Partners (Rosa Diaz)

Chapter 13: Tactical Village

Chloe and Zack came back from the funeral around two months ago, it was hard on the young girl. She was quieter than usual, spacing out, having to be reminded to eat, and at night when she thought no one could hear she would cry in her bedroom.

Rosa and Evelyn did what they could, she was grieving so they knew that there wasn't really anything they could do except give her time. They made sure she ate, made sure she knew that she didn't have to wait to be alone to cry, and was there whenever she needed to vent or just be held. The couple had luckily gotten permission from their captain to alternate taking days off so Chloe wasn't home alone.

After two months she's doing a little better, she remembers to eat and doesn't cry as much. But the girl is obviously still trying to get through it. She thanked them for being home when they could and said that she's now at a place where she doesn't need to be supervised and that the couple can go back to work together. The two women could see that Chloe wanted some space so they agreed.

Evelyn becoming Chloe's guardian has also been finalised, Hayley had written into her will that it is what she wanted. With reluctance, the couple went into work while preparing themselves for the different kind of atmosphere their workplace offered compared to home.

~~~~~~

"Whoo! Happy Tactical Village Day. Happy Tactical Village Day. Happy Tactical Village Day." Jake jogs into the briefing room, high fiving everyone he passed.

"Peralta, I'm surprised to see you so excited about departmentally mandated training exercises." Holt comments from the front of the room.

"It's the most fun day of the year. Something you wouldn't understand, because you're not programmed to feel joy." Jake jokes.

"Yes, but my software is due for an exuberance upgrade."

"You know, when you play along with the robot jokes it kind of ruins my enjoyment of them." Jake tells him.

"Yes, I know."

"Anyways, Tactical Village Day is awesome. We get to field test a bunch of cool new weapons, and there's always a new training situation. Last year's was prison break. It got super violent. It's like being in an action movie."

"It's also a good opportunity for us to let off steam and bond as a unit. Everybody gets into it." Terry adds.

"Gotta feel bad for the guy last year, got hit by a couple dozen paintballs and two grenades. He was not happy." Speaks from her seat beside Rosa, their hands linked underneath the table.

"Needless to say, the nine-nine has never had a perfect run." Amy informs the captain.

"True, but Jake has been the finalist for coolest kill two years in a row. That's every precinct sending around their footage and all the cops voting." Charles brags for his friend.

"It's not that big of a deal. All you win is a children's karate trophy, so..." Jake trails off trying to sound unbothered.

"You desperately want it, don't you?" Holt asks.

"So badly. I will stop at nothing to get that trophy. I'll shoot you all in the face if I have to!" he notices the looks he's getting from his aggressiveness before adding, "Go team."

~~~~~~

Rosa and Evelyn are sat on the bus, heading towards the training exercise when Amy sits in the seat in front of them, "Jake is being weird."

Evie raises an eyebrow, "It's Jake. When isn't he weird."

"Right, I meant weirder than usual. He's try to do a sexy voice." Amy tells them.