Hello Everybody,

I'm back, and this is the second part of my 24 story. It wll continue from the point where "another day" ended.

Previously: Chloe blackmailed President Taylor to pardon Jack for all his past crimes. He was helping CTU but they were unable to stop major terrorist attacks from happening.

Severe Terrorist attacks took out the power grid and thereafter ignited three bombs, one of them in California.

Jack and another guy from CTU - McCoy, had to watch the bomb go off in the distance.

This will be Jack/Audrey.

Please Read and tell me what you think about it. Enjoy!

Prologue, Sunday, 07:16 am LT, South of Bakersfield

Audrey could still not believe it. Jack was here with her. He was still fast asleep, right next to her. Her head rested on his upper right arm. His left arm lay around her waist, like her right arm was around his.

She softly stroked over his naked skin. For the first time now, in the daylight, she could really see him precisely.

He looked worse than she had remembered him.

Concerned she stroked over his back -gentle enough not to make him wake up.

She looked at his face, inches away from her.

She had never completely forgotten him, though she had to admit, that in the last two years, she had thought less about him. The years before thoughts about him had almost constantly accompanied her. She had thought of him when she had woken up, when she had gone to sleep, when she had had a nightmare of their time in China, when she thought of her former job at the DOD,… every second.

There had been a time where she had been angry at him, for that he had left her.

Then there had been a time when she had even forgiven him about that.

Then there had been a time when her grief had had an end she was able to forget about him.

As she saw him lying here in front of her now she realized that she had never forgotten him completely. That simple view put butterflies in her stomach.

She stroked softly over his cheek. There was a small laceration above his left eyebrow. His hair was disheveled and the stubble on his cheeks showed her that he hadn't shaved in days.

Audrey had to admit that she had never known him like that. She had spent her time with him in Washington. There, she knew, he had not lived like he had ever done it before or afterwards. He was not one of the guys from the government, always wearing a perfect black suit. During their time in D.C. she had only caught a glimpse of him, how he really was.

She had read his file after he had 'died'. The man which had been portrayed there had so much more fit what she had seen of him.

She had fallen in love again, with that imaginary person who she gotten to know in these files.

Exactly that person lay in front of her now.

He slightly moved as he woke.

As he opened up his eyes he saw her face. It felt like waking up into a dream.

.

The Friday before, 17:00 pm LT, North of Los Angeles

As their satellite phone rang for the first time, Jack didn't really care to answer it. He was sitting at the hood of their car, surrounded by all the others who had stopped at the highway to see this gigantic mushroom cloud rise at the horizon. They all were watching and staring into the open field, watching the impossible.

He felt like he had failed, and he wasn't the only one around here to think like that.

Walsh had disappeared, leaving them to watch the impossible, like if he had wanted them to be the audience for their show.

A few minutes after the blast, the blast wave reached them here. It wasn't more than a small wind, since they were about eighty miles away. Panic had started to spread around the others on the highway. Some turned their cars around to go back south, just to get further away from the blast site.

But then again, it had been dead silent for endless minutes after the blast.

Jack wasn't able to think of anything else any more. As McCoy approached him, holding the sat phone, he didn't even react. "Jack?"

"Agent Bauer?", the man called again.

Finally, he turned to him. "Yes?", he answered, finding out that his voice was shaky. He cleared his throat as he stood up.

"There is a call for you, Secretary of Defense, Heller.", he said and offered the phone for Jack to take it.

Jack hesitated. He had some kind of a past with Heller and didn't actually like to talk to that man. "Hasn't your Director informed him about the recent events?"

"He has, but Secretary Heller insisted to speak personally with you."

Jack hesitatingly took the sat phone. As he had taken it he went a few steps away from the crowd before he answered the call. "Bauer."

"Jack, this is James Heller speaking."

"I was already told, Mr. Secretary."

Heller took a deep breath before he continued. He heard from Jack's voice that he was not in any mood to have a friendly conversation with him, so he decided to get straight to the point. "Jack, this is about Audrey.", he said.

Jack stopped walking. "Go ahead.", he said to Heller.

"Jack, I know that I am the last person on earth to request a favor from you…"

"… damn right, Sir.", Jack cut in, "I don't need to remember you that you've successfully destroyed my life.", he hissed. "This conversation is over."

"Audrey is in Bakersfield.", Heller quickly said, before Jack had any chance to hang up.

At once Jack turned around, staring at the mushroom cloud which rose north of them. It was possibly a hundred miles away. Bakersfield lay in the same direction, about 30 miles closer. He couldn't help staring with an open mouth. A thousand thoughts were suddenly rushing through his mind, but he wasn't able to say one thing.

They had stopped here because getting any closer would possibly lead them into a contaminated zone. Bakersfield was one of the towns which couldn't be evacuated any more. It simply was too close to the explosion.

"Jack?", Heller asked after a few endless moments without a word.

Eventually Jack got back part of his composure. "Where is she?"

"The last time I heard from her was yesterday evening. She is staying in the Bakersfield Memorial Hospital and had surgery for an appendix removal on Tuesday."

Jack was still unable to respond. Audrey. Until a few months ago he had been thinking about her every day of his life. Lately, his memories for her had slightly faded. Almost instantly he felt guilty for that.

"Jack, are you still there?", Heller said.

"Yes…", Jack stammered, "… I'll call you back, Sir." They didn't need to say any other words.

Heller knew what that meant. A huge load fell off his chest. For a moment he thought of thanking Jack, but then again it seemed inappropriate. Instead he said, "Jack, one more thing. You should know that she recovered… from China."

"Good to hear.", Jack answered, "I'll call you."

He ended the call and handed the phone back to McCoy.

Quickly Jack went back to their car. His bag lay at the back seats. Then he opened up the trunk and pulled out the arms supplies. He took a gun and another one extra. Engh clips with ammunition. A torch, a monocular and a longer knife. His cell phone was probably useless after the reception had totally broken down.

McCoy approached Jack from behind. "Jack? What did Heller need?"

Jack hesitated for a moment before he turned around. Should he tell them the truth? That he was planning to go into the evacuation zone?

"Heller's daughter is apparently in Bakersfield.", Jack said without any other accompanying commentary.

McCoy took a deep breath. He also turned to the rising cloud and then back at Jack. "We've got the strict order not to enter the contamination zone. That's protocol. Not since we don't even know what type of weapon has really gone off."

Jack smiled condescendingly. "Oh come on. We all know this was nuclear, right? Just nobody dares to speak it out loud."

"What are you planning to do?", McCoy asked.

"I'm going to Bakersfield.", Jack remarked and took his bag out of the car. "Can I borrow the car? You can go back to the city with anyone of these people."

McCoy was so petrified by Jacks plan that at first he didn't respond at all. "You… you are not honestly planning to go there?", he asked, "Do you know what's about to go down there? Ever heard about fallout? You'd not even make it to Bakersfield to get a physically threatening radiation dose."

Jack didn't even listen to him. "Yes or no on the vehicle? I'm on orders directly from the Secretary of Defense.", he lied. It seemed the most convincing lie at the moment to get a car. Since Heller had just talked to him right before it was even credible.

"Yes, but Jack-", McCoy tried to stop Jack before entering one of their black SUVs. "You could be signing your death warrant with this."

Jack threw his bag on the front passengers seat and got it. "I'm aware of that.", he answered and started the engine.

McCoy couldn't believe what he saw. That man was going into certain death. He had like 5 or 6 hours before the fallout would come down over the city.

As Jack drove past the standing vehicles his whole mind was focused on that mission. His decision to go to Bakersfield hat stood in the moment as he had heard Audrey's name over the phone. No matter how many differences he had had with Heller, no matter how much he had hated that man, he was thankful that he had given him the chance to get Audrey out.

Jack looked at his wristwatch. He guessed that they would have to be out of the city again at latest around midnight, if they didn't want to get into the fallout.

He raced the highway towards Bakersfield. Hundreds of cars came towards him in the opposite direction. Right now he was the only one who went north.