Title: You Were Meant For Me
Pairing: Gail Peck/Holly Stewart
Rating: K
Word Count: 1.8k
Disclaimer: None of the Rookie Blue characters belong to me; I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
A/N: Apparently I suck at writing short drabbles in response to prompts I receive, but hopefully you guys will forgive me.
Prompt: Gail and Holly starting a family...
Summary: She's exhausted; utterly weary and sore, and aching in places she didn't know could ache. But none of that seems to matter as she peers down at the beautiful, little, blue eyes that are fluttering open to look at her for the very first time.
The moment the nurse places the small, wrapped bundle in her arms, Gail feels her heart swell immeasurably in her chest, an unconditional love spreading warmly throughout every inch of her body.
She's exhausted; utterly weary and sore, and aching in places she didn't know could ache. But none of that seems to matter as she peers down at the beautiful, little, blue eyes that are fluttering open to look at her for the very first time.
Holly's lips are soft and gentle as they press against her sweaty temple, her hand moving up to tenderly brush away the damp, mattered hair that's still clinging to Gail's forehead. Her wife's loving touch is what manages to bring Gail out of her daze, her eyes lifting away from watching their son to find Holly's own.
The amount of love and awe she sees etched over Holly's face steals her breath away, and it takes Holly leaning in to kiss her – sweet and slow – to get her lungs to start working properly again.
"He's incredible," Holly murmurs, her voice thick with adoration and her eyes full of wonder as she carefully brushes her fingertip over his soft, dark hair. Her eyes flick back to Gail's after a long moment of soaking him in. "You're incredible," she adds earnestly, a beautiful smile lighting up her face with unbridled happiness, and making Gail fall in love with her just that little bit deeper. "I don't know how it's possible but I just... I love him so much already and he's not even twenty minutes old yet."
There's a hint of disbelief glimmering in Holly's eyes, almost as if she can't quite figure out how somebody so small and new could steal her heart so completely. Gail smiles softly in response, understanding the sentiment wholly; she feels exactly the same way.
Her mother and Traci had warned her of such, but even though she'd felt a warmth fill her chest as her stomach increasingly swelled, and she'd felt the ripples of the baby's movements beneath her hand when she pressed her palm against her skin, she wasn't expecting it to feel like this. It's all consuming and devastatingly beautiful, and now that he's finally here, she knows that nothing could have ever prepared her to love this fully, this fast.
"He's perfect," Gail breathes quietly, entirely enraptured by watching as his tiny, little mouth opens and stretches as he yawns. "He's ours, Holly," she adds a second later, lifting her gaze to find Holly's as a wave of disbelief rushes through her. "Can you believe it? He's here and he's ours."
Holly lets out a happy laugh in response and shakes her head with equal awe. She presses her lips to Gail's temple again, and lets her eyes fall down to their son as she gently strokes her fingertip over his little features; the bow of his small mouth, his tiny button nose, his delicate fluttering eyelids and his perfect little ears. He's easily the most beautiful thing either of them have ever seen.
"Our son needs a name," Holly hums into the quiet, her eyes finding Gail's. "What do you think, Mummy?"
Gail's mouth curves into a smile at her new title, her heart feeling like it's about to explode with love. "I think you should chose, Mama," she returns in delight, watching as Holly's eyes shimmer with uncontainable happiness.
"You did all the hard work here, Gail, I can't," Holly protests, shaking her head. "You should be the one who gets to decide."
"He's our son, Hol," Gail emphasises softly, with a sweet smile, reminding Holly of that simple but amazing truth. "Come here," she adds a second later, noticing the hesitancy still lingering on Holly's face, and shuffling over slightly to make some room for Holly to join her on the bed. "He wants to meet you properly."
Holly does as she's told, moving to perch on the bed at Gail's side wordlessly. Her eyes widen a little as Gail commands her to hold her arms out, and within seconds Gail is carefully transferring him into her arms. He feels light but heavy in her arms, his little body radiating out a warmth that penetrates straight into Holly's heart as she nestles him closer.
"Hi, baby, I'm your other mama. I love you so, so much," Holly coos, staring down at him in amazement, and feeling the breath rushing from her lungs as his eyes lock onto hers. "I can't believe you're finally here. You're such a beautiful boy, aren't you? I'm going to teach you lots of really cool things; like how to play ball since your mummy is a sissy when it comes to sports..." Gail lets out an amused breath and smiles as Holly's eyes flick briefly to hers. "...and I'll show you how to memorise all of the bones in the body, and we'll do lots of fun science experiments, and I'll even teach you how to flirt with girls when you're old enough."
"What if he's gay?" Gail teases, quirking her eyebrow questioningly as Holly glances at her. "I hope you're going to teach him to flirt with the boys too."
Holly grins back at her, her mouth twisting into a smirk. "Boys are more your area of expertise, honey."
Gail narrows her eyes at the comment even as she smiles in response. "I'm not teaching him to flirt with anybody," she says sternly as her eyes drop down to watch him. "I will however have my gun at hand to warn away any potential suitors; nobody will ever be good enough for my baby boy."
Holly laughs at the protective look that's already started clouding Gail's eyes. "Maybe we should worry about teaching him the basics first before we start pulling our hair out over his future partners."
"Good idea," Gail agrees, letting out a relieved breath, and then smiling as she watches Holly coo at him some more as she bends her head down to press a soft kiss to his head. "He still needs a name, Hol."
Holly nods in acknowledgement and rocks him gently, watching as his little eyes flutter closed, his breathing evening out as he drifts into a peaceful sleep. "How about Theodore?" she suggests quietly, tentatively turning her gaze to Gail's. "We could call him Theo for short. It's Greek for 'God's gift', and that's what he is, you know?"
She hadn't had the easiest time conceiving; three rounds of IVF had come and gone with no success, leaving them both utterly heartbroken. It had hit her unbearably hard, the devastating notion that getting pregnant might never happen for her. But then just as she had been ready to throw in the towel, unable to handle one more negative result, Holly had convinced her to try one final time, telling Gail that she could feel it in her gut that attempt number four would work.
She had cried for days when they got the news that attempt number four had actually taken, but Holly had just smiled at her knowingly and held her close, whispering in her ear that everything was as it was meant to be, and emphasising how excited she was that they were starting their family together. Gail had simply kissed her deeply in return and told her that after spending countless hours trying to come to terms with the fact that she may never get to carry their baby, that it felt like she'd been given the most precious gift in all the world.
"Theo Peck," Gail sounds out as her eyes soften fondly at the memory and Holly's nervously babbled explanation, and feels her heart swell with uncontrollable love for her wife. "Theodore Peck; it sounds noble and strong. It's perfect," she murmurs, smiling happily as she leans in to kiss Holly softly, pressing their foreheads together lovingly as they part, allowing them to linger in the moment for as long as possible.
It's broken only by the nurse entering the room again, instantly apologising for interrupting but announcing that it's time for Gail to try nursing Theo for the first time. It takes several attempts, but once Theo's little mind has worked out what's happening, he's more than content to suckle away unassisted.
Gail barely hears as the nurse tells them that she'll be back to check on them again in an hour, far too occupied with watching her son's mouth move against her softly as he nurses. Holly runs her fingertip over his head again, unable to keep herself from touching him; desperately needing to feel, in some small way, that she's part of the connection Gail is currently sharing with him.
"Does it hurt?" Holly asks in a whisper, her voice filled with wonder as the silence fills with the little content, snuffling sounds Theo makes as he feeds.
"No, it just feels a little weird... but weird in a good way," Gail replies softly, forcing her eyes away from Theo's to find Holly's, wanting to reassure her. Holly smiles back at her, and lifts her hand up to brush a fallen strand of tangled hair from Gail's face again. "I must look like a right mess, huh?" she comments, suddenly aware of how sweaty and gross she must look, and purposefully letting her eyes fall back down to their son.
"Hey," Holly murmurs adoringly, sliding her hand to cradle Gail's face and tilting her head up until blue eyes are staring back into her own. "I've never been more in love with you than I am right now, in this very moment, Gail," she says earnestly, stroking her thumb across Gail's cheek, and making Gail's eyes flutter closed briefly, her breath catching at the powerful honestly of Holly's words. "You've just given us our son, and he's so beautiful, and I'm so eternally thankful."
She feels her heart fill with overwhelming love and happiness, consuming every inch of her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, as Holly leans in to kiss her endlessly slow and tender.
"I love you too," she breathes against Holly's lips as Theo fusses a little against her breast, his tiny cry forcing them to part.
As they both look down at him, sharing adoring smiles, Gail knows, with absolute certainty, that nothing will ever come compare to the amount of unbridled love she feels for her family; for the first time in her life she feels utterly content and complete.
