Tony is strapped to a chair, about to be injected with a lethal injection.
"Is there anything you want to say, any last words?" the executioner asks.
"No. Let's just get this over with," Tony says.
As he is about to be injected, he sees Michelle through the glass, watching the execution with a six-year-old boy who looks like a junior version of Tony. She has tears in her eyes, and a look on her face that says "how could you?"
"Daddy!" the boy calls out, tears streaming down his face. Michelle quickly wraps her arms around him and covers his eyes so he doesn't have to witness his father being injected with the needle, tears streaming down her own face as she watches.
-
Tony wakes up in a cold, dark prison cell, shaking and sweating from the nightmare. He gropes around until he finds the sink in his cell, then leans over it and starts vomiting.
After a few minutes, he goes back and sits on his bed, still shaking. He then starts ripping the sheet off the cot and wraps it around his neck. He tightens it and holds it for a minute, cutting off his ability to breathe. But as he starts to feel himself choking he loosens the sheet, unable to go through with it.
Instead, he reaches under the bed and takes out the wedding picture Jack brought him. He stares at Michelle's picture, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry, baby" he whispers to her, unable to stop the tears from falling.
"I'm so sorry," he whispers again, finally letting out some of the tears he's kept bottled up for years.
-
12 HOURS LATER
Jack is at the airport waiting at a gate when his phone rings.
"This is a call from Central Detention Facility. Do you wish to accept the call?"
"Yeah. Yes. Put it through," Jack says anxiously. He waits for a minute while the call is connected.
"Jack, you there?" Tony asks after a minute.
"Yeah," Jack says cautiously. "What's going on?"
Tony takes a deep breath. "I'm just calling to let you know that I decided…I want to take the deal, if I still can," he says, his tone showing how hard it is to swallow his pride. "I'm willing to cooperate with the FBI. I've got enough phone conversations recorded that hopefully it'll be enough to convict Wilson and several of his associates."
Jack looks skeptical. "What made you change your mind?" he asks warily.
Tony sighs. "I thought about what you said," he admits. "And I had a dream that sort of crystallized everything. I woke up shaking and I…I thought about killing myself…but I guess somehow I knew that wasn't the right answer…"
"No, it's not," Jack says firmly. "You made the right decision. If you're ready to cooperate I'll tell the FBI," he says. "But you need to tell whoever questions you everything you know, and I mean everything."
"You're not going to do it yourself?" Tony asks.
"No. It's not my job anymore," Jack says. Tony seems surprised. "But I'm going to listen to the tapes of your questioning and believe me, I'm going to know if you're screwing around. And the president won't hesitate to pull the deal the second I tell her you're not living up to your end of it, you understand?"
"Yeah," Tony says. "I understand. Don't worry – it's not like I have anyone to protect."
"Yeah," Jack says with a sigh. "I'll let the US Attorney know you're going to accept the deal."
"Alright, thanks," Tony agrees. He hesitates for a moment.
"Hey Jack?" he asks as Jack is about to hang up.
"Yeah?"
"Did you mean what you said the other day, about Michelle? I mean, when you said it wasn't too late, do you really believe that, or were you just trying to get me to do what you wanted?"
Jack hesitates for a moment before deciding how he wants to answer the question, his face growing more sympathetic as he hears the anguish in Tony's voice.
"If I didn't believe it, I would have killed you when I had the chance," he says firmly.
Tony can't help but be slightly amused at Jack's choice of words. He chuckles slightly for a moment, but then becomes emotional again.
"Listen, Jack, for what this is worth, I want you to know that I…I'm glad you're okay. You probably don't believe me, but I meant what I said that night, that I never wanted you to get hurt," he stammers.
Jack sighs, knowing this is the closest thing to an apology that Tony is able to muster right now.
"I...I understand," Jack says softly. He is nowhere near ready to forgive Tony for the things he did, especially for putting Kim in danger. But he knows that it was hard for Tony to swallow his pride and call him, so he doesn't want to discourage him too much.
"Listen, Tony, you probably don't want my advice, but for what it's worth, you're probably going to have a lot more nightmares like the one you had last night. And I can tell you from experience that the best thing you can do for yourself is to try to face whatever you're feeling instead of continuing to hide behind your anger."
"How am I supposed to do that, Jack?" Tony asks, his voice choking up. "I don't even know who I am anymore…I don't even know what I feel, let alone how to deal with it."
Jack sighs, finding it hard not to be sympathetic in spite of how angry he is. "Just take it one step at a time," he says reassuringly. "Start by letting yourself remember her."
Tony shakes his head frantically. "No…I can't," he says feebly.
"You don't have a choice," Jack says firmly. "I know it's painful, but if you keep pushing away her memory, you're going to keep having those dreams, and you're going to keep having panic attacks every time you see something that reminds you of her."
In the background, the announcer calls the second boarding call for Jack's flight.
"Listen, I've got to get on the plane, but I'll be home later if you want to talk."
Tony shakes his head, trying desperately not to cry. "No, that's okay. Don't worry about it. Just get on with your life and forget about me, alright?" he urges, hanging up before Jack can answer, and before he can hear him cry.
This is probably it for this story, but after a 3 year hiatus I am thinking about writing a post-season 8 story if anyone is interested, so stay tuned. Reviews are always appreciated.