Disclaimer: I don't own Crossing Jordan. Wish I did. But it all belongs to Tim.

This story came from a discussion on the Coffeeroom Boards between Sam Lover and me. If you've followed Jill Hennessey's career, chances are you are acquainted with her work as Claire on Law and Order. She was awesome, but Claire and Jordan are VERY different characters. And the ways the characters interacted with their love interests are just as opposite. Jill's work with Sam Waterson (ADA Jack McCoy on L&O) was more subtle and Claire didn't have the issues Jordan does.

Unfortunately Dick Wolfe killed Claire off. Which made a lot of people mad. Including me. So it's kind of been a lot of us Hennessey fans fondest dream that somehow, someway Sam Waterson would find his way to CJ for a guest appearance.

However, we're not holding our collective breaths.

So this is my take on what would happen if Jordan did a rotation in NYC and met Jack. Jordangirl also has a wonderful story on fanfic about this. Hers is lighter than mine…pre-Woody angst. I had to involve Woody and all his present issues.

Hope you enjoy.

Sherri

Chapter One

Welcome to New York

The first thing she noticed about New York was the smell.

It smelled different than Boston…even at the airport, before she got into the city…it was as if this was God's way of telling her and her senses that Boston was well behind her now. And it wasn't necessarily a bad odor…it was just different. While Boston carried a distinctively old atmosphere – one filled with the ghosts of musket fire and American history, New York smelled of hundreds of cultures and bodies and commerce.

In short, just as Dorothy was no longer in Kansas, Jordan was no longer in Massachusetts. Nope. Not in Boston. Not in Massachusetts. Not after Woody….his being shot by the sniper and pushing her out of his hospital room and his life.

She had tried hard, you know. After he had told her to get out of not only his hospital room, but also his life, she had tried to regain some kind of hold on him, either professionally or personally. She wasn't picky, she'd take either one kind of relationship right now. She loved him. It had taken her four years to finally face up to her emotions, but she did love him.

It took her less than five minutes to realize her worst fears. When she told him what was in her heart, he had soundly rejected it as pity and sent her away. Like all nearly all the other men in her life, he had abandoned her. The same way her father did. The same way her other boyfriends had done. The same way Garret did.

She had worked hard to maintain some kind of presence in his life. But with him on LD and desk work only until he recovered, it was impossible to maintain a professional relationship with him. And personally, he no longer cared if they were even friends.

So she had languished in the land of long-for relationships…unrequited love…growing more and more distant to her friends, withdrawing into her own shell, until finally Garret had taken enough. There was an opportunity available for a ME rotation with the New York City morgue. He recommended her for the position.

"Are you nuts?" she asked. "That's a year out of my life."

"And that's twelve months you can be learning new things….that morgue is on the cutting edge of technology and their detectives don't take any crap …you can learn a life time of things in a year. Plus have the added benefit of getting your personal life back together and begin to live again."

Jordan looked down at the top of her desk then. "It's that obvious." It wasn't a question.

"If it were anymore obvious, you'd have it tattooed on your forehead, Jor. Go to New York. Get over him. Move on with your life. God knows he's moved on with his."

Garret was right. Woody was dating another woman pretty steadily. Office gossip said the relationship was serious. They were talking about moving in together. Maybe even getting married. It seems this woman had no commitment issues and was more than ready to make Farm Boy happy.

"Take it, Jordan. Take the rotation," Garret continued to urge.

"Let me think about it…."

"I'll give you a couple of days…but I want you to take it. There's nothing keeping you here in Boston. Your dad is still not home. You don't have other obligations here. And Woody's no longer an option or a diversion." Garret smiled to soften his words. "Besides…it's only for a year …and all roads lead back to Boston, you know. Filled with pot holes, broken to pieces, or not."

But she had to give it one more try. She had to at least see what Woody's reaction would be. Gathering her courage, she found her way over to his office that afternoon. She knocked on the door, and felt her knees nearly buckle at his simple, "Come in."

"Jordan?" he had said, obviously surprised to see her after everything he had told her about staying away….and keeping away.

"Hi….got a minute?"

"Well, I don't think I'm about to get called out on a homicide," he said, a bitter edge to his voice. "What can I do for you, Jordan? No, I take that back – that commentwill open too many cans of worms. Why are you here?"

Jordan tried to give him one of her trademark smirks, but failed miserably. She shut the door to his office and sat down in front of him, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. For a moment she rubbed her hands together and gave that motion her full attention. Finally, she spoke. "There's a rotation position open with the morgue in New York City. Garret wants me to take it."

Woody nodded. "Professional training."

"Yeah. Something like that."

"You gonna do it?"

"I don't know." She stood and walked over to his window, gazing unseeing at the parking lot below. "It's for a year," she added softly.

"A year? That's a damn, long professional session."

"I know. They'll send an ME here and in return I'd go fill that ME's place."

"New York could be fun, Jor. Lots to do."

"And I wouldn't be here."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Which might be better for everyone."

"Might be."

Jordan swung back around to look at Woody, who was leaning back in his chair closely watching her. His gaze was bright and intense, but veiled his thoughts from her. She realized helplessly that this was the first time since she had met Woody Hoyt that she had absolutely no idea what he was thinking. He wasn't playing her friend…he was playing detective with her. She had seen the same look on his face when he interrogated suspects. Jordan swallowed hard. "I'm pretty sure I'll take it. I mean, it's only for a year….and there's nothing keeping me in Boston, right?"

Woody looked straight through her, unblinking and unflinching. "No. There's not."

She had gone back to Garret's office then, signed the papers, cleaned out her desk, and went home to pack. She called the morgue in New York, agreed to sublet her apartment to the ME from there and in return, she would take his. A computer session and an e-ticket later found her ready to go.

And now she was waiting at Kennedy airport for the NYC morgue chief ME to pick her up. A tallish lady with red hair soon made her way over to Jordan. "Dr. Cavanaugh?"

Jordan nodded. The woman held out her hand. "Betty Rogers, chief ME for New York City. Nice to meet you. And welcome to New York."