Gail and Holly watched as Nick Collins threw Chloe over his shoulder and planted her back on the ground.
"I wasn't done!" she protested.
"You are," Dov gently guided her away. "There was a time limit."
"A time limit?"
"Thanks, Chloe," Nick said loudly, drawing applause from the gathering. "She definitely has a way with words."
"So, this is just a little awkward," Nick began. "I've known Gail Peck for a really, really long time. There's really no need to delve into our past or anything, but I'd say we were close."
"He better watch it," Holly growled just loud enough for Gail to hear.
Gail kissed her temple while Holly continued to give him a glare.
"When we were kids, she was fun and free and really lived life, you know? I think somewhere along the way, she lost that," Nick caught Gail's eye. "But, then she met Holly and there was the Gail I knew again."
"Good save, asshole," Holly said as she took a long swig of beer.
"Holly makes her happy," Nick said resolutely. "Happier than she ever was before."
"True," Gail agreed.
"And while I've known Gail for what seems like forever, I'm just starting to get to know Holly," Nick grinned. "And, believe me, she's not shy about how she feels about Gail…"
Nick squeezed between a couple other officers before turning the corner and stepping into the room. "Anything else, Detective Swarek?"
Sam looked up at him from his position on the floor. He'd been crouching over the dead body that they'd found this morning. "Don't know yet. Forensics is on the way."
"Forensics is here," Holly said as she side-stepped Nick and made her way over the corpse.
"Hey, there," Sam smiled.
"Hi, Detective," Holly returned the greeting.
"I hear congratulations is in order," Sam said with a wink.
Nick's head swiveled to the woman. He caught the glint of the diamond on her ring as she threaded a chain through it and clasped it back around her neck and then tucked it under her shirt.
"Thank you," Holly said with a huge smile before gloving up. "What do we know?"
"Vic found this morning. Marks around the neck indicate strangulation," Sam pointed out the pattern.
Nick knew he should be listening intently, but instead he was caught up in congratulations and diamond rings. He and Gail had hardly been on good terms, but he knew she was in a relationship with the forensic pathologist. He knew they had gotten pretty cozy and he was certain that she had been living with Holly now. But, engaged? That was new information.
"Can you do that, Collins?" Sam slapped him hard on the back.
"H-huh?" Nick stuttered. "Yeah, yes sir, absolutely."
"Alright," Sam said. "Let me know as soon as Dr. Stewart knows."
"Sure," Nick nodded.
"Guess you're with me today, Collins," Holly said. "Meet me back in the lab."
An hour later, Nick was staring a big hunk of dead guy while Holly studied several different bruises on his body. Every once in a while, she'd make a note or point to something and say words that sounded very scientific.
He just kept thinking about the ring that was still tucked under her shirt.
"Definitely looks like he experienced some blunt force trauma prior to death," she said to him.
"You and Gail got engaged?" he asked suddenly. Right after the words left his mouth, he wanted to catch them.
Her eyes snapped to meet his. "Yes," she answered.
The ball was already rolling, "When?"
"Friday," she replied without any further explanation.
"Congratulations," he offered.
"Thank you, Officer Collins," she said, going back to her work, "We appreciate that."
"Hm," he said. "We."
Holly slowly turned to him again, "What's that?"
"You said 'we.'" Nick pointed out. "'We appreciate that.'"
"And?"
"I'm not so sure Gail would appreciate my congratulations or even care, actually."
Holly fought not to roll her eyes, "On behalf of the both of us, thank you."
"You've probably heard some shitty things about me," Nick said.
"What I have or haven't heard about you is really not important, nor relevant to this investigation."
"I'm not trying to defend myself or anything," Nick claimed as he took a few steps toward her. "I was a really terrible boyfriend to Gail."
Holly stopped working, curiosity working at her.
"But, as bad as I might have been for her, I feel like…" Nick swallowed. "I feel like I need to know that you…aren't…bad for her."
"Because you've done such a bang-up job of looking out for her so far?" Holly asked, the anger was bubbling, he could hear it.
"I know I hurt her."
"You fucked one of her friends, Nick," Holly said.
"I fell in love," Nick tried to explain.
"It wasn't just that," Holly wasn't going to let him blame the love vapors. "You made her feel like she wasn't worth it."
"I know-"
"You don't," Holly snapped. She realized that her voice was slowly rising, so she took a deep breath. "Gail didn't deserve that. She may have done a lot of crappy things in the past, but she didn't deserve that."
"She didn't," he agreed.
"I'm not," Holly said as she directed her attention back to the body. "I'm not bad for her. I'm in love with her. I love everything about her. I even love it when I find that nasty, orange, cheesy dust on my mail because I know she's been there."
"Gross, isn't it?"
Holly bypassed the comment, "She's worth it. I would do anything and everything for her, because she's worth it. And, frankly, you're a idiot for not seeing how perfect she is."
"Before, when we were together, I saw it," Nick reflected. "Damn, she was so much fun back then. You should have seen her. Barely recognizable. Then I fucked her over and left her…I tried to get that back, but it never clicked. Whatever we had-"
"Listen," Holly pinned him with an icy stare. "I think you're probably normally a decent guy. Here's the thing, though, you've been involved with my fiancee. And I'm a lesbian, so it's not like I'm one to really hang on to something like that, but I don't want to hear about your past adventures. So, don't. You have your history and that's fine, but I don't want to hear it. Not from you. If she wants to share, then okay. But, not you. She's my fiancee. I'm going to marry her. Me. Her. So, sure, you can hang out with me and Deadio, here, and have tons of fun in the bone factory, but don't be personal about you and Gail. Got me? Cuz it's weird. And…you've slept with my fiancée. You've seen her naked and touched...and…" Holly was clearly bothered by the thought. "Just don't. Because if you do, I can't be held responsible for my actions."
"Hey, yeah, I understand, I'm sorry," Nick retreated to the far wall, "If I was in your position and I was marrying her-"
"No, no. Don't even say it, Collins," Holly warned him. "And please keep in mind that I can dissect a body."
"Needless to say," Nick lofted his beer, "I wouldn't mess with either of them. I wish you a happy and healthy life. To Gail and Holly."
"You threatened him?" Gail asked.
"I wouldn't say that."
"You threatened him," Gail stated. "I'm impressed."
Holly shrugged, "I'd kill him if I had to."
