For two days they settled into a routine, on their third day at the location they received news from Bill and Curtis that it was safe for them to move on. A private jet was taking them out of the US although their final destination was a secret to everyone besides Jack. Not that they would be going directly; he intended it to take a couple of weeks to get there with lots of diversions on the way to try and leave as many false trails behind them as possible.

Jack warned Chloe that they had some rough times ahead, they couldn't travel under normal circumstances where they could just buy tickets and hop on a plane or ship or something. They would have to travel at least part of the time by uncomfortable and unconventional methods.

Chloe rolled her eyes at his concern for her. "Jack, I've just spent weeks in a women's prison. You may find this hard to believe but it's not all beauty spas and manicures you know. The conditions are not great and the company is even worse. At least the company will be relatively ok on this trip we're going on".

Jack smiled at her dry humour; that was something else that he'd missed about her. "Chloe, I just want you to be comfortable. It's only what you deserve after what you've been through."

Jack turned and started to move towards the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Stop right there!" Chloe ordered.

Jack stopped then turned slowly, arching a surprised brow questioningly. If Chloe had been observing this scene she would have laughed at the surprise in his expression, Jack wasn't used to being ordered around. But she wasn't an observer, she was a full and active participant and, as such she felt she should stop him before he went too far in his effort to protect her.

"Don't wrap me up and treat me like I'm some fragile, helpless child Jack. I am not your daughter, your girlfriend or your god-damn grandmother, so stop treating me like you do them. We do this as equals or we don't do it" she said firmly.

Jack liked Chloe's no-nonsense attitude and he smiled in appreciation.

"Alright, I hear you" he said simply.

Chloe grunted snarkily then turned to walk into the bedroom not realising that the sway of her hips in the tight jeans she was wearing made her look anything but child like or grandmotherly. She stopped at the sound of his amused voice.

"Nope, definitely not my grandmother……. or my daughter" he said on a chuckle that failed to diminish the seductive undertone of his voice.

Chloe turned, but he'd already moved away. She frowned, not understanding the tone of his voice or what he meant by it.

When Chloe emerged an hour later, following a relaxing bath she was surprised to see the lights turned down low and the table which had been set for dinner cast in candlelight. She stood for a moment, taking in the scene, a frown of confusion marring her features. If she didn't know better she'd say the scene was set for a romantic dinner for two. She shook her head as though to banish the image the scene conjured up in her mind. She almost laughed, then decided he was just trying to make their evening nice, believing it would be the last one in a while where they could just relax.

Chloe jumped when she heard his voice whisper in her ear from behind

"You hungry?" he asked, his fingers brushing her hair to one side, his thumb accidentally brushing the skin on her neck and making her heart accelerate. At least, Chloe thought his touch was accidental.

Chloe swallowed nervously. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? She wished she could stop herself reading so much into everything.

"Starving" she said, forcing a bright smile in his direction to cover her discomfort.

"Then sit" he said as he went into the kitchen, emerging moments later with their food and a bottle of wine.

Chloe was sure the food was delicious but she hardly tasted it. She seemed better able to drink the wine than to eat. That probably explained the slow flush that seemed to be taking over her body. She pushed the food around her plate, taking a couple of mouthfuls.

"I thought you were hungry" Jack said softly. They hadn't spoken much since sitting down for dinner, Jack's attempts to start a conversation all but falling on deaf ears.

"I am,…was. Oh, I don't know" Chloe said in frustration.

"Chloe, what is it?" he asked gently.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Look, I'm eating" she said with a glare.

Jack didn't say anything but gave her a considered look before returning his attention to his own meal.

Eventually, the meal over, Chloe started to clear the table. Jack also got up and joined her in the kitchen and they cleaned up in virtual silence.

"More wine?" Jack asked when they were done.

"Sure" Chloe said, trying to get herself to relax.

As Jack poured the wine Chloe put the last few kitchen items away in their respective storage places. As she reached up into one of the higher cupboards she let out a squeal as the contents of the cupboard started to fall. Jack moved quickly to help her, moving in behind her and placing his hands over hers to push the items back into their storage space.

Chloe felt her breath catch in her throat at the feel of his hard chest pressed against her back. The cupboard fall out was contained but his hands hovered over hers, not moving. She could feel his heartbeat through her clothes and the rhythmic feel of him was turning her mind to mush.

She felt his hands slowly move across her hands and up her arms, eventually resting on her shoulders. He gently turned her towards him so her back was pressed against the kitchen counter. Chloe stared straight at his throat, not daring to look at the expression on his face. She felt his fingers tugging on her chin, forcing her head up and giving her little choice but to look at him.

She closed her eyes but opened them at the sudden contact of his mouth on hers. His lips gently moulded to her own, his teeth grazing her bottom lip so she had no choice but to open her mouth to him. The sensation of his tongue probing the warmth of her sent her thoughts spiralling and she groaned as she relaxed against him.

They stayed like that for several minutes until Chloe somehow managed to get her mind to focus. She was being kissed passionately by Jack Bauer and she didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't the first time he'd kissed her but it was the first time he kissed her as though he meant it, as though he might never stop. And that scared her.

Chloe pulled away from his lips, at the same time pushing at his chest. He stopped as soon as he felt her resistance although the expression on his face mirrored his confusion.

Chloe just couldn't deal with this and she pulled away from him;

"Jack I can't" she said in despair and turned and ran into the bedroom.

Jack gave her a few moments before following her, finding her lying on the bed; tears streaming down her cheeks. Jack hesitated, not sure why she had reacted so badly or how she would react to him now.

He sat on the edge of the bed. "Chloe? Talk to me".

She let out a ragged sob in response, curling in on herself but when he reached out to touch her arm she didn't flinch. Feeling assured that she wouldn't pull away from him Jack lay down beside her and pulled her body into his. He just held her until her tears subsided.

Eventually Chloe pulled back from him, getting up and going into the bathroom. When she came out Jack looked at her pale skin and felt a jolt of concern.

"Chloe, we need to talk" he said simply, leaving her in no doubt that she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"I know" she said, "but not in here."

Jack got up from the bed and, taking her hand he led her to the couch in the living room where he left her to go briefly into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with a glass of water and some painkillers.

"I figured you might have a headache" he said, softly.

Chloe smiled, recalling when she'd first met him. She'd thought back then that he was self absorbed, but she soon realised how wrong she was. She swallowed the pills before relaxing back into the couch, bringing her legs up underneath her. Jack sat next to her, his fingers absently stroking her temple. She closed her eyes and felt her body relaxing for the first time that evening.

"Chloe? Did I scare you?" he asked

Her eyes quickly snapped open and she moved to reassure him.

"No Jack. Please don't think that, you could never do that".

"Then tell me."

"I just don't want you to feel sorry for me Jack"

"What? Why would I feel sorry for you?"

"Because you kissed me"

"Huh?" he asked in confusion. "Why would my kissing you make you think I felt sorry for you?"

Chloe turned away for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing. She turned back to him when she'd considered what she wanted to stay.

"Jack, you and I are just not a good match. I've just about gotten used to the idea of you giving up your life again for me, but I can't start something with you that's based on you feeling as though you owe me or you're feeling sorry for me."

Chloe flinched a little as she saw the flash of anger cross his features. He moved quickly, hands roughly grabbing the tops of her arms and pulling her across the couch towards him so that her face was merely inches from his.

"Dammit Chloe! Will you stop? I can't stand to hear you talk about me feeling sorry for you or thinking that everything I do is because I'm indebted to you. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Do you hear me?" He shook her slightly in frustration.

Chloe nodded in response but couldn't prevent the tears that stung her eyes.

"Shit" he groaned, pulling her towards him. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's ok Jack. It's just I don't understand why you kissed me."

He smiled softly, looking into her eyes. "Chloe, I kissed you for the same reason any man would kiss a woman. Because I find you attractive and I have feelings for you" he said simply.

"That's the bit I don't get. You and I, we're different. We're not compatible."

"A couple of years ago I would have agreed with you Chloe, but things have changed."

"Like what?" she asked frowning.

"Like I'm now slightly less stupid than I used to be" he said with a slight smile.

"What do you mean?" she asked her confusion increasing.

"Chloe, I spent so long trying to replace what I used to have. I thought I wanted to be with someone who could give my life a bit more normality. That's what I had with Terri, I had a wife and daughter who knew nothing about my work life and that was the last time I remember being happy. So, it made sense in my mind to try and recreate it. I've spent the last few years battling between my job and holding down a relationship outside of it. My relationship with Audrey just proved to me that I can never have that; it was fine while I was in DC but as soon as I started field work again it all fell apart."

"But what has all that got to do with you kissing me?"

He looked up at her, a serious expression on his face.

"Only everything Chloe. While I was in China I kept trying to hold onto images of good things in my life. First I held onto Kim and Audrey, but there was this other image that kept filtering through and that was the image that was constant the whole time I was there. The others kept fading in and out until eventually the only ones I was left with were you and Kim and even then, the thought of Kim brought up a lot of pain so in the end I was only left with you."

"Oh" Chloe said simply, suddenly realising what he was telling her.

"The thing with you Chlo is that you've never judged me, you've never questioned me. You have always had complete trust and faith in me and then when I came back from China you were there again, doing what you always do and not just because it's me but because you know it's the right thing to do. That's kind of my point, we think the same, we see things the same and, in many ways we are the same."

He reached over and pulled her towards him. She didn't resist, she was in too much shock to either do or say anything. Jack gently kissed her then leaned back, still keeping contact with her by stroking her arms.

"I love you Chloe. I want to be with you."

If Chloe was shocked before, she was stunned now.

"You what?"

He laughed at her expression "I love you."

"Oh my god" Chloe hadn't seen that one coming. She was just getting used to the fact that he had feelings for her, but not feelings to that extent.

She sat still for a moment trying to think of something to say that was fitting for the moment. The man she loved had just announced that he loved her. But she couldn't think of any words to express how she felt. So, she decided that actions would have to do. She kissed him, tracing his lips with her own until she heard him groan and she felt herself being pushed back against the couch.

It was several minutes before they came up for air. Jack just stared at her, his breathing laboured. Chloe felt a small smile of satisfaction touch her lips as she saw the effect she was having on him. In a gesture that would normally have been bold for Chloe, she moved from under him so she was standing and held her hand out to him and when he took it she gently tugged at his arm until he was standing next to her. She led him towards the bedroom.

"There is just one thing Jack"

"What?" he asked as he started trailing soft kisses along her jaw line.

"This will only work if you stop treating me like you have to protect me all the time. I saw the way you were with Audrey and that's not what I want. I need to know that the way we are with each other won't change, apart from the sex thing."

"The sex thing?" he asked, laughing gently. "Chloe, I promise that I will not change how I am with you, although there will be times when I get a little protective but you'll have to deal with it. As for the sex thing, well I think we should just get on with it don't you?"

Chloe hesitated for a moment before she brought her body in closer to his. "I love you" she said, enjoying the sound of the words as she spoke them for the very fist time."

He smiled. "Thank you for loving me Chloe. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you."

The end.