Author's note: The characters are not mine, no money is being made. In fact, if I don't get back to work, I'll never make any money! LOL. I might add to this if I have the time.
This came to me after re-watching Day 5. How does Jack get to be such a stud on Day 1 when he's been with the same woman since he was a teenager?
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Now all they have to do is wait. Jack stays out of sight in the back seat of the car and keeps his gun trained on Theo. The German agent has agreed to give up his contact in exchange for the WET list, but Jack can tell he's not happy about it. He's obviously in love with Collette.
"What'll happen to her?" he asks.
"Why do you care?"
"Have you ever been in my situation? Undercover for long periods and involved with a woman?"
"I've been under cover."
"There's no question we're doing what has to be done for our countries. But sometimes it's harder than others."
Jack stays silent, his mind going back over the many women he'd been involved with over the years of undercover work. Claudia, of course. He still carried the pain and guilt of her death. There had been others, but the one that stood out was the first one. Jane.
Plain Jane, she called herself. Not that there was anything plain about her: long, dark, curly hair reaching almost to her narrow waist. A firm round ass, and great breasts. Hell, amazing breasts. Expensive breasts. Artie had bought them for her before a few months before a faulty fuse exploded in his face, killing him and giving Jack the opening he needed to infiltrate the white supremacist cell.
Normally, Jack preferred the real thing, but in this case it made it easier. It made the whole thing seem less real, less like cheating on Teri. His fake identity was having a fake relationship with fake tits. And it meant Jane was not above a little deception herself. Not if it helped her get what she wanted. What she wanted was the security and prestige of sleeping with Fred's second-in-command, and now that was Jack. What Jack wanted was information, and sleeping with Jane helped him get it.
He had resisted her advances for a while after he was first 'recruited' by White Fist. They were interested in a young, disillusioned former Army kid with explosives training and blond hair and blue eyes. After a few weeks, he realized that turning her down was drawing attention to himself. The other guys, most of whom had spent more than one lonely night wishing they were in Jack's shoes, were starting to wonder what was up with him. Jack was sure he'd heard Dwayne snickering about "Don't ask, don't tell" when he thought Jack wasn't listening.
Phillip's assistant Sam had been such an integral part of the Bauer household when Jack was growing up, he had learned tolerance at an early age. And of course, with Teri being a design student in L.A., many of the young couple's friends were gay. Jack had even been secretly flattered when one of them had developed a little crush on him. He had no issues with it, but he knew these guys would. And you would have to be gay not to want to be with Jane. Or married. And he was not supposed to be married.
He could see that he'd have to do something soon or he'd have a big problem on his hands. But how could he cheat on Teri? They'd gotten married so young, she was only the second woman he'd ever been with. After Marilyn left him for Graham and he'd found Teri, he'd never even wanted any other woman, even though girls like Jessica and Traci never hesitated to let him know they were interested. Teri was everything to him. And now she was waiting at home with Kim, having to be a single parent not knowing if he was okay or even alive.
The night he'd come home with this assignment, Jack and Teri lay in the dark talking after putting Kim to bed. It was a good opportunity for him. They'd always known this day would come when he joined the CIA, but that didn't make it easier.
"How long will it be?" Teri lay on her back, staring unseeing at the ceiling.
"I don't know. A couple of months, probably." Jack slipped his hand into hers, tracing her wedding ring gently with his fingers.
"A couple of months?" Teri took her hand away, rubbing her forehead while she calculated. "But Jack, it's May now. That will take us into summer holidays. What about our trip to Canada? Kim's really looking forward to the drive up the coast."
"I know. I'm sorry. Maybe you and Kim could go to Carol's in July and if I'm done by August maybe we could still go…"
"Really?" She glanced at him. "I don't know, Jack. I don't want to get her hopes up if it's not a sure thing." He nodded slowly.
"I know. I don't know. It depends how it goes, I guess." He felt like crap. Teri rolled towards him, searching his face.
"Will you be able to call? To visit?"
"I don't think so, no."
"God, Jack. I'm so worried. What kinds of things will you have to do?" He hadn't been able to tell her much, but she knew that if they needed him to join this organization, these were not good people. It wasn't like going on training with other Army guys. He touched her cheek gently, staring into her eyes. They were beautiful, shining with tears in the glow from the streetlight.
"I don't know, Teri." He kissed her forehead gently. "But I promise you. I will never do anything to hurt you."
How would he be able to look her in the eye when this was over? Attractive as she was, Jane was a skank. It would raise suspicion if he wanted to use protection. What if he caught something? How could he put Teri in danger like that?
He decided to talk it over with Walsh. They arranged to meet in Santa Monica.
"Jack, you knew when you took this job that you would have to do whatever it takes." Walsh took a sip from his coffee and leaned against the railing of the pier. The light breeze off the ocean promised a warm summer ahead.
"Richard, I love my wife. I don't know if I can do this." Jack looked desperate. Walsh turned his head away. God, the poor kid. He wants out of this so badly. Well, I'm sorry, man. This is the way the world works. Suck it up.
"Listen, I know how you feel. Believe me, I do. I've been there."
You'll start off hating yourself, but then you'll be surprised. You might even start to like it. And then one day when the wife has been too tired or busy for the hundredth time, you'll find yourself wishing you were undercover again.
Walsh wasn't proud of this, but he knew it was true. He hoped it would be different for Jack.
Fat chance. You never know, though. This kid has integrity.
He turned back to Jack, putting his hand on the younger man's arm.
"You have to remember that Jack Brownlee is not you."
"But it will be me. I –"
"No. No, it won't. It will be Jack Brownlee. Your job is to get Jack Brownlee where he needs to be, so Jack Bauer can tell us what's going on and break these guys."
And so he had.