"How could I not have prepared us for this, I'm so sorry Ames, this is fucked up." Jake couldn't sit down, he paced back and forth from their table to the couch, Amy would have preferred for him to sit down, but she was agitated as well. The day after they returned from Puerto Rico, she received her summons for the Grand Jury phase of the case against her surviving kidnappers. The prosecutors had done all they could to spare Amy this, she had been spared from the preliminary hearing, which had happened the day the they left on their trip, but the defense demanded she be present to testify for the grand jury.

"Jake, we can't do anything about it, it's my duty as a cop and as a citizen, they have a right to a fair trial." Amy wondered if Jake believed in her words, she believed in them, in general, but right now she felt the rage in her rising again, her desire for revenge which she hated to feel made her feel tense and uneasy.

"Yeah, I understand, but why do they need you? You weren't the officer who picked up these assassins, who have killed before, who were wearing the masks they were arrested in, who were running from the cops, and oh yeah, one of them had a knife with your blood on it."

Amy just stared at the floor, she hated thinking about that knife, she had never seen it, only felt it, she had no idea what it actually looked like, how big it was, what type of blade it had, she just knew it had pushed her to her limits. Jake turned around and saw the look on Amy's face and closed his eyes momentarily while he tried to force his brain to remember that Amy had been through hell and him describing the details was probably not helping the situation. Jake took a deep breath and sat down next to her on the couch.

"I'm sorry Ames, I'm so busy being pissed off that I'm probably making it worse."

Amy offered a halfhearted smile, "it's okay."

Jake sighed, "no, it's not, I'll chill. Listen, what do you want to do today and to get ready for tomorrow? Anything you want."

Amy thought, she could use something to take her mind off it all, after the peace she started to feel on their trip, everything came crashing down as she was forced to think about her ordeal and talking with the prosecutors about what she would say to ready herself to go through specific details. She looked up at Jake again, "we don't have to, but the Met, the museum, not your beloved baseball team is always a calming place for me, I get lost in the history, the beauty. I know, I'm a dork."

Jake rubbed his face with his hands, "that sounds amazing, it will get you in your adorable dork zone, which I find sexy, and take us both away from worrying about this shit."

At noon, Jake was following behind an enthralled Amy in the Lehman Wing of the museum. Amy stood in front of the El Greco paintings, she slowly moved so she was standing before the painting of a Cardinal, the painting was titled, Cardinal Ferdinand Niño de Guevara. Jake shrugged as she looked at it, it was a kind of ugly guy in red, but he and Amy rarely agreed on art. Amy sighed, and Jake noticed the intensity with which she took in the painting.

"Ames, you okay? The Pope creeping you out?"

Amy smiled slightly, "not a Pope Jake, he was a powerful Cardinal, in Spain."

Jake was unimpressed, "well, that's Spain's problem."

Amy took his hand in hers, "When I studied art history in college, learning about El Greco's life was one of my favorite topics, he made incredible religious works, his paintings were everywhere in Spain, and yet, he was still in trouble with the church there, they persecuted him a bit during the Spanish Inquisition. The Cardinal there," she motioned toward the painting with her other hand, "he was supposed to be a man of God, a leader, yet notice the lack of compassion, he lacks the piety of El Greco's other religious figures."

Jake looked at her, "it's a good thing I love you."

Amy squeezed his hand, "this is important, to me, El Greco did everything right, he knew the right people, he was extremely talented, yet they still found fault with what he did, with what he painted and how he painted, he did everything he knew how to do, and it still wasn't good enough. He was forced to alter a few of his paintings and denounce ideas he had portrayed in his paintings that the Cardinals didn't agree with."

Jake frowned slightly, "still boring Ames."

Amy shook her head slowly, "oh Jake, it's a good thing I love YOU. The point I'm making, my non-art appreciating husband, is that I get him, El Greco, I understand him. I sort of did when I first learned about his history and life, but now, I really understand it, I have given everything to be a good cop, followed every rule, done extra, and yet in the end, it wasn't good enough. I can't tell you what Swayze looked like under his Reagan mask, I saw the picture, but it means nothing to me, it's the mask I see I my nightmares and when I close my eyes. For me, he must have looked similar to the Cardinal here, someone who found a crack in someone else's armor and made them pay for it, but the good news is that El Greco survived, and surviving the Spanish Inquisition when persecuted is something most couldn't claim, and he is now regarded as a master and great influence on other painters, I hope my trials will do the same for me, that something good can come out of all of this, even if it's for someone else."

Jake looked at his wife with admiration, he knew she was incredibly intelligent, but sometimes he would forget just how intelligent she truly was. He felt ashamed for giving her shit about her art facts when what she was really doing was trying to put a positive spin on her own struggles. The rest of the afternoon was pleasant, Jake was bored out of his mind, but happy to see his wife relax and enjoy herself.

Jake watched with trepidation as Amy was called to the stand the next day. The previous evening, she had been very quiet, he wasn't sure how much she slept, but she had pushed through and insisted she would be fine. As he watched her, he knew she was in emotional pain, that being there and being asked about these men, she hated it. The defense insisted they wanted her to testify, so the prosecutors decided they would call her and let her tell the story first and set up the pain she suffered before the defense could chip away at her story and try to discredit her, if they could at all. Jake hated defense lawyers, but ever more than that moment. To his horror, the lawyer for the very men who harmed and helped bring harm to his wife was none other than his ex-girlfriend, Sophia Perez.

Amy calmly gave the facts, which destroyed Jake to hear, Jake could feel himself tensing up when he felt his father-in-law's hand pat his back for support. He appreciated Victor, though glad he was on his good side now. As Amy finished her testimony, it was now Sophia's turn.

"Sergeant Santiago, did you ever see the men without their masks?"

"No."

"No? You don't question at all if it was actually them?"

"No, not even a little."

Sophia faced the jury, "why not? Couldn't it have been anyone in those masks."

Amy closed her eyes for a second, "no, Anthony Costa has a scar on his knuckle, the same scar I saw as I was tackled to the floor and then beaten by him for trying to escape, and Paul Mathison is missing a portion of his pinky finger on the left hand, which I saw as he tied me up after I went to the bathroom several times, so no, I don't doubt the police captured the men who were wearing the masks when apprehended."

Sophia asked a few more questions after that, but they were afterthoughts, Amy's memory had thwarted any plans Sophia had to taint her testimony. During the next recess, Amy washed her face in the bathroom, while she felt good about the testimony, it had still been difficult emotionally.

Jake waited outside the bathroom for her, he felt empty, he was outraged that she had gone through any of this, but then to have to relive it and worse, to have to do it with Sophia as the lawyer, he began heaping all of Amy's problem on his shoulders, taking the blame for them. When he saw Sophia, his blood ran cold.

"Sophia, see you still go after the good people, luckily my wife was prepared, but way to make the men who would have gladly killed or raped her seem like wonderful men."

Sophia paused, "Peralta, look, they are scum, there. It's my job, I'm truly sorry Amy had to go through that, and I'm sorry you did as well. I have to go after possible cracks in testimony, but going after hers made me feel terrible, honestly, my boss told me there was no other way, but I'm sorry."

Jake just shook his head, not thinking about the fact that Sophia was going into the bathroom where Amy was. As Amy threw away the paper towel she used to dry her face, she found herself face to face with Sophia.

Sophia gulped, "Amy, first, congratulations on getting married, I can see he liked you a lot then, and that he truly loves you now, second, I am sorry that you were kidnapped and tortured, saying it's my job to defend them sounds hollow, Jake already gave me the you're the devil speech and look, but it is what it is."

Amy smiled sadly, "they deserve a trial and a good lawyer, I hate them, but I get it. I do. Bye Sophia."

Amy exited the bathroom to see Jake and Victor looking like she might explode at any second, she rolled her eyes at them, "calm down men in my life, I'm fine." She kissed Jake and took him by the hand, "c'mon, let's go to Jersey, my mom wants me to stop by."

Jake sat on the couch, across from Victor in his recliner, Amy and her mom were looking through some boxes of Amy's grandma's Christmas decorations Camila wanted her to have. Jake's head hung low, he felt so tense, his chest felt tight, he couldn't understand how everyone else wasn't as upset as he was right now.

"Jake, breathe or you may actually explode." Victor smiled at him.

"Victor, how can you be happy? How can Amy be happy? That was such bullshit, her having to face Sophia and be questioned about her own kidnapping? I'm not okay. No one should be."

Victor eyed Jake for a second, "Jake, this was not easy, for either of you, but it may be harder on you. Amy has had to let go of a lot of her hate and fear to get to this point, but you, you've just had to be ready to catch her if she fell. It's your turn to let it go, it was terrible, it's beyond terrible, but you have your lives ahead of you now, focus on that."

Jake slumped back on the couch, "easier said than done," he mumbled while rubbing his forehead with one hand.

"Is this about Amy not wanting a family at all?"

Jake's jaw actually dropped a little, "she told you?"

Victor sadly shook his head, "no, she told Camila. I know that is hard to hear, but can I give you some friendly advice?"

Jake shrugged, "sure?"

Victor leaned forward, "Jake, she is hurting, she will for some time, but I don't think she is one hundred percent positive about the no family thing, I think in her mind, that it is a logical response for what she went through, for what you have also gone through. We Santiago's are overly logical, we try too much to let our lives be dictated by logic, which is good sometimes, but other times it makes you miss the beauty around you. If we push Amy or fight her, she will dig in, but if we give her space and let her know she is supported, in time, she may change her mind. She told Camila you weren't getting a vasectomy."

Jake slammed his fist on the couch, surprising himself for showing so much emotion around Victor, "but it's not fair Victor! She would be the most incredible mother, I'm scared to death of being a father, but with her, I think I could do it, I'd still probably suck but at least I'd be with her, she'd undo a lot of my damage. I want to scream when I think what those bastards stole from us…they stole our future, not all of it, but things that we whispered or sort of kind of talked about, you know?"

Victor smiled sadly at Jake, "I do Jake, I do. Just remember, the wound of her ordeal is still fresh, but it will heal more every day, and as it heals, parts of your future you thought were taken from you might return."

"I guess, but it blows, hard."

Victor chuckled, "it does blow, but I think she is forgetting something when she says no children."

"What's that?"

"That she's in love with one. This is not meant as an insult Jake, I promise, but you have an energy, you love life, she is more energetic with you, I think in time she will want to roll the dice and take a chance on a family, I truly do."