Jordan was busy tending bar. She had gotten off work early that afternoon and helped Stevie move into her Dad's house. It was good to see the house occupied again, even if it wasn't her Dad. Jordan sighed. She missed Max and wished he'd come home soon. There had been little contact between the father and daughter since the Malden affair. Max was off, either chasing his own demons or running from them, Jordan wasn't sure which. The only tangible thing Jordan really knew was that Max was in Ireland and was not sure when he would return home.

After the Malden case, Jordan had tried her best to turn over a new leaf. She had promised Woody, Garrett, and Dr. Stiles that she would not actively pursue any leads in her mother's murder. If any new evidence came her way, either through accident or through the private investigator she had hired, she would promptly turn it over to Woody. At first, Jordan had chaffed under these arrangements, but later relented. She finally had two revelations after Malden. The first was that she was truly tired of running. She had come to a place in her life where she craved stability and needed roots. She cherished her "make shift" family at the morgue and went back to her job with renewed dedication. The second revelation that hit her out of the clear blue sky was how much she loved Woody. He had backed off some, at her request, after Malden, but she soon tired of the distance between them.

As fate would have it for Jordan, as it did with most of her life, the revelation of her feelings for Woody rattled her. She had never really thought about having a long-term relationship. Indeed, her romantic history had been a series of a few short relationships, usually ended by her initiative. But one night, the gods of fate had worked in her favor for once. She was at the bar. Woody was there, too. He had stayed with her as she got ready to close up, not wanting her to walk out into an empty parking lot alone that late at night. Before they left, she had asked him to dance with her –"Just one more time, for old time's sake," she had pleaded. And he had. It was there, in the bar, with no one else around, with his arms around her, she gave into her heart and said the hell with her head. With no pretence, as she held him close, she had timidly – and somewhat meekly, at least for Jordan – told Woody how she felt. "I don't know if it's too late, or even if you care anymore," she had said, tearing up during the confession, "but I do love you."

His response had been a long, hard kiss and the comment, "What took you so long?" And he had held her tighter. As a matter of fact he held her all night, and had done the same most other nights since. And as much as Jordan was enjoying seeing Stevie again, she was glad that she and Woody would have some time together.

So she had turned over a new leaf and her life was going well. Her job was going good. Her relationship with Woody was better than she could have ever imagined. She felt sorry for Stevie – for whatever had happened that made her husband leave her alone to raise a child. The jangling of the bell over the door quickly drew Jordan out of her thoughts. She smiled as she looked up and discovered it was Woody.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself. Want a Guiness?"

"That would be nice. You know what's even nicer?"

"Hmmmmm. What?"

"We get to be alone again tonight," he replied, wagging his eyebrows at her.

Jordan chuckled, but could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Did you get Stevie settled in?" he asked.

"Yeah. Katie's flying up Friday with a co-workers of Stevie's. He's coming up to see at Patriots game."

The bell jangled again. This time it was Nigel and.....Stevie? Jordan and Woody looked at each other in disbelief. That seemed to be a most unlikely couple...Woody glanced at Jordan, who simply shrugged and gave him a look that said, I have no clue....

The couple came over the bar where Woody and Jordan were standing. "Hey Nige, Stevie," Woody greeted them. "How's it going?"

"Very good," said Nigel. "Could we have a couple of beers?"

Jordan pulled out two Guinesses and placed them in front of the couple. She shot Steve a questioning look. Stevie stared her down. Nigel noticed the silent confrontation.

"Look, this is just two ME's getting together to talk shop," he said. "I have discovered that Dr. Murphy has the same passion for computer gadgets that I do. No need to get your dander up, love," he said to Jordan, "There's plenty of Nigel to go around for all the ladies."

"And I thought I was the only one. I am crushed...well and truly crushed," Steve said, mock-pouting.

With the ice broken the two couples chatted for a while until Steve asked Nigel to dance.

"Me, dance? No way, my lady. I'm no good."

"Ummm, Jordan, can I borrow Woody for one dance? I promise I'll give him back in one piece, relatively untouched."

"For one dance. One only," said Jordan. Then turning to Woody, said, "I warn you, if you think I can dance, this girl is a demon on the dance floor."

Woody looked the five-foot-three-inch Stevie up and down. "I think I can handle the challenge."

Stevie grinned. "Okay big boy. What you got?"

Woody held up two quarters. "Let's hit the jukebox." He strolled up to the jukebox and picked out "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." Jordan groaned. He picked out the wrong song. Steve could do the West Coast swing like nobody's business. Woody was in for it. A few minutes later, Woody had to admit defeat. Steve was leading Woody, and it was all Woody could do to follow. Finally, out of breath, he made his way back over to the bar. "You're right. She's a demon," he said to Jordan.

Steve came up behind Woody. "A demon....I'll remember that, Hoyt." She turned to Jordan, "He's all yours again....all in one piece." Steve tucked her had in Nigel's arm. "Sure you don't want to try?"

"Not a chance. But let's go find a table." He lead Steve off, leaving Woody and Jordan alone.

"Has she told him about Katie yet?" Woody asked, pulling on his beer.

"Yeah, she told him this afternoon."

"What was his reaction?"

"He seems to be fine with it."

"Jordan, why do you think she wasn't more open about having a child?"

Jordan pondered a minute before she answered. "I think it has to do with several factors. First, a lot of women in medical professions down-play their families. Despite equal rights and equality in the work place, it's still harder for women, especially mothers. If you have kids, some practices don't think you can pull the hours or will refuse to be on call. Even with medical examiners. The second reason I think she downplays it is her personal history. She told me that she had gotten married and then accidentally got pregnant. When that happened, Katie's father left. Never came back, has never seen his kid. She regained her maiden name and has raised Katie on her own. Steve has no contact with her ex-husband and says it's for the best. I think she tries to shelter Katie from a lot of that."

Woody digested this information. "Would you have done the same?"

Jordan looked at Woody, a bit surprised at the question. "Me, with a kid? I've never even thought about it...I'm not sure what I'd do."