Okay, I know some of you are waiting for the next installment of God help her (and it's coming - I swear) but I had to get this out of my system first. Seeing as I was not completely (at all) satisfied by the final two episodes I've decided to fix it on my own. It turned out a lot longer than my other follow-ups (more issues to resolve, I guess) so I've split it into two parts, the second of which will be up as soon as I finish reading and rereading and tweaking and... Anyway, please enjoy the 1st part of my finale.
Don't own the characters or the show. Kinda wish I did, though. And not for the money.
The Black Penny was raucous with sounds of music and merriment, most every member of the 15 having shown up to celebrate Swarek's safe retrieval. The usual gang (with a few notable exceptions) amused themselves with a game of Follow The Leader darts while they waited for the Guest of Honor to arrive.
Between throws Dov surreptitiously watched the entrance, telling himself he was keeping an eye out for Sam and Andy and not the fiery blonde who inspired in him equal amounts awe and adoration and guilt. It wasn't like it was voluntary – things had just started to resemble normal and he wanted (needed) to keep them that way – but now that she'd snubbed Chris' clumsy attempt at hitting reset he couldn't help but crave the little time he got to spend with her. It was quite the double-edged sword: either he had to see her all over his best friend or he barely got to see her at all.
For his part Chris was hoping the whole Swarek scare had shown Gail that life was too short, especially in their line of work, to hold a grudge. She would walk in the door and he would buy her a drink (or two) and with some groveling on his part (okay, a lot of groveling) they would make up before the night was through. And none-too-soon, either; once he'd gotten over the non-betrayal he'd realized he missed her like crazy. Missed the way she'd hit the snooze button repeatedly if he let her, her uncontrolled giggles when he'd tickle her to bring her fully to consciousness, the trailing of her nails up his abs in retaliation and what usually came after. He'd do anything to have those simple things (and a million others) back again.
Dov was about to give up on her showing at all when the door opened and in she walked like she owned the place. His relief was short-lived, his smile fading, when Callaghan sauntered in behind her to put a hand on the small of her back. "Hey – what do you think that's about?" he nudged Chris as the pair went up to the bar.
"Huh?" Chris followed the tilt of Dov's chin, then shrugged. "They've been working together."
He thought his best friend was being his usual naïve self but didn't say anything. Not with his mouth, anyway.
Chris could tell by the subtle lift of Dov's eyebrow that he didn't believe it. Shaking his head he argued, "Gail wouldn't get involved with him; he's a dirty cheater."
"According to you so is she," Dov pointed out wryly. It was a low blow but he hadn't been able to help himself.
Giving him a wounded look Chris turned his attention to his beer just as Gail and Luke joined the group and greetings were exchanged.
"You guys just coming from the station?" Oliver asked.
Luke nodded. "Had some paperwork to finish up." And an internal debate to wage. He'd finally decided that, if nothing else, turning Gail down might have been bad for his career. It was a blatant pretext but it worked for him…
Jerry had left his paperwork for tomorrow. Or next week. "Any sign of Sam? Or Andy?" They were all worried about the fate of their friends, his girlfriend especially, and he was hoping to put her mind at ease. Without having to ask Frank.
"Yeah – I don't think we'll be seeing them tonight," Gail supplied knowingly. After belatedly checking to make sure Frank wasn't listening (he was thankfully preoccupied with Noelle) she added with a sly wink, "They've got better things to do…"
Chris looked up, confused. "Like what?" How could they not want to celebrate?
Gail rolled her eyes at his obliviousness, supremely grateful it wasn't her job to enlighten him anymore. Catching Traci's eye she mouthed, "She's fine."
Traci nodded her thanks. She figured they'd probably both been suspended but at least they were together. However ill-advised that was…
"Any chance we can get in on the action?" Luke proposed, turning the conversation away from his ex and onto the game of darts.
"Oh, no – not me," Gail quickly shook her head. "I can't guarantee if you put a pointy object in my hand I'll be aiming at the board…" She still couldn't believe the boys had tried to just sweep everything under the rug. While acting like they were doing her a favor, no less.
Dov knew the comment was meant for him as well as Chris but grinned anyway; he'd take 'violent tendencies' Gail over 'defanged' Gail any day.
Luke smiled down at her. "Don't you worry, Peck – I'll keep you on the straight and narrow."
Yeah - like anyone could keep her on the straight and narrow if she didn't want to be… Chris gave a skeptical snort.
"Fine," Gail conceded with a grimace, "But if I accidentally/on purpose take someone out, Callaghan, it's on you…" She wasn't kidding, though she suspected he thought she was.
Traci got Dov's attention then looked pointedly between the blondes. It didn't take a cop's instincts to see what was going on…
Between her attempt at a karaoke set-up and the current goading Dov was starting to think Traci knew more than she should have. He forced an indifferent shrug even though he was anything but.
Pete silently took everything in, wanting to get a reading on the group dynamic before integrating himself. Best he could tell it was very messy. Epstein had barely torn his eyes away from Peck since she'd walked in and Diaz couldn't seem to bring himself to look at her. For her part she hadn't made eye contact with either of them. If anyone had had the time to gossip that day Pete was almost certain some of it would have involved those three. On second thought, that Guns and Gangs guy had said something about Deckstein and Pez. He found himself wondering if melding names was as common an occurrence at the 15 as inter-departmental relationships seemed to be…
"You just remember who your favorite is," Jerry warned Gail. He wasn't giving up his (future) preferential treatment just because they were knocking boots.
Gail didn't have favorites – she had 'most useful at the moment's. "Of course, Detective," she placated, overly sweetly.
Traci rolled her eyes. She was close to being the youngest person in the room and yet she always felt like the most mature. It was sad, really.
"Are we gonna play or are we gonna keep squabbling?" Oliver mocked, scrubbing the scoreboard and adding the newcomer's names.
The next twenty minutes were spent in mostly amiable competition, Dov biting his tongue while Luke 'showed' Gail how to throw a dart. She'd played before, was far from the worst amongst them, but that didn't stop her from acting the hopeless ingénue in need of guidance. She was first out, Luke not long after, and Dov had the sinking suspicion that they'd thrown the game on purpose.
Luke heaved a sigh of mock-defeat and led Gail away, calling over his shoulder, "Let us know when you guys are ready for a rematch…"
"Still think it's nothing?" Dov derided once they were out of earshot.
"It is nothing." Chris wouldn'tallow himself to think anything else.
Dov questioned who Chris was really trying to convince but let it go to focus on the game, trying to relegate her to the back of his mind as he'd tried so many times before. As per usual he failed. Miserably. He lasted about 10 minutes before scanning the room for her. "Doesn't look like nothing to me…"
Chris glanced over to find Gail turned into Luke and him giving her a charmed smile. "It doesn't mean anything," he reiterated hotly.
"If you say so…" But Dov wasn't so sure. Not when she brushed her hair back to expose her pale neck; not when Luke said something and she actually genuinely laughed. If he hadn't known it was impossible he would swear he could hear the sound over the din of the bar, so it must have been his memory supplying the melody to torture him.
Something or nothing, the sight was tearing Chris apart. "I can't watch anymore."
Dov rolled his eyes when Chris turned away. He didn't really want to look, either, but it was the first real smile he'd seen Gail wear in ages and he couldn't not look.
Chris purposefully stared at a Guinness poster on the wall until the not knowing got to him. "What's happening now?"
Heaving a pained sigh Dov told him, "She's playing coy." He could see her eyes sparkling from across the room and he suddenly realized that Chris dropping the guilt trip had nothing at all to do with the old Gail being back. Which left him horribly torn between wanting to thank Luke and wanting to put him in traction…
"And he's buying it?" Chris scoffed. If there was one adjective that clearly didn't apply to Gail it was that one. If it meant what he thought it meant…
Traci saw the guys' not-so-subtle attempts to spy on Gail and shook her head. That was one triangle (pentagon, now?) she was happy to not be a part of. Didn't mean she wasn't sorely tempted to get involved, if only to save them from themselves. Kids.
"Yup." Luke was leaning in, his eyes shining, and Dov knew he was enjoying the game as much as she was. The term 'willing victim' jumped to mind unbidden. "Apparently Peck got her groove back…"
Chris took a peek before he could stop himself, cringing at how close they were. "She's just trying to get a rise out of us…"
It amazed Dov how quickly Chris had gone from territorial Neanderthal to discussing Gail like she was a communal girlfriend. Not that Dov had never felt like she was a communal girlfriend (it was hard not to with all the time they'd spent together) but Chris' drastic changes in attitude made him consider a trip to the doctor. Maybe the guy was bipolar and had never been diagnosed…
"Diaz – you're up," Oliver called.
Chris took his turn then covered surveillance while Dov did the same.
Throwing his darts Dov deliberately missed the target to lose his last life and get knocked from the game. "Did I miss anything?" he asked Chris when he returned to his post.
"I was made," Chris confessed sheepishly. "Callaghan caught me staring and told Gail."
Dov risked looking at the table but neither was paying them any attention; Gail was glaring into her drink and Luke was brushing her hair back to whisper something in her ear. She smiled at him then, gratefully, and leaned in to whisper something of her own. When she pulled back Dov muttered, "Uh-oh."
Chris didn't like the sound of that. "What, 'uh-oh'?"
"She's giving him the look." The same one Dov had (unfortunately) seen her give Chris hundreds of times; the one that ultimately promised she was going to remove your clothes with her teeth. He would have given anything to be on the receiving end of one of those looks…
The way he'd said it told Chris exactly what look he meant, and his hands balled into fists. He hadn't even had a chance to put his plan into motion…
"They make a cute couple," Pete opined out of nowhere, more confused than ever on the relationship between the three. Maybe they were just overly-involved big brother types… "You guys really don't follow Regs at the 15, do you?" Sergeants with officers, detectives with rookies. And none of them even trying to hide it.
Dov had forgotten the kid was even there he was such a non-entity. "You'll last longer if you keep your opinions to yourself, Sun," he advised, hating that he couldn't really dispute either statement. Gail and Luke's kids would definitely have straw-colored hair and crystal-blue eyes, and the thought was enough to make him feel sick.
"Game's almost done," Oliver volunteered as Luke and Gail walked up. "Just Jerry, Noelle and Diaz left."
"Actually, we're going to head out," Luke told him. "Long day…"
Traci radiated disapproval in Gail's direction, trying to confer without words that this was not the way to deal with her problems.
Gail didn't appreciate the judgmental attitude; it wasn't like Andy hadn't moved on, and it wasn't like she hadn't earned herself a distraction with the month she'd had. And from what she'd heard Callaghan would be a very good distraction indeed… Just to let Traci know how much she didn't care she threw her a saucy wink. "Catch you on the flip side…"
Chris couldn't let her leave without at least trying to stop her. "Gail, can we…"
"Medication, Chris," she cut him off harshly. "Look into it." After the hell he'd put her through he didn't deserve the time of day much less a minute of her time.
Anxious to put an end to the awkwardness the others said their goodbyes and went back to the game as the pair walked off.
"The clock's ticking…" Traci warned as Gail and Luke paused at the bar so he could close out the tab.
"You heard her…" Chris defended, crushed. "I'm the last person she wants to have anything to do with." He was pretty sure she wasn't willing to go against her 'one break' rule anymore.
Traci rolled her eyes and kicked Dov none-too-gently in the shin. "You're just gonna stand there?"
Dov stared at her blankly, not knowing what she expected him to do about it. One – he was nobody to Gail; she'd made that abundantly clear. Two – he had a girlfriend; not the right one, but still. And three – he'd just gotten his best friend back and didn't want to jeopardize it; not for nothing, anyway. "Why wouldn't I?"
Catching on to what Traci was doing Chris shook his head at her and went to get another beer. If it was a toss-up between his best friend and the cheating ex-fiancé of another close friend he wasn't sure who he'd prefer, but he wasn't gonna stick around to be a part of the decision.
Burying the guilt as he shuffled away Traci reminded Dov, "'Cause Peck is awe-some…"
Like Dov didn't know that. Peck was a lot of other things, too; the bane of his existence, for one. "So? Who says she wants anything to do with me?" As much as it hurt to admit it.
"You guys are so stupid." It was a good thing her life was 'quaint' because between Andy's and Gail's relationship woes Traci wouldn't have any energy left to deal with her own issues. "For the last month I have watched you two avoid each other like the plague; have you actually talked to each other?"
Fighting mounting irritation he countered, "There's nothing to talk about; she blames me for the break-up and I can't say she's wrong to…"
Traci took a deep breath to dispel the urge to smack him. "It doesn't strike you as odd that Chris broke up with her because of your feelings?" It had taken a bit of deductive reasoning but between the details she'd (painstakingly) gathered from Gail and the little bits she'd 'accidentally' overheard she had a pretty good idea of what had happened. It helped that she hadn't forgotten the conversation they'd had about Gail way back when they'd first started at the 15, or Gail's mini freak-out when he was in the meth house.
Dov's brow furrowed while he processed what she was (not) saying. "You need to stop drinking," he recommended, mockingly tipping his glass at her while his eyes darted to where Luke was holding the door open for Gail.
"Fine – don't believe me." Following his gaze she went for the jugular. "But they're both on the rebound – you let her leave with him and the next wedding invite you get might be theirs…" Okay, so it was a bit of an exaggeration but the boy obviously needed a kick in the pants.
"Nobody lets Gail do anything," Dov argued, searching Traci's eyes for any sign that she'd been put up to it as a sick form of revenge. He wouldn't need three guesses to figure out by whom.
Ugh. She supposed being a defeatist was an unfortunate side-effect of being in love with the untouchable Gail Peck. "Okay, but maybe if she knew she had another option she'd choose not to…"
He wanted to believe her, more than anything, but that was a pretty big 'maybe' to bet the house on. And the car. And the boat. "I don't know…"
"Be the bear, Dov!" Traci encouraged, giving him a push to get him going. If that didn't work a literal kick in the pants was next.
To hell with it. Dov turned the momentum of the shove into a sprint towards the door, deciding that the consequences of her being right and doing nothing were worse than the alternative. "Tell Chris I'm sorry," he told her over his shoulder, even though he was almost certain it wouldn't matter.
Traci watched him go, sending up a silent prayer that she was right. Her instincts told her she was, and her instincts were usually spot on, but there was still the nagging possibility that Gail's caginess on the subject was just a natural by-product of her 'colorful' personality. And if it turned out she was wrong Traci didn't know she'd ever be able to forgive herself for being the one to push him off the cliff…
