AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks everybody for the support! Thank you so much to all the readers! Please, tell me what you think. All opinions are welcome!
I promise to be done as soon as I can with what's left of the editing of this first part so I can move on with the second part of the series.
I didn't like that we never knew anything of Audrey's whereabouts. I never liked her. But I would like a confirmation of whether she's still in coma or not. Well, that explains this chapter's flashback. I meant to close Audrey's story in a more definitive way.
SERIES: Everything went downhill from there
PART ONE: A total eclipse of the heart
Previously: Once upon a time Renee was her daddy's girl. She grew to be a young republican woman who loved politics (chapter one).
Kim really wants her father to move to L.A. When they met, she gave Renee a hard time (Chapter 8)
Jack still thinks he's cursed. He and Renee had hot sex in the shower after working out in the park.
Disclaimer: I don't own 24. It belongs to fox, Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran and Howard Gordon.
CHAPTER 11:
AND WHO RESCUES THE RESCUER?
LOS ANGELES – UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
Year 2017 – June 15th
Kim and Jack were standing in front of a grey hospital building. Before walking in, she gave him yet another worried look, "are you sure you want to do this, daddy?"
He nodded, having already lost count of how many times his daughter had asked that. "sweetheart, I thought I was helping her by leaving her alone. But I was wrong. I was so wrong. I should have never given her up"
"But they told you, dad, she's not going to get better. This can only hurt you even more" Kim had never wanted to take her dad to visit Audrey Raines in the first place. But he never gave her much of a choice. He had woken up from the coma only three months before, but he still was in no condition to travel across the country by himself and changing his mind was impossible. If he had decided to see Audrey, he would see Audrey. The fact that Kim thought it was a terrible idea carried no weight at all.
"Look, I just have to visit her, I have to. Last time she wasn't even awake."
Then he entered the bulding full of determination. Kim followed him reluctantly. They walked a corridor until they saw Richard Heller outside Audrey's bedroom, next too him was Audrey's doctor. Dickie Heller looked nothing like the rebelious guy Jack remembered. He was a grown responsible man now. They both shook hands politely. "Hello, Richard. Thank you for letting me do this"
"I don't mind if you want to see her. I'm not my dad. But you should know it won't make any diference"
"I just want to see her. That's all" Jack said. Then they all walked into the room. Audrey's doctor and Dick went first. Jack followed them expectantly. Kim followed them too to protect her dad, staying just one step behind him.
"Audrey, you have visitors" announced Dick to his sister trying to put a cheerful tone.
Audrey was in her bed staring blankly at the space. She barely moved her head to look at her brother. But suddenly she became truly exited, nearly ecstatic. She got up and practically ran to hug Kim desperately. "Oh, Kim! Thank God! Listen, you have to help me. We have to bring your dad back from that hell"
Jack's heart sunk completely to his feet. "Audrey, I'm right here. It's me, Jack. Honey, look at me" he said softly trying to make Audrey feel less threatened. But she shook her head stubbornly.
"We need to find Jack before they kill him! Why don't help me find him, dad?" She said as she kicked her brother really hard in his shin and ran to her bed crying in frustration. She hugged tightly her pillow and simply cried her eyes out. They had all turned against her, including her own dad.
Jack noticed to his dismay that she had mistaken Richard for James Heller. "Audrey… sweetheart"
"Let's give her a moment" the doctor said as he led everybody out of them room. He wanted to give his patient a chance to calm down on her own to avoid using any extreme method. Then he explained as gently as he could, "she's suffering from a very rare form of schizophrenia, which I'm afraid is irreversible"
"And this is a relatively good day" Richard added heartbroken. On the bad days, she thought she was still a prisoner in China and all she did was to scream for Jack's help. Sometimes she woke up wanting to rescue Jack. And she had tried to either escape or kill herself many times.
"Can I see her alone?" Jack asked the doctor hopefully.
"Yes, but we'll be alert in case she gets too aggressive"
Jack nodded understandably and walked into the bedroom again. Audrey was still crying in her bed, hugging her pillow fiercely. He sat on a chair by her bed and instinctively tried to caress her long brown hair, which startled her.
She shook violently his arm away and rolled over turning her back on him. "I don't want another doctor!"
"But, Audrey, please, look at me, I'm Jack. Sweetheart, what have they done to you? " He caressed her cheek hoping to bring her back to reality.
But Audrey slapped his hand away, got up her bed and began ranting fast while pacing around the room, "They are willing to let him die on that hell. Do you even know what kind of things they must be doing to him there? But nobody is trying hard enough to get him out. And I was right there when it happened. Right there! And I saw nothing until it was too late. I have to go and save Jack myself. But my dad keeps me here."
Jack's heart ached for her. How could she not even recognize him? She couldn't even tell how much time had gone by. He approached her cautiously, "Audrey, I'm fine. Look at me. I'm right here. I'm here for you"
She shook her head several times covering her face with her hands. Jack noticed several cuts on her wrists. He got closer to her and brushed her scars with the tip of his fingers as if that could erase them. She began ranting again, "I want to get this over with! Why are they doing this to me? Why did they take him away from me?" She collapsed in tears and Jack took her in his arms and cradled her. He kept cradling her in his arms as she just cried a river, with no awareness of reality. There was no way to stop the tears coming from his eyes. He knew now that the damage done to her because of him was irreversible. It was too late to save her. Once again it was far too late to save a woman he loved.
Once again all he could do was to say goodbye forever and tell her how sorry he was.
The next day, on the plane back to New York, Kim couldn't stand watching her father so heartbroken and defeated. He was just staring at the window as they flew back to New York. He hadn't said a word in over five hours and Kim was nearly freaking out. "Daddy, talk to me. Say something. Anything"
He looked at her with a somber expression. "He was right. I'm cursed. Everything I touch dies. You were right to blame me for what happened to your mom. That too was my fault because I just hurt everybody around me. And it keeps happening to everybody I care about… over and over again. David, Bill, Michelle… Audrey. So it must be me. I'm cursed. I really am cursed"
Jack then covered his face with his hands, feeling so embarrassed for crying. Kim held him knowing there was no way of convincing him of the contrary. Her heart was aching very badly for him.
YEAR 2018 – March 29th, Thursday
7 AM - Chelsea, New York City – Jack's apartment
Nina Myers had Teri tied up to a chair. Upon giving Jack an evil smirk, she took a knife and sliced Teri's wrists. For some strange reason, he was right there but was completely paralyzed. So he watched helplessly his wife bleeding out to death.
Suddenly, he was in Mexico kissing Claudia Salazar. Then her husband saw them and immediately shot her once in the head right in front of a completely useless Jack.
Abruptly, he was taken to a Chinese prison. Instead of hurting him directly, Cheng was forcing him to watch Audrey being tortured in the most horrible possible ways. Then Audrey cut her wrists and bled to death. Jack was again inexplicably paralyzed and couldn't even try to help her.
All of the sudden, he was watching helplessly Renee torturing Alan Wilson and then slicing her own wrists. She bled out to death right before his eyes. Again, Jack's body could not move an inch.
Renee was woken up by Jack's screams. He was sweating, trembling and yelling 'no' over and over again in his sleep. She tried shaking him gently and calling his name repeatedly.
Jack woke up startled. He stared at her for a moment in disbelief then blinked a few times until reality sunk in. She was there, and he was in his apartment. He stretched one of his arms, confirming that he could indeed move.
"Hey, Jack, are you ok?" She asked worriedly.
"Yeah, just a nightmare" He tried to pretend he wasn't as freaked out as he was.
"That's okay. It happens" In fact, just two nights prior, Jack had been the one waking her up from a horrible dream. But now that the roles were reversed he seemed deeply embarrassed about it.
"Just give me a minute" he mumbled feeling troubled. Then he rushed his way into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
Renee watched him sadly. She wanted to hold him and offer him comfort like he had done for her the other night. But with Jack that wouldn't work. He wasn't one to seek for a shoulder to cry on or a person to talk to. In those extremely rare occasions when he allowed others to help him in some way, it was because he didn't have any other choice. She already knew Jack well enough to realize it was better to leave him alone for the moment.
She was aware of the fact that he had gone to the bathroom to use some of his hydro-morphine. She had to let that go momentarily. Soon enough that wouldn't be a problem anymore. She would help him get clean after her last lumbar puncture. She owed him at least that.
She got up from the bed and headed to get the newspaper. She knew Jack had The Times delivered to his door every day, so she decided to pick it up for him. She found it surprising how old fashioned Jack could be for some things. He read real newspapers and owned actual books. He had a high-tech cell phone and a modern computer, but he believed some things were more enjoyable done like in the old days. That was another thing he and Renee had in common. She loved the smell of an old book and there was nothing more relaxing than reading a novel sitting at a park or a beach. Maybe it was because it reminded her of happier times. When she went for the newspaper, she was pleasantly surprised to see that along The Times there was a copy of The Washington Post, the one she once mentioned had always been her favorite newspaper. She smiled thinking Jack could be delightfully sweet.
Then she got the electric coffee machine ready, set the table and decided to start making pancakes for breakfast. It suddenly hit her that she was acting as if she were in her own place, as if they were a couple living together. But the truly weird thing was that it didn't feel weird at all. It felt almost natural. She had been staying in his apartment for five days (three since they'd started having sex). But that hadn't exactly been planned out like that at all. Things had happened spontaneously in such way, like a rover flowing. Whenever she attempted to go to back to the hotel, to give him some space, he prevented her from doing so with sweet kisses and his amazing power of persuasion. He wanted her by his side and there was truly nowhere else on this earth she'd rather be.
Everything was certainly happening so fast. Their relationship certainly did not adjust to any normal dating patrons. But normalcy definitely did not suit them anyway. Honestly, she now found it hard to believe it ever did.
Finally, Jack emerged from his bedroom into the kitchenette with his hair soaking wet. He had taken a shower to calm himself down after using a small amount of his morphine. He had needed it very badly.
As he was about to leave his bedroom, he stood by the doorway, just watching Renee making breakfast in his kitchenette. It was really wonderful to see ser alive after that horrible nightmare. He couldn't help to stare. That cute image, which was starting to grow more familiar in him, dragged a smile out of his lips. She looked so beautiful with her hair loose and messy. Plus, she was wearing a big and long dark pink t-shirt that said in purple letters 'The best man for the job is a woman'. They had seen it in a store and he thought it had been made especially for her, so he just had to get it. She liked to wear it for sleeping. And he loved how it looked in her.
Jack walked towards her, held her tight from behind and kissed her neck. "Need any help?"
"Nah, I want to give it a shot by myself" If only to see if she could at least do one thing right, even if it was something as silly as making decent pancakes. But she kept her eyes closed for a moment enjoying his embrace.
Then he headed to simply serve the coffee, understanding why Renee wanted to make the pancakes by herself. He sat to drink his coffee and take a look at the Times. But he had to take another look at Renee. He still couldn't believe it. The fact that he was sharing his most mundane moments with Renee Walker was simply baffling. Who would have ever thought? Once it was ready, they sat down and shared the breakfast she had made. With a totally serious expression, he said out of the blue "I should have known you were lying"
"What?" she was stunned and confused; she had no idea what Jack was talking about.
"You said you could do nothing in the kitchen but a mess." He reminded her with a casual tone.
"Oh… right" Usually, she was a terrible cook. But one time her dad tried to cheer her up by making her pancakes and teaching her how to make them. She had completely forgotten about that until it suddenly came back to her that morning for some strange reason. She rolled her eyes and shrugged dismissively. "My dad taught me to make them when I was depressed over a bad grade"
"It's very hard to imagine you getting a bad grade" He pointed out suspiciously.
"I got a 'B +' in a history exam and for my life I couldn't understand what I'd done wrong"
Jack huffed and smiled a little thinking that sounded like her. She could be such a perfectionist.
Then she reached to get the bottle of syrup and there it was: a light red mark giving testimony of her suicide attempt. Jack had seen it many times before. But now it seemed to be staring back at him accusingly. It was no longer a sign of how disturbed she had been. He had started seeing it as the proof of his own failure. In just one day he had turned a perfectly good agent into him.
But he told himself that the circumstances were different now. Naturally, he still had too many issues to solve, too many inner demons to fight. Yet he had made a lot of progress, and so could she. He could bring Renee back from her own dark place. He wanted to. Moreover, he had to. He didn't have a choice. On some level, he knew that if he failed her too he would never forgive himself.
Renee was focused on one article in the newspaper about Omar Hassan, the President of the IRK. The article was written by some female reporter called Meredith Reid who apparently was following him closely to write about his life and the progress made in the deal process. Renee frowned worriedly as she read about what Hassan and Taylor wanted to do. "Jack, don't you think this peace agreement is too good to be true?"
"I do" he replied honestly, as he put some sugar on his coffee.
To Renee it looked like he didn't care much. So she pointed out somberly, "They won't let this happen. An Islamic nation, sponsored by the USA, negotiating this kind of agreement with the United Nations? In the IRK some might see this as if they were handing themselves to us on a silver plate. There must be a lot of people over there pissed as hell with Hassam about this."
"You don't think I know that already? Of course there must be some who don't want this to happen" He had been dealing with the enemies of his nation for so long that he knew very well what they might think or do.
"And you are not worried they might try to do something to stop it?"
"That's not my job anymore" He replied quickly with a severe tone, getting suddenly defensive. Why was she implying that it was his duty to solve that thing? That wasn't going to happen. Worrying about the entire country wasn't his job anymore. He was done saving people he didn't even know while losing the few ones who truly mattered to him. He didn't care if that made him selfish, but he was done.
She had only tried making a conversation. Last week, she wouldn't have given a damn about that stupid summit. But now she was suddenly beginning to care again about everything that used to be important for her, including politics. However, her comment seemed to have upset him. She told him apologetically "I know. I don't even know why I brought this up. I'm sorry"
Jack realized he was simply too edgy. His conflicted emotions about his work were consuming him. He missed the action and the adrenaline. For Jack Bauer being a federal agent had been who he was. It had defined him. It had become his whole identity. How many times had he acted as a CTU agent even without being one officially? It wasn't a job, it was his nature. But it had destroyed everyone he cared about. So he chose to stay away from it. He had to leave who he had been behind to become who he wanted to be.
"No, I'm sorry. I overreacted" he acknowledged softening his tone.
And it didn't take long to Renee to figure out why. She didn't have a doubt about that. "You don't like being retired, don't you?"
It was so amazing how much she knew him for somebody who had only spent five days with him and worked next to him once. But that was what he liked the most about her. He replied honestly, "I like that I have a family now. I like spending time with them, and with you. But other than that I don't know"
Renee nodded understanding perfectly. For different reasons, they were facing the same dilemma.
Fortunately, money was not a problem for either one of them. Renee's dad had left her plenty, plus she had saved a lot of what she had earned working. Jack was also in a position in which he could manage to live decently without working for a bit longer, even though he had kept nothing from his father. Both of them had made wise investments over the years. Living in constant peril had trained them both well about the importance of taking good care of their finances. But it was about something much more important than money. It was about what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives, and what they wanted to be.
Even if Renee knew what she wanted to do, any job that had a small chance of grabbing a bit of her interest would require for her to take those pesky psychological evaluations. She had no idea what she could do, not even what she wanted to do. So, playing a bit nervously with her fork she admitted "You're not the only one wondering what's gonna happen next, Jack. I have no idea either"
"We'll figure it out" He said now with more confidence.
"We?" she asked a little bit too anxiously, wondering what that meant.
That phrase had practically escaped his lips before he could truly think about what he was saying. But he realized it was what he truly wanted. He wanted them to figure it out together. He knew that much. He hoped she felt the same. It was just so soon. He told her tentatively "Well, we both kind of jumped from the same boat, so… yeah. If you agree"
"I agree" she whispered nodding. Renee couldn't help to smile at the thought of them 'figuring it out' together'. But then she felt actually nervous and looked down. It was so crazy for her to feel how she felt about him.
At that moment, Jack cell phone went off, announcing he had a text message. After reading it, he told Renee "It's Kim. Reminding me that today I'm meeting her for lunch. But you could come along"
"Look, I'll be fine" she assured him, knowing Jack was feeling slightly guilty about leaving her alone. But she thought he was being ridiculous. She wasn't going to intrude between father and daughter. "Actually, I was thinking about going to the park and read a book. May I borrow one of yours?"
Most of Jack's books had gotten lost, some when he had to disappear and others during the twenty months in China. After those incidents, he had lived pretty much like a nomad person. Why bother owing anything? Currently, he was still in the process of completing his personal library, but had already gotten plenty of books. It was still amazing to him that his life was relatively stable and normal again.
His instant response flowed naturally from his lips. "Of course, honey. Why not?"
Renee was stunned for a moment and blinked a few times trying to make sure she had heard correctly. Had he just called her 'honey'? It was just a little world. But it somehow felt like something big. Was she 'his girl' now? Then she felt very silly for even thinking it meant anything. She had turned into such a chick. Jack sometimes made her feel like a nerdy and shy teenager who was dating the most popular guy in the entire school.
Not understanding why Renee had suddenly become mute, Jack took his sight from the newspaper and looked at her curiously. "What?"
She couldn't expose the embarrassing fact that his use of the word 'honey' had left her day-dreaming, like a twelve-year-old. So she said coolly "Nothing… you've got a little something… there", as she took a paper napkin and wiped softly the corner of his mouth. Then she gave him a small sweet smile.
After being done with breakfast, she went to the book shelf to take a look at Jack's books. Jack couldn't help to stare at her amazed. She looked as excited as a child in a candy store for a moment. That came as a shock to him because it was the first time ever he saw such expression in her.
Renee was simply marveled by the fact that Jack's taste in books matched her own, almost exactly. He had plenty of books about military history and CIA operations. But the most surprising thing was that he seemed to own every book Tom Clamsy had ever written. She had always loved those novels. They were great military and political thrillers, which a CIA agent called Jack Ryan as a protagonist. She had already read some of the ones she saw on the bookcase, like 'Red Storm Rising', 'The Cardinal of the Kremlin' and 'the sum of all fears'. But then she saw one she had heard a lot about, yet had never gotten to read. Almost as if her hand had a life of its own, she picked 'The hunt for the red October'.
"I'm taking this one, is that okay?" She showed the book to Jack.
"Sure… but may I borrow one of yours?" He remembered she carried two German study books and a mysterious copy of 'The Art of War', by Sun Tzu. Not only was that one his favorite book on the entire planet, and one of the few things related to China that he still could stomach. But also, he was curious to see why Renee carried it on her backpack. It had to be extremely important for her. It made him want to take a look at it.
"Yeah, but why? Is your German getting rusty?" She was asking rhetorically. She had seen Jack had his very own German study-books.
"No, I meant your copy of The Art of War. I'd like to give it a look whenever I can, if that's okay with you"
Renee froze feeling a bit unsettled. Now she got it. Since she hadn't shared a lot of too-personal information with him, he was trying to see whether her book revealed something about her that she wouldn't say. Then, she tried to act cool as she said in disbelief "Are you saying that you, Jack Bauer, have never read The Art of War?"
"Only twenty times" He confirmed with a smirk. No point in lying about that. As if she would ever believe he was unfamiliar with that book. But trying to sound casual about it, he added "But I lost my copy ages ago. It would be nice if I could read it again, if you don't mind"
Renee hesitated a little. But eventually she got the old book and handed it to Jack a bit shyly.
Then he knew the reason why she treasured the book so much. Right on the first page there was a handwritten dedicatory, which read 'To Renee Abigail, my pride and my joy. You are everything I dreamed and more. While I'm away, be the smart and brave young lady you are now. I love you.' It was formally signed 'Captain John Walker' and dated 'January 1991'.
Renee's mind went suddenly back to that day in which her mom opened the door and a soldier they didn't know was there looking somber and holding an envelope. She could only watch in disbelief as that soldier took his hat off and handed her mom the letter. 'In the name of the U.S. army, we regret to inform you…'.
Avoiding his gaze uncomfortably and with a voice that was barely audible, she explained "My dad gave me that before leaving to fight in the first Gulf War. He… he never came back"
Jack realized just how important was what she had just shared with him and became speechless. It was so difficult for her to talk about real personal stuff. And it was for him too. But she had taken a step on that direction, and he truly appreciated it. Since he didn't quite know what to say, he stood up and held her tight. She rested her head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers through her hair.
After a while, Renee began to feel very uncomfortable as she realized she was starting to show herself as weak again. As if she hadn't shown too much weakness already. So she stepped away from Jack, gave him half a smile and began to clean up the table, as he helped her.
Having a pathetic and fragile little lady as a daughter was the last thing her dad would have wanted. Renee could still see him in his uniform, as he said goodbye to her one last time. The biggest sorrow in her heart came from knowing she had let him down after his death. Wherever he was, her dad had to be immensely devastated to see she had turned out so weak. Both, he and Jimmy, would be heartbroken if they could see what she had become: someone who had desperately wanted to be a hero, but who had failed so dramatically. She had let everybody she cared about down.
Jack could easily tell how much Renee had worshiped her father. That sadly was something he could never understand. He couldn't even recall a time in which he had felt genuine affection for his own dad. He had left home being so young. And later, Christopher Henderson became his mentor. Gross mistake.
Nevertheless, Secretary James Heller had been unquestionably the person Jack had admired the most, the kind of man he had always wanted to be. He had looked up to him like a father and his betrayal had hurt him very deeply. He didn't blame Heller for speaking the scary and ugly truth though. But why hadn't he tried harder to rescue him from China, if anything to keep Audrey away from that place?
Suddenly, the silence as Jack and Renee tidied up the kitchen became too unbearable. Jack shook his head. He wanted to stop his current train of thinking. He had to break the silence and the tension. He had to say something, anything. He said the first thing that came to his head "So, your middle name is Abigail?"
It worked, because Renee clucked softly, it was the last thing she had expected him to point out at that moment. She nodded. "Yeah, my dad chose it as my middle name, after my mom. But mainly because Abigail means: her father's joy"
Jack could sense so much pride Renee's voice. He thought of his own daughter. Kim had worshiped him as a child. But after all the terrible things that kept happening around him, she had rightfully hated him for a long while. Surprisingly, she eventually had eventually forgiven him and blessed him with two amazing gifts: life and one adorable granddaughter. He only wished he could be for his daughter the kind of hero Captain Walker had been in Renee's eyes.
02.30 PM
Kim and Jack had enjoyed their lunch together and now they were having a coffee. She couldn't help to notice that her dad was in a particularly good mood. So, it seemed like the perfect time for asking him a little favor. "You know, dad, Steve and I were invited to spend the weekend at some friends' beach house, in Jersey"
"Really? Sounds good"
"It is… and we wanted to take Teri with us, but all she does is talk about how much fun she always has with you… so…"
Jack smiled and shook his head. It was such a pathetic intent to manipulate him. But it didn't bother him because he guessed what Kim was about to ask and it was something he enjoyed. "You want her to stay with me"
"Yes, is that okay with you?" Kim was really hoping spending time with Teri would make Jack more eager to move to L.A. It was frustrating not having and answer about that from him yet. How much longer would it take for him to make up his mind?
"Sure" Jack said enthusiastically. He adored taking care of little Teri. But that now there was a difficult topic he had to discuss with Kim. He had no choice but to tell her about Renee since Teri would be staying in his apartment. "But, sweetheart, you should know… Renee will be there with Teri too"
"What? What do you mean?" she asked with some confusion, as she took a zip of the hot cappuccino.
"Well, she is staying in my apartment"
Kim coughed several times; she had nearly choked with a tiny piece of chocolate that came with the drink. Jack looked worried and patted her back. Then he handed her a glass of water. But she was most shocked than anything else. "Sorry, dad, did you say she's staying in your apartment… meaning she's living with you?"
"I said she's staying in my apartment… whatever that means"
"But… you barely know her…" She tried to objet. But her father cut her off dryly.
"This isn't up to debate, Kim. We are not going to have another argument about you not liking Renee."
"I just don't know her well enough" She pointed out quickly on her own defense. "So, does this means she's definitely your girlfriend now?"
Jack still refused to label his relationship with Renee in any way. He felt like using a word like 'lover' or 'girlfriend' would be like tempting fate. Every woman who had entered in his life under one of those categories had died, in one way or another, sooner or later. So he rushed to state, a bit too nervously "It doesn't mean anything, okay? It just means she's in my apartment. And I'm an adult. You don't get to decide who I let stay with me"
"Okay, but what if I don't want my child to stay with a stranger?"
"I'll be the one looking after Teri and I'm her grandpa. Renee is just… a woman who will be around too. And she's no stranger. Not to me"
"Dad, I'm sorry, you have to understand. I hardly know that woman"
"I understand that. But you know me and you trust me. Please, I want to look after Teri. And she got along fine with Renee the few times they met. Sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about, I give you my word"
"Fine, I trust you, daddy"
Jack smiled at his daughter to reassure her that everything would be okay. He understood it must be a shock for her to see him suddenly involved with someone he had known for such a short period of time. But he hoped she would come around eventually.
1.30 AM - Upper East Side Manhattan - Kim and Steve's apartment
Kim was lying on her bed, next to her husband, but wide awake. As much as she tried she just couldn't relax and fall asleep. She decided to get up and get a cup of tea. In the process, Steve woke up. He knew his wife was still very upset. So he decided to follow her to the kitchen and talk to her about it. "Hun, are you still angry about your dad and Renee Walker?"
"It's just… I don't get it. Has my dad lost his mind completely? He barely knows that woman"
"I know. But he's an adult, is it really that bad that he found someone?"
"No… but I don't trust her."
"You don't know her"
"Neither does him" She pointed out quickly. Then she bit her lower lip. It particularly bugged her how fast that relationship seemed to be turning into something so serious. "And why are they in such a rush anyway?"
Stephen shrugged. How could he know that? Jack's relationship with Renee was definitely not Steve's business, or Kim's. But he knew Kim needed to talk to someone, and it was better for her to vent with her husband. So he served the tea for him and his wife and sat next to her. But he suggested nicely "Shouldn't you be discussing this with your father?"
"No way. That part of his life is not something we truly talk about. Well, he can talk, but I'm not allowed to have an opinion about it. Look, I don't want him to be mad at me"
"I understand that. But, tell me, what bothers you so much about her?"
"I can't exactly tell what. Something is just wrong with her" She said a bit awkwardly.
"Come on, Kim."
"I'm serious. I met her that day I went to DC. Trust me. I can barely recognize her now. Besides, back then she was a terrific FBI agent. She helped save many lives. Including Henry Taylor's. But now she's unemployed? How come the FBI let her go? She must have done something terrible"
"Aren't you just being paranoid and over protective?"
"Maybe… but… Steve, after all my dad went through with women since my mom died… He can't get hurt again like that. I would hate to see him that crushed again"
"I know, honey. But he's an adult. He can take care of himself"
"I know. I just can't help to feel worried. After my mom died, he dated Kate Warner, who he met because her sister was a terrorist. Then he goes to Mexico and has an affair with the wife of a narcoterrorist. Not to mention Audrey Raines. I just don't get it. My dad seems to have a thing for women with serious troubles"
Steve sighed. "Okay, hun, please, stop worrying. I mean, Renee looked kind of depressed and all. But she doesn't have a job. It's understandable. It doesn't mean she's in trouble"
"I hope it's not all how it looks like." Kim sighed, thinking of the scars Renee had. It was exactly the kind of mess her father didn't need at the moment. She had been there. But she had put herself together before meeting Steve. She hadn't used her husband to fix her problems. She simply stated "The last thing my dad needs is to date yet another woman in desperate need to be rescued."
"Kim, they are both adults…"
So she was powerless to do anything anyway, and she knew that already. She was simply upset over it. She gave her husband the Bauer-signature-look that meant 'I agree because I have to but I'm not happy about it'. And she groaned "Fine. I'll have to let it go"
However, as they were walking to bed, Kim just couldn't let all go. She had to win one. So she asked her husband, "At least admit she is an East Coast snob".
Steve rolled his eyes. He adored Kim, but she could be so stubborn. He pointed out, "Honey, you think anybody who isn't crazy about California is an East Coast snob."
"Fine, but really… who goes from the East Cost to California only to see the Reagan Presidential Library?"
"Okay, I thought that was weird too" Steve had to admit.
"Thank you!"
Suddenly, he was hit by a revelation, "Wow… that really bothers you. Doesn't it?"
"What?"
"That your dad is dating in New York and the woman has lived in the East Coast her entire life. You just think she'll never let him move back to L.A."
"That's ridiculous. He'll do whatever he wants to do". But she was clearly too upset. The possibility of Renee keeping Jack in New York was what bothered Kim the most. Steve could read her like a book.
They both got into bed, and Steve held her and caressed her hair. "You know, honey. Even if he doesn't move to California, it will be all right. You'll visit each other, and talk to each other all the time. This doesn't mean you'll lose him again"
Kim just shook her head on denial. "He won't stay here just for her. We are his family"
TO BE CONTINUED…
(Please, tell me what you think!)