Boston, Massachusetts

"Doctor Macy?"

Garrett looked up from his desk and was surprised to see Woody lingering in his office doorway holding his jacket, which seemed to have something in it, tightly against his chest, "Detective Hoyt, what can I do for you?" he asked in a professional voice. "Is this a work call or is this to talk about Jordan?"

Woody, however, said nothing and closed both the door and the blinds, "I need a second opinion on something," he said in a nervous voice as he extracted an x-ray file from his jacket. "I'm sick, see…"

Frowning, Garrett got up from his desk, walked over to Woody, and took the file, "I've been getting headaches at work and I've had to go off shift early for the last few days," Woody explained as Garrett took the film out of the envelope and put it on his light board. "I went to the ER last night with a migraine and they did a scan, but I stole it from Radiology before anyone had a chance to look at it."

"Is that why you cancelled on Jordan last night?" Garrett asked as he flipped on the light and studied the film that appeared to be of Woody's brain. "She phoned me in frustration when you cancelled."

Woody sighed and nodded, "After I snuck out of the ER with the x-ray, I went home and went to bed because my head was making me feel really sick," he explained tiredly. "Maybe I'm overdoing it."

"I don't think so," Garrett replied in a somber voice. "The scan shows a mass that looks unusual."

Woody frowned, "A mass?" he asked in a worried voice. "What do you think the mass could be?"

"You'll need an MRI, I think," Garrett replied in a professional tone. "When can you get that done?"

Woody shrugged, "I'm supposed to go pick up my sister at the bus station in like an hour," he said in a tired voice as he quickly lifted the blinds and opened the door. "I need to call a cab to get me there."

Garrett nodded and walked with Woody as he left the office, "I can take you to get your sister," he offered, worried that Woody would suffer a migraine while traveling and pass out. "I thought she was in a small town in Maine and running a successful practice? Why would she want to come to Boston?"

"You know that murder that happened out there last year?" Woody asked as they passed by the office where Bug and Nigel were sitting, conversing, and waiting for their next case since Jordan was off that day and she had, at Garrett's urging, chosen to have a 'girls day' with Lily out on the town.

Garrett nodded, "My sister's husband was abusive and she was accused of his murder, but was found innocent," Woody explained in a tired voice. "She decided to come out here for a fresh start…"

Woody suddenly frowned and placed his hand on his forehead, "I need to sit down," he said in a pain-filled voice as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "Can I get a Tylenol and some water?"

"Woody, are you okay?" Bug asked as he suddenly noticed Woody. "Nigel, get Woody a chair."

As Nigel grabbed a chair, Woody suddenly leaned forward, collapsed, and began to convulse violently.

"Woody!" Garrett shouted as he knelt beside the seizing detective. "Nigel, call for an ambulance!"

Nigel nodded and hurried off to phone for an ambulance, "Get the pillows off the couch in my office, Bug, and bring them here," Garrett ordered as Woody continued seizing. "Woody, can you hear me?"

The convulsions continued for several more seconds before Woody suddenly stopped and went as limp as a rag doll, "Okay, 30 seconds," Garrett whispered, quickly checking his watch and then watching Woody's chest to see if the sick detective was breathing. "Woody, it's Doctor Macy; can you hear me?"

Woody, however, remained unresponsive, but was breathing on his own, "Here's the pillows, Doctor Macy," Bug said in an anxious voice as he hurried over to Garrett and Woody with two pillows in his hands and passed them to Garrett. "Nigel's on the line with EMS; it should be about 15 minutes…"

Garrett nodded and carefully stabilized Woody's neck and watched as Bug placed the pillows on either side of the younger man's body in case there was another seizure, "Hang in there," Garrett whispered in a somber voice. "Bug, there's an x-ray film on the lightboard in my office. Go put it back in the folder on my desk and bring it here. The paramedics will probably want to take it to the hospital with Woody."

Bug nodded and took off down the hallway, leaving Garrett alone to care for Woody.

The bus stopped outside the terminal and while other passengers quickly grabbed their bags, a dark haired woman in the back of the bus looked out the window uncertainly, "Ma'am, are you getting off?" the driver, a middle aged man who was exhausted after driving from New York, asked as he came down the aisle and stopped at the woman's seat. "This bus isn't going anywhere until tomorrow morning."

"Where exactly are we, sir?" the woman asked in a faint, but nervous voice, not turning her face.

The bus driver frowned, "Boston," he replied, concerned about the woman's tired voice.

"Okay," the woman replied nervously as she looked at him, revealing bruises on her face, ragged clothes, and a mess of dirty blonde hair that was tied up in a loose bun. "Could you grab my bag?"

Nodding, the driver quickly grabbed a backpack out of the overhead compartment as the woman stood up and immediately sank back into her chair, "Just give me a minute," she said in a tired voice.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" the driver asked in a worried voice. "Would you like me to call for help?"

The woman sighed, "My brother's supposed to be coming," she replied weakly. "I'm just very tired."

"Who's your brother, ma'am?" the driver asked softly. "Maybe I can contact him for you."

The woman placed a hand on her forehead, "He'll come," she replied in a faint voice. "Daniel?"

"Mommy, are we in Boston yet?" a quiet voice asked as a small boy with dark hair sat up and showed that he was wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweater. "Are you gonna work at fixing sick people again?"

The bus driver looked surprised, "You're a doctor, ma'am?" he asked in a confused voice. "How long…?"

"I was sent by my boss, Kate Switzer, to help in the morgue here," the woman replied as she sighed and took a sip of water from the small bottle that rest in the cup holder. "My name's Annie."

Daniel quickly got into the aisle as Annie slowly got up and into the aisle, just a few inches from the bus driver, "I get tired after traveling if I don't drink enough water," Annie explained in a reassuring voice as she grabbed her water, her purse, and her backpack. "I'm feeling better now, though; thank you."

Even though the driver didn't look entirely convinced, he nodded and moved into a set of seats so that Annie and Daniel could get off the bus. Annie smiled at the driver and she and Daniel got off the bus and got their two suitcases, one large and one small, from the luggage compartment below the bus.

As Annie and Daniel began to walk away from the bus, they were passed by Jordan and Lily, both of whom were carrying light shopping bags of things that Lily had bought for her unborn child, "Excuse me, do either of you ladies know where the Medical Examiner's office is?" Annie asked as she looked at Jordan and Lily nervously. "I was recently hired on there and I'm supposed to report for work."

"Garrett didn't mention hiring anyone," Jordan replied in a confused voice. "Who are you?"

Annie sighed, "My name's Annie and I came from a little medical practice in Maine, but I went to medical school at Princeton and did my internship and residency at Princeton-Plainesboro Teaching Hospital under the supervision of a Doctor Gregory House. If you want to do a record check, feel…"

"No, that's okay," Lily spoke up nervously. "If I may ask, Annie, what's your new job going to be?"

Daniel suddenly looked up at Annie, "Mommy, can we get something to eat?" he asked softly.

"We're actually headed to get something to eat right now," Jordan replied. "Why don't you and your son join us and then Lily and I can show you where the M.E.'s office is? My name's Jordan, by the way."

Annie was silent for a moment and then nodded, "That would be great," she replied softly. "Thank you."

"No problem," Lily responded, relieved to see that Annie seemed pleasant enough. "My name's Lily."

Annie nodded, "This is my son, Daniel," she replied in a more pleasant voice. "He's my pride and joy."

"How old are you, Daniel?" Jordan asked as they continued walking down the street away from the bus.

Daniel grinned as he pulled his rolling suitcase down the pavement, "Seven," he replied in a happy voice.

As Jordan, Lily, Annie, and Daniel headed off towards a restaurant, they were unaware that they were being carefully and silently observed by a dark haired man named James who sat in a car across the street. His life had changed for the worse ever since he had found out that he had been living a lie and that he wasn't who he had grown up being and it was all the fault of the well-intending people at the Medical Examiner's office. He recognized the woman who was obviously very pregnant, but he didn't recognize the dark haired women or the small boy. Were they all friends?

"I will soon want to talk to you and your medical buddies too, Lily," the man said in a soft, but anxious voice. "I need to know why you messed up who I thought I was."

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