(no subject)
Because we need more fics, and I promised Mary I would write this...
Chloe/Audrey, PG
Inadvertence
Chloe really didn't want to be at the wake.
The funeral had been bad enough, what with all the significant glances she kept trying not to share with Tony and Michelle, the glances that said 'It really sucks that all these people have to think Jack's dead when he's not, and the body in this coffin is actually a random unidentified terrorist.' Michelle had cried, and Chloe had wondered if she should be crying too... would she have cried if Jack was actually dead? She didn't know, obviously... but probably not. But the people there whom it was important to fool probably wouldn't know that and might think it was strange that she wasn't crying, which might blow Jack's cover and send more assassins and stuff after him...
Also, she had felt like she was intruding on something private (a feeling which was sadly very familiar to her...) when she had been sitting next to Tony in the church and he had been comforting Michelle, and then when he had gotten up to go to the front and speak there was a Tony-sized gap between her and Michelle which had somehow made Chloe feel even more uncomfortable so she had given Michelle this stupid half-grin-half-grimace thing which must've looked really weird, she was so embarrassed...
And now she was standing alone in Kim and Chase's large backyard because Kim had disappeared, Chase had Angela on his hip and was talking with the Defense Secretary and Tony and Michelle were having another private moment over by the big tree in the corner and there was nobody else there who Chloe would feel even remotely comfortable just going up and talking to right now. Besides, what if she somehow let slip that Jack was actually alive and that this whole thing was just a big act?
She really wished he had involved somebody else in the plan instead of her. Not that she wasn't flattered that he trusted her with his life, but she just knew she was going to accidentally say the wrong thing to the wrong person at some point because she always, always did. Just that before this nobody had really been in a position to die because of it.
Driscoll started walking in Chloe's general direction, and as she really didn't feel like talking to the woman who had fired her last week she decided to go inside and seek temporary solitude in the bathroom.
She deposited her almost untouched drink in the kitchen before heading upstairs. The door to the master bedroom was closed and there was a faint sound of sobbing coming from inside... probably Kim. If only she knew Jack was okay...
But she probably wanted to be alone, so Chloe made her way along the hallway to the small bathroom door right at the end. She pushed it open.
Ah, alone time at la--
Audrey looked up at her.
"Oh," said Chloe. "Sorry. Uh, I didn't know anyone was in here because Kim and Chase removed all the locks in the house so Angela wouldn't get stuck anywhere."
Audrey just stared at her, not moving from her seat on the toilet.
"I don't know why they didn't just get child-proof locks..." Chloe smiled nervously. "Um. I'll go now." She turned to leave.
"No, Chloe, wait."
Chloe turned back around, confused.
Audrey smiled nervously and rubbed at her eye. "I could use the company if you want to stay."
"Uh. Sure." Chloe sat down on the side of the bath and bit her lip.
"You were there when Jack died, right?"
"Not exactly, I got there right after he... died."
"...Did he suffer much?"
Audrey sniffed. Chloe handed her a roll of toilet tissue.
"Not really. It was very quick," Chloe assured her.
"Well, I guess that's something." Audrey giggled humorlessly. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess."
"You lost two men you loved over the course of a coupla hours, no one expects you to not be a mess."
"Yes, they do. My dad wants me back at work, he thinks it'll help me take my mind off everything... but I can't face going back when Jack's not gonna be there."
Audrey began to sob. After only a moment of hesitation Chloe moved closer and wrapped her arms around her. She didn't know what to say, so the two of them sat there in a silence broken only by the slowly subsiding sounds of Audrey's crying.
"I'm sorry," Audrey said eventually, looking up at Chloe.
"That's okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sure."
And Audrey kissed her.
It took Chloe longer than she would have liked to pull away, but she did finally out of fear for her life. "Jack's gonna kill me!" she blurted, looking at Audrey in shock.
Audrey's brow furrowed, and she looked like she might be about to start crying again. "Chloe, Jack's..."
Chloe stood up, shaking her head; then, realizing what she was doing, she froze.
She had known this would happen!
"Dammit!" she said, and fled.
The End
Chloe/Audrey, PG
Inadvertence
Chloe really didn't want to be at the wake.
The funeral had been bad enough, what with all the significant glances she kept trying not to share with Tony and Michelle, the glances that said 'It really sucks that all these people have to think Jack's dead when he's not, and the body in this coffin is actually a random unidentified terrorist.' Michelle had cried, and Chloe had wondered if she should be crying too... would she have cried if Jack was actually dead? She didn't know, obviously... but probably not. But the people there whom it was important to fool probably wouldn't know that and might think it was strange that she wasn't crying, which might blow Jack's cover and send more assassins and stuff after him...
Also, she had felt like she was intruding on something private (a feeling which was sadly very familiar to her...) when she had been sitting next to Tony in the church and he had been comforting Michelle, and then when he had gotten up to go to the front and speak there was a Tony-sized gap between her and Michelle which had somehow made Chloe feel even more uncomfortable so she had given Michelle this stupid half-grin-half-grimace thing which must've looked really weird, she was so embarrassed...
And now she was standing alone in Kim and Chase's large backyard because Kim had disappeared, Chase had Angela on his hip and was talking with the Defense Secretary and Tony and Michelle were having another private moment over by the big tree in the corner and there was nobody else there who Chloe would feel even remotely comfortable just going up and talking to right now. Besides, what if she somehow let slip that Jack was actually alive and that this whole thing was just a big act?
She really wished he had involved somebody else in the plan instead of her. Not that she wasn't flattered that he trusted her with his life, but she just knew she was going to accidentally say the wrong thing to the wrong person at some point because she always, always did. Just that before this nobody had really been in a position to die because of it.
Driscoll started walking in Chloe's general direction, and as she really didn't feel like talking to the woman who had fired her last week she decided to go inside and seek temporary solitude in the bathroom.
She deposited her almost untouched drink in the kitchen before heading upstairs. The door to the master bedroom was closed and there was a faint sound of sobbing coming from inside... probably Kim. If only she knew Jack was okay...
But she probably wanted to be alone, so Chloe made her way along the hallway to the small bathroom door right at the end. She pushed it open.
Ah, alone time at la--
Audrey looked up at her.
"Oh," said Chloe. "Sorry. Uh, I didn't know anyone was in here because Kim and Chase removed all the locks in the house so Angela wouldn't get stuck anywhere."
Audrey just stared at her, not moving from her seat on the toilet.
"I don't know why they didn't just get child-proof locks..." Chloe smiled nervously. "Um. I'll go now." She turned to leave.
"No, Chloe, wait."
Chloe turned back around, confused.
Audrey smiled nervously and rubbed at her eye. "I could use the company if you want to stay."
"Uh. Sure." Chloe sat down on the side of the bath and bit her lip.
"You were there when Jack died, right?"
"Not exactly, I got there right after he... died."
"...Did he suffer much?"
Audrey sniffed. Chloe handed her a roll of toilet tissue.
"Not really. It was very quick," Chloe assured her.
"Well, I guess that's something." Audrey giggled humorlessly. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess."
"You lost two men you loved over the course of a coupla hours, no one expects you to not be a mess."
"Yes, they do. My dad wants me back at work, he thinks it'll help me take my mind off everything... but I can't face going back when Jack's not gonna be there."
Audrey began to sob. After only a moment of hesitation Chloe moved closer and wrapped her arms around her. She didn't know what to say, so the two of them sat there in a silence broken only by the slowly subsiding sounds of Audrey's crying.
"I'm sorry," Audrey said eventually, looking up at Chloe.
"That's okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sure."
And Audrey kissed her.
It took Chloe longer than she would have liked to pull away, but she did finally out of fear for her life. "Jack's gonna kill me!" she blurted, looking at Audrey in shock.
Audrey's brow furrowed, and she looked like she might be about to start crying again. "Chloe, Jack's..."
Chloe stood up, shaking her head; then, realizing what she was doing, she froze.
She had known this would happen!
"Dammit!" she said, and fled.
The End