in which amy and jake have a bad week at work

Its four am when he gets the call that he needs to come into work right that very second. Jake knows you don't question those calls, so he kicks off his duvet, and he grabs the first (slightly) clean t-shirt he sees, heading to the precinct.

Its the kind of case that never gets easy to handle. To an extent, you need to detach yourself as a cop, and you need to approach even the most horrible of cases with a clear focus and a solid mind. Jake's good at that, most of the time, but as he walks into the bustling precinct, the sight of a small little boy sitting on the chair by Boyle's desk, his knees hugged to his chest and tears running down face, Jake knows every second of this case is going to break his heart.

"Captain?" Jake says quietly, stepping into Holt's office where Amy was already waiting, looking solemn.

Holt passed him a case file. "A father and son, Tom and Henry Anderson. The father was taking his kid to the airport, going to visit his family for the holidays, and he was gunned down in the middle of the street."

"In front of his son?"

Holt sighed. "Yes."

"The poor kid." Jake looked out to the office where Terry was crouched next to the little boy, offering him a bottle of water.

"Thats an understatement." Holt said.

"Is his mom in the city?" Jake said.

"We have no way of contacting the mother. Full custody was signed over to the boys father when he was a few weeks old - she's not a part of his life."

"So he's alone?"

"Right now he is, but they're working on finding next of kin."

"Does it look like the father was targeted?"

Amy shook his head. "Records all check out. On paper, he's a stand up guy. Held down a decent job, sent his kid to a good school, no complaints, arrests - not even a caution."

"Wrong place at the wrong time?" Jake raised an eyebrow, flicking through the file.

"It seems like it." Holt said. "I need my best detectives on this case. This kid deserves justice."

"We're on it sir." Amy said.

"Yessir." Jake nodded, following Amy out of the office.

"That poor kid." Amy said.

Jake took one look at the hysterical little boy, his chest tightening. "We need to find this bastard."

Six days.

Six days of double shifts, and canvassing the neighbourhood, and going through hours of video footage. Six days of the hysterical little boy sitting by Boyle's desk playing on Jakes mind. Six days of absolutely fucking nothing. They didn't have a single piece of viable evidence to go on, and he was starting to feel like they were never going to find the bastard.

"For fucks sake." Jake growled, throwing another absolutely useless file across his desk, knocking over a pile of paperwork. He was so angry, and he knew he shouldn't get so emotionally involved in cases, but he couldn't help it.

He couldn't help that kid.

Six days of pent up anger, and frustration finally got to Jake, and he snapped, shoving his chair backwards and kicking the bin next to his desk as hard as he could, the clang of metal shocking the other detectives who were at their desks.

He couldn't deal with it - or, them.

Wordlessly, he ignored the concerns of his co-workers, and slammed his way out of the office, heading for the roof, his chest heaving with exertion as he shoved his way down the hallway, sprinting up the stairs.

As soon as the cool air hit his face, the door swinging wildly behind him, Jake broke. He couldn't help the tears streaming down his face, tugging angrily at his hair.

"Jake?"

A soft voice caught his attention.

"Not really in the mood to talk Santiago." He said, trying to choke back tears.

"I think you need to Jake." Amy said. "This case is taking its toll on all of us, but its really affecting you."

"Yeah."

Amy came to stand beside him, looking at him with genuine concern. "Why, Jake?"

"Because I know what its like. I know what its like to grow up without a dad, what its like to not have a dad at all your games, all the stupid things. I know what its like to not have anyone Amy, and that kid saw his dad get shot dead right in front of him." Jake said. "He lost his dad and we can't even catch the bastard that did it. We can't even give the kid justice. I can't even do my job right."

"You are doing your job Jake." Amy said softly. "You are one of the best cops I have ever met. Ever. You are working your ass off trying to find the guy that did this. Whens the last time you actually went home?"

"I don't know. Yesterday?"

"The day before yesterday Jake." Amy said. "You are doing everything you can to find the guy who killed this kids dad."

"Then why haven't I found him?"

"We don't always close cases." Amy said. "Its awful Jake, but we can't always close a case. We just do everything we can to try and close a case."

"No kid should have to grow up without a dad Santiago." Jake said after a pause, his voice cracking.

"You shouldn't have had to either." Amy said, instinctively reaching out to wrap an arm around Jake, sensing her partner was completely on edge. As soon as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, Jake broke down completely, sobbing helplessly into her shoulder.

She had never seen Jake get so upset - not about anything - and she couldn't help but feel kind of thankful that she had followed him up onto the roof. Jake might be an idiot, but he was her friend. Probably her best friend. And, if theres one thing you shouldn't do, its cry your heart out on a cold New York roof.

"Its going to be okay Jake." Amy said, hugging him tightly. "You're gonna be okay."

Four weeks and eight days later, they closed the case. It was a combination of pure fluke, and damn good police work, but they caught a glimpse of two guys on a nearby CCTV camera, and they matched up to an eyewitness account. The case was closed, and the bastards that did were going to be put away for a long time, if Jake had any say in it - and, the little boy's grandmother had arrived and taken him home with her.

It wasn't much of a consolation, the kid still had to grow up without a father, but it was better than nothing. They had caught the guy at least, and it didn't become another unsolved, cold case. It wasn't a win, but it was as close as they were going to get.

Jake pushed the door of the office open with his hip, his hands full with the coffee he had made a quick pit-stop to pick up on his way to work. Approaching the desk where Amy was quietly working, Jake set one of the cups down in front of her.

"Whats this for?"

Jake shrugged. "Can't I just buy my partner coffee?"

"You never buy me coffee."

"Its a thank you Santiago." Jake admitted. "I wouldn't have gotten through this case without you."

"What are partners for?" Amy smiled.

Jake returned the smile, before quickly heading for his own desk.

Amy took a sip of the coffee, letting out a deep sigh when the vanilla flavoured goodness hit the back of her throat, warming her from the inside out.

Wait.

Since when did Jake know her coffee order?