PART I - THE END OF THE DAY

The elevator doors slid and closed without a sound, but to the employees of the coroner's office it was as though they'd banged shut with a heart-wrenching finality. Jordan just stood motionless - they all did, really. Their hero, Dr. Macy, gone forever? It was too much for their little "family" to cope with and they all started to buzz with questions. What's going on? Where's Dr. M. going? Is he coming back? Is Slocum really the new chief ME? How the hell did this happen? Lily was crying unabashedly. Even Bug had to wipe a stray tear from his cheek. Nigel tried to make light of it with "Don't worry - he'll be back... He has to be back!"

The last rays of the afternoon sun glittered through the large window into the hall. This day was turning into a nightmare. And now Garret was gone. Who would hold the morgue family together? One by one, the stunned employees had receded from the hall, and now it was empty, silent. Almost like someone had died. Ironic, really.

Lily carefully filed a few papers to clear her desk, then rose to leave. Normally, she would hang around, see what some of her friends were doing for supper. Tonight she just didn't have the energy. The ticking of the clock in her office was driving her insane - she had to leave. She packed up early - something she almost never, ever did, and walked down the hall toward the elevator. She could almost still see Garret standing there, his goodbyes like darts piercing her soul. A stern voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Ms. Lebowski, a word," Slocum called as Lily passed by "his" office. She meandered in, obviously distracted about something…or maybe about someone. It seemed that Dr. Garret Macy had more of an effect on these people than he ever imagined. But he knew his place, and right now he was Chief ME, so it didn't matter what they thought of him.

"Yeah," Lily's tone was somewhat rebellious, almost like a lost teenager questioning his authority.

He looked down at her personnel file. "I see that you were originally hired as a Clerk - Level III - whose responsibilities entailed, hm, let's see…" he lowered the file and looked at her flushed face before raising it to continue, "and I quote here…Employee will be responsible for receiving and processing requests in a timely manner; being attentive to information provided on request form to ensure accuracy; resolving any related issues; and maintaining tracking and filing systems. Employees must observe strict adherence to the guidelines and confidentiality requirements of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as well as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Employees will perform a variety of clerical duties, such as providing on average ten hours per week back-up support for switchboard/reception coverage, filing, and scanning files...Did I miss anything?" Slocum lowered the file and looked at Lily.

Lily shook her head. "No, that just about covers it." She bit her lips to keep from screaming out at him. She had to blame someone, and right now she just couldn't believe it had been Garret's fault. That would take some time to think through.

Slocum shook his head and once again reviewed the file laying open before him. "Ms. Lebowski….I am actually quite puzzled. It seems that you now hold the position as a, ahem - Grief Counselor….with a considerable raise in salary. And that, prior to receiving this lucrative raise, you handed in your resignation. So….how did we go from file clerk to counselor, hm? Could it be that the great Dr. Macy couldn't bear to be without you?"

"Are you questioning my professional relationship with Dr. Macy?" Lily half demanded. She rose to leave the room.

"Look, I just find it rather…shall we say, um, interesting…that not only have I heard you refer to Dr. Macy -- your boss -- by his first name, and that you seem to be more emotionally upset by his absence than almost everyone else here, but that Dr. Macy evidently literally created this position for you, even though you don't have the proper credentials to be a licensed counselor of any kind." Slocum held up his hand to stop her protest. "You have two weeks, Ms. Lebowski…."

"Two weeks! Are you firing me?" Lily was stunned. She never realized her job could be in jeopardy with Garret gone. Something else to worry about, as if there weren't enough already.

"Two weeks to prove to me that you are an essential part of this -- what do you call it? Family?" Slocum gave her a nod. "You can leave now." As Lily rose, he saw that her face was ashen. "Two weeks, Ms. Lebowski. If you can prove your position is valid, I have no problem retaining you. Good day."

Nigel was in the lab, working on a little "side job" for Jordan. He shouldn't have stuck his nose in it, really, but she needed Max now, and that was one thing in this crazy, mixed-up day Nigel actually could deliver. He'd always had connections out there. Jordan would be angry at first, but then she'd come around. Hell, he knew he was treading in deep water there, that was one complicated relationship! To say the least! And he, of all people, knew how it could be between a father and a child.

It was as if the whole world had gone mad since Woody'd been shot . Jordan, finally willing to show real feelings. (He couldn't touch that one right now, thank-you-very-much!) Dr. Macy, withholding evidence. And for years! That was just one thing he couldn't understand….What in the world happened all those years ago that would've made Dr. Garret Macy withhold evidence? It wasn't like him - in fact, just about the opposite. "Well, delve in and find out what happened!" he told himself. He was afraid though, afraid of what he might find. And all of the sudden, the realization came to him….His hero had not only fallen, he'd plummeted. Anything else he would find could only make matters better, right? But he was afraid to find out.

The phone rang, interrupting his epiphany, and maybe for the best. There was his friend, a good ol' bloke from back in the day, with the number he needed. He needed to make this fast, in case Slocum was lurking around. What a snake, really! But back to the task at hand….He had no idea what was going on now with Jordan and Woodrow, but he knew she'd come back from the hospital quite upset and more distracted than he thought he'd ever seen her. He wondered if she was ready to run...She always ran. But hadn't they all been through enough without that right now? He knew he couldn't trust Jordan to dial on her own. "Max? It's Nigel…"

Slocum was walking out of his office, keys in hand, when Jordan headed toward the elevator. "Well, well, well…." he started. She turned to face him, a fire blazing in her eyes, ready for battle. "So, Dr. Cavanaugh…Now that your paragon is off his pedestal…"

"Don't you ever, ever, accuse Garret Macy of anything that would imply he didn't follow the rules! If he didn't, there must've been a damn good reason…And I will find the truth!"

"I thought you already had, doctor." Slocum was a little quiet with this last thought, but not unruffled. "I need to talk to you anyway. We'll share the elevator." The doors closed and Jordan closed her eyes, wondering when this god-awful day would end. It just kept getting worse. "…need to give him a call."

"Give who a call?" Jordan snapped out of her dire thoughts and turned to Slocum.

He looked at her wryly. "You know, I am not out to get anyone's job. I don't really care. I just have a job to do…Go ahead, find out what you want about why Macy did what he did….But I am the acting CME and am at least entitled to your respect…"

"Respect!" she practically spat. "Respect is not something you're entitled to….it's something you earn!" Jordan's emotions were so raw, wounded and upside-down that she could barely control her temper. How dare this snake, Slocum! Fat chance he'd get any respect from her any time soon anyway!

"Fine! But you're overdue for your yearly psych evaluation. In fact, it seems you've skipped a few. And if that report from Dr. Stiles is not on my desk by the end of the week, you'll be suspended, possibly permanently if this subordination continues! I hardly think you could help Macy as much if you get fired doctor...Because if those doors slam on you this time, they won't open again unless you have a toe-tag!" The elevator came to a stop, the doors opened and Slocum bolted out. "By the end of the week and I mean it!" he called over his shoulder, then bolted out of the building before Jordan could recover. Great. Now, at the worst possible point in her life, she had to see Stiles or lose her job.

The pale, sick kid lying in the hospital bed draped with tubes hardly resembled Woody. "Woody, you awake?" Garret hardly knew what he was doing here. He respected Woody, maybe that was it. Or maybe there was more to it….

Woody's eyes fluttered open. "Hey, what's up doc?" he smiled groggily. A spasm of pain spread through him and he weakly clutched his abdomen. "See the nurse anywhere? Maybe I could get something…for…the pain."

"I'll check," Garret volunteered. Where the hell was Jordan? She had to be finished up with her cases for the day…Unless more had come in since he….Well, now he wouldn't know. Wow. What to do now that he'd spent more than half his life tied up in that place. He didn't even know where to go, what to think, how to react. At the door he paused, scanning the hall.

A movement to his right caught his attention. Ah, there was a nurse. He walked up to her, related Woody's plea for pain medication. "I'll have to check with the doctor," she told him, then went toward the nurse's station. He wondered whether or not he should go back to the room or just call it a day. What possible good could he do Woody now? Probably other cops would be by to see him, definitely Lily, Bug, Nigel, at least when they could. Well, to skip out was just so unlike him….That was more Jordan's style, he thought wryly.

It was Jordan…Of course. She was more of a daughter to him than Abby at times. He'd felt like her surrogate father for so long, he couldn't imagine how she was coping with this. God, she'd actually been crying earlier. He needed time to process that. But then, now there was time and only time….

He walked back to the room. The nurse was slipping a needle into the IV. Good, maybe he'd be more comfortable. Sometimes it was hard for him to remember what it was like working on live bodies. That had been so many years ago. The dead were different. You almost felt like you were reliving their pain as you searched every mark, cut, crack for evidence. But you knew it was over for them, the pain - not physical and not mental and not emotional pain. Just release?

Woody felt stabs of pain pulse through his body. Hopefully Doc would find someone who could give him something to stop it. He hated the thought of it though - drugs. It was like a dirty word to him, something vile, a sign of weakness. He almost wished he had died when the bullet pierced his skin, hot and searing, shattering fragments of skin and who knew what else - they still weren't sure of the damage. But his dreams had shattered too, hadn't they?

Jordan was gone. He was sure she wouldn't be back. He made it clear he didn't want her back. A lie. Another thing he hated - lies. What she said, the words she'd whispered. All of it lies. Pity. Lies.

The nurse came in then, noticed the look of torment on his pale face. "It'll be alright, you'll see," she said, injecting the hated medication. "This will make it all better."

He started to drift off to sleep. He thought of what the nurse had said. No. It would not be "all better". There was no drug in the world that would ever cure the effect Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh had on his heart. Lies…..But he could hear the whispered pleas, declarations of love, so bittersweet, over and over as he drifted to sleep.