Note: Thank you again for all the kind words, it's great to know all this work is appreciated :D If I may ask though, please be careful about mentioning season 5. I don't know what's going to happen and I don't want to (before seeing it)... Even just in passing, it's enough to send a girl's mind into some dark places, you know? ;) Thanks :) Now on with the chapter!

CHAPTER SEVEN

SIX MONTHS LATER

"How are we doing this morning?" Tony came to sit at the edge of the bed when he saw Michelle was awake.

"We're doing just fine," she assured him. "You, however, will be late for work if you keep this up. Don't worry, okay? The belly and I are staying right here."

"Okay," he relented, leaving after a kiss. Knowing she was so close to delivery, he became more and more troubled with leaving her.

Once he was gone, Michelle remained in bed for a moment more. The silence, total stillness, was something she found herself liking. A moment to just sit in the wonderment of how things had changed, how she'd changed. She'd catch herself reaching to lift the shirt off her grown belly, confirming it was there - not a dream.

They had decided not to find out the sex, prefering to revel in the surprise. Each had their preferences on names, each a list. They didn't show them to each other, opting to make this another surprise. Knowing the time at the hospital could wear on them, they would 'unveil' their lists there.

Concerns they had went along so many different levels. There were the regular topics, usual suspects, about it all. But there were things guided by the knowledge of their old occupations. The things they'd seen, the things they knew were out there... Could they consciously bring this child into the world they lived in? It was a comfort at least to know that they had taken themselves out of there.

Eventually, Michelle got up with a grunt. Long gone were the days where she could take a guy down. They had received a box of blankets, clothes, and toys from her mother the day before, left it in the nursery to be unpacked, so she decided to do that.

She'd just picked up a yellow teddy bear when the phone rang. Putting it down with a sigh, she went off to answer.

"Hello?"

"Michelle?"

"Yes?" she frowned, trying to identify the voice.

"I hope I'm not bothering you, I know it's out of the blue, but..."

"Chloe?" she finally realized.

"Yeah," she responded matter of factly.

"What's going on?"

"Remember the Russo case?"

"Yes?" it came back to her in shuddering detail.

"Something came up there and since you did most of the work there, they asked to call you in."

"Call me in? Chloe..." she stood up straighter.

"I realize you and Tony left all this, but..."

"No, that's not it, I just... There's no way I can go down there right now," she looked down to herself.

"If you need a ride, it can be arranged."

"Chloe, I'm pregnant," she cut in.

"You... what?"

"Eight months..."

"You might have started with that. I mean, congratulations."

"Thank you."

"But we still need you."

"How urgent are we talking?"

"Russo escaped, he's got agents hostage. He doesn't know that's what they are yet." Michelle went to sit, starting to feel it at the pit of her stomach - she'd have to go.

"How many?"

"Three. Carver, Suarez, and Whitley." The prickling of goose bumps burst through instantly. There was only one Agent Whitley at CTU and that was Liz.

"Alright," she closed her eyes. "Can you send a car?"

"They're already on route."

"Okay."

After they hung up, Michelle sat there in the silence. Deep down she knew something like this was bound to happen eventually. This job had a way of drawing you back one way or another. But this time it would have to be quick.

She debated whether or not to call Tony. She wanted him to know where she was so he wouldn't worry. CTU wasn't the place where that would happen. If he knew she was heading there, he'd stop her. But she couldn't let Liz get hurt or killed if she could somehow prevent it. So she left a note.

She got dressed, fixed her hair and put on makeup. Goint to sit outside, she waited for the car. She didn't want to let herself get agitated by all this, but still she couldn't help having some kind of reaction. It was one thing to have to go there at all, with everything they'd gone through there, but in the state she was... Past events made her worry about what might occur while she'd be there. She just had to focus on the stakes. Saving Liz was worth it all.

Ten minutes later, she spotted the car coming down the road. She stood, walking down the three steps off the porch as the car turned in to the drive way. Out walked the driver, who she saw was Curtis Manning. He gave her a smile as they met up.

"Michelle," he nodded and shook her hand.

"It's been a while," she shook back.

"Yeah," he looked down and she smirked. "We should get going."

"Right," she nodded.

The ride down to Los Angeles took some time, and perhaps sensing her uneasiness over returning, Curtis kept her as calm as he could. They talked about anything but work. As they were getting close to CTU though, Michelle knew they had to focus. Curtis briefed her on the situation and what was needed of her here.

As they entered the parking garage, she put on a calm and relaxed face, making any discomforts.

She was guided through to the main area and all the way ther she could feel the change. She had been in charge here, back in the day. She displayed control, leadership. But she wasn't part of this world, not anymore, and they could all tell. Her reception was warm, some hellos, some congratulations. In a way, it helped. She couldn't view herself as part of this world anymore, having this new life she and Tony had fought for with every ounce of strength in them... Having them respond to her as such lifted off any fears of being drawn back in too deep. She was here to help, but it wasn't a permanent thing. She'd do what was necessary, then she'd return home to her husband and her little nursery filled with objects of serenity and peace.

This didn't mean she'd lost track of the process, procedures. She was right back in that mindset as she and Curtis made their way into the conference room where the people waited for them. There was Chloe, and Edgar, and Audrey, and of course Bill Buchanan... They got right to business.

"Sorry to bring you in like this, but it was necessary," Bill addressed her as she and Curtis sat among them.

"It's alright. What's the situation at the moment?" The update told her that not much had changed from what Curtis had told her. Liz, undercover with Michael Suarez and Chris Carver, had stumbled on the fact that this operation they were working to take down was run by Giovanni Russo, a local with family connections that ran all the way from the states to his parents' native Italy. He'd been captured, or so they'd thought. As it turned out, he'd escaped recently. None of them knew until Liz, Michael, and Chris had been introduced to the boss - to Russo. Everything was still relatively on track until Russo got it in his head that they were going to rip him off. Perhaps the only reason they weren't dead was the fact that Russo liked to shove the proof in the faces of those who betrayed him, and then he would kill them. So if Russo was to discover the three agents' identities, not only would they be killed, but Russo would then disappear and they would likely never get the chance to catch him again. His crimes were many, and they were sordid. They could not afford to lose this.

It had been Michelle who'd worked the case the most. She knew Russo, his manners, his contacts, like no one else. For this, Buchanan had asked she be brought in once they'd discovered the agents' predicament.

"Chloe'll take you to get a look at the footage we gathered, see if anything sticks out." Michelle nodded.

"Need a hand?" Curtis asked her as she went to get up, supporting the back of her chair.

"I'm good, thank you," she assured him.

Michelle and Chloe left together to head to the tech room. "How's Tony?"

"He's good," Michelle nodded.

"He wasn't mad about you coming here?"

"He doesn't know."

"Oh..."

"It's better this way."

"I don't know, I mean..."

"Chloe, please, let's just focus?"

"Right. Sorry."

Entering the dark room, the women stood before a bank of computer monitors. "What do we have?" Michelle asked as Chloe started tapping at the keyboard.

"The hidden cameras were lost sixteen hours ago, but we've got weeks of footage. The 'top events' were put aside. Anything else that might be important will be in the logs."

"Okay. May I?"

"That's what you're here for," Chloe stood back. As the footage of Liz and the others' first encounter with Russo came up, Michelle felt a bit of a chill. this wasn't someone you wanted to doubt you.

For the next twenty minutes, Michelle and Chloe sifted through the information. They weren't getting anywhere. Michelle sat back with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes. She opened them, looking at one of the top monitors. Her face froze.

"We'll find something. I know it's frustrating because their lives are on the line, but..."

"Chloe..." she spoke slowly.

"Maybe if we hit the logs."

"No need..." Noticing her locked gaze, Chloe looked to where the expectant former agent was. One of the live images from out front showed a group of maintenance people.

"What's wrong?" Chloe frowned.

"Call security. That's one of Russo's guys right there." Without another word, Chloe went for the phone as Michelle kept her eyes on the monitors. Chloe had barely gotten a few words in before the phone went dead. At the same time, Michelle could only watch on as the men entered the building and the first shots were heard.

"Oh God..." Chloe gasped before the alarms sounded and all the lights and equipment shut down. "Okay, okay, the door's locked down good, they won't be able to get in, maybe won't even look, so we should be safe for a while. We just have to wait," she spoke to reassure both Michelle and herself as she padded about, looking for the flashlight she knew was around... somewhere.

As she turned it on and flashed it toward Michelle though, she found the look on her face wasn't what she'd expected.

"Are you okay?" she asked, approaching her as the wince and deep breaths increased. "No... no, no, no..." her eyes grew wide.

"Chloe..." Michelle panted, then cried out.

"Thank goodness the room's soundproof," Chloe mumbled to herself, trying to find some resolve. "I-it's... it's okay, it's gonna be okay, I think..." she attempted to comfort her. "Maybe it's just that false labor thing."

"Doesn't feel that way," Michelle spoke through gritted teeth.

"Just don't panic, okay? We'll get through this," Chloe nodded, then jumped as Michelle went on yelling.

Out in the main of CTU, the agents were brought to line up on their knees, all weapons removed and flight risks already tied down as the others were kept on close watch as well.

"Is that all of you?" one of the intruders asked.

"Yes," Curtis spoke without a hint of his lie. The man nodded and went off to rejoin the others. Everything had happened so fast. One new development hadn't made it to them apparently. Russo had found out the three agents were CTU. Across from the gathered agents in the building lied the three undercovers. Liz and Michael Suarez were badly injured. Chris Carver lay dead on the ground. No one could look away. They also couldn't betray Michelle and Chloe's location.

In San Diego, Tony stepped into his office by the pool area to check in with Michelle. He dialed their home number and sat at his desk. After four rings, the answering machine picked up. He frowned, but stayed calm. She could be napping. He hung up, dialing up their neighbor.

"Hey Carol, it's Tony. Could you drop in to check on Michelle at some time?"

"Sure. I can go now."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." They hung up and Tony waited, tapping his foot against the side of his desk. Two minutes later, his phone rang. The caller ID displayed his home number. "Michelle?" he answered.

"No, it's me," Carol replied. "Michelle isn't here." Tony sat up. "She left a note. 'Chloe called, I've gone to CTU. I'll be home as soon as possible. Love, Michelle.' What's CTU?"

"I have to go," Tony hung up with a huff, next dialing up their former office. the 'no service' message hadn't even finished he was already running out the door.

"Breathe!" Chloe instructed Michelle as she now sat on the ground on an overturned chair, propped up against the wall back at CTU.

"I can't!" she protested.

"You're gonna have to!"

It had been nearly half an hour now, and any doubts about this being the real thing were now gone.

"We were going to exchange lists..." Michelle panted as the contraction passed.

"What?" Chloe asked as she searched the room for more supplies.

"Our lists of names. We wanted to show them to each other at the hospital while we waited." They shared a look.

"We should be out of here in time for that, probably?" Chloe brought over a stack of things. "The stuff they keep here. There's even a blanket." Michelle nodded and they set it out. "I'm not really sure how to do this, so I'm really hoping we'll be out in time."

"Hopefully it won't come to that."

"Yeah, I mean it'll be hours before anything comes out, right?" Chloe jumped again as Michelle cried out the beginning of another contraction. "Damn it..." Chloe crouched at her side with a deep breath.

In near record time, Tony was now nearing the CTU building. He'd called in to Division to ask about the phones. The words 'hostage situation' weren't doing wonders for his nerves. By the time he drove up, there were agents, flashing lights...

"Have you made contact?" Tony asked the agent in charge as he approached him.

"Almeida?" he asked and Tony nodded. "We haven't made contact yet. From what we know, six hostiles and three more hostages went in there, and there have been shots fired."

"Sir," an agent came running with a phone. "They're calling; they want to speak with you." He took it.

"This is Stone," he listened for a moment. "Let one of your hostages on the phone." Another moment later, he got what he'd requested. "Agent Manning, what's going on in there?" Tony looked up.

"Let me talk to him." Stone hesitated, but then handed it over. "Curtis, this is Tony Almeida. Are you on speaker?"

"No," he answered simply.

"Is Michelle in there?"

"Yes..."

"Is... is she okay?" he wavered.

"Yes."

"Is she with you?"

"Is who with him?" a different voice came on the line. Tony's grip on the phone tightened just as the line went dead - Russo.

"What were they working on in there?" Tony asked. Stone told him the whole story. "I'm going in."

TBC