The following occurs between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.
6:00
Tony looked out the window and noticed the sun was gone. He got up out of the chair he was sitting in and walked out to the hallway. He found Kate and said, "I need to catch some sleep. I'm going to be in the lounge will you take over in the room. Kim and Jack are both still asleep."
"Yeah. I'm going to give you my cell phone. Michelle is suppose to call me back with Jack's sister number. I don't want to wake Kim up with it." Kate said as she handed him her cell phone.
"No problem. Do you want me to call her?" Tony asked knowing that calling loved ones of people who have been seriously injured are hard.
"Sure. I don't know what to say to her. I've never meant her, and Jack has never mentioned her."
"I don't think they are on the closest terms. I've never heard him talk about her. I saw her once at Teri's funeral." Tony hobbled down the hallway to the waiting room that had now been taken over by the President and his staff. The president saw Tony walk in and he said, "Anything new?"
"Nope he's still asleep. We're trying to contact his sister now. I'm going to catch some shut eye on the couch. Sir."
"I'll wake you up if anything happens." Palmer said to Tony.
Tony walked over to the couch and laid down. His leg was hurting and the doctor had given him some pills to take the pain away. Tony got up and grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler that had been set up in the room. He struggled with the lid of the pill bottle. He always had problems getting them to open. He cursed it quietly to himself.
Nina walked up to him took the bottle out of his hands and opened it up for him.
"Thank you." Tony said.
"I'm sorry about all of this Tony. I really am."
"I know you are Nina. I got to get some sleep." Tony said as he walked back to the couch. He laid down and fell asleep as soon as he hit the couch. The weight of the events of the past hours hit him hard. He started to wake up when he felt a thing vibrating in his hands, and there was a phone ringing. He jolted awake when he remembered about Michelle calling with the number to Jacks sister.
"Hello" He said with his voice still sounding sleepy.
"Tony?" Michelle said confused as to why he was answering Kate's phone.
"Yeah. Kate went in to sit with Jack and Kim. She didn't want to wake Kim so she gave me her phone."
"Oh. Sorry to wake you honey, but I got the number she asked for. Jennifer Park her number is 253-9588. She lives in the L.A. area now. Are you going to call her?"
"Yeah. Kate thinks she should know. How are things going?"
"Chase and them haven't been in contact with us for awhile. I'm not sure. We are trying to get in contact with them. I have everyone working on that now."
"I better let you go. You have important things to get too. And I have a call to make. By baby."
"I love you."
"I love you too." Tony answered back before he hung up the phone. He dialed the number that Michelle had given him. The phone rang three times before a female answered it.
"Yeah!" The female voice said.
"Is Mrs. Jennifer Park there?" Tony asked.
"Hey we signed up for that no solicitation thingy your not suppose to call."
"I'm not with that. Is Jennifer there it's important that I talk to her. It has to do with her brother Jack."
"OH. Hold on."
Tony heard the girl scream for her mom to pick up the phone. Tony also heard the mother pick up the phone and he never heard the girl put the phone down.
"Hello this is Jennifer."
"Hello Jennifer. You probably don't remember me I'm Tony Almeida I work with your brother Jack. We meant at Teri's funeral."
"Sorry I don't remember you. What does this call pertain too?" She asked wondering what a co-worker of Jack's would want. She and Jack no longer talked, and hadn't for a long time.
"I have some bad news to tell you."
She cut him off, "Is he dead?" She said shocked and horrified to hear what the news was.
"No. Not yet. He was injured badly today in the line of work. He's at General Hospital in L.A. He's in critical condition. It wasn't until now that we even remember he had a sister and we had to track your number down. I figured you might want to know."
"Thank you Mr. Almeida. Is he going to die?" She asked scared of the answer.
"We don't know ma'am. The doctors say if he survives tonight he'll live. He got hurt pretty bad."
"What was he doing?" She asked.
The American people don't know that the President was kidnapped earlier. They know he got hurt, but they don't know he was kidnapped so Tony decided to say, "I'm sorry I can't tell you that it's classified."
"Of course. Where is he?"
"General Hospital on the critical condition floor. If you come in tell them to call up to the waiting room the President is in and I'll walk down and get you. They won't allow anyone up here without an escort."
"Oh my God." She said not knowing exactly what her brother did for a living, but now grasping the fact that he might be more successful than she thought. "I should be there soon."
Tony heard the phone on the other line click off, and the woman said, "Is it ok if I bring my daughter. She's only meant Jack twice."
"Yeah. You are his family after all."
6:20
Chase and his team had taken all but three out. They each only had a few shots left and three guys left to take out. Chase looked at the guy across from him and mouthed. Three O'clock. The guy looked at Chase who now held up three fingers and pointing towards the door. The guy seemed to understand what Chase said. Chase turned his gun around the corner and fired a few shots to cover the other guy sticking his head and shooting at the 3 o' clock mark. Chase heard a man scream in pain and fall out of the plane. The guy looked at Chase and held up five fingers. Chase understood and as before the guy covered Chase while he fired his last two shoots hitting there mark and killing the man before he even hit the floor. There was one guy left, Chase yelled behind the cover, "Hey buddy it's only you now. Do you really want to try to take on the rest of us by yourself? Give yourself up and I promise no harm will come to you."
The guy ran towards the door of the plane and the third guy in the back opened fire hitting the guy in the chest hitting the guy's lung.
Chase stood up slowly and looked around. There were dead bodies all over the cabin of the large airplane. Chase felt for the first time in his life that he was at war. That is what his job was, a constant war with terrorist. With that thought he wondered how he got there, and if he really did like his job.
6:35
Jack finally noticed that he had been asleep and he started to wake himself up slowly. As he began to wake up he could feel a sharp pain in his neck and head. His head was cloudier than usually. When he opened his eyes he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his body and his effort was shot down before he even began to start. He noticed he had oxygen tubes in his nose. He looked around he knew he was in the hospital, but he couldn't remember why. He felt someone holding his hand and he looked down and noticed Kim asleep. He tried to speak her name, but nothing came out, but a quiet squeak. He saw Kate at the other side of his bed and he tried to say her name also, but no noise was coming out of his throat.
A man that resembled a doctor walked in and he almost jumped when he say Jack looking around the room. He had not expected Bauer to wake up today. "Hello Mr. Bauer. Try not to talk. You have some swelling in your voice box area and that will cause some pain. It will be a few days before the swelling goes down some. I'm going to grab a sheet of paper and a pen so that you can answer a few questions about the pain your feeling so I can better attain what is going on."
The doctor walked out to the nurse's station and grabbed a tablet and pen. He helped Jack sit up in bed and handed him the tablet and pen.
Jack wrote on it, my head and neck.
"Good that is to be expected. I'll have one of the nurses give you a little more morphine."
Kim and Kate both woke up when they heard the doctor talking. Kim looked at her father and all of the stress poured out of her body. She wanted to hug him, but she was afraid to hurt him, so she took his hand and kissed it. Kate looked at Jack and said, "Nice of you to join us again."
Jack tried to smile, but it hurt too much.
Kate said, "I better go let the others know you're awake." She got up and left the room.
6:40
Nina walked out of the waiting room after Tony had fallen back asleep. She walked to the payphone in the entrance of the ICU. She called the number she had collect. She waited for the people to accept the charges and the person yelled over the phone, "Nina what in the hell are you doing?"
"You tried to kill me. You had Treadstone."
"No I had Treadstone detain you so that you would not do any more damage. Not only did you help Bauer escape, but you got him back to his people, and aided them in stopping our earlier plan."
"I couldn't kill him, or let him die. I know I said I'd have no problem, and I thought I wouldn't, but I can't."
"I understand, but you should of said something other than help him escape."
"I can't let him die."
"Nina I don't want to hear this. I think they've captured Treadstone and if that occurred you're in some trouble. They won't be happy that he was caught. You have to do something to make it better."
"What?"
"You have to kill Bauer. If he lives this was total failure and if this is a total failure you won't be needed anymore nor will any of us. They will execute you and possible a large amount of the people involved in the situation." The man ordered.
"I can't do it. He is barely pulling through now. I won't do it."
"Than your dead."
"NO. I have an idea. Why do you want him dead so bad? He wasn't the only one who saw Treadstone the President did too?"
"Bauer is a danger to us. And we want to know your loyalty."
"You and I both know I've been loyal to you. Others don't know why I've changed sides; it was always because you ordered it. I don't want to do this though."
"Do it or your dead." Were the mans last words to her before he hung up the phone.
6:45
Tony woke to the president gently shaking him awake. The Presidents powerful voice saying, "Tony. Jack's awake."
Tony jumped to his feet and tried to get his bearings.
Nina walked into the room and asked, "What's going on?"
Tony replied, "Jack just woke up. Where did you go?"
"I went for a walk. It felt like the walls were closing in on me."
Tony felt guilty for thinking that she was up to something else. He knew her from the past, but the person he meant today was a different person. What had changed her though? Or was she lying to them again? They were duped last time, what is keeping them from being duped again? Tony no longer felt guilt, but paranoia took over. He could not trust her, even if she had saved Jacks life, it could be apart of a cover.
They all walked to Jack's door. The President went in first to visit with Jack.
"Hey Jack. How are you feeling?"
Jack wrote that he was fine and thanks for asking sir.
"The doctor said you shouldn't speak. I owe a lot to you and I was going to wait on this, but I'm going to do it now. After you recover I demand, no I order you to take a vacation, outside of LA. I would like to have you at the White House for a night or two. You and whoever you want. Kim, Chase, and Kate if you wish. I owe you and you are a great friend."
Jack wrote down, "Thank you Mr. President."
"No thank you Jack. This is the fourth or fifth time you have saved my life. I don't know where I would be without you. You get some rest now. If you need anything I'm in the waiting room and will make sure you get whatever you want."
Jack wrote down, "Thank you sir." Jacks writing was hard to read because he had to write with his left hand and hold the paper with it at the same time.
Next Tony went in and he and Jack had idle talk about things. While he was in the room Kate's cell phone rang. Tony answered, "Hello?"
"Mr. Almeida I have a Mr. Jennifer Parker here. She says you called her?" A nurse said.
"Yes. Please send her up. Tell her Jack's awake." Almeida ordered.
A few minutes later the woman and her daughter walked into the room. Kim noticed her and got up and hugged her. When they quit hugging Jennifer walked up to her brother and looked at him. She grabbed his hand and didn't say anything. She had tears pouring down her cheeks. The last time she saw Jack in the hospital was when their father broke Jack's arm and ribs. Jack had a server concussion too. Jack stepped in the way of her beating. She didn't know what to say to her brother now. He looked so pale. "We'll be outside. I think others want to see you too." Is all she could say. She let go of her little brothers hand and walked out of the room with her daughter.
Nina went in and asked Kim, "Can you give us a moment by ourselves? I need to tell your father something and I really don't want you to hear it."
Kim hesitated, but than Jack looked at her and she could see that he would like her to leave for a moment. Kim got up and walked out of the room.
"Jack they want me to kill you."
He wrote, "I figured that much. What are you going to do? As it seems I won't be able to stop you."
"If I don't kill you they'll kill me. But if I kill you someone else will kill me. I don't know."
"I shouldn't help you at all. I should let them kill you. You killed my wife, and I should allow you to die for it. But that is what the difference is between you and me. I don't know what to tell you."
"I was afraid you'd say that." Nina said as she pulled a gun out of her coat pocket.
Jack froze in the bed. He laughed at the irony of the situation. He survived surgery and everything else and now he was going to be killed after all of that.
"I'm going to help you get dressed. Get you into a wheelchair and we are going to leave this place."
She walked over to Jack and helped him stand up. He grimaced in pain as he stood. She sat him on the edge of the bed and pulled the green scrubs the doctors had provided for him to change into. She helped him put the shirt on and she grabbed the wheel chair in the corner of the room. She kept one hand on the wheel chair and the other on the trigger of the gun pointed at Jacks head. She unhooked all of the things the doctors had hooked up to him. When she got to his IV she carefully removed it.
"I don't want to kill you, but if I leave you here they'll get someone else, and if I absolutely have to later I'll be able to."
6:57 6:58 6:59
6:00
Tony looked out the window and noticed the sun was gone. He got up out of the chair he was sitting in and walked out to the hallway. He found Kate and said, "I need to catch some sleep. I'm going to be in the lounge will you take over in the room. Kim and Jack are both still asleep."
"Yeah. I'm going to give you my cell phone. Michelle is suppose to call me back with Jack's sister number. I don't want to wake Kim up with it." Kate said as she handed him her cell phone.
"No problem. Do you want me to call her?" Tony asked knowing that calling loved ones of people who have been seriously injured are hard.
"Sure. I don't know what to say to her. I've never meant her, and Jack has never mentioned her."
"I don't think they are on the closest terms. I've never heard him talk about her. I saw her once at Teri's funeral." Tony hobbled down the hallway to the waiting room that had now been taken over by the President and his staff. The president saw Tony walk in and he said, "Anything new?"
"Nope he's still asleep. We're trying to contact his sister now. I'm going to catch some shut eye on the couch. Sir."
"I'll wake you up if anything happens." Palmer said to Tony.
Tony walked over to the couch and laid down. His leg was hurting and the doctor had given him some pills to take the pain away. Tony got up and grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler that had been set up in the room. He struggled with the lid of the pill bottle. He always had problems getting them to open. He cursed it quietly to himself.
Nina walked up to him took the bottle out of his hands and opened it up for him.
"Thank you." Tony said.
"I'm sorry about all of this Tony. I really am."
"I know you are Nina. I got to get some sleep." Tony said as he walked back to the couch. He laid down and fell asleep as soon as he hit the couch. The weight of the events of the past hours hit him hard. He started to wake up when he felt a thing vibrating in his hands, and there was a phone ringing. He jolted awake when he remembered about Michelle calling with the number to Jacks sister.
"Hello" He said with his voice still sounding sleepy.
"Tony?" Michelle said confused as to why he was answering Kate's phone.
"Yeah. Kate went in to sit with Jack and Kim. She didn't want to wake Kim so she gave me her phone."
"Oh. Sorry to wake you honey, but I got the number she asked for. Jennifer Park her number is 253-9588. She lives in the L.A. area now. Are you going to call her?"
"Yeah. Kate thinks she should know. How are things going?"
"Chase and them haven't been in contact with us for awhile. I'm not sure. We are trying to get in contact with them. I have everyone working on that now."
"I better let you go. You have important things to get too. And I have a call to make. By baby."
"I love you."
"I love you too." Tony answered back before he hung up the phone. He dialed the number that Michelle had given him. The phone rang three times before a female answered it.
"Yeah!" The female voice said.
"Is Mrs. Jennifer Park there?" Tony asked.
"Hey we signed up for that no solicitation thingy your not suppose to call."
"I'm not with that. Is Jennifer there it's important that I talk to her. It has to do with her brother Jack."
"OH. Hold on."
Tony heard the girl scream for her mom to pick up the phone. Tony also heard the mother pick up the phone and he never heard the girl put the phone down.
"Hello this is Jennifer."
"Hello Jennifer. You probably don't remember me I'm Tony Almeida I work with your brother Jack. We meant at Teri's funeral."
"Sorry I don't remember you. What does this call pertain too?" She asked wondering what a co-worker of Jack's would want. She and Jack no longer talked, and hadn't for a long time.
"I have some bad news to tell you."
She cut him off, "Is he dead?" She said shocked and horrified to hear what the news was.
"No. Not yet. He was injured badly today in the line of work. He's at General Hospital in L.A. He's in critical condition. It wasn't until now that we even remember he had a sister and we had to track your number down. I figured you might want to know."
"Thank you Mr. Almeida. Is he going to die?" She asked scared of the answer.
"We don't know ma'am. The doctors say if he survives tonight he'll live. He got hurt pretty bad."
"What was he doing?" She asked.
The American people don't know that the President was kidnapped earlier. They know he got hurt, but they don't know he was kidnapped so Tony decided to say, "I'm sorry I can't tell you that it's classified."
"Of course. Where is he?"
"General Hospital on the critical condition floor. If you come in tell them to call up to the waiting room the President is in and I'll walk down and get you. They won't allow anyone up here without an escort."
"Oh my God." She said not knowing exactly what her brother did for a living, but now grasping the fact that he might be more successful than she thought. "I should be there soon."
Tony heard the phone on the other line click off, and the woman said, "Is it ok if I bring my daughter. She's only meant Jack twice."
"Yeah. You are his family after all."
6:20
Chase and his team had taken all but three out. They each only had a few shots left and three guys left to take out. Chase looked at the guy across from him and mouthed. Three O'clock. The guy looked at Chase who now held up three fingers and pointing towards the door. The guy seemed to understand what Chase said. Chase turned his gun around the corner and fired a few shots to cover the other guy sticking his head and shooting at the 3 o' clock mark. Chase heard a man scream in pain and fall out of the plane. The guy looked at Chase and held up five fingers. Chase understood and as before the guy covered Chase while he fired his last two shoots hitting there mark and killing the man before he even hit the floor. There was one guy left, Chase yelled behind the cover, "Hey buddy it's only you now. Do you really want to try to take on the rest of us by yourself? Give yourself up and I promise no harm will come to you."
The guy ran towards the door of the plane and the third guy in the back opened fire hitting the guy in the chest hitting the guy's lung.
Chase stood up slowly and looked around. There were dead bodies all over the cabin of the large airplane. Chase felt for the first time in his life that he was at war. That is what his job was, a constant war with terrorist. With that thought he wondered how he got there, and if he really did like his job.
6:35
Jack finally noticed that he had been asleep and he started to wake himself up slowly. As he began to wake up he could feel a sharp pain in his neck and head. His head was cloudier than usually. When he opened his eyes he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his body and his effort was shot down before he even began to start. He noticed he had oxygen tubes in his nose. He looked around he knew he was in the hospital, but he couldn't remember why. He felt someone holding his hand and he looked down and noticed Kim asleep. He tried to speak her name, but nothing came out, but a quiet squeak. He saw Kate at the other side of his bed and he tried to say her name also, but no noise was coming out of his throat.
A man that resembled a doctor walked in and he almost jumped when he say Jack looking around the room. He had not expected Bauer to wake up today. "Hello Mr. Bauer. Try not to talk. You have some swelling in your voice box area and that will cause some pain. It will be a few days before the swelling goes down some. I'm going to grab a sheet of paper and a pen so that you can answer a few questions about the pain your feeling so I can better attain what is going on."
The doctor walked out to the nurse's station and grabbed a tablet and pen. He helped Jack sit up in bed and handed him the tablet and pen.
Jack wrote on it, my head and neck.
"Good that is to be expected. I'll have one of the nurses give you a little more morphine."
Kim and Kate both woke up when they heard the doctor talking. Kim looked at her father and all of the stress poured out of her body. She wanted to hug him, but she was afraid to hurt him, so she took his hand and kissed it. Kate looked at Jack and said, "Nice of you to join us again."
Jack tried to smile, but it hurt too much.
Kate said, "I better go let the others know you're awake." She got up and left the room.
6:40
Nina walked out of the waiting room after Tony had fallen back asleep. She walked to the payphone in the entrance of the ICU. She called the number she had collect. She waited for the people to accept the charges and the person yelled over the phone, "Nina what in the hell are you doing?"
"You tried to kill me. You had Treadstone."
"No I had Treadstone detain you so that you would not do any more damage. Not only did you help Bauer escape, but you got him back to his people, and aided them in stopping our earlier plan."
"I couldn't kill him, or let him die. I know I said I'd have no problem, and I thought I wouldn't, but I can't."
"I understand, but you should of said something other than help him escape."
"I can't let him die."
"Nina I don't want to hear this. I think they've captured Treadstone and if that occurred you're in some trouble. They won't be happy that he was caught. You have to do something to make it better."
"What?"
"You have to kill Bauer. If he lives this was total failure and if this is a total failure you won't be needed anymore nor will any of us. They will execute you and possible a large amount of the people involved in the situation." The man ordered.
"I can't do it. He is barely pulling through now. I won't do it."
"Than your dead."
"NO. I have an idea. Why do you want him dead so bad? He wasn't the only one who saw Treadstone the President did too?"
"Bauer is a danger to us. And we want to know your loyalty."
"You and I both know I've been loyal to you. Others don't know why I've changed sides; it was always because you ordered it. I don't want to do this though."
"Do it or your dead." Were the mans last words to her before he hung up the phone.
6:45
Tony woke to the president gently shaking him awake. The Presidents powerful voice saying, "Tony. Jack's awake."
Tony jumped to his feet and tried to get his bearings.
Nina walked into the room and asked, "What's going on?"
Tony replied, "Jack just woke up. Where did you go?"
"I went for a walk. It felt like the walls were closing in on me."
Tony felt guilty for thinking that she was up to something else. He knew her from the past, but the person he meant today was a different person. What had changed her though? Or was she lying to them again? They were duped last time, what is keeping them from being duped again? Tony no longer felt guilt, but paranoia took over. He could not trust her, even if she had saved Jacks life, it could be apart of a cover.
They all walked to Jack's door. The President went in first to visit with Jack.
"Hey Jack. How are you feeling?"
Jack wrote that he was fine and thanks for asking sir.
"The doctor said you shouldn't speak. I owe a lot to you and I was going to wait on this, but I'm going to do it now. After you recover I demand, no I order you to take a vacation, outside of LA. I would like to have you at the White House for a night or two. You and whoever you want. Kim, Chase, and Kate if you wish. I owe you and you are a great friend."
Jack wrote down, "Thank you Mr. President."
"No thank you Jack. This is the fourth or fifth time you have saved my life. I don't know where I would be without you. You get some rest now. If you need anything I'm in the waiting room and will make sure you get whatever you want."
Jack wrote down, "Thank you sir." Jacks writing was hard to read because he had to write with his left hand and hold the paper with it at the same time.
Next Tony went in and he and Jack had idle talk about things. While he was in the room Kate's cell phone rang. Tony answered, "Hello?"
"Mr. Almeida I have a Mr. Jennifer Parker here. She says you called her?" A nurse said.
"Yes. Please send her up. Tell her Jack's awake." Almeida ordered.
A few minutes later the woman and her daughter walked into the room. Kim noticed her and got up and hugged her. When they quit hugging Jennifer walked up to her brother and looked at him. She grabbed his hand and didn't say anything. She had tears pouring down her cheeks. The last time she saw Jack in the hospital was when their father broke Jack's arm and ribs. Jack had a server concussion too. Jack stepped in the way of her beating. She didn't know what to say to her brother now. He looked so pale. "We'll be outside. I think others want to see you too." Is all she could say. She let go of her little brothers hand and walked out of the room with her daughter.
Nina went in and asked Kim, "Can you give us a moment by ourselves? I need to tell your father something and I really don't want you to hear it."
Kim hesitated, but than Jack looked at her and she could see that he would like her to leave for a moment. Kim got up and walked out of the room.
"Jack they want me to kill you."
He wrote, "I figured that much. What are you going to do? As it seems I won't be able to stop you."
"If I don't kill you they'll kill me. But if I kill you someone else will kill me. I don't know."
"I shouldn't help you at all. I should let them kill you. You killed my wife, and I should allow you to die for it. But that is what the difference is between you and me. I don't know what to tell you."
"I was afraid you'd say that." Nina said as she pulled a gun out of her coat pocket.
Jack froze in the bed. He laughed at the irony of the situation. He survived surgery and everything else and now he was going to be killed after all of that.
"I'm going to help you get dressed. Get you into a wheelchair and we are going to leave this place."
She walked over to Jack and helped him stand up. He grimaced in pain as he stood. She sat him on the edge of the bed and pulled the green scrubs the doctors had provided for him to change into. She helped him put the shirt on and she grabbed the wheel chair in the corner of the room. She kept one hand on the wheel chair and the other on the trigger of the gun pointed at Jacks head. She unhooked all of the things the doctors had hooked up to him. When she got to his IV she carefully removed it.
"I don't want to kill you, but if I leave you here they'll get someone else, and if I absolutely have to later I'll be able to."
6:57 6:58 6:59
