Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 25

Jack walked into his apartment, collapsing on the bed in exhaustion. He had been up for almost 3 days keeping an eye on Chloe while she recovered from her surgery, until Tyler had caught him sleeping standing up while she was talking to Chloe and forced him to go home and sleep. Jack had refused at first, but only agreed once Tyler had promised to call if anything happened to Chloe. Good thing she did. At least I know Chloe isn't alone. Besides, I'm sure she could use a break from me hovering around her.His phone rang and Jack answered it quickly. "Yeah?"

"Jack, it's Bill."

"What's going on, Bill?"

"I was just calling to see how Chloe was doing" Bill said.

"She's okay. The surgery went according to plan. She's not happy about being stuck in bed while she heals, but she knows she doesn't really have a choice in the matter" Jack told him.

"Good" Bill replied. "I'm flying into town tomorrow, so I'll see you when I get there. Karen's coming with me. When I told her about what happened to Chloe, she insisted on coming with me. Speaking of that... there's something I need to know, Jack."

"What is it?"

"I purchased my plane tickets 3 days ago for coach. Yesterday, I find out they've been upgraded to first class, and they were already paid for. I was also informed that if I needed more tickets in the future, I was to give them a specific ID and it would be taken care of. Do you know anything about that, Jack?"

Tyler. She's behind this. "I do, but I can't get into it, Bill" Jack said.

"Jack, if there's something I should know, please tell me" Bill pressed.

"Look, all I know is that Chloe's recovery is being paid for by an anonymous source. Apparently, that source is taking care of everything else concerning Chloe as well. I can't tell you anything else, Bill."

He knows something. But I'm not going to press the issue now. "All right, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jack hung up and lay back down. He's going to find out eventually. But for now, all that matters is Chloe getting better. We'll worry about this later.

2424242424

Chloe was sitting up in bed, tossing a rubber ball to her therapist, who was tossing it back. This is so boring, but if they say it'll help me get stronger, then I guess I better give it all my efforts. She was finding it more difficult to catch the ball without being able to move her chest more than a few inches, as her right arm had been strapped to the side of the bed, and so had her legs. Chloe had panicked at first when they had restrained her, the memories of being chained to the wall in the prison coming back, but after she had been assured that this was necessary to keep her from bumping her legs, Chloe had calmed down.At least this time, I'm not being deprived of food or water.

She cried out as she missed and the ball hit her in the nose. "Are you all right?" the therapist asked, coming over quickly.

Chloe shook her head and gingerly rubbed her nose. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just keep going."

He retrieved the ball and sat back down, carefully tossing it to Chloe, who caught it and tossed it back. They continued for about an hour, both oblivious to the figure who silently watched them in the hall. Jack watched with pride as Chloe diligently worked, tuning out all outside distractions. That's it, Chloe. You're doing great. Don't quit.

He had wanted to intervene when Chloe got hit in the face, but had just waited to see how she would react.She needs to get stronger, and she can't do that if I interfere every time she slips up. He watched Chloe finish up, the therapist giving her the ball to use when he wasn't there, then he left, and Jack walked in the room.

Chloe set down the water she was drinking and smiled. "Hey, Jack. When did you get here?"

"About an hour and a half ago. I was watching you, Chloe. You did very well. You keep working hard, you'll be out of here in no time."

"I hope so. I don't want to be dependent on someone else for the rest of my life. But there's one problem. Even when I do get out of here, I have no place to go. I can't go back to the house, that was Morris' place. I have no money to rent an apartment. Besides, I'll probably spend the rest of my life paying off the bills from this place. My insurance ran out the second I was kidnapped. And I know none of you guys have that kind of money. But I'll figure something out. Maybe I can do some freelance work to help pay off the bills, or something like that." Chloe grabbed the bed adjuster and slowly lowered herself to a sleeping position, her good mood having vanished.

Jack looked at her glum face and felt his heart break all over again. She shouldn't be worrying about that. All she should be focusing on is getting better. I can put her mind at ease, but I can't tell her Tyler's taking care of it. "Chloe, you don't have to worry about it." Chloe looked at him, a confused look on her face. "I looked into it 3 months after you came here. A very generous benefactor heard about your situation and is paying all of your bills. You won't have to pay one cent. And as far as finding a place to stay once you leave here, I was thinking... maybe... you can come stay with me for a while, just until you get situated. I know it's probably not ideal for you. You probably want your own place. And you don't have to, if you don't want to."

Chloe was stunned by his offer. He wants me to come stay with him? I wanted to ask him if I could, but I thought he'd say no. "Okay, Jack. Once I get out of this place, I'll come stay with you, at least for a while."

Jack smiled. Thank god. I was hoping she'd say yes. "Good." He looked at his watch. "It's 3 o'clock. Nap time."

Chloe scowled. "I'm not tired, Jack."

Here we go again. "Doctor's orders, Chloe. You have to take one every day to let your body get stronger."

"Well, can you at least take me out of these restraints? It's almost impossible to sleep in these things."

"Absolutely not" Jack said firmly. "The doctor said you move too much in your sleep. If I do, you could get hurt. I'm sorry, Chloe. I know you hate being stuck in place, but I just don't want you to injure yourself further."

Dammit. "Fine" Chloe growled, closing her eyes. Jack closed the blinds in the windows to keep the sunlight out and dimmed the lights so Chloe could sleep easier. The dull hum of the machinery in the room soon lulled Jack to sleep as well, and both rested together.

2424242424

A soft knock on the door woke Jack out of his slumber, and he shook his head to clear the fog. How did I fall asleep? He looked at Chloe, who was fast asleep, at peace for a while. If only she could be at peace all the time. He looked at the door, where Bill was standing, motioning for Jack to come see him. Jack walked out of the room, and found Karen standing there nervously. "Karen."

"Hello, Jack. It's been a while" Karen said, shaking his hand.

"Yeah."

"How's Chloe doing?" Bill asked.

"She's sleeping now, but I'll go wake her up. Come on."

Jack walked back into the room and flicked on the lights, quietly calling out to Chloe to wake her up gently so she wouldn't hurt herself. "Chloe, wake up."

Chloe slowly opened her eyes and yawned, looking at Jack. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"5 PM. You've slept for 2 hours."

"What? You let me sleep that long?" she barked.

"Chloe, we've got company" Jack told her.

Chloe looked past him to see Bill in the entrance. "Hi, Bill."

"Hello, Chloe." Bill came in, followed quickly by Karen. "It's been a long time, Chloe."

"Karen. What are you doing here?" Chloe asked quietly.

"When Bill told me what happened to you, and how badly you had been hurt, I decided to come see you. I thought seeing a familiar face would cheer you up."

Chloe smiled and awkwardly shook Karen's hand with her free hand. "I guess you could say I've been better." She turned to Jack. "Could you guys go outside and talk? I want to talk to Karen alone."

"Of course. Just call us if you need anything" Jack said, leading Bill out of the room. Once they were gone, Chloe turned to Karen. "What did Bill tell you about my kidnapping?"

"Just that someone wanted information from you. Something to do with a hard drive. Why?" Karen asked curiously.

"Did he tell you that Miles was responsible? That it was Miles who told that guy about me? Or that it was Miles who broke my arm?" Chloe replied.

Karen went silent. Miles did this? I knew he was ambitious, but cruel? "Why would he do that to you, Chloe?"

"Because I sent him to prison." Chloe told her the entire story of her imprisonment, including everything Miles had said to her. "It was revenge. I ruined his years of work, and he paid me back by doing this to me. You worked with him for years, Karen. Did you have anything to do with this?"

"No" Karen said forcefully. "I haven't spoken to Miles since he was given that job in Logan's administration. I promise you, Chloe. I had nothing to do with this."

"All right." Chloe looked down. "I'm sorry, Karen. I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you or anything like that. I just had to make sure no one else was involved. I don't want to go back to that place."

"I understand, Chloe. You went through something that no one should have to go through. I don't blame you for being suspicious."

"Thanks."

2424242424

"She'll be fine, Jack." Bill was reassuring Jack. "Karen wouldn't let anything happen. She cares about Chloe just like we do."

"I know. I just don't want to take any chances. Not after what happened." Jack paced back and forth, keeping one eye on Chloe.

"Look, Jack, about what we talked about yesterday-"

Jack cut Bill off. "I told you, Bill, I can't talk about it. It's being taken care of, and that's all I care about. Just drop it."

"Fine"

"Jack?" Jack looked past Bill and instantly froze. Marilyn Bauer was standing a few feet away.