Woody kept a close eye on Jordan the next several days....he was worried about her. Not so much physically, but emotionally. That night at the Pogue allowed him a brief glimpse of what was going on in Jordan's head...it explained a lot ... her anxiety....her stress...her sheer fragility. She really felt like she was alone...that she had to bear all the burdens of her job and the Pogue on her own. He had questioned Garrett about his worries, thinking that the chief ME may do something to put them to rest. He didn't. Woody found out Garrett was just as concerned. Garrett kept hoping Jordan would take him up on the vacation time and head south for a few days...to a warmer climate and some restful time off. She didn't. She thought she couldn't leave the Pogue long enough.

His concern mounted when she answered one of his homicide calls. She arrived at the scene pale and tired-looking. She performed the initial examination with her customary professionalism and thoroughness. He had watch her conduct the autopsy with just as much perfection. She had pulled off her gloves and met him in trace to go over the results. He had stopped her in mid-report. "Go home," he said.

She looked at him like he had grown a third head. "What?!"

"You heard me...go home. You're dead on your feet, Jordan."

Jordan grimaced. "Look, Woody, I'm fine....just a little tired."

"No, you're exhausted. There's a difference." He took the reports out of her hand and pushed her out the door. "Home. Now. I'll tell Garrett."

"But Woody..."

He glared at her. "Go. Home. Now."

"No...I've got work to do."

"Jordan. You are going home. Now. You still aren't feeling well. You got sick between leaving the crime scene and coming back here. You're pale and you look like you need to sleep for a week. Go back to your apartment. I'll be by later to check on you."

"It's just taking me a little while to get over this food poisoning...that's all."

"Maybe so...or maybe you're just working yourself to death."

"Woody..." She looked at him. He was relentless...not giving an inch. And to tell the truth, she still wasn't feeling well. The corned beef on rye kept coming back to haunt her. Again. And again. His blue eyes were nearly glaring at her....not giving her a way out. She caved. "Okay...I will. I'll go home and rest...you win. Happy?"

He shot her a grin. "Ecstatic."

He watched Jordan get her things and leave. Satisfied that she was going home to rest, he turned his attention to the reports. He would go over later to check on her. And he did. After he had done everything he needed to for the day, he went to her apartment. He knocked. No answer. He knocked harder. No answer. He banged. No answer. If she has left and gone to the Pogue, so help me, I'll.....he thought darkly. Looking around to make sure none of Jordan's neighbors were watching, he took a small tool from his key ring and jimmied the lock. He walked through her apartment to her bedroom. She was there, on her bed, sound asleep. She hadn't heard him at all.

His face softened as he looked at her prone figure. She was over-burdened and over-wrought. Over worked. He noticed the ever-present bottle of ginger ale beside her bed and the Pepto Bismol. She was still fighting that food poisoning.... Then it hit him. Like a lightning bolt out of the blue...

That morning...of the black out....when he had made love to her....he hadn't used any protection. And he would bet his bottom dollar Jordan wasn't using any birth control...she had no reason to before that morning....He swallowed hard.

Jordan was pregnant.

And she didn't even know.

Woody ran his fingers through his hair and began to pace. She probably didn't know. She couldn't...maybe. He didn't know a whole lot about Jordan's medical background other than some things he had overheard heard she and Lily discuss. Girl things. Woman things. And he had gathered enough information to know that Jordan wasn't regular with her periods. She may not have even recognized that she had missed one....

But all the signs pointed to it....the tiredness....the nausea....the emotions....She needed to do a test....he needed her to do a pregnancy test. But how was he going to do that? And what would she do if she was....carrying his child?

Oh God. His child....their child.

He quietly left the apartment and headed for the drug store.

Stretching, Jordan woke up. It was past time to get ready to go to the Pogue. She could afford to be a little late. Hell, she owned the damn place, right? She leisurely showered and got ready. She had to admit, Woody had been right. She had been tired. She felt much better now. She made a mental note to call him tomorrow and let him know that he did her a big favor. She was over the food poisoning. It was amazing how far a little rest could go to restoring health.

She arrived late at the bar and paused to hang up her coat in the back office. Walking to the register, she greeted Gordan and Marge. "Hey, honey," Marge said. "Your boyfriend has been here for over an hour waiting on you. You don't need to let a good looking man like him wait so long by himself." Jordan looked down at Woody's regular spot. He wasn't there. "No, no, girl. He's not there. He's back there at the table...said he needed to speak to you in private."

"Thanks, Marge...and he's a friend, not a boyfriend."

"Yeah, well. Whatever you young folks are calling them nowadays."

Jordan made her way over to Woody, who was working on his second Guinness and looking solemn. "Hey Wood....what's up?" She sat down beside him. "You know...I hate to do this, but I have to admit you're right. I feel much better after getting some rest." She reached over to get his beer and take a sip. He stopped her. If she was pregnant, she didn't need to drink.

"What's the matter Woody?"

"Jordan, I think I know what's wrong with you."

"Oh...is this going to be some deep psychological discussion? Because if it is, I'm really not up to it now."

"No....I mean physically. I think I know."

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

God. He couldn't say it. He couldn't. Wordlessly, he reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a small bag. "I think you should use this."

Jordan peeked inside the bag and her face went white. She covered her mouth with her hand. "No," was all she said, her voice shaking.

"Look. The signs add up. The nausea. The tiredness. The emotional upheaval you've been going through....didn't you think of it?"

She shook her head no.

"That morning....of the black out....I didn't use anything. Are you on the patch or any type of birth control?"

She shook her head no again. "There hasn't been a reason to..." she whispered.

"Then I suggest we go back to your apartment and run the test."

She nodded. "I'll tell Marge to close."

Two pink lines meant yes. She and Woody stared at the tiny white stick for a long time....two pink lines changed their future and irrevocably linked them together forever. Jordan was pregnant. Woody was the father. She slumped on the floor beside the bathtub in her apartment. He sat on the side of the tub, his face in his hands.

"I need to run another test," she said, getting up off the floor.

"Jordan, you've run four tests. All different brands. All the same results." She had made Woody stop by two drug stores on the way back to the apartment. "You're pregnant."

She walked over to her window in the bedroom, looking out into the night sky. Now what am I going to do? How can I do this, too? With everything else, now I have a baby coming...and it's Woody's.... The thought thrilled her on one hand...Woody's baby. Their child. Absent-mindedly, she rubbed her abdomen. But she knew now he would fee obligated to stay with her, as the baby's father...and perhaps her husband. The father part, she could handle. She wanted him to be an active part of their child's life. But she wanted no relationship with him out of obligation...her feelings were too deep for him to suffer through that.

Woody watched her walk away from him and move to the window, rubbing her tummy, as if she was trying to sooth away any stress of the situation away from their child. From the way she held her shoulders, he knew she was fighting this thing....figuring out what to do....how it all fit. Did it fit? He came up behind her, wanting to hold her and comfort her like he did when her father died. But she would have none of that now...she was still confused.... "I don't know what to say, Jordan. I can't say I'm sorry, because I'm not....maybe sorry that it happened now, but I'm not sorry that we're having a child. I don't regret making love to you....I don't regret that we're having a child together."

She turned to face him, brushing the hair back off her shoulders. "I'm not expecting an apology....I just need time to figure out what to do...." She turned back to face the window.

A sinking feeling hit Woody. Figure out what to do... she's not...she's not considering. Before he could even think through the thought, the words were on his lips. "Jordan, you're not...going to...I mean, you're not thinking about...." His lips couldn't form around the thought.

"Abortion? No....no Woody. Even I'm too Catholic for that. Even if I wasn't, I couldn't do it to the baby, to us..." her hand protectively went to shield the area under her navel. "I meant how I was going to deal with this...."

"Jordan, you don't have to go though this alone. It's my child too... I want to do what's right for it...and for us."

That wasn't what she wanted to hear....he was already beginning to feel obligated. Sighing, and feeling oh, so tired, she replied, "Let's not tell anyone right now, Wood. No family. No friends. It's still early....We need to think about some issues. And right now all I want to do is take one day at a time for a while...Okay?"

One day at a time came slowly for Woody. Jordan wouldn't raise the subject with him. She avoided it at the Pogue...and he knew it was off-limits at work. Hell, she wasn't even letting Garrett know yet. But he could tell it was on her mind...he would catch her looking off into space, a far-off look in her eyes...biting her lower lip. He wanted so badly to tell her it would be okay, they could make it work...the baby and them. Her silence on the matter, however, let him know she was still working through things in her mind. Sifting....going through the facts...trying to predict what would happen. The closest they had come to having a real conversation was two days after she ran the pregnancy test. She had called him at home...away from work ... to let him know that she had scheduled a doctor's appointment. She told him the date and time and said that if he wanted to be there, she wouldn't mind. She'd meet him at the doctor's office.

He made a note of the appointment and asked off of work. The doctor's address was a good half-hour away...Jordan didn't want anyone she worked with to get even the least suspicious, so she had found an ob/gyn as far away from the morgue as she could. He called her back and left a message on her machine that he would be there. He knew better than to offer to drive her over...

When that day came, he arrived a little early at the doctors, and found her already there, nervously twisting her fingers together. She still looked tired and pale...and worried. He sat down beside her and took her hand.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hi...did you have any trouble finding the place?"

"No...you sure picked a doctor a long way from where you live..."

"Yeah... no curious eyes, if you know what I mean."

Woody nodded. "Have you filled out the insurance forms?"

"Yeah...."she swallowed hard. Woody could see she was barely keeping herself together when the nurse called her name. "You coming back with me?" she asked.

Woody felt awkward. Jordan wasn't his wife, but there were other men in the waiting room. Surely not all of these couples were married...but he still felt strange about going back into the exam room with her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I need you now, Wood..." She held out her hand. He took it. Her fingers were trembling.

The lab work was simple. Blood. Urine. The technician ran another pregnancy test just to be sure. Then Jordan was shown the exam room. Woody waited outside while she changed into the gown. When he came back in, she was seated on the exam table. She looked as white as the sheets. Woody didn't even have a chance to try to comfort her when the doctor came in.

"I'm Dr. Williams," he said introducing himself. "You're must be Jordan," he said shaking hands with her. "And you're...?"

"Woody Hoyt." He shook the doctor's hand.

The doctor asked Jordan some questions. "When was the first day of your last period?"

She didn't know. "I'm not real regular," she answered.

"Any trouble other than the usual – tender breasts, nausea, tiredness?"

Jordan shook her head no.

"Anything that makes you think you're going to have any trouble carrying this baby? Past miscarriages, abortions?"

Jordan again shook her head no. Then the doctor turned to Woody and asked him to step outside so he could examine Jordan. A few minutes later, he was allowed back in. Dr. Williams told them to meet him in his office. Woody stepped back outside to allow Jordan to dress. When she was ready, they walked down the hall to the doctor's office. He wasn't there yet. They sat down in chairs across from his desk. "Are you okay?" Woody finally broke the silence and asked her.

She sighed. "I'm fine...I just hate those things," she replied, indicating the exams.

Dr. Williams came in then and sat down behind his desk. "You look fine, Jordan. Just fine. And even though you haven't said anything, Woody, I'm assuming you're the father?"

Woody nodded.

"From everything I can determine today, yes you are definitely pregnant. And you're in overall good health, Jordan. Except for your weight. You need to plan on gaining a little with a baby...you're underweight now. I don't mean eat the wrong kinds of food, but eat more of the good stuff...high protein, high calcium, vegetables, fruits. Of course, no alcohol. Or drugs, over the counter or prescribed, unless they're cleared by my office.

"The papers you filled out said you were a medical examiner. How are you doing with your job?"

"I'm fine so far..."

"Anyone you can get to help you lift and run the equipment that has x-rays involved?"

Oh Christ, she thought. That means I'm going to have to tell Garrett and the rest...or they're going to wonder why I won't do it anymore. But it was workable...she could tell them. She nodded.

"Then there's no reason you can't work up until right before the delivery."

Woody cleared his throat. Jordan knew what was coming. "She also owns a bar – The Pogue. She works there at nights until midnight after she gets off at the morgue."

Dr. Williams shook his head. "That's too much. Especially if the bar is not smoke free. Get someone to run the bar for you...and you just come in a couple of times a week and make sure everything's going okay."

"But...." began Jordan.

"No buts," said Dr. Williams. "You're having a baby. All your priorities are getting ready to change now."

"Marge could do it, Jordan. She does fine when you're not there," Woody said, softly. He knew she was still upset, but the doctor was right. Both of their priorities were getting ready to shift....drastically.

Defeated, Jordan agreed. Dr. Williams gave her a prescription for prenatal vitamins and told her to make an appointment to come back in a month. "Oh, and by the way, from what I can tell with the exam, you're between eight and nine weeks along....so that makes your due date about mid-July. I'll know more next time...we'll do your first sonogram."

Jordan and Woody thanked the doctor and got up to leave. "And kids," Dr. Williams said before they could open the door, "sex is still fine...probably up until the last month." He grinned and winked at them. Jordan could feel the color rise in her face.