Anything For Love (Chapter 6)

[failegaidin]

          Here's Chapter 6! This is not the last chapter - there's one more to go. Thanks to sparky_girl82for help with Bill's little outburst - it's about time somebody yelled at Jack! Enjoy :)  


            Jack walked down the corridor quickly, anxious to see Chloe. Ending things with Audrey had lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders, and he knew that now he had to figure things out with his best friend.

            He stopped dead in his tracks when he entered her room – she wasn't there. The bed was made and there was no sign that Chloe had ever been there. Panic began to set in, and he looked around wildly for someone who could tell him what had happened.

            "Jack."

            Jack whirled around and found himself face-to-face with Bill.

            "Where is she, Bill?" he asked, trying desperately to ignore the tight feeling in his chest.

            Bill saw the worry in the other man's eyes and moved quickly to reassure him. "She's okay, Jack. They got all the nails out and there wasn't any serious damage."

            Jack closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief before looking sharply at Bill again. "Then where is she?"

            Wordlessly, Bill handed him Chloe's letter of resignation. Jack looked at it in confusion, his expression becoming more pained as he read.

            "She's gone?" he whispered, his voice breaking.

            "Not yet." Bill paused. "Can I give you some advice?" Jack nodded. "Don't let her go. If she walks out that door, she's gone. For good. Tell her how you feel – she deserves that much."

            Jack was shaking his head. "But I don't deserve-"

            "Damnit, Jack!" Bill shouted. "Love isn't about what you deserve. It's about love. Plain and simple.  If it was about what we deserved, we'd all be miserable bastards wandering around without any hope. Love is about second and third chances – hell, it's about however many chances it takes for you to be happy. You love Chloe, and you screwed up. You let her believe that she meant nothing to you. You have to go fix that." Bill paused again, calming himself before he continued. "Before Karen, I…I thought it was over, Jack. I thought that I would be alone for the rest of my life. And when we started going out, I kept expecting it to end, because I couldn't possibly deserve someone as amazing as her. Now I know you've gone through a lot more than me, Jack, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy. Don't let her go."

            Jack reached out and shook the older man's hand. "Thank you, Bill," he whispered before leaving Medical and heading out onto the floor.

 

***

 

            She was standing at her station, packing her things into a box. Her clothes had had to be cut in order for the doctor to remove the nails, and her new ones covered the wounds. Her face was still drawn and pale though, and her eyes were downcast. His heart broke as he realized how much pain he had caused her. She had nearly sacrificed herself for what she believed would bring him happiness – and in the process he had almost lost the very thing that his happiness hinged upon. He walked up to her, trying to figure out just what he would say.

            "Chloe," he said quietly, causing her to jump in surprise.

            She turned to look at him, confusion etched on her face. "Jack? What are you doing here?"

            "I wanted to talk to you."

            "Shouldn't you be with Audrey?"

            "No."

            Chloe frowned, taken back by his answer. "Why not?"

            Jack smiled faintly. "Because I want to talk to you."

            Chloe sighed. "You're welcome, Jack."

            This time Jack frowned in confusion. "What?"

            "You're welcome. I know you're just here because you think you need to thank me for saving Audrey. But you don't. Just go be with her."

            "Chloe, I'm not here to thank you."

            Chloe looked down, trying to stop her bottom lip from quivering. "Oh. Are you…um…here to yell at me then?"

            Jack reached out and rested his hand gently on her arm. "No. Why would I yell at you?"

            "I don't know. For risking Curtis' life for a really dangerous mission. For not telling you where we were going. For making you have to save me…again."

            He took hold of both of Chloe's arms, pulling her closer to him and forcing her to look in his eyes. "Chloe," he whispered. I'm not here to yell at you either. I did that earlier, and actually, I need to apologize for that."

            "I yelled too. So I guess I should say sorry too."

            Jack smiled again. "No. I deserved it."

            Chloe looked down again, shuffling her feet. Jack watched her, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head. She spoke without looking back up. "Why are you here Jack?"

            He tried to get the words out – tried to tell her how much he loved her. But his brain refused to say it. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said lamely.

            Chloe pulled out of his grasp and turned her back on him. "I'm fine, Jack. Go."

            "Where do you want me to go?"

            "How about to the place you really want to be? Stop checking up on me and go sit with Audrey. You guys haven't seen each other in eighteen months. I'm sure there's some things that need to be said."

            "They've been said," he replied as he moved to behind her. He placed his hands gingerly on her shoulders. "I don't want to be anywhere that's not with you right now," he whispered.

            Chloe closed her eyes at the sound of his voice so close, the feel of his breath moving against her hair. She didn't want to move, but she knew that she needed to or she would never leave. She tried to order her body to walk away, but every muscle refused her, staying locked in place. She tried to get her mouth to tell him to go away, to leave her alone. But her tongue betrayed her as well, allowing her to only get out a breathy "What?"

            As he turned her around to face him, Jack once again tried to tell her that he loved her. But once again his brain rebelled. "Why are you leaving?" he asked instead.

            "Because it's time for me to go," Chloe mumbled, trying to avoid his intense gaze.

            "Why?"

            She sighed. "It's just something I need to do, Jack. I can't stay here anymore."

            Jack nodded, understanding.

            "Take me with you."

            "What?"

            "I want to go with you."

            "No you don't."

            "Yes I do."

            "No."

            "Yes."

            "No."

            Deciding that the argument was pointless, Jack leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Chloe stopped immediately, staring at him in disbelief. Her surprise faded though, and was replaced with a look of hurt.

            "Why would you do that?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

            "Kiss you?"

            "Yes."

            "Because I wanted to. Because I've wanted to since before I left for Washington."

            Chloe backed away, pulling her arms out of his grasp. "No."

            "Chloe, it's the truth."

            "No," she repeated, shaking her head. "If that were true, you wouldn't have left. You wouldn't have stayed with Audrey. You wouldn't have chosen her over me time after time."

            Jack approached her again, this time taking her face in his hands. "It is the truth, Chloe. I never told you because…because after everything I'd asked of you…I didn't think…I couldn't ask you to love me too," he finished in a hoarse whisper.

            Chloe's gaze softened and she took Jack's right hand in both her own, bringing the scarred skin to her lips. She kissed it gently, never taking her eyes off of him. Jack's eyes immediately filled with tears at her gentleness.

            "Jack," she whispered. "You never had to ask." She reached up and brushed her lips against his. "I've always loved you."

            Jack smiled through the few tears that had escaped his eyes. He leaned in, capturing her lips with his and wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. He teased her mouth open and slid his tongue into her mouth, holding her tighter as she moaned happily. Eventually they pulled away, Jack tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling.

            "Take me with you," he repeated.

            Chloe's brow furrowed. "But I'm leaving."

            "I know. Take me with you."

            "But you won't be happy."

            "Why not?"

            "Because…this is your life. You know, running around and shooting terrorists and stopping nukes from going off. I'm moving away from all this. Far away."

            Jack smiled at her concerned face. "How far away?"

            Chloe pursed her lips in thought. "New England," she said finally.

            "New England's nice."

            "But…you'll be…bored."

            Jack laughed, taking her face in his hands again. "Look, Chloe. I don't want to do this anymore. It's cost me too much. My wife, my daughter…and it almost cost me you. The president gave me a…generous retirement package. I say we buy a house in New England, maybe in Connecticut somewhere. A real fixer-upper. Then I can spend my days working on the house. That way I won't get bored."

            "A house?" Chloe asked, disbelief in her voice.

            "A house," he repeated. "And you wouldn't have to work either…unless you wanted to. You could help me with the house."

            "This is sounding awfully domestic, Jack."

            His smile faded a little. "Is that a problem?"

            "Not for me, but-"

            Jack pulled her closer. "Then it's not a problem. This is what I want, Chloe. A big house," he kissed her. "No more terrorists," he kissed her again. "And you."

            Chloe smiled up at him, still having trouble processing that Jack was saying those things to her. "So we'll leave?"

            "Yeah," he whispered.

            "When?"

            "As soon as we can. You need to sell your apartment, and…I'd like to see Kim before we go. Do you know where she is?"

            Chloe gave him a reassuring smile. "I do."

            "Where?"

            "Not far from me. She and Chase got back together a few months ago." Chloe paused, wondering if she should continue. "She pregnant," she finished, wary of Jack's response.

            She wasn't prepared for the blinding grin that erupted on Jack's face. He tried several times to speak, but each time his throat closed, the emotion threatening to overwhelm him.

            "Really?" he choked out.

            Chloe nodded. "Three months. And they're getting married."

            "I'm going to be a grandfather?"

            "Yep," Chloe responded, a sudden thought occurring to her. Jack saw the light fade from her eyes.

            "What is it?" he asked, concerned.

            "You won't want to leave now. Not with Kim pregnant."

            "Chloe…"

            She shook her head and smiled at him again. "No, it's okay. We can stay here."

            "You don't want to."

            "So? I want you, and you want to be near Kim. I can deal with that."

            An idea formed in Jack's head. "Do they like L.A.?"

            Chloe frowned. "No. Chase hates it and Kim doesn't want her baby growing up in a city…" she trailed off as she realized what Jack was asking.

            "Think maybe they'd like to move out east?"

            She smirked. "I'll tell Chase to start packing their stuff."

 

***

 

            Bill watched as his two best agents walked off the floor, hand in hand. He smiled as he realized that they were finally breaking free of the pain that had marked both their lives. Pulling out his cell phone, he called Karen to tell her the good news. 

Chapter 7