Chloe regretted opening her eyes immediately. Sunlight was streaming into the room, blinding her and causing her to turn over with a groan. Fighting back the thick, dry taste in her mouth, she pulled the covers over her head and snuggled deeper into the warm body next to hers.
Her eyes snapped open as wakefulness came crashing down on her. With something akin to terror, she slowly pulled the covers back to reveal the person she was sharing the bed with.
Memories of the night before flooded her senses as she found herself staring at a sleeping Jack Bauer. She closed her eyes as she once again felt his hands on her body, her face becoming flushed just remembering it. Her skin had burned as his fingers danced across her skin, teasing her nipples and then plunging inside of her. He had tasted of whiskey, but then again, so had she. Chloe moaned softly as she remembered the feel of his tongue moving deep inside of her, her body immediately responding and moving closer to Jack.
It was then that he shifted and groaned, slowly coming awake. Chloe ripped herself out of her reverie, staring at him for a moment before quietly slipping out of bed. She moved around the room on tip-toes, putting her clothes back on as she found them strewn across the floor. Glancing back at him one more time, she moved out of the room and then the apartment, rushing down to her car.

***

"You're late," Milo commented as soon as she sat down at her station.
"I know," Chloe snapped, powering her computer up and trying to ignore his questioning stare.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you late?"
"I overslept. Duh."
"But you never oversleep. I wasn't even sure you knew HOW to sleep."
"Don't you have work to do?"
Milo opened his mouth to respond, but then stopped, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her more closely.
"Are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
Chloe sighed. "I think I'd remember what clothes I was wearing yesterday, Milo."
"No, those are DEFINITELY the same clothes. I remember telling you that you looked really good in that skirt and that you had nice legs. You hit me."
Red began to tinge the tips of her ears and the back of her neck. "Shut up, Milo."
He laughed. "Don't worry, Chloe. I'm probably the only one who will noti- Wait. There's only one reason why you'd be wearing the same the clothes today."
"Go away."
"And you and Morris aren't together anymore."
"Shut up."
His eyes widened. "Oh my God. You had SEX last night!"
"I fail to see how this is ANY of your business," Chloe hissed, keeping her eyes firmly locked on her computer screen.
"Who?"
"What?"
"Who did you have sex with?"
"Milo, I swear to God, if you don't shut up-"
But his attention had already turned elsewhere. "Whoa. Check out Jack. He looks like shit this morning."
Chloe's head flew around as she turned to watch Jack shuffle in and slowly plod up the stairs to his office. His clothes were clean, unlike hers, but his shirt wasn't completely tucked in, and his hair was a little unruly. His eyes never even flicked toward her station as he went into his office, slamming the door behind him.
"Great," Milo muttered. "Jack's in a crap mood. It's gonna be a LONG day."
As he moved away, Chloe tried to regain some of her composure. Her eyes continually moving to watch his office, she nearly winced when Jack shut the blinds, effectively shutting out the world. With a shaky sigh, she tried to return to her work.

***

"These files need to go up to Jack," Milo said, dropping a pile of folders onto her desk.
"Then take them up," Chloe snapped.
He sighed. "Chloe, I'm not going to be able to explain them to him. He just gets frustrated and yells at me. You do it. He likes you."
"I highly doubt that," she muttered.
"Please?"
"No."
"Come on-"
"No."
"Was the sex last night BAD? Because you're even pissier than usual."
Chloe's face turned scarlet as she opened her mouth to let loose a tirade. But her phone ringing cut her off before she could get started. Shoving Milo off of her desk and away from her, she picked up.
"O'Brian."
"I need those files."
His voice sent little currents of electricity coursing through her. She took a slow breath to steady to herself.
"Fine. Just let me-"
"Now."
"Fine," she huffed, slamming the phone down and grabbing the files.
She had to focus on keeping her balance as she stomped up the stairs. With every step her knees threatened to give out. She tried to remind herself that this was just Jack and that this was just work, but all rational thought went out the window when she opened the door and saw him hunched over his desk, his head in his hands.
"Jack?"
His head snapped up and he just stared at her for a moment. Their eyes locked and the heat between them was palpable. Chloe's mouth went dry as her hands began to shake and she knew that if she didn't say something soon, she was either going to pass out or jump him.
"I have those files you asked for."
Jack nodded, breaking eye contact and trying to regain some of his composure. He held out his hand and Chloe moved forward to give him the folders. As she passed them to him, their thumbs brushed against each other, causing both to jump. The files fell out of their hands and scattered all over the desk and floor. Jack was immediately up and helping her gather them as they nervously avoided the other's gaze. They both reached for the last one at the same time, their hands once again brushing against each other. Jack snatched his hand back quickly and Chloe placed the rest of the files on his desk.
"Do you need anything else?" she asked quietly, her eyes locked on the floor.
"Just go," Jack mumbled, moving back to his seat.
She nodded and immediately turned, heading straight for the door. She paused as she opened it, looking back at him again. Her mind raced with things to say to him, but nothing sounded right. She finally gave up and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

***

"So…tell me about it…" Milo nagged as he came to perch on Chloe's desk again.
"Tell you about what?"
"Last night."
Jack was walking behind Chloe's station when he heard Milo's comments, and he stopped dead in his tracks. Milo noticed, surprised that the older man was showing any signs of interest in Chloe's private life.
"Milo, I already told you, that is none of you FUCKING business."
"Wow," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "It must have been really terrible sex. Either that or you're ashamed of it. I don't think I've ever seen you this angry."
She kept her eyes focused on the computer, still oblivious to Jack's presence. "It was not terrible. And I am NOT ashamed."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I was drunk, okay? Can we just leave it at that?"
Milo's eyes narrowed as he saw Jack's body tense before he stalked away. The younger man's gaze followed him as he stomped across the floor, the anger and frustration clear from his body language. The light bulb slowly brightened in Milo's head and he turned back to Chloe.
"Did you talk about it?"
"Huh?"
"With the guy. Did you talk to him this morning? About what happened?"
She glared at him, silently willing him to just let the subject drop. But now that he thought he was on to something, Milo refused to give up.
"Come on, Chloe. I'm not asking you so that I can bug you. I'm asking because I'm your friend and I'm curious."
"Fine. No. We didn't talk. I woke up and then I left."
"Was he awake?"
"No."
"Did you leave a note?"
"No."
"So…you just left?"
She sighed. "Yes, Milo. I just left."
"Because you just wanted to forget that it happened or because you were afraid of his reaction?" When she opened her mouth to protest, he placed a gentle hand on her arm. "Just answer the question, Chloe."
She looked down at her computer again. "The latter."
Milo nodded. "Did you ever think that maybe his reaction would be a good one?"
Her jaw clenching, Chloe snatched her arm out of his grasp. "Believe me, Milo. He doesn't want to remember it. Now excuse me, I have to get back to work." Without another glance, she hurried down the corridor to Tech 1.

***

"What's wrong with Chloe?" Tony asked as he passed Milo in the hall.
"Uhhh…What do you mean?"
"I mean, she nearly took my head off for opening a door for her."
"Chloe's always snippy."
"Yeah, but this is worse. She looked…hurt. Like there was something bothering her."
"Uhhh…"
"What do you know, Milo?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
"She'll kill me."
"I'll kill you."
"Oh man."

***

"So. You had sex with Chloe," Tony stated casually as he sat on the couch in Jack's office.
The other man began coughing roughly as coffee managed to go down the wrong pipe and fly out of his mouth at the same time. It took him a couple of minutes to clear his throat, as Tony just watched in amusement.
"I'll take that as a yes," he murmured.
"How the hell did you find out?" Jack demanded.
Tony shrugged. "Milo figured it out when you overheard his conversation with Chloe and got all tense and upset. The guy's not as dumb as he looks." He watched as Jack lowered his head into his hands. "You know, normal people get rid of the sexual tension when they finally have sex."
"Yeah, well. I bet the other person doesn't sneak out the next morning in those cases."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "She snuck out?"
Jack nodded. "She was gone when I woke up."
"And you think that means she wants to forget the whole thing?"
"Wouldn't you?"
He shrugged. "She might have just been scared. Rumor has it you were both pretty hammered."
"What are you saying?"
"Maybe Chloe was afraid YOU wanted to forget it. Maybe you should talk to her instead of avoiding her."
"She wants nothing to do with me," Jack asserted, turning back to his paperwork and signaling that the conversation was over.

***


The day only got worse for everyone at CTU. Jack and Chloe refused to be within twenty feet of each other, and they sent anyone they could get their hands on to run any errands that involved seeing the other. Tony and Milo continued to try and reason with them, but they were shot down every time, finally getting yelled at to just drop it.
When her shift was over, Chloe immediately shut her station down and gathered her things. Without a word to anyone, she grabbed her jacket and walked out the door. Jack watched her from his office, Tony once again sitting on his couch.
"I can't believe you're letting her go."
"It was her choice."
"You don't know that, Jack. You've barely spoken to her today. You have no idea how she really feels."
"She snuck out, Tony. Like she was ashamed."
"And you've been avoiding her. Like you couldn't bring yourself to speak to her. You've both assumed how the other feels without actually SPEAKING to each other."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know. Pretend you're not a complete idiot and go see her. Talk to her. Bite the bullet and tell her you're in love with her and that'd you'd like to have sex with her again. Maybe even be sober this time."
Jack glared at his friend. "You've got a smart mouth."
Tony smirked. "I know."

***

He was scared to death that she wouldn't open her door. He stood there for five minutes, convincing himself to walk away and then deciding just as quickly that he needed to do this. While his mind argued with itself, the door in front of him flew open, and he found himself face-to-face with Chloe.
"Hi," he whispered.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
Jack looked down at the ground, trying to not let his fears get the best of him. Her tone made him flinch, but he was pretty sure he heard fear in her voice as well, and that gave him hope that maybe Tony was right after all. Lifting his eyes to hers slowly, he also reached out a hand.
"I want you to take a walk with me."
Her eyes softened as she saw how nervous he was. Even if he was only going to tell her that it was a mistake, she knew that she had to at least give him the chance to do that. Turning off the lights behind her, she came outside, stepping right up against him when he didn't step back. They stayed like that for a minute before Chloe tucked her hand into his.
"Let's go."
Giving her a small smile, Jack led them down her steps and out onto the sidewalk. Fingers entwined, they walked slowly, both silent as they struggled to say what was on their minds.
"You left," Jack said finally, his voice quiet.
"I thought it would make things easier. I didn't want to see that look on your face."
"What look?"
"That sad pitying look. The one where you have to tell me that we were drunk and it didn't mean anything and that we can't ever do it again."
"You were afraid I'd say that?"
"Yes," she whispered.
Jack's brain struggled to catch up. "So you didn't want to leave?"
She shook her head.
"But…you told Milo you were drunk. It sounded like you just wanted to forget it ever happened."
Her eyes snapped up to his. "You heard that?" When he nodded, she bit her bottom lip in thought. "I just didn't want to explain it all to Milo. I thought you wanted to put it behind you. You didn't seem like you wanted to talk about it when I came up to your office."
Jack smiled ruefully. "I was still mad that you had snuck out."
Chloe stopped, tugging on his hand until he stopped and faced her. "So what are we saying here, Jack?"
He squeezed her hand before slowly bringing both hands to rest on her hips, stepping just a little bit closer. "That…it wasn't a mistake, Chloe. That I don't want to forget it. That…I'd like to do it again, but this time we get to wake up next to each other. Nobody sneaks out."
She rested a hand on his chest, her fingers toying with his top button. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, you know. I was just…scared."
"I know," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.
Swallowing hard, Chloe stared up at him for a moment before moving closer and pressing her lips against his. His response was immediate as he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her into his body, his tongue moving out to tease her lips open. Chloe's body flushed all over as it remembered how it felt to have him on top of her, inside her. Her fingers tangled in his hair to pull him closer, a soft moan escaping her as she felt his body hard against hers. One of his hands traveled down to her ass, squeezing it before it inched under her shirt and up her back.
Chloe pulled back suddenly, breathing heavily. She rested her head against his chest, the rush of his heartbeat making her smile.
"Are we done walking?" she asked.
Jack nodded. "Oh yeah."
"Good. I’m not sure how much longer my legs would hold me up anyway."
He smiled at her before he turned them around and tugged her into his side, walking them both back toward her house. Leaning over, he put his mouth to her ear.
"We should get you off your feet then."