Ok guys, I need a vote: I think I want to tag on one more chapter after this… yea or nay? I'll probably do it anyway, but I just wanted to see what the general consensus was. Enjoy!

Jordan stood in the middle of Garret's office, holding onto him like there was no tomorrow. She was so afraid that it would all be a dream. She couldn't believe he was back.

"Uh, Jordan," Garret said. "Breathing is going to become an issue here pretty soon."

"Sorry," Jordan apologized as she quickly released him. She looked him over, relieved to see that he looked the same. Part of her worried that he would fall apart while he was away from the morgue. "I just can't believe you're here," she told him.

"Didn't they tell you I was back?" Garret asked her.

Jordan looked at him questioningly, and then turned slowly towards the door. Nigel, Lily, and Woody were all standing there perfectly calmly, huge grins on there faces. As soon as Woody saw the incredulous look on her face, he stepped away from the other two and held up his hands in self defense.

"I had no part in this, it's all a surprise to me," he said quickly. Then he added, "By the way, welcome back Dr. Macy."

"Thanks, Woody," Garret said. "Glad to see you're doing well."

"Whoa, whoa," Jordan interrupted them, narrowing her eyes at Nigel and Lily. "You knew he was back and you didn't tell me?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Lily smiled at her. "He only just got here two hours ago."

At a loss for words, Jordan turned back to Garret. He gave her a small smile, revealing none of what he was feeling about being back. Jordan found herself wishing she could read him better.

"Well," Nigel said. "We should leave you two to catch up."

He, Woody, and Lily walked away towards the break room, leaving Jordan and Garret in silence. For a few moments, neither spoke, and Jordan felt that the reunion was not going in the celebratory direction she had imagined. She had already had her say about Garret burying evidence and had moved past that fact. When he left the morgue, she thought she had made it clear that things were okay between them. And yet, he was avoiding her eyes as though something was still wrong.

"Where have you been?" she asked him.

"Maine," he told her. He dug his hands into his pockets, still not holding her gaze for longer than he had to. "I had to get away for a while. An old friend of mine let me use his summer house for a couple days."

"A couple days?" Jordan countered. Garret didn't make any attempt to argue with her. Jordan dropped her sarcasm and continued. "You have good timing, coming back the same day Slocum walks out."

"Rene Walcott called me," Garret confessed. When Jordan scoffed at this, he said firmly, "She didn't know where I was either, don't get jealous. She got a hold of Abby, who gave her the number."

Jordan tried not to fume, telling herself that it was hypocritical to get mad at Garret for leaving like this when she had done the same thing time and again. It wasn't really even that he had left without leaving word. What bothered her was that he wasn't there for her over the last week.

"I heard about what happened," he said, reading her mind. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "I got through it."

Feeling tears start to sting her eyes, Jordan looked away from him so that she wouldn't completely lose it. Garret stepped nearer to her and put an arm around her shoulder. This gesture was all it took to break through the animosity that Jordan was feeling. She leaned into his side and let him comfort her. She felt the normalcy returning to her life with Garret here.

After a few minutes, Jordan heard a soft knock on the door. She glanced up to see Woody poke his head into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," he apologized. "Just wanted to let you know that the gang's cuttin' out early to go have drinks to celebrate."

"Oh, okay. One second," Jordan said to Garret.

She collected herself as she stepped out into the hall with Woody. Garret watched them through the window. As the two talked, he noticed that Woody placed his hand lightly on Jordan's hip, while Jordan absently fingered a button on Woody's shirt. Well that's new, Garret thought. The conversation reached an end, and Jordan smiled at Woody as he kissed her innocently before walking away. That's definitely new. Jordan still had the same giddy look on her face when she walked back into Garret's office. She stopped when she saw the look on his face.

"What?" she said.

"You're not going to tell me a thing, are you?" he sounded somewhere between annoyance and relief.

"A girl never kisses and tells, Garret," Jordan said mysteriously. She laughed at the uncomfortable look on his face. "C'mon, I'll buy you a drink. We can swap stories about whose week was crappier. Talking about emotional angst always goes better with a Guinness."

She wrapped an arm around his waste as they walked out of the office, and he put his arm around her shoulders again.

"There is one story I'm curious about," Garret started, amused. "I heard a very interesting rumor floating around that you socked Slocum in the jaw. That's the second boss you've assaulted. Do I need to start worrying about my safety around you?"

"No, Garret, I can honestly say that that was a once in a lifetime opportunity as far as boss beatings go."

"My money was on you from day one."

A few hours later, Jordan was sitting across from Garret in a booth at O'Hara's. The whole group had decided to go there to celebrate, just like old times. Jordan and Garret had been left alone at their table to discuss the many issues that had arisen over the past few weeks. Jordan was surprised to find that she had only needed one Guinness to get her through the long conversation. By the time they had hashed everything out between them, Jordan felt extremely gratified. She had been heard out by him, and he in turn was able to explain his own actions. She understood his need to get away from all the crap that was piling up in their lives three weeks ago. Garret also told her how guilty he felt for not being there while she was working through her amnesia, especially since he had no doubt he was part of the cause.

"It's water under the bridge now, Garret," Jordan said to him. "Everything worked out as best as it could have, there's no point in dwelling on the past."

Garret just stared at her for a moment.

"Who are you?" he asked incredulously.

"The new and improved Jordan Cavanaugh," she smiled. Garret shook his head, a little bewildered. Jordan traced the rim of her glass with her finger. "So you here for good?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you back as Chief ME? Or do I have to keep beating the pulp out of the replacements until there's no one left but you?"

Garret chuckled at her. "Nope, they've decided to let me have one more go at the job."

"Couldn't imagine it any other way," Jordan said happily.

"Apparently not," Garret said with a slight smirk.

Above the noise of the jukebox and all the people in the bar, the bell to the front door clanged. They looked over to see Sealy walk in and straight over to where Lily was watching the guys play pool. Lily's face lit up the second she saw him. For a brief second, Jordan wondered if that's what she had looked like for the last four years every time Woody was around. The guys shook hands with Sealy, obviously congratulating him on the case. Jordan glanced over to watch Garret's reaction as Sealy placed his hand on the small of Lily's back and guided her out the door for their dinner date. The good news was that Garret didn't look like he was going to explode.

"He's a good guy, Garret," Jordan stated carefully. "He'd walk through fire for her."

"With the way she's following in your footsteps, he may just have to," Garret said curtly. Then he sighed and shook his head in resignation. "Speaking of good guys," he continued, "Any father would be proud to see his daughter with someone like Woody."

"Never the subtle one, eh Garret?" Jordan said evasively, taking a drink from her glass.

"He's waited a long time for you, Jordan. Don't let him go," Garret said seriously, surprising her. She had no idea he had taken that much notice of her personal life, watching over her choices as if she were his own daughter. She looked over at Woody.

"I don't plan to," she said quietly.

Garret studied her face for a moment until he seemed to be content with her answer. He grabbed his jacket and stood up, helping her out of the booth.

"I think it's time I was on my way," he told her. She followed him down to where the pool tables were. Garret clapped Nigel on the back as he said, "It's good to be back, boys. I'll see you all tomorrow, bright and early."

Jordan watched him leave as Bug, Nigel, and Sidney put their queues back into place.

"That's sounds like our cue to get outa here," Bug said.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Sidney said. He shook hands with Woody before leaving. "Woody, my man, I'll se ya around. Good to see you mobile."

As the group walked away, Woody came up behind Jordan and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head against hers. Jordan felt her heart flutter at his touch, her stomach turning flips. Oh man, I am in trouble, she thought.

"Remember what we used to do after your dad left, and we'd closed everything down?" he whispered into her ear. Jordan smiled.

"Mmhmm."

Woody slid his hand across her back as he moved next to her, tracing a line down her arm before finally taking her hand. He led her across the room to the jukebox and dropped a quarter into the slot, punching the desired number. Jordan was expecting some exceedingly romantic country song that he could hold her close with. It came as a surprise, then, when the sultry doo-wop sounds of Maurice Williams came through the speakers. She laughed at the exaggerated seductive look Woody was giving her as he pulled her to the middle of the dance floor, mouthing the words to the song. He immediately tucked her into his embrace, holding her right hand near his heart as they swayed to the music, their slightly suggestive movements reminding Jordan very much of scenes from Dirty Dancing. She was seeing a whole new side to the naïve, smitten farm boy she had known for so long. And she was liking it. A lot.

Stay!

Ah, just a little bit longer

Stay!

Please, please, please, please

Please!

Tell me that you're going to

Now your daddy don't mind

And your mommy don't mind

If we have another dance, dear, just one more

One more time!

Oh, won't you stay!

Just a little bit longer

Please let me hear

You will say that you will

Say you will

Won't you press your sweet lips to mine?

Woody turned his head to capture a kiss from her, and then smoothly spun her away from him and back again. He held her even tighter than before, their bodies swaying as one to the rhythmic music.

Won't you say you love me all the time?

Stay!

Ah, just a little bit longer

Stay!

Please, please, please, please

Please!

Tell me that you're going to

Come on, come on

Come on and stay

The music reached its end, and Woody slipped both arms around Jordan and held her close for a few moments. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his chest, listening to his pounding heart. She felt thoroughly seduced. She had never fallen this hard, this quickly for a man before. Nothing compared to what she was feeling for him.

"Let's get out of here," Woody murmured.