Just one of those days - 24 Fan Fic - All audiences

Here's another one of my contest submissions.

It was written for the March contest and it's all about the flu.

This time, poor Jack has caught the bug and it has far-stretching consequences.

Enjoy the story and ....... atchoooo!!!

Just one of those days.

“Bless you.” Nina called from her station.

Jack looked up, dazed and teary eyed.

He just couldn’t stop sneezing, his nose kept running and he was rather low on Kleenex. He checked his watch, it wasn’t even ten yet and it seemed like he had been there for ages. He walked through that door not even two hours ago.

“T’ank you.” he called back, cursing his clogged up nose and sore throat.

He felt like shit.

How was he supposed to get any work done like this?

He couldn’t even keep his eyes open for ten minutes or they started leaking.

He hadn’t felt this bad in ages.

Years.

God, decades!

He hadn’t gotten a flu in years.

It just didn’t happen to him.

But this time!

Oh, this time, it was coming down on him with a vengeance.

As if it was catching up for all those years he had stayed flu-free throughout the season while everybody else around him got hit.

He didn’t have an explanation for it, he didn’t even get a flu shot or anything, he just never contracted it.

He sneezed again, muffling the sound somewhat by slapping his Kleenex-ed hand over his mouth.

“Bless you.” Nina called again.

She didn’t seem to have any of the symptoms and she made sure to stay well away from him. Whenever she needed him, she called him. No unnecessary trips to his office, and absolutely no physical contact. Not a handshake and most definitely not their usual peck on the cheek. Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one she stayed clear from. Tony had started showing symptoms three days ago and he was in just as dire a shape as Jack was.

His head pounded furiously and he turned away from his computer screen. It hurt his eyes to look at it, and he had dimmed it down as much as possible already. He sneezed again, cursed and tossed the drenched Kleenex into the bin. It was overflowing already and he hadn’t even been in his office for two hours yet. The phone on his desk rang suddenly and he yanked it off the hook, stopping the insane noise it made inside his head. It sounded more like a dentist’s drill than a phone to him.

“Bauer.” he snapped grumpily.

“Jack.” a cheerful voice sounded on the other end.

Jack felt even worse now.

“Sounds like you’re not doing any better today, are you?”

“I’m fine,” Jack sighed, “it’s just a clogged up nose.”

“You sound all but fine, Jack, why don’t you go home and take a few days to recover.”

“I’m fine, Ryan.” Jack snapped angrily.

“I’m not so sure, Jack.” Chapelle replied briskly, “But you know what, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I’ll come see for myself how fine exactly you’re doing.”

He hung up without another word.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but the line had gone dead already.

“Dammit.”

“What is it, Jack?” Nina called.

“Chappelle’s on his way.”

“So?”

“So, he’ll put me on sick leave.”

“Good, you need it.” Nina called back.

Just then a knock on his door startled him and when he looked up, he saw Tony leaning against the doorframe.

He looked as bad as Jack felt.

“Jack, I’m gonna run on down to the pharmacy for some cough medicine. Do you need anything?”

“Nah, I’m fine. Can you grab a few boxes of these, though?” Jack said, tapping the box of Kleenex.

“Will do. Sure you don’t need anything else?”

“Yeah.”

“A’right, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Don’t hurry.”

“Why not?”

“Chappelle’s on his way.”

“So?”

“So, he’ll send both of us home. Who’s gonna get this done?” Jack asked, pointing to a stack of files on his desk.

“If he sends us home, he can do them.” Tony joked.

“Yeah, right.”

Tony turned and headed down the stairs, struggling his sore arms into his jacket and zipping it up all the way.

He tucked his chin into the thick coat and headed out.

Twenty minutes later, one of the files had been finished and signed off, three more Kleenex drenched and seven of Nina’s ‘bless you’s’ had been answered. He was getting fed up with this. Each time he sneezed, it felt as if his lungs were tearing out of his chest and it hurt like hell.

He hated feeling sick. Thankfully nothing big was going on and there had been no alerts, so the chances of him getting called out were slim to non-existent. He didn’t think he would be able to catch a six-year old right now, the only thing he’d managed to catch in the past weeks, was this damn cold anyway.

Another five minutes later, Tony came back from the pharmacy, carrying two bags. He came up the stairs and into the office, dropping on the couch without a word, sweat glistening on his brow. When he met Jack’s puffy eyes, he knew Tony was out of breath, he needed to sit for a minute and catch it again. A long moment later, Tony reached into one of the bags and pulled out a box of Kleenex, putting it on the glass table in front of him, then he retrieved another box.

“T’anks, man.” Jack said, “How much was t’at?”

“Forget it.” Tony sighed as he pushed up.

He hadn’t gotten a separate ticket for them and his brain was too tired to start counting now.

He stumbled out of the office and back to his desk, dropping another box of Kleenex on his own desk and placing the other bag on it as well. He plucked out three different boxes of medicine and screwed the cap off the first one, taking a long swig straight from the bottle and letting the cough medicine slither down his throat, soothing it as it went. He let out a heavy sigh and screwed the cap back on, then reached for another bottle and shook two pills into his hand. Reaching for his cup, he noticed it was empty and he picked it up with a heavy sigh. Getting a refill of coffee meant going downstairs to the coffeemaker. He looked at the stairs as if to count them, shook his head and headed over, dragging his feet as he went. His footsteps were heavy on the stairs and Nina followed him with her eyes as he crossed the floor to where the coffeemaker stood. He filled the Cubby with hot steaming coffee and took a sip before even turning away from the table. He popped the pills into his mouth and washed them down with a few sips of coffee. It wasn’t an ideal combination, but it would do.

Then he dragged his ass upstairs again and checked in on Jack.

He was still struggling with the files, signing off on a second one.

“Need a hand?”

“I wouldn’t mind one.” Jack sighed, dropping his pen.

His eyes were blurry again and he leaned back in his chair, rolling his head, a painful grimace on his face.

Tony turned and went back to his desk, plucking the bottle of pills off it.

“Here, have two of these,” he said, placing it on Jack’s desk, “that should help.”

“I doubt it.” Jack groaned.

He couldn’t believe how sore he was.

His shoulders ached, his chest hurt, his head pounded furiously and he could hardly breathe.

All he wanted was a bed.

A soft pillow.

Nice and soft sheets.

And Teri.

But that was not an option.

He had work to do.

Loads of work to do.

And Teri hadn’t caught it.

She stayed away from him.

He hadn’t slept in the same bed in almost two weeks.

He slept in their bedroom with Kim from whom he’d contracted it and Teri slept downstairs in Kim’s room.

It was hell.

He sighed heavily and rubbed his blurry eyes with the palm of his hands.

Even that hurt.

Tony shook the bottle of pills and Jack took it from him, shook two pills into his hand and popped them into his mouth. Tony handed him his coffee and Jack accepted it without thinking, Tony was sick too, it didn’t matter. He washed the pills down, grimacing at the black coffee; he usually took it with cream. He handed the Cubs mug back to Tony who took one of the files off his desk and went over to the couch again, dropping heavily in it after putting the coffee down next to the boxes of Kleenex.

Suddenly, Chappelle was in his office.

Both Jack and Tony jumped in surprise at his stealthy arrival.

They had been concentrated on their work and their minds could only handle one thing at a time in their condition.

“Jack, Tony.” Chappelle said cheerfully.

They couldn’t see his smile, but they knew it was there, hidden behind that ridiculous mask.

“Would you both please follow me.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Where to?” Jack asked grumpily, “We’re busy.”

“Yes, I can tell. At this rate, you’ll probably have those files finished by next month.”

Jack gave him a cold stare, but his act was completely ruined when he had to sneeze again.

He cursed silently and blew his nose, pitched the Kleenex into the bin and grabbed another one.

Chappelle was waiting, hands on his hips.

The white gloves made a huge contrast with his pitch black suit.

The gloves made Jack notice more.

He had a cap on his head, a mask over his nose and mouth, gloves, and protection on his shoes.

He was determined not to catch what they had.

Jack shook his head, sneezed again, pushed up and followed him outside with Tony bringing up the rear.

“Ryan, those files need to be checked.” he tried as they headed down the stairs.

“Yes, and so do you.” Chappelle replied, taking them outside.

The enormous health department truck was parked right beside the door and two medics stood by it.

“In you go.” Chappelle said, gesturing to the truck.

Jack and Tony had no choice and once inside, they were taken to separate ‘examination room’ where a doctor and a nurse tended to them, giving them a complete check-over. Both of them were put on sick leave, effective immediately and Chappelle stood waiting by the door, a triumphant look on his face. Several security guards were by his side and he instructed them to escort both Tony and Jack to their desk, let them log off and pick up their things, then escort them to their cars and make sure they left the grounds.

With another heavy sigh, confirmed by another lung-ripping sneeze from Jack, they both followed orders, picked up their stuff and left. With no other option, they could only go home.

Chappelle then went inside and had everybody else checked out by the medical staff as well, sending home every single employee who had the symptoms. Next, he evacuated the building and sent in a team to disinfect it thoroughly, keeping the remaining staff on stand-by until the building was cleared an hour later. By then, George Mason had arrived with several healthy staffers and they took over.

Order and health having been reestablished, Chappelle left again, satisfied he had finally found a way to send Jack Bauer home for a few weeks.

Jack had no idea how he made it home, he must’ve been driving on auto-pilot because he didn’t remember any of it. Yet, he got home in one piece. He stumbled through the door, sneezing as he came in, startling Teri who was cleaning downstairs. She ran out into the hall and froze in the doorframe. Jack was struggling out of his jacket and she stepped in to help him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

He turned and looked at her with bloodshot and puffy eyes.

“Chappelle showed up … sent me home …”

He paused to draw a breath.

“… Tony too …”

He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the doctor’s note.

“ … two weeks …”

Teri bit her lips.

She wanted to smile and tell him that was a good thing, but she knew he would be pissed off if she did. He hated being sick and he hated being stuck at home doing nothing. These next two weeks promised to be tiring.

“Did he give you medication or did you get a prescription.”

He pulled out another paper and gave that to her as well.

It was a prescription.

“I’ll go get that in a minute. Here, let me help you.”

She wrapped her arm around him and he leaned on her going up the stairs.

“We have to be quiet, Kim’s asleep.” she whispered.

Jack merely nodded.

She let him sit on the edge of the bed and took off his clothes, then tucked him in next to Kim, giving him a soft kiss on his temple and feeling the heat waft off him. She hurried into the bathroom and got the thermometer, placing it between his lips before he slipped off to sleep. It wouldn’t be long, he was dead-tired.

The thermometer bleeped softly and she quickly plucked it away.

He barely stirred.

He was definitely making a temperature, but for now he was asleep, so she went downstairs and called the pharmacy. They had everything he needed and she jumped in her car, if Kim woke up, so would Jack, he wasn’t that far gone; she’d seen him wake up from much more frightening conditions when Kim called or cried somewhere near him. She got to the pharmacy to find Jack’s medication waiting for her, she paid and hurried right on back, closing the door behind her not even fifteen minutes after she left.

Kim came into the kitchen about an hour later, startling her.

“Mommy,” Kim said, rubbing her eyes, “daddy’s in bed.”

“I know, sweetie,” Teri said, stooping down to pick her up, “daddy’s a little sick like you, he needs to sleep.”

“Are you hungry?”

Kim nodded, bringing her arm up and suckling on her thumb.

She looked cute with her pink fuzzy bunny slippers at her feet and her Tinkerbell pajamas.

“Okay, let me get you something.”

She set Kim down on the chair and quickly prepared two slices of toast for her, setting a small glass of milk down as well.

She had only started eating again a day or two ago, she wasn’t holding much down yet.

Thankfully, after she ate, Kim said she wanted to play some and Teri got a few of her coloring books and her crayons.

It would keep her busy and out of Jack’s way.

It would allow him to get some rest.

He needed it.

Twice she checked on him, but he was sound asleep.

Well, maybe not sound, but asleep anyway, his breathing labored because of his clogged up nose. He lay tossing and turning now that Kim was no longer there and he complained in his sleep. His brow glistened with sweat but Teri refrained from feeling for a temperature, the mere touch might wake him up, so she closed the door and left again.

He woke up when she took Kim to bed later that night. His shirt was drenched and so were the sheets, so Teri asked Kim to sit on a chair for a minute while she quickly changed the sheets. By the time Jack had made it to the bathroom and back, the sheets had been changed. He gave her a sour look, but said nothing about it and they tucked Kim in.

The stairs were a dangerous hurdle to take.

He leaned most of his weight on Teri because his legs felt like they were made of jelly and he dropped heavily onto the couch.

“How are you feeling?” Teri asked quietly, brushing his damp hair out of his face.

“Like crap.” Jack whispered back, “I’m glad Chappelle sent me home.”

“If that’s so, you really need your medicine.” Teri said, pushing up.

She came back within moments, carrying a few bottles. She gave him the medication he needed and he let her, feeling completely helpless and empty. When she disappeared again, he tried to push up into more of a sitting position and felt his muscles moan and complain, so he gave up trying, dropping his head back to the cushion with a sigh.

God he felt useless.

For a while, he managed to keep his eyes open and his mind focused, but he slowly started to drift in and out of focus and Teri fell silent, watching him as his eyes fluttered a few times before closing again. She got up and fetched a thick blanket, draping it over him, making sure he stayed warm. The couch was comfortable enough for a few hours and she was sure he’d wake up again later.

In the meantime, she set back to work at the kitchen table where she wouldn’t disturb him.

~~~

“Honey?”

She jumped up at the first sound of his raspy voice.

He was struggling to get up and she hurried over, placing her hand on his arm as soon as she could reach him.

“It’s okay, I’m right here.” she said quietly, caressing his face, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jack sighed, slumping back on the couch.

He still couldn’t summon the strength to sit up.

“I’m right here, there’s nothing to worry about.”

He nodded slowly.

“Let me get you a little something to eat so you can take your pills.”

He nodded again.

She came back a few minutes later and helped him to sit up, placing a large towel on him to serve as a napkin in case any of the hot soup got spilt. She’d made fresh chicken soup the other day and there was enough left for Jack now, so she fed him the soup as she had done with Kim repeatedly over the past few days. He gave her no more trouble than Kim had, knowing full well he was in no condition to do it by himself. Besides, he didn’t mind getting pampered every once in a while. It being because he was too sick to take care of himself sucked, but he didn’t mind Teri feeding him.

The hot soup worked its magic and he started sweating again in no time.

When he was done eating, she gave him his medicine and took him to bed.

The stairs were out of the question, so she took him to Kim’s room.

“What about you?” he asked faintly when he realized she was putting him in Kim’s bed.

“Kim’s over it, I can sleep with her.”

“Good.” Jack sighed.

“Sweet dreams my, baby.”

“T’anks.” Jack whispered back from the edge of sleep.

He tumbled over it seconds later.

Teri went back into the living room, retrieving the thick blanket and adding it on top of the one already on him.

He would feel better if he could just sweat it out.

She sat watching over him for almost half an hour, brushing his hair back and talking softly, but then she felt the tug of sleep and headed upstairs, climbing into bed with Kim. She instinctively rolled into her mother’s arm with a shallow sigh and Teri smiled at the idea of both of them coming down with the flu.

Jack might listen to her next year and get a flu shot before it was too late.

The End.