The precinct jumped into full gear when Traci revealed their new information. It turns out that one of the men on the security camera was identified as belonging to a known gang. Thanks to a previous stakeout, they knew exactly where this gang liked to take their victims to be interrogated. Unfortunately though, they were also known for how violent their interrogations could be and there was no time to waste. Steve, There was no known correlation between Gail, Duncan and the gang, and no one at the station was going to wait around to find one.
It took Oliver about ten minutes to inform the appropriate emergency tactical teams and get everyone on the road. It took another ten minutes to arrive at the location. It would take them another five minutes to surround the building and rush in.
Of course, that was about three minutes too long for Gail. She had her own plan to carry out, especially since the men came back in and grabbed Duncan by the arms and began dragging him towards the corner of the room. They forced him down on his knees with a gun facing towards his head. Gail knew she couldn't wait any longer and she forced herself up from the cold metal chair, blood pumping through her veins. She ignored the throbbing in her limbs as she took two massive jumps over to the man with the gun and hurled herself against him. She hit him with such force, that it sent both him and herself smashing into the wall. Duncan quickly jumped up and tackled the other man, forcing him to the ground with a thud.
Outside, all the officers froze when they heard the sound of a gun ringing through the air. A split second later, everyone rushed the building. It was, what some would deem as, organized chaos. The air was full of dust as boots ran into the dark, dirty building. By time everything had settled, the two men were in police custody and Swarek was busy untying Duncan. Oliver was over with Gail who laid motionless on the floor.
"Someone call a medic" Oliver yelled. "Come on my precious Peck. Don't give up on us now."
It took Dov twenty minutes to get to Holly's. Once there, he jumped out of the car and ran up the walkway. He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door.
The door swung open quickly to reveal a frazzled, tired looking Holly. Her eyes pleaded silently for Dov to have good news. Susan came up and stood behind Holly, also hoping for some good news.
"We found her. She's on the way to the hospital. I'm here to take you there" he said.
"Please tell me she is okay" Holly said taking a step closer, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I need to take you to the hospital" he repeated trying his best to hold back his own tears.
"Go, go" Susan said as she reached back to grab Holly's purse and jacket. She shoved them towards Holly as she pushed her out the door. "I'll get Ally and meet you down there" she added with a nod.
"Thank you" Holly said softly before turning and running towards the car with Dov.
Dov immediately switched on the sirens and made it to the hospital in record time. He led Holly into the building that was now teeming with police officers waiting to hear the news of colleagues. Dov guided Holly through the crowd to the front desk.
"This is Holly Stewart, Officer Peck's fiancée" he told the nurse behind the desk.
After a quick glance at her papers, she looked back up at them. She looked tired, but her face was kind. "She's in surgery right now. I will come and find you as soon as she is out" the nurse said as she looked sympathetically towards Holly. She reached out and gently squeezed Holly's hand that was resting on the counter. "Please have a seat" she added, motioning towards the waiting room.
Holly let Dov guide her towards an open chair in the waiting room. Different officers came over and patted her on her shoulder, gave her a sympathetic look or a gently hug just to show their support, but to Holly, no one was there. Sure, everyone from the precinct plus members of her own family were waiting with her, but to her, she was alone. The only person who truly mattered in her life wasn't there. Holly just sat there, waiting, hoping, for her love to come back.
It felt like an eternity, but eventually a tired looking doctor came into the waiting room. "Holly" he said softly.
Holly's head quickly popped up to see the doctor standing before her. She knew him from some work she had done in the past and she had grown to respect him as a doctor. "Charles, please tell me…" she began as she stood up to face him. Susan quickly stood up beside her and held her hand in support.
"She's okay" he said quickly. He knew better than to hide any information from Holly and so he continued. "She was shot through the shoulder. It was clean, through and through, and didn't do any major damage thankfully. We were able to stitch her up quickly and cleanly. She also has some cracked ribs, and a sprained wrist. Those should heal no problem if she rests. She has a broken ankle, but we did surgery and added a pin. It should also heal with no issue. Now, she does have a very nasty bump on her head that we are monitoring. But, all in all, she's going to be okay. Your girl is a fighter that is for sure" he smiled.
"Oh, nothing keeps our pesky Peck down" Oliver said as he stood up beside Holly. He wrapped a comforting arm around her as Susan gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Can…can I see her?" Holly asked, tears threatening to run down her cheeks again.
"Of course. The nurses are getting her settled into a room. Once that is done, one of them will come out and get you" he said with a nod as he reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Holly's shoulder before turning and leaving Holly to stand there with the others.
"See, I knew she would be okay" Dov said, smiling at the group.
"That's right, Holly. Gail is okay. Everything will be okay" Oliver said, turning to look at Holly.
"You will get to see her soon" Susan tried to reassure.
Holly just stood there, taking in all the information the doctor had relayed to her. Her Gail was hurt, but she would be okay. Thank goodness Gail was going to be okay. Holly placed her hands over her face as she began to sob again. She now cried tears of joy and relief.
It took about another thirty minutes before a nurse came out to get Holly. The nurse said that Gail could only have two visitors, but looking at the tired, concerned faces of everyone sitting there, she decided to turn a blind eye as she instructed Holly where Gail's room was and pretended not to see the large group move down the hall towards the room.
As they walked down the hall, a voice suddenly came out of one of the rooms as they passed.
"Holly, Holly, please…" came a rough, tired sounding voice.
Holly turned to see Duncan Moore hobble his way out of the room, leaning against the door frame for support. He had a hospital gown draped around his bruised body. "Please Holly, I am so sorry" he stammered.
"Don't you talk to her" Dov spat at him. "She's here because of you. Gail wouldn't…"
"Dov, stop" Holly said suddenly. "It's not his fault."
"Of course it is his fault. Every time Gail is injured, it is because she is with this rookie. Remember the last time she needed stitches and you had to stitch her up? That's because of this klutz" Chris continued, echoing Dov's frustration.
Holly, and everyone else for that matter, was surprised to see how angry Dov and Chris really were. But Holly merely reached up and gently placed a hand on each of their cheeks. "I do remember when I had to stitch Gail up, and in which case, I should be thanking you" she smiled as she turned to look at Duncan.
"Th…th…thank me?" Duncan stuttered, very surprised to hear those words coming out of Holly's mouth.
"Well, if it wasn't for Gail needing stitches, and her absolute hatred of hospitals, I'm not sure I would have had that chance to talk to her one on one. If it wasn't for the need for stitches, she would not have repaid me by buying me a drink at The Penny. And if we didn't end up at The Penny, then Oliver would never have told her that I was getting that award, and that Lisa backed out as my plus one. If it wasn't for the stitches, Gail wouldn't have graciously taken Lisa's spot at the gala. If it wasn't for those stitches, she wouldn't have ended up meeting my parents and getting invited over to my family's home. And so if it wasn't for her needing those stitches, I wouldn't ultimately have her as my fiancée today, so yes, Duncan, thank you for helping me show Gail how much she means to me" And with that, Holly took a step forward and pulled Duncan into a hug.
Duncan was surprised at first, but slowly sunk into the hug. "I didn't mean for her to get hurt" Duncan said softly into Holly's shoulder.
"I know" Holly said, pushing back from the hug and smiling at him. "But she is safe now. You are both safe. That is all that matters."
He hobbled back slightly, nodding his head. "I'm just sorry" he said in barely a whisper. "I wish I could have done more."
"I know" Holly responded with a caring smile.
"She saved me, Holly" he said looking straight up at her.
Holly smiled at him. "That's our girl" she said, before turning and continuing her walk down the hall.
"Come on Holly, Gail's room is right over here" Susan said as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulders.
Holly came up to the door and hesitantly stood for a split second. She mentally prepared herself to see her loved one bandaged and bruised before stepping in.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked over to the bed to find Gail laying peacefully. She was definitely bandaged and bruises were beginning to show on her fair skin, but Holly couldn't get over how wonderful it felt to be looking down at her fiancée. She reached out and gently slid her hand under Gail's as she sat down in the bedside chair.
Holly would sit like this for the next several hours. Family members and friends would come and encourage her to take a break, but she wasn't going to leave, not now, not ever.
It took Gail the rest of the night and most of the next day before she began to stir. Holly felt a slight twitch in the fingers that she held. She quickly looked up to see Gail slowly open her eyes.
"Guys, guys, she's waking up" Holly said excitedly.
Dov and Chris who had been leaning against the window, jumped to their feet and stood around the bed. Susan, Steve and Traci were squished together on a little love seat that was off to the side. They all sat up to see Gail slowly open her eyes.
"Gosh, it's awfully bright in here" Gail murmured as she reached up to rub her eyes.
"I'm getting a doctor" Steve said as he ran out the room.
Holly sat there, barely breathing as she watched the love of her life come back. She wasn't sure what she should do. Sure, she had decades of training, but suddenly, she was frozen.
"Gail, this is Dr. Scotts. How are you feeling?" came a voice from behind the group. Everyone turned to see the doctor walk into the room, followed closely by Steve and Oliver.
"I feel like a well-used shoe" Gail said, slowly letting her eyes flutter open as the doctor began checking her vitals.
"Well, I don't think I've ever heard someone describe themselves like that before, but I totally understand" Dr. Scotts smiled. "Now Gail, can you tell me what day it is?"
"It is the day I'm getting out of this hospital" Gail said finally opening her eyes to look up at the doctor.
"I'm glad you are so optimistic" the doctor smiled. "I'm sure your friends and family will be happy to hear that."
"My friends, ha!" Gail laughed as she rubbed her eyes again, still not quite looking around the room. "Oh my gosh, Gerald! Where's Gerald?" Gail said suddenly, attempting to sit up.
"Whoa there little sister, sit back" Steve said, jumping forward and pushing his sister back down on the bed.
"Oh hey Steve, nice to see you" Gail laughed to herself.
"Yeah, it's great" Steve replied hesitantly, looking at Gail then up at the doctor. "Someone's untypically cheery."
The doctor nodded his head towards the IV drip. "Meds" he said, which caused the room to laugh.
"Hey…" Holly finally said, standing up and shifting herself closer to the bed, her eyes brimming with tears.
Gail looked at her, and frown began to form on her face. She looked Holly up and down skeptically before turning to her brother. "What is she doing here?" she spat out.
Holly's mouth just hung open.
"Who?" Steve asked looking around the room then back at Gail.
"Her" Gail said, her voice dripping with the disgust. "Why is Holly here?"
Holly could only look at Gail. She had no idea what was going on.
"Why wouldn't she be here? She is your fiancée after all" Steve chuckled.
"Ha! My fiancée? I think not" Gail laughed.
"Doctor, what is going on?" Steve asked turning to look at him.
"Gail, what do you remember?" the doctor came up to the bed and began flashing a light in her eyes.
"I remember heading back to the station and someone shoving us into a trunk of a car. I remember they were going to shoot Gerald, but so I jumped to tackle the butt ugly one. Gerald really owes me. I talking butt ugly."
The doctor jotted some notes down on his clip board before looking up at Gail. "Can you tell me who Holly is?" The doctor knew fully well that Holly was Gail's fiancée. He had worked with Holly on various tasks before.
"There's nothing really to tell. She's left me to go to San Francisco" Gail said disgustedly.
Everyone turned again to look at Holly, then back at Gail, their mouths hanging open.
AN - Thanks for reading.
