Chapter 2

Jordan Cavanaugh was annoyed. When Nigel had asked her and the rest of the M.E. staff out to get to know his new girlfriend, she'd readily accepted. In fact, pretty much all of her extended "family" was at her father's bar, drinking and talking up a storm. Jessie was sitting with Nigel's arm draped over her shoulder, and for some reason this really bothered Jordan.

Over the course of the evening, Jordan became increasingly uneasy at the attention Nigel lavished on his lover. The little touches and sideways glances they gave to each other had gotten under her skin big time. And when the pair had spontaneously started to dance to the bar's jukebox version of "Can't Buy Me Love," Jordan had almost been tempted to cut in. Almost.

If she was honest with herself, which Jordan rarely was, she'd been aware of Nigel's crush on her for quite sometime. She even manipulated that infatuation, if unconsciously, quite a few times. But, she always felt terrible about it afterwards. Her irritation did not mean, however, that Jordan Cavanaugh was jealous. That was impossible. For her to be jealous of Jessie would mean that she actually reciprocated Nigel's feelings. That couldn't be true. Nigel was Jordan's best friend, next to Garrett, and one of the three most important men in her life. Woody didn't even rate that high, not really. Jordan couldn't allow herself to have those kinds of feelings for someone so important to her existence and her sanity. So Jordan did what Jordan did best. She pushed her feelings down to the pit of her stomach, plastered on her best fake smile, and lied to herself.

No one really noticed Jordan's discomfort, seeing as she was so good at hiding it. Bug was telling a story about how he'd once solved a homicide with his knowledge of an obscure breed of Amazon Blow Fly. Lily listened to him avidly. Meanwhile, Nigel, and Jessie listened to a joke Garrett was telling about a genie and a golf ball. Jordan pretended to pay attention to one, then the other.

Peter, was working late on a mysterious homicide case, and had yet to arrive. Nigel had left a note on the young M.E.'s work station, telling him to show up as soon as he could. The only one to notice Jordan's descent in mood was Jessie, and only because of her heightened senses. She could hear the changes in heart rate and breathing, indicating an anxious state. The younger woman chose, however, to file this bit of information away in her mental data base for a later time. Right now, she was more interested in the conversation that Jordan and Nigel had struck up about the clubs they frequented.

"Yeah, we we're planning on going dancing Friday night. Saturday's Nigel's day off. Anybody wanna come with?" Jessie interjected. Nigel smiled his agreement, but a collective groan went up around most of the table.

"I have to get up at the crack of dawn every day this week. I've got a lot of paper work to do." Bug sputtered.

Lily nodded. "And I have at least four families coming in for IDs that day."

"Don't look at me. The Morgue might literally stop running if I'm not there." Garrett commented.

"I'll go."

Everyone looked a bit surprised at Jordan. Looking around the table, she shrugged. "What? I think I've earned a bit of R&R. And I've got plenty of vacation time built up. I can't take a day off?"

The group seemed to collectively shrug. Even Garrett couldn't argue with that logic, seeing as how he might actually get a day's worth of peace out of the deal. Nigel's smile grew wider. He held up his Guiness and made a toast. "Here's to a little R&R. Cheers."

Jessie smiled and rubbed her hands together. "On that note, I think I'm gonna go freshen up a bit."

Jordan watched Jessie place a kiss on Nigel's forehead, and walk into the ladies' room behind one of the waitresses. All the while, the older woman kept thinking that she must be insane for agreeing to go out with them. She wanted to convince herself that she really could use a night out on the town. But, she just couldn't get away from the nagging feeling that she really was jealous of Jessie, and all that this particular fact entailed.

Jordan was pulled out of her reverie when Peter Winslow arrived at the table. He ran a hand through his drenched hair. Jordan concluded that it must be pouring outside for him to be as wet as he was. Peter pulled up a chair and draped his dripping leather jacket over the back of it. "Got your note, Nigel. Sorry I'm late."

"That's alright, mate. We were just commenting on the need for R&R after a long work day. Jessie and Jordan and I were gonna pop into a club or two Friday evening. You fancy a night on the town?"

Peter looked at his boss for approval. Dr. Macy nodded. Like Jordan, Peter looked like he could use a night of dancing. Losing his ex-wife had been hard on him, and Garrett couldn't use Peter if he was dead on his feet from throwing himself into his work. This went double if the work drove him to "using" again. Garrett wasn't Peter's father, though. It wasn't his job to baby-sit the kid. And he trusted Jordan and Nigel to keep an eye on the recovering addict for one night. Peter held up the beer he'd ordered. "Sounds like a plan, then."

"Great, you can be my date." Jordan cooed. "I hate being the third wheel." In truth, a scheme was taking shape in Jordan's mind to get between Nigel and Jessie. She was glad that she might be able to rope Peter in, as an accomplice.

Just then, Jessie came back up to the table behind Peter. She did not look happy. Nigel asked her what was wrong, causing Peter to turn around and look at the woman standing behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of the Kindred girl. He slowly stood, and turned to face Jessie, who, to everyone's confusion, looked absolutely livid. "Hello, Jessica."

The entire table gasped as his head snapped back with the force of the slap that Jessie sent to his cheek. "Hello, Peter."

Flashback

"Ouch! That hurt, luv."

Jessie removed her fingertips from the fresh tattoo on Nigel's shoulder blade. It was a small, but ornate letter H. It looked much like something out of the Book of Kells. All members of the Herd had this same tattoo, in the same place on their bodies. Jessie had an identical one from the days before her Embrace. She laughed slightly. "Oh, come on. It can't be that bad. I bet it didn't hurt nearly as much as that did."

Nigel looked at the Union Jack tattoo she was pointing to on the back of his calf. It was much larger than the one on his shoulder. He and Jessie were lying on her bed, having just made love after coming back from the tattoo parlour. "Yes, but that was a long time ago, darling. And I happened to be good and snockered at the time."

This only made Jessie laugh harder. "Bet the tattoo artist looked at you funny when you walked in like that…. Which reminds me, why were you so drunk when we met?"

Nigel grew somber and proceeded to tell her all the sordid details of his one-sided love affair with Jordan Cavanaugh, not omitting the fact that he was still in love with her. After all, sharing blood with someone does tend to make one trust them. And, though both knew it wasn't love they shared, Nigel and Jessie considered themselves to be very close friends. Jessie listened to his whole story with an understanding, empathetic look on her face. When Nigel finished, he asked, "What about you, darling? Ever been in love?" Jessie's eyes teared up and she nodded. "Once."

"It's all right, luv. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She shook her head. "No. It's fine. It's just been a while since I thought about him, is all."

Nigel listened patiently while she spoke, all the while rubbing small, calming circles into her back. "We met in junior high, back in San Fransisco. He and his twin brother moved in with their grandmother, down the street from my foster home. They saved me from getting beat up by one of the school's resident gangs. The three of us found out we had the same birthday and did everything together from then on. We ate lunch together, studied together, or tried to. We learned to ride motorcycles together. We even got hooked on dope together."

She broke down and cried for a minute, this time, then let out a tense laugh before continuing. "We had these little nick names for each other. Michael was Zane. Peter was Rocky. He said it was because of the Apostle. You know, Peter the Rock? I think it was because he was obsessed with Sylvester Stallone at the time."

Nigel nodded. "And you?"

"That, I will not divulge to a living soul. Suffice it to say the name didn't catch on. Thankfully, everybody just started calling me JJ. Toward the middle of high school, we started hanging out in biker bars. We got in pretty tight with this group of bikers."

"Ah, fell in with a bad crowd, did you?" Nigel interjected.

"The worst." She laughed, genuinely this time. "They were a band of Gangrels. Much to our surprise, they were able to straighten us out. All three of us were completely clean by the time we all joined the Herd. Zane started hanging around the Toreadors, the artist's clan. He loved his music."

Again, she broke down into tears. Nigel asked, "Do you want stop, luv? You really don't have to tell me all this."

Jessie shook her head again and started again. "Rocky and I stuck with the Gangrels. We got a lot closer together when Zane stopped hanging out with us so much. Eventually, we became lovers. By the time, we were ready to be Embraced, Rocky and I were so inseparable that the Gangrel Primogen, Stevie Ray, offered to Embrace both of us on the same night. We would've been Twins, Embraced within hours of each other, by the same Sire. That's one of the closest bonds one Kindred can have with another; closer than clanmates, closer than brood-siblings, almost as close as Sire and Childe, or even a Mated Pair. And we were gonna be Gangrels. Gangrel Clan is arguably the closest knit of any in the Kindred world..."

When she trailed off again, Nigel simply prompted her. "So, what happened? You keep talking like it never came off."

"Stevie Ray planned it so he could Embrace us on our 20th birthday. He was always a bit sentimental for a Gangrel. Zane had been Embraced a few weeks before, by the Toreador Primogen. So, Rocky and I went to this big party at Stevie's. Half the Clan was there. We decided that I should go first because Embracing me would less taxing on Stevie and he'd be able to recuperate faster for the second Embrace. We went into Stevie's room together. Half way through my Embrace, Rocky stepped out, supposedly to get some air. He never came back."

Nigel's eyebrows shot into his hairline. He was surprised she'd been left that way. He couldn't imagine who, in their right mind, would abandon Jessie. Even though he was filled with animosity for this Rocky, at the thought of how he treated Jessie, Nigel decided to force some levity into the situation. "Ah, so the plot thickens."

This elicited a small laugh from Jessie, "Before I even found out that he was gone, Rocky was on a plane cross-country. He always was the dedicated one, of the three of us. I bet he could run to the ends of the earth if he put his mind to it. Zane kept in touch with him for a few years by phone. I don't think he ever told Rocky how much he really missed him. I was able to take find solace with my Clan, my family. But, Zane started gradually going down hill over the next few years. He never really adjusted to being Kindred, I think. About three years after his Embrace, Zane went crazy. He started Embracing girls against their will and got involved with the Prince's niece. Eventually, he was put down like a mad dog, by his own Sire. I tried to get a hold of Rocky, but it seems he didn't want to be found. That was just after my own Sire was brutally murdered by a bunch of filthy Brujah. After that… I... I just couldn't stay in San Fransisco any longer. I told the new Primogen, my brood-brother Cash, that I was leaving. I begged leave of the Prince. I packed my stuff into my saddle bags and rode off into the sunset. And the rest, as they say, is history."

Nigel nodded. "I guess you can be pretty dedicated to running as well. So, you never saw Rocky again?"

"Nope. And that's probably a good thing. I don't know how I'll react if we ever do cross paths in the future."

Present

The table of M.E.s looked on the increasingly hostile situation with a mix of dismay, amazement, and perverse interest. Peter rubbed his cheek, which would probably be black and blue in the morning, and looked back at Jessie. "I suppose I deserved that."

"Damn straight, you did." Jessie seethed. "Or perhaps you can think of a better greeting for a man who abandoned his family without so much as a phone call?!"

"Hey, I did call. I called Zane right after I left."

"From an airport in Atlanta!"

"Yeah, he said you were kinda pissed about that. I tried to call you but..."

Jessie cut him off, "Oh! Don't even try it, Rocky. Besides, I wasn't talking about us! I can believe you ran out on me, and on our friends, and Stevie, who was like a father to you. But I cannot believe you would run out on Zane."

Now, it was Peter's turn to get angry. "Don't talk to me about Zane. I kept in touch with him for a long time. He was the one who broke contact with me! He didn't even call me back when I invited him to my wedding!"

"You're bitching about a wedding!?" Jessie looked incredulous. She couldn't believe what she was hearing."Please... tell me you're kidding!"

"Zane hasn't talked to me in years. So, again, don't talk to me about Zane!"

At this point, Jessie threw her hands up, rounded Peter to pick her jacket off the back of Nigel's chair, and snatched her sunglasses off the table. Nigel looked at his girlfriend worriedly. "What are you doing, luv?"

"I'm outta here." She kissed Nigel's cheek and addressed the rest of the table. "It was nice meeting you all. Jordan, I look forward to Friday night. Nigel can work out the details. You all have a good night."

Jessie stormed toward the door, but stopped short and turned back to Peter. She ripped off the peace sign necklace that perpetually hung around her neck and threw it at him. "Zane's dead, Rocky. He's been dead for the past eight years. Thanks for troubling yourself to find out!"

As Jessie stormed out the door, Peter stared brokenly at the pendant in his hand. It had belonged to Zane. Lily was instantly at his side, offering silent support with a confused look on her face. Jordan was less subtle. "I don't get it. Who's Zane?"

Peter was saved the trouble of answering by Nigel. "His twin brother."