Gail wasn't big on hotel bars, given her past experience, which was why Holly was surprised when Chris told her to try the Huxtable. She knew he meant the Huxley, but her mind had been focused on finding Gail that day after hearing that Gail had held the girl as she died who later wound up in her morgue. Today hadn't been that bad, but Traci had mentioned that there had been aspects of the case they were working that seemed to hit a nerve with both Gail and Oliver today. Andy and Nick had been oblivious and had made remarks that wouldn't seem hurtful to anyone- unless they'd spent time in the trunk of a car. Nick had gone on and on about how he couldn't believe the victim didn't even try to get out, despite having their hands bound. So, the minute she got off shift, Holly drove to the Huxley, walking past Frank as he dragged Andy and Nick into the break room for a discussion after tracking them to the lab.
The Huxley was one of the more upscale hotels and normally Gail would steer clear of this sort of place unless she was dressed to impress. She would have avoided the bar all together, but this was one bartender she knew wasn't going to spike her drink or leer at her. Danni, was one of the few people she'd kept in contact with from growing up. They'd known each other since middle school and Gail had raised her eyebrow when Danni married Ray, and then helped her throw all his stuff out that couldn't be sold when they separated. She'd even brought tequila. Recently, Danni had made the divorce final. As much as Gail would love to continue hating the guy, he had repaid the fifty grand he owed Danni, and Danni was happy seeing someone else named Johanna.
Danni had been there for Gail too, Holly had found out one night at the bar. Danni had driven to Vegas with Gail where she was to get married to Nick. She had also driven Gail back home when her abandoned her. And then there was the incident where she used Nick's spare key (who keeps a spare key in their car and is this big an asshole, Gail? This was bound to happen at some point, Danni had argued) and parked it illegally where it was then towed and impounded. Gail had heard it cost him five hundred dollars to get it out again. It was around that time he got that motorcycle of his. Despite the heartbreak in Vegas, Gail claimed that the trip to and from was the most fun she'd ever had.
Some of Gail's lingering fears from the Perrick abduction were conquered in the hotel bar. Danni had convinced her that the Huxley hotel was safe since most of the clientele were so rich they'd probably just hire a hitman and use the hotel as their alibi. Not the most reassuring, but it had made Gail laugh when she hadn't thought herself capable of it anymore.
When Holly walked in, she spotted Gail at the bar and Danni making her way back.
"Try and grab my ass again, and I'll shove your appletini down your throat, glass first" called Danni to a guy who put his hands up at her glare. Holly gave her a smile as Danni waved her over. Holly knew there were things Gail hadn't shared with her yet, and that was fine, so long as she was talking to someone. From what she could tell, Danni knew a lot about the others at 15 and was probably the only person who really knew Gail but the others, aside from Nick, didn't know about her.
Gail mumbled something like "What's so fascinating about car trunks anyway?" but it was muffled by the way she was resting her face on her arms.
"Well, there was the trunk of my old car, remember? You had to pull down the back seats and bungee cord it shut from the inside to get it to close? Made it a bitch to get groceries. Then there was the gas gauge that would get stuck on full so you had to keep track on the odometer or end up out of gas somewhere" remarked Danni, causing a grin to creep on to Gail's face.
"Yeah, and the passenger seat you had to keep two of those stupid steering wheel locks behind so it didn't fall down" added Gail as she sat up and propped her face in her hand.
"You guys are making this up, right?" asked Holly with a sip of her drink.
"Hey, the steering wheel locks doubled as an antitheft device that you could whack someone with" remarked Danni as she went off to serve a few more patrons. Holly just shook her head. Despite what anyone else thought, Holly thought Gail was totally worth making ridiculous memories with, and she couldn't wait.
AN: Huxley is from the series ENDGAME and so is Danni who was played by Katharine Isabelle.
Still working on Except When It Isn't!