Somewhere Warm (Part IV)

This chapter's not as funny....But I hope you enjoy anyway. The vacation couldn't be ALL fun and games. 

            The restaurant was more of a large bar with tables and chairs spread out around it. But the atmosphere was warm and the music was soothing as it played quietly in the background. There were poles set up around the perimeter, with lights wrapped around them. The waves from the ocean could still be faintly heard and a gentle breeze was coming off the water. There were a fair number of people eating dinner, but a few tables were still empty. Jack and Chloe ordered drinks at the bar and then picked a table to sit at.

            Chloe looked around in confusion. "Uh, Jack? Where do they make the food?"

            Jack chuckled and pointed behind her. "There's a kitchen up there. They bring it down to you when it's ready."

            Chloe frowned. "How do you know all this?"

            Jack shrugged. "I read some travel brochures."

            "Yeah right. When do you have time to read?"

            "On the plane while you were sleeping."

            "Oh."

            The waitress came up to them and they ordered their food. They sat awkwardly after she had left, neither knowing what to talk about. Chloe looked around them, keeping her gaze on anything that wasn't Jack. He, on the other hand, kept his eyes on her and watched with a smile as she tried to avoid his stare. Finally, Chloe couldn't stand it anymore.

            "What?" she snapped.

            "Nothing."

            "You're staring."

            "I know."

            "Stop."

            "No."

            "Yes."

            "Do you really want me to?" he asked, concern suddenly in his eyes.

            Chloe stopped, taking a few breaths while she thought about the question. Biting her lip, she tried to think of a way to voice her thoughts.

            "No," she answered. "It's just…I don’t understand why you're staring at me."

            Jack smiled and tentatively put his hand over hers. Her eyes widened and she stared at their hands, reveling in his touch.

            "I was just realizing how much I missed you," he whispered.

            Still looking at their hands, Chloe entwined their fingers. "I missed you too," she said.

            By the time dinner came, they still hadn't found anything to really talk about. They both thought about the lines they crossed in their friendship today, but neither really wanted to bring it up. They sat in silence, each remembering what had transpired on the beach, and each thinking how good it had felt, how right. Their drinks ran low, but someone kept returning to fill them again, and soon they were both feeling much more relaxed. As their meals were set before them, they reluctantly let go of each other's hand and focused on their food.

            "Where's that cute boy that's been bringing us drinks?" Chloe asked after they had finished eating.

            Jack laughed. "I'm not really sure you need anymore, Chloe. Unless of course you're trying to get me drunk so that you can seduce me later."

            "That's the plan," she answered with a straight face.

            "Well, I should tell you that it's working. A couple more and you can have your way with me."

            "I'll keep that in mind."

            Jack flailed about for a witty remark, but found that his brain had stopped working when the conversation had turned to seducing. "You really think you can handle more alcohol?" he asked instead.

            "You should talk," she retorted. "I may be chugging, but I still can't keep up with you."

            "Do you know how long it's been since I've had a drink?" he asked.

            "Far too long."

            "Exactly."

            "That just means it's gonna hit you harder, Jack."

            "So?"

            "Just don't blame me when you're puking your guts out in the morning."

            "Do you want another drink or not?"

            Chloe nodded. Jack grabbed their glasses and stood up, focusing on not toppling over. Chloe was right – the alcohol had gone straight to his head. But after everything that happened, he figured he deserved to let loose a little.

            Chloe watched in amusement as Jack all but stumbled up to the bar. She couldn't blame him for drinking. The last three years of his life had been absolute hell and the poor guy deserved a break. Which was probably why he had finally taken this vacation – but she still couldn't figure out why he had asked her to come. She thought she might know the answer, but she was scared to even let the thought enter her mind. If she was wrong, it would just hurt all over again.

            As Jack was waiting for their drinks, he noticed a woman down the bar staring at him. She smiled seductively at him and he nodded his head in acknowledgement, but he turned his attention back to the bartender, hoping the woman would go away. She was beautiful, but he wasn't interested. The only woman he cared about was sitting back at their table, waiting for him to bring her another drink. He wondered if they'd both had too much, and if he should cut them off to make sure anything they…did…together would be because they really wanted to. He could already feel the alcohol messing with his head, and he was having a hard time restraining from just dragging Chloe down to the beach with him and making love to her right then and there. Jack shook his head and looked up again. Much to his dismay, the woman got up and made her way over to him, sashaying her hips and smiling. When she reached him she laid her hand lightly on his arm and Jack was forced to face her.

            "Can I help you?" he asked.

            "Just thought I'd say hi. Introduce myself. I'm Marilyn."

            Jack nodded. "Hi," he said tersely, wondering how he was going to get rid of this woman.

            "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

            "No."

            "Why not?"

            "Because I'm here with someone else."

            The woman frowned slightly. "Who?"

            Jack looked over his shoulder at Chloe, who was staring out at the water. "Her," he said, a huge smile on his face.

            "Her?" Marilyn repeated, derision evident in her voice.

            Jack glared at the woman. "Yes. Her. And if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get back to her now."

            "Looks like you're too late," Marilyn said over her shoulder as she walked back to her seat. "Seems she left without you."

            Jack turned around quickly and saw that their table was empty. He swore under his breath and hastily paid the bartender for their meal and drinks. Jogging away from the bar, he looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Chloe walking along the edge of the water. He ran to catch up with her.

            Chloe angrily brushed the tears off of her cheeks. She was confused, and that was why she had left the table. They had had a wonderful day, and Chloe could still feel Jack's hands on her from earlier. She couldn't remember a better day in her entire life. But as she had watched that other woman flirt with him, she starting questioning again what she was doing here. Jack couldn't possibly want her, not that way, not when he could have absolutely any woman he wanted.

            She turned as she heard feet pounding on the sand behind her. Jack was running toward her, a worried expression on his face. Chloe prayed that her face didn't show any evidence of her crying.

            "Hey," she said when slowed and fell into step beside her.

            "Hey," he replied. "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine."

            "Then why did you leave?"

            "Just wanted to take a walk."

            Jack walked in front of her and turned around, taking her shoulders in his hands. "There's something else Chloe. Tell me."

            "Jack, I'm fine."

            "Please, Chloe."

            "Why are you here?" she asked suddenly.

            Jack's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

            "Why are you here? With me? Why did you ask me to come?"

            He floundered for a response, struggling to understand where these questions had come from. "Because…you're my friend. Because I wanted to spend time with you. If you don't want to be here, Chloe…"

            "No, Jack. I want to be here. I just don't get why you want me here."

            Words eluded Jack as he desperately tried to think of a way to explain it to her. He wanted to tell her everything he'd been feeling for the past two years – hell, maybe even longer than that. But the alcohol was impeding his thought process as it continued to course through his body. He looked at Chloe, who was staring at him, waiting for an answer. Something in his brain finally snapped, and Jack leaned in to kiss her.

            Chloe immediately stiffened at the feel of his lips on hers. But Jack's mouth was insistent, and soon Chloe was wrapped around him, their tongues dancing wildly. Jack's hands were all over her back as he pulled her even closer, causing her to groan and Chloe's cognitive abilities shut down one by one.

            It was the taste of alcohol that snapped her brain back on. She suddenly remembered just how much he'd had to drink and she silently berated herself for thinking that this could be real. Reluctantly she pulled away, gasping for breath. Jack ran his hands up and down her spine as he leaned his forehead against hers.

            "Why are we stopping?" he asked.

            "Because I saw how much you had to drink tonight, Jack."

            Jack smiled and pulled her into his body again. "But, Chloe, I thought you were going to get me drunk and seduce me tonight. I'm already drunk, so we can move on to the seducing now."

            Chloe pulled back, certain now that Jack was pretty far gone. The Jack she knew would have tried to convince her he wasn't drunk or he would have apologized.

            "No, Jack."

            "You don't want to seduce me?" he asked.

            "Jack, I want you sober when I seduce you."

            Jack's eyes widened. "So you do want to seduce me?"

            Chloe rolled her eyes. "Will it make you feel better if I said yes?"

            "Only if you mean it."

            "Then the answer is yes."

            Jack smiled again and leaned in to kiss her neck. He took his time and kissed every inch from her chin to her shoulder, letting his tongue graze her skin. Chloe concentrated on breathing as she tried to reign in her body's responses. But she wanted him badly, and he was not helping her take the moral high ground. Pushing against his chest, Chloe took his face in her hands and made him look at her.

            "Look, Jack. If you still want me in the morning, I will let you have your way with me, okay? But not like this. I will not have you waking up and regretting what we did. I don't want you to regret anything you do with me, you got that?"

            "But Chloe…"

            "No buts, Jack. Sober up and then I'll let you kiss me. If you still want to." She took his hand and led him down the beach. As they walked back toward the hotel, Jack leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I will."

Birthday In Crisis

            Hating her birthday wasn't anything new for Chloe. Her family had never made a big deal out of it, and she had kind of adopted their view of things. Some friends in college had tried to get her to celebrate once, but quickly gave up when they realized that she was miserable and intent on staying that way until the day was over. Now she didn't even tell people when it was, so that she could avoid the whole situation. Things just worked out better that way.

            But this year was turning out to be the worst yet. She had been at CTU for over twenty hours now, not even noticing when the clock had struck midnight and announced her birthday. There were terrorists to find and assassinations to stop – someone had decided that taking out the entire White House cabinet was a good way to voice their opinions – and she hadn't even had time to breathe, nevermind acknowledge that another year was gone.

            "I've lost him," Milo called from his station.

            Chloe stood up and yelled at him in frustration. "What do you mean you lost him, Milo? How hard is it to track one guy?"

            "It's not like I meant to lose him, Chloe."

            "Yeah, well, this guy is gonna go kill the Chief of Staff or something, and now we don't know where he is!"

            "I'll keep looking. We'll find him again. Don't worry."

            "I worry," Chloe retorted.

            Still standing, Chloe faced her computer again, scowling at it and hoping that maybe that would force some answers out of it. She had been trying for hours to decrypt a disk Jack had taken off someone, but it wasn't working and that made Chloe cranky.

            Suddenly she saw a hand reach around from behind her and place a single red rose on her desk. Before she had time to turn around, there were lips on her neck, just below her left ear, and someone whispered, "Happy birthday."

            Chloe froze at the voice, knowing instantly who it was. Turning around she saw Jack Bauer walking away from her. She looked down at the rose he had given her and she found herself inexplicably angry. Setting it back down on her desk, she rushed after Jack.

            She caught up with him halfway down the hallway. Without a word she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into one of the holding rooms. He watched her in confusion as she shut the door and whirled on him.

            "What the hell was that?" she yelled.

            "What was what?" he asked.

            "That. The rose. And the kiss. And the "happy birthday.""

            "I just wanted to say happy birthday. The past few years I've either been busy faking my death or being tortured in a foreign country. I figured this year I'd at least say something. What's the big deal Chloe?"

            "How did you even know it was my birthday? I don't tell anyone that."

            "I know," he smirked. "But I have my ways."

            "Yeah, well, just erase the date from your head."

            "Why?"

            "Because I don't acknowledge my birthday, that's why. So neither should you."

            Jack laughed. "Chloe, I don't get it. Why are you so upset about this?"

            "You don't understand anything," she grumbled. Then looking straight at him, she blurted out, "Please don't hate me for this."

            "Hate you for what?" he asked.

            His last word was cut off as Chloe grabbed his face and kissed him squarely on mouth. Jack's eyes widened in shock, but just as he recovered, Chloe pulled back and let go of him. They just stared at each other, both surprised by Chloe's actions. As Chloe decided that she should just walk out and try to retain some dignity, Jack pushed her back against the door and kissed her back.

            Chloe gasped in surprise and Jack took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth. She moaned as they explored each other's mouths, and Jack pushed himself even closer to her. His hands were under her top and roaming freely – up and down her spine, on her stomach, venturing up to her breasts. Chloe arched against him and ground her hips against his, eliciting a lusty groan from him.

            "Oh God, Chloe, I love you," he said.

            Both stopped suddenly, shocked by his admission. Jack was afraid that he had gone too far, that he had scared her away. Chloe searched his eyes, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or if he had just been caught up in the moment.

            "Chloe, I –"

            "Say it again," she interrupted.

            "What?"

            "If you meant it," she said quietly. "Say it again. Please."

            At the look of desperation in her eyes, Jack swallowed his fear. "I love you," he repeated.

            Chloe smiled and kissed him again, picking up right where they had left off. Both had completely forgotten that there was an outside world and their only concern was how close they could get to each other.

            Suddenly Jack pulled away. "Wait," he gasped.

            "What?" Chloe asked, afraid that he had changed his mind.

            Seeing the fear in her eyes, Jack took her face in his hands and forced her to keep looking at him. "What about you?" he asked.

            "What about me?" she asked.

            "Do you love me?"

            "Duh, Jack."

            "Duh?"

            "Yeah. You're an idiot if you haven't realized that I've been in love with you for years."

            "Years?" he asked, surprise evident on his face.

            "Oh my God, you are an idiot," she said, realizing that he really hadn't known.

            "I need to hear you say it," he urged her.

            "Say what?"

            Jack sighed. "Chloe…"

            "Oh. I love you. Sorry. My brain stopped working when you kissed me."

            "Good to know that wasn't just me."

            They moved closer to kiss again, when a pounding on the door interrupted them.

            "Chloe! Are you in there?" Milo yelled.

            Chloe sighed, straightening her hair and clothes before opening the door.

            "What do you want, Milo?" she snapped.

            "I found the guy again, and –" he stopped when he saw that Jack was in the room too, and that his face was flushed. He narrowed his eyes at Chloe. "What were you two doing in here?"

            "Nothing."

            "I think you two were making out."

            "Mind your business, Milo."

            "I think you were more than making out."

            "Shut up, Milo."

            "I think-"

            "Look, Milo. You tell people about this, and I'll make sure that tape of you and Nadia in Tech 1 gets around."

            "Me and…but we didn't…you know…" Milo floundered, desperately trying to save face.

            "Neither did Jack and I. We didn't go any further than the two of you did. So I suggest that you mind your business." She turned to Jack, who was still standing behind her, blushing furiously. "And you. You're taking me to dinner tonight, right?" Dumbly, Jack nodded. "Good," she said. With that, she walked back to her station.

            Jack stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, nodding at Milo.

            "Milo."

            "Jack."

            The two men turned and walked in opposite directions.