*a month after the events of "Conspiracy"*
Jordan Cavanaugh stepped off the elevator, obviously distracted. Without even speaking to Emmy as she walked past the desk, she headed straight for the office where Bug and Nigel shared space.
Jordan. . .
Yeah, he's in there. Alone. That's good. Ok, Jordan, deep breath.
"Nige?"
"Morning Jordan. And how are we this fine Boston day?"
"Um. . . Well. . . Nigel? We need to talk."
"We do? About what?"
"Well, um, remember when you were being all 'I don't want to be the computer geek of the office' but you helped me out with the case I was on?"
"Yeah."
"And you said that what happened that night would never happen again?"
"Yeah. . .?"
"Well, um, it's gotta at least be mentioned."
"It. . . What are you saying?"
"Can we go in my office for a minute?"
"Of course. . ."
Nigel. . .
Oh dear Lord. There's only one thing I can think of that would make her like this ~ and make her mention that night again. That night. . .
*flashback to the events of a month earlier*
"Please evacuate the keyboard area." And with those little words, I was back to Nigel, the computer geek of the morgue ~ at least for the moment. So I helped Jordan out on her case a little. It's no big deal. Watching her struggle at the computer was too pitiful, I had to do something.
And then it happened. We went by the Pogue so Jordan could see Max and we grabbed a couple of beers and played some pool ~ a little longer than we'd intended but necessary so that Jordan could drive home ok. Since I'd taken the train as usual, she offered to give me a ride home, and knowing I had just missed the last T of the night, I would have to catch a cab which could take forever, I accepted. I'm not really sure of everything that happened, but I offered to introduce her to my pet pig, Rosie, and one thing led to another without us meaning to do anything, and. . . . Well. . . We both agreed that it meant nothing afterwards and amazingly ~ or maybe not so ~ we were able to continue things between us just as they'd always been. No one had a clue that, if you wanted to get technical, Jordan and Nigel were, at least for one night, more than just friends. . .
*back to the present*
They moved into Jordan's office, somehow avoiding the rest of the staff on their way there. Jordan pulled the door closed behind them, and shut the blinds before sitting down on the couch and motioning Nigel to do the same. Uncharacteristically, Jordan found herself fumbling for words, so Nigel picked up the conversation.
"Ok. So, Jordan? What are you talking about?"
"Nige, we're talking about what you think we're talking about."
"The night I helped you with your computer research?"
"Yes."
"You've learned how to do more than a keyword search? Fancy that!"
"Nigel. . ."
"Ok, ok. I just. . ."
"What happened was, well, not what either of us planned to have happen. Ever."
"True. . ."
"But. . . Well. . ."
"Jordan, just tell me. What's going on."
"I'm late."
"You're. . ."
"Late. As in. . ."
"I know what 'late' means. But have you. . ."
"No. I think ~ no, I know I've been in denial. But I'm a week and a half late. And I'm never late."
"Jordan. . . I. . ."
"I've got a test in my bag. I just haven't wanted to take it yet. I've been. . . Shit, Nige. I'm scared."
"I. . . Well, I don't know exactly how you feel. But I know I'm pretty scared myself right now. But whatever happens, we'll figure something out and get through this together. I promise you."
"I didn't think you'd abandon me. I just. . . I'm going to go and do this thing now."
"Alright. I'll be right here."
Jordan went down the hall, for once wishing she was the type of person who wore baggy clothes with pockets so she could hide the object in her hand better. At least it was wrapped sort of the same so that people would just make that assumption.
Jordan. . .
If only it *was* that. Life would be so much easier. What had Garret said a couple of months ago? "Jordan, I can't even see you with a goldfish," and "I think we should take care of our own issues before we have children." Oh God, I didn't expect those to become prophetic words.
And just when things were starting to look up with Woody. Oh hell! The first guy I've ever been able to admit to myself that I was falling for ~ the first one I was ok with not being in total control with, and now this happens. I mean, yeah, Nige and I both agreed that it meant nothing ~ I mean, it happened, but we both agreed that it was a one time only mistake and wouldn't happen or be mentioned again. So things should have been fine. But now what was nothing ~ what was one night of stupidity ~ might mean everything. . .
Wow, I guess the hands of fate are working in my favor ~ I managed to get here without running into anyone. Ok, Jordan. Just relax. Take the instructions out of your pocket and take a deep breath. . . Alright. That's done. All that's left to do is wait. Should I wait here or. . . ? No, I'm definitely staying here. I managed to get down here without getting stopped. I know there's no way I'd be so lucky now. At least if I wait I'll know one way or the other and hopefully not be as jumpy. I mean, either way it's gotta be better than not knowing. Right?
Ok, the moment of truth. Deep breath. And again. Come on Jordan. You're 33 for Pete's sake. It's not like you're too young. I mean, yeah, it's not ideal, not what I pictured for myself. Ok, here we go. . . Turn it over. . . Shit! A plus sign! I knew it ~ like I told Nige, I'm never late. Ok, I guess I'd better go and fill him in. . . Ok ~ deep breath and open the door and. . .
"Jordan? You ok?"
"Lily! Um, hi! I, uh, I. . ."
"You look a little shaken up. Are you feeling ok?"
"Yeah, I just. . . Um. . . I need to get back to my office and check in with Nigel about something. I'll talk to you later, ok?"
"Yeah, sure. Whenever you need to talk. . ."
"I know. You're here. Thanks Lily." Oh shit that was close! Too close. Ok, now to let Nige in on the news. "
Hi."
"Hi."
"So, um. . ."
"Jordan, what did it say?"
"Nige, it doesn't talk. It's a stick of plastic. Silly boy!"
"Jordan. . ."
"Ok, ok. Here." Better to let him see it for himself.
Her eyes betraying nothing, Jordan held the test out to him, hoping that her hand wouldn't betray her true feelings by shaking. Nige, trying to read something from her demeanor but finding himself unable to read her at all reached out and took the test from her hand. He looked at it without saying a word. A full minute passed.
"A plus sign. Does this mean what I think it does?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it does. So now, well, what do we do?"
"Are you sure these things are accurate?"
"Supposedly. I didn't spend tons of time getting it, just found the right section at the store and grabbed one. It reminded me of how I felt the first time I bought a box of condoms for 'just in case.' I was convinced that someone Dad knew was going to see me buying it."
"Are you sure you did it right?"
"Nige, it's peeing on a stick. How hard could it be?"
"I was just asking."
"I guess we could look at the directions and at least make sure we're reading the test right. I mean, I'm not sure how we could be misreading a plus sign, but the box is in the trash can right here. Ok. It's. . ."
"What? It's there, right?"
"Yeah. Um, Nige?"
"What now?"
Jordan held up the box for him to see. Nigel looked at it, trying to figure out the bizarre look on her face.
"Jordan, it's a box."
"Nige, read the name of the type of test."
"It says fert-. . . Jordan, it's a fertility test."
"Guess I should have looked at what I was buying a little more specifically."
"So what exactly. . .?"
"I guess it's saying I'm. . ."
"Jordan, please don't finish that sentence."
"Ok. So I guess if I get a chance at lunch I'll. . ."
Garret knocked on the door, then stepped into Jordan's office. He looked from Nigel, who was sitting on the couch looking somewhat perplexed, to Jordan, who looked like a kid who just got her hand caught in the cookie jar and was trying to hide the evidence.
"Do I even want to know. . .?"
"Nope."
"That's what I figured Jordan. Anyway, there's been a body discovered over near the Botanical Gardens. You were. . ."
"Let me guess. I was requested."
"Yeah. But if there's something. . ."
"Nah. I'm outta here. Nige, I'll see you later."
"Ok. Jordan. . ."
"It'll be ok. Let's try to get together for lunch."
Jordan grabbed her keys and her bag and went out to her car, trying to focus on the job she knew was ahead of her while berating herself for not paying more attention in the store this morning. "Great job, Jordan. You couldn't have taken 30 extra seconds to actually read what you were picking up!"
She hopped in her Explorer and drove to the Botanical Gardens, still fighting with herself to focus on what she needed to focus on rather than what was eating at her mind, what had been eating at her mind for about a week now. And to add to it, she knew she was going to be seeing Woody in a few minutes ~ no one else had dispatch specifically request her. How on earth was she going to focus on her job? Before she knew it, she had pulled up along side the police cars and was gathering her equipment bad out of the back of her car. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and heard a familiar voice. . .
"Well, well. Jordan Cavanaugh. If it isn't my lucky day."
"Morning Woody. Having dispatch request me again?"
He looked at the ground quickly and felt the blood rising in his cheeks. "Well, um. . ."
"Don't sweat it, farm boy. Why don't you show me the body ~ and tell me what you know on the way over there."
"Ok. Let's go. This way."
Jordan. . .
It was a pretty standard case as far as that goes. Body found in an alley, apparently stabbed. Nothing overly complicated ~ it didn't smell weird to me. We did what we had to do, then I left to go back and start on the identification so we could notify next of kin and then do the autopsy. Woody said he was going to stay at the scene and get that wrapped up, then he'd come by to see what we found. Like I said, normal stuff.
Nige got going on the identification and in no time had a name and the information needed to contact the family. I went into trace evidence and then started the autopsy. Nothing unusual ~ we'd run a tox screen of course, but it looked like this guy just got caught in the middle of something. As I was leaving autopsy, Woody came off the elevator.
"Find anything?"
"Not really. We got an ID and Lily's handling all that ~ family and department notification and all that. And we've got to wait on the tox screen, but it looks like just plain bad luck. Any leads from the scene?"
"A couple that some of the boys are following up on. Want to grab lunch?"
"Um, yeah. Let me go to my office for a second and then change ~ I have this weird thing where I don't like wearing scrubs out of here, call me crazy."
"No, no. That's fine." So he followed me to my office. Fine. He can wait while I go to the locker room and. . .
"Jordan, wait."
"What Nigel? Oh, shoot. We were going to have lunch together, weren't we?"
"It's ok. I was getting swamped with some stuff, so I ran out and grabbed a bite. And I picked up something. . ." Noticing Woody standing in my office, he opted not to finish that sentence, handing me a small pharmacy bag instead. Lowering his voice so that hopefully only I could hear it, he said, "I just figured that I'd help a little. I made sure what I was getting."
"Ok. Thanks Nige." Well, if I was and. . . It could be worse than Nige. He seems genuinely worried about things. "I'll, um. . .I'll let you know what I. . ."
"Jordan, whatever happens, it'll be ok."
"Yeah, right."
"Ok, now didn't I hear you just making plans for a lunch date? He's gong to get impatient." Nige winked at me and squeezed my hand. "Just let me know what I need to do."
"Thanks Nige! See you later." And I spun into my office to find myself face to face with a very perplexed Woody.
"What was that all about?"
"Oh, we'd talked about grabbing lunch earlier today, but he got swamped and had to cancel. But it was just two friends who were going to have lunch. No big deal."
"And what's in the bag?"
"Just something he picked up for me." Please let that be the end of it! "Now, if we're going to get out of here and get some food, I need to change." I grabbed what I needed and tossed the small plastic bag towards my bag as I went out the door to get cleaned and changed. That done, I went back to my office.
"Jordan? What is this?" Oh shit! The bag hadn't gone far enough and its contents had slid across the floor, landing right at Woody's feet.
"It's. . .um. . .it's. . ." How do I explain this to him. I never meant for him to get hurt. I mean. . .
"It's a pregnancy test."
"Yeah."
"Why the hell would Nigel be getting you a. . . Oh. I guess I might be as dumb as I look. I had no idea that the two of you were. . ."
"We're not. . ." Damn this looks bad.
"Not quite what it looks like. Or is there someone else and he just decided to be nice and pick this up for you?" I hate the look I see in his eyes right now. And even though I need to say something, I get the feeling it'll only make things worse.
"Woody, I'm. . ."
"Don't bother. I'll see you around I guess." Taking one more disdainful look at the box ~ not me, he wasn't even looking at me now ~ he threw it onto the desk and stormed out the door.
"Woody, I. . ." Stunned, I slumped into the chair that thankfully was right behind me. I guess Nigel had heard everything, because in a moment I heard him saying he would take care of things and for someone ~ Garret maybe? ~ to stay put. That apparently done, he came into my office and pulled me up into a hug.
"Oh Jordan. I never should have given that to you when and how I did. I. . ."
"Nige, it's not your fault."
"But if I hadn't brought it down here to give you right then. . ."
"He would have found out sooner or later. Grapevine or something. Cause you know somebody knows, or suspects. We've had too many close calls today. And who knows, I might have even had to tell him myself eventually if we got to that point. . ."
"Well, I hate to bring this up right now, but should we try and. . ."
"Oh. That. Um, do you still have the receipt?"
"Yeah, why?"
"It can go back. Supreme irony rules the day. I'm not. . ."
"And you know this how exactly?"
"Trust me Nige. I know. Guess sometimes I am late." He pulled me into another hug and I could feel the relief he felt ~ because I felt it too.
"So now this will really never be mentioned again, right?"
"Well, not between us. I've got a lot of explaining to do. . ." I looked towards the elevators, hoping I hadn't lost Woody forever. "I'm just not sure right now how I'm even going to get him to listen to me. I think I hurt him really bad, Nige. Even though he and I weren't exactly. . .well, you know. We'd still shared some pretty close moments and it seemed like only a matter of time. Now I don't know if I'll ever get the chance. . ." Nigel looked towards the elevators himself, then back at me. He nodded slowly and pulled me into another hug.
What I didn't know at the time was that the wheels were already turning. He felt responsible for the pain Woody was in and the apparent misery I was in myself and, he felt like he needed to do something to make things better, to repair the damage.
"But what. . .?" he thought. . .
Nigel. . . (later that evening at his apartment)
I felt bloody awful about the whole thing. I mean, I know that it took both Jordan and me for that night to happen, but the stuff afterwards. Getting the test for her and giving it to her when I knew Woody was standing in her office. What the hell was I thinking? I mean, for the love of Pete, that was a territorial move if ever I saw one. It's not like I. . .
No! I don't. I'm not! Jordan's like a kid sister to me, which makes our actions that night even more bizarre than. . . I don't love her. Well, not that way. But what other explanation. . .?
And anyway, even if I did love her that way, what good would it do? She's in love with Woody. Even if she won't admit it. Her reaction to his reaction to the test tells everything. She was crushed ~ as much that she hurt him as by his response to the whole thing. We all knew Woody had it bad for our dear girl, but none of us had a clue that she felt the same way. I'm not even sure Jordan knew herself until this afternoon.
So, now. . . What to do? Talking to Woodrow should probably be my first step. Play a little Cyrano lately, Nige? Not that that's exactly what I'm doing, but the comparison sort of fits. But how do I even begin to approach this?
Maybe he's at. . . Nah ~ would he really go to the Pogue? Probably not, but maybe I can figure out a way to ask Max what to do without technically asking Max what to do. So I'll just feed Rosie and then it's off to the Pogue. . .
a little later, at the Pogue. . .
Hmmm. . . No sign of either of them. Well, I expected as much. Didn't really think Woody would come here, and who knows what Jordan's doing right now. Odd ~ I never really thought about her evening activities and now I'm all concerned about where she is and what she's doing. I thought maybe she'd be here to talk with Max, but. . .
"Nigel! Good to see you! What can I get ya?" Max had spotted me and was motioning me over.
"Oh, how about a pint of whatever you've got on tap, Max?"
"Sure. Here ya go."
"Thanks."
"Say, Nigel. Maybe you can help me out with something here."
"Well, I don't know, but I'll give it a try."
"Woody came in about 6. Got a beer, didn't say much. But he seemed upset over something." He paused, but I could tell there was more.
"Go on."
"Then about 6:30, Jordan came in. She stopped where she was when she saw Woody sitting at the bar. He noticed her at the same time ~ I was about to get him another beer, and he said 'Never mind,' laid some money on the bar, and left quickly. It looked like Jordan tried to say something to him, but he brushed past her and walked out, not even saying anything to her. She came and flopped down on a stool, but didn't really say much. I don't even think she had anything to drink. Left about 15 minutes ago, about 7."
"Ok."
"So, any clue what might be going on? Those two have. . .well, they've seemed to be getting closer lately. Did something happen between them that you know of?"
"Yeah, and it's partly my fault."
"Your fault?"
"I'd rather not get into that right now, if it's ok, Max." No, I definitely don't want to inform him that his daughter and I know each other a little better than "just friends" should. "But I think I might be able to help. Do you know where I might find Woody, by chance?"
"No, but I do have his phone number ~ he gave it to me after the explosion at the building that time. Here ya go. Do you want to use the phone?"
"Thanks, Max. No ~ I won't use the phone here. I've got to go to the office for something and I'll call him from there. Probably better if there aren't a lot of people around." Actually I won't use the phone at all, just run a trace on the number and get the address and show up there. Don't give the boy time to run. "Don't worry ~ things are going to be ok."
"Alright, Nigel. Thanks for helping. I just can't stand to see Jordan. . ."
"I know. I don't like seeing either of them like this. I'll talk to you later."
Alright, Nige. Now, to the morgue to get an address, and then "operation reconnection" is in business.
a little later, outside Woody's building. . .
Alright, found it. That was too easy. Now, let's just hope that it's not a buzz in building. Ah, good. Open door. Now, up the stairs and. . . Yes, here we are. Now I'll just knock on the door and. . .
"Go away, Jordan. I have nothing to say. . ."
I knocked again and waited. In spite of his words, he opened the door. "Jordan, I said. . . Nigel. What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to explain things, Woody."
"There's nothing to explain. You and Jordan are together. Apparently she's pregnant given your little 'present' today. I don't see what else there is to talk about."
"Now wait a minute, Woody." I jammed my foot in the door as he tried to close it on me. Pushing the door open again, I could see how hurt he was, but at the same time, he needed to listen to me and understand exactly what happened. "Things aren't always what they seem. You jumped to some incorrect conclusions, and now you and Jordan are both paying for them." I guess he realized that I wasn't going away, so he coldly motioned for me to come in. I stepped inside, but neither of us made a move to sit down.
"You bought her a pregnancy test. How else am I supposed to interpret that?"
"Yes, I realize that's pretty incriminating evidence if taken alone."
"And what else should I take it with, Nigel?"
"Alright, Woody, I understand. But will you let me explain things before you totally shut Jordan out of your life?"
"Go ahead."
"About a month ago, I was being a pain at the office, refusing to help with any of the computer research because it seemed like I was the only one doing it ~ no one else was bothering to learn because they had me."
"And this has what to do with Jordan and that test?"
"I'm getting there. I knew she needed help on a computer search. I went by her office and saw her sitting there, doing a painfully slow keyword search. So I gave in and helped her. We finished our research and to thank me, she bought me a drink at the Pogue."
"Uh huh."
"We played pool for a while so that she felt ok to drive, and then we realized it was so late the T to my place had stopped for the night. To save me having call, wait for, take, and pay for a cab, Jordan offered to drive me home. I'd gotten a pet pig that she hadn't met, and I wanted her to meet Rosie. And then. . . Woody, honestly I don't know what happened. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were in bed."
"And this is helping explain this so I'll like Jordan again how?"
"It meant nothing. To either of us. It was a mistake. As soon as we realized what we'd done, we were both shocked. We never expected it to happen. Woody, look at me." At least he looked me in the eyes. "It meant nothing to either of us. I swear to you, it meant nothing. We agreed that it would never happen or be spoken of again."
"But. . .?" He seemed to be melting a little. Maybe this would work after all.
"The test?"
"The test."
"Jordan came to me first thing this morning. I knew something had been bothering her for about a week, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I figured maybe the two of you were having problems."
"There hasn't been a 'the two of us.' That's the problem."
"I hear you, mate. Anyway, Jordan was late. As in. . ."
"I know what late means in that context."
"So she had a test. She went and took it. It looked positive, but then we decided to look at the instructions to make sure we were reading it properly."
"And?"
"And we discovered that it was a fertility test, not a pregnancy test. She grabbed the wrong box in the store this morning." This is good, I think. He's almost laughing.
"Why does that totally sound like something Jordan would do?"
"I know. So we'd talked about having lunch, getting a proper test, doing it over lunch and discussing our options. When she got called to the scene, I figured it would take a while and she'd probably forget to eat ~ she's prone to that, just so you know ~ so I went and grabbed something and decided to pick up the test for her. Then you came in and the two of you were going to lunch and. . . Well, you know the rest of what happened."
"I know you gave her the test and she wasn't going to take it with me there. I don't know beyond that."
"No, you stormed out so you wouldn't. As it turns out, the test was returned unopened to the store. We didn't need it. She's not. For once in her life she was just late."
"That's all well and good, Nigel, but I still don't see what difference this makes for anything. The bottom line is you slept together. And I. . ."
"Woodrow, listen to me. Jordan and I made a mistake. Yes, we had sex. One time. ONE time. Once. We were both intoxicated and it just happened. It meant nothing. If she hadn't been late, neither of us would have thought of it again. It was a mistake. Jeeze, she's like my kid sister. And she's heartbroken. She was really falling for you and now she feels like she's screwed everything up. She's probably holed up in her apartment doing God only knows what. Woody, she really cares for you."
"But I don't know how I could. . ."
"Woody, not to be rude, but aren't you putting the cart before the horse here?"
"Huh?"
"Were the two of you dating before this happened?"
"No. We haven't really ever gone on a date. I mean, we kissed in Los Angeles that time she followed me out there for that woman we found in the truck's case. But nothing since then. . . Oh man do I feel like an ass right now."
"Excuse me?"
"Here I was acting like we were dating. I guess the kiss meant more to me than it did to her. I figured it was just because of schedules and stuff that we weren't progressing beyond that. And then today I. . .I jumped to conclusions."
"You think?"
"Nigel, what do I do? You think she really cares about me?"
"Woody, I've never seen her this upset when a guy's stormed out of her office ~ and before you ~ WAY before you ~ there was at least one. Some guy from L.A. ~ but he's married now. Yes, I really think she cares about you. That kiss probably did mean a lot more to her than she's let on."
"So where do I go from here?"
"How about her apartment?"
"I couldn't. We may not have. . . But I know her well enough to know that she'd never even open the door. If anything I'd find myself talking to a closed door."
Now, given my earlier realization that I might indeed love Jordan, this was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation. But Woody looked so pitiful just then. And I remembered Jordan's face when he'd stormed out. No, I had to cover whatever feelings I might have and work at helping the two of them reconnect Besides, I'd already told him that she's like a kid sis to me ~ to go back on that now would mean hurting him all over again, and I can't do that.
"Why don't we go over there together. I'll go up first and talk with her. Tell her you've heard what happened and that you understand ~ or at least you're trying to understand. And you want to talk with her. I'm sure I can convince her to talk to you."
"Ok."
"Let's go then."
So Woodrow and I went over to Jordan’s apartment. We went up the stairs and got to Jordan's large, red door.
Woody tapped my shoulder and leaned in to whisper something. "Alright, Cyrano, what do we do?" Now how did he know what I had thought on my way over to his place?
"You stay over here out of view of the door. I'll knock and see if she'll open up. Then you can come into view and talk with her. Once that's all done, I'll make myself scarce."
"You're sure this will work?"
"No. We're talking about Jordan here. But if you'd rather not even try to. . ."
"No, no. Go ahead. I was just. . ."
"Gee, I can tell who never took a drama class in school." We turned to see Jordan, dressed in sweats and a tank top, her hair hanging in waves around her shoulders, in her open doorway. "Honestly, if you thought you were whispering, well," she dropped her voice to slightly below a stage whisper, "I could teach you a few things."
"Jordan, I was just talking with Woody and. . ."
"Do you want to stand out here in the hallway all night or are you coming in?"
"Both of us, or. . .?"
"Whatever." And she turned and started into her loft.
I looked at Woody. "Well, mate, what do you want me to do? Stay or go?"
"Woody, come on in here. Nigel, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright. Night Jordan. See you tomorrow!" I turned to Woody and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders. "Just listen to her, Woodrow. Don't be too hard on her." And I was off.
Woody. . .
As I went inside her apartment, Jordan stood nervously by the counter/table in the middle of the kitchen area. She seemed almost afraid to look at me. I moved towards her.
"So. . . I guess I've got some explaining to do, huh?"
"Jordan, Nigel told me what happened."
"I swear we never meant for anything. . . But I guess that doesn't really matter ~ the why I mean. It happened, and there's not much I can do about it. I'm so sorry Woody."
"Jordan, it's ok."
"Huh?"
"Nigel pointed one very important thing out to me when he came to my place."
"What's that?"
"We're not exactly in a relationship ~ at least not that kind of a relationship. Jordan, I had no right to. . ."
"No, I wouldn't exactly say that."
"What?"
"We never really did talk about that kiss and I never really discouraged any of your. . .um. . .attention. I feel like I sort of led you on."
"Well, I let you and. . . Hell, Jordan, we could go around like this for hours on end. The bottom line is. . ."
Woody. . .
I was interrupted by the sounds of some kind of altercation in the alley ~ screaming, things being thrown around. It sounded like some kind of domestic dispute. I looked at Jordan. . .
"I better go and see what that is. I mean, I'm not on duty, but. . ."
"No, go. I'll call 911 and then. . ."
"And then you'll stay up here."
"What?"
"I don't have time to argue with you. Call 911 and STAY PUT!"
So I went downstairs and out into the alley. At first I didn't see anything. Then from out of nowhere a foot shot into my gut as a woman screamed something about she knew I'd be back. I managed to get her name, but she continued beating on me. Fortunately, Jordan was Jordan and didn't listen to my orders. She barged out the side door into the alley just before the squad car showed up.
Once we got done with things at the station and I was put on the disabled list for a couple of weeks, I told Jordan about a decision I'd made ~ something to do with my free time. My brother goes quail hunting every year and is always trying to rope me into it. Maybe that was just what I needed. Jordan didn't seem thrilled, but she didn't try to stop me ~ just asked if I'd miss her. As if she had to ask.
. . .the next day ~ at the morgue. . .
Jordan. . .
Well, it was an interesting night. I wished Woody hadn't left for Wisconsin ~ we hadn't exactly finished our conversation the night before. There was still so much to tell him ~ even I couldn't believe how much I wanted to tell him, how much I had to say about things between us. But he was out hunting quail. There was, however, one person I needed to talk to who was in Boston.
"Nige?" Ok, Nigel sitting at his desk and staring into nothingness is definitely not normal. Hell, Nigel sitting is not exactly normal.
"Oh, morning Jordan. You get things talked out with Woody last night?"
"Well, sort of. There was some kind of fight out in the alley and, well, long story short Woody's on a two week leave and he's quail hunting with his brother in Wisconsin. But I think things are going to be ok with us."
"That's good."
"Nige?" I bent down and gave him a hug. "Thanks."
"For what, Jordan?"
"For helping explain to Woody what happened. For being a great friend. For just being yourself."
"Glad I could help."
"Hey Eeyore, why so glum?"
"Nothing Jordan. I'm just tired."
"Oh, ok. Well, if you need anything. . ."
"I know where to find you."
I started down the hall pondering what Nigel could be moping about. I mean, it's not like he's in love with me or something, right? Oh my God. Maybe he is. But why. . .? Maybe it's time for me to take my own advice I've told Woody at least once ~ "ours is not to wonder why." I guess I should just be thankful that he isn't making a big deal about it. I was almost to my door when Emmy caught up with me.
"Dr. Cavanaugh, there's a phone call for you on line one. I said I wasn't sure if you were in, but she insisted I find you."
"Ok, thanks Emmy." Oh God, it can't be anything to do with. . . No, how would anyone know to contact me if something had happened? "Cavanaugh."
"Jordan?"
"Yes. Who's this?"
"It's Kaidlyn ~ your cousin? The one who. . ."
"Kaid? Oh my God! Where on earth are you?"
"At Logan."
"What are you doing there?"
"I'm on my way back to Duke. I did a semester in Kenya and. . ."
"Kenya?"
"Yeah. It was amazing! Anyway, I've got about a six hour layover and I'm bored at the airport. I thought I remembered Mom said that you'd gone back to Boston and thought I'd take a chance that you were back at the M.E.'s office."
"Give me a ~ hang on a second." I'd seen Garret in the hall, so I put my hand over the mouthpiece and yelled for him. He came down the hall. . .
"What?!?"
"Sorry Garret, I was just going to ask if I could take a couple of hours to. . ."
"Yeah, sure."
"Just like that?"
"Yes, Jordan. It's ok. Whatever it's for, take the time you need."
"Ok. . .thanks Garret." Back to the phone. "Kaid? I'm not sure what's up, but it's fine. I'll be there in about 30 minutes. What airline?"
She gave me the information and in no time I was there and she was in the car. I hadn't seen Kaid since. . .since Mom's funeral. I think she was three then. God, she'd grown. Looking at her it was hard to believe that she was really in college ~ she could pass for a high school student. She had the Cavanaugh blue eyes and a few freckles sprinkled across her nose. I remembered her as a cute kid and that hadn't changed as she'd grown up. I was almost glad Woody wasn't here to meet her.
We chatted the whole way back to my office. She loved school ~ was majoring in psychology and forensic criminology with a political science minor, but she didn't know what she was going to do with it. The semester in Kenya was partly school and partly just to explore ~ sort of like when I went to Italy, minus a few things. . .I think. She didn't seem freaked out by going to the morgue, and I felt like I needed to check in with Garret and make sure they could afford for me to take this time off. As we were getting off the elevator, we almost ran into Nigel.
"Sorry Nigel. I didn't know that you would be. . ." I noticed he wasn't really paying attention to anything I was saying.
"Hello there. Jordan, I'm assuming you know this person with you. Are you going to introduce me?"
Oh Jeeze, I hadn't even thought of this. But, well, why not. It's not like she was moving here. "Nigel, this is my cousin Kaidlyn. Kaidlyn, Nigel. She's just coming back from Kenya and had a six hour lay over at Logan and was understandably bored." I decided to go check in with Garret while they were chatting.
"Hi. Nigel was it? It's nice to meet you."
"My pleasure. Where are you from ~ I can't quite place. . ."
"North Carolina. I was born here, but we moved when I was like three. Just never moved back."
"I see. And you go to school there?"
"Yeah, Duke."
"You're in college?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, Garret's said I can take you to lunch. Why don't we go by Dad's bar and. . ."
Uncle Max owns a bar now?"
"Yeah. It's. . ." I noticed that Nigel wasn't moving ~ and he wasn't taking his eyes off Kaid. "Nigel, would you like to come to lunch too?"
"Alas, I can't. I've got an identification pending and. . ."
"Nigel, go to lunch." Garret had apparently been observing the whole conversation. He turned to Kaidlyn and I introduced them. "It's nice to meet some more of Jordan's family. I hope you'll come back and visit sometime when you can stay a little longer."
"Thanks! Nice to meet you too!"
"Ok, if we're going to eat and get you back to the airport in time, we need to get going. Thanks Garret ~ and we'll see you later."
So Nigel, Kaidlyn and I headed over to the Pogue, but Dad wasn't there. I tried the house and he was there in bed ~ apparently he'd managed to get a spring cold and was staying in for the day. He talked to Kaid briefly. We realized that by the time we actually got in somewhere to eat, we'd hardly have time to eat, much less talk, so we opted for fast food eaten in the park. Kaidlyn and Nigel seemed to hit it off well, and though I wasn't necessarily thrilled about that prospect ~ Nigel dating my cousin ~ I knew that for the immediate future she was going back to school and he was staying here. And who knows, maybe it would work out.
We drove back to Logan and Kaid hopped out to go and get checked in for the last leg of her flight home ~ but not before she and Nigel exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. I got out to give her a hug. "Bye sweetheart. I hope you'll come back soon! It's been way too long since we've seen each other!"
"I know! Bye Jordan. I love you!" And she turned and bounced into the airport.
I got back in the car and we started back to the morgue. Nigel was looking out the window. "Nige? You ok?"
"Yeah, Jordan. I am. Thanks for including me with you and your cousin at lunch. It. . .well. . .It was really great to meet her."
"You're welcome Nige." We were at a stoplight, so I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He turned to me, somewhat surprised. I just laughed and said "Well, I guess we're even now!"
"Yeah Jordan, I guess we are."
The End.
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