𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 | 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻

ROSA DIAZ QUICKLY READS THROUGH the pile of flashcards she had been given to by Kat. She clears her throat and leans back in her chair as she flips over the first. "Okay, if you're given a complaint about one of your employees, do you settle it yourself as a first-line supervisor or pass it onto a commanding officer?" Various textbooks and notepads are strewn across Katherine's desk as Rosa helps her to study for the sergeant's exam next week.

Kat watches her cross her arms, and a smile quickly beams onto her face. "I'd handle it myself," she replies instantly.

Rosa's eyes widen at how she hadn't hesitated. Even though she knows that Kat is right, she checks the back of the card anyway. "Damn, Sarge," she states. She arches a brow at the woman sitting beside her. "You memorised all of these?"

"Don't call me that," she says. Kat's eyes flick down to her fingers and she twists the rings adorning them. "Okay, fine, don't call me that yet," she corrects. Rosa grins. "And yeah, I have."

"All right, listen up," Jake calls out as he walks into the bullpen. "What you're about to see is highly disturbing, but please, no comments. This man is in pain, so above all else, be kind."

The elevator doors open and Katherine's eyes widen at who walks out. Charles Boyle is dressed head to toe in black, including the dark shades covering his eyes. He looks like he belongs in The Matrix.

"Good morning, Boyle," Terry says cautiously.

Charles stops next to the gate. "Let's just get it out there. Vivian broke up with me last night."

"I'm so sorry, Charlie," Kat frowns.

"The wedding's off," he gestures to his clothes, "and this is what I'm like now. Life is a party and I am the piñata."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." The squad all turn around to look at Gina. "Did you already have a Matrix getup at home for some reason?"

"No, Gina, I bought this with the money I was going to spend on our honeymoon to Cape Canaveral."

Jake sighs softly as he sits on the edge of his desk. "I'm so sorry, buddy."

"Don't be," Charles replies. "I'm settling into the darkness nicely." He removes his shades as he looks straight at Rosa. "I definitely get you now." Rosa quickly glances to the blonde beside her, silently asking Kat if she should respond to his words.

Terry's eyebrows raise as Charles takes out a plastic bag from the pocket of his leather trench coat. "What you got there, Boyle?" he asks, slightly hesitant to hear the answer.

Charles holds up the bag full of boiled eggs as he drops down into his desk chair. "Eggs in a bag," he says. Kat grimaces. "Nothing brings me joy anymore, not even food. Now, I only eat for sustenance." With a glum expression, he takes a large bite out of one of the eggs.

Jake nods as Charles then stores the half-eaten egg into the inner pocket of his coat. "Smart," he notes with a smile. "Save that for later."

"Peralta," Holt calls out from the doorway of his office. "My office, now." With furrowed brows, Jake glances to his friends and rushes off to meet their captain.

"What's the bet he's finally getting told off for smashing the briefing room window last week?" Kat suggests.

Amy's eyes widen at the memory. "Who told him it was a smart idea to do handstands on top of the desks?"

"He's an idiot," Rosa states plainly. "A stupid, stupid idiot."

"Yeah, and Terry had to write it all up," the sergeant snaps with annoyance.

"At least he's not a spineless idiot," Kat counters. They all shrug in agreement.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Gina sighs at how her sister is once again nose deep in her pile of books. "Girl, you need a break," she points out

Without looking up from the textbook, Kat replies, "I am on break."

She rolls her eyes. "The point of a lunch break is to actually have a break," Gina retorts exasperatedly.

Terry shrugs as he shoves another spoonful of yoghurt into his mouth. "No, the exam is hard," he says. Kat points to him as she flips a page. "Any time you get a chance to revise, take it."

"Thank you, Sarge," Katherine smiles. She finally looks up from the book and sighs at Gina's annoyance. "Nina, I'm fine. But if you're so worried about me, could you get me another coffee?"

Gina's eyes squint at her sister's innocent smile. "Fine," she agrees. Terry and Kat share a grin.

Rosa walks into the break room with determination etched onto her face. "We have to help Charles," she tells the trio. "He's devastated."

Gina sets the fourth cup of coffee in front of her sister and Kat beams, but her smile falls as she looks up to Rosa. "I hate seeing him like this, too," Kat agrees.

"Breakups are cartoony, thumbs down," Gina says. "They make people feel face-with-Xs-for-the-eyes." Kat takes a sip of her coffee and nods along.

Terry looks to the older Linetti with confusion. "What does that even mean?" he questions.

"Amateurs," Kat mumbles with a shake of her head.

"Exactly," Gina confirms as she points to her sister. Terry and Rosa roll their eyes. "The English language cannot fully capture the depth and complexity of my thoughts, so I'm incorporating emoji into my speech to better express myself." She smiles. "Winky face."

Kat takes another sip of coffee and hums. "It's actually been going really well," she admits.

"Oh, lord," Terry sighs.

"Listen, this is simple," Gina continues. "Boyle needs a little rebound nooky. Eggplant emoji." Her eyes flick up to the woman standing next to them. "Rosa, you wanna get on that?"

Rosa glances to Kat so quickly that Gina thinks she might have imagined it. "Don't make me rip your tongue off," Diaz retorts bluntly.

Captain Holt had wondered in a few moments earlier, having heard enough to understand that they're talking about the depressive state Charles has found himself in. "I would talk to him, but I don't think I have any advice," he contributes to the conversation. "All of my breakups have been completely mutual."

Katherine's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, all of them?"

He nods. "They were all very understanding." The blonde-haired detective shakes her head in disbelief. "One was concluded with a handshake. That was the end of an eight-year relationship."

Scully looks up from the book he had been reading on the couch. "You know, I haven't had that many romantic breakups, but neither of my children will speak to me anymore." He smiles.

Rosa holds a hand up. "All right, none of you are any help," she declares. "Kat, Sarge, and I will cheer up Charles."

"But I need to study," Katherine protests.

"Take a break, Detective," Holt tells her. "The books aren't going anywhere."

When she locks eyes with Rosa, Kat sighs at the pointed look she's being given. Then she looks out the door into the bullpen to see Charles lent back in his chair, his sunglasses covering his eyes as he drops whole eggs into his mouth. "He's not even chewing them anymore," she observes dryly. The textbook is snapped shut. "Oh, God. Okay, we need to do something."

It would only be a few hours later that they would learn of Jake's incoming suspension. Due to pursuing a case that Holt had directly told him not to, the perp had caught Jake and Amy spying on him, and for punishment of the harassment, he was given a six-month suspension. Later that week, Jake Peralta would face a hearing that would decide his fate at the New York Police Department. And until then, he would be on administrative leave.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Jake had confided in one of his closest friends about everything, and at the end of all his rants, Kat believed every single word he was saying. She entirely believed that Lucas Wint was guilty of the crimes Jake said listed. And boy did she want to prove Holt wrong.

After talking with Jake and Amy, who was also in support of the detective about to be suspended, Kat and Amy had discovered an informant who had information about the ongoing investigation into Wint. So, Jake had told them to meet himself and Holt in an alley early in the morning. It was somewhere out of sight from prying eyes, and hopefully somewhere no once in the force would catch them.

Jake jumps off the crate he had been sitting on and smiles as Holt approaches him with, as per usual, a blank expression. "Good morning, Captain!" He holds up the paper bag. "I got you your favourite breakfast, a plain bagel and a water."

Raymond takes the bag, his eyes remaining on Jake the whole time. "Don't try to soften me up," he critiques. "Why'd you ask me to meet you in this alley in Bensonhurst at nine in the morning?"

Jake sighs and glances both ways to check no one might have wandered down the alley. "Look, my best chance of not getting suspended is proving that Wint is guilty," he explains seriously. "I got a confidential informant I need you to meet."

"You continue to work this case against my direct orders?" Holt shakes his head. "You astound me."

A small smile graces Jake's face as he takes the words to mean the complete opposite as Holt had intended. "Thank you, sir! You astound me as well." Jake clears his throat. "But I didn't find him. Santiago and Linetti did."

Holt's eyes widen ever so slightly as he watches the aforementioned women lead the informant over to them, each in their dress uniforms like Jake. "Oh, not you as well, Linetti," he says in disappointment.

Kat grimaces. "Sorry, sir." She hesitates for a moment. "Actually, I'm not sorry."

"What is going on with you?" the captain asks Amy in disbelief.

"I don't know, sir," she admits with a smile. "We're all off-roading it here. My internal GPS has been recalculating for a week."

Jake nods his head over to the man standing in between Kat and Amy. "This is Isaac," he informs Holt. "He used to be a pusher for the Bay Ridge boys."

"Dude, drugs don't need pushing," Isaac counters. "They push themselves. People love drugs."

Kat's eyes narrow. "Shut up the hell up and tell him about the donations," she demands impatiently.

Isaac clears his throat at her stern gaze. "You got it, ma'am." He turns back onto Holt. "All right, look, every Friday, I put cash into a duffel bag and bring it to the Wint Community Centre, room two-six-five, and they mark it down as a 'charitable donation' in their account book."

Jake glances to Holt as he sings, "Ergo, laundering."

"So why should we believe you?" Holt presses Isaac.

"I don't care who you believe," the informant replies. "Just know I hate those dudes now. They carved up my territory so bad, I had to quit selling drugs, and I love selling drugs. It was my dream job."

Amy and Kat share an exasperated look. "Seriously, shut up," the latter deadpans. Isaac purses his lips.

Jake takes out a piece of paper from the pocket of his pants. "Sir, I filled out a warrant request to search the community centre for the account book," he says. "I need you to sign it before I can take it to a judge. I know I'm asking you to stick your neck out, but please trust me."

Holt nods. "Fine," he agrees as he takes the warrant. "But I'll be with you every step of the way."

Isaac moves over to Jake ever so slightly. "You know, you should just put a microchip in his neck like a little doggy," he suggests to the captain.

Kat tilts her head as she studies Jake, whose eyes widen when he catches her staring at him. "Actually, that's a really good idea," she confesses. Isaac grins proudly.

Jake rolls his eyes. "All right, Isaac," he says dryly. "Thank you. Yeah, you're done."

After deciding that having Holt and Amy with Jake would be enough, Katherine returns to the precinct to try and help someway else. After all, Jake's possible impending suspension isn't the only problem on their hands at the moment.

Upon walking out the elevator, she had immediately noticed that she couldn't see Charles. But after conducting a precise inspection of the bullpen, she had found him lying on the floor, face down, next to his desk. "Oh, Charlie," she mumbles. Kat sighs and sits down beside her friend, briefly placing a hand on his arm.

"Kitty Kat, are we gonna lose you to the darkness, too?" Gina asks with a raised brow. Her sister rolls her eyes as she continues to try and comfort Charles.

"All right, guys," the sergeant announces. He and Rosa join the squad. "We have Peralta's hearing at four. Anybody seen Boyle? And is Kat back yet?"

Without moving a muscle, Charles speaks straight into the floor. "Present."

Terry and Rosa move to the side to find the detective on the ground with Katherine sitting beside him. "He seems ever worse than before," Jeffords notes with a wince.

"I lost Vivian, and now I might lose Jake," Charles calls out, speaking louder since his voice is coming out muffled.

"I don't know what else to do," Rosa admits to Terry. "I've tried being supportive, now that's fallen onto Kat. And that's only going to end up with her listening to him talk about Vivian's lips. I listened for two hours," she tells him frustratedly. "He kept describing them as 'ample.'"

Charles tilts his head slightly. "So ample," he confirms. Kat helps him stand up and his eyes immediately lock onto the curly-haired woman. "Rosa." He leans his arms on his desk. "Have you ever been dumped?"

Rosa walks over to lay a hand on his shoulder. "No," she denies. "In all my breakups, I'm always the dumper. I know you're having a hard time, but I think I can fix this."

Kat's eyes widen as she gets an idea at what Rosa might be thinking of. "Oh, my God, are we doing the thing?" she questions excitedly.

Rosa sighs and crosses her arms as she glances to her. "There's this thing I do whenever I... feel," she tells Charles.

Boyle's brows raise. "What?"

"Burn everything."

After clearing out Charles's locker – which consisted of clothes, endless piles of love letters between him and Vivian, and various mementos – Rosa and Kat lead him out to the roof. The items are dumped into a barrel, and after dousing it all with lighter fluid, Charles tosses the match. They watch as flames immediately coat the surface of the barrel.

"Okay, this feels right," he tries to convince himself. Rosa takes a sip of her coffee, and Kat smiles. However, Charles's eyes suddenly widen and he lurches forward to try and save his possessions. "No, it's terrible! Vivian, I won't let you burn!"

"Boyle, stop," Kat yells.

Despite her warnings, Charles snatches a photo of his ex-fiancé out of the fire and immediately screams as he burns his hand. "Ah, ah! Ah! Ow!" He spots Rosa's thermos and, mistaking it for water, rushes over to dip his hand into it.

Kat covers her mouth as he screams once again.

"Ah! Oh, that's so hot!" he shrieks as he cradles his hand. "What is that?"

"It's coffee," Rosa exclaims. With a sigh, Kat grabs onto his arm as she and Rosa lead him back inside to go and treat the burn.

"Hot coffee?"

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

They were running out of ideas. Whilst in a group brainstorming, Terry had come up with the idea to try and get Charles to express his anger. That had then led to filling the interrogation room with piles of ceramic plates. And purely because Katherine Linetti would never miss out on an opportunity to smash something, she joins the sergeant as they wait for Charles to come find them.

Five minutes later, Charles cautiously wanders into the room with his right hand in a cast. "You wanted to see me?"

Kat smiles at him, and Terry nods. "Yeah, come on in, Boyle." His eyes flick down to the detective's injury. "Sorry to hear about your hand."

Charles sighs as he closes the door behind him. "Thanks," he says. "It makes it really hard to manipulate my egg sack."

The blonde-haired woman grimaces. "Oh, Boyle," she mutters.

"Look," Terry begins. "Here's the deal. I did my junior year abroad in Tokyo. And my girlfriend Chiaki? She broke my heart." Charles's eyes fill with sympathy and he places a hand over his heart. "I stared at the paper walls for weeks until my roommates showed me how to vent my feelings."

"Which brings us here," Kat concludes. She grabs the pile of plates off the chair and sets them on the table. Charles's eyes widen. "Take a plate and smash it," she encourages. With a wide smile, she grabs a plate and dramatically tosses it across the room. It shatters against the opposite wall.

Then, Terry eagerly grabs his own and throws it onto the ground before him. "Oh!" Charles laughs.

"Feels good," Terry exclaims with a grin.

"So good," Kat confirms. She grabs another plate and throws it again, another wide smile breaking across her face as she listens to it shatter.

"Okay, your turn, Boyle," Terry tells him.

Charles nods. "Okay."

"Vent those feelings!"

"Yeah!" Terry and Kat watch as he takes a plate. "Here we go!" But when he throws it on the ground right in front of him, the plate lands on its rim and bounces back up to hit Charles right in the balls. He drops to his knees with a groan of pain. "Oh, my testicles!"

Kat closes her eyes and sighs. "Man, why can't anything go right..."

⋆。✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

With only minutes before Jake's hearing, the Nine-Nine's detectives are inside Police Headquarters as they wait to be individually called in. Rosa and the Linetti siblings are sat beside each other, far enough away from Charles so he can't hear them speak. "I know we're all concerned about Boyle," Gina begins quietly. "But again, there is a solution. Forget your ex with meaningless sex."

"Yeah, it rhymes for a reason," Kat agrees.

Gina grins, happy that her sister had understood what she was talking about. "Yes! Thank you!" Rosa rolls her eyes at them.

Terry walks over and gestures the group to pay attention to him. "All right, everyone. Peralta needs us to stall," he informs the four. "So just keep your answers long. Add stuff. Embellish your asses off." He points to the detective a few seats down from them. "Boyle, you're first."

With his knees cradled to his chest, Charles closes his eyes. "I don't know if I'm up for this," he admits. "I'm so emotional, I can barely think straight."

"Great," Terry smiles encouragingly. "Use that. Embrace the void."

Minutes later, Charles and Terry are sat before the panel of NYPD employees. Commissioner Pedolski is in the centre. "Would you say Detective Peralta was overly interested in the Wint case?" the commissioner questions.

"I only heard Detective Peralta talk about Lucas Wint once," Charles answers. The panel all make notes. "We were in my car. I took Vivian on our first real date in that car. Vivian is my fiancée – my ex-fiancée." As tears spring to his eyes, a satisfied smile adorns Terry's face. "My never-wife."

"Detective Boyle, if you could please limit your comments to the matter at hand."

"I will," Charles nods. "I'd just like the record to reflect that 'matter at hand' was one of Vivian's favourite expressions."

The same question is repeated to the rest of the group.

"As far as I can recall, Detective Peralta told me that-" Rosa cuts herself off as Terry softly clears his throat. Her eyes discreetly flick over to him and he subtly drags a finger across his notepad that reads, stall. "That... He... Had..."

Katherine, on the other hand, had immediately scoffed. "What makes you think Jake cares about me enough to involve me in his business?" she retorts bitterly.

Commissioner Pedolski's eyes widen. "I-"

She holds a hand up to her mouth as she fakes a sob. Terry tries his absolute hardest not to grin. "After I told him I was going to become a sergeant..." Kat inhales a dramatic breath. "He decided that he didn't want to be friends with me anymore because I would be his boss."

"Detective Linetti-"

"No, I need to talk to someone about this." Kat feigns wiping a tear. "That's what my therapist told me to do, you know? I mean, who thought that wanting to be promoted would cost me such a good friend?"

Gina had decided a less theatrical option than her sister had proceeded with. "No, I never heard Jake talk about Wint," she says curtly. "And the very fact that you have him on trial is cat-doing-Home Alone-face. Look, I've known Jake forever. Our friendship is little-boy-holding-little-girl's-hand."

Commissioner Pedolski drags a hand down his face in pure frustration. This was going nowhere.

Twenty minutes later, Amy and Kat had been there to listen to Jake yelling at the panel from inside the hearing room. It's safe to say they're extremely shocked by his behaviour and confused. After Amy had explained they had gained the proof to expose Wint, Kat had fully believed that Jake was going to defend himself. And when he didn't... So of course, they track him down to confront him about it.

"Jacob Peralta!"

Jake flinches at Kat's booming voice. He turns around to find her storming over to him, Amy trailing behind with a concerned expression. "What happened?" Santiago asks. "Did Holt ask you to get suspended?"

"No, he told me to get fired," he tells them quickly.

Kat stops in her tracks. Her brows knit together in confusion. "What the hell? Why?"

"I don't know," Jake says, clearly stressed by the situation. "I'm kind of freaking out. He said to do it, and the next thing I knew, I was just yelling."

"Oh, we heard," Kat winces.

"Peralta!" They spin around to find Holt approaching them with three suited men.

"What's going on?" Jake presses impatiently.

Holt gestures to the man beside him. "This is Special Agent Clarke with the FBI."

Jake's eyes widen. "The FBI?" he repeats. Stood beside him, Amy and Kat stare in surprise. They had not seen this coming.

"We couldn't let you expose Lucas Wint. It would've compromised a much larger ongoing federal investigation. We believe that Wint has ties to the Ianucci crime family."

"That's one of the best crime families," Jake tells the women quietly. Amy and Kat both supress their smiles.

"We needed you to get fired for real because the Ianuccis have moles inside the NYPD," Clarke continues. "And we need them to trust you. Detective, we'd like you to go undercover and help us with the investigation."

Not even a split-second passes before Jake replies. "Okay, the answer is yes," he says eagerly. "The details are, my name is Duncan Buck. I was raised on an oil rig by ninety men and one prostitute."

"We'd like you to be yourself."

Kat tries not to laugh at Jake's expression. "Even better," he proclaims.

"This could be very dangerous," Clarke warns him. "So please, take some time, and-"

"No need. I'm in." Jake grins. "Eyes closed, head first, can't lose!"

"I don't think that's the expression," Holt notes monotonously.

Jake's eyes squint ever so slightly. "Can you just let me have this?" he complains, annoyance dripping off every word spoken.

Not even an hour later, the squad are called into Holt's office back at the precinct. As soon as the blinds were drawn, they had known this wasn't going to be a laughing matter. And although Gina had been shut out, she's aware of their situation, simply because Holt had realised that she would've tortured it out of them sooner or later.

"What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room," the captain states firmly. They all gather closer as he moves behind his desk. "Detective Peralta will be going in an undercover assignment with the FBI. His cover story is that he was fired."

Charles's lips part in shock. "Oh, my God. My heart just threw up." Kat and Amy both place hands on his arms to help him stay upright.

Jake turns to face them all with his hands planted on his hips. "Look, they're saying this assignment will last about six months, so while I'm gone, Boyle, I want you to have my desk."

"I'll sit at it always," Charles promises.

"Rosa, you can have my locker."

"Sweet."

"Kat, you get all of my orange soda."

She smiles. "Oh, neat."

"Amy, you can have all of my open cases," he says. A soft smile graces Amy's face as she looks at him fondly, something that Kat notices and makes note to talk to her friend about later.

"Okay, that's enough," Holt interjects. "Peralta doesn't have the authority to do any of this, except for the orange soda. That's entirely out of my jurisdiction." Kat and Jake share a grin. "You will all sit at your own desk and work the cases I assign you." He turns to Jake as he adds, "But you will be missed."

The man nods. "Thank you, Captain."

"Thank you for trusting me," Holt says. As they shake hands, Jake gives him a warm smile. "Okay, now call us all names and storm out of here for the benefit of the bullpen."

With a wide smile etched onto his face, Jake sighs happily. "This is the best day ever," he confesses. He clears his throat. "I'll miss you guys." His friends all smile back at him. "And your mother!" Kat's eyes widen at his deafening yell. "And your mother. You're all a bunch of pigs! I smell bacon!"

Rosa tries to stifle her laughter, and as soon as the door is open, their grins drop in the speed of light.

"And guess what else, 'Captain?' You can take this tie and shove it straight into your hellhole!" Holt doesn't even flinch as Jake throws his tie at him. "This whole place reeks of bacon. And guess what? I'm going Kosher 'cause Jakey don't dig on swine! Whoo!"

When he kicks the trashcan, Kat turns her head onto Rosa's shoulder to muffle her giggles.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Not long after, the squad meet at Shaw's Bar for a drink after an incredibly long day. It's well deserved. Amy was running late, having messaged Kat that she would be there in ten minutes. The blonde assumes it's because she had talked to Jake before he left. "All right, everyone," Charles begins to the table. "I wanna make a toast." He holds up one of his boiled eggs. "To you guys. You will never be Jake or Vivian, but at least you're here."

Gina groans and takes a long sip of her martini. "Ugh, I'm gonna go over by the bar where I can hear you worse."

Kat rolls her eyes as she hurries away. Charles returns to staring at his egg. "Oh, I get it," he agrees solemnly. "I'd abandon me too."

Terry, Katherine, and Rosa share a brief look with one another. Without warning, Terry snatches the egg out of Charles's hand. "That's it," Rosa declares. "Boyle, no more eggs."

Kat raises her beer. "You are drinking your troubles away," she says.

Terry hands him the rest of his glass of whiskey. "Start with this," he suggests. "I'm gonna get some bottles from the bar. Make way! Large man helping his little friend! Comin' through!"

Charles takes a long sip of the liquor then looks over at Rosa with jealously. "You're so lucky you've never been through a painful breakup," he says.

Kat grimaces and nods. "Amen. They're soul crushing. Literally soul crushing." Charles raises his glass to her in agreement.

Rosa's eyes meet Kat's. "My offer to bury Alana six feet underground is still available." She rolls her eyes at Katherine's laugh. "Fine, it's gone now." She looks to Charles again. "And the only reason they haven't been painful is 'cause the guys were all losers." Her gaze diverts down to her drink. "I've never dated anyone good." She pointedly avoids any eye contact with Kat as she says to Charles, "Like you."

Kat smiles at Charles. "Agreed."

They clink their glasses and down the shots they had ordered.

"Kat!"

The woman in question turns around in her chair to find Amy rushing over to her. "Hey, you made it!" she cheers.

But when Kat notices Amy's expression, her grin immediately disappears.

"Give me a second," she tells Rosa and Charles. As they return to simple conversation, Kat quickly approaches her best friend with concern. She takes Amy's hand and leads her over to an empty booth. "What happened?"

Amy exhales a shaky breath and she stares at her clasped hands. "I talked with Jake," she says quietly.

"Yeah," Kat nods. "I figured." Her eyes dart across the woman's face, and it's only then does she notice the tear stains on her cheeks. "Ames," she says softly.

"He said he wanted something to happen between us." Tears well up in Amy's eyes as she tries to smile. "He told me he liked me."

Katherine slides around the booth so they're sitting side by side. "You like him, too, don't you?"

As Amy's head drops onto her best friend's shoulder, she nods. A tear finally slips down her cheek. It's all too overwhelming. "Yeah," she whispers. "I do."

Kat takes her hand and gently squeezes it. "We'll figure it out. All of it. And I know it seems so heavy and so... suffocating right now, but I think eventually we'll figure it out." She wraps an arm around Amy's shoulders as the woman leans into her. "And I've got you every step of the way, 'kay?"

Amy nods and brushes another tear off her face. "Thank you," she says softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

She hums. "Oh me either," Kat agrees. "I'd be screwed."

"Totally."

They both laugh.

"And Rosa?" Amy asks her gently.

Kat's eyes widen. "Wait, you know about that, too?"

"You really have no idea how obvious it is," Amy responds as she rolls her eyes.

"Okay, I'm gonna need a few drinks before we do this," Katherine admits with a sigh.

Amy laughs as she watches her rush over to the bar, then returns with four shot glasses filled to the brim with tequila. Her eyes widen as Kat suddenly downs one. "Did you pay for those?" Another shot. "Oh, wow..." Another. "Okay, maybe slow-"

Kat slams the fourth glass down. "Whoo."

"Okay, well, now I have to match you," Amy says as she stares at the empty glasses. Her best friend grins. Amy lifts her head and locks eyes with her. "Looks like we're getting drunk tonight," she declares.

"It might be too late for me, but it's not for you, Amy Santiago."

She scoffs and playfully smacks Kat's arm as she slides out of the booth. "How dare you assume I would back out of this!"

"Am I seeing seven drink Amy tonight?"

"I think you might."

"In that case, can you get me another shot? This is going to be a ride."

"Wait, who's looking after Tish?"

Kat blinks.

"Katie, who's looking after your child?" Amy questions her seriously.

The final two words are enough for Katherine Linetti to break down in tears. Amy's face falls and she quickly sits beside her to wrap her into a hug. "She called me Mom," Kat sobs. "She called me Mom."

Amy sighs. "Yeah, I'm gonna need some shots."

𝘴𝘰 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘛 𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘺𝘱𝘥 - 𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘥, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦. 𝘪 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵, 𝘦.𝘨. 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥! (𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.) 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 🫡

𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘖 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 🤓 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘦