DISCLAIMER: Under penalty of law, this tag may not be removed…Just kidding….Yada, yada….I don't anything….blah, blah, you know the drill.

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She never saw it coming. All she heard were the screeching tires and a loud bang. And then there was quiet…..and blessed darkness.

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"She's not conscious, but she is breathing on her own," the doctor said, coming out of a small curtained unit of Massachusetts University Hospital. "She's taken a pretty serious bang on the head. We won't know for a while exactly how or if this has impacted her."

The doctor walked with him out to the waiting area. "I suggest you go home. We'll call you when she regains consciousness. Are you sure she has no family in the area?"

"None."

"Then we'll contact you if anything changes."

Garrett nodded, as he settled down in the waiting area. There was no way he was going home. Not until she had regained consciousness. Not until he knew….knew if she was going to be okay …. knew if she was going to be able to function on her usual level….knew that she was going to live. Grimly he reached for his cell phone and stepped outside to call Nigel. Nigel would want to know. So would Woody, but he was on vacation right now and couldn't be reached.

"Hello, Nigel?"

"Dr. Macy?"

"Yeah, Nige, it's me. Look, there's been an accident …"

"Where do you need me to go?"

"It's not that kind of accident. It's … it's Jordan, Nige. She's been in a car crash… a bad one."

Nigel couldn't remember exactly how he got to the hospital. He just remembered he felt as if his heart quit beating and he held his breath until the elevator dumped him out in the critical care unit.

"How's she doing, Garrett?"

"Well, she's holding her own right now. She's not conscious, but she's breathing on her own."

"Can we see her?"

"They may let us in a little bit. Right now all we can do is wait."

"Has anyone called Woody?"

"I tried and couldn't get an answer on his cell phone or his apartment. So I called his supervisor. He told me Woody was on vacation and that he's gone hunting up in Kewuanee. He won't be back until the end of the week."

"Who's with the Cavanaugh family?" a voice said from the doorway.

Garrett went over to the nurse. "I am," he said.

"Good. She's beginning to wake up a little bit. You two can go back to see her, but you can't stay long. She's going to need to rest."

The nurse led them down a maze of tiny rooms with glass windows and curtains for doors. Finally stopping at one, she pulled the curtain back and motioned for them to go in. "There's more wires and machines than there is of her. But take my word, she's doing much better now than when they brought her in."

True to the nurse's the nurses description, Jordan was covered with wires and tubes running in and out of her. Her breathing, urine output, pulse, heart rate, and blood pressure were being carefully monitored. Her head was swathed in bandages and her face was swollen. Gingerly, Garret took her hand, "Jordan," he softly said.

No response.

"Jordan," he said, this time a little louder.

Jordan 's eyelids fluttered. "Hey, Jordan, it's me Garrett. Can you wake up and talk to me?"

Jordan tried to shake her head 'no,' but the action caused her already throbbing head to ache even more. Garrett caught the grimace of pain that shot across her face.

"That's okay, Jor. You rest. Nigel's here."

Garrett stepped aside so Nigel could take her hand. "See if you can get something out of her," said Garrett.

"Hello, love. I know your head must be killing you."

'Boy, that's the understatement of the year,' thought Jordan.

"You just stay all quiet like and do what the good doctors tell you to, okay? We'll be back tomorrow. Can you hear me, love? If you do, could you give my hand a little squeeze?" Nigel felt Jordan's fingers faintly tighten around his.

"She did it, Garrett. She squeezed my hand."

Garrett sighed a deep sigh of relief. "Good. Let's go home and get some rest and be back in the morning. We'll need to let Bug, Lily, and Peter know."

Nigel nodded. "I'll call them tonight."

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The next three days were touch and go as far as Jordan's state of consciousness was concerned. She drifted somewhere in between two worlds – one of daylight and the other of blessed darkness where she didn't have to try to think, try to cope, or try to remember. The remembering was what was the hardest. She couldn't remember what happened. So she tried to stay in the darkened state of peace as much as she could. The only problem was that no one wanted to let her remain there. She kept hearing voices trying to pull her back into the world of the living.

"We've got to get her awake so I can accurately assess any damage," the doctor said. "The sooner we get her back with us, the sooner I can do that and the better she will be. I know the scans and MRIs have all come back amazingly good, considering how hard she struck her head, but I need her awake."

So the voices kept pestering her to wake up. They kept trying to pull her out of her blessed, peaceful darkness. Did they not understand how much her head hurt or how the daylight stung her eyes?

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"Nigel, have you found out when Woody's plane is landing?" asked Garrett.

"Two o'clock this afternoon, give or take an hour or two depending on the rain on the east coast."

"Good." Garrett had the unenviable task of breaking the news to Woody. He knew the detective cared deeply for Jordan and Jordan cared for him, but no words of commitment had been spoken between the two. Woody called Jordan his best friend, Jordan called Woody anytime she needed anything. And anything for Jordan could have broad definitions – from re-enacting a crime scene to simply needing someone to hold her during a thunderstorm.

So, at two o'clock, Garret found himself at Logan waiting on Woody. Finally catching sight of the young man, Garrett called out to him.

"Woody!"

"Dr. M. What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you Woody. We need to talk."

"What about?" asked Wood. Then looking into Garrett's eyes, he answered his own question. "It's Jordan, isn't it? What has she gotten herself into now?"

"Jordan's in the hospital, Woody. She was in a car accident Sunday night. She's banged her head up pretty good. She's been unconscious most of the time since then. The doctor's concerned that if we don't get her woke up and keep her awake, that she's going to have some serious problems."

Pure panic spread across Woody's face. "Where is she?" he asked, quickly making his way to the baggage claim.

"She's at Massachusetts University Hospital."

"Let's go."

On the way to the hospital, Garrett explained the accident to Woody. "Jordan was leaving work late Sunday night. She was at the intersection of Pine and Elmhurst. The light turned green for her to go, so she proceeded through the intersection. A car ran a red light and hit her in the driver's side. The driver was drunk."

"Airbag….did the air bag?"

"Yeah, the airbag deployed, but she was thrown sideways and ended up hitting her head on the windshield."

"So what's the doctor saying?"

"The neurosurgeon said that all the scans and stuff he has done have come back good – normal brain activity. But her head hurts her." They had arrived at the hospital. Getting out of the car and walking with Woody inside, Garrett continued. "She's just not regained full consciousness yet and she should have by now. That's what's got us all worried. One of us has been with her at all times – Nigel, Bug, Lily, me – even Peter. We've all talked to her and have tried our damnedest to get her to wake up. But she just kind of floats in and out of it. She hasn't spoken much." They had arrived at Jordan's floor. "I warn you, she looks pretty bad. Lots of tubes and wires."

Woody nodded. Garrett went over the CCU nurses station and asked the nurse if Woody could see Jordan. She told them to go ahead.

'"We're hoping that when she hears your voice, she'll pull out of it – open her eyes and wake up," said Garrett. He pulled the curtain back for Woody to enter the room. For a moment the detective was shocked. The tubes and wires that ran in and out of Jordan covered most of her body. Her head was still bandaged and blood from the head wound had settled, giving her a black eye on one side. Her face was scratched and there were cuts on her neck and shoulders. This did not look like the Jordan he knew. Wordlessly Woody looked to Garrett for an explanation.

"Everything's being monitored. And all her drugs are being given intravenously. Please see if you can get her to wake up."

Woody walked over to Jordan's bed and gently took her hand. "Hey Jo – it's me, Woody. I'm back from Kewuanee." He pulled a chair up to the bed. "Next time I go, I'm taking you with me. I leave here for one lousy week and see what kind of trouble you get into? You're no good without me."

A faint flicker of a smile crossed Jordan's face. Woody saw it. Encouraged, he continued.

"Jordan, come on. Please wake up. I need to talk to you. I need to see your eyes. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen your eyes? Come on, Jordan. Please?"

Jordan tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were so heavy. Finally, mustering all the strength she had, her disobedient eyes slowly opened.

"There you are," Wood exclaimed. 'I knew you could do it. How's your head feeling?"

Blankly, Jordan stared at him. Finally, she asked, "Who the hell are you?" And then she thought for a minute. "And who the hell am I?"