"I always forget how long it takes to plan an undercover mission," I say aloud as I throw myself back in my chair, my head tilted up as I stare at the ceiling. Felix lets out a quiet chuckle as he goes back to whatever shit he's doing on his computer. It's only one more day until we go undercover and there was so much to go over. How many security guards are at the club, possible ways to exit the club if things go wrong, and planning my outfit for Friday though that's more of a personal thing.

I still feel exhausted from yesterday, my one day off to sleep but I got called in. When I was leaving to go home yesterday Nash asked me to come over to his, obviously to have sex but I wasn't in the mood for it considering my feelings were all weird after the last time. I'm startled out of my thinking when my radio crackles and a voice comes through.

"Officer Sanchez, could you make your way to the front of the precinct, there is someone here to see you." Someone here to see me? But who the hell do I know except for Victoria and Haruto? Plus I'm pretty sure Haruto is at the hospital working and if Victoria is not working she's with Oli. I stand up and walk out past Aurora who's talking with Nash and as soon as I turn to the entrance my eyes widen in surprise.

"Jade, hi, what are you doing here?" I ask in confusion as I walk towards her.

"I wanted to know if we could play together again?" she asks in a quiet voice. My face softens when I hear her say that and I take a look at the time on the wall and figure there's no harm in taking an early break.

"Sure, why don't I grab my jacket and then we can go outside," I say with a smile. Her face brightens and my grin gets wider as I quickly rush back to grab my jacket and head back to where she's waiting. "What did you want to do today?" I ask her as we walk outside. "And did you ask your mom if you could come here?"

"Yeah, she said it was okay and she will come to pick me up later," she answers. "And she said you're a nice lady for playing with me." I'm surprised I made such an impact on her mom for keeping her company the other day.

"I'm happy she said that," I tell her as we stop at the same spot we met the other day.

"Can we make more snowmen?" she asks me. 

"Of course, we can make an even bigger one than last time," I chuckle softly. She starts gathering snow rolling it around until it gets bigger in size. "Let me take over," I tell her as I pull my mittens out of my pocket putting them on.

"Thank you," she says with a grin. I roll the snowball down the sidewalk, we're lucky it's been snowing pretty heavily the past week and it's been slowly piling up. 

"Are you excited to go back to school next week?" I ask her.

"Yes, I love school and getting homework. Grade four is a lot of fun," she tells me as she brings the next ball of snow next to me. So I was right, nine years old; I love it when I'm right.

"That's great, I used to love school too when I was your age," I tell her as she rolls her snowball towards me, too big for her to carry but not big enough that I wouldn't be able to lift it.

"But I really want to make friends but I get scared," she tells me in a quiet voice. I pause in lifting the snowball and place it back on the ground.

"You have one friend right here," I say crouching down. "Would you like to be friends?" I ask with a smile. 

"Really?" she asks in excitement, her eyes wide as she looks at me waiting for me to laugh it off as a joke.

"Really really," I chuckle. She nods her head eagerly before giving me a wide smile. "Maybe you can tell your classmates when you go back to school you know a really cool police officer." She lets out a small giggle as I lift the snowball to the base.

"I brought more things this time," she says reaching into her pockets and pulling out different colourful items. 

"I can see that," I chuckle. We work together, the white snow becoming one colourful but tasteful and chaotic mess. We're so lost in our work we don't hear someone approaching us.

"Jade, I came to get you," a voice says from behind us. I turn around to see an extremely tired-looking woman standing behind us with a small smile as she looks at us. The bags under her eyes stand out on her brown skin. Seeing her up close this is definitely Jade's mom and the thing that gives it away is the eyes. Although she doesn't have the same condition as her daughter, behind her curls those brown eyes of hers are practically the same.

"You must be Mrs. Arelli," I say, standing up to shake her hand.

"Actually it's just Ms but you can call me Julia, you're Natalia correct? Jade couldn't stop talking about the nice policewoman who played with her," she says shaking my hand.

"I'm sorry about that and I had fun with Jade. I was curious as to why she was out here on her own but I guess she really likes playing in the snow," I chuckle.

"She does, she's so shy and I never push her to talk with people and that's why I was surprised she let you work with her," she says with a smile. 

"Well, I'm happy she felt comfortable enough to be around me," I reply. "You have to get going right?"

"Yes, I have to do some shopping before it gets dark out," she answers. "Jade, we have to leave but you can stop here again."

"I can mom?" Jade questions as she jumps towards her.

"Yes, so long as Natalia doesn't mind," Julia tells her before turning to look at me silently asking if it's okay.

"Of course I don't mind but it would probably be best if you called ahead of time in case I'm not here or if I can't take a break," I tell her. I reach into my pocket and grab my wallet pulling out one of my business cards. "This is my personal number and the number for our precinct, you can call either."

"I'll do that. Say goodbye Jade, you can come another day," Julia tells her.

"Bye Natalia, thank you for playing with me again," she chirps and she quickly moves in to give me a hug before standing beside her mom. Julia gives me a nod as they both start to walk away. I won't lie, Julia looks like she's exhausted. I hope that I can give her some peace for keeping her daughter company and hopefully, she gets some rest not only for herself but also for Jade.

✘✘

I walk back into the station, my hands cold from the snow but it was nice to keep Jade company and even her mom seems nice. What I need right now is some water and then coffee later to help me warm up. I go straight to our break room to grab a bottle but stop in my steps when I see Aurora pressed close to Nash, his arms aren't touching her but he's certainly not pushing her away.  It's like my happy mood did a one-eighty. My footsteps must have alerted them because they both break apart, Nash looks somewhat guilty while Aurora looks satisfied.

"Don't mind me, I just came to grab some water," I say as I walk past them to get a bottle. The same feeling from the other day swirls through me and I know I don't like it.

"We were just familiarizing ourselves with one another," she says with a sickeningly sweet smile. "And it's best we see how compatible we are for Friday." 

"Oh, good for you," I tell her as I unscrew the cap, taking a sip.

"Wait, Natalia," Nash starts saying.

"You two don't need to explain anything to me, you're free to do what you want am I right?" I ask them, the last part was directed more at Nash. "I'll see you two later," I say to them as I walk past them with a wave of my hand. I go back to my desk and look at my computer and the files that are open but I know my head won't be here to work. It's pretty early but I know I'll get nothing done if I stay here. I grab the files I can take home with me and pack them in my bag along with my laptop.

"I'm leaving now Felix, see you tomorrow," I tell him as I walk out. I see him nod as I walk past him and now the next place I have to stop at is Jason's office. I stop outside of his door, knocking on it before walking inside. "Jason, I'm leaving early today and I'm taking whatever I haven't finished home with me."

"Is there a reason you're going?" he asks pausing in his work.

"I just can't concentrate right now and you know even if I leave early, I'll have everything done by tomorrow morning, I'm not a slacker," I reason. He looks at me for a couple of seconds before sighing.

"Fine, I'll let you go but I want to see what you have tomorrow," he negotiates.

"Perfect, see you later Chief," I tell him as I walk back out. I say goodbye to other officers I pass by before walking out to my car. I power up my phone, dialling the number of the one person I want to talk to. 

"Hey Natalia, aren't you supposed to be working?" Victoria asks in confusion when she picks up.

"Are you busy right now?" I ask her as I pull out of the parking lot.

"No, it's just Oli and me but why, what's wrong?" she asks in concern.

"I'll explain when I get there," I tell her as I stop at a red light.

"Okay, drive safely," she says to me before hanging up. I don't bother turning on the radio as I drive through the empty streets. I know Nash will probably be surprised I left work but until I can organize whatever is in my head I'd rather be somewhere else. I turn down the street to her home and park outside of the house.

"Natalia you're here," a voice calls out. I see Oli waiting with the door open, excitement on his face.

"Hey Oli, you didn't need to come out, it's freezing cold," I tell him as I walk up the driveway. 

"I know but Aunty Tori told me I could wait for you and I kept checking the window," he explains with a cheeky smile.

"You're lucky I really like you," I chuckle as I walk inside. "How's my favourite person?" I ask holding my arms open. 

"Awesome," he says hugging me tightly.

"That's great, where's your aunt?" I ask him. 

"In the kitchen," he answers.

"Alright, let me go talk to her and then we can play something later," I tell him as I lock the door behind me. 

"Okay," he replies before going back upstairs. I toe off my boots and walk through the living straight to the kitchen where I find Victoria at the stove.

"Hey, I'm here," I tell her as I sit down at the island. 

"So what's up? You left work early so it must be pretty important, what's eating you?" she says placing a cup of coffee in front of me.

"Thanks, I needed this," I tell her as I take a sip of the coffee. "And what's on my mind, Nash."

"Nash? What's up with him?" she asks sitting across from me.

"Or well I shouldn't say Nash. We're working on a case right now and we got a person from forensics to work with us, turns out she knows Nash," I tell her as I wrap my cold hands around the mug.

"And? What's the problem? She doesn't do shit or something?" she questions. 

"No, it's not that. Now I know they are working together because of an undercover mission and that they're playing a couple so therefore if he lets her get close to him it doesn't bother me. I know it's for a bigger cause and there's no need for jealousy even though she's acting like she's winning a prize, what prize is there to be won?" I say calmly just as my smile tightens. "But watching the two of them in the break room, fuck. That bitch had her hands on my man and I ain't going to let that shit slide." I freeze as I register the words that just slipped out of my mouth. Victoria looks at me for a moment in surprise before her lips pull up in a smirk and I let out a groan as my head falls to the table.

"I thought you two were just having casual sex? When did it turn to this?" she questions waving her hand. "Tell me, has he done anything else with you besides sex?"

"I don't know what is wrong with me," I bemoan covering my face with my hands, ignoring her questions.

"Sounds like you have some feelings for him and this isn't just lust anymore," she says crossing her arms as she looks at me. 

"No way did I catch feelings for him. Uh-uh," I say disagreeing with her.

"You did, you can try to deny it as much as you want but you feel something for him. How long has she been there?" she questions.

"It's her fourth day. We met her on Sunday," I tell her. "Not to mention he had sex with her before."

"Girl, you've got it bad, like real bad. I've never heard of jealousy like this," she chuckles.

"But I don't want to be jealous, I don't like it," I say lowering my head onto the island counter again.

"You're human, you can't help what you feel. Besides didn't you tell me last month he asked you out? That he wants to stop your friends-with-benefits thing and be committed to you exclusively?" she continues. 

"Yes but-"

"And has he done anything for you besides sex?" she asks with a raised brow.

"Well, sometimes when I forget to eat he brings me food and if I stay late at work, even if he's done for the day he'll stay with me until I have to go home and then text me to make sure I reached home in one piece. Oh, and if I fall asleep at work, he'd move me to a break room and make sure no one bothers me for a good hour," I say listing of things he's done.

"See, he likes you a lot. So much, so why don't you want to say yes? What's stopping you?" she asks in confusion. My face twists when she asks that, it still crushes my soul when I think about it.

"Well, I don't, I don't even know where to-" I stop speaking when I hear the front door opening. 

"Hey I'm home," Jason calls out. We hear footsteps rush down the stairs, so adorable, to greet Jason. He walks into the kitchen and his eyebrows shoot in surprise when he sees me.

"So this is what you meant by seeing you later not to mention I recognized your car outside," he says as he goes to kiss Victoria's cheek. "Why are you here?"

"Let me take refuge here for the evening and then I'll head home later," I say with a grin. I'm totally not hiding here for a couple of hours so I don't run into Nash in case he stops by my apartment. 

"What, how could I let you go back to sleep in your office and yes, I knew you were going to head there instead of home. You're staying here tonight," Victoria says to me as Oli calls for her. "And don't even think of leaving. I'll drag you back here if I have to," she tells me as she walks out. It's silent for a couple of seconds before I turn back to Jason as he looks at me in question. He's only older than me by a year but I feel so much pressure from him, could also be because he's my boss.

"So what's the reason you're here? You're hiding right or more like who are you hiding from," he asks as he sits across from me with his brow raised. Of course he already knows who I'm trying to avoid. 

"Not surprised you figured it out, that's why you're the police chief," I grin as I drink my coffee.

"I won't ask what's wrong but whatever it is, make sure you fix it. I don't want it to affect you at work," he tells me and this is why Jason is one of my favourite people. Doesn't ask shit and doesn't sugarcoat things either. Maybe, maybe it's time I talk with Nash and really tell him what's holding me back. But first things first, our undercover mission and then maybe I'll talk.

✘✘

A/N We haven't reached Natalia's past yet but one thing is clear, Nash does want her but something is pulling her back. As for Natalia's jealousy, it makes her a little more human am I right? Even if Aurora has just been working with them for a couple of days, seeing her act up with the man you like (but don't want to accept) has got to rub you the wrong way.

Anyways, be sure to leave your thoughts on the chapter in the comments!