Chloe felt her heart dropping steadily as she stared into the floor underneath her feet, not even needing to look into Bill's eyes to see the anger and unforgivingly hostile disappointment that was shining through them and burning into her center. The only thing more powerful than his hardened glare was the remorse and grief that was building inside of her and threatening to explode into her tightening chest. It didn't help that she was standing near her work station in full view of the unkind eyes that surrounded her.

"It...it was an accident," Chloe muttered, her voice a mere whisper trembling from the tears that she couldn't fight off much longer.

"An accident?" Bill's voice thundered across the floor as the entire building watched from all around them, including Jack, who stood just a few feet away from them. Jack wanted nothing more than to grab Chloe and whisk her away to safety from the judgement surrounding her, whether it was deserved or not. "Thanks to your accident, Chloe, Curtis Manning is dead. Thanks to your mistake, he gave his life for nothing."

Jack stepped forward. "Bill, please."

"Stay out of this, Jack," Bill warned, directing his anger towards the other man in the form of a sharply pointed finger before turning back to Chloe.

The unprecedentedly enraged tone of his voice was enough to force the tears in Chloe's eyes to spill over, let alone his words. Jack watched as his legendarily strong best friend fell slumped and defeated as she lowered her head even further and gave into the crushing wave of tears behind her eyes. Bill was unfazed. "Consider yourself permanently relieved of your duties. Now get out of my sight."

She turned and ran off of the floor towards the exit, covering her mouth and nose with a shaky hand as the bagel she'd managed to get down at lunch hours ago threatened to return from her stomach. Jack glared at Bill one last time before running after her, ignoring the loud whispers that were now engulfing the atmosphere and going to work on forever damaging Chloe's name. If she ever needed him, this, he knew, was it.

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Jack watched as her car pulled out of its parking space and immediately rushed into the driver's seat of his own car, intent on following her wherever it was she was running to. She didn't notice, her vision partially blurred by the steady stream of moisture raining from her eyes as she slammed her foot on the gas to get as far away from CTU as possible. Bill's words echoed through her mind mercilessly, taunting her as the memory of the man whose life was lost tonight slowly broke her heart and introduced her to a feeling she had never felt, or thought she'd ever feel, before - the devastation of being held responsible for the death of a friend.

Whether or not it was a fair accusation didn't matter. It had been made, and made by Chloe herself before anybody else had the chance to. She had led him into a trap, a trap that could have been avoided if she had simply gone to Buchanan and told him of the plan against Curtis' wishes. He could have had back up, resources that could have told him the threat against his family was a hoax meant to draw him into one man's sick wish for the revenge of somebody Curtis barely remembered. In truth, it was no different from the kinds of stunts she & Jack had pulled countless times, except this time, her partner in crime hadn't made it back. And if that wasn't devastating enough, she had listened to his final breath escape in the form of a agonizing scream that had ripped through her earpiece and seared into her memory forever.

That sound was all she could hear as she sped aimlessly down the highway. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go anywhere. She ran through a red light, unknowingly forcing Jack to do the same as he accelerated to keep up behind her. He was grateful the streets were mostly empty, sure that she would have gotten herself into a crash by now had they have been busy.

But he gave thanks too soon.

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Jack's legs were numb as they propelled him out of his car and towards the ditch that Chloe's car had plunged into when she swerved to avoid an oncoming car. It was a small ditch, but a ditch nonetheless, and the rear of the car was all he could see before he finally came within full sight of the accident.

After jumping into the ditch he rushed to the driver's side and pulled at the jammed door, looking inside to see Chloe unconscious with her face buried inside the ejected airbag. The sight sent a fresh blast of adrenaline through his veins, and with one more pull he broke the door open.

He pulled her limp body out of the car and carried her out of the ditch and to a patch of nearby grass, calling her name frantically as he filled with dread that the worst was true. He knelt down on the ground and held her close, somewhat comforted when he felt her chest rise and fall against his own.

"Come on, Chloe, come on," he pleaded, cradling her head with one hand and checking the pulse in her wrist with his other. He was relieved to find a surprisingly strong pulse, and even more relieved by her coughing fit that followed.

"Chloe, can you hear me?" he asked as she opened her eyes in utter confusion, unable to see much of anything through the dark of night, save for a nearby streetlight that instantly blinded her. Her head felt like it was on fire, and she could have sworn both of her legs were broken as her coughing eased and her eyes adjusted. She focused on the familiar face that was so close to hers - maybe a bit too close - and with some effort she opened her mouth to speak. "What happened?"

"You had an accident, Chloe, but you're okay, I promise," he replied, tears forming behind his eyes as he took a breath for the first time since seeing her car dive into the ditch.

An accident. Her memory was triggered, and she closed her eyes and felt her physical pain be eclipsed by another kind of pain. She struggled to sit up out of his arms, wincing and holding onto her throbbing head. "God, my head..."

"Your head hurts?" he asked, his hands never leaving her back and waist as if she'd break if he let go. "Come on, Chloe, I'll take you to the hospital."

"No," she immediately snapped, rising to her feet on her wobbly legs. He rose with her and caught her when her knees gave out. He held her upright in his arms as she began to tremble from the cool air that was blowing around them in frequent breezes.

"Dammit, Chloe, I have got to take you to a hospital," he repeated as she tried to regain her footing. "Look at your car - you shouldn't even be conscious right now."

"But I am," she replied, "Please, Jack, I don't want to go to a hospital."

He paused and took her face into his hands as she gripped his shoulders for balance. "Then where do you want to go?"

She looked down and felt her eyes burn with the sting of fresh tears. "I don't know. I don't want to go anywhere."

"Come here," he whispered before bringing her into an embrace. He closed his eyes and wondered to himself why she of all people had to go through what this day had thrown at her. He could have held her like he was for as long as time allowed, but she was weak and needed to rest. Gently he eased her around and started walking her to his car, past the ditch where her car sat totaled in. She took one look at the car and went pale, wondering how she was still walking.

He helped her into the backseat of his car and looked over her injuries, which besides her possible concussion were mild, though the bruises that covered both of her legs from her calves to her ankles begged to differ. "Chloe, please let me take you to a hospital," he asked of her one last time.

"I'm fine," she muttered. "Just take me home."

He paused and brushed a piece of frayed hair behind her ear, not surprised when she turned away from his touch. She kept her eyes facing blankly forward as he took his jacket off and leaned in to gently wrap it around her. He then closed the door and moved to the driver's seat, keeping an eyes on her as she held his jacket snugly around her shivering body and stretched out across the length of the backseat in a futile attempt to get comfortable. She was exhausted, but when she closed her eyes the images she saw forced her to open them. How did I get here? she asked herself as the car moved to take her back to safety, the only safety she had left.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Jack passed up the turn that would have led to her apartment. Though she doubted she would have been able to say it to him that night, she needed him tonight. She needed him more than anything else in the world.

To be continued, I promise. :)