XxX
"Jordan, what are you doing here?" Emmy smiled as the elevator opened, "I thought you weren't allowed back until next month?"
"She isn't."
Jordan held up her hands as Garret rounded the corner, "Hey, I'm just here to meet Nigel for lunch." She smiled and found herself resting her hands on her steadily growing belly. It was funny, she had never thought of herself as maternal and yet everything was coming in stride.
"Where's Lily?" Garret asked as he pulled her into a hug, "Isn't she on Jordan-duty till twelve?"
"Erm, ya, she's just…parking the car."
Garret wrapped an arm around her as they headed back, "How're you feeling?"
"Well, Lily was not kidding about the morning sickness." Jordan answered honestly, avoiding the other elephant in the room. She had just been released from the hospital last week with strict orders to rest and recuperate, which was easier said than done since the hallucinations had returned. If she wasn't having one, then she was anxiously waiting for the next one to start. That was what had sparked today's unauthorized fieldtrip, she had to get out of the house, or she'd go insane.
"Don't worry." Garret clapped her shoulder, smirking, "It'll get far worse before it gets better."
"Thanks." Jordan drawled as he offered one last smile before dropping in on Autopsy One.
Jordan found Bug at his desk, and they chatted for a bit before he let her know Nigel was working in the Lab. Jordan headed down and smiled when she heard voices acting out a crime scene scenario, it was essentially her legacy that she had forced upon everyone, and she couldn't be prouder.
Carefully, she opened the door, not wanting to disturb their progress. Her eyes widened as Kate pinned Nigel against the wall, her hands around his throat, while he pretended to stab her with a pen, the stand-in knife. Jordan blinked a few times to make sure this wasn't her mind's trick.
"That's how they did it!" Nigel was practically euphoric. That was, till he sensed their audience. At first, he smiled, and then he took one look at his and Kate's proximity and his eyes popped wide.
Jordan stood with a hand on her hip, which only served to accentuate her bump, looking quite piqued, "Well, don't let me interrupt." She gave one last long look at the pair before letting the door drop behind her.
"Wait, Jordan!" Nigel ran into the table and stumbled over himself as he rushed after her. He cursed as he banged his knee on the door.
Her jaw was set as she shook her head, rolling her eyes, "Oh, don't mind me, I didn't mean to ruin the moment by reminding you of your pregnant wife."
Nigel caught up to her, trying to catch his breath, "We were just trying to figure out how the magicians were killed!"
"That sounds magical." Came her witty reply.
"No, see, Howard stole the locket and Stan broke in to get it back and propose to Anna, his flower who blooms by the hour, but Howard strangled Stan while Stan plunged a knife into his heart!" Jordan stopped and turned to him sharply, not sure what to make of his babbling or pantomiming. Nigel caught himself before he could run into her and smiled, "In my defense, we have had stranger cases."
Before she could retort, an angry "Jordan!" rung through the corridor. Nigel had never seen Jordan cower until that moment. He smirked, savoring the moment.
A very pregnant Lily waddled down the hall, her eyes dark as she held up a note, "Jordan Marie Cavanaugh, do you care to explain this to me?"
"Erm, it…it looks like a piece of paper." Jordan tried to play off, attempting to slide behind a very confused looking Nigel.
"Lily, I went to surprise Nigel for lunch. I took a cab. Don't worry, I'll be back soon, and I have my meds." Lily crumbled up the note, her face furious.
"She didn't come with you?" Nigel asked, shock filling his eyes, "You didn't come with her?"
Jordan shrugged it off, "Look, I don't need a babysitter—"
"Jordan, you just had brain surgery!" Lily protested, "You can't just go trapsing through Boston on your own!"
"I wasn't alone, I had the cabbie." She quipped, looking between her exhausted minders.
Nigel sighed, feeling another headache coming on, "Lil, why don't you take the rest of the morning off, yeah? I'll take charge of our little delinquent till Garret is up." He smiled at their friend, ignoring Jordan as she stuck her tongue out, "I owe you a very large drink after Madeline is here."
Lily smiled, her anger long forgotten, and gave one last warning look at Jordan before sneaking off to say hi to Bug.
"I'm starving." Jordan beamed, trying to skirt the trouble she was in.
Nigel let her, not having the energy to fight it, "Where to, luv?"
XxX
Kate stood with her arms crossed, her face derisive as she took in her napping colleague. Somehow, Nigel still had his head propped up as he slept the shift away.
"You know," Kate slammed the evidence bag on his desk, watching as he startled awake, "You aren't supposed to be sleep deprived until after the baby gets here. So, until then, I suggest you get ahead on your caseload." As she spoke, she added file upon file to his desk from the cart, "We are shorthanded enough as it is, what with everyone taking shifts babysitting Jordan…"
Nigel cleared his head and nodded, turning to the mountain of folders.
Kate started to leave but stopped, "How is Jordan?" She tried.
"She's fine." Nigel rubbed his face as he yawned, "Just a bit hormonal and bored, she thinks if she's awake at 2AM then everyone else needs to be as well." Nigel chuckled, "Bug's with her now." His phone rang and he quickly flipped it open, "Townsend."
"Nigel, has Bug left? He was supposed to be here an hour ago and I have an appointment across town at 1 that I really need to be at." Came Lily's hurried response.
"He headed out a little before ten." Nigel's ire sparked and he headed to their shared cubical, leaving Kate mumbling about how it looked like she was the only one working today, "He knows how important this is, he can't just blow this off! He agreed to help out!"
He had already tried Bug's cell five times by the time he made it to the parking lot and left one ranting message when he found Bug's car open with the keys in the ignition and his things spilled on the ground.
The next hour was complete chaos as they called the cops and began combing for any clues on Bug's whereabouts.
Nothing was more hellish for Kate Switzer, however, than when Nigel approached her about going to sit with Jordan for a couple hours to relieve Lily.
"No! I have enough work to do here as it is, not to mention Pretty Face's case. Hire a nurse if you're so concerned." She replied, heading to Autopsy.
"Kate, please." Nigel followed after her, catching her arm, "I…I need to know Jordan's safe. I can't focus on finding Bug unless I do." His scared eyes were open and honest, "She needs to be with one of us; I don't trust anyone else."
Kate was completely taken aback, and she could only nod. His words rung through her head, warming her heart. She had never felt included before that moment.
"Thank you!" He beamed, hurrying to gather everything needed to do a sweep on the car, "And, Kate, please don't tell her about Bug."
XxX
"Jordan?" Kate dropped the garbage when she heard the crash and ran towards the bathroom, "Jordan? I'm coming in!"
Jordan was curled up in the corner, the shower raining down on her, "Blood…"
"Are you hurt?" Kate quickly turned the water off and grabbed a towel before checking her over. Jordan seemed fine and Kate helped her out to the living room where she sat her at the bar. Jordan's eyes lazily following Evander's swimming pattern as Kate pulled a blanket around her shoulders and weaseled it all out of her.
"How long have they been going on?"
Jordan shrugged, "Couple days?"
"You need to tell Nigel, Garret too." Kate sighed, her brow knitting, "Where are you going?"
Jordan brushed back her damp curls, not wanting to have this conversation, "It's time for my meds."
"I'll get them, which ones are they?"
"Um, dexamethasone." Jordan curled back up, smiling as Evander swam over to say hello. The only reason the little dude was still alive was thanks to Nigel; he really had a knack for keeping things alive, both plant and animal alike. He was clearly more cut out for this whole parent thing that she was.
"Of course! One of the side effects of dex is hallucinations." Kate grinned, offering Jordan the bottle to read.
"Yeah, or the surgery didn't work." Jordan set it back down on the counter.
For days she'd been tormented by a warped reality, unable to sleep because of the nightmares or focus because of the hallucinations. Day in and day out she kept fearing what tomorrow might bring, what she might miss out on because the surgery failed.
It was made worse knowing her psychosis was driving Nigel to the brink of his sanity even though he put on a good show of being just fine. He had been so good to her, catering to her every whim and excusing her moods, all because he was holding onto a hope that things were on their way back to normal. She couldn't bear to break his heart just yet with the news.
"How about this, we're doctors, we can adjust the dosage and go from there." Kate opened the bottle, "It won't kill you." Jordan nodded and accepted the pill, popping it into her mouth.
Kate stole a quick glance as she reorganized the bottles to line up with the color-coded schedule, "Jordan, I just…I just want you to know that nothing is going on between me and Nigel. You know that, right?" Kate asked, pressing on what she saw Jordan's uncertain eyes, "That kiss last month was just him being the little freak he is. You missed the one he gave Woody the day before." Kate allowed herself to smile when she saw the grin teasing Jordan, "He loves you."
Jordan's expression was dry as she looked at her rounding stomach, "I would hope so."
"You aren't going to be able to push him away, so you might as well stop testing if he has a breaking point. He doesn't, he's in it for the long haul. You might as well accept it and start appreciating it instead of doubting it." Kate said evenly, having an insight Jordan couldn't even begin to guess at. Kate's expression was weighted, saying everything she couldn't put into words. With a sigh, Kate returned to the chores she had begun, needing something to do.
"Kate?"
She turned to see Jordan giving her famous half-smile as she wrinkled her nose, "Thanks."
Kate nodded, returning the smile.
They might never be friends, but they could be family.
XxX
"How're my girls doing?" Nigel greeted as he headed inside, giving Jordan a long kiss as he rested his hand on her tummy.
"Good. But one of them would be better if they knew how finding Bug was going."
Nigel looked to Kate; his eyes vexed. Kate held up her hands as she grabbed her jacket and headed for the door, "She deserved to know, and she would have figured it out anyway."
"Oh, remember, happy hour on Friday!" Jordan called as Kate snuck out. She turned back to Nigel and shrugged, "What? I'll order a rum and Coke without the rum."
Nigel shrugged his jacket off and nodded as he collapsed on the couch, too tired to wonder what had gone on between the two of them, "Homeland Security has Bug, they think he's working for Al Qaeda to create a super bug." He rubbed his face, his emotions all over, "We gave them proof that it wasn't him, that someone stole his identity, but they haven't released him, and Walcott hit a wall."
Jordan joined him and began rubbing circles in his back, knowing there wasn't anything else she could do but be there for him. Nigel leaned into her touch, giving into his exhaustion, and finally let himself cry.
XxX
By the next night, everyone had gathered at Nigel and Jordan's for an impromptu Chinese take-out splurge, knowing that what they all really needed was to be together.
Lily sat curled up beside Garret, completely despondent. Sidney and Peter were sitting on the floor, lost in their thoughts as they zoned out on the telly. Kate and Jordan were playing a game of cards – which Kate was winning if Jordan's mumbled cursing was anything to go by – while Nigel paced before the window.
The door rang and Nigel headed to get it, thinking it was the food. It was just Woody, and Nigel stepped back, inviting him in. The detective might grate on his last nerves, but he was, at the end of the day, still part of their little group.
"Sorry I'm late."
Nigel turned, his face in complete disbelief as Bug stepped around the corner, "Bug?" Nigel pulled him into a long, overdue hug as the others hurried to gather around. Jordan lingered by Bug's side, looking at him evenly and asking if he was alright.
"Yeah." Bug shrugged, not wanting to keep company with the memories of the past few days, and looked around the room, "I am now."
As they all headed back to settle in, Jordan leaned into Nigel, who wrapped a tight arm around her as he looked at their hodgepodge of a family, knowing life couldn't get much better than this.
They were home.
XxX