A/N: I know. I suck at updating. I'm sorry. But I hope you enjoy!
Audrey had just settled into the car when she heard the gunshot and watched Jack fall to the ground from the window. She screamed Jack's name and instantly got out of the car to help him, not thinking about the fact that the shooter might not have fled the scene instantly. She rushed around the car and fell onto her knees in front of Jack. Jack looked like he was about to lose consciousness. She looked up for the first time seeing Paul holding a gun. She didn't even have time to process what was happening before Paul pulled the trigger sending a bullet that hit her arm. She screamed in pain and clutched her arm. She quickly recognized that despite the pain and blood, she was just fine. The bullet had grazed her.
"This is all your fault," Paul yelled at her. "He doesn't deserve you."
Paul raised the gun again and pointed it at Jack again. One more shot and he could be sure that Jack could never touch his wife again. Audrey was crying. She could see it in Paul's eyes that he would shoot again.
"Paul, please," Audrey begged. She was willing to say anything to stop him. "I won't. I won't be with him. I promise."
"I just heard you tell him that you love him," Paul reminded her.
"I had to say that," Audrey insisted. "But, I love you."
Audrey stood up and walked cautiously over to Paul. Audrey attempted to gain her composure. She couldn't convince Paul that she loved him if she was crying over Jack. She placed her hand on his hand that still held the gun tightly.
"Paul, I love you," Audrey lied.
"You'll come with me," Paul asked.
"Yes," Audrey said. It was working. Paul was lowering the gun.
"Let's go," he said, taking her hand and bringing her to his car. She could hear the sirens in the distance which she knew must be coming here. But, Paul wouldn't wait any longer. She got in the car and Paul drove away from the scene.
Heller sat in the waiting room of the hospital. Audrey was missing and the police were doing everything they could think of to find her. Heller remembered hearing two gunshots from his house. But, the doctors were sure that Jack had only been shot once which meant that wherever Audrey was, she could be hurt. Heller cursed under his breath. The last time Audrey had been kidnapped it had been because of his position as the Secretary of Defense. He gripped his phone tightly, wondering when the person who had shot Jack and taken his daughter would call with demands. At least then he would have some information.
He was also worried about Jack. Jack had looked lifeless at the scene. The doctors had told him that Jack was not in good shape. The bullet had ripped through his stomach and had lodged itself somewhere within the abdominal cavity. He was bleeding internally and the doctors were performing an exploratory surgery to repair any bleeding and find the bullet. He hadn't been updated in hours and was worried.
"Where are we?" Audrey asked, as Paul parked the car.
"Well, we will have to lie low for a little while," Paul told her, as he got out of the car and came around to her side of the door to help her out. He took hold of the towel that she was holding against her arm. "Let me take a look."
Paul looked at the wound on her arm and saw that it was still bleeding. He opened the back of the car. Audrey looked around and saw they had pulled over in an alley. She thought of running but knew that Paul was faster than her. Not to mention he had a gun on him. Paul came back to her side with a first aid kit and wrapped her arm in bandages.
"You know I didn't mean to hurt you," Paul said. "Right?"
Audrey gulped. "I know."
"I love you," he told her.
"I love you too," she said.
"You're not scared. Right?"
Audrey shook her head. "Of course not."
"Good. I'm going to protect you. I promise," he said. "We are going to take a cab. Okay?"
Paul held her hand and walked her to the main street. He checked to make sure there were no cops around and called a cab quickly.
"Where to?" the driver asked. Paul gave him an address that Audrey didn't recognize. They arrived outside at a warehouse in Virginia.
"Where are we?" Audrey asked.
"It's just a building that my company owns," Paul told her. "We aren't staying here. I just wanted to get us out of the DC until I come up with a plan."
Paul looked around and saw a sign for a motel down the road. "Come on. That's where we'll go for now."
They walked to the motel and Paul got them a room.
Heller sat in the waiting room feeling agitated. The police had found a video from a street camera that showed Audrey and Paul getting into a taxi. The detective mentioned that they were contacting the taxi service to determine where they had gone. Heller was having a hard time believing that Paul had shot Jack. Sure, Paul sometimes gets irritated easily but, as far as he knew, Paul had never been violent. But with Audrey switching back and forth between Paul and Jack and with Paul taking a bullet for Jack months ago, maybe Paul had just had enough of Jack Bauer. Heller shook his head. If Paul hurt his daughter, Heller was going to be furious.
"Mr. Secretary," one of the doctors said, approaching him carefully. "I have an update on Mr. Bauer."
"How is he?"
"We finished the surgery. We found the bullet and removed it to prevent further damage to his organs. We repaired holes in his stomach and large intestine. He is no longer bleeding internally. But, when organs such as the stomach or intestines are punctured they release their contents into the abdominal cavity. The bacteria from that has given him an infection. He is in the ICU and we are giving him antibiotics for the infection."
"Is he awake?" Heller asked.
"Not yet," the doctor told him. "But you can see him if you'd like."
Heller thanked the doctor and headed to Jack's room. While he waited he called the office and had them give him Jack's daughter's phone number. Heller called her.
"Hello?" Kim answered.
"Hi. Is this Kim?" he asked.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"This is James Heller."
Kim froze. If the Secretary of Defense was calling her, that could only mean something happened to her dad. "Oh God. What happened? Is my dad okay?"
"Your dad is okay. But, he is in the hospital."
"What happened?"
"He was shot in the stomach," Heller told her. "He is stable right now but the doctor says the infection is pretty bad."
"Oh my God. Who did this?"
"It looks like it was Audrey's husband," Heller said. He wasn't sure whether or not Kim knew of their relationship but figured that it was likely that she did.
"Is Audrey okay?" Kim asked.
"I'm not sure yet. Her husband took her with him. The police are looking for them."
Kim sighed. "I'll be on the next flight."
Audrey sat down in a chair as they entered the motel room. Paul was pacing as he considered his options. She hoped that he would keep thinking until someone was able to find them. She desperately wanted to cry but knew that she had to keep pretending. But, she couldn't stop thinking of Jack lying on the ground covered in blood. She prayed that he was okay. Audrey was torn away from her thoughts as Paul flipped on the news. Both of their faces were shown on the screen.
"They are saying I kidnapped you," Paul said, angrily.
"Maybe we should go back," Audrey suggested.
"I knew it," Paul said, walking over to her and grabbing her by the shoulders. His fingers pressed into her bandaged wound. "You don't want to be with me."
"Of course I do," Audrey said, trying to stay calm. "We can tell them that shooting him was self-defense. And that you didn't kidnap me. That I chose to come."
Paul looked into her eyes. She was lying. She didn't love him and would have the police arrest him.
"You expect me to believe that?" Paul asked. "You expect me to believe that you love me?"
"Yes," Audrey said. She could tell that Paul wasn't buying it. "I do, Paul. I love you."
"Prove it," Paul said, gently stroking her cheek and leaning in for a kiss.
As their lips touched, Audrey fought back the urge to vomit. She was kissing the man who possibly killed the man she loves. She kissed him back, trying to convince him that she loved him. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back, remembering that he had tucked the gun in his waistband of the back of his pants. She reached for the gun and Paul backed away. Audrey didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.