She Didn’t Choose This Role, But She’ll Play It and Make It Sincere

They’d still declared her a missing person out of formality, after all, a body had never been recovered. But as far as anybody else considered it, Michelle Dessler was most likely dead. Except for Jack, Tony, Chloe, Chase, and Kim. No. To them, Michelle was alive until proven otherwise. They were the only ones at CTU still working on looking for her. The FBI had included her as part of their larger database of agents of unknown status, but they were far less proactive.

After seeing the day of the Cordilla virus outbreaks destroy, and continue to destroy, Jack and Tony, Chase had taken the initiative to resign as a field agent and stay on only as an analyst with Kim. Jack had been wholly relieved at that, but also heart-warmed knowing they were staying because they wanted to help find Michelle. Tony had felt similarly, and it had brought them all closer. There’d been a little awkwardness and tension, what with Jack having pulled a gun on him in Mexico. But he’d opened up to him, explained that he didn’t expect forgiveness, that it was just yet another reminder of how much he hated himself, hated everything that had happened. 

As promised, Tony and Jack had both been to rehab after making no progress at the six month mark. It had helped them both to confront their issues, some stretching years back into childhood. And with the reassurance that they had a reliable team working on the search, it had actually given them a chance for the first time in their careers at CTU to walk away from work without thinking about it. It had been hard coming back, knowing that very little further progress had been made, that they were essentially rerunning different tests on the same evidence that they had from that day. After all, time had moved on, all the potential clues they could have could only be from that day. Of course, there was always an underlying fear, that someone from the morgue would ring, confirming the identity of a body. In some ways, they knew it would be relieving to have an answer. Her family still debated having some kind of empty-casket funeral, wanting to have some sense of finality. But at the same time, they couldn’t, not when they knew there was a possibility Michelle was alive. However it wasn’t exactly easy when the majority of the information had to be kept confidential from them. Tony and Jack reassured them though, that the minute they had a semblance of confidence, they would tell them straight away.

It was close to two years now, two years without her, two years with very little idea of where she might be. In that time, technology had improved, Chloe being eager to test every beta version of new forensic or search software in the hopes that it would return something different. In many ways it strengthened Chase and Kim’s relationship, Michelle’s absence and Tony’s more subtle, but still noticeable despair, a testament to the idea that everything could be taken away in the blink of an eye. It had certainly sped things along too, Jack being a little surprised at Chase’s proposal a mere year after the virus outbreaks. But when he saw the sheer joy on Kim’s face, a kind of joy he honestly hadn’t seen since before her mother passed, he couldn’t help but be happy for, and support them. They were still raising Angela together, now saving for a bigger house so hopefully they could add an additional member to their family sometime soon.

Chase smirked when he looked at her screen, a browser tab open to photos of a generously sized house out in the hills. “That’s not even close to our budget.”

She smiled back at him. “Well, this search is chewing up most of my bandwidth, I may as well use the rest to dream. Speaking of…” Kim bit her lip. “It should be done soon. It’s taking longer than usual, I won’t be able to do any of the other routine algorithms until that’s over.”  

“Here, let me see…” Chloe huffed, getting up from her desk and walking over. But beneath her usual day-to-day frustration, Chloe and Chase both knew she was happy for them. After all, she and Chase had been good friends for many years before they’d both ended up at CTU Los Angeles. They had each other’s backs. “Oh, it’s because you’ve cross-referenced all of the photo’s in Michelle’s file with today’s update and not just her ID. Most of them probably won’t work anyway, the software needs a full front-facing photo to actually find matches.”

A little later, a quiet beep sounded from Kim’s computer. “Finally…” She sighed.

Facial recognition scans were just one of the many processes they repeated every day. Photographs from all kinds of sources were added to their existing database and compared against Michelle’s CTU ID photo. They’d had a handful of matches, but so far, all had been false alarms. It had accidentally matched her photo with the refreshed inter-agency alert for her more times than they could count. Today’s match was probably no different, they figured.

“Nothing again?” Chase asked, turning around. But his voice trailed when she saw her frozen in place, staring at the screen. Her skin had turned sickly pale. Rolling his chair over to see, his mouth fell agape.

“What the fuck…” He breathed.

Chloe furrowed her brow when she returned, a cup of coffee in her hands. They both sat there stunned. Kim’s hand was shaking a little.

“What?” She asked nervously, setting the cup down. “You guys found a house with a big walk-in wardrobe or something?”

Her hand clasped over her mouth when she looked at the screen, the other one reaching behind her to lean against a table. Had she had still been holding the cup of coffee, it surely would have fallen from her grip.

“Look!” Chase pointed, breaking the silence between them. “It’s dated almost a year ago. Michelle was alive almost a year ago. How could we not have picked it up?”

Regaining her sense of logic and thought train, Chloe started moving the mouse. “It’s because her ID photo wasn’t what it matched with.” She continued to click away. “Here. It’s that photo from when she got hurt on that mission.”

“Part of what I accidentally included in the search today?” Kim asked.

“Yeah.”

She scoffed in disbelief. “So you’re saying if it wasn’t for my screw-up in cross-referencing all of the photos in Michelle’s file, we wouldn’t have found this?”

“Probably…” Chloe still looked so shocked. They all did. 

“We need to get Jack and Tony in here, but nobody else. Somehow I don’t think this is the kind of thing everybody should know about. We don’t even know what we’re dealing with.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, this needs to stay between us. I’ll try and trace it so we can find who had this picture in the first place, in the mean time, go get them.”

Walking quickly up to Jack’s office, Chase was happy to find him finishing up a meeting with Tony and someone from Division. Since they’d both come back from rehab, everybody knew CTU had evolved to become the most efficient it had ever been. 

“We have something…” There was a chill to his voice, that Tony and Jack both knew meant he was serious. Not quite sad, but gravely concerned. They looked at each other, uncertainty in their eyes, not knowing what to expect, not wanting to get their hopes up, not wanting to expect the worst either. Following him to the small conference room, that sense of foreboding grew when they noticed that the blinds were shut, the large screen turned off. Whatever they’d found had to stay on Chloe’s computer apparently. Tentatively, they sat down. 

Chloe bit her thumb as she stood to speak. “Remember when…remember when Michelle went undercover to infiltrate that sex trafficking ring? She came back with that black eye?”

The lines in Tony’s forehead became visible. “Yeah…?”

“Well…Kim made a mistake today, except it was less of a mistake because it actually got us somewhere.” Kim raised an eyebrow at her. “Anyway, instead of using her ID photo, we used the photo of her with the black eye in the facial recognition search and…it turned up with a photo from about a year ago. A photo that proves she was alive, we think…”

“Think?”

Chloe struggled place her words. “It’s…it’s hard to tell.”

Both of them looked confused now, Tony beginning to get up and walk to the opposite side of the table where Kim sat behind the computer. Chase moved to block him. “You’ll need to sit down for this…”

There was frustration and impatience in both of their expressions now. If they had evidence that Michelle was alive then why the hell weren’t they showing him? Why the hell did they look so scared?

Turning the laptop around, Tony sucked in a breath.

“Oh my god…” Jack whispered.

The photo was taken at night, there weren’t any clues as to where. It was a little blurry, taken on a cell phone, judging by the low resolution. But the camera’s flash still managed to show Michelle from the shoulders up.  Her eyes were jaundiced and glazed, as though she’d been drugged. Truth be told, she looked half-dead, but her wanness was not their focus. One iris was its usual deep brown, the other was a brighter, almost more golden, and if not mistaken, glowing, amber. The structure of her face had been displaced severely, as if she’d been in a bad car accident and the bones had been left to find their way back naturally, the cheek bones in particular, higher and protruding. Her hair was wildly grown out, some of it extending across the sides of her face. Most protuberant of all were the elongated teeth, or fangs, rather, Michelle now possessed. 

She was alive, alright.

But she was far from the Michelle they once knew.

“W-where is this from?” Tony’s voice was trembling. He attempted to stabilise it as he yelled. “W-who took this? Who the hell has her?”

“It’s taken out in The Valley somewhere.” Chloe spoke. “Looks like there’s some kind of building nearby, but it’s all deserted.”

Chase widened his eyes after a beat. “What if…what if it’s connected to…the CL? I know the government gave up on them years ago but..”

Jack shook his head. “Pretty sure the FBI still has a small department. They lose members and funding every year because there’s never enough evidence or priority to bring the other agencies in.”

“Wait, what’s ‘the CL’?” Kim asked.

“Chrismos Lukos. It’s ancient Greek. Roughly means ‘Oracle of the Wolf’. They’re a cult.”

She squinted. “Cult?”

Chase gave her a very serious look, upon seeing the disbelief in her face. “No, Kim, it’s not what you think. I’m not talking about some celebrity Scientology crap. I’m talking about some seriously messed up stuff.” The chill returned to his voice. “It’s not right. It’s not normal.” 

“This photo was on a private FBI database, I can’t find any other pictures, but all the file descriptions are related to the CL, you’re right Chase.”  Chloe confirmed. “There’s no link at all to Saunders, but I guess that just means he had only pretended to know where Michelle was.”

He chewed his lip. “We can’t just barge in there. This can’t be an official mission, if we have no warrant, no concrete evidence other than this photo.”

“You’re right.” Jack agreed. “We can’t tell anybody about this. If Division hears about this, they’ll tell the FBI, and then we lose control over the situation, or worse, run the risk of losing her to some kind of research facility. We’ll have to go in alone. Not too many of us either.”

“Finding Michelle is the priority obviously,  but we’ll need any kind of information we can get.” Chloe moved to a cupboard, pulling out a small device. “Here’s a hard drive. I can’t get anything else remotely without alerting the FBI. If you can find any computer, that’ll get us what we need. It’s probably pretty unlikely considering that they’re, well, a cult. But just in case. It could even grab security footage near the area, who knows.”

Tony was staring off into space, the magnitude of the revelation rendering him speechless.

“You okay, Tony?” Chase asked, noticing that the colour had drained from his face.

“I-I just need a minute…” Getting up slowly, he walked out of the room. It was understandable, of course. All these years, their hypotheses as to where Michelle could be if she was alive mainly consisted of two possibilities, being tortured for information or trafficked. But this. This was not even within the realm of possibilities for them. If that photo captured her state a year ago, then there was no telling how she looked now. Worse? Better? Was she even still alive?

Jack continued to work on building up two profiles for him and Tony, trying not to let the thought of Tony completely beside himself worry him too much. Despite how confronting that image was, it was a lead, it was proof that at some point over the last year and a half, she was alive. Even if they had no idea what state she was in, they couldn’t stop now because the thought of what they might find frightened them.

“For now, I’ve got you and Tony as electricians. Whatever they’re hiding is likely to be in some kind of basement. If we’re lucky, they’ll let you down to the boiler room and you can go from there, otherwise…we’ll think of some way to get you in. I’ll have to look at their security protocols.” Chloe explained. “There should be jumpsuits somewhere in storage, and you can take one of the vans.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Chloe.” 

Before Jack could leave to find Tony, Chase grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him aside. “You might want to consider taking some kind of…non-lethal force.”

His brows knitted. “Like a tranquilliser gun?”

“If the rumours are true, and, well, you and I both saw that photo, anyone who’s come out of there…hasn’t exactly been stable. She might look sedated now but…”

“You’re saying Michelle might be dangerous?”

He nodded gravely. “Yes.”

“Should Tony even be on this mission?” Chloe piped up. “I mean you saw how much the photo affected him, if he actually sees her like that in person…”

“Probably not.” Jack agreed. “But I think he needs to be. He deserves answers. He deserves an understanding.”

They left Chase in charge, feeling able to leave CTU seeing as there was currently no major threat that would require Jack and Tony’s presence. Chloe would stay in communication with them while Kim handled some of her work.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a cheery receptionist, who seemed to be a little surprised at their arrival, but couldn’t say anything to the ‘appointment’ that had appeared in the company calendar. Of course he had no idea it was planted by Chloe no more than twenty minutes ago, the only file on their entire system she’d been able to access. The building was, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. It seemed eerily out of place and generic, as though it had simply dropped from the sky one day and blended into society. Perfectly normal, but too perfect.

“We’ll need access to your fuse box.” 

He pointed behind him. “Elevators are down the back.”

Tony gave Jack a suspicious look. That seemed too easy. But nonetheless they followed the instructions, looking warily around them as they did so. Nobody seemed to be paying them too much attention. The elevator took them down to the basement and boiler room as expected, with no sign of ethical or scientific abnormalities in sight. It was quiet, but they still felt like they were being watched. 

Chloe’s voice appeared in their ears suddenly. “The schematics show they’ve got another basement level, but no details about room plans.”

“The elevator only had one button.” Tony said, peering around. “And I don’t see any kind of stairwell.”

“Hang on…” The clicks of her keyboard sounded in their ears. “It’s only accessible through a staircase on the outside. Or…wait, I’ve got something here. Some kind of panic room code, it’s a combination of the other levels. You’ll need to do it quickly.” 

They walked back over, awaiting her instructions. “Press the two twice, wait five seconds, then press three, four, seven, and hold the nine for two seconds.”

The elevator made a strange beep, before the doors shut, and they suddenly felt themselves moving deeper and deeper down. The signal through the comm crackled.

“Chloe, do you copy?” Jack pressed the device into his ear further.

Her voice sounded disorted. “You’re too far down, I’m losin-” 

“Chloe? Chloe!”

Jack cursed as they lost reception. It was dark when the elevator finally stopped with a shudder, and somehow even quieter than the level they’d come from. 

The hairs on the nape of Jack’s neck were standing on end. 

They were on their own now.

Candle light illuminated what looked like the long entrance to a bigger room. It seemed so separate from where they’d just come, a clean, modern-day office building, gently humming with the sound of computers and appliances, yet now it was so quiet, they could hear each other’s breathing. The air was stale, and smelt faintly of smoke, as though some of the candles had just been snuffed out. The sound of their footsteps echoed as they moved down the passageway, both of them hovering one hand around their guns. Jack held a flashlight while Tony carried the array of weapons they’d brought in a toolbox. He still felt as though they weren’t alone, even though it looked as though every sign pointed to the level being unoccupied. 

The passage eventually lead them to the mouth of a huge cave, stalagmites hanging from the ceiling, divots and blind-spots in every corner. It looked abandoned, as though once teeming with life and community, but now completely barren. There was a large fire pit in the centre, although the flames were dying down. They moved forward, noticing bundles of herbs, vials of strange-looking liquid, charts of foreign text and symbols. But they still couldn’t shake the thought that they were alone. The aura, the energy, something, about where they were felt off.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps from one of the recesses on the side. Jack moved into view, shining the flashlight and pointing his gun.

“Federal agent, drop your weapon. Identify yourself.”

The woman was tall, had fair but freckled skin, and deep red hair with a fringe. There were dark circles under her eyes, skin pale as though she hadn’t seen sun in a very long time. Her teal eyes reflected in the light. She was wearing a thick, heavy-looking cloak, but Jack noticed the bulge of a gun at her hip, a lantern in her hand. She used the other to block the light shining into her face, pulling down the cloak’s hood.

“Renee Walker, FBI.”

“Jack Bauer, CTU.” Feeling more relieved, he lowered his gun, as did she, the three of them walking closer to each other.

“And you are?” She got a better look at Tony now. 

“Tony Almeida, also CTU.” He replied.

“Since when is CTU looking into the CL?”

“They’re not. Investigating the CL is not our main priority. We have reason to believe one of our agents who went missing eighteen months ago is being held hostage here.”

“Agent Michelle Dessler, who’s also my wife.” Tony supplied.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, before a skeptical expression on her face arose. “It’s still not like CTU to send only two of you in here. Even if this is mainly a rescue mission, you’re short on agents. I need to get something out of this, I need something to show for six months of being here.”

“Six months?” 

Long undercover missions weren’t uncommon for agents. But six months in a place like this?

She nodded. “A camper was nearly killed by a member of this cult near the woods behind the building about a year ago. He managed to grab one photo before he was taken. It was a miracle we managed to confiscate his phone before he could post it or share it anywhere. FBI figured it was as close to Chrismos Lukos as they could ever get. I was the only agent from any department across the country willing to risk tanking my career, because coming back with nothing means more cuts to the investigation team. So they built up a profile for me, something about me being lost and needing guidance, then they took me in.”

“So where are they now?” Tony quirked a brow.

Renee shrugged. “I don’t know, they fled about fifteen minutes ago. They must have sensed your energy.”

Jack and Tony looked between themselves suspiciously.

“‘Energy’?”

“What, you think I’m insane? This goes deeper and darker than anyone has even thought. The things I’ve heard and seen here…it’s unreal. I wasn’t allowed to get close to too many of their rituals, apparently I need to work up through the ranks for that. But I’ve documented every herb they’ve made me collect, every last scripture, every last chant I overheard. That’s why I stayed behind when they fled, they were too frantic to notice.” She gestured to the disarray of papers around her. “But now I might actually get something and then I can tell the FBI I’m not dead.”

“Why would they think you’re dead? Wouldn’t you have given updates when you were alone?”

She laughed at their confusion. “Nope. Because no single piece of modern technology works down here. They have an energy field that blocks it.”

“Chloe’s going to love that.” Tony muttered.

“And members aren’t allowed to leave except for the garden. I only had one chance to communicate, so I told them I’d come back when I had something, that they shouldn’t look for me.” Renee pulled out a large tome, bound in a dark leather. “And I guess you could say I’ve got a lot of ‘somethings’. But there’s still so much more.” Her eyes had lit up with great fascination.”I need to keep looking, I need to get everything while I can.”

“Did anybody else stay behind? If they’re on the move, Michelle might be with them.”

Renee bit her lip. “I-I don’t think so. But I did hear one of the leaders mention leaving someone here. Something along the lines of ‘her energy is too great, we can’t control her, she can find her way back’. If she was taken unwillingly, that probably means she’s part of a ritual, and not a member. That’s how they operate. They fish people out, usually those with some kind of vulnerability that makes them easy to capture, and then do rituals based on their ‘energy’.”

Jack thought back for a minute, thought back to all that time at CTU spend investigating Saunders and his actions. Perhaps he really had had nothing to do with it after all. Judging by their surroundings, Jack certainly didn’t think there was anything in Saunders’ file that would link him to something like this.

“I wouldn’t have a clue what they did with her specifically if she was brought here, and I wouldn’t necessarily know what stage she was at or if she made it.”

“Look we’re on a time frame.” Jack hardened his voice to hide the absolute confusion and fear that he and Tony were in way over their heads. “We’re giving you the best shot at getting what you need right now, so like it or not, you’re helping us.”

“Fine. As long as I can get the information I need, I’ll help you look for her. I’ve gotten everything from here I think, but we’ll check the back. I’m not normally allowed there, it’s where most of their rituals are performed.”

Turning around, they continued to pace towards the opposite side of the room, where the orange glow seemed to disappear, as though sucked into a black hole. Their laboured breathing became louder as they went on, the sinister atmosphere only seeming to intensify. The large door creaked as it opened, so stark against the otherwise quiet soundscape. Cautiously, they walked into the smaller, emptier room, noting the smell of body odour, rotting meat, and blood. 

Whatever sense of calmness Tony had was now fading. “She has to be here…” He uttered, shaking his head. “She has to. Where is she?” He called out her name.

The sound of their exhales was so loud, they didn’t notice the low growl that had responded to their entrance. Jack’s flashlight and Renee’s lantern were still flitting about, as Tony dared to move forward, having now set the toolbox they’d carried as part of their cover down. He ran a hand through his hair, the impending fear that she wasn’t here growing, fear that the only decent lead they’d had in eighteen months was about to disappear.

Jack noticed it first, the pair of golden almonds radiating in the pitch-black room. He did a double-take, even opened his mouth ready to shout out that there was someone or something else in this room. But everything happened so fast. The owner of the glowing eyes launched at Tony with enough power to pin him down. It forced its weight on his chest and neck, as he struggled to move. There was the sound of fabric ripping, Tony’s muffled screams of pain, but above all else, that growl had magnified in volume and ferocity.

Looking up at him, Jack let out a shaky breath when he realised who it was, looking even more terrifying than the photo they’d found, with Tony’s blood dripping from her mouth, the glow of her eyes reflected in the torchlight. In the corner of his vision, he saw Renee draw her gun.

“Don’t shoot!” He shouted, now trying to look for the tranquilliser gun in the toolbox. 

“It’s going to kill him!”

Aiming as quickly as he could, he fired at her shoulder. She jerked back with a huff, before moving back in on Tony, and continuing to claw at him relentlessly. Jack fired again, closer to her neck. This time she halted suddenly, her chest heaving, eyes rolling back into her head, before collapsing onto the ground. Tony let out a soft groan, but otherwise he wasn’t moving. All of the remaining candle light behind them had now disappeared.

Instinctively, they knew they had to run over, make sure she was sedated enough so they could try and help Tony, understanding that time was of the essence. But instead, with their mouths agape and hands trembling, they stood there shit-scared.

“T-there’s a first aid kit in the toolbox.” Jack managed to recall. Bending down beside him, he shone the flashlight over Tony’s body. There were deep lacerations across his chest and shoulder, in the shape of bite and claw marks. He gasped for air, spluttering at the blood that had splashed onto his face. Jack felt his heart pull when he seemed to be trying to say Michelle’s name.

“You’re going to be okay, stay with me, keep looking at me…” Jack muttered, trying to stop Tony from going into shock by looking at Michelle. Renee tore off part of Tony’s already ripped shirt and passed it to Jack so he could staunch the bleeding.

“I-I can wrap it, it’s fine. C-check that she’s actually out.”

Jack grabbed two sets of handcuffs from the bag, as though she was just a suspect who’d been detained. Somehow he doubted they would hold her. Slowly, he paced over to the other lying figure in the room, the handcuffs jingling in the shake of his grip. He could still feel his heart thundering away, using his foot to gently nudge her over. Looking closer now, he could see how contorted the bones were, still obvious even through the layer of fur. There was blood under the nails of the claws. The hair was thinner in some locations, like the insides of her arms, and in patches down her spine. At these sites, scarred, or even burned skin could be seen. The scars were shaped precisely, similar to the symbols he’d seen in the books on the desk.

What he was looking at certainly wasn’t human.

But it was Michelle nonetheless.

“How are we supposed to get out of here? I’ve got the van out the front, but we’ll need to carry Michelle and help Tony walk.”

“Just go back the way you came, I’ll meet you out the back here.”

Jack furrowed his brow. “What about the people upstairs?”

She shook her head. “They’ve been persuaded to maintain the office front. Trust me, they won’t notice you.”

“‘Persuaded’?”

“One of the abilities some members have is a form of suggestion. It’s not quite mind control, but an ability to convince someone to do something they wouldn’t normally do, in this case, work in a pretend company that pays them nothing.”

Again, Jack sighed, knowing there was still so much to learn and to understand. But as Renee had claimed, he was able to simply walk back through the main entrance, and move the van to the back entrance. She’d already grabbed her resources, including various labelled concoctions and herbs, along with her gun and phone, pleased to note it was finally working. Together, they helped Tony walk back, trying their hardest to keep him conscious, before carrying Michelle. She was heavier than Jack expected, evidence of her newfound strength becoming more visible in the light.

“Okay, I’ll drive us to the FBI, it shouldn’t be long, you stay in the back and make sure that Tony doesn’t lose too much blood and that Michelle doesn’t wake up.”

Jack’s ears perked up. “We’re not going back to the FBI.”

She furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? The FBI LA office is closer than CTU from here.”

“No. Nobody can know about this. If they don’t kill Michelle, they will take her to some other lab to have her experimented on. There’s too many unknowns here. We can’t just let them take her away, not after eighteen months.”

Renee folded her arms. “Are you kidding me? This is exactly the kind of evidence we need to expose the CL. They wouldn’t kill her.”

“She is not evidence, she is still a human being, Agent Walker.”

“Jack!” Chloe suddenly shouted.  It seemed the reception had returned to his comm now that they were back outside. “What happened? Did you find her?”

He made eye contact with Renee as he spoke to Chloe. “Chloe, we’re going dark. Send my cell the address of the nearest black site, then I’ll get rid of it.”

“…You did, didn’t you? Just like the picture?” She said gravely.

“The less you know the better. I need you, Kim, and Chase to pretend to keep searching, so nobody suspects anything. Tell Division that Tony and I have taken personal leave. You and Chase keep running CTU until they send in replacements.”

Chloe let out a flustered sigh. “I guess they’ll probably just assume you guys are in rehab again…anything else?”

“Tell Kim I love her and not to worry.”

“Okay…good luck, Jack.”

Renee had fished out her cellphone.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She glared at him. “I’m telling my people in DC not to send in a rescue team if they notice I’ve suddenly come back on the grid. Is that okay with you, Agent Bauer?”

“Fine.” Jack conceded, before checking Michelle and Tony were both secure once again. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Chloe had sent him an address not too far away. It would hopefully give them enough time to keep Michelle knocked out. In the background, he could hear Renee’s frustrated, still adrenaline-ridden voice. 

“Larry, I can’t tell you, okay? Yes, I owe you an explanation, but just trust me on this. I can’t come back yet.”

Jack wondered if he hadn’t had such a personal connection to this case, whether he would have reacted the same way as Renee. It was technically the right thing to do, and for the most part, he was able to keep his objectivity with this sort of thing. He realised it wasn’t necessarily that he didn’t trust CTU to handle it ethically, seeing as it would be one of their agents. Although, with all the excitement around finally having evidence of the cult’s doings, ethics could get pushed to the side. No, Jack realised it wasn’t just that he was concerned about. He was more concerned about trying to tell Tony, that one, his wife was the cause of the scars that his chest now bore, and two, that he would likely not see her again for a long time. That Jack knew, he wouldn’t be able to do and expect forgiveness from Tony. And above all else, what would they do once her time as ‘evidence’, ran out? If they couldn’t cure her, surely the most ethical decision would be to end her suffering? He’d heard that the few surviving escapees had generally been euthanised or kept in some kind of facility. He didn’t want that for Michelle.

Renee snapped the phone shut. “Let’s go.” 

He didn’t even know where to begin with getting the full story. It seemed that one question opened up ten more.

“How many scars are on her?” She’d still insisted on driving, with Jack constantly looking between the two people in the back seat. Tony had eventually passed out, but Renee had wrapped the wound pretty tightly and he was still breathing properly, so they were somewhat sure he’d be fine. Michelle had already twitched a few times, a sign that it wouldn’t be too long before she woke up.

Turning her over, Jack surveyed the various marks over her body.

“Twelve.”

She floored the gas, causing Jack to stumble, bracing himself against the wall of the van.

“Jesus.”

“She’s going to be up sooner than I thought. We need to get to the safe-house so we can secure her better.” She cleared her throat. “Twelve scars means the energy of twelve people. Their rituals follow a hierarchy. They take twelve people, link them by blood, so all of them feel each other’s pain and emotions.” 

Jack inspected the shapes of the scars more closely now, counting from one to twelve, again and again.

‘The rituals themselves usually involve knives and animal blood. They’re incredibly sacred, only higher ranking members are allowed to see them. But most people know the general idea, since most of what we do consists of collecting herbs and spices that they can burn or make them drink for different reasons. When one person can’t take the pain, or their energy resists the process, they die, and then the others all gain a share of their power.”

“So the end game is just…what? Transforming into a wolf? Is that where the name comes from?”

Renee shrugged, making eye contact with him in the rear-view mirror. “It’s more than that. Their whole purpose is getting people to harness their potential by linking spirits and energy to our evolutionary past. Each ritual member is deliberately linked to an animal using blood, but historically its generally been wolves. Animals are highly valued for them, to have such a deep connection is a privilege. Which is why only those that can endure that amount of pain are rewarded by gaining more energy, power, and awareness so they can get closer. The final stage is called the ‘Ritual of the Beast’. Those that pass the stage are then taught to control their transformation so they can do it at will. That in addition to any other abilities they might have gained throughout the process, like suggestion.”

Again, Jack’s mind was overwhelmed by all the information, not able to formulate a response, not able to select another question out of the many that had spawned.

Parking the car, the safe house seemed to be well-secluded by the surrounding woods. Michelle grunted, moving slightly. Tony was already looking paler.

“Let’s get them inside.” He said gravely.

They had to remove the SIM cards and switch off everybody’s cells, now restricting themselves to the burner phones stored inside. The house had once been used for off-the-books interrogation, so the two rooms separated by a pane of thick glass were perfect for what they needed. Still unconscious, Michelle was laid down on the small cot there, the door safely secured as they continued to set up. 

Renee pilfered through the fridge and cupboards, which weren’t particularly full, before turning to Jack, who had done similarly in the other rooms. “We’ll probably need some food and medical supplies. Especially stitches, what I did won’t hold for now. I might get recognised since the FBI probably has a search warrant out still, so you should go.” She grabbed a wad of cash from the starter kit. “We’ll also need to stock up on plants. The natural medicines I used to make for them could help. Not just for Michelle, but I could help reduce the inflammation for Tony’s wounds as well. I’ll wait until you get back though, I don’t want to leave them alone.”

He nodded. “Okay, I’ll be as fast as I can.”

Tony came to a little while later, looking slightly less pale than before. Renee was already checking his temperature and bandages, much to his confusion. He mumbled, trying to move.

“Hey…hey…don’t freak out, I can’t have you opening your wounds, okay?” She tutted.

“Who…?” He said, wearily.

“It’s alright, she’s with us.” Jack’s voice sounded from the doorway.

Looking over at Jack, the relief in his face was obvious. He walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed. Renee started grabbing medical supplies from one of the several bags he’d brought with him.

“Jack…what…what happened, wait…where are we?”

“We’re in a CTU safe-house. But I’ll get to that.” He sighed. “For now….how much do you remember?”

His brow furrowed, the words coming out slowly and weakly, as though still trying to piece together the memories. “We were…we were in the building. Got to that weird basement…we went into a dark room and then…”  He tilted his head. “Then it all gets hazy.”

Jack cleared his throat. “You were attacked.”

“I-I got that part.” He glanced down at the bloody bandages across his collarbone. “But did we find Michelle?”

He paused, not knowing how to tell him, not wanting him to connect the physical pain he was feeling right now with the emotional pain that he’d been feeling for eighteen months. There was so much hope and concern in his voice, it was breaking Jack’s heart. 

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They were supposed to find her, they were supposed to reunite, everything was supposed to go back to normal. 

But if the last few hours had proven anything, it was that things certainly weren’t normal now. 

And there was a chance they couldn’t be ever again.

“It was…it was Michelle. She was the one who attacked you.”

He looked confused again. “What?”

“The picture Chase and Kim found…it’s all true. The cult used her as part of a ritual involving wolf’s blood and some…other things. She’s…she’s changed.”

“What do you mean changed? What did they do to her, and why the hell can’t we just fix it?”

Renee chewed her lip, as Jack struggled to explain any further. “She was the only survivor out of twelve people used for a very long ritual process. By surviving, she’s gained a lot of new abilities and strengths, that she never had the chance to learn to control. The main thing is that she can transform between human and wolf, and a powerful one at that.”

There was anger in his expression now, looking at the fear in Jack’s face, realising that it hadn’t been some sick joke, that something truly messed up had happened to her. “You’re telling me my wife isn’t even human? And that we’re just keeping her here, when she should be in a hospital?”

“This isn’t exactly an established field of medical research.” Renee added.

He attempted to sit up. “Who are you, exactly?”

“My name is Agent Renee Walker. I was undercover with the CL for the FBI. I want to help.”

Tony shook his head, not having the strength to interrogate her any further, his emotions about Michelle overriding everything. “Her family. Her parents, her brother. They deserve to know she’s alive at least.”

Jack sighed. “We can’t. We’ve gone dark completely. And this is…far beyond anything that can be explained. It’s nothing that can be justified by biology or any sense of logic.”

He looked at them seriously. “Let me see her.”

Renee shook her head. “Right now she seems to be stuck half-way between human and wolf, it’s uncontrolled, that’s probably why she attacked you. With the information I have, I could figure out the timing of what resources I was made to gather when, it’s probably linked to the lunar cycle. Then maybe I could give her the right herbs to suppress the transformation, so she stays human. But for now, she’s dangerous. And your wounds are barely holding up as it is.”

“I don’t care if she’s dangerous, or whatever state I’m in.” He paused to take in a shuddering breath, voice rife with emotion. “She is my wife, who I haven’t seen or heard from in eighteen months. So I’m telling you, not asking you, to take me to her.”

Jack and Renee looked between them.

“Alright…” Jack conceded.

A sweat broke out across Tony’s forehead as he moved over to the glass pane, resting most of his body weight on the table. The fresh layer of bandages on his shoulder was already turning pink again. 

“She’s just woken up, I think.”

When he’d set her down, Jack had connected her cuffs to the long chains attached to the wall, worried that she might break out of them. But looking at her now, he felt guilty, like he’d overreacted, even though his mind was still replaying the day’s prior events. Michelle moved sluggishly, the metal links rattling against the ground. She seemed scared still, unadjusted to new surroundings, to the room’s stark lighting even. It made sense considering how dark that basement had been, the room she’d been held in pitch black. The light only displayed more evidence of bruises and raw skin beneath patchy layers of hair. Her eyes darted around the room, and she attempted to move. As the chains eventually restrained her, she whimpered. Her hand, or claw rather, gingerly rubbed her shoulder and neck, where Jack had shot her. Michelle’s gait was off-centre, most likely due to the hunch in her spine. Truth be told, the way her body was configured looked painful, but she seemed somewhat accustomed to it.

There was a solemn sadness in the room, seeing how very trapped and afraid she was feeling. It seemed so jarringly different from what they’d seen when they’d found her. The label ‘beast’ seemed inappropriate now.

“Oh, sweetheart…what did they do to you?” He swung his head, voice breaking as he moved closer.

Renee grabbed the remote to turn the light on in the vestibule, so Michelle could see through the other side. She jerked upon hearing the noise, turning and facing the three of them, confusion painted on her face. Her bottom lip quivered and she crawled forward. Tony’s breathing became more ragged, fogging the glass slightly. He rubbed it away, as her palm rapped against it loudly. It seemed to shock Tony, whose eyes searched hers. Both had faded back to their regular deep brown, and were wet with tears. At least that part of her was the same right now. At least her eyes were silently communicating that it was really her.

A noise left her mouth, not quite a growl, not quite a cry either. She attempted to speak again, and again, but no coherent noises came out of her.

“Oh my god…Tony, she recognises you.” Jack whispered.

“It’s me, baby, it’s me…” He murmured, sniffling as tears welled in his own eyes. 

The cry that left her now was louder, more desperate, full of relief, but still full of fear. She let out a deep, guttural scream, hitting the glass again and causing it to shudder, frustrated at her inability to speak. Michelle took in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to muster some sense of control.

“H-help me…” She choked out hoarsely, the tone of her voice like gravel.

“We will, we will…” Tony moved his hand so it was over hers. “We’re going to make you better, everything’s going to be okay…” He tried to enunciate his words so she could read his lips. But the worry in his face was palpable. Understandably, he was still scared of her, of what all this meant, of whether it could be undone, or whether it would be a permanent part of her.

It was an awful sight. They were just inches away from each other, but somehow they seemed worlds apart. Both of them were in so much distress and pain, desperately trying to reassure each other. 

The pain became a lot more physical when Tony suddenly clutched his bandaged shoulder, wincing. He let out a laboured breath.

“Tony, what’s wrong?” Jack moved towards him.

“…burns…” He puffed.

Jack came around to his side, eyes widening at the sight. “Jesus, these need stitches, now.”

“I’ll get them.” Renee said, already halfway out of the room.

Blood had seeped through the bandages, beads of crimson running down his shirt. Tears of agony rolled down his face, mixing in with the sweat there.

Tentatively, Jack rested a hand on his shoulder, before immediately drawing back. His wound was hot to the touch, as though it were literally burning. As he did so, Michelle cried out again. Looking up, Jack realised she was touching the exact same spot on her shoulder where Tony’s wound was. He furrowed his brow. 

When Renee returned, he outstretched his hand. “Pass me a knife.”

“What?”

“Just do it.” He said, shortly.

Obliging, albeit a little warily, she handed him a small pocket knife. Taking it, Jack used it to make a small cut on Tony’s forearm, opposite to the one with the bleeding shoulder. He flinched, trying to shove Jack away.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Renee’s voice jumped an octave. 

“Look!’ 

And both of them fell silent, watching Michelle hold the very same part of her forearm, rubbing it with her thumb.

“T-they’re linked…” Renee uttered. “It must have been when she scratched him and then their blood mixed when she fell. That’s the only thing that makes sense. I-I know distance helps to weaken it, get him away from her.”

Together, they took Tony back to where he’d laid before, unwrapped the wound and stitched it, trying their hardest not to get distracted by Michelle pounding on the glass, still so loud despite being in the other room. She called out again, the animalistic sounds resembling Tony’s name more and more. Tony kept trying to move, to go back for her, desperately yelling her name. Eventually, they had to sedate him, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to cope emotionally with what was happening if he wasn’t coping physically.

Satisfied that Tony had passed out, Jack returned to where Michelle was.

He bent down in front of the glass, just as Tony had before. It looked as though she’d been sobbing, her body shaking from head to toe.

“He’s okay…Tony’s okay…” Jack said, softly, repeating the words over, and over.

Eventually, the heave of her chest and shoulder slowed. He noticed the hunch in her back had sunk a little, as though she’d become a little more human in the last few minutes since she’d seen him. Michelle tipped her head, indicating that she understood him. Moving away from the glass, she settled curled up on the cot again, the sedative they’d given Tony still seeming to affect her a little too.

Upon hearing Renee’s slow footsteps behind him, he turned to face her.

“Is she okay?”

Jack lifted his shoulder a little. “I think so. I-I could just be seeing things, but she looks…a little better, right? Look at her spine, it seems…more normal.”

“He must ground her. Seeing him in front of her probably brought some of her more human memories back, and maybe triggered a transformation.”

He nodded. Glancing down at his watch, he realised it was now quite late.

“We should probably sleep in shifts. Just in case either of them wake up.” She suggested, stifling a yawn. 

“I’ll let you sleep first.” He offered.

“Yeah…thanks….” Renee let out a breath. “Well good night, Agent Bauer.”

“You can just call me ‘Jack’, seeing as you’ll probably be stuck with me for a while…” He smiled a little. “But good night, Agent Walker.”

“‘Renee’’s fine. You’re stuck with me too.” She quipped, returning the smile, before leaving the vestibule.

When he finally felt as though he was alone, Jack exhaled slowly, sitting down and burying his face in his hands.

It was late into the night. Renee was well overdue for her sleep shift, but instead, Jack found her under the dim lighting of the kitchen table, an array of papers around her.

“You want coffee?”

She was a little startled. He laughed softly. “Sorry.”

Renee shook her head. “That’s okay. Just…surreal reading back through everything. But coffee would be great, thanks. Two sugars and a bit of milk, if you can.”

“Not a fan of the taste?”

A smile crept across her face. “Not really. My Starbucks order is usually more syrup than coffee. But I’m an FBI agent, I don’t really have a choice but to get used to it, and energy drinks tend to make me too jittery, so…”

“Did one stake-out in the early days with no caffeine. One of the worst mistakes of my life.”

She laughed to herself, noticing the smile on his face. She realised she hadn’t seem him smile before. At some point while he boiled the kettle, Renee got up, and pinned something to the wall. Walking over, he stopped and stared, almost in awe. Every phase of the moon cycle was mapped out, with corresponding lists of herbs, rituals, and symbols beneath them. It wasn’t the kind of hard evidence he was used to seeing. There were no forensic tests, no CCTV footage, no forged documents or hacked databases. But it was evidence nonetheless. To one side, there was a list of the twelve main rituals, some listed in more details than others.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the hiss of the kettle. She thanked him as he passed her the mug, noting the stark colour difference between her coffee and his, before joining him, standing side by side in front of the wall. With all the constant checking on Tony and Michelle, he felt like he’d barely had the chance to breathe.

“I tried so hard at the beginning to find a logical explanation for everything. Tried to think back to high school biology and whether this was simply some kind of big science experiment.” She mused, quietly. “Some things I could sort of justify, like I knew most of the draughts were just made of common herbs with ancient medicinal purposes. Like chamomile and lavender are used to create relaxation, sage and guarana are used to increase energy. But then I realised there were still elements that are just…beyond scientific reasoning.” She shook her head in incredulity. “Dare I say, supernatural. There’s so much more to it. These changes that her body is going through should not be possible. It should not be possible that she didn’t get sick from having her blood mixed with twelve strangers. It should not be possible for every bone in her body to break and reform. And above all else, it’s not just like she has wolf blood, it’s more like a wolf spirit.”

Jack tilted his head. “Like something’s possessing her?”

“That’s what I thought at first too, but no, it’s…it’s a part of her. Her identity, her thoughts. It’s changed her fundamentally. It’s philosophical almost.”

He nodded, sipping his coffee, trying to take it all in. “So what’s the plan?”

“Well…she made it to the last stage, but only recently. She can transform back and forth, but has no control over it. It’s still trying to settle in her body. Plan A is to try and give her all the herbs given earlier in the lunar cycle, see if we can reverse it.”

“What does the lunar cycle have to do with it?”

She dragged her finger across the timeline from new moon to full and back again, lingering on the current phase. “The transformation has to be periodic, so the body can associate certain physiological responses with the herbs and two states. If the body can learn to fit into a routine, especially something natural like the phases of the moon, eventually it can controlled further, so it can be switched on and off. Right now she’s easing out of the wolf form, so that makes this process easier. Controlling the transformation is also how all the leaders are determined. Those who pass the tests to prove they can gain control of their ability are the ones who are lined up to take leadership of the cult.”

Jack pondered that for a moment. Wondering what Michelle would have done if she’d gotten to that point. Would she have wanted to? Would she have been persuaded or brainwashed into doing so? Even if she didn’t, perhaps if eighteen months with them had changed her so much, maybe she would have felt like it was her duty. She’d had a strong sense of duty as a CTU agent, was it really much of a stretch to see her take charge of a cult? If only to gain control to protect others. Maybe she would have changed or exposed them from within? Michelle still seemed to have a semblance of who she was, based on how viscerally she’d reacted to seeing him, to seeing Tony, especially. She wasn’t the type to be easily manipulated, nor was she the type to give up.

“So if you give her the medicine that normally turns her human, and do it consistently…”

“Hopefully her body won’t miss the other herbs and she can un-transform permanently. I mean in theory, they were only herbs, she couldn’t possibly get withdrawal symptoms, or at least not severe ones.”

The mention of ‘withdrawal’ triggered memories for Jack. Times spent shaking and aching in the hospital, a battle between his physical and mental state, trying to gather the strength to tell himself he didn’t need it. He supposed Michelle would be going something similar now. Perhaps the urge to transform wasn’t just physical, but mental too, as Renee had seemed to suggest. It was a defensive strategy too, that much was obvious. After being forced to participate in all of these rituals, watch people die helplessly around her, and feel their pain as they did so, maybe Michelle getting to the final stage wasn’t just luck. Maybe it was determination, and maybe she harnessed that determination, that rage, to fight back. If the leaders of the cult couldn’t even contain her, couldn’t force her to comply, maybe it pointed to Michelle’s power already being deeply set within her.

If only they could just talk to her about it. 

But communication was proving to be difficult right now, and even though Tony spent most of his waking hours sitting across the glass from her, she hadn’t changed any further. And Tony hadn’t healed all that much either. The stress was only exacerbating the inflammation and pain in his body, on top of the fact that he was feeling all of Michelle’s anxiety and pain as well. He kept insisting on opening the door, on holding her, on letting her feel him close to her again. When Renee and Jack had grown tired of arguing with him, they’d finally opened the door. But Michelle had backed away, and even without words, Tony could tell she was scared of being touched by anyone, too vulnerable and volatile in her current state. More than anything, he could feel it. She needed space. So talking through the glass had had to suffice. Tony would murmur to her quietly, although the reassurances were for him as well, as Michelle continuously tried and tried to make sounds that sounded less like growls and more like words.

Jack sighed, looking at all the information collectively again, still able to notice details and annotations he hadn’t before. “Bet you didn’t think you’d be doing this when you signed up for the FBI.”

Renee snickered. “Not really, no.”

“What did you sign up for?”

Her shoulders lifted a little. “Same reason as a lot of other agents, I guess. To protect people, to make them feel safe in a world that’s constantly changing, for both the worse and the better.”

He hummed in assent. “I felt the same. Wanted to defend the country I loved, wanted to be part of the fight. But I think the deeper I got into it…” His tone became more serious. “The more I realised it was a fight that you couldn’t always win. That sacrifices would be made more often than you thought.”

“Wait…” She said quietly, a sense of awareness having risen within her. “You’re that Jack Bauer? The same Jack Bauer that…”

His blue eyes met hers, so genuinely sorry, realising exactly who she was talking to. “Lost his wife on the job because of the woman he was sleeping with?”

She looked away, embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up. I just can’t believe I didn’t make the connection…”

“It’s alright, really, Renee.” 

She looked up as he said her name.

“It’s…well it wasn’t by any means easy. And it’s not something that I think I’ll ever not think about for the rest of my life.” He spoke solemnly. “But I’ve…I’ve gotten help. I’m not... dealing with it the way I used to.”

“I can’t even imagine…” She let out a breath. “How hard that would have been for you. Even just…walking back into CTU. All of those memories coming back.”

Normally he hated it when people talked about it. It always seemed to sound so pitying, so condescending. After all, how could someone possibly ever relate to or understand such a tragedy? And there was always the thin layer of criticism directed towards him, as if to imply it was his fault, that his thinking was clouded, that he had been weak, that maybe he could have seen it in time. As if he hadn’t asked himself that question a million times over. As if he hadn’t replayed every moment of his relationship with Nina from the day he met her to the day he killed her without analysing and trying to figure out where exactly he’d gone wrong.

But hearing Renee say it, he didn’t feel that. It wasn’t patronising and it wasn’t her making a point out of it. Making a point that she already knew so much about him, despite having only spoken to him properly for a few days. It seemed to just be a genuine moment of realisation in her brain that she’d just so happened to say in front of him. They might have had an unusual introduction to each other, but somehow he could already see himself building a working dynamic with her. He understood her process, just how thorough and detailed she was with her collection of facts and records. She was resolute in her action, but still open to new ideas, even if those changes meant not bringing forward the best evidence the government had ever had about the actions of Chrismos Lukos.

“It was…you’re absolutely right about that.” He admitted. “The hardest step was just opening that door again.”

Their eyes met again, hers full of sympathy, his full of appreciation.

“I-I should probably get some sleep.” She said, setting the mug down in the sink, before leaving the room.

Before he could formulate a response, he heard Tony stir from the next room, and the door to Renee’s room close. Checking the clock, he noted it had been several hours since Tony had last been given painkillers. Shaking his head, he let the thoughts about Renee and what she had learned in her time undercover fade to the back of his mind.

But he didn’t let them disappear.

Michelle looked up at Jack and Renee as the door opened. Tony was asleep in the other room, even though it was the middle of the day. He was running on empty. He needed an IV, probably even a blood transfusion. But they best they could do was keep him fed and hydrated, and let him rest, given how constantly tired he was. Sitting in front of her, they set her usual portion of meat and vegetables down. Renee wasn’t entirely sure what Michelle had been fed over the last year and a half, but figured that a balanced diet probably wasn’t a bad place to start. Some more of the colour and fullness had returned to Michelle’s face, bones being less visible, even the dark circles under her eyes had lightened.

Renee also passed her a steaming cup of tea. She’d successfully replicated the proportion of herbs that the CL used to give her, in order to create a calming mixture that would hopefully start to trigger her human transformation. Michelle gave it a skeptical look.

“Oh…it’s nothing bad, I promise. Just a combination of the herbs they used to give you to make you human. We’re going to try and get you back to being completely human so you’re not in so much pain, rather than being stuck.”

Meeting her eyes, Michelle nodded. She’d been understandably confused at Renee’s presence but once she’d explained who she was and that she wanted to help, it was clear she wasn’t afraid. But Michelle was still so sad, so uneasy, lonely too. Not being able to communicate with them or with Tony in any other way except grunts and nods felt so demoralising. When she was entirely a human or a wolf, it was different. She felt no pain, no shame, she was in control. But right now, it almost seemed like she had the least useful qualities of either form. The fact that Jack and Renee spent so much time collecting and summarising the information to make sure they weren’t missing anything that could expose their location or hurt Michelle in some way, didn’t help with the loneliness. Nor did Tony’s clearly deteriorating condition, that she still hadn’t quite figured out was her doing. She just felt his pain and his sadness, wondering if he had felt just as alone over the past year and a half as she had.

Jack came back a couple of hours later, to find her curled up in a ball, shivering and moaning in pain. He could see her bones reforming and shifting, her spine gaining a more linear structure. Her nails were still long, but her hands, as well as some of the other places in her body, had lost patches of the excess hair, revealing sickly pale skin. He gave her a commiserating look, kneeling down to find her teary eyes. He could hear Tony let out a groan from the other room too. According to Renee, blood linkages between people who already had some form of physical or emotional connection were stronger.

Sighing, he quickly got up to leave, finding Renee in the kitchen where he’d left her.

“Michelle’s in a lot of pain. I almost feel like it would be easier for her to be unconscious. Tony, too.”

Biting her lip, she nodded. “I think I can make some kind of sleeping drug. It would knock her out for a couple of days maybe, so Tony can at least only feel his pain and not hers. Depending on how strong the link is, it might even sedate him too.”

“And another thing…some of her body hair’s already falling out, she’ll be totally naked by the time she fully transforms.”

She thought for a moment, noting that they didn’t have a huge supply of clothes to start with. “Give her the cloak I was wearing at the CL. It’s got enough room in it for her to move around when her joints settle.”

When he eventually returned, with the drug in a syringe so she wouldn’t have to move, he draped the cloak over her, his heart twinging at how sick she looked. 

“This is just going to put you to sleep for a while, okay?” He showed it to her. “It’ll help with the pain.”

Shutting her eyes, Michelle nodded slightly.

It took her three days to fully transform. The drug had brought a sense of ease for everyone, with Tony finally starting to heal properly, and Michelle slowly but surely looking more and more like the person they once knew. She woke up with Jack and Renee in front of her. Tony hadn’t quite come round yet. Renee passed her the cup of water, glad to note she could finally grip it properly, when she coughed and spluttered as she tried to speak. Sitting up carefully, she still seemed to be tired, moving very intentionally, adjusting to the positions of all her bones and joints.

“How are you feeling?”

“I-I’m okay…I think. Nothing hurts, I just feel exhausted.” Michelle spoke hoarsely. “W-where’s Tony? T-tell me what happened…”

Renee sighed. “What do you remember?”

“I-I remember waking up here instead of at the ritual room, I remember seeing him. I-I…he was in pain.” Her voice suddenly gathered strength. “I felt it, he was in pain, tell me he’s okay, please. Where’s Tony?” She looked between them desperately, unable to read their expressions.

 “You…you hurt him, Michelle.”

She looked confused. “I…what?”

Jack rested his hand over hers. “W-when we found you, Michelle. At the CL, after everybody else had fled, do you remember that?”

“Yeah?…I think…”

Renee let out a breath, feeling so sorry for the news she was about to be given. “It was me, Tony, and Jack. It was dark, you were scared, I think. Tony happened to move forward, and you attacked him.”

“Oh god…” She whispered, running her hands along her arms, her voice heavy with realisation. “C-can I see him? Is he okay now?”

The comparison between how they’d first seen her, fierce, bloodthirsty, almost and how worried and upset she looked now, was so jarring for Jack and Renee. The two forms seemed so wholly separate from each other, as though they couldn’t possibly have evolved from the same person. But that was a thought they would have to learn to disregard, because that simply wasn’t the case.

“He’s going to be fine. The only other thing is that you linked each other, so you’re both feeling each other’s pain and emotions now. But if you don’t feel anything other than tired, then that means he doesn’t either.”

She nodded. “Who else is here? Wait…where are we?”

“We’re in a safe-house, it’s just the four of us. Nobody else knows where we are, or that we’ve found you. But we’ll take you to Tony, okay?”

Jack outstretched his arm, helping her up by grabbing her wrist through the thick fabric of the cloak.

“We’ll get you some more clothes too. Just didn’t want you to be naked when you woke up.” Renee noticed that Michelle’s slim frame was swimming in the oversized cloak.

She laughed a little, looking down at the enormous size of the garment. “Thanks…”

They moved slowly to the other room, where Tony lay asleep. Her bottom lip wobbled slightly, and she moved in front to get a closer look at him. The bandages on his shoulder were fresh, but small circles of red still contrasted against the stark white. His face looked thin, as though he hadn’t eaten in a few days. Silently, she sat on his bedside, swishing her thumb over his wrist.

His eyes opened slowly not long after. Jack and Renee had already left to give them privacy. Her own had welled with tears, and Tony could immediately feel the pang in his chest at how sad she was.

“Michelle?”

She sniffled, grabbing one of his hands with both of hers and kissing it.

“You’re…you’re you again.” He said, voice full of relief. “Y-you’re here with me.”

Michelle shook her head. “I-I’m so sorry. I can’t believe…”

“It’s okay, it’s fine, I’m fine…”

“No! It’s not ‘fine’! I hurt you. I did that to you.” She wiped under her eyes, sounding so disgusted at herself, at the thought that she could hurt him so seriously. 

Her eyes hadn’t left his shoulder. Meeting his gaze for permission, she peeled back the bandage, seeing the scarred claw marks. Michelle brushed her thumb over them, the pressure light as a feather. Even then, he shivered, the spot so sensitive, so painful. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

Tony felt teardrops fall onto his skin. He grabbed her chin, forcing him to look up at her.

“Come here…” He said softly.

There was a bit of awkward shuffling at first, but eventually she found a comfortable position nestling her head in the crook of his elbow on the uninjured side. She’d leaned up against his body, still crying into his shoulder, crying at the feeling of finally having him close to her for the first time in so long. She could feel the clutch in her chest, made doubly strong by his identical feelings towards her. There was sadness there too, sadness at how they’d had to reunite, sadness that things couldn’t just go back to how they were. He buried his face in her hair, planting a kiss there.

“I-I’ve missed you so much…”

“Everything’s going to be okay…” He whispered, despite knowing that Michelle could still feel his uncertainty. But the sentiment of his words was sweet. “We’re going to figure this out and get us home.”

Renee found them both asleep later, calmer and more peaceful than she’d seen them in days. She felt bad having to wake Michelle to giver her another cup of the calming draught, but it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep next to him again. She lingered at the doorway, smiling a little.

She wondered if one day she would ever have a love like that.

She’d stayed by his side the next few days, with Renee continuing to give her the concoctions that would hopefully keep her human. So far it was working, and so was…well, everything by the look of it. Tony was feeling better, the wounds having mostly healed over. All of Renee and Jack’s mapping and compiling of information was complete, or at least they thought so. They almost wanted to come out of hiding, let everybody know that they finally had hard evidence of the doings of Chrismos Lukos, not just a handful of unexplained bodies and missing people as the government had been running on for so many years. They wanted to be able to confirm that Michelle was alive and well.

Tony was kissing her neck as she giggled, squirming against him, slightly squished on the narrow bed. They’d been all over each other, the year and a half of being apart giving a strong desire for affection between them. It hadn’t even escalated back into sex yet, just soft touches and kisses, and laying next to each other, knowing that they were together again, knowing that what had happened was over. Although, they didn’t exactly want to make things awkward for the two other people currently living with them, since the walls in the safe-house were a little thin. But according to Jack and Renee, they would be home soon, right?

“I’ll be back, okay?” The sentence was interrupted by a laugh. She wanted a glass of water, since they’d only just woken up, and then she’d be back to return the favour.

Michelle stumbled a little, quickly grabbing the side of a nearby table to steady herself.

“Hey, you feeling okay?” Tony looked at her, concerned, as she stood up by his bed. 

“Yeah…” Michelle said, tiredly.

She swayed again.

“You sure?” 

“Y-yeah. I just need water, I’ll be fine.”

Tony watched her walk slowly over to the doorway. Then suddenly, her body dropped, falling against the carpet with a thud. He called for Jack and Renee, quickly getting up. Her entire body was convulsing vigorously. Tony quickly cupped his hands beneath her head so she wouldn’t continue to hit it against the floor. Michelle’s eyes had rolled back into her head, skin hot to the touch, a sweat breaking out across her forehead. Heaving slightly, she coughed up a mouthful of blood, spraying some of it onto Tony.

“Jesus, what’s happening to her?” He asked, frantically.

“Oh my god, I knew it. It was too good to be true.” Renee huffed, running to the kitchen. The clamour of glasses and bottles sounded hurried. She promptly returned with a syringe filled with a pale green looking liquid.

There was a sense of control in her expression when she knelt beside Michelle, almost as though she’d been expecting this kind of reaction. “Hold her arm still.”

Jack pinned one of her biceps down, allowing Renee to inject her with the substance. Within a few minutes, Michelle’s seizure stopped, and her unconscious body settled, the rise and fall of her chest becoming more stable. Tony lifted her back onto the bed, grabbing a tissue to wipe some of the blood off of her face, and then his. He passed the box to Jack, who had also ended up with a few stray droplets on his skin.

“What did you give her? I haven’t seen you give her anything like that before.” Jack furrowed his brow.

“It’s a mix designed specifically for energy and power.”

Now Tony looked confused too. “‘Energy’? She was having a seizure, why wouldn’t you give her something to calm down?”

She sighed. “Michelle had a seizure because she was in withdrawal. Withdrawal from a lack of transforming into a wolf. She…” Renee took in a breath. “I always had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to permanently stay human. The way Chrismos Lukos does these rituals, it’s on a much deeper level than physical. It’s spiritual, it’s emotional. It’s deep enough to change the very core of her being. But I knew that we had to try.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Tony yelled, eyes still flitting down at Michelle. “That you knew Michelle wouldn’t be able to stay human but decided to try anyway? And give me, give us, a false sense of security?”

“Renee…” Jack said, a little more calmly. “You said that changing Michelle back into a human, permanently, was the plan.”

“I called it ‘Plan A’.” She folded her arms. “The thing I knew we would likely have to do is teach her to control her transformation and do it regularly, the way the cult leaders would have. But it’s fine, I know what we need to do now. It’s a matter of gradually weening her off the herbs until she can trigger-”

“Do you?” Tony cut her off, suddenly. “Or is there some ‘Plan C’ that we should know about? Why the hell should we trust you?-”

“I am the only hope we have of keeping her alive!” She gestured to the bed. “If we let this continue, she will die, this is a part of her now. She needs to do this, she needs to-”

“Don’t tell me what she ‘needs’, alright? She is a person, she is a fucking person!”

Jack stepped between them. “Tony, enough. We are all trying to figure this out, nobody’s hiding anything from anyone.”

“Hey…” Her voice fell to deaf ears. She sat up on the side of the bed, massaging the tense nape of her neck, watching them argue, having already heard some of it upon waking up. “Hey!”

They stopped, all turning to Michelle. Tony went to open his mouth, but she spoke before he could start.

“Look, I know that all of you are trying to do the right thing for me, that you’re trying to keep me safe, and I am so, so grateful, to have you here caring about me. I’m grateful that you guys were brave enough to still do your best to try and protect me, despite not knowing how dangerous I could have been. But right now, you need to stop trying to decide my future, my fate, and what I do with my body, for me. This is my choice more than anybody else’s.” Her voice didn’t waver or break, causing a sincere look of cognisance to fall upon everybody’s faces.

“This is not over. We need to fix this, Michelle.” Tony implored.

“I don’t need to be fixed! I don’t want to be fixed!” She shouted. “I’m not broken, Tony. Renee is right, this is a part of who I am now. And I need to learn to manage it, not suppress it.”

He locked his eyes with her, a twitch in his cheek. “Give us some privacy, please.” He said coolly, in stark contrast to his earlier outburst. The eye-contact remained as Renee and Jack left, shutting the door behind them.

“Just admit that it scares you. I know it does, there’s no need to hide how you feel.”

“Alright.” Tony huffed. “Yes. Yes it does. Because what if I can’t protect you?”

“Protecting me is not your job. I know you feel like you need to because you love me but I can-”

He raised his voice again. “This is different. Having this power could put you in danger, it could-”

She felt as though she would burst at the feeling of her frustration and his anger-fuelled worry inside her. “Just…just stop!” She screamed. “Please, just listen to how I feel. More than anything, feel how I feel.”

Tony took a deep breath, and sat in the chair across from the bed. 

Michelle pulled her knees to her chest, similarly taking a few deep breaths before talking. “I was with Chrismos Lukos for eighteen months. The things I went through are not just going to ‘go away’. I felt the emotions of twelve people all at once. All of their fear, their anger, their pain. Every time someone couldn’t withstand it, their desperation and agony coursed through me, then they’d die, and the feeling would only get worse.” Her voice took a very grave turn. “I watched someone take their life in front of me. Not all of them died because they couldn’t take it, but because they didn’t want to keep trying to put up with it. The man apologised to the remaining eight of us, because he knew that his death would put us in more pain. I felt his soul leave his body, felt all of his grief and shame consume me.” 

She wiped a tear under her eye. “I spent so much time trying to resist the pain, trying to beat it, to pretend that I wasn’t feeling it. But I was. And the minute I accepted that, the minute I realised that there was nothing I could do to change the situation, the minute I stopped fighting this new side of me, I realised that I wasn’t powerless. The further down the process I got, the more desperate I was to reach the end, because I felt like after suffering for so long, I damn well deserved to be rewarded. Having this power, having this ability, saved me. It’s exhilarating. It makes me feel like I could run for hours, like I don’t have to be afraid of anything. I wanted to use it to usurp the cult leader, I wanted to use it to take them down. And I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance now, but what I do know is that I need this, Tony.”

There was a semblance of pride, and of duty within her, and Tony could feel it. But he still couldn’t comprehend it. To him, he just felt as though she was being controlled by an outside force, that the cult had simply manipulated her.

“It’s not right…” He shook his head.

Michelle rolled her eyes. “It’s not an addiction, Tony. It’s instinctive, I-I can’t describe it, but it’s a natural desire for me…” Her voice trailed as she felt a sinking feeling in her gut. The way he’d subconsciously responded to the word ‘addiction’. 

“I’m just worried that you…like it too much. You…you can’t expect me to understand this.”

“I don’t expect you to understand it.” She said simply. “Of course I don’t. But I expect you to respect it, and be willing to accept it as a part of me.”

He tried to open his mouth again, but couldn’t find the words to respond. Shrugging, as though giving up on their conversation, she got up and left, returning to the room behind the glass. Pulling the blanket over her, she began to cry quietly. There was so much apprehension in his gut, she could sense it. Why was he still so afraid? Did he really believe that she would hurt him again? 

Sitting on the bed, he wiped a hand over his face, realising that the feeling of guilt in his body was growing. As if seeing the sadness on her face hadn't been enough, he could feel how much he’d upset her. 

And he hated himself for it.

Jack and Renee had walked silently to the kitchen, the arguing from the other room not particularly muffled.

“Thanks for defending me…” She looked at the papers in front of her, pulling out the relevant information for encouraging a wolf transformation.

“Tony owes you an apology, he has no right to lash out at you like that.” His voice hardened.

She shrugged. “It’s okay. I know he’s just worried for her. She’s his wife, and he hasn’t seen her in so long, I…I get it.”

“Believe it or not, he never used to be this volatile.” Jack laughed a little to himself. “Before Michelle went missing, he was a lot better at keeping his cool. Come to think of it, before he met her, really. Not that she’s a bad influence on him or anything but…” He struggled to place his words.

“He loves her and he wants to protect her? I don’t think there’s much else to it.” Renee offered.

“Yeah…” He sighed. “He does. A lot. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody else who loves someone as much as he does.” There was a slight reverence to his voice, as though he were envious of it. In a way, it was sweet. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, what now?”

“Well…” She started. “In about twelve hours she’ll have to transform fully. Normally it takes a few days of the energy draught but given how desperately her body needs it, it’s only a matter of time. We can start by basically just giving her the drugs so her body does most of the work, but eventually she’ll need to do it without the extra help.”

There was a look of worry on his face.

“Michelle can do it. I know she can.” Renee said assuredly. “If she was able to go through the entire process leading up to the final ritual, she can do this, she can master it.” 

“I don’t doubt that, but what happens after? Let’s say she gets in control of it, how can she explain this to her family, her friends, her coworkers? You saw how Tony reacted and he’s her husband.”

Her face grew concentrated in thought. There would understandably be a lot of worry and concern, doubt that she couldn’t control a potentially lethal ability, even if she proved herself competent ten thousand times over. “We just have to be there to support her, to help explain.”

The slightly sad look on his face was still there, but it was bittersweet, almost, as he nodded.

“Penny for your thoughts?” She asked.

“Just…” He smiled a little. “Talking about family made be start thinking about my daughter. Hope she’s okay and not worrying too much about me.”

Renee recalled reading about Jack Bauer’s daughter in the early days following his wife’s death. The fond look in his eyes was enough to make her smile. She grabbed one of the unused burner phones. “Call her. We’ve got spare phones, and we can buy more. A quick call to her cell won’t be traceable.”

“I shouldn’t…” He started, although it was clear the offer was tempting.

“Keep it under a minute, and we’ll be fine.” She passed it to him, her eyes meeting his.

Thanking her, an appreciative look on his face, he took the phone and walked outside into the setting sun.

The phone rang a few times before she picked up. “Hello?” She wouldn’t have known the number belonged to him.

“Kim, it’s me.”

“Dad? Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?”

He let out a breath, just glad to hear her voice. “It’s a long story, and I can’t stay on the line for more than a minute. But we’re okay. How are you and everybody else?”

“We’re all fine. The guy they sent in from Division doesn’t seem to pay too much attention to us, so I don’t think anybody suspects anything. Pretty sure they just think you and Tony are in rehab again.”

Jack nodded, relieved. “That’s good.” He looked down at his watch. “I can’t put an exact deadline on it, but hopefully we’ll be back soon. Try not to worry, okay?”

“I can’t wait. Angela’s growing up more and more each day, I wish you could see her.”

He closed his eyes. “I’m looking forward to it, but right now, I’m going to have to go, okay? I’m sorry. I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, dad.” Kim said, sniffling as she hung up.

Renee watched from the window as Jack wiped under his eyes. She could only imagine the bond between the two of them, especially after the passing of her mother. It was a side of him she hadn’t really seen before. Most of the time, he was still ‘Federal Agent Jack Bauer’. So rarely did she the more human part of him. It was in the way he spoke about his family, about mundane non-work related things. It was in the way he knew exactly how she liked her coffee, or that he’d bought several packets of the candy bar she’d mentioned liking once when he’d go out grocery shopping. But he was so shy, too, so respectful of her, so evidently grateful that she was trusting him and putting her career on the line because of his desire to protect Michelle and Tony.

She realised in this moment that she was falling for him.

—

After giving up on tossing and turning, Tony found himself wandering into her room in the middle of the night, knowing he needed to talk to her before it would be too late. They still couldn’t tell how far away she was from transforming, especially knowing there was a chance transforming back would be difficult, and could take several days. She wasn’t particularly startled, the bloodshot quality of her eyes indicating that she’d spent most of the night not sleeping either.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for upsetting you. I’m not afraid of you, I’m afraid of what this means, I’m afraid of the wider consequences we might not have figured out yet, but I’m not afraid of you, I promise. I-I never meant to make you feel like that.”

She sat up, looking at his rueful eyes, knowing the apology was coming from the depths of his heart.

“I wasn’t listening to you. That’s the one thing you asked me to do, and I didn’t do it.” He shook his head. “You’re right, I can’t keep living in denial anymore. I know I will never fully grasp the magnitude of how intense that year and a half must have been for you. But I want to try and understand as much as I can. I want to be there to help you, I want to watch you take control of this and make it your own.”

A shy smile crept across her face. It was hard to stay mad at him, especially when he could feel how much he meant it. And the excitement of being able to see him after a year and a half of separation still hadn’t worn off. But she could tell that he wanted her to be happy, that he was going to support her, and that he was going to be there for her. After all, did anything else matter? They had each other, they had a plan, it was all going to work out.

“Before…” 

He tilted his head.

“When I said the word ‘addiction’ before, you…you reacted. Why?”

She felt an uncomfortable sensation of shame from him, and her face dropped. “Come here…” She patted onto the other side of the bed. “What is it?” Michelle said softly, taking him into his arms, knowing he wouldn’t be able to meet her eyes and confess whatever it was.

“That year and a half without you…” Tony started. “I-it was unbearable. I…I didn’t handle it very well.”

Her hand made smooth circles on his back, as he took in a shuddering breath.

“I…I started drinking.”

Michelle hugged him tighter, so saddened at the thought of him worried sick over her. “Oh, honey…”

“I-I went to rehab though. With Jack. I-I’m better now, I promise. Nine months clean.” She smiled against him, perceiving his pride. “It’s just that the way you were talking about it before, you kept using the word ‘need’ and it worried me how much it used to sound like when I said I needed to drink. That’s….” Michelle felt him exhale against her neck. “That’s why it bothered me. I was worried it was controlling you, but I get it now, it’s not the same thing. God, how could I have been so stupid, of course it’s not the same thing.”

“It’s okay. All this time we’ve been talking about what I was feeling in those eighteen months, but how you felt is important too.”

Tony pulled back to look at her. “I love you.”

“I love you too. And…when I do start trying to transform on my own, I want you there with me. I think the best way for you to understand is for you to feel how I feel when I’m transformed fully. Obviously we’ll make sure there’s some kind of plan if I get overwhelmed or confused. But I want you by my side.”

“Yeah…of course. Like I said, I want to support you, so whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it with you.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I guess another thing that I think has just been hard adjusting to is the link. It freaked me out at first, I mean you’re probably pretty used to it, but…I’ve never felt as connected to you as I have these past few days. But it’s intense, especially considering how emotional it’s all been. Now that I’ve gotten accustomed though, I’ve realised that feeling everything you’re feeling…it’s beautiful, Michelle.”

“It is…” She said devotedly. “But do me a favour, Tony? Next time either of us get hurt, can we try and go for the opposite shoulder? Getting shot there and feeling your scratches really sucked.”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault.”

She laughed, lying back down, letting his arms snake around her waist. Holding each other tightly, they eventually fell asleep again, knowing that they’d come to an understanding.

Knowing that they were going to be okay.

Knowing that they were in this together.

She was on all fours, breaths laboured and shaky. He’d crouched in front of her, running a hand over her spine.

“I can’t…I-I can’t…” She whispered.

This was the first time she was attempting to transform without the help of any drugs. Renee had been able to get her into a routine with transforming back and forth using them, but it had rendered Michelle so exhausted, she’d essentially been half-asleep, groaning in pain. It wasn’t practical long term, she needed to be able to manage her autonomy in that form. But all Michelle had to do was get it right once. If she could prove herself, prove that she could do it, then things were going to work out. They could go back to CTU, they could come out of hiding. The few times she’d already successfully changed back and forth using the mixtures to help relax her muscles and focus her energy, had been great. Tony had finally seen and felt the strength and might that she exuded in that form. It was like falling in love all over again with a new part of her. It had been so easy.

But now was the challenging bit. Trying to force her bones into places that they weren’t generally supposed to be. Trying to will her teeth to elongate, her vision to change, her hair to grow. Tony could feel her tension in every ounce of his body. But he wouldn’t leave her. He promised her he’d be there by her side to do this with her.

A bead of sweat on her forehead fell to the floor. She’d been at it for a few hours already, evident by the flush in her face. Some of the smaller bones, like the ones in her hands, had moved. Her spine had hunched slightly, a few spurts of hair growing here and there.

“Michelle, I can get you something for your joints, you don’t have to try and force it today.” Renee said through the glass.

Her head shook. “N-no.” She said weakly. “I…I have to do this on my own. I can’t be dependent on anything anymore. I need to be able to do this.”

Renee bit her lip as Michelle let out another sob of pain. “I’m not sure how much it’ll help, but try thinking about about a memory that brings you a sense of fear. Think about a time where having the ability to transform would have helped you.” She hardened her voice, trying to sound as encouraging as she could. “Think about something that would make you need to transform.”

So she did. She thought about the moment she was taken from the hotel. When the bag was put over her head, and she had fought with everything she’d had to try and escape their grip. Michelle remembered the bumpy ride in the back of the van, how trapped she’d felt with the gag in her mouth and restraints on her ankles and wrists. If only she could have shifted her bones to break free, so she could have run away and stopped all of this from happening.

But the fact is, it had.

Then she thought about the brutal pain of being forced to participate in such agonising rituals for a relentless eighteen months. She was cut, she was burned, she was forced to drink things that tased like boiling acid, that made her sluggish and lose control of her body. But she’d survived, she’d endured, she’d pushed through. And the anger, the fury that had built up within her, had manifested itself in her newfound abilities. If only they hadn’t left, then she could have taken them down, she could have avenged the deaths of the other eleven people who’d died so she could make it to the end. 

One of the leaders who had a particular fascination with being involved in the rituals came to mind. Althea’s piercing marigold eyes had stared into Michelle’s as she’d writhed in pain. It disgusted Michelle to see how much gleeful satisfaction Althea had gotten out of seeing her suffer. The one thing she’d told herself was that if she’d made it to the end, if she’d gained all the power the leaders had spoken of so highly, then she would have revenge. She would not take charge of Chrismos Lukos and repeat the cycle, she would not allow another twelve people to suffer, she would free the other members who were there unwillingly.

But that opportunity had been taken from her when Jack, Tony, and Renee had rescued her.

So for now she only had the mere thought of getting revenge to tide her over.

A sickening crunch sounded as Michelle’s spine pushed into place. Tony kept one hand on her back, using the other to touch his own, feeling the knots ease there. 

She grunted a few times, the dark brown hair covering every inch of her skin. Michelle’s nails scratched the tiles beneath her. The transformation had seemed so arduously slow before, but now everything seemed to be changing at once. He could feel the release of the stress in her body, he could feel her adjusting and settling. And seeing how concentrated and determined her face was, it made him relieved. He wasn’t exactly sure what she’d been thinking about, but whatever it was seemed to have worked. She was halfway there now.

“That’s it…you’re…you’re doing it sweetheart.”

“Tony, go…” Michelle warned him quietly, a slightly gruff quality evident in her voice. She was so full of rage now, she was terrified she wouldn’t be able to keep it in. Being in this form was going to give her the power, it was going to give her everything she needed to feel as though she’d emerged from that year and a half victoriously.

He gave her a confused look, not wanting to just abandon Michelle after promising her he’d stick by her.

Looking up at him now, her jaw twitched, the sharpness of her fangs clear. Her eyes were slowly lightening, the glow behind them becoming stronger. “Tony, go.” She repeated, her voice a deep growl. So much strength was building within her, but there was a lack of restraint, he could tell she was afraid it would burst from her unbridled, and that he would be her first target. Backing away, he tried to suppress his own fear, as he quickly ran back to the vestibule, shutting and locking the door behind him. Renee and Jack looked at him, concerned.

Michelle let out a rampant scream which quickly shifted into a howl that was so loud, it echoed off the tiles. The three of them watched her run around, Tony feeling her teem with adrenaline. 

“I-I’ve never felt her so intensely. Whatever she was thinking about…must have really made her angry.” 

Pacing over to the corner of the wall, she slammed herself against it repeatedly. There was discomfort in her face, still obvious even through the complete lack of human qualities it now possessed.

“What’s she doing?” Jack asked. “It looks like she’s trying to hurt herself.”

“Wait…” Renee narrowed her eyes, focussing on Michelle.

Michelle stopped, slumping her upper body, as though something had put her at ease.

“She’d dislocated her shoulder, I think. But she’s okay now.” Tony winced, trying to move his own shoulder in circles, noting it was still a little tight, along with the rest of his body from her transformation.

They saw the wolf dart around the room skittishly, as though she needed space to run around and release the pent-up energy. There was apprehension there as well. After all, she’d managed to transform one way on her own, but she would have to do the exact opposite to transform back. And being in a small space only emphasised the feeling of being confined. After a while, she settled, lying down in the middle of the room, curled up, her body heaving.

It wasn’t clear how stable she was, but Tony walked back in anyways, knowing that she didn’t want to be alone. Her eyes lit up when he sat down cross-legged in front of her, reaching out to stroke the soft fur on her back. 

“You’re beautiful…” He chuckled.

He scratched under her chin and she leaned into his touch, causing a smile to creep across his face, as he felt her bashfulness. Every other time she’d transformed previously, they’d kept their distance, just in case. But now she was closer than she’d ever been to him in this form. It was strange getting used to seeing her in this way. But somehow the emotional connection had meant that it wasn’t too difficult to associate this form with her. Yes, her appearance was different, but there was still affection, there was still love, there was still support. It was still her. He’d never really seen a wolf up close before, so he took a moment to appreciate her features, more than he had been able to in her previous transformations. The colouration and texture of her fur, her eyes, her gait. There was a sense of fierceness behind it, but somehow also stoicism. Her movements were sophisticated, poised, almost, but he knew that if push came to shove, she wouldn’t be stopped. 

Standing up, she moved forward to nuzzle his face, her eyes shut, as though grounding herself in his presence. 

“I love you…” He whispered.

A soft purr left her and he sighed. They eventually settled with him leaning against the wall and her lying across his lap. It looked a little uncomfortable from a distance, Michelle not exactly being ‘lap-dog’ size. But judging by the way Tony still gazed at her with nothing but complete and utter devotion, and the way she was snoring gently in his lap, understandably exhausted from the emotional exertion, they were content. They were happy.

“The things people do for love.” Jack mused.

“In a way I think all of this has strengthened it.” Renee tilted her head, the corners of her mouth a little upturned. “Learning to trust her in that form, learning to feel each other’s emotions. I’d feel pretty special if someone did all that for me.”

Jack looked at Renee fondly. The softness in her eyes, the way her freckles still stood out, even in the room’s dim lighting. It’d been a slightly awkward start, what with her coming out of six months of undercover work in an archaic cult and him going through the conflict of trying to make an objective, ethical decision without letting his friends down. But they’d made it work. They had a system, a routine, even finding themselves eating together, slowly learning more and more about each other. Jack realised today it had been two months since they’d found Michelle, but at this point, having spent every day with her, he’d felt like he’d known Renee for a lifetime.

And it was a feeling of comfort and happiness that Jack couldn’t quite place.

Because he’d once convinced himself that he would never feel it again.

They’d agreed that one thing they could do to help ease some of Michelle’s claustrophobia when she transformed was to let her run in the nearby woods. It was clear how much joy and freedom that had given her, judging by the way she’d race, effortlessly weaving between trees and dodging obstacles. Tony had followed her the first few times, feeling how elated she was, and returning the happiness back. But she was fast, and he, military training aside, couldn’t keep up. So when she really needed to move quickly and get rid of her excess energy, he’d let her go. It’d worried him, of course. And she knew it. But Michelle had also made the point that he would quite literally be able to feel if something was wrong.

And that had Tony sitting on the porch at the back of the house, watching the wind whistle through the trees in the middle of the night. It had been several hours, not abnormal for her, but he was still getting used to being comfortable with it and not fretting too much. Going from a year and a half without her to several months straight with her had made him even more concerned at the thought of them being separated. There was no physical sensation to indicate that something was wrong though. She seemed calm, content even. Possibly even annoyed at him, since she knew he didn’t feel the same.

Still he didn’t feel right.

So Tony walked towards the forest, clutching the cloak in his hand. After all, if she did need to change, it wasn’t going to be a good idea to do so in the cold. Trying to keep as straight a path as possible, he felt uneasy as the surrounding trees and plants started to look more and more uniform. It was quiet too. Before he at least could hear the gentle chatter of Renee and Jack inside. Now it was just the crunch of his footsteps on the ground and the wind. Thoughts of ‘what if’ continued to plague his mind. It was also dark. He’d forgotten how much the glaring Los Angeles city lights consumed the sky. Out here, he truly felt as though he couldn’t see where he was going, the shaking beam of a flashlight his only guide. 

Hopefully he could just find Michelle and they could go back. He just wanted to go to sleep and have her next to him.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he settled upon a small clearing. Narrowing his eyes, wishing she could have least given him some of her night vision when she’d linked him, he saw a crouched, dark brown figure and sighed with relief. She was stretching her back out by the looks of it, as though she’d been resting and was now preparing to return to the house. The crack of a branch sounded around Tony, as though somebody else were there. Whipping his head around, he noticed another shadow near him, but Tony was pretty sure the owner of the shadow couldn’t see him though. As the person approached the clearing slowly, the moonlight showed more and more of the mystery person’s features. It was a middle-aged man, wearing a flannel and jeans. He certainly fit the stereotype of someone who lived in a nearby ranch, given how far into rural territory the safe-house was. But that wasn’t what was bothering Tony.

No, what was bothering Tony was the loaded shotgun in his hands. 

And with no other animal in sight, his stomach dropped at the realisation of who he would be using it on.

—

“You mentioned something about the people in the upstairs office at Chrismos Lukos being ‘persuaded’ to stay there and keep up the façade.” 

Jack smoothed out the corner of a journal page, as he continued to help Renee compile a complete information guide that they could bring back to the government. The raw nature of all the evidence was being treated with the utmost care. They couldn’t afford to lose any of it, especially since they didn’t have any photocopiers where they were. Even samples of herbs and proportions for the various concoctions were being included. In a way, it felt like scrapbooking, something he had vague memories of doing with Kim when she was little. 

“Can Michelle do it as well?”

Renee shook her head. “I don’t think so. The persuasion is more of a specialised ability, I think. Those who make it to the Ritual of the Beast ultimately end up with the same basic abilities, but people can exhibit slight differences. Some are more mentally enhanced, letting them link people with their scratches, communicate telepathically, use persuasion, or even enter other people’s thought-space. One of the leaders, Althea, had used it on me when she’d convinced me to join. It was terrifying. To hear someone else’s voice in your head, convincing you to do things.” 

Jack tried to imagine that for a moment. Hearing somebody else talk to you from within, try to control you. He shivered.

“Others get more of a physical boost, they’re stronger, faster, more instinctive than regular wolves, but it’s a trade-off situation. Michelle’s sort of in the middle, I think. She can still link people, but only those with an existing emotional connection.”

“Hence why the guy she attacked initially didn’t get linked to her.”

She nodded. “Exactly. But she’s definitely got the physical aspect. Her speed and her prowess are certainly something else.” 

At this point, she noticed Jack’s chair had inched over a little closer to hers. He leaned across to reach something, planting his hand to support himself on the table, and she took the opportunity to slide hers towards it. They’d been playing at this for a while now. Slightly lingering eye-contact, occasional moments of emotional transparency, gentle yet clearly intentional moments of contact when they were alone. Daringly, she let her fingers intertwine with his. He noticed this, squeezing Renee’s hand, before looking up at her. They paused for a moment, as though seeking permission in each other’s eyes. Jack leaned in ever-so slightly. She reciprocated, letting her eyelids flutter shut.

The sound of a gunshot and a panicked howl jolted them out of their moment of intimacy.

Looking at each other now, there was only a churning sense of worry.

Michelle whimpered as Tony groaned in pain, a pool of blood forming beneath his waist. She could feel an acute sensation in her side. He’d jumped in front of her. He’d saved her. 

“Oh god, what have I done…” The hunter uttered, running a hand through his hair.

Turning to face him, she felt her blood boil. He seemed to be sorry, but it didn’t matter. Snarling at him, Michelle pushed down any feelings of guilt she had at the fear in his face as she leaned back, locking her eyes onto his. Launching at him, she felt every ounce of seething worry and wrath course through her, digging her nails deep into his stomach. In the corner of her eye, she saw him try and reach for the shotgun again, but stopped him by using her claws to pin him down by the shoulders, shoving her body weight onto him. Baring her teeth, she let him view the full ferocity of her appearance. The small voice in her head telling her to stop, that she should just keep calling out for someone to help Tony or maybe start dragging him back to the house, was fading in comparison to the fire roaring in her telling her to defend him, to do what he surely would have done had she’d been in the line of fire. She raised one paw, ready to slash it across his face. 

“Michelle!” Jack’s voice called suddenly, bringing her back to the present. With a gruff noise, she turned to face them, still jittery.

Tony had been shot.

Tony was bleeding

Tony was dying.

She had to save him.

She had to help him.

It didn’t take Jack and Renee very long to figure out what had happened, judging by the two injured men, and the blood clearly staining Michelle’s fur.

“It’s gone through, he’ll be okay, but we need stitches.” Jack noted, taking the cloak that had fallen by his side to minimise the bleeding. Michelle had returned to his side, desperately whining to try and keep him awake, the fretfulness painfully apparent in her eyes.

The hunter sucked in a breath, his body trembling with fear. 

“Shit…” Renee said under her breath. “Jack he’s in pretty bad shape, we can’t leave him here. The town nearby is pretty small, If he dies, the police will be swarming the area, and I don’t think it’ll take long for them to find and report us.”

“Then we head to the hospital, now.” Jack looked down at her. “Michelle, are you going to be able to change back?”

Her head shook, indicating otherwise. Before he could respond, she’d already started sprinting back to the house.

“She’ll be fine, let’s go.” Renee urged.

The narrow path along the border of the forest was barely enough to fit the van, but they knew it was the fastest way they could get to the nearest hospital. Jack was at the wheel this time, having a better idea of navigation due to all his existing grocery trips.

“What the hell do we say? A wolf attack is one thing. It’s not exactly unexpected out here, but the gunshot?’ 

Jack bit his lip in thought. “We keep Tony in here. Try and grab some stitches and antiseptic, and I’ll be able to fix it. As for the other guy, the story is that we were camping out, heard noises and found him. Could have really used some persuasion right now to make sure he doesn’t say anything though. It’s not like we know the full picture either.”

Renee huffed. “Let’s just hope they put it up to shock and blood loss.”

The distress was now the only thing consuming her body. She couldn’t change back yet, not when she could still feel him hurt, still feel the burning ache at her side which was a surefire sign that he was continuing to bleed out. Michelle felt the stickiness of the hunter’s blood in her fur, feeling a little repulsed at what she’d done. As angry as she’d been, she knew that subconsciously she hadn’t wanted to kill the man, she had just wanted to make sure he didn’t harm Tony again or her, for that matter. The physical exertion was catching up to her though, and she found herself lying on the couch despondently, just praying for the pain to stop, just praying that he would be okay. It was over an hour later when they returned, her tail and ears perking up at the sound of keys in the front door.

They were a little startled to find her there, and it broke their heart to hear the mewls coming out of her, so raw, so deeply upset. Michelle’s eyes were wet with tears, such a stark comparison to the blood on her teeth. Tony was walking, thankfully, but leaning on both of them for support. Her side was still tender, but she could tell he would be fine. She couldn’t help but blame herself again. This was the second time he’d gotten hurt because of her. If she hadn’t been so selfish maybe, if she had just stayed within the bounds of safety, he would be fine, none of this would have happened. As they laid Tony down she followed, perching her snout on the side of his bed.

Listlessly, he reached out to touch her, somehow wordlessly communicating that he was fine. He had been medicated, she could tell. Knowing it wouldn’t help his recovery, she tried to slow the rate of her own breathing so he could rest. Eventually, after watching him fall back asleep, making sure his chest was still rising and falling, she jumped up onto the bed and curled up by his feet, as though guarding him. She would change in the morning. 

She would change back when she didn’t need to protect him.

“That was a close one…” Renee whispered from the doorway, looking on with sympathy.

“Yeah…” Jack let out a sigh. “Never thought I’d see the day where she’s the one that loses it and not him.”

“Holy shit…” She muttered, before letting out a laugh of disbelief. Walking as fast as she could, she knocked on the open door, popping her head into his office.

He looked up from his desk. “Yeah, Janis?”

She smiled gleefully. “I need to show you something.”

“Can it wait?” Larry gestured to the papers around him.

Janis shook her head. “I don’t know, Larry. Can conclusive evidence of Renee’s location ‘wait’?”

His eyes widened. “You better not be shitting me.”

“Nope.”

When they got back to her station, the first thing he saw was a list of emergency room admission descriptions. It was for a regional hospital in California. She’d highlighted the phrase ‘animal attack’, for a patient admitted at around one in the morning, just a couple of nights ago.

“So remember how you told me to keep an eye out for wolf attack reports? This hospital isn’t too far from where the CL was, and where the last attack was when we sent her undercover. Report details scratches and claw marks all over the abdomen. Claims it was a brown wolf.”

He nodded. “Yeah. What does this have to do with Renee though?” Surely Renee hadn’t been the one who was attacked, it wouldn’t make sense seeing as Janis was so cheerful. Flicking over to another screen, he saw CCTV footage of said emergency room. Playing it frame by frame, she paused it to let him see two people carrying a third, who had blood all over him. There was a blonde man, and the injured man looked to be balding and grey, but the red-haired woman was undoubtedly her.

“Oh my god, that’s Renee.” He said, his eyes widening. “Who are the people with her?”

“Vic seems to be a local hunter, but the guy with her is CTU agent Jack Bauer. Who funnily enough, is allegedly on ‘personal leave’. According to his daughter he’s in rehab, but I haven’t found his name in any clinics. Same goes for another agent, Tony Almeida.”

Larry furrowed his brow, looking closer. “That doesn’t make sense if he’s helping Renee. Why would she enlist the help of an inactive agent?”

“And get this. The day he took said leave was the same day Renee called you acting all weird.”

He ran a hand over his face. “Then they’re working together. And he has to know about CL obviously, but why the secrecy? From what I’ve heard he’s an upstanding agent, as if he wouldn’t have brought CTU in on the rest of it. Especially if they had solid evidence like Renee was saying. And if he had, I would have known about it, because it’s my investigation.”

Janis shrugged. “Maybe there’s something at stake, maybe there’s a good reason why they can’t talk. But it’s suspicious, you’re right. There’s a small property not too far away. My money’s on it being a CTU safe-house. Whatever they’re hiding has to be in there.”

“Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable.” He said under his breath, slowly taking it all in.

“I can call in the LA department, if you want and send them the address.”

“No.” He snapped. “The CL is my department, my mission, I’m not letting anybody else touch it. Get me a flight to Los Angeles as soon as possible.”

The door to his office slammed shut audibly, leaving the bullpen in an awkward silence.

Sean wheeled his chair over to Janis. “What’d he freak out for?” He said quietly. “He’s got a location on Walker and possibly evidence on CL. He should be ecstatic.”

Biting her lip, she gave the door a pitying look. “He is. But he’s scared. The CL stuff is a little…personal for him.”

“Personal?” 

Sean had only been at the FBI for a few months, not yet privy to the inner workings of the team looking into Chrismos Lukos.

Janis sighed. “His wife was one of the first people brainwashed by them. She ran away to join in the first year of their marriage. When he finally saw her again she was…” She hissed. “Not right. They euthanised her. I never saw any pictures, at least, not when she came back from the cult. But I know a haunted man when I see one. Ever since then, he’s been desperately trying to find evidence to expose them. Doctors couldn’t explain anything at the time either. I know the agent in him wants to do it for the greater good. But the husband in him still needs answers.”

“Jesus…let’s hope this lead doesn’t disappoint then.”

She nodded gravely. “Yeah. I don’t know what he’ll do if it does.”

“You okay?” He squeezed her shoulder.

Aside from the close call they’d had the other night, Michelle seemed particularly uneasy this morning. She’d been distracted, quietly thinking to herself. They were sitting on top of his bed, where he was still resting from the gunshot wound, and she was curled into his other side, not wanting to leave him, refusing to let themselves be put in such a position where one of them could get hurt again.

“Yeah…” She said, unconvincingly. “I don’t know. Something feels…off. I can’t place it though.”

He frowned at her. This was concerning. After all if the last few months had taught him anything it was that Michelle’s heightened senses were nothing to ignore. 

“Maybe I’m just still on edge from what happened.” She shrugged.

“Yeah, maybe…” He tugged her in closer.

A few minutes later she jolted upright, the worry on her face returning.

“What?”

“I-I hear something. A car engine.”

Jack and Renee had been in the kitchen the whole time, there wasn’t a chance it was either of them leaving for more supplies. The noise grew louder, as though whatever the nearby vehicle was was approaching the house, not driving further away from it. All four of them found themselves peering through the windows, trying to see past the trees. The roar of the Chevy was now deafening in the quiet landscape. Several agents, all wearing field gear and carrying weapons rushed out of the black car, the FBI insignia clear on their jackets. They dashed off in all directions, ready to enter the property and trap them in place.

“FBI…how? How did they find us?”

Jack desperately tried to think back, confused at how this could have happened when they’d been deadly careful. They hadn’t had any devices other than the burner phones.

Renee’s eyes widened. “The hospital. They must have had facial recognition running and got me with the CCTV footage.”

“We didn’t have a choice, it’s okay, Renee.”

“T-this is all my fault.”

He rested a hand on her shoulder. ‘Even if we’d erased the footage, whatever signal that we would have used would have made us vulnerable anyway.”

Michelle suddenly grimaced, her body starting to shake. Her eyes had already changed, and her teeth were starting to grow. Whatever underlying fear had been building since her first feeling of discomfort in the morning was now substantial enough to consume her. She tried to tense, to try and stop the process, but instead found herself falling to the floor, her breathing strained. Any chance they’d had of justifying that the situation was under control and that weapons wouldn’t be necessary was now gone. 

Tony bent down to help her. “We need to hide Michelle. If they see her like this they’ll-”

The barging of the doors and sounds of clamorous footsteps cut Tony off, with the announcement of the FBI’s presence echoing across the floorboards. Jack grabbed his pistol, but before Tony could return to the other room to get his, they found themselves surrounded.

“Hands where I can see them.” Larry’s familiar face stepped forward. “Enough’s enough, Renee. Whatever’s going on here is over.”

“Wait.” She kept her hands raised as she drew closer to him. “I can explain everything. I have evidence of what CL’s been doing. I have proof of their abilities, but also proof that they can control them.”

Michelle let out an instinctive growl as one of the other agents directed his gun at her.

“Hey! Get away from her.” Tony yelled. The agent looked at him as though he were delusional.

“Are you insane, Renee? You’ve been keeping this evidence from everybody for months. That’s concealment as it is. You should have just brought her straight back.”

Renee shook her head. “She is not evidence, she is a human being, Larry. What would have happened, huh? She would have been tested on and then killed. Michelle can control the ability, just give her the chance to show you without having a gun in her face.”

Larry looked over, with a mix of disgust and fear.

“This is exactly the same as what happened twenty years ago. Except this time you have the power to change it. You have the power to help her. I need you to trust me.”

“I trusted you three months ago.” He snapped.

She looked him in the eyes. “Would you have wanted this for Julia?”

The expression in his face suddenly grew furious. “Watch it.”

“Would you have wanted her to be fixed if they’d known how?”

Everything seemed to happen so fast. 

Renee watched Larry’s hand signal, quick and subtle, but she knew it wasn’t the one for ‘retreat’. 

Tony’s eyes flitted to the agent closest to Michelle, who was flicking the safety off.

Renee calculated that if he were to lunge in front of Michelle now, the bullet would be hitting exactly where it did three days ago, and that he was in no state to expect a full recovery this time.

Jack heard Renee scream in protest, watched the blood from her arm spray onto Tony’s face. She fell back onto him, and he was somehow stable enough to catch her. Jack found his voice, yelling to all the other agents to stand down, cutting Larry off before he could contradict his orders.

“Bauer, stay out of this! This is not your investigation.”

“I know this has been FBI territory for years and I respect that, but when we found Renee and Michelle three months ago, this became CTU’s mission too. Now…” He pointed at Renee. “You just shot one of your own agents after refusing to let her explain the situation. Michelle is not putting anyone in danger. Nobody has their weapons drawn, except your people. So I think you need to just shut up, and hear what we have to say. We’re going to go back to CTU, and we’re going to explain to you and whoever’s currently in charge from Division, what’s going on. Is that clear?”

The flush of anger in Larry’s face was still prevalent, but faded slightly when he heard Renee let out a groan, blood staining her grey shirt and fair skin. He took in a deep breath.

“You heard the man. We’re going back to CTU.”

Michelle had been put in a holding cell. She’d at least managed to transform back to being human, but it had exhausted her to try and fight the adrenaline, try and fight the natural urge to be stronger. She was worried about Renee. She was worried about Jack. She was worried about Tony. She was worried about everything, about whether they’d be punished, whether they’d lose their jobs, whether they’d be arrested. It would have to be kept confidential, as most CTU and FBI cases were, but she was sure that rumours and confusion were already circling around the bullpen. Tony had insisted on staying with her, too scared by the thought of what they’d do or say to her. They’d sat side by side on the table, their hands finding themselves clasped, much the way they had once upon a time, in a similar holding cell, after Chappelle had sent them there the day of a nuclear bomb detonation.

Jack had barely had the time to say hi to Kim, the shock of seeing him walk back into CTU so painfully apparent on her face. He’d made eye contact with Chloe who’d only been able to bite her lip, eyes teeming with concern. Chase had been at a loss for words too, much like the rest of their coworkers who were utterly bewildered to see their two bosses who’d essentially disappeared off the face of the earth for several months, along with an agent long since presumed to be dead after nearly two years of absence, wearing handcuffs. The FBI agents walking in confused them too.

Renee was fine. No arteries had been hit, the bullet had gone straight through, so a bandage and sling would suffice. She’d been denied any medication that would affect her ability to provide information, so instead she found herself stiffly sitting with Jack in a holding room. Larry was there, hands on his hips, the mix of emotions on his own face clear. Jack recalled Renee telling him about Larry’s deeply personal connection with the CL case. And to his detest, the replacement for CTU over the past three months had been none other than Brad Hammond, who’s stubbornness made it hard to communicate with him, even on a good day with no threats.

They tried to explain everything from the beginning. Renee had shared what she’d seen inside Chrismos Lukos, she’d flicked through the pages of the files she and Jack had compiled. Jack explained where he and Tony had come in, how they’d had no choice but to try and protect Michelle, that it was different to anything they’d ever faced before.

“I still don’t get why you couldn’t at least let CTU know, let a doctor come to you or something.” Hammond furrowed his brow.

“As if a doctor would know how to deal with this!” Renee exclaimed.

“Jack, you had no right to get involved with this, CTU doesn’t deal with CL stuff.” Hammond pointed at him, raising his voice. “Tony I can excuse to an extent, it was his wife, if he needed time away to take care of her, that would be one thing. But you had no right to abandon your post like that. You’re lucky we haven’t had anything major these past few months. The staff are still completely burnt out.” 

“He saved their lives.” Renee replied. “Tony couldn’t have handled it on his own, neither could I. Believe me, my initial idea was to bring her back to the FBI, along with all the evidence I’d collected. But what Jack did was the right thing to do, the ethical thing to do. This is unlike anything we’ve ever dealt with before. That’s why the usual rules couldn’t apply here. By watching Michelle and helping her to control her transformations, we learnt more about Chrismos Lukos, we learnt more about their process. More than anybody else could have gotten.”

Jack looked at her as she spoke, standing up for him so honourably, with everything she had.

“Control?” Hammond scoffed. “I saw the FBI agents that came in with you, they look like they’ve seen a ghost. I need verification.”

“How? Like Renee said, what doctor is going to be able to check this?”

“Wait…” Larry interrupted quietly. “There is one doctor who’s observed the handful of other escapees from Chrismos Lukos, I can get in contact with him. He was…” He cleared his throat. “He was Julia’s doctor, he did everything he could, I’m sure he’ll be a lot more interested to hear that there’s hope. And I’m sure he won’t be hasty in his diagnosis.”

Renee met his gaze. “Thank you. I’m sure Tony and Michelle will both appreciate that.”

There was still such a tormented look in Larry’s eyes. She knew he at some level was happy that they had information. He’d been impressed by what Renee had collated. But understandably, he was still overwhelmed. Whatever he thought he knew still seemed to be so little in comparison to how much more they’d found, and how much more was still yet to be discovered. Before the meeting had started, Hammond had already seemed intent on having the four of them fired, if not, charged with various crimes. He’d agreed initially, but seeing all the information in front of him now, he realised that losing the four of them would be the worst thing they could do for the investigation. Whatever chance he had of understanding what had happened to Julia and finally being able to sleep at night could only be resolved if the four of them continued to search for answers.

“Look…” He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not going to lie, the way you handled the situation was not ideal. But I can’t deny that at least to some degree, it was the right thing to do. And at the end of the day, you’ve recovered more evidence and leads than anybody has in years, and you’ve rescued an agent who’s been missing for nearly two years. You don’t deserve to lose your jobs or be labelled as criminals.”

Hammond opened his mouth to argue, but Larry continued to speak.

“But what I need you to promise is that the four of you will keep working together to focus on this. CTU is part of this now but it’s still my say as to what happens. You’ll negotiate whatever level you get reinstated at, and Michelle will obviously need to have several reassessments done given her prolonged absence. But the three of you will be given access to everything the FBI already has, which believe me, compared to what you’ve got now, is barely anything. And Renee,” he turned to face her now “you’ll be relocated to the FBI LA office so you can have better liaisons, and also so you can rebuild your cover if need be. Because at the end of the day, this is far from over. Chrismos Lukos is still out there. And they need to be stopped so that nobody else can get hurt.”

It sure as hell wasn’t the answer they were expecting. They were pretty confident they’d do a walk of shame out of CTU in handcuffs. But this could work. Forming a specific department to figure out the missing pieces, to find the true depths of the cult and resolve years and years worth of unexplained phenomena was in their best interest. It would help Michelle, for one. But Jack knew that this was a request from Larry’s heart. He knew what it was like to lose a spouse, he knew the sinking feeling of numbness that lied within Larry’s chest day in and day out. At least Jack knew what had happened, and why it had happened. In Larry’s case, he couldn’t even imagine how often he wondered and thought about what had truly happened to his wife. And given how generous he was being now, Jack knew he at least owed it to Larry for trying. He owed it to Renee too, who was standing by him now, who was proving to be one of the most reliable, trust-worthy agents he’d ever worked with.

Both he and Renee thanked Larry again, promising they would do everything they could, and he left, with a clearly blindsided Hammond trailing behind. The door shut loudly, leaving Jack and Renee in silence.

“Thank you for defending me.” He said, looking down into his lap.

“I meant every word of it.” She said wholeheartedly. “You did the right thing Jack. I may have doubted it at the beginning but I know now that everything you did, everything we did, was right. And I know we’re the only ones who can see this through.”

Lifting his head, he saw the endearment in her eyes. She winced at the sustained pain in her bicep, rubbing it a little with her thumb.

“I’m going to go get some painkillers.”

He gave a slight nod, watching her get up to leave. Jack suddenly placed his hand over hers, trapping it there. Turning her head, she didn’t resist when his other hand slid to grab the back of her neck, pulling her towards him. The hand on the uninjured arm cupped his cheek as her lips opened to meet his. The kiss was deep, the pent-up tension and emotions from the past few months now being released with full force. She sighed softly against him, letting time still, letting their gratitude towards each other be communicated, letting the message that both of them had feelings which ran deeper become clear.

When she did pull away, she rested her forehead against his, feeling his warm breath on her face.

He looked at her with such affection, it caused her to blush a little.

“I’d suggest dinner tonight, but I think I should at least let Kim steal her father back.” She smirked.

Jack smiled. “I’m sure you’re sick of me and my cooking anyway.”

She shook her head, laughing a little. “Considering what I used to eat at CL and the crap I used to make myself before that, believe me, it’s been a dream. And despite all the stress that’s come with it,” she brushed at his cheek, “it’s been really nice getting to know you.”

He nodded. “It seems so weird to say this after only a few months, and slightly bizarre ones at that, but…I’ve felt happier than I’ve been in a long time. And more than that, I know I can trust you. And that I can’t think of anybody else who I’d rather work with on this than you.”

There was a clutch in her chest. She knew that if it was one thing Jack Bauer valued, it was trust. Especially after losing his wife because of him misplacing it. So for her to say that about him, he really, truly meant it, she realised. 

“I should probably go check on Tony and Michelle, but I’ll call you.” He let his hand fall.

“Wait…” She shook her head, snickering. “Both of our phones are gone, remember? We got rid of them at the safe-house.”

He laughed through his nose. “So we’ll go out and buy the four of us some new phones. And then I’ll call you.”

“Sounds good.”