Title: Will You Be There?
Author: Maddy Lake Deep
Pairing: Jack/Chloe
Rating: PG-13
Category: Angst/romance
Summary: Chloe finds love in the unlikeliest person.
Spoilers: 'What if' scene during season three.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in '24' only Mike is my creation.
Author's note: I've never written '24' fanfiction. This is my first Jack/Chloe story. Because it's my first and not beta'd, I would really appreciate any feedback and gentle constructive criticism. Also, I'm moving this weekend and hope to have chapter two posted by next week.
Chapter one: Trust
"You have to stop calling me here," Chloe O'Brian demanded on the phone. Her eyes fleeted to Kim and the others at CTU working endlessly about the 'virus' situation. And now that Stephen Saunders was dead, inwardly Chloe had grown weary at the frantic search of who carried the last vials, the person Saunders could identify. And now there was more on her plate she desperately didn't need at the moment. "I can't talk about this—not now," Chloe shouted and when her shouting caught Jack Bauer's attention, he halted not far from her desk. She noted Jack's concern and as he started toward her, Chloe lowered her voice. "This isn't a good time. I'll call you back." She quickly hung up and glanced nervously at Jack standing beside her desk.
"Chloe, we need to talk."
O'Brian sighed irritably. She then decided to follow Jack where they could have privacy in one of the halls.
"What's going on?" Jack asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you being harassed by someone?"
Chloe frowned, uneasy about his intrusive questions, and yet, there was a part of her that wanted him to be concerned…to care about her. "What makes you think I'm being harassed?"
"I hear your conversations on the phone. And it sounds like you're being harassed."
"Jack, right now the important thing is finding those vials. Chase is waiting for you and I don't understand why we're having this conversation."
Bauer leaned closer and stared intently into her brown eyes. "Chloe, you know you can trust me. Before I go, I just wanna make sure you're all right."
She huffed and at the moment, Chloe struggled to say what she wanted to keep secret; but while staring into Jack's pleading eyes, she could no longer hide what was going on. "It's Mike, my ex-boyfriend. He keeps calling me and I told him it's over between us. But it doesn't matter what I say."
Jack peeked over Chloe's shoulder at Chase and the other agents ready to leave. His attention darted back to Chloe. "I'm sorry about what you're going through with Mike. If he continues to harass you, I wanna know, okay?"
Surprised, Chloe stared at him briefly and after nodding, she cherished his smile.
His smile…she still cherished it while sitting on her sofa at home. Chloe would never forget the conversation they had that day; the genuine concern in his voice.
"Chloe, you know you can trust me."
She was usually cautious about whom to trust, and not only at CTU. When meeting Mike, Chloe thought he was the greatest person. He actually loved her. She let down her guard, let herself fall in love. After six months, he suddenly changed. First he verbally abused her, then physically.
You lied to me, Mike. Everything…lies.
Could she trust anyone again? Or fall in love? Chloe tried to deny reality of the situation…she grew to trust Jack more than anyone and was falling in love with him…something she never expected to happen. It frightened her to be hurt by someone else. Chloe knew about the pain Jack still suffered after Teri's death; blaming himself for what happened, his addiction to heroin and finally getting revenge when he killed Nina. Would he be able to move on and love again, especially someone like her? What she found frustrating about this whole thing…was it her imagination or did Jack feel the same way?
Chloe sighed; so many questions taunting relentlessly while her face fell forward onto her hands. She wanted to rest after the virus threat had been resolved a few months ago, but all Chloe could think about was Jack. The first time she came to work at CTU and met him, he was hard edged and stoic, she wondered how he could have loved anyone; then as she had grown closer to him, Chloe saw the sensitive, caring part of Jack. It was there. He only tried to keep it hidden along with everything else after Teri's death, trying to keep himself in control while doing his job.
Three quick knocks pummeled against the door and startled Chloe out of her thoughts. She looked up, wondering who it was. Jack? No. He would call before coming over. Clad in a white tank top and jeans, she stood from the sofa and walked out into the small foyer. O'Brian silently stood at the door and listened. There were two more pounding knocks and then…
"Chloe! C'mon, I know you're in there. Please, let me in so we can talk."
She shuddered at the sound of Mike's gentle but deceiving voice and even then, Chloe wondered if he had known she was there, as if he could hear her racing heart.
"Chloe, I don't want to hurt you. All I want is to talk."
Frustrated and confused, Chloe uttered no words but continued to stand quietly at the door. Should she believe him? Was he really serious about wanting to change? Though she had feelings for Jack, at the moment, she suddenly thought it silly to think they would ever be together. They were only friends…something she had to accept. Slowly, her hand turned the knob and she opened the door.
"Hey," said Mike with a lopsided grin.
She warily eyed her lanky ex-boyfriend standing outside in the crimson light of the setting sun. The rays caught his short curly hair, brightening it from light brown to a soft red.
"Can I come in?"
Chloe nodded and reluctantly allowed him inside. Shutting the door, she followed him into the living room.
"Why didn't you return my calls?"
"Mike, I told you, when I'm working I don't have time to talk."
He smirked and shook his head. "You're lying. You just wanted to avoid me."
"I wasn't avoiding you. Why can't you understand that?" Agitated and regretting her decision to let him in, she stormed away from Mike and stopped short by his hand. "I thought you wanted to talk?" she said. Fear returned; seizing her within its grasp like Mike had done with her arm.
"I want us to be together again."
"Let go," she demanded.
He ignored her. "But I know that's not what you want."
"Mike, let go!"
He released her arm and grinned. "See, I promised I wouldn't hurt you."
Terrified, Chloe stepped backwards.
"Where are you going?"
"To the bathroom if that's okay with you." Despite Mike's calm demeanor, Chloe noted the anger in his hazel eyes and knew what had to be done. She hurried upstairs to her bedroom and locked the door. Frantic, she looked helplessly around the room. There was no gun, nothing to protect herself—only the bathroom where there had been an open window. Chloe froze and listened. Footsteps slowly clambered the stairs.
Inside his home, Jack sat at the kitchen table. He leaned back against the chair with arms crossed against his short sleeve black T-shirt. Restless, Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows along with locked hands upon his jeans. He blue eyes stared out into the open space of the kitchen. His mind burdened with the events that had transpired and his job at CTU. His heroin addiction was still being investigated, and though he wanted to believe it wouldn't affect his job, the possibility of staying at CTU had grown more and more unlikely. Bauer had to get his mind on something else. Looking down at his cell phone that lay on the table, he picked it up and dialed Chloe's number.
Chloe flinched at the sudden ringing of the phone. Her eyes shifted frightfully to the door, knowing Mike could hear it as he was coming upstairs. She bit her bottom lip and averted her attention back to the cell phone insisting she answer it. Chloe plopped down onto the bed. Grasping the phone, she saw Jack's number and immediately answered. "Jack!"
"Chloe, I'm sorry to bother you. I just wanted to know if you were all right."
She hesitated when Mike's footsteps halted at the door.
"Chloe?" said Jack.
"I'm—I'm okay."
"No, you're not. Something's wrong."
Suddenly what sounded like a fist hammered against the door.
"Chloe!" Mike barked.
"Leave me alone," she shouted back. And then O'Brian heard something else that made her shudder, something jabbing into the door…a knife maybe? Chloe leapt from the bed with the phone gripped in her hand as she stumbled backwards to the bathroom.
"Chloe!" Jack screamed through the phone. "What's going on?"
"It's Mike," she managed to say and when he had broken the lock, O'Brian panicked, dropped the phone and ran into the bathroom.
Mike barged inside. He knew she was hiding in the bathroom but before going there, he stopped. His eyes fell to the phone on the floor and listened to a voice shouting…
"Chloe!"
TBC