Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 3
"Are you nervous, Chloe?" Jack asked as they pulled into the parking lot.
Chloe sighed. God, he's good. "Yeah, I am. It's been 5 years, Jack. Why do we have to do this now?"
"You know how this place works."
"Unfortunately, I do." She glanced over to the building. "Well, let's just get this done. I want to put this part of my life completely behind me."
"Sounds good to me." Jack led his wife through the parking lot and into the building, only to be stopped by security. "Names?" the surly faced guard asked. They gave their names and waited to be cleared. "Empty out your pockets." Both were searched thoroughly, then finally given visitor badges while the guard explained in great detail what parts of the building they would be granted access to. "The security's gotten better here" Chloe remarked.
Jack nodded. "About time, too." He followed the guards onto the main floor and stopped, looking around at the changes that had happened in the last few years. He glanced over at Chloe, who was looking up at the director's office, scowling furiously. Jack followed her gaze and stopped as he saw Erin Driscoll staring back at them. What is she doing here? He reached for his wife's hand, rubbing it reassuringly. Chloe gave him a brief smile, then turned as she heard someone call out Jack's name. Mike Doyle was heading in their direction. "Jack, Chloe. It's good to see you guys."
"Agent Doyle" Jack greeted him with a firm handshake.
"Please, call me Mike."
"All right, then."
"How have you guys been?" Doyle asked. "I heard about what happened to you, Chloe. Are you okay?"
Chloe looked at him. "As good as I can be, Mike."
"Good." He looked around ruefully. "Nadia talks about you two all the time. She said one of her biggest regrets was letting you resign, Chloe. No one else we've gotten has been nearly as good as you guys were."
"Thanks." Chloe glanced back at the director's office. "Where is Nadia?"
"She's on leave. Pregnant again."
"Again?" Jack asked.
Doyle grinned. "You didn't hear? We got married 3 years ago. This is going to be our second child. Erin's running things here until she comes back."
"Congratulations, Mike."
"Thanks, Jack. It's all thanks to you. Until I met you, I didn't think I could do this job and have a relationship. But you convinced me to give it a try with Nadia after I got out of the hospital and got my sight back. She came to see me every chance she got, and things just took off from there." He looked serious. "Having something to fight for changed everything for me. I can do my job better now."
"Well, you deserve it, Mike." Chloe smiled, then frowned as two guards came up to them. Doyle scowled. "Business time. I'm sorry, guys, but you're going to have to wait in Holding. Erin's orders. And she wants to see you separately. You first, Jack. I'll take you to Holding, Chloe."
Chloe followed Doyle down the corridors and into a vacant Holding room. "If you need anything, ask the guard." He turned to the guard. "Make sure she's comfortable."
"Yes, sir." The guard watched Doyle leave, then turned to Chloe. "It's been a while, Chloe."
"Scott? Yeah, it certainly has. How've you been?"
"Okay, I guess. It's been quiet around here lately. We haven't been attacked since you left."
"Figures" Chloe scowled, then smiled. "You still going out with that girl you were always talking about? Emily?"
Scott put his head down. "No. She died a couple years ago. Plane crash."
Chloe cursed herself mentally. "I'm sorry, Scott. I didn't know."
"Don't worry about it." He walked over to her. "You know, Chloe, we heard about what happened to you." Chloe looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. Everyone was talking about it for a couple weeks. Most people were impressed that you withstood such brutality for so long. Some people, though, thought you had broken, and were just covering your ass. One in particular, oh, what was her name... Sarah Gavin, that's it. She spent her free time spreading nasty rumors about you. Agent Doyle finally found out about it and effectively squashed the rumor mill. She got called into Ms. Yassir's office and... you could hear the screaming all the way down in the bullpen. If there's one thing Ms. Yassir doesn't tolerate, it's gossip. Ms. Gavin got booted out the door."
"I'm not surprised. We never got along when we worked together before." Chloe leaned back in the chair. "So what else has been going on here?"
She and Scott spent the next hour making small talk, catching up on what had happened since Chloe had left CTU. She looked up to see Jack walking in, looking sour. "What's wrong, Jack? Things not go well?"
"You could say that" Jack growled, then sat down in the chair Chloe had vacated. "Your turn, Ms. O'Brian" Jack's guard said.
"Fine. Let's do this." Chloe gave her husband a quick kiss, then followed the guard out onto the floor and up to Driscoll's office. She hesitated before knocking. Of all the people to deal with, why does it have to be her? Whatever. I just have to be civil with her until this is over, then I can go back to hating her in peace. She knocked on the door, and Driscoll beckoned her in. "Hello, Chloe."
"Hello, Erin" Chloe replied. "You mind if I sit down?"
"Go right ahead."
Chloe sat down. "Let's just get this over with, all right, Erin? Being here is not pleasant for me, and I know it's not any more pleasant for you."
"Fine with me." Driscoll handed her some forms. "You can start with these."
Chloe glanced at the paperwork she had been given. "And this couldn't have been done over the phone?"
"No, it couldn't." Driscoll stared at the younger woman. "You haven't changed a bit, Chloe. You're still as hostile and arrogant as before."
"What?" Chloe snapped. "What are you talking about, Erin?"
"You always thought that the rules didn't apply to you, that you were smarter than the rest of us, and it seems that hasn't changed."
Chloe stood up hastily. "You know what, Erin? If you were expecting me to come in here today and bow down at your feet, you're sadly mistaken. Because I was right back then, when I helped Jack. From what I've heard, my actions helped save the Secretary of Defense and his daughter from being executed. And what did you do? Throw roadblocks in our way. You fired me, when I was the only one who was doing something useful to help save lives."
"You violated protocol, Chloe" Driscoll retorted. "Officially, you resigned. And you finally gave me the reason I needed to get rid of you."
"Sometimes you have to break a few protocols to get the job done, Erin. That's something I had to learn the hard way, and something you'll never understand. You're a bureaucrat, Erin, someone who sits behind a desk and has no idea of what it takes to keep this country safe. I was happy to walk away, knowing that I was free of you and your incompetent leadership. I only came back because I knew you were gone, and I wouldn't have to deal with you. Bill Buchanan was ten times the leader you'll ever be." She took a breath and sat down, grabbing a pen off the desk. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Let's just do this." She began filling out the paperwork, slipping in snide comments every few minutes about the stupidity of what she was doing.
Driscoll sat back and observed the woman she had grown to hate. Chloe's just as arrogant as before, but... something's changed. I can't put my finger on it, but she seems... more confident with herself. But that doesn't matter. Once she's done, I'll never see her again. "I just want to know one thing, Chloe. How did they break you?"
Chloe froze as she was signing her name on one of the forms. She looked up to glare at Driscoll. "What?"
"When you were in prison. I read your debrief. There's no way you could have survived such brutal treatment and not broken. That would have been difficult enough for a field agent, someone who is trained to resist torture, but you weren't a field agent."
Chloe felt her blood boil. She thinks I broke, too. Well, I'm not surprised. And I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of pissing me off. "Listen, Erin, I don't give a damn whether or not you think I broke. Your opinion has never mattered to me. The only thing that matters is getting this paperwork processed so Jack and I can move on for good. So just shut up until I'm finished." She turned her attention back to her papers and filled out the last few forms quickly, sending them to be faxed. Driscoll received confirmation that the papers had been received and handed it to Chloe, who grabbed it, scowling. "Are we done here?" she asked quickly.
"Yes, we're done here. You two can go now. Agent Doyle will escort you out."
"Thanks" Chloe snapped, walking out of Driscoll's office quickly and meeting up with Doyle in the bullpen. She smiled briefly as she saw Jack walking in her direction a few minutes later. Jack embraced her, then took her hand as Doyle walked them out of the bullpen and out of the building.
"Goodbye, Mike" Jack said, shaking his hand firmly. Chloe did the same. "Good luck with her" she said.
"Thanks, Chloe." He looked back at the building, then turned to Jack. "Listen, if you two ever want to come visit, just let us know. I'm sure Nadia would like to see you guys." He quickly wrote a number down on a scrap of paper, handing it to Jack. "Here's our number."
"Thanks, Mike. And don't let this job ruin what you have with Nadia."
"I won't." Doyle sighed. "To be honest, I've been thinking about leaving for a while now. But I want to make sure this place is in good hands before I do."
"Don't wait too long" Chloe said. Doyle nodded, then looked at the time. "I have to get back to work, before Erin comes looking for me. Bye, guys." He walked back into the building, leaving Chloe and Jack alone.
"You ready?" Jack asked his wife.
"I'm more than ready, Jack. This part of our life is finally over. Let's go home. The kids are waiting."
2424242424
Jack pulled into the driveway, helping Chloe get out of the van and into the house. Chloe instantly left his side and went upstairs to check on her kids, stopping as she saw Connor standing at the table, changing Edgar, and setting him down gently. Chloe watched as he tended to all of the kids, giving each one attention. "Hi, Connor. We're back."
Connor turned around hastily. "Chloe. When did you get home?"
"A few minutes ago" she replied. "I was watching you just now. Thank you for watching them while we were gone, Connor. I owe you."
Connor smiled briefly. "You don't owe me a thing, Chloe. Getting to meet my brothers and sister is enough."
"How were they?" Chloe asked. "Did you have any problems?"
"Nope. They were perfect little angels." Connor stretched, working the kinks out of his neck expertly. "Well, since you guys are back, I guess I better go."
"You want to... stay for dinner?"
"No, I have some stuff I have to do. Maybe some other time?"
Chloe smiled. "Okay, then."
Connor turned to leave, but stopped. "Listen, Chloe. If you're ever in a pinch, and you need someone to watch your kids, call me."
"Thanks, Connor." Chloe walked him out and watched him leave. I think things just got a little more complicated. But at least he wants to have a relationship with me. And that's all I can ask for.
"Chloe? Dinner's here. You coming to eat?" Jack called out from the kitchen. Chloe shook her head to clear it, then joined him in the kitchen, grinning as she saw her favorite food sitting on the table. "When did you call this in?"
"When we were at CTU, and you were with Erin. I knew she would give you a hard time, so I thought I should get you something you liked."
Chloe planted a firm kiss on his lips. "You always know how to brighten my day, Jack."
Jack smiled, then motioned to the table. "Let's eat before it gets cold."
Chloe sat down and quickly dug in. How did I get so lucky? I'm finally free from the government for good, I have my son back in my life, and my family. Well, I'm not going to complain.
