Holly shifted her car into park and turned towards Gail who was sitting in the passenger's seat, fiddling nervously with her watchstrap. "You ready?" she asked, reaching over to give her girlfriend's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Gail frowned, looking momentarily stricken. "No." She swallowed. "Yes. Wait." She took a deep breath. "Do the run-down one more time."

Holly smiled. "You're taking this very seriously."

"Of course I am!" Gail cried, utterly indignant. "Shouldn't I be? It's your family, Holly. I mean…what if they don't like me? What if they hate me? What if—"

Holly pressed a finger to Gail's lips, effectively silencing her nervous ramble. "Gail. Honey. You're going to be okay. They'll love you."

She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to Gail's. The kiss was soft and slow, intended to comfort rather than arouse.

When Holly pulled away, Gail still looked skeptical, but slightly less terrified. She licked her lips, her gaze dipping to Holly's mouth for a beat before returning to her eyes. "Do the run-down," she said. "And stop with that face."

"What face?" Holly murmured.

"That…kissed face," Gail groaned. She leaned towards Holly again, her mouth ghosting along the brunette's jaw. "Hol," she whispered in her ear.

Holly struggled to focus as Gail pressed her mouth to the soft triangle of skin behind her ear, trailing kisses along the edge of her hairline. "Yeah?" she finally managed to rasp out.

Gail paused, then pulled away abruptly, grinning at Holly's startled look and whimper of protest. "Wait…why'd you stop?"

"The run-down. Focus, babe."

Holly tucked her hair behind her ear with slightly shaky fingers. "If you wanted me to focus you probably shouldn't have done…all that."

Gail only smiled, waiting expectantly. Holly let out a long breath, working to organize her hazy brain. "Right. Okay. There'll be my mom, Carol. My dad, Doug. My older sister, Laura. And my younger sister, Sam."

Gail nodded. "Carol, Doug, Laura, and Sam. Got it."

"Oh, and Laura mentioned Jo might be coming too."

"Who's Joe?" Gail asked.

"My ex."

"Your ex?" Gail looked skeptical. "Joe as in Joseph?"

"No, Jo as in Josephine."

"Ah," Gail said. "It all comes clear. Wait." She scowled. "Why is your ex-girlfriend coming to dinner?"

Holly shrugged as if it were no big deal. "We've been friends since we were little and it's been over a decade since we dated." She paused and eyed Gail knowingly. "Why? You jealous?"

"No!" Gail said, probably a little more forcefully than necessary.

Holly cocked an eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

Gail rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Whatever. Let's just go inside."

Holly slid out of the car and closed the driver's side door, waiting for Gail to round the front of the car. When she was within reach, Holly reached for her hand and tugged her into her side. "It's going to be okay," she murmured, her voice warm and reassuring. She pressed a soft kiss to Gail's temple. "They're going to love you."

—

The dark-haired woman who answered the door could have been a carbon copy of Holly. They looked startlingly similar, from the thick, wavy hair, to the dark eyes, to the slightly lopsided smile. The only thing that gave away the other woman's age was a few streaks of silver in her nearly black hair.

"Hey, honey," the woman said, her voice lower than Holly's and a little fuller.

"Hey, mom," Holly returned, smiling, and immediately stepping into her mother's waiting arms. "Good to see you." She stepped back and took Gail's hand again, tugging her forward. "Mom, this is Gail. Gail, this is my mom, Carol."

"Gail," Carol said warmly, extending her hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Gail murmured, giving what she hoped was a friendly handshake and trying to relax her stiff posture.

"Come in, come in." Carol stepped to one side of the doorway, making room for the couple to walk inside.

Holly walked slightly in front of Gail, leading the way down a hallway that opened into a spacious living room. The walls were painted a warm brown and a fire flickered in one corner, lending the room a nice homey feel. Gail could picture a high school-aged Holly curled up at one end of the dark red sofa, reading some impossibly nerdy book while she sipped coffee.

At the moment, there were two women seated on the sofa. On one end was a younger woman with short brown hair and the same olive complexion as Holly. On the other end was a woman who probably wasn't more than a couple years older than Holly. Her hair was caught back in a loose braid, her expression oddly solemn. Gail saw a flicker of deep sadness in the woman's eyes before it was gone, replaced by a mask of hospitality.

Both women stood to greet Holly and Gail. Holly hugged both of them, but Gail noticed she hugged the older one—Laura—a little longer and a little harder, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before releasing her and stepping away.

Laura greeted Gail first. Gail was surprised when she immediately pulled her into a hug—too surprised to do anything but hug her back. "Nice to meet you, Gail," she said softly.

"Thanks," Gail said. "You too."

Holly's younger sister waved, not moving from her spot beside Holly. "Hi, I'm Sam," she supplied, giving Gail an unabashedly appraising look.

Gail appreciated her blasé attitude. At least she could relate to it. "I'm Gail," she said.

"Where's Dad?" Holly asked, sliding her palm down Gail's wrist to tangle their fingers together. The touch was soothing and immediately anchored Gail, just as Holly probably knew it would.

"He's out back with Jo," Sam said, returning to her previous spot on the couch and slouching heavily into the cushions.

"Sam, sit up," Carol said, her tone gently reprimanding, before turning her attention to Holly. "Why don't you go find them, sweetie? Try to coax them back inside."

"He's probably showing her his new koi pond," Sam said. "He never shuts up about it."

"Language," Holly scolded reflexively, not really thinking about it.

Sam scowled at her. "I'm twenty-two, Holls. Give me a break."

"Sorry," Holly murmured, not looking sorry in the slightest. She gave Gail's hand a tug. "C'mon. Let's go find my Dad."

"And Jo," Gail couldn't help but add, letting herself be pulled along as Holly led them down a couple of hallways that ended in a mud room.

Holly paused beside a door that opened onto the back yard. "I thought you weren't jealous."

Gail leaned towards her almost imperceptibly, her gaze zeroing in on Holly's slightly parted lips. "I'm not."

Holly grinned. "I still don't believe you."

Gail was just about to lean in for a kiss when Holly spun away and pushed open the door, tugging a dazed Gail outside. "Jeez, Hol, slow down."

"Having trouble keeping up, officer? Too many donuts?"

"Ha-ha," Gail grumbled.

Holly only giggled, lifting her free hand to wave at an older man who was standing at one end of the yard next to what looked a giant hole in the ground. "Daddy!" she called, practically wrenching Gail's arm out of the socket as she hurried forward.

"Hey, baby," the man greeted, grinning widely at his daughter. "You come to admire my koi pond?"

Holly laughed and released Gail's hand so that she could give him a hug. "Daddy, that's a hole."

"See, that's where you're wrong. In a couple weeks time, this is going to be the finest koi pond in the country. You just need a little vision."

Gail eyed the muddy pit skeptically, thinking it would take more than a little vision to turn it into anything resembling a beautiful pond. She lifted her eyes from hole and found Holly watching her knowingly. She returned to Gail's side and slipped an arm around her waist. "Daddy, this is Gail."

Holly's father turned towards the couple, looking momentarily chagrined. "Yes, of course! Where are my manners?" He stepped forward and shook Gail's hand firmly. His hand was warm and slightly calloused. "I'm Doug. It's great to finally meet you, Gail."

"You too," Gail said, deciding on the spot that she liked him. He was obviously beside himself with excitement about his koi pond, and his boyish enthusiasm was endearing.

"Sam mentioned you were holding Jo hostage out here," Holly said, but before her father could respond, a gorgeous redhead emerged from a ramshackle shed a few yards away. She was holding a bag aloft triumphantly.

"I think I found it!" she called to Doug. Then she saw Holly and her lips parted in a wide grin. "Hey, Worm!"

"Worm?" Gail muttered, watching as Holly practically launched herself into Jo's arms.

Jo was a little taller than Holly, with an almost statuesque build. Where Holly was curvy, Jo was more rangy. Her hair was cut short and styled casually. When the two women finally pulled apart, bright green eyes scanned Holly's face familiarly.

"You look terrible," Jo declared.

Gail immediately felt her hackles rise. Who did this girl think she was? Swooping in, hugging Holly for like an hour, and then casually insulting her? But Holly only laughed and swatted at Jo's arm playfully. "Always the charmer," she muttered, before turning back to Gail.

"Gail, I'd like you to meet Jo, the neighborhood clown. Jo, this is my girlfriend, Gail."

"Nice to meet ya," Jo said, shaking Gail's hand and flashing a grin. She hooked her thumb at Holly. "You caught a good one with Worm here."

Gail raised an eyebrow. "Worm?"

"Book worm," Doug supplied, taking a reluctant step away from his beloved pond and rejoining the conversation. "Holly always had her nose in a book growing up. Between that and the glasses…"

"Ah, so you've always been this nerdy, huh?" Gail teased, bumping her shoulder into Holly's.

Holly shrugged, not looking at all bothered to be found out. "Pretty much."

"The nickname was only fitting," Jo said.

"Although you are the only one who still calls me that, jerk."

Jo smirked. "Someone's gotta keep that ego of yours in check, Doctor."

"Don't worry," Gail said. "I remind her of her perpetual nerdiness all the time."

Jo grinned at Gail, then turned to Holly. "I like this one."

Gail raised an eyebrow. "This one? How many have there been?"

Holly swallowed. "Uh. Not many."

Gail glanced at Doug, who was slowly inching back towards his pond, looking uncomfortable. She fought the urge to sigh, because no she was not jealous. Not at all. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I sure could use a cocktail."

Doug let out a deep belly laugh, the tension immediately dissolving. He walked over to Holly and patted her on the back. "She might be my favorite, honey."

—

I'm not sure how many installments of this there will be, but I'll post the next chapter ASAP. I hope you enjoyed the first part. Let me know what you think!