Traces in the sand

Set in between "First" and "Beginnings".

"Good. Then we’re done here and Jack can sign the report when he gets back.”
Tony put down his signature, closed the manila folder and handed it back to Chloe.
“Thank you. I’ll put it on his desk” she said and turned to head back to her station.
“Oh, Miss O'Brian" Tony called her back. "If you have another moment, I arranged weapons training for you tomorrow afternoon.”
Chloe who had turned back at his words stopped dead in her tracks.
"Weapons training? Are you kidding me?" She scowled at him.
"I've studied your file and you're still missing the proper clearances in that area" Tony explained.
"But Mr Almeida, I..." Chloe tried to object, but he stopped her:
"It's for your own protection. Meet Jack at our training facilities at five and he'll instruct you."
"Jack!?" Chloe exclaimed, a shrill note to her voice.
Astonished Tony looked up from the papers he had turned his attention back to.
"Any problems with that?" he asked.
"None" Chloe sighed wearily.
"But you better have a good insurance in case he shoots me, given the mood he's in lately."
The miserable look on her face almost caused to Tony feel sorry for her.
"I'm sure you'll be okay" he said reassuringly.
Brow furrowed she looked at him for a moment before she said:
"You know, "I'm sure it'll be fun" would have sounded better.”
For the first time since Jack practically had forced him to sign Chloe's contract Tony smiled at the difficult analyst and voiced what he had observed during the weeks Chloe had worked for CTU:
"You know, Miss O'Brian, I think it actually could be. You seem to have quite a knack for handling Jack."
Her defences kicked in and suspiciously she asked: “What do you mean by that?“
Tony’s smile widened: “Since you and Chase are here he’s much more even-tempered.”
Chloe looked at him with wide open eyes: “You mean that’s how he is like when he's being nice?"
Tony suppressed a chuckle: "Well, "nice” might be an exaggeration in that case…”
Chloe rolled her eyes: "Do I get out of it if I shoot myself?"
"Nope" he said, picking up the joke and resolutely shaking his head.
"Right. I'll do my very best, sir" she said, sounding utterly sarcastic.
When she turned to leave Tony could have sworn he heard her mutter "Bloody military organisations" under her breath but refrained from calling her back, grinning to himself.

"What's up?" Michelle came up behind him.
"Nothing" he said, opening a new folder.
"So you’re just taking pleasure in grinning?" she teased.
He turned towards her:
"I think I start to understand why Jack asked me to hire Chloe."
Michelle sighed: "To get back at you?"
"Actually, no" he said, still smiling.
"Should I be jealous?" she asked, raising one brow.
He chuckled: "No, that would definitely be an overreaction."


When he pulled his SUV into the parking lot she was already there, standing next to her car, arms folded in front of her chest.
“You’re late” she informed him when he got out of the car and before he could reply anything she sighed: “Let’s get this over with”, walking ahead of him to the entrance of the training facility. He felt a smile play around his lips when he retrieved the big sports bag from the passenger seat, locked his car and followed a few steps behind her. She had changed he noticed. Her conservative working skirt had made way for a pair of well-fitting blue jeans and she had exchanged her blouse against a maroon coloured long sleeve. Her hair was set up in a loose ponytail. His smile widened when he caught himself appreciating what he saw.
She turned towards him at the door, arms still tightly crossed in front of her chest. Suspiciously she eyed his smile while he closed the remaining distance between them with a few easy strides. Reaching for his keys he searched her eyes. “Hi” he said pleasantly, ignoring her frown.
Why was he looking that relaxed and why was he smiling at her? What had that man in front of her done to Jack Bauer?
Chloe felt herself blush a little under the intensity of his gaze and silently cursed herself for it. Avoiding his eyes she expectantly looked at the door.
“You’re planning on letting me anywhere near the guns soon?” she asked, trying to hide her nervousness. Still smiling he unlocked the door and took a step backwards, holding it open for her.
The air in the old industrial building was damp and smelled of old socks, Chloe thought. Great.
Jack closed the door behind them and flicked on the lights. “Come on, this way” he said, stepping past her and turning into a corridor to their right. He walked quickly and Chloe hurried after him, the dark empty building giving her the chills.
Behind a huge metal door at the end of the corridor there was the makeshift shooting gallery CTU used for training purposes. From a locker at the short side of the long hall Jack retrieved ear muffs for both of them, handing one of them to Chloe before he went to adjust one the target for their purposes at a distance of maybe five metres from where they stood.

Chloe adjusted her earmuffs with a few quick movements while she watched him. He looked good, she thought. He’d exchanged his heavy combat boots for a pair of well-worn sneakers and the blue t-shirt matched his eye-colour and now and then allowed her to catch a glimpse of his well-defined arm muscles.

After one last scrutinizing look at the target he walked back towards where she stood. Kneeling down next to his bag he retrieved a gun and a couple of magazines. He stood again and turned towards her, automatically cocking the gun and securing it again. “Alright then. Let’s start with five metres, we can adjust the distance later” he said, gesturing to the target.
Chloe huffed: “Come on, that’s ridiculous, someone blind might hit it at that distance.”
There was an amused sparkle in his eyes when he looked at her. His gaze locked into hers for a moment and he slightly raised one eyebrow, challenging her to back down. But she didn’t: “Actually, I feel insulted.”
He grinned, dropping his gaze and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand before once more searching her eyes. “Okay. 10?” he offered.
“15” she said without even blinking.
“Right. You’re aware of the fact that it actually gets harder to hit the target with mounting distance, are you?” he said, winking at her before he turned and jogged over to the target to reposition it.
“To phrase it exactly the possibility to hit the target decreases quadratically with growing distance” Chloe replied dryly causing Jack to chuckle.
“Just asking” he called over his shoulder and she could literally hear his grin.
“Okay” he said when he once more stood next to her. “You want me to show you first or to explain?”
“Just give me the gun?” she asked innocently.
For a moment he seemed to be taken aback and once more his hand travelled up to his neck to rub it. Then he smiled, clearly amusement, and handed her the gun. “Here you go. Alright. It’s secured now which means you’ve to release the safety catch before firing.”
“This one?” she asked, examining the gun in her hand. It was neither very big nor very heavy and she was astonished about how strange it felt in hand.
“Exactly. Try it.”
Chloe released the safety clip and secured the weapon again.
“Okay” she said, looking up at Jack. “What’s next?”
He took a step towards her. “Adopting shooting position. You need to stand up straight, your feet should approximately be in line with your hip.”
While explaining he illustrated his words. “Raise the arm with the gun, try to keep it straight and avoid as much movements as possible or your aim will be no good.”
Chloe mirrored his movements. “Like this?” she asked.
Quickly he scanned her position. “Basically, yes. Try to relax your shoulder a bit, it’s easier to hold against the recoil then.”
She repositioned her shoulder. “Better?”
“Almost. Try to angle it downwards a bit. No, not like that, the other way. Is it okay if I touch you to show you?”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“Okay.” He stepped behind her and she could feel the heat radiating from him. And she could smell him, too. The familiar wave of his aftershave enveloped her and completely taken aback she noticed that it made her want to turn around and bury her nose in the crook of his neck. Suddenly she was very aware of her whole body and his only inches away from her. She could feel his breath against her ear, tickling her. He smelled like coffee. His fingers lightly touched her shoulder, his movements decisive and effective, gently turning her shoulder into the right position. “Like this” he said softly, proceeding to adjust the position of her arm as well and she could feel her heartbeat spike. Biting down onto her lip she tried to prevent herself from fidgeting. “I want to try” she said somewhat breathlessly what she hoped might pass as expression of impatience
“Okay. Stay like this, I’ll get the ear protection.” He took the ear muffs and before carefully placing them over her ears said: “Count backwards from ten, then fire. I’ll be right behind you.”
His mouth was right next to her ear and his low voice send a shiver down her spine. Trying to focus Chloe indicated with a nod that she had understood the instructions and started to count. He had taken a step backwards but he was still standing close, she could clearly feel his presence. She released the security catch and fired, missing the target by at least twenty centimetres. Damn it. But it had been a while, too, to be honest. What, ten years? Twelve even?
Immediately he was back behind her, carefully lifting away the ear protection from her left ear. “Never mind. First time is always hard. Try again.” One of his hands moved to her hip, gently motioning her to widen the space between her feet. “You’ll stand more stable with your feet farther apart” he instructed her, his mouth right behind her ear once more. Then he repositioned her shoulder: “Look, try to…” She took a deep breath and interrupted him before he managed to mess with her senses any further. “Just step back a little” she said, eyes firmly locked on the target, fearing he might actually hear her heart beat like mad.
“Hum?” he said, surprised.
“Just take a step back, I’ll manage” she repeated, turning to look at him.
He coloured slightly, dropping his gaze and quickly taking a step backwards. “I’m sorry” he muttered, “I didn’t mean to crowd you.”
“You didn’t, it’s okay” she said hurriedly. “It’s just… I want to try myself.”
He answered her smile with an expression of relieve, putting on his ear protection and leaning against the wall behind him, expectantly crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Alright. Fire at will!”
She took a moment to compose herself, closing her eyes for a couple of seconds and trying to regain focus. Carefully she took aim and suddenly felt the countless times practiced movements coming back to her. She pulled the trigger and a perfect shot hit the target.
Smiling she lowered the gun and turned towards the incredulous looking Jack.
“And to prove I didn’t just get lucky” she said with a smirk and turned towards the target again, firing another perfectly placed shot into it.
When she turned back towards Jack he still looked as if he didn’t dare to believe his eyes. With wide open eyes he stared from the gun in Chloe’s hands to the target and back again before dragging the ear protection off his head and bursting into laughter.
Smiling she secured the weapon and handed it back to him.
“Let me guess” he said in between chuckles “you somehow forgot to tell Tony that you appreciated his thoughtful gesture but that you were perfectly capable of handling a firearm?”
She shrugged. “He was kind of bossy: “It’s for your own protection, Miss O’Brian.”
Jack wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes, trying to control his laughter.
“Do you mind sharing how you got an aiming accuracy like a professional killer?” he asked, amused.
“I was a biathlete when I was younger and my trainer said there wasn’t any better method to get a steady aim than to train with different weapons. I’m a pro at archery, too, for your information” she said, grinning.
“Seems if he was right” Jack said with a smile.
“So we’re done here, then?” she asked.
He looked at the gun in his hand a moment, contemplating. When he looked back up at her there was a mischievous glint in his eyes: “Well, what about moving targets then?”

Ten minutes later they stood in the spacious yard of the facility, both armed and wearing combat gear. Jack grinned at Chloe whose clothes weren’t exactly fitting well.
“I’m sorry, but it’s not that often we female agents training here” he said.
Chloe eyed her clothes sceptically. “I look as if I’ve robbed my big brother.”
“No big deal, no one’s gonna see you” he said with a smirk.
“Well, you are” she muttered, proceeding to roll up her sleeves.
“I like it” he assured her, his grin widening.
“Yeah right. Bet you like the Kevlar best, it’s just a bonus that a woman is wearing it” she teased him, tucking the long trousers into her boots.
“Far from it, O’Brian” he repeated. And lowering his voice he added: “It’s the boots!”
Then, switching back to his business voice he said: “Okay, let’s go. You remember what you’re supposed to do?”
She rolled her eyes: “Shoot as many targets as possible.”
“What you’re going to aim at?”
“Chest and head.”
“Right. What more?”
“Try not to get shot myself” she sighed.
He smirked. “Right. And remember you can’t hurt me with the paint ammunition so I expect you to shoot at me if you see me approaching.”
“Believe me, I will.”
“Well, let’s go. I’ll be right behind you to begin with, then I’ll get over to the other side and open the fire. You ready?” he said, stepping behind her and reaching around her body for the door handle.
“Jack!” she turned towards him, glaring at him.
“What?” he asked.
“If you want me to concentrate, take a step backwards. You’re distracting me” she hissed.
His clear blue eyes met hers for a second, an unfathomable expression crossing his features before he took a step backwards and shut his visor. “Ready whenever you are.”

She had managed to fire at three of the moving targets, hitting two of them exactly in the chest before she literally stumbled over Jack when she turned around a corner. Chuckling softly he disarmed her with one fluid movement before she even got the chance to move.
“That’s not fair” she huffed indignantly. “I didn’t get training in those things.”
He smiled. “I’m not exactly sure that’s bad thing, seeing your performance with the gun, or I would have needed do call for backup.”
“Not bad for the first time” he added, genuinely pleased, when the walked back to the building. “Not bad at all" he repeated, smiling at her. Quite satisfied with her performance Chloe smiled back at him, trying to ignore the jolt in her stomach.

Back inside the building they peeled off the extra clothes and gathered together their things. Chloe was in the process of tucking some stray strands of hair back into her ponytail when his voice interrupted her.
"So I was distracting you?" he asked, matter-of-factly, his eyes fixed on his shoe laces.
She froze, looking at him. What the...? Was he really interested in her answer in a professional way? Or was this what Jack Bauer was looking like when he was flirting? Weighing her options she decided to toss the ball back to him.
"You didn’t really think you could expect me to hit the target, standing right behind me, did you?” she replied, her tone leaving room for interpretation.
"I can't?" he asked in a low voice.
Oh my god, she thought. He is flirting with me.
"Nope" she said breathlessly shaking her head
"So what did it make you think of?" His voice had dropped to yet a lower register and caused her to hold her breath. Slowly he looked up at her, his blue eyes challenging her for an answer.
A small smile playing around her lips she took a step towards him and leant down to pick up her bag. “Now that would be completely inappropriate to tell one’s boss” she said softly, meeting his gaze. They looked at each other for a long moment, neither of them moving, their faces only inches apart. Finally Chloe broke the silence., not able to stand the tension building up between them any longer. She straightened up and said with a smirk: “Well, Bauer, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then she turned towards the exit and disappeared into the hallway.
He stood there for a moment, glancing after her. Reaching for his bag a small smile flitted over his face. "Chloe O'Brian" he thought. “Chloe O’Brian.”
 

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