Disclaimer: If I owned them, I would be very wealthy lady.... I don't...sigh.
Note: This is very different than other W/J fanfics I've written
Chapter One
She couldn't believe everything had gone so wrong.
Jordan stared down at the papers on her desk in total disbelief…how did things get so bad? She blinked back the tears from her eyes as she picked up the papers and held them in hands that were shaking so badly she had to grip the document tightly to keep it from scattering all over the floor of her office. Not believing her eyes, she re-read the papers one more time Divorce Decree…How could he…without telling her first?
Five years. They had been married for five years. Five years that had started out as one of the best times of her life and then had dissolved around her feet like sea foam before today…and today her life had completely washed out with the tides.
She had married Woody. He had asked and she had said yes…sometimes she hadn't known if he just wore her defenses down or if she had simply been too tired to resist him any longer. Her dad had still been gone…she was working at the morgue and the bar. She was lonely and so was he…she had started seeing him outside of work more frequently and before she knew what was happening, he had stolen her heart. Completely. Then, with his mid-western values kicking in, he had asked her to marry him. And she had said yes. She loved him and felt her heart was safe with him.
So on a warm June evening, with her father by her side, Jordan had walked down the aisle of St. Inez Catholic Church and was married to her best friend…Woody. It had been asweet and lovely ceremony, with her in a simple, classically cut white dress and veil and Woody looking handsome in a black tux. There had been a huge party at the Pogue and the couple had settled down into a small house not far from his office and her morgue. A life of domestic bliss had awaited them….she had finally hoped for normal things…cooking dinner for the two of them…cleaning house…doing laundry…maybe a couple of kids in the future.
And then last year, everything had started falling apart. Jordan knew exactly when it happened. Woody had gotten a new partner…a female partner. Jordan had never been one to be jealous, but as Woody was spending more and more time with this woman, she became suspicious that there may be more going on than just police work. She had confronted Woody. He had denied it. "If you don't love me anymore, tell me," she pleaded. "I just want to know…" He had turned away from her and left the house…and didn't come back for two more days. She had begged him to go to counseling…and he did, only to declare that nothing was wrong…he didn't like being accused of something he didn't do. But to tell the truth, he said, he was tired of all the hours she had to work…she just didn't have time for him any longer.
She had tried to change her schedule. She had asked Garret for shorter hours…only to find that her seemingly "safe" work place fell apart. Bug went back to Liverpool…he was offered a job in England. So he was gone, taking Lily with him. And Nigel…her ever-present friend and co-conspirator, had left for greener pastures in Phoenix. It was just Jordan and Garret and a bunch of new, inexperienced ME's. Until they were trained…she couldn't cut her hours back. Garret stayed on her back nearly all the time now… was she training the new employees, was her paperwork caught up…and "please, don't get pregnant now, Jordan. I need you more than ever."
That, coupled with the bar, sealed her future. Since her father had returned, she only had worked occasionally there, usually only when her dad needed a night off. Max had made her a partner, but didn't expect her to be there every night until a few weeks last month. Max had gotten remarried and wanted a long honeymoon with his new wife, Ruth. Jordan was glad to oblige, happy to see her father finally having someone in his life to care for him.
But instead of joining her at the bar like he used to, Woody had gone elsewhere. She hadn't really noticed too much at first, but later, it bothered her. Now she wondered just where he had been. Before, during hectic times like this, Woody had been her solace. He wasn't there for her this time.
I guess I'm lucky it lasted this long with me, Jordan thought, reading the divorce papers through one more time. At least I know what it was like…to be in love…be married. I can carry those memories with me. Looking out the window of her office, she made a decision. Turning around to her computer she typed her letter of resignation to Garret. She signed it, sealed it in an envelope, and left it on the center of his desk. He would get it tomorrow morning. Then she walked back into her office, signed the divorce papers, and pulled off her wedding and engagement rings. She laid them on top of the papers in the middle of her desk. She got her coat and her pocketbook, turned off the light, and shut the door. She'd never be back.
She used to be really good at running. She had done it several times. Now would be no different, except then, she always kept Boston in the back of her mind. But now there was nothing tying her to the city any longer. Her dad had someone that would be there for him…Ruth. Jordan had nothing left here. Her morgue family had changed so much she didn't even recognize it any longer. Her marriage to Woody was over. So she threw some clothes in bag, grabbed her guitar, and got in her rag top jeep. Woody was at work. He wouldn't know she was gone until much later tonight when he got home. Determinedly, she started her jeep, backed out of their driveway, and pointed the vehicle west. She wasn't sure where she was going. She'd know when she got there.