Two Months Later

Jordan parked her car in front of her Boston townhouse and turned off the motor. It was a dark and quiet night. Black clouds covered the sky like a thick blanket and the smell of rain was in the air. With a sigh, she pulled her tired body out of the car and opened the backdoor for Eve. She smiled as the little girl bounded out of the car and up the front stairs. The house was dark which surprised her. She half expected Nigel to be there, waiting. And in the back of her mind she wished that he had been. Unlocking the door, she flipped on the inside lights and locked the door behind her. Eve disappeared into her own room which left Jordan alone to wander the empty house. Nigel had to have been there at some point in time because everything was clean, which wasn't how Jordan left it. "Oh Nige." She whispered and laid a hand on her slightly swollen stomach. She wasn't big yet but it was obvious that she was pregnant. Glancing around, she noticed the blinking light on her answering machine. Pushing it, she discovered twenty-six messages. Most of them were from her father, a few were from Bug and Lily, and a few were from Garrett. There was only one from Nigel. His voice was soft but sad as he spoke the message, dated five days ago, oddly enough. His words repeated through her mind and she sat down.

Buggles and Lily made me call, love. I don't know why when I know you're not there to answer. I guess this is about closure then. Or maybe peace of mind. I guess that's all there is to say. That's all that he said.

"Come on Eve. Let's go see Grandpa Max." Jordan called out. She couldn't stay here, not yet. She needed to be around people and she knew that the Pogue would be packed on a Friday night.

"Coming mommy." Eve called out. She appeared at her mothers side with a big toothy grin. "Okay. Let's go see Granpa Max." Her vocabulary improved over the four months that they were gone.

Jordan smiled and lead the little girl back out to the car and buckled her in. She left the lights on in the house not wanting to come home to the darkness again. It took several laps around the block before she could find a parking spot within walking distance of the Pogue. She parked and lead the little girl inside. She was right about it being packed. As soon as she pushed the door open, the noise washed over her in waves. Once inside, she lead Eve, by the hand, towards a empty table in the back. It was secluded and out of the way so they wouldn't be bothered.

To any other child, sitting for a long period of time doing nothing would be impossible. Except Eve wasn't just any other child. She sat at the table with her mother, just taking in the sights. She noticed that a lot of the people around them wore shinny badges like her daddy used to and that made her smile. She even pointed it out to her mother who returned the smile and praise for Eve noticing such a small detail.

Lost in thought, Jordan didn't notice the thinning crowd. Her eyes were staring, unfocused, at the pool table where a friendly game of pool was being played. She wasn't watching the game. She never noticed the hours passing and soon they were amongst the last people in the bar. Shaking her head, she looked at her daughter who had just asked her a question. "What was that, sweety?"

"Mommy..." Eve frowned and set her mouth in a pout. "You weren't listening to Eve!" She pointed out and crossed her little arms over her chest. It would have been cute except that her crystal blue eyes were now a dark blue, swirling with anger. "I asked if we were going to see granpa Max or not?" Her tone was sharp and almost a perfect match to her mothers when she was in the same ticked off mood.

Jordan turned her attention to the little girl and raised a eye brow. "You will not take the tone with me young lady." She sighed. "I think you hung around your Aunt Tory too long." She mumbled. She glanced around the bar and frowned. There was no sign of Max now. She saw him earlier over by the pool table but that game had long since ended. "Fine. Come on." She walked up to the bar and helped Eve up onto one of the stools before joining her. "Is Max here?" She asked the passing bartended, a girl this time. The girl, Candi, motioned towards the back office before moving away. "Hey, if it's not too much trouble, could you get him?" She bit out, sarcastically, then wondered why her father hired such rude bartenders. She watched as the girl sighed and then huffed her way to the office where she disappeared inside. A few seconds later Candi returned with Max in tow.

Max had been surprised when the young bartender appeared and told him some lady wanted to see him. It was near closing time and when he retreated into the office, the bar was almost empty. He smiled and followed her out not noticing who the mystery woman was until he got in front of her."My God, Jordan?" He was surprised to see his daughter.

"And Eve! Don't forget Eve, Granpa Max!" The little girl called out seeing her grandfather only addressing her mother. "I missed you lots!" Eve was practically crawling over the counter top.

Jordan frowned. "Yes, dad. Who did you expect, Pamela Anderson?" She glanced over at Eve. "Sit down before you fall." She chided her daughter and looked back to her father. "Don't look so surprised, I didn't move out of town. I went on vacation." She mumbled, lamely.

"Vacation? Jordan it's been four months! Vacations don't last that long." Max turned his attention to the little girl and reached over the bar top, plucking her out of her seat and hugging her. "I missed you too, pumpkin." He mumbled into her ear and gave her a peck in the cheek before setting her down on the counter, facing him. "Where have you been?"

Eve answered the question before her mother could even open her mouth. "We was visiting Granpa Jeb and daddy." She said with pride.

"Kentucky." Jordan answered after Eve quieted down. "I wanted Eve to see where he father was buried and I knew Jeb wanted to see her. So that's where we landed." She seemed to be at ease talking about her dead husband. "I would have been back two months ago but I had a few things to clear up. And Doctor Strayland was the only one that could help me."

"Doctor? Are you sick, Jordan?" Max eyed his daughter then granddaughter. Eve just shrugged not knowing why her mommy had been seeing the good, cooky, doctor.

"Not that kind of a doctor, dad. He's a damn fine therapist." Jordan eyed her father in return. "Let's just say that I had a spiritual experience one day and I needed help to understand if I was finally losing my marbles or if it really happened. He's the best that Kentucky has to offer. He helped me out a lot. That's why I'm here."

Max sighed and shook his head. "That man of yours, Jordan. He's been in the worse way since you left. He tries to deny it but I can see it in his eyes. You need to let him know you're in town. Go see him tonight if you can."

Jordan was saddened by her fathers words but this wasn't anything she didn't already know. "I know..." She said quietly. "But I can't." She looked down at her ring less fingers. It felt strange not having her wedding band there but Mark was gone. She knew that now and was ready to move on. But she needed a few days to figure out what to say to Nigel.

"Jordan, why? You can't let him suffer anymore than he already has. And needlessly too." Max was appalled by his daughters words and let that show in his voice.

Her eyes darkened at the tone of her fathers voice. She knew it well. Frowning, Jordan stood up and turned to the side. She grabbed the hem of her lose shirt and pulled it up over her stomach. The bump was clearly visible. "This is why, dad." She spat out and let the shirt drop back into place.

Max's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He felt disappointed in his daughter. "How could you do this to him, Jordan?" He whispered.

Jordan blinked and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't do anything. Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of criminal. I'm pregnant. I didn't commit a triple homicide!" She felt herself growing defensive.

Eve looked from her mother to her grandfather. She knew when grown-ups were talking serious and this was one of those times. "Mommy is gonna have baby. Eve be big sister." She said trying to defuse the situation in her own childish way.

"He was afraid of this Jordan. He told me that this would happen and I didn't believe him. How could I? You're my daughter but I didn't raise you like this!" Max crossed his own arms over his chest. He gave Eve a small smile before turning his attention back to Jordan. "He didn't want it to turn out like this. He didn't want this, Jordan. How could you do this to him? Haven't you put him through enough?"

She froze at her fathers harsh, unkind, words. Jordan swallowed the lump in her throat and placed her hand on her stomach, protectively. Her father was disappointed in her and even angry. She didn't understand why. All this time she was being told that Nigel would want to be apart of this child's life only to discover that he didn't. He didn't want to have a baby with her. He didn't want to be a father, at all, for that matter. She never thought that her father could be misinterpreting the situation. All she thought about was that she had been wrong. That Mark and her therapist had been wrong. She wiped the tears, roughly, off her face. She wouldn't cry over this. "I guess time does reveal the truth." She shook her head sadly. "I went to therapy for two months so that I could come back with a better grasp on life. Come on, Eve. Tell Grandpa Max goodbye."

"Where are you going, Jordan?" Max helped Eve to the floor.

She smiled at her grandfather and gave him a big hug. "Bye Granpa." Eve said with a smile then joined her mother who was backing towards the door.

"I...I need some space." Jordan whispered, harshly, as she took Eve's hand. "I came back to start over. To try and make things right but I can't. This time I can't make things right because I can't...no...I won't get rid of my baby. I love my unborn child and if no one else can accept that, they can go to hell. I can't stay around people that, obviously, would resent this childs life. It's not fair to my baby or Eve or myself." She ground out and left, slamming the door behind her. She never felt so foolish. How could she have ever thought that Nigel would want this baby?

Max blinked at his daughters sudden departure. Her words registered a few minutes later and he was out the door after her. But she was already gone. He was confused but he also knew by the tone of her voice that she wasn't happy. Little did he know that he had given Jordan the mistaken impression that Nigel had time to realize that he didn't want to be a father. Frowning he entered the bar once again and headed straight for the phone. If Jordan wasn't going to tell Nigel that she was in town then he would have to. It was for her own good.