Just a little something that I thought up while rewatching a couple of episodes of season 5. Assume that it follows the storyline until a few minutes after 5:00pm when my story takes a right turn into the AU. Hope you enjoy. Please review and tell me what you think.
I guess I have to put in the usual disclaimer. All of the 24 characters belong to Fox and not to me. If they belonged to me, I would have been at the Emmy Awards and you would have seen me on stage standing between Kiefer and Carlos!
A REASON TO LIVE
Chapter 1:
It was now 5pm and Bill Buchanan's day had started before 7 o'clock when he arrived at CTU. He had just poured his first cup of coffee when the news came in that David Palmer had been assassinated. He knew at that moment that it wasn't likely that he would leave the building for at least the next 24 hours, but in his wildest dreams, he had never imagined that the day would turn out like this.
He ran his hand through his prematurely gray hair and tucked his reading glasses into his breast pocket as he rounded the corner and headed into the medical unit.
"How long has he been conscious?" Bill asked the doctor.
"Ten minutes," the doctor replied. "Before you go in you should be aware of something. Tony's been asking for his wife."
"He doesn't remember?" Bill asked. Neighbors who witnessed the explosion confirmed that Tony was cradling Michelle in his arms prior to the second explosion. The position in which police and paramedics found the two of them, his body on top of hers, effectively protecting her from the second explosion, indicated that Michelle died in the first explosion and Tony knew she as dead when he found her.
"He remembers the explosion but that's all," the doctor confirmed.
"We have to tell him Michelle's dead."
"No, absolutely not," the doctor replied emphatically. "He's undergone severe trauma. This kind of stress will raise his blood pressure and make the vascular damage worse. Please hold off on telling him until his condition's stabilized."
Bill didn't like the idea of lying to Tony. He didn't relish the idea of telling him the truth either, but lying to him was wrong. On top of that, Bill wasn't sure how convincingly he could lie to Tony. His own grief over Michelle's death had a strong hold on him. Michelle may have gone back to Tony, but Bill had never really stopped loving her. He was realistic, of course, and understood that Michelle loved another man, but that wasn't enough to make him stop loving her. Now he had to go and talk to Tony, the man who held such a grip on Michelle's heart. Bill knew how much it hurt to lose Michelle and she hadn't even been his. He couldn't imagine how hard this was going to be on Tony. The events of the day had required that Bill keep his feelings and his grief buried in order that he could stay focused, but he was afraid that seeing Tony was going to allow it to bubble to the surface and he would be unable to hide it from Tony.
Bill neared Tony's bed trying to figure out what he was going to say. He could see that Tony was awake and watching his approach. Bill took a deep breath and pressed forward.
"Tony, how're you feeling?"
Tony ignored the question. "They told me they took Michelle to Cedars."
"They couldn't treat her here," Bill said softly. He was instantly sorry that he had said it. The statement implied that Michelle was so badly hurt that it was beyond the capability of the trauma surgeon at CTU.
"Why? How badly was she hurt? Is she going to be alright?" Bill could hear the panic rising in Tony's voice.
"Yes, as far as I know," Bill assured him, making every attempt to keep Tony calm.
"Where's Lilliana? Who has Lily? Is she safe?"
"Who's Lily?" Bill asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Our daughter," Tony explained. The fact that Bill obviously knew nothing about the baby's whereabouts created even more panic. He struggled to sit up.
"Your daughter?" Bill said incredulously. "I didn't know that you and Michelle had any children."
"She's eight months old. Where is she, Bill?"
"The police didn't say anything about a baby," Bill answered. This conversation was going from bad to worse. First, Bill had to try and hide the fact that Michelle was dead and now he finds out that there was a baby in the house that, as far as he knew at the moment, was unaccounted for. "Where was she when the explosion occurred?"
"In the nursery. The room's in the rear of the house. There shouldn't have been any damage to it in the explosion. She was with a baby sitter. Michelle and I had a meeting to go to, so Michelle got a neighbor, Rachel Plummer, to watch her for the morning."
"Tony, I don't know anything about the baby or Rachel Plummer. Let me call LAPD and find out what happened. I suspect that the police have the baby in protective custody. Since it was obvious from the start that this was an attempt on your life and Michelle's life, they probably thought the baby was safer in police custody."
"Wouldn't they have told you that?" Tony asked.
"There was a lot of confusion when LAPD first called us, Tony, both here and at your house. President Palmer had just been killed and we had to arrange to transport you here. I guess they just forgot to tell us about the baby," Bill replied. That seemed like a reasonable answer even to Bill, but he wasn't sure that Tony bought it.
"Do me a favor, Bill, and call them right now. I need to know that Lily's safe."
"Of course, Tony. I'll let you know as soon as I find something out. Try and get some rest. We need you to get better," Bill told him as he gently squeezed Tony's shoulder.
Bill left medical and pulled out his phone. "Chris, get LAPD on the phone. I need to talk to Lieutenant Templeton from Homicide immediately."
"Yes, Mr. Buchanan," she answered.
Bill returned to the floor where he found Audrey and Chloe reviewing some information on the computer. They both looked up.
"How's Tony?" Audrey asked.
"He'll be okay," Bill answered. "Chloe, why didn't you mention that Tony and Michelle had a baby?"
Chloe looked surprised. "Because I didn't know. When did they have a baby?"
"They have an eight month old daughter. They didn't tell you?"
"After we helped Jack escape, we covered up our tracks so that there was no evidence that he was still alive. We thought it was best if we didn't have any communication between us. So I haven't talked to either Tony or Michelle in 18 months. I did check the vital statistics database a couple of months later because I was curious to see if they'd gotten remarried. I found that they had and I left it at that. I didn't even know where they were living."
"Who has the baby now?" Audrey asked.
"That's the problem, the police never mentioned a baby to me."
"Was she in the car?" Chloe asked imagining the worst.
"According to Tony she was in the house, in the nursery with a baby sitter."
"Do you think the baby sitter still has her?" Audrey queried.
"I don't know what to think. I've got a call in to Lt. Templeton," Bill said shaking his head.
"How is Tony holding up? He must be going crazy not knowing where his daughter is after just losing Michelle," Audrey said. She didn't know Tony very well, but she had a soft spot in her heart for him. He had saved her life, and Jack's as well, when they were pinned down by gunmen 18 months earlier. She had never forgotten that.
"He doesn't know about Michelle. He thinks she's being treated elsewhere. The doctor thinks it's best to keep it from him for now."
"Bill, that doesn't seem right," Audrey protested. "He eventually has to be told and he's going to be even angrier when he finds out."
"I agree, but this is the doctor's call, Audrey. I have enough on my plate at the moment. I don't have the time to waste arguing with him right now."
Audrey wanted to discuss it further, but could hear the exasperation in Bill's voice and decided that he was right. It was not a point worth arguing. They needed to find the nerve gas and they needed to do it soon.
As if in answer to his prayers, Bill's phone rang. "Mr. Buchanan, I have Lt. Templeton on the line."
"Thank you, Chris. Put him through." Bill paused while Chris transferred the call. "Lt. Templeton, Tony Almeida just regained consciousness."
"Good," Templeton replied. "Has he given you a statement yet?"
"Not yet, he's not quite ready for that, Lieutenant. He indicated that his baby daughter was in the house at the time of the explosion."
"She was," Templeton agreed. "Along with a baby sitter."
"Why didn't you mention this before, Lieutenant? Where is the child now?"
"I'm sure I wouldn't know, Mr. Buchanan. You're people took her from us early this morning."
"My people?" Bill asked "What do you mean 'my people'?"
"Three CTU agents at the scene told me that since Mr. Almeida was being transported to your facility, you wanted to have the baby there as well."
"Lieutenant, I didn't have any agents at the scene. We were up to our neck in alligators with the Palmer assassination. That's why I left the investigation at the Almeida's house up to LAPD. I only transported Tony to CTU so that we could adequately protect him," Bill's normally controlled and mild tone was gone. His exasperation and frustration were taking over.
The lieutenant was quick to defend himself. "The agents had valid CTU identification and the appropriate paperwork to transfer the custody of a minor to another agency. We didn't just hand the child over to them without looking into it."
"I'm sorry," Bill said realizing that his approach was getting him nowhere. "I didn't mean to imply that you did. Is it possible that the agents who took the child weren't with CTU, but were with another agency? Social services, perhaps?"
"No, Mr. Buchanan, there were three agents, two men and a woman. The men both wore CTU windbreakers. The woman was the ranking officer. She gave her credentials to me and said that she was there to transport the child back to CTU for protection. They were driving a black SUV with federal government license plates."
"Can you give me a description of the agents?"
"Not a good one. I have to admit that I was busy at the time and, frankly, getting the baby away from the scene and into some place safe was one less thing I had to worry about. I was grateful to have someone to take her. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the agents besides establishing their credentials. Apparently I didn't do a very good job with that either."
"Don't beat yourself up, Lieutenant," Bill said suddenly softening. "It's been a difficult day. Did anyone else have contact with these 'agents' that might be able to describe them?"
"The baby sitter and her mother. The last name is 'Plummer'. They were very helpful in working with the people we thought were agents to pack up clothes and diapers and all of the other things you need for a baby. I'm sure they could give us a description. I'll send two officers over to interview them."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. We need to put an APB out on the baby and the kidnappers," Bill said.
Lt. Templeton agreed. "I can give you a reasonable description of the baby but it would be helpful if we could get pictures."
"I'll talk to Tony and have someone get back to you in a few minutes," Bill told him before they disconnected.
"That didn't sound good," Audrey commented.
"It isn't. Someone impersonating CTU agents took the baby. They had all of the appropriate paperwork. Chloe," Bill said looking in her direction, "I need pictures of Lily Almeida. Is there any chance that you can hack into Tony and Michelle's computer and see if they've stored any pictures there?"
"I can try, but it's not likely. Tony and Michelle knew more about computer security than almost anyone I know, other than me, of course. It could take me hours to hack into Tony's computer. Can't you just ask him for his password so we can get in without a delay?"
Bill sighed. "I can but I was hoping that I wouldn't have to. If I ask for a picture of her I have to admit to him that she's missing. I was hoping to avoid that until we had a better idea of who has her and why."
"Bill, none of this is pleasant," Audrey noted, "but Tony has to know. His daughter's been kidnapped and his wife is dead. You can't hide these things from him forever."
Bill snapped uncharacteristically, his voice louder than necessary, "I'm well aware of that, Audrey!"
Chloe interrupted breaking the tension. "Mr. Buchanan, I have Jack on line two."
Bill sighed and opened line two. "Go ahead, Jack. You're on speaker."
"Bill, I've got a lead on the nerve gas," Jack proceeded to tell him about Christopher Henderson.
Bill listened and gave Jack the go ahead to follow up on the lead, though as he did so he knew that "giving Jack the go ahead" was a mere formality. Jack made it clear hours ago that he didn't work for CTU. He was going after Henderson with or without Bill's blessing.
"Jack, there's one more thing," Bill said.
"What's that?"
"Tony regained consciousness a little while ago."
"Good. How's he doing?"
"He'll be fine, but he told us something disturbing. He and Michelle have an eight month old baby girl who was in the house at the time of the explosion. According to LAPD, she wasn't hurt in the explosion, but they turned her over to three people who carried official looking CTU documentation, but there weren't ours. We have no idea who they were or where the baby is."
"Oh my God!" Jack gasped. The news hit him like a wave on the beach. He stopped walking and leaned against a nearby wall. He knew all too well what Tony was going through. Having his daughter kidnapped was probably the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to him. "Do you have any leads?"
"No, none."
"So the kidnappers haven't made any attempt to contact CTU or LAPD?"
"Not yet," Bill replied.
"They obviously took her for a reason. It doesn't make sense that they took her just to kill her. Why go to all of the bother to get the identification and documentation if they just want to kill her? We're going to hear from them."
"I know," Bill agreed. "It's just a matter of when and what kind of demands they make."
"Who do you have assigned to work on this?" Jack asked.
"LAPD is taking the lead. They put out an APB and they're interviewing witnesses."
"CTU needs to take the lead on the investigation, Bill. All of this has happened because of Tony and Michelle's ties to CTU. CTU needs to take the lead."
"Look, Jack, in principle I agree with you, but I've got 18 missing canisters of nerve gas that I have to find. I can't devote resources to finding one baby in a city of 3.5 million people. My responsibility, first and foremost, is to protect as many people as I possibly can. I sympathize with Tony, believe me I do. His child's missing; I want to put her back in his arms as much as you do, but right now, I have to worry about the greater good."
Jack knew that Bill was right but that didn't make the answer any easier to hear.
"How is Tony holding up? I know he's devastated."
"He doesn't know that Michelle is dead and we just discovered that the baby's missing, so at the moment he's in the dark. I'm going to have to tell him soon. He's already questioning the excuses we've given him about having Michelle treated elsewhere. He's not going to buy this much longer."
"He needs to know the truth, Bill. However painful it is, he's better off knowing. Believe me, I've been there. He's going to fall apart, but he has to know. He's going to hate everyone for keeping it from him. George Mason did that to me when Kim and Teri were in the safe house and it was attacked. He refused to tell me the truth. I never really forgave him for that."
"Again, I'm with you, Jack, but the circumstances were different. You were in a position to help get Kim and Teri back. Tony isn't. His condition is barely stable."
"It doesn't matter, Bill. Yes, you're right, he isn't in a position to go track down the kidnappers, but he might know something or have some information that will help us. Bill, you have to tell him." Jack paused for a moment; he knew that he had to focus. "Look, I'm approaching Henderson's location now. I've got to figure out how I'm going to get inside without looking suspicious. I'll call you as soon as I can."
"Be careful," Bill warned him as their connection was broken. He sighed as he pocketed his phone.
The stress and emotion of the day was getting to him and he didn't know how much more he could take. Some days it wasn't worth what he was paid to be in charge and this was one of them. So many things had to be done before he could go home again. He listed them in his head and tried to sort out the priorities: the nerve gas had to be found and neutralized before thousands or maybe, millions of people died, David Palmer's assassin had to be apprehended, Walt Cummings' contacts had to be ferreted out…
The list went on and on and, somewhere at the end of it, Lily Almeida had to be rescued and returned to her father. Bill couldn't stand the fact that finding an 8 month old baby was at the end of his list of priorities. He wanted nothing more that to abandon all other protocols and put all of his resources into finding this innocent, and now motherless, child and putting her back into her father's arms.
Bill turned and walked toward medical. He needed to talk to Tony. He had to tell him that Lily was missing. As painful as it would be, Tony needed to know and Bill needed a physical description of the baby and pictures of her for the police.
The medical unit was much like the rest of CTU: lots of glass doors and interior windows to make it look more open and welcoming but in reality, it was not much more than a gray, concrete warehouse. Bill stepped inside and stopped to talk to the nurse at the desk.
"How's Tony doing?" he asked.
"He seems to be resting comfortably," she told him. "I was in to check on him not long ago."
"Is he asking about his wife or his daughter?"
"No, not a word. He just laid there and let me take his vitals. The doctor was in with him a couple of minutes ago, too. Tony asked about his wife and the doctor told him that he didn't have any new information. Tony accepted that."
Bill frowned. That didn't sound right. He didn't know Tony all that well, but he couldn't imagine Tony just lying in bed waiting for someone to tell him what was happening. The Tony he knew should be asking questions and demanding answers.
Bill opened the door that led to Tony's room and gasped when he saw Tony out of bed and standing in front of a computer. "Tony," he said, but he stopped. There was nothing he could do. Tony had put Michelle's name in the computer to search for her status.
The doctor came in at nearly the same moment. "Tony, you need to go back to bed," he told him.
"Get away from me," Tony shouted as he pushed the doctor away and turned back to the computer monitor. His soulful brown eyes watched as the computer confirmed his fears. Michelle was dead. Pictures of the burning car and of Michelle lying among the debris flashed onto the screen.
Tony could say nothing. He slowly shook his head as the reality of the situation sunk in. His knees gave way and Bill and the doctor rushed to his sides to give support. Other employees from the medical unit arrived in seconds and Bill let them take over. He watched as they nearly carried Tony back to bed. He cried Michelle's name and pitifully begged those around him to tell him that it wasn't true. Bill felt tears burn his own eyes and he blinked hard to maintain control.
"He needs to be sedated," Bill heard the doctor shout. "Give him Ativan 2mg IM now!"
A nurse ran passed Bill to retrieve the sedative bringing him back to reality.
"Before you sedate him I need to talk to him," Bill said to the doctor.
"No! He needs to be sedated now!" the doctor returned emphatically.
"You don't understand," Bill said in a tone that clearly told the doctor that he was pulling rank on him. "His daughter has been kidnapped. We need information from Tony to help us in our investigation. Without that information we may not find her until it's too late. Tell me, Doctor, do you want to be the one who has to tell Tony Almeida that his daughter is dead, too?"
"I'll give you five minutes, then I'm sedating him regardless of what you want or how crucial his information is."
"Thank you," Bill said quietly. "Five minutes is all I'll need."
Bill walked slowly into Tony's room not sure what to say to him. Tony was lying on the bed, curled on his side. His face was buried in the pillow as he cried helplessly. Bill put his hand on Tony's shoulder and leaned in close.
"I'm so sorry, Tony. I don't know what else to say. I wanted to tell you earlier but the doctor felt it was better for your condition to wait for a while. I'm so sorry." It all sounded so hollow to Bill but he didn't know what else to say.
"Where's Lily," Tony sobbed. "Is she dead, too?"
"She wasn't hurt in the explosion," Bill told him.
"Where is she now?"
Bill paused for a moment and then spoke. "We don't know. Someone claiming to be from CTU took her from the scene."
Tony struggled to sit up. He was frantic. "What? Are you telling me that my daughter's been kidnapped? Do you have any leads? Have they had any contact with CTU? Who's doing this, Bill? Why are they after my family?"
Bill held Tony's shoulders trying hard to keep him from getting out of bed. "Tony, you have to stay calm. I know how hard that is, but if you don't, the doctor is going to sedate you and right now, we need your help to try and find your daughter."
Tony nodded and stopped struggling. "Please, don't let him sedate me. I need to know what's going on. I have to have my daughter back, Bill. Please, get her back for me," he begged.
"We're doing everything we can. We have to assume that the kidnappers took Lily for a reason. If they wanted to kill her, they would have found an easier way to do it. They're going to contact us at some point and we have to be ready. We need pictures of her. If you give me your computer password, Chloe can get into your computer and retrieve pictures."
Tony nodded again and reached for a pad of paper on a bedside table. He wrote down several series of letters and numbers and handed it to Bill. "That should get Chloe into my computer. The folder names are there, too. She'll find dozens of pictures of Lily, some as recent as last week."
"Thanks," Bill said quietly. "Now try and get some rest. I'll make sure you know the minute we get any information." Bill turned to leave the medical unit.
"Bill," Tony called after him. "Look, I've run this place. I know how it works. You've got a lot on your plate right now and in the scheme of things an eight month old baby doesn't mean a whole lot when there are thousands or even millions of lives on the line. I know that finding Lily is a low priority, but please remember that she's all I've got in the world right now. At one point or another, I've given up everything for this country. A few years ago I even gave up my freedom just to save Michelle's life. Now she's gone, too. I've got to get my baby back. Please find a way to devote some resources to finding her. Without Lily," Tony shook his head as tears again filled his already bloodshot eyes. "Without Lily I've got no reason to live."
"Believe me, Tony, I'll do everything in my power to make sure that we find your daughter. I give you my word," Bill said sincerely. He and Tony locked gazes for a moment before Bill turned and went out the door.
He had made Tony a promise that he intended to keep. He wasn't sure how or where he was going to find any spare resources, but he was going to have to do it. Ideas of how to shift manpower to the kidnapping investigation began taking shape as Bill saw Chloe rush around the corner toward him.
"Mr. Buchanan! I just got off the phone with Lt. Templeton. LAPD homicide just got to the scene of what looks like an execution down near the port. They've got three bodies, all bound and gagged, each with two close range gunshots to the back of the head," she told him breathlessly.
"I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm not sure why this is relevant right now. It sounds like it's LAPD's problem, not mine," Bill said.
Chloe stopped walking. Bill was forced to stop and wait for her to continue the story. "The three bodies match the description of the three people dressed as CTU agents who took Lily Almeida away from Tony and Michelle's house. According to the medical examiner, they've been dead for several hours."
"Is there any sign of the baby?"
"None. The police are searching the area, but so far nothing."
"So, it looks like whoever took Lily wants her alive, at least for now, but he wanted to make sure that no one was left to give him up."
"Yeah," Chloe agreed, "it looks like he wanted to tie up any loose ends."
"Do they have IDs yet on the bodies?"
"They've ID'd two of them: the woman and one of the men. They're known petty criminals. Lots of arrests for dealing small amounts of drugs or weapons violations. Nothing as big as kidnapping."
"They got in over their head this time. Somebody must have been offering them a big payday to do this job. They probably thought they'd hit the big time," Bill sighed and massaged his forehead with his fingertips for a moment as reality settled over him like a blanket. He looked at Chloe with eyes that she could only describe as sad and he spoke quietly. "We just lost our biggest lead."