a/n: hi guys, it's been kinda long since i last wrote a fic. i don't know how i came up with this one but i love gail and her brother. enjoy!

Gail rubs her eyes and tries to ignore the ringing sound she assumes is her alarm clock. As she forces her drowsy eyes open, she realizes someone's knocking. At 3:47 in the morning.

So she draws herself to her feet and tells herself to be alert; she had no idea who would be at the door. Her baseball bat was always kept near the door, she shouldn't be worried.

"Who is it?" She's too tired to look through the peephole.

"Who do think it is?" Gail rolls her eyes the minute she hears his voice.

She doesn't look at him as she opens the door and goes back to her room, leaving him to his own devices. Somehow, he follows her to her bed and sits next to her.

"Steve, what do you want?" She feels like slamming her fist onto his knee and telling him to get the hell out.

"Just here to bother my sister at almost four in the morning. Hey, how are ya?" A tiny smile slithers onto Steve's face; he's getting to her and he loves it.

Gail grinds her teeth and throws her white comforter over her head, blocking his words and just him overall. Steve is still sitting next to her, legs crossed and he's whistling a tune he knows annoys her.

Suddenly, he stops. "No, but I just came over here to talk about Traci." He says it so casually Gail thinks he's talking about the weather until she hears her friend's name.

She throws back the comforter and looks at her brother, him looking straight at the wall. This was gonna be easier than she thought; getting the both of them together. She sits up tells him to scoot over as she makes herself comfortable.

"What about Traci?" She pries gently.

"Everything."

Gail squints. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Everything about her is perfect."

The younger Peck smiles; she hadn't known her brother was completely head over heels for her friend.

"Specifically being?" He's being too vague and Gail needs details.

"The way she looks at me when I say something she didn't expect. Or the way her smile seems to brighten the room and somehow…make me smile. The way her bangs fall over her eyes and for a minute I think about turning her around and possibly giving her the best sex she might ever have." Steve uses the same casual tone and looks at his sister when he feels her blue eyes staring holes into the side of his head.

Gail once again rolls her eyes, thinking he should have left that last part out; she didn't need images of her brother and friend in that position running around in her head.

But it's obvious for her to realize that right then and there – he loves her.

And somewhere deep down inside of Gail, she feels like hugging her brother and is proud of him for falling in love with a decent woman. She knows the glances they share between one another when they think no one's looking. Oh, but Gail knows about it. All of it. So she does the one thing she can do for her brother and that's try to give him advice.

"Steve…I think we both know she knows how you feel about her and all I can tell you is that she'll come around, I'm sure. " She knows she's half-assing her deed of giving advice but hey, everyone has their own problems, right?

Gail turns onto her side and grimaces once she hears his voice again. "You don't know how it feels, Gail. You have no idea how it feels."

Her heart skips a beat and the subject is suddenly becoming too touchy for her. She knows what he's talking about – love. For a second, a mere second Gail contemplates telling him everything before she comes to her senses that it's better to let her tears brim her eyes.

So she says something that shocks him too. "Yeah, maybe I don't."

Steve looks at her and she could see the sorry in his baby blues. She scoffs; she doesn't need his pity let alone anyone else's.

As Gail closes her eyes, the bed shifts and she feels someone hovering above her.

"You'll find it, Gail. Someday you'll find it." He whispers in her ear.

She opens her eyes when she hears the door slam and lets the tears she's been holding fall. Dealing with it this way had always been easier even if it meant pouring her tears onto her fluffy pillow as her heart ache. But it didn't matter anyway because at the end of the day, her eyes would always be dry.