Chapter 51

The doctor coming into the room woke her and she frowned at Woody for letting her sleep so long that she hadn't had time to dress so she could show the doctor just how ready she was to go home. In the end it didn't matter after all, the doctor said both she and the baby were doing fine and there was no reason they couldn't go home as soon as she was ready. Jordan assured him that would only be minutes away and headed to the bathroom with the clothes Woody had laid out for her to dress for the trip home.

While Jordan dressed, Woody made a quick call to the morgue to let them all know that they were on their way home from the hospital. Garrett quickly authorized an extended lunch break and unbeknownst to Woody or Jordan they all headed over to their apartment to be there when they arrived with Riley.

Evelyn was happy to see them when the got there and watched as Bug and Nigel hung a large "It's a boy!" sign over the main entrance to the apartment building. Inside, Lily and Evelyn prepared lunch for everyone. Garrett basically felt like a fifth wheel, with nothing to do until Lily saw the expression in his eyes and asked him to help out with lunch preparation. He could set the table and carry things back and forth even if he wasn't much of a cook.

What none of them knew, was that there was someone lurking across the street from the Hoyt's apartment watching all that was going on and waiting for the trio to arrive from the hospital. When the car pulled up, the waiting figure moved to a more advantages spot.

Woody helped Jordan from the car and then unclipped the baby from his car seat. Handing Riley to Jordan, he grabbed the new diaper bag and Jordan's suitcase from the back. They approached the building together and her co-workers set up a cheer as they got to the door.

Jordan and Woody paused to look up at the banner and smiled then offered their thanks to their friends. What no one outside the apartment building noticed was a figure across the street snapping a picture of the scene. The group entered the apartment as the figure across the street quickly slipping away.

Even though the short car ride from the hospital had tired her out, Jordan still needed to eat to keep up her strength and to feed the baby. So, she tried to hide the fact that all she wanted to do was to go to her room and lay down from the people that had gone to all this trouble to welcome her and Riley home.

Evelyn, however, had been in Jordan's position five times and knew how much her daughter-in-law needed rest. As soon as everyone had finished eating she shooed them back to work as tactfully as possible. When the door closed behind them she told Woody to help Jordan to her room for a nap while she settled Riley in his new nursery.

Jordan and Riley slept on and of for the rest of the day, both of them were tired after the stress of the birth. It was 10:30 pm when Evelyn said she was going to bed. She told them that she used to stay up to watch Johnny Carson after the ten o'clock news, but she didn't like Jay Leno at all so saw no reason to stay up any later. Giving both Woody and Jordan a kiss on the forehead, Riley was in bed again, so she told them good-night and that she would see them at breakfast.

Finally alone with his wife who appeared was actually pretty alert, Woody suddenly didn't know what to do or say this was the first time they had been alone like this since Jordan's startling declaration of love in the delivery room. He sat there wondering if he should say something or if he should just pretend it hadn't happened, basically waiting to see if she would bring it up again. Maybe it had just been blurted out in the stress of the moment and really hadn't meant anything at all. While he was just about to make a decision about what to do, Jordan took it out of his hands.

To be continued…