Hey ladies and gents! Jack/Erica love/fluff/smut. After all of the Erica/Hobbes I've been seeing lately I decided I needed to remind myself why I love Jack/Erica so very much! Enjoy! You know the drill, I don't own anything I just obsess over them.

It was late by the time she got home. It had been a long day of rerouting FBI leads and fighting with Tyler. She just wanted to go home, crawl under the covers, and pretend like nothing was different. She wanted to pretend like nothing had changed since the Visitors landed a year ago. But even as she walked into her living room and tossed her keys onto the mail table, she knew that relaxation wasn't going to happen. Relaxation was a thing of the past for Erica. Stress, disappointment, fear, and then a little more stress for good measure was all that seemed to come her way anymore. Except when she was with Jack, of course.

Father Jack Landry. What an unlikely place to find a friend. But she had. She had found the one person in her upside down world that she could trust unconditionally. She didn't know what it was about him exactly. Was it that he was a priest? He was honest by profession, after all. Somehow, however, she didn't think that was it. He just made her feel…comfortable. Safe.

Over the past year they had fought together, lost together, overcome some seemingly insurmountable odds together, and they had become close. He had held her hand when she was feeling unsteady. He had laughed with her when she needed relief. They'd watched bad movies and even worse reality TV, been to Mass together and even gone to a jazz concert in Central Park. He fixed a broken pipe in her bathroom and she had sewn countless pieces of clothing back together for him after harsh battles.

But it was on nights like tonight that he meant the most. Nights like this when she just wanted her friend to talk her through a bad mood. Nights like this when she needed him.

After 20 minutes of sitting on the couch trying desperately to focus on the television she stood and walked to the counter where she had left her phone. She started at it for a few moments before finally picking it up and dialing. She bit her lip as it rang, glancing at the clock, 10:30. She mentally kicked herself for calling so late, but before she had time to really think about it a voice came on the line.

"Erica?"

"Jack, hey. I'm sorry it's so late, I wasn't thinking."

"I wasn't asleep. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes! Yeah. Everything's fine." She should have realized that the first thing he would think upon getting her call was that something had happened to one of them.

"Good." He sounded as confused as he was relieved.

"I was actually just calling to say hello." Did she really just say that?

He paused before answering and she could hear concern tainting a smile. "Well, hello, Erica."

"Hello, Jack."

"Listen. What are you doing right now?" He sounded hopeful.

She laughed at the lie she told. "Watching TV?"

"Is Tyler at home?"

She sighed and studied her shoes. "Nope. He went up to the ship with Lisa around 4. I guess he decided to stay the night."

"I see. I'm sure he's fine, Erica." And there it was, that comforting, sweet voice she had been calling to hear. One sentence from him could do more to comfort her than hours of conversation from anyone else. She craved it.

"No, I know he is. I know he just wants to be with Lisa. I just miss him."

His voice was soft, "I know you do." There was a comfortable pause, "Hey, listen. I'm just sitting here with nothing to do. I was trying to work on a sermon but it's just not coming. You wouldn't happen to want some company?"

Erica smiled. Company was exactly what she needed. Company from Jack. She knew by now that she could count on him.

"Company would be lovely. I can make some chili. I know it's late, but I haven't eaten."

"Now that you mention it, I'm starving."

"Good. It'll be ready when you get here." As she hung up the phone she realized that she was still smiling.

20 minutes later Erica heard a key turn in the lock and smiled at the ease with which Jack used the one that she had given him.

"Erica?"

"In here, Jack!" She smiled as he walked into the room, instantly glad to see him. And what a sight he was. Jeans and an old tee-shirt, nothing fancy. Just casual and gorgeous. Sometimes she found herself feeling more than a little guilty at the way she was feeling about the priest, but at the end of the day, she didn't see a priest. She saw Jack. And oh how she enjoyed seeing him.

"Something smells amazing." He walked over to the stove she was standing at and smiled that heart-melting smile, invading her personal space in that warm, innocent, sexy way that only Jack could do.

She turned to face him and found that they were standing mere inches apart. She stood tall and smiled at him for a moment before they both blushed and he took a step back. "I hope it's as good as it smells. It's my mother's recipe. Here," she lifted the spoon to his lips, "Taste."

He did as he was told and closed his eyes. "Oh, Erica. That is…" he licked his lips and Erica caught herself staring. "That is heavenly!"

She giggled and turned back to the stove. "Good. It's almost ready. We can wait in the living room until it is."

She took the arm he offered her and they made their way to the couch, which they snuggled up on. As Jack relaxed on the couch Erica propped her feet up on his lap and couldn't help thinking how lucky it was that neither of them seemed to have any concept of a personal bubble. His hands traced this lining of her jeans and he smiled. "How was your day?"

Her heart melted. The words were so simple but the meaning was so great. When was the last time she'd had someone take an interest in her day? Someone who would listen and comfort her? She couldn't even remember.

She traced circles around his shoulder. "My day. My day was…my day was a nightmare, actually." His face grew concerned. "No, it wasn't that bad. Sometimes I just get so tired of lying. To everyone. My coworkers, my boss, my son. You're one of the only people I can be honest with anymore."

He turned toward her and brushed her hair away from her eyes. "I know it's hard, Erica. I'm sorry."

She sighed and smiled. "It isn't any easier for you. How was your day?"

He laughed and sat back on the couch. "Let's just say that the afternoon was filled with some very interesting confessions."

She leaned in closer, laughing. "It would be wrong for you to share any of these said confessions…"

He leaned in inches away from her face, his eyes had a mischevious twinkle in them and his voice was deep and slow. "SO wrong." Was she imagining things? Was Jack flirting with her?

The unexpected intensity of the moment caught them off guard and they quickly pulled apart.

"The chili's probably ready if you want to…"

He jumped up. "…Right. Sure."

They both made a beeline to the kitchen in an effort to shake off the awkwardness that threatened to ruin the night. Food. Yes. Food would help...