I don't own 24.If I did Jack would get his head out of his ass and see what was in front of him. Update: Jass (aka graywords-girl) coauthored this piece.

Chloe took a deep breath and clutched the phone to her ear listening to the ringing. 'Pick up, pick up,' she chanted in her head. 'Please, dammit, Fauve, you never sleep.' There was a soft clicking noise as the phone on the other end was pulled from its cradle.

A sleepy female voice muttered inaudibly. After a few seconds of a soft scratching sound Fauve spoke, "This isFauve.If you're Kamren Isaac, fuck you." A choked sob issued from Chloe's throat at the rude declaration. It was so classically Fauve it hurt to hear it. "Hello," the concern lacing the words was obvious, "Hello, are you alright? Who is this?" Bleak silence was the only response. Worried and irritated Fauve snapped, "If you don't tell me who this is I'm hanging up and calling the cops."

The harsh demand spurred Chloe into a response. "Fauve, I...I think I need to talk," she tried to explain awkwardly. Her teeth worried her lower lip as she fought tears.

"Chloe," Fauve was wide awake now. "Chloe, honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Sitting on her bed, hanging on to the phone like it was her lifeline, Chloe bluntly spoke the truth as she always did. "No, I don't think I am."

Faint rustling over the phone suggested that the other woman was clambering out of bed. Chloe could see her clearly in her mind's eye. Fauve's wildly, multicolor hair would be sticking up like a sick porcupine drawing attention to the dark eyes that were the focus of the native Hawaiian's face. Her pajamas would be a ridiculous silky affair that revealed as much as it hid with bright colors and fluid movement. "Are you hurt physically?" The direct style and no nonsense attitude of Fauve's questioning made it easier for Chloe to understand her.

"No," Chloe whispered.

"How are you hurt?"

One hand unconsciously rose to cover her heart. "I think," Chloe said slowly, "that my feelings are hurt."

"Why do you think that," Fauve asked calmly.

Chloe hesitated. Talking with Fauve always made sense. Fauve always made sense. If there was one thing she had learned about dealing with the other woman, it was that the answer would come no matter how strange a turn the questioning took. "My chest hurts. It's tight and it feels like my heart is bruised. I wasn't hurt there, no blunt force trauma, bruising, no history of heart disease, no respitory illness, no reason for it to hurt." This was frustrating her, "It doesn't make sense."

Fauve's reply was analytical but soothing. "It's called a psychosomatic reaction. Your body is reacting to tramua caused in your mind. Do any other areas beside your chest hurt?"

Chloe shook her head negative as she spoke. "No, the rest of my body is tired but not hurting."

"Oh, Chloe," the sigh was sad. "What upset you?"

Moving the phone away from her ear Chloe glowered at it crossly. "You're supposed to tell me," she snapped into it.

No doubt Fauve would be rolling her eyes at that one. "Sorry. Let's start from the top. Walk me through your day starting immediately when you woke up."

Silence reigned once more as Chloe shifted back and forth in discomfort. The other woman didn't push, Chloe would talk eventually. Taking a deep breath, and then another, Chloe braced herself and began to description of her day. "You see, I woke up this morning with a guy in my bed who'll I never see again..." From there she covered everything. Fauve would gently interrupt sometimes, to ask for clarification or for more specific details about how Chloe felt, but mostly she listened. "...And he went home with her. I know because I drove him to her house because the doctor said he had a concussion."

"How did you feel when you did that?" Fauve asked her voice remaining as neutral as before.

Pursing her lips Chloe thought back and searched for an answer. "Angry," was what slipped out. "I was angry, at her, but more at him. After everything I did for him." She hesitated, her voice fading off. This had gotten very personal.

As if sensing her fear, Fauve reassured her, "The truth will set you free. And I need to know the truth to help you. Just remember, you can say anything to me, Chloe, anything, and I won't feel any differently about you."

Taking a moment to consider this, Chloe carefully weighed the pros and cons. Decision made, she spoke so quietly it was barely above a whisper. "I don't need a thank you, I'm just doing my job. He doesn't need to say anything. I just...I think I deserve better than to be playing chauffeur to take him to is ex-lover-again-lover's house."

"Oh, honey," Fauve sighed deeply. "For the record, that man is a bastard and insensitive jerk who doesn't deserve you. In fact," Chloe could guess at the unkind intent behind the voice, "can you give me a phone number."

"Fauve," Chloe said in exasperation.

There was an evil chuckle. "Coitus interuptus makes people bitchy, but I'm the queen of bitchy and right now I'd like to sink my bitchy teeth into one Jack Bauer."

Chloe had to give a watery smile at that one. "That's not what I called you for Fauve."

Sighing, Fauve agreed. "Right. Anyways. First and foremost, this isn't a manifestation of your condition. If anything, this is encouraging since it is a perfectly normal, even healthy, reaction to the situation. Second, sounds like your Jack suffers from a disorder known as co-dependency. The symptoms are there. Depression, the need to rescue people, controlling personality, intimacy issues, fear of abandonment, chronic anger, does more than his share all the time, these are all habits of co-dependent people. Frankly, he probably needs me more than you because what you said was true."

"He..." Chloe thought for a moment. "Why do I have the sudden urge that I need to defend him?"

Fauve laughed. "That's called friendship, Chloe. Most people don't take it well when others start bad-mouthing the people they care about."

Pursing her lips once more, Chloe said, "Oh, so I don't have this codependence...disorder...thing?"

"Perfectly normal," Fauve reassured her. "Normal, normal. Common normal even."

"That's good," Chloe sound dubious.

It was Fauve's turn to sound exasperated. "Point being, he's the one with problems, honey, not you. You're just collateral damage while he's going down in flames."

Considering Fauve's opinion, Chloe glanced around her spartan room. Her eyes settled on the blinking red numbers of the clock. It had been two in the morning when she'd initiate the call, now it was almost five. "I...I guess I'll think about it. But, I need to go to work today and I'd like to get at least some sleep." The "Humph" told her that Fauve didn't consider their conversation finished. "Good bye."

"'Morning, Chloe," Fauve grumbled. The words "We are so not finished with this..." were heard before Chloe hung up.

Author's Note: Fauve is an OC, okay, but there will be no OC/Bauer (which I detest).