A/N: I hope you enjoy the story. It's been 5 years since I last wrote and published a story. I guess I just lost my muse. Anyway this story starts towards the end of Day 4. I've been toying with this idea that Audrey had told Paul she was going to accompany him to a rehab facility in Massachusetts after he had taken a bullet for Jack. Basically, this story is an AU where Paul doesn't die and Jack doesn't need to disappear. Audrey goes with Paul leaving her future with Jack up in the air. Please review!

"Jack," Audrey called out when she saw him walking down the hallway. Jack stopped when he heard her voice and turned around. "Can I talk to you?"

She touched his arm gently and they darted into the empty conference room next to them. Jack made an audible sigh. He knew that she was angry with him and he could see in her eyes that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.

"Audrey," Jack started, but she cut him off.

"Jack, I'm leaving."

"Good. You should get some rest. You deserve it." He didn't know whether she meant that she was leaving CTU or leaving Los Angeles but either way he was happy she wouldn't be here to witness anything else he might do to stop the terrorist attack today.

Jack continued, "Look, I know today has been hard for you. When it's all over, we can talk about it. Just please don't make any decisions about us yet."

Audrey started to tear up. "I'm leaving with Paul. He needs to go to a spinal rehab facility if he ever wants to walk again and I told him I'd go with him."

Jack looked to the floor then back up at her. "Oh."

They looked at each other in silence for a minute, not knowing what to say. Jack desperately wanted to beg her not to go. They could work things out once this day was over and everything could go back to normal. But, he knew it wasn't fair of him to ask her to stay, not when it was his fault that Paul may be paralyzed. Audrey broke the silence.

"It doesn't mean anything regarding you and me," she said. Jack stayed silent. He couldn't help but think this was the end for them and that she just wasn't ready to tell him yet. "When the terrorist threat is over will you call me? Please."

"Sure," Jack said, sadly.

Audrey kissed him softly on the cheek. "Please be careful."

Jack watched as she walked out the door. He wished he could erase today. Jack took a deep breath and pushed his emotions to the back of his mind. He was ready to get back to work.


Audrey sat down next to Paul on the plane as it prepared for take off. She felt bad that she hadn't been there to help the doctors get him into his seat.

"You told him?" Paul asked.

"Yes," Audrey answered.

"How'd he take it?"

"Let's talk about something else," Audrey said. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Paul about Jack. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty optimistic considering I will probably never walk again," Paul said.

"Don't say that," Audrey insisted.

"I'm just being realistic. You know, today has definitely changed my entire outlook on life. I mean if this happened to me yesterday, I'd be completely lost. Now, I realize that only one thing matters in my life."

Paul put his hand on top of Audrey's. Audrey did her best to give him a genuine smile and he seemed to buy it but inside she just wanted to cry. She let his hand stay on hers for a minute but then slowly pulled it away from him by pretending to need something from her purse. She picked up her phone out of her purse and saw she had three missed calls from her father. She knew that she wouldn't call him back for a while. He would have too many opinions about her current situation that she just wasn't ready to hear yet.


Audrey waited by Paul's bedside for the doctors to come in. They had done some tests immediately when they arrived, making her feel comforted by the fact they had chosen a good facility. The door opened and Audrey sat up straight.

"Alright," Dr. Easton, Paul's main doctor, started. "Your scans look promising. Right now, if we were to do nothing, you would be paralyzed from the waste down. However, we think that we can repair the damage to your spine with surgery which could allow you to walk again. The surgery is quite risky."

Audrey and Paul listened carefully as Dr. Easton explained the surgery and its risks. Audrey knew that the surgery would be risky but she desperately wanted him to try it.

"Now, if you choose not to do the surgery we are prepared to work with you on learning to live as a paraplegic. If you do choose to go forward with the surgery, you will have some intense rehab in front of you. There will be a lot of bad days no matter which option you choose and you need to have a good support system in place."

The doctor glanced in Audrey's direction when he said this. Audrey wasn't sure what to say. They hadn't been together in almost a year and she had asked him for a divorce less than 24 hours ago. What kind of support system could she really be?

"You don't have to worry about that, Doc," Paul said, grabbing Audrey's hand. Audrey smiled at both of them.

"Alright then, I'll let you two talk about this and you can let me know when you make a decision."

Dr. Easton left the room. Paul took the surgery consent forms that Dr. Easton had given him and put them on the table next to him.

"What are you thinking?" Audrey asked him.

"The surgery seems risky," he said.

"It also seems like it's the only option if you want to walk again," Audrey reminded him.

"True. But, I think I'd rather be alive and in a wheelchair than dead," Paul argued. Audrey could see Paul's eyes closing.

"Just think about it and get some rest," Audrey said. "I'm going to check into the hotel."

"Okay. I love you," Paul replied.

"I'll see you in a little while," Audrey answered, walking out of his room.

She got to the hotel and checked in. When she went into her room, she flopped onto the bed and started sobbing.

How had she gotten here? She had told Jack that she loved him and told Paul she wanted a divorce. She had seen Jack torture Paul. She saw Jack working so naturally in the field. He lied to her when he said that he was happier behind a desk. There was no way he would go back to their job after today and if he did he would just be miserable. Now, she was here with Paul. She cared about him and wanted to be there for him but it had been a long time since she was actually in love with him. She just didn't know how she could tell him that without ruining his current optimistic outlook on life.

The truth of the matter was that Paul had gotten hurt while saving Jack. Audrey felt eternally grateful to him and was proud that he had been willing to do that. But, he never would have done that if he didn't know that she loved Jack. He saved Jack but he did it for her. It was her fault and she would not leave him when he needed her most. She wondered how long this recovery would take though. If Paul was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, she would always feel like she had to stay.

Audrey was jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of her cell phone ringing. It was Jack. She wiped away her tears and tried to gather her composure.

"Hi," she answered.

"Hi," Jack said. One word was all it took for him to realize that she was crying. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied. "Is it over? Did you stop them?"

"Yeah, it's over." Jack wasn't sure what to say. "How is Paul doing?"

Jack could hear her crying. "Audrey, what's wrong? Did something happen to him?"

"No," she said quietly. "He's fine."

"Audrey, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Audrey told him. Jack had no way of knowing that Paul was going to take a bullet for him.

"You asked me to protect him and I failed you," Jack argued.

"You did protect him, Jack. He just also protected you." Jack didn't respond and they sat in silence for a minute.

Jack finally broke the silence. "I'm flying back to D.C. tonight."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Audrey asked.

"What do you mean?"

Audrey sighed, "Yesterday morning you said you were happy working a desk job. After seeing you in the field today - it's just hard to believe that you could go back."

"Audrey, I meant every word that I said yesterday. I said that I wanted to be able to have what we have and the only reason I went back in the field today was because I thought I was going to lose you."

"But what about after? You rescued us and still went back in after that."

"This country needed me," Jack replied. Audrey didn't respond. She loved how dedicated Jack was to the country and couldn't really argue with him on that point. Audrey's phone beeped in her ear telling her she had another call coming in.

"Jack, I'm getting a call from the rehab center. I have to go," Audrey told him.

"Okay," Jack said sadly. They both hung up the phone.

Jack stared at the contract in front of him. CTU had offered him his field job back. He desperately wanted to sign it. Today had been a reminder of how rewarding field work was. He liked feeling useful and there was the adrenaline rush. Unlike DOD, it was exciting. Working at DOD was much slower paced and involved long meetings full of argumentative people. However, his old job had also taken so much from him. Even today he had seen what working in the field would do to his relationship with Audrey. When weighing the pros and the cons of taking the job, Audrey outweighed all the other factors. After so many years he was finally in a meaningful relationship. He could picture himself spending the rest of his life with her, something he hadn't pictured with anyone since Teri died.

He folded up the contract and threw it in the trash. He took a shower and got dressed before heading to Kim's for lunch, as he had promised he'd come see her again before leaving L.A.

Kim hugged her dad as soon as he got to the door. "Thank God you're okay. How's Audrey?"

"She's fine," Jack said. Kim had obviously heard about Heller and Audrey's kidnapping on the news.

"So what happened?" Kim asked. They sat on the couch and Jack gave her a quick rundown of what he could tell her about the terrorist attacks and how he had been working for CTU to help out. Jack answered her questions as they made sandwiches for lunch.

"Where are Chase and Angela?" Jack asked.

"Chase is at work and Angela is at preschool," Kim answered. "Where's Audrey?"

"I'm not really sure," Jack answered. He realized she had never told him where she and Paul were going. He couldn't help but think that was on purpose.

"Well, I really liked her. Chase and Angela did too," Kim said, thinking back to two nights ago when they had met. When she heard that her dad was coming to LA on business she invited him to dinner for when he arrived. She had almost fallen out of her seat when he asked if he could bring a friend. He never said the word "girlfriend" but Kim knew full well what he meant. Jack hadn't introduced Kim to anyone since her mom died so she knew that his feelings for Audrey had to be really strong in order for him to take that step. When Jack didn't respond she knew that something was going on that he wasn't willing to talk about.

"So what now?" Kim asked. "I mean you're not thinking about going into field work again, right?"

"I was offered a position at CTU but I'm turning it down," Jack told her.

Kim breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I hate having to worry about you all the time. Even if it means you go back to the other side of the country."

They made small talk for the rest of lunch and then Jack went back to the hotel to pack his and Audrey's things. She obviously hadn't stopped back at the hotel before leaving so Jack made sure to gather all of her things to take back with him to DC.


"Sorry, I'm here," Audrey said, sitting down in the chair next to Paul's bed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. I just made a decision about the surgery."

"Already?" Audrey asked.

"I'm going to do it," Paul said.

Audrey smiled, "Really? I thought you didn't want it."

"I changed my mind," Paul insisted. "When I think about our future, I think of us taking walks down the beach and running after our children on the playground. I want that for us, Audrey."

"Paul," Audrey started, "you know I'm here for you through all of this. But, we were having serious issues before this happened. Those aren't just going away."

"I'm not a fool, Audrey. I know you weren't happy with our marriage but I am determined to be a better husband to you. I will move back home and limit business trips and prove to you that I'm 100% committed to you. Please, Audrey, I just want you to be open to the idea of us being together again. I will do the rest of the heavy lifting. You know, just not with my legs."

Audrey laughed for the first time in 24 hours. She thought about his proposition for a minute and agreed. She had already told him earlier that she would hold off on getting the divorce but she had said that mostly to get him off her back. This was different. She truly believed that he wanted this for more reasons than just to fix his ego. She figured it wouldn't be the worst thing to give him more time to prove himself.

Audrey tried to put Jack out of her mind as she talked with Paul. She wasn't sure how this was going to work. She told Paul she would be open to him but that didn't mean that she wanted to leave Jack. But, she felt like trying to save her marriage was the right thing to do.