Tony sat in his car, right hand poised over the key that stuck out of the ignition. Reluctantly, he turned the car off and pulled the key out, stuffing it into his pocket. He sat looking quietly at the cute, cheery house he'd parked in front of. It was perfect for the young family living there. Tony sighed heavily, than slowly opened the car door and stepped out. The bright, cloudless sky seemed to mock him as he walked up the short pathway to the front door.
He reached out for the doorbell, fighting the urge to turn away; walk back to his car and drive out of the situation he was in. Let someone else to this. His finger pushed the button as if it was no longer part of him. The cheery ringing of the bell made him cringe. Why was this day so perfect? Too late to run now. Tony shifted his weight from left to right nervously. The inner door opened. No turning back. Tony took a calming breath. Kim looked confused but pleasantly surprised when she saw him.
"Tony, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Tony opened his mouth to give some sort of answer, but nothing came out. Kim didn't seem to notice.
"I'm sorry, that was rude," she said almost to herself. "Can you come in? How are you?" she inquired with excitement.
Kim pushed the outer screen door open to let Tony in. He took a step then froze. Kim's usually thin stomach bulged with the baby Tony didn't know about. Damn it, why? Why hadn't Jack told him, or Chloe? Kim followed his gaze, and a smile of pure happiness spread over her face.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't know," Tony explained in a low, raspy voice.
"I thought my dad might have told you. He's the only one who really knew how to get in touch with you."
Tony nodded dumbly. Kim led him into a comfortable looking living room. He could here giggles and laughs floating in from an open window.
"Is Chase home?" he asked.
"Yeah, he's outside with Angela. I can go get him. Do you want something to drink first?"
Yeah Tony thought, something strong. "Water, thanks," he answered instead.
Kim left the room; left Tony to figure out how he was going to handle the mess he'd gotten himself into. Tony sank miserably into a chair. Why was he here? "Because you volunteered," a voice from somewhere inside his head whispered the reminder. He should've let Michelle come with him. She'd wanted to, but Tony explained that "This was something he needed to do alone."
Kim came back with the water and set it on a coaster before sitting down across from him.
"Chase is helping Angela get cleaned up. They were out playing," she explained.
Great, Tony thought. He looked around, trying to avoid Kim's gaze without making it obvious. The pictures lined on the mantle over the small fireplace caught his eye. There were pictures of Angela when she was younger, of Kim and Chase together, with and without Angela. Tony spotted one with Jack and Kim and Teri and turned away. Poor, poor Kim.
"How are things going? We haven't talked in a while," Kim asked, trying to fill the silence.
Tony turned towards her as if she startled him. "Better, Michelle and I are back together," he told her.
Kim smiled, happy for him. Before Kim could ask any more questions, Chase came in, followed by Angela, who was walking rather unsteadily behind him. She'd grown so much since the last time Tony had seen her. How old must she be now? Tony's thoughts were cut short by an embrace from Chase and a handshake. Chase was tan from the week they'd spent in a small beach town on vacation.
"What are you doing here? How are you?" Chase asked excitedly.
"I'm doing ok. Look, I need to talk to you and Kim about something that happened while you were gone," Tony said.
Kim and Chase sat down next to each other; Angela played on the floor with some blocks. They're so good for each other, Tony mused.
"What do you mean?" Chase asked.
The joy that had filled the house only moments earlier had disappeared in a matter of moments.
"We saw some of the news reports about the terrorists attacks," Kim told him.
Tony had no idea how he was going to tell them what he'd come to say.
"Tony, what's going on?" Chase asked seriously.
"Did you here anything about the death of the Chinese consul and the events surrounding it?" Tony asked.
"No, not at all," Chase answered.
Tony sighed. "Because of the time constraints CTU faced in finding the terrorists and stopping them, Jack had to lead a group of men against the Chinese consulate and kidnap a man who man who was in their custody. Somehow, the Chinese consul was shot," Tony explained as briefly as he could. "Any ways, one of the men on the team was caught. He told the Chinese that Jack was the man who led the attack." He wished he could tell them the true ending to the unfortunate story. Even though he knew that Jack was alive, the thought of never seeing him again and the pain that he knew he was going to cause Chase and Kim made up for any lack of emotion he might have.
"Tony, just tell us what this is about," Kim said evenly, but impatiently.
Tony searched for the right words. "President Logan ordered that Jack be handed over to the Chinese government. Jack seemed to understand…" Tony stopped briefly. Could he really do this?
"Jack got a call a few minutes before the secret service agent picked him up. I was supposed to debrief him before he was taken into custody. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the ground," Tony explained.
Kim had nestled closer to Chase, who had one arm around her shoulder. He ran his free hand over his shaved head. "He tried to escape?" he asked.
Tony looked down, not answering. He had to finish what he'd started. "I went with the agent to get Jack. Your father opened fire, but he was shot wide, obviously just trying to keep us pinned down. The agent returned fire, I…" Tony stopped. He had to make a choice. They deserved to know what he and Michelle knew-the truth. "I found him," he continued quietly.
Kim started shaking her head.
"He'd been shot in the neck."
Chase hugged his wife, his pregnant wife, closer as she started crying. Tony let his head drop into his hands. What kind of person was he? One who didn't want his friend to get caught by the Chinese and tortured for information.
"I am so sorry, Kim."
Kim looked up from her husband's shoulder. "Why, why did he run?" she demanded.
"Kim, you've worked for the government long enough to know what the Chinese Government would do to get information from your father. Not even Jack was willing to purposefully but himself in that situation without a fight."
"How could Logan agree to just hand Jack over? After everything he's done for this country?" Chase asked. His voice cracked, his cheeks were damp.
Angela had fallen asleep on the floor, a small smile of contentment on her face.
"I think you know the answer to that. President Logan didn't want the American Government implicated," Tony said sarcastically. Then he added more seriously "This country can't afford a war with China."
Chase stood, pacing back and forth. "He was willing to sacrifice Jack just to save his own skin?" he yelled.
Angela stirred, then started crying. Kim picked her up off the floor, hugging her close. After a moment she relaxed her hold and wiped away the tears flowing down her cheeks. "Where is his body?" she asked.
Tony knew that this was going to be the hardest thing he would have to tell her. "Jack's been buried already. President Logan didn't want anyone looking into his death to carefully. Apparently, the agent who shot Jack has been doing Logan's dirty work for a while." Tony let out a heavy breath.
So many lies, so many heartbreaks. They wouldn't even be able to see his body. They would live the rest of their lives based off the lies he'd just told them.
"No," Kim whispered. "No, this can't be happening!"
Chase moved towards her but she pushed him away. "Damn it! No!" she yelled. "Please tell me this isn't true, please," she begged.
Tony pursed his lips. At least now he had a chance to tell the truth. A lot of good it would do them. "I can't tell you that, Kim," he said softly.
Chase hadn't said anything since his outburst, and he remained silent, looking at the ground, head in his hands. Tony stood.
"I have to leave, but if you ever need anything, Michelle and I will always be there."
Kim turned away; her shoulders shook with silent tears.
"I'm so, so sorry," Tony added quietly.
He left them to grieve, and remember. Maybe someday Jack could come back, and they would know the truth. Maybe someday he'd be able to come back and see the baby his only daughter was going to have. Maybe, just maybe someday everything would be right again. Maybe…