Hello everyone! Sorry this story is kinda slow-going right now. I have finals looming in front of me starting this week, so hopefully once that is out of the way I can focus my creative energy into writing. In the meantime, I will appreciate any feedback you would like to toss my way!
Lily had to stop herself from running as she sped down the hall towards autopsy two. Wringing her hands, she glanced around to make sure Slocum was nowhere in sight. God, she hated that man. Seeing that the coast was clear for the moment, she burst into the autopsy room and dashed towards Nigel and Bug. Having been caught in the middle of the autopsy, the two froze mid-dissection as she tried to get her story out as quickly as possible.
"The hospital just called, Jordan was brought into the ER about forty five minutes ago and they think she has some kind of memory loss," she said hurriedly.
"What?" Nigel said in disbelief. He immediately put down his equipment and walked over to Lily. "Is she ok, did she get hurt?"
"She's fine, other than the fact that she doesn't remember anyone," Lily told them. "She doesn't have a clue who she knows in this world, she can't remember any of us."
"How did they know to contact us if she can't remember us?" Bug questioned. Lily hesitated and shifted her weight uncomfortably.
"Well, that's the interesting part," she started. "Oddly enough, Nigel, your little plan led her straight to Woody. She ended up in the same hospital, and Woody's been designated official caretaker to Jordan…for the time being." She added this last part very pointedly, almost as a threat to the absentee detective.
Nigel ran his hands through his black hair, letting out a sigh as he processed the information. "Ok," he said, "ok, we need to get over there, right now."
"Shouldn't we try calling Dr. Macy? I mean, I think he would want to know about this," Bug interjected.
"Uh, no time guys," Lily said worriedly as she looked beyond the two men. Nigel and Bug followed her gaze through the window to see Slocum approaching the autopsy room. Lily snapped into action and started pushing them towards the opposite door. "Go go go, right now."
Nigel and Bug barely had time to protest as they quickly shed their gear before being shoved out the door. The three walked determinedly towards the elevator, but they heard the telltale footsteps hurrying along behind them.
"Uh, excuse me Miss Lebowski," Slocum's voice crooned sarcastically at their backs. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Family emergency," she answered quickly as they stepped into the elevator.
"Who's family?"
"Not yours!" Lily snapped as she slammed her palm against the "close door" button inside the elevator and watched satisfactorily as they shut in Slocum's red face.
The ride to the hospital seemed to take much longer than it should have. Bug tried in vain to call Garret on his cell. After what must have been the twentieth attempt, and still only reaching the answering machine, he finally shut his phone and swore in frustration. They would just have to let him know some other way.
When they reached the hospital, they quickly located the floor that Jordan was on. Lily rushed to the nurses' station with Bug and Nigel close on her heels.
"I'm looking for Jordan Cavanaugh, she's under the care of a Dr. Schwartz," she said as she leaned onto the counter towards the nurse working at the computer.
"Dr. Schwartz is right behind you, miss, he can help you," the nurse said gently as she pointed behind the group.
The three turned at once towards the doctor and simultaneously began asking questions. Dr Schwartz calmed them down as he led them towards where Jordan was, explaining all he had assessed of Jordan's condition. When he reached the part about having asked for Woody's assistance in gathering a history for her, they all grew somber.
"That idiot better not have done anything he'll regret," Nigel said darkly. Dr. Schwartz looked at them slightly surprised.
"I have Detective Hoyt listed as Jordan's emergency contact and caretaker for situations like this on her medical files," he informed them. "Is there some reason he should be considered incapable of fulfilling these roles?"
Lily sighed sadly. "Not really," she said. "I guess you could say there's been some tension recently."
They had reached Jordan's room, and it suddenly seemed like the weight of the situation had tripled the second they stepped in front of the door. They had been given instructions on how to approach her and things to say to make the meeting easier. But that advice did not erase the fact that their best friend was struggling to makes sense of her life, completely cut off from her memories. They opened the door and stepped cautiously into the room to see Jordan sitting on the bed, her feet tucked up and her arms wrapped around her knees. At the sound of the door, she turned her head to look at the three people walking into her room. They all seemed very anxious. Lily was the first to speak.
"Hey Jordan," she said softly, smiling in relief that Jordan was truly not harmed in any physical way. "I'm Lily. This is Nigel and Bug. We work with you at the morgue."
Jordan smiled back and swung her legs over the side of the bed so that she was facing them. "I remember the morgue," she said matter-of-factly. "I don't remember you, though. I'm sorry."
Lily walked over to her quickly and sat down beside her. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Jordan," she reassured her as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "This is all going to take time, and we're all going to be here for you."
"That's right," Bug added, walking over with Nigel to join them. "You've been there for us in some tough times. And we plan on being there for you."
Jordan felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the three of them. Even though she had been reassured that there were people in her life who would help her, she couldn't help but feel that somehow she would be left alone to deal with this. The time between her encounter with the detective and the arrival of her co-workers was filled with fear – fear that she would never remember anyone, fear that these purported friends would shy away from her once they realized what a burden she was going to be. Because Jordan knew this would be a burden to whoever ended up stuck with her. Maybe they would say that they would be there for her, but Jordan was not so out of it that she didn't know the amount of maintenance she was going to require. Despite the black areas in her mind, she still retained her medical knowledge. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening again. Dr. Schwartz stepped into the room.
"How's everybody doing in here?" he asked.
"Fine," Jordan answered for all of them.
"Good," he said. "I need to ask all of you to follow me, please. There are some matters we need to discuss and get taken care of."
He led them down the hall and back to Woody's room. When he opened the door, Woody felt his heart quicken, thinking something had happened to Jordan. However, he felt himself grow slightly smaller as Jordan herself entered followed by Lily, Nigel, and Bug. If he had thought his life was out of danger, he certainly questioned his safety once the three of them walked in. He wasn't stupid; he knew Jordan had probably told them all what happened. The way they were glaring at him didn't do anything to ease his suspicions.
"Ok folks, here's the reason we're all gathered here," Dr. Schwartz explained. "Basically, we would like to keep you overnight, Jordan, for a bit of observation. Just to make sure we haven't missed anything. After we release you, though, it's going to be important that someone stay with you to make sure that you're doing ok. Now, according to the records, that responsibility would go to Detective Hoyt."
Woody cringed a little, knowing that this probably wasn't making other people in the room very happy. He glanced up at Jordan. She seemed to still be ignorant of anything regarding their relationship.
"Isn't that going to be a little impossible?" Jordan asked with a slight smirk. "I mean, for obvious reasons…"
Nigel repressed a laugh. He was glad to see that Jordan had not lost her sarcasm. If she had, he would have really had reason to worry about her. Also, it didn't hurt that her ability to be blunt shed light upon the fact that Woody was not able to look after her. That was a plus in Nigel's book. He started to feel slightly less amused when Dr. Schwartz went on.
"Well…the thing is, Detective Hoyt is scheduled to be released tomorrow. He will also need someone to attend to him at home. And according to his records, the next-of-kin is Jordan."
A heavy silence fell over the room as the implications of all this settled into everyone's minds. Bug looked shocked, Nigel seemed to be thinking of ways to save Jordan, and Lily looked furious. Only Jordan appeared to be taking this well. Well, that's ironic, Woody thought. When no one said anything for several moments, Dr. Schwartz spoke up again.
"I have already spoken with Woody, and he has agreed to this arrangement. What needs to be decided is if it will be in the best interest of everyone involved to allow things to pan out according to what we have in writing. Or if there is some reason that it should be altered," he said this to Nigel, Lily, and Bug, all of whom were trying to figure out what to say.
On the one hand, they were ready to kill Woody for shutting Jordan down right when she was at her most vulnerable. On the other hand, Woody had already proved that he was willing to help Jordan and allow her back into his life, even if it was only briefly. None of them wanted Jordan to suffer through losing Woody, and his willing help seemed like a glimmer of hope.
"Well it seems to me," Jordan spoke up, "that it would make more sense to just go by the written records. I'm sure there's a reason for the hesitation," she added quickly when she saw her co-workers begin to protest, "and hopefully that will be explained to me soon, at the right time. But…look, this is going to be terrifying for me no matter what, all right? Honestly, I think it will help if I have something to do to keep me distracted. And I think helping Woody might work out for the best. Otherwise…I would just feel like I was in the way."
"Are you sure about this Jordan?" Nigel asked after a moment.
Jordan simply nodded. There seemed to be a collective recuperation in the room as the tension of the decision was lifted. Woody thought that he was safe from any retaliation. Until he noticed Lily staring at him, her eyes narrowed and cold. He swallowed hard, realizing that his life might indeed still be in jeopardy.
"Could I have a moment alone with Detective Hoyt, please?" Lily asked suddenly.
It came as a surprise to everyone, most of all Woody. If anyone would have questioned this whole thing, he figured it would have been Nigel. In fact, he was anticipating a huge fight there. Lily was the last person he expected to attack him. After everyone had left to room, Lily walked closer to the bed, her arms crossed over her chest.
"You have a lot of nerve sitting there pretending nothing happened," she said in a low voice.
"Lily, I'm not pretending that what passed between me and Jordan never happened," he defended himself. "I'm just trying not to give her a reason to shut off from us completely."
"You think that if you keep it from her, then she'll never remember and you can have an easier time of wooing her back into your arms," Lily accused him.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Woody asked with disbelief. "Look, I swear, I'll tell her eventually, but she has to be eased back into her life."
"Yeah, and it doesn't hurt that with her not knowing, she's a lot more willing to come and play nurse at your apartment," she said venomously. Woody felt his blood boil under his skin.
"I have never taken advantage of Jordan in that way and you know it," he growled. "And if you think I'm trying to do this just for my own pleasure, then that is just sick."
"All I know Woody," Lily hissed, stepping closer to him, "is that two weeks ago you destroyed Jordan in a way that I'm not sure even you realize. And now all of a sudden you're ready to be her savior. Things don't add up somewhere. I'm warning you now – if you do anything to hurt her while she's with you, you may well find yourself visiting the morgue in a body bag."