(Untitled)

[action_antihero]

Jack sits at a table near the door, sipping a cup of coffee and trying not to look nervous, though it's nearly impossible to do. While he's trying to look around the bar and keep an eye on things, his eyes keep straying back to the door. He'd left a note for Chris on Michelle's fridge, letting her know where he was, and though he knows it might

Comments

[geeky_agent]

Entering the house, Chris shuts the door behind her and kicks off her shoes. It's quieter than she expected and it takes her a minute to remember that she made plans with Jack to meet him at work. The house appeared to be empty and she wondered if Michelle was at the bar with him or if she was still at work.

Upstairs, she changes out of the skirt and blouse she'd worn to work and slips into a t-shirt, jeans and light gray cardigan. Washing her face, she wonders if Jack has anything planned for today. Her birthday had passed, both in there and outside. No anniversaries. His birthday was still a while away. She shakes the thought off and, instead of reapplying her makeup, just puts on some moisturizer and lip balm. Her hair stays up in the plastic clip she put it in to wash her face, she's too tired to try to do anything more with it.

Walking downstairs, she jots off a note to Michelle just in case she's still at work, then slips into her gym shoes and steps through the hall closet and into Milliways.

[action_antihero]

Movement by the door makes him look up, and he spots her as she comes in. Just seeing her puts a smile on his face, and he stands, walking over to her. "Hey, sweetheart," he says, touching her arm briefly as he leans in for a quick hello kiss. "How was work?"

[geeky_agent]

"Tiring," she sighs, leaning on him for a moment she casts a glance at the bar. Alcohol sounded good about now. "And you? Is Michelle here?"

[action_antihero]

"Not that I know of; I haven't seen her at least. Hungry?" he asks, noticing her look toward the bar.

[geeky_agent]

"Food would be good. A drink would be better." Though she knows she should ideally have both so she doesn't wind up drunk. "And how was work for you?"

[action_antihero]

"Busy, we've got a couple more clients interested in having us look over their security setup. I'm not sure whether the fact we were CTU agents counts for us or against us," he says, walking over to the bar. "What do you want?"

[geeky_agent]

"Steak and mashed potatoes," she answers without thinking. "And wine."

Right now, all she needed was some food that would stick to her ribs and a nice drink. Or three.

[action_antihero]

He stifles a grin, nodding. "Okay. You find us a table, I'll get a waitrat to bring the food over." Within a couple minutes, he's making his way through the crowd, a bottle of wine and two wineglasses in his hand.

[geeky_agent]

Not wanting to take much time to decide (and too tired for that much thinking besides) she grabs the nearest corner booth. Leaning back and closing her eyes for a moment, hoping it doesn't take too long for the food to arrive. She's famished.

At the sound of someone approaching, she opens her eyes and spots Jack. Smiling, Chris asks, "How was your day?"

[action_antihero]

Jack puts the glasses down, standing as he pulls the loosened cork out of the bottle and pours. "All right. I've got a site inspection tomorrow for a software company that designs software for law enforcement agencies; today I was mainly looking over the blueprints of the building and the specs for their security system, when I wasn't answering the phone."

[geeky_agent]

"Sounds like business is doing well," she says without surprise. After all, it made sense that a security firm would do well in a post-nuclear bomb world.

[action_antihero]

"Yeah, though it's the kind of success I could do without. Considering Michelle won't be able to do as much with the baby coming soon, I was thinking of asking her if we could hire Kim, at least for a little while."

[geeky_agent]

"So Kim's leaving CTU for good?" Chris had wondered if this was temporary or not, though she had a feeling it was the latter. With a young child at home, it made sense that she and Chase were rethinking a few things.

Sometimes, Chris wonders why she's still at CTU. The only answers she's found are habit and duty.

[action_antihero]

"I think so. She said she was looking into teaching, but the most she could do is substitute teaching at the moment. She's probably not the only one leaving CTU, I take it," he says.

[geeky_agent]

"No." She falls quiet for moment, staring down at her hands. Four people had left already and Chris wouldn't be surprised if a few more followed. Their job wasn't supposed to be like this. The long hours and the dangerous work were expected, accepted and even prized. Failing wasn't. "It's not quite an exodus yet and we'll get lots of new applicants soon. Always do, after something like this."

[action_antihero]

Jack's saved from replying with the arrival of a waitrat with steak for her and chicken parmesan for himself. For a while eating takes precedence over conversation, though as the plates get increasingly bare and they both start getting more and more full, they start talking about other thingsl happier things than recent events.

With dinner finished, Jack wipes his mouth and puts the napkin down on the table. "Want to take the rest of this outside?" he asks, raising the bottle of wine. His smile might appear just a little...nervous?