I Will Bend Every Light in This City and Make Sure They're Shining on You

"Ana, look! Daddy's plane landed. He should be here soon now."

Amy points towards the flight board in front of them as she holds her daughter close to her chest and reads the new information regarding her husband's plane that just appeared on the screen.

"Daddy!" The three-year-old starts squealing excitedly in her mother's arms at the mention of Jake.

Amy turns her eyes away from the board to look at her with a loving smile. Ana is the spitting image of her father: she's got his dimples and soft features and dark messy curls at the top of her cute little head. It's only becoming more obvious as she gets older that she's 100% Peralta even though he could swear she's got her mother's eyes and laugh.

(And inherited her signature dorky dance – that Amy can't argue with. She has indeed and it's probably the most adorable thing she's ever got to witness in her life.)

When it comes to waiting, though, like most children (and like Jake), Ana gets bored pretty quickly. Amy's glad the wait is finally almost over then and they'll get to welcome her husband home soon as it was becoming hard to keep the toddler distracted. She's also impatient to be able to hug him and have him by her side again – it's only been a few days, barely over a weekend away during which they FaceTimed every night before putting their girl to sleep but still, she missed him like crazy.

And she's not the only one who did. Ana made it pretty clear that she missed her father too.

(She knows he missed them as well from all the texts he sent her on his trip.)

As the little girl won't stop moving inside her embrace, Amy eventually lets her down and takes her hand to lead her near the arrival gates so that they can meet Jake halfway. She spots him first when he separates from a crowd of passengers and waves at them, standing only a few feet away from them. Ana's gaze is focused on her feet so she doesn't see him right away.

Amy's heart warms up in her chest as their eyes meet and he shoots her a huge grin.

"Look! My wife and my daughter are here!" he exclaims to catch the child's attention, and indeed the sound of his voice is all it takes for Ana to look up. She pauses only for a second, the time for the realization to hit her that it's her father calling then lets go of her mother's grip and runs towards him. Amy watches as the two reunite – how the hems of their daughter's little flowery dress slightly floats in the air as she rushes in her father's direction; how he immediately abandons his luggage behind and opens his arm to welcome her into his embrace; and how tight Ana hangs onto Jake so that he can't leave her again while he gently rubs her back and peppers her face with light kisses.

She has to cross her previous thought: this is the most adorable thing she's ever seen; a very obvious proof of the unmitigated love these two have for one another.

(And boy, how much does she love them too.)

There are tears of joy shining in both father and daughter's eyes as they eventually approach her, still holding onto each other as if life depended on it and Amy's pretty sure hers are getting just as wet in front of such a scene.

"How're my dream girls doing?" Jake leans over to press a quick kiss onto Amy's lips to say hello. She offers him a soft smile.

"So much better now that you're here," she admits and he smiles back – it's sweet and loving and tainted with a little guilt of leaving them alone. "How was your trip? How's Kate?"

"She's gonna be fine." Amy notices how his hand never stops stroking Ana's back as he talks. "I'm so glad I'm finally home." He doesn't dwell on the topic – simply kisses the top of their daughter's head and brings his attention back on her. "You happy I'm home, sweetheart?"

"YES!" she happily – and pretty loudly – shoots her answer, wrapping her small arms around Jake's neck even tighter. Her enthusiasm makes both her parents laugh, the sound of which soon catches Ana as she laughs along with them. Her small happy giggles rise into the air and warm up Amy's heart again while she exchanges a knowing look with her husband.

As they start heading towards the airport's exit and back to their apartment, walking hand-in-hand with Jake still holding their daughter in his arms (she won't seem to be letting go of him soon), she can't help but finally feel home again now that she's got her whole family by her side – even though she's not the one who just came back. There's no member missing anymore.