Shorter chapter now. There is some unpleasantness at the end of the chapter but I tried not to dwell on it. I do promise that it will get happier at some point, just not yet. Please R&R.
She'd changed now, black leather. He guessed it was some kind of sick joke of Brad Hammond's. The clothes she was wearing were the same she'd worn on the day she'd been trapped in the hotel. What had she done that had antagonised him so much? He'd asked her, but she refused to tell him. She'd followed them to Federal the day they took Tony away and something had happened, he just didn't know what.
She was going over the mission files one last time. She knew that her chances of survival were low. They always were. If it was desperate enough for CTU to call her in, then the likelihood was that she was going to die.
She was receiving some last minute training on how to make it look like that she knew how to drive a motorbike. Her cover was that she was delivering a pizza. That would get her into the building, she had to do the rest by herself.
Jack had been with her since she was briefed, keeping her away from anything that she wasn't supposed to see. She'd ignored him, figuring it was easier that way. She just kept repeating 'Ten days' over and over in her head. This didn't matter, none of it did, in ten days she could see him, hold him, watch him die.
Sheer exhaustion was causing her to make mistakes, but she kept working. They were going to send her in tomorrow, she needed to be ready, too many things could go wrong.
Eventually, after the twentieth time she'd fallen off the bike, Jack walked towards her, picked her up and dragged her back inside. She leant heavily against him, finding herself barely able to walk. Despite this, she still argued that she should be outside training.
Jack found himself smiling at her protestations, it was nice to know that some things never changed. There was no way that she could do any more, they both knew it. She needed to be fresh for tomorrow.
So he half dragged, half carried her back to the holding room that they'd set up a bed in. Hammond thought she was a flight risk, so had insisted that she stay at CTU until it was time.
"My head hurts," she said with a giggle as she collapsed on the bed.
He looked at her sharply, it had been years since she'd laughed. Her comment was so completely out of character.
She just shook her head, "Last chance to laugh, and it does hurt, I think I hit on the floor."
He stood there, not believing her explanation.
"Just leave Jack," she sighed, exhaustion pulling her head onto the blanket. She hadn't changed her clothes, but she was far too tired to be able to now.
He watched her for a second longer, so she let her eyes drop. Eventually she heard the door close behind him, and she opened her eyes once more to let the tears run down her face. She'd done it again. She'd forgotten. Even after she promised Tony that she wouldn't. The look on his face, the phone call from the prison, seeing him in hospital. She'd promised. "I am so sorry," she whispered.
She'd asked to speak to him in private before she left. To her surprise, Hammond had agreed. Maybe he was developing a heart in his old age.
She fell into his arms so easily, the warmth she felt calming the beating of her heart. Suddenly, it was easy. She reached up to him and drew his mouth down to hers.
She surprised him, he hadn't expected this. In an instant he could feel it all, the slight bite of her fingernails digging into his back, the warmth of her hair against his chest, the look on her face as she pulled herself out from underneath him, the sound of running water in his bathroom as she tried to hide the fact that she was being sick.
She pulled away and whispered softly in his ear, "Tell him I love him."
Jack felt her voice drag him back to reality. Not really comprehending what she said, he nodded and watched her leave. It wasn't until she shut the door behind her that he realised what her words meant. He ran after her, calling her name.
As she was bundled into the van, she saw him and shot him a sad smile. Then she was gone.
Breathing heavily, Jack slumped against the wall. He was too late. Why hadn't he seen it before. It had been what he wanted when he got into the plane with the nuclear bomb. The chance to go out in a blaze of glory, a chance to let go of everything. She could die a good death, Tony would be proud of her. When he escaped the plane, he'd had a daughter, all she had to look forward to was her husband's death.
His eyes caught sight of Brad Hammond, his eyes watching the van drive off, a huge smile plastered on his face.