"Holly! Mama!" Shiloh squealed as they walked through the door, Traci not far behind.
"Mom" Leo called out almost as enthusiastically as Shy, and ran to hug the detective.
Holly scooped up the four year old after he finished squeezing Gail's legs and gave him a hug. She cherished those moments, she knew he was going to grow too fast and picking him up and having his tiny arms wrap around her neck was going to end soon.
"I missed you too buddy. Did you have fun though?" Holly asked as she stepped a bit further into the apartment. Gail had kicked off her boots and was following Traci to get Shiloh's things, Leo generously went to sweep the house of any loose toys or what not so they wouldn't forget anything.
"Yes, I had a lot of fun with Leo and Uncle Steve. We played soccer and got ice cream and went to the movies and got to eat dinner at one of the inside play places. And then we got back and we played Mario cart and just before you guys got back we were drawing" Shiloh word vomited so fast Holly could hardly keep up, the boy still wasn't great at pronouncing so it added an extra mumble to the fast flowing sentences.
"Shy's been hanging out with you too much Hols, he's picked up on the word vomit." Gail sighed in mock annoyance.
Holly flashed her a lopsided smile. "You love it"
Gail ignored that and turned to Leo. "We got everything?"
"Yup" Leo nodded for good measure.
"Well thank you for taking care of my boy for me" Gail laid and arm across Leo's shoulder -the boy only a head shorter than her- and pulled him into her side.
He gave a chuckle. "No problem, Shy's cool."
"Um excuse me, I did the watching" Steve said rounding the corner.
Gail laughed. "Um, no you didn't. We let you think so but really Leo was babysitting you and Shy, you, brother were only the provider."
Steve thought about it and shrugged. Then he strode over to Holly and ruffled Shiloh's hair.
"See you later bud, today was awesome, thanks for the company."
Shiloh beamed up at his uncle. "Bye Uncle Steve"
Steve leaned in and kissed a freckled cheek. "I love you"
"Love you too."
"Bye Holly, I love you also" Steve leaned in and kissed Holly's cheek too.
Holly returned the kiss, "love you too Steve."
"And I hate you Steven, try and keep your head out of your ass." Gail patted his shoulder as she passed him and Holly, going straight for the door. "Bye Trace, today wasn't horrible" she called over her shoulder and walked out, leaving the door wide open.
Holly shook her head amusedly. "Bye Leo, thank you for today, you too Steve." Traci walked in then, she must have been getting ready for bed because she was wearing an old academy tee and plaid pyjama pants.
"You should get those baby blues to bed, this one is all tuckered out and Gail probably is too." Traci smiled as she trailed her fingers lightly over Shiloh's back. Holly hadn't even noticed the boys head fall onto her shoulder, or when the warm breath on her neck slowed to a steady relaxed rhythm. Luckily he was already put in pyjamas so they wouldn't have to wake him and could just put him to bed.
"I'll get right on that. Today was great, thank you again. Love you Trace" Holly spoke softly.
"Love you too. Drive safe and call when you get home"
Holly nodded and hiked Shiloh's backpack onto her free arm. She gave one last smile then walked out.
The drive was quiet. Shiloh was a deep sleeper so he didn't stir when Holly buckled him in his seat, Gail was half asleep and curled up on her seat, head against her window. When back at the house Holly ordered Gail to bed -which didn't take much-, and she hauled Shiloh up the stairs and tucked him under his sheets with a kiss to his forehead.
She shuffled into Gail's room and grabbed a tank top and a pair of flannel pyjama pants, changed in the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She padded down to the kitchen and grabbed a few water bottles, then went back up the stairs and distributed the water.
Finally Holly crawled in beside the blonde and let out a deep breath.
"Took you long enough." Gail mumbled grumpily and turned over.
Holly was taken aback for a moment, she thought Gail had been sleeping the moment her head hit the pillow. "What're you still doing up?"
"Waiting for you" came the muffled reply.
"Can't sleep without me? You know most people would say that's cute" Holly teased into the darkness.
Gail grumbled something incoherent. And Holly poked her side to get her attention, "didn't catch that grumpy"
"I said I sleep just fine without you, I only waited because I didn't want to be interrupted when your big butt dipped the bed."
Holly stifled a laugh then hummed in reply. "Sure. Goodnight Gail"
"Night"
"Hey Gail, Shy forgot this last night" Traci seemed awfully happy about the paper in her hand.
Gail raised a brow at her friend. She was being weird, well weirder than usual.
"Okay" she drew out the word.
Traci placed the page on the desk Gail was seated at. "Leo mentioned that he had to make a family tree for his homework and Shy wanted to do one too, but because he can't quite write they settled with him drawing a picture of his family. That's as far as he got"
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Rating:
General Audiences
Archive Warning:
No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
F/F
Fandom:
Rookie Blue
Relationship:
Gail Peck/Holly Stewart
Characters:
Gail PeckHolly StewartTraci NashSteve PeckLeo NashAndy McNallySam SwarakOliver ShawChris DiazOC Shiloh
Additional Tags:
Kids
Language:
English
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Published:2015-07-04Updated:2015-11-15Words:21371Chapters:9/?Comments:71Kudos:142Bookmarks:7Hits:2535
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Chapter 2
Chapter Text
"Holly! Mama!" Shiloh squealed as they walked through the door, Traci not far behind.
"Mom" Leo called out almost as enthusiastically as Shy, and ran to hug the detective.
Holly scooped up the four year old after he finished squeezing Gail's legs and gave him a hug. She cherished those moments, she knew he was going to grow too fast and picking him up and having his tiny arms wrap around her neck was going to end soon.
"I missed you too buddy. Did you have fun though?" Holly asked as she stepped a bit further into the apartment. Gail had kicked off her boots and was following Traci to get Shiloh's things, Leo generously went to sweep the house of any loose toys or what not so they wouldn't forget anything.
"Yes, I had a lot of fun with Leo and Uncle Steve. We played soccer and got ice cream and went to the movies and got to eat dinner at one of the inside play places. And then we got back and we played Mario cart and just before you guys got back we were drawing" Shiloh word vomited so fast Holly could hardly keep up, the boy still wasn't great at pronouncing so it added an extra mumble to the fast flowing sentences.
"Shy's been hanging out with you too much Hols, he's picked up on the word vomit." Gail sighed in mock annoyance.
Holly flashed her a lopsided smile. "You love it"
Gail ignored that and turned to Leo. "We got everything?"
"Yup" Leo nodded for good measure.
"Well thank you for taking care of my boy for me" Gail laid and arm across Leo's shoulder -the boy only a head shorter than her- and pulled him into her side.
He gave a chuckle. "No problem, Shy's cool."
"Um excuse me, I did the watching" Steve said rounding the corner.
Gail laughed. "Um, no you didn't. We let you think so but really Leo was babysitting you and Shy, you, brother were only the provider."
Steve thought about it and shrugged. Then he strode over to Holly and ruffled Shiloh's hair.
"See you later bud, today was awesome, thanks for the company."
Shiloh beamed up at his uncle. "Bye Uncle Steve"
Steve leaned in and kissed a freckled cheek. "I love you"
"Love you too."
"Bye Holly, I love you also" Steve leaned in and kissed Holly's cheek too.
Holly returned the kiss, "love you too Steve."
"And I hate you Steven, try and keep your head out of your ass." Gail patted his shoulder as she passed him and Holly, going straight for the door. "Bye Trace, today wasn't horrible" she called over her shoulder and walked out, leaving the door wide open.
Holly shook her head amusedly. "Bye Leo, thank you for today, you too Steve." Traci walked in then, she must have been getting ready for bed because she was wearing an old academy tee and plaid pyjama pants.
"You should get those baby blues to bed, this one is all tuckered out and Gail probably is too." Traci smiled as she trailed her fingers lightly over Shiloh's back. Holly hadn't even noticed the boys head fall onto her shoulder, or when the warm breath on her neck slowed to a steady relaxed rhythm. Luckily he was already put in pyjamas so they wouldn't have to wake him and could just put him to bed.
"I'll get right on that. Today was great, thank you again. Love you Trace" Holly spoke softly.
"Love you too. Drive safe and call when you get home"
Holly nodded and hiked Shiloh's backpack onto her free arm. She gave one last smile then walked out.
The drive was quiet. Shiloh was a deep sleeper so he didn't stir when Holly buckled him in his seat, Gail was half asleep and curled up on her seat, head against her window. When back at the house Holly ordered Gail to bed -which didn't take much-, and she hauled Shiloh up the stairs and tucked him under his sheets with a kiss to his forehead.
She shuffled into Gail's room and grabbed a tank top and a pair of flannel pyjama pants, changed in the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She padded down to the kitchen and grabbed a few water bottles, then went back up the stairs and distributed the water.
Finally Holly crawled in beside the blonde and let out a deep breath.
"Took you long enough." Gail mumbled grumpily and turned over.
Holly was taken aback for a moment, she thought Gail had been sleeping the moment her head hit the pillow. "What're you still doing up?"
"Waiting for you" came the muffled reply.
"Can't sleep without me? You know most people would say that's cute" Holly teased into the darkness.
Gail grumbled something incoherent. And Holly poked her side to get her attention, "didn't catch that grumpy"
"I said I sleep just fine without you, I only waited because I didn't want to be interrupted when your big butt dipped the bed."
Holly stifled a laugh then hummed in reply. "Sure. Goodnight Gail"
"Night"
"Hey Gail, Shy forgot this last night" Traci seemed awfully happy about the paper in her hand.
Gail raised a brow at her friend. She was being weird, well weirder than usual.
"Okay" she drew out the word.
Traci placed the page on the desk Gail was seated at. "Leo mentioned that he had to make a family tree for his homework and Shy wanted to do one too, but because he can't quite write they settled with him drawing a picture of his family. That's as far as he got"
Gail shot the detective a skeptical glare as she picked up the paper set in front of her. Her stomach instantly dropped and her chest filled with what she's come to know as love. There in Shiloh's scribbly hand was three and a half people, each complete person labeled under their feet. Smack in the middle of the page was a little brunet with bright blue eyes labeled Shy, one of his hands lead to a tall blonde with the same eyes labeled mama, and his other hand lead to a taller brunette with brown eyes and glasses labeled mom, next to her was an unknown half drawn person.
"Is there something you've forgotten to tell me?" Traci grinned knowingly.
Gail's eyes shot up to meet hers, wide with a range of emotions. "What?"
She chuckled and pointed to the one that was supposed to say Holly. "He's labeled Holly as mom, I was just wondering when that happened."
Gail was speechless, even more so than when Shiloh first said it a month prior. It hadn't been a problem since, hadn't even been mentioned, and she'd stop thinking about it a week after.
"Gail?"
"We talked to him and he said he understood but I guess it didn't fully sink in." She answered while staring at the drawing.
"Not quiet following"
Gail groaned. "Like a month ago he called Holly mom, we explained that she wasn't, he continued to argue that lots of his friends parents didn't live with them and they called them by name and the love we all have for each other is more than that with his aunties so it only made sense that Holly was also his mom. But it hasn't been said since."
"He's a smart kid."
"Stubborn too" Gail said while tucking away the drawing.
"He sticks and fights for his beliefs, that's a hard thing to teach at such a young age, you should be proud"
"I'm always proud of that butt head" Gail stood abruptly and made her way to the break room hoping Traci wouldn't follow and continue with the subject.
But if course it didn't work. "So there's nothing-"
"No Trace, there's absolutely nothing going on with Holly and I. Same as in the academy, same as when I was pregnant, same today."
Traci looked unconvinced, but she did every time Gail denied those claims. It'd been going on since Gail and Traci met at the academy, and Traci didn't even try to hide the fact that she thought they should be together -or already are. But the other times felt differently. They felt...calmer. Gail wasn't sure what it was, she certainly didn't have those kinds of feelings for Holly -her closest friend since college. But this had feelings. Like she had to actually question herself for the answer unlike other times when it was just automatically a no.
"Alright, alright. Just had ask due to your sons tuition." Traci smirked and started for the door. "Oh and you guys have plans tomorrow night, I wanted to try this new restaurant and Steve can't make it so I'll text you with the details."
Gail raised a brow. "What? Why can't you just reschedule?"
"It's a great place and reservations are hard to get, so just go and enjoy it"
To no ones surprise it was Holly who ended up coaxing -bribe was a better word- Gail into the dinner. She promised to pay and pick the blonde up so she could drink, plus babysitting was taken care of until the following morning courtesy of Andy.
"I told you to get ready an hour ago, Gail" Holly complained loudly enough for the blonde to hear all the way up the stairs and in her room. "We don't have time for this."
"It takes time to look this good, you can all wait five more minutes" Gail shouted back.
Holly rolled her eyes and stepped away from the staircase, if she bugged anymore than Gail was going to either take much longer or refuse to go at all, neither of which Holly wanted to play. The restaurant was one of the hardest to get into and she'd be damned if she'd let the opportunity pass by.
So she decided to grab a glass of water, checked the time on the stove and was happy she went to pick up Gail early. Holly went to sit on the couch when a colour filled drawing sitting on Shiloh's art table caught her eye, and she bent down to pick it up. She smiled fondly at what looked to be a row of family members all with their names boldly under their person.
There was Steve holding Leo's hand, who had the hand of Traci. Then Sam and Andy holding baby Claire. Holly's smile grew when she got to what appeared to be herself, and when she glanced down to see mom instead of aunt Holly her chest filled with what would have been butterfly's if in her tummy but something indescribable when located in her heart.
She wasn't sure what to think or how to feel. She certainly loved Shiloh in the unconditional way every parent describes their love for their child, she would do anything for that kid, but that title wasn't hers. Him giving her that title was conflicting because of it. On one hand it filled Holly with unimaginable love and pride, but on the other it stung. It was bitter sweet.
"Come on Nerd, we don't want to be late" Gail said rounding the corner, stopping dead in her tracts when she saw the brunette standing in the middle of her living room staring at a piece of paper she was positive was Shiloh's family portrait.