A/N...I wasn't going to post this, but since my other fic was a little sad I figured I sort-of apologize with this.

This is a happy one. :)


The first year of their relationship was…difficult. They officially went from friends to girlfriends amidst a shooter targeting cops at Gail's division. Holly's friend was being a stereotypical doctor, but she was used to that and brushed it off. This led to a miscommunication and to what Holly figured was a break-up. The following weeks cemented that when Gail didn't respond to her many attempts at reconciliation. When they did get back together, it turned out that Gail had started the adoption process of the sweetest eight-year-old Holly had ever met. But that had its share of challenges - both bureaucratic and emotional. Not that Holly would ever say it was a bad decision given the outcome.

The second year went a little more smoothly. Gail and Sophie settled in to life together with Holly playing a bigger and bigger role each month. One night in particular will always stand out from that year to Holly. She had been over for dinner, one in which the precocious nine-year-old had made what looked to be a gourmet meal for them all. One of many reasons dinner was usually spent at theirs instead of her apartment. Sophie was excitedly talking about how she had aced her science exam and about who was dating who in her grade when she all of sudden got quiet, a look passed over her eyes as they darted between Gail and Holly, and while using her fork to motion between them nonchalantly said, "Why don't you move in with us? It could be like a permanent sleepover." Holly nearly spit out the sip of wine she had just taken and Gail's eyebrows were nearly in her hairline, but Sophie just asked again. That night had led to a series of serious conversations over the next week between Holly and Gail, Gail and Sophie, Holly, Gail, and Sophie, and a moving truck the following month.

The third year, though, was amazing. After living together for about three months, and trying different chocolate mousse recipes from Sophie every few days for a couple of weeks, Sophie was finally excited about what she deemed was a "nearly perfect" recipe. All that it needed was a little bit more love to become what it was meant to be. Gail was also excited for that night since she was doing the cooking after learning some basics from her daughter - not just the technical but also how to use spices to add subtlety and color for presentation. Holly had supplied the wine, perfectly paired for the chocolate mousse dessert since she had tried it enough times. Dinner was much the same as it was most Sunday nights during the school year. They talked and joked about whatever they did over the weekend and Sophie did her best to convince Gail to giver her a three-day weekend, turning to Holly for support, and this time praising Gail for how far she'd come with her cooking and how much they both had to learn from her daughter. It wasn't until dessert that the atmosphere changed. Sophie brought out individual servings of mousse for Gail and herself, while Holly poured two glasses of wine. As she was sitting back down, Holly realized she didn't have a serving of mousse in front of her yet when Gail brought out a third serving in the shape of a heart with chocolate ganache covering and a ring in the middle reflecting the light. She gasped, and looked back and forth between the two who each had huge smiles on their faces. Gail, with tears in eyes, simply said four words as she got down on one knee, "Will you marry me?" Holly will never know how she got it out, but she had managed to choke out a very happy, "Yes." They kept the ceremony small and were able to call each other wife six months later. During that time, Holly had also officially adopted Sophie as her daughter as well.

The fourth year passed with an eye towards family. Gail was now a detective, Holly was finally giving in to the pressure to take on more of a leadership role at work, and Sophie was starting to take her cooking more seriously. Enough time had passed and her interest was only growing in the culinary arts learning about what it took to become a chef and seeking out camps and classes for it. Gail and Holly had discussed what more they could do to help support her in following her passion. They had found an after-school culinary program that funnels students towards coveted high-school internships in restaurants across Toronto. It was a little pricey, but there was always the hope that with Holly's writing skills and Sophie's genuine passion that she would earn a scholarship. It was also during this year that they discussed the possibility of growing their family. The decision to adopt again was an easy one, as was the decision to keep an open mind and not just look to adopt an infant. When they ran the idea by Sophie she was a little apprehensive at first, thinking maybe they were unhappy with her and were looking to "get a better model" but soon understood and was even excited by the prospect of a new sibling. They started the process later that year.

The fifth year was a year for new beginnings. It took some time, but their family went from three to four. They adopted a little boy, Brandon. He had those big brown eyes that are just filled with emotion and his distrust of adults, even at a young age, could be read all over them. Thankfully he and Sophie bonded pretty quickly and it wasn't long before he finally opened up to Gail and Holly as well. Sophie started at the after-school program even earning a scholarship and her talent in the kitchen skyrocketed. For Sophie's twelfth birthday that year they went to a two-star Michelin restaurant - they figured they would save the four-star as a surprise for high school graduation…if they could wait that long. It was some of the best food any of them had ever had. That was also the night they learned that Brandon was an adventurous eater and later that evening when Gail and Holly were preparing for bed they wondered if he was going to be a chef as well. Just before Holly was fully asleep she heard her wife whisper to no one in particular, "Thank you for my family and the best five years I could have asked for."