It was Gail's first time using Holly's spare key. Needless to say, she was more than a little nervous about it. It didn't seem right to invade the privacy of someone else's home, even if she was in a way invited.
It had been just four weeks into their rapidly blossoming friendship when Holly told Gail where she hid the spare key to her house. Gail was free to make use of it whenever she felt the need to escape her life. Whether it was to get away from the smelly confines of her congested frat house, or simply because her stomach lacked the nourishment it so rightly deserved. (Holly had already proved herself on numerous occasions to be an excellent provider of all things scrumptious.)
Obviously the latter was all Gail's idea, but her friend hadn't objected outright. Or if she did, Gail had conveniently pretended not to listen. Not that she had planned on using the key anyway. To be honest, up until this moment the thought never crossed her mind.
Despite her worry, Gail managed to crack a smile. She traced her finger back and forth along the jagged edge of the simple, yet meaningful, metal object. Holly's kind and generous offer had definitely taken her by surprise. But what surprised her even more was the fact that she'd made a friend in the first place.
That's right! Gail Peck had a new friend, and she accomplished this all by herself! It was what some people might have called growth. Gail Peck was a grower. She had finally found someone she didn't want to murder every time they opened their mouth.
Okay, so she wanted to murder them a little… A few quick stabs here and there wouldn't hurt whenever they would use some big scary words that she didn't quite understand. Gail had always considered herself to be fairly smart, just not that smart.
She did have a pretty smart mouth though; full of bite, cheek, and endless sarcasm. Then again, so did her new friend, which made their level of banter unparalleled. Who knew telling someone they smelled like old bones within the first thirty minutes of meeting them would earn them, not one, but two donuts and a ride back to the station.
So now that Gail had a new friend she also had new responsibilities, like promptly replying to text messages. Or paying for things; like coffee, Danishes, and Chinese takeout.
She also had to hone her listening skills in order to take in all of the new information she normally wouldn't have given two shits about. Not to mention, she had to actively remember said information so she could carry out an adult conversation, where she would offer advice, and sometimes even provide some sort of emotional support. This was such a foreign concept to Gail. It wasn't too often that she found people confiding in her but with Holly it was different. She was different.
Having a new friend also meant having to pick them up from the side of the road when their expensive car would break down. And drop them off at work when their expensive car was in the shop. Then pick them up again after work to take them home because their expensive car was in the shop much longer than it should have been. It even meant making loud, threatening phone calls to lousy automotive mechanics telling them that they needed to hurry the hell up so she didn't have to get up so early for the third consecutive morning.
Yes, this was Gail's life now. And you know what? She didn't actually hate it. In fact, she was rather enjoying her newfound independence, happy to be away from her usual group of losers. But mostly, she just took pleasure in being around Holly Stewart, her lunchbox carrying nerd.
Holly, who was sweet and kind and understanding, but not in an overly disgusting way that made her want to gag and stick really sharp pointy objects in her ears until they bled.
Holly, who was also incredibly smart, awesomely weird, and sometimes even a little bit goofy. She definitely had her fair share of embarrassing moments. And together they were always finding different ways they could make each other laugh, one time to the point where Gail had admitted to a bit of pee coming out. It was definitely something Gail hadn't really been doing a lot of over the past year (she meant laughing, not peeing herself.)
If Gail was being completely honest with herself, she had developed a wee bit of a lady crush on the good doctor, which is perhaps why today on her day off she had jumped at the chance for a lunch date with her. Not a date date of course. Just two friends hanging out eating lunch, shooting the breeze. Because that is what Gail Peck did now. She shared. Willingly too. Well, at least that is what she did with her new buddy, Holly. Holly, who for some reason liked her company, no matter what mood she was in.
"I can just be me," Gail had reluctantly told her therapist a week earlier, before quickly clarifying, though rather unconvincingly, "I'm still not switching teams."
Today, Gail's only responsibility, besides washing her hair and annihilating Dov at Injustice, had been buying Holly her disgustingly healthy sandwich. However, when she had arrived at the morgue at midday, Rodney, Holly's intern, told her that the pathologist had left work fifteen minutes earlier not feeling well.
Fair enough, Gail had thought. If Holly was sick she probably had more important things to worry about than remembering to send her friend a message.
"This happens now and then, you know," Rodney added when Gail had one foot out the door. But the way in which he said it, and the strange look that immediately followed, had Gail believing she must have been missing something, that there was some kind of unspoken secret that could never be voiced out loud- a secret she was supposedly already privy to.
But Gail didn't know. She had no fucking clue! She didn't think sexy nerds even got sick. Mind you, she had only known this sexy nerd for a little over a four weeks, but that didn't stop her from panicking on the drive over to Holly's house. Her mind was a mess with half-formed thoughts as she diagnosed her friend with every possible sickness imaginable. One second Holly had a common cold, the next she was dying from monkey pox.
Messaging and calling hadn't helped ease Gail's mind either, because usually prompt Holly was not answering her stupid phone, which is why Gail now found herself standing outside Holly's front door, turning the spare key in the lock.
"Holly?" Gail finally called out after nudging the door open. She pulled the key out of the lock and returned it to its obvious hiding place under the potted plant outside the front door (something Gail would rectify at some point in the near future. That is if Holly hadn't already succumbed to the Black Plague, then she probably wouldn't even bother.)
Gail tentatively stepped over the threshold and into her friend's house, closing the door behind her. As she hung her coat and bag on the coat rack in the entryway she couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. Too quiet in fact, her first thought being that she had actually beaten Holly home. Her second being that Holly must have taken a detour. Most likely stopped off at the chemist to buy some medication for her chronic kidney problem. Then again, perhaps that flesh-eating disease she contracted was too far-gone now and she was totally unrecognizable, paralyzed at some traffic light, and all that remained of her was something that vaguely resembled a half-cooked lamb chop.
It was only after Gail peered into the kitchen that she realized she wasn't alone. A loud crashing noise coming from upstairs startled her.
As blood charged from her head to her hand, she launched forward and drew a large carving knife from the wooden block that sat on the edge of the kitchen bench. With wide eyes and a pounding heart, her oxygen deprived body darted every which way as she tried to assess her immediate surroundings, but was quick to realize she was in no apparent danger and slowly lowered her weapon.
In an attempt to remain calm, Gail slowed her breathing just as her training taught her. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she inhaling deeply through her nose, exhaling out her mouth. She knew in all likelihood it was just Holly thrashing around up stairs. Or maybe it was Lucy, aka Lucifer, Holly's sadistic cat who liked to eat people's faces. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, Gail thought.
With that in mind, Gail kept a tight grip on the knife as she crept upstairs. When she reached the top, she peered around the corner of the hallway down towards the bedrooms and froze. There was Lucifer curled up outside the bathroom door.
Lucifer didn't notice her immediately, but when she did, she meowed, got to her feet and began rubbing her stupidly cute face up against the door of the bathroom.
Gail groaned. She despised herself for secretly liking that damn cat. Keyword being secretly because Holly was never to know how she really felt about that cat, seeing how on numerous occasions she had kicked up such a stink about even being in the same room as the disgustingly friendly feline.
"Are you waiting for your mommy, Lucifer?" Gail asked in a soothing tone as they approached each other. Any softer and Gail would have been cooing like a baby. Despite of how worried she was Gail couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth when Lucifer purred and weaved in and out of her legs as she slowly made her way towards the bathroom.
"Holly, are you in there?" Gail called out as she knocked on the door, while at the same time nudging the attention-seeking feline away with her foot. (Gently of course.)
"Rachel?"
Gail loosened her grip on the knife, an instant reaction to hearing Holly's voice. She knew she was being stupid, but after her abduction she found on occasion, even the quietest of noises could set her off. Thankfully she has learned to hide the panic well from other people, but she was slowly getting better.
"What are you doing here?" Holly asked, then the distinct sound of a groan carried through the door.
"Um, it's Gail? We were supposed to be having lunch, remember?" Gail leaned into the doorjamb and put her ear to the door. "Are you okay in there? What's going on?"
"Gail? Shit! I forgot… I'm-"
For a brief moment Gail backed away from the door when she heard Holly throwing up. Gail usually shied away from sick people. All of those germs floating around would normally make her quiver and literally run in the opposite direction. But her hand was already on the door handle, and before she knew it she was inside the bathroom and three feet closer to her friend Holly. Holly, who was on the floor, eyes clenched, knees to her chest with one arm draped across the toilet bowl and using her bicep as a pillow.
Hiding her face away, Holly thrust her other arm into the air and held up a single finger as if to warn Gail off. Gail dropped the knife into the clothes hamper and stepped even closer, careful not to step on the contents of the overhead cabinet that were now in the sink and spread all over the floor, which accounted for the noise she had heard earlier.
"So what is it? The Flu? Ebola? Lupus?" Gail questioned with urgency in her voice. Holly moaned in reply. "I mean, Lupus is the first thing they suggest on House MD so it could be that or..." Gail trailed off, taking two large steps back. She hit the back of the door with a mighty thump as her thoughts landed on a highly contagious bout of syphilis.
"No, you wouldn't be so stupid," she all but said to herself. She shook her head before coming to another shocking and unfounded conclusion, "Oh my god, Holly! Do you have-" She took a moment to gather the strength to even utter the word, "C-Cancer?" She asked, her tone wary, but Holly still didn't offer her much of a response. Not that Gail was giving her the opportunity; her hypochondria seemed to be out in full force today.
Holly quirked her eyebrow.
"You have cancer, don't you? I knew it! Wait... I thought we were friends? Why wouldn't you tell me you were dying?" Gail cringed at her use of words.
"I'm gonna die if you don't shut up and hand me that ah-" Holly tried to finish what she was saying but her voice broke. Instead, her eyes clapped tight as she strained to swallow, while blindly pointing at nothing in particular. "That um..."
"That what, Holly? That what?" Gail almost yelled as she looked aimlessly around the bathroom. "Shit! You have amnesia! I knew it! Do you know where you are? What's your name? More importantly, what's my name?"
Holly took a deep breath in through her nose and opened her eyes. "Would you just hand me a god damn towel please!"
Gail's eyes widened. "Wow! Someone must be PMSing." Gail let out a slight chuckle. She hadn't seen Holly this angry before, or really, she hadn't been the cause of her anger but of course that was inevitable, right?
When Holly finally lifted her head from where it had been resting against her arm she offered Gail a weak smile. Smiling back, Gail handed her a towel, though kept at a relatively safe distance. Because gross, germs.
Gail watched as Holly wiped her face, ridding it of the sweat that had been trickling down her forehead. Holly leaned into the toilet bowl, and while using her elbow as leverage, managed to scramble to her feet, flushing the toilet on her way up. Once fully upright Gail could see in her glassy eyes that her friend was wavering, that the lights were about to go out. Then, as if on queue, those brown eyes closed and she began to sway, subsequently dropping the towel to the floor by her feet.
Aware of what was about to happen, Gail advanced forward and caught Holly under the arms before she had a chance to hit the floor. She lowered Holly's half limp body down to sit on the edge bathtub and prodded at her shoulder to double check that her friend would stay upright by herself before stepping over to the sink to fill a glass with water.
Holly's smile looked forced as she accepted the glass and took a swig. She swelled it around the inside of her mouth and then spat out the remnants into bathtub behind her.
Gail knelt down in front of her, and the cold tile against her knees sent a shiver rocketing up her spine as she draped the towel over her friend's lap. Holly's face was pale, Gail noted, and it gleaned with sweat. With a single finger, she swept the hair stuck to Holly's forehead away from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear so it was no longer obstructing Holly's view.
"You're dizzy," Gail observed.
Holly nodded as her arm moved to cradle her lower stomach. She cringed slightly; tilting over in obvious pain, almost head butting Gail in the process. "You'll be happy to know you were right with your diagnosis, detective," Holly's voice strained, however, she managed to follow up with a weak smile.
Gail eyes widened and she gulped. For the first time in the past thirty minutes she honest to god prayed that Holly would be okay.
"I started my period." Holly stated.
The words hung in the air like a mirage, and echoed in Gail's ears. She allowed the information sink for a few seconds before finally letting out the breath she had been holding. It was a relief to hear but it still didn't stop her from being concerned for her friend's wellbeing. "Have the symptoms always been this bad?"
Holly straightened her back and rasped out, "Only over the last four months."
"That's a little strange isn't it? So late in life?"
Holly chuckled. "Yes, given my old age I should be menopausal by now," she joked through a staggered breath.
"You know what I mean." Gail sighed and looked down at her hands. Holly must have noticed how worried she was because she soon found a hand on top of her own that had been unconsciously rubbing Holly's knee.
"Hey," Holly lifted Gail's chin with a finger. She tilted her head and smiled, "Don't worry, okay? I got everything checked out a few months ago. The doctor said nothing is wrong with me."
They exchanged concerned looks but Gail soon broke into a full-on smirk. "Well, that remains to be seen," Gail teased, earning her a playful punch to the arm. But when Holly's face contorted in discomfort it soon sobered her.
Gail released her grip on Holly's thighs and rose to her feet. "I think you should take a shower," she insisted. "It will help relax your muscles and you will be able to breathe easier."
"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Holly looked up.
Gail nodded. "It was bad in my teens. I think it was the only time my mother felt sorry for me."
"What do you mean?"
Gail sighed. Her somewhat strenuous relationship with her mother had yet to be a topic of theirs conversations, well, except from the basics, "my mothers a tyrant who likes to control my life, etcetera, etcetera." It's not that she didn't want to share this particular part of her life, she did, they talked about a lot of different things. But somehow Holly had this innate ability to pull information out of her, which she found rather scary and sometimes confronting. She feared if she started talking, she may not be able to stop, and right now all Gail wanted to do was take care of Holly. She was already suffering enough, and Gail didn't want to add her parental woes into the mix.
"Oh nothing." Gail waved her question away. "Do you think you can stand up?" She offered Holly her hands.
Holly sighed, slumping in defeat. "I don't know. Hurts like a son of a bitch," she said as she massaged her abdomen. "I basically crawled up the stairs. I think I scared Lucy."
Gail knelt down again, this time to loosen Holly's shoelaces. "Lucifer is outside the door. I think she sensed something was wrong."
"You see? Another thing you two have in common," Holly joked then winced in pain.
Gail canted her head and glared at her. For weeks now Holly had been trying to convince Gail that she and Lucy were actually quite similar. Yes, it was hard to go past the obvious physical traits of a white coat and blue eyes, but according to Gail, Holly's personality comparisons were completely unfounded. Just because they both had the rather gross habit of eating fish out of a can didn't mean they were the same. Really, she took comfort in knowing Holly loved her cat.
Its not that she thought Holly loved her. That would be stupid. She assumed Holly liked her the appropriate amount. Her friend hadn't gotten to the stage of kissing her head and rubbing her belly (not that Gail was jealous or anything or had even thought about that kind of thing because Gail Peck wasn't thinking about switching teams. No, she wasn't. She wasn't. She wasn't. She wasn't!)
"Har, har, very funny." Gail pulled off Holly's socks and boots; trying to decide what item of clothing she could help with next as she threw them off to the side. She bit down on her bottom lip and gripped the bottom of Holly's sweater and edged it up.
Holly obliged, lifting her arms straight up into the air so Gail could pull it off over her head.
"God, my body must really hate me," Holly groaned as she planted her hands back down either side of her on the edge of the bathtub, looking dejected.
Gail chuckled.
Holly frowned. "What's so funny?"
"You so sure about that?" Gail smiled, allowing her eyes to drift up Holly's notably tanned and strikingly beautiful bare torso, past the simple white cotton bra, up to meet curious brown eyes. "I'm getting totally blinded by your abs right now," Gail said and Holly looked down at her stomach. "Seriously, eat a donut or something."
Holly whipped her head up, "Hey! I eat plenty of donuts!"
"Oh, please!" Gail stood up while she took in Holly's terrible but really beautiful, (despite her disheveled appearance) poker face. If she had learned anything about Holly over the past few weeks, it was that the good doctor was not as adept in the art of deception as she very may well thought she was. "Unless you're disguising your donuts as vegetables like Heston Blumenthal, I have never seen you eat one."
Gail lifted her own sweater up until the fabric scrunched up beneath her breasts. She patted her pale stomach. "Look, this is what the belly of someone looks like who has consumed copious amounts of donuts." Gail pushed her stomach out slightly to form a small, round potbelly, gently circling her palm over it as if she was carrying a baby. It was her donut baby, of which, she was obviously quite proud.
"You know, Lucy has the exact same belly button." Holly poked Gail in the side of the ribs, grinning up at her.
"Wow!" Gail breathed, slapping Holly's hand away, however she couldn't help but notice how it had lingered there, how the sensation of Holly's touch felt like it burned into Gail's flesh. She pulled her sweater back down as she forced those thoughts to the back of her mind. "I pay you a compliment, and this is what I get?"
Holly scoffed, "I'm sorry? There was a compliment in there?"
Gail shrugged. "I can't help it if you have yet to decipher the way in which I speak."
Holly rolled her eyes. "I'm taking lessons daily."
"Ones that you're obviously failing."
Holly sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I haven't failed at anything in my life."
"Now that I believe," Gail said with an emphatic nod as she offered Holly both hands again.
"Well, except for my relationships," Holly added with a half-hearted laugh.
"Hmph," Gail grunted. Amen to that, she thought. "I on the other hand, fail daily according to my parents." Gail's eyes widened at her sudden admission but was poised to quickly move on. "Now, are you ready to try and stand up?"
Holly nodded, thankfully ignoring what she had just said and took her proffered hands and gently pulled her friend up to her feet.
"You okay?" Gail asked.
Holly used Gail's shoulders to steady herself; holding on with both hands, and with a sweet smile, nodded her assurance.
"What about with your pants?"
Holly let go of her shoulders and Gail observed her— not too closely, though— as she unzipped her jeans and let them fall to the ground.
"Okay, I think I am good. I can take it from here." Holly kicked her jeans away.
"You sure? What if you fall and hit your head?"
"I won't, I promise."
Gail narrowed her eyes, imploring Holly to be careful.
"Seriously Gail, I will be fine. I know you are in love with my abs now, but I am not sure if you could keep your composure if I were completely naked." Holly smirked. Surprisingly, Holly wasn't wrong but she didn't have to be so cocky about it, Gail thought.
After a particularly long staring match, which Holly seemed to not want to lose, Gail finally forfeited and left the bathroom, but not before turning up her nose at her friend and dismissively muttering "fine." She did, however, find herself hovering outside the bathroom door, occasionally pressing her up ear against it.
For minutes she listened to the sound of the running water as it hit Holly's very naked body — a fact that she was doing her best not to focus on— before landing with a splash at the bottom of the tub. If that wasn't enough to convince her that Holly was still upright, the gentle humming of an indecipherable tune Gail could only describe as awful did. Holly was as tone deaf as they come.
Enough was enough, Gail decided, and she stepped away from the door. If she listened any longer, she knew she ran the risk of humming along with her. So in the interest of maintaining at least some of her previously earned cool points, she swept Lucy up into her arms and made her way downstairs to the kitchen, away from temptation.
"Lucifer," Gail started, "I'm not the biggest fan of cats, despite being one myself, you know? Actually," she shook her head, "truth be told, I'm scared shitless at the mere sight of them," she admitted without elaborating on her one particularly bad experience with the feline persuasion. (Poor little, defenseless Burrito, didn't see that closing drawer coming.) She pulled a stool out from underneath the island and dropped Lucy down onto it before walking around to the opposite side. "But there is just something about you that I … dunno, like, I guess … What exactly is that?"
Gail sighed as Lucy yawned and flopped down onto her side, seemingly uninterested in whatever Gail had to say. "That's it? That's all you have to offer me? Your stinky cat breath?" As much as Gail wanted a reply, the logical part of her brain intervened, and she got to busying herself in Holly's pristine kitchen instead.
She was a woman on a mission as she searched the cupboards for the ingredients that she needed to make Holly feel better. Or at least, that's what she hoped to do. Gail opened the pantry. "How is it that your mom has four different types of chilli sauce but doesn't have a single piece of ginger?" She asked Lucifer who was apparently still not listening.
She closed the pantry door and shook her head. This simply wouldn't do. Gail knew that the time had come for her to venture out and become the type of person she vowed to never be: Neighbourly.
Twenty-five minutes later, Gail looked up at the sound of light footfalls padding down the stairs. When Holly walked into the kitchen, Gail was surprised to see tears in the doctors eyes. Thinking something wrong, she raced to Holly's side, and without really thinking about it, grabbed her hands, but she was caught off guard when Holly took one step further and pulled her into a bone crunching hug, "What happened? Did you hurt yourself? I didn't hear you fall…"
Holly choked back her sob, "I'm fine," she sniffed, "it's not that…it's...it's stupid."
"Let me judge if it's stupid or not." Gail stepped back and slid her hand down Holly's arm to her wrist. "Tell me," she urged as she lead Holly into the lounge.
Fresh tears rolled down Holly's cheeks as she offered Gail a weak smile. "When I was getting dressed just now, I noticed that my favorite pair of socks, the ones with mini beakers all over them, has a hole in the toe."
Gail stopped in her tracks. Her confusion must have showed on her face because Holly didn't even wait to pull out the sock in question from her pocket and show her.
Gail took it from Holly's hand. "Wait, are you telling me that all these tears are because of a hole in your sock?"
"In my favorite socks," Holly corrected her in a huff and took back possession of her sock, yanking it from Gail's hand.
It took all of Gail's control not to laugh at her friend. Clearly, Holly was a hormonal mess and laughing at her wouldn't help the situation but she filed the exchange away for a future date where she would tease Holly about this. "I'm very sorry for your loss. Now take a seat, you're looking a little pale, almost as pale as me."
Her tears had stopped and Holly wiped them away as she sat down on the couch. "I don't think it's possible that anyone could be as pale as you. I have seen corpses with more color."
Gail rolled her eyes, "Har har. Go ahead, make fun of the person taking care of you."
"I'm sorry," Holly laughed, "you have a lovely complexion." Lucy chose that moment to jump onto the arm of the couch and nudge Holly's arm. "What smells good?" Holly asked.
Without preamble, Gail walked back to the kitchen area, where she strained and poured Holly a large mug of potent tea. Picking up the steaming hot mugs, she walked carefully back to the living room and set it down on the coffee table in front of Holly. "Ginger tea, drink up. It will help with the cramps and nausea."
Holly grabbed the mug and held it letting it warm her hands a moment before taking a sip. "Mmm, that's good. I didn't realise I had ginger tea."
"You didn't," Gail informed her. "I made it. Remember how I said that I had a hell of a time when I was a teen with my shark week?"
"Shark week?" Holly asked, taking another sip.
"You know, shark week." Gail looked at her, mystified. Holly "Crimson tide? Aunt Flo? Code Red? Your monthlies? On the rag?" She went on.
"Okay, okay, stop," Holly laughed, "I get it."
"Anyway, Elaine used to make this tea for me when it got really bad. I think it was her mother's recipe."
Holly smiled, "That was nice of her."
Gail shrugged, "I think it was more that Elaine liked to be in control and she didn't like me not being at a 100%."
"Or she loves you and hated to see you in pain," Holly offered.
She took a moment to ponder Holly's words. "Well maybe."
Gail knew Holly was waiting for her to say something more, to help her friend understand, and she did so patiently.
Why not? Gail thought. She took a deep breath and started to tell a story.
"One time, when I was about thirteen I was trying to get ready for school but my period was hitting me hard, I could barely stand without swaying. The nausea was awful and I was miserable. So miserable, I almost fell down the staircase from the second floor." Gail watched as Holly's eye's widened. "I thought Elaine was going to scold me about running late, instead she guided me to the living room and told me to lay down. She called the school and told them that I wouldn't be coming in; then she called work and told them that she would be a few hours late. She ordered me not to move and went and made me the tea and then we started watching an 'I Love Lucy' marathon on TV. The last thing I remember before I fell asleep was her kissing me on the forehead, which at the time was such a strange feeling. That kind of affection was usually saved for when I did something she deemed worthy of praise, which honestly, didn't happen that often. Though nowadays she seems to be the more willing one because apparently my heart has turned to ice." Gail couldn't quite believe the number of words that were coming out of her mouth but continued anyway. "I woke up hours later to my mother with her arm around me. I was amazed that she had stayed, that she hadn't gone to work," Gail finished in a rush.
Holly squeezed her leg, "She stayed because she loves you."
Needing to change the subject, Gail got up and refilled Holly's mug. Holly didn't seem to mind that that particular conversation ended there. Because that was the thing with Holly, she had learned much faster than anyone else when not to push her, which Gail appreciated. "So I met your neighbor Abby," Gail said as brought the tea back to Holly, "You didn't have any ginger so I borrowed some from her."
"Really? You did?" Holly's surprise was evident on her face as she accepted the tea from Gail's hands. "That was very sweet of you, especially for someone who claims to hate people."
Gail shrugged her shoulders. The fact was, she hadn't even given the decision a second thought.
"Thank you, though. That was very sweet of you."
Gail lowered her gaze, her cheeks warming as she shook her head. "It was no big deal."
Gail could feel Holly's eyes on her. She lifted her head and found Holly smiling at her. "I love Abby and her husband."
Gail shrugged, "She seemed okay, she likes you. Told me to take good care of you."
"That sounds like her."
Gail laughed nervously. "She actually thought I was your girlfriend."
"Oh…what did you say?" Holly asked as she twisted the mug in her hands.
Lucifer jumped onto Gail's lap and settled quickly, like it was a routine they had been doing for years. She purred loudly as Gail scratched behind her ears. When Gail realized what she had been doing, showing Lucifer such blatant affection in front of her mother, she pushed the cat back onto the floor. Holly seemed none the wiser.
"I didn't say anything, I was in a hurry to get back before you knew that I had left. Besides, she sounded thrilled that you landed a hottie like me, I didn't want to ruin her day."
Holly rolled her eyes as Lucifer meowed her disappointment, "How considerate of you." She then groaned and clutched at her stomach.
Watching Holly's discomfort, Gail stood, "Do you have a hot water bottle?"
Holly groaned again and shook her head. She looked down at Lucifer and glared, "I had one but the furry beast down there thought it was a scratching post a few weeks ago, and I keep forgetting to buy a new one."
"Well then," Gail said, hands on hips, "we will have to improvise," She took the empty mug from Holly's hands as another idea popped into her head. "Unless you want to go upstairs and, you know, take care of yourself, I hear that helps." Gail couldn't believe she had just suggested that, especially since she wasn't planning on leaving. Or really, didn't want to.
Holly raised her eyebrows, a smirk forming on her face but then it was gone. Gail could tell that Holly had just swallowed whatever smart-ass remark had come to her in that moment. "No, improvising sounds just fine to me." Gail was relieved to hear. "What did you have in mind?"
"Okay, lay down," she ordered. After Holly obeyed and laid down, Gail scooped up Lucifer and gently set her down on Holly's stomach. Without Gail's urging, Lucifer curled up into a ball. "Now you stay here and take place of the hot water bottle that you destroyed, it's the least you can do for your mom," Gail said to the content cat.
Holly sighed as she relaxed, "This doesn't feel too bad."
"Rest, I can entertain myself," Gail said as she took the mug to the kitchen and set it in the sink.
"You're staying?" Holly called out.
"Of course I am. One, I have nowhere else to go. And two, I'm not convinced that you don't have some rare meerkat pox. It is my duty as a peace officer to keep you quarantined," Gail joked, walking back into the lounge room.
Holly laughed and closed her eyes and let sleep over take her. Gail felt better seeing the doctor rest comfortably.
Four hours, and countless games of Words with Friends later, Gail was back in the kitchen to see what she could use to make some dinner for the two of them. It became obvious that Holly hadn't gone grocery shopping this week; the fridge was practically empty. "Looks like we are having frozen lasagna," she said to the empty room as she took the box from the freezer and set it aside to thaw. She was still hungry though, and the lack of snacks in Holly's cupboards was unacceptable.
Knowing how Holly hid snacks in her office at the morgue, Gail concluded that perhaps Holly would hide goodies at home too, maybe even some chocolate.
So far Gail had been unlucky. The kitchen, office and laundry room had come up empty for snacks. She was peeking behind books in one of Holly's many bookcases when she heard her name.
"If you're looking for my porn collection, you're not going to find it behind Kathy Reichs," the sleepy voice said.
Gail grinned and slotted the books back into the shelf and turned around. Holly's eyes were still shut. "Really, Holly?" Asked Gail incredulously. "I would've thought behind Kathy Reichs would be the perfect spot for it. No one will ever touch these let alone read them."
Holly peaked open one eye. "Do you want me to start crying again? Because I will, and it won't be as pretty. I'm one of those ugly cryers."
Gail had a hard time believing that Holly could ever look ugly and she had to stop herself from telling the woman so.
"Do you pick on all your friends like this?" the brunette asked.
"Only the really sick ones," Gail laughed and watched as the corner of Holly's mouth curled into brief smile. If Gail had blinked she would have missed it. Her own lips widened into a smile of satisfaction; she liked that she could make Holly smile so easily. "As much as I would love to get my hands on your porn collection, Lunchbox, I was actually looking for your chocolate stash."
"I think I would rather you find my porn," Holly replied as she fully opened her eyes.
What an odd response, Gail thought to herself.
"Later I will look for your Librarians Gone Wild DVD collection but for now, point me in the direction of the chocolate. Not only will it make you feel better, but more importantly, it will make me a little happier."
"When you put it that way…not telling," Holly teased as she closed her eyes again. "And for your information, I prefer Officers Gone Wild," Holly winked. "There is something about those Kevlar vests that drives me absolutely crazy, especially when they are being ripped off."
Wondering whether that was true or not, Gail crossed her arms and glared down at her friend, "I will find it with or without your help."
Using her finely honed investigative skills, Gail looked around the room and settled her eyes on the window seat. She noticed a cushion that was slightly askew.
"Aha!" She exclaimed as she walked briskly over to it and tossed the cushion aside. Underneath was a hinged lid. Jackpot! With a victorious grin, she opened it. Her joy didn't last long, though.
As she slumped back down onto the couch, she dropped her findings by Holly's head. "Chocolate covered raisins? That's all the chocolate you have in the house?"
Holly lifted her head and gave Gail a sad smile, "Actually, it carob, not chocolate," she admitted barely above a whisper.
"Fake chocolate?! I don't know if we can be friends anymore," Gail muttered as she tried the carob-covered raisin and choked it down.
"I ate all of my peanut butter cups last week with you. I haven't had time to go shopping this week," Holly explained.
"Lame excuse," Gail said, trying to keep a stern look on her face but a hint of a grin teased at the corner of her mouth. She tried to get comfortable but Holly was taking up the majority of the couch. She quickly grew tired of contorting around her and lifted Holly's head and placed it in her lap, on top of a cushion.
Holly grinned up at her, seemingly comfortable with their current seating arrangements, "I promise to restock the chocolate when I go shopping."
"I want Kit Kats and the big peanut butter cups," Gail demanded. Mindlessly, she reached over to pet Lucifer, and it took a moment for it to register in her brain that she wasn't stroking the cat's fur but Holly's firm stomach. Lucifer had disappeared. "Oh sorry," Gail apologized and pulled her hand away but was stopped by Holly's hand keeping it in place.
"Leave it, you're really warm," Holly said quietly as her eyes closed again.
Fighting a mixture of emotions, Gail left her hand in place and gently rubbed circles along Holly's toned tummy. It felt oddly natural to touch Holly in this way, and it scared her that she liked it as much as she did. Nope. Still not switching teams, shecoached herself as she continued to trace the lines of the near perfect abs. Am I?
"Have you always had abs?" The words came out of her mouth before they even reached her brain for proper processing, too late to take them back.
Holly smirked, her eyes still closed, "Only since birth."
"Smart ass," Gail mumbled. As silence descended, so did Gail's stomach. That single carob coated raisin had done nothing to starve off her hunger. "I should get up and put dinner in the oven," Gail said but Holly only snuggled closer.
"But I'm comfy," Holly protested. "Please stay. Dinner can wait."
Normally, Gail would argue that dinner couldn't wait but for once in her life food didn't seem as important as staying put. In fact, in that moment she contemplated leaning down and pressing a light kiss to Holly's forehead, just like her mother had done, but thought better of it and picked up the remote control instead. "Okay, but we aren't watching a documentary on how the lead gets put into pencils tonight."
Holly scowled. "It was educational and entertaining and we didn't get to watch the part where the insert the eraser. Don't you want to know how they do that?"
Gail shook her head as she flicked through the channels, "I think I can live without knowing– oh look, a Harry Potter marathon."
Holly groaned, only this time it wasn't because of her period pain and more so because of Gail's movie choice.
Gail chuckled, and gently patted the head in her lap. "There, there, it will all be over soon," she teased.
"You're good at that," Holly murmured once Gail's hands started gently combing through Holly's hair. "Now I know why Lucifer has fallen so deeply in love with you; you have magic hands."
Gail yanked on a strand of Holly's hair and Holly flinched.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Gail asked, sarcasm evident in her tone.
Holly laughed, "The lady doth protests too much, methinks."
"Yeah? Well methinks you should shut your damn nerd-hole and watch the stupid movie," Gail countered.
Holly laughed, and Gail felt the stomach muscles beneath her hand contract then stiffen. "Face it, Gail, you're a pussy-lover and you know it. It's nothing to be ashamed about."
Gail's jaw dropped open. "That's it, I'm leaving." She moved to get up but was held down by the weight of Holly's body, which had suddenly gotten heavier.
"Oh no you don't! You are stuck with me." Holly turned her head and looked up at Gail. Her eyes glistened with happy tears, and for a moment Gail swore Holly had looked at her lips. "I promise, I won't tease you anymore about loving my pussy."
It's all in your head, Gail told herself. She laughed at Holly's pun and broke eye contact to glance over at Lucifer who was curled up on the single couch. "I will admit one thing."
"And what's that?"
"That I am in love with your abs, not your pussy." As Holly's laughter echoed in one ear, Dumbledore's did in the other, which Gail found oddly jarring given the circumstances.
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" He said.
/
Two movies later and dinner long since forgotten, they had both fallen asleep together on the couch. When Gail woke just before midnight she found her hand still resting on Holly's stomach, with Holly's own covering it. Lucifer sat by Gail's shoulder on the back of the couch, softly purring in her ear. That sound was what lulled Gail into sleep in the first place.
As Gail studied the rise and fall of Holly's chest, she felt her own chest tighten – not out of nervousness for once, but out of excitement– anticipation even.
Maybe it wasn't about switching teams, Gail thought as she brushed the hair out of the still sleeping woman's face, maybe it was about finding the right team.