Chapter Two

"I was watching a movie…we could finish it," Woody suggested. Jordan nodded, taking off her coat and shoes and sitting beside him on the couch. It was the latest Mission Impossible release. Figures, she thought. And as much as she was intrigued by the plot, she soon found her eyes shutting and began to doze off. Woody noticed. It had been a long, hard, emotional week and he knew it had taken its toll on her as well as him. He pulled her down to lie on the couch, grabbed the throw off the back of it, and covered them both up. He then snuggled in behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Her soft, even breathing told him she was sound asleep and soon he was, too.

Until about three in the morning when the pain in his neck woke him up. However cozy the couch may be with Jordan in his arms, it wasn't the most comfortable spot in the world for his six foot plus frame. He eased his way out from around her, careful not to wake her up. He went to the bedroom and pulled the bedspread and sheets back on his bed and then came back to the couch. Gently lifting her in his arms, he carried her to bed.

She's definitely a light weight, he thought, as he walked back to his bedroom with her. She had snuggled up next to his neck as he carried her…her perfume wreathing around them both. He put her down and pulled the covers up around her and then went to his side of the bed and got in. To his surprise, she automatically reached for him in her sleep…her head finding his chest. Wrapping his arms around her one more time, he dropped a kiss to the top of her head and wondered if she knew how much it meant to him that she did stay tonight. He went back to sleep, secure, at least for one night, there was someone beside him that did care…that did make a difference.

Jordan woke to a decided thump-thump-thump in her ear. Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings…the light coming in through the blinds on the window…white walls…two arms around her, and a hard thigh between her legs…her head on his chest…and her arms around him. She remembered the couch, but not the bed. She jerked to a sitting position.

"Good morning, sunshine," Woody said softly, reaching up to stroke her cheek.

"How'd I get in here? I don't remember…"

"About three this morning, that couch got awfully cramped. So I carried you in here…and we went back to sleep. Remember…I told you, no hanky panky…." He grinned at her. "Unless you want it…."

To her amazement, Jordan felt her cheeks grow hot. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him what if she did…want it….what would he do? But Woody beat her to the punch.

"Why don't you get a shower and I'll cook breakfast…my famous French toast. I loan you a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt to go home in."

A shower sounded nice…especially since she had slept in her clothes. "Deal." She got up and headed for the shower. Woody laid her out some clothes and left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged, her hair still damp and curly, dressed in his pants and shirt. It seemed heart-stoppingly surreal to him to have her in his apartment, in his clothes, smelling of his shampoo and soap.

"Um….they're a little big," she said. Woody nearly laughed. That was an understatement. The sweat pants were huge on her and his shirt hung nearly to her knees.

"I think you're just too short…" he retorted, setting a plate of the French toast in front of Jordan and handing her the syrup.

"Well, I've never heard you complain about it," she returned. "Gosh, Woody, this is delicious," indicating the toast.

"Thanks."

"Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

Woody winced inwardly. He needed to tell her, but now wasn't the time. "You know…you live on your own long enough, you get tired of McDonalds and you learn to cook."

They finished breakfast and Jordan helped him with the dishes. "I guess I need to head out…" she began, folding her dishtowel and hanging it on the stove.

He stopped her before she had a chance to leave the kitchen, taking her hands in his. "Thanks for staying with me last night, Jo. It meant a lot to me. And I'm sorry I came down on you so hard at the office…but you do worry me…I don't want you hurt. All I ask is that you stop and think before you act."

"I promise I will from now on. Are you going to be okay today?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go in the precinct in a little while and finish up some paperwork…then try to get caught up on the weekend chores. What about you?"

"Me, too….chores that is. I don't have to go into the morgue, but I have the Pogue this evening."

"Maybe I'll drop by tonight…"

"That would be nice."

She went to pull away, but once again he stopped her, holding on to her hands a little tighter. "I'm sorry for something else, Jordan." She gave him a quizzical look. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened between us. Lately, we haven't even been able to be friends. I miss you…I miss how it used to be between us. Do you think we could ever get back to that…the way it was when I first came to Boston?"

"That was a while ago, Woody. We're different people now…things have happened…"

He looked down at their hands…she was gripping his just as tightly has he was hers. "I know…but still…I would like to try."

"That wasn't the easiest of times either."

"You mean after what happened in the desert?"

She nodded. The kisses that had started all the sexual tension between the two of them. And it wasn't that Jordan was afraid of that…it was just she had never felt it to such a high degree as she had with Woody. It was almost palpable when they were in the same room.

He gave her a weak smile. "I know…but that feeling is still there….at least it is for me…every time I see you. We've both had time…and space. All I'm suggesting is that we both let down our walls long enough to see where this thing goes. No pressure…no hurry. Let's just see what happens. We'll never know until we try and I'm afraid that if we at least don't try, we will both spend the rest of our lives wondering if a relationship between the two of us couldn't have been the best thing in the world."

She looked him in the eyes. "No pressure. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, no hard feelings?"

"I promise."

To his complete and utter amazement, she said yes. "Yes. I'll try to let down the walls. I may need you help me on that one…but you're right. If we don't try, we may never know…and I'd like to know…"