A/N- ok, so its been ages again- very sorry. But hey- 2 for 1
Kita- glad you liked it- the bit you were confused on should probably be explained in these chapters
Anon- don't be chicken- I'm pretty much a newbie too- just write far too much
Bluenose- thank you.
As always- please leave reviews- and yell at me if there's something you think I'm doing wrong/want me to include.
Kim left a calmer Michelle with assurances that everything was going to be ok, which frankly she didn't believe, and which came through clearly in her voice.
Michelle nodded at her, recognising the hollowness in her voice, but appreciating the sentiment.
Kim watched her for a second, uncertain of what to say, but Michelle had had enough time to compose herself, and nodded Kim out. Bowing her head slightly, Kim slid herself out of the door, but not before removing a slightly crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.
"He…Ummm…This is yours." Guiltily she escaped, realising now why her father had left it for Michelle, why it was so important that she got it.
Unfolding the paper in her hands gave her a new focus, something to take her mind off the message on the computer that she knew she'd eventually have to face, but nevertheless was happy to avoid, if only for a few minutes. She immediately recognised Jack's loopy scrawl, having spent countless hours trying to decipher his reports over the years.
It was Jack all over, brief and to the point, harshly accurate as he apologised for leaving her. Something in that amused her, Jack Bauer was apologising for leaving her. A man who she hated was apologising for leaving her as if they were an old married couple, instead of two agents drowning in circumstances so similar that such a letter was required.
But his words she found herself agreeing with, it was what he needed, a new start away from here, away from all the pain locked up in this building. It was something she desperately wanted for herself, but she wasn't quite ready to let go yet.
His final sentence, in a manner so appropriate to Jack, was completely redundant. "Tell Kim I'm sorry and that I love her." In other words, don't tell her I'm on heroin again.
Michelle tried to picture herself explaining to Kim that Jack had ridden off into the sunset to start a new life. Jack knew that there was no way in hell that she would've been able to pull that off, and even if she had, there was no way Kim would've bought it. But he said, knowing that Kim would find the letter and read it. A final attempt at an explanation he was too afraid to attempt in person.
After reading it several times she pocketed it, not wanting to let her final link with the world fade. Still shaking slightly, breath still ragged from her loss of control, she turned back to her computer screen, fingers idly playing with the stinging in her neck, trying to figure out what in hell she was supposed to do now.