A/N: Uploaded this to AO3 a little while ago, so I thought I'd share it here minus an NSFW scene
He'd regained consciousness a few times, but now, he could keep his eyes open long enough to take in his surroundings. He was in a small bedroom. It was mostly dark, save for the sliver of light coming from the window. Although it was small, it still managed to make his head throb.
"Third time's a charm." A voice said with a slight chuckle. "I was beginning to worry you wouldn't wake up."
Tony quickly turned his head to face the speaker, wincing as the room spun around him.
"Easy there." The man moved quickly to place a hand on Tony's forearm. "You've been out of it for almost a day now."
He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't form words, instead staring wide-eyed at the man who seemed to be looking at him pitifully.
"You're not at CTU anymore, Tony."
"H…" Tony gasped, still trying to catch ahold of his breath. "Henderson…where is he? I need to find him."
"Dead." He smiled a little. "Your friend Bauer took care of that before the Chinese grabbed him."
Tony's eyes widened. "Jack…Jack's gone?"
He nodded.
"Who are you?"
"My name is David. David Emerson."
Tony looked him up and down sceptically. Nothing made sense to him right now. He remembered trying to inject Henderson, he remembered trying to kill him, but it hadn't worked. He remembered Jack holding him, pain in his expression. He remembered feeling his heart rate slow down. He remembered everything fading to black. Dying. He remembered dying.
"How…how is this possible?"
"Let's just say it was in my best interest to keep you alive."
He furrowed his brow, trying with more intention now to sit up. He didn't like this. Not one bit. He had to get out of here. He wasn't sure where he'd go, but he wasn't going to stay here. Again, David was quick to react worriedly, helping Tony stand, even as he tried to move him away.
"Tony, just let me explain-"
"I don't need you to-"
The sound of a baby crying cut him off in the middle of his sentence. It was the last thing he expected to hear, but before he could even question it, he felt a pang in his chest. And unlike the chest pain he'd felt before, this he knew was unrelated to whatever the hell he'd been injected with after Henderson tried to kill him. He couldn't understand why it was sparking such a visceral reaction in him, why his body was shaking, why his eyes were starting to water. Looking over at David again, he saw nothing but solemnness there.
"Come with me." He said softly.
Tony obliged, walking closely behind David as he led them out of the bedroom and into the one next to it. There were a couple of people, nurses, he was guessing based on their scrubs, standing and fretting over something. The rest of the room was simple but contained all things necessary for a functioning nursery. They moved away at the sound of their entrance, allowing Tony to see the newborn baby, who was crying louder than before. He went to move closer but felt as though his feet were glued to the ground.
"I…I don't…"
"Your wife was due in a couple of weeks, yes? I'm afraid we didn't get to her in time, but we managed to save your son."
"My…what?"
David laughed through his nose, smiling almost bittersweetly. "You're a father, Tony."
Mustering his courage, he walked towards the crib, knowing in his heart that David couldn't possibly be lying, couldn't possibly be toying with him because there was no doubt that the little boy in front of him was his. He was paralysed by the shock, almost afraid that if he so much as grazed his finger along the baby's cheek, it would disappear. The sound of his distress was shattering Tony's heart into a million pieces. His body was trembling, and tears were blurring his vision. Slowly, he placed one hand, which he noted was practically as large as his son, underneath his writhing body, using the other hand for support.
Tensing his muscles to keep them still, he cradled his son against his chest, rocking him slowly and murmuring incoherence to him, amazed by every single feature, heartbroken by the fact that Michelle wasn't here to share this moment with him as she should have been. David noticed Tony was still shaking and placed a hand between his shoulder blades.
"Try and slow your breathing down, it'll help to calm him."
Nodding, Tony struggled but eventually managed to steady the rate of his inhales and exhales. And to his relief, the baby started to relax in his arms, no longer crying but curiously looking up at his father and his surroundings.
He sniffled, still so, so overwhelmed by it all, but finding it in himself to grin from ear to ear at his son.
"You have her eyes, don't you?" He cooed. "You have her beautiful eyes."
"Had you and Michelle picked out a name?" David asked.
For a second, he had forgotten David was still there. The nurses had left to give him privacy, but he wasn't actually sure how much time had passed. Tony cleared his throat slightly, remembering what they'd agreed on. But he had to remind himself now that Michelle wasn't coming back, wasn't just in another room, that the little boy in front of him was all he had left of her. So maybe it was fitting that his name reflected that.
"We had, but…" He said weakly. "I want to name him Michael, after her."
"Michael it is then." David repeated warmly.
Tony still had questions and was still confused by what was going on. But when he looked into Michael's eyes, he knew one thing for sure.
That he had to protect him no matter what.
