For Jack Bauer -- a MM thread

[whathastobedone]

She can feel it slipping through her fingers. Everything. All of it. Vladimir has called every contact he could possibly think of, and none of them know anything about the nuclear rods.

"Well, somebody that you've already talked to has to know something!"

"Renee, it's done."

No. No, it's not done. It can't be done. Jack's sitting downstairs waiting for this information; all of CTU is counting on her to find these rods, and if it's done that means the mission is over. Jack will pull her out, and she'll go back to...

What?

"We made five million."

"Why settle for five when we could have fifty?"

He laughs, and just looking at him makes her sick to her stomach, but then he's touching her and it's all she can do to keep her cool -- keep her cover. She smiles at him, hands on his waist like the thought of his body against hers doesn't repulse her, and tries to think.

"Five million is plenty. Plus, we have each other. That's not so bad, is it?"

"No, it's not bad," she smiles. "But it could be better!"

And then she moves, trying not to run but keeping her steps quick as she goes for his phone.

"Call them again. Do it for me."

Please.



Please.

Comments

[trigger_man]

"Maybe at least a couple days, just to make sure everything's fine. Or I could spend it in here, and then I wouldn't lose any time out there."

Of course Renee might not be staying in here, which is really what he's thinking. He doesn't want to seem like he's babysitting her, but then he doesn't really want to take off for the other side of the country and leave her either.

[whathastobedone]

She arches her eyebrows and blinks.

"Stay ... here? In the infirmary? I didn't think you were much of a good patient."

[trigger_man]

"No, upstairs. There are rooms for people to stay in up there. There are some people that live here, some people that come in and have the door temporarily disappear so they can't leave, and...well, some people are dead and can't leave until they're ready to move on."

[whathastobedone]

She would have remarked on there being rooms above a bar, wondering aloud yet again just what sort of place this is to have an infirmary and a veritable hotel attached to it. But those words never quite make it past her lips.

She blinks at him, and then her eyes go slightly wide.

"Some people ... what?"

[trigger_man]

"A small number of people come here for a while after they die," Jack says, a little tentatively. "It seems like it's often people who aren't quite ready to go...wherever they go just yet. People who deserve the time."

He's hoping that'll be enough to keep her from fearing that Laitanan will be in the bar. Laitanan better not come in here or, rules or no rules, Jack isn't sure he'll be able to stop himself from taking his own revenge.

[whathastobedone]

Renee blinks hard, and turns her head away to try and process that information.

It's about as hard as one might expect. Especially given everything.

She lets go of Jack's hand, and presses her hands to either side of her head.

"Oh my god. I am completely unstable," she mutters, wondering if this is supposed to be heaven or hell, and why, of all the things, she's put herself here.

[trigger_man]

Jack sits up slowly, his head feeling a little fuzzier for the change in blood pressure, but not feeling any pain at least. He reaches out and puts his hands over hers, trying to gently pull them away from her face.

"Renee? Renee, look at me."

[whathastobedone]

She resists for a brief moment, before reluctantly allowing him to take her hands. She shuts her eyes again -- tightly -- and shakes her head.

But she does look at him, eventually.

"This can't be real," she whispers, her voice small and faraway. "A psychotic break. That's what this is. A total loss of contact with reality; a paranoid delusion. Christ, I just killed a man and now I'm in a magic bar filled with dead people!"

[trigger_man]

Her terminology sounds a bit too clinical for him to believe that she just grabbed the words off the top of her head.

"Renee, I know it's hard to believe, but you're not having a breakdown, you're not hallucinating this. Look at me, do I look real?" He cradles her cheek with his hand, his thumb tracing the pattern of freckles on her cheekbone. "Does this feel real?"

[whathastobedone]

She swallows thickly when her throat suddenly starts to feel too tight, pale eyes gone glassy.


She searches him out silently, and nods.


(He's the most real thing in her life right now.)

[trigger_man]

"Okay. Even if you don't feel like you can trust your eyes, you can trust me," he says gently. Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, he adds, "How about we go out there, I'll call CTU and get them started on searching for leads, and then I'll take you home. Does that sound all right?"

[whathastobedone]

She keeps her eyes on his, trying to draw from his strength.

you can trust me.

It still takes her a minute to respond, though, and her conflicted emotions about going back out the door -- to Laitanan's office, to face CTU, to go back home -- shows on her face.

"What about--?"

Her hand falls to his waist, just south of his bandages.

[trigger_man]

He surprised by the touch; it's been a long time since someone touched him there, or anywhere that's covered by clothes, at least in a context that's not entirely medical.

Then again, there hadn't been any urge to do up his shirt, considering she'd seen his scars before. And he has to admit to himself that he's far from disliking the feeling.

He looks down at her hand, then back up. "I'll be fine. My head's feeling clearer, and I still can't really feel any pain. It's going to be all right, Renee. Just a few things to take care of and then it'll be over."

[whathastobedone]

She has the presence of mind to feel self-conscious when his gaze drops to her hand; she draws back when he refocuses on her face, eyes shyly landing nearer his collarbone.

"I don't know..." she mumbles, shaking her head slowly.

[trigger_man]

"Don't know about what?" he asks, stroking her hair again.

[whathastobedone]

"If you're ready to go back out there."

If I'm ready to go back out there.


(If I'm ready to let go of this moment.)

[trigger_man]

"I'm ready," he replies, though he knows damn well that it isn't really him that she's unsure about. "Are you? CTU's going to have some questions. If you don't want to go just yet, we don't have to."

[whathastobedone]

She takes a deep breath, and sniffles slightly.

"I'm as ready as I'm going to be."

What's waiting for her out there is never going to be something she's okay with.

[trigger_man]

"Okay. Just give me a second," he says, quickly doing up the buttons on his shirt and arranging his jacket so the bloodstain isn't immediately visible.

"All right, I'm ready," he says, getting to his feet and placing a hand on her arm. "Just remember, I'll be right there with you."

He's not sure she's really all that put together, but he's not sure delaying is going to help either. At least this way they can get it over with and he can take her home. Getting away from CTU is probably the most likely to help of anything.

[whathastobedone]

Her hand automatically reaches to steady him when he gets up, fingers grazing that soft spot behind his elbow. Once she can see that he's all right, she brings her arm back in and crosses it over her middle, rubbing absently at the other.

She nods jerkily, taking tentative steps toward the door.

And then she hesitates, pausing long enough for him to reach her side so they can walk side-by-side.

Together.

"Okay, Jack."

[trigger_man]

"Okay."

He pulls the door of the infirmary open for her, and as he looks at her he realizes there's something they should probably fix before they go too far.

"Renee, wait. You've got blood on your face; you should get that cleaned up before CTU gets to Laitanan's place. I've got a room upstairs if you want something to wash that off."

He wouldn't really blame her if she needed a shower at the moment too, but he's not sure she'd go for it at the moment.

[whathastobedone]

She touches her face -- you've got blood on your face -- stricken by the thought, like it's some sort of disfiguring disease.

"Sorry," she says, before really thinking about it.

She realizes it's not just a little blood, rubbing her fingers together again to watch it flake from her skin. It's nothing she can simply wipe off without soap and water (or a mirror), and that's why she nods.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to be a mess when they arrive."

[trigger_man]

"Nothing for you to be sorry about. Just let me get the key for my room."

Jack walks over to the bar and asks her for a new key, then turns toward the staircase. "Come on, the stairs to the rooms are over this way."

[whathastobedone]

She nods when he excuses himself, stays in place, and watches her feet.

(Bloodstains everywhere.)

When she glances in the direction he went, she blinks in surprise to see him talking to ... no one. And then stares when a key is produced out of thin air.

She turns with him when he heads for the stairs, but her head doesn't. She's staring in bafflement at the Bar.

"Did you...?"

[trigger_man]

He glances back at the bar and smiles. "Yeah. The bar is sentient, and provides things like food, drinks, and room keys. Welcome to Milliways. Did you want to bring up something to eat, by the way?"