Author's Note: I do not own 24. cries

Just a short thing set in the final minutes of the finale- enjoy!

One Call

Jack Bauer never begged.

He didn't beg when tortured for the whereabouts of the chip by Kingsley's men. He didn't beg for his job back when he lost it after becoming addicted to herion. He didn't beg to Drazen, Marwan, Nina, Logan- the list was endless.

Sure, he implored sometimes- asked, said please- but never full out begged.

He was now.

That wasn't the worst part- the worst part was he didn't even know what he was begging for.

He was begging for a phone call- just one. But who would he call? He was asking for a phone and he didn't even know who he wanted to call. How stupid was that?

Maybe he'd taken one too many hits to the head on the way here. It felt like his thoughts were going to fast. Something must be wrong if he was close to tears and begging.

He forced himself to take a breath- forced himself to master the shooting pain it sent through his ribs, forced himself to think.

Who was he trying to call?

Kim? What would he say to her? She should know what was happening to him. When he hadn't told her she didn't respond well. Maybe telling her this would make her love him again. No- that was dumb- he wasn't going to use fucking pity to get his daughter back. Fuck it- she probably wouldn't care. And how the hell do you start a conversation like that anyway- "Well, Kim- you got your wish- I've just been captured by the Chinese- I certainly won't be around you now!"

This thought sent the memory of her walking away flashing in front of his eyes and he choked- coughing. That image was seared in his brain forever, causing more pain that these Chinese assholes could.

How could he have messed up so badly? His daughter- his own daughter- couldn't stand to be around him- didn't want to see him. He was always trying to keep her safe- after Terri… she couldn't know he was alive. Look what had happened to Tony and Michelle and Palmer.

Palmer. He knew with certainty that if Palmer hadn't been killed- 'Also your fault' his mind rang out- he would call Palmer. Palmer, not just a friend- but a faithful friend, not just a politician- but a honest politician, not just a man- but a determined man. If Jack had to tell anyone about his situation Palmer would be the man he was trust to somehow get him out of this.

But Palmer was dead because of Jack Bauer and so was Tony, his best friend and so was Michelle. Three people that Jack could have- would have called- dead.

Audrey? He could call her. She still loved him after months of believing he was dead. Hell, she still loved him after he fucking interrogated her! But why put her through that? What was there to say? He would just call her up- tell her he still loved her but was currently being kidnapped to China where he could spend the rest of his life being tortured. What good would that do? If he just let her go- she could move on. Forget about him. It would be better if everyone forgot about him.

But here he was begging for a phone call- so there must be someone who he wanted to call.

Chloe? Now there was a faithful friend. She put her ass on the line for him countless times. Everything he'd ever asked- no matter how against the rules- she had done. But Chloe couldn't help him out of this one. There was no way she could type away at her computer and somehow Jack would be safe. Jack sighed- he was sick of stealing her life. She would probably be hounded about today. She always got a lot of the fallout from his mistakes. She deserved a life. She shouldn't be helping out such a screw-up as Jack Bauer.

Bill? Mike Novick? Now there were two high up people. Maybe they could save him. Make a deal with the Chinese. Oh, who was he kidding. America wasn't about to start a war for some idiot agent. Calling Bill or Mike would just saddle them with the guilt of doing nothing when it wasn't their fault.

Wayne Palmer? Yeah- so he could get him killed like his brother? Great idea.

Logan? Inform the bastard that yes indeed, his plan had worked- Jack was now being beaten to death by the Chinese. Throw in a few cracks about how they could write letter to each other in jail. That would be a fantastic way to use his one phone call. He almost chuckled before remembering his split lip and thinking the better of it.

Maybe he should call Kim's new boyfriend- the shrink- something was definitely wrong with his head.

Pain rolled through his body yet again. He choked, then coughed, then wheezed. Nothing to stop the pain. No one to call.

Martha? Pierce? Curtis? Names rolled through his head- each with dozens of reasons why he shouldn't call.

He almost was relieved when the Chinese man in front of him laughed at his request-

He didn't have anyone to call anyway.

Author's Note: Please excuse any spelling errors due to author's severe case of S.S. (Spelling Stupidity)

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed- leave a review please!