Jack was shocked.  He gaped at his favorite tech.  "Why didn't you say anything, Chloe?" he demanded.  "I've been trying to catch your attention for a year now and you haven't shown a single sign you were interested in what I was offering."

               "Cause it doesn't matter, because you'll never love me."

               The agent took several steps forward.  Reaching over, he grabbed Chloe and yanked her against him.  Before she could protest he kissed her.  Pulling back he growled, "What. A. Load. Of. Bullshit."  Punctuating each word with a kiss.  "I think I've loved you as long as I've known you.  I was just to thick to figure it out."

               A few futile shoves hit his chest.  "Stop it," she said, trying to pull away.  "Chase make him stop it.  I know what you're doing.  Trying to make me feel better, or whatever.  Just stop it."

               Chase moved to separate them, but Jack held Chloe tighter, snarling at his former partner.  "Back off, Edmunds."  To Chloe he demanded, "Why the hell would I want to make you feel better?  According to your theory, I've already got what I wanted and I don't need you anymore."

               She shook her head frantically.  "I've seen the girls you love Jack.  I've meet them.  They're not like me.  They don't act like me, they don't look like me, they're

nothing like me."

               "And they don't last very fucking long either." He interrupted.  "I want to keep you around, Chloe."

               "Why are you doing this," she cried.

               Twirling a strand of her hair around his finger, Jack smiled sadly.  "I think it would be obvious.  I love you, Chloe O'Brian.  I love your lack of social skills, your genius IQ, the way you smile, your eyes when Chase tells a joke, the way you'll do anything in the right company, how easily embarrassed you are.  I love it all.  And I want you to stay."

               Her dark eyes stared at him.  Then she said practically, "You need to move, Jack, or else I'm gonna throw up all over you."

]              Jack turned her to the side but hung on.  "I don't care."

               She tried really hard not to throw up on his shoes.  But not even she could avoid splashing some of the foul smelling liquid on his boot and the hem of his pants.  Gasping, she muttered, "Sorry."

               "Don't be," Jack told her firmly.  "I just want to be close to you.  If that means getting puked on, so be it."

               "God, this is really happening, isn't it?  I love you and you say you love me and you totally violated my trust and saw me in my underwear and I threw up on shoes.  Chase?"

               Sounding resigned, Chase sighed, "You're both shit outta luck.  Chloe's not going to remember this tomorrow.  And before you even think about it, Jack, she's going home with me.  The last thing she needs is to wake up in your bed with no idea how she got there."

               She pulled away from Jack and staggered towards her friend.  "Will you take care of me now?  I know I fucked up your birthday."

               Moving warily forward to meet Chloe, his eyes on Jack, Chase reassured her, "I'll always take care of you, Chloe.  There's nothing you could do that would stop me."

               "Wait," she said. "I don't want to forget this.  I mean, I want to forget a lot of it, the throwing up and the underwear and the dancing, but," she said looking at Jack, "I don't want to forget what you said to me.  I want to love you, and I want you to love me.  So you," she said, turning back to Chase, "you have to make sure I don't forget."

               Chase hesitated, biting his lip.  Finally, he asked, "How far do you trust me, Chloe?"

               "You know that.  I trust you all the way, always."

               "I love you," Chase told her, his jaw tense.  "Jack, load her into the truck.  I have an idea."

               Reaching up Chloe wrapped her arms around the older man’s neck.  "I do love him," she murmured as Jack picked her up.  "I mean, I tried not to for a really long time, but I do.  It's hopeless.  I love you and I always will."

               "Then we'll be hopeless together," Jack informed her determinedly.  He sat in the back of the truck with her in his lap while Chase started to drive them to Chloe's house.

               "Chase," she said.  "What are we doing?"

               Keeping his eyes out for drunk drivers, Chase responded, "We're going to your place.  You and Jack are going to sleep in your bed.  I'm going to sleep in the chair.  When you flip out tomorrow when you wake up, I'll tell you what happened tonight."

               "That seems like a really bad plan," she said.  "But I trust you."

               Grimacing, he admitted, "I don't have a better one.  You know that getting really drunk gives you temporary amensia.

               This sucked.  "Fuck.  I'm gonna forget all those nice things you said about me."

               Calmly, Jack informed her, "Then I'll tell you again and again until you remember."

               Chloe smiled out of the blue.  "Hey, Chase, I got you a present!  I almost forgot."

               Pulling into the driveway, Chase said, "Cool.  What is it?"

               "A bunch of that porn you like.  I just don't remember where I put it."

               Chase banged his head on the steering wheel and muttered, "You had to say that in front of Jack, didn't you?"

               "Huh?  Oh. Right. Sorry.  Um, so wait.  How exactly do we do this sleeping thing?'

               Jack simple carried Chloe into the house, Chase walking ahead of them to open doors.  "Well, you're going to take some aspirin," the younger man explained, "then I'll get you ready for bed and you can sleep next to Jack.  I'm going to drag the chair over to your side of the bed and sleep there.  When you wake up, I'll be able to stop you from running out before we can talk to you."

               He couldn’t come up with a better idea?  "What if I don't believe you?"

               "You trust me, don't you?" he demanded.

               "Yeah."

               "That's what I'm depending on," Chase admitted, disgusted with his own lack of creativity.

               Lifting her head up, Chloe commented idly.  "I always really wanted to sleep next to you."

               Chase sighed irritably, "You do it on a regular basis, Chloe."

               She rolled her eyes.  "I wasn't talking to you any more!"

               A soft chuckle rumbled from Jack's throat.  "I've wanted to sleep next to you too."

               "I'm sorry I threw up on your shoes."

               The agent didn’t even grimace.  “I've had worse done."

               Her gesture downwards was jerky and uncoordinated.  “They were nice shoes."

               "Teri threw up on these a couple of times.  She couldn't hold her liquor either."

               "I can hold my liquor just fine," she protested.

               Pulling down the covers, Chase tossed over his shoulder, "Keep telling yourself that, darlin'."

               Chloe protested, "No, it's not the alcohol I have a problem with, it's the declarations of love in strip club parking lots that I have a problem with."

               "Where would you like me to declare my love then," Jack asked as he got her out of her shoes.

               She looked around.  "Here."

               Standing up he kissed her on the nose, "I love you, Chloe."

               The tears came again.  "I just.  I don't want to forget any of this."

               "Hey," Chase smiled at her.  "I'm going to remind you.  Jack'll make you remember."

               "No," she sniffed.  "It won't be the same.  We already wasted so much time and now we have to lose one more day and it's all my fault and I'll never remember the first time you told me you loved me."

               A large hand that wasn’t Chase’s stroked her cheek.  "Then we'll just make a whole bunch more memories," Jack promised.

               "What if we wake up tomorrow and some terrorist comes after you and takes you away and this is all I have and I messed it all up?"

               "They won't get Jack," Chase told her coldly.  "I won't let them."

               Her stomach bucked unpleasantly.  "I'm gonna be sick again," she sighed.  "This really sucks."  A foot shove the waste basket in front of her.  "I'm sorry," she muttered.  Looking at Chase, "Will you brush my teeth?"

               Leading her into the bathroom, Chase pulled out everything he needed.  "Lean on the sink, darlin'," he ordered.  "I've got this part."

               "I'm sorry about your birthday.  I know I messed everything up.  And I really wanted it to be the best, too."

               He scrubbed her teeth and took advantaged of her forced silence.  "This is the best birthday I've ever had.  Ever, Chloe.  Don't apologize."

               The dark eyes glared mildly at him for his trick.  "That's better," she said after she spit into the sink.  "Thank you.  I bought you a cake.  I thought we could have it tomorrow with Angela."

               He nodded.  "And Jack.  And no alcohol."

               "I'm never drinking again."

               Chase snickered.  "Sure, Chloe.  You say that every time."

               The agent had wandered across the bedroom and was leaning on the doorframe.  "Jack," she said, smiling.  "You're still here.  I thought maybe you were a dream."

               Picking her up, Jack carried her to the bed assuring, "I'm right here."  Laying her on the uncovered part, he stood back and let Chase work on her clothes.  The jeans were undone and t-shirt tossed aside.

               "I want your sweatshirt," she demanded imperiously.  Chase dug the gray DCMPD sweater out of her drawers and slipped it onto her.  "I guess I have to wear pants too, huh?"  Before Jack could say anything, Chase dug out a pair of his own cut off cargo pants and handed them to her.  "Chase has clothes here.  He has his own drawer.  He'll let you borrow something."

               Jack froze.  "Oh shit.  Chase I didn't know..."

               "Didn't know what," she asked.  "I don't think I can follow this conversation."

               Chase shook his head.  "No Jack.  We aren't involved.  Chloe, darlin', put on the pants."

               "Oh.  I'm his best nongirlfriend girl friend," she explained.    "And I don't always like to wear clothes when I'm drunk.  Cause I get hot.  And I forget.  And you can't call me darlin', because that's only for Chase."

               Sitting on the bed, Jack asked, "Can I call you baby?"

               "Baby, baby, baby," she repeated.

               "Come on baby," Jack said with a shy smile, "let's go to bed."

               He was nice and warm, almost as comfy as Chase.  Only, Chase was all tendon and bone.  Jack was just as firm, but bulker.  "Are we gonna have babies," she asked him.

               "Chloe," Chase groaned.

               "What?"

               Chase reached over and stroked her hair.  "Sleep," her friend commanded wearily, "you can talk tomorrow."

               "Wait," she said.  She turned to Jack.  "You have to love Angela.  Because she's like my own baby."

               Snuggling next to her Jack said, "I think I can manage

that."

               "Will you play with my hair?"  Chase moved his hand so Jack could have a go.

               The blunt fingers, not Chase’s again, not slim enough, combed through the blonde strands.  "Like this?"

               "Mmmhmm."  She didn't last long enough to see Chase settle in the chair, keeping watch.