Chapter Eight

I've got to make the call… that thought kept ringing through Jordan's head as she searched for her cell phone in her purse with trembling hands. Once retrieved, she punched in the number, but paused before she hit send. This phone call is going to change three lives forever….she thought, although the deeds that had begun the change had occurred over sixteen years ago…

It had rained so hard that day. That was the first thing Jordan could remember about the night Will was conceived. There were flash flood warnings up and as her luck ran, she had to work a double shift at the morgue. Bone-tired, cold, and more than ready to go home, Jordan had gotten into her old El Camino and headed to her Pearle Street apartment. The primary things that had been on her mind were a hot bubble bath and a cold beer. Seeing him again had never entered her mental picture.

However, someone somewhere that dealt with the office of fate had other ideas. Her El Camino knocked off on her half way back to her apartment. Cursing her bad run of luck, the rain, and the fact she had not renewed her auto club membership, she had gotten out of the vehicle and raised the hood…to see if she could get some idea what was going wrong before she called a tow truck for the car and Nigel for herself.

He had been heading to his apartment about the same time…and recognized her car. Ever the boy scout… ever the hero, he had gotten out of his car…and had the sense to bring an umbrella. He had taken one look at her soaked and shivering body and ordered her into his vehicle.

And despite the fact that their relationship was just as chilly as her body was at the moment, she didn't argue. She got in his car and blasted the heat. A few minutes later, he had returned. "I think it's the alternator. With a car that old, I can't be sure. I've called a tow truck and they'll be here to take to the shop in a minute. Meanwhile, I'm taking you back to my place…it's closer. We'll get you a hot shower and some dry clothes. Then I'll take you home."

She couldn't even manage to thank him because her teeth were chattering too hard. A half an hour later found her warmer from the shower and wrapped in his bathrobe, sitting at his bar, both of them casually eating left over Chinese food, trying to act like it was an everyday occurrence that she sat half naked in his kitchen.

And to be honest, she wasn't sure what to make of his actions then … not when filtering them through the fact they had barely spoken since he kicked her out of his hospital room and broke her heart nearly a year before. She knew he was seeing someone else. She had seen the woman hanging around the precinct. And she had just begun to see Jason. Feeling awkward and emotionally shaky, she had finally gotten up from the barstool. "If you have a spare pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt you can let me borrow to wear home, I'll call a taxi and get out of your hair."

"You don't have to call a taxi, Jordan. I'll take you…and sure, I know I have something you can wear home in place of that bathrobe." He had already put her wet things in a plastic grocery bag for her to carry back with her. He had gone into the bedroom and she followed him…to get the dry things and get changed.

Then the heavens opened again and this time, the thunder boomed, startling both of them…mainly Jordan. She hated storms. In fact, her fear of them was common knowledge at the morgue and the precinct. Instinctively, she had moved towards him when the lightening flashed and the thunder resounded.

Just as instinctively, his arms had gone around her.

And suddenly they were in the place and position that both of them had wanted to be for years….in each other's arms…with no interruptions…totally alone…in the dark. Jordan knew he realized it the same time she did. Self-consciously she had tried to pull away, only to feel one arm tighten around her waist, and the other hand tilt her head up to meet his lips.

From that point on instincts…need….passion….drove the moment. He felt her response to his kiss and quickly made her lips and tongue his…deftly keeping her attention there while the hand around her waist untied the bathrobe and his hands slipped inside. He had whispered her name against her lips.

She heard the note of desire and for once in her life, let caution fly to the wind. She wanted him. She had wanted him for over a year and had grieved the loss of him in her life. Even if they were never together again, for this one time, this one night, he was hers.

And she was his… "Yes," she had whispered back, the same note of desire lacing her voice.

There had been awkward fumbling at first, as they sought to discover just how best their bodies fit together…how to please each other the best. But both of them quickly learned…and when he had finally taken her to the edge and back again, she had snuggled up against him and slept until the next morning – when he had reached for her again.

It was somewhere in that early morning desire that she had softly whispered, "I love you…" and felt him grow still. Abruptly, he had sat up, leaving her feeling cold and alone. "I think I need to get you back to your apartment," he said quietly.

Those were the last words he had spoke to her until he pulled up to her apartment building. Raking his fingers through his hair, he finally said: "Last night …. This morning….was a mistake, Jordan. We both…lost our heads and our cool….I mean, given our past…and the circumstances yesterday….it could have happened to anyone." He paused for a moment, before looking her directly in the eyes. "But it doesn't change my feelings towards you. I don't want to try to have a relationship of any sort with you other than professional. After last night, maybe both of our curiosity has been satisfied…but that's it.

"The fact of the matter is, I'm leaving Boston. I'm moving to San Diego…I've gotten a job with Sunny D. I leave next week."

She bit her lip hard to stop it from quivering. "Congratulations ... " she managed to stammer as she reached for the door handle. His hand on her thigh stopped her.

"Yesterday was my last day at the precinct. You won't be seeing me again…and I don't think we should have any contact, either. It would just be too hard….too awkward….."

"Too painful," she choked out.

"Yeah. So, I guess this is good-bye, Jordan."

She nodded. "Good bye," she whispered back and quickly got out of the car before she dissolved in tears. She had paused in the lobby of her apartment building to watch him drive away. That had been the last time she had talked to Woody until he had returned to Boston a few weeks ago.

Knowing this was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done, she hit the send button and held her breath.

"I came as soon as I got your message, Jordan," Woody said breathlessly, as he half-ran down the hall to herabout a half an hour later. "What's the matter with Will? Do you know yet?"

"No…we're still waiting on the results of all the tests."

"Oh…how's he doing?" Woody asked. He really wasn't sure why Jordan called him about Will, other than the fact that in the past, anytime she had faced a crisis, she had automatically called him. He thought that perhaps since he was back in town, she was reverting to her old behaviors. But he had seen Garret in the hallway…she had someone with her. So he was still puzzled over the fact that he was summoned to the hospital.

"As well as can be expected. Woody…I need to talk to you. It's important and I don't know how to begin other than just to say it….I know you're going to be angry with me…far more upset than you've ever been…but you have to understand…" she started, but was quickly interrupted.

"Dr. Turner?" Dr. Sullivan said from the doorway of the waiting room.

Jordan's and Woody's heads both snapped to attention. "Yes?"

"I think we've discovered what Will has. We'll need to run a few more tests to confirm it, but it is treatable and shouldn't interfere with his lifestyle too much…"

"What is it?" Woody and Jordan both asked at the same time.

"Bullis Disease. It's a condition often found in premature babies that can reoccur in adolescence. A lung will collapse for no apparent reason…"

"Cal has that," Woody blurted out suddenly.

Dr. Sullivan nodded. "It often runs in families. It's hereditary. I'll finish running the tests and be back with you two soon."

It took a moment for Dr. Sullivan's comment and Jordan's phone call to sink in for Woody….then his eyes widened in realization of the reason he had been called to the hospital...then narrowed and he turned to her, anger gleaming in his face. "Why the hell didn't you tell me before now? Why the hell didn't you tell me Will was my son?"

"It's complicated, Woody…You're the one that said you wanted no contact with me when you left for San Diego…."

"But you should have known I would have wanted to know about his….about Will."

"How was I supposed to be sure about that? You were pretty cold about leaving after making love to me most of the night our child was conceived."

Woody paced for a moment, the edge of his anger not abated in the least. "Does Will know?"

"No…he thinks that Jason is…"

"He thinks Jason Turner is his father?"

Jordan nodded. "We decided early on to let Will take Jason's last name."

"And just how long were you going to let Will believe this? How long were you going to wait until you told him and me the truth?"

"It was going to happen soon. Will gets his drivers license in a few months. He'll need his birth certificate to verify his date of birth. It has Jason listed as my husband, but you listed as his father…here….look." She pulled the piece of paper out of her pocketbook she had been pondering earlier in the day. Woody gave it a cursory look and handed it back.

"Dr. Turner?" a nurse called from the door. "Will is back in his room and is asking for you…"

Jordan turned to go, but Woody stopped her. "We're both going back there. It's my right and I have a hell of a lot of time to make up for. We need to talk…and I want Will to know that he's my son… but not right now…he needs to get better first."

Jordan nodded, pushing the doors to the cardio-unit open. If she didn't get somewhere she could sit down soon, she would swear she was going to faint. Her world had just been ripped out from under her…but it was her own doing. If she would have just been honest earlier. Now she might lose two men in her life…

Things couldn't get much worse.