Crossing Jordan
"Her Haunting Past"
Summary: Garrett Macy hires a new ME. She is able and willing to have the job. She has just recently moved to Boston and now live with her sister and brother-inlaw. She gets along with everyone at work, especially Nigel Townsend. Soon her co-workers become her family. She trusts them with her life, but is she willing to tell them the horrible truth about her past or will she hide it and risk losing their trust? And when her sister disappears and the man she loves is about to take the fall for her sister's disappearance, will she be able to save them both before it's too late or will this just become another part of her life that haunts her?
Disclaimer: I do not own Crossing Jordan nor do I own Garrett, Nigel, Bug, Lily, Jordan or Woody. They all belong to the creator of Crossing Jordan, Jason Ning and NBC.
Rating: R for language, violence and sexual situation
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A tall, slender young girl with long brown hair tied back in a single ponytail, brown eyes, and a nervous expression walked off the elevator to the morgue. She was wearing a brown leather jacket with a baby-blue sleeveless shirt underneath, black leather pants, and black boots with half-inch heels. She found the office of Garrett Macy and knocked politely.
Garrett looked up from his computer screen. "Yes, can I help you miss?" he asked.
"Dr. Macy, my name is Marie Henderson. We spoke yesterday on the phone and you asked me to stop by today."
"Oh yes. Thank you for coming Miss Henderson." said Garrett, standing and walking over to he and shaking her hand. "Follow me and I'll show you where you'll be working." He led her down the hall to autopsy room three where two men had just finished an autopsy and were taking off gloves. They looked at Garrett and Marie when they entered. "Nigel, Bug, this is Marie Henderson, our new ME. She'll be working with you two for awhile so make her feel welcome." Garrett told them.
The tall guy with long black hair extended his hand for Marie to shake and she did. "Hi, I'm Nigel Townsend and this is my collegue, Bug." he said. The other man just smiled and waved politely.
"Nice to meet you." said Marie, smiling.
"Well, I'll leave you guys to it." said Garrett, turning and heading back to his office, leaving Marie with her two new co-workers.
One Week Later
Marie had just finished her shift with Nigel(Bug had cut out early for a date with his wife Lily, the Grief Counselor). She turned off her computer, grabbed her keys out of the top drawer of her desk and was on her way out of the office she shared with Nigel and Bug when she almost ran into Nigel, who was apparrently also on his way out.
"Oh sorry." said Nigel quickly.
"It's alright. I didn't realize anyone was still here." said Marie.
"I was just on my way out actually. Say, would you like to join me for a beer?" asked Nigel.
"Sure, I'd love to." said Marie, smiling.
She and Nigel walked took the elevator together to the parking garage and got off. Marie walked over to her Chevelle parked not too far from the elevators, or Nigel's motorcycle.
"This is your car?" asked Nigel, sounding a little surprised but also impressed.
"Yeah. It used to belong to my uncle but he gave it to me shortly after my mother died. It wasn't like this when he bought it though. He and I worked on it for years restoring it to almost brand new. " said Marie, opening the driver-side door. "You wanna ride along?"
"Uh sure." said Nigel.
"Hop in." said Marie, climbing in the driver seat and Nigel got in the passenger seat as she started the car. She backed it out of the parking space than drove out to a nearby bar.
Marie sat with Nigel at the bar, both of them nursing a beer while they sat talking, getting to know each other a little better.
"So where you staying at love?" asked Nigel.
"I just recently moved in with my sister and her husband. They've been married about a year now." said Marie.
"You married or seeing anybody?" asked Nigel.
"No, no special man in my life yet. Right now I'm as single as they come. I haven't had a boyfriend since high school. My sister is always telling me I need to start dating before I end up living the rest of my life alone. She's pushed me about it for awhile now and she's starting to drive me nuts." said Marie with a laugh and Nigel laughed too. "Sometimes I just think she's trying to get me to get married so I'll move out. She's jokes that that's exactly what she wants too. I know her husband can't wait 'til I more out. Me and him don't get along very well. I don't know how she can stand being married to him. All he does is treat her bad, and me. Listen to me ramble. I've barely let you get in a word inch wise."
"Oh it's okay. I'm enjoying listening to you ramble." said Nigel, smiling.
Marie smiled back. "Well what if I want to get know some things about you?"
"Like what?" asked Nigel.
"Well, to start with, where you from? I'm guessing by your accent that you're British." said Marie.
"Yes, I am. I was born in London. I came to Boston a while back. I almost got deported by the INS but Dr. Macy saved me so here I am." said Nigel.
"Dr. Macy seems like a great guy. You guys appear to be really close to him." said Marie.
"He is a great guy. We are all pretty close to him. He watches out for us." said Nigel. He fell silent for a moment before he spoke again. "So is there anything else you want to know about me?"
"Any hobbies?" asked Marie.
"Well, I like photography, biking, fashion design, skiing, gourmet cuisine, and attractive women." said Nigel, giving a small laugh as he said the last one. Marie just smiled than took a drink of her beer. "So how long have you lived with your sister and brother in-law?"
"I moved in with them shortly after our mother died, cancer. She lived with it for five years before she died, a year and a half before she actually told anyone about it. By then, it was too late to do anything to save her." said Marie. "When she got too sick to take care of me and my sister, I dropped out of college and had to work to pay all the bills. Than after our mom died, my sister married and moved out, moving to Boston. Shortly afterward, I lost my job and had to move in with my sister." She felt tears well-up in her eyes and she quickly turned away, hoping that Nigel didn't see.
"I'm sorry." said Nigel, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. He could tell that she was crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, no it's wasn't you. It's just...I haven't handled everything well since my mom died. There's a lot about me that you don't know, and are probably better off not knowing." said Marie. She choked on the last few words.
"Excuse me." she said, hurrying out of the bar, tears running down her cheeks.
Nigel stared after her for a minute, feeling guilty, feeling he had upset. He paid for their drinks than followed after her. He found her down an alley, sitting down with her knees drawn up to her chin, her arms wrapped around them and her face hidden in her arms. He quietly approached her and knelt down in front of her, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. She slowly lifted her head and looked at him, tears still running down her cheeks.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked even though he could tell she was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
"I don't know. I feel like I'm on the verge of another episode." said Marie.
"Episode?" asked Nigel, confused.
"I'm going to be completely honest with you Nigel 'cause I feel like I can. After my mom died three years ago I started going nuts. I worked as a stripper while I took care of her and my sister. Sometime I would even sell myself out to men to earn a little extra money. Well, one day at work, I lost it. I attacked one of the customer's, for no reason." said Marie, standing and Nigel stood too. "I spend 6 months in a mental institute. When I got out, I found out I'd lost my job so I tried to find a new job but word had gotten around about what had happened and no one would hire me so I was forced to move in with my sister and her husband here in Boston." She turned and looked at Nigel. She could tell by the look on his face that he was shocked by all she had told him. "You must think I'm a freak." she said, turning away from him again.
"No, no I don't, at all." said Nigel quickly, regaining his composure. He walked in front of her and took her hands in his. "You're not a freak. Just about everyone has their moments, I'm sure. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You took care of your mum and sister. Not everyone would have."
"Not everyone would have worked as a stripper to pay the bills either. They would have found a better way of making money." said Marie.
"Hey, what you did was very brave. Not a lot of people would have had the courage to do what you did." said Nigel.
For the first time since she had rushed out of the bar in tears, Marie smiled, feeling comforted by Nigel's words. "Thanks Nigel." she said.
Nigel put his arms around her and held her close to him. She let him, putting her arms around him in return. After a few minutes, they pulled apart.
"Hey, let's head back so we can go home and get some rest for work tomorrow." said Nigel.
"Um, if you don't mind, I'd rather walk. My sister's place is just down the street." said Marie.
"Sure, I'd like that." said Nigel, smiling.
Together they began walking up the street toward Marie's sister's house.
"So what do your sister and brother in-law do?" asked Nigel.
"My brother in-law is a lawyer and my sister is his secretary." said Marie.
"Really? Husband and wife work together." said Nigel.
"Yeah. That's how they met actually. My sister had just been hired as a secretary shortly after mom died. He came into town for one of his cases. A friend of both of theirs introduced them, they dated, married, he hired her as his secretary and they moved to Boston together. He wasn't very happy when I moved in but I told him if he didn't like it, he can go to hell. I'm not afraid of him and he knows it." said Marie.
"And you shouldn't be. If any guy ever lays a hand on you, you let me know and I'll take care of them for you. No man should ever hurt a woman." Said Nigel.
Marie looked at him, a little surprised at first, than she smiled. "You know what Nig, I like you. You're a great guy. And I can't say I've liked or trusted a lot of guys for quite some time."
"You trust me?" asked Nigel, praying she'd say yes. He really liked her and he also felt a strong need to protect her. He'd felt this way since he first met her.
"Yeah, I do." Said Marie, smiling at him and he thought he saw a gleam in her eyes.
Marie and Nigel walked up a short flight of stairs to a door and stopped, turning toward each other.
"This is my stop." Said Marie, sounding disappointed.
"I had fun." Said Nigel.
"Me too. Hopefully we can do this again sometime, just without me running out on you." Said Marie.
Nigel smiled, then he slowly start to lean forward to kiss her but the front door opened and young girl that looked similar to Marie, only a couple years younger, walked out and he quickly pulled back.
"Marie, where have you been?" she asked, a bit of worry in her voice.
"I was out. One of my co-workers and friends invited me out for a drink." Said Marie, indicating Nigel.
"Hi, I'm Stephanie, Marie's younger sister." She said, turning to Nigel and extending her hand for him to shake.
"Nigel Townsend." Said Nigel, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Marie, where's your car?" asked Stephanie, looking up and down the street for Marie's car.
"Oh, I left it up the street. I wanted to walk." Said Marie.
"Oh, happened again huh?" asked Stephanie.
"Yeah, sort of." Said Marie. Then she turned to Nigel, who had a confused look on his face. "Every now and then I'll sort of have a flashback or whatever and I'll come close to having another episode."
Nigel just nodded. "Listen, I should get home…" he began but Stephanie cut him off.
"Oh no, come in and stay awhile." Said Stephanie.
"Steph, we have to work tomorrow." Said Marie.
"So? He can stay here tonight in the guestroom and the two of you can go to work together. Give me your keys and I'll go get your car." Said Stephanie.
"I know better than to argue with you Steph." Said Marie, handing Stephanie her keys than she led Nigel inside while Stephanie grabbed her jacket and left to get Marie's car.
"Do you always give up on arguments with your sister?" asked Nigel.
"Trust me, my sister is the last person you want to argue with cause she always wins. I learned that the hard way a long time ago." Said Marie as she took off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door and Nigel did the same.
"I see." He said.
"Come on, I'll show you to the guestroom." Said Marie. She headed up the stairs and Nigel followed. She showed him to the guestroom at the end of the hall.
"Oh this is nice." Said Nigel.
There were about five or six candles spread around the room and lit, giving the room an elegant glow. The walls were a yellowish color with a tall black dresser against the wall by the door. The bed was against the opposite wall, a black bedside table on each side of the bed with midnight blue lamps. There were two navy blue curtains hanging over the head of the bed. The bed itself had an emerald green comforter with two emerald greed pillows and a neatly folded midnight blue quilt laying long-ways at the foot of the bed.
"I decorated it myself. I'm kind of into the whole gothic thing." Said Marie, leaning against the doorway.
"This is great. I like it." Said Nigel.
"Should see my room. It's sort of the same but the walls are a kind of forest-green and instead of a midnight blue quilt at the foot of the bed, there's a red velvet one." Said Marie.
Just then, they heard the front door open than close.
"Marie?" called out Stephanie.
"Up here Steph! I'll be right down!" yelled Marie. She turned back to Nigel. "I better go see what she wants. Night Nig. My room is right next door if you need anything." She said than headed downstairs.
"So?" asked Stephanie when Marie joined her in the living room.
"What?" asked Marie.
"So do you like him?" asked Stephanie, smirking.
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Marie.
"You know. And don't try to deny it either. I could see it in your eyes when you looked at him." Said Stephanie.
"Fine, I won't." said Marie.
"Marie!" exclaimed Stephanie, grinning.
"What? You told me not to deny it so I'm not. He's a really nice, really sweet guy. I trust him. I feel like I've known him for years. And I think he likes me too." Said Marie.
"What makes you think that?" asked Stephanie.
"Well, just before you opened the door, he was leaning in to kiss me. I wish I could turn back time to that moment and have about ten more seconds." said Marie, an almost dreamy look on her face.
"Oh sorry. If I'd known, I wouldn't have interrupted. I was just worried about you." said Stephanie.
"It's okay. Maybe another chance will pop up, right?" said Marie, not sounding at all confident about it.
"Yeah, you never know." said Stephanie.
"Yeah. Well, 'night Steph." said Marie.
"Goodnight Marie." said Stephanie as Marie went back upstairs to her room. When she walked in, she was surprised to see Nigel sitting on her bed, holding a picture from her bedside table.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see your room." said Nigel rather fast, a bit of fear in his voice.
"No, it's okay. You just startled me is all. I thought you'd already turned in." said Marie.
"No, not yet." said Nigel.
Silence fell between them and they just stared at each other, smiling. Then, Nigel broke the silence.
"Uh, is this your mum?" he asked, holding up the picture.
"Oh, yeah. It was just two years before she was diagnosed with cancer but she'd already had it for a year and a half when we found out. I was around ten and Stephanie was eight." said Marie, walking over and sitting down on the bed next to Nigel and taking the picture."She always wanted the best for me and my sister. She always told us we would be someone important someday. She was right about my sister."
"You are too. It may not seem like it, believe me, but you are someone important. Not everyone could do what we do everyday. People want to be able to know how a friend or family member died and possibly why. That makes you an important person. And I'm sure you mum would be proud of you." said Nigel, taking the picture from her and putting it back on the bedside table than taking her hands in his.
Marie looked Nigel in his eyes and saw he meant what he'd said and smiled. "Thanks Nigel." she said, hugging him and he hugged her back. After a few minutes, they pulled apart than slowly, Nigel leaned forward and kissed her briefly on the lips. When he pulled away, he watched her for a reaction.
Marie saw the hope in his eyes and on his face. It was what she'd been hoping for. Not just that he would kiss her but how good the kiss had been before he had pulled away. Then she saw a slight fear appear in his eyes as he waited for her reaction. She placed her hands on his shoulders than quickly leaned forward and kissed him.This is what Nigel had been hoping for. She could just have rejected him but she didn't. She kissed him. He placed one arm around her, his hand on her hip, and placed the other hand on the back of her head, kissing her back just a passionately as she was kissing him.