unsolved ≫ jake peralta

VI. PAWN STARS

Sun rays streamed through the obscenely large windows in Ivy's new bedroom, awaking her alongside the roaring beep of her morning alarm.

She sat up quickly, reaching for her phone to disable the shrieking. She looked at the time, seeing that it was indeed six a.m., and for the first time in over a decade, Ivy Auden had woken up with her alarm clock.

Had she really slept through the entire night, without a single nightmare? She'd have to be sure and tell her therapist.

Dr. Taft!

Ivy checked her email, seeing if the woman had responded. Sure enough, she had, and they were still set for their weekly session, though virtually.

She supposed that her overly-exhausted physical and mental state, along with the dreamy comfort of the new bed, had lulled her to such a deep sleep that even her subconscious horrors couldn't peek their way through her slumber. For her first night in New York, it was certainly a surprise. She didn't often do well in new places, as far as sleeping went. Even when she went back home to San Francisco, which happened sparingly, it took her sleep habits a night or two to adjust.

She hopped out of bed, secretly excited to try out the new shower she'd seen in the connecting master bathroom of her room. There were six jets on the tiled wall that she could count. What did one even do with that many jets in the shower?

Ivy picked out yet another pantsuit, this one made of a deep burgundy material, and headed for the shower, where she allowed herself to soak under the steaming rays of water, as she always did. Setting the water temperature to the point of almost scalding was as much a part of her morning routine as her coffee and bagels were. Upon thinking of her breakfast, Ivy groaned, realizing that the apartment didn't have any food in it, besides her Korean leftovers. She knew she'd have to go grocery shopping eventually, but in the meantime, she'd grab a coffee and a bagel on her way to the precinct. After all, New York was known for its bagels, was it not?

After exiting the shower, she combed her hair and skimmed over her morning messages, seeing that she had a few emails regarding cases back in D.C. It brought her a slight form of satisfaction as she forwarded them off to Geoff and Anna, knowing that she didn't have to deal with them. All she had to do was worry about the New York case.

She gathered the case files, which were neatly stacked on her coffee table, where she'd left them the previous night, and stuffed them into her briefcase. No groceries meant no lunch, so another hot dog from the precinct-adjacent stand would have to do. Good thing the bureau was paying for her food expenses while she was in Brooklyn.

Ivy left her apartment, searching for a bagel shop on her phone as she waited for the elevator. She found one, not far away from the precinct, and hailed a cab as soon as she got outside, having the cabbie drive her there. She ordered a large coffee and a bagel, then headed for the precinct, looking down at her watch to see that it was only seven thirty, and she still had a half hour before her working time at the nine-nine was set to begin.

She took the elevator up to the sixth floor, surprised to see that the lights were already on in the bullpen. It was vacant, except for Captain Holt, who was in his office. She took a sip of her coffee before setting her things down on the desk and going to greet the captain.

"Good morning, Agent Auden," Captain Holt greeted her. "How was your first night in New York?"

"It was great, thank you," she said, giving him a polite smile.

He nodded. "Glad to hear it. If I can be of any help to you during your time here, please let me know."

"Will do. Thank you, sir," Ivy said before retreating back to her desk. She logged onto her computer, minorly frustrated as she saw how outdated it was. It certainly hadn't had a software update in over a year, and she yearned for her Mac back at Quantico. Even her laptop would have been better than this.