Three Months Later

Michelle woke with a scream. Tony heard her and quickly took her in his arms, hushing her as she shook. He felt sweat on her back and tears fall on his shirt.

"You're okay… I've got you. You're okay…"

Burying her head in his chest, she clung to him tightly, trying to even out her breathing, muffling the remnant sobs coming out of her. This happened less than it used to, but it hadn't stopped completely. He still had dreams like this from time to time, too. Michelle pulled away at the sound of a smaller, slightly higher-pitched cry. She squeezed her eyes shut, cursing quietly under her breath. She'd woken him, and it wasn't the first time this had happened either. She hated it every time, no matter how much Tony reassured her that it wasn't her fault. Both of them got up and went to Elliott's room. Michelle lifted him into her arms and cradled him against her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mommy just had a bad dream. You can go back to sleep…" Michelle whispered, kissing the top of his head, continuing to apologise tearfully again and again but trying not to let her son see how upset she was.

Her love for him was stronger than she'd even thought possible. Their family had been inseparable since their reunion. The fear that their son wouldn't be as attached to them as he should have had quickly been proven wrong. Because just as Michelle had clung to the memory of their son while she was being held, Elliott had done so too. Of course, he still loved Jane. She was all he'd known for the first year or so of his life. But now he simply had two more faces to look at every day. Jack came by often, too, but seeing the two of them have their family whole again had given him the drive to set out and find Kim to make things right between them. He wasn't going back to CTU. He wanted to leave it behind for good. Chloe and Morris were also there, and now that they knew Chloe was having a boy, it was hard not to get excited by the thought of their sons playing together. Plus, since she'd now gotten to the top of the adoption waiting list, Jane would be bringing home a new addition soon as well.

It was a slightly unconventional set-up for their family, but it worked.

To her relief, and Tony's, it didn't take long for Elliott to fall asleep again. Gently, Michelle set him down but didn't go back to where Tony stood at the door. Instead, she sat down at the small daybed by the window, pulling her knees to her chest. Her eyes didn't leave the crib. Tony sighed.

He understood that she needed to watch him.

For her, the fear of losing her son again every time she closed her eyes was still real. As was the guilt she felt over being the reason for losing him in the first place, no matter how many times he told her he didn't blame her for it. Both of them spent every waking minute with their son, feeling as though they needed to make up for the time they'd lost. So, he joined her on the daybed, moving her only slightly so he could wrap his arms around her from behind, planting a small kiss on her temple.

"Are we going to be okay?" Michelle said, barely above a whisper. "After all that we've been through... can we really do this?"

Tony hugged her, letting out a breath, knowing he needed to say this for his own reassurance as well. Even if they put the fake smile on and tried their best, insecurity still got the better of them sometimes. Even though Bill and Karen had long since assured them that Logan's people had been taken care of, it was hard not to keep looking over their shoulders. Even though Jane had enough photos to fill a museum, they still mourned their time apart and time without their son, and it hurt to think about what they'd missed. Each and every little thing that they should have been there for. At the same time, they didn't let that upset them too much because, at the end of the day, they were so lucky and so grateful that he'd been taken care of by someone who genuinely loved him and had, without even knowing the full story, protected him from the dangers of their past. Most importantly, she hadn't had an issue with giving them their rightful custody. Things were going to be okay. Things were okay. They just had to keep reminding themselves of that.

"Yes. We have Elliott. We have our family again. With the three of us together… we'll heal."

"I-I don't want him to disappear." Michelle looked up at him, eyes tearful.

He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"He won't, Michelle."

And in his voice, she knew it was true. That the time for worrying and grieving was over, and they could simply be a family now.

That was the only thing they had to do now.

Michelle nodded slowly and returned her gaze to Elliott, feeling Tony rub her back as they watched him until the sun rose and their son woke with a smile.