Jack got sick a lot. With all the stress he endured, on the days when everything had calmed down, he was never surprised to find himself feeling ill.

Lying in bed with just his boxers on, he hoped he wouldn't get called in to CTU today. A day off was never a guarantee in his world.

A knock at the door startled him into sitting up. Pulling on a pair of sweatpants, he headed to the door and looked through the peephole. Chloe?

He opened the door. She was holding a container in one hand and a grocery bag in the other. Her long, dark hair was down and she wore a light blue tank top and a denim skirt.

"Come in" he said.

"Jack, I heard you were sick again". She breezed past him and made her way to the kitchen. "I know you have no one to take care of you, and I'll bet you're not doing a very good job of it yourself, either."

She set the container down on the counter. "I made you some chicken soup."

He sat down on a chair and smiled. "Thanks, Chloe."

She reached into the paper bag. "And I got you some Kleenex. The good kind. The kind with the ..."

"...lotion." He finished the sentence for her.

"Yeah."

She asked if he was hungry and he nodded. Finding a bowl, she warmed up some soup for him in the microwave. He waited eagerly. He had no food in his house and did not feel up to doing anything but ordering out. This would be his first meal today. Chloe was taking care of him once again. This time, in a new way.

She set the bowl down in front of him, handing him a spoon. He smiled gratefully up at her. Chloe walked back and stood behind the counter watching him hungrily slurp the soup.

"This is really good." He barely got the words out between spoonfuls, never bringing his head up out of the bowl. She stared at him. She could do this everyday, this taking care of him thing. Nothing in the world made her happier than making Jack Bauer happy.

He finished the soup and looked back at her. "I'm freezing." She walked over to him and felt his forehead with her cheek. "Aw Jack, you're burning up. When was the last time you took any medicine?"

"Medicine? I haven't taken any. I don't have anything to take." he shrugged. Lucky for him she had an entire drug store in her purse like most women did. She handed him two pills and gave him a glass of water.

"Why don't you go lay down on the bed or the couch?"

The thought of Chloe tucking him into bed warmed his heart, but then she might be inclined to leave. So he headed to the couch. A minute later, she entered the room with a blanket from his bedroom and placed it over his shoulders.

"Do you have to leave now?" he asked, almost pleading.

"You want me to stay? I can stay for a while." She sat down on the couch a few feet away from him and looked over at him shivering. She grabbed a pillow and placed it on her lap. "Come here." she said. Reaching over and placing her hand on the back of his head, she led him down to rest on her lap. He adjusted the blanket and pulled his knees up to his chest.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Chloe tousling his hair with her right hand.

"I'm glad I have a girl for a best friend." he said, breaking the silence between them. "I don't think a guy would have done all this for me. Especially not what you're doing right now", he laughed, referring to her hand which was now stroking his face absentmindedly.

Best friend?  I'm his best friend? she thought. She knew they had a connection. A connection on a level that was different from the way they related to other people in their lives, but she had no idea she held such a title.

"Yeah, not unless he was in love with you." she blurted out, immediately regretting her words. She hoped he wouldn't read too much into it. Biting her bottom lip, she searched the room for the TV remote. Maybe if the TV was on, she wouldn't have to worry about anymore stupid comments coming out of her mouth.

He turned his head and body slightly to look at her. "You stopped playing with my hair." he said. "I liked that. Don't stop."

"Oh, sorry." she put her hand on his shoulder to gently push him back to his position, facing away from her. But he didn't budge. He just stared up at her. A warm smile slowly spreading across his face.

"What?" Her voice sounded annoyed, almost panicky. He turned until he was all the way on his back, still staring up at her. Now his eyes were glazed over. He grabbed her hand and held it against his cheek.

"Are you loopy? Those were just over the counter pain pills, Jack, to bring down your fever. They shouldn't be making you act like this." She laughed nervously.

She was squirming under him now. Looking everywhere but in his eyes, the eyes that were now looking at her like they had never before, filled with love.

He slowly turned back to face away from her, realizing he was making her extremely uncomfortable and not wanting to put her through it anymore. He felt the sadness building up inside him. Why did this have to be so hard?

He heard her sigh and her hand was back in his hair, caressing him. It was obvious to him now. She was afraid. He was too.