(Uhhh so I wrote this a while ago based off of an idea for an alternate ending to S5 Case 52 where the player decides to accompany Jones as he walks home. Have fun reading it, I guess, I’m not that proud of it, but eh. I hope you enjoy!)

(SPOILERS FOR S5 CASE 52 AND TW FOR SEWERSLIDE IMPLICATIONS)

(Also, sorry if any of the canon characters are OOC-)

“A Tough Time Holding Up”

“…I don’t think you should have done that.”

Gloria’s whisper is the only thing keeping the tension in the car from going silent.

And stale.

“Done what?” I ask, my voice a low grumble.

“You know what I mean.” Gloria replies, not even raising her tone.

The silence I give as my response causes her to sigh as we stop at a red light. “Listen. I don’t like Leroux for a lot of reasons, killing Zoe being one of them…but breaking his nose wasn’t-!”

She runs a hand through her hair and groans. “You know what? Whatever. Leroux got sentenced, and his cowardly ass is going to rot in jail for a long time…Zoe’s finally at peace.”

She says the last part with some level of uncertainty. I don’t blame her at all.

There were too many unanswered questions to this case — Leroux’s motive, Zoe’s involvement with Dreamlife, et cetera, et cetera. Gloria and I had to find these explanations fast.

But first, we had to check up on Jones back at the station.

After we park the car in front of that oh-so-familiar blue building we see everyday, I practically barrel out and make a mad dash into the station to find Jones.

I can’t find him anywhere.

Shit, where is he?!

“Jones?” I ask, running over to his desk to see if he’s there.

He isn’t.

“Oh, are you looking for Jones?” Gabriel asks as he sips from a mug of coffee. I nod somewhat frantically in response.

“He’s in the bathroom right now.” He tells me. “I think he’ll be out pretty soon.”

“Ah, alrighty then. Thank you.”

I sit down at Jones’s desk and wait patiently for him to show up.

Sure enough, a couple minutes later, I hear a door open and close, and Jones walks in from around the corner.

Judging by his physical state alone, he looks better(?) than before - he’s calmer, albeit looking a bit exhausted, and it looks like he had splashed cold water on his face.

“Oh! Hey, Val.”

“Jones! Hey!” I reply as I get out of the chair, making sure to give him a warm and friendly smile. “How are you feeling?”

Jones just gives me some sort of dazed stare in response, and I just look at him right in the eyes, waiting for him to answer my question.

He does not answer my question and instead says, “...I heard you arrested Leroux…for murdering Zoe.”

I flinch at the mention of Leroux, and I nod. “Yup, we did…and I even broke his nose. For, y’know, good measure.” I make a fist with one hand and make a swinging motion to demonstrate, and Jones gives me a half-hearted chuckle.

We stand in silence for a couple of seconds somewhat awkwardly until Jones reaches past me and grabs his jacket from a chair. “...Well, I’d better get going.”

Going?

“Uh, wait, you’re going? If you don’t mind me asking, where, exactly?”

Jones flinches at my question. “Oh, uh…I’m just gonna go home and take a nap. I’m…exhausted.”

…Something about his words feels off to me, but I don’t know what.

“A. A nap?”

“...Yeah, what about it?”

He’s only glancing at me, but I can feel his eyes boring into my soul.

“...Oh, uh, nothing really.” I stammer out, feeling a bit embarrassed with myself.

“...Alrighty, then.” He frowns slightly in response.

“I’m going to take a rest.” Fernando tells me. “I’m…I’m just tired right now.”

Something in my gut is pulling me towards Jones, telling me to make sure nothing bad happens to him.

But how do I help?

I know fuck-all on what to do.

I’m internally panicking, mentally scrabbling around to try to find ideas.

Jones is saying goodbye to Gabriel and Gloria as I’m just standing by his desk like a complete goddamn fool.

“Take care.” Gloria tells Jones with a comforting smile.

“Stay safe, alright?” Gabriel says to Jones, putting his hand on Jones’s shoulder.

Jones flinches at Gabriel’s touch, looking at the floor as he mumbles, “I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry.”

He’s lying.

I don’t even have to look at him, and I know he’s lying.

I don’t know what he’s going through, but all I know is that I have to help him somehow.

But how?

I have no game plan, no nothing.

Jones is heading towards the exit carrying nothing with him, even leaving his jacket by his desk.

…Fuck it, we ball.

I make somewhat of a mad dash at him, grabbing his jacket along the way. “Jones! Wait up!”

“Hm?” Jones turns around to face me, looking more tired now. “What is it now?”

“…Can I walk you home?”

“…What?”

“I- I mean, if you want me to, of course- your home is kinda far away if I remember correctly, and you seem pretty tired right now-”

Jones blinks once. Then twice.

“I- uh- what I was trying to stay, I mean say- is that you could use some company???” I blubber out like a fool.

I immediately brace for incoming rejection.

You know what? If he wants to head home, then that’s alright. Maybe I’m worrying too much about him. I probably am kind of bothering him and distracting him from his own thoughts, after all-

“Sure.”

“W-what?”

Jones gives me a small smile. “Yeah, sure. I think I could use the company right now. So why not?”

“I-”

I almost fucking gape at him like he just told me I won the lottery.

“…Val? You alright?”

“I- uh- yes!” I exclaim with a smile, patting (unintentionally slapping) him on the back. “I’ll- I’ll go get my jacket-!”

“V-Val, you’re wearing your jacket-”

“Ah! Alright! I’ll go ask the Chief for permission to walk you home then!”

I scoot over to Chief Parker’s office and almost kick open the door.

“CHIEF.”

Chief Parker yelps with surprise as she almost drops her papers. “Ah!- Detective Perez, please do not scare me like that again-!”

“Sorry! I- uh- so Jones is going home, can I escort him?” I stammer out.

“…Perez, you have work to do-”

“I know, I know!” I exclaim. “But I’m genuinely worried about Jones, and- and I want to escort him home to keep him company and make sure he feels less alone…”

Chief Parker sighs as her eyes flick around the room. “Pere- Val, listen. I’ve known Jones for a while, and I’m genuinely sure that he’ll get through this…eventually, he just needs a bit of time. He’s…a strong individual…”

“Chief.”

“…and I’m sure that all he just needs is a bit of time to himself to recover mentally.”

“Chief. Chief. Chief.”

“I do understand your concerns, but right now, Jones needs some space alone to breathe, alright? Also, you have other work to do when it comes to investigating Leroux’s claims of Zoe’s telekinesis-”

“Chief!” I shout.

“What?! What is it?!” Chief Parker shouts back.

We’re in a bit of a silent standstill for a moment until I exhale.

“How long have you known Jones?”

“…3 years.” She responds, raising an eyebrow. “Where are you going with this?”

“Well, I’ve known Jones for 5 years, and even I don’t know everything about him.” I reply. “Just because he looks calm right now, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s going on for him. I do also believe he needs some time alone to process everything, but goddamnit, I am VERY sure that he needs comfort and support right now instead!”

A pause. I notice the Chief rubbing her fingers together repeatedly as she looks around for a moment.

“I’ll be fine.” Fernando tells me with an exhausted, slight upturned curve of his lips.

“Trust me.” I say. “I know something’s wrong. Just…PLEASE let me be there for him.”

“Val, I-”

I’m tearing up right now, but I don’t really care. I just need the Chief to understand what the hell I’m saying.

Fuck it. I even get down on my hands and knees and start begging.

“WHOA! Val, HOLD ON-!”

“PLEASE, Chief Parker. I’m worried for him. I just want him to be mentally okay, but I don’t want him to be alone…please, please, please, please, please…”

I look up for a moment at Chief Parker’s shocked expression. “Val, I’m not su-”

“CHIEF, I WILL LICK YOUR SHOE-”

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!” She exclaims, stepping back. “I will let you accompany Jones on his way home, and I’ll ask Gabriel to partner up with Gloria in the meantime.”

“OH, THANK THE GODS-” I almost sob with joy.

“Val, please calm down.”

“-Ah, alright. Sorry.” I get up from the floor and dust myself off. “Anyway, thank you so much, genuinely.”

“It’s no problem.” She replies with a tired smile.

I nod and bid my farewell as I leave her office.

To my dismay (but not surprise), Jones was not where I had last left him.

He was already across the street when I dashed outside like a maniac.

“There you are!” I exclaim, running over to catch up to him.

Jones flinches at the sound of my voice and flips around. “Oh! Val! Heyyyy!” He says nervously.

“I thought I was gonna walk you home! Why’d you leave me in the dust like that, man?”

“You- you were actually serious about that-?”

“Yeah, of course!” I reply. “You’re one of my closest friends, man. I can’t just leave you alone.”

“Oh!” Jones looks pleasantly shocked. “I- thank you.”

“No problem.” I grin at him. “So…do we take public transportation to your home, or-?”

“…Nah, don’t feel like it tonight. I just feel like walking.”

“Ah, alright.”

“…”

“So, your home’s this way-?”

“N-no, no, Val, it’s that way. We’re literally going to Newmark right now, I live all the way in Fairview.”

“Ahh, shit, my bad.”