The weeks dragged by for Jordan. Thanksgiving came...a holiday that Jordan normally spent with her father. Her grandmother had phoned and invited her to dinner. Jordan went, but may as well have stayed home. That part of her life – her mother's side – was foreign to her. She drove home numb, stopping by the cemetery to place some flowers on both of her parents' graves. It was the first time she had been back since her father's funeral.

She immersed herself back in her work...and then Christmas shopping. She took the money she would have normally spent on her father and made a donation in his memory to the Boston PD's Family Fund. She received a gracious letter from the chief of police in return. Leaving work early one night, she found herself at the mall, along with hundreds of other Christmas shoppers. It was the first night in nearly a year she had not gone into the Pogue when she was supposed to. She was struggling with what to buy her co-workers. She was even more puzzled about what to buy Woody. What do you buy a man that is supposed to be just your friend, but is so much more in your heart? She thought. She was looking at a selection of shirts and tasteful ties when she heard a soft voice whisper in her ear, "Have you seen Santa yet?" Looking up, she saw a pair of blue eyes staring back at her...Woody. She hadn't seen him but a few times since Max's services. She had returned to the morgue and buried herself in her work...her way of dealing with her grief. Woody had known that and had respectfully kept his distance, knowing she would come around when she had coped. He had called...dropped by to see her at the Pogue, always letting her know that he was there if she needed to talk. But he hadn't pushed her. For that, she was grateful. Suddenly, she was very glad to see him.

"No....but I think I'm a little old to be sitting on his lap."

"I don't know, Jordan. Santa might enjoy it," he replied, wagging his eyebrows suggestively at her. "Maybe I could pretend to be Santa..."

Jordan gave him a half-hearted push. "Don't start with me, Hoyt."

"So...finishing up your shopping?"

"Trying to. A certain detective is proving very hard to buy for."

Woody chuckled. "No shirts and ties, please. That is so cliché. Besides you have awful taste in ties."

"I have awful taste in ties? Look who's talking..."

They laughed together...Woody was glad to see Jordan at least a little light hearted. Garrett had told him she was back to being busy...too busy, but that was her way of dealing with everything. "Have you had dinner, yet?" he asked.

Truth was, Jordan wasn't hungry. She had a Starbucks Venti Vanilla Latte earlier, but she wanted to be with Woody tonight...not let him slip away in the shopping crowd. "No," she replied, "not yet."

"Then let's go grab a burger or something upstairs."

They found themselves in the food court. Not exactly the coziest place for conversation, but neither cared at the moment. Jordan just wanted to be with Woody. Woody wanted to make sure Jordan ate something and to see how she was doing. There were soft circles under her eyes, silent testimonies to some nights of sleeplessness. She was still thin, but didn't appear to have lost anymore weight. While they ate, they caught up on each other. Woody took her hand in his. "Are you sure you're doing okay, Jo?"

Jordan shook her head. "I have good days and bad days. But I'm dealing with it...the fact that Dad won't be coming back...that he's gone, like Mom. Mainly, I just try to stay busy and not feel...anything."

"It's not good to keep all that bottled up inside you."

"I'm doing okay...it will all be fine, Woody. Honestly. Dad wouldn't want me moping around."

"You know I'm here if you need to talk...."

"I know. But you've done so much already. I hate to ask you for anything else."

"That's what friends are for, Jordan," Woody replied, deliberately using her own words on her, gauging her reaction. She looked down at her partially eaten cheeseburger, not meeting his eyes. Ouch, she thought. But at least he's moved on...he's not hanging on expecting anything more. Somehow the thought wasn't quite as comforting as she once thought it would be. It hurt. A lot.

"You know you can call me," he continued. She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. "I don't mind...day or night, Jordan. If you need me..."

"I'm...I'm...going to be okay Woody," she replied, suddenly finding her voice. This was getting too hard...pretending to just be his friend. No...it wasn't pretending. She was his friend...but she remembered too much...and that any relationship with her could probably only hurt him...and her. She needed to get out of here...leave...go home. She glanced down at her watch. "I need to go, Woody. I promised Marge I'd stop by before they closed." That was a fib. Marge had told her if she so much as showed her face in the bar tonight, she'd spank her.

Woody rose with her and took her shopping bags. "Let me walk you to your car. It's late and it's dark and you don't need to be walking out by yourself." He followed her down the escalators and to the doors of the mall. A frigidly cold wind greeted them as well as stinging participation. Looking up through the parking lot lights, Jordan could see it...sleet and ice.

"Damn... it must have started doing this right after we got here," said Woody, frowning. "There's about a quarter inch of the stuff on the ground. Traffic patrol is going to love this tonight...."

Jordan pulled her coat closer to her. She could drive on snow ... but ice scared her. Still, she needed to make it home. "Are you on duty tonight?" she asked Woody.

"No... I have the next couple of days off. I can't go home for Christmas, so I'm going to work for some of the guys then. I have my holiday time off now."

"I hate to ask you this, but would you mind taking me home? I can't drive in this stuff."

"Sure...but let's take your SUV. You've got four-wheel drive."

Jordan nodded and handed him her keys. They slipped and slid out to her vehicle. "Where are you at, Jordan? Your apartment or your dad's?"

"Dad's." Jordan was glad tonight she was still there. It was closer to the mall, and she had the gas logs if the power went out.

Neither one of them said much on the way back to Max's. Woody concentrated on the road. Jordan didn't want to distract them. The sleet and ice pelted down harder and harder, making driving more and more difficult. They finally reached the house and Woody helped Jordan into the front door. "I'll take you back for your car tomorrow," she promised.

"That's fine," Woody began. He really didn't want to leave her here by herself in this storm, but knew that any suggestion he had of staying the night would probably be rebuffed all in the sake of friendship. He was trying to come up with another tactic to approach Jordan with when his prayers were answered....there was a sharp crack and the power went out.

"Shit!" said Jordan. "Dad doesn't have a generator or anything." Woody could hear her rummaging around the kitchen for something.

"Where did you go?" he asked, reaching out in the dark air and not finding her there.

"I'm in the kitchen at the counter....I have some candles and matches somewhere." A few minutes and expletives later, Woody heard a match strike and the kitchen was bathed in the glow of a candle. "You know, if it wasn't such nasty weather, this would be down right romantic," she joked. She lit another candle and handed it to Woody. He took it and went to the back door. The trees were already bending with the burden of ice and he could hear sirens going off. The roads were getting bad. Jordan had come up behind him, wordlessly making the same observations.

"The roads are too bad for you to go home, Wood... I'd worry myself sick. Stay here tonight, please."

Woody sighed. Trying to keep the mood light-hearted, he replied, "Well, since you said please..."

Jordan chuckled. The sleet and ice were not letting up. It was coming down even harder. "Come back in. You're letting all the warm air out."

Woody shut the door. "I can take Max's room or the couch in the living room...which ever would make you more comfortable."

Jordan swallowed hard. It looked like her secret wish was going to come true. "I think both of us are going to be on the couch, Woody...the gas logs are in the living room and that's the only source of heat I have right now." He would be sleeping with her tonight.

Woody looked at Jordan, curled up in a tight ball on one end of the couch. She had made herself as small as possible in order to give his six-foot plus frame most of the room. She can't be comfortable, he thought, wincing as he noticed the angle of her neck. She wouldn't be able to move tomorrow. He shifted uncomfortably. Neither would he...the air was warm, but the accommodations were less than adequate. Making a decision, he softly got up and padded upstairs to Jordan's bedroom. He grabbed the comforter, blankets, pillows, sheets, and a quilt off the end of the bed and came back down stairs. He carefully laid them out in front of the fireplace and fluffed the pillows. Then he reached for Jordan, cradling her in his arms and lowering her to the blankets. She awoke with a start when her back hit the cool sheets. "Wha?" she murmured, unconsciously turning her head closer into Woody's shoulder and snuggling closer.

"The couch's too small...I made us a bed on the floor."

Jordan seemed to go right back to sleep the minute Woody laid her back down. He noticed with satisfaction that she stretched out before dozing back off. He pulled the covers up over her and lay down next to her. He wasn't sleepy anymore. He could still hear the ice and sleet coming down. I may not get home tomorrow, either, he thought. Not that he was complaining. If he had to be iced in....this was the way to do it. He looked over at Jordan and grinned. Maybe...just maybe the gods of fate had dealt him a winning hand this time...as long as she didn't have a flush, he may just win the pot this time. She was sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to his thoughts. Quietly he turned on his side towards her. Her back was to him...gently he reached out and pulled her back to his chest, spooning her next to him. God, she smelled good. This felt so right...he had missed her so much. But he had to give her time to grieve...time to get back on her feet.

But the power was out...and it was cold... and it was dark...and she couldn't accuse him of anything other than making sure she was safe and warm. Pulling her just a little closer, he possessively wrapped his arm around her waist and dozed off to sleep.

Jordan woke up first, just a little puzzled over why she was in the floor. Then she remembered...the sleet, no power...Woody....She tried to get up, but the heavy arm around her waist kept her pinned next to him. Not wanting to disturb him, she stopped and lay back down. No sense in waking him up... she thought, logically. I mean there's nothing to do...the power is still out. The sleet is still coming down...She knew Woody was still asleep. His deep breathing gave that fact away. He hadn't even so much as grunted when she tried to sit up.

Now's your chance, her brain told her. This could be the only one. You've wanted him to hold you for so long...now you can have that happen and he won't have to know about it. Or if he finds out, you both can just blame it on the weather and the power company. Jordan hesitated. She had wanted to be back in his arms since...since...since that damned good bye kiss at the Pogue months ago... last spring. She had fought the feeling with everything she had. She knew that any relationship she may have with Woody was probably doomed to failure and years of regret, but damn it, she wanted this now... Let her have this...the feeling...the memory of just being held by the man she loved. Swallowing hard and pulling her courage around her, she gently rolled over, laid her head on his chest, and wrapped her arms around him. Then she held her breath, hoping she hadn't woke him up...she could always feign sleep if he asked her questions... but she didn't want to lie to him. Relieved when all she heard was the sound of his deep, steady breathing and thump of his heart, she smiled and went back to sleep.

Woody had woken up the minute he felt her turn over. He assumed she was getting up, but was shocked nearly out of his mind when Jordan had laid back down with her head on his chest, snuggling closer to him. He remained still until he felt her settle down and drift back off to sleep. It was only then he looked down at her sleeping figure. She was resting...resting well. Maybe that would help erase some of the dark circles under her eyes. Maybe she could sleep, knowing she was safe...he was there. Although, he thought, moving uncomfortably, he wondered just how safe she was...He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer, shifting her a little to one side so if she woke up she wouldn't noticed his very physical reaction to having her sleep on top of him. He felt her readjust herself. Oh, no. Her legs...my thigh. Jordan had shifted so that her legs were now straddling his thighs. He bit back a moan. Even though she was wearing her boxers....Finally, getting his emotions under control, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. One thing is for certain...it's going to be an interesting evening...especially if she can read my mind.