failegaidin

New fic. Based in Day 7. Jack left...again.

"Chloe, I need you to do this," Bill told her.

She frowned. "Why can't you just call him on the phone? Wouldn't that be much quicker?"

Bill sighed, leaning forward on his desk. "Yes. But if these people are really going to go through with this, then he's going to need your help hacking into their systems."

"Couldn't you just call the authorities over there and have them take care of it? It's their country."

"Chloe," he said sharply. "We know that some of their people are dirty, and we don't want the information to get into the wrong hands. You don't have a choice. You're going." Seeing her discomfort, he walked over to her and placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "I know you don't want to do this," he said gently. "I know you don't want to see him again. But I need you to do this. He's going to need you. Please."

Sighing deeply, Chloe scowled. "Fine. When's my flight?"

***

It was a nice house, Chloe thought as she stood nervously at his door. She had already been standing there for nearly three minutes, unable to convince herself to knock. It had been just over a year since she had seen him, and she knew that there was nothing she could do to prepare herself for this. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand, steeling herself for the meeting ahead.

After knocking, she almost turned and ran back to the rental car. Her heart was in her throat and she could feel the panic starting to set in. Determinedly, she forced herself to remember how he had left her again, and she breathed a little easier as the bitterness overpowered the panic.

She nearly broke when the door opened and they were standing face-to-face. Emotion clogged her throat, threatening to choke her. As she took in his features, she struggled to get herself under control.

"Chloe," he whispered in wonder, a smile on his face.

"Jack," she spat out coldly.

His eyes narrowed at her tone, and the smile faded slightly. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Bill made me come."

"Why?"

"Are you going to let me in or do I have to explain everything on your front step?"

Jack looked down and chuckled at her bluntness. He moved to the side, making room for her. "Come on in."

Chloe walked in, refusing to look at him. As Jack shut the door behind them, Chloe stopped, looking around her.

"Jack, this is beautiful," she said before she could stop herself.

"Thanks," he said, coming to stand just behind her. "It needed a lot of work when I got here. That's what I've been spending all my time on since I got here."

At the mention of his time away from her, Chloe stiffened again, reminding herself that she was here for business and that would not get reattached to him. When she had finished doing what Bill had asked of her, she was going to get on a plane and fly back to the States, leaving Jack Bauer behind her forever. She took a couple steps forward and away from him before turning to face him again.

Her tension and coldness didn’t go unnoticed by Jack. He put his hands in his pockets awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. He had been so happy to see her when he opened the door, but now…Chloe had never been affectionate, but she had never been this distant either.

He cleared his throat. "You want something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's just get this done."

Nodding, Jack led her into the living room. He sat down on a large leather couch, motioning for her to join him. Instead, Chloe moved towards the chair, sitting down stiffly. Jack sighed.

"So what's this all about?"

Chloe looked down at her hands. "There's a small cell plotting to take out members of the Spanish government. We couldn't go to the authorities here because there's a mole that's helping the cell. Bill needs us to stop them. The only reason we know anything about their plans is because of a contact we have in the weapons black market. We only one opportunity to take these guys out –when they go to get the weapons. After that they'll be individually taking out key members of the government. This is the only time they'll all be together."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

Jack nodded. "Why did he send you?"

"What?"

"Why did Bill send you? Why not a field agent?"

Chloe scowled. "Because you're not going to be able to find out where they're buying the weapons if I'm not here to hack into their system."

"And you couldn’t do that from L.A.?"

"Believe me, Jack. I wish I could. But Bill told me I had to come here to do it."

They sat there in cold silence for a few moments, both hurt by the words of the other. Finally Jack stood up. "Will my computer work?"

"As long as I can access the internet, we'll be good."

"I doubt that," Jack muttered under his breath.

He led her down a long hallway and into a small study. Her shoes clicked on the stone floors and the sound echoed between them. He opened the laptop and logged on, gesturing for her to sit. She did, and immediately starting typing away. Jack stood there awkwardly for a moment before heading out of the room.

"I'll let you work," he said quietly.

***

He came back a couple hours later bearing sandwiches and drinks. Pulling up a chair, he sat next to her, using the desk as a table. Chloe ignored him and continued working.

Jack sighed. "Chloe, you have to eat."

"Just let me get this done, okay?"

He shut the lid of the laptop, giving her no choice but to pull out her hands. "No. You need to eat. Then you can get back to work."

Frowning, Chloe nodded, reaching for her sandwich. "Thank you," she mumbled as she took a bite. They ate in silence, both avoiding the other's eyes. Finally, Chloe had to say something, just to keep her from blurting out something stupid.

"So why Spain?"

Jack looked up, startled. "Huh?"

She shrugged. "Why did you pick Spain?"

"I'm not sure. After…what happened, I just went to the airport and got on a plane. This is where I ended up. After a couple weeks of staying a hotel, I realized that I really liked it here, so I decided to make it more permanent."

Chloe nodded. "Are you happy?" she asked quietly.

"For the most part," he replied. Then very quietly he added, "I missed you."

She laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well. Most days I wish I had never met you, Jack."

Jack paused, swallowing hard. Keeping his downcast, he stood up and gathered his plate and glass. "I'm sorry," he choked out as he left the room.

Chloe mentally kicked herself after he was gone. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. But it was too easy to enjoy his company again, to feel safe and comfortable, to fall in love with his smile for the thousandth time. She couldn't go through that again. She had to keep a safe distance, or she was just going to end up crying on the plane ride home. Then again, she thought, I'll probably be doing that anyway.

***

Two hours after the sun set, Chloe quietly walked out of the study, looking for Jack. She searched the entire lower level, worry eating at her when she couldn’t find him. Finally she looked out on the back porch and saw him, sitting in a chair with a beer in hand, staring up at the night sky.

She quietly opened the sliding door and stepped outside. She stood there nervously, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts and unsure of how to start after what she had said that afternoon.

"What?" he asked quietly, not even turning to look at her.

Chloe looked down at the ground. "I found it."

"Where?"

"Plaza de Espana. It's in Madrid."

"Did you find out the exact time?"

"6 a.m."

He nodded. "Good. There won't be many people there."

"So when are we leaving?" she asked.

"You're not going."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not going, Chloe. You're not a trained field agent. You'll just get in the way or get hurt."

Chloe felt as though she'd been slapped in the face, but she knew that she had deserved the blow. Strengthening her resolve, she replied in a tight voice, "I'm coming with you, Jack Bauer, whether you like it or not. You're not going in alone."

"Chloe-"

"No," she cut him off. "Look, you just worry about stopping the bad guys, okay? I can take care of myself. We'll go, we'll do this, and then we'll get out of each other's hair."

Jack reluctantly nodded. "There's a guest room next to the study. It's already set up for you. I'll come wake you at 4."

"Good," she said. As she turned to walk back into the house, she looked back at him, tears burning her eyes. "Good night," she whispered.

She didn't hear him when he responded in a broken voice, "Good night, Chloe."

***

They got ready the next morning in silence. Putting on Kevlar and loading their weapons, they tried to ignore everything that had been said the day before, focusing on the task at hand. They risked small glances at each other, both wanting to apologize and set things right. But before either could, they were loading their things into his car and driving toward the Plaza.

They stopped some distance from the park, not wanting to give themselves away. The morning had turned out to be stormy one, and Chloe watched the rain slide down the windshield as she looked out.

"Cervantes is going to be watching the whole thing go down," she pointed out.

"What?" Jack asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

Chloe pointed to a monument in the park. "Cervantes is sitting up there. The guy who wrote Don Quixote."

"Oh." He paused, unsure of what to do next. "We should get out."

She turned to look at him, a scowl on her face. "And do what? It's raining."

"I've got an umbrella. We'll look less suspicious walking around the park then we will sitting in a dark car on the side of the road."

She couldn't fault his logic. Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Fine," and reached for her door handle. Jack's hand on her arm stopped her.
"Wait," he said quietly.

He reached behind him and grabbed a large umbrella, and then stepped out of the car. Opening the umbrella he went to the back seat and grabbed Chloe's large purse. Then he walked over to her door and opened it for her, using the umbrella to shield her from the rain. He reached out his hand and she nervously took it, standing up and shutting her door. Jack let go of her hand and handed her the purse.

"This thing is fucking huge," she muttered as she slung it over her shoulder.

"That's because we had to fit guns in it, Chloe," he said, the faintest hint of a smile teasing his lips.

As they walked over to the park, Jack reached his arm around her waist, tugging her in close to his body. He felt her stiffen immediately, but just as he was going to pull back, she relaxed, and he let his hand rest on her hip. They walked around the Plaza slowly, both lost in their own thoughts. Jack tried to keep an eye on everything at once, without seeming to. Chloe held her purse close, trying to push out how nice it was to be so close to Jack, to have him touching her.

As they finished their first time around, they saw a group of men materialize out of the gloom. Jack counted ten of them, and he saw that they were moving towards an older man standing by a big black van.

"That's our informant, Paulo," Chloe whispered.

"Is he alone?"

She nodded. "He has a serious reputation. No one would even think of trying to double-cross him or take the stuff without paying."

"Does he know we're here?"

"He knows something going down. He'll be ready."

Jack looked at her, unable to hide the concern in his eyes. "Are you?"

Giving him the smallest smile, she nodded. "Let's do this."

A shot rang out and Jack watched in horror as Chloe fell to the ground beside him. He looked up to see the men pulling out their weapons and aiming at him. He knelt down next to Chloe, the umbrella forgotten on the ground nearby.

"Are you okay?" he asked desperately.

She winced, trying to sit up. "I'm fine. It hit the vest! Go! Go!"

With that, Jack was up again, shrugging off his long coat and pulling out his twin 9mm Berettas. He opened fire as he ran toward them, taking down two of the would-be terrorists before they knew what hit them. One of the men ran at him from the side, lunging into him and knocking him onto the rain-soaked pavement. Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw Chloe standing up and pulling out a sawed-off shotgun from underneath her trench coat. She started shooting at the men closest to her, mowing them down without any hesitation.

Then Jack had to focus on himself and the man above him who was trying to choke the life out of him. Jack smashed his fist repeatedly into the man's kidneys until he loosened his grip, and then Jack rolled on top of him, pummeling his face. Then someone was grabbing him from behind and dragging him backwards. He was thrown to the ground and someone slammed their foot into is chest. As the foot came back down, Jack grabbed it and twisted, hearing something in the knee snap. The man fell down with a cry of pain.

Chloe’s shotgun had been yanked away from her, and she was forced to fight with her hands. Someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her into the air. As another man came forward to catch her legs, she kicked, catching him just under the chin with her heeled boots. She threw her head back and was rewarded with a crunching noise and the arms around her waist loosening. When the man dropped her, she ran toward her fallen purse, pulling out her own Berettas.

The gun battle was over in less than ten minutes. As the rain continued to come down in torrents, Jack and Chloe stood among the dead bodies, weapons still drawn, staring at each other. Paulo had gone down in the fight, taking four shots to the chest – he had been dead before he hit the ground. Sirens wailed in the distance as the great Cervantes stared down upon the grisly scene.

***

The morning was half-over by the time they got back to Jack’s house, but the sun had still not shown its face. The rain continued to come down hard, and both were shaking from the chill that had set into their bones.

Fumbling with his keys, Jack looked over at Chloe, who was trying not to visibly tremble. She kept her gaze down, not wanting to look at him, knowing that she would soon have to say goodbye again.

“I understand,” he said quietly, still trying to find the right key.

“Understand what?” Chloe asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Why you wish you’d never met me. You wouldn’t be in the middle of gunfights and takedowns. You wouldn’t be dodging bullets and wearing Kevlar.”

“You think that’s why I said that?” Chloe asked incredulously.

Jack gave up even pretending to try and find the key and looked up at her. “Isn’t it? Your life would be safer without me, Chloe.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jack! I don’t care about getting shot at, or chased, or threatened. None of that bothers me. Well, I mean, it bothers me, but I don’t blame you for it. I would gladly put up with all of that if it meant having you around.”

He stared at her in shock. “But I thought-“

“You want to know why I said that Jack? Because I’ve been losing you since the day I met you! Every time we survive some major crisis, I turn around and you’re gone!” Chloe was screaming now, but she didn’t care. “Do you have any idea how much it hurts every time you leave without saying goodbye? Do you even care how much it kills me, to love you and to watch you walk away over and over again?”

Searching her eyes desperately, Jack reached his left hand behind her head and brought his lips crashing into hers. He brought his other arm to wrap around her waist and pull her tight against him. At the feel of his lips on hers, Chloe gasped in surprise, and Jack plunged his tongue into her mouth. They held onto each other desperately, their tongues tangling and bodies melding.

Jack pulled away suddenly, gripping the back of her head so that she couldn’t run. “I love you,” he whispered raggedly before moving in to kiss her again.

He struggled to unlock the door behind him while still kissing Chloe, and finally she grabbed the keys from him and did it herself, never breaking contact with his mouth. They crashed through the door as soon as it opened, Jack slamming it shut with his foot and simultaneously tugging at Chloe’s shirt.

He deftly backed her up the stairs towards his bedroom, never taking his mouth from hers and somehow managing to rid her of her shirt as they went. By the time Chloe felt the bed pressed against the backs of her knees his hand was on her naked breast, pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Chloe moaned in response and moved her own fingers to tug at the buttons of his shirt.

Soon they were both shirtless and their flesh was rubbing against each other in an attempt to get closer. Chloe’s breath hitched in her throat at the feel of her hardened nipples rubbing against the hairs on his chest. She dragged her lips from his.

“Are you sure?” she asked breathlessly, searching his face for any trace of doubt or hesitation.

“Does this feel like I’m not sure?” he asked, taking her hand and holding it against his groin, “I love you. I want you” he added, his voice hoarse.

Chloe moved her fingers against him, feeling him becoming harder still at her touch. A moment later he pushed her back onto the bed and, leaning over her he trailed hot kisses across her chest, capturing her nipple between his teeth and tugging gently.

“Jack” she urged, “please . . . .” She didn’t care that she was begging him, she needed him.

His lips fluttered across her abdomen as his fingers moved to the snap of her jeans. Chloe held her breath as she raised her hips to make the task of undressing her easier. He pulled the jeans from her easily before reaching up and taking her mouth with his for a brief but demanding kiss. Moments later he was once again dropping light kisses at her naval, his tongue leaving a trail of moisture against her heated flesh. Chloe shuddered as he kissed her though her panties. She could feel his lips curving in a smile against her as she whimpered.

Then he was hooking his fingers at the edges of the material, tugging it down gently as his mouth trailed against every inch of her as she was exposed to him. His tongue slipped between her moist folds, tasting her and twirling against her in a heady dance that had her squirming against him and calling his name desperately.

“Jack” she called, “please, now. I want you now.”

He gave a reluctant parting kiss to her core as he crawled up her body, his fingers replacing his tongue as he dropped a kiss to her mouth then pulled back to watch her expression, a smile of satisfaction combined with his own blatant need on his face.

“Now” she growled as her hips rocked against his fingers.

He pulled his hand away from her and moved off the bed to removed his jeans and boxers. Chloe watched him, her eyes wide. She swallowed nervously as she saw him hard and ready for her. Jack hesitated a moment before moving back to the bed, his gaze taking in her naked form both waiting and wanting.

“God you’re beautiful” he whispered as he climbed on top of her, “I need you so badly Chloe” he whispered.

“Well get on with it then” she urged, opening her thighs to accommodate him.

He smiled and brought his mouth to hers, kissing her softly as he entered her, reveling at her moan of delight at having him fill her so completely. Then they were both moaning as he thrust against her, Chloe’s hips arching into his. Their pace was slow at first, building to a near crescendo that had them moving more wildly, more urgently.

Jack’s hand moved to push her sweat soaked hair from her eyes as he moved against her, Chloe’s fingers scraping at his back and urging him on.

“I love you” she whispered as her body arched and convulsed around him.

“Love you” he replied as her muscles tightened and squeezed at his very being, dragging him with her as he came inside of her, his body jerking with pleasure.

“Chloe” he whispered as he collapsed beside her.

He pulled her into his side as they both struggled to regulate their breathing. Chloe’s arms reached around him so one hand rested at his shoulder the other laying flat against his chest. Jack’s own hands were busy stroking her hair, trailing down her back to pull her even tighter against him. Then they slept.

***

When Chloe woke up she was alone in the bed. She immediately felt panic begin to rise in her chest, as she sat up to look around the room. She paused and smiled happily as she saw a naked Jack Bauer tending the fireplace. He already had a good size fire going, and he turned back to the bed. When he saw her watching him, he smiled, pausing to just watch her. Then he crawled in beside her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hey,” she answered shyly.

They laid there silently for a few minutes, just watching the fire and enjoying the feel of being together. Finally, Chloe looked up at Jack and caught the far-off look in his eyes as he surveyed the room.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked quietly.

“How long it will take me to pack my stuff and sell this place,” he answered, still scanning the room.

Chloe frowned. “If you’re coming back just to be with me, then don’t bother, Jack.”

He couldn’t hide the pain that flashed across his face. Biting back tears, he began to take his arm from around her. Chloe snatched his hand, keeping him from moving away from her entirely.

“Jack, look at me.”

He shook his head, not wanting her to see just how much her words hurt him.

“Please, Jack. Look at me.”

At the gentle tone in her voice, he did as she asked. He was surprised to see a smile on her face. She reached up with her other hand to caress his cheek.

“I’ll just move here.”

She laughed at the shock on his face. This time the tears escaped his eyes without his notice.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Chloe nodded. “Of course. I know you don’t want to go back there, Jack. And I don’t have anything to go back to anyway. So I’ll stay. With you.” She looked down at the bed. “That is, if you want me to.”

Jack tipped her chin up gently with his fingers and kissed her deeply. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard.

“I want you to stay,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Jack.” She paused, cradling his face and looking at him seriously. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For hurting you. For telling you that I wished we’d never met. I didn’t really mean it. It just hurt so much when you left the last time.”

“I know,” he whispered with a small smile, running his hands through her dark hair. “And I’m sorry. I never should have left.” He paused, a twinkle in his eye. “Stay with me forever?” he asked

“Forever,” Chloe agreed, bringing her lips to his once again.