Secret Santa
Chapter One.
It was now December 20th, and Buchanan had apparently lost his mind. There were Christmas trees around every corner, and festive music had been piped into the elevator and bathrooms.
Chloe sat at the comms station processing a chip for Tony. Everyone around her was cheerful but Chloe found it hard to join in. She was worried about her secret Santa present. Or rather, lack of secret Santa present. She'd written lists of possible gift ideas but these lists had been shredded and she was back to square one.
She heard Michelle laughing and looked up to see Tony stood with a bunch of mistletoe in his hand. Honestly. This was meant to be a government building, not a high school.
"Your chip's done, Tony." Chloe got up and walked over to his desk and placed the chip on it.
"Thanks."
Chloe nodded and turned back to her desk. Miserably, she skimmed through the hourlies. Nothing interesting.
She wondered where Jack was. He'd been in the morning briefing but she hadn't seen him since. Chloe sighed. It was definitely different in CTU when he wasn't there.
Jack thanked the cashier and made his way out of the store. It was bitterly cold outside and he zipped his jacket up further. As he headed back to the car, he reflected on what he'd just bought. She sure was difficult to buy for. What did you buy the woman you loved, but who didn't know you loved her?
He'd been a pig towards her lately, not meaning to be of course. He was coming to grips with his feelings for her and stupidly, the only way he knew how to do this was by pushing her away. Being Chloe, she'd seemingly accepted his behaviour, assuming he was just annoyed with her over a comms mix up or something. Now Jack had the chance to make it up to here, and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
The traffic was heavy and it took longer than normal to get back to CTU. Situated just on the edge of downtown Los Angeles, CTU looked pretty inconspicuous until you got closer and spotted the three security check points just to get into the carpark.
It didn't take Jack long to clear these checkpoints, and he soon found a parking space. As he was unloading the car, he changed his mind and replaced Chloe's present in the trunk. He didn't want her spotting him walking through CTU with a gift bag. Not that she would know it was for her, but he didn't want to take the risk.
His cell phone rang as he made his way up to the main doors.
"Bauer."
"Hey, are you back?"
"Just walking in."
"Buchanan wants department heads in the situation room. Thought I'd give you a heads up."
"Thanks, Tony."
Chloe was already seated in the situation room when Jack walked in. He apologised to Bill for being late, then stood over to one side, arms folded. Jack never sat. He commanded more of a presence that way, Chloe thought. She glanced over at him but he wasn't looking at her.
She had no idea what the matter was with him lately. He'd been rude, sarcastic and short with her for about three weeks. She'd put it down to stress but she wasn't convinced. Still, she wouldn't ask him. He'd probably tell her it was none of her business.
"Right, here's the situation."
Buchanan was serious- all eyes were on him. "Chloe, can you log on to the server and type in this code…"
Chloe did so and the screen behind Buchanan lit up with a Christmas scene. She saw Tony roll his eyes and several people started laughing. Jack's expression remained unreadable.
"That's right. It's the Christmas party. Perfect chance to relax, exchange gifts and forget about this place. Of course, we'll keep CTU manned on minimum staffing, but most of us will get the chance to go."
Chloe made a mental note to volunteer for the night shift.
"When is it?" asked Michelle.
"Two nights from now," replied Bill. "At the Las Playas hotel."
The Las Playas was about as expensive as it got. No need to ask what the dress code would be.
"Ok, that's all. If anyone needs to talk to me about it, feel free."
Everyone filed out, Jack leading the way. Chloe hung back.
"Mr Buchanan? I'd like to volunteer for the night shift on that day please."
Bill stared at her. "You don't want to go? We've got other analysts, Chloe."
She shook her head. "No, I'd rather work."
Bill sighed. "Well, if you're sure."
"I am."
Feeling slightly relieved, Chloe packed up her laptop and headed back to her station.