TITLE: Retribution

AUTHOR: Clairisant

CLASSIFICATION: Too complicated to list…trust me on this one!

FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad feedback but please try to be kind and constructive. Clairisant

CREDITS: A special thank you to my beta readers Qupeydoll and Unicorn.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to Jurisdiction, and a crossover story with Crossing Jordan.

Chapter 1

Wednesday, 3 September 2003

1015 EST

Medical Examiner's Office

Boston, Massachusetts

After breaking a big case Garret usually let a couple of days slide without criticism of her tardiness. Jordan considered it high praise if this behavior lasted more than two days. The Trask case must have really impressed him, because the criticism sabbatical had lasted five days! Unfortunately that ended ten days ago and she was back in the dog house again.

Not even the fact that he and Lily had started dating had cut into the flack he gave her. The only difference it had made was that now he would bawl her out with a smile on his face. It was creepy!

She had been trying to be on time, but everything she tried never seemed to work. The one idea that she had thought to be her best one yet had back fired. In truth, it had worked the first day, and she had been proud of the fact that she had gotten to work only one minute late! So, that night when she'd gotten home, she'd set her alarm clock back one more minute. Now she had an additional forty six minutes to get ready in the morning.

However, when the alarm went off, she reminded herself that the clock didn't show the real time and she hit the snooze button…more than once… The end result was that she ended up being even later than she normally was!

Garret was leaving Lily's office as Jordan stepped off the elevator. She had been hoping to get to her own office without being noticed. Unfortunately, her luck was running true to form that morning and she was seen even before the elevator doors could close behind her.

He didn't even have to look down at his watch to see the time. There was a decorative clock behind her on the wall next to the elevator that tattled just how late she was. His eyes had flown to the clock and back to her as she walked towards him. The creepiness was back. His eyebrows almost met in a scowl even though there was still a smile on his lips as he said, "You know if you get any later, you'll step off the elevator only to get back on again to leave for lunch!"

She thought about a quick snippy reply, but in the end knew it wouldn't do any good. "Sorry, boss," was her only response.

The surprise was clear on his face at that and she jumped in to add, "I will try to do better, and I know you don't like explanations, or excuses as you call them, but my alarm clock really did betray me today!"

Garret rolled his eyes at her then, without a word, turned and marched into his office.

Jordan headed to her own office without stopping off for her usual morning chat with Lily, Bug, and Nigel. She knew she could only push Garret so far before he really blew up at her.

Mere minutes had passed from the time she sat down at her desk and Lily breezed into the office.

"Later than usual today," she stated rather than asked.

"Yeah, long story," she said as she pulled the top file off the mini-mountain that was piled on her desk. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you didn't make it in for our usual coffee break so I thought I would drop by to tell you about my date last night. I didn't want you to think that Bug and Nigel were in the know and you weren't."

Leaning back in her chair, she replied, "Since I assume you are still seeing Garret, I have to wonder if he really wants you sharing details of your love life."

"Hey, I figured that you would want to be kept up to speed since you are my best friend and therefore will be my maid of honor at the wedding!"

"Wedding!" Jordan gasped. "I thought Garret was off marriage after the way things ended with his ex!"

"Well he is going to have to marry me before little Garret Jr. or Little Lily is born," she announced with a dreamy smile on her face.

"You're pregnant? I thought you guys had only been dating two weeks!" Jordan asked incredulously.

"We have, and I'm not…yet anyway. But I am planning on having his children one day."

"What does Garret have to say about that?" Jordan demanded.

"Oh, I haven't told him yet. But really when do men really have a say in these things? Oh sure, we let them think they do, and even let them do the proposing in most cases. However, truthfully, women are the ones who do the deciding!" With a giggle, she asked, "So, do you want to hear about the date or not?"

"I really would Lily, but if I don't get some of this paperwork done your groom will kill your maid-of-honor before she can plan your bachelorette party. How about you tell me at lunch?"

"It's a date!" she declared and practically skipped out of the office.

With a weary sigh Jordan pulled a file towards her and began to work.

Forty-five minutes later her phone rang. Answering it, she was surprised at who was calling her. He had said he would call, but she had figured it was just an empty promise.

"Hello Jordan, I'm in town and was hoping you didn't have lunch plans."

Trying to keep her tone of voice business-like, she asked, "And what brings you to town, Agent Rabb?"

"I thought we were on first name basis. Why not make it Harm?"

To be continued…