Jay smiled as he got out of the SUV and clipped the leash to his dog, a black and tan miniature Pinscher.
"Heel, Sarge," he said as he walked towards the park.  He had done it.  He had bitten the bullet and gotten himself a therapy dog.  And really, it had come at the perfect time.  He had been floundering a bit since he and Chloe---Lieutenant Nunn---had broken up.  And no, it wasn't one of those breakups that was full of bad blood.  They had just realized that they weren't working together romantically and had agreed to stay friends.  Friends.  Yeah, he wasn't sure if he could manage that after everything he had shared with her.  Well, at least he knew that if he ever needed to talk, she would be willing to listen.

He then forced the thought away and went towards a tree, sitting down in front of it and leaning against it.  Glad I took Chloe's advice about getting the therapy dog, he thought to himself.   Things were better with Sarge around.  Sarge kept the nightmares---personal or professional---from happening too often.  If even let out so much as a whimper, Sarge was there, licking his face.  And for that he was grateful.

Jess had no problem getting her hands dirty down at the vehicle bay, but she did like throw aside her grease covered overalls and indulge her interest for fashion on her time off.

Moreover it was nice to be outside enjoying the sunshine. Which she was doing as she walked along the greenery, spinning in a gentle twirl with her hands out so that she could feel the warm breeze between her fingers as she strolled through the park in the cheerful sun dress she had made herself.

Though the redhead had to be careful not to catch too much sun or she'd burn with her fair skin, so she headed towards the shade line of the trees. But it didn't take her long to step backwards into someone as she slowly twirled again.

Stopping in her tracks she quickly turned to face the man, "Oh, sorry." She said with a friendly smile, apologized for her clumsiness.

At least she had walked into him gently so it shouldn't have hurt, and more importantly she hadn't stepped on his precious little dog, "Aww." She cooed seeing the little fella.

"Aren't you a little cutie pie?" She said, looking down at Sarge.

Tag: Sgt. Jay Halstead.

Jay let out a soft grunt as he was bumped into, and then smiled as the woman apologized.
"All good," he responded. "You okay though?" he checked, quickly standing up so that he didn't look like a damn oaf just sitting there. The last thing he wanted was the woman to think that he was a total lout.

His smile then grew as she turned her attention to Sarge, cooing at him and calling him a cutie pie.
"You can pet him. He's friendly," he told her. It wasn't like he was working at the moment. No, Sarge was there more for emotional support and to wake him up if he was having a nightmare when he was sleeping. Other than that, as far as he was concerned, he was free to love on whoever he wanted. And Sarge was a love bug.

He then chuckled as Sarge reached up, clearly intending to paw at the woman's legs. Yup. Definitely a love bug. And he wouldn't have him any other way...

Jess smiled when the man said he was all good. Thankfully he hadn't taken any offense and gotten all annoyed at her like some people out there would have. In fact he reacted the opposite way and was very nice about it, actually caring if she was alright. "Oh, I'm fine." She reassured him animatedly.

She was used to bumping into things and and had built up a tolerance, she was just glad that she hadn't hurt him. Not that she had bumped into him hard enough to have hurt him.

Jess eagerly accepted Jays offer to pet the dog, bending down and happily scratching behind both of Sarge's ears, "Hello! Aren't you a good boy? Yes you are, yes you are." She said baby talking to the animal, her face lighting up with a happy smile. Leave it to a cute little puppy to melt Jess and send her cooing.

She lowered to her knees and fussed him for a few more moments then she looked up at Jay. He was cute too which put another kind of smile on her face, "It's a lovely dog you have. What's his name?"

Jess run her hand down Sarge's back one last time then stood back up. "I'm Jess by the way." She said as friendly as ever, turning her attention back to Jay.

Tag: Sgt. Jay Halstead.

Jay smiled as the woman assured him that she was fine.
"Good to know," he responded. Would've been so embarrassed if she had gotten hurt because of me, he thought to himself. He wasn't sure if he would be able to forgive himself for that. But then again, it wasn't like he was The Hulk or the Thing so unless he was actually running towards someone, the likelihood of them being hurt by running into him was pretty nil.

His smile then grew as she cooed over Sarge, scratching his ears, saying that he was a good boy.
"He's the best," he responded. Glad I decided to adopt him, he mused. And yes, he had fought it for a bit. What could he say? A part of him had felt like he was failing by needing the therapy dog again. Okay, maybe it was stupid to feel that way, but it was there. He had thought he had moved past it, but the news that Rodiger was out had sent him into a tailspin.

Hearing her speak again, he gave himself a mental shake and refocused his attention on her as she asked him the dog's name.
"Sarge," he responded. And yes, he was quite aware of how problematic that could get on a military base. He just hoped that he never lost his dog cause he did not want to have to yell for the dog throughout the base and have everyone there give him dirty looks because they thought he was being an annoying jackass.

He then smiled at her as she introduced herself as Jess.
"I'm Jay. Nice to meet you," he responded.

"It's nice to meet you too, Jay." He seemed like a nice guy and Jess was almost glad that she's walked into him. It was the silver lining to her clumsiness at least.

Jess smiled when she heard the dog was named Sarge, "I take it you're in the militarily?"

It was fitting considering they lived in a military town, well she was assuming he lived in Tierney but then he could just be a visitor, "Do you live around these parts?"

She hoped he did, he was rather easy on the eyes. Which reflected in her coy smile as she put her hands behind and gently twisted her shoulders side to side like a fifteen year old schoolgirl with a crush.

"I'm an army girl myself, lived here since I was sixteen." She told him, not that he had asked.
It was one way to let him know that she was a local...and that she would be around the area, if he got that hint...or if he cared.

Jess was a nice, small town girl and wasn't the type to flirt outrageously, no she was too innocent for that but if she talking to a nice guy like Jay, with a sweet dog, then there was no harm in making some small talk and seeing what happened.

Tag: Sgt. Jay Halstead.

Jay smiled as Jess said it was nice to meet him, saying that she was surmising that he was in the military, and asking if he lived around town.
"You too, and yeah, I live on the Army base nearby," he responded, smiling at her. "How about you? lived here long?" he queried. Knowing his luck, he had probably just asked this question to a life-long resident of the place. Well, hopefully, she wouldn't be offended.

He then nodded as she stated that she was an army brat and that she had lived in Tierney since she was sixteen.
"So what other places have you lived in?" he wondered. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. I'm sure it couldn't have been easy moving around so much," he continued. Great, he was making a complete fool of himself. Terrific.

"Well I was born in Mississippi but I've lied in a couple of places." She answered. "My dad's a chaplain so he traveled a lot. Sometimes he used to take us with him, sometimes we used to stay at home while he left and sometimes we would have to move, but not that much." She added.

"We lived in Alabama and North Carolina for a few years, and we spent time living on ships and army basis overseas. Even stayed in Africa for a few months." She finished.

"Oh I don't mind you asking at all." She smiled...In fact she liked that he was taking an interest in her.

"No it wasn't really that bad, we traveled around sometimes but we didn't really move all that much." She replied when he mused it couldn't have been moving around.

Her dad had always tried to provide them with stability and avoided moving them around as much as he could. Taking them traveling with him when it was appropriate, leaving them home when it wasn't and only moving when they had to.

"What about you?" She asked returning the question of where he was from and where he had moved around.

Tag:Sgt. Jay Halstead.

Jay nodded as Jessica stated that she had been born in Mississippi but had lived in a couple of places, adding that her dad was a chaplain, which meant that they had traveled a lot, sometimes taking them with him while other times staying behind, saying that they had moved a few times, but not a lot, listing some of the places that they had stayed in, assuring him that she didn't mind him asking her.
"Sounds like you got lucky in the moving department. Some people I know had to move constantly," he commented. And yeah, it could suck. Big time.

When she turned the question around on him, he smiled.
"Born and raised in Chicago, joined the Army when I was eighteen, been traveling ever since," he responded. Did it suck sometimes? Sure, but he wouldn't trade his life for anything. And yes, he knew how it sounded---he traveled a lot and didn't bother going home. But the truth was, he loved his city. He just didn't really have a lot of chances to go back.

"Eighteen wow." Jess replied. "You must have seen a lotta interesting places." She offered an optimistic smile.
Leave it to Jess to look for the positive in anything someone told her.

Yeah she knew the 'travel the world, see interesting places, be the best you' campaigns and sign up tactics often did a good job of making military service sound like a paid vacation and she knew time in the service wasn't really like that. It was challenging and came with a host of dangers and there were a lot of sacrifices that needed to be made in order to live that life, such as moving around all the time. But still the job could lead to some interesting places and it was better to focus on the positive rather than the negative. Especially when you was trying to hit it off with someone new.

"I hear Chicago is interesting in itself." She added. "I've never been there, I'm a small town girl myself. But I've heard a lot about it." She offered him a slightly forced smile. "Probably a lot different than a lil o'l place like Tierney."

He was a big city lad who had probably seen half the world by now and she was a small town girl who's choice of weapon was a spanner, she thought to herself. He'd probably find her boring and incessantly chatty. Oh Jess, what are you doing? She thought.

Tag: Sgt. Jay Halstead.

Jay nodded as the woman commented on his age when had joined the Army, saying that he had probably seen a lot of interesting places.
"Some," he agreed. Wish I could talk about it but a lot of it's classified and I don't wanna make things awkward, he thought to himself. Even though they were both in the Army, the rule about classified information was pretty strict and sometimes that rule sucked. Oh well. Not like he was in a position to do anything about it. No, he would just focus on having a good time with her.

When she said that she had heard that Chicago was interesting, saying that she had never been there though she had heard a lot about it, explaining that she was from a small town and that Chicago was most likely different from Tierney, he nodded.
"Yeah it's different, but to be honest, I sort of prefer Tierney over it," he admitted. The only thing he had left in Chicago was his father and really, other than that, it hadn't been home for him for a long time now. Was that sad? Maybe, but it was what it was.