Title: A new life
Author: Winnie Bear a.k.a Hlim
Rating: K+
Classification: Romance/Drama (Tony/Michelle)
Summary: A sequel to "That was all it took". It will make more sense to read that one first. Set 8 months from "That was all it took".
Disclaimers: I don't own '24' or any of the characters so, no copyright infringement intended.
AN: Ok, folks! Here is the sequel as requested. Thank you all so much for the reviews! Greatly appreciated!
Special thanks to my beta reader, Areims, for her help.
Here you go. Enjoy!
Good Samaritans Hospital
Labor and Delivery Departments
8 months later
"Push, Michelle! Push! Just one more push!" Dr. Kay Gilbert encouraged from the end of bed.
"Come on, honey. You can do it!" Tony encouraged while mumbling sweet nonsense to her ear. His right hand hurt like hell from Michelle's grips, but he kept a smiling face for his wife.
Michelle gave one final hard push and everyone in the room heard the screaming of one angry Almeida. Not happy that he was taken from his warm home.
"Congratulations, you both. It's a son!" Dr. Gilbert announced happily. "Daddy, would you like to cut the cord?"
Tony smiled goofily at his son. He grabbed the scissors to cut the cord and held his son for the first time.
"Here is your big guy, mommy." Tony gave the squirming infant to Michelle. "He sure has a healthy lung." The once screaming infant quickly calmed down on his mother's chest. Michelle looked at the precious bundle and could not help but to shed happy tears. Tony, of course, could not resist but to tease her. "Honey, you don't want to drown our son." She gave a laugh but her face quickly twisted into a pained expression.
"Tony! It still hurts!" She gritted her teeth and grabbed Tony's head with her free hand.
"Michelle, you ok? Doctor! Doctor!" Tony yelled frantically.
The nurse quickly came over and took baby Almeida from his mother, while Dr. Gilbert came back to her station at the end of bed.
"Doctor?" Tony looked at her with confusion.
"Oh my…" She ignored Tony's question and looked at Michelle. "Michelle, I need you to push hard." Michelle did as asked and everyone once again heard a scream from a displease infant. This time it's a baby girl.
Tony was stunned when he cut the cord, the 2nd time in less than half an hour. Michelle was also stunned, "Nobody told me anything about twin." Tony looked back and forth between Michelle and Dr. Gilbert.
Dr. Gilbert frowned for a second. She was not aware of the twin either. "I think I know the reason. This one is much smaller than her brother. She was probably hiding behind her brother and the heartbeat wasn't strong enough to be detected by the technician during ultrasound. (AN: I know it might seem impossible, but it is actually possible! I worked in Labor and Delivery before and that was exactly happening. The second infant was very tiny. Both are boys. They are probably about a year old by now).
Tony was speechless. He was prepared to be a father when Michelle went to labor last night, but the fact that he is a father of twins twenty hours later was beyond his wildest dreams. His train of thought was interrupted by the nurse. The nurse walked over to him and handed the little girl into her father's waiting arms. "She is a bit smaller. We need to put her in an incubator but you can have a couple minutes with her."
Tony brought her close to Michelle, who was trying to nurse their son. "Hey little one, you gave me a surprise." Michelle cooed softly to the infant, who snuggled close to her father's chest.
"So, mommy, do we have a name yet?" "How about Jonathan Phillip Almeida?" "Jonathan Almeida… That's a great name, sweetheart. I like it. How about this one then?"
"Nope, I named our son. You named our daughter."
"Sarah Michelle Almeida" Tony said suddenly.
"Tony…"
"What? I want her to have her mother's name, the woman who stole her father's heart at first hello. The strong woman who has went through a lot in the past but bounced back from it. It is the same woman who makes me the luckiest man in the world. I love you, honey." Tony said and kissed his wife on the lips. Michelle, choked with emotion, kissed him back. "I love you so much, Tony."
The nurse came back a second later, "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Almeida. We need to take the babies to the nursery for a check up. We'll also move you to the recovery room soon." The new parents reluctantly hand over their bundle of joys to nurse.
4 hours later
Michelle's recovery room
Michelle, totally exhausted, had finally fallen asleep two hours ago. Jonathan checked out perfectly healthy, while Sarah needed to stay in the incubator for at least 48 hrs as a precaution. She needed to gain little weight. Tony had been busy making phone calls. Both his and Michelle's parents lived in Seattle. His first phone call was to them. The new grandparents were very excited and they promised to fly over tomorrow. Tony trusted Adam to announce the news to the CTU staff. Jack and Kate were already on their way.
Over the months, Jack had gone to rehab to cure his heroin addiction and things had been working out with Kate Warner. Tony and Jack's friendship had stepped up another notch for the past year. Jack, who warmed up to Michelle after the Cyprus recording, treats her like the sister that he doesn't have. While Michelle loves Danny, she also enjoyed Jack's protective older brother role.
"Tony." Tony turned around as someone called his name. It was Jack with Kate hot on his heel. "Jack." Both men exchanged a brief hug and a hand-shake. Tony gave Kate a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Congratulations, Tony." "Thanks, Kate."
"Yeah, Tony, congratulations. So, what's the deal with the twin? You never told us about twins." Jack chipped in.
"Trust me, Jack! I had no idea until after she was born. Apparently, she hid behind Jonathan and decided to be a surprise to her parents."
"Jonathan!" Jack quizzed
"Michelle came up with that. That's right, Jack. It was after you, John and Michelle's father, Nathan".
"I don't know what to say. I'm honored."
"You are a good friend, Jack and Michelle always regards you as her older brother." Tony said as he patted Jack's shoulder.
"Where is Michelle, Tony?" Kate asked, saving Jack from an awkward moment.
"Come on, let me take you guys to her room. She was sleeping when I left".
In the room, Michelle was just starting to wake up. "Hi, sweetheart." She turned her head toward the door as Tony entered the room and walked towards her.
"Hi."
"How are you doing?" Tony asked softly and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Tired but happy." She smiled.
"Jack and Kate are here."
"Jack?" Michelle tilted her head to the side to see Jack, who bend over and also planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Hey, congratulations."
"Thanks. Hi, Kate."
"Hi. So, where are the babies?" As if on cue, the door opened to reveal two nurses. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have someone who would like to see his parents." The nurse said as she pushed a bassinet covered blue blanket inside the room.
"Where is Sarah?" Michelle questioned, only seeing one baby.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Almeida. Sarah needs to stay in the incubator for atleast 48 hrs. She is smaller than her brother. It's just a precaution, there is nothing to worry about. Jonathan can stay here after you feed him."
"All right." Michelle responded softly, a bit disappointed not being able to see her daughter.
"I'll leave you guys alone then." The nurse turned and left the room after settling Jonathan in Michelle's arms.
"Aww…Michelle, he is so precious." Kate cooed at baby Jonathan, who looked curiously at Kate with his brown eyes.
"Here you go, Jack, meet your namesake, Jonathan Philip Almeida." She looked briefly at Tony, receiving nod and a smile, before adding, "…and your godson."
Jack was speechless. "Michelle, I…I don't know what to say." "Say you will be his godfather." "I'm honored. Thank you." Jack timidly reached for Jonathan and held him in his arms. "Hey, buddy. Oh boy, you have your father's looks. Hopefully, you will not be as stubborn as your father." Jack said with a straight face while Tony yelped and gave him a dirty look.
"Hey! No manipulation allowed." Michelle and Kate suppressed a giggle. Tony sat on the edge of the bed and drew Michelle into his arms. Both were content just to watch as Jack and Kate fussed around the tiny boy.
TBC…
AN: All right, folks. I have 2 favors to ask:
Give me a lot and lots of reviews! grin
I'm kind of run of ideas. sheepish. So, if anybody has any suggestions (i.e. what happen next? More T/M or work on others, etc…) Please…please, don't hesitate to let me know. If you prefer to e-mail me directly instead of reviews page, please do so. Just make sure put "24: A new life" on subject line. I'm looking forward to hear from you all. Thanks for reading.