Started as something for my buddy gail_shark. Became something else. I don't even know. What is this? Who knows. I hope you like it! There is a part 1 and part 2 because part 1 was originally posted on my tumblr. Part 2 is the update. If I update it again I will post it as a new chapter.

Part 1

"Hey Gail, some guys think battle wounds are sexy," said Chris. "They want a girl who can stand up for herself."

"I got drunk and smashed my head into the coffee table. In what world is that a battle? Or sexy?"

Gail reached up and lightly touched the bandage on her forehead. There was nothing like waking up with a hangover at three in the morning to discover blood running down her face and that maybe her pounding headache was more than alcohol related. A crying Chris, four stitches, a stack of pancakes, and a couple of pills later and they were in uniform headed down into the bowels of the labs to retrieve information on a body for Swarek. Dov had they day off so he had naturally stayed sleeping at the lair in a small coma.

"You're a cop, Gail. You don't have to tell anyone what actually happened. Try it with Dr. Stewart. She's like a guy."

"She is not like a guy," snapped Gail a little more harshly than she originally intended.

"I mean she likes women."

"I know what you meant, Chris. That doesn't make her like a guy."

"I'm just saying, she'll probably think it was hot. A woman in uniform busting up a robbery. Getting hurt in the process but still finishing her job. It's definitely a turn..."

Gail stopped walking toward the double doors into the lab that Holly usually used and held her hand out in front of Chris to stop him. She glared over at him.

"How often do I make friends?"

Chris paused for a minute and thought about it.

"Never."

"Okay, so can you please keep your strange fetishes away from this one? Thanks."

Chris nodded so Gail let her hand fall and continued walking. Despite taking a little over the recommended dose of headache medicine her head was still pounding and it was making her normal tolerance for Chris's stupidity even shorter. The last thing she needed was Chris saying something incredibly dumb and even remotely offensive to Holly especially while they were on the job. It was a friendship and HR disaster waiting to happen. Actually, that was a pretty good description of Chris.

As they walked up to the double doors, Gail spotted Holly through the glass and subconsciously smiled. The doctor was hunched over the lab table in front of her while bobbing her head to the loud music that could be clearly heard from the hallway. Holly always told her that the reason she prefered the lab furthest from everyone else was for this very reason but Gail had never actually seen it with her own two eyes before.

"Never pegged you for trashy metal music, Dr. Stewart," shouted Gail. Her head was banging in pain along with the drums yet for some reason it didn't irritate her as much as Chris's talking.

Holly jumped slightly as she looked up.

"Gail!" Holly's eyes quickly fell on Chris and Gail could swear she looked a little disappointed. "Officer Diaz."

"You can call me Chris, ma'am," shouted Chris.

Realizing why he was shouting, Holly quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned off the music blasting through the speakers. It came as only a small relief to Gail's pounding head.

"Well, if that's the case you really don't need to call me ma'am."

Chris nodded.

"What can I do for you…" Holly trailed off as her eyes fell on the bandage on Gail's head. "Oh my god what happened?"

Before Gail could actually open her mouth to answer Holly was across the room and a lot closer than Gail had ever consciously wanted. She actually had to take a step back to keep Holly from running right into her as the doctor reached out to inspect Gail's forehead. Holly's touch was so soft and careful Gail found herself unable to form words. She blamed the fogginess in her head on the metal concert that was still raging in her head.

"She stopped a robbery this morning," chimed in Chris.

"What!?" Holly looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

Gail quickly pulled Holly's hand away from her head in order to get her ability to think back. It felt like a thousand voices were yelling in her brain at once. As her headache started to dissipate the din grew clearer and it honestly felt like thousands of people were just yelling at her at once.

"No I didn't," said Gail as reassuringly as possible for her. "We got drunk last night and I hit my head on the coffee table after I fell asleep and fell off the couch."

Holly backed away slightly and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You're lucky you woke up."

Silence fell in the lab. Gail couldn't think up any defence of her actions and Chris was probably stunned into silence after hearing someone effectively chide Gail Peck.

"So, what brings you two here today?" asked Holly.

"Swarek. Said you have some files for him," said Chris.

Gail decided to just stay quiet. Who was Holly to be mad at her for hitting her head? Yeah, okay, sure Gail could have ended up a lot worse than a headache and some stitches but it wasn't like she was trying to hurt herself. And it wasn't even like they had been friends all that long. And on top of that, Chris and Dov barely cared so why was Holly so upset?

"Oh, I didn't expect anyone to actually come down so soon. I'm still working on a few things while Dr. Norwell finishes going over the skeleton. You're welcome to take what I have to Swarek but you'll probably just end up having to come back."

"I can stay," said Gail a little quickly. "I mean, Chris can take back what you have and I can relay the rest when you're done. This case has been all Sam's been going on about for weeks now."

"Well, a man could be in jail for something he didn't do," added Chris.

"Which is why I can stay and you can take whatever Holly has ready."

"You could end up here all day," said Chris.

It took everything Gail had to hold in the laugh building in her chest when she saw the offended look on Holly's face at Chris' insinuation that whatever she had left to work on would take the rest of the day. Thankfully Holly didn't say anything. Gail didn't want to have to take her new friend's side against her partner and roommate. Because she would have.

"I'll take that chance," said Gail as she patted Chris' arm.

Without a word, Holly shoved a couple of files into Chris' hands. Confused he half stumbled out of the doors. As he headed down the hallway he half waved to Gail and she smirked in response.

"God, he's an idiot."

Gail couldn't help but laugh. Holly's voice was clear as day but Gail had never once heard Holly speak so harshly about anyone. The doctor was one of the sweetest people she'd ever met so hearing her berate someone was like Christmas coming early to Gail.

"He might be stupid but he's like a golden retriever," said Gail as she turned to Holly. "You can't really stay mad at him."

Holly had already sat back down at the lab table in the middle of the room and had gone back to going through the files spread out across it. When Gail spoke she looked up and cocked her head to one side. For a second Holly's look had her wondering if Holly had said anything at all and if Gail hadn't just spoken in complete silence. Maybe she hit her head harder than she had thought.

"He seems very nice," said Holly with her crooked smile.

Gail smiled back and then moved to take up the seat the desk in the corner. If she was going to be there all day she certainly wasn't going to stand.

"I can't believe she dated him."

Gail's head shot up from her phone and she looked at Holly. She was about to open her mouth to respond when she noticed that Holly wasn't actually speaking to her. Holly wasn't speaking at all.

"That's kind of mean. But god she's so...and he's like a walking talking G. doll. Good looks but an empty plastic head."

Gail stared at Holly in confusion.

Maybe she'd hit her head a LOT harder than she had thought.

Part 2

Gail was fairly certain she was losing her mind. Or maybe she was in a coma and this was all a dream. There was no way that she was actually hearing another person's thoughts in her head. That wasn't a thing that happened except in bad Mel Gibson movies. And yet, Gail could "hear" every nerdy thought that was currently rushing through the front of the doctor's thoughts. For a second she had wondered if maybe she was still drunk but they couldn't be Gail's thoughts because there were a lot of words that Gail only had a vague understanding of from context clues and forensic television shows. None of what she was hearing was how she would even begin to talk in her head.

"Gail. Earth to Gail."

Gail shook her head and focused her eyes on the face in front of her. Holly's lips were actually moving as Gail heard her voice so she tried to pay attention to what she was saying.

"I'm going to grab a coffee. Do you want one?"

"Uh. Sure. Thanks."

Holly smiled at her while getting up and heading to the doors.

"God she's cute," thought Holly. "...and now back to our regular broadcast of not thinking that way, Holly. Coffee. Get coffee. Super friendly coffee. The kind that friends drink."

As confused as Gail was about what was happening she couldn't help but snort at the knowledge that Holly talked to herself in the third person. It was either that or Gail was going crazy from her head wound and was projecting and just thinking that Holly talked that way to herself. And also apparently assuming that Holly was attracted to her in anyway what-so-ever. Although was that really so much of a reach considering the kiss at the wedding?

Gail wondered if she should tell someone.

Who would she tell? Dov? He'd think she was crazy. Which Gail was also currently thinking but she didn't need someone to agree with her right now. Chris? He'd drag her back to the hospital. With a sigh she pulled out her phone and started typing to the only person she'd figure would even entertain the idea of what was happening.

As Gail hit send, Holly walked back into the room and placed a mug in front of her on the desk and dropped a couple of single serve sugars and creamer next to it.

"Thanks."

"No problem," said Holly with her usual crooked smile.

"It's not weird that I remember how she likes her coffee, right? Friends do that? I mean, it took four years to remember Lisa's and like two weeks to remember Gail's but all that means is that I've grown as a person."

Gail snorted into her coffee as she raised it to her lips and nearly dropped it as the hot liquid hit the skin of her hands.

"Are you okay?"

Holly had rushed over and pulled the cup from Gail's hands, placing the mug back on the desk and checking to make sure there were no burns from the scalding liquid. Gail's heart skipped. She ignored it.

"Holly, I'm fine. Really."

"You sure?"

Gail nodded and pointed at her head.

"I've had worse."

Holly smiled nervously as she dropped Gail's hands and headed back to the lab table she had turned into a desk. As Holly fell back into her pace and Gail's head became filled with forensics jargon again Gail was starting to become more accepting of the idea of hearing Holly's thoughts. Hell, if this continued she could bring Holly along to Trivia night and wipe the floor with Dov. Or maybe she could just read Dov's mind. She wasn't actually sure if it was just a Holly thing or an everyone thing. And she also wasn't sure if she wanted to completely accept the idea that she was actually reading someone's mind.

More tests were needed.

"Hey, I'll be right back," said Gail.

"Everything okay?" Holly's eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"Yeah. I just need to use the bathroom," said Gail with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

As Gail stepped into the empty hallway and the doors shut behind her she could still hear Holly's voice as clear as day in her head.

"God, I hope she doesn't think I'm weird. Well, weirder. I mean, she hit her head and spilled coffee on her hands. It's normal to worry, right?"

Gail turned and looked through the window on the door. Holly was staring intently at the papers in front of her while tapping her pen on the surface of the table but Gail could tell that she wasn't actually reading anything. Gail absolutely thought Holly was weird. But it was a comforting kind of weird. And somehow knowing that Holly was just as unsure about how to be "friends" with someone as Gail was kind of reassuring.

Turning away from the lab, Gail headed down the hall toward the bathrooms and hoped that she would pass someone on the way. Almost as if on cue, Holly's favorite lab tech Rodney walked out of the men's room and almost right into her.

"Oh, Officer Peck, sorry," said Rodney as he backed up.

"No harm, no fowl," said Gail as she stared a little too intently at his face.

An awkward, silent moment passed and Rodney shuffled his weight from one foot to the other.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Maybe it was just a Holly thing.

"Yeah, everything's great. Just a little out of it," said Gail pointing at her head. "Have a great day."

"You too?"

As she walked away Gail realized she had never actually been very nice to him before so wishing him a good day was probably really confusing. She was hopeful that he wouldn't say anything to Holly but knowing him as little as she did she was certain he would. If she didn't know he was gay she'd swear he had a crush on Holly the way he would kiss her ass.

"Excuse me, officer?"

Gail turned toward the voice and spotted an open door with a woman's upper body sticking out.

"Yes?"

"I can't find any lab techs, can you help me for a minute?"

Gail was about to call out for Rodney but seeing that he was already gone from the hallway she just shrugged and nodded.

"I just need you to hold a light over this section of bone," said the woman. "This overhead lamp needs it's bulb changed and I'm not in the mood to wait."

"Twelve hours and thirty seven minutes until my flight. I need to get this over with."

Gail stopped in her tracks. Okay, so maybe it was a woman thing. Quickly shaking her head she pulled out her flashlight and shined it over the section of bones that the doctor was pointing at. If Gail had to guess, this was Dr. Norwell. She looked around the same age as herself and Holly but her lab coat was adorned with the name and logo of a hospital in San Francisco. As Gail's head filled with the mental notes and observations of the woman in front of her she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. As quietly as possible she pulled it out to check her messages.

Chloe: Is this a trick? If I admit to believing in telepathy am I going to regret it?

Gail: Probably. But not because of me.

"Okay, thank you officer…"

The woman stood upright and held out her hand as an introduction.

"Peck."

"Officer Peck."

The handshake was quick but Gail didn't know how she felt about the way the doctor's fingers trailed along her palm as they pulled apart.

"I'd be more inclined to call you Officer Hot."

"Well, I have to get back now," said Gail quickly.

"Oh, where are you headed?"

The doctor pulled off her gloves and moved around the examination table toward Gail who slowly moved back toward the door. When Gail had told Andy that she was used to lesbians hitting on her she was mostly kidding.

"I'm waiting for Dr. Stewart's findings on the Morris case."

"What a coincidence. I was just heading to talk to Holly myself."

Just the words Gail hadn't wanted to hear. As they walked down the hallway Gail tried to drown out the intruding thoughts concerning her appearance and the possible ways the doctor was going to ask her out. Though she did enjoy being able to carefully craft each individual rejection for maximum effectiveness. If only this mind reading thing worked on men.

"Holly, I would have come to Toronto sooner if you'd told me how attractive the local police were."

"Christine, please focus," sighed Holly.

Gail realized for the first time that day how tired Holly looked. As Holly and Christine talked about the case Gail went back to Holly's desk and got as comfortable as she could in the chair. Gail stared at her phone hoping for a distraction from the conversation but it never came. Christine headed out with a wink.

"The things I'd do to her..."

Gail rolled her eyes. She was reminded of her conversation with Chris earlier. Holly might not be like most guys but Christine Norwell certainly was. Pushing that to the back of her mind she looked over at Holly who had taken her glasses off and rested her forehead on the table in front of her.

"I'd give anything for fifteen minutes of sleep."

Gail rolled her chair over to Holly and put her coffee next to her arm.

"Here. You look like you could use it more than me," said Gail.

"Thanks," said Holly as she reached for the cup.

Their fingers touched for a moment and Gail could swore she felt her heartbeat in her throat. It was a much different feeling in the pit of her stomach than from when she had shaken hands with Christine. Holly smiled her half smile before practically downing the rest of Gail's coffee in a single mouthful.

"So, Dr. Norwell is...something," said Gail.

"Oh god did she hit on you?"

"Not in so many words," joked Gail, mostly to herself.

"She's a bit intense. Sorry you had to deal with that."

"I swear, every time I like someone Christine manages to hone in on them like some sort of lesbian heat seeking missile."

Gail's heart skipped.

"I'm used to it. Well, not really from women but whatever," said Gail. "So are all of your friends lesbians? Do you have any straight friends?"

"You."

"Of course I have straight friends," huffed Holly. "There are too many straight people in this world. It's statistically impossible for me to escape them."

"Too many?" Gail smirked.

Holly rolled her eyes as she put her glasses back on. Gail had to admit it was cute the way she adjusted them.

"For once I wish I could like someone who isn't straight. But oh boy would that be a friendship thrown out the window to admit. Hey Gail I think you're beautiful and I think it'd be pretty cool to take you on an actual date and possibly hold your hand."

Gail didn't realize that she was smiling at Holly until the doctor looked over at her smiled back but with a very confused smile.

"You okay?"

"What?" Gail shook her head and got up. "Yeah. I'm fine. Maybe you're right though. Maybe there are too many straight people in the world."