Okay, yeah, right, I said this would be the last chapter but I was wrong. Like Chapter 5, this chapter was just getting too long and unmanageable and was covering too many subjects, so, yes, I decided once again to split the chapter into two. Actually, my biggest reason for making two chapters instead of one was that AlmeidaFluff threatened to fire me when I finished this chapter so I decided to call her bluff and write another one!
So, here's chapter 6. Chapter 7 (I'm very, very sure that will be the last one) will be out shortly!
Chapter 6
Molly sat in front of her computer stunned at what she was reading. She looked down at her new engagement ring, the one that the love of her life, Jeffrey McCarthy, had just placed on her finger. For an instant when he placed it there, the images that flashed through her mind were ones of a small wedding and life on their own little ranch, of making love and having children. She was just about to say "Yes, of course I'll marry you. I've never loved anyone so much in my life. You're what I've been waiting for." And then she imagined that he would kiss her and sweep her off of her feet and carry her to her bed, to their bed. To that place that belonged to just the two of them; where their lives and hearts and souls and bodies met and became one.
Instead she was sitting at the computer trying to make sense of what was happening to her and who this man that she loved so dearly really was. She read the words of the old newspaper article over and over trying desperately to understand.
Los Angeles, CA – John A. "Jack" Bauer, Jr., special assistant to Secretary of Defense James Heller and a former CIA agent, was killed yesterday in the terrorist attack on Los Angeles. Bauer, who is best remembered for saving then Senator David Palmer from two assassination attempts on the day of the California presidential primary, was killed in the line of duty according to the Associate Special Agent in Charge, Bill Buchanan.
Buchanan went on to say that Bauer was "directly responsible for rescuing the Secretary of Defense and his daughter who were kidnapped early yesterday morning. Additionally, he was largely responsible for apprehending Habib Marwan, the mastermind of yesterday's attacks, an act that led to the discovery of the missing warhead and its neutralization.
"Jack Bauer was a hero in every sense of the word. He was a public servant for many years and he gave his life for this country. Every citizen owes Jack Bauer a huge debt of gratitude," Buchanan told reporters.
Molly swallowed hard. She felt Jack's hands massaging her shoulders. She wanted to stop reading, not sure that she wanted to know any more. She wanted to go back in time just a few minutes to when he, Jeff or Jack or whoever he was, put the ring on her finger. She wanted to freeze that moment in time. As much as she didn't want to read further, she knew that she had to.
Bauer had a distinguished career with the CIA's counter terrorist unit (CTU) where he served as Director for several years. He was in that position on the day that he saved President Palmer's life while, at the same time, the attempted assassins were also holding Bauer's wife and daughter hostage. Bauer's daughter escaped unharmed, but his wife was murdered by a double agent using the name "Nina Myers", who had infiltrated CTU and served as Bauer's second in command. "Myers" actual identity has never been determined. Bauer shot and killed her nearly five years later while she was attempting to escape custody. The shooting was ruled "justified" by a CTU review commission; however The Times' request for the transcript of the commission's hearing was denied.
When the terrorist group "Second Wave" attempted to detonate a nuclear warhead in LA, it was Bauer who headed up the search for the bomb. He nearly died that day when he volunteered to fly the suicide mission to safely detonate the bomb in the desert. A last minute change in pilot allowed Bauer to parachute to safety.
"Jack Bauer selflessly gave himself for his country. More than once he put himself in harm's way without ever thinking of his own safety. I've never worked with anyone more dedicated to this country," said Bauer's long time friend and co-worker, Tony Almeida. "I doubt that this agency the CIA will ever find another agent like him and I doubt that I will ever find another friend like him."
Bauer was also the lead agent in several other high profile cases including the CIA's infiltration of the Salazar drug cartel. More recently he left the CIA for a position with the Secretary of Defense.
Bauer is survived by his daughter, Kimberly Edmunds, and his father, John A. Bauer, Sr. A private memorial service for family and close friends will be held Saturday at an undisclosed location. Former President David Palmer and Secretary Heller are among the dignitaries that are expected to attend.
Molly closed her eyes not sure what to say or do. This was something out of a movie or a bad novel, one she wouldn't have wasted the time reading. Now it was happening to her. She gathered her strength and stood up to face him. Their eyes met.
"So," she started hesitantly, "do I call you Jeff or Jack?"
"Molly, Jack Bauer is dead. You just read that. There are only a couple of people in the world that know I'm alive. Jeff McCarthy is who I am now. He is very much alive and very much in love with you and praying that you won't stop loving him."
"You love me? You lied to me!" she cried as she pulled away. "I gave you my heart and my body and you lied to me!"
"No, Molly, I didn't lie to you," he said as he reached for her arm and pulled to back to face him. "I didn't lie. I just never told you the truth. Maybe that's the same thing. If it is, then I'm sorry. I wanted to forget who I was. I wanted to think that it didn't matter, but it does. You need to know who I am and what I've been through if we're going to have a really good, solid marriage. And that's what I want more than anything in the world. I never wanted to hurt you, Molly. I know how badly you were hurt in the past and I never wanted to do that to you."
"How did you get here? Did the CIA plant you here?"
"No, there's only one person still working for the CIA that even knows I'm alive. She's a computer analyst that helped me escape. I found this place on my own. I was looking for a way to restart my life and I got lucky. I found your father and the ranch and you."
"Does my father know?"
"Yes."
"You told him but you didn't tell me?"
"I didn't tell him, Molly. He figured it out. You have to understand that when anyone finds out who I am, it puts me at risk. The Chinese and US governments both want me and, in truth, they both want me dead. If they find out that I'm alive I'll go to a Chinese prison unless the Secret Service gets a hold of me first. The people who helped me escape will go to prison, too, so my freedom isn't the only one at stake here."
Molly sat down on the sofa trying calm herself down. She deliberately slowed her breathing and could feel her heart beat follow suit. "I need to understand all of this and I don't know where to start. Why do the US and Chinese governments want you dead?"
"What I'm going to tell you is classified information. The US government will deny it all the way up to the President. If anyone suspects that you know this information, your life will be in danger, so everything I'm telling you must be kept a secret for your safety. Even your father doesn't know the details of what happened." Jack stopped for a moment and looked away as if trying to see into the past. "I was given an order by the White House to carry out a mission at the Chinese Embassy. It was an illegal order and I knew it. I knew that if I was caught that the President would deny giving the order. I also knew that if I was caught I would be considered a criminal by the Chinese government and would probably be tortured and hanged." Jack went on to tell Molly what happened to the point where Tony and Michelle dropped him off at the rail yard and he hopped a freighter north to Canada. Her green eyes grew wide as she listened to the tale.
"So what this boils down to is that you followed an order and when it was discovered, you were expected to just give yourself up and not care about the consequences to you?" Molly asked incredulously.
"Basically, yes. I knew the risk I was taking when I accepted the order. I could have refused, but it was the only way I knew to get the man who I believed had information that could save millions of American lives. Given the choice, I would do the same thing again, Molly."
"Do your daughter and your father know that you're alive?"
"I contacted one of the people who helped me escape. He was supposed to contact Kim. The message I sent him was basically one sided. He had no way to respond. I have to assume that he contacted Kim for me. The only way my father would know is if Kim told him. The person who contacted Kim would have instructed her not to do so. Kim would have understood the gravity of the situation. I doubt that she would have told her grandfather."
"You've never contacted your daughter yourself?"
"It was too risky. If anyone from either government is watching her and thinks that she had contact with me, they'll torture her for information and to draw me out into the open. Their gripe is with me and I'll go willingly if I have to, but I don't want anyone that I love getting hurt in the process." Jack paused for a moment. "That means you, too, Molly. I hate telling you this. I hate it that you have to know the truth, but I have to tell you." He sighed and walked away to look out the window. "I tried so hard not to fall in love with you. I wanted you to find someone else and move away so I didn't have to see you, but it didn't work. I can't stop loving you, Molly."
"Why didn't you tell me that your wife was murdered?" Molly asked quietly after several minutes of silence.
"I told you she was killed. I just didn't tell you how. If I had, you would have asked questions. The truth is that I couldn't tell you without telling you everything. And," he added softly, "even though it's been a long time, I hate talking about it. Teri died because of who I was. I've never forgiven myself for that."
Jack turned toward the window as if he were looking at the street below, but in fact he wasn't. He was watching Molly's reflection in the glass. He could see her every move. He watched her pick up her wine glass and take a sip. She played with the glass for a moment before setting it down. He watched her stand up and straighten the pillows on the sofa. She strolled absently over to his coat which he had draped over a chair when they walked into the apartment. He watched her pick up the coat and hold it. He thought for sure that she was going to give it to him and ask him to leave but she must have thought better of it. She refolded the coat and laid it back where it had been. Jack exhaled silently in relief and continued to watch as Molly walked toward him. He closed his eyes, still facing the window. The tears that had formed slipped slowly down over his cheeks. Molly wrapped her arms around him and rested her body against his back. Jack covered her hands with his and they stood unmoving and silent.
"Maybe I should make some coffee," Molly said softly finally breaking the silence. "I think we're going to have a long night ahead of us. We have a lot to talk about."
Jack turned and pulled Molly into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for being willing to listen to me. God, I love you, Molly." He was crying openly with no desire to hide his emotions from her.
Molly stoked his back and let him cry. As his quiet sobs subsided, she reached up and wiped his tears with her fingertips. "Sit down," she said still numb from all that had happened. "I'll make that coffee."
Jack and Molly talked long into the night. He told her everything about Jack Bauer starting with where he was born and ending with his arrival on her father's ranch.
Molly's emotions had run the gamut over the last few hours. Her initial elation over Jack's proposal had quickly turned to horror as she learned that she really didn't know this man at all. As she read the newspaper account of his life and death, she became angry that he had kept it all a secret from her. Listening to him recount his wife's murder at the hands of his trusted co-worker and, admittedly, his former lover had simply broken her heart. She ached as he told her how he had descended into the depths of his heroin addiction. By the end, she was actually happy to know the truth. She had often wondered about his family and his childhood. When she asked questions, his answers were vague. So she had stopped asking and hoped that some day he would open up to her. Well, the time had come. He had opened up to her. It wasn't quite what she wanted to hear or what she expected, but at least she had the truth and that was a relief.
By the end of the story they were huddled together on the sofa resting against each other. Molly had been silent most of the time, giving Jack the chance to tell he the story at his own speed, providing whatever details he thought important. The story complete, Jack kissed the top of Molly's head, shifted her weight off of him and stood up. "I better let you get some sleep. I know you're tired."
Molly, still seated, reached for Jack's hand and drew it to her lips kissing it gently. "You think you're going to tell me a bedtime story like that one and then you're going to leave? I'll have nightmares." She smiled softly up at him. They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. "When you gave me the ring, I had this quick fantasy that after I said 'yes' that you would carry me off to bed."
He stroked her cheek with the tip of one of his fingers. "You never said 'yes'," Jack whispered.
Molly stood and looked intently into his eyes. "Yes," she said softly, her lips slowly turning upward into a smile.
Jack held her face in his hands. "Really? Are you sure about this?" he asked her daring to hope that he had heard her right.
"Positive. I love you. I don't like that you've kept all of this from me for so long, but I understand why you have."
Jack was speechless. He couldn't believe that he was off the hook that easily. He couldn't believe that she still loved him. They stood smiling at each other for a moment before their lips met for a long, intense kiss. Jack picked Molly up cradling her in his arms.
"So tell me, in that fantasy of yours, is this how I carried you to the bedroom?" he asked her in a low, seductive voice.
"Exactly," Molly answered turning her face upward to him.
Jack kissed her neck and took the first steps toward the bedroom. "And then what did we do?"
"I didn't get that far. You interrupted my fantasy to tell me the story of your life."
"Oh, then I guess we'll have to make up the rest as we go along," he said softly as he set her feet down on the floor in the bedroom. "I think I can supply the details from one of my own fantasies if that's alright with you."
"That depends," Molly told him. "What does your fantasy entail?"
"You let me do all of the work while you just enjoy yourself."
"I like that fantasy," she said kissing him tenderly.
Jack's tie and jacket had long since been tossed on chairs in the living room and the top button on his shirt was unbuttoned. Molly reached for the next button and began unbuttoning it.
"No," Jack whispered as he took her hands away. "I told you; I'm doing all of the work. Your job is to enjoy it."
Jack slowly, methodically undressed her and laid her on the bed. Next he undressed himself. Again, it was slow and methodical and Molly could feel her body tensing with excitement. It seemed forever before Jack got into the bed with her. She reached out for him, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them gently above her head. He proceeded to kiss her face and neck as he teased her by lightly grazing his body against hers. Molly panted and writhed beneath him.
Molly lost all track of time and had long since forgotten how many times Jack brought her to a stunning climax. The sun was just beginning to rise and they both lay uncovered on the bed, sweating and gasping for breath. Jack seemed to catch his breath first. He propped himself up on his elbow and stroked Molly's face.
"Are you ready for a shower?" he asked.
"I'm too tired," she said her eyes drifting closed. "What did you do to me? That was incredible." Random thoughts were flitting through her mind. There were bits and pieces of last night's conversation and moments from their intense love-making. None of it fit together but it all made her smile.
"Too tired for a shower?" Jack queried. "Okay, you just lie still," Jack told her.
Molly didn't even open her eyes, but she felt Jack getting out of bed. "Where are you going?"
"I'll be right back," he assured her.
Molly listened as Jack padded barefoot into the bathroom. She heard water running in the sink. Jack returned to the bed with a warm washcloth and a towel. He proceeded to wash her face and neck and then towel them dry. Molly moaned weakly.
"You like that?"
"Uh-huh." The sound slipped from between partially opened lips.
"Good. Just lie still." Jack tenderly washed her body from head to toe, turning her over to wash both front and back. Molly mewed like a kitten, completely relaxed and enjoying the attention that was being paid her. When Jack finished, he pulled the bedclothes up from the floor where they had kicked them hours earlier and tucked them carefully around Molly and himself. The two exhausted lovers kissed "good night" at 6:30 in the morning and lay wrapped in each other's arms.
"Jeff?" Molly whispered, her voice soft and sleepy.
"Hmmm," Jack responded to let her know that he was still awake.
"Will you tell your daughter about us?"
"I don't really have a safe way of contacting her right now. I'll make contact again with Tony Almeida at some point. When I do, he'll contact Kim."
"It feels weird. I'll have a step-daughter that I've never met. I've never even seen a picture of her."
"I'm sorry, baby. I just can't take the risk of contacting Kim right now."
"How do you think she'd feel if she knew that you were getting married again?"
"She'd be happy about it," Jack said confidently.
"How do you know that?" Molly asked suddenly very awake and looking at him.
"I know my daughter. After Teri died, Kim and I had a pretty stormy relationship for a while. Eventually we got it back on track. I started dating a woman named Kate Warner. I was worried about how Kim would take it, but she and Kate got along fine. She and Kim became friends. They probably still are. After I broke up with Kate and started working for Jim Heller, I started dating his daughter, Audrey."
"So sleeping with your boss' daughter is nothing new to you?" Molly interrupted.
Jack smiled. "She wasn't as good as you," he laughed as he kissed her. He continued his previous thought, "Anyway, I knew when I was dating Audrey that Kim didn't really care for her. She was a little hard to warm up to. But at the same time, Kim didn't say a word. She accepted Audrey. Somewhere along the line, Kim made the decision that as long as I was happy, she was happy, too. I feel the same way about her. She ended up marrying my partner. I thought she was too young and I thought they should wait a couple of years, but I didn't interfere. And the last I saw them, they were very happy and doing very well." He kissed her again. "So don't worry about Kim. Someday, when I'm sure that it's safe, you'll get to meet her."
Satisfied with his answer, Molly curled up against him and allowed herself to fall asleep. Jack stroked her back gently for a few minutes marveling at how soft and smooth her skin was. He lay on his back, the early morning sun shining through the curtains making orange streaks on the wall opposite him, thinking how good it felt just to lay there. Molly sighed in her sleep and he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.
Jack and Molly were married in a quiet ceremony a few weeks later. They hadn't planned on a honeymoon but Ted would hear none of it. As part of his wedding gift, he gave them at trip to Niagara Falls.
Molly laughed as he handed her the airline tickets and other travel documents. "Niagara Falls in the dead of winter? You couldn't come up with some place warm," she said as she kissed her father.
"Niagara Falls is beautiful in winter. That's where your mother and I went on our honeymoon and we were married in February, too. Your brother was born nine months later."
"Oh, so that's what this is all about!" Molly laughed.
"My buddy Joe just had his ninth grandchild and I only have five. I'm just trying to keep up," Ted said now laughing, too.
Molly hugged and kissed him one more time. "I love you, Daddy. Thanks for everything. I better go pack or we'll miss that flight."
"What is there to pack? You're going on your honeymoon. Stuff some lingerie in an overnight bag and go. You don't need a lot of clothes, honey."
"You are incorrigible!" Molly told him as she walked away shaking her head.
"Ted, thank you for everything," Jack said as he hugged his new father-in-law. "When you had enough faith in me to give me a job, what you really did was give me a second chance at life. I never imagined that it would turn out this good. I can't ever thank you enough."
"You've thanked me more than enough. You've made my daughter happy. That's all the thanks I need. You have a daughter; I'm sure you understand."
Jack nodded knowingly. "All I've ever really wanted is for my daughter to be happy. I understand how you feel. I promise, Ted, I won't let you down. I'll do everything in my power to make Molly happy."
"I know you will, son," Ted said confidently as he patted Jack on the back. "Now go help Molly pack. You want to make sure she takes all of your favorite lingerie."
"Molly's right; you are incorrigible!" Jack laughed. He walked back to the house thinking about the day and how happy it made him to say "I do." He thought about Molly upstairs packing lingerie and the trip to Niagara Falls. He thought about their lives and their future together. And it all made him smile.