Promise

            Chloe laid in bed, watching the storm rage outside her window. It was three in the morning, but she couldn't sleep, and she had finally run out of things to distract herself with. Rain splattered against the glass and thunder burst, and she just continued staring, letting her mind go completely blank.

            The sudden knock on her door made her jump. Looking at the clock, she frowned. She got up and moved through her apartment, figuring that a terrorist wouldn't knock. Flipping on the light in the kitchen, she unlocked her door and opened it, staring in shock at a dripping wet Jack Bauer.

            "Hey," he said quietly.

            "Jack, what are you doing here?"

            He shrugged. Chloe sighed and grabbed his hand, pulling him into her apartment. Shutting the door behind him, she turned to see him standing in the middle of her kitchen, dripping all over the floor, completely wrapped in his own thoughts.

            "Are you okay?" she asked, panic setting it at the fact that she didn't know what to do.

            "Couldn't sleep," he answered quietly.

            "Nightmares?" she asked before she could think it through.

            "No," he whispered, staring down at his feet.

            "You should change."

            Jack looked up at her, confusion in his eyes.

            "I mean your clothes. You're soaked. I think Morris left a couple things behind…I'll go get them."

            Chloe left him standing there, breathing a sigh of relief as she walked into her room. His appearance had startled her, and his presence was unsettling her. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with him – every time she looked into his eyes, she saw something that she'd never seen from him before, and she couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was. Shaking her head and grumbling to herself, she grabbed one of Morris' old t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants. Turning to walk out of the room, she jumped when she found herself face-to-face with Jack. He had followed her so quietly that she hadn't heard him enter the room.

            "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

            Chloe noticed that there was something different about his voice as well. It sounded…dead. She wondered what had happened, but instead she handed him the clothes.

            "Here you go. Bathroom's on the left."

            He nodded and walked out, leaving Chloe to once again stew in her thoughts. She sat down on the bed, once again staring out into the storm. She hadn't seen or heard much from Jack since that day he had come back from China. He had withdrawn from everybody, holing himself up in his tiny apartment. Milo and Curtis had tried to get him to socialize, but he wasn't even returning their phone calls anymore. She was worried about him, but she also knew that he would shut her out until he was ready to talk. So she had let him have his space, hoping that he would eventually come to her if needed anything. But even though he was here, she wasn't sure what he wanted from her.

            She looked up suddenly, and found that Jack had come back into the room. He leaned against the doorframe, watching her as she thought. His eyes bored into hers, as though he were trying to discover something without asking.

            "You were awake," he said.

            "What?"

            "When I got here. You were awake."

            Chloe frowned. "Yeah, well. I couldn't sleep either."

            Jack nodded, as though that were the answer he was expecting. "So what were you doing?"

            She shrugged. "Laying in bed. Watching the storm."

            "Want some company?"

            Chloe nearly choked. "Excuse me?"

            This time Jack shrugged. "If we both can't sleep, there's no reason to lay in different rooms wide awake."

            She knew that there had to be something flawed in his logic, but her body and heart told her brain to shut the hell the up. Nodding and looking up at him nervously she answered, "Okay."

            Jack walked over to one side of the bed, pulling the covers back and climbing in. Chloe swallowed nervously before getting in on her side as well. She laid on her back, stiff as a board, her brain racing in a search to find something appropriate to say.

            "Wanna turn the light off?" he asked.

            "What?"

            "Can't really see the storm with the light on."

            Not trusting herself to speak, Chloe reached over and turned the light off, blanketing the room in darkness. She felt Jack roll over on his side, turning to face her.

            "I thought you wanted to watch the storm," she said.

            "I've seen enough storms."

            Nodding, Chloe rolled onto her side as well. It seemed as though he might finally open up. But the minutes stretched by, and he just continued staring at her, that searching look still in his eyes. As time went on, Chloe became more and more uncomfortable, her brain screaming at her to run before her mouth said something she would regret. But his gaze held her there, and finally she spoke.

            "I missed you."

            "What?"

            "I missed you," she repeated. "While you were in China."

            He nodded, but a shadow passed over his eyes that Chloe didn't miss.

            "I'm glad you're back," she whispered, wondering why he wasn't saying anything.

            "Chloe," he said, lowering his eyes to the bed. "The reason I'm here…it's not just because I couldn't sleep."

            "Then why are you here?"

            "I needed to know something. I've been trying to figure it out since I got back. And I even came up with some answers. But I need to hear it from you."

            "Hear what?"

            He raised his eyes to hers again, and she gasped at the pain she saw. "Why didn't you look for me?" he whispered.

            Chloe just stared at him in shock. She thought back to the day he had returned. When he had found out that Audrey had gone to China to find him, she hadn't wanted to hurt him anymore. The truth would have ruined his one chance at happiness, and she just couldn't do that to him. But the pain in his eyes now broke her heart, and she realized that she had to tell him.

            "I did," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

            Jack's brow creased in confusion. "But…you said that Audrey went to China to look for me…and Cheng said that she was the only one."

            Chloe nodded. "I know. But that's not exactly true."

            "What do you mean?"

            "I didn't want you to get hurt, Jack."

            "Tell me, Chloe."

            She took a deep breath. "Audrey did look for you. But she gave up a few months after you were taken. There was…someone else, and she thought that it was time she moved on." She paused, trying not to look at the hurt on his face. "But I kept looking Jack. Even Buchanan had to order me to stop at one point. But I didn't. I couldn't. A few months ago, Audrey came to me. She wanted to help again. I guess she was feeling guilty. But there was nothing she could do and I told her that. That's when she went to China."

            She looked back up at him, surprised to see that his eyes were dry. She had expected the truth about Audrey to break him, but he just kept gazing intensely at her.

            "Why didn't you tell me?"

            Chloe sighed. "I didn't want you to get hurt Jack. You loved Audrey. Telling you would have ruined that. I couldn't do that to you."

            Jack cradled her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "And you didn't think that thinking my best friend hadn't looked for me would hurt me?"

            "All you cared about was Audrey," she whispered.

            Jack's eyes softened, finally realizing that all Chloe had ever wanted to do was protect him. He stroked his thumb over her cheek and smiled gently.

            "Chloe, I knew Audrey wouldn't keep looking. I was prepared for that. She moved on last time I was gone, and I knew it wouldn't be any different this time around. But you," his voice broke a little as he pulled her a little closer. "When I thought that you had moved on…that you didn't care anymore…that you had let me go…"

            He was stopped by the pressure of her lips against his. He immediately responded, coaxing her mouth open with his tongue. She sighed against him as she let him in, pulling her body as close to his as she could manage. They slowly explored one another's mouths, both desperately clinging to the other, afraid that it would all just suddenly end.

            Jack finally dragged his lips away from her, knowing that both of them needed to breathe. Chloe looked at him as she ran her fingers through his short hair.

            "I could never let you go," she whispered.

            "Promise?"

            She nodded.

            "I'll always come back to you," he whispered.

            She smiled. "Promise?"

            Jack nodded as leaned back in to kiss her briefly. Then he wrapped his arms around her, making sure that she was tucked into him. "Sleep," he told her as he kissed her forehead.

            "You too."

            He nodded as she laid her head against his chest. The storm went on outside unnoticed as their breathing fell in sync and they finally slept.