Chapter Seven

Adult Play Clothes

"Come on, Jordan. One more stop and then we'll go to Starbucks and have a cappuccino … I promise," Lily coaxed, dragging Jordan into one more store at the mall. "This one has a sale and has clothes to die for…"

Jordan grasped the handles of her half-a-dozen shopping bags a little tighter and gamely followed Lily into the store. A few days after she had ran into Woody at the park, she felt a little more of her strength return. She asked Lily to go shopping with her…she needed everything. Jordan had made a Walmart run after getting out of the hospital and picked up jeans, shirts, and a few personal items, but she needed work clothes now.

And the woman still left in her wanted Victoria's Secret lingerie to wear under her new clothes.

She had made a few purchases…skirts and tops. Pants. Clothes for work.

"And now you need clothes for play," Lily had told her.

"I have running clothes," Jordan protested. Indeed. A pair of Garret's old sweat pants and a t-shirt made excellent running clothes.

"That's not what I meant," Lily said. "You need adult play clothes."

Jordan gave her a look of total bewilderment.

"You know…evening stuff. Stuff to wear to bars…out dancing."

"I don't think I'll be doing any of that anytime soon," Jordan replied. "Remember, my brain still turns to mush by two in the afternoon. I don't think I'm a good candidate for bar hopping anytime soon."

"Then you'll go home and take a nap and be ready to party by eight," Lily said. "You need to get out. All you're doing is working and then going home with Garret. Not to say that's not stimulating and all," Lily rolled her eyes, remembering her long-ago relationship with Dr. Macy, "but you need to get out. Meet men. Date." She left her unspoken comment forget about Woody, hanging in the silence between them and the rack of designer dress. "Here….try this on. It's your color and it's on sale."

Reluctantly Jordan took the outfit from Lily and headed to the dressing room. Lily was right about that…just as she was right about most things. Jordan had been living like a hermit for the past three months. Work and home. That was it. She had even refused to go with Garret to his beloved jazz clubs. "I don't feel up to it," was her feeble excuse.

The fact was, she still felt like she didn't fit in. That she was trapped in her own private time warp hell. She couldn't turn back the hands of time, so she simply tried to avoid the changes that the two years had brought about. If she stayed in her own private cocoon, then maybe no one would notice that she had somehow drifted away from her friends…not knowing how to deal with the changes in their lives and the lack of change in her own. Not to mention her inability just to deal with herself.

I may as well not even have woken up, she mused to herself, as she slid out of her clothes one more time to try on the silky creation Lily had sent her into the dressing rooms with. People had moved on. She had remained the same. Struggling with her past, and now with her future. A future that was uncertain and unclear. One that didn't have the man she loved in it…She turned her back to the mirror and struggled with the zipper. A future she was sure she would be alone in….She turned around to see how she looked.

Damn…maybe she did need to get out more. The dress Lily had chosen was deep purple…and plunged low in the front…and back. The skirt hugged her figure and had a slit up the side. She looked …. Nice. If she couldn't control her past, maybe this dress was one of her first steps in controlling her future. She stared at herself in the mirror.

She was thinner and her hair was longer…her curves no longer held a soft, womanly look, but were more diminutive … almost making her appear fragile….vulnerable… like a woman who needed protecting….She swallowed nervously, wondering what man would feel up to the job. What man would want to? There was only one way to find out. "Hey, Lily?" she asked, over the top of the dressing room door.

"Yeah…what do you need, Jordan?"

"Do they have shoes to go with this outfit?"

He had watched her for a good portion of the evening, not that she had been aware of it. Woody had heard through the inner office ME/PD grapevine that Jordan was finally going out tonight. Some of the newer officers in the nineteenth precinct had taken to call her Sleeping Beauty…after the Disney princess that had fallen into a deep sleep only to be woken with a kiss from her prince. "I would like to be her prince," one of the rookies had announced, after seeing Jordan in the morgue.

"Forget it," answered Seely. "The woman doesn't need to be rescued. Just understood. Right, Woody?" he continued, giving Woody a pointed look.

Woody grimaced at the memory… but had been grateful that Matt had given him the heads up that Jordan would be at this club tonight with her friends. Part of Woody was glad that she was finally getting out.

Another part of him was upset that it wasn't him that was escorting her…but he had opted to be there…stay in the background…just to make sure she was okay.

God knows she was beautiful…in that purple dress. Woody took a drink of his Scotch as he watched her from across the club. He had always thought red was her color…but she looked equally as beautiful in purple.

Hell, who was he kidding? Jordan would look good in anything. And better in nothing in at all.

The Scotch was loosening his mind as well as his tongue. She danced with Seely…and then Nigel….now Sydney. Woody couldn't help but remember all the slow dances they had danced at her father's bar. Holding her. His body warmed at the memory and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Fancy meeting you here, mate," a voice behind him said.

"Nigel," Woody said turning to shake hands with the tall man. "How's it going?"

"Good…but I'm surprised to see you here…this doesn't seem like your normal gig…"

And it wasn't. At least not anymore. After his recovery from the sniper shooting, Woody rarely went out to places such as this…favoring a small, dark, local sports bar instead. He hadn't really gone out to a place like this…since…since….Jordan's accident. "I get out from time to time," he replied in a tone far more casual than he felt.

Nigel knew it, too. Eyeing Woody closely, he said, "You know you can join us over there if you like."

"I wouldn't want to interrupt…."

"She doesn't bite, Woody," Nigel said softly.

He'd been caught red-handed. Busted. Found out. Turned in.

"In fact, she really doesn't do much of anything but work now," Nigel continued. "We just felt she needed to get out a little."

"So I heard…"

"Matt told you…"

Woody nodded, finishing off his Scotch. "She looks wonderful," he replied.

"She does…a little too thin, but I imagine that will get better as time passes," Nigel said, noting the wistful note in the detective's voice. "But not bad for a two year comatose person. Don't you think?"

Woody nodded. He needed to leave. Obviously Jordan was having a great time. Obviously she was in good hands. Obviously she didn't need him. "Yeah, sure," he replied absently to Nigel. "I need to go…." He stood and pushed past Nigel, walking to the entrance of the club.

Only to be stopped in his tracks by a vision in deep purple. Woody closed his eyes. This wasn't good. "Hi," she said. "I didn't know you were here tonight. Do you come here a lot?" Her voice held sincere innocence. She didn't know he'd been tipped off…didn't know he had been there only to make sure she was okay.

"A few times … are you leaving?"

Jordan shook her head. "No…I just needed to get away from all the….noise for a while. It makes my head spin…" She offered him a feeble smile. The truth was, she was still struggling. New groups…new music…new dances….while it was all a gesture to make her feel better, it simply had made her feel more out of place. Made her more ready to go home to Garret's….to her self-imposed exile.

"It can get loud."

She nodded. "You're leaving?" she asked, noticing his coat slung over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Early day tomorrow. Work."

"Oh…"

"Say Jordan, if you're tired, I'll be glad to take…"

"There you are," Lily said, interrupting their conversation. "I didn't know where you had gotten off to…."

"I just needed some air…"

"Come back inside…Detective Nick Franks is here. He works with Matt. Wants to meet you and maybe dance with you…"

Woody groaned inwardly….that was the rookie who had called Jordan Sleeping Beauty. If he so much as laid a finger on her….he gave Jordan a glance, just in time to catch her covering her own grimace.

"Sure, Lil…just a minute."

Lily nodded. "I'll be just inside."

They stood facing each other for an awkward moment…reminding Jordan of all the near- miss kisses they hadn't shared. "I guess I should go back in…" she finally said, breaking the tension.

Woody smiled at her briefly. "Have fun…just don't get too tired…"

Jordan nodded, turning to go.

"And watch Franks…" Woody called out. "He's …. He's…. got a wandering eye and ….and …. hand."

Jordan turned back and looked closely at Woody. "I'll be fine…" And you're worried about this? Why?

Woody watched her go back into the club and nearly followed her…Jordan may be okay, but he was the furthest thing from it.