Jay forced one eye open and he was immediately blinded by the morning sunshine; Will's blinds in the lounge weren't expert at keeping out the light. He stretched, forgetting where he was for a minute and thumped the top of his head against the arm of the couch.

"Fuck!" he cussed- quietly- still unsure on what time it was. He'd woken up before his alarm, which was strange. Jay loved his sleep.

He rolled over onto his side and clicked the home button on his cell. Just before 6am, which meant there was no time to go back to sleep.

The rustling from the kitchen told him Will was already awake too. Jay threw the comforter off himself, running a hand through his morning bed-head as he headed into the kitchen.

"Morning," Will stood leaning against the counter, dressed in jeans and holding a coffee. "Want one?"

Jay nodded a response and wiped sleep from his eyes. He sat down at one of his brother's chairs. He let out a yawn.

Will thumped down a coffee mug in front of him, making Jay jump. Will laughed. "Late night?"

Jay shook his head, although Will probably thought the opposite. Anything further than 9pm was classed as 'late' for his workaholic brother. He was usually asleep before then.

"What time did you get in?" Will asked a second question.

Jay blew into his coffee. "I don't know, 9:30 at a guess?"

His brother raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Where were you?" He walked the few steps to join where his younger brother sat.

This was one of the things Jay wasn't going to miss: the interrogation-like questions that came from Will. Whether it was just curiosity or his protective older brother behavior, Jay was unsure. But that didn't make it any less annoying. "I met with a realtor."

Both of Will's eyebrows disappeared beneath his flattened bed-head bangs. "Was she hot?"

Jay chuckled, shaking his head. This was typical of Will. "What makes you think it was a she?"

"Oh, give me a break," Will rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't spend over three hours with her if she was a dude."

This also annoyed Jay, but in a different kind of way. How much his brother knew him. Because it was true: if his realtor had been a dude, their conversation wouldn't have lasted so long. Plus, it would have been strictly about houses, it wouldn't have gone off on a tangent like the one he'd had with Erin…

"Hey I asked you a question. Was she hot?"

Jay ignored him: sometimes, though Will was in his 30s, he acted like a teenager. Like he was desperate for a gossip. And Jay didn't want to satisfy him with an answer.

"Cryptic," Will broke the temporary silence between them. "So does this mean I'm finally gonna get my couch back?" he teased.

Jay thumped his arm. "Not yet, I gotta find a place first. I'll be out as soon as I-"

"Don't sweat it, bro," Will replied, laughing at Jay's agitation. He took both of their empty mugs over to the sink. "Take all the time you need."

"You're gonna regret saying that," Jay teased back. "Alright, what's your day like?"

"I'm heading into Med in about 30 minutes for another 12 hours," Will acted pissed about it but Jay knew he loved his job. He was probably being bias but Will was one of the best doctors Jay had ever seen. "You?"

"I was thinking of getting a ride in with you? We got two jack-ass's in the cells yesterday who'd kidnapped this girl. She's in Med right now. I wanna go visit her."

"You're a good cop, Jay," his brother offered a compliment. "I'll be leaving in 20. If you're riding with me, hurry up and take a shower. You stink-"

Jay shot him a look across the room. He was planning on showering anyway but Will always found a way to tease. When he reached the door that led to the hallway, he spun quickly to face his brother.

"For the record, she's hot."


After his visit to Med, Jay felt perplexed. The girl was bruised up but at least she was conscious. And it had been his lucky day when she'd identified her captors: the same two that were still sitting in the cells. As soon as he'd promised her protection, that she was safe, he was on his way back to the District.

It was walking distance from Med, plus Jay remembered he didn't have his car anyway. When he reached his workplace, Jay headed straight for the locker room. He stripped himself free of his jacket and hung it up.

There hadn't been a specific time for him to be back at the District. The kidnapping case was almost over, after all. The only thing left to do was to charge the individuals responsible, both of whom they had locked up. But they could wait a while longer Jay thought it's the least they deserve.

His mind drifted back to his 'meeting' and conversation with Erin last night. He'd known from the moment she walked around the corner in the smart pant-suit that was she hot. The fact that she seemed great at her job only made her hotter.

Their conversation had stretched to almost three hours, though it had felt like two minutes.

"Am I interrupting?" Ruzek had appeared at the locker room entrance without Jay noticing.

Jay shook his head, thinking he must have been stuck deeper in his reminiscing than he thought. "What's up?"

"We're wanted in the bullpen," Ruzek said, then he disappeared again.

Jay slammed shut his locker and made for the stairs. He keyed in his code that let him through the protection barrier. There was a memo waiting for him on his desk.

He scanned through it quickly: the words "training" "patrol" and "overtime" jumping out at him. Basically, the boss was out for the rest of the week, they needed to do target training and there was overtime available on patrol.

He wanted to roll his eyes at the sight of "overtime"- he had a love/hate relationship with it. On the one hand, it was money. On the other, he had better things to do. Like finding somewhere to live.

Jay looked over at the opposite side of the room. Ruzek was sat staring at his computer screen. He narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said we were wanted?"

"I know. I was bored."

"Of course you were," Jay laughed and he started up his own monitor. He quickly typed his passcode and stared at the computer screen. There was paperwork he should be- could be- filling in. Instead, Jay reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a packet of chocolate MnMs. He looked over the notes the boss had left.

He could be down for target practise. Jay folded over the candy packet, shocked at himself for not eating them all in one sitting, and headed towards the stairs again. Preferring to practise shooting his weapon alone, he didn't bother telling the rest of the team where he was going.

There were already a few from patrol downstairs. Jay grabbed the head gear he needed and walked towards a vacant target.

100% of his shots were on target and a smug smile worked its way across Jay's face. It wasn't difficult to determine he was one of the best shots in the unit. Yet, the boss still made him practise with the rest of them. That's only fair I suppose he thought.

Jay was so focused on his practise that he almost missed his cell phone ringing. It was the vibration that told him somebody was calling. He didn't usually keep with him during his time at work, opting to leave it in his locker. Today, he'd kept it in his pocket and he pulled it out, pushing back his ear protection and pressing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Jay, it's me," her voice was chirpy and it automatically improved his mood.

Jay balanced his cell between his ear and shoulder blade whilst he disarmed himself. "Erin," he replied, struggling over the noise of the other shooters. "I wasn't expecting-"

At the same time he spoke, somebody else let off their gun. Jay heard a sharp breath on the other end of the line.

"What the hell?!" she shouted. "What happened? Are you okay?"

He'd forgotten he hadn't told her his profession. That he was armed with a gun daily. Jay cussed under his breath and walked quickly. "I'm fine," he shouted in reassurance before finally reaching the door and squeezing through it. "Can you hear me?"

"Forgive me for not sounding professional here but what the fuck?" Erin spoke quietly but he understood why. She didn't exactly sound like the well-spoken realtor he'd first been introduced to. "Was that…a gun shot?"

"Yes it was," Jay's tine was relaxed: she obviously hadn't expected what she'd heard. "But it's all good, I can explain when I see you. I guess that's why you're calling?"

There was a small laugh from her end. "I'd call myself predictable if this wasn't my job," she replied. "Are you good for a house viewing later?"

Jay paused to think about any existing plans he had for the evening. Nope. Nada. Even if he did, he had a feeling he would have blown them off. "Sure. What time were you thinking?"

Erin clicked her tongue. "I get out of my final meeting at 5:30. I could come get you after and we could drive there?" she waited a few seconds. "Where will you be?"


Erin said farewell to Jenny and Joanna, her last clients of the week she'd just found a home for. Technically speaking, second to last. She felt like fist-bumping herself, although she wasn't about to do that in public.

As soon as she'd handed over the keys to the two girls, she'd made her way back to the car. She was too early to make the journey to her next client so Erin turned on the radio and scrolled through her cell phone.

Her conversation with Jay earlier had given her an address to pick him up from. She wasn't sure, but swore the street name sounded familiar. Either way, she would find out in around 20 minutes.

Erin's mind fixated on that particular thing: her last client. One that shouldn't have been hers in the first place. And yet…

Had it really been a while since her last hot client or was this guy insanely attractive?

Her 'work client' rule was at the forefront of her mind…but there was no harm in just enjoying her view. That had certainly been the case last night at their initial meeting. She hadn't tired at all of their conversation and she definitely hadn't tired of her view.

She was proud of herself for finding a potential property for him so quickly. Erin didn't think Nancy had given the guy enough credit: it wasn't that he was a particularly difficult customer, he just wanted a particular property.

Erin quickly checked the address Jay had forwarded and put her car into drive. As she reached the final corner, she knew why she'd recognized it. Jay had texted the name "Molly's", a bar at the opposite block to the Police District.

He was already outside waiting for her, leaning against the outer building, his attention on his phone screen. Erin looked through the window at him: it wasn't merely a coincidence that she could feel her heart-rate speed up. Wasn't that what happened when your senses were at a high?

She watched the slight furrow in his brown increase with his concentration on whatever was on his phone screen, watched again with a giggle as she beeped her car horn at him. Jay looked up and waved a hand in recognition before he made his way to her Jeep.

"'Evening," he spoke as he closed the passenger door behind him. He watched as she turned down the radio.

"Hi," she said and she glanced outside to where he'd been waiting. "Is this where you work?" she was being inquisitive, pointing at the bar.

Jay laughed and shook his head. "Uh almost," he pointed himself to the District steps. "That's where I work."

Erin felt her mouth drop open a little but she was facing the front so hoped her client didn't see. His profession was a revelation, although it wasn't any of her business. "Oh!" she put enthusiasm into her voice. "That's cool," she looked across at him, at what he was wearing. "But which-"

"I'm in the Intelligence Unit," Jay confessed, guessing what she was about to ask. It felt strangely comfortable to have a normal conversation, to stray away from the topic of just houses.

"Well remind me never to get on the wrong side of you," she laughed then immediately regretted what she'd said. Maybe he wouldn't take it as the joke she'd intended.

To her relief, Jay let out a throaty laugh. He let the slight awkwardness of her comment fly out of the window. "I have to say, Erin, I'm impressed. We met yesterday and you've found me a place to view already? Nice work," he said.

It was always a good thing to get a compliment, especially from a client. The corners of Erin's lips lifted into a smile. She had a right to feel smug. "Don't get your hopes up yet," she replied. "You don't know if it'll be exactly what you're looking for."

"I trust you know what you're doing," Jay replied. "Besides, if you were paying attention to our conversation about what I wanted yesterday-"

She cut him off with laughter. "Hey, I take my job very seriously Jay. We're almost there," Erin pulled into the next left turn and stopped the car. She had to reach across him to retrieve the property's keys from the glove box. "It's this one."

Jay got out of the car after her, following a step behind as she led him up the path. Erin paused when they reached the door, signalling for him to look around. The view hadn't been what he'd been paying attention to.

"So this is the front garden," Erin stated the obvious, gesturing towards the view. She used the keys to unlock the door. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way," Jay watched as she stepped through into the hallway. He looked around him this time: in front of him were doors to the other rooms and a spiral stairway.

"This is practically brand new," Erin was back to her professional tone. "There's only been one other tenant before you."

He frowned. "Tenant?"

Erin opened her mouth then clamped it shut. "Right. The last people were renting but the owner said-"

"I don't wanna live in somebody else's place," he interrupted again. His comment was ironic, he realized, given that he was currently living in his brother's place.

Erin held up one of her arms in defence. "As I was saying, the owner might look into selling."

"Okay," Jay wandered around the open space, eyeing the hidden spaces behind the other doors. He had to admit he was impressed. "It's nice."

"Of course it's nice," she agreed, laughing. "This is one of the most sought after areas in the city," she informed him.

Jay wasn't surprised. From what he could see, there were four spacious rooms on the ground floor. The spiral staircase, when he looked up, let to another four doors.

"Can I?" he gestured to the upper level and started up the stairs when she nodded. The first door Jay opened looked like the master bedroom. An entire wall was taken up by the closet, another by a glass window.

He walked further into the room. There was a small bathroom concealed behind the bedroom door: you couldn't see it until you were in the room. Jay wandered over to the window, leaned against the sill. Erin had been right about the view: the one from this room led into the rear garden. Beyond that, he could make out the pier.

"I told you it was pretty," Erin appeared at the doorway, her arms folded across the front of her shirt. "What are you thinking?" she queried.

"I can't disagree with that," Jay flipped his stance to look at her, resting his back against the window. "I can't just put an offer on something because of the view," he admitted.

She giggled in reply. "Damn I thought that would work," she teased. Erin moved away from the door, joining him by the bedroom window. "I appreciate it when my clients are honest with me, Jay." One of her hands gently touched against his upper arm. "Tell me the truth, could you see yourself living here?"

Could he? Jay thought about her question. There was no denying it was an attractive house. If he moved in, there wouldn't be much work to do on it. He could probably move in within…

And yet, it didn't give him any particular 'wow' factor. He would probably be spending the rest of his life in the house he chose. Plus, this was only the first property Erin had brought him to see: it would be a reckless decision to pick this and not see other offers. He had to see what else was on the market.

But perhaps the most selfish reason of all- if he chose this place- was that it cut short time he could spend with his realtor. With Erin herself. She'd end up leaving his life just as quickly as she'd entered it. That wasn't something he was down for, even if it meant they saw each other for an hour a week.

She was the first girl he'd even paid attention to since Jasmine.

Jay laughed, realizing he was doing it again: losing track of his thoughts instead of continuing the conversation. She was looking in his direction, waiting on a reply.

"No," he eventually answered. "Actually, I don't think I can."

Erin gave him a look that suggested she'd been expecting that answer. "Any particular reason?"

Jay swung his arms by his sides. He turned back to the window so they were both looking out of it. "It doesn't speak to me."

"Huh?"

"You know what I mean. You should know what I mean. I want it to be a place that feels like it could be mine."

"Understood," she nodded. "And, double checking, you're the only one that's gonna be moving in, right?" Erin's inquisition was less than professional but she couldn't help asking.

He was confused at first, then a thought ran through him. Was it a subtle attempt at asking his relationship status? Jay swallowed. "Yup, it's just me. What does that have to do with anything-"

"It doesn't," her turn to interrupt. "Sorry, that's none of my business."

"Kind of is," he smiled and took a breath. "A new house is a new start for me. I… caught my ex-girlfriend with another guy…on the night I was gonna propose," he confessed.

Erin's eyes widened. "Oh shit," her hand immediately flew to her mouth after she'd sad it. Remembering she was still representing the company, she vowed not to curse in front of clients, which she had done several times now in front of Jay. Nevertheless, the revelation had shocked her, and something told her Jay wouldn't be the type to report to her boss.

"Shit indeed," he replied in agreement, not phased at her choice of words. "A few of the places your other realtor showed me around reminded me of her, of Jasmine," he spoke her name through gritted teeth. He was surprised himself at how open he was being with Erin but there was something in him that wanted her to know.

"That's understandable," she replied after a few moments, sympathetically. Her arm hovered at his shoulder for a second before she crossed them again across her breast. "So I'm guessing you kicked her cheating ass out, huh?"

"No," Jay sighed, leaning against the window frame. "I couldn't stay there. I'm on my brother's couch," he laughed and shrugged at the same time.

"Oh," his answer hadn't been the one she'd expected. "And now he wants the couch back?"

Jay smiled. "Now he wants the couch back," he reinforced. Speaking it out loud made the meaning resonate in his mind. Shit, he couldn't be living on Will's couch forever.

Erin hung her head to one side. It was pretty unusual for her to be so invested in a client. Somehow, the insight into Jay's past made her need to find him somewhere more intense.

"Jeez," she blew out a breath. "That's gotta be-"

"Oh I miss having a bed for sure," Jay joked, recalling the lump on his head from this morning. He was lightening the topic of the conversation. "But I heard you're the best at your job so-"

"Then you heard right," she laughed, proudly. "if you don't like this place, I think I have somewhere else in mind." Erin reached into the file she'd brought with her, licked her index finger to flick through the pages. "I'm pretty tight for the rest of the week, but maybe I could show you it…. Friday?"

Jay nodded, although technically he couldn't promise a meeting. Being a Detective didn't come with a set schedule: anything could happen between now and Friday to prevent his availability. But he thought she didn't have to know that.

"Friday sounds good," he allowed a smirk to spread across his face. He found it hard to distinguish whether Miss Lindsay actually had another viewing lined up or if it was fabrication to impress him.

Erin lowered her glance to her watch. She hadn't shown Jay the whole house but it was wasted time if he didn't see himself living here. Erin was the first to move towards the door but she felt his eyes on her. "I think we're done here," she turned back towards him. "Where can I drop you off?"

"Molly's again, if that's good with you?" Jay suggested, watching as she nodded. He didn't know if it was common for realtors to transport their clients to different locations or whether she just did it out of courtesy. He didn't want her to feel sorry for him because of what he'd told her.

Jay followed her back into the garden, down the path and into her Jeep. The radio sprung into life as soon as Erin put it into drive.

He was tapping his fingers against the interiors when he remembered.

"Wait," his voice drowned out the song on the radio. "This Friday is the 17th, right?"

Erin kept her eyes on the road but nodded.

"Shoot," Jay made a fist and bashed it comically against his knee. "This Friday is the open day at the District. We got old officers there, families coming and… hey you should come!" He'd suggested it before he could stop himself.

Erin hesitated but prevented it from showing in her face. The majority of her attention was focused on the red light in front of her, causing her to temporarily break.

It would mean involvement with her client outside of work, strictly something she was dead set against. And yet, it would be a social situation and they would be surrounded by other people. If she could persuade Kate to come along with her, it would be less obvious that her desire was to see Jay again.

"Maybe I could do that," Erin said eventually, telling herself secretly that it was a community thing too.

"You should," his feelings were clear, he made no secret of the invitation. "Then maybe we could sneak away to see this other place you wanna show me."

The way he phrased it caused Erin to blush: the thought of 'sneaking' was intriguing. But obviously her client had meant it in terms of her doing her job: showing him somewhere that would be better than the first.

Quicker than either of them would have liked, Erin pulled up in front of the bar. She killed the engine.

Jay unfastened his seatbelt and reached to turn down the radio. It became just a hum in the background of their conversation. "I'll see you Friday," he said it as a statement rather than a question. "I..uh, thanks for the ride," he added.

"Sure," she responded, turning towards him slightly. "I'll…call you about the property."

"I'll look forward to it," he climbed out of the Jeep and started across the street. Jay turned back quickly to wave then disappeared through the door to Molly's.

Erin waited until he was out of sight, running a hand through her lose curls. Half of her wanted to follow him, have a drink herself, but the sensible side of her started the car.

When she reached her apartment block, Erin gathered up her purse and paperwork, juggling with it as she unlocked the door with her key.

"Kate?" It was quiet at home, leading Erin to believe her roommate wasn't in. She'd seen Kate this morning but, like most weekdays, her roommate hadn't been full of conversation.

"I'm in the kitchen!" her friend's voice travelled down the hallway.

Erin dumped her paperwork on the small table beside the door, kicked off her shoes and walked along to the kitchen. She found Kate sitting on a stool at the kitchen island counter, surrounded by jewels and buttons, opals and strings. Apparently she'd decided to work from home.

"What do you think of this?" Kate held up one of her creations to Erin.

Erin dropped her purse on the counter. She took the makeshift necklace from Kate and held it against her neck. "It's great," she grinned. "In fact, I could just keep this one-"

"No you don't," Kate reached to grab it back, putting it back in the box with the rest of what she'd made. "I'm not done with that. Anyway, not to sound like the nagging roommate or anything," she narrowed her eyes at Erin. "This is the second time running that you're in later than usual. Meetings with clients don't tend to stretch this long. Any particular reason?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

Erin ignored her at first, walking to the refrigerator and pulling free a bottle of wine. She poured two glasses and sat with them both on the vacant stool next to Kate. "Oh don't start," Erin joked, pushing one of the drinks in Kate's direction. "The meeting with my last client overran."

"Mhm," Kate rolled her eyes. "And which client would that be?"

Erin shook her head. She'd mentioned Jay to her friend before although couldn't recall how much she'd disclosed about him. That didn't matter though: Kate could read her like a book.

"You just want me to say it, don't you?" Erin replied before taking a gulp of her wine. "It was Jay."

"Oh, Jay," Kate teased.

"Shut up," Erin fought against it but her facial expression betrayed her. No matter how hard she clamped her teeth into the side of her mouth, she couldn't prevent it from spreading into a grin.

"Ooh, I've never seen you this giddy or defensive before," her roommate continued taunting. "Well why don't you-"

"I can't," Erin protested, guessing Kate was about to suggest making a move or something. "You know I can't get involved with clients."

Kate scoffed. "That's bullshit and you know it. That's just your own stupid rule."

"Whatever, Kate," Erin took her empty glass to the dish-washer. She leaned against it, biting her bottom lip. "Actually speaking of-"

Kate spun quickly in anticipation. Her eyes widened and she gestured for Erin to continue.

"He's invited us to an open day at the Police Station on Friday-"

"Us?" Kate shook her head as though she was processing new information. "And hold up, he's a cop?"

Erin nodded: she knew Kate didn't know that because she'd only just found out herself. "Please tell me you're free, I'm not going alone."

"Dan's back on Friday," Kate watched as Erin's face dropped. "…but not until late on," she smirked.

"Oh perfect," Erin tried to sound casual, an attempt to show Kate she wasn't desperate to go to the place Jay worked. "It's a community thing, we'd only have to stay for an hour or something-"

"Liar," Kate stood up to get rid of her own glass. "Don't feed me the 'community thing' bullshit babe. That's not the reason you wanna go to this thing," she wiggled a finger in Erin's face.

"I hate you," Erin pulled Kate's finger away. She knew Kate was enjoying this: considering she hadn't shown interest for anybody like this in a long time.

"You love me," her friend countered, blinking her eyes in an innocent fashion. She reached into one of their cupboards, rummaging.

Erin moved out of her way. "What are you doing?"

Kate reappeared, armed with a pasta dish. She twisted her face. "I was gonna be good and go to the gym but I've got a better idea," she put down the dish and walked to the refrigerator. "I'm gonna cook our dinner and you're gonna tell me all about this client of yours."

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