Crush

            Chloe didn't even look up as Jack perched himself on the edge of her desk. He was always doing that – just sitting there. Sometimes he spoke, but she thought that more often than not, he was thinking. That maybe he needed to leave his office and sit with a friend to focus. This time he had brought a file with him, but she could tell from the stillness of his eyes that he wasn't reading it.

            "You doing anything tonight?" he asked suddenly.

            Chloe frowned. "No. Why?"

            Jack shrugged. "I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie."

            She dragged her eyes away from her screen to look up at him in confusion. "A movie?"

            "Yeah, you know, we could order out some dinner and watch a movie together."

            Chloe bit her lip as she tried to think. She and Jack had been spending more time together since his return from China, but they never made any real plans. They just grabbed dinner after work, or ordered out from work when they had to stay late. This was new territory, and she didn't quite know what to do.

            "Okay," she said slowly.

            Jack nodded. "Okay then. I'll pick up the food and the movie and meet you at your place around seven?"

            Chloe nodded, her voice suddenly not working.

            "Good." He smiled at her and walked back up to his office.

            As Chloe tried to refocus on her screen, Nadia walked over and sat just as Jack had. Chloe tried to ignore the other woman, but Nadia just kept staring at her with an amused look on her face.  

            "What?" she snapped, finally looking up at her.

            "Did Jack Bauer just ask you out on a date?"

            "No."

            "Sure sounded like it."

            "We're just watching a movie. Friends watch movies, Nadia."

            "Uh-huh. And who's place are you watching the movie at?"

            "Mine," Chloe answered, turning her attention back to her screen.

            "And where is the TV in your place, Chloe?" Nadia asked, struggling to contain her laughter.

            Chloe blushed suddenly as she realized what Nadia was getting at.

            "My bedroom," she whispered.

 

***

 

            Chloe decided that the Fates were plotting against her. She tried to get Jack alone, to tell him that they should go to his place, or go out to see a movie. But he had been sent out in the field for a mission almost immediately after they had set their plans. She tried to talk to him when he got back, but Nadia immediately pulled him in for his debrief. She waited in his office for him, but the minute he got in, he got a call from Bill because he wanted him in on a bigwig conference call that had taken the rest of the day.

            She packed up her things with trembling fingers, hoping that Jack would stop by her station before he left. Her stomach knotted as time went by and more and more people went home for the day. Finally, Milo walked up to her station on his way out the door.

            "Hey, Chloe."

            "Hi, Milo," she responded, her tension obvious in her voice.

            "Are you okay?"

            "I'm fine." She paused, softening her tone. "Have you seen Jack?"

            "Yeah, actually. He left a little while ago."

            "He did?" she squeaked.

            Milo gave her a curious look. "Yeah…but he asked me to tell you that he'd see you at seven."

            "Okay, thanks." She tried to smile at him as she grabbed her purse and started to head out. Milo fell into step beside her.

            "So you guys are having dinner tonight?"

            "Yeah, so?" she snapped.

            "Nothing. I'm glad you guys actually get to spend time together now. It's good for you both." He fell quiet, struggling with his thoughts. "Chloe?"

            "What?"

            "I know it's not of my business, but…"

            "What, Milo?"

            "I think Jack has a crush on you."

            Chloe stopped. "Excuse me?"

            Milo stopped too. "You heard me."

            She bit her tongue to keep in a sharp retort. Looking down at the ground and scuffing her foot against the floor, she asked quietly, "Really?"

            Milo's face lit up. "Yeah, I really do. And you know what else?" She looked up at him again. "I think you two are just right for each other." He kissed her on the cheek and continued walking out, leaving Chloe to stand there in confusion. "Have fun tonight, Chloe," he called over his shoulder.

 

***

 

            She had a dilemma. Jack was going to be there any minute, and Chloe had no idea what to wear. She couldn't wear her work clothes, because you didn't wear a skirt in your own house to watch a movie. She wanted to be comfortable – but she also wanted to be cute. But her cute bed clothes weren't appropriate for having a friend over. The doorbell rang, and she jumped to throw on a pair of shorts and t-shirt, the necessity to be clothed at all overcoming her other problems.

            Chloe opened the door, smiling at the sight of Jack laden down with pizza, beer and movies. He returned her smile, and they both stood there stupidly until Chloe shook herself out of her reverie and let him in. She closed the door behind them and they stood awkwardly in the living in the room, neither sure of what to do next.

            "Uh, Chloe?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Where's your TV?"

            Chloe blushed furiously. "In my room."

            Jack turned to look at her, his eyes wide in surprise. "You don't have a TV in your living room?"

            She looked down at the carpet, wishing it would open up and swallow her whole. "No. But we could move it out here if you want. It wouldn't be that hard…"

            "It's fine, Chloe. Bed's more comfortable anyway."

            Chloe snapped her head up, shocked at his answer and unable to speak. He took her silence as hesitancy to have him in her bedroom.

            "Is that okay with you?" he asked.

            She nodded.

            "It's okay if we eat in there too?"

            She nodded again, and led him down to her room when he motioned that he would follow. Opening the door, she thanks the powers that be that she had gotten home in time to make the bed and pick the clothes up off of the floor. Jack kicked off his shoes and put the pizza, beer and movies on top of her bureau. He eyed her shorts jealously before looking down at his own jeans.

            "Wish I had thought of that," he said.

            "Thought of what?"

            "Comfortable pants."

            Chloe giggled, her nervousness making her a little giddy. "I have a pair that would fit you, you know."

            Jack raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

            Chloe nodded. "Yup. Wanna try them?"

            Jack smiled at her shyly. "I'd love to, thanks."

            Try to hide her blush at the thought of Jack Bauer wearing her pants, Chloe dug through her drawers until she found the pair men’s large pants that she saved for when she needed comfort clothes. She handed them to him, and then left the room, going to the kitchen to get paper plates for the pizza.

            She found it difficult to breathe when she came back into her room. She froze in the doorway, staring in shock at the sight of Jack wearing her pants and lying in her bed. He had the pizza open in front of him, and he was looking intently at her DVD remote.

            “A little too sophisticated for you?” she asked.

            Jack looked up in surprise. “Maybe.”

            Chloe walked to the bed, handing him the plates and taking the remote gingerly from his grasp. “So what are we watching?”

            “A classic.”

            Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Which classic?”

            “The Exorcist.”

            She just stared at him, disbelief clear on her face. “Are you serious?”

            Jack’s look grew defensive. “What’s wrong with The Exorcist?”

            “Nothing. Except that it’s not scary.”

            He looked at her incredulously. “What? How can you say that? It’s the scariest movie ever made!”

            “It’s really not, Jack.”

            He pouted a little, and Chloe found herself wanting to kiss him right then and there. Shaking her head, she tried to dispel that image. “Did you get anything else?”

            His face brightened again. “Yep.”

            “What is it?”

            Jack got out of bed and went to the TV, putting a DVD in the machine. “Not telling.”

            “Come on, Jack.”

            “Nope. You’re just going to have to watch.”

            The red FBI Warning screen came up, and Jack crawled back into bed, settling next to Chloe. She sat tensely, not sure if she should sit close, keep her distance, get under the covers or simply go running from the room.

            She heard a deep chuckle from Jack’s side of the bed. “Relax, Chloe.”

 

***

 

            Thirty minutes later, Chloe was completely under the covers, the pizza and beer consumed and forgotten. She had the blanket pulled up to her chin, and she kept scooting closer to Jack.

            “I hate you,” she snapped.

            “Chloe,” he laughed. “It’s just a doll.”

            “A crazy homicidal evil doll.”

            Jack laughed, but then he noticed that Chloe was actually shaking. Frowning slightly, he slid over to her and wrapped his arm around her, tucking her into him. She curled against him, wrapping her arms around his torso. He leaned his head down to whisper in her ear.

            “Are you okay?”

            “I’m fine.”

            “Chloe, you’re shaking.”

            She snuggled closer, forgetting that she was supposed to be nervous and uncomfortable. “I don’t like dolls.”

            “Okay.”

            “No, I really don’t like dolls. As in, I’m scared to death of them and I have been since I was a kid.”

            Jack pulled back slightly to look at her. “What happened?’

            Keeping her eyes focused on the television, she answered in a quiet voice. “My cousin locked me in my closet once. We were having a huge family party, and nobody could hear me yelling. I was in there for hours. I had a lot of dolls. My mom had made me put them all in the closet before the party, so that my room was neat and clean. It was so dark in there, and they were all just staring at me…my mind kept playing tricks on me and…I made my mom get rid of them after that. Every single one.”

            Jack looked at her in surprise – he hadn’t been expecting her to open up to him so much. “Oh, Chlo…Why didn’t you tell me? We could have watched something else.”

            “I’m okay…as long as you’re here.”

            He pulled her even closer, bringing her body flush against his own and brought his mouth back to her ear. “Don’t worry, Chloe. I won’t let any crazy homicidal evil dolls get you.”

            At that, Chloe’s head jerked up, and she found herself nose-to-nose with Jack. His lips were right there, and their proximity prompted her to throw caution to the wind. She pressed her lips against his firmly, sighing at how good it felt. Jack’s hands came up to tangle in her hair, and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. As their tongues began to move against each other, Jack kicked the empty pizza box off the bed and rolled on top of her. The movie completely forgotten, he kissed down her neck, reveling in the moans he was eliciting from her. He kissed down her chest, pausing at her stomach and taking his time as he inched her shirt up so that he could get at her skin. Running his tongue around her belly button, he moved up again, dragging his body hard across hers.

As he reached her lips again, Chloe pulled back suddenly, pushing him off of her and rummaging through the sheets. Jack was worried at first that she didn’t want this, that he had gone too far. But as he watched her dig through the bed, he found himself grinning like a fool.

            “Chloe, what are you doing?”

            “Looking for something,” she muttered.

            “What?”

            “The remote,” she said triumphantly as she finally found it.

            He laughed as she shut the TV off. “What was that all about?”

            She frowned at him. “I’m not having sex with Chucky watching us, Jack.”

            “So we’re having sex, huh?”

            Chloe’s face fell and she dropped her eyes from his. “Well…I mean…”

            Jack tackled her, pinning her body beneath his holding her face steady so that she had to look at him. “Don’t.”

            “Don’t what?”

            “Second guess yourself. I want this. I want you.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Chloe, I’ve been pacing between my office and your station, and then perching on the edge of your station for six months, trying to work up the courage to ask you out.”

            A small smile spread across her face. “You want to ask me out?”

            “Yeah,” he whispered.

            She frowned again. “Well, you can do that later. I want to have sex now.”

            “You’re demanding.”

            Rolling him over onto his back and straddling him, she whispered, “You have no idea.”