It had been hours since their last moment in his office. Since then Gredenko had been caught through an exchange of information, who then led them to Fayed. Fayed had been capture, a struggle had ensued but Jack was successful in tracking him down. He killed Fayed and other henchmen and acquired the two remaining nukes. Now they were dealing with this mess with Audrey still being alive, held hostage, and Jack who went looking for her.

Mike Doyle was entering CTU looking furious. Bill had to send a team to pick him up off the side of the highway where Jack left him. Bill heard a slight snicker behind him and he turned to see Milo, Nadia, Chloe, and Morris standing there with amused looks on their faces. They didn't like Doyle and took small pleasure in seeing him so frustrated at Jack for abandoning him in the middle of nowhere. He'd taken note of Doyle's unpopularity and that he would have to take care of that as soon as the latest crisis was over. The look he gave them made them quickly disperse back to their stations, Chloe rejoining Karen. Because Chloe had breached security and given off-limits information to Jack he had no choice but to have her stand-down. But her intellect and skill was too great to deny so Bill decided to have her work with Karen so she could watch her carefully.

He and Karen hadn't spoken to each other since heading downstairs. All the orders he wanted to go to the team he did through Nadia or Milo. All the questions she had she made Chloe ask. They both knew it was ridiculous but neither could bring themselves to face each other. Bill felt horrible for the accusations he had made against Karen. He knew they weren't true and that she supported and believed in his decision. Bill also knew that Karen was already upset about the situation and that picking a fight with her was not going to win him the Husband of the Year Award. As soon as he discovered that Tom Lennox used something Bill had done in order to hurt Karen he wanted to kill him. Unfortunately he took it out on the person who deserved it the least. He looked over to where Karen and Chloe were sitting. Chloe looked annoyed that she was being babysat and Karen just looked distraught. A stab of guilt hit Bill because this time it wasn't the distance or the terrorism that put the pain there, it was his actions.

Karen looked up from Chloe's station to see Bill looking at her. His face was unreadable and she couldn't tell whether or not he was still angry. She looked away and went back to supervising Chloe. At first Karen was angry right back at him but now she was just beside herself. She couldn't stand it when he was angry. Bill was the type of person who already lived deep inside his head and when he was angry or pensive he just retreated even deeper. When Karen had walked away from Tom and her job it wasn't because she didn't believe in Bill's decisions or competence when it came to his job. She trusted him wholeheartedly. She missed Bill and she wanted to go home. When Tom first approached her, Karen was furious he would even insinuate that either one of them had been unprofessional in any manner. But the more he pushed the idea of her resigning the better it sounded. Karen supposed that the blackmailing was, in some way, a plausible excuse for leaving Washington. She no longer wanted to be there but would never leave willingly or without some force driving her out. Tom provided that force and gave her a reason to go without it looking like she was giving up. Here she was; back in L.A but not at home and near her husband but not with him. As she sat next to Chloe listening to her mumble about her looking over her shoulder, Karen couldn't help but think "This sucks."

"Karen, Chloe. President Palmer is about to address the nation. Are you coming," asked Morris. Chloe, eager to not having someone hanging over her, jumped up immediately. Karen moved slowly and made her way over to where agents were beginning to crowd. She stood close to the front mainly to avoid Bill. Though he was several feet behind her she could feel him watching her but still keeping his distance.

President Palmer suddenly arrived on the screen and instantly the voices that filled CTU were gone. In the corner of the screen Karen could see Tom and that little henchman of his. She rolled her eyes in disgust and focused on Palmer. He was looking good but something was off. After months of working such long hours in a demanding field the two had become friends and Karen had learned to pick up on normal Palmer behaviour. She was worried that with her gone no one would notice the little things that counted most. Like that fact that he was repeating himself. Wait-what? In what seemed like two seconds the President collapsed and was no longer in view on the screen. Karen saw Tom rush over to where Palmer was stretched across the floor. Instantly the programming was interrupted and cut to a commercial. CTU was frozen- no one moving and no one speaking in fear of disturbing the silence. Karen involuntarily shuddered at the possibilities of what could be happening in Washington at that exact moment and she feared for her friend's life. She hoped that no one had noticed her falter when suddenly she felt him standing directly behind her. His hand gently slipped into hers and she squeezed it with force she didn't even know she had. Bill placed his hand on her back and starting leading her away. He firmly gave out orders to find out what was happening and to get back to work as he quietly led his wife up to his office.