Unexpected Gift - Chapter 3

[failegaidin]

            Jack picked up the phone on his desk as it rang. "Bauer."

            "I need to talk to you."

            He sat up and leaned his arms on the desk. "Chloe? Are you alright?"

            "Yeah. I just…I need to talk to you."

            "Okay…so go ahead."

            "Not on the phone."

            "Where then?"

            She was silent for a moment. "Tech 1."

            "Okay. I'll be down in five minutes."

            "Okay." And she hung up.

            Jack leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. Chloe hadn't spoken to him much since they agreed that he would be the donor. In fact, the last non-work related conversation they had had was when he told her that he had gone to the clinic and done his part. She had mumbled thank you and looked…embarrassed. He was afraid that she was rethinking her decision – that she didn't want him to be the father after all. The butterflies fluttering full strength in his stomach, he got up and headed down to Tech 1.

 

***

 

            Chloe was already in the room when he got there, and she jumped at the sound of him opening the door. Giving her a gentle smile, he turned around and locked the door, making sure that they could talk privately. When he faced her again, she was looking down at the floor and biting her lip nervously.

            "Hey," he said quietly. "What's wrong?"

            She refused to look at him, keeping her eyes on the ground and her hands wringing each other in front of her stomach.

            "Chloe," he said, closing the distance between them and placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay. If you don’t want to go through with this, you can just tell me…"

            She looked up at him suddenly. "I'm pregnant," she blurted.

            Jack couldn't stop the large grin from taking over his face. "It worked?" he asked in wonder.

            Chloe nodded, some of the tension leaving her face at his reaction. "I'm going to have a baby," she whispered, her eyes welling up.

            "Yes you are," Jack replied, pulling her into a tight hug so that she couldn't see the tears in his own eyes.

 

***

 

            Five months later, Jack was in his office, packing up and getting ready to go home. It had been a long and tiring day, full of meetings with Division and little irksome tasks. As he shut down his computer, he looked up to find a nervous Chloe standing in his doorway. He smiled at her.

            "Hey."

            "Hey." She frowned and fidgeted under his gaze. "Stop staring at me," she snapped. "I already know I look like a beached whale."

            "Chloe," he laughed. "You look amazing."

            Her frown deepened. "I'm pregnant."

            "I know. And it looks good on you. You're glowing, even when you're scowling at me."

            His smile was infectious, and Chloe soon found the corners of her mouth turning up to match it. They stood there like that for a minute before Jack finally broke the silence.

            "Was there something you wanted?" he asked gently, not wanting her to think that he was pushing her out.

            The smile left her face and Chloe pursed her lips. "I…I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow," she began.

            Jack looked at her in worry. "Is everything okay?"

            She hurried to assure him. "Yeah…everything's fine. I just…ummm…"

            He came around his desk and perched on the edge, reaching out his hand to her. She looked at him nervously before taking it, letting him draw her close. "Just tell me, Chloe," he gently urged.

            She took a deep breath. "The appointment…it's to…umm…it's too find out the sex of the baby, and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

            Jack smiled and squeezed her hand. "I would love to," he told her quietly.

            Her face lit up. "Really?"

            "Really," he whispered. "What time is it?"

            "Huh?"

            "Your appointment, Chloe. What time is it?"

            "Oh, um, 3:30."

            "Then I'll come down to get you at your station at 3, okay?"

            Chloe nodded and turned to leave his office. At the door, she looked back at him. "Thank you, Jack."

            "You're welcome," he said with a smile.

 

***

 

            Chloe shifted uneasily on the bed in the doctor's office, Jack sitting on the stool next to her. She was nervous about finding out the sex of her baby, but she was also nervous about Jack. This was the first baby-related thing they had done together, and she worried that she was involving him too much. He had offered to be the father only to help her out, and she didn't want to burden him with anything else. But as she thought back to the previous day, she felt sure that she had seen sincere happiness on his face when she had asked him to come.

            The door opened and the doctor came in, interrupting Chloe's thoughts. She smiled in greeting and tried to keep from shifting nervously again.

            "Good afternoon, Chloe. How are you feeling today?" Dr. Madsen asked cheerily, pushing her glasses further up her nose as she sat down in front of Chloe's bent knees.

            "I'm okay," she replied. Looking at Jack, she realized that the doctor was probably wondering who this strange man was. "This is…this is Jack," she introduced, not sure how to explain Jack's role or presence.

            Dr. Madsen took it all in stride, extending her hand out to Jack in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Jack. I'm Dr. Madsen." She turned back to Chloe. "Are you ready to find out?"

            Biting her lip, Chloe nodded. The doctor smiled reassuringly as she began the ultrasound. As the image of her baby came up on the screen, she felt Jack's hand suddenly grab hers. Looking over, she saw the wonder on his face as he saw his baby for the time. She found herself once again wishing that they were doing this for real – that they were starting a family together. Shaking her head, she focused once again on the image before her. Dr. Madsen turned to look at her and smiled.

            "Congratulations, Chloe. You're going to have a baby boy."

            Tears came streaming down her face as once again the realization that she was going to have a baby hit her full force. She felt Jack tighten his grip on her hand, and when she looked over at him, she saw the tears welling up in his eyes as well.

            Dr. Madsen wiped the gel from her stomach and put the machine away. "If you're not having any problems, I'll see you at your next appointment, okay Chloe?" Chloe nodded, unable to speak. "Congratulations again, dear," she said. Then she turned to Jack. "And it was nice to meet you, Jack." With that, she left the room.

           

***

 

           

            By the time they had gotten back into the car, Jack knew that something was bothering her. She had grown quiet and withdrawn, and the look of wonder had left her face. As he started the ignition, he reached over and took her hand gently in his.

            "Hey," he said quietly. "What's the matter?"

            She looked at him, and he was shocked at the fear in her eyes. "I don't think I can do this," she whispered.

            Jack smiled at her. "Yes you can, Chloe. You're going to make a great mother. You'll see."

            She looked down at their entwined fingers, her lips pursed. "But…I'm having a boy."

            "So?"

            Chloe looked up at him again. "I don't know what to do with a boy," she said, the worry evident in her voice.

            Jack laughed. "But you wouldn't be worrying if you were having a girl?"

            "Exactly. Girls are easy. I get girls. But little boys…"

            Seeing that she was serious, Jack steered the car towards the park near her house. He parked the car and got out, moving to open her door. Taking her hand gently he helped her out and they walked over to a bench warmed by the afternoon sun. He sat down and turned towards her, keeping her hand in his.

            "This is really worrying you, isn't it?" he asked gently.

            Chloe frowned and nodded. "I know you think I'm being ridiculous. But I really thought I would have a girl…I just don't know how to take care of a boy."

            "It's not that different, you know." He watched her sigh and a thought came to him. "If you want…if it's okay with you, I could help. I know a thing or two about boys, and then you wouldn't have to do it on your own."

            Chloe looked at him, searching his eyes to make sure that he wasn't just offering to make her feel better. "Jack," she said quietly. "I don't…I mean…"

            He laid a comforting hand against her cheek. "It's okay if you don't want me to, Chloe. I just need to make sure that you know I'm willing to."

            "I don't want to interrupt your life," she said, looking down once again at their hands. "I don't want to burden you. You've already helped me out a lot, and I know that you don't want to raise another kid…"

            "Whoa whoa whoa," he said gently, cupping her face in both his hands and making her look at him. "Who said I didn't want to raise this baby? I just didn't want you to feel forced into it…I wasn't sure if…if you wanted to raise a child with me, Chloe. If you want me to, I'll gladly be this baby's father…in every sense of the word."

            Chloe looked at him in shock. If wasn't for the fact that she could feel his hands on her face, she would've been sure that she was dreaming. Looking into his eyes, she could see the truth of his words, and they made her happier than she could've imagined. Smiling at him shyly, she took one of his hands in hers.

            "You really think we can do this?" she asked.

            He smiled back at her. "Yeah, Chloe. I really think we can."

            She stopped for a moment, she looked down, thinking everything through one last time. "I want to," she said when she raised her eyes to his again.

            "You're sure?"

            "Yeah. This baby deserves to have his father in his life…and I don't want to do this alone."

            Jack beamed at her, her words warming him. Then a thought struck him and he looked at her seriously again. "Chloe…if we're going to do this, I want to do it right. I don't want you to be alone. Something could go wrong. You could go into labor…"

            "What are you saying?"

            He took a deep breath. "Let me stay with you. At least for now. It doesn't have to be forever…you can kick me out after he's born, if it's not working. But let me stay with you for now so that I can take care of you."

            The sincerity in his voice left Chloe with no objections. Regardless of Jack's feelings or lack of feelings for her, he loved their baby and he wanted to be there for them. She couldn't deny him that.

            "Okay."

            He stared at her, taken back by the ease with which she accepted his proposal. "Okay? You'll really let me move in?"

            She nodded. "Yeah. At least now I'll have someone to cook for me."

            Jack laughed and pulled her closer, dropping a kiss to her temple. "I would be happy to cook for you whenever you want, Chloe."


Chapter 4

Comments

[sparky-girl82.livejournal.com]

I so love this fic...daddy!jack is too cute. Lucky girl, getting to carry his child and have him move in with her! soo not fair. Plan on me nagging you to write more tomorrow!

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

We might not be working on Chapter 4 today, but we WILL be writing! I need to recover from last night's disappointment.

And I'm glad you like it!

[rorylie.livejournal.com]

Yay! Yay yay yay!

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[sheabear.livejournal.com]

Awesome... :)

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)

[lightsfadingout.livejournal.com]

aww awesome. Too bad he couldn't impregnate her the old fashioned way. =] Cat wait for the next chapter

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) And who knows...maybe they'll do it the old-fashioned way for a second kid ;)

[sej-1986.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm so in love with all this fluff! Jack's going to be so cute with this baby when he's born!
Great job! :)

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

Yes, Jack is :) I'm glad you're liking it!!!

[day-dream-girl1.livejournal.com]

Loved it. So sweet, and what girl would object to Jack Bauer moving in?!!

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

I certainly wouldn't. Glad you're enjoying it!

[neezum.livejournal.com]

Daddy Jack and Mommy Chloe are always the cutest things! This is so sweet... do you think chloe would mind if I borrowed jack and had him cook for me? ;)

[jessie611.livejournal.com]

Aww, sweet fluffy loveliness :)