Chapter Two

Our Paths Were Bound to Cross

"What the hell are you going to do about it?" asked Garret.

"Well, he was going to see me sooner or later. I am still an ME and he is still a detective. We were bound to cross paths. It goes with the territory," Jordan calmly replied from the corner of the couch in Garret's office. "I just figured it would be easier to do it sooner rather than later."

Jordan carefully looked Garret over. Nigel had warned her of the chief ME's moodiness lately. How they were all walking on pins and needles around him, especially Lily. Jordan had nodded an ascent, but that was all. She was privy to the reason that Garret seemed a little more stressed out than usual – her.

She knew she was pregnant weeks before she left Boston. One skipped period didn't alarm her. Between suffering all the emotional upheaval from the break up with JD and the rash of truly stressful cases she had on her desk, one skipped period would be considered normal.

Two skipped periods made her stop and think. And make a trip to the drug store to purchase a pregnancy test. The positive sign truly flipped her world a little on its side. But then the warm feeling of impending motherhood had slowly washed over her as she ran her hand across her abdomen. Jordan Cavanaugh was pregnant.

Jordan Cavanaugh was going to be a mother.

A soft smile had formed at the edges of her mouth as she realized that this…this new baby bringing a new role in her life, was really what she had been missing for years.

Garret was the first person she told. For two reasons. First, he was her employer and now there were certain things she couldn't do. Heavy lifting. X-rays. Be around certain equipment. Handle certain chemicals.

And secondly, Max was still nowhere to be found. Garret had been her substitute older brother/father figure for years. Since she couldn't tell her father, Garret was the next best thing.

His response had been the same as it was a few minutes ago. "What the hell are you going to do about it?"

"Well, if you're asking if I'm keeping the baby, the answer is yes. At my age, I may not have another shot at motherhood," she had replied, her voice reflecting her surprise at the vehemence of his question. "I just thought you might want to know for personal reasons as well as business ones…I'm sorry…" She turned to leave his office.

"No, wait…Jordan." Garret beat her to the door, keeping it closed. "I'm sorry. It's just a bit of a shock…I wasn't expecting this…from you…or anyone from my staff." He ran his hand down the back of his head. "Of course, we'll take precautions with you…all the ones we need to. But I have to ask, are you seeing a doctor?"

"My first appointment is next week."

"Good…good…and how are you feeling?"

Jordan see-sawed her hand back and forth. "Good days and bad. A little nauseous here and there. And tired. More tired than usual."

"That's normal, you know," he replied softly, a grin finally turning up the corners of his lips. "Congratulations….Mom."

"Mom…that sounds…

"Weird?"

"Wonderful." She matched his smile. "Just one more thing, Gar…" He raised his eyebrows expectantly. "For right now…this is just our secret, okay? I don't want anyone else to know…not until I tell the father, anyway."

"No problem. But that brings up the next question, Jordan….who…."

Jordan shook her head. "Yes, you do know him. And no, it wasn't a one night stand. And yes, he is a nice guy."

"And who is he?"

"I'll tell you as soon as I let him know."

But then the unexpected happened. JD was murdered and all the evidence, though circumstantial, pointed to Jordan.

There was no way she was going to go to jail for something she didn't do. And there was absolutely no way in hell she was going to be pregnant in prison, let alone deliver her baby there.

So she had done the only thing she knew to do…even though every fiber in her being now fought against it. She had grown. She had matured. But it was her only option.

She ran. She had made that one last fleeting phone call to Woody, and had her bags in her hand when there was a knock at the door.

Holding her breath and praying it wasn't the Boston PD, she tentatively opened it.

It was Garret. With a fistful of hundreds. He kissed her on the forehead, pressed the key to a car in her hand, and told her to get the hell out of Boston and leave the rest up to him. Go. Take care of herself and her baby.

For once, he didn't have to tell her twice.

Maryland. Ohio. Then the backwoods of Kentucky. She followed the trail of clues and highways until she had shipped enough evidence back home to exonerate herself. Woody had called her when she was finally removed as a suspect.

"When will you be back in Boston?" he asked. His voice was quiet and professional.

"I don't know," she had answered honestly. At that point morning sickness and fatigue had been taking turns wearing her out.

"Soon?" Had that been a hopeful note in his voice?

"I said I don't know."

And she hadn't been sure at the time. Her first priority was the baby. Her baby.

Hers and JD's.

"So what are you going to do about him?" Garret's voice broke into her thoughts.

"What's there to do anything about? Woody and I were over before I ever left Boston. He didn't want to rush things…he wanted to take things slow." Jordan stood up from Garret's couch and made her way to the door. "And his idea of taking things slow was getting into bed with Lu Simmons." She smirked wryly at her boss. "So far be it from me to screw up that relationship with anything. Woody's a cop, I'm a ME. Like I said, our paths are bound to cross."

"So things are mostly just professional between you two now."

"Things are only professional between us now," Jordan replied, the emotional pain the detective had put her through playing across her face again. "Personally, I hope I never have to see the son of a bitch outside of work ever again."