It doesn't make us strong
It doesn't make us weak
Tongue tied disservice
Like shy pre-teens
I could only breathe
Live to believe
I'm alone

Gail's pov

Her heart was beating a little faster than she would have liked but she was determined to stay calm, she was a police officer dammit and she could handle herself in crisis. Gail gripped the steering wheel a little harder tried to focus on driving.

"Aunt Gail can't you go any faster? Maybe turn on the lights and sirens?" Leo pleaded from the backseat, his voice soft and shaky.

Gail checked her rearview mirror and swiftly changed lanes, "I am sorry little man but my car doesn't have lights or sirens but I am going as fast as I can. You okay back there?"

Leo didn't say anything but Gail saw him nod his head in the mirror, he looked so small cradling the tiny puppy in his arms, the puppy that currently wasn't moving and was having trouble breathing; Gail pressed a little harder on the accelerator.

"Mom's car has lights and sirens, so does Steve's."

Groaning at the traffic up ahead Gail whipped the car over into the turn lane and cut across the parking lot of a hardware store to get in front of the traffic at the light. Deciding to go with the topic change she replied, "Your mom and Steve have lights and sirens in their own cars because they are detectives and I am not a detective so I don't need them."

"You should become a detective." Leo stated simply. "Then you could have lights and sirens."

Having spotted their destination ahead Gail let out a sigh of relief, "Did Grandma Elaine tell you to say that?"

Once again seeing Leo in her mirror she saw him shake his head, "No, but she did tell me to remind you that you need to find a date for the charity ball or she will find one for you. I could be your date Aunt Gail…Mom showed me how to tie a tie last week when Steve couldn't get his right."

Gail shook her head in disbelief that the superintendent would use a six year old against her but softened at his kind offer. "Oh Leo you wouldn't want to go, it is just a bunch of old people and nasty food, not a cheese puff or doughnut in sight." Gail pulled into a parking spot near the door and quickly jumped out of the car and opened the back doors and took the puppy from Leo as he unbuckled himself. Gail hoped that she had gotten them there in time, she really didn't want to explain to Leo that the puppy had di…no, no dying puppy thoughts only positive thinking Peck, the puppy would be fine.

Using her foot to push open the door to the veterinary clinic and was immediately angry that no one was at the reception desk and the lobby was empty, how was she going to save the life of this puppy if there wasn't a damn vet around to do the saving? "Hey! Hello?! Sick maybe dying puppy here!" she yelled into the empty room and then inwardly groaned at her choice of words when she heard Leo gasp at the word "dying". "I am sorry buddy, I am sure the little fur ball will be fine I am just trying to get someone's attention. Gail was trying to think up more soothing words when she heard a voice call from behind the receptionist partition.

"I'm sorry but we aren't open right now, did you have an appointment?" A stunning dark haired woman with coppery skin said as she stepped out Gail watched as the light in the chocolate brown eyes lose their shimmer as she took in the sight of Gail holding the limp puppy and Leo crying into her side.

Gail didn't say anything but pleaded with her eyes for this beautiful woman to do something…anything and by some miracle she did.

"Let me have him." Gail without hesitation handed the puppy over and instantly felt a sense of relief as if she knew that this stranger would make things better. She watched the woman move purposefully to the back of the clinic calling out the name Charlie. Curiosity getting the better of her, Gail leaned down and picked up Leo and placed him in a chair, placing a kiss on the top of his head and telling him to stay put while she followed the path of her mystery woman.

Hearing voices in a back room Gail entered it cautiously finding the darker woman and a slightly shorter women with the same complexion in the room with the puppy. "Is this your dog?" the shorter one asked as she held a stethoscope to the puppy's back. Gail shook her head, and the woman sighed, "Did you see what happened to him?" Once again Gail shook her head.

"We were in the park and heard whimpering and when we found where the noise was coming from it was like this." Gail explained.

"Okay it is a he and how long has he been like this?" the shorter woman asked as she started grabbing some different vials and began to mix the solutions together. Before Gail could say anything the woman turned to the other woman, "Holly how much do you think he weighs? He looks like an aussie shepard mix so he is not going to be a large dog."

So the mystery woman had a name and a pretty one at that, she didn't hear what Holly had to say because she was perhaps a little too focused on the woman's practically perfect lips. It took a moment for Gail to realize that both women were staring at her. Holly gave her a small lopsided smile, "When did you find him?"

Gail glanced down at her watch, "Roughly 12 minutes ago in Morningview Park."

Both women raised their eyebrows at this, "Wow, during this time of day with traffic it is usually at least twenty minutes to get here from there." The shorter woman said clearly impressed, "That is almost clear across town."

Gail nodded, "I may have taken a few liberties with a traffic regulations but I had good intentions. Is it I mean is he going to be okay? I need to be able to tell Leo something."

The shorter woman, who Gail could now see that her name was C. Stewart as it was written on her lab coat, placed an I.V. into the still puppy. "I need to run some labs to figure out what this little one got into, it looks like he must have ingested something that has slowed all of his functions down to almost a standstill. I am giving him fluids now to help but it could take a while before I know anything. You should probably go wait with your son."

Gail didn't bother to correct the woman as she turned to go back to Leo and was surprised to see Holly following her. She was even more surprised to find Leo fast asleep in his chair. Not wanting to wake him up Gail moved to the other side of the waiting room and took out her phone as she sat down and sent a quick text to Traci letting her know that everything was good, no need to go into details as Leo wasn't expected at home for hours.

"My sister is an awesome vet, she will figure this out…I know she will." Holly said quietly as she sat down next to Gail.

Gail looked down at her phone which signaled a new message, Traci had replied back with a reminder that Leo needed to eat at least one vegetable at dinner and french fries didn't count. She shoved the phone back into her pocket and looked back to Holly, "Shouldn't you be in there helping her? Aren't you a doctor too?"

Holly shook her head and then tilted her head in thought but returned her gaze to Gail. "I am not a veterinarian, I am a doctor just not the animal kind…well technically people are animals…"

"Why are you saying so many words?" Gail asked the rambling woman who evidently was in fact a doctor but didn't treat the furry beasts.

"Sorry I tend to spew words when I am nervous." Holly apologized as she offered Gail a small lop-sided smile. "I'm Holly by the way…Holly Stewart."

"Gail Peck and the sleeping one is Leo. So if you are not a vet type person…"

"Why am I here?" Holly finished and Gail nodded. "I just moved here and Charlie is the only person I know here and I was bored sitting in my empty apartment. I figured I would help her paint her office and catch up with her."

Gail wasn't usually one for small talk but for some strange unexplainable reason she found herself wanting to talk to this woman. "Where did you move from?"

"Well I am originally from Victoria but went to university in Vancouver and then went back to Victoria to do my residency, my dad was sick so I wanted to be close to home." Holly answered. "Are you from here?"

The blonde nodded, "Born and raised. Spent twenty-six of my twenty-nine years here."

Holly turned in her seat and leaned in a little closer to Gail, "Where did you spend the other three years?"

It didn't come easy I'm glad it was hard
Worth the wait to give you my heart

This was a question that many people asked and Gail rarely answered, to this day her mother still doesn't know all the details since Gail had escaped the private detective Elaine had sent to find her and bring her home. "I spent six months in Central America before I went into South America, from there I took a boat to Africa where I spent a year and then I bounced around Europe."

"Wow…that…that is impressive. What did you do in all of those places? Did you speak any of the languages?"

Gail shifted in her seat and looked over at Leo who was still napping as she nodded slowly. "I unofficially joined the Peace Corps and helped build houses and teach kids in disaster areas."

"Okay I retract my previous comment because that is impressive, you are impressive." Holly said sincerely. "Hey there are holes in your jacket…did the puppy bite you?"

Gail looked at the sleeve of her leather jacket and shrugged, "I guess. When we first found it he was a little more lively and yipped at me. I think the pup might have bitten me when I was running for the car with Leo. Damn for a little guy he has some big teeth… look at the size of these holes. This was my favorite jacket too."

Big teeth small kiss
I turn to wax and melt like this
Melt like this

Holly's pov

Holly grabbed Gail by her arm and dragged her to an exam room and stood with her arms crossed.

"What?" Gail asked as if she was unsure what exactly was going on.

Holly rocked a little on the balls of her feet, "I uh…I need you to take your shirt off so that I can see if you got bit."

"Oh… uh okay…I guess." Gail said as she started to unbutton her shirt and Holly tried to focus on anything but Gail however it was a small room and she found her gaze going back to Gail and her perfectly pale skin. Her eyes drifted from her flat toned stomach up to her exquisite breasts. She watched as Gail inhaled sharply as the cool air touched her skin and Holly wanted nothing more than to see if her skin was a soft as it looked. It amazed Holly how drawn she was to Gail, it wasn't like her to feel so much so soon for someone that she had known for not even an hour and she chastised herself for it, clearly Gail was involved with someone, she had a child at the very least and while that wasn't an issue for her, she liked kids…but this train of thought was pointless; nothing was going to happen with Gail…Gail who was standing in front of her in a pale blue bra that matched her eyes.

Holly went to the task at hand and started to examine Gail's forearm and thankfully found no puncture marks and she let out a sigh of relief. Gail noticed and smirked, "Doc I have been shot and stabbed I don't think a puppy the size of maple bar is going to do me in."

Gulping hard Holly dropped Gail's arm, "Okay three things; first why exactly have you gotten shot and stabbed, two where did this injuries happen because your torso is flawless and three where can I find a maple bar the size of a puppy?"

Gail laughed as she slipped her shirt back on. "I'm a cop, bullets and knives coming at me are all part of the job, the reason my torso is flawless as you say is because I always wear my vest and it stops most things although the guy that tried to stab my mostly got my jacket and only scratched me. As far as the maple bars go that is a secret that I never share, even my partner Oliver doesn't know and he is like a dad or brother to me."

Holly was a little thrown that the beautiful blonde was an officer of the law but she could see it in her attitude that she was probably a very good cop. This information did raise some questions for her, "You are a police officer? Which division?"

"Fifteen."

"Huh…interesting."

Gail finished buttoning up her shirt, "Why interesting?"

"Oh no reason."

Gail rolled her eyes, "Okay. So you want to tell me why you were so concerned that the pup might have bitten me? Because I don't think the blood loss would have been that great and unless he could turn me into a werewolf which would have sucked because I seriously hate shaving my legs and if I had to shave my entire body I would be extremely pissed off." Gail deadpanned.

"I don't think you would have had to worry about suffering from lycanthropy…the proper name for were wolves is lycanthropes." She explained, "Since we don't know anything about the little guy we have to be concerned about things like rabies." Holly said.

"You aren't serious are you?" Gail raised an eyebrow, "Tell me this is your nerdy attempt at a joke."

Holly shook her head as she wrapped up Gail's arm in gauze, "The likelihood that you would have gotten rabies was minuscule but…"

"You have to cover all the bases." Gail finished for her. "Well I guess I am lucky that I wore my leather jacket today, I can pull off a lot of looks but even I don't look attractive foaming at the mouth."

Holly gave her a smile because clearly the girl was insane; who knew that insane blondes were her thing? She turned towards the door, "I am going to go check on Charlie and the pup. Are you and Leo staying?"

Gail nodded as she followed Holly out the door, "He is going to want to know if little Chewbacca is going to be okay."

"You named the dog Chewbacca?"

"What of it? He is obviously a biter if my coat is any proof and he is the furriest thing I have ever seen, Chewie fits him."

"You might be insane."

Gail waved her off, "I have been called worse."

Twenty minutes later
I found you in pieces you'd been torn apart
A million one reasons to end before you start
But deep down I knew
No matter what in the end, it'd be me and you

Without getting any conclusive answers from Charlie about Chewie's condition other than no change Holly went back into the waiting room to find Gail pacing the length of the room with her phone to her ear, the knuckles on that hand white with tension and Leo looking amused watching her from his seat. Holly joined him when he smiled and patted the chair next to him. "She is talking to grandma." He said as if that explained away everything.

Holly tried her best not to listen in but it couldn't be helped when Gail crashed into the seat next to her.

"Mother for the thousandth time, I. Do. Not. Want. You. To. Find. Me. Dates." She punctuated each and every word and these nine words made Holly's heart beat a little faster, this meant that Gail was single, granted she was probably straight but there was a sliver of hope. "No…no you are not even listening to me mother, I tried it your way and it didn't work…well no I didn't put a lot of effort into the dates because I knew five minutes in that nothing was going to happen between us." Gail rubbed her temple with her free hand. "Perhaps I haven't made the best choices in the past but at least they didn't spend the entire date explaining the difference between crumpets and scones to me." Holly let out a short laugh that earned her a raised eye brow from the blonde before she continued her conversation. "Yes that is exactly what I am saying, I can find my own date for it…have you even considered that I might have already asked someone? I am fully capable of…fine mother her name is Holly and she is a doctor are you happy now? I have to go…yes I will remember to pick up the dress at the dry cleaners. Bye mother." Gail hung up and dropped the phone onto her lap and turned to face Holly.

"How about it? You want to be my plus one next week for a charity thing? I can promise you cheap champagne and your choice of fishy chicken or chickeny fish." Gail said waggling her eyebrows and gave her a toothy grin that made it impossible to say no too.

"You should go," Leo piped up as he grabbed Gail's phone and started playing a game on it. "Aunt Gail is awesome and fun and knows how to talk with her hands and…"

Wait…did he just say Aunt Gail?

"I think she gets the idea little man, you don't need to sell me so hard but I got to say you are ten times the wing man of any of your uncles or Steve."

Before Holly could say anything Charlie walked in looking a lot happier than she had ten minutes before. "So I hear the little guy has a name? Chewbacca is it?"

Gail gave her a noncommittal shrug and pulled Leo on to her lap, "How is he?"

Charlie adjusted her glasses, "He was is rough shape when you brought him in…get it ruff shape? Never mind, after rehydrating him and giving him activated charcoal he is coming around. Now I will need to keep him for at least two days to observe him and make sure that the toxins are out of his system but I think he should be fine. Are you going to want to take him home with you?"

There was a collective sigh of relief in the room that was short lived when Leo spoke up, "Can I bring Chewie home? Please."

Gail shook her head, "I am sorry little man, your mom would kill me; she is allergic to dogs remember?"

Leo's face visibly fell and he slumped back against Gail, "You could bring him home and then I could visit him." He said excitedly as he bounced on her lap and Holly thought it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

Gail gently took him by the shoulders and held him still (or at least as still as a six year old gets) "Leo I can't, my building doesn't allow animals and Uncle Chris is also allergic."

"You could move?"

"Leo…"

Holly wasn't sure what possessed her but she broke in, "I will take him home…he can live with me."

Gail raised an eyebrow in surprise and Leo squealed, "Can I visit him? And go for walks with him and I can teach him stuff and…"

"Leo! Relax. Holly you don't have to…" Gail started but Holly interjected.

"No I want to, it would be nice to have someone to come home to and I don't start my new job for another month so I will have some time to train him and Leo can help if he wants." Holly turned to her sister, "I will take him when he is ready."

"Okay then. You all might as well go home, he is going to sleep the rest of the day." Charlie said with a smile.

Leo hopped off Gail's lap and grabbed Charlie's hand, "Can I see Chewie? I know he is sleeping but I want to tell him that I will see him later."

Charlie looked at Gail for approval and when she got it she said, "Sure I am sure that he would like that."

Holly smiled and signed to Gail that Leo was cute and the blonde perked and started signing back. "So what do you say? If you are worried about the whole date thing just think of it as meeting more people is a strange city with an open bar. I know that this is probably crazy to you with me asking you to go but I haven't had much luck with relationships and I can't go on another blind date, my mother has the worst taste."

"I'm a lesbian." Holly blurted out before she had a chance to realize what she was saying causing Leo and Charlie to glance back at them before continuing back to Chewie's room. She noticed that Gail hadn't really reacted to her announcement.

"Oh…I kind of already figured that out by your shirt doc." Gail said with a smirk as she pointed to Holly's paint covered tee shirt that said 'Out and Proud- Pride 2012'.

"So this isn't going to be a problem?" Holly signed nervously.

Gail rolled her eyes but smiled as she said out loud, "Do you have a problem with me being a lesbian?"

And just like that Holly knew that moving here was the right choice, that deciding to help Charlie that afternoon was the right call and taking a chance and talking to Gail was the best idea that she had ever had because it lead up to this moment; where she forgot how to sign the words that she needed so she cleared her throat and said, "I would love to go with you."

Big teeth small kiss
I turn to wax and melt like this
Melt like this

Almost two years later

Gail's pov

It had been a long day, not only had a perp made her run but her rookie spilt his nasty cous cous all over her shirt, all she wanted was to go home and never leave the couch. Gail dropped her keys in the bowl by the door and found it very quiet, almost too quiet. She crept into the living room and found Holly and the dog sleeping together on the couch, Chewie's head resting on Holly's stomach. Gail smiled at the scene and her frustrations from the day melted. She carefully sat down on the floor next to the couch and brushed a few stray hairs from her beautiful wife's face. It still amazed her that she could call Holly her wife and she liked to say it often, my wife Holly this and my wife Holly that; she was sure that all the rookies teased her behind her back because of it but she didn't care.

Lavender Haze
Djarum vanilla
Turkish jade
You and me
We have it made
We have it made

She could still remember their first date which consisted of them hiding in the coat closet most of the night getting to know one another, Holly leaning up against Gail as they shared a bottle of champagne, Gail's senses flooded with the scent of Holly's vanilla perfume and the cheap alcohol. That is when Holly let it slip that she was going to be the new forensic pathologist for 15 division. Gail told her about the other rookies and warned her not to let Dov near any autopsies unless she wanted him to vomit in the chest cavity. Holly offered to keep a supply of snacks in her desk for her and Gail couldn't help but kiss this amazing thoughtful cheese puff providing woman. As far as first kisses go it blew all others out of the water and she decided right there in that dim and dusty coat room that this was her last first kiss. The taste of vanilla on her lips mesmerized Gail and she and Holly spent the rest of the party sharing second and third kisses until counting seemed pointless.

Caress my knees with your tongue
Teeth on my waist I come undone
It's those hours in the night just before a light
Run your hand down my spine
We kiss the dusk goodnight
Goodnight

Gail watched as Chewie let out a soft bark as he curled closer into Holly, who it turn sighed in her sleep and made this little scrunched up face that Gail loved. It reminded her of their first night together, they hadn't planned on taking that step, especially not after only having just had their second official date but when Gail was dropping Holly off after taking her to the batting cages (Leo's idea) and Holly asked her if she wanted to go with her and Chewie for a walk and she couldn't say no when the little pup licked her hand when she went to scratch his head. The walk itself was unremarkable, simply a walk to the small neighborhood park but for Gail it meant getting to hold Holly's hand and hearing Holly laugh at Chewie tripping over his own feet as he chased a leaf and Gail realized that this is what she had been searching most of her life for; a hand to hold and for that hand to hold hers back. She was quiet on the walk back to Holly's letting the doctor dominate the conversation but she didn't mind she could listen to her talk for hours and not grow bored. Two blocks away from the house the skies opened up and rain came down in sheets, Gail scooped up the puppy and both women ran for shelter. When they reached Holly's doorway they were soaked and Holly started to laugh as Gail attempted to dry her short hair by shaking her head much like Chewie was doing in her arms. Holly opened the door and took him from her arms and set him inside; she turned back to Gail and moved a wet lock of hair out of Gail's eyes and gently kissed her. It was slow like a building wave until it reached its peak and passion washed over her and Holly. To this day Gail has no idea how they made into the house let alone found their way upstairs but with every touch, every kiss Gail knew that she was falling hard and fast and she needed Holly. It wasn't until after they both untangled their mess of limbs and came down from the euphoria of their shared bliss when Holly pulled her close and asked her to stay that she recognized that Holly needed her too.

The next few months were a whirlwind of Gail moving in after Holly blurting out that she loved her and couldn't sleep without her next to her; a sentiment that Gail returned after shutting her up with a breathtaking kiss. A few months after moving into a house with a yard for Chewie both she and Holly propose after arguing over whether or not Chewie could sleep on their bed, (Gail for and Holly against- Gail won). It was a small wedding but memorable when Leo in an effort to catch Chewie (who Dov decided would make an excellent ring bearer) ran full-tilt boogie through the Peck's backyard chasing a squirrel knocking the cake off the table and onto Chloe who tried to catch it. It was a complete fiasco but almost a year later it still brought a smile to Gail's face at the thought of Chloe wiping buttercream frosting from her eyelashes.

Gail moved her hand from the slumbering dog to rest on her wife's stomach. With the greatest of care Gail ghosted her fingers over the slight bump that had popped a few days before, in a few months' time that bump would be a beautiful baby that Gail would hold. She was unprepared for the surge of emotion that the thought brought forth, she blinked back a few tears as she felt a hand cover her own. "I think he can hear the baby's heartbeat." Holly said sleepily as she opened her eyes and looked down at the dog. "As soon as I sit down he jumps up and puts his ear to my stomach."

This made Gail smile as she leaned in for a kiss that lingered a little longer than their normal hello kisses that turned playful as Holly teased her neck with love bites before kissing away the sting. Gail climbed up to join Holly on the couch and murmured against her neck how much she loved her. The movement caused Chewie to jump off the couch and cover his eyes with his paws, no one likes to watch their parents make-out.