"What do you mean, you don't like him?" Gail asked, disbelief etched on her face. "I thought everybody under fourteen liked him?"

"He's old news," Sophie said, dismissing that notion with a wave of her hand. The other hand clutched an ice cream cone, which she licked happily.

"Old news?" Gail clutched her chest. "I kinda like him."

"You're kinda old," Sophie smiled.

"Ah," Gail narrowed her eyes playfully. "I see what you did there." Gail glanced across the picnic table. "Did you know this, Hol?"

Holly was sort of in awe of what she was seeing, so she'd become a spectator for most of the afternoon. So much so, it took a second for it to register that Gail was talking to her. "Oh…uh…yeah, I did, actually."

"How?" Gail demanded.

"I have a niece about your age," Holly winked at Sophie. "She lets me know what's cool and what's not."

"You really need some help like that, Gail," Sophie said as she tapped Gail's arm. "'And Bieber is definitely not!"

"That's why I have you, kiddo," Gail pulled very gently on one of Sophie's braids. "You have to tell me these things." In the midst of Sophie laughing, Gail glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Holly. "Ice cream's melting," she said as she noticed some vanilla drip onto Holly's hand.

Holly, who had been riveted to the scene, just nodded.

"Hol," Gail pointed to the mess. "Ice cream."

"What?" Holly asked. "Oh," she raised her hand in the air and tried to comically shake it off. "Yeah, it is."

Sophie laughed at that, too. She waited until after Holly had used a napkin to wipe off her hands before asking, "What's her name?"

"My niece?"

Sophie nodded as she took another bite of ice cream.

"Sydney."

"She's eight?"

"Nine," Holly answered. "And a half. The half is very important to her."

"Does she live here?"

"Not too far away," Holly said.

That seemed to satisfy her for a moment.

Gail couldn't help but smile at the interaction between the two of them. She couldn't kick the feeling that her life was coming together in these moments. Two forces were merging as her eyes flicked between the woman that rocked her world in a million different ways and this kid that had somehow given her some higher sense of purpose.

Holly caught the dreamy look in Gail's eye and winked at her.

Sophie looked between them while she took another lick of her cone. "So, this is your BFF?" she asked Gail curiously.

"Yeah," Gail said. "You could say that."

"Your best friend or your girlfriend?" Sophie inquired. "'Cause some girls have girlfriends. My neighbor, Cindy, had a girlfriend."

"She did?" Gail asked, not really prepared for any explanation of what Holly was or wasn't to her.

"Yep," Sophie answered. She took another bite and moved right on. "Yum."

"You're perceptive," Gail told her.

Sophie had no idea what that meant, so her eyes got really big, "Is that bad?"

Gail laughed, "No, no," she said quickly. "That's good! Really good. You'd make a great cop."

"That's what I'm going to be!" Sophie said.

"No pressure," Gail shrugged. "Be whatever you want. You have a lot of time to decide."

"Are you a police woman, too?" Sophie asked Holly.

"No," Holly said as her chin rested on her hand.

"She's a doctor," Gail said, almost conspiratorially. "Cool, huh?"

"Do you see a lot of gross stuff?" Sophie asked her.

The question must have taken Holly by surprise because she looked at Gail before answering.

"Do you?" Gail asked her as if the question was weighing on her mind as well.

"Probably more than most," Holly eventually said laughing at Gail's faux enthusiasm for the the answer.

"One of my friends from school got a peanut stuck in his ear last year," Sophie informed them. "He had to have a doctor get it out. You seen anything grosser than that?"

"That's hard to beat," Holly said, humoring her. "I can honestly say, I've never seen a ear packed with peanuts."

"Oh," the kid looked disappointed.

"Hey, look who it is," Gail pointed across the open playground.

Sophie's social worker was making her way toward them and that made the kid look even more disappointed. "Already?"

"Looks like it," Gail frowned.

Holly looked over her shoulder at the woman approaching and sighed. The afternoon had been far too revealing for her to want to be over already.

"Are you going to come see me again?" Sophie asked suddenly.

There was just a hint of desperation that hurt Gail's heart. "Of course," she said. "I haven't missed a week yet, have I?"

"No," the girl said.

"Hi," Marlene greeted them as she walked up on the scene. "Did you have a good time with Officer Gail?"

"Yes!" Sophie shouted.

"Good," Marlene smiled. "Why don't you go play for a few minutes while I talk to her, huh?"

Sophie was pretty reluctant to leave, but she gave Gail a hug and went to do just that.

"How are you?" Marlene asked Gail.

"Great," Gail nodded vigorously. "Still very committed to this," she said.

"Good," Marlene smiled at her before turning to Holly. "Dr. Stewart, I presume?"

Holly seemed a bit surprised that the lady already knew who she was. "Yes, Holly Stewart."

"Gail said you'd be here, today."

Holly just nodded not quite knowing what she knew or how it might affect things.

"I usually don't think it's a great idea to introduce people that may or may not be around long term," Marlene stated.

"That's understandable," Holly said.

"But Gail assured me that this was an important step," she said.

Holly glanced at Gail.

Gail glanced away.

"Alright," Marlene said, sensing a ripple of tension. "I'll be seeing you."

"You will," Gail said confidently. "Soon."

Gail didn't take her off eyes off the kid as she walked away hand in hand with the woman. Holly eventually draped her arm over Gail's shoulder.

"Well?" Gail asked her, still looking at Sophie's retreating form. "What did you think?"

"Traci once alluded to some kind of Gail plus children phenomenon," Holly said. "But it's one of those things you have to see to believe."

"I mean, what did you think about Sophie?"

"She's amazing," Holly answered. "Smart. Tough. Has one hell of a little personality. Kinda reminds me of you."

"Yeah?" Gail seemed positively thrilled about the possibility.

"Yeah."

Neither of them said much on the drive back to Holly's house. Gail kept waiting for something, but Holly just drove in silence. Contemplative silence, it seemed.

When they got back, Holly parked and got out of the car without saying a word. She waited for Gail to catch up and held out her hand so they could walk in together. She kept a hold of Gail's hand as she unlocked the door, let her pass and then nudged the door shut with her foot.

"Is this the silent treatment or the cold shoulder?" Gail asked, trying to infuse some humor.

"Neither," Holly shrugged. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"Everything."

"Wanna narrow that down?"

Holly settled herself on the couch, folding her hands behind her head. "I don't think I can right now. It's...well...it's a lot."

"I know," Gail said as she made her way over. She stood awkwardly in front of Holly for a second, not really knowing what to do or what to say.

Holly sensed her uncertainty and shifted herself around so that Gail would have some room. "Come on, BFF," she said cheekily, patting the empty space.

"Was that okay?" Gail asked shyly. "I mean, what do you say to an eight year old?"

"The truth," Holly answered. "There's absolutely nothing wrong or bad about you having a girlfriend, Gail. You tell the truth."

"Yeah," Gail nodded.

"She doesn't seem bothered," Holly went on. "I don't think it's a big deal, but you should be honest about it if she asks again. Don't make it a big deal and it won't be."

"Hm," Gail took it in. "Makes sense."

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Holly asked her, making sure to highlight all the space between them. "Or are you going to get over here beside me?"

Gail rolled her eyes good naturedly before dropping down and letting Holly curl into her back. She wrapped one arm over her shoulder and the other around her waist. "I've got you," Holly said.

"You do," Gail whispered, hopefully interjecting a bit more meaning behind the words.

"Soooo..." Holly took a deep breath and hugged Gail tighter. "I'm going to say things."

"K."

"You may not like them."

Gail swallowed hard. "Okay."

"First," Holly said quietly, tapping one finger against Gail's chin. "Watching you with Sophie today was nearly magical. I have no doubt that you care for her. That you love her. I can see it. She can feel it. She's pretty enamored with you, too."

"You think?"

"Absolutely."

"But?" Gail was waiting for it. "You don't think I can do it?"

"Oh, I know you could do it," Holly said. "I know you. I know you like a challenge. I know that you care hard and love big."

"So..."

"I also know that a few weeks ago you got mad at me and shut me out. Completely. For weeks. You can't do that to a kid, Gail."

"You don't think I know that?" Gail asked, turning a little to face Holly.

"I would have thought you knew not to do it to your girlfriend, but..."

"That's different," Gail snapped.

"Oh?" Holly's eyebrow arched. "Different how?"

"It just is."

"You were just telling me you still act like a teenager," Holly reminded her.

"Don't use that against me!"

"I'm not," Holly said. "I'm not using anything against you, Gail. I'm not attacking you. I'm talking to you. I'm trying to get you to see the big picture here. The picture that has you living in a tiny apartment with roommates and blowing all your money on booze."

"And?"

"And..." Holly sighed. "There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you choose to do." Holly smoothed down a section of Gail's hair that had gotten ruffled. "But, you can't do it with a child. Your life is going to change. I want you to be ready for it."

"I've thought this through. I know it'll change. I know I have to be a grown up," Gail assured her. "And no offense, Hol, but you're a little late to the game here."

"Because you let me be," Holly said. "It's not like I didn't want to be with you."

"Really?" Gail let out a humorless laugh. "Because if I recall, you were with someone else...doing god knows what..."

"Gail." It was tone that Gail definitely recognized. She was treading on thin ice with that.

"I was with someone else because I couldn't be with you."

"Use 'em and abuse 'em, eh, Hol?"

"Not fair." Holly shifted quickly, trying to untangle herself which was nearly impossible considering Gail was on top of her arm.

"No, no, no," Gail panicked. She pulled at her. "Holly, don't. Stop."

She did. She stopped and took a deep, calming breath. She settled back down into her space. "Don't get mad at me because you don't agree. That's what I'm talking about."

Gail pursed her lips, knowing that Holly had a point. A very valid point, at that.

"I'm just playing devil's advocate, okay?"

Gail refused to look at her, she just closed her eyes and let her head drop back down onto the couch.

"Gail," Holly shook her. "Be an adult and acknowledge that I'm talking to you."

"I can hear you," Gail said. "I'm thinking."

"I don't want you to get in over your head," Holly said. "I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to look out for you."

"I'm trying to look out for her, though," Gail said suddenly, fiercely. "Isn't that more important? It's a kid. She's got nobody. Nobody, Holly. Nobody but me."

"But she can have you without you being completely responsible the entire rest of her life," Holly told her. "Especially when you're just starting to figure out your own."

"People become parents before they're ready all the time."

"When they have to!"

"Well," Gail shrugged. "I have to."

Holly waited a really long time before she said anything else. She waited so long that Gail wondered if she had fallen asleep.

When she did say something, it was, "Okay, Gail."

"Okay what?"

"I don't know," Holly said honestly. "I'm torn between knowing you'll be the very best mom you can possibly be and wondering if you have any idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Trust me," Gail said. "Just trust me, okay."

"I do…" Holly kissed Gail's neck. "With me. With us. I trust you. I know we're finally on the same page."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I think we need time before we're parents, Gail."

"We don't have it."

"You're sort of making a unilateral decision."

"I had already made it before you came at me lips first," Gail replied. "If I had known-"

"What?" Holly angled herself to get a look at Gail's face. "Would that have changed things? Knowing we were an option?"

"I…" Gail had to stop to think about it. She wasn't quite sure if she liked her answer. "I don't know."

Months could have passed in the silence that took over. They continued to rest there, side by side. They stayed, lost in their own thoughts, but together.

"I can do it," Gail eventually announced.

"I love you. Whatever happens, know that."

"I do."

"Good."

Gail closed her eyes. "I love you, too."