Okay, here it is, the final ending. I still think the first ending is my favorite, but I really like this one, too. If you read Ending 2 and haven't yet read Agent Rez's sequel to it called "More Comfortable in Hell", you really ought to. It picks up where I left off and it really is a wonderful story. Thanks, Agent Rez for improving upon my chapter.

So, check out Ending 3 and let me know what you think. (That's a weakly disguised code for: REVIEW THIS CHAPTER, PLEASE!)

Ending 3

"Where's Jack?" Audrey asked again. "Please, Dad, I have to know. I need to know that he's alright."

"Jack's fine. He's safe. You don't have to worry about him," Jim said reassuringly.

Jim Heller didn't look his daughter in the eye as he spoke. There was more that he wasn't telling her and Audrey knew it.

"So if he's alight, where is he?" she asked, not 100 percent sure she wanted to know the answer.

"This is complicated, Audrey," Jim Heller answered cryptically. He took her arm and led her to the sofa. "Let's sit down."

Audrey was suddenly scared. She had no idea what her father was going to say, but his behavior was ominous. She numbly followed his directions. She sat down unable to fight him or to question him any further. She watched while he slowly, deliberately went to the minibar and poured himself a scotch and water. He was wasting time. Whatever was coming next, he quite obviously didn't want to tell her.

"Do you want a drink?" he asked Audrey.

She shook her head silently. In truth, she really did want a drink; she wanted a strong drink, something that would dull her senses and slow her heart rate and calm her down, but she decided against it considering that she might be pregnant.

Jim Heller took his time mixing his drink before he came back and sat on the sofa next to Audrey. "Jack is being put into a sort of 'protective custody' program."

"Protective custody? You mean like a criminal that has information and the government is trying to keep him alive so he can testify?"

"Not quite. The government has a program for agents, like Jack, whose positions with the government have resulted in them being a target for another government or a terrorist group. Sometimes it is because of the information that the agent knows or, as in Jack's case, a mission that wasn't really legal that went awry and the agent is at risk for retaliation."

"You mean there's an actual program to hide agents like Jack?" Audrey asked incredulously. "How many of them are there?"

"I don't know the number, but I get the impression that there are at least a half dozen or so across the country."

"So, Jack has to disappear again," Audrey said with obvious disappointment in her voice.

"Yes and no. He'll disappear, but, unlike the last time when he was on his own, this time the government will help him. The government will give him a new identity and a job and will relocate him. He'll continue working for the CIA and have regular contact with the CIA."

"Will he be working in the field? Doing undercover work?"

"No, actually, they can't risk using him in the field for fear that he would be recognized. Jack is too well known in that capacity to risk someone figuring out who he is. He'll be working in intelligence gathering and foreign and domestic threat assessments. They'll use his field skills to help in planning missions. No one will be shooting at him, if that's what you're asking. He'll be very safe," Jim told her.

"Do you know where he'll be living?"

Jim shook his head. "No, I won't. I said goodbye to Jack at the presidential retreat and I suspect that I'll never see him again."

"Is there any way to contact him?"

"Again, the answer to that is 'yes and no'. His contact with the government will be through Bill Buchanan. Bill is already managing three other agents in similar situations. If someone were to need to make contact with Jack, they'd go through Buchanan. He makes the final decision as to how best to manage the situation."

"I just spoke to Bill fifteen minutes before you got here and he didn't tell me any of this," Audrey said shaking her head as if she didn't believe her father.

"Bill probably didn't know yet. When I left the presidential retreat, the whole deal was still being finalized. They didn't need any more input from me, so I spent a few minutes alone with Jack to say good bye and then I left. Mike Novick was going to call Bill as soon as they got the Attorney General and the head of the CIA on conference call and hashed out the details."

"What will they tell Jack's daughter?"

"Exactly what I told you. Jack is safe and he'll be taken care of. If she needs to contact him, she needs to call Bill Buchanan and he will make the final decision on a safe way to contact Jack."

"Will she be able to see him?"

"My understanding is that the way she acted at CTU, she doesn't want to see him. But if she ever changed her mind, that would be Buchanan's call. I suspect that he will say 'no'. The only way that she, or anyone else, can see him is to become part of the program. She would have to give up her identity and disappear in order to go with him. If she had a good reason to want to do that, then, again, Bill would make the final decision and set it up. If she decided to go through with it, the decision would be final. If they had a falling out in a few years, she couldn't leave and go back to her old life. The government would be forced to take steps to protect Jack and the other agents in the program."

"Take steps? Like what?"

"Whatever they would have to do," Jim said as gently as possible. "The whole purpose of this program is to protect agents who, through no fault of their own, have become targets for enemies and fanatics. The government wants to offer them as normal a life as possible under the circumstances. They won't risk anyone messing that up."

Audrey nodded and walked toward the window. She held back the curtain and looked out at Los Angeles in the dark. Street lights and lights in windows glittered like stars. She wondered where Jack would go and if he would be happy.

"What if I wanted to go with Jack? Would that be possible?" she asked her father without looking at him.

Jim looked down at the floor. This was the question he was dreading. He knew that Audrey would eventually ask it but hadn't expected it quite this soon. He reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope. "This is from Jack," he said as he handed it to her. "I think it will answer your question."

Audrey took the envelope in a trembling hand. She fought to calm her nerves and to still her hands enough to remove the letter from its confines. Once out of the envelope, Audrey unfolded the sheet of paper and stared at Jack's tight, block printing. Even his handwriting had an edge to it, a tension that simply was part of his being. Audrey held the page out to her father.

"Read it to me," she ordered him quietly.

"Audrey, that letter is personal. You need to read it yourself," Jim protested.

"I can't, Dad. I can't read it," Audrey sobbed. "Please read it to me," she begged.

Jim Heller took his reading glasses from his pocket and put them on. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath before beginning to read aloud.

Dear Audrey,

Let me start this by saying that I love you with all of my heart. When I told you that I had never stopped loving you, not for a second, I meant it. It is with that love, however, that I have to ask you not to come with me. I know that sounds ridiculous, but if you think about it, it makes sense. In order to go with me, you would have to give up everything: your career, your friends, your identity and most importantly, your father. I can't let you do that. I'm not worth it, Audrey. I simply am not worth it. You have such a brilliant life and career ahead of you and there are so many people who love and care for you. To give that all up would serve no purpose; it would be a waste of your talent.

I thought when I deceived everyone that I love by staging my own death and disappearing that it was the hardest thing that I had ever done. But the truth is, that I think this may be even harder. I think that having my loved ones know that I am alive and that I can't contact them nor can they contact me, may be even harder. At least when you thought I was dead you could grieve and then go on with your life. Now, I fear, that you will always wonder where I am and what I am doing. I hate that you have to live through this, Audrey. In many ways, I wonder if it would have been easier if David Palmer had never warned me that I was in danger eighteen months ago and had allowed the Secret Service agent to kill me outright. I can't change the past, so I will simply have to live with it as best I can.

It is with a heavy heart, my darling, that I say goodbye to you for the last time. I wish you all of the happiness in the world. Don't waste time thinking about me or worrying about me. Go on and live your life. Achieve all that you desire. There is no ceiling, Audrey. I've told you before, the sky's the limit for you. I look forward to seeing you on the news some day as a newly elected senator or a presidential cabinet member. I know that's your goal and I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines all the way.

With my eternal love and constant devotion,

Jack

Tears flowed in a steady stream down Audrey's face as her father read the letter to her, but it wasn't until he finished that she allowed herself to break down. Jim took Audrey in his arms and tried, with little success, to comfort her.

"Why didn't he talk to me first?" she sobbed. "I would have told him that none of those things matter. I love him so much. I don't care what I have to give up. I just want to be with him."

"Jack took this decision very seriously, Audrey. Believe me, it broke his heart to make this decision and write the letter."

"Did you try and talk him out of it? Did you tell him that I'd want to be with him?" she asked.

Her father was uncharacteristically silent. He looked away uncomfortably.

"Did you try and talk him out of it, Dad?" Audrey asked again. "Did you?"

"No, Audrey, I didn't," he finally answered and readied himself to face his daughter's wrath. "He made the decision and I made no attempt to get him to change his mind. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm a father. I couldn't bear the thought of having you go with Jack and never seeing you again, never calling you on the phone and hearing your voice again. Honey, I couldn't do it. I love you too much."

Audrey pulled away her eyes blazing with anger. "That's so unfair, Dad! You were worried about how you'd feel, but you never considered how I'd feel to be left behind? How dare you!"

"Audrey, I told you that I'm sorry. You don't understand. You're not a parent. I can't even begin to explain how much I love you and your brother. Even when Richard does things I don't agree with or things deliberately to hurt me, I can't stop loving him. That's what it means to be a parent. I couldn't watch you walk away with Jack to go off to God-knows-where and know that I'd never see you again."

"I thought you wanted me to be happy," Audrey said as the initial shock passed and she started to calm down.

"I do want you to be happy, sweetheart, and you will be happy again, I know that. It'll take some time, just like when you thought that Jack was dead, but it will happen. Besides that, you know Jack, once he made up his mind that this was the right course of action, I'm not sure that I could have changed his mind if I wanted to."

Audrey nodded. What her father was saying was true. Jack tended to be pretty single minded and it usually took heaven and earth to make him change his mind. "I know, Dad," Audrey said with a wry smile. "It's okay. I understand." She stepped away and straightened her father's lapel. "If you don't mind, I'm really tired and I'd just like to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"If that's what you want, sweetheart, that's fine. My suite is just upstairs, so if you need anything, call me. I love you, Audrey. I'll do anything I can to help you through this."

Audrey nodded sullenly and walked him to the door. Once her father was gone, she dully went through the motions of getting ready for bed. She started to get into the bed that she and Jack had shared the night before and found that she couldn't. She looked at the faint stains on the sheets, the only remaining evidence of their love. The memory was strong: Jack's touch, his tender kisses, the weight of his body on top of hers. She suddenly heard his voice asking her if they needed protection and she shut her eyes hard to try and forget her own answer. The thought of becoming pregnant with Jack's child had seemed so romantic at that moment. It seemed so exciting and forbidden. She had told herself that if he didn't come back, that she would have part of him to hold on to, but in truth, she hadn't really allowed herself to think that he might not come back. In her mind, this was just the first of a lifetime of nights that they would spend together. Now she faced the reality that Jack wasn't coming back, that she would never see him again or know where he was and that she might very well be pregnant. And that last thought scared her to death.

Until that moment when having Jack's baby suddenly seemed like a good idea, Audrey had never spent much time thinking about having children. She had always been so career oriented that children were never of any real interest to her. Paul was always too busy wheeling and dealing to think about a family, so it wasn't something they had ever discussed. Jack was a family man and Audrey knew it, but their relationship hadn't gotten to the point that they talked about children. She remembered now that while they were dating, she wondered what would happen if they ever got married. She wondered if Jack would want children and she wasn't sure how she would feel about that. Now, lying alone on the sofa in the dark hotel suite considering the possibility of single-motherhood, Audrey was downright terrified.

The next two weeks were almost unbearable for Audrey. She missed Jack more than ever, (Knowing that he was alive but that she couldn't be with him was worse than thinking that he was dead.) and she wondered almost constantly if she was pregnant. She watched for any telltale sign or symptom that might confirm or deny the presence of a baby growing within her. When her period didn't start the day it was due, Audrey matter-of-factly went to the pharmacy during her lunch break and bought a pregnancy test kit. She returned to her office and told her assistant that she didn't want to be disturbed. Then she slipped into the private bathroom off of her office and methodically followed the instructions on the back of the package. Without even waiting for the result, she knew it would be positive. When the blue plus sign on the white plastic wand appeared, Audrey simply leaned against the sink and cried.

She had never felt more frightened or alone in her life. Even when she and her father were kidnapped, at least they were together. Thoughts of her father made her cringe with embarrassment. How would she ever tell him that she was pregnant? He was so old fashioned. She knew that he didn't approve of her spending the night with Jack, but there was little he could do about it so he didn't bother to lecture her. Now she would have to admit that not only had she and Jack been intimate, but she had been careless enough to allow herself to become pregnant. She didn't know how or when she would tell her father, but she knew that she had to wait until the reality sunk in for her before she could calmly discuss this with him.

The next couple of months passed by rather uneventfully. Audrey had very little morning sickness and if she didn't consciously think about that fact that she was pregnant, she found herself almost able to ignore it. She had seen her doctor and everything was fine, so between visits she intentionally didn't think very much about it. Not that she was unhappy about the pregnancy, on the contrary, it actually elicited little or no emotion in her. She did know that this was going to change her life completely and she had scads of decisions to make, but she was doing her best to avoid making those difficult decisions. She knew that in time she would start showing and she was going to have to face it head on, but for now, the pregnancy was easy to ignore.

Audrey was almost sixteen weeks pregnant when her doctor arranged for a sonogram. It was routine, he told her. He recommended that all of his patients have one to see if the baby was developing normally. Audrey scheduled the appointment and gave the test little thought, except that she was annoyed that the only time they could schedule it was in the middle of a work day. That morning, she casually mentioned to her father that she would be leaving at 2 o'clock for a doctor's appointment. He raised his eyebrows slightly.

"You had a doctor's appointment a couple of months ago, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did," Audrey said averting her eyes slightly. Although she had managed to make most of the appointments at times that no one else would notice or question her absence, this was the second time that she was forced to make an appointment that would require that she leave work.

"Sweetheart, is everything alright? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dad. Don't worry," she said smiling at him and knowing full well that he was already worried.

Despite her attempts to allay his fears, Jim Heller couldn't help worrying about his daughter. She was all he had in the world. His wife was dead and Richard was more or less estranged. Audrey was his joy in life and he feared that something was seriously wrong with her. He would never forget how long his wife had kept her illness from him. She later told him that he was busy and she didn't want to worry him. That was the most painful part of all. The fact that his own wife didn't think that he had time to worry about her still hurt him years later.

"I'll tell you what," Audrey said breaking her father's train of thought, "I'll make dinner tonight. Come over to my house after work and we'll have dinner together." That seemed as good a time as any to break the news to her father. She couldn't hide it much longer so it was time to tell him and make some decisions about her future.

Audrey was a nervous wreck as she drove to the doctor's office. She knew that the pregnancy was progressing and it was no longer reasonable for her to ignore the fact that she was carrying Jack's baby. She wished that Jack were there.

After a short wait in a cramped waiting room with several other women in various stages of pregnancy, she found herself lying uncomfortably on a cold, hard table, with a full bladder and an ultrasound technician pressing on her abdomen and chatting cheerily to her.

"Okay, let me get all set up here and then you can watch if you want to. Do you want to know the baby's sex?" The technician didn't wait for an answer. "Some women want to know and others don't, so I always ask before I let them look at the monitor. We can't always tell, you know. Sometimes the sex is really obvious and other times it's not."

"If you can tell what the sex is, I'd like to know," Audrey told her.

The technician worked silently for a few minutes before speaking again. "Okay, I've got some great pictures. Everything looks good. All of the measurements are perfect." She stopped speaking for a moment and turned the monitor so that Audrey could see it. "I can't be totally sure, but it looks to me like you have a little boy here. He's being a little shy. The little bugger is keeping his legs closed, but that sure looks like a boy to me."

Audrey stared at the monitor in utter amazement and found she couldn't keep from smiling. "I knew it would be a boy," she said confidently as she watched her son move his tiny hands so that one was up near his face as if to play peep-a-boo with her. Thick tears gathered in her eyes. "Are you sure everything is alright, that he's healthy?" she asked as she tried to blink the tears away so that she could see the baby's image clearly. He was suddenly so real and so alive. She couldn't ignore his existence any more. She and Jack had made a miracle and she loved this little person more than she would have thought possible.

"I'll have to show all of my data to the doctor, but everything looks perfectly normal. He's developing just fine. I'll print some pictures for you so you have a souvenir."

Audrey drove home feeling like she was floating on a cloud. Every time that she had to stop for traffic she pulled out the pictures to look at them. "Jack, you have a beautiful son," she said aloud as she studied one of the pictures. "I wish you were here."

That thought swirled over and over in her mind as she drove. I wish you were here, Jack. I wish you were here. The more she thought about it, the more the thought haunted her. She wanted Jack to know about his son. She wanted him to be there when James, as she had already named him, was born. She wanted Jack to help her raise him. As she cooked dinner for herself and her father, Audrey could think of nothing else. She missed Jack more than the day he left and she simply couldn't live without him any longer.

Audrey and her father had a quiet dinner on her patio that evening. They kept the conversation light, but both felt a strain, a low grade tension, in the air. Audrey finally broke the ice.

"Dad, about that doctor's appointment I had today," she started.

Jim Heller closed his eyes fearful of what Audrey was about to tell him. He swallowed hard but said nothing waiting for Audrey to continue.

Audrey pulled out the ultrasound pictures and handed them to her father. He looked at them without really understanding. "Is this some kind of x-ray or CAT scan?" he asked.

"It's an ultrasound picture, Dad," she said, "of your grandson."

"My grandson!" he said, the shock evident on his face and in his voice.

Audrey nodded. "Yes, your grandson. I'm 16 weeks pregnant," she said quietly.

Jim's eyes blazed with what Audrey could only describe as a combination of shock and anger. "Who's the father? Do you know?"

"Dad! You know me better than that. I don't sleep around. Of course I know who the father is. He's the only man I've been with in almost a year: Jack Bauer."

"You and Jack were together one night. How the hell did this happen? I would have thought that you two were smart enough to use birth control."

"We didn't exactly have a chance to stop at the drug store," Audrey said sarcastically. "Dad, I'm not unhappy about this, why are you?"

"Audrey, have you thought about what this means to your life? This changes everything."

"Really, Dad. Gee, I hadn't thought of that," she said, once again with a biting edge to her voice. "Of course I've thought of that. I promise that I won't embarrass you like Richard has. I plan to resign from your staff and have the baby quietly."

Jim suddenly realized how he was acting. Audrey was right; his concern at the moment was his own image and how he would be perceived. He already had a gay son who had felt the need to come out of the closet and took up every liberal cause under the sun, now his daughter was about to give birth out of wedlock. He honestly hadn't taken the time to be concerned for her feelings.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I'm just so shocked. None of that came out right." Jim massaged his forehead with his fingertips as if he had a headache. "Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

"Because I knew you were going to react this way and I guess I wanted to put it off as long as possible," Audrey said with a shrug. "I think the other reason I waited was that I didn't completely believe it myself until today. But when I saw the ultrasound images, when I got to see him move, it all became real. You should have seen him, Dad. He's perfect. He has little tiny fingers and toes." She shook her head slowly indicating that she didn't know how to explain her feelings further. "I know that my life has to change and that I have a lot of decisions to make."

"It sounds like you've done that. I wish you would have talked to me, honey. I don't want you to resign. I need you in your current role. Who else can I trust the way I trust you?" Jim said gently.

"My mind is made up, Dad," Audrey told him. She paused for a second and then continued without looking at him. "You aren't going to like the rest of this," she warned him.

"Why? What else are you going to tell me?"

"I want to go and be with Jack."

"That isn't possible, Audrey."

"Yes, it is. I need to get in touch with Bill Buchanan."

"Jack already told Buchanan that he doesn't want you or anyone else giving up their life to be with him," Jim reminded him. "Bill is pretty much bound by Jack's instructions."

"The circumstances have changed. Jack didn't know that he was going to be a father when he wrote that letter. He deserves the chance to raise his son and our baby deserves to grow up with two loving parents. Jack needs to know about the baby and he needs to make the decision as to whether or not he wants us in his life, but he's going to have to tell me to my face that he doesn't want me."

Jim nodded as he paced the room. "You're sure of this, aren't you?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I've thought about it off and on since I first knew that I was pregnant, but seeing the ultrasound today made me realize that I don't have a choice. I need Jack in my life and more importantly, James needs a father."

"James?" her father said with a slight smirk.

"Yeah," Audrey said smiling back, "if that's okay with you. I'd like to name him after you."

Jim felt his eyes fill with tears of pride and of sadness. He knew that Audrey was making all of the right choices, but he also knew that, in the process, he was going to lose her. "I love you," Jim whispered as he pulled her into a tight embrace. "But you know what this means, don't you, Audrey?" he said trying to control the tremble in his voice.

"Yes, I do," she replied as she too started crying. "Once I make this move, I'm not sure when or if I'll ever see you again. That's the part that I hate. That's the part I wish I could change. I don't mind giving up anything else, not my job or my friends or my house, but I hate that I have to leave you."

"But you have to think of yourself and the baby, sweetheart," Jim said taking control of his emotions. "I don't want you to try and raise the baby alone when he has a father who loves him and I know how very much Jack will love him. Family has always been important to him and his daughter broke his heart. You're right; you need to go to him."

Audrey called Bill Buchanan the very next day from a secure line at the DoD. Bill was working at his desk when his phone range.

"Yes, Anne," he said to his secretary as he hit the button for the speaker.

"Mr. Buchanan, I have Audrey Raines from the Department of Defense on line two."

"She's on two?" Bill asked wondering why she was calling him on a secure line. Normally DoD personnel would only call CTU on secured lines during an active protocol and no such protocol was currently in effect.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you. Put her through." Bill waited for a moment for Anne to transfer the call before he spoke. "Audrey? What's going on? Why the need for a secure line?"

"Bill, I need to see Jack."

"Audrey, that's not possible. You know that," Bill said as gently as possible.

"Yes, it is possible, Bill. We both know that," Audrey retorted.

"I have to respect Jack's wishes on this subject, Audrey, and he expressly forbid me from allowing either you or Kim or anyone else access to him. He didn't want you to give everything up for him."

Audrey took a deep breath and put forth the rest of her argument. "I understand that, but when Jack gave you those instructions, he didn't know that he was going to be a father again. Bill, I'm pregnant."

Bill was silent for a long second. "Pregnant? With Jack's child?"

"Yes," Audrey said quietly. Now it was her turn to be silent for a moment before giving Bill the explanation that he deserved. "The baby was conceived the night we spent together after the terrorist attack. I didn't know about it for a few weeks and when I found out, I just planned to have the baby and raise him myself. Then yesterday I had an ultrasound and they confirmed that the baby was a boy and I got to see him moving and kicking. Bill, I don't know how to explain it to someone who doesn't have children, but it was just overwhelming. Jack deserves to know that he's going to be a father and his son deserves a chance to know him. If I have to give up my identity to make all of that happen and for the three of us to be a family, then it's well worth it. If you have any questions with regards to paternity, I'll agree to a paternity test."

"Audrey, I don't know what to say. I've been an administrator in the agency protection program for ten years and nothing like this has ever happened. I'm willing to tell Jack about the baby, but that's about the best I can do. If he wants you to be relocated with him, that will be his decision. If he says 'yes' then we'll proceed. But this has to be his decision."

"I want to be the one to tell him, Bill. I need to tell him face to face."

"I can't arrange that, Audrey. I told you, I'll talk to Jack. I can get in touch with him later today."

"No, Bill. I know Jack. If you tell him over the phone, it won't be completely real to him. He'll tell you that he wants me to stay in Washington. If he sees me and sees the ultrasound images and gets to feel the baby kicking, there is no way he'll send me back to DC. He's going to want his child."

"Audrey, I'm sympathetic, believe me I am. But this is highly irregular to say the least. I want to help you, but I can't agree to this."

"Who would have to approve it?"

"The protection program administrator but he would probably have to get the go ahead from the Director of the CIA, Bert Lance."

"Then let's go that route. Talk to the program administrator. I can have my father call Director Lance. They go way back. I'm sure he can get Lance to agree."

"Audrey, I'm not comfortable with any of this and I'm not sure that getting your father to pull strings is a great idea. This is a huge security undertaking. If you see Jack and he refuses to allow you to relocate with him, we have to find a way to put you back unnoticed into the general population after we already made you disappear. That's no small feat. It's hard enough to make someone disappear. Making you reappear would make parting the Red Sea look like child's play," Bill told her as he paced his office frantically.

"All you have to do is make me disappear, Bill. I can guarantee that Jack will want me to stay when he knows about his son."

"That's pure speculation on your part, Audrey, and you know it. I'd like to think that you're right, but I can't be sure until we see Jack's reaction."

"Just talk to your superiors, please," she begged.

Bill heaved a defeated sigh. Secretary Heller was going to go to the Director of the CIA, so he better put the wheels in motion before Director Lance was on his phone wanting to know all of the details. "Alright, Audrey. I'll call him and see what he says."

Bill reluctantly put in a call to the program administrator, Lou Bailey, and explained the situation. Bailey sighed loudly. "Let me get this straight. The daughter of the Secretary of Defense, who just happens to be an old Army buddy of the Director of the CIA, wants access to one of our protected agents to tell him that he's the father of her child. This is the same agent who has already told us that he wants no one to have access to him. Bill, you've got to be kidding. This is a goddamn nightmare."

"I wish I were kidding, Lou. And I'll tell you right now, neither Audrey Raines nor Secretary Heller is going to take 'no' for an answer. The biggest problem is that I think Bauer is going to be angry that we arranged all of this and tell Audrey that she has to go back to Washington. I know Jack and baby or no baby, his mind is made up. I'll be surprised if he agrees to us relocating her."

"Well, like it or not, I think we're going to have to make this thing happen. You know once James Heller gets on the phone to Director Lance that he's going to want this done yesterday."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Bill said. "I'll get back to you later today with a basic outline of how we want to proceed."

"I wish I could say that I'll be looking forward to hearing from you, Bill, but that would be a lie," Lou said good naturedly.

Bill spent the next few days formulating a plan to put Audrey and Jack together in a manner that could be reasonably reversed if Jack refused to let Audrey stay. Once finalized and approved by his superiors, Bill notified Audrey. He would fly to Washington where they would meet to go over the plan.

Audrey and her father drove to Langley to meet with Bill, Lou Bailey, and Director Lance. Even if she tried, Audrey couldn't explain her emotions as her father guided the car along the highway. She was excited and nervous and happy and sad all at the same time. She found herself shaking as they entered the conference room for the meeting.

Bill wasted no time. He set a sheaf of papers in front of Jim and Audrey and immediately launched into an explanation as to how the plan would work. "This is a complicated process," Bill started. "It allows us to explain you leaving your current situation and either coming back to it without anything changing or staying with Jack and not returning without people asking a lot of questions."

He paused a moment to answer any questions and when none were asked, Bill proceeded. "The first thing that we need everyone to believe, Audrey, is that you are going on a trip to Europe. You'll explain to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, that you have a friend who works as a free lance photographer and is currently living in Spain. He has wanted you to come and visit him for a while. You've been feeling really tired and stressed lately and you have decided that you need a couple of weeks off. All the details regarding where in Spain he's living, and his name are all in the packet in front of you. You need to memorize those and be able to repeat them as if this were a real person. You have to convince people that this story is true. We will have you booked on a flight to Spain and, if anyone is looking into your whereabouts, the flight manifests will be altered to make it look like you were on the flight. Does that make sense?"

Audrey nodded. "This is simple enough, Bill, but what happens when I don't come back?"

"If you don't come back," Bill corrected, "then the next part of the story is dependent on you, Mr. Secretary," Bill explained. "When Audrey is due back, you're going to tell everyone that she has decided to stay longer, that she is feeling much better and loves where she's staying and has decided to stay on for a while. My understanding is that many people have expressed concern that Audrey came back to work too soon after Paul's death and, since that time, has been working too hard. So I'm hoping that this explanation will seem reasonable to most people, but you'll have to be convincing, Mr. Secretary. We can't have people asking a lot of questions. Eventually, the story will evolve to include the fact that she and the friend in Europe have become romantically involved and Audrey has decided to stay with him. His job keeps him traveling and she wants to go with him on an assignment to Africa. You'll need to express some level of disapproval at this decision, Mr. Secretary. That will explain why, as time passes, that Audrey doesn't come to visit you and you don't go to visit her.

"There are a number of other details that need to taken care of. Eventually, Audrey, your house will have to be sold. We'll take care of having bank accounts, stocks, trust funds, all of your finances transferred to numbered accounts so you can still access them, but we have people who can take care of those details for you."

Audrey nodded again and listened as Bill continued to go through all of the minute details that had to be covered. It had never occurred to her how much would go in to making her disappear, but despite the complex plan she knew that she wanted to go forward. "Where will I meet Jack?"

"For starters, his name now is Lucas Avery and everyone calls him Luke. You have to call him that as well. That will take some getting used to. He's living in southwestern Colorado. We have three agents in the same area. They run a business together and Luke is their newest partner. Publicly, the business is a high tech computer security business that contracts with the government. In fact, it's a front for the CIA. Your name is Rachel Avery. We decided that the easiest way to handle this is to give you all of the legal documentation to say that you are married. It makes it easier if Jack decides that you can stay with him. The story will be that you separated when Luke decided to take this job in Colorado. Later you found out that you were pregnant and eventually decided to reconcile.

"You'll meet him in a restaurant a few miles from town. Luke eats there pretty often so they know him and he frequently meets 'clients' there. It won't be unusual for him to be meeting someone there. We will tell him that we need him to meet with someone, but we won't tell him that it's you. I'm afraid if we tell him up front, he'll refuse to meet with you. At that point, you tell him the truth. He's far too much of a professional to make a scene in a public place and we need the same behavior from you. Whatever happens, you'll discuss it quietly and calmly and leave the restaurant without attracting any attention regardless of what decision he makes. Do you understand?"

Audrey nodded silently not knowing what else to do.

"All of the information regarding Luke and Rachel is in your packet. You need to know that. You need to know birth dates, anniversary, where they grew up, educational information, parents' names, previous addresses, everything. In short, Audrey, you have to become Rachel Avery and you have to stop being Audrey Heller Raines." Bill stopped for a second. The room was silent and all eyes were on Audrey as the impact of Bill's statement hit home. "Audrey Heller Raines will cease to exist. She'll be gone forever. You will become Rachel Avery, Mrs. Lucas Avery, and there is no turning back if Jack agrees to you staying. I'm going to give you a few days to think this over, Audrey. Get back to me by the end of next week."

"I don't need time to think about it," Audrey said confidently.

Director Lance spoke for the first time. "Yes, you do, Audrey. This isn't a game. It's serious business and it will take dozens of people and countless hours to make it work. We need to make sure that you are 100 percent on board before we move forward. Once you say 'yes', there really is no turning back." Bert Lance sighed quietly. "Audrey, I've known you since you were a baby. Your father and I were stationed at Fort Ritchie when you were born. I've watched you grow up and I've been as proud of you as I have my own children. I need to know that this decision is one that you fully understand and agree to. You're giving up everything for this, Audrey, and I'd never forgive myself if I let you jump into it and it was the wrong decision. Go home. Read the packet carefully before you make any decision and then call Bill next week. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to start floating the idea of vacationing in Europe when you talk to friends and coworkers. That way, if you decide to go through with this, the trip won't be too much of a surprise."

Audrey went home and did as she was told, but even the complexity of the plan didn't scare her off. Her pregnancy was progressing and she was starting to feel the baby move. Her belly was beginning to protrude ever so slightly and she knew that she couldn't hide the pregnancy from others for more than a few more weeks. She called Bill and told him that she wanted to go forward with the plan.

Audrey excitedly told everyone she knew about her "trip to Europe" while her father expressed his displeasure at her choosing to go on vacation when there was so much work to be done and his general dislike for the man Audrey was claiming to be going to see. It worked like a charm and no one questioned the story.

Soon Audrey found herself saying a tearful goodbye to her father and on her way to meet Jack. The trip would be circuitous taking her through a couple of military bases and finally to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she would be given a car to drive the remainder of the way.

Bill called Jack the day before Audrey was to arrive and told him that he needed to meet a contact. As he gave Jack the date and time, he felt guilty dropping this on Jack without warning. He wondered how Jack was going to take it. One thing he knew for sure, if Jack was angry, he was going to hear about it.

Jack walked casually into the restaurant the next afternoon at 2 o'clock as instructed. There were very few diners lingering over late lunches by then and most of the tables were empty.

"Hi, Mr. Avery," said Charlie, the young man who was doubling as bartender and receptionist during the post-lunch, pre-dinner hours. Once the dinner crowd started rolling in he would strictly be behind the bar.

"Hey, Charlie," Jack returned. "I'm meeting a client. Has she arrived?"

Charlie smiled and raised his eyebrows. Most of the people Jack met in the restaurant were middle aged business men. It was unusual for him to be meeting a woman. "Yeah, she's at the last booth in the back. Better looking than most of your clients," he commented.

Jack just smiled back and strode toward the booth. The woman had her back to him, something that Jack found unusual. Most CIA agents would face the restaurant in order to get a view of anyone coming in. That was a rookie mistake and Jack would let her know about it when he got the chance.

Audrey's heart was going a mile a minute as she heard the footsteps coming up behind her. She waited until Jack had reached the booth before she turned to look at him. "Hi, Luke," she said softly. She extended her hand so that if anyone was watching, it looked like a business meeting.

Jack was stunned but quickly recovered. He couldn't afford to look too surprised. They shook hands and Jack took the seat across from her in the secluded booth. "I take it you found the place without any problems," he said casually as a waiter approached.

The waiter took drink orders and handed them menus. "Did you need some time, Mr. Avery, or are you ready to order."

"Give us a few minutes, please Harry," Jack said. He waited for Harry to move out of earshot before leaning slightly across the table. "What are you doing here? What's going on? I told Bill that I didn't want you here. Didn't my letter make that clear?" Jack said quietly.

"Gee, Luke, it's good to see you, too. I thought maybe you missed me as much as I missed you."

"Stop it! Of course I've missed you. God! I can't get you out of my mind, but this is too complicated. You can't stay here."

They saw Harry approaching with their drinks and both turned their attention back to the menus. He placed iced teas before both of them and took their lunch orders. Jack spread some papers from his briefcase on the table to make their meeting look official.

"We eat lunch and then you leave quietly. Do you understand?" Jack directed her.

"Not until you hear me out," Audrey told him. She reached into her bag and pulled out the ultrasound images that were now almost six weeks old.

Jack looked at them and shook his head. "This looks like a baby," he said not fully understanding.

Audrey smiled. "It's our son," she said barely able to contain herself.

All of Jack's training had not prepared him for that moment. He couldn't help but look surprised and he was grateful that no one was nearby. "Our son? Are you sure?"

"There was no one but you six months ago. I've already told Bill, if paternity is a question, I'll submit to a test, but the baby belongs to you."

Jack closed his eyes for a second trying to take in all of the new information. "I asked you that night if we needed protection and you said 'no'. Honey, I never would have put you through this if you had told me. I didn't want for this to happen. I'm sorry."

"How can you be sorry about it? We made a baby. I think it's wonderful. I'm thrilled and I'm here now. We can be a family. We'll have our son and we'll raise him together. I don't want to raise him alone. I want him to know his father. I want him to know how much you love him."

Before Jack could begin to protest, Harry brought their lunches. "Let's see," he said. "That's a southwest chicken salad for you, ma'am and a chipotle burger for you, Mr. Avery. Can I get you anything else right now?"

"Everything's fine. Thanks, Harry," Jack said finding himself at a loss for words.

Jack sat unable to eat while he watched Audrey's fork plunge into the salad. She had always been a dainty eater, but she attacked the salad with a vengeance.

"God, I'm hungry," she said after chewing the first bite. "I'm always hungry now," she told him. "I didn't notice it for the first few months, but now that the baby's growing so much, I feel like I can't get enough to eat. The doctor said based on his size right now, he might be over nine pounds when he's born. Are you going to eat all of those fries? Can I have a couple?" Without waiting for an answer, Audrey reached her fork across the table and stabbed two French fries. She dipped them in the puddle of ketchup that Jack had poured onto his plate and then ate them. "Mmmm," she hummed, eyes closed, as if in ecstasy. "Those are cooked in peanut oil. They're wonderful. How's the dessert here? I could really go for something chocolate."

Jack couldn't help but smile. He didn't remember ever seeing Audrey so animated. If it was possible that pregnancy made a woman glow, she was glowing. Jack felt his initial shock and anger at having Audrey show up here begin to fade and it was replaced by the warm, loving feeling he always had when she was near. Now it was different, though. Now she was carrying their child and he already knew that he loved the baby.

"This won't be easy, Sweetheart," he said quietly. "Once you move here, that's it. There's no going back. It's just the two of us."

"No, it's the three of us. And I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to make my home and my life here with you and the baby. I can't stand living the way I was. I couldn't be happy about the baby knowing that you couldn't be part of his life. I couldn't be happy about anything. I was just existing. I didn't really care if I lived or died. You were all I could think about."

"I felt the same way," Jack admitted as he finally started to relax and eat his lunch. "People are going to ask questions, how do I introduce you? What's the cover story?" he asked between bites.

"I'm your wife, Rachel. I have wedding rings for both of us in my purse."

"The only problem with that is everyone thinks I'm single."

"We were separated. I didn't want to move here when you took the job, but now with the baby coming soon, I decided that I wanted to reconcile."

Jack agreed that it was a plausible cover story and he started to find himself more and more comfortable with the situation. He also knew that he was happier than he had been since the day he spent at the Hilton with Audrey. He couldn't believe that she was really here with him and that soon they would have a family.

Jack and Audrey finished lunch and left the restaurant. They each got into their own car and drove the half hour to Jack's house. Jack didn't think he could remember that drive ever taking so long. All he could think about was Audrey and how much he wanted to be alone with her. They had to act like business associates in the restaurant, so he couldn't even hold her hand as they walked to the door and he couldn't kiss her as he helped her into the car. It took enormous self control not to put his hand on her belly that curved so softly in front of her. She told him more than once during the meal that the baby was kicking and he desperately wanted to feel it.

They arrived at the house and parked their cars. Jack went immediately to Audrey's door to help her out and then retrieved her luggage from the trunk. They were walking toward the house when a neighbor who was working in her flower garden called out to Jack.

"Hi Luke," she said.

"Hello, Mrs. Kiley," Jack returned. He leaned toward Audrey and whispered into her ear. "Beware of nosy neighbors."

Audrey smiled as the woman stood up from her chore and walked toward the picket fence dividing the properties.

"Nice day, isn't it? I didn't realize that you were having company," Mrs. Kiley commented.

"I'm not exactly 'company'," Audrey interjected. "I'm Rachel Avery, Luke's wife."

Audrey extended her hand to the woman who couldn't have looked more surprised. For weeks she had been trying to figure out how to nonchalantly introduce her very single 35 year old daughter to her handsome neighbor. He looked like good husband materiel to Mrs. Kiley. He was quiet, didn't drink or party that she could tell. He took good care of his house and seemed to have a good job. What more could a girl want? Her Marilyn was awfully fussy, but Luke seemed like a good catch.

"Why Luke, I had no idea that you were getting married," she said taking stock of Audrey's obvious "condition" and nearly clucking in disapproval at the immorality of young people today.

"We were separated," Jack explained.

"I'm afraid that was my fault," Audrey added. "When Luke moved here I didn't want to move. It took me a few months but I've come to my senses," she said as she and Jack smiled at each other.

"It looks like the stork will be paying you a visit soon."

"In a couple of months," Audrey agreed as she rubbed her stomach. She already knew that she was going to love sparring with Mrs. Kiley. She suspected that the woman had an opinion on everything and didn't mind sharing with anyone who would listen.

"Well, I'll just go back to my gardening and leave you two love birds alone," the older woman said. "Before you go inside, Luke, I was hoping you could carry something into the garage for me."

Jack internally rolled his eyes. "Of course, Mrs. Kiley." He set Audrey's bags on the ground and handed the house keys to her. "I'll be right in." Audrey took the keys noting the look of aggravation on Jack's face and made her way to the front door while Jack opened the gate and crossed into Mrs. Kiley's yard.

Jack followed his neighbor toward the garage. "What was it that you needed me to carry?"

Mrs. Kiley watched Audrey and waited until she was on the front porch and out of earshot before she spoke. "I know that it's none of my business, Luke, and you know that I don't involve myself in other peoples affairs," she started, "and I don't usually give advice unless I've been asked, but I just thought I should give you some friendly advice. Rachel seems like a lovely person but it might be in your best interest, Luke to have a paternity test. You know, just to protect your own interests."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Jack returned in a noncommittal manner. "If you don't mind, my wife is waiting for me."

Jack walked away shaking his head. He carried Audrey's bags into the house. "Sweetheart," he called as he entered the door.

"I'm back here," she called from the patio in the rear of the house.

Jack set down the luggage and followed her voice.

"The place is great! I love it," Audrey told Jack. "We can turn the spare bedroom into a nursery. It'll be perfect."

"Like you," Jack said as he grabbed Audrey's hand and pulled her into his arms. "I love you so much," he whispered as he kissed her. "And I am so happy that you're here." He kissed her again. "And I am even happier about this little guy," Jack said as he pressed his hands against her stomach.

"Can you feel him? He kicking a little bit," Audrey said as she moved Jack's hand toward the movement.

Jack's face lit up and he started to laugh as he felt the barrage of kicks. "Is he running a marathon in there?"

"He's like you; he never stops," Audrey told Jack as she leaned in for another round of kisses.

Jack and Audrey, or rather Luke and Rachel as everyone knew them, settled down happily into domestic life. Time passed quickly and before they knew it, Audrey was in labor and they were in the delivery suite at the local hospital.

"Okay, Rachel," the doctor encouraged, "one or two more pushes and we'll have this little guy out."

"I hope so," Audrey said not quite believing that labor would ever end. "I'm not sure I can do this much longer."

"You're doing fine, Sweetheart," Jack assured her as she started pushing again.

"That's it, that's it," the doctor said. "Here he comes!"

Right on cue, the baby started crying frantically. Jack pulled Audrey into his arms and they both cried at the sound.

"Well that's a surprise," the doctor said. That statement made everyone look up with concern. "I think we need to take another look at those ultrasound pictures. I only looked at them briefly, but I thought the baby was a boy."

"It's not?" Audrey asked.

"No, but you have a beautiful little girl here, Rachel."

"And she's healthy? Everything's okay?" Jack asked anxiously.

"She's fine. She's absolutely perfect. Give the nurses a second to clean her up and you can hold her," the doctor reassured him.

Jack and Audrey breathed a sigh of relief and both started laughing. Neither knew why they were laughing. It was more of a release. The hours of concern and tension during labor were over, the baby and Audrey were both fine and it was a girl instead of the much anticipated boy.

A few minutes later, the nurses put the baby, wrapped in a pink blanket with a pink cap on her head, into Audrey's arms. They both studied her carefully taking note of her tiny pink mouth and her blue eyes. They memorized the shape of her face and the way her nose turned up just slightly.

"She's beautiful, Sweetheart. Thank you," Jack whispered as he pressed a tender kiss against her temple.

The flurry of activity that had surrounded them all day was finally over. Jack had taken a few minutes to slip out to his car and make a call from a secure phone to Bill Buchanan. He asked Buchanan to get in touch with Audrey's father and let him know that he had a beautiful granddaughter and that Audrey was fine. Bill congratulated Jack and told him that he would get in touch with the Secretary of Defense as soon as possible. Bill had been great about relaying messages between Audrey and her father and had indicated that he thought it would be possible to arrange a visit with Jim Heller within the next couple of months. Before hanging up, Jack contemplated asking Bill to talk to Kim as well, but decided against it. He felt it was better to leave well enough alone. According to Bill, when he told Kim that Jack was going into an agency protection program she had wished her father well, but seemed almost grateful that they would have no further contact. As painful as that was for him, he decided that it was best to live with that.

Jack returned to Audrey's room where she sat in bed staring lovingly at their daughter. She smiled when he entered the room and scooted over so that he could sit next to her on the bed. Jack kissed Audrey and then lifted the baby up so that he could kiss her forehead.

"Daddy missed his girls," he cooed softly.

Audrey snuggled against him and watched him holding the baby. "You aren't disappointed are you?" Audrey asked cryptically.

"Disappointed? About what?" Jack asked.

"That we had a girl instead of a boy."

"Are you kidding me? We have this beautiful, healthy daughter and you think that I could be disappointed? Of all the emotions that I've felt today, disappointment was certainly not one of them. Are you disappointed?"

"Not at all. I was just so sure that we were having a boy that I never even considered having a girl," Audrey explained. "We don't even have a name for her."

"We'll come up with something," Jack said. Audrey noticed that he seemed to be looking wistfully off into the distance.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking," he explained.

"About what?"

"When Kim was about four, she wanted a baby sister. It was all she talked about. She even named the baby Melissa. She made us promise that if we had another baby girl that we would name her Melissa. The problem was that our marriage was always so tenuous that it never seemed like a good idea to have another baby. When I talked to Teri about an hour before she died and she told me that she was pregnant, all I could think of was that if it was a girl we would have to name her Melissa."

"So now that Kim has a baby sister, do you want to name her Melissa?"

"I'd like to but only if it's alright with you."

"It's beautiful," Audrey agreed. "What do you think about that?" Audrey cooed to the baby. "How do you like being named Melissa?"

The baby stretched and yawned in response.

"Did you see that?" Audrey exclaimed.

"She yawned," Jack said not sure why Audrey was so excited.

"No, when she did that she looked just like you!"

"Oh, I hope not!" Jack said back with a laugh. "I want her to be beautiful like you."

"You're so sweet," Audrey said as she leaned in and kissed Jack. "Maybe in a year or two we can try again for a boy and hopefully he'll look like you."

xxxXXXxxx

"Okay, Rachel," the doctor said. "You know the drill. Keep pushing and we'll have this baby out in no time."

"You said that twenty minutes ago and I'm still pushing," she retorted exhausted from almost fifteen hours of labor.

"You're the one who wanted to try this again," Jack reminded her.

"So, Rachel, if it's a girl, are you trying again for a boy?" the doctor asked.

"I'll answer that," Jack replied. "No! If this one's a girl then we'll assume that I don't make male sperm and give it up as a lost cause!"

"That's too bad, because you two are among my best customers. I'll hate giving up the extra income," the doctor laughed. "I figured if you had one more, my wife and I could afford that trip to New Zealand that she's been wanting to take."

"That's right, you two just joke at my expense," Audrey whined before having to push again. "He's coming! I can feel him!" Audrey gasped.

"That's it! Another push," the doctor guided her. "There you go!"

Jack and Audrey looked up expectantly as the baby started to cry.

"Congratulations, you two. It's another girl!"

Jack and Audrey looked at each other and started laughing just as they had when their first daughter was born seven years earlier. Since then Melissa Rose had been joined by Elizabeth Anne who was now five and Rebecca Grace who was almost three. Kathryn Taylor was the name of this newest addition.

"She's beautiful, Sweetheart. Thank you," Jack said as he had after the births of each of their daughters.

Audrey beamed. She hadn't imagined when she came to this place to be with this man that her life would have turned out this way. As Audrey Heller Raines left the hustle and bustle of Washington DC seven years earlier, she wondered if she would miss her career and the city and her place among the powerful elite. She soon learned that none of that was important. She knew from the moment that Melissa first suckled from her breast with Jack looking on so lovingly that the power and excitement of Washington was nothing compared to this. Audrey Raines, Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, truly no longer existed. She was, in body, mind and spirit, Rachel Avery, full time mother and wife and part time librarian at the local elementary school. Sometimes when she thought back on her life as Audrey Raines, it made her sad. She had wasted so much time worrying about what to wear for a meeting or who she would be able to impress at a cocktail party. It was all so superfluous. It meant nothing in the scheme of things. Now, with her fourth daughter in her arms and Jack still by her side, she thanked God that she had taken the risk and left everything behind. For in that world she had never known happiness as intense or satisfying or a love as deep and warm as that which surrounded her now.

Thanks for reading; I really appreciate your sticking with me. This story took me a lot longer to write than I imagined when I first started outlining it. Thanks, too, for putting up with my unconventional three part ending. I had a lot of fun writing it and hoped you enjoyed reading.