24, Milliways: Taking You Home (1/1)
Jun. 11th, 2007 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
knitwitficsFandom: 24, Milliways
Characters: Jack Bauer, Christine Chappelle
Pairings: Jack/Chris
Rating: PG
Summary: After a nearly-canon Season 5, they can finally be together if they're not to scared to take the leap. Written before the end of S5 and before millicanon for the same period had been developed.
Challenges: Gift fic forbirdseyeview.
Originally written: January 24, 2006
Characters: Jack Bauer, Christine Chappelle
Pairings: Jack/Chris
Rating: PG
Summary: After a nearly-canon Season 5, they can finally be together if they're not to scared to take the leap. Written before the end of S5 and before millicanon for the same period had been developed.
Challenges: Gift fic for
birdseyeview.Originally written: January 24, 2006
I can't believe I'm doing this.
It's the only thing she thinks as she tosses the map on the passenger seat of her rental for the hundredth time and starts fiddling with the radio stations.
I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
She'd heard all about Palmer's death on the news, heard about Michelle's death through Kim. It was the same way she'd heard about how Audrey had been at CTU that day.
Heard about how everyone finally knew that Jack Bauer wasn't as dead as he'd seemed.
Still, she wasn't surprised when she didn't hear anything from him afterward. Audrey was in L.A., she wasn't, and by Kim's account Audrey had been forgiving, caring, attentive while Jack recuperated from injuries he'd sustained that day; injuries Kim hadn't been specific about. She hadn't been specific about Audrey, either, until Chris has poked and prodded the information out of her.
So she'd assumed that he and Audrey were back together, that she wouldn't hear from him. In her pessimistic moments, she tried thinking that she'd just been a temporary filler for him--someone to help him get over losing Audrey, and that he'd forgotten her now that he had his name and Audrey back. It didn't really work though; she never really believed it. For one, it didn't do her any credit, and for another, she remembered all too well the look on his face when they'd split, remembered his expression and the sound of his voice the times they'd met up in the bar. The look of hurt deep in his eyes was something she was pretty sure even he couldn't fake, and he wouldn't look that way if she'd just been someone to keep his bed warm.
And even though it probably would have helped, even though she should have been able to find a reason to, she just couldn't hate him. Not when she still loved him so damn much that the last few relationships she'd had had fizzled when she'd realized that there was something missing.
That didn't mean he wouldn't be back with Audrey now. Which was why the last thing she was expecting was a letter in the mail containing a voucher for Travelocity, enough to cover a round-trip flight from New York to Toronto. The note accompanying it was about as awkward as she would have expected but more heartfelt. It took a couple read-through before she realized what he was saying in carefully couched terms. He wanted her to come visit him in the place where he'd been hiding out, wanted to see if, possibly, they could try again.
Though just how she'd gotten from receiving that note to driving down a secondary highway, rain pattering on her windshield, she wasn't quite sure. She still wasn't sure she should be doing this; her stomach was in knots at the thought of seeing Jack again. He'd offered to pick her up at the airport, but she had begged off, told him she would rent a car and drive from Toronto herself. It would give her more time to sort things out in her head--or, perhaps, more time to turn around.
But she hadn't been able to say no, either, hadn't been able to turn around. Maybe she was just too stubborn to appear to chicken out. Or maybe she still loved him just that much. She wasn't sure; she'd been flip-flopping during the entire plane ride.
She gives up trying to find a decent station to listen to and turns off the radio, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, as pine and birch trees pass by in a rain-softened blur. Finally, up ahead she can see the road Jack had mentioned in his note and she turns onto it, the trees closing in around her even more. As she turns onto the rough dirt and gravel track leading to Jack's place, her stomach is bouncing around more than the car is. But it's too late to turn around, even if she had the room to do so.
The car comes into a small clearing next to an old-fashioned looking log cabin. Pulling up near the covered porch, she shuts off the car and trakes a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She doesn't have much chance though--a moment later the door at the side of the cabin opens, and she can see Jack step onto the porch, his expression expectant, nervous.
He must be as scared as I am. It's the first time she's actually realized that he's probably scared as well. Scared that things have changed maybe, or even scared that she wouldn't come. For some reason, that actually works in easing the nervous butterflies, and instead she feels...almost excited.
She steps out of the car, glad she wore her sneakers and jeans rather than something nicer, as the rain is pouring down and the path up to the house is muddy. She makes it onto the porch in a few quick strides, suddenly finding herself next to him with water dripping down the back of her neck.
Jack gives her a nervous grin, and she gets the feeling he's holding himself in check, unsure at how she'll react. "I was hoping you'd come," he says, quietly.
"I couldn't not have come," she says, a grin of her own growing. She realizes she means it. Seeing him again, hearing his voice, standing so close to him she can smell him, it strikes her just how much she's missed him. Missed seeing that smile, missed hearing him laugh and talking to him, missed curling up next to him in bed.
She takes a step forward at the same time he does, wrapping his arms around her, his short stubble rasping not unpleasantly against her cheek.
"I missed you," he says, his voice muffled slightly by her hair.
All the times she'd longed to be with him again, those times that she'd forced to put out of her mind, come back to her then and her eyes are suddenly stinging with unshed tears. She wraps her arms around him, breathing in his scent as she buries her face in his shoulder, and she has the feeling she's not going to want to let him go.
After a moment, however, he pulls back, though the smile he's giving her makes up for it. "Your bags are in the trunk?"
She grins back at him, stretching a little to kiss him. "Forget the bags."
His lips are firm but gentle on hers, and she can feel the rightness of it down to her toes. She'd forgotten about how good this felt and is more than happy to remember, particularly when his tongue slips between her lips, his kisses becoming more urgent, hungrier.
She shivers slightly, whether from the kisses or the cold breeze going down he back of her neck, she's not sure, but he obviously feels lit, pulling he mouth away from hers though he keeps his arms around her. "We should go inside. Warmer in there," he says, sounding a little breathless.
She nods in reponse, and he steps back, keeping one arm around her as he reaches for the doorknob. He ushers her inside, and she has a moment to see a small living room area with shabby furniture and a large fireplace before he's standing in front of her again, his lips meeting hers. This time it's her that seeks his tongue with hers, peeling off her jacket and letting it fall to the floor and kicking off her shoes as he mouth is so much more entertainingly engaged. Once she's free of her coat, Jack 's hands find her waist, and she can feel the warmth of his hands through the thin material of her shirt. Memories of feeling those hands slisding against her bare skin come to mind and she gives a small shiver again. It doesn't matter how long they've been apart, she wants to feel that just as much as she ever did when they were together--more, maybe.
Jack breaks the kiss, but before she can complain, his lips are tracing a well-loved path along her jaw and down her neck.
"I should probably show you around," he says, inbetween kisses.
"Later," she says, breathlessly, as his lips find that sensitive spot on her neck.
"Well, I could start with the loft." There's the slightest question in his tone, as if he's unsure about where this is going.
Chris lowers her head, so that her lips are close to his ear. "That sounds perfect."
It's the only thing she thinks as she tosses the map on the passenger seat of her rental for the hundredth time and starts fiddling with the radio stations.
I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
She'd heard all about Palmer's death on the news, heard about Michelle's death through Kim. It was the same way she'd heard about how Audrey had been at CTU that day.
Heard about how everyone finally knew that Jack Bauer wasn't as dead as he'd seemed.
Still, she wasn't surprised when she didn't hear anything from him afterward. Audrey was in L.A., she wasn't, and by Kim's account Audrey had been forgiving, caring, attentive while Jack recuperated from injuries he'd sustained that day; injuries Kim hadn't been specific about. She hadn't been specific about Audrey, either, until Chris has poked and prodded the information out of her.
So she'd assumed that he and Audrey were back together, that she wouldn't hear from him. In her pessimistic moments, she tried thinking that she'd just been a temporary filler for him--someone to help him get over losing Audrey, and that he'd forgotten her now that he had his name and Audrey back. It didn't really work though; she never really believed it. For one, it didn't do her any credit, and for another, she remembered all too well the look on his face when they'd split, remembered his expression and the sound of his voice the times they'd met up in the bar. The look of hurt deep in his eyes was something she was pretty sure even he couldn't fake, and he wouldn't look that way if she'd just been someone to keep his bed warm.
And even though it probably would have helped, even though she should have been able to find a reason to, she just couldn't hate him. Not when she still loved him so damn much that the last few relationships she'd had had fizzled when she'd realized that there was something missing.
That didn't mean he wouldn't be back with Audrey now. Which was why the last thing she was expecting was a letter in the mail containing a voucher for Travelocity, enough to cover a round-trip flight from New York to Toronto. The note accompanying it was about as awkward as she would have expected but more heartfelt. It took a couple read-through before she realized what he was saying in carefully couched terms. He wanted her to come visit him in the place where he'd been hiding out, wanted to see if, possibly, they could try again.
Though just how she'd gotten from receiving that note to driving down a secondary highway, rain pattering on her windshield, she wasn't quite sure. She still wasn't sure she should be doing this; her stomach was in knots at the thought of seeing Jack again. He'd offered to pick her up at the airport, but she had begged off, told him she would rent a car and drive from Toronto herself. It would give her more time to sort things out in her head--or, perhaps, more time to turn around.
But she hadn't been able to say no, either, hadn't been able to turn around. Maybe she was just too stubborn to appear to chicken out. Or maybe she still loved him just that much. She wasn't sure; she'd been flip-flopping during the entire plane ride.
She gives up trying to find a decent station to listen to and turns off the radio, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, as pine and birch trees pass by in a rain-softened blur. Finally, up ahead she can see the road Jack had mentioned in his note and she turns onto it, the trees closing in around her even more. As she turns onto the rough dirt and gravel track leading to Jack's place, her stomach is bouncing around more than the car is. But it's too late to turn around, even if she had the room to do so.
The car comes into a small clearing next to an old-fashioned looking log cabin. Pulling up near the covered porch, she shuts off the car and trakes a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She doesn't have much chance though--a moment later the door at the side of the cabin opens, and she can see Jack step onto the porch, his expression expectant, nervous.
He must be as scared as I am. It's the first time she's actually realized that he's probably scared as well. Scared that things have changed maybe, or even scared that she wouldn't come. For some reason, that actually works in easing the nervous butterflies, and instead she feels...almost excited.
She steps out of the car, glad she wore her sneakers and jeans rather than something nicer, as the rain is pouring down and the path up to the house is muddy. She makes it onto the porch in a few quick strides, suddenly finding herself next to him with water dripping down the back of her neck.
Jack gives her a nervous grin, and she gets the feeling he's holding himself in check, unsure at how she'll react. "I was hoping you'd come," he says, quietly.
"I couldn't not have come," she says, a grin of her own growing. She realizes she means it. Seeing him again, hearing his voice, standing so close to him she can smell him, it strikes her just how much she's missed him. Missed seeing that smile, missed hearing him laugh and talking to him, missed curling up next to him in bed.
She takes a step forward at the same time he does, wrapping his arms around her, his short stubble rasping not unpleasantly against her cheek.
"I missed you," he says, his voice muffled slightly by her hair.
All the times she'd longed to be with him again, those times that she'd forced to put out of her mind, come back to her then and her eyes are suddenly stinging with unshed tears. She wraps her arms around him, breathing in his scent as she buries her face in his shoulder, and she has the feeling she's not going to want to let him go.
After a moment, however, he pulls back, though the smile he's giving her makes up for it. "Your bags are in the trunk?"
She grins back at him, stretching a little to kiss him. "Forget the bags."
His lips are firm but gentle on hers, and she can feel the rightness of it down to her toes. She'd forgotten about how good this felt and is more than happy to remember, particularly when his tongue slips between her lips, his kisses becoming more urgent, hungrier.
She shivers slightly, whether from the kisses or the cold breeze going down he back of her neck, she's not sure, but he obviously feels lit, pulling he mouth away from hers though he keeps his arms around her. "We should go inside. Warmer in there," he says, sounding a little breathless.
She nods in reponse, and he steps back, keeping one arm around her as he reaches for the doorknob. He ushers her inside, and she has a moment to see a small living room area with shabby furniture and a large fireplace before he's standing in front of her again, his lips meeting hers. This time it's her that seeks his tongue with hers, peeling off her jacket and letting it fall to the floor and kicking off her shoes as he mouth is so much more entertainingly engaged. Once she's free of her coat, Jack 's hands find her waist, and she can feel the warmth of his hands through the thin material of her shirt. Memories of feeling those hands slisding against her bare skin come to mind and she gives a small shiver again. It doesn't matter how long they've been apart, she wants to feel that just as much as she ever did when they were together--more, maybe.
Jack breaks the kiss, but before she can complain, his lips are tracing a well-loved path along her jaw and down her neck.
"I should probably show you around," he says, inbetween kisses.
"Later," she says, breathlessly, as his lips find that sensitive spot on her neck.
"Well, I could start with the loft." There's the slightest question in his tone, as if he's unsure about where this is going.
Chris lowers her head, so that her lips are close to his ear. "That sounds perfect."
