Chapter Four

Slowly Jordan got up from the couch and put her clothes on, wondering at what had just happened. He didn't come back. She didn't expect him to. He said he wanted closure and he got it. Now he was moving on with his life. Which was what she had wanted … she knew any relationship they had together was destined to fail. Only she wasn't quite sure she had been ready to pay the price for getting him to move on.

She hadn't expected it to be that high.

Automatically, she pulled her scrub pants up and tied them, sliding on her shoes in the process. She clocked out, drove home, got a hot shower and collapsed in the bed, falling asleep nearly instantly. She had two days off before she had to go back in and face work…and possibly face Woody. Two days to pull herself together and act like what had happened this morning didn't matter to her. Two days to pull together a lie.

She could do it, she supposed. If only she could get the memory out of her head of what he felt like…how he made her feel…his touch. Then she would remember what he said to her, whispered in her ear that night…and it got a little easier. He still thought she was something she wasn't…but if that helped bring him closure and allowed him to move on without her, so be it. She had heard worse. She pulled the blanket up closer around her and shivered. She felt cold…the coldest she had known in a long time.

So, for two days she barely left her apartment, readjusting herself to the fact that Woody was in a position to move on with his life…she kept telling herself that it was for the best…that she didn't deserve him, not after all the mistakes she had made in her life. A man as good as he was needs and should have someone to love him better than she could. Some girl that was normal and had no issues.

She wasn't sure she knew how to do that - really love someone - Woody or anyone else. For so long, she had hid behind a wall, not allowing others in her life in fear that they would hurt her.

Or worse, she would hurt them.

And her life had been filled with too much hurt and pain to let anyone in that may cause her more…and God forbid she inflict that same feeling on others. Especially Woody.

Woody. The quintessential small town detective. He could have been Opie from Mayberry. Only he wasn't. He was shrewder and smarter than any man she had met, save her father. And looked like he could be the next cover for GQ or a Perre Ellis model.

She shook her head. She may be a sophisticated city girl, but in no way was she suited for a man like Woody.

It had been nearly three weeks since he had seen her. Had he been avoiding her? Yes…at first. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of that night…when he had totally lost control with her. He didn't plan for his actions to go that far that night, but at the first taste of her lips, he was lost. All the frustration, tension, anger that had been building up in him erupted. Next thing he knew, he was having sex with her on the couch in her office.

And this time, he would call it sex. Raw need. Base want. There was no finesse in his touch, no goal in mind but ultimate satisfaction for both of them. He achieved that goal and was pretty sure she had, too.

Closure. That's what he told her he wanted. That was what he thought he would have after he left her alone, asleep on the couch in her office. No such luck. The only thing he had gotten in return for his night of passion was a hunger in his gut for more of her. Closure was the last thing he had gotten, although it was the first thing he had expected.

But he hadn't seen her. Their work schedules hadn't meshed. At first, he didn't worry, knowing that avoiding him may be Jordan's way of coping until she felt she could face him. However, as days slipped by and he still hadn't had a chance to look deep in those honey-colored eyes and make sure she was okay, he began to worry. Garret's words drifted back to mind: She'll figure that she's messed up enough that it justifies her next action. She'll run.

That thought settled cold in the pit of his stomach. He wanted many things from Jordan, but there was no way he wanted her to run. He wanted to understand her…why was she acting this way? Had he done anything to make her this way?

How did she feel about that night in her office? Was that what she wanted?

He didn't really think so. He had felt enough of Jordan's compassion first hand to realize that something wasn't quite right with the lady. But until he saw her again, he wasn't going to know for sure…and he sure as hell wanted to know what it was.

Once again, it happened in her office. He caught her alone again in her office. She had been the answering ME on one of his calls and he dropped by the morgue personally to pick up the preliminary results, hoping to catch her by herself. She had been dodging him for weeks.

He got off the elevator and walked down the deserted halls of the morgue. Once again, it was past five o'clock and the office was nearly empty. He saw her light on and her door was ajar. But instead of working on his report she was sitting in her desk chair dropping some liquid into a plastic disk. He lightly tapped on her door. She looked up, obviously startled to see him. She quickly regained her composure.

"The prelims are in the file slot on my door…the finals won't be completed for a couple of days," she responded to his sudden presence in her room.

"Fine, Jo. I just….just wanted to know how you're doing."

"I'm okay, Woody."

"Are you sure…I mean, I haven't seen you lately and I was just concerned…after…"

She gave him a tight smile. "I'm fine, Woody."

But he knew she wasn't. Whatever was going on with her, he knew she wasn't okay. Something was wrong…something was definitely wrong with her. However, dealing with Jordan was at best a delicate situation. You couldn't just go barging in and expect answers. He would need to skirt the issue in order to get answers. "What are you doing?" he asked, indicating the small plastic disk she kept watching and keeping an eye on her desk clock for.

"Running a test."

"What kind of test? And aren't you supposed to do that in trace?"

She turned her back to him to pull a file from her cabinet. "No…this test doesn't have anything to do with your victim. It has to do with me."

Woody swallowed hard. "What kind of test is it, Jordan?"

"A pregnancy test, Farm Boy."

"You're late."

"Yep. About a week late."

"Do you know who the father is?"

She turned to him. "I'm looking at him."

Woody shook his head. "That can't be…"

She arched an eyebrow. "No? You didn't stop to use a condom that night, if I remember correctly, and I'm not on the pill or patch, so…"

"But….you've dated others."

Her desk clock buzzed, interrupting their conversation."Here goes nothing," she muttered, picking the disk up and looking at it. The room was deadly quiet for a moment. Then she shoved the disk at him. "Congratulations Farm Boy. You're going to be a dad."

Woody looked at the disk then back to Jordan, who had walked over to the window and was gazing at the Boston skyline. He followed her over. "How do I know it's mine?" he asked quietly. "You haven't exactly been staying home on Friday nights."

Jordan sighed and closed her eyes. Her plan to move her out of his life was failing miserably. She was now pregnant with Woody's child. "Because," she replied, her voice faltering slightly, "I didn't sleep with any of them. You're the only man I've had sex with in the last two years."

Woody opened his mouth to reply, but never got the chance. Suddenly a loud siren went off and he and Jordan both went into panic mode.