For prompt 9: "I saved a piece for you" submitted by justkillingtimewhileiwait. Full list of prompts can be found here. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think :)

This was all Jay's fault. It was usually him who ended up in large bodies of water when chasing after a suspect, so evidently, it had rubbed off on her. He had once told her that she had made him a better cop, and after that morning, she was definitely going to let him know that he made her a much more impulsive one.

Erin also blamed the fact that they had been split up that morning on Jay too, Hank having partnered her with Antonio whilst her boyfriend was sent out with Atwater. There had been no explanation as to why, and there definitely hadn't been anything personal coming into work to mess with the dynamics. It was probably just Hank's way of keeping them on their toes and making sure they worked well as a team, but as Erin peeled off the sopping wet layers off her body in the female shower room back at the precinct, she blamed Jay a little. God knows he didn't have to do much to rile up their boss on the wrong day. For someone who was so adamant about keeping personal and professional apart, Hank sure sucked at it.

The steam rising from the shower began to warm her before Erin had gotten the last layers off. It was a mild October day, meaning that she had shrugged on a cardigan under her light jacket before heading out with Antonio to locate a perp. Not much of her remained dry after tackling the teen into the waters of Lake Michigan, even if they had been by the shore. The icy waters had penetrated far more than just her clothes, and as she left them all in one heap on the floor, Erin simply hoped the slightly scalding shower would chase away the cold that had seemed to have seeped into her bones.

She wasn't sure how long she had stood under the spray for before there was a knock on the door, barely audible over the pounding water. But Jay's voice rang loud and clear.

"Er? You in there?" he asked softly, and she could hear the door rattle as he tried the handle. Unfortunately for him, she had locked it out of habit. They were at work, after all, and the 21st employed more than just the two of them.

"Yeah," she replied, raising her voice slightly so he could hear her too as she scrubbed her hair clean off shampoo suds.

She had failed to grab anything but her go bag from her locker, which meant she was stuck with only a change of clothes and some spare toiletries. There was shampoo but no conditioner and the shower gel was practically finished. A small part of her was thankful she had any spare clothes at all, as she knew she was pretty bad with replacing stuff until she desperately needed it.

"I heard what happened. You alright?" Jay asked, his genuine concern loud and clear in his tone.

"I will be once I've gotten half of Chicago's grime off me," she muttered, knowing he would only have caught some of the words as she rotated under the water to do as she had said.

"You know, if you wanted to go for a swim, you could have just said. No need to go to such extreme lengths," he joked after a pause, and Erin could practically see the smirk on his face as she rolled her eyes at no-one.

"Haha," she drawled sarcastically. "You're an ass."

Jay chuckled lightly at her teasing, the familiar sound welcoming in what was shaping up to be a truly crappy day. And it had yet to even hit midday. "You sure you're okay? No cuts or grazes? Those waters are pretty disgusting. God only knows what you might catch from them."

Erin groaned at the thought, shuddering once again though this time it was only 50% due to the temperature. "I'm fine, Jay. Just cold," she reassured him, slightly grateful that on top of everything, a trip to Med wasn't required.

"Alright, then. I'll see you back out there," he replied, tapping the door softly before his retreating footsteps told her she was alone once again.

Unlike their own shower at home, the water never ran cold at the precinct, meaning Erin had a hard time limiting herself to only spending 15 minutes in there. If it was up to her, she'd still be there until it was time to clock out, case and paperwork be damned.

After redressing in her dry pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she pulled her wet hair into a messy bun as she slipped her feet into the boots she had kicked off that morning before changing into something more appropriate for the job. The locker room wasn't the coldest place in the building, but when exiting the steam-warmed shower room, she could feel the drop in temperature drastically. The cold had yet to leave her body, and the lack of layers wasn't helping.

Ransacking her locker, Erin groaned in frustration when she discovered that the cardigan she had tugged on that morning had been the last warm layer she had tucked away at work. Once again, her failure to prepare for the future was her downfall. She even contemplated trying Jay's locker knowing he was always ready for anything, but dismissed that immediately, berating herself at thinking about wearing her boyfriend's clothes at work. That was definitely treading over the personal/professional line.

The usually steady temperature of the bullpen brought goosebumps to her body as she entered, feeling the cold rise out from her bones where she had failed to replace it with the heat of the shower. Only a bath would do that, but a good long soak would have to wait until the end of the day. Until then, she rubbed her hands over her bare arms as she made a beeline for Jay's desk. Because there, right in front of her, was the saving grace to her previously-damned outlook of the day. The zip-up hoodie was just another layer, and, as she argued to herself, meant nothing explicit and definitely nothing personal. No-one would even notice, that she was sure.

A part of her was glad that his hoodie was slung over the back of his chair, meaning she could simply grab it and pull it on without drawing much attention. However, the softness of it couldn't replace the superficial warmth it usually gave off when it had captured his body heat if he had been wearing it. At least it had stopped her from shivering, though.

Spying Jay alone in the break room, she made her way towards him. Some coffee would definitely help beat off the cold from the inside, but she was more curious about the plate he had just picked up from the counter. Her stomach grumbled at the realisation that she hadn't eaten since the small slice of toast early that morning when she had ran out of their apartment without leaving herself enough time for breakfast.

Jay glanced up at her as she entered, eyebrow hitched with a fork pressed against his lips as she pushed up the sleeves of his hoodie a bit so they didn't bunch up at her wrists. "What? My spare cardigan is soaked and I need the layers," she defended casually, coming to stand against the counter next to him.

"I didn't say anything," he mumbled around the bite he had taken, and Erin had to push herself onto her toes to look at the contents of the plate to see what he was eating.

"What's that?"

"Cake. Leftover from Kev's little sister's birthday party. It's seriously good," Jay responded whilst slowly and purposely taking another bite, a smirk on his features as she glared at his antics.

"I missed cake? Today just keeps getting better and better," Erin sighed, slumping against the counter as she lazily reached out for her cup with the full intention of filling it up.

Jay hummed as he tilted his head towards her, shuffling further down to allow her access to the coffee. "I dunno. I'd say taking a swim in the infested waters of Lake Michigan is probably the worst you could have done this morning, so your day is definitely looking up right now."

Scoffing, she replaced the cafetiere back onto the warmer and left her cup by the sink. "Yeah, yeah. Lemme have a bite," she said rather than asked, reaching out for his arm as he lifted the fork to his mouth. Moving out of her reach with an indignant huff, Jay shook his head and ate the bite before she could try again. "C'mon, Jay. If you really loved me, you would share it with me."

Rolling his eyes, Jay shook his head and pointed towards the door with his fork. "I must love you a damn lot 'cause I saved a whole piece for you. It's on your desk."

Following his direction with her eyes, Erin spotted the plate on her desk which had gone completely unobserved by her earlier. Turning back to face him, she offered him a dimpled smile and an innocent look. "You're the best, you know that?"

"Yup, pretty much," he replied without missing a beat, a smirk playing on his lips.

Grabbing her coffee, she made her way back out of the break room with full intention on finishing the cake within the next couple of minutes. And maybe thanking Jay properly once their day was over for both the food and the hoodie.