Chapter 2

They were packing up papers and shaking hands as Michelle entered. The debrief was over, she needed to think of a way to keep him there as long as possible. Cheng looked up at her, curious.

She cleared her throat. "Where's Audrey Raines?"

Bill's brow furrowed, as he turned to face her. "What?"

Michelle didn't face him. She continued to stare at Cheng who narrowed his eyes at her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Audrey Raines flew to China six months ago, and nobody has had any contact with her since. And given how important she is to Jack, I wouldn't put it past you to have had some hand in that."

"Quite an accusation, Miss Dessler. Care to back it up?"

Bill grabbed her bicep and pulled her aside, his blue eyes piercing into her. "What the hell are you doing?" He gritted through his teeth. "After how many hours, we've just negotiated Jack not being taken back to China. Don't test him now. I know Audrey means a lot to you but-"

"Bill, just play along for now, I promise you, I can explain everything, ju-"

The door opened again. Two guards came in, followed by a blonde woman. Her hair was longer than it was last time, eyes heavy with fatigue. But her voice was strong.

"By orders of the Chinese government, you're under arrest Mr. Zhi."

A noise of confusion came out of Bill's mouth, but fell quiet, as Audrey continued to speak. She explained that his long-term hidden corruptions, briberies, and blackmails had been uncovered. That he hadn't quite erased everything as well as he'd thought. That the precedence of these crimes, and the harbouring of fugitives at the consulate meant he had had no right to punish Jack as harshly as he had. Cheng sneered at her. She then repeated everything in perfect Mandarin. Walking forward, she stared daggers into him. His face paled. Clearly what she had said had had some effect on him.

The guards, presumably from the consulate, proceeded to cuff him, as he shouted and swore in protest.

"Audrey? My god, everybody thought you were…" Bill started.

She sighed. "I-I had to go dark. I realised that the only way to make him pay for what he did, what he did to you and to everybody else, was using Chinese law. We'd been going about it wrong the whole time, trying to focus on Jack's innocence as an American. What we needed to do was find a way to show Cheng's guilt as a Chinese. I-I had a friend in the embassy there, we've been working together. But as we dug up records, we realised how many moles Cheng had in consulates all over. S-so we couldn't let anything connect back to the US, because we knew he'd figure it out. As soon as you and Fayed and President Palmer made the deal, I knew I had to time my movements carefully."

They stared at her flabbergasted as she continued to explain, before giving a sheepish smile.

Michelle shook her head in disbelief, pulling Audrey into a hug. "You scared the crap out of me, you know that?"

Audrey let out a weak laugh, squeezing tightly back. "Sorry…won't happen again, I can promise that." Her grip froze. "James, is he…?" Her voice had lost its determined edge now.

Michelle nodded. "He's here. I'll show you."

Walking down the hall, Michelle took Audrey to where her son was. As the universe would have it, he was awake.

The sound was heartbreaking. When she hovered over the crib into his field of view, the sound that escaped his tiny throat after a moment's hesitation and recognition, was absolutely, god-damn heartbreaking. It was the sound of confusion, of relief, of joy, of profuse emotion. She cried too, at hearing the sound of his wails, at feeling his weight wriggle around in her arms for the first time in what felt like an eternity. In just six months, he'd grown so much, the way babies seem to do in those early stages. Gently she rocked him, cooing softly.

"I-I'm home, it's okay, it's okay, I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm sorry, mommy's here, I'm here, I'm here…"

Michelle felt herself tear up too. At first it was because of the sight of the mother and son reunited, but then the reality of the situation occurred her. With Jack and Audrey back, was she even needed anymore? For the last half a year, really the last two, she'd been able to experience the joys of raising a child, something she never thought she'd ever have the opportunity to do again. Of course, losing two of her close friends was never how she wanted it to happen, but nonetheless, she'd grown incredibly attached to James. She loved him. She'd been there for everything start to finish. How was she supposed to just give all that up?

"Michelle…" Audrey called out to her, noticing the growing sadness on the woman's face. "Sit down, please." She let out a breath, relieved as James had started to calm down. "What I put you through wasn't fair. B-but I wouldn't have trusted anyone more than you to be there for him, especially…." Her composure faded. "Especially if I didn't make it back."

"Y-you got Jack home for good, you got Cheng behind bars, that's all that matters. It's okay, really."

She shook her head. "No it's not. I never asked you if having a child was ever something on the horizon for you again. But thank you. Thank you for being there."

Her shoulders shrugged lightly. "I-it's been a joy. But I guess it's time to let go now." Michelle's voice saddened, as she looked down into her lap.

"Let go?" Audrey looked at her, quizzed.

"Well…you and Jack are there for him, right? He's got both of his parents, he doesn't need me anymore."

"Michelle…" Her voice was sympathetic. "You were there for me from the beginning, you've raised him alone for six months, I could never take that away from you. And besides…Jack will probably need time to adjust being home, so will I…in any case, I would really love for you to stay a big part of his life."

She looked at her, almost thinking it was too good to be true. "Y-you mean it?"

"Yes, Michelle. Please."

"Th-thank you, Audrey." Her voice was small, yet the sheer gratitude still carried through.

When Jack walked through the doors, Audrey passed James to a sniffling Michelle and then threw her arms around him. He stepped back a little, unsteady on his feet. She ran the pad of her thumb over a cut on his temple. His hands gripped her back, tightly embracing her.

"I-I've missed you so much." Jack whispered into her hair.

"M-me too. God, me too…" A tear rolled from her cheek onto his shoulder. "I love you, Jack. I meant it the last time I said it, and I mean it even more now. Now that it's all over for good. I want you with me again. No more waiting, okay? No more trying to work through the past, okay? I want to be with you now. So now's all that matters" She pulled back from the hug. "I-I want our son to have his father."

He sniffled, pulling her in for a searing kiss. "I love you too. Both of you. Y-you're right, just no more hesitating. We've done enough waiting."

And at this moment, he knew that Audrey loved him for who he was. Who he truly was.

Not Frank Flynn.

Not 'Agent Bauer'.

And not even the slightly subdued version of Jack she'd met nearly three years ago now.

These past few months, he'd let himself be open in his pain, and she in hers.

They had each other back now, and they weren't letting go.