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I have the next couple of chapters planned but I'm considering taking suggestions after that. I'll let you know when we get to that point so you can submit your ideas

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Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Shit" was all Gail could manage to say.

The eyes. Deep, chocolate eyes that could tell Gail the secrets of the universe if she could just stare into them long enough, eyes so rich that chocolatiers in Belgium could spend a lifetime studying them and still not be able to match their fullness. Gail was mesmerized. She was pulled from her reverie when the nurse started spouting out medical speak to the doctor.

And then it hit Gail why she felt deep waves of embarrassment and awkwardness being buried by the sense of awe she felt. Here stood the woman who lived below her- the woman whose window Gail had peered through earlier in the day, the woman who should have called the cops on her, but for some reason didn't. And she was going to sew Gail back up.

"Shit" she said again, "please don't amputate my arm" she begged, wondering if this woman was the vindictive type. She watched the nurse leave and silently prayed for her return thinking that witnesses would be necessary.

"Amputate?" the doctor looked at her with an amused expression. "First you're telling me to just patch you up and send you on your way and now you think you might lose your limb? What just happened in the last ten seconds?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"Well… you know" was all the blonde could muster as her skin flushed

The physician just smiled at her bashful patient. "Why don't we start by telling me what happened…" she let her sentence trail off.

"Gail. Peck" she responded, finding her voice once more. "Officer Gail Peck" she added hoping the distinction as a police woman would give her more credibility given the events of the afternoon. She said it so meekly that the effect she had been hoping for fell flat.

"Well, Officer Gail Peck, what happened to your arm?" the physician asked again, using a super serious tone when saying her name. Gail wasn't sure if she was mocking her or trying to make her feel at ease. She felt that given the circumstances it was the latter and she was appreciative.

"I slipped getting out of the shower" she said under her breath.

"Wait, what? Spiderman slipped getting out of the shower? That doesn't sound good for Gotham City! I guess I better do my best fixing her up otherwise Loki might take over while she's healing".

Gail's humiliation was overpowered by sheer annoyance. "Okay, first off, Spiderman is a man; I'd be Spiderwoman. Second of all, Batman protects Gotham City, not Spiderman. Third, Loki is Thor's archenemy and lives in Asgard, not Earth. Finally, none of that matters because I don't go out of commission when I'm healing" she finished with a self-satisfied grin.

The doctor laughed. Gail loved the way her voice sounded when she laughed. It was genuine and light.

"I know, I was just teasing you. I saw your comic book collection in the back of your car".

Gail's jaw dropped. "You were looking through my car?" She couldn't stop the accusatory tone.

"Yes" was the only reply she got while the doctor pulled on latex gloves and started looking over the wound. The blonde just stared in stunned silence.

"You're definitely going to need some stitches, probably quite a few. And it only seemed fair to look through the windows of your car after I had caught you looking through the windows of my living room. We're also going to have to cast you from the elbow down to protect the sutures while you heal" the doctor said as she finished examining Gail's injuries.

"A cast?! Doc, my first day is tomorrow! I can't go in with my arm in a cast!" the officer pled.

"Stewart"

"What?" Gail replied in a confused tone.

"Doctor Stewart. That's my name" the physician said.

"Okay, Doctor Stewart, but I still can't go into work with a broken wing. It's not a good look on a police officer".

"Your arm isn't broken Officer, and you'll have full use, but you need it to protect the wound so it can heal and so the stitches won't tear. Given your ability to literally climb the walls I think a cast is a necessary precaution."

"No" was all the stubborn blonde uttered. The now named doctor just looked up at the blonde.

"Okay."

"What?"

"Okay. I won't put you in a cast." The doctor looked at her with a serious expression.

"Um, thanks" Gail replied in a quiet voice l00king away from the doctor's caring gaze.

"But I'm giving you a wrist brace and you have to promise me you'll wear it. Is that a fair compromise, Officer?"

"Uh, I guess I can do that". Gail tried for nonchalance but landed somewhere closer to quiet resignation. She wasn't sure why this woman was being so nice to her when their only interaction so far had included the blonde invading the doctor's privacy.

"Good. I'm going to get the suture kit now. I'll be right back."

Thirty minutes and 45 stitches later Dr. Stewart was putting the brace over the injured limb. Gail was feeling pretty good from the painkillers she was given and was thinking that the brace actually looked pretty bad ass. She thought she looked like an Iron Man prototype. Really early prototype that wasn't as cool, didn't light up, and couldn't make her fly. But in her addled state, she still thought it was awesome.

"Gail, you need to wear this all the time and you can't get the stitches wet. Gail?" the concerned doctor was trying to talk to the blonde but couldn't get through to her. The police woman was too busy pretending her new arm could give her super strengths. She was currently trying to shoot lasers from the metal and neoprene brace without much success.

"I was going to write you a script for painkillers but I think you'll be fine with Ibuprofen" the doctor said to no one in particular as she watched the blonde test the telekinetic powers of the arm brace. Unfortunately the cotton balls on the medical tray were refusing to budge, but the blonde was not deterred.

"Gail, we're going to keep you here for a little bit longer to make sure you're okay. I'm going to put my aftercare instructions in your shirt pocket, alright? Please don't lose these and please follow them." The doctor was hoping the blonde would remember the instructions tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXX

Her alarm clock went off at 6am sharp. The shrill ringing that interrupted her deep sleep was not welcome. She threw an arm out of her bedding to silence the offensive noise when the sharp pain reminded her that she had been injured.

"Ahhhh!" she tried to scream but the frog in her throat and her sleepy state of mind made it hard.

She tried to tuck the throbbing limb back into her blanket hoping it would help ease the pain when she heard a crinkling underneath her. She used her good arm to dig into her pocket to find a note.

"Jesus. Someone wrote me a note? Did I stumble back into middle school last night?" the grouchy woman said as she started opening the hand written missive.

Officer Gail Peck

Please follow all of these instructions to the letter. First of all, only take the brace off when you're showering and that's only to keep it from getting wet. Yes, you have to wear it at work and while you sleep. Second, DO NOT get the bandages wet. You need to keep the wound dry so it can heal. Third, try not to use the arm too much. The brace is there to protect it but there is still a possibility that you could rip a stitch. Finally, if there are any signs of infection PLEASE come back and see me. Otherwise your follow up appointment is set for two weeks on Tuesday.

If you need anything at all please don't hesitate to call me. My office number is 705-268-3245.

Dr. Holly Stewart

PS Good luck on your first day!

PPS Loki DID come to Earth on several occasions. I guess you haven't made it that far into the comics yet ;)

After the second read the blonde was brought back to the ER last night. The doctor, who is also her neighbour, with those eyes. That was the only way she could think to describe them. Those eyes. She wasn't even sure what that meant. She remembered the brunette doctor as being kind and caring but also good humoured. "Was she teasing me at one point?" Gail thought to herself. She couldn't quite remember.

She didn't have time to focus on the woman who put her back together again, she had to get ready for her first shift with the Timmins detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police. She was eternally grateful for the closing out sale she found because her new sleeping arrangement, although not ideal, was exponentially better than sleeping on the floor. She felt rested. It could have been the coma-like sleep that came from her body processing the narcotics, but either way, she felt ready for her first day as a cop.

For the first time in a long time she was excited.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Good morning, children. I am Officer Oliver Shaw and you can address me as such. I will be training both of you. If you bring me donuts I will like you more, but if you tell my wife about the donuts, I won't like you at all." The balding man said with a smile to Gail and the overexcited officer sitting next to her. She could tell already that she would get along with this man. Well, as well as Gail Peck could get along with another person.

"Let's see" the training officer continued, "Diaz-"

"That's me, sir!" The excited man next to Gail smiled so brightly Gail was sure he was about to dislocate his jaw.

"Right, Diaz, hold your horses" Shaw replied.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm just so excited to be here. I love everything about this job!"

Gail turned her head to take in this ball of joy. He had short, dark, neatly trimmed hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. His rosy cheeks and the twinkle in his eye gave him a boyish look while the rest of his body screamed man. Even from his seated position she could tell that he was tall. His body was lean and muscular, but not overly so. What struck Gail most about this man though, was the shiny metal accessory on his left hand: a wedding band.

Shaw just looked at the rookie and chuckled. "That's great Diaz. I love the enthusiasm but dial it down a bit. You aren't going to be doing anything without my first saying so for a long time. That goes for you too…" he looked down at his sheet to check Gail's name, "Peck. Got it?"

"Yes, sir" the rookies replied in unison.

"Good. Day one: paperwork!" the Shaw says with glee. "Get used to it kids, this is the life of an officer."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So Peck. I'm Diaz, Chris Diaz." he said to Gail minutes after Shaw set them up at computers with boxes of files that needed to be digitized. She just looked at him.

"Is there something before the 'Peck' part of your name?" he tried again.

"No"

"Your name is just 'Peck'?". The unflappability of his demeanor rubbed Gail the wrong way. Why was he so happy?

"I don't have a first name" she replied flatly.

"Oh, come on! We're in this together." Another ear to ear grin from the man she was going to be spending a lot of time with. She responded with silence.

"If you won't tell me your name, will you tell me what happened to your hand?" he asked looking at her brace. She instinctively tried to hide it from his line of sight.

"I hurt it punching Curious George in the face". He continued to smile, the sarcasm in her voice not affecting him in the least.

"Will you tell me your name then, since you won't tell me what happened?" he continued his barrage of questions. She just rolled her eyes at him.

"Fine! I'll just guess. I can digitize and talk" he said refusing to accept that the blonde woman didn't want to talk to him.

"Let me see… Peck is what, Irish? Welsh? English?" he looked at the his unwilling conversational mate for a clue. "I'll go with English" he decided. "Okay, is it Emily? Jessica? Jennifer?"

"Do I look like a 'Jessica' to you?" She just wanted to get this work done quietly.

"What? It's from The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare made that name up. I think that's cool." He smiled again. Gail glared.

"How about 'Anne'?"

"Please stop with the Shakespeare references."

Chris looked at her hoping she would continue and maybe give him a hint. She just kept typing on her computer.

"You know, you might think you aren't here to make friends and I get that. But it doesn't mean that we can't be friendly. We're going to have to trust each other." Gail looked up at him, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor. Even when his lips weren't smiling his eyes still were. "There must be something in the water here" she thought to herself.

"Fine. I might tell you my name if you tell me why you're married." She had agreed with his statement about trusting the other but she wasn't going to let him win that easily. He'd have to work for it.

"Why I'm married?" he was genuinely amused by the question. "Because I'm in love, I've met the person that I want to commit the rest of my life to, and because life is too long not to spend it with someone you care about." His smile was back. He obviously liked being married.

"How old are you, anyway?" the blonde asked. His soliloquy was truthful and part of it made sense to her, but she'd never show it. "You look like you're twelve".

"It's my baby face" he says with a sheepish grin. "I'll be 24 next month".

"And how long have you been married?" her curiosity still not satisfied.

"Almost three years" he replied with the biggest smile she's seen on him yet. "I married my high school sweetheart" he continued as he gazed contentedly at his left hand.

"Why?" she asked again.

"I told you- because we love each other."

"Aren't you afraid junkies will want to rip the ring off your hand? Hock it for cash?" she asked in a completely serious tone. His face turned somber, looking at the piece of jewelry that tied him to another soul.

"I guess I haven't really thought about that" he started to nervously turn the medal ring around his finger with his right hand. "It's not even worth that much. We got married young and couldn't really afford a nice set. I don't know if I can take it off though" the last part of his statement trailed off with his thoughts.

"If I get stabbed protecting you from some low-life trying to steal that ring, I'll cut off your finger and hock it myself, finger and all" she said in a deadpan voice with a closed mouth smile. "Food for thought Diaz".

"My ring won't get you stabbed Peck. You owe me your name now that I've told you about my marriage" he puffed his chest, feeling like he'd won this round.

"I said 'maybe'. And right now I'm thinking 'no'."

"What?" his chest deflated. "Come on, I'm a nice guy and we're going to be partners. How do you expect me to trust you if you won't even tell me your name!" he tried.

"If I tell you my name will you promise not to talk to me for the rest of the shift?" she asked.

"Fine" he agreed.

"It's Gail" she answered. He quietly nodded at her with a smile and turned to his computer.

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the shift passed in blessed silence. Gail appreciated that Chris was good on his word and didn't make another sound for the rest of their shift. He even kept his word as they parted ways at the locker room doors, offering a wave and a nod as a goodbye. She just shook her head at him and smiled.

She was walking out the door to her car when she heard him behind her.

"Hey Gail! What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to talk to me for the rest of shift?"

"Shift ended! Why don't you come get a drink with me? My treat for a great first day!" he said beaming, truly believe today had been great.

She felt conflicted. She wanted a drink. Badly. Him offering to pay was the only way she'd be getting any alcohol any time soon. She sighed in frustration. The last thing she wanted was to spend more time with him but she wanted tequila more.

"Fine" she replied.

"Really!? Awesome!" he tried to high five her but she just stared at his hand. The glint of his wedding band in the sun caught her eye.

"Are you sure your wife won't be pissed that you're taking a hot blonde out for a drink?" she asked him with a humourless smile. Gail did not want to associate herself with philandering men. He didn't seem fazed at all and actually laughed quietly to himself.

"I promise you, it won't be a problem" he said with a knowing look.

She wasn't sure what to think of his response but it seemed genuine. His marriage was his own problem she decided. If he tried anything at all, she'd leave. And tell his wife. But she needed a drink.

"Where are we going?"

"There is a place not far from here called The Black Penny. It's a cop bar." He gave her the address and the agreed to meet there.

Once he paid for the pitcher of beer he ordered, Chris pointed to a table in the corner, two of the four seats already occupied. "That's us!" he said.

Normally Gail would have been angry at having to interact with strangers but was glad for the two men at their table. She'd be able to sit in silence and enjoy her been while the conversation happened around her. She was sitting in her seat, preparing to grin and bear the introductions when she looked at Chris. Who was kissing the man next to him.

He looked over at Gail and said "Dennis, this is my partner Gail Peck. Gail, this is my husband Dennis Diaz". She shook his hand without a word. "And this is Aaron Samuels, my friend and fellow officer" he said as he pointed to the man next to Gail.

She tried to look at the man Chris was pointing at, but was distracted by the stream of thoughts going through her brain. Had Chris once indicated that the gender of his spouse was male? Why had she assumed that he married a woman? Was it because he said 'high school sweetheart'? Gail was an open-minded person. Quite frankly, she didn't care what anyone did so long as it didn't affect her life negatively. She was more concerned that she had made such an inaccurate assumption. She had been trained her entire childhood not to assume because that's how a police officer got into trouble.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the man beside her. "So, you're the one they hired?" he said in a voice that was borderline menacing. She heard the threat immediately and that snapped her back to the moment.

"Yes, I was hired by the Timmins detachment. Why do you care?" she did not like this man already.

"Because, that was my job. And you took it." She could smell the beer on his breath and see the glaze over his eyes. Despite his intoxication, she was not going to let this slide.

"Come on, Samuels. You know she didn't steal your job, she got it fair and square" Chris came to her defence. "You'll get in on the next rotation. You're-"

"Shut it, Diaz!" Samuels interrupted his friend. "You know that job was mine! I'll bet princess over here had mommy and daddy call in a favour for her. Look, she's even hurt!" he started to cackle at the sight of her injured limb. The mention of her parents using their power to get her this job and not her own merit was what sent her over the edge.

"Hey asshole!" she shouted at him, just to make sure he was listening. "I'm only going to say this once so listen up. I got this job because I finished first in the Academy my year. I have a degree in Criminology from the University of Toronto, where I also finished at the top of my class, and I aced my physical. You were NOT chosen because you obviously have a sense of entitlement and a possibly a drinking problem, if you're already drunk at 5pm on a Monday."

The smile that had been on his faced was wiped clean with her words. His expression turned to rage. "Fuck you! I've been volunteering at this detachment for three years! They all know me. You obviously slept with someone otherwise I'd be there, not you!" he growled at her.

"Samuels, come on , man. Stop this. She's a good cop and doesn't deserve this" Chris tried to reach out and touch his friend's shoulder. Samuels reacted to the gesture as a perceived threat and tried to grab Chris by the collar. "Stop it! Why are you doing this?!" Chris was trying to calm the out of control Samuels while his husband started collecting their things.

"Come on, Aaron, let's get you home and we can-" Dennis was trying to give Aaron his coat when the drunk man tried to swing at him. The fist was blocked by Gail's closest arm, unfortunately, the injured one.

"Ahhhh!" was all she could blurt out. She slammed her good hand on the table in total frustration and anger. She couldn't believe her luck. All she had wanted was a drink and now she was going to have to leave because of this moron.

Chris grabbed his friend by his shirt and pressed him up against the wall.

"Samuels, I've known you for a long time, but if you EVER try to lay another hand on Dennis, I will make sure your life is a living hell. I don't care how drunk you might be, you will NEVER do that again". The look in his eyes was fire, fire that had eviscerated the twinkle. Gail relaxed slightly, feeling good about her future policing partner.

She was dragged back to reality by the sharp pains that were dancing through the part of her arm that was covered by the brace. She took the brace off to examine the bandages. They were already turning red, soaking up her blood.

"I'm so sorry, Gail" Dennis whispered to the woman as he tried to collect the rest of his things while his husband pushed Samuels out the door. "He isn't usually like this, he's just been going through some stuff". He looked at her and noticed her arm.

"Oh! You need to see a doctor! You've probably ripped a stitch!" he said.

"It's fine" she replied, just wanting to go home. She did not want to spend the night waiting in the ER to be patched back up again.

"Are you sure?" Dennis obviously had a long night of dealing with Samuels ahead of him. The relief at not having to also worry for this woman he had just met come through in his voice.

"I'm sure. They told me this could happen. I'm fine" she said as she grabbed her coat and walked out the door.

Half-way home she recognized that she probably should have called a cab. The searing pain in her left arm was making it difficult to focus on the road ahead and driving with only one hand was not the safest either.

When she finally made it to her parking lot, she had started bleeding through the cotton of her bandaging and the blood was dripping down her arm. She grabbed some napkins to try to staunch the flow while she decided what her plan of action would be. She was fumbling with the keys to the front door when an arm reached around her and opened the door with their own set of keys. She turned to see who it was to be met by Dr. Stewart. "God" Gail thought, "I'm never going to get away from this woman!"

The doctor pulled the earbuds from her ears and smiled her crooked smile while she looked at Gail.

"Hi Officer Peck. How is your ar-" she stopped talking when she saw the re-injured arm. "Are you alright? What happened?" her voice full of concern.

"It was nothing" Gail tried to lie, looking away from the caring gaze of her neighbour.

"I think you've probably torn a few stitches. Come on. I'll take you upstairs and fix you up. Are you the unit above mine? I'll grab my stuff and meet you at your place" she said with a kind smile.

Gail wasn't sure why but she was glad that this woman was going to help her. Again. Even though she didn't deserve it. She was going to give a snarky retort but when she opened her mouth the only thing that came out was a soft "thank you".

Gail let the doctor into her apartment. She took a quick scan of the place and said "I like your simple style. Nothing to clutter the place with", the crooked smile on her lips reappeared. "Just take a seat on your bed here and I'll patch you back up. Again."

Gail did as she was told and set on her bed.

"So how was your first day?" the doctor asked as she undressed the wound.

"It was fine. Boring, really. I had to digitize old files" the blonde replied without even realizing she had.

"Sounds dangerous. How did this happen then? Did you decide you work better on the roof?" the doctor joked.

"No, this ass-hat was going to hit my partner's husband. I stepped in."

"Wait" the brunette said with a confused look on her face, "your partner is married? And was in a fight? AND you defended him?"

Gail started to laugh, a genuine laugh that she had not experienced in a very long time. "I don't mean 'partner' as in 'life-partner', I mean it as in 'police partner'" the blonde explained through fits of laughter. Realizing her mistake, the doctor laughed too.

The doctor finished up her work, using extra bandages this time. "There, almost as good as new, but not as good as you would have been had you let me cast this last night" she said putting the brace back on the injury.

"Thanks, Dr. Stewart" the blonde replied.

"Call me Holly"

"Okay. Thank you, Holly". A strange feeling was sitting in the pit of Gail's stomach. Did she not want this woman to leave? Before the confusion could set in the doctor interrupted her thoughts.

"Gail, why is there a cartoon bone stitched onto your mattress?" Holly asked with a mischievous look on her face. She reached down to pull up the very soft Egyptian cotton sheets.

"No! Don't!" was all Gail could manage before the other woman pulled up the fabric covering her bed.

"Gail, is this a dog bed?" she asked laughing.

"Maybe"

"Why are you sleeping on a dog bed?" the doctor was enjoying this conversation more and more. What a strange woman this blonde police officer was. But it felt like a good kind of strange.

"They were having a closing out sale at a pet store the other day" Gail replied while her skin blushed a red so deep she started to look like an alien race. "It's much better than the floor" she tried to defend herself.

The doctor started laughing harder, a contagious laughter that made Gail feel light and happy. The blonde started to laugh too, knowing that this woman was not laughing at her. For the first time since arriving in Timmins, she knew she had not made a mistake.