𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐨𝐧𝐞 | 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻

"OKAY, SO YOU'RE GONNA NEED trash bags, lots of duct tape, some strong alcohol, matches, a shovel, and your confidence," Kat speaks into her phone. She smiles at Charles as she passes him out the elevator, and he waves back with a bright grin.

"—shovel and confidence," Tisha repeats. "Okay, got it." There's a brief pause. "Anything else?"

"I reckon we gotta do it somewhere remote, so we can go to Hudson Valley on Saturday if you want."

"Cool, but why somewhere quiet?"

Kat smiles as she sets her bag onto her desk. "So no one can see what you're doing," she replies.

"''Kay, thanks, Mom."

"See you later, kiddo." As Kat hangs up the call, she notices that a few of her friends are watching her with strange looks. Her brows furrow as she calls out, "What?"

Jake narrows his eyes as he leans across his desk slightly. "Are you planning to murder someone?" he asks the woman bluntly.

"Yeah, it did sound like that," Amy adds.

Kat laughs. She laughs again. "God no, it's for Tish's science experiment," she clarifies. Rosa rolls her eyes in amusement. Only Tisha would pick a science experiment that sounded like she was committing a crime.

"Okay, but why Hudson?" Jake presses sceptically. He's still convinced that she's taking her daughter out to bury a body.

"Because it would be guaranteed that none of her classmates would see what she's doing and steal the idea," Kat replies with a deadpanned expression. "Seriously, if I wanted to bury a body, I wouldn't explain how to do it in a police precinct."

"That's a good point," Diaz calls out.

Kat waves a hand to her appreciatively. "See, Rosa knows what I'm talking about."

Jake slowly wheels his chair back over to his desk. "Fine," he concedes. "But I still think you're planning something." She gives him a sardonic smile and gestures for him to go away.

"Okay," Terry says. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks, doctor." Like Kat had a few minutes earlier, Terry's phone call has attracted attention from the nearby detectives.

With a smile, Jake pushes his chair toward the sergeants' desks. "Hey, Sarge," he says. When they both look up at him, he points to Terry. "Sorry, I should have been more detailed... Anywhoodles, not to pry but I couldn't help but overhear you're going to the doctor. Everything okay?"

"Dude, that's none of your business," Kat tells him sternly. "Actually, none of our phone calls are your business." Amy leans back in her chair and nods in agreement, thankful that someone had voiced their annoyance about Jake's irritating habit.

Terry sighs. "It's okay," he dismisses her. Instead of ignoring Jake, he quickly wheels his chair over to the man and lowers his voice to a whisper. Jake's eyes widen and he looks around the nearby area. "I'm getting a vasectomy."

Charles instantly perks up. "My ears are burning!" Kat pinches the bridge of her nose as he practically skips over to them. "Did someone say 'vasectomy?' I got snipped, no big deal. Just numbs you out from trunk to skunk for a year."

"Oh, Boyle," Kat mutters.

"It's not supposed to," Terry tells Charles.

Jake's eyes squint as he looks to his best friend. "Trunk to skunk?" he repeats with a laugh.

"Hold it up." Terry sighs as Gina joins them. "You're gonna let some quack doctor just knife around down there? You are blessed with a great power. And you should never snip its wings. You should let it soar."

"Thanks, guys, that's enough," Terry declares. "I don't need any more input."

Holding a case file, Rosa stops next to the group. "Neither does your wife, I guess," she claps back. Kat grins.

Jake folds his arms over his chest. "Look, you guys, if the sergeant wants to chop off his penis, that's his choice."

"That's not what a vasectomy is," Terry retorts exasperatedly. Jake's eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Okay, back to work," Kat instructs the group. "I'll just let you know that I can fire you all now."

Terry nods at her. "Yeah," he states. "If you don't get back to work right now, I'm gonna start firing detectives."

"And blanks," Amy calls out. When they look to her, she sheepishly smiles. "Sorry, I just never think of jokes."

Jeffords sighs again. "Okay, anybody else?" he asks them. "This is your last chance."

Gina clicks her tongue. "Oh, God, no need to be so testes."

"Guess you won't be manning the 'tip line,'" Rosa adds with a sly smile.

"Sergeant, is this going to go on your 'sperm-anent record?'" Charles asks the man seriously.

Jake grins. "Now playing: Scrotal Recall!"

"Desks," Kat yells with narrowed eyes. "I might start with Peralta."

Rosa watches the blonde with a smirk. "C'mon, Sarge, we all know you wanna say something."

After a very long pause, a grin breaks out onto her face. "It takes balls to do what you're doing, Sarge," Kat says. They all laugh, and she holds her hands up when Terry's glare shifts onto her. "Okay, I'll stop before I get sacked. I'm done! I swear I'm done."

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Kat was finally getting used to being a sergeant in the NYPD. It had been two weeks since she had started her new position, and she had never gotten close to realising just much work was on Terry's shoulders until now. Now she's in his shoes, her perspective has changed entirely.

Earlier in the week, to Terry's utter delight, Katherine Linetti had forced him out of his shoes so she could use them to emphasise her speech. It had been only a few days since Jake had fully come back to work, and she had decided to gather her squad together to explain her new outlook on life.

Terry purses his lips as he watches Kat step into his overly large shoes, stumbling slightly when she goes to walk. "You'll fall over," he warns her with a chuckle.

"No, Sarge, I will not!" Kat's eyes widen and she yelps as she stumbles again, but Rosa quickly catches her before she can hit the ground. "Thanks," she smiles. "Okay, listen up!" The detectives stop what they're doing to turn around and watch in amusement as she clumsily gets up onto a chair. "Kat is no longer my name."

Jake scoffs. "Yeah right, Kat," he rolls his eyes.

"You address me as Sergeant Linetti," she tells him sternly. She grimaces. "Wow, the power has gone to my head way too quickly." When she and Jake lock eyes, they decide to stare at each other until one breaks. Just another moment so Kat could prove him wrong. Again.

With a groan of annoyance, Jake is the first to blink. "Damn it," he mutters.

"You seriously expect us to call you Sergeant Linetti?" Gina asks with a chuckle. She raises a brow when her sister looks to her. "Copy that, Sergeant Linetti."

"Gone will be the fun Kat you once knew. I will be Terry two-point-oh." Kat misses how he grimaces. "I no longer report to you, I report to Holt. Which means that I will not tolerate any- ooh, cookies!"

Rosa shakes her head in amusement as Kat stumbles off the chair and hurries into the break room – as fast as Terry's shoes will let her – when one of the officers walks in with a box of cookies. "Watch the shoes, Sarge," she calls out.

Kat had been taking her new position incredibly seriously, and even though it meant she was a little less present for the shenanigans that occurred, the rewards that the extra work presented was worth it. After Holt had informed them last week that there was to be a new commissioner at the NYPD, she had made extra effort to hand things in ahead of time and to try and keep the detectives in her squad on track with tasks. After all, Raymond had said that they were going to be under a microscope.

"The new NYPD commissioner is planning a complete reorganisation of the force," Holt informs the group stood in his office.

Stood beside Holt and Gina, Kat sighs as she shakes her head. "And that is just wonky-line-mouth-emoji."

Holt turns to look at her in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Gina grins proudly as she throws an arm around her sister's shoulders. "She's started saying these randomly," she explains.

Kat sighs again. "Yeah, I've heard Gina doing it so much, it's like a second reflex now," she says with a small grimace.

The captain nods, albeit still confused. "Anyway, first, he'll be sending a deputy chief to every precinct to conduct a top to bottom evaluation."

Amy's eyes widen. "What, when?" she asks in alarm. "Are we gonna be graded or is this just some pass-fail garbage."

"Graded on a scale of one to five," Katherine answers her.

"That's how many letter grades there are," Amy concludes with furrowed brows. "Feels like they're just being weird using numbers instead of letters."

Rosa glances to her. "Yeah, they're being weird right now."

"Boyle, Diaz, I want the evidence room organised beyond reproach," Holt orders the detectives. "Santiago and Sergeant Linetti, when I greet the deputy chief, I want you both there by my side to make a good impression."

"Copy that," Kat nods.

Holt's eyes shift back to Amy as he explains his reasons behind requesting her presence. "No offence, but you are something of a teacher's pet."

"None taken," she responds with a smile. "People love their pets."

"Good news is our evaluation will be done by Deputy Chief Brandt. We have a good rapport. He was once my captain."

Charles leans forward slightly. "So he's kind of like our grand-captain," he suggests.

Kat watches Holt's lips curl upward ever so slightly. "That is amazingly funny," he declares. Charles bashfully smiles at the compliment.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Amy Santiago had bought a basket of pears. In Kat's opinion, it was ridiculously unnecessary; if they wanted to impress the deputy chief, it wasn't going to be done by pears. But she did think it was sweet that Amy had gone out of her way to get him a gift. "I like pears," Katherine decides as she takes a bite out of one of the pieces of fruit.

"These ones are perfect," Amy smiles proudly. "I picked them all out by hand."

Kat chuckles. "I expected nothing less."

As Amy watches her eat the fruit, she frowns as she looks back down to the basket. "Do you think it's too much?" she questions her best friend.

"Oh, absolutely," Kat confirms with any hesitation. Amy winces. "But it definitely won't make things worse, so there's no harm in a little ass-kissing."

The brunette's smile returns. She glances to the clock on the wall and her eyes widen. "Three minutes," Amy exclaims in alarm. "Okay, do you think I should wash them again? Or I could polish them-"

Kat places a hand on Amy's shoulder. "The pears don't need any more polishing," she says. Amy quickly nods. "Dude, chill. It's gonna go fine, you heard the captain."

"Yeah," Amy says. "It'll be fine! Totally fine. Oh, Captain!" Holt directs his path toward them. "I don't know if this is too much, but I got Deputy Chief Brandt this little basket of pears."

Raymond's eyes flick to Kat, who only shrugs. He raises a brow as he steps forward to inspect the basket Amy is holding. "They look ripe and crispy," he observes. Amy beams.

"Hello, Raymond."

Kat's eyebrows knit together in confusion when Holt suddenly freezes at the voice that had called his name. His left eye had twitched ever so slightly, and the corners of his lips have curled downward in annoyance. Whoever she is, Kat believes that Holt hates her with every fibre in his body.

Holt slowly turns around to make eye contact with the blonde-haired woman standing a few feet away from them with a smug demeanour. "Captain Wuntch," he greets. "Good to see you. But if you're here, who's guarding Hades?"

Kat can't help but laugh. She holds a hand up when all eyes turn to her. "Sorry," she coughs. "Something's stuck in my throat." Holt's gaze lingers on her in amusement before he turns back to Wuntch.

"It's Deputy Chief Wuntch now," she corrects Raymond. "Unsurprisingly, I've been promoted above you." Wuntch approaches him with a smirk. "And now I'm here to evaluate you."

Amy and Kat share a look of alarm. This is not going to go well for them or for the precinct. Even though Holt doesn't visibly show it, he's feeling that same sliver of panic. "What happened to Brandt?" he questions calmly.

"He retired and moved to Charleston to be closer to his grandchildren," Wuntch replies. "So much for dying at your desk with a little dignity."

"Interesting. I will attempt to cooperate with you under these new circumstances," Holt agrees.

Madeline's eyes narrow. "Don't sweet-talk me, Holt," she snaps.

He clicks his fingers. "I gave it my best shot." Raymond gestures a hand into his office. "Let's begin."

"Oh no," Amy whispers. "This is going to go horribly!"

Katherine closes her eyes. "Side-eye-glaring-emoji," she mumbles.

For the next twenty minutes, Madeline Wuntch would be inside Holt's office as they had a private discussion with each other. Afterward, Kat would watch the woman briskly exit the bullpen without uttering another word to anyone. Holt wouldn't answer either Kat or Amy's questions, instead assigning the sergeant to help Boyle and Rosa in the evidence room, and Amy to help him create the presentation for tomorrow.

"So, how's it going?" Kat asks the pair as she walks into the room. Stacks of boxes cover every inch of the floor, and she tiptoes carefully as to not stand on piles of papers.

"Terribly," Rosa states. She passes a cardboard box over to the blonde. "Gina started to file evidence by 'perp hotness' so we spent an hour trying to fix everything."

Kat shakes her head as she begins to sort through the box. "Yeah, I'm not surprised by that," she admits.

"So how did it go with the Deputy Chief?" Charles queries curiously. When he notices how his friend is grimacing, his eyes widen. "Oh, my God, did someone die?"

"No, Boyle, no one died," Kat denies him with a roll of her eyes. "Apparently Brandt retired, so instead we have Holt's arch nemesis."

Rosa's eyes widen at the new information. "Shit," she says.

Kat nods. "Exactly."

For the next few minutes, the three detectives work seamlessly as they trade documents and bags with another to be placed in the right boxes. "Oh, Kat!" Charles speaks up. She hums. "So, I have a party to go to tomorrow night."

Rosa immediately locks eyes with her. "Say no," she warns the woman.

"What?" Kat retorts. "Why would I say no?" She glances back to Boyle. "What's the party for?"

"Eleanor," Charles answers.

Katherine's eyes widen in disbelief. "Charles, it's for Eleanor? The Eleanor who psychologically abused you in a toxic marriage for years?"

He purses his lips and hesitantly replies, "Yes...?"

"Just wait, it gets even better," Rosa chimes in. "It's her engagement party."

Kat shakes her head as she stares at Charles. "I can't believe you're going to this," she tells him, her tone full of disapproval. "Why the hell are you going to this?"

"Well, she and her fiancé, Hercules, are also my landlords. It's not like I can avoid them, I live in their basement."

As Rosa gives her a pointed look, Kat drags a hand down her face. "Jesus Christ," she mutters. "Boyle, this is insane. We really need to re-evaluate your living situation." He grimaces. "You want me to go with you, don't you?"

"I mean, that would be ideal," Charles confirms. "So... can you come?"

"Sorry, but I have a date tomorrow night," Kat replies quietly. Rosa's eyes snap over to her as she gives him an apologetic smile. "Have you asked Rosa?"

Charles sighs. "Also on a date."

She hums. "Oh," she says simply. When Rosa returns to their work, Kat stares at her for a second. She couldn't be feeling jealous because she was going on a date as well. Plus, she had no right to be feeling like that in the first place.

Rosa Diaz had never been hers to lose.

As soon as she realises Kat is distracted by talking to Charles further about the party, Rosa takes a few seconds to study her. Her stomach twists in an unpleasant way at the thought of Kat going on a date with some other woman. Which is stupid because she shouldn't be feeling jealous.

Katherine Linetti had never been hers to lose.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

The presentation being given to Deputy Chief Wuntch is about the statistics of the Ninety-Ninth precinct ever since Holt had been their captain. Graphs wasn't the first thing Kat wanted to be talking about at ten in the morning, but she would suck it up for Holt. She was beginning to hate Madelyn Wuntch as well. Kat had thought she was petty until she met the woman.

"And since my arrival, violent crime has gone down by seventeen-point-three percent, as you can see here." Holt places another piece of the film onto the projector.

Kat's jaw tightens as she watches Wuntch roll her eyes disinterestedly. "Two-toned graphs? You think you can distract me from this precinct's problems with a flashy presentation?" Amy and Katherine share a look. "Same old Ray Holt. All sizzle, no steak. I'm off to do some spot-checks."

Whilst Amy plasters on a smile to the woman, Kat just stares back at her blankly as Wuntch leaves. As soon as she's out of earshot, the blonde turns around to Holt. "I hate her," she states bluntly.

Amy's eyes widen. "Sir, I don't think-"

"No," Kat interrupts. "I hate her."

Holt sighs, satisfied that finally someone sees her like he does. "Thank you!" he exclaims.

"She's totally gonna flunk us," Amy stresses. "I haven't gotten an F since I failed recess in second grade. 'Teachers need a break too, Amy,'" she mimics snidely.

"We were doomed the minute she slithered into the precinct," Raymond tells them.

Kat nods at his choice of wording. "Yeah, she looks like a snake to me, too."

"It's funny," Holt says, looking out the window that oversees the bullpen. "When we first met, we had some good times."

"So when did it all go south?" Amy asks curiously.

"Nineteen-eighty-nine," he answers. "I was up for a big promotion, which would've fast-tracked my career. Wuntch offered to write a letter on my behalf but instead she torpedoed me because of something that happened the night before she was to turn it in."

Kat's eyes slowly widen as Holt tells them the story of how Madeline Wuntch had tried to sleep with him before finding out that he was gay. "Oh, my God," she says quietly. "That's... Wow."

Holt's lips curl into a sneer. "She sabotaged my career because I refused to bed her." Amy stares at him in shock.

As the captain storms out of the room, Kat spins around to her best friend. "We need to find that letter," she declares.

It then took Katherine and Amy almost two hours to find the letter. They had managed to locate it in One Police Plaza, and with a little help from Gina, gotten it out of the records room. The three women return to the Nine-Nine just in time before Wuntch is meant to leave. What they had found inside the envelope had shocked all of them. It was entirely the opposite of what they were expecting to read.

"Spot-checks are done," Wuntch informs the captain as she walks into his office. "Needless to say, I'm thoroughly underwhelmed."

Holt stands up from his chair. "Huh. From your expression, I would've guessed constipated or chilly."

"Captain!" Kat and Amy rush into the office, the former taking a second to catch her breath. "We have totally saved the day," Kat smiles.

Amy takes out the letter from within the orange envelope and offers it to him. "The letter of recommendation she wrote for you twenty-five years ago," she says.

After putting on his glasses and reading the first few lines, Holt looks up to them in surprise. "Where'd you get this?" he asks them in disbelief.

"We went down to One Police Plaza and worked some of our charm," Kat explains. She glances back to Gina with a smile. "We all have our specialties. But the point is, the letter is very positive. You thought she wrote about you in a bad light because of, well... you know. But she didn't. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Wait a minute." Madeline steps closer to Holt's desk with surprise etched onto her face. "You thought I cost you that promotion because you're gay? That's what you've been mad about all these years?"

Holt's lips purse together ever so slightly. "It's... one reason."

"I don't care that you rejected my advances. Your sexual identity is the one thing I actually respect about you."

Raymond's eyebrows crease together in confusion. "Then what are you mad about?"

"I'm mad because you tried to get me thrown off the force," Wuntch answers bitterly.

"Yeah, because you shot me."

Kat's eyes widen at Holt's retort. "Oh, wow."

"I shot you because you were in the wrong position. You weren't following orders."

"What about the time you destroyed my personnel file while I was undercover?"

"What if there had been a mole?"

"You were trying to make me disappear."

Gina leans closer to her sister. "This is very entertaining," she mutters. Kat grins.

"You embarrassed me in front of Derek Jeter!"

"You embarrassed yourself in front of Derek Jeter."

Madeline straightens her posture, and after glaring at Holt for another few seconds she marches out the office without another remark. "Well, that was something," Katherine concludes.

Holt closes his eyes for a second, then he looks between the three. "Thank you," he says with a curt nod.

"You're welcome, sir," Amy smiles.

As they walk out the office, Kat blows out a breath of air. "God, the tension in there was just suffocating," she points out.

Gina nods in agreement. "It was like Kourtney and Scott's bickering toward the end of their marriage." Both Kat and Amy look at her strangely. "Just saying."

"Sarge!"

The blonde smiles to Amy and Gina before heading over to Rosa. "Hey, what's up?" She sighs at the piles of boxes the detective is going through. "This looks like fun."

"Very boring," Rosa nods. "But I've got two left, if you have a second could you give me a hand?"

"Yeah, sure." They fall into a comfortable silence as they work through the remaining boxes of evidence. They're a good team, they don't need to verbally communicate much at all. It's almost like they know what the other needs without asking. "So," Kat glances over to her, "a date tonight, huh?"

Rosa's eyes narrow. "Shut up," she snaps. Kat purses her lips together and nods. Nothing's changed. But when Rosa looks back at her, her features soften. "Sorry. I'm just used to Boyle grilling me."

She chuckles. "Yeah, fair enough. You don't have to talk about it."

"No, it's- I mean, it's fine." Rosa clears her throat as she hands Kat a piece of paper to shred. "It's just some guy one of my friends introduced to me."

Kat gives her a small smile and nods, but Rosa notices that it's a little forced. "That's great," she replies. Kat inhales a sharp breath, trying to appear as genuine as possible. And she is, she's glad that her friend is happy. Again, she has no right to be jealous. "Sounds fun."

It won't be fun because it's not with you, she wants to argue. "I didn't realise you were dating again," Rosa says instead.

She shrugs. "Actually, Tisha befriended one of the neighbours down the hall and..." She smiles slightly. "It's sort of a setup, so it's mostly just for her. But it's sweet she's trying."

Rosa's brows furrow as she staples a pile of papers together. "So you don't actually want to go?" she presumes.

"Nah, I mean..." Kat sighs. "It would be nice to have someone or something but I'm not looking for it, you know?"

The dark-haired woman nods. "Yeah, I get it." And then the comfortable silence returns for a minute. Rosa hesitates for a short moment before adding, "Have fun."

Kat smiles at her. This time, it's a more genuine one. "Thanks," she responds. "You, too."

"Thanks," Rosa says softly.

They both look over when the elevator doors open. Kat bites onto her tongue as she tries not to laugh when Boyle walks out with his hair braided into cornrows. "Hey, guys! Better file me under E for 'edgy,'" Charles says as he spins around dramatically.

"What?"

"Cornrows!" Charles exclaims excitedly.

"Why?"

Kat stifles a laugh at Rosa's dry questions. "My ex-wife and her fiancé go to Jamaica all the time," Charles explains. Kat takes another document from Rosa to shred it. "The theme of their party is: 'Jamaican me marry you.' So good!"

"Wow." Katherine grimaces. "That is really bad."

"Agreed," Rosa deadpans.

"So... I still don't have a date." Charles raises his brows at the two women to try and convince them into ditching their plans. "Unless this sweet maize-head has changed your mind."

"I think we both know it hasn't."

Charles sighs in disappointment. "We do," he admits. "Fair enough."

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

"Hey, Gina," Kat calls out. Her sister hums and looks up from her phone. "Do you have the report from the Linden Boulevard drug bust?"

Gina holds up a finger and shuffles through the rather large pile of unorganised documents covering her desk. "I do!" A few seconds later, she pulls one out triumphantly. "Here we go- Oh, wait, no that's for me... Here we go!"

Kat smiles. "Thanks. You should clean your desk," she points out.

"No thank you, Captain!"

"I'm a sergeant."

"Whatever, it's the same thing."

Her eyes squint at her older sister. "How do you work here?" she mutters to herself. Kat's eyebrows raise when Jake suddenly drops down into the chair beside Gina's desk and huffs a sigh. "Woah, kiddo, what happened?"

"I'm literally older than you," he says. When she shrugs, he sighs once more. "I tried to stop Sarge from getting his tubes tied. But he somehow managed to sneak off to the hospital."

"Woah, why are you stopping him?" Kat questions in confusion.

Gina clicks her tongue. "Oh, honey, you've missed so much."

"He told me yesterday when he was high as hell," Jake explains. "He really doesn't want it, even if he says he does. People always tell the truth when they aren't sober."

Kat nods thoughtfully. "That is true," she agrees.

"He wouldn't listen to me," Jake says. "He said I was a 'work friend.'"

Gina places a hand over her heart. "Ah, that chills me. And it reminds me of a story."

"Here we go," Kat mutters.

"I had this sweater, and it was a work sweater, 'cause it only seemed work aprope, but one time I wore it out to dinner, and I was like, 'Oh, dang! This sweater is cute everywhere.'"

With his arms crossed, Jake nods at Gina's tale. "I get it," he tells her. "I'm the sweater."

Kat blinks. "What?" she speaks up. She's very confused.

"No," Gina denies.

"And I have to show the Sarge I can be a good friend to him outside of work, too."

"No!"

"Thank you, Gina," Jake smiles. "I'm gonna stop him."

As he races off out of the bullpen, Gina sighs. "Jake, I have no idea what you're talking about, but good luck!"

Kat shakes her head. "Get back to work," she yells to her friend. Just as he steps into the elevator, Jake smiles brightly and gives her an overly enthusiastic thumbs up. "Being the boss is so hard."

It turns out, Madeline Wuntch hadn't left the precinct. Unfortunately for everyone, she was still here. Amy and Kat are in Holt's office as they watch the painful goodbye the captains share.

"Well, goodbye, Raymond." Wuntch lifts her chin as she stops before him. "Anything you'd like to say to me before I complete my evaluation? Something in the form of grovelling?"

"Never," Holt replies instantly. "Fail me if you must." Kat and Amy share a look of frustration. And with that, Madeline spins on her heel and leaves.

The second she walks out the office, Amy's eyes narrow and she steps up before Holt. "You're seriously just gonna let her fail us?" she asks incredulously.

"I'm sorry about your precious grade, Santiago, but this isn't about you,"

Kat scoffs. "No, don't 'this isn't about you' her!" Holt's eyes widen a fraction at her protest. "We're trying to this isn't about you'ing you!"

"That grade is the only thing standing between me and a future where you aren't our captain anymore," Amy says heatedly. "Wuntch failed the Nine-Oh and their captain was fired."

"I attempted to cajole her but she rebuffed me," Holt says. "I'm not a man of unlimited cajoling."

"And we understand that, sir," Kat acknowledges. "But you need to become one pretty quickly because we all need you in command. This precinct needs you in command."

"Cajole up, Captain," Amy continues. She gives him one final stern look before walking out the office.

Holt's brows raise and he gives Kat a pointed when she lingers behind. "Was there something you wanted to say, Sergeant?" he asks her impatiently.

She clears her throat. "I just wanted to say I think Madeline Wuntch is also a two headed monstrosity."

"I never said that."

"I'm aware. But I know you were thinking it."

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

The last hour of her shift was upon Katherine. Even though she had plans, she had become more and more hesitant to leave throughout the day. She knew why, but she just didn't want to admit it to herself. Because as soon as she said it out loud, as soon as she said that she was head over heels for Rosa Diaz, it became real. Kat wasn't a huge fan of real life. She loved living up in her own imaginary world, a world where rejection wasn't a thing, a world where the possibility of Rosa not loving her back wasn't a thing. So, she wouldn't say it because the risk of what she could lose heavily outweighed the possibility of what she could gain.

As she watches Boyle step out of the elevator in a brightly patterned suit, the cornrows still braided into his hair, she can't help but quietly laugh. "Looking good, Boyle," Hitchcock calls out with a grin. Kat covers her mouth as she finds it even harder to stop laughing.

Charles grimaces as he walks over to his desk. "Ugh, that is not a good sign," he points out to himself. He spins around to Kat. "What do you think?" he asks her, gesturing a hand down to his suit. She takes a second of hesitation, but that's all Charles needs. "Damn it," he mutters.

"Hey, man," Rosa says in a Jamaican accent. Kat looks up from her desk to find the detective stood behind a group of officers in a similarly coloured dress to Charles's suit.

"Rosa..." Boyle grins brightly. "You changed your mind!"

"I blew off my date and instead I'm going to spend a hellish evening in a Jamaican torture chamber with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she confirms. Kat chuckles at Boyle's excitement. "Here's what's about to happen. We're gonna go to this terrible party, I'm gonna laugh at all your jokes, gonna talk about your medal of valour, and I'm gonna make you look like a Jamaican god of rhythm."

"Sebastian from Little Mermaid," Charles says, just barely able to contain his happiness.

"Also, tomorrow." Rosa turns to look at the blonde-haired sergeant. "Kat and I are gonna help you find a new apartment."

"It's true," Kat nods as she walks over to them. "Tisha spent all afternoon researching into places instead of doing homework. You can't live in Eleanor's basement anymore, Charles."

Charles looks between them. "Wow." And then in a Jamaican accent, "Respect, man." He points to Rosa with a wide smile. "I'm gonna read you my toast in the car."

She blinks. "You're giving a toast?"

He grins as he grabs his bag. "More like we're giving a toast," he corrects.

Kat laughs as Rosa groans in annoyance. As Charles walks off, Rosa turns around to her friend. "Thanks for tomorrow," she says.

She nods. "No worries, he needs a better place." Rosa returns the smile. "So, why'd you cancel your date?"

"Felt bad for Boyle," she replies. Her eyes flick across Kat's face. "Imagine if he went alone."

"Oh yeah... I can't believe he's still going," Kat says. They share another smile.

"Have fun," Rosa tells her. The smile she now wears is too forced, but the sergeant doesn't seem to notice. "You deserve it."

Katherine clears her throat and looks down to the ground for a second. "Thanks," she says softly. She lifts her head. "You look nice, by the way. As nice as you can in colours like that." Rosa laughs. "Also, make sure he does not talk about his hair to Eleanor at all, okay?"

Rosa's brows furrow in confusion. "What?"

"In the divorce, Charles got their hairdresser and she's been really pissed ever since." Kat chuckles at her bewildered expression. "Yeah, I know, it's a whole thing."

"No shit." Rosa smiles at her again. "I gotta go, but, uh, yeah, have fun."

Kat watches her walk out of the bullpen and she closes her eyes as she breathes out a sigh. It won't be fun because it's not with you, she wants to say. As she looks back to the elevator, the doors are closing. Even if she wanted to say it, she didn't have the chance anymore.

"Kat, baby," Gina calls out. "Let's go get you ready for this date!"

Her eyes widen in alarm as Gina wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Wait, what?" She begins to panic as she realises that her sister has the full intention to dress her up. "When did we agree to this?"

"Oh, we didn't," Gina admits. "Tisha and I did."

Kat rolls her eyes. "Of course you did."

"Party time!"

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