This is my first Holtzbert fic! Thanks to everyone for reading, and please, enjoy.

Erin sighed and squinted at the pile of papers in front of her. It felt like she had been grading this stack of tests for days, although she knew it had only been a few hours. She reluctantly decided it would be in her best interest to wrap things up for the night and do something to take her mind off of work.

It had been a particularly frustrating day today, with seemingly more stupid questions than usual, and occasionally, stupid questions about the stupid questions. She was going to need a little bit more than sleep to forget about this.

After getting in her car and driving a short distance, she arrived at her destination: her favorite bar, a good place to unwind. Aside from her colleagues, Erin didn't know many people, and was usually left alone while she was drinking. She preferred being alone to the alternative, which was of course socializing. She was much too awkward and shy to strike up a conversation, and besides, she knew that bars could be a dangerous place for a woman on her own.

Mike, the bartender, saw her walk through the door and greeted her. "What'll it be?"

"Surprise me."

She sat down and eagerly watched Mike prepare her drink. He took slightly longer than he normally did because it was fairly busy in the small bar that night, which is why Erin had hardly taken a sip of her beverage when a very drunk looking man slid onto the stool next to her.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this, baby?" he slurred.

Erin groaned internally. Of all the nights to be hit on, did it have to be tonight? Normally she'd be embarrassed, but at this moment she couldn't bring herself to be anything other than disgusted.

"Please, don't call me that. I'm not interested," she said, a scared tone creeping into her voice.

He chuckled and moved closer, putting his hand on her thigh and letting the alcoholic stench of his breath wash over her. "Maybe you could let me persuade you… baby," he said more forcefully, the last word said like a joke.

Erin gripped the bottom of her chair, frightened. She had never been in a situation like this before, and the drunk man was much larger than she was. "I-I don't want any t-trouble," she stuttered.

At that, the man only moved closer and licked his lips, looking as though he may try to kiss her. She was beginning to think that he would get his way, when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a warm body press against her side. An attractive blonde woman was standing to her, hair in short curls cascading across her head and an outfit consisting of overalls and a tie that would usually look mismatched… but it seemed to work on her.

"Hey babe, is he bothering you?" she asked, half smiling in Erin's direction, half glaring in the man's.

Erin was confused at first. Was she getting unwanted attention from two people at once? Then it dawned on her that she must have looked very uncomfortable while the man was hitting on her and that this woman was here to save her.

"Um, yeah. Babe," she said, trying her best not to sound too awkward.

The blonde took a step toward the man. "You heard what my girlfriend said," she spoke menacingly. "Don't bother her again."

The drunk muttered something about not knowing that Erin had been here with someone and slunk away into the crowd of other rowdy people. Erin turned to the woman.

"Oh my god. Thank you so much," she thanked her.

The woman shrugged, "No big deal. He was being an asshole, and assholes deserve to be dealt with."

"You know, here we are, dating, and I don't even know your name," Erin joked.

"The name's Holtzmann, but you can call me anytime," she said slyly before winking.

Unlike with the man, Erin found flirting with Holtzmann to be pleasant, and the wink caused a light blush to appear across her cheeks. Holtzmann grinned upon seeing the effect of her cheesy pick-up line.

Erin took a drink and tried to play it cool. "Holtzmann…" she said, trying the name out. "That's not your first name, is it?"

The blonde hopped into the seat the man had been sitting in before responding, "Nope. My first name is Jillian. But nobody actually calls me that. First names are for dudes."

Erin laughed at that and replied playfully, "I guess I'm a dude, then. I'm Erin. Erin Gilbert." Erin took another swig from her glass. She was so distracted by the other woman that she didn't realize that her drink tasted strange, different than it had before.

The two got swept into a conversation and Erin learned that Holtzmann was an engineer, happy that it complimented the fact that she was a physicist. Holtzmann also continued to drop pick-up lines and Erin found herself flustered less and wanting to reciprocate the flirting more. So she did.

Erin was getting ready to ask for her number when she suddenly felt woozy and the room started to grow dark. She struggled to stay upright and wondered why this was happening. Then it hit her.

"Gilbert, you alright?" Holtzmann asked concernedly.

Erin managed to mumble, "My drink… not right…" before falling forward into Holtzmann. The blonde was surprised, but easily caught her and held her up.

She hailed the bartender, still leaning the passed out brunette against her. "My friend just passed out! I think someone put something in her drink. Can you watch her?"

Mike nodded and called another man over to keep guard over Erin. Holtzmann carefully lifted her into a chair and pressed a kiss to her forehead before running off in search of one very drunk asshole.

She glanced at people's faces as she pushed past them, hoping that one of them was who she was looking for. Unfortunately, the man no longer seemed to be in the bar, so she continued her search outside. She found him smoking a cigarette on a stack of boxes on the side of the building.

"Hey, you!" she shouted as she approached him. "What did you put in my friend's drink?"

He laughed drunkenly. "Why should I tell you?"

She grabbed him by the shoulders, pulled him up from his sitting position, and slammed him hard against the brick wall. "Because I said so. Now tell me. What. Did. You. Put. In. The. DRINK?" She got angrier with each word.

He quickly tried to defend himself. "It was just some sleeping stuff! I thought I… well I thought she was coming home with me… so…"

"So you drugged her in order to rape her?" Holtz screamed. "You're sick!" She slammed him against the wall again, then punched him on the right side of the face so that he slumped to the ground. "If I ever see you near her again, you won't be this lucky," she threatened before turning and walking back inside.

When she got back to Erin, she was still asleep. Mike's friend nodded at Holtzmann and walked off to leave the two alone. Holtzmann admired how peaceful Erin looked, then grew a little angry again at how this beautiful woman didn't deserve any of this. She gathered Erin into her arms and carried her bridal style to her car. She laid her across the back seat and made the decision to just drive home to her own house. Erin could crash there for the night and Holtzmann could just explain in the morning.

Ten minutes later, Holtzmann was carrying Erin's sleeping form into her apartment. She opted to let Erin sleep on the bed. She didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Once the blankets were drawn over Erin and the lights were out, she snuck out of the room and pulled a blanket over herself on the couch. When she drifted off, her thoughts belonged to only one woman.

Holtzmann was awakened the next morning by a loud crash followed by a loud exclamation of "Shit!". She laughed and rolled off the couch to follow the source of the noise. She found Erin picking a frying pan off the floor and a carton of eggs on the counter next to the stove.

"Gilbert! You don't seem like the swearing type," Holtzmann winked. "Were you making me breakfast?"

Erin blushed and got up from the floor. "I was trying to."

Holtzmann took the frying pan from her hands and placed it on the stove, then kissed Erin on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

Erin stood in slight shock as a tingly feeling spread through the spot where Holtzmann had kissed her. Holtzmann didn't notice and had started cracking eggs on the frying pan.

Clearing her throat, Erin asked, "What… um… what happened last night?"

"What do you remember?" Holtzmann asked gently.

"We were talking… and then everything was fading… I think he put something in my drink. Then I wake up here, my head pounding, feeling like I had been asleep for years."

"You have been asleep for years. The year is 2040. Our president is a plant."

"What!?"

"Just kidding."

Holtzmann began laughing at the expression on Erin's face, and before she could stop herself, Erin was laughing too. They were still laughing when Holtzmann flipped the eggs onto a plate for each of them and handed Erin a fork. Then, there was silence as they chewed their breakfast, both sneaking glances at the other.

Erin was the first to talk. "What really happened last night, Holtz?"

Holtzmann provided a quick explanation of how she had confronted the drunk and then driven Erin back to her apartment.

"Not much to it, I'm afraid," Holtzmann grinned.

"Not much to it?" Erin looked at the other woman incredulously. "You beat up the man that drugged me, single-handedly carried me to your car and then into your apartment, and on top of that, you gave me the bed and slept on the couch! That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

This time, it was Holtzmann's turn to grow red, but she fought it off by saying, "Anything for a pretty woman like yourself."

Erin, at this point, decided that she'd had enough of Holtzmann's flirting and made a move. She backed Holtzmann against the counter and, placing one hand on her waist and one on the back of her neck, kissed her. Holtzmann was surprised at first, but quickly recovered and returned the kiss.

They pulled away and Erin took a moment to look into Holtzmann's bright blue eyes. She had no idea how such a bad day had turned into the best of her life, but she felt like the luckiest woman in the world.