A/N: this chapter doesn't have too much camren in it, like at all, but this is slowburn after all... and while my impatient ass wants them to be together n o w, that's not how this story goes :D
Edit: I've changed a couple details at the end of the chapter since I changed a character in the next chapter
----
"How could I be so stupid?" Camila groaned, her head hitting the wall with a dull thud.
Her and Ally had been given the weekend off since their investigation went so well and they'd finally managed to get one over on Lauren. Therefore, they were chilling out at Camila's apartment, drinking and, in Camila's case, aiming for amnesia.
"Is that Jauregui's ring?" Ally asked, peering at the new addition to Camila's cork board. In a small ziplock bag was a gold signet ring.
"God we let her build her back up plan." Camila whimpered, her voice muffled against the wall.
"Did you steal that from evidence?"
"I was too caught up in hunting her, I forgot about the family as a whole." Camila rambled to herself, ignoring Ally as she sipped on her beer and rested her forehead against the peeling wallpaper.
"She'll want it back eventually." Ally pointed out with a chuckle. Camila finally looked at her, turning around and leaning against the wall instead.
"Fuck. Didn't think of that. I'll sneak it back." Camila conceded quietly.
"You really think she can keep the business going from Rikers?" Ally questioned, folding her arms and flinching when the cold beer bottle touched her skin.
"I think we've all underestimated the lengths Jauregui was willing to go to not disappoint her father." Camila sighed. "She didn't even hand control over to her brother. She's trying to run stuff from prison. I definitely didn't see that coming."
"So now what?"
"I'll talk to Peralta when we go back, see what we can do." Camila chugged some beer and paused. "Maybe we can get put on the case with Major Crimes, or the gang unit, try and help them dismantle the family."
"God it sucks being an officer. I feel like we're at everyone's beck and call." Ally grumbled, making Camila crack a smile.
"One day we'll be the Detectives around here. And it'll be awesome."
----
Two Weeks Later
Lauren was thriving. Almost.
She'd managed to bribe a few guards to help her move contraband in and out of the prison. That kept her in most people's good books; she could get them most of the stuff they wanted and in turn they wouldn't snitch on her, or try and beat the shit out of her.
Plus she'd be correct, the name Jauregui still held some reputation on the inside.
She'd even managed to convince one of the guards to get her a direct line to Dinah and Normani. Phone's were risky, but messenger through a corrupt guard was much more reliable. As long as they got their pay, they weren't likely to rat themselves out.
The only thing dragging her down was the prison gang. There were a few cliques and groups but the main gang was causing her trouble.
They were here competition in contraband and their leader, a small, young evil spawn of Satan was causing Lauren havoc.
The girl was barely an adult and yet somehow the little twerp had managed to coerce the strongest, and most violent, women into protecting her.
"Jauregui, watch where you're bringing your stuff in. North East corner of the yard is my turf."
Speak of the tiny devil.
"Back off Eilish, I don't need this today." Lauren waved her off and focused on the small TV at the front of the room.
The room fell quiet as someone turned the volume up.
The world was crumbling to pieces outside their cosy barbed wire walls.
Riots had begun. All over the country, hell all over the world. Chaos was calling and their tiny corner of the world was soon to follow.
"Jauregui," Lauren turned at the voice and raised an eyebrow at a guard, "You're lawyer's here."
Lauren frowned but followed the guard anyway. They traipsed down hallways until they reached one of the private visitation rooms, one's assigned to lawyers and family, if they were rich enough.
"Luce? What're you doing here?" Lauren asked when the door closed and she sat down across from her.
"I can't visit you as much Laur." Lucy rushed out with a grimace. "I've got a duty to my other clients and now more than ever people need lawyers to represent them. I'm doing more pro-bono cases than ever before."
"Oh.. I get it Luce, you don't need to explain yourself to me." Lauren said softly.
"I'll come by as often as I can but... it'll probably be every couple weeks." Lucy groaned, running a hand through her hair before quickly smoothing it out again.
"I'll survive." Lauren laughed. "It's not... well it's pretty bad in here but I'll live."
"I've never seen Chris work this hard by the way, he's really trying." Lucy said with a hum, leaning over the table and gently resting her fingertips against Lauren's knuckles. "And Taylor's stress limits have hit max. She's got exams soon and wow is she studying 24/7. Your mother had to force her to dinner the other night." Lucy snorted and shook her head.
"They say when they could visit?" Lauren asked quietly.
"This weekend. They're telling your dad this weekend too." Lucy replied with a deep sigh.
"Wondered why I hadn't got chewed out on our calls yet." Lauren muttered with a small eye roll.
"Any cops been to see you?"
"Nope. Not yet. You heard anything?" Lauren said with a shake of her head.
"Dinah said she's heard they're still after the business. Looks like they're trying to dismantle it all while you're in here."
"It's going to take longer than 18 months to untangle all of my connections. And that's without me keeping things in check from in here." Lauren said with a smug smile. "Cabello's got her work cut out for her."
"Diaz is heading the task force. And yes, it's an official task force now." Lucy said, one eyebrow raising slowly.
"Not a problem. While the 99 is ridiculously famous for not being corrupt, their neighbours are not so... tight lipped." Lauren said, leaning back in her chair but keeping her fingers tangled with Lucy's.
"Cabello will most likely insist on being the one to talk to you though."
"I can handle her." Lauren replied easily.
"Uh huh, I don't doubt that. Just be careful with her." Lucy said with pursed lips.
"Jealous?"
"Worried." Lucy corrected with a warm smile. "Don't want to see you get burned Laur."
"I'll be fine. She should be the one that's worried. I'm not giving her shit."
----
One Week Later
Camila awoke in a sweat, chest heaving and hands shaking. She flicked on her bedside light and ran her hands over her face. They came back dripping with sweat.
It'd been three weeks of front line service.
The nightmares had started the first night.
It was never very lucid. Always very messy.
There were flashes of light, of smoke clogging her lungs, tears pouring down her face, her hands raw despite the thick gloves. The armour dragging her down, the shield pushing her back into the ground. The glass in her mask, her only way of seeing the madness, cracked and scratching at her face.
It always ended the same; with a terrified face staring back at her, the fear shining in their nameless eyes made her sick.
It was fake, her imagination playing on her own fears. And yet she knew they were reflections of what she'd seen every day for the past three weeks.
Those looks were too accurate to be fictional.
So tonight she sat in her bed, tears dripping down her chest, shirt sticking to her sweaty skin, she stared at the wall until her eyes unfocused. Her glasses remained on her bedside table, her knuckles stayed grazed and bruised; gloves can only protect so much and holding heavy equipment for twelve hours a day took its toll.
There was a knock at her door.
She ignored it.
It came again.
Camila blinked when she heard the door unlocking. Didn't move to her dresser where her service pistol sat, unloaded and with the safety on.
She had a passing thought about home invaders before Detective Diaz appeared in her bedroom door.
"Mila?"
"What are you doing here?" Camila asked, her voice hoarse.
"I heard a scream." Diaz said quietly. Camila closed her eyes and wiped at her cheeks.
"Nightmare." She muttered as Diaz stepped inside the room.
"Side effect of the job."
"Only recently." Camila balled her fists in her sheets and clenched her jaw.
"It'll be okay. It really will." Diaz said, sitting at the foot of Camila's bed.
"This isn't right. None of it is." Camila huffed. "How can you be okay with this?"
"I'm not." Diaz said firmly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I do what I do to make sure cops like those assholes aren't the majority."
"I'm not sure that's enough for me." Camila whispered. Diaz sighed.
"I didn't think it would." Diaz rubbed the back of her neck and looked away from Camila. "I'm calling Brooke, she'll be here soon. But whatever you decide... the 99 will always have your back."
Camila nodded slowly and watched as Diaz left the room, already tapping at her phone. She heard her muffled voice and one angry hiss before she appeared in the doorway.
"You good for twenty minutes? Or do you want me to hang around?"
Camila hesitated and Diaz smiled.
"I'll stay. Not like I've got anything better to do. Wanna watch some TV?"
----
Camila swallowed as she looked up at the police precinct.
"I've got your back Mila. Especially with this." Ally said firmly, letter clutched tightly in her grasp.
They walked inside, past the armoured officers, the overwhelming amount of angry friends and family.
The elevators were filled with cops and civilians.
When they reached the bullpen, it was a clamouring mess of yelling and unorganized people.
Camila managed to catch Diaz's eye and she was met with a bright, yet sad, grin. Camila heard Peralta splutter and start complaining how he never got Diaz to smile at him.
"You're not a cute girl Peralta." Diaz shot back easily as she looked down at the reports on her desk.
Camila stalled at that and stared at Diaz. Ally rolled her eyes, muttered something about 'useless bisexuals' and tugged her towards Captain Holt's office.
The door closed behind them and the noise was muffled.
"Can I help you officers?"
"These are our letters of resignation." Camila said, taking Ally's letter and placing it alongside hers on Holt's desk. He looked at them blankly before nodding solemnly.
"I understand. It was a pleasure working with you. You shall be missed here at the 99." Captain Holt rose from his chair and shook their hands firmly.
"It was an honour to be here Sir." Camila said with a smile.
"We're sorry to have to leave to be honest Sir." Ally admitted quietly.
"We all understand why you need to leave. I wish I could join you, but I have my detectives to think about, and I dread to think who might replace me should I leave." Captain Holt explained with a tight grimace on his face.
They said goodbye before leaving the office and traipsing through the bullpen, stopping by desks to say their goodbyes to the detectives.
"You resigned?" Diaz asked quietly. Camila nodded and leaned against her desk.
"It's for the best." Camila replied, looking down at the desk, watching her fingers tap against the metal.
"You should come by the bar later," Diaz said firmly, "so we can say goodbye properly."
"Sounds like a good idea." Camila grinned, lingering at the desk for a few seconds too long before Ally called her name. "See you then?"
"See you." Diaz nodded with a small smile.
"Another smile!"
"Shut up Jake."
----
It wasn't that she regret coming out, she just regrets having that last vodka shot.
And now Camila was spacing out in a corner booth of the bar, vaguely listening to the raucous laughter from the 99 detectives.
Ally was sat next to her, her head resting on Camila's shoulder as she mumbled along to the song playing in the bar.
"You alright Cabello?" Diaz asked as she slid into the booth across from Camila.
"A-okay."
"You look a little out of it." Diaz chuckled and sipped on a glass of whiskey. Camila focused in on the glass and her eyes glazed over.
"Last time I got drunk I made a mistake." Camila said absentmindedly.
"Start a fight?" Diaz asked. Camila shook her head before wincing and swallowing harshly.
"Talked to someone I shouldn't."
"Nothing wrong with talking, unless there's a restraining order involved." Diaz pointed out, a slight slur to her words.
"Maybe we did more than talk." Camila admitted with a hot blush on her cheeks. Diaz raised an eyebrow and Camila shrugged, before glancing down at a drowsy Ally who grumbled at the movement. "She wanted to forget and I helped for a while but I was the cause of her pain."
"Sounds like you hooked up with an ex." Diaz said, sipping at her whiskey again and Camila couldn't help but stare.
"No. We don't like each other." Camila mumbled, blinking sluggishly and looking away towards the bar.
"Maybe you get along better than you think, if she came to you for help." Diaz said with a soft frown.
"Nah, it was an accident. She didn't know I was gonna be there." Camila waved her off and once again made Ally complain. "Als move if you don't like me moving."
Ally grumbled but did move her head to rest on the back of the booth instead of Camila's shoulder.
Camila felt herself spacing out again; she didn't watch when Diaz left, didn't notice her half empty beer being replaced with a pint of water.
It was only when she felt someone sit next to her that she refocused. She turned her head and blinked in surprise at the slightly concerned face of Diaz.
"Diaz? Wha-"
"Drink your water." She said, nudging the glass closer to Camila, who dutifully started drinking. "And you can call me Rosa you know."
"You're a detective." Camila said between gulps. "I'm just an officer."
"Well you're not any more, so Rosa is fine." She said with a smile.
"How do you do that Cabello?" Jake said as he sat down across from them.
"Do what?" Camila asked, wiping away the water dribbling down her chin.
"Rosa smiles around you. It's weird." Jake said with a shiver. Rosa narrowed her eyes at him. Camila raised an eyebrow when Jake yelped with a jolt; a strong suspicion that Rosa had kicked him in the shin.
"Shut up Jake."
"I'm just intrigued is all." He said, leaning back and throwing his arm along the back of the booth with a smooth grin.
"Rosa already told you how." Ally suddenly piped up with a slanted smile. "She thinks Camila's cute."
"That is adorable." Jake replied with a teasing grin.
Camila let her eyes wander around the bar as the two detectives argued. It seemed pretty busy for a Wednesday night but her eyes lingered on a short brunette at the bar. She seemed to be very purposefully not looking over at their table. Even through a drunken haze Camila could notice the obvious avoidance.
She was about to say something when she felt an arm settle behind her on the back of the booth, just brushing against her shoulders.
So she ignored the woman and kept drinking her water, enjoying the company around her.
----
It wasn't until she was on her way out of the bar, several hours later, that she ran into the short woman from the bar.
Rosa had been laughing with Ally, her arm loosely around Camila's shoulders, when Camila had been bumped into.
She looked around and noticed the woman.
"Sorry, didn't see you there." The woman said with a smile. Camila waved her off and the trio started walking again.
"Als, you're crashing with me." Camila said when Ally started calling a cab for herself while Rosa whistled one to a stop outside the bar.
It wasn't until she was lying in her bed that Camila felt something stabbing her in the side. She dug her fingers into her pockets and pulled out a small card.
It was a business card.
"That woman." Camila mumbled to herself as she flipped it over to see the writing.
"BB Investigations... private investigators.. Huh..."