AMY

They were being chased through a crowded street, people were screaming, cars were honking, and then gun shots. Amy's eyes opened with a start, she had been having similar dreams or nightmares about her, Jake, and everything dealing with her harassment case against her former captain for a while now. She reached over to the other side of the bed and Jake was gone. Amy took a deep breath, she was starting to be truly concerned for Jake. All day Friday he was sure he saw Emory or his car at the various places they had gone, but she had seen nothing. By the time they went to bed that night, Jake was quiet and shaken.

Worse than him thinking he was seeing things was him starting to doubt himself. Both he and Amy knew that a cop who doubted himself was a danger to themselves and others. The doubt could make some overly cautious which could lead to anger and aggression, or in others in inaction, which could be just as disastrous when perps shoot at you or attack. She wanted to give Jake his space, but he also needed sleep and the assurance that he wasn't cracking up, even if he wasn't showing other signs of that, he was starting to believe it.

She slowly got out of bed and moved her feet around until they found her slippers and made her way out to the living room. Jake was sitting on the couch in dark, his eyes open, the faint rays of moonlight eerily illuminating him enough for Amy to know he wasn't in a good space.

"Jake, Babe, come back to bed. You can't obsess over this, you need your sleep."

Jake nodded but didn't make a move to get up. Amy sat next to him, leaned gently on him and with one hand played with his longer locks of hair, "okay, Jake, tell me, what's the worst-case scenario of all this?"

Jake looked at her perplexed, "the worst-case scenario about me going crazy?"

Amy nodded as if it were nothing, "yeah, but really, what's the worst-case scenario if you are seeing Emory everywhere and he's really not there?"

Jake slumped a bit, "other than it means I'm nuts, I don't know."

"No, it doesn't mean your nuts, it means you were wrong and that maybe the stress is getting to you, that's it. Best-case scenario, you have seen him, and we are keeping vigilant and will be ready if he acts again."

Jake nodded and then turned to face her, "I've obsessed before over things and been wrong."

Amy shrugged, "so, who hasn't? I heard a story about Detective Dave Majors…"

Jake had a dubious look on his face, "that gorgeous and ultra-cool detective? No way, he's the best."

Amy shrugged again, "maybe, but I heard about a case where he couldn't let go of a theory that the lady's cat was somehow involved in the murder. Everyone still considers him one of the best and respect him, despite the fact that he clung to that theory. My point is that it happens, we are under stress, well most are under stress, we are under a ridiculous amount of stress right now. Everything we do is being scrutinized and analyzed. We'll be called into court, our lives will be questioned, our careers will be questioned."

Jake frowned, "you aren't making this sound very good Ames."

"No, exactly. We are experiencing some terrible stress that most people couldn't imagine, so if you are seeing something that's not there, who cares?"

Jake threw his head back, "I do! I think I'm losing it."

Amy absentmindedly continued to play with his hair, "Okay, so you're losing it, but not completely. You are either right or the huge amounts of stress placed on us right now is manifesting itself in hallucinations, but very specific ones. That's not normally the case, that's why I believe you, but even if you are seeing something that isn't there, there is a logical reason for it."

Jake sighed deeply, he closed his eyes momentarily, "How is someone as smart as you with someone as dumb-ass as me?"

Amy rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek, "it's way too late to do this again, the easy answer is, love makes us blind." Jake made a face like he wasn't expecting that answer, "but the truth is that you are extremely intelligent, just in a different way from most cops, which is why they see you as immature and reckless, which you can be from time to time, but it's why you also have such a great arrest record."

"It's okay I guess." He smiled slightly, he was very proud of his arrest record.

Amy poked him softly, "you know it is and you love that it is. I heard about you when I was at the six-four."

Jake put his arm around her and finally began to relax and enjoy the moment with her, "really?"

Amy nodded and smiled, "It was your work on the case you never solved. Case number 52ABX-32QJ."

Jake stared at her for a second, "that may be the sexiest thing you ever say, but I didn't solve it."

"No, but your attention to it, the way you were forced to give up, I respected that. It's like me and my puzzles, but for you it's your cases. I knew you were good, I heard about some of the other stuff as well, but I was mostly impressed."

"Cool, cool, cool, cool."

Amy stood up and took his hand and led him back to the bed. When she heard his light snoring, she sighed contentedly and relaxed until she fell asleep. When the alarm sounded at six thirty, it took two glasses of water to wake him up, but he woke up smiling, grateful to be with her and to have someone care about him.

"Why are we up so early on a Saturday?" Jake yawned as he pulled his jeans, nearly falling over in the process.

"Because I want to test something out?" Amy slipped on her running shoes, she smiled at Jake who was being a good sport about waking up early on a day off.

"What are we testing out?"

Amy pulled a box from under her bed, removing from it four small squares and a screen. "These well be attached to my car, I will drive around, just around. We can do some leg work on our case, or we can just go places around Brooklyn, but if you think you see him, one of the cameras should show something. It's a touch screen, if you see something, touch one of the screens and review the footage from that camera."

Jake exhaled and fell on the bed, "Ames, you don't gotta do this. If I'm crazy I'm crazy."

Amy stood up and shook her head, "no, you're not. This will tell us what we need to know."

Despite his protests, half an hour later, Jake found himself being driven around Brooklyn by Amy in her car, the cameras discretely in place and working well as Jake watched on the monitor. As an hour passed by and the had driven to the precinct, Prospect Park, Jake's favorite donut shop, and Amy's bank, with no sign of Emory.

His head leaning up against the window and making gentle popping sounds with mouth, Jake was sure he wouldn't see anything, that the stress had been getting to him yesterday. He was about to tell Amy to turn around when he saw the red Audi. They drove past and Jake, too excited to speak properly signaled for Amy to pull over. Jake pressed the feed that he thought would have captured it best and backtracked until he saw it. A red Audi, the picture wasn't crystal clear, Jake was unsure if it was Emory's car, then Amy pointed to the front tire and the missing hubcap and the crack on the upper part of the windshield.

"Can we go back home, er, to your place now?" Jake was glad he wasn't crazy, but still tired.

Amy smiled and shook her head, "no, don't you see. He's following us. Maybe we can establish a pattern, then we should let Terry know."

"You really think we'll see him again?"

"Maybe, but if it establishes concrete evidence that he's following us, we can get a restraining order, it helps our case."

He knew he couldn't argue with anything she thought would help her case, she had risked everything to report her captain and he was definitely fighting dirty, so he nodded, "cool, cool, cool, cool. Let's do this."

Another two hours passed by and Jake hadn't seen or thought he'd seen anything related to Emory or the others working for Groves. "Ames, can we please go home, dammit, to your place?"

Amy smiled, "yeah, but why don't I drop you off, I have to get the oil changed in my car Monday, so you can drive us to work, and while you're there, get a few more clothes from your place. Even if you have to wash them at mine. I don't know how you can not own your own washer and dryer."

"Why? They have coin operated ones, I put it in and leave."

"Don't get me started on those things, and leaving your stuff, not worth the risk."

Jake laughed, it was a turn on for him when she got extra OCD, he didn't know why, it just was. "Okay, fine. Take me to my place, they must think I'm either dead or working a deep cover case."

Amy rolled her eyes, "yeah, because New Yorkers worry so much about why their neighbors are quiet and not bothering them."

"Ouch, truthful, but that stung." Amy pulled up to his apartment building, he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss and hopped out.

AMY

She turned the car around on Jake's street and headed back to her apartment, as she was about to turn off of Jake's street, she didn't see Emory or the red Audi, but she saw Moreno on foot, talking on his phone and running towards Jake's building. She fumbled with her phone before picking it up and dialing Jake's phone. It went straight to voicemail, which was weird because he had just charged it and was playing some idiotic game on it.

Amy did U-turn and tried Terry's phone.

"Santiago, everything okay?"

"I just dropped Jake off at his place, then I saw Moreno running towards Jake's building and Jake won't answer his phone and we know Emory has been tailing us the past two days."

"I'll get some people there ASAP, hang tight and be careful."

She parked illegally and didn't care, pulled out her gun and before she reached the stairs, she could hear alarms and screaming. Smoke was billowing from the upper windows. Suddenly, things were clicking, Emory wasn't waiting for her, they were waiting for Jake, to return to his apartment so they could ambush him.

Navigating through the smoke and exiting residents, Amy held out her badge, "Police, let me through." The sirens of the fire department now filled her ears as she focused on which floor she needed to exit at with the smoke making it difficult to see well.

She pushed open the door to the fourth floor and the smoke was worse, she could feel the heat, but she knew she had to find him. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, she picked up and answered while still moving, hopeful it was Jake.

"Hello?"

"Santiago? Are you okay? What the hell is going on?" Terry sounded panicked, "Officer Olvedo said the building is on fire."

"He is, I can't find Jake, ask him if he's seen him come out." She could hear Terry speaking on his radio, "that's a negative Santiago, no sight of him."

Finally arriving at his apartment, her gun drawn, she kicked the door, it opened easily, more smoke poured out, but she still had a little visual of the layout of the apartment. She proceeded in, scanning as she moved. Her feet hit something, she crouched to find an unconscious Moreno, her mind was filled with more questions and scenarios now as she stood up. She bumped into the chair, she looked down and tied to the chair with rope and cords was Jake.

Bleeding from a bump on his head, he looked groggy, but his eyes were opening, when he saw Amy, he tried to shout through the gag taped over his face and mouth. Amy cut him out quickly and yanked the gag off as he yelled, "Thank …, Emory…fire…"

AMY and JAKE

Amy was overwhelmed with relief, but they were still in a burning building, "I bumped into Moreno, I should just leave him…"

Jake struggled to speak, but he motioned no wildly, he coughed and sputtered before a few words got out, "he tried…save me."

Amy nodded and started to drag him out, Jake picked up the feet and they awkwardly moved out of the apartment towards the stairs. As they reached the stairs, more smoke was coming up them, they could feel heat coming from the floor below.

"Go to the windows, the windows!" She yelled, unsure of how they could manage to get out of this alive. Jake reached the window by the stairs first, he looked out and gave a thumbs up.

He was still sputtering and coughing, "need…break window!"

Amy nodded and looked to her side, she saw the fire extinguisher, she quickly detached it and chucked it through the window, she didn't wait to hear it land before taking her jacket off and wrapping around her hand and clearing the jagged glass.

She peered out and saw the firemen below, the ladder of the truck was moving up to the window. Two firefighters were holding on to it. As the first fireman looked into the burning building, he was startled as Moreno's unconscious body was right there. The fireman grabbed him under the shoulder and shouted at them, "Hang on, we'll get you next!" That ladder moved away, Jake started coughing to the point that he was nearly falling down.

Amy started to worry he might pass out on her, but then they heard yelling, she pushed Jake towards the window, and he was helped out on the ladder, Amy waited, the smoke and heat were increasing, she started to feel faint and as she began coughing, an arm reached through the window. She was grabbed out as the ladder moved with her and the fireman on it, people down below were cheering.

Finally, on firm ground, she coughed as she asked about Jake, they pointed to her left, he was hooked up to oxygen and pulled it off when he saw her, standing up despite the objections of the paramedics. He coughed more than spoke, but his hug was tight and tears streaked down his grayish cheeks, making tracks as they did.

After a minute, he finally felt okay to speak for real. "Shit, that was…you saved me, and Moreno."

Amy put her finger to his mouth, "get some oxygen, we can talk later."

Jake just shook his head, "no, you saved me Ames, I'd be fucking dead."

She wanted to release emotions, to show how thankful she was, but she could do that later, right now she had to be a cop. "What happened? Any sign of Emory?"

"No." Terry's voice boomed from behind her, she turned around and Terry hugged her, "no sign of that bastard, but the entire NYPD and fire department are looking for his dumb ass."

Jake leaned on Amy as he still felt faint, "He hit me on the head, with his gun I think, then he and Straus tied me up and gagged me. They started pouring stuff all over the apartment and the floor, even by other people's apartments, they told Moreno what they were doing, he pulled the fire alarm right as they started the fire. They," he took a deep breath and held up a finger, speaking again as he caught his breath. "Emory…disabled the fire alarms on top floors. Moreno saved lives, he tried to rescue me…" another deep breath and wheezing, "Strauss told him to be cool…Emory picked up my bat and hit him hard…is he alive?"

Terry nodded, "alive, breathing, still unconscious."

"Emory told me I was too much help to Amy and it would be less suspicious since I wasn't key in their case and apartments burn down all the time, but the message would be clear."

Statements were given, a lot of questions were asked, Terry tried to limit them so he could allow Jake to take Amy to her place and rest. The paramedics said Jake would be fine and that he didn't have to go the hospital unless he was worried or started to feel any worse.

When things began to die down, Jake found himself sitting on a temporary bench with Amy next him, her head on his shoulder. Terry stood by them, on his radio and phone receiving updates on the manhunt for Emory and Strauss. Moreno had been taken to hospital, but not before gaining consciousness and explaining why they focused on Jake.

Moreno explained that as Amy and Jake already knew, Groves was calling the shots, Moreno never heard the words from Groves' mouth, but it was implied. When they attacked Amy, he had been told they were only going to scare her, only afterward was he told they intended far worse. Jake was targeted to send a message to Amy without making it as obvious, but Moreno was against it, when he learned they had him and were going to burn the building to make it look like a common fire, he tried to stop it, only to be knocked unconscious. He was willing to testify, but he said that Groves would be hard to nail on his testimony, he'd been careful to only communicate with Emory, who would never give him up.

The wind started to blow, Amy shivered and wanted nothing more than to take Jake to her place, which he had referred to as home twice today, but she let it go each time. Jake had been staying with her because his place was terrible and she was at risk, now she was the one wanting to take care of him. She glanced up at him, he still had a look of shock on his face, his apartment was destroyed, all of his belongings but the one he kept at Amy's were gone.

Amy reached up and rubbed his back, Jake sighed, "everything's gone. I mean gone. I guess I can live with my mom, it'll be weird."

Amy made a face and looked at him, "seriously, you'd live with your mom? You have a girlfriend…"

Jake coughed, more from nerves than the fire he had survived, "but Ames, we…so soon…really?"

"Well, you've pretty much stayed there since we started dating…your place burned down. I know it's soon, if you don't want to…" She felt a little unsure, it was a big step, much more permanent than just staying over to help out.

Jake coughed, "okay, I won't get insurance money for a while, you told me that, I didn't think I would, but the manager told us I had mandatory renter's insurance, crazy. If things don't…let's be honest, if I'm a dick, kick me out and I can go bug my mom. I'll try to be a good roommate."

Amy leaned on his shoulder again, "you just have to clean more than you did here, a lot more. No wild parties, no girls over, and no smoking."

Jake laughed, causing him to have a coughing fit. "I can handle all of those, but can you?"

Amy squinted, "what?"

Jake looked very serious, "oh…I never mentioned I found your pack of cigarettes you labeled shame cigarettes when I was looking for the pasta the other day. Oops."

Amy elbowed him, making him cough a lot again, "Sorry, I forget you're fragile."

Jake nodded while he tried to get his coughing under control, "I don't know if my lungs could handle your smoking anyway."

"Okay, you make jokes, I'm going to ask if we can go, you need rest, and a shower."

Amy found the paramedics and got permission to leave, Terry found them as they were getting in Amy's car.

"I'm glad I caught you before you left, the found Strauss, but he tried to shoot one of the uniformed men in the four-seven in Staten Island, two other officers opened fire killing him."

Jake looked at Amy, the frustration they both felt was evident in their faces, "Any word on Emory, did they search the area?" Amy asked worried about Jake after what he had gone through, one of his attackers and a man who attempted to murder him was dead, but that meant no answers, no witness for the trial against Groves.

Terry shook his head, "sorry, but nothing. Captain Sutton of the four-seven told me they were thorough and then some, nobody wants this creep hanging around their precinct. Terry wishes he had better news, but I thought you should know."

Jake gave a stiff nod and got in the car, Amy smiled as best she could in the circumstances, "thanks sarge, we appreciate it, I know Jake does. It was a close call."

Terry motioned for her to come closer to talk away from Jake, "is he okay? I mean, I know he's not, but should he come into work on Monday?"

Amy shrugged, "can you get us time off for good behavior?"

Terry placed his hand on his shoulder, "done, take Monday and Tuesday off, order Jake to do it, paid leave. You two have done above and beyond for the NYPD, Terry knows McGinley will okay he it, he's taken a shine to you Santiago. The stuff with his sister, it hit home for him and he keeps talking about how strong you are for fighting through this even though it's gotten ugly."

Amy shook her head slightly, "I don't know how well I'm doing, I almost got Jake killed."

Terry looked towards Jake, "hey, you're saving him in a lot of ways. Jake was always in danger, from himself. You've made him slow down and think about things, he wore a tie, to work. That's a miracle, but you two dating…amazing."

Amy grinned for a second, "have a good night sarge."

"You too Santiago, take care of each other."

The drive was quiet, Jake looked like he might fall sleep on the short drive. She managed to help him up the stairs and pointed him towards the couch when they entered the apartment. He basically fell onto the couch, laying down, Amy thought he would stay there all night and was too exhausted to shower. She was on the way to the bedroom to change when she heard him moan.

"Jake, what do you need?"

"A shower." He hadn't moved, his face was in the cushion, muffling his voice.

"I think you're too tired and I doubt I could move you."

He stayed down, not moving except for breathing, then she noticed his shoulders were moving more, and after a few seconds she heard a noise from his face buried in the cushion. At first Amy thought it was some sort of hysterical laughter from all he had been through, but soon she realized that he was crying.

Sitting on the edge of the couch, she laid carefully next to him, doing her best to not fall off while doing so and said nothing. Jake lifted his arm closest to her and drew her as close to him as possible. A few minutes passed and she heard nothing, she thought he might fall asleep until his words startled her.

"Sorry about that," he spoke as he lifted his head, no longer burying it, his words coming out clear yet soft.

"Why apologize, today was…wow." She kept her position clinging to him, trying to give what comfort she could.

"Yeah, wow." He took a few deep breaths, "I lost all my sneakers, well not the five pairs here, but all my other ones. That sucks, but I'm not like mad or worried, just relieved, ya'know? At my building, I was just in shock or just you know…dealing with everything going on there."

"It was crazy Jake, you don't have to explain your feelings."

He pushed himself up on one arm so he could look down at her and have eye contact, "I've had some close calls, too many, but all of them were my fault, completely, one hundreds, all me." Amy's hands reached out and cupped his cheeks, he offered a slight smile in return and continued, "today was different, it was one of those things, it happens because people suck, but I should be dead."

"You can't think like that."

He shook his head, "no, not negative, but I mean, think about it. If Moreno hadn't come to stop those bastards, I'd be dead…" his voice broke somewhat, clearly trying to push through the difficult memories and realization of what could have happened. "But Moreno tried to stop them, you saw him, you braved a burning building and saved me."

"Jake, you would have done the same, you know you would have."

"Yeah, but I'm stupid, and that's not my point. I'm a good cop, but I've also kept people away from me, through my childish behavior as it says on my many official reviews." He took another deep breath, "but you, you're here. That's my point, I'm here because of you. I'm used to trying to be the hero, the John McClain, but today, I couldn't, and I'm here because of that."

"That's good right?" She was still unsure of the exact point he was trying to make.

He closed his eyes and sighed, "yeah, it is. See…I thought if I couldn't be the hero, why bother, but I'm just thankful I finally met someone who's better, it saved me," he yawned, struggling to speak through it, "you did Ames, you saved me."

His eyes remained closed and she thought he might speak again, a minute passed, and he released a soft snore, Amy kissed his cheek and closed her eyes, trying to release the stress she felt from the day and soon succumbed to the exhaustion.