Tony unconsciously fiddles with the wedding band he has just now put back on as the door slowly falls shut behind him.
They are there, waiting for him, Michelle standing silently and motionlessly, Zoe bouncing on the balls of her feet.
He makes his way towards them and she jumps up and down, gradually slowing as he gets closer and they see each other in sharper and sharper focus.
"Dad," she says finally, and her voice is breaking, and she runs across the last few feet of dirty concrete between them and throws her arms around his neck.
And now he's hugging her, holding his daughter in his arms for the first time after having imagined it every day since that first visit from Michelle, and she is real and warm and hugging him back, sniffing.
After a moment his eyes focus on Michelle, standing a few steps behind them, mouth open and looking at him with an emotion he can't quite read.
Zoe somehow senses this and steps back from him, a broad smile on her tear-streaked face. She looks at Michelle and back to him and says "I'll go get the car."
Tony nods and turns back to Michelle as Zoe walks away, and he reminds himself that she will be back, not in a month, but in a few minutes, and then he will see her, not just for an hour, but for many hours, one after the other, and he can finally make her that birthday cake he's been wanting to make for the last twenty years, and he can eat that meal she's been looking forward to cooking him for so long, and watch her in her next karate competition, and he will see her graduate from culinary school and marry and have kids and everything will be alright despite all the bad things that have happened to them.
Michelle takes a step forward, hesitantly, and Tony stands there, watching, not quite believing that he is finally going to be allowed to touch her again. She takes more steps, and still Tony is rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but anticipate the moment when the gap between them will finally be closed, now that the glass barrier has melted away as if it were just ice on a hot summer's day.
She is standing in front of him now, and they look at each other silently, and she slowly raises her arms.
And suddenly he can move again, and he takes a step forward and she is there, in his arms, her chin on his shoulder, her hands on his back, his on hers.
She feels thinner, frailer than he remembers. Her dark curls are now streaked with gray, he sees out of the corner of his eye as if noticing for the first time, but she is still Michelle, his Michelle, and he holds her tight, unable, unwilling to think of anything else.
Michelle tightens her grip.
A small gasp escapes her mouth as he tangles a finger in her hair.
"Tony," she whispers, and he is home.
The End
Author's note: Joe's girl, I didn't mean that it was a bad thing that you guessed what had happened! On the contrary, it's good because it means that the whole thing is actually plausible! :)
Liz Moore, I really appreciate the review but I removed it because it contained spoilers for season 4, which some people (including myself) are trying to avoid. Glad you liked the story, though!