Disclaimer: Yeah, I still own nothing, surprise, surprise.

A/N: Well, dear readers, it is the time for the farewell chapter. Yes, the final fateful (and hopefully somewhat suspenseful) hour has finally arrived! I just keep smashing my record over and over again! FOUR days in a ROW I have updated! I wish I could've done this towards the beginning of the story… All right, I'll save the more sappy and formal goodbyes for the end of the chapter because that's what you want to read anyways, isn't it? Thought so. Here you go, the final chapter of Someday.

6:00-7:00AM

6:00 Jack's angry look changed from that to one of shock. He clutched his stomach, and fell backwards. Chris opened his mouth to yell, but no sound came out. He wriggled against Hunter to try and check on Jack, but it was to no avail. Everything was slowly starting to get darker.

"No, not this again…" he thought, and struggled to stay conscious, but it was becoming harder and harder.

"Do you know what you're going to give me, Chris?" Hunter asked, as Chris' thrash beneath him became slower and slower.

"Hunter, Shawn and Stephanie are missing. Chris probably knows where they are." Randy said, hobbling over to him, holding Jack's gun. Hunter looked torn for a moment, then he looked at Chris, whose face was taking on a dark shade of purple. Finally he released his hold on him. Chris gasped in air, and coughed profusely.

"Batista, figure out where they are, and then make sure that Jack over here goes to see his maker." Hunter said, and went over to talk to Randy. Batista knelt next to Chris, who was still gasping for air.

"You okay?" Batista asked quietly. Chris nodded.

"I think so. How's Jack, did Shawn and Steph get out?" Chris whispered, and then coughed again.

"Yeah, they got out, I think I'm going to take Jack to them when I'm supposed to kill them." Batista whispered back, and grabbed the collar of Chris' shirt. "Where the hell did they go?" he yelled. Chris was still trying to catch his breath.

"When should the cops get involved?" Batista asked.

"They already are. Anytime you're ready…"Chris trailed off and coughed some more. Batista nodded. "Punch me for good measure." He said.

"Are you sure? I mean, you're starting to look pretty bad…"

"Just do it. Try not to knock me unconscious though." Chris whispered. Batista punched him hard in the jaw, and dropped his torso back to the floor. He stood up and walked over to where Hunter and Randy were.

"…Then I got hit from behind. I have no clue who did it, but it might have been Stephanie." Randy was saying. He stopped as Batista approached. Hunter turned to look at him.

"Did he tell you?" Hunter asked. Batista nodded.

"Yeah, he didn't put up much of a fight." He said. Hunter smiled.

"It seems that our wonderful hero isn't as strong as we thought that he was." Hunter said. "Take Jack outside and finish the job. Then, don't come back here until you have Stephanie. I don't care what you do to Shawn, it's Stephanie that I need alive." Batista nodded, and grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt and dragged him outside, swinging the shotgun in his other hand.

6:04 "What the hell is Batista doing?" Shawn asked, as he and Stephanie watched him drag Jack over in their direction. Due to the holes in the sides of the building, they were able to see some of the things that were taking place inside of the warehouse.

"I don't care, but I know that I'm going to beat the shit out of him when he gets over here. He calls that helping Chris? I'd hate to see what hurting Chris is like." Stephanie said. Batista opened the back door to the Blazer, and put a groaning Jack Bauer inside as Shawn held Stephanie back.

"All right, listen up," Batista started, before Stephanie reached out and slapped him.

"Why should we ever listen to you?" Stephanie yelled, and tried to slap him again, he caught her arm in mid-air.

"Look, this day had been set up for almost a year and a half." Batista started.

"Well, we already assumed th-"

"By myself and Chris." He finished. Stephanie felt her jaw drop.

"What are you talking about?" Shawn asked. Batista climbed in the vehicle and slammed the door shut.

"I'll give you the simplified version, since you," he pointed at Shawn, "Have to drive him to the hospital, and she has to come with me." Batista silenced their opened mouths with his hands.

"Did you see the man wearing all black in there? The one with the big gun?" he asked. Shawn and Stephanie both shook their heads.

"It's Hunter." He said.

"What!" they both asked in unison. Batista nodded.

"Yes, you see, Chris and I knew that Hunter was still alive somewhere, but we needed a way to get him out into the open again. Chris wanted this for protection of his family. I wanted it because I simply hated Hunter's dictatorial and gruesome ways." Batista said. "Chris needed someone on the inside, and we both mutually trusted each other, ever since I had talked to him about this the day after he woke up in the hospital." He saw the shocked looks on their faces.

"I know this is a lot to swallow right now, but I don't have any more time to explain. When this is all over, Chris will explain it better himself." Batista said. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Shawn. "Call the ambulance, and tell them the address is Dunlop Plaza building 7A, and then keep him awake and try to slow the bleeding. It'll take them at least half an hour to get here since we're so far away from the actual city." He said. He turned to Stephanie. "I need you to come with me, so that I can get back in that warehouse." He said. Stephanie was still reluctant about it. "Look, I'm not going to do anything to hurt you, I'll only act that way around Hunter. You'll need to act afraid of me, as well. Got it?" he asked. Stephanie looked at him for a moment longer, and then finally nodded. "Good, now let's get going." Batista said, and climbed back out, slamming the door shut.

"You really believe him?" Shawn asked her, grabbing her arm. She looked at him.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," she said, and climbed out anyways. Shawn shook his head and dialed 911.

6:07 "Come here." Batista said, and grabbed her arm. He forced her back to his chest and wrapped one of his massive arms around her.

"What are you doing!" she asked, panicking.

"Saving you looks from Randy, and making myself look stronger." Batista said, and started walking with her like that. "All right, here's the story we're going to go for. Shawn is dead, and so is Jack. I shot them both and then dragged you from the bank of the river, okay? Make sure you're thrashing around when I actually pick you up." He said. Stephanie's head was still swimming from the plan that she had heard revealed in the Blazer. She and Chris definitely were going to be having a talk after this. Batista picked her up , and held her under one arm, like you would hold a sleeping bag. Stephanie began thrashing around against him.

"Put me down!" she yelled. "Leave me alone!" She started to punch and scratch him when they entered the light of the warehouse. Batista stood her upright and kept an arm around her. She looked at the sight before her. Chris was laying on the floor, bloody and bruised, his hands tied behind him with some wire. He raised his head slightly to look at her, and he knew, just by seeing her face, that Batista had told her the plan.

He'd wanted to wait until later, but he guessed that it was the only way that she would come along with Batista.

He knew he had some explaining to do later…

"Hey Steph, good to see you again!" Hunter said, walking up to her. "How've ya been?" he asked. Stephanie couldn't believe that she was seeing Hunter in front of her…again. She thought that those days were over.

"Better than you have." She said. Hunter smirked.

"I'd agree with that." He said, "You know, Chris and I were just chatting, and shooting the shit like old times, and I thought it'd be nice for you to join us." Batista shoved her forwards. Hunter turned to him. "What did you do with the bodies?" he asked.

"Don't worry, I made sure no one will find them." Batista said. Hunter nodded.

"Good man." He said. "So, Stephanie, what's up with this garb that you've got on? It doesn't seem like you." He said. Stephanie was holding the back of her hospital gown shut. She turned to glare at him.

"Fuck you." She said.

"Ooh, a little feisty are we?" Hunter sneered. "That's all right," he said, his voice taking on a serious tone as he walked closer to her. "I used to like it when you'd get feisty with me. It usually meant I was going to get some." He said.

"Leave her alone, Hunter." Chris wheezed from his spot on the floor. Hunter let out a laugh.

"You're in no position to be threatening people, Chris." He smiled. "You're nothing but a washed up has-been, you know that? All you could do was steal other people's things, wasn't it?" He laughed again as Chris merely coughed at his comment.

"Who said he stole anything?" Stephanie asked suggestively. Chris whipped his head around to look at her. Batista found himself doing the same thing. Hunter narrowed his eyes at her.

"Oh no, Steph, please don't try to trick him." Chris found himself thinking.

"I've always belonged to you." She purred. Hunter let a smile creep across his face.

"Is that so?" Hunter asked.

"He's not buying it for a second." Chris thought. Stephanie nodded at Hunter's question. Hunter seemed to be pondering something.

"All right, if that is so," he said, taking Jack's pistol from Randy checking the clip and then handing it to her. "The take this, and kill him." He said, and then aimed his own weapon at her. Stephanie took the gun and stepped over to Chris. She aimed the gun at his head.

"What the hell, Steph?" he asked hoarsely. He was seriously beginning to doubt that she was putting on an act. The way that she was staring at him seemed to be the clear indicator for that.

"You're not the only one who's been playing games, Chris." She said. Crhis wrinkled his brow at her.

"What the fuck is she…? Is she serious!" his mind was screaming at him, "Was she with himthe whole time?" Chris was staring at his wife with fear in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked her. "Why are you listening to him?"

"Because I love him." She said, and squeezed the trigger.

6:16 Click.

Stephanie let a smile come across her face as Hunter and Randy began to laugh. Batista reluctantly joined in. Chris was still staring at her in shock, trying to mentally comprehend that he was still alive after that. He would've still been questioning her loyalties if he hadn't seen the look that flashed in her eyes as she pulled the trigger.

The look of concern.

She was still playing Hunter.

Chris let his head fall back against the concrete floor in relief.

"God, I need a vacation." He thought.

"Well done, Stephanie!" Hunter yelled and wrapped his arms around her. She tried hard not to gag, and forced a smile across her face. "It's good to have you back, babe!"

"It's good to be back." She admitted.

"Batista, pull that pile of crap to his feet." Hunter said, still grinning. Batista walked over to Chris, yanked him to his feet, and held him up, which Chris was glad for, because he wasn't quite sure that he could stand on his own.

"Did you see the look on his face when you aimed that gun at his head, that was awesome!" Hunter yelled. Randy was still laughing about it. "What are you talking about?" Hunter mimicked in a high-pitched voice, and then laughed. Chris just glared at him.

"Aw, I think we might have hurt his feelings, Hunter." Stephanie said.

"Maybe. Hey, I wonder if he pissed himself?" He asked, and they all burst out laughing again (minus Chris, of course).

6:24 "Yeah, ha, ha, ha." Chris said sarcastically. "Laugh it up now, because I'll be the one laughing last." He said.

"That's a good one, Chris!" Hunter bellowed, laughing again. "You should be a comedian!" he said, and then the smile dropped from his face. "Just like your wife here needs to keep her day job, because she sucks as an actress!" he said. The laughter ceased immediately.

"Shit." Chris thought. "He saw the look she gave me." Stephanie immediately tried to hit Hunter and escape from his grasp, but he held onto her.

"You see Stephanie, you forget that I loved you once. I know your every move. You knew the clip was empty because you saw me check it. I saw the way you looked at him when you pulled that trigger. I know that he saw it too, which is why he looked so relieved after realizing that he wasn't dead." Hunter wrapped an arm around her, and held her close to him like Batista had done earlier. He nuzzled his face into her neck.

"I know you from the inside-out, Stephanie." He whispered, just loud enough for Chris to hear. Not like it came as a surprise to him, but it still pissed him off when people brought it up. That was her past. She wasn't proud of it, and she wanted to move on, but no one seemed to understand this.

Not to mention the fact that Chris is naturally jealous and overprotective.

"You leave your past relationship out of this, Hunter." Chris growled. Hunter raised his head and smiled at them.

"You never cease to amuse me, Chris. You try so hard to sound threatening, but yet, an enemy is holding you up. You're not very convincing." He said, and brought a knife up to Stephanie's neck. "That's what you both have in common. You're not very convincing. You both couldn't fool a box of rocks if you had to."

"But that's not why I'm going to kill you, no, no, no. You want to know why? Because I am a man of standards. Very low standards, but standards nonetheless." Hunter pressed the blade against her neck, to where if she moved at all, it would draw blood.

"Why are you so hell bent on killing us, Hunter?" Chris asked. "What are your standards?"

"You killed my sister, Irvine. You killed her, and now I'm going to finish what I started nearly two years ago." He said, pressing the blade harder against Steph's throat, letting the smallest amount of blood start to pool across the blade. Stephanie let out a cry, and struggled to get away from him, but only succeeded in cutting herself further.

"Stephanie, stop struggling!" Chris yelled, hoarsely as he was thrown to the ground. "You're making it worse! Stop struggling!"

"I hope that you two will be reunited in hell after you die." Hunter said, as Stephanie stood stock still, although the damage had already been done. "Be sure to send me a postcard. I'll be living happily on a private island soaking up the sun." Chris turned to Hunter and glared at him.

6:39 "I don't think so, Hunter." He snarled. Hunter smiled at him, and then noticed that the barrel of a 12-gauge shotgun was staring him in the eye.

"Dave, what are you doing?" Randy yelled.

"Let her go, Hunter." He said. Hunter stared at the barrel for a moment longer.

"I always knew you were a pussy, Dave. A no-good, piece of shit that would never amount to anything. You decided to jump on the coattails of whoever was winning at that moment. You're my bitch, and you're going to do what I tell you to do. And I'm telling you to shoot Chris Irvine!"

"No Hunter, that's where you're wrong." He said, cocking the gun. Hunter pulled Stephanie in front of him, cutting her throat even deeper.

"I was never your bitch." He said, and pulled the trigger. Hunter's whole body went limp in one single quick moment. Stephanie fell to the ground and began clutching her neck. Hunter landed next to her, with the better part of the left side of his head missing. Batista aimed at Randy.

"Get up off of your knees and get the hell out of here. If I ever see or hear from you again, you'll be dead before you can even say my name." Batista threatened. Randy wasted no time in doing as he was asked. Batista quickly untied Chris' hands as the sirens began to become audible in the distance. Chris quickly rushed to Stephanie.

Blood was starting to gush from her neck in copious amounts.

"Shit! Dave, quick, hand me a towel or something!" Chris yelled. He cradled her head in his lap. "I'm not going to lose you over this, you hear me Stephanie? I'm not going to lose you!" Dave was frantically looking for a clean towel to use.

"Dave I need that towel!" Chris yelled.

"Fuck it." Dave muttered and ripped his shirt off, quickly handing it to Chris. Chris stared at it for a second, then quickly applied it to her neck. The sirens were slowly getting louder. Chris applied pressure to her neck, and noticed that she was about to lose consciousness.

"Oh no you don't. Come on Stephanie, stay with me. Talk to me. Spit at me, I don't care, just stay awake." He whispered to her. She smiled slightly. He let out a small sigh of relief.

"I-Is he telling the truth?" she whispered.

"About the plan?" he asked. Stephanie nodded slightly. "Yes, he was telling the truth. I was going to tell you myself, but well…under the circumstances…it was probably for the best." He said, and glanced at Batista. "You're going to freeze." He commented as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I'm fine." Batista said curtly. "Just keep her awake." He said, and walked out to the edge of the room to watch for the ambulance, which had gotten only slightly louder. Chris was cursing at himself inside. He looked back down at Stephanie, and saw that she had her eyes closed again. He moved her head with his knee a little bit and she re-opened them.

"Don't close your eyes, I said." Steph looked at him.

"Was the baby a boy or a girl?" she asked him suddenly. Chris smiled at her a little.

"A boy. Looks like you were wrong, sweetie." He whispered. She smirked.

"First time for everything." She muttered. "We're going to need a name." Chris nodded.

"I think I like the name 'Ash', what do you think?" he asked her. He lips curled into a smile, as her eyes half closed.

"Ash sounds nice…" she trailed off. Chris could feel the moisture from the blood that was drenching (and ruining) Dave's shirt. Stephanie closed her eyes again.

"Come on Steph, stay awake." He said, and nudged her again. She didn't respond.

6:46 "Steph?" he asked, nudging her head again. "Stephanie?" he asked a little more frantically. The ambulance finally pulled up in front of the warehouse. Shawn jumped out of the Blazer and yelled at them to get Jack.

"Dave!" Chris yelled from inside the warehouse. Dave came jogging back in.

"What?"

"She's not responding anymore!" Chris yelled, his voice filled with fear and hysteria. Shawn re-entered the warehouse at that moment.

"What the fuck else is going to go wrong today?" Batista growled. He turned and saw Shawn heading towards them. "Get the paramedics in here now!" he bellowed. Shawn spun around and ran for the paramedics.

"Jesus, please don't do this to me." Chris muttered.

"We're not gonna lose her, Chris. We've worked too damn hard to protect her to lose her." Dave said. Two paramedics came rushing in. They shoved Chris and Dave back out of the way and checked her pulse.

Nothing.

They began CPR as Chris buried his head in his hands. Two other paramedics were loading Jack into the back of the second ambulance that had just arrived. Shawn walked over to Chris and knelt by him.

"Not now, please God, not now. Not after all of this." Chris muttered. His bloodstained hands were shaking as he lowered them to watch the paramedics try to revive his wife.

6:51 "Five minutes, she's been flatlining for five minutes!" One of them yelled. Batista put a hand on Chris' shoulder. They were shocking her to desperately try and bring her back to life. Chris, Shawn, and Dave could do little more than watch. Chris felt his heart sinking in his chest with every failed attempt.

"Don't do this to me again. Don't you take her away from me again." Chris thought. He watched as her heart monitor showed one steady line with movement only when they shocked her.

"Come on, Steph." Shawn muttered. Chris was watching the monitor with unwavering eyes. There was still the constant line across until they shocked her one last time.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Chris felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dave asked them.

"Well, she lost a lot of blood, but other than that, I think that she's going to be just fine. She's conscious." One of them said. Chris felt like crying-he was so relieved. Shawn patted him on the back. "We need to get her to the hospital soon, though."

"Can I ride with her back to the hospital?" Chris asked. "I'm her husband." He added. The paramedics nodded and told him to hurry up. Dave patted him on the shoulder.

"What'd I tell you?" he asked.

"We were damn lucky, that's all I've got to say." Chris said, and allowed Batista to help him to the ambulance.

"We'll follow you back in the Blazer." Dave said after helping Chris in the ambulance. Chris nodded.

"Thanks." He said. "We'll see you at the hospital." Shawn nodded and waved. Dave just smiled, and then they both headed over to the Blazer. The paramedic pulled the door shut and yelled for the other one to go ahead.

6:57 Chris held on to Stephanie's hand and brushed some of the hair back from out of her face. She opened her eyes slightly and looked at him.

"You scared the shit out of me." He said. The other paramedic was applying a towel to her throat to keep the blood loss down. "I'm so sorry for not telling you about any of this. I was going to, really I was, but then you found out you were pregnant, and then…Then it seemed like it was all that much more important that I didn't tell you so you wouldn't worry about it so much." He said. Stephanie smirked a little. They rode on in silence for a little bit.

"Chris?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"If we ever have another day like this one, remind me to hurt you." She said. Chris smiled.

6:59 "Hon, I think if we have another day like this one, we're going to wind up in a mental institution." He said. Stephanie smiled at him.

"Do you think we've finally reached our happily ever after?" she asked. Chris looked at her for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yeah," he said, kissing her forehead. "I think we finally have."

7:00

/How the hell'd we wind up like this

And why weren't we able

To see the signs that we missed

And try to turn the tables

I wish you'd unclench your fists

And unpack your suitcase

Lately there's been too much of this

But don't think it's too late

Nothing's wrong

Just as long as you know that someday I will

Someday, somehow

I'm gonna make it alright

But not right now

I know you're wondering when

You're the only one who knows that

Someday, somehow

I'm gonna make it alright

But not right now

I know you're wondering when

Well I'd hope that since we're here anyway

That we could end up saying

Things we've always needed to say

So we could end up staying

Now the story's played out like this

Just like a paperback novel

Let's rewrite an ending that fits

Instead of a Hollywood horror

Nothing's wrong

Just as long as you know that someday I will

Someday, somehow

I'm gonna make it alright

But not right now

I know you're wondering when

You're the only one who knows that

Someday somehow

I'm gonna make it alright

But not right now

I know you're wondering when

You're the only one who knows that...

How the hell'd we wind up like this

And why weren't we able

To see the signs that we missed

And try to turn the tables

Now the story's played out like this

Just like a paperback novel

Let's rewrite an ending that fits

Instead of a Hollywood horror

Nothing's wrong

Just as long as you know that someday I will

Someday, somehow

I'm gonna make it alright

But not right now

I know you're wondering when

You're the only one who knows that

Someday somehow

I'm gonna make it alright

But not right now

I know you're wondering when

You're the only one who knows that

I know you're wondering when

You're the only one who knows that

I know you're wondering when/

THE END!

A/N2: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thanks a million to everyone who read and reviewed the story from when it first appeared on here! I know, I know, I didn't have a tragic ending, but I thought that I should be nice to Stephanie and Chris for once. Maybe they've been through enough. I'd like to take this time, and thank some people individually.

KrystalBlaze-Jerikor: Your words were always the highlight of all the reviews to read. You always had some way of making me smile while threatening to kill me if I hurt Chris again, which I often did. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews, you made this story fun for me again. (Not to mention making me look over my shoulder as I was typing certain parts…;) BTW, when are you going to update some of your stories again?

DCFanatic4life: I just want to let you know how honored I am that you even read this story! I love all of your stories about Jericho and Steph, and it amazes me how many reviews that you get. (I'll admit, I'm a little jealous…) You have wonderful talent and I am just honored to know that you read not only this story, but it's predecessor as well. Thank you.

stratusskittles316: First off, thanks a ton for being a 24 and a wrestling fan! (I thought that I was the only one out there…) Your reviews always had me smiling and wanting to write more. Thanks a ton for sticking with me!

nascar girl: Thanks for repeatedly being there and pushing for me to update. You reminded me that I did have people who actually wanted to read the story. Everyone probably owes this ending to you.

Kay: Thank you for always praising the work, even when it wasn't the greatest in the world. You have been a wonderful reviewer!

cheri: Thanks a ton for becoming emotionally invested in the story. I love reading about people's reactions!

Okay, I tried to mix it up a little bit, and say something different to everyone, but it gets harder the longer you go. If you weren't mentioned above, I apologize, and it doesn't mean that I don't love you! Thanks a MILLION to all of the people who reviewed, and kudos to those who didn't as well. If you read it, and enjoyed it, that is all that matters to me. Thank you to all! I hope that you will not stop reading here! Check out Heaven's a Lie, and I'm sure that before long, my creative juices will be flowing freely with another story idea, so just stay tuned! Thank you!

jerichosbabe, out! (yes, that was a lame attempt at humor)