Chapter 03: Lesbian Bed Death
Type: Romance / Fluff(?)
Rating: Almost M
This was mentioned in the last chapter, a brief period where things were rough and there was a disconnect. So here's a happier, sexy times connection. It's Holly, Gail, a cottage, and some internal monologue from Holly.
This takes place 3 years after the end of "Out With The Old" and 2 before the last chapter (where Bill died).
The creaking sound of animals in snow woke her up. It was an odd noise, not at all the same as the sound of winter in the city. Gail shifted in the bed in front of her, apparently still asleep, and Holly smiled. The smooth skin on Gail's bare neck reflected the morning light, making Holly smile more. She had missed this so much. If their phones got a reliable signal, she'd text Lisa and thank her. Since all they had was the landline, it was better not to wake Gail up for that. Also it would require moving away from Gail, as the landline was downstairs and their cellphones didn't work well at the cottage, and right now Holly would vivisect anyone who moved her away from her wife.
She'd almost forgotten how wonderful it was to be awake in the quiet with Gail. Not that Gail was often quiet, but even so she knew how to appreciate the moments in life that needed reflection and peace. Here, in the fairly early morning, Gail was quiet and still and dreamy looking.
It had been a terrible half year. While the job of Medical Director wasn't functionally much different from her new one of Assistant Medical Examiner, Holly had found herself swamped with work moments after stepping into the role because everyone knew she was going to be the next Chief Medical Examiner. Research and presentations and lectures, on top of her normal load of casework, had run her ragged. And any time she wasn't working, Gail was. The blonde had been picking up more and more important cases. She and John were practically the lead detectives on every single big case that landed in their squad. Which was awesome but also draining.
Six months, they'd practically been roommates more than anything else. Roommates who loved each other, but roommates none the less. It was the dreaded lesbian bed death, where the romance was just gone. Except it really wasn't, it had just been ... It was phenomenally bad timing. Gail quipped more than once that success was 90% luck and 10% timing. They'd been short on both luck and timing lately.
Enter Lisa and her take-charge plan, sending the boring married couple up to the Peck Cottage for five days of rest, relaxation, and sex. Gail had looked offended and angry at first, but Lisa pulled her aside and suddenly the blonde was on board with the long weekend. Since Lisa had packed everything, Gail got her rifle and Holly made sure they actually had clothes to wear, but they did kiss Vivian goodbye and make the drive up in the evening, stopping only to pick up food and put chains on Holly's car.
On the way to the cottage, Holly realized exactly how tired Gail was. She'd tried to keep tabs on her wife's tendency to overwork, to prevent a burn out like had nearly happened a few years back, but this time they'd both been run thin and she'd apparently missed some signs. Unlike the last time, when Gail struggled to keep things in check, this was straightforward exhaustion. Gail had agreed to let Holly drive and fallen asleep on the drive up, which was rare, and the hollowness under her eyes was dark and noticeable, even in the evening gloom. With skin as pale as Gail's, it really didn't take much for her to look a bit tired, but now she looked like she'd gone ten rounds, and lost every one.
Holly's plan had been to send Gail to shower and sleep, but once woken up, Gail pointed out she needed to eat. She had to fuel her insane metabolism if she wanted to sleep properly. Two sandwiches later, and quite awake, they made a fire and curled up on the couch, sitting in the winter night watching the snow on the lake. Holly had her own fears about the recent quieting of their romantic life, and couldn't bring herself to voice them. She knew she still loved Gail and found her amazing and fascinating, but there were seven years between them, and sometimes it felt like a lifetime.
Desperately, Holly had wanted to know the answer to if Gail still found her attractive, but she settled for wrapping her arms around her wife and cradling Gail in her legs. "I'm psychic," announced Gail, one hand lacing the fingers with one of Holly's.
With a laugh, Holly asked, "How's that?"
"You are worried I don't think you're sexy."
Holly had to admit that was disturbingly accurate, but she frowned. "Is that what Lisa told you?"
"No, BitchTits reminded me about lbd, which I thought meant little black dress." Gail huffed a laugh and sat up, turning to look at Holly carefully. There seemed to be a hundred things on Gail's mind, a thousand words waiting to be said, or maybe only three. But she didn't say anything.
In the nighttime silence, Holly remembered that Gail was more a woman of action than words. She didn't always know how to express her feelings and she didn't often want to talk things out. Gail cupped her face with both hands, looking into Holly's eyes questioningly. "Hey," breathed Holly, softly.
Gail bit her lower lip. "I'm not good at this," she whispered.
"I know." She'd always known that Gail wasn't the talker about her feelings.
Nodding, Gail let go of Holly's face and took her hands, sitting back to study her whole face. "Do you... I know I'm not..." Gail exhaled loudly, looking horribly insecure and nervous. "When we met, I was a patrol cop. Do you... Uh... Do you still think I'm ... Am I still your type?"
Holly blinked and stared at her wife, not entirely certain she'd heard the words properly. "What?"
"I'm not in the same, you know, shape." Gail sighed loudly, clearly uncomfortable. "When we met, I was moving a lot, running around, chasing losers. And- and I know I'm still in pretty good shape. But it's different. And you liked the uniform, which I never wear anymore. And I know you said you liked the suit and the crime solving and everything but it is different and—"
Pulling Gail closer, Holly kissed her. Gail never babbled like that. That was Holly's thing, to just blab everything on her brain and not think about how she was saying it. "You," Holly whispered. "You are always what I want, Gail." She hadn't thought about that at all, the idea that Gail worried Holly didn't find her attractive. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't look at Gail and find her beautiful? She could be freakin' Marilyn Monroe with those looks.
Gail's eyes were half closed. "Life... Life is very strange, Holly," she said softly, her hands rubbing Holly's upper arms. "I know you love me."
Smiling, Holly kissed her again, lightly. "I really do. I was afraid ..." She stopped and saw Gail's eyes open a little more. "I was afraid you didn't think I was, um, attractive."
The look on Gail's face plainly told Holly not to be stupid. "Have you seen you, Holly?"
"I have," sighed Holly. "I'm almost forty-five."
Gail snorted. "The hottest almost forty-five ever," she said firmly. Gail's fingers gripped her shoulders, holding her in place to kiss her again. "You're beautiful, Holly. I've never met anyone who looks as amazing as you. You've got runners legs that go on for days, an amazing ass, a great rack, and your neck drives me crazy."
The last one surprised her. "My neck?" Holly laughed but it faded into a soft groan as Gail started to kiss the side of her neck.
"Neck," repeated Gail. She ghosted her lips over Holly's neck and chin until they were kissing. It escalated surprisingly fast. They scooted closer, knees and thighs pushing into more sensitive places, hands finding skin under shirts. It felt good to have nothing hanging over them, no need to be quiet for fear of waking a child, no work calls possible. Just time for them and each other.
But they didn't get further than heavy petting that night. Oh, they wanted to. They pressed and rocked against each other, gasping and groaning, threatening to move beyond the couch and beyond clothes. There was just no denying the fact that they were exhausted and had been for days, however. After quite a while, one of them yawned, making the other laugh and suggest bed for sleeping. The mood wasn't destroyed, just postponed, as they paused to kiss and touch each other on the way upstairs.
They went up to the bedroom, showered, and curled up in bed. Gail had slipped into a slinky nightgown and tumbled face first into the pillow, which was adorable and hilarious. She was asleep before Holly was out of the shower, short hair pushed up making a rooster's crest and her mouth open. Poor dear. Her eyes were sunken and the circles below were dark. Gail's pale skin showed her exhaustion more obviously than Holly's, though she shared the drained feeling.
Still. After one solid night under her belt, Holly woke feeling the most rested she had in weeks, and spent her morning caressing Gail's back and shoulders. She loved the color of her hand against the nightgown and Gail's skin. Mostly the skin. How many mornings had Holly woken first and spent the time admiring the police woman's beautiful, youthful, form? Most had ended with her hands wandering and arousing Gail. When had that stopped? Why had that stopped?
Well damn it, it should start again. Today she didn't have a time crunch or a deadline or any distractions. There was a beautiful woman in her bed, whom she'd kissed for hours the night before. She oozed closer, pressing against Gail's back and touching her arms and stomach. Holly slid her hand down, running it over Gail's thigh, her fingers brushing the inside skin. God, Gail's skin was so soft. It was the softness of women that told her she was a lesbian, years and years ago. She'd kissed boys, touched them (mostly) and found them seriously wanting. But girls were curvy and soft and tender, they smelled so wonderful... And Gail smelled wonderful.
Holly smiled and nuzzled Gail's neck. God she smelled great. A soft sound came from her wife, stirring slightly. The sound warmed Holly, making her blood tingle. "Morning," whispered Holly.
"What're you doing?" Gail's voice was thick, nearly slurring the words.
"Smelling you."
There was a long pause. "Nerd," muttered Gail at length.
Holly grinned and pressed her lips to the back of Gail's neck. "You're especially beautiful in the morning."
Stretching, Gail yawned. "S'been a while," she noted, leaning back and shifting her weight to give Holly more access to her neck.
"Too long," agreed Holly. She watched her hand glide over the gold nightgown. "This is not a color I'd have picked."
"S'that good or bad?" Gail was smiling, her eyes still closed but the words sounding clearer.
Against the gold, Holly's hand took on an interesting sheen. "Good. You always know what colors look right on you." She stretched her arm as far as it would reach, fingers curling at Gail's knee.
Gail sighed happily, bending her knee so Holly's hand had more freedom to traipse up and down her inner thigh. "You look great against on me," she mused.
"Charmer." Holly grinned and brushed higher, causing Gail's spine to curve and Holly's breath to stutter. She knew she wasn't wearing anything under her sleep shorts, but Gail also had forsaken panties that night. Her skin flushed, feeling far, far, too hot. There was only one way the morning was going to end and the more Holly thought about it, the more she kicked herself for ever wondering or doubting.
Because as much as she wanted to touch Gail, the blonde wanted to touch her and be touched. Hands over limbs weren't enough for Gail, who rolled over and tangled their legs together. How had she gone without this feeling? Had she really just been too tired and complacent to remember how warm Gail was? How fucking stupid was she?
Thighs pressed between thighs, hands pushed shirts and nighties out of the way, just to get a little closer to some satisfaction. Gail's hands were needy, grasping the back of her shirt and pulling her closer, tighter, while fighting every inch of Holly's attempt to control and steer their direction. Where the night had ended on the couch, with hands on skin and a badly timed yawn, it carried on in the bed that morning with more skin and no yawn.
Holly pulled back slightly, hovering over Gail and smiling. The circles under Gail's eyes were still visible, dark smudges that looked like bruises, but the brightness in the eyes was bolder. The scientist in Holly filed away the look on Gail's face; the way her pupils dilated to let in more light and see more of Holly; the way her mouth opened more and her nostrils flared.
"You are so ..." Holly trailed off and kissed Gail slowly, languidly, like she had all the time in the world to savor the sensations. Then, equally slowly, she gave in to Gail's gravity, easing herself down until their bodies touched. Gail exhaled so deeply it was as if she was Atlas setting down the world. The burden on Gail's heart seemed to be lifted away by Holly's weight on her frame.
One leg hooked around Holly's leg, holding her close. "This," murmured Gail, her eyes half closed, lips curved into a smug grin. "This is right."
They kissed and touched and caressed, breathless and heady, until Gail unwrapped her leg and bent the other slightly, pushing up into Holly. For a moment, Holly forgot she wanted to touch more of Gail's skin, her body reacting on its own accord and pressing back against the thigh between her own. Her eyes squeezed closed, tight as possible and Holly had to bite her lip to not fall into a rhythm that would end too soon.
Gail had other ideas. With small, encouraging, words, Gail urged her on, rolling her hips into Holly's, guiding her with those strong, pale, fingers. When Holly complained, argued that she was going to tumble over the edge too soon, Gail found her old sass and swagger. The blonde drew Holly's head down, lips brushing the shell of her ear, whispering that they had all the time in the world, promising there would be more than one. As she spoke, Gail's leg pressed up again, making Holly shudder.
Early in their relationship, Holly had worried because she was Gail's first female lover. She'd been pleasantly surprised to learn that Gail had an insane amount of confidence when it came to sex. And all that confidence was entirely warranted and justified. Gail knew how the body worked, she knew what felt good, and she knew how to capitalize on that. She did that now.
There was a degree of control over your own life that you gave up when you hitched yourself to someone else. That had terrified Holly in the beginning. It terrified her more with Gail than anyone else because of the draw and power the blonde had on her. Gail took over her heart, swarming her fractured soul into Holly's, twisting like intangible smoke and settling in Holly's very pores. Her essence was Gail. Or maybe Gail's essence and true self was hers.
Holly forgot where she ended and Gail began. Not physically. Not really emotionally. Not mentally. She just ... There was Gail and there was Holly and there was a them that was one. A unit that was separate but together, and made greater than the sum of their parts. And God help her, she loved the moments where she could surrender herself and lose her sense of self and give up everything into the moment know Gail would catch her.
And she fell. She fell and fell and rose and fell again. Like she'd fallen the first time, looking into Gail's eyes, falling irrevocably in love. Falling forever into the arms and the heart and, yes, the damaged psyche of a woman who didn't know how to trust but who reached out and fell with her. Falling for Gail, who couldn't see how amazing she was. Falling with Gail, who gave her heart to Holly twice; a heart as fragile as spun glass and as beautiful as the Milky Way. A heart that was for her.
As her heart rate dipped back to normal, panting, feeling the world settle back into place, Holly laughed. She couldn't help it. The laughter bubbled out from some unknown home deep within her, cascading over her teeth and tongue and washing over her and her wife. And Gail, who knew Holly laughed this way from time to time, laughed with her, delighting in the moment and the feeling and the outcome.
Satisfied and feeling healed on many levels, Holly couldn't not smile as she kissed the younger woman. She didn't stop smiling until long after she dragged Gail over the precipice. And oh, she did. With her teeth and tongue heady with laughter, Holly savored Gail's skin and muscles. With greedy hands that demanded attention, Holly drew out a precious agony from every ounce of Gail's person. She pulled and pushed until finally Gail tipped over the edge freely.
Faster than she might have expected, and well before the smile faded off Holly's lips, Gail was moving. She hadn't even caught her breath before she had her hands on Holly's shirt and pushed it up and off. There needed to be more skin on skin. Holly agreed with that, but they took things slowly after the rush to remove barriers. It was as if once the skin was revealed, all they craved was to draw out every moment and every sensation. Soft skin and soft sounds and soft touches that carried them over again and again until finally the energy they'd restored overnight was gone.
Then it was quiet, both women lying on the bed. Gail rather limply, lips curved into a careless expression of pleasure, her hands drifting over Holly's back, keeping her close, keeping their bodies in contact. More awake, but not by much, Holly was content and relaxed, her head pillowed on Gail's chest.
"Wow," muttered Gail. "I'm trying to remember why I was nervous last night."
Holly laughed in surprise. "You? Nervous about sex?"
Grunting her embarrassment, Gail squeezed Holly closer. "Shut up," she deflected.
With a soft laugh, Holly closed her eyes and let the heaviness of the universe surround her and swallow her whole. Sleep came again, with uncomplicated dreams and physically healing results. She stirred later, finding the sun well up and a T-shirt pulled on, feeling perfect on multiple levels, but no beautiful blonde in the bed. The smell of coffee and something sweet drifted up the stairs.
Stretching, Holly slipped out of bed and showered, worming into her favorite cottage slouchy clothes and robe before going downstairs. Gail was perched on a stool in front of the oven with coffee and a book, stirring occasional. The sweet smell was in that saucepan and Holly kissed her wife's forehead before peeking.
"Cinnamon rolls?"
"Coffee cake," replied Gail, her hair still a bit wet and sticking up in the back. The color was lighter than natural, the honey gold hue without as much red as nature gave her. Running her fingers across the nape of Gail's neck, Holly availed herself to the coffee.
It was rich and strong, the way Holly loved her coffee, and she sipped as she watched Gail stir her sauce. The oven beeped and Gail became a flurry of motion. Out came the coffee cake and in went a tray of diced potatoes. She abandoned the book to hustle through cooking, chopping and making her messy and weirdly disorganized mise en place, prepping everything for the omelets and roasted potatoes and peppers and whatever else she had decided to make.
Holly picked up the book and, seeing it was one of Vivian's young adult novels, flipped through it until she found the chapter about the food and how the young heroine had never eaten many of the foods before. They didn't talk much until, after eating, Holly stretched out on the couch and read aloud while Gail rested her head against Holly's legs. After a short while, the weight of Gail became heavier and Holly realized she was asleep again. So she kept reading while the weak winter sun passed by, occasionally pausing to caress Gail's hair now and then.
When the sun hit her face, Gail scowled and opened her eyes. "My mortal enemy," she grumbled.
"We should probably close the blinds," smiled Holly, her fingers ruffling Gail's hair. "The sun on the snow is pretty intense."
"Did we eat all the food I cooked?"
"I don't think 'we' is quite accurate, Gail."
Sticking her tongue out, Gail sat up and stretched. "I take it back. The late thirties are getting old."
Holly put the book down. "That was a very peculiar sleeping position," she grinned and ran her thumb down Gail's back until she felt the knot. "Stay still." Applying pressure carefully, Holly started to ease the tension out until there was a soft pop.
"Christ on a cracker," exhaled Gail. "How do you do that?" She reached back to touch her lower back.
"I'm a doctor, dumb ass." Holly raised her own arms high above her head, rolled her shoulders slightly, and was rewarded with her own pop.
Gail shook her head and got up. "When do you think you'll be Chief of Forensics?" The blonde was looking out over the lake.
"End of next year." She stretched out her legs, wishing it was summer so she could lie out and get sun on them. Gail looked surprised. "What? I've been the Assistant ME for almost four years. I was Medical Director before. I'm ready."
There was a broad smile on Gail's face. "That is so cool. Not even ten years and you did it." Holly blushed. Ages ago she told Gail her plan to be Assistant ME (or Medical Director) by 40 and the Chief ME by fifty. She was going to hit her goals and then some.
"I can't believe you find that cool," laughed Holly, embarrassed.
"Pecks always find success to be a total turn on." Gail grinned and headed to the kitchen. "I'm going to fry up those deer sausages for lunch. Want to make something vegetable?"
Holly shook her head and followed. "So we're doing that kind of cottage visit," she teased. "Eat, sleep, sex." Gail laughed but didn't say anything to the contrary. "I heard there was a farmers' market, or some cool caves, nice trails. Maybe I want to go swimming. We can cut a hole in the ice. Maybe fish."
Firing up the stove, Gail mused, "No. No, if I didn't have to eat food, I'd be all over you right now, Stewart." She didn't look over at Holly and just kept talking. "I already told Butler he can't run me at 100% all the time and we're talking about me taking on some administrative things. Running the show without being in the field. So between that and getting some goddamned rest, I'd like to have a little more time for this crazy, wonderful, totally incredibly weird woman who always picks me, stands up for me against my family, defends me, and ... makes me be better."
It was possibly the longest speech Gail had made about anything in quite a while. "Gail," sighed Holly.
"Hang on," interrupted Gail. "I'm not done yet." She glanced to make sure Holly was going to stay quiet. "Good. Okay so I want to spend time with you because I love you. But also because I really, really, want to have sex with you. I mean, you are so beautiful, Holly, and this morning was just ... Mind-blowing. It was like the first time we had sex and you totally changed all my expectations."
There was a lengthy pause and Holly muttered, "Way to give a girl performance anxiety." But Gail always had a (justified) swagger about sex. Holly had always been a little nervous about it, lacking confidence. It wasn't that she thought she was bad at sex. Once they got into things, she was fine, but always a little worried at the start.
Not as much with Gail, mind. With Gail there was a complicated ease to being with her in the physical sense. Gail was open about what she liked, what she didn't, and wanted to know what would make Holly enjoy herself. That had been weird and wonderful to have someone so attentive and passionate about, well, her pleasure. Holly blushed a little, thinking about it. That was something else Gail didn't blush about.
"Holly. Sex with you is the best sex I've ever had. And, not to sound like a slut, I've slept with a lot of people."
"A lot of men," Holly sighed, the words popping out without much thought. She winced as soon as she said it.
Gail snorted. "I used to compare them, you know."
Blinking, Holly got out the salad greens. "Compare... The men?"
"Yep. Compared technique, who payed more attention to me, who had a better body. Thank kind of thing."
The idea that Gail rated her lovers seemed a bit ... Well it seemed like a thing Gail would do, she had to admit. "I'm supposed to ask where I rate, aren't I?"
"Mm. You don't." Gail smiled, oddly shyly.
Holly blinked again. "I don't? Are you going to quote The Princess Bride at me and tell me my kisses blew it all away?"
"Don't be stupid." She rolled the sausages in their cast iron pan. "It's not a fair comparison. I liked them. But I fell in love with you before we kissed, you nerd. I just didn't know it."
Before they kissed meant before the wedding. The quiet, simple dinners and movies that two friends had enjoyed. Except, as Holly once pointed out, they were never just friends. They were always headed, inexorably, to being lovers. Holly looked down at the vegetables and greens.
"I thought we were talking about sex," she muttered to Gail.
Gail chuckled. "We are."
Holly shook her head. "You've lost me." She startled when Gail's hands were on her waist all of the sudden, lips on the base of her jaw. Her body shuddered.
"That," whispered Gail. "You do that to me, just holding my hand or looking at me. I look at you and I just burn."
Her heart was overflowing with every puff of breath across her neck. "Don't burn our sausages, Gail," she sighed.
With a snort, Gail kissed her neck and went back to the oven. "You're right for me. There's no point to try and compare you with anyone. I'm in love with you."
"You are very odd, Gail Peck."
"You proposed."
She smiled at Gail. "You said yes."
Gail shrugged. "You want to share an urn with me."
"Biodegradable," corrected Holly. "Plant a little tree over it out back here? Eternal symbol of us."
"That is incredible cheesy." They both laughed however.
After lunch (or early dinner, depending on your point of view) they brought a wool blanket out and snuggled inside in the warm sun that fought through the winter skies. Gail relaxed, napping most of the time, and Holly was relieved to see the dark circles fading as she rested. And, as Holly had joked, there was definitely more sex. No one was around for miles, making it wonderfully private and quiet, and Gail was perfectly willing to try out one of Holly's fantasies. Sadly it was deemed too cold to try the rowboat. They settled for some serious making out after a morning snow hike.
The last night up at the cottage was spent on their balcony off the bedroom. No music to be heard, they listened to the sounds of the winter predators and owls, comfortable on the double wide lounger Holly's parents had sent them a few birthdays ago. Gail loved it because it was big enough to cuddle on. Holly liked the cushions.
That night, Holly rested in the crook of Gail's arm, looking up at the night sky with all the house lights off. It was freezing, so they had the thick wool blanket wrapped around them and Gail had a toque pulled down tight over her ears.
"When its darkest out, you can see the stars," murmured Gail, her fingers caressing Holly's forehead, brushing the hair out of the way.
"Poetic."
"Chris told me that, when we we looking for Oliver." She paused. "He was talking about you. I met you in the darkest part of my life."
Holly tilted her head back. "That was the darkest part of your life?"
Nodding, Gail explained, "That was when I interviewed Perik, lost Nick, and ... I stopped caring. I made it through the storm but..."
"Only you remained. Alone."
"Yeah," breathed Gail. "But you get me. You're the most precious gift, Holly."
She smiled. "It goes both ways. I was pretty sure I was just going to be a workaholic. But I tried one new thing and you changed my life."
"Dancing the Macarena was not a new thing." Gail laughed softly. "And from what Lisa tells me, kissing your straight friends wasn't new either."
"Damn it, BitchTits... Just when I was about to thank her for this weekend, you had to remind me why I hate her sometimes." They both laughed, brightly, at the thought. Lisa was a wonderful and terrible person after all. "You're all sappy and romantic right now. What brought this on?"
Gail exhaled slowly. "I don't know. This is all new."
It was for both of them. Holly snuggled down in Gail's arms, smiling and closing her eyes. "For me too," she pointed out. Gail was a safe place to come home to, the eye of the storm of life, the tempest in a bottle who looked at her and saw a strange, nerdy intellectual, and loved her anyway. All the people who'd left Holly, or who'd chosen other paths that excluded her, lingered in her mind. And there, no, here was Gail, who forged a trail with her. They took turns at the helm, sharing the work and the pain.
Before Gail could say anything, Holly went on. "I have been disappointed by a lot of people, Gail. But you are always exactly who you claim to be, and always who you are. I love that about you. I love that you hate people, you hate fakery. I love the scars on your heart because without them, you wouldn't be you. But more than anything, how could I not be in love with a woman who moved mountains for me, who would let me go when she loved me, because she knew it was right, and helped me when I needed a friend. You put yourself aside for me, Gail, and I knew right then there could never possibly be anyone else who loved me like you did."
Gail was quiet for a moment and then sighed. "You make me sound pretty incredible, Holly."
"You are incredible." Holly paused a heartbeat moment, "And I don't just mean the sex."
"That is also incredible," agreed Gail, brightly. "I missed that." She squeezed Holly closer for a second and kissed her. "Yes," she sighed, clearly happy.
Holly frowned and tilted her head to catch sight of her smiling wife. "Yes what?"
"Yes, I want to live with you, and love you, forever."
It took a moment to dredge up that conversation. The first inching of their future, the permanence to it, was so long ago now. "Forever's a long time," she teased.
"I told you I was psychic," noted Gail. "I can see forever right now. It's you, me, our kid, our friends, our family... And I want that. I want it all with you."
Smiling, Holly drew herself as close to Gail as she could. "Okay," she sighed. Shifting to her side, Holly rested the palm of her hand on Gail's stomach, rubbing a small circle. "I don't want to go home yet."
Gail sighed, stretching a little. "We don't have to leave till lunch."
Pushing Gail's shirt and sweater up a little, Holly slid her hand over the warm skin. "Good." She traced a finger around Gail's navel and down to the top of her pants. "I really love this cottage." Turning slightly, Holly kissed Gail's neck, just above the collar of her shirt.
"Remind me to thank my mother," breathed Gail, the hand on Holly's back tightening. But they didn't talk anymore about mothers or family for a while after that.
The next day they made it back to the city in the early afternoon to a house clean and Thai takeout. Lisa did not stay, hugging Holly and winking at Gail before taking her leave. Cheerful to have her parents back, Vivian took up most of their attention, helping start laundry and telling them all about how Aunt Lisa took her horseback riding. Well rested, Gail insisted on cooking dinner while Holly and Vivian went over the homework that Lisa did not pay attention to.
After dinner they sat in the sun room with hot tea, watching the wind blow the tree in their backyard while safely ensconced inside. "It's not the cottage," drawled Gail as a siren went by.
"No, it's not," laughed Holly. She put her drink down and leaned over to kiss Gail, trailing her fingers down Gail's chin.
With a clink, Gail's mug was set down and she leaned in, trapping Holly in the couch's arm. They smiled far too much as they kissed, hands roaming over arms, and not really getting too much towards heavy petting when the door opened.
"Moms can I have a cocoa-" Vivian stopped herself. "Oh. Sorry."
Gail laughed softly, sitting up. "What time is it?"
"Eight."
"Sure." Gail kissed Holly once more and got up to make cocoa for the child. When she came back with fresh tea, she was grinning. "I think that's the first time she hasn't made an 'ew' at catching us kissing," laughed Gail.
Holly startled. "Wow. I guess it's time for you to have a talk with her."
Now Gail looked surprised. "Me? Why do I have to? You're a doctor."
"You, my dear, have slept with men and women, and are more equipped for any questions." While Gail looked affronted, Holly carried on. "And remember how the last time went?" They'd already had a brief talk about sex, not the grownup time business, but that it was a thing and with a man and a woman, sometimes ended up with babies. Holly had flubbed it badly and abandoned Gail to cleaning up the mess.
"Oh. You are really bad at that," agreed Gail, merrily. "Fine. I'll give her the other sex talk. God... I dread when she starts dating." They both laughed softly at that dreadful realization.
Shaking her head, Holly opened her mouth to joke about it when Vivian's quiet voice came from the kitchen. "Hi, Aunt Lisa. I think it worked." Holly and Gail shared a wide eyed look of surprise. Holding a finger to her lips, Gail half-closed her eyes and tilted her head, listening hard. "Uh huh, they were makin' out on the couch in the sun room."
Holly had to cover her mouth to not laugh. Gail, far more talented at these things from her upbringing and job, rolled her eyes. Their daughter continued to chat with Lisa about them, tattling about how they'd been holding hands and kissing a lot more, and just now they were totally acting like teenagers. Then she promised to keep Lisa updated if anything happens.
After they heard Vivian tromp up the stairs, Holly broke down laughing. "Oh my god. Did our daughter set us up?"
Sighing, Gail finished her tea. "I can't decide if I'm scandalized or proud that an eleven year old set us up."
"She's ten," wheezed Holly.
"That's what you're picking on?" A moment later, the smile tugging at her lips broke free and Gail joined her laughing.
You've already seen their future, and yes, things work out just fine. Everything has ups and downs and thankfully they make it through and remain lovers as well as friends.
The alternate title to this was "The Parent Trap" but that would have given away the ending.