[This takes place sometime after 4x08]

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Gail lowers the flute, no longer desiring to drink the beverage as she sweeps her eyes appreciatively over Holly's frame. This night was turning out to be a lot smoother than originally thought; especially considering how she only received the request to this book launch only this morning.

She knew inviting Holly to Frank and Noelle's wedding would come at a price, she just didn't foresee this being one of them. But here she was, coerced into being Holly's 'Plus One Forever' and standing awkwardly in the corner of the room.

The actual launch wasn't as painful as she anticipated, not when she had Holly sat beside her filling her in on her friend's book and just generally talking to her. The words weren't exactly what she was focusing on, no. It was her tone, and the way her words would accelerate with speed when she was excited or dull down when she was trying not to attract attention.

It was the comforting lilt of her voice that Gail focused on; it carried her, cradled her thoughts and whims, and made her silent. Made her listen. Made her want Holly to never stop.

"Melinda is here."

"That wench." She replies offhandedly as she blinks, forcing herself to return to Holly. She must have zoned out.

She twists back to review Holly again, seeing how she's now looking distinctly uncomfortable in her slouching position as she worries her lip. She follows her line of sight until she is met with two women standing on the other end of the room, engaging in seemingly innocuous conversation with each other.

It's only when one of them turns to pick up a nearby flute of champagne that Gail detects how Holly's eyes trail after her.

"Who's Melinda?"

"My ex."

"Oh." Many things come to mind at once for Gail as she studies this woman; this beautiful, mature looking woman with Russian Red lipstick, no doubt a Mac creation. She can tell by the way she carries herself that she's athletic, perhaps a health nut. And she can tell by the way she sips her drink in long intervals that she doesn't really like the beverage; the new edition merely acting as a means to keep her hands busy and unavailable.

She also has a pretty smile, but it's not that great.

"Yeah, 5 months and counting. I didn't think she would be coming to this. But that's the downside of having mutual friends; increased chances of running into each other."

"Which friends are we talking exactly?"

"Lisa and Rachel, I've told you about them; that's actually Lisa with her now." She appraises the other woman, noting the way she gestures with her hands towards her breasts and then laughs.

Gail can't help but scowl at this for some reason.

"Yeah, Lisa sounds like a hoot." She raises the glass to her lips, feeling the need to hydrate as she gulps down a few mouthfuls. It's actually really nice. Expensive. The best kind of alcohol to have at an opening like this.

Especially when Gail Peck is present; she's nothing if not opulent with her tastes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well she doesn't scream friend material, let alone best friend status when she sounds so inferior to you." It wasn't hard to detect Lisa's apparent discontent at Holly's excellence. It's no secret that Holly is a mastermind: she's a gifted Scientist and performs exceptionally well on the job. She works hard and always puts the effort in, and even does research in her own time and publishes articles.

Not to mention how she's also funny, gorgeous and earnest.

Any person with a semblance of humanity would accept Holly and be happy for her, but no, not Lisa. This woman, from the snippets Holly has so gracefully provided, sounded vile. Full of herself. Self-centered. And just a damn right disgusting human being.

Maybe she's exaggerating just a little, but everytime Holly spoke of her, it was as if she was losing a part of herself. Lisa chipped at her; she took edges from her a bit at a time. And even though she was still shining bright, there were notable flickers that would surround her from time to time, casting tiny shadows over her luster.

And that was unacceptable.

"Inferior? No, she-"

"-is Satan reincarnated. Okay, that was gratuitous." She amends while her eyes momentarily take in Holly's stumped appearance, swirling the remnants of the alcohol in her glass. She tries to think of a suitable word, and quickly latches onto one:

"She's an Orc." She downs the champagne and discards the flute, her eyes already looking to find another, waiting for the inevitable backlash.

"Gail."

"What? You can't not know this, Holly? She's a bitch."

"She can be can be headstrong at times, but.."

"Headstrong? Holly, she constantly berates you and you keep her around because what? You've known each other a while?"

"Since College: I'd say that's longer than a while; it's certainly longer than I've known you." She tries not to feel affronted; to hide the wince as she covers it with the turn of the head, but she knows - she can feel Holly's eyes pierce her skin.

She doesn't wait for placates then, no. Instead she looks back to Holly, her face no longer exhibiting the tell-tale signs of being compromised, but rather displaying an impartial countenance.

"Yeah, and look who you invited tonight."

"Gail, I-"

"Holly, hi. It's wonderful to see you." Gail can't help the glare as she turns to (un)welcome the new additions over in their corner. They all gauge each other then, noting the sudden population as they stand as a foursome. It's double the aggro for Gail, for she doesn't know where to look. She doesn't particularly want to look at Melinda - no, not with that body and that dress and that smile.

But she doesn't exactly want to look at Orc, either.

So she settles for looking at the one person who matters.

"Good for you; I only wish I could return the sentiment." Gail can't help the tiny smirk that breaks out, corrupting her lips effortlessly as she dares to peer at Melinda from her hooded lids. A feisty Holly is one she seldom gets to see, at least in this manner, so when she does it's kind of exciting.

It's definitely exciting.

"Now Holly, don't be this way."

"And which way would that be, Melinda? Treating you with the same insolence you offered me? It's only right."

"Please, let's not make a scene. I'm here for Ruth; this is an important event for her."

"No kidding." Gail watches Holly expel some air, observing the way her features contort in the mild, fluorescent light. There's always something so captivating about Holly when she looks intense, it's almost primal. It's enchanting to witness because she can never really get enough.

She's drawn from her concentration when she hears an obnoxious sound emitting from Orc's mouth. Once the contrived cough ceases, Lisa dares to smile suggestively at Gail.

"Seeing as these two are busy getting reacquainted, I should introduce myself: I'm Lisa." She says it like they are the only two people in the room; like Holly is actually reconnecting with Melinda, when really they're not. The reality is they are watching on rather helplessly, wanting to just leave, preferably with the people they arrived with.

"I know who you are." The instant jab causes Lisa to frown slightly and to dart her eyes at Holly.

"What did you tell her about me?" Holly doesn't get the chance to answer, even though her mouth slackens, ready to respond.

"She's told me enough."

"Seriously, who is she?"

"Lisa, this is Gail."

"Ah, finally a face to a name." Her response irks Gail; it pisses her off immediately. Because she's looking at this Orc and all she can see is malevolence: Lisa and her patronizing smile, Lisa and her patronizing words, Lisa and her patronizing eyes. She doesn't care for it.

No.

Lisa and her patronizing ass can do one.

"So this is the mysterious blonde bombshell you kept blowing us off for? She's actually real, who knew." Gail's brows lift at this; her eyes straying to Holly to behold her cheeks turning faintly crimson. She watches then, waiting for one of her idiosyncrasies to kick in; to subconsciously take over and override her senses.

It doesn't take long until Holly's hand darts up to her face to correct her glasses - but she's not wearing any. Gail notices the recognition in her eyes upon realizing she's wearing contacts and observes as her lips tighten to form a fixed line.

She feels like she's forever in a state of examining this woman, and the thing that startles Gail is that she doesn't mind.

In-fact she quite likes doing it.

"Well, at least you have good taste." It's such a shallow and misogynistic thing to say, that Gail forces her mouth shut to consciously stop the tirade of words from flowing. It's only a second later that she truly connects everything that Orc has said, and she finds her eyes pursuing Holly once again, feeling second-hand discomfort at seeing Holly so discomfited.

Enough is enough.

"No, I-"

"It's okay." Holly looks at Gail then, trying to locate the logic in her azure spheres when she feels the palm of Gail's hand trail up her side. It's not an aimless gesture that she's been receptive to from time to time. No, this is calculated. This has presence.

This has intent, especially when her hand comes to rest affably on her hip to grip tightly.

"I have been taking up a lot of your time lately; I just can't seem to help myself, I can't keep my hands off of you." Gail leans in to her then, seemingly agile in her approach as she nuzzles her nose against her cheek. It takes a lot of willpower to not close her eyes, to not exhale profoundly with delight.

To not turn and do something about it.

Yet she can't fight the small whimper of surprise when she feels Gail's lips brush against her cheek.

"I should go. I'm uh.. I'm glad you've moved on. Hopefully the next time we see each other, things won't be so awkward." Melinda proffers softly, forcing a smile to both Holly and Gail before twisting on her heels and leaving. Lisa watches her go, before deciding on following in her footsteps:

"Well Gail, meeting you was.. Interesting. Holly, I'll speak to you later?" It's only as she disappears in the crowd that Holly responds, moving out of Gail's grasp with eyes scrutinizing her.

"What was that?"

"I think it was self-explanatory." When Holly volunteers nothing, Gail huffs and snatches a nearby flute.

"That was me saving your ass."

"Saving? I don't even.. What just happened?" Gail takes her time sipping from the flute, her eyes cast down though she's secretly peering at Holly in her peripheral vision.

She can't remember the last time she wasn't at least looking at her in some way.

When she can feel Holly's eyes penetrating her form, she breathes through her nose and places the glass down to the side. She looks around the crowd, noticing how it's dispersing now with people looking ready to leave soon.

"I could see that you were drowning." She risks a glance at Holly, and sees her confusion; the tilt of her head just reinforces this fact. How can she explain this to her without it being incredibly indelicate?

There's just no way around it.

"It's one thing having your ex around, but Orc? I could see the way she was treating you, Hols. You deserve better than that."

"So you decided to what? Act like you're my girlfriend?"

"Why not? Clearly I'm just eye candy to her and she didn't think you could have me, so I proved her wrong."

"I'm still not processing this at all."

"Four words: Two birds, one stone. Oh, and Holly?"

"Yeah?" Gail leans in close, watching as Holly's eyes immediately close. This action? It does something to her. It makes her take a moment to appraise her, for she's always been so ready in her observation to see Holly with her eyes wide open.

That she daren't imagine what a sight she'd be with her eyes drawn shut.

Her eyes trace over her face before she decides to join her in this sweet interlude, closing her lids under the weight of feeling, in promise of experience.

She closes the remaining distance and kisses her cheek softly. She lingers for a moment before pulling back, smiling diffidently.

"You smell nice."