If You Were Born Again Tomorrow, Would You Live Your Life Like Yesterday?

Diaz met him on the outskirts of the prison. He could see the large spotlights roaming the ground from afar. It had been close, but ultimately she had made good on her promise to get him out. 

Tony was still suspicious of her, though. She had an upstanding reputation as a just, firmly-spoken lawyer. When she'd first visited him several months ago, it had been a surprise in more than one way. After all, he hadn't asked for a lawyer, and she certainly didn't seem to care about his quality of life, so there was no clear reason why she'd bothered to visit him, of all possible prisoners. What had surprised him more, was her set of odd instructions about proposing a ‘transfer’. Initially, he had thought she had meant the transfer from solitary confinement to a standard prison cell, where he’d be able to gain insight into the doings of the other prisoners, something he’d genuinely wanted to do. But when she’d made subtle comments about what exactly she’d say, how the whole thing would go down, specifically the part when she’d said he would get angry, attack her, and grab her glasses, Tony had soon realised that there was more to what this woman was saying than he’d thought.

And that led them to where they were now, hiding in the greenery of the property’s surrounding forest. He still hadn’t quite processed it. He was free. A fugitive, yes, but technically free, provided he laid low for…the rest of his life. The plan must have taken a long time to develop. It was an awful lot of trouble to go to for a stranger. She couldn’t have done it on her own. She had to be working for someone, or perhaps, someone was forcing her hand. She didn’t fit the mercenary type.

“So…what now?” He asked.

She sighed, brushing thistles off her skirt. “I have to take you somewhere first. Then you can do whatever it is free fugitives do.”

He noticed she was very nervous and wondered what could be held over her head. After all, if he got caught with her, her punishment for aiding and abetting a criminal with a life sentence wouldn’t be particularly kind. 

“Let’s go then.” Tony shrugged.

They drove in silence for what felt like a long time. Then again, he hadn’t been in a car since…well, since the day they'd driven him to prison after the final court verdict was handed down. He asked her where they were going, but she didn’t answer. Tony estimated it was around midnight when they made it to a small, isolated helipad. Diaz told him to wait in the car, and he obliged. He watched her get out and hand the pilot of the helicopter a generous wad of cash, before turning back towards the car and opening the door.

“Come on.” She said.

He’d grown tired of being patient. “I’m not taking another step until you tell me where I’m going.”

Diaz huffed. “I have to deliver you to the man who gave me this task. I need to prove I did it.”

“And where is this ‘man’?”

“Los Angeles.”

Tony chewed the inside of his cheek. One of the few benefits of prison was that he would never have to set foot there again. Never have to see all the familiar sights that so painfully reminded him of what he’d lost, of who he used to be. He didn’t want to have to drive down the roads he used to drive down every day. He didn’t want to see the restaurant he took to Michelle on their first date. He didn’t want to see the church where they got married. Hell, he didn’t want to go past the mall where he got shot. And he most certainly didn’t want to see the outside of the CTU building.

“What exactly does he want with me?” He asked gruffly.

“Nothing.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t even know who I broke out of prison. The deal was if I broke a federal prisoner out, he would give me what I need for my son. Happy, Almeida? Now let’s go.”

He rolled his eyes, stepping out of the car and following her into the helicopter. But a part of him did feel sympathy for her. While the loss of his son had undoubtedly made him a thoroughly bitter person, a part of him very much still yearned for it, still wept at the thought of what he and Michelle had almost had, wept at the thought that he hadn’t even been able to protect his son before he came into the world. And hearing the change in tone in Diaz’s voice, understanding why she was going this far, made him remember just how far he’d gone to avenge his own family. 

The only difference was, by the sounds of it, that Diaz’s son had a chance.

And that his freedom would be the key.

Eventually, they came upon a small diner, one so generic that it could easily be missed by someone driving past. Tony had been so busy dissociating and desperately trying not to pay attention to the sights and streets of Los Angeles that he didn't even click how much time had passed until Diaz barked his name. He followed her out of the car and inside the building. Tony felt something change in the atmosphere as they walked down the narrow aisle between the counter and booths towards the very end. From behind, he could see a person's balding head. He was confused. Diaz was going to transfer him, a federal fugitive, in the middle of a public place? She had at least given him a change of clothes when they'd landed -- the orange jumpsuit certainly didn't blend well with a crowd -- and the people here did seem to be minding their own business. Still, the news could already be plastering his photo everywhere. He was sure there was already an APB out for him.

But all of Tony’s worries about being caught disappeared when he found himself looking at the face of George Mason.

He went to speak but found himself spluttering. This man was dead. He watched this man hack his lungs up and nearly collapse on his way out of CTU…God, how many years had it been? At least fifteen. The point was this man was supposed to be dead. 

This wasn’t possible.

“Y-You…”

“Sit down.” Diaz tugged at his sleeve, forcing him to sit in the booth seat beside her. “Stop drawing attention to yourself.”

“Well…interesting choice, Diaz.”

“I’ve done what you wanted.” She said shortly. “Here’s your federal prisoner, Tony Almeida: convicted on numerous charges, including murder and treason.”

The man raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I know who this guy is. Hard to believe what you’re saying considering that the last time I saw him, I left him in charge of a federal agency. But I know you’re telling the truth.”

“S-So that’s it?" Diaz asked hopefully. "You can cure my son?”

He nodded. “Yes. Your son’s leukaemia should disappear by the time he has his next check-up.” 

“T-Thank you.” She said appreciatively, and Tony noticed she had tears welling in her eyes. 

“Now.” The man tutted, turning to Tony. “You have got some explaining to do, Almeida. But, I’m sure Diaz isn’t exactly interested, so why don’t you let her go home to her son.” 

He slid out of the booth so she could leave, still unable to form words, still unable to take his eyes off a man who couldn’t be anybody but George Mason, before sitting back down and taking a breath.

“How the hell does someone go from federal agent to federal prisoner?” He said before he even had the chance to speak.

Tony raised his eyebrows. “How the hell aren’t you dead? You…the radiation…the plane-”

The man chuckled, nodding. “Technically, I did die. Let’s just say I got offered a job that required me to stay here.”

“Job?”

“When I snuck onto the plane so Jack wouldn’t have to fly it…” His voice fell a little solemn. “Apparently, the guy upstairs appreciated it. They said it was very rare that someone like me willing to do that came along.”

He furrowed his brow. “As in…God? You met God?”

“No." He scratched the side of his face. "It’s, uh, hard to explain. I still don’t quite understand it. But the point is, I was given something to do. For centuries, there’s been someone on Earth, someone with divine ‘approval’ " he made air-bunnies for emphasis "I guess, granting favours for people in exchange for a task. So whoever’s up there wanted me to take over for some other guy in exchange for well…immortality until someone else worthy comes along. I can’t leave here until that happens. This means that the people I see have to come back or call to update me." He waved his hand, dismissively. "Anyways, not the point.”

“The woman who broke me out…she was doing something for you.”

George nodded. “Yes, Vanessa Diaz. She came to me wanting her son’s cancer to disappear. It was a rare form of leukaemia, something the doctor said had no known cure, and that treatment wouldn’t be able to help. The poor kid’s only nine years old.”

Slowly, Tony started to understand. Not the strange divine afterlife crap, no, he was actively refusing to process any of that. But the nature of George’s 'job', if it could be called such a thing.

“So, I looked at the tasks available. As much as I would like to in situations like these, I can’t decide what the task is, only how difficult. There’s a difference between getting someone a Ferrari and bringing someone back from the dead.”

Tony’s ears perked up at that. If this was true…and in all fairness, this sounded far too ridiculous to just be some kind of joke, could he…bring her back?

“The task I gave her was to break a federal prisoner out of jail and bring them to me.”

Tony scoffed. “And that was an easy option?”

“She's a lawyer, so logistically that’s actually not too hard. She makes visits to prisons all the time. And besides, the options become pretty narrowed down as the favour becomes less physically possible. But nothing is impossible, so long as the person does the task. If someone can think of it, they can ask me to make it happen. There are no strings attached or any kind of punishment if they don’t do it. They just won’t get what they want.”

“So, you’re telling me…you’ve just been sitting in this diner granting wishes for the last, what? Decade and a half?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much. Now…I’ve told you what happened to me, but it’s high time you explain what happened to you.”

Tony sighed, asking the waiter walking past their booth to pour him a cup of coffee. 

This was going to take a while.

“Oh, so you and Dessler did end up together? That’s nice. Not surprised she had to be the one to ask you out, though. You were always too much of a chicken-shit.”

It was painful to talk about it. Not the bad parts, he’d recited those mechanically for judges, lawyers, and agents alike several times over by now. No, it was hard to talk about the good parts knowing he’d never have those back, wishing he could live them again if only to appreciate them a thousand times more. It was hard talking about the year and a half they were apart because, again, he knew he’d do things differently if given a second chance. But what was hardest of all was watching George’s face slowly fall, slowly become very grave as he continued to explain everything that had happened.

They sat in silence for a long time afterwards. The afternoon sun was setting. The dinner rush was just beginning in the diner. Nobody seemed to pay attention to the fact that Tony had sat there for hours and had only ordered a cup of coffee. He was surprised but deeply grateful that the news channels on the television hadn’t mentioned anything about his escape.

Tony realised he had an opportunity here. If George could truly grant any wish as he claimed, then he could get his life back. He couldn’t care less how difficult the task might be if it meant she would be alive and carrying their son. As Tony thought about it more, he realised he needed to ask George very carefully. He couldn’t be too vague in his wording. He didn’t just want her and their son alive, he wanted them all to have their life back. There was no point in bringing her back if she would be forced to spend her life in hiding with him. But more than that, the possibilities were endless here. If he was going to bring her and their son back, then who was to say he couldn't undo some of the bad he'd done either?

A part of him was still wary, though. If he was going to ask for the impossible and be asked to do something likely equally as far-fetched, then he needed proof.

“You said you can do anything, right? So long as someone does the task you give them?”

George already seemed to know what he was getting at, looking him in the eyes. “Yes. But don’t underestimate how difficult that task could be.”

“But it’s technically possible, I’m guessing. You can’t give someone something they can’t actually do?”

“No. That wouldn’t be fair.”

He took in a breath, speaking evenly. “Then I’m asking you to bring Michelle and our son back from the dead, as well as all the innocent people I’ve killed. And I don’t want some bullshit where everything is still a messed-up nightmare. I want us to be free. I want us to be happy. I don’t want to be a fugitive for anything I’ve done or have to do for this task.”

“Well, technically, you’re asking for multiple things, which would warrant multiple tasks. But I’ll give you one on the house-”

“Before that, you're going to prove to me that you can really do this,” Tony said, cutting him off and hardening his voice. “Because I know whatever I’ll have to do won’t be easy. So I’m not going to go through it without knowing for sure that it’ll be worth it.”

George sighed. “God, you’re still such a stubborn ass, Almeida, aren’t you?”

His jaw twitched. “Prove it. Now. Prove to me that you can bring her back to life, and I’ll do whatever you want. You know me. You know what I’ve been through.”

“How about I tell you the task first?”

“Fine.”

“You want Michelle back, your kid back, and all these other people back, and for you to essentially live your lives freely?" He paused, letting the task come to him. Tony pinpointed the moment it hit George, because he shook his head slowly, biting the inside of his lip, and looking very grim. "Then Kim Bauer has to die by your hand.”

He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “N-No. Anything but that. Please.”

“It’s the only task I can give you for what you’re asking. I have no choice.”

Tony’s eyes widened a little, but he tried to keep his face straight otherwise. “I said I wanted to be free. How does that work if I kill her?”

“Don’t worry about the ‘how’. If you do the task, you’ll get what you want.”

“T-Then done." He said, trying to sound like he had conviction and not like the thought made him physically ill. "If that’s what it takes…then fine. I’ll…I’ll kill Kim.”

He cocked a brow. “Told you it wouldn’t be easy. But considering all that you’ve done, I guess you’ve got it in you to kill someone who probably once thought of you as a father figure. I remember the way you took care of her after Teri died.”

Tony felt a chill down his spine. Could he really do this? Part of him was of course cynical, part of him was ruthless in the pursuit of getting Michelle back and didn’t care how many lines he had to cross. It wasn't like he hadn't risked her life before, back when he had Cara's associates hold her hostage. But there was a difference between letting her die and pulling the trigger himself. Or…however he ended up doing it. Still, to his surprise, there was some, albeit small, part of his heart begging him not to do it, that he could still redeem himself at least a little bit, so long as he didn’t go this far.

“I-I still want proof.”

“Start making some progress -- if you can bring yourself to try -- and I’ll let you talk to her for a couple of hours.”

“Y-You mean it?”

George nodded, before scrawling something on the napkin in front of him. “When you’ve got something to tell me, go to the cemetery where Michelle is buried and call this number.”

Tony thanked him and left, grabbing a burger on his way out and finding the sky as dark as it had been when he’d been broken out. He was resolute in his actions, getting himself a car, finding a cheap motel room, as well as a burner laptop and phone. After all, he still needed to lay low. The first thing he did, was look up Michelle's obituary to find where she was. As he read her name in the newspaper archives he felt his breath get caught in his throat, no different than the first time when he’d desperately searched the CTU database for answers. He had to remind himself what he was going to gain here. He was going to have her and their son back. He would finally be able to fulfil his wishes of having a child with her, a peaceful life away from CTU, growing old with her, getting themselves another dog so their little boy could grow up side by side with it...

He snapped himself out of his fantasy and started to gather information on Kim, hoping she was at least still somewhere in California. He wasn’t quite sure he’d be able to just get on a flight without some fake identification. Searching for her name in the public directories didn’t seem to help, understandably. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if Chloe was providing some kind of protective cybersecurity measures to keep her and her family safe from anybody who might want to hurt them because of Jack. Jack. He was going to kill Jack’s daughter. Being in prison, and one in Russia at that, would he ever find out? He had no idea if he was allowed to receive mail or whether the warden there would even be kind enough to tell Jack directly. If Jack found out…he was a dead man. No doubt about it. But if he was successful…nobody would know, right?  

Still, Tony felt like he should take some precautions. Regardless of whether or not anybody would remember, he was going to make it look like an accident. He didn’t want there to be a struggle, didn’t want there to be any interaction between them. Because it would be hard enough to kill her, he wasn’t going to make it worse by giving her a chance to react. It had to be quick. Not just for the sake of their pain but also to make sure he couldn’t change his mind. At first, he thought of breaking into their house, but that could wake up her husband or one of their kids. He didn’t want there to be any collateral damage. As he considered this, he managed to remember one of the back doors into the state law enforcement directories and found her home address. Upon looking at the street view of the house, he noticed it was quite secluded, with large windows at the front, one of which showed part of what appeared to be the master bedroom.

At some point, he would need to get a gun, not just for this, but for his own protection as well. The names of some arms dealers he believed were still active came to mind, including a few known to have generous supplies of sniper rifles. If he could get a decent vantage point and she kept the curtains open, one shot would be all he needed. Then he’d make sure to bolt. It might not kill her instantly, so he'd have to run until whatever happened happened. They would assume it was related to Jack, and that would be that. 

Tony knew he was going to shoot her. It was the only way.

He spent the rest of the day contacting the people who could help him and preparing as much as he could while staying out of sight. It helped to distract him from the fact that he was, hopefully, going to see Michelle tonight. He still wasn’t sure how it would happen. While George’s presence certainly seemed to vaguely confirm the existence of some kind of higher power, something he was actively trying not to process right now, he couldn’t imagine that she would just…float down from somewhere? Pop into existence instantaneously? In all honesty, he didn’t care how. As long as it happened. 

A chill washed over him as he walked into the cemetery now. It didn’t help that it was nighttime, but Tony had felt like standing around a cemetery in the middle of the day would look a little suspicious. Especially if his dead wife was going to come back to life. The plots were so uniform, especially in the dark, so it took him a while to find her grave. When Tony finally got there, he took in a shuddering breath as he read the inscription on her tombstone, before calling the number George had given him with shaking fingers.

“That was fast-”

“I-I found where she lives. I have a rifle, and I know how to get a clean line of sight to her bedroom window, so I only kill her and nobody else.”

“Right. I think that constitutes as ‘progress’ then.”

“W-What now? Where is she?”

He heard a quiet thump and whipped his head around. Nobody was there. It sounded again, more insistently this time. And again. Eventually, they became frantic, panicked, almost. It was almost pitch black, but Tony squinted, trying to discern any nearby figures. He still seemed to be alone but felt an eerie sense of foreboding.

“You said you would let me talk to her!”

“Then start digging.”

Using his phone as a flashlight, Tony pinpointed Michelle’s grave, noticing, with horror, that the banging noises were coming from beneath it. He found a shovel, presumably one of the groundskeeper’s, near a small mausoleum. Grabbing it, he drove the shovel’s head into the earth with a grunt. Tony did it again, and again, until he formed enough of a hole. Clouds of dirt arose from the ground, and he coughed, wiping the tiny particles from his eyes. He almost stumbled as he made a deeper penetration, now able to step into the large ditch. Tony’s efforts became fervid. He couldn’t focus on anything else except getting her out of there. He was already anxious about their meeting, and that anxiety was only growing as he started to hear muffled screaming as well as knocks. Tony shouted her name over, and over again, but figured she couldn’t hear him. By now, he was up to his elbows in dirt, he could feel the stickiness of sweat on his skin, and soil on his clothes.

He gasped when the shovel suddenly made contact with something solid. Tony used the flat part of the shovel's head to push the dirt covering the coffin to the side and saw the dark wooden surface of the lid. He desperately felt along the side until he could curl his fingers under the latch and lift it. It creaked as he opened it, and her clammy hand was quick to seize his wrist. Tony made sure the lid was perpendicular to the rest of the coffin before he helped her up. She heaved, desperately flinging her arms around him and digging her nails into his back. Michelle coughed a few times. It was almost startling how cold she was, so contrasting to the heat emanating from his body, which only reminded him that this wasn’t permanent. It reminded him that in a few hours, he would have to lay her down gently and cover her grave with dirt. He hadn’t even been to her funeral the first time, since David had already taken him to DC. He didn’t know how he was going to do this.

But that was a problem for later.

“I’ve got you…I-I’ve got you.”

Tony helped her swing her wobbling knees over his arms so he could get her out. He didn't think she was strong enough to stand on her own. The moonlight partially illuminated the mausoleum, so he carried her over to make it easier for both of them to see. He heard her cry with disbelief and confusion as he sat on a piece of stone, keeping her cradled against him.

She breathed his name, desperately touching his face. Tony willed his body to stop trembling. His eyes were blurry with tears, but he desperately tried to look down at her. Michelle was wearing a simple white dress, her hair still full and curled, her face ashen but her eyes full of life as she stared back at him. There were still burn marks and scrapes all over her, each one reminding Tony of the moment he’d spent over a decade trying to forget. Tony could see her knuckles were bleeding from rapping on the coffin’s interior. He took each hand and kissed it.

“H-How…how is this happening? 

He tried to speak but found himself letting out a choked sob, running a hand through her hair and bringing her close to him. 

“T-Tony.” Michelle stuttered, trying to harden her voice, and Tony realised more than anything she was afraid. “How is this happening? Why am I back here?”

“I…” Tony took in a breath but found himself breaking down again, almost hysterical by this point.

As she looked up at him, she could see he’d aged, his hair grown out and grey. She had no idea how long it had been since she’d died. But more importantly, she had no idea how or why she was alive.

“Please, sweetheart.” She begged, looking into his eyes, finding them the same soulful brown they always were. “I-I’m scared. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I-It’s going to be okay. I’m…I’m going to bring you back. I just…I just needed to talk to you first.” The corners of his mouth were upturned a little. Now that the shock was slowly wearing off, he could allow himself to be happy. He could allow himself to revel in the fact that she was here, even though a part of his brain nagged at him to tell him it was temporary. 

Michelle furrowed her brow. “Bring me…back? How?”

Tony cleared his throat. “I…I made a deal with someone.” He wasn’t about to explain the fact that George Mason was alive right now to her. That could come later. “He was nice enough to let me see you for a few hours tonight, but if I want it to be permanent, I…have to do something first.”

“Do what?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. He expected her to ask, of course he did, but that didn’t make this any easier. “You…you don’t need to know." Tony attempted weakly. "It doesn’t matter. Because we’re going to be together.”

She smiled a little, but her eyes were serious. “Considering that I’m the one you’re bringing back from the dead, then yes, I do need to know.” Looking more closely at him, she realised he seemed deeply troubled about it. “If it’s something bad…something making you this upset, it’s not worth it. Please, Tony…tell me what it is. You’re worrying me.”

His chest was pained with anxiety, and only then did he realise that hers wasn’t moving. She was still dead. Yet her eyes were so, so concerned, he couldn’t quite believe it. Tony went to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat.

“Hey…” Michelle said softly, realising he was on the verge of tears again. Her hand gently brushed against his, and he brought it up to trap it against his cheek.

“I-I have to kill Kim.” 

Her eyes widened in a combination of disgust and horror. “What? I-I don’t understand, how is that-”

“I-It will. Trust me, it will. I don’t…I don’t want to do this either, but there’s no other way.” He said woefully. “I’ve figured it out, it’ll be over quickly, it’ll be fine-”

“Tony, how long has it been?”

He looked at her with confusion.

“How long has it been since I died?” She clarified.

“A…A little over twelve years.”

She looked almost appalled. “It’s been that long…and you’re willing to kill an innocent person? Someone we care about? I...If it was a few hours, a couple of days, I could almost understand why you could be driven so crazy, but…not after all this time.”

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat. He remembered that she had no idea what he’d done. How far he’d gone. How many innocent people he had already killed.

“You are not killing Kim Bauer,” Michelle said firmly. “Please. If I ever wake up like this again and find out-”

“Y-You wouldn’t know. Nobody would.”

She went to speak but found herself violently coughing. Frantically, he sat her up in his lap. Some blood had sprayed around her mouth, and he wiped it with his shirt. He felt himself shake as he watched small crimson stains form on her dress, scattered around her body like raindrops. It shattered him, realising that again, he’d almost forgotten that she wasn’t actually alive, that soon he would have to say goodbye once more.

“N-No. It doesn’t matter because it’s still going to happen. Don’t.” 

Tony went to protest again, but the feeling of her hand lightly grazing the bullet wound scar on his neck stopped him. “Baby…” She whispered. “You need to let go.”

He couldn’t stop himself from crying now, he couldn’t stop himself from replaying her terrified expressions in his head. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t betray her like this. The cold sensation of her skin against his drifted downwards, and he realised she was putting her hand over his heart. He covered it with his own through the fabric of his top. Tony watched her face drop, her lips pressing together. Michelle shook her head, and he felt a pang, realising just how disappointed she was in him.

“I…I can feel so much pain. So much suffering. Your heart, it’s…heavy.”

Tony squeezed his eyes shut.  

“Look, I don’t…know what you’ve done these past twelve years, but what I do know is that it’s never too late to make the right choice.” Michelle hardened her voice. “I know in your heart that you’re still a good person, so please don’t do this. Try and find a way to make yourself happy that doesn’t involve taking somebody else’s happiness away.” She begged. “Promise me, please.”

If it were anybody else, he wouldn’t believe those words. But coming from her…maybe he still had something left to redeem himself with.

He took in a shuddering breath, looking her in the eyes. “I-I promise.”

She nodded with a hint of a smile. “I love you.” She said earnestly.

“I love you too.” He whispered back, leaning down to kiss her softly.

By the time he lifted his head, he realised that her eyes were shut. He gasped a little, calling her name quietly. If he wasn’t mistaken, she felt colder than she had before. Tony became almost manic, shouting her name, no longer caring if he was heard, if he was found. He watched his tears fall onto her skin and dress, noticing the blotches of red from earlier were drying. He couldn’t bring himself to put her down, to let go of her, despite how much she’d begged him to earlier. At some point, the early signs of dawn were peeking over the horizon, casting light into the mausoleum. Logic returned to him. If a groundskeeper came in, he wasn’t going to be able to explain why he was sitting in a stranger’s mausoleum holding his wife’s corpse.

Tony found it in himself to stand. He walked back over to the large ditch. In the sun, he could now see how much dirt was on him. Slowly, he laid Michelle down, brushing the hair from her face and kissing her forehead one last time. He shut the lid of the coffin and began to distract himself by covering it with dirt once more, trying to restore it as much as he could before he left.

When he arrived home, he rid himself of his clothes, showering and scrubbing the dirt off his skin until it was raw. He took several deep breaths, desperately trying to calm himself down before he left for the diner.

Even before he neared the booth, George reacted to Tony's haggard expression.

“I-I can’t do it.” He said simply.

Seven Years Later

On the day he’d spoken to his dead wife and seen how disappointed she was in him, Tony had decided that he could never kill Kim. Even if it brought her back. As hard as it was, knowing that it was technically possible, that just a single shot would do it, Tony moved on from the fantasy of bringing Michelle back to life. This left him with very little to do besides not getting sent back to prison. Although, he suspected if he was found, they likely wouldn’t bother with that. So he had decided that if he was going to make something out of the rest of his life, he wasn’t going to waste it doing things that would only add to the immense guilt that weighed him down day in and day out. When he’d come to George later that day, he’d realised that earning forgiveness or, at the very least, civility from those he’d hurt who were still alive would be a good place to start. 

So he’d found Chloe.

She’d been shocked, confused, and annoyed all at once. He’d learnt that she had suffered much the way he had. The government may not have killed Morris and Prescott, but the aching, gaping holes left behind were no different. She’d gone to prison, albeit for far less time than him, and she’d made some bad choices along the way, but now, she too was trying to find meaning in her life again. They’d started working together, finding a common purpose in exposing corruption, in delivering justice. They had years and years of data from the government to pore through, thanks to Chloe’s time with Open Cell, and the more they searched, the more connections they discovered. It became apparent just how many people inside the government had compromised their integrity for the sake of selfishness. And Tony and Chloe had decided to do everything in their power to prevent that from happening anymore, to anonymously expose them and make sure they were punished. He’d brought in some people from his time with David Emerson to help with the physical side of things. So long as they got paid, they did whatever Tony asked them.

Another thing Tony had learnt when he’d contacted Chloe was that she was an important part of Kim’s life. It had apparently been hard at first, and understandably so. For Kim to look the woman to blame for her father’s imprisonment in the eyes was no easy feat. Chloe had expected the door to be slammed in her face. She wouldn’t have resented Kim for that. But as it turned out, Kim hadn’t quite seen it that way. Yes, she'd understood that Jack had made a choice to throw away the rest of his life to protect Chloe, and it broke her heart thinking she was truly never going to see him again. It wasn’t like before when he’d been in hiding but risked a few visits. No, he was gone for good now. But Kim had also known that Chloe was probably the only person left who was just as upset about that decision as she was. So they’d talked, and talked, for a long time, letting every last detail come to the table. It had been painful, but more than anything, it was a testament to how much they both cared about him. And they’d agreed to have each other back in their lives. Now, she was something of an aunt to Kim and Stephen’s children. It had scared her initially. She’d thought that losing her only child would make the thought of having any other child in her life simply too heartbreaking to bear. But she’d been gladly proven wrong. It brought her joy, some sadness, yes, but the joy always overrode that.

When she’d told Tony all this, it had surprised him a little. Surprised him because after so many years of tragedy due to her father, Kim had still found it in her to let Chloe be a part of her and her family’s life, despite all that had happened. It was a huge moment of growth on her part, in his opinion. And it simply made him realise that moving on was indeed possible, so what was his excuse? He'd understood that he had a choice. To spend the rest of his life in misery, inflicting pain on himself and those around him because if he would never be truly happy again, then why should anybody else? Or to spend the rest of his life trying to find something that took away his pain, even if only as a momentary distraction. If he could find a way to occupy his days, find a way to make him feel even a glimpse of satisfaction by doing something that counteracted the sins of his past, then that was better than nothing.

The second Kim had opened the door to see Tony sheepishly standing behind Chloe, she’d gone to slam it shut. Her eyes had widened with some mix of disgust and fear, and Tony hadn't blamed her for that. But Chloe had pushed for her to just try, to hear him out. Eventually, she’d conceded, she’d listened to him explain all the things that had happened after Michelle had died, why he’d been driven to do the things he had, the kind of mindset he'd been in when he’d had her kidnapped and how he looked back on it with shame. How sorry he was for what had happened to her father, how he’d always thought he didn’t deserve a single bit of it, and how he'd wished he’d been able to be there for her more. Much the way Jack would have reacted if he was the one Tony was talking to, Kim was stubborn, unreceptive, and unwilling to try and find sympathy for him. But when she’d realised just how much he was almost begging to try and earn some kind of peace, no, not forgiveness, he wasn’t asking for that, but peace, she'd known he'd truly meant what he was saying. 

And if Chloe was now a part of her life, then why couldn’t he be too?

Obviously, there were precautions in place. Tony had made it clear that the last thing he wanted to do was put her or her family in any danger. And if he believed someone was after him, he would run as fast as he could away from Los Angeles to make sure they wouldn’t be involved. Chloe checked for him religiously, for her sake too, but also because she didn’t want him to have to be on the run. She knew he was truly trying to make good choices now, and that wasn’t going to be easy if he couldn’t at least settle in one place. At first, it had only been her, not Stephen or the kids, understandably. Kim had taken a very long time to explain to him who exactly Tony was and that yes, despite the terrible things he’d done, he wasn’t a bad person and he meant no harm, only to protect and to care.

This had also been for Tony’s sake. Because it was one thing to see Kim, who reminded her of Jack, and bring up deep-seated guilt about his betrayal towards him. It was another to see her children, so young, so innocent, so blissfully unaware of the terrors of the world, or her husband, who seemed to come from a life so devoid of tragedy and trauma, it was almost impossible for Tony to contemplate. The image of her family just reminded him too much of what he could have had, of what he was supposed to have had if not for that fateful day. But Kim had been the one to suggest meeting them, imploring that it had done something positive for Chloe and that maybe it could for him too. He’d been terrified. It had made him laugh, to think that he was on the run from the authorities, likely ordered to be shot on sight if he was caught, but he was far more scared to meet her family. 

She had been right, though. Because becoming an extension of that family had lightened his heart, just ever so. He’d come to love them, to want to protect them with everything he had, not just because he owed it to Jack, but because he genuinely wanted to.

Which is what had taken him to right now, turning on the night light for Kim’s son Ben as he curled up in bed. He could still hear Teri asking Chloe to read one more chapter of her storybook from the other room. Kim and Stephen had gone out to dinner for their anniversary, so they’d offered to babysit. Doing this made him fondly miss his nephews and nieces, from both his and Michelle’s side. Tony smiled, watching the child sleep peacefully. Such a simple sight, and yet it brought a sense of ease to his heart. He walked with Chloe back to the living room, switching the channel from whatever cartoon the kids had been watching. Looking at the clock, he figured Kim and Stephen would be home soon.

Chloe’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket about an hour later. Pulling it out, she furrowed her brow. Tony watched her answer the call, the confusion still evident on her face. His stomach sank when that confusion shifted into something much more fearful. She said something along the lines of sending someone down there. He heard his name or, more specifically, his alias. Hanging up, she looked up at him.

“There’s…” Her voice was wavering, and Tony knew whatever it was couldn’t be good. “There’s been an accident. Kim and Stephen. Their car got hit. It’s bad. They’re both in the ICU at Cedars.”

“Oh my God…” He whispered. His mind immediately went to Teri and Ben. One of them would have to stay. Judging by the fact that Chloe had tears welled in her eyes, he wasn’t sure if she would be able to drive herself. He knew she had a lot of anxiety around the topic because of what had happened to Morris and Prescott. “I’ll…I’ll go. You stay here with them.”

She nodded.

“I’ll keep you updated.” He said nervously, standing up from the couch. “It’ll…it’ll be fine.”

As he quietly shut the door behind him, he heard Chloe stifle a sob and knew that he’d lied.

He burst into the emergency room, searching for the receptionist and moving past anybody who stood in his way to get to the front.

“I’m here for Kim and Stephen Wesley. Where are they?”

“Mister...Santos, is it?” Someone said behind him. 

Upon turning his head at the source of the noise, Tony saw a doctor standing in the hallway.

“Yes?”

“I can take you to them.” 

The doctor motioned for him to follow. They walked towards the ICU wing before stopping and sitting in a small vestibule.

“What happened?”

“A drunk driver side-swiped the car the Wesleys were in, causing it to roll. The driver was killed at the scene, but Kimberly and Stephen are both in intensive care now. Stephen’s in an induced coma, just as a precaution because we were worried about bleeding in the brain. He’s got some bruising, a broken arm, and a couple of cracked ribs, but he’s expected to make a full recovery once they wake him up.”

“How long until they wake him?”

He shrugged. “It’s too early to tell, could be days, could be months.”

“And what about Kim?” The fact that the nurse had started with Stephen’s state only made Tony more anxious.

The doctor sighed. “She was on the side that hit the ground. There was a lot of internal bleeding and trauma, including significant damage to her spine. She’s on life support.”

“Life support? As in…she can’t…”

Tony was ushered out into the hallway and then the ward. When he saw her, his breath hitched. She’d lost a lot of blood, judging by the pallor of her skin. Every inch of her body was bandaged or bruised. Masks and ventilators concealed her face. Braces kept her neck in place. If he was being honest, she already looked dead. 

“Multiple doctors have concluded she has no chance of recovery. Nearly all of her vital functions are dependent on machinery right now. She has virtually no brain activity. And given that her husband’s time to wake up is somewhat indefinite, that leaves the decision around her care to her medical powers of attorney. Since Chloe O’Brian’s not here, that means you.”

Tony couldn’t find it in himself to speak. All of this happened because of one person’s stupid, selfish decision. If the drunk driver hadn’t been dead already, Tony didn't doubt he would have killed them himself. That, he knew, was something Jack would want him to do. But the fact was, all Tony had to do now was decide how long Kim stayed on life support. A small part of him nagged, saying it was wrong, that maybe she would wake up one day, that they should let fate decide. But another part of Tony nagged slightly louder in a familiar voice.

“You want Michelle and your kid back and for you to essentially live your lives freely? Then Kim Bauer has to die by your hand.”

Right now, it was very likely that Kim Bauer would die. And the only factor determining that was him. He wouldn’t be killing her, but he would still be responsible. The fact that this was where his mind was headed made him feel disgusted with himself. He’d let go of this. He’d found the happiness Michelle had told him to. While he’d always miss her, he’d moved on these last few years, he’d made something of himself. 

He tried to think of Stephen and the kids, he tried to think of how they might feel about this, damn it, they were who he was supposed to be thinking about. He didn’t want to make a decision that stole the possibility of Kim waking up away from them. But, really, weren’t the doctors already saying that possibility was gone? That the only thing keeping her alive right now was machinery? Once upon a time, Tony might have believed in miracles, that there was always hope. Now, though, he didn’t believe that so much. He knew that if they kept the machines on, then it would only make it more painful to end her life later if she made no progress. It hurt Tony’s chest to think about the kids innocently standing near her bedside, asking questions, wondering why she wouldn’t wake up. It somehow felt worse than having to tell them that their mother was dead. Her family didn’t deserve to see her like this. They deserved to remember her as happy as she was when she left the house with Stephen earlier in the night.

“…but what I do know is that it’s never too late to make the right choice.”

His mind went back to Michelle, to the idea of waking up with her next to him, to the idea of having her back in his life. He thought about the other people that might come back. The definition of innocent was vague, but he would like to think that many of the people on those planes, the FBI agents, especially the one he’d betrayed the most, would be alive. This was no longer just a fantasy but something tangible. He remembered thinking about this when he was set on killing Kim, but having the feeling tainted by guilt. There was guilt here too. Even if she was already dead by some definitions, she would still be dying by his hand. He wasn’t going to take that lightly. He also had to wonder what George’s definition of ‘by his hand’ was. Maybe there was an expiration date on these deals and he would be given a new task. Maybe this wasn’t even going to do anything.

He thought about Chloe and how worried she must be. He also didn’t know how she would feel about this decision. And it was her right to have input here too. With shaking fingers, he dialled her number. When she answered, he could hear sniffling.

“How bad?”

Tony let out a shuddering breath. “They’re both…they’re both in comas. Stephen they think might pull through and wake up, but Kim…” He coughed to clear his throat. “Kim’s on life support. They don’t think she’ll make it.”

“Oh, God…”

“It’s up to us.” He said weakly. “If…if we keep her on life support, or if we…” It was one thing to think about doing it, but it was another to actually utter it aloud.

He could tell she was trying to muffle her cries to avoid waking the kids up.

“They’re saying there’s no chance, right?”

“I…I can get the doctor to explain if you want more details, but that’s what they told me, yes.”

“So if we keep her alive, Ben and Teri are just…just going to have to watch their mom lying in a hospital bed for…God knows how long before they ask the same question. Then Stephen might have to do it…or if not…then we’ll just be back here again.”

Tony sighed, looking over at Kim, realising that the beeps from the machines were the only sign of life left. 

“I don’t think anyone should ever have to choose whether their spouse lives or dies. I…I don’t think Stephen should have to do this, even if he does wake up.”

“I agree.” He said honestly. “I just…I still don’t know.”

There was no positive choice here, and Chloe was already struggling to hold it together, she was in no state of mind to keep thinking about this.

“Do whatever you think is right.” She said in a very small voice after a beat. “I…I can’t make this decision. But I trust you, Tony.”

His eyes fell on Kim again as he put his phone away and he bit his lip. The doctor must have noticed him doing this because he gave him a sympathetic look. 

“I’m not expecting you to make this decision immediately, Mr. Santos. If you would like some time alone to think or to keep talking with Ms O’Brian, please take it.”

He nodded and slowly moved towards Kim’s bedside, sitting in the chair beside her. The doctor shut the door quietly behind him. It was hard to see her face, but he could see several contusions on the skin that wasn’t covered by bandages.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Tony whispered. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair for your family, it’s not fair for your father, it’s not fair for anyone.” He kept looking up as though expecting to see her react somehow. The rise and fall of her chest was very weak, it was almost impossible to detect. “You…you found someone that makes you happy, you found a way to live your life despite everything you went through.” He gave a watery smile. “Your dad would be so proud of you. Your mom would too. And maybe…maybe you’ll get to see her soon.” Tony took in a shuddering breath. “I…I don’t know what to do here. I don’t want to be the one to do this, but at the same time, I don’t want this for Stephen. I…if it were me I don’t think I’d ever be able to make a decision like this about someone I love and care about so much.”

Tony gently used his hand to cover her bare and seemingly uninjured wrist. She was freezing to the touch. 

“If…if I knew for sure that you'd never wake up, it would make this easier, but the fact is, I don’t. Yes, the chance is small, but it’s still there. I…I want to make the right choice for you and your family. I don’t want them to lose you. Chloe doesn’t want to lose you. I” his voice cracked, “don’t want to lose you, Kim. At the same time,” he spoke quietly, in case anybody could hear him, “if I do this, you would save so many lives. You would be doing something very selfless, and I’m not just talking about bringing Michelle and our son back. I’m talking about so many good people that are dead because of me. Just…” Tony knew he was sounding desperate now, he could feel the tears stinging his eyes, but he didn’t care. “Just give me a sign. Please. Give me a sign that doing this will only accelerate something inevitable.”

He gasped when one of her machines started to beep rapidly, starkly contrasting the quiet hum of the air-conditioning unit. Tony called out for the doctor, who ran through the door with a slew of nurses. They pushed him away from the bed and desperately began to look at what was wrong. All of them were very frantic, and Tony felt his heart start to race. Losing her felt tangible now. He didn’t want her to die. He didn’t. He didn’t want to believe this was some divine sign. He wanted her to be okay. He wanted Stephen to be okay. He didn’t want to see another family torn apart by unnecessary tragedy, especially not Jack’s. Tony watched her body rise and slump against the bed as they applied the defibrillators. They did it again, and again, but to no avail. Tony felt paralysed with shock as he watched, desperately hoping she would take in a breath of her own, desperately hoping that she could somehow muster whatever little strength she had left to prove the doctor wrong. 

“Time of death, 10:47 pm.”

But as he heard those words, Tony realised that, once again, getting his hopes up was never a good idea.

It was early morning by the time Tony got home. He could still hear Chloe’s sobs replaying in his mind. He was thinking about Stephen, about how he would receive the news that his wife was dead much the way he had once upon a time. Stephen loved Kim so unconditionally, and Tony admired him for it. Despite all the trauma of her past, despite the fact that she was likely a target for Russian terrorists because of her father, he still supported her, he still listened to her, he didn’t love her any less because of it. He didn’t run away from her the way most people understandably would have. And what hurt more was knowing that Jack wasn't around to see it.

Tony wondered if he should go to the diner and tell George about what had happened. However, he knew that George usually liked it when he called in advance, just in case he was seeing another ‘client’ already. Tony dialled his number twice, both leading to his voicemail.

“George, it’s me.” He coughed to harden his voice. “There was an accident. Kim…Kim’s dead.” Saying the words out loud again was no easier than it had been the first time. “I-I wanted to let you know, but I also wanted to ask you something. Since…since I didn’t kill her, then my deal is null and void, right? Because if that's the case, then I have a new deal I need to make. You’re going to give me a way to bring Kim back. And I swear to God, it better be something I can do, and I can do fast.” His inhale was shaky. “B-Because I don’t want to tell these kids their mother is gone, alright? You owe me, so give me something I can work with here. I’m never getting Michelle back now, I’m never going to be able to undo anything now, and I don’t care. I’m not that person anymore. But I care about this. I care about Jack. I care about atoning for what I did to him, so I need you to call me back and let me do this. Please.”

Tony sighed as the beep sounded, indicating the end of the message. He briefly waited to see if George returned his call but to no avail. Upon eyeing the clock, Tony remembered that Chloe had been alone with the kids all this time, so he left promptly, despite the fatigue threatening to consume him. When he got to Kim and Stephen’s house, he let Chloe go home to freshen up. Tony understood that she likely needed to process some of it on her own and that the presence of the kids was dredging up too many old, painful memories for her. But firstly, they told the kids that their parents were in the hospital. As expected of a nine-year-old and an eleven-year-old, they asked questions first, not entirely fazed by the severity of the situation. Chloe and Tony reassured them they would see their dad soon, hopefully, but their mom might have to go away for a while. They took it mostly well, to their relief. Chloe had also called some of Stephen’s relatives to come down and take the kids to school. Normality would be good for them, at least, Tony hoped it would.

There was a stop Tony wanted to make on his way home, though. Something he hadn’t been able to do in several years, something he wondered if he could ever do again. He had been too haunted by the fact that in their last interaction, she had expressed such great fear and disappointment in him for even daring to think about killing Kim Bauer. It had felt so deceitful since she'd had no idea what he had done otherwise, how he’d done a lot more than ‘thought’ about killing innocent people for the sake of her memory. But now, he felt a surge of finality because she was truly gone for good, with no hope of returning. Even if she wasn’t going to be able to hear him, he wanted her to know that he’d changed. While he’d never had the chance to make a choice about Kim, he had intended to make a good one, the right one, as she had once implored of him.

“I didn’t bring any flowers, sorry.” He sniffled, feeling a tightness in his chest. “I…I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to bring myself to come back here again after that night. I always thought I’d be too ashamed to.”

It was a little chilling being here at night again. If he closed his eyes, he could still see the image from when he’d held her, when he’d seen her so dismayed, when she’d started to bleed. Tony inhaled and then exhaled slowly, trying to ground himself.

“She’s gone, Michelle. I…Kim died right in front of me. But before that happened, the doctor had given me a choice about whether or not she should stay on life support. They’d told me her chances were slim, and yes, I won’t lie to you, I thought about the deal. What I need you to know, though, is that if I’d had the chance to make a decision, I wouldn’t have done what I would have ten years ago. I…I don’t even know who that person is anymore.”

He took in a deep breath, feeling moisture in his eyes.

“Even if I had ended her life like that, I don’t know if it would have counted as being by my hand. I…I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about her family. I was thinking about Jack, about how unfair this is, about how he doesn’t deserve any more suffering. I just…I just want you to understand that if I’d had the chance to make that choice, I promise you I would have made the right one for Kim, and not for me.”

Tears fell down his face gradually. The more he said it, the more he realised it was true. Michelle had been part of his thought process. He couldn’t deny that. But, the bulk of his reasoning, what he had thought about first, had been Kim’s wishes. Even if he hadn’t known for sure what they were, he hadn’t needed them to know that her family wouldn’t want to suffer over a negligible possibility of her waking up. She had spent so much of her life in pain over uncertainty about her father, whether he was dead or alive, where he was, if he was okay. So really, it only made sense that she wouldn’t have wanted her family to suffer that same pain.

“I…I love you so much, Michelle.” He sighed. “You shaped me into the best person I could ever be, and I am so sorry that that person died with you. But I’d like to think that maybe I’m closer to him now than I was before. And if you can hear me somehow…I-I really hope you feel that way too.”

Tony bent down to kiss her headstone before leaving the cemetery, feeling something had lightened in him. Maybe it was the fact that he was still in so much shock over Kim’s death, over the fact that he’d lost his chance, truly, for good, to bring her, their son, or anybody else back. He’d seen Kim’s family be torn apart by tragedy, and it only made him despise himself more knowing that he’d created tragedy like that for so many people. He was still the reason that so many people had lost their spouses, their parents, their children. And that guilt was never going to disappear, no matter how much good he did. But he promised himself he would give Kim's family everything they could ever need, everything they could ever want, not because it would make the pain go away, but to try to make it a little easier. 

He knew that the grief was going to hit hard when he watched Kim’s coffin be lowered into the ground, when he saw Stephen fighting his tears to keep a brave face in front of the kids, when he saw the two of them, so young, so innocent, dressed in all black and getting their first, unfortunate taste of the world’s cruelty. And while he wouldn't see Jack react to this, the thought alone was enough to make him tear up. The only reason Jack was likely staying alive was to ensure that they didn’t come after Kim or Chloe, to ensure that he upheld his end of the deal with the Russians. So to think that he had one less person to live for now made his chest hurt. Tony wondered what Jack might think of him. Jack was a stubborn man, but he would like to imagine that Jack might be a little kinder towards him now, given what he’d tried to do. But the fact was, he was never going to know.

Somewhere in his spiral, Tony reminded himself that it was over. There was nothing he could have done to prevent Kim’s death, and the fact that he’d been so careful, so mindful about the decision of Kim’s life was a testament to his character, not something to criticise. Because even if he had made the decision quickly, even if Michelle was beside him now, he would have ruminated about it for the rest of his life, wondering if he’d acted too soon. He simply would have been trading one kind of guilt for another. Tony knew now that all he could do was be there for her family. He would support Stephen and remind him that he didn’t have to take on parenting alone, that he and Chloe were there to fill the gaps. He would ensure that Ben and Teri were surrounded by people who loved and cared for them.

It was almost midnight now. Tony had been awake for over twenty-four hours by this point. He could barely keep his eyes open. The bed felt softer and more comfortable than it had in a long time, as though begging him to sleep.

Sleep was something of a challenge for him. He was often woken by nightmares, some horrific, twisted amalgamation of memories of Michelle and guilt over what he had done to send him to prison.

But tonight, for the first time in many years, Tony slept peacefully.

Tony's eyes opened slowly, and the first thing he noticed was how warm he felt. Not unpleasantly so, but warmer than he would expect for the crisp autumn weather. As he looked down, he resisted the urge to jolt in shock. There was someone beside him. Her hand was gently curved around his waist, her legs were tangled with his, and her exhales were gentle against his neck. 

It was a dream. It had to be. 

He wasn’t going to delude himself. This was his conscience somehow rewarding him for going to his wife's grave and making a choice that wasn’t terrible for the first time in almost a decade. She felt real, though. She looked real. Even more real than when he’d held her body in the cemetery all those years ago. Tony decided to wait, figuring that in a few minutes, he would blink and be in his bed alone again. Rather than try to deduce why this was happening, he simply allowed himself to enjoy it. Tony alternated between looking down at her, looking at the sun creeping more and more intently through the window, and looking at the clock. But as time passed, Tony realised that he had never been so…self-aware in a dream before. He had never had a dream stay in one place like this. He had never had a dream that wasn’t incredibly deranged and twisted, as dreams tended to be, or at least certainly not in the last decade or so.

Almost an hour later, she started to stir, and Tony felt tears well in his eyes. He’d been afraid to move before, but now he squeezed her against him, confirming that she was real and not some kind of hallucination. She murmured his name, and he almost gasped. He didn’t realise just how tightly he was holding her until she squirmed.

“Tony…” She groaned quietly. “Tony, you’re squishing me.” 

He moved back, and she lifted her head to look at him. Her hand went to his cheek to wipe a tear away.

“Hey…what’s wrong? Bad dream?”

“Y-You’re…you’re here.” He breathed.

Michelle nodded slowly. As he took a good look at her, he realised she had a sad look in her eyes. She looked like she’d been crying. Beneath the shock and joy he was feeling, something still didn't sit right in his gut. He watched her glance at the clock, pursing her lips. 

“Sweetheart, as much as I’d like to lie here, today’s not the day to be late.” She said hoarsely.

He furrowed his brow, and his confusion made her look at him very worriedly. 

“It’s…it’s Kim’s funeral today?”

His eyes widened. “But…but Stephen hasn’t woken up yet from his coma. D-Do the kids even know what happened? Are they doing it without-”

Now it was her turn to look confused. “Tony….who’s Stephen, whose kids, what are you talking about?”

Tony frantically pushed the covers off him and got out of bed. Immediately, he recognised that this was not the bedroom in their new house, but the bedroom of Michelle’s apartment she’d lived in after their divorce and briefly after getting back together. As Tony walked past the mirror in their bedroom, he did a double-take when he realised that he looked better than he had in a long time. His head wasn’t shaved, the scar on his arm from where Jack had shot him was gone, as were many of the others from his time with Emerson, and when he looked at his chest, the injection scar from where Henderson had tried to kill him was also gone. He kept looking at his reflection, stunned as he inspected himself and found more subtle things missing, like faded wrinkles and fewer grey hairs. What confirmed the slowly-forming outlandish theory in his head was noticing that the date on the calendar in their living room was from nearly twenty years ago. At that point, everything was too much, and he retreated to the bathroom, making it just in time to retch into the toilet.

He was breathing so heavily that he didn't hear Michelle quietly pad behind him.

“Are you okay?” She asked, startling him a little.

“What happened?” He rasped. 

"What do you mean ‘what happened?’-"

“How did Kim die?” He said shakily, cutting her off. “I don’t…that dream is still messing with my head.” It was a pathetic excuse, but it sounded better than saying he’d forgotten.

“A car accident,” Michelle said with a hint of bitterness. If she was suspicious of him not knowing this, she didn’t show it. “Drunk driver. He t-boned her, and her car rolled.”

Even though it was the same news he'd been told last night, he still felt tears prick the back of his eyes. Tony took in a shuddering breath. The deal had worked. But the thought of what that meant, what had changed, and what had stayed the same was wholly overshadowed by the fact that Kim was still dead. Somehow, a part of him must have thought that George would fix things, that he would never let something so horrible actually happen.

“Are we sure that it isn't related to Jack?”

“Chloe checked, and it doesn’t appear to be. You made her look into that right away.”

Tony tipped his head in acknowledgement. He still hadn’t moved from his kneeling position, but given how much his body was trembling now, he didn’t think he’d be able to. Michelle bent down beside him and took him into her arms. He let out a sob against her shoulder, and she kissed the top of his head.

“I know.” She murmured.

He snaked one of his arms around her waist, feeling the bump of her stomach to confirm it was there. He wanted it to remind him of what he’d gained here, that her death hadn’t (entirely) been in vain. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was trying to think about all the other people he’d killed who were now alive and well, as they should have been. But in all honesty, the nature of Kim's death just made him want to appreciate every second of the rest of his life with Michelle and their son. Now he was crying without restraint, the grief finally sinking him. She reassured him as best she could, battling her own tears too. Above all, he felt guilty. Even though he technically had everything he had asked for, part of him had to wonder whether he should have agreed in the first place. He may not have killed her, but he was the reason her death had brought Michelle back. 

“Does Jack know?” He asked.

“Not yet.” Michelle brushed a hair from his sweaty forehead. “The three of us agreed we would tell him in person, remember? We wanted to wait until after the funeral so it didn’t look strange for us to disappear.” 

He nodded slowly and pulled back to meet her eyes. She was here with him. The blood of innocent people was no longer on his hands. That had to be enough for him. Even if one had had to be taken in the process for it, he still had a second chance at life. He had the chance to do this over and make sure he never became that person again.

“Can I ask you something?” 

She looked at him sweetly. “Anything.”

“After…” Tony cleared his throat, trying to form his words as he reminded himself of the place he and Michelle had been in during this period after leaving CTU. “After today, after we see Jack, I-I don’t want to come back here. I…we talked about a fresh start, and I know we’ve been looking for houses, but I think we need some distance. Too much has happened to us here.”

Michelle nodded, taking in a slow breath. “Yeah, you’re right. I…I'll admit I've actually wanted to do that, but I was afraid to tear you away from everything again, and I wanted us to be close to Kim. But now…” She slumped her shoulders. “I don’t think being in LA or even California will serve us anymore. If you want to move, then I do too.”

He pressed his lips against hers softly and thanked her, relieved she agreed with him, feeling like he was being divinely guided away from anything that could harm them again. Things were going to be okay. That didn’t mean it wasn’t going to hurt and that it was going to happen overnight. But he had to believe that one day he would be able to be fully present and appreciate what he had back.

Today was not that day, though. Today was a day to say goodbye, a day to mourn, a day to accept his newfound fate.

But as Tony held Michelle close to him, he reminded himself that even though he’d lost one family, even though he was never going to see Stephen or Kim again, and nobody would remember their children, he had another family back too, and that no matter how difficult this was going to be, the fact that Michelle was with him meant it wouldn’t be impossible.

She had spent most of the car ride idly staring through the window. Her hand was resting on the console, and Tony idly brushed his thumb over it, a reminder that they were both here. He was still thinking about Kim. She was too. They had both agreed that Jack needed to know as soon as possible, so they'd quietly left for Mexico in the middle of the night. Tony still felt strange, like everything was familiar to him but at the same time so new. However, he had pinpointed one thing that still plagued his mind, one thing that made him feel guiltier than anything else.

Michelle had no idea that Kim’s life had been traded for hers and several others.

He hadn’t wanted to tell her at first, figuring that would just make her feel guilty for no reason, and he in no way wanted her to blame herself. At the same time, he didn’t want to shut her out like he had after prison. He didn’t want to give any reason for secrecy or distance between them. But he couldn’t exactly tell her directly because it would sound insane, and he didn’t want her to think he was making some kind of sick joke. 

There was, however, one person who could tell her and that she would believe.

“I need to make a stop somewhere.”

She turned to face him. “Where?”

“The diner up ahead. There’s someone I need you to meet.”

Michelle looked at him, bewildered, and continued to ask questions, but he told her everything would make sense later. When he parked the car, she asked, again, where they were and what they were doing at an isolated, seedy-looking diner in the middle of the night.

“It’s…it’s important, okay?” He pleaded, meeting her gaze. 

Her eyes were still puffy and bloodshot from crying, as were his. They were both emotionally drained and in an ideal setting, he would wait another day to drop this on her. At the same time, though, the longer he kept it, the worse it would be. It needed to happen, and it needed to happen now.

They got out of the car and walked towards the neon-lit diner. There was nothing particularly distinct about it, and she hadn’t seen him speak to anyone today besides Chloe, so she couldn’t understand why they were here. But she trusted him. Even though she was overwhelmed and tired beyond belief and dreading telling Jack the news, if he said it was important, then it was important. The noises inside the diner, the underlying chatter, and the lights were all a lot to handle. But Tony seemed to be one step ahead of her because he took her hand in his and gently guided her towards the quieter part of the diner, right to the booth at the end. She furrowed her brow when she noticed that a man was already sitting there by the looks of it.

When she saw the man’s face, she gaped at him. Her eyes widened, and she rapidly looked between him and Tony.

“George?” She breathed.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Tony reassured her, gently guiding her shaking body into the booth. 

“It’s good to see you, Michelle,” George said warmly.

He proceeded to explain what had happened after flying the plane into the desert. While it certainly wasn’t easy to take in, the more she looked at him, the more she realised he couldn’t possibly be lying, that it was really him. And as she started to get over the initial shock, she was able to appreciate the fact that he was alive and seemed much happier with the state of his life than he had been at CTU. 

“As happy as I am to see you, George, I…I don’t understand why I’m here.” She looked at Tony. “Did you…did you make some kind of deal with him?”

Tony tipped his head in assent, and the guilty look creeping across his face didn’t make her feel any less apprehensive about this. 

“A deal involving me?”

“Yes.” He said sombrely. “Because up until this morning, in my world, reality, whatever you want to call it, you were dead. You’d been dead for nearly twenty years.”

She squinted at him. “What? I don’t- This doesn’t make any sense-”

Before she could ask where he was getting this from, George was quick to speak. “It’s true, Michelle.”

“How? How did I die?”

Tony sighed. “It’s a long story about a large conspiracy. David Palmer had caught onto it, so they assassinated him. Then they tried to kill you, me, and Chloe to set Jack up so he could take the fall. This all happened about a year and a half after Jack went into hiding. Chloe and I survived, you...didn't.”

The fact that this sounded like a plausible thing that could happen in the somewhat near future made her stomach turn. Something about this felt too real to be some elaborate lie.

“So…so you made a deal to bring me back to life?”

“You, and…quite a few other people.”

She felt an awful sense of foreboding start to override her confusion. She couldn’t believe what he was saying, but at the same time, everything was so specific, everything was so detailed, and given that she was already staring at a dead man, was an alternate reality really that far-fetched?

“When you were killed, it…it shattered me, Michelle. I became someone who is unrecognisable to me now. I did terrible, terrible things, and there was no line I wouldn’t cross.”

The realisation hit her square in the chest. “You…you were responsible for their deaths, weren’t you?” Michelle said heavily. He didn’t even have to explain anything, and she was already onto him. “The other people you brought back.”

He bit his lip and nodded.

The thought of her husband being a murderer was both unfathomable and at the same time, horrifyingly easy to picture. She saw his dark side once, and only once, when she was kidnapped. She remembered reading the transcripts and testimonies of what he’d said to Stephen Saunders. He’d been willing to risk millions of innocent lives for her. So really, if she’d died, that darkness within him would have only been amplified. This also made her realise that if he’d gone to the trouble of wanting to not just bring her, but other people back from the dead, knowing that George would give him something more difficult to do, then it could only mean one thing.

“T-Those people were innocent.” Her voice broke, and she jabbed a finger into his chest. “You killed innocent people.”

“Y-Yes. I’m not denying that.” He said, his voice wobbling. “I’m not trying to say that the fact that I’ve brought them back to life makes up for what I did. I know that.”

She didn’t want to hear it. She could feel herself lose control of her breathing. 

“It’s to do with Kim, isn’t it?” 

He hesitated, and the more she thought, the more everything started to fall into place.

Michelle hardened her voice with more conviction than she’d been able to muster all day. “What did you do? Tell me right now, what the hell did you do?”

“Michelle, wait,” George said. “It’s not what you think, let me explain.”

She felt sick, furious, and betrayed all at once. Her imagination ran wild with the kinds of things he could have done in twenty years, and whether some of them hadn't been undone by his deal. Tony grabbed her bicep as she got up, but she pulled away from him and went to walk out of the diner. She gasped when she felt a pair of hands grab her by the shoulders and take her aside into the hallway near the bathrooms just as she’d gone to open the door.

“Sorry.” He said sheepishly, taking his hands off her immediately. “I’m not really allowed to leave this place.”

“George, please, don’t protect him. I need to know what he’s done.”

“And that’s what I’m trying to tell you.” He implored. “I get you don’t want to hear anything from him, but will you hear it from me?”

George was practically begging her to listen to him. If he had been chosen for a role like this, then he couldn’t possibly be lying or trying to minimise whatever had happened for the sake of Tony’s dignity.

She sighed, conceding, finding it hard to be mad at him. “Fine.”

“First of all, Tony found me by sheer coincidence. He happened to be part of someone else’s deal, he didn’t actively seek me out.” He started. “And I wasn’t impressed by what he did, far from it. But he surprised me. He proved that he could change and he did.”

“What was the task?” Michelle asked a little more calmly.

“His task, the only task I could give him, was for Kim to die by his hand. But he couldn’t bring himself to kill her, he got talked out of it.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be biased in these deals.”

He smiled a little. “I’m not. You convinced him, Michelle. I promised to prove that I was capable of following through by bringing you back to life temporarily, and whatever you said…it brought him down to Earth.”

The concept of saying something to him but not actually being able to recall it was a little difficult to grasp. Still, regardless of whatever she’d said to him, the fact that he’d seriously considered it was enough. 

“But if it wasn’t for me, he would have gone through with it.”

George shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. No matter what he said, I don’t think he would have done it. I mean that genuinely. He never sounded as sure of himself as he wanted me to think.”

She did believe him, and that did make her feel a little better, but there were still so many questions.“So what did he do after that?”

“He got in contact with Chloe O’Brian, who then got him in contact with Kim and her family. She was married with two kids. They made amends, and he spent every day being there for them, no matter how much it pained him to see them happy and having the life he always wanted with you.” George spoke fondly. “Every time he came to see me, he became closer to the Tony you and I knew. He would tell me anything and everything about these kids just because. This went on for seven years, but then…” He sighed. “Kim and her husband were in a car accident.”

“A drunk driver…” Michelle whispered.

“How do you?-”

“Because that’s what happened a week ago.” She said thickly. “But wait, you said it had to be by Tony’s hand?”

The corners of his lips upturned again. “You never were one to miss a detail, were you, Dessler?” He sighed. “The English language is a funny thing. Turns out that the fact that Tony was by her bedside in the hospital when she died, more importantly, that he was touching her, was enough to qualify for dying by his hand.”

She nodded slowly, slightly intrigued by the technicality but incredibly relieved to know that he hadn’t caused her any harm.

“You know what Tony did right after that, though?”

Michelle tilted her head.

“He called me, demanding to make another deal. He figured his existing deal was over because he hadn’t killed her. He wanted to bring Kim back. He wanted to bring her back with as much desperation as he’d wanted to bring you, your son, and all those other people back.” He sighed. “The only reason I didn’t answer the phone was because I was having a debate with the people that make these deals happen over said technicality.”

“So…so he really didn’t kill her?”

George shook his head. “This Tony didn’t, and while the Tony from twenty years ago was certainly not an angel, he still wouldn’t have either, if you ask me.”

“Where…where was Jack in all of this?”

He sighed. “In a Russian prison.” 

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“That takes a little longer to explain, but I’m sure Tony will tell you the details.”

One question seemed to create ten more, but if it had been twenty years for Tony then she supposed that made sense.

“You mentioned Kim having a family. She didn’t here. What…what happens to them then? In that other life?”

He shrugged. “It’s like they never existed. The quantum mechanics around it all are a bit of a doozy, but the point is that they’re not suffering or in any pain.”

There was a pause, but then Michelle realised she had something to ask now that she was alone with him. She cleared her throat. “One more thing. The deals you make…do they affect each other?”

“What do you mean?”

“If someone were to make a deal, and then somebody else made one that reversed it, would something bad happen?”

George lifted a shoulder. “In theory, no. But the tasks could affect each other in some way.” He looked at her sympathetically. “So, to answer what you’re about to ask, yes, you could ask me to bring Kim back since Tony can’t now, but even the easiest task I could give you would likely put you in danger. And I’m sure Tony wouldn’t want that.”

Michelle nodded glumly.

“I just...I just want to undo some of what’s been done. I can’t help but feel guilty about what’s been sacrificed to get me here.”

“You deserve to be here, Michelle.” He said emphatically. “I hate what the task was just as much as you and Tony do, but the two of you deserve a happy life, and I’m glad I could help bring you back to him. Because the Tony you see now is the Tony you fell in love with. The Tony that was ready to kill Kim is gone. He’s not by any means perfect, for starters, he’s still as stubborn as he always was, so God help you if your son even has an ounce of his genetics.” 

She laughed through her nose.

“But what’s important is that he’s redeemed himself. He didn’t have to do any of that. He didn’t have to be there for her family. He could have just disappeared, but he didn’t. I won’t lie to you, he did some pretty bad things, but he tried his damnedest every day to make up for it. He tried to build a better future, and I’m sure that part of him is not going to disappear now that you’re back.”

There was so much passion, pride almost, to his voice, and it put her at ease. As she let herself relax, she was able to register something very important that he’d told her.

“Wait…'son'?”

He grimaced. “You didn’t know that yet, did you?”

Michelle couldn’t help but giggle at his expression as she shook her head. 

“Ah, shit. Sorry about that.”

“It's okay. Thank you for telling me all of this.” She said appreciatively, pulling him in for a hug. “I…I’m sure I’ll have more questions for both of you, but I’m so glad you’re here. I…I’m glad you’ve been there for him when I couldn’t be.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

They returned to the booth, feeling like the churn in her gut had mostly disappeared. She and Tony were going to have several conversations about this later, but for now, she could live with what he’d told her. Tony was sitting in the booth, almost as though he had kept guard of it while George was gone. There were also several plates of food that hadn’t been there before.

“We haven’t eaten all day, so…”

Michelle slid back into the seat next to Tony and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry for doubting you.” She said. “I…I’m proud of what you’ve done. I know it wasn’t easy. I…I can’t say I understand everything right now, but I trust you and I love you. ”

She felt him sigh with relief against her, squeezing her back tightly. He murmured his appreciation and that he loved her more than anything, passing her a plate of food with his free hand.

“Oh, and we’re having a boy.” Michelle beamed.

To her confusion, he didn’t react in surprise but in amusement at her enthusiasm.

Michelle slumped her shoulders. “You knew that too?”

He snickered at her bewildered expression, but there was a slightly sad look in his eyes. “You were pregnant with our son, when you, uh…” He couldn’t finish the sentence, and she couldn’t blame him. “That was part of the deal.”

She hummed in assent and noticed that George seemed to be watching the two of them fondly. 

Michelle gave him a funny look. “What?”

“I just remembered that Chappelle owes me a beer. We’d made a bet about whether or not you two would get together.”

She didn’t know what to say. “George, he’s…” 

He gave a bittersweet smile, looking at Tony. “Don’t worry, I know.” 

George swiftly changed the topic to something lighter, reminding her of simpler times. Well, as simple a time as a nuclear crisis could be. When they left, things felt less tense and overwhelming than before. She could sleep easy tonight in whatever motel they ended up with on their way to Mexico. But while a part of her was undeniably overjoyed to be reunited again — even if she couldn’t exactly recall their time apart — she still felt very guilty about what had happened. She couldn’t help but see this as a trade: her life for Kim’s, even if Tony hadn’t had anything to do with her death directly, even if her death had come only as the result of someone’s stupidity and carelessness. 

“Hey…” He said softly, tucking a hair behind her ear. “We’re here.”

She blinked a few times, registering that the sky was darker and the car was parked. She realised she must not be hiding her trouble very well because he gave her a look of concern.

“Jack’s going to be devastated,” Michelle said thinly. “He…he wasn’t even able to go to her funeral.”

Tony took her into his arms as she inhaled shakily. “Believe me, as happy as I am that you’re here, I hate how it had to happen.”

“It’s not fair.” She croaked.

He kissed the side of her head. “It’s not. But we’re going to be there for Jack when we can, okay? That’s all we can do. This is not your fault. This is nobody’s fault except the bastard driving that other car.” Tony pulled back to face her. “And if you want to know more about the person I became after you died, then I’ll tell you.” He didn’t meet her eye but looked very sorrowful. “I-I wasn’t trying to hide from you. You have every right to know.”

“I’ve thought about it, but the truth is…” Michelle sighed. “I don’t want any reason for us to be apart again. So long as we raise our son to be a good person, so long as we appreciate every day we have, and do the right thing and be there for the people we love, then that’s all that matters to me.”

“You mean it?”

“George told me that you’ve redeemed yourself, and I believe him,” Michelle affirmed, her voice overcome with emotion. “And the fact is…you didn’t have to bring me to George tonight, you could have kept it all a secret, but you didn’t. That means a lot.”

He squeezed her hand. “I…thank you. I appreciate that more than you’ll ever know. But I stand by what I’ve said. If the day comes when you want the truth, I’ll tell you. I don’t want there to be secrets between us. I...I never want to lose you again.”

The fact that he still intended to keep his promise only further assured her that he was truly the best version of himself he could be. She breathed into him, feeling him shake a little, so affected by this moment of intimacy. She couldn’t imagine twenty years apart from him, so she hugged him back tighter to remind him that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“God, I love you so much.”

She wiped a tear under his eye. “I love you too.”

Five Years Later

Michelle watched as Monica slowly blinked her eyes shut and fell asleep in her arms, her tiny hand grasping her thumb. She leaned down and kissed their daughter on her forehead. Michelle remembered this fond feeling well from when she’d had their son, Noah, almost five years ago. She felt like she could spend forever just holding her while she slept. Her ears perked up at the car pulling into their driveway. Michelle smiled as she heard Noah talk Tony’s ear off about how great the baseball game had been before Tony quietly told Noah that the baby might be sleeping, so he had to use his inside voice.

The back door opened, and she heard the sound of running water in their laundry as Tony helped Noah take his shoes off and wash his hands. She then heard pattering footsteps down the hallway towards the living room where she was sitting. 

“Hey,” She whispered as the two of them came in, giving Noah a half-hug over the arm of the couch with her free hand.

Tony kissed the top of her head and then Monica’s. Her heart melted at the softness in his expression. Sometimes it was hard to remember that for Tony, he’d waited several more years than she had for them to have this together, and it made him all the more grateful and patient as a parent. He seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy and passion for them. She thought that it might understandably wear off after a while, given that while parenting was rewarding, it was also exhausting, but that hadn’t quite happened yet. 

“How was the game?”

Noah’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights. “The Cubs won!” He whisper-yelled. “It was so cool!” 

He started to give her a play-by-play of the game from start to finish, without missing a single detail and she was glad to see that he had enjoyed his afternoon. George’s prediction had absolutely been correct, Noah had her attention for detail and Tony’s stubbornness. Tony too, watched their son with absolute adoration. Michelle got up to put Monica in her cot while Tony and Noah followed her, so she could then give Noah a proper hug and kiss afterwards. It was already past his bedtime, and Noah didn’t seem ready to sleep at all. But he seemed happy to go along with his parents’ wishes to shower and get ready for bed, so long as he got to tell the entirety of his story. Thankfully, the dim lighting and warmth of his pyjamas won Noah over, and he became sleepy as soon as they tucked him in, snuggling the Cubs bear plush toy Tony had bought him at the game. Tony also hung up the jersey he’d bought him before the two of them left his room to let him sleep in peace.

She leaned on the tip of her toes to kiss him, her hands moving to the nape of his neck.

“Jack called before.”

Tony’s eyebrows raised. “Really? How is he?”

Michelle smiled. “Good. Audrey, well,” she lifted her hands to make air bunnies, “‘Victoria’ is pregnant.”

“Oh, that’s great. That’s so great. I’m glad to hear that.” 

“It really is.” 

Telling Jack that Kim had died had to be one of the hardest days of their lives. It had crushed him, and they’d quickly watched him revert to a state that Tony hadn’t seen since Teri was killed. What had hurt Jack the most was the fact that it had nothing to do with him. It had been an unfortunate accident, but at the very least Jack couldn’t blame himself, just the person driving that other car who’d made the wrong choice. They’d stayed with him for a long time, despite his insistence that it wasn’t safe for them to be near him. But they’d been determined to get him onto his feet again. Chloe had covered their surveillance, and after they’d come home, they’d checked in on him almost every day. Tony’s care for him at that time had truly shown Michelle the goodness of his heart, the loyalty to the people he cares about, and the everlasting drive within him to be a better person. 

But what had been an unexpected turnaround was Audrey Raines showing up at Chloe’s doorstep in the middle of a stormy night, demanding to know where Jack was.

Somehow, she’d figured out that Jack was alive, thankfully not because they’d made a grave error in helping him disappear, but because she’d been (mildly) stalking them and had tracked them to Mexico. Audrey had done it from a very generous distance and hadn’t followed them all the way — she knew nothing of the booth in the end at the diner — but she’d made a few educated guesses and been correct. Chloe had called them in a panic, wondering what to do. Initially, they’d wanted to respect Jack’s wishes and keep her out of danger, but they'd soon agreed that having Audrey with him might be the only way he could find a way to go on. Tony had seen how Jack had changed and healed when he'd gotten together with Audrey after Teri. So they'd known it was only fitting that Audrey was there for him at this difficult time of his life too.

Jack had been a little startled at first, given what had happened the day he’d 'died'. But the two of them had clearly both been so happy to see each other and so committed to supporting each other, so they’d quickly worked, along with the help of David Palmer and Audrey’s father, to rebuild their life together. Heller had been reluctant, but when he'd understood just how much it meant to Audrey, he’d been more than willing to do everything in his power to let them live their life privately and safely. They lived under false names, running a second-hand book store in a quiet town near the beach. It was a little hard to picture Jack in such a peaceful setting, but they knew simply based on the tone of his voice every time he spoke on the phone that he was happy and grateful that they had brought Audrey to him. Chloe had also worked to build a much more secure private network they could use to talk with him, which removed the need for a one-minute cap on any calls. 

Tony sighed, looking wistfully at Michelle and shaking his head.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just…I’m just so grateful that we’re here. That we’re okay, that Jack’s okay despite everything. I…I spent so long thinking that this was never going to happen for either of us.”

He said things like this often, but she could tell he meant it genuinely each and every time. His commitment to making every moment count, to never letting himself take advantage of or be ungrateful for what he had, had rubbed off on her. It made them that much stronger in their marriage and in their parenting. While it had taken some time to process some of the things Tony had done in that other life, the fact that he was so dedicated to being his best self, and teaching their children to do the same, had made it a lot easier. 

“I’m grateful that you’re here too. Hard to believe that if it wasn’t for that day, we might never have gotten back together.”

Tony nodded, agreeing. “What is it with us and nuclear bombs?”

Michelle snorted. “Not the most romantic story, is it? Makes me glad we left CTU before we had the chance for any more to go off.”

This seemed to surprise him slightly. 

“You don’t regret leaving?”

She shook her head. “I mean running our own business took some getting used to, and occasionally I miss the fast pace, but no, I don’t. It served its purpose in our lives, but when you said to leave, it was the right thing to do.”

“That…that means a lot to me. I always wondered if I’d forced you to make that decision impulsively because of what happened that day.”

“I mean, my decision to kiss you in the hallway once upon a time was impulsive and look where that’s gotten us.”

Tony smiled wryly, suddenly slipping his hands to her ass and picking her up. “Yeah, I might need a reminder about that.”

Michelle nuzzled his nose. “Then why don’t I show you?”