Disclaimer: I don't own any characters on 24, if I did, I would be a millionaire many times over…

Summary: Mostly a phone conversation between Jack, and Diane.

Author's notes:

1. This was inspired in by a reviewof the previous chapter written by Joe's Girl. She suggested I could go one more and have Jack have that conversation with Diane, thank you for the inspiration.

2. "" Dialogue, '' thoughts

Spoilers: The episode in season #5, where Jack finds out that Audrey sold secrets to Collette.

Missing Scenes: The Conversation

Jack Bauer's day had just gone from bad to worse. After his daughter found out he was alive, she told him she didn't want to see him. He'd watched as staff-members at CTU died in front of him, and then arrived just in time to hold his best friend Tony Almedia in his arms as he died. The whole day left him feeling helpless, exhausted, and alone. And now one of the people he'd trusted most was holding out on him. He sighed, as he looked around impatiently.

"Come right out and say it Chloe." Jack told his friend. She had been dancing around it for a couple of minutes, which, was unusual since Chloe hardly ever danced around things.

"It looks like Audrey, and Cummings shared a room at a hotel in Virginia over a weekend. I'm really sorry Jack," Chloe awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, the regret showing in her tone.

"It's okay Chloe. She thought I was dead remember? she moved on. Get back to work," Jack tried to console her. He watched as Chloe walked back to her desk, and looked around to see that he wasn't being watched.

He moved quickly to the emergency stairwell, and started climbing all the way to the roof stopping periodically to be sure he wasn't followed. He moved to the side of the building facing the parking lot, and leaned up against it, drinking in the night air. Jack shut his eyes, and wished not for the first time that day he'd stayed in hiding. He worked every day, at the rigs, and he was so tired by the time he got home, that he didn't have time to wonder what was going on with all of his friends, wonder if he'd ever see them all again. He sighed, as he realized: what he really wanted was to be away from CTU, and all its tragedy; but as usual, it kept drawing him back in, and never being one to refuse the call to duty, he always responded.

Jack gave a small smile as he fished out his now-encrypted cell phone and dialed a familiar number. An equally familiar voice answered:

"Hello?"

"Hi Diane." Jack answered

"Fran, I mean Jack. How are you?" Diane asked concerned.

"I'm hanging in there. You guys make it home okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, we did. Derek talked about you all the way home; he thinks that office was so cool. He loved all the toys Chloe showed him."

"Diane, I need you to know that I didn't lie to you, in order to hurt you, if I told you the truth, then it would have been dangerous for all of us. I never meant for you to be brought here, and to be involved in all this."

"I know, it's just…this is going to take some getting used to. You're not Frank, the unassuming, polite, border with a quiet confidence who helps my son with his homework. You're Jack, this secret agent working for a government agency that I never knew existed before today. And I know a different name shouldn't change anything, that you're a kind, and decent man; someone that I care about. It's just… " Diane left off, the incredulity showing in her tone.

"Going to take some getting used to, yeah I get that." Jack finished off.

There was silence on the line. Jack knew he needed to tell her something about himself to restore her trust. He didn't want to let go of the connection just yet.

"I was married once. We fell in love, nearly at first sight. We dated for a while, and then married. Teri, that was her name; Teri, had a toughness about her, a stubbornness; she never gave up on us being a family and that was important given my job. We had a daughter; Jack quickly corrected himself: I have a daughter, and her name is Kim. Teri was killed, by a co-worker that betrayed us; someone I knew, that I trusted. It's not important how, or even why now; Kim has blamed me for it, she's never completely forgiven me for it.

"She worked for a while at CTU; helped out in the office; somehow I misguidedly believed that it was a great way to keep her safe." Jack gave a bitter laugh, then continued:

"When I disappeared, I couldn't tell her where I was, whether I was okay. Everyone had to believe I was dead, including Kim. I saw her today for the first time since I got back, and she; she was angry with me. Her boyfriend left her; and it seems she went into a deep depression, that has really shaken her. So you can imagine the reappearance of her so-called dead father, really threw her for a loop. There was of course the attack on CTU."

"Yeah. I heard about that, and I wondered if you were okay." Diane said. Jack took a deep breath:

"I was quarantined in the conference room with a bunch of other staff-members; Chloe, and Audrey were there, as was Kim. We were in there for about an hour, and by the time we got out; Kim, she decided she couldn't see me anymore. She couldn't be around me; she argued that when she was around me people died. And she just couldn't be around it anymore." Jack finished his story.

Diane was silent for a while; she wondered briefly why he was telling her all this, then realized that this was his way of being honest with her, of trying to start again. She could instinctively tell that this was a broken man, a man that had to take whatever disappointment, whatever tragedy life threw at him in silence, and it was eating away at him. A question was at the back of her mind about Audrey that suddenly begged to be asked. She had the distinct feeling that whatever she asked; he would answer as honestly as he could.

"Audrey told me about the night her husband died. Did you have anything to with it?"

Diane listened as he heavily sighed. Jack knew this was bound to come up; he knew that anything about his past was probably going to come up. He knew that he had to answer honestly:

"I'm not proud of my actions. But yes, I did have something to do with it. It was the night of the terrorist bombings; I'd found someone we had been tracking all day. There was a firefight, and he was seriously hit. So, I had to bring him into CTU medical to be treated. Also, in there being treated for a gunshot wound was Paul Raines. The man I brought in, had what ended up to be vital information to us, so it was equally vital I get him treatment. So I forced the surgeons to stop working on Paul and work on him. Paul died because of it, and Audrey; she told me flat out that night that she hated me, and never wanted to see me again…"

Jack took another deep breath as he remembered how hurt he was she said that; he also realized that in hindsight she'd not been dealing well with what he had been doing all that day. In hindsight he remembered the looks on her face, as he went through the actions at CTU; it was so second nature, that it was like breathing to him.

"I'm not proud of it, Diane. You have to know that; it's just one of the many things in my past that I regret." Jack responded.

"We all have those kinds of things Jack." Diane quietly replied. They were silent for a while.

"How is Audrey?" Diane was silent as she waited for an answer she wasn't altogether sure she wanted.

"Audrey's hanging in there too. It's been a very long, very hard day; and it's not over yet." Jack answered. Diane laughed nervously:

"Yeah, that's an understatement."

"After this is all over, would you consider seeing me again?" Jack asked her directly.

Diane was silent was she thought about what he asked her. In that second, she realized how hard this was for him, to re-live past, and recent heartaches. That he did it, showed her that he was serious about starting a relationship with her, and that he didn't want one based on a lie; but on the truth, as hard as that was for him to tell her. If she was honest with herself, she wanted relationship with him too, and knew that it would take some work; she would have to learn to trust him again, but she had faith she could do it; she wanted to do it- he was worth it.

"Yes," She responded.

Jack smiled; he didn't expect she'd give in so quickly, and was quite relieved when she did. It meant she wanted the relationship just as much as he did, and for the first time that day, the pressure eased a little and he could see the end- it was going to be okay.

"Alright." He watched as Chloe came out onto the roof, and turned around so that he was facing away from her for privacy. He didn't want to say good-bye just yet.

"How did you deal with all this?" Jack asked, concern showing in his tone.

"It was an overwhelming experience. It's not everyday that your son nearly gets kidnapped, then has his life saved by a man he barely knows. I admit: Audrey was a bit intimidating; she seemed so together- this strong self-confident, career woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. But as we got talking, she seemed nice, if a little sad. It was actually kind of neat seeing you, in that element- you were just as natural as if you'd just come home from the oilrig and were helping Derek with his homework. "

Jack chuckled, and then sobered. The thought that he looked so natural at CTU had always bothered him; he'd had to kill, manipulate, and lie all in the name of duty- and the fact that all three had come so easily to him was always a worry for him. The only redeeming thing he could think of was that in the end, he got the job done; the bad guys were always apprehended.

"How's he doing anyway?" Jack asked.

"He's sleeping right now. He was worried about you- we both were." Diane answered.

"Tell him, I'm okay." Jack replied.

"I want to make this work between us; I've felt the most comfortable with you than any woman I've been with since my wife." Jack admitted to her.

"That means a lot to me to hear you say that." Diane replied. Jack cast a quick glance over his shoulder, and noticed Chloe, anxiously shifting her weight between her feet, looking at him with an expectant gaze:

"Listen, I have to go back to work; Chloe's here, waiting for me. I'll call you after this is over." He acknowledged Chloe's presence at last.

"Bye Jack," Diane said.

"Bye Diane, " Jack replied, his tone laced with regret. He pressed the end button and turned back to Chloe, expectantly.

"Audrey's waiting in holding room #7," she informed him, went back into the building. Jack took one last deep breath of night air, and followed her with a new purpose in his stride.

Meanwhile on her end, Diane hung up the phone, and sunk back onto the chair she was sitting in deep in thought. His, was a voice she wanted to hear more than anyone's but when she left CTU, she knew the reality was that she likely wouldn't. So when the phone rang, and it turned out to be him, she was pleased, and surprised. As he told her about his wife, and daughter her heart broke for him. Hearing him actually tell her he wanted a relationship with her was nearly more than she could bear.

As a child, she dreamt of marrying her true love, and having kids. When Derek's father left, he didn't know she was pregnant, and she doubted that would have changed anything between them. As Derek got older, she had meaningless fling, after meaningless fling; it was about filling a need for adult companionship, hoping that her borders would stay around, and yet not surprised when they moved on.

By the time she met Jack, she had stopped looking for her true love- a teenaged Derek took care of that. But she was instantly attracted to the stranger; he was polite, handsome, and quietly confident. But more than that, he was private; he didn't pry about others, and she didn't pry about him. He started fixing things around the house, a paintjob on the siding here, a tightened tap there. She repeatedly offered to give him a cut on rent but he steadfastly refused; as he started to help Derek with homework, again: she offered him a break on his rent, and he refused, saying that he didn't think it was right; she had Derek to feed, and expenses to pay.

As the spring wore on, they spent ever-increasing amounts of time together talking. They really clicked, finding that they had a lot in common. Diane began fantasizing about him; What if he stayed? What if they ended up married? This was the first guy that didn't push her to have sex, the first guy that seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, and took a keen interest in Derek. Only recently, she finally was able to admit to herself that she was really falling for him, and she allowed herself to consider the possibility of a future with him.

Finally this morning came; and one minute they were a rather unorthodox family the next Jack was rushing out the door and Derek had snuck out after him, got himself kidnapped by Jack, and then taken hostage by a bunch of lunatics. And Jack risked his life to save him; they (Diane, and Derek) were reunited, and taken to CTU. Diane smiled to herself: It was amazing that in a course of a day that her life was turned upside down; Frank was Jack, the oil-worker was really a CTU agent.

And to her surprise Diane found herself growing more comfortable with the whole notion of Jack as an agent. It was obvious that any life with him would come with some danger. But when it really came down to it, she couldn't really imagine going back to a life without him, so as far as she was concerned; he was well-worth the risk.

'Maybe a girl like me will get the guy, after all.' Diane thought to herself.

Fin…

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