Jack was pulled out of his thoughts again when he arrived at the busy streets of Santa Monica. People were looking at him as soon as he entered the town. Jack looked obviously lost, in a way a person can't describe another one.
He spotted some cabs parking at the end of the road. Where would he go? What would he do with his new gained freedom? There was nothing left from his old life. There was Chloe but he didn't want to bother her or Morris after they had there own problems. Then it came to his mind, there was someone who offered him help before.
Jack ran to one of the cabs and got in.
"Indian Falls, 226 Pine Crest Road" Jack said to the driver as he got in.
The drive was long but that didn't matter, Jack was lost in his thoughts anyway. The cab driver tried to do some small talk but gave up after Jack didn't answer to his first questions.
After half an hour of morning traffic, Jack arrived at his aim. He got out of the cab and walked towards the door of the Bauer mansion. He hesitated a second to catch his breath and then rang the bell twice. Seconds later, Marilyn Bauer opened the door and was surprised to see Jack standing in front of her, looking more than terrible.
"Oh my god Jack, I never expected to see you so soon" Marilyn pulled him into an embrace.
"Yeah" Jack said in a hoarsely whisper and cleared his throat. "Could you please pay for the cab?"
"Sure" Marilyn answered, knowing that Jack had no money after 20 months of Chinese captivity. She hurried inside and grabbed her purse and ran back to the cab, paying fro the ride.
"What's going on? I thought you would be still at CTU?" Marilyn asked as she shoved Jack into the living room.
"It's a long story" Jack said as he sat down at the couch, closing his eyes for a minute. "Marilyn, can I stay here for a while… I don't know where to go… there is no one."
"Of course. You can stay here as long as you want. The guest room is always ready. You should get some sleep and then I'm here for you to talk if you want" Marilyn replied gently.
"Thank you" Jack forced out a little smile. Every word was hard to say, tiredness was having its effect on him.
There were no more words spoken. Silently, Marilyn led him upstairs to the guestroom and pointed to the adjoining bathroom.
Jack nodded and went straight into it. He took a quick shower to wash away the traces of the last day. When he walked out, there were some jeans, a shirt and some boxer shorts on the bed. Marilyn obviously placed them there for him to get changed and out of his clingy clothes. He changed into a pair boxer shorts and got into the bed. Sleep overcame him after a few seconds.
Jack slept soundly until he woke up, hearing someone arguing downstairs.
"Mom I don't care! I don't want to go to dad's funeral; you can't imagine what grandpa did to me! I feel ashamed to be the son of a traitor and criminal!" Jack heard Josh's voice.
"Josh, stay here! This conversation is not over! "Marilyn's voice followed after a door slammed shut.
Then there was silence. Jack decided to get up, looking at the clock. It was 7 pm, he slept almost 10 hours. Dressed in his shorts only, he walked downstairs finding Marilyn standing in the kitchen.