A/N: Hello to all of you still reading, and thank you so much for sticking with me. If it helps at all, I'm updating this faster than I am any of my other fics. This update, however short, took only about a month, whereas I haven't posted for Lover's Betrayal in like, a year...wow, that sounds alot worse when it's written down. Hmm...I should work on that. :shrug: Oh well, what's done is done. Enjoy the Chapter and PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAASE! Review! Thank you!

Chapter 4: Here Comes the Sun Little Darlin'

Jordan stopped dead, not breathing for a long minute. Garret looked at her questioningly. "You want us to give you a minute?" Jordan looked back at him gratefully and took another minute to collect herself, inhaled deeply, nodded, then stepped into the foreboding half-light of the hospital room.

And there he was, just lying there. His face was pale and she could see the starts of several bruises from his fight with Parker rising on his face and arms. The gash in his cheek has obviously been stitched up and was covered with a piece of gauze that seemed to take up half his face, only adding to his lack of color. A thin tube slid out of the back of his hand like a snake half buried in the sand and coiled upward into a bag filled with clear liquid. Pain Killer, she thought, with a slight twinge at her heart. Pain that she had once again caused him. How was it that he always seemed to be getting hurt for her? Maybe trouble really did follow her around like a shadow…

"Hey there," she managed to force out, shaking those thoughts from her head for right now. She wouldn't scare herself away from him again. He didn't deserve that, not after everything he'd done for her. Plus, she'd already opened her big mouth and told him she loved him. She was stuck, and oddly, she was okay with that. She was tired of being alone based on her own stupid self-sabotage.

Slowly, she made her way to his side, taking a seat on the stiff-cushioned hospital chair that always seemed to be conveniently placed by a patients' bedside. She ran her fingers through her hair, then rubbed her tired, bloodshot eyes, cringing at the puffiness she felt under them. See, that, right there, was why she hated crying. Everyone always looked like complete shit after they cried. She was fairly certain that she looked like a total mess right now. She sighed, focus, Jordan, you're not in this room to reflect on the crappyness of crying. Focus.

"Okay," she inhaled deeply, then released it slowly, trying to calm her pounding heart. "Okay…" She repeated, rubbing the back of her neck nervously then dropping her hand on top of Woody's. "Sure got myself in a mess this time, huh?" She snorted out a laugh, shaking her head. "And once again, the great Detective Woodrow Hoyt was there to save my ass." She squeezed his hand gently and rubbed her thumb over the smooth skin on the back of his hand. "You're always there, aren't you? Always so willing to throw yourself in front of a bullet, or in this case, a knife, for me. And I can't for the life of me figure out why. After all the crap I've put you through; after throwing you out half a million lines only to yank them away just when you get close enough. I'm always leading you on and then letting you down. Why would you still sacrifice yourself for me? I don't deserve it. I definitely don't deserve you. You're too good. And honest. And caring. You're like, superhuman or something…But I guess that's a prerequisite for a hero, right? You know that's what you are to me, don't you? My hero? God, I hope you do, because you should. You're like that knight in shining armor that I always dreamed about but never thought I'd have."

Jordan took a deep, shaky breath and raised her hand to his face, stroking his cheek and hair gently. She lifted his hand and pressed her lips to the warm flesh then laid the back of his hand against her cheek. "I love you, Woody, and damn it if I'm not terrified of what that means… It's putting myself out there. I'm layin' my heart out on the train tracks for you here, Woody. And I'm scared." She buried her face in her hands, tugging at the roots of her hair gently, frustrated with herself for feeling so lost right now. But she knew that if he'd just wake up and she could look into his gorgeous blue eyes that she would be found again. He always seemed to find her. "I'm scared of being in so deep and getting everything yanked away again. I'm scared of not knowing where this'll go or how it'll end up. But most of all, right now, I'm petrified of losing you to that bastard. Why did you jump Parker for me? Why?"

"B-because, I- I love you, s-stupid." Woody's rough voice startled her and her eyes snapped up to his face.

"Woody!" She smiled and squeezed his hand hard, afraid to throw her arms around him in case she hurt him. "I thought I'd lost you this time. Babe, you have got to stop getting shot and stabbed. It makes a girl worry, you know."

"Sorry," he winced and coughed. She sat down beside him on the edge of the bed and put her hand on his face.

"Stop talking you dope, you're not supposed to hurt yourself more. Just rest," she added as she saw him blinking sluggishly. "Know that I love you, so much. And I'll be here when you wake up later. I'm not runnin' this time. I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"You'd better." She smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss his forehead gently. "The others are here too. We'll be waiting for you to wake up. Okay?" Woody nodded once then fell asleep again. Jordan kissed his forehead again then got up and limped to the door, struggling with the jabs of pain in her hip. She opened the door and smiled at her friends. "He's gonna be okay."

TO BE CONTINUED...

PLEASE R/R!