Kate awoke in the morning. She rolled over to find no one next to her. She quickly shook the sleep away and got out of the bed. The house was silent as if no one was there. She walked into the bathroom and the syringe with the liquid still sat on the floor. She was relived to see it, that meant he did not use this time, or at least not that one. She went through the house calling his name trying to find him. She finished searching the house and did not find him.

Kate sat on the couch and through to herself, Maybe he just stepped out for a minute. She looked out the window his car was gone, but nothing else. She bit her lip in frustration, where was he? He never just woke up and left he would always say goodbye. She searched the house again. When she reached the room again she was angry she had already tried calling him on his cell phone but he did not answer, she sat on the bed and then she looked over at the nightstand. There was a white sheet of paper that caught her eye. She noticed his scribbled writing on it.

I'm sorry about last night. I'm sorry I ever hurt you. Please forgive me. Goodbye.

No dear Kate, no signature just the awful truth he was gone again. This was his way of leaving her again. She cursed herself, You let him to it to you again. Bring the hope of being with him and than he leaves. How stupid can you be.

She decided to wait for him to come back, he may be in a fragile state, but he could handle the truth, and that was what he needed the truth about himself.

She waited all day and he never returned. Part of her began to wonder if he saw her car and kept driving; if he just drove off to an unknown location; or even if he was hurt somewhere, possibly trying to get a fix and instead got much more than he bargain for.

She jumped as the phone rang. She answered in praying it was Jack even if he was just going to tell her to get the hell out. "Hello?"

"Kate, I'm sorry I must have dialed the wrong number."

"Kim no I'm over at your fathers is he with you?"

"NO. I was just calling to tell him Chase is awake and everything seems fine. We were wondering if he was going to stop by. If not than I was told to come over there and drag his ars out of the house and bring him here so he could see everything was fine, and Chase was not pissed or regretful. Where is he?"

"I don't know that's why I asked if he was with you. I . . " Could Kim handle the fact that they spent the night together even if nothing happened, Kate paused to think. "I woke up and he was gone. He left a letter, and he hasn't been back since."

Kim was taken back by the fact that Kate had spent the night, but pushing past that something was wrong. He was not home, had not been home, and was no where else. "I'll try his cell phone again. Maybe he just needed some time alone." Kim said trying to console herself she had the same thoughts Kate was having as to Jack's where about.

Kim hung up and tried his cell phone six more times, getting the voice mail every time. Finally giving up she called Michelle for help.

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Jack drove out of town with Led Zeppelin playing on the car stereo. Whole Lotta Love blasting as he pushed the peddle down to get away faster. He felt as if he couldn't breath. He reached down taking his eyes off the road to change to song for on the first CD of the Led Zeppelin Box set. Getting to the song he wanted the slow ballad began to play.

Babe, baby, baby, I'm gonna leave you.
I said baby, you know I'm gonna leave you.
I'll leave you when the summertime,
Leave you when the summertime comes arollin'
Leave you when the summer comes along.

Baby, baby, I don't wanna leave you,
I ain't jokin' woman, I got to ramble.
Oh, yeah, baby, baby, I won't be there,
Really got to ramble.

His mind got back on task. He was driving and he already had enough problems staying alert. The song made him think of Kate, Kim and Teri. He had abandoned them all at one time or another, and here he was again abandoning Kate and Kim again. But he had to get out of town. He had to get away and deal with his problem on his own. He couldn't go to rehab it was not for him. He couldn't sit there and talk about his problems with the other addicts. He knew he could do this on his own. So he kept driving, towards an unknown location, towards a solution.

He would drive till he knew he could not drive any longer, when the withdrawal symptoms kicked in, he would find hotel pay cash so he could not be traced and let himself wait it out alone in the hotel room. That was the way problems should be dealt with not out in the open, not where everyone will learn about them.

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Michelle told Kim she would do everything she could to help find Jack. Michelle had wondered if Jack was trying to get a fix, she doubted it he was a strong man and she was sure he could beat his addiction, but than she never would have pinned him for an addict. She than began to wonder if someone had grabbed him along the way and Kate did not know it. It sounded like there was no struggle sign or even distress signs just Jack missing. She had to find him, she knew what he had done for Tony, and he had to be there for them to thank him.

Michelle dialed the number to the local police department. She waited until she got the desk sergeant, "Sgt I need you to put an APB out on Jack Bauer. He's driving a black SUV, licenses plate number 29GR82. Contact CTU as soon as you get a location on him."

Tony walked into CTU and everyone stared at him. He only came in to clear his stuff out, he knew he was finished with CTU, but he also thought his life was over with. He smiled at the thought that Palmer had pardoned him, and even called to tell him what Jack had been willing to do to help Tony. Tony knew he had a good friend, even if they did not always see things alike. Jack had always been there to help figure out stuff. Tony felt guilty for what he had said to Jack. He had no right to say it, he was angry and it was not the truth. He knew Jack did not kill his wife nor did his job, Tony felt guilty for Terri's death as much as Jack had, he should have known Nina was up to something, but he was blinded by love. He walked up to Michelle with a sad smile on his face.

"hey honey." He said hugging her. He missed her so much.

"Tony I missed you so much." Michelle said hoping he would not broach the subject to why they were separated because a part of her was disappointed at him for letting his feelings jeopardize millions of lives, she was not worth that, and he should of known that. She would of felt guilty and would not have been able to live with herself if they had not stopped Saunders before the virus was released again.

"When do you get off?" Tony asked, he knew she was disappointed in him, he could see it in her eyes when she saw him. He still would have done what he did, he loved her so much that killing millions to save her would of bothered him, but as long as she lived he would have been able to live with himself, she was everything to him, he could not live without her. He almost lost her once that day, and he was not going to loose her again because of Saunders, no one understood that.

"In a few hours. Why?" Michelle asked.

"Nothing just wondered when I'd see you at home. Do you want me to wait around or anything?" Tony said fearing if he left her he would not see her again.

"No. I have a few situations on my hands. Jack went missing." Michelle said.

"What?" Tony asked confused.

"Kim called me and said he disappeared he wasn't at home, and he's not answering his cell phone. I'm worried about him. Hammond got his revenge for Jack stepping in to help you. He fired Jack." Michelle said with the weight of what Jack could be up to hitting her. Jack was a good friend she had been able to have lunch with him on a regular basis when Tony was to busy to go out with her to lunch. She had seen the changes in him when he came back from Mexico and she felt guilty for not confronting him about it. She should have asked him, shown him that someone cared and was there for him. She should have done so much for him, he had done so much for her and Tony over the three years she had known him and now she was still at work not helping much. "How about you go looking for him Tony? I can get the police to help you."

"Sure." Tony said just as worried about Jack as Michelle was, his hopes of the romantic dinner dimming. Jack would be hard to find because if he didn't want to be found Tony knew he wouldn't find him unless he got lucky and just stumbled upon Jack.

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