failegaidin | Entries tagged with fanfiction

Jack inwardly groaned as he awoke to sunlight pouring into the room, and quickly shut his eyes again. His head was pounding and the room was swimming and he seemed to be tangled up in another person's limbs. He slowly opened one eye and was mildly surprised, although infinitely relieved, to see Chloe's sleeping form cuddled up against him. He smiled at the sight of her, reveling in how beautiful she was even in sleep.

Jack bit back another groan as he remembered the previous evening. He hadn't meant to drink that much, and he certainly hadn't meant to confuse Chloe. He had kissed her because he wanted to, and because the alcohol had stopped his brain from coming up with any more objections. But he remembered the look on her face when she had pulled back – she was confused, and worried that he was just drunk and desperate.

A smile spread across his face as he remembered his last words to her on the beach. He would just wake her up and let her know that it had not been the alcohol talking, that he still very much so wanted to kiss her and have his way with her. He lifted his hand to push the hair back from her face and tuck it behind her ear. She stirred slightly, but remained sleeping, and Jack moved his hand to her arm, gently rubbing up and down. Chloe stirred again, this time pushing her body up against his and moaning quietly. Jack's smile grew as he saw the effect his touch was having on her. He leaned his head down to her ear. But just as he was about to wake her, his stomach heaved and Jack realized that the alcohol was about to come back with a vengeance.

He bolted out of bed and slid to his knees in front of the toilet, emptying the contents to his stomach. He silently cursed himself for being such an idiot. If he had just kissed Chloe on the beach like he had wanted to, none of this would be happening. In fact, he'd probably be in bed with her right now, making love to her and eliciting more of those moans that turned him on so much. Instead he was stuck with the not-nearly-as-sexy toilet for company.

Chloe had woken up at the sound of Jack rushing from the room, the bed suddenly much colder in his absence. She frowned as she vaguely remembered Jack touching her just moments earlier, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of her friend getting sick in the bathroom. She smiled ruefully and got up to join him.

"I told you," she said simply.

Jack glared at her, still hugging the toilet. "Shut up."

"Well I did."

"Chloe…" he warned.

She laughed and knelt down beside him, rubbing his back as he doubled over and got sick again.

"You don't have to do that," he said quietly.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No."

Chloe smiled. "Then I'm staying."

Fifteen minutes later, Jack hauled himself off of the bathroom floor and decided that it was time for a shower. He contemplated asking Chloe if she wanted to join him, but he figured that might not go over so well.

He emerged twenty minutes later to find Chloe dressed in jeans and sneakers, filling a backpack. He leaned against the doorframe, watching her, wondering how he was going to tell her how he felt. He supposed he could just blurt it out now, but he hesitated again, and then the moment was gone.

"You're gonna want long pants," Chloe said when she saw him standing there.

"Where are we going?" he asked, rifling through his suitcase for a pair of jeans.

Chloe shrugged. I thought we could go for a hike, explore a little bit. If you want to do something else…"

Jack smiled at her. "No. This sounds great."

Chloe nodded and continued filling her bag.

***

There were paths all over the island, crisscrossing through the jungle, most eventually leading to one beach or another. Chloe picked one at random and just started walking, enjoying each other's company. Jack struggled with himself for a good half hour before finally plucking up the courage to take Chloe's hand. As his fingers brushed her palm, Chloe jumped, jerking her hand away. Jack pulled his hand back as well.

"Sorry," he said, looking everywhere but at her. "I, uh-"

Chloe tried to calm her heartbeat. She had been so lost in her thoughts that when Jack had touched her, it had scared her half to death. She smiled at him, sad that she had ruined the moment.

"No, I'm sorry. I was just…thinking. You startled me, that's all."

Jack nodded and they began walking again, both lost in thought. Jack wondered if he should try a second time, but he wasn't sure if he was just being foolish. Maybe she really didn't want him touching her. But with everything else that had happened on this trip so far…was he just reading the signs wrong?

He was jerked out of his thoughts at the feel of Chloe's hand tentatively sliding into his own. When he turned his head to look at her, he saw that a small blush was creeping up her neck as she kept her gaze straight ahead, refusing to look at him. Jack smiled and squeezed her hand, reassuring her that this was okay.

***

An hour later they found themselves on a secluded beach. Chloe walked halfway to the water before setting her backpack down and opening it, rummaging through its contents. Jack watched her in amusement.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Chloe pulled out a blanket and spread it on the sand underneath the shade of a tree, using rocks to weigh the corners down. She then kneeled in front of the bag and pulled out containers, opening them one by one and setting them on the blanket. When she was finished she looked up at Jack and said simply, "Lunch."

Jack grinned and sat down across from her, pleasantly surprised by the little picnic she had set up. They ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the breeze that was coming off the water. Chloe had ordered sandwiches from room service while Jack had been in the shower, and they feasted on those as they watched the waves crash against the sand. When they were finished, Chloe packed up all of the containers and put them back in her bag. Then she pulled out two books, handing one to Jack.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at the book in confusion.

"A book."

Jack sighed. "I can see that, Chloe."

"Then why did you ask?" she replied as she slipped on her sunglasses and tried to get comfortable laying down on the blanket.

"You know what I meant."

Chloe propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him. "I thought we could just sit and read. You know, enjoy the day. Isn't that what you're supposed to do on a tropical island?"

Jack smiled at her, realizing that she had planned this whole day – packing the lunch, picking the trail, finding the beach. "Yeah it is," he said. He looked around him and then scooted back to the tree behind them and leaned against it, opening his book. Satisfied, Chloe laid back down and tried to get comfortable again. She tried sitting up, laying on her stomach, leaning on her arm – nothing was working. She glared at Jack, who was obviously comfortable, but he kept his eyes on his book, suppressing the grin that tugged at his mouth. Chloe weighed her options in her mind, finally deciding to throw caution to the wind.

Jack watched from the corner of his eye as Chloe got up and walked towards him. He figured she was going to demand that he move over and share his tree. Instead, she pulled his knees apart and planted herself right in front of him, leaning against his chest for support. She shifted a couple times, sending waves of electricity throughout Jack's body, and then settled down and opened her book. Jack couldn't see it, but she grinned as she felt his heartbeat race against her back.

Jack nearly choked at her proximity. Did she realize what she was doing to him? He concentrated on slowing his breathing and regaining control of his body. Deciding that a little revenge was in order, he wrapped his left arm around her waist, sliding his fingers under the hem of her shirt and letting them stroke her skin. Hearing the hitch in her breath, he pulled her closer, placed a kiss on the side of her neck and opened his book.

***

As the sun began to set, Jack set his book down and wrapped his right arm around Chloe's waist so that she was completely surrounded by him. At this she closed her book as well and leaned her head back onto his chest, placing her hands over his.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

"What is?"

"How easy it is to spend a whole day doing nothing – and to enjoy every second of it."

Chloe smiled at that. She never imagined that they would be sharing something like this, that they would ever get to enjoy each other's company in a situation that didn't involve bombs or terrorists.

"I'm taking you to dinner tonight," Jack stated, interrupting her thoughts.

"Okay."

"Some place nice. So you have to wear dress."

"Now you're pushing it," Chloe replied.

"I have to dress nice too."

"Have you ever worn a dress?"

"No."

"Then I win."

Jack paused for a moment, and then said quietly, "I want to do it right this time."

Chloe froze, not believe what she had just heard. "What?"

"I screwed up last night, Chloe. I know I drank too much. I'm going to do it right this time." He paused again. "I'm going to be sober when I seduce you."

"Seduce me?" Chloe squeaked.

"Do you have any objections to that?" he asked, wondering if this would be easier or harder looking her in the face.

Chloe crinkled her nose. "I thought I was the one that was supposed to be seducing you," she said.

Jack laughed at that. "Is it possible to seduce each other at the same time?"

Chloe shrugged, trying to hide her nervousness. "Guess we'll find out."

Jack smiled and brought his lips to her ear. "So you'll come? To dinner?"

Chloe sat up and turned his arms so that she could face him. "Of course." Leaning forward, she planted a firm kiss on his lips and then stood up to pack their stuff. As he watched her in wonder, she gave him a classic Chloe look.

"Come on, Jack. If you expect me to go to dinner, you have to give me time to make myself look like a real girl."

Standing up, Jack walked over to her and grabbed her waist from behind, pulling her against him. "You don’t need to do anything extra to look like a "real girl," Chloe. You're stunning as it is."

Smiling at the compliment, Chloe finished packing up their stuff and grabbed his hand, leading him back down the trail toward the hotel.

Sitting on a bed in medical, Jack winced as another wave of pain shot through his ribs. He hated cracked ribs – it was one of those injuries that hurt no matter what you were doing. Sitting, standing, turning, breathing – they all hurt. He sighed as he realized that putting his shirt back on was going to be the worst. But he couldn't walk around CTU half-naked, so he took a deep breath and reached for the offending garment.

His head shot up at the sound of heels clicking across the floor. He watched as Chloe walked up to him nervously, wringing her hands in front of her. He smiled at her, knowing that he owed her an apology for snapping at her earlier over Audrey's file.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Chloe bit her lip and looked around the room, obviously avoiding his eyes. "I'm leaving," she blurted out.

"What?" Jack asked in confusion.

"Not right this second," she continued as though he hadn't said anything. "But after…this. After we find the bad guys and stop them. I'm leaving CTU. For good."

Jack closed his eyes. He didn't want Chloe to go. It was comforting to know that anytime he had to come back here, he would be coming back to her. That she would always be there to give him a small smile…or snip at him for saying or doing something stupid. But he couldn't expect her to wait here forever for him. He opened his eyes again, keeping his gaze locked on the floor.

"That'll be good…for you and Morris. You guys'll do better once you're away from here."

"Morris isn't coming," she said quietly.

Jack's head shot back up. "Why not?"

Chloe shrugged, looking down at her hands as she continued to wring them nervously. "We aren't working. Here or somewhere else. It's just not…we broke up."

"I'm sorry, Chloe."

"It's fine. I mean, it's better this way."

They sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. Chloe shuffled nervously and Jack tried to sift through his thoughts, tried to process that Chloe was actually leaving.

"So you came here to say goodbye?" he finally asked.

Chloe nodded. "I knew you'd be busy with Audrey." Jack thought he hurt a hint of bitterness in her voice, but she hurried on. "And you have a tendency to kinda disappear after these things, so…I just wanted to make sure you knew. And…"

Jack watched her, waiting for her to finish her thought. But she was biting her lip again, eyes roaming. He could tell that she was trying to talk herself out of saying whatever it was she had started to say.

"Just say it, Chloe," he prodded gently.

She looked up at him again, and he could see tears in her eyes. "I promised myself…that I would…do this before I left."

"Do what?" he asked quietly.

"This."

Chloe walked up to him and took his face in her hands, bringing his mouth to hers. She kissed him gently, moving her lips against his sensuously.

The last thing Jack had expected her to do was kiss him. He froze in shock at the contact, but quickly relaxed against her mouth. Not fully comprehending what he was doing, he started to kiss her back, bringing his hands to her waist and pulling her closer, hooking his ankles around her thighs to keep her in place. Her tongue flicked out to taste his lips, and Jack immediately opened his mouth to her, reaching his own tongue out to meet hers.

Chloe gasped as Jack deepened the kiss. She reached one of her arms around his neck as the other slid down his bare chest and around his waist. She had never imagined that Jack would pull her closer, kiss her back. Her brain fell into a stupor as she reveled in his touch, in the feel of his bare skin under her hands.

But then Chloe remembered Audrey. She remembered the look in Jack's eye when he had demanded the file. She remembered the satellite feed when he had finally found her. She remembered him carrying her in to CTU.

Placing her hands back on his face, Chloe pulled away, wanting to cry at the loss of contact. She looked in his eyes, physical pain boring into her at the thought of never seeing him again after today. But she gave him a small smile, and one more small kiss on the mouth.

"Goodbye, Jack," she whispered before turning and walking out.

***

Audrey was awake when Jack walked in. He had brought her straight to medical when they got back to CTU, and they had sent him to another room to get his ribs checked. He leaned against the doorway, watching her, his mind still reeling from his encounter with Chloe a few minutes ago.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Audrey turned her head, smiling at the sight of him. But then he saw something else flit across her eyes, something he couldn't quite place.

"Hey," she said back, and Jack detected nervousness in her voice.

They stayed like that, staring at each other. Jack found it odd that he was having another awkward silence with a woman he cared deeply for.

"Jack, I-" Audrey faltered, not sure how to say it.

"It's okay, Audrey," Jack assured her, finally understanding her nervousness. "I saw the ring."

Tears stung Audrey's eyes as she fingered the ring on her left hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Jack smiled at her and walked to her bed. "Don't be," he said, taking her hand in his. "I'm happy for you."

The tears were now sliding down her face. "I just couldn't do it again, Jack. I couldn't wait and not know…"

"It's okay," he said again, wishing he could make her understand that he wasn't angry. He sat down on the edge of the bed and wiped the tears from her face. "We both knew it wasn't going to work, Audrey. Your instinct to leave me was right the first time. I think we just got caught up in seeing each other again, in finding out that the other was alright."

Audrey nodded, surprised that this didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. She watched as Jack sank back into his own thoughts, and a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"You found someone else," she whispered.

Jack shook his head. "No...I don't know."

Audrey smirked. "Or is it that you finally saw what was right in front of you this whole time?"

Jack jerked his eyes back to her, at a loss for words.

Now it was Audrey's turn to assure him. "It's okay, Jack. It's about time you realized it. I used to think you two could never fit, but after watching you two work together time after time…I'm starting to think that she's the only one you could fit with."

Jack kept his head down, trying desperately to make his brain work. "She's leaving," he said quietly.

Audrey put her free hand under his chin and lifted his eyes to hers. "So why aren't you going with her?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "When you first disappeared, Jack, all I could think of was finding you again. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. But then…when I met Jim…God, Jack. I hated myself for having feelings for him. I thought I was betraying you. And maybe I was. But I realized that the reason Jim and I worked so well was because…we didn't have to fight between worlds. We both wanted the same things. We saw things the same way. Jack, I could never be okay with your world. I could never be okay with knowing the things you have to do here everyday. And even if you walked away…you wouldn't be happy in my world either. But maybe you and Chloe can…find a new world together." Audrey crinkled her nose and laughed. "And maybe I need to find a new metaphor for this. But you know what I mean. You two could be happy."

Jack closed his eyes, willing himself to stop imagining it, to stop imagining what it would be like to be happy with Chloe.

"I don't want to ruin her, too," he said so quietly that Audrey almost didn't hear him.

"Jack…" When he didn't respond, she grabbed his face with both her hands, forcing him to look at her again. "Jack! You did not ruin me. Or Kate. And you're certainly not going to ruin Chloe. But if you don't tell her, if you don't go with her, you're going to break her heart."

"Audrey, I ruin everything I touch. Teri's dead. Claudia's dead. Kim won't speak to me. You've been taken hostage and hurt. I pushed Kate away. What the hell can I offer to Chloe?"

Audrey smiled. "You, Jack. Just you. That's all she's ever wanted."

"Ahem."

Both Jack and Audrey turned to see a man standing in the doorway. Jack saw Audrey's face light up as she let go of his face.

"Jim!" she exclaimed.

He walked hesitantly toward them, eyeing Jack suspiciously. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

Audrey reached out and grabbed her fiancé's hand, pulling him closer to the bed. "No. Jack and I just needed to talk. We're good now."

"Jack…as in…the Jack?"

Jack smiled and stood up, extending his hand to the other man. "It's nice to meet you, Jim." Jim shook his hand, still eyeing him warily. Jack turned back to Audrey, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Thank you, Audrey. And I'm glad you're happy."

He nodded to Jim. "Take good care of her." And then he walked out.

***

Chloe had never been so grateful to see a day end – except maybe that day when Tony and Michelle and Edgar had died. That had easily been the worst day of her entire life. As she packed up the things on her desk, she picked up the picture of her and Edgar that Bill had given her. She smiled even through the sharp pain in her heart as she remembered her friend. She knew that he'd be proud of her for finally leaving this place.

As she finished putting everything in the box, Bill Buchanan walked up to her. He smiled warmly at her, realizing just how much he was going to miss the snarky analyst. She was the best at what she did, but aside from that, she had become like a daughter to him.

"So you're really leaving?" he asked.

Chloe nodded. "Sorry, Mr. Buchanan."

Bill laughed. "Technically I'm not your boss anymore, Chloe. Just call me Bill. And besides, it's time you got out of this place. Go have a normal life."

Chloe snorted. "Fat chance of that."

Before she could stop him, Bill took a step closer and wrapped her in a hug, holding her tightly. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, but then returned the embrace, surprised at the emotion that welled up in her throat.

When they finally pulled back, they were both startled to see Jack standing a few feet away, obviously not wanting to intrude on their moment. Chloe was sure he'd be in medical with Audrey, and she couldn’t figure out why he would be here when they had already said their goodbyes.

"Jack," Bill said. "Just the man I wanted to see. I thought we could talk about maybe finding you a place here at CTU again."

Jack smiled but shook his head. "Sorry, Bill. But I'm not coming back."

Bill's eyes widened in amazement, and Chloe's struggled to keep the shock from her face. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Jack looked at Chloe. "You'll have to ask her, sir."

Bill looked at the two of them, taking in Jack's smugness and Chloe's surprise. He decided it was time for him to leave. He shook Jack's hand. "It was nice to see you again, Jack. And I hope you find someplace you can be happy…and someone you can be happy with." The last line was delivered with a pointed look at Chloe. Then Bill smiled at the two of them and walked back to his office.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Chloe asked as soon as Bill was out of earshot.

"I want to come with you."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No. You don't."

Jack sighed. "Chloe. You don't get to kiss me like that and then just leave. That's not fair."

"What about Audrey?"

"She's engaged, Chloe. And she's happy. And I think it's about time you and I got to be happy too."

"I won't do it, Jack," Chloe said, shaking her head.

"Do what? Be happy?"

"No. I won't be your rebound fling."

It was then that Jack saw how scared she was. She just couldn't bring herself to believe that he meant it, that he actually wanted to be with her. Realizing that words were going to get him nowhere, Jack leaned in and kissed her.

Chloe immediately sank into the kiss, unable to stop her body's reactions. Jack gathered her body into his and held her tightly as he slowly kissed her, taking his time as he fully explored her mouth. His ribs ached as he pulled her even tighter, but he wanted to make sure there was no doubt left in her mind about where he wanted to be. When he finally pulled back, Chloe's eyes remained closed as she struggled to get her breathing under control again.

Jack gently squeezed her hips. "Take me with you," he whispered.

Chloe slowly opened her eyes. "Are you sure?"

Jack held her gaze, making sure she saw the truth in his eyes. "Yes."

Chloe nodded, and Jack pulled away to pick up her box. He turned back to see her watching him, relief and wonderment evident on her face.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded, and he leaned in to give her another quick kiss. He tucked the box under his right arm and wrapped the other around her waist as he led her off the floor.

Milo stopped nervously outside Jack’s office. He fiddled with the disk in his hands, wondering for the millionth time if he really wanted to go through with this. He took a deep breath and knocked – he just had to know.

“Come in.”

Milo walked into the office and made sure that the door shut securely behind him. Jack was sitting at his desk, hunched over some paperwork. He looked up when Milo didn’t say anything.

“What do you need, Milo?” he asked.

“There’s, uh…something I think you should see,” Milo answered hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“Well…um…first I have to ask you a question.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not gonna like it.”

“Why not?”

“Because…um…well…it’s personal and really none of my business.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “What’s this about Milo?”

Milo looked around the room, trying to avoid Jack’s somewhat intimidating glare. He was suddenly rethinking his decision to try and satisfy his curiosity.

“You have to answer the question or I can’t show it to you.”

“Milo…” Jack warned.

“No, Jack. Promise to answer the question and I’ll let you see it.”

Jack sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was intrigued. Either he answered whatever question the kid had, or he lived with not knowing. He sighed again.

“Fine. I promise.”

“You also have to promise not to hit me or pull out your gun.”

"Milo…"

"Promise me."

"Fine. I promise."

Milo took a deep breath. Despite Jack's promise, he was still afraid that he might jump over the desk and kill him.

"Have you ever kissed Chloe?" he asked quickly.

"Excuse me?" Jack growled.

"Have you ever kissed Chloe?" Milo asked a little slower.

"I don't see how-"

"That's any of my business? I know. But you promised."

Jack sighed. He was contemplating tackling Milo and just taking the disk from him. But it was the middle of the day, and there were too many witnesses.

"No," he answered.

Milo's eyebrows raised as his suspicions were confirmed. "You're sure?"

Jack stood up and leaned forward on his desk, his voice menacing. "I think I would remember, Milo."

Milo swallowed hard and then held out the disk he'd been holding. "Then you'll want to see this. I was going through the archives when I found it. It's from a few years ago."

Jack took the disk from him, looking at it in confusion. He couldn't imagine what was on it that had Milo acting so weird. Looking up, he saw the younger man stop in the doorway on his way out.

"And please don't kill me for having seen it," he said before shutting the door behind him.

***

Jack felt his face grow steadily hotter as he watched the video – first in anger, then in embarrassment, and finally in lust as he watched himself and Chloe making out on the floor of his office. He nearly choked at his forwardness when Chloe told him that he didn't want to have sex with her. And as he watched her tuck him in and kiss him gently, Jack smiled at the idea that came to mind.

***

Chloe glared at Milo when she caught him staring at her again. He had been acting weird all day and she was getting sick of him looking at her. She was about to get up and confront him when Jack leaned over her chair, his face right next to hers.

"I need to talk to you," he said quietly in her ear.

"Okay."

"Not here."

Chloe looked up at him, a frown on her face.

"It's not about work," he explained.

Chloe's frown grew deeper as she got up and followed Jack down to one of the interrogation rooms. He held the door open for her and when she walked in, she saw a laptop set up on the table. Jack followed her in and shut the door firmly behind him.

"Jack, what's going on?" she asked.

"Did you know there's a surveillance camera in my office?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Do you know how long it's been there?"

"A couple of years ago, I guess. What does this have to do with anything?"

Jack walked over to the laptop and pressed a couple of keys, pulling Chloe over so that she could see what was on the screen.

"It was more than a couple of years ago," he said.

Chloe watched in horror as the computer showed herself and Jack yelling at each other and then proceeding to make out with each other, finally ending up on the floor and rolling around. She had managed to put that behind her. It helped that she really hadn't liked him when it happened, and he didn't seem to remember a thing.

Jack kept his eyes on Chloe's face. He needed to know how she felt about what had happened. She watched her cheeks flush in embarrassment, and then in…something else. Jack turned the computer off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Look, Jack. You were drunk and kinda depressed. I know you wouldn't have kissed me otherwise. Let's just forget this, okay?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I didn't want to see that look on your face."

Jack's brow furrowed. "What look?"

Chloe sighed. "That guilty look. When you think that you've hurt someone. I didn't want you to have to feel bad about it. It's not a big deal. Besides," she paused. "You're a good kisser, so it wasn't that bad."

Jack sighed. "I really don't remember, Chloe."

"I know," she answered, looking down at the ground.

"But I want to."

Chloe's head shot up. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't play with me like that, Jack. I know you would never touch me sober."

Jack took her face in his hands, making her look at him. "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's the truth. I'm just the weird girl that you go to when you need help breaking the law. We all know that."

"No, Chloe. You're my best friend. The only one I trust." He took a deep breath. "The woman I love."

Chloe's lip quivered as she tried to reign in her emotions.

"Liar," she whispered.

"It's the truth," he whispered back as he brought his lips to hers.

Chloe wanted to fight the kiss, fight the possibility that he was telling the truth. But all the fight went out of her the moment his lips touched hers and she sank into him. It was gentle this time, and slow. When they broke apart, Jack leaned his forehead against hers and smiled.

"You know, Chloe. I was right."

Chloe crinkled her nose in confusion. "Right about what?"

"I do want to have sex with you."

"Jack, you were drunk."

"That night it might have been the alcohol talking. But the past couple of years…I was completely sober for those."

"Are you saying you've wanted to have sex with me for two years?"

"Maybe even a little longer than that," he replied.

Chloe frowned. "Then what took you so long?"

"I'm stupid."

"Don't I know it," she grumbled.

"How can I make it up to you?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"Well you could start by kissing me again."

"My pleasure," he mumbled as he kissed her again, more deeply this time.

They reluctantly broke apart as Jack's cell phone rang.

"Damnit," he whispered before answering it. "Bauer."

"Jack, it's Milo."

"What do you want?"

"Just thought you should know that there are cameras in that room, too."

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I am working. I'm monitoring the cameras."

"Remind me to shoot you later, Milo."

"Fat chance of that."

Jack hung up and looked at Chloe, who was watching him with a confused look on her face. Then he took the disk out of the laptop, pocketing it, and grabbed her hand.

"Come on."

"Jack, where are we going?"

"Home."

"But it's the middle of the day."

"We're both sick. Coming down with the flu."

"Jack-"

He pushed her up against the door gently, but firmly, pressing his whole body against hers and whispering in her ear. "I want you, Chloe. Right now. But there are cameras everywhere and I don't want Milo seeing any more than he already has. So we're going home and I am making love to you for the rest of the day. Do you understand?"

Chloe's breath caught in her throat at his words and proximity. The feel of his body against hers was making her remember what it felt like to have him on top of her, touching her, kissing her. Afraid that her voice would shake, she just nodded and he smiled.

As Jack pulled her out into the hallway, she stopped again.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean you don't want Milo to see any more than he already has? What did Milo see?"

Jack laughed. "He was the one who found the video."

"And he watched it?" Chloe practically screeched.

Jack nodded and Chloe wheeled around, headed for the main floor. Jack caught her by the waist before she could get there. Standing behind her, he brought his head down to her neck and placed a lingering kiss just behind her left ear.

"Would you rather throttle Milo or come have sex with me?" he asked, his voice low with desire.

Chloe closed her eyes at the feel of his lips on her skin. "Good point," she whispered. "Let's go home."

Chloe sighed as she realized that, once again, she was the last one at work. The day had been chaotic to say the least, and everyone had gone home as soon as they could. She wanted to go visit Chase at the hospital, but she knew that Kim was hovering, and Chloe really didn't want to deal with the nearly-hysterical Bauer child.

Deciding that she should just go home, Chloe checked her desk to make sure that she didn't have anything else that needed to be done. She saw a report that needed to go up to Jack's office, but then she would be free to go relax and enjoy a night to herself. In the morning she was picking up Angela, and the little girl would stay with her until Chase was released from the hospital. Turning off her computer, Chloe grabbed the report and headed up to Jack's office.

When she opened the door, Chloe was surprised to see that Jack was there, sitting behind his desk. He didn't look up when she entered, too busy focusing on the scotch in front of him. Chloe paused and frowned, not knowing what to do. She really just wanted to leave the report and go home, but she didn't think she could just leave her boss here drunk and depressed.

"Jack?"

"Go away," he said, not even bothering to look up at her.

Chloe looked down at the report in her hands, wondering if she should just put it on his desk and leave. She couldn't stand the man, and it didn't look like he was any more enjoyable drunk than he was sober. But something nagged at her, and she realized that she would probably worry about it all night if she just left him here.

"Jack," she tried again.

"I said go away, O'Brian," he growled.

"No."

Jack finally looked up, and Chloe was shocked at the anger and pain in his eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said no, Jack. I'm not just gonna leave you here to wallow. You have to go home to do that."

"Just leave me alone."

"No."

"I don’t want you here."

"I don't want to be here."

"Then why won't you leave?"

"Because, Jack," she sighed. "I'm not going to leave you alone up here with your guilt, your scotch and your gun. I'm not that stupid."

"You know what, O'Brian? I've had enough of your personality problems today." Jack's voice was growing louder and Chloe inwardly groaned as she realized that they had moved into the angry stage of his wallowing.

"And I've had enough of your martyr-complex," she retorted.

"Are you looking to get fired?" Jack yelled.

"Oh give it up, Jack. The empty threats are getting pretty old," Chloe yelled back.

Jack stood up and pointed to the door. "GET OUT!" he roared.

Instead of leaving, Chloe marched up to him, placed the report on his desk and then pointed at his chest.

"Look, Jack. Everyone else might be intimidated by you, but I'm not. You don't scare me. So just quit your yelling and grow up."

"Grow up?" he snarled, grabbing her arms and dragging her closer. "I had to cut off my partner's hand today. My daughter is sitting by his side at the hospital because I had to sacrifice her BOYFRIEND'S HAND. I-"

"Yeah, yeah, Chase lost his hand. I get that Jack. He's my friend too. But sitting up here and drowning your sorrows isn't going to miraculously grow it back. Feel guilty, suck it up, and move on. Maybe sober up enough to go visit him, instead of sitting up here like the tortured hero you keep picturing yourself as."

Jack stared at her, shocked that she would talk to him like that. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but that probably meant that it was exactly what he needed. Chloe just kept looking at him, her face determined and her eyes completely devoid of fear. It seemed that Jack Bauer had finally met his match when it came to being stubborn.

"So are you done now?" Chloe asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you done? With the yelling and the drinking?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, still staring at her.

"So are you going to let me go now?"

Jack realized then that he was still holding her arms, her face inches from his. He knew she should let her go, but he suddenly didn't want to.

"No," he answered before crashing his lips against hers.

Chloe's first instinct to pull away fled from her almost instantaneously. Jack immediately pushed her against the filing cabinet behind her and moved his tongue against her lips, begging for access. Chloe knew that she shouldn't let him, but her mouth opened of its own accord and then their tongues were fighting for dominance. Jack moved one arm down to wrap around her waist and tangled the other hand in her blonde hair. Chloe felt herself being pushed even harder against the cold metal behind her as she reached her arms around Jack's neck to pull him closer.

Jack dragged his lips away from hers and moved his focus to her neck. He kissed every inch of her skin, paying special attention to the spot right under her left ear. Chloe moaned as his teeth grazed her skin and his hand wandered under her shirt and up her back.

"Chloe…" he groaned before bringing his lips back to hers.

Then they were moving away from the desk and toward the couch, Jack walking backwards and pulling Chloe along with him. Before they got there, Jack's feet got tangled and they went crashing to the floor next to the couch, Chloe on top. Jack quickly rolled her so that she was on the bottom, continuing his assault on her mouth. His hands were everywhere as they tugged at her shirt, her pants. Chloe's brain shouted at her that if she didn't stop this soon, she was going to end up having sex with a very drunk Jack Bauer on the floor of his office. She rolled again so that she was back on top, and then she very reluctantly pulled her lips off of his.

"Jack, stop," she breathed.

"Why?" he asked, reaching to pull her back down.

Chloe pushed him back down. "Because you don't want to have sex with me."

"My body begs to differ."

Chloe blushed, since she could feel the obvious bulge in his pants. The sensation made her want to throw herself at him again, but she stood up instead, extending her hand to him.

"Come on, Jack. Get up."

He watched her for a moment before deciding that she really wasn't going to sleep with him. Groaning, he took her hand and stood up, although his legs threatened to drop him right back on the floor.

"Are you going home or staying here?" Chloe asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. If you're going home, I'm driving you. And either way you're giving me the scotch and your gun."

"Chloe…"

"Don't argue you with me Jack. You lost last time, remember?"

Jack smirked at her. "I remember," he said softly.

Chloe blushed again. "So which is it?"

"Here."

"Okay. Lay down."

Jack did as he was told, taking off his shoes before laying down on his couch. Chloe found a blanket in the metal cabinet and gently laid it over him. Jack's eyes were already fluttering shut as she made sure that the blanket was wrapped around him.

"I really do want to have sex with you," he whispered.

Chloe smiled sadly. "No you don't, Jack," she whispered back before kissing him tenderly on the mouth. "Go to sleep." She placed a quick kiss on his forehead.

Walking over to his desk, she grabbed his gun and the scotch and locked them in the bottom drawer of his desk. Then she took the keys, placing them in her pocket. As she walked out of his office, she turned back. "Goodnight Jack." And then she turned off the lights and shut the door behind her.

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.

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."

The day finally over, Jack leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as he finally allowed himself to relax a little. Another day from Hell was behind him, and Jack found himself wondering exactly how many Hell had left to throw at him. He opened his eyes again and surveyed the room. Milo was leaning against Nadia's station, obviously flirting with her. Bill was talking to one of the new techs, making sure the poor kid wasn't having a coronary from the events of the day.

Jack's eyes continued to drift until they rested on Chloe. She was logging out of her station and gathering her things. Morris was with her and they were talking. Milo had told him that they had fought most of the day, but things seemed to be okay now. Jack smiled ruefully to himself. She was finally happy, and in a life that didn't involve him in any way.

He watched the couple walk off the CTU floor and toward the corridor that would lead them out. Morris had slung an arm around her shoulders, bringing her in closer, but Chloe kept looking around and behind her. They were at the door, and he almost let them go. But as Morris put his hand out to push the door open, Jack's mouth betrayed him.

"Chloe!"

She turned as Jack stepped out of the shadows. A small smile grew on her face, and he was suddenly certain that it was him that she had been looking for a moment ago. She moved away from the circle of Morris' arm and walked over to him.

"Jack," she said. "I thought you had left."

He shook his head. "Can I talk to you?"

"Chloe, come on!" Morris called from the door.

She turned to look back at him, and Jack suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

"Please, Chloe," he begged. "Don't leave with him."

Chloe's eyes were big as she turned to face Jack again. The look in his eyes pleaded with her to understand, to trust him just once more, but this time she needed a reason.

"Why?" she asked.

"I…I…" Jack stammered, unable to get the words out.

Chloe pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I can't, Jack. Not if you can't even bring yourself to say it." She turned to walk back to Morris.

"I love you," he whispered.

Chloe stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes locked on Morris'. Her ex-husband saw the way Jack was looking at her, and he saw the expression on her face as Chloe was faced with a difficult decision. He knew who she wanted to be with. He'd known all along. But he was fairly certain that Jack would never say anything or act on his feelings – and as long as that was the case, Chloe could be his. But he saw it all change in her eyes. Even if she chose to stay with him, she would never be his. He bowed his head in defeat. When he looked back up, there were tears streaming down Chloe's cheeks.

"It's okay, love," he told her. Raising his voice he turned to Jack. "If you hurt her again, Bauer, I will kill you." And with that he walked out alone.

Chloe's still had her back to him, and Jack walked up behind her. Tentatively he placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her around. Before he had the chance though, Chloe wheeled on him.

"Took you long enough!" she snapped, punching him in the arm.

"I'm a little slow," he replied, a smile growing on his face as he rubbed his arm.

"No, Jack. You're stupid," Chloe corrected him.

"Can you ever forgive me?"

Chloe frowned. "That depends."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "On what?"

"How good you are in bed."

Jack nearly choked at her response.

Seeing the look on his face Chloe sighed. "I've waited a long time, Jack. I've got pretty high expectations."

Deciding to play her game, Jack said, "You might have to cut me some slack, Chloe. I haven't had sex in…" his voice trailed off as Jack actually realized just how long it had been. "Oh God."

Chloe smirked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him up against her. "Don't worry, Jack. That just means I'll have to remind you." With a mischievous grin she leaned in to kiss him. Jack's hands came up and tangled in her hair, bringing her even closer. When they pulled apart, Jack placed a quick kiss on her forehead and took her hand.

"We'd better get going then. Seems I have a lot to catch up on." He smiled at her and they walked out.

...two fics in one day. My best friend nagged me this afternoon to write a J/C fic with no crying and manly Jack executing the "grab-and-kiss." Due to the haste with which I had to write it, it is not my best work. But I thought I would share anyway. And I did learn one thing from writing this: take charge Jack = horny Jack.

            Jack endured the ride back to CTU in silence. His experience in the Russian consulate had been sobering, and now he was lost in thought.
            His only thought when he broke into the consulate was getting the information he needed to stop the nukes. He hadn't been thinking about China or Kim or Audrey or the fact that he would most likely be killed. He just wanted to stop the bad guys. That was really all he ever wanted.
            But after he had been captured, Jack's thoughts turned to other things. He didn't want to be tortured again. He didn't want to die. But the reason for him wanting to stay alive wasn't what he had expected it to be. He didn't long to see Audrey again. He wasn't clinging to some hope of reconciling with Kim. The only face he could see in his mind was…Chloe's. For some reason, he wanted to rush back to CTU and…
            Jack shook his head. He'd never had those thoughts about Chloe before. Well, not often anyway. Once or twice (or more) while he was in hiding. When she ran into his arms and he realized that she was okay. This morning when he had finally walked back into CTU and he had seen that she had dyed her hair brown.
            Jack suddenly found himself wondering how her hair would feel in his hands. He wanted to know, and was filled with a sudden urgency to get back to CTU and find out. But thinking about touching her hair only led to more thoughts about touching the rest of her. He wanted to know what it felt like to hold her hand, to slide his hands up under her shirt, to push her up against the wall and…
            "We're here," Curtis told him, breaking into his thoughts.

***

This particular debrief with Bill was the longest Jack had ever had to endure. He knew that it had to be done, but all he really wanted to do was go find Chloe and…

            "Alright, Jack, I think that about covers it," Bill said, standing up and extending his hand across the table.
            "Thanks, Bill," Jack said, shaking his hand.
            "I think we might need to ban you from foreign consulates for a while, though."
            Jack chuckled. "Yeah. That might not be such a bad idea," he conceded.
            Bill's face grew serious again. "Jack…this is going to sound odd, but…you're either going to want to go find Chloe right now or avoid her completely. You have to pick one or the other."
            "What are you talking about?"
            "She's furious with you, Jack. We finally get you out of China, and you go rushing back into another consulate. So…either find her and calm her down, or…run for your life."
            Jack nodded and walked out of the room.

***

            Chloe was at her station, quietly seething. The look on her face clearly told everyone to leave her alone. She couldn't believe that Jack had done something so stupid…again. She wanted to either hit him…or pin him against a wall and make out with him. She wasn't entirely sure which yet. Her scowl grew deeper as she saw the cause of her distress walking towards her.
            "Chloe," he started, a smile on his face.
            "Go away Jack."
            "I want to talk to you."
            "Well I don't want to talk to you. I don't talk to guys who have a death wish."
            "Chloe…"
            Chloe slammed her hand down on her desk, startling both of them. "No, Jack! Did you just forget the last eighteen months you spent being tortured by crazy Chinese people? Or were you just that eager to compare how the crazy Russians would treat you?"
            "Chloe…" Jack lowered his voice, anger seeping through that she wouldn't let him talk to her.
            "No. You obviously don't care about the people you leave behind. So just leave me alone, Jack."
            Chloe stood up to leave her station, and to leave Jack, but he was quicker. Roughly grabbing her arm he all but dragged her off the floor and down a secluded CTU corridor. When he stopped, he pushed her up against the wall, his hands pinning her arms and his face mere inches from hers.
            "You think I don't care?" he growled at her. "You think I want to die? I did what I had to do, Chloe, for the good of the country-"
            Jack's speech was cut off as Chloe's fist came in contact with his face. She had a mean right hook, and Jack had to blink a couple of times and shake his head to focus again. When he looked back at Chloe, her face was flushed with anger. She pushed against his chest and then turned to walk away from him. So Jack did the one thing she'd never see coming.
            Grabbing her arm and spinning her back around, he brought his lips crashing down to hers. She tried to pull back, startled, but Jack pulled her flush against his body, forcing her mouth open and attacking her tongue. Chloe tried weakly to push away from, but her heart wasn't it. She decided instead to focus her attention on kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing herself back against him.
            Jack groaned as Chloe pushed their bodies closer. He dragged her back against the wall and pinned her there with his lower body, letting his hands roam. He started with her hair, feeling how soft it was as it slid between his fingers. Then he cradled her head in his hands so that he could gain greater access to her mouth. From there he moved down, lightly brushing over her breasts. Chloe moaned and arched her back, managing somehow to get even closer. Her hands were playing with the hair at the nape of his neck and Jack was beginning to lose any powers of cohesive thought. He slid his hands further down, resting them on her hips. Her shirt had ridden up the slightest bit from their little tussle, and he toyed with the edges of the fabric, giving her goosebumps. Finally he slid one hand up the back of her shirt, while the other splayed out across her lower back and held her even tighter. Chloe's hands had slid down to his waist as well and were now exploring his stomach and chest beneath his shirt. The restriction of clothing was becoming too much for Jack, and he dipped his thumb beneath the waistband of her skirt…
            "Ahem," a stern voice interrupted.
            Jack and Chloe jumped apart, both refusing to meet Bill's gaze, attempting to smooth out their clothes and regain their composure.
            "I'm sorry Mr. Buchanan. We were just-"
            Bill put up a hand. "Don't Chloe. I know exactly what you two were doing." He turned to Jack. "When I told you to go find Chloe, I didn't mean for you to have your way with her in a back hallway of CTU."
            Jack looked down at the floor, trying to look ashamed when really all he could think about was touching Chloe again. "I'm sorry sir-"
            "That's what we have holding rooms for."
            Both Jack and Chloe's heads snapped up. But Bill had already turned around and started to walk away. They looked at each other warily, wondering what the other was thinking.
            "Does Holding 2 have that one-way mirror?" Jack asked suddenly.
            "No. That's Holding 1," Chloe answered.
            Jack grabbed her hand and started dragging her after him. "Holding 2 it is then."

Alrighty, guys. Here's the third installment of Somewhere Warm....

After settling into their luxurious room, Chloe and Jack decided to spend their first day at the beach. Jack used the bathroom to change, leaving Chloe the bedroom. Opening her bags, she nearly choked at what Nadia had packed for her. Most of the things weren't even her clothes – Nadia must have gone shopping for her.

Chloe gulped as she pulled out what she assumed to be her bathing suit. It was small and black and in two pieces – definitely not something she would ever have picked out. She desperately searched the rest of her bags, but the slinky black number was the only bathing suit packed. Chloe grimaced and began to change while imagining horrible torture techniques to use on Nadia when they got home.

***

Jack sighed as he leaned on the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He had forgotten that going to the beach would mean wearing a bathing suit. And that wearing his swim trunks would mean that his scars would be visible for the world to see. He could get away with wearing a t-shirt down to the beach, but once they were there, there would be no reason to keep it on. Who went to the Bahamas and kept their shirt on? You were pretty much expected to waltz around in your bathing suit the entire time you were there.

He slipped his shirt over his head and sighed again. Realizing that hiding in the bathroom all day wasn't an option, he opened the bathroom door and walked back into the bedroom.

***

Jack's jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Chloe. The black bikini top she was wearing accentuated every curve and left very little to the imagination. She had put on a green beach wrap, but the material was nearly sheer, and Jack could see that the bottom of the bathing suit didn't cover much either. He was left utterly speechless as he stared at her.

Chloe crossed her arms and fidgeted, feeling extremely uncomfortable under Jack's scrutiny. She couldn't tell if he was staring because she looked that bad or because he was enjoying the view. She really hoped it was the latter. But he just continued to stare at her, and Chloe finally couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm going to kill Nadia," she blurted.

Jack reluctantly tore his eyes from her body and tried to focus on her face instead. "Huh?"

"Nadia. I'm going to kill her. Right after I kill Milo."

"Why Nadia?" asked Jack, still very much confused.

"Do you see this?" Chloe yelled, gesturing at her barely-clad body. Jack fervently wished she wouldn't do that, seeing as how he was already having trouble focusing on anything BUT her body. "Does this look like something I would wear?"

It was then that Jack realized that Chloe was nervous about her appearance. She had no clue how absolutely stunning she looked on normal days – nevermind when she was wearing that little black bikini…

Jack snapped his thoughts back and walked over to her, placing his hands on her hips as she watched him warily. "Chloe, you look amazing," he whispered, looking her straight in the eye. She fidgeted some more, but eventually stopped as she realized he was being sincere.

"Thanks," she whispered back, a broad grin growing on her face.

Jack squeezed her hips and turned to pick up the bag that held their towels and umbrella. "But I expect that wrap to come off as soon as we find a spot on the beach," he said over his shoulder as he walked toward the door.

Chloe's eyes widened for a moment before she came back with a retort. "And I expect you to lose that damn t-shirt. If I have to be half-naked, you have to be half-naked with me, Bauer." And with that she sashayed out of the suite leaving a shocked Jack following in her wake.

***

There were quite a few people on the beach, but not enough to feel crowded. Jack and Chloe easily found a spot and laid out their towels next to each other. Jack set up their beach umbrella, but Chloe turned it so that it was shading the sand behind their towels. At Jack's inquiring glance, she replied, "I didn't come here to sit in the shade, Jack."

As Jack settled down on his towel, he was suddenly distracted as Chloe took off her wrap. He never would have guessed that she had such gorgeous legs, but there they were, staring him right in the face. Breathing was suddenly becoming an issue for him as she sat next to him.

"Your turn," she said, turning to him expectantly.

"My turn for what?" he asked.

Chloe reached over and began tugging his shirt up. "To lose the shirt, Jack. We had a deal remember?"

Pushing her hands down gently, but firmly, Jack replied, "No Chloe. My shirt is fine just where it is."

"Come on, Jack. You can't be nervous about how you look. You're gorgeous," Chloe replied as she kept fighting to rid him of his shirt.

Jack stopped, still holding the bottom of his shirt down. "Gorgeous?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

Chloe gave him a withering glance. "You know you're gorgeous, Bauer. Now take off the damn shirt!"

Jack continued to fight her on the subject. "Chloe, what does it matter? Just leave my shirt alone!"

Chloe didn't even spare him a reply this time. She just continued working on getting his shirt over his head. Finally Jack grabbed her wrists firmly and looked her in the eye.

"Chloe stop."

At the seriousness of his tone, Chloe did stop. She looked at Jack in confusion, wondering why he was giving her such a hard time about this. It wasn't like he was going to be exposing any more skin than she already was…

"Your scars," she whispered.

Jack looked away and nodded, letting go of her wrists. Chloe watched him for a minute, willing him to look at her. But he just kept his head down. She sat there thinking, wondering how she could convince him that it was okay, that they didn't bother anybody else and that they shouldn't bother him.

Finally she stood up with a determined look on her face and pulled the t-shirt over his head before he could recover from his surprise. She calmly folded the shirt, ignoring the look he was giving her. He was still staring at her as she sat down next to him again. She returned his gaze before planting a quick kiss on his shoulder.

"You're still gorgeous," she said.

Jack couldn't help but smile as she laid down in the sun.

***

"Chloe, you're going to burn," he said a few minutes later.

"I don't care," she mumbled, her voice muffled by the towel. She was lying on her stomach, letting her back and legs soak in the tropical sun.

"You will tonight when it starts to hurt and the rest of your vacation is ruined," he pointed out.

Chloe sighed, but propped herself up on her elbows and looked at Jack. "Okay."

Jack nodded. "Good."

Chloe continued to stare at him, but Jack couldn't figure out what she wanted.

"Well?" she prodded.

"Well what?" he asked.

She reached over and grabbed the suntan lotion out of her bag and tossed it to him. "I can't reach my back," she said in explanation before lying back down.

Jack stared at her body with something akin to terror. It wasn't that he didn't want to touch Chloe – on the contrary, that was pretty much all he wanted to do. But if he put this lotion on her, he would only be able to think about the feel of her skin for the rest of the trip – possibly for the rest of his life.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. He could do this, he told himself. It was just a friend helping another friend. While having more than friendly thoughts about her. Jack shut his eyes and tried to expel those images from his mind.

"Squirt and rub, Jack."

"What?" he practically screeched, her voice abruptly pulling him out of his fantasies.

"Suntan lotion. It's pretty simple. You squirt and rub."

"Right," he mumbled.

Thankfully Jack didn't melt when he started rubbing the lotion in. He concentrated on the task at hand, methodically covering every inch of her exposed flesh with the sunscreen. Her skin felt nice under his hands and he found it very difficult to convince himself to stop when the job was finished.

Chloe, on the other hand, was melting. She knew she was playing a dangerous game when she asked Jack to put the sunscreen on her, but she was hoping that her body wouldn't betray her as much as it was. The feel of his hands on her bare back and on her thighs made her want to push him back on his towel and have her way with him right there on the beach. She imagined what it would be like to have Jack Bauer in her bed, touching her like this all over her body. The very thought made her skin go hot, and she thanked God that the sun was so strong. She had to bite back a moan of regret when Jack pulled his hands away and put the cap back on the bottle.

"All set," he said quietly.

Chloe sat up and grabbed the bottle from his hands. "Thanks. Your turn."

Jack shook his head. "Chloe…"

"Oh shut up, Jack. Your scars don't bother me. Now turn over."

Realizing that it would be useless to fight her on this, Jack laid down on his stomach with out another word. He expected to feel the cool lotion on his back, but was surprised when he just felt Chloe's fingers, tracing his wounds.

"Oh Jack…" she whispered. "What did they do to you?"

Jack found himself shivering as Chloe placed feather-light kisses along his scars. She gave them her full attention and didn't miss a single one. By the time she was putting the sunscreen on her hands, Jack's breathing was already labored.

Her small hands on his back were driving Jack crazy. All he wanted to do was turn over and pull her down with him, kissing her with everything his body was screaming at him. It didn't help matters that she was kneading his muscles as she worked the lotion in, making him groan in pleasure. He suddenly wondered how he was going to make it through the whole vacation sharing a bed with her. He wasn't sure he could even make it one night without kissing her, nevermind two weeks.

With the sunscreen finally dealt with, Jack and Chloe laid down and enjoyed the beach. They both dozed in the hot sun, reveling in the fact that there were no international crises that they had to attend to. All that had to worry about was not burning and remembering to eat.

As the sun began to set, Jack sat back up. He nudged Chloe until she joined him, and they watched the sky dance in brilliant colors as the day came to a close. Jack watched Chloe from the corner of his eye, amazed at how breath-taking she was. It was nice to see her relaxed and enjoying herself.

"I want to be a beach bum," she said suddenly.

Jack laughed. "A beach bum?"

"Yeah. You know, live in a hut on a beach. Maybe run a bar or a tourist shop." She turned to look at him. "It sounds nice."

"Wouldn't you miss your computer?" he asked.

Chloe thought for a minute. "Well, I'd like to have a computer with me. But hacking into systems and doing satellite feeds? I think I could live a happy beach life without those."

Jack stood up and stretched out his hand for her. "Come on," he said.

"Where are we going?"

"Dinner. There's a great place at the other end of the beach."

"But Jack, I need to change."

"No you don't. Put on that little wrap thing and you'll be just fine."

"Jack, that wrap is practically see-through."

"I know," he said smugly.

Chloe glared at him, but accepted his hand. As she put on her wrap, Jack put his shirt back on and packed up their stuff. Then taking her hand, he led her down the beach.

Current Music: Everything I Do (I Do It For You) by Bryan Adams

I promised you guys a fic over the weekend, so here it is. It's a song fic, my first of that kind, actually. I hope you enjoy it.

            The sudden pounding on her door made Chloe bolt up from her bed. She glanced at the clock next to her and saw that it was almost three in the morning. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she shuffled down her stairs to the front door and opened it, a nasty remark on the tip of her tongue.
            The sight before her immediately erased whatever she had been going to say. It was pouring out, and a soaked Jack Bauer stood on her front step. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, and he just stood there, staring at her, letting the rain drench him through and through.
            “Jack?”
            He just continued to stare at her. Finally Chloe took his hand and dragged him into the house, shutting the door behind him. She waited for him to say or do something, but he just stared at her, as though he couldn’t believe that she was really there. She took his face in her hands and pulled him closer.
            “Jack? You have to tell me what’s wrong.”
            “You…you were dead,” he whispered.
            “Dead? Jack, I’m right here…” she trailed off as a thought struck her. “Nightmares. You’re having nightmares.”
            Jack nodded numbly, now staring at the floor. “You were dead,” he whispered again. “They took you and they…they hurt you, and…”
            Chloe wrapped her arms around him and held him close. His arms tightened around her in desperation, soaking her clothes. She tried vainly to remember what you were supposed to say when comforting someone. But then she realized that she probably wouldn’t say it right anyway. So she just held him.
            Eventually she pulled back. “Come on, Jack,” she said, taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs. “Let’s get you dry.”

***

            An hour later they were curled up in Chloe’s bed. She sat up against the pillows and Jack rested his head in her lap. Chloe gently brushed her fingers through her hair and rubbed his arm with her other hand. Jack’s breathing slowed and evened out, and she was thankful that he was finally getting some rest.
            Chloe wasn’t very good at saying the right thing. That was what people always told her. She was awkward and blunt. Right now, all she wanted to do was say the right thing to Jack, to comfort him. But everything that came to mind was either cheesy or abrasive. The only thing in her head that wasn’t either of those was a song. Something she had heard years ago. She bit her lip in nervous thought, wondering if he would wake up and wonder what the hell she was doing.
            “Screw it,” she whispered. And then she started to softly sing.

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

Jack fought the urge to snap his eyes open. The last thing he had expected to hear was Chloe singing to him. He didn’t recognize the song, but he focused on the words as she continued.

When evening shadows and stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

He had to concentrate to keep his breathing slow and steady. He didn’t want her to know that he was awake and listening – he was too afraid that she would stop. Her voice wasn’t amazing, but it was clear and sweet and made him feel…safe. She continued brushing her hands through his hair and rubbing his arm. Jack had never felt so comfortable.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

Jack suddenly thought of Audrey and wondered if seeing him with her had hurt Chloe. He had never really questioned Chloe’s feelings – he had just accepted that she was his best friend and that she would always be there for him. But looking back…he saw something else. And he instantly regretted not seeing it before.

I'd go hungry I’d go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

He remembered all the times that Chloe had gotten in trouble for him. She had been disciplined, fired, arrested. But still she never hesitated to back him up, to do whatever it was he asked of her. He suddenly wondered how he had been so blind.

The storms are raging on a rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't see nothing like me yet

Jack wanted nothing more than to sit up and take her in his arms. To comfort her, to let her know how lucky he was to have her. But he knew that if he did that, she would instantly shut down. She could trust him in the field, with her life, her job. But Chloe O’Brian trusted no one with her heart.

I could make you happy make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love

Chloe’s voice broke a little as she sang the last part of the song. As she finished, she realized that every word of that song was true. She sniffled, wiping away a stray tear. At least she had finally said it, finally admitted how she felt about Jack Bauer. It didn’t matter that he had been asleep at the time.

***

One Month Later

            Chloe sat at the table, sipping her drink and waiting for Jack to get back from the bathroom. Since that night he had shown up at her house, he had stayed with her. Most nights they fell asleep watching TV in her bed. Neither had said anything about that first night, and they quickly fell into a comfortable routine of living together.
            Part of that routine was going to the local coffee shop on Thursday nights. They would sit at the table she occupied now, talking quietly or listening to the live music they had. Sometimes they just sat there, enjoying each other’s company.
            Chloe sighed as she once again wondered how long this could really last. She loved living with Jack. She loved seeing him in a normal way – as something other than the superhero he played at work. But everyday she was afraid that she would wake up and find that he was gone – either back to Audrey or just…gone. She couldn’t breathe sometimes because of the fear. But he was still with her. And they kept going through their routine.
            Music started on the stage, but Chloe’s gaze was focused on the drink in front of her. Lost in thought, she ran the past month through her head. Falling asleep next to Jack every night and waking up next to him every morning. Sometimes he would have dinner waiting for her when she got home from work. Other nights he would leave her a message to meet him somewhere. She smiled at the memories. She felt so…happy.

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I would offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

Chloe’s head snapped up as she recognized the song, and her jaw dropped at the sight before her. Jack Bauer was up on stage, sitting on a stool, singing – and he was looking right at her. She was suddenly petrified – he obviously hadn’t been asleep that first night. Her lip trembled as she wondered if he was mocking her.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

But he didn’t take his eyes of her. He just kept singing to her. She couldn’t believe it. Jack was singing to her. As her gaze locked with his, she realized that he wasn’t making fun of her. His eyes told her that he meant this – every word of it.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

Chloe was having trouble breathing. Her brain kept trying to shut down, refusing to believe that this could possibly be happening. But still he held her gaze, and she felt herself melting. She wanted to cringe at the clichéd term, but it was true. She was actually melting.

I'd go hungry, I'd go blind for you
I'd go crawling down the aisle for you
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

She felt tears spilling down her face as Jack removed the microphone from the stand and walked towards her. By now, every eye in the room was on her, but she didn’t notice. All she saw was Jack. His voice had grown thick with the tears he was fighting to keep in, but still he sang.

The storms are raging on a rolling sea
Down the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
But you ain't seen nothing like me yet

He was getting closer. Chloe bit her lip, suddenly nervous. Part of her wanted to get up and run away, she was so afraid. But his eyes were boring into her, telling her to calm down, to trust him. Chloe O’Brian never trusted anybody with her heart. But when she saw Jack Bauer trusting her with his, she couldn’t turn away.

There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy, make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love

            As he finished the song he knelt in front of her and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The last note faded and he turned the microphone off, setting it down on the table. The room broke into applause as they just stared at one another.
            “You weren’t asleep,” she whispered.
            He smiled at that. “I wasn’t asleep.”
            The next person had begun singing, and Jack stood, reaching his hand out to her. “Will you dance with me?”
            She nodded and stood slowly, afraid that her legs wouldn’t hold her. Jack guided her out onto the floor and held her as closely as he could. They barely moved to the music, just holding each other, enjoying the fact that they didn’t have to hide anymore.
            Chloe pulled back a little to look at him. “Jack, I…I…” She bit her lip, not knowing how to say it.
            Jack leaned his forehead against hers. “Would it make it easier if I said it first?”
            Chloe nodded.
            “I love you,” he whispered, a small smile on his face.
            Chloe smiled too, amazed at how easy it was now. “I love you too,” she whispered back just before she brought her lips to his.
            The kiss started out sweet and slow, both smiling at how right it felt. But soon the kisses grew more passionate as they held on to each other as tightly as they could. They both forgot the coffee shop and the people around them. They were tired of worrying about other people. For now they were just concerned with each other.
            Finally they broke apart, both breathing heavily. Chloe smiled as she realized that the song they had been dancing to was long over and other performers had come and gone.
            Squeezing her hips gently, Jack whispered, “What do you say we go home now?”
            “Home?” Chloe asked, thrilled at how the word sounded coming from him.
            “Home,” he repeated, squeezing her again.
            Chloe nodded and let him lead her outside.

"The Bahamas?" Chloe asked as they stood in line to board the plane.

Jack nodded. "At first I was thinking Fiji, but I didn't want to get any closer to China than I had to."

"You're taking me to the Bahamas?" she asked again.

"Paradise Island, to be exact," he stated, as he snaked his left arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

Chloe's eyes widened and she turned to look at Jack as he struggled to keep his face passive and serious as he stared ahead. She was suddenly having trouble breathing. The thought of being with Jack in the Bahamas – with the sun and the beach and the water and the bathing suits and the heat – was causing her to have some pretty intense fantasies right then and there. She tried to stop them, but the feel of his arm around her waist, with this fingers lightly grazing her skin was distracting her from the task.

"Hey," he said quietly, giving her a quick squeeze. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She managed to snap with some of her usual viciousness. He was so close that she could smell him – and Jack Bauer smelled amazing. She found herself moving a little closer to him, relaxing into him.

Just then, the line began moving as the passengers boarded the plane. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as she extricated herself from Jack's hold and moved ahead of him to give her ticket and board the plane.

***

"Relax, Chloe," Jack said as the plane ascended into the air. His eyes were closed, his head leaning against the seat, but he could tell that she was tense.

"I'm fine."

Jack chuckled. "You're not fine. You're sitting there, stiff as a board. Just tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing."

Jack sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy for him. He opened his eyes and looked at her, saw how nervous she was as she absently rubbed her hands again. Jack wouldn’t admit it, but he was scared to death. He wasn't sure if she was uncomfortable because she didn't want to be close to him or if it was because she felt the same way he did. Hesitating a couple of times, Jack finally reached out and took her hand with his, entwining their fingers. Chloe turned to look at him, but he had already closed his eyes again.

"Relax, Chloe."

***

When they stepped out of the airport, they were greeted instantly by the tropical heat and blazing sun. Jack hailed a taxi as Chloe slipped on her sunglasses and they put their bags in the trunk of the car. When Jack told the cabbie where to take them, Chloe interrupted.

"We're staying at the Atlantis?"

"Yes."

"Jack, that's a five-star hotel."

"Yes."

Chloe, slightly perturbed as Jack's responses, suddenly rested on another thought.

"Do we have separate rooms?"

Jack bit his lip before answering. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, Jack? You have to tell them how many rooms you want when you make reservations."

"I didn't make the reservations."

"Then who did?"

"Milo."

"Oh, God," she moaned.

***

"Hi. Reservation for Jack Bauer," he told the receptionist at the hotel.

The woman smiled at him as she looked him up in the computer. When the file appeared, her face lit up as she looked at him and Chloe.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bauer! Welcome to the Atlantis. And congratulations on your wedding!"

Chloe tried hard not to faint or choke or do anything embarrassing like that. But there was a distinct lack of oxygen going to her brain as she processed the woman's greeting.

"Huh?" Jack asked, trying to mask his astonishment.

"Here are your room keys. Matthias will bring your bags up to the Honeymoon Suite for you."

Jack made a quick decision. He could either debate his marital status with the receptionist, or he could just play along. He chose the latter, hoping that Chloe wouldn't kill him.

"Thank you," he said. Then he turned to Chloe, draping an arm around her waist and steering her toward the elevators. "C'mon sweetheart."

***

When they were in the elevator, Chloe jerked away from him.

"Married?" she screeched.

"I told you I didn't make the reservations."

"The Honeymoon Suite?"

"Blame Milo."

"I plan on shooting him," she huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Come on, Chloe. It's not that bad. I'll sleep on the floor if you want."

Chloe frowned and moved closer to him again. "No. That's not fair. I'm sure the bed's big enough."

Jack tried to hide his smile. "Are you suggesting we sleep together?"

"Well I'm not taking the floor. And I'm not letting you sleep there. So yeah. I am."

Jack leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Good," he whispered as the elevator doors slid open.

Alrighty, new fic. I realize I'm supposed to be working on Part II of "Somewhere Warm," but you guys are just going to have to wait until tomorrow for that.

Title: Comfort
Rating: PG13 I guess. It's got my usual - some swearing and kissing.
Author's Note: This is AU. Set at the end of Season 5. Jack does not go to China. And I'm pretty sure you can assume that Audrey doesn't even exist. Which is kinda nice. Basically, I wrote this because I just watched the end of Season 5 and I didn't like the idea of Morris comforting Chloe after Edgar's death. So I wrote my own scene.
Disclaimer: I'm just a poor college graduate. I own nothing.

Chloe tried not to cry as she looked at the photo. She remembered the day when it had been taken. It had been quiet at CTU, and Sarah had been playing with her new digital camera. Edgar had joined Chloe at her station, and they were just talking, the way friends do. Despite the fact that she hated having her picture taken, Chloe had posed and smiled at Edgar's insistence. He said he wanted a picture of them. He had never shown it to Chloe and she had completely forgotten about it until now. Her heart broke as she realized that she'd never see him again.

When Jack walked into CTU, he saw Chloe standing there, holding the picture. He saw the tears in her eyes and the way her hands were shaking slightly. There was movement to his left and he turned to see Morris slowly start to make his way over to Chloe. Jack clenched his fists. He'd only met Morris once or twice, but he hated the man. He had treated Chloe like shit during their marriage and even after, continually trying to weasel his way back into her life. He could tell by the look in his eyes that he was going to try and comfort Chloe. He would say all the right things and trick her into letting him close again. Jack just couldn't let that happen.

Taking long strides, Jack hurried over to Chloe, getting to her before Morris could. He saw the other man's face scrunch in confusion, and he was suddenly worried that Morris would try to elbow his way in to the conversation and manage to get Chloe alone.

Curtis was at a nearby station, talking on the phone with Bill.

"Curtis, what's going on down there?" Bill asked.

"I think Jack just walked over to Chloe to keep Morris from getting to her. And I think Morris might try to talk to her anyway. And Jack doesn't look too happy about that."

"So you're saying we could have a situation on our hands in the next few seconds."

"Well, I don’t know if I'd call it a situation," Curtis replied.

"Is Jack still armed?"

"Yeah."

"Then it's a situation. Go tell Morris that I'd like to see him, please."

"Should I give him a reason?"

"No. Just tell him I want to see him right now."

"You got it."

Curtis hung up and hurried over to intercept Morris. He got to him just as he was opening his mouth to get Chloe's attention. Curtis rested a somewhat restraining hand on his arm to stop him.

"Morris."

"What do you want? I'm kind of busy here."

"Bill needs to see you in his office."

"About what?"

"He didn't say. But he wants to see you right now."

"Can't I just –"

"No. Bill wants you up there NOW, Morris."

Morris sighed and stared at Chloe longingly. But her eyes were still focused on the photograph, oblivious to everything around her. Finally he turned and stomped up to Bill's office.

When he was gone, Jack looked over at Curtis in gratitude. "Thank you," he said quietly.

The sound of Jack's voice made Chloe snap out of her reverie. She looked up, finally realizing that she wasn't alone. Folding the photograph again, she glanced at the two men before her.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

Curtis gave her a small smile before turning around and walking away. Before Jack could speak, she had rounded on him. "What?"

Jack gently pried the photograph out of her grasp and replaced it with his own hand. He put the picture on the desk next to them and then reached up to stroke her dark brown hair. The anger was seeping out of her face now, replaced by confusion and a determination to not cry.

"Come on," he whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Let's take you home."

***

They rode home in silence, Jack driving Chloe's car. When they reached her apartment, Jack got out and went to the passenger side, opening the door for her and offering his hand to help her down. As he closed the car door, he wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her to her building.

Once inside her apartment, Chloe stood in her kitchen awkwardly, wondering why Jack hadn't left yet. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and ignore the world, but it looked like she was going to have to deal with him first.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked suddenly.

Jack chuckled. "No." He took her by the hand and led her over to the couch. He sat and pulled her down to the spot next to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Jack reached up and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. Chloe closed her eyes at his touch, still trying desperately to keep her tears in. Seeing this, Jack opened his hand and let it rest fully upon her face. He let his thumb rub back and forth along her cheekbone. Tears began to fall from her eyes. She bit her lip, still fighting the urge to weep. Jack leaned in closer and whispered in her ear.

"Chloe, it's okay. I know Edgar was your friend. I know how much he meant to you. I know how hard it was for you to watch him die. But you're not at work anymore, Chloe. You don't have to be strong here. Just go ahead and let it out."

His words had the desired effect. Chloe's shoulders began to shake as she finally let the sobs take over. Jack wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up onto his lap. Her sobs grew louder and she clung to the front of his shirt in desperation. Jack shifted so that he could lean back until he was lying on the couch, Chloe nestled atop him. He felt tears begin to course down his cheeks as well, both in sympathy for Chloe's loss, and in memory of the friends taken from him that day as well – Tony, Michelle, David Palmer.

Chloe felt his hot tears as they fell into her hair. As she continued to weep, she stretched her arms around him as well, and they cried themselves to sleep.

***

Hours later, Chloe slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The sun was streaming through her windows and she realized that they must have slept the entire night away.

At the thought of Jack she looked down at him and smiled. He was still asleep, his arms tight in their grip around her waist. Even in sleep he was protective. She slowly reached out her hand and touched his face. He stirred slightly and opened one of his eyes.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Good morning."

Jack frowned and looked around. "Morning?"

Chloe laughed. "Yeah. Looks like we were both a little tired."

Jack rested his head on the couch again. "Yeah," he said simply.

They laid there in silence, enjoying the warmth and closeness of each other. Jack's hands were rubbing her back in small, comforting circles and Chloe let her hand rest on his face, her thumb stroking back and forth.

As the minutes slowly passed, Chloe's hand traveled down Jack's face, until her thumb was moving against his lips. Jack watched her as she gazed at his mouth, silently willing her to take the next step. She bit her lip in nervous thought, wondering if she was taking things too far. But he hadn't stopped her yet, so she leaned down and replaced her thumb with her lips.

The kiss was simple and short. Chloe pulled back, searching his eyes for a response. Jack just looked back up at her, a smile tugging at his lips. Chloe waited for him to say something – anything – but he just kept staring at her.

As she was about to break the silence, she gasped at the feel of his hands on her bare skin. He had slipped them underneath her shirt and had resumed his rubbing small circles on her back. His hands were warm and Chloe nearly melted into him.

Jack took the opportunity to reach up and capture her lips with his own. This time the kiss was confident and hungry. His hands reached higher and higher up her back as he slid his tongue into her mouth and elicited a satisfied moan from her. Chloe put her hands on either side of Jack's hips, working the shirt up just enough so that she could slip her hands underneath it. He echoed her moan as he felt her hands reaching up his sides.

Finally he pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers. Chloe's eyes were still shut and she was wondering why they weren't kissing anymore. She opened her eyes, suddenly afraid that he had rethought the situation, that he had decided what they were doing was a mistake.

Jack saw the gears in Chloe's mind running full-throttle, and he knew he had to put a stop to that as quickly as possible. He gave her another quick kiss and then pulled her off of the couch as he stood up. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the bedroom, walking backwards so that he could see her, assure her with a smile that this was okay – that this was good.

Seeing the look on Jack's face, Chloe suddenly stopped worrying. She trusted him with everything else – she knew that he wasn't going to break her heart. She returned his smile and followed him into the room, firmly shutting the door behind them.

Current Music: Gifts and Curses by Yellowcard

Jack watched Chloe at her workstation as he stood in Bill's office. Even from that distance he could see that her hands were rubbed raw from trying to get the blood of her ex-husband off of them. She was focusing intently on her computer screen, but he could tell that she was just barely holding on.

***

Chloe looked on in horror as she realized that Morris had betrayed them all. That he had betrayed his country because of her. She searched for something, anything, to say, but words eluded her. She could only stare at the man she had once loved.

"Thank you, Morris," Nina said. "We won't be needing your services any longer."

She put a gun to Morris' head and pulled the trigger.

***

"So where are you going to go, Jack?" Bill asked, pulling the other man out of his memories.

"Somewhere warm," he answered, still looking down at Chloe.

Bill smiled. "Good. I expect you to relax the whole time you're there, Jack. No breaking into any consulates or uncovering any government conspiracies, you go that?"

Jack let a small smile creep onto his face. "Yeah, I promise."

Bill walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just ask her, Jack," he said quietly.

"What if she says no?" Jack asked, his voice small and afraid – something Bill had never heard from him before.

***

As Jack reached the bottom of the stairs, he was met by Milo and Nadia.

"All set, Jack," Milo told him. "Here you go." He handed something to Jack. Your bags are packed and in the SUV."

"Chloe's are too," Nadia interjected.

Jack was in the process of stuffing the object in his back pocket when her words sunk in. He looked at her sharply. "But I haven't asked her yet. And how did you even know I was going to ask her?"

"Oh come on, Jack. We're not stupid. It's become increasingly obvious how you feel about her. Especially since you finally got rid of Audrey."

Milo winced at Nadia's bluntness. She had definitely been spending too much time with Chloe. "Look, Jack. You both need a vacation. A very long vacation where you spend too much time in the sun and drink far too many fruity drinks with the little umbrellas in them. Even if nothing…you know…happens…you two are friends. And you could both use a friend right now. So go. Ask her."

Jack smiled and shook Milo's hand. "Thank, Milo."

As he was walking away, Jack turned around again. "Oh, and Nadia? Milo's just too scared to ask you out. You might have take the initiative."

He walked towards Chloe's station as Milo was left standing in shock next to a smirking Nadia.

***

She was rubbing her hands again. She knew that she should stop, but she was doing it naturally though. She could still feel the blood oozing between her fingers as she held Morris' head. She could still feel it running down her hands as she looked at his eyes and realized he was already gone – had been before he'd hit the ground. She could still see it staining her clothes as she realized that he had betrayed everything, and that she didn't – couldn't – love him anymore.

"Chloe?"

She turned to see Jack looking at her, worry evident in his eyes. She tried to smile, but it came across as more of a grimace.

"Hey," she said.

He looked around nervously, and Chloe realized that he was fidgeting. That seemed wrong to her. Jack Bauer never fidgeted. That was her thing. She reached out her hand and laid it gently on his arm, startling herself with the contact. It felt like forever since she had really touched anyone.

"I have something ask you," he said abruptly, looking straight into her eyes.

She nodded, finally feeling like she was on familiar ground. "What do you need?" she asked.

Jack looked at her, trying to figure out where the change in her tone had come from. He rifled back through what he had just said, and then it hit him.

"No, Chloe…" he smiled, realizing that he had butterflies in his stomach for the first time in a very long time. "I don't need you to do anything…well, I mean…I do, but not…not for work. Just…for me," he whispered the last part.

Her familiar ground being taken out from under her, Chloe took up the fidgeting where Jack had left off. "What do you mean?"

Jack took a deep breath and pulled something out of his back pocket. He held it in front of him, staring at it because he couldn't stand to look at her as he asked.

"I'm leaving," he said, and that was all he got out. He heard a sharp intake of breath and looked up in time to see a tear slide down Chloe's cheek as she tried her hardest to keep her face stoic. Her heart dropped like a stone into her stomach as she realized that he was just here to say goodbye. She took her hand off of his arm and took a step back.

Jack reacted quickly. He took her face in his hands, still holding the object from his back pocket. "No, Chloe. It's not like that. I'm not leaving for good. I just…need a break. I need to go somewhere where I can just…relax. Though I'm not even sure I know how to do that anymore."

Chloe nodded and calmed down – but only a little. He might say that he was coming back now, but who was to say he wouldn't disappear again? He had been in China for the past eighteen months, and presumed dead the year before that. And now he was leaving again, just when she was adjusting to his being around.

"I want you to come with me," he said quietly, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"What?" she asked, her nose crinkling in confusion.

Jack took a deep breath and took his hands from her face. He fumbled with what was in his hands, and she finally saw that they were plane tickets.

"I want you to come with me," he repeated. "We both need a vacation, Chloe…we both need to get away from here for awhile. Away from the memories." He looked up at her again. "And you're the only person I'd want to go with."

Chloe looked at him in shock. Her brain had started to shut down as soon as he finished saying that he wanted her to go with him. Her mind, working like a computer, shut down when faced with an impossible function.

"Chloe?"

She suddenly remembered to breath again. "Where would we go?" she asked.

Jack allowed himself a small smile. "Is that a yes?"

Chloe looked down at her feet. Was it?

"Yes," she whispered.

Jack's face broke into a wide grin as she answered him. He put the tickets down on her desk and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. He felt her stiffen immediately, but as he started to pull away, she returned the embrace with a desperation that he thought only he felt.

When they broke apart, they stayed close – her hands still on his shoulders and his still on her waist.

"Where are we going?" she asked again.

Jack smiled as he turned and packed up her things from her desk. He shut down her computer and grabbed the tickets.

"I'm not telling you," he said.

"But Jack, you have to. How am I going to pack?"

"Your bags are already in the car."

"You packed my bags?" she asked, her voice going up a few notches at the thought of Jack touching her clothes.

"No, no. Don't worry," he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her out of CTU. "Nadia broke into your apartment and packed your stuff. No boys touched your things."

Chloe turned her head and shot Nadia a nasty look, but the woman just smiled at her. She and Milo waved cheerily as the two exited the building.

Current Location: work
Current Music: After All - Cher and Peter Cetera

Chloe was having trouble remembering how this had all begun. She knew that Morris had cornered her in the hallway and that he was unbelievably drunk. Before she'd even had time to yell at him, his right hand had grabbed her throat and begun to squeeze. His grip wasn't tight enough to kill her, but breathing and talking had become difficult. Chloe clawed at Morris' hand, trying to dislodge it, but his grip remained firm.

"Morris…" she managed to choke out.

"How could you?" he spat out at her, his face barely an inch away from hers. "How could you ask me to help him at the risk of my own skin? How could you ask me to save the man that you love? When our lives would be so much easier if he would just die!" Chloe struggled to speak again, but Morris cut her off. "No. I'm sorry, love. But I cannot and will not continue with this any longer. You have a decision to make. Either you leave here with me right now, and forget all about Jack Bauer, or you don't leave here at all."

Chloe narrowed her eyes in confusion. She couldn’t believe that Morris was actually threatening to kill her if she didn't come with him. She couldn't believe that the day had turned out so horribly wrong when it had started like any other. As though to emphasize his ultimatum, Morris began to tighten his vise-like grip and Chloe's coherent thoughts rushed out of her. She was going to die because she loved Jack Bauer. She'd always known that that might be the end of her. That she would either get killed or thrown in jail because she was doing something to help Jack. But she never thought she'd be choked to death by her ex-husband for it.

She noticed that Morris was crying. His grip hadn't relaxed at all, but tears were streaming down his face. She found that odd. That he would be remorseful and yet continue to squeeze the life out of her.

"Please, love," he begged. "Don't make me do this. Just leave with me. Forget Jack. We could be happy…"

Chloe saw a blur of blue shirt go by as she suddenly found herself on the ground, gasping in the air that she so desperately needed. She looked up to see Jack pinning Morris to the wall, his right hand wrapped around the man's throat. Chloe kept expecting him to speak, but he just kept squeezing Morris' throat, watching as the other man's face turned red and then purple.

"Jack," she croaked.

He turned his head to look at her. She was still on the ground, still trying to regain her breath and strength. She looked at him, pleading with him to stop. Turning back to Morris, Jack relaxed his grip enough for the man to start breathing again.

"If you ever touch her again, I will kill you."

"Please Jack," Morris begged, looking the man straight in the eyes, tears once again streaming down his face. "You don't love her. Let her go."

Shock registered on Jack's face as he heard Morris' words. He had expected the man to beg for his life, or tell him to stay out of it, or to fight back. He hadn't expected the desperation in voice, the plea to let Chloe go.

That last thought shook him to his core. Just the thought of Chloe not being there made him hurt physically. To walk into CTU knowing that she wouldn't be there to glower at him or frown at him or…be there to catch him. Jack's stomach lurched at what Morris was asking of him. His thoughts swam as he tried to come up with some kind of response. But it was like the world was suddenly devoid of air.

As Morris watched Jack's face, his eyes widened in shock. "My God," he whispered. "You do love her."

Jack just stared back at him, tears now flowing freely, his bottom lip trembling. He wanted to deny it, to tell Morris that it wasn't true, that he was wrong. But the words wouldn't come. They wouldn't let him lie anymore.

Morris looked behind Jack. Chloe was still on the floor, but she had pushed herself into a sitting position and was leaning against the wall. One hand was laid gently on her throat, a purple bruise already beginning to form where his hand had been. She stared at the two of them in disbelief, her gaze sliding from one to the other.

Morris turned his attention back to Jack. The man was now staring at the wall behind Morris' head, lost in his own thoughts. Morris gently removed Jack's hand from his throat and then moved away from the wall slowly.

With one last look at Chloe, he whispered, "Take care of her." Then he walked away from the both of them.

For a few moments, Chloe just sat where she was, trying to digest everything that had happened. Jack stared at the wall in front of him, refusing to face her. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then she pushed herself up so that she was standing. She walked over to him slowly, unsure of what she would do when she reached him. She stopped inches from him, just staring at his back.

Jack could feel her behind him. He could feel her uncertainty, her nervousness. He wanted to turn around and wrap his arms around her, to just soak her in, but he wasn't sure how she felt or what she wanted. He continued to stare at the wall.

Chloe began fidgeting. The shock of what had happened was wearing away and now she was just uncomfortable. She tried to think of a tactful way to begin the conversation, but she had never been good with the subtle thing. After fidgeting some more, she just blurted it out.

"Do you love me, Jack?"

Jack's lips turned up into a slight smile. Chloe's bluntness was something he could always count on – just like every other part of her. But he still couldn’t turn to face her. He was afraid of what he would find in her eyes. Confusion, anger, rejection…

She interrupted his thoughts. "Jack," she whispered. She put her hand on his back tentatively. "I need to hear you say it – either way."

Jack slowly turned to face her. She kept her hand on him, letting it slide around his arm as he turned, and then let it rest on his chest. Now it was she who refused to look at him, instead focusing on her hand and the blue shirt beneath it. Jack reached up and used both hands to tuck her hair behind her ears and then to cup her face. He gently forced her chin up until her eyes met his.

"I love you," he whispered.

Chloe just stood there for a moment, taking in his words.

"That's it?" she asked suddenly.

Jack did a double-take at her question. "What do you mean?"

Chloe sighed and began to look around the hallway again before bringing her eyes back to Jack's face. "There's not a 'but'?"

Jack looked at her in confusion for a moment before realizing what she was asking. He tightened his grip on her and brought his face even closer.

"No buts."

Chloe's lips twitched with the urge to smile. She tried to stem it, not wanting him to see how much his words meant to her. But she lost that battle and was soon beaming at him. He smiled back at her, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks.

Not able to wait any longer, Chloe leaned in and kissed him. It was gentle, despite the fact that she could have jumped him right then and there. Instead she just kept planting soft kisses on his lips, taking his face in her hands as his drifted down to her waist.

Chloe suddenly pulled back. "Oh!" she exclaimed.

Jack looked at her in concern, worried that something was going to ruin this for them. "What?" he asked warily.

She looked at him with a serious expression. "I love you. I forgot to say it before."

Jack smiled. "That's it? No buts?"

Chloe smiled back and leaned in to kiss him again. "No buts," she whispered.

Current Music: Slayer's Elegy by Christophe Beck

Chloe tried to ignore the fact that Curtis was hovering over her station. She hated it when people stood at her desk, obviously wanting something. But they just stood there, watching her. When it was clear that Curtis wasn’t going to leave, she looked up and sighed.

“What?”

“Hey Chloe.”

“What do you want, Curtis?” she asked, refocusing on her computer.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Obviously. What do you want?”

Curtis looked around furtively before answering in a lowered voice. “Not here. Can you meet me in the north utility closet downstairs in fifteen minutes?”

Chloe looked up again, a scowl on her face. “The utility closet? What is this, some secret spy movie from the 50s?”

Curtis lowered his voice to a whisper. “Chloe, please. It’s about Jack.”

The scowl faded. “Fine,” she whispered back.

***

Bill Buchanan stood up as Jack Bauer entered his office. Walking around his desk, he shook the younger man’s hand before opening the conversation.

“Jack, thanks for coming up.”

“Of course, Bill.” Jack sat down. “What’s up?”

Bill sat on the edge of his desk and took a deep breath. “It’s Chloe, Jack.”

Jack’s head snapped up. “What about her?” he asked, a slight edge and hint of worry in his voice.

“It’s just that she’s had it rough lately, Jack. Even before today. When you got taken by the Chinese, she blamed herself. She withdrew from everybody – even more so than usual. And then you come back today and she thought you were going to be killed by Fayed. When you escaped, she had some sense of relief, but then Morris was taken and tortured.”

“Bill…”

“I’m not finished yet, Jack. Because it’s after that that the real problems started.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Morris came back a defeated man, Jack. Not that I expected him to jump right back into the swing of things. But he started drinking again. And when Chloe called him on it, he turned it around on her. Told her that there was something wrong with her for being so obsessed with how he was doing.” Bill paused, not really wanting to go on, but knowing that Jack needed to hear this. “It’s only gotten worse from there, Jack. Several of us have overheard him berating her. Saying nasty things to her about what kind of person she is and her relationship with you. He actually told her that she should feel lucky that he puts up with her because no one else could possibly love her. It’s wearing her down, Jack.”

Jack was looking down at the floor, wringing his hands. He wasn’t sure which he wanted to do first: kill Morris or go find Chloe. When he looked up again, there were tears in his eyes. Bill sat down next to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“She needs a friend right now, Jack. She needs you.”

Jack nodded. “Where is she?”

“Nadia told me that she went down to the north utility closet downstairs – and that she wasn’t holding it together too well.”

Jack stood up immediately.
“Thanks, Bill.”

***

When Jack got to the utility closet, he found Chloe pacing back and forth across the small space. She was scowling at the floor, and she didn’t notice him when he walked in.

“Hey,” he said.

Chloe stopped suddenly and turned to face him, confusion evident in her eyes. “What are you doing here? I mean, hi. What are you doing here?”

“Came to check on you.”

“Well go away.”

“Why? Waiting for someone else?”

“Yeah, actually, I am.”

Jack’s smile faded. “Oh.” He paused. “Who?”

“None of your business.”

“Morris?” Jack asked with malice evident in his voice.

“No. And what does it matter to you?” Chloe stopped as a thought struck her. “Wait a minute. How did you even know I was down here?”

Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground, refusing to look at Chloe. “Nadia told Bill she saw you coming down here. And that you looked like you could use a friend.”

“Nadia? She’s been in Tech 1 for the past forty-five minutes. I just got down here.”

As Jack opened his mouth to reply, the door behind him suddenly slammed shut. Both he and Chloe jumped at it, trying to stop it, but they heard the click of locks sliding into place.

***

They had both tried banging on the door and yelling at the top of their lungs. But no one came and the door stayed locked. Jack and Chloe sat next to each other with their backs to it, their hands aching from hitting the metal door.

“I’m calling Curtis,” Jack growled.

***

“Manning.”

“Curtis, it’s Jack.”

“What’s up?”

“Chloe and I are locked in a utility closet downstairs. I need you to come let us out.”

Curtis lowered his voice. “Have you kissed her yet?”

“What!?”

“Have. You. Kissed. Her. Very simple question, Jack.”

“No, of course I haven’t…”

“Then sorry, Jack,” Curtis interrupted. “Looks like you’re stuck.” And with that, he hung up.

***

“What did Curtis say?” Chloe asked after watching Jack seethe for a minute.

“He said no.”

“No? What do you mean he said no?”

“He said no. He won’t come let us out.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I know.”

“Did he say why?”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes I am.”

Chloe huffed and crossed her arms, taking a minute to look at their temporary prison. She didn’t like what she saw. It was a utility closet. There were pipes and wires and limited space. In fact, she and Jack were taking up the majority of it by sitting down. And they had to sit shoulder to shoulder in order to fit. Chloe huffed again.

“Oh come on, Chloe…being stuck with me’s not that bad.”

Chloe just continued staring straight ahead.

After another moment’s silence, Jack asked quietly, “Who were you going to meet?”

“Why do you care?”

“Please Chloe.”

Chloe turned to look at him, but Jack was staring at his hands as though he were afraid of her answer. She sighed.

“Curtis.”

Jack’s head snapped up.

“Curtis?”

“Yes. Curtis.”

“Oh,” Jack whispered.

“What?”

“I just didn’t see that one coming.”

“See what one coming? Jack, what the hell are you talking about?”

“You and Curtis. Never would have seen that coming.”

“Me and –" Chloe stopped as she realized what he was saying. "Eww!" she exclaimed as she smacked him on the arm. "Me and Curtis? Are you insane?"

"Then what were you two meeting down here for?"

"Curtis said that he needed to talk to me about you."

"What about me?"

"How should I know? He never showed up. I got you instead."

"Gee thanks."

"I didn't mean it that way, Jack."

They again sat in silence, neither knowing exactly what to say. The room was getting hot, and they were both sweating. Chloe was grateful that her skirt allowed her legs to breathe, but she couldn't sit like she wanted to because of it. As the minutes dragged by, she became uncomfortably aware of how close Jack was. She could smell his aftershave – whatever they had given him when he was released into Bill's custody. Even after being taken prisoner, saving Assad and dismantling a nuke, Jack Bauer still smelled good.

Jack's phone suddenly rang, causing both of them to jump.

"Bauer."

"Jack, it's Bill."

"Bill, you've got to get us out of here."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Jack. Not until you two deal with this."

"Deal with what?"

"You know what I'm talking about Jack. This can't go on any longer. Chloe is miserable with Morris because she loves you. And you're miserable with Audrey because you love Chloe. Now make it work." Bill hung up.

"Damn it!" Jack yelled as she snapped his phone shut.

"I take it Bill won't let us out either?" Chloe asked.

Jack shook his head.

***

Jack wanted to scream. They'd been in the closet for an hour, and neither Bill nor Curtis were answering their cell phones anymore. Chloe wasn't talking much, and the time dragged as the two just sat there next to each other. He was painfully conscious of Chloe's shoulder against his, how close their bodies were, and he also had Bill's words ringing in his head.

"Jack?" Chloe asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"You know why they're keeping us in here, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you think it might be better for you to tell me? Then maybe we could get out of here faster."

But the truth was, Jack Bauer wasn't sure he wanted to leave the closet. It was nice to just sit with Chloe. They never got time to do the friend thing – or any "thing" really, except for saving the world. He enjoyed being so close to her. And he was scared to death to tell her what Bill had said.

"Jack?" she prodded.

Jack sighed and rested his head against the cool metal of the door behind him. "Bill and Curtis planned this."

"I figured as much. But why?"

Jack closed his eyes and bit at his lip in nervousness. "You want Bill's exact words or just the summary?"

"Exact words. No misunderstandings that way."

"Bill said…" Jack took a deep breath. " Bill said that you're miserable with Morris because you love me. And that I'm miserable with Audrey because I love you. And then he ordered that we work it out."

"Oh."

Jack chuckled. "That's it? Just…"oh"?"

"Well it's kind of a lot to take in, Jack. Not exactly what I expected. Although, maybe I should have since they locked us in a hot utility closet together." She paused in thought. "What did Curtis ask you on the phone?"

"When?"

"Earlier. I only heard you tell him no, of course you hadn't. Hadn't what?"

"Kissed you."

"Oh."

"Do you love Morris?"

"No. Do you love Audrey?"

"No."

"Do you want to kiss me, Jack?"

Jack snapped his head up and looked at Chloe. She was staring back at him with her open and honest face, patiently waiting for his answer.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" she whispered back.

Jack leaned in, lightly touching his lips to hers, making sure that this was what she really wanted. Chloe took his face in her hands and pushed her lips more firmly against his, sighing as she got what she had wanted for so long. She slid her tongue along his lips, and he opened his mouth to her.

As Jack reveled in the feel of her, he realized that this was not a comfortable position. He wanted her as close as possible, but the closet wasn't big for them to lay down. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up until she was straddling him.

"Much better," she breathed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him even more urgently.

Jack's phone rang and he flipped it open, reluctantly dragging his lips away from Chloe's. She instead focused on his neck and the soft skin behind his left ear. Jack saw Curtis' number on the screen.

"Go away," he growled before shutting the phone again and turning his attention back to Chloe and the amazing things she was doing with her mouth.

***

Five minutes later…

Chloe was struggling with Jack's belt buckle when the door behind him gave way and they both tumbled out of the closet, Chloe on top. They looked up to find Bill, Curtis, Milo and Nadia standing over them with amused grins on their faces.

"Do you mind?" Chloe snapped.

"Chloe, you can't have sex in the utility room," Milo told her.

"Well we were about to find out when you came barging in," she retorted.

"Jack, Chloe – go home," Bill ordered.

"Bed'll be more comfortable anyway," Chloe muttered as she got up and reached down to help Jack. They stood before their friends, Jack nervously trying to fix his clothing and Chloe staring them down defiantly.

"Jack, are you ready? I want to go home and continue this conversation."

Jack nearly choked at her bluntness. When he recovered, he smiled and took her hand. "Yeah." Turning to Bill and Curtis he mouthed a "thank you" to them before leading Chloe out.

"I can't believe you guys actually planned that," Milo said.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Bill explained.

Current Music: Good Enough by Evanescence

Okay, so here's another fanfic for your reading pleasure....

The rescue operation had, for once, gone off without a hitch. Jack and his team were able to extricate Chloe in one piece, and they had gotten away cleanly, losing only one agent to enemy gunfire.

And now they were back. After a quick stop at Medical, Chloe had returned to her desk and her work. Jack sat in the Situation Room, watching her while he waited for Bill to come in and debrief him. She seemed okay, scowling and snapping at everyone who bothered her with questions about what had happened. Jack watched as Morris came over and tried to hug her. Chloe pulled back sharply, saying something before returning to the computer before her. Morris walked away with a dejected slump to his shoulders and pained expression on his face. Jack found himself smiling at her determination and refusal to fall apart, despite what had happened to her.

The door to the Situation Room opened, and Jack looked up, expecting to see Bill Buchanan striding in. But to his surprise, it was Audrey. She closed the door behind her and then stood there staring at him, as though he were a ghost.

Jack stood up and stared back in disbelief. They hadn’t seen one another since that day he was taken, but she looked the same. No matter what, Audrey always looked put-together and ready for business. He started to smile, but it quickly turned to a frown. Suddenly he wondered why he hadn’t really thought of her until now. His eyes scanned past her, back out to Chloe. That was why. For the past three hours he had been consumed with finding her – nothing else had mattered.

Audrey followed his gaze out on to the floor. She watched as Chloe continued working, oblivious to Jack’s stare. When Audrey turned her head back, Jack had already refocused on her, but she could tell his thoughts were still with the computer analyst.

“You’ve finally realized it, haven’t you?” she asked quietly.

Jack looked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Audrey smiled sadly. “Chloe. You’ve finally realized that you’re in love with her.”

Jack opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly stopped himself. He looked back out onto the floor, back at Chloe. His eyes widened in realization, and he nodded. Bringing his eyes back to Audrey, he tried to hold in the tears. He didn’t want to hurt her like this.

“It’s okay, Jack. I’ve known for a while. I was always hoping that you wouldn’t realize it, though. I knew that if you ever did, I would lose you.”

Jack took a step toward her, hand outstretched. “Audrey…” he whispered, his voice laden with emotion.

Audrey raised her hand to stop him. “Don’t, Jack. We both knew this was a losing battle. I can’t live in your world, and you can’t live in mine. It was only a matter of time until we realized it. It’s better this way.”

Jack nodded, hearing the truth in her words. The things he had to do at CTU scared Audrey. The torture and danger was something she couldn’t deal with, couldn’t accept. And her world was just as foreign to him. He couldn’t sit behind a desk and wear a suit everyday. He couldn’t play nice with people who just wanted to use him as a footstool on their way up. Things just couldn’t work with them.

Audrey’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “You need to tell her, Jack. It’s gonna take a lot of convincing, since she doesn’t believe you could ever look at her like that. She’s just accepted the fact that you can only be friends. That’s why she got back together with Morris. She was trying to get over you.”

“Thank you, Audrey,” Jack whispered as he hugged her for what would probably be the last time.

***

Chloe looked on in pain as Jack and Audrey embraced.

***

Four hours later…

Jack and Audrey walked down a back hallway of CTU. The horrific day was finally over, and the suitcase nukes had been recovered. Gredenko had been captured, Fayed killed. Phillip Bauer was missing, and Marilyn had taken Josh home. Jack stumbled a little as a wave of exhaustion hit him. It had been a long day.

Audrey caught Jack’s arm and stopped him, looking at him with an expression of worry. “Jack are you okay?”

Jack waved her off. “Yeah, I’m fine. Tired. Feel like I could sleep for a year.”

“You probably could,” Audrey smiled. They continued walking. “So…have you told Chloe yet?”

Jack sighed and shook his head. “No, I haven’t had a chance. With everything going on today, she probably would have just hit me for bringing it up in the middle of a crisis.”

“You need to tell her, Jack. She deserves to know…”

There was a loud crack and Audrey stopped in her tracks, her mouth open in astonishment. Jack looked back at her, wondering what was wrong, when he saw the growing red spot in the middle of Audrey’s chest. He reached out his arms to catch her as she fell, her eyes glazing over. She was gone before he could do anything. Tears running down his face, Jack looked up to find the culprit.

“Don’t fucking move, Bauer.”

Jack found himself staring into the rage-filled eyes of Morris. He had a Glock leveled at his head.

“Morris,” Jack gasped. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Shut up, Jack.” Morris slurred his words, and Jack suddenly realized that the red in his face was from alcohol. The way he looked, Jack guessed that he had seen the bottom of a few bottles in the past couple hours.

“You shouldn’t have come back, Jack. Everything here was fine while you were in China. And even when you came back this morning it was okay, because Fayed was going to take care of you. I could comfort Chloe and we could move on. But no. You insisted on breaking free. Jack fucking Bauer to the rescue again! And then you had to judge me for breaking under torture. You had to make me feel like I was less of a man. And then, to top everything off, you had to go and rescue my woman. No wonder she can’t stand the sight of me anymore. Nobody can measure up to the great Jack Bauer!”

“What did you want me to do?” Jack asked in a low voice. “Let her die?”

“No. But you should have died this morning and left us in peace!” Morris shouted as he steadied his gun arm. Jack tensed himself, ready to dive to the side, when three shots burst out from Morris’ left. Morris dropped his gun in surprise and looked down at his chest. All three shots had found their target. He looked at the shooter in shock and toppled to the ground.

Jack stared at Chloe in amazement. She stood still, the gun still raised and pointed at her ex-husband. Her bottom lip was trembling and tears were spilling on to her cheeks, but her expression was determined and her hand steady.

Jack stood up slowly. “Chloe…” he whispered.

“Jack! Chloe!” Bill, Milo and Nadia came running down the hall. When they saw Audrey and Morris’ bodies they stopped suddenly. Bill looked at Chloe in confusion.

“What the hell happened here?”

Chloe took a moment to steady herself, to make sure that her voice wouldn’t shake. “Morris killed Audrey and then tried to shoot Jack.” She still hadn’t lowered her gun.

Milo walked up to her slowly with his arms outstretched. “Okay, Chloe…Just give me the gun.”

Chloe spared him a withering look. “Don’t worry, Milo. I’m not going to shoot anybody else.” She handed him the gun and turned expectantly to Bill.

“Chloe, why don’t we go talk in my office?” He turned to Milo. “Get a team down here to clean this up. And Jack?” Jack tore his eyes away from Chloe and looked at Buchanan. “After I’m done with Chloe I’m going to want to speak to you as well.”

***

As Jack exited Bill’s office and started down the stairs, he saw Chloe at her desk, packing her things up. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to her since the incident with Audrey and Morris, and he figured that now was the best time. He walked up to her station, but she still didn’t look up. He reached out to touch her hand.

“Don’t touch me, Jack,” she snapped as she pulled her arm away from him.

Jack pulled his hand back, suddenly unable to breathe. He struggled to keep his face impassive, but the tears were coming despite his best efforts. Chloe still hadn’t looked at him. He nodded, unable to say a word. Turning away from her, he walked off to Tech 1.

Nadia had seen the exchange and she rushed up to Chloe.

“Are you really that mad at him?” she asked.

Chloe looked at her sharply. “Mad at him? What are you talking about?”

“You just bit his head off. If you’re not mad at him, why would tell him not to touch you?”

“Nadia, I’m sure Jack didn’t think…” she trailed off as she thought about how what she had said to Jack might have sounded. “Oh God…I didn’t mean it that way.”

“He went to Tech 1…” Nadia started, but Chloe was already running down the hall.

***

When Chloe first opened the door, she didn’t see or hear anyone. But as she let the door close behind her, she heard a muffled sound coming from the far wall. She walked over and saw Jack leaning forward over a table, his shoulders shaking. Her heart broke as his sobs became audible.

She walked over to him. Reaching out, she picked his left arm up off the table and scooted herself in between him and it. Jack looked up at her in surprise as she took his face in her hands.

“Jack, I didn’t mean it like that.”

He looked down, refusing to meet her gaze. “But you said…”

“Yeah, I know what I said. But it came out wrong. C’mon, Jack…you should know me by now. I never say the right thing.” He squeezed his eyes shut as more tears slid down his cheeks. Chloe took a deep breath before continuing. “I told you not to touch me, because…because I knew that if you did, that would be it. I’d break. I’d burst into tears right there in front of everybody. And I couldn’t let that happen Jack.” Jack opened his eyes, but refused to look her in the eye. “Besides,” she continued in a lower voice. “I thought you’d be the one mad at me.”

At this Jack’s head snapped up and he placed his hands on her hips, as though he were afraid she would run away.
“Why would I be mad at you?” he asked.

The question was too much for Chloe, and tears began running down her cheeks. Jack removed one of his hands from her hip and wiped them away with his thumb. Chloe closed her eyes at the unexpected contact, unable to speak for the moment.

“Chloe…” Jack prodded.

“Because Audrey’s death is my fault,” she whispered. “I should have reported Morris earlier when I smelled alcohol on his breath. I should have gone out to find him when he disappeared a few hours ago.” She paused. “And, the only reason he went looking for you with a gun was because of me.”

Chloe bit her lip in an effort to keep from outright crying, but a sob escaped her lips. Jack quickly collected her in his arms and held her close, letting her get rid of the fear and guilt. He let his own tears fall as well, knowing that he needed to let go of it too.

He turned his lips into her hair as he spoke. “I was afraid you hated me because you had to kill Morris to save me.”

Chloe pulled back so that she could look at Jack. There was barely a breath’s space between their faces. “Morris was an asshole. He dug his own grave by getting drunk and pulling a gun on you.” She closed her eyes and softened her voice. “I’m sorry about Audrey,” she whispered.

Jack nudged her face with his nose, forcing her to open her eyes and look at him. She was surprised to see a hint of a smile on his lips.

“I am too. But Audrey and I were done.”

“Since when?”

“Earlier today,” he told her. “We knew we couldn’t work it out. And we both realized that I’m in love with someone else.”

Chloe tried to pull back again, but she suddenly found Jack's right hand holding her head in place. He wouldn’t let her go.

“Who?” she managed to ask, the fear evident in her voice. She wanted to tear her eyes away from his, to look anywhere but at him. But he just kept staring at her with those beautiful eyes that were now gentle and full of…something. Chloe was afraid of what she thought she saw there. She knew she had to be mistaken. That she was misreading something…

“You,” he whispered.

Still holding her head in place, Jack leaned in to softly brush his lips against hers. As he pulled back to gauge her reaction, her hands tightened their grip on his face, pulling him back down to her mouth. They both sank into the kiss, Chloe’s hands going around Jack’s neck as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her ever closer.

They eventually pulled back out of their need for oxygen, and Jack leaned his forehead against hers.

“You really love me?” she whispered.

“Yeah.”

“Since when?”

He laughed softly. “Since you helped me fake my death. I think it happened when you were updating me on everything that was going on while I was in hiding. I know it had already happened by the time I came to get you with the chopper and you ran into my arms.” He stopped as his face grew more somber. “You were all I could think about in China. I kept thinking that you were going to show up. That you were going to save me like you always have. I never gave up that hope.”

Tears were once again coursing down Chloe’s cheeks. “Jack,” she whispered. “I tried so hard to find you. I’m…”

He put his fingers over her mouth. “Don’t you dare apologize, Chloe. You did save me. Today.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You chose me.”

Chloe kissed him again. “I always choose you, Jack.” She paused and gave him a small seductive smile. “Now take me home, Bauer.”

Current Music: Any Other World - Mika

My second attempt at fanfiction. It's just J/C fluff. I have enough angst and trouble in my life - no need to write about it!

P.S. There is one swear word. If that offends, do not continue.

P.P.S. I think my next fic (now that I'm kind of enjoying this whole fanfic writing thing) will be about the end of Day 6 (again) and Jack begging Chloe to not go home with Morris.

Enjoy and comment!

"Home"

The day finally over, Chloe allowed herself a deep breath. During the course of the nuclear crises, she hadn’t had time for anything except talking teams through their missions and saving the world.

That wasn’t entirely true. She had also had time to freak out about Morris being kidnapped and tortured, slap Morris, yell at Morris for drinking again, and break up with Morris. The latter during the pinnacle of the crisis, but you do what you have to do.

She had also had a small reunion with Jack. But instead of leaping into his arms and stuffing her tongue in his mouth, she said, “I’m glad Fayed didn’t kill you this morning.” She sighed. Social interaction was not her forte.

As she was packing up, Milo came up to her desk.

“Hey Chloe,” he said.

“I don’t care what you need, Milo. I am not staying any longer. I am going home, I am taking a hot bath, and I am going to sleep for the next three years.”

Milo smiled at her. “Sounds like a great plan. But, uh, you might want to go check on Jack.”

Chloe looked at him in confusion, worry evident in her voice. “Why? What’s wrong with him?”

Milo shrugged. “Nothing, really. Except, you know, he just got back from being tortured today, and he and Audrey finally decided to give up on each other, and…well, he’s had a shitty day.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked quietly.

“Because, Chloe. You’re his best friend – maybe his only friend now. Kim wants nothing to do with him, he has no place to go. He’s passed out in one of the interrogation rooms. Every time one of us opens the door to check on him, he jumps out of his skin, hand on his gun. Chances are, he’ll feel safer with you. I just thought you could take him home with you, let him sleep in a real bed for the first time in God knows how long.”

Chloe looked at him thoughtfully and then nodded. She grabbed her purse and walked off to find Jack Bauer.

Milo followed her to the interrogation room, despite her snarky comments. He wanted to test his theory.

When they got to the door, Chloe slipped out of her shoes and opened the door, whispering menacingly to Milo “Stay.” She walked in quietly, and as the door shut, Milo caught a glimpse of a scene that confirmed his suspicions. When Chloe O’Brian walked into the room, Jack didn’t stir at all.

Chloe wasn’t generally a sentimental person. But the sight before her made her fish her camera phone – the one she wasn’t supposed to have at work – and take a picture.

Jack sat at the table, his arms folded in front of him with his head resting on them. It occurred to her that she had never seen him sleep, and she wondered how long it had been since he had slept well and through the night.

She softly walked up to him, debating how best to wake him up. After a few moments’ consideration, she decided that this was her only chance to do something she’d always wanted to do.

Standing next to him, she raised her right hand and cautiously rested it on the back of his head. He stirred slightly, but stayed sleeping. She smiled, and began running her hand through his short hair, enjoying the feel of him.

Jack slowly came back to the waking world, wondering what was going on. Someone was touching him, but he couldn’t figure out how they had gotten close enough without waking him up. He never let his guard down anymore – not even in slumber. He slowly raised his head and looked up at the person next to him – and smiled. Of course it would be Chloe. No one else could make him feel like it was okay to relax.

She stopped moving her hand, but left it resting on the back of his head.

“We’re going home now,” she told him.

Jack tried to hide the disappointment on his face. “Of course. Go home. Get some rest. Morris could probably use a few days in bed.”

Chloe made her classic confusion face. “What are you talking about?”

“You said you were going home.”

“No, I said we’re going home, Jack. You and me.”

Jack looked at her, not quite knowing what to say. “Chloe…”

“Look, Jack. You saved the world again, and you don’t even have a place to stay. I’m not letting you go to a hotel, and I know you and Audrey aren’t getting back together. So…you’re coming home with me.”

“What about Morris?”

“We broke up. We weren’t living together again, so we don’t have to worry about him showing up and things getting awkward.”

Jack smiled at her. “But Chloe, you don’t have the most comfortable couch in the world.”

“Who said anything about a couch? You’re sleeping in the guest room, Jack. With a real bed and everything. I know you’re probably used to a hard concrete floor, but you’re going to have to get used to living like a normal human being again.”

Jack’s smile widened. “Guest room? You’re telling me you managed to fit a guest room in that little apartment of yours?”

Chloe sighed. “No, Jack. I bought a house. Duh.”

“A house,” he whispered.

Without another word, Jack leaned his head against Chloe’s stomach, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feel of her. As she tried to recover from the shock of this unexpected turn of events, he raised his hands and rested one on each of her hips. Chloe closed her eyes as well, now resting both of her hands on the back of his head.

“Chloe?” he asked, his voice muffled by her shirt.

“Yeah?” she whispered.

“I can’t come home with you.”

Chloe opened her eyes and looked down, but Jack refused to lift up his head.

“Why not?”

Jack sighed. “Well, because then I might have to admit…”

“Admit what, Jack? Just spit it out.”

She couldn’t see it, but Jack smiled at her bluntness. Then he took a deep breath.

“I’d have to admit that I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Without her realizing it, Chloe’s face broke into a wide grin. Her hands began moving again, her nails brushing through his hair in slow circles.

“And why, exactly, would that be a problem?”

Her answer forced Jack to finally raise his head and look her in the eye. She was smiling at him, but she wasn’t toying with him. She was genuinely happy.

“That’s not a problem for you?” he asked quietly.

She shook her head. “No, Jack, it’s not.”

Chloe pulled his head back from her a little more so that she could bend down and kiss him. It started out slow and cautious, but they soon realized that they were safe with each other even here in uncharted territory. As their kisses became more urgent and full of passion, Chloe pulled back, knowing that if this kept up, she’d soon be on her back on the table. The interrogation room at CTU was NOT where she wanted to have her first time with Jack.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s go home.”

Jack Bauer VS James “Sawyer” Ford

The air was hot and sticky – the usual for Los Angeles in the middle of July. Chloe shifted in her chair, her arms aching from being tied behind her back.
“Somethin’ wrong, darlin’?” Sawyer asked in his Southern drawl.
“Shut up,” she muttered. She looked over to Jack, who was tied up like them. He was still unconscious from being hit over the head with a lead pipe.
“Jack,” she whispered urgently. He didn’t move. “Jack, dammit, wake up!”
“Oh, leave him alone, sweetheart. He’ll come around when he’s ready.” Sawyer looked her up and down from the corner of his eye. “Besides, we can have more fun while Captain Commando’s sleepin’.”
Chloe made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. Life simply wasn’t fair. She thought back to how they had gotten into this situation in the first place.

The minute she woke up, Chloe knew that she had made a mistake of monumental proportions. The man sleeping next to her had a small smile on his face – as though even in sleep he was proud of himself. She shook her head in self-reproach as she crawled out of bed and began getting dressed.
“Sawyer,” she whispered. When she didn’t get a response, she raised her voice. “Sawyer!”
Sawyer lazily opened his eyes and watched Chloe get dressed. He kept silent while she finished, making her shift in awkwardness as she tried to get her pants on. She contemplated going to another room to finish, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“Well good morning, sunshine,” he said, the smile on his face getting broader.
“Yeah. Good morning to you too. Now get out of my bed.”
“What? No morning after cuddlin’?” he asked in an exaggeratedly injured tone.
“No. Of course not. Get out,” Chloe said as she turned her back on him and stomped into the kitchen.
She glanced at the clock while she started to make coffee. If only it weren’t Sunday and she could use work as an excuse to leave. Instead, she had to come up with some way to make him leave. She hoped that he would just go on his own, getting the hint that she really wanted nothing to do with him. All of her hopes were dashed, however, when she felt his arms curl around her waist, and his husky cologne invaded her senses.
“Now come on, sweetheart…no reason to be rude. I’m sure we can come up with something…fun to do,” he whispered suggestively.
Chloe whirled on him, but he managed to keep his arms locked around her. “Look,” she said, jabbing a finger at his chest. “I realize that you think you’re really hot or something, but I don’t. I only slept with you last night because I was sick of your constant nagging and I thought that maybe if we had sex you would go away. So…go away. Now. Please.”
Sawyer pulled back, letting his arms drop to his sides as he looked at her closely. “So what? That’s it? You’re just gonna kick my ass to curb and expect me to follow along?”
“Yeah. Exactly,” she turned her back on him again. “Look, I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings or whatever. But please. Just go.”
With a lingering glance, Sawyer walked back to the bedroom and retrieved his clothing that was strewn about the floor. When he came back out fully dressed, Chloe was still ignoring him, engrossing herself in menial activities while waiting for him to leave.
“Well that’s just fine and dandy,” he said, causing her to jump. “I give you the best sex of your life, and you just kick me out without even offerin’ me a cup of coffee for the road.”
“Best sex of my life?” Chloe interrupted. “Good to know you don’t have an ego problem or anything.”
“Aw, c’mon darlin’. We both know you ain’t exactly the queen in the sack.”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open and, for once in her life, she didn’t have a snarky comeback. When her wit failed her, she fell back on the only thing she had left – anger.
“That’s it. Get the fuck out of my apartment!” she yelled at him, pointing to her door.
“You want me to leave?” Sawyer responded, his voice growing to match hers. “Maybe you’re just gonna have to come over here and MAKE me leave!”
Unfortunately for Sawyer, it was then that Jack was on the other side of the door, his hand raised and ready to knock. But when he heard a strange man’s voice yelling in Chloe’s apartment, he forgot about what normal, polite people do when they want to enter someone’s apartment. He took a step back and then assaulted the door with a swift front kick.
The scene that lay before his eyes made him see the proverbial red. Some blonde hick was grabbing at Chloe, while she clawed and kicked in an effort to get away from him. Jack didn’t hesitate. He strode up to the pair and gently, but firmly, removed Chloe to a safer spot behind him before he turned around and slammed Sawyer with a right hook. Sawyer fell to the ground, his lip bleeding where Jack’s fist had made contact.
“What the hell!?” he asked as he struggled to get up.
Jack watched him warily, one hand resting on Chloe’s hip behind him.
“Are you okay, Chloe?” he asked, never taking his eyes from the rising Saywer.
Chloe huffed. “Yes, Jack, I’m fine. Thank you for saving me, and you know, breaking down my door, but everything’s okay. You can go now.”
“She’s just kickin’ everybody out this morning,” Sawyer commented.
“Shut up,” Jack told him, before he turned around. He cradled her face in his hands. “Chloe, are you sure you’re all right?”
“How many times do I have to say this? I’m fine, Jack. I can take care of myself.”
“Wait a second,” Sawyer interrupted. “This is Jack. The Jack?”
Jack turned around to face him, confusion clearly on his face.
Chloe didn’t understand either. “What are you talking about Sawyer? How could you know anything about Jack?”
Sawyer stood up a little straighter and smirked at the pair in front of him. “I got my ways,” he said smugly.
When neither of them seemed ready to play his little game, Sawyer sighed and walked back into the bedroom. “Hang on a sec,” he called over his shoulder. He was back momentarily, holding a small red book in his left hand. When he was closer to them he stopped and opened up to a page. Chloe looked on with something akin to sheer terror.
“Ms. Chloe writes, and I quote,” Sawyer said in a loud and theatrical voice. “ ‘I’ll always love Jack. I guess it’s just time that I accept that. When Morris and I got back together, I hoped that I could move on, have some kind a normal love life. But it turned out that Morris hadn’t changed, and neither had I. He still loved having affairs, and I still loved Jack. But I know that he loves Audrey and doesn’t even register that I exist.’” He looked up and grinned. “Shall I go on?”
Chloe’s mind had ceased functioning with the first lines that Sawyer read out of her journal. She knew that she should stop him. But short of flying at him and gouging his eyes out with her nails, she couldn’t think of any way to do that. So she just stood there, keeping her eyes locked on anything that wasn’t Jack.
“Go to hell,” she mumbled, trying to think of some way to get out the situation before any further damage was done.
Meanwhile, Jack had just stared at Sawyer. Surprise had only shone in his eyes – he kept his face as blank as he could. He still had one hand on Chloe, and he felt it the second she tensed up. He wanted to reassure her, calm her back down. But first something had to be done about the Southern prick standing in front of them.
He gave Chloe’s hip a gentle squeeze before striding up to Sawyer. The man just watched him with an amused grin.
“Whatchya gonna do, Captain America? Hit me again?”
And that’s exactly what Jack did.
Chloe flinched as Sawyer’s head snapped to the side with the force of Jack’s hit. But he wasn’t going down so easy this time. Without a moment’s pause, Sawyer hit Jack with a powerful backhand, and this time it was Jack’s turn to stumble back in surprise. The two men glowered at each other as Chloe looked on in fear and morbid curiosity. The tension grew as they just stared at each other, measuring the other up.
“I don’t see why you’re so set on protectin’ your girl, here, short stack. It ain’t like you’re getting’ anything from her in the bedroom, if you know what I mean.”
And with that, Jack launched himself into Sawyer.
For a couple of minutes, the two just rolled on the floor, each trying vainly to gain the upper hand. Jack might have been a federal agent, but Sawyer was a good deal taller and a veteran of numerous bar fights. Sawyer finally managed to get on top of Jack with his hands securely around the man’s throat. He squeezed, and Jack’s face grew red as he tried to dislodge Sawyer.
“Not so tough now, are you Superman?”
But while Sawyer was busy gloating, Jack’s right hand was reaching blindly across the floor, looking for something to hit him with. He suddenly felt a weight in his hand and he looked up as best he could. Chloe had placed a hefty lamp in his hand with a confused look on her face. He tried to smile at her, but the lack of oxygen was starting to get to him.
He swung the lamp and made firm contact with Sawyer’s head. The bigger man rolled away, clutching his head in his hands. Jack took the opportunity to get up and catch his breath. Before Sawyer could recover, he grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back into the kitchen. When they got close to the counter, Jack stopped. He hoisted Sawyer up and slammed his back down on to the top of the counter. He kept his left hand pinned to his throat while drawing his gun with his right hand. He pointed the gun right at Sawyer’s face, mere centimeters away from his left eye.
“Uhhh, Jack?” Chloe interrupted.
“Don’t worry, Chloe. I’m not going to shoot him. Unless of course, he ever lays a hand on you again.”
“No. Jack…”
Jack looked up at her in exasperation. “What, Chloe?”
She pointed to the open door behind him. “I think we have a bigger problem.”
Jack turned to see what she was talking about, when a blast of pain slammed through his head and everything went dark.

Sawyer and Chloe had been blindfolded for their journey to wherever they were. When they were finally allowed to see again, they had found themselves tied to chairs in an empty room. Sawyer pestered her as soon as they were left alone, and she did what she could to wake Jack – which wasn’t much since her hands were secured behind her back.
But Jack had finally woken up, and then he and Sawyer had engaged in a battle of wits – or, to be more exact, a battle of swears and threats. Chloe tried at first to shut them up, but gave up when it was clear that they were ignoring her. Sawyer kept challenging Jack to get them out of this predicament, while Jack just kept warning him that he would kill him if he ever came near Chloe ever again.
In the end, it had been Curtis and an assault team that had saved them. They came bursting through the doors just as Chloe was about to lose it and snap at the two men with her. The bad guys were dead – it turned out that they had been after Chloe, needing her to implant a virus into CTU’s mainframe so that they could go through with their nefarious plans. Chloe had rolled her eyes when Curtis told her that. They obviously knew nothing about her if they thought she could be enticed to help terrorists.
Sawyer was debriefed by Curtis and Bill – and also warned that bad things happened to people who messed with their favorite computer analyst. He left glaring, but finally quiet.
After nearly everyone else had left, Chloe was at her station, getting ready to go home. She had done some work after being cleared by Medical, if nothing else to take her mind off the incredulous events of the day.
“You okay?” a quiet voice behind her asked.
She jumped slightly and turned to see Jack standing there, a bruise forming under his left eye where Sawyer had backhanded him.
“Hey,” she said.
They stood awkwardly for a few moments, neither looking at the other, and neither knowing what to say. Finally, Chloe couldn’t bite her tongue anymore.
“Look, Jack. Thanks for saving me. And you know, defending me and stuff. But, why don’t we just forget that today ever happened, okay?”
She started to walk past him when his voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
“What if I don’t want to?”
Chloe turned back around. “What if you don’t want to what?”
“Forget that today happened.”
Chloe sighed, fighting back tears and looking at the floor. “Jack, look. I’m really not in the mood for the whole, ‘You’re my friend but nothing more,’ speech. I already know how it goes, so let’s just pretend we had the conversation and move on.”
She took a deep breath and willed herself to look up. When she did so, she was surprised to see Jack standing so close to her. He tucked her hair behind her ears and held her face in his hands. His eyes locked with hers and she found that she couldn’t look anywhere but at him.
“Chloe,” he said quietly. “Do you really think I don’t know that you exist?”
“Well, I know you know that I exist in the grand scheme of things,” she replied. “But I know that when it comes to being a woman, I’m not exactly on your radar screen.”
“Chloe,” he said. “You are my radar screen.”
She crinkled her nose and looked at him in confusion. “Jack, if that was supposed to be some kind of line…it kinda sucked.”
He laughed. “I know. Let me try again.” He took a deep breath. “Chloe O’Brian, I love you.”
Chloe wanted to break away and deny what he had just said. There was no way that he could be telling the truth. But he was holding her head so that she was forced to look at his eyes while he said it – and she knew that he wasn’t lying. She opened her mouth a few times, trying to work out some kind of response.
When Jack saw her floundering for words, he decided that it was time to rescue her. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. They stood like that for a moment, both getting used to this new area they had moved into. Jack pulled back, searching her eyes for any sign of refusal or anger. But she just grabbed his face and pulled him back in, kissing him with everything that she had. He smiled into her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her even closer.

Curtis and Bill watched from Bill’s office.
“It’s about damn time,” Bill said.
“I know,” Curtis replied. “I guess now though we don’t have to go through with the closet plan.”
“True. And I think it would be best if we didn’t tell them that we ever had that plan in the first place Curtis.”
“Agreed. I’ve seen Chloe with a gun. It ain’t pretty for the guy on the receiving end.”
They stood and watched the couple finally break and walk out of CTU hand in hand.