She woke up unaware of her surroundings, her vision blurred at first. She groaned under her breath, blinking a few times until she recognized CTU's infirmary. What had happened? She felt a stinging sensation in her hand, and looked down to find an IV needle in her vein. "What the…" She mumbled. Looking around but seeing no one, she used the panel next to her bed to call the nurse. It wasn't long before the short, plump woman walked in with a clipboard and a smile plastered to her face. "Ah, Miss O'Brian. I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" She asked, a peculiar Southern drawl evident in her voice. Chloe shifted around nervously, sitting up in the bed. "Is my baby okay?" She blurted, ignoring the nurse's question. The woman nodded. "Junior seems to be fine right now. How far along are you?" Chloe calculated quickly. "Eight months yesterday." The woman nodded again, marking something down on her clipboard. "You should have nothing to worry about then. You've a ways to go yet." "Good…" Chloe breathed, relaxing slightly and resting her head on the pillow. "Seems you just caught a bit of a bug. Just get some rest and you'll be fine. Do you need anything?" She shook her head, then reconsidered. "Well, maybe just something for this backache…its been bothering me all day. I'm sure this didn't help."
The nurse nodded and headed out the door, leaving Chloe alone in the room. She shut her eyes, rested for a moment and tried to take in everything that happened today, though all she could really think about was that look of pain in Jack's eyes as he had left her in the bathroom that morning. She bit her lip, ashamed. He hadn't deserved that. "God, why am I so stupid…" She mumbled to herself. "For eight months all I did was want him back and now that he's here I treat him like he's the scum of the earth." She paused, looking down at her belly and feeling the burn of tears forming in her eyes. "Now he's gone again and he's really not coming back…" She laid a protective hand on her stomach, watching as hot tears spilled from her cheeks and fell onto her thumb. "I guess I really screwed you over, didn't I?" She asked the bump, who seemed to reply with a hard kick to the bladder. "Ow! Damnit…" She mumbled.
"You know, you really shouldn't curse in front of the baby…" A voice said quietly from the shadow of the doorway.
Startled, Chloe looked up to see Jack walking into her room, his face clearly wracked with concern. Chloe was surprised to find herself blushing at his comment. "You're back…" She said, looking him over. He had obviously showered, he was wearing fresh clothes and was now clean shaven, though his arms and face were still riddled with cuts and bruises, from what she didn't know. He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah…I hope you don't mind. I'll leave if--" "No!" She interrupted, extending her hand towards him. "Please stay…" Jack nodded.
"Alright…"
He pulled a chair up next to her bed and sat down, looking around the room awkwardly. "So, how're you feeling?" He asked, his voice shaky with what sounded almost like apprehension. Chloe sighed, frustrated not only at Jack's timid demeanor but also at the backache that was suddenly getting a lot worse. "Fine. Look, Jack. I need to apologize to you. I never should have said what I did…I was scared. I'm so sorry…"
He stayed silent for a moment, then placed a hand on top of hers gently. "You didn't need to apologize, Chloe." He replied softly, looking at her with bloodshot eyes. "You had every right to react the way you did. I…" His voice trailed and he stopped, cocked his head at her. "Are you alright?" He asked. Chloe's face twisted in pain and surprise. "Get the nurse…" She whispered urgently. "My water just broke."
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