Four months. It had been four months since the accident. The doctor had given Jordan permission to return back to her apartment on Pearle Street and to drive her car. With much trepidation, Garrett had moved her back ihome. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he had asked.

"Garrett, I'll be fine. And if I need you, you're what, five minutes away? And Woody's even closer than you are. And Nigel will come if I need him, too."

"I know. I just worry."

"Well, don't. I'll be fine. I will call you the minute I feel a headache coming on."

"Promise?"

"Promise – Girl Scouts Honor."

"Jordan, you were never a Girl Scout."

"See – you learn something new everyday…."

And so her life returned to normal. Or at least it appeared to. She still was struggling to try to remember her past. But as soon as old memories would begin to float to the surface of her consciousness, the headaches would rear up in the background and fade them out to oblivion again.

Noticing she had not made any further progress with her memories, Nigel and Woody grew worried. After Nigel had told Woody what Jordan had revealed to him at the coffee shop, they both decided to approach Garrett.

"Yeah, I've sort of noticed. She never asks me about her past – how did we meet, where was she at before she came here…nothing," Garrett said.

Nigel related to Garrett what Jordan had told him about trying to remember and then getting the headaches.

"Well as painful as those headaches are, I can understand why she tries not to remember," said Garrett.

"But she needs her past….we need her to remember the past," said Woody. "She is seems to be okay, but there's a huge chunk of Jordan missing – the part that made her the individual she is. We've got to get that back for her."

"Unfortunately, it may be a painful process. Can we stand watching her go through that in order to get her memory back? Or will we cave and just provide her with information as she wants to know it?" asked Nigel.

"According to the doctor, her memory should have returned by now," answered Garrett. At her last exam, the doctor couldn't understand why it hadn't. Her edema has been completely gone for nearly three and a half months. Her memory should be back."

"Well, it's not," Woody said. "I think we may need to help her jump start it."

"Any suggestions on how to do that?" asked Nigel.

"Yeah," replied Woody. "Let's take her to the Pogue."

==========================================

"Let me get this straight," Jordan said to the three men that cornered her in her office. "All of you want to take me out for drinks tonight after work?"

"One beer," said Woody. "Just one. Just in case you have to take your medicine again."

"What's the occasion?" asked Jordan.

"Nothing, love. It's just good to have you back full time – back in the swing of things, you know. Just a little celebration between friends," said Nigel.

Jordan looked at them skeptically. "Okay, where are we going?"

"There's a little bar not too far from here. I'll pick you up around seven and we'll go spend the evening there – the four of us," said Woody

Jordan shot them another "I-don't-believe-a-word-your-saying' look and gave in. "Okay. Seven it is."

At seven, Woody found himself in front of the red door at her apartment. She answered when he knocked. He still thought Jordan was the hottest woman he had ever met. Despite the fact he knew that she remembered nothing of their past, he still melted under the gaze of her whiskey colored eyes. Tonight was no exception. Dressed in a black silky top and form-fitting jeans, she looked, well---beautiful.

"Hi," he said, "are you ready to go?"

"Just a minute, let me get my purse. Come on in."

Woody noticed nothing had changed in her apartment. It was still the same as it had been. "You look nice," he said as Jordan came out of her bedroom.

"Thanks. Are Garrett and Nigel meeting us there?"

"Yeah."

And they were at The Pogue by the time Jordan and Woody arrived. They had taken the back booth that Jordan had preferred for long talks. She and Woody had sat there so many times in the past. They also had alerted the staff that Jordan would be coming, but to make no mention of the fact that she owned the bar or especially not to mention Max right now. The men were trying to jog her memory a little at the time. They didn't want her to go into overload.

"Hey guys," Jordan greeted them as she and Woody came to the table. "What's good?"

"Well, you've always preferred a Guinness in the past," said Nigel. He was looking her over carefully, seeing if there was any flicker of recognition in her eyes. Nothing.

"Sounds good. Woody's limiting me to one tonight, so I guess just one will have to do me."

Beers ordered, the men sat back and tried to be casual around Jordan, making small talk and pretending that nothing was going on. Truth be known, Jordan was under intense scrutiny.

And Jordan was not immune to this feeling. She felt like they were watching her too closely, that the meeting had been too scripted for it just to be a normal night out. These men had too carefully watched over her life after her accident to just let anything happen. Nervously, she peeled the label from her bottle. She was just about to ask Garrett what was going on when Nigel challenged her to a game of pool.

"Sounds great," she responded, at this point willing to do anything to break the atmosphere.

They got up and moved to one of the pool tables. "Did I play?" she asked Woody.

"Yeah, you were pretty good."

She lined up her shot and broke the balls. In quick order she had Nige on the ropes. It wasn't very long before she had his twenty dollars in her pocket. Smugly she asked, "Any other takers?"

Woody laughed. "I've lost too much money from you in the past to even think about it."

Garrett shook his head no. "No way. Same for me."

They sat back down. Jordan had worked up enough courage to ask the question that had been on her mind since this afternoon when they had extended the invitation to her. "Okay, guys, why am I here? Am I being fired or something?"

Again, Garrett shook his head. "No Jo, you're not being fired. I … We… I mean ….Do you not remember anything about this place Jo?"

"So I have been here in the past."

"Many times," said Woody, reaching out and taking her hands. "This is one of your favorite places to go."

"Then why can't I remember it? I remember places, it's people I have a hard time with. Why can't I remember?"

"Just relax, love, it may come back to you in a minute or two," said Nigel, still watching her carefully.

Jordan furrowed her brow and frowned. For the life of her she could not remember….not shooting pool, not this place, not drinking or eating here…it wasn't coming…the memories were not coming.

"Sorry, I'm getting nothing," she said, sitting back in her chair with a sigh. She looked defeated and tired.

Woody rubbed her hand. "Then dance with me, Jordan. Maybe that will help." He stood, still holding her hand.

They moved out to the dance floor, swaying to the music on the jukebox. He gently spun her out and then back to him, holding her close.

"Woody?"

"Yeah?"

"We've done this before, haven't we?"

"Many times. Do you remember?"

"Not so much the dancing…."

He shot her a puzzled look.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to laugh or take it the wrong way?" she asked.

"Sure. What is it?"

"It's not so much the dancing I remember, Wood. It's the feeling I have when I'm with you, like this, in your arms."

Woody pulled her tighter to him and lowered his head closer to hers so he could hear her better. She was barely whispering, her voice catching on her words. "What is it, Jo? You can tell me. You don't have to be afraid."

"I just feel safest with you. Like nothing is going to happen to me here. You're not going to let anything happen to me. I don't know…it's just a feeling."

Woody wrapped both arms around her waist. "Nothing is going to happen to you here, Jo. I've tried to keep you safe and out of harm's way almost ever since I've known you. And sometimes you didn't make it easy," he said, chuckling.

"What did I do?'

Still chuckling, Woody replied, "That would take days to tell. You'll remember in time. And then you'll know I deserve the bronze star and a medal for valor and devotion above and beyond the call of duty."

The music had stopped now, but Jordan made no move to go back to the table. "I must have been something to deal with."

"No, you just pursue the truth with great persistence and energy." Woody led her back to the table.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the powder room," she said, disappearing down the stairs and around the corner. The men watched her retreat.

"Any luck?" Garrett asked.

"A little. She sort of remembered dancing with me. But not a whole lot else. She's still drawing a blank."

"At least she's trying to remember again," said Nigel. He was a little disappointed and a lot worried. That wall was not letting anything through her memory banks.

In the bathroom, Jordan leaned her heated head against the cool wall. She needed her meds. She could feel the headache coming. Hurriedly, she searched through her purse. 'Damn,' she thought as she remembered it was at home on her kitchen counter. Massaging her temples, she tried to will the pain away. She needed to leave – and soon. If her memory of the past was going to come back, it would have to on its own. She wasn't going to try anymore. And she wasn't going to let herself be put in a situation where she was forced to try to remember. She knew Garret, Nigel, and Woody meant well, but the pain wasn't worth it. If the past hurt this badly, she didn't want to remember it. What was so bad about just forgetting it and making new memories? Oh, God… her head. She needed to get out of here, fast. Splashing her face with cold water, she looked herself over in the mirror. She could pass muster. Pinning a smile on her lips, she went back out to the guys.

"You okay?" asked Woody.

"I'm fine. But I need to get home. I have to be in early tomorrow."

They stood up to leave, Woody taking her arm and leading her out. "Thanks, guys, I appreciate it. Maybe we can do this again, soon?" she asked.

They nodded and said good night. Woody took her to his car. Garrett and Nigel walked off in a different direction.

"So what do you think?" Garret asked Nigel.

"I think we need to try something different. And soon. I'm afraid the longer Jordan doesn't remember, the less of a chance we have of her remembering her past at all."