Chapter 21: Keep It Professional

The next few days went by quickly. The squad got a case of a woman raped late at night on a subway platform. They got a pretty good sketch from the victim and put it out on the news. Three more women came forward, giving almost the exact same stories of how they were attacked. A man came in claiming to know the man on the sketch they'd put out. He worked on the janitorial staff at his clinic. All of the victims, it turned out, had gone there at one time or another. They picked him up and brought him in for questioning. All four women picked him out of a lineup and he had no alibi for the time of the rapes. He folded almost immediately, giving a full confession. They took his prints and sent him down to central booking, got their paperwork in and then headed home.

Chris went in to work the next morning working on her second cup of coffee. She'd gotten her brother up for work, her sister off to school, and made sure her mother's meds were ready for her before leaving her house. Franco was still texting her to talk shit about Amanda and how he was gonna take her off her hands. She ignored him and sat down at her desk to start on her paperwork. Amanda wondered if Chris was upset with her about something because she hadn't said hi to her when she came in. When Chris got up from her desk to go get coffee, Amanda went over to talk to her.

"Hey" she said getting a Styrofoam cup and pouring herself some coffee even though she didn't really want any.

"Hey" Chris said back. She put her usual ridiculous amount of sugar in the bottom of her cup before pouring her coffee.

"What's up?"

"Nothing".

"Are you having a bad morning or something?" Amanda asked stirring her coffee. Chris shook her head.

"No. My morning was fine" she said.

"It's just…you didn't say hi or good morning when you came in" she said sounding like her feelings were hurt. "Not just to me, to anyone. I just thought maybe you had a bad start to your day". Chris smiled and shook her head again.

"No. The start to my day was fine".

"You're not having second thoughts about dinner tonight, are you?" she asked. They'd finally been able to make dinner plans with Beth. Amanda was a little nervous but mostly interested in what she'd learn, both about Beth and Christina.

"No, I'm not. I'm fine, really". Honestly, she was annoyed when she came in because of the texts she'd gotten from Franco. She used to think that playing that game with him was fun but she'd since grown up. She was over that now. She thought it was time for him to grow up too. "I'm sorry that I didn't speak when I came in. That was rude of me". Amanda knew she was being sarcastic with her but she let it slide. They both took their coffee back to their desks and got back to their paperwork. It was slow day so far and they were fixing to break for lunch soon. Amanda was sitting at the briefing table waiting for Olivia and Nick to come back from checking out a domestic when Chris came over and sat on the table next to her chair. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, seeing she was deep in thought.

"Trying to decide where we should go for lunch" she answered. "Liv and Nick said it was up to me".

"I'm sorry for…being snide with you earlier. I was annoyed and I took it out on you" she said sincerely.

"Apology accepted" she said. Chris looked to see if anyone was around before leaning down and giving Amanda a kiss. When they heard someone clear their throat from behind them, they quickly parted and looked over to see Captain Cragen giving them a discerning eye.

"Sorry" Chris said, hoping they wouldn't be in any trouble. Olivia and Nick walked back into the squad room, saying that the complaint they got was a bust and asking if they'd decided where they were going for lunch. Amanda nodded. Fin joined them as they prepared to head out.

"Uh, hold up a minute guys" Cragen said stopping them from leaving. "Rollins, Reyes…can I see you two in my office a minute?" he asked even though it wasn't really a request. Amanda got up from her chair and Chris got down from the table and they both followed him into his office. Olivia, Nick and Fin shared glances, each of them wondering how serious the conversation they were about to have was going to be. "Shut the door". Chris pushed the door closed and then stood next to Amanda. Before he could say anything, she spoke up for the both of them.

"Captain, I apologize for….that" she said. "It was completely inappropriate and it won't happen again".

"Never happen again" Amanda said in agreement.

"Relax, you two. This isn't the principal's office. You're not in trouble" he said taking a seat at his desk. They both looked at each other and let out sigh of relief. He gestured for them to have a seat so they walked around and sat in the chairs in front of his desk. "Now, I understand that you both have decided to continue your relationship on more" he paused trying to think of the right word to use, "authentic terms. Is that true?" he asked. They looked at each other again then turned back to him, nodding in unison. They knew this conversation would come but it didn't make them any less worried. "Ok. You both know you can't be partnered together on cases anymore. As long as you can keep it professional, then we'll have nothing to talk about".

"We will be…wholly professional, Captain" Amanda assured him. He nodded then look to Chris to make sure she was on board with that.

"Oh yeah" she said when she realized he was waiting on her confirmation. "Wholly professional" she said using Amanda's words.

"Good" he said sounding satisfied with their agreement. "Now, if this becomes an issue here at work, we'll have to revisit this and make some changes".

"It won't be a problem, Captain" Amanda said confidently.

"Nope, no problems" Chris said acting as a sounding board for Amanda.

"Ok then" he said with a smile on his face. His newest detective never ceased to amuse him. He told them they were free to go. They offered to bring him something back for lunch but he declined. They left his office and went to lunch with their colleagues. The rest of the day went by fairly quickly for it being such a slow one. They didn't have much time left before they'd be able to check out and go home. Franco had been texting and calling Chris all day but she'd been ignoring him. He was supposed to be in town for the rest of the week. She used to put up with his shenanigans, even participate, but when she went undercover all of that changed. She had grow up and get serious about what she was doing or she'd get herself killed. Then when she got home, her parents were sick, her sister was delinquent, and her brother was unemployed. She had to really buckle down and take care of business to keep her family afloat. That meant distancing herself from Franco and some of her other buddies who were known for screwing around, on and off the job. Then came the decision to uproot her family and move across the country. He wasn't happy about it but he had to accept that she had to do what was best for her family.

Franco walked into the squad room and didn't see Chris but he spotted Amanda sitting at her desk. He walked over and leaned on her desk with his hands. She looked up and saw it was him. Fin glared at him and waited for him to say something. He was going to listen carefully to everything he said to Amanda. The second he stepped over the line, he was ready to put him back in his place. Amanda sat quietly and waited patiently for him to say whatever he was thinking.

"Hey there" he finally said.

"Hey" she said back.

"I was looking for Chris but looks like I found my favorite New York detective instead" he said in a flirty tone.

"And here I thought Chris would be your favorite" she said looking back down at her paperwork.

"Ah, I said my favorite New York detective. Christina may be here in New York doing her detective thing but she will always….." he paused for emphasis, "be a California girl".

"Well, you know her best" Amanda said sarcastically.

"Yes, I do" he said smugly. "But there's always room for others in her life" he added. "I however have always had a say in Chris'….girlfriends; best friend approval and what not. She's never picked a blonde before".

"Well she did this time" Amanda said getting defensive.

"Right" he said backing off. He heard the change in her voice and knew she was annoyed with him. He needed to get back on the right track with her so he thought he say something to soften the mood. "I'm just saying, it surprised me when she pointed you out as….the one. I care about Chris and I want what's best for her. I want her to be happy. I'd love to give my approval but that would require some time for us to get to know each other". Fin sat back and listened as he tried to smooth talk his way into asking Amanda out. He thought he was an asshole. Here he is claiming to be Chris' best friend while trying to steal her girlfriend. "Chris and I are going out for drinks tonight. You should come with. It'll give us time to chat".

"Drinks, really?" she asked. He nodded. "That's funny because Chris and I are supposed to be going to dinner tonight. She didn't mention anything about going for drinks with you". Fin laughed under his breath at him being caught in a lie. Franco heard it and looked over to see Fin looking him right in the eyes. He decided not to make an issue of it and turned his attention back to Amanda. Chris walked into the squad room and saw Franco at Amanda's desk. She rolled her eyes and walked up behind him.

"It's Chris. All I have to do is ask. She's already said yes" he said confidently.

"I've already said yes to what?" she asked making her presence known to him.

"Ah, mi amada" he said putting an arm around her shoulder. "You, me, Amanda, drinks, tonight".

"Amanda and I already have plans" she said implying a no. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, dinner. She told me. Let's go for a drink before" he suggested.

"Uh" she looked at her watch, "It's already six. Our reservation's for seven thirty".

"After then" he said trying to work around their plans. "Come on, I'm only in town for a few more days. We haven't really had time to catch up. And I haven't really gotten know Amanda." he said giving Amanda a wink.

"Uh, we….won't have time then either" she said giving Amanda a wink of her own.

"Come on, really?" he asked impatiently. "One…two drinks tops".

"No, Franco" she said definitively. "Maybe tomorrow". She shrugged his arm from around her shoulder and walked over to her desk to get her stuff. She shut down her laptop and packed it in her bag then went over to Amanda, who'd gathered her things to leave as well. "Ready?" she asked. Amanda nodded. They said goodbye to everyone as they walked towards the squad room doors to leave.

"I'll call you about that drink" Franco said.

"Ok" Chris said not bothering to turn around. She walked to the elevator with her girlfriend and headed home to get ready for dinner. Fin got up from his desk and stood next to Alvarez with his hands in his pockets.

"I thought she already said yes" he said arrogantly. He laughed and shook his head then walked out of the squad room to the bathroom. Olivia and Nick laughed softly as they both got up from their desks and started packing up to go home.

"What is that guy's problem?" Franco asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you walked in here acting like you own the place" Nick suggested.

"Or the fact that you're trying to mess with his partner's relationship" Olivia said putting her bag on her shoulder. They turned and headed out of the squad room together, leaving Franco standing there all on his lonesome. He let out a huff of air and then headed out himself to find something to get into. He was in New York and the night was young. He was sure he could find something to do.

Spanish-English Translations

Mi amada- My beloved