Life's Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the 24 characters because if I did, Tony and Michelle's story would've ended with season 4. All the other characters that don't appear in 24 are my own creation. Any similarity to either other fictitious characters or real people is pure coincidence. None of my ideas are based on the work of others, any similarity is also coincidence.

Author note: You should watch season 4 before reading this because you'll be spoiled otherwise. I also changed a lot of season 4's end because this story starts at the end of it with Tony and Michelle's hug in episode 24.

For those who didn't watch it, I suggest you do because you might not understand parts of the story as I won't be explaining season 4 in any more details than I need to tell Tony and Michelle's part of it. This is another story of mine with a happy ending Tony and Michelle deserved. Stuff they got just isn't fair, and I don't mean just season 5, but I won't rant here. Enjoy the story and please let me know what you think.

1.

"It's over." His words kept ringing in her ears, her hands clutching his shirt as she held him tightly, not wanting to let go, afraid she was dreaming. Afraid that in a few minutes the dream would end and she'd wake up all alone in tears, like she woke up so many times during the past six months. However, this time she knew she wasn't dreaming, this time he was back in her arms and she was sure it would be forever.

Michelle separated herself from Tony only enough so she could look into his eyes. When he felt her moving away Tony straightened up too, removing his face from her neck and looking back into her eyes.

She didn't say anything; she just smiled with a tiny smile and he smiled back, his smile as tiny as hers.

"It shouldn't feel awkward and it shouldn't be hard to go back to what we used to be. This is still us, just like before, and we're still the love of each other's lives," Michelle thought to herself. "We can get through anything together because we still love each other."

As if Tony read her mind he said, "I love you; I love you so much. I never stopped loving you."

Michelle smiled widely this time, hugging him tightly again, "I love you too sweetheart, so much; I never stopped loving you either. I missed you more than I can say."

"I missed you too sweetheart, so much," Tony replied, kissing her neck. Looking into her eyes again he said, "Let's go."

"Go?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here, now."

"Tony, we can't go. I still have a ton of paperwork to do and reports to take care, as well as debriefs to finish… I cannot just go. I'm still the Director of CTU, if only for today, which means I cannot leave yet."

"Yeah, you can. Bill is here; he's more than capable of handling things on his own."

"I know, but I still have things to do, even though he's here, and you know it. You have to be debriefed too and…"

Tony cupped her face, gently kissing her lips, "I know, but we need to talk. We'll come back later and take care of everything, but right now, all I need is some time alone with you after this hell. I still can't believe I got you back and I need to hold you in my arms in peace, to let this miracle settle in."

Michelle smiled, caressing his face, "it is a miracle and I can't believe it either. I want to be alone with you too, more than anything."

They hugged each other tightly, but before Tony and Michelle could continue their conversation, they heard a cough behind them. Turning around they saw Bill Buchannan standing there looking embarrassed, with a folder in his hand. They separated from their hug and Michelle took Tony's hand in hers and squeezed it tightly before Tony squeezed hers back.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was on my way to give this to Chloe," Bill said, showing them the folder.

"It's okay Bill; I was just about to go see you anyway. Tony and I want to leave for couple of hours; we really need to talk in private. Before you say anything, I assure you, we'll come back and finish what we need to as well as debrief Tony."

"I suppose I could let you go for a while, but we do need you both back."

"Of course and we will be back; we just need some time alone. Tony needs to change too and we need to eat something. We know what our duties are and we'll return, Bill."

"Okay, you can go."

"Thank you Bill," Michelle said.

"Yeah, thank you." Tony added.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're okay, Tony. You did a great job today, you were a major asset and you helped us a lot. I'm sorry if I was hostile at the beginning; I assure you I won't be anymore. I'll make sure everyone knows what an outstanding job you did. You could even work here again, if you want to."

"Thank you Bill, that means a lot to me. Sorry about my hostility too, it won't happen again. Thank you for the offer, but I won't be doing CTU or CTU related work anymore. Michelle and I decided to leave this life forever and these last events only confirmed our decision," Tony looked at Michelle who smiled to him, gently squeezing his hand.

"I'm glad you two decided to remain together and sort out your problems. It will be a shame to lose agents like the two of you, but it is your decision and I respect it. I hope you'll be happy with whatever you do in future, you both deserve to be happy."

"Thank you Bill. We'll see you in couple of hours." Michelle said.

"See you in couple of hours," Bill replied and walked away.

When they were alone again, Michelle asked, "Do you want to go change first or…?"

"No, I just want to get out of here as soon as possible and be alone with you. We could grab something to eat and I could change at your place… if that's okay with you?"

"Sounds perfect," Michelle kissed him, "let's get out of here."

"Let's go," Tony replied happily.

He extended his hand towards hers and Michelle took it, kissed and squeezed it tightly as they walked out of CTU.

When they reached the parking lot, Michelle gave Tony the keys.

"You drive," she smiled.

"Okay," Tony replied, kissing her one more time.

They didn't say anything to one other for a while, still feeling a bit awkward. Neither of them could believe what was happening so they just looked at each other from time to time with a constant smile on both of their faces.

Suddenly, Tony pulled the car to the side of the road and got out. He came around and opened the passenger door, extending his hand towards Michelle. Surprised, Michelle took his hand. Tony gently pulled her out of the car and picked her up in his arms, spinning her around, holding her tightly.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I missed you so much; I love you," he said, burying his face in her neck. "I love you so much. I so missed saying that. I missed it all."

"I missed it all too," she replied happily. "I love you Tony; I love you so much. I never thought I'd see you again either. This whole thing seems like a dream. I keep wondering when I'll wake up and realize it isn't real."

Tony lifted his head and looked deeply into her eyes, "you are awake; we're both awake. We're together again and we're staying together this time," he smiled.

"Good," she replied, kissing him passionately. "I don't think I could bear losing you ever again."

"You won't sweetheart, I promise. I don't think I could take it again either," he replied, burying his face back in her neck again, kissing it.

Michelle gently stroked his back; she didn't want to say anything, not wanting to bring up a hurting matter. After couple of minutes, she picked up the courage and asked in a barely audible voice, "What about her?"

"Her?" Tony asked, completely lost in her arms. "You mean the woman who abducted me? I already told you that you didn't do anything wrong. Don't think about it anymore. There's no need for you to worry yourself about it. It's over," he kissed her neck again.

"No Tony, although we'll have to talk about that later too, not that woman," Michelle replied, still gently stroking the back of his head.

"What woman then?" Tony lifted his head from her neck and looked into her eyes. When he saw the tears filled look in them, he remembered what woman Michelle was talking about. Before he managed to say anything, Michelle said in the same barely audible voice, "The woman you're living with."

Tony felt like someone stabbed him in the heart. Michelle was his life, the last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her or cause her any pain and he knew how much this was hurting her. He hated being the one causing it.

Jen was only last thing added to the list of things he put her through since he got out of prison. He hated himself for what he did to her and he hated himself for being so stupid and letting it all happen in the first place.

"Michelle… I don't think I'll ever be able to apologize enough times for the way I acted when I came back from prison. I'll spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you, the way I should've done from the start instead of doing what I did. I'll change everything I messed up and make it all better. You won't have to worry about any of it anymore; I promise," he gently kissed her lips and continued.

"However, you don't have to worry about Jen; you don't even have to think about her. She's not important to me, not in the way you're worried about. She's a good woman, who tried to help me, but she never stood a chance and knew it all along. She means nothing to me; she's a friend, that's all."

"A friend? You don't have to change the story just because we're back together and you're trying to protect me. It wouldn't be strange if you had a relationship during the six months we were apart, and it doesn't matter if you did. I just want to know if I'm going to lose you because of it," she looked into his eyes. Even though she was worried, just by looking into his eyes Michelle knew she wouldn't lose him, not this time around so she tried her best to hide it.

"You won't; you'll never lose me. You're my whole life, my only love, that didn't change and it never will. I'm not trying to change the story. I'd never do that and if I want our life to go back to what it used to be, this isn't a moment to start either. Jen was never anything more than a friend even though she wanted to be more. When I lost you, I lost myself even more and somehow she showed up. I didn't care about anything, so when she offered to help me, I accepted.

One night when I was drunk, like every night…" Tony looked uncomfortable while trying to say what was on his mind, so he paused.

Michelle caressed his face and smiled, encouraging him to continue; he smiled back and continued, "And we got close to having sex for the first time. Even though we made out more then once when things would move any further… I would make all kinds of excuses why I didn't want to have sex with her, but that night I was even more drunk than usual… I looked at her and saw you. I saw you smiling to me and I thought for a second that you were back, that I was about to make love to you again and be back in your loving arms… I told you that I loved you… that I missed you and asked you to forgive me… I called her with your name … I was so out of it that I was sure it was you."

"Oh honey," Michelle kept gently stroking his face.

"It was one month after I moved in with her. She just stopped me and I realized it was her and not you… I tried to apologize but there wasn't much I could say since what I told her in that moment was true. I couldn't hide it, so I told her that I loved you with all my heart and that I always would. We lived together for another four months, but nothing much changed. She kept me with her, kept helping me, hoping I'd forget about you, but our relationship never changed. It just kept getting colder; I was moving out in couple of days anyway, because neither of us could live in that manner anymore. I stayed far too long in her place as it was and I feel so bad about acting that way and I'll pay her back for all her help. You have to believe me though honey, that's how our relationship was; it never got to be anything more than that. I did live with her during all these months, but I love you too much to have anything serious with anyone else, you didn't leave my mind for a second. Please believe me; you have nothing to worry about."

Michelle just hugged him, "I believe you", she whispered.

"I tell you what," he said looking into her eyes again. "Let's drive by her place now. I'll take my things and leave her a note."

"Tony, that might not be a good idea; you should say goodbye to her properly. It sounds like she was there for you when I wasn't."

"Only because I acted like an idiot and chased you away. I don't blame you for leaving; I understand why you did. I'll never forgive myself for the way I acted and for the way I treated you. I acted like a pig and you deserve the best. I missed you so much when you left; it hurt so badly. Even though I knew better, I talked myself into believing that you left me. It was easier that way, instead of going after you, which is what I wanted to do. I can't believe I did that; I can't believe I ended up saying you left me, when it was the other way around. I was gone long before you left. I'm so sorry for everything."

"Stop apologizing; you're not the only one to blame in all of this. We're together again and things will be different from now on," she smiled.

"Yeah, they sure will be, sweetheart," he kissed her. "Even though we need to get back to this, we better stop for now. We're standing on the side of the road and it looks like it will start raining again. I just wanted to hold you in my arms, clear a couple of basic things and tell you that everything will be okay this time around. Most importantly, I wanted to make sure you how much I love you."

"I love you too, so much. I'm glad you did; I hated feeling awkward around you. It feels so horrible. I never again want to feel that way when I'm with you."

"Neither do I, sweetheart. We're together and we'll be as happy as we used to be. Even though we have so much to talk about still, I'm sure we'll be okay."

"We do have a lot to talk about, I have so many things I want to deal with and apologize for… I know we'll be okay though," she kissed him, "just by looking into your eyes."

"I know it too. There's nothing you need to apologize for. Like I told you hours ago, I'm the one who owes you apologies, lots of them."

Michelle caressed his face, "No you don't, and I know you think I don't either, but… We'll talk about it all later. We better go now; we should get you out of these clothes and eat something. I'm hungry and I'm sure you are too. We also have to go back to CTU."

"Yeah, we do. I still want to go by Jen's house though. My clothes are there and I want to take it all out of the house. I never want to go back there or set foot inside. I want to close this chapter of our lives forever."

Knowing she wouldn't change his mind, Michelle smiled and said, "Okay, but you should leave her a note and tell her you'll talk to her properly soon."

"You're so incredible. I'll do that," Tony replied and kissed Michelle passionately, "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Let's go."

Tony and Michelle got back into the car and drove to Jen's house. They smiled more freely to each other this time. The slight awkwardness from before was completely gone. Stopping at a red light, Tony took Michelle's hand and kissed it, looking into her eyes lovingly, "things will go back to the way they were this time, I promise."

"I don't want them to."

"You don't?"

"No, I only want our private life and our love to be same as before. I want the rest of our life to be different. I want to start something on our own, away from that old life, just like you said before you left to get that woman. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore and I don't want to risk losing you ever again, for as long as I live."

Tony smiled, "I don't want to risk losing you again either. I want exactly the same things you do and we will have it all."

"I know," Michelle replied.

They arrived at Jen's house couple of minutes later. Michelle decided to stay in the car; she didn't want to meet the woman Tony shared the last couple of months with or see where he lived. She wanted it all to be in the past and she didn't want to have anything to do with it anymore.

Tony kissed Michelle and caressed her face, "I'll be right back sweetheart," he smiled and got out of the car.

Unlocking the door, he walked inside the house and found Jen sitting on the couch.

"Hey, what are you doing up?"

"You think I could sleep after our last conversation?"

"You've been sitting there all this time? Shouldn't you be going to work soon?"

"Yeah, I have to go soon, but like you care what I do anyway. What are you doing here?"

"I came to get my things and say goodbye to you. You knew I was leaving in couple of days, but I decided to leave now, I…"

"You're back with her, you don't have to go around it," Jen interrupted him. "I can see it in your eyes. You look happier than you've been in all these months and you've been with her for maybe couple of hours."

"I'm sorry Jen. I didn't expect to ever see her again and when I did… all my anger was gone and the reason to be happy came back with her. I don't miss the big piece of me anymore, I'm a whole person when she's with me…" he stopped, when he saw how Jen was looking at him, realizing what he was saying.

"I'm sorry Jen, but you know how I feel about her. You know how much I love her… Even though I acted like a jerk and kept repeating she left me and didn't care about me, you knew that wasn't true because I told you the truth months ago. You knew I was saying it all so it would make me feel better, even though it didn't. You knew my true feelings for her perfectly well. I told you how much I loved her more than once. This shouldn't come as a surprise to you."

"I knew it and I knew we'd never be anything more than we were. You were apart from her for months and we didn't make love even once; you hardly even touched me. I doubt she left your mind for a second. You kept looking at that picture of the two of you together in your wallet; I noticed it more than once, even though you tried to hide it from me. Even though you acted like nothing from the past mattered, it was obvious how much you loved her, missed her and wanted her back; a blind person would see it. I know all of that, but it still hurts."

"I know it does and I'm sorry. I wish I could change what I did to both you and her. I hurt you both and I'm sorry. I can't fix our problems, because we never stood a chance, but I can fix it all with her. I want that more than anything, and that's what I'll do. You know I was leaving in a few days anyway. I'm leaving now, only with her."

"I know and I want you to be happy."

"Thank you Jen. When I get back on my feet, I'll send you the money for everything you paid for me."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. It's not fair that you were paying for me. It's not fair that you kept doing it and I want to pay you back."

"I did it because I wanted to do it."

"I know and I want to do this; please let me pay you back."

"Okay Tony, fine. Once you're back on your feet, you can repay me."

"I will; I promise. I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I just needed to pick my things up and leave. My wife is waiting for me; we still have so much to do and we don't have a lot of time."

"My wife…" Jen snorted. "Your eyes light up when you even mention her, even though you were apart for so long and you're not married anymore. You still call her that."

"That's because she's still my wife in my heart and she always will be. Hopefully, she'll agree to marry me again soon. We belong together and we never should've separated in the first place, but I'll fix it all," Tony said without thinking; he regretted saying it when he saw the expression on Jen's face again. "I'm sorry; I better get my things fast before I hurt you even more."

"Yeah… You better."

Tony began quickly moving around the house, retrieving the remainder of his things that weren't already in the garage. He didn't notice Jen looking out the window, or Michelle seeing her from the car outside.

"So, that's her huh? She's even prettier than I imagined from what I managed to see on the picture you kept hiding from me," Jen said surprising him. Tony turned around and saw her looking at Michelle. He quickly went to the window and smiled to Michelle, closing the curtain.

"Yes, that's her. Just leave her out of it; don't go talking to her. She has nothing to do with this and she's suffered enough. None of this is her fault; she didn't do anything wrong. I'm the only person to blame for all of this mess, so please leave her out of it."

"I want to go and talk to her, but I won't. I don't need the aggravation. She can have you," she snorted. "I'll go take a shower before going to work. You pick rest of your stuff up and leave the keys on the counter."

Jen tried to kiss him on the lips, but Tony moved away. "Good luck Tony," she kissed him on the cheek, "and goodbye."

"Goodbye Jen. I'm sorry."

He watched her going into the bathroom and he heard her closing the door behind herself. Tony felt bad for the way he hurt her and promised himself one more time that he'd at least pay her back, since he could not undo all the damage he did over the past 6 months. He then quickly got his clothes from the wardrobe and placed it all in a suitcase with the rest of the clothes he had already packed. He then picked up his Cub's mug and the rest of his things that weren't in the garage already. The last thing he picked up was a small cardboard box he kept buried deep inside the wardrobe hidden under bunch of things he knew Jen wasn't using. When he was done, he left the keys on the counter and looked around. He never felt like he was home in this house and he was happy to be leaving.

A couple of minutes later Tony got out of the house; he was carrying two boxes and driving one suitcase with his things. Michelle came out of the car and walked towards him. He placed the boxes on the floor and cupped her face.

"Hey," Tony said, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she smiled.

They kissed and hugged each other.

"You done with everything?" Michelle asked.

"I got everything out of the house; but there are more boxes in the garage. I'll go get them and we can get out of here."

"I'll put these things in the trunk. Hurry, okay?"

"I will sweetheart; we'll leave in a minute," he caressed her face and kissed her cheek gently. Tony turned around and went to the garage to pick the rest of his things up.

Michelle remained alone when he left; she looked one more time at the house where her husband lived and remembered the expression on that woman's face. She imagined how much this was hurting her and she kept imagining the months Tony spent here. Popping the trunk open Michelle started placing his things inside, trying her best not to think about things that bothered her and to concentrate on the happiness she felt because she got him back.

Tony went inside the garage and found the remainder of his boxes there; he took some adhesive tape and taped them up. He kept thinking how much this whole thing must be hurting Michelle, how many mistakes he made over the past months and he resented himself for it. Tony promised himself that he'd do it better this time; that he'd do what he should've done when he got out of the prison and that was everything in his power to have a normal life with Michelle. Going back to the car, he couldn't stop feeling guilty for behaving the way he did; so he promised himself to never hurt her again and to show her every day how much she means to him.

"This is it," he said when he reached the car.

"Okay, I placed other things inside the trunk. You can put those next to it all."

After placing everything inside, Tony closed the trunk, "You okay?" He asked noticing the tired and worried look on her face.

"I'm fine," Michelle smiled a bit. "I'm tired and I just want this part to be over with. I don't want to think about any of it anymore. I want us to go back to our old life and to have this past year and a half behind us. I want us to see it as a terrible nightmare we successfully woke up from together."

"We will honey; it's all I want too. I know how hard this must be for you, seeing all of this and seeing her… I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything," he said with obvious remorse on his face.

"It's okay; you don't have to apologize anymore…" she caressed his face.

"Yes I do; I know you don't want me to, but I do. I hurt you so badly and I hate myself for it. This is just one of the things. This house and her… I'm so sorry. I acted like a moron and did everything wrong. I still can't fully explain why I did it all. I doubt I will ever be able to, but I still want us to discuss it. I want to explain it all to you the best I can, so we can get over it and move on."

"We will Tony, we will. Right now, though, we have to go to my apartment and leave all these things there. You need to change and we need to eat something. We then have to go back to CTU and deal with all of that. We do need to talk, but we'll do it in peace, when all of this is done."

"You're right; I just want to make sure you know how much I regret all of this. I want to have a normal life with you. I want you to know how much I love you and how happy I am to have you back."

"I know that," she smiled wider this time. "I'm as happy to have you back; I love you as much. I have things I need to apologize for as well," Tony started to speak, but she placed her finger on his lips. "Yes I do," she kissed him, "but we'll take care of it all in time. The most important thing is that we're together again and nothing will separate us anymore. You have no idea how happy I am because of it."

Tony lifted her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm as happy sweetheart. I love you so much."

"I love you too, so much. Let's go."

Tony and Michelle kissed one more time and got into the car, smiling to each other constantly.
They drove off; leaving a big part of the past they wanted to forget behind.