If they didn't always have the impact he thought they would have in the past, now Jake can congratulate himself for being a Master of Surprises.

Despite the heartbreaking scene happening in front of his eyes – their daughter crying in Amy's arms, holding onto her koala-stylez as she doesn't want to let her leave for a 4-day seminar out of state –, he can't help but smile knowingly. His two dream girls don't know what's awaiting them.

They don't know they will get to see each other sooner than they both think, thanks to him and his amazing idea.

"Anana." He takes a step closer to the pair and brings a hand to the little girl's back to stroke gently. "It's time to let Mama go, baby." His voice is soft when he talks to her.

He shares an understanding look with his wife, who offers him a small smile. It's clear in her eyes she's not too keen on going away either, and that it's painful for her to see their child so sad because of it, but she doesn't have a choice. This seminar is important for her future career as a Captain, a goal she's never been closer to reach than she is right now.

Bailing on it is no option, then. And if Jake understands – of course he does –, Ana is still too young to get it yet. She doesn't seem willing to let go as she holds onto her mother tighter and shakes her head followed her father's words. A new wave of tears rolls down her small cheeks.

"Hey, look at me." It's Amy's turn to try and calm their girl down by forcing her head up. "I'll be home soon, promise. And I'll call you every night before sleep. Plus you'll have fun with Daddy, you know how he's always the one who lets you eat as much ice cream as you want." She chuckles amusedly. Jake can't really deny it – he often finds it hard to say 'no' to the child, especially when it comes to eating sweets, being a fan of them himself. This seems to work a little on Ana though, who this time nods and slightly loosens her grip on her mother.

Jake takes it as his cue to take over and take their daughter in his own arms so that Amy can finally leave. She grabs her bag on the floor then goes back to them, kissing Ana's temple first then his lips.

"Send a text when you land," Jake softly whispers when they part.

Amy smiles at him. "Of course. Bye, Anana." She strokes her cheek tenderly and removes a lost tear as she does so. "I love you guys."

"We love you too. Have a safe flight."

"Love you too, Mama," Ana's little voice rises into the air as she takes the thumb she had put in her mouth out and watches her mother leave. It makes the woman stop for a second to blow another kiss in her direction and wave at her. Jake can feel Ana's grip on him tighten as they stand in the middle of the airport until Amy's out of sight and he holds her closer to his chest as a response.

When he brings his attention away from where his wife has now disappeared and back on the little girl, he can see she's crying again.

"Hey, Anana, you wanna know a little secret?" he asks as he kisses her hair. He can feel her head move up and down in approval. "It's a surprise, so you can't tell Mama, okay? But we're gonna see her in 2 sleeps." He raises 2 fingers into the air to emphasize his words with a grin slowly forming on his lips.

The child's eyes grow bigger in confusion – this is not what they told her before, insisting the 4 sleeps she'd have to go through without Amy would actually go by very fast.

"We're going to go on vacation where Mama is for the weekend," Jake further explains and, in his arms, he can tell the exact moment the news hit Ana as her face instantly lights up and her sadness and tears suddenly disappear.

Yep, he definitely is the Master of Surprises indeed, he thinks as he heads out of the airport.

Amy's deep into the last reviewing of her big presentation when she receives a text that makes her look away from her laptop's screen for a second. An instant smile comes curving up the corners of her mouth as she seems when the sender is – it turns into the softest beam when she opens the message.

Good luck with your presentation. No doubt you're gonna ace it. Love from us, we're at the pool thinking of you! Xx, it reads. Attached with it is a picture of Jake and Ana in the water. She takes a moment to stare at it, her eyes lingering on the happy smile on the little girl's face, looking so cute in her yellow swinsuit and small armbands.

(Jake obviously looks just as adorable, grinning at the camera in front of them.)

Amy's relieved to see her daughter's feeling much better than when she left her at the airport – although she knows that already, having had her on the phone the previous night, when she excitedly told her all about what she and her father did during the day. It's not the first time she goes away like this for work, and it's only the second day she's spending away from her family but Amy misses them already. She wishes she could be with them at the pool.

She looks at the empty bed next to her, the result of what must have been a mistake as she booked a room with just a single bed for the duration of her stay but ended up with two, and thinks about how great it would be if Jake and Ana were here with her. She loves her job, and she's passionate about the topic of the presentation she's about to give, but she definitely loves them more.

Amy lets out a small sigh as she sends a quick answer then puts her phone back down to focus on her presentation again. Today, and more particularly this morning, is the most important day of the whole seminar for her – after that, she'll have more time to relax in-between other people's presentations and conferences. Maybe she'll even take a swin at the hotel's pool at the end of the afternoon as well.

It won't be anything like doing so with her husband and daughter with her, but at least it'll still be soothing and a well-deserved treat after she, like Jake wrote, aces her presentation.

She actually makes it out of the conference room by 3 p.m., earlier than expected and with her schedule's clear for the rest of the afternoon. She's wearing a satisfied smile on her face as she separates from another Lieutenant who stopped her to congratulate her – her presentation went amazing. She checks her phone to see if she received any more messages during the day and her already good mood only lifts up when she finds there are three new pictures Jake sent of their daughter and him having fun at the pool.

Amy can't wait to have them on the phone later so that they can all share with each other what seems to have been a great day for everyone so far. She doesn't reply until she's back in her room and changed, also sharing a picture of her beach bag as she's about to head downstairs and have a swim herself.

It's the first time she's stepping foot in the pool area since she arrived at the hotel but still, as she enters it, she gets a feeling of déjà-vu. She doesn't linger on the thought too much, letting her eyes wander around in search of a free chaise to to put her stuff before going inside the water. She barely has the time to take a few steps forward after finding one that a small voice she would recognize anywhere hails her.

"Mama!" she hears Ana before she actually sees her. She easily finds her inside the pool, with Jake trying to hold her still as she keeps moving to get closer to her mother. She's spalshing him and the few people around them with water as she wiggles inside her father's arms in excitement. He shoots her a huge grin when their eyes meet and Amy's heart instantly melts in her chest.

She can't believe they're here for realz.

As soon as they're close enough, she grabs her daughter to take her out of the water and into a warm hug. Ana immediately wraps her hands around her tightly. She's soaked, dampening Amy with her wet body. Droplets of cold water are falling from her long dark hair and making the woman shiver as they hit the exposed skin of her arms but she couldn't care less.

The two people she loves the most in her life are by her side and really, that's all that matters.

"You like our surprise?" The little girl eventually draws away to look at her mother.

Amy shoots her the softest of beams. A pang of love overwhelms her as she looks at her child. "I love it," she says sincerely and kisses Ana's temple.

Jake joins them right at the same moment, shooting her a knowing grin. He wraps an arm around her shoulder to greet her, bringing both her and their daughter towards him. Amy relaxes under his touch.

There was a time she would absolutely dread his surprises. They always seemed to somehow backfire spectacularly and turn into real nightmares.

Now though, and this ever since they started dating, they've become some of the sweetest things anyone's done for her – this particular one being another example of their greatness.

"Hi, babe." Jake's smile turns more tender as he speaks.

"Hey." She grins at him. Despite having him in front of her and the weight of their daughter in her arms, Amy still has a hard time realizing they made it to her hotel out of state. It does make sense now though why she didn't get the room she was supposed to have – Jake probably called the hotel at some point to upgrade it for when they would arrive. "What are you guys doing here?!"

"Oh, y'know. We heard the best Lieutenant of the NYPD would be here for a seminar this weekend, so we had to come see her," he jokes (although she knows for a fact he does believe she is the best at her job indeed) and Amy laughts heartedly.

God, she missed them. She's not even embarrassed to admit it after only two days of being apart.

"For realz, though." Jake's voice suddenly turns serious. "How did your presentation go?"

"Great. Everyone seemed to love it."

Amy can see his smile turn into a proud grin.

"Told you you'd ace it!"

"Yeah." She pauses for a beat, shooting a small look at Ana, who's still curled up inside her arms and doesn't seem to let go of her mother soon. "I'm so glad you guys are here."

"Us too. We missed you. Right, Anana?"

"YES!" The little girl doesn't wait to approve her father's words. She then looks at Amy with pleading eyes. "Can we get ice cream? Daddy said we would when you're here."

Amy lets out a small chuckle at how Ana doesn't wait for long to go straight to the point. She glances at Jake, shaking her head in mock-disapproval at the promise he made to their daughter.

"Hey, you deserve it! And we deserve it too, after pulling the best surprise ever," he teases smugly and Amy can't disagree with that.

"You're right." She puts the little girl down and grabs her hand instead. Ana's quick to use her other hand to hold onto Jake as well. "Let's go get some ice cream." Amy's heart warms up in her chest and a grin forms on her face at the thought she's going to spend the rest of her seminar with them to come home to.

Getting to tell each other about their day in front of an ice cream under the sun definitely feels better than doing so over the phone, alone in her hotel room.

(Getting to sleep with her husband by her side and their daughter in the little bed next to them definitely feels much better as well.)