Since Yesterday
a Twenty-Four story
by Meg
Jack had barley turned the keys in the ignition and shut off the engine before his daughter Kim was hopping out of the SUV and making her way to the back to grab her suitcase. The ride home from the hospital had been quiet and uneventful, which was perfectly fine for both of them after all the action they had encountered recently. Kate Warner had been kind enough to let Kim stay with her during his time in the hospital and had been there waiting with Kim when the doctors finally released him.
Jack let out a breath and leaned his head back against the head rest of the seat and closed his eyes for a moment before the slamming of the trunk door brought him back. "You coming, Dad?" Kim asked, standing next to his window. Jack managed a small smile, took off his sunglasses and replaced them in the case clipped to the sun visor.
Jack unlocked and opened the front door to his apartment and stepped aside to let Kim in first. "So, this is where you live now? It's nice," she commented as she set her suitcase down on the floor. A far cry from the house they had shared as a family, the sparsely furnished apartment felt cold and neglected.
"Yeah." Jack followed her inside then closed the door behind. He realized then that it was the first time she had been to his apartment. "There's some food in the fridge and bread on the counter to make a sandwich or something." He picked Kim's suitcase off the floor and headed deeper into the apartment turning on lights as he went. "You can sleep in the bedroom. The bathroom's back there as well if you want to wash up," he said, watching as Kim found the kitchen. Making his way into the bedroom he set the suitcase on the bed and headed into the bathroom himself.
Looking into the mirror he frowned at the person staring back at him. He turned the hot water knob and dipped his cupped hands under the running water before bringing them up and splashing water on his face. The next handful of water went into his mouth where it was swished around then spat back into the sink. Jack sighed and turned off the water. With water dripping off his chin and nose, he looked back into the mirror almost half-expecting to see something new. Instead he only saw the tired and bruised face of a man who hadn't slept in a bed in more than forty-eight hours. Having had a beard up till two days ago he was only now getting used to smooth skin as he ran a hand down his face. Getting a good look at the condition of his clothing in the mirror he shed his CTU issued windbreaker. Noticing a hole in the arm of the jacket he winced when he saw the corresponding bloody scratch on his upper bicep. He stuck a finger through the hole of the jacket before tossing it in the hamper. His T-shirt not being in much better condition soon joined the jacket as he stripped of that as well.
A sudden pressure started building in his sinuses, forcing out a tickle that quickly spread to his nose. "Heh-chh! hehhChh!" Not bothering to lift his head, Jack braced himself by gripping the edge of the counter. "huhhChhh!" Groaning, he turned the water back on and scrubbed angrily at his face. Once done, he turned and dried his face and hands on a towel. Jack couldn't help but gasp as the tightness in his chest decided then to return and accompany the pressure in his head. Wanting nothing more at that moment than to crawl into bed, Jack opened the medicine cabinet and searched for something to quell the pain. Cursing after he found nothing but aspirin bottles full of cotton balls and cold pill packets of broken foil trays, Jack knew his well needed and deserved sleep would have to wait a while longer.
Shivering slightly as he left the bathroom, Jack was happy to find he had one last clean shirt in the closet. After pulling the shirt on, he sniffled and rubbed the side of his hand under his nose as he opened the top drawer of his dresser to retrieve a handkerchief. Bringing the cloth up to his nose he quickly caught a glimpse of Kim before closing his eyes and blowing his nose.
"Dad, you okay?" Kim asked, half-eaten sandwich topped plate in one hand, glass of milk in the other.
"Yeah, sweetheart. Just had something tickling my nose is all," he gave her a half-smile of assurance and folded the handkerchief and placed it in his pocket.
"I'm going to take a shower and a nap if that's all right with you?"
A little surprised that she was asking his permission, for once, about something so trivial when she certainly knew what his answer would be, Jack couldn't help but walk over to his daughter and wrap his arms around her. "Of course it is," he breathed then pulled away, planting a kiss to the top of her head.
Kim smiled back and took another bite of her sandwich. Making her way to the bed she noticed her suitcase laying on top. "Thanks for bringing my stuff in here for me."
"I thought you would like the privacy of the bedroom more than the couch."
Feeling the need to sneeze brewing in his nose again, Jack nodded, turned and was about to leave the bedroom when Kim asked, "You sure? This is your house and bed after all."
"I'm used to sleeping on the couch," he answered truthfully, half- turning away from the door. More times than not he fell asleep on the couch after work, not making it to the bedroom in time.
"Okay, as long as it's all right with you," Kim said, unzipping her suitcase.
Managing a small sniffle to keep the tickles and sneezes at bay for a moment longer, "I'm sure." Jack watched Kim smile and gather some clean clothes in her arms and headed into the bathroom.
Making sure his daughter was out of ear shot, Jack hurried down the short hall and was almost to the living room when he paused, the urge to sneeze having snuck up on him. "EhChshhh! Chhhhhh!" Not bothering to fish the handkerchief from his pocket Jack sniffled hard and wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.
Walking toward the front door he spotted a small paper bag near where Kim's suitcase had been left. After bending down and picking it up, he was glad to find out it contained the medicine the doctor had prescribed for him at the hospital. Reading the directions on the bottle as he went, Jack made his way to the kitchen sink and filled a glass with water. Popping a couple pills in his mouth coupled by a mouthful of water to chase them down, he swallowed hard against his sore throat. After everything was down Jack coughed and wiped the back of his hand against his mouth, closed his eyes, and leaned against the counter to catch his breath.
After a few moments the medicine had begun to work and the pressure in Jack's chest alleviate somewhat, helping his breathing in the process. Opening his eyes, Jack noticed an empty plastic milk jug on the counter. Frowning, he picked up the carton and threw it in the garbage remembering what it was like to have a teenager in the house again. A sudden surge of hunger hit at that time causing Jack to search through the cupboards in hope of finding something that looked appetizing. Finding a box of crackers, he opened it and put a couple in his mouth. Although hungry, Jack didn't really feel up to eating and closed the box after chewing on a couple more crackers. Although tired, Jack felt restless and wanted to get out of the house. Knowing Kim would be angry if he left without her knowing and without good reason, Jack paused for a moment to think of an excuse.
Raising a fist, Jack knocked on the bedroom door before entering. Hearing no verberal answer to his knock he opened the door and entered. Clearing his throat he looked around the room for a moment until he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Figuring Kim must be in the shower cleaning up and wanting privacy, Jack left the bedroom and headed back to the kitchen. After locating a pad of paper and a pen he wrote his daughter a note explaining to her that they were out of milk so he had gone to the grocery store to get more. Tearing the paper from the pad, he went and left the note on Kim's pillow in hopes that she would find it before worry set in.
With nothing better to do while sitting at a red light, Jack looked at the horizon where the sun was beginning to set behind the valley. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, the dimming sunlight seemed suddenly bright to his eyes and caused Jack to sneeze just as the red light turned green. The need to sneeze hadn't left Jack but horns had started honking so he quickly composed himself with a sniffle for the time being and stepped on the gas. Only managing to go only a couple blocks before the sneezy feeling began to be too overwhelming, Jack pulled the SUV over before he caused an accident.
He furiously rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to will the tickle out. To no avail he slipped his sunglasses to the top of his head, gripped the steering wheel and stared at the horizon again. The sensation returned much faster than he expected and caused him to pitch forward suddenly despite his grip on the wheel. Now a bit warm, Jack rolled down the window a crack and sighed as a cool breeze blew in. Still sniffly, he reached into his pocket for the handkerchief and blew his nose. Balling the handkerchief up, Jack noticed the cellphone he had left in the car. Flipping the cover he turned the phone on and groaned when a message popped up to alert him he had missed thirty-two calls while in the hospital. Groaning, Jack scrolled through the list of numbers and people who had called: Chappelle, Tony, Palmer's people, Chappelle, Chappelle, Michelle, Chappelle, District, Chappelle, Chappelle, Chappelle. Not feeling up to returning anyone's call at the moment Jack was about ready to turn the phone off when it rang. Though not feeling up to talking anyone, Jack answered the call.
"Bauer."
"Jack, it's Tony. Michelle told me you were released from the hospital earlier this afternoon. How are you? How's your heart?"
"All right, I guess. Not as much damage done to me as they initially thought."
"That's good."
Silence.
Jack turned his head as shouts and cheers erupted in the park next to him where a Little League baseball game was being played. Two days prior Jack and Tony had been at each other's throats about the handling and keeping of Kate Warner. Jack had gone as far as kidnapping Kate from CTU custody, breaking Tony's ankle in the process.
On the other end Tony cleared his throat. "Ryan's been having a fit around here. With clean up going on and paper work to fill out and file...He wants you in here sometime this week for a debriefing." Jack let out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I figured as much."
"I know you've been through a lot and want to spend time with Kim, but there's still things that need to be taken care of. We could really use you here."
"Yeah."
"Can you come in by Friday?"
"Friday?" Jack looked at his watch for the date. It was only Tuesday. "Yeah." Feeling a new urge to sneeze building, Jack tried to end the conversation quickly. "Yeah, I think I can manage that."
"Okay. I'll tell Ryan. Take care."
Jack turned off the phone and tossed it onto the passenger seat. As the new director of the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorist Unit, Tony Almeida had a lot on his plate at the moment. Not only did the man have to deal with the clean up of the building, he also had Ryan Chappelle from District looking over his shoulder, making things more difficult than they had to be. Although he wished it were under better circumstances, as it was through one of George Mason's last actions that Tony had been promoted, Jack had yet to properly congratulate him (along with an apology for the ankle).
"Heh-Chh Chhh!" Leaning his head back against the seat Jack could feel the beginnings of another headache brewing. With one last handkerchief swipe to his nose, he flipped the sunglasses back down over his eyes, started the car again and pulled back into traffic.
Not caring about brands or flavors so much as getting out of the store as fast as possible, Jack blindly placed groceries into his basket. Coming to a stop in front of the cold medicines Jack decided to actually have a look at the choice of products he had in front of him. Syrups, pills, creams and strips all lined the shelves in boxes all claiming to give 'relief from your worst cold symptoms.' Knowing he didn't want something that would interfere with the heart medicine the doctor had given him at the hospital Jack came to the conclusion that regular old aspirin was best.
Taking a bottle of Tylenol off the shelf Jack scanned over the instructions and warnings on the label. Satisfied, he dropped the bottle into his basket and headed to the back of the store to get some milk. It was time to go home.
Entering the house Jack made his way to the lightswitch on the wall after stumbling over one of Kim's bags in the process. It was quiet and dark which meant that Kim was most likely in the bedroom asleep. He set the paper grocery bags down on the kitchen counter and began putting the food away. He put the milk in the refrigerator first then took out the aspirin next, making sure to set it apart from the rest of the containers. About ready to put the rest of the groceries away, Jack's paternal instincts decided to kick in. Leaving the bags of food unattended for the time being, he made his way to the bedroom to check on his daughter.
The lump in the bed told him where Kim was. Hovering above her, Jack watched her for a moment as she slept. There had only been so much Kim had been able to tell her father about in the ambulance ride to the hospital then in the recovery room itself. Jack had been monitored and checked over most of the time during his stay leaving much more that the father and daughter had yet to discuss in private.
He reached down and moved a strand of pale blonde hair out of her face revealing an angry red scratch on her forehead. Frowning, Jack remembered Kim telling him something about a car crash that had happened. The details had been sketchy and Jack put it on his list of things to ask Kim about later. Jack gently touched Kim's cheek. Kim stirred and rolled over and away from Jack, mumbling something as she slept. Lost in thought, Jack hardly noticed the tickle that had returned to his nose until it was too late. Turning away from the bed and his sleeping daughter, Jack cupped his hands over his face trying his best to quiet the sneezes that escaped.
"Huh-Chuh hehShhh!" Having made it as far as the doorway before the sneezes overtook him, Jack leaned against the door frame with a groan. With a sniffle he ran a finger under his nose and glanced back at the bed hoping he hadn't woken his daughter. Smiling when he saw she hadn't even stirred, Jack closed the door and went back to the kitchen.
Once all the groceries were in their places, Jack took the glass he had left by the sink earlier and filled it with water. He then picked the aspirin bottle up and headed to the couch. Sitting down with a sigh he placed the glass down on the coffee table and proceeded to open the aspirin bottle. Tearing the cotton balls from the bottle, Jack dumped two white pills out into his hand. He looked at the pills for a moment and prayed that they were able to do at least half of what the packaging claimed.
Popping the pills in his mouth he then picked up the glass of water and rinsed them down. Sitting in the silent room by himself, Jack caught himself beginning to doze off. He shook his head and reached for the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. Realizing then just how cold and sore he was, Jack was glad for the added warmth.
Jack coughed into his fist as he began to make a bed for himself on the couch by retrieving another blanket from a closet rearranging the pillows. With a sigh he laid down on the couch. More than ready for sleep, Jack couldn't help himself as he looked out the window. Even though the drapes were drawn a sliver of light came in through the crack where the two sides of the fabric came together. The streetlamps were on outside. Glancing at his watch Jack saw that it was later at night than he thought. Yawning, Jack rolled over on to his other side and away from the window. A new day was about to begin.
I'm not Joel Surnow or Robert Cochran. I also don't work for FOX or Brian Grazer although I wish I could.
Set day or so after Day 2 (season 2) Jack is realised from the hospital and goes home with his daughter, Kim.
Since this is set after seasons one and two there are some very minor spoilers; nothing big enough that it ruins anything though.