Chloe groaned and reached for the phone, glancing at the clock at her bedside. It was three a.m.
"What?" she barked into the phone in her usual manner.
"Chloe? It's Curtis."
She groaned again. "What is it this time? Nuclear threat? Nerve gas? Assassination attempt?"
"Kim Bauer is dead."
Chloe sat bolt upright in bed, a sense of dread washing over her. "Oh my god" she whispered into the phone. She felt tears sting the backs of her eyes, her tears weren't particularly for Kim; they were more for her father.
"What happened?"
"Car accident" Curtis said simply.
"Jack?"
There was a brief pause before Curtis responded. "That's why I'm phoning Chloe. He knows she's dead but I can't get hold of him. I thought you would want to know, that maybe you might know how to get hold of him."
Chloe shifted to the side of her bed, not knowing what to do for a moment.
"Chloe?" Curtis' voice interrupted her thoughts.
"It's okay Curtis, I'll figure something out."
She hung up the phone and moved quickly to get dressed. Within minutes she was in her car and driving to his apartment.
00000
Jack hadn't been at his apartment, not that she really expected him to be. She had driven around for the past thirty minutes, not really sure where she was going. All of a sudden she'd remembered him telling her where his wife was buried.
She pulled up outside the cemetery and was relieved to see that it was relatively well lit. There was a long path with gravestones either side, the path was wide enough for her car but she decided to get out and walk, not wanting to intrude on him but just wanting to know that he was okay.
She pulled her jacket around her, the cool night air biting through to her skin. She walked for about ten minutes, scanning the headstones as she went, looking for approximate dates, knowing that the plots were generally lumped together by date.
She saw the figure hunched over a headstone in the far corner of the cemetery. She knew it was him and decided to hold back a little and give him some time. She moved to a bench behind him where she could see him but not hear him. She could tell that he was crying and he was talking to his wife, the low hum of his voice reaching her ears even though she couldn't make out what he was saying.
After another fifteen minutes she decided to move closer to him and it was then that she saw the glint of the 9mm at his side. She felt the cold fear grip her and stood, rooted to the spot for a few moments. Eventually she carried on forward.
"Jack?" she called softly, seeing his shoulders tense as he heard her. She saw his gaze move quickly to the gun at his side and she knew that he knew she'd already seen it. He turned slowly and Chloe felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight of him. She had never seen him looking so devastated and Chloe had seen him lose so much in his life.
When she reached him she placed her hand gently on his shoulder, squatting down next to him. She touched his face with her fingers, urging him to look at her. When he did, she saw the raw pain in his eyes. She didn't say anything, she just sat with him, occasionally touching him but mostly just letting him be.
Eventually he spoke, his voice gruff and full of emotion. "I can't believe she's gone" he said, closing his eyes against the truth of his words.
"I know" she said simply.
He started crying then, his breath coming in short bursts through the racking sobs that were torturing his body. She held him as he cried, gently rocking him and muttering soothing sounds, knowing that no words were enough at this moment.
Eventually he stopped crying and wiped the tears from his face. "Chloe" he said softly, reaching to touch her face lightly. He closed his eyes briefly then looked at the ground "you have to go" he whispered.
Chloe sat rigid "I can't" she said, tears now falling from her own eyes.
"You have to" he said, still refusing to look at her.
"I don't want you to go" she said, her words now coming through her own sobs.
"There's nothing left" he said simply.
Chloe wanted to shout and scream. What about me? What about me? But she didn't, she just sat there crying, unable to give him what he wanted.
Before she knew what was happening he was dragging her up by her arms. "Chloe, please" he begged, shaking her almost violently.
"No!" she said, the one word so full of angst and pain that he pushed her away from him. Chloe stumbled and fell to the ground but Jack didn't even notice. Instead he crouched down and reached for his gun, taking the safety off.
"Chloe just go" he said, the gun in his hand waiting to be fired, "you're not going to stop me from doing this".
Chloe scrambled quickly to her feet, moving towards him, knowing that words would not get through to him. She knew that during times of emotional stress people could find physical strength they didn't know they possessed. And that was exactly what Chloe did. Within a split second she had knocked the gun from his hand and Jack Bauer from his feet. He lay sprawled on the ground, winded and obviously shocked.
Chloe was breathing hard but she managed to move quickly and reach for the gun before he had a chance to. She placed the safety back on and put the gun in the waistband of her jeans.
Jack recovered from his shock quickly and Chloe was alerted to his anger by the soft growl that came from his lips, reminding her of the many occasions when his anger had got the better of him when interrogating a suspect. Before she knew it he was lunging for her, pulling her off her feet in one swift move. She struggled against him but was determined to put up a fight, no matter how strong and skilled he was in comparison.
He was on top of her and she attempted to knee him in the groin but he managed to deflect her move with ease. She could feel his hand reaching behind her so she used his own body weight against him to propel herself forward, hoping to wind him again. But that wasn't exactly how it worked, she ended up being forced back by his weight on top of her and as her head bounced on the hard concrete beneath them she had a moment to realise she now had no chance of stopping him as the world went black.