It was dark now and snowing heavily. The headlights made each thick white flake stand out against the blackness of the night and fly past the windshield like some low-budget movie version of warp speed space travel. Jack couldn't see more than twenty feet in front of him, and what he could see was quickly becoming less distinct as the accumulating snow blurred the edges of the highway. He slowed down and felt his way along, praying the road was more or less straight.
Jack risked taking his eyes off the road long enough to check on Renee, who had been asleep beside him in the passenger seat for hours. The ghostly blue glow from the dashboard lights cast deep shadows on her face, and made her even more pale, if that were possible. Still, her breathing was deep and even, and he thought she looked a little better than when they'd started out. They would have to change the dressings on her wound. Jack had promised her doctor that he could handle it, desperate to convince him to let her check out days sooner than was probably prudent. It would have been far less prudent to stay.
He yawned and shifted in his seat and winced as the seat belt cut into his shoulder. It might be a good idea to check on his own injuries, too.
He was tired. Beyond tired. He'd been driving since before dawn, heading north into Montana and an early winter. For a few hours in the afternoon a strong wind had been blowing, sending snow from the stubble-covered fields across the highway, creating a constantly-shifting pattern on the pavement. The effect had been mesmerizing. That and the unpredictable jerks of the box-like Jeep as it was buffeted by sudden gusts that threatened to knock him into the ditch had made for an exhausting drive. He also hadn't slept in… he couldn't remember how long, exactly, but it had to be over 48 hours. He would have to stop, and soon.
He had no idea how long it might take him to reach the next town, or if anything would even be open this late. He'd almost decided it would be smarter to pull over and wait it out until daylight when he saw a light ahead. It turned out to be a motel sign on the edge of a town, black cut-out letters making the dubious promise that one could "Stay here for the rest of your life!"
God forbid, thought Jack, even if he could see it happening. If not here, than someplace like here. A succession of out of the way backwater places where they could lose themselves. He wondered if Renee was ready for that, if she really understood what she had chosen when she decided to come with him. Not that she'd had a choice. The Russians wouldn't stop until they found them both.
He pulled in to the almost empty parking lot, tires crunching on the fresh snow. A quick check of the gas gauge told him he could leave it and the anemic heater running while he went into the motel office.
Reaching awkwardly across the stick shift between the bucket seats, he brushed Renee's hair away from her face and kissed her forehead gently.
"Hey, sleepyhead."
Her eyelids fluttered briefly and one hand pulled her parka tighter around her shoulders.
"Mmmm."
"I'm sorry, but we've got to stop for a few hours."
Renee's eyes opened and her forehead wrinkled as she tried to absorb her surroundings.
"Where are we?"
"Choteau, I think. Montana."
She pressed a knuckle into the corner of one eye and blinked. "Are you tired? Do you want me to drive?"
Jack shook his head. "The storm's pretty bad. We'll have to make the border in the morning."
She nodded. "Okay."
"I'm going to check in. Stay here. I'll be back in a minute, and then we can get you into bed."
She smiled faintly. "That's how this all started, remember?"
Xxxx
Renee lay on her side and watched Jack's face as he slept. He'd pretty much collapsed as soon as he'd done a quick check of the room, assessing the bathroom windows for their sudden exit potential and propping a chair under the doorknob. She'd had to remind him to take off his boots when he fell onto the bed. Not because she cared about the polyester coverlet, but because she knew he'd be more comfortable and sleep better. He'd sat up and taken them off, lining them up with military precision beside his duffle bag. She was learning how tidy he was. The bag he'd packed for her was organized and economical, everything she'd need carefully arranged, and nothing extra. No wasted space, no luxuries.
Sleeping, he looked the most relaxed she'd seen him, ever, almost. He had been more relaxed and happy at his apartment, before Chloe had called, before a sniper had shattered his window and their lives.
Renee supposed she should try to rest some more, but she wasn't tired after sleeping all day. Gingerly, so as not to disturb him, she slipped out of the covers and pulled his grey hoodie from his duffle. She pulled it on and sat in the vinyl-covered armchair in the corner, tucking her feet underneath her for warmth. The wind rattled the thin metal frames of the windows, but otherwise it was silent, the snow dulling any sound from outside.
The TV would be too loud in the quiet, the room was too cheap to have a minibar, and no luxuries meant they hadn't brought any books. The only reading material in the room consisted of a hunting and fishing magazine, a telephone directory not much thicker than the magazine, and a Gideon Bible. It didn't matter. She could use some time to think.
For the second time, her life had been turned upside down after spending one day with Jack Bauer. Three days ago – was it? It seemed like so much longer. Three days ago, she'd been sitting in her psychiatrist's office, lying about how she didn't want to kill herself any more, trying to be sufficiently credible that he'd renew her prescription for sleeping pills. He had her on such a low dose it was taking forever to save up enough. She could use a gun, but they'd taken hers away and it had raised questions when she'd tried to get another. Besides, she didn't want to leave a mess for anyone to clean up. She'd done enough of that.
She didn't know what she would tell the good doctor now.
Jack was going to extraordinary lengths to keep her alive, but he'd never asked her if that's what she wanted. It was what he wanted, and that was something. He'd been true to his word when he said she had him. At least so far.
What would happen six months, a year from now? When reality sunk in, and they were fighting about whose turn it was to do the dishes, or how she never hung up her towel. When they'd had to run yet again, when there was no money? Would he still think she was worth throwing everything else away? He barely knew her. He didn't know what she'd done, the kind of person she was.
He'd done as much and worse, she knew. But in her experience, people held others to a different standard than themselves. They understood all the reasons they had done something, could rationalize practically anything. From the outside, it wasn't as clear. Hell, look at the way she'd judged him before she knew him.
This was crazy. Running away like a couple of teenagers, hoping that they could find a fairytale together. Real life didn't work like that. What the fuck did he think he was doing? She shifted angrily, and the chair squeaked.
The noise was enough to disturb Jack without waking him, and he rolled over. The covers fell away from his shoulders, exposing his bare chest. Renee stared at it, jolted back into an awareness of who Jack really was. If anyone knew there was no such thing as a fairytale ending, it was him. It was written right there on his body. The flush of anger that heated her face was replaced by a chill in her spine.
Jack had put so much on the line for her, and it scared the shit out of her to think that she had to make it worthwhile.
xxxx
Jack stirred again, and when the arm he reached out fell on an empty bed instead of her, he opened his eyes, squinting against the light from the bathroom.
"Renee?"
"I'm here." Her voice telegraphed the shaking of her body. She sat hunched in the armchair, her arms crossed, hugging the warmth of his hoodie closer to her chest.
Tired as he was, Jack got out of bed and came to her. He crouched in front of her chair, placing a hand softly on her arm.
"Renee, what's wrong?" he asked carefully, trying not to let his rising panic into his voice even as his mind raced with possibilities. What the hell had he been thinking, taking her away like this? She should be in ICU, not in some crappy motel room with walls thin as paper, the temperature dropping further every minute.
He put a hand on her forehead, formulating a cover story in his mind in case he had to get her to a doctor. Would there even be a doctor here, in this weather? "You're freezing. Come back to bed." He moved beside her to help her up.
"Jack, don't. I'm fine."
Her tone made him stop and he crouched in front of her again, this time without touching her as he searched her face.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked again.
"I'm just… I'm so scared, Jack."
He was taken aback. He'd known Renee to be a lot of things, but afraid wasn't generally one of them. He sensed this was one of those moments he used to have with Teri, sometimes, when he was supposed to understand what she was feeling even though she wouldn't tell him what was really going on. Renee had been through so much, it could be anything.
"Renee," he placed a hand on her cheek, rubbing away a wayward tear with his thumb. "You don't have to be afraid. I won't let anything happen to you. I give you my word. Do you understand?"
She nodded, covering his hand with her own.
He leaned in and kissed her gently, leaning his forehead against hers as she closed her eyes.
"Now, you need to come back to bed."
He helped her up and guided her back to the bed, tucking the covers snugly around her shoulders before climbing in on his side. He stroked her hair in long, slow movements until her breathing changed from ragged sobs to the slow rise and fall of sleep and he knew it was safe for him to fall asleep again, too. He would need his energy for tomorrow. They had a long road ahead of them.