Disclaimer: I don't own Crossing Jordan, I never will.
Note: R&R, should I continue?
Woody never wanted a glamorous life, just something simple that he could call his. He should have been celebrating; making an arrest on the O'Brian case should have made his year. Something in his mind couldn't get those threats out of his head, They were relentless, tearing down his psyche bit by bit. Jordan seemed happy, you know what they say, ignorance is bliss. She chatted happily as she ate. He was forced to smile, she was so happy; she didn't have those dark circles that had plagued her sparkling eyes for so long.
But the threats were in the back of his mind, chewing slowly threw his thoughts and showing threw his lackluster eyes. Jordan saw it, she saw the way he stared down at his food, which he barely touched, and she saw the unstable stare of a man on the edge of something much too deep. She recognized it, she knew it well herself.
"Woody, are you okay?" she asked softly, gripping his hand in concern.
He was startled by her soft touch, he had done that a lot lately, been somewhere else all together.
"I'm fine Jord, don't worry," he forced a smile, giving her a small kiss on her cheek, sometimes she worried too much about him.
She didn't look entirely convinced, her eyes warily watched as he picked at his lasagna. He was slipping, she saw it, he was slipping somewhere else and she knew before long it would be too late, she had to do something before she or Woody was hurt.
"Woody, I'm going to talk to doctor Stiles, I'm thinking maybe he should talk to you." He looked at her stunned.
"I don't need to see doctor Stiles, Jo, I'm fine, and I'm just a little tired that's it, its nothing a hot bath and some warm food won't cure."
"That's a lie Wood, you know it and I know it, in the last three weeks I've seen you eat maybe three times. You've lost God knows how much weight, you don't sleep... You've been by my house maybe three times... Woody, something's happening, I need to know what it is, you can talk to me... what happened?"
Her coffee eyes glittered with unshed tears as he met them stubbornly; he saw the concern brimming on her face. He couldn't tell her, she was just learning to face her own demons herself. He wanted to curl up in a corner somewhere and rot away, somewhere he could let go and be unattached.
His pause was undying, he was silent yet everything he said was heard. She looked at him in part sympathy and part astonishment, he didn't trust her. Slowly, carefully, she dabbed the corners of her mouth with her burgundy napkin, stalling, giving him time to answer the inevitable.
This was supposed to be their night, the one night to be together. He wanted to comfort her, tell her about the dreams, how they plagued his thoughts constantly. He wanted to tell her that he feared for her life incessantly. He wanted to tell her about the threats against his life and hers.
"Woody?" She begged doggedly, after all of the lies and deceit with her father, all of her truths had turned out to be a big fat lie. She didn't want that to happen with Woody, he had recently become her love yes, but first and foremost he had always been her friend.
His eyes fell, for the first time he noticed his suit hung on his shoulders loosely, his collarbone jutted sharply against his dress shirt. His belt had to be looped a couple more notches. He had never observed before
It was funny how a simple observation can completely stun you; an awareness of your surrounding could save your life. Jordan stood, she saw the wariness in his gaze, he wasn't the Woody she knew, he was someone different. A shell of a person, with empty eyes. She gently pushed her chair away from the table, stood, and stared him in the eyes, challenging him
"I'm giving you some time to sort whatever it is out, you need space... I'm going home, I'll see you later." She backed away from him slowly... "I thought maybe it was because you changed, I just realized I never knew you at all." She threw some money down on the table, couples from other tables turned to watch her walk off.
It hit him, temporarily shocking him, she was going home, and home wasn't safe. He got up, knocking his chair over in the process. Whatever she did, she couldn't go home. "Jordan!" he screamed after her, she stopped mid step that was the first time he had raised his voice to her. It knocked some sense back into her, nothing could be that good for that long. He was just like everyone else, he left, maybe it was inadvertent but he left. She continued her even strides.
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