When Woody woke up the first thing he felt was him, swimming in sunlight. His mouth was dry and cottony; his head felt like it had doubled in size. Lying in that bed, helpless and alone, it made him think of the things he forgot to do, things that seemed so insignificant were now the most important, small things, before he left Kewaunee, he loved to play baseball, go for walks threw the woods, eat thanksgiving dinner with his family. Things that weren't so important before suddenly seemed the world. Then he came to Boston and things were... faster. Slowly he forgot the things he loved, and like a spreading stain he slowly felt himself suffocating, and he smiled less and less, soon the smiles faded and left him with this shell, he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror in anymore
A nurse came in, her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail on top of her head, she wore a happy expression on her thin face. "Good morning Detective, how you feeling?" she asked, checking his stats.
"Thirsty," he said, his voice hoarse from disuse. "My mouth is dry."
"Sorry Hoyt, no water, Demurral, we have you on an IV... you sure haven't been eaten right, poor guy." She babbled happily, frankly all the joy made his head hurt.
"I'm sorry, who you are is?" he asked, not meaning to be rude, but he a little confused, he didn't remember much of the past few days, he remembered pain... and Jordan.
"Presley, Presley Coop, I'm your RN." She was remarkably young for an RN, she smacked her gum enthusiastically..
"Is Jordan here?" he asked looking around for her.
"You mean that pretty girl that was in here earlier, dark hair?" she asked illustrating with her hands.
"Sounds like it, is she here?" Woody demanded, irritated with the girl, it wasn't that he didn't like her, he was groggy and in pain, no one should be that happy when he was in so much pain... it wasn't fair.
"She was... That bald man took her home, she tried to steal his car." She said snapping off her latex gloves. "I'll be back in a while, there's a little buzzer if you need me right there... if you need me" she pointed to the button on his bedrail. "Get some sleep Detective Hoyt, you need it bad." With that she skipped out of room, smacking her gum and looking down at her clipboard blissfully.
Jordan, it was an enigma why he waited so long for her, coaxing softly, waiting. It was so frustrating sometimes that he wanted to just shove back, hard. Something kept him from pushing, something deep inside that made him freeze, something he could feel but couldn't see, like air, you can't see it but you know its there.
Jordan ran, it was easier to forget when there was no familiarity to anything around her, he knew this, and when she ran, he chased, but whenever he got close, she'd turn the corner out of sight.
It was funny how when were kids, we expected a certain life, then we discover what life had always been. He remembered walking down the crowed streets and watching houses fill with light, people living lives that he used to lead. Children running threw a park, an elderly couple staring lovingly at each other. He loved that about the big city, everyone was on their way somewhere. He had an addiction to the neon lights, it was another world at night. Jordan taught him that love is a addiction, when you try to leave but it drags you back and the worst part is that you don't care.
Just as he was about to close his eyes a figure filled the doorway, he recognized it immediately "Hi mom." He whispered.
"Hey baby, how are you feeling?" she asked concerned, sitting on the bed and stroking his hair softly.
"I've been shot, how do you think I feel?" he whispered sarcastically, trying to sit up. "Where's Cal?" Woody had to ask, he'd never admit it but he missed his younger brother.
"In Kewaunee tying up loose ends, he'll be here soon enough." She patted his arm sensitively. "Woody... I'm sorry." She murmured after a long silent moment.
"For what Mom?" he asked, his eyes searching hers for some sort of answer.
"For not being there, I should have helped you with your homework, I should of met you at school in my car... I should have told you I love you more, all I ever told you is what a pain in the ass you were."
"Well... I am a pain in the ass." He half joked, patting her shoulder.
"Well, yeah, but... I was always kind of jealous of you Woodrow, you had that thing, like your father, that amazing gravitational pull, people notice you. You see, I always thought that you knew that, so I never told you, and when I got the call that you had been shot... I... I began to think, maybe you don't know that. I should have helped you." She finished, wiping his face down with a hand.
"I never asked for help mom." He stated, she looked into his eyes, almost a copy of hers, she felt tears blur her vision and drip down her face, blurring her vision.
"But you needed it, I mean even a pain in the ass needs someone to love them."
When Jax came out of the hospital room, she saw Jordan sitting on a chair half asleep, she had to smile, she liked Jordan, she was smart and semi-grounded, she wasn't a mutant... and she loved Woody that was all that mattered.
"Hon, come with me we need to talk." She stated, grabbing a hold of Jordan's hand. She looked better than she had last night, she was changed into clean clothes and showered, she looked pale, but better.
"Hey Mrs. H, how's Wood?" Jordan asked, concern laced her voice. That made Jax smile.
"He's tired, but he'll be okay, I think, he's not out of the woods yet, listen Jordan, I want to let you in on something that I think you should know." Her voice was somber, it scared Jordan, she knew in her heart that it was about what she said the other day, about her and Woody sharing something in common.
"What?" She asked her voice trembling.
"Woody is a good kid and a good cop, he's a little stubborn, but his heart is in the right place.... Do you know why he came to Boston?" Jax said, a lump came to Jordan's throat.
"No"
"He came to be a cop, just like his father... oh, his father, Paul Hoyt, when Woody was eleven he was shot and killed in the line of duty, before that he served in Vietnam." She pulled on something from around her neck. "These are his father's dog tags, the one thing Woody wants more than anything else in the world, and I refused to give them to him." Jax sighed sadly, for a moment Jordan thought she saw a flicker of pain? Resentment? Regret?
"I refuse because I didn't think he deserved them, I was waiting until something like this." A single, lonely tear drifted down her worn face. "He was the eldest; he bore the brunt of what happened to his father... in an instant I was left with two kids and a mortgage payment. I couldn't even take care of myself let alone Cal or Woody, I started to drink, I'd come home drunk... and pass out on the floor, and Wood would pick me up again... that's what he does, he picks up people when they need picking up. And for seventeen years he's been trying to prove himself for these damned dog tags."
Jordan felt pain inside of her, a deep, dark pain that cuts the quick of your soul.
"Will you give them to him for me?" Jax begged, pressing the cold metal into Jordan's hands.
"Of course Jax."
As she watched Woody's mother walk away she felt anger, hot anger towards woody. Why hadn't he told her this before? Was he ashamed? She stood to go inside, but instead just stared at the door, and sunk back into the chair, this would be harder than she thought.