Don't own any of 'em. Wouldn't know what to do with them if I did....but the fun I would have .....

Why wouldn't the banging on the door stop? Woody thought groggily as he clumsily staggered to the door of his apartment. He was still sleeping off the overdose of sleeping pills that he had been given in that cup of tea this morning by the lady that owned the boarding house....the woman that killed the IRS agent by bashing his head in with the burner on her stove.

The ungodly banging continued, this time along with a voice he knew....he knew all too well.

"Woody! Let me in!" yelled Jordan, realizing he was probably sound asleep.

The door opened suddenly and Jordan found herself face-to-face with him. "What do you want?" he asked half-angrily, half-sleepily. Jordan knew he was probably upset with her on several levels...one for waking him up and another for keeping him at arms length for so long.

"I want to examine you," she said, then noting the way his eyebrows hit his hairline in surprise, she went on to explain, "Lily told me you got fed too many sleeping pills today in a cup of tea. I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine Jordan. All I need is some sleep. Now would you please just go away and let me get some?" Woody tried to close the door, but she had already put her foot inside the threshold.

"No can do, Farm Boy. Not until I've at least looked you over and made sure you're okay."

"You examine dead people. What do you know about the living?"

"Quite a lot, actually." She pushed her way inside and then proceeded to push him down on the couch. "Now sit still. This won't hurt a bit. And I promise to be gentle." She grinned, trying to humor him.

Woody frowned at her. Why was she really here? To gloat over his condition? To offer unwanted sympathy? He watched as she pulled a small pen light from her bag. She pushed him back on the couch and tilted his head back on the cushions. Then she examined his pupils. He winced at the bright light. She then took his hand and felt his pulse. "How sleepy are you?"

"I'm still pretty out of it."

"How long have you been asleep?"

Woody looked at the clock on the end table. He came back to his apartment at four. Noting it was now past ten, he said, "A little more than six hours."

Satisfied that his pulse was fine and his pupils were responding, she clicked the light off and slapped his thigh. "You'll live. But I imagine you're going to need to sleep it off until tomorrow morning. Go get in your bed. I want to check on you one more time before I go."

"Jordan, I'm fine. Please go now."

"I will go....after I check on you one more time."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Woody stumbled to his bedroom and stripped down to his boxers. Pulling the blankets back on his bed, he climbed in. He could hear her in his living room, putting her penlight and things away. Why had she come? He wondered. He had pursued their friendship harder than she had. Jordan didn't trust easily and had rebuffed his advances more times than he wanted to count. Yet here she was, in his apartment, acting concerned. Taking time out of her schedule to examine him ... make sure he was all right. Why? Did she care more than she let on?

He heard her at his door. She lightly knocked. "Is it okay for me to come in?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, Woody. Let me check you one more time."

"I'm really fine, Jo."

"Let me be the judge of that." She pulled back his eyelids and examined his pupils once more. Then again took his pulse. "You're right...you're fine." She smiled at him. "Just don't take anymore tea from old ladies, hmmm?"

He mumbled something sleepily and rolled over onto his side. She watched him fall asleep. Pulling the covers snugly around him, she pushed the hair off his forehead and let her fingers trail down his cheek. She left his bedroom, softly pulling the door to behind her.

No matter how mad Woodrow Hoyt might get, she wasn't leaving him alone tonight. She wasn't sure how many sleeping pills that old lady put in that cup of tea, but she couldn't rest if she knew he was by himself. Neither Lily nor Bug had had the presence of mind to bring the teacup, teapot, or anything back to run tests on. She sat on the edge of his couch and pulled her shoes off. She was going to bunk down on his couch tonight and keep a check on him. She didn't have to be into her office until tomorrow after lunch. She could afford to loose a few hours of sleep tonight. She tucked a small pillow under her head and pulled the throw off the back of the sofa and settled down. She would check on him again in a few hours.

He seemed to be fine. He looked more than fine...clad only in the boxers. Jordan had no idea exactly how well-built Woody was. He had held her when they danced, and she was aware of how muscular his arms were....but not his chest and abs...not really. Other than that time she had caught a brief glimpse of him in his office without his shirt, she had never seen him more undressed than just removing his tie and unbuttoning the top two buttons on his shirt. Damn...they grow nice-looking boys in Wisconsin, she thought before sleep finally claimed her, too.

Three hours later, she awoke, slightly disoriented about where she was. She looked at the clock on the end table. It showed 3:15 a.m. She pulled herself off the couch and tiptoed to Woody's room. Softly, she opened the door and quietly walked over to his bed. Easing herself down on the edge, so not to wake him, she took his hand and felt his pulse. It was steady. She leaned over and listened to his breathing. It was steady, too. When she sat back, she was startled to see him looking at her. "I thought I told you to leave," he said, still groggy.

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd hang around here for a while longer and make sure you were really okay."

"I'm fine....go home and rest."

"I will," she said to him, then under her breath added "later."

She once again left his bedroom and shut the door behind her, making her way to his couch and falling back to sleep. He wasn't grateful to see her, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Jordan knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to him. So she was staying the night, whether he liked it or not.