(no subject)

Chris enters her room, finding it just as she left it. She dumps her stuff on the bed and clicks on her computer to get it out of sleep mode. The screen comes up and she glances at the date. It takes a minute for her to realize what's wrong.

She blinks at the screen then turns her head to look at the window. Light from the early morning sun was peaking through the curtains.

But she had left here sometime around three am.

Worried, she picks up the remote to check the television set. A sigh of relief escapes her lips as she finds them still reporting on Air Force One. It's still April 25th just a few hours later.

Though the time difference is confusing.

Chris sits in her desk chair and shifts the mouse around, clicking on her mail but not really paying attention to it. Her mind's working out the time difference wondering how much time there is till Lee is killed, how much time there is till Jack has to attack the embassy, if it's possible for her to do something...

A loud knock on her apartment door causes Chris to jump.

"Who is it?" She calls, walking towards the door.

"It's me," responds a familiar voice from the other side, "Why aren't you answering your phone?"

She opens the door to reveal an older man with an anxious expression on his face. Dressed casually, as always, his light brown hair was ruffled and she didn't think he was on his way to work.

For one crazy split second, she almost thought it was her dad.

"Hey, Sean," she says slowly, confused by the visit.

"Can I come in?" He asks, barely pausing for a response before he enters the apartment. She closes the door and turns to look at him, having no clue what's going on.

"I called. Did you get my message? Were you asleep?"

The events of the past couple of days have really taken their toll on Chris, it takes her a few seconds of stammering before she can say, "Yeah."

He narrows his eyes and looks at her with some concern. "You ok, Starbuck?"

Her heart does a little tug at the nickname and she looks away briefly, hugging herself. "I'm fine. So what's up?"

"We're leaving, that's what's up. Grab some stuff together. I called your brother, he's meeting us at the house upstate," Sean says plainly. His voice told her there would be no arguing with him on this.

Still, Chris remained where she was. "What?"

"The country's being attacked, it's not safe to stay in the city, get your stuff, let's go," he repeats in a slower voice. "I don't want to get caught in traffic."

She almost slips and asks "How did you know?" before catching herself. Instead she nods and walks into her room to grab a few things, still in a daze. Chris can remember how she felt that day but, knowing what she does now, she can't bring those feelings back. She can hear her uncle flipping on the television to watch the news.

I wonder how he talked Ryan into this. Chris throws on a sweater and slips into her gym shoes. Before leaving the room she turns off the light and grabs her bag.

Sean's standing in the middle of the room, shaking his head, a scowl on his face. "Fucking animals."

He turns off the television when he hears the door closes and looks back at Chris. "Ready?"

She nods and walks towards the door, she doesn't really want to go, she just wants to crawl in her bed and go to sleep but it's too late to argue.

"Nice sweater."

Chris pauses to lock her apartment. "Thanks, a friend made it for me."

-------------------

She unfolds the copy of the LA Times in her lap and re-reads the words. Two obituaries, one right after the other. Her hands, like her heart, feel numb. She doesn't notice her uncle till he sits down in the chair next to hers.

"Hey," he says, his tone gentle. He glances at the paper. "How you holding up?"

"I'm all right." She really wants to be alone to cry. It'd been nice to have her family with her the past few days, to not be alone. But she needed some space. Spending the past few days in this cabin, thinking of the family vacations she spent here, hadn't helped.

Sean nods, not convinced of this. Chris had told them a few of her former coworkers had been killed the other day. "Flying out to LA?"

Chris folds up the paper and sets it on the table, not meeting his gaze. "I, uh, I don't think so." She looks at him. "Do you think I should?"

"It's up to you," he says with a shrug. He's quiet for a few moments and Chris thinks about her options. There was no reason she shouldn't go except the fact that the trips and the funerals might be more than she could handle right now.

She feels guilty about this, even though she doubts either Lee or Jack would care that much.

"Caiti called while you were asleep."

"How is she? Is she ok?"

Sean nods. "She's fine. Just checking in." Another pause and Chris expects him to ask if there was anything she wanted to talk about. That's what he, Jeannie and Ryan had been doing the past few days. What could she tell them? The truth wasn't an option and she was too tired to lie.

It hit her again that her father was gone and that Milliways was so far away. And I might not get back.

Her uncle's voice pulls her out of her thoughts. "You driving back with me?"

She nods before she fully understands the question. Sean stands and pats her arm. "Ok. Be ready to go in about an hour."

Chris stands and hesistates a moment before throwing the paper in the trash.