A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, which is also the last. Just a short little fic. Anyway, sorry for the wait and I hope ya like it. Please review!

Chapter 2

It was roughly a little after two in the afternoon as Karen drove swiftly home from the White House. After handing Daniel's her resignation and thanking him for dropping the charges against her and Bill, she had quickly cleaned out her office, with a little help from Tom Lennox, and loaded everything into the trunk of her car.

It didn't take Karen long to get home sine the normally, bustling city of D.C was unusually quiet that afternoon. No doubt due to the terror attacks, she thought. As soon as she walked in the front door, she immediately headed to take a long, hot shower, hoping to relax a bit. Twenty minutes later, Karen emerged from the bathroom, dressed and headed to the kitchen to make some much-needed coffee. After pouring the steaming liquid into a mug, she sat down on the couch in her living room, and glanced over at the clock situated on the mantle over the fireplace.

3:05, she observed, Bill's flight should be in around 5:30. Lifting the mug to her lips, she downed the last drop of coffee and headed back to her bedroom to try and sleep for a few hours. During the drive home, Karen had decided to meet Bill at the airport instead of waiting for him to get home. With the heightened alert state and security in the airports, Bill likely wouldn't be home for at least an hour, if not more, after his flight arrived.

Awhile later, at about 4:45, Karen woke up and proceeded to get dressed, apply some makeup and leave for the airport. She arrived about ten minutes early and walked up to arrival and departure screens to check the status of her husband's flight.

Perfect timing, she thought as she observed that the screen indicated the only flight from LA had just pulled up to the terminal and was now unloading. Recent security protocols prevented her from meeting Bill at the gate so instead, she made her way to baggage claim, hoping to spot him once he arrived to pick up his luggage.

As Bill Buchanan walked out of the passage way connecting the plane to the terminal, he rubbed his eyes and forehead, trying to rid himself of the headache he had gotten while flying. Flying courtesy of the government definitely had its perks: first class seats that were far, far away from screaming kids was one of them. God, now I know why the government gives its employees first class seats when they travel; so that when they get to their destination, they're not physiologically traumatized and unable to do their job, the former CTU director thought cynically. Though after all he'd been through that day, he had more than enough to be cynical about. Shaking the negative thoughts from his head, he headed towards the escalators that would take him from the terminal to baggage claim.

As Karen stood down at baggage claim, she carefully scanned the escalators which carried the passengers from recent flights. She quickly spotted her husband as he headed towards a conveyor belt on the opposite end of the floor and stopped in front of it. Navigating through the multitude of people, she finally came to stand behind him. Karen paused for a few seconds, just absorbing the fact that he was here after the two of them had been apart for so long.

After a moment, she moved closer and peeked her head above his right shoulder as she placed her hand on the opposite one, before finally whispering in his ear, "Surprise."

Upon feeling a hand on his shoulder and someone's warm breath against his neck, Bill turned his head to meet the eyes of his wife.

"Karen!" he said in shock, before quickly turning his whole body to face her and pull her into his warm embrace. It felt so right holding her in his arms again. It had been so long since they'd seen each other and Bill needed this contact more than anything, especially after all that happened recently.

Pulling back from the embrace, he gazed down lovingly at his wife, with a huge smile on his face. "I thought you'd be at home sleeping, not that I'm complaining mind you."

"I did get a few hours of sleep but I wanted to see you as soon as possible so I decided to come meet you," she explained.

"Well, I'm very glad you did," he replied. He then brought his mouth down to capture Karen's lips and kiss her deeply, desperately wanting to express how much he had missed her and how glad he was to finally be with her again.

After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled apart in desperate need of air. Though several people had taken notice to their obvious display of affection, neither noticed nor cared. All that mattered at that moment was each other, as they got lost in each other's eyes. The sudden loud noise of the conveyor belt starting up was what finally brought them back to Earth. Bill draped his arm over his wife's shoulder and hers went around his waste as they searched the belt for Bill's luggage. Finally spotting the dark blue suitcase, Bill hauled it off the belt and the couple headed out to the parking garage where they climbed into Karen's car and set off for home.

On the ride back to the house, Bill was plagued with issue of the uncertainty of their future. With both of them out of a job, he didn't know what to do next. As much as he hated to bring up such a topic, he had to clear his mind, "So," he began slowly, trying to keep his eyes on the road, "what happens now?" He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Great job, Bill, he thought to himself, way to be blunt.

"We live the rest of our lives….together," Karen answered confidently. She knew Bill would be worried about their future since both of them being forced to resign, but she was sure that they would be alright.

"Look, sweetheart, I don't mean to sound callous here, but we both just lost our jobs. That's not exactly a good thing."

Chuckling lightly at her husband's reply, she continued, "Bill, I know you're worried about money and all that but I already took care of everything."

Bill just turned his head to look at Karen with a look of absolute and complete confusion of his face. "You did?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes. When I resigned, Daniel's asked what we were planning on doing. I said I had to talk to you first, but that Tom had suggested making the resignations permanent with us both retiring up to our house in Vermont." She elaborated, as Bill just listened intently. "He said if that's what we wanted, he would make sure that we would be covered by the government if needed."

"He did? Really?" Bill asked, not entirely sure he was hearing her right.

"Yes. He felt that after all we've both done for this country that we deserved it." As Karen continued her explanation, Bill pulled the car in front of the house and parked. "Like I said, I told him I had to speak with you first and see what you wanted to do. So," she paused, "what do you think?"

"Well," he replied, coming around to the passenger side to stand face-to-face with her, "if Daniels wants to do that for us, I'm definitely not going to argue."

"And what about the Vermont idea?" she asked hesitantly. Karen knew how much her husband loved his job. She was willing to give up hers to spend the rest of her life alone with Bill, away from all the chaos. But if he still wanted to stay, she would in a heartbeat, too.

Seeing the hesitation in his wife's eyes, Bill wrapped his arms around Karen's waist and pulled her closer. "Sweetheart, I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with just you, in Vermont. After all the crazy stuff we've dealt with, I'm ready to settle down."

Upon hearing this from Bill, Karen smiled brightly back at him, "Oh, Bill, I love you so much."

"I love you too, sweetheart, more than anything." And with that, Bill leaned down and kissed his wife passionately, filling it with all the hope and promise of their future together.