Jordan stared out of the airplane window. So far the flight had been uneventful. Katie was napping on Stevie's lap and Jordan was sipping a diet Coke. The flight hostess announced that they would be landing in the Raleigh/Durham airport in ten minutes, please secure all belongings and put down the trays. Jordan sighed as she put down her tray and Katie's and helped Stevie settle Katie back into her own seat.

Everyone had been at the airport in Boston to see them off. Well, everyone except Woody. Garrett had hugged her. "I'll keep it safe," he had whispered to her, alluding to her beloved guitar that she had left behind in his keeping. When Garrett had seen the guitar, he knew for certain that Jordan wasn't really running – for when she ran, the guitar always went with her, her constant soul-mate for when she was on the road. Bug, Lily, and Peter had hugged her, hard. "Come back soon," Bug whispered. "The morgue is not going to be the same without you."

"And neither will I," Nigel had said, catching her up in a bear hug and planting a strictly platonic kiss on her lips, "And neither will Woody." Jordan shot him a skeptical look. "Just wait and see, love. I know what I'm talking about. Have I ever led you astray?"

"I don't think I should answer that," Jordan replied.

The most touching goodbyes had been between Stevie, Katie, and Nigel. Katie hugged the tall man hard. "I'm going to miss you Mr. Nigel," she had said. "Maybe you can come visit us on the farm?"

"We'll see how your mom feels about that," said Nigel, handing Katie off to Jordan and hugging Stevie close.

"I think I feel great about that," Stevie had shakily whispered back. She was more emotional over this good-bye than she thought she was going to be. "Damn hormones," she muttered, but all the while knew it was her heart, not her cycle, affecting her emotions.

Nigel simply tilted Stevie's head up and kissed her, in front of everyone, even Katie, who put her hands over her mouth and had no words, for once.

So all the goodbyes were said to Katie and Stevie. And to Jordan. All except one. The one her heart and soul really long to hear. She had lingered as long as she could, but Woody never showed. Sighing again, Jordan buckled her seatbelt and prepared to land.

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"Hey Garrett," a voice called.

The chief ME turned and saw a disheveled Woody running down the hall of the morgue. "I just heard that Katie and Stevie left this morning to go back to North Carolina."

"You heard right."

Woody paused for a moment and looked down at his shoes. "Was Jordan with them?" he finally asked.

Garrett regarded the young man for a minute. Taking off his glasses, he stared Woody down. "Yeah. She was."

Woody looked like he had been hit in the chest with a sledge hammer. He walked over to one of the morgue windows, looking up into the sky as if he could spot Jordan's plane from there. Garret heard him whisper, "She did it, she really did it. She's gone."

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After landing at the Raleigh/Durham airport, Jordan, Stevie, and Katie were picked up by Stevie's dad, Curtis. Jordan hadn't seen him since she was at Tufts with Stevie. Curtis hugged her, "Welcome to North Carolina, Jordan," he had said. "It's good to see you again. You haven't changed a bit."

Katie launched herself into her grandfather's arms with her typical enthusiasm and tried to tell him everything that they did – all at once. Stevie hugged her father and told him, "It sure is good to be home, dad."

Curtis smiled lovingly at his only daughter. "It's good to have you back. Did you learn a lot? Did you tell them everything you know about arsenic? And did you meet anyone interesting?"

"She met Mr. Nigel, Grandpa. And he kissed her goodbye," Katie spouted.

Stevie turned three shades of red. Her father looked at her. Raising his eyebrows, he said, "Kissed you goodbye? Well, that's something new – and encouraging."

If possible, Katie's face turned pinker. Jordan decided to help her friend out..."Let's get the luggage and head home. I'm ready to get settled."

Before she knew it, she was at Stevie's house. It was a quaint, three bedroom, farm style house with a wrap around porch. It was painted white and had blue shutters. There were flower beds in the front and a vegetable garden on the side. In the back were Katie's swing set, playhouse, and sand box. "This is really nice, Stevie," Jordan commented. "Very Thomas Kincaid."

Stevie laughed. "It's home. You've got the bedroom upstairs on the end. It will give you the most privacy and it has its own bathroom. You are more than welcome to stay here the whole time you're with us. But I know sometimes you're going to need your space, so just to let you know, the university has small, furnished apartments they will let you rent sometimes on a week-to-week basis – just in case you need some time to yourself to figure things out."

So while Stevie was unpacking her and Katie's things, sorting laundry, giving Katie her bath, and getting her ready for bed, Jordan settled in. She hung up her clothes, put her make up and toiletries in the bathroom, and set up her laptop. With that done, she went downstairs and sat down in one of the rocking chairs Stevie had on her front porch. The porch faced one of Curtis's cornfields. Stevie came out and joined her.

"That is a lot of corn," Jordan commented. Her most frequent experience with corn had been on the front of a Green Giant can.

"It takes a lot to feed four hundred head of cattle," Stevie replied.

"Damn. That's a lot of cows."

Stevie laughed. "We have cows and chickens and goats. A few sheep."

"EIEIO," Jordan said.

"And we raise corn, soybeans, peanuts, and hay."

Jordan looked out over the fields. A mist was rising from the ground, a sign that dew was falling on the hot earth. For the first time in a long time, she heard tree frogs and crickets.

"This is so peaceful, Stevie. How could you ever leave it?"

"The need to see and experience something new," Stevie said. Looking over at Jordan, Stevie could see the far away look in her friend's eyes. Physically, Jordan might be in North Carolina. Mentally, Jordan was istill n Boston. Stevie knew Jordan was hurting from Woody's actions and his absence at the airport. Stevie hoped her home could bring Jordan a measure of peace, contentment, and some answers in the days ahead. Softly she said to Jordan, "Welcome to the South, Jordan. Home of barbeque, NASCAR, ACC basketball, the Carolina Panthers, and monster trucks. A place where church and home and family are still important. The land that birthed William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Tennessee Williams. This is a region steeped in tradition, wrapped in love, and filled with pride. I hope it can offer you one of our most precious gifts – peace of mind with a hint of Southern grace."