Dreams

Amy couldn't help but smile as she sat on the bed and read the letter. It was the letter that informed her that she had made sergeant. She had read the letter maybe fifteen times so far and keep in mind that she received the letter earlier today. This was step two in becoming the youngest captain of the N.Y.P.D., the first step being detective of course. Now, she had to make lieutenant and then captain. But she was still going to take her work seriously and not get too ahead of herself, she always did.

She remembered the past two years. Preparing for the test and working at the same time was extremely stressful. Perhaps waiting for the results was even more so. But she had so many people supporting her and making her life easier every step of the way. She remembered how Holt and Terry were kind enough to let her borrow all of their study materials when they gave the test, how Rosa offered to do her paperwork once every week, how Charles made her cherry pie once every month, and how Hitchcock and Scully let her relax in their 'secret nap room'. Even Gina dialed down her rudeness every now and then. She was so grateful to all of them. But her biggest supporter was the one who shared the bed with her – Jake Peralta.

When she first met Jake, he was the worst person she had met. But after they started dating, she found no one else sweeter than him. He had been the perfect boyfriend and, for the past six months, the perfect fiancé. When she first started to prepare for the exam, their relationship was fairly new. She had to study almost every day. Most partners would say that she had no time for them but not Jake. There were times she thought she should break the schedule, just to give Jake and her some more time to themselves. Instead, she found him forcing her to stick to the schedule. The day of the test, when she went missing, Jake was the only one who truly convinced her to take the test. She had been worried about how their relationship would be affected. But, as long as Jake was with her, she knew their relationship could overcome anything.

Apart from the one time they had let a personal matter ruin one of their cases, they had been very professional when it came to work. They both were excellent detectives and prioritized their work equally. That's when it hit her. They both were equally good detectives, they both equally prioritized and loved their work, and, probably, they were both equally qualified to be sergeants. No, scratch the 'probably', Amy knew they were DEFINITELY equally qualified to be sergeants. So why was he not wanting to move forward in his career?

'Hey, Jake?' Amy called out.

'Yeah?' said Jake, looking up from his phone.

'You know you're a great detective, right?' she asked him.

'Great detective? I'm the best detective there ever is or was at the Nine-Nine,' Jake answered. Amy knew he was half-joking but she wouldn't mind conceding to that statement, just not in front of their friends.

'You love being a cop, don't you?'

'Yeah, I do,' he answered. 'Ames, what's going on? Why're you asking me all of these questions to which the answers are obvious?' he asked.

'Don't you ever wanna be a sergeant?' Amy asked instead.

'Oh,' said Jake as he pretended to think. 'No,' he replied simply and went back to using his phone.

Amy laughed slightly. 'I just don't get it,' she said. 'You're a great detective, you love and prioritize your work. I mean, other people strive for promotions. How can you not want to become a sergeant?'

'I just don't.'

'Why?' Amy asked again.

'What can I say? I'm happy with being a detective,' Jake said as if it couldn't have been more obvious.

Amy sighed. She didn't know if this was Jake being too honest or Jake not wanting to open up. Either way, she was not going to get an answer. She sighed. 'Okay, never mind,' she said as she read the letter again.

Jake knew she was disappointed and frustrated. But he didn't really have the answer. He had an answer, he wasn't sure it was the answer. He decided to say it anyway. He put his phone down as he took Amy's hands in his. 'Look,' he began, 'I know how people want to get promotions and try so hard for it, especially when they love their job. But that's never been the case for me. I know how I tell people that Die Hard was the only reason I became a cop. But that's not true. I also became a cop to protect my mom and my nana. That was my dream and I've accomplished it.'

'Jake, that's sweet,' Amy said as she rubbed his hand. 'But did you ever dream of settling down and being engaged to someone?' she asked.

'No,' he said without giving it an ounce of thought. He really didn't need to, he never did think about such things before.

'But you're with me, right? And we're engaged and you you're happy, right?'

'Yeah…' Jake said, not seeing Amy's point.

'My point is, you never dreamed of getting married to someone but you're so happy now when you're engaged. I mean, you just might be happy if you try for sergeant even though you didn't dream of it. Even the things we don't dream of can make us happy if they come true.'

'Ames, that's nice but I'm happy just being a detective.'

'Jake, I get that but just give it some thought and – '

'Ames, I don't need to,' he interjected, 'Look, I'm just happy the way things are – both at work and with you.'

'Okay,' said Amy as she gave him a peck on the lips. She didn't want to pressurize him into doing something he didn't want

'Besides,' Jake said, 'to get a promotion, you need to take a test, be more responsible, I just think that's not my cup of tea.' Once again, he was half-joking but Amy was already believing him.

Jake did say that he was happy with the way things are. But little did he know that seven years down the line, he could not be happier playing with three adorable young kids who called him 'Daddy'. He would remember what Amy told him all those years ago: 'Even the things we don't dream of can make us happy if they come true.'