It was a blustery Sunday afternoon and both Alex and Sarah had almost been blown over by the gusts. They were walking through the streets of Chicago, talking about old times and new times, wandering nowhere in particular except to get caught up in the living city that was Chicago.
"What do you plan to do, Alex? Are you gonna stay in LA?", Sarah asked him. If she was to be honest with herself, she kind of hoped he would return to Chicago, as she missed him and would welcome him back any day. Even so, she wanted him to do what he felt was right for himself, and if that meant staying in Los Angeles, then so be it.
"I dunno. I'm not ready to go back to work yet, but I think I want to stay in LA. I know there's gonna be a lot of bad memories there, but I feel like I need to stay there, to prove that my family isn't like Nina", he replied. Hoping that he would somehow cope, he planned to stay at CTULA for the foreseeable future. He just hoped that Nina's actions would not cause him any problems he didn't deserve. Sarah smiled at him and, for the first time, realised just how much had changed in the course of a week or so. Some of those changes were temporary, and would vanish soon enough. Others, however, were permanent, or at least long-term, and there was no telling just how bad those involved would be affected by such changes.
"How's Jack Bauer doing?", Sarah asked. Like everyone else at CTU Chicago, she had nothing but sympathy for the guy. He had been through Hell that day, and to finally kill the threat and find his wife dead, that must have been horrific.
"Not very well. He wants me to go and visit him sometime next week", Alex said. Jack had indeed asked him to visit, and Alex felt that he had to. He felt so sorry for Jack, but at the same time he felt guilty. It was his sister who had killed Teri, and if CTU had just looked after Teri, made sure she didn't wander off...
"Tell him that everyone at CTU Chicago is thinking of him and Kim", Sarah said.
"I will", Alex promised.
In Los Angeles, a tired and defeated Jack Bauer was finishing off another can of some crappy beer he couldn't pronounce the name of. He was slumped on a chair in the kitchen, staring aimlessly out of the window, at the garden which Teri had so lovingly nurtured. Violent, self-destructive thoughts would crowd his mind, and he would drink more alcohol to make them go away, but the drink just made them more vivid, more psychotic. Crushing the empty can and throwing it in the general direction of the bin, he sighed and stood up. He was about to walk to the fridge and get another can, when he felt dizzy. Grabbing hold of the counter, he tried in vain to hold on, but he soon lost to gravity and he went crashing to the floor. Although he was lying on cold linoleum, he began to get sleepy and nodded off where he laid.
Alex and Sarah were now sat on a bench, watching the world go by in a hurry. The conversation was light in mood, and they tried their best not to mention Nina, CTU or the events of the past week, which was easier said than done. Eventually, they decided to walk back to Sarah's apartment and, as the sky started to darken with the arrival of dusk, both were glad to have a friend standing beside them.
"Jack?", a concerned Tony asked, as he poked his head around the front door, which had been slightly ajar. Walking inside, he noticed a mop of blonde hair on the kitchen floor, and rushed towards it. Noticing the sleeping Jack on the floor, he debated whether or not to move Jack, or wake him up. Carefully, he lifted Jack up, his arms underneath Jack's, and somehow managed to move him to the nearest chair, where he gently lowered the sleeping man down. Sighing as he noticed the mess Jack had made, he began cleaning it up, making sure that he kept the noise to a minimum.
