DISCLAIMER: Jordan Cavanaugh, Lisa Fromer, et al belong to Tim Kring, Tailwind Productions and NBC Studios. No copyright infringement is intended or inferred. The story along with any/all original characters are the sole property of the author and cannot be used without expressed permission first.
THANKS: To Gatekeeper for going over the story and continuing to make sure I don't butcher Jordan's character.
FEEDBACK: Important as I've never written about "Crossing Jordan" before.
SERIES: This is the fourth story in the 'Scared Straight' series following Easy, The Call and All Yours.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SPOILERS: For "Scared Straight."
COPYRIGHT: Nov. 29th- Dec. 3rd, 2002
Scared Straight: A Good Reason
By A.M. Glass
"Jordan."
"Garrett," she replied as they met on their way into the office.
"How was your weekend?" he asked as he took a sip from his coffee cup.
"Great... yours?"
"Huh... funny thing happened Friday."
"What?"
"I was in the car, and I happened to catch Dr. Fromer's program. You remember her don't you?"
"Yeah I do. The Goodman case."
"Exactly. As I was saying, I happened to catch her program... and," he stopped and turned in her direction. "I could have sworn that I heard your voice."
"You're joking right?" she asked.
"No."
"Come on Garrett, I've got better things to do than to call some radio program," she told him.
"I never said it was you. I only said that this person sounded like you Jordan," he replied.
"I'm sure that's happened to you..."
"Granted, I'm just saying it was funny that's all."
"I'm sure that whoever it was appreciates the fact that you thought her situation was funny. See ya around Garrett," Jordan said as she left him and headed towards the break room.
"Hmm... me thinks thou protest too much," he muttered under his breath as he watched her walking away.
"Where are you?" Jordan said out loud as she searched for a file. "Come on... come on."
Her eyes lit up when she found the file in question, opening it, she began her search. It only took a few minutes to find the information she needed. Closing the file, she replaced it and went to her office.
She went to her desk and dialed the number she had taken from the file.
By the fifth ring, Jordan was getting nervous. 'Pick up,' she thought as the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Lisa?"
"Can I help you?"
"It's Jordan," she said, breathing a sigh of relief that she had caught the other woman at home.
"Jordan, is there something wrong?" Lisa asked, having heard the agitation in her voice.
"I need to talk to you."
"Of course. Would you like to come over now?"
Jordan's first reaction was to say yes and rush right over.
"Could I come by after work?"
"Hold on," Lisa replied as she grabbed her PDA and checked her schedule for that evening. She noticed a few things that she knew she could put off for another day. "I'm free."
"What about your show?" she asked.
"Don't worry about it. I'll just call the station and let them know I won't be in..."
"I can't let you do that..."
"You're not, Jordan," Lisa said firmly. "I am."
Jordan smiled to herself as a warm feeling settled over her, momentarily taking the anxiety she was experiencing and pushed it to the background.
"I'll see you later."
"Thank you Lisa."
"Bye."
Jordan rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on her khakis as she stood in front of Lisa's door. Reaching out, she knocked on it, all the while looking around and vaguely wondering what Lisa's neighbors were like.
"Jordan?"
Turning her head quickly, she smiled. "Hello."
"Come on in," Lisa said as she stepped aside, allowing the other woman to enter.
"Thanks."
"Would you like a drink?"
"Nah, I'm okay."
"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Lisa asked as they sat down on the sofa.
"Garrett heard my voice on the radio," Jordan started out saying as she looked down at her hands.
"That's your boss right?"
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
"I told him it wasn't me... that I didn't have the time to call into a radio show..."
"You didn't want him to know," Lisa stated softly, barely restraining the hurt she felt inside at Jordan's careless words. She knew she had grown to care for the brash young woman sitting next to her, but she wasn't sure if Jordan had decided what she wanted.
Jordan leaned back, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands.
"No," she sighed.
"And why is that?" Lisa asked, wanting nothing more than to embrace the other woman – to offer comfort in an obvious moment of crisis in Jordan's life.
"Look... I didn't come here so you could analyze me," Jordan said as she abruptly stood up. "This was a mistake."
"Jordan... wait!" Lisa called out, quickly reaching the brunette before she could get to the door. "What exactly do you want from me? Friendship? Fine, you've got it. But don't jump down my throat for asking a question. I won't stand for it and neither would you."
"I kissed Woody," Jordan whispered.
"What?" Lisa asked, confusion coloring her voice. Suddenly finding that she needed to sit down.
"Woody... Detective Hoyt. I kissed him."
"When?'
"That case," she looked in Lisa's direction before turning away. "The one that took me to Los Angeles..." Jordan could not figure out why she felt as if she had let Lisa down in some way.
"Oh," Lisa replied as she turned around, walked back to the sofa and sat down slowly.
"Nothing else happened, you've got to believe me."
"Jordan," Lisa said as she looked in her direction. "We're not involved. You don't have to explain anything to me," she told her.
"That's just it. I feel as if I do. I mean, here we were, in the middle of the desert, on a case, and I kissed him..."
As hard as it might be to listen, Lisa decided it would be in her best interest if she let Jordan talk it out, rather than interrupt.
"We kissed ... twice. And Woody... Detective Hoyt... we both thought it would be best if we just forgot it ever happened. But then before we came back, he... he thought that maybe we shouldn't forget about it. And I told him that I could think of plenty of reasons why we should leave it the way it was," Jordan paced the living room floor. "He asked me what they were... and I blew it off. Told him that we should put up the walls now, before either of us got hurt. He agreed, and then we kissed, for the second time. 'One for the road,' he called it. But Lisa..." Jordan stopped in front of the blonde. "I did have a reason... a damn good one."
"What was it Jordan? What was the reason?"
Lisa knew that whatever Jordan said next would change their friendship, one way or another.
The End
Sequel Invitation