jake peralta oneshots

sixty two

my eyes reluctantly opened, a loud sigh leaving me as the familiar sound of arguing was heard downstairs. i groan, running my hands harshly down my face as i lied there. right on cue, crying erupted from the room next door. i glance over to see the useless lump next to me still sound asleep, soft snores leaving his lips. i quietly curse him before i swing my legs over the bed and trudge into my daughter's room. she was still bawling her eyes out until i reached her, her face lighting up once she spotted me.

"come on." i whisper, picking her up out of her cot and placing her on my right hip. she played with my hair as i nipped back into my bedroom and put my slippers on. again, jake was asleep.

i slowly went downstairs, the sounds of arguing getting louder and louder. the sight i see every morning laid before me; my two eldest children having a physical fight.

"guys! pack it in!" i shout, shaking my head as i take my daughter's high chair out of the cupboard and place her in it.

"he started it!" annie, my daughter, yelled. freddie, my son, was about to argue once again but i soon stopped him.

"can we never have one morning where we seriously don't argue? please? annie, you're 12 and freddie, for god's sake you're 15. please stop the arguing, i have enough of that in my life as it is." i say, not caring that i let slip that my marriage was full of arguments. freddie shot me a sympathetic look but agreed with me, apologising to his sister.

"thank you." i sincerely tell them, giving them a half tired smile before i get rose's baby food out of the cupboard. as i'm doing so, annie grabs her school things.

"i have to go, my friend's picking me up." she informs me, giving me a brief hug before she leaves the house. i raise my eyebrows before dismissing it, getting on with feeding my baby. as i'm doing so, freddie sits down beside me.

"are you and dad doing ok?" he asks me, his voice filled with worry. i hesitate for a moment before giving him a fake smile.

"of course we are, darling. why would you think we aren't?" i reply, shaking my head whilst smiling and shoving food into my daughter's already mucky mouth.

little did he know or need to know that last month, i found divorce papers in jake's bag. he clearly didn't want me to see them but i needed his wallet to give some money to annie and i spotted them. that night, the squad were working over night to finish a case and i cried the entire night. my eyes were red raw in the morning and jake clearly could tell but he didn't question me on it. of course freddie did, bring as protective as he is. i've cried a lot of nights since i saw those papers, i don't want jake to divorce me, i love him more than my entire life. he can annoy me so much sometimes and make me want to tear my hair out but we could work through whatever issues we have.

"because i hear you argue all the time. and you literally just confirmed that you're always arguing with him." he tells me, tilting his head. i sigh, temporarily closing my eyes before turning to him. i was about to explain when i see jake coming down the stairs.

"we're good." i say, giving him a smile that i'm guessing seemed sad by the way he looked at me. my eyes watched jake as he came down the stairs, showered and dressed, ready to go where ever he pleased. i noticed he has no bags under his eyes, he doesn't look absolutely exhausted.

"you're up." i bite, turning my head slightly so i could see him. my daughter claps her hands at the sight of her dad but jake seems to dismiss her.

"yes i am. i've got work today." he replies with an equal tone to mine. i hum in disbelief but let it go as i was preoccupied.

all of a sudden, i hear the coffee pot slam down onto the kitchen surface, making me jump and immediately turn to face him.

"we have no coffee left!" he exclaims, showing the coffee tin by shoving it in my face. i raise my hand up, pushing it away.