DC

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Jack walked out of Heller's office, the unease creeping into him. The conversation replayed in his mind, but what stuck most was Audrey's reaction—the hurt in her eyes, the way she had looked at him like he had betrayed her. It gnawed at him, growing now with every step he took. As he crossed the anteroom, he glanced at the closed door behind him, letting out a quiet sigh. Did I just ruin things between us?

He looked up—and there she was, standing just outside the office. Audrey. She looked furious, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her gaze locking on him like a laser. Before he could even get a word out, she spoke, her voice low and clipped. "Your office. Now."

Jack didn't argue. He gave her a silent nod and followed her down the hallway. She walked briskly, her posture rigid, and though she didn't say a word, the tension between them was palpable. Jack's office was just around the corner, and as they reached the door, Audrey stepped inside without waiting for him. He closed the door behind them, his pulse quickening as he prepared for what was coming.

Audrey turned to face him, her arms still crossed, her expression a mix of anger and hurt. "Why?" she demanded, her voice sharp.

Jack blinked, confused. "Why what?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she clarified, her voice trembling just slightly.

He sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Audrey, I'm sorry. I should've told you earlier, but I—"

"Why didn't you?" she interrupted, her eyes narrowing.

Jack hesitated, searching for the right words. "I didn't want to get your hopes up," he said carefully. "In case it didn't work out."

Her expression softened, but only slightly. "Why wouldn't it have worked out? What 'preparations' were there to make?"

He exhaled slowly, leaning back against the edge of his desk. "I had to get cleared by the Secret Service," he explained, "Without that, I wouldn't even have the clearance to do… well, any of this."

Audrey tilted her head, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Cleared?"

Jack looked at her, knowing he couldn't sugarcoat it. "Well, you know… just an assessment. And given my past, they a few questions more before they handed me a Secret Service badge. It's the only way to do this without raising red flags—carrying a gun near the DoD, near your father, on planes, in restricted areas. Without all that, I couldn't do any of it."

Audrey's eyes widened slightly, her anger giving way to surprise. "There's more to this than I thought," she murmured, almost to herself.

Jack straightened, his tone softening. "I remember everything you told me about the Secret Service. How much you hated being watched all the time. I thought this might make things easier for you."

She looked at him, and for a moment, her mind flashed back to Seattle. The day he'd snatched her away from her security detail, giving her a brief taste of freedom. She remembered how he'd made sure she was safe, even going so far as to arm himself for the occasion. "Like in Seattle," she said quietly.

Jack shook his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "That was reckless," he admitted. "I don't know what I was thinking back then. Or if I was thinking at all. Now, I'm trying to do things the right way—because I want you to be safe."

Audrey studied him, her anger starting to ebb away. "How does it feel?" she asked softly. "Getting back to this—working with guns again. I thought you'd left that behind."

Jack's gaze dropped briefly before meeting hers again. "It's a small part of the job," he said. "I'm not hoping—or expecting—to ever use the gun. I'm still working my normal job here at the DoD. But when we travel, I'd just keep my eyes open."

Audrey nodded slowly, her thoughts racing. She realized then that Jack would have always been watching out for her, even if this arrangement hadn't been made official. It was who he was—someone who would fight for her, no matter the circumstances. No matter if it was his job or not.

She hesitated, then asked, "Did my dad send you after me? To talk me into this?"

Jack chuckled softly, shaking his head. "No. He actually told me not to talk to you. Said to wait and let you come around on your own."

Audrey couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips. "Of course he did," she said, a mischievous glint in her eye. She paused, then tilted her head. "So… you really have a Secret Service badge now?"

Jack smiled, his first genuine smile since they'd entered the office. "Yeah. I do."

Her curiosity got the better of her. "Show me."

He laughed, shaking his head as he turned to a locked cabinet on the wall. He opened it, revealing a small safe inside. Punching in the code, he retrieved the badge and held it out to her.

Audrey took it, examining it closely. "This is real," she said, her voice laced with surprise. Her eyes flicked to the safe behind him. "Why do you have that in here?"

Jack smirked faintly. "It's for the guns."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Guns, plural?"

He nodded. "Standard Secret Service attire is two guns. Your dad had the safe installed so I could keep them secure because I won't carry them here in the office—wouldn't want to attract attention."

Audrey peered into the open safe, noting its emptiness. "There are no guns in there."

"Not yet," Jack said. "If you agree to this, I'll get some."

She looked at the badge again, slowly realizing just how much preparation had gone into this plan. The safe, the badge, the secret service protocols—it wasn't something that had been thrown together overnight. She realized that her father and Jack had been working on this for weeks, and they'd done it with nothing but her safety in mind.

Jack cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. "I'm sorry, Audrey, for not talking to you earlier about this" he said sincerely. "I just didn't want to get your hopes up before I knew this would work out. That's what your dad and I agreed on."

Audrey studied him, her anger fully gone now. "I'm surprised my father approached you with this idea at all."

Jack hesitated, then said, "It was a few days after Denver."

She nodded slowly, her thoughts drifting back to that day. "It was probably because he saw you in action back then."

Jack didn't respond, his expression unreadable.

Audrey handed the badge back to Jack, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she asked, "So, what did you have to do to get this?"

Jack's lips twitched into a faint smile, his tone nonchalant. "Secret Service acceptance test. Standard procedure."

She raised an eyebrow, leaning slightly against his desk. "Standard procedure, huh? Care to elaborate?"

He shook his head, a chuckle escaping him. "Nothing exciting. Just… standard."

Audrey narrowed her eyes, her arms crossing over her chest. "Jack, if you think I'm going to believe this, you clearly don't know me well enough."

"I know you plenty," he countered with a wry smirk.

Her eyes gleamed with determination. "You know I'll just stay mad at you until you tell me, right?"

He laughed lightly, shaking his head. "You're impossible."

"And you're stubborn for no reason," she shot back, her tone teasing but firm. "Seriously, Jack, what's the big deal? What did you have to do that took four weeks?"

He glanced away, clearly trying to avoid her gaze. "Nothing you need to worry about. It was fine."

Audrey's jaw dropped in mock indignation. "Fine? Oh, come on. I'll just look up the protocols and your file anyway. You know I can do that."

Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You wouldn't."

Her smirk widened. "Try me."

He hesitated, then let out a resigned chuckle. "You really don't give up, do you?"

"Never," she said with a triumphant grin. "Now spill."

Jack leaned back against the edge of his desk, folding his arms. "Alright, fine. It was a standard physical test. Like for any other branch."

Audrey blinked, her playful demeanor softening slightly. "A full physical test? What does that involve?"

He shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Obstacle courses, endurance tests, combat scenarios. You know, the usual."

Her jaw dropped again, this time in genuine disbelief. "The usual? Come on."

"Okay. It wasn't that easy," he admitted, his tone light but honest. "I wasn't so sure if I'd pass all that after…." He didn't even want to enlist all the things that had made him doubt. But he didn't have to, anyway. Audrey knew about the toll Mexico had taken on him. About the drugs. About how his past four months had looked like. "well, you know what I mean."

"I know," she said, shaking her head. "And you didn't say a word."

"I just didn't want to get your hopes up. I wasn't sure if it would work out at all."
"How did you manage to pass that all?"

He smiled faintly. "I've got a lot of time on my hands here in Washington. Evenings are pretty quiet."

Audrey's brow furrowed. "So you… what, trained at night? After work? And no one figured out?"

Jack nodded. "That was kind of the point. If anyone at the office found out, it would've raised questions. I had to keep it under the radar."

She stared at him, her earlier annoyance completely replaced by astonishment. "Spending your evenings at the shooting range?" she asked softly.

He chuckled. "Well that was the easy part. Shooting's like riding a bike—you don't forget it."

Her gaze softened, and she glanced at the badge again. "Jack, I… I can't believe you went through all that."

He shrugged again, his smile modest. "It wasn't a big deal."

She gave him a pointed look. "Don't 'not a big deal' me, Jack. You didn't have to do any of this. And you did it anyway."

His expression grew a little more serious. "I just wanted to make sure it would work before I said anything. If I failed, I didn't want to get your hopes up for nothing. Besides… it would have been pretty embarrassing in front of your father, if I had failed."

Audrey's throat tightened at his words, the weight of what he'd done sinking in. She could see now why he hadn't told her sooner, why he'd kept it to himself. Failure had been an option, and he hadn't wanted her to know about it.

"Thank you," she said quietly, her voice soft but sincere. "You didn't have to do this."

Jack's gaze softened, and he shook his head slightly. "Audrey, I owed you. After everything."

Audrey frowned, stepping closer to the desk as if challenging him. "No, Jack, you didn't. You don't owe me anything."

"Yes, I do," he said firmly, his voice low but resolute. Before she could argue, he added, "No buts, Audrey."

She opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself, staring at him. Her arms dropped to her sides, her expression caught somewhere between frustration and something she couldn't quite name.
Their eyes met, and suddenly, the room felt smaller. Neither of them spoke. His lips parted slightly as if he were about to say something, but the words didn't come. Her chest tightened, her pulse quickening. She didn't break eye contact, couldn't—there was something magnetic about the moment, something that pulled her in despite the warning bells in her mind.

Audrey blinked and stepped back, breaking the connection with a shaky breath. She glanced away, gathering herself before meeting his eyes again. "I just… I need to think about this. All of it. For a night."

"I understand," Jack said, nodding again, his tone understanding but his eyes searching for something that wouldn't be hers. "Take your time."

Audrey offered a faint smile and then she hurried over to the door. She pulled it open and stepped out into the hallway, leaving Jack alone in his office.

The door clicked shut behind her, and Jack let out a long breath, running a hand over his face. He found himself staring at the door, his thoughts swirling.
He stood there for a moment longer, then turned his gaze to the badge in his hand, gripping it tightly before setting it back into the safe, hiding it from all their colleagues here. He wasn't sure what the future would bring.

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Audrey lay at the couch in her living room, staring at the black furniture that she hated. The apartment was silent. She had wanted to switch on the TV, but something had kept her from it, maybe her thoughts. That was why half an hour later, she was still sitting there, the remote in hand. Her thoughts raced, circling back again and again to the events of the day—and to Jack.

She exhaled deeply, shaking her head as she replayed the way he had stood there in his office, calmly explaining what he'd to for her safety – as if it was just some casual thing. It wasn't, though. She knew it wasn't. Training to get through the Secret Service acceptance test wasn't just a casual favor one did, not for anyone, not even for Jack.

Her mind flitted to Agents Garret and Callahan, who had driven her home earlier. Their presence was routine by now. But tonight, as they'd dropped her off, she couldn't help but imagine what it might have been like if it were Jack instead. Would he have stayed in the car, like them, or would he have walked her to her door, just to be certain she was safe?
Her lips quirked upward in a faint, wry smile. No, he wouldn't. Would he?

Her father's arrangement with Jack had been clear: it was for business trips, for the times when keeping her Secret Service protection under wraps was most challenging. It wasn't for running daily errands or ferrying her to and from the office. And yet…
She couldn't shake the feeling. Jack would do it anyway. If she asked, she had no doubt that he'd drive her home, walk her to her door, even make sure the hallway was clear before he left. Hell, if she told him she needed someone to go grocery shopping with her, he'd probably do it, just because he thought he owed her something.

She laughed softly to herself, the sound filling the empty room. The idea was so absurd and yet… not. Audrey leaned back against the couch, her smile fading as her thoughts shifted. It was a wonder, really, how much control she seemed to have over him. Because he felt guilty, that he thought he owed her something. And probably it was because of gratitude - because he still believed she'd pulled some strings to get him this job at the DoD.

Her chest tightened at the thought. Is that why he's doing this? Is that why he's going through all of this trouble—for me?

She was good at pushing the one thought out of her conscious mind that had been following her ever since she'd gotten to know him better: that he was maybe doing it because he had developed some kind of feelings for her.
Audrey sighed, sinking deeper into the couch. The weight of that realization pressed down on her, mingling with the warmth she felt at knowing Jack would do so much for her, even without being asked. But it also left her with an uneasy feeling—a sense that their relationship, whatever it was, was something. There had to be something between them, something unspoken but undeniable, and neither of them seemed able to address it.

She shook her head, brushing the thought aside. Tomorrow, she would have to face Jack again, and she'd need to have an answer for him.

She sighed, leaning her head back against the couch. What would happen if she said yes? If she said no? If she told him that this wasn't what she wanted? That it was unnecessary? She could already picture the look in his eyes, the flicker of disappointment he'd try to hide. He would respect her decision, of course, because that's who he was. He would step back, take the hit.

And what if she said yes? What would that mean for them? For her?
Audrey sat forward, pressing her elbows to her knees as her thoughts spun. Jack would be around more often, closer than ever. She would see him not just as a colleague or someone she had a complicated history with, but as someone woven into the fabric of her daily life. He would be there in the moments that mattered—watching her back, ensuring her safety, and making decisions that mattered. And she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would give everything he had to protect her. Even if it meant sacrificing himself in the process.
That thought terrified her.
Audrey stared at the dark screen of the television, her reflection faintly visible in its surface. She felt her chest tighten as her mind wandered to the possibility of Jack putting himself in harm's way for her. Garret and Callahan? Sure, it was their job, but she didn't actually care if they got hurt one day trying to defend her. But Jack—if he got hurt, or worse—because of her, she didn't think she could live with that.

She thought back to the conversations they'd shared, how he had spoken of his struggles with a detachment that felt almost clinical, as though they belonged to someone else. The world had taken so much from him, stripped him down to mere survival. And yet, this job—this chance to protect her—seemed to have given him something back. A purpose. A reason to fight. It was unsettling to realize that he seemed to find purpose in jobs like that. The danger.

Her mind replayed the moment in his office, the way his voice had softened when he said, "I owed you. After everything." She had wanted to argue, to tell him that he didn't owe her anything. But now, as she pieced it all together, she realized the lengths he'd already gone for her. The physical training. The Secret Service assessment. She'd later looked it up in his file—his professional life was an open book to her, after all—and the details made her pause. He'd only mentioned the basics to her, brushing past the grueling requirements as if they were trivial. But reading the full scope, she knew better. The physical tests alone would have required relentless, disciplined training for weeks. And then there was the procedural exam—one that most candidates studied for during a three-month training program. Jack had done it all on his own. It must have consumed every spare moment he had.

As the weight of it all settled over her, Audrey realized that after everything he had already sacrificed and invested—for her—she couldn't bring herself to say no. Not now. Not after all of this.

Her fingers tightened around the remote as her voice broke the silence of the room, soft and uncertain, as she said to herself: Jack would do anything for me. And I don't know how to feel about that.

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