It was ten in the evening in Los Angeles and Kim was lying on her bed staring at the photo beside her; in it her Mom and Dad hugged and she looked on at them as if thinking they were old enough to know better.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I miss you Dad, I'm sorry I was so awful to you… Daddy why aren't you here with me?" She sobbed into her pillow and curled up into a foetal position. She wasn't sure how long she lay there and the room grew dark and silent. Tony and Michelle were at her mother's for dinner. It was meet the parents' night, and Tony was trying not to show how terrified he was of Mr Dessler.
Kim was thinking about how her father always hated her boyfriends and threatened to have them background checked before she dated them. She'd gone berserk at him once and slapped his face for running a police check on Vincent. He'd just stood there and looked down at her with an unrelenting stare.
"I do it because I love you Kim and I don't want you to be hurt needlessly. You're my little princess; I just want the best for you."
She'd sworn at him and told him she hated him and that he was a control freak and… and how could she have been so mean and cruel? She missed him so much. She wondered how he'd feel about her thing for Eddie Jerome. He was pretty arrogant sometimes and Jack would think he was a smart-ass for sure, but he was a kind and sweet guy underneath and surely Jack could see that…
The doorbell rang and reluctantly she pulled herself off her mattress and wiped her eyes with her sleeve as she walked downstairs. She smiled recognizing who was there at the glass door.
"What are you doing here Eddie?" she said with a grateful smile. He pushed past her and came inside from the cool night air.
"I heard Tony was going through the parent ordeal tonight so I thought we could have take-out and watch a movie." He said holding up a bag and a couple of DVDs. She gave him a heavy sigh and led him into the living room.
They watched a couple of movies and ate noodles from the carton. Then Eddie raided the refrigerator for Tony's beer.
"So how you doing, Kimmy?" he asked leaning back on the end of the designer couch to look at her more clearly. She shrugged.
"Thanks for coming over Eddie it was really sweet of you."
"But it hasn't helped has it?" he said, looking sad and concerned for her. "You are worried about him aren't you? I watched that feed over and over Kim; I did tests and looked at it every which way… it doesn't look like anything more than you saw. This woman he was with, it all seems genuine. I don't think she wants to hurt him… I know I'm no expert but…" Kim nodded.
"I'd just feel better if I knew who she was, you know?" She said, looking into his deep-set eyes. He got up and turned off the TV set quickly.
"Come on, before Tony and Michelle come back." He said taking her hand and pulling her up from the couch.
"Where are we going?" she asked, confused.
"CTU, I'll call the local sheriff's department see what we can find out about this chick. Then maybe you can chill out a bit and we could have a proper date." She blushed and gave him a nervous smile. "Okay?"
"Yes." She replied with a big grin. "That would be really good Eddie."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I miss you Dad, I'm sorry I was so awful to you… Daddy why aren't you here with me?" She sobbed into her pillow and curled up into a foetal position. She wasn't sure how long she lay there and the room grew dark and silent. Tony and Michelle were at her mother's for dinner. It was meet the parents' night, and Tony was trying not to show how terrified he was of Mr Dessler.
Kim was thinking about how her father always hated her boyfriends and threatened to have them background checked before she dated them. She'd gone berserk at him once and slapped his face for running a police check on Vincent. He'd just stood there and looked down at her with an unrelenting stare.
"I do it because I love you Kim and I don't want you to be hurt needlessly. You're my little princess; I just want the best for you."
She'd sworn at him and told him she hated him and that he was a control freak and… and how could she have been so mean and cruel? She missed him so much. She wondered how he'd feel about her thing for Eddie Jerome. He was pretty arrogant sometimes and Jack would think he was a smart-ass for sure, but he was a kind and sweet guy underneath and surely Jack could see that…
The doorbell rang and reluctantly she pulled herself off her mattress and wiped her eyes with her sleeve as she walked downstairs. She smiled recognizing who was there at the glass door.
"What are you doing here Eddie?" she said with a grateful smile. He pushed past her and came inside from the cool night air.
"I heard Tony was going through the parent ordeal tonight so I thought we could have take-out and watch a movie." He said holding up a bag and a couple of DVDs. She gave him a heavy sigh and led him into the living room.
They watched a couple of movies and ate noodles from the carton. Then Eddie raided the refrigerator for Tony's beer.
"So how you doing, Kimmy?" he asked leaning back on the end of the designer couch to look at her more clearly. She shrugged.
"Thanks for coming over Eddie it was really sweet of you."
"But it hasn't helped has it?" he said, looking sad and concerned for her. "You are worried about him aren't you? I watched that feed over and over Kim; I did tests and looked at it every which way… it doesn't look like anything more than you saw. This woman he was with, it all seems genuine. I don't think she wants to hurt him… I know I'm no expert but…" Kim nodded.
"I'd just feel better if I knew who she was, you know?" She said, looking into his deep-set eyes. He got up and turned off the TV set quickly.
"Come on, before Tony and Michelle come back." He said taking her hand and pulling her up from the couch.
"Where are we going?" she asked, confused.
"CTU, I'll call the local sheriff's department see what we can find out about this chick. Then maybe you can chill out a bit and we could have a proper date." She blushed and gave him a nervous smile. "Okay?"
"Yes." She replied with a big grin. "That would be really good Eddie."