(no subject)

[the_chappy]

"Don't go too far," Ryan called after David, as he ran off into the woods. He watched the boy absently nod, not breaking pace and Ryan almost felt a little silly for bothering. David was smart enough to not go too far but Ryan still couldn't shake that sense of worry. It'd been over two months since he'd spoken to Jack about what was happening outside and he hadn't heard anything since.

Sometimes, he almost had himself convinced that no news must be good news. If something had gone wrong, somehow, he'd know it, he'd sense it. Most of the time, he knew that was complete bullshit and divided his time between worrying and wondering how he could find out for certain.

He looked down at his book again, trying to focus on the words on the page. After a minute, he gives up, closing the book and looking for David in the distance. Watching the boy investigate the trees and bushes around him, Ryan makes a mental note to talk to Elaine about getting him a dog.

Comments

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

As it turned out, Michelle had a door in her house as well. It made sense but Chris still had a moment of surprise, reminded again of the strange rules that seemed to govern the Bar.

Once inside the bar, she wasn't sure where to go. She could go to the flat to see her dad or up to her room to see if Jack was there or she could wait in the bar for them or anyone else she knew. After a moment's indecision, Chris heads outside, deciding fresh air might help clear her mind. It's not long before she spots her dad and realizes the universe made the decision for her.

"Dad?"

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Ryan looks up in surprise at hearing her voice behind him, just as he had been thinking of her. Not that it's much a coincidence, considering how often thoughts of people outside intruded.

"Chris! What's going on out there? Is everyone all right?" he asks as he hurries over to her, glancing at David over his shoulder.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, everything is ok," she says, hugging him and grateful that he can't see her face at this moment. He'd know everything that happened as soon as she figured out where to start. "I missed you."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"I missed you too," he says, hugging her tightly. 'Missed' doesn't quite cover it. Not knowing what's going on outside has to be one of the worst parts about spending an afterlife in Milliways. "So the crisis is over? Jack told me about the nuclear bomb. The people responsible have all been caught?"

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris pulls back to look at him, brushing her hair from her face and deciding to get it cut as soon as she could. Thinking, she can't remember if Jack told her about this or not. "Yeah... he did? What did he say?"

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"Just that a bomb had been set off in Valencia and another had been captured along with the cell responsible for it in Washington, D.C. He said they knew there was a third bomb, but didn't have any leads on where it was."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Nodding, she looks around, "Are David or Elaine around?"

Chris isn't even sure why she asks, curiosity or to stall the inevitable.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Ryan's a little suspicious at her non-answer, and he replies, simply, "Elaine's inside, David's over there, exploring." He glances over at David again to make sure he isn't getting into any trouble.

"What happened with the third bomb? Where was it?" he asks, a little pointedly. She should know that he's not going to drop the subject; definitely not on something like this.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"We found it before it could detonate. I think Kim stopped it," Chris adds after a moment, trying to remember what Jack had told her. Looking at where David was and then at the area around them, she asks, "Mind if we sit, I'm still a little tired."

No matter how much she tried, she really couldn't make up for all those sleepless nights when Caiti was gone.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"Sure," he says, taking a seat on the grass.

"Kim stopped it? Where had they placed the bomb?" Somehow it seems that for every answer she gives, there are about fifteen different questions he wants to ask all at the same time.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"It was in CTU," she answers quickly, knowing this wouldn't go over well. "The terrorists managed to get inside, hold everyone hostage and had brought the last suitcase nuke with them to detonate it there. Most of the field teams were out of CTU, including Kim and Jack but when they heard, they snuck back in and Kim managed to ... do something to the bomb. I'm not sure what. I wasn't there."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Much as she expects, it doesn't.

"How the hell did they get a bomb inside CTU?" he asks, raising his voice. There's a moment of near panic before he relized what else she'd said--that she wasn't there--but it doesn't make it that much easier to swallow what she'd told him. Not for the first time, he regrets ever encouraging Chris to work at CTU.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"They killed the guards, took their keycards and impersonated them. They also had been given some inside information on CTU - floorplans, security procedures, things like that - by someone who used to work there." Chris plays with her hands as she says this, stopping only to start again without noticing.

"You remember someone named Christopher Henderson?"

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Ryan's eyes narrow slightly. Of course he remembers; he'd been close to the investigation into the allegations that Henderson had sold government secrets. "Yes. Last I heard he was working for some defense contractor, after he was fired from CTU. How was he involved?"

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"He was collaborating with the terrorists, carrying out the orders of President Logan. They had some plan to allow terrorist attacks to happen and even give them nukes so Logan could use the attacks as a catalyst for his foreign policy strategy," she says, the bitterness creeping into her voice at the end.

Quickly, before her dad could interject, Chris adds, "He was behind the thing in China too. Jack getting captured. He found out and told Logan then tipped off the Chinese government."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"The President and Christopher Henderson were working with terrorists," he says, flatly, not entirely sure he's really believing what he's hearing. While he'd had some respect for Henderson's skills and for the man himself, prior to the investigation that is, they had never been close. However, he never would have thought Henderson was that stupid, to actually give weapons to terrorists to try and further some political goal.

He also can't help but wonder--something he wonders often--just why his daughter has to be dating the trouble magnet that is Jack Bauer.

"And Jack and Kim managed to break into CTU and take out however many terrorists were occupying it." Somehow, knowing Jack, this sounds like the least bizarre part of what she's told him so far.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Along with a couple other agents, yeah." Chris rubs her hands together, though they're not cold. She knew exactly how this next piece of information would go over and, for a moment, she thinks about not telling him. Maybe it would be better that way, he would only worry and there was nothing he could do. Not now.

But she knows that won't work. She can't expect everyone to remember to keep quiet on this.

"There's something else..."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Nothing good ever came of someone saying there was something else with that kind of nervous, shifty expression. "What else?" Ryan asks, sternly, knowing he won't like it.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

A deep breath and, "We found out about Henderson's involvement through a recording on a memory stick. Henderson led Jack and I to the memory stick by making a trade..." Chris feels flustered and focuses on what she has to say, pushing everything else out of her mind.

"Jack and I live in Valencia where the nuke went off. When it happened, Caiti was staying with us because it was after Palmer was killed. I thought she'd been killed in the blast but just before that happened, Henderson came claiming he was working with CTU and needed to bring her to a safehouse. He kidnapped her and wanted to use her as leverage for the memory stick but she's ok now."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"Henderson used her for ransom?" Ryan asks, horrified and angry at the same time, both at the fact that she'd been kidnapped and that she'd come so close to being one of the victims Jack and Chris had mentioned.

For a moment he's too stunned and worried about Caiti to realize the implication of what Chris just said. Namely, that as Jack had been in the bar and told him about the nuclear bomb, he had to have been worried that Caiti had been killed and he hadn't told Ryan about it. Coupled with the fact that Caiti had been kidnapped because of Chris' connection to Jack, he's definitely not Ryan's favourite person at the moment.

"Jack didn't tell me that," Ryan says, tersely.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Briefly closing her eyes, she ignores that tone in his voice. "He didn't know what to do and he didn't want to worry you."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Ryan could argue that, but he'll save it for Jack himself.

"So where are you staying now? What kind of fallout risk is there for the rest of L.A. County?" he asks, still obviously unhappy, but restraining himself from taking it out on her.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"With Michelle," she sighs, deciding not to press the issue at the moment. "And it's minimal, the prevailing winds carried most of the fallout over the desert."

Though two nukes within a decade meant there would be consequences eventually.

"Caiti really is ok, dad" she says, putting a tentative hand on his arm.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Ryan isn't comforted much by that, as he's more preoccupied with the thought that Caiti could have been dead for the last two months and he wouldn't have known. Especially as Jack hadn't told him. Telling himself that at least she's alive and she's all right helps a little, though. A very little.

He nods, then asks, "How are you doing?" with concern replacing some of the anger in his voice.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

She gives him a small, tired smile. "I'm all right. Tired. Trying to keep up with... everything."

Soon, as soon as she was available, Chris would have to talk to her doctor. Maybe schedule an appointment, get a refill. "It's nice to be back here."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"I'm glad you're back," he says, unable to hold onto his anger--at least for the moment--when he thinks about everything that could have happened. He puts his hand on her shoulder. "I was worried about you and everyone else." His kids especially, of course.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Everyone is fine." And that was mostly true and maybe, with enough time, would be completely true.

"How have you been? How are David and Elaine?"

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

He knows that her 'fine' is relative, but he wouldn't have expected otherwise. "They've been all right. A few things have happened in the bar, but none of it has affected us."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"No one's tried to take it over? Turn all the patrons into plants? Anything like that?" She has some idea of how long she's been gone and that's just enough time for both those things to happen and then some.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"No. Though there was someone dosing everyone with some kind of love potion, and someone provided the patrtons with apples that temporarily erased their memories." And as far as he knows, Security hasn't caught anyone for either.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

An eyebrow shoots up at the mention of a love potion. "Did... was anyone we know affected by those?"

Even though both of those would be more fun than what's happening outside, she's still glad she missed both.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

"Angela was affected by the memory loss, but I didn't hear about that until after it was already cleared up," he says, "As far as I know no one else we know was affected. Not that many people we know have been in in the last couple months."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"No, probably not." She rests her head on his shoulder for a moment. "Busy outside and I don't think anyone has had a steady door back here."

And while it wasn't the longest Chris had gone without a steady door, she still hated it. Every time she went more than a week without seeing the door, she wondered if it had disappeared for good. No more second chances.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

Ryan nods. "Not to mention it sounds like not that much time has passed outside," he says, trying to distract himself from what she'd said about the door.

He knows that he should be grateful for the time he's had with her up to now, but it doesn't keep him from worrying everytime she leaves that he'll never see her come in again.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Nope," she sighs. "A few weeks stretched over a few months." Even outside of the bar, it had felt like that. It was impossible to believe so much had happened in a week or even a day.

"Do you... do you think it'll ever stop?"

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

He wishes he could say yes, wishes with all his heart he didn't have to worry about his kids and the world they live in. Wishes that he didn't have to worry about what horror stories she and the others might walk in with, or worst of all, hear that someone--that one of his children--has been killed.

But he's a realist, not an optimist. Wishing for something won't make it happen.

"It might slow down, might not be as common as it is now when there's another, more important enemy to fight or another technique that seems to get results. With any luck it'll be like it was before the nineties, when there didn't need to be a CTU because terrorism in the United States was fairly rare, or small in scale. But I think there will always be people who believe that the number of lives lost doesn't matter if they meet their objectives."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Silent, Chris nods her head, knowing that's the best answer she could ask for from her dad. Anything else, from anyone else, would be nothing more than empty promises and wishful thinking.

Even if, sometimes, she really wanted those promises.

"Yeah, you're right," she finally responds, just to have something to say.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/]

The conversation drifts into a mostly-comfortable silence. He has to force himself not to think about everything Chris and Caiti had been through these past few weeks. There was so much he couldn't do for them and no matter how much time passed, Ryan couldn't get used to that idea.

"I think we should head inside, dinner should be ready. If you're staying?"

Chris says she is and he calls for David. He has his family now, everything else can wait till later.