Betrayal, Betrothal and Bothersome Brothers

I can't believe how many reviews I got for "Fatherhood"! You guys are the best, best readers a girl could ever ask for. Seriously. It's because of you that I actually got past my writer's block and finished, and am now starting this whole new story— continuing, of course, just after where "Fatherhood" left off.

In case you have all forgotten what the ring looks like, here's a picture of it: traversjewellery(dot)com/Pictures/Prepared/Diamond-engagement-ring-hal.jpg

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I no own "Crossing Jordan" and all that jazz, nor do I own the "Boston General Hospital", if there is indeed a real one. If there isn't, then I made it up. :) If I owned CJ, do you really think it would have been cancelled?

Chapter One: Unbelievable

She just stared at it. It was something she'd found she'd been doing on and off for the last four weeks— since he'd asked. Since he'd said something so preposterous, so presumptuous... she couldn't believe how she'd answered, either. It was so unlike her! It wasn't like her at all. But she had grown up. She's hadn't run away. And grown-ups got engaged and then married, eventually. And, like any engaged couple, they were finally moving in together. He was moving into her apartment.

It was a big step, she knew, but she was the one who had said yes. Damn that word! Yes. How could she have said that?

She stared at it again. It was beautiful, she had to admit. It was perfect. It was just what it represented that scared her. Married? Her? It was unfathomable. Unconceivable. Unbelievable.

Yet it was happening.

"Jordan Cavanaugh, would you do me the honour—" He got down on one knee and pulled a small, black velvet box out of his pocket. "Of being my wife?"

She stared at him blankly. The look on Garret's face made her wish she had a camera with her— he looked so shocked, yet pleased, too. They all did. Kate, especially, was beaming. Nigel was giving Woody thumbs-up. Bug was busy with Maddie, but Lily was grinning like a fool with the rest of them. She had to answer.

"Yes," she said simply, and he flung his arms around her neck in the tightest hug she could ever remember receiving. Maybe she did just need someone to hold her a little tighter. And if it had to be anybody... it had to be Woody.

She smiled and looked up from her ring, instead looking at the photo she had on her bedside table. It was of her and Woody, three days after he had proposed. He had gotten the bandage off his gunshot wound, and after he had seen it, he wasn't as upset anymore. The hole really wasn't that big after it healed up; just big enough that he could put his pinkie-finger through it. And that was exactly what he was doing in the photo.

They were sitting in the park, and he was goofing off, putting his finger through the hole in his ear and wiggling it. It was rather high, just under the Helix, and off to the left, closer to the side that was not attached to his head. It was just perfect for fooling around with, according to her Farm Boy. He was actually kind of happy about it, mostly because he'd gotten some 'cool new nicknames' since he had been shot; "Earless Wonder" being Nigel's, which evolved into "Wonder Boy" by most of the Morgue staff; "Earwig" was the BPD preferred nickname, and Matt Seely had adapted that to "Wigs", though he was the only one who called him that.

Jordan chuckled. Seely was a piece of work, that's for sure. But for some reason, which Jordan couldn't put her finger on, they still let the guy hand around as if he was part of the family. Which he wasn't; at least, not yet. Though he seemed to be working on that.

The phone rang and Jordan got up to answer it. It was her last night alone in her apartment— Woody would be bringing over his stuff the next afternoon. He had the nightshift that night, or else he would've been over, like almost every night. But Jordan was enjoying the peace and quiet for her last night.

She answered the phone with the usual, "Cavanaugh," and automatically heard Nigel's frantic voice telling her to get to the hospital, now. Something was very, very wrong.

She told him to hang on and grabbed her coat, running out the door as fast as she could and jumping on the elevator, pounding the ground level button as if that could make it go faster. She needed to be there for them.

An hour earlier...

Bug opened his eyes and frowned. Something was wrong; he could feel it. He sat up and looked over at Lily, who was curled up in the fetal position, as usual, and sleeping peacefully. He looked over her to the clock. It was two o'clock. That was what was wrong! Maddie hadn't started crying yet.

Even though she was six months old, she still woke up like clockwork at two in the morning. It drove Lily crazy, but he usually told her to go back to sleep and got up to handle it himself. He was so used to waking up at two that his body had woken him up even though Maddie wasn't crying.

But why wasn't she?

Bug pulled himself out of bed and to the door, listening. She wasn't crying, which was very, very odd. He walked across the hall and into Madeleine's bedroom, excepting her to be quietly sleeping. She was neither.

The six-month-old was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she wheezed noisily. Bug, panicking, scooped her up and held her upright. Her heart was pounding and she was hyperventilating. Bug didn't know what to do.

"LILY!" he yelled, and tucked the baby safely into the crook of his arm. She continued to wheeze, which is never a good sign. Lily stumbled into her daughter's bedroom sleepily.

"What's wrong?"

"There's something wrong with Madeleine," Bug explained, and Lily suddenly felt wide awake. She took Maddie out of Bug's arms and held her tightly, suddenly very scared. Bug, meanwhile, was already in the living room, grabbing a phone to call 911.

"She's hyperventilating, barely breathing..." he explained the situation three times to the lady on the phone. "Six months, one week..."

"The ambulance will be there soon, just stay calm." Bug didn't feel calm. He was panicking and his hands were sweating. He was forgetting something. Jeffrey.

He hung up on the 911 lady and quickly dialled Jeffrey's number. It rang for what seemed like forever, but he didn't answer. Bug left a hurried message on the machine just as the paramedics began to pound on the door, telling him that there was something wrong with Maddie and to meet them at the hospital when he could. Then he went to let the paramedics in.

They took Maddie from a terrified, nearly hysterical Lily, and put her on oxygen, which seemed to help. Then they rushed her to the Boston General.

"It's going to be okay," comforted Bug, putting his arms around Lily, who was shaking involuntarily, "It's going to be okay." She didn't seem to hear him. Her baby was having trouble breathing. But it didn't matter what he was saying, because he didn't believe his own words.