Chapter 16
The Morning After
Rating: R
The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine! They're just using my head for their personal playground!
Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Woody and Jordan
Jordan insisted on driving Woody home after he was released. He didn't need to be alone after everything that had happened, and while she knew there was more room in her loft, she also sensed that he'd be more comfortable at his place. As they pulled up, he looked out the window.
"My place?"
"Yeah. I figured you'd be more comfortable there," she looked at him.
"Well, maybe, but you won't…" he stopped, realizing what he'd just assumed. "I mean…"
She laughed and ruffled his hair. "It's ok. I figured you didn't need to be alone after everything that happened…but…"
"I'm glad you're here." He smiled and went to get out of the car, wincing.
"Hey, take it easy cowboy. You'll get there." Jordan helped him out of the car and into the building.
"Now I now what you mean when you said that in the Montgomery case about a broken rib hurting. I don't see how she…"
"She wasn't feeling anything except the ecstasy coursing through her bloodstream is how. And no you're not getting any of that," she looked at him and rolled her eyes. "It's Advil for you…"
"Ok," he said as he unlocked the door to his studio. "Sorry it's such a mess…"
Jordan looked around. It wasn't THAT messy, but he clearly wasn't a neat freak either. "Alright, why don't you go get in bed and I'll fix something to eat. What do you want?"
Woody thought for a second. "I think there's a couple of frozen pizzas in the fridge. That'll do…"
"Fine," Jordan shooed him out of the kitchen area. She found the pizzas, which thankfully were microwavable, and nuked them. She put a little tray together with plates of pizza and glasses of soda then carried it into the other room.
Woody was sitting on his bed. "Looks good," he said as he grabbed a slice and downed it in no time flat. "Funny how being hurt makes you hungry."
Jordan just looked at him.
"What?" he asked as he swallowed another slice of pizza.
"You could have been killed this afternoon."
"But I wasn't. It was a regular bullet that doesn't stand a chance against a Kevlar vest," he said, reaching out to take her hand. "Jordan, I know it's scary. Hell, I was scared to death when I felt it hit. But I also know it's a risk of the job. And that I was doing my job."
"Yeah, I know…" she leaned over and kissed him. "By the way, I haven't thanked you yet."
"For what?" Woody looked confused.
"From all reports you saves Kaidlyn's life this afternoon," Jordan said quietly.
"By knocking her to the ground?"
"More than that. By covering her head and neck. Woody, those are parts that are unprotected by a vest. Lois told me what happened and showed me the pictures. The guy taking crime scene pictures whirled and snapped some before either of you moved," Jordan paused and shuddered. "Woody, where you and the shot were in relation to Kaid…at the very least she'd have a bullet lodged against the base of her brain stem." She wiped at her eyes as she finished.
"You mean…" The reality of what happened was really sinking in.
"You saved her life, Wood. You're a hero," Jordan smiled and kissed him again.
"Hey, hey…not that I'm gonna fuss about all this affection, but…" he cocked an eyebrow at Jordan.
"Have some of the nights we've spent together proven nothing to you? Woody, for some crazy reason I'm falling for you," Jordan shook her head and laughed. "I admit, saving my cousin's life doesn't hurt you any…but it's not pushing me anywhere I wouldn't go anyway."
Woody laughed and pushed the trays aside, scooting forward on the bed to pull Jordan into his arms. As he did, he winced and Jordan couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" he asked, pouting.
"Woody…there will be time for that later. Once you're no longer bandaged like a mummy," she smiled gently.
"Is that a promise?"
Jordan took a deep breath, not quite believing what she was about to say. "Yeah, it's a promise."
"Good," Woody said as he decided to settle back on the pillows. Jordan started to get up, and he reached out to touch her arm. "Jordan?"
"Yeah, Wood?"
"Will you stay here tonight? I mean…" he looked around sheepishly. "There's a chair over there…it's really comfy. And…"
She bent down and ruffled his hair before kissing him. "Of course I'll stay. I don't really want to be alone either."
"Good," he smiled. "If you want to put on something else, I've got some extra sweatpants in the drawer over there…some t-shirts too."
"Ok. Get some sleep. I'll be right here." Jordan walked over and picked out some sweats and a shirt. She went into the bathroom to change. While she was in there she found a blanket to use in the chair. She walked out to see that he was already asleep and then curled in the chair to try and sleep herself. She didn't expect to, but the next thing she knew, her phone was ringing and it was close to noon.
She scrambled out of the chair and found her phone in her bag. "Cavanaugh."
"Jordan, it's Dad."
"Hey! How are you?"
"I'm good. I wanted to see how you were doing. And Woodrow…I heard about what happened."
"He's ok. Cracked rib. You've talked to Kaidie, right?"
"Yeah, she and Eddie came by the Pogue last night." He heard Jordan suck in her breath. "I know…but I watched him with her last night. Jordan, he really cares about her."
"I know he does, Dad. I saw him with her at the hospital. I keep saying I'm gonna let bygones be bygones…maybe it's time to really do that."
"Good. Then you and Woody will come over for dinner? I thought I'd fix a nice dinner to celebrate everyone being alright…"
"Um, sure. Dad? Are you sure that's the only reason?"
"I need a reason to have a dinner party?"
"No, but…"
"I want to have my daughter and niece and the men in their lives over for dinner."
"Ok, ok. Woody's still sleeping but I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Good. Then I'll see you about 6:30?"
"Sure, Dad. We'll see you then." Jordan shook her head as she hung up. It was going to be an interesting night…
Kaidlyn and EddieKaidlyn woke up as the beginning streaks of an autumn sunrise were making their way into Eddie's room. At first, she wasn't sure where she was ~ that disorienting feeling of just coming out of a deep sleep and not quite being ready to really open your eyes ~ but as she started to stretch and her arm brushed against something warm, she remembered where she was and what had happened. And smiled.
Ok, maybe it hadn't been quite the way she would have pictured it, but she was almost positive that she had not just reacted to what had happened the previous day. Everything felt so right, and she found that she had no regrets about what she and Eddie had done. How could she possibly regret something as wonderful and tender as their lovemaking had been?
She thought about lying there in bed and curling up with him, but decided that she wanted to watch him sleep for a little while. She quietly slid out of bed and pulled on a Red Sox t-shirt she found on the back of the closet door. She curled up in the chair he had in one corner of the room after finding a blanket in the closet. As she drew her knees to her chest and let her arms rest around them with her chin resting on her knees, she thought about how lucky she really was. How many guys made stuff all about them and, even if they didn't go to the point of rape, really cared about what their lover was feeling. Even though he hadn't said it, Kaid knew from the way Eddie had treated her last night that even if they'd been right at the point of him entering her and she'd decided she wasn't ready it would have been ok.
She smiled to herself as she watched him turn over in bed, putting his arms up over his head and around his pillow. He really was great ~ she didn't care what Max or Jordan thought. They weren't her. Eddie tossed again, and she realized that he was probably having some kind of nightmare, but she stayed frozen to the chair, not quite knowing what to do.
In his dream, Eddie was at his desk as he heard the call come in down the hall… It started off just as the events really had…
"Officer down! Officer down! We need immediate assistance"It was like he was frozen in place as he heard the location being read off. South B. The double team case... Oh God…
He ran down the hall to the desk sergeant, asking him for information. He relayed what the call had said. Two injured. They didn't think seriously, but an ambulance was on its way. The perp was dead.
"Which hospital?"
"BUMC I believe."
"Alright." Eddie turned to leave and then turned around as more information came in. "Who'd they say?"
"Hoyt…and the intern girl you assigned to Lois."
"Thank you sir. Radio Carver and tell her I'll meet them at the ER." And he was off.
The drive to the hospital was a blur. He kept trying not to think the worst, but… Even though he hadn't been on that particular scene, he'd been on double team scenes before. Two down. What the hell had gone wrong? He knew two people were injured, but his brain went to worst-case scenario…
Kaidlyn shot in the head…Kaidlyn shot in the chest with a "cop killer" bullet…Kaidlyn with a bullet lodged somewhere against her spine, comatose or worse…
The images changed…
Kaid hadn't survived. Her injuries had been too bad. He saw her lying on a gurney in the morgue, so still, so cold… And still covered in her own blood. He walked into the crypt and began to stroke her hair, not believing what had happened and hoping to God that Garret had sense enough to get her autopsy done before Jordan got there. Kaid's eyes flew open and he jumped.
"You did this to me…" she accused him.
"What? What do you mean?"
"You assigned me to Carver. I would never have been out there if I hadn't been assigned to her…"
"But I didn't have any other choice. I didn't feel like Woody…"
"Yeah, he gets to live. Ironic isn't it?"
"Oh, God, baby. I never meant for this to…"
"A lot of good that does me now, huh?"
"Kadie…oh shit…"
"Eddie, I'm gonna have to take her now," Garret came in and put his hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Jordan will be here soon and I don't want her to even think about doing this."
"But she's not dead…" Eddie shook his head and looked down at her body, once again lifeless and inert. "She was just talking to me…"
"Lily's in her office. Why don't you go and talk with her?" Garret said gently as he began to push the gurney into autopsy.
But autopsy wasn't autopsy. It was a giant oven and…
"No! You can't put her in…" Eddie choked back a sob as the front wheels of the gurney fell off into a pit. "No! No! It's all my fault! NO!"
Kaid jumped up from the chair as Eddie began talking. She couldn't make out what he was saying but it didn't sound good. She jumped onto the bed, trying to figure out what to do. At the last "NO!" Eddie sat straight up in bed, sweating bullets. Kaid reacted on pure instinct and threw her arms around him.
"Shh. Eddie, it's alright. Shhh." She pulled his shaking body into her arms and rocked him there as one would a small child. "It's alright. I'm here. I'm fine…"
As his sobs began to subside, Eddie looked up at Kaidlyn. "You're really alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." She smiled at him as he pushed himself to a sitting position and wrapped her in a warm, tight embrace. "I'm fine…"
"I…the dream…" He tried to keep his voice from quavering, but he knew it wasn't working.
"Just a dream," she said gently. "I'm fine. Eddie? Look at me. I'm fine."
He felt relief flood his body as he looked in her eyes. She really was there in front of him. And other than the tiny line of stitches, she showed no signs of the trauma from the day before. He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you, Kaidlyn."
"I love you too, Eddie," she said gently. "And it's not your fault…what happened, I mean. I'm in training to be a cop. Things happen…"
"Yeah, but…" he stopped and looked at her. "You're right. I know you're right… Hey, you hungry now?" Hell, he was a guy after all…that much emotion could be scary.
"Yeah…" she laughed. "I guess I am."
He got up and pulled on some sweatpants then went into the kitchen. He looked around and turned back to Kaid. "Not a lot here…you want to go out?"
"Got peanut butter and bagels?"
"Yeah, but…" he looked at her quizzically.
"Then I'm good to go," she laughed.
"If you're sure…" he watched her slice a bagel and put it in the toaster. Shaking his head, he went and got a bowl that he filled with Honey Nut Cheerios. As he got to the refrigerator, Kaid slid up behind him and put her arms around his waist. As he turned and looked at her, she smiled.
"I didn't say thank you yet."
"Thank you for what?"
"Last night…"
"Yes you did, baby. Right before you went to sleep."
"Oh…yeah," she giggled. "Well, I want to say it again. Eddie, what you did last night…the way you let me be in charge of whatever happened… Thank you. I…I never thought it could ever be like that after… But you showed me that it can." She reached up and kissed him deeply.
"Oh baby…" he pulled her close. "I'm glad I could…" He looked up and shook his head. "To be honest I was a little afraid you'd want to take it back in the light of morning…"
"Oh God, no. Eddie, I know I said that about wanting to feel alive and all. But I would never trade what we did for anything. I'm glad we made love," she smiled impishly. "I'm glad it was you. And I don't want it ever to be anyone else."
He laughed as he picked her up and set her on the counter, leaning in to kiss her deeply. "Well, if you're up for it…" He was interrupted by the sound of the theme from "Beauty and the Beast" playing.
"Oh shit. My phone." Kaid slid off the counter and reached into her bag. As she looked at the number displayed, her face grew pale. "It's Uncle Max. Was I supposed to call him…?"
"I don't think so," Eddie said. Max had seemed cool with stuff last night…
"Hello?" Kaid answered.
"Hey sweetheart. It's Max."
"Yeah…hey."
"How are you this morning?"
"I'm ok. My head hurts a little, but I'm ok."
"Do you and Eddie have plans for tonight?"
"Um, I don't…hang on…" she put her hand over the mouthpiece and looked at Eddie. "Do you have plans tonight?"
"Hanging out with you. I've got the day off."
"Cool." She spoke into the phone again, "Not really. Why?"
"I'm fixing dinner for you and Eddie and Woody and Jordan."
"What?"
"I just want to have a chance for all of us to eat together. Does there have to be a special reason?"
"No, I just…" she looked at Eddie and scrunched up her nose. "What time?"
"Around 6:30?"
"Sounds good. We'll see you then. At the house?"
"Yeah. Have a good day, sweetie."
"Ok, you too. Thanks Uncle Max." She clicked off and looked at Eddie. "We're all having a dinner party at Uncle Max's tonight."
"Ok…" Eddie looked at her and laughed. He reached over and started to tickle her. "Well, we've got some time before then…" he said, picking her up as she squealed. "If you're interested…"
"Oh yeah," she whispered as he laid her on the bed and they started kissing. "Definitely."
…to be continued…