CHAPTER 18

A/N: Yes, it's been forever, I've been pretty sick (blood tests and lots of pills and fun stuff) and in Barrie, and away from a computer, and school, homework – it's been crazy! I figure I should add a disclaimer, ha but I suck at this kind of stuff. So just so we're clear, I do not own Crossing Jordan or anything to do with it, only Jake Fredrick and the ideas.

Garrett didn't know where to go. He drove around for what seemed like forever. He'd spent more than enough time in his apartment, he wouldn't dare go anywhere near the morgue and everyone was at work so he couldn't visit anyone even if he wanted to. Then he thought of someone who wasn't at work- Woody. He turned around and headed towards the hospital. When he got there, he walked into Woody's room to find him staring at the wall, a smile on his face. "Hey." He said quietly. Woody turned to look at him as he shut the door.

"Oh, hey Dr. Macy!" He answered enthusiastically, especially for someone in a hospital. "Haven't seen you in a while, what brings you by?" Woody could tell that Garrett was genuinely surprised at his positive attitude.

"Well, just thought I'd stop by and say hello…" Garrett told him.

"Don't have much else to do?" Woody asked with a smile, Garrett sort of shrugged, a bit embarrassed, "Its okay, really."

"I'm guessing the good mood is because of Jordan?" Garrett said with a small laugh. Woody nodded.

"Who's been spreading the good news?" He asked.

"Lily." Garrett answered, "She's the only one I've talked to since I left. Can you imagine what Jordan's going to say to me?" Woody chuckled at the thought, shaking his head.

"I see your point there." He agreed. "So, what do you think about Bug and Lily?" Woody asked starting a new conversation.

"I don't know." Garrett said rubbing his temples. Woody looked at Garrett for a moment, remembering that there had been a time when he and Lily had gone out. He thought about how awkward it had felt to picture Jordan going out with someone else even after he had broken it off with her… but that was before she came back and made his life perfect.

"You still aren't in love with her, are you Dr. M?" He asked quietly, hoping he wasn't. He knew how happy he and Jordan were, and he figured that Bug and Lily had the same feeling… he didn't want anything to take that away. Enough things had gotten in his and Jordan's way, Bug and Lily didn't need that too.

"No." Garrett replied quickly and quietly. He hoped it hadn't sounded as unsure as he was. He didn't think he was still in love with Lily. It had been so long ago… they had been just friends forever, but she had never really moved on in a way. This was the first time, well the first time he'd heard about, that she'd been with someone else.

"You sure?" Woody questioned him.

"No."

"You don't know?" Woody said with a small smile. "I know how you feel. You two haven't been together for some time, but Lily never moved on to anyone else did she? It was almost as if she'd always be there if you needed her… and then one day, today, she's not. She'll always be there as a friend, but now you know for certain she's not in love with you."

"Is that what I'm feeling?" Garrett asked with an uncertain laugh.

"Yeah, probably. But, you have to be happy for her, just as I would have had to been happy for Jordan if she would have moved on." Garrett thought for a moment about what Woody had said. He couldn't imagine Jordan moving on and Woody accepting it, but if anyone knew about frustrated feelings towards love it would have to be Woody. Jordan had kept him dangling for four years… and he had waited patiently.

"I guess you're right." Garrett agreed, dismissing the topic. He didn't want to think about it anymore. He knew Woody was right; Lily would always be there for him as a close friend. He knew Bug loved her, and had for some time now. He wanted them to be happy.

"So." Woody said, hinting there was nothing to talk about.

"So…" Garrett repeated. Garrett considered taking this silent chance to tell Woody what he had told Lily, but he figured it was best not to in the hospital where Woody would want to do something about it right away, but couldn't. He didn't want to put a damper of his friend's happy mood, so decided it wasn't the right time. Jordan, Lily and the rest of them could decide when to tell Woody once they knew what was going on.

"What's on your mind Garrett?" Woody asked in a concerned voice as he noticed the perplexed look on the older man's face.

"Oh, just thinking about how much I miss my job and all." Garrett told him. It sounded like a believable answer to him, and to Woody it appeared.

"Yeah… me too." Woody nodded. Garrett almost forgot that Woody wouldn't be back in his old spot for quite a while. They were in the same boat, but for different reasons. He didn't know whose would make him feel worse. Probably Woody's. It was his own fault he didn't have a job right then. He didn't have to listen to his boss all those years ago… things could have worked out differently… but Woody, he was just doing his job and some stupid kid decided he had to take one more person's life, thank god he hadn't succeeded.

"When do you get out of here anyway?" Garrett asked with a smile.

"Uh, next Monday." Woody answered with a smile. Only six more days to kill, then he would be home. No quite good as new, not quite ready to do exactly what he wanted, but he would be at his apartment. He couldn't wait.

"Great." Garrett told him, his smile widening a bit. Woody knew there was something more going on with Garrett than he was letting on… but what could it be he wasn't telling him?

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"So what were you daydreaming about?" Jordan teased as they headed back towards trace. Nigel poked him in the ribs, and Bug rolled his eyes.

"What do you think?" He asked with a shake of his head.

"Ooo…" Nigel whispered with a smile.

"No!" Bug yelled, "Not that!" He said a bit quieter this time, giving Nigel a shove. "I was just thinking about our date tonight."

"We know Bug, don't get all defensive!" Jordan teased.

"Yeah Bug, what did you think we meant?" Nigel asked with another poke to his ribs.

"Ah, just drop it would you?" Bug told him, hitting his hand away. "So how'd those tests turn out Nige?" Bug asked once they had settled down in trace. He hoped they'd found ID's on the victims so they could at least push forward a bit with this case. It bothered him how long it was taking, especially when it could get Dr. Macy back and Slokum gone.

"Well let me check." Nigel told him, pressing a few keys on the keyboard. Jordan walked over and stood beside him, tapping her foot impatiently. Slokum shook his head. What was it with these people? It was as if they were all best friends doing a school project they way they joked and fooled around. What kind of circus was Dr. Macy running here? But, unfortunately for Jack Slokum, the voice in his head (the one he never listened to), told him: The kind where everyone likes each other and gets along. The kind where everyone likes each other but gets the work done too. The kind you could never run because of your lack of people skills and… Slokum shook his head and headed off to find Lily as Jordan wandered out of trace. What was she up to now?

Lily didn't know how to feel as she drove back to the morgue. On top of her happiness over her and Bug's relationship, she wasn't sure whether to be happier because she had seen and talked to Garrett, or to be upset and worried over what he had told her. Then, a few blocks away from the morgue, she saw Jake Fredrick with another guy and a woman. That could be the woman Garrett met and the other man Slokum's working with, she thought. She turned down the next street, deciding to do a bit of detective work herself. She knew she shouldn't, thinking of all the horrible situations Jordan had gotten herself into over the years… but she couldn't help it. She finally knew how Jordan felt, wanting, no, needing to figure out exactly what was up… only this time she wasn't directly pursing a case she was working on… but that wasn't really fair to say since she never really had a case she was working on in that sense, being a grief councilor and all. She parked her car on the corner opposite to where Jake and his accomplices were standing. Unfortunately, she sucked at the detective thing, and a minute later, Jake was waving her over to join them. She got out of her car, grabbing her purse. She was a bit nervous… what if they knew she'd been spying? What if they killed her too? "Hey Lily!" Jake said a big smile on his face. He went halfway across the street to meet her.

"Hey Jake." She smiled. He put his hand on her back and led her over to where the man and women were standing. She was a bit taken aback by his action, since she had just met him yesterday, and she knew he was fully aware of her and Bug's relationship.

"This is Lily Lebowski." Jake introduced her as if he talked about her all the time and they were finally getting to meet her. She smiled and shook hands with the man and smiled at the woman.

"I'm Lawrence, this is my fiancée Maryann." He told her with a grin.

"Hi." She said awkwardly. She barley knew Jake and he was introducing her to his friends? She was very confused, and she sensed that Jake was getting the feeling.

"Can I just talk to you for a sec Jake?" She asked.

"Excuse us…" Jake said politely to Lawrence and Maryann who nodded and started a conversation of their own. "What's up?"

"Um… sorry, I was just wondering… who are these people and why are you introducing me like you know me so well when I just met you yesterday?" Jake's smile faded a bit… and a pathetic, pleading look took its place. It gave Lily an unsure feeling like he wanted a favour…

"Lawrence was my best friend all through high school and university… he's a cop too. Maryann, well I'm not exactly sure of her profession, I just met her a few days ago myself. It's just… Lawrence and I… we were always really competitive. You know the kind of friend right?" Jake asked hopefully. Lily sort of nodded and he continued.

"Well… he's been holding it over my head since I've been in Boston that he has a fiancée and I don't…"

"You didn't!" He gave her an even more pathetic smile. "Jake! I am with Bug! I would have been happy to go along with it three days ago when I wasn't seeing anyone… and if you were one of my closer friends I would do it for you… but I just met you yesterday, and I'm in a relationship!" She protested.

"Pleaseeee Lily?" He pleaded. She was surprised he wasn't begging on his knees yet. Why her? Why not Jordan? Was he really that good of a detective that he had picked up from the one coffee conversation yesterday that if either she or Jordan were going to do this, he'd have the best chance with her? She shook the crazy thoughts out of her head. She wasn't going to pretend to be this man's fiancée. He could be helping Slokum keep Garrett out of his job, for god sakes! Then again… it could help them in the long run if she won over his trust… her thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone ringing.

"One sec." She told him, stepping away. "Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Hey!" Came Bug's reply. Jake saw her face light up and her smile widen. He knew it was Bug on the phone.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, where are you? Slokum's going crazy trying to find you."

"Ooo, be jealous." Lily joked. "Well… it's a bit of a long story which I will tell you in detail tonight, but right now I'm about two blocks away from the morgue talking to detective Jake, his best friend from high school and his best friend's fiancée."

"Okay?" Bug laughed. "Can I ask why?"

"I'm not sure… well it's just part of the story… don't worry about me… but there's something I've got to ask you, but don't worry okay?"

"What is it?"

"This is going to sound weird. Jake wants me to pretend to be his fiancée while his friend and his fiancée are in town." Lily expected the easy going Bug she knew to just laugh it off… but he didn't say anything at all. He was worried about her. Nigel knew things that weren't reassuring about Jake Fredrick, and now he wanted Lily to be his fiancée?

"Just sec…" He told her. "Hey Nige…" He hissed quietly, covering the receiver. "What Buggles?" Nigel laughed. Bug motioned for him to be quiet, pointing to the phone.

"It's Lily… is there any reason that she shouldn't pretend to be Jake's fiancée?" Bug whispered.

"Other than the fact she's your girlfriend…"

"No, I mean… from what you've found, I don't mind, it's just until his friend leaves town."

"Actually, it could be quite beneficial." Nigel told him. Bug just shrugged, very confused.

"Lily?"

"I'm sorry Bug… it's alright, you don't even have to think about it. I shouldn't have asked…"

"No, no. It's fine, go ahead. But be back soon okay?"

"Alright, I will. Love you!" She said with a smile.

"Love you too." Jake walked back over to her as he saw her shut her phone.

"What did Bug say?" He asked with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes. Lily wondered why he was pretending with his 'best friend'. Why not just say that she was at work, or out of town on business? It was all confusing to Lily… she just hoped she wasn't cooperating her way into some major scheme that was going to get her or someone she loved killed.

"I guess we're getting married." She said with a wink, as they headed back over to Lawrence and Maryann hand in hand.

"So Bug, I heard your girlfriend's getting married to another guy." Jordan laughed as she entered the room.

"Why does everyone keep referring to Lily as my girlfriend? She's still Lily you know. Am I going to be known as her boyfriend all the time too?"

"Oh quit dodging it, mate." Nigel said with a grin. "Why is Lily pretending to be Jake's fiancée?" Bug shook his head.

"Because he asked her to. It's a long story and she's telling me tonight." Nigel and Jordan both just shook their heads and continued working.

"Eureka!" Nigel shouted, making Bug jump out of his chair.

"What?" Bug questioned him, walking over to look at the computer screen Nigel was pointing at.

"Say hello to victim number one, Joey Macdonald."

"Is that all you got?" Jordan asked with a doubtful smile.

"By the way, good job Nige." Nigel said putting on his best 'you hurt my feelings' face. "No, it's not all I've got. Looks like our Mr. Macdonald has an exemplary record since 1989."

"1989? What about the last 16 years?" Bug pointed out.

"I'm getting to that Bug, just cool your jets and listen, would you?" Nigel answered impatiently. "It seems before a legal name change in 1989, our victim was known as Robert Slokum?" Nigel read, his voice becoming questioning when they heard the last name.

"I'm betting that's not a coincidence." Jordan said in a grim voice. "Do you think that's why Slokum's been so antsy about this case? Because he knew it was his brother and had something to do with it?"

"I don't know… but I hope Lily gets back soon… I want tomeet Dr. Slokum's mom!" Nigel said with a laugh. Bug smiled.

"Are you sure? I mean only half of his genes are her… let's just hope his father was the obsessive compulsive control freak then."

"You got that right." Jordan said with a nod. They continued to work on getting an ID on the second victim with new hope. Slokum was going down…

A/N: Yeah, I have no clue how it affects files on databases and that when you get a legal name change… I'm just sort of making things up about it. Not talented in that field… ha.

Please review… I'm not sure how it's going and thanks to everyone that is reviewing!