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

A/N: Well here you go, the beginning of Nigel's storyline. I couldn't hold it off any longer. I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. It's so therapeutic to work on after a stressful day at work.

Unforeseen

Chapter 46 - Support

As 8:00 rolled around, people started filing into the funeral home. Garret felt trapped in limbo. He couldn't accept that his daughter was dead but her body was lying only a few feet away, forcing him to acknowledge that she was deceased. He hated shaking hands with everyone that came through the door as they offered their condolences. He wanted to be home with his bottle of scotch, the only place he felt safe; the only place he could be weak.

Lily and Nigel entered the room and made their way over to Maggie and Garret. "How are you holding up Garret?" Lily asked with concern. He gave her a small sad smile. She squeezed his hand in return. "I promise this is the hardest part. Once this is over, you'll finally be able to heal."

"Thanks Lily," he said gruffly trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

XXXXX

Renee parked her car and stared at the funeral home. She was terrified to go inside. What if he didn't want her there? Her stomach churned. She needed to pay her respects but she didn't want to see Abby lying in the coffin. She didn't want to accept that Garret's life might truly be destroyed. She swallowed the bile that had risen to her throat and forced herself to become detached from the situation. She slowly stepped out of the car and cautiously made her way to the door. She pulled it open and stepped inside. She was met with the stuffy, still air of the funeral home. The air was filled with sadness, an air of death. Her stomach started to churn again and she had to fight the temptation to turn and run. Instead she forced herself down the hall until she found the room Abby's body was in. Garret was only a few feet away. When she saw the look on his face all she wanted to do was hold him and make his pain drift away. She knew he would never give her the chance.

She made her way over to him and Maggie. "I'm so sorry for your loss Garret," she said in her usual dry, detached tone. He looked up at her and couldn't hide the tears glistening in his eyes. She pulled him into her arms without thinking about it and felt her own eyes fill with tears. "I'm here for you whenever you need me. I'm so sorry Garret. I wish I could have known Abby better."

"Me too," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "I wish I could have known her better too."

XXXXX

The whole way to the funeral home Jordan fidgeted. Woody finally grabbed her hands that she'd been ringing together for the past 20 minutes. "You'll get through this Jo. Dr. Macy will get through this."

She looked over at him and he could see the worry in her eyes. "He lost his daughter."

"I know but someday he'll overcome it. It's horrible. I only wish the idiots that did Jennifer Avery's autopsy had realized the set up. You know her brother even testified at the trial and they still convicted the wrong man."

Jordan intertwined her hands with Woody's as tears poured from her eyes. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of watching Garret suffer." Woody started rubbing his thumb gently against her fingers.

"The funeral is always the hardest part."

XXXXX

Seely sat in the chair beside Lu's bed. He had lied and said he was her husband and since she had been wearing the ring, they believed him. Her condition hadn't changed. She was still unconscious and he felt sick with the thought that she may never get better.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. "How is she?" Santana asked softly.

"Stable. Nobody knows anything yet. We're waiting on the CAT Scan results."

"I heard she almost compromised the Morgan case?" Santana said jokingly.

"That wasn't even her case."

"Yeah but she pulled Hoyt before he could get his confession."

"She was just doing her job," he said tersely.

Santana smiled. "You miss so much when you've been shot in the arm. So you and Lu huh?" He grimaced at her. "She'll be fine Matt."

"What if she's not?"

"Are you kidding? The BPD has an excellent track record with their recovering detectives."

He gave her a small grin. "So I heard Roz is leaving," she said changing the subject.

"Yeah I guess her and Duncan hit it off."

"Well ever since her husband left her and took the kids, she hasn't let any guys get very close."

"Wait what?"

"Oh, you didn't know. Son of a..."

"Uh, No."

"Forget I said anything. You want some coffee?"

"Hold it, Roz has kids?"

"Had, she hasn't seen them in twenty years."

"What?"

"Never mind. Do you want some coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee sounds good."

XXXXX

Woody put the car in park and turned to look at Jordan. "You can do this."

"I know but I don't want to," she admitted.

They made their way inside together and then Woody waited so she could go ahead and speak alone with Maggie and Garret. He knew from his own personal experiences that people often like to be alone when they visit a casket and say goodbye.

"I'm so sorry Garret," Jordan said as she hugged him.

"Thanks Jordan."

"If there is anything you ever need…"

"I want you to stay Chief ME while I go away for a while."

"Sure Garret. I can do that," she said gently and then turned to Maggie. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you Jordan."

Woody slowly made his way over to Garret and Maggie once Jordan had gone over to the casket. "I'm so sorry for your loss Dr. Macy."

"Thanks Woody."

"I wish there was something I could do for you."

"You've done more than enough. You brought down Mark Avery and that is more than I could have asked for."

Woody nodded and then shook Maggie's hand. He then wandered over to Jordan. She was brushing her fingers softly against Abby's cheeks and hair as she finally accepted Abby Macy was dead. Woody slid his arms around Jordan's waist. She turned in his arms and pressed her face into his shoulder. "I know Baby, I know," he said soothingly, as he looked down at Abby lying quietly in her casket. He'd never actually met her alive. He felt slightly guilty for that, he just didn't know why."

XXXXX

Lily drove Nigel back to the morgue so that he could relieve Bug since it was his turn to spend the night. Lily followed him up to the morgue and found Bug in trace running fingerprints on a body. "Time to go home Buggles," Nigel said gleefully.

"I don't mind staying another night Nigel."

"Go, sleep, have a life. It's my turn."

"All right," he said dropping the instrument he had just picked up and squeezing his eyes closed. "I think I could use some sleep."

Bug walked Lily out to her car. "Do you want to come over?" she asked shyly.

"Uh, are you sure?" he asked startled.

"If you want to."

"Yeah sure," he said excitedly, like a five-year-old in a candy store. "I'll meet you there."

She laughed at his enthusiasm. It was the first genuine laugh he'd heard since her mother passed away.

XXXXX

Woody told Jordan he had one stop to make before they could go home. He needed a case file from the precinct. Jordan of course decided to follow him in.

A brunette woman was standing in the hallway. She turned when she heard someone approaching. "Hey Charlene," Jordan said, as she recognized her.

"Hi Jordan. Hey Woody, oh my God, what happened to your face?"

"Just a hostage situation, nothing really. I just met the wrong end of a gun."

"No casualties, its all good," Jordan said, even though every time she looked at Woody's face, she felt despair in the pit of her stomach, with just how close she came to losing him, again.

"Have you guys seen Eddie?" Charlene asked them.

"No, I just got here. He's not in his office?" Woody asked.

"No. He's not answering his cell phone either."

Woody looked confused, that didn't sound like Eddie Winslow at all. "Maybe he had a body and forgot his phone," Woody offered.

"You guys don't think he's having an affair do you?" she asked, looking panic stricken.

"Of course not," Jordan assured her, then she was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Lu and Santana about Lu's crush. She tried to hide her sudden discomfort.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Woody attempted to reassure her.

"Well if you see him, please tell him I'm looking for him. It's extremely important," she said nervously, they could tell she was starting to become paranoid with her suspicion.

"Sure, we'll do that Charlene," Jordan promised. Then they wandered into Woody's office.

"Well that was awkward," Woody stated as soon as he knew Charlene couldn't hear him.

"You think maybe he's having an affair?" Jordan asked.

"Are you kidding? Eddie Winslow having an affair is as likely as Homer Simpson giving up donuts. It just doesn't happen. Him and Charlene have been trying to get pregnant."

"Well maybe they've been having trouble and he got frustrated and turned to someone else."

"Jordan the guy is practically a saint."

"Eddie Winslow is not a saint."

"He worships his wife. Trust me, he's not cheating on her. He wouldn't cheat on her. He loves her."

"Yeah but I heard something."

"What did you hear?"

"Lu and Santana were talking and I walked into the room. They both went silent. When I asked what they were talking about Santana said Lu had a crush on him. When I reminded her he was married, she gave me this look."

"A look Jordan? You're basing this on a look? Lu's a little crazy, she told Santana I was cheating on you."

"Well what would give her that impression?" Jordan asked, observing the look on his face as she said it.

"Amber Marcel came to see me to find out if I knew what had happened to her husband. To thank me she hugged me again and Lu came in and just assumed I was cheating on you. She thought we were married too."

Jordan cocked her head to the side. "You didn't tell me about that."

"I didn't think it was a big deal. Believe me Jordan, you're honestly the only woman I want. My devotion for four and a half years should prove that," he said as he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

XXXXX

Bug followed Lily into her apartment. There were still several unopened boxes that were filled with her mother's possessions. He wondered what it would be like for her to be surrounded by so much of her mother and have to accept that her mother was dead. "Do you want something to drink?" Lily asked.

"Sure, whatever you're having," he said casually, but feeling overwhelmed with concern for her. She'd been through a lot in her life and he wondered how she dealt with it all.

Lily disappeared into the kitchen and appeared a few minutes later with wineglasses and a bottle of Chardonnay. "Sorry I ran out of beer, this is all I have. It was a gift from my mother," she said.

"That's fine," he assured her. He watched the emotions play across her face and he realized that maybe she had never dealt with it at all.

Tears appeared in her eyes and he stood up to embrace her. She quickly wiped them away and sighed deeply as she dropped onto the couch beside him. "Why are you so nice to me Bug?"

"Why shouldn't I be nice to you? You're my friend. You are a wonderful, caring person. Lily you are one of the kindest people I know."

"No I'm not. I'm not kind. I was so cruel to you and yet you stuck by my side. I pushed you away and met Matt. I was completely blinded as to how wonderful you are. Bug if I could go back in time I wouldn't have turned you down. I was so stupid. I don't even know how you could have possibly forgiven me."

"Lily there isn't anything for me to forgive you for. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I pulled a Jordan. I did to you, what she did to Woody," Lily exclaimed, as more tears sprang to her eyes.

"Hardly. Lily you never strung me along. You never used me. You didn't pull a Jordan. It's not your fault you didn't have those feelings for me. Sometimes that's just the way life is. You were going through a lot and it wasn't fair for me to put you on the spot."

"Bug, I don't deserve a guy like you."

"Well lucky for you, you're the only girl I want," he whispered. Lily leaned forward and kissed him. He kissed her back and for the first time, felt what it was really like to be loved by another human being.

"Lily I have confession to make," Bug whispered a few minutes later.

"Yeah, what's that?"

His face turned a scarlet shade of red. "I'm…well…I'm…I'm still a virgin."

XXXXX

"Peter open up, I know you're in there. Open the door Peter," Annie shouted as she knocked on his door, their sleeping child in her arms.

Finally she heard the deadbolt. When the door swung open she raised her eyebrows. "What the hell happened to you?"

His eyes were red and his hair was standing on end from continuously running his fingers through it. He was dressed in a bathrobe and his face needed a shave. He frowned at her. "I have to go back to Boston."

"You can barely say Boston without hyperventilating," she said, as she pushed her way inside and laid their son down on the couch.

"Santana's been shot."

"Did she die?"

"No, she'll recover."

"Well Hoyt was shot six months ago. You didn't go for him. Is it because you guys had a relationship? You told me everything was over between you two when you moved here."

"I'm concerned."

"No you're infatuated. I told you I didn't want you to come here because you thought you had too. You said you wanted to, that you still loved me and wanted a life with our son. You and Santana had a fling."

"No you and I had a fling," he said bitterly, realizing it was a mistake and instantly regretting it as tears flooded her eyes.

"Good to see where I stand. Well then go. Run to the love of your life. Don't come crying to me when she dumps you."

"Annie, I'm not getting back into a relationship with her."

"Bullshit you're not."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say what I said."

"Just go Peter, just leave. That's what you're best at. Isn't that right?"

"Annie please, I do love you. I love our son. I'm not leaving you."

"Go. Now. I don't want you here. Your son doesn't need to feel resented."

Tyler woke up and started crying as he heard his parents argument. "It's okay baby," Annie said, running over and snatching him from the couch before Peter could reach him. "Don't miss your flight Peter, I wouldn't want you to be stuck here any longer than you have to be." Her words were so cold and he felt horrible for being the one to cause her such pain. Accepting defeat he changed quickly and grabbed his suitcase, leaving behind the only life he'd ever felt was worth living.

XXXXX

Zoe frantically raced through the morgue in search of Nigel. She found him at his desk. He looked up at her as she sat down in front of him. Her face was a myriad of emotion. She stayed silent and he watched the tears fill her eyes. Her hand moved towards him and he saw her clutching something in her grasp. He stared at the object for a moment before he realized what it was. "Bloody hell."