Stay at home. Keep your cell phone on.

Erin threw herself down again on the couch, her index finger clicking the remote to turn on the TV. Jay's words from yesterday still whirred around in her mind, she'd listened and barely left the apartment except to go and pick up take out for dinner. Her cell had been glued to her hand, but now it was Sunday noon and she hadn't heard anything further from the Detective.

She'd be lying if she said their last conversation hadn't scared her. Jay had left in such haste- bringing her back to the apartment, pulling her close to kiss her- speeding into the distance as she lingered in his sudden absence. It had caused Erin to attempt to think of every possible way she and Jay could be connected…how could they both be affected?

During their short time together, Erin realized just how much she was revealing to him. A small lump wedged itself in her throat. Did this have something to do with her brother? His brother? Her roommate? Not knowing anything was causing Erin to conjure up a million scenarios in her mind, assuming the worst.

She tucked her feet beneath her and flicked aimlessly through the TV networks. Eventually she settled on Grey's Anatomy reruns, though her mind was far from caring about what was happening onscreen.

"Erin?" to her (slight) disappointment, the voice was female. Kate.

"In here," she shouted from the lounge, hoping her roommate would come to her. Erin waited until Kate was in sight. "How was your weekend?"

"Yeah pretty good," Kate pushed her sunglasses off her face and dropped her purse. She sat on the edge of the couch next to Erin. "More to the point," she nudged Erin's arm. "How was yours?"

Erin knew she would be wanting details. She left out the details of last night for now. "Yeah good," she nodded, her gaze still on the TV.

"Excuse me," Kate waved a hand in front of Erin's face to get her attention. "You don't get to stop there. I said…how was your weekend?"

Erin smirked. "Like I say, it was good-"

Kate noticed her expression. "You wore the dress, didn't you?" A nod from Erin. "Oh my God, did you look hot? Of course you did," she answered her own question. "And…"

"And what?" Erin laughed. "He may or may not have come back here-"

Kate's eyes widened with excitement. "I knew it!" she threw a fist into the air. "See, I knew going to Dan's parents' place was a good idea," Kate moved to stand up.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Erin said.

"You're welcome," Kate said over her shoulder. "I'm gonna dump my stuff in my room. What are you doing today?" she asked before she left the room.

"Um, nothing," Erin shrugged. "What about you?"

"Honestly same…I'm pretty tired," Kate yawned, stretching a hand to cover her face. The movement caught Erin's attention: something causing light shadows to bounce off the walls.

"Kate," Erin's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is that on your finger?"

"Oh, she notices!" Kate said sarcastically. "So this happened over the weekend-"

"Oh my god Katie!" Erin bounced off the couch. "Let me see!" She drew her attention to her roommate's left hand. "Why didn't you lead with this? When were you going to tell me? Oh hi roomie, I'm going for a nap, by the way I'm engaged?!" Erin imitated, not really pissed but rather curious of Kate's behavior.

"I didn't wanna piss on your parade!" Kate laughed. "Something tells me you had a great weekend. I kinda half expected Jay to still be here," she winked.

"Yeah, I," Erin didn't finish her sentence, knowing he probably would have been if their day hadn't ended so weirdly. "Soo… tell me what happened."

"He just came out with it," Kate blushed, recalling. "It's weird, I wasn't expecting it at all! I didn't even think it was on his mind."

Erin didn't wanna voice that she felt the same. She was happy for Dan and her friend but…they weren't even living together. They seemed to have arguments constantly. Maybe Dan was jumping into something.

"It's beautiful," she said, commenting on the ring instead. "I think there's a bottle of champagne in the fridge." Erin made her way into the kitchen, followed by Kate.

"But we have work tomorrow!" Kate seemed to plead. Obviously she remembered how much the two of them felt it the next morning, the last time she and Erin drank together.

"…yeah, but you're getting married!" Erin shouted, pulling the bottle free and popping the wooden cork. It flew across the room and they both giggled. "Anyway, one glass isn't going to kill us-"

"True," Kate gave in easily and reached for two flute glasses.

They moved back into the lounge, stuck on a movie. Erin was surprised Kate didn't comment on how much she checked her cell phone. It was drawing close to 9pm and she still hadn't heard anything from Jay. She didn't know the protocol when it came to being anxious about somebody who she'd recently started thinking about a lot.

Should she call him and let him answer her questions? Or wait for him to call her?

"What is with you tonight?" Kate finally realized Erin was in a daze. "You're distracted."

"I'm just tired," Erin played it off, yawning.

"Oh I bet you are," Kate teased and the reply earned her a nudge. "We have so much time to celebrate this. You go to sleep, I'll wash up."

Erin exhaled quietly, glad that Kate had dismissed her with little questioning. "Are you sure?" To be fair, she was actually starting to feel tired.

"Absolutely," Kate ushered her away, picking up their empty glasses. "You're the one that has to go to work in the morning anyway. Get outta here."

"I'm going," Erin stuck out her tongue. The work driven part of her told her it was the right idea: she would be back in her realtor role tomorrow and the thought hadn't even crossed her mind all weekend. Mondays meant new clients and probably a heavy workload.

She curled up beneath the comforter as soon as she got into her bedroom. All she'd really done all day is divide her time between that and the couch. Erin hated to be that needy person, but she couldn't seem to stop checking her phone. It kinda surprised her that Jay hadn't even texted. She set her alarm and flipped over to get some sleep.

"Stay at home. Keep your cell phone on. This could affect the both of us."

Erin pulled her blankets over her head in an attempt to shut off. Two minutes later, she threw them off again and found herself staring at the ceiling. After repeating her movements several times, she eventually closed her eyes again.

The alarm woke her suddenly with its repetitive ringing tone. Erin reached an arm out from the bed to whack it, fully in the mood to launch it across the bedroom. It was a sign that she didn't wanna get out of bed, feeling that she hadn't had sufficient sleep. There was no time for that though, and Erin prayed that coffee would fix her mood. Caffeine would see her through the day.

She flung back the covers with effort and sat up. Thankful she hadn't polished off the champagne, Erin walked the carpet into the bathroom to pee. And shower. It was early, meaning Kate probably wouldn't disturb her today, especially if her roommate had stayed up later to finish off the bottle.

Erin completed her usual bathroom routine and went back into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel. Only then did she realize the flashing on her cell phone. Something different to being her alarm. A text message.

She sat on the edge of her bed to read it. A message from Jay. Only five words.

Are you at work today?

He'd added an emoticon at the end, a face that was smiling.

Erin frowned, not knowing how to respond. She hadn't heard anything and then he'd texted about something unrelated. She gulped: at least she hoped it was unrelated. She replied with a simple yes and a smiley back, waiting a couple of minutes before hitting send.

Why did it matter to him if she was at work today? He was the one who'd left her in the lurk all night.

She put the Detective to the back of her mind and continued getting ready for work. Erin retrieved everything she needed to take to the office with her and left the apartment in a haste, not wanting to be late.

The music that blared from the car radio did a good job to distract her from thoughts as she approached her work place. Once she'd parked in her familiar spot, Erin grabbed her purse and jacket that she'd thrown into the back of her car and jumped out, locking her vehicle with the fob behind her.

There was nothing at the office block to tell her this was gonna be anything different to a regular work day. Erin rushed down the empty hallway to reach the comfort of her own work space. Shutting the door behind her, she hung up her coat and sank into the desk chair she would spend hours in. As she started up the monitor, her eyes drifted to the tiny icon telling her the time. It was just after 8:30, meaning she had time to make a coffee before their Monday briefing.

She made her way to the shared kitchen, not paying any attention to her surroundings before she had her caffeine fix. By the time Erin made her way back to the office, it suddenly dawned on her that she'd been the only one in the kitchen. The only one in the corridor. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen anybody else this morning.

The rational part of her brain took over, and she put it to the back of her mind. It wouldn't be long, anyway, before the Monday morning briefing and then she wouldn't be alone. At least she had time to drink her coffee in her own company…

"Erin."

Her eyes shot towards the door because she couldn't be sure if she'd actually heard it or made it up. Upon seeing who it was, one side of her mouth tugged up but she refocussed her attention on the computer screen. Playfully acting as though she hadn't heard him.

"Erin," the action caused him to speak again. "Hey."

"Hey?" From the corners of her eyelids she looked at him standing in the doorway. Jay was dressed in his patrol uniform, something she hadn't seen him wearing before. His Detective badge was hung around his neck and there was a thigh holster where it should be, holding a gun. She gulped, suddenly realizing that he was obviously on duty.

Not that the fact he was working had anything to do with what she wanted to say. Erin put down her coffee mug and, using both hands, pushed herself away from the desk. She wanted to call him out for leaving her in the dark all weekend, not even a text? Erin wanted to slap herself for being so bothered by it and yet thought she deserved to know. "What do you want?"

"I guess I deserve that," Jay stumbled into the room and closed her office door behind him. "Can I?" he motioned towards the vacant seat opposite her, watched for the slight nod of her head and then collapsed into it, exhaling.

Erin stayed quiet as she watched his movement, how he manoeuvred into the chair, an expression on his face that she couldn't read. She nursed the mug of coffee between both her hands, waited for him to continue talking.

"You know, I don't usually work weekends," he confessed, staring down at her work desk and not making eye contact. "That's how you know it's gotta be something huge." Jay shifted position, crossing then uncrossing his legs before continuing. "My weekends are mostly for things that I want to do… seeing friends, seeing my family," then he looked up. "Spending time with you," a flicker of a grin appeared on his face.

The slight change in his tone made her cheeks flush with color: suddenly his unexpected blankness of her over the weekend didn't mean a lot. She just wanted to know what was going on and, sensing his stalling, Erin put down her mug and leaned forward across her desk. Looking at him.

"Sometimes we get a tip off, and can't talk about it until it's proven to be true," Jay had lowered his tone and kept looking over his shoulder, towards the door of the office. His gaze lingered to the outside hallway before he turned back towards her, a finger pressed to his lips.

"Mitch Johnson has been arrested for drug possession," Jay watched as Erin's jaw dropped to the floor. "Somebody left an anonymous tip and with things like that, we gotta check them out." He spoke in little more than a whisper, giving Erin the impression that he perhaps shouldn't even be telling her yet. "The team were here early this morning and we have to search the place-"

"Have you found anything?" Erin gulped, knowing if it was true then Jay's words from their last evening would be right: this could affect the both of them.

"They're still working on his office," he said. He looked uncomfortable for a minute before standing up. "It does mean we have to search the entire place though."

"Right," Erin realized what he was getting at and stood up too. "Do you need to-"

"I can get somebody else to search in here if you prefer," Jay cut in. "If you don't want me rooting through your stuff."

"It's your job," she shrugged, leaning against the desk. "I have nothing to hide," she paused then, before speaking again. "I'd prefer you to do it."

Jay nodded, his eyes already scouting out the room for places to search. In his heart, he knew Erin would have nothing to do with what Mitch had been accused of but he had to do his job anyway. "I wouldn't be allowed to do this if people in here knew that we've been…you know…" he swallowed, not knowing how to label what they'd been doing. "Does anybody…?"

Erin bit down on her lip. "Nancy and Joe…they're colleagues but they wouldn't…I mean," she shook her head. "I told them we went out once together but I haven't seen them since so they don't know-"

"Then it should be okay," they kept interrupting each other, still unsure of which direction the conversation was going. Jay straightened and walked towards the window, where she kept a potted plant and where the drawers were stacked. From somewhere in his vest, he pulled out a pair of latex gloves and slotted them over his fingers.

Erin acted as though she was glued to her desk, watching Jay as he helped himself to everything in her office. After he'd turned over the plant pot, he moved his attention to the contents of her drawers and pulled them open, stifling through paperwork and personal possessions she kept in there.

"Who sold him out?" she tried, knowing he was probably sworn to secrecy. But worth a shot anyway. She didn't like her boss but she didn't know he was the type of character to bring drugs on their work premises. Even if he was the type of guy to do them in his own home, she'd been witness to that at his parties.

Jay shut the second last of the drawers and looked at her, his brow furrowed. "You know I can't tell you that," it looked as though he was even pained to say it. "But I don't think the allegation has been taken lightly."

"Right," she shrugged, her palms grasping the edge of her desk. A thorough investigation could mean closure of the office, losing clients, temporarily locked out of her work space… "What do you mean by 'not taken lightly?'"

He seemed to look in either direction, as though there were some sort of secret ears in the room. Then he let out the biggest sigh.

"How long have you worked for Mitch?" Jay asked suddenly, turning their conversation in a different direction.

Erin drummed her fingers on the desktop. No way was she about to disclose that she'd worked for him for a while, that they'd even shared one or two drunken moments at her boss's lavish parties. Something she wasn't about to discuss with a guy she wanted to pursue something with.

"Almost five years," she counted, her eyes on him as he continued his search through her stuff. Surprised at the fact that him doing so didn't bother her.

Jay stuck his head out of a drawer just long enough to reply. "…so you'd say you know him pretty well?"

"I guess," she shrugged, thinking back to the conversations she'd shared with her boss. Aside from when they were discussing work, her talks with Mitch had rarely been about anything other than his parties or what his latest extravagant purchase had been.

"There's nothing in here," Jay finally reappeared into view, scratching his head. As though he'd expected there to be something hidden in her office that could tell him more about her boss.

"I could have told you that and saved you the time," Erin said, shrugging. There was a tartness to her voice that she didn't recognize, knowing it would all go away if Jay opened his mouth and said something, something resembling an explanation. Or even gave her one of those looks: where he cocked his head to the side and smiled, his eyes shining along with it. She'd seen the specific look twice before and recalled how it made her feel. But now they were both at work, she had to maintain professionalism.

"Erin," there it was, the lithe way her name slid from his tongue, even in the work place it was tingling her insides. He sighed audibly, the slump in his shoulders evident. Then Jay closed the drawer he'd been inspecting and walked back to her desk, his arms folded across his chest. He opened and closed his mouth several times- like a fish- but with no words coming out. "You know we have to take allegations seriously," he gulped, refusing to look up from the floor. Knowing, if he did so, he'd feel even guiltier about his strange behavior on Saturday.

It was annoying that he'd been stuck in two different frames of mind over whether to disclose the case or not to Erin: she probably had a right to know but he wasn't technically allowed to tell her anything until he was given permission to. And it sucked because they were just opening up to each other and…

"I get it," she said quietly, her gaze flitting up to look at him even though he still looked down at the floor. "But please be honest with me, do you really think there's any truth to this?" Though Erin had her differences with her boss, she still struggled to believe that he'd hidden this alternative lifestyle from the likes of her and the rest of the realtors that worked here. It wasn't something she'd expected at all.

"I don't know," something in Jay's tone changed, and it automatically told her that he was being truthful. "I'll be able to tell you more if we find anything," he looked up then, meeting her stare. He suddenly closed the gap between them, sucking in a breath. Jay remained uneasy though, twisting his stance to see if there was anybody from his team loitering in the hallway. There wasn't. It looked as though he wanted to just pull her close…

A large bang from outside Erin's office made them both jump. Jay recoiled his position, turning his attention to her as they both had the same realization.

"Is that…" Erin trailed off, not finishing her sentence, rather opening and closing her mouth repeatedly with no words coming out.

"It's Mitch," Jay finished the sentence for her, his eyes widening at the loud commotion outside. Two members of his unit, clad in uniform like himself, wrestling a man between them. A man both of them knew was Erin's boss.

"What the-" Erin hurried to the glass panes of her office, unable to tear her gaze away from her manager. Mitch was in a state like she'd never seen him before. His usual flawless appearance was tarnished by the police presence and his expensive dress suit wasn't so glamorous: the tail of his shirt hovered over his pants and those pants trailed along the carpet. He was shouting profanities but Erin couldn't make out exactly what he was trying to say. She half wanted to call out to him: sure he was definitely an asshole at times but she had thought the guy was harmless.

"They must have found something," Jay interrupted her internal thinking, vocalizing what Erin had already presumed to be true.

Right she thought, assuming whatever or whomever had ratted out Mitch had some truth to their allegation. She'd seen a fair share of TV (because that was the only situation she'd seen this happen…never in real life) where the character had been whisked away from a questioning.

Erin folded her arms in front of her and watched as her boss disappeared from sight, still putting up a fight. She shook her head, knowing that wouldn't get him very far. Mitch was stubborn and, even with a cop either side of him, he was making such a personality trait known.

"Shit," she finally muttered, using one hand to massage the right side of her temple. "What do I do now?"

"I'll find out," Jay offered, his tone somewhat calming. Because he was obviously accustomed to this sort of situation. "Don't worry."

Yeah okay, she wanted to say. Because your career hasn't just been thrown under a bus. Your boss hasn't just caused your company a load of shit. You never just potentially lost your job.

"Hey," Jay seemed to sense how she was feeling. As he took a last look outside of her office-it seemed quieter now that his co-workers had escorted Mitch away from the building- he took a step towards Erin and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Within seconds she had given up the stubborn front, burying her face into his bulletproof vest. No matter how uncomfortable it was.

"You'll get an indent in your face from these pockets," he joked, trying to lift up her spirits.

Her small muffled laugh vibrated against his torso before her face re-emerged, several of her curls clinging to her perspiring brow. "I don't care," she pouted.

"You should," Jay continued, looking down into her eyes. "We can't have you serving clients with all these weird lines printed on that pretty face." His arm slinked from around her shoulder to stroke the temporary new addition on her cheek.

Erin shuddered. "You think I should stay here and work? After what's just happened?"

"That's what you have to do," Jay said, quite formally. "The worst thing would be if all the clients figured out what was happening." He backed away, shoving his hands into pockets of the vest and rocking back on his heels. "You're good at this and I should know," he smirked a little, winking. "You should lead the team into what to do today."

"I…" Erin gulped, knowing he was evidently right. She was good at her job- she just never thought a day would come when she would have to step up in such a way. Not yet- and not quite so suddenly- anyway. She retreated back to her desk chair and collapsed into it but swivelled to face him. "You know," she continued. "..when you said this could affect the both of us…I thought you meant…"

"You thought I meant what?" he asked, concerned and inquisitive.

Teddy. My mom. Something to do with a past that needed to stay where it belonged- in the past. Erin was quiet for a few moments. "Never mind."

Jay looked as though he was gonna push her for an answer but didn't. "Okay," he nodded, running a palm across his stubble. The hairs of which were growing longer than usual, the beginnings of a beard. He glanced towards the hallway. "I guess I should be getting back to work."

"I suppose so," Erin agreed, reluctantly. "You've caused enough damage in my office for one day," she said, in reference to his actions before, his ransacking through her office furniture.

"I…" Jay was about to protest before he saw the look on her face. At least she didn't seem to be pissed about that.

"I'm kidding, it's routine and I get that," Erin said, shrugging. "So, when will I see-"

"Erin," he said suddenly. "Kiss me."

She spluttered at his unexpected boldness. "What?"

"I'm not gonna leave this office until you kiss me goodbye," he laughed.

Erin narrowed her eyes. "So if I don't kiss you then you'll stay in my office all day?"

Jay pouted. "Yeah, I didn't really think this through," he realized, not taking his eyes from her.

"No, you didn't," Erin agreed, laughing to herself. She was reluctant for him to leave too, but they both had work to do. Slowly, she rose from her chair and walked over to where he stood. Did a quick survey of his body beneath its armour. He sure did look good in uniform. "You want me to kiss you goodbye? In my office? Where my colleagues and your colleagues could be out anywhere in the hallway?"

"I don't see anybody," Jay smiled, not even lifting his eyes to look.

"You didn't even check."

"Don't need to," Jay cocked his head to the side. He extended a hand towards her, pushing back a lose curl. "I need to know that whatever this turns into," he gestured around him. "That it won't affect what is happening between us. I need you to know that I didn't wanna leave you in the dark this weekend but I couldn't let anything happen to you. Maybe I overreacted but-"

Erin was on her tiptoes, interrupting his speech by locking their lips. "It isn't, it won't," she said when they parted. The kiss reminded her of their connection at the weekend, how he returned it softly at first but then she felt force. She brushed her fingers through his hair and fought to get them back, apparently he used some sort of product to keep it in place whilst he was working.

"Good," Jay trapped her jaw between his fingers and kissed her again, relatively reassured by her answer. Eventually he pulled back, remembering where they were. "I'll keep you updated," it sounded like a promise.

"Alright," Erin smiled, her insides feeling fuzzy. Something she would have to quickly forget about if she was about to even attempt to be productive today. "Now get out of my office," she joked.

"Yes ma'am," Jay offered a mocking salute before turning it into a wave. "I'll see you."

Erin nodded, watching from the doorway as the Detective rounded a corner she couldn't see beyond. Only a couple of seconds had he been gone from her view did Nancy appear, waving hands in front of Erin's face and disrupt her daze.

"Don't you dare go thinking I didn't see that," her friend grinned.

"See what?" Erin pleaded innocence but the rush of color flooding her cheeks gave her away.

"You know perfectly well what I saw," Nancy shrieked, nudging her workmate's arm. "I can't blame you, I mean look at him! So are you two a thing now? What was he doing here?"

Erin gulped. "You don't know?"

"Uhh, nope." Nancy looked around her. "I tried to call ahead to tell Mitch I was gonna be late this morning. My car gave out on the highway. Then I get here and it's like a fucking ghost town."

She was bound to find out one way or another Erin thought. "Mitch has been arrested."

"Oh my God! Why? What for?!"

"I don't know a lot yet," she said truthfully. "But something to do with drugs."

"What? Shit," Nancy exhaled a long breath whilst she processed what Erin told her. "So what's going to happen?"

"I don't know that either," Erin shrugged, retreating back into the comfort of her own office and watching as her friend followed. "I think we gotta keep working as usual for now," she said. "Do you have clients to work with today?"

"Yes," Nancy said after a few moments. Then she was quiet again, not knowing what to say. Like Erin's initial reaction, Nancy's jaw dropped and closed a few times as she thought of the right thing to say.

"I know," Erin agreed, though her friend hadn't said anything further. She fully understood her reaction though, what she'd just been told had rendered her speechless. Nancy probably hadn't suspected such news either. "We have to pretend things are cool for now," Erin worked to reassure herself as well as her friend. "Act like nothing has changed and continue to sell properties."

"You're right," Nancy nodded. "Why is it that you're always right?"

"Actually I can't take the credit this time. This was Jay's idea," Erin replied. She knew for a fact if Jay hadn't said something so confidently then she would have crumbled at the idea of still having to work whilst their boss was incapable.

"Oh," Nancy leered, the change of subject putting the life back into her. "Don't think you're getting away with not telling me about him. I'll corner you sometime," she giggled, still wanting to gossip before again turning serious. "Okay, I got it. We still got to work. Right." She worked to encourage herself then turned on her heel in the direction of her own office. Erin watched for a moment before doing the same, starting up her email and trying her damn hardest to concentrate on her workload.

"Is that you Erin?"

She slammed the apartment door closed and leaned against it for a minute. Half of her had hoped Kate would be out so she could retreat right to her bedroom and deal with the stress of her day. The advice from Jay to continue the work day as normal had worked at first but as the news spread around the building, some realtors hadn't taken it as well as herself. Not only had the fact she'd stepped up meant she had dealt with angry and upset clients but also members of Mitch's team who hadn't taken the news of his arrest lightly. Threatening to quit, to have nothing to do with the company any longer and Erin had fought to keep them quiet for now.

All of which combined together meant she'd had a crappy day and wanted nothing more than to relax in a hot bath or something. But Kate had already called for her when she had but one foot over the threshold of the apartment. Erin rolled her eyes and dropped her purse. "Coming," she muttered unenthusiastically.

She felt bad when she caught sight of Kate though, lounging surrounded by snacks and Netflix on pause. This isn't Kate's fault Erin quickly told herself before perching on the edge of the couch.

"Ooh, rough day?" Kate spun to face her when she heard Erin enter the room. Okay so perhaps the mood of the day was evident on her face. "Are you okay?"

Erin nodded, her eyes closing as she ran a hand through her hair. "I'm fine," she said. "I hope it's just a headache. I think I might go for a soak," right now, she couldn't think of anything she wanted more.

"You look exhausted," Kate continued. "Want me to tell that boss of yours to calm it with the workload? I don't think it's good for you, babe," the look on her roommate's face was of genuine concern and Erin wanted to kick herself for wishing Kate wasn't home. She obviously cared about her.

"No," Erin tried to play it off with laughter. "Leave him to me," it was her attempt to finish the conversation about her boss because she certainly didn't want him in her thoughts any longer today. "I might see you after a bath, if I don't head straight to bed."

"Okay," Kate seemed to understand, looking at her roommate for a minute before turning her attention back to the TV. "Feel better!"

Erin left her roommate to whatever she was doing and walked the hallway to her bedroom. She threw her purse onto the bed and started undressing, leaving items behind her as she headed to run herself a bath. She could kill for a glass of wine to accompany it, but it was only Monday and she couldn't just drink through the entire week. No matter how much she currently wanted to do that.

She draped a towel onto the railing and stepped into the water, testing the temperature at first with her toes. It was hot, the way she needed it to be to make her relax. Being in such a quiet and serene atmosphere almost made her feel as though she could unwind. Her eyes slid closed and Erin slumped until everything bar her face was submerged in water. It would be so damn easy to just drop off…

"Erin," then came a knock on her bedroom door. It was away from her surroundings but not far enough she couldn't hear it. Kate's familiar knock that she used when she didn't just want to burst into Erin's room.

Her eyes opened with a start. When she was just starting to relax. "What is it?" she said through gritted teeth.

"There's somebody ringing the apartment buzzer."

Erin rolled her eyes. So what? And? "Well can't you answer it?"

"I'm about to," Kate continued. "But it's for you."

She sat up then, the upper half of her body breaking out in goose pimples with the change of temperature. "Yeah? Who is it?"

"It's your boyfriend."

Erin turned her head towards the door. Jay? What was he doing here? Surely he couldn't be about to burden her with more bad news, she'd had enough of that today. She pulled the plug and watched the water as it started to circle down her drainpipe and then wrapped the towel around her. Her bathrobe was waiting for her by the vanity.

As she quickly towel dried her hair, there was another knock on her bedroom door.

"Kate! Tell him I'll be five minutes!"

"It's me," his voice came from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"Oh!" Erin muttered several cuss words under her breath before she hovered by the door. Suddenly she felt flustered: was it acceptable to open the door whilst she was still in her bath robe? It wasn't like he hadn't seen her semi-naked before. She gulped, pushing her hair off her face.

She pulled back the door in a swift movement and saw Jay standing there, leaning against her doorframe. He'd changed out of his patrol uniform into jeans and a sweatshirt, one that he'd rolled the sleeves of to his elbows. He didn't wait to be invited in, instead rushing towards her and wrapping both arms around her waist.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she was now. "What are you doing here, Jay?"

"I didn't come to talk about what happened today, if that's what you're thinking," he studied the elements of her face, starting with her hair line and tracing her features with his pupils until he'd covered it all and stared into her eyes again. "I guess while I'm here though I can tell you," he gulped. "Mitch is being charged. He…how long did you say you'd worked for him?"

Erin broke free from his grip and collapsed onto the bedspread. "Nearly five years," she confessed again. "What does that have to do with anything? What is he being charged with?"

"I told you I didn't come here to talk about your boss," Jay had lowered his tone and followed her towards the bed. He flopped onto the comforter beside her, as though he belonged there too. "I'm sorry for the position I put you into this weekend," he said, scratching his head. "I needed to know that you still wanna do this…us," he gestured between them both.

"I like you, nothing's changed on my behalf," her choice of words made her cringe. Like? She felt about thirteen, but she definitely couldn't drop the 'l' bomb. Erin touched a hand to his chest, gripping the material of his shirt. "But where is this coming from? I thought your speech in my office meant things were okay between us?"

"They are Erin," he said quietly. His tone made it evident that he hadn't come to her apartment to talk.

For a minute, she let herself get distracted, giggling as Jay played with the fastening of her bathrobe and they collapsed with each other onto the comforter. It was as though the events of the day hadn't even happened, they were keeping to their word of not letting work and personal worlds collide.

She pulled the Detective over where she lay, looking into the depths of his eyes as he caressed her skin.

"If Mitch gets time, that means you'll be running the company, right?" Jay sat up and reached across his torso to pull himself free from his sweatshirt. Something that told Erin he wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. A notion that she could be getting used to.

"You said you didn't come here to talk about work," Erin wriggled free until she was standing and tiptoes to the window, drawing her blinds. Then her eyes double checked her door was closed, locked even.

"Right," he reached to grab her and Erin squealed as he brought her back to the bed. "No work. All play."

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