Author's note: At this point day 3 is over, all 24 hours have passed. After securing the virus and following Nina to the hospital, Jack went back to L.A. and from there I'll leave it up to you to imagine the rest of the events and what still did happen or didn't. Feel free to write a fic about it. :-p These last chapters, however, are taking place at the end of the day after day 3 (are you with me?) which gives Jack time to wrap things up and get a rest - before returning to the hospital in this little place near the Mexican border.
Chapter 17
Jack stepped out of the elevator and showed his badge to the guard, casting a quick look around the deserted corridor. The whole floor was cordoned off - for security reasons.
"Jack Bauer, CTU."
"We've been notified you'd come up," the guard replied, pointing down the hallway. "This way, Sir."
There were more guards posted outside the room, one of them nodding towards Jack and opening the door. He returned the nod and stepped inside.
The door got closed again behind him, and he stood and stared at the single hospital bed standing against the wall to his left. He noticed the beeping sound of a machine, showing her vital functions. The numbers and scales didn't help him but the sound came frequent and nothing indicated that she wasn't stable. He slowly moved closer.
CTU had of course wanted to move her to L.A. as quickly as possible, but the doctors hadn't complied to having her transported yet, referring to the critical condition she had been in.
She was lying on her back, her head slightly tilted to the side, her eyes closed. Her breathing seemed steady, her chest rising and falling in a smooth regularity. He had talked to one the doctors before he had come up, and apparently Nina had been awake for a few hours earlier. Dazed, confused, but responsive. Her transport was scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Jack wiped his neck and walked over to the window, peered outside for a moment and turned around again. His eyes falling onto the chair in the corner of the room, he went over and took a seat.
He had had a good night's sleep, a long shower and a proper breakfast. Still he felt tired and worn down and his shoulder was causing him more pain than he would have expected.
He leaned back into the chair and closed his eyes for a moment. What was he even doing here? He should be at home, with Kim, talking to her about everything that had happened. Or just relax, sleep some more, do nothing at all, recover. Instead he was here, sitting at her bedside.
The door opened and Jack startled. Judging by the surprise on the face of the male nurse walking in, the man hadn't expected anyone to be in here either.
"Sorry," he said with lowered voice as if not to wake up his patient, "I just have to check on her."
"Sure," Jack said and leaned back again, relaxing while the man walked over to the bed and checked the machines and the tubes attaching them to Nina - or rather attaching her to them - brushing over the cuffs that restrained Nina's wrist to the bed.
It was standard procedure, of course, but it really seemed unnecessary in her current condition - even to him.
Finally the guy controlled the drip before he turned around to Jack.
"Do you need anything, Sir?"
"Thanks, I'm fine," Jack said, noticing the name tag. Lucas. Lucas gave him a polite smile.
"I'm sure she's gonna make it. She seems strong," he said in what had to be an attempt to find some words of comfort. He probably thought Jack was a relative.
"Yeah," Jack mumbled, ignoring the painful urge to clarify the real nature of their relation. The nurse had obviously no idea who either he or Nina was.
-x-
He gave the man another encouraging smile and turned to leave the room. Stepping outside he nodded to the guards and walked back to the station room.
Phew...luckily he had decided to check on her first. Otherwise he would have missed the fact that she had a visitor. And, of course, he knew who the guy was. Jack Bauer. Well, it couldn't surprise that he was there. He would be dealt with.
Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.
He would have felt better if he could have closed the door behind him, but he couldn't attract any attention so he left it open. So far everything had worked out fine. Switching places with the real nurse had been easy. Once the guy had made it through the security check on the ground floor, he had done his job just as usually until the guards had had their change of shifts a few minutes ago. From that point on, he had taken over and no one had cared to ask for an ID or questioned the name tag he was wearing. Lucas. He was Lucas now. And no one would assume anything else for a while. He was safe for another half hour. Until one of the doctors would come up to check on her because they would, of course, notice immediately. He had to do it within the next half hour.
He walked over to the locker with his bag and checked his cell phone. No new messages, no missed calls. So everything was in place and just waiting for him. Good.
Walking over to the desk, he took a seat and pretended to fill out a patient protocol while he stole a glance at the guards in the hallway every now and then. He had already figured out the timing for the frequent check-ups with the ground floor. Now he just had to wait for the next one before he could take action.
