This story is complete. Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own anything to do with 24!
The First Time
Chapter One
Jack was glad he refused the ride home tonight. Teri had needed the car today to take Kim to the doctor. Kim had a cough that had been hanging on for a few days and although Teri was not overly concerned she wanted to make sure Kim didn't need an anti-biotic. Teri had offered to pick him up after class, but he didn't want her to have to subject their fussy 2 year- old to another trip in the car. He smiled remembering how she looked when he had left that morning. She had been sleeping soundly in her "big girl" bed in a posture reserved for the very young. Having broken free of her covers she had scooted down to the end of the bed in her sleep. She was on her back, arms out with her small feet hanging over the edge. Kim didn't yet fear the boogie man but in a few years he would most surely make an appearance under her bed, and she would no longer let those feet dangle. An image came to Jack, unwanted, from his own childhood and what scared him then. The fear of his father's very real fists had driven him under his bed despite his uncertainty in the existence of the monster that might have dwelt there. He pushed it away and instead thought of Kim's small nose that he had kissed before he had left that morning. He thought of how much he loved her. How much he loved Teri. How he himself could never lay a hand on them for anything in the world. He often thanked God that he hadn't become his father.
Even though it was a hike across campus to their small apartment in the married student housing complex, Jack found that he was enjoying himself. Graduation was only a month away. He would graduate with a degree in English Literature and his enlistment papers. Jack had been unable to afford college on his own so he had joined Army ROTC and received a scholarship. After graduation he would enter the Army as a Second Lieutenant. There would be base housing and even preschool part time for Kim so that maybe Teri could eventually finish her degree. It would be tight though. He hated admitting how tight.
Although it had been exhausting, Jack had worked long hours in addition to school and ROTC. It hadn't made sense for Teri to work. Her paycheck would have been eaten up with childcare for Kim. Jack knew that the real issue was that wherever Teri would be, her heart would have been at home with their baby. He was willing to make sacrifices so that could happen, but there had been one point he would not compromise. He would NOT take money from Teri's parents. Not then and not now, no matter how tight things got. Teri's parents had shown what kind of people they were when Teri and Jack had gone to them with the news that Teri was pregnant and that she and Jack were getting married.
They hadn't been overly fond of Jack before that night, but they had quietly respected Teri's choice in a boyfriend. When they found out that Jack would become Teri's husband and the father of their grandchild they had been very vocal in their objections. He didn't have any money and was still in college. He came from a family consisting of a dead mother, a father he didn't talk to and an older brother who no one had heard from in four years. How could he nurture and support a family when he didn't know how one should work? All of this, Jack had taken without objection. He knew that this would be an emotional discussion and he was willing to hear them out, to allow them their shock and disappointment. What he hadn't been able to tolerate was the attack they had mounted on Teri.
"What were you thinking Teri? You know you should have been using protection!"
"I was, Mother, we were. It didn't work. Nothing is 100% effective." Teri was trying to remain calm as well. Jack squeezed her hand.
"Keeping your pants on would have been 100% effective!"
Jack had tensed, breathed in, preparing to come to Teri's defense. She had placed her had on his arm, calming him, silently telling him that is was okay.
She looked from one parent to the other. "There's no point in discussing how it happened. It happened. There is nothing that can change it now."
Her father looked away from her. "Sure there is. Abortion is legal now. You have your whole life to get married and have kids, right now you need to finish school."
Teri's face had gone white and then quickly to red. Her eyes filled with tears and her mouth worked through anger and shock as she tried to respond. "But... you always said....."
Her father spoke at her, still unable to look her in the face. "It doesn't matter what we said before, we won't have you throwing your life away on this.... this surfer boy who thinks he can raise a child and take care of a wife by being a soldier or by reading books! And you are not the daughter we thought you were if you believe he can."
Jack stood. "That's enough. I love Teri. I wanted to marry her before this baby. We're just doing it sooner than we planned. I can do whatever is necessary to take care of my family." He looked down at Teri. She looked small and lost, like a child herself. He held his hand out to her and she took it and stood. They left quietly.
Things had been strained for awhile. Teri's sister Carol had helped Teri and Jack put together a small backyard wedding at her house. Teri's parents had been there and had been civil. In the end it was Jack and Teri's beautiful baby that had thawed them. They had apologized to Teri and Jack and offered financial help. Jack did what he had to keep the peace for Teri's sake and for Kim's but he had never quite forgiven Teri's parents and drew the line at taking their money. He was glad he had remained firm. Things were working out now.
Jack decided to take a shorter route home through a large parking lot often called the Maze by the students who, after a long day of classes, would have trouble finding their car in its massive space. He was about halfway across when he heard two voices one male and one female. He couldn't understand what they were saying, he was too far away, but he could tell they were arguing. As Jack got closer he started to be able to make out part of what they were saying.
The man's voice was louder, lower and easier to understand. "Don't tell me......bitch.... I know who you were with......... lie.........not gonna happen."
The woman's reply was softer but partially understandable. "YES!.... not anymore ..... alone..............go....."
Jack walked faster now toward the voices and heard more clearly from the woman.
"I mean it! You have to stop! We are o-v-e-r, do you get it? I will never be with you again. Who I see or don't see isn't any of your business!"
Jack came around the back end of a pickup truck and looked left. A streetlamp flickered on and off illuminating and in turn darkening the man and the woman as if they stood on a dance floor. The girl was backed up against the side of a dark colored Cavalier and the man stood facing her, his large hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. The man towered over the girl. Jack didn't want to admit that the man would easily tower over him as well. Jack put him at about 6' 4".
"Oh but it IS my business." The man reached into his jacket pocket with his left hand and came out with a knife.
Jack ran towards them, screaming for the man to stop. The girl stood frozen, her eyes darting back and forth between Jack and the man. He had crossed only half the distance when the man stabbed the girl in the abdomen, low on the left side. The man pulled out the knife and turned to face Jack as the screaming girl grabbed her mid section and slid down the Cavalier's door. Jack slowed and stopped 10 feet from the man and put his hands up, palms out. He back up as fast as he could without turning from the man. Jack screamed out as loud as he could.
"Somebody call 9-1-1!"
The man was rushing at him, but luckily he was still holding the knife high. Just as the man started to bring it down Jack was able to grab the hand that held the knife with both of his own hands. Jack pushed hard. Due to the ROTC, Jack was in great shape, the best of his life he thought, but this man was huge. And angry. Jack knew that he would not be able to overpower this man by using his strength alone. He gave one more hard push and then suddenly let go, darting away to the man's right and kicking out in an attempt to sweep the man's feet out from under him. The man lost his balance and crashed into the side of the truck. He recovered quickly and used the truck as leverage to propel himself back in Jack's direction. Jack could hear the girl behind him; still very much alive and screaming her head off. Even if someone heard her and called the police, it would be too late. This was going to end soon one way or the other. Jack decided to do what the man would least expect.
He ran at him, feeling the distance closing too quickly for a man without a real plan. Training and instinct took over when Jack reached him. As the man raised the knife, Jack clasped both his hands together and assumed a baseball hitter's stance. He aimed for the man's wrist and hit at it like wild pitch. He connected and the knife flew out of the man's hand and landed about 15 feet away, in the space between two parked cars. They both went for the knife, but Jack was faster and more in control; a soldier now, a real one, for the first time. Jack got to the space between the cars first, but had to slow down so he wouldn't fall. The man grabbed his shirt and was attempting to drag him back. Jack was able to dig in with his legs and grab a door handle of the car on his right, pulling himself forward. When he was in reach of the knife, he dropped and was able to grab it as the man jumped onto his back. Jack pulled the knife under him with his right hand preventing the man from trying for it. He used his other arm to throw his elbow viciously back into the man, who was throwing non stop punches to his head and back. Jack was scared that any moment the man would land a blow that would cause him to loose consciousness. If that happened he would never wake up. He was a witness. The man would kill him and then finish off the girl.
Jack waited a moment, timing his move so that the man's arm would be pulled back, readying for his next hit. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and then suddenly rotated to face the man, who was knocked off balance. Jack now held the knife in the middle of his own abdomen blade out. He tried to push himself upright by using his left hand behind him as leverage. He managed to get his feet flat on the ground and had started to pop up when the man, unable to right himself started to fall on top of Jack. The man was falling, but his huge hands were out in front of him, aimed for Jack's throat. Jack had a split second to decide what to do with the knife. He didn't think in words. He saw pictures, flashed quickly, one after the other. The girl by the Cavalier first. Then Teri and Kim. He saw Teri's face like he had the first time he had seen her, smudged with paint, staring intently at the ocean scene on her canvas. He saw Kim, running to him as he opened the door, tripping over her toys, laughing as he picked her up. They needed him, all of them. He held the knife more tightly as the man fell on him. The man pushed himself up and looked down with wide eyes at the knife buried in the left side of his chest. He stumbled around for a second and then collapsed, either unconscious or already dead.
Jack felt like he was outside of himself as he walked over to the injured girl. He could almost see his own corpse there between the cars instead of the man that was there. He couldn't help but think of the horrible way the man's flesh had yielded as the knife went in. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees, trying not to be sick. He took several deep breaths and then threw up anyway. When he was finished he started over to the girl again. He expected to feel pain. He knew the man had beaten him badly. He could feel the blood dripping through his hair. He just felt numb. The girl was on the ground in a fetal position, holding her stomach, still crying and screaming. Jack thought this was a good sign. As Jack approached she screamed louder.
"It's okay." he said. "I won't hurt you." Jack tilted his head in the direction of the man. "He won't hurt you. He's dead'
"Are you sure?"
Jack wasn't. "I think so. He won't be getting up anytime soon. I need to see how badly you are bleeding."
"I don't know, I haven't let go. It doesn't seem too bad"
"Okay, good. Keep holding it just like that." He touched the girl's arm. "I'm going to have to go get some help."
The girl started to panic as she looked over at the man on the ground. "What if he gets up?"
Jack got her to look at him. "What's your name?"
"Kristin." She whispered it.
"Kristin, I am going to go over there and make sure he's dead and then I am going to find a campus emergency phone to call for help, okay?"
She nodded. Jack went over to the man and felt for a pulse but couldn't find one. He watched for signs of breathing and saw none. It looked as if the knife had gone directly into his heart. He ran back over to the girl. "Kristin, he's dead, I'll be fast." He knew there had to be a campus call box somewhere near. He found one only 50 yards away. He called.Chapter Three
He ran back to her. He was afraid that she might go into shock, so he found some blankets in her trunk and covered her. He also found a shirt that he could use to staunch the wound. Jack coaxed her hand away from the cut, put the shirt on it and applied pressure. The girl was right, it didn't look too bad, but he didn't know what internal damage had been done. He wondered how much time had passed since he had first heard the voices. Only a few minutes, he thought. Another 5 until the police got here, 6 or 7 tops for the ambulance.
"I didn't think he would... I mean I knew he was...." The girl was crying but her voiced had lost the edge of panic.
"Shh, don't talk. Everything is going to be okay. You'll be fine."
Jack pushed her hair from her face, and smoothed it down, calming her. He could feel a little panic of his own creeping in now and his head was finally beginning to throb. He wondered what the investigation of the man's killing would be like. To him, it was a clear case of self defense, and defense of Kristin. He thought the authorities would see it his way. Probably. God, he wanted to talk to Teri right now. She would listen to him and really hear him. So many times he felt like she had been the first person, the only person in his life that heard him, that understood him. Hearing this would scare the shit out of her though. He remembered the first time he had seen Teri really scared.
He had arrived at her dorm room ten minutes late for a date. She opened the door to him and then immediately turned away. He could tell that she was crying. It had taken him ten minutes to get her to talk to him. She was pregnant. She was scared. Scared of telling her parents, scared of being a parent, petrified of loosing Jack. He had been surprised, but he immediately assured her that no matter what she would not loose him. That they would handle it together, the whole thing. A strange thing had happened to him that night as he and Teri had talked. He finally knew what it was like to be in a family. A real family. His family. Later, as he held Teri while she slept he had cried silent tears of relief. He could think of the word "family" feel something else besides anger and regret. He could see something else besides broken furniture and broken promises. He couldn't understand why this beautiful, confidant woman wanted him but she did. She wanted him as a husband and a father to their child. Jack could remember exactly what he was thinking as he finally drifted into sleep that night. It was a prayer actually: Please God, don't let me screw this up.
So far, Jack thought , he hadn't.
The ambulance and police came. Although Jack protested, an ambulance was called for him as well and he was taken to the hospital to be checked out. On the way he gave his statement to an officer that rode with him, who told him that there would be more questions, and an investigation but most likely Jack would be cast in the role of hero, not the villain. When he got to the hospital he asked for a phone to call Teri. He knew she would have started to worry because he hadn't arrived home. He didn't want to alarm her more than he had to, so he started the conversation by telling her that he was absolutely fine but that he was at the hospital and would explain why later. He told her he was sorry that she would have to put Kim in the car and come and get him. She told him not to be ridiculous. She told him she loved him. He could hear the edge in her voice, the fear. He wished he didn't have to burden her with the knowledge that he had come close to dying. He didn't even consciously realize that that was the moment he started to edit the events of the night for the version that Teri would hear. He wouldn't realize until well after he told her what happened that for the first time he hadn't been fully honest with her. Just a few details left out, that's all. To protect her and to protect Kim. Teri would be better off, not knowing how close he had been to being gone and how sick he felt when the knife went in. How relieved he felt when the knife went in.
That night, as Jack slept crunched between his wife and his little girl, a brick was laid. The first brick in a wall that became tall and wide, and much later came down all at once.