A/N So I am not a writer, I felt I should make that clear. I am a scientist who is better at writing a journal article than I am at any kind of fictional prose, but hey, what's wrong with trying something different?

Anyway, this will be a multi-chapter story, and will build slowly. If you have the patience for that, read on!

The beating of her heart hadn't slowed in the minutes since she had kissed her. She could still feel the thump of every beat on her ribcage, and could hear the deafening rush of blood.

She had kissed Holly. Her newest friend. Her best friend. Social convention was not her area of expertise, however she was fairly confident that sharing an intimate kiss in a darkened interrogation room fell outside of the boundaries of friendship. She knew that her friendship with Holly wasn't like her friendship with her colleagues. For one Holly could take Gail's snarky behaviour, and even took it in her stride. Perhaps it was because Holly fancied the ladies, something Gail had no experience with, but didn't phase her in the least, but Gail had always looked at her friendship with Holly as if she were one of the boys. Maybe some wires had crossed somewhere. She reminded herself that as far as she knew she wasn't a lesbian, so the kiss had been an awkward mistake in a high pressure situation with a friend.

After stumbling into Oliver in the hallway, Gail felt a deep desire to hole herself up at the closest bar with a bottle of tequila on hand. Instead she had to get out there to protect her friends. To protect and serve, so the motto goes.

She wouldn't give herself time to think about the kiss that they had shared. Even knowing that someone was out there hunting down officers from 15 didn't fully distract her from remembering the moment. That distraction only came as news of Oliver's disappearance reached her. A chill reached her bones as she realised that her partner, the person that no matter what she was supposed to protect, had gone off the radar. The first rule that you learn at academy: Back up your partner. Instead she had let him back up another officer, and he hadn't arrived. What sort of officer, what sort of Peck, lets their partner go into trouble alone?

After a short briefing Peck and Diaz prepared themselves to go back out on the streets. Gail's brother, Steve, was giving her a last minute lecture about staying safe that she brushed off with ease, reminding him that her mother was mostly concerned about protecting the Peck name, not those who actually hold it. An officer was on the line with others in danger, being a Peck wouldn't help them, but being a police officer would.

The jarring buzz of the door being unlocked sounded in the background.

"Gail." She looked up to see Holly striding towards her as she called out her name.

"Holly, hey"

"Hi"

"Hey"

"You said that already"

"Yeah, well it sounded familiar"

"I, uh, just wanted to see you. You know? Take 10 minutes. Lay eyes on you."

As she said this, Holly took a step towards Gail, reaching for her hands for the little comfort she might get from her touch.

Fear crossed into Gail's eyes like a flash. Almost paralysed, all she could do was shake her head, hoping it would communicate everything that she needed it to. Gail wasn't even sure at that moment what she wanted to communicate though. How was she supposed to say that she didn't mean to kiss her? That the kiss didn't mean to Gail what she knew it meant to Holly? How could she communicate that with a simple shake of her head, when she wasn't even sure she believed herself?

Holly broke her out of her reverie as she spoke, "Oh, okay, so that's how we are going to do this?"

Gail wanted to apologise, he resolve cracking at the defeated tone that fell from Holly's lips. The lips that she had known so intimately only a few hours prior. Instead though, she mumbled an affirmation as she turned back towards Diaz, and her brother. As she went to leave Holly grabbed her arm, "Just... Just be careful, okay?"

Gail stepped backwards, away from Holly as she spoke, "I will".

Gail went through the motions for the remainder of her day. As news came over the radio that Ford, Oliver's assailant, and the reason that Officer Price, someone she admittedly had very little time for, was in hospital, had infiltrated 15 Division she froze. Seconds later she moved into action, nodding towards Diaz to take the passenger seat in the squad they shared.

The crackle of dispatch over the radio was louder than usual, as she tuned out everything else. She tensed in her seat, and her hands tightened against the steering wheel as the words "Officer Down" came through.

She arrived at the station in time to see Andy leap into the back of an ambulance. Was it Nick? She looked around and quickly spotted the man she once convinced herself that she loved. He approached slowly with his head hung low. He opened his mouth, only to close it again, not seeming able to form the words that he needed at that time. Gail pulled him into a hug as he whimpered, "It was Sam. Andy went with him. GSW to the abdomen, we don't know if he'll make it."

Her first response was to call Holly. In spite of her actions earlier in the day, both the kiss and the subsequent reaction at the station as she was headed out to pick up Ford's brother, all she wanted was for Holly to be close. She knew that in a crisis her friend would be there for her. Hopefully she would even be there once she made it clear that the kiss was a mistake. She was sure now, after the stress of the day that she hadn't meant to kiss her. For a brief moment she had mistaken Holly, and their friendship, for something else. Who could blame her? It was a big day.

Once news of Sam's condition came, and it was clear that there would be no further updates for some time, Frank sent the officers home, suggesting without any real conviction that they get some rest before shift started. Tomorrow was a new day and they couldn't afford to be down any more staff.

Holly led Gail out into the carpark towards her car. While unspoken, it was clear that Holly was volunteering to take care of Gail until her shift began, seeing that her friend was beyond exhausted. As Gail, in an almost comatose state, stepped into her vehicle, Holly quietly said, "Yeah, another day. We will talk another day."

Review if you want. Or don't. Peer assessment is pretty effective though, so go for it I guess!