A/N: Sorry for wait! Please review!

James Heller was surprised to see the light on in Jack's office when he arrived at work. He knocked and walked in.

"Mr. Secretary," Jack greeted. "Good morning."

"I'm surprised to see you here Jack." Heller admitted.

"Really? I'm always here this early," Jack said.

"I'm not talking about the time. I know about the job offer you got from CTU," Heller told him. "I guess I just assumed you weren't going to pass up an opportunity to protect the country."

"The work we do here is important too," Jack argued. Heller looked at him suspiciously. "Besides, I'm getting too old for that job."

"Well, I'm glad you chose to stay. I like having you here."

"Thank you, sir."

"Also, I'm going to need you to sift through some of Audrey's work until she gets back."

"Already on it," Jack ensured him. Heller went back to his office and decided to try calling his daughter again. Paul had called from Massachusetts when they arrived at the rehab facility to let him know they had made it safely. Audrey, on the other hand, was ignoring his calls. This time she answered.

"Hello?" Audrey answered.

"Hi sweetheart," Heller said. "You've been avoiding my calls."

"Sorry," Audrey said. "I'm just a little stressed out."

"You do seem to have put yourself in quite the predicament," Heller said. "How are you?"

"Well, Paul is going to have surgery tonight. It's pretty risky but if it works he will probably regain almost full function of his legs."

"I didn't ask about Paul. I asked about you. How are you handling all of this?"

Heller could hear her getting choked up. "It's just been really confusing."

"Well, tell me about it."

"I know I'm doing the right thing by being here with Paul for his recovery. But, I miss Jack - well the old Jack that is."

"Audrey, you need to remember that Jack hasn't changed. The Jack you fell in love with is the same Jack you saw the other day. You've just seen a side to him that was always there but one that he doesn't need here in DC. It's not a side of himself that he is proud of. It's just a necessity when working in that environment. But, he is giving up that lifestyle for you. He just turned down a field position at CTU to stay here and do paperwork all day."

"He was offered a job at CTU?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, and when telling me why he turned it down the best he could come up with was that he's too old to be working like that anymore. But, I know it was for you."

Audrey knew he was right but felt guilty that Jack would give up a job he really wanted just to be with her.

"On the other hand, I think you are making the right choice by going with Paul. He really needs you right now," Heller continued.

"I'm just not sure how to explain that to Jack. When I told him I was going with Paul he looked so hurt. The last thing I want is to hurt either of them."

"Just try to be honest with both of them and more importantly yourself." Heller advised.

Audrey went to the hospital to sit with Paul before his surgery.

"Where have you been?" Paul asked, as Audrey walked into his room. "I'm freaking out here."

"What's wrong?" Audrey asked. Paul reached out for her hand.

"Besides the fact that I could die?"

"You aren't going to die," Audrey insisted. Paul looked at her unconvinced. "What can I do to help you relax?"

"Kiss me?" he asked.

Audrey sat with a look of confusion. It had been over a year since they last kissed.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Audrey said.

"I'm your husband," Paul stated as if it made a difference. "Please, Audrey. It doesn't have to mean anything. But if I die and the last thing I remember about us is a kiss rather than the arguing that we have done then I can be happy about that."

Audrey gave in and leaned over for a chaste kiss on the lips. Paul's hands cupped her cheeks causing her mouth to open slightly which Paul took full advantage of by slipping his tongue into her mouth. Just as Audrey pulled away a doctor entered the room.

"Hello Mr. Raines," the doctor said. "We're going to get you prepped for surgery. Mrs. Raines, you can wait in the waiting room where we will find you to give you updates."

Audrey turned to Paul. "Good luck. You're going to be okay."

"I certainly hope so. That kiss will definitely motivate me to stay alive."

They moved Paul out of the room and Audrey went to the waiting room. Audrey's phone rang and she saw Jack's name appear on the screen. She had been dying to talk to him but now she felt guilty for kissing Paul. She certainly hadn't wanted Paul to kiss her in that way but she felt like she should have known that he would try for it. She declined Jack's call and texted him: Can't talk now. Sorry.

The surgery seemed to take forever but eventually the doctors came out to tell Audrey that Paul had made it through what seemed to be a successful surgery. Audrey went up to the ICU to see him. When he finally woke up, he was groggy and went back to sleep almost immediately. Audrey took this as her cue to head back to the hotel to get some rest.

Audrey laid down on the bed and pulled out her phone to call Jack. It only rang once before he answered.

"Hey," he said. She smiled at the sound of his voice.

"Hey," Audrey replied. "Sorry, I couldn't talk before. I was waiting for Paul to get out of surgery."

"Did it go okay?" Jack asked.

"Yes, the doctors are hopeful that this fixed the problem."

"That's good news."

"Jack, I really miss you." Audrey admitted.

"I miss you too."

"I'm sorry I was mad at you. I know you were just doing what you had to do."

"No, I was doing what needed to be done but there were other people who could have done it." Jack said. "You were right. I had no business going back into the field once you and your father were safe."

"Jack, why didn't you tell me about the job offer from CTU?"

"Because I wasn't going to take it."

"I can't help but think that you didn't tell me because you really wanted to take it but were planning on turning it down anyway."

"How many times do I have to say that I don't want that kind of life anymore before you believe me?" Jack asked.

"I just don't want you to wake up ten years from now and wonder how you ended up in a job that you hate."

"I won't because I don't hate it," Jack insisted. "In ten years, I want to wake up next to you. That's all I want. I'm just worried you don't want the same."

"Jack, of course that's what I want. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because I'm here in DC and you are-"

"I know me being here is confusing. Paul just really needs me right now."

"What about his family? Can't they take care of him?"

"I am his family," Audrey replied. "He doesn't have anyone else."

"You asked him for a divorce a few days ago," Jack reminded her.

"And, then he asked me to wait a little longer and I agreed. He is still my husband and I still care about him."

Jack went silent for a moment. He didn't expect her not to care about Paul. But the way she said it made him realize that it was more than just caring about his well being. He could tell she still had feelings for him. "So, you're going to try to make it work?"

"I don't know yet. I really appreciate how patient you've been with me. You never try to pressure me into making decisions that I'm not ready to make. And, I'm not ready to make decisions about me and Paul yet. I'm sorry."

"Okay." Jack agreed, unenthusiastically. "I should get some sleep and you probably should too."

"Goodnight, Jack." Audrey said.

Jack hung up and resisted the urge to throw his phone across the room. He just couldn't understand the grip that Paul had on her. Audrey had always told Jack that she was confident that leaving him was the right decision. Despite this, Jack had always kept it in the back of his mind that she could potentially change her mind and go back to him and that it was her right to do so. Now that it was possibly happening, Jack realized he had not prepared for it enough. He had let himself get too close to her and now he was too attached.

Audrey went to the hospital early the next morning and was there when Paul woke up.

"Hey there," Paul said as he woke up and noticed her sitting next to him.

"Hey," Audrey said. "Your surgery went great."

"It certainly doesn't feel great," Paul said grimacing as he tried to sit himself up.

"Do you want more pain meds?" Audrey asked.

"No, those things just knock me out," Paul insisted. "I can tough it out. I want to make sure I'm awake to talk with you."

"Okay," Audrey said, hoping to get his mind off the pain. "What do you want to talk about?"

"About what happened to us. We were so happy and then everything kind of went down hill."

"We just got too focused on work," Audrey admitted.

"Yes, but I've been thinking about why we started delving into work. It was when we couldn't get pregnant," Paul said. "You said it was fine and that maybe we just weren't meant to have a baby but I think you lied about how devastated you were. Then you started distracting yourself with work."

Audrey was getting sad thinking back to those years. It all started when she thought she was pregnant. She had gotten to excited over the idea of having a baby and buying cute baby clothes and toys. When she took a pregnancy test, she realized she wasn't pregnant. Then, she told Paul that she wanted a baby. They tried for 3 years with no luck until Audrey was just completely defeated and told Paul that she thought they should move on with their lives rather than suffer through more disappointment. But, Paul was right, Audrey didn't just move on with her life. She wanted a baby and chose to distract herself from that fact by any means necessary.

"Yes, I remember when I started staying late at work, Paul, but that wasn't until after you started doing the same. And, then it was biweekly business trips followed by weekly business trips until I basically never saw you."

"Well, being around you wasn't so pleasurable," Paul snapped, offended that she was calling him out for not being around.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you changed. I mean no more home cooked meals or parties with our friends. When we'd go out on dates you would barely try to look nice which was your way of saying that you didn't want to have sex."

"Yeah, God forbid I'm not your perfect little trophy wife. That's what you always wanted from me."

Paul reached for Audrey's hand and guided her to sit on the edge of his bed. "Audrey, I promise you, that is not what I wanted. All I wanted was to know that you still loved me even though I couldn't give you a baby. And, I just didn't believe that you did."

"I did." Audrey said. "I'm sorry if it didn't come across that way. I was just really sad."

Paul pulled her closer so she was laying down next to him in the tiny hospital bed. Audrey didn't fight it. She had always blamed Paul for almost everything involving their separation. But, now that he was opening up to her she thought that maybe she had been unfair. Maybe she was just as much at fault.

She felt sad about this realization and started crying. Knowing that their marriage had failed because of her made her feel like she owed it to Paul to keep trying.

It was a Friday night and Jack was happy to have a beer in his hand. He sat down next to his friends at their usual table at the bar. Truth be told it felt strange hanging out with them without Audrey. They were really her friends but she had inducted him into the group even before they started dating.

"Told you that you needed a beer and a night out," Olivia said. Olivia was Audrey's best friend. She was sitting next to her husband, Brian. Then there were Jess and Pete who Jack knew from work. Audrey was the middle man who had brought this group of friends together. It didn't feel the same without her.

They started talking about their weeks as they usually did at this time. Jack listened and laughed along with them as they shared their most ridiculous stories from the week.

"You're up, Jack," Jess said, telling him that it was his turn to tell about his week.

"I think I'll pass this week," Jack said, taking another sip of his beer.

"So, where has Audrey been? She's been out of work all week right?" Pete asked, looking at Jack for the answer.

"I'm going to get another beer," Jack said, leaving the table to go up to the bar.

Jess smacked Pete on the arm.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"She left him for Paul," Jess answered. "Just don't bring her up."

"She went back to that asshole?" Pete asked.

"Stop it," Olivia insisted. "She left to take care of Paul because he got shot and may not walk again. She did not leave Jack for him."

"That's okay, Liv," Jack said sitting down with his beer having overheard what she said. "She kind of did. You don't need to say that for my benefit."

"Jack, she is just trying to help him. As soon as he is better she will be right back here where she belongs. Right guys?" There was a simultaneous groan across the table.

"Guys!" Olivia pleaded. She was trying to make Jack feel better. She made pleading eyes to Brian for him to say something encouraging.

"Liv, I'm not going to lie," Brian said. "Listen, Jack, I've known Audrey and Paul for a long time and he's trouble. They have fought throughout their entire marriage. She likes to say that they used to not fight but that's a huge lie. She doesn't remember because he manipulates her into thinking that everything was fine. Every fight becomes her fault and she falls right back into his arms."

"That's incredibly comforting. Thanks," Jack said, sarcastically. "Also, that doesn't really sound like Audrey. I mean Audrey is pretty hard-headed. I can't really see her backing down on a fight and thinking everything is her fault."

"That's because you've only known her post-Paul," Brian said. "That's the real Audrey but she's not like that around him."

Everyone at the table was nodding their heads in agreement even Olivia who had come to Audrey's defense a few minutes ago. The tense mood at the table lightened up and they went back to laughing but Jack's head was stuck on Audrey. He thought back to when he first moved to DC. Audrey and Paul hadn't split up yet at that point. Audrey had changed since he first met her. It was subtle but she didn't have the same confidence back then that she has now. Jack wondered how accurate her friends were about Paul's manipulative nature. And if true, did Audrey even realize it?