AN: Okay, I lied. There will be another chapter before the epilogue. This one was getting too big and I had to split it.


Chapter 9: Revelations, Part II

Ten minutes later, Norma found Jordan in a hallway around the corner, scrunched down against the wall. Jordan wasn't crying, but it looked like she wanted to.

"Honey? What's wrong?"

"I can't do it, Norma. When he was asleep, it was so much easier. He didn't know I was there. I couldn't hurt him by being there. But now… I can't do it. I can't hurt him."

"Jordan, sugar, what do you mean. He wants you there."

"You don't understand." Jordan took a deep breath, and finally looked over to Norma. "We've had this whole song and dance relationship for years. A couple months ago, he said he just wanted to be friends. Just when I was starting to think I might be ready. But he meant it, I could tell. So I backed off. I need to stay away, it's what he wants."

"I don't think that's true."

Jordan looked down at her hands, watching her fingers as she wrung her hands. "What makes you think that?"

"He asked for you."

Jordan looked up. "Really?"

Her expression of doubt almost broke Norma's heart. Then she almost laughed. Jordan said that they had been doing a song and dance for years. Seemed to her that they still hadn't stopped. "Jordan, the first thing he said was your name. He thought you might have been hurt, and I could see how worried he was about you. Didn't you see the relief in his eyes when you came into the room? He was so happy that you were okay."

"I couldn't…I couldn't look…"

Norma rubbed a hand along Jordan's arm. "He was so hurt when you left just now. So I told him what you've been doing these past few days. Worrying, watching over him. I told him how you'd sit by his bed, holding his hand, talking to him, telling him what was happening in the news, and that they'd captured the robbers. Telling stories about work and what people were doing. I told him how you would kiss his forehead and run your hand through his hair when you arrived and before you left. Honey, that boy loves you, whether he's told you or not. And whether you realize it or not."

Jordan was silent. "We're friends. That's all he wants. But it's not enough for me anymore. I can't be just his friend anymore."

Norma sighed. "Sweetie, I wish you could see this all through my eyes… He's weak, and I had to increase the morphine drip now that he's in a conscious state. It put him right back to sleep."

"But he's okay, right?"

The experienced ICU nurse nodded. "Yes. Now that he's fought through the infection and woken up, I'd say it's just a matter of time before he can fully recover… You know, I think he knew you might do this."

"Do what?"

"Run. He said 'If she runs, ask her to go to my apartment and bring me what's in the top drawer of my bedside table.' I didn't understand why he wanted me to tell you that, but I do now. That young man knows you pretty well."

Jordan said nothing. For once, though her instinct was telling her to run, there was another side of her telling her to stay. They were warring inside her. "I don't have a key."

Norma smiled. "From the tales I've hear you tell him, I'd say you're a pretty resourceful girl. I bet you could get in."

Jordan chuckled softly. "Yeah. Actually, Cal's staying there now, while he's in town. But can't Cal bring him what he needs?"

"He was pretty adamant that you do it. I think you should, dear. At the very least, it's what a friend would do, right?"

Jordan looked down. "Right. A friend. Okay. Can you tell him I'll be back tomorrow? I need some time." Time. Time to get there. Time to make a decision. What was more important, what they had said to each other, or what she was feeling?

"Since he's in a much more natural sleep, I'd say he probably sleep through the night and wake up sometime around 6:00 tomorrow morning. But he wakes before then, I'll let him know."

"Thank you." It was only a whisper, but Norma heard much more.

Twenty minutes later, Jordan was driving through the emptied late night streets of Boston to Woody's apartment. She had decided that, despite the late hour, she would get whatever it was Woody needed tonight. If nothing else, it gave her something to do. Anything to avoid what Norma had said, to avoid thinking about it what might mean. Jordan knew she couldn't make it through another round of having her heart broken if it wasn't true or if Woody changed his mind again. In the past, she had gone to work in order to avoid facing her emotions. There, she could simply wait for time to sort things out. She wouldn't have to act; time would resolve everything. But she wasn't scheduled for work. In fact, Garret had told her to take the next week off, at the very least. She had automatically protested, saying that he needed her there. But Garret had emphatically said no. They could deal without her for a week, and right now, she needed to take some time, pull herself together, and deal with what had happened. And for the past four days, she hadn't minded. She wouldn't have been able to focus anyway, and she could now spend her time keeping vigil over Woody. Though the nurses and hospital staff were doing a spectacular job caring for him, something inside her urged her to be as close to him as possible, to assure herself that he was still there.

She parked her car in visitor's parking and took the stairs to Woody's third floor apartment. She knocked, and only then did she remember how late it was, that Cal might be sleeping.

But he wasn't. Since he had arrived the morning after the shooting, Calvin Hoyt had alternated pacing the corridors of the hospital and pacing the hallway of his brother's apartment. He had arrived at the hospital early Friday morning, after a red-eye flight into Boston. One of the nurses had let him to the surgical intensive care unit, and he had looked through the glass at his brother. Jordan had been in there, holding his hand. But around her, he could see the plethora of hospital equipment. IVs, oxygen canisters, machine's monitoring his brother's heart, breathing, organ function. He barely heard the nurse say that they'd let him in as soon as Jordan's ten minutes were up. ICU policy was that only one person could see the patient for ten minutes every hour, but they'd make an exception for him because he'd just gotten here. But a few moments later, after the nurse had taken Woody's temperature, a flurry of nurses and doctors had rushed in, unlocked the wheels on his bed, and whisked him away. Jordan had been ushered out almost immediately. When she saw him, she had rushed up and hugged him. He heard the words infection and surgery as she cried into his chest. Calvin hadn't been able to take it. He'd left the hospital in a rush.

It was only once he hit the sidewalk outside the hospital that he realized that he had no where to go. Woody and Jordan were really the only ties he had here, and they were both back inside the hospital. He'd wandered the streets for almost an hour before remembering that, since the hospital staff had given him Woody's personal effects, he actually had the keys to Woody's apartment. So he had gone there. And been instantly confronted with the memories of his last time there. He'd never seen Woody so angry. His older brother had always been patient. Sure, he raised his voice on occasion, but he'd never shouted like he did that day, or had such a cold look in his eyes. For the first of many times in the days to follow, Calvin wondered if his brother would even want him here.

He spent the next few days going back and forth between the hospital and apartment. After a few hours of restless sleep, he had gone back to the hospital with the intention of seeing his brother. But once he'd gotten there, and looked through the window, and saw his brother lying there, relying on a ventilator to live, Cal had panicked again, and returned to the apartment. But being there, seeing Woody's robot collection, the Kinks poster on the bedroom wall… it made him miss his brother, and he had gone back to the hospital. The process had repeated itself. After the third time, Jordan had asked Nigel to rent a car for him, so he could avoid the taxi fare.

So Calvin Hoyt had been wide awake when Jordan knocked on the door at 10:30 on Monday night.

"Jordan! What are you doing here? What's wrong? Is he okay?" Jordan's appearance outside the hospital and away from his brother alarmed him.

Jordan gave him a small smile, and touched his arm reassuringly as she stepped past him and into the apartment. "He's fine, Cal. Actually, he woke up about half an hour ago."

Cal couldn't help it. He grinned, and let out a deep breath. "That's great! But… how come you're here? I would have thought you'd still be at the hospital."

Jordan bit her lip. "It's… it's… it's just different, now that he's awake."

"Oh, Jordan." Cal put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you love him. You wouldn't have been there all this time if you didn't. And I'm pretty sure he loves you. He'd be an idiot if he didn't."

"He just wants to be friends Cal. That's all I am, that's all I'll ever be."

Cal sighed and shifted his hands to his pockets. "Fine. You're both missing out, though, you know. What brings you here, then?"

"The nurse said Woody wanted me to get something for him."

"What did he want?"

"I don't know." Jordan moved into the bedroom. Though she had only been to his apartment a couple times, she knew where it was. After all, it wasn't hard to find in a small one bedroom apartment. "Just said it was in the top drawer of his bedside table."

Cal nodded and followed her into the room. "Probably his rosary. That's where he's kept it since he was a kid." He pointed to the bedside table.

Jordan went to open the drawer, but it wouldn't open. Seeing no place for a key, she looked back at Cal. "Is there a trick to this drawer or something?"

He frowned. "No. Nothing like that. But I remember it used to be dad's table, and the drawer used to get stuck if you didn't open it for a long time. But it usually took at least a month for that to happen. Hold on, I'll be right back."

While Cal was gone, Jordan sat down on the edge of the bed and couldn't help but stare at the drawer. His rosary was in here? And he hadn't opened it for a month or more? She didn't understand. Woody was a dedicated Catholic, went to mass every Sunday and everything.

Cal returned, butter knife in hand. Kneeling down in front of the table, He slipped it along the cracks on both sides of the drawer, and along the top. Putting the knife down, he gave the drawer a little shake with both hands, and managed to pull it open. Reaching inside, he pulled out the rosary, handing it gently to Jordan.

"Woody's had these for as long as I can remember. Mom gave them to him. I've got my own set in my bag." Cal's voice had a tinge of remembrance, and Jordan couldn't help but feel for both Hoyt boys.

"What happened to her? I know that both your parents are dead, but Woody never went any farther than that."

"She died of leukemia when I was two and Woody was four. I don't remember much about her, but I think Woody does. He never talks about her though. Our dad died when I was fourteen. He was the county Sheriff. He got shot in the back by some kid holding up a liquor store. That's one of the reasons it's so hard for me to see Woody. He looks just like dad did when he was in the hospital before he died."

Cal turned away. After a second, he dropped down onto his haunches and looked back into the drawer. Reaching in again, this time he brought out a worn copy of a bible. "This was her bible," he said, wonderment edging his voice. "I didn't know he still had it." He flipped open the cover. "'Keep your faith, my darling Woodrow, in both the Lord and your family. And trust that the Lord and time will heal all wounds.' She must have given this to him while she was sick."

Jordan didn't know what to say, so she just put an arm around Cal's shoulder, giving him a sideways hug. "Why don't you come with me tomorrow? I know Woody would love to see you."

"You sure? He was pretty pissed at me last time I saw him."

"He's Woody, Cal. Even if he thinks he's still mad at you, he's probably long since forgiven you."

Cal gave a half smile. "You're right. He never could stay mad for long. I think this last time was different though. Things are never going to be the same. But hey, I can tell him all about my new job."

"You got a new job? That's great. What do you do?"

Cal smiled at her. "I moved to Green Bay and got a job with the Coroner's office there.

Jordan laughed. It felt good.

"It's just paper pushing, and it doesn't pay much, but it's a start."

"I'm sure Woody would love to hear that. I'll swing by tomorrow morning about six to pick you up."

"Deal." Calvin put the bible back in the drawer, but frowned when it wouldn't go all the way in. Bending his head back down, he saw a small box in the back of the drawer. He pulled it out, wondering what it was, but then instantly glanced at Jordan when he heard her gasp.

"What is it? What's wrong, Jordan?"

She said nothing, simply reached out and took the box from his fingers. Her own delicate fingers removed the outer box and flipped open the inner one. When Calvin saw what was inside, he whistled.

"Wow. I didn't know you guys were that serious. You never said anything."

Jordan felt her voice crack. "We're not. I mean, that's not what this is." She explained about the ring. About what had happened that day, and all the days after. She ran her fingers over the smooth silver, the glittering diamonds. "Woody said he was going to take it back to the jeweler."

Cal looked over at her. "I think he would have, if he didn't care. He took Annie's back, and that was an engagement ring."

Jordan finally looked away from the ring and up at Calvin. "What?"

He shook his head. "Never mind. He can tell you about that himself. But Jordan, he held onto this ring for a reason. He still cares about you. I think this is what he sent you here to get."

Jordan took a breath and tried to compose herself. "Really, you think?"

"Yeah, I do. And I think you and Woody really need to talk."