I do not own anything 24 related.
Tessa hurried down the street to the small café, worried that she had kept Paul waiting too long. But she knew he would wait for her, he always did.
"You always have the perfect timing!" she almost squealed when she saw him about to enter the establishment they always had coffee at.
He grinned at her excitement and opened the door for her which caused her smile to turn into a grin in appreciation.
They sat at their usual, small table by the window as they ordered their usual coffee.
He smiled as he looked across the table at her beautifully innocent face. He felt his stomach churn at how he deceived her into believing he was single and available.
Though Paul loved his wife, he reminded himself she had left him. Tessa had simply come along right when he began realizing Audrey may not want to come back and that he needed someone.
Tessa had been too pretty, too sweet, and too kind for him to ignore the day – a little over three months earlier – he had gone in to see one of his lawyers and she was waiting there to greet him. And from then on, instead of simply calling this lawyer, Paul would find himself driving to meet him at his office all because of his captivating secretary.
The memory caused Paul to slide his hand over the table and take hold of her hand, clinging onto it tightly, as if scared she might get up and leave him too right then.
A smile crept upon her features, he knew how much she loved his displays of affection, no matter how trivial they may have seemed to anyone else. That was one thing he loved so much about her – she would never stop him from showing how he felt, if he hugged her out in public, she would let him linger there for as long as he wanted. It may not seem paramount to others but it was good to know that someone enjoyed having his arms around her.
Audrey, at the moment, was far from his thoughts as he lifted Tessa's now open palm to his lips and kissed it.
She pulled her hand away, blushing and he began to worry that now she would turn prim and resist his affections, "Paul, darling, you need to stop that."
"Why?" he tilted his head, innocently.
"Because if you continue there is no way I am going to let you simply stop there," she stated it as if it were so obvious, yet with her suggestion she still looked so sweet.
He raised an eyebrow, "Are you suggesting something, Tessie?"
She did something he could never resist in response – she bit her lower lip as if she was scared to answer the question. She may look chaste but it was only by appearance as she knew what that simple action could produce and she giggled as Paul quickly paid for the two cups of coffee and rushed her out of the restaurant.
They laughed like naughty school children all the way to her apartment and without much thought dispensed of their clothing and fell onto her bed.
They took their time despite the fact that they were expected back at work within the hour.
Grasping at the bed sheets and at each other, they finally climaxed together as Paul collapsed onto the bed next to her, trying to catch his breath, all the while smiling.
She turned over, facing him, leaning on her elbow, "Why do you always have the goofy grin on your face after we make love?"
"Because," he reached up and caressed her face, "You always look so innocent but when we're together, you turn out to be so naughty."
She giggled and mocked him slightly, "You know, I really fancy your accent."
He grinned and began to get up, pulling his pants back on and turning the television on to quickly check the news.
"Do you really have to go so soon?" she groaned.
"Yes, I do and so do you."
She tugged on his arm hard enough to pull him back into a lying position and she leaned on top of his chest, looking adoringly at his face.
"Paul," she whispered.
He raised his eyebrows in response, causing her to continue.
She traced her fingers along the sides of his face, "Paul, I love you."
He gulped, unsure of what to say but she continued, "You don't have to say it back or even feel the same way, I-I just wanted to tell you."
He opened his mouth to respond when his ears caught the words of the news reporter on the television, "I'm sorry to disrupt your normal news but this has just come in. Secretary of Defense James Heller and his daughter have been reportedly kidnapped only moments ago while visiting Los Angeles." The news caused him to sit up with such a force that Tessa was almost thrown off the bed.
"Paul?" she cried, "Paul, what is it?!"
"Audrey," he breathed.
"Audrey? Whose Audrey?"
Paul sighed as he knew he could not keep it from her any longer. He turned to her, his eyes filling with sadness.
He took her hand, "Tessa, when I told you I was divorced, I wasn't exactly telling you the truth. You see, my wife, Audrey, and I separated about nine months ago but we haven't filed for divorce yet," he paused as he sighed again, "Tessie, I'm still married."
As her jaw fell open, she felt her world came down along with it.
"Married?! Well, if you're married then where's your wedding band?"
"I told you we're sepa-"
She put a hand over his mouth, she did not want to hear any relating to marriage again, at least not in describing him and another woman.
He continued as a tear began to fall down her cheek, "And you see, she's Secretary Heller's daughter – she's the one whose been kidnapped!"
He tried to appeal to her empathy but somehow knew her own personal grief was too strong to care about the person who had caused it.
"You lied to me. Y-You've been lying to me this whole time."
"No, that was the only thing! Everything else was genuine. I really do care about you, Tessa."
"Oh God, I'm such a fool!" she sobbed, "Here I was thinking we'd get married but obviously we can't really do that if you're already married!"
Paul could feel his own heart breaking as he tried to get an arm around her though she fought it.
"Tessie, stop! If I weren't already married to Audrey, I'd be down on one knee right now!" he pleaded.
"Well that's nice for me, isn't it?! It's just too damn bad you're married!"
Paul took in a deep breath, he didn't have time for this. He really did care for Tess, maybe even love her, but he had to go to LA, he had to make sure Audrey and Jim were all right, or at least if there was something he could do.
"Listen, Tessa, I have to go to LA to make sure she's okay-"
"Fine," she spat, "Go see if she's okay. Don't worry if I'm okay with the fact that you let me fall in love with you even though you're married!"
He pushed himself off the bed in rage, "Bloody hell, she's been kidnapped! I'm sorry I lied to you but she's still my wife!"
He grabbed his tie as he stormed out of her bedroom and then out of the apartment, leaving her in a crying heap on the bed.
It took Tessa about five and a half hours of sitting around her apartment to figure out just how horribly she had treated Paul and that was when she dialed his cell phone number.
Paul looked down at his phone hopefully wishing it was Audrey but instead was greeted by the name 'Tessa' instead. He was not sure if he should pick up at all, not only because things might be working out now for him and Audrey but also because of her behavior from earlier. But he gave into his feelings for her and flipped open his phone, "Hello?"
"Paul? Oh, I'm so glad I got you!" she sounded as if she was still crying, "Paul, I am so terribly sorry for how I acted this morning, it was so insensitive of me. Even if you did lie to me, I had no right to make my situation sound worse than hers."
"It's okay Tessa."
"Do you know? Is she all right?"
She was shocked by her question, she did not know why she was inquiring after the health of her presumed rival. But her humane side got a hold of her and put her selfish feelings aside.
"Yeah, she and her father got out safely. Some man saved them, some Jack Bauer," he grumbled.
"Jack Bauer? Didn't he save LA from a nuclear bomb a few years back?"
"No need to rub it in, Tessa."
"Well sorry," she said sarcastically, "It's not like I'm jumping for joy either."
He sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm still just a bit angry. She- she said she's seeing someone else, that she's in love with him and I know it's that Bauer fellow."
"I'm sorry Paul," she did not know what else to say, but she meant it anyhow.
He even knew she meant it. She amazed him. He could not believe this woman had just been wronged this morning by him due to his marital status and now was asking how his wife was and showing sympathy for the news of the supposed impending divorce.
"Tessa," he whispered into the phone, "I never got time to tell you this but..."
He paused, he had no idea what he was saying or even if he should be saying it but he knew she would not let him get off easily so he went right on with his thought.
"Even though I love my wife very dearly, I- I love you too, Tessa, I love you too."
There was a silence from both – from him because he wanted to let his words sink in, for the both of them; and from her because she did not know what to say.
"And if I can't work it out with Audrey and if you can find it in your heart to forgive me and trust me again, I'd like to, well, I'd like to be your husband."
"Oh Paul, do you really mean that?"
"Yeah," he smiled, "Yeah, I do."
They continued into a rather cheery conversation and she again made him forget all about Audrey – she was the only person that could do such a feat. They both had smiles on their faces when they finally had it in themselves to hang up.
But it would be forgotten when, about two hours later, Audrey Raines called her husband feeding him a story of a possible reconciliation. But Tessa had already left for LA an hour before.
By the time she arrived in Los Angeles, it was well past ten at night at least it was in LA, and unbeknownst to her, Paul had already been shot and was already out of surgery.
Finding his hotel room empty and his cell phone turned off, she was forced to call the one other place she could think he would be – CTU, most likely with Audrey. From the woman on the phone, she could ascertain that Paul was in the building but was unable to come to the phone. Tessa did not like the sound of that and rushed to the CTU headquarters.
She posed as 'Mr. Raines' secretary' to be allowed entrance into the building and used the disguise as a way to find Paul's exact whereabouts in the expansive building only to find out he was in the medical clinic, suffering a severe gunshot wound.
Tessa was mere yards from the clinic when the glass door was whipped open and Paul, surrounded by medical personnel and followed by a frantic woman (presumably Audrey), was rushed out.
"Paul!" she could not help but call out.
She only caught the attention of Paul, who mouthed her name, and Audrey, whose eyebrows furrowed at her presence. Soon, Audrey, mostly out of curiosity, came out to meet Tessa.
"Excuse me, Miss, but who exactly are you? You obviously know my husband."
Tessa had not readied herself for meeting Audrey, "I- I'm his secretary."
"And what made you come all the way out here to LA?
Tessa had no answer that was acceptable to tell the wife of her boyfriend.
"I, uh, just had a feeling I was needed and it looks like I was right."
A corner of Audrey's mouth quirked up, "Well...?"
"Tessa Samson."
"Well, Tessa, I doubt he needs help filing things away or answering phones while he's fighting for his life."
Tessa nodded, "I understand that, but I can still support him."
"Good," Audrey smiled, "He needs all the support he can get right now."
Over the next thirty minutes, Audrey and Tessa watched as Paul was operated on and then abandoned as Jack Bauer – Audrey's boyfriend – pulled doctors away to attend to a dying suspect before Paul himself died as well.