Chapter Eleven

Backseat of a Greyhound Bus

But Jordan didn't see Woody at work the next day…or the next week. They worked different shifts.

And when their timetables finally did align and she caught one of his cases, the situation was awkward to say the least. Jordan let it ride, thinking that as time went on, their relationship might ease back into something that was similar to normal.

At least normal to them. In a lifetime of fits and starts, quits and do-overs, she wasn't quite sure what 'normal' was for them anymore. Or if they had even somewhere merely approached it.

However circumstances are strange coincidences. And it was the beginning of a horrific circumstance that began to lead them back to where they were…years before. To that point where Woody had bared his heart enough to her to offer her a diamond friendship ring that she had rejected and regretted ever since.

"There's a mass casualty on the pike," Garret announced, striding into the break room.

"What does it look like?" Bug asked, making a move from the room to gather supplies and head out, Nigel and Jordan on his heels.

"Not sure exactly. The EMT's have confirmed fifteen dead. Numerous others injured. It's gonna be all hands on deck for a while," Garret replied.

"How many cars are involved?" asked Jordan.

"Not cars. Transfer truck and a Greyhound bus."

Dear God…the nearly incoherent thought flew through Jordan's mind as she grabbed her cell and phoned Joanna's babysitter on the way out the door. "Mrs. Gleason? I'm going to be late getting home from work this afternoon."

"That's fine, dear." The calming voice of Ellen Gleason knitted Jordan's frayed nerves together for a minute.

"It's that wreck on the pike…"

"The one with the bus and the truck? It's all over the news."

"Yeah…I'm not sure how long…"

"Don't worry about it. Let Joanna just stay the night. Then come get her tomorrow after your rested."

"But I don't want to intrude…"

"You're not. She's more than welcome and keeps me company. Just go do what you have to and don't worry about Joanna. She'll be fine."

"Thanks, Mrs. Gleason…." Jordan flipped her cell phone shut and thanked the Powers that Be for Ellen Gleason one more time. In a world where most single mother's resources were stretched thin, Ellen Gleason was more than a God-send. She was Jordan's answer to a grandmother for her daughter.

Jordan was still giving thanks when she and Bug pulled up to the mangled wreckage a few minutes later. The fire department was there, putting out the lingering flames of the transfer truck and containing the fuel spill. Through the smoke and chaos, Jordan recognized a pair of broad shoulders and blue eyes that were beginning to redden as a result of the suet and smoke. "Woody?" she lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"We have fifteen known dead…over there," he said, turning and pointing, not acknowledging her greeting. "And we're still not through combing the bus yet."

"I'll let Bug and Nigel begin processing the known deceased. You and I can take the bus, okay?"

"Jordan…" While Woody was aware that Garret would probably send all of the ME's he had on hand to the site, he had hoped that he and Jordan could continue to keep their space. It was awkward…this thing between them, especially after their icy friendship had begun to thaw. But somewhere between the memories of what could have been and the reality of what was now, it just seemed easier if they never thought about the future through the eyes of the past.

It just seemed safer at least.

At least for both of their hearts. Even if his still beat faster when he saw her and he still dreamed about her at night.

But she was already climbing in the wreckage of the bus and it was all Woody could do to keep up with her. "Hey….wait for me," he called out after her, crawling behind her. "You could get hurt….where are you?"

"In the back…oh God…"

The tone of her voice brought him quickly to her side. After assessing the situation, he agreed with her.

A young woman, quite possibly in her late teens, was in the back of bus.

And she was very pregnant.

And she was in labor.

"Alert the EMT's they need to get in here, STAT," Jordan told him, kneeling down beside the girl, who was fading in and out of consciousness. "Hey." Jordan directed the statement to the young mother, softy but forcefully. "Hey. You need to stay with us…for your baby's sake."

"It hurts…."

"I know." Jordan took the young girl's hand. "I've had one of my own. Hurts like hell."

The girl nodded in agreement.

"My name's Jordan. What's yours?"

"Sarah."

"Okay Sarah. We're going to sit tight and wait on the EMT's. They'll be here in just a minute."

"I don't think I can wait. I was fine until the wreck. Then my water broke."

"Are you full-term?"

"The baby's due next month."

Jordan smiled at Sarah and then gave Woody a look. He had been on the radio with the paramedics since they had found Sarah. They were coming in. He nodded at Jordan, who sighed with relief. The last thing she was anticipating in all this craziness was a teenaged girl in labor…

"I feel like I have to push…." Sarah's statement snapped Jordan back to reality.

"Don't! Just hang in there another minute…." Jordan replied.

"I can't…." Sarah's answer came out on a sob.

"Sarah…look, honey…focus. The EMT's are right outside. They're trying to get through the emergency door without injuring anyone else. You can hang on for another minute. Breathe with me…"

Sarah shook her head. "That's easy for you to say…I bet you didn't have your baby in a wreck like this…"

"Nope. But close…"

"Close?'

To keep Sarah's mind off the labor pains that Jordan knew were racking her body, she related the story of Joanna's birth in the Williams tunnel. "And I didn't even make it to the hospital. Detective Hoyt here….he delivered my daughter."

The young girl tightened her hold on Jordan's hand. "You were lucky," she whispered. "To have someone there for you that knew what to do and cared about you…."

Cared about you…the statement shook Jordan. Woody did care for her…in some way, she knew. And in her heart, she knew she returned the sentiment…but things had become so complicated and they had changed so much. Once again, she glanced up at Woody, who had remained silent during this time, except for his conversation with the paramedics over the radio. The look in his eyes told her that Woody was reliving every moment of Joanna's birth. "I was lucky," Jordan whispered back. "Especially since Joanna's father died before she was born."

"That's tough," Sarah answered, biting her lip against another labor pain. "My baby's father….won't have anything to do with me now."

"The EMT's are here now," Woody broke in, as the sound of twisting metal filled the air. The jaws of life had finally had to be brought in so that an area could be opened up to get Sarah out.

There was a flurry of activity and soon Sarah was loaded on a gurney and whisked by ambulance to Boston General. Jordan and Woody watched as the lights and the sirens faded away before they turned their attention back to the wreckage.

Out of the smoke and the chaos…the ugliness of a mass casualty situation…there was a bright spot. A new life. A baby.

Verification that death doesn't swallow everything up. Jordan glanced at Woody again and was surprised to find him looking at her with a new light in his eyes.

Or was it an old one she just hadn't seen in a very long time?