Chuckles

Part I

"Hey, Chuckles."

"Detective Chuckles, if you don't mind."

Season 2 episode 17 'Say Her Real Name'

...

"Jay Halstead," Trudy Platt read off the top of the personal information form and glanced at him over the rim of her reading glasses. The man in question gave a single nod and flashed a charming smile at her.

It was his first day at the twenty-first district, a full ten minutes after he had stepped into the precinct, and this was the first time she lifted her gaze. When Antonio Dawson had introduced him to her, she had merely pushed a stack of paperwork across, motioning for him to fill it out without ever saying a word, no greeting, and not even deigning to look at him. Smirking knowingly, the Puerto Rican had left him to glean what all these forms were for. Seriously though: transferring to another unit, even if it was in another district, shouldn't require so many of them.

The desk sergeant hadn't exactly provided him with an answer either. Her nose had been buried deep in what he assumed was a gossip magazine, and whatever article she was reading appeared so captivating that she didn't pay any attention to him whatsoever while he filled sheet after sheet with personal data. Once he was done, he slid the completed stack back at her. At last, she put her glossy away and applied herself to his transfer forms, though she didn't seem interested in anything past the box with his name in it. Instead, she scanned him up and down, greenish-brown eyes sharp and assessing. After studying him rather intensely, a grunted "huh" slipped off her tongue, and somehow, she managed to make the single syllable sound disparaging. The frequent twitch of her right nasal wing accentuated that, but other than that her face was a stony mask. "Figures," she huffed as she went back to the paperwork.

In the short time in which she acknowledged his presence, the young man picked up on one of two things: while the woman feigned boredom and disinterest as she flipped lazily through the numerous forms, she was in fact skimming the pages for specific information, likely to be evaluated more closely later. He could tell from the way her eyes flickered ever so slightly every now and then. Most people would have missed it, and if he hadn't watched her so intently, he might have too.

His second observation was more obvious: without the aid of a real conversation, she had already made up her mind about him, and from the way she scoffed at him he could tell that he hadn't left an entirely good first impression. Quite the opposite. She very clearly didn't like him. What he didn't know was why, and what exactly 'figured' in her opinion. So, he outright asked. "What does?" Complete with fake casualness, though he was genuinely curious.

The young detective was certain that he had never met the woman before. He'd never stepped foot in this building either. And he definitely hadn't crossed her path on a case, he was sure of that. Granted, in a little over three years on the force, he had rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Occupational hazard. If you were fighting crime for a living, you were bound to stir up hatred amongst those committing it. But no matter how many enemies he had made out on the streets, he tried his best to stay on good terms with his fellow officers, especially his superiors. So even if he had come across her in the line of duty at some point, it was highly unlikely that he had given her a reason to despise him. He may be a tad reserved sometimes, and if he felt brave, he could be a little bit sassy too. But most of the time he was friendly and professional. And he was always, always respectful of the chain of command, no matter what.

Jay straightened his back a little as he waited for her reply, and sure enough, she provided one a second later. "Dawson told me about you," she stated coolly, little enthusiasm in her voice. She put the sheets down on the desk and raised her eyes to scrutinize him once more, an unreadable expression gracing her face. "You're one of those cops who think that Adonis-like looks and dating the sister of a respected," she emphasized the last word with distinct pronunciation, "detective is all it takes to get an in with every unit they so desire." The brunette blinked once, his brows furrowing ever so slightly. Surely, Antonio hadn't said those exact words to her? Unimpressed by the question mark on his face, Trudy continued. "Things work different here in the twenty-first, Officer Halstead."