The sound of a female giggle stops Jack in his tracks. It's unusual to hear giggling in CTU, even in the break room. Occasionally some of the men will tell jokes and masculine laughing and chuckling will be heard, but this small feminine giggle seems so out of place that it draws his attention. He moves to continue down the hall, but finds himself moving closer to the break room and he soon realizes why the giggle struck him as being so odd.
It is Chloe whose giggling. She's in the break room giggling with Edgar. With any other woman this would not seem so strange, but he knows for a fact that there is only one time that Chloe giggles. In bed. With him. He finds himself remembering the first time he and Chloe made love. It had been over two years since he'd been with a woman, but he'd somehow known that he had to take it slow with Chloe. It had been a torturous two months, but well worth it, because he'd finally gotten Chloe to really relax and be herself.
The first time they made love he'd been determined to go slowly, to kiss every inch of her body. And it was that determination that led him to kiss slowly up her leg and as he began to kiss her on the spot behind her right knee she had giggled. The light, happy sound had drawn his gaze to her face—he was sure she had never looked more beautiful than at that moment. Laughing, happy, free of all the worry and insecurity that she carried around everyday had vanished. It had become a habit of his to tickle that spot whenever she got too worried about everything.
And now here she was giggling in broad daylight, and he wasn't anywhere near her knee. And Edgar better not be either.
"Chloe," he heard himself say. He saw her jump, not expecting the interruption and then smile. His face must have revealed his unhappiness because her smile became cautious, "Is something wrong?"
"Did you check into those possible aliases that I gave you?"
"Yeah, nothing came up on the database."
"How about the virus you found?"
"Edgar and I checked into it and it was just a false alarm."
He did not need to hear about her and Edgar working together. His impatience must have been showing because Edgar began to shift in his seat as if waiting for the opportune moment to bolt from the room. His voice was cold as he finally said, "Well I'm sure you could find something to do besides sit here."
Immediately after it came out of his mouth he could hear how ridiculous he sounded. He was grilling Chloe because she was having lunch and laughing with a co-worker. At CTU anytime laughter was possible should be a positive thing. He watched as her face fell and she stood quickly, "Right, Jack, I'll get right back to work. I'll be at my computer if you need me." With that she walked passed him and out the door as he attempted to get his foot out of his mouth. He turned back and saw Edgar staring at him as if he was trying not to laugh.
By 6 there was officially not a single thing to do and Jack was on his way out. He was hoping to take Chloe out and make up for earlier today. Just as he was about to leave his office in search of her she appeared at his door. Maybe she had forgiven him. "I'm going to head home," she said, "Unless you have something else for me to do. Maybe re-arrange you paper clips by color." Or maybe not.
"Listen, Chloe, about before."
"Jack, do you have work for me to do?"
"No, not right now."
She gave him one long measured look and then turned and walked out of his office.
He sighed. This could only mean groveling. And lots of it.
Who would have thought that the man who'd saved the world from terrorists would be turned inside out by giggling?