Chapter 2
A middle-aged lady greeted them enthusiastically at the door of the restaurant.
"Table for two, Rachel?" she said in Italian.
"Si, Signora." Rachel replied.
The lady led them to a table by the windows, and handed them their menus. Rachel already knew what to order so she didn't even bother to open it. There was something about the way he looked, tough yet sweet, that gave her a little jolt. Attraction, definitely. Even as she recognized the feeling, she reminded herself that it was something she's not too sure she could or wanted to feel again.
"So what can you recommend, Rachel?" Jack looked up and smiled warmly.
"Their pizzas here are to die for, as well as their lasagna. But I'll recommend Taglioni with Rock Shrimp, that's heavenly."
"Okay, I'll get that then."
"You seem to have a knack for languages. Do you speak Italian as well?" Jack asked as he cocked his eyebrow.
Oh God! What a gorgeous image! she thought, noting the amused glint in his eyes. "Oh no, I just learned a few phrases from Marcela, the lady who met us at the door. It's not always easy."
"Yeah I know. I studied French too, when I was in college."
"Oh really?" she asked curiously. "Tell me about it." She said, eager to hear him speak French. She found it hard to believe that this was the same Jack she met a couple of weeks ago. He seemed more relaxed, and the unmistakeable sparkle in his blue eyes made him all the more so attractive.
He hesitated but continued anyway. "Well, I was with a friend who was French-Canadian and we were at this French restaurant." he paused.
"We were ordering drinks, I was trying to impress her, so I spoke to the waiter in French ... Un Coca avec garÇon, s'il vous plait." he continued, starting to laugh. His French accent was good, she mused.
"I knew I made an idiot of myself, the moment I saw their faces. They were trying to stop themselves from laughing in front of me, because I looked so damn serious. God, I was so embarrassed." he laughed.
Rachel was laughing already since she clearly knew what it meant. It literally meant 'A Coke with boy, please', when he should have said, 'Un Coca avec glace', glace means ice.
"So did they try to get your Coke the way you ordered?" she teased, giggling.
"Yeah right." Jack chuckled. "I didn't attempt any French since then."
That broke the ice, so throughout their lunch, they talked more comfortably about their college days, how they started their first job ... Jack at SWAT school and how he joined the US Army, his training mishaps ... Rachel at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, her struggles with the language, the culture and her misadventures at work.
He briefly mentioned that he met Teri shortly before finishing college, how they got married early and had a daughter at a young age (without telling her name). She also talked about how she met her husband in Geneva, when she used to work at UNHCR. But no words were spoken about how their spouses died. She already knew how Teri was killed much later on that same day her father died; a friend of her father's had told her that it was a CTU agent who killed Jack's wife, so she's not even going to go there. Horrible, she thought.
She couldn't bring herself to talk about how her husband died; she had desperately wanted to forget about it but it was too painful to relive the memories again.
They decided they might as well finish the wine; it was a very good Chianti ... which probably explained why he felt more relaxed than he had in weeks. No, months, maybe years.
He had never felt this good in a long time; there was something about her that he couldn't quite pinpoint. She was an attractive woman; her brown eyes matched her brown, wavy, shoulder-length hair. She was about three inches shorter than him. And if he could recall correctly, Walsh had told him that she was four or five years younger than him.
"Jack, I had a nice time. Thanks for coming." Rachel said as they stepped out of the restaurant.
"I had a great time too." He smiled looking at her eyes that genuinely showed how pleased she was.
Just then, a ringing cell phone interrupted them. Both looked for each other's cell phones, then Rachel spoke, "It's yours."
He pulled out his cell phone, glancing at the caller ID, it was Kim.
"Will you excuse me?" Jack asked as he stepped aside.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Yes, Kim."
Rachel heard him say her name again, and she immediately felt a pang of jealousy.
"Dad? Where are you? I thought you're going to be home. Did you forget?" Kim said worriedly. She had already told him yesterday about her doctor's appointment. And since Chase was at CTU today, there's no one to look after Angela, the babysitter couldn't make it till two hours later.
"Christ!" he looked at his watch, it was almost two o'clock. "No, I didn't. I'll be there in half an hour, okay? See you in a bit." he spoke tenderly as he shut his cell phone off.
Walking over to Rachel, he said. "I almost forgot, I have an appointment."
"Oh, sorry if I kept you …" she said.
"No, it's nothing like that. That's my daughter. I promised to babysit for her today." he admitted, chuckling at the thought of babysitting as an 'appointment'. Since Kim moved in with Chase, he had treated Angela like she's his own granddaughter. He didn't like elaborating that Angela's not her daughter's baby, but her boyfriend's.
"You have to get going then. I have to get back anyway." she sighed, feeling relieved knowing that Kim is his daughter and not a girlfriend.
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Jack couldn't wipe off his grin for the rest of his drive home. It was still plastered on his face when he got home, that Kim immediately noticed. "Hey, what's that on your face?"
"What?" he asked as his grin faded now.
"Uh, nothing." she replied innocently. It was very rare to see his Dad smiling and in a good mood. She wanted to tease him but she was already late for her appointment so she quickly told him where Angela's things are, when to feed her and not to forget to check if she's wet.
Just before leaving, she picked up Angela and whispered playfully, "If he tells you what happened, do tell me, okay?"
"Aren't you supposed to be going now?" Jack scowled.
"Okay, bye honey." she said softly to Angela. Then looking up at Jack, she said, "Nicole will pick her up later, she won't be long. See ya!" Picking up her car keys and her bag, she quickly left.
Monday, back at CTU ...
Jack arrived early at work, he decided to work on some reports for Hammond. It wasn't on his desk so he glanced at Chloé's desk. She wasn't in yet, so he walked over to her desk and found the folders with a post-it note addressed to him.
He opened one of the top folders, and inside was an envelope with his name handwritten on it. He flipped it over, on the flap, it read Mr & Mrs McBride and their address. Curious, he ripped it open, it was an invitation card - a birthday party for Mrs McBride next Saturday. Reading the details further, it was set for the evening and it's a black-tie event. Oh God, when was the last time he had been to an event like this? He has to check if his tux still fits him.
There was a knock on the door and it opened slightly. It was Chloé. Jack looked up and smiled. "Come in."
"Good morning." she said, a little surprised to find Jack in a very good mood. Without waiting for Jack to reply, she asked "Did you get the folders on my desk?"
"Yes I did."
"There's also an envelope there from Senator McBride."
"I got it." he said as he waved the card to her, smiling broadly this time.
"Okay" she quickly left and closed the door. Geez, he's really happy today, I don't even want to know why or how, Chloé thought.
Later that day, Jack received a call from Senator McBride. He wanted to know if Jack received the invitation. He apologized for the short notice, but he was hoping that Jack could make it. Jack felt honored to be invited to such a special occasion, and was quite hesitant at first, but when Bill said that Rachel would be there, he found himself immediately saying yes. Bill appreciated it, saying further that he felt he didn't thank him enough for what Jack had done.
It was a perfect opportunity to see Rachel again, Jack thought. He felt stupid for not even asking her if he could call her that Saturday. Now he couldn't wait for another Saturday but he'd try to call her before then, maybe tomorrow.
Tuesday at CTU ...
Jack wanted to call Rachel at work, he couldn't wait any longer. He didn't have her cell phone number nor her work number. Her work number should be easy to find, so he checked the online directory to find the Senator's office. It didn't take long before he eventually found the number. After his call was transferred a couple times, it was her voice, finally.
"Hello? It's Jack."
"Jack! How are you?" she smiled, glad that he finally called her.
"I'm good and you?" he said, happy to hear her voice.
"I'm okay." she said
"I was just calling about the invite I received from the Senator." Jack explained.
"Oh yes, Mrs McBride's birthday. You'll be coming, right?" she said, biting her lip. Did she sound desperate there for one moment?
"Of course, I will." he paused. Now, do I offer to pick her up or not, he thought. God, he's not prepared at all for this whole dating game.
"Great! So I'll see you there then. Listen, I have to go to a meeting, but I'm glad you called."
That's it then, that resolved itself, he thought. "Sure." he said and heard her hung up the phone, before he did so himself.