Here's the last chapter, as promised: it takes place about six months after Day 4… oh and I decided to take pretty much everyone's advice and ignore season 5… I don't want anyone mad at me ;)…
It hasn't always been easy, but they don't care about that. After all they've been through, a little difficulty is something they don't mind, something they're both more than willing to take along in their journey towards happiness and safety. They know that starting over is never simple, and are just grateful that they have each other to make the more difficult days easier. They know that that is all they can really ask for.
She had made him promise that they would never make the same mistakes again, and he had willingly conceded. And in the beginning they had both been anxious, afraid that some other horror from their past would come back to tear them apart once again. But gradually, as their implicit trust in each other grew, so did the belief that they had truly managed to walk away from the lives they had once led. They are able to laugh again now, to play, to be more or less carefree. They are able to love each other without the constant fear of what might happen if they turn their backs ever for a minute.
This had been harder than either of them could have ever imagined, and had a tendency to sneak up on them when they were least expecting it. Like that one time about two weeks after that day, she had been rummaging through his cloths in an attempt to find a jacket that matched what he was wearing after he claimed he didn't have one.
"What about that kaki green one?" she called to him, scanning the wardrobe looking for it, "The one we bought in Santa Monica when we went there for the weekend a couple years ago."
He didn't answer, but she heard his footsteps heading towards the room she was in. When she couldn't find it, the thought struck her that maybe he didn't have it anymore, maybe he had gotten rid of it while they were apart. When he entered the room, she turned to look at him, and he was staring at her intently, as if waiting for her to remember something on her own because he had no desire to remind her of it. She had been puzzled, not understanding his attitude, and asked what was wrong. He scratched the side of his face when he realized he would have to tell her what she'd obviously repressed.
"It uh… it's the one I was wearing… that day… that guy was wearing it when…"
And suddenly she remembered and saw the car explode again in front of her eyes, with someone wearing Tony's cloths inside it, wearing that jacket she had always loved on him. She nodded and turned away from him so he wouldn't see the tears of panic that were threatening to spill over as it all came back. She had refused to let herself think about all that until now, telling herself that it was over, but now it had caught her completely off guard, causing the overwhelming despair she had felt come back in quick, violent waves of pain. He had seen her start to crumble, and felt so immensely grateful that- like when he had returned to CTU after he had been taken hostage- he once again instinctively knew what to do. He put his arms around her from behind, pulling her close, whispering soft words of reassurance in her ear. She turned around and buried herself into him, enabling him to soothingly run his hand up and down her back, kissing the spot where her neck meets her shoulder, the spot he knows is the first place to tense up when she is upset. When she pulled back to look at him, his fingers automatically moved to clear away her tears, and as her eyes met his, he could tell that she was calmer, that his natural gift for comforting her had seemed to become a part of him once again.
Leaving CTU had been one of the strangest experiences in their lives. Parting with Chloe, who had annoyed them both on more than one occasion in the past, had been especially hard. The three of them were now forever connected in a terrible secret that they would all have to take to their grave if they wanted to stay alive. That brings with it a bond, a mutual respect, an unwavering trust, whether you want it to or not.
They think about Jack often, hoping that he is alright, hoping that he is safe. They check up on Kim as often as they can without risking that she might start to feel smothered; they both feel a certain responsibility when it comes to the daughter their friend left behind. They hadn't seen her in a long time, and even though they had all watched her grow from a girl into a woman while she was working at CTU, the toddler on her hip that called her 'Mommy' and the engagement ring that had been placed on her finger, ironically, on the morning Jack had fled, still gave her a maturity that neither of them had quite expected. They watch her struggle to come to terms with her father's death, watch her suffer a little less each time they visit, hating the fact that they cannot tell her the truth. And she is always so happy to see them, making it even harder to lie, even when they know it is for her own good and that Jack would have wanted it this way.
They still live in LA, but had contemplated moving away for a long time before deciding to stay after all. They had lived in Michelle's tiny apartment for a few months before starting to feel crammed and moving into a house very similar to the one they had owned before the divorce. She smiles as she thinks back to the first time Tony came to the apartment, just mere hours after they had dropped Jack off by the train tracks. She watched him take in her home with some confusion, before turning to her and saying, "Michelle, this isn't like you. You don't like small places, you always needed room." And she had shook her head slowly, smiling a little at how well he still knew her and answered, "I haven't been home much, I promise you. I was either at work or at Danny's." He had looked at her intently, sensing what she hadn't said: that she hadn't been able to handle the emptiness she had been forced to live with. He stayed with her that night, but only because she asked him to. He didn't want to rush anything on her.
The next day he had asked her, a little apprehensively but wanting to know with certainty, if she was sure she wanted to give up her job for good. He was sitting across from her on the couch, and put down his coffee mug on the table so he could reach for her hand as he added, "I mean… I know I'm asking a lot from you. So please don't do this unless you're really sure." She shook her head and eased her way between his knees before hugging him around the neck and saying softly, "I just want to be with you. That's all I want." He wanted to ask, again, if she was sure, but felt himself already squeezing her back, accepting and being grateful for her reply.
He would never forget the moment when he had gotten back from Jen's to pick up his stuff and found her in the kitchen making tea, earlier that day. He had left when she was still asleep, after briefly waking her up with a gentle kiss and a whisper that he would be back in a few hours, and then letting her doze off again. Now she was wearing a peach-colored bathrobe that only reached her thighs, revealing her gorgeous, pale, smooth legs. But it wasn't that that caught his eye, nor the spark that seemed to have replaced the hollowness he had seen in her eyes just yesterday; the only thing he saw were the damp curls that had returned after her shower. Without a word, he dropped his bags and made his way across the room to her, smiling as he touched a lock of hair that had escaped her loose ponytail with not quite trembling fingers. She smiled too, welcoming him back and enjoying the sensation of his hands fingering her hair and stroking her face, like they had done a million times before. Their eyes met and they kissed, and then he lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom, where they made love for the first time in much, much too long.
They were remarried a few weeks before they moved into their new house, although both their wedding rings had been back on their fingers long before that. It had been her that had gotten down on one knee this time, her that had said the words, "Tony, I love you. Will you marry me?", and they had both known even then that it would remain an inside joke between them for the rest of their lives.
Their parents had been delighted with their reunion and had wanted to celebrate their second wedding with a big party like the first one. But neither of them wanted that. "We already had a big party the last time," Michelle had pointed out, "I think this time should just be for us." Tony agreed full-heartedly. So they eloped and got married in a beautiful small chapel just outside LA, with only the two of them present. Their parents had pretended to be angry when they found out, but it was pretty clear that all they wanted was for their children to be happy.
And that's what they are now. Happy. They're both almost afraid to believe it, afraid that they'll let themselves get carried away it'll be so much harder if everything falls apart again. Even though they know deep down that they have no reason to be afraid, it is a fear that is so deeply burned into them that they forget sometimes.
"Honey, that's why we left CTU," they remind each other in a moment of panic, "It's over now. Now maybe we can have a shot at leading a normal life."
That's what they have now, and it is so much more than just happiness. For the first time since they've even known each other, they have a 'normal' life together. They are able to sleep in more than once a month. Go away for the weekend without the distinct possibility that they would be called in for work. Make plans with friends and family without worrying that they might have to cancel at the last minute. Go to sleep at night without always being a little afraid of what tomorrow might bring.
And they treasure this newfound luxury, never needing to be reminded of how precious it is. They lived life on the edge far too long, and have come much too close to losing everything way too many times to ever forget that.
They are both also relieved that they are able to argue again. In the beginning that had been impossible; they were both much to eager to give in to the other, still wrestling with their own guilt, secretly afraid of pushing each other away again, and this had caused some inner frustration sometimes. But now they are able to let it go, tell the other exactly what they think, occasionally argue over stupid, meaningless things and even half enjoy it. Because they know that after every fight there is a reconciliation full of hugs and kisses and I love yous.
He still doesn't like to think about the way he had treated her before she left; it still bothers him, just like it still bothers her that she had been willing to let him die if it saved the rest of the world, even if it broke her in the process. She had voiced her concerns early on, several times, and had always been vigorously reassured by him that she did the right thing. This had made her a little angry sometimes, and she had even snapped at him once, "Oh, so it's okay to sacrifice a nation for me, but not for you?" He trailed his thumb across her cheek, silently telling her, begging her, to let it go. She sighed and looked up to him, promising herself and him that she would try. He relented, knowing that this was all she was capable of giving him right now.
It had taken him nearly a month to crack, and when he finally did, it happened with a passion neither of them had seen coming. He had woken her up in the middle of the night, the words tumbling painfully from his mouth even while she was still protesting that she was too tired to get up. "I'm sorry… for everything. For drinking, for disappearing all the time, for yelling at you… God, I yelled at you… I wish I could take it all back, change it all, but I can't and… I just need you to know… I'm so sorry, Michelle, I'm so, so sorry…" She had been horrified that he still felt so guilty about all the things that had gone wrong, and placed her fingers to his mouth, shaking her head and just saying "no" over and over again, until he'd calmed down. Then she told him it didn't matter anymore; they'd survived it and all the rest was just back round noise. She was relieved to see him chuckle at that, despite the pain that was still very much in his eyes, and instantly knew that he, just like she, would manage to leave behind the guilt eventually. They were both starting to realize how much easier it is to forgive a loved one than it is yourself.
And pretty soon, in just a few months, there will be another person to love. It hadn't exactly been planned- they had both wanted to wait until their income from the business they had started up together was a little more stable- but now that it is happening, they couldn't be more pleased than if they had planned it years in advance. Few people know about it yet, and no one save the two of them know the sex- but already they dream of a little girl with his dark, Spanish complexion and her wild, disobedient curls. They have already chosen a godmother (Kim Bauer) and a godfather (Danny Dessler), even though the people in question are not yet aware of their future duties towards a child they have only been told about a few weeks ago. But if there is one thing Tony and Michelle have learned in the past years, it is the ability to form a good judge of character, and they know their chosen ones will not let them down.
They will name her Carmen Jackie Almeida, and they have vowed to each other that she will be the happiest kid in the world.
They have found, perhaps for the first time since the passionate kiss they shared all those years ago in CTU, a certain sense of stability that they hadn't even been consciously aware of lacking until recently. They love each other more than life itself. Their business is starting to become successful. They have a baby on the way that they adore even now that it's just a tiny bean inside of her. And most importantly, they know that they will never allow anything to change all this.
They can never go back to their days of protecting the world from nuclear bombs, deadly viruses and overrides. They have passed on their knowledge to others and moved on, hoping that their replacements will do the job with the same passion as they did, though, hopefully, with much less obstacles.