Just a post season 6 story that came to my mind. Since we still have three more hours left to the season in the US, I have no idea how it will end for Jack and Audrey or the rest of Jack's dysfunctional family, so anything that happens after episode 6 X 21 is pure speculation on my part.

When I started writing this I thought it would be a one-shot, but it was getting so long that I decided to split it at a natural break point into two chapters. I need to polish up the second chapter before I can post it, but I thought I'd post the first one now. I hope you'll take the time to read and review!

Usual disclaimer stuff applies. If you know the character's name, then it belongs to Fox. If you've never heard of them before, that's an original character that belongs to me.

The Recruit

Jack Bauer was on the phone in his office, back to the door, when Bill Buchanan knocked lightly. Jack swiveled in his chair to face the door. He smiled when he saw Bill and waved him in.

"I've got to go, Kim. I'll see you Wednesday evening for dinner," Jack said into the phone. He paused for a moment, listening. "I know. I'm looking forward to it, too. I love you. I'll see you then."

Jack hung up the phone and stood to shake hands with Bill. "Hey, Bill," he said with a smile. "What's going on at CTU?"

"Nothing exciting, thank God," Bill smiled. "How are Audrey and Jillian?"

Jack beamed and picked up a picture frame from his desk. "Here's the latest," he said as he handed it to Bill. "I can't believe how big she's getting."

Bill looked at the picture of the blond, blue eyed baby girl in the arms of her smiling mother. "She's a doll. How old is she now?"

"She'll be three months old tomorrow," Jack replied finding himself unable to stop smiling whenever he talked about his baby daughter.

"Audrey looks great. Is she coming back to work soon?" Bill asked.

"I don't think so. She'll probably stay on as a consultant, but with the baby and writing her book, she doesn't really need another full time job."

Although it had taken them several years, two forced separations and more than one national emergency to make it happen, Jack and Audrey were finally together and living the fairy tale they had both dreamed of. Jack worked at Division managing new recruits to field ops. He was responsible for training them and placing them into the federal agencies that needed them. It was a perfect fit. Jack's experience made him a great resource for the recruits to learn from. At the same time, his 20 months in captivity had taught him a patience and compassion necessary for his role as teacher.

He and Audrey had married just a few weeks after he rescued her from the Chinese. Everyone was skeptical at the time. The two were just starting therapy and no one thought that either of them was in the state of mind to make the decision to marry. Friends and family urged them to wait. Stubborn to the end, Jack and Audrey ignored the advice and married anyway. To everyone's relief, it had worked. A few months and countless hours of therapy later, Audrey was ready to go back to work. She took a job with Division as a liaison to the DoD. It was about a year after that that Jack and Audrey welcomed their first child, Jillian Heller Bauer.

Early in their therapy, a therapist suggested to Jack and Audrey that they both write down thoughts and memories from their days in captivity as a means of helping them to deal with the experience. They had written independently, but at some point each allowed the other to read their journal. Audrey was struck by both the differences and similarities of their feelings and emotions while in captivity and decided that it would make a wonderful book. The two of them had received some national attention following Jack's stellar performance during the most recent terrorist attack. The press had picked up the story of his kidnapping by the Chinese and Audrey's attempt to negotiate his release that resulted in her own abduction. They had gotten a lot of positive feedback following that coverage. So when Audrey approached a publishing group about writing a book based upon their experiences, they were very interested. She spent a little time working on the book prior to Jillian's birth, but with time off for maternity leave, she was able to devote time to writing.

Jack had his own pet project: trying to rebuild his relationship with Kim. He had been incredibly patient. For the first several months, Kim would barely talk to him, but he never gave up. After more than a year of persistence, Kim finally let Jack slowly back into her life. They had dinner together about once a month, but always at a "neutral location" like a restaurant, never in either of their homes. Kim had stopped by the hospital after Jillian was born to meet her half-sister. A few days later she came by their home with a present for the baby and told Audrey that she would love to baby sit sometime when she and Jack were ready to go out for an evening alone. It was progress and Jack was thrilled.

Jack sat down at his desk and indicated for Bill to do the same. "What brings you over to the dark side?" he joked, laughing at his reference to Division.

"Personnel meeting," Bill replied. "I just got CTU approved for two new positions in field ops. I hear you've got a class of twelve recruits. Would any of them fit at CTU?"

Jack nodded. "I've got two guys in my current class that I had in mind for you as soon as you had openings, so now I guess they'll be yours. Jim Holden is a former Marine sniper and was on the LAPD SWAT team. This guy is ready to go. He's clearly a leader. You and Doyle will both work well with him. The other guy, Jarrod Keller, has no real experience. He's got two degrees in criminology. After his master's degree he signed on with the CIA. He got the standard training at Quantico and showed an aptitude for field ops. They sent him for additional weapons and explosives training and then survival training. He aced all of it, so they sent him here for field ops training. He doesn't have experience, but he's a natural. He's got an instinct that I don't think I've ever seen before. I used to think that Chase Edmunds had good instincts for someone with limited experience, but Chase can't hold a candle to Jarrod."

"Sounds great. When do I meet them?"

"Don't get too anxious. It's still early in training. The sixteen week training class just started two weeks ago. There's plenty of time for you to meet them over the next couple of months."

Bill looked at his watch and stood. "I'll be looking forward to it. In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to work a little short. Any chance you can reassign someone to us in the interim?"

"I'll look into it and get back to you," Jack agreed. The two shook hands and Bill left to return to CTU.

Training of the recruits continued and Jack was encouraged by their progress. He continued to groom Jim and Jarrod for positions with CTU, while watching the other ten for skills that indicated the perfect positions for them as well.

About a week later, Jack was in the middle of his usual Friday routine. He used Friday afternoon to have individual meetings with his recruits. They reviewed what was going well and what needed improvement. He was finishing up with Jarrod Keller, his last meeting of the day.

"Overall, I think your progress is excellent. If there's one area I'd like to see improvement in it would be marksmanship. Your choice of weapons is good, but accuracy is less than I'd like. Try and put in a couple of extra hours at the firing range once or twice a week and I think that should take care of it. If you're still having problems, a friend of mine is the arms instructor at LAPD. I'll put you in touch with him." The phone rang and interrupted Jack. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that the security desk was calling. "Excuse me, Jarrod," he said before picking up the phone.

"Agent Bauer, this is Davis in security. I have a Marilyn Bauer at the entrance asking to speak with you. What would you like me to tell her?"

Jack was surprised by the request. "Do you know why she's here?" he asked.

"No, sir. She said that it's important and that she can't talk to anyone but you."

Jack couldn't imagine why Marilyn had turned up at Division. With Graem dead, Marilyn didn't make any secret of the fact that she wanted Jack in her life. For the first few weeks after his return from China, Marilyn was on the phone for him on a daily basis. She tried to act the concerned relative, but it was clear to Jack that Marilyn had an agenda. Jack had rejected her as gently as possible, but that didn't necessarily mean that she took it well. She was particularly unhappy when Jack announced that he and Audrey were getting married. Since that time, Jack had only rarely heard from Marilyn. And when he did, it usually had something to do with BXJ. With Graem dead and Philip nowhere to be found, the day to day management fell to Jack and Marilyn. Neither of them cared to run the company and had hired a CEO to do that. They both maintained positions on the board of directors and had a clear say in the direction that the company was taking.

Jack sighed. "Then have someone bring her up. Thank you, Officer," Jack said as he hung up the phone. He quickly cleared any classified documents from his desk and closed the open programs on his computer. "Okay, Jarrod. I think we've covered everything. I have someone who needs to meet with me. Unless you have any questions, you can go home for the weekend."

"Sounds good to me, Agent Bauer. Have a nice weekend. I'll see you Monday," the young man said and then turned to leave the office.

Jarrod had just opened the glass door to Jack's office as the security officer led Marilyn in. "Aunt Marilyn?" Jarrod said, the surprise in his voice was evident. "What are you doing here?" The tall recruit leaned over to hug the much smaller woman.

Jack watched the interaction with more than a little interest. "Aunt Marilyn?" Jack asked. "I didn't know you two were related."

"We're not really related," Marilyn explained. "Jarrod's mother and I have been close friends for years. We've worked on several charity events together. When Jarrod was little he started calling me Aunt Marilyn and the name stuck."

Jarrod was obviously surprised that Jack and Marilyn knew each other, as well. He looked back and forth between the two of them and shook his head. "I knew you two had the same last name, but it never occurred to me that you were related."

Marilyn nodded. "Graem and Jack were brothers," she said. "Now we're both on the board at BXJ and you know how it is," Marilyn said airily. "Sometimes there are problems that get dumped in our laps."

"Well, I'll let you two work out the company problems," Jarrod said. "Good to see you. I'll tell my mom that I ran into you."

"Send her my best," Marilyn said cheerily as Jarrod walked away.

They both watched as Jarrod left. He was out of earshot before Jack spoke. "This is a surprise, Marilyn. What kind of company problem brings you to Division?" he asked as he offered her a chair in front of his desk. He crossed around the desk and sat down.

"This has nothing to do with BXJ, Jack," Marilyn confessed. "It has to do with Jarrod."

"With Jarrod? Why would you be here about Jarrod?"

"I told you, his mother is one of my best friends. She wasn't happy when Jarrod was recruited by the CIA, but she was willing to live with it if it made him happy. Then he announced that he had been accepted into the field operations program and that he was hoping to work at CTU. Well, I don't have to tell you, Jack, just how dangerous that is. His parents are just terrified. He's their only child. They adopted him as a newborn and the thought that he might get hurt or worse in this job is just tearing them apart."

"So what are you saying, Marilyn? Do you want me to talk to his parents and make them feel better?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Don't insult me, Jack. I'm here because one of my best friends is in need. You can't let Jarrod finish the program."

Jack squinted as if trying to understand. "You're asking me to throw one of my most promising recruits out of the program?"

"Exactly."

"I can't do that, Marilyn."

"You're the program director. You're the only one who can do it. Jack, Jarrod worships the ground you walk on. His mother says that every time she talks to him, he tells her how much you've taught him and what a great mentor that you are. If you tell him that field operations isn't right for him and that you think he should pursue another avenue, he'll do it."

"Why would I tell him that? It would be a lie. He's a natural at field operations. It's like he was born to do it."

"Please, Jack," Marilyn begged. "I'm asking you as a friend. I know we've had our differences, but I'm hoping you can see this my way. His parents are terrified of losing him to such a dangerous job."

"I understand that. I'm a parent, too, Marilyn. I know when Kim had to go out in the field one time, I didn't like it. I would have done anything possible to stop it, but the fact of the matter was that Kim was trained to do the job, she wanted to do the job and she was the only person at that moment who was qualified to do it. I didn't like it, but I sucked it up and let her do her job. Jarrod is an adult. He's made a decision. He wants to work in field ops and eventually get into covert operations. His parents have to respect that decision. I'm not going to say they have to like it. I'll admit that if I were his father, I'd prefer that he chose another line of work."

"The truth is that you are his father, Jack!" Marilyn blurted out. "You are his father."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Marilyn broke down and began to cry. "Jarrod is our son, Jack. When you broke up with me and joined the Army, I didn't know that I was pregnant. I was 17 and devastated that you left the way you did. It was almost three months before I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a period. I was scared to death. I bought a home pregnancy test and it was positive. I didn't know what to do," she continued. "So I broke down and told my mother. She took me to a doctor who confirmed that I was pregnant."

Jack looked past Marilyn through the glass door to his office. Jarrod stood talking to Jack's secretary. He searched the young man's face, his movements and his mannerisms, anything that might confirm what Marilyn was telling him. He listened numbly while she continued; his brain desperately trying to process the news.

Marilyn had calmed down and was now relating the story more rationally. "My parents were furious. My father kept saying 'Your rich boyfriend better plan on doing the right thing. He's going to take care of you.' So he called your father and told him. Philip came over that evening. He was so calm and so full of assurances. He told my parents that since you were away doing survival training that he would take care of everything. You know what he was like. From the minute he walked into the house he took over. He just had that presence. I felt like everything would be alright as long as Philip was there. I had no idea how really malicious he could be. He seemed so genuine. He knew that I was planning to go to college in San Francisco. So he found a home for teenage mothers in the city. I could tell everyone that I was leaving for college in September when I was really going to this home to hide for the next few months." Marilyn stopped and shook her head. "Now it all seems so stupid, but then… I was young and scared and I thought Philip and my parents knew what was best for me."

"So you had the baby in San Francisco," Jack said quietly.

Marilyn nodded. "I left for San Francisco at the end of August when I was just starting to show. Jarrod was born in December. The whole time I thought I was at this home to learn how to be a good mother. They taught all kinds of parenting skills and they provided day care once the baby was born. I assumed that after the baby was born, I'd continue to live there. The baby would stay in day care while I went to college. I'd be there to take care of him in the evening and on the weekends. Then I went into labor. I called my parents so they could come up and be with me. An official from the school was with me in the delivery room. I was in labor for 12 hours. There was plenty of time for my parents to get there, but they never did. That night I held Jarrod and I was so proud of him. I couldn't wait for you to see him because I just knew that you would love him and that you'd come home to us.

"I held him for a long time before a nurse came to my room and said that she needed to take the baby to the nursery so I could get some sleep. Then she gave me a drug to help me sleep. She said it was routine. I slept for almost 15 hours. When I woke up your father was sitting next to my bed. I asked him if he saw his grandson and he said no and that he never wanted to see the child. He said that it was best for the baby that he never knew who his real family was. That was when he told me that a couple who really wanted a baby had taken him and that they would be good parents to him since you and I were too young to be good parents. I thought I was dreaming. I got out of bed and ran to the nursery. Jarrod was gone and none of the nurses would look at me. I just stood there looking through the window at the babies and I cried. Our baby was gone and I was powerless to do anything about it."

"How did you ever find out who adopted Jarrod?" Jack asked.

"I found out completely by accident. It was several years later after Graem and I got married. We were at your father's house for a holiday and I was using the phone in his study. I needed to write down a phone number and I reached into the desk drawer to find paper and a pen. After I hung up, I opened the drawer again to put the paper and pen away. There was a manila folder lying in the bottom of the drawer labeled 'Watson and Tyler.' You've probably never heard of them, but they're a legal firm that specializes in private adoptions. I probably wouldn't have known the name either except that for the first couple of years after Jarrod was born, I did some digging to try and find out who had adopted him. When I talked to several adoption agencies, they all said that if you had the money and wanted a very quiet, private adoption that Watson and Tyler was the firm you wanted to work with. They said that even at that time it would have cost about $25,000. I knew that Philip would have paid top dollar to keep this all quiet, so I suspected for years that Watson and Tyler was the firm he worked with. When I saw the folder in his desk, I opened it. There was a bunch of paperwork in it and there were profiles of several couples. The last one I came to was a couple named Patrick and Donna Keller. Philip had circled their name and written 'yes' on the profile. I hired a private detective to get information on them. I found out that Donna Keller was very involved in children's charities so I joined a couple of the organizations that she worked for and got to be friends with her. Pretty soon we were going out shopping together and meeting for lunch. I'd stop by her house on a regular basis and it gave me a chance to get to know Jarrod. I've watched him grow up and there were so many times that I wanted to tell you but I couldn't see the purpose in it."

"Do the Kellers know that you're Jarrod's mother?"

"No. They took wonderful care of him and they love him so much. Jarrod had a wonderful childhood. He's never had any interest in finding his birth parents. I was afraid that if I told them that Donna would pull away from me and I'd never see Jarrod again."

"Did Graem know?"

"No. Philip kept it all very quiet. Graem, like everybody else, thought I went to San Francisco that August to go to college. No one, including Graem, ever knew that I had a baby."

Jack stood and paced the office. He was still stunned.

Marilyn spoke again. "Now do you understand why I don't want Jarrod doing this job? I've watched you for the last 20 years, Jack. I've seen what this job did to you. I don't want that life for our son. Do you?"

"I don't know how to answer that, Marilyn. I have to process all of this before I can decide how I feel," Jack said quietly.

"Think about it, Jack. Think about whether or not you can live with the idea that your son might die in the line of duty. Or maybe worse, that he could be kidnapped by a hostile government and held hostage like you were. I think you're going to come to the same conclusion that I have." Marilyn stopped and followed Jack's line of vision. He was looking through the glass door and across the room to where Jarrod stood talking with two of his fellow recruits. "You haven't even known for five minutes that he's your son and you already love him. I can tell by the look in your eyes, Jack. It's the same way you look at Kim and the same way you look at Jilly. You love your son as much as you love either of your daughters. You need to protect him the way you would protect either of them."

Jack continued to stare at Jarrod who had apparently said good bye to the other recruits and was heading for the exit. Marilyn watched him. She saw his eyes follow Jarrod until he turned the corner and was no longer visible.

"I should go now," Marilyn said quietly.

Jack nodded and called the front desk to have Marilyn escorted out. They stood in awkward silence while they waited for the security officer to arrive. Neither said goodbye as Marilyn stepped across the threshold and out of Jack's office.

Jack finally moved, taking the several steps back to his desk. It was almost an effort. His legs felt leaden and he held the desk for support as he lowered himself into his chair. He thought he had finally gotten his life together. For once he was happy. He had a great marriage and he and Audrey loved and understood each other. He and Kim were connecting in a way that they had never done before. And Jillian! His little Jillian was the light of his life. She smiled whenever he came near and simply lit up his world. But now… Now Marilyn shows up and drops a twenty-some year old bombshell in his lap and ruins it all.

His first thought was that Marilyn must be lying. Maybe she and Jarrod's mother really were best friends and Donna Keller put Marilyn up to it. Jack found Jarrod's personnel file on his desk and flipped through the pages until he came to the section labeled "Family History". The first word answered his question: Adopted. No details were listed, but he didn't need any details. Marilyn wasn't lying. But how could it have happened?

They were young, but he had always been careful. Even at 18 Jack knew that the last thing he wanted was his girlfriend to turn up pregnant. It was then he remembered the party. His best friend Trey Higgins had a party after the senior prom at his family's beach house. Trey's older brother bought kegs of beer and everyone had gotten drunk. Jack and Marilyn snuck off to a secluded section of beach to fool around. Thinking back he suspected that both of them were too drunk to think or care about protection. The timing was right. That had to be when Marilyn got pregnant.

A ringing phone brought Jack out of his reverie.

"Bauer," he answered trying to sound like he cared who was on the other end.

"Hey," Audrey said. "I thought you were going to be home early tonight."

"I'm sorry. I was trying to catch up on evaluations for the recruits. I guess I lost track of time," he lied. "If I leave now I'll get home before Jilly gets too sleepy to be any fun."

"She took a late nap today so she should be in a good mood for a while," Audrey told him.

"Good. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Be careful. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Jack hung up the phone and reached for his coat. He needed to pull himself together before he got home. He wasn't sure that this was a problem that he should share with Audrey. But he also knew that after hours and hours of therapy together, Audrey knew him better than anyone ever had and it was difficult for him to keep a secret from her. At a minimum, he was going to have to say that he had a bad day at work. She generally didn't ask a lot of work related questions and he hoped she would be willing to leave it at that. Jack sighed as he closed and locked his office door. His world had once again been turned upside down and righting it was not going to be a simple task.