A/N: Your reviews make me smile. a lot. So, please review.

Chapter 3

Audrey desperately tried to wake up. Chloe was in the room talking with her father about her condition. Chloe would know where he is or at least know how to find him.

"Hey, Audrey." Chloe said. Audrey tried to respond. She couldn't. Why would this time be different from the other times? Chloe started talking again, this time with guilt in her voice. "I'm really sorry, Audrey. I should have tried harder to stop you from going there."

Was Chloe really blaming herself? This was ridiculous. Jack blamed himself. Her father blamed himself and Jack. And, Chloe blamed herself. Why didn't they understand that it was her own fault?

"How long is she going to be like this?" Chloe asked directing her attention to Heller.

"They're going to stop giving her the sedative in a couple days. She'll be awake but she might still be unresponsive." Heller said.

"Would it be alright if we come back sometime next week?" Chloe asked. Morris had been in the room too. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't really friends with Audrey.

"Of course." Heller said.

Chloe turned her attention back to Audrey. "Bye, Audrey. I hope you feel better soon."

Audrey hoped so, too. She hoped she would be able to talk to her for the next time she visited. She needed Jack. He was the only thing she wanted. She could hear them leave the room. She felt alone. Not that she wasn't used to that feeling.

"Chloe, we didn't even ask Heller what happened with Jack." Morris said when they got into the car.

"That's surprisingly not important. If we ask Heller, he won't let us see Audrey. And, then we'll never know if she actually wants to be with him or not."

"Why wouldn't she want to be with Jack?" Morris asked.

"I don't know maybe because he'll remind her of her horrible time in China." Chloe said. They drove to Chloe's apartment and knocked. Jack didn't answer so Chloe opened the door. Jack was asleep on the floor.

"At least it doesn't look like he's having a nightmare." Morris said. Chloe knelt by Jack and woke him up.

"Jack, why are you sleeping on the floor?" Chloe asked.

"How's Audrey?" He asked ignoring the question.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"When I was trying to fall asleep and you guys thought I was asleep yesterday, you said that you were going to Heller's." Jack said.

"Oh. Audrey's still the same." Chloe said. She looked at Jack who seemed sadder after hearing that news. She tried to give him some better news. "But, her doctor is going to stop giving her a sedative so she'll wake up in a couple days."

Jack just stared at her and then stood up. He put on sweatpants and a t shirt and walked to the table. He grabbed the money that was left over from the previous day.

"Here's your change. I'll find a way to pay you back." Jack said.

"Why can't you just accept our help? You don't have to pay me back." Chloe said.

"Right." Jack said. "Are you going back?"

"Back where?" Morris asked.

"Audrey." Jack said.

"Next week." Chloe said. "Today, though, we have to go back to work."

"Have fun." Jack teased.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" She asked.

"I've been by myself for a long time." Jack muttered. "I'll be fine."

Chloe put some more money on the table for him and Morris's car key. Chloe and Morris went to CTU. Bill Buchanan was there and they said hello to him.

"It's good to see you, Chloe and Morris." Bill said. "Do you have any idea how Jack is? I've been worried about him."

"He's staying in my apartment. He's doing well physically. But, not emotionally. We picked him up at Heller's beach house. He's been really quiet, and sad. He just really misses Audrey. He has a hard time sleeping because he has nightmares about her dying. I don't know what to do, Bill. I don't know if it's okay to leave him alone." Chloe said.

"Well, I've been here all night. So, I can go check on him if you want." Bill replied. Chloe told him where her apartment was. Maybe Bill could cheer him up.

Bill left immediately after their conversation. Jack answered the door expecting to see Chloe. Bill was there but Jack knew it was because Chloe had asked Bill to check on him.

"How are you, Jack?" Bill asked.

"I'm fine." Jack replied.

"Yeah, Jack. I believe you." Bill said, sarcastically. He made his way in knowing that Jack wouldn't invite him. Bill sat on the couch and Jack sat next to him.

"How are you, Bill?" Jack asked.

"I'm good. I'm back at CTU now." Bill said. "What do you do with all this free time you've got?"

Bill looked around. The only thing he noticed was a small box with one article take out of it. Bill picked it up and saw the picture of Audrey along with the article on her death.

"The Chinese tortured you enough, Jack. Don't torture yourself." Bill said. He put the article back in the box and pushed it away.

"Why not? I deserve it." Jack said under his breath. Bill still heard it.

"Stop it, Jack. You don't deserve it." Bill said raising his voice slightly. "Jack, why the hell would you think you deserve it?"

"Audrey." Jack said.

"What about her?" Bill said.

"I hurt her." Jack said, "Everything that happened to her was my fault. Go see her, Bill. She's basically dead."

"It wasn't your fault. She's going to recover. She's not dead."

"I wish I were." Jack said.

"Really? Because I can guarantee that Audrey's going to ask for you when she wakes up. The last thing she's going to want to hear is that you're dead. James Heller can only control her life until she's able to say what she wants." Bill said. "And, we both know he's the one that convinced you to stay away."

"Even if she does ask for me, it's not going to change anything. I still can't be with her."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm cursed. I'm not letting Audrey die."

"You're not cursed, Jack."

"People I love die, sounds like a curse to me."

"Who said you were cursed? Heller?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, but he's right."

"He's angry, Jack. He thought his daughter was dead. He wants to protect her. And, he feels like getting rid of you will solve that problem. Jack, he feels guilty. He could have stopped Audrey from leaving if he had tried harder to get you out of China. He blames you so that he doesn't have to blame himself."

"Bill," Jack said. "Thanks."

"No problem." Bill said, feeling like he might have actually gotten through to him. It wasn't anything Jack didn't know but hearing it from Bill made Jack feel better. "Feeling better?"

"Kind of. At least now I'll spend Chloe's money on things I need rather than booze." Jack said.

"Good." Bill said. Bill went back to work and Jack decided to sleep to pass the time. This time he used the bed.