When I wake up, it's 5:54 a.m. I stretch and bury my head into Jack's shoulder. He continues to sleep noiselessly, on his back, his face smooth and worry-free. I love watching him sleep, especially when he sleeps without nightmares.

After a minute, I sit up and run my fingers through my hair. Coffee. I need coffee. I get up and pad over to the counter, where the coffee pot sits empty with a packet of ground hotel coffee leaning against it. I fix the coffee and turn around, leaning against the counter as it gets to work on my wake-up juice. My eyes wander over the room, finally settling on my duffle bag, which ended up in the corner by the desk. The Jungle Books, the thick volume that contains both the first and second Jungle Books, stares temptingly at me from the outside pocket. I walk over and pull it out. My fingers probe the cover softly. Maybe it's strange, but I like to feel a book in my hands. I could just as easily, and far more conveniently, have dozens of books downloaded onto one of those electronic reader devices, and still get the full story without loss of detail or diction, but those feel less real somehow. Data isn't tangible, but books are. And for some reason that I can't grasp, that makes books more real, less…I don't know. Erasable.

I take Rudyard Kipling's collection and climb back into bed, propping the pillows up. Leaning back, I open The Jungle Books to a random page and start to read. I've had this book since I was fourteen years old, and I know every story practically by heart, so it's no surprise to me when I understand exactly what's going on. The page I turned to is in the middle of Letting in the Jungle, when Mowgli is rallying the jungle animals to destroy the village. I read this story for a while, but…my mind starts to wander. To things I've done. Kidnapping Wilson from the FBI. Sawing off his ear, slowly while he screamed. Breaking his ribs with my fist. Burning his nipples with matches. Suffocating him in a tub. I flinch at these memories – these memories of things I can do when I become Zadan – and nearly drop the book. So I flip back to a story called The White Seal. It's lighter, and I find myself starting to relax as my mind immerses in the cold waters and sandy beaches of Nova Scotia, where the seals fight and play and mate.

I don't look up for a long while, and when I do, Jack's looking up at me, watching me calmly. "Morning," he says.

I smile and close the book around my finger. "Morning," I reply in kind. "Did I wake you up?"

"No. I woke myself up." He pushes himself up and leans over to kiss my cheek. "I'll be right back," he says, sliding off the bed and walking toward the bathroom.

"Coffee should be ready soon."

"Great, thanks." He closes the door behind him, and I open my book back up, but my attention is divided. Part of me is listening to the sounds coming from the closed bathroom – the running of the water, the shuffle of cloth… I've been alone for so long, that part of it feels unnatural, the normal, everyday sounds and actions that come with sharing a room and a life with someone. But at the same time, it feels right. He feels right.

Jack comes back out a few minutes later, strolling right over to me, and leaning over in one swoop to plant a deep kiss on my lips. "Coffee?" he asks.

"Mmm, please."

He goes and pours us each a cup and brings them back over. He nods at my book. "So, that's a collection of short stories, right?"

"Yep," I say. "There's poetry, too – a poem at the end of every story."

"Which one are you reading now?"

"The White Seal."

"That sounds familiar," he says, musing. "Didn't they make a movie about it?"

"Yes, an animated one, by Chuck Jones."

"They also did…ah…that one with the mongoose?"

I nod. "Rikki Tiki Tavi."

"I think Kim has Rikki Tiki Tavi, but I don't think she has The White Seal. Do you think Teri would like it?"

"I don't know, Jack – I don't know her very well. It's a cute movie. If she likes cute animals, she'll probably like it."

Jack grins. "What little girl doesn't like cute animals?"

"Point taken," I say, laughing.

"What's the story about?"

I close my book and tilt my head, smiling. "The main character is a seal called Kotick. He's the first white seal the herd has ever known. The herd's being hunted by humans, and when Kotick grows up, he leaves to go find an island hidden from mankind, to save his herd."

Jack nods. "Sounds interesting," he comments.

"No, it doesn't," I chide, "but the fact that you're taking an interest in something I like is very sweet. Thank you."

"Am I that transparent?"

"Hmm. Not always," I say.

"Good. Can't have all the mystery revealed." He grins at me.

"Heh. Mystery."

He leans back, playing shocked. "What, you don't think I'm mysterious?"

I look over him, my eyes sweeping down his body before returning to his eyes. "Maybe a little," I say. "But the important stuff, I already know."

"Like?"

I touch his cheek and lean in, my face to the base of his neck. I press a soft kiss to the flesh there. "You're caring." I press another kiss, this time slightly higher. "And smart." Kiss. "And courageous." Kiss. "And warm." Kiss. "And…"

My next adjective is lost as our lips meet.

"So, definitely not the Downtown Hollywood place?" he says later that afternoon.

"Yes." He eyes me. "Yes as in no to the Downtown Hollywood place," I clarify.

"Okay. That leaves us with the one in West Lake. Is that okay?"

I nod. "It's fine with me."

"I'll call the manager, then. If we can get the papers sorted out in the next couple of days, we can make the payments, and I can send for the furniture." I exhale deeply, and he gives me an odd look. "What is it?" he asks.

"We're really doing this," I say.

He smiles knowingly and rubs my thigh. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"It's just that…I never imagined I'd be here."

"I'm guessing you don't mean here in California."

Again I nod, closing my eyes. "Here, as in…" I open my eyes, and meet his. "Happy."

His hand leaves my thigh to tip up my chin for his kiss. "Then you never get to leave here," he murmured softly.

The words sink in after a moment, and then I giggle in spite of myself. He lifts an eyebrow, and I say, "Who would've thought you'd be such a romantic?"

"You see a side of me that no one else sees," Jack says. He pauses. "Which I guess is fitting, since you know me like…" He seems to struggle with his thoughts. "…Like no one else does."

"Which is also fitting, since I could say the same of you."

He kisses me again, his tongue sliding against mine. I moan into his mouth and he tugs me closer to straddle him. Hands grope and slide, disappearing beneath clothing before the clothing itself disappears. We make love there, at the end of the bed, too immersed in each other to care about the time of day or anything else.

Jack's cell rings. We've been resting together, tangled in each other after sex, and he gives a small groan before he reaches for it. "Yeah?" he answers. He frowns. "What? How? …Chloe, you're joking." Jack gently squeezes my shoulder, tugging slightly, and I sit up to free him. He sits up, too, rubbing his hand over his face. "Well, what do you want me to do about it? I'm out, Chloe, and so is Renee."

I get a sinking feeling in my belly, and Jack's conversation continues none too pleasantly. Finally, he says shortly, "I'll get back to you, Chloe," and hangs up.

"What's going on, Jack?" I ask.

"Meran is dead," Jack says. "He was assassinated the day we left. Apparently, CTU hasn't got any leads, except for Dana Walsh, and someone tried to take her out, too."

"So there's more than just the IRK's radicals behind President Hassan's murder."

"So it seems. But that's not the worst part. President Taylor wants it covered up, because apparently, the evidence Walsh supposedly has incriminates the Russians, and that's threatening her little peace treaty."

Russians…Russians…something's nagging me from the back of my mind, but I'm not sure what it is.

"And she's jumped in bed with Charles Logan to do it," he adds bitterly.

"What?" I exclaim. He nods, casting me a knowing glare. "Is she insane? That's political suicide."

"Not to mention he's a self-serving, murderous son of a bitch."

I go quiet, my preoccupation leaving me. I'd forgotten about Jack's history with Logan, about how Logan killed President David Palmer – someone that had been a close friend of Jack's. "I'm sorry," I say truthfully. "I forgot he was complicit in President Palmer's murder."

Jack gets that distant, quietly angry look in his eye for a moment, then shakes his head. "It's okay," he says. Then, a moment later, he says, "No…it's not. The President is covering up the Russians' part in terrorist actions in our country, and she's enlisted the devil to help her do it."

"She's doing something stupid, but at least her intentions are good."

"Intentions, my ass," he mutters. "Doesn't she realize that if the Russians have backed terrorist actions on U.S. soil, that they're not going to hold up their end of the peace agreement?"

"I don't know, Jack…"

"Well, Chloe wanted to know if we remember anything suspicious from the crime scene. She wants to expose this."

I frown. That nagging notion pulses in the back of my head once again. "Russians…" I murmur. "Wait…Jack, I think I saw someone. An EMT. He looked familiar, like someone I saw around from my days with Vladimir's group."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wasn't sure. I didn't think much of it at the time."

"Oh for…" He sighs and rubs his face again.

"I'm sorry, Jack," I say, sounding and feeling a little hurt.

He looks at me then, and sighs with a small "huff" through his nose. "I'm sorry," he says, rubbing my knee. "It's not our problem anymore. Like I told Chloe, we're out." He gets up, then, and walks over to the window, fingering aside the sheers to gaze out upon the street.

I look down at my knee, still warm from his touch. My fingers twitch, and I'm sure that what I'm about to do is a bad idea, but I do it anyway. I get up and follow him to the window, hugging him from behind. I drop a soft kiss on his back before stepping back. "Come on, let's go," I say.

Jack lets the curtains fall back into place and turns. "Where?"

"Back to New York," I say. "To help Chloe expose the President's cover-up."

He stares at me like I'm crazy. "Renee, honey, why?" he asks.

I step closer to him and put my hands over his heart. "Because I see that look in your eye," I respond. "You want the truth to get out. You want to stop this."

He looks at me uneasily, but I see a flicker of agreement in those blue eyes of his. "If I do this, I could be starting a war."

"A war's going to start anyway, and we both know it. Only it's going to be worse, because the world will know that the president tried to cover up the people behind the murder of another world leader."

"And if they successfully cover it up? What then?"

"Then the Russians will look for any excuse to pull out," I say. "Jack, I was exposed to some of the shadiest of officials in the Russian government and law enforcement when I was undercover. Some of them were shadier than the mobsters. Just because they signed the peace agreement, it doesn't mean they'll hold to it."

"I…" Jack sighs. "You're right. I do want to help Chloe. But…" He rubs my shoulders. "I want us more."

I frown. "Jack, whatever we do to stop this will never change what we have."

"I know, but it would put us in danger. One of us could get hurt. Or killed. I don't know if I could live with that."

I nod. "It's your choice." I lean over and kiss him, softly. "Whatever you decide, Jack, I'm with you. Whether it's to New York or to West Lake. Anywhere."

He kisses me back. "Thank you," he says. He keeps kissing me, his kisses raw and needy, and I swallow each one.

I'm going to be there with him…anywhere, wherever…no matter what.

Writer's Note: Thanks again for all the support you guys keep giving this story. :) I tweaked what happened with Wilson just a smidge, since Renee's torturing options would have been relatively limited in the FBI holding room, and it seemed appropriate to me that she, as Renee Zadan, would have been a little more sadistic than those parameters allowed. Also, I know the delay with the season 8 plot is a little weird, but then again, it's also kind of weird how every conflict on the show is wrapped up neatly in one day, so I don't feel so bad having the issues here expanded over several weeks.