A/N: I know this is a short chapter but I wanted to write it this way. I promise the next one will be longer. Thanks again to all those who reviewed and I hope you continue to enjoy this story! Let me know what you think.

Chapter two: Stay with me

"Chloe!" Jack bellowed after hearing a sudden dial tone. An alarming chill crept through him. Flooded with anger at not being there to help Chloe, not knowing what to expect, he had to shove aside the helplessness to do whatever he could…and quick. Jack bolted upstairs to his bedroom and as he hurried back down, he loaded the gun with ammunition, then after tucking it inside his arm holster he threw on a denim jacket. Leaving the house, Bauer quickened his pace toward the SUV. Hastening inside, Jack didn't waste anytime as he backed the vehicle out of the driveway. Tires screamed. The agent couldn't care less who heard as he sped away from his house and down the street.

Jack wasn't far from Chloe's home, but he might as well have been very far away when getting stuck in traffic…not major but in this situation, even minor traffic was a nightmare. "C'mon!" he shouted, hitting the steering wheel. Fear, uncertainty and tension hardened his face. Jack's heart had no time to relax, hammering against his chest with each frantic second. Every now and again he swerved his car into another lane, hoping that one would get him there faster but to no prevail. A frustrated sigh escaped Jack's lips and his sweaty hands grasped the wheel.

Chloe.

Bauer recalled the first time she worked at CTU. He admitted to himself that she wasn't the easiest person to get along with. What annoyed him were her quirks he just could not understand. Early in the day of the 'virus' threat, Chloe didn't know about his heroin addiction. Jack was extremely agitated and screamed at O'Brian, to the point of even firing her if she didn't do her job the way it should be done.

"You didn't know what I was going through," he thought to himself. "I said I was sorry but you deserved a better apology." Jack wondered why he thought about that now. Guilt stalked him, even after months had gone by since then, he still felt guilty. Yes, she had a certain way about her, and it surprised him when getting to know her better, he had grown to care about Chloe more than he expected. Maybe it was because of that certain way about her…a woman unlike anyone he had ever known. Now, Jack feared she was kidnapped or worse…dead.

Flustered, he laid his forehead against the wheel.

"Chloe, I wanted you to know…"

Suddenly the traffic cleared. As Jack slowly drove, he peeked out the passenger window to see what the delay had been about—an accident. One car was mangled on the right side while the other…its front had been demolished horribly. After getting a look at what was going on, he stomped his foot on the accelerator and breezed down the lane.

When arriving at Chloe's home, Jack's SUV screeched to a halt. He grabbed his gun out of the holster, slammed the car door and proceeded slowly, carefully toward the house. Bauer held up the gun and twined his fingers around it as he clambered a few cobblestone steps that lead to the door. He stood on the side and again, Jack carefully turned the knob to see if the door was locked but to his surprise, it wasn't. He continued, snaking through the open door and holding his gun out in front of him. His eyes scanned the living room like the professional he was. Too quiet. It seemed only his racing heart could be heard as he tiptoed toward the stairs.

"Am I too late?"

Jack eased up the steps, making sure he was quiet as possible until stopping short near Chloe's bedroom. There were deep scars near the broken lock, as if someone dug inside with a knife. He thought he heard a voice. Bauer stood on the side and peeked in to the slightly ajar door. In a chair near the bathroom sat Mike staring at fresh blood on his knife.

"Chloe, I don't know why you had to be so stubborn. We could have worked it out. You must enjoy pain because I'm coming back in."

As Mike stood from the chair, Jack angrily stormed inside. "Get down on the floor!" he demanded, aiming the gun at Mike with a steady hand.

Mike ignored Jack's demands. Keeping his fingers gripped around the knife. In his eyes that narrowed, Jack caught an evident bitterness toward him. "It's because of you. That's why she stayed away from me!"

"Get down on the floor, now!"

Mike shook his head and as he attempted to throw the knife, Bauer fired twice…as if everything was slow motion in Jack's eyes, he watched Mike plummet to the floor. His chest had already been a bloody mess. Death held his eyes open. Jack sauntered toward Mike, standing over his body. His mouth, suddenly dry and Bauer swallowed hard when looking up at the half closed bathroom door.

"Chloe?" he said, barely audible out of fear of the unexpected. Jack cringed at an eerie silence. Was she okay? The blood on Mike's knife, recalling what he had said…

"You must enjoy pain because I'm coming back in."

It was then, Jack flung the door open. His eyes wide with fear—what he had been afraid to face again. There on the tiled floor lay Chloe in a pool of blood. He saw the injuries on her arm and on the side of her stomach. Flashbacks of Teri haunted him again, seeing his wife tied to the chair. Shot. Dead. There was absolutely nothing he could have done.

"Chloe," Jack shouted. Swiftly plunging his gun back into the holster, he collapsed beside Chloe and gently hoisted her into his arms. O'Brian's eyes fluttered open as she appeared to be slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Jack," she said weakly.

"Chloe, stay with me."

"Y-you came--,"

"Yeah, I'm here."

She choked and gasped.

"Help will be here soon." He pushed back a few strands of blood specked hair away from her eyes. "I just need you to stay with me."

Unconsciousness had taken Chloe and he embraced her closer to him.

It seemed to Jack an eternity when the EMS finally arrived. He didn't want to leave Chloe and demanded to ride with her inside the ambulance. Worried, Bauer watched his best friend as she lay on the gurney. An oxygen mask covered her mouth and the EMS workers were doing all they could to keep her alive after losing a lot of blood. Sirens wailed and there was not one minute lost as the ambulance kept its swift course on the highway. When reaching a nearby memorial hospital, Jack's eyes fleeted to one of the EMS workers bending over Chloe.

"We're losing her!"

"No," Jack cried to himself. "No!" He followed them out of the ambulance, then barging inside the ER. As he hurried by her side, Jack looked down and noted her lungs begging for air. "Chloe!" Jack faltered at the OR doors. Again, there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as they hastened the gurney inside. Not knowing what to do with himself, he paced around until plopping down onto one of the leather chairs. Dried blood stained his jacket and some had been smeared on his jeans. Bauer's fingers squeezed his eyes and when opening them again, he leaned his head back against the chair. Thoughts taunted the agent and no matter how hard he tried to fight them, they insisted on antagonizing him.

"I should've known this would happen. She told me Mike was harassing her." Jack paused in his thoughts and… "Dammit!" he said aloud and shut his eyes; straining the tears that struggled to be free. "This can't happen again."

Jack promised Teri she would be safe.

He promised Chloe she would be safe.

At the moment, she was slipping away from him.

His eyes stayed shut and all he managed to utter was…

"Please, stay with me."

TBC