Amy Santiago was a good detective. Her perception of the world was honed to a fine point. Each detail she took in almost instantly became an integral part of the bigger picture. She'd closed countless cases with barely enough evidence to fit in a shoebox, her mind stringing the limited pieces together until they led her straight to the criminals in question.

So, she had no idea how she'd allowed herself to be drawn into such an obvious trap. The only thing she could attribute it to was Gina's stunning ability to lie through her teeth even under the influence of an alarming amount of disgusting distilled spirits.

Instinctively, she drew up her right wrist, squinting in the dark as she tried to read the time on her nonexistent watch. The difficulty in determining the passage of time while stuck inside a windowless coat closet was only one of the things winding up Amy's frustration. She dropped her naked wrist to the floor, the thump coinciding with an irritated grunt.

It was nearing midnight, she assumed anyway. Darlene and Lynn had left their reception hours ago, their exit signaling the departure of most of the elder Linettis and Boyles. The music had cranked up, and the liquor had begun to flow, and Amy had just began to enjoy herself, swaying to the persistent beat in the air.

Amy slumped down in resignation, taking a sad swig from the damned blue bottle before burrowing into a wool coat that had fallen on the cold floor. She couldn't begin to understand the reason for Gina's ruse.


Gina sidled up to Amy, glassy eyes gleaming with something other than alcohol. Amy would have said she looked downright predatory if anyone had asked.

"Amy Eleanor Santiago-"

"Not my middle name."

Gina had continued as though Amy hadn't even spoken. "- My psychic tells me you haven't been laid in a REALLY long time, not that she would have to tell me that. The way you keep eye-saulting those fire fighters and their button popping pectorals is evidence enough." Gina popped her P's as if to demonstrate.

Amy had been indignant, mouth dropping open to protest Gina's intrusive commentary, but only stilted stuttering had come out. "Ugh, um, uh, eye-sautling? Th-that's not even…"

What Gina said was true to a certain extent, although Amy definitely hadn't been ogling the firefighters, not that they weren't ogle-able. Her attention was focused in an entirely different direction.

Jake was gyrating enthusiastically in the middle of the dance floor, his tie knotted at his forehead, jacket abandoned long ago. Gina had long since dispensed with Charles's playlist, the Beastie Boys currently blasting from the speakers. Jake wasn't a bad dancer, but "good" isn't a word Amy would have used to describe his high energy moves either. He was just so in the moment that people couldn't help but smile and join in. Amy wishes he knew how he did it, living in the moment was as foreign a concept to her as leaving dirty dishes in the sink or not separating her lights and darks. The very idea made her breath short.

Amy had been staring for a while, trying to make her feet carry her to the happy group of people swishing their hips back and forth, but she'd been glued to her spot in the corner for the past twenty minutes.

Gina squeezed her shoulder, painfully actually, to bring her back. "Stop being a loser and go get the firefighter of your dreams, and let him bang you like the sexually frustrated little drum you are." The bottle of alcohol was tilted in Amy's direction, Gina's eyebrows wiggling as she pushed it closer. "Need some courage?"

Normally Amy would have refused Gina's offer. The "don't accept drinks from strangers" rule usually applied ten-fold to Gina (one accidental incident with Kombucha tea had cemented this), but she was sick and tired of being held back by her inhibitions.

She snatched the light blue bottle from her friend's grasp, tipping it back to let the sickly sweet burning liquid pour down her throat. She chugged it until her body protested, throat closing involuntarily against what surely seemed to be poison. Sputtering, she thumped the bottle back down on the table.

Leaving Gina behind without a second thought, Amy strode purposely forward. She looked like a woman on a mission, marching steps carrying her to the polished floor. She had very nearly made it to her target when her courage deserted her.

Swerving at the last moment, she ran smack into one of Gina's firefighters, body flush against rippling muscles as strong hands shot out to steady her.

Dear god, he was a giant, towering a good foot and a half over her, a salacious grin spreading across his face as he took her in. "Sweetheart, if you wanted to dance, all you had to do was ask."

Amy groaned inwardly at the gross way he said "sweetheart" and stifled the urge swiftly shove her knee into his crotch. She took a step back, glancing over her shoulder in Jake's direction.

He wasn't dancing alone anymore, a slim blonde wrapped around him as the song wound down. Disappointment flooded her, shoulders dropping as she turned back to her current companion. He was pleasant to look at, and if he could keep his damn mouth shut for the rest of the night maybe the evening wouldn't be a total loss. "I think my way was just as effective."

His eyebrows shot up in pleasant surprise, clearly expecting a different response. "That it was."

Amy could hear Jake somewhere behind her, yelling to be heard over the music. He'd already used his lamest pickup line on the lithe blonde, and the woman was just eating it up. Amy felt her stomach flip, realizing she'd once again missed her window. NOw she However, the liquid courage that Gina had provided was beginning to make its way into Amy's blood stream. Her lips tingled, the warmth creeping out from her abdomen to all of her limbs. Looking up at the well defined pecs before her, Amy decided she wouldn't let any of it go to waste.

Spinning around, she leaned backward, body flush against her new dance partner. Not that anyone at the precinct knew it, but there was a certain number of drinks that turned Amy into quite the dirty dancer. Her muscles felt loose, pliable in her less than sober state, and she threw her head back in abandon. She giggled. "Nobody puts Amy in the corner!"

"Huh?"

She shook her head, focusing on the way her dance partner's hands roved over her body, fully appreciating the fitted nature of the borrowed dress. Amy felt hot under the touch, closing her eyes to concentrate on the strong hands journeying across her body. Her traitorous mind supplied her with images until the disparity between what she wanted and what she was actually getting became more palatable.

It was easy to pretend it was the familiar messy mop of brown curls she felt when she threw one hand up behind her, and when the firefighter dipped down to nuzzle the column of her throat, her delusional mind told her it was the distinctive curve of a certain detective's nose that sent shivers down her spine. What was wrong with having a little fun? Letting go was difficult for her, so when she felt the tightly coiled energy inside of her unwinding, the blood rushing to some pleasant areas of her body, she accepted it for the rare gift that it was.

The firefighter's hand slipped up to her breast, squeezing the tender flesh. The move snapped Amy back to reality, horror washing over her as she realized what she was about to do. She recoiled, slapping his hand away before she dashed off the dance floor. She could feel the heat burning in her face, and it wasn't entirely because of the alcohol she'd consumed. She wanted to crawl in a hole and die. The next best thing was running home and hiding under the covers until the light of day washed away this mortifying memory.

But she didn't make it to the door before she felt the cool iron grip of one Gina Linetti pulling her away. "Santiago, thank god. I need your help."

"What?"

"My great aunt Gelli lost her antique broach, and she's gonna cut me out of the will if we won't find it. That old bat's sitting on a dragon's hoard the size of Mount Rushmore, and I'm not losing out because of a fugly piece of costume jewelry."

She didn't give Amy a chance to reply, shoving the bottle of vodka into her hands as she dragged her along. "You look in the coat closet, and I'll start checking the handbags of Charles's trashy cousins. I'm counting on you, detective."


That had been an eternity ago. Amy had halfhearted looked around in the dark before deciding she needed some light. That's when she'd discovered the locked door. Sure, there was a chance that Gina had only accidentally locked her in here, but there had been something devilish in her eyes when describing Aunt Gelli's missing broach.

This was just perfect. This is how weddings always ended for Amy. Drunk and alone, curled up in the dark. Normally she had Netflix and her orthopedic mattress to help her get to sleep, not to mention the discreetly hidden "massager" in her nightstand. As a perpetually single woman, Amy had learned to cope with these feelings.

But here, laying in the floor with entirely too much alcohol coursing through her veins, it was all she could do not to explode into a tantrum, screaming and all. It just wasn't fair. For the first time in so long, it seemed like her and Jake might be on the same page, but his head was turned yet again by the first pretty thing to walk by, and it irked Amy to her very core. In fact, she could feel it building inside of her, combined with the pent up sexual frustration and the feelings she'd pushed down for so long.

Just as she opened her mouth to let loose the first blood curdling scream, the closet door flew open. She could see the silhouettes of two people struggling in the doorframe, before one of them lost his balance and careened forward into the darkness. He landed with a muffled thump and the door slammed shut behind him.

She scrambled into the corner, unsure of what to do. The only available light was streaming in from underneath the door, and she wasn't sure who her new companion was. That is, until she heard him cursing under his breath.

She sat up, squinting as she tried to get a clearer picture. "Jake?"

A/N: Thanks for reading, next chapter should be up in a relatively short time. I appreciate any and all feedback, and so far I've really enjoyed writing for Jake and Amy.