A/N Wrote this on request from maryaun, I still can't believe I wrote a story based on a doughnut. Enjoy. Italics are text messages.
For the Love of Doughnuts
It seemed like parade would never end and Gail was having a hard time keeping focus on Sergeant Best. It wasn't Frank's fault, no she blamed Nick…well Nick and the bottle of tequila she drank the night before. She stole a glance in Nick's direction, he was dutifully taking notes and nodding along with whatever Frank was saying…dammit she should be paying attention; hopefully whoever she is riding with is paying attention otherwise she might be in trouble.
This thing with Nick was messing her up, it was interrupting her sleep, it was affecting her work and most importantly it was ruining her appetite. Gail hated when anything interfered with her love of food. She hated that she had to see him every day, he wasn't even trying to steer clear of her at least Andi had the decency to give her space. It wasn't that she wanted Nick back it was that she was mad that she had ever let him get close. It dawned on her that her fellow officers were getting up, morning briefing must finally be over. As luck would have it Nick was walking in her direction, "Noooooo!" She screamed in her head. She could not handle him today, she would suffer through Chloe and her chipper babble all day over even half a shift with Nick.
"Peck you are with me today." She heard from behind her.
"Oh thank you cheese puff god." Gail thought as she turned to face Oliver, his smiling face a welcome sight over Nick's eternal guilty one. "You're driving." She said as she headed for the door thankful that she could avoid any interaction with her ex.
The nice thing about riding with Oliver was that he always seemed to sense when Gail needed to have quiet time as she liked to call it; however today he didn't seem to be picking up her 'leave me the fuck alone' vibe that she was radiating. "So Celery had this pot of something on the stove last night and it smelled really good, like some sort of vegetable soup…so I had a bowl. Turns out that it was a potion for a client that is trying to get pregnant so I might be expecting a little bundle of joy in nine months…are you even listening to me Peck?"
"Huh…yeah Celery made soup." Gail said as she checked her phone.
"Uh huh you kind of missed the part where you are going to be an aunt but you still have some time to plan my baby shower."
"Right…what?!" she turned to face him when he started laughing.
"This is one of the reason why I love riding with you Peck." Oliver teased as he flipped on the lights for a guy who just ran a red light.
The rest of the morning had gone pretty smoothly, a few traffic stops, a public disturbance call at a shopping center over an over-priced purse. Gail was currently texting her new…friend was the closest word Gail could describe Holly.
Dr. Smelly Bones: How are you feeling today? You and Jose were getting pretty close last night.
Officer Awesome: Huh?
Dr. Smelly Bones: the tequila Gail, you were almost half a bottle in when I left for home.
Officer Awesome: Oh that, yeah we parted ways when I discovered that he was as empty as I feel.
Dr. Smelly Bones: That is very poetic but untrue… well I'm sure that the bottle is empty but you are not, maybe a shallow at times but not empty.
Officer Awesome: You think I'm shallow?
Dr. Smelly Bones: No Gail I think that you are going through a rough time. You have every right to feel hurt but someday you will be able to look at Nick without wanting to turn him into a eunuch.
Officer Awesome: But it is such a comforting thought.
Dr. Smelly Bones: You can't see it but I am rolling my eyes.
Officer Awesome: Somehow I knew you were.
Dr. Smelly Bones: You want to come over tonight? I am making lasagna and there is a Firefly marathon on.
Officer Awesome: You had me at lasagna.
Dr. Smelly Bones: Good deal, okay you go serve and protect I will see you later.
Officer Awesome: Later nerd
"Hey there's a smile I haven't seen in…uh…I have never seen you smile like that." Oliver said jokingly but Gail knew there was truth in his words. Holly was the one bright spot in Gail's life over the last two months. Whether it was their impromptu cheesy movie marathons or Holly dragging her to the batting cages or roller rink Gail couldn't deny that Holly had become a fixture in her life. And then there was the kiss in the coat check closet…
It was time for lunch and Oliver had heard about this new bakery slash deli that claimed to have the best doughnuts this side of the Rockies and that was something that Gail and Oliver both needed to see and taste. As it turns out they were not the only officers from 15 division that had heard of the place as Gail saw another cruiser in the parking lot. It wasn't until they went inside did she see who the cruiser belonged to, there in line at the counter was Chloe and Nick; so much for her good morning. "I am just going to wait in the car." She said tersely to Oliver as she started to turn around but he grabbed her arm gently.
"Nope I don't think so. I need my snack buddy to properly grade these so-called best doughnuts." Oliver said in his most serious tone.
"Fine but we are ordering to go."
He nodded, "Fine."
The place was fairly busy but somehow they ended up in line with the other two officers. "Nice day we are having." Chloe said brightly as Gail tried to ignore them by examining the contents of the display case. They really did have a fine selection, they had at least a dozen different types of bearclaws and fritters, there were raised doughnuts and fried ones, she lost count of the number of glazed ones; there were fruit and jelly filled and even ones with bacon on them. Gail was going to have a hell of a time picking out which ones she wanted.
Gail was deep in thought over which bacon one looked better, the maple bar or the apple fritter when she felt someone touch her arm. "What do you want?" she said icily not looking up from the display case.
If the coldness of her words affected him Nick didn't show it, "I was hoping that we could talk."
"Why? I don't have anything that I want to say and you sure as hell don't have anything I want to hear." Gail said under her breath, she really didn't want to cause a scene, not here; not a place that she hoped to return to many times.
Nick grabbed her arm to pull her up to be eye level with him, "We need to talk about us."
She snatched his hand off of her arm and seethed, "There is no us…I don't think there ever was."
Nick shook his head, "Come on Gail don't be like this."
Gail contemplated getting out of line to escape this conversation but the bakery had filled up and she was not missing out on these doughnuts. "Don't be like what Nick? Don't be mad that you claimed you loved me but didn't? Don't be upset that you chose one of my friends over me? How should I be Nick? Should be happy to see you?" Gail said pointedly.
Nick looked a bit flustered at her statements, "I…I…I didn't mean to hurt you."
"You might not have meant to but you did, and quite frankly I don't give a fuck anymore."
Nick face went from flustered to downright confused at her words. "You don't? Since when?"
The sudden change in mood surprised Gail as well, "As of right now. I am done wasting my time over this, over you. You are not worth my time."
"You don't mean that." Nick urged as the line moved forward.
"Oh but I do. See over the last few weeks I have had time to think about what matters in my life and you don't have a place in it." Gail said coolly. "See I have moved on I think you need to do the same."
"Gail…"
Gail watched as Chloe and Oliver were trying unsuccessfully pretending to be enthralled by the cream puff display but Gail didn't care if they overheard. "Don't Gail me, you wanted out and you are out. Do I need to spell it out for you? I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE."
Nick shook his head, "I am not sure that you are even capable of love Gail."
It was a low blow and Nick knew that, Gail scoffed, "Just because I found it impossible to love you doesn't mean I can't love. I love lots of things Officer Collins, I love my job, l love cheese puffs, I love the feeling of a hot shower first thing in the morning, I love Oliver's stupid jokes, I love doughnuts and I love Holl…hollandaise sauce." Wow where did the Holly thing come from? That was a thought for later. She could see Oliver giving her a thumbs up as he shoved a chocolate glazed doughnut in his mouth and Chloe let out a happy little squeal. "Now if you don't mind I would like to order my doughnut." Nick stepped aside dumbstruck as Gail reached the counter where she gave the flour covered baker a genuine smile, "I want one of each please."
She carried the three boxes of heaven out to the cruiser with Oliver teasing her about her baked good addiction but she didn't care. Her phone pinged to alert her to a new text message.
Dr. Smelly Bones: I see dead people.
Gail let out a loud laugh as she climbed in the car and responded quickly.
Officer Awesome: Last time I let you watch M.Night Shyamalan nerd.
Dr. Smelly Bones: Aw…fine. We can watch Star Wars instead. Day going better?
Officer Awesome: Yep, new doughnut shop in town and I think I have figured out a few things. We can talk about it over dinner.
Dr. Smelly Bones: I look forward to it…ooh a new set of bones just came in. Talk to you later doughnut girl.
Gail returned her phone to her pocket as she bit into a maple bacon bar and couldn't help the smile on her face, she didn't know if it was due to the doughnut or a certain pathologist but it didn't matter either way she was happy.