Title: "Lions"

Rating: PG/PG-13

Summary: Jack cares for Audrey and helps her return to normal after her ordeal in China. (AU fic, takes place following S6 Ep. 19.)

Disclaimer: I own the 24 DVD's, but I don't own the show. It belongs to Jon Cassar.

Chapter 1

"Hands behind your head! Lock your fingers!" Angrily, Jack did as Mike Doyle ordered.

He winced as Doyle roughly grabbed his right arm and slapped a handcuff around his wrist. "Ow! Watch it!" Doyle didn't answer; just grabbed Jack's left arm and secured the handcuffs. "I had this," Jack snarled. "I had it under control. I was going to blow up the building to keep Cheng from getting the chip. Detonator's in my pocket," he added. Doyle snatched the device and inspected it, then handed it to another agent and grabbed Jack's arm. No apology, just a rough shove. Jack seethed as he allowed himself to be led away.

"Jack!" Audrey Raines stumbled past, being supported and led by several TAC agents. Sheer terror was written plainly on her face as she struggled to break free from them. "Jack... please... help me. Don't let them do this, Jack... please, don't let them do this! Help me!" Jack wrenched himself out of Doyle's grip and hurried to Audrey.

"Audrey," he whispered. "It's me. I'm right here. You're safe."

Audrey seemed to stare straight through him. "Jack," she gasped. "Please... help me... don't let them do this..."

Jack stared at her in horror. "Audrey," he choked. "Do... do you know who I am?" Audrey's blank stare confirmed his fear. "What did they do to you?" Jack hissed. "What have they done?"

"That's enough." Doyle grabbed his arm again. "They've got her, Jack. She'll be taken care of in Medical. Meanwhile, you're under arrest. Let's go." Jack gritted his teeth, but allowed the younger man to lead him away. For now, he would be innocent and compliant... but somehow, he would find a way to get out of this. Audrey needed help.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Audrey wrapped her arms around her chest, tightly hugging herself. She had no idea where she was, and she didn't care. All she wanted was Jack. Who were these people, and what were they going to do to her? She didn't care about that, either. Daily torture by Cheng had broken her spirit. There was no use in fighting; that would only bring punishment. She had resigned herself to the fact that the pain wouldn't end.

Someone in a white coat patted her shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you," the man told her. Audrey wasn't fooled. She knew he was lying. The fact that he was an American made no difference. Cheng had plenty of Americans and Brits working for him. Every so often, they would come to her. The first few times, she had gotten her hopes up that they were there to rescue her, but it hadn't been the case. Now she knew the truth. Anyone that approached her, American or not, was an enemy.

She curled into a ball, closed her eyes, and waited for the pain to hit.

-O-O-O-O-

Jack strode through the corridors of CTU with only one purpose: getting to Audrey. He had no idea what had happened to make everyone hate him so. The President had agreed with Jack's plan, and Bill had grudgingly given his consent as well. Now everything had changed. Release had come only after Jack had contacted Bill Buchanan, talked some sense into the older man, and asked for help. Finally, reluctantly, Bill had agreed to rescind the arrest order and release Jack. He wasn't allowed into the field, but at least he was out of Holding and free from those damn handcuffs.

Jack pushed open the door to the Medical bay, and was met by Dr. Besson. "Where's Audrey?" he demanded. "How is she?"

"Bad," Dr. Besson said grimly. "I don't know what the hell they did to her, but it's bad." He motioned to the doctor standing next to him. "You remember Dr. Carlson, don't you?" Jack nodded. (Elaine Carlson was very familiar to him. Twenty months ago, she had treated Audrey after Burke's interrogation, as well as after Henderson had stabbed her arm. Today, she had treated Jack twice in the nineteen hours that he had been back on American soil.) "We're going to see if there's a chance that Audrey recognizes her," Dr. Besson said. "Right now, Audrey's not letting anyone near her; maybe a somewhat familiar face will change that." He hesitated. "I'll let you go in, Jack. Maybe you'll be able to help us out."

"And," Dr. Carlson added sternly, "You look like hell, Jack Bauer. When I'm finished with Audrey, you're coming with me, and I'm getting a look at you. You need medical treatment and rest."

"Don't worry," Jack said bitterly. "I'm not allowed out in the field. I'm stuck at CTU. I'll stay put in Medical."

Dr. Carlson glanced at him. "You're actually agreeing to stay in Medical? Either you really need to earn some good points, or you're really feeling rotten." Jack shrugged. The doctor shook her head. "You're a puzzle, Jack. And I'd love to figure out what goes on in your head." She motioned to the door. "I will, later. But for now, let's go check on Audrey." She pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

Audrey was huddled in a pitiful ball on the bed, warily watching the medical team. Tentatively, a technician stepped towards her, but something in her posture and gaze stopped him. Silently, he stepped back.

Taking a deep breath, Dr. Carlson approached the bed and knelt down so that she was at Audrey's level. "Ms. Raines," she said softly. "Audrey. Do you remember me?" There was no answer. "I'll take that as a no. That's all right." She watched Audrey curl into a tighter ball. "Relax," she soothed. "Audrey, I'm Dr. Carlson. You're at CTU. You're safe. We're not going to hurt you." She motioned to Jack. "Jack, I need your help. I need to get an IV in her arm and draw some blood. I'd like you to hold her and calm her down."

"You're forgetting one important fact," Jack told her. "Audrey doesn't recognize me. To her, we're all enemies. Any restraint at all is going to terrify her."

Dr. Carlson looked at him for a long moment. "I know that. I'm going to sedate her as soon as I can. Until I know what they've done to her, I can't do that. The medications could cause any number of problems. So, for now, I'm asking you to help me." Silently, Jack nodded. "Thank you," Dr. Carlson said quietly. She watched as Jack gingerly climbed onto the bed.

Audrey immediately cowered back against the headboard of the bed, pressing hard against the wall as if trying to make it absorb her and shelter her. Now she was trapped, and her head whipped from side to side as she rapidly looked for a way to escape. Jack swallowed hard, and reached towards her. Audrey put up no resistance; she allowed Jack to take her in his lap and cradle her against his chest. He knew exactly what she was thinking. Instinct told her to fight, to escape... but she was too afraid. She knew that, with Cheng, any resistance at all brought pain and punishment. Jack knew that; he had been in the same situation. He choked back the rage rising in him, and nodded to Dr. Carlson. "Do it. And hurry."

The doctor gently took Audrey's right arm. Jack felt Audrey flinch, and she trembled at the doctor's touch. Dr. Carlson tried to ignore the terror in Audrey's eyes and focus on the tasks at hand. She tied a rubber tourniquet around the young woman's upper arm and swabbed the crook of her elbow with alcohol. "All right, Audrey," she said gently. "I need to draw some blood." Elaine Carlson reached into the kit that she carried, and withdrew a needle and a vial. "Little stick coming," she said gently.

As quickly and gently as possible, she swabbed a spot on Audrey's arm with alcohol and inserted the needle, praying that she would reach the vein on the first try. Miraculously, she did. Quickly, she attached the vial and watched it slowly fill with blood. Audrey was trembling violently, and her breath was coming in shallow, panicked gasps. "I know this hurts," Dr. Carlson said softly. "I'm working as fast as I can." She drew three vials of blood, and then extracted the needle. "There. That's done."

She taped a cotton ball into place on Audrey's thin, bruised arm. "You're doing great, Audrey." A single tear slid down the young woman's cheek. "I'm so sorry," Dr. Carlson whispered, choking back tears of her own. What had Cheng Zhi done to this young woman to frighten her so? Dr. Carlson shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I know I'm hurting you, and I know you're scared. I promise that I'm working as quickly as I can. When I'm done, we'll leave you alone." Working quickly, she located another vein and started the IV. "There, all done. No more needles. You can relax."

Dr. Carlson nodded to Jack. "Let go of her. We're done for now. I'll analyze the blood and see if I can figure out what's up." She looked sympathetically at Audrey. "Let's leave her alone for now, and give her a chance to relax. I can check her over more thoroughly later, after she's calmed down a bit." She glanced at the vials of blood. "As soon as I figure out what's been done, I'll give her a tranquilizer. Right now, I need to make sure that nothing I give her will cause a counter-action and do something harmful." She gave Jack a sympathetic smile. "I'll be back later." With that, she collected her supplies and left the room.

Jack took a deep breath and sank into a chair in the corner of the room. He knew to stay away from Audrey for now; she didn't want to be hugged or held. He wouldn't touch her, but there was no way he was going to leave her.

5