The yard resembled the previous prison's yard so closely he could have been fooled into thinking he was in the same place, except the buildings were of limestone rather than red brick. A rusting basketball ring stood near a corner missing a net, and a crowd of prisoners played in two teams.

One of the Mexican gangsters gave a cry of recognition and they joined a group, while the bikers moved to join some fellow riders. The Aryan brothers moved to disrupt a group of sullen smokers, leaving the two of them standing alone.

'I was kinda looking for Rodriguez,' Sanchez admitted.

Tony nodded. 'Me too. The place looks real similar.'

'There's no one here,' Sanchez told him regretfully.

Tony snorted. 'The place is full. What about that group of Mexicans? You could go talk to them.'

Sanchez shook his head rapidly. 'They're mafia, stay clear of them.'

Tony leaned against a wall, enjoying the sunshine on his face, struggling to control his overwhelming depression. The longing to return home was almost more than he could bear, any second and he would sink to the ground and sob. Focus, Almeida! So you're in another prison, so it's a dump too, well, you didn't really expect any better. You got one person to talk to. Count yourself lucky you don't know anyone here. Just walk round the yard and relax.

'Tony Almeida?' asked a voice and he looked up, startled to see a familiar face.

'Colin, what are you doing here?' he exclaimed, amazed yet again at the twist of fate, reuniting him with a former CTU employee sent down by Jack years ago for taking bribes. 'I'd have thought your sentence would've been over by now.'

The man opposite him nodded bitterly. 'I have another six months to serve. Then I'm "free".'

Tony shook his head. 'Why are you here in a maximum security place? Surely minimum would've been fine.'

Colin sighed. 'How long have you been inside? Not long enough, I guess. I started my sentence there, but I had a little trouble, and I killed someone, so I'm here now. What about you, I heard all kinds of odd rumors.'

'They're probably all true,' he answered bitterly. 'You don't wanna talk to me, Colin, you'll be out soon. You've got a wife and kids.'

'I've got a wife and kids who never wanna see me again,' Colin told him bitterly. He wandered away without a backward glance at Tony, leaving him standing alone in the yard.

A guard approached him, heading straight across the courtyard to him. 'Convict Almeida?' he questioned. Tony nodded. 'You've got a visitor! Mr. Lee says you can go to the administration block now.'

Tony gazed at him in utter amazement, wandering who could have come to visit him this soon. He followed the guard across the hall and was ordered to halt, while his hands were cuffed behind him, and his feet were shackled. Two guards walked beside him, one holding the stun baton they seemed to use every time a prisoner was being transported somewhere over here. Sure hope his finger isn't going to get itchy. That thing would really hurt.

The visitors' area was at one end of the administration block. He entered a similar looking room to the previous visitors' room, led over to a table and ordered to sit. Even as he moved to comply he gasped aloud, gazing at Michelle through the glass. They both watched the guard securing his leg to the chair and removing his handcuffs.

'Hi Tony,' Michelle began hesitantly, examining his face for a reaction. 'You look a bit different,' she concluded in a rush.

Tony shrugged. 'Yeah, I guess it's the orange.' He fell silent, studying her face. He hadn't seen her for six months, being unable to receive anyone for the first four months. 'How was New York?' he asked finally, knowing he had to say something. His thoughts whirled around, alternating between joy at seeing her again and despair that she had to see him like this.

'It was ok, I guess. The course was long and real detailed; I hope I'll remember it all.' She gave him a shy smile. 'Your father told me they could visit you six weeks ago after you helped Hammond. That was just two days after I left.'

He nodded, studying her carefully. A curl hung loose from her pony tail again, his fingers instinctively reached forward to tuck it behind her ear, brushing the glass. He chewed his lip in frustration. 'I' he began, falling silent again.

Michelle rested her head against the glass, seeking to move as close to him as she could. 'I really miss you, honey. It's so dark when I get home, so very quiet.' They gazed at each other. 'Your mom's real nice; she keeps bringing lots of food. I don't know why they don't hate me,' she ended.

Tony looked startled. 'Why would they do that, sweetheart? You haven't done anything wrong.'

'You're here because of me,' she said in a rush, wiping a tear from her face. 'They should hate me! And while you're locked up here I got a promotion, it's not fair.'

'Sure it is,' he said, longing to hug her. 'You did great that day, and every other day too. You deserve your promotion. I chose to let CTU down – I deserve what I got.'

Michelle shook her head, wiping more tears from her eyes. 'No you don't. You can't believe it, either, Tony, don't tell me you do. You done a fantastic job all these years and it was barely mentioned.' She ran her hand angrily along her face, wiping away more tears.

Tony swallowed, managing a smile for her sake. 'Honey, I'm ok, I've kind of settled down.'

'Stop lying to me, sweetheart, I can see you hate being here,' Michelle told him, struggling to keep her voice even. 'I saw the look in your eyes when they shackled your leg to that chair.' She rubbed her eyes furiously.

'It takes a little getting used to,' he admitted. 'It's real humiliating in front of relatives, but it'll get easier, I guess. Sweetheart…'

'Just a minute, Tony,' she interrupted him. 'You don't have to get used to it. I'm bothering Jack everyday, and he's bothering the president, and…'

'Honey, we've been down that road,' Tony told her softly, shaking his head. 'If he wanted to pardon me, he would've done so before the trial. Leave Jack alone, he's got stuff he needs to get over too. Let's face it, I'm stuck here.' He gazed at her, seeing her shake her head vigorously. 'Sweetheart, listen to me,' he begged. 'I can't have you waste your life coming out here to see me. You shouldn't have to, anyway. You're so young, you need someone to come home to, someone to talk to in the evenings, someone to go out with.' He held up a hand as she attempted to interrupt him. 'I'm not done yet, Michelle. Honey, I love you more than life itself, but it would wrong of me to keep you like this. When did you go out last? Tell me that, ok? It was with me, I know it! It's been six months now, sweetheart. How much longer are you gonna sit home by yourself?'

'Until they release you,' Michelle told him firmly.

Tony sighed, rubbing his face. 'Sweetheart, you're not thinking clearly. You're not seriously contemplating wasting your entire life waiting for me? That's not what I wanted! I wanted you to live, to be happy.' He gazed at her pleadingly. 'I don't want you to grow old and hate me suddenly. File for divorce, it's the only thing to do. I know you'll still love me, and you can maybe still write me sometimes…' He turned away, blinking hard. 'Don't come here again, Michelle.'

'I'll come as often as I like,' Michelle exclaimed loudly, her face turning red. 'You're not gonna shut me out, Tony! I know you're living through hell in here. I got your files, I read them! I know they stuck you in a cage, that you tried to escape and were caught, that they locked you in a box, that you can't try again or… I know all that. If you think I'm gonna abandon you, you're wrong. As long as you behave yourself you get two visits a month here, your parents want one, so I'll come once a month, and you better get used to the idea.' She glared at him through the glass.

He shook his head, chewing his lip, ignoring his aching heart. 'Honey, listen to me! I'm here for the rest of my life! I'm never coming home. Think about this, what if I don't get the pardon you're waiting for? What then? We wanted kids, remember, a boy and a girl. Who's gonna call you mommy then?'

Michelle wiped her eyes furiously. 'Our kids will!'

'How?' he demanded harshly, startled at the vehemence in his own voice. He hadn't realized how much he longed to have a family with her until after his arrest.

Michelle shrugged. 'You'll have to donate… You know. Anything can be done. I'm not having kids with anyone except you, Tony. We were going to have a little boy like you, remember?'

He nodded, rubbing a hand across his eyes. 'Yeah, I do. And who's gonna be there to help you when he wakes you up for the tenth time in the same night, every night for twelve months or more? You don't realize what a lot of work babies can be, they take TWO parents, and wear both out, believe me! And who's gonna look after them, anyway? You'll have to work to support them.'

'Your parents will help,' she said firmly, and he knew she was right; his parents would help as long as they could move. 'I've made up my mind, Tony. But it won't be like that, they'll release you!'

He laughed bitterly.

'They will, Tony, they'll have to. I need you home. Why won't you even try and hope too?'

'Coz it would drive me nuts,' he snapped, dropping his gaze. 'How do you think I get through every day? I think about home every night, and I force myself to stop during the day, or I'll go mad. I take every minute as it comes; I got no plans for tomorrow. It's the only way I can take it.'

Michelle touched the glass above his face, pulling her hand along it. 'That's all the more reason for me to come visit you, sweetheart,' she said through her tears. 'I won't abandon you Tony, I can't.'

A minute passed in silence as each pretended not to watch the other, gauging the other's determination. Tony could tell Michelle was upset, she missed him and she clearly still adored him. She had her usual quiet stubborn expression – she wasn't about to back down any time in the near future. He sighed quietly; sure he was right about her seeking another life, and dreading her in fact doing so. She studied his face carefully through the glass, seeing his sigh.

'Ok,' he agreed reluctantly. 'Come visit me for a while then, though it sure won't do your career any good! But you got to promise me a coupla things.' She nodded, watching him. 'One, if you're real tired after work, don't even think of driving out all this way. I WON'T have you get involved in an accident because of me! Two, if you meet someone, just send me a note to let me know, don't feel you need to come and explain. It would save us both.' He stared at her carefully, relieved to see her nod.

'Ok, but I WON'T meet anyone, I don't want to! Tony, I can take care of myself, you know.' He nodded. 'I went to have dinner at July's place yesterday, remember where you fed her cat all your fish?' They grinned at each other. Tony relaxed slightly, determined to keep the rest of the visit light.

'I do.'

'That was only one of the most expensive fish on the market,' she said, amused.

'The cat didn't seem to have any complaints,' he agreed, smiling at her. 'What else have you been up to?'

'I've made a start on the garden,' she said firmly, while his eyes widened.

'Michelle, you kept the house? How could you, the bank recalled the entire loan?'

'I told them about my promotion, so they gave me another loan, to my name only,' she said, flinching slightly. She'd been through a battle with the bank, he could tell, and she'd won!

'Honey, you're incredible,' he said, genuinely impressed. 'But do you really need such a large place?'

Michelle bit her lip, looking him in the eye, and he sighed, aware the light mood had just disappeared again. 'It's our home, Tony, it took us long enough to find, remember. And I've made a start on the kids' rooms.' She stared at him defiantly while he shifted in his chair behind the glass barrier. 'After all, you're not supposed to paint when you're pregnant.'

He nodded.

'What about you, sweetheart? Who do you talk to? What do you do all day? Why did they take you to administrative segregation?'

Tony rubbed his face, determined not to upset her. 'Sweetheart, you shouldn't get my file again, it's classified for a reason. You only get to read one side of events in there. Let me see, who do I talk to…In the other place I met a group of car thieves…' He heard her peal of laughter and laughed with her, glad the mood was lighter. 'I kept hearing tales of fabulous thefts, police chases, that type of thing. I also had a good neighbor, he was a safe breaker, robbed several banks. All the letters I wrote to you were on paper he lent me, the pen too, and the envelopes. I only know one person here yet.'

'And what do you do all day?' she persisted.

He shrugged. 'I read. Sometimes they give me interesting books. I try to exercise. I write letters home. This place is a bit better; I'll get to study something. How's mom?' he interrupted himself.

Michelle looked sad. 'She's broken, Tony, and so is your father. They go through all the motions of living, but they're hurting. You can tell they'd really long to just hide away from everyone for a while. They buried Bobby last week. Everyone was there, Marco flew back from the Gulf and Joey was there too. They buried him in a war cemetery. Your parents were upset, they wanted him buried close by, so they could visit him easily, but the Navy had other plans, and he was killed on active duty. Your grandmother came too.'

Tony gasped aloud. 'Oh God, she didn't! Tell me she didn't stay with them,' he begged, struggling to contain his tears at the thought of his brother being buried.

'No, Anna had her stay for a week. She's absolutely unimpressed with her methods of raising the baby.'

They grinned at each other again, Tony nodding. 'Yeah, that figures. Did she say anything about me?' he questioned, wishing he hadn't asked the moment he saw her face.

'Yes she did, after the funeral. She said she always told you nothing good would come if you married me. Then your father said it's not my fault, and she said you're in prison for saving me, aren't you, and I started to cry, and then she said it's ok, you never listened to anyone, you would've ended up here anyway!'

'She was always real impressed with me,' Tony agreed wryly.

'And then she said she's surprised Marco's not here too, and your mom got mad, so she went to annoy some of the guests.'

'Will you go to visit them after this?' he asked, hoping she'd agree.

'Of course. I called them and told them I'm coming, and that I'd tell them all about it afterwards. They've got all your letters in a box on top of the fireplace, they keep reading them.'

Tony groaned aloud. It was tough wandering around a dusty yard and being insulted by prisoners and guards alike, terrible to contemplate living the remainder of his life in such conditions, but harder still was the thought of his parents and Michelle suffering outside.

A guard appeared beside Tony, pointing silently to the phone. 'Sweetheart, I got to go,' he told her, struggling to keep his voice even. Michelle looked as though her favorite possession had been ripped from her, holding the phone to her ear and shaking her head. 'I'll write you this afternoon,' he promised, noting worriedly that she still hadn't moved. 'Honey, I love you. I'll see you next month. Take care, ok?'

Michelle nodded, watching while his leg was unlocked from the chair and shackled to his other leg. The guard frowned and pointed at the phone which he still held. 'Bye, Tony. I really love you too. I've got to go to another course next week, to Washington this time, but I'll be here by next month. I'll write to you too.'

The guard removed the phone from his hand, slamming it back in its holder and pushing him to get him moving. He stumbled over to the door, turning his head as the guard ran his access card through the slot. Michelle had moved a few steps from the booth, walking steadily out; unable to turn and watch him led away. A surge of emotion swept through him, rising from the pit of his stomach, and it took all his training to remain silent.

Michelle, come back! Stay a bit longer, please. Don't leave me here – you're right, I hate being here! I WANNA GO HOME!

Easy, Almeida! Easy, he ordered himself, steadying his breathing. You put yourself here. You done wrong, you let everyone down. Ok, so maybe the term 'traitor' is a little harsh, but you're a useless agent, that's for sure. You deserve this.

His fists remained clenched all the way back to his cell.