Authors Note: I wrote this story a while ago, and was waiting for someone to edit it for me before I posted it. Eventually I gave up and decided to post his, grammer mistakes and all. I'm always looking to improve my writing, so constructive criticism is always appreciated. Enjoy :)
They didn't talk about Vladimir. Just like they didn't talk about China, the FBI, certain deaths, torture, suicide, Tony, or CTU. There were exceptions to this, like on the anniversaries of trauma when they felt forced to relive the hell bending nightmares all over again. Phases of insomnia also struck randomly, due to the vivid intensity of phantasms that left the victim screaming, often waking up caked in sweat. Sometimes, they couldn't remember what it was in their dream that scared them, but whatever it was terrified them. It was in these moments that they would open up to their self and one another, about the past they had been running from, but could never escape.
Instead, they focused their minds on other things. They found themselves quoting movies and song lyrics constantly. Renee enjoyed talking about and watching sports (more than Jack did, to her surprising). Jack preoccupied his mind (and their lives) with his granddaughter Teri. He was also trying to make up for lost time with Kim, wondering how he had such a forgiving daughter. He definitely felt he didn't deserve her. Renee enjoyed making plans, grocery shopping, and late nights out with Jack.
Renee moved in with Jack not long after she reunited with him. The first few months were like nothing Jack had experienced before. After learning that she was, in fact, alive, the mixed emotions caused for a lot of tension. Originally, he was robbed of getting to know her. He'd never know the little things about her, never get to wake up holding her in his arms. He tried to look at this as a second chance, which was hard at first. Pure euphoria collided with anger, confussion, and bitterness. He loved her from the first day. He fell in love with her somewhere between the Senate Hearing and that fateful morning in his apartment. "You're not cursed" she'd tell him while sitting at the edge of the bed after he got out of the shower. More convincing this time. "You aren't cursed, Jack. You've had this unrealistic opportunity to stop running, to spend time with your family. You aren't the reason I was shot. It was MY undercover op. I'm alive, and I love you " She rose up from her spot on the bed and kissed him, long and inviting. "And you're not cursed " she'd whisper into his mouth.
Renee got a job only to keep her sanity. She had never been the type that could sit still for long periods of time without doing something productive. Jack had tried out a few jobs, but quickly found himself bored in the fields he was looking in. He preoccupied himself with politics, the necessary errands, running, and of course Teri, while Renee was away at work. He'd call Renee every few hours to check up on her, both of them too paranoid to be anything but thankful for the constant phone calls. Occasionally a co-worker would question her, making comments of how annoying that would be. Renee just shrugged it off.
He was a much better grandpa than he was a father. Even when Kim was little, work always came first (one of the reasons his marriage was falling apart). He remembered one particular night when he missed Kim's first and only school play. She was second to main character and had been rehearsing for months. "It's okay daddy," Kim would say while silent tears ran down her face. "I know you're job is important. You're a superhero." When he tried to hug her, she crossed her arms and turned in the other direction torwards her mother. He remembered the ashamed look on Teri's face. He slept on the couch for two solid weeks after that.
They kept in touch with Chloe often. Her role in bringing Renee back into Jack's life for a third time was monumental. Renee had reached out to Chloe for help in finding Jack after everything went to hell. Renee wasn't sure what their friendship was founded on other than Jack and similar work paths, but she had a lot of respect for her. Occasionally, Chloe would call in favors that lead Jack and Renee back to CTU for a few days, but only did so when they were the only ones that could get the job done. These days were rare.
Renee reunited with her sister, their relationship rocky to say the least. They had a falling out long before Jack entered Renee's life. Their relationship took a couple years to reconstruct after Renee was shot, but in the end, her sister did not want to lose her again. That's what she told Renee over the phone the cold, rainy night in October, both of them in tears by the time the dial sounded. The comfort of Jack's arms found their way around her back, her head buried into his shoulder.
Sometimes she'd spend time pondering the what-ifs of life, and after an emotionally exhausting couple of hours, couldn't be anything but grateful that she was with Jack. "I love you, Jack Bauer. I love you because you found me. I love you because of so much more."