Chapter Thirteen: Making Amends

Jordan stepped off the elevator lightly. After saying goodbye to Matt, they had driven separate cars to work today. Jordan had a spring in her step for the first time in months. She was actually beginning to enjoy herself again.

Bug came out of the crypt just as Jordan passed.

"Good morning, Jordan," he said amiably.

"Hi, how are you?" Jordan replied, surprised. It had been a long time since anyone at the morgue started a conversation with her.

"I'm good, thanks. I've got a body I'm getting ready to cut, want to help?"

"Uhhh…okay. Just give me a minute to drop off my stuff."

"Great, see you in there."

Jordan continued to her office severely confused. She was about two steps away when Nigel came bounding out of nowhere.

"Hey, love," he said. Then he wrapped her in the tightest hug she'd ever received.

"Nigel! What are you doing?" Jordan asked, shocked.

"Jordan, I would do anything to get you back," he said honestly. "You're one of my best friends. I'm so sorry. I never should have teased you." He pulled back and looked her in the eye.

Jordan's wide eyes stared back at him. His apology was so unexpected that all she could do was nod. Nigel smiled and squeezed her shoulders. "Whenever you're ready, love. I'm here for you." Jordan nodded again and Nigel left her just outside her office.

She went in and shut her door. What had gotten into her friends? Not a word from them—just how she wanted it—and now they were flocking around her. Jordan sat down in her chair and put her head in her hands. She needed a few minutes to process all of this.

That didn't happen, because when she opened her eyes, she noticed a card addressed to her sitting on top of her desk. When she opened it, Jordan saw that it was from Lily.

Another apology, this one in true Lily fashion. Jordan threw down the card and buried her head in her arms. She tried to stop the tears from coming, but they came anyway.

She was still angry at all of them. They were so quick to criticize her, and now they wanted her forgiveness? What right did they have to it? Their words had been so hurtful…the apologies were almost like salt on her wounds. She had heard nothing from them in months, and all of the sudden they wanted to be her friends again. And they just expected her to play along?

Shoving her tears back, Jordan picked up her cell phone.

"Seely," the voice answered.

"Matt!" Jordan said, her voice cracking. "Why are they all apologizing to me?"

There was a pause on the other end. Finally, Matt said, "Because they realized that they had hurt you."

"Did you tell them?" Jordan's voice rose in fear. No, he couldn't have. Not now…he couldn't have betrayed her trust. If he did, Jordan didn't think she could handle it.

"No," Matt said firmly. "Jordan, I did not tell them anything that you told me. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Then how…?"

"They weren't doing anything…just letting you slip away. You all are family; I wasn't about to let them screw that up."

"But you said—"

"Let me finish," Matt admonished. "They blamed everything on Woody. All I did was tell them to consider everything you'd been through and to look at themselves too. They filled in the gaps on their own. I did not tell them anything that you told me—not what they said, not how you felt, nothing. Okay?"

"Okay," Jordan said, relieved slightly. "But I don't feel any better about them."

"You don't have to. Jordan, you don't have to accept their apologies."

"…I don't?"

"No. Not if you're not ready to. You will be, eventually. But if that isn't now, then that's okay. You don't owe them anything. They're your friends, they can wait."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, sweetheart."

It had been a long day. Jordan was more than ready to go home. All day she had been confronted with her friends' hopeful looks. Each time, she passed by without acknowledging anything. She had been almost happy at the dejected looks that followed, although it didn't really make her feel a whole lot better.

Garret was the only one who wasn't groveling for her forgiveness. On the contrary, he had treated her completely professionally the whole day.

However, just as she was about to leave, Garret called her into his office.

"What did you need?" Jordan asked, standing in the doorway.

"Come on in, Jordan. This won't take long."

She stepped into the office, but did not sit down. Garret came around from behind his desk and leaned against the front. He looked down, as though he was gathering his thoughts.

"I know that you've been through a lot this year," he began.

Jordan was quick to cut in on him. "If you are going to give me another apology, you can just stop now."

He looked up. "Jordan, just listen to what I have to say." She looked skeptical, so he added, "I'm still your boss."

Jordan crossed her arms defensively and waited.

"This year was tough," he continued. "It was tough on everyone, but especially you. I crawled into the bottle trying to avoid all of it, and you had to get me out. I owe you so much, but I didn't do anything about it. When you needed me, I wasn't there because I was too busy being a bitter old man with no alcohol to distract me."

Jordan set her jaw and looked away.

"I know you're still angry with me. And you have every right to be. Just…if you ever want to let me in again, I'll be here. And I will do my very best to never hang you out to dry again."

Garret finished his speech and took a few steps toward her.

"You're like my daughter, sister, and best friend all wrapped up into one," he said. "I love you…and I won't ever stop."

Jordan swallowed. Still not looking at him, she whispered, "Yeah…anything else?"

"No. Not for now."

She nodded, turned on her heel, and quickly left. She didn't stop, opting to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. She was utterly overwhelmed. All she wanted was to go home and make the world stop spinning out of her control.