Here's my post-finale story. Well, I've been thinking of writing something else that's also post-finale, but this is immediately post-finale. Sorry if it's almost become cliche, but I wanted to write a story about Bill and Karen being reunited after season 6's close, so here it is. I'm planning on another chapter after this one, but if you review, I'll be more motivated to write it! It might have to wait another week or two, but I will be motivated to write it, so please review!

Dedicated to take5, who gave me motivation to get this up before school ended. You all are great, but I really wasn't planning on polishing this for another few weeks. Thanks take5!

Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or its characters.

It was almost too good to be true. After everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and even in the past three months, Karen couldn't believe that it was over. Not only were the terrorist attacks over, but she could go home. Home to Bill. Their months of seemingly endless separation were finally over, and now those lonely nights would never have to be repeated.

In the past, Karen had always thought that being fired would be the worst thing that could happen to her. However, now that she was actually being forced to quit her job, she didn't feel the sense of loss that she had previously thought she would feel. The past 24 hours had brought Karen to the realization that her job wasn't the most important thing in her life- he was waiting for her back in Los Angeles. Now, she could finally correct her mistake of ever letting Bill get away from her. She was free of a time-consuming, stress-inducing job to be with the man she loved more than she could ever have imagined.

Karen stood in the small holding cell looking at the door, the gateway to her freedom. She approached it somewhat tentatively, placing her hands on the frame as if to assure herself that it actually was there. She nervously glanced at the guard across from her, almost expecting him to stop her from leaving. However, when he made no move, Karen left the room, moving slowly at first. She still half-expected someone to come and tell her that she couldn't go. However, the farther away she got from the holding cell, the faster she moved. Soon, she was practically running through the halls of the West Wing to her office so that she could call Bill.

Karen flew through the door to her office to find most of her personal possessions packed haphazardly in a few boxes. This hardly surprised her. She dug through the boxes for a moment and found the picture of her and Bill that she kept on her desk. It was taken on their honeymoon and, whenever she had to work late nights, she would find herself staring at it, fondly recalling those happier times. Karen wasn't quite sure why she dug it out, but there was something about looking at it that always calmed her down. She smiled and placed it on her desk before picking up the phone and dialing the number she had long ago memorized.

Bill was exhausted. It had been one hell of a long day, and on top of the physical strain of staying awake and alert for over 24 hours, he had faced tremendous emotional strain. Mostly, it had been at the hands of his wife, and he had been furious for several hours over her decision to fire him. When the FBI agents arrived at their house to go through everything they owned, Bill had briefly considered calling Karen and telling her that this wasn't going to work. However, the moment she left a message for him saying that she didn't know where else to turn, dozens of horrible possibilities flashed through Bill's mind. In that moment, he knew that leaving her was not an option, nor had it really ever been one. He still loved her now just as much as when they were first married, and he would do anything to get their marriage to work.

Well, now that I'm out of a job, I guess I can move out to DC, he thought, looking around the CTU bullpen somewhat sadly. Nadia had run off to take care of some CTU business, leaving Bill standing alone in the large room. He had certainly been upset when Karen had fired him from his job, but now, he actually saw it as a relief. This was his chance to rescue the sinking ship that had become his marriage in the past weeks. Although, I don't know how a marriage could possibly work if we're both under arrest, he thought bitterly.

He walked over to an empty station, sitting down in the chair. He had never seen CTU from this point of view. Bill glanced up at the director's office and saw Nadia pacing, speaking to an unknown caller on her cell phone. Then, as if on cue, his own cell phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. Karen. Curiously, he answered it.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked immediately. His concern laced his voice as he anxiously waited for her reply. Why she was calling him so soon after being arrested? He hadn't expected to hear from her until later in the afternoon.

"Hey. Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. Bill let out the breath he had been holding. "Sweetheart, I have some good news," Karen said, smiling as she talked. "All of the charges have been dropped against us."

A moment of silence passed between them as Bill processed what she had just said. "What?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Based on the fact that no harm came from our actions, Daniels has decided that it's not in the best interests of the country to drag us through the mud. Of course, we both still have to resign, but after that, there will be no investigation into Seattle, no treason charges, nothing." As she was saying this, Karen felt her smile widen even more. Telling the news to Bill made it all so much more real to her- they were going to get a second chance to make their marriage work.

"Oh my God, Karen, I- I can't believe- oh my God," Bill said, momentarily at a loss for words. After a deep breath, he found his voice again. "How did that happen?"

"Tom Lennox," Karen answered, smiling fondly at the new ally she had gained. "He somehow convinced Daniels to drop the charges against me and to pardon you from any investigation into Seattle."

"So that little rat turned out to be good for something after all," Bill mused. Karen let out a short laugh.

"Yeah, imagine that," she joked back. She could almost see Bill grinning on the other end. "I'm going to get on the first flight available out of here. I'll get my letter of resignation to Daniels within the hour, and after that I'm free to leave."

"Okay, call me when you know which flight you're on."

"I will." The couple was silent for a moment, both hardly able to believe that this was really happening. Karen was the first one to break the silence. "I love you so much, Bill."

"I love you too, honey," Bill said, his words catching a little in his throat as he started to get emotional. "God, I love you."

Karen closed her eyes to keep several tears of joy from falling. She could be married to Bill for a hundred years and never tire of hearing those words from him. "I'll call you soon with my flight."

"All right, sounds good."

"Bye."

"Bye, sweetheart." Bill shut his eyes momentarily as he disconnected. Thoughts were racing through his mind faster than he could process, but one seemed to float to the top above the others: Karen is coming home.

TBC