Let me tell you, B99 is the first fandom I've ever followed where I have two ships that involve the same character. I mean, I'm one hundred percent Perialtiago fan and I live for their dorkiness, but there's something with Amy/Rosa that has me enamored and makes me want to write about it. And, well, also the fact that there's not nearly enough Amy/Rosa fiction out there, I've already read everything.
And also, I'm absolute Marvel trash, so that's where this came from. Enjoy!
Amy's in the break room when it starts. She's trying not to look as Hitchcock helps Scully clean… something from between his toes and have a cup of coffee in peace when Hitchcock screams; a terrified shriek that will resound in her head for days. She turns fast, the coffee in her cup spilling over her hand and burning her flesh but she doesn't even noticed, too preoccupied by the sight before her. Half of Scully's body has disappeared, leaving some kind of grey powder in its place and Hitchcock has jumped from his chair, some of the dust covering his hands. He looks at her before his face becomes ashen and falls away.
The precinct bursts into chaos. There are people screaming all around, others disappearing just like Scully did and she runs out, searching the bullpen for the remaining five familiar faces that remain. Holt bursts out of his office and Amy waits a second, hoping for Terry to follow but as the captain shouts for someone to tell him with is going on, no one exits behind him. Her eyes water but she keeps on. Charles barrels out of the file room, shouting something about Jake in between sobs and Amy's heart breaks some more. She makes one last desperate sweep, praying for a glimpse of curly hair and black leather but there's nothing there.
Her heart breaks inside her chest and she gasp from the pain, her tears finally falling.
"A-Amy?!" she looks back, and sees Hitchcock looking at her with his piercing blue eyes before he turns to dust.
It's all over in five minutes and with it, the screams disappear too. A stifling silence falls over the precinct as Amy joins Charles and Holt and they huddle in the captain's office. Almost every other officer has left, either to check on relatives and friends or to patrol the streets and see if anyone needs help. They had stayed, gathering the officers in jars and bags. Both Hitchcock and Scully went into the biggest coffee jars they could find and Terry into a Father's Day decorated jar the twins made him last year. Amy gets a bag pack and sets them carefully inside.
Holt is compulsively calling Kevin, getting more and more agitated as his husband fails to respond. Charles isn't fairing better, either calling Nikolaj's school or Genevieve. The school's line says that it's currently occupied, but Genevieve's phone rings and rings without answer.
Amy, meanwhile, calls Rosa with the same single-minded determination. Turns out that Holt had sent her out to questioning a witness almost half an hour before. The call, however, goes straight to voice mail. It gives her a kind of naïve hope, that her girlfriend isn't picking up because her phone died or because she broke it again instead of her being dead. After a couple of calls without answer, she gives up and calls her parents a couple of times before her father picks up. The sound of his voice comforts her, but her heart falls back to the pit of her stomach when he tells her that her mother and youngest brother have disappeared too. Victor tells her that he's been trying her to contact the rest of her brothers – none have answered yet– and that for a second he'd thought he'd lost her too. She cries and cuddles with Charles as he sobs too when he's unable to contact his father. Finally, she scrolls down to the M and hesitates before pressing call. It rings for a second before it connects.
"Hello?" Amy covers her eyes. It's Diana, Rosa's three-year-old niece who answers the phone instead of her mother.
"Diana? Hey, sweetie. It's Amy, Auntie Rosa's girlfriend?" both Charles and Holt pause in their pacing to look at her.
Auntie Rosa? Mouths Boyle and she ignores him.
"Amy!" repeats the child and Amy smiles through her tears.
"Yes, Amy. Is Mommy around?" Rosa's sister works from home and the father left when Diana was a few months old, so she's the only one that would be with the girl right now.
"She was but I can't find her." there's a short pause before she continues. "Is Mommy pwaying Hide an' Seek?"
"I-I don't know, sweetie. Do you mind if I come over?" there's a sound at the other end of the line, as if the little girl is readjusting the phone in her tiny hands.
"Ok. Can you bwing those cookies fo'm last time?" Amy pauses. The cookies she's talking about are homemade cookies she and Rosa made one sleepless night a couple of months ago. So no, she can't bring any.
"I'm sorry, baby, I don't have any right now. But if you want we could make some later."
"Ok. See you soon!"
"Se you soon, Diana, I'll be there in twenty minutes, ok? Don't leave the house." And with that she hangs up, letting her phone fall to her lap and her head into her hands. She rubs her eyes with the heel of her hand whimpers. "I have to go get Rosa's niece, her mother's gone and her father bailed years ago." She looks up and takes in the other two red, pair of eyes staring at her. "We should go check on everybody. We need to go see if Mrs. Jeffords and the girls are alive; Gina and Iggy too." She pauses, liking her lips before continuing. "I'll go get the Jeffords, Charles go get Nikolaj and check on Genevieve. Captain," she turns to her mentor and bites her trembling lip when she sees him staring out the window with a lost look in his eyes. She walks to him and grasps his hands, all sense of professionalism thrown out the window. He turns to her, but his eyes seem vacant. "Go find Kevin. Whoever finishes first goes to Gina's." He nods, snapping out of his haze. He walks to his desk and takes out a little box and from it, three little communicators.
"So we can keep each other posted." He adds, offering them to his subordinates. They nod, each taking one and putting it on. As they exit the office, Amy pauses and writes down a quick note, in case Rosa is alive and comes back. They all power it up as they walk down the stairs and out the precinct. They share a hug before parting ways.
Amy takes a deep breath before walking the last steps to María Diaz's house. She doesn't bother knocking on the door, taking the spare key in the hidden compartment by the door and unlocking it.
"Diana? Diana, sweetie, it's Amy!" there's a sound by the kitchen and she trots, finding the little girl staring at the pile of ash on the floor and counter. She turns and smiles, skipping to Amy and giggling with the woman picks her up.
"You here!" says the little girl. She'd taken an immediate liking to Amy the day she met her; the girl already idolized Rosa, so when they told her Amy worked with her, Diana had spent the rest of the evening glued either to Amy or Rosa.
Amy clutches her tightly, the reassurance of having the small body of the little girl pressed against hers almost overwhelming her. Her father had told her that her own niece had disappeared along with the girl's father (her youngest brother), so the fact that she can reassure herself that one child dear to her has been spared is amazing.
It takes her almost ten minutes to relent her hold on the girl and set her on the floor once again. Diana seems reluctant to let go of her, so Amy keeps her hand in the child's. Together, they gather María's ashes, or 'wei'd sand' as Diana calls it. Amy doesn't have the heart to tell her the truth. They putt it in a little, decorative jar that was in a shelf and Amy stores it in her purse.
She's in the middle of trying to explain why they have to go and why can't stay here and wait for Mommy to come back when the door slams open. She's quick to cover Diana's mouth with her hand and make the universal 'shh!' sign to keep the girl from making a sound. She looks scared, and Amy smiles and presses a kiss to her forehead.
"Stay" She mouths and waits until she's out of the girl's sight to pull her gun out of her holster. But in the end it turns out she doesn't need it.
"María, Diana!" there's a pause, and then. "Amy?" Amy freezes for a second, as if her heart is taking a few moments to mend itself back up before her gun is on the floor –thank God she hadn't taken the safety out– and she's running to the front door, her eyes watering once again.
And she's right there, with a bruised cheek and a cut over her brow but there. Amy's running before she even notices.
"Rosa!" The tears come down unbidden, and she practically crashes against Rosa, her arms wrapping tightly around her girlfriend. Rosa clutches her tight too, burying a hand in her brown traces and inhaling deeply. Amy chokes on a sob, trembling with the relief of finally knowing that she's is ok.
Rosa pulls back, her hands migrating to her girlfriend's cheeks. She caresses her cheekbones with her thumbs before pressing their lips together in an insistent kiss. Amy responds in kind, one arms wrapped around Rosa's middle while the opposite hand fists around the blouse the woman's wearing beneath the leather jacket.
Almost a full minute passes before she remembers the little girl hiding in the kitchen. Sniffling, she pulls back, dropping one last, lingering kiss before turning a little. "Diana, it's ok, sweetie, you can come out!"
Little feet come pattering out of the kitchen and the little girl comes barreling towards them. Rosa is quick to scoop her up, pressing the girl close to her body and using her free arm to bring Amy back to her side. Most would find this show of affection rather out of character for Rosa, but Amy has come to know that in the privacy of their home, Rosa's a surprisingly tactile person. She still finds it difficult to express her emotions with words, but that's actually ok. She's better at showing them anyway.
Amy has become quite the expert in figuring out Rosa's cues and tells, even at work. Her expression changes minutely, or her posture does and Amy knows if her girlfriend's annoyed, happy, uncomfortable or, and it has happened more times than Amy would like to admit, turned on. Don't get her wrong, she loves making love with Rosa, but if anyone found out how many times they'd done it in the bathroom or the evidence locker they would get suspended for a week. At least.
"I got your note." Murmurs Rosa, breaking her out of her reverie. She chuckles, pressing herself closer to her and nuzzling her face harder against Rosa's neck, one hand sneaking beneath the blouse to feel her warm skin while the other wraps around the girl still koala-ing herself to Rosa's waist.
"Auntie, you squishin' me." Giggles Diana and Rosa sets her down, looking her over, as if reassuring herself that her niece is safe and sound before looking up at Amy, a helpless plea in her eyes. She sniffles and shakes her head, watching as Rosa's eyes water for a second before she steels herself and returns her gaze to Diana.
"Your mom called, she had to leave for an important meeting, so you'll be staying with us for a while, ok?" the three-year-old hesitates for a second before a smile lights up her face and she nods. "Go pack a bag and grab your lion." Diana nods again, her smile spreading on her lips as she skips up the stairs.
Rosa doesn't wait a second and brings Amy back to her, kissing her hungrily and moving her hands all over as if to reassure herself that Amy is safe and sound. Amy isn't fairing much better, patting her girlfriend down to try and locate anything amiss. When both come up empty handed, they smile simultaneously into the kiss.
"I'm so glad you're ok," murmurs Amy once they break apart, her hand coming up to caress softly over the bruised cheek. Rosa leans in almost imperceptibly, her eyes fluttering for a second. "I was so afraid when you didn't answer the phone…" her breath stutters and Rosa is quick to press her closer to her body.
"I got in an accident, I'm fine but the phone got smashed." She pauses a few seconds, and Amy uses the time to concentrate on the beating of Rosa's heart against her own chest. "The driver on the car in front of me disappeared. It crashed." Amy inhales slowly, thanking whoever's listening that Rosa hadn't gotten seriously hurt.
Suddenly, there's a crackle in her ear and Charles' voice come's through. "Guys, I have Nikolaj. How are you doing?" Amy raises her hand to her ear so she can answer and doesn't even notice the look Rosa gives her.
"I have Rosa with me, she's ok. We have Diana."
"I'm going to get Genevieve now, I'll keep you posted." And then he's gone. Amy doesn't take the complete ignorance of her comment personally, the chances of Genevieve being alive are really slim and Charles must be feeling awful right now. Amy too decides to ignore the fact that the captain has yet to answer or tell them about Kevin's whereabouts.
Rosa grabs her hand, breaking her out of the reverie. "What's this, Amy?" she looks down and for the first time takes note of what looks like a burn in the back of her hand. It has a rosy tone and a couple of blisters. At first, she blinks at it in complete bewilderment, but then she remembers and her breath catches in her throat.
"I-I was in the break room a-and Hitchcock and Scully were there too– a-and… that's when Scully–" a sob breaks through because yes, even though those two were repulsive most of the time they still were part of the 99 family and now they were gone. "Hitchcock screamed and I–" Rosa has apparently heard enough and shushes her, bring her back against her.
A few minutes pass, the only sound being Diana's humming from upstairs and their breathings. Finally, Rosa shuffles her into the bathroom and ruffles around for the first aid kit while Amy lets it rest under the cold water. She really doesn't know what good it'll do now, but she does it anyway. Once Rosa has the kit, she plops it down on the sink and spreads the after burn cream tenderly, being extra careful around and over the blisters. She then gets the thinnest gauze in the kit and rests it over the burn. She then takes the tubular net bandage, cuts a piece and puts it over the gauze, effectively holding it in place and letting Amy have a the most range of motion. They hear Diana come down the stair.
"Auntie?"
"In here, sweetheart." Answers Amy instead, seeing as Rosa's still preoccupied with her hand and straightening out the kit. She stops her from closing it, though, and gets the bruise cream out, holding it up for her girlfriend's inspection. She nods, so Amy starts spreading it just as tenderly as Rosa had tended to her hand, not stopping until the skin merely has a shinny quality to it. Diana appears at the doorway, a stuffed lion that's practically half her size in her arms and what Amy notes with amusement is a black bag pack with B-99 right in the center. She bites her lip as she wets a hand towel and dabs carefully at the shallow cut near Rosa's hair line.
"Shut it, Santiago."
"What ah' you doin'?" asks the little girl, pattering towards them with a curious look in her eyes.
"Well, Auntie got an ouchie so I'm making it better." Tells her Amy, grinning at Rosa and relishing in the small, almost domestic moment. She would be done in a minute and they would have to leave this bathroom and face the world; she's not looking forward to it. Rosa gives her a look and Amy flushes. She really likes it when Rosa gives her that look.
"You got everything you need, Diana?" Rosa asks her niece instead, giving her girlfriend a break from her intense stare and letting her clean the small wound, disinfect it and cover it with a band aid.
"Yes!" the little girl bounces on her toes, clearly exited about going to Auntie Rosa's for a sleepover. However, when Rosa moves away from Amy to get the kit back into the cupboard, her demeanor changes completely. "No!" they turn to her, confused and slightly scared eyes searching the girl for any sign of distress. "You no done, you gotta kiss it better!"
They immediately relax, relief washing over them. Amy chuckles then, her eyes shinning as she motions for Rosa to come closer. Rosa rolls her eyes but the corner of her lips twitch up as she leans in and lets Amy press a kiss to her forehead. She then kisses her cheekbone, between her eyes and finally her lips. When they part, Diana is tugging at their sleeves.
"Me wanna kisses too!" pouts the little girl and Amy laughs. Rosa grins down at her niece and kneels so she can press a sloppy kiss to her chubby cheek.
Amy feels as if her heart is about to burst.
The drive from Rosa's sister's house to the Jeffords' is rather tense for both women. For comfort proposes, they've taken María's car: it's a minivan, so they'll be able to carry more people in there than Amy's sedan. Rosa had grumbled slightly at the prospect of leaving her bike behind, but had understood the reasoning. And there was also the fact that neither of them knew how to assemble Diana's car chair. It's a little difficult to maneuver the big car around the abandoned vehicles in the road, but they make do and almost half an hour later they're stopping in front of the Jeffords household.
"Whe'e ah' we?" asks Diana and Amy starts, having forgotten for a second that the girl was there. She's been really silent in the drive over. Rosa turns to her from the driver's seat while Amy checks her gun. She doesn't think she'll need it, but better be safe than sorry.
"We have to check on some friends. You're going to have to stay here for a few minutes, ok?" Diana pouts and shakes her head.
"No! Me come!" she tries to unlock the harness-like belt around her torso. After a few unsuccessful tries, she whimpers and looks up at them again. "Me come!"
Rosa and Amy share a look, they can't really leave her in the car is she has a tantrum but they don't know what awaits them in that house. Amy bites her lip and Rosa is quick to tease it free. She still remembers the time that Amy drew blood from chewing too hard on her lip. Finally, Rosa sighs and fixes her niece with a hard stare.
"Fine, you can come, but you stay glued to my side or Amy's and you don't touch anything. Understood?" Diana nods excitedly.
The women exit the car and Rosa checks her weapon just like Amy did while her girlfriend get's Diana out of the car. She then keeps the girl's hand clutched in hers as they go up the walkway and then the steps. With their hearts pounding, they knock on the door and wait. Almost a full minute passes before they hear footsteps approach the door and finally, the door opens. Amy closes her eyes in despair as, once again, the face of a child greets her instead of one of an adult's. She looks to be about eight, so it's one of the twins and the fact that her hair is short instead of falling down to her shoulders tells them that this is Lacey. Her eyes are red and there are tear tracks running down her cheeks.
"Aunt Rosa? Aunt Amy?" murmurs the girl, her dark eyes fleeting from one woman to the other. Both have babysat for the three Jeffords children on multiple occasions, just like the rest of the squad, and both Terry and Sharon had encouraged the kids to call them Aunt or Uncle to each of them. And Grandpa, in Holt's case. Sharon's brother had gotten offended one day when he heard the twins referring to the squad by those titles, and Terry had later told the group with a profoundly smug tone about how the twins had told his brother-in-law off.
"Hey, Lacey." Says Amy softly. The girl's lower lip starts to tremble and her hand tightens around the door. Rosa is quick to snatch Diana form Amy so she can kneel and receive their new charge properly. Lacey clings to her, her sobs quacking her entire body. "It's ok, sweetie, let it all out. That's it." She can hear Rosa shushing Diana behind her, picking her up and murmuring to the confused, younger girl.
A few minutes pass and when no one appears at the door and no sound comes from inside the house, Amy concludes that Lacey is the only one. No Ava, no Cagney and no Sharon. Oh, and no Laura, the girls babysitter; the twenty-year-old may have been a new sitter but she wouldn't have left Lacey alone in the house. When Lacey finally manages to get herself under control, Amy tells her that she'll be coming with them. She merely nods.
"You want me to help pack your bag?" she asks, but Lacey shakes her head. "Ok, take all the time you need. We'll wait for you here." The girl hesitates for a second before raising her eyes, looking from Amy to Rosa and back again.
"Can we… can we get the ashes?"
"Of course. Do you want us to do it?" Lacey nods and disappears into the house, leaving the door open.
Amy and Rosa enter, looking around. It looks just like every other day, but is the silence that makes it different. The Jeffords household is always filled with music or laughter, and it being so quiet before bedtime is jarring, to say the least. There's a pile inside the city play mat, another one on the couch and when Rosa steps further inside she sees another one in the kitchen. Ava, Cagney and Laura, most likely; Sharon should've still been at work when it happened, and the fact that she's not here with Lacey makes obvious what happened to her.
With the order to stay still and not touch a thing, Rosa sets Diana on the floor and both women set about gathering the ashes and storing them. they put Ava's ashes in a little ornamental box that has a family picture beneath the glass cover, Cagney's go into a jar that has a couple of constellations painted on the glass and Laura's into an empty tea jar.
"Amy?" she looks up and Rosa is standing in the middle of the room, clutched in her hands is Ava's box. "Did you get María's…?" she smiles reassuringly at her girlfriend, nodding and walking towards her, Cagney's jar in her own hands. She leans in when Rosa cups her cheek, smiling sweetly at the taller girl.
"Of course I did, Rosa." María had been the only one in Rosa's family that had completely accepted her when she came out as bisexual and had refused to cut Rosa out of the family reunions, so she'd made one for just Rosa and herself –and Amy when she could– and had cut their mother out completely until she realized her mistake. When they met, Amy and María had hit it off immediately and, much to the couple's embarrassment, had called dibs in being maid of honor if they ever decided to get married. Diana, of course, had chimed in with wanting to be both the flower girl and the ring bearer.
The comm crackles to life in Amy's ear and Holt's voice comes trough.
"I have retrieved The Enigma. The military has taken over the 99, so we'll meet back at my house."
"Copy that." Answers Charles and then the connection is silent. Amy breathes in deep. Nothing is said about Genevieve or Kevin. Amy raises a shaky hand up to her ear and presses the button.
"I have Lacey. We'll meet you there." she says softly. She stays silent for a few seconds until Rosa tilts her head towards her. She doesn't have to say anything to get Amy talking. "Charles has Nikolaj, but Genevieve is gone. Kevin and Gina are gone too and the Captain has Iggy." She pauses, swallowing.
"Who else is gone?" Amy squeezes her eyes shut for a second, grasping the hand Rosa still has on her cheek and pressing it closer.
"Hitchcock and Scully, Terry, Jake, my mother, Oscar and my niece…" she trails off. There might me more, she realizes. Rosa brings her closer, pressing their foreheads together.
"We'll figure it out, ok? Together."
"Together."
Once Lacey is all packed up, they get the booster seat form the garage. Diana manages to cheer up the older girl enough to hold a conversation about pancakes as Rosa straps her to her car seat and Amy stores Lacey's bag into the trunk. Amy takes the seat behind the wheel this time and Rosa sets the GPS to Holt's house.
"Ok, girls, we'll be staying in Captain Holt's house for a while. You good with rooming with us?" asks Rosa once they're on route. Lacey nods slightly and shrugs, humming in affirmation. Diana whoops.
"Yay! Sweepover!" she giggles and shows her lion to the older girl. "This is Nala, f'om the Wion King!" she makes the plushy wave and Lacey smiles.
"I love Nala. Did you know that she and Simba have a daughter?" Diana gasps and proceeds to interrogate her new friend. Amy smiles softly, happy that for a second Lacey has 'forgotten' about the death of her family and is thankful that Rosa's niece is young enough to be spared of the heartache. Rosa rests a hand over her thigh and Amy gives it a soft caress before returning her own hand to the wheel.
The couple spends the car ride in silence, Rosa's hand never once straying from Amy's thigh. They content themselves with listening to their charges' conversation about the Lion King movies and then Spirit and Dumbo. Turns out both are suckers for Disney's animal movies and are in the middle of gushing about Brother Bear when they reach their destination.
"Ok, girls, we're here!" exclaims Amy, cutting the ignition with a flourish.
"Grandpa Holt lives in a mansion!" says Lacey, her eyes wide and glued to the enormous house. She snaps out of it when Amy opens the door in Diana's side to unbuckle the younger girl and gets out of the car, accepting one of the bag packs Rosa hands her. She's about to move aside but the woman grabs her and kneels so they're at the same height.
"Hey, everything's going to work out, ok? I know it's difficult and even more so because we have to hide it so Diana doesn't find out, but if you need to talk, we're here for you." Rosa's voice is husky and slightly gruff from the emotional overload, but her tone is tender and so is the hand that strokes back the small braid that hands form behind Lacey's ear. Both twins had worn one, Lacey keeping it intact after she'd cut her hair shorter and it had become a symbol, they had even made one on Ava when the babe's hair had been long enough.
Lacey's eyes well up, but she nods and refuses to let the tears fall. She's strong, she can keep it together, like Aunt Rosa and Aunt Amy. And when Diana goes to bed she'll cry all she wants. She can do it.
Rosa smiles –that little, upturned corner lip– and gives the girl a soft –soft– punch to the shoulder.
"Good girl."
She rises back to her feet just in time, Amy rounding the car with a half asleep Diana in her arms. She mouths 'naptime' and Rosa looks down at her watch. Yep, three thirty, Diana's usual naptime. Shouldering the rest of the bags and passing over the lightest to Lacey, the group trudges up the lawn steps and then the entrance. Amy takes the hand that's soothingly caressing Diana's back and knocks. There's total silence for a few seconds and then the door opens slowly, Charles tear stained face coming into view from the shadows. He smiles when he sees them and opens the door wider, hugging first Rosa when she steps inside, then Lacey and pressing a kiss to the crown of her head and finally Amy, somehow avoiding squishing Diana between them.
"How's Nikolaj holding up?" asks Rosa, her voice soft. The house has an eerie silence that she's almost afraid to break. Charles shrugs and a tear falls silently down his cheek.
"As well as you might expect. Half his class and his teacher vanished mid exam and the remaining kids stayed huddled together for almost an hour before someone checked on them. He's sleeping now. The Captain said that you two can take the master bedroom. He doesn't want to sleep there if Kevin isn't with him." he ads when Amy opens her mouth to protest. Diana shifts in her arms, yawning widely.
"Auntie? I gotta go potty." She mumbles, rubbing one eye sleepily with her fist. Rosa silently drops the bags she's carrying on the floor and carefully maneuvers the three-year-old into her arms. Both women share a silent conversation before Amy presses a sot kiss to Rosa's cheek and starts picking up the bags. Rosa hurries down the hall towards the nearest bathroom; just because Diana can hold on enough to warn them it doesn't mean she can hold for long.
Once she has all the bags, Amy motions for Charles to lead the way and they go up the stairs, passing the two guestrooms and into the master bedroom. The bed has been stripped and a new set of sheets are placed on top, the top of the bedside tables have been cleared as has one of the wardrobes. Looks like Holt really couldn't bare the thought of sleeping here.
"Holt's taken the first guestroom with Iggy, she's refused to let go of him and Holt seems to appreciate the comfort. I'm sharing the second with Nikolaj. I'll make burgers for supper in a couple of hours, I'll call you down when it's ready." And with that he retreats back to the hallway, slipping inside his room and closing the door.
Without a word, Amy and Lacey set the bags down and start making the bed. It's a super king, so the four of them will be able to fit in it. Amy doesn't like sleeping away from Rosa and she doesn't want to separate from the girls. Lacey doesn't look like she wants to sleep alone either.
Once they're done with the bed, they set about unpacking. They don't know how long they'll be here, but it's better than letting it all wrinkle inside the bags. Taking advantage of the already divided wardrobe, they fill one half with Amy's and Rosa's clothes and the other with Lacey's and Diana's. They're halfway through when Rosa appears through the doorway with Diana once again sleeping in her arms. Lacey sets the shirt in her hands inside a drawer and helps Rosa draw back the sheets and blankets so she can set the younger girl inside.
"Thank you, Lacey." She smiles and rests her hand on top of the girl's head for a second. She smiles before returning to her previous task.
They're done a few minutes later and while Rosa and Amy decide to go back downstairs, Lacey prefers to stay and try to sleep for a bit. Amy presses a kiss to her forehead and tells her to call them if she needs anything. Rosa gives her a one-armed hug and a reassuring half smile. They descend the stairs in silence, hands brushing before their fingers twine together. They walk to the couch and practically drop into it, releasing twin sighs and cuddling close. Rosa briefly ponders turning on the TV but she's sure that half of the channels will be out and the other half reporting misery and destruction al over; because it's impossible this is local. New York is a crazy city, but not that much. Something must've happened, something related to that flying disc from yesterday.
She unconsciously tightens her arms around Amy and her girlfriend shuffles even closer, pressing against Rosa until she's reclined in the spot between the back and the armrest with Amy lying over her, her head resting over her collarbone, one hand over Rosa's heart and the other clutched to the edge of the leather jacket. Normally, Amy wouldn't be so clingy; she's a cuddler, yes, but she's never been this desperate for contact with Rosa. However, if she's honest, Rosa feels that if Amy were to pull away, she'd break and Amy would have to deal with an even more desperate Rosa.
Thankfully, she doesn't seem to want to move any time soon.
Almost two hours pass and neither says a single thing. Nor does Boyle when he passes through to the kitchen to start with dinner. They can year noise coming from upstairs and its either the girls waking up, Nikolaj doing the same or the Captain, probably changing Iggy from her diaper. A door opens and a murmured 'ugh, this is repulsive' confirms the last theory, as does the image of Holt walking down the stairs and holding a giggling Iggy at arms length.
Both Rosa and Amy are startled by his appearance: his eyes are sunken in and bloodshot, his wrinkles are more pronounced than ever and his clothes are in utter disarray. He doesn't even notice them as he walks to the kitchen and a second later Charles appears with Iggy and powerwalks to the bathroom. Amy opens her mouth but the small shake of Rosa's head has her snapping it close.
"Let's go get the girls, smells like dinner will be done soon." She says and Amy nods, hesitating for a second before untangling herself and getting up. She keeps one hand on Rosa at all times and helps her up with a soft tug. They go back up the stairs and to the end of the hall. They enter with a soft knock and have a moment of blind panic when they see the deserted bed. It recedes when they hear the flush of the toilet. The door to the en suite bathroom opens and the girls appear. Diana lights up when she sees the couple
"Auntie Rosa, Amy, Lacey help me go potty!" she informs as she toddles to them, a bright smile on her lips and giggles when Rosa picks her up. Amy smiles at Lacey and raises one arm in invitation for the girl to come to her side. She does and her shoulders relax when Amy drapes her arm over them.
"Are you ok?" she murmurs while Rosa listens to her niece babble. Lacey shrugs and hums an affirmative, in a 'I'm holding up' kind of way. Amy smiles reassuringly and guides them out. At the same time, Nikolaj exits his room, eyes red and puffy and blinks blearily at them for a second before offering them a shaky smile.
"Hi," he rasps out, voice rough from crying of sleeping. Probably both.
"Hi, Nikolaj." Murmurs Lacey, and Rosa and Amy repeat the sentiment. Diana smiles from her perch in Rosa's arms and waves sweetly. The boy waves back and together they descend the stairs.
They enter the kitchen and the kids take a seat, Diana and Lacey next to each other while Nikolaj takes the free seat next to Iggy's high chair, the other one occupied by Holt. Rosa takes the remaining chair next to her niece while Amy helps Charles set the table and put a plate in front of everyone. Then, Amy takes the seat at the head of the table, between Rosa and Holt while Charles takes the other one, between Nikolaj and Lacey. Iggy coos excitedly from her highchair at the tinny sized burgers Charles has made for her and grabs the closest one with her hand, getting it all greasy and biting into it as if it were a cookie. Nikolaj grimaces at the show and starts eating his meal.
Without uttering a word, everyone starts eating. Rosa has to take the plate away from Diana before the kid can start eating with her hands like the toddler and cuts the meat into small pieces before returning it and giving the young girl a fork and a warning look. Amy smiles tenderly at the interaction and passes over the ketchup and mayonnaise so the children can put some in their burgers.
They eat in silence, the only sound the scrape of the cutlery and Iggy's intermittent babbling. A little more practice and she'll be just like her mother. The though stay's stuck in Amy's head like a limpet; Gina will never see Iggy grow, she'll never be able to see her walk for the first time or teach her to dance. Iggy will never remember her mother's face, never hear her voice as she sings her to sleep with one of Beyoncé's songs.
Rosa's hand slides over to hers, as if she can feel Amy spiraling. She squeezes it softly, sending a thankful smile to her girlfriend and then lets go to keep eating. The first one to finish eating is Diana, and she politely asks to be excused from the table. Rosa gives her a soft nod and tells her to stay in the living room and not to touch the TV. The next one is Holt, who stays silent at the table until Iggy is done and then picks her up, cleans her hands and disappears up the stairs. Lacey follows, murmuring that she's going to join Diana. Nikolaj looks down at his plate, stuffs the last cut of burger and trots after her. Diana is a little ball of energy and if it makes Lacey forget about her tragedy, maybe she'll help him too.
The three remaining at the table finish their meal at a more subdued pace now that the kids aren't around. Once done, they clear the table and Amy and Rosa insist on cleaning the dishes, since Charles was the one to cook. Finally, he relents and retreats back into his room, murmuring to Nikolaj to come up no later than eleven.
Amy starts cleaning the plates and cutlery while Rosa rinses them and stacks them in the drying rack. They work in silence but efficiently and every few dishes once of them will stop and nuzzle the other or steal a kiss. They're done in less than fifteen minutes and they dry off each other's hands. Rosa smirks to herself, she would've never thought that this would be her life, soft touches and tender kisses.
Fingers laced, they exit the kitchen and repeat Boyle's curfew to the girls, and repeat their earlier warning to not touch the TV or anything breakable. Amy hesitates for a second, motioning with her head to Diana, who's already looking half asleep. Rosa turns on her phone to look at the time. Nine thirty. She doesn't know what time her sister usually put Diana down for bed, but the girl looks dead on her feet, so it was probably at nine.
"C'mon, sweetie, bedtime." Says Amy, picking the girl up from the floor. She grumbles sleepily.
"M'not sweepy!" she mumbles, but she cuddles closer to Amy and settles down. Amy pats her back soothingly and smiles down at the pair of eight-year-olds.
"Eleven maximum, ok?" they nod and the couple retreats to their room.
Together they help Diana change into her police car's footie pijamas. This kid's obsession with her aunt's job is unbearably cute. They set her in the middle of the bed and then they change out of their clothes, both donning a pair of short leggings and the other's battered, police academy shirt. After some deliverance, they decide to settle one at each side of Diana. The girl will prevent them form being completely glued together, but it'll also help to keep her from falling from the bed. They carefully extract the covers from beneath their charge and slip beneath, tucking themselves close and interlocking their legs beneath the curled form of Rosa's niece. When she stirs, they're quick to shush her back to sleep.
Once settled, they content themselves with tender touches and soft kisses, arms reaching over Diana to settle over the other's waist. An hour passes in silence before Lacey comes in, changing into her pijamas and smiling softly when the couple makes space between them for her to slide in. Rosa takes Diana with her and Amy hugs Lacey close to her chest once the girl settles against her.
"Goodnight, Lacey." They murmur in unison, scooting closer so Diana and Lacey are pressed together and they can pass over their arms over them like before. The girl mumbles something, but she's already half asleep, the day's hardships weighing down on her.
The minutes pass slowly as the children's breathing stabilizes and sync up, their little chest's rising and falling in tandem. Amy tucks a stay lock of hair behind Rosa's ear, while Rosa grabs the covers and rises them to make sure that Amy is comfortable and warm.
"We'll get through this, right?" Amy murmurs, her voice low and slightly breathless. Her eyes prickle with tears, the faces of the ones they've lost flashing through her mind. Her mother and brothers, her niece, Jake, Terry, Hitchcock and Scully; Kylie hadn't answered the phone either so her fate was pretty obvious, and Kevin. Even Cheddar was gone. She still had no word from two of her brothers and one of her nephews; Mason had thankfully been spared.
Rosa breaks her out of her musing, grasping her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Well get through this, Amy." She pauses, collecting her thoughts. Her thumb passes over her girlfriend's knuckles and she kisses them once again. "It won't be easy, but we'll get through this, ok? Together."
Amy blinks, a lonely tear sliding down her cheek. Her smile is small, but it's real and there.
"Yeah, together."
BONUS:
The day starts like all the others. Amy and Rosa wake up at seven, share a nice, relaxing shower and spend fifteen minutes just enjoying the feeling of the other drying their hair and combing it softly. Then, once dressed, they go down to the kid's room –Holt's old studio now turned into the four children's shared bedroom– and wake them up. Lacey and Nikolaj head to the shower while Amy and Rosa help Diana and Iggy get dressed for the day. As usual, Diana begs to be let get dressed in her custom-made police uniform –Charles' gift for her last birthday– and Rosa has to spend five minutes explaining why she can't wear a costume to school.
Half-way through, the older two return from the shower, already dressed and ready for the couple to do their hair. Nikolaj had let his hair grow and was in desperate need of a trim, so Amy makes a mental note to call their hairdresser later on the day as she dries it, combs it and ties it back in a ponytail; Eliot Spencer style. She's been watching too much TV lately. Meanwhile, Rosa helps Lacey redo her braid and once done applies the foam to keep her curls nice and defined. Just because it's short, it doesn't mean it can't be pretty.
Once all four children are done, they herd them into the kitchen where Charles already has three steaming plates of pancakes on the table and is in the process of filling four more. There's a smaller plate set on Iggy's highchair, the pancakes already cut in bite sized portions. Nikolaj breaks off the group to press a kiss to his father's cheek before settling in his place at the table and digging in. And while Amy helps Diana cut her breakfast with a dull knife, Rosa feeds Iggy, careful not to give the girl too much syrup. The babe is already energetic, they don't need her on a sugar rush.
"So, Lacey, you ready for today's exam?" asks Charles, artfully flipping a fluffy pancake onto a plate. It lands perfectly over the three already there. He cuts a small piece of butter, putting it on top and then offering it to Amy. Lacey grins through her mouthful and waits to swallow before answering.
"Heck yeah! Aunt Amy quizzed me yesterday and I only made one mistake!" she holds up a single, proud finger. "I'm going to get a ten!" she wriggles in her seat, exited. Rosa has to suppress the smirk that threatens to appear. After a year and a half of raising them, all four kids have taken something from each of them. Lacey, much to everyone's amusement, has taken to Amy's love for tests and exams. And also Rosa's love for leather jackets.
The combination made of Lacey a rather unique little girl.
"I sure hope so, you've been studying really hard." Grumbles Amy, taking the syrup from Diana before the child can drown her pancakes in it. "If that useless excuse of a teacher tries to get your grade down again I'm suing him and the school." She squirts a reasonable amount of syrup onto her pancakes and cuts a piece. "Here, babe." Rosa turns from feeding Iggy some of the last cuts and opens her mouth, accepting the food and then turning back to Iggy and barely saving the girls shirt form her small, sticky fingers. Charles snorts and passes her an extra large bib.
"That thing's new, Puzzle, no touching." She admonishes, pulling the bib over the girls head and letting her touch it at her little, heart's content before sticking the last piece into her mouth. "There, done. Now I can wash you and eat in peace." The babe coos.
" 'Oza!" Nikolaj snorts and Rosa gives him a look. With one of the Dodot wet wipes they keep in the kitchen for this exact reason, Rosa cleans Iggy's face and hands. The girl is taking her sweet time with learning how to speak, but as of late she's staring to say their names. Well, versions of their names.
"Here you go, Rosa." Tells her Charles, setting her plate and then going back to turn off the extractor and take his own seat with his plate before him. at the same time, Lacey finishes and jumps up, settling her plate and cutlery on the sink. Before dashing to the door.
"Ah-ah-ah! Where do you thing you're going, little lady?" tuts Charles and he sounds like he already knows the answer but is still going to make Lacey say it. The girl stops in her tracks and turns, a sheepish look in her face.
"I-I was just going to… um… give it a last once over. You know, make sure I have everything." Rosa snorts. Yep, total Amy-ness.
"You have everything, Lacey. Sit, drink your milk and breath." Rosa stares her down until she sighs and does as she says, returning to her chair and smiling softly when the woman pours her a glass. "Holt will give you a last quiz on the way to school, ok? Just relax, you've got this."
After that, Lacey manages to calm down enough to drink her milk and help with clearing the table. They work efficiently and soon enough they're done and getting ready to head out. Captain Holt finally appears from the stairs, already dressed in his captain uniform and ready to take the kids to school before joining the rest at the precinct. Before they leave, Charles presses a portable cup of coffee into his hand and a Tupperware with strawberries.
"Safe trip, guys! And have fun! We'll pick you up at the corner, ok?"
"Bye-bye!"
It happens that afternoon. Only Rosa, Amy and the children are home, Charles out in the field and Holt in a meeting with the higher-ups. Lacey and Nikolaj are with Amy at the kitchen table doing homework while Rosa plays chess with Diana, Iggy in her lap catching some Z's. They must've tired her out at daycare because she's even leaving an ever growing spot of saliva on Rosa's lounge pants.
Later, they will laugh at their reactions and how they had almost felt it, the same quietness from before. Well, all except Amy who had only heard a terrified scream. But at the moment, the only thing they notice is the bark of a dog coming from somewhere in the house and Amy sneezing.
This was supposed to be a short thing, angsty and sweet and a little fluffy. Turns out, I'm unable to do anything short. I swear to god I just started writing at five or so, and suddenly my mom comes to my room telling me if I'm going to eat anything for supper; it was almost ten o'clock. I… honestly don't know what's going on with my brain. Like, the bonus; bonuses are supposed to be short and cute and funny. My bonus is a page and a half long…
Anyway, if you're like me and are also a Perialtiago fan, it's probable that you've noticed the similarities with a fic called Half Empty by thanksmeatcat in Ao3. The truth is, I started writing this a few months ago and was completely blown away by the similarities. I mean, it's not that similar, there are some pretty obvious differences but I was a little miffed when I realized that I wasn't the only one to come up with this [insert pouty face here]. But anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I didn't plagiarize this other fic and that if you haven't read it and you ship Perialtiago, read it. It's a great story and totally deserving of your kudos and/or favorite if it's in FF too.