I never thought that I'd write a Jack/Audrey story, because until recently I didn't like Audrey all that well. But now that Audrey has started to risk her life and her career for Jack, I've got a new-found appreciation for her. So I'm willing to give this Jack/Audrey thing a try!

This takes place the day after day 5. I started writing it before Christopher Henderson's knife made contact with Audrey's brachial artery and doomed her to hours of vascular surgery (that is, assuming that she lives!) at the end of the day. At the end of my day 5, Audrey and Jack are both still in one piece and Audrey's father is, was, and always will be, a good guy who is unfailingly loyal to Jack.

So here we go. The usual disclaimer applies. I wish I owned the characters but I don't. Hope you enjoy this. If you read, please, please, please review. It's really important to me. (If I sound shallow and without a life, it's because I am. So, take pity on me and review!)

NO GREATER LOVE

Chapter 1

When she awoke that day, the first thoughts that went through Audrey Raines' mind were of Jack Bauer. That was nothing new. For the last 18 months, the first thoughts through her mind every morning and the last thoughts every night were always of Jack. They varied, of course, but they were always of Jack. Sometimes she thought about how he died. Sometimes she thought about their last conversation. Sometimes she thought about the last time they made love or of how Jack rescued her and her father from the terrorists who were holding them hostage. Sometimes the thoughts were happy ones and sometimes they left Audrey depressed and grieving all over again.

Today, however, was different. For today, as she lay in bed thinking of Jack, she was enveloped snuggly in his warm, strong arms. Their fingers were entwined and their naked bodies were pressed solidly together. Audrey never remembered feeling warmer or safer in her entire life. Finding out that Jack was alive had been an unbelievable shock, but once she got past that, she was grateful to have this chance. She wasn't kidding herself. She knew full well that this could possibly be the last time she would ever awaken in his arms. She knew that when he met with the President later in the day that they were probably going to either turn him over to the Chinese or strip him of his identity and force him to disappear once again. The chances were slim that they would absolve him of staging his death and find a way to square it with the Chinese so that he could go on to live the rest of his life under the name of Jack Bauer.

The whole last 48 hours were surreal for Audrey. As the senior advisor for the Secretary of Defense, she often traveled with the President. That was how she had come to be in LA this week. She was with the President's entourage at the Presidential retreat north of LA when the news came in that David Palmer had been assassinated. CTU was helping Secret Service in its investigation. It was standard practice for DoD to provide a liaison to the investigating organization while such protocols were active. At the moment the call came in, Audrey was the only DoD representative available. She hated the idea of going to CTU, but she didn't have a choice. CTU was filled with nothing but bad memories for Audrey and if she could have avoided going, she would have. At least, she learned, Bill Buchanan was Director at CTU. She liked Bill and knew that he would understand how hard it was for her to walk back into that godforsaken building; that place where Paul and Jack both died. She would never forget collapsing against the wall after learning of Jack's death. She had always been strong, but that second blow had been too much for her. It was Bill who picked her up and led her to a chair. She was shaking like a leaf and crying and Bill, who she barely knew, had been so kind to her.

So Audrey walked into CTU trying hard to keep her emotions at bay. It worked at first. When Bill met her at the door and indicated that he understood how hard this visit to CTU must be for her, she lied and told him that she was fine. She wondered if he bought it. She doubted that he had given her statement much thought with all that was going on. Any pretense that she was simply going to do her job, helping to track David Palmer's assassin, and then leave CTU was thrown out the window when it became obvious that Jack was still alive. Her world changed at that moment and she knew it. She wondered if it would ever be the same. Now lying here in his arms, she knew that it wouldn't, her life could never be the same.

Not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that the day would play out the way it did. The nerve gas attacks and the revelations that government officials as high up as the president had been complicit were movie plots; they didn't happen in real life. Audrey watched Jack masterfully unravel the whole thing. When the two of them finally walked back into CTU after spending much of the night tracking Christopher Henderson and proving that the president had played a role in the attacks, Audrey realized what it was really like to be part of Jack's world. She understood him and what he did and why he did it. For the first time, she understood Jack Bauer and what made him tick and she knew for sure that she loved him. What she didn't know was what the future would bring.

Bill met the two as they passed through security and into CTU. He was usually so matter-of-fact and serious; his emotions rarely escaped the calm shell that others were allowed to see. But at that moment the shell was cast aside. He hugged Audrey and shook Jack's hand as he thanked them for their service and expressed his happiness that they were both alive and unhurt. He told them that they would be debriefed after they had been checked out in medical and had a few minutes to eat some breakfast and decompress.

The debriefing went as expected. Bill debriefed Jack in his office while Curtis debriefed Audrey in his. Audrey finished first and Bill allowed her to sit in while he finished up with Jack. The debriefing complete, Jack and Audrey looked expectantly at Bill both wondering what would come next.

Bill stood and walked away from his desk for a moment to look down into the bullpen. "Obviously, Jack, this isn't over for you."

"I realize that Bill. What happens next?"

"That's up to President Gardner and his advisors," Bill stated simply. Charles Logan had quietly been relieved of his duties during the night and Gardner sworn in as Chief Executive.

"Bill, after all Jack did today, surely the President won't hold against him what happened 18 months ago," Audrey said incredulously.

"Audrey, I'd like to believe that will be the case, but I don't know that. I'm sure your father will get a chance to give an opinion. There's still the matter of the raid on the Chinese embassy a year-and-a-half ago. Gardner is meeting with advisors today. He plans to render a decision some time tomorrow. Right now, I've been ordered to take you into custody, Jack."

Jack looked at Bill and then down at the floor. He knew this was coming; it wasn't a surprise, but it still saddened him. He had hoped that his performance today would wipe away the last 18 months. "I understand, Bill." Jack stood, ready to move to a holding cell.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Bill said sincerely. "I wish I didn't have to do this."

Audrey felt tears fill her eyes and begin their descent along her cheeks. She knew that Bill had no choice, but she was angry with him anyway. She was just about to lash out at him when he reached into his pocket and took out a key card. He handed the card to Jack.

"What's this?" Jack asked as he turned the card over to look at both sides.

"It's a key to suite 1631 at the Hilton downtown," Bill said barely suppressing a smile.

"What?"

"I was ordered to keep you in custody, but no one specified where. I thought you might be more comfortable at the Hilton than in one of our holding cells."

"Are you kidding me?" Jack asked.

"No, I'll have someone drive you there and I'll keep guards posted at the door. You'll be as secure there as you are here. I'll get in touch with you as soon as I know anything. I expect Gardner to want to meet with you late tomorrow afternoon."

Bill didn't have to state the obvious for Jack. He was going way out on a limb here and if Jack made any attempt to escape, Bill would be in serious trouble. Jack would never repay Bill's kindness or jeopardize his career that way.

"Thank you," Jack whispered.

"You're welcome," Bill returned with his hand extended. "I just hope that everything works out for you. If the President asks my opinion, I'll give him the strongest possible recommendation that you be pardoned for everything and that the government find a way to clear up the mess with the Chinese."

Jack and Audrey left Bill's office and headed silently down the stairs. It had been implied when Bill handed Jack the key card that the room was for the two of them if that was what they both wanted, but neither knew quite how to broach the subject. They walked through the bullpen and Jack pulled Audrey into a quiet alcove near the exit.

"Audrey," he whispered as he turned to face her. "More than anything I wish that I could offer you a lifetime together, but I can't. Right now, the most I can offer is the next 24 hours. If you'd like to stay with me, at least we can have that time together."

"Don't say that, Jack," Audrey admonished him. "President Gardner can't keep you in custody."

"Yes, he can, Audrey. Don't get your hopes up. I think it's pretty unlikely that I'm going to walk away scot-free. Gardner is probably going to keep me in custody in the US, but he could also turn me over to the Chinese. Remember, this is his first day on the job. He doesn't want to be seen as being "soft". He needs to take a decisive stand and it will probably be at my expense. You have to face that, Audrey," he told her realistically. "But I don't want to talk about that or think about that now. We're both tired. If you'd like to join me at the Hilton so we can get some sleep, I'd love to have you."

Audrey took Jack's hand. "I intend to stay next to you for as long as I can. I just hope that you're wrong and that we do have a lifetime together."

Jack and Audrey were driven to the Hilton by two CTU agents that Jack had known for years. The agents followed them into the hotel and up to their suite. It was with bemused smiles that the agents watched the couple enter the room and lock the door behind them.

Once inside the two immediately melted into each other's arms. Despite sharing a brief embrace and kiss the evening before, they had never had the chance to really hold each other. Their 18 months apart forgotten, the embrace felt as familiar as if they had been together the whole time. Audrey pressed her face into the crook of Jack's neck as she always had and Jack's hands assumed their favorite positions: one near her left shoulder blade and the other against her spine on the small of her back. It had the effect of securing her body against his, protective yet loving and tender.

"This feels so good, baby," Jack whispered.

"I know. If I weren't about to pass out from exhaustion, I would stand here forever."

"Me, too," he responded. "Are you ready to go to sleep?"

"I've got to have a shower first. You can join me if you like."

Jack didn't say a word but led Audrey to the bathroom. He turned on the water to warm it up while each of them unceremoniously undressed without any help from the other. They stepped into the shower and took turns letting the hot water cascade over them. Audrey surveyed Jack's body. He was generally pretty bruised but the most prominent was a large, deep purple patch on the left side of his chest from the kick delivered by the assassin that Walt Cummings had hired to kill him. Fortunately, the attack left him with nothing more than broken ribs that were painful, but hadn't hindered his performance.

When Audrey realized how close Cummings had come to killing Jack, not just in the past day, but 18 months ago, she shuddered. She remembered sharing a bed with Walt and the thought made her feel cheap and dirty. How could Walt have so casually undressed her and gotten into bed with her knowing that just months before he had ordered Secret Service to kill the man she loved, a man she was still grieving for when she met Walt at the hotel near Baltimore. She wondered if Walt knew that night that Jack was alive or if he found out later. Was he using her to get information? Was he trying to find out what she knew about Jack? She remembered his hands of her body and wondered now if he had really cared about her of if he was just trying to get inside her head while he was inside of her. He had called her several times in the two weeks after she broke off the relationship trying to persuade her to see him again. She had been flattered, thinking that Walt really cared for her. Now she was just annoyed at herself for acting like a smitten schoolgirl. At the moment she was just glad the son of a bitch was dead. She only wished that Jack had been the one to kill him. She wished that Jack had slowly and painfully cut him apart while he begged for mercy. Audrey had never wished pain on anyone in her life, but she wished right now that Walt Cummings had suffered for what he had done to her.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked interrupting Audrey's thoughts.

"Yeah, why?" she answered trying to push her anger and embarrassment to the back of her mind.

"You're quiet," Jack responded as he lathered her back with soap and rinsed it off.

"Just enjoying the moment," Audrey said. That part was true. She enjoyed Jack's hands on her.

Despite the fact that they stood naked together in a hotel shower, something they hadn't done is 18 months, the act was surprisingly asexual. They weren't madly fondling or caressing. Too tired to do much more, they were just washing each other; lathering skin and hair and rinsing suds away. Not only was it not sexual, but it was, in some odd way, therapeutic. While they cleansed their bodies, they also cleansed their souls and their minds. They scrubbed away the past 18 months. It could never be forgotten, but it could be sanitized and made into something that they both could live with; that they could hide in the far reaches of their minds.

Audrey turned to face Jack and took the soap from him. She cupped it in her wet hands and rubbed it lightly over his chest. Soft white bubbles formed and clung to the scant blond hair that covered his chest. Jack closed his eyes to take in the feeling. He wanted the moment to last forever and he memorized every second of it so that he could relive it and treasure in the days and weeks and years to come. Days and weeks and years that he was convinced would be spent without Audrey. Days and weeks and years that could be spent in federal prison or worse, in Chinese prison. This moment, these memories would have to keep him going. He focused on the feel of Audrey's touch and the softness of her hands. He inhaled the fragrance of the soap and felt the gentle pelting of the water. It was this moment he would focus on when the Chinese tortured him. You had to have a good focal point or you would break. This would be his focal point. He had been tortured before but in the past he had never been able to plan for it. He had always been taken by surprise. That was harder. When that happened you had to conjure up a focal point while the adrenaline was flowing and you were trying to get away. No, this time he would be prepared. His focal point was already strong and clear in his mind.

Even if he wasn't physically tortured, it would be emotional torture to spend a lifetime away from Audrey. He loved her more that he had ever loved anyone. He didn't like to admit it to himself and would never say so out loud, but he loved her even more than he had loved Teri. It had taken him a long time to come to that conclusion, but he eventually did. That didn't make her loss any easier, nor did it ease his guilt. It was just a matter of fact. He had certainly loved Teri and, at the time, he had no idea that his love for a woman could be deeper or more intense, but he had come to realize that what he had with Audrey was different. It was deeper and more passionate.

Jack and Audrey stood in the shower for a long time, both exhausted but neither wanting to leave the warm, intimacy of the shower. It was Jack who finally turned off the water and reached past the shower curtain for towels. They dried each other off without speaking and silently padded off to the bedroom.

It was nearly noon and sun was streaking across the room when Jack and Audrey slipped naked between the sheets and, as casually as if they did it every day, curled up in the middle of the bed. It was a position that they had often slept in: both lying on their right sides with Audrey's back pressed against Jack's front. Each curve fit perfectly and Jack's arm wrapped protectively around Audrey. Their fingers entwined loosely. Jack pressed his lips against the base of Audrey's neck.

"God, I love you, Audrey," he whispered as his voice cracked with emotion.

Audrey turned over to face him as he broke down and cried. The overwhelming pain of the last day, a pain that he had compartmentalized until now, had finally become unbearable. He held Audrey tightly as he cried as hard as he had ever cried before. Not since Teri died had his losses been so great. First David Palmer. A death he learned of on the television news. It was a stunning blow. Jack loved David Palmer. Their political views had been very different, but Jack believed that a finer, more honest or kinder man had never walked the face of the earth. Tough when he had to be but otherwise fair and always unassuming, David Palmer had been a good leader for the country.

The news of Palmer's death was just beginning to sink in and become real when Jack learned that Michelle and Tony had been attacked and that Michelle was dead. Michelle's death hurt as much as Palmer's had but the pain got worse by far when Tony died in his arms later in the day. Jack made no attempt to resuscitate him. As much as he didn't want his friend to die, he knew that Tony's life would be a living hell without Michelle. With Tony's recent history of alcohol abuse, Jack knew that Tony would simply return to the bottle and drown. Letting him die was simply more compassionate.

But the worst blow by far, the one from which he doubted that he would ever recover, was Kim's rejection of him. He wasn't sure if she truly wanted to hurt him or if she felt that this was the only way to protect herself from further pain. The things she said, her refusal to kiss or even hug him, were worse than a dagger through his heart. Even the jerk that she was dating had thanked him for saving their lives. Kim hadn't even done that. Was this his fault? Had he turned her into the hate-filled creature that stood in front of him? In his entire adult life, all Jack had ever wanted was to be surrounded by a loving family. Being with Teri and Kim had kept him grounded. He would never forget the bittersweet joy in his heart when Teri told him that she was pregnant for the second time. He imagined them, the four of them, together and happy, yet, at the same time, he knew that he was not likely to survive rescuing Kim from the Drazens. He was sure that he wouldn't live to see his child born.

Now, with Teri and their unborn child long dead and Kim rejecting him and having his future in the hands of a brand new president, Jack cried. He knew that his hopes and dreams for a family and a normal life were, most likely, a sad pipedream; one that could never be reality, a pipedream that would die with him someday.

As tired as she was, Audrey lay awake holding Jack and crying with him. She wanted to sleep more than anything in the world, but was determined not to do so until Jack did. He needed her to be with him right now. He needed her to comfort him and she would do that regardless of how tired she was. She knew how much pain he was in and how terrible the losses of the previous day had been and she wanted to make sure that he knew how very much he was loved.

Audrey didn't know how long she held Jack before exhaustion finally got the better of him and he fell asleep. He had slowly stopped crying and his body began to relax. For a long time occasional sobs interrupted his slow, steady breathing. Audrey used the edge of the sheet to gently dry his face, then she kissed his lips and settled in his arms. She finally allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy the peace and the happiness of sleeping in Jack's arms again.