Gail Peck was not a lesbian. Gail Peck could not be a lesbian. However Gail had a bit of a problem. She found herself slowly drawn to the enigma that was Holly Stewart. The forensic pathologist had definitely left an indelible mark on the blonde police officer. Very few people got through to her - but Holly simply barged her way into Gail's life - and Gail surprised herself at how comfortable she was with the doctor. Holly had this air of nonchalance about Gail's snarky ways - which had stunned Gail quite a bit. Gail Peck's wall wasn't just hard - it was icy, cold, bitter and spiked with shards - and seeing that Holly had literally found some hidden door in that wall and walked right through petrified Gail and comforted her at the same time.
"Holly, I'm like a cat."
This was Gail's attempt at distancing Holly and letting her in at the same time. Now that you're here - you better know this about me. Better run out while you can, Lunchbox.
But Holly didn't care. Not one bit. And that was what petrified Gail most of all. But Gail tried to make the best of the situation. At least she now had a friend who didn't reply with sardonic comments, who didn't view her primarily as a stoic robot who didn't have feelings. So she decided to use her new found friendship at the wedding.
What Gail wasn't expecting was that slow, soft kiss on her lips. She told herself it was drunken misjudgment on Holly's part - but Gail could not help how she was feeling. For the first time - Gail found herself without a snide remark to come back with, without a rude comment to hurl back and for once - as cheesy as it sounded - Gail found herself defeated by a kiss.
She had found herself all alone in a coat room closet after that(she found that a bit ironic), questioning the very existence of this unbelievable woman who had charged into her life and managed to leave her, Gail Peck lost for words.
Now, here she stood staring at her phone - Traci's words still ringing in her mind. 'Everyone deserves to be happy Gail, even you.'
After a moment of contemplation - Gail threw all caution to the wind and dialed someone she knew would somehow cheer her up - either with completely perplexing and awkward scientific facts or with her ability to walk right through Gail's high walls and turn the rest of the day better.
Gail was in for another surprise when Holly had suggested the batting cages. Gail knew she was no great-athlete. She was a fit police officer who could steadfastly aim a gun at a criminal and she felt that was sufficient enough for her to be a proficient cop. Hitting balls with bats ranked very low Gail's list of life skills required to survive.
"I expected a police officer to put up a better fight than that."
"Shut up, Lunchbox. It's not like swinging a bat at a ball is going to help me catch criminals any better."
"Studies have shown that…"
Gail turned to stare at Holly who seemed to be caught up in the middle of an apparently interesting factoid about arm-eye coordination and the like - but Gail was too distracted in observing Holly and she felt the need to tune her out in order to take a good look at Holly.
A lot of things raced through Gail's mind as she stared at Holly - who was gesturing wildly with her hands and explaining various statistics. Gail couldn't help but notice the way Holly scrunched up her face while defending her opinion. She loved the way the doctor had this habit of spewing out umpteen facts in one breath and the way the doctor's grin was lopsided to one side - which she noticed each time the doctor paused between her statements to catch her breath. She also noticed one more thing - which was probably the most significant detail of all.
Gail really wanted to grab the doctor and give her a soft kiss, shut her up, return the favor, Gail could come up with several different phrases for the deed she so badly wanted to do - but the bottom line was all the same - Gail wanted to kiss this hot brunette right then and there.
But she being who she was, Gail realized she didn't have any plausible reason to get away with giving the pathologist even a quick peck at the least. There was no alcohol to place the blame on, no reason to do so in the least. So Gail, being her usual self - let the moment pass.
The duo found themselves strolling towards Holly's house, which Gail now realized was in an extremely posh area of the city.
"So, what is it you carry in that little lunchbox of yours?"
"Gail, no matter how times you call it a lunchbox, it is still going to be a forensic analysis kit which has …."
Gail was captivated by this side of the pathologist. She felt she could hear the older woman talk on days about anatomy and pathology and forensics and she would never get bored. She would probably not hear a thing - but seeing this older woman so talk so passionately about topics that seemed so distant to herself was now slowly becoming the blonde officer's most favorite thing in the world.
"So, this is me."
Gail realized they had now arrived in front a posh two-storey house which looked more like a family house than a nerdy pathologist's residence. Gail also realized she now had a reason to kiss the pathologist, finally.
'A kiss goodbye!' Gail thought to herself, of course. It was the perfect way to end one of the suckiest days she had ever come across and hopefully make known to the pathologist her lingering feelings.
Gail was already deep in thought about feeling Holly's lips. She racked her brains as she tried to remember how the kiss felt in the coat room. Though the emotions she felt then were extremely clear to Gail, the kiss itself was a blur - and the blonde was eager to feel Holly's lips again - just to remind herself how the first kiss was. Gail imagined kissing women to be gentler, smoother and possibly better than kissing men. She glanced between Holly's eyes and lips - and she could almost feel herself bursting with the urge to feel the brunette's lips with her own.
What Gail had failed to notice, as the two had walked up to the doctor's front door, was that a light had turned on inside the house. Gail was halfway through grabbing the doctor and pulling her into a surprise kiss when a sudden noise distracted her. Her police instincts kicked in and she pushed the doctor behind herself and positioned herself in front of the door - so as to protect the pathologist from what Gail could only comprehend was an intruder in the doctor's home.
"Gail? What are you doing?"
"Didn't you hear that? I think there's someone -"
The front door swung open - and out stepped a tall, fair redhead - who was clad in a pair of pajama pants and a pullover. This woman - in spite of her casual attire -was drop dead gorgeous - and Gail was stunned by the appearance of this other woman.
"Finally! Are you done with your 'cathartic diversion' as you call it?"
Gail was too stunned to speak. She felt a mix of extremely odd emotions - she could feel the blood drain from her face, yet she felt herself blush. She felt protective over Holly and yet she felt rebuffed by the pathologist - as she hadn't told her about this redhead woman - glad she had not embarrassed herself in trying to kiss the brunette yet she was embarrassed that she was now standing in a protective stance - attempting to protect Holly from someone she knew lived in her own house.
"Hol, what's going on here?" - the redhead questioned - noticing Gail's awkward stance and looking over her to see Holly with an amused yet touched expression on her face.
"Nothing much sweetie, By the way, this is Gail."
"Oh, this is the snarky cop you were telling me about." - the redhead replied, sleepily staring the two who still hadn't shifted their positions.
"Yeah! Gail, this is my girlfriend - Kate."