𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐳

iii. pimento

THE NEXT day was eerily cheerful. Jamie had heard through the grapevine, aka the nightly news, that Diaz and Peralta had been released from their false prison charges in return for Hawkins. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she knew that it would be interesting when she got to the precinct and had to acquaint herself with them. Throughout her trip to the precinct, she couldn't get the knowledge that their captain had traded with a criminal out of her head. Sure, it didn't affect her; she doubted she'd be here for long, and she wasn't close to any of these people, but the others would be devastated. After all, Amy basically lived to impress Holt. It annoyed Jamie to no end.

These were the thoughts she was left with as she entered the precinct, all too aware of the newcomers in the room. Well, she was the newcomer, technically, but oh well. They were new to her.

Of course, as she walked in, she heard the familiar voice of Amy say, "Great save, babe, thanks," and made an instantaneous connection. She assumed the man standing next to Terry was who Amy was talking to, and as he explained his reasoning for the absurd amount of food he ordered- "a doinkload amount of sodium," he noted- she found herself with a trace of a smile.

She followed everyone else blindly into an adjacent room, and, probably seeing her confusion, the other newcomer- Rosa?- said, "it's best to just let Jake be Jake." Ah, Jake. Peralta, if she remembered correctly. The nine-nine's golden boy. Lovely. Well, maybe Charles would shut up about him now. And missing him. Seriously, were they dating or something? Because Charles was seriously obsessed.

She settled into a seat between Terry and Rosa, watching as Jake rose a two liter of orange soda in toast. She felt awkward being here, but Jake hadn't objected- maybe he just didn't notice?- so there she was. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she tuned in just in time to hear, "and most importantly, to orange drank!" and then, a second later, "and sex with Amy!"

"To sex with Amy," they all repeated, even if Jamie pulled a face while saying so. She didn't want to say it, but everyone else was, and the dude just got out of prison. What could she say? She felt a bit bad. She refused to get attached to him, but if he wanted to toast, she'd let the guy toast.

✿

THIRTY MINUTES later found Jamie in the break room of sorts, chatting with Terry, Amy, and Rosa. Well, sort of. It was more like she was listening, and Rosa was being as vague as possible in order to throw Jamie off. Or so she assumed. She didn't know anything about the three, nor did she intend to, but she did get the vibe that Rosa was the most closed off of them.

Halfway through their riveting conversation about Terry's daughters, someone new popped into the room. He was gangly, and he had a crazed look in his eye that set Jamie on edge. She didn't trust many people, but she especially didn't trust him, whoever he was. She silently hoped he wasn't another cop; she didn't need to learn any new names.