Title: JJ To The Rescue

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Drake, JJ, Dee, Ryo, Ted, Marty, OCs.

Rating: G

Setting: After Like Like Love.

Summary: The detectives of the SCU are almost melting in the heat until JJ comes to the rescue.

Word Count: 754

Written For: My own prompt 'FAKE, Drake/JJ, Iced Tea,' at fic_promptly.

Disclaimer: I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

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Blazing summer temperatures and broken air-conditioning had the squad room feeling like an oven. It was almost cooler outside where at least there was a hint of a breeze and patches of shade where the temperature was a few degrees lower. All the SCU detectives were in shirtsleeves or t-shirts, ties had been consigned to desk drawers, and files were doubling as fans in a vain attempt to stir the air a bit. It was so hot that nobody felt like doing much, aside from complaining about the heat.

Drake felt like he could be wrung out. Briefly he considered going to the men's room and splashing some cold water on his face, but he knew it wouldn't help for long. By the time he got back to his desk he'd be too hot again. Maintenance were supposed to be on their way to make repairs, but who knew how long it would take them to get here, never mind fix the problem?

Feeling thirsty, he levered himself out of his chair only to find the water cooler empty, which was hardly surprising considering the lot of them had been drinking like fishes in an attempt to stay hydrated. Checking the refrigerator revealed that it too was practically empty, not a soda or a bottle of water left, just an old sandwich that looked as tired and limp as Drake felt. The only other drink available was the regulation police coffee sitting on the machine, but drinking something hot when he was already close to melting point seemed unwise, no matter how parched his mouth was.

Returning to his desk, Drake sagged into his chair, too drained to even consider going all the way down the street to buy something cold and refreshing. In the absence of a drink, all he wanted was to wither quietly away at his desk, where he wouldn't bother anybody.

Over at their own back-to-back desks, Dee was snoozing in his chair while Ryo looked like he was trying to work, although as far as Drake could tell he wasn't making much progress. Ted and Marty had given up trying to do anything at all and simply zoned out instead, staring into space, eyes glazed. JJ…

Where was JJ? Drake tried to remember when he'd last seen his partner, and failed. Minutes ticked slowly past, and just as Drake was starting to get worried, JJ appeared, followed by three husky guys carrying crates of bottles and a refill for the cooler.

"Fear not, guys, JJ to the rescue," he called out, looking cool and perky in lightweight slacks and a short-sleeved shirt. "I come bearing cool drinks for all!"

Ted and Marty slowly blinked, looking around dazedly, and Dee jerked awake with a grunt, nearly falling off his chair. Ryo kept typing for almost a full minute before he finally registered that something was going on and looked up.

"Huh?" he asked, trying to get his brain into gear.

"Put as much as you can in the refrigerator," JJ was telling his delivery guys, "and leave the rest beside it." That sorted, he wended his way from desk to desk, plunking down bottles bedewed with moisture on each one, alongside something else Drake couldn't identify. Finally he reached his own desk and set a bottle in front of Drake. "I got us iced tea, I know how much you like it."

It was true, ever since JJ had introduced him to that particular beverage Drake had developed a taste for it. "JJ, you're a lifesaver, literally! Thank you," Drake gasped, twisting the top off the bottle and taking a long drink. "Oh, I so needed this. I was beginning to think I'd shrivel up and die. Do you know there wasn't so much as a drop to drink anywhere here aside from the coffee?"

"I know; that's why I went to get supplies. In this weather, it's important to stay hydrated. I got these too," he added, sliding a small battery-operated fan across to Drake, along with spare batteries.

"This is one of the reasons I love you," Drake said with a sigh, picking up the fan and turning it on, directing cooler air down the front of his shirt. "You think of everything."

JJ beamed back at him, delighted by the compliment. "I try my best."

Gradually, amid the whirring of small fans, the squad room came back to life. With any luck at all, thanks to JJ they might just survive until the air conditioning was fixed.

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The End