One Year Later…

"Hey Amy, what do you think of these sheets?" Jake gestured towards the sheets on their bed. Amy gave him an exasperated expression and asked him if John McLane Bed sheets were the best idea for their king size bed.

"What? It's so cool! I spent 20 dollars on this. Do you know how many pizza coupons I had to give up to get this? Plus I won the last bet!"

Amy Santiago had issues. Major issues. She was in love with an 8 year old. His name was Jacob Peralta and he also happened to be the most important person to her. They were living together and everything was not necessarily smooth sailing. For one, Amy had a habit of sleep talking and hogging the covers while Jake had ran the power bill up due to his futile attempts of becoming a DJ. This created a little friction between these two. Amy however had come up with a very smart solution. She would bet Jake on who was the fastest at cleaning up the house. Whoever won got to decorate the house with one thing that the loser hated. As a result their apartment had a book shelf filled with old editions of classic novels such as "Pride and Prejudice" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" interspersed with "Lego for dummies" and "Can you tune your farts?" The same theme continued throughout the apartment which also included Jake's terrible massage chair. She realized that the true meaning of love was to put someone's interests above yours. She also knew that she wasn't the easiest to live with and Jake had sacrificed for her as well. Yet, a part of her still felt that it wasn't enough. She did not know if there was any future for her and Jake.

Everything was going as planned for Jake. Amy did not suspect a thing. As far he was concerned Amy still thought he was the immature fool she fell for. But Jake had changed, his 6 months undercover in the mafia had given him the skills to hide his true motives. This was especially necessary as he was living with officially the best detective in Brooklyn. Following his conversation with Capt. Holt, he truly had changed his personality. He knew what Santiago was doing when she suggested the bet for cleaning the house and he played along. Most often he would win the contest and get to pick what he wanted but in reality he was becoming more organized and had drastically improved his cleanliness. He even used a deodorant. But the biggest surprise he had planned for her was waiting for him at Greenwich Village Jewelers.

1 month ago

"Peralta, this is the worst waste of my time!" Rosa was quite annoyed. She was waiting in the atrium drinking coffee while Jake was busy looking at a display.

"Rosa, I brought you along for two main reasons, you are the best secret keeper I know and I really want to avoid the incident at the Boyle-Linetti wedding."

Jake was of course referring to him losing the engagement ring during a tussle with Eddie Minsk.

Jake Peralta was looking for an engagement ring. He was going to propose to Santiago. A few minutes later he had found the perfect one. The perfect ring for a perfect woman. And he also happened to have the $1 ring he had given to her on their first date. After arresting the two perps and filing the report, Jake had tracked back to the spot where he had thrown it and retrieved it. He did not know why he had done that, but at the time it felt like it was the best thing to do. He handed that ring over to the retailer and he measured the diameter and found out that it needed to be re sized and that it would take up to 5-7 weeks to get it.

Jake was going to pick up the ring in 4 days and plan a very Jake-like Proposal. He had only enlisted Terry and Rosa to help him out for obvious reasons. He was going to ask Boyle to be his best man only after Amy said yes. Jake was sure that she would say Yes and he was looking forward to that doe eyed expression whenever she was surprised. He also expected the double tuck from her.

4 days later…

Jake had taken the day off to go and attend his great uncles funeral. Amy had asked if she could come along to offer him support but he had declined saying that his other relatives were very conservative and would have made comments on his Cuban girlfriend. A slightly disappointed Amy had arrived at the office a little early to find the bullpen empty apart from Capt. Holt waiting at her desk.

"Ah, Santiago, early as usual!"

"Good Morning Sir"

"Please join me in my office right away and close the door behind you"

"What is it sir?" Amy asked rather meekly.

"Do you remember Madeline's first visit to this precinct?"

"YES SIR"

That day was one of the greatest days on her life. She had received an "A" from .

"Well, when I told you about the breakdown in my relationship, I forgot the explain to you what exactly had happened"

"You told me about the incident the night before the recommendation letter"

"Do you know why I was going to be promoted in 1989?"

"No sir"

"It was because I had arrested "THE CATWALK CUTTHROAT" during the New York Fashion Week"

"Madeline and I had gone undercover as a designer and a model for the show to catch a serial killer who had killed over 10 male and female models. He had strangled the victims with a scarf and left them on the catwalk for everyone to see"

He continued by saying " back then there was not a lot of surveillance using cameras and as a result undercover operations were more commonly undertaken. I was assigned to gather information and arrest the killer along with Madeline"

"I won't get into the details about the case as the full report is available online and you can access it collect any information you may need"

"Why does he want me to collect information on a closed case?" Amy thought to herself but was soon distracted as Capt. Holt had continued to talk.

"After a few days I was able to track down the killer and I tackled him during one of the shows and arrested him. This gave me and Madeline a lot of coverage in the media then and we came to be referred to as the yin-yang of the NYPD. During those days, Madeline and I had gotten really close and we were definitely on our way to be close friends. I had not disclosed my sexual orientation to anyone but I had felt that I could tell Madeline about it. Madeline had already received a promotion and was promoted before I was. Due to her higher position, she offered to write a recommendation for me"

"That night, I invited her over to my apartment to disclose my secret because I trusted her but you know what happened"

"In fact, she was actually wearing one of those special under garments" He was clearly uncomfortable.

"Anyway, the reason why I called you in is because I think I made a mistake"

"WHAT!" Amy was shocked!

"Yes, I just got word from the Manhattan PD, another murder has occurred at this year's Fashion Week. The M.O. matches the one of the Catwalk Cutthroat. I have a feeling that it is a copycat but I could have also arrested the wrong individual 26 years ago."

"Sir, what can I do to help?"

"Well, as vexing as I find it, Madeline has kept an eye on your progress as a detective and one of the conditions for my return to this precinct was that she could call up on any of my detectives to be her personal minion for as long as she wanted"

"Madeline plans to go undercover into the NYFW as a talent manager this time, and unfortunately, she has chosen you as her talent model that she has uncovered from Cuba following the resumption of relations between the two countries"

Amy was discombobulated. Did just ask her to become a model? She should be proud that the deputy chief chose her for an undercover assignment. But on the other, she wondered How could she possibly pull this off? Not only was her own reputation at stake but also Capt Holt and the entire 99 precinct. What would happen to her future if she failed? How would Madeline treat her? How long would this assignment last? What would Jake think?

The last thought reminded her of what Jake had said when he was asked to undertake such a mission.

She knew that this high profile case would fast track her career and she would become the youngest captain in NYPD. 'Breathe, Amy', she thought to herself. Remember Jake always admired your police work, he said that you 'are super smart, calm and take your time'. You can do this Amy, she reasoned with her mind. 'This is your domain, no need to be a crazy idiot', she thought.

She looked at Capt. Holt and Smiled and said "Well I hate quoting Peralta on this but, I AM IN! EYES CLOSED, HEAD FIRST, CAN'T LOSE"

"If you remember, I had told Peralta, that that isn't how the correct saying. Moving on, I knew I could believe in you, Santiago, but unfortunately, your responsibility now lies in the hands of that SHE DEVIL"

Amy felt a tinge of sadness in his sentence sort of like how a father gives his daughter away at her wedding

"Hello Raymond" Said a rather pleasant voice.

"Hello, Chief Deputy Wuntch. I am unwilling to continue interacting with you any further, I have briefed Det. Santiago on the case. She will accompany you to your office and you can continue from there on"

"Good, I have always had a dream where you are a mute"

"Detective Santiago! Please escort this Generic Megalomaniacal Disney Villain out of my office"

"Yes Sir"

It was a very awkward and uncomfortable 30 minute ride to 1 Police Plaza and a further 20 mins climbing the stairs to the 20th floor.

"Det. Santiago, Please have a seat"

"Thank You Ma'am"

"I am very eager to learn from someone in your position, Dept. Chief Wuntch"

"Good, but before that let's start with the case"

Madeline Wuntch was clearly a smart person and she did not waste her time swallowing up Santiago's Praise.

"Forget what Raymond told you about the case or what you may have read"

"Actually I did not get a chance to read it properly" Amy said.

"Excellent, your small brain will have a lot more space to process the information I tell you"

"It all started in 1988"

AN I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will be delving deeper into the Holt and Wuntch dynamic. Please Review guys!