Rory Caroline (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} rorylie) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} 100_situations,@ 2007-10-17 17:45:00 |
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| Current mood: |  exhausted |
| Current music: | rain outside |
| Entry tags: | 24, table-4 |
24-Jack/Chloe-Waiting for my real life to begin
Title: Waiting for my real life to begin
Fandom:24
Characters:Jack/Chloe
Table:4
Prompt:38. Flame
Word Count:694
Rating:PG13
Summary:Chloe goes to visit Jack.
Author's Notes:Thanks to Lisa for the beta.
Chloe glanced at the phone when it rang, recognizing the number and answering immediately.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hey,” Jack murmured.
She smiled to herself nervously. “Hi.”
He laughed. “Hello.”
“How are you?”
“Good. How are you? How’s Nora?”
“Good. She’s good, she’s sleeping.”
“I can call back later if it’s a bad time.”
“No,” she said. “It’s actually calm.”
“Has she started to crawl?”
“Sort of.”
“I’d love to see her again.”
“You know you could come, anytime.”
“I know.” He paused. “I was thinking, I’d like you to come here. You and Nora. I want to show you my place, what I’ve been working on.”
Chloe smiled, covering her face with her hand. “We’d love to.”
8888888888
Jack was sitting on the steps watching the sunset when the car turned into the long driveway. He stood up, jogging out to greet Chloe, opening her door for her.
“How was the drive?” he asked, hugging her gently.
“Good,” she said. “Nora slept most of the time.”
He smiled, lifting the baby out of the backseat. “Hi,” he murmured. “Hi there Nora. You’re getting so big.”
The still sleepy girl smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Come inside,” Jack urged. “I want to show you the place.”
Chloe nodded, following him slowly inside.
“Do you have plumbing?” Chloe asked, staring inside the stripped down house.
“Plumbing and electricity,” he chuckled. “The kitchen’s completely done, I needed to be able to cook.”
She blushed, ducking her head. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, leading her towards the back of the house. “I know, I have a lot of work to do. I don’t have anything to do now but work on it though.”
She nodded.
“This is what I wanted to show you,” he said, leading her into a room. “This will be my bedroom.”
There was a fire burning in a large, beautiful crafted fireplace. Chloe was drawn to it like the proverbial moth to the flame, her fingers brushing over the crib that she’d barely noticed. She paused and gave Jack a questioning look. He smiled at her, placing Nora in the crib and moving behind her.
“Did you make this?” Chloe asked softly.
He nodded. “The crib and the fireplace.”
Her eyes widened. “You made her a crib?”
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted you to be able to come and stay.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He led her to blankets that were piled in front of the fireplace and pulled her down, wrapping one around her body. “You like it?”
“It’s amazing.”
“I’m glad,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you Chloe.”
“I missed you too.”
“I hate being so far away from you.”
“Really?” she asked, blinking.
“It’s lonely here.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted. To be alone.”
“I never wanted to be away from you,” he said softly.
“Jack,” she whispered.
“I had to leave, Chloe. I had to let you try to work things out with Morris. He’s Nora’s father, you both deserved that chance.”
“What are you saying?”
“I never wanted to leave you, Chloe. I wanted you to come here because I wanted to show you this place. I hope you like it. I want this to be our place, Chloe. I want to finish it for you and Nora and me. I want us to be a family here.”
“We’ve never even gone on a date.”
“I don’t need to date you, Chloe, I already know I love you.”
“I’ve always loved you, Jack.”
“I know,” he said softly. “I was just too scared before.”
“Scared of what?”
“That I’d hurt you. That you were better off without me.”
“What changed?”
“I came here and saw how empty my life is without you. I don’t ever want to be without you.” He leaned forward, kissing her tenderly.
“You don’t have to be,” she breathed against his skin.
“You’ll stay?”
She nodded. “Do we have to sleep on the floor?”
He laughed. “Only temporarily.”
“I guess I can do that.”
He smiled. “Really?”
“For you,” she said as he kissed her again. “Anything for you Jack.”
