Sam threw the grocery bags on the table and sighed, "You don't have to stay with me. I can take care of myself." She felt the need to reiterate this point yet again. She was an independent woman who had been taking care of herself most of her life, and it was important to her to make sure Jack knew that.
"I know that, but I'm not leaving you alone. We don't know how much information Gibson and Henry gave Salazar about you. They could find this place just as easily as they did your apartment." They were back at her aunt's cottage after spending most of the day answering thousands of questions about the past couple of days from both the FBI and CTU. They would have to give an official debrief at division and FBI headquarters tomorrow, but tonight, Sam and Jack were laying low.
"Did they get anything out of Gibson yet?" Sam asked as began to unload the grocery bags and put things away.
Jack stood at the window, peeking through the blinds. "He hasn't talked yet, according to Hammond. The FBI and CTU are fighting over jurisdiction on this whole mess, so who knows when they will officially interrogate him."
Sam paused, nodded as if deep in thought, then said, "I'd really like to know why he chose me. And how Chris got involved."
Jack turned his head to look back at her and said softly, "Yeah, me too."
She returned his stare for a moment, then put her head down, trying to remain calm. Those eyes always did things to her, things she couldn't control. Her stomach did flips, her heart rate increased, and her palms turned sweaty. As an agent, she was used to being able to control her emotions, her feelings, and her environment. She was bothered by this sudden loss of control whenever Jack was near.
Now that their lives weren't in immediate danger, she was confused as to why Jack was still here with her. He didn't have to stay, there were agents outside keeping watch. She wasn't sure if it was some misguided notion of chivalry, or if he simple wanted to be with her.
Sam finished with the groceries and announced, "I'm going to shower and change before I start dinner. I'll be right back."
"Yeah, ok." He peeked through the blinds again.
Sam left to clean up while Jack kept his vigil at the window. He was worried that Salazar would try to find him before Gibson could talk. His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. "Bauer."
"Jack, it's Hammond. I just wanted to let you know that Chris Henry didn't make it. She died about an hour ago during surgery."
Jack put his hand to his eyes and rubbed the spot between them. "Yeah, ok. Did you get anything from her before she died?"
"Not really. She mumbled your name a couple of times, but she never regained consciousness, sorry Jack."
"Thanks Brad."
"Oh, Jack, one more thing. I'm going to need you step back up as director again. You're the only one I can trust right now." Jack almost laughed at the irony of the statement. Many times in the past Hammond had chosen not to trust him and now it seemed the tables had finally turned.
He briefly wanted to tell Brad where to go, but then stopped himself and answered in a civil tone. "Yeah, ok. Sure Brad, but I need something in return."
"Whatever you want, you got it."
"I want agent Sam Murphy under CTU watch and protection, 24/7."
"But Jack, she's FBI, and from what I understand, they've already got agents assigned to her."
"I don't trust the FBI. Just do it, ok." Hammond sighed but agreed. Jack finished the call with, "I'll check in with you tomorrow when we come to division for debrief." He hung up and continued to stare out the window. He was too wound up to sit, and being so close to Sam again stirred up feelings he wasn't ready to revisit just yet.
"Geez, Bauer, would you please sit. You're making me nervous just standing by the window."
"What?" Then he turned and looked at her, letting go of the blinds. "Sorry. I just..." He stopped in mid-sentence and stared at her. She was dressed casually in a pair of khaki capri pants and a white stretchy tank top, her long dark hair was still wet and glossy and her face was freshly scrubbed. So far, he had only seen her in suits, which she looked great in, but these clothes really fit her and outlined her athletic body. He was pleasantly surprised with this side of her.
Sam put her hands on her hips and shot him a curious look, "What?"
"Nothing, I just...I'm not used to seeing you like this." He looked down at her feet, they were bare and her ankles were showing. He found it extremely sexy and watched as she made her way into the tiny kitchen.
Sam tried to ignore his stares, "You hungry?"
He was still staring at her ankles, when her words caught up to his brain. He lifted his head quickly, "What? Yeah, sure."
"Well, if you're just going to stand there, the least you could do is come help me cut up the vegetables."
Jack nodded, "Yeah, sure." He walked over to the small kitchen, there was limited counter space and not much room to maneuver. "What do you need me to do?"
She handed him a cutting board and a couple of peppers and an onion. "Here, can you cut these up?"
Jack began his task, thankful for the distraction. As he hacked away at the peppers, Sam looked over his shoulder, horrified. "Jack, you're not cutting off people's thumbs." She put her hand over his and guided his hand gently through the green vegetable. "Easy, like this, see."
Jack lifted his eyes from his hand to her and locked his gaze with hers. She returned his stare for a moment, then looked down at her hand covering his. She quickly let go and returned to the stove where she was browning meat. Jack continued chopping the pepper and onion like she showed him, "Ok, done with those. Hey, what are we making anyway?"
She took a step back and bumped into him, the kitchen wasn't really big enough for the two of them. "Um, chili. An old family recipe." She grabbed a couple tomatoes and handed them to him. "Here, be a good boy and cut these too. Small chunks." Her fingers grazed his as she handed them over. Her heart was doing flip-flops in her chest just thinking how close their bodies were. She reminded herself it was just dinner, nothing more.
He took the tomatoes and smiled at her, "Sure, small chunks, you got it." Sam went over to the fridge, incidentally brushing her arm along Jack's back. Her arm tingled where it came in contact with him. She was trying to keep her mind on the task at hand, but it was tough working in such close quarters with him. They worked together almost silently, falling into an easy rhythm of chopping and stirring.
Jack finally finished cutting the tomatoes and added them to her stockpot. He stood close behind her, watching as she stirred them into the chili. She tried not to think of his body so close to hers and stick to stirring, but his close presence was making it difficult. Then she reached for the chili powder and hot pepper sauce, adding a generous portion of both. He asked over her shoulder in his husky voice, "Anything else I can help with?"
She made the mistake of turning her head to answer him, "I uh—"She swallowed hard. He was staring at her intently, those steel blue eyes searching hers. "Um, I think—"He cut her off and gently took her shoulders and turned her body so she was facing him, her back against the stove, their lips only inches apart. "Uh, I can—."
"Sam, just shut up and kiss me." He bridged the gap between them and put his hands on either side of her face and dove in hungrily.