0-0-0-0-0-0
I am really sorry for how long it's taken for me to update this story. Life has very much gotten in the way over months of my life between my own health and I almost lost my mother to sepsis from what should have been a routine operation. She is much better now thankfully and I'm hopefully in the headspace to continue writing more often. I won't abandon my stories, I will finish them I just hope you stay with me.
I had a guest reviewer comment on the breed of dog I chosen that bit Gail. I actually thought for a good long while on what breed it should be, to tell you the truth it really didn't matter, any scared, emaciated, hurt dog could lash out if someone they didn't know tried to jab them with a needle. I only chose a Rottweiler because I know they have hard mouths and they don't always let go straight away. A friend of my mums use to breed them so they're dogs I know a little about. I'm sorry that my choice upset you, I'm a dog lover and I believe all dogs deserve to be loved and treated right.
On with the story...
0-0-0-0-0-0
Chapter Nine
0-0-0-0-0-0
Disclaimer - i don't own anything, only the characters and situations I create and do not profit from this.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Tuesday afternoon the trainees were in one of their last classes "I need a volunteer for our last simulated suspect apprehension" Oliver asked, nobody put up their hand up. After a few seconds, Gail's hand inched up "Someone other than Peck, she's been the suspect 6 times already" he added.
Juliet Ward spoke up "I'll have another go" she said "as long as Rosati can stop her dog this time" she added, last time she'd played bait, she'd ended up with stitches because Rosati's dog grabbed her leg when she didn't issue the right command quick enough. Jo blushed.
"We've dealt with that" Oliver reminded her "okay let's get moving" he said. He and Ward left to give her the head start.
Once they were gone, Andy got up and moved over to Gail "Can we talk for a minute?" She said.
The blonde looked up at her then sat back in her chair, she played with the pen in her hand "As long as you don't mention his name, sure" she said.
The brunette turned the chair from the desk in front of Gail's and sat on it "I'm sorry, I never should have treated you the way I did" she said looking at the table "I never should have assumed you used your family to get here"
The blonde sighed "Why after almost 15 weeks of bitching and acting like an ass have you suddenly decided to apologise? I'm sorry but in my life I've found that once a bully always a bully, so I don't trust you or anything you have to say"
"I deserve that" The brunette said, she looked at her hands and back to her classmate, she looked pained like whatever she was saying was hard for her to say "I'm not after anything, I just... We're in the same job, we both may end up working together at some stage..."
"Cut the shit" Gail said interrupting her "Why?" She didn't believe a word of it so far.
Andy sighed "I got a call from SIU" she said "I have to make peace with you and you need to tell them we're good or they'll pull my application to the K-9 department and I'll be demoted back to a rookie for six months and will have to ride with a TO again"
"I didn't think you'd changed that much" the blonde stated, with a smug smirk.
"Look Gail I know we aren't going to be friends or anything but I don't wanna lose my job, I do know now that you didn't use your family to get here. I'm sorry for what has happened. I'll leave you alone, you leave me alone and we both get on with our lives and be professional when our paths cross" the brunette said and held out her hand.
Gail shook her hand "Deal" she said, she only agreed because she'd apologised, even though she still thought there was an air of insincerity to it.
0-0-0-0-0-0
They ran the suspect apprehension which Emily won. After finishing, most had taken their dogs to continue working but Gail had promised to be there when Steve came out of rehab so she'd taken off to Holly's cabin "You're late" the vet pointed out as the pair came through the door. She took the dogs lead and led him into the office.
"I'm sorry, Oliver kept talking after the simulated apprehension" the blonde explained as she went in their bedroom and quickly got changed.
"He gets like that at the end of the courses, he'd never admit it but he misses the trainees when they're gone" Holly said when she came back out of the office. Gail appeared dressed in jeans, t-shirt, a jacket over the top and carrying boots. She stopped suddenly when she saw Holly, who was wearing jeans and a button up "What?" The brunette asked, looking down at her clothes.
The blonde smiled, dropped her boots and moved over to her "You're beautiful" she said as she wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her softly.
Holly smiled into the kiss "Sweet talker" she said as her hands came up to frame the other woman's face. She kissed her again "As much as I adore kissing you, we need to go"
Gail kissed her again then reluctantly released her to finish getting ready.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"I'm sorry we're late" Gail said as she rushed into Steve's room with Holly in tow.
"It's fine" Traci said "We're still waiting for his final discharge papers" sitting in a nearby chair.
Her brother was sitting in a wheelchair "You'd think after I've been here for so long they'd be dying to get rid of me"
"You know this stuff takes time, I'm gonna go see if I can find out how long the doctor will be" Traci said then got up and left.
"I might go help her" the brunette said, she kissed her girlfriend, who gave her a confused look. Holly nodded her head towards Steve, then went.
"Is there a reason they just left us alone?" Gail asked as she sat in the chair Traci had vacated, she sat forward looking at him.
"Three reasons, one I've asked Traci and Leo to move in with me" he said.
The blonde smiled at him "That's great, so what's number two?" She asked.
"Well" he started as he wheeled himself over to her "Mom faced a judge today, she's been charged with multiple offences, including some major criminal ones. Because three charges were for tampering with evidence in a murder investigation so she'd get the credit. She's been thrown off the force and will serve at the very least ten years in prison, she could get up to thirty if they prove all the charges. At the moment she's been remanded in custody until they're ready for trial"
Gail shrugged and sat back in her seat "Still good news to me" she said "And the last one?"
He sighed "Since they're pretty sure I'll be back on my feet in a few months, I'll be going back in three weeks and riding a desk until I'm declared fit for full duty. Thing is when I do go back on duty, I'm giving up guns and gangs and I'll be working homicide. While I'm on desk duty I'll be closing out the cases I'm still involved in" he said.
"Because of Traci?" The blonde asked.
"Yea, I need to change things, I can't go deep cover now I've pretty much got a family. After what happened, Traci's scared" he stopped and took a breath. He leaned forward and put his hand on Gail's knee "And I'm... Gail... I'm terrified this could happen again and maybe next time..." the blonde took his hand and sat forward "I don't..." He started and his voice cracked.
The blonde leant forward, she put her hand on the back of his head and made their foreheads meet "It's okay" she said "I know, big brother, I know" her own voice cracked at the last word as he pulled her into a crushing hug. The whole thing had shown them both how fragile life is and how important everything and everyone in their lives are to them.
0-0-0-0-0-0
It was a quiet drive as they followed Traci's car to where they were having dinner. Holly watched Gail drive for a while then broke the silence "Everything okay?" She asked.
"Yea" the blonde said, not very convincingly, as she kept her eyes on Traci's car in front of them and the road.
The brunette put her hand on her lovers leg "Gail... sweetheart"
"Steve's scared" she said quietly "When he goes back on full duty he'll be transferring to homicide" Gail didn't need to elaborate any more than that, they spoke enough about their own fears in regards to the dangers of the job "I've never seen him cry like that before" she added quietly, she took one hand off the steering wheel and took Holly's hand in her own, linking their fingers "He's really terrified" her voice cracked a little.
"I know" the vet said softly. The blonde pulled the car up to a red light, Holly tugged on their linked hands and pulled her over into an awkward hug due to the console between them. Gail held her tight against her chest. The contact soothing her, they stayed this way until the car behind them honked their horn.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"So I hear you're gonna live with this idiot" Gail said to Traci as she pointed her fork at Steve.
After talking to Holly in the car, the blonde was feeling a little more playful. They'd arrived at the restaurant and made small talk until after their meals came "I question your sanity" she said with a grin. Steve pulled a face at her and went to speak but was beaten to it.
"Yea well, I lived with you at the police academy, it can't be any worse than that, actually I'm starting to wonder about how sane the good doctor here is for agreeing to live with you" Traci countered.
The blonde blushed, she'd expected her brother to give her the come back, not for Traci to turn it on her. Holly finished her mouthful and kissed her cheek "It's okay baby" she said "I enjoy your Peck brand of insanity" she kissed her cheek again then went back to eating.
Due to the kisses it took Gail a few seconds to realise she'd been insulted "Hey" she said to her girlfriend and slapped her thigh. She left her hand on her leg afterwards. Everyone else at the table chuckled, the blonde leant close to Holly "I'll get you back for that" her hand slid up the brunettes inner thigh and cup her centre, she gasped at the action and dropped her fork onto her plate.
Gail retreated with a grin on her face but left her hand resting on Holly's thigh.
"You okay?" Steve asked honestly.
"Cramp in my calf" she said "I guess I over did it on my run this morning" the vet added as she glared at the blonde next to her while she faked rubbing her muscle. Gail smiled as she had a mouthful of her drink
"So when do you find out who gets the job at 15?" Traci asked, not wanting to know what was going on between the couple, even though she's fairly certain she already knows, she changed the subject.
0-0-0-0-0-0
When they got back to Holly's cabin, the brunette let the dogs in and Gail unlocked Havoc's crate, letting him wander around the place. She grabbed a beer for both of them and joined the brunette on the couch "Something weird happened today" the blonde said then had a long drink from the bottle in her hand "McNally apologised" she added after her drink. Holly, who had been drinking, tried not to spit the liquid across the room and choked instead. Her girlfriend patted her on the back as she coughed "You okay?" Gail asked.
"You could have waited until I was finished drinking before you announced something that shocking" the brunette said as she brushed the droplets of beer off that landed on her shirt.
The blonde smiled "I asked her why, she made up some bullshit about us having to work together, then I called her on the lie, it turns out SIU contacted her and if she doesn't fix things with me then have me contact them to say we're good, they'll demote her back to rookie and she'll be back riding with a TO" she explained.
"Well she made false accusations that you were cheating because of our relationship directly to SIU, they don't look on things like that lightly" Holly said "They were already aware of our relationship and I know they contacted, Oliver, Sam and Noelle to make sure things were on the up and up"
Gail frowned at her "Why didn't you say something?"
The brunette put down her beer "I didn't see the point, they knew about our relationship, there was no need to hide anything"
The blonde took a long drink of her beer "You still could have told me that they'd been contacted" she added, an amount of anger in her tone.
"Why are you angry with me?" Holly asked, tilting her head "Nothing came of it, Oliver told me during our staff meeting yesterday" Gail got up and went to the kitchen without answering, the brunette shook her head and followed. The blonde was pulling another beer from the fridge "No" Holly said taking it from her "What the hell have I done?" It had been an emotional afternoon for blonde but she wasn't going to let her take something, that hadn't been worth mentioning, out on her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Gail asked leaning against the bench opposite the fridge, arms folded.
The Vet sighed, put the unopened beer back in the fridge then went and stood next to her "You are about to do your final exams to join the K-9 unit and Steve was leaving rehab, I knew this afternoon would be hard emotionally for you" she turned and lent her hip on the bench facing her "Honestly, I didn't think it mattered because we all know you aren't using me to get better grades or the spot at 15" she reached out for the blonde, unfolded her arms, she stepped in front of her and held both her hands, Gail went along with it unable to resist Holly's touch "If I had any idea they would make Andy say anything to you I would have given you a heads up, you know that"
The blonde looked at her then tugged her forward so the brunettes body was against hers "I know, I'm sorry, when McNally approached me today I was, blindsided... no that's too much... anyway I was shocked and then when you said you'd known SIU had called, I was hurt that you didn't tell me" Gail tried to explain.
"I get it" Holly said dropping her hands and wrapping her arms around her girlfriends waist, Gail's arms moved up over her shoulders "I'm sorry, I should have..."
The blonde moved in and kissed the brunette silencing her apologies, Gail's hands moved to Holly's face while the vet just held on to her. The blonde broke the kiss "You don't have to apologise I was an ass" she said and gave her a peck on the lips. Joe barked from his position sitting beside her, Gail's hands slipped to Holly's shoulders "You have to put in your opinion on everything don't you" she said to him. He barked again.
Bess came around the corner with a ball in her mouth "Walk time?" The brunette asked.
The blonde gave her one more kiss "Lets go"
0-0-0-0-0-0
Holly and Gail walked along, hand in hand, on the grounds out the front of the Academy, all three dogs were off leash and bouncing around like puppies, well technically Havoc was still a puppy "Havoc seems to bring out the puppy in Bess and Joe" the brunette said with a smile.
"Yea I've noticed" the blonde agreed "oh I found my running shoes by the way"
"Where were they?" Holly asked.
"In Joe's bed outside" Gail said "I saw them this morning before I went to class. He can keep them, they aren't much use to me without a sole" she added.
The brunette chuckled "I think he's jealous" she said and turned around and took the blondes other hand "He needs some attention from you that's all"
"Like ever since my hand was bitten the second time, he lays on me every time I fall asleep on the couch" Gail asked as she pulled her closer, effectively stopping them.
"He loves you, he was protecting you that night" Holly said "Dogs know more than you think"
"I know, I've been paying attention baby, but he will still get up and lay on me, I think it's the couch he wants not me"
The brunette frowned "I've never seen him do it when I'm there" she said "if it was the couch he'd do it when I was there too"
"You think he's protecting me when you're not there?" the blonde asked.
Holly nodded "It's possible, he does like you" she stepped in so she was right against Gail.
The blonde wrapped their joined hands around the brunettes waist "If it's affection I guess I can forgive him my four hundred dollar running shoes, my next pair will live where dogs can't get them" She said and kissed her.
Holly pulled back "I told you to put them up" she said and moved back in for a kiss. Bess barked interrupting their moment, they pulled away to see Oliver walking up from the front of the admin building "Hey Ollie, is everything ok?" The brunette asked pulling away from the officer and stepping towards him.
"There's a call from 15, they couldn't reach you" he said.
Holly tapped the pocket of the jeans she was wearing "I must have left it in the cabin" she said and looked at Gail.
"Go, I'll get the dogs inside" the blonde said.
The vet came back to her, she grabbed her by the hips "Thank you" she said, she gave her a quick passionate kiss then took off running.
"Don't forget your phone" Gail called to her as she went.
The blonde took the dogs back and had a shower. When she got out, she noticed 3 texts from Holly, one explaining it was a gunshot wound and she would be a while. The second was she loved her and she was sorry she had to go and the last was that she was going into surgery and she'd try not to wake her up when got back. The blonde smiled at her phone, sent her a quick I love you, set the dogs up for the night and went to bed.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Holly quietly opened the door a couple of hours later, hoping she wouldn't disturb the dogs and in turn Gail. She got in the front door and saw Joe and Bess asleep on the couch, she knew Havoc would be in his create, in the office. She'd had a shower at the clinic so she could just crawl in next to her girlfriend. She slipped into the bedroom and closed the door. Both lamps on the bedside tables were on, Gail was asleep on the bed, one of the training books hanging from her hand. The brunette smiled at the scene then took the book off her, placed it on the table and turned the blondes bedside light off. She quietly grabbed clothes to sleep in and slipped into the bathroom. When she returned, her girlfriend hadn't moved and she sat gently on the bed "Hol?" Gail questioned and she rolled over and looked up at her sleepily.
Holly slid in next to her, turned off her light and snuggled against her, her head on the blondes chest and her arms wrapped around her "Yea it's me, Go back to sleep sweetheart" she said looking up at her lover, her voice almost breaking with emotion.
Hearing her tone woke Gail up a bit "What's wrong?" She asked asked as she reached out, tilted her head up and brushed her hair from her face, she could see the tears were starting to fall. The blonde kissed her forehead "Was it bad?" She asked.
"Gun shot wound" the brunette said with a hiccup of emotion "We worked for two hours, I thought we had him stabilised but as we went to scrub out he crashed"
"He didn't make it" Gail finished for her "I'm so sorry baby" she said holding her tight as she cried.
They laid for a while, Holly cried as he girlfriend held her, reassuring her that she did everything she could to help the dog. After a while the brunette started to calm down "I'm sorry" she said looking up at the blonde "You should be asleep, your last day of training and practice is tomorrow" she said to her.
"Don't be sorry and I don't care, Hav and I have that down, we could do it with our eyes closed" Gail said and kissed her forehead "Do you want anything, tea, hot chocolate, beer?" She offered.
"Just you" Holly looked up at her, she took her hand and linked their fingers "...and some sleep"
"Okay" the blonde said, she dropped her head down and gave her a soft sweet kiss. She leant back against her pillow "I love you" she said
"I love you too, thank you" Holly said as she settled against Gail's chest.
"Anytime Baby, anytime"
0-0-0-0-0-0
So I had to post this chapter in three part because this site wouldn't accept over 12,000 or 5,000 words today, next two parts will be up immediately
0-0-0-0-0-0