PROMPT: Holly meeting Bill Peck for the first time.

(I found this somewhat difficult because we've barely seen Bill Peck, so I had trouble finding his voice and personality. So this is pretty much how I headcanon his relationship with Gail.)

Gail's relationship with her mother was shaky at the best of times. And that was being generous.

But, while far from perfect, at least her relationship with her father was a bit better. They had their rocky times, usually having to do with her relationship with her mother, but generally, he was the one she went to for comfort as a child. She wouldn't say they were close, but he was a good, solid man. She liked him best when her mother wasn't around.

So it only made sense that Gail would introduce Holly to her dad before her mother. The opportunity was perfect; her mother was out of town for two days. So she made plans to meet her father for dinner and mentioned she may bring someone along.

Holly was nervous, but more than willing to meet Gail's father. She knew this was another big step for Gail. It had been nearly a month since the shooting at fifteen; nearly a month since they'd started dating. Gail had introduced Holly to her friends and coworkers as her girlfriend already. And her brother. This was the next logical step. And, to be honest, she was glad she was meeting Bill Peck before Elaine Peck. She'd only heard about the high ranking woman through coworkers and Gail, but she was already intimidated.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Gail asked as they sat in the driveway of the house, still in Holly's car.

Holly reached over and grabbed Gail's hand in a reassuring gesture. "Of course I'm okay with this," she replied. "Are you okay with it? I mean, it's more than introducing your dad to the person you're dating. You're coming out to him."

Gail took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's get this over with."

They exited the car and walked up the front steps. Gail unlocked the door with her key—even when they were at home, the Pecks insisted on keeping the doors locked—and let Holly enter first.

The smell of garlic bread permeated the air, making Gail's mouth water. Garlic bread meant some sort of Italian pasta dish. Her stomach growled with hunger at the same time it knotted with nerves.

"Dad?" Gail called out, as she took Holly's coat to hang up next to hers in the front hall closet.

Footsteps approached from the direction of Bill's office on the main floor. Gail turned to see him round the corner, dressed in his 'casual' wear of perfectly-pressed dark gray slacks and golf shirt. Gail internally rolled her eyes. God forbid either of her parents be caught in jeans in the presence of company.

"Hello, father," Gail deadpanned, rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Hello, daughter," Bill replied, hugging her briefly before stepping back. He glanced at the woman standing behind his daughter. "And who is this?" he asked pleasantly.

Gail grabbed Holly's wrist and urged her forward. "This is Dr. Holly Stewart," she informed him. "Holly, this is my dad, Inspector Bill Peck."

They shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Inspector," Holly said warmly.

Bill smiled. "Likewise. And please, a friend of Gail's can call me Bill."

"Aright, Bill," Holly responded as they parted hands. "You have a lovely home."

Bill glanced around. "My wife's doing, mostly," he said. "But we like it. Gail, why don't you show our guest around a bit while I see if Naomi is nearly ready for us."

Gail nodded. "Sure," she said, taking Holly's hand and leading her towards the stairs. Bill watched them leave, thoughtful.

"Who's Naomi?" he heard Holly whisper to Gail.

"The cook slash housekeeper," Gail responded.

"You have a cook?!"

Once upstairs, Gail immediately led Holly to her childhood room. "Welcome to my personal hell," Gail said as she closed the door behind them.

Holly looked around, taking in the in-your-face girly-ness she'd never have expected from Gail. "Oh, well, it's… nice?"

Gail rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the four poster bed complete with lacy canopy. "It's hideous. At least it's no longer the bright pink floral wallpaper my mother insisted upon painting it when I was seven. I wanted dinosaurs." Now the walls were painted a soft pink that still made Gail gag.

Holly studied various items in the room—random knickknacks on the shelves, photos, and various ribbons and awards. "Definitely not how I pictured it," she said with a chuckle. "Let me guess, your mother wouldn't allow you any say in the décor?"

"Ding, ding, ding," Gail said. "I'm so glad I don't live here anymore."

Holly smiled and moved to stand in front of Gail, cupping her cheeks and leaning down to kiss her soundly. Gail's hands rose to clutch at Holly's waist, holding her in place as she returned the kiss with ardor. She'd never get used to the euphoric feeling she got while kissing Holly. Kissing Holly was like kissing no other person she'd kissed. She'd never gotten so turned on by a simple kiss. All of Holly's kisses turned her on. She laid back, pulling Holly on top of her.

Gail had no idea how long they'd been kissing when suddenly the door opened and a voice broke them apart. "Gail, Holly, dinner is—oh." Bill Peck stood in the doorway, shock written all over his usually composed face.

Gail was frozen in fear. Sure, she'd planned on telling him that she and Holly were a couple. What she hadn't planned on was him finding out just how close they were by walking in while she had her tongue in Holly's mouth. And, oh god, her hands were still tucked into the back pockets of Holly's jeans. And Holly's hand… Jesus Christ, one hand still rested high on Gail's ribs, her shirt bunching around Holly's slim wrist to expose a good portion of pale stomach.

Bill was the first to recover, and he cleared his throat. "I was just going to say it's time to adjourn to the dining room for dinner. I'll see you both there once you… resituate yourselves." With that, he was gone.

Gail gaped at the empty doorway. What the fuck had just happened?

A few minutes later, they entered the dining room, a mix of emotions between them. Holly had tried to convince Gail that it would be okay. As far as she could tell, her father had only been stunned, not upset. Gail was too focused on her embarrassment to hear her, though. She felt her cheeks burn as they sat across the table from her father.

"Gail, why didn't you tell us you had someone new in your life?" he asked, sipping his wine.

Gail was thrown off by the casual way he asked the question. "Uh, it's new?" Holly gripped her knee comfortingly under the table, giving her a supportive squeeze. Gail glanced at Holly, who was giving her a reassuring smile.

Bill just gave a single nod, then turned to Holly. "So, Doctor, huh? Which field?"

"Forensic pathology," Holly answered. Gail was stunned by the sudden change of topic.

"So I'm guessing that's how the two of you met?"

Holly nodded. "She called me lunchbox and told me to get away from her crime scene."

"Sounds like Gail," Bill said. "You must be the charming one in the relationship."

"Wait," Gail interrupted. "Tha–that's it?"

Her father regarded her with a questioning expression. "What's it?"

"I mean, you find out I'm dating a woman, and all you have to ask is why I hadn't told you I had someone new in my life?"

Her father replaced his fork on his plate and folded his hands on the table top. "Well, I don't see what the gender of the person you're dating has to do with anything. You know your mother and I support and donate generously to the Toronto LGBT Law Enforcement Organization*."

"Yeah, but, I don't know, I figured you'd have a stronger reaction than that," Gail said, not sure why she was arguing.

"To be honest, I was more surprised to find you making out with someone in your childhood room than that fact that this someone was a woman."

Gail was momentarily stunned into silence at those words. Holly had to stifle a laugh at the implication behind his words. Bill just returned to the food on his plate.

"You thought I was a lesbian before today?" Gail finally asked.

"I don't know that I'd put it exactly like that," her father responded. "But we always wondered."

"We?" Gail asked.

"Your mother and I," he clarified.

Gail groaned and sunk down in her chair. "Mom is going to gloat, isn't she?"

Bill laughed. "Probably. She won the bet."

*Note: the Toronto LGBT Law Enforcement Organization is a complete fabrication of my mind. I'm terrible at coming up with names for these things. haha