2 hours had passed since Chloe discovered Jack in her kitchen, 2 whole hours and neither one of them had even touched on the subject of why he was actually there. They didn't seem to want to. After a couple of drinks they were getting back to their old selves, talking again, laughing again and probably the most important, living again.

"You know Chloe?!? I never realised vodka tasted so good" he said with a small smile appearing in the corner of his mouth.

"Jack can you even taste anything? We drank all beer and that terrible tropical stuff. I think we are both a little drunk!"

"Me? Drunk? Never!" He said, not really noticing that he was laid at an angle on the couch pointing at the ceiling in a daze.

"Plus I bet you haven't had a drink in a very long time. Being away and all" Chloe was trying to get him to open up to her, her face turning serious and worried.

Jack sat up slowly, suddenly remembering why he was there, in Chloe's place. He turned to face her. She was sitting on the floor drawing circle patterns into the carpet with her finger. He could see she was drunk but he had to tell her he needed her, this might be his only chance and if it all back fired he could just blame it on the booze and the bad day they had.

When they had started drinking, he failed to mention that over the years all the pain that he had been through meant he had taken a lot of drugs, these drugs seemed to make him immune to the effects of alcohol but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"True I haven't had a drink in a long time. I wish there were vodka where I was. A lot of vodka. It was hard Chloe being there…alone…in pain…without..y.."

Good old Chloe cut him off "..You don't have to tell me Jack if you don't want to. I mean why would you want to say anything to me. It's not like we were friends when you were taken. We were just…I don't know….people who worked in the same building" God O'Brian stop pushing him away. Jack's anger bubbled to the surface.

"What?? Chloe how can you say that? We were friends, real friends. I mean you saved my butt on more than one occasion...you trusted me…you helped me more than you will ever know…" Tell her

It was Chloe's turn to sit up straight. As she did she looked into Jacks eyes and saw something there, something she had never seen before. He seemed broken.

"..but you never said anything Jack. At the end of the day you would just smile and say thanks, then walk away to be with someone more important…someone more important than me…why would I think we were friends when we never ever talked about anything but work?" he thinks we were friends?

Jack didn't know what to say. He knew she was right. Damn Chloe was always right, she was the smartest person he had ever met. He needed to tell her now before it was too late.

"You're right I should have made more of an effort. I'm sorry that I didn't treat you right. That I seemed to blow you off all the time. But Chloe you know when you said that I would just walk away at the end of the day and be with someone more important?...Well Chloe it's the end of the day and I appear to be here, in your house, with you!!"

Chloe was stunned, she hadn't thought about that, the fact that Jack was with her and not somewhere else. The fact that he practically broke into her place to see her. She was completely confused and know longer had any idea what was going on.

"I think I need another drink…my glass is half empty"

"The glass is half full Chloe!"

"No Jack its half empty!"

"Full!"

"Empty!"

"Full!"

"Empty!"

This went on for quite a while until Chloe became very dizzy and toppled over onto the floor. Jack ran over to her, picked her up and laid her across his lap.

"Chloe? Chloe? Are you alright?" he said, while brushing the hair out of her eyes with his hand.

"I think I might have drunk a tiny bit too much. This happens every now and again"

A look of shock washed over jacks face "Chloe how long has this been going on? The drinking I mean?"

"Exactly 3 hours and 23 minutes after you were kidnapped 18 months ago is when I started drinking and I haven't stopped since" with that Chloe closed her eyes and seemed to instantly pass out.

Jacks eyes filled with tears. He wasn't sure why. It could have been because since he went away Chloe's life had turned to shreds or that it was him being taken that had ruined her life or could it have simply been that Jack so I shimmer of hope in what Chloe had said.

What ever it was Jack couldn't leave her lying on his lap all night, no matter how much he wanted to so he picked her up, carried her to her bedroom and tucked her into bed. He wasn't sure whether he should stay and watch her or just leave, go, before he wrecked her life anymore. The only thing he could think of doing was laying a soft, tender kiss on Chloe's forehead and then sitting down in the chair next to her bed to watch her sleep.

He had know idea what was going to happen in the morning but he knew for certain now that he was going to be with Chloe whether she liked it or not.

TBC

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