Tuesday, January 02, 2007
When Fiction Meets Reality - Pt. 24
"Are you done?" Teri asked after a while.
"No, I have to get back."
"What happened? Did Chapelle give you the day off?"
"No, we had to take him to hospital last night-"
"Oh my god, what happened?" Teri interrupted.
"There was an incident on Friday and he took a hit to the head, it only hit him for real last night, he got sick and started bleeding from the nose, so I called an ambulance and took him to hospital. I spent the night there and sent Tony home. When he got there this morning, he sent me home."
"I thought you were the boss." Teri teased.
"Yeah well, I think I'll forgive him this insubordination." Jack chuckled.
"But I do have to get back, make sure everything's all right."
"Are you anywhere near solving this?"
"I hope so."
"Me too."
"Really? Why is that?"
"I've missed you."
"Really?" Jack asked teasingly, "I hadn't noticed."
"You rat." Teri chuckled, poking her elbow into his ribs.
"If you have to get back, you might want to get moving then. Do you want breakfast?"
"Hmm, I think I'd better eat something."
"I'll get on it."
"Thanks baby."
They both got up and Jack went into the bathroom to take another shower, a short one this time, after what he got dressed and headed downstairs. Kim came running out of her room and nearly knocked him off his feet when she threw herself at him. He managed to keep his footing and returned her hug, feeling a smile crawl across his face. It was such a relief to have her react this way, he preferred it to her typical teenage rebellion she displayed so often.
"Hey pumpkin." he whispered, rocking her slowly.
"Are you staying home?" Kim asked when she finally let go and took a step back.
"No sweetie, I have to get back. I let Tony take over today because I was too tired."
"Beside I wanted to see you."
"Really?"
"Yes, I missed you."
"And I missed you too dad."
"So?"
"So what?"
"Who are you protecting?"
"You know I can't tell you Kim."
"Oh please dad."
"I can't tell you sweetie."
"Is it someone famous?"
"Yes."
"Do I know him?"
"How do you know it's a man?"
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"So do I know him?"
"Yes."
"Oh dad!"
"Pretty please?"
"I can't tell you sweetie."
"Why not?"
"Because I can't. I'll tell you when I'm done."
"But then you won't see him again."
"Maybe not, but I'll still know him." Jack teased.
"Come on dad. Who is it?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Not fair." Kim said pouting.
"I know."
"Do you still love me?"
"No." Kim snapped, trying hard to fight back a smile.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll love me again the minute you find out who it is."
"Oh dad!"
"Tell me."
"Nope."
"Tease."
"Absolutely."
"When are you leaving again?"
"As soon as I've eaten. Your mom's preparing something for me right now."
"Do you have to?"
"Yes. You wouldn't want him to fire me, now would you?"
"You could tell me who it is."
"That I could. But if he fired me, it would mean he doesn't like me and I wouldn't be able to introduce you to him."
"Oh dad, you're not fair."
"You'll know soon enough."
They walked into the kitchen just as Teri was placing a steaming plate on the table.
"Perfect timing." Jack and Teri said at the same moment.
It made them both smile and he went over to her, thanking her with a quick kiss.
He ate with Kim buzzing around his ears, trying to convince him to give up the identity of who he was protecting, but he resisted her every attempt. When he was done, he collected his things and said goodbye to both of them, taking slightly more time with Teri than with Kim.
He was totally relaxed on the way over to the hospital and when he reached Kiefer's room, he nodded to the two agents standing guard. The room was dark and quiet but Tony got up the moment the door opened. He met Jack halfway and motioned for him to be quiet.
"How is he?"
"Drifting on and off, he fell asleep ten minutes ago." Tony whispered, moving past Jack and into the hall where they could talk without risk.
"How are you feeling?"
"Rested."
"So you're not busting my ass over sending you home?"
"Not at all." Jack chuckled.
"I needed the rest."
"That you did. How happy was Teri?"
"Very." Jack replied, dropping his gaze away from Tony's and fighting back his smile.
"And how happy were you?"
"No comment Almeida." Jack replied with a smile.
"How has he been anyway?"
"Like I said, drifting in and out of sleep. They ran a few more tests on him during the day and they've got him on medication, apparently there's some swelling they need to get down. That's why he's sleeping so much."
"Anything else?"
"Nope."
"Good."
"So what are the plans?"
"Are you up for a while longer?"
"Sure. Why?"
"I need to get back to the office and check on a few things."
"Don't worry, I've got this covered."
Jack headed out again and drove back to CTU.
Much to his pleasure, Chapelle had long gone and most of the personnel had too. Jamey and Milo were still busy though and he wondered for a moment if either of them had gotten any sleep. From the looks of them, they had and he didn't bother asking. They were gathering more information about the hacker involved in this and Milo informed him they may find out who it was, if he managed to tap into the right sources. He was working on a few angles outside of CTU, dealing with people who didn't like the government too much and who didn't think all the rules applied to them.
When Jack logged into his own station, he found three mails from Chapelle. The first one had apparently been sent before he checked his inbox, because it was a rant about the absence of reports. The second one was a short note stating he'd expect a full report on the investigation ASAP and the third was another rant about his use of resources on this case.
He replied only to the third, justifying the use of resources given the proportions the case had taken. He included a copy of the Kendrick file and attached the pictures that had been taken by that fan outside the studios, illustrating the potential danger.
When he was done, he pulled up all the information from the surveillance on Heyes' place. They needed to stay on top of that, once they had everybody together in that building, they would have to be ready to move in quickly, but there had hardly been any movement, the woman had come and gone a few times and Bonney stopped by for almost an hour, then left again and he hadn't returned. Heyes was still in there with a man they were still trying to match up through face recognition and an unknown individual.
Almost an hour later, he logged off and headed out again, returning to the hospital.
Kiefer was awake, but only barely and Jack kept the conversation down to a minimum, knowing full well rest was all Kiefer needed right now. He was still on medication for the swelling and they would run more tests in the morning, but he hadn't given them any trouble when they told him he had to stay another night. He knew Polly would tend to Molly and he had called Jude to let him know he wouldn't be in for a few days. He hadn't gone into details over the phone and Jude hadn't asked for any. They knew each other better than that.
Jack sent Tony home for the night but he made himself more comfortable, knowing there were two guards outside the door. He tried to rest up a little, having slept most of the day, he wasn't tired, but he knew he would have to be up and going all day tomorrow, so he rested as much as he could.
A light slumber claimed him shortly after three in the morning, right after Kiefer had been awake for a short while and had drifted back to sleep in the middle of their conversation.
"No, I have to get back."
"What happened? Did Chapelle give you the day off?"
"No, we had to take him to hospital last night-"
"Oh my god, what happened?" Teri interrupted.
"There was an incident on Friday and he took a hit to the head, it only hit him for real last night, he got sick and started bleeding from the nose, so I called an ambulance and took him to hospital. I spent the night there and sent Tony home. When he got there this morning, he sent me home."
"I thought you were the boss." Teri teased.
"Yeah well, I think I'll forgive him this insubordination." Jack chuckled.
"But I do have to get back, make sure everything's all right."
"Are you anywhere near solving this?"
"I hope so."
"Me too."
"Really? Why is that?"
"I've missed you."
"Really?" Jack asked teasingly, "I hadn't noticed."
"You rat." Teri chuckled, poking her elbow into his ribs.
"If you have to get back, you might want to get moving then. Do you want breakfast?"
"Hmm, I think I'd better eat something."
"I'll get on it."
"Thanks baby."
They both got up and Jack went into the bathroom to take another shower, a short one this time, after what he got dressed and headed downstairs. Kim came running out of her room and nearly knocked him off his feet when she threw herself at him. He managed to keep his footing and returned her hug, feeling a smile crawl across his face. It was such a relief to have her react this way, he preferred it to her typical teenage rebellion she displayed so often.
"Hey pumpkin." he whispered, rocking her slowly.
"Are you staying home?" Kim asked when she finally let go and took a step back.
"No sweetie, I have to get back. I let Tony take over today because I was too tired."
"Beside I wanted to see you."
"Really?"
"Yes, I missed you."
"And I missed you too dad."
"So?"
"So what?"
"Who are you protecting?"
"You know I can't tell you Kim."
"Oh please dad."
"I can't tell you sweetie."
"Is it someone famous?"
"Yes."
"Do I know him?"
"How do you know it's a man?"
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"So do I know him?"
"Yes."
"Oh dad!"
"Pretty please?"
"I can't tell you sweetie."
"Why not?"
"Because I can't. I'll tell you when I'm done."
"But then you won't see him again."
"Maybe not, but I'll still know him." Jack teased.
"Come on dad. Who is it?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Not fair." Kim said pouting.
"I know."
"Do you still love me?"
"No." Kim snapped, trying hard to fight back a smile.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll love me again the minute you find out who it is."
"Oh dad!"
"Tell me."
"Nope."
"Tease."
"Absolutely."
"When are you leaving again?"
"As soon as I've eaten. Your mom's preparing something for me right now."
"Do you have to?"
"Yes. You wouldn't want him to fire me, now would you?"
"You could tell me who it is."
"That I could. But if he fired me, it would mean he doesn't like me and I wouldn't be able to introduce you to him."
"Oh dad, you're not fair."
"You'll know soon enough."
They walked into the kitchen just as Teri was placing a steaming plate on the table.
"Perfect timing." Jack and Teri said at the same moment.
It made them both smile and he went over to her, thanking her with a quick kiss.
He ate with Kim buzzing around his ears, trying to convince him to give up the identity of who he was protecting, but he resisted her every attempt. When he was done, he collected his things and said goodbye to both of them, taking slightly more time with Teri than with Kim.
He was totally relaxed on the way over to the hospital and when he reached Kiefer's room, he nodded to the two agents standing guard. The room was dark and quiet but Tony got up the moment the door opened. He met Jack halfway and motioned for him to be quiet.
"How is he?"
"Drifting on and off, he fell asleep ten minutes ago." Tony whispered, moving past Jack and into the hall where they could talk without risk.
"How are you feeling?"
"Rested."
"So you're not busting my ass over sending you home?"
"Not at all." Jack chuckled.
"I needed the rest."
"That you did. How happy was Teri?"
"Very." Jack replied, dropping his gaze away from Tony's and fighting back his smile.
"And how happy were you?"
"No comment Almeida." Jack replied with a smile.
"How has he been anyway?"
"Like I said, drifting in and out of sleep. They ran a few more tests on him during the day and they've got him on medication, apparently there's some swelling they need to get down. That's why he's sleeping so much."
"Anything else?"
"Nope."
"Good."
"So what are the plans?"
"Are you up for a while longer?"
"Sure. Why?"
"I need to get back to the office and check on a few things."
"Don't worry, I've got this covered."
Jack headed out again and drove back to CTU.
Much to his pleasure, Chapelle had long gone and most of the personnel had too. Jamey and Milo were still busy though and he wondered for a moment if either of them had gotten any sleep. From the looks of them, they had and he didn't bother asking. They were gathering more information about the hacker involved in this and Milo informed him they may find out who it was, if he managed to tap into the right sources. He was working on a few angles outside of CTU, dealing with people who didn't like the government too much and who didn't think all the rules applied to them.
When Jack logged into his own station, he found three mails from Chapelle. The first one had apparently been sent before he checked his inbox, because it was a rant about the absence of reports. The second one was a short note stating he'd expect a full report on the investigation ASAP and the third was another rant about his use of resources on this case.
He replied only to the third, justifying the use of resources given the proportions the case had taken. He included a copy of the Kendrick file and attached the pictures that had been taken by that fan outside the studios, illustrating the potential danger.
When he was done, he pulled up all the information from the surveillance on Heyes' place. They needed to stay on top of that, once they had everybody together in that building, they would have to be ready to move in quickly, but there had hardly been any movement, the woman had come and gone a few times and Bonney stopped by for almost an hour, then left again and he hadn't returned. Heyes was still in there with a man they were still trying to match up through face recognition and an unknown individual.
Almost an hour later, he logged off and headed out again, returning to the hospital.
Kiefer was awake, but only barely and Jack kept the conversation down to a minimum, knowing full well rest was all Kiefer needed right now. He was still on medication for the swelling and they would run more tests in the morning, but he hadn't given them any trouble when they told him he had to stay another night. He knew Polly would tend to Molly and he had called Jude to let him know he wouldn't be in for a few days. He hadn't gone into details over the phone and Jude hadn't asked for any. They knew each other better than that.
Jack sent Tony home for the night but he made himself more comfortable, knowing there were two guards outside the door. He tried to rest up a little, having slept most of the day, he wasn't tired, but he knew he would have to be up and going all day tomorrow, so he rested as much as he could.
A light slumber claimed him shortly after three in the morning, right after Kiefer had been awake for a short while and had drifted back to sleep in the middle of their conversation.
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