The argument had been raging for almost two hours and Chloe O'Brien was bored and tired. The stress of the day was taking its toll and she still had one more task to finish tonight before she collapsed in her bed. Not the most patient person to begin with, Chloe was approaching her wit's end.

Tony was pacing the living room and Michelle was sitting on the edge of the couch, her head in her hands. Looking at them, Chloe supposed they were her friends, she had known them for years, and she trusted them with her life, but right now they didn't seem to be paying much attention to what she was saying. All three of them were just talking in circles.

"But Michelle, Kim working at CTU while Jack was undercover is completely different. Yes, she couldn't tell anyone where he was, but she could admit he existed and tell people, like the rest of her family, that he was fine. I honestly don't think she'd be able to do it this way long-term." He sighed. "Sweetheart, we went over all of this when Jack left."

"I know, but then we thought that Kim would be able to deal with this and eventually heal, but it's pretty obvious now that she can't. I know we shouldn't, that we decided we wouldn't, but there has to be something we can do."

Chloe interrupted before Tony could respond, "You guys do know that you're repeating yourselves now, don't you? I mean, we're not getting anywhere."

Michelle turned to face Chloe again. "I know, but we have to make sure we're all on the same page before you go any further. Jack's trusting us with his life, we have to be careful, Chloe."

Frustrated Chloe snapped, "Fine. We'll just let Chase's family fall apart. Angela won't have a Mom, Chase won't have a wife, and Kim won't have anyone. At least my way, even if for some reason Chase still leaves, Kim has her Dad back. Even if she can't see him."

"Or talk to him?" Tony asked softly.

Chloe paused, "What are you talking about?"

"Chloe- you're the only one who knows Jack's current contact protocol, you're the only one who talks to him. Ever."

She was stunned, "Wait a minute, you mean you guys have never-"

"No," Michelle began, "Neither Tony or I have spoken to Jack since we dropped him off at the train yard. You're the only one who has."

Tony crossed back to Chloe, once again sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "Jack never gave us the number of the phone you gave him, and I'm pretty sure he dumped it awhile back even if he had, am I right?" Chloe nodded. "We can't reach him, and the only reason he'd reach out to us is if you missed three of your scheduled calls in a row. That was the deal."

"But I thought- I mean- Why?" Chloe stammered. She was floored at the amount of trust that implied. She knew Jack had trusted her enough to let her help fake his death, but she always assumed that had been a matter of necessity. But this, to be his only contact, the only one who could reach him if something went terribly wrong. The only one who could tell him to run, to hide, or to stay put. The enormity of it was crushing, and Chloe stood, crossing to where Tony had been pacing moments before.

Michelle followed Chloe with her eyes, and after a brief glance she stated, "Because you're the only one who can, Chloe. You said it yourself earlier, Tony and I don't have any sort of security clearance anymore, so if something came up, we'd likely never see it in time. And I'm good at securing communication lines, but even when we were both at CTU, you were better. And now I don't have ready access to the kind of technology I would need to do a proper job if we did have to change something on the fly."

"But most importantly, Chloe," Tony began, "you're not his friend. At least not like Michelle and I are. You were co-workers, and you're able to think more than Michelle and I might be able to. There's more distance between you."

Chloe moved to the window, and as she looked out, she asked, "I'm on point. Great. So what? Kim could still talk to him; you guys could talk to him. What's stopping you?"

"What's stopping the Chinese from putting us under surveillance again?" Tony countered. "Three months ago, Chloe. It was only three months ago that you discovered we were being watched, and that was only when you discovered the tap on your phone. Your phone. Michelle and I didn't know and I'm assuming Kim still doesn't know. You got lucky that you didn't contact Jack while you were being watched. Chloe, if we had been in contact with him, too…"

…that would have been that many more chances to screw up. Chloe kept her face to the window, "So Kim wouldn't call. I could still relay messages, mail out the occasional note, I've sent him stuff before, but the point is that she would know. She wouldn't have to hurt anymore; she wouldn't have to hurt Chase. She would know the truth."

"What truth, Chloe?" Tony crossed to the window and pulled Chloe around to face him. "That her father lied and ran away? That he may still be alive, but she will never see him again. Never see him hold his grandchildren, or walk his little girl down the aisle at her wedding? Wouldn't that be a worse hell than the one she's in now?

'Kim has a chance at closure with Jack dead. There's something she can let go of. But if she knows he's out there, it's going to hang there and it won't fade with time. Chloe, it could haunt her worse than the ghosts she carries now."

Chloe said nothing, and she turned back to the window as Tony continued, "Do you think that this doesn't hurt me, Chloe? It does. I thought nothing could be worse than having to tell a traumatized fifteen-year-old that her mother had been murdered just down the hall. Inside the one building they should have been safe in. But I was wrong. Having to tell Kim that Jack was dead, that after all the fighting they had done to rebuild their relationship over the years, after everything they had endured… This is my best friend's daughter, Chloe. This is his partner and his partner's daughter. These are the people I'm supposed to protect if he can't. But I can't fix this, none of us can. At some point we just have to let it go."

Chloe rounded on Tony, "So I'm just supposed to walk away is that it? I'm just supposed to let Chase leave her- and do nothing!"

"Yes."

"I can't do that, I've never left someone like that, just out there. It's like, like hanging up on a field agent in the middle of an operation. It's wrong."

It was Michelle's turn to speak. "You're right." I am? "It is wrong. I feel it, too. But so is telling Kim about Jack without being able to give her any hope. We don't like it, and it's going to keep us up nights for the rest of our lives, but ultimately, couldn't it be the lesser of two evils?"

Chloe didn't reply. She didn't nod, or shake her head. She turned back to the window and hung her head, tears returning to sting her eyes. She spent almost a full minute that way, acutely aware of her friend's eyes on her. But she wouldn't agree or disagree.

Finally Chloe sighed and tried to speak, "But what do I…" She couldn't finish. She just stood there, trying to swallow the tears before they overwhelmed her again.

"Chloe?" Tony reached out a hand and put it on her shoulder. "What is it?"

Chloe turned her head to look at him. "I have to call Jack tonight. What do I tell him?"

"Chloe-"

"Well, since you seem to be the expert at what I should and shouldn't be saying, Tony; how do I tell Jack about Chase and Kim?"

Tony looked at his wife, and Chloe could see the heartbroken look in their eyes. Realization dawned on Chloe and she felt her heart plummet. "No," she started, backing away from Tony, "you can't ask me to do that. No."

Michelle stood, and walked over to stand by her husband. "I'm sorry Chloe, but you know Jack. Think about how you feel about lying to Kim in her condition, and imagine how he will feel."

"But I'm the only person who can tell him what's going on!"

Nodding, Michelle continued, "And that's why he won't question it if you leave things out. There'll be no contradiction."

"I can't believe you think I'll actually go through with this, Michelle."

"Chloe, what choice do you have? The only way to keep Jack safe is to keep him as far away from here as possible. He has to move on, too. He has to let go."

"You want me to lie to Jack. About Kim. Are you crazy? This is Jack- he'll kill me. Slowly." I can't, please dear God, don't ask me to lie to him, too!

Tony began again, "But if you're the only person he's talking to, how will he know anything different from what you tell him?"

"But it's Kim."

"All the more reason to hide the truth. If he finds out how badly she's doing, he'll want to be here, and to comfort her."

"And you think he'll break cover."

"No, actually, I don't think he will." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "He won't break cover, if he does, he'll put Kim at risk. He'll put you at risk. And President Palmer, and Michelle and me. Anyone who backed us up when we spun our story would be at risk because they helped build a wall between the Chinese and Jack, even though they were deceived. So he won't do anything. He'll just be out there, alone and suffering because he can't help the one person who has always depended on him."

"So, I'm lying to Jack, too. That's just perfect. Is there anyone I can tell the truth to?"

Michelle took Chloe's hand, "I wish there were. But I think you'll end up having to lie to us, too, eventually. And I'm positive that you've been lied to. Do you really think Jack's told you everything? Do you think we have?"

"Michelle-" Tony warned.

"It's OK, Tony; I'm just making a point. Chloe, it's an awful truth. But what we don't know could be what keeps us from doing something that could expose us, endanger us, or even kill us."

"This sucks." Chloe wandered over to the kitchen chair Tony had set her coat on earlier. "I need to go, I- I can't be here when I call Jack and I don't want to be late."

Tony followed her and helped her with her coat. "Chloe, I know you don't like this, and I'm pretty sure it's going to get worse before it gets better. And I'm not sure how much we'll be able to help you, if at all."

"Oh, well thanks for that, Tony. That's a real load off."

"Chloe." She stopped. "We are here. Michelle and I are here. We may not be able to do much, but what we can do, we will. That's a promise."

Impulsively, Chloe reached out and gave Tony a quick hug. "That means a lot. Thanks." She smiled at the surprise on his face when she pulled away. "Sorry."

Chloe turned her head at the soft laughter coming from the living room, "That's my husband, Chloe. You should go find one of your own." She came up behind Tony and gave him a quick hug. "I fought for this one, he's mine."

Chloe laughed, "Guess you did."

Tony turned and gave Michelle a quick kiss. "I'm going to walk Chloe out to her car, or do you think I need an escort?"

Wrinkling her nose, she shook her head, "No, it's just out to the car; I think you'll be OK. I'll watch from the window, though."

Tony laughed and opened the door. Chloe walked out and Tony followed her. Neither of them spoke until they reached the car, and as Chloe opened her door, Tony stopped her with a hand on her arm. "You never said what you were going to do with Chase and Kim…"

"I don't know. I have to think about it. I really do."

He nodded. "Do that. But please keep something in mind."

"What?"

"Sometimes it really does hurt less to just walk away. Do what you need to do, but just walk away when you're done. If you don't you could drown. And I'd hate to see you as hurt as Kim or Chase."

Chloe nodded, got in her car and started her engine. Her eyes followed Tony as he started back up to the house, and she giggled when she saw that Michelle had indeed, watched from the kitchen window. Chloe waved, and Michelle returned the gesture before turning back into the house.

As Chloe drove away she couldn't decide if the trip had been worth it. Earlier, she thought it had been so clear, just tell Kim and Chase the truth. They could patch things up, and everything would continue. They would be happy. But now she wasn't sure. Tony's and Michelle's words echoed in her ears, and she couldn't deny anything they had said. For all the lies in her life these days, she knew in her heart that they were telling her the truth. And that's what hurt the most.

What am I going to do?