A/n: As I'm sure you know, Jack works in a field where he doesn't know if he'll be alive tomorrow. That has to weigh heavily on him. Based on a personal level, it took my father five years to propose to my mother. My father served in the Marine Corps for many years and from what he's said the reason he took so long to propose was that he didn't think it was fair to propose to my mother while he was in such a high risk job. However, if it makes you feel better I'll go back and change the dates a bit. And as for the question about who took care of Lucas while Michelle was recuperating, I didn't realize that I'd have to specify a name for a family friend or a babysitter of some sort, but if you really want it I can make one up on the spot. The fact that Michelle had been called in from another city to help CTU LA would mean that she would have known that she would be in L.A. for some undetermined amount of time, therefore, as a responsible mother, she would have surely gotten someone to look after her child. And I'm sure that working at a demanding job like she does at CTU, she'd probably have a full-time nanny of some sort.

Chapter 12 – The Sins of the Father

Smile. Smile. You have to smile. Smile at the little boy. Lucas. Her son. Michelle's son.

As those very words left Michelle's mouth, Jack tried his hardest to not look shocked. Even all of his CTU training was of little help as he couldn't help his face from breaking into a lopsided grin. While Lucas looked back him beaming from ear to ear, Jack gave him a half smile complete with the raised eyebrows. Actually, he looked quite creepy and Jack was a little surprised that Lucas hadn't run away in fear after seeing Jack's face.

Lucas looked at Jack and treaded cautiously,

"Where do you work, sir?"

Jack was surprised by how polite this little guy was and said earnestly,

"I work with CTU Los Angeles. I help protect Americans from bad people who try to hurt us."

Lucas' eyes widened at this revelation and eagerly pressed on,

"Do you carry a gun, sir?"

Jack laughed at his eagerness and replied,

"Not as much as I used to. I'm Director of CTU LA now. I used to carry one a lot though. But right now I've got nothing on me. I do have a badge that you can see though."

Lucas nodded in excitement at the prospect of seeing Jack's real badge. He had gotten a fake one for his last birthday, but a real one was much cooler.

As Jack took out his badge and showed it to Lucas, Lucas' eyes glowed in admiration. He decided that Jack Bauer was one of his new heroes.

Michelle watched on as Lucas was clearly captivated by Jack. Not very many people dropped by Michelle's house so Michelle knew that Lucas was probably more excited to see a stranger than anything. She hadn't made all that many friends and the only visitors that normally dropped by were either her parents or Danny, so Jack's visit was welcome indeed.

Jack looked at Lucas once more and asked politely,

"How old are you little guy?"

Lucas looked at him and proudly answered,

"Five and three quarters – almost six, sir."

Jack nodded his understanding and said to him,

"Well, you're growing up to be quite a man aren't you?"

Lucas beamed at his compliment and smiled back at Michelle as to say, 'see, he thinks I'm old!'

Finally, Michelle noticed how Lucas had indeed gotten his jeans dirty with mud and sighed in exasperation,

"Lucas, your clothes are all dirty! What were you doing this time? Rolling around in the mud?"

Lucas took one look down at his clothes and sighed, and Michelle knew why. Asking a little boy to keep his clothes was about as impossible as tasks came. It probably would have been easier to ask him to jump off the roof then for him to keep his clothes clean even for a day.

Lucas sincerely apologized for dirtying his clothes, and then he asked Jack excitedly,

"Mr. Bauer, may I go show my Grandma your badge?"

Jack's eyes glistened and he replied,

"Sure thing, kiddo. Just be sure to bring it back after you're done, alright?"

Lucas vigorously nodded his head up and down and promised to bring it back as soon as he had finished with it, leaving Jack and Michelle alone to talk.

As soon as Lucas was out of ear-shot, Michelle stood up and began to pace nervously around the backyard. She knew what question Jack would ask. She waited for it nervously and finally Jack spoke up asking,

"Is he really yours?"

Michelle nodded and proudly answered,

"My very own."

Jack nodded his understanding and then proceeded to comment,

"A very handsome young boy. You've raised him well. He's probably more polite than I am most of the time."

Michelle chuckled at Jack's reference to his lack of manners. But it was true, Jack had the no-nonsense attitude and most of the time proper etiquette just wouldn't have allowed him to do his job. Asking a terrorist politely when the next attack was just wasn't as effective as screaming at the top of your lungs, "WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE!"

"But…"

Michelle turned around as Jack spoke up once more and Jack finished off saying,

"I've noticed you don't wear a ring on your left hand so I'm assuming you haven't married again, but I'm not completely ruling out a possible boyfriend or anything. But that little boy, Lucas, who's his father?"

Michelle did not want to answer this question and instead turned away from Jack walking towards the back of the yard. Jack followed her, reluctant to let this one question to unanswered. He had his suspicions from the way the boy looked his hair, his eye color. They were all reminiscent of one man.

However, Michelle knew that Jack wouldn't give up so easily. He wouldn't simply leave her alone if she refused to answer him. He'd keep pressing her for information until she finally gave it; after all, it was Jack Bauer they were talking about.

Uneasily, she spoke in a voice much quieter than before and said,

"I've only ever been with one man…"

Jack tried to process these words in his mind and realized that without a doubt she was talking about none other than Tony.

"Tony…"

Jack said the name easily. Knowing for certain that this boy was none other than a certain someone's son. He even looked like Tony. He had Michelle's hair, but almost everything else about this boy screamed his father's name.

Just as that name escaped his lips, Michelle tightened up considerably and tried to control herself as a shiver passed through her body at hearing his name again.

By now, Jack was confused. Why wouldn't she tell him she had his son? How could she have managed to keep this secret for almost six years? How did any of this even make sense? As his brain over flooded with questions, he asked Michelle again,

"How could you not tell him? How could you not tell Tony that you had his son?"

Michelle turned away once more and stared fiercely at the ground, finding it far more intriguing than the prospect of answering Jack's question.

Michelle wrapped her arms around her small frame as a shiver ran through her blood. She knew that she couldn't hide this secret forever. But even then, she hadn't wanted anyone to find out. She had hoped that she could just move on with her life, forgetting that he had ever even come into her life.

But as she spoke these words, she knew that it was not true. Every single day, she had living reminders of him. Although she very rarely admitted it, she knew how much Lucas looked like his father. Indeed, he was the splitting image of Tony when he had been younger. The same eyes, the same smile, almost the same attitude. Lucas was confident, just like his father.

Jack went through the details again, almost six. She had left almost six years ago.

"You left Tony because you thought he wouldn't want to have a child? You had him alone."

Michelle nodded as she knew she couldn't hide this from him any longer. She finally summoned up all of her courage and said bravely, but still quietly,

"I told my parents that I'd be leaving him. They were confused and so angry with me. They demanded an explanation, especially my father. I had been brought up in a very traditional family and the thought of me having a child alone was unthinkable. But I insisted that it would be best for me and for…for him. My parents kept pushing me to explain. To give them one good reason as to why I thought that raising children alone would be a better option."

Michelle never told them what had happened. She never told anyone what had happened. She firmly believed that if she told anyone, it would get out and she would never be able to forget. Not her parents, not her friends, no one. All she said was that they both needed to move in different directions in their lives.

Then suddenly, as Jack replayed Michelle's words over in his head, he noticed the plural use of child. She had said "children." Did she mean that figuratively? Or was there another child of Tony's?

Jack followed Michelle as she made her way back into the house and when she arrived, a little girl bounded up to her. The little girl looked about Lucas' age and Jack couldn't help but realize how much this little girl looked like Michelle. Jack stood a foot behind them and watched as they interacted, Michelle said to the little girl,

"Have you been playing cops and robbers with Lucas? You know I don't like you guys playing violent games…especially when you know Lucas is much stronger than you."

The little girl tried to squirm away from Michelle's hands, and for the first time noticed Jack and with eyes just as big and curious as Lucas' she looked up at Jack. Jack noticed her curiosity and proceeded to bend down until he was eye to eye with the little girl and stuck out his hand saying,

"Hey there, I'm Jack, I'm a friend of Michelle."

The little girl giggled and said,

"I'm not allowed to call mommy by her first name. My name's Lauren."

After the little girl confirmed that she was indeed another one of Michelle's children, Jack grew curious. Who was her father? Michelle had mentioned that Lucas was stronger than her, so did that mean she was younger than him? Who was her father? So he decided to ask once more,

"And how old are you little lady?"

Lauren giggled at how Jack had called her little lady and with her fingers she stuck up five fingers and then said, but I'm almost six!"

Twins. Thought Jack. She had twins. These are Tony's twins. Michelle after realizing that Jack had come to the realization that both Lauren and Lucas were Tony's kids, told Lauren to go off and play while she talked to Jack.

Lauren, though disappointed that she would have to leave the new guest, did as her mother told her. And just as she made her move to leave, Lucas appeared with his fake pistol in hand yelling, "I've got you! You're arrested!"

Lauren giggled gleefully and ran off as Michelle held out a hand to Lucas bringing him to her. She said gently,

"I thought you weren't allowed to play violent games Lucas."

Lucas looked up at her guiltily and said,

"It wasn't violent. Honest."

Michelle couldn't help but be completely taken by how adorable he looked when he was trying to hide something from her. Jack laughed at Lucas' attempt to convince his mother that he hadn't been doing anything wrong and said easily,

"Well, I'm sure you'll be off to save the world one day."

Lucas grinned at Michelle from Jack's words of praise and said triumphantly to Michelle,

"See, mom! I'm going to save the world one day!"

Jack laughed at the interaction between mother and son and then said quietly,

"Just like your father."

Lucas' eyes whipped up at the mention of the word father and said quietly,

"You knew my dad?"

Jack nodded his head saying quietly,

"Yeah, he's one of my best friends. A great man."

Lucas nearly jumped at that and asked him desperately,

"What's his name? Where is he? Why isn't he here with us? Why'd he leave us? Why doesn't he love us?"

Jack was completely taken aback by this and was trying to figure out the best way to answer Lucas' questions before Michelle interrupted saying gently,

"Lucas, I've told you this before. He's gone. He's not going to come back, and I want you to stop thinking about him, okay?"

Lucas' eyes refused to meet Michelle's. In his young heart he still imagined that one day his father would come back to their family and that his mom would be happy again. His little eyes were very perceptive indeed for ever since he had awoken one night and seen Michelle crying herself to sleep; he knew that his mother wasn't very happy.

And it didn't help that all of his other friends in Kindergarten had daddies. At the beginning of the school year when they had all been asked to make up a family tree, Lucas and Lauren's were the only two that didn't have a daddy. The other kids occasionally alerted Lucas of this fact and even made fun of him sometimes saying that his daddy didn't love him and that he left.

Lucas had grown to become very defensive, especially of his sister. One day in the school yard a couple of older boys were making fun of Lauren and how her daddy wasn't living with them and Lucas had pounced on them. Despite the fact that he was almost half their size didn't matter to him. All that mattered was keeping the hope alive that someday his daddy would come back for them and that they could all be a family again. Him, Lauren, his mom, and his dad, a real family.

Michelle lifted Lucas' chin until his eyes met her and as it did, she couldn't help but push down a small cry as she noticed that she wasn't just looking into Lucas' eyes, she was also looking into his eyes.

She told him gently to go off and play with his sister, to which he begrudgingly left. He had wanted to ask Mr. Bauer more questions about his father. He had wanted to know his name. Wanted to know what he looked like. Wanted to know if his father even loved him…

When Lucas had left the room, Michelle shook off her initial shock, rubbing her eyes she said to Jack,

"Jack, please. Don't talk of him around my children. I don't want them to wonder about him at all."

Jack not backing down simply argued back,

"You haven't even told them about their father? Michelle, they deserve to know who their father is! Just as much as Tony deserves to know that you had two of his kids! How could you not tell him of this?"

Michelle tired at being attacked for not telling Tony about his children simply said,

"I don't need them wondering about him. I don't need them questioning whether or not he loves them. As the answer is already so obvious."

Jack argued back saying,

"You act as if he's dead! Lucas and Lauren don't know a thing about their father! They don't even know his name for Christ sake! He's not dead Michelle, and he IS their father. He has a right to know that he has two beautiful children."

Michelle sighed and said instead,

"Maybe it'd be better if he was gone. Then at least they wouldn't ask questions about him."

Jack finally realized how defeated and how much it hurt Michelle to even speak of Tony. He didn't understand. What on earth could Tony have possibly done to make her keep even the news of his children away from him? He pressed on gentler this time, asking,

"What did he do? What did he do to you Michelle? How did he hurt you so badly?"

Michelle sniffed back a tear as she simply conveyed her thoughts to him instead of directly answering his question,

"Do you remember all those years ago that night I met you at Firefly?"

Jack thought back to that night. Of course he remembered. It was the night Michelle left Tony. She had come out crying and refused to tell him what had happened. He answered somberly,

"Yes."

Michelle continued, her voice obviously choked up from emotion,

"I found out that afternoon that I was pregnant. I was so happy. I couldn't believe it. I was having his children. I was having Tony's children. I left work early to go and surprise him at work about the news. You have no idea how happy I was Jack. After the year we had both gone through I couldn't have been happier. I had wanted children for years and finally my dream was coming true.

And I went. I was on top of the world when the doctors told me I was pregnant. I was in shock, but I was elated. Nothing could break my spirits. Nothing but one man."

By now, tears were flowing down her cheeks and she choked back another sob and continued to talk saying,

"But then I saw something. With my very own eyes. Something that made me realize that Tony didn't love me anymore."

Jack looked at her and immediately counter argued saying,

"Michelle, that's impossible. I know Tony almost as well as you do and I know that he would never stop loving you. Whatever you saw, it can be fixed. I know it can. You guys just have to talk face to face and everything will be alright again. I promise you."

Michelle looked at Jack's hopeful face and said dolefully,

"I wish I had as much hope as you had, Jack. But I know that in my heart nothing will ever be the same again. It's time I just move on, just like he did. It's best for the both of us. Trust me, Jack. I know it is."

Jack sighed as he realized that nothing he said would make Michelle change her mind and she had obviously been upset by his bringing up Tony so he tried to change the subject. Instead asking her if she would like to come to his wedding to which she replied with as much excitement as she could muster at that present moment,

"Of course I'll come! I've been waiting for this day for years and now I most certainly won't miss it!"

But inside her heart, she wondered only one question…would he be there?