Okay, I need to get the finale out of my system so I decided to write this. Mistakes are all mine, hope you'll stick around and support me :)
Day 1
The talk Gail and Holly had last night at the precinct did not go as Gail expected it to. She expected shock, confusion, and even disagreement. Disagreement to her ability to raise a child. Disagreement for Holly to be a part of her peculiar little soon-to-be family. What she did not expect, was for Holly to drop her own bomb right in her face. It blew up in her face and Gail just stood there, unsure of what to do or what to say. After what felt like forever, Gail finally found it in herself the ability to move and got the fuck out of the locker room, running into Chris and demanded a ride back to the apartment.
Gail woke up early the next morning, having close to no sleep at all last night. Her mind ran at a hundred miles per second, from Holly to Sophie, from Sophie to Holly. Holly tried to reach Gail on her phone last night but Gail being Gail, she ignored the calls and proceeded to lay in bed drowning in her thoughts. Holly's moving to San Francisco. For good. And she wanted Gail to go with her. That is absolutely out of the question.
Gail lifted her arms and dropped them against her blanket in surrender before finally deciding to get out of bed, since she doubted she could get anymore sleep in before her shift started. Old Gail would've went to the Penny last night to get hammered, then continue to ignore and stay away from Holly for two weeks till she leaving the city. But new Gail, newly matured and grown Gail, decided to brush her teeth, take a shower, put some clothes on and make her way to Holly's. They both needed to sit their asses down and have a proper talk. At least that's what Gail thought. After 10 minutes of cab ride to Holly's townhouse, Gail trudged up the front steps like a woman on a mission. It took four knocks on the door before a sleepy Holly appeared in front of Gail.
"Gail, what are you doing here so early? It's 7 in the morning. Some of us need to sleep." Holly sounded mildly irritated. Okay, it might've been a little too early.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize the time until you told me. We need to talk." It looked like Gail wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Okay, fine. You wanna go for breakfast at the diner around the corner? We can talk there." Holly took a step back for Gail to enter.
"Yeah, sure."
Holly walked past Gail to go back upstairs to her bedroom. "Alright give me 10 minutes to get ready."
Gail went over to the couch and took a seat. She took a minute to look around the living room. She loved coming to Holly's place. She always felt safe and cosy when she used to spend her time here with Holly, even before they were together officially. Gail's going to miss place as much as she'll miss Holly. After 10 minutes as promised, Holly came back down and grabbed her belongings before leading Gail out the door. They walked in silence all the way to the diner, although it only took two minutes.
Right after they ordered, Gail got straight to the point. "Look, I'm really sorry about last night. I wasn't expecting it and I didn't know how to react."
"I also wasn't expecting to hear you say you're ready to be a mom, but you didn't see me bolting. Not to mention my phone calls." Holly fired back. Like Gail, Holly had little sleep and her mind was in a huge mess.
"I-I know. I'm sorry. But I'm here now, aren't I? I'm really to talk now." Holly remained quiet, waiting for Gail to speak first.
Gail decided to start off easy. "Tell me about the job in San Francisco?"
"Well, the people at a medical facility over there contacted me a week ago, mentioned that they've been following my work and they read my books. They offered me a position at the facility as a research scientist, a high budget research grant and a huge pay bump. Pretty much a dream come true to have the resources to make scientific breakthroughs."
"I'm happy for you, really. Congratulations, Hols. You deserve it." Gail smiled. She really was happy for Holly, but at the same time her heart clenched at her words.
Holly reached for Gail's hand. "Thanks. For all that it's worth, I really wanted you to come with me. I do miss you, Gail."
Gail reciprocated the touch, squeezing Holly's hand back. "I miss you too."
"So what's with you adopting a kid?" Holly's tone was more curious than judgemental.
Gail shrugged. "This is what I want to do. I want to be a mom. Like I told you last night, I've thought long and hard about this. Sophie is a great kid. I can't bear to see her get tossed into the system. The adoption might not go through but I had to try."
Holly did not respond immediately. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, she didn't want to come off as though she's not supportive of Gail's decision, although it might sound insane at the moment.
"Okay. As long as you're sure." Holly nodded.
"Wait, that's it?" Gail lifted a hand, palm facing upwards. That wasn't the respond she anticipated.
"What's it?" Confusion evident in Holly's tone.
"No 'are you crazy, Gail? Can you handle it? You're not ready to be a mom yet' talk?"
"Do you want to have that talk?" Holly questioned.
"Not really." Gail shook her head, looking down at the food that just arrived.
"And I don't want to have to give that talk. I don't think you need it. You're an adult, you make your own decisions. If you think you're fit to be someone's mother, then I'm sure you'll do great. Besides, Pecks can handle anything, right?" Holly ended her mini speech with her lopsided grin.
Holly continued to surprise Gail, in a good way. No doubt the brunette is the most wonderful person Gail's ever met, but to witness such level of acceptance from her made Gail's heart clench even more. She's going to lose Holly soon, and there's nothing she can do about it. Gail felt tears in her eyes, trying to hold herself together.
Gail grabbed Holly's hand again, sincerity in her tone. "Thank you, Holly."
"You're welcome."
Gail cleared her throat, willing the lump that formed inside to go away. "Listen, I finish my shift at 8, why don't we have dinner together?"
"Sure, I'll be at my office tying up loose ends before I leave for San Francisco. It'll only take the afternoon so why don't you come over after and I'll make you dinner as promised the other day? That bottle of Barolo's still unopened."
"Sounds great." Gail nodded and they went back to eating their breakfast. The rest of their conversation remained light and casual before Holly drove Gail to the precinct and then to the morgue.
Gail knocked on the same door the second time that day. This time it took a lot faster for Holly to open it. Gail walked through the door and headed straight towards the kitchen, where the source of the savoury smell came from.
Holly trailed behind the blonde, "I made you my famous chicken casserole, the last time I made it you said you loved it. Do you? Still love it, I mean? And chocolate brownies for dessert. I have ice cream and whipped cream, you can choo—"
Gail silenced the brunette the only way she knew how. She pulled Holly close to her and pressed her lips against Holly's. Holly wasn't sure why she was rambling. It was all fine and dandy until Gail showed up and nerves started to take over. Holly took a few seconds to realize that Gail was kissing her and then started to kiss her back. Gail gently pushed away from Holly before things got heated up between them. They both took a moment to calm their breathing, hands still holding onto each other.
"You just had to stop talking." Gail smirked. Holly smiled at Gail's words too. She remembered that day in the interrogation room like it was yesterday.
"Okay, let's just eat dinner." Holly moved towards the oven to take the casserole out.
"Do you need help?"
"How about you take the wine out of the fridge and pour us a glass?" Gail nodded and headed for the fridge.
During dinner, neither said much. Just asking about each other's day and then resumed to the task at hand, finishing their dinner in silence. Holly felt the need to clear the air some more. She's leaving for San Francisco in two weeks, yet here they are having dinner like nothing ever happened. Their talk this morning wasn't good enough. After dinner and loading up the dishwasher, Holly turned and saw Gail leaning against the kitchen counter. Gail also realized that they had to continue their talk and they silently agreed that Holly would be the first one to talk this time.
"What are we doing here, Gail? Having dinner, drinking wine, like everything's normal between us. I'm leaving in two weeks and you're adopting a kid. And all these feelings… they're not helping." Holly started the conversation feeling frustrated, frustrated at herself for taking the job without talking to Gail, frustrated that she let herself think that Gail would drop everything and go to San Francisco with her. What was she thinking? But now she's feeling defeated. She stared at her toes and sighed heavily. A stray tear fell from her eye and down the kitchen floor. Gail moved closer to Holly and tipped her chin up to look into dark brown eyes. She wiped away the tears that started to fall and her heart broke.
Gail could only muster up a single word. "Stay."
Holly thought about it. She really did. But it's her dream to create something to make the world a better place. And the people that offered her the job told her that once she agreed, there's no going back. Not until her contract ends, anyway. Holly felt so torn at that moment.
"I can't. I've thought about it, believe me, I did. But I can't go back on my word."
"I understand." Gail said in disappointment. She had to at least give it a try, right?
Holly lunged forward and enveloped Gail in a tight hug as tears started to flow freely. "I'm so sorry, Gail."
"It's okay, Hol. I understand, I really do." Gail put her arms around the brunette.
Gail rubbed soothing circles on Holly's back, unwilling to let go. "Let's just make use of the time left before you leave."
Instead of answering, Holly turned her head inwards into Gail's neck and started laying soft kisses there. Gail's breath hitched and she hugged Holly even tighter, pulling her closer. Holly then moved on to Gail's jaw, chin, and finally her lips. Somewhere in her hazy mind, Gail was able to find what's left of her restraint and lucidity. She pulled away slightly and asked Holly, "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
Holly nodded, certainty evident in her brown eyes. "Yes."
Gail wasn't sure how it happened, but they managed to get to Holly's bedroom between the stripping, pulling and kissing of each other. They fell onto the bed with Gail on top of Holly. Gail stopped what she was doing and both hands came up to stroke Holly's face. Both women looked deeply into the other's eyes and it conveyed everything they felt for each other, to each other. No words needed. It was overwhelming. And before Gail could let her unshed tears fall, she captured Holly's lips with her own. Trusting Holly with her own body as she always did, they both set sail into the night.