"Why Connecticut?" Jordan asked as Woody opened the door to his apartment and let her in.

"Why not?" he shrugged and pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth, rounding the corner to the bathroom. "I can't just wanna go somewhere else and hang out for a….a little..maybe stay a day or two?" he asked emerging a moment later wiping his mouth.

When he saw the raised eyebrow and question on Jordan's face he just shrugged. "No…no Woody I can't, I've…I've got work, it's laundary night and I need to fight Mrs. Collins for a washer and if I don't show she'll think I whimped out…" Jordan said even as Woody pulled her out the door.

"Come on it'll be fun, and we're both overdue for a break…" he left out for now, that he planned on that break involving connecting hotel rooms and the hopes that they'd have a chance to talk some things over concerning 'them', not that he'd tell her that until they were well out of range of Boston, he half suspected she'd throw herself into oncoming traffic. No, actually he was sure of it.

"And who said I could take the time off from work you know I…" Jordan began an excuse until she realized Woody knew full well and good that she had more than anyone's share of days off.

"Here, use my phone." Woody said pulling out his cell as he shouldered his overnight bag and they headed to his car. "I'm sure he'd be happy to have me take you off his hands for a day…or two." He smirked and Jordan pushed the phone back.

" TWO? Why do I feel like there's more than you're telling me? Tonight, We'll stay until JUST tonight but I'll call in case I'm too tired from the drive back to go in in the morning…and and…I'll use my own phone thank you very much." Jordan said returning his smirk and begrudgingly yanking the car door open. At least to Woody it seemed begrudgingly. She was actually looking forward to some alone time with Woody.

After a VERY brief conversation with Garret where Jordan tried to get him to pretend she had paper work to do Jordan grumbled that he'd said something to the effect of 'God bless you' to pass along to Woody who just chuckled as they headed out on the road. "Told ya so." He sing songed and Jordan smacked his arm hard.

"You think you've got me ALL figured out don't you? With…with your, knowing I have time off and Garret would be glad to get rid of me. You don't know everything there is to know about me Hoyt, I'm crazy ya know, you should be running for the hills by now." She said shaking her head as she watched the scenery go by out the window. "I actually believe I told you as much at one point didn't I?" she asked finally turning to look at Woody.

"Yes, yes you did…and as you may have noticed, I ignored you." He said then scratched his chin pretending to think. "Sounds vaguely familiar doesn't it?" Of course he was speaking of every time he'd told Jordan to do something and she'd blatantly ignored him.

Opening and closing her mouth like a fish several times Jordan finally gave up with a groan and folded her arms.

"I ALSO know that if you didn't want to be here…." Woody said softly, growing serious for the moment. "You wouldn't be. You are your own woman Jordan. I'd never try to change that about you. I'd just like to be the guy who finally gets to know that woman you hide so well from the world." He said reaching over to touch her knee once lightly.

It amazed Jordan that the size of Woody's hands said nothing of the tenderness with which they could be used. He was a cop, he'd shot and killed people but he touched her like she was…porcelain.

Without thinking, she rested her hand on top of his and smiled gently at him. "Thank you." She said softly and made no move to take her hand away as she turned back to watch the road, settling into the idea of a day…or two away from home. With Woody.

They arrived at a small diner around lunch time and each ordered a Belgian waffle.

"These are a big deal at home…I used to make them for Cal and my dad every Sunday after church." Woody said smiling at the memory.

"How did your dad do it? I mean…he still took you guys to church even after..well…you know after your mom died and all?" Jordan asked taking a break from her waffle as Woody continued to stuff his down.

"Well yeah…moreso actually. He told us we could check in on her all the time but especially on Sunday at church. He said Sunday is the day of prayer and what is prayer but talking to someone you believe is there to listen." Woody explained like it made all the sense in the world. "So we could be absolutely sure that my mom was listening on Sundays and if she missed one God could always pass the message on."

Jordan smiled, imagining Woody and Cal as sweet little boys sitting in a pew innocently going on to their mother in heaven about their week at school, tattling on one another and of course, telling her that they missed her.

"It's how I remember her actually…" Woody said clearing his throat. "It's why I still go." He admitted with only minimal embarrassment. He finally felt like he could share these things with Jordan. He wondered if maybe they weren't already talking about 'them' afterall.

"I guess I just didn't feel like I needed church to remember my mom. Yeah, we went to church before she died but afterwards…I don't know I just…I couldn't understand a God that would take someone's mother away." Jordan said quietly and looked down at her plate.

Woody just shrugged. "People deal with tragedy different ways.I mean take me for example." He said holding out his arms with a grin. "You always took me for one big merry ray of hoosier sunshine right?" he asked with a wink. "Well, now you know that that's just how I deal. I have problems…" he nodded sullenly. "More than your average person but I try not to let them eat away at my resolve to have the best life I can, you know?" he asked and Jordan nodded slightly.

"Believe it or not, I have my moments when things piss me off..."

"Really," she cut him off sarcastically. 'I would have never guessed." She added with a smirk as she could recall off the top of her head a dozen times she'd made that vein in his forehead pop out.

"Just….hear me out…What I mean is I may get pissed off but I guess I just always think to myself that it could be worse. It just sometimes I don't know how...but worse. When I lost my folks it was the end of the world and then when Cal, the jack ass, ...and...and the drugs and stuff.

Jordan looked around the half empty diner as Woody became more animated to see if they were starting to cause a scene. "Woody, you really don't have to...,"

"I do. Things got a lot worse, trust me. I did a lot of praying for that boy...I prayed to God, to my mom and dad, to whoever the hell would listen"

"Woody," she sighed reaching across the table to take his hand. "You can't MAKE someone not take drugs just as well as you can't make someone believe in God. If that were possible wouldn't you expect there'd a lot less atheists in the world? Free will can't be controlled just because it's what we want."

With a small smile Woody covered her hand with both of his. Seeing the segway he seized the opportunity "True. If freewill were controllable I sure wouldn't have spent the past few years chasing you around like I have been."

'...and maybe I wouldn't have run so fast.' The words on the tip of her tongue made Jordan squirm. She straightedn up and pushed her food around on her plate. She knew it was coming, but she'd hoped it'd be closer to dinner than breakfast. She didn't know if she was ready to admit it yet. "Well, you know that's one way I could have told you you had problems." She laughed trying to break the ice. Woody threw a paper napkin at her and started picking at his food. Jordan rolled her eyes.

"Come on Woodrow, wasn't this supposed to be about getting away from our worries and cares for the day?" she asked.

"Worries yes…cares no. I care a lot for you Jordan. More than I've cared about anyone in a long time and …and I know that you know that. And I also know that it scares you." Woody said reaching to touch her hand again. "But why Jordan? Why do I scare you so much?" he asked softly.

After a long moment of looking at him Jordan shrugged. "I didn't go to church and I uh….I believed my mother was lost to me. You know completely lost and that made me feel so alone, SO alone. I had dad but he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to remember the bad and so instead of remembering the good instead we just sort of…forgot everything." She said wiping the corner of one eye. "Do you remember your mother Woody? I mean REALLY remember her, not the stuff your dad told you happened." She said softly.

After leaning back a moment, Woody nodded confidently. A wistful smile came over his face and Jordan could tell he was deep in thought. "Yeah..." he said softly and caressed the handle of his coffee cup with his thumb. "I remember her hair...when she had it and the way she'd laugh. I remember I really missed that sound toward the end. There was a lot of good for a while. I was just too young to really appreciate it until she got sick. At four, it was all I had to hold on to." He raised his eyes to meet Jordan's. Whether mental or physical sickness; he knew it was something they both understood when describing their mothers.

Jordan realized he wasn't just talking about himself anymore. So instead of having their talk in a little diner at the beginning of Connecticut she just nodded and called for the check.

"Come on, we've got a bit longer of a drive before we get to New Haven was it you said were going to? The beach Wood? You know it's kinda still March out right?" she asked and Woody just smiled. He didn't really plan on spending too much time on the beach.