Complications, chapter 9

A/N: Here's the latest chapter. Sorry for the delay. I had some technical problems and couldn't upload any new documents. It ended up being a problem with my word processor. I think I've got it all sorted out now. I hope it was worth the wait.

Kate had lost count again. She had been lying there, trying to count the seconds between her contractions, but had been distracted by a noise outside her door. After the footsteps passed, she relaxed, knowing she was free of Hector's presence for a little longer. But she still had no idea about the timing of her contractions. There was no other way for her to track the time between them without counting. Sometimes it seemed that they were almost back to back and she feared she would give birth before Hector's next phone call. And then it would seem as if an hour passed before the next contraction ripped through her abdomen.

Logically, she knew that thirty minutes hadn't yet passed because Hector hadn't returned for the next phone call. At least she assumed that he would return when the time for the next call came. Working with that assumption, she knew that her contractions were less than ten minutes apart. She'd already had four and had counted to one hundred and thirty-six before the sound at her door had distracted her.

Regardless of what the exact time was, unless Hector had made his call to Jack without coming back to her room, she needed to get out of there soon.

'Great plan, Kate. How exactly am I going to do that? I can't even get up from the floor. I'm lying here, covered in dirt and sweat, and I can't even take the first step.'

The next contraction demanded all her attention then. She focused herself, trying to take deep, controlled breaths, rather than the short, shallow breaths that seemed to intensify rather than alleviate the pain. She prayed for Jack's strength and endurance and then amended her prayers. Jack needed all his strength to save her.

The contraction ended and she started counting again. She had barely reached one hundred when the door opened. Booted feet appeared before her face again.

"Get up," Hector ordered.

"I can't," she answered, twisting to meet his eyes. "If you untie my hands, I could."

His hand grabbed her around her upper arm and he dragged her upright. She scrambled to get her feet beneath her before she was released. Still, she wavered once he left her to stand on her own, finally leaning against the wall for support.

"Please," she begged. "Just untie my hands. You know that I can't go anywhere. I just want to be able to sit down."

Kate struggled to keep upright. She felt light-headed as soon as he had pulled her to her feet. Her knees trembled with the effort of supporting her weight and now, both of her shoulders ached. The right one from the strain of the awkward position she had been lying and the left from the strain of him pulling her upward.

Hector looked her up and down. She knew that she couldn't look very threatening. Her hair was damp with perspiration and strands of it clung to her face. He pulled her away from the wall then, and pushed her in front of him. She stumbled and would have fallen forward if he hadn't grasped her shoulder. With his other hand, he loosened the ropes binding her wrists. Her fingers tingled as the circulation returned and then the ropes fell to the floor. Her arms fell to her sides, hanging motionlessly. She lacked the strength to raise them just then.

He shoved her back against the wall and raised a gun to her temple. "Don't make me think twice about this, Kate."

The way he enunciated her name made her wince. She shook her head in silent denial. She still was having a hard time standing. She wasn't going to jeopardize the freedom of her hands by trying anything unless she was certain she could succeed. He half-dragged, half-carried her to the chair, shoving her into it viciously.

She pushed the strands of hair from her face and looked up to find him standing over her. "Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly.

"You know exactly why I'm doing this," he answered angrily. "To free my brother."

"I know that's your plan, but I don't know why. Why would you sacrifice so much for him? You don't think that this will all work out and we'll all just return to our lives. You can't believe that Jack will let you get away with this."

"I wouldn't have believed it before. The Jack who spent time with us in Mexico was a cold man without a care for anyone's life. That Jack could shoot an unarmed man and then sleep with his widow in the same night. That Jack buried his problems in a needle. That Jack wouldn't bring dinner to his woman night after night only to go home to an empty bed. That Jack wouldn't hide in his car to shoot up so his woman wouldn't know about his dirty habit."

Kate sat in stunned silence. He couldn't be talking about her Jack. She knew that he could be ruthless in his work, but even in his work, there were lines he wouldn't cross. 'And what is this about a needle?' she asked herself. And then she remembered his trip outside last night. 'Was that just last night? It seems so long ago.'

"But this Jack," Hector continued his monologue ruthlessly. "This Jack cares. You should feel special because he cares about you. I know that he does. He cares enough to turn his back on his country and give me my brother. And he'll have you and your baby. And you'll have him, but he'll be a mixture of both Jacks; the Jack from Mexico and the Jack you think you already know.

"I'm going to get two things from this little adventure today. I'm going to get my brother back and I'm going to get revenge on Jack. He'll never be able to return to the man he was before he met the Salazars. He'll forever have to live with the selfishness of his choice and that will make all the sacrifices that he made to put my brother away meaningless."

Kate searched her mind for a response, but found nothing. Her mind was still reeling from the information Hector had hurled at her. Jack could never shoot an unarmed man, let alone sleep with his wife afterwards. She knew undercover work was difficult. She'd done research on it and talked to Kim and Michelle about it. She knew that undercover agents had to sometimes turn a blind eye to the injustices they witnessed. She had known that Jack would find it difficult to ignore those injustices. She never believed that he would commit them.

"So, Kate," Hector intruded in her thoughts. "Are you still so sure that I'm not going to get away with this?"

She opened her mouth to answer but just then, another contraction overtook her and she barely managed a grunt in response. She gritted her teeth together to keep from crying out with the pain, struggling to gain control of her body. Forcing herself to breathe deeply, forgetting briefly about Hector and about Jack, focusing only on getting through this latest wave of pain.

"What's the matter?"

Kate opened her eyes, surprised to find a trace of concern in Hector's features.

"I'm having contractions," she answered breathlessly. "They're pretty regular, too. I'm going to have this baby and I'm going to have it here if you don't release me soon."

He straightened then, pulling the phone from his pocket. "It's not up to me, Kate. We'll just have to see what Jack has to say about it."

He dialled the number for CTU and pointed the gun at her head.

"Get me Jack and get him now! And don't think about leaving me on hold, bitch! I'm tired of this game. You can't trace this phone, so stop wasting my time by trying to set one up."

Michelle buzzed immediately into Jack's office. She knew Hector was already agitated. She had watched his altercation with Kate closely. She also knew that he knew that Kate was in labour. She wasn't sure if he would use that information against Jack, but she thought he might. In that instant, she regretted trying to protect Jack. Now he was going to find out anyway and if she had told him when she had realized the truth, he would have been better prepared for this next conversation. She didn't dare anger Hector by taking the time to forewarn him either. Not while he stood pointing a gun at Kate's forehead.

"Bauer."

"Okay, Jack. You've had enough time. Do you have my brother yet?"

"I don't have him yet, Hector, but I have all the papers in place to release him into my custody."

"Good. Bring him to the Greek Theatre at Griffith Park. Just you and him and meet me there in forty-five minutes."

"Hector, you and I both know that isn't going to happen. They're not going to let me take Ramon without any back up. And, I'm not going to be able to make it to Griffith Park in less than an hour and a half. You need to adjust your timeline or pick a different location."

"I'll let you bring one guard from the prison, Jack. That's it! If I see so much as a hair from another agent, Kate dies. Understand?"

"I get it, Hector, but I still can't pick up Ramon at the prison and make it to Griffith Park in less than an hour and a half. I need at least that much time and you know it."

"I know, Jack, but I don't think you have that much time to play with. Your Kate here tells me that she's having contractions and if I don't release her soon, she's going to have your baby on this filthy office floor. Is that what you want? Because I know I don't."

Jack watched Kate's face on the monitor, looking for a sign that what Hector was telling him was false. All he noticed was that she had closed her eyes as soon as Hector had mentioned her contractions. Without a sign from her, he knew that Hector was probably telling him the truth. He didn't want to give in on the timeframe; with the extra man, he could've had Tony with him, visibly, or at least one of the other CTU agents. Now he would have to rely on a prison guard that he didn't even know. He didn't like it.

"Okay, Hector. I'll arrange for the guard to meet me at Griffith Park with Ramon. I'll have to pull some strings to make that happen. I'll meet you there in one hour."

"Fine, Jack. I'll see you then."