The harsh glare of the morning sun forced her eyes open as Kim slowly awoke from her deep, dreamless sleep. She groaned lightly and rolled from her stomach to her back, trying to remember what day it was when the blur left her eyes and gave way to clarity, dawning on her the realization that she was not lying in her bed and not sleeping in her bedroom. Quickly she sat up and felt a rush of cold air on her skin as the sheets fell from her shoulders, her eyes widening further as she pulled the sheets back up over her startlingly bare chest. She looked over on the opposite side of the bed and saw her clothes sitting there, folded and waiting for her to put them on. Then she heard a clanking noise come from outside of the bedroom, which was when she realized that the air smelled of...bacon and eggs.
Her head hurt, but she couldn't tell if it was from the coma she'd just awoken from or if it was a slight hangover. Either way, her mind was clouded and confused until suddenly, seemingly triggered by nothing, all of the memories made the night before came rushing back to her in one dizzyingly heart-stopping moment.
She quickly scurried out from under the covers and threw the clothes on, a slight panic taking hold as she realized what she had done and what she had to do now. She remembered pushing him down on his own couch, remembered how she'd kept pushing until she'd gotten everything she wanted and more - it had all happened so fast, on such a blinding and unexpected wave of passion, that she hadn't even thought about what the next day might be like. Now that it was here, she couldn't help but worry that it had all been one hideous mistake that she'd live to regret...eventually, anyway.
After smoothing herself overt in the bathroom she ventured out into the hallway, her footsteps nearly silent as she neared its end as peered out into the living room and its tiny adjoined kitchen. She then leaned against the wall with a helpless smile crossing her face as she took in the sight of Tony, dressed for work, dumping a panful of burnt eggs into the trash can.
She half-wanted to stay like that, just watching from her safe distance, but soon enough he glanced behind him and noticed her standing there, a sheepish smile greeting him as their eyes met. He took a breath and called in a cautiously light tone, "Hey."
"Hey," she replied, a little bit eased that the awkwardness didn't seem to be as bad as she feared it would be. She walked herself to the small table he'd sat two glasses on, one filled with water, the other with orange juice.
He cracked two more eggs over the heated skillet and turned back to her, eyeing her silently for a short moment before asking quietly, "Sleep okay?"
"Yeah," she smiled nervously, keeping her gaze on the the faint puffs of steam rising from the stovetop to avoid his eyes. When he had turned his attention back to the cooking eggs she muttered, "You don't have to do this. I mean, I can get something to eat on my home, it's not-"
"I want to," he interrupted, turning back to her and holding her gaze for a minute before adding, "It's the least I can do. Or try to do, anyway."
She smiled and nodded as he glanced back at the eggs, his expression quickly hardening as he muttered a "Dammit" and quickly moved the skillet off of the heat, having just wasted his third pair of eggs. She snickered as he leaned his palms on the stove, sighing before picking up a plate with three strips of bacon and taking it to her. "Well, looks like this'll have to do. Sorry about that."
"Please, it's fine," she replied, lifting the glass of orange juice to her lips before the faint ring of her cell phone entered her ears. They both froze and turned to the living room where it was coming from, a brief moment passing before she rose and hurried to retrieve the phone from her purse, which had been carelessly dumped beside a chair on the floor the night before.
Tony watched as she fumbled with the purse's contents before finally pulling out her phone, pausing to check the caller ID. She clicked on the phone and glanced nervously at Tony before plastering a smile on her face and chirping, "Hi, Daddy!"
Tony looked away and tried to busy himself with cleaning the mess in his kitchen, though he listened in carefully as he tried to calm the racing guilt-tipped thoughts in his head.
"I'm at a friend's house...yes, I'm okay. I know, and I'm sorry, I just...what? No, I must have turned the ringer off or something. I'm sorry, Dad, I really am, but I'm on my way home, okay?" She paused and closed her eyes before muttering,"I love you too. I'm sorry."
Tony watched as she slowly slid the phone from her ear and clicked it off, her eyes reluctantly meeting his as their silence spoke volumes. Kim saw the look in his eye and spoke before he had a chance to himself. "I should get going."
He nodded and watched as she started gathering her things before he begab to speak. "Don't worry about catching a cab or anything. I'll drive you home."
She paused, a look of confusion on her faxw. "But your car..."
"Yeah, I know," he smiled slightly. "I called a CTU car here. It's waiting outside."
"Oh," she muttered. "Okay. Thanks."
She watched as Tony grabbed his jacket and flipped the lights off, following him as he walked to the front door. He stood to he side and opened the door as he motioned for her to go first, though as she did she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
"Kim," he sighed as they stood parallel to one another, "I'm sorry...about last night. I shouldn't ha-"
"Tony," she interrupted, shaking her head, "Please, don't."
He paused and searched her eyes, using all of his willpower to keep his hand from reaching out and brushing against her face and the soft hair that had fallen messily into it. "You know it can't happen again."
She wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement. Either way, she nodded and turned her eyes forward. "Yeah."
He waited for a minute, trying to think of something else to say, something that would somehow "fix" everything but falling fall short. Instead he opened rhe door and watched her walk out of it, taking one last look around the apartment before following her.
-------------------------------------------
Two months later
Kim chewed anxiously on her fingernail as she waited on hold, trying desperately hard not to freak out and hang up but finding the idea more than tempting. It was a miracle that she found the courage to call at all - but this kind of waiting was unbearable. Absently, she picked up the small empty box that had somehow wound up on the floor near her bed and turned it over, making sure for the thousandth time that she'd followed the directions correctly. Then she set the box aside and picked up the offending test, staring blankly at the tiny blue strip that had appeared, she guessed, 20 minutes earlier, though the shock hadn't worn off one bit. Her eyes glazed with the thoughts running aimlessly through her head, though they suddenly fled when she heard the clicking of the other line and a familiar voice in her ear. "Kim? I'm sorry I didn't get to you right away - they just now told me you were on hold."
""It's okay," she quickly answered, closing her eyes and clearing her throat. "I know you're busy."
She heard a pause before Tony spoke again, cautious in his tone. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm...I'm fine, I just..." she paused and swallowed hard, "I need to talk to you...about something."
The fear in her voice was clear, and Tony could feel himself tense with worry with every minute that passed. This couldn't be good. "What's the matter, Kim?"
She sighed and gave up, having foolishly believed she could do this over the phone. "I...I need to tell you something, but not like this. I'd rather it be in person. If you can."
"Yeah, yeah, I can," he replied, leaning back and checking the clock on the wall. "Tell you what, I get off for lunch in an hour. I could meet you somewhere, or..."
"Um," she replied quietly, "could you pick me up? My dad has the car, and..."
"Okay. He's not home with you?"
"No, he left without saying where he was going awhile ago," she answered, the mere thought of her father almost sending her into a fit of tears.
"Alright," he sighed after a short silence. "I'll be there soon. You sure you're okay?"
No, she thought to herself. "Yeah. I'll see you soon."
----------------------------------------------------
Kim glanced over and deepened her frown at the sight of Tony's hand as it gripped the steering wheel seemingly for dear life. He had barely said a word since he'd picked her up, and she had said little more. He would glance over every few moments and eye her worriedly, trying to read her and figure out what the hell was so important that she'd call him at work out of the blue after two months of purposely avoiding him, but he was at a loss. The thought of having lunch like this seemed preposterous - besides, he'd lost his appetite the moment he'd heard the suppressed panic in her voice when he'd first picked up his phone.
Her eyes narrowed in confusion as he took a detour that she knew only led to one place, the beach - but why would he be taking her there? She didn't ask, staying silent until he had pulled into the beach's almost completely empty public parking area and turned off the engine.
"Tony, what are you...?"
"Listen," he began, finally connecting with her eyes, "you didn't call me at CTU out of nowhere after two months to have lunch. Now tell me what this is about. Tell me what's going on."
Kim sighed and closed her eyes briefly, telling herself to just blurt it out and get it over with. But when she opened her eyes and looked into his, her memory flashed in her mind and made it nearly impossible to focus on the mission at hand. The last two months had been long ones, and she figured she'd never see him again, nor that she'd have a reason to. She hadn't exactly forgotten about him or what they had done, but it had been pushed far enough into her subconscious for her to have been completely unprepared for this. And if she was in such a state of shock, she wondered, how would he take it?
"Kim?"
He sounded almost impatient now, and her heart started racing in her chest. She looked out of the passenger side window and stared out into the beach without actually looking at anything, though only seconds later she was startled by a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey," he whispered, pulling back slightly when she jumped at his touch.
"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I just..."
"...Just what?" he pressed, his nerves pushed to the brink and ready to explode if she didn't spit it out soon.
Kim looked into his eyes and realized that he was closer than he was moments earlier, having cast aside his seatbelt so he could lean over far enough to reach her shoulder when he'd touched her. She held his gaze and weighed her options. Either she could do what she came here to do or she could give in to the screaming inside of her head that was telling her she couldn't, and maybe shouldn't, do it, and that this whole thing had been one giant mistake.
Going with the latter option, she unfastened her own seatbelt and swiftly leaned forward, taking his face in her hands and pressing her lips hard against his. He froze for a moment, her sudden movements having taken him by surprise, not to mention further confusing him, but he kissed her back nonetheless, much to her relief. She quickly scooted off of the passenger seat and tried to squeeze herself in between him and the steering wheel, their lips breaking apart in the process long enough for him to mutter, "Kim, wh-"
"Shut up," she half-pleaded before silencing him with another kiss, all the while fumbling clumsily around the seat until she found the handle she was looking for. She tugged on it and the seat fell back, leaving her on top of him as she tightened her hips around his and started moving slowly against them. He groaned into her mouth and pulled her hips closer still, his body's reaction almost immediate as obvious as the smile he felt form against his lips.
Tony's one hand rested on the curve of her hip while the other rose to tangle in her hair, the scene familiar to him and yet different somehow, not that he had time to analyze with her pressing harder and harder against him, driving away her own rationality along with his. He pulled her head back by her hair and broke away to run his lips along her neck, nipping lightly and straining underneath her, his obvious and growing desire somehow sending a sudden burst of courage through her veins.
Kim felt him still slightly as she hastily unfastened his belt, opening her eyes and looking into his as their breaths huffed in the short distance between their faces. Without any hesitation that he could see, she slid her hand over his chest and and down his stomach, stopping only as it finally brushed over his erection and forced his mouth open. "Kim, you don-"
"Shh," she hushed, tightening her hand around him into a fist. "Let me try."
His head rolled back against the seat when her hand started moving slowly, a long exhalation hissing out of his throat as she watched him carefully, trying to read his reactions. He pulled her back for another kiss with one hand while his other reached down to cover hers, tightening her fingers just slightly and moving them at the pace he wanted, letting go when she had it down perfectly and had extracted another low groan from his lips. She was so transfixed by the effect she was having, as was he, that she didn't see the shadow outside of the driver's side window until it was too late.
Suddenly the entire car jerked to the side. They opened their eyes and snapped their heads up as it jerked again, this time seeing the culprit. Kim screamed and stumbled off of Tony's lap as the locked driver's side door finally broke open and an incoherently growling Jack Bauer yanked Tony out of the car by his throat in one swift moveement.
"Dad, no!" Kim squealed near the top of her lungs as she watched her father slam Tony against the car, his hand clamped tightly around his neck and squeezing hard as actual words started to come thundering out of his mouth.
"You son a bitch!" Jack bellowed. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
"Jack..." Tony rasped, trying desperately to loosen the other man's grip on this throat.
"It wasn't enough that your traitorous girlfriend took my wife from me. Now you have the audacity to be sitting at a public beach with my daughter's hand down your pants!" His grip tightened, and his voice lowered dangerously. "I thought I could trust you Almeida," he growled, not caring that Tony's face was by this time a deep purple. "Is this how you get women now? You prey on innocent little girls who just lost their mother? Are you that desperate Tony?"
"Dad!" Kim pleaded once more, tears stinging her eyes as her panic grew more with each second that passed.
Jack shot her a look from the corner of his eye and barked, "Kim, stay away. Stay out of this."
"Dad, I can't," she choked, the tears escaping her eyes.
"Dammit, Kim, I mean it," Jack snapped, desperate for her to leave so she didn't watch him slowly kill his former co-worker.
"Dad," she cried, her voice a shaky sadow of itself as she forced herself to do the only thing she could think of to stop what was happening. "Dad...I'm pregnant."
She closed her eyes and turned around to keep from seeing the look on her father's face, sobbing into her hands as Jack watched in pure shock, his mouth open slightly as his grip on Tony's throat slowly loosened. Jack stood frozen as Tony broke away, coughing and gasping for air as his own shock made his breath all the harder to catch. Kim finally turned around to see Jack staring at her, unabashed fear etched on his face, and then Tony, leaning his palms above his knees as he looked up at her with utter pain and fear clouding his eyes. She looked from one to the other over and over again until finally it was all too much and she ran, running as far and as fast as she could, leaving the two men alone in their shock and their confusion as a simple mistake threatened to turn into much, much more.