Chapter Text
When Rosa got home that day at ten minutes past five, she was relieved to see that Adrian still wasn’t home yet and she knew he wouldn’t be for another few hours so she had time to kill.
She put her helmet and bag down by the door, put on some music, and headed to get changed into different clothes for Shaw’s. She’d gotten some kind of stain on her thigh which she was positive came from either Hitchcock or Scully, so her pants either needed to be burned or dry cleaned.
After picking out an outfit of black skinny jeans and a black turtleneck, she tidied up her hair, quietly humming to her music as she went.
Then she made her way to the bathroom to use the toilet.
As she was washing her hands, she took a look in the mirror and was dismayed to see that the makeup she’d used to cover her bruise was fading after a long day at work. She’d occasionally had to fix it at the precinct, but hadn’t checked it in a couple of hours so she definitely needed to fix it.
Rosa quickly dried her hands and then returned to her bedroom to grab her makeup bag to get to work fixing her concealer and foundation.
It took about ten minutes of meticulous dabbing and patting concealer and foundation to finally hide the bruise which only seemed to be getting darker as time went on. She didn’t know why that surprised her with her line of work and after going to med school for three years- she should’ve expected this.
With a sigh, she decided she would have to buy something better to cover the bruise.
Just as she was putting her makeup away, she made the decision to do her eye makeup. Hopefully that would hide the part of the bruise around her eye better.
It was as she was taking out her eye makeup brushes that she checked the time. Five thirty. She would have to be quick because she still had to pick up Gina.
Shaking her head, she found her desired palette and set to work doing her makeup. She’d have to do something darker for tonight. The lighting inside of Shaw’s would likely work in her favour anyway.
At ten to six, Rosa was finally finished. She hurried to put on her leather jacket, grabbed her helmet (plus a spare for Gina), and slipped her feet into her heeled boots. Then she took her handbag and rushed out of the door, praying she wouldn’t be late.
As she was sitting down on her motorcycle and pulling on her helmet, she heard her phone ringing in her bag so she stopped what she was doing and took it out, already knowing who it was.
“Gina,” she answered whilst putting the phone on speaker so she could hear it over her helmet.
“Hey, boo,” Gina replied. “Just wanted to call to check if you were still good on picking me up.”
“Yeah. Just about to leave now, I’ll be about ten minutes. Meet you outside?”
“Mhm, sounds good. See you soon. Thanks again, Rosa.”
“Sure, no problem,” Rosa nodded even though Gina couldn’t see her. “Bye.”
“Byee,” Gina sang.
With a roll of her eyes, Rosa hang up and put her phone in her pocket this time. Then she pulled down the visor on her helmet, kicked the peg, and started up the engine.
Riding her motorcycle always seemed to work in calming Rosa, even when she wasn’t feeling stressed or angry. There was just something about watching the city whiz by not having to deal with stupid drivers that made her feel relaxed.
It was the same now as she drove to pick Gina up. By the time she got there, she felt a million times better than she had all day.
When she pulled up outside the woman’s apartment, she put the peg down again and turned off the engine. As she got off the bike, she took out her phone and called Gina to let her know she was outside.
It only took a moment for the woman to answer as she’d probably already been on her phone to begin with.
“Hey, I’m outside,” Rosa said as soon as Gina greeted her.
“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute,” Gina replied with the sound of a quiet rustling from the other end of the line.
She was probably grabbing her things, Rosa deduced.
“Sure,” she said. “See you when you get down here.”
“Bye, Rosie.”
Rosa contemplated telling the woman not to call her that, but this was Gina Linetti she was talking to, she reminded herself.
Anything she said would just go over the woman’s head, and not be taken in, so instead she gave a quiet grunt to herself and ended the call.
Then, as she waited, she opened up her dating app just out of pure boredom and began to swipe. She was in a relationship with Adrian but sometimes she opened the app just to see what kind of morons the thing would suggest to her.
Usually, she could tell exactly who she would or wouldn’t date just by looking at their picture. The app never suggested anyone worthwhile.
It was as she was judging the background of a woman’s photo that she heard Gina’s apartment door open, and out came the woman. Rosa hastily closed the dating app and pocketed her phone, giving an awkward cough to herself though Gina definitely hadn’t seen what she’d been looking at from where she was.
Gina looked nice as she stepped outside. She’d changed from her clothes earlier today, now wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans, a white vest, and a thin, mint, off-shoulder sweater over the top of it. She’d topped the outfit off with a nice belt (though she didn’t need it) and a pair of heeled boots.
Rosa slid off her motorcycle as Gina approached and opened up the seat to grab the spare helmet.
“Hey,” Rosa greeted the other woman.
“Heyy, boo,” Gina replied.
“You look, um, nice.”
Rosa was never one for small talk one on one outside of the precinct. It was why she liked to drink in silence. It was times like these she’d taken the time to improve on her socialisation skills.
Her heart skipped a beat as the words left her, feeling the tips of her ears burn slightly with embarrassment but thankfully, Gina was Gina and so she only bared her teeth slightly in a grin and chuckled.
“I always look nice,” she replied to which Rosa nodded a little awkwardly as she passed the helmet over.
A beat passed where Gina put the helmet on and Rosa put Gina’s purse on the motorcycle seat for safe keeping.
“But thank you,” Gina finally said once the helmet was on. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Rosa.”
Rosa didn’t know what to say to that. She’d never gotten a compliment from Gina before (had anyone?) so she stared openly at the other woman for a second before looking away.
“Thank you,” she mumbled.
Then she turned back to her motorcycle and swung her leg over it to get on. Gina pulled her visor down and got on the vehicle too without further word.
Rosa revved the engine as Gina’s arms circled around her waist, and looked up and down the road for any oncoming vehicles.
“Make sure you hold on tight,” she told Gina, “and don’t let go. Got it?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Gina said, her hold tightening just enough for Rosa to notice the difference.
Taking a deep breath to calm her anxiety, she checked the road and the pavement and then drove off.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at Shaw’s, but when they did, Rosa was admittedly relieved to finally get off her bike. She almost felt as if Gina had left an indent in her torso from how tight she’d held on during the drive.
As she got put Gina’s helmet in the seat compartment, she subconsciously nursed her ribs.
“Jesus,” she complained, “since when were you that strong?”
“I’m a woman of many hidden talents,” Gina replied with confidence and a small grin.
And if there was a hint of something else hidden in her tone.. Well, Rosa chose to ignore it.
It was definitely just Gina being Gina. She flirted with everyone- even Amy and she barely liked the other woman (supposedly).
Instead of saying anything in response to Gina, Rosa hummed quietly in a faux laugh, and checked her phone. The rest of the squad would’ve already arrived, so it was just them.
“Come on,” she told Gina before turning on her head and heading on inside.
She heard Gina following her as she sorted out her helmet hair.
As she entered the bar, the music and chatter from inside met her ears and she was filled with a sense of familiarity. The only time she went to Shaw’s was when she was with the squad, any other time she frequented other bars and clubs in an attempt to not run into anyone she knew.
But she’d been to Shaw’s so often with the squad that the atmosphere was not only familiar but almost comfortable. She enjoyed going there, especially with the squad. Not that she’d ever tell them that, of course. That was for her to know and them to never find out about.
She followed Gina over to where the other woman had obviously spotted their friends, and made her way through several patrons who were standing in the way. She bit her lip to stop herself from snapping at them and telling them to move.
When she and Gina reached the squad, they all happily greeted them.
“Hey, you guys made it!” Jake stood up and gave Gina a hug, and then turned to Rosa to give her a fist bump on account of her no touching or hugging rule. “We were just about to order a round, Charles is buying.”
“Sweet,” Rosa said, “I’ll have their cheapest whiskey.”
“Told you,” Amy directed to Charles.
“I know, but I just wanted to be certain!” Charles replied.
Rosa lightly rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to Holt. Gina settled into the other available seat on her right, and as she did so, Rosa caught a whiff of her floral perfume
“Ooh. I’ll have a gin. Pink, of course,” Gina told Charles.
“Got it,” Charles nodded, then he spun towards the bar. “One round of drinks coming right up.”
After he’d walked away, Rosa found herself turning her head to share a look with Gina. She didn’t know quite why, but she did. And after a brief moment, Rosa’s lips quirked up in amusement at Charles whereas Gina hummed a laugh.
Then Rosa looked away again, and the moment ended. Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled the look they’d just shared, but then she coughed a little as she forced it out of her mind.
To distract herself, she tuned into the conversation Jake and Terry were now having whilst Amy shook her head somewhat fondly at the bickering between the two.
It always amused Rosa at the mother hen type of role Terry seemed to take on.
The night went on way too quick for Rosa to keep track of. Before she knew it, midnight had rolled around and the squad were all deciding to call it a night.
Rosa had only had one drink, knowing she had to take herself and Gina home. Gina herself was tipsy, but nowhere near a point where Rosa would have to call her a can for both of their safety.
Saying her goodbyes to the squad, Rosa grabbed her bag and rosa from her seat. Gina followed suit with an overly dramatic goodbye of her own, and hooked her arm with Rosa’s as they walked to the exit. Rosa fought not to say anything or react to Gina’s proximity and the contact, keeping a neutral expression instead.
It wasn’t weird, she told herself, it was just Gina being Gina. And she could tolerate some contact occasionally. Besides, she didn’t think she’d hear the end of it if she told the woman to let go.
Sighing quietly, Rosa led them outside to where her bike was parked.
Somehow, she managed to get Gina to let go of her arm so that she could reach into her purse and get her keys.
But as she was doing that, a shrill noise cut through the air and startled them both.
“Ugh, can you turn that noise off?” Gina complained, closing her eyes momentarily.
“It’s my phone,” Rosa told her with a roll of her own eyes despite having startled too.
As she found her phone and pulled it free of her purse, she was a little dismayed to see Adrian’s name come up on the screen. Her mind flashed back to last night and she was reminded of the dull ache around her eye.
The whiskey had sort of helped her forget about it tonight, but now she was looking at Adrian’s name, she couldn’t stop thinking about it again.
Knowing she should answer and that she couldn’t ignore him forever, she pressed the green phone icon and put it to her ear.
“Adrian,” she said somewhat curtly.
“Babe! You gotta come home right now!” Adrian shouted before she could ask what he wanted.
If it’d been anyone else shouting at her like that, she’d have snapped at them and ended the call. But because it was Adrian and because she could hear the terror in his voice, she felt her stomach drop and worry smother her anger.
“What? Why? What’s wrong?” She quickly asked.
“Someone’s breaking into the apartment! You gotta come back, quick!” Adrian rattled with palpable fear.
Rosa frowned as her heart skipped a beat. Someone was breaking into her apartment. Shit.
She didn’t know if she feared for Adrian’s life or the one breaking into her apartment, but she knew she had to get home now.
“Shit. Okay, uh, stay hidden. Call the cops, I’ll be home as soon as possible,” Rosa told Adrian.
“I’ve got a knife, babe. I’ll just kill them!”
“No!” Rosa shouted, causing Gina to flinch and look at her with confusion. She lowered her voice slightly even as she could hear Adrian rambling on in the background. “Just do what I say and hide! And put the damn knife away!”
There was more rambling from Adrian’s end of the line so with frustration, Rosa ended the call.
Knowing she had to get home ASAP and that she couldn’t take Gina with her, she moved the woman away from her bike slightly.
“I’m sorry, Gina, I’ve gotta get home. Jake will have to give you a ride back,” Rosa told her whilst putting on her helmet.
“Mhm. Sure, boo. Sounds like you got a real emergency to get back to,” Gina said, and as she did, she made a ‘loopy’ motion by her head and raised her eyebrows.
“Adrian’s not insane,” Rosa defended her boyfriend, but even as the words left her mouth, she was starting to think they might not be true. Going undercover for twelve years had really messed him up, and she didn’t know if anything could help him at this point.
“Sure, Rosa, sure. Good luck out there,” Gina waved, and turned on the spot to head back into Shaw’s.
With a roll of her eyes, Rosa started the engine, kicked the stand, and drove away from the bar.
The first thing she noticed as she got back to her apartment was that the lights were all off. The second thing she noticed was that it was silent. There wasn’t a single sound to be heard from inside.
Clearly Adrian had heard her as he’d been rambling and actually decided to hide. Rosa reached for the hidden holster that rarely left her person and withdrew her largest knife. Her gun was in the apartment on her night stand, so she could only hope that neither Adrian or whoever had broken in had found it.
As quietly as she could, she tried the door to see if it was unlocked and was worried to find that it was. She clenched her jaw and looked around, seeing no sign of back up. She didn’t know if Adrian had called the cops, but knew there probably wasn’t time to do it herself and wait.
Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she moved her knife back and used her free hand to quietly open the door.
She took one step into the apartment and then another, looking around the darkness all the while. From what she could see, the apartment looked just as it had when she’d left.
She chose not to turn on the lights and let the intruder know she was there. Besides, she knew her home better than they did.
Slowly, she closed the door behind her. It gave a soft click as she did so.
Just as she was wondering where Adrian might’ve gotten to and if he was okay, a deafening cry from her left startled her out of her skin and she whirled around with wide eyes, knife held aloft to attack.
As she turned, she found herself staring right at Adrian who was screaming and had a thick plank of wood in his hands. Before she could even begin to tell him it was just her, he swung the wooden plank at her and hit her right in the stomach.
The wind whooshed out of Rosa all at once and she gasped as she stumbled back and landed on her butt. A sharp pain from her right thigh made her cry out, and she looked down to find that as she’d fallen, she’d accidentally cut herself with her knife.
One hand wrapped itself around her now aching stomach while the other pushed her knife away so as to not hurt accidentally herself anymore.
In the seconds she’d done that, Adrian had raised the wooden plank once again and brought it down on her. Thankfully, he hit her shoulder not her head but the force of his swing had the wood cracking loudly. Or maybe it was her shoulder. Rosa didn’t yet know.
“Adrian!” Rosa gasped, her oxygen now coming back to her. “Pimento, stop! It’s me, Rosa!”
Slowly, Adrian’s screaming died down but he still head the wooden plank aloft in his hands as if to strike again. Rosa put her hand up to potentially protect herself from another blow, but it didn’t come.
They met each other’s eyes and Rosa could see clarity coming back to Adrian, the realisation that it really was her and not some intruder.
With a gasp, Adrian dropped the wooden plank and Rosa sighed with relief. She was just grateful that it’d been a piece of wood and not the knife he’d apparently had earlier.
“Babe?” Adrian dropped to his knees with a broken cry, and Rosa’s throat bobbed. “Oh, my God… What have I done? What have I done?!”
Not used to this type of emotion, especially focused on her, Rosa swallowed the lump growing in her throat and quickly pushed herself to her feet.
She only gave Adrian one last look, capturing the tears of self-hatred in her mind, and shook her head.
Before she knew it, she’d stalked away into the bathroom and her fear had turned into anger. She paced back and forth, and listened to Adrian crying outside.
She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down. To squash her feelings and not feel at all. To not feel angry, or sad, or hateful, or anything.
What had the shrink at the precinct told her? Could to ten in her head, and breathe.
Closing her eyes, Rosa stopped at the sink and leaned on it. She took in a deep breath and began to count to ten.
When she got there and she still hadn’t calmed down, she started again. And again, and again, until, eventually, she had some semblance of calm. The adrenaline running through her body had settled and she was no longer angry or on the cusp of crying.
And her leg was stinging.
Blinking, she looked down at her right thigh to see the cut in her pants leg and skin. Blood had soaked her whole thigh so she settled down on the edge of the bathtub and started to tug off her pants.
She was just reaching for her home first aid kit when the door opened and in barged Adrian, face soaked with tears.
Rosa’s heart almost shrivelled up and died at the sheer self-hatred on his face.
He threw himself to his knees and placed his hands on Rosa’s thighs, regardless of the blood soaking her right thigh.
“Babe, I’m sorry! Please, don’t leave me! Please! I promise it won’t happen again! I didn't know it was you!” He broke off with a sob then and rested his head on her knee.
And Rosa… well, Rosa knew the logical thing to do would be to kick him out- at least until he got the professional help he clearly needed. She knew she should do it, and anyone with a pair of eyes would tell her to do so.
But he was crying, and he knew he was wrong, and he hated himself for hurting her. And it’d been an accident. He was just trying to protect them both.
So, putting the first aid kit down, she put her hands in Adrian’s curly hair and leaned down to rest her forehead on top of his head.
“I know,” she sighed.