Sorry it's been a while I have had to re-write this chapter 3 times now as it didn't really fit with what I have in mind for this story. I also wanted to really put a lot into this because I felt that if I didn't and left spaces, that it would be incredibly hard to follow once the season started when I'd have to work off of the episodes, which is what I plan on doing.

Over at CTU they were having their own nightmare.

Heller had gone back to CTU, putting pressure on them to find Jack and Audrey.

Everyone there was slowly gaining the suspicion that CTU was about to come down, as most of their people had been absorbed by homeland.

Division, it seemed, was slowly taking down CTU piece by piece.

The order for CTU to be abolished came from President Daniels, after learning that news was about to leak to the press about CTU's questionable interrogation methods cause a lot to be questioned as to how they managed to be doing this right under the president's nose.

He couldn't let his administration be blamed for this and he couldn't think of anyone better than Jack to take the fall for all of CTU's methods over the years.

This coming after the component had fallen into terrorist's hands due to Bauer himself not to mention Bauer's history of breaking protocols when he felt it was necessary, as well as the kidnapping of Heller's daughter earlier that morning.

Jack was indeed the perfect candidate, and the President need only let some things slip about his past to turn them against Bauer.

With this Daniels issued a warrant for the arrest of Jack Bauer, and sent it out to all agencies. A statement was also to be released to the press stating that Bauer had in fact kidnapped Secretary of Defense, James Heller's daughter. If he was going to put this all on Jack, then he wasn't going to leave any room for the press to call him a hero for his actions.

CTU was doing all they could to find Bauer, but the transition by Homeland was taking time and causing increased havoc.

People were being let go by the minute and Division had already sent over a new Director who was only there to make sure the transition went smoothly, and that the remaining CTU workers did what they could to find Jack.

This had so far allowed Chloe to hide Jack and Audrey's location for the last four hours. Jack had called before walking into Heller's house, to ask Chloe for one last favor, and she agreed to help though she was already stretched thin.

She would help him until he could get Secretary Heller to draw back the restraining order and arrest warrant or until Chloe was let go by division.

Morris had agreed to help because he didn't want Chloe to be under too much stress now with the baby to think of, and he managed to cover for her while she helped Jack.

Doyle felt he owed it to Jack to help him after not trusting him earlier that day. He had been running interference since and had even convinced Nadia that Jack hadn't kidnapped Audrey and Jack should not have to pay for what the Chinese did to Audrey no matter what Heller said.

With all the confusion and their combined efforts, they had so far led to keeping Heller running in circles as each new lead just "happened" to turn up blank. This was how it had gone the last four hours and it seemed to be holding up.

Jack hadn't gone too far to show that he wasn't kidnapping Audrey, to try and get Heller back on his side. He was still Audrey's father, and had been almost like a father to Jack himself.

But with the hotel that they were staying at being so close, it was making it harder for Chloe to keep the location hidden. At some point Jack would either have to get Audrey to go back to her father or disappear altogether.

It didn't seem like Heller was going to budge on his position to keep Jack away from his daughter no matter what anyone said.

Chloe was just repositioning a satellite, as one of the monitors was set to fox news where a reporter was reporting on an ex CTU agent who has kidnapped the Secretary of Defenses daughter, after abducting her from the Secretary's house, along with the President's response to this.

Chloe grabbed her phone off of the table and dialed the number Jack had given her.

The phone rang twice before he answered sounding worse for wear.

Jack had only been asleep for a half hour before he woke up for the second time that night.

He had reached out to make sure that Audrey was still safe in his arms, only to find her gone.

His panic level rose as he snapped out of the light sleep he had fallen into and stared around the dark hotel room.

Quickly looking through the darkness, he relaxed slightly as he could just make out the top of her head over the couch.

Jack slowly climbed out of bed so that he wouldn't startle her. When he came around the couch, he stopped dead in his tracks.

He was surprised to see that Audrey was tucked into a ball, holding her legs to her chest. What worried him was the blank stare that she seemed to be focusing on the door.

The streetlights gleamed through the window casting an eerie glow on her, letting Jack see all the terror that was currently running somewhere in front of her eyes.

Audrey seemed to be talking to no one, repeating just above a whisper "help me Jack, please don't let them do this to me"

He slowly walked towards her trying desperately not to startle her, but she must have finally seen him because she jumped back and moved closer to the other side of the couch.

Jack quickly sat down next to her; close enough to touch her but far enough to give her space. Her gaze stayed fixed on the door even as Jack slightly put his hand atop her own.

"It's okay I'm here, I promise you I won't let them hurt you ever again

They stayed silent for a few seconds before Jack slowly slipped his arm around her and held her close. Her eyes closed as she finally relaxed against him, relishing her legs to place a hand on his chest as she buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"Are you all right?" he asked just above a whisper.

Audrey barely heard him as she focused on the beating of his heart to calm herself down.

She had barely slept at all, too afraid of the nightmares that would be waiting, and too afraid of waking up back in a cold gray cell somewhere in China.

Jack tried again to break her from her thoughts. "Audrey?"

This time she heard him and nodded silently.

He didn't want to push her but he had to assure her that she was really safe and that he wasn't about to let anything take her away from him.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" he asked worriedly as he tried to get her to look at him.

Audrey took a moment to think of an answer that wouldn't worry him. Again she shook her head yes.

"It's still early let's go back to bed, and try to get some sleep." This time she answered him simply by gripping his shirt tight.

Jack felt helpless as he saw her eyes finally open and dart towards the door as if expecting Cheng to walk through any second now.

"What if I left my gun by the table, just in case?" he asked. It was a last resort but he still hoped it would make her feel safer.

Audrey considered this and agreed. He picked her up easily as she was so thin now from her stay in prison, and laid her gently on the bed.

She sat up to watch as he checked the door once more, as well as the windows, and grabbed his gun off the table.

Placing it on the nightstand, he went to get into bed once more when a sharp ringing echoed through the quiet room.

It rang again and he answered catching a glance at Audrey in the process.

"Bauer" he answered noticing that Audrey had stopped staring anxiously at the door and was instead watching him quietly.

"Jack its Chloe" came an exasperated voice.

"What's wrong is everything okay over there?"

Chloe paused which was unusual for her "Heller is demanding your arrest because you violated the restraining order and has us working in full force to find you."

"Well I figured that would happen" he said wondering why she had called just to tell him this.

"That's not all, turn on channel 46"

Jack did what Chloe asked and watched for a second as they talked about the recent developments from the day before.

When the breaking news bulletin came on, Jack damn near dropped the phone as the reporter started.

"Breaking news, an ex CTU agent, Jack Bauer, has reportedly kidnapped Secretary of Defense, James Heller's daughter from their beach house in Pasadena, California.

Sources say that Bauer has a long and extensive past of breaking laws and acting on his own accord putting others in danger while working for CTU.

No one has yet to clarify the relationship between Bauer and Ms. Raines, but at one point they were working very closely together in Washington under the Secretary himself.

President Daniels released a statement earlier saying quote "Jack Bauer is unstable, and extremely dangerous. His actions of torturing witnesses, including Ms. Raines herself are extensive and cannot fully be completed at this time. We are doing everything we can to recover Ms. Raines and to take under arrest Jack Bauer. An investigation has also began, looking into how Bauer has managed to get away with a record like his."

Well you heard it; it seems that this is a case of a rouge agent.

No comment from the Secretary as his office is unable to take calls at this point in time, but he had previously taken out a restraining order against Bauer for Ms. Raines, and it seems that Bauer was also responsible for the death of her late husband..."

Jack was silent for a moment before sinking onto the bed as the words started to blend together.

Chloe called his name into the phone that was now lying by his side on the bed.

Audrey had been in shock as she saw their pictures show up on the screen.

She was furious at the picture they painted of Jack and of their relationship when they knew nothing about either of them except from what Daniels had told them.

Noticing the sound coming from the phone at the foot of the bed, Audrey called Jack's name in a shaky voice, unsure as to what exactly she should say. He shook slightly before glancing at her.

Audrey could see it in his eyes, the raw emotion that barely anyone had ever seen. He looked lost, like he was unsure of everything around him, much like how he had looked when he had woke up from his nightmare only a few hours ago.

After a few more seconds had been hanging in the air it seemed, Jack retrieved the phone from the bed.

"Yeah Chloe?"

"Daniels is going to have you take the fall for CTU Jack, and Heller is all for it. He's already issued a Subpoena for you to stand in court."

Jack went quiet dropping his head. Now that Daniels was against him, Jack had little hope of having the life he wanted with Audrey.

"Thanks Chloe, for everything."

Chloe heard his far away tone and truly felt sorry for her friend.

"We're still keeping you in the dark, but I'm not sure how long we can keep the new director off your back. You should be able to stay hidden for a week or so while CTU is transitioning with all the new people from homeland."

"Okay" Jack said far away.

"I'm really sorry Jack"

"Me too"

As he hung the phone up his head shook unable to believe it.

He figured Heller would be out for blood, but he thought that Audrey would eventually be able to convince her father that she was both happy and safe with him and then Heller would drop it.

Now though it seemed that even if Heller accepted them being together, that he would be tried in court and most likely sent to jail for many years.

There was no denying what he had done. Though most of his actions resulted in ultimately saving the day, he had to pay for them eventually.

Audrey got up from the bed to sit beside him. He had his eyes closed and his breathing was shallow.

He seemed as if he had not heard her as she made her was to him slowly, for he didn't move or say anything to imply this.

But Audrey knew him better.

She didn't worry about startling him as she placed a hand on his cheek.

God did she miss the feeling of the soft stubble on his cheek, even after he had done his best to shave. He leant into her hand slightly while wrapping one arm around her waist.

Audrey lent her forehead on his, before watching as his eyes had flickered open again. The same emotion seemed to be there.

"Are you okay?" She asked trying to elicit a response from him without forcing him into a possibly unwanted conversation.

"I'll be alright" he answered but they both knew he was lying.

"Jack..." Audrey didn't quite know what to say. This was the man who she had fallen for so quickly in the beginning that she scared even herself, back in D.C. This was the man who she had given her heart too, only to question that when she realized how much she didn't know about him. This was the man who had been pulled away from her not once, but twice, each time leaving her heart a little less whole.

But here was a man, devoted not only her, but also to his country to which he had given up everything five times over and would still go back to the front line if it meant that this country would be safe once more.

It was a quality that she hadn't quite got when they were first dating, and it took her a long time after his supposed death to realize that it was the side of him she never knew and it troubled her deeply.

Finally finding her voice she pulled away slightly to look at him. "You have done far more for this country than those could even begin to imagine, maybe even more than I can imagine. Your record may be, problematic at best... "

He smiled his perfect half smile, but she was determined not to let him interrupt.

"But you are still an amazing man and what the rest of the world isn't seeing is the thousands of lives you've saved. They won't hear about all that you've been through, the price that their freedom cost, a cost that was paid by you. It's part of why I love you; it's the part of you I should have seen almost two and a half years ago."

Jack saw her regretful expression, about blaming him for Paul. He still believed deep down that it was his fault.

Sometimes during when he disappeared, he wondered that had Paul had made it, would she have chosen Paul over him. That if she knew he was alive, would she resent that it was him and not Paul still alive? He had tried unsuccessfully to find answers to these questions and figure out when he had lost her, where he had let her slip.

Thoughts like this had nearly driven him mad.

He knew better now. He was certain of her complete love and trust for him in how she looked at him, her decision to go to china, and the way she fell straight back into the habits they had had back during those six months.

He couldn't believe in a way, that he could be so in love with some after really only six months but he was.

Breaking her from his thoughts, Jack leant in and caught her lips in a soft kiss. His hand resting against her cheek.

"Thank you" He then kissed her softly on the top of her head.

Audrey looked at him curiously, "For what?"

Jack grinned, as his eyes searched hers for an answer that could possibly began to explain his feelings for her. It would seem strange to anyone else that this would be the first time he had truly professed his feelings towards her after everything; but he hoped that it wouldn't to her.

"For trying to get me out of china when no one else would, for forgiving me when I had to show you the very worst of me..." Jack paused, his gaze turning again to her neck.

"For trusting me enough to give up everything for us to be together, and lastly, for giving me my life back, for showing me that I could still have a life, that I could still love someone."

Audrey took in what he had said and her heart began to swell. It was everything she had wanted to hear from him, everything she needed to hear from him right now.

A grin broke out across her face, illuminated by the light now beginning to pour in from outside the windows.

"I love you, so much" and with that she kissed him as hard and as passionately as any women could kiss a man with whom she was this deeply in love with.

It would be ridiculous to say that everything felt perfectly fine now, that just being together again would make their problems disappear. Their current situation was one that was complicated at the least, and there would be no easy way out. It wasn't either of their faults; it was just how it happened.

But at this moment nothing but each other mattered. No matter what the press had said condemning their relationship, they knew the truth.

Too soon they would be once again fighting for their lives, fighting to stay together. But right now they were together, and Jack was going to make sure that it stayed that way for as long as possible.

Deep down Audrey knew that one way or another he was going to be taken from her again, everyone seemed determine to accomplish this goal. She would fight to get him back, do whatever it takes, just as before. Eventually they would be together, but now was not the time.

Jack would come back to her, and Audrey would be waiting, that they were sure of.

Hope you liked it. I'll try not to be so insightful in the next chapter because I think I overdid it a little in this one but I'm okay with that. 3,000 words by the way, has made this my longest chapter to date. Reviews are welcome!!

Also has anyone been on the 24fanfic?? I just found it today and felt like a total loser for not knowing that it existed. Don't worry I won't post on there I was just curious. And while I'm at it, I'm not sure but I believe I have lost my beta reader lol.