T E N
"the safe house"
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warning: there's some angst and violence, just in case
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Sarah's POV
IT WAS REALLY LATE, but she and Jake were at the precinct, surrounded by cops that worked the night shift. They discussed what had happened: the calls, the attack, the threats, the case. It was a lot to process to Sarah. She wasn't sure she wanted to be alone with Jake, trying to survive, locked away from everything else. And Jake seemed to think the same.
The next day, the captain showed them where they were going to stay, a small yet spacious house. It looked comfortable, it had two bedrooms, a wide living room and more, but Sarah knew they weren't gonna use them, that they would have to hide even inside the house.
"Well, this doesn't look so bad..." Jake opined, though he sounded like he wanted to convince himself.
"Yeah, I mean... we'll get through it," Sarah said.
Holt walked around, his hands behind his back, as if checking every centimeter of the house meticulously. He turned to them.
"Well, this is it, detectives. Are you ready?"
"Yes," they said in unison.
"And one more thing: I need your phones."
Sarah and Jake exchanged glaces, like they couldn't imagine spending one single second without their phones. And it was kinda true, Sarah thought that at least she was gonna be able to text some other people besides Jake. But now she realized that apparently they would go insane in there.
"What?!" Jake said, disgusted. "Why?"
"Because who sent the threats could trace you by internet or cellular signs," Holt explained.
"But—"
"Detective, it's necessary. Please, hand them over."
Sarah sighed and gave Holt her phone, and Jake rolled his eyes and reluctantly obeyed too. The captain nodded, satisfied. After a couple of minutes later, Holt gave them some instructions on how to go around the house without being seen, and then he finally left.
It was then when reality hit Sarah.
She was trapped there, with Jake. They had left behind some of their fights but they were still really tense, and clearly preferred to be anywhere else. They lay on the floor, like Holt indicated them. The living room was somewhat big, and they kept distance.
"So..." Jake said, looking at the ceiling with his hands on his stomach, "I guess this is how we die."
"Don't say that," Sarah chuckled.
"Do you wanna... talk about what happened?"
"Um... sure."
Jake cleared his throat. "Well, it's just... I think I overreacted. I don't know why I felt jealous but I shouldn't've. You can have friends and I shouldn't get mad. I mean... we aren't even dating right now. So, I'm sorry. You were right."
Sarah gasped, and smirked teasingly. "Oh my god, did Jake Peralta just say I was right?"
"Yes," Jake rolled his eyes, rubbing his face, "you were."
"Thanks. And, just so we are clear, I wasn't dating him. I just... don't know, he was nice. Besides he had a bakery and he said he could do Rosa and Gina's cake."
"Holy shit, they are getting married," Jake said, like he was just realizing. "They must be so stressed. When we are out of this we gotta help them."
"Yes," Sarah put her hands behind her head, "when we are out of this..."
Jake's POV
THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH THEY were gonna stay there. Maybe it would be weeks, maybe months. They couldn't be sure. The squad was working on the case to free them, and even though Sarah and Jake weren't scared, they didn't wanna be there.
It was their fourth day there. The first thing they suggested was to establish some rules, so they wouldn't end up at each other's throats. Jake had to keep his stuff tidy—no clothes all over the floor, wash his dishes—, and Sarah... well, she didn't exactly disturb peace in the house.
Jake woke up by Sarah, who shook his arm gently. He ruffled his already messy, unruly curls, and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. They didn't have to work on the case anymore, but Jake had problems sleeping. He was afraid he'd become an insomniac, because he barely got sleep that night.
"Hey," Sarah told him, and he answered with something that resembled a "morning". "What are we having for breakfast today?"
"I don't know," Jake said huskily. "Eggs?"
"Again? That's practically all we've eaten."
"That's all I know how to cook."
Sarah snorted. "Okay. Eggs then."
They got up from the floor, in which they'd extended sheets and covers to make up a bed so they wouldn't get their backs hurt. And yet, Jake's neck was sore. He rubbed it as he entered the kitchen. They opened the blinds until 12 pm so it wouldn't look suspicious, and they could walk freely around without having to crawl on their bellies.
They ate breakfast, already knowing their routine. After meal Jake took a bath, changing into a color block hoodie. Sarah showered after him, dressing as him, since they didn't care how they looked, for nobody would see them.
Jake easily got bored, but he'd brought with him some stuff: movies, board games and video games. Sarah, on the other hand, had a little notebook to draw, brought a music player and had her own movies. They didn't have such different taste in films, only Jake loved action and Sarah preferred fiction or terror.
"What are we even gonna do tonight?" she asked Jake. They were on the same position, laying on the floor.
"I just wanna sleep," he answered. He was exhausted but it was impossible for him to sleep.
"Are you really tired?" Sarah checked her watch. "It's only eight pm."
"I didn't get enough... sleep last night," Jake explained, yawning. His head was even starting to hurt.
"We should watch a movie first," Sarah said. Her tone begged Jake to accept. Of the two of them she was surprisingly the one that got bored more easily. They tried to do something different every day, but apparently Sarah didn't want a routine.
"Okay... what movie d'you wanna watch?"
"I know you probably wanna watch Die Hard but do you like Harry Potter?"
"Atta girl," Jake said enthusiastically, sitting up on the floor.
Minutes later, they watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, sitting on the couch together. They were still avoiding eye contact and keeping their distance, but they were getting more confidence with little steps.
"I love this movie," Sarah said, smiling. They were even eating popcorns, relaxing.
"I know, but if you read the book you'd know how many changes they did," Jake said. Sarah looked at him, amused.
"That was really nerd of you to say."
Jake chuckled, throwing a popcorn in her direction, and she dodged it, throwing one to Jake too, but he caught it with his mouth, and she rolled her eyes, smiling. He was happy to see her having fun, he missed that. And every time he saw her playing with a ring she used, he thought of how he wasted his opportunity to propose.
Damn, how terrible was all. They were just trying to forget it all, and suddenly they were forced to spend the next month together, locked in a house alone. Jake remembered than once they'd watched a movie and then kissed, but separated and it ended in a fight. He wished that never happened again. That they could reach an angreement at some point.
In the movie, Cedric Diggory had just been killed, but Jake wasn't even paying attention. He heard a sob and looked at Sarah, who was crying. He let out a laughter.
"Are you—"
"Shut up," Sarah said, wipping her face.
"You know, it's just a fictional character," Jake said, smiling, but he remembered that he had cried his eyes out when he read that part himself.
"Yeah, but it's so sad when his dad thinks that Cedric won and he's actually dead."
"Don't cry," Jake laughed, grabbing a fistful of popcorns and throwing them at her again. She answered, of course, and practically threw the rest of her popcorns over him.
They laughed for a while and then finished watching the movie. When it ended, they were both really tired, though Jake was almost sure that he wasn't gonna sleep right away. In fact, he was probably gonna stay awake all night. And he was right. He saw Sarah closing her eyes in front of him, hugging her pillow. She looked pretty even like that, and Jake felt like he was being abandoned just because she went to sleep.
"Pst," he hissed.
Sarah groaned, opening her eyes, and raised her eyebrows.
"Please don't go to sleep yet," Jake said, sad.
"I thought you were tired already."
"Yes, but... I can't sleep."
Sarah sighed, sitting up and resting her back onto the couch behind them. Jake imitated her, beaming.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem. Hey, um... why do you think you can't sleep? Is there anything bothering you? Maybe if you tell me you'll feel better."
Jake looked for the answer. Yes, there were plenty things bothering him, but her question made him realize something.
"Yeah, you know what? I'm really worried about this operation. I'm scared that it won't go well. And I know we have the squad, I know I have you, but still... something feels weird."
And, deep down, Jake knew what felt weird: it wasn't the operation, it wasn't that his life was in danger or anything of the sort. It was who he was locked with. He obviously still liked Sarah, he was even getting ready to propose, and he lost it all.
"I know, I feel the same way," Sarah said, looking at the front instead of at Jake. But he tried to make eye contact with her.
"Yes. It's kinda reassuring that you understand."
"You're not alone, Jake," Sarah smirked, finally looking into his eyes. Jake looked at her lips with hunger. He wanted to kiss her but he knew it wouldn't feel right and it wouldn't be right either, so he held himself back and stared at his hands awkwardly.
"Thanks," he muttered, gulping. "Um... can I...?"
"Yes."
Jake breathed relieved and smiled, resting his head on Sarah's shoulder. She began to stroke his hair softly, and he found himself going to sleep for the first time in two days.
"Good night," he yawned.
"Good night, Jake."
Sarah's POV
SHE WAS HAVING A NIGHTMARE. Sarah's mind used to wander around real life situations and twist them, making her overthink and get anxious about the most simple things. But she knew exactly why she would dream with an attack to the safe house.
In her dream, she woke up startled by a gunfire and looked for Jake, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was a lot of noise coming from the upper floor, and she immediately knew that the attackers were there.
She grabbed her gun and ran upstairs, but when she arrived, she found nobody there. She saw a silhouette laying in the floor next to a pool of blood. Then she realized who it was: Jake. Sarah felt her heart being tore apart, as she fell on her knees, silent tears running down her cheeks. She clutched her chest, struggling to breath.
"No..." she said quietly, "Jake... no..."
He opened his eyes a little, and when his eyes hardly focused on her, he smiled weakly.
"Sarah."
"Jake, stay with me," she begged, shaking her head frantically.
"You are gonna be fine," his voice sounded fragile and he'd lost all color of his skin. "You have to call the squad."
"Jake."
"Sarah."
"Don't you dare to leave me," Sarah said, noticing the bullet wound on his abdomen. There was blood still coming from it. Every time she saw blood, her stomach churned and she felt dizzy, but this time she didn't. Her eyes widened and she cried harder, clasping her hands against her mouth. "Oh god..."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Because of what I did," Jake mumbled, his eyes closing.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about. I'm fine, okay?" Sarah said soothingly, but Jake didn't seem to hear. She tried again. "Okay...? Jake. Jake...?"
He didn't answer. Sarah shook him slightly, but his breath was ragged and low, and, suddenly, it stopped.
"Jake!" Sarah wailed. "Jake!"
She woke up.
Sarah looked around in the darkness, and felt as if she'd just run a marathon, trying to catch her breath because the air in her lungs wasn't enough. She was crying. But why? And she remembered her terrible nightmare, immediately getting dazed. Her head hurt and she got goosebumps.
It was really late. She heard noises and, for a second, she thought that her nightmare was coming true, but she wasn't so mistaken. She saw Jake calling somebody with a telephone, he looked scared, and then she saw shadows outside.
They were under attack.
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