She was the only thing I had left. Now I have nothing left.

Jack Bauer stood by the railing that was the only thing between him and a fatal fall to the ocean and rocks below. It was the dawn of a new day. The tip of the sun had finally appeared above the horizon. It cast thin quivering light into the world. A cool morning breeze ruffled through the leaves of tall palms, and dried the hot sweat on his brow.

It's all over. I finished what they needed me to do.

He had given everything for CTU and the defense of this country. Now there was nothing left to give. So now there was no reason to go back.

But if there was nothing left, what was stopping him from hurdling his body over the railing and into the churning foam below at this very moment?

He almost did it too. It was thanks to one remaining shred of his sanity that had not ripped like the others that he wasn't now just a corpse buried at sea.

He stared down at the violent waves and wished he could end his own life the way he had ended the lives of so many people close to him. He just needed to end the pain.

Maybe this was his punishment, for being reckless, selfish, he didn't know.

All he knew was that what Audrey's father said was true. Everyone close to him ended up dead. He had risked everything to save Audrey's life, just as she had done for him. He wasn't going to let everything he had done for her yesterday be undone because of his own selfish desire to be happy. The only way to keep her safe now was to disappear.

A vision of Chloe's face, worried and heartbroken at his disappearance, swam to the forefront of his mind and his eyes began to sting and water. Then he frowned, sniffed loudly, and wiped a hand roughly over his face. It was more than just Audrey that he would miss.

After long minutes of standing by the railing watching the sun come up, he turned his back to the new day and headed for the truck.