Jake nervously watches as a crowd of terrified people hurries out of the building, his weary, panicked eyes scanning the scene in search of one particular face among them all.

There are members of different police departments all around him giving instructions to their peers through their walkies or asking for ambulances to get ready to take charge of this horde of newly freed hostages and a police line preventing him from getting any closer despite the badge around his neck, and he can feel the heavy atmosphere weighing in the air with whispered worries.

It doesn't make sense, after five days of taking them prisoners, to let go of the one reason why no one tried to intervene in the middle of what had quickly become a new historical heist. Unless…

Unless the robbers are finally going out, having achieved whatever they came to do here in the first place.

His heart is racing in his chest, to the point that he can hear it resonate in his ears as he sees more and more victims coming his way and less and less leaving the building, and there's still no trace of her. The fear starts building up – he doesn't want to think about the worst, not yet, but still, he can't retain the thought from lingering into his mind.

What if they're keeping her as leverage, to trade her in case something goes wrong with their escape, having no qualm in doing so knowing she's a cop – even though, according to Gina, their assailants aren't aware of that fact?

Two whole days have passed since the woman went out herself. Forty-eight hours during which who knows what might have happened in that hell of a place, especially if they learned she was the one who managed to help some hostages leave and only decided not to follow them to protect the remaining ones and maybe even find a way to take the criminals down from the inside – or at least make it easier for her colleagues to put an end to this insanity of a heist.

He loves how brave his wife is, and how much she takes her job at heart, and he's so proud of her for making such a decision, but he has to admit, when he saw his friend and a few other strangers unexpectedly appear in the middle of the night, shouting not to shoot, they're hostages, and he didn't get a glimpse of her, he wished for a second there that he had married a coward who would have simply left without thinking despite being a Sergeant – even if off duty. But she isn't – and, frankly, in most times, he loves her for it.

Now though, he just hopes he won't have to relive this moment of learning she's staying in again as everyone else seems to be getting out.

He tries to focus on Gina's words about the situation, on how she told them they didn't seem to want to hurt anyone – physically, that is. Because for sure most of the hostages will need some psychological assistance following such an event – it's easy to read in the different pair of eyes his gaze meets as he's looking for hers how traumatized these people seem to be from what they've been through.

(It's better if he doesn't think too much about what he'll read in hers when he finally finds her.)

Unable to wait much longer, he stops the next person passing by him. "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone," he calls them out, his voice hoarse and shaking a little. "A woman – dark hair, brown eyes? Amy Santiago–…" He pauses, hesitant, not really knowing if she'd give her full identity to these people, before he adds, "– Peralta."

The person's eyes, who looked confused at first, suddenly lit up at the mention of the name.

"Do you know her?"

"Amy? Of course I know her," they answer as if it's obvious they do. "She's a heroine to us all inside, helping us not completely lose it in there. You must be Jake, right? I'd say you're a lucky guy to have her, but she's apparently just as lucky to have you."

There's a softness in the way they talk about his wife and him, as if she shared some stories about him – them together, even – during their time locked up together that, in another time, during a much less stressful situation, would have warmed Jake's heart – but right now, as there's still no trace of her anywhere, he can't linger into that, another single thought going through his mind.

"Have you seen her?!"

The stranger turns around, pointing behind them. "She wanted to be the last one to get out – y'know, making sure nobody was left behind. I'm sure she'll be out soon." Despite it all, the person manages a small smile at him, which calms him down a little, thanking them for their help and showing them the way towards the ambulances before putting his whole attention back on the building in front of him.

He doesn't know for how much longer he waits – probably, realistically, only a few seconds, barely a full minute. But for Jake, it feels like an eternity before she finally emerges from the exit door, an old lady by her side, helping her carefully go down the stairs and most likely telling her some encouraging words as he can see her lips move from afar and her hand gently stroke this woman's back.

The feeling that overcomes him when he gets sight of her is indescribable, letting out a long, relieved sigh, as if he's been holding his breath until then.

She doesn't see him right away, too focused on helping that woman, despite the small glances she sometimes throws at all the people gathered in front of her, and it becomes almost impossible for Jake to stay behind like he has to, waiting for her to let go of this other hostage and rush towards her to feel her against him, both safe and whole again inside a warm embrace.

All he can do is watch in the meantime, studying her form and every move – she looks tired, and in need of a hot relaxing shower but, other than that, she thankfully doesn't seem physically injured.

Eventually, she leaves the old lady to the good care of the medical personnel there, refusing to let them check her too, her eyes now scanning the place in the same way his did from the moment the first hostage got out. Contrary to him, though, she's quick to notice him in the crowd, and even quicker to reach his side, meeting him halfway, his own legs having apparently decided to run towards her as well.

The second they're facing each other, his hands come framing her face, his lips finding hers in a searing exchange. She holds onto him, her nails digging slightly in the skin of his back over his clothes.

"You're alright?" he gently asks, stroking her hair when they part, putting a loose strand back behind her ear, his eyes scanning her every expression with seriousness.

She simply nods and hums in return before burying herself into his body, hiding her head in the crook of his neck, letting out a sigh as she wraps her arms around his neck to keep him close, and his own find their rightful place at her waist, pulling her tight too.

As he does so, Jake is reminded of another time and how Amy rushed into his arms and kissed him breathlessly when he found himself in a similar – yet so different still – situation, how worried she'd been about his life in just a few hours of being locked up. He remembers the words stuck in the back of his throat, later when they were curled up in bed, discussing with emotion the events of the night – how he didn't want the first time acknowledging his feelings for her happening like that, with her possibly thinking they came out of fear of losing each other.

He doesn't keep them in, this time.

"I love you so much," he whispers in her ear, a single tear passing the barrier of his eye, finishing its course in her hair. "So, so much." His grip around her back tightens a little with each new word he lets out. "More than anything." He doesn't care if he sounds corny – that's the truth. There's nothing in this world he loves more than Amy Santiago-Peralta, and nothing he will love more than her.

(Their children, when they have some, will come equal.)

She reluctantly draws away from his embrace, only to be able to watch him in the eyes as she speaks. "I love you more than anything too," she says, a small smile shyly curling up the sides of her mouth that soon gets matched with one of his own. She knows this is not over, that statements and tracking the criminals down before it's too late are awaiting her – them –, but she allows herself to get lost in the moment for a while.

She deserves it, she thinks as she buries herself between her husband's arms once more, her head against his chest, listening to the beating of his heart slowly going back to normal now that she's by his side again, all safe and sound from what must have been the scariest, worst five days of her entire life. But, now, inside this embrace, she knows that she'll be just fine – because she found her right person and with him, she can handle anything.