A/N I've really been wanting to see a OTH/Chicago PD crossover with Brooke and Jay, but no one has written one, so I decided to write it myself! So in the Chicago PD world, Erin does not exist and Jay was in intelligence for a long time before moving to Tree Hill. OTH is canon up until around the time when Jude and Davis were born and then it becomes AU. Brooke and Julian are NOT a couple- they were, but not anymore. I want to say what happened to Julian, but right now I have 2 different scenarios running through my head and I can't decide which road I'm going to take, please PM if you would like to give me a helping hand in that decision! Lucas and Peyton are living in Tree Hill at this point and Nathan has not been kidnapped (yet ;) I might have Jay help with that). I'm only going to continue this story if people are reading it, because what's the point otherwise? Constructive criticism is always welcome!

-Mary

Detective Jay Halstead wasn't used to this small town. There was so much he missed about Chicago, the excitement, the noise, and most of all, the food. Finally getting his lunch break, he drove across the town of Tree Hill, North Carolina to a little place that one of the locals suggested, Karen's Café.

The bell rang as he opened the door and it reminded him of one of his favorite diners back home. He was immediately greeted by a honey blonde behind the counter, who told him take a seat wherever he wanted. To his surprise, the place was pretty full. There were only a few open tables, but he found a nice little spot by a window in the front corner of the café. Soon after he sat down, a young waitress came by to take his order. "Hey there, I'm Alex and I'll be taking care of you today. Can I start you off with something to drink?" She was very cheerful, though a little bit monotone, he liked her.

"Yes, can I get a coffee please?" Jay said and flashed her one of his signature smiles.

"Cream and sugar?"

"Both please."

"Awesome, I'll go and grab that for you while you take a look at the menu." She smiled kindly before walking behind the counter to start a fresh pot of coffee.

About 10 minutes later Jay had placed his order and was messing with his phone, waiting for his food to arrive. He heard the bell, and out of instinct looked up. In came the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. As she walked inside, the entire restaurant shouted "Hi, Brooke!" and she smiled in return. Brooke, what a perfect name, Jay thought to himself. He wondered who she was and why everyone knew her. His questions were solved the moment she walked behind the counter. He figured she probably owned the place, but wondered why it was called Karen's Café.

Right after Brooke came in, Alex delivered Jay's food- a double cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, and tomato with a side of French fries and their homemade coleslaw. As soon as the plate was settled on the table and Alex had walked away, he dug in.

Alex wasn't usually a fan of one-tops, they hardly ever tipped well because of the little amount of money they spent, and they were often either really weird or really old. This guy though, she had no idea why this gorgeous man sitting at table 11 was all by himself. She was more cheerful than she usually was, and she wondered if he saw right through her act. He seemed like a nice guy, and after dropping off her food she went behind the counter to greet Brooke. "Hey Brooke! How did Baker Man do today?"

"Ugh, don't even get me started." Brooke was usually a fairly happy person, but it was obvious that today was not her day. "The computers shut down, again, and we had to close the store early! They said last time would be the last freaking time!" She nearly yelled, luckily the café was busy enough that her outburst couldn't be heard by customers.

Alex just stared at her, not knowing how to reply, until she figured out something that might be able to bring her out of her mood. After Brooke seemed calm enough, Alex looked in the direction of the man at table 11 and whispered, "Do you think some candy would cheer you up?"

Brooke looked at her, confused "What? Candy? Alex what are you talking about?"

Alex turned Brooke's head over to the attractive young man, who really seemed to be enjoying his lunch, and discretely pointed in his direction "Some eye candy, duh." Brooke laughed and shifted her attention back to Alex, shaking her head in the process. "I can transfer the table to you if you want, he seems nice, and I don't think he's from around here."

"Alex, thanks, but it's not neccess-" The man was definitely attractive and normally she would have picked it up in a heartbeat, but she didn't want to take over a table that was pretty much finished with his meal.

"Oops, too late, already done. Gotta run, I have tables!" That was Alex, once her mind was made up, there was no changing it. She figured she would take care of the guy for the rest of his visit, but give Alex the tip.

Brooke made her way over to her only table to see if he needed anything and to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Brooke, you're server got a little bit overwhelmed so I'm gonna be taking over for her." She said with a smile. "Do you need anything? More coffee?"

Jay almost choked on his food when the beautiful woman came walking up to his table, but tried to keep his composure after she introduced herself. "Yes, more coffee will be great."

"Okay then, I'll get that right out for you." Jay wished he had said more, so she would have stayed longer.

When she returned with his the pot of coffee, he thanked her, but didn't want her to leave just quite yet, so he spoke up right as she was turning away, "Uhh, I'm Jay, by the way." He stuttered a little bit, but after the words came out he reached out for a handshake, which she gratefully accepted.

"It's nice to meet you, Jay. You're not from around here, are you?" Now he was glad he introduced himself, but for some reason, felt nervous being around this woman. He didn't get nervous; talking to women was something he was always good at, but she was different.

"No, actually I'm from Chicago. I was offered a job to head my own unit here, and as much as I love Chicago and Intelligence, I couldn't turn it down." The nervousness was starting to die down now, because she looked genuinely interested in what he was saying.

Brooke decided to sit down across from him, considering their rush was almost over and she still didn't have any other tables. "Wow, you traded Chicago for Tree Hill? Must've been a helluva job offer. What do you do?" By this point, everything that happened at Baker Man had been forgotten, and she was enjoying Jay's company.

Jay was startled when she sat down, but it also excited him; made him more invested in the conversation. "I'm a cop." He was a little anxious when he said it, not knowing what she'd think.

"Really?! Wow! You look so young, you know, to have your own unit." Jay chuckled at how excited she was when she learned that piece of information.

"Not that young, I'm 29. And for getting my own unit, I just got lucky. My boss, Hank Voight wrote me a killer letter of recommendation. How about you?"

Brooke didn't think he'd ask about her, so when he did she was a little bit shocked. "Me? I've been here my whole life, apart from the few years after high school when I lived in New York to get my company going."

"Your company? Anything I might have heard of?" Jay asked

"Unless you're in the fashion world, probably not." She said with a slight laugh.

"Try me."

"Clothes over Bros," for a reason unknown to even herself, she started at the beginning, "I started it in high school, even made all of my own clothes. But after graduation I let my mom get involved and the company became bigger. Unfortunately, we got into some legal problems, and now Clothes over Bros is no longer my company."

"You're saying you had your own business at 17, and I'm successful?" Jay was amused at how ironic what she had said before was.

She shook her head in denial "I never said you were successful!"

Jay only laughed, and was about to make a comeback when his phone rang, "Halstead." He said into his phone as Brooke remained across from him. He mumbled a few 'okays' before hanging up the phone and looking at Brooke. "I have to go- work. Would you mind printing my check for me?"

Brooke was disappointed, but tried to hide it in her voice, "It's on the house. First time customer discount." She laughed and made her way around the café, checking on other tables and visiting with some of her regulars.

Jay grabbed his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill and left it on the table anyway. He waved goodbye to Alex and Brooke, and walked out to his car, turning on his lights and speeding away.

He would definitely be returning to Karen's Café sometime soon.