HOW TO BE A PECK

I'm so sorry.. I know it has been a while since the last chapter.. this one took me so long, i honestly apologize..
This is a first draft, but I wanted to update ASAP so i'll make corrections tomorrow..

:'D And that's all.. enjoy the reading guys, and don't forget to comment.


CHAPTER 8
NO GOODBYES

GAIL Peck lifted her hand and glanced at her watch for the tenth time that night.. A growl abandoned her lips as she uneasy moved on the chair.

The atmosphere of the apartment was odd, to say the least. You didn't have to be a genius to be aware of that..

There was some background music, coming from the stereo at the end of the room... a quiet and low song (that should relax the atmosphere, or that's what Tracy had in mind when she chose it) and the Thai food was served at the table of the dinning room.. So far, so good but either the food or the music weren't the problem; the topics of conversation were.

Apparently nobody had ever told Dov that make a third-degree questioning to someone who you just met, wasn't polite..
Sitting on the table, just in front of him was Gail, with her platinum hair falling over her shoulders.. She had been doing for the last hour one of the things she did best. Practicing her serial killer look on him every time he opened his mouth to say something to Holly..

On the other hand, the poor doctor who was sitting next to Gail, was trying to answer the insistent questions that Dov was throwing at her, whenever he had the chance.

She apparently seemed calm and relax but the blonde had spent enough time with her in the last month to start to recognize those little details that give her away, like the extra time the brunette took every time before saying something, or the use of scientific vocabulary which was increasing as the minutes were passing.

Finally, in front of the seemingly calm doctor was Tracy Nass who seemed like a referee, trying to prevent the chaos and destruction that could be unleashed there that night. Every time to time she called attention to Dov or gave a supportive glance to the blonde.. trying to level things up a little bit.

Eventually there was a silent when Holly finished to answer whatever silly question Dov had questioned her.

Tracy stared at Gail who had her lips pressed into a hard line, then she turned to Dov, knowing that she didn't have much time before he come up with another 'brilliant' thing to comment, and once back to the blonde.. Gail Peck looked a like hunting dog, ready to jump over her prey and take it for dinner.

Tracy shook her head.. Watching a bloodbath between two of her friends wasn't one of the things we wanted to do on a Friday night, so she decided to interfere before Gail could test her attack skills on Dov.

"You're such a nice lady, Holly.." Dov had started to say, deliberately ignoring the warning looks. "How did this character manage to find a friend like yourself?." He said, pointing at the blonde with his head.

"Well.." Holly mumbled, buying some time to find out how to answer that... but fortunately Tracy cut her off, saying..

"Ignore him.. he just loves push people to check their limits.. no wonder why the thought of punching him right in the face have crossed the minds of everyone at the station at some point by now." She explained with a half smile.

The joke made Holly laugh and automatically Gail's face relaxed a bit, her eyebrows shifted to her usual position which believe it or not, was a good sign. "So, how did you become a doctor?" Was Tracy's attempt to change the subject.

Holly, who had grabbed her glass of red wine, took a sip before answering. "Well, as you may notice, I'm not an usual kind of doctor, I mean I did went to med school and all but my patients are rarely alive at the point they get to my table.." Her face remained calm and her voice low and gentle.

"A lot of people find what I do for a living, how to say it.. unpleasant. When I was doing my residence and I had to decide what I was going to specialized in, I realized this city needed more people to do what I do." She took another sip of wine and put the glass back on the table. "With the help of the police, we're able to give those people and their families a closure.. That's how I became a pathologist.. Plus, it's science and I'm a nerd in case you haven't noticed it." She rejoined with wry smile.

Gail whistled in admiration, turning her head to look directly at her. "My story is way more deeper than yours, doc." The blonde teased her. "I became a cop to carry a gun and a taser." She let out, trying not to smile... but after a couple of seconds all of them bursted into laugher at the joke and her failed attempt to remain serious.

"The worst thing is that she actually meant that." Dov added, which was followed by a 'shut-your-big-mouth' glare from Gail, daring him to continue. "Do you remember that time in the squad car?" He said talking to the blonde. "There were two guys, arguing in the street, and my partner here, with her politely usual manners let them know she would taser them right in the balls if they didn't stop fighting. I admit it was pretty awesome.. for a rookie."

Gail showed a grin. "One of us had to play the bad cop, considering you were, correction, still are the baby cop."

"Hit and sunk!" Tracy added to their common friend, laughing.

Dov let out a sigh as he pouted. "Alright, enough laughing at my cost.. I'm not the one who spend a friday night watching tv on the couch." He throw an accusatory look.

"It was a good movie" Gail started but at the same time Holly was saying. "There's nothing wrong with documentary films."

He alternated his gaze between them, realizing that he had hit the nail without actually knowing it. "So..." He began with a crooked smile. "It's not clear.. were you guys watching a film or a documentary?"

Holly decided to remain silent and let Gail do all the talking but seeing that it seemed she wasn't gonna say anything she intervened. "Both... we started watching a movie but when you walked in it had just finished.." She knew it didn't sound too convincing but that was all she could come up with.

Feeling the tension in Gail's body, Holly gently placed her hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed it slightly to show support. The blonde let out an almost an imperceptible sigh, relaxing under her touch.

There was another long silence, the song in the background suddenly stopped.


"ANYBODY want dessert?" Tracy Nash broke the silence as she started gathering all the plates and glasses. She rose and glance at Dov an 'I-need-a-hand' look; He slowly reacted and help her, leaving the two women alone in the room as he headed to the kitchen, following Tracy.

Noticing that Holly hadn't pulled away her hand from her thigh, Gail covered it with hers as she stared at the brunette. "Looks like you could use a drink... can I get you anything?" She muttered, not making any attempt of moving just yet.

Holly tilted her head, thinking. "I'll let you choose." She finally decided with a grin.

Tracy and Dov came back from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of strawberries and chocolate ice cream but both of them kept their hands exactly in the same position. Maybe because they just didn't want to break the touch, or perhaps because it would have been too obvious for the others that they were holding hands if they suddenly broke the contact.

"Anyone else wants something to drink?" The blonde eventually stood up, waiting an answer.

Tracy shook her head but gave her a smile, appreciating the offer.. Dov on the other hand asked for a glass of scotch.

As Gail headed to the cabinet where they stored the bottles she thought about spitting in his glass... Too bad she wasn't a child anymore, otherwise the thought of it would have been too tempting to let it pass.

She put some ice in the glasses, poured some scotch in Dov's and prepared a cocktail for Holly, then she brought them to the table and sat down next to Holly.

Dov was telling a joke, and when he finished they all laughed, maybe for the joke itself or the way he was telling it. Sometimes it was easy to hate Dov, but other times it was hard not to like him. He winked at her to thank her for the drink and started talking with Tracy about work..

The doc who had been eaten the strawberries, took the glass and brought it to her lips to give a short sip. "You're not having one?" It was more an assertion rather than a question.

Gail took one strawberry with chocolate and bit it before replying. "You're gonna need a ride home after you drink that." She smiled, licking the chocolate from her lips which caught Holly's attention.

"You want some?" Gail said lifting another strawberry in front of her. She had caught her staring and was intentionally teasing her.

Holly felt the blushing creeping into her cheeks... she raised the glass again and took a large sip now, trying to hide it but she didn't look away. "It's not strawberries what I have in mind right now." She teased back, lower enough for the others not to hear her.

"Lucky for you, i'm a master at reading minds." The blonde added, taking another strawberry.

"Oh yeah? What am I thinking right now?" Dov asked, interrupting the flirting battle.

"Sorry Dov, my area of expertise are the brilliant minds." She explained, both joking with him and making a compliment to her; therefore, she earned a frown from him and a smile from her.


THEY were talking and joking for about an hour.. it was late and it had been a long day of work for three of them (Gail was still on medical leave) so they finally called it a night.

Holly stood and waved goodbye, thanking them for dinner... She grabbed her jacket and headed to the main door, followed by the blonde.. She suddenly stopped and Gail almost bumped into her. "So, were you serious about taking me home?"

The blonde heard the question but she didn't say anything, just opened the door for her and closed it once they were in the hall.

"Okay.. guess that's a yes." Holly whispered more to herself and followed the blonde to the car.

It was a silence trip.. no music and no small talk... Both of them seemed to feel comfortable with each other, there was no need of filling the silence with useless words, not in that time.

The car arrived to its destination, they climbed out and Gail locked it as she followed Holly to the entrance. They were in a quiet neighborhood, nobody on the street and no noises but the sound of the bugs in the night.

Holly opened the door and got into the house, she hesitated for a second.. and then leaned in the wall, leaving the door opened. The brunette stayed put, with no intention of moving closer to her. Holly didn't turn the lights on.. the thought of Gail in her porch under the starry sky was too tempting.

The blonde looked up to her and gave her an interrogation look. "No goodnight kiss? Not even a goodnight hug?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

There was no answer, and a sign of disappointment crossed through Gail's face for just a second.. She shrugged and slowly started walking towards the car but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I don't want to say goodbye to you just yet.." She muttered. "Would you stay with me tonight?"

Gail felt relief for not being looking at her in that instant, otherwise Holly would have seen the fear and insecurity on her.. And she didn't want that, she didn't like to look so vulnerable.. but on the other hand she wanted Holly, she didn't just 'like' her... she desired her.. like when they were on the couch a few hours back..

Slowly, Gail Peck turned around to face her and reached down to take her hand, letting Holly led her inside the house.

They went to her bedroom and Holly must felt the tension in Gail because she stared at her, hold her face between her hands and kissed her.

It was a slow and delicate kiss, not a passionate one.. Holly wanted to reassure her, not arouse her. They held it for a while until Holly let her go but even then, her face was still close to hers.

"We're not doing it tonight." Her voice was low.. but from the way she said it, it didn't sound like a rejection, so Gail didn't take it that way. "I want to but I'm tired and it's late... I don't believe in 'the right time', but I don't know..i think we can do better than this.." She said offering a crooked smile.

The blonde who had been staring at her since she had pulled back from the kiss, gave her a nod. "But I thought I would sleep on the couch." Gail added.. half seriously and half joking.

Holly who was searching in one of the drawers for something to wear, stopped and looked up to met her eyes. "Why? You think that I can't keep my hands off of you, don't you?" She said, returning to the teasing game.

"Actually I was counting on you not to do that." The blonde muttered, returning the smile but looking away. It was hard to believe that she had said that.. for real.

Holly's smile grew wider as she tossed to the blonde some clothes to sleep, dark shorts and a blue t-shirt of the Blue Jays, the baseball team. "You can use the bathroom if you want." Holly informed, pointing to the other door of the bedroom.

Gail nodded again and closed the door behind her.. She washed her face with cold water, in an attempt to calm down more than to wake herself.

Then she changed quickly but she didn't returned to the bedroom just yet... the idea of surprising Holly half naked crossed her head but she decided to be a good girl and wait a couple of minutes.

The shorts were comfy, a little to shorts though but she didn't care.. and the shirt was tight but it fit well on her. She wondered for a second if Holly had chosen that outfit on purpose but she dismissed the thought.

Then she came out of the bathroom, the light of the room was dim but enough to see until her eyes get used to it. Holly was in front of her, taking off her glasses, placing them on the nightstand next to the alarm clock.

The doc hadn't heard her coming out, so Gail took a moment to look at her from top to bottom. She was wearing just a grey t-shirt, large enough to cover her ass, probably a couple of sizes too big for her. Then she stretched, raising her arms and Gail noted that the shirt slightly hiked off from its position, revealing black underwear underneath it. She also noticed her long, shapely legs.. slim but also slightly muscled..

Before letting the droll collected in a pool on the floor, Gail cleared her throat to let her know they were in the same room. Their eyes met for several seconds. "Nice outfit" Holly managed to say, her eyes shinning in the dark room. "My clothes look good on you."

Gail put her things in a pile on the couch and then clumsily climbed into the bed. "I like yours too." She whispered, looking away.

After that the doctor turned off the light and joined her into the bed, then she pulled the duvet over them to cover their bodies. She slowly bent over the blonde and kiss her on the cheek. "Goodnight Gail." Her voice was calm but there was a hint of something more in it.

She started to pull back, but following an impulse, Gail leaned up to catch her lips with hers in a more suitable goodnight kiss. After a while, Gail let her go.. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stop if she didn't.. "Goodnight doc." She said softly.

Then they lay down, looking at the black ceiling... the blonde could feel every shuffle of Holly's restless body through the mattress as she settled herself, her body shifting beneath the duvet in an attempt to get comfortable, her breathing, her smell.

After a couple of minutes, Gail hesitated but finally made a decision and put her arm around her waist, holding her gently. Automatically Holly turned into the embrace to face her, a small smile crept onto her face.

The blonde couldn't keep her eyes away from that beautiful face, that woman who smiled at her under the moonlight, coming through the window.

Eventually Holly fall sleep on her arms but sleep didn't come so easily to the police officer..

The closeness of Holly, the warmth of her body didn't precisely help her in that task.. She curled around her, listening her heart beats, her head full of things but thinking about nothing.. and at some point of the night, she closed her eyes and started dreaming until she sun raised up in the sky the next morning.


Have a nice week y'all! See you with the next chapter.

AHA