Somethings Change

Chapter 1

*A/N: this chapter is set during the first season of IJ when Brian does the show part time and the fire department part time*
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"Can I get a shot of whiskey please?"

JJ Walker sat herself down on the worn out barstool, feeling the weight off of her feet for the first time in hours. The bar was fairly empty except for a few other patrons who, much like JJ, have obviously come to wind down and drown themselves in booze and silence. Soft country music played quietly in the background in an attempt to lift the heavy mood that filled the room.

JJ Walker is a FDNY firefighter. Has been for about six years now. She didn't have what most would call a 'happy childhood'. To start from the very beginning, her father left her, her mother, and her sister when JJ was only two weeks old. She's never seen him nor has she ever met him. And she has no intention to either.

Her father leaving so early forced JJ to be raised by her mother. Raised, however, is not the right word to use. JJ practically raised herself. Her mother was a drug addict. The woman was almost never home and when she was, she was high. She did nothing a mother should do. JJ and her sister relied on each other to pay bills, buy food, go to school, and just get through the day.

Walker grew up in the bad parts of New Jersey, surrounded by drugs, crime, and alcohol. Clearly it was a terrible way to grow up, but in a way without any of it JJ wouldn't be the person she was. Because when she was 16 years old she got the news that her mother had died. Overdose. Luckily, JJ's sister was 18 at the time and could be JJ's legal guardian. Therefore, she never had to go into foster care. But that day was when she vowed to never become her mother. She'd never turn to drugs and she'd actually do something with her life.

So, the day after she graduated high school JJ packed up her things and drove to wherever the gas in her tank took her. That place just so happened to be Manhattan. New York was where she found the fire department. She joined the fire academy, graduated, and has been with the FDNY since. The fire department is the first thing she ever truly cared about. The first thing she truly loved.

However, the same life changing story was not the same for her sister. JJ's sister stayed in Jersey and was on the path that followed their mother's footsteps. Drugs. Despite being each other's support system, JJ and her sister were never close. They never had that strong sister bond you always hear about. Which is why JJ didn't really miss her sister after she left for New York. Her sister made her own decisions and made her own mess. That being the reason the two of them hadn't spoken in years.

Now here JJ sat in the quiet, dingy, Manhattan bar, after a less than peaceful day at the firehouse. She still had splotches of dirt and ash that covered her arms while a lingering smell of smoke absorbed into the cotton material of her navy blue uniform t-shirt. Her uncomfortable navy blue plants were far from clean and were being held up by an overly tight black belt that she couldn't wait to unbuckle when she got home. Black boots covered her feet, the feeling of the securely tied laces almost suffocating.

Long story short; she needed this whiskey.

"Here ya go, ma'am." The bartender spoke as he slid the glass across the smooth wooden bar.

Just as she was about to down the golden liquid and relieve some of the day's stress, a deep husky voice appeared from her right.

"That's on me." The mystery voice stated.

JJ turned her head and put a face to the voice. His dark brown hair was longer, pieces of it falling onto his forehead. He was clean shaven and had a set of soft brown eyes that enticed her more than she thought eyes ever could.