Work Text:
It wasn’t supposed to take this long.
Amy accepts the undercover case a week before the date of her wedding because it’s a simple case that promises to wrap up in a couple days and because she gets to work with Rosa. The details are this: there’s signs of a drug operation running out of Brooklyn Methodist and they have to go undercover at the hospital to find evidence and bust the person behind it. Easy.
But the assignment doesn’t lead to some no-name drug runner and it doesn’t lead to some nurse making a little extra on the side. It doesn’t even lead to a highly decorated, soon-to-be disgraced doctor. It leads first to Stefan Cranson, who is a nurse but it’s not just a little extra on the side for him, it’s only one of his many criminal pies, and through him, it leads to Illario Paciello, nicknamed ‘The Viper’ for the serpent tattoos covering his arms and his rumored habit of poisoning his enemies.
They don’t have any solid evidence to pin on him yet but they have whispers and that’s enough when the NYPD and the FBI have been trying to nail this guy for years and have nothing to show for it.
And then, two days before her wedding, two days before the best day of her life, a woman in a suit, she introduces herself as Agent Brammer from the FBI, speaks in clipped, precise words and has a gaze like a falcon, steps into the room during their briefing with Captain Holt.
“We want you to keep working the case.”
Amy feels the ground drop out from below her, her stomach climbing up and up, like riding a rollercoaster but without the thrill, like being knocked to the floor in the middle of a brawl but unable to recover. The room presses down on her, because two days, there are two days left. Agent Brammer says something else, Amy sees her lips move, hears sounds come out of her mouth, but they don’t line up into words.
Normally she would be all over a case like this. The chance to do some real good while advancing her career and making a high-profile arrest? All while working with Rosa? Sign her right up.
Except her wedding is in two days and this isn’t the kind of case that’ll wrap up before then.
“Sergeant?”
It feels like someone else is speaking through Amy’s mouth, someone still capable of forming full words into exact sentences, someone who doesn’t currently have a lump residing in their throat. “I need to talk with my partner first.”
She can feel Holt watching her but she doesn’t look his way, just fixes her gaze on Agent Brammer.
“Of course.”
The agent nods at Rosa and, Amy could hug Rosa for it, she really could, the detective shakes her head. “She wasn’t talking about me.”
Surprise flickers on Agent Brammer’s face, the slightest of eye widening and pursing of lips, and then she nods again. “Alright. We’ll need your answer in an hour. We won’t force you to stick out a longer undercover op. But, Sergeant, Detective, we may lose this opportunity if you step away.”
Amy feels herself nod, “I understand,” and then she walks out of Captain Holt’s office, she doesn’t even ask to be excused or say a farewell, any other moment she would be mortified but not now, not when her wedding is in two days.
Rosa follows close by, her voice quiet. “You don’t have to do this. I can finish it on my own.”
“I –“ Now that she’s out of the office, away from Captain Holt’s concerned gaze and Agent Brammer’s piercing eyes, the puppet-master controlling her and telling her how to stay professional has cut her strings and she’s just floating, lost for words.
What she wants to say is she’s been the one talking to Stefan, the man at the hospital allegedly working for Illario Paciello, and if she drops out, he’ll get suspicious and they can’t take that risk. What she wants to say is that of course Rosa is capable of taking over the case while Amy goes off to get married. Instead she swallows and what she says is, “I need to talk to Jake.”
“Yeah.”
Her eyes search for Jake, find him in the breakroom laughing at something Charles has said. As if he can feel her watching, or maybe he’s been keeping an eye on Holt’s office to wait for her, his eyes redirect to hers. A smile begins to form on his face before faltering, brows knitting together. He says something, an excuse to Charles maybe, she’s too distracted to effectively read his lips, and then he steps out.
She doesn’t want to do this in the bullpen, doesn’t want the curious eyes of the other detectives to watch this, doesn’t want Agent Brammer to witness this even more.
When Jake nears, he glances between the two of them before settling his gaze on Amy, “What’s wrong?”
“Can we –“ Amy waves her hand vaguely because words are still a challenge. Jake’s frown deepens, he glances once at Rosa who just nods back before walking away.
“Sure.” He reaches for her hand and she takes it, weaves her cold fingers between his warm ones. Holding his hand sends a current of calm through her, as if whatever happens will be okay. It’ll be okay.
When he starts to lead them to the evidence room, the place where he proposed to her, she doesn’t know how this conversation is going to go down but she can’t do this there, she can’t, so she digs her heels in and shakes her head. “Let’s go to the roof.”
Jake pauses. His eyes search her face and she stares back, pleading with him to just go along with it. He nods and they go out to the roof. Amy takes a deep breath, focusing on the way her ribcage expands with each breath and the solid ground beneath her feet and on the warm hand in hers and not on the thoughts swirling in her head or the way her vertigo still hasn’t gone away.
“Ames?” She looks at Jake, at his wide concerned eyes. “What’s wrong? Did something happen on the case?”
“It’s not – nothing bad happened.” She pauses, at a loss, and he squeezes her hand. She smiles at him and continues, first slowly and then picking up speed until the entire story is tumbling out of her mouth, even the details that Agent Brammer may have preferred to stay confidential for the time being. At the end, she says, “They want us to keep working the case until we get Illario Paciello.”
“That’s great, babe! You can catch one of New York’s worst.”
“I know, but… there’s no way we can get it done in two days. I’d miss the wedding.”
Jake’s shoulders fall. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
They’re both quiet for a moment. Jake’s gaze has drifted out to the city, but Amy keeps hers fixed to his face. She can see the pain in his eyes of yet another separation, the slight downwards tug of his lips, the crease in his brow. She never wants to see this expression on his face again, never wants to be the cause of it. All of it makes the ache in her chest stronger, as if some force is trying to rip her heart out.
“They can send someone else.”
“What?!” His gaze darts back to her face. “No, Amy, no, you don’t have to stop working the case. It’s a big solve. You get to take a major criminal off the streets and earn major points with everyone important at One Police Plaza and the FBI.”
Amy bites her lower lip, because yeah, she knows all that. And she wants to stay on the case, wants to make the arrest, wants to make sure Illario is caught and taken off the streets. But... “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Jake’s eyes go soft. “Ames…”
“We’ve been planning this for months, Jake. I don’t want to cancel our wedding. It’s supposed to be our day.” The ferocity in her voice surprises even her and she takes a moment to pause and breathe. “It’s our day, Jake.”
“Any day can be ours.”
Her throat clenches and she shakes her head. “I haven’t even mentioned the deposits and reservations we’ve made. It’s too late to take those back.”
“I think the rec center will find something to fill our spot. Like… they can get Steph Curry to teach local kids basketball! I’d go to that. Or maybe they can host a garden show, old ladies love those. Or Steph Curry can run a garden show! That would appeal to all age groups.”
Despite herself and the situation, she snorts and he smiles.
“There’s that smile I love.”
She rolls her eyes at him but the smile stays on her face when he speaks again, “Do you want to solve this case?” She opens her mouth, gets ready to launch into the cost-benefit analysis that has been running rampant in her head this entire time, and he shakes his head. “Pretend there’s nothing else in the way.”
“You can’t just ignore the other variables when making a decision!”
“Do you want to solve this case?”
“…Yes.”
Jake nods. “I would too. Even all the glory and coolness aside, if you pull out now, they won’t be able to send in anyone else right away without risking suspicions. They’d have to wait and who knows what’ll he manage to do in that time? Or if their replacement will be as good as you?”
Amy sighs. “Will you be okay?”
He pulls her hand to his lips and presses a kiss there, right next to where the ring rests on her finger, sending a spark through her body. “As long as you are.” His hand trembles somewhat and she knows he’s not being entirely honest, but he’s not lying either.
Silence descends as Amy runs through the details once again, because whatever Jake says, she can’t just approach this simply. She has to consider every factor and run out both scenarios to their possible conclusions and only then can she make decision. Jake waits quietly as she thinks, his thumb running soothing circles on the back of her hand the whole time.
“I’ll stay on the case.”
“The Viper doesn’t know what’s coming for him.”
Amy nods. She searches Jake’s face, notes the proud, small smile and the way his brows are low and his eyes wet.
“We’re still going to get married.” Amy states, stepping closer to him. She needs him to know this, for if and when his old insecurities come crawling in. Her hands move up to curl in the fabric of his hoodie, fisting the material tightly as if that can keep him with her, and her ring shines bright in the sunlight. A promise. “I’m not leaving you.”
He smiles softly at her, cants his head just a bit. “I know.”
And then she can’t hold back the tears anymore. They come and even though this is her choice, even though he’s agreeing freely, even though this case is important and their wedding will happen regardless of anything else, she can’t stop them. She presses her face into his chest, feels his chin rest against the crown of her head and his arms encircle her tightly.
“Shh, Ames, it’s going to be okay. It’s all going to be okay.” His lips press against her hairline, words slightly muffled. “You’re going to catch the bad guy and then we’re going to get married and ride off into the sunset together. It’s gonna be hella romantic and badass. Just stay safe.”
Something like a laugh tears out from her throat, strangled in its sound. She pulls back just enough to peer at his face, take in his gleaming eyes and lopsided smile. “I love you, I love you so much.”
“I love you so much too.”
Even though she has her answer now, she stays out on the rooftop with Jake for the rest of her allotted hour, talking about everything and pressing kisses against every inch of his face and making promises over and over again so they’ll both have this moment to hold on to in the coming times.
--
Once Amy and Rosa inform Agent Brammer of their decision to keep working the case, they’re sent back to the apartment they’ve been staying in with orders not to return to the police station until Paciello is caught. There’s a new, stricter set of rules about communication and, well, everything else. No one wants to screw up this case, Amy least of all.
Later that night, when Rosa and Amy have finished their dinner, Rosa made beef stir-fry and though Amy’s a little too distracted to truly savor it, the dish is delicious, Rosa says, “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know.” A beat, she glances up at her friend, and then: “I wanted to. It’s important.”
Her wedding is important too, but – there’s a long list of crimes the Viper has been responsible for, people he’s hurt and killed, with no real evidence to attach any of them to him and this is a chance to stop him. She couldn’t refuse.
Rosa is quiet for a long time and Amy thinks the conversation – if it can even be called that – is over, she’s about to stand up and volunteer to do the dishes since Rosa did all the cooking, when Rosa speaks again, “It’s good to have you at my back, Santiago.”
Amy smiles. It doesn’t quite reach her eyes, but it’s close. It’s the best she’s going to get for now. “You too.”
--
On May 15, Amy wakes up with a hollow ache in her chest as if someone’s scooped out a massive cavern within her and left nothing behind to fill it with. Her hand flutters in the empty space beside her and the light catches on her ring and she feels her throat clench up.
She was supposed to get married today.
There’s a mission to focus on and a criminal to bust but Amy allows herself these first couple waking minutes. For herself. For him, also waking up alone. For them.
Tears well up in her eyes, sharp and stinging, and her entire body folds in on itself like a house collapsing under its own weight. She takes a noisy breath in. And then another, and another, and then she’s sobbing, her body shaking with the effort.
She made this choice, Jake agreed with it, actively encouraged her to finish the mission, they will get married, not today sure, but one day.
Yet she can’t help from mourning this lost day.
Eventually the sobs peter out, though she’s still breathing harshly, sucking in air to fill the void. Her hands clutch at the sheets and she grounds herself in reality once more by listing out the facts.
1) The case is going well, she’s talked to Stefan multiple times now, dropping hints of her dissatisfaction with her current life, he’s starting to view her as a potential ally, and Rosa has confirmed that their dealer directly speaks with the Viper, 2) they can set another wedding date when she busts Illario Paciello, they’ll have to talk with all the vendors again and book another location but it can be done, it’s just a date, nothing has changed between them, and 3) she’s going to ride off into the sunset with Jake in the end and it’s going to be hella romantic and badass.
The thought doesn’t quite bring a smile to her face but her breathing is finally under control and she can stand and head to the bathroom.
Her eyes are red and her hair sits in every direction and she can’t stare at her reflection for long or she’ll start thinking about wedding dresses and elaborate hairstyles and she can’t afford to do that. She’s spent enough time on tears today.
Once she’s washed up, Amy heads out to the living room where Rosa is already seated. There’s coffee waiting for Amy alongside a plate of eggs and bacon and she smiles gratefully at her friend. “Thank you.”
Rosa nods and continues sipping at her tea. She doesn’t talk until Amy’s drank half her coffee and started on the food.
“How are you?”
“Great.” Amy forces enthusiasm into her voice. “I think the case is going really well. Stefan really started opening up to me yesterday. He – “
“I didn’t mean about the case.” Rosa watches her with steady eyes, a gaze that Amy feels herself deflating under. She straightens her spine, imagines a steel rod there to support herself. “I meant, it’s May 15.”
Her shoulders droop all the way, steel rod be damned, and she doesn’t want to cry in front of Rosa, she let herself cry earlier, this isn’t supposed to get in the way of the case, but Rosa is watching her with quiet sympathy and Amy feels the rest of her facade crumble away. “I know.” She looks down at the table; it’s easier than Rosa’s eyes. “I miss him.”
A tear drops into her coffee, sending ripples across the dark surface, and it’s that one motion that sets off another storm. Amy bites down on her lip but it doesn’t stop her breathing from becoming labored or the tears from streaming down her face. She isn’t quite sobbing; it’s a quiet kind of crying, punctuated only with the hoarse whistle of her breath, but it takes all her energy to keep from breaking down entirely when her brain is spinning with activity, her thoughts a devastating storm of why did I do this and Jake is alone right now and I was supposed to marry him today.
Amy feels a light touch on her arm, a hesitation, and then Rosa’s hand is gripping her bicep firmly. A moment later, her fingers move up and down. Gradually the calm movement soothes Amy, her tears trail off and she’s still sniffling, but the hurricane in her mind has slowed and the embarrassment of having broken down in front of Rosa comes creeping in.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s not a big deal, we’re still going to get married, it’s just.” She bites her lip, not trusting herself to speak anymore.
“You don’t have to apologize, Amy.” Rosa grunts. She gives her one final pat and then moves her hand away. “We were supposed to be done with this case days ago and there was an unexpected complication. It sucks. It really does.”
Amy nods.
“Doesn’t mean it was your fault.” Amy’s lips purse and Rosa shakes her head. “Don’t. When this is done and Paciello’s in prison, you’re going to have the ultimate sappy wedding of your dreams.”
Amy’s shoulders relax, the tension draining out. She still feels tired and there’s a bone-deep ache that won’t go away with words, but there’s something to someone telling her all this. “Thanks, Rosa.”
“Now let’s go arrest that asshole.”
--
The day turns out to be highly unproductive. Stefan is too busy running through his rounds to stop and chat, he doesn’t even take a break to eat, and none of the medicine disappears from storage. Amy walks around the hospital in a haze, going through the motions of pretending to be a nurse, glancing at the empty space on her finger where she’s removed the ring for her undercover disguise, her shoulders bowed under the weight of her decision.
Despite Rosa’s words, she can’t help but wonder if it was the right one. If she’s a bad fiancée for choosing to continue the case when she should be at a wedding. If she’s going to be a bad wife. The thoughts gnaw at her all day until Rosa’s words from earlier seem a long way away.
After work, when Stefan declines the invitation to hang out (not tonight, he says before slipping away along with their chances to make any progress today), Amy plans to go back to their tiny hole-in-the-wall apartment, order take-out, and wallow in the aftermath of a bad day. She thinks she’s owed that at least.
Rosa has other plans. “We’re going out.”
“Stefan said he couldn’t.”
“It’s not for the case.”
Rosa doesn’t take no for an answer and Amy still doesn’t know where they’re going, her money’s on a bar, until they pull up to an arcade with an attached laser tag arena. She doesn’t leave the car right away, just stares at the neon-lit building with her heart thudding away. Then there’s a tap on her window, Rosa staring at her with one eyebrow raised, and Amy opens the door.
“Laser tag?”
Rosa shrugs. “You need to get your mind off things. There’s nothing better than beating a bunch of people at laser tag to do that.”
“I thought we were getting drunk.”
“There’s plenty of beer back at our place for later.”
Amy hesitates. They’re supposed to limit their outside activities, in case someone recognizes them. But then Amy knows Rosa wouldn’t bring them somewhere that could endanger the case in any way and it does seem fun.
“Well?” Rosa asks.
“Why the hell not?”
They end up playing several rounds of laser tag and just as Rosa promised, Amy doesn’t think about Jake or their wedding or the case at all during that time. She’s too focused on winning, on hitting her targets, on evading the aim of other players. And when her team wins, she dances and cheers and roars her victory to the heavens. Rosa laughs and punches her shoulder, and a warm feeling settles in Amy’s chest.
After they’ve won multiple times, Rosa takes her back to the apartment and they drink beer while eating Chinese take-out and watching House Hunters in a comfortable silence mostly interrupted by Amy’s comments and very occasionally by Rosa’s keen interior design opinions. Eventually Rosa stands and as she heads to her room, Amy calls out after her,
“Thank you, Rosa. This meant a lot to me.”
Rosa turns back to give her the slightest of smiles. “I told you, I’ve got your back. Emotional crap included.”
Amy smiles. It’s a genuine smile, the first she’s had in days excluding her victorious crowing after she swept the floor at laser tag.
She carries that feeling all the way to bed, but once the lights are off and the empty cold space beside her absurdly apparent, the earlier weight returns. She can’t stop thinking about Jake, alone right now, possibly staring at an empty bed too, and her entire body hurts from the thought. He was never supposed to be alone again.
There’s a photo of the two of them on the nightstand, taken the night he proposed, their faces pressed up against each other, her hand held out to show off the ring, his arm slung around her shoulders to hold her close, faces luminous with matching grins. Her eyes trace Jake’s features – the crinkle at the corners of his eyes, the dimples at his cheeks, the curve of his brows. He was so happy in that moment; they both were. Her hand plays with the engagement ring she put back on immediately after returning to the apartment.
“Jake, when I first met you, I didn’t know if we were going to be friends or if we would just be colleagues. A day later, I wasn’t even sure we could work together. But we solved that case.”
She pauses, chewing on her lower lip. A part of her feels foolish for doing this, it’s certainly the most fanciful thing she’s ever done, but something else propels her on. It’s irrational, she knows that, but maybe Jake will feel it across space, somehow know that she’s thinking about him, and he’ll feel a little less alone as a result. Or maybe she needs this for herself.
The words come easily, she memorized them long before this date, has rough drafts with edits and scratched out sentences squirreled away in a folder back home, and she speaks them in a low, reverent whisper. By the end, she’s choked up and the waterworks are threatening to fall again but she’s smiling and the world feels a little lighter around her, the weight from earlier lifted in the wake of her vows. One day she’ll get to say these words to Jake and she can picture the glowing smile on his face and it’s beautiful.
--
After that day, it’s easier to focus on the case.
She still thinks about Jake, a lot, it’s impossible not to when he’s so interwoven into her life, when one of the hospital’s newly admitted patients mumbles about reenacting famous action scenes and she wants nothing more than to text Jake about it, when she gets into bed and wishes he could lie there with her, and she still gets an ache in her chest thinking about the wedding that should’ve been, but she hasn’t broken down in tears again. She pours all her Santiago focus and drive on following the threads to Illario Paciello.
And it works.
Over the weeks, she spends a lot of time talking with Stefan, starts pretending to run small deals and steal medicine, just enough to get in good with him. Meanwhile, Rosa snoops around and finds papers, written in code, discussing the deals and how much drugs are needed. She pockets them and then she helps Amy steal medicine and turn it in to the FBI in exchange for money.
And Stefan, well, he trusts her, he wants her to be a part of everything with him (her stomach churns when he says that but outwardly she just smiles and asks him to prove it), and then he’s inviting her to accompany him to a larger deal as a show of all he has.
Word is the boss will be there.
Amy agrees to it, slides away before he can kiss her cheek, and waits anxiously for her shift to end when she can talk to Rosa about the deal and send an email to Agent Brammer and Captain Holt.
“Rosa!” She hisses once they’re back in the safety of the apartment. “I’m in!”
“Spill.”
So Amy tells her about the deal and Stefan’s promise. There’s no guarantee the Viper will actually show, but it’s the closest they’ve gotten so far and Amy has a good feeling about it. At the end, she adds, “I couldn’t convince him to let you come along.”
“Damn.” Rosa’s lip curls.
“Yeah. He said I was already his plus one and he couldn’t bring on more newcomers. You’ll have to stay back with the others.”
Rosa locks eyes with Amy and nods. “I’ll be the first through that door.”
If Rosa wasn’t likely to glower or twist her arm for attempting a hug, Amy would have. Instead she beams and, wavering at first, holds out her fist. She’s never really done fist-bumps before, but she’s seen Jake and Rosa exchange them before and it feels right to do something to mark the occasion. Rosa smirks and pounds her fist against Amy’s.
--
The plan is simple:
Amy accompanies Stefan to the deal with a fleet of cops and federal agents close behind. She enters the building unarmed with nothing but a hidden microphone, confirms that Illario Paciello is actually there with illicit goods, and proceeds to give the secret signal. Then her back-up swoops in, Amy gets out of the way, and the arrests begin.
In reality, things are never quite as simple.
Illario Paciello shows up, as hoped for, wearing a fine, crimson suit with just the heads of his snake tattoos poking out on the back of his hands. He examines her with leering eyes as Stefan makes the introductions; Amy keeps her head high.
“She carrying any heat?”
“I told her not to.” Stefan glances at Amy.
“I’m not.”
At a nod from their boss, one of the men searches Amy. She holds herself still, sweating, keeping her breaths even, fingers twitching to move into action. Soon, she reminds herself. Once they’ve brought out the goods. Not until then. Eventually the man steps back and nods.
“Good.” Illario’s eyes narrow at Amy. “Stefan vouched for you. Said you and your friend have been sneaking drugs for him. Said you were really good at it and that it was worth my time letting you into our business.”
Amy puts on a cool voice, lifts her chin just the slightest amount. “He’s not wrong.”
Illario stares with hard eyes and she thinks maybe she’s overstepped, maybe she shouldn’t have been so calm and collected, maybe she should have been more nervous meeting a mob boss, pretended to show her belly so to speak, what if he realizes something is off – and then he’s laughing, big guffaws that shake his entire body. “I like your spirit.”
She swallows and resists the urge to sigh.
The laughter tapers off and Illario steps closer, until his face is right in front of hers, voice dropping. “Do you know what I do to people who stab me in the back?”
Stefan cuts in, “That’s not necess-“
“You poison them.” Amy answers. There’s a small shake to her otherwise steady voice.
“I poison them. Did you know it can take hours to die from a snake bite?” She did actually, knows that it depends on the venom and whether it impacts the nervous system or the surrounding tissue, but she holds her tongue. She doesn’t think he’ll appreciate hearing about a documentary, especially in the middle of his threatening monologue. Which, truth be told, has her heart speeding up even with the knowledge that there’s back-up nearby. He steps back. “But I won’t have to do that to you, will I?”
“No.”
Illario nods and claps his hands together. “Alright then, bring out the goods.”
Men enter the room pushing along carts loaded with boxes. She watches as Illario walks over to examine them and then nods at the same man who had searched her to open it. He does, Amy can’t see what’s inside without getting closer but she can hear their appreciative murmurs and that’s enough. Illario turns back around.
Amy says, “Do you have any snake oil?”
Dead silence while everyone processes what she’s said, Stefan staring at her with wide eyes.
And then Illario snorts, “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
A moment later, the doors smash open and figures in black pour in. “Everybody, drop your weapons or we shoot!”
Chaos takes over the building as the men around Amy yell and draw their guns. “How did this happen?” and “Fuck, who cares? I’m out” reach Amy’s ears, followed by the staccato of gunfire, and she can see Illario Paciello turn to leave, fingers punching something in to his phone, and she’s not supposed to go after anyone, she’s supposed to take cover, she’s not wearing a bulletproof vest or carrying a firearm, but what if he gets away? What if this is all for nothing?
Buzzing with adrenaline, she takes off after him. She doesn’t get two steps before someone grabs her arm. She turns, sees Stefan’s face twisted in a snarl, “You! You did this! I vouched for you!”, sees the shine of his gun as he aims it.
Her body moves on reflex, stepping closer and snatching at his wrist, bending it as the gun goes off, too loud and too close, leaving her ears ringing but no part of her is exploding in pain.
“You traitor!” Stefan hisses as he wrestles with her for control of the gun. His elbow smacks into the side of her head, adding to the ringing, and the gun is still waving wildly through the air when –
Another shot, her body tenses – Stefan goes down, face contorted in a scream, he’s clutching his thigh, and Amy looks over to see Rosa standing there, her gun still raised.
“Told you I’ve got your back. Now let’s get out of here.”
Amy shakes her head, which, in hindsight, is a mistake given that it’s still ringing from the gunshots. She stops, stares at the ground a moment to center herself, breath in, breath out, just like that, good. Rosa is by her side in an instance and Amy shrugs off her hand.
“I’m fine. Paciello, he ran off that way.” She gestures. “We need to get him.”
Rosa glances in the direction Amy indicated, just in time to see a door shut. “Damn.” She eyes Amy critically. “Stay here. That’s an order.”
“I outrank you.” Amy argues. Rosa gives her a hard stare and okay, maybe pursuing a mob boss while unarmed and undefended isn’t the smartest idea, and she’s wasting time trying to argue the point with Rosa who is never going to agree to let her come along anyway. “Okay, I promise I’ll stay. Just go!”
Rosa nods and hurries after the Viper.
Meanwhile, Amy scoops up Stefan’s fallen gun. She’s no longer unarmed and chasing after Rosa seems plausible, like a good idea even, but she made a promise. With one final glance at Stefan, still screaming on the ground, she creeps through the building, edging near a wall to avoid the gunfire. She keeps an eye out for any of her friends, but it’s just dim enough and they’re all dressed in standard black raid gear and her head is still ringing so she can’t identify anyone.
Once she’s outside, she approaches some of the people left to guard the exterior and joins them in a defensive position around the building. It’s the worst part of her night; nothing happens and she’s left to spend the time wondering about her friends and whether they’re okay and if she can find a spare bulletproof vest lying in one of the trucks and run back in to find them.
Amy isn’t sure how much time passes, it probably isn’t very long even though it feels like an eternity, when the noise dies down and officers start marching out with handcuffed criminals.
She searches the faces around her, sighs when she sees Rosa and another woman leading a raging Illario Paciello. It’s done. They caught him. They caught the Viper.
She’s about to approach when she spots Charles, a wave of relief flows through her, he’s okay, and waves in his direction. He waves back, starts heading in her direction, she’s missed him, she wants to ask about Nikolaj and his food truck, when she sees Jake.
It’s like the rest of the universe falls away, the background sounds drop to a hush and everyone else is a distant star while Jake is the sun, bright and magnificent and close by. He isn’t limping and there are no visible injuries and he’s here and okay and here.
She runs to him and as she nears, he turns and sees her. His eyes widen and this gorgeous grin breaks out on his face, her name comes out of his mouth, and he doesn’t even have time to take a step because then she’s there, fitting into his arms as if she never left.
He picks her up, body shaking, her feet only manage to be up for a couple seconds, and she laughs, giddy and exhausted and relieved to be back home. Once she’s back on the ground, she grabs his face, fingers curling through the straps of his raid helmet, and pulls him in, sealing their lips together. His hands span her back and she can’t get as close as she wants because he’s wearing a bulletproof vest, the edges of which bite into her, and his helmet knocks against her skull when he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. She jerks back automatically and then she’s laughing again and he’s joining in and it’s the best possible sound in the world.
“I missed you.” Amy whispers, voice breathless once the giggles trail off, her fingers tracing up and down his face, refamiliarizing herself with its texture and shape. She leans in to press another kiss to his lips, slow, careful not to knock into his helmet this time.
“I missed you too.” Another kiss, this time he starts it, her lips move in response, and she’ll never get enough of this. His hands flutter along her sides. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt? I couldn’t find you with everything going on, I didn’t know what to do.”
“I’m fine.” He releases a sigh and hugs her tighter. She’ll mention the scuffle with Stefan later, when they’re in the safety and comfort of their home. “You?”
“Bummed that I didn’t get to say ‘looks like you’ve just rolled snake eyes’ to the Viper.” Amy snorts and shakes her head. “It’s a killer line.”
“What about ‘slither your way out of this’?”
Jake stares at her for a second, two seconds, three, and it’s just starting to make Amy want to shift in her spot or fix her hair or question him about it when he leans closer, “Will you ride off into the sunset with me, Amy?”
“As long as I get to be the one to steal you away.”
“As long as I get to choose the beats.”
“Deal.”
In reality, she doesn’t actually get to steal him away because there’s paperwork to be done and Agent Brammer wants it done immediately and that means heading to the station instead of home.
But Jake follows her and sits by her side as she fills out forms and is only moderately distracting throughout the entire process. Even less so when she points out the less distracted she is, the faster she’ll work and the sooner they’ll go home and then he falls quiet (though he keeps a hand on her back the entire time).
--
Rosa and Amy get medals for their successful case.
Throughout the entire ceremony, Amy has to restrain herself from shaking or jumping up and down or screeching at the top of her lungs; if she had any less restraint, she would be doing any of those things right now. However, she stays professional, back straight and head raised and just the slightest smile to show her emotion for the scene.
Her eyes search out Jake in the audience and he’s there, near the front, eyes shining with pride and love at her achievement. Her smile widens a little at seeing him, she’s still aiming for peak professionalism so she can’t burst out into a grin like she wants to, and his own smile widens respectively.
She looks away from him briefly, she can’t stare at him long or she really will lose it, to glance at Rosa. Rosa is as stoic as ever but Amy thinks she sees a smile on her lips. She sees her watching and gives a small nod to Amy, a movement Amy mirrors. She couldn’t have done this without Rosa by her side.
Once the medals are presented, the audience breaks out into applause. Jake jumps up from his seat, clapping the loudest, and yells, “That’s my future wife!” And then Amy finally breaks out in a grin, the urge to dance strong and just barely resistible.
Later, when she’s off-stage and away from her superiors, she launches into a full dance, complete with swinging arms and legs, and Jake pulls her into a tight embrace and tells her how proud he is again and again.
--
They haven’t set another wedding date yet.
It’s tough, finding an open reservation in the city at such short notice. Even the community rec center on Staten Island is booked up for the rest of the month and the one after with basketball tournaments, summer camp activities, a couple other weddings, and a conference for garden plant enthusiasts (unfortunately Steph Curry is not involved). Thus it’s looking more and more likely that they’ll have to wait several months, for the fall or even the winter, to get married.
They’re walking into work that day and throwing around dates when Jake says, “We could get married on Halloween.”
“One year anniversary of our proposal?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“For one, Holt would destroy us for taking up another Halloween heist.”
“We could do a heist at the wedding.” They both pause to consider it and then shake their heads. “Never mind, terrible idea, something would definitely catch on fire and the cake would end up in pieces.”
She laughs and before she can respond, Charles materializes out in front of them and grabs Jake’s arm. “Jakey! I need to talk to you stat about something really important.”
He looks between Jake and Amy at that and then grins this big Cheshire grin and this is Charles, he could just be excited about them walking into work together, but it’s also a little strange.
“Can it wait a little bit?”
“It’s urgent, Jake. 30 seconds on the MasterChef clock urgent.”
“That’s really urgent.” Charles nods and Jake glances over at Amy. “I’ll see you later, babe.”
“See you.” They smile at each other and Jake goes off with Charles and as Amy approaches her desk, Rosa walks over. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” Amy sets her purse down by her desk. “Let me just – “
“Now.”
And then Amy is whisked off to the women’s bathroom where Gina is waiting before she can even take off her jacket or put down her coffee. Amy is about to question them when she spots the dress hanging there.
“How did you get my wedding dress?” Of all the questions to start on, it’s definitely not the most important one but it is the one that bursts out of her mouth.
“We broke in and stole it. Now get dressed.”
She rounds on Gina. “Why?”
Neither Rosa nor Gina reply though they both move to help Amy get dressed. Gina touches up her make-up and styles her hair and Amy still hasn’t gotten an answer when everything is done and the two women pull her out the door but she has a building suspicion to what’s going on.
That suspicion, though right, prepares her for nothing. Amy steps outside and a gasp catches in her throat.
The area outside the police station has been completely transformed. The patrol cars have been moved away, leaving room for rows of seats and the familiar faces of her friends and colleagues sitting in them. Round paper lanterns hang overhead. Hydrangeas, peonies, and roses light up the space, woven into the lattice of a wooden arch and bunched together in tall vases.
And at the end of the aisle, in front of the arch, there’s Jake wearing a sheepish grin and a tuxedo standing by Holt and Charles. Jake lifts his eyebrows when she looks at him, gives her a small shrug, and a smile creeps its way on to her face.
Gina pipes in. “We know you two losers didn’t want to wait any longer to get married, so we set this up for you.”
“Everyone pitched in. Gina got as much as possible from your vendors, and then all of us came in early to set it up.” Rosa says from her other side. “Even Hitchcock and Scully helped.”
Amy still hasn’t said anything. She just takes everything in with wide eyes, mouth still a little agape at it all.
Terry is the one to break the silence. “Maybe we should have asked you two first if this was okay.”
She shakes her head. Tears sting at the corners of her eyes and she’s not going to be the first to cry but she is absolutely, definitely going to cry at least once today. “No, no, it’s perfect.”
Her parents may object to not being present – they hadn’t been exactly happy to hear the wedding was put off earlier, another ceremony may be needed to placate them, something where all her brothers could attend too – but everything else about it is perfect from the tasteful décor to the people gathered around her. They’re her family too and they’ve done all this just for her and Jake.
Her heart swells, fills her chest until it feels like it could just burst out and keep growing until the entire world is encompassed in the warmth and affection she feels for her friends. Her eyes meet Jake’s, he’s going to cry before her, she would bet on it, and she knows he’s experiencing the same emotions. They’re getting married. Their friends put together a wedding for them and they are finally, finally, getting married.
“What are we waiting for?” She says, a grin blooming on her face. “Let’s get married.”
Cheers erupt from their friends and Jake’s smile is impossibly bright and her own mouth is aching from how wide she’s smiling. She has to physically ground herself to keep from charging up the aisle to Jake’s side, where she wants to be, while everyone else gets into position and Gina scatters rose petals across the ground and the music starts playing.
And then she’s walking down the aisle alone, her body trembling with excitement, and she only has eyes for Jake and he stares right back at her, every step brings her closer and feels laden with meaning, this is it, he’ll finally be her husband, and then she’s there. She’s there, by his side, and it takes everything in her to look at Holt when he clears his throat to begin.
“Peralta, Santiago, I have seen the two of you grow immensely since I became your captain. Both independently and together. I am proud to have witnessed that development and to have known you both over the past several years.”
Amy’s throat constricts, she wants to cry at his words, or else she wants to cheer, but she does neither of those things. Instead she continues to stand tall and proud and beaming.
As Holt continues speaking, Amy pays attention but she can’t help glancing at Jake every so often to see how he’s taking it. And every time she does, she finds him looking back at her and the looks he gives her almost make her miss what Holt says. Her eyes refocus on Holt as he finishes and nods at them to start their vows.
Jake and Amy turn to each other in unison. He’s already crying and Amy can feel her own tears prickling, ready to fall, and she reaches for his hands and this moment feels like everything.
“Amy,” Jake breathes out her name like it’s something precious and her heart pounds in her chest, “I love you. You’re the most incredible person I know and – I’m Gomez, you’re Morticia, I feel so happy when I’m witcha.” She laughs because it’s perfect, it’s so Jake, and she didn’t know she could love him more than she already did but she can. She always seems to find a reason to love him more.
He smiles at her, something soft and gentle and reserved just for her, and continues in his speaking voice. “Ames, you’re everything to me. Being with you has given me the happiest days of my life and even when life sucks, being with you makes it bearable. I love you and I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
By the end, Jake’s image has blurred somewhat from the tears in Amy’s eyes, she wants to embrace him and never let him go. She takes a moment to blink the tears away and compose herself before launching into her own vows at Holt’s cue.
“Jake,” Amy starts and she’s brought back to when she was reciting these vows a couple weeks ago, alone and sad and far from Jake, and now she’s here holding his hands and looking into his beaming face and crying for an entirely different reason, “when I first met you, I didn’t know if we were going to be friends or if we would just be colleagues. A day later, I wasn’t even sure we could work together.” He snorts and nods.
“But we solved that case. And then, because you’re you, because you’re caring and funny and brilliant, you became my best friend. There’s no one else I’d rather spend my life with than you. There’s no one else I’d rather face the bad moments with and no one else I’d rather have by my side to enjoy the good.”
“No one else I’d rather have by my side to enjoy the good, title of our sex tape.” Jake murmurs, soft enough that most of their gathered audience can’t hear the words, and Amy huffs a laugh. She shakes her head, chest full of love and affection for him, and he squeezes her hand. “Go on.”
“You’re my best friend, Jake, and I love you so much. I always will.”
When Holt gives the signal, Jake slides a silver wedding band on Amy’s finger, right above where her engagement ring sits, and then Amy does the same to him. Her heart flips over in her chest at the sight of the ring on his finger, it’s going to be a long time before she stops getting excited about seeing it there, and then she looks at Jake’s shining face and she’s never going to forget the sheer unadulterated joy on his face.
And then he’s stomping on the glass and there’s a chorus of “Mazel tov” and Holt proclaims that they may now kiss – and it’s all a rush as they drop each other’s hands and move forward simultaneously; her arms wrap around his shoulders to tug him closer, his hands grip her waist, fingers curling against her, and their lips glide over each other, soft and smooth. After the kiss, Jake leans his forehead against hers and they just grin at each other, happiness and glee encompassing them in a private cocoon, deaf to the cheers of everyone around them.
“Wifey.”
“Hubby.” She counters with a quirk of her brow and he laughs and everything inside of her bubbles with delight at the sound. Her husband. Jake Peralta. Laughing. She never wants him to stop. “I love you, Jake.”
He does stop laughing then, stares at her in awe and adoration, and her heart pounds in her chest with the significance of the moment. “I love you, Amy.”
Their friends gather around to congratulate them and they move apart, shift to holding hands so they can take everyone else in. Holt is wearing the largest smile she has ever seen and Charles is still crying and even Rosa seems to have developed a case of the misty eyes – and Jake, Jake’s eyes are bright with a brilliant and pure joy, and there’s an entire future spread before them and she has never felt a happiness greater than this one right here.