THE FINAL CHAPTER THIS IS IT I SWEAR.

For those of you sewing me I only have a CD collection, which has been dubbed over so it won't kill me. NO car sorry, but my friend said you could have his car after you put it back together (He totaled it than we finished the job with a sludge hammer so it's in a million little pieces at a local junk yard.) So with that I shall write this last chapter.

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Jack's hand shook as he dialed the number. He half expected her to hang the phone up on him, or not even bother to take the call. Was he ready for this again or was it the morphine talking? He waited as the phone rang, once, and he knew on the second ring her secretary would pick up.

"Kate Warner's office. How may I help you?"

"Hi Staci is Kate in." Jack said feeling not need to state his name he had called there so many times before that she probably knew his name.

"She's in a meeting all day Jack. Can I take a message?" Staci said back in her usually cheery voice.

Jack felt like asking, Is she really in a meeting or is that your nice way of saying fuck off. "No. It was not important."

"How are you Jack? I heard about what you did for us all." She said referring to the virus and all he had done.

"I'm doing good. Thanks for asking. Goodbye."

"Thank you. Goodbye." Staci said before she hung up. Kate stood behind her feeling horrible for not taking his call.

"How was he?" Kate asked with genuine worry in her voice.

"He said he was doing good."

"Doing good my ass. He was shot three times, and had to over come something else in the process, and God only knows what grudge he is carrying around now."

"Maybe you should go see him than." Staci said to her boss, and long time friend.

"No. If I did that we would fall back into how it use to be till he got out of the hospital and back to his normal life, than he'd turn back into CTU Jack Bauer and not the man I know." Kate said almost to herself.

"Maybe he's changed?" Staci said always being the hopeless romantic.

"Men don't change. They act like they do for short period, but they don't change. And Jack will never change." Kate said bitterly walking way back to her office.

"No more calls all day?" Staci yelled in at her.

"How do you know me so well?" Kate asked jokingly.

"I've only been your friend and secretary for years. I think I deserve a raise for playing shrink also." Staci poked back.

Kate walked into her office closing the door behind her. She sat at her desk that she had just cleaned off of work a few minutes ago. When the phone rang she thought about taking off early for the day, but than she heard it was Jack and it brought her back to the dread of going home to her empty house. She sat at her desk dreading the lonely drive home, than the lonely supper, lonely night of TV, and lonely sleeping. She had talk to a few other man after Jack, but a part of her just could not let him go even though every time she went back he only was there to hurt her more, and she knew he did not do it on purpose. She stared at a picture of her father, Marie, herself, and her mother before she got sick. Kate began to wish everything would go back to the way it was than, so she could have her happy family again.

She got up and decided she was not going to mope around, she had better things to do with her life. She walked out of her office and told Staci, "I'm leaving early for the day. If my father calls have him call my cell phone." Kate left the office determined not to mope around.

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Kim walked into the room after she heard her father say goodbey. She had been eavesdropping and would not deny the fact if asked. She cared for her father and worried about him and that was all she need for the right to eavesdrop in his conversation with his ex-girlfriend. Kim walked in and could see the disappointment in Jacks eyes. "She wasn't in?" Kim asked bringing Jack out of his trance.

"Meetings. Yeah sure." He said thinking to himself that she was right there and knew he had called, and she knew what chump he was.

"Maybe she really was. She is a busy person dad." Kim answered.

"Yeah." Jack said laying back down on the bed handing Kim her phone back.

"Why don't you get some rest and we'll be back tomorrow to see you." Kim said.

"Yeah. Bye." Jack said sulking.

Jack closed his eyes the morphine was still in his system and it made him tired, so when his eyes closed he fell asleep again. He dreamed of what would have happened if he had not did what he did. In the dream Kim had gotten infected and Saunders made him watch as she slowly died. Jack jolted awake covered in sweat. Pain shot through him from the sudden movement. He laid back down with his eyes opened trying to catch his breath and ignore the immense pain he felt.

Someone ran over to him and asked, "Are you ok Jack?"

"Kate?" Jack said confused.

"Yeah." Kate said with a worried look on her face as she looked down at Jack who's face showed the pain he was in, "Should I get the doctor?"

"No I'm fine. I just had a dream and sat up to quick. It'll pass." Jack answered. "How long have you been here?"

"About an hour." She answered. "I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful."

Jack did not know what to say to her so he started to apologize. "I'm so sorry I hurt you Kate. I know I have no right to call you. I'm sorry. It just after I got back from the Salazar's I didn't recognize myself. I was not me, I was colder and so close to being like them. I hated myself and have for a long time. I tried to make it work for us. I tried hard to be like I use to be, but the truth is I don't deserve it. I've killed lots of people, and hurt others. I was going to have his daughter infected if he did not tell us the information. I left him behind, and frankly I deserved to die."

Kate put her hand over his mouth shushing him. "Jack listen to me. You are a good man who had to do bad things to save the world. What you have to ask yourself is, and only you can answer this for yourself, Is it worth it all? Do the bad things you have to do help make the world safer? If they do than it is worth it. If not maybe you should leave your line of work. And the bad things you do in my opinion are not bad things. Killing people like Nina Myers is not a bad thing, she was evil and would have killed hundreds of people if you had not stopped her. Jack you have a soul and that is why it hurts so much when you do these things. They don't, and that's why they can freely do them. That is what makes you different from the terrorist, but you need to let go of the anger and pain you feel. You need to open up to people and let them in. I promise you once you do life will be easier, and telling them the things will not hurt them. We can handle it we are not little children you have to protect. Granted we don't know all about your job and the pains that come with it, but we could understand if you just told us."

Jack sat silently taking in what she said. A part of him battled with what she said and another part took it at face value thinking it was a good idea. Finally he sighed and said, "I'll try. I have to go see a physiatrist after I get out anyways. CTU mandate. Can we get together sometime if just to talk?"

Kate was not sure. She had ever intention earlier of forgetting about Jack, but when she got home she saw that damned leather jacket and it still smelled like him, and her heart ached even more from being away from him. When she got to the hospital she was just going to say goodbye and leave, but than he opened to her. "Sure. I'm going to go home and get some sleep it's been a long day. I'll come by tomorrow on my lunch break to visit you. We'll take it slow and see where it goes from there. If you hurt me again Jack Bauer, I swear you won't have to worry about terrorist killing you, I'll do it myself."

Jack smiled and said, "I am sorry. I'll see you tomorrow. And if I hurt you again I think I might just go into hiding."

Kate laughed. She kissed him gently on the forehead and left him sitting in the bed smiling. It hurt her to see him all bandaged up, and a part of her began to wonder if she could deal with him still at CTU going on the mission not knowing if he would come back alive, but another part of her knew she could because she loved him. She loved him so much, and was willing to take the good with the bad. After all life was one big compromising roller coaster. For every valley there is a peak, and for every right a wrong. Sometimes they mixed together and you got someone like Jack. Kate was at her car when her mothers last words hit her, "Do whatever makes you happy. Forget about everything else because life is to short to worry about things. Happiness is the key. Find that person that makes you happy and the valley's will be worth the joy of knowing a peak is coming."