It had been three months since she'd left LA and she'd moved around a lot. She knew that he'd been looking for her but she was good at covering her tracks. Within days of leaving LA she'd created a false email account so she could let him know she was alive and ok. She'd told him she needed time on her own but that she'd contact him when she was ready.

She didn't intend to stay away from him forever. Once the baby was born she would get in touch so that he could have some contact, she just wasn't ready yet. She'd mainly done some temporary work in grocery stores and the like, knowing that if she tried to do any IT work it would make her easier to trace. But, knowing the money she had cleared from her account before she left LA wouldn't last much longer and that she wouldn't be able to work for a while once the baby arrived she'd decided to risk doing some consultancy work.

She was currently in San Francisco finishing a job for a security firm. She then intended to travel to Santa Monica whilst creating a false trail that would lead back to the east coast. She knew she wasn't being fair on him; after all he couldn't help who he loved. The logical part of her mind acknowledged that she could go back to LA and let him be the father she knew he so wanted to be to their baby and she'd get over her broken heart eventually. But she'd meant it when she'd told him she wouldn't easily let him go; oh, she knew it probably didn't seem that way after she ran so quickly but the reality was he was still in her heart and that was the part of her that couldn't let him go. She needed more time to rebuild the wall that he'd broken through and then and only then would she be able to have him back in her life as the father of her child.

Chloe had been an only child. The first few years of her life had been happy, she'd had parents who loved her dearly and she was content and secure in that love. When she was five years old a tragic accident had taken them from her and she'd been taken into care. She was lost and alone for most of her childhood; she became withdrawn and despite being placed with a number of families none of them had felt able to keep her for longer than a couple of months. She'd been a difficult child who'd grown into a difficult adult. She'd had relationships with men, had even been married for a time when she left college. But no-one had been able to penetrate the emotional barriers she'd built. Morris had tried but had eventually given up. Chase had probably come the closest and she still considered him to be a good friend, her only real friend. But Jack, well Jack had been the only one to succeed in doing what all the others had tried to do. He had inadvertently got her to let down her defences and let him in.

Chloe sighed as she was finishing up her work, she looked at the clock on the wall and was surprised to find it was after nine and beginning to get dark. She was also surprised to find her stomach growling; she shouldn't be surprised though as she hadn't eaten since lunch. Chiding herself for her carelessness she got her things together and headed back to the small apartment she was renting. Chloe had become better at eating more regularly in the past few weeks; initially when she'd left LA she had hardly eaten at all. It was only during a routine check up when the doctor told her she was putting both herself and her baby at risk that she was shocked into action. She was still pretty thin now but at least she was healthy.

The walk back to her apartment was relatively short but included taking a couple of back streets through a rough neighbourhood. Chloe didn't mind during daylight but was now wishing she had taken a cab. On that thought she turned the corner into a road that was little more than a wide alley with a couple of street lights in the middle section but very little light either end. Just as she started walking along she heard a noise behind her and looked around; she saw nothing so put it down to the soft breeze rattling an empty beer can or something. She continued to walk, picking up her pace slightly.

She breathed a sigh of relief just as she was about to reach the well lit section of the road but her relief was short lived as suddenly strong arms grabbed her and threw her against the wall. Chloe gasped in shock as she felt the cool blade of a knife against the side of her face, scratching slightly to break the skin but not enough to cause any real damage – yet.

"Hello pretty lady" a cold, harsh voice said. "You wanna play?" he asked running a hand along the curve of her hip.

"Let me think about that a minute" Chloe said bluntly. Then pausing briefly to consider her options said "Uh…no, I don't think so thanks."

Chloe took advantage of his surprise at her response; her attacker was used to fearful compliance from most women. Despite being eight months pregnant she swiftly brought her leg up so her knee made sharp contact with his crotch whilst at the same time grabbing his wrist and twisting it so he dropped the knife. He fell to the ground with a grunt of pain and Chloe took the opportunity to get away. What she'd forgotten though was that she wasn't as quick on her feet as she usually was and only got a third of the way down the road before she felt a heavy arm grab her around the neck whilst the other hand was used to pull her head back by her hair.

As quickly as it had happened she was released suddenly so that she fell on her knees to the ground as the man yelled in pain like a wounded animal. She turned quickly to see him being hauled up by his throat in a strangle hold then knocked unconscious with a single blow to his face.

Chloe stayed where she was on the ground, staring in surprised disbelief at her rescuer. Even as he hauled her to her feet she couldn't believe it was him, couldn't believe that he'd found her.

"Are you ok?" Jack asked harshly, the anger clear in both his voice and his expression.

"I'm fine" she said quickly.

"C'mon then, let's get out of here" he said grabbing hold of her arm and almost dragging her along with him.

Chloe was still in shock that he was here and just went with him; not that he would have given her any choice at that point. They reached the end of the road where a silver SUV stood. Jack opened the passenger door and stood indicating that she should get in. Chloe got in but was unable to stay silent any longer.

"Jack, my apartment is just over there. Where are we going?" she asked.

Jack was silent as he put the car into drive. Chloe didn't know what to say but she hated being out of control like this. She could tell Jack was really angry and a great deal of that anger was directed at her.

"Jack, answer me. Please….I am grateful that you helped me out but you can't just take me wherever you want, you know. I don't want to go with you."

The car came to a screeching halt and Chloe felt her seatbelt lock tight at the sudden stop. She looked at Jack questioningly. He turned to her then and she realised it was taking all the strength he could muster to hang onto his anger. Chloe shrank back in her seat at the look he gave her.

"Right now Chloe, you don't have a choice" he said through gritted teeth "you are coming with me and if you think that I'm going to let you out of my sight then you're wrong."

"Jack you can't do this" Chloe said, her voice shaking.

"Watch me" he said, his lips curving in a short, humourless smile.

They drove for a couple of hours, the silence interrupted only by the thoughts occupying Chloe's mind. How did he find her? What's going to happen now? She knew Jack when he was angry, had seen it so many times over the years; but that anger had never been directed at her. Oh, maybe in the distant past he'd been angry at her in short bursts, but not for a long time and never like this. Chloe felt a wave of her own anger flush over her; it was his own fault after all. If he hadn't deceived her then she wouldn't have ran away like that.

They came to a stop by a motel and Jack got out, walking around to her side of the car to help her down. He then walked round the back and pulled her suitcase out. Chloe was surprised, he'd obviously broken into her apartment at some point and packed all her things. She felt a flourish of irritation at his high handedness but was still aware of his anger bubbling under the surface so chose not to challenge it.

The room was sparsely furnished with only one bed. Chloe went into the bathroom while Jack carried her suitcase into the room. Chloe took the opportunity of a few minutes alone to try and figure out how she was going to get out of this situation, or at least try and understand it a bit more.

When she walked into the room Jack was on the phone but ended the call quickly when he saw her. She wondered who he'd been talking to but knew better than to ask.

"Come over here" Jack said. Chloe walked over to him and he guided her down to the edge of the bed where he knelt down in front of her. Chloe flinched a little as he put his hand up to the side of her face where the scratch from the knife was. He traced the mark with his finger and Chloe's heart sped up at his touch. She stared into his eyes and saw the anger still there but also she saw the deep concern for her.

"You ok?" he asked gently.

"Yes, thank you for helping me."

Jack stood up and backed away from her. "Chloe what the hell were you doing walking around that kind of neighbourhood alone at night? Anything could have happened to you."

Chloe sat feeling uncomfortable; she knew she'd been stupid. "I didn't realise it was so late when I started out and normally I can look after myself; in fact…" she said pointing to her protruding belly "if I hadn't been slowed down by this then I would've got away easily".

Jack smiled at that; he didn't doubt it but was still concerned for her. He noticed she looked thinner than normal and she looked tired. He ran his hands through his hair and was now pacing the room.

Chloe broke the silence "so what now? I take it you're not going to let me back to my apartment?"

Jack stopped pacing and Chloe noticed that anger was again the dominant emotion in his expression. "Chloe, it has taken me three months to find you so no, I don't think I'm going to let you just walk away again."

Chloe scowled "but what about what I want, doesn't that count for anything?"

"At this point, not really. Why don't you start with telling me why you left so suddenly without a word?"

Not being one to mince her words normally and now feeling angry herself she just blurted out "because you lied to me Jack. You told me you loved me but that was a lie, you still love Audrey and I told you I didn't want you on just any terms." She paused to take a breath and looked up at him to see the shock in his eyes.

"What the hell gives you the idea I'm still in love with Audrey. What happened to make you think that?" he bit out angrily.

Chloe hesitated for a minute but eventually said "because I saw you together. I heard her telling you she was in love with you and then I saw you kissing."

Jack looked as though he'd been smacked in the face; the shock at what she'd just said stunning him into silence. He just stared at her, the colour draining from his face.

Eventually he took a deep breath and said "So you heard Audrey telling me she loved me and then you saw us kissing. Did you see who started the kiss Chloe?"

Chloe stood up then and moved to the other side of the room, staring out of the window. "Well, she did but…but, you didn't stop her"

"And how long did you stand there for Chloe?" he asked, the anger returning to his voice now the shock was dispersing. Chloe shifted uncomfortably, not really sure what to say. It was suddenly dawning on her that she may have made a terrible mistake.

"Look at me Chloe" Jack bit back on the tide of anger threatening to overwhelm him. Chloe turned slowly but couldn't meet his eyes.

"You didn't stand there for long did you Chloe? Because if you did you would have seen me pushing her away, would have heard me telling her that I loved you, that I would love you with or without the baby".

Chloe did look at him then, the expression on his face one of disbelief at her actions and she realised that he was telling her the truth. Tears sprang to her eyes for the first time since she'd left him and she struggled to find the words to make things right.

"Oh god Jack, I'm sorry…I…I…" she couldn't go on. All she saw was the look of betrayal in his eyes, the look of defeat that told her she had damaged the one bond that had held them together through their friendship and the foray into becoming lovers.

"You didn't think to discuss it with me before you ran did you? You didn't wait to hear my side of the story? So much for trust Chloe." Jack turned from her then and walked out of the door saying "go to bed Chloe, I need some air" he slammed the door shut behind him. To Chloe the sound of the slamming door was akin to him shutting her out of his heart.