Present Day

"I'm… I'm so sorry."

Tony sniffled. "You don't know what it's like. Yes, you've been on the run, but it's always been on your own. You haven't had somebody else to take care of and look out for. I had to beg her to eat and get out of bed. She wouldn't speak. She wouldn't move. I'd sit by her side every day but she'd feel like she was a thousand miles away. When I had to wake her in the middle of the night because I thought we were being followed, whatever progress she'd made... " He shook his head. "Would disappear." The haunted look on Tony's face made him want to take back every accusation he'd made. "She lost the light behind her eyes, Jack. Having our son might have brought some of it back, but she hasn't been the same since. And neither have I."

He sighed. "If I had any idea that helping me would have done this-"

Tony was quick to cut him off. "You couldn't have known." He then hardened his voice. "But the point is, we owe David our lives. We owe him for giving us a place to have the family we've wanted for years, so don't sit there and criticise us for not leaving earlier."

Jack could understand that. He knew Tony and Michelle wouldn't have taken the man's refuge lightly. They must have truly been desperate to have had no choice but to let Emerson take them in.

"Michelle said something about talking to Bill and Chloe." He said after a beat. "I'm guessing they know you're alive."

Tony nodded. "Yeah. When David said he was taking a job to infiltrate the CIP device, Michelle and I knew that was too much and that we had to do something about it. So she contacted Chloe and started feeding her the intel." He glanced at his watch. "But I'll let her go into the details because even though David trusts us, it's a big day and neither of us is there."

They got up, and he followed Tony back to what Jack gathered was the baby's nursery, where they found Michelle sitting and playing with their son. Jack felt a clutch in his chest at the smile on her face. It made him wonder how many other things she could be happy about these days. She looked up at them, and Jack returned the smile.

"I'm going to get ready to head off. I'll tell him that you're staying with Adrian."

She nodded. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will." Tony bent down, kissing her cheek and the top of the baby's head.

Jack sat on the floor next to Michelle, and the baby walked towards him, looking curiously. The corners of his mouth turned up a little. He was reminded so dearly of when Kim was this age. It made him painfully aware of how much time had passed since then. Michelle watched, her expression bittersweet. Neither of them said anything to each other. They didn't know where to begin. But, eventually, Michelle moved to grab a laptop from a nearby table, presumably so she could communicate with Chloe or Bill.

"I know you're probably disappointed in us." She said after a while, not meeting his gaze. "I am too. I'm disgusted by what we've done since David took us in, but if there was an alternative, neither of us had the energy to find it. I fought Tony on it at first. I refused to let myself do anything for David but I couldn't hold on anymore." Adrian giggled and, just for a moment, Michelle's expression flickered to one of pure joy but the graveness soon returned. "We wanted to find a way out. We nearly did. More than once. But each time we tried... we just couldn't go through with it. We realised that David was the only thing left to keep us safe. So, when he told me that he would be supportive if Tony and I wanted to start a family, that he'd give us a safehouse of our own, that he'd let us have the life we want and guarantee our protection... I didn't want to find a way out anymore."

He brushed his hand over hers, seeing how her eyes had become wet with tears. "Michelle, it's okay. I don't blame you."

"I thought I'd be able to get over it a little. I told myself that so long as we made sure Adrian grew up to be a good person, it would undo all the bad we've done."

"Until he wanted the CIP device."

She wiped under her eyes, nodding. "That crossed a line for both of us, thankfully. But it took a bit of convincing for Tony. I-I think he was just so grateful for David and what he gave us, and I don't blame him. After all that we went through... to have a place to be vulnerable and call home was everything we needed. He came to us at our weak point when he knew it would be hard for us to want an out. If I'd been stronger I wouldn't have let David convince us, consequences be damned. But we're here now."

"I'm so sorry for what you've had to suffer through. I jumped the gun back there, and it was wrong of me to ever believe that you would intentionally work for someone like him. And while Tony said neither of you blame me, I can't deny the part I've had in all this."

Michelle shrugged. "So many things have happened to us. Terrible, terrible things. And we've been forced to do things just as terrible in return."

A solemn silence fell between them, but the baby's presence seemed to keep them in good spirits. Jack figured a change of topic wouldn't hurt.

"How old is he?" Jack asked, holding him in his lap so Michelle could keep working, once he was sure he felt comfortable around him.

"Adrian will be a year old next month." She said, smiling a little. "I wish you could have met him sooner."

"Me too." He agreed, sadly.

Tony came back into the room with an urgent look about him. Michelle's eyes widened.

"Hey, I thought you left."

"I think I know how we can keep David distracted long enough for me to plant the bug for Bill and Chloe to break into his system. And it'll explain where I've been this morning."

"How?"

He turned to Jack. "You're coming with me."

"What?"

"I'll say that the FBI captured me, but you helped get me out. They won't know we took you before the FBI could get to us. And we can convince David to let you work with us. The Senate hearing has been all over the news. He has to believe your story."

Jack sighed. He was all for helping, but he didn't like not having all the information.

"Hang on, you're not bringing the FBI into this?"

"Someone in the FBI is working for Dubaku, we can't trust them." Michelle explained. "That's why we're working with Bill and Chloe."

"What about when it's all over?" Jack went on. "You need to turn yourselves in and tell the FBI everything you have. That's the idea, right?"

Neither Tony nor Michelle could meet his gaze. Tony was the one to answer. "We... we don't know." He admitted. "When we contacted Bill and Chloe, they agreed to let us run away since there's no way in hell the FBI will let us get away with everything. We have to keep Adrian safe."

"But you can't be on the run again!" Jack said in protest. "You don't deserve that. The FBI will understand, especially if Bill and Chloe vouch for you."

"They can vouch for the CIP device stuff but not for anything we did voluntarily before that, Jack." Michelle explained. "It's fine, we've planned for this day. We have enough money to go into hiding for good, this time."

"No. I'm not helping you unless you let me bring the FBI in. If you give them everything you have from Emerson, maybe they'll make a deal. Please... as your friend, I'm telling you you don't need to run anymore."

Both of them looked downright terrified by the thought. At the same time, there was an expression Jack could only describe as hope. Jack knew if there was one thing he could do to try to make up for all Tony and Michelle had been through, it was this.

Michelle looked up at Tony, who sighed and looked back at Jack. "Alright. If... if you help us out and go along with the plan, you can bring us into the FBI." Tony conceded but Jack wasn't about to accept that at face value. "But if they don't offer us a deal, if they want to throw us in jail and put Adrian in state care, then you're breaking us out and helping us hide again."

Jack could understand that. They just wanted to be safe. And Jack could only pray that today would end well for them.

"I give you my word."