Where was she? This thought kept flickering through Woody's mind off and on for two weeks. Every time he would call in a homicide and request her, someone else would show up. Nigel. Bug. Sydney. Occasionally, even Garrett. But not her. Not Jordan. As a matter of fact, thinking back over the last several weeks, maybe even a month or longer, he hadn't seen her since he had returned her mother's locket to her.

The one he had recovered from the pawn shop. The one the intruder took from her apartment. The man that Jordan had been convinced knew something about her mother's murder.

Of course, that theory had been debunked completely. There had been seventeen robberies near her apartment. It was only a mere coincidence that this burglar broke into her home and took the one piece of jewelry that meant everything to her – her mother's locket. The locket that held a picture of Jordan as a baby.

He remembered her gratitude when he returned it to her. She had hugged him like she never wanted to let him go, thanking him over and over again. The expression on her face was more than worth the hours and days of frustration he had spent going from pawn shop to pawn shop to find the trinket.

What was even better was that after he returned it, she had invited him to stay for a while – with her, in her apartment. He couldn't then. He was on call. But he had wanted to. He had felt the wall between them ease down just a bit. He had softly kissed the back of her head and told her that they needed to take it slowly. She agreed. They had just begun to talk when his cell phone rang and he was called out. The DA, Rene Walcott, and his chief needed to see him.

He had driven back to his office with some trepidation. But it was nothing major. There was some training classes being offered in Washington for police – how to deal with possible terrorist suspects and the ilk. They had wanted him and Eddie and a few other detectives to take the classes. He'd be gone for a few weeks. He had agreed, of course. He had little choice.

Knowing how Jordan thought, and especially since their last conversation, Woody went back to her office and explained the situation. He would be gone about three weeks. She had smiled and hugged him again. "I'll drive you to Logan," she said.

And the next day, she did. She picked him up at his apartment and drove him to the airport. He had handed her his apartment key. "Could you get my mail and water my plants?" he had asked.

"Take care of your plants? Wow....you must really trust me," she had said, knowing he knew the inside joke between herself and her dad about her inability to make a houseplant flourish.

"I do, Jordan. I do," he replied. "But take care of yourself most of all, okay?"

His plane number came over the intercom. It was ready to board. He had hugged her close and to his amazement, she had let his lips brush hers...with a ripeness and softness he had nearly forgotten. "Jordan?" he had said...the question in his voice and his eyes.

"Be careful with yourself, Woody," she had whispered, hugging him tightly one last time before he had to board. She had completely thrown him off-guard.

And now he couldn't find her.

His head kept telling him not to worry. She was a grown woman.

His gut kept telling him she may have run again.

And his heart kept telling him to find her....fast.

He wasn't sure which one he should listen to, but right now he was going with his gut. He had called in another homicide and requested her. Instead, it was Garret that was getting out of the morgue van. And his gut kept telling him to ask Garret about her just as soon as the field exam was over.

"Where's Jordan?" he had asked, when the crime scene was finally cleared and the body loaded on the van.

"I've given her some time off," Garret replied, with an edge to his voice the detective quickly picked up.

"Is something wrong with her, Garret?"

"You might say. I have to get back, but could you meet me for lunch? There are some things you need to know about, given your history with her."

Woody nodded. "Noon at the diner?"

"That'll be fine,"

"Sorry I'm late," Woody said, as he slid into his seat at the diner across from Garret. "Got tied up in a meeting."

"That's okay." The waitress took their order and the men settled down to talk.

"What's up with Jo?" Woody asked. His heart and gut had chased each other around in circles all morning.

"I gave her a couple of weeks off, starting this past weekend. She had the vacation time, God knows. But she needed some time to get over what happened at her apartment."

"The robbery? I thought we had that all cleared up before I left."

"Well, sort of. Jordan went to see Stiles before you left, and there was a break through. See, Jordan is the same age as her mother was when Emily was murdered. I think that deep down inside, Jordan thought that her fate would be the same as her mother's – unfaithfulness, possible insanity, and then death. Stiles convinced her that she was not her mother and she was capable of a solid relationship and taking care of herself. She wasn't predestined to be a victim."

Woody nodded. Some of this he and Jordan had discussed at her apartment right before he left for his training.

"But what she didn't tell you, probably, is what went on at her apartment the night of the robbery – when she walked in on the robber."

"She told me they fought – that she scared him off and he cut her hand with the knife."

Garret nodded. "Did she also tell you she was almost raped?"

Woody drew in a sharp breath and his face went white. "No...."

"Yeah. The robber made her disrobe. That was when she began to fight him. If she hadn't..."

Woody swallowed hard. Part of him, the cop part, knew exactly what this type of sexual assault was – it was a power control issue with the perp for the victim. It kept perp in control over the victim. The fact that Jordan had upset this control with the robber signaled her strength over the perp and her situation. She wasn't a victim, like her mother.

Unfortunately, for most women, even if they "win," it still shatters they psyche....their inner safety net, their mental well-being. It shows them just how vulnerable they can be. And that feeling is hard to shake.

The male part of him...the man ....would just about bet Jordan was feeling this way...vulnerable....despite of her best efforts to hide it. No wonder she had wanted him to stay with her at her apartment for a while. No wonder she had clung to him just a little longer at the airport.

But she hadn't said a word. Just kissed him, smiled at him, and sent him on his way.

"I thought you should know, as you work with Jordan nearly as much as the morgue staff does," continued Garret.

"Where is she now?" Woody asked.

"I'm not sure. I think she went to Maryland to see some old friends. She'll be back on Monday.

Woody nodded. That was a week away. It was good she had taken some time for herself. Maybe when she got back she would feel like talking.

Maybe, when she got back, she wouldn't feel like a victim any longer.