Summary: Figgis has been caught. Jake and Holt are en route to the hospital. But now the Nine Nine have a moment to process everything that has just happened.
A/N: Currently looking for a beta reader, since all my fic thus far has been unbeta'd. If you're interested let me know! (I'd also be willing to beta in return).
B99B99
This has to be the most chaotic scene of arrest Amy has ever dealt with. Even though the squad has their NYPD identification, the Coral Palms PD still don't exactly know what to do with them. Officer Jones is capable, but the Sergeant who shows up and takes over command is infuriatingly incompetent. Then two FBI representatives arrives, and everyone is jockeying for control and information. The other officers make Gina wait in the CPPD Cruiser, because she isn't a cop. But somehow she keeps escaping and finding her way back to the rest of the Nine Nine, standing in a lopsided huddle on the other side of the parking lot.
Amy just wants to leave, to get to the Coral Palms Medical Centre and see Jake, but the CPPD Sergeant is briefing everyone, painstakingly slowly, and demanding once again to see their ID. One of the FBI Agents and two of the CPPD Officers take Figgis away, into custody. Finally, the Sergeant takes their contact information, and lets them go. Amy is elated, she turns to leave with the rest of the squad, when the Sergeant clears his throat.
"Um Officer?" He gestures impatiently at Amy.
"Detective Santiago," she corrects curtly.
"Can we have a word? You shot um, he looks down at his notepad, Jacob Peralta."
"Yes, Sir. Detective Jake Peralta. He was held at gunpoint by Jimmy Figgis. I shot him in the leg so Figgis would let him go."
"I see. I'm going to need to take a statement from you." He fumbles with his pencil, drops it and it rolls a few feet into a puddle. Florida is so damp, it's wet everywhere. (Title of your sex tape, Amy thinks idly).
She sighs inwardly. But it is routine, she can't blame the Sergeant, no matter how incompetent he is. All she wants is to get to Jake. She's trying to keep the anxious thoughts at bay. The ones that remind her of every complication, rare or common, from gunshot wounds. Will he be at the hospital yet? What if she caused nerve damage? What if he never fully heals, what if it's a permanent injury?
"Detective?" the Sergeant prompts, and Amy realizes she didn't even hear his questions.
Terry lets the rest of the squad go ahead while Amy finishes with the CPPD Sergeant, giving them the keys to the van. It's pretty beat up at this point, but still drivable. Amy is done, and Terry already has a cab waiting for them. He opens the door for her, and instead of taking the roomy front seat, he slides in after her. Amy is freezing all of a sudden. It's still muggy outside, and the cab driver doesn't even have his AC on, but Amy can't stop shaking.
Terry looks over at her, concern in his eyes.
"You okay, Santiago?"
"I—," her voice breaks. "I don't know Sarge."
"You did great work, tonight. That was…that was insane. I've seen a lot of crazy things on the force over the years, and this definitely wasn't the worst, but it was up there."
Amy nods. Logically, the outcome of the situation was better than could have been expected. No life-threatening injuries. (As long as Amy doesn't remember all her encyclopedic knowledge about gunshot wound complications. She lives in America after all, it's pertinent to know these things). Figgis taken into custody. FBI Agent found unharmed and safe. And yet—
"It's different when it's with the Nine Nine. Everything means more."
"Y'all are my work babies. Terry's gotta take of you."
"I can't believe we drove all the way to Florida. I can't believe I shot Jake. I can't believe we haven't worked with Captain Holt and Jake for six months." Amy's sobbing now, in the back of a dingy cab in an off-the-map town in the middle of Florida. "I can't believe it started to feel normal without them. And then," she hiccups, "me and Jake couldn't get into sync, and what if we never really get into sync, and what if, what if…"
Amy's tears have set off Terry's, but he's valiantly trying to keep them under control.
"I'm just so glad you're all okay, and that we caught Figgis," he says, voice strained.
Amy wants to continue talking, but her sobs have contracted into hyperventilation.
"Hey, Santiago. Just breathe. It'll be okay. We're almost at the hospital, and then you can see Peralta, and we'll take him and the Captain back to New York, and you and Jake will go back to annoying each other because you're so in love."
"Promise?" Amy pulls in a ragged breath.
Terry screws up his eyes, and Amy knows that police officers are never supposed to promise the outcome of a situation.
"It's okay," Amy's reigned her breathing in, it's more regular now. "I know the rules. But if you promise, I won't hold you to it."
"In that case, I promise that it'll get better. How about that?"
"Thanks Sarge."
The taxi driver has taken in their whole scene quietly, calmly driving the car. But when the conversation between them ends, he silently reaches back to offer them a cigarette from his box.
It's ridiculous and kind of gross and all Amy wants right now is a cigarette. She grabs one.
"Thank you, sir."
"Need a light?" the driver asks, his voice raspy but kind.
Before he can put the box back in his cup-holder, and pass back a lighter, Terry grabs one too.
"Sarge?" Amy gasps.
"What the heck? This has been a crazy night. Terry deserves to take the edge off, too."
B99B99
Charles, Gina, Rosa, Hitchcock and Scully are already waiting at Coral Palms Medical Centre. Rosa explains that they had trouble getting information, even with their badges. After all, neither Jake nor Captain Holt had proper identification on them, only their WITSEC ID as Greg Stickley and Larry Sherbert. And of course, those names didn't match the ones Holt and Jake had given the paramedics. Finally, Rosa says, a representative from the FBI showed up and smoothed things over, and they had gotten an update on Holt and Jake.
Holt is being treated for a puncture wound to his left thigh, but he hasn't been admitted. He specifically requested that the Nine Nine wait outside for him to be finished, which Charles adds is a direct quote. They have less of an update on Jake. All they've been told is he is stable, and being treated for a gunshot wound to his right leg.
Rosa looks exhausted and is sitting in the waiting room, staring into space. Charles keeps excusing himself to go to the bathroom, while Gina plays Kwazy Kupcakes on her phone with more focus than Amy has ever seen have. It's like the detectives were in a holding pattern until the Sarge finally arrived. Amy feels bad that Terry let her cry all over him on the way here, and he still hasn't gotten a break. When they enter the waiting room where they've been directed, the FBI representative rises from a few chairs down, and Terry introduces himself.
Amy lets herself slide down the wall and into a seat next to Rosa. They don't say anything, but Rosa nudges her vending-machine tea a bit closer to Amy, and she obliges with a sip of thin peppermint tea. At some point a representative from the CPPD arrives too, briefly. He talks to the FBI and to Terry, but largely ignores the rest of the Nine Nine sitting dazed in the all-beige waiting of the Coral Palms Medical Centre.
Amy feels like she should be doing something more to help. She knows she should be thinking about all the logistics that needed figuring out. They weren't even supposed to be down in Florida. They needed to get back. Holt needed to get back and he couldn't even walk. And Jake… She feels like she should be more worried about Jake. Jake, who hates hospitals, who had to spend six months of his life in this stupid hot and muggy town, who she had to shoot in the leg when they should have been sharing a tender reunion kiss. She's waiting for the panic to set in again, but it doesn't. Instead Amy trains her eyes on the muted TV. It's playing some sort of documentary about alligators, with unrelated scenes of ATVs tearing through swampy terrain.
She must have dozed off, but just for a bit, because the alligator/ATV show is still playing silently on the TV. Charles, Rosa and Terry are standing in the corner. Gina has also fallen asleep, her phone still in hand. Amy moves to join them.
"I just got off the phone with Captain Stentley," Terry is saying.
"What did he say?" Charles asks.
"Well, after I finally got him to understand the situation," Terry begins, and Rosa quirks up an eyebrow. "Well, understand more-or-less," Terry amends.
"He's pretty upset, but he did understand. He gave us permission to wait for Captain Holt and then head back to New York early tomorrow morning, or err," he checks his watch, "today. We're sorting out the issues with the van, and have his permission to rent a new one for the drive back. We're also gonna book rooms so we can all get a little sleep before we leave. Captain Holt will be able to finish up with the FBI in New York."
"But, Sarge!" Both Amy and Charles erupt with questions.
"I know you all want to stay here. But if we have to drive tomorrow we need to be rested. And we have to drive because, even though I think this was the right decision, we're still on the hook for taking unauthorized time off and Captain Stentley is being more than gracious."
"More than gracious my ass." Rosa interjects. "We capture Figgis, save Jake and Holt. We only go because that butthead won't give us permission, and now we have to be grateful we have to drive back after the night we've had?"
Terry tries to placate her, but Amy recognizes the fire in her eyes.
"Rosa," he starts.
"Nah, it's okay Sarge, I get it. It's bullshit, but it's not your bullshit. But I'm not sleeping. You get some sleep, I'll wait for Captain Holt."
"And what about Jake?" Amy finally gets a word in.
Terry looks pained. "We don't know if Jake will be discharged tonight, or today, or you know what I mean. Captain Stentley made it pretty clear we needed to be headed back by morning. And the FBI will make the arrangements to get Jake back to New York."
Amy feels the tears start to come again. They're leaking down her cheeks, slow this time, unlike the uncontained sobs she let loose in the cab on the way over. She wants to fight the Sarge but it's not his rules. It's stupid Captain Stentley and stupid, stupid Figgis.
"That is bullshit," Amy manages, but she can hear the tears in her voice. "I'm staying with Rosa, I want to at least see Jake before we leave."
B99B99
The rest of the squad leave. The TV still plays on mute. Now it's some sort of documentary about robot contests, weird looking contraptions battling it out in rings like some sort of futuristic wrestling. TV in the early hours of the morning is truly bizarre. Finally, a doctor comes out with news of Jake. She's the same height as Amy, and so Amy can't help but stare right into her eyes as she speaks. They're brown, like Amy's, and she can't shake the feeling that she's staring at herself in an alternate reality.
"Mr. Peralta is fine. He was very lucky, the bullet passed through the outside of his right thigh without any major damage. We cleaned and sutured the wound. But we want to monitor him due to the blood loss he sustained. "
Amy stops listening after she hears 'without any major damage.' He's okay. He is okay.
"Can I see him?"
"We're just getting him settled. Someone will let you know when you can see him."
Not five minutes later Captain Holt enters the waiting room. He's using crutches, no doubt because he refused a wheelchair.
"Detective Diaz, Santiago." He nods at them. "Thank you for waiting for me. It means a lot." He keeps his face neutral, but Amy knows this is as close to a tearful reunion as Captain Holt gets.
"How are you feeling, Sir?" Amy asks.
"I am in less pain than before, mostly because of the medication. Apparently it is inadvisable to use crutches with the pain medication due to an inability to balance, but I believe I am doing fine." Holt sways a bit on his feet, and Rosa walks over, discretely, to steady him.
Rosa calls for a cab—they're getting a lot of business tonight from the Nine Nine—and leaves for the hotel with Captain Holt, and with that Amy is alone.
It's late, and it's not a very big hospital, so it feels eerie and quiet especially with the rest of the squad gone. Amy hears the occasional squeaking of shoes or wheels, the occasional PA call, but mostly it's just quiet.
She thinks of Jake. It's great, more than great, that he's okay. But she knows he doesn't like hospitals. This is the second time he's been injured and Amy wasn't able to be right there with him at the hospital. She thinks back to his accident in Atlantic City, they weren't even dating then. She didn't know until the next morning. Captain Holt had called her into his office to break the news, and they had gone to visit him at the hospital that evening. She knows they have protocol to follow, and sometimes that's more important. She knows that even if she got to ride in the ambulance with him, she would still be sitting in the waiting room, but it doesn't make her feel better.
She tries to methodically go through how they would have treated Jake. Amy's not a doctor, but she is very adept with google, and knows how to use her old NYU student ID to access their library and its free textbooks. They would have debrided the wound, maybe just with saline if it wasn't too severe. They probably took x-rays or some other imaging too, just to make sure the bullet didn't damage the bone.
Her bullet. From her gun. God she had shot Jake.
Even with a through-and-through shot there would be damage to the muscle. He'd be off the leg for a good while. Amy'll have to convince him to take the doctor's suggestion for physical therapy seriously. They will have given him pain medication, probably prescribed a course of antibiotics, since an open wound caused by a foreign object is the perfect condition for infection.
Maybe she could've saved him from Figgis another way. Maybe she could have shot Figgis somehow instead. What if the CPPD investigated and found she didn't shoot in defense of herself and Jake. What if they somehow find her guilty? But that would mean Jake would have to press charges, right? She doesn't know, why doesn't she know, she's a cop she should know this, she does know this.
She knows they were giving Jake a blood transfusion, they were concerned about blood loss. But the paramedics weren't too urgent, she wonders if they gave him another on arrival, or if he was okay. They wanted to observe him for a while. That's not a cause for alarm, but it does mean there are some concerns or else they would have just observed him in the emergency department for a time before release.
Or at least that's what she thinks. She's just a cop with First Aid training and impeccable research skills. She still knows next to nothing about what goes on in a hospital, next to nothing about how to save Jake's life. She could have killed him. Could have made a freak shot that ricocheted around his body.
But she didn't. This isn't the first time she's had to fire her gun while on duty. "You have to hold yourself to the highest standard of safety and care. But you also have to know, even the highest standard isn't perfect." That's what her favourite instructor, Lieutenant Ann Stevens, had told her at the Academy.
"Excuse me, Ms. Santiago."
Amy has to restrain herself from physically jumping.
The young nurse resumes speaking now that she's got Amy's attention. She looks kind and alert, even though it's the middle of the night. She has her microbraids tied up in a bun, and is wearing sunny yellow scrubs.
"You can see Mr. Peralta now."
B99B99
A/N:
-Fun fact: The weird robot contest show playing in the hospital waiting room is based on my real life experience. I worked at a summer camp and had to take a camper to the hospital, and let me tell you, TV at 2am in a small town hospital is wild.
-Again just want to reiterate, I am not a doctor or medical professional! Despite some research, any mistakes (and I know there will be lots) are my own. This is just for fun, after all. Also, writing from Amy's perspective of how she thinks they treated Jake is a great way to get around mistakes and inconsistencies.
-The line about sharing a tender reunion kiss is a little shout-out to an interview about Dan Goor constantly writing about Jake & Amy's 'tender' kisses in the scripts.
-Also I apologize for any inconsistencies in the Florida landscape. I'm not American, and I tried my best to imagine how the weather must feel and surroundings must look via google maps and weather sites.
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