Ok, I'm in 24 withdrawal. How about you? To break the monotony until my favorite show returns, I decided to write another fanfiction.

This story takes place five years after Escape to Argentina (which took place right after season 3). Reading that story first is not necessary, but you may find it helpful. I will try and fill you in on any necessary details. A couple of things did differ from the end of season3, though. Chase never lost his hand and David Palmer ran for reelection and won but resigned part way through his term due to poor health.

If you read, please, please, please review. It really helps to know if you like the story or not.

Otherwise, just the usual disclaimers, I don't own any of the characters, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Chapter 1: CTU Again

"Mr. Almeida"

Tony looked away from his monitor as his secretary's voice came through the intercom. "Yes, Rita" he answered absently.

"I have Brad Hammond on line one for you."

"Thanks, Rita, put him through." Tony sighed. There were few people that could ruin a day as quickly as Brad Hammond.

"Brad," Tony said shortly.

"Obviously this isn't a social call, Tony," was the curt response. The two wasted little time with niceties. Tony knew Brad was only calling because CTU needed his help. As always, Tony wanted to refuse, but couldn't. If he did, he would go to prison for the next twenty years.

Almost seven years earlier Tony was charged with treason for putting the safety of his wife above that of the country. He had done so willingly and never tried to deny it, but with life in prison or even the death penalty looming over him, he decided to escape the country, a country he had defended and served for more than a decade, and move to Argentina. He spent twenty months in Argentina during which time he was tried in absentia in a US court, convicted of treason against the United States and sentenced to twenty years without the possibility of parole. He was eventually pardoned by President David Palmer just prior to Palmer's resignation and he returned to the United States, to his beloved Michelle and to a one year old daughter he had only seen for a few days when he snuck into the country to visit her six weeks after her birth.

When David Palmer announced that he was pardoning Tony, the pardon was considered 'unconditional', but Tony knew otherwise. He would not be employed by the US government, would not receive the pension he had earned, but he would have to be available to the CIA whenever they needed him. When he put his signature to the paper agreeing to this clause of the pardon, Tony knew what it meant and he didn't like it. He would now be at the beck and call of the CIA. They could give him any kind of assignment or mission and he could not refuse. Refusal would instantly void the pardon agreement and he would go to prison. He could have chosen not to sign the agreement, but he would have been forced to live the rest of his life as a fugitive. He would either have to continue living without Michelle and his daughter Sophie or they would have to live in exile with him. Neither choice was acceptable to him, so he signed the agreement and came home. Michelle was the only person outside of the CIA who knew the terms of the pardon; Tony suspected that Jack knew. Tony and Michelle also suspected that Jack may have agreed to similar terms to keep from being charged with crimes relating to the last day they spent together at CTU. Jack had taken a couple of spur of the moment vacations and business trips over the years that were very out of character for him. Each time, Tony and Michelle were sure that he was on some sort of mission. Jack never confirmed or denied their suspicions.

Tony felt fortunate that over the course of the last five years the CIA had only called on him twice. Both times it was to help run tactical at CTU. The first time was just a few months after he returned home. Hammond had called him that night around midnight. He went into CTU and was briefed. It was a huge mission and they needed several people to run tactical. Tony assisted by monitoring satellite feeds and managing the response of local authorities. It wasn't hard and he enjoyed the old feeling, the buzz he got during the tense moments before success was achieved. The second call was not as fulfilling. Again he was called upon to help run tactical during a big mission. This was almost three years after they last called him. Technology had changed and Tony was no longer up to date. He found himself playing catch up while agents' lives hung in the balance. Three agents were killed during the raid. It wasn't Tony's fault, but he felt guilty and felt that if he had been up to date with the government's technical advances, that their deaths could have been prevented. Since then Tony hadn't been called in to help and he secretly hoped that they had learned their lesson and wouldn't call him in again. With Brad Hammond on the phone now, he knew he was wrong.

"I didn't expect you were calling to see how Michelle and the kids were." Tony answered not even trying to disguise his disdain for Hammond.

"No, I need you to meet me for lunch. I have reservations at Tyson's at 1 o'clock for us."

"Brad, I work for a living, remember. I have appointments already scheduled for today. I can't just drop everything and go to lunch. If we can't discuss this over the phone, you can meet me at my office or I can meet you at Division. Tyson's is 45 minutes from my office; it's not convenient for me."

"Going to prison wouldn't be particularly convenient either, I assume."

"I didn't refuse to meet with you, Brad. I just refused to meet at Tyson's."

"You don't seem to understand, Tony, but then you never did. You can't have it your way; you don't have a choice. You meet me at Tyson's at one or there will be federal marshals crawling over your office and your home. It'd be a damn shame for your kids to see you hauled away in handcuffs. I guess it would be pretty upsetting for Michelle, too, especially since she's pregnant again." Tony sat back, stunned by this statement. Michelle was pregnant, but despite that fact that she was four months pregnant, she really wasn't showing and they had not told anyone yet. Brad was obviously keeping very close tabs on him. "You always did have trouble keeping your pants zipped; first Nina, then Michelle. Of course, at least if you were in prison, Michelle wouldn't have to worry about being pregnant all the time."

Tony was seething but Brad had him over a barrel. "Tyson's at one," he said trying desperately to control his anger.

"See you then," Brad replied with a chuckle.

Tony looked at his schedule for the day then called his secretary on the intercom. "Rita, do me a favor, please. Reschedule all of my appointments between 12 and 3. I think I can make the 3 o'clock and if I can't I'll call you. I have to be out of the office for a while."

"Mr. Almeida, I've had to reschedule Christopher Alban from Southwest Regional Oil twice now. He's only going to be in LA a couple of days. I don't think he's going to happy about this."

"I'm not happy about this either." Tony said, his irritation coming through in his voice. "That's a big contract. I need that business, but something else came up. See if he's free for dinner tonight. I'll take him to his favorite restaurant. Maybe that will make him happy."

Tony finished up some work and met with a client at 11 o'clock. He was preoccupied though; he wondered why Hammond wanted to meet him in a neutral location. The other times Hammond had called, Tony had simply been instructed to report to CTU. He didn't have a good feeling about this.

Tony picked up his briefcase, put on his suit jacket and started out of his office. "Mr. Almeida, I was able to reschedule your appointments. You're meeting Mr. Alban at Tia Maria's at 6:30. Should I call Mrs. Almeida or will you?"

Tony rubbed the scar on the left side of his neck, a habit he had developed over the years which usually indicated that he was feeling stressed. "I guess I better call her." He knew this was not going to be a pleasant phone call.

"I'll see you when you get back." Rita smiled.

Tony waved at her and left the office. Once on the road he picked up his phone to call his wife. He sighed as he listened to the phone ring. Until three months ago he thought he was the luckiest man alive. He had a stunningly beautiful wife who he loved beyond all measure and she felt the same way about him. They had three healthy, happy children. Sophie was six now and would start first grade in the fall. She was the sunshine of his life. No matter how bad his day was, when he saw Sophie, none of it mattered. She melted his heart. He loved his sons as well. Joe was four and all boy; if there was a mud puddle near by, Joe found it. Tony loved kicking a soccer ball around with him or playing catch with a baseball. The baby, John Dessler, who Tony had nicknamed 'Dess', (a nickname that quickly caught on among family and friends but that Michelle refused to use) was a year old. He had been the most difficult of their children and both Tony and Michelle had lost countless hours of sleep with this child. He was beginning to settle down and sleep more, and their life was starting to return to normal. Through it all, Michelle had not lost her sense of humor. She was a wonderful mother. She had worked part time in the business that she and Jack and Chase started after they all left CTU up until the time Dess was born, then she quit to spend more time at home. She loved spending her days with her children and looked forward to Tony coming home in the evening. It was almost and idyllic existence.

His happy world was turned upside down three months ago. He came home that night as usual to be met at the door by his precious Sophie quickly followed by Joe. They filled him in on their day, both talking at the same time. Tony kissed them and laughed at their stories. "Where's Mommy?" He asked.

"She's upstairs." Sophie announced. "She's not in a very good mood."

"She's not? What happened?" Tony asked as he picked Sophie up in his arms. "Did you guys do something wrong?"

"No, Daddy. Mommy just hasn't been happy today." Sophie said with a very serious look on her face.

She acted so grown up as she said that. She's six going on twenty-six, Tony thought. "Well, let me go talk to her." He put Sophie down and she ran off to play.

Tony climbed the stairs and found Michelle silently changing Dess' diaper. Her silence was unusual; she normally chatted or sang to him while she changed his diaper.

"Hey, Babe," Tony said as kissed her cheek and put his arm around her waist. Michelle made no attempt to return his kiss. "Hey, big guy!" He said to his son as he tickled the baby's chubby belly. Michelle finished the task at hand and picked the baby up.

"We need to talk." She said shortly as she walked toward the stairs. "Sophie, come here, please." She called down the stairs.

Sophie bounded up the stairs like an eager puppy. "Sweetie, do me a favor and watch your brother for a couple of minutes. Keep him in his room, out of trouble and away from the stairs. Can you do that?"

"Sure, Mom" she responded confidently.

Inwardly Tony cringed at Michelle asking Sophie to watch Dess. As the oldest of eight children, Tony spent much of his childhood and youth being responsible for younger siblings. He had always promised himself that he would never do that to his children, but at the moment he thought it was better not to disagree with Michelle.

He followed Michelle into their bedroom and closed the door. Michelle went into the bathroom and walked out with what Tony immediately recognized as a pregnancy test kit. The test showed a positive result.

"Guess what," Michelle said in a flat emotionless voice.

Tony smiled broadly. "You're pregnant!" He said happily.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not quite as happy about this as you are, Tony." Michelle said as tears filled her eyes. She walked into the bathroom and threw the used test kit into the trash with a loud thud.

Tony followed her and took her into his arms. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? We've talked about having another child. I thought we agreed on one more."

Michelle pulled away from him; she was crying now. "Yes, I agreed to one more, but not right now. John is barely a year old. I'm just beginning to get to sleep at night and now it's going to start all over again. I've been pregnant four times in the last six years. That's a lot, Tony. This is easy for you. You had your fun." She said bitterly. "Now I'm stuck for the next nine months carrying this baby while I try to chase after three little kids. I'm at my breaking point, Tony!"

Tony was both surprised and hurt. "Sweetheart," he reached for her but she shrugged him away. He closed his eyes not quite sure what to say next. "Sweetheart, I don't know what to say. If you had told me that you didn't want to get pregnant for a while, we could have taken precautions. I had no idea. You haven't exactly said 'no' to me lately, Honey. If you don't mind my saying so, you've always been a willing participant when we made love."

"I realize that, Tony. I didn't mean to blame you. I'm just so upset right now. And I'm angry with myself for not being happy, but I can't help it."

"Honey, if you need help around the house, we can get someone to help out. After the kids go to bed tonight, let's sit down and think this through. I hate to see you so upset." She finally let him hold her. She continued to cry and nothing he said could make her feel any better.

Tony felt sure that Michelle would be fine in a couple of days after the initial shock wore off, but he was wrong. The days turned into weeks and Michelle sunk deeper and deeper into depression. She became quiet and pensive and cried over everything. She refused to tell anyone that she was pregnant and made Tony promise not to tell anyone either. Even Sophie and Joe realized that something was wrong. Receiving little attention from Michelle all day, they demanded Tony's constant attention in the evening. They both became dependent and clingy and wanted Tony to do everything for them. Michelle began to resent the relationship that Tony had developed with the two older children that seemed to exclude her. This began to put further strain on their relationship as a couple.

Tony began to worry obsessively about Michelle. He called her doctor who had also noticed the change in Michelle. She told Tony that this was not uncommon, although Michelle seemed a little more depressed than most of the patients she had seen, but it usually started to resolve after a few months and rarely continued through the entire pregnancy. She suggested that Tony sit tight for a while and ride out the current storm. Tony wasn't entirely satisfied with that answer but wasn't sure what else he could do. He was trying to help more around the house in addition to spending more time with the kids and keeping up at work. The stress was beginning to wear on him and what he really didn't need right now was Brad Hammond on his back.

Michelle finally picked up the phone. "Hello," she said, her voice listless, almost sad.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he said lovingly. "How are you?"

"Tired. What's up?" Her one and two word answers were driving him crazy.

"Something came up, Babe. I have to take a client out for dinner, so I'll be late getting home. Is that okay?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Sweetheart, believe me, if I could get out of this I would. There is potential here for a big contract with Southwest Regional Oil. This is a contract that I need right now, especially if we want to look at a bigger house.

While Tony lived in Argentina, he worked with a former Argentine government agent who provided security and tracking for high value cargo being shipped across oceans and continents. Usually they handled cargo such as oil, big shipments of cars or electronics or sometimes smaller but expensive items such as precious metals, diamonds and art work. When Tony was pardoned and moved back to the US, he became a partner and opened up a branch office in LA. Tony managed all of the shipments to and from the west coast of North America, all of Asia and the Pacific and occasionally Australia and the west coast of Africa. His partners, Juan Rodriguez and Pedro Cabrera, continued to work out of Argentina, but Pedro was considering moving to London to open up a branch there as well.

The LA branch of Secured Shipping and Tracking was doing well under Tony's leadership, but he was hoping to increase his gross so he could afford to hire some additional help. He was working a lot of hours and doing a lot of traveling and really needed some help. Juan and Pedro weren't going to agree to hiring someone unless he could show that he could maintain the profit margin. Tony could offer to reduce his salary in order to get some help, but being a single income family now and with another baby due in a few months, he couldn't afford to do that.

"I understand, Tony. Just get home as soon as you can." Michelle answered.

"I will, Honey, you know that. I hate being away from you and the kids. Why don't you see if Kate could watch Joe and Sophie for a couple of hours? That way, when Dess goes down for his nap you can sleep, too." Tony was referring to Kate Bauer, Jack's wife. Jack and Kate had two sons, Mason and Ryan. Mason was a few months older than Joe and Ryan was just six weeks older than Dess.

"I'll think about it." Michelle answered. Tony knew she wouldn't do it. She had been avoiding most of their friends for weeks now.

"Michelle, do you know how much I love you? Sweetheart, it is killing me to see you this way. Please tell me what I can do to make you happy again."

"I'll be okay, Tony. Really, I will. I'm starting to get used to the idea of another baby." She paused. "We're going to have to tell people soon, aren't we?"

"Ya, you're not going to be able to hide it much longer." The phone crackled with static. "Honey, I'm driving out of the cell. I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"Bye," was her monosyllabic response.

Tony threw the phone down on the passenger seat and shook his head. He wished somehow he could go back in time about four months and start again. It was a pipedream and he knew it. For now he would have to cope as best he could.