After the morning rundown of the day's warrants and crimes, Santana went to the weapons room to check out her service weapon for the day.

"Mr. Kurt," Santana greeted the pale guy behind the counter. Kurt Hummel had been with the department for about two years and Santana really liked him. He was nice with a flare for the dramatic that Santana secretly liked.

"What's up Lopez?" Kurt said behind the bullet proof glass, "How was the weekend?"

"It was good," Santana said, "Took my rare weekend off and just relaxed. Did some running, swimming, hiking..."

"Wow," Kurt interrupted with a small laugh, "That's relaxing?"

"It is to me," Santana said.

"I gotta take you out for a night on the town soon," Kurt said, "All that working out can't be good for you."

"Actually, it is good for you."

"Whatever," Kurt said, "When's you're next day off?"

"Thursday," Santana said.

"Done! We're going out."

"I don't think..."

"Nope, it's done," Kurt said.

"Just get me my stuff," Santana said trying not to smile.

Within moments, Kurt returned with Santana's gear. The front of the bullet proof glass had a large door that swung open to pass big items.

"Oh," Kurt said handing Santana her gear and check-out form, "Guess what today is?"

"What?" Santana asked, signing out her equipment.

"It's Fresh Meat Day," Kurt said, smiling.

Santana smiled. She gave Kurt back the form and put on her service belt that contained her gun, handcuffs and other equipment. She remembered when she had been the meat in Fresh Meat Day.

"Rookies," Santana said.

"They were here earlier," Kurt said, "It was quite adorable. They were so nervous and goofy."

"Goofy huh?"

"Some hotties though," Kurt said playfully.

"I'm leaving now," Santana said amused, "I'll talk to you later."

"Thursday!" Kurt called out as Santana walked away.

###

"You look nervous," Officer Wilder said.

"I'm fine," Brittany answered. She and her new partner were driving down Santa Monica on their way to check a call about a robbery.

So far Brittany's day had been full of meeting people and getting to know the station. She had been assigned to Jim Wilder, a seven year veteran of the force. He was six feet tall and looked like every bit a cop.

Brittany made a note to research him after her shift. So far, he was a great teacher, a bit tough, but not mean.

"Alright," Jim said as he turned the corner, "For your first call, don't talk. Just watch me."

"OK," Brittany said.

Brittany wanted to get this right, even impress her partner on her first outing.

When they arrived at the house, the owners were waiting outside. Brittany did as told and let Jim handle the situation. As she watched him talk to the owners she made mental notes. She followed his orders and by the end of the investigation she felt like she had learned a lot.

"Not too bad right?" Jim said as they drove away from the house.

"Yeah, it was fine," Brittany said, "Man they left that place a mess."

"There's been a series of burglaries in the area lately," Jim explained, "We've got people looking into it. We'll file our report and hopefully they can use it to catch these idiots."

"Hopefully," Brittany said.

The rest of the morning, Jim talked about what to expect and all the different situations that might arise on any given day. At one point, Jim pulled the car over and got out to stop a young woman who he suspected was carrying a gun.

"Officer Pierce," Jim said, his voice full of authority, "Frisk this nice young lady. Let's see what's she's got."

"I ain't go nothing!" the redhead said, "This is harassment! I'm suing all of you!"

Brittany had gone through this in the academy, had even practiced it with Quinn and Puck numerous times, but this was the first real suspect she would frisk.

"Keep still!" Brittany ordered and proceeded to search the young woman. She ran her hand down the young woman's body.

"You like that don't ya?" The woman taunted.

"Shut up!" Brittany said and continued her search. When she got to the stomach she found a small handgun tugged at the waist, "Now what is this?"

"A water gun," the woman smirked.

Brittany handed the gun to Jim and finished her search. She then took out her handcuffs and cuffed the woman.

"Well done," Jim told Brittany.

"This is all a big mistake!" the woman insisted.

"Right," Brittany said, "Let me guess, you don't know how it got there."

"That's right!"

"Come on," Jim said, "Let's take a ride to the station."

Brittany put the woman in the backseat of the car and locked her in. They drove to the station to book the woman. Brittany felt good. This was her first arrest and she had done a good job. Of course this was an easy one. The tough stuff was still on the way.

###

"Any available unit - report of a two-seven-three-David at 5236 Crescent Heights-"

Santana picked up the radio, "This is car 454, in the area, will respond."

"Copy car 454."

"Why the fuck did you do that?" Frakes asked keeping his eyes on the road.

"Because that's our job," Santana answered sarcastically.

"Don't be so quick to answer, another car could have taken it," Frakes said annoyed, "It's our lunch break."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Santana asked in disbelief, "We're three blocks from the address and you could afford to skip a lunch or two."

"I'm in fine shape," Frakes said.

Santana scoffed. She looked over and saw Frakes' gut almost touch the steering wheel. He was in his early forties but looked 10 years older. Santana could not fathom how this man was still on the streets. No way could he chase a suspect half a block. There were some husky officers on the force, but they could hold their own. It didn't help matters that Santana found her partner annoying as hell.

They arrived at the address and all seemed quiet. The house was a small charming Spanish style house at the corner of the street.

"It's probably some drug addict…" Frakes began to say.

"Let's keep the commentary to a minimum," Santana said getting out of the car.

They approached the door and Santana knocked, "LAPD!"

There was noise behind the door and soon the door opened to revel a woman about 40, small, who had obviously been crying. Santana hated domestic violence calls.

"Ma'am," Santana began gently, "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," the woman said trying to control her tears, "I'm sorry, my daughter shouldn't have called... it's a misunderstanding...sorry to waste your time."

"Why are you crying then?" Frakes asked, a bit harshly.

"I'm just bit emotional, is all," the woman explained, "It's fine."

"Who else is here with you?" Santana asked. She saw no visible bruises on her face, but that didn't mean she wasn't hurt. Clothes often hid a lot of bruises and scars.

"My daughter," the woman said a bit tentatively, "And my boyfriend."

"Can we talk to them?" Santana asked.

"He's watching TV and my daughter left," the woman said, "Look, I'm sorry about this.. everything is fine."

"We need to talk to your boyfriend," Santana said, "Now."

Santana watched the woman, who was clearly scared turn around to go inside the house. These calls always made Santana angry. These fucking punks who hit women and children got under her skin.

The boyfriend came to the door. He was about six feet tall, skinny with thinning black hair.

"What?" he asked, annoyed, "She told you it was a misunderstanding. Her daughter is always causing trouble."

Santana looked at the man and saw that his hands were a bit red.

"What happened to your hand?" Santana asked.

"What?" the man said holding up his hand, "Nothing. Fine. I was lifting weights is all."

Frakes suddenly interrupted, "Ma'am, do you want to file a complaint or not?"

The woman had come up from behind the boyfriend.

"No." she said meekly.

"Fine, let's go," Frakes said.

Santana took out her notepad, "Are you sure ma'am?"

"Sorry to take up your time," she said.

Fuck, Santana thought. She had seen this happen one too many times. She did the only thing she could, she began to write up a report.

"What are you doing?" the man said, "We told you it was a mistake."

"All calls have to be recorded," Santana said, continuing to write.

###

Back at the station, after booking the woman with the gun, Brittany had time for a breather.

"Alright Pierce," Jim said, "We are back on the road in 15 minutes, so if you need a bathroom break, now is the time."

"I'll meet you at the car," Brittany said.

Brittany walked to the bathrooms to freshen up. So far her day had also consisted of lots of driving, a neighbor dispute call and an arrest. She had expected more but was glad for the slow start.

She flushed the toilet and went to wash her hands. The large bathroom was for officer use only but right now it was empty, which Brittany was grateful.

As she finished washing her hand the door opened. Spoke too soon, she thought.

"Hey girl!" Puck said entering the bathroom, "Coast clear?"

"Puck!" Brittany said, surprised. "Get out of here! This is the woman's restroom!"

"Puck is no stranger to the ladies bathroom," Puck said with a smirk, "Believe me. I saw you come in here and wanted to ask how your first day was going."

"And you couldn't have waited until I went outside?" Brittany asked as she dragged Puck out the door into the hallway.

"Calm down," Puck said with a laugh, "So how's Officer Wilder? I heard he was a tough one."

"He's awesome," Brittany said, now more relaxed that she had gotten Puck out of the bathroom, "He's tough but nice. How's your partner?"

"Officer Mac is great," Puck said, "He's been on the force for like 10 years and knows his stuff. Got lucky with him."

"Have you seen Quinn?"

"Nope, not since the assignments this morning," Puck said, "I hope she's behaving herself."

"She always behaves the first day of anything," Brittany said, "Wait till she gets comfortable, that's when she gets in trouble."

"Ain't that the truth," Puck said, "So, how you liking the uniform?"

Brittany looked down at her perfectly tailored black uniform, "I love it," she said with a chuckle, "Look at this belt! It's like I'm Batman."

Puck laughed, "Don't tell me that's the real reason you became a cop, to wear a Batman belt."

"Maybe a little," Brittany said with a smile, "Alright, I gotta head back out."

"We're all still on for dinner after work right?"

"Hell yea," Brittany said, "We need to swap war stories."

Brittany left Puck and headed to meet Officer Wilder.

###

Santana was exhausted. Her shift hadn't required any hard physical action, but dealing with Frakes' was enough to drain her. Now with their shift over, she could take a break from her partner.

"Why do you do this job?" Santana asked as they walked into the station, "Clearly you hate it, yet you do it. Why?"

"Well, I gotta do something while I wait to win the lottery," Frakes said.

"You're lack of commitment to this job shows," Santana said, not caring if it sounded insulting, "You were ready to leave that domestic case today without taking report."

"Look Lopez," Frakes said, offended, "I've been doing this job a hell of a lot longer than you, I know the pattern. The woman didn't want to press charges, we can't do anything. Move on."

"We're going to get a call again from that house," Santana said.

"Probably," Frakes said, "But until that woman has the guts to stand up for herself, there's nothing we can do."

It took all Santana had not to snap back at him.

"I've got my annual physical tomorrow morning, so we're heading out late morning," Frakes said.

"You changed the schedule without telling me?" Santana asked, upset, "Shit, Frakes my plans are ruined."

"What plans?" Frakes said.

Santana said nothing, it wasn't worth it, "Never mind. Good luck with you physical tomorrow."

Santana walked off in the direction of the locker rooms. As she walked the corridors of the West LA Division offices, she kept hoping that Frakes would fail his exam and she would need a new partner. Unlike her partner, this job was more than just a paycheck. Santana had always wanted to be a cop. Her friend Sam had said it was only because her father had been a cop. In a way it was true, but it was more than just wanting to be in the family business. She truly wanted to help people, help keep the city she had been born and raised in safe.

Unlike Santana, Sam had not chosen to be a cop. Instead Sam had chosen politics and was the Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles. Working right along Mayor Judy Fabray.

"I need to call Sam," Santana said under her breath as she entered the locker room.

The room was full of a few officers getting off or coming on duty. Santana exchanged some hellos with some fellow officers and turned into the row her locker was located.

"LOPEZ!"

Santana looked up in the direction of the voice that called her name and smiled.

"Hey Cohen-Chang," Santana said as she approached her friend, their lockers only 4 feet apart, "You just getting on?"

"Nope," Tina said, beginning to unbutton her shirt, "Traded shifts. I needed a break form all those damn night shifts."

"I hear ya," Santana said opening her locker, "I got all night shifts all last month. It's depressing. It's like the worst of the human race comes out at night."

"I'm just glad my night shifts are over for a while," Tina said, "Hey, what are you up to now? Want to go get some dinner?"

"That'd be great," Santana said, beginning to take off her uniform, "I'm starving."

"Sweet," Tina said excited, "Kurt's coming, by the way."

The locker room suddenly got loud with chatter as a parade of women entered.

"Looks like the rookies are going home," Tina said, smiling.

Santana looked up to see a all the new faces from this year's batch. There seemed to be a bit more women this year for which Santana was grateful. A little more estrogen in the unit was needed.

"I'm sure Kurt has all the info on the new recruits by now," Santana said as she began to put on her jeans.

"I'm sure," Tina said, also putting on her civilian clothes, "He's locked in the weapons locker all day, but knows everything about everyone."

"Yeah, but the weapons locker is where every single officer has to check in every day," Santana said, "It's a perfect spot for gossip."

Santana and Tina continued dressing, every now and then glancing down the aisle to see the new recruits and see if any looked familiar.

"Hey," Tina whispered, now fully dressed in her clothes, "See that blond there? The one with short hair?"

Santana looked and a striking woman with blond in an almost bob haircut. Santana loved seeing women with their hair down. It was regulation all long hair had to be in a bun, so whenever the uniform came off and the police women let their hair down, it was a treat for Santana.

"Yeah."

"That's Quinn Fabray," Tina said.

"Fabray? Related to Mayor Fabray?"

"Very related. Mother and daughter," Tina said closing her locker and duffle bag in hand.

"No shit," Santana said, "I didn't even know Fabray had a daughter."

"One of your best friends works with her," Tina said, a bit surprised, "How could you not know?"

"It's not like we discuss all the relatives of everyone he works with" Santana said, now closing her locker and holding her bag.

"She's seems really nice," Tina said.

"The mayor?" Santana asked confused, "No she doesn't..."

"No fool, Quinn," Tina said.

"She does?" Santana asked surprised. Santana had heard both the mayor and her husband speak and neither seemed like nice people and expected their spawn to be the same, "Maybe we should go talk to her."

"No way!" Tina said, "I'm staying away from that one."

"Why?" Santana asked, a bit amused.

"Her mother is the mayor. Our boss," Tina said, "We somehow piss off the daughter and all she has to do is pick up the phone and mess with our careers."

"Tina, don't be ridiculous," Santana said, "This isn't high school. Don't make generalizations about someone you haven't even met."

"Either way, let's just play it safe," Tina said, "Just stay away."

Santana and Tina picked up their bags and turned to leave in the opposite direction of the mayor's daughter. Santana took one last glance and saw that Officer Fabray was now talking to a blond woman with long hair, whose face Santana couldn't see, her back was to her.

When Quinn caught Santana looking, she left.

###

"I'm starving," Brittany said opening her locker, which was close to both Quinn's, "And I want to hear all about what you did today."

"I had a great first day," Quinn said, "Made an arrest, yelled at some kids..."

"Stop," Brittany said with a small laugh," Save it for dinner."

"Fine," Quinn said, finishing up getting dressed, "Where the hell is Puck? He was supposed to text us 15 minutes ago."

"His shift is over, he's probably just changing," Brittany said, "Quinn, did you have anything to do with us having our lockers near each other?"

"Me?" Quinn asked in mock shock, "How dare you think that?"

Brittany just looked at Quinn.

"No, I didn't," Quinn said, "And that's the truth. I guess it's just a regular old coincidence."

"Right," Brittany said shaking her head.

After she and Quinn were done dressing, and heading out to the hallway, Puck still hadn't shown up.

"I"m going to call him," Quinn said.

"No need," Puck said suddenly appearing, already dressed in jeans and blue sweater.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Quinn asked.

"Waiting for you dumb asses outside," Puck said, "I was ready to go 20 minutes ago."

"I told you to text me," Quinn chastised.

"Uh I did," Puck said, "But you didn't answer. I figured you didn't have reception in there."

"That's…," Quinn began to say as she looked at her call log, "Oh, yeah, here it is."

"Boom!" Puck exclaimed, "Told ya. I guess I could have just gone into the woman's locker room like I did the bathroom earlier today.

"Enough wasting time," Brittany said, "Let's go eat."

"Wait, you were in the woman's bathroom?" Quinn asked as they began to walk towards the exit.

-TBC-