Chloe hears the screaming the moment she opens the door. She rushed in, afraid that something had happened to Morris, that someone had hurt him, or he'd fallen or….something that was stopping him from taking care of the clearly upset Ali.

"Morris," she screamed, "Morris!" and then she suddenly stopped as she saw him on the coach. There was an open bottle of whiskey in front of him—it was half way empty.

"Morris, what the hell are you doing?" not waiting for his reply, not that he gave one, she ran to Ali's room.

She picked up her screaming daughter and rocked her gently, "Its okay, baby, and its okay, what's wrong? Huh, tell mommy what's wrong?" She checked her diaper, and then realized that it was past the time for her to eat. She guessed by Morris' lack of movement that he had not given her a bottle. Shushing the baby she sat in the rocking chair, moving her shirt quickly aside so the baby could latch onto her breast. Ali quieted immediately, suckling hungrily. When she was done Chloe burped her and finally, finally laid the sleeping baby back in her crib.

Then she went to find her husband.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she hissed the words, not wanting to wake her daughter and scare her any further, "She was starving. You know she needs her bottle every…."

"I know."

"So, why didn't you give it to her? Morris, explain to me why our daughter was crying and you were out here drinking whiskey?"

"I don't know. I heard her crying. I started to get her bottle and then I just…..stopped."

"Morris you're scaring me," her bottom lip trembled as she tried to stop the tears that were threatening.

He turned toward her now, "I'm sorry, love, so sorry, but I can't do this anymore."

"What? I don't…"

"When you told me you were pregnant I thought, well she won't want it, she'll get rid of it and then….then you did want it and I thought, okay, it'll be a baby, so what? I can do that….but I….I don't want to do that."

"It's a little late now, Morris. We have a daughter."

"No, you have a daughter. You carried her, gave birth to her. You loved her the moment you saw her, before that even, you know what to do, not the things that no one knows—you look that up, but…inside of you, your heart tells you how to take care of that baby. She's your daughter, but she's just a kid to me Chloe. I thought I could change that, but I can't."

"You….this is still new to us and…" she came and sat down next to him, "Morris, we'll figure this out, you can go back to AA. I'll…."

"I'll ruin you, Chloe. I'll….I can't change. Don't you think if I could, I would have already…for you."

"Morris, please don't do this to me."

"Ch—"

"No, you told me you loved me. You asked me to marry you again. I….I had the courage to have this baby because you and I were going to do it together, now please, please, we can get through this….please," she grabbed his hand as she pleaded with him.

Carefully he pulled his hand away, "I'll come back for my things later. I'm sorry, Chloe. I've never been sorrier in my life."

Chloe bit through her lip to stop her sobs as she watched him go.

Then she picked up the phone.

&&&&&&

"Audrey, I told you whatever flowers you want are fine with me," he took a deep breath to calm himself. Flower shopping, auditioning twelve different bands, hours spent on seating charts. He wasn't sure he could handle much more.

"Jack, these will be our centerpieces. They are very important and must represent the two of us and the fact that our lives will soon be joined together forever."

He tried to ignore the way that statement made his throat close up and was thankful his phone rang before he had to figure out something else to say.

"Jack Bauer," he answered, even though Audrey hated it when he did.

"Jack," it was Chloe he knew that immediately but there was something very wrong.

"Chloe, what's wrong? Are you okay? Ali?"

"Yes, yes…we're….okay, well," she stopped and he heard a sob, "I'm sorry to bother you Jack, I really am, but…Morris, he left he left me and Ali and she's asleep right now and I'm trying to stay calm, but….I don't want her to wake up and find me like this. Can you co…"

"I'll be right there, Chloe. Just hang tight."

"Jack, we have flowers to pick out, you can't just…" Audrey started before he could even say a word.

"I'm sorry Audrey, but Morris just left her, what am I supposed to do?"

"Stay with me, your fiancée, and let her figure it out with her husband."

Jack shook his head, "She's my friend. She saved my life, your life; I won't turn my back on her when she needs me."

"Fine," she threw the car keys at him, "I'll call for a car when I'm done."

"Audrey…"

"Just go. We'll….discuss this later."

He sighed, but then turned and left. He had to get to Chloe.

&&&&&&

He used his key to get in. She's on the couch, clutching a pillow to her mouth to stop her sobs from waking up her daughter.

"Oh, baby," he said as he dropped to the couch next to her. Gratefully she fell into his arms as he cradled her. She laid her head against his shoulder as he whispered to her, "It's going to be okay. Shhh!"

"No, no it won't," she cried, "I can't do this alone. I'm a mess Jack. We….we were supposed to be a family. Morris was supposed to help me, I can't." she cried again, even as he tried to calm her down.

She cried herself to sleep and he laid her in her bedroom, covering her with a blanket just as he heard the baby cry. The sound didn't wake her mother because he quickly turned down the baby monitor. He knew that Chloe never would have let herself get like this if she'd been alone with Ali.

"Hey Ali girl," he said as he reached her room, "It's okay, everything's fine." He picked the baby up, quickly discovered that she needed a new diaper. He murmured to her as he changed it and then sat in the rocking chair, hoping to get her to sleep again.

"I know this must seem very strange to you Ali girl. All very unexpected and scary, but just remember your mommy is a strong woman. Strongest I've ever known and she'll get through this, you both will. And you won't be alone. You have Bill and Karen and Uncle Chase and….and me." He paused as he stared down into the dropping green eyes, "You look just like your mommy you know that. Just as beautiful as your mommy."

He sat rocking the baby long after she fell asleep as he quietly made possibly the biggest decision of his life.

&&&&&&

Chloe's head was foggy when she woke up and she lay still for a long time as she tried to remember what had made her feel this way.

Then she popped out of bed and ran to the nursery, "Ali." The baby wasn't in her crib.

"Shhhh," she heard from behind her, "She's right here." She whirled around and found Jack cradling her daughter as she drank from her bottle.

"Ali," grabbing her daughter she pulled her close.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I thought you'd sleep longer, didn't mean to scare you."

"No, I….thank you for…" she was unsure how to finish.

"No thanks needed. I made lasagna while you slept, why don't you finish feeding Ali and I'll set everything up?"

"Oh you don't have to…you must have things to do."

"Nothing important. Go ahead, Chloe, we need to talk anyway."

Nodding solemnly she carried Ali to her room.

When she returned everything was set up, and ignoring every manner she knew she sat and ate ravenously.

Jack only chuckled when she apologized, "Chloe, it's been a long day. You need the fuel. But now that you're done, I think you need to tell me everything."

"Morris, he….I came back from the store and Ali was crying, screaming really and he…was just sitting there, with the whiskey bottle and then…he said he couldn't be a father and he had to leave."

"Son of a bitch."

"No, he….he didn't want children and I knew that and I…"

"Got yourself pregnant? He was there Chloe. He's an adult. You're his wife."

"Not for long I don't think." She sighed, "I really don't know how I'm going to take care of a three month old on my own. I just…" she stopped.

"I'm postponing the wedding Chloe. I'm going to move in here for a few months and help you with Ali."

"No, no I can't ask…"

"You didn't ask…and I'm not offering," he met her gaze and held it, "I'm telling you. You have a spare room. I'll stay in there; take care of you and the baby for a few months until you've had some time to deal with everything."

"Jack."

"Don't argue wit—"

"Thank you."

He smiled, "You're welcome."

&&&&&&

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

"Audrey, it's only a few months."

"YEARS, I'VE WAITED YEARS FOR YOU AND NOW YOU WANT TO POSTPONE OUR WEDDING TO PLAY DADDY TO SOME KID THAT ISN'T YOURS."

"She's Chloe's and they need my help, they need our help."

"I don't give a shit what Chloe needs. She's a tech, a worker, a nothing, a no-fucking-body. And whatever you think you owe her for trailing around following you for years is way below this right here. We'll get her a nanny, or a nurse, or hell, I'll buy her a fucking husband."

Jack couldn't even believe the words coming out of her mouth, "You're right, no postponement."

She took a deep breath, "Thank goodness you came to your senses."

"I did. Cancel the fucking wedding. We're done here." He said as he walked out.

"WHAT?"

&&&&&&

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Chloe repeated over and over as Jack popped champagne.

"Sorry, Chloe I owe you. If it wasn't for you I'd have actually married her." He shuddered, "Now, let's celebrate."

"I can't drink…"

"It's non-alcoholic. I have done this before."

Chloe smiled and took the drink, "You really think we can make this work."

Jack smiled and kissed her cheek, "I know we can."

&&&&&&

Two weeks later Jack was watching Ali nap when his cell phone rang. Quickly moving out of the room he was irritated the moment he heard the voice on the other end.

"Bauer, its Morris."

"Yeah I recognized the voice of a cowardly son of a bitch."

"Well, I deserve that."

"You deserve a kick in the ass. In fact why don't we meet somewhere and I'll give you one."

"I'm not arguing with you Jack. I'm an asshole and I'm not pretending otherwise. I'm just…calling to see how Chloe and Ali are."

"They're just fine without you."

"And with you. Heard you moved in the day after I left. Broke off the engagement did you?"

"And what the fuck business is that of yours?"

"None. That's why I called. I wanted to tell you when Chloe's ready she can start divorce proceedings. I won't fight it and I'll sign away my rights to Ali."

"And abandon your family. Yeah you are a real great catch aren't you?"

"WHAT do you want from me Jack? I wanted to make it work. I did. Try to imagine how you'd feel if you realized that you were unhappy with the greatest woman in the world. And that it would never get better because you didn't belong there. I did what I had to do to protect Chloe. Believe me, hate me I don't care. Just…take care of her. I know…I know how you feel about her, don't wait too long to tell her."

"Fuck off."

"Yeah, okay."

Jack sighed, "I'll take care of them. I'll contact you when Chloe's ready to make things official. You just leave her alone until she is."

"I will….thank you Jack," he said and disconnected.

Jack sighed deeply.

&&&&&&

It was almost two months before Chloe was ready to start divorce proceedings and several move before everything was official. It was a fast divorce considering that Morris didn't want anything and had…basically abandoned his family.

Jack waited exactly 48 hours after the divorce was final to make his move.

They were in bed. He slept with her most nights at this point. It was just easier when Ali needed one of them. Plus, Chloe hated sleeping alone more than just about anything. And he loved sleeping with her wrapped around him. It was amazing and torturous all at the same time.

On this night she had rolled almost on top of him and her lips were mere millimeters from his. He thought she was asleep when he pressed his lips against hers. However, when he pulled back she was definitely not asleep.

"Jack," she sighed, "You kissed me."

"Yeah," he reached forward to brush her hair behind her ear, "I did. Do you mind?"

"Jack….no I don't mind, I just…I just got divorced."

"So, no kisses."

"Kisses!" she almost shouted, then blushed, "Just kisses though, maybe we could wait for…more than kisses. Is that okay?"

He smiled widely, "So…wanna make out?"

She giggled, "Get over here."

He rolled her under him and took her lips again.

&&&&&&

In the next two weeks he made out more than he had as a teenager. On the couch, in bed, in the movie theater. It might have been the hottest and most frustrating two weeks of his life.

After they put Ali to bed one night they were watching a movie when suddenly Chloe straddled him.

"Hey," he said, "Bruce Willis hasn't finished saving the world yet."

"Oh! Okay, just thought maybe you might want to get to second base," she said before trying to move off of him.

"Whoa!" he grabbed her hips and pulled her back against him, "Second base like in baseball or second base like…"

"Like copping a feel."

"I love second base."

&&&&&&

It was a Tuesday, eight months since Morris had left when, and one day after the divorce was final that Chloe crawled into bed with Jack…completely naked.

It was only a few hours later that he asked her to marry him.

They got married on a Friday, a year after he'd moved in with her. Kim was his best man, Chase her maid of honor. Kim had smiled, holding her brand new baby sister Ali as Chloe put one hand in Jack's, one hand on her newly pregnant belly and promised to love them all for the rest of her life.