A/N: This chapter is up, with the next one soon to follow. Thanks to those who read, and even more so to those who review. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Three

Tony gripped the handle bars and took deep breaths, in through his nose, out through his mouth.

It shouldn't have to be so hard.

But it was.

"Alright Deuce, here we go, nice and slow," the therapist said confidently, as if he was the one whose arms were shaking with fatigue as they held the parallel bars and whose leg trembled in anticipation.

"Slow," Tony agreed, clenching his teeth as the therapist's helper moved his knee.

"Ah!" Tony yelled and almost let go of the bars that were supporting most of his weight. If it hadn't of been for Mel, the big guy who was currently holding his safety belt, he would have probably fallen.

"Alright one more," Mel said, nodding to his assistant, Kat, to get ready to move Tony's leg again.

"No," Tony shook his head, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep himself up much longer, "No more. Sit, I need to sit."

"Alright Tony," Mel agreed and moved over as he helped Tony settle in the wheelchair.

"Hurts," Tony panted leaning forward and grabbing the offending appendage.

Mel sighed, "I know Deuce. And it's going to hurt for a long time. But it'll get better."

Tony nodded and used a shaky hand to wipe the sweat off his face. Times like these were the times that Tony doubted whether or not he could do it.

But he didn't regret what brought him here.

Not even now.

A memory from long ago came back and instead of stopping it or forcing it like Tony had done in the past, he let it come on its own, slowly but surely, like that train.

Following the pattern of breathing that someone had taught him before, Tony worked hard to regulate his breathing and in turn, his heart rate.

Short shallow breaths wouldn't help with the pain. Neither would long, slow steady breaths, Tony knew, but at least they would make him feel better.

It had to be a little funny, Tony guessed.

It couldn't be anything thing else, Tony surmised, other than sad.

And Tony couldn't-wouldn't let himself go there. Not now.

Because his family was safe and he had lived.

After all he had lived through in the past four-almost five years of not knowing, Tony knew this much for certain.

Family was worth everything.

And Tony had his.

Now to just find his other half.

Tony liked watching movies that came on the TV when he wasn't in therapy.

They showed a lot of classics and Tony figured he must have loved movies, still loved movies, because some of them, he could recite word for word.

Brooke found it funny and would laugh at him when she wasn't reading her magazine or feeding baby Lizzy.

If Tony wasn't watching movies though, he was feeding baby Lizzy. She was cute, even if Tony was exceptionally biased, and had wispy light brown hair that curled endearingly around her ears. Her eyes were hazel but Tony could see that the green was creeping in and hiding the other colors that use to be there.

He would hold her as he waited for his appointment, and he would try not to cry. She was the first girl, the first part of him that he had ever seen, and she was so tiny.

Was it possible that his boys could have ever been so small?

"Hey Deuce!" Mel, his main physical therapist called out, peeking out from behind the door, "You ready?"

"Yeah," Tony shook the man's hand, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"I bet you are," Mel laughed as he walked down the hallway, holding the doorway open for Tony.

Tony kissed Lizzy before handing her back to Brooke. Smiling at his wife, Tony hummed a small tune to himself before using his arms to propel himself forward.

For some reason only known to his previous self, Tony had a challenge coin of the Secretary of the Navy. Which meant that unless he got if off ebay or something along those lines, which was doubtful because Tony had found home much a coin like his went for on internet, meant that he rubbed elbows with some powerful people and according to the name on the coin, that Secretary had held office until a year ago.

Why did this have to be so difficult? Tony wondered on the days where all his leads left his feeling stretched out and exhausted.

If only it he could fill in the holes of his memories like Brooke fixed the tears in his son's clothing.

A challenge coin. A challenge coin and a knife in a belt buckle and a feeling of missing someone.

It was going to drive Tony crazy if he couldn't find any answers.

But then, not finding anything was the only thing keeping Tony sane.

"Checkmate," Max said, smiling up at Tony, "I win again Dad."

"You're cheating," Tony said with a laugh, "I know you are. You probably stole my Queen when I wasn't looking."

"Nu-huh," Max shook his head, his bangs covering his eyes until Max pushed the orange hair out of the way, "Papa Pete says you just aren't really good at Chess."

"Well maybe me and your Papa Pete should play some checkers, then we'll see whose good at what," Tony ruffled Max's orange-red hair before settling back against the cushion, "So, what's your mom been doing all day that's got her buzzing around like a bee?"

Brain bit his lip before shrugging, "I dunno. Papa TJ says its cause she's nesting or something like that but I think it's because I think people do that before they have a baby and Lizzy is almost two months old."

"Your mother operates on her own schedule though, so Papa TJ can be right," Tony laughed, "So you like school so far?"

Max shrugged, "It's okay. I like being here though, cause I like the horses and helping you and Mom with baby Lizzy."

"I know Max, but soon we'll be out for Christmas break and then you get two whole weeks to stay in the house all day," Tony said, thinking about the snow storm they were going to get sometime this week. He needed to go over the books to make sure they had enough reserve food for the horses and cows just in case the weather turned really ugly. He couldn't do the manual labor to help the Hudson farm but that didn't mean he couldn't help.

"Okay," Max sighed before biting his lip, "Can we play again?"

"Only if you promise me son that you'll at least let me have some dignity," Tony joked as he set up the chess board again. They were in the kitchen and Nate was outside helping Pete while his wife and the two little ones were in town, giving him and Max some one on one time.

"Dad, there's no dignity in chess," Max laughed before moving his first piece.

Tony smiled and remembered the shy little boy who had avoided him like the plague the first few weeks he had lived with him. He was so glad Max had finally come out of his shell.

The final break in the case came the day Tony and Brooke had friends over, a couple that had just moved into town from the DC area.

The wife's name had been Samantha and her husband's name had been Joe and when she had started telling some of the stories that had happened to her in the last place she had lived, Tony had heard one word and had smacked something in his brain and had reminded of something from the holes, something that he had thought he had forgotten forever.

Samantha had almost hit a dog one day, way back when they had lived in Virginia near DC. The dog, a German Shepherd, and gotten away from a nice man (Samantha's words not Tony's) and Samantha had almost t-boned the dog.

And while the story had been said lightly, just one of those things that came up when Tony told people that he had been hit by a car, one name had stuck with him for the rest of the day.

Probie.

He had heard that name before.