Author's note I like this chapter, hope you do to. R&R

She hated late night calls, well early morning calls. It meant waking up Rory and taking her to her dad's. Garrett tried not to make Jordan take those call unless there was no one else and right now was on of those times. She stepped out of her SUV and was met with Woody's smiling face.

"Morning Jordan."

"How is it that you are so chipper?" she said looking at him as if he were insane for even smiling this early.

" Oh, I'm just a happy guy. Plus it doesn't hurt to have a coffee with six sugars in it." He said as he handed her a cup of coffee. "Now I now you're not a sugar fend so I put only two sugars in for you."

"Thanks." She said as she sipped the hot liquid.

The pair climbed the steps, entering Summit View Mental Hospital. As Jordan walked through the halls she felt this strange eerie feeling. They got to the room and she tried hard to ignore the weird feeling she was having. She determined that the girl was dead before she was found hung in her room. They were leaving when Jordan felt eyes on her she turned to she a scruffy overweight man staring at her. Their eyes met for a moment before Jordan turned back around. Woody must have sensed something was wrong because the minute they exited the building he asked.

"You ok Jor?"

"Yeah." She responded quickly.

" Alright" He said not completely convinced.

" Bye." She waved her hand at him and went to her car. She opened the car door when something caught her eye. It was a colorful, flowered hair clip. It looked so familiar and that's when it hit her. It was her mothers. She hopped in her car and raced home. She ran up the stairs and into her apartment. She ran to her bed and reached for the tin under the bed. She rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. A picture of her mother, taken a few years before her murder. In the picture she as wearing a smile and the hairclip. She didn't know what was going on but she was going to find out.

She thought the answers she was looking for were in the body but that wasn't the case this time. They were at Summit View. She walked in the building not sure of what she was looking for. She stared wandering trough the halls without a destination. She turned a corner to she the man from this morning. He said nothing only stared at her. Without any words he turned and walked away. Jordan stood there for a moment not sure of what to door think. Then she heard the crash of broken glass. She ran toward the sound where she found a girl lying dead on the outside steps of the building.

She called it in and began to examine the body when Woody came up to her.

"So you were here when it happened?" he asked as he bent down beside her

" I was looking for a lead." She said as though that would explain why she had come back.

" Oh." He said. He had a feeling he wasn't getting the whole story. "What do we have?"

"Well, she was dead before she hit the ground."

" Great I have a psycho in a nut house." He said with an exasperated breath.

It had been two days since he had spoken to Jordan. Apparently Bug was also working the case and ha been supplying him with all the info. He knew something was up when Max had taken Rory to her game and Jordan never showed. He wanted to know what was going on but it seemed that no one else knew. He was finishing up a report when he saw her coming towards him. Her curly hair looked messy and her clothes were wrinkled. As she got closer he could see the bags under her eyes and she looked thinner, if that was possible.

"I need a favor. I need a case file" she said her eyes were distant she looked tired.

"What case." He asked cautiously.

"Herman Redding."

"What's this about Jordan?

" I just need the file can you get it?"

" Why?"

"Woody stop asking questions and get me the damn file." Woody didn't know what to do. He had never seen her like this. To be honest it frightened him but he gave her the file. He had a hunch he would be regretting that decision.

It was Thursday the night that Rory went fencing with her dad. She had been staying with her grandpa because her mom was supposedly working late this week. She wasn't so sure of that. Earlier in the week before her mom had sent her to Max's she had heard her mom tossing and turning in bed. She even thought she heard her crying. The next morning she was still wearing the clothes from the night before and looked worn and haggard. She was afraid to say or do anything. She had seen her mother like this before. It usually meant a move to a new town Rory had never had any control over it; she never had anyone to turn to. Until now.

" This is Hoyt."

"Dad?" It had taken awhile for her to call him that but now it felt natural.

" Hey, What's up Hon?" He responded happily but felt there was something going on.

" Nothing, I just wanted to ask you if you pick me up at Grandpa's instead of Mom's because she's working late." She said giving a reason, knowing he'd want to know what was going on.

"I can do that."

"Good see you then." She hung up the phone

Her dad picked her up and she had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to find a way to bring up the subject.

" Have you noticed something different with Mom?"

He didn't want to scare her by saying he was worried about Jordan. But he also didn't want to lie to her. Whatever was going on with her mother Rory at least had an idea of what it was and he needed to know.

"She looked tired. He responded giving her an opening for a reason. Tired was an understatement. She had come to his office again wanting the knife from the Redding murder. She looked worse if it were possible. He had refused to give her the knife and she had left and not contacted him since. He had heard though the grapevine that she had stolen the knife from the evidence storeroom and the DA was now getting involved. He knew she was in trouble and had tried to find her. He had gone to her apartment and the morgue. No one had any answers even his own daughter was dodging but she had told him enough that told him he should watch her. He needed to talk with the only person that might know. So once he dropped Rory off and she was in bed. He went looking for answers.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked Max.

Max informed him of his wife's murder. How Jordan had uncovered the frame job and how now the DA was involved. How she had gotten Redding released. Neither man knew how the Redding case was connected to her mother's case but it was. Woody knew he needed to find her. NOW. He finally found her car at the morgue. He waited for her to leave and he would follow her. He followed her to the freeway. She drove off the highway and onto a deserted dirt road. She stopped outside an abandoned cabin. He waited a minute before following her in. He must have startled her because she was just about to hit him with her flashlight.

" Hey, hey, it's me?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I followed you." He admitted, " What are you doing here anyway?"

"It has to do with my mom's murder." That was all Woody needed to hear. He wanted to help her His father ha been murdered and he couldn't imagine not knowing who did it.

What they found took her to her breaking point. His Wife and kids lay under the floorboards. He used her but she was still convinces he knew the truth about her mother's murder. She ran to her car with Woody's words echoing into the night. He would take care of it. She raced back to her apartment. Grabbing a duffel and stated stuffing clothes into it. She had to find Redding. She gabbed her gun and put it in. She moved around the apartment grabbing other things she would need when she stopped at the door to Rory's room. All the times before that she had run she had taken her with her but she couldn't this time. She knew she hadn't been a very good mother and it was only by sure luck that Rory had turned out the way she had. She now had a chance to do a good thing for her daughter she could leave. Woody was a wonderful father and would protect her from everything she had exposed her to. If she left now she could solve her mother's murder and give her daughter the life she deserved. She had to leave.

" I love you Rory." She said the empty bedroom. Just then she heard a loud knocking at the door. She opened it and in walked a rain soaked Woody.

" Going on a little trip?" He asked sarcastically.

" Go home Woody." She stated flatly.

"You can't leave!" He yelled at her.

" I have to. He knows who killed my mother."

"He played you. You can't honestly believe him."

" I have to. I need to know"

"Are you really willing to leave your life, Rory….me."

"It will be better this way. I don't think I ever told you what a wonderful father you make. I trust you." She said reaching up to touch the wet skin of his face. In return he ran his hand down her arm.

"If you trust me tell me everything, let me help you."

"I can't." she took her hand from his face and took her arm from his strong grasp. She picked up her bag and ran out the door before he could catch her. Woody stood dumbstruck staring at the doorway. She was gone.

Hope you liked it, more to come