Jordan woke up early the following morning to make the arrangements. She had made a decision after she left her fathers bar. She was going to leave Boston for good this time. But she couldn't return to Kentucky. The Kincade's would always be her family but she needed to stop taking the easy way out. So she made a few calls.
One was to Justice O'Mally, a friend of hers from the Louisville Coroner's Office. Justice had traveled all over the United States before settling in Louisville. His skills and inability to follow orders made him a good friend to Jordan. They were alike in so many ways that many had mistaken them for siblings on more than one occasion. Jordan trusted Justice and the boy owed her a favor. She was calling it in. When she got off the phone with him, he had promised her a clean start. This time, she was doing it right.
The second call was to Ben's Movers. She discussed her moving plans with them and they promised to send a truck over at noon. They wouldn't be able to help her move her things until the following day but she was more than welcome to begin without them. She agreed to their terms and settled the payment details over the phone. Once she hung up, she felt a little bit better. Having forgotten her fathers unkind words the night before. At least, for the moment.
The truck arrived on time and the driver left Jordan with the keys so that she could lock it up for the night.
With a sigh, Jordan ran her hand through her hair and watched Eve playing on the living room floor. The little girl seemed sad for some reason and it bothered Jordan. "Eve, sweety...what's wrong?" She asked as she sat down on the couch.
Eve looked up at her mother with a frown. "Eve don't want to leave again." Her voice was small and held none of the firmness and anger from the previous night.
Jordan matched her daughters frown. "I know, baby. But this is for the best." She placed a hand on her stomach as she leaned back into the comfortable cushions.
"Why we leaving?" The little girl asked. "Eve don't understand. When daddy wasn't with the angels, we lived in 'tucky. Then we come here to see granpa Max and then we go back to 'tucky. Now we are here and leaving again!" Eve crossed her arms over her chest, a confused look plastered on her face.
"It's complicated Eve. When you're older, I'll tell you." Jordan eyed her daughter for a moment. "Come on. Help me pack some things?" She questioned and looked at the pile of boxes in the corner of the living room.
"Eve wants to stay here!" She jumped to her feet and stood in front of her mother. "No go back to 'tucky!" Eve implored.
"We're not going back to Kentucky, Eve." Jordan said quietly, as she got up and moved towards the boxes. She grabbed two and moved towards the kitchen where she began to pack away dishes that they never used.
The little girl only sighed. Eve really was confused. She wanted to stay in one place not move around whenever her mother felt the urge. She missed the stable life that they had when her daddy was alive. This lifestyle was taking a toll on this four year old. But her mother didn't notice.
Once she filled the box, she closed it and carried it out the front door. Jordan started down the front steps and down her walkway only to be stopped by a voice that she had been hoping to avoid.
Nigel had been waiting outside of Jordan's house for an hour now. He was leaning against the side of the moving truck when he saw Jordan exit her house, carrying a box marked kitchen. "Moving back to Kentucky, love?" He questioned and smirked as he saw her freeze in her tracks.
Jordan literally had to clutch the box tighter so she didn't drop it. "No. New York, actually." She found her voice but she stayed where she was. Now the box was the only thing, besides her oversized sweat-shirt, keeping him from seeing her condition.
"You weren't even going to tell me you were back, were you? I had to hear it from Max." Nigel pushed away from the truck and walked until he stopped in front of Jordan. He tried to take the box from her but she refused to let go.
Her hold on the box, tightened. "My father called you?" She let out a bitter chuckle and shifted the box slightly. "I'm surprised. He seemed intent on protecting you last night." She snapped out and tried to move around him.
Nigel saw her trying to move around him and moved so that she couldn't get past him. He yanked the box out of her hands and sat it down on the grass before turning back to her. "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean, Jordan?"
Jordan crossed her arms over her chest. She silently thanked God for picking out a black, baggy, sweat shirt to wear today. It hid her slightly extended stomach. "He helped me see that I don't belong here anymore." She mumbled.
He listened to her and raised a eyebrow. "You don't belong here anymore? So you're running to New York? You think you're going to fit in there, love?" Nigel took a step towards her.
She reacted to his sudden step towards her by placing a hand on her stomach, protectively. "I'm not running to New York. I'm moving there. There is a difference between running and moving." Jordan mumbled. "They have an opening at the M.E.'s office so I decided to go for it. It's a good career move for me."
Nigel noticed what Jordan had done and he blinked in confusion. "What happened to being a doctor, Jordan? I thought you wanted a change?"
Jordan quickly moved her hand once she noticed him staring. "I did want a change but it was for all the wrong reasons. I loved my job before. I enjoyed speaking for the dead so to speak. Becoming a doctor was just me trying to fit in. I was trying to me normal. I realize now that I don't need to be normal in order to fit in. Plus I knew that if I ever came back here, I couldn't work with Garrett." She shrugged.
"That sounds deep, love. Been seeing a shrink, have we?" Nigel meant the question as a joke and tension breaker.
"I've been seeing a therapist, yes." Jordan looked back towards the house then to Nigel. "He helped me work through a lot of my problems. I'm not cured but I'm better than I was." She looked down at her sneaker clad feet. "Look Nigel..." She began but stopped to chew on her bottom lip. "I can't lie to you. It wouldn't be fair. Doctor Strayland said that I have to face my problems instead of running from them. I was going to come back from New York once we got settled and talk to you. But since you're here...would you join me for coffee?" She didn't wait for his answer and just headed inside where she put on a pot of coffee.
Nigel followed her inside and looked around. Everything looked the same and he smiled sadly. He glanced into the living room before heading into the kitchen. He sat down at the table and stared at his hands. "Eve is watching a black and white movie, love."
Jordan smiled and poured two cups of coffee, carrying them both to the table. She sat beside him. "She doesn't watch cartoons anymore and the old black and white movies are better for her than the violence that movies nowadays exploit." She sighed and took a sip of her coffee. "I'm sorry for leaving Nigel but I was scared." She saw him opening his mouth but she held up a hand to stop him. "Eve knew what she was doing when she called you daddy. No matter how many times I tried to tell myself that she didn't...my little girl isn't stupid. She misses her father, dearly. I didn't realize how much until recently. Doctor Strayland said that she was identifying you with him. You filled in the void that his death left." She sighed and said back in the chair, the coffee forgotten.
He was quiet. Maybe a little too quiet from the way Jordan was looking at him. Clearing his throat, Nigel took a sip of his coffee. "So I was a replacement then?" He couldn't hide the hurt that had crept into his voice. Nor did he want to. He wanted Jordan to know exactly what he was feeling. He wanted her to know how much he hurt.
She frowned. The tension was mounting again. "Eve, sweety." Jordan turned towards the living room. "Nap time. Go lay down, ok?" She turned back to Nigel. "No. You weren't a replacement. She loves you. I mean, what's not to love? You're were great with her, Nige. She isn't stupid. Eve knew we had a relationship. She bonded with you and took the next logical step. In her mind, you were her daddy just like Mark was."
Eve sighed at her mothers words and flipped the tv off. She had already seen the movie anyways. "Ok mommy. Eve go lay down." She stood and walked towards her room, stopping before she disappeared inside. "Night-night mommy. Night-night little baby." She disappeared into her room.
Nigel's eyes darted from the coffee cup to Jordan's face. "Little baby?" He questioned with narrowed eyes. He let his eyes scan over her body. He couldn't see much since she was sitting and wearing a very baggy black sweat shirt. Very un-Jordan like apparel.
Jordan swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as soon Eve mentioned the baby. She had hoped that Nigel wouldn't notice the reference but he obviously did. And now she could feel his eyes scanning over her body, trying to figure out what the little girl meant. "Ah..." She rubbed the back of her next. "Look..." She began. "Everyone told me to come back two months ago. But I couldn't. I needed to get my life sorted out. So I went and saw Doctor Strayland. Our sessions had only been going on for two months when he told me I was ready to return. I didn't hesitate. I thanked Jeb for letting us stay with him and left the very same day. I understood that Eve scared you when she called you daddy. It's a scary thing going from a unattached uncle to a father. And it's even harder when the child calling you daddy isn't your own flesh and blood. I over reacted. I should have stayed and given you time to adjust. Then we could have talked about it. But all I kept thinking was that you didn't want to be Eve's father. That you didn't want to be a father period. And being that I have two point five kids, the relationship was bound to fail. My father just reaffirmed my fears last night." She knew that she had avoided his question.
He was very confused. His brain was in over drive trying to piece things together. Nigel knew that Jordan was avoiding his question but he felt like she was trying to give him the answer in her own way. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "I'm sorry to do this, love. But I have to get home. Joscelin is waiting for me." He whispered.
She felt her whole world crash and burn. "I...I'm sorry." She looked down, tears in her eyes. She had waited too long to come home. Jordan was trying to get her life together and Nigel had moved on."I understand." She cleared her throat and blinked away the tears. "I'm sorry I kept you so long. The movers are coming tomorrow so..." Her hand darted to her stomach and her face went blank. There was a little flutter in her stomach. It didn't feel like a kick. It just felt like the baby was making itself known.
Nigel froze as he began to stand and just stared at her. Finally all the pieces of the puzzle fit together in his mind. "Jordan..." He began but she was already heading down the hall and towards the door.
Jordan bolted and heard him say her name just as she got to the door. She stopped and opened it. "Have a good day, Nigel." Her voice was emotionless and she leaned against the wall beside the door.
He followed after her and watched as the door was opened and he was dismissed. Nigel's eyes narrowed again and he hit the wall, open palmed, nearest to him. The force of the blow made a picture fall off the wall. "Sweet Jesus, what is going on Jordan." He couldn't hide the anger or frustration he was feeling. "For once in your life, just tell me. Don't make me play one of your little Jordan games. I'm not in the bloody mood." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
"You're not in the mood? Oh I forgot, you have to get home!" Jordan was pissed. A few minutes ago he was saying that he had to leave and now he was going to act like he cared. "There is nothing to tell, Nigel. N-O-T-H-I-N-G" She spelled it out for him and copied his stance. Her legs were apart and she looked like a panther ready to pounce on it's prey. Her eyes were flashing with barely contained anger.
Nigel's nostrils flared but he made no attempt to move. Inside he knew that he had gone to far and now Jordan looked wound tighter than a top. She was near breaking point and he was afraid of her. He knew Jordan had a temper on her. Her Irish blood enhanced that temper by ten fold. He was on the receiving end once before, she had been drunk then, and it wasn't pretty. He could only imagine what it would be like with her sober.
"Go home, Nigel. Go back to your life." Jordan's voice was deathly calm and it came out in the form of a hiss through clenched teeth. She moved away from the door way and pointed out the open door. She was shaking from the anger she was harboring and her breathing came out in forced puffs.
"Jordan..." He took a slow, careful, step forward. He was forced to stop when a blur came between him and Jordan. He glanced down as the blur turned into a very, determined, Eve.
Jordan swallowed and looked down at her daughter. "Eve, go back to bed." She whispered, a little of her anger had dissipated at seeing her daughter. "We're just talking, sweety."
The little girl glared at Nigel. Eve had been watching the exchange between the two adults since they moved into the hall. She wasn't sleeping and their loud voices had startled her. All she could think of was protecting her mother and the baby. She didn't think Nigel would hurt her mother but she was afraid. "Unca Nige..." She whispered in such a innocent, scared, voice. Her jaw set and she held her head high, in a perfect recreation of defiance but her eyes betrayed her fear.
Nigel eyed the small girl who looked very threatening. He took a step back just to be safe. "I wasn't going to hurt you mum, poppin." He mumbled. "I just wanted your mum to talk to me. Do you understand, Eve?" He whispered.
"No hurt mommy or baby!" Eve demanded as the tears welled up in her eyes and she stomped her foot.
Swallowing, Jordan placed a hand on Eve's shoulder which caused the little girl to deflate. She gathered her sobbing daughter into her arms and held her. "Shh, it's ok. No need for tears." She mumbled into the little girls hair. "Nigel wasn't going to hurt me or the baby, pumpkin."
"Baby." Nigel mumbled. "You're pregnant." It was a statement not a question. He felt numb. At first he felt defeated and was ready to leave until he started going over her reactions to him, earlier. She really seemed to react badly to the mention of Joscelin, his current bed partner. "Bloody hell...who's the father, Jordan?" He needed to know and right now he could careless if Joscelin was at home waiting for him. He had only known the girl for two weeks and was planning on breaking up with her anyways. She expected too much from him.
Jordan stroked Eve's hair and continued to hold the little girl in the middle of the hall with the front door hanging wide open for the whole world to see them. "I need a man who wants to be a father, Nige." She whispered.
"Who...is...the...father?" Nigel asked even though he had a pretty good idea. He needed her to say it.
She debated on lying to him. Jordan knew that he'd leave then and she could start over. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. "You are." Her voice was just above a whisper.