Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Crossing Jordan.

A/N: Sorry it took so long, this was a hard chapter to write. It's still rather dark but I'm hoping within the next few chapters to wrap up this case.

Unforeseen

Chapter 35 – Letting Go

Woody walked inside the precinct, in search of Santana. He found her talking to Seely and the new girl. He couldn't remember the new girl's name but he was pretty sure it was Lucy. "Santana," he called across the room.

She turned around and looked at him curiously. "What?" she asked. Her tone full of irritation, from being interrupted.

"You're wanted at the morgue, about the Morgan case."

"Why? What's going on?" she asked, her tone changing slightly as she saw the somber expression sweep across his handsome face.

"They just found out he was sexually assaulted." He watched her face fall as she pictured the cute little boy lying in the dumpster.

"Are they sure?"

"Yeah," he said softly, wishing they were not. He felt enraged that anyone would hurt a child, that anyone would dare take away the innocence of a child. It made him sick.

Seely and the new girl watched with discomfort. "That's awful," the new girl said softly. Woody nodded in her direction but didn't respond.

Santana turned on her heel and walked away as fast as she could. It was days like today she wished she still worked narcotics.

XXXXX

Zoe got into her car and looked at the four bottles of scotch sitting on her passenger's seat. What the hell was going to do with them? She doesn't drink scotch, it reminds her too much of her father. No one at the morgue would want them. They probably wouldn't be too fond of drinking the alcohol Garret had been slowly killing himself with. It was an expensive brand, however and she felt guilty dumping it out.

Her cell phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She reached into her purse and pulled it out. "Dr. Zoe Fisher," she answered in her most professional tone. She assumed one of her patients wanted an early session.

"Zoe, its Nigel." It felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs as she listened to his voice. She shook her head. She had to get over him. He was already over her.

"Is everything all right?" she asked with concern.

"I think you should come down here," he told her. His tone of voice was filled with so many emotions, regret, longing, panic, and fear.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," she assured him. She was too afraid to ask why.

XXXXX

Sydney went in search of Lily, after spending a few minutes staring into the crypt at the drawer where Ariana's body was being held. He couldn't bring himself to open it and look inside.

He found Lily sitting at her desk, staring at a file. He could tell she wasn't really into it, but something was holding her gaze. "Lily," he said softly.

She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Sydney. Come in. Sit down."

He noted her nervous expression. "I'm ready to sign her out." Lily nodded and pulled out the required paperwork. She motioned for him to take a seat.

Nervously, he sat down in front of her and she placed the forms in front of him. She also set down copies of the death certificate.

He lifted the pen and squeezed it tightly between his middle and index fingers. He looked at the form and scanned down it slowly. He felt the familiar burning sensation in his eyes and was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of panic. He was consumed with fear. He didn't want to sign. He felt like by signing he'd be letting go of her forever. That as soon as the pen touched the paper, she would no longer be his wife, just another body, rotting away six feet below the surface of the cold ground.

Lily watched his trembling hand. "Sydney," she said, as she reached across the desk and placed her hand on his. Her words were warm and they felt like a small comfort in the small room. He looked up as tears spilled down his cheeks.

"I can't do it," he admitted in a whisper.

"You can, it will be all right."

"I'm not ready to let go."

"You don't have to let go yet but she can't stay here. She needs a funeral and you need to start the healing process."

It felt as though the room was closing in on him. He couldn't breathe; his lungs were being compressed by the panic rising in his chest. He pulled his hand from beneath hers and looked down at it, as though he was noticing it for the first time. His hand trembled beneath his gaze. "I can't do it," he suddenly shouted and ran from the room, before Lily could respond.

XXXXX

Zoe watched as the elevator doors slid open. Her head was pounding. She had a slight suspicion she was dehydrated and tired. She only had an hour before she had to be at the clinic. Sydney ran into her and she grabbed his arm to stop him. "Sydney, is everything all right?"

"I can't do it. I can't," he sobbed, as his body crumpled to the floor of the elevator.

"Why don't we go sit down and talk," she offered. She recognized the signs of a panic attack and momentarily wondered if he'd ever be able to work in a morgue again.

He looked up into her soft face and nodded. She led him to the conference room and helped him into the chair. His eyes were distant now. She sat in front of him, but he didn't look at her. He kept his eyes on the window, where the sun's soft rays lit up the small room.

XXXXX

Santana nervously entered the morgue and found her way to trace. She wished so much that she hadn't been on nights last night. It was supposed to have been Eddie Winslow, but he called her at the last minute and said he had a family emergency.

Jordan and Nigel were deep in conversation about evidence. She wished she didn't have to interrupt them. "Hey guys."

They turned to look at her. "Are you prepared for the results?" Jordan asked cautiously. She knew Santana hadn't been in homicide long and although she pretended she was completely desensitized and strong, Jordan knew it was all an act.

"How much can one really prepare for something like this?" she asked.

"Point taken. Christopher James Morgan went missing yesterday morning from the park on Fairview. At precisely 9:53 am Jennifer Lynn Morgan, his mother, called 911 to say he had been abducted. The following morning at 4:43 am, homicide was called to a restaurant called, Sandy's diner, where Christopher's body was found by an employee, Michael David Thomas, in a dumpster in the back alley."

Santana nodded to let Jordan know their information matched hers. "An autopsy on Christopher revealed miniscule traces of rohypnal in his system. Rohypnal is commonly known as the date rape drug…"

"I know," Santana interrupted. "I used to work narcotics."

Jordan continued, "There was semen found in the rectal cavity as well as tears and striations. He died from a gunshot wound in his back that punctured his lung, hit his rib cage and ricocheted into his heart. We found hair on him; some was light brown and male. His mother's hair was on him as well but that's pretty obvious. The DNA on the brown hair matched the semen. We also found fibers that matched the interior of an Astro Van."

Santana felt her eyes fill with tears as she listened to Jordan. She couldn't shake the image of the little boy lying in the dumpster. "Do you have any fingerprints?"

"No, but there were also traces of latex all over the body, as though the assailant was wearing gloves."

"So no suspects?"

"Sorry, but we'll keep you posted."

"Thanks Jordan," she said, as she lifted her cell phone up to her face. "I'm going to get a list of the registered sex offenders in the area."

Jordan nodded and turned back to the computer.

XXXXX

Woody was catching up on some paperwork he had failed to finish. He looked up at the doorway and saw Amber Marcel leaning against the frame. She was wearing the same denim skirt and this time she was wearing a cherry red tube top with matching stilettos. She had her hair pulled up into a bun and she smiled warmly as her chestnut eyes met his. "Mrs. Marcel, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if y'all had figured out who killed Bill and why," she said softly as she stepped inside the room.

"Yes, we did. Would you like to take a seat?" he asked, his blue eyes flashing with concern.

"Sure," she agreed and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

He sat down on the edge of the desk in front of her. "Mrs. Marcel, your husband stopped on the side of the road to help a man who was pretending that he was broken down. Your husband went to inspect under the hood when this man pulled out a gun and shot him. He then put him in the car and lit it on fire. This man named Mark Avery, is a serial killer and confessed to the murders of 15 women, your husband and one other man. I'm very sorry for your loss."

She stared at him, her eyes watching his every move. No tears filled her eyes; her face remained stoic. She stood up while maintaining eye contact with him and walked towards him. She glided both hands up his blue sweater and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you detective," she whispered in his ear.

Somebody cleared their throat at the door and he turned, half expecting it to be Jordan and he blushed slightly. It was the new girl. "Detective, your wife's on line one."

"What?… I'm not… What?" he sputtered with confusion. "Thanks Lucy," he said softly.

"The name is Tallulah," she said as she turned and left.

Amber smiled at him and left. He lifted the receiver. "Hello."

"Hey Woods," Jordan said cheerfully.

"What's up?" he asked cautiously. She knew he was tired, she could hear it in his voice. It kind of made her smile.

"Lunch," she said with a laugh. "I want lunch."

XXXXX

Bug finished the autopsy and stared down at the little boy. He was not one to let his emotions get the better of him but as he stared at the innocent child before him, he felt something break inside of him. It started with a lone tear rolling down his cheek, to a contained sob and suddenly he found himself in hysterics. He couldn't explain this overwhelming sense of emotion and he lifted his face up to see Nigel standing in the doorway.

He didn't try to hide his tears and Nigel said nothing. He walked forward and put his hand on Bug's back. "Children are always the hardest," Nigel admitted.

Bug stepped away and tried to compose himself. Nigel said nothing more. He looked down at the child's small face and felt his own eyes burn with tears.

Lily entered the room and saw the two men crying over the child's body. Since she started working at the morgue she had never seen Bug cry and she saw Nigel cry only once over Sarah. Nigel looked up at her and turned quickly on his heel and left.

Bug however, hadn't noticed her come in. She pulled him into an embrace. He let her hug him, although he was slightly embarassed. "How about lunch?" she asked softly.

Bug smiled and his face glowed with enthusiasm.

XXXXX

Woody sat in the small booth waiting for Jordan. He had ordered himself a coffee, when he saw her come through the doorway. She hadn't let her hair down since her last autopsy and small curly strands, that had come undone from her bun, fell sporadically around her face. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was. Her eyes held a distance that always showed up when doing cases with small children. She sat down in front of him and he put his hand on her cheek. She touched his hand with hers and then felt the tears start all over again. "Woody this is so hard. We don't have any leads."

"Does Santana want help?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask her."

"Well I can help until I get another body. We've been surprisingly slow these last few weeks."

"I'm pretty sure most would consider that a good thing."

"What do you want to eat?" he asked staring at the menu.

"I'm not really hungry," she admitted.

"Then why the hell did you want to do lunch?"

"I just wanted to see you," he smiled and she intertwined her fingers with his.

XXXXX

"I thought Jordan and Woody were married," Tallulah said to Seely.

"No, I said they may as well be married. It is a long and complicated story."

"Well are they together?"

"I don't really know exactly what they are. Why?"

"Because he was with this girl in his office. Never mind, it's none of my business."

"Tallulah wait, what girl?"

"I don't want to start something. I'm new. It's probably his girlfriend or something."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing, I shouldn't have said anything." She backed away. Great, she thought to herself, she just started something and she'd been there less then a month.