SHOT | JAY HALSTEAD

7 | drink

"I want you to meet my friends tonight." Jay smiled as he handed her a cup of coffee as they both got ready for their shifts. Jay hadn't been called in for a case so he would most likely spend the day doing paperwork and Rhea was on-call so she decided to spend the day running a few errands.

Rhea smiled softly at the detective, "Sure. I know most of them anyway but I don't mind."

"Great. Would you mind if I introduced you as my girlfriend?" Jay curiously asked. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable but he liked her too much not to refer to her as his girlfriend.

Rhea shook her head with a smile, "I don't mind. As long as I get to call you my boyfriend?"

"I think that can be arranged." Jay smirked.

"So, he finally convinced you to come out for drinks?" Will teased. He knew that big crowds weren't her thing and she rarely went out with other people but he knew how important Jay was to her so he was glad he had managed to convince her to come out.

Rhea rolled her eyes, "Hush, you. One night hopefully won't kill me."

"You're going to be surrounded by, cops, firefighters, doctors and paramedics, I'm sure you'll be fine." Will laughed as he bumped her shoulder before opening the door for her. He was glad she was slowly coming out of her shell and enjoying life.

As soon as they walked in, Jay was quick to spot them both and made his way towards them.

"You came," Jay smiled before he picked her lips.

Rhea giggled softly, "Well, I couldn't exactly say no when you asked so nicely."

"So all it took was my brother asking you to come?" Will asked in disbelief before he shook his head, walking off towards the bar.

Jay laughed at his brother over exaggeration, "Come on. I want you to meet everyone." Jay dragged her over to the table, introducing her to everyone. Rhea definitely had a great time getting to know everyone but she was apprehensive of Erin. The brunette didn't seem to like her and for some reason tried to belittle her every chance she got. It irked her but she refused to cause a scene for Jay's sake.

"I'm going to grab another drink, you want anything?" Jay asked before Rhea shook her head, showing him her glass that wasn't empty. Jay smiled before kissing her head, getting up to get another beer for himself.

"I see you two are getting along?" Erin asked after Jay left the table to get his drink.

Rhea smiled as she looked over to where her boyfriend was standing, "Yeah. He's a great guy and I'm glad I met him."

"I hear you refused to be with him?" Erin asked as she practically glared at the young doctor.

Rhea sighed, "I don't exactly think that's any of your concern."

"Of course it is, he's my partner."

"I understand that but he's also a person with feelings. Feelings that are for me, so no it's not of your concern. Whatever happened between me and Jay is between the both of us. I know he's your partner and you have every right to ask him what's going on if he's distracted on the job but you don't get to ask me about my personal life. I like Jay and he likes me, that's all you need to know." Rhea explained as calmly as she could to Erin, even if she wanted nothing more than to yell at her for asking such a personal question.

Erin scoffed, "What makes you think you're good enough for him?" Rhea looked at the brunette in disbelief, who the hell was she to ask such a thing?

"Isn't that for me to decide?" Jay spoke from behind Rhea. Erin's eyes widened in shock whereas, Rhea looked at with a soft smile. She didn't want him to start something that he would regret.

"I just wanted to protect you, you're my partner." Erin spoke.

Jay sighed, "I honestly don't care what you were trying to do, but you had no right. You ask me if you have a problem, not the woman I love."

"Love?" Rhea and Erin asked in unison.

Jay smiled at Rhea before he placed a hand softly on her cheek, "I love you."