Disclaimer: I don't own Crossing Jordan or any of the characters...obviously.

Chapter 1

"I can't believe Garrett is making me do all this paperwork," said Jordan who sat bored in her office. " I could be bugging him instead," she thought. As Jordan went out into the hall to get coffee, she spotted a young looking girl who seemed to be looking for someone.

"Hey," said Jordan, walking into the hall, "can I help you."

"Umm.. actually yes. I was looking for Woodrow Wilson Hoyt. An officer at the precinct said that he would probably be here," replied the girl.

"Which officer told you that?" asked Jordan, although she already knew the answer.

"I believe his name was Seely. He said, and I quote 'Hoyt spends more time at the ME's office then at the precinct." she replied.

" I thought so. Seely's a jerk. Did he come off that way?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, just a bit," she said.

" I believe Woody is in with Bug and Nigel. I'll go see if I can find him," said Jordan.

"Thanks ma'am," she said.

"I'll do anything to avoid paperwork, and call me Jordan," she replied.

The girl smiled and remained standing in the hallway, as Jordan went into the autopsy room. Sure enough, she found whom she was looking for.

"Hey guys," Jordan said as she entered the room. The guys looked up in unison and replied the greeting.

"What are you looking at?" said Jordan as she walked over to join her friends.

"Just some questionable bruises on this body. They don't go with the supposable cause of death," replied Bug.

"Want to check them out?" asked Woody.

"As much as I want to, Garrett would kill me if he knew I was in here. I can't do anything until I finish my paperwork," Jordan replied.

"When has that ever stopped you before luv?" asked Nigel smiling.

"I know. I was just looking for Woody. There is a girl waiting in the hallway to see you," said Jordan. Bug and Nigel looked over at Woody with huge smiles.

"I wouldn't get so excited if I were you." she told them, "The girl isn't older than fifteen, I'd say."

"You dog!" replied Nigel.

" Nigel, you have the wrong idea. I don't know who that girl is," said Woody.

" Well, I wouldn't keep her waiting," said Jordan.

"You just want to know what she wants," said Woody.

" Aww Woody, can't you have a little more faith in me?" Jordan replied smiling.

" I only assume these things because I care." said Woody, smiling, as he exited the room.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

Hannah stood patiently in the hallway as she waited for the man she had come to see . She was nervous and excited as she waited for him. She looked up and saw a man coming toward her. He had blue eyes and brown hair, identical to her own. He also had a badge so she was sure it was him.

"Are you Woodrow Hoyt?" Hannah asked him as he approached.

"Yeah, I am. You can call me Woody though," he replied.

"I'm Hannah, and I umm... need to talk to you," she said nervously.

"Okay. Well, I have to finish up some business here, but if you'll go to the precinct and wait for me, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes," he asked in a questioning tone.

"Yeah, I'll be there," Hannah replied smiling.

"Great," said Woody as he turned and walked back down the hall.

Woody went back into the autopsy room. He found Jordan hovering over the body Bug had been examining.

"What happened to 'Garrett will kill me if he knew I was in here'?" asked Woody smiling.

"Well, the way I see it, Bug needed a fellow colleague's opinion, and I am that colleague," Jordan replied.

"Only if you say so," said Woody.

"Anyway, did you find out what that girl wanted?" asked Jordan, wondering if Woody would give in and tell her.

"I don't know yet. I'm meeting her at the precinct. I think it's about one of our investigations though," replied Woody.

"Yeah, I guess I can believe that," said Jordan.

"Hey Bug, you get the results yet?" asked Woody.

"Not yet, but I'll send them over as soon as I do," replied Bug.

"Good, I'll be expecting them," said Woody. He told them goodbye and left the morgue. As he got into his car, he wondered what Hannah had wanted to tell him.

Chapter 2

Woody arrived at the precinct fifteen minutes later, as promised. Hannah was relieved to see him enter.

"Hi," she said, as Woody walked toward her.

"Hey," he replied.

"Listen," Hannah started , " I think it would be best if we talked in private."

"Okay. Let me go secure us an interrogation room. Wait here," Woody replied.

Hannah smiled and waited for him to return. She was getting butterflies in her stomach. She knew what she had to do and was happy she had finally gotten the chance to confront Woody.

"This way," Woody replied, leading her into the nearest room.

They entered the room and Hannah took a seat at the table. Woody followed her lead and sat across from her.

"Woody," she began, " as I said before, my name is Hannah. I am Hannah Hoyt." she paused before going on.

"I am... umm... your daughter," Hannah finally stammered out.

She looked at Woody. His mouth was agape and his eyes were huge. He said nothing

"I thought you were going to take this badly. I'm glad I was wrong," Hannah said sarcastically.

"This is impossible. How..." said Woody as his voice drifted off.

"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much---," she began.

"I now how, I meant who, when?" Woody replied as he cut her off, still shocked buy the news.

Hannah began to explain. "My mother was Laura Reynolds."

"Was?" asked Woody.
"Yes. She... died last month, in the hospital. She was in a car accident. They got her to the hospital, but by then she had a gone into cardiac arrest and died instantly," Hannah said sadly. "Mom had never talked about you before and I never asked because I figured it was too painful to talk about. All I knew was that my father's last name was Hoyt. A week after the accident, I was in the attic and I came across some papers. Among them I found my birth certificate and on it you were marked as my father. And now, here I am."

"Wow, umm... if you don't mind my asking, when were you born?" asked Woody.

"December 11th, 1991," Hannah replied.

"So...,it was after we graduated. If you didn't realize, your mother and I went out our Senior year in high school," Woody told her.

"I suspected as much," Hannah told him. "Look, if you want me to leave and let this sink in awhile, I will. I now how you must be feeling." She turned to leave, but Woody got up and stopped her.

"I know this is shocking news for me, but I don't want you to leave. You're only fourteen and I don't want you roaming this city alone. You can stay with me until we get this figured out," said Woody. "Let me get my stuff and we can get something to eat."

She smiled at him and left the room. He followed her silently as they entered the hall. His mind was full of questions and emotions. He still wasn't convinced that he was her father. Why hadn't Laura told him that she was pregnant, and if it was true, why hadn't she told her daughter who her father was. It just didn't make any sense.

Woody led Hannah to his car and they drove silently to the diner that he and his friends so often went to. He then decided not to go there because Jordan or any other of his friends might be there. He wasn't sure he wanted them to know right now, especially Jordan. He wasn't sure if he could handle telling her. It just seemed that they had gotten into a good spot in their relationship. He didn't want to scare her off or give her another reason that they shouldn't be together. Instead, he drove to a pizza place near the precinct where, hopefully no one would see them.