thought he’d be able to help track Tony Almeida down, but he’d run so far ahead of her, and by the time she’d caught up, both of them had seemingly disappeared. Janis had found the CCTV footage seamlessly erased, which made Renee wonder how many people were working with Almeida. It also made her wonder whether Jack was one of them. After all, he might have looked betrayed when she’d shown him the picture, but for all she knew, it could have been a play. 

Still, at this point, all of their other leads on Dubaku had disappeared, so finding Almeida and Bauer wasn’t just important for her own satisfaction; it was necessary to make sure all hell didn’t break loose. 

“I’ve got something!” Janis called from across the bullpen. Renee and Larry rushed over to see traffic camera footage around an apartment complex, and, judging by the address, it was quite far from the docks. She pointed at the screen. “They covered their tracks on the way to what I’m guessing is a safe house, but not on the way back. I had facial recognition running for Almeida and Bauer, and it’s got them leaving wherever this is about half an hour ago.”

Larry nodded. “Okay, keep track of them. I’ll direct a team to follow them to where they’re headed. Renee, I want you to go check out this safe house.”

“Got it.”

As Renee drove to the safe house, she realised how determined she was to get to the truth. She was fascinated by Almeida, interested in the inner machinations of a man who once swore to serve the government with everything he had, but now worked alongside someone who sought to destroy that. Reading his file had helped her understand some parts, but there were still many questions. It appeared he and his wife had faked their deaths in an explosion, something to do with their role in also faking Jack Bauer's death, but it must have gone wrong, and now Tony was seeking revenge for the loss of his wife.

When they arrived, Renee was surprised to see how quiet the neighbourhood was. It wasn’t the kind of place she expected for a criminal safehouse. Most of the time, they were remote or in rougher parts of town to blend in. She turned to the other field agents and instructed them on formation before walking up the stairs to the door. Pressing her ear to it, she couldn't hear anything inside. There were a few cars on the street. Renee wondered whether other members of David Emerson’s crew were hanging around.

“FBI! Open up!” Renee yelled, banging her fist on the door. 

After hearing no response, she directed the team to barge the door down, finding a woman sitting in front of a laptop. She looked terrified, and her hands were already up in surrender. For a second, Renee thought they might have been mistaken about the address. After all, just like how she thought the neighbourhood was too nice, the interior of the apartment was also far too warm and inviting compared with the typical criminal hide-outs they investigated. But as she looked at the woman more closely, she realised she was definitely in the right place. Renee's scrutiny seemed to make the woman even more concerned.

“You’re… You’re Almeida’s wife. Everybody thought you were dead.”

The woman nodded but still glanced at the armed agents standing near Renee and bit her lip as agents made their way through the apartment. “We both faked our deaths to get away from the people after us because of Jack Bauer.”

Renee shook her head in disbelief. “We knew about him, but not about you-”

A baby started to cry, and Renee watched the woman react immediately, her fingers trembling.

“My husband and I are not bad people. We’ve only done what was necessary to survive. And I can explain it to you. All of it. Including where Dubaku is.” Her eyes kept flitting over to the room, but Renee could see she was making a conscious effort to look at her and implore that she wasn’t about to move. She hardened her voice. “But if you touch my son or separate us, I will kill you.”

Renee didn’t doubt for a second that the woman was entirely serious, that yes, she would cooperate and explain everything, but not if her son was threatened in any way. And while the only things she knew about this woman were the records of service in her file, while she didn’t know for sure what kind of ulterior motives she might have here, she was prepared to risk that if it meant protecting the CIP device.

“Stand down.” Renee ordered. 

A few of the other agents looked at her, confused.

“I said stand down.” She repeated before walking closer to Dessler and softening her voice. “We’re going to walk to where your son is. You’re going to pick him up, slowly, and then you’re coming down to the FBI for questioning.”

She looked at her appreciatively. “Thank you.”

Renee kept her gun out but pointed to the floor and followed her into the nursery, telling the other agents to stay where they were. Dessler kept her arms up the whole time, announcing any change in movement she was making. It was clear she’d been on the other side of this situation before and knew exactly what to say to make her intentions clear. However, Renee could also see she was afraid, not wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes as she leant to pick up the baby in the crib.

“Mommy’s here. Mommy’s here. It’s okay.” She hushed, kissing his head.

Dessler looked over at Renee. “There’s a carrier bag of things for him that I’ll need to take." She motioned her head in the bag's direction. "Y-You can look through it. I understand you don’t trust me.”

Renee called out to one of the agents to check the bag, but, true to her gut feeling, there was nothing suspicious inside. Dessler was telling the truth. They got into the tactical van, and Dessler sat, holding the baby to her chest and murmuring to him quietly. Renee watched her silently. Dessler was scared but trying so hard not to show it in front of her son. Despite her efforts, the baby wouldn’t stop crying. Renee was sure he was just as distressed as his mother.

“You want your daddy, don’t you? I do too.” Dessler whispered.

She remembered that Larry was on his way to where Almeida was and realised that if she didn’t tell him what she’d found, things could go very wrong, very fast. Renee called him, relieved that he picked up almost immediately.

“Larry, whatever you do, tell your people not to hurt Almeida. Or Bauer.”

Dessler’s head shot up.

“What?”

Renee let out a breath. “You’re not going to believe this.”

Larry walked with Almeida and Bauer into the bullpen, directing them to where Renee was. He didn’t like that the two of them weren’t cuffed. He was putting a lot of trust in both of them right now. Emerson had already been taken to the medical ward. With his history, he was looking at a stack of charges. Charges that, in most cases, would result in lifetime imprisonment or the death penalty. Almeida had seemed convinced that Emerson would give up information in exchange for a reduced prison sentence when he’d mentioned this. Larry could tell Almeida seemed almost protective of him. It had been an odd reaction from Almeida considering that when Larry had walked in on the three of them in the hanger, Emerson had been holding Bauer hostage, and Almeida had pointed a gun at both of them. Almeida had been very hesitant to stop it, but as Emerson had gone to pull the trigger, Almeida had shot him in the shoulder. Luckily, he hadn’t hit any arteries, so it looked like Emerson would be fine, albeit in a bit of pain for a while. It was confusing, not knowing what to believe, not knowing for sure which side each person was on, or whether this was all secretly one big play, but he sure as hell hoped that Renee was right. 

“Where is she?” Almeida asked, concern plain in his eyes. “Where’s my wife?”

Larry nodded as Renee made eye contact with him. He might have a lot of questions, but he also knew he wouldn't get any answers if Almeida was on edge.

“She’s with your son. I’ll take you to her.” 

Together, they followed Renee to the glass-paned holding room. Giving them privacy, Larry watched Almeida rush into the room, his expression softening as he crossed the room to hug her. Almeida sniffled, holding Dessler close to him. She thumbed at a scrape on his face. They both turned to the baby carrier on the table, and Almeida bent down to pick his son up. Tears started to fall as Almeida held him close to his body, kissing his cheek. Dessler had a hand on his shoulder. She was crying, too. 

Suddenly, Larry started to wonder whether he’d misjudged the situation. True, he couldn’t have known that one, Dessler was alive, and two, that she and Almeida had apparently been conspiring against Emerson for quite some time, along with two other former CTU agents who were also being brought to the FBI. Almeida and Dessler were former government agents; they’d been on both sides of the coin now. That could either make them bitter, powerful terrorists with far too great an understanding of how the government works, or it could make them extra compelled to put a stop to things, even if they had to risk their lives in the process. Somehow, Larry felt it was the latter here. From what it sounded like, despite whatever they might have done in the past, it seemed they were on the right side of the law now. That, at heart, even after everything, they were still the same agents they’d once been. He’d have to get the stories straight, but he wasn’t quite convinced things had always been this way. Six years was a long time to make mistakes and to change, for the better or for the worse. He wasn’t sure what charges Almeida, Dessler, or even Bauer would face. Even if Almeida and Dessler were doing the right thing now, if they had worked for David Emerson willingly, the FBI couldn’t ignore that.

At the same time, as he watched the family reunite, he felt a clutch in his chest, thinking of his own ex-wife and children. While he’d certainly encountered plenty of terrorists with families and knew that that didn’t necessarily make them better people, something about this situation was different. Neither of them had the same coldness in their eyes or callousness about them that he'd seen in other criminals. Both of them looked so overwhelmed by the fact that they were both alive, both safe and standing together with their son in front of them. They didn’t look like they were prepared to die for a cause. They didn’t look like they were trying to secretly communicate like there was some other play here. From what Renee had said, Dessler hadn’t put up a fight during her arrest; she’d been very cooperative and had already provided a plethora of useful information. And, when he came to think of it, so had Almeida and Bauer, especially once Almeida knew that Dessler and their son were okay. 

“Larry….” Renee whispered, looking equally taken aback by the sight. “We can’t tear their family apart.”

He bit the inside of his lip.

“Agent Moss…” Bauer said from behind, and he turned to face him, surprised by his almost pleading expression. “I know I’m biased because I’ve known them for so long, but please take the chance to hear them out so you can understand what they’ve been through. Especially because the only reason any of this happened was because of me. They haven’t been perfect, but they're good people. Tony’s already been to prison once, and it nearly destroyed them. I don’t want to watch that happen again.”

Larry sighed, nodding a little. "I'll give them a moment, but then I'll talk to them."

—

“I… I can’t believe I shot him.” Tony said, still clearly upset despite the fact that he was smiling at Adrian.

She covered his hand with her own. “He was going to kill Jack. You did what any friend would do.”

“He’s never going to forgive me.”

Michelle shrugged. “Or me. We’ve been preparing for this day for so long, but I didn’t realise just how much it would hurt to betray him like that.”

Tony sighed. “God, what have we done?”

“What we had to do.”

Agent Moss walked in, carrying a large manila folder, and sat across from them. He went to speak, but when he noticed that Adrian was asleep in her arms, he seemed to preemptively adjust the volume of his voice.

“Well… I have to say I’ve adjusted the descriptions in your files a number of times today with everything I’ve learned. O’Brian and Buchanan arrived about half an hour ago, and they’ve been working with the analysts here on the Dubaku stuff. So far, it’s all adding up, and I’ve even had to arrest one of my own agents for selling our information.”

He sounded quite tired, but Michelle appreciated the care he was taking to understand their story.

“That leaves you two and Emerson. Jack’s already explained some of it, but I think it’s best if I hear the rest of the story from you.” He cleared his throat, opening the file. “From my understanding, most, if not all, of the circumstances you were put in were out of your control. So it wouldn’t be fair to give you the same punishment as we would to any of Emerson’s other associates. And you’ve both stated that you’re willing to cooperate in the investigation?”

They both confirmed their willingness, and Larry nodded. Michelle noticed that he seemed to smile a little when he looked at Adrian, and the tension in her chest eased slightly. She’d always hoped the FBI, or whoever ended up catching them in the end, would be sympathetic to their cause, but, realistically, she had still expected some degree of punishment. Michelle also wondered what she'd do in Larry's position but, if she was being honest, she wasn't sure.

Larry took out some papers from the file and slid them over. “We’re willing to give you both a good behaviour bond and place you in Witness Protection, so long as you give us any more information you have. This may also include required cooperation with the FBI in the future, depending on how deep this conspiracy runs.”

Michelle let out a breath, closing her eyes in relief. Consulting for the FBI was something they could live with if it meant their freedom and safety. She felt Tony take her hand and squeeze it.

“Thank you…” Tony said. “You have no idea how much this means to us.”

Larry nodded. “I might not know everything yet, but given your circumstances, I think this is the fairest decision we can make.”

“How’s Emerson doing?”

“He’ll be fine. He hasn't been given painkillers but he's fit enough to be interrogated." Larry answered. "As for what we’re charging him with, we can offer him a lighter sentence if he’s willing to cooperate, but if you feel that he might be a threat to your family, we’ll have to consider that, too. I understand he’s been very, uh, protective of you both, so it’d be reasonable to assume he might resent selling him out.”

She instinctively held Adrian a little tighter. While David had certainly made it clear to her that he’d do whatever it took to make them cooperate — and that he’d always be extra mindful of her over Tony — once she’d had Adrian, he’d backed off a little. To him, it had been a sign of loyalty from her, and he’d trusted them more in return. That all had been genuine. She was immeasurably grateful to David for giving them the opportunity, and David had been a big part of Adrian's life. So the fact that they’d still been willing to go behind his back surely stung for him. Michelle wanted to explain that their betrayal wasn’t personal; he'd just crossed a line not just in terms of ethics but also in terms of safety because getting involved with Dubaku had risked all of their livelihoods.

“Can we see him?” Michelle asked. “I think it’d be a little easier to gauge the situation if one of us talked to him.”

“I’ll see how the interrogation is going and let you know,” Larry said. "I'll get some paperwork for you, too."

He then left the room, and Michelle faced Tony, wiping a tear from under his eye.

“They were talking about the death penalty for him because of the connections to Sengala," Tony said quietly. "I know we’ve felt coerced into doing a lot of what we’ve done, you more than me, but I don’t want to watch him die.”

“I don’t, either," She admitted. "I think we should try to convince him to give up the information. Do you want to talk to him, or do you want me to?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can look him in the eye after what I did to him. At least not yet.”

She nodded. “I understand.” 

They sat there in silence for a while, taking in the events of the day, and it occurred to her that her heart was still racing. God, she really could have lost him again.

“I was so scared when I heard that the FBI was coming for you and Jack.” She said suddenly, her voice fraught with emotion. “I… I thought I was going to lose you. I thought I was going to have to raise Adrian alone or that they’d throw me in jail and he’d have no one and-”

“Hey…” Tony said softly, pulling her closer. “I’m right here. Adrian’s here. Jack, Bill, and Chloe are safe, too. We’re all okay.”

“I just… I’ve forgotten what that feels like. We’ve been running and hiding for so long. It feels too good to be true.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I get that. I still don’t trust it, either, but we’re together, and that's what matters.”

“And David might get the death penalty.” She said quietly.

Tony scratched his jaw. “Yeah.” 

“I’m… I’m going to go talk to him.” Michelle decided, getting up from her seat and passing Adrian to Tony.

He cupped her cheek. “Good luck. I hope you get through to him.”

She sighed. “I do, too.”

The shadows cast by the harsh lighting in the holding room made David look almost sinister. But as Michelle closed the door behind her and sat across from him, she could tell he was just tired and, understandably, in pain because of his arm. It looked like he still hadn't been given painkillers, despite the FBI's interrogation being over for now.

Initially, neither of them spoke; they just stared each other down. Admittedly, when she'd worked for David full-time before having Adrian, they'd learned to communicate and read each other very effectively. Tony had, too. It had helped ease some of the tension between her and David since both of them had made it clear from the beginning that they would never see eye to eye. He’d kept her alive because Tony would never cooperate if he hadn’t. And she hadn’t double-crossed him initially because, at that point in her life, it had been exhausting just trying to make it through the day, so she'd had no choice but to accept his refuge. She could still remember that first conversation, where he’d told her plain and simple that he would do what it took to gain her loyalty. She never told Tony about it. She knew Tony was devoted and grateful to David in a way she could never be, and that David had given him strength. In turn, seeing Tony happy had made her happy, and she’d come to terms with staying with David and his crew because it had meant she could finally let her guard down, or at least most of it.

“I knew it’d be you. I knew I could never trust you fully.” He said coldly, without looking up at her. “Your sense of duty always comes first, doesn’t it? Even after everything you went through, you risked Adrian’s life to reach out to your friends about what I was doing.”

“You risked his life just as much by working with Dubaku in the first place,” Michelle said stiffly, but then she reminded herself why she was in here and took a deep breath. “The FBI is willing to offer you a deal if you cooperate by giving up your information about Dubaku and Juma.”

“Now why would I want to spend decades in prison?”

She met his eyes. “Because we don’t want to lose you. Because we are so grateful for what you did for us, and we care about you.”

He scoffed. “Care about me? Your husband shot me.”

Michelle shook her head. “And he’s agonising over it. If you had shot Jack, the FBI probably would have killed you. He just wanted to protect you. That’s…” She slumped her shoulders. “That’s the only reason we did any of this. We didn’t make the decision to betray you lightly; it was eating us up inside. Tony, especially. None of this was personal; you were just crossing a line that went too far. Not just for us, but for you. No matter what kind of things you do, you know that once upon a time, you were loyal to the government. I've always seen that in you, no matter how much you insisted that the government wasn't to be trusted. So when we found out what you were doing for Dubaku, we knew it was too much and had to intervene."

She was surprised to actually admit but it was true. David's fierce loyalty to what he cared about was one characteristic of his that she truly respected. Even if those loyalties were misguided, when it came to his demeanour as a person, especially everything he'd done to help them balance working for him and raising Adrian, she'd realised over time that, perhaps in a different universe, he wouldn't have been so bad to work with at CTU. She hadn't really wanted to say this to Jack. She'd been afraid enough that he wasn't believing them but she and Tony would explain this to him, too, once the opportunity arose.

David was silent during her realisation, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, Michelle saw a flicker of shame in his expression. But maybe that was it. Maybe if he realised how far he'd gone, she could convince him it wasn't too late.

“Tony loves you. You do know that, right? You were the light at the end of a very long and dark road for both of us, but something in Tony changed when you brought us in. Don’t get me wrong. I felt the same way. I will always be grateful to you for saving our lives and giving us a place to raise our son. But for Tony, it was something more. I know prison isn’t exactly ideal, but David..." She sighed. “If you let them execute you, it’ll destroy him. And I can’t watch that happen to him after everything we’ve been through.”

“He’ll get over it.” He said bitterly, but then his voice softened. “For the record, I didn’t want to get involved with the CIP device but I was ultimately trying to do something good.”

She furrowed her brow.

“I was going to give the bulk of the diamond money to you and Tony so you could raise Adrian in peace away from all of this. You would have been able to have secure identities. You would have been able to hire security.”

Her stomach sank. He’d been doing this... for them?

“W… Why? You knew I was never okay with what I was doing for you, so why would you?-”

“Because you were still loyal to me. You did what you had to do to guarantee your family’s safety. And I respected that.” He explained. “Over time… I came to care for you, Tony, and your son enough that I felt like you shouldn’t have to be at high risk by working for me anymore. You deserved better.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

He let out a breath. “I didn’t want you to feel guilty. You both carry enough of that from the things you did for me. But it’s alright now. The FBI will give you what I couldn’t, and you can go back to being on the right side of the law.”

She realised at this moment that she’d misread the situation. It wasn’t just about David wanting to stick to his principles, nor was it about him not wanting to go to jail. It was about guilt. He felt guilty for driving them to go behind his back. He felt guilty for being the reason he was about to lose them, so he believed that death was a fitting punishment. But that was just it. He didn’t deserve that. He’d done things that, without intervention, could have been catastrophic and killed civilians, so he wasn’t exactly innocent. But Michelle had seen how he'd changed, no matter how much he tried to insist he hadn't, and he deserved a second chance.

Without saying a word, she left the room and walked back down the hall to where Tony and Adrian were. Adrian was awake now, sitting on the table as Tony played with him. Tony reacted immediately to her entrance.

“What did he say?”

“He hasn’t decided. But I think I might know how to convince him.” She said, glancing down at their son.

Agent Moss might have postulated that David would be resentful enough to try to hurt them, but deep down, both of them knew that he would never let harm come to Adrian.

Tony passed him over to her with a nod, and she returned to the interrogation room, watching the way David’s expression changed when she brought Adrian in and sat him on her lap, facing David. David’s ankles were chained, but his hands were free because of his sling. There was still a guard in the room in case he tried anything, but Michelle didn’t worry as she leaned forward to let Adrian touch David’s hand, babbling a little. David couldn’t help but smile back at him. 

“I’ve talked about Tony and how upset he would be if he had to watch you die. But I also don’t want to have to tell our son that someone who loves him so much, someone who is a part of his family whether he wants to admit it or not, is gone because he decided that death was better than a prison sentence.”

She could see David bite the inside of his lip and the trouble in his expression.

“Please, David… Don’t do this. It might not be a life sentence. It might not be as bad as you think. Y-You might even be able to see Adrian graduate from college, but the only way you can let that happen is if you tell the FBI what you know. I know working for the government isn't something you want anymore but you're a better man than you think.”

David was silent. Michelle wanted to say more, but she also knew that if he couldn't even be swayed by Adrian, then there was no going back, and they'd lose David forever. So, she stood with Adrian, told him to wave goodbye to David, and made her way out.

“Michelle?” He called just as she placed her hand on the door.

When she turned, she could see he was on the verge of tears, and her heart leapt in her chest as she realised she'd gotten through to him.

“If I go to prison, will you let Adrian see me?”

She thought about that for a moment. Visiting prison as people in WitSec probably wasn't going to happen right off the bat. But she was sure the FBI could make some arrangements. And she was also sure that David would be even more willing to cooperate if he had the incentive.

“If seeing him gets you through the sentence, then we won’t take that away from you. We owe you that.”

He nodded slowly. “Then I’ll take it.”

She sighed with relief, smiling a little at him. “Thank you.”

“I can’t say I’m particularly thrilled about going to prison, but I do care about you, Tony, and your son. And I don’t want to give that up.”

“I’m sorry it had to turn out like this.”

David shrugged. “Keeping your son in hiding for his whole life was never going to be practical long-term. That's why I was trying to get the diamond money. But even though that didn't work out, I'm glad you're getting safety and freedom regardless."

“I’m sure Tony will be happy to hear this.”

“Speaking of Tony... Could you do one more thing for me?”

"Yeah?"

“Tell him I forgive him.”

“I will.” She whispered.

When she returned to where Tony was, she wasn’t surprised to feel tears in her eyes. She was so relieved. Not just because David was taking the deal, but also because the day she’d fretted about so much was now over. They didn’t have to hide anymore from the government or David. They didn’t need to worry about watching their backs. They didn’t need to figure out how to give their son all they could despite the circumstances. Because now that they were free, they could give him everything.

Tony looked up expectantly and already seemed to know the outcome based on her expression.

“He’s going to take the deal."

His eyes lit up. "He is?"

She nodded and watched the tension in his shoulders drop as she placed Adrian back in his carrier. Michelle stroked his cheek when she sat next to him.

"He also said that everything he was doing for Dubaku was so he could get enough money for us to try to live our lives in peace. So we could raise Adrian wherever we wanted without worrying about money or our safety."

His expression fell. "What?"

"I know, I... I feel bad, too, but... it's over now. And Dubaku doesn't have his hands on the CIP device, which is more important than whatever David was trying to do, even if it was for us."

Tony nodded but still looked upset.

“But most importantly, David also said he forgives you,” Michelle said gently, and she could tell how much that meant to him.

She pulled him in for a hug, squeezing him tight. It pained her so much to think about how many years they'd spent praying for someone to save them from the people hunting them down, how many sleepless and hopeless nights they'd endured, and how much they'd lost in the process, right down to their morals. But now they knew they could spend the rest of their lives making up for it.

"God, I'm so glad today is over." Tony breathed.

"Me, too." She agreed. "We're going to be okay now. We... we don't have to run anymore. The people we care about are safe."

Her reminders seemed to ground him.

“I love you so much.” He murmured.

She smiled against him, believing her own words even more. “I love you too.”