"You look stunning Kelley, stop stressing and go have a good time with your girl" Alex says as she helps me do my makeup
"This is a big thing for Rosa though Lex" I say slipping on one of my shoes
"The annual police dinner is like serious stuff and according to Rosa literally the whole of Brooklyn don't like her precinct because last year Jake managed to set the place on fire" I carry on explaining
"He- what!" Alex asks in shock but I just shrug it off knowing it's nothing new for Jake to do something like that
"I don't want to know, but why would that affect you, you're amazing Kelley, did you forget that your an Olympian and two time World Cup winner" Alex says trying to convince me
"Yeah to you I am great but these guys risk their life for the safety of civilians in a daily basis, I'm an athlete that complains about my wage" I sigh out and flop down on my bed
"You really are hard work sometimes you know that Squirrel. Yes you may be an athlete but your a bloody good one, take pride in what you do Kel, don't let them tell you that you're job is any less than there's" Alex tells me
"What would I do without you" I say lifting up my head to look at her
"Be late for your date picking you up" She says and brand my hands to pull me off the bed.
Just as I'm about to reply I hear the doorbell ring and I know it's Rosa here to pick me up.
"Looks like your girls here" Alex tells me and grabs my bag before leading my down the stairs and to the front door.
"Looking good Kelley, have fun tonight" Servando tells me as I pass him by on the couch
"Thanks Serv" I say smiling back gratefully
Alex reaches the door before me and pulls it open to reveal my girlfriend standing there in a suit, looking very hot if I do say so myself.
"Hey Rosa, nice to see you again" Alex says smiling at her
"you too Alex, ready to go Kel?" Rosa asks me snapping me out my daze
"Y-yeah, see you tomorrow Lex thanks for helping me get ready" I say pulling her in for a hug
"You're just as good as the rest of them Kel" She whispers in my ear before letting me go.
Rosa grabs my hand in hers and walks me to the car waiting in Alex's driveway.
"You look beautiful by the way babe" She whispers in my ear making me blush a little
"So do you baby, you look very hot" I say in return making her smile and open the door for me to climb in
"Kelley!" Jake exclaims as I sit down opposite him
"Jakey!" I say back and lean forward to pull him in for a hug
"Hey Kelley, good to see you again" Amy says hugging me too
"Is this your house cause damn girl, you got dat money money" Jake whistles out looking out the window to glance up at Alex and Servs house
"It's not mine, unfortunately, it's my best friends and her husbands, they're both soccer players," I say explaining why their house is so much bigger than most
"maybe I need to become a soccer player if it pays this well," Jake says and I roll my eyes at that.
Everyone seems to think that they can do what we do easily. Always say that our jobs aren't hard and we get paid to entertain people yet they don't know all the hard work that goes int being a professional athlete.
The hours we spend in the gym getting fit or on the pitch practising out technique again and again. The amount of travelling we have to do in order to get to the game and don't forget how much we miss, birthdays, weddings, christenings.
"Jake you could never do anything that Kelley does, I've seen how hard she works not only on the pitch but off it too. She can lift heavier weights than you, run faster and longer than you, probably beat your ass in a fight too. So before you start belittling her job just think about how difficult it really is" Rosa says glaring at her colleague
"Rosa it's fine, Jake didn't mean it in that way it's okay," I say putting my hand on her thigh in hopes to calm her down
"It's not fair the amount of stick you get for what you do, I'm sick of listening to people say they can easily do what you do," Rosa says making my heart melt a little at her sticking to for me
"Does it really happen that often, people always saying what you do is easy?" Amy asks looking at me sadly
"Yeah unfortunately so, it's doesn't help I'm a female either so it's mostly middle-aged white men thinking that they can do better than us and we don't actually play proper soccer," I say making Amy groan
"Don't get Amy started on inequality in the workplace, you'll be here for the next year" Rosa whispers in my ear
"I have a whole binder on the injustice women face due to their gender, you should definitely read it sometime," Amy says looking at me with excitement in her eyes
"Babe what have we said about sharing your binders with other people," Jake says to his wife who turns to look at me sheepishly
"I'm sorry if I offended you with saying I could become a soccer player, my skills on a ball are almost non-existent," Jake tells me
"No Jake, they are non-existent" Rosa corrects for him, still sending a hard glare his way and I have to intertwine her fingers so she'll look at me
"Rosa drop it, Jake apologised and I know he didn't mean it to purposely offend me. Don't start getting worked up when we haven't even arrived yet" I tell her raising my eyebrows so she knows I'm serious
"Okay okay, I'll behave," She says putting her hand up in defence
After chatting away in the car and listening to Jakes crazy cases since the last time I saw him, we finally arrive at the Police Dinner. Rosa gets out first and holds her hand for me to take, helping me out the car as I straighten my dress
"There's nothing to be nervous about babe," She tells me and I just take a deep breath in and nod my head in response
I follow in alongside my girlfriend, smiling at anyone that looks our way but most people are too scared of my girlfriend to do that which does kind of help me out in this situation. Rosa leads me in behind Jake and Amy and we get to their precincts table.
"Kelley! So good to see you again" Boyle says coming over to squeeze me tightly
"You too Boyle, how's Nikolaj?" I ask
"He's great, spending the night with the other Boyle relatives learning how to hunt for food in the wilderness," Charles tells me excitedly
"Great, no one cares Boyle," Rosa says pulling me away from the guy
"Bye Kelley!" He shouts just as I'm brought over to Captain Holt and Kevin
"Good to see you again Captain Holt, how was the vacation you took to the Greek Island?" I ask Rosa's boss
"Excellent actually, Kevin and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, you will have to tell your colleague that it was a great recommendation," He tells me and I smile at that
"I'll let her know," I say back with a smile and make a mental note to thank Becky for getting me in his good books.
"If you do excuse me, I have to go save my husband from the uneducated people he's being forced to interact with," He says and leaves us alone again
"I can't actually believe he liked the place you suggested, that guy is the pickiest person alive, well done babe," Rosa says to me with a smirk on her face and quickly pecking my lips
"Thank god, I thought he might banish me from attending dinners with you guys" I sigh out in relief
"No, Holt loves you I can promise you that," She says looking at me proudly just as something runs into my leg
"Watch yourself kiddo, you okay?" I ask looking down at the little girl whos holding onto my leg
"I know you! You're Kelley O'Hara and you play for USA!" The little girl exclaims excitedly
"I do! Do you like soccer?" I ask leaning down a little to look at the girl
"Me and my sister love it, daddy just joined us into a team and its the best thing ever" She tells me happily just as I see Terry coming towards me out of breath
"Lacy! Don't run off without daddy again please, you almost scared him to death" He tells his daughter
"Daddy you didn't tell me you knew Kelley! She's the best" Lacy shouts looking up at her dad and then back at me
"I thought your favourite player was Alex" He ask the girl
"No silly, that's Cagney's" Lacy explains rolling her eyes at her father making me laugh
"I'm sorry about her running into you Kelley, I'm trying to keep them occupied while Sharon feeds Ava but they ate too much sugar" He rembles off just as another girl rams into the back of his leg
"It's not a problem Terry, why don't Rosa and I keep them occupied for a bit so you can go and help your wife out" I say only to feel the glare of Rosa into the side of my head
"You're the best Kelley! You two be good for Kelley and Rosa now okay" Terry says kissing his two kids on the head and running off somewhere
"Really babe, babysitting duty," Rosa says unimpressed
"Don't act like mister tough guy now, I've seen you with kids before you're great" I say smiling up at my girlfriend who lets out a groan
"Kelley! Kelley! You've got to come meet the others, they're big fans too" I think Lacy says pulling on my hand
"Looks like you're off the hook this time baby, go talk with your squad I'll keep these guys busy" I tell Rosa who let out a sigh in relief
"Are you sure babe, I don't mind doing it if I get to do it with you" She says looking me in the eyes
"I'll be fine, make a good name for yourself with the big guys," I say pushing her away from me a little
"Okay, come find me if you need any back up" She replies with a slight smirk on her face
"aye-aye caatpn" I respond back with and let the two twins lead me off
"They're all going to think we're so cool when we bring you over" Cagney says looking up at me with the cutest smile on her face
"Are they big soccer fans too?" I ask as I try to not bump into people while being dragged along
"Yeah! Everyone loves you guys like so much, we even learnt about you in school after the world cup" She tells me and I look at her in surprise not knowing we were mentioned in school
"That's cool" I mumble to myself not knowing what to say, I don't think I had ever imagined kids learning about me in class
"Guys guess who's here tonight" The two twins say as I'm lead over to the kids' table
"No way! You're Kelley Ohara" One of the girls says having to be not much older than 14 years old
"Hey guys, it's nice to meet you all, I heard you like the US team," I say with a smile on my face
"Only the girl though, the boys' team are rubbish," Someone else says making me laugh a little bit.
"No offence but how come you're here at a Police event," An older girl asks me
"My girlfriend is a detective with the 99th precinct so I'm her date for the evening," I tell the girl with a smile on my face.
Rosa and I aren't really public with our relationship but we don't hide it either, we realised after the incident last year that there's always a possibility one of us might get hurt
"That's cool, I like Rosa," The girl says with a smirk letting me know my girlfriend has definitely done something illegal with her
"Can you please tell us all about playing with the US team?" Someone else says butting into the conversation
"Of course! Why don't we sit down and you guys can ask me as much stuff as you'd like" I say happily and pick Lacy up to put her on my lap due to the lack of seats.
I spend god knows how long telling all the kid's stories and the different adventures I've gotten up to playing soccer, and what it's like travelling the world to these different tournaments. Seeing the pure excitement and interest in their eyes as I explained everything made my day, these kids look up to me and what I do which makes everything just a little bit more worthwhile
"I'm sorry to interrupt this little discussion but it's about to start and I need to take my girlfriend back to her seat" Rosa says coming over to smile at the kids as she places one of her hands on my shoulder
"That's fine! Thanks for talking to us Kelley it was so cool to meet you" Lily says as the other kids all say the same thing
"I had a great time getting to know you all, why don't you all come find me when it's over and I can sign a few things," I tell them getting plenty of smiling nods back
I take Lacey and Cagney's hands as I walk them back to our table when I feel one of them pull on my wrist.
"Kelley can you carry me please, I'm tired" Lacey mumbles out looking up at me with her bottom lip out. How can anyone say no to that face
"Of course sweetie" I reply and lean down to pick her up and let her head rest on my shoulder.
I watch as Cagney does the same thing to Rosa who rolls her eyes but eventually picks up the other twin. Both of us having one of Terry's daughters in our hands as we make it back to our seat.
"Kelley you are an angel, thank you so much for keeping her busy" Terry says as he goes to take Lacey from my arms
"Its nothing Terry" I reply smiling back at him.
Terry tries to remove his daughter but she seems to have a death grip on me and snuggles her head further into my neck as the thought of being removed from me
"I think she's crashed from her sugar high, I'll just let her sleep," I say and readjust her so it's comfort for the both of us
It turns out Cagney is the same and Rosa and I have ended up with two sleeping seven year old on our shoulder whilst listening to the Police Commissioner do her speech.
- - - -
"Thank you all for listening and enjoy the great of your night" She finishes off and the place erupts into applause. Everyone expect our table because apparently, we don't like the woman
"Kelley I really can't thank you enough for tonight, me and Sharon finally got some time to enjoy things for once," Terry says taking his sleeping daughter from me
"It's not a problem Terry, you've got beautiful daughters and Rosa and I would be more than happy to babysit if you need a break," I said laughing to myself as I hear my girlfriend groan next to me
"I'll definitely take you up on some time, thank you again," The man says as he has ready to head home
"If they ever want any tickets to games or gear let Rosa know and I'll sort some stuff out" I say and wave goodbye as the family head out the door.
"can I finally steal my girlfriend for the night or does she have more kids to babysit" Rosa says wrapping her arms around my neck and tilting her head to look at me
"I think her schedule has cleared up enough to squeeze you in somewhere" I reply letting my hands make their way up the back of her blazer
"perfect, then I want to introduce my amazing girlfriend to some people," She says taking my hand in hers and dragging me from my little safe spot at the 99 tables.
We spend the next two hours or so maybe, speaking to different ranking members of the force, some were great and I was really intrigued to learn what they did others weren't as good, take this guy for example
"a soccer player huh, don't think I've ever watched a woman's game before," The guy says to me and I try not to roll my eyes at the comment
"You should, can be just as good as the men's game," I say trying to keep a kind look on my face even though I really want to punch the guy in the face
"Not really my scene, if they all look like you thought I might have to give it a go," He says and winks at me
I swear I felt my skin crawl at that and I can't help but let my face turn into one of disgust
"excuse me" Rosa laughs out and I know she's pissed. Angry laugh from Rosa is another kind of pissed off
"I'm just saying Diaz, you girl is good looking and I'm sure her friends are too if she looks like this in a dress I'm sure she'll look just as good in a tight pair of shorts and shirt running up a pitch," He says keeping the disgusting look on his face
"you better watch your mouth Allen" Rosa threatens stepping closer to the guy
"Careful Diaz, don't go causing a scene here that you can't handle," He tells my girlfriend like she's going to back down
"watch me" Rosa seethes out her fist clenching themselves shut
"Baby, it's not worth it okay let's just head back to the table," I say and grab her hand trying to pull her away
"That's it, follow your little cheerleader of a girlfriend trying to play a man's sport, go back home and wash the dishes," He says and Rosa tries to break free of my grip to have another go at him but I don't let her
"Rosalita Diaz, control yourself," I growl out using her full name to get her attention
"I'm not letting him talk about you like you're some piece of meat he can just hit on and get away with it" Rosa tells me angrily just as I managed to get her back in her seat
"well deal with it because we're not causing a scene at this event, it means a lot for you guys and I am not being the one to screw it up" I say to her pointing my finger sternly at her
"Why does Rosa look like she's ready to go murder a bunch of puppies and not feel bad about it," Jake asks from across the table
"it will be a bunch of puppies and you in a minute Peralta" Rosa grits out to her colleague
"Some guy was talking trash and Rosa got a little heated over it so she's sitting here to cool down" I explain glaring at my girlfriend for a second
"He wasn't talking trash Kelley, he clearly said that he would only watch women soccer so he could watch you run up and down a pitch in tight shorts and shirt, the guy told you to stop playing a man's sport and go home to wash the dishes!" Rosa exclaims in pure anger
"That douche bag!" Jake gasps looking over to the man who's smirking towards our table
"We can't let him get away with saying that, it's so sexist" Amy says looking just as angry
"I appreciate the support guys, I really do, but I have to put up with people like this on the daily, the best thing you can do is ignore them" I tell the group of a dry looking cops
"you should not have to ignore such ignorance as this man has, it is shameful to everyone," Captain Holt says and I smile thankfully at him
"Thank you captain but this is your night as a police precinct, not mine so please carry on enjoying yourselves" I tell them
They all smile back at me and come up to hug me quickly, Boyle squeezing a little too tightly, but that's okay, he's got good intents.
"it doesn't feel right not doing anything, my body just wants to go over there and beat the living crap out of him," Rosa says as I put my hand on her shoulder
"I know baby but it's not worth losing your job over it," I tell her knowing the guy is definitely higher up in the ranking
She's about to reply when we hear a bunch of feet coming our way and turn around to notice the table of kids standing looking at me with a smile on their faces and a ball in their bands
"Kelley! Look what we found! You have to come to play with us!" One of the younger boys says
"sup Rosa," The older girl says doing some sort of handshake with my girlfriend
"Whats up Clara, how's the lesson going?" She asks the kid
"good actually, won a tournament last week which was pretty sick," Clara tells her
"sweet, I'll have to come watch next time I'm free," Rosa says with a smirk in her face
"Please will you play with us Kelley, it will be really fun I promise" another kid says and I look at my girlfriend for some help with this one
"she would love to join you guys," Rosa says doing the exact opposite of what I was trying to tell her to do
"Relax a little okay, I can see you're stressed and the only way to help that is for you to play" She whispers leaning close to my ear
"only if you stay away from Allen and don't cause any problems" I warn her to which she nods back happily and kisses me quickly
"Alright then kids, show me what you guys have got" I sigh out only to receive cheers and lots of hands dragging me to an empty bit of the room.
I take off my heels for this and we form a circle around eachother. I'm passed the ball first so I start doing some easy keepie uppies and throw a quick around the world getting a cheer from the kids.
They start chanting more which makes me laugh so I throw in a few more tricks I've learnt over the years from Tobin and soon enough a small crowd of adults have joined in to watch
A few have a go at doing some tricks which mostly ends in us all laughing at them going horribly wrong and I'm left doing them by myself, I notice my girlfriend standing in the crowd with a smirk in her face as Charles and Jake just look completely gobsmacked at what I'm doing.
"I'm sorry, I thought I was a police dinner, not some circus act" We suddenly hear some guy says and in walks Allen through the crowd
"I was just keeping the kids entertained sir, nothing more to it," I say trying to stay polite but he really makes it difficult
"I don't care what you were trying to do, you'll stop acting like such a baboon and show some respect to the people here who actually have real jobs," He says snatching the ball from my hands
"back the hell of Allen before I really lose my cool" Rosa says stepping up to defend me.
"oh and the girlfriends here to protect her damsel in distress again, be careful what you do Diaz I can find a way to send you back to prison if I want to" He warns my girlfriend making my blood boil
"Like hell will you do that! How dare you threaten her when she works day and night trying to protect this city from acumbags like you, I don't care who you are but don't you threaten my girlfriend like that ever again" I angrily say to him getting a lot of shocked gasps from the crowd around
"I can destroy you in the second girl, you stay in your lane you dykes" He spits out at me
"i really hoped you wouldn't say that" I hear Jake say behind me and next thing I know his fist is flying into Allens face
"oh shit," I mumble to myself getting ready for whatever is about to happen
"what the fuck Peralta!" Allen exclaims holding his nose in his hands
"don't mess with anyone from the 99 or you'll have the whole precinct after you" he says glaring at the guy and it's the first time I've even seen Jake act scary
"let's go before we're escorted out" Rosa whispers in my ear and grabs my hand.
I quickly collect my heels and bag before following after her as all of us head out the double doors and onto the street
We just stand there for a second everyone looking back and forth between each other before we burst out laughing at what's just happened
"I can't to believe I just punched a superior office" Jake gasps out
"I've got to admit babe, it was kind of hot" Amt says smirking at her husband
"oh you think so," Jake says back just as smugly
"Alright guys we get it, save it for the bedroom please" Rosa says turning her nose up at the couple
"Why is it every time I come out with you people something crazy always happens" Kevin sighs out
"I'm with you on this one Kevin, you can't catch a break with this lot" I laugh out only to get Charles's arm thrown over my shoulder
"we're just fun people to be around Kelley, we should totally hang out sometime just the two of us, I'm sure Nikolaj would love to meet you" He rambles on and I try to hide my laugh
"Boyle, get your hands off my girlfriend, right now" Rosa growls out making the poor guy practically yank his arm off me
"Right! Of course" He stutters out nervously smiling at her
"I think it's best if we leave this premises in case somebody comes looking for us," Captain holt says as we humm in agreement
"Thanks for standing up for Rosa and I Jake, it meant a lot," I tell the detective as we walk down the street
"it's not a problem Kelley, we need someone to keep this girl in check and apparently you're the only one who can," He says making me laugh and Rosa to just glare at him
"but for real," He tells me placing a hand on my shoulder
"you're family, and family sticks together"