what some call insanity

I've been playing with more creative titles, can you tell? Anyway, first three requests done.

Title: Strangers in the Night
Pairing: Tony/Nina
Rating: PG-13
Summary: For birdseyeview, who requested pre-s1 Tony/Nina. It's a little fluffy, a little angsty, and hopefully not too OOC.



On the rare occasions that she spent the night, Tony would spend hours watching her sleep. It didn’t matter that he’d go into work the next day with dark smears under his eyes and yawns that couldn’t be stifled with six cups of coffee; seeing her sprawled across his mattress, legs tangled in his navy comforter and raspy sighs coming from her lips, more than made up for any dirty looks he received from department heads.

Tonight was one of those nights and he felt like a lovesick fool, one of those sappy eyed men on the cover of Nora Roberts books. It was 3:18 in the morning and Nina was curled on her side, one arm tucked under her head and the other splayed across the sheets. Tony didn’t dare move for fear of waking her.

It wasn’t love, exactly, that made him watch her. He wasn’t in love with her. Not yet. It was just that in these moments he felt like she belonged there, with him and no one else. In the morning when she’d walk up to Jack’s office and touch his arm and talk quietly to him, Tony would grit his teeth and remind himself that it was him she came home with. These moments were his and his alone.

She moved, suddenly, and her eyes fluttered open, misty with sleep. “Tony?” she murmured, clearly not completely awake. “What time is it?”

“Almost 3:30,” he whispered back, lying down and wrapping his arms around her. Pulling her close. “Go back to sleep.”

She shook her head, the dark hairs at the nape of her neck tickling his chin. “I should go home,” she said hoarsely. “We need to be at CTU in a few hours anyway.” She turned and gave him a quick kiss before pulling free to turn the bedside lamp on. Tony let her, watching as she pulled off his t-shirt and slipped into her own clothes from the day before.

“You want me to drive you back?” he asked half-heartedly, not wanting to let her go just yet. Nina smiled, a little too sweetly, but didn’t answer his question.

“Get some sleep, Tony,” was all she said as she said as she turned the lamp off. “See you in a few hours.” The front door closed moments later and the echo was far too loud.



Title: A Venom Like Ambrosia
Pairing: Jack/Karen - not from Will and Grace! LOL.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: For im_a_yogi, who requested 'Karen and Jack angry as hell and yelling at each other!' Probably not for Bill/Karen fans, hah. Pretty angsty. The ending is a bit awkward but hopefully it won't take away.



Jack Bauer was probably the last person Karen expected to see on her doorstep, but there he was, looking tired and a little sad but with a newfound peace in his eyes. “Hi, Karen,” he greeted her softly. Even his voice sounded different – less rough around the edges. “It’s good to see you.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, and immediately it struck her how harsh her words were. She couldn’t bring herself to take them back.

Jack looked a little hurt but didn’t say anything. “I was hoping to see Bill,” he said. “Is he around?”

Karen closed her eyes, trying with all her might to keep from stiffening the way she always did upon hearing his name. “He doesn’t live here anymore. Last I heard he was in Vermont.”

The look that crossed his face was one she was growing very familiar with – it was the same look that she’d seen on her mother’s face, her sister’s, those few friends who she still had contact with. It was a look of sympathy and even worse, understanding.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said, and she clenched the doorknob tighter, inwardly daring him to continue on that line. He must have read her signals because he cleared his throat and asked for a way to contact him.

“Fine,” Karen grit out, walking toward the kitchen, not inviting him in but leaving the door open. Jack waited in the living room, looking like he couldn’t decide whether he should sit or not. In the end he leaned against the arm of the sofa until she came back with a piece of paper torn from an address book. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Karen didn’t say anything. “Karen, is – is there anything I can do?” His voice was gentle. She wanted to tear it out of him. Instead she just laughed bitterly.

“You’ve done quite enough, thanks,” she said scornfully, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her voice steady.

Jack stared at her. “What does that mean?” he asked quietly, but there was an edge to his voice now.

“Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything. Just go. Please.” She brushed a hair – grayer now than it had been – from her face and stared right back at him, refusing to back down.

For a moment Jack looked like he might relent, but her eyes were glassy and she was a far cry from the woman he had met those years ago; harsher and a little more defeated. It struck him how odd she looked in jeans and a sweatshirt; she seemed almost tiny without heels. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. What did I do?”

“What did you do?” Karen suddenly spat. “What did you do?” She laughed again, a little more wildly, just as bitterly. “That’s just it. You didn’t do a damn thing. You save the world and you disappear. Just like that. Did it ever occur to you that some people may have needed you here? Oh, here’s a fun story,” she continued venomously. “Did you know that Chloe was pregnant? She lost the baby, Jack. Her daughter. You have a daughter, right?” Jack looked like he had been struck; all color was gone from his face. “You know who else could have used you? Bill was nearly out of his mind. Tell me, have you ever tried to hold a marriage together when the world is falling apart around you and it’s all your own fault?” She’s blaming him and she’s blaming herself, and none of it makes sense, her face is red and she isn’t crying because she hasn’t cried since Bill gave up and left.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her eyes snap back to Jack; his eyes are slits. “You have no fucking idea what you’re saying, so just shut up. I’m sorry he left but I’ve been in your place before and then Teri came back and she was fucking killed. So stop talking about things that you don’t understand!” He was angry too, and she wanted to hit him, so she moved forward and had only slapped him once across the face when suddenly they were kissing, furiously and painfully, as though they were trying to make the other hurt.


Title: Dirty Little Secret
Pairing: Tom/Karen
Rating: PG
Summary: For whenidream, who requested Tom/Karen. TOTAL CRACKFIC. There actually isn't any real shippiness, just friendship and general insanity. Very OOC but hopefully you won't mind too much, lol. And btw, I've never played DDR or really any video game, so I was making this up as I went along.



Karen was pretty sure that she would die if anyone ever learned of their break time tradition. Technically they didn’t get breaks – more like whenever things were dull they could catch a few minutes and grab some coffee or a bite to eat. Once every week or so, though, she and Tom would make sure to find 20 minutes to spare.

Despite what all of the White House staffers, not to mention the media, thought, Karen and Tom didn’t hate each other. They were actually pretty good friends, and had been for years, long before Wayne Palmer called them to his side. As much as they bit and tore at each other regarding policies, their personalities meshed well outside the office, and with few friends in D.C., they took to meeting up for drinks and movies whenever time allowed.

During those moments at work when they found a few minutes, Tom and Karen played video games. It was probably one of the most mortifying secrets she had – ranking up there with the time she and Bill were caught kissing at CTU – but with the stress the job demanded, Dance Dance Revolution was a nice way to ‘cool down’.

Tom had introduced her to it. It was kept in a small lounge-like room for the higher-ranking White House officials, although come to think of it, Karen wasn’t quite sure why anyone thought a PlayStation was appropriate there.

It had started when she walked in, maybe three months ago, to grab a book from the shelves and bring it back to her office. Hearing the noise from outside the door she had peered in to find Tom moving his feet wildly over a mat, watching the screen intently. Her snort of laughter gave her away instantly, and he had stopped, horrified.

“What’re you up to, then, Tom?” she had asked delicately, not bothering to hide her amusement. “You’ve been holding out on us, it seems.”

“Shut up,” he’d snapped back. “My nephew plays it, and it’s not a bad game.”

“Of course not,” Karen smirked. “So what – ah – level are you on?”

Tom shrugged. “No idea. I just step when it tells me to step.” Upon seeing her face, still contorted with amusement, he challenged, “You go. Tell you what, I’ll even pay you 20 bucks if you can make it through a round without tripping.”

Every logic that Karen knew compelled her to say no, but the smug look on his face was too much to resist – dimly it registered how odd it was that he was looking smug, considering she had just walked in on him playing a child’s video game. “Fine,” she sighed, and, kicking her heels off, took his place on the mat. “What do I do?”

“Just step where it tells you to step,” he instructed, looking thoroughly thrilled at the prospect of seeing Karen Hayes, National Security Advisor, make a total fool of herself. She wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

The game started and she barely made it two steps before stumbling over her own feet and falling backwards. Tom, through some quick maneuvering, caught her before she crashed to the ground. With a huff, she steadied herself and brushed imaginary dirt from her skirt. “Well, there was that,” she brushed it off. Upon seeing that she was fine, Tom began to roar with laughter.

From that point on, however, it became a tradition. Within two weeks Karen actually managed to beat him, and the entire humiliating situation was more than made up for upon seeing his face – the idea that he was actually upset, to any degree, about being beaten at a video game nearly had her convulsing on the ground.

Maybe when she returned to LA she’d get one of these things for herself and Bill. Somehow she didn’t think she could picture him hopping around the pad; but then, she never would have thought it of Tom. For now, though, it was just their thing.