Woody wiped the liquor off his face and threw the towel in the sink. Jordan's lips began to twitch as she looked at Woody's face. It reminded her of Jack's when he knew he was caught doing something wrong and knew he was in deep. She covered her mouth as she felt the first bubble of laughter.

Woody watched the tears of rage in her eyes change with the ridiculousness of the situation. He began to laugh too.

They laughed long and hard.

"I deserved that" he said trying to catch his breath. Jordan could only nod.

"Woody, I have been proposed to over candlelight, in a grocery store, hell, just last month Dryer proposed to me over an autopsy table. But, I never once got an ultimatum like that. You really need work on your moves farm boy."

Woody wiped the tears from his face and made mental note to look up a 'Dryer' who had access to the morgue and put a bullet between his eyes. The thought sobered him up. He stopped laughing and dropped to his knees.

"Would you marry me Jordan?"

"You're serious aren't you?"

Woody looked around the room.

"Jordan....look at me..."

He held his arms open allowing her to look at him kneeling on the kitchen floor, a few stray drops of liquor in his hair and soapy water across his shirt from drying off Jack.

"........You just drenched me in thirty year old scotch and called me an asshole... I had to interrogate half of Boston just to find out where you went and I'm still on my knees asking you to marry me.....I tired of letting life slip though my fingers."

Jordan's smile began to fade.

"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. You're stuck with me...this time I promise. A wise man once told me we were like Batman and Robin...no superpowers, we just have each other. I need you Jordan."

"Woody, I...."

Woody stood up and took her face in his hands.

"I don't want an answer right now....but don't shut the door on the idea. I love you."

He kissed her softly before she pulled his hands slowly away from her face. He had just said he was going nowhere. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It would be so easy to fall in to that trap again. But the nauseating pit in her stomach reminded her that not only did he leave her once, but he did it twice.

"I better check on Jack."

Woody searched her face trying to read her feelings, she hid them well. Instinctively, he knew he had an uphill fight ahead of him but he wasn't going to give up. He had too much to lose this time.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jordan's phone sitting on the counter. He picked it up. For the first time in five years he felt like he was finally getting his life in order. But there was one last thing he needed to do.

"Jordan, can I use your phone?"

"It's a little late to check in with the office...."

"No, I think it's time to call...Kewaunee."

Jordan sighed knowingly.

"Its number twelve on the speed dial."

Jordan watched as he stared at the phone his Adam's apple went up and down as his fingers tapped the case.

Jordan wiped her face with the back of her hand as she walked up the stairs. She felt like a tractor-trailer had just run over her and then the driver put it in reverse to make sure the job had been done properly. She was craving sleep but she knew it wouldn't be coming anytime too soon.

Her mind was swimming. She would have to turn him down, her heart couldn't take anymore. She just had to convince herself that is was the wisest move. For some reason she knew it was going to be complicated.

She stepped quietly into the bedroom as so not to wake Jack. He was sleeping so soundly she couldn't hear him breathing. It took her only a second to realize the bed was empty. The bathroom light was glowing. She round the corner to tell Jack that it wasn't polite to use the restroom without closing the door, when she noticed it was empty also.

The hairs on arms began to rise. She called out his name. She looked in the master bedroom and in the closets. A quick check under the beds proved he wasn't playing hide and go seek.

She ran down the stairs and looked around the great room. It was then that she noticed the patio door open a crack. She threw it open and saw little foot steps leading out in the fresh frost.

She ran back into the kitchen. Woody heart stopped at the first look at her pale face. He pressed the disconnect button before the second ring.

"Jordan what's wrong?"

"He's gone."

"What?"

"I looked everywhere....I think he went out the back door."

Woody rushed passed her and out the door to the deck. The trail of footprints went around to the front of the house he followed them out to the cars.

Jordan was close behind.

"He must have heard us yelling and went into his escape plan."

"Escape plan?" Woody said looking in the car windows.

"We never knew when the mob would find out Jack's your son...I couldn't take the chance of something happening...."

Woody turned his attention to Jordan.

"...so I taught to run away to some where safe and call Eddie for help."

"Of all the idiotic....Damn it Jordan, you could have had him running into...Okay, okay, we can't be worrying about that now..."

Woody took out his keys and opened his car door he leaned over the fumble with the lockbox under the seat.

"I'm going to start looking for him. You go in and call 911...."

Woody stood up holding his sidearm. He reached over the glove compartment and took out a clip.

"What do you need that for?"

"This is the country Jordan; there were a lot of wildlife tracks in the snow when we went out this morning...."

"Oh my God, I'm going with you."

"No!... No, stay here in case he comes back."

Woody grabbed a flashlight out of the trunk and took off down the road following Jack's trail.

About a hundred feet down the road the footprints became jumbled. Woody could feel Jack's indecision on which direction to go. He called out his name one more time. And then he heard it; a slight whimper next to a black pine.

"Jack?" he said as he slipped his gun into the back of his waistband.

Woody followed the snuffles until he found Jack huddled under the tree. Woody knelt down next to him. Jack's nose was bright pink and dripping onto his lip. He dragged his shelve across his face and then buried it into Gaylord's fur. Woody let out the breath he had been holding since he saw the little prints trailing out of the house.

"Hey buddy."

Jack looked up from Gaylord.

"It's too dark out here."

"Here, hold this." Woody stretched his hand out and handed Jack the flash light. He quickly unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing. He took a quick look at Jack's feet. He hoped the footies of his pajamas gave him some protection.

"I'm scared"

"It's okay Jack... I'm right here. Can you do me a favor and come sit on my lap?"

Jack timidly climbed up on Woody's lap.

"My grandpa wears a t-shirt like that."

"Is that so?" Woody said as he gave Jack a quick once over and wrapped him in the shirt.

"How'd ya get that?" Jack said pointing to the scar on Woody's arm.

"You're mama wasn't there for back up."

"Were you scared?"

"....Yep"

"I want my Mama."

"I told her to sit tight... so, I'm sure she's halfway down the road by now. Let's go see. Wrap your arms around my neck tight Jack." Woody lifted Jack up as he stood and began to walk back out to toward the road.

"Are you really my Daddy?"

"Yes, I am"

Woody placed a kiss on Jack's temple and said a silent prayer. They broke out in to the clearing of the road. They both looked up at Jordan's gasp. She was running toward them with her arms wrapped around the blanket from the sofa.

"Oh, thank God...is he?

Jordan reached out for her son. Jack only clung to Woody tighter.

"He's fine. Just see if can get that blanket around him."

Jordan tucked the blanket tightly around the slight shivering figure.

"Here take this."

Woody leveled Jack in one arm and reached around for his gun. Jordan secreted it into her coat pocket before Jack could see it. Woody let out a hiss that had nothing to due with the death grip Jack had on him. Jordan looked down.

"Woody, your feet...they're bare."

At her words the feeling of cold and pain hit his brain.

"I knew I forgot something."

Jordan could only shake her head.

Once they were inside Jack was checked over with a fine tooth comb for frostbit. He was given a clean bill of health, a dry set of pajamas and was wrapped in a blanket on the couch when Jordan turned her eyes to Woody.

"I'm fine, just take care of him."

"Park it, G-man." Jordan pushed Woody down in the wingback chair closest to the fireplace and knelt down to look at his feet. She was relived to hear Jack's excited voice.

"You missed it Mama. I got to hold the flashlight and everything. He said you'd be right on the road. You where right where he said you'd be....He told me he got that cool cut from you not being his backup...."

Jordan looked at the twisted scar that was eye level on his forearm. Her clinical eye took in the possibility of arterial and tendon damage. It was lucky he had full use of his hand. She looked at his face with the unasked question. Woody just smiled.

"She wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

Jordan slapped his knee and stood up. "Southern living hasn't turned your skin too tender...you're fine...Boy Wonder."

She turned to Jack and put her hands are her hips. Jack's eyes got big and he swallowed a couple of times. Jordan bit her lip as she pictured Woody standing there with Garret's best scotch dripping down his neck.

"Get upstairs and get back into bed! We'll discuss this in the morning."

"Daddy?!" Jack beseeched the only sympathetic face in the room.

The silence was deafening as Jordan's hands fell slowly off her hips. Her anger was totally deflated with the single word. Woody was the first to find his voice, although it cracked when he spoke.

"You heard you mother...get moving."

As Jack stomped up the stairs, Jordan turned to look at Woody sitting in the chair. The firelight reflected off the fresh tears that were threatening to spill over his eyelashes. In one motion he stood and wrapped his arms around her.

"Is parenthood always like this? One minute you're so frustrated you can't think straight and the next your heart is about to explode...."

"You think this was a rollercoaster you should have been around for potty training."

Jordan pulled away and pointed to the stairs. "Come on, I think after tonight you earned your right of passage into fatherhood. One of the benefits is bed tucking."