"Hi, Kim," he smiled as she sat down next to him on the bench. He felt the urge to kiss her, even if it was just a simple peck on the cheek, but they had agreed that the meeting was just to talk. That way, if anyone saw them, they could truthfully say that it was, indeed, just them talking.

"This is a nice place to be meeting," Kim spoke, looking around the area. Alex had chosen it, having been here before when he was exploring the city the weekend before he had started at CTU Los Angeles. Kim, even though she was from the city, had not.

"Yeah, it's perfect," Alex replied. There were people passing by, but not too many. If they looked at the pair, they would just see a young couple talking.

"Alex, what do you think about me telling my Dad about us?" Kim asked, and Alex looked at her and thought for a moment.

If it was to come from her, it probably wouldn't be so bad for Jack, but it would still be me she was in love with. If I wasn't the brother of the woman who murdered his wife and her mother, maybe it would be fine, but even then I still work for CTU. Not in the field, of course, but just working in that building has its dangers, I know that all too well now.

"Could you honestly say, without a doubt, that it would be OK with him?" Alex asked. He wondered if he should have worded that a little better, he didn't want to give Kim any false hopes.

"I couldn't, but he doesn't know about the kiss so it would be as if I was asking before saying anything to you," Kim replied. She knew that it would mean lying to her dad, but it wasn't a bad thing they were doing.

"Maybe, although the two recent times he's probably read something on my face might get connected in his head," Alex said. He didn't know if Jack had even remembered the office or console incidents, but it was safer to assume that he did.

Jack had forgotten the former, but not the latter, and even though it had been a few hours since, it popped up in the active part of his mind enough for him to want to investigate. Returning to the console, he looked through the list of changes different employees had made throughout the day until he got to the ones Alex had made. He noticed that he had deleted two files of camera footage in some basement corridor, and his heart sank. He hoped that when he recovered the footage, that he would not see anything illegal. Taking a deep breath, he pressed play on the first file.

Back at the park, Kim and Alex were deep in conversation. Suddenly, Alex's phone rang and as he checked to see who it was, his face turned paler than it normally was.

Oh, this cannot be good, this cannot be good in any way, shape or form!

His hands shaking way too much for his liking, he accepted the call. He said hello then nothing at all until the call ended a minute or two later. Kim, curious, wanted to know what the call was all about.

"That was your father. He wants to see me at CTU. Now," Alex replied with an emphasis on "now", and the two looked at each other with faces full of worry.

"Oh Alex, I'm so sorry," Kim spoke quietly, before hugging him. Alex shook his head.

"It's OK, I played an active part. Besides, I liked the kiss," he replied.

Yes, I liked the kiss. Not a little or even mostly, but entirely.

An hour or so later, and Alex was in the parking lot of CTU. Minutes after arriving, he was still in his car, his eyes closed and his mind trying to stay calm. He opened his eyes and climbed out of the car, before making the long journey to Jack's office.

I don't know what is about to happen, but why don't I feel like it should mean the end of our relationship?

As he made eye contact with Jack, he definitely did not need to spend too much time or effort analysing his face.

"Sit down, now," Jack simply said, firmly, and Alex did just that.

Maybe he just wants to talk?

Alex and Jack looked at each other from across the desk, and Alex wondered if Jack was about to lunge over it and strangle him.

"You've probably guessed that I've seen the camera footage?" Jack asked, his voice calm yet also threatening. Alex knew that he had to be very truthful, and very careful, in his choice of words. He decided to nod in response.

I don't know what it is that I can say.

"It ends here, Alex. I like you and consider you to be a good friend and a good agent, but there is NO WAY IN HELL that I'll accept THAT!" Jack spoke, his voice rising and falling but the firmness and the threatening tone never changing. He wasn't specific in what "that" was, but he didn't need to be.

"Yes, Jack, it will. I'm sorry," Alex spoke calmly, trying his best to sound convincing. At first, he had no idea if it had worked or not, but after a few moments, he could tell that it had.

"It will because there'll be a problem otherwise and I don't want us to have problems. You're a good friend to Kim, and I appreciate that, but I just cannot let it go any further than that. Do you understand?" Jack replied, and in a way, he felt bad for his reaction. Alex was vastly different to his sister, but it still felt wrong.

Back in his car, Alex breathed a sigh of relief before resting his hands on the wheel and his forehead on his hands. It had gone better than expected, although he felt that Jack wouldn't be so restrained next time.

Why does it feel like I want to kiss Kim even more now? I'm not some rebellious teenager going against his parents, so… is it the danger? Am I enjoying the danger too much?

The next day, Alex noticed that Kim's workstation had been moved to the other side of the bullpen, something that was definitely going to be curious to everyone else. Alex felt more annoyed than anything, it was too visible a marker that he had done something. Sitting down and getting on with his work, he tried not to think about Kim but it was hard. He glanced up at Jack, who was busy with a phone call, and then over at Kim, who noticed him looking in her direction, and smiled. He smiled back, only for Adam to break the moment.

"So, what's up with you and Kim? I came in this morning and got asked to move her workstation as, and I quote, as far away from you as possible," he asked, emphasising the "you". Alex turned to look at him.

"Nothing is up between us, it's as much a surprise to me as it is to you," Alex spoke, and he was telling the truth. It had been a surprise to see that Jack had decided to do something like this when the whole "problem" was meant to have ended last night.

Hours passed until the mid-afternoon arrived. Alex had been alone in the break room making himself a cup of coffee, when he was joined by Tony. The look on Tony's face said a lot.

"Is there a problem, Tony?" Alex asked, in a way not very appropriate for talking to his boss. Tony smirked.

"Actually, there is. Look, I've seen the footage, just make sure it stays in the past," he replied, ignoring the tone of Alex's voice.

"I could, if Jack didn't tell the whole building that something was wrong between me and Kim!" Alex retorted, before deciding it was better not to push Tony too far. There was silence again until Alex finished making his drink and left the room. On his way, he looked up at Jack, who was busy with something at his desk. He knew that Jack had to report the incident to Tony as Jack was Head of Field Ops whilst Tony was the Director of CTU, but Tony viewing the video just made him angry.

After the end of his shift, Alex sat in his car for a short while, thinking about the interactions with Adam and Tony.

This just makes me feel more determined to continue with the so-called problem. I understand why Jack feels the way he does, but he's disregarding Kim's choices entirely.

It was a balmy evening in Los Angeles, and both were back at the park, having agreed to meet. It had only taken a few moments before they kissed again.