A/N- This is an AU fanfic set in Season Three- the only big change you need to know before starting is that Nina didn't die- she escaped. And with that- away we go!

COUNTING THE COST

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Chapter One

Leave It All Behind

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Jack Bauer sat with his head in his hands. He felt like he'd been in this position so many times before- wracked with worry, sick with guilt, feeling helpless.



He looked at his beautiful daughter, cut off from him by sheets of plastic to protect him from contamination. She was going to die. The virus was going to kill her. And he had absolutely no control over that. Jack was used to feeling capable, not completely and totally useless as he watched her life slip away.



Damn CTU. Damn them to hell. Damn Chase and Tony and the rest of them. Chase had been on the team that had been sent to the hotel to contain the virus. They'd lost contact. Kim, in a fit of exhaustion and nerves, had gone with three other agents to discover the fate of the containment team.



She had been exposed. She was slipping away from Jack and he was watching it happen. He couldn't take this. No one could help him. The President was not the omniscient savior the country pictured him as. He had no answers. He couldn't bear to return to CTU and pledge his allegiance to a group of people who had sentenced his daughter to death.



Jack had never felt so isolated. Kim was his lifeline, the only thing that made him feel connected to anything.



And he was going to lose her. There was no one left. There was no answer to the problem.



In this darkest hour, in this lowest moment, one strange, clouded image tore through Jack's mind with a flash of insight. One that he strangely couldn't shake.



Jack took one last, long look at Kim.



"I'm sorry, sweetheart. There's no other way." He practically whispered, walking out of the room and into a dark, cloudless night.

~*~



Nina Myers sat in the dilapidated hotel room, stepping out of the shower.



"Too bad fugitives don't get shower shoes." She said under her breath, getting dressed.



It had been three days since she'd escaped from CTU. She still wasn't back to full strength and the puncture wound in her neck was still throbbing like a bitch, but she was getting by.



Now the only problem that seemed to present itself to her was simply- what now? So she got away again- did it really even matter? What was she running to? No one. Nothing. Just herself alone in a hotel room with bad lighting and a dripping faucet. Not quite the life she'd imagined from a life of crime. Criminals are supposed to be rich, untouchable, and all knowing.



She had no money and no idea what to do with herself. How painfully ironic.



The life she'd given up everything for now left her with nothing.



Nina flipped on the static-ridden television, sitting on the squeaking mattress and sighing heavily.



Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She had just managed to steal it back before her exodus from CTU in case any of her contacts knew of any new jobs. They were the only ones with this number. Elated at the idea of something to do, Nina answered it without even looking at the number.



"Hello?"



"Nina."



Nina's almost dropped the phone in shock. She would know that voice anywhere.



"How the hell did you get this number?" It was the only response she could form at the moment.



"I need your help."



"Jack…what is this about?"



"It's Kim."



Of course, Nina thought to herself.



"She's infected," Jack's voice broke slightly, "…with the virus. She's dying."



"And what exactly do you expect me to do about that?"



"Please…you have to know something. There must be some kind of antidote." Jack had never pleaded with her before.



"Jack, you and I should know better than anyone, that for every one thing, there is an opposite equal."



"So you do know something?"



"What's it worth to you?" Nina countered.



"Damn it, Nina, I don't have time for this! Will you help me or not?" Jack yelled into the phone.



Nina couldn't help but shiver slightly. Something about Jack when he was angry always made her hot and bothered.



"I'll help you. Which I'll probably regret when you sell me out to CTU."



"Nina, I'm not ever working with those people again."



"Hmm…this sounds familiar." Nina said skeptically.



"I promise you. That part of my life is over. All I want to do is save my daughter."



"Since when have your promises meant anything?" Nina couldn't help but say, her voice heavy with spite.



"I don't know what else I can say. Except that I need you."



Nina swallowed hard. Damn it. Her life would be so much less complicated if she could see Jack with the same ambivalence as she viewed everyone else. But she couldn't.



"I need to talk to you in person." She replied finally.



"Where?"



Nina told him the address, hoping this line was still secure.



"Fine, I'll be there."



"Jack?"



"What?"



"You owe me."



"I don't owe you anything." Jack practically growled into the phone, hanging up abruptly.

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A/N- Please review! Hope you enjoyed- part two to come shortly!