Not exactly a holiday story. Special thanks to TalentedGemX and Maryaun for encouraging this little detour from my regular story.
Pt.1
"MOM!" Sophie's voice whines from the couch in the living room.
She is home for the winter holidays after completing her very first semester at McGill University in Montréal. Gail leans her hips against the kitchen counter and sighs. How time flies, she thinks as she pauses in placing the last of the dishes from dinner into the dishwasher. She smiles and shakes her head as Sophie's impatient voice calls for her again.
"Mom! Come on! This show is so cool and you're going to miss it!" Sophie insists.
"Alright! Alright Kitten, I'll be right there!" Gail laughs, using the pet name she started calling her daughter long before the adoption went through.
The Forgotten Forensic Files is the show that Sophie has been telling Gail about for over a month now. It's her new favorite show in the universe she gushes with enthusiasm, and its about to begin on the History Chanel that any minute now!
Sophie is nineteen years old and wants to be a doctor, a forensic pathologist at that. Go figure. She will be the first Peck in seven generations not to be a cop. She is so damn smart! And Gail couldn't be more proud of her. She wants to solve mysteries and cold cases like the doctors on the show. And it is understandable that she says she wants to give the victims of crime a voice. Her birth mother, the mother of her first eight years, had been murdered while she was at school one day, a woman struck down by a stray bullet who Gail found bleeding in the laundry room of their apartment building.
The first few years had been rough, with Sophie living in a group home and suffering from anxiety and depression, and Gail's life riding a rollercoaster of epic proportions both in her career and her personal life. Through out it all though, Gail's unconditional love and support for the girl who became her daughter never waivered. When Sophie was almost eleven, she finally moved in with Gail full time, in to the tiny two-bedroom townhouse Gail managed to rent with her bigger salary from her new position with the human trafficking division of CISI. When Sophie was fifteen the adoption finally went through, and she officially became Gail's daughter. She started calling Gail "Mom" shortly after her sixteenth birthday, much to Gail's delight and surprise.
Gail hears the show's theme music start up and she knows Sophie is waiting anxiously for her to join her on the couch. This is their time. It's time when Gail will snuggle next to Sophie and watch whatever her not so little girl wants. It's time to give her daughter her undivided attention, listening to whatever Sophie wants to tell her during the commercial breaks. It's something they have been doing since the beginning. It's something, like the long drives they used to take, that lets them be close and confide in each other without the emotional pressure of being face to face.
As she rounds the corner, she isn't sure if it's the words or the voice that makes her heart stop and her world come crashing down. This is the last thing in the world she ever expected to see on TV. Thank God she is still behind the couch where Sophie can't see her face, as her blood rushes to her ears and her chest feels like she's been shot.
"Looking at bones like these is like putting together a puzzle." That once oh so familiar voice continues.
Holly.
How long has it been since Gail heard that voice? She doesn't know, but it still has the power to do things to her. She looks up to see Holly, larger than life on the screen, happily rambling away about the pattern of fractures major impact trauma leaves behind when a victim is struck by a vehicle. Dr. Holly Stewart, Senior Forensic Pathologist, Mt. Sinai University, San Francisco, CA, flashes at the bottom of the screen below her. Gail hasn't seen her in a decade, not since Holly left, and God, she's still so beautiful! Knowing that she has to pull herself together, Gail closes her eyes, takes a deep breath through her nose, counts to four, and lets it quietly out through her mouth.
"Come on Mom! This is so cool!" Sophie turns, eyes shining as she exclaims, "And Dr. Stewart, I just love it when she's on! She always explains things in a way that makes sense. She is, is, well she is just so awesome!"
You have no idea… Gail thinks with a sad smile, before joining her daughter on the couch. She can only hope that Sophie is so wrapped up in the show that she won't notice Gail's hands shaking. She braces them on her knees as she sits to steady them.
"Yes," Holly continues, "When I was with the Toronto Police Forensics Department, we had a hit and run case very much like this one…"
The memory of sitting in the morgue on a cold fall day, watching Holly piece Robby Robbins back together the very first day they met, runs over Gail's senses like a freight train.
Sophie is rambling on about how Dr. Stewart is the best in her field. About how Holly has done more cutting edge research to revolutionize the field of crime scene reconstruction and DNA analysis and the determination of the post-mortem interval than anyone else. But Gail already knows this. What she needs is to focus on her daughter.
"Yes," Gail says absently, lost back in time, watching that adorable crooked smile appear like magic on Holly's face as she finishes her thought, "She is pretty awesome…"
Not that she would admit to it, but there isn't a book or article or scrap of paper that Holly has published in the past ten years that Gail hasn't read. In fact, although it sometimes makes her feel like a stalker, Gail has followed Holly's professional life closely, at least on paper.
"Wait!" Suddenly Sophie is clutching at her arm, "Wait! You know her?!"
"I did." Gail concedes with a sigh. "We were friends once."
"So wait, you knew I want to be a Forensic Pathologist, and you never once mentioned that you know Dr. Holly Stewart? She's only the top Forensic scientist in the world!" Sophie demands, "How could you do this to me? I mean I only worship her! Oh Mom! What is she like?"
Oh the irony… Gail thinks as she shrugs and looks at her hands regretfully. "Now she's just somebody that I used to know." She says quietly, "Listen… Why don't you ask your Aunt Traci? I think they may still be in touch." She says, knowing that Holly and Traci have maintained a close friendship over the years, even though she never asks and Traci doesn't talk to her about it.
Before her words are even finished, Sophie has sprung from the couch and run for her phone.
Pt.2
Holly is home for the holidays. Home. What a strange and wonderful thing, even though she hasn't lived in this city in a decade, Toronto still feels like home. She comes home about once or twice a year to spend a few weeks to a month visiting friends and relatives, living in the guestroom of what is now her sister's townhouse, although she still owns it. On longer visits, like this one, she combines pleasure with business, hanging out in the morgue, getting caught up with old colleagues, and now that she let her boss talk her into being on that stupid show, giving lectures and making a few official public appearances, God or somebody help her.
It used to be easier avoiding Gail. When Sophie and Leo were young, all that Traci needed to do was to get Gail to babysit the kids for an evening and they would meet up for drinks at The Black Penny. Now that the kids are both old enough to be in collage, it's harder, even though Holly knows Gail doesn't really go out much anymore. She knows she's taken the coward's way out. As Traci says, it's been ten years for Christ's sake, what is she still afraid of? They did part as friends. Right? And now, Traci tells her, laughing at her the whole time, Sophie is a big fan of the show and wants to meet her. It's like she's become the butt of some bad, sad cosmic joke. She sighs and drops her forehead into her arms that are resting on the bar. Seamus, the regular bartender at the Penny, pushes a Jack and Coke in front of her without being asked.
"It's good to see you Doc!" He says as he goes back to polishing the glassware, "This one's on me."
"Thanks Seamus!" She smiles, sitting back up to lift the glass to her mouth. The barely tainted liquor burns all the way down.
Just the way Gail likes it, or did, in any case.
It's been ten years, three months, and sixteen days since she kissed the blonde officer goodbye at the airport on her way to her new life, not that she would know. Ten years, three months, sixteen days, and nine and a half hours since she boarded that plane to be exact, if she kept track of those kinds of things. Ten years, three months, sixteen days, and four hours since she left a message on Gail's voicemail letting her know that her flight had landed in San Francisco, and began to wait for a reply that never came. She thought about reaching out to Gail when Traci told her that Sophie's adoption didn't go through, and then again a year and a half later, when it did. She had wanted to fly home and rush to Gail's side when she heard about the internal corruption investigation, and then the trial where Gail and Steve had been forced to testify against their parents, pitting them against each other as well. But the wall of silence had stopped her. She had seen Gail from a distance on several of her visits home, always managing to slip away before she was noticed, not wanting her presence to intrude on Gail's life. She had heard from several of their mutual friends about how retched Gail had been after she left, and how Gail finally managed to pull herself together when it became clear that Children's Services were considering her once again as a parental candidate for Sophie, after Sophie's placement with a more traditional family fell apart. Who is she kidding? It isn't just Gail that she is trying to protect.
"Hey Girl! You are looking good!" She can hear the smile in Traci's voice even before she spins around on her bar stool to be grabbed into a warm hug.
"Traci!" She grins into the shoulder of the wool coat that is pressing into her cheek.
Traci pulls back, holding her at arms length for a moment and then lets go. She waives at Seamus and holds up two fingers. He nods and places two shots of bourbon and two pints of beer on the bar in front of them.
They settle into a booth in the back, talking about Holly's reluctant celebrity, and Traci's recent promotion to Regional Special Operations Team Leader and her move from Division 15 to the Ontario Police Headquarters, and about how she and Steve reconnected about a year ago and are giving dating another try.
"So you and Steve…?" Holly tilts her head, raising her eyebrows at Traci, "How is that working?"
"It's good." Traci smiles back, "I think we are really going to make a go of it this time. He has done a lot of work on himself around communication, and control, and trust."
"That's great Traci, I am really happy for you." Holly replies.
"Thanks!" Traci says, "And even better, Leo loves Steve, so he couldn't be more thrilled!"
"I can't believe he is in his second year at the University of Toronto! All grown up, and a starting Left Wing on the hockey team!" Holly smiles and shakes her head.
"You want me to get us tickets for a game while you're here?" Traci glows with pride.
"Of course!" Holly grins and finishes her drink. "Here let me get us another round."
The Penny has filled up quickly in the time they have been sitting wrapped in conversation, with the usual crowd of cops getting off the day shift, people from the neighborhood, and the occasional college student or two. Holly has to push her way to the bar and squeeze in between a couple or large guys to place their drink order. She fidgets as she waits for the new bartender she doesn't know to stop flirting a couple of girls sitting at the end of the bar. Sooner or later people she knows will be filing in after work, and then she will be here all night. She sighs and looks up to find Seamus placing their drinks before her.
"Sorry about that." He shrugs, "Jimmy doesn't know you, and he thought you were just some hot cougar out hunting cops." He smirks.
"So I'm no longer a badge bunny." She laughs, "Well at least he thinks I'm still hot."
"Darlin', you were never a badge bunny!" The voice says behind her, "And Seamus, put that on my tab."
She whirls around to be caught in a great hug that warms her down to her very soul.
"It's so good to see you." She murmurs into Oliver's ear.
"Yup. Yup, I could say the same." Oliver releases her, "Celery told me you were in town. So I figured it was only a matter of time before I caught you sneaking around down here."
"I am not sneaking around!" She replies indignantly.
"Sure you're not…" He laughs at her
"I'm not! I'm here with Traci, if you must know…" She gives him a playful shove.
"Yeah, yeah, sittin' in the back, ignoring all of us little people…" He teases. "Well look Darlin', I gotta go but maybe I'll see you when I get home on Monday?"
"Celery and I are just going to hang around the house after lunch, so you know you will." She smiles as he kisses her cheek and walks off in the direction of the dartboard.
Holly smiles to herself. It is good to be home. She has picked up the drinks and is carefully turning to return to her seat when she literally bumps into someone that stops her cold. The black leather jacket is shockingly familiar, from the tiny scull charm dangling from the zipper on the breast pocket to the knot she put in the waist belt so long ago. Looking up into eyes, framed by gold wire rimmed glasses, as dark and brown as her own, in a face she has only seen in pictures, makes Holly gasp.
"Hey! Watch it lady!" The dark curls that tumble out from underneath a watch cap, and the flawless milk-chocolate brown skin are unfamiliar, but the tone and the accompanying gesture are all Gail.
"Sophie?" Holly asks in a hushed tone.
"Oh my God!" Is all Sophie can manage as she gapes wide eyed at her hero, a blush rising in her cheeks. "Doc..Dr. Stewart? You… you know who I am?" She finally sputters.
Holly regains her composure as she watches the girl struggle.
"Wha... what are you doing here?" Sophie stutters, still obviously in shock.
Holly laughs, "I'm having a drink with your Aunt Traci."
"Oh." Sophie says, still frozen to the spot.
"Why don't you come over and say hello." Holly continues, leading the way back to the booth.
"Oh. Ok." Sophie follows like a puppy, all awkward and shy.
"Look who I found." Holly says while sliding back into the booth.
"Oh good! You've met." Traci looks up with a smile. "Hey Sophie! How's school?"
Sophie is still standing somewhat dumbstruck in front of them.
"Uh… good Aunt Traci, really good…" She finally manages.
"Sophie wants to be a Forensic Pathologist too." Traci smiles at Holly.
"Really?" Holly tilts her head with a smile, "So you want to be an uber-science nerd like me?
"Oh I don't think you're a nerd, Dr. Stewart! Well not in a bad way, anyway. I think you're amazing! And all of the cases you help solve…" Sophie gushes.
"Please. Call me Holly." She interrupts, her smile growing wider. So this is Sophie. This amazing young woman is the reason Gail couldn't come with her to San Francisco. Sitting here listening to Sophie ramble on, bubbling about forensic science, in much the same way she does herself, is like a gift she didn't know she needed. Until now. Holly finds the weight of ten years of disappointment and resentment for a life without Gail lifting as she sees the young woman before her begin to glow with excitement as she answers each question about their chosen profession. Traci is grinning ear to ear with pride across the table at her too.
"I have to say, I'm impressed." Holly grins as Sophie finishes telling them about the molecular biology project on the breakdown of DNA and methods of its reconstruction for analysis in the field she has been working on all semester. "That's quite advanced stuff you are working on!"
She watches Sophie blush, lick her lips and scuff her boot on the wooden floor and then look back up at her with wide, trusting eyes in a way that is just so Gail. It catches Holly completely off guard; it makes her want to cry all of a sudden. She can feel Traci's eyes, soft and motherly, watching her. It's all starting to be too much.
"Hey! There you are. I thought we were meeting at the bar…" Gail's annoyed voice cuts in behind Sophie.
Holly closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and leans her head against the wooden back of the booth.
"Hey Mom! I was just talking to Aunt Traci and Dr. Stewart… erm… I mean Holly!" Sophie exclaims, excitement sparkling in her eyes as she turns to face Gail.
"Oh." Gail says as all of the blood drains from her body. She licks her lips, feeling as if she has been plunged into ice water.
Traci is frozen too, looking from Holly to Gail to Sophie with frantic, worried eyes. She finally snaps out of it, springing from her seat to take Sophie gently by the arm. "Why don't we go get another round at the bar." She says, leading a thoroughly confused Sophie away from the booth.
Brown eyes open to meet blue and nothing else matters. The Penny, the noise, and everyone else all seem to disappear.
"Hello Gail." Holly says softly.
That's all it takes. Suddenly Holly is on her feet. Gail takes two quick strides forward to catch her and hold on tight.
"I've missed you." Holly finally manages to gasp in a strangled whisper.
"Me too, Holly, me too." Gail sobs quietly into her ear. "More than I can ever say."