Okay…for all you Jack-lovers, here it is…and I promise the ghost of Claire Kincaid won't interfere at all.

I hope you can sort of realize how hard this was for me to write as a die-hard Woody/Jordan 'shipper. For the first time in my fanfics, Woody didn't get the girl…sob. And that's why it took me soooo long to update.

Enjoy!

Sherri

Chapter Twelve B

Jack Gets the Girl

It wasn't a kiss that was full of innocence. No. Not by a far cry. It was long and slow…wet and deep. The kind a man gives a woman he loves.

The kind a man gives a woman when he wants to know if she loves him. When he wants answers. And not necessarily with words.

But Jordan couldn't do it. And she was sure that her answer wasn't going to make Woody happy.

"Woody," she began, abruptly pulling away to look him in the eyes. Despite everything, she and Woody had always been friends first. She hoped they could still remain so after she told him what he didn't want to hear. "I do care for you…deeply…far more than you will ever know."

"That's good…at least it's a start, Jor. We can go as slowly as you like this time…I promise I won't push…no rings, nothing…not until you're ready. And when you are ready…"

"That's just it, Woody," Jordan said interrupting him. Maybe if she told him the truth quickly, it wouldn't sting so much. "I'm not ready. I'm never going to be ready…at least not with you." She said the last word on a whisper.

"But you said you cared…"

"I do… just not in that way. As a friend, Woods, I love you. But nothing more…and certainly nothing less."

"Why? You told me at one time you loved me…"

Jordan pulled away from him then, walking across the apartment to her living room, her back now to Woody, her fingers nervously twisting themselves in knots. "I know. And you told me to screw my pity and get out…move on with my life…and I did. I have." She turned to face him then. "That hurt. It broke my heart. I don't ever want to feel that way again…I know my timing sucked, but that didn't mean that it wasn't the truth – that I didn't mean it."

"And now?"

"Now…I just can't go back to where we were. Where I really wanted us to go…I would constantly be wondering if you're feelings were changing…if there would come a time in our lives together when you would tell me to leave. Or leave yourself. Mom left me…Dad left me…And even Garret left me for a while. All of them were people that I love and are important to me…I couldn't give my heart to a man and constantly be on pins and needles wondering if he was going to do the same thing. And I would be doing that with you. I can't live my life that way. I'm sorry, Woody."

Woody sighed and stuffed his hands deep in his pockets. "So it's over."

"I think it was over before it really got a chance to start." Jordan lowered her eyes. Even though she knew she was doing the right thing, it didn't make it any less painful. She could possibly be looking at a future without anyone by her side that cared the least bit.

"I'll go now."

"I think that would be the best idea."

Woody walked to her door, but paused before opening it. "If you change your mind.."

"I won't."

The door opened and then closed with a thud. Jordan waited on the tears that she was sure would come. Only they didn't. She remained surprisingly calm. She got ready for bed, washing her face and donning her tank top and boxers. On a whim, she picked up her cell phone and called Jack's apartment. There wasn't an answer. Then she tried the direct number to his office. No answer there either. And his cell phone went straight to voice mail. Must be out on the town, Jordan thought, somewhat dejectedly. I wonder if he still misses me.

She fell into a fitful sleep, waking the next morning feeling unrefreshed and rumpled. An extra layer of concealer went under her eyes to belie the dark circles softly smudging her pale cheeks.

Thankfully, she was in her office most of the morning, taking care of Garret's usual load of paper work, when a knock at the door pulled her attention away from the forms she was filling out in triplicate.

"Up for a game of pool, Cavanaugh?"

There he was, looking casually handsome…white shirt, navy pants, tie loose around his neck and his coat thrown over one shoulder.

"Jack…" was the only word she could get out as she made her way from her desk to him, trying to remind herself to breathe. When he caught her and pulled her close, she had to remind herself again. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you…I want a game of pool." He smiled at her then, the movement causing the laugh lines around his eyes to turn up in the way that Jordan loved most.

"Well, you're on, McCoy." She pulled away to get her coat, but Jack tugged her back to him.

"That's not the whole truth, Jo." He came all the way into her office then, shutting the door behind him. He led her over to the couch where they both sat down. "I've missed you like hell, Jordan. Since you left New York, I've been a bastard to everyone…more so than usual. Serena was ready to hand in her resignation. Briscoe finally told me to follow my heart to Boston and get the hell out of New York. So after a night of too much bourbon and the sound of my heart breaking, I realized he was right.

"I knew what Garret had told you…that he needed you to share the load here. And I've been wanting a slower pace for a while now…and a change. So….I called Rene' Walcott to see if there was a position open here…I was surprised to find out that she had just had a baby and would welcome my assistance as she was wanting to spend more time with her daughter."

"Does…does…that mean…" Jordan began to ask, almost fearful that the good news wasn't true.

"It does….I'm in Boston."

"Oh, Jack…"

"So does that mean I get my game of pool?"

Two games later, Jordan found herself back at her apartment with Jack. He quietly took in her bohemian style apartment, thinking how much the furnishings reflected her…unconventional, smart…sexy. He pulled her into his arms. "Do you know how much I've missed you?" he asked, brushing her hair off her shoulders so he could kiss her neck.

"I hope you're about to show me….I know how much I've missed you."

"How much have you missed me, Jordan?"

"Enough to burn the bridges of my past."

"You told Hoyt to go away?" His voice sounded of both incredulousness and relief.

She nodded.

"Are you sure, Jordan….very sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Then hold that thought…" Jack released her long enough to pull a CD from his coat pocket and put it in her player. As the familiar strains of Rascal Flatts God Blessed the Broken Road floated through her apartment, he gently danced her through the living room into the bedroom, him undressing her and her doing the same to him along the way.

Later, as the sun was setting, painting the room with the colors of the sunset, Jack pulled her close and sighed with deep contentment….feeling a peace he hadn't known in a long while…and he knew it was because of Jordan. "I love you, Jordan Marie Cavanaugh. And I will never leave you, or ask you to leave….you've got me for keeps, whether you like it or not."

Jordan raised herself up on one elbow to look him in the eyes…his beautiful, whiskey-colored eyes that always looked at her with such warmth and affection that her knees always seemed to give out on her. "I love you, too. And I like it very much."

She settled back down on his chest again, pulling the sheets a little closer around them to ward off the early evening chill. Soon, too soon, they would need to think about dinner, but right now, they were both happy and satisfied right where they were, as the last line of the Rascal Flatts song echoed around the room one more time..

That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you…