Who is the Protective One:
Jake does not take Captain Holt's dismissal from the Nine-Nine well. He respects Holt and looks up to him, and when Holt leaves, it's like his father left all over again. The one person that he can count on and go to with any problem is no longer there. Instead, the new Captain is a jackass who keeps trying to get rid of Jake. It's not long before Jake breaks down.
Amy's watching Jake and the Vulture through the Captain's office window. They're talking too fast for her to read their lips but she knows it can't be good. Jake looks furious and the Vulture looks just as smug as ever. She knows that Jake has been fighting with the Vulture a lot. They don't agree on anything and the Vulture's hatred for Jake has caused a lot of problems for Jake. She watches as Jake storms out of the Captain's office and marches towards the evidence locker. Without thinking twice about it, she gets up and follows him.
"Jake," she calls out as she enters the locker.
"What?" he snaps. "Sorry," he says when he realizes that it's Amy. She doesn't say anything at first, just allows him to calm down. He's pacing back and forth, his fists clenched as he huffs. She hates seeing him like this. Jake is a pretty happy guy. He's always joking around and having fun. But, the Vulture knows how to push his buttons and he brings out the worst in Jake.
"Are you ok?" she asks. Jake stops pacing and looks at Amy. He shakes his head and walks over to Amy, wrapping his arms around his waist and burying his head into her shoulder. She returns the embrace, running her hand up and down his back as she attempts to help him calm down. She feels her shirt dampening and knows that he's crying.
"I can't do this anymore Amy," he says, grasping her tighter. "Holt leaving feels a lot like my dad leaving."
"I know," Amy says soothingly. She's trying to be cautious about what she says, not wanting to upset Jake even more, but rather just be there for him.
"Vulture's threatening to demote me again," Jake says, pulling back. He holds onto her waist as he looks at her face-to-face.
"For what now?" Amy asks. In the month that the Vulture has been at the Nine-Nine, he's threatened to demote Jake twice already. The first time for dating Amy, the second time because Jake didn't follow the Vulture's arbitrary protocol change.
"For standing up to him," Jake says. "He says that fighting a superior officer is insubordination."
"What?" Amy asks in disbelief.
"I'm getting real tired of him trying to demote me. Maybe I should just transfer precincts," he says.
Amy can't believe what she's hearing. She understands that Jake is frustrated, but she can't imagine the Nine-Nine without Jake. She pulls him back into an embrace, not saying anything as she consoles him.
"Let's get back to work," Jake eventually says, pulling away from Amy and sounding defeated. She follows him back out to the bullpen.
When 5:00 comes around, Jake starts packing up to leave. "Ready?" he asks.
"I've got some paperwork to finish up. You go ahead, I'll be home in about an hour," she tells him.
He nods and kisses her on the forehead. She watches him leave and once he's in the elevator and the doors close, she calls Rosa, Charles and the Sarge into the breakroom.
"Jake's thinking about leaving the Nine-Nine. He just can't take the Vulture anymore. We need to do something to help him," she explains to her colleagues.
"What if we all threaten to leave?" Charles suggests.
"The Vulture would love that," Amy says. "He hates all of us. He'd love the opportunity to replace us."
"Well, what if we don't threaten to leave to the Vulture. If we go over his head, the higher-ups might realize that there's a problem at the Nine-Nine," Terry states.
"That's a good point," Amy agrees.
"I think we need to make a trip to One Police Plaza," Terry says.
Amy leaves home the next morning before Jake wakes up, meeting Charles, Rosa, and Terry at One Police Plaza to talk to the Chief of the NYPD. By the end of their meeting, the Vulture has been removed from the Nine-Nine and Captain Holt is reinstated.
"Where were you this morning," Jake asks as Amy and the others arrive at the precinct.
"We had something to take care of," she replies. And in perfect timing, Captain Holt arrives out of the elevator.
"It's good to be back," Holt announces. He walks over to Amy and says, "Thank you for helping me get my job back."
"What's going on?" Jake asks, his face expressing elation and confusion at the same time.
"We had a meeting with the Chief this morning. We threatened to quit if the Vulture wasn't removed from the Nine-Nine. I think they finally realized how important Holt is to us," Amy explains.
"That's great. I'm so happy you helped the Captain," Jake says, pulling Amy in for a hug.
"I don't think she did it just for me," the Captain says, giving Jake a knowing look. Jake looks down at Amy confused.
"I've got your back Jake. We all do. I just couldn't stand to work here without you. You're an important part of the Nine-Nine. I had to do something to make sure you didn't leave," she says, smiling at him.
"Thanks for protecting my job," he says, returning the smile and kissing her in front of their colleagues.
…
Jake knows that Amy can handle herself. He's seen her take down perps nearly twice her size. He's seen her render ignorant assholes speechless after they're made rude remarks about her body. And he's not ashamed to admit that she can outrun him. However, that doesn't stop him from feeling like he needs to protect her. When they're out on assignment, he finds himself unconsciously pushing her behind him when he senses danger or taking down perps who've made inappropriate comments to her. He can't help it, he just has this uncontrollable need to protect her.
"I don't need your protection. I can handle myself," she says, annoyed at him after he had pushed her out of the way one day while they're on door duty. They had been talking to a neighbor of a murder victim and it was becoming obvious that the neighbor knew something that he wasn't telling Jake and Amy. As the guy tried to push past them to escape, Jake pushed Amy away and knocked down the guy.
"I know, I know," Jake apologizes as they settle into their desks back at the precinct. "I'm sorry, I really don't mean to do it. I think it's just a habit. I'm used to having to protect my girlfriends."
"Well I'm not one of your other girlfriends Jake," she says, exasperated. "I'm a trained cop. And even if I wasn't, I grew up with seven brothers who taught me how to take care of myself."
"I know, I know," Jake repeats, looking ashamed.
"You know you do this a lot." It's not a question but a statement.
"I know." Jake repeats again. Jake looks at Amy with those puppy dog eyes she can't say no to.
She laughs and says, "Nothing's going to change is it?"
"I'm really going to try, because I respect you and I know you're right." Jake smiles at Amy and gets up from his desk. He walks around to her desk and sits on the edge of her desk, looking down at her. "But, it's going to take a while."
"Well try harder." She tries to be serious as she scolds him but he's moved closer to her and has started poking her stomach and she starts giggling. "I'm being serious Jake."
"I know."
"Stop trying to protect me."
She's pushing his arms away but he's moving too fast. It's obvious that he is over the conversation and just interested in fooling around. Amy rolls her eyes and gives up on the conversation.
He never gives up on protecting her. He tries to be more respectful of her independence and strength, but it's hardwired in him to protect the women in his life. It probably has something to do with his dad leaving and him wanting to protect his mom. Amy grows used to his constant need to protect her and it becomes one of the things she loves most about him.
…
Amy doesn't think, she just acts. She sees the gun pointed at Jake and jumps in front of him. It's not until she's lying in the hospital bed with a bullet wound in her shoulder that she realizes the ramifications of her action.
"Why did you do that?" Jake yells as he walks into her hospital room. He marches towards her and engulfs her in a hug, while being careful to not hurt her injured shoulder.
Amy's feeling tired from her surgery and, despite the pain killers that she's taken, her shoulder still hurts. "I saw the gun pointed at you…" she falters off, unable to finish the sentence.
"I'm a grown-ass man Amy. I could have taken the bullet." There are tears streaming down his face as he tells her off.
"But I couldn't have," she whispers. She's crying now too. "You're always protecting me, pushing me out of the way… Can't I protect you just once?"
Jake is looking at her with such intensity, she's starting to feel uncomfortable. "Not when it means you do something stupid," he finally says.
There's a lump in Amy's throat and the tears are falling harder. "I…I…I lo-"
"I love you too," he says when she's unable to actually get the words out. He climbs into the bed with her and she cuddles up to him. She gives in to the tiredness and allows herself to fall asleep on his shoulder.
When she wakes up, the sun is no longer shining through the window. Her head is resting on Jake's chest and she feels that the pain medication has finally kicked in as she no longer feels any pain in her shoulder. She shifts so that she can see Jake's face and sees that he's already awake.
"Hey," he whispers, kissing her forehead. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine," she says.
"I'm not," he says, unashamed. "I'm not okay with you putting yourself in danger for me."
Amy's too tired to fight the tears that have built up in her eyes. She's a little comforted by the fact that he's crying too.
"I'm not trying to make you feel bad, or make you cry. I'm just trying to say that I love you and you scared me. I'm so glad that you're ok because I don't know what I would do if you weren't," he continues.
"That why I did it," Amy starts. "I saw the gun. I saw you getting hurt and I was afraid of losing you. I needed to protect you and the only solution was to step in front of you," she explains.
Jake pulls her in closer to him and presses his lips to the top of her head. "I get it. Were our positions reversed, I would have done the same thing. Just please don't do it again."
"I can't promise that. I'm always going to want to protect you."
Amy feels Jake's chest shake as he laughs silently. "Well, I'm always going to want to protect you too," he concurs.
Amy pulls away slightly from Jake so she can see his face. "This is going to be a problem, isn't it?"
"Oh definitely," he laughs.
…
The flu is going around the precinct and Amy is not surprised when she wakes up one morning feeling nauseous. She barely makes it to the bathroom before throwing up. She's sitting on the floor, leaning over the toilet as she hears Jake walk into the bathroom.
"So you fell victim to the flu?" he asks, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he wakes up.
She nods as she throws up again. Jake joins her on the floor, rubbing her back soothingly.
"You should go to work, leave the apartment before you catch it," Amy says to him, still leaning over the toilet.
"Well if you have the flu, I probably have caught it too. It's only a matter of time before I start getting sick. I'll stay home and take care of you," he offers.
"No, I'll be fine. I really just need to sleep. You should go to work," she tells him.
"Are you sure?"
She nods, once again vomiting.
Jake waits until she feels like she's done being sick and helps her up and back into bed. He sets up a garbage pail next to her on the floor and brings her a box of tissues, a glass of water, some magazines and her laptop. She lays in bed, watching him get ready for work. "Are you sure you don't need me to take care of you?" he asks, clearly hoping for an excuse to skip work.
"I'm sure," she whispers, feeling tired.
"Ok." He walks over to her and places a kiss on her forehead. "I'll stop by the drug store during my break and bring you home some medicine."
"Thanks," she says as he watches him leave.
It's not long before she slips back into sleep. She wakes up and looks over at the alarm clock on her nightstand and it reads 12:47. Jake should be home with her medicine any minute now.
She's no longer feeling sick and gets out of bed, heading to the kitchen to find something to eat. As she's rummaging through the cabinets, she hears the key in the door and turns to see Jake as he enters the apartment. He smiles when he sees her and she smiles back.
"Feeling better?" he asks, putting a couple bags on top of the counter.
"Much," she replies, walking closer to Jake and hugging him.
"I got you some things from the store," he says reaching around her to empty the bags. She holds onto him, resting her head on his chest as she looks at what he got her.
"Flu medicine. Crackers, for when you feel like eating. Ginger ale and Gatorade. Candy. Ok, the candy's for me." Amy rolls her eyes. "Cough drops. And I know it's just about your time of the month so I picked you up tampons and Midol."
Amy's heart stops and her eyes grow wide. She always gets her period exactly every four weeks. It's always on time. However, at Jake's mention of her period, she realizes that she is late.
"I'm going to be sick again," she yells as she lets go of Jake and runs to the bathroom. She leans over the toilet, breathing heavily as she panics.
"Ames," Jake calls, running after her.
"No, no, no," she pants, taking deep breaths.
"Ames, are you okay?" Jake moves closer to Amy, rubbing her back. "Do you need anything? Some flu medicine?"
"I don't think I have the flu," Amy responds, tears streaming down her cheeks. She sits down, leaning against the bathtub and looks up at Jake who is looking concerned. "I think I might be pregnant."
Amy watches as Jake's face turns from concern to horror. "You're what now?" he stammers.
"I think I might be pregnant," she repeats slowly.
"Oh, ok." Jake slumps down next to Amy on the floor. She rests her head on his shoulder as he slings his arm over her shoulder, pulling her in closer to him.
"I guess things have been so busy that I didn't realize I haven't had my period in a couple months," she sniffs, burying her head deeper into his shoulder. She can feel him take a couple of deep breaths as they sit there is silence.
"I'll be right back," he finally says, getting up and walking out of the bathroom. She stays, sitting and silently crying. She starts sobbing as she hears him walk out of the apartment, thinking he is freaking out. Trying to collect herself, she stands up, washes her face in cold water and walks back to the bedroom and opening her laptop as she crashes down onto the bed.
She has just started searching the cost of having a child when she hears Jake return.
"Jake?" she calls out.
He walks into the bedroom, emptying a bag full of pregnancy tests out onto the bed. "Before you take these, I just want to say that, no matter what the result, I'm here for you. I love you and if it turns out you are pregnant, I will love that baby too. I'm here for you, always."
Amy jumps up and into his arms, smiling. He's holding her so tightly that she almost doesn't want to escape his embrace. But, she's curious to see if she's pregnant and eventually she lets go. She grabs the tests and heads into the bathroom. She pees on each stick and sets them up on the counter, setting the alarm on her phone for two minutes before walking back into the bedroom and grabbing Jake's hand. He squeezes it, reassuring her that they're going to be ok. The next two minutes are the longest two minutes of her life. Finally, the alarm goes off. Taking a deep breath, she leads Jake back into the bathroom. As each stick reveals that, yes, she is pregnant, she can't help but smile. She looks to Jake who is beaming.
"We're going to have a baby!" she exclaims.
"I know!" Jake lifts Amy up into a bear hug, holding her tightly and spinning her around.
Amy knows in her heart that Jake is going to be a fantastic dad. He takes such good care of her. She knows that he'll be just as protective of their child as he is of her. And for that, she loves him.