A/N: Seriously guys thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the kind words and reviews. You guys rock! :)
As always reviews are greatly appreciated, but don't worry I'm not one of those authors who will hold the story hostage if they don't get them...Or am I? ;)
On a side note, I'm already 1,300 words into chapter 5 and have chapter 6 mapped out so I'm hoping to have another chapter up sometime this coming week.
Here's chapter 4, I hope you enjoy it.
Sadly I still don't own any part of Rookie Blue, just my own mistakes.
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The room was pitch black; not a shadow or speck of light could be seen and for a moment Gail wasn't sure if her eyes were open or closed. She lulled her head to the side only to be met with endless unrelenting darkness.
Though she couldn't see it, she could feel something wrapped around her arm and moved to touch it only for her wrist to be met with unexpected, solid resistance and her hand fell back down to her side with a thud. Panic quickly set in as she tugged at the restraints holding her firmly in place.
Gail's breathing instantly kicked into overdrive, the pulse of blood pounding in her ears like a freight train as she broke out in a cold sweat, once again pulling futility on the thick canvas straps wrapped around her wrists.
That's when she heard it, the delicate clicking of wingtip shoes on cement.
It was a sound so distinct yet menacing it made her blood run cold in an instant. She pulled and fought against the restraints with a renewed vigor as the tapping steadily grew louder with their approach. The blonde grimaced as the material left friction burns on the thin skin of her wrists, a price she would gladly pay if it granted her freedom.
"Now look what you've done to this beautiful smooth skin…" an eerily familiar voice said disapprovingly close to her ear before she felt her hand being grasped and turned over.
Suddenly her hair was tugged and it was so bright Gail thought she was starring directly into the sun and clamped her eyes shut against the harsh light. After a moment she reopened her eyes; squinting and blinking repeatedly when her eyes began to water.
"Sorry, let me move that," the voice said and the sun was shifted out of her face, only it wasn't the sun, but a surgical grade light hanging above the exam table she was anchored to.
She glanced around and her heart sank as she took in her surroundings. The black blindfold beside her shoulder, the damp chill in the air, the distant drip of water, the exam table, the IV line sticking out of her arm, and the various pieces of medical equipment leaving her with little doubt of her current location.
Gail felt pressure on her other hand as it too was moved for closer inspection.
"You keep this up and I'll have to give you something to calm you down," the voice said taking on a disappointed tone just before Ross Perrick leaned over the table and into her line of sight.
"And I want you perfectly lucid for what I've got planned for you Gail. Don't worry; you won't feel a thing, ok? I'm going to take care of you," Perrick said, his words anything, but reassuring as he brought the blindfold closer.
The blonde gasped and sat bolt upright, panting and covered in a sheen of sweat. She quickly looked around and sighed with relief, the only time she'd ever been happy to find herself in a hospital. She took a few deep breaths trying to get her heart rate to return to some semblance of normal and squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment, this time in no danger of falling back asleep.
She took a few more cleansing breaths when a slight rustling drew her attention and she looked to her left to find the once empty chair was now occupied.
Holly was slumped against the rounded seatback with her arms folded across her chest, her legs bent at the knee so her feet could rest on the lower bar of the bed rail and her head was leant back against the wall. The doc looked too big for the chair; her head tilted at an odd angle that Gail was certain would leave her with one hell of a stiff neck if she stayed like this too long.
The pathologist looked exhausted as her rhythmic deep breathing oddly provided the blonde with comfort. Gail looked at her new friend, really studying her and was taken aback by how uniquely beautiful she was. Holly had a type of beauty that seemed effortless like no matter what she wore whether it be jeans and an old t-shirt or an elegant evening gown she could command the attention of a room. The doc just had an heir about her that Gail couldn't quite place, but found herself drawn to, she wasn't cocky or condescending like most doctors Peck had come in contact with. She was warm and approachable and vibrant; all qualities not often found in people with M.D. attached to the end of their name.
Gail swept her eyes over the length of the brunette's body noting the doc still wore the same muted grey sweater and jeans from before, both of which now looked slightly more rumpled and worn. Her eyes drifted to Holly's full lips which were slightly parted as she slept and wondered how they'd feel against her own.
'What the hell?' Gail thought scrunching her face, not knowing where the hell that came from.
"Didn't your parents teach you it's not polite to stare?" Holly asked in a low sleep-ridden voice, her eyes now open and looking curiously at the blonde who jumped at the sound.
"Jesus, nerd! You scared the shit out of me!" Gail snapped her tone harsh with embarrassment.
"Jesus nerd? Sounds like I've been upgraded," the doc said only to be glared at. Holly chuckled and sat forward in the chair, playfully patting Peck's hand, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she said more seriously as Gail scowled at her mockingly. Holly brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn, but failing miserably.
'She really does look beat,' the blonde thought as the doc turned her head from side to side stretching her neck.
"What's the matter lunchbox, you run out of clean clothes?" the blonde asked with a sweep of her hand.
Holly glanced down at herself and chuckled.
"I have plenty of clothes thank you very much. It's just getting home to change into them that seems to be the problem," the brunette replied rolling her shoulders.
"You haven't been home yet?"
The doc shook her head no and yawned again.
"Your cats are going to be pissed at you…" Gail trailed off like Holly was in trouble. The brunette smirked and titled her head.
"What makes you think I have a cat let alone multiple?" Holly asked with a chuckle.
"I don't know, just figured it fit with the lunchbox toting nerd persona you have going on," Peck replied with a shrug causing Holly to throw her head back and laugh. The sound caused butterflies to flutter in the blonde's stomach; the accompanying smile did nothing to stop them either.
"You're making a lot of assumptions, officer. Which for the record are false," Holly smirked. "Besides I'm not really a cat person. I would love to get a dog, but" she gestured to her clothes, "I'm not home much sometimes and that wouldn't be fair."
Gail nodded her head, taking it in.
"So why haven't you been home yet?"
Holly, to her credit, managed to keep her poker face intact at the momentary panic the question caused. She couldn't exactly tell the blonde she had spent a portion of her evening comforting Officer Nash when she came to see Jerry and then spent the remainder of the morning performing his autopsy.
"Got stuck at work and then came back to see how you were," the brunette replied glossing over the truth while not exactly lying either. "How are you doing?"
Gail wasn't exactly sure how to answer the question, she'd always been told feelings were a sign of weakness and was so used to downplaying what she felt, but somehow she felt different with Holly. She felt safe, like she could tell the brunette anything without the fear of judgment; something she wished she had with her family. That realization both terrified and thrilled her, yet she couldn't bring herself to delve into it.
"The doc came by earlier and said I could get out of here this evening so that's awesome…" Gail replied knowing it wasn't what Holly meant, but was relieved when the brunette didn't press her about it. Between Elaine's visit and the nightmare she felt so emotionally drained that she didn't think she had it in her to get into anything deep.
"That's great, you gotta to be psyched to be going home," Holly replied with genuine excitement, but Gail just shrugged indifferently.
"I'm excited to get out of here, but not necessarily about going home per say," the blonde said receiving a questioning, confused look from Holly. "I live in a frat house with the two smelly boys you met. Sure they're like brothers to me, but our apartment doesn't exactly promote peace and tranquility. It's loud and messy and…" she trailed off frowning.
"What about your parents?"
"Hell to the no," the blonde replied quickly and firmly. "I'd rather go back down into that basement," she said without thinking and winced at her own comment. Holly knew this was an obvious point of contention, but let it go for the time being with the hope that Gail would open up about it at some point. "I'll probably just stay at a hotel for a few days."
Holly furrowed her brow, not liking that idea one bit.
"Or you could come stay at my place," the brunette offered like it was no big deal. "I have a spare room with a decently comfortable bed and I'll be at work most of the day anyway so at least it would be quiet for you," she shrugged.
Again, Gail was taken aback by this woman's kindness.
"No offense Hol, but you hardly know me…" the blonde trailed off.
"What's there to know? You're not going to steal my stuff are you? Throw a wild party?" Holly asked with mock suspicion.
Gail pointed to herself.
"Police officer, remember?"
"You know I thought it sounded familiar," Holly smirked and was glad to see Gail smile a genuine smile before leaning back in the chair. "Anyways, it's an option, just throwing it out there."
A gentle knock at the door pulled both women's attention away from their banter as Gail's physician walked in.
"Good news Ms. Peck you're free to go," the doctor said with a smile at the foot of the bed.
"You're starting to sound like me at work," Gail said arching a brow as both docs chuckled. "Dr. Dixon, Dr. Holly Stewart. Holly, Dr. Dixon," the blonde said waving back and forth between the two of them who nodded and shook hands.
"Dr. Stewart huh? Will you be taking over Ms. Peck's care?" he asked.
"I'm hoping to, at least for the next 24 hours if she'll let me," Holly replied looking at Gail expectantly who just glared and quickly stuck her tongue out at her.
"I think that's actually a very good idea," Dr. Dixon said in a fatherly tone turning to the blonde and giving her a stern look.
"If I'd known you two were going to gang up on me I wouldn't have introduced you," Peck scoffed stubbornly and felt Holly playfully bat her forearm.
"I have your discharge papers right here and instructions for keeping your sutures clean," Dixon said riffling through the papers in his hands.
"No offense doc, but I'm 27 years old, I think I know how to keep a cut clean by now," the blonde said rising from the bed to gather her duffle bag and coat from the closet.
"None taken it's just part of the discharge literature," Dixon said with a polite smile. "I just need you to sign here and you're good to go," he pointed to a spot at the bottom of the page and Gail grabbed the pen, made a quick scribble and looked to Holly who was pulling on her jacket.
"Do you have everything?" the brunette asked after Dr. Dixon wished his patient well before leaving. Gail quickly gave the room a once over before nodding. "Ready?"
"More than you can imagine, Lunchbox."