A/N: Season 7 story that includes Audrey. I remember watching season 7 and thinking that she was going to be a part of the rogue CTU with Bill and Chloe. The storyline follows the Dubaku plot line (he has control of the CIP device which allows him to commit terrorist attacks in attempt to get the US out of Sangala, for those who it has been a while) but includes Audrey and her own surprising (maybe?) storyline. It also ends after Dubaku is stopped (no virus or anything). Hope you like it! Warning: mentions suicide

Picks up during Season 7 Episode 4 - Jack just learned about Bill, Chloe, and Tony working for their own version of CTU to uncover a major corruption issue within the government. Tony has agreed to go back undercover with Emerson to try to recover the CIP device and will have to bring Jack with him, otherwise Emerson won't believe that Jack just let Tony escape custody.

"Other than the three of you, who else is involved in this operation?" Jack asked, knowing that there must be more field agents, more analysts. Chloe and Bill looked at each other and Bill nodded to Chloe.

"Audrey," Chloe told him.

"Audrey?" Jack questioned, surprised, unable to comprehend that she might have recovered. Or that she would get herself involved in something as dangerous as what was going on here. They had a four person team made up of employees from an organization that was disbanded. They were hacking government servers. They were sending Tony undercover to work with terrorists without any backup, no extraction plan in place. Everything they were doing was illegal. "Where is she?"

Bill and Chloe shared a look again, which was starting to irritate Jack. Like they didn't think he could handle hearing about her.

"She hasn't shown up yet today," Bill admitted. "She hasn't called either."

"Is that unusual for her?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.

Chloe nodded. "She said she wanted to go to your hearing this morning. I'm not sure where she is. I tried calling."

Jack wanted to put all of his effort into finding her, but right now, that wasn't the main concern. They needed to get Tony undercover and recover the CIP device.

"Please, at least tell me that you've got some proof that this conspiracy exists."

"Yes, we do," Bill confirmed. "But, only at the lowest level. At this point, we've just begun to scratch the surface."

Jack sighed and shook his head, disappointedly. As much as he knew this was a terrible idea, he couldn't turn his back on them. They had certainly never turned their backs on him. And if Audrey was working with them, he wanted to be on her side.

"Okay. I'll work with you. But, only because right now, you are the only people I trust," Jack agreed. "You give me a reason to question that and I swear I will turn you in. You understand?"

Bill nodded. "All right. Chloe, set up the call with Emerson."

Jack listened as Tony talked to David Emerson on the phone and tried to reestablish his cover. Now, Jack would be going with him.

The door creaked open, and Jack and Tony turned around to see who it was, hands on their weapons. They saw Audrey's long blonde hair as she locked the door behind her. Tony relaxed and turned back to Bill and Chloe. Jack stiffened, unsure of what he could possibly say to her.

"Jack?" Audrey whispered, obviously surprised by his presence. "What are you doing here?"

Jack hesitated and Tony answered. Jack sensed some bitterness in his voice. "He's helping us now. It's been a busy morning."

"Where have you been? We've been worried," Bill told her. He tried to catch her eye to see if he could evaluate how she was. The truth was that although Audrey seemed to have recovered physically, she was far from okay mentally. She had only recently been released from psychiatric care and was on suicide watch. Bill only agreed to let Audrey join them if she agreed to him being a regular checkpoint for her. If she didn't show up when she was supposed to, he was supposed to call everyone. Police, the psychiatrist, and even her father who Audrey hadn't spoken to since leaving the hospital. That was the agreement.

Audrey and Jack were still looking at each other, their gazes fixated on each other.

"When I got to the hearing, it had already been dismissed," Audrey explained, hoping Jack would explain why it ended so early. She wanted to know whether Jack was being charged. Jack didn't explain and Audrey dropped her eyes when she continued in a mumble, "And, then I had a doctor thing."

She walked past Jack quickly and assumed her usual seat next to Chloe.

"Here's your com," Chloe said, handing it to Tony.

"I'll get the keys," Audrey told them, heading to the drawer where they kept keys to old cars that they had obtained. Jack followed her down the hallway, now being alone with her for the first time.

"Thank you," Jack whispered, taking the keys from her soft hand.

"Sure," Audrey said, brushing past him to head back.

"Wait," Jack said, gently touching her elbow. "I'm sorry."

"Jack, I-"

"We don't exactly have time to talk now. But, I want you to know I'm sorry. And, I promise to explain everything when this is all over."

Audrey bit her lip, trying not to cry. "You don't owe me anything, Jack."

"I owe you everything," Jack told her. She had risked her life to save him from China, putting herself through unbelievable pain and horror. She had never given up on him, and knowing there was someone out there who cared about him so much had helped him through tough times. She needed to know all of that.

Audrey smiled slightly, though she tried to hide it from Jack. They turned and went back to the rest of the group. Jack and Tony gave each other a nod of the head to indicate they were ready to go.

Chloe and Bill filled Audrey in on everything that had happened that morning. Audrey felt bad for not coming earlier. But, then again, she wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind to do so. She had broken down when she woke up, thinking of Jack having to go through this investigative hearing. He had been through so much. He had given everything to this country, and now his country was turning against him. It broke her heart. When she finally pulled herself together, she went to the proceeding, but it was already over. She had no idea what this meant, but she was scared for Jack and disappointed that she hadn't gotten a chance to see him.

Then she started thinking about whether Jack would have even wanted to see her. He had left her after all. He obviously had wanted a clean break since he never showed up to see her after he rescued her from Cheng. She knew he had probably been dealing with his own pain after returning from China, but she had thought he'd care enough to see her. A tear rolled down her cheek, as she drove past a park that she and Jack used to go for runs through all those years ago. She thought about how simple those times with Jack were. The flirtatious banter, the deep conversations, and the mind-blowing sex. She had so many hopes for their future together. Now, she had no hopes for her future. She didn't care what happened to her anymore. She felt empty and reminiscing about a time when she had felt so happy only made it worse. She had nothing. No one. She didn't even know why she bothered. She started hyperventilating.

Tears poured heavily out of her eyes as she drove and she called her therapist, knowing that she was in a mental health crisis. Her therapist took her right away and Audrey spent most of the morning getting talked down. Audrey felt drained by the time she left but knew that she needed to come in. She had no idea she was going to see Jack again.

"They've arrived," Chloe announced, turning up the volume so all three of them could hear the com.

"Take Mr. Bauer downstairs. I need to talk to Tony," they heard Emerson say to his men. Audrey's eyes widened, knowing what was coming.

"What's going on?" Tony asked, assumingly once Jack had been taken away.

"Bringing in Bauer is not worth the risk," Emerson explained.

"What are you talking about?" Tony hissed. "I'd still be in FBI custody if it wasn't for him."

"Tony, you've already made your case."

"We can use him!" Tony insisted. Audrey could hear that Tony was worried. She was too. She wasn't sure she could handle Jack dying right now. Not that she would ever be okay with him dying. But, today she felt unstable. Like she could off herself at any minute if things went wrong.

"I considered it. But, I'm going a different way," Emerson explained calmly but firmly.

"I owe him, David," Tony tried to reason. "You understand that?"

"I appreciate your sense of loyalty and I always have, but this is business, Tony. You cannot have an unknown factor like Jack Bauer coming in and messing things up. For all you know, he might know and not be too happy about you and-"

Audrey clenched her jaw, but relaxed when Tony interrupted him. Audrey glanced at Chloe and Bill to see if they were wondering what Emerson had tried to say. They didn't seem to be curious.

"He doesn't," Tony insisted. There was a brief silence. "So, what? You're going to kill him?"

There was a pause. "No, you are."

"They're going to kill him," Chloe gasped. We both looked to Bill.

"He'll get out of it," Bill assured us.

"What if he can't?" Audrey asked. The truth was, she knew there was nothing more they could do. There were no back up teams to send in.

"Then Jack's death solidifies Tony's position in the crew," Bill justified. Bill continued explaining that there was no way they could have sent Tony back undercover without Jack going with him, but Audrey was focused on making sure that she didn't spiral. She was taking deep breaths to calm herself, just like her therapist always walked her through.

"You knew this might happen the whole time," Chloe accused Bill.

"Yes," Bill confirmed. "So did Jack."

"How could you-" Chloe started.

"Stop," Audrey insisted. Chloe and Bill's arguing about whether there was something they could have done differently was only making Audrey feel worse. "It's too late. We need to move forward."

Bill and Chloe shared a look and then looked back at Audrey, expecting her to be more broken up about this. But, when they studied her more closely they saw that she was rubbing her left wrist frantically, right along the long cut mark that she had inflicted on herself a while back, a habit they noticed her doing whenever she became anxious or stressed. They knew she was not alright but that their arguing must be making it worse for her.

"You shouldn't be here for this," Bill whispered to Audrey.

"But, I am. And, now, I need to know what happens or I'll drive myself crazy if I have to wonder."

Bill nodded and the three of them went back to listening.

"Put your weapon down!" they heard Jack shout. "Put your weapon down or I will kill him! I came here to do a job, not be double-crossed by you. You're already short-handed. You need good men, not like these two traffic cops. Look what I've done to them."

Audrey, Chloe, and Bill held on to hope that Emerson would let him live.

"I came here because I've got nowhere else to go. Tony said if I helped you, you could get me out of the country," Jack continued. Still Emerson made no sound. "Look, if you don't believe me, pull the trigger.

"What are you crazy?" another man, whose voice was hoarse, possibly from Jack choking him said. "Kill him!"

"No," they heard Emerson say.

"Kill him. Or, I'm out of here," the other man insisted.

"Fine," Emerson agreed.

Audrey dropped her head, having been so hopeful that he wouldn't kill Jack. But, they heard a gunshot, followed by two more. Tears fell from Audrey's eyes. The com was silent for what seemed like an eternity.

"Welcome to the team, Bauer," Emerson said.

Audrey let out a gasp and cried in relief as they heard Jack respond.