Bob Warner drove every now and again glimpsing over at Jack wondering how he could be working with the man he had despised as Kate boyfriend. He somehow wanted to blame it all on Jack, but he knew he couldn't. Jack had been there for his daughter when he wasn't. Jack had probably saved her, and look at him now. He should be at the hospital but there he sat in Bob's car searching intently for the woman who he left for her own good, and she married than this all happened. Bob wish he could be half the man Jack was, he had a renewed respect for the man.

Jack reached in his pocket wincing in pain slightly, he grabbed out his cell phone it was busted. He set it down on the floor and asked Bob, "Do you have a cell phone I can use?"

Bob grabbed his cell phone out of the cup holder and handed it to Jack. To lighten the moment up some he asked, "Local call?"

Both men chuckled at the retarded joke, but they both could feel the tension and hatred for each other receding slightly.

Jack dialed the number to his office and waited for someone to answer.

"Tony Almeida how may I help you?"

"Tony can you do me a favor?" Jack asked.

"Jack where are you I've been trying to call you forever. CTU called they want our office to aid in the current investigation. It's big did you hear about Keeler?"

"What about Keller?" Jack said confused.

"He was assassinated earlier. Suicide car bomber."

"I have a situation on my hands here. Can you get two of our people to help me. I need someone to tell me all properties owned by Rick . ." Jack paused and looked over at Bob Warner, he didn't know Rick's last name.

"Never mind that Jack. I am pretty sure I know where he'll go. Every time they would fight he would take her to his summer house on the beach. It always smoothed things over. I'm about 99.9 percent sure that is where they well be."

"Never mind Tony. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Tony tired to say before Jack hung the phone up, "You still have to see Pal"

Jack and Bob drove in silence for awhile. When they were a few minutes away from the house Bob felt like he had to tell Jack, "Thank you." He said out of the blue.

"For what?" Jack said confused he didn't do anything.

"For being their for Kate when she needed someone."

Jack didn't know what to say. He was not use to this sort of thing. "Sure no problem." Jack was confused a rush of emotion running through him.

They were just outside the long drive way of the beach front house. Bob drove up the drive way and sure enough there sat Rick's car.

Bob and Jack both got out of the car and Jack imagined it looked like an episode of cops, or even the gun battle at the Alamo.

They both walked up to the front door Jack getting ready to kill Rick. Bob knocked on the door and looked at Jack who face still had blood on it from the gouge on his head. "Be cool. He's father is the police captain he can make your life hell."

Jack knew that, and yet he still wanted to rip Rick apart limb by limb. All of the torture things he knew ran through his head an none of them seemed painful enough. He hurt Kate, and that alone merited a extremely painful death, but Rick went as far to come back and fight with Jack and hurt Kate more, that merited death beyond any definition.

One of Rick's thugs from earlier opened the door. "how may I help you?"

Bob cleared his throat and thought he could see Jack's eyes burning through the man, "I'm here to see my daughter."

The thug said, "You can come in he stays out." Pointing at Jack who was ready to pounce the man.

"Fine." He looked at Jack, "Please go sit in the car." Bob knew if he could go in he could speak with Rick and possibly take Kate out with him. Jack would go in and start kicking ars but forget to take names so that he would kill Rick and they would all have to deal with the Police Chief and other issues with it.

Jack wanted to protest but before he could Bob walked into the house and the door closed in Jack's face. Jack went to walk around back but there was a chain link fence he sure was electric. He went and leaned against the car putting his hand to his aching head feeling to see if it had stopped bleeding. He looked at himself in the mirror of the car and he saw half his face was covered in blood. He looked horrible, and all he could think of then was Kate. He had to get her out, he promised she was safe, he let her down. He had to get her out.

He went back up to the door and knocked. He waited patiently for the thug to answer.

"Yes?" The thug said.

"Can I please come in to use the bathroom." Jack said through gritted teeth. He would control himself inside.

"Hold on." The door closed again and Jack heard the lock. The thug walked to Rick who sat on the chair in the living room talking to Bob Warner. He whispered to Rick that Jack wanted to come in to use the bathroom.

"Let him in." Rick said knowing Jack wanted more than that but he would love to look at the man and gloat over his victory.

The thug let Jack in and Jack followed behind him looking in the living room where Rick sat smiling as he walked by. Jack had the urge to run over and just start to beat the crap out of the man pouncing him till he couldn't breath anymore, but instead Jack clinched his fist and followed the man to a bathroom. In the bathroom Jack cleaned the side of his face off and than slipped out the door that lead to a bedroom to go search for Kate. He found her in a room at the end of the hall the thug never noticing he left the bathroom. She lay on the bed her clothes ripped off.

Jack whispered, "KATE?"

She sat up from the bed tears evident in her eyes, "Jack what are you doing here?" Ashamed of how she looked.

"Come on." Jack said with his hand out. His heart beating quickly and his anger getting to him because he knew what Rick had done to her.

"I can't he will kill me if I leave him again he told me." Kate said scared.

"Come on Kate. You can't stay with him after what he did to you? I will protect you I won't fail this time. Your father is downstairs come on. If you don't leave he will kill you. You can't live like this." Jack pleaded. Anger out of his voice but he felt it inside. How could women run back to the man that hurt them so much? What if they had children eventually he would move on to them? Jack knew he was thinking from his own experience but no one knew that.

"He will kill me."

Finally fed up Jack said, "Kate listen to me. I've been through this. My father he would do this to my mother. He almost killed her countless times, and when he finished with her he would move on to me. So listen to me, you have to get your ars up now and come with me."

Kate felt touched because Jack had just shared something with her about his past. He had never done so before he kept it locked up away from everyone. He would lead most people to believe that he had a happy normal childhood. She knew her father was downstairs she could hear his voice. What would he say about how she was right now? Jack could protect her, he had so many times before. He saved her life countless times, and here he was again trying to save her, after she let him go. She tried to get up to grab his hand but cried out in pain. Her ankle was hurt and swollen.

Jack rushed to her wrapping her in the sheet he carried her out of the room. The thug noticed them leaving. Carrying Kate, Jack continued towards the door Mr. Warner noticing him walking by Kate in his arms by he got up off the couch and went to leave. The thug came at them, but Bob jumped in the way hitting the man in the gut hard.

Jack carried Kate out to the car and opened the door for her to get in. He sat outside the door waiting for Bob to come out. When Bob left the house he was holding his hand because it hurt. Jack got into the car and asked, "What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing." Bob said with a smile.

Jack knew Bob had just probably done his job for him, beat the crap out of Rick. Jack felt horrible because he did not protect Kate, he wanted to apologize, but the words wouldn't come.

Bob drove them to the hospital where both Jack and Kate where checked over.

A nurse was talking to Kate when Jack exited the examination room where he just got stitches put in the back of his head.

"Here is the number to a good psychiatrist you might want to talk to her about what happened to you. She specializes in it."

Jack looked around to make sure Bob Warner was not any where near and he waited for the nurse to finish talking with Kate. He walked over to Kate and said, "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" Kate said confused trying to seem happy when in truth all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep forever.

"I let you down. I should have been there sooner so he wouldn't of."

"Jack he was my husband somehow it doesn't seem as bad. And you got there you got me out of there, you didn't fail me." She hugged him tears coming out her eyes. Why had she let him go?

-------------------------------------------------------------