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“Hi,” Amy whispers, voice cracking just on the short, one syllable word.
Jake’s eyes widen, taking in the sight before him: his wife laying in a hospital bed, looking smaller than she ever has in her life. She’s hooked up to an IV and clearly freezing, wearing only a thin paper robe and a small blanket. She’s always cold, but she’s currently shivering like crazy. A large white bandage wraps itself around the top of her head, obscuring most of her hair. “Amy,” Jake says softly, letting out a sigh.
Amy just looks at him almost pitifully, blinking quickly as tears well in her eyes. Within seconds, Jake flies across the room, sitting gently on the bed next to her. He pulls off his hoodie and wraps it around her shoulders, trying to warm her up as she shivers. That’s when the dam breaks and Amy’s tears turn to giant sobs. As carefully as he can, making sure not to upset the needle of the IV, Jake pulls her in close to him, stroking her back with one hand. “Shh, shh,” he soothes. “It’s ok, I’m here. I got you. I’m here.”
Amy tries to speak once her sobs have subsided, but the second she opens her mouth, tears flow quickly down her cheeks. Jake moves his hand from her back to her cheek, wiping away her tears as much as he can.
“I was so worried about you Ames,” he admits, gazing at her with so much love in his eyes that she simply sobs even harder than before. “I know, I know,” Jake says, once again pulling her tight against him. Amy rests her head in the crook of his neck. He can feel her body heaving and so he rubs her back gently, comfortingly.
Once he’s sure she’s all cried out, he releases her and helps her sit back against the headboard, making sure her head doesn’t hit the metal. Jake grips her hands in his hands, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles in calming circles. “What happened Ames?”
Amy takes a deep breath to collect herself. “I was on the train coming back from interviewing witnesses and then I got really really dizzy and the next thing I knew, I was in the back of an ambulance. Apparently I fainted from dehydration and then hit my head hard on the seat and cut myself.” Amy points to the bandage wrapped around her forehead. “I needed like 5 stitches, I think?”
“I’m so sorry baby. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, I really am.”
Amy looks at Jake, and he can immediately see in her face just how vulnerable and tired she’s feeling. ”I was so scared,” she admits quietly. “I’ve gotten stitches before, but never any in my head and you weren’t here so I couldn’t hold your hand!” Her voice rises as she becomes more and more panicked and a new set of tears threatens to spill out of her watery eyes.
“I’m so sorry babe. I really wish I was there for you. I’m so sorry,” Jake repeats. “But it’s going to be ok. I’m going to take care of you, ok? When we get back to the apartment, I’m going to wrap you up in all of our blankets and we’re just going to cuddle on the couch and watch whatever you want to watch. Sound good?”
Amy nods and then immediately grimaces as her head throbs. Jake squeezes her hand protectively as a look of concern etches itself onto his face, brow furrowed and nose crinkled.
“Oh yeah, I also have a concussion from hitting my head. That’s why the lights in this room are kinda dim,” she says miserably.
Jake gives her a small smile. “Man you got beat up today. Ok, so probably no to the TV because of the lights but I can just read to you if you want?” He poses it like a question and Amy’s eyes light up.
“Harry Potter?” she asks hopefully and Jake laughs.
“Yeah, I’ll read you Harry Potter. Are you supposed to be getting out of here soon?”
Amy’s brow creases as she tries to think back to what the last nurse who was in her room told her. “I’m not sure.”
“No worries! I’m going to go find someone and ask, ok?”
As Jake starts to rise from the bed, Amy’s hand finds his wrist and gently yanks him back down. “Don’t leave me,” she says and he smiles, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead.
“Ok, don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere.”
A nurse enters her room a few minutes later and raises her eyebrows at Jake. “You weren’t here when I came in earlier were you?” she asks.
“Oh no, I basically just got here. I’m Amy’s husband, Jake.”
She shakes his hand. “Nurse Darcey. I assume you’ll be taking care of Amy?” Nurse Darcey gives him a friendly smile and Jake immediately feels more at ease.
“Yeah, can she come home tonight?” Jake asks, and beside him Amy gives her best puppy dog eyes, pleading with her nurse.
“Well she’s been here for a few hours now, and as she’s passed all of our tests, I would say yes. Tentatively, yes. We’ll wait for her to drain the rest of the IV and then she can go.”
“Yay!” Jake cheers.
“But,” Nurse Darcey continues, “You need to keep the lights dimmed because she’s pretty light sensitive. Make sure she eats a little something tonight. She probably won’t feel like eating anything and might be nauseous, but even just a scoop or two of ice cream is ok. I’ll show you how to change the bandage on her head, but make sure that it doesn’t get wet at all, ok?”
Jake nods along, taking notes on his phone so he can remember everything.
Turning to Amy, Nurse Darcey explains, “The stitches will dissolve themselves in a week or two, but just make sure you keep the back of your head out of the water for that time. Your hair should grow back pretty quickly, but it’s ok to wear a hat or scarf if you want to cover the small patch up. Just make sure its nothing that is going to irritate the area.”
At these words, Amy tenses slightly next to Jake but just smiles and says, “Thank you so much.” He knows her well enough to know that something’s bothering her, but also that now is not the time to bring it up. Instead, he takes her hand in his and squeezes it gently, a little reminder that he’s here, that she’s ok. She squeezes back and he grins, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
Nurse Darcey hands Amy a stack of forms. “Fill these out, ok? I’ll be back in soon.”
Amy smiles at her, thanking her for her help and then begins to fill out the release forms. She’s quiet for the rest of her stay in the hospital, quiet in the car ride home, quiet as Jake rushes around to the passenger side to open the car door, quiet as he wraps an arm around her as they walk up the steps to their apartment.
As soon as they cross the threshold, Jake steers her towards their bedroom.
“Are you still cold?” he asks softly, and when she nods, he grabs one of his largest, warmest sweatshirts from a drawer. She sits there and raises her arms, allowing him to gently take off the shirt she has on and slip on his oldest, comfiest police academy sweatshirt.
When Jake pulls the hoodie down over her face, he notices Amy’s lip quivering once more. Not saying anything, he wraps his arms around her tight and feels her shake as tears start to soak through his hoodie.
“I hate this so much!” Amy cries. “I hate that I can’t stop crying, I hate that I’m such a mess, I hate that I have a really fucking ugly bald spot on my head because now I’m ugly!”
Jake lets her vent, rocking her from side to side, murmuring “Shh shh shh. Shh shh shh” as calmly as he can. Once her tears subside, he cups her face with his hands, coaxing her to look at him. “It’s ok to cry Ames,” Jake says gently. “I don’t think any less of you at all. Today was scary for you, it’s ok to still be shaken up about it. That’s why I’m here now, ok? To comfort you, to hold you.”
Amy bites her lip. “Ok.”
“And, you know I’m still going to love you, little bald spot or not. It’ll heal up soon, your hair grows super quick. I’ll help you take care of it. I love you so ridiculously much and literally nothing can stop me from being in as love with you as I am.”
She gives him the biggest smile he’s seen on her all day. “There we go, there’s that smile,” Jake says, leaning in for a soft, chaste kiss. “Cuddling on the couch and Harry Potter?”
“God I love you so much,” Amy sighs. “You’re the best husband ever.”
“Aww you’re sweet. You should get some water to drink, passing out from dehydration’s bad Ames. How come you were even dehydrated in the first place, Miss I-Drink-Eight-Cups-of-Water-a-Day?” Jake looks concerned once more, feeling bad for forgetting what led Amy to pass out in the first place.
“Yeah, I think I’ve just been so wrapped up in this damn case that I completely forgot.” Amy says sheepishly, looking down at the ground.
“Ok well, we can’t have that, can we? Amy you have to take care of yourself!”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry.”
Jake tilts her face up gently, “It’s ok. Now, I know the super nice nurse said something about ice cream for dinner?”
Amy bites the inside of her cheek, considering his offer. “I don’t know Jake, I’m not that hungry.”
“Come on,” he wheedles. “We have chocolate chip!”
Amy’s eyes widen. “The good kind of chocolate chip?”
“No duh! Only the best ice cream flavor ever for the best wife ever.”
She grins at the title. “Ok, ok, yeah, I can eat ice cream for dinner.”
Jake gives her a quick kiss. “Perfect. Finish getting changed, get settled on the couch, and I’ll bring some over.”
Amy quickly changes into a pair of sweatpants before heading to the bathroom to pop out her contacts and wash her face, getting as comfy as she can. As she makes her way into their living room, she grabs one of the two blankets folded neatly on the couch in their living room and wraps herself in it. She can hear Jake humming ‘Castle on the Hill’ by Ed Sheeran. The sounds of him fussing around in the kitchen offer her a sense of comfort. Most typical nights of theirs involves him cooking, her usually perched up on a countertop to watch. Jake let her help once and she almost, in his words, ‘set the whole house on fire.’ In reality, she just slightly charred the chicken, but after that, she’s been strictly prohibited from lending a hand, unless it’s to chop up veggies or something very easy that requires no supervision.
Amy allows her eyes to close and leans back her head as far as she can on the couch without irritating the stitches. Her head still pounds, but Jake’s kept the lights as dim as possible and for now, she basks in the low light. She stays like that, curled up under the giant king size blanket from Costco she just knew they had to have the second she saw it, until Jake’s voice quietly breaks through her thoughts: “Time for ice cream?”
Amy’s eyes pop open and her mouth starts to water as soon as she sees the bowl he’s made for her. It’s got to be about half ice cream, half whipped cream and sprinkles, a few maraschino cherries thrown on top for that extra flair. “Oh my god I love you so much,” she gasps and Jake laughs.
As she begins to dig in, Jake begins to read: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
His voice is soothing and she concentrates on nothing else while she eats, putting spoonful after spoonful into her mouth without a second thought. Jake reaches the second chapter by the time she finishes, setting the bowl down carefully on the coffee table. “Want to come here?” he offers, patting his lap. Amy very much does, wants to be as close to him as possible, so Jake puts the book down while she gets resettled, ending with her head gently resting on his shoulder, legs curled around his.
As Jake continues to read, Amy starts to get sleepy, big yawns interrupting him every so often. When her eyelids start drooping, only to pop open with a little shake of her head a few seconds later, Jake stops reading. “Let’s get you to bed,” he whispers, brushing a few pieces of hair behind her ear. “You’ve had a long day.”
Amy’s too tired to respond with actual words, so she merely hums in agreement. Jake gently picks her up bridal style and carries her into their room, pulling the covers of their bed back before setting her down. He takes her glasses off her face and folds them up, placing them on her bedside table. Much to Amy’s annoyance, Jake leaves her briefly to get ready for bed himself, quickly brushing his teeth and pulling on his pjs.
Finally, he gets in bed next to her and she snuggles up to him. Amy’s seconds away from falling asleep, but manages a small and sleepy, “Thanks for taking care of me today. I love you so so so much.”
In response, Jake merely kisses her forehead lightly. “Anything for you honey. I love you so so much too. Get some really good sleep, ok? You deserve it.”
Unfortunately, some good sleep is far off the menu for Amy. She wakes up, head absolutely throbbing. On top of that, she’s woozy and disoriented. She’s slid off of Jake in the night and for one terrifying second can’t find him. Her hand scrambles around under the covers until it makes contact with his upper arm. Instinctively, she squeezes it, relishing in the solid feel of his muscles underneath her shaking fingers.
Still asleep, Jake grunts quietly. Somehow realizing something’s up, he rolls over to face her. His arms reach out, wrapping her up in a hug. Amy lets her head rest on his chest and tries to take deep breaths, willing her headache away. Jake runs one of his fingertips gently down the side of her face, tracing her cheekbones and jawline. Around and around he moves his finger, brushing her skin lightly as soothingly as he can.
Within what seems like seconds, Amy calms down. It takes her a minute to realize that already, the pounding in her head has significantly lessened. She hums contentedly, peacefully. Only Jake Peralta has ever had the ability to soothe her while still very much asleep. He really is the right person for her.