A/N: A short story (compared to my last one) that I've had on the back burner and born from an idea I got after seeing the photo selected as the cover image.

Chapter 1

"Hey," Jamie called out to his brother as he neared the empty bar stool next to him. "Figured I would have beat you here," he said, surprised to find his brother already nursing a beer.

Danny looked over his shoulder at his younger brother. "Hey, kid," he greeted. "Nah, Baez and and I decided to clock out on time before Gromley stuck us with another case."

"Hey, Detective," Jamie said as he leaned forward to acknowledge his brother's partner. He then waved down the bartender for a beer.

Maria sent a smile his way. "Please, it's Maria when we're off duty," she corrected the young officer. "It's good to see you, Jamie."

"How come you don't tell me to call you Maria when we're off duty?" Danny complained.

Maria cocked an eyebrow at her partner. "I've never told you not to. I think you sometimes forget I have a first name," she said before taking a quick drink. "And how often do I actually see your mug off duty?" she pointed out.

"True that," Danny conceded. "We got to have beers more often," he declmotionedidurned to his brother. "So how are things with your partner, kid? Any better?"

"Sounds like you forget your brother's first name, too," Maria said in a mock whisper.

"All right, already," Danny growled playfully.

Jamie chuckled at the exchange as he accepted a pint from the bartender. "Better. Vinny's not so bad, he just took some getting used to, I guess."

"You two not getting along?" Maria asked.

"Not at first. I don't know, he seemed a little full of himself sometimes, had his own idea about how to do everything and he seemed to forget he had a partner most times," Jamie explained.

"I know the type," Maria mumbled as she not so discretely glanced at her own partner.

Danny turned his whole upper body to face Maria. "And you wonder why we never hang out off duty?" he asked.

Maria smirked at her partner. "Well it's good that things are better. Nothing worse than riding next to a guy you can't stand. Had that my third year on the force," she revealed.

"What happened?" Jamie asked, always curious about how other partnerships worked.

"Guy was a dinosaur. Wasn't into having a 'lady partner'. I told him if he called me that one more time, I wouldn't be the only lady in the partnership," she grumbled.

Danny snorted just as he was bringing his glass up to his mouth.

Jamie laughed at her response. "I bet he loved that."

Maria shook her head. "Wasn't long before he retired. Worst six months of my life," Maria recalled before going back to her drink.

"Oh, crap!" Danny barked as he looked at his phone.

"What's the matter?" Jamie asked.

"I'm supposed to meet Linda in half an hour for a school thing for Jack. I completely forgot," he said as he frantically typed a message out on his phone.

"In Staten Island? At this time? You better haul ass," Jamie advised.

"She's gonna have my hide. Told me ten times this week not to be late," Danny moaned. "Sorry, but I'm gonna bail. Beers are on me," he said as he reached into his pocket and slapped a few bills onto the bar top.

"So its a win-win for us," Maria said as she reached over to tap Jamie's glass with her own.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Great, from one ball buster to another. See ya later," he said as he hurried out of the bar.

"Bye, Danny."

"See ya, Reagan."

Jamie moved over on to the stool his brother had vacated. "So what's it like working with him?" he asked as he pointed toward the door.

"What was it like living with him?" Maria shot back, but then considered the question. "Your brother's a great cop. He's a good detective and partner, just bossy and implulsive sometimes," she shared with a grin.

"So you got to keep him in line, is that what you're saying?"

"I don't know that you Reagans know how to get in line," she replied.

"Depends on which one of us you're referring to," he corrected.

"That why he calls you a Boy Scout?" she asked with a knowing grin plastered on her face.

Jamie looked away as his lips pressed into a shy smile.

Maria could see a slight blush rising on his cheeks which she found endearing. "So is it true what Danny says, you went law school and then decided to become a cop?"

Jamie pursed his lips and nodded before he looked over at her. "Yeah," he confirmed.

Maria looked surprised. "Wow. Kinda thought he was lying about that," she said.

"Because who'd be dumb enough to go through the trouble of law school first before switching to law enforcement?" he asked, repeating the usual thought most people had when they'd hear about his career change.

"No, 'cuase it's rare for someone in a profession like that to actually reconsider having sold their soul to the devil. It's a pretty admirable move, Jamie," she said.

"I don't know if it was admirable. I just realized it wasn't my calling," he clarified. "Although, it would have been better if I realized that before the three years of law school."

"I get it," she said. "But look at it this way, I bet with those three years of law school, you see things a lot differently than most other beat cops and that makes you better than most out there."

They gazed at each other for a few moments and exchanged smiles before Jamie looked away nervously.

"Uh, so, you want another one?" he asked while pointing at her near empty glass. "I think Danny was in such a hurry, we can actually have another round," he stopped to shuffle through the bills on the bar, "or two. He must be in a lot of trouble," Jamie deduced from the amount of money his brother left behind.

Maria smirked and waved down the bartender. "Who am I to say no to a free drink?" she replied.

"All right, then," he followed and sneaked a glance at Maria before eyeing the bartender.