He walked through the clinic door, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It had been 18 months since he'd seen her. He thought back to the last time they'd been face to face; he'd told her he was leaving, she'd cried but told him she understood. He'd made her promise to call him if ever she needed him. But she never had.
He walked along the cold, stark corridor looking for her room. They'd warned him there wasn't much of the old Chloe left. Bill and Chase had been visiting her regularly but they told him he wouldn't recognise her. What's more she wouldn't recognise him. He had to believe that they were wrong.
He stopped outside of her room and took a deep breath before moving his hand to push open the door.
"You really shouldn't go in alone" said the orderly who had accompanied him.
"Why?"
"She can become aggressive when strangers go in".
"I am not a stranger to her" Jack said with a growl, "we'll be fine."
"Look I really think you shouldn't do this. She hasn't recognised anyone from her old life. The only people familiar to her are those she's gotten to know while she's been here."
"I said we'll be fine" Jack said, nodding dismissively at the young man.
"Suit yourself, just holler if you need anything" he said before moving back to his station.
Jack walked through the door and hesitated as he saw the small figure huddled in the corner of the room, lying on a mattress on the floor. Her hair lay in messy strands across her face, he couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not. His heart lurched in his chest at the sight of her frail body. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top which in no way could hide how much weight she'd lost since he'd last seen her.
He approached the bed slowly at the same time as he whispered her name. She didn't respond to the sound of his voice.
"Chloe?" he whispered again, but still no response.
He eased himself onto the floor next to the mattress, wanting to reach out to her but knowing he risked a potential cataclysmic reaction, they'd told him she hated being touched. Well, the Chloe O'Brian he'd known hated being touched also, except not by him, never by him.
"Chloe, it's me" he said, more loudly than before, "It's Jack."
But still there was nothing. He lifted his fingers towards her, hesitating momentarily in his quest to see her properly for the first time. He sighed as his hand rested on the edge of the mattress, a part of him afraid of what he might see.
Steeling himself, he allowed his fingers to drift back to her. He gently smoothed the hair that was covering her eyes away from her face but he hesitated before looking at her. His eyes drifted back to her face and he looked into the unblinking gaze that was so familiar to him, he saw the almost imperceptible flicker that told him she was still there and he allowed his own eyes to close briefly as he saw a single tear drift down her cheek.
"Chloe" he said softly as he felt the emotion well up in his chest.
00000
He walked into CTU for what was likely the last time and the one person he dreaded telling was Chloe. He didn't want to leave her but he needed to get away, needed to re-evaluate his life. He was truly free for the first time in many years.
"Hey" she said as he approached her station.
"Can I talk to you?"
"What do you need?" she asked.
"Just to talk" he said with a smile at her confused expression. "Come on, walk with me."
"Jack, where are we going?" she asked with a scowl as they walked out of CTU.
"Somewhere we can talk" he said, guiding her by the arm and walking around to the back of the building.
They entered the small, enclosed garden that everyone seemed to forget was in the grounds, never having the time to spend there would make people forget its existence. Jack pulled her down next to him on the bench under the hanging tree. She looked at him nervously, waiting.
"I'm leaving" he said simply.
"Oh" she said, unable to hide the tears that sprang to her eyes.
"I'm sorry".
"It's okay, I knew it would happen soon" she said, blinking back the tears.
His fingers brushed the moisture from her cheeks and he smiled softly. "I'm going to miss you Chloe. You're the only thing I'm going to miss."
A tiny sob escaped her lips as she threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him. He felt his own tears mix with hers. She needed no explanation, she understood. Chloe O'Brian always understood what he needed.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I'll find a way to let you know where I am. If you need me . . ." he hesitated, gripping her arms tightly to convey the importance of his request "call me Chloe, please . . . just call me."
She nodded simply as she uncurled her arms from around him, accepting that it was time for him to go. He stood, pulling her up with him and they stared at each other for a moment. Then he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. It was gentle, undemanding. Then he was gone.
Chloe sat back down on the bench and let her tears fall unheeded.
00000
The day was bright and full of sunshine. Chloe had left CTU six months before and she was happier than she thought possible. It had been a year since she'd seen him, spoken to him and she missed him, of course she missed him but she had other priorities now.
She held the baby to her chest as she opened the car door, adjusting the car seat. Just then she heard the squeal of tires and she straightened, the tingling of fear creeping up her spine. She hadn't even had a chance to turn around as she felt the burning fire hit the centre of her back. She stumbled, her only thought being not to drop the baby. The car drove off as she collapsed to her knees, pulling the baby away from her chest. It was then that she realised her life was over.
The lifeless form in her arms was the price Chloe O'Brian paid for her work with the government. She'd always known she risked revenge attacks, but to take her baby and spare her? That was the one thing that Chloe O'Brian could not live with.
00000
He took hold of her hand, running circles across her palm with his thumb. She didn't move, she lay there staring at him, her gaze unblinking.
He wanted to be closer to her so he shifted onto the mattress and lay down beside her. He pulled her against him and while she still didn't respond, she didn't pull away. He saw that as a good sign.
He didn't see the orderly peering in through the glass panel in the door, or the shocked expression on the young man's face. He'd waited at his station, expecting to hear the usual sounds of distress coming from the woman who used to be a government agent. But he had heard none.
Eventually he moved towards the door and was stunned at the sight of the man lying with her on the bed. The man was stroking her hair gently and appeared to be whispering to her. The only response from the woman was when her head, arched away from him initially, eventually dropped to his chest. The young man hurried to report this turn of events to Dr Saunders.
00000
They'd walked along the waterfront, taking in the sights and sounds of life outside of the city. It had been a spur of the moment thing, they both had a day off and he'd wanted to get away, he'd asked Chloe to come with him and despite her scowl she'd agreed. He didn't even know if they'd had anything in common outside of work, everything their friendship was based on had to do with whichever current crisis they were trying to thwart.
He'd made her take off her shoes and feel the sand underfoot. She'd objected, of course she'd objected; she wouldn't be Chloe otherwise. But she'd given in and he knew at that moment in time she was happy. He looked at her dipping her toes in the ocean and he thought it was the first time he'd seen her genuinely happy. And that made him happy. The thought that someone as tainted by his dark world as he, could enjoy something simple as walking barefoot on the beach made Jack Bauer smile.
They'd had dinner in a small Italian restaurant and Jack had got her to talk about herself, not an easy task but he'd been persistent. She told him things that helped him understand her a bit more, he'd always accepted her but he hadn't always understood her. He talked to her about Teri, about Kim and eventually about Audrey. It had been difficult but she seemed to appreciate why he'd done what he'd done.
They'd talked through the night, both surprised when daylight appeared through the cracks in the curtains of Chloe's apartment. Jack hadn't wanted to leave her, hadn't wanted to be alone. She seemed to understand and, not expecting anything from him she told him she was going to sleep and that he was welcome to join her. He'd laughed at the way she'd put it, but he'd gone with her. And he'd slept, better than he had in years, lying in Chloe O'Brian's bed with her wrapped in his arms, her head buried in the crook of his arm. They'd gotten into a rhythm, as friends but oh so much more than that.
00000
"Why didn't you call me?" he asked softly not expecting or getting a response.
If she had torn his heart out with her bare hands it couldn't have hurt him more. The one thing he'd relied on if he wasn't around to watch over her was that she would call him if ever she'd gotten into trouble.
He pulled her closer to his chest and sighed deeply.
"I'm going to get you out of here Chloe, I promise" he said as her eyes finally drifted shut.