Wow. I must confess I wasn't expecting such a fantastic response. Thank you. I am so glad you seem to be enjoying this story. Here's another chapter! I am really excited about where this is going! I have already written down Gail's conference speech. Ehehe.
Holly Stewart hadn't been avoiding the Station. Or had she? She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had been inside. As she sat there, in her car, not moving an inch while she allowed her mind to wander, her eyes met the familiar silhouette of an also very familiar blonde. Not as familiar as I would like, she found herself thinking. There she stood, alone, probably waiting for someone to pick her up, someone new, someone who wanted her for more than just fun. She felt herself cringe as memories from that day came rushing back, completely taking over.
Gail had been as cold as ice. The rawness in her words and in her gestures had caused Holly to take a mental step back. For a moment she couldn't recognize the woman that had minutes ago been kissing her lips. But then again what was she expecting, right? She had just helped the younger woman go through so much shit and suddenly all she heard was that Holly was having fun. Fun with her pain. How cruel was that?
She missed her the second she started running towards what appeared to be a cab. There she was, always running and no one running after that. Sure, Holly had called; she had sent a thousand and one text messages, too. But what if she had taken too long? What if Gail had been expecting her to run after her? Thing is, Holly had gotten hurt as well that night. Gail didn't stay long enough to hear the whole story, she didn't even give Holly enough time to try and explain. Instead, she held onto the words she had gotten out of context and ran. Or had she? The whole fun thing was just supposed to be something to make Lisa stop being such a clingy bitch, it was just something meant to make her shut up. Right?
Holly just wanted her best friend to stop questioning her every move, her every decision. Ever since medical school her best friends were always messing with her, always complaining about her decision to work with the dead instead of the living. Her choices were always questioned and discussed before, over and after dinner, or whatever meal/drink/event it was. She had to confess she was tired of it. She was exhausted. She did want to have some fun in peace. And Gail was it, Gail was her sanctuary of acceptance. The blonde woman had never questioned her choices. She might have made a few jokes, sure, but just because she cared. At the end of the day she would sit there and listen without saying a word. She wouldn't judge, she would just listen and smile and be there for her, just as Holly had been after the shooting.
There, another thought that made her cringe. She had been worried sick about the younger woman. She had left work and had sat on her couch, phone in hand, waiting for her to call and say that she was okay, that she was alive, that she wasn't going to be the next body on Holly's table. That was probably one of Holly's biggest fears. Ever since she started seeing Gail, and even now after the whole stupid misunderstanding, she kept an eye out on the news and the radio, just making sure there were no other shootings, no blonde cops lying dead somewhere.
Holly wasn't just having fun, she was living. She was going home back to someone who cared enough to just hold her through the night.
Holly closed her eyes and rested her head against the hands that were still on the wheel. This wasn't fun. Not at all. Perhaps her boss was right, perhaps going to Vancouver for a conference would take her mind off things. At least she hoped so.
She walked into the Police Station and was greeted and let through by a face she recognized probably from a crime scene, or perhaps it was one of Gail's friends. Even though the blonde woman kept saying that she didn't have any, the truth was that everybody seemed to care a lot about her, to have her back. They were truly a family, a family she could have belonged to if only she hadn't tried to be whoever they expected her to be, if only she hadn't given up on fighting for her relationship with Gail in front of her friends, if only she had held her ground and told them that this, whatever this was, was what she currently wanted and nothing more. If, if, if…
She went directly to Oliver's office, her head high but her eyes half-unfocused, not ready to see the faces that had once thanked her for having Gail grinning like a maniac. They had actually reached out to her and thanked her for making Gail happy for once. She took a deep breath and knocked at the door even though it was open.
"No Gail, I won't ask Steve." Oliver started before even looking up. Gail was usually not okay with a lot of things so he was definitely expecting her to come back and try to change his mind. He had to confess he had expected her earlier, though. Hadn't she been gone for like 15 minutes already? What had brought her back? "I am not…" He stopped mid-sentence as he found himself staring at Holly once he finally finished reading the page of the report that stood in front of him and actually looked up. "Oh, it's you. I am sorry. I was expecting Gail to be complaining. Glad she finally decided to take orders without second-guessing me. How can I help you, Doc?"
"I got a call about a conference…?" Holly replied half-worried she might have had misinterpreted her boss' words. Hadn't he said they were expecting her? Had they changed their mind? She was actually looking forward to it now. She liked conferences. She liked attending the lectures, she enjoyed taking notes, she even liked presenting and dealing with unexpected questions. Basically she was a big fan of challenges – if only she knew how big of a challenge this one would be.
"Oh, they are sending you?"
"Is that a problem?" Something was off. Holly knew it, but she didn't really know Oliver well enough to go all cut the bullshit and give me the truth on him.
"Oh, definitely not." Gail is going to kill me.
"They said I should come to you for plane tickets and whatnot?" Holly finally let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. Apparently she really did feel like going. She had been looking forward to getting her plane tickets ever since she had gotten the call that morning. She needed to get away, even if just for the weekend.
"Oh sure. Let me just make the call and have the boarding passes printed".
"Actually, I was wondering if I could possibly downgrade my ticket to economy and take my friends with me? I will pay the extra, of course."
"Huh, sure! Do you have their personal data?" Gail is going to murder me. Slowly.
Once they had the whole thing figured out Holly left the Station, leaving a worried Oliver back in his office, wondering whether he should let Gail know or let her find out on her own. After a brief talk on the phone with Celery he ended up deciding on letting things flow naturally. If hell broke loose? Well, they would have nature to blame.
Back in her car Holly put her phone on speaker as she made her way home to grab the bag she had already packed during her lunch break.
"No, no, no! No way you are cancelling on us again. No way, Holly." She heard Lisa say from the other side of the line.
"Actually, I am taking you to Vancouver with me. I gave up first class and priority boarding for you, so."
"What? When do we leave?"
"Mmmh, in less than two hours, actually."
"OH. I see." Lisa said, sounding slightly confused and lost for a moment. "RACHEL. Pack our bags." Ah, there she was. Definitely back on the control chair. Holly couldn't help but roll her eyes as she heard her friend yelling out orders.
"Okay, we are going but you have a lot of explaining to do, missy." And with that Lisa actually hung up causing Holly to wonder, yet again, why those two were her best friends. But then again they had said yes, so that was probably her first clue.
"Of course I have to explain. I have to explain every damn thing." Holly mumbled as she parked her car in front of her building, running upstairs to grab her bag before getting back and driving to her friends'. Perhaps this conference would stop the whole judging thing about her career choices. After all, she was meant to make a presentation about her work and she knew just how to make it interesting.
