NotThatGirl (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} alexajohnson) wrote in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} chlack,@ 2007-04-21 00:39:00 |
|
| Current mood: |  creative |
New Fic: Right Here Waiting (Prologue)
Hello everyone!
I come bearing the small beginnings of another fic. The bunnies are biting like mad, so I hope to have more out soon! :o)
Title: Right Here Waiting
Author: alexajohnson
Genres: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Rating: R for right now… might be NC-17 later!
Summary: Even heroes fall, and Jack Bauer is no exception. Post Day 6. Heavy on the angst, but there will be fluff eventually!
Notes: Aside from my little one-shot I wrote for the Cliché Fic-A-Thon, this is my first big 24 piece. I have no idea how long it’s going to be—sadly, the bunnies haven’t told me yet—but I’m hoping it will at least be a novella. Special thanks to failegaidin and sparky_girl82 for offering their beta services! I wanted to get this little prologue out quickly but I’ll definitely be getting in touch with you guys once Chapter One is ready! *showers you both with virtual chocolate*
This fic opens with Kim, but never fear—Jack and Chloe will be appearing in the next post! I hope you all enjoy! And remember…feedback is love!
PROLOGUE
When Kim Bauer woke up, she wasn’t immediately sure why.
Blinking blearily into the darkness, it took her a moment to focus on the disturbance, but she knew what it was right when she heard the sharp sound again.
The telephone.
Stifling a yawn, she glanced over at the bright green numbers on her alarm clock and didn’t bother to hide her groan. Five in the bloody morning? Didn’t most people know that hour didn’t even exist?
The phone rang again, insistent, and she shielded her eyes before clicking on the lamp and reaching for the phone beside it on the small table by her bed. This better not be anyone trying to sell me something, or I swear to God… “Hello?”
“Hello, Kim?”
She frowned. There was something familiar about that voice. “Yeah, this is Kim Bauer. Who is this?”
“Bill Buchanon, Director of CTU.”
She froze, almost letting the phone slide through her suddenly cold fingers. She’d been in touch with Audrey when the older woman had been looking for her father, and then she’d suddenly lost contact, only to hear a few months later that Audrey had died in an accident in Beijing. After that, Kim had wanted nothing more to do with CTU, certain that her father was surely dead by now and that CTU hadn’t even bothered to get him back.
Her father.
The man who had probably been the cause of most of the pain in her life, who she’d turned away countless times, and yet he kept on trying to be there for her anyway. The man she’d been determined to hurt as much as he’d hurt her.
The man she’d wished she could love as much as he loved her.
“If my father is still rotting away in a Chinese cell, you’d be better off just hanging up.” She knew she was being rude, but she didn’t care.
There was a pregnant pause on the other side. Then: “That’s what I wanted to tell you, Kim. Your father is alive. He’s just been brought in to CTU.”
This time Kim really did drop the phone, and it fell with a clatter to the floor. Her hands shook uncontrollably, and she was glad she wasn’t standing up. The guilt that her father had been kidnapped before she’d been able to tell him that she loved him—that she didn’t really think he’d ruined her life—had almost eaten her alive. If only she hadn’t been so fucking selfish, maybe she could’ve given him some more hope.
Steeling herself, she bent over to pick up the phone with trembling fingers, praying that this wasn’t all some horrible, mocking dream. “What did you say? Is my father really alive?”
“Yes, Kim. It’s all rather complicated, but—”
There was always a ‘but’ when her father was involved, yet something really didn’t feel right. “Wait,” she interrupted quickly, “if my father is alive, why didn’t he call me?”
“That’s part of the complicated bit. He’s been badly injured, and is lying unconscious in the medical bay. We should’ve called you before the events after his release started to unfold, but he didn’t want to involve you.”
It wasn’t until she felt the wetness on her cheeks that she realized she had started to cry. This was it. She’d pushed him away one time too many. “My apartment’s not far, I can be there in under an hour. How is he doing? He’s going to pull through this, right?”
There was another loaded silence, and when Bill Buchanon finally spoke, his words were tinged with sadness. “That’s just the thing. I’m not so sure…that he’s going to want to.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
This is just a little teaser... the upcoming chapters will be longer!
