The night is still young but Amy already feels like going home.

She's sitting at a table with some of the squad, her first beer almost empty in front of her. All around, her friends are chatting vividly but she barely listens to them. Her mind is lost elsewhere, in another dimension. Her eyes are stuck on the couple sitting together at the bar while they wait for their order to come and she can't help but picture herself there instead of the woman.

Jake is wearing a broad smile on his face. Sophia seems just as happy as he is, with her white teeth showing and brightening the whole dark room as she lets out a hearted laugh.

Amy daydreams about being in her place – imagining she's the one laughing at her colleague's joke. Imagining she's his girlfriend.

She could have been, if she hadn't missed her chance at the time, a voice inside her head painfully reminds her. If she hadn't chosen Teddy over him when he opened up to her about his feelings, she could be the one sitting there with him right now. Teddy, boring Teddy, who she broke up with a few days ago in the most chaotic ways.

If you ask me, I think it's because Amy liked you back.

He wasn't wrong with his assumptions, she has to give him that. She was confused back then, but now it's clearer than ever: she does like Jake.

But it's too late for her to realize that. Because it's someone else he likes.

So, how'd it go with Sophia?

Good. We made up. We're still together.

Although Amy's glad she didn't wreak havoc in Jake's relationship too – especially when he seems to really care about Sophia, a woman she does like too –, his words hurt every time she thinks about them.

"Santiago?! Amy!" The feeling of a fist hitting her shoulder as she recognizes Rosa's voice next to her calling her name suddenly brings her back to reality.

It takes her another few seconds of looking around to remember where she is exactly. When she does, though, she realizes everyone is staring at her. She blushes at the sight of all these pairs of eyes on her, ears and cheeks burning.

"What?" she asks, confused.

"For the third time, Boyle wants to know if you want another drink?" Rosa explains with a sigh.

"Oh."

Amy doesn't remember him asking. Not once. She was probably too lost in her thoughts to pay attention. She shoots a quick glance at the couple at the bar before answering anything – Jake's now coming their way with two drinks in his hands and a dreamy grin on his face while Sophia's heading to the bathroom.

Her heart drops again. She can't deal with her feelings tonight.

"Actually, I was thinking about going home. I have to get up early tomorrow," she lies. She stands up to emphasize her words.

She doesn't have the time to take one step that Jake's by their side, shooting everyone a bright smile as he puts down his drinks on the table. His expression changes when his gaze meets Amy's – his brows furrow in a frown.

"Where're you going?"

"Home," she quickly answers. It's hard to look at him. His eyes are shining in the dim light; he seems blissful and a little drunk, already.

"But it's only 10 pm and you're off tomorrow!" he complains with a pout. He looks disappointed she's leaving. It makes Amy's heart flip in her chest.

As she now stares at him, her mind takes her elsewhere again – to some parallel universe where she can kiss the pout out of his face and agree to stay before sitting with him and cuddle against his side on the booth.

"Hey, you okay?" The seriousness of his voice when he talks is what takes Amy back to the present this time. She must have stayed silent for too long.

"Yeah, sorry, I just–… got lost in my thoughts for a moment." She forces a smile at him. Jake nods but still studies her for a while, piercing through her core in search of something. He doesn't seem too convinced by her excuse.

"Come here." He shockingly opens his arms to welcome her into an embrace as an answer. Amy's hesitant at first but eventually obliges.

Her whole body instantly melts when he clasps his hands around her back and holds her close to him, his scent taking over her.

She hopes he can't feel her rushing heart beating against his chest.

Jake turns his head while hugging her, so that he can whisper to her ear. "I know we talked about it, but you sure you're okay with how everything ended with Teddy? You seem a bit off since we came back from that prisoner transfer. So I just want to make sure you know that even if I joke about it, if you want me to stop and have a real conversation about it, I'm here for you, huh? I mean, it's partially my fault it all went so wrong."

All kinds of emotions take over Amy at that, and she finds herself tightening the embrace just for a second before she unwillingly draws away.

"Thanks, Jake." She doesn't have to force the small smile that forms on her lips this time. "I promise I'm fine." And she believes she will be – finally, she thinks as she's overwhelmed with fondness for her colleague, it's probably for the best nothing ever happened between the two of them. There would be too much to lose if it were not to work, Amy tries to hold onto that thought.

She couldn't risk losing one of her best friends over a failed relationship.

"Say bye to Sophia for me, okay?"

"Okay." He smiles back at her. "See you on Monday."

Amy leaves after waving everyone goodbye. Before she can pass the door out of Shaw's bar, she hears Jake's voice rising into the air behind her.

"Hey, you!" It's joyful and she doesn't have to see to picture the grin on his face and the glow in his eyes as Sophia probably just came back from the bathroom.

She lets out a sigh as she quickly gets out of the place, the thought and feeling of Jake's arms securely wrapped around hers in a comforting embrace and showing her some support still vivid in her head.

Better as friends, she tries to convince herself.