Author's note: Thanks for all the great support! I'm putting a lot of effort in this story. I'm glad to see people like it. Getting reviews truly make my day. I'm also very open for questions, suggestions and constructive criticisms.

In that spirit, I decided to take a good advice I got from a reviewer. Someone suggested I should split the story because the main topics had changed. I thought that was correct. So now, "Everything went downhill from there" is a series with three parts. (A 'part three' will be written eventually and will take place after the crisis in day 8 passes)

SERIES: Everything went downhill from there

PART ONE: A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART

PART TWO: IN A NEW YORK MINUTE

Summary: After seven weeks together, Jack and Renee have gone different ways. But everything can change in a New York minute. Unexpectedly, they get dragged into solving a major national crisis. As the world falls apart, he struggles to save her from herself - Second part of the "Everything went downhill from there" series.

Previously: Jack blames himself for Renee "turning into him" when they first met. After weeks of dating they happily planed to move to L.A. together. Everything changed when Renee learned she was pregnant against all odds but the pregnancy turned out to be non-viable. Feeling devastated, she left Jack in the middle of the night, without telling him anything.

President Allison Taylor's bold peace initiative will be negotiated at the U.N. shortly.

Disclaimer: The show it's not mine. Neither are the characters. Damn it!

CHAPTER 1:

IN A NEW YORK MINUTE, THE INTRODUCTION

In only one day, life as he knew it could be over. It always took twenty four hours for everything to be turned upside-down. Jack Bauer could begin a day in a certain place but end it very far from where he'd started it. Things could fall part completely. Or they could simply go from bad to worse. But it only took one day.

It always started the same way. It started with someone summoning him to do something vital for his country and with him jumping into doing what was necessary, completely oblivious of the fact that in twenty four hours his life would be radically different. It was at the end when he realized he would never who he'd been on the day before.

While he was still in the center of the hurricane, he believed once he solved the crisis at hand he would pick up his life exactly where he had left it. He tried to recall vividly the day before as if that could somehow bring it back. Because even if the day before had been a crappy one, the day after was prone to be so much worse.

But he could never go back to the life he had once known. Once he was dragged into solving some major national disaster, there was no going back. As soon as he agreed to get the job done, he was already in the day after.

YEAR 2018 – May 20th

7 AM - Chelsea, New York City – Jack's apartment

Jack saw a woman pushing Renee to the Hudson River. And even though she was an awesome swimmer, Renee began drowning helplessly. She was trying desperately to swim to the surface but couldn't. When Jack rushed to her rescue, the other woman stopped him, grabbing his arm from behind. Jack turned around to fight this stranger. But he stopped dryly in shock before giving the first punch. This other woman looked exactly like Renee. But if Renee was drowning then who was this other woman? And why did they look like identical twins? The only difference was that this other woman had an evil and cold expression, too similar to Nina's. Jack had no time to find out what was going on. He had to save the real Renee. So he fought the impostor fiercely.

Jack woke up startled and soaking in sweat. He groaned when he looked at his watch. He had only slept for two hours and a half. He'd fallen asleep when his exhaustion finally knocked him down somewhere after the tenth hour on a road of watching whatever crap was on TV. Knowing there was no way he could go back to sleep, he dragged himself to the kitchenette to have some coffee.

As the caffeine started to kick in, he started analyzing that crazy nightmare. The meaning was pretty obvious. He knew Renee was her own worst enemy. He knew that since he heard about Alan Wilson. And he confirmed it the second he heard about her failed suicide attempt. At some point Renee started walking down a very self destructive path. He had been down that road too, and for far too long. Jack was still convinced that Renee's self-loathe had to do with everything that happened the day she met him. Renee hated herself because those damned twenty four hours she'd spent living like he used to. Jack recalled that when he was getting detox she told him: "everything I did that day, everything I was that day… It was all already on me when I met you". Regardless of her words, Jack knew better than anybody what such a day like that one could do to a person.

God knew he had tried to rescue her. Maybe not back then, as he should have, but for the past two months. Partly because saving people was a key element of his nature, but mainly because he cared so much about her. He kept wondering what had gone wrong. How could she leave him like that? What kind of person dumps someone using a damn post-it? And what happened to "You jump, I jump, Jack"? She had seemed to be doing fine for a while. She had acted like she cared about him and wanted to be with him. Obviously all that time she had been pretending. That much was clear to Jack now. She had faked everything they had during those seven weeks.

Jack had tried calling her so they could at least talk like adults. He called her once right after realizing she was gone and three more times that same afternoon. Then he called her again twice the following day. But she never bothered answering the phone or calling him back. She was ditching his calls like she had done after cutting her wrists. And that comparison kept stinging his mind. What if she needed him? He still cared about her. As pissed as he was at her, he still cared. He couldn't help it.

But he had to stop thinking about her. Once he finished his coffee, Jack practically threw the mug into the sink. He was suddenly furious at himself. He felt so credibly pathetic. He was feeling like a chick, which was driving him insane. He couldn't stop thinking about Renee but had to get her off his mind. She was the one who left. She chose to walk away from him without even a decent goodbye. She had betrayed him.

He needed some serious distraction. At 5 PM he was supposed to leave for L.A. but his last moments in New York seemed endless. He took his cell phone and called Kim, who knew it was him because of her caller ID. "Hi, dad. How are you?"

"Hi, sweetheart. I'm fine. Listen, what if Teri comes over and I take her to the zoo?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, she loves the Bronx Zoo; she should see it one last time before we have to leave" And he knew spending some time with his granddaughter would cheer him up.

4 PM

The trip to the zoo had been quite bear-intense. This week little Teri had an obsession with bears, which Kim had forgotten to mention. So Jack spent most the visit to the zoo taking his grandkid from the black bears to the polar bears. But it had been really fun. He adored spending time with that amusing child. But he felt exhausted. The lack of sleep was catching up with him. So he fell asleep on the couch while Teri was quietly watching her cartoons, holding her new stuffed polar bear.

The little girl got bored after a short while. She wanted to watch a different cartoon. Since her grandpa was sleeping, she took the bear and used its nose to caress his cheek with it as she called his name. "Jack?"

Jack woke out startled from the same Renee-related nightmare. He snapped back to reality fast and saw little Teri giggling sweetly. That innocent child didn't know how close she'd come to lose an eye just then. What if it had been a nightmare about China? But he couldn't explain a three year old what his past had done to his mind. So he let it go and told her "Sweetheart, we already talked about this, remember? You are supposed to call me grandpa"

Renee was now gone for reasons the grownups refused to explain clearly, but little Teri still remembered one lesson she had learned from her. "You don't look like a grandpa"

Jack recalled sadly the moment Renee unwillingly taught Teri that. But his granddaughter was too adorable. The kid was the only one who could put a smile on his face these days. So Jack grinned at the sweet little girl. "I couldn't agree with you more"

"The cartoon that's on is boring" Teri then complained.

"Well, we'll find another one" Jack said picking up the remote and switching channels.

He landed on a news channel, where they were talking about President Taylor's peace agreement. One reporter was calling it "the boldest diplomatic initiative we've seen in a generation" and explained that it could actually be the foundation for real peace in the Middle East. Then a female reporter pointed out "The President is certainly betting her legacy on the success of these negotiations".

Jack couldn't help to hear an alarm going off deep inside him. He recalled what Renee had commented once upon reading about the negotiations on the news paper. "They won't let this happen. In the IRK some might see this as if they were handing themselves to us on a silver plate. There must be a lot of people over there pissed as hell with Hassan about this."

He couldn't ignore the fact that what was happening today at the U.N. was like a magnet for the kind of people he had spent a lifetime fighting. But he told himself that it wasn't his problem. It wasn't his job anymore.

Little Teri already knew something very important about Grandpa Jack: he didn't look like a grandpa, but when she called him grandpa anyway he did whatever she wanted him to do. So, when she started to get bored again, she simply protested pointing her little finger at the TV while saying "Grandpa! This isn't a cartoon!"

"Ok… ok" Jack clucked amazed. His granddaughter never missed a trick. He soon found a cartoon Teri liked better.

Despite of the fact that he didn't look like a grandpa, it was an unquestionable truth that Jack Bauer was extremely proud of that title. He was truly looking forward to moving to California with his family. It wounded him that Renee had chosen not be a part of his life. But he would have to learn to live with that disappointment.

4. 20 PM

Jack was busy finishing the packing he still had left to do. Then he heard somebody knocking softly at his door. He turned around and stared at the door troubled. That couldn't be anything good. Just for a second, he thought it could be her. But that wasn't likely. He approached the door, almost fearing what he might find behind it, and looked through the peephole. Definitely bad news. Jack's old world was sneaking into his new one. He opened the door and stared somberly at the intruder. "Victor. What are you doing here? How the hell did you find me?"

"I was always resourceful, Jack, that's what you liked about me" Victor said without giving a real answer.

Jack made sure nobody else had followed that thug. The last thing he needed was that guy standing outside even longer, like a Bauer-lives-here neon sign. "Get in here, take a seat" Felling pissed off, Jack dragged Victor inside and locked the door. "What happened?"

"I need help" Victor stated even though his wound from a gunshot made that much pretty obvious.

"You need am ambulance" Jack pointed out, trying to do the smart thing.

"No! Don't call one. That's what he's waiting for. He's listening to emergency channels"

"Who?"

"Listen to me, Jack. I have information"

This situation already had "impending catastrophe" clearly written all over it. Jack could read the huge warning signs as if they were Broadway billboards. His mind told him to stay away from it. "The best thing I can do for you, Victor, is get you to an ambulance. I'm out. I don't work for the government anymore."

But Victor knew that had never stopped Jack Bauer before. "Well, this you're gonna want to hear"

"Why?" Jack was getting frustrated. Why him? Why was it always him?

"Why? Because you are the guy who always does the right thing" Said Victor trying to sound sincere and knowing he had to appeal to Jack's massive ego. Jack gave him a serious look that clearly meant just-cut-the-crap-already. So Victor added "There is a big hit going down"

"On whom?"

"President Hassan, at the UN. He's getting taken out."

"When?"

"Today, before he can sign this thing with Taylor" Victor was pleased to see Jack's horrified look. "See? I told you you'd be interested"

Jack knew it would be bad on many levels if that assassination actually took place. If Victor was right, somebody had to stop it from happening. "How do you know this?"

"I'm the one who got the hitter in the country. I set him up with what he needs" Victor admitted.

Jack wasn't even surprised, and he could easily guess the rest. "And then he tried to take you out"

"Look, Jack, you are the only one in CTU I've ever done business with. I need you to call them. Vouch for me. So I can cut a deal" Since Jack just looked unaffected, Victor tried to stand up and pleaded "Come on, Jack"

"Stay on your seat!" Jack ordered as he pushed Victor harshly back to the chair.

"Look, I swear this is real. Someone is trying to make sure this peace agreement does not happen"

"I'm not doing anything until you give me your weapon" Jack said seriously, knowing Victor was desperate enough to comply. But as soon as he got Victor's gun, Jack held it against his neck. Jack Bauer was sleep deprived, had just been dumped and really wanted to go to California. So, if Victor wasn't telling the truth… God help him. Jack gave him one serious warning, "You better not be screwing with me"

"I'm not, I swear I'm not" Victor said honestly.

"This hitter, what's his name?" Jack didn't get an answer. So he yelled loudly on Victor's face, "Who is the hitter?"

"I don't know his name. It's Russian or something"

"Not good enough!" Jack barked, with the gun still pressed against Victor's neck. "Who is the hitter?"

"Look, I know how to find him and stop him before he makes the hit. But I'm not saying another word before I make my deal"

Jack was infuriated. Victor had caused a problem of an immense proportion, and then had come to him for a solution. But now the thug refused to say anything that could actually solve the mess. He considered for a moment getting the information right then and there. He definitely knew how. But that would mean going back to his old life. And he wanted more than anything to move on. He wanted others to handle this mess. Therefore, he just gave Victor a look full of hate and grunted "You are lucky I'm retired"

But deep down Jack wondered: Was he really retired? Had he ever been retired? Could he ever be?

Problems kept showing up at his doorstep, even when he tried his best to avoid them. Whenever he was out, he just got pulled back in. But this time, he would draw a line. He would put his foot down. He was only going to make sure Victor got safely to the CTU. That would be all.

5.25 PM – CTU, NY

It took less than two hours for one already bad situation to get worse.

Jack got Victor to the helipad where the CTU chopper was. It wasn't easy. But he completed that task. However seconds later said chopper was hit by a missile. And Victor died before giving enough information. They only knew now that somebody close to President Hassan was involved in the assassination plot. And Brian Hastings, the CTU NY director, was sure the inside conspirator was a reporter called Meredith Reed. Nevertheless years of experience told Jack that if Reed had been caught so easily, she was probably innocent. Besides, Chloe had good reasons to believe Reed was being framed. That meant President Hassan was still in serious danger and, by extension, so was the entire peace process. Meanwhile CTU was completely stuck following a false lead.

Under those circumstances, there was only one thing Jack could say, "I hate this place"

Jack hated what this place had done to him, to his life and to the lives of everyone he touched. He was ready to go to L.A with Kim and her family, his family. As he was exiting the building, he ran into Chloe, who was understandably upset about the entire situation with Hastings. "He's not gonna help, is he?" she said as she took a folder he handed her. Then insisted "We have to follow this lead. If they have the wrong person…"

But Jack interrupted her dryly. His friend was starting to sound like the old him. She was obsessed believing it was up to her to fix whatever was wrong, even when she couldn't. "Chloe, I did what you asked. I talked to Hastings. If he doesn't wanna listen, that's his mistake. But it's not my problem. To be honest with you, it's not yours either"

Chloe could hardly believe it was really Jack saying that. So she kept pushing him. "What about the threat against Hassan? What about the peace conference? Doesn't any of that matter to you?"

"What if Hastings knows something you don't?" Jack snapped at Chloe. But when he saw the sad look in her eyes he felt really bad and softened his tone. "I'm sorry. Kim is waiting for me outside. I have to go"

"Jack!" She called desperately for her friend. She hated having to do this, but Jack had left her with no other choice. She would have to remind him of how much he owed her. And both of them knew he owed her big. "You've come to me for help many times. And I've never let you down. You've asked me to do crazy things! And I've always taken your side. Please, help me. I can't do this by myself"

Jack looked at her sadly, indeed felling like an asshole. Chloe was a friend of unquestionable loyalty. She had been amazing over the years. But he couldn't go back to a life that had destroyed him and everyone he cared about. "I'm sorry. I can't. Not this time. Not me"

5.35 PM

Little Teri was showing her grandpa a picture she made of her entire family, Grandpa Jack included. That was exactly what he wanted. That picture reminded him of what was truly important. Then Kim asked to talk alone with him. And Jack could sense the gravity in her tone. He told little Teri to go with her dad, and after he was alone with Kim, he asked "What's wrong?"

"I spoke to Chloe. She told me what's happening"

"Chloe called you?" He found that very hard to believe.

"No. I called her because you didn't tell me what was going on. So I decided to find out for myself. I know there is a threat against the peace conference and the CTU might have the wrong suspect. What's happening?"

"Chloe had me make her case to the head of CTU. He wasn't convinced. And he thinks he's got the right person"

"But if he's wrong then there's still someone inside the UN who's working with this assassin?"

"That's what Chloe thinks"

"And what do you think?" Kim asked rhetorically. It was plain for her to see that her dad knew Chloe was right.

"I think it's not my problem" He repeated that it wasn't his problem for the third time in less than an hour. He was trying hard to convince himself of that.

Kim was astonished by his answer. Since when her father believed something like what was going on wasn't his problem? She could hardy recognize him. "Dad!"

"What?" He asked with a hint of frustration on his voice. Why everybody kept trying to convince him of doing something that was such a terrible idea? His work for the CTU had destroyed everyone he loved. And it had ultimately turned him into the rotten man who couldn't help Renee when she still had a chance, a year ago. Now he had to forget about her for good. Moving to L.A and be with his family would help him to do that.

"I don't believe you. I've never known you to walk away from something like this. If you have to stay, that's all right. You're not letting me down. I understand."

But this wasn't about not letting his daughter down. It was about opening a new chapter in his life, a chapter without death and tragedies. He had lost Renee. But he could still have his family, which he treasured. And he wanted to embrace it tightly. So he assured his daughter "Sweetheart, I wanna go with you"

Kim truly hated that she couldn't protect her father. Problems were always chasing him. She wanted him to avoid them. But now she truly understood that if he walked away, if he chose not to be a hero, he would be killing a huge part of himself. "I know you do. And there is nothing I want more than you to come with us. I've been waiting so long for this day. We both have. But if something terrible happens, and you could have done something to stop it, I don't think you'd be able to live with yourself."

All that time, Chloe had been staring at him sadly through the glass from inside CTU. Jack looked at his friend and felt like she was shooting guilt-rays at him with her eyes.

Kim was right. He couldn't walk away. Deep down Jack had known it all along. His brain kept sending desperate warnings, telling him not get involved. But his instinct was so much stronger than his better judgment. His heart could never live with it if he walked away. It simply wasn't who he was. He had to step up and fight fiercely to prevent something terrible from happening. Not because it was his job, but because it was a part of his nature.

"As soon as I'm finished here, I will get on a plane and I will be in Los Angeles, I promise" And Jack seriously meant to keep that promise. As he had done many times before, he would step up to help with the crisis at hand. Then he would go back to the place from which he had started. He didn't have Renee Walker. But he had a daughter who loved him and one adorable granddaughter who worshiped him. That was definitely a good place, he wanted to stay there. He promised to himself to head straight back to that good place after doing what he had to do.

What Jack Bauer failed to notice was that, once he got dragged into solving some major national disaster, there was no going back. He'd never be the same person he had been on the day before. As soon as he agreed to get the job done, he was already in the day after.

7.10 PM – Newark Airport – New Jersey

Renee had to go to the bathroom and change her hygienic towel for a clean one. The doctor had warned her that some minor bleeding was to be expected and could last a few days. Luckily, it seemed now to be slowly subsiding. It had been six days. Six days of feeling absolutely empty inside. The procedure had been quick, and they kept her in the hospital only for a few hours afterwards. Then she was free to go. She was supposed to go back for a follow up in another week, but she knew that wasn't gonna happen.

After washing her hands and her face, she redid her make-up and went back to wait for her plane, which was delayed. First, she would go to Rome, Italy. Once there she would take a plane Berlin to start a new life. Not that she was actually excited with the whole idea. But it was the right thing to do.

It suddenly hit her that Jack was probably already on a flight to L.A. She wished so badly she could be with him. But she couldn't be the woman he needed her to be, as painful as it was for her to acknowledge that fact. She was a complete mess. Jack already had enough problems in his life. He would be better off without her.

Renee was startled by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID. It was a number she didn't recognize. She thought for a moment about not picking up at all. But it could be her contact from Europe to inform her about some change of plans, or to give her further instructions. "Yeah?"

"Hello, is this Renee Walker?" Asked politely a feminine voice Renee didn't recognize.

"Yeah?" Renee said doubtfully. Who could be looking for her?

"Miss. Walker, this is Dana Walsh, I work for CTU New York. I got your number from the FBI"

Instantly, Renee's back straightened. All her muscles were tense. What was going on? What could they possibly want from her? She felt the urge to hang up. But instead, in a sharp tone she asked "Why?"

"Twenty minutes ago there was an assassination attempt of President Hassan. He was being evacuated from the U.N. But there was a bomb planted on his evacuation route. It went off. He was hurt, but not killed" Dana Walsh explained all this quickly, going straight to the important matters.

Renee wasn't even surprised to hear that, but she just didn't understand why this woman was calling her. She said sounding pissed off "So what?"

Dana was momentarily taken aback by that reaction. "President Hassan is the key to achieve…"

But Renee cut her off dryly. "I know who President Hassan is, Ms. Walsh. What I don't know is why you are calling me to give me a news flash, when clearly you have a peace process to save"

Dana took a deep breath trying to be patient. They needed Walker, with or without crappy attitude. So she delivered the rest of the information in a professional manner. "Ms. Walker, the assassin had tattoos on his body indicating he was a member of a Russian crime syndicate operating in New York. And so were two other men also involved in the assassination plot. These tattoos could be an important lead. We need to figure out what they mean, how the Russians could be involved and why."

Renee's features darkened. But she tried to keep a casual tone. "What does it have to do with me?"

"You worked undercover for almost two years inside a Russian gang. We need you to come to CTU as a consultant on this matter."

Renee could hear the sound of hundredths of alarms going off inside her brain. She wanted nothing to do with this mess. "Ms. Walsh, you'll have to call somebody else. I'm not currently available"

But Dana was determined to get that former agent on board. She knew that would impress Mr. Hastings. And she had to cause a very good impression to protect her big secret. "The FBI gave me your name saying you are the best expert on this matter. No agent has ever gotten as close to a Russian crime syndicate as you have. We need all the information we can get about those people. Ms. Walker, you know what's at stake here."

Renee could sense by Dana's tone that CTU was fully in crisis mode, and with good reason. Whoever was behind the failed hit on Hassan wouldn't give up so easily. The entire peace process was in severe peril. The fact that they were summoning her to help suddenly made her feel flattered. She wasn't totally worthless. She had knowledge nobody else had. Nobody knew the Russians as well as she did.

Renee realized she had two choices: she could run away like a pathetic loser or she could help the CTU with something important. All she had to do was give the information they needed and that only she had. This could be her chance to do at least one thing right. She was damaged and broken on so many levels. But what they were now asking from her now was the one thing she could do.

She really had no choice.

"I'm at Newark airport, how do I get to the CTU?"

"A chopper will pick you up ASAP I'll call you back when I have the exact pick-up point"

After hanging the phone, Renee took one very deep breath. What was she really getting herself into?

TO BE CONTINUED…

(Please, tell me what you think. Honest reviews are always welcomed!)