"Ok, you ready to get out of here?" Jack asked Sam as he walked into her room over a week later. Jack had stayed with her as much as he could, but he had been called back into work to help with the Salazar case. However, more often than not he had slept in the chair next to her bed. After much persuasion on her part, Sam's doctors finally agreed to let her leave, but she would have to take it easy and wouldn't be able to take care of herself yet.

She sat up gingerly and shot him a look, "Are you kidding, the food is horrible, I've probably lost like twenty pounds already. Not the best way to diet, huh?"

Jack grinned at her and took her face in his hands and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "You look beautiful." He looked at his watch, "Sorry I'm so late, I was held up at work. I know you want to get out of here."

Sam's smile faded, "Oh, I didn't want to bother you at work, so I called my best friend Jill to come get me. She's on her way now. She said I could crash with her, she's a stay-at-home mom and can help me out."

Jack looked dejected. He hadn't talked to her about where she would be staying to recover, but he just assumed that it would be with him. However, she didn't expect him to stay home from work just to take care of her. "Jack, my place is still trashed and I can barely walk. I need someone to help me."

He stared at the ground, "I had your place cleaned. Most of your dishes were ruined and some other things, but a lot of it was salvageable. At least it's clean."

She was touched that he had thought of that. She took his hand in hers. "Thanks Jack, I really appreciate it." The door opened and Sam's friend Jill entered, a small child perched on her hip.

"Hey Sami, you look just awful."

Sam laughed and hugged her friend lightly since it was still very painful to move, "Thanks for coming Jill." She tweaked the baby's nose, "Hey there, sport." She motioned to Jack, "Jill, this is Jack. Jack Bauer." She pointed to the baby and said to Jack, "And that little cutie pie over there is Austin."

She shook his hand and then gave Sam a mischievous grin. "So this is the famous Jack Bauer. I've heard a lot about you."

Jack briefly wondered if it was good or bad, but he smiled at her and said, "Can you give me a minute alone with Sam, please?"

She looked over at Sam for confirmation, "Yeah, sure, I'll be right outside."

Jack stared at the ground, "I guess I should have talked to you about this."

"What is it Jack?"

He rubbed his head with his hand, "Um, I don't think you will be safe over at Jill's. And you could put her and her family in danger too."

"Jack, the FBI promised me they would have several teams guarding the house at all times, they don't want a repeat of that night."

"I still don't think it's safe."

"I'll be fine with Jill, don't worry."

"Sam, please! Think about it." His words came out sharper than he had intended to.

She shot him a suspicious glare, "What's this all about Jack?"

"I want you to stay with me. I mean it's my fault that you're here to begin with."

"Jack, how many times do I have to tell you it's not your fault? And what about your work?"

"I cleared it with Hammond. We can go over everything together at home and call into work. I need your help on this. And if I can't be there, either Chase or Kim can stay with you. Besides, my place is easier to defend."

Sam smiled at him, of course he would think of that and he used her loyalty to her job as leverage. Though, she wasn't sure what to make of his offer. They hadn't really talked about the future or their relationship, or lack thereof. They had kept conversation light and talked mainly about her injuries or the Salazars in the time since she woke up. She and Jack were treading on new territory here, since he was basically asking her to move in with him, if only for a short time. "I don't know Jack, I'm not that easy to live with."

He wasn't sure if she was trying to let him down easy or was nervous about staying with him. He looked her in the eyes, and said with sincerity, "Let me do this for you."

She weighed the options in her mind, and came to the conclusion that, however slight the possibility, she couldn't put Jill and her family at risk. At least that was the reason that she told herself to believe. She nodded and smiled at him. "Ok, fine. But we've got to do something about your place, it's too dreary. And we definitely have to stop at In n Out Burger on the way there, I'm starving."

Jack acted offended, "Dreary? I don't know what gave you that idea."