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"Morning, detectives," Raymond greeted as he strolled into the bullpen, holding a case file, "Let's go over the prisoner transfer upstate."

"Perp's name is Jesse Hermick. We arrested him for nine counts of armed robbery, but he skipped bail," Natasha recounted quickly

"He was just picked up in Neustadter, New York, trying to pay for a hoagie with a gun," Jake explained with a chuckle.

"The sheriff is making us pick him up tomorrow morning at 6:30 A.M. so we're going up today and spending the night," Amy finished off.

The three had worked on the case together so the sheriff in Neustadter had demanded all three be present at the prison transfer.

Raymond nodded before holding out the case file. "Here are the transfer forms. Please don't..."

"Get any Jake on them?" Amy supplied helpfully, "I'll put them in a sealed baggie."

"And I'll make sure Jake doesn't go anywhere near them," Natasha reassured him.

"Good call," Jake nodded, "All the drinks I'm bringing are blue."

"Naturally," Raymond sighed, giving him a disapproving look. He turned to Amy, "Call me if you need anything."

"Yes, sir, will do," Amy nodded dutifully.

Then he turned to Natasha. "Call Kevin and me once you reach the B&B and then once you check-in. I also would like constant updates on the general state of your wellbeing."

Natasha smiled fondly and nodded. "You got it."

With that, he turned and made his way back to his office.

"You still haven't told him that I'm coming with you, did you?" Jay asked with a smirk as he walked up behind her and wrapped an arm across her chest, pulling her against him.

"Nope," She laughed, "And I'm not going to."

Jay chuckled as he kissed the top of her head. "So, I'm sneaking out of the building when he's not paying attention."

"Mhm," She nodded with an innocent smile, "Oh, guys, you don't mind that Jay is coming with us, right? Great, thanks. Don't mention anything to Holt. See at the B&B, bye," She sang quickly.

Jake watched as she and Jay walked away with her wrapped up in his arms as usual. He sighed and rolled his eyes before angrily shoving the rest of his things into his bag.

"They are so cute," Amy smiled fondly, "Teddy's never done anything that spontaneous or romantic. That's not fair. He did brew me a rose-infused pilsner once. But it tasted like hand lotion, and the bubbles didn't happen," She grimaced.

"Sounds bad," He nodded with a frown, "Oh, hey, I hope this is cool with you, but I invited Sophia to join me upstate too. The B&B we're staying at looks really nice. It's almost like it's haunted by fancy ghosts."

She tilted her head to the side as a smirk grew on her face. "Did you just invite Sophia because you overheard Tasha and Jay talking about it a few days ago?"

"What?" He scoffed defensively, "No. Of course not. Maybe. No. Okay, fine, yes."

"Okay," She laughed before grabbing her bag, "I'll see you in the car."

"Okay, see you in a sec," He nodded and waited till she was in the elevator to pick up his desk phone, "Hi, can I speak with Detective Teddy Wells, please? You can just tell him it's cupid calling. Wait, no, that's insane. Tell him it's Detective Peralta from the nine-nine."

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"Hey, yes I got to the B&B without a scratch," She reassured Kevin and Lydia. The two had been extremely worried at the prospect of her going on a work trip with no one they'd –Lydia– had threatened into upholding every precaution possible for her safety.

She'd had to force Lydia not to bring her machete to the 99 and threaten Jake and Amy with it. But, that didn't stop her grandmother from sending threatening messages to Rich for him to relay to the two.

Kevin had the day off today and had decided to have tea with Lydia so the two could help each other ease their nerves. Kevin currently had his phone on speaker as they shot question after question at her to make sure she was safe.

Natasha drew the line at asking to see when the last time the elevator had been through routine maintenance. They'd also demanded she take the stairs until she had said information and they deemed it up to their standards.

"Okay, I have to go," She called with fake reluctance, "I still have to call Holt to tell him I'm here safe and sound."

She sighed in relief when they finally let her end the call. She wasn't going to call Raymond, she'd already called him beforehand but they didn't need to know that.

"Hi, Sophia," Amy greeted when they saw Jake's girlfriend at the receptionist desk.

"Hey," She smiled at them before turning to Jake in excitement, "There you are. So I already checked us in, and I hope you don't mind, but I got us the room of a thousand dolls."

"Oh, sounds creepy," He grinned.

"Super creepy. So I'm gonna go unpack, and then I'm gonna take a bath, and then we have dinner, and then..." She trailed off with a seductive smile.

"Doin' it," He sang with a smirk.

"I was gonna say 'dessert'," She smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. Synonym. Cool. Better."

"Hey, guy. I'll see you later," She smiled at them before turning to grab her bags.

"Okay, see you later," Jake went to follow his girlfriend before he paused, "Oh, hey, before I forget, try to be in the lobby in about a half an hour. I got you a little surprise."

"No," Amy's eyes widened, "Your surprises are always terrible. What's going on? You have to tell me."

"You're gonna love this," He smiled widely, "Remember how you said that Teddy would never be so romantic as to turn a work trip upstate into a lover's retreat to the country?"

"Oh, no," Her breathing got heavy as her face dropped.

"Oh, yes," He nodded proudly, "I called him before we left. He's on his way here now. Uh, you're welcome."

"Jake, I don't want to see Teddy right now," She glared at him, "I'm about to break up with him."

The two talked about everything wrong with the kind act he'd thought he'd been making. After reassuring her that he would help her keep her calm around Teddy he rushed over to Jay and Natasha.

"Hey, so I did something dumb and I need your help."

"Jake, we haven't even been here for half an hour," Natasha sighed, "What did you break?"

"You know me so well," He smiled and shook his head, "But that's not what I did... Yet."

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"Who knew a prisoner transfer could be like a vacation, huh?" Teddy laughed as the three couples sat in the hotel restaurant for dinner.

"Except it's not," Natasha gave him a blank look, looking him directly in the eye.

"Okay, maybe tone down the scary," Jake whispered to her discreetly.

"Hey, this is your mess I'm being nice enough to help clean up," She snapped, "Don't tell me how to fix it."

"Okay," He nodded in agreement, "You are totally right as usual. Please don't threaten to shoot me."

Teddy paused before he nodded slowly and decided Jake was way less intimidating and scary. "Hey, man. Thanks a lot for telling me to come up here."

He smiled tightly. "Yup, that was great of me."

"This place is really romantic," Teddy smiled affectionately at Amy, who immediately looked away.

"Mm-hmm," She nodded awkwardly and looked down at the table.

"The receptionist told me three couples who came here ended up killing each other," Natasha commented dryly, trying to help Amy out and kill any romance vibes, "So, y'know, if you think that's romantic," She laughed with a shrug.

"Uh, not that romantic, actually," Jake shook his head, "The radiator in our room sounds like a woman screaming."

"Yeah, oh, and there was a dead crow in our toilet," Jay added with a fake grimace.

"You should complain about that," Teddy frowned before he wrapped an arm around Amy, "Our place is really nice. It's got a fireplace. I'm gonna snuggle up next to that thing with you."

She stiffened at the contact. "No, I don't want to do that."

"'Cause of the cancer risks," Sophis jumped into the rescue, "Most people don't know this, but sitting by a fire is actually worse than sucking on a tailpipe of a bus."

"Ah, because of the germs," Jake nodded.

"Fumes," She corrected slowly.

"Oh."

"Want me to shoot you now?" Natasha joked in a whisper.

"Not yet," He shook his head, "But pretty soon, maybe."

"You know, when we first started dating, Amy and I found this really nice B&B up in the Poconos. We got that sweet city employee discount. Remember that, babe?" Teddy grinned.

Amy opened and closed her mouth as she tried to force any words out.

"Teddy, think fast. Drink menu," Jake threw it across the table and straight into his face.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry, man," Jake shrugged with a laugh, "Chucked that right at you. I just thought you really wanted a drink."

"I never need a drink menu. I got the thrills for the pills. 'Cause I'm a pilsner man," He smirked proudly.

"Nothing you said is anything to be proud of," Natasha pointed out bluntly.

"Are you sure because-"

"Yes, I'm very sure."

"That's it. I can't stop myself," Amy huffed anxiously as she sat up straighter.

Jake's eyes widened. "Jericho. Jericho. Jericho."

That was their safe word for Natasha and Sophia to pull out all the stops. Although they'd thought Amy would be the one to use it and not Jake on her behalf.

"Ow!" He yelped when Natasha slapped him.

"Ow!" He yelped again when Sophia slapped his other cheek. He rubbed both his cheeks and whined. "That's pulling out all the stops?"

They shrugged and Natasha smiled. "We didn't even plan that. We just did the same thing."

"What's going on?" Teddy's brows furrowed as he looked between the five.

"I want to break it up," Amy finally burst out, "Us. I want to break us up."

"Hey, folks," A waitress came to their table with a bright smile, "Welcome to the maple drip inn. Everyone excited to be here? We having a good time?"

"We are not," Jake shook his head tightly.

"This is a mess you don't want to get involved in," Natasha sighed, "I don't even want to be but Amy and I are kind of friends now."

"Awe," That managed to get a smile out of Amy.

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"...The main reason you want to break up with me is the pilsners? I-I like other drinks," He took a sip of her wine and tried to hide his grimace, "It's delicious. I want more," His voice came out strained.

"God, you are a really bad liar," Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes when Everyone gave her a pointed look, "I'm not wrong," She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"It's not just the pilsners," Amy sighed heavily, "There are so many reasons I want to break up. That sounded bad, didn't it?"

"As a lawyer, it's my duty to tell you to sh," Sophia glared at her.

"Okay, look," Amy took a deep breath and finally looked him in the eye, "There's just no spark between us."

"That's vague," Teddy frowned.

Amy huffed and bit her lip as her nerves got the best of her.

"If you can't do it then I'll do it for you," Natasha offered with a small smile, "But I will not be kind and there is almost a sure chance that he will cry after I'm done."

"Thank you but I have to do this," Amy smiled weakly, "Uh, you're... Boring. No, that's too harsh. This is why I wanted to write it down. Can I maybe just have two hours alone with my laptop, so I can type up a draft?"

"Great idea," Jake nodded with a tight smile, "In the meantime, we can just chat."

"Mhm," Jay licked his lips as he wrung his hands out, "So, Sophia... How's the latest criminal you put back out on the streets?" He winced when he realized that probably wasn't the best thing to ask.

"Oh, great idea starting another conflict to distract from theirs!" Jake grinned at him encouragingly.

"You know what? We should go," Sophia sighed as she started to stand.

"No, actually, I think you should stay, so we can all talk about the real reason there's a problem in both our relationships, which is you, Jake," Teddy glared at him.

"Why the hell are you bringing my relationship into your whatever train wreck yours is dying in?!" Natasha glared at him icily which had him moving back in fear.

"Yeah, uh... what now, huh?" Jake's eyes widened in shock and confusion.

"You're clearly butting into our relationship and making this a lot worse than it could have been," He pointed out, "And we all know how you told her that you liked her before you went undercover."

"He did what?" Jay's brows furrowed.

"You liked Tasha?" Sophis gasped as her eyes widened.

"Clearly not everyone knows dumbass," Natasha growled, "I will punch you so hard in the mouth, You're going to bite your own heart!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jake and Jay had to restrain her by both her arms to keep her from attacking Teddy across the table.

"Um... I did," Jake admitted sheepishly, "But that was many moons ago."

"Was it?" Teddy scoffed, "'Cause Amy told me she knew for a fact you also told her when you got back."

"Do you want to have to breathe through a tube for the rest of your life?" Natasha growled as she gave him a heated glare.

"You know what, this is officially too much for me, so I'm gonna go upstairs and rip the heads off some dolls. Good night," Sophia's tone was clipped as she stood up and marched away from them.

"I'm gonna leave too. If you would please leave my toothbrush and my home brewing kit at the doorstep, I'll pick them up tomorrow," Teddy said curtly.

"If you still have all your limbs tomorrow morning," Natasha snapped and she took great pride when she noticed that she had him sprinting out of the restaurant in fear.

"How come you never told me?" Jay frowned down at her.

"Jay, I-I," She stuttered out, finding it hard to force any words out as she stared at him helplessly.

He sighed before he stood up and walked away from them.

"Well, I guess that's the last time I invite Teddy on a trip, right?" Jake scoffed with a nervous laugh, "Drama."

"I'm gonna go," Amy sighed, "Tasha, I'm really sorry about everything Teddy said. I never thought this would happen when I told him about you and Jake. It's just we have nothing in common so we never have anything to talk about and I thought that would be an interesting conversation starter and-"

"Amy maybe don't talk to me about telling your boyfriend all about my personal life when there are so many knives next to me," Natasha advised her, her voice strained.

"Oh yeah, right, of course," She nodded frantically and rushed out of the restaurant.

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"Jay," Natasha sighed as she trailed into their room behind him.

"So you were just never going to tell me that Peralta likes you?" He scoffed as he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I-I don't know," She answered honestly, "I just never thought it mattered so much. He doesn't like me anymore and I only had feelings for you."

"He still likes you," He pointed out softly.

"No he doesn't," She rolled her eyes and sat down next to him, "That was months ago and he has a girlfriend now."

"I always thought he looked at you weird but I never thought too much about it," He laughed quietly.

"Jay, what are you talking about?" Her brows furrowed.

"He looked at you the way I do because he liked you," He explained slowly, "And he still does. I can tell, I've seen it."

She froze in shock as she gulped trying to get her head to stop spinning at his revelation. She kept telling herself that he had to have been imagining it, it was the only way to get herself to calm down.

"Well, it doesn't matter," She said decidedly and gave him a reassuring smile.

He didn't let her continue before he looked away from her with a heavy sigh. "Of course it does. I mean you guys-"

"No, it doesn't. And I know you're feeling all sad and stuff which is why I'll let it slide just this once that you cut me off," She gave him a teasing smile and felt accomplished when he cracked a smile, "It doesn't matter because you're the one I want to be with."

"Really?"

"Yes really, if I didn't I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be climbing out the window to try and avoid talking about feelings and whatever."

He laughed at that and nodded. "True. I'm surprised you lasted this long actually."

"See," She grinned up at him and the two hugged.

She knew she told Jay she only had feelings for him and she really thought she did. But then it didn't make any sense why she hadn't been able to go to sleep that night. She spent hours just thinking if Jay was right if Jake really did still have feelings for her.

And whether or not that made her happy.

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"Rich what the hell are you doing in my apartment?!" Jay gaped at the shorter man, who was currently bustling around his kitchen.

He and Natasha had pulled out their guns and immediately taken defensive stances when they got to Jay's door and noticed it already open. They slowly inched inside, back to back as their eyes darted around the apartment in search of the intruder.

Instead, all they found was Rich Dotcom rummaging around in his kitchen in an apron that said Kiss the Hacker.

"Easy Johnny Utah," He scoffed, "Watch where you point that thing. Is that any way to treat a guest in your home?"

"Guests are invited into my home," He pointed out dryly as he and Natasha finally lowered their guns.

"So, what are you doing?" Natasha raised a brow.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" He smiled brightly at the couple, "I'm making sure my favorite FBI couple have healthy, well-balanced meals."

"Rich," Jay warned as he and Natasha sat on the kitchen island.

"And, okay, I'm also a little bit worried about my favorite FBI power couple. Is that a crime?"

"Yeah," They nodded, "It's called breaking and entering."

He held up a confident hand. "Not when you have a key."

"You have a key to my apartment?!"

Rich brushed off his question. "So, how are you two with the whole detective having feelings for her."

"How do you know about that?" Natasha scoffed, "It hasn't been two days since that happened."

"What, you don't think I keep tabs on my ship," He scoffed.

"Ship?" Jay repeated quietly as he looked to Natasha for clarification.

"So, how about we talk our feelings out on everything that happened. I for one am glad this secret is out and off my chest, I mean I-"

"Rich knew about it?" Jay's eyes widened as he turned to his girlfriend in shock.

"Only because he was listening in," She threw him a pointed glare.

And that's how they spent the rest of their night.

Talking and actually kind of bonding with Rich Dotcom.

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〚𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄〛

I hope you guys liked this chapter, please let me know what you thought in the comments! I know a lot of you were expecting a were different outcome to this chapter but I hope you still liked it lol. There's only two more chapters before we start season 3 (and start seeing a lot less of Jay Halstead). Please don't forget to vote and comment!

Have a great day and stay safe ♥♥