Week 3: Adventure Week – Amy

As the days passed, Peralta's team started to even out the score. Amy might have had the athletic kids, but Peralta's were a lot more driven. She tried to give her team pep talks to get them more in the spirit, but Aaron and Lauren were never really into doing anything. After a particularly bad loss at badminton Peralta made sure she was aware of her team's failures.

"Six to eight, Santiago. I hope you brought chapstick because you're gonna need it" he said, pointing at her with gun fingers.

"Ugh, you're a pig" she said, her lip curling into a sneer. She hated losing and she hated it even more because it meant he was winning.

"Say whatever you want, won't change the fact that I'm in the lead" he said, and she couldn't really disagree with that.

Near the end of the third week the entire camp went on an adventure hike. The top had a bunch of ropes, tire swings, and even a tree house. Terry explained that it was a pretty easy hike, but there had been reports of snakes so it was important to be on the lookout. The youngest campers took the lead while the eldest took up the rear. Peralta and Amy were in the very back, an uneasy silence consuming them. Amy realized they never really talked except when heckling each other. The stubborn part of her thought that this was good and they should keep it that way, but another part of her felt like she was missing out. She heard him making jokes and telling stories during meals. He was funny.

"Hey, so situation for you: Let's say there's a serial killer, right? And this guy is vicious, he's gonna kill as many people as he can. Now, let's say you can stop him, but the only way to do that is to like, kill someone you're friends with. Not like a best friend, though. Just y'know a friend that you think is cool. Do you let the serial killer kill for as long as it takes to get caught or do you kill your friend? Oh, and you have to kill your friend. You can't like hire an assassin or anything" Peralta explained.

"I-I dunno. I don't think I'd be able to even understand…I have no idea…"

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't really have a friend so…" she said, embarrassed. She moved her glasses up to be better seated on her nose and looked straight ahead.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now wait a second. I know we're kind of rivals, but we're still friends aren't we?" he asked. Amy thought he might even have sounded hurt. She remembered that first day in the dining hall and all pity left her.

"I dunno, I don't think I really live up to your standards" she said, sending him daggers. Peralta stopped walking, but she hiked on. A few moments later he caught up to her.

"Hey, wait. Santiago, did you hear-" this time Amy stopped.

"Yeah, I heard! I heard you loud and clear. Believe me, I get it-"

"Amy! Look out!" Peralta said as he lunged at her, knocking her to the hard earth.

"AUGH!" Peralta screamed. Amy just caught sight of black snake retreating back into the woods as Peralta writhed in agony, clutching his ankle. Amy gasped as she realized what had just happened.

"JAKE! Oh my god, Jake! Stay still I'll get help!" she said, running as fast as she could to get to Terry. The campers she passed started whispering and noticing her panic.

"TERRY! TERRY!" She shouted, until finally, the gigantic man heard her and turned around.

"Amy, what's wrong?" he asked, desperate to help.

"Jake! He was bit by a snake!" She said, her breath labored. This was all Terry needed. He immediately ran down the trail with Amy on his heels. When they reached him, Peralta was still writhing and clutching his ankle. Amy noticed a lot of blood was trickling from his hand and her heart sank. Terry started picking him up, but Peralta stopped him.

"Whoa, dude. Please don't pick me up like a bride"

"I don't think this is the greatest time for you to suddenly get so prideful" Terry said, a vein bulging near his temple. Still, Terry complied and saddled him piggy-back style. Terry sprinted off and it took Amy every ounce of stamina she had to keep up.

The run to the medical cabin seemed to take hours even though it wasn't far. Amy nearly collapsed when Terry shuffled Peralta into the examining room. Terry, who hadn't broken a sweat, told a wheezing Amy that the nurse was checking him out now.

"She said it's not poisonous so he'll be fine. She just needs to clean it" he said and Amy allowed herself a sigh of relief.

"That's good. That's really good" she said, a smile escaping her lips.

"I'm going to go back to the kids, you want to come or..?"

"No, no. I'll stay with him" she said.

"Sure, sure. I'll look over your campers"

"Thanks" she said as she watched him leave. Amy sat down on one of the chairs in the hallway and let her head lean back against the wall. A crushing guilt consumed her. Yeah, He was going to be fine, but that could have easily been different. It could have been a rattlesnake or something and he pushed her out of harm's way. There was no denying that. He risked his own safety for her and after all the shit she said to him right before? Amy put her hands in her head in shame. She felt like the worst person in the world. She heard Jake take a sharp inhale of breath in pain and her chest tightened.

"God, why am I such a bitch?" she thought. She sat in silence for a while when the Nurse came out looking over her paperwork on a clipboard.

"You can go ahead and see him. He's fine, don't worry so much. You'll get wrinkles" the nurse said, picking up on Amy's gloomy aura. She issued the nurse a small "thanks" and opened the curtains to a room where Peralta lay on a cot, white gauze wrapped around his ankle.

"Oh, hey!" he said, in good spirits. She grabbed a stool from the corner and sat next to him.

"Hey, how you feeling?" she asked.

"Aah, I'm fine. My ankle's just a little sore. The wound's been cleaned so it is allllll good. Pretty tight injury, huh? Hey, you should tell everyone to call me 'Snakebite' from now on"

"What? No"

"Man"

"Hey, um, thanks. For, y'know, taking that bite for me. That was pretty cool" Amy said, her cheeks glowing red. Jake beamed at her as if she had just told him he was the most amazing person she had ever met.

"Well, you know me, Jake Peralta: Gentleman to the end-" he said, but her cut himself short as he looked into her eyes. The eye contact lasted a little too long and Amy had to look away.

"Amy…" he said, his voice soft and low. It sent a shiver up her spine, the way he said her name like that.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that stupid 'standards' thing-"

"No, you really don't have to explain I-"

"But I want to-"

"No, look I get it. Jake, I…you're not the first one to…look, I know I can be really overbearing sometimes. I'm pushy and I'm a know-it-all and I will compete with anything that looks at me the wrong way. I know that they're not really the most attractive qualities, but-"

"Yeah, but that's what I like about you" he said, a kind smile blooming on his face. Amy stopped breathing and blood rushed to her cheeks. Did he mean he liked her or… no, of course he meant as a friend. What was she thinking?

"Okay, I'm going to tell you something embarrassing, but you have to promise not to laugh, okay? I basically saved your life today so you have to be cool when I tell you this" he said, a blush forming on his face.

"I promise" she said.

"So when we first got here I might have thought you were kinda cute there for a second, so when Hitchcock called me out on it I panicked and said that whole 'standards' line as a cover. It was super immature. I'm sorry"

He was really blushing now and Amy felt her face do the same. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

"It's okay" she mumbled, her gaze glued to her knees.

"No, it wasn't" he said and she made herself look up. She felt herself stop breathing because he was looking at her with such sincerity she didn't know what to do.

"I forgive you" was all she could manage to say. He smirked.

"Thanks. Now, don't go thinking I'm hung up on you or anything. I just thought those nerd glasses were kinda sexy, but now that we're sworn enemies all that just went right out the window" he said. Amy laughed in spite of herself.

"Aw, Peralta we aren't enemies"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

"Okay, but hey, I liked it a lot more when you were calling me 'Jake'" he said and Amy smiled.

"Jake, got it"

"I reserve the right to still call you Santiago sometimes. Your last name is so cool" he said and she laughed again.

"Knock yourself out"

"Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"Just tryin' it out"

And that's how Jake and Amy became friends.

AN: Alright, alright getting back into it. Only hours away from the season finale! Aaaah! I'm so excited.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. More fluff is on the way. ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I value all feedback 3